《Humanity's Great Sage》
Chapter 1: Mining Slave
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 1: Mining ve
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye carried a mining basket on his back and a mining pick in his hand as he walked forward, step by step, inside a dark and damp mining tunnel. The youth had a sorrowful expression on his face, and his eyes were fixed on the empty space in front of him as though he was staring intently at something.
To an outsider, there was nothing in front of him. But in reality, the youth could see a translucent shadow in his vision. It looked like the shadow of a tree that was grey and indistinct. He could not get a clear glimpse of it. Nevertheless, he could see that it had lush foliage. The tree branches split off from the tree trunk approximately one-third of the way along its length, splitting to the left and the right. They were supporting a semi-circr canopy.
It had been more than a year since he arrived in this world called Jiu Zhou, but he had yet to figure out what that was. All he knew was that if he concentrated hard enough, there was a chance for that Shadowy Tree to appear in his vision. However, nobody else seemed to notice it.
What a depressing life, He sighed.
He had suddenly woken up and found himself in this unfamiliar world one year ago. Unfortunately, the Sect he was staying with had been seized by a gang of thieves before he could familiarize himself with the environment of this world. Many people had been killed during the attack, and he became a prisoner of that gang of thieves along with some other young men and women. They were then sent to this mine to be lowly mining ves.
It wasnt until muchter that he learned from the scattered conversations around him that the Sect he had previously been staying with was known as Mystical Sky Sect. It was a Sect that belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition. Although that Sect had an awesome and tyrannical name, it was very small in reality.
On the other hand, the Sect that attacked Mystical Sky Sect was known as Evil Moon Valley, a Sect under the control of Thousand Demon Ridge.
Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge were the two major factions in this world. They were both formed by the union of countlessrge and small forces that constantly fought against each other with the intention to wipe out the other party. It was said that their battle had been ongoing for several hundred years. In Lu Yes opinion, the struggle between the two forces was simply a confrontation between thewful faction and the evil faction. It was also nothing more than an ident that he got dragged into the confrontation.
Thends of Jiu Zhou had been ravaged by countless wars over the years. Every year, small forces like Mystical Sky Sect would be wiped outpletely, but more forces would soon spring forth like bamboo shoots after rain. These forces would upy various ces and make the situation even more chaotic.
[Oh well If I am a mining ve, then so be it] Lu Yeforted himself. [Compared to those who were killed, at least I am still alive.] It wasnt that he had any special skills or anything that allowed him to survive. It was just that Evil Moon Valley needed people to carry out their misceneous chores, and a young person with no cultivation like him was undoubtedly the best choice for that task. In fact, the mining ves at this mine did not just consist of the members of Mystical Sky Sect but also the disciples of various small ns and Sects.
Evil Moon Valley was not weak. It had captured many territories over the years, and the original forces in those territories had been wiped outpletely. Among those who were defeated, those that were deemed useful had been sent to various ces as ves. None of these people had anything special about them. None of them had been Enlightened nor started cultivating, so they were very easy to control.
There was a saying in Jiu Zhou that went Demons who were not Enlightened had difficulty taking Human form, and Humans who were not Enlightened had difficulty cultivating. To begin cultivating, one needed to unlock their Spiritual Points. In other words, only those who managed to unlock their Spiritual Points had the qualifications to begin cultivating.
Enlightenment was not an easy thing to achieve. Only 1 out of 100 people could unlock their Spiritual Points after undergoing systematic training. That probability might increase somewhat if they came from a cultivation n or Sect and received guidance from their Elders.
Since Lu Ye could not unlock his Spiritual Points, he could only earn a living by mining in this dim mining tunnel. Fortunately, it wasnt as if mining ves had no way out of their predicament. If they could sessfully achieve Enlightenment and report their achievement to the person in charge, they would receive the opportunity to take an assessment. If they passed the assessment, they could be a disciple of Evil Moon Valley.
It was just that very few among the mining ves could achieve Enlightenment. How could they achieve Enlightenment when they worked all day long in this dim environment and couldnt even get enough food to eat? That was why almost 99% of the mining ves were resigned to their fate. They worked themselves to the bone every single day just to get a full meal to eat.
Lu Ye did not have any sense of belonging towards Mystical Sky Sect. After all, he had only just arrived in this world when Mystical Sky Sect was destroyed. He didnt even know any of the people in the Sect. Be that as it may, he did not want to be a disciple of Evil Moon Valley either. It was not part of thewful force. Just listening to the name gave him an evil vibe. It was bound to be destroyed, sooner orter.
Even so, he could not spend his entire life as a mining ve in this ce. What kind of life would that be? He was one of the elites of the modern era. If he had no dreams or ambitions, how would he be any different from a piece of salted fish? That was why he had been working hard to achieve Enlightenment over the past year. At first, he thought that the Shadowy Tree only he could see would give him some kind of magical help. Unfortunately, the Shadowy Tree remained nothing more than a shadow. Forget about helping him out, it even affected his vision asionally. He strongly suspected that there was something wrong with his eyes.
Turning a corner, he saw a faint light in the distance. It was one of the exits of the mining tunnel. He had a good harvest today. If he turned in the ore in his mining basket, he could probably get 3 Contribution Points. Combined with the Contribution Points he umted over the past few days, he had around 12 points in total. 2 points would be used to exchange for 2 steamed buns, and the remaining 10 points would be just enough for him to redeem 1 Qi Blood Pill.
The Qi Blood Pill was a very Low-Grade Spirit Pill. It was not something that could aid in achieving Enlightenment, but an abundance of Qi and blood were required to achieve Enlightenment. Although the Qi Blood Pill was very Low-Grade, it was extremely suitable for people like him who had yet to achieve Enlightenment.
The reason why Evil Moon Valley was willing to hand out the Qi Blood Pill was not out of kindness. It was because they were well-versed in the art of manipting a persons heart. Despite being the cheapest and lower-grade Spirit Pill, it could make hopeful people work even harder at mining. Lu Ye was a prime example He worked very hard every single day.
Above 100 metres away from the entrance of the mining tunnel, he inadvertently nced at a certain spot in the front left corner. There was a huge boulder in that spot. He kept walking and continued walking until he was about 35 metres away. Only then did he put down the mining basket on his back, tighten his grip on his mining pick, take out a medium-sized rock from his mining basket, and weighed it in his hands.
In the next moment, he suddenly ran toward the boulder, slid sideways as he approached the boulder, and kicked out at the rock wall of the mining tunnel. Then, he swooped down from above toward the back of the boulder with the help of the rebounding force from his kick. His movements were as agile as a cheetah.
Two figures were half-squatting behind the boulder, concealing themselves with the help of the boulder. They did not expect anybody to notice their presence. Hence, it was toote for them to stand up by the time they heard a sound and looked up to see Lu Ye.
Under the horrified gazes of those two, Lu Ye raised his hand and threw the ore in his hand at them. It hit one of them directly on the nose. That person screamed in pain and fell on his back to the ground. Blood flowed freely from his face. Meanwhile, Lu Ye attacked again with the mining pick in his other hand. Before his attacknded on the second person, that person reacted swiftly and turned his head to avoid the attack. However, Lu Ye had already rushed over and followed up his attack with a kick to that persons lower abdomen. An expression of pain shed across that persons face as he staggered backwards from the kick and slumped to the ground, throwing up bile.
Lu Ye strode forward and grabbed the other party by the hair. When he saw the other partys face clearly, he sneered. I was wondering who it was. It turned out to be you two brothers!
He knew these two. They were the disciples of the Liu Family n. After the territory of the Liu Family n was seized by Evil Moon Valley, a few of the younger disciples of the Liu Family had been sent here to be mining ves. Strictly speaking, Lu Ye and the two brothers from the Liu Family n were in the same boat.
Didnt I warn you never to let me see you again!? I told you Id kill you the next time I saw you! While speaking, Lu Ye picked up a rock from the ground and viciously brought it smashing down. That blow was very heavy, and Second Brother Liu let out a groan before copsing to the ground unconscious. After that, Lu Ye walked toward Big Brother Liu, who had been injured by him previously.
Big Brother Lius forehead was badly injured and the blood from his injury blurred his vision. When he saw Lu Ye walking toward him through his blurry vision, he was so frightened that he scrambled away in a half-crawl. Have mercy! We didnt know it was you! We thought it was someone else Have mercy!
The two brothers from the Liu Family n had been sneaking around in front of the exit of the mining tunnel. It was clear that they had been up to no good. These two had been pampered and coddled all their lives prior to their capture by Evil Moon Valley. They refused to endure the hardships even after bing mining ves. Unfortunately, the status of mining ves was extremely low. The people of Evil Moon Valley didnt even consider mining ves to be Human. There was no way to obtain food without the ores to exchange for Contribution Points. For that reason, these two brothers often hid in one of the mining tunnels many exits to rob the mining ves who were alone. Many people had suffered at their hands as a result. Not only would they be robbed of their hard-earn ores of the day, but they would also be beaten half to death.
These two had tried to rob Lu Ye not too long ago, but they were no match for him and were taught a harsh lesson instead. Lu Ye never imagined that he would encounter the two brothers again only a few dayster.
All kinds of people existed in the mines. There were people like the two brothers of the Liu Family n among the mining ves who were gluttonous andzy, and then, there were also people like Lu Ye who had dreams and ambitions.
Over the past year, Lu Ye had been using the Contribution Points he earned from exchanging ores to redeem Qi Blood Pills, in addition to ensuring his daily food and clothing necessities. He had probably consumed more than 30 Qi Blood Pill by now. This had caused his body to be stronger than most mining ves. Although his physique could not be said to be muscr, the power inherent in his body has already surpassed most ordinary people. Dealing with two gluttonous andzy mining ves was naturally not a problem for him.
Big Brother Liu was still begging for mercy, but Lu Ye simply pretended not to hear anything. Grabbing Big Brother Liu by the hair, he lifted another rock in his hand and viciously brought it smashing down again. After spending a whole year as a mining ve, he had witnessed countless tragedies. He had long since understood one truth in this world: pity and sympathy were useless in this dog-eat-dog world.
It wasnt as though the mining ves were cordial among themselves. Mining ves that came from various forces could never truly live together in harmony. Thus, they often came to blows over a good piece of ore. People died in the mining tunnels every single day. One could see piles of bones scattered across the ground at varying intervals. That was because many mining ves starved to death after being robbed.
Big Brother Liu fell to the ground.
Lu Ye picked up his mining pick and his mining basket, then he strode toward the exit. He had not killed the brothers from the Liu Family n. It wasnt out of kindness. It was simply because injured mining ves generally could not survive for long in this ce. He had only taken a few steps forward when a person rushed in through the exit in a panic.
Get out of the way! that person shouted. At the same time, a palm struck toward Lu Ye.
At that moment, Lu Ye felt his entire body going cold. He had caught a glimpse of a pale blue light flowing through the other partys palm. That was the light of Spiritual Power. In other words, the person attacking him was a cultivator!
Only those who achieved Enlightenment were qualified to begin cultivating and be known as a cultivator. A cultivators Spiritual Power was an extremely mysterious power. Lu Ye had seen one of Evil Moon Valleys cultivatorsunching an attack before. Although the power behind that attack had not been much, that man had smashed a piece of ore with just a light hit of his palm. It was precisely because Lu Ye had witnessed that strange sight that he made up his mind to unlock his Spiritual Points and be a cultivator. He also secretly assessed that the weakest cultivator of Evil Moon Valley could easily take down 10 of him.
Therefore, he understood that he was in great danger the moment he realized that the person attacking him was a cultivator. At that critical moment of life and death, he forcefully stopped in his tracks and leapt backward abruptly. A numbness spread out from his chest and the sound of bones breaking rang out. He was sent flying and copsed to the ground with a groan. The severe pain made his head clear up significantly. When he realized he was still alive, he immediately stood back up.
Huh!? The cultivator who attacked seemed a little surprised. Although he had not used his full strength just now, a normal mining ve should not have been able to withstand that attack even though it was just a casual swipe. Borrowing the dim light, he saw the face of the mining ve and blurted out, Lu Ye?
At this moment, Lu Ye had turned around and was prepared to run away. Upon hearing the voiceing from behind him, he froze in shock. Manager Yang?
This cultivator surnamed Yang was a lower manager at the mine. Lu Ye would often deal with him because the redemption of the Qi Blood Pills was done through him. Therefore, they could be considered rather familiar with each other. Manager Yang had quite a favourable opinion of Lu Ye. Mining ves like Lu Ye who could bear such hardships yet still work so hard were very rare after all. Nevertheless, there was no special treatment regardless of his positive impression of Lu Ye. As long as Lu Ye did not achieve Enlightenment, there would always be an insurmountable gap between ordinary people like him and the cultivators.
After recognizing that it was Lu Ye, Manager Yang immediately understood why the other party had not died from his attack. Lu Ye had redeemed many Qi Blood Pills from him over a year. Therefore, Lu Yes physique was stronger than an ordinary mining ve. Combined with the fact that his attack just now had only been a casual blow with no intention to kill, it was not surprising that the other party managed to survive.
Opposite Manager Yang, Lu Ye felt his heart pounding wildly like a drum in his chest. Cultivators of Evil Moon Valley generally did not care about the life and death of the mining ves. Besides, they were aware of the constant fights between the mining ves in the mine and generally turned a blind eye to them unless it happened right in front of them.
Right after he assaulted the two brothers of the Liu Family n and left them lying unconscious on the ground, he had turned around only to receive an attack from Manager Yang. In his opinion, it seemed as though Manager Yang was disciplining him. However, he soon noticed that something was not quite right. Manager Yang had looked panicked when he rushed into the mine. He didnt look like he was trying to help the two brothers of the Liu Family n.
While Lu Ye was lost in his thoughts, Manager Yang revealed an expression of pleasant surprise. It was almost as though his encounter with Lu Ye in this ce was a good thing. Leaning forward, he reached out and grabbed Lu Ye by the shoulder. Come with me!
Svin: There were quite a few people who PMed me on discord to trante this. Well, this is MoMos new work so I get that you guys want to read it since many of you are fans of Martial Peak.
It currently has over 200 chapters and MoMo does like 2 or more chapters per day. So, the index page has basically ceholders when he reaches that number.
Im going to do it like how I did it for Martial Peak, which is 3 chapters a week at the start. Once a goal is reached on the Patreon, the rate of release will increase.
Chapter 2: Cunning
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye felt himself being grabbed by a powerful grip, and his body involuntarily moved forward. Enduring the paining from his chest, he asked, Manager Yang, where are we going?
Stop talking nonsense! Manager Yang said viciously. He took several steps forward, then nced at the mining basket on Lu Yes back. Get rid of it.
Lu Ye did not dare to refuse. Unbuckling the mining basket, he tossed it to the ground but kept hold of his mining pick. Although Manager Yang nced at Lu Ye sharply, he didnt say anything else.
The deeper they went inside, the further the light behind them got. The lighting in the depths of the mining tunnels was very dim, with only the torches that were ced at every 35 metres or so providing some light. However, the entire mine was riddled with passages and the terrain was extremelyplicated. Not every mining tunnel had torches lighting the way. Most of the mining tunnels were shrouded in darkness all year round, and nobody knew where these mining tunnels led. Therefore, it was very easy to lose their way if they did not follow the lighted path when mining in this ce. It was easy to imagine what would be of a mining ve with an ordinary constitution if they lost their way in this ce.
Among the mining ves, the mining tunnels that were illuminated by torches were known as the Lighted Paths and the mining tunnels that were shrouded in darkness all year round were known as the Dark Paths. Oftentimes, torches would burn out and the Lighted Paths became Dark Paths. Mining ves would then lose their sense of direction and starve to death. It was amon urrence.
As Lu Ye followed Manager Yang deeper into the mining tunnels, he noticed something strange. Manager Yang would asionally look backward with a nervous expression as though he was being chased by something dangerous. The way Manager Yang was acting made Lu Ye nervous too.
Lu Ye, do you know any of the Dark Paths? Manager Yang suddenly asked.
Yes. Lu Ye nodded. Denying this fact was meaningless in front of Manager Yang. Besides, he was not the only one who had some knowledge of a few Dark Paths. All the superior mining ves had explored and became familiar with several Dark Paths.
Although the Lighted Paths were safe, there were not many spots left that could be mined. On the contrary, quality goods could often be found in the Dark Paths that were shrouded in various dangers. He was only able to harvest so much every single day by relying on the resource-rich Dark Paths. How else would he find the extra Contribution Points to exchange for Qi Blood Pills? That was also the reason why Manager Yang had dragged Lu Ye along with him after recognizing Lu Ye.
Manager Yang, do you want to enter the Dark Paths? Lu Ye asked. The fact that Manager Yang had mentioned the Dark Paths so abruptly gave him some room to make his own conjectures.
Manager Yang replied, Bring me to the most hidden Dark Path.
Okay! Lu Ye nodded in response. He didnt take more than a few steps when he groaned suddenly and clutched at his chest. The bones in his chest felt a little disced after he took that attack and following behind Manager Yang at such a fast pace had given him no chance of respite at all. At this moment, his movements had pulled at his injury. The pain that followed made him double over and a sheen of sweat oozed out of his forehead.
Manager Yang red at Lu Ye in dissatisfaction. Hesitating for a moment, he dug into the cloth bag hanging at his waist, quickly retrieved a round Spirit Pill about the size of a pea, and handed it to Lu Ye. Eat this!
Lu Ye epted the Spirit Pill but could not tell what kind of Spirit Pill it was. The Qi Blood Pill was the only Spirit Pill he had been exposed to in the one year he spent in this world. Whereas, the Spirit Pill he currently held in his hand was clearly different from the Qi Blood Pill.
Under the current circumstances, it probably wasnt harmful seeing as he was still useful to Manager Yang. It was most likely used for healing purposes. Thus, he stuffed the Spirit Pill into his mouth and chewed on it. He instantly regretted his decision so much that even his intestines turned blue. That was because the Spirit Pill was bitter beyond description.
Why did you chew on it? You should have just swallowed it. This is a Healing Pill, Manager Yang snapped unkindly.
[So it really was a Spirit Pill meant for healing purposes.] Lu Yes expression was scrunched up from the bitterness, but he still needed to express his gratitude. Thank you, Manager Yang.
If you really want to thank me, then hurry up and get a move on! Manager Yang gave Lu Ye a shove.
Hence, Lu Ye had no choice but to get his act together and lead the way in front.
That Spirit Pill might have been incredibly bitter, but the effects were surprisingly good. He felt a rush of heat spreading in his lower abdomen not long after consuming it. Following that, the paining from his chest injury didnt seem as intense as before. Rather, it became sore and itchy. He couldnt help feeling amazed. [Wow! So, its true that bitter medicine works well after all!]
Under Lu Yes lead, the two of them continued to move forward in the criss-crossing paths of the mining tunnels. They asionally came across some mining ves that were heading back to the surface, but Manager Yang killed them all without hesitation.
Lu Yes eyelids twitched at the sight. Nevertheless, the suspicion in his heart became clearer.
About an hourter, the two of them stopped in front of the entrance to a Dark Path. Lu Ye was holding a torch in his hands at this point. It was a torch he took from nearby. He said, Manager Yang, this is the most hidden Dark Path. Once you go inside, take a left at the first intersection. At the second intersection
Before he could finish speaking, Manager Yang kicked him inside. Lead the way!
He felt his heart sinking to the bottom of the abyss. He did not wish to continue leading the way. Judging by Manager Yangs actions along the way here, he knew that he would suffer the same tragic ending once he brought Manager Yang to their destination.
Unfortunately, hisst attempt to escape had failed. Manager Yang clearly had no intention of entering the Dark Paths alone. It was better to have Lu Ye, who was familiar with the terrain, leading the way than to blindly explore the ce on his own. Therefore, Lu Ye had no other option but to continue forward reluctantly.
The paths twisted and turned so much that even Manager Yang, who was a cultivator, could barely remember the way back. Another hour or so went by. Then, the mining tunnel ended ahead with no other way forward. Lu Ye inserted the torch on a hidden pir on the rock wall.
Manager Yang let out a deep breath of relief and sat on the ground to rest. Turning his head to nce at Lu Ye, he couldnt helpughing. You truly are capable. I cant believe you even managed to find a ce like this.
Lu Ye smiled. It was a stroke of luck.
Manager Yang nodded and said nothing more.
Lu Ye said, Ill be taking my leave now, Manager Yang.
Manager Yang lifted his gaze slightly and lightly said, Lu Ye, you are a smart man. Smart men should do smart things.
While speaking, he got to his feet again and slowly approached Lu Ye. The flickering light from the torch made his shadow dance like a ghostly figure.
Lu Ye panicked. What do you mean?
Manager Yang sighed. I guess I might as well exin things to you clearly. The people of Grand Sky Coalition are here. Im afraid we wont be able to defend the mines for long. I came here to escape from the dangers outside. Although I am very grateful to you for bringing me here, I cant let you go back.
Lu Ye backed away slowly. [Its just as I thought.] A vague guess had formed in his heart when he saw Manager Yang killing off those mining ves indiscriminately. Manager Yang was worried that news of him entering the mines would be leaked, so he had to kill anybody and everybody who saw him. On the other hand, the reason he had been so happy to see Lu Ye at the entrance of the mines was that he knew Lu Ye could bring him to a secret ce to hide. Even if the people of Grand Sky Coalition took over the mines, it would not be easy to find him if he was hiding in a ce like this. There was a high possibility that he could escape this catastrophe alive.
It was precisely because Lu Ye was aware of his own situation that he had been trying to get away. But, how could he get away if Manager Yang refused to let him leave?
Then, Ill stay with you and keep youpany. I wont leave. He pressed his back against the rock wall. There was nowhere for him to retreat.
Manager Yang paused for a moment and seemed to consider the idea seriously. Unfortunately, he soon shook his head. I didnt bring a lot of food with me. I dont know how long I will have to hide in this ce either. Although Grand Sky Coalition wont be able to remain here for long, it will take at least a month or two for them to leave. Thats such a long time. You will starve to death by then. How can you even keep mepany? So, Ill give you a quick death as thanks!
There was only a distance of 10 metres between them. As soon as the conversation ended, he struck out at Lu Ye with his palm. His cultivation might not be that powerful, but it was still a piece of cake for him to kill an ordinary person like Lu Ye.
To his surprise, Lu Ye rushed toward him with the mining pick raised up high and viciously brought it smashing down at his head at the exact moment heunched his attack. Although Lu Yes ruthlessness and decisiveness surprised him slightly, that was all it was
On the contrary, what happened next shocked him so much that he nearly lost his soul. He suddenly realized that it was difficult to control the Spiritual Powering from his Spiritual Points. It felt as though there was an inexplicable force restricting his Spiritual Power and he could only mobilize a small amount of it.
In the meantime, the mining pick came smashing down at his head. It was toote for him to avoid the attack, so he could only use the hand he had attacked Lu Ye with to block against the attack. *Crack.* A crisp sound rang out in the air. The mining pick hadnded squarely against his arm and broke his bone. He couldnt help screaming out in pain and shuffling backwards.
Havingnded a sessful blow, Lu Ye felt slightly relieved. [It looks like the rumours I heard in the past were true. I still have a chance of surviving this.]
Even though he had the upper hand, he did not let up on his attacks. He slowly pressed forward, the mining pick in his hand constantly rising and falling in front of him. He actually managed to push Manager Yang so hard that Manager Yang was unable to fight back.
Manager Yang might be a cultivator of Evil Moon Valley, but his cultivation was not powerful. That was why he had been assigned to this position of managing the mines, which practically had no obligations to carry out. He rarely fought desperately against anybody in his life. After all, he could simply use his cultivation to deal with the mining ves; they were like putty in his hands. Be that as it may, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person when his cultivation was greatly suppressed, which resulted in him taking a heavy beating upon encountering an opponent as ruthless and cruel as Lu Ye.
While avoiding Lu Yes fierce barrage of attacks, he stuck his hand into the cloth bag hanging at his waist. A momentter, he raised his hand and a cold light shed.
Lu Ye was taken aback. He hurriedly stopped advancing and used his mining pick to defend. That cold light shed down the front of the mining pick, and the mining pick made of fine iron was cut in half. Looking up, he nced at Manager Yangs hand only to discover that a longsword had appeared in Manager Yangs hand at some unknown point in time. It was something Manager Yang had retrieved from the cloth bag.
Manager Yang swung the sword in his hands threateningly, creating a deterrent that prevented Lu Ye from stepping forward at will.
The situation instantly fell into a stalemate. An ordinary person and a cultivator faced each other in the deepest parts of the mining tunnels. The former had a cold and determined expression. On the other hand, thetter was an utter mess and an intense pain was causing his expression to contort in a grimace.
A Yuan Metal Force Field!? Manager Yang shouted through gritted teeth. Only a short while had passed, but he had already figured out why his Spiritual Power was being suppressed. This ce containedrge quantities of Yuan Metal Ore!
Yuan Metal was an extremely rare mineral. When it came to its value, the value of Yuan Metal was second to none in this entire mine. That was because it was a mineral that was very useful to cultivators. The only downside was that Yuan Metal had a special characteristic. It would emit an invisible and intangible Force Field, and this Force Field would restrict the cirction of all Spiritual Power within its range. A cultivators strength would be greatly reduced if he was caught in this Force Field.
Since Manager Yang had limited cultivation, being enveloped by this Yuan Metal Force Field caused almost all of his Spiritual Power to be suppressed. He was reduced from a superior cultivator to an ordinary person in an instant.
All of a sudden, he recalled that Lu Ye would asionally mine some Yuan Metal over the past year. It was just that other people had mined some too and it had not been arge amount either, so he did not pay much attention to it. There were all kinds of ores in this mine after all.
It would now seem that Lu Ye had always known about this location where a lot of Yuan Metal was located. Even so, he did not mine it excessively in exchange for Contribution Points and only mined some asionally, lest other people covet his secret. It could be seen that he was very calcting.
You deceived me! Manager Yang felt like he was about to lose his mind. Now that things hade to this point, how could he not realize that Lu Ye had brought him to this location on purpose? An ordinary person he thought he could kill with ease had turned around and bared their fangs at him. The realization enraged him greatly. Nevertheless, his arm was broken and he was injured in many ces. Under these circumstances where he could not bring out his cultivation, he knew he was no match for Lu Ye. Therefore, he immediately took decisive action. He turned around and ran.
Upon seeing this scene, Lu Ye instantly had a bad feeling. He only had a little knowledge of the Yuan Metal Force Field. He had heard about the special characteristics from a cultivator of Evil Moon Valley the first time he handed over the Yuan Metal, so he kept that knowledge in mind.
Along the way here, he witnessed the Manager killing off the other mining ves with no mercy. He knew that could only spell trouble for him, so he decided to bring Manager Yang to this ce. Before he broke Manager Yangs arm, he had not been certain if the Yuan Metal Force Field in this ce could limit Manager Yangs power.
Fortunately, the Heavens were on his side. The Yuan Metal Force Field really did hamper Manager Yangs power. Even so, the range of the Yuan Metal Force Field was limited. [I will die the moment Manager Yang leaves the range of the Force Field! I cannot let him escape!]
He steeled his heart, bent down, picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground, and threw it at Manager Yang with all his strength.
Manager Yang, who was running away in a panic, never expected Lu Ye to have such an underhanded trick up his sleeves. Consequently, he was hit in the back of the head and stumbled to the ground. Before he could stand up, a whistling sound of something cutting through the wind rang out in his ears. He quickly flipped over and saw Lu Ye rushing forward while shing at him with the other half of the mining pick that was still in Lu Yes hands. There was no way to escape this time!
At that critical moment of life and death, Manager Yang shouted, Lets die together!
At the same time, he stabbed forward fiercely with the longsword in his hand! In the next moment, his head was smashed in by the mining pick. Lu Ye didnt feel safe enough, so he struck a few more times. It wasnt until he saw the body twitching uncontrobly in front of him that he was convinced that the other party was dead.
Then, an intense pain came from his thigh. He looked down and saw a longsword stuck in his leg. It was the sword that had been in Manager Yangs hands. It turned out that he had been stabbed at some point in time, but he didnt even notice until now. Throwing the mining pick down, he sat down on the ground heavily, took in huge gulps of air, and appreciated the beauty of life.
Chapter 3: Enlightenment
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye did not rest for too long. There was still a sword stuck in his leg, and intense pain was assaulting his nerves. Besides, the spot where he was injured was not good. It would be over if the injury had hit a vital spot. Therefore, he began checking on his wound after a short rest. He reached out to tear open the clothing surrounding his wound. After examining his injuries carefully, he finally breathed out a sigh of relief. The injury might look bad, but it was just a flesh wound.
Even so, he did not mindlessly pull out the sword. That was because he would inevitably suffer massive blood loss the moment he pulled out the sword. If he failed to handle things well, he might faint after a short while. First, he tore the clothes he was wearing into long strips of cloth and tied them tightly around his leg, starting from the base of his thigh. Subsequently, hepletely stripped away the clothes surrounding the injured area to reveal the location of his wound.
After that, he cast his gaze toward the waist area of Manager Yangs corpse. There was a fist-sized cloth bag hanging there. He could recognize that item. It was what cultivators called a Storage Bag. Both the Healing Pill Manager Yang had given him previously and the sword stuck in his leg had been taken out of this Storage Bag. A cultivators Storage Bag generally carried all of their belongings.
Hence, he pulled Manager Yangs body over to him and retrieved the Storage Bag hanging around Manager Yangs waist. He studied the item carefully and was amazed. Arge space seemed to be contained inside this small cloth bag, allowing it to store many things inside.
He still didnt know much about cultivation-rted matters despite being in Jiu Zhou for more than a year, but he had heard a lot about the items in the Cultivation World. It was said that every cultivators Storage Bag had a mysterious and invisible lock on it. This lock could only be unlocked by the cultivator themselves. Even if other people got their hands on the Storage Bag, they could not open the Storage Bag easily unless they had special means to break the lock. That kind of lock was known among the cultivators as a Restraining Lock!
Although the Storage Bag in Lu Yes hands looked like a cloth bag, it was actually made from the skin of an unknown animal. He secretly prayed in his heart. [Please dont let this Storage Bag be locked.]
Opening the bag, he reached his hand inside nervously
Soon, a look of joy spread over his face. This Storage Bag had not been locked! He could already feel some of the contents inside the Storage Bag. Thinking about it, it made sense. When Manager Yang was faced with danger, he had hurriedly taken out a longsword from within the Storage Bag to confront his enemy. At the time, his cultivation had been obstructed by the Yuan Metal Force Field. Where would he find the time or energy to lock his Storage Bag?
[Im saved!] Lu Ye calmed down considerably and kept taking out the contents of the Storage Bag. He was looking for the Qi Blood Pill, as well as the Healing Pill Manager Yang had given to him before. After pulling out the swordter, he would surely suffer from blood loss. He could lessen the dangers if he could use the Qi Blood Pill to replenish his Qi and Blood. In addition, the Healing Pill was undoubtedly an excellent item that would also be suitable for the current circumstances.
Soon, a messy pile of stuff formed next to him There were bottles and jars, tons of food, a fewrge water sacs, some books, and even some toilet paper. He couldnt help feeling rather speechless. However, there was nothing wrong with bringing some extra items considering Manager Yang had escaped to this ce to seek refuge from the dangers outside.
He searched through the bottles and quickly found the Qi Blood Pills and Healing Pills that he needed. There were many of the Qi Blood Pills. There were as many as 10 bottles, and each bottle contained 20 to 30 pills. Meanwhile, there was only one bottle of Healing Pills with 7 or 8 left inside.
Manager Yang had been in charge of providing Qi Blood Pills to the mining ves in exchange for Contribution Points, so it was only natural for him to carry aroundrge quantities of Qi Blood Pills. This made Lu Ye extremely happy. In the past, he needed 10 Contribution Points just to obtain 1 Qi Blood Pill. He only managed to obtain 30 pills over the course of a year. On the other hand, he instantly received 200 to 300 of those Qi Blood Pills all at once just by killing Manager Yang. [Im rich!]
He took out a Qi Blood Pill and prepared to consume it. Pondering for a moment, he added two more pills and stuffed them into his mouth. It wasnt that he didnt want to eat more of them but that it was pointless to eat so many of them in one go. Then, he took out the Healing Pills and swallowed one.
Immediately after that, he grabbed one of therge water sacs, untied the mouth of the bag, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and used the clean water to wash his wound. A slightly chilly feeling spread across his wound. Although the water agitated his injury, it also brought about a bit of coolness at the same time. His forehead oozed with sweat. When he finished cleaning his wound, he took out another Healing Pill and set it aside forter use.
He had done what he needed to do. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword and yanked it out abruptly. At that moment, his entire body shuddered in response. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and did not make a single sound.
He had no time for dys. He swiftly picked up the Healing Pill he had set aside earlier, crushed it into powder in his hands, and scattered the powder on his wound. Healing Pills could be consumed directly, but he did not know whether it had any effect if used externally. Thus, he could only give it a try.
Untying the clothes tied around the base of his thigh, he bandaged his wound properly. After all his efforts, he was practically soaked in sweat. Hey down directly on the ground and didnt feel like moving in the slightest as he gradually lost consciousness.
He did not know how long had passed by the time he woke up again. He struggled to sit up and leaned against the rock wall. Then, he lifted a hand and pressed the area around the injury on his leg. Although it hurt, there was no inmmation. That was a good thing. It would seem that both consuming the Healing Pill and applying it externally had worked. The most dangerous period was over, and he finally rxed slightly.
A rumbling sound came from his stomach. Before encountering Manager Yang, he had not eaten anything for more than half a day. He nned to exchange his Contribution Points for some food after turning in the ores he had harvested. Who could have known that Manager Yang would force him to enter the depths of the mining tunnels? Afterwards, he even fought a deadly battle with Manager Yang and was wounded in the end. Fortunately, he found a lot of food in Manager Yangs Storage Bag. Taking out a piece of dried meat, he ate it with some water to wash it down.
His hunger slowly faded. Since this ce was practically inessible and he was safe for the time being, he gradually began showing interest in the items Manager Yang left behind. While eating, he rifled through the items he had taken out of Manager Yangs Storage Bag. He could recognize the Qi Blood Pills and Healing Pills. However, there were some Spirit Pills that he had never seen before. He had no idea what they were used for. Moreover, some of those Spirit Pills were exuding a pungent spell. It was obviously something nasty.
Putting those Spirit Pills aside, Lu Ye casually picked up a book and flipped through it under the flickering torchlight. The contents of the book instantly enraptured him. It would seem that Manager Yang had been a rather passionate man. That book wasnt just rich in content, but it was also rich in pictures. He did not know who had drawn those pictures, but those pictures were incredibly skilful. They were very detailed and life-like
His physical condition was very weak at the moment. It was not a suitable time to read this kind of erotic content. Thus, he tossed it to the side and picked up another book. This book contained words on the cover. Reading the title, it turned out to be a biography of a Sword Saint. That aroused his interest, so he read a few pages of it only to discover that it was a storybook.
Tossing that book to the side, he picked up the third book. When he read the title on the cover, his heart skipped a beat. [The Golden Liberation Technique!?] He hurriedly flipped through it, and his expression became increasingly excited. It was a book on cultivation techniques! It was simr to the first book. It was filled with pictures and texts, which were very easy to understand. From the looks of it, it seemed to be the cultivation technique that Manager Yang had been cultivating.
Following his excitement, he suddenly realized a very real problem. He had yet to unlock his Spiritual Points. Even with a cultivation technique ced right in front of him, it waspletely useless to him. He sighed softly and ced the Golden Liberation Technique down. Since he couldnt cultivate it, there was no point in reading it any further. He had tried unlocking his Spiritual Points over the course of the year but his efforts had proven fruitless so far.
After a moment of depression, he picked up Manager Yangs Storage Bag again. There were still some items inside that he had not taken out yet. Reaching his hand into the bag, he took out the items, one by one. He did not find anything else that seemed valuable, but there were many rare ores. Among those rare ores were several fist-sized pieces of Yuan Metal. These were probably the ores that Manager Yang had secretly stashed away. Who knows what he had nned to do with them?
Lu Ye had mined a lot of rare minerals after mining in this ce for a year, so he had seen most of these ores before. Even if he didnt know what they were called or what they were used for, he had seen them all before. That was until he took out a dark red piece of ore that was the size of a persons head
He had never seen something like this before, and he did not know which mining ve had mined this piece of ore either. In the end, it had eventually ended up in Manager Yangs possession. It was a bit strange, but most items were valuable precisely because they were rare. Something even he had never seen before must be of great value.
Just as he was about to put down that ore, he felt his psyche bing disoriented for a moment. Immediately after that, a blurry shadow appeared in front of him and transformed into a tree. It was that Shadowy Tree!
He was greatly astonished. There was one condition for the Shadowy Tree to appear, the condition being that he needed to focus. Moreover, it did not appear every time. Sometimes, it would appear; sometimes, it wouldnt. But, the Shadowy Tree had shown up all by itself this time.
While he was trying to make sense of the situation, that vague Shadowy Tree suddenly grew roots, and those tree roots then plunged into the dark red ore in his hand.
In the next moment, a cracking sound rang out and the ore split into two. An orange-yellow light entered his vision, frightening him out of his wits. That was because the ore had cracked open to reveal a fire inside!
He subconsciously tried to throw the ball of fire away, but that fire was stuck to his hands. He could not get it off his hands no matter how he wrung his hands. In that short moment of panic, he suddenly realized that the changes in the dark red ore were probably rted to the appearance of the Shadowy Tree. What amazed him even more was that he didnt feel any sensation of being burned.
Meanwhile, the orange-yellow me was shrinking rapidly as if it was being absorbed by something. In just a few moments, that ball of fire vanished before his very eyes. He was still caught up in his astonishment when a scorching force surged up from his dantian. That force drew upon the strength of his Qi and blood, converging toward that location.
An unspeakable pain followed. He suddenly felt a tremendous force stirring in his lower abdomen, almost as if it was going to rip him apartpletely. He couldnt help groaning in pain, and his clothes were instantly soaked in sweat. Just when he thought he was going to die, a soft sound came from his lower abdomen. He could sense that something had been broken at that moment.
The pain quickly disappeared. At the same time, the world in Lu Yes eyes underwent a wondrous change. A strange and surreal feeling bloomed in him. He could distinctly sense a mysterious power gathering around his dantian in his lower abdomen. Then, a wave of overwhelming surprise washed over him He had unlocked his Spiritual Points!
Chapter 4: Skill Tree
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Amidst the crackling sounds, the weak me flickered and finally died out. The torch inserted in the hidden pir had burned out. Although the hidden mining tunnel was plunged into darkness, Lu Ye did not lose his sightpletely. His surroundings that should have beenpletely filled with a pitch-ck darkness still contained some faint light in his vision. He could see the outline of Manager Yangs corpse not far away, as well as the cold lighting from the sword he had previously tossed aside
It wasnt that the mining tunnel wasnt dark. It was simply that his eyesight had improved. After unlocking his Spiritual Points, he could clearly feel that his body had undergone some mysterious changes. Even his body that was weakened by injury had given birth to a lot of strength.
Haha Hahaha Hahahaha He burst into wildughter. His maniacalughter echoed in this confined and enclosed environment. It wasnt until his movements pulled at his injury that he hurriedly stoppedughing.
Suppressing the joy in his heart, he thought back on the changes just now. He was certain that his sudden Enlightenment was rted to the Shadowy Tree. It was also rted to that piece of dark red ore that he had never seen before. [No. The ore is not the key. The key lies in that ball of orange-yellow me inside the ore!] When the Shadowy Tree grew tree roots and devoured that me, he had achieved Enlightenment as a result. However, the Shadowy Tree had never experienced such changes before. The changes were probably caused by the stimtion of that orange-yellow me
It would seem that his previous conjecture had been correct. That Shadowy Tree was indeed capable of helping him out in mysterious ways. It was just that he had failed to find the right method all this time.
Sorting out his thoughts, he quickly focused his mind. He wanted to see how the Shadowy Tree looked now. The Shadowy Tree had absorbed that orange-yellow me, there must be some changes to it anyhow. Perhaps it was because he was too emotional, but even though he tried to concentrate, he could not detect that Shadowy Tree again. Simr situations often happened in the past, and the cause was always ack of concentration.
He took several deep breaths and calmed down. Then, he tried again after waiting for some time. This time around, the Shadowy Tree sessfully reappeared in his vision. Sure enough, it was just as he thought. The originally grey and blurry Shadowy Tree had undergone some changes.
.
In general, the Shadowy Tree had the same appearance as before. The tree roots that grew out previously were nowhere to be seen. The only difference was a single leaf shrouded in zing fire near the bottom of the canopy. It looked as if it was on fire.
Lu Ye focused his attention and fixed his gaze on that burning leaf. He could vaguely make out a veryplicated and intricate pattern imprinted on the leaf. Concentrating hard, he tried to see the pattern clearly. All of a sudden, an unexpected change urred!
That small leaf was repeatedly magnified in front of his eyes until it obstructed his vision in an instant. At the same time, arge amount of inexplicable information flooded into his mind unchecked. He suddenly felt as though somebody had smashed his head in with arge sledgehammer. He didnt even manage to make a single sound before passing out.
When he regained consciousness again, he felt extremely dizzy. Moreover, his head was about to split open from the pain. He shook his head slightly, gritted his teeth, and sat up with his back leaning against the rock wall.
He thought back on what happened before he lost consciousness and was surprised to discover that his head was filled with all sorts of information that he had never seen before. Furthermore, this information was ingrained so deeply that it felt like they were his own memories. Gathering hisposure, he carefully went over these memories that should never have existed and quickly understood the whole story.
The cause was still the Shadowy Tree. After devouring that orange-yellow me, a burning leaf appeared on the Shadowy Tree as a result. That leaf had a mysterious pattern on it, which containedrge quantities of magical knowledge. Thus, that knowledge was forcibly downloaded into his mind when he studied the leaf carefully.
Sharp Edge! That was the information contained in the leaf. It was a Spiritual Pattern called Sharp Edge. He had heard of Spiritual Patterns before. It was something that contained mysterious power. In addition, it was closely rted to the life, cultivation, and battle of the cultivators. There seemed to be people who specialized in studying Spiritual Patterns and were known as Spiritual Pattern Masters. It was just that researching Spiritual Patterns was not easy, so there were very few of them.
After understanding this, he tried to mobilize the Spiritual Power in his Spiritual Point. However, he found that the Spiritual Power in his Spiritual Point was so heavy that he couldnt mobilize it at all. Mulling over it for a moment, he recalled that he was still being enveloped in the Yuan Metal Force Field. How could it be easy to mobilize his Spiritual Power? Even Manager Yang had died in his hands because of this reason.
He stood up and hobbled into the distance. While walking, he tested the reaction of his Spiritual Power in his Spiritual Point. It wasnt until he could mobilize his Spiritual Power that he stopped walking. This position was outside the range of the Yuan Metal Force Field. The Spiritual Power that felt so heavy just now became incredibly active. With a little directive from him, it flowed throughout his body. The ces where it flowed felt warm andfortable. He had never had such an experience before and was extremely amazed as a result.
After fooling around for a bit, he remembered the Spiritual Pattern. It was practically instinctive; he poured his Spiritual Power into his palm and a brilliant light shed on the palm of his hand in an instant. Although it onlysted for a fleeting moment, he saw it clearly. That light was an extremelyplicated and intricate pattern. It was the exact same pattern as the one on the burning leaf!
This is Sharp Edge? He looked down at his palm. Logically speaking, he had just unlocked his Spiritual Point. He barely even knew how to use his Spiritual Power, let alone use his Spiritual Power to construct a Spiritual Pattern. Nevertheless, he managed to seed in doing just that so easily as though he had practiced countless times before.
The palm of his hand was glowing faintly like an enormous firefly. Moreover, bursts of tingling pain came from his palm, making him feel as though there were many needles piercing into his flesh. It was just a single palm, and yet, that palm gave off an extremely sharp vibe. He felt like he could split a stone into two with a single palm strike!
When that thought crossed his mind, he immediately dragged a rock the size of a small basin over to him. This kind of rock could be found anywhere in the mine. It had no value whatsoever. cing the rock in front of him, he raised his palm and chopped down on the rock. That rock the size of a small basin cracked down the middle with a loud sound. The incision down the middle was neat and tidy.
He was stunned. The thought that he could split a tone with his bare hands had crossed his mind just now, but he never thought that it would have such an effect. [This isnt splitting; this is slicing! And, the thing that sliced this rock in half was my hand!]
All of this could only be done with the enchantment from Sharp Edge. This Spiritual Pattern seemed to work by making the enchanted object incredibly sharp. [I once watched a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley smash a rock with his hand and was greatly shocked at the time. From the looks of things, I seem to have gained the ability to do that too. Whats more, I can do it better. This is just slicing rocks What if I sliced a Human?]
The light shining from his palm slowly began to fade after he sliced through the rock. It was caused by exhaustion of Spiritual Power. At the same time, he felt as though his body waspletely empty and an infinite sense of weakness washed over him. His Mind had been broken. Despite having just attained Enlightenment, he formed a Spiritual Pattern in a moment of insatiable curiosity and went way beyond his limits. Thus, he was experiencing a serious overuse of power.
A wave of fatigue struck him. He tried to endure it. If he fell asleep at a time like this, he wasnt sure if he could wake up again. Hurrying back to the ce from before, he picked up a bottle of Qi Blood Pills, took out a few, and stuffed them into his mouth. Then, he picked up another piece of meat and forced himself to takerge bites out of it. As the Qi Blood Pills came into effect, it gradually filled his entire body with energy and the feeling of weakness slowly subsided.
Leaning back against the rock wall, he sorted out his thoughts. After the Shadowy Tree that had been apanying him for more than a year devoured that ball of orange-yellow me, he unlocked his Spiritual Points and became a cultivator. Subsequently, he discovered a burning leaf when he was checking the Shadowy Tree for changes and obtained the Spiritual Pattern, Sharp Edge, from that burning leaf
At this moment, Lu Ye couldnt help feeling a strong sense of dj vu when he looked at the Shadowy Tree again. He pondered in silence for a moment and the realization suddenly dawned on him. Isnt this a Skill Tree?
Chapter 5: Plan
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
[If a single leaf on the Skill Tree contains a Spiritual Pattern like Sharp Edge, then what about the other leaves? Will they also contain other Spiritual Patterns!? If I can light up more leaves, then wont I be able to obtain even more knowledge on Spiritual Patterns!?] Thinking about the huge canopy and the countless leaves hanging from the Skill Tree, Lu Ye couldnt help feeling fired up.
[How can I light up the other leaves?] He had a few vague guesses in his heart, but there was no way to confirm those conjectures right now. He could only wait until an opportunity arose in the future to confirm those ideas. All he could do right now was to unlock even more Spiritual Points as soon as possible to increase his cultivation.
The first Spiritual Point all cultivators would unlock was the Spiritual Point located at their dantian. This was the starting point of ones cultivation known as the Source Spiritual Point. How the rest of the Spiritual Points would be unlocked afterward would depend on the kind of cultivation techniques cultivated by the respective cultivators. Different cultivation techniques would unlock Spiritual Points at different locations. The more Spiritual Points they unlocked, the higher their cultivation.
[The Golden Liberation Technique wille in handy now!] He quietly quelled his excitement a little. Picking up Manager Yangs Storage Bag, he began packing up the stuff. It wasnt until this moment that he realized, to his astonishment, that his palm engraved with the Sharp Edge earlier was riddled with holes. It looked like it had been pierced by countless needles and had bled out quite a bit.
Caught up in his excitement, he had not felt anything until now. However, a constant throbbing pain agitated his nerves now that he finally noticed the injury. Thus, he quietly reflected on his actions. [It looks like if I ever obtain any other Spiritual Patterns in the future, I must not use it on my own body so carelessly.]
He soon packed up all the things he took out before and moved away from the range of the Yuan Metal Force Field.
At present, Lu Ye had two optionsid out in front of him. The first was to leave the mine. The reason Manager Yang entered the mine was to escape from the dangers outside. The people from Grand Sky Coalition had attacked this ce and there was no way the forces of Evil Moon Valley stationed at this mine could defend this ce, so he chose to hide away in advance. After all, it would surely bode ill for him due to his status as a disciple of Evil Moon Valley if the mine was seized by the opposing party.
[If I can meet up with the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition, I will be able to escape from this sea of suffering. I will no longer need to remain in this ce and be oppressed again in the future.]
Unfortunately, that was not a wise choice. Manager Yang had escaped into the mine after receiving news of the impending attack. Simrly, there would surely be other disciples of Evil Moon Valley who had entered the mine too. That would mean the current period was the most chaotic period. It would be best if he could sessfully get out of the mine. However, if he identally ran into any of the other disciples of Evil Moon Valley who had escaped into the mine He would surely end up with the same fate as those mining ves that Manager Yang had indiscriminately killed previously.
Therefore, he chose the second option. He was going to stay put and remain here for the time being. This ce was extremely hidden. Most people would not be able to enter this ce. Moreover, it was easy to attack and defend. If any of the disciples of Evil Moon Valley managed to identally barge into this ce, he could borrow the power of the Yuan Metal Force Field to ambush his opponents. That would give him some chance of fighting back. Besides, his injury had yet to heal and it was difficult for him to move around.
He recalled the words Manager Yang had mentioned before. If he remembered correctly, Manager Yang had said something along these lines: The people of Grand Sky Coalition are here. We wont be able to defend the mines for long. Grand Sky Coalition wont be able to remain here for long, but it will still take them at least a month or two to leave.
The meaning behind these words was very obvious. Manager Yang had been certain that even if Grand Sky Coalition managed to capture this ce, they could not keep this mine in their possession for long. For that reason, they would leave this ce in a month or two. Control over the mine would then fall back into Evil Moon Valleys hands.
Putting together all the information he had at the moment, Lu Ye concocted a n in his heart. He nned to stay here to recuperate and cultivate. Then, he would leave the mine within a month to look for the people of Grand Sky Coalition to remove himself from this sea of suffering!
He felt a lot more at ease after making up his mind. The most difficult time of his life was over. Now that he had sessfully unlocked his Spiritual Point and there was a Skill Tree growing by his side, his future was bright and vast. There was no need to rush right now.
Once he found a suitable location, he brought out some bedding from Manager Yangs Storage Bag, spread it out on the ground, sat on it quietly, and took out the book titled Golden Liberation Technique to study it carefully.
The mining tunnel was filled with pitch-ck darkness. Fortunately, he had sessfully achieved Enlightenment. Otherwise, he would not have been able to see anything. He soon discovered something interesting. If he gathered his Spiritual Power around his eyes, the things he saw would be a little clearer. It was a pity that he had only unlocked his Source Spiritual Point, so his Spiritual Power was very limited and could not be maintained for a long time.
He ate when he was hungry and slept when he was sleepy. Aside from the slightlycking environment, there was nothing else he had toin about. In any case, he was currently immersed in the excitement of unlocking his first Spiritual Point. He did not have many requirements for the environment he was living in.
There was no way to calcte how much time had passed, so he didnt know how much time had passed. He could only guess that several days had passed. The injuries on his leg and his hand had almost healedpletely. Since unlocking his Spiritual Point and bing a cultivator, it would seem that his physical fitness had improved significantly. If he was stabbed in the leg in the past, he would have needed more than 10 days of recuperation before he could even walk around. Of course, it could also be rted to the fact that he was consuming the Qi Blood Pills every single day.
After studying the Golden Liberation Technique, he discovered that he could not use the cultivation technique for the time being. It wasnt because there was something wrong with the cultivation technique. It was simply that he had only just unlocked his Source Spiritual Point. There were other conditions that needed to be met if he wanted to unlock his next Spiritual Point.
If the Spiritual Points werepared to ake in a cultivators body, then the water in theke was the cultivators Spiritual Power. Therefore, the more Spiritual Points a cultivator unlocked, the greater the Spiritual Power contained in their body. Unfortunately, the prerequisite to unlocking the next Spiritual Point was that the previous Spiritual Point had reached its full potential. To put it simply, it required his Spiritual Power to fill his Spiritual Point to the brim.
In his case, what he needed to do right now was to continue cultivating. He had to strengthen and umte his Spiritual Power in his Source Spiritual Point. When his Spiritual Power filled his Source Spiritual Point to the brim, he would finally be able to unlock his next Spiritual Point. Only then would he need to use the Golden Liberation Technique.
There were several ways to strengthen ones Spiritual Power.
The mostmon method was to consume Spirit Pills for cultivation purposes. Spirit Pills could transform into Spiritual Power and charge up a cultivators Spiritual Points.
The second method was to absorb Spiritual Qi. Spiritual Qi existed in any environment. It was only a matter of how much could be found in any environment. Once a cultivator unlocked their Spiritual Points, they could sense the existence of the Spiritual Qi. They could take the Spiritual Qi into their body and refine it to strengthen their cultivation.
The third method was to use Spirit Stones. That was something he had only heard of before but never saw for himself.
Thest method was to refine ones vitality into Qi. A cultivator could also achieve the purpose of cultivation by first strengthening their own vitality, and then refining that vitality into Spiritual Power.
These methods had their own advantages and disadvantages. It could not be generalized.
Lu Ye had never joined the ranks of the cultivators before. Nevertheless, he often heard the other mine ves talking about cultivation matters. Everybody would talk about these topics with a great yearning, hoping that they would one day be able to make it big and change their fate. He had picked up some of the talk, so he understood a little of the basics.
In his current circumstances, he could not use the first method. He did not have any Spirit Pills for cultivation. Although he was certain there were some in Manager Yangs Storage Bag, there were so many bottles and jars. He had no way to differentiate between them and did not dare to experiment rashly. Meanwhile, he had tried the second method. He did not know if it was due to the presence of the Yuan Metal Force Field or some other reason. In any case, he could not sense the existence of Spiritual Qi and could not absorb it as a result. The only method he could use was refining his vitality into Qi.
Chapter 6: Encounter
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Consuming Qi Blood Pills could strengthen ones vitality. One could then obtain more Spiritual Power by using ones Spiritual Power in their Spiritual Points to refine their vitality. At the moment, that was the only method that Lu Ye could use to cultivate with the benefits he obtained from the personal effects of Manager Yang.
He had tallied the number of Qi Blood Pills previously. There were a total of 253 Qi Blood Pills, which was not a small number. He originally thought that so many Qi Blood Pills would be enough for his use. However, he only just discovered that these Qi Blood Pills would notst long once he actually started cultivating.
The first time he cultivated, he only managed to refine the medicinal efficacies of 2 Qi Blood Pills. He had never done this before, so it took him a long time to figure out how to refine his vitality into Qi. During his second attempt, he managed to refine 4 Qi Blood Pills. He was starting to get the hang of it after some practice.
The third time, he refined 6 Qi Blood Pills
The fourth time, he refined 10 Qi Blood Pills
The more he cultivated, the faster his consumption of the Qi Blood Pills. That was because the Spiritual Power in his Spiritual Point was increasing by the day. The more Spiritual Power he had, the higher his efficiency in refining his vitality into Qi, and the greater his consumption of Qi Blood Pills.
He finally understood one thing. The Qi Blood Pills were truly nothing great after all. Otherwise, there was no reason for a newly Enlightened cultivator like him to consume those pills so quickly. A true cultivator most likely had some special Spirit Pills for cultivation while cultivating. It was a pity he could not recognize any of those Spirit Pills and did not dare to try them out recklessly.
The mine was dank and gloomy. He did not know how much time had passed. When he finished consuming all the Qi Blood Pills in his possession, he knew that it was time for him to leave. It wasnt because he had run out of cultivation resources. It was because he had nothing left to eat.
Since he started refining his vitality into Qi, his appetite had increased greatly. Manager Yang had brought a lot of food with him. If he had rationed the food carefully, it could havested him for two months. He nned to hide here for quite some time after all. How could he be inadequately prepared?
Although there was no way for him to calcte time urately, he estimated that more than a dozen days had passed since he started cultivating. The benefits he gained from this period of cultivation were not great but not small either.
The Spiritual Power in his Source Spiritual Point had been filled to the brim. In other words, he had the qualifications to unlock his next Spiritual Point and cultivate the Golden Liberation Technique. It was just that when he tried to unlock his second Spiritual Point ording to the guide written in the Golden Liberation Technique, he could not find the right location. Not only did he fail in his cultivation, but he also wasted a lot of Spiritual Power for no reason.
[No wonder I heard people saying that cultivation matters require the guidance of their Elders. Who knows how many detours I will need to take before I can figure things out myself?] For that reason, he was still just a cultivator who had only unlocked his first Spiritual Point despite consuming all the Qi Blood Pills in his possession. The injuries on his body had healedpletely, so they did not hinder his movements.
Rather, he was troubled over how he was going to deal with Manager Yangs Storage Bag. He was quite reluctant to leave it here. It was everything Manager Yang had owned after all. Leaving aside the other items, some of those rare ores were very valuable. He had no family nor friends in this world or any Elders to take care of him. He would surely need to consume many resources in the future. With Manager Yangs personal effects in his possession, at the very least, he would not need to worry about ack of cultivation resources for the time being.
Nevertheless, it was not appropriate to carry this Storage Bag on him either. This was the Cultivation World. Fortune begot greed and it was not umon for killings to take ce. If a cultivator who had only unlocked a single Spiritual Point like himself carried such a precious Storage Bag around, it was hard to guarantee that others would not mean him harm when they saw the Storage Bag.
After considering it for some time, he decided to bring the Storage Bag along with him. Wealth always came with danger; if he missed this opportunity, he might nevere across another chance to obtain such windfall again.
Once he made up his mind, he returned to the ce where he killed Manager Yang before and picked up his mining pick that had been cut in half. Since he had decided to bring the Storage bag along with him, he could not leave the Yuan Metal in this ce behind. These ores were very valuable after all.
Raising his mining pick again, he began sweating profusely like rain. He had been mining for more than a year now, so he had long gotten familiar with the work. Moreover, he was much more efficient than before now that he had a foundation of Spiritual Power. He mined the Yuan Metal, piece after piece, and stored them into the Storage Bag. It wasnt until he finished mining all of the Yuan Metal in this ce that he finally tossed the mining pick aside. [If everything goes smoothly, I will never need to use this ever again!]
Afterward, he took off his clothes, ced the Storage Bag close to his body, and tied it to his body with strips of cloth. By doing it this way, the Storage Bag would not be exposed unless he was stripped and searched. However, he took out the longsword that belonged to Manager Yang in advance. His journey might not be safe, and having a weapon at hand would allow him to respond to an emergency.
When everything was prepared, Lu Ye took a deep breath and followed the route in his memory toward the outside. He was very cautious along the way. Scared that a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley would pop out of the shadows, he did not dare to go too far lest he revealed his whereabouts.
Unfortunately, the more afraid one was, the more likely that fear woulde true. When he rounded a corner in the dark and entered a mining tunnel, his figure suddenly froze in ce. Not far ahead, a figure was leaning with his back against the rock wall of the mining tunnel and panting lightly. Moreover, there was a faint smell of blood in the air
Lu Ye was just about to retreat, but it was toote. That person turned to look in Lu Yes direction and immediately eximed in surprise, Lu Ye!?
Lu Ye instantly felt his heart clenching in fear. The fact that his face could be seen in this darkness indicated that that person was a cultivator. Furthermore, a person that could recognize him could only be one of the cultivators of Evil Moon Valley.
Sure enough; if Manager Yang would think of taking refuge in the mine, then so would the other cultivators of Evil Moon Valley. Who knew how many people from Evil Moon Valley were currently hidden inside the mine?
The gears in his head spun quickly. He gathered his Spiritual Power in his eyes and finally saw the other partys face clearly. It was one of the cultivators in the mine named Zhou Cheng. Zhou Cheng worked under Manager Yang and had a lower status than Manager Yang. His cultivation was probably weaker than Manager Yangs too. In addition, he seemed to be injured. The smell of blood wasing from his body.
Come here! Zhou Cheng lowered his voice and called out to Lu Ye.
Okay! Lu Ye immediately responded. He strode forward toward Zhou Cheng, his speed increasing as he walked.
Zhou Cheng immediately sensed that something was amiss. The main reason was that Lu Ye was holding a sword in his hands. Thus, he frowned. Where did you get that sword?
That sword looked like the sword given to all the cultivators of Evil Moon Valley. It was very problematic for Lu Ye to be having it in his possession.
Lu Ye did not respond. He was only 10 metres away from Zhou Cheng at this point.
Zhou Cheng finally noticed the killing intenting from Lu Ye. Hence, he hurriedly got to his feet and shouted through gritted teeth. Im going to kill you, you little motherf*cker!
With that said, he raised his sword and stabbed toward Lu Ye. That longsword was imbued with Spiritual Power. In the dark, it glowed with a bright light. That sword wasnt anything special. It was just that pouring Spiritual Power into the longsword increased the damage it inflicted. With an ordinary person like Lu Ye as his opponent, it was only natural that he believed it to be more than enough to get rid of Lu Ye. Thest person who thought that way was Manager Yang, and his corpse had already begun to rot.
Meanwhile, the Sword Light rapidly expanded in Lu Yes vision. He directed all his Spiritual Power to gather around his eyes, and the entire world seemed to slow down significantly.
It was different from the time he borrowed the power of the Yuan Metal Force Field to ambush Manager Yang. This was the first time he was fighting against another cultivator in a direct confrontation. Therefore, he could not afford to hesitate or falter in the slightest. Fortunately, this cultivators cultivation was not that powerful. He was also heavily injured, which was why Lu Ye dared to go in for the kill.
When that longsword was about to hit him, he slid sideways and dodged the attack by a hair. Then, he raised the longsword in his hand and countered. At the same time, a mysterious andplicated pattern shed across the longsword. It was the blessing of Sharp Edge!
Chapter 7: Escaping the Sea of Suffering
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye did not know how powerful Zhou Chengs cultivation was, but it was ultimately much stronger than his. Even if Zhou Cheng was injured, it was still impossible for a newly Enlightened cultivator like Lu Ye to haphazardly fight him. Besides, the intent to kill could only be executed when apanied by the corresponding methods. Sharp Edge was Lu Yes means to do so!
When Lu Ye had nothing better to do before, he had tried experimenting with a few things. He discovered that the Spiritual Pattern, Sharp Edge, could not only be applied to his palm but also to weapons. Moreover, it was much more effective.
The light that zed out for an instant caused Zhou Cheng to nk out in confusion. [When did Lu Ye be a cultivator!?]
The two swords shed against each other, apanied by a loud sound of metal breaking. He was shocked to discover that his longsword had been cut in half. This situation frightened him very much. Having his weapon broken in front of his enemy was undoubtedly a huge mental blow.
While Zhou Cheng was frozen in shock, Lu Ye followed up with a second attack. After breaking Zhou Chengs sword, he immediately lifted his sword and shed at Zhou Chengs neck. He did not know any forms of swordsmanship nor any mysterious moves, so he could only use the crudest shing movements.
Zhou Cheng was scared out of his wits. At this moment, they were too close to each other and it was toote for him to dodge backward. Thus, he could only call upon what little Spiritual Power that remained in his body to protect himself. Logically speaking, his cultivation should have been enough to withstand the attack of a cultivator like Lu Ye, who had only unlocked one Spiritual Point. Even if the other party held a weapon, the attack should not be able to pass through his Spiritual Powers defences.
Contrary to his expectations, the protection formed from his Spiritual Power did not disy the effect it should have when that longsword came shing down. The longsword sliced through thatyer of protection and subsequently shed across his neck.
The sound of a sharp weapon slicing through flesh rang out, and Lu Ye felt several drops of warm blood sttering across his face.
You bastard! Zhou Cheng was livid. He couldnt believe a mining ve had injured him so in a moment of carelessness. Lifting his hand, he struck toward Lu Ye.
However, Lu Ye had already released his grip on the longsword and turned around to run back into the depths of the mine without looking back. The sounds of Zhou Cheng chasing him came from behind, and he ran even faster. He gradually stopped hearing any soundsing from behind him and finally came to a halt.
He waited for a little while longer before turning around to return in the direction he came from. Along the way, he found Zhou Cheng copsed on the ground. He couldnt be sure if the other party was dead. Therefore, he picked up some rocks by his feet and threw them at Zhou Cheng. Zhou Cheng did not react at all. Mustering up his courage, he walked over to Zhou Cheng and looked down. Zhou Cheng was lying in arge pool of blood that stained the ground red.? The long sword was still stuck in his neck, and he was no longer breathing.
Although Lu Yes second attack had not taken Zhou Cheng Life directly, it had severed more than half of Zhou Chengs neck. There was no way Zhou Cheng could survive with such a serious injury. Thus, the desperate battle finally ended with Lu Yes victory!
Lu Ye let out a long sigh of relief. He was increasinglying to understand just how treacherous this world was. Walking forward, he grabbed the hilt of the sword. He was just about to pull the sword out when he noticed something out of ce out of the corner of his eyes. Lifting his gaze in that direction, he felt his entire body going cold. Another person had arrived to stand in front of him at some point in time, and he didnt even notice anything at all.
[There is a huge gap in our cultivation!] For some reason, this thought popped up in his mind. If this person wanted to kill him, it would only require the slightest effort, equivalent to lifting a single finger. It didnt make a difference even if he was enchanted with Sharp Edge.? Gritting his teeth, he suppressed the panic in his heart and pulled out the longsword. He held the sword horizontally in front of him and took on a defensive posture, his body trembling slightly in fear.
That person sensed Lu Yes hostility toward him and couldnt help chuckling in response. I sensed the fluctuations of Spiritual Power in this ce, so I came to check out the situation. You dont need to be so scared. While he was speaking, he slowly approached in this direction. He stopped in front of Zhou Cheng, looked down, and nodded slightly. The remnants of Evil Moon Valley. Then, he raised his head again to look at Lu Ye. Which Sects disciple are you?
They were standing no more than 3 metres apart and Lu Ye finally got a clear glimpse of the other partys appearance. It was a tall andrge old man with a ruddyplexion. The old man had a slightly hoarse voice, but it gave off an inexplicable sense of congeniality.
Putting two and two together from the old mans question, Lu Ye immediately formed a conjecture in his heart. He replied, Mystical Sky Sect!
Mystical Sky Sect? The old man was a little surprised. The Mystical Sky Sect that was destroyed a year ago?
Yes! Lu Ye gave an affirmative answer.
The old man couldnt help looking Lu Ye up and down. So you are a mining ve that was taken into captivity?
Yes. Lu Ye nodded.
The old man was incredibly astonished. [A mining ve killed a cultivator from Evil Moon Valley? If I didnt witness it for myself, I wouldnt have believed it!] He asked, What is your cultivation?
I unlocked one Spiritual Point, Lu Ye replied. Realizing the meaning behind the old mans question, he proactively offered up an exnation. He was injured, and I sneaked up on him.
The old man looked at Lu Ye with a smile. Thats very courageous of you.
Old man, are you from Grand Sky Coalition? Although Lu Ye had a guess in his heart, it was still better to confirm something like that.
The old man stretched out his hand and stroked his beard. Thats right. I am from Grand Sky Coalition.
Lu Ye was overjoyed to hear those words. It would seem that what Manager Yang had been worrying about hade true. Grand Sky Coalition had attacked this ce, and Evil Moon Valley was unable to defend this mine. It could be seen just from the fact that the old man had killed his way into the mine. Grand Sky Coalition had already taken control over this mine. As for whether the old man was lying to him that waspletely unnecessary. The gap between their strength was toorge. If the other party had malicious intentions, it would only take one hit to kill him.
Old Man, please help me out of this predicament! Lu Ye quickly said. He wanted to leave this mine, but he did not know whether he would encounter more danger along the way. After finally meeting such a powerful Senior, it was only natural that he wanted to rely on this Senior to get out of this ce safely.
The old man nodded in response. Follow me then. I was just about to head out myself.
Thank you, Old Man! Lu Ye was incredibly grateful.
After the old man finished speaking, he turned to lead the way. However, Lu Ye did not follow immediately. Instead, he crouched down and began searching Zhou Chengs corpse. He soon found a Storage Bag. A Storage Bag was something almost every cultivator had. It didnt seem to be something incredibly valuable.
Feeling as though he was floating on cloud nine, he jogged to catch up with the old man. Then, the old man turned to look at Lu Ye. He smiled and reached out his hand. Hand it over!
Lu Ye made a face as though he had swallowed a fly. Even so, he obediently handed the Storage Bag over to the old man after considering his current situation. The old man took the Storage Bag and ced his hand on the mouth of the bag. Then, a ray of light shed out.
Just as Lu Ye was scolding the old man in his heart, the old man tossed the Storage Bag back to him. Ill be taking this bottle of Dragon Tiger Pills. This is too strong for you; you wont be able to take them. Think of it as honouring this old man!
Lu Ye held the Storage Bag that was thrown back at him with both hands. Only then did he realize that the old man wasnt trying to snatch his spoils. The old man was simply lending him a helping hand, knowing that his cultivation was too weak to break the Restraining Lock on the Storage Bag.
[This old man sure is a nice guy!] With that thought in his heart, he thanked the old man. Thank you.
He was feeling very happy again
Chapter 8: Embracing the Light
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the dark mining tunnel, Lu Ye followed behind the old man while inspecting the contents of the Storage Bag. He soon found some Qi Blood Pills and several Healing Pills. Simr to Manager Yangs Storage Bag, there were various other bottles and jars inside, none of which he was familiar with. There were also a few ores, but the quality of those ores could not bepared to the ones Manager Yang had collected.
Zhou Chengs status was not as high as Manager Yangs, so it was only natural that his assets were not as plentiful as Manager Yangs. Even so, Lu Ye was very satisfied with his haul. It was something he gained without any effort after all.
He put the longsword in his hand away into the Storage Bag and tied it around his waist. The Storage Bag he concealed on his body would be safer with this Storage Bag acting as a decoy.
Although he wanted to ask the old man abouts matters rted to cultivation and Spirit Pills, he decided against it after a brief consideration. The old man was a Senior Master. Even if he looked kind and friendly on the surface, who could say what kind of disposition he actually had inside? They only met each other by chance, and Lu Ye was certainly in no position to ask the old man for advice. Besides, his top priority was to follow the old man out of the mine. It would be losing sight of what was important in favour of trivialities if he offended the old man because of his impropriety andck of conduct.
Even though the old man didnt walk that fast, Lu Ye had to jog to keep up. Moreover, the old man would asionally disappear without a word and return after a short while. Lu Ye secretly guessed that the old man had discovered some disciples of Evil Moon Valley hiding somewhere and eliminated them.
The paths in the mine criss-crossed each other like a maze, and the terrain was incrediblyplex. Even Lu Ye needed some time to identify the correct direction at every intersection he came across. On the other hand, every path the old man took was the correct path even though he was simply walking along as though he was taking a leisurely stroll.
In less than an hour, they saw a lighting from the front! It was the entrance of the mine.
Lu Ye followed the old man out of the dark mining tunnel. When he embraced the light again, he couldnt help feeling emotional and dazed. He even experienced the wonderful feeling of being alive and whole in this world.
Elder Tang! Several figures were standing guard at the entrance of the mine. These were cultivators from various Sects under the Grand Sky Coalition who were guarding against any Evil Moon Valley disciples from escaping this ce. They bowed respectfully when they saw the old man.
The old man nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
A middle-aged cultivator, who looked like the leader among the other cultivators, nced at Lu Ye questioningly and asked, Elder Tang, this is
The old man answered. One of the disciples of Mystical Sky Sect, which was destroyed a year ago. He was taken captive and brought here as a mine ve. He helped me out a little inside, so I brought him along with me on my way out.
The middle-aged cultivator understood the situation and raised his hand to beckon a young cultivator over. Bring him over to record his identity.
Yes, Sir! The young cultivator answered. Then, he turned to Lu Ye and said, Come with me!
Lu Ye turned to look at Elder Tang. He wanted to thank the old man, but Elder Tang had already walked into the distance.
The middle-aged cultivator who spoke up just now hurriedly chased after Elder Tang. Elder Tang, Deputy Coalition Leader Pang instructed us to inform you that he wishes to see you as soon as you exit the mine. He has something important to discuss.
Elder Tang stretched out his hand, stroked his beard, andined, These old bones never get any rest. While saying that, he rose into the sky and disappeared in a sh.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was already heading in another direction under the lead of the young cultivator. That cultivator had no intention of talking to him whatsoever, so he remained silent.
Thinking back on what Elder Tang mentioned just now, he smiled knowingly. [That Old Man really is a nice person. I didnt even do anything to help him in the mine. On the contrary, I was the one who received all the help. And yet, that was what he said. Its obvious that he said those words on purpose.]
A Senior Master like the old man could resolve many of Lu Yes troubles with just a casual word. Take the Storage Bag hanging at Lu Yes waist for example! It was actually quite problematic for him to possess that Storage Bag in his current circumstances. The corresponding awareness had sprouted in his heart when he first took the item off of Zhou Chengs corpse.
He even decided that he would immediately hand the Storage Bag over if anybody from Grand Sky Coalition wanted it. After all, he was merely one of Evil Moon Valleys mining ves. There would be asions when he needed to depend on others. It had always been said that one had to be willing to give up on something in order to gain more things in the future. In any case, the actual good stuff was hidden on his body. Something as trivial as Zhou Chengs Storage Bag was nothing to regret over.
But, with that casual remark from Elder Tang just now, not a single person would dare to try and snatch that Storage Bag from him anymore. He felt a little regretful for not getting the chance to thank the old man in person. Nevertheless, he had a long future ahead of him; there would always be another chance in the future.
Outside the mine was a huge mountain valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. The road located in the East was the only way in and out of this ce. At this moment, the mountain valley was very crowded and people were bustling about everywhere.
Lu Ye lifted his eyes to look around and saw many traces of arge battle left behind in the mountain valley. Bloodstains that were still wet stained the ground, and the entire mountain valley reeked of blood. Evil Moon Valley probably suffered a lot of casualties when Grand Sky Coalition attacked this ce.
Large gs were raised all over the mountain valley. Different words and patterns were engraved on thoserge gs, which probably represented the different Sects and ns. The area beneath each g was crowded and bustling with people.
ording to what Lu Ye knew, Grand Sky Coalition was an extremelyrge organization formed from many different factions, wherein countless Sects and ns of all sizes had gathered together under one g. Thus, all the forces he could see here were probably just the tip of the iceberg that made up Grand Sky Coalition.
Thousand Demon Ridge, which was the antithesis of Grand Sky Coalition, had the same organizational structure.
Lu Ye was in a good mood, having regained his freedom. Everything he saw felt new and exciting to him. As a result, the young cultivator leading the way had to urge him to move faster on several asions.
They finally arrived at a corner of the mountain valley. There were a lot of people gathered here too. However, these people were different from the brightly dressed and energetic cultivators he had seen on his way here. Most of them were dirty, sickly, and thin. Some of them looked lost and depressed, especially the young and beautiful women.
The dirty ones were the mining ves that had been working in the mine previously. Years of hard work and malnutrition made them look like refugees.
On the other hand, not all the people captured by Evil Moon Valley were made into mining ves. There were some young and beautiful girls in the mix. Unfortunately, their fates were generally more wretched than bing mining ves. Even though the mine had been seized and they were rescued from their nightmares, the tragic experience they lived through would never be forgotten.
Looking at this bunch of people, Lu Ye immediately understood. These people were the ones who had been oppressed by Evil Moon Valley. All those who regained their freedom had been gathered in this ce for some reason.
A table had been ced in front of these people and an extremely fat cultivator sat behind the table. This person looked to be quite young. He was currently leaning back against the chair and taking a nap with his arms folded across his chest.
The young cultivator, who had led Lu Ye to this ce, strode forward and lightly rapped his knuckles against the table.
That fat cultivator jumped violently and nearly fell off the chair. When he finally got a clear look at the person standing in front of him, he patted his chest in relief. You little bastard you nearly scared me to death!
The young cultivator looked speechless. Lowering his voice, he said, Brother Pang, record-keeping might be an easy job, but you shouldnt ck off so openly. If the Elders in the Coalition see you
Without waiting for the other party to finish his sentence, the fat cultivator waved his hand impatiently. I got it. I got it. You only know how to nag all day long like a woman. Pausing for a moment, he asked, What is it?
The young cultivator stepped aside and revealed Lu Ye, who was standing behind him. Register this person and verify his identity.
Due to how obese the fat cultivator was, his eyes were almost invisible under all that fat on his face. Nevertheless, those small eyes widened suddenly when he saw Lu Ye. His gaze was fixed on the Storage Bag hanging from Lu Yes waist.
Chapter 9: Identification
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The fat cultivator sitting behind the table took out a palm-sized jade slip from his Storage Bag. Then, he looked back up at Lu Ye and asked, Name, origin, and cultivation.
Lu Ye answered those questions, one by one.
That fat cultivator muttered under his breath, Lu Ye of Mystical Sky Sect Yes, I found it. Theres certainly somebody with that name!
Only then did Lu Ye realize that the jade slip in the fat cultivators hand probably contained some sort of information from the mine, including the origins and identities of the mining ves. A check like this could ensure that none of the remnants from Evil Moon Valley had snuck in among these people.
But this isnt right! The fat cultivator narrowed his eyes. It is recorded in the jade slip that Lu Ye is an ordinary man who has not been Enlightened. But, you have unlocked your first Spiritual Point. This doesnt tally with the records. This is going to be difficult While speaking, he kept sneaking nces at the Storage Bag hanging at Lu Yes waist.
Lu Ye secretlyughed to himself. [I was right to be worried back then. Its easy for a mining ve carrying a Storage Bag to attract unnecessary attention and greed.]
ording to his original n, he would have handed this Storage Bag over without much fuss. He would simply be buying his way out of trouble. Besides, he was free now. His future prospects were as vast as the sea. Why would he fear not being able to find anything better?
But, there was nothing to fear after that casual remark Elder Tang made before. More importantly, he could not waste the old mans kindness. Confronting the fat cultivators doubts directly, he exined, I encountered an injured Evil Moon Valley cultivator in the mine and killed him. I unlocked my Spiritual Point in that moment of life and death.
The fat cultivator frowned at those words. If what Lu Ye said was true, then it was quite an amazing feat. A tiger was still a tiger, injured or not. It wasnt something a mountain goat could provoke, let alone kill. Nevertheless, he was starting to understand where that Storage Bag hanging from Lu Yes waist hade from
At this moment, the young cultivator who led Lu Ye to this ce leaned over and whispered something in the fat cultivators ear. The fat cultivator was surprised. Which Elder Tang?
The young cultivator said nothing and simply stared at the fat cultivator in silence.
The fat cultivator came back to his senses and coughed lightly. When he nced at Lu Ye again, his expression had be much kinder than before. I see. You sure are a brave man! Yes, well Your identity has more or less been confirmed, but procedures still have to be followed. Come with me. While saying that, he stood up.
Senior Brother Pang, Ill be heading back now. The young cultivator cupped his fists.
Go on. Go on. The fat cultivator waved his hand dismissively.
Following behind the fat cultivator, Lu Ye walked toward the ce where many of the mining ves were gathered.
When they got closer, the fat cultivator ced his hand on his waists and panted lightly before speaking up. Is there anybody from Mystical Sky Sect here? Step forward for me!
Nobody answered.
Lu Ye swept his gaze over the crowd and did not see any faces belonging to the disciples of Mystical Sky Sect.
Mystical Sky Sect was a small Sect that didnt have that many disciples in the first ce. Many people died during Evil Moon Valleys attack one year ago. Only 20 or so young people had survived at the time. Many more had died over the course of the year, but he distinctly recalled that there should have been 3 or 5 more who were still alive. Seeing as none of those 3 or 5 people were in this ce, it was easy to imagine what had be of them.
He couldnt help feeling a little sad. Although he did not feel a sense of belonging in Mystical Sky Sect, he couldnt help realizing more and more acutely about how cruel this world was now that he was thest surviving member of his Sect.
The fat cultivator continued, Then, does anybody know this person?
Again, nobody answered.
Lu Ye was not very popr among the mining ves. Everybody else was thin and sickly, struggling to survive every single day. On the other hand, he was living a good life. He even had enough Contribution Points to redeem Qi Blood Pills. Therefore, the other mining ves did not look kindly upon him. The same unfortunate experience did not make people unify against amon enemy. Instead, it was easier to breed resentment and hatred among themselves.
Lu Ye noticed the brothers from the Liu Family n among the crowd. Those two were incredibly lucky to have survived until now. Needless to say, they had no intention ofing forward to verify his identity. They were simply watching him and enjoying his misery.
The fat cultivator involuntarily nced at Lu Ye. He was starting to doubt whether Lu Ye was a cultivator from Mystical Sky Sect. As a mining ve, there should be somebody who could prove his identity. Many people had been checked in this same manner previously. They had identified each other and verified each others identities.
I know him. He is Lu Ye of Mystical Sky Sect. Just as the fat cultivator was getting increasingly suspicious, a weak voice rang out.
Who is speaking? The fat cultivator shifted his gaze to look in the direction of the voice.
The crowd parted to reveal the speaker. When Lu Ye saw the persons face, he couldnt help feeling a little surprised. That was because he had only met this person once before. Moreover, it had been a long time since theyst saw each other.
The person who spoke up was a woman. Compared to the other unkempt mining ves around her, her clothes were not the most beautiful. Nevertheless, they were neat and clean.
The fat cultivator looked at the woman and asked in a low voice, Are you certain he is Lu Ye of Mystical Sky Sect? Think clearly before you speak. The consequences of lying to me are dire.
The woman shrank back slightly but repeated in a firm voice. I am certain.
The fat cultivator nodded and waved Lu Ye away. Alright, your identity has been proven. Go over there and wait. Dont run around. After saying that, he winked at Lu Ye. There will be a great opportunity waiting for you tomorrow.
The tense atmosphere finally let up the moment he walked away. It could be seen that these mining ves who lived at the bottom of the food chain were quite scared of that fat cultivator.
Lu Ye mulled over something for a bit. Then, he walked toward the woman who spoke up just now. When he got closer, he said, Miss, thank you for your righteous words.
The woman shook her head. No need. You saved me once before. I didnt even have the time to thank you at the time.
She was talking about something that happened nearly half a year ago. Back then, he had encountered this woman by chance. She was being chased by another mining ve. Unable to continue watching, he had thought that mining ve who assaulted her a hard lesson. It was just that he had not seen this woman again ever since that incident.
He smiled. Then, are we even?
The woman smiled too. Her lethargic expression regained some of its vitality. Were even.
Lets get to know each other again. I am Lu Ye of Mystical Sky Sect!
The woman bowed politely, clearly disying the demeanour of a properdy. I am Yu Xiao Tiea of the Yu Family n.
He asked out of curiosity, Miss Yu, do you know why we have been gathered here? What was that opportunity the fatty was talking about just now?
Yu Xiao Tiea reached out her hand to push her hair behind her ear and exined, All the people heree from known backgrounds, and their identities have been proven. Most have not achieved Enlightenment and even those who have achieved Enlightenment are of low cultivation. Evil Moon Valley did not treat us as humans, so they didnt bother training us. But, there must be some among us who are suitable for cultivation. Since Grand Sky Coalition seized this ce, it is only natural that they want to amodate some of us. Those among us who are suitable for cultivation and have the aptitude for cultivation will be taken in by the Sects under the Grand Sky Coalition.
Is that the opportunity the fatty was talking about? The realization suddenly dawned on Lu Ye.
Chapter 10: Opportunity
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Brother Lu, have you achieved Enlightenment? Yu Xiao Tiea asked.
Why do you ask that? Lu Ye countered with another question without answering her question.
She pointed at the Storage Bag hanging at his waist.
He had a moment of realization and nodded in response. Thats right. Then, he asked, What about you?
She lifted a hand and a faint light bloomed from her palm. It was clear that she had also achieved Enlightenment. It was just that he did not know how many Spiritual Points she had unlocked. Unfortunately, it wasnt something he could ask since they were not that familiar with each other.
They were both cultivators who had unlocked their Spiritual Points, so there were manymon topics between them to talk about. Even though there were close to 1,000 people gathered in this ce, not many among them had achieved Enlightenment. Moreover, those who had achieved Enlightenment had very low cultivation. Those with real aptitude for cultivation had been taken in by Evil Moon Valley and subsequently became Evil Moon Valleys disciples. One could only imagine what had be of them now.
She lowered her voice and said, The opportunity tomorrow is extremely important. You must not let it slip by. Brother Lu, you should showcase your talents as much as possible if you have any special talents. This will affect your entire future.
She seemed to know something.
He replied, I got it.
Having said that, he didnt have any special talents. All he had was a Skill Tree that nobody could see. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to reveal the Skill Tree to anybody.
It wasnt good for him to remain among a group of women for long, so he only said a few more words to her before taking his leave. There were a lot of enved people gathered in this ce, but the range they could move in was limited. He looked around briefly and headed directly in the direction of a corner.
Somewhere in that direction, the brothers of the Liu Family n were hiding behind a group of people and shivering in fear. Theirplexions turned deathly pale when they saw Lu Ye heading in their direction. By the time he arrived in front of them, both of them looked even more panicked than before.
W-W-What do you want? Big Brother Liu shouted in a threatening manner even though he was shaking inside. While speaking, he kept ncing in the direction of the fat cultivator as if trying to reach out for help.
The only answer he received was a fist that zoomed at him and endlessly magnified in his eyes. One punch was all it took to break his nose and he instantly copsed to the ground. Then, Lu Ye kicked Second Brother Liu in the stomach. Before Second Brother Liu could fall to the ground, Lu Ye grabbed him by the hair. Strange. You dont seem to recognize me anymore.
Second Brother Lius expression was filled with pain. He even had stars spinning around in front of his eyes. How could he answer?
Lu Ye snorted coldly. Exerting some strength in his hand, he threw Second Brother Liu behind him. Second Brother Liu fell headfirst to the ground and ate a mouthful of dirt. Two of his teeth were knocked out as a result.
After upying their spot, Lu Ye sat down crossed legged and closed his eyes to meditate. His first Spiritual Point was brimming with power, but he couldnt locate the spot to unlock his second Spiritual Point. He didnt continue cultivating, lest he waste his vitality.
When evening rolled around, the people from Grand Sky Coalition came over to distribute some food and bedding. Everybody received some, but Lu Ye didnt have enough to fill his belly. Fortunately, there was some food in Zhou Chengs Spiritual Bag. Taking some out, he began eating with gusto.
The people beside him practically drooled as they watched him, but nobody dared to step forward to ask him for some. Ever since he taught the brothers of the Liu Family n a lesson, he upied arge area all to himself. It saved him a lot of trouble. After he began refining his vitality into Qi, his appetite grewrger andrger by the day. Thus, he even managed to eat that dried meat with great relish.
Nothing happened that night. When the next day arrived, Lu Ye was full of energy. He was looking forward to that so-called opportunity. It wasnt until after breakfast that more than 10 cultivators dressed in different styles came to stand in front of the crowd. The person leading them was a middle-aged man. That person stood with his hands behind his back and swept his gaze over the crowd with a small smile. You youngsterse from different Sects and ns. Having been taken into captivity and enved in this ce, you have gone through a lot of hardships. However, that kind of life hase to an end. All the Sects in Grand Sky Coalition are recruiting talented people. Those among you who achieved Enlightenment or have the aptitude for cultivation will all have the opportunity to join one of those Sects. Make good use of this opportunity, and we might be able to fight side by side in the future. After saying that, he beckoned lightly with his hand.
More than 10 cultivators dressed in different styles standing behind that person stepped forward. The first person swept his hand out in a circle. All of you,e with me.
That sweeping gesture was apanied by a burst of Spiritual Power that enveloped approximately 100 people. When those people walked forward, that cultivator led them to one side.
The same went for the second person
There were around 1,000 ves. It was just enough to split between these 10 cultivators.
Lu Ye was in the innermost location, so he fell into the hands of thest cultivator. Thest group followed that cultivator a short distance away and came to a certain area where there were other cultivators dressed in the same style as the cultivator who led them here. Those cultivators came forward to maintain order and got everybody to stand in a line.
Lu Ye stood in the middle of the line. ncing around, he saw that all the other ves who were taken away earlier were in the same situation as him. Thus, he realized that they were about to undergo some sort of test to see who among these ves had achieved Enlightenment or were suitable for cultivation. Judging by the words of that middle-aged cultivator from before, those who had achieved Enlightenment would have a greater advantage. As for those who had neither achieved Enlightenment nor have the aptitude for cultivation, they would not be valued highly.
Once everybody was lined up in an orderly fashion, the cultivator who led them here took out a table from within his Storage Bag and sat down behind the table. Afterward, he lifted his head to say, Lets begin.
The first ve walked over to him at his signal.
Another cultivator asked, Have you achieved Enlightenment?
The ve shook his head. No!
Okay. The cultivator who asked the question took out a Crystal Ball and pushed it over to the ve. He instructed, Put both hands on it.
The ve did as he was told, but the Crystal Ball did not react.
The cultivator sitting behind the table shook his head. No aptitude for cultivation. Next!
The ve was a little sad and frustrated to hear those words. He hurriedly said, I wasnt ready! Please let me try again!
Next! The cultivated flicked his sleeves and the chattering ve was swept aside and fell to the ground. That scene made all the other ves who were waiting in line very uneasy. They understood that whether or not they could change their fates would depend entirely on that Crystal Ball. Hence, their energy faltered slightly.
The ves came forward, one by one. None of them had the aptitude for cultivation. It wasnt until the 13th person ced both hands on the Crystal Ball that the Crystal Ball that had not reacted up until now suddenly glowed with a faint blue light.
Finally! Theres one! The cultivator sitting behind the table broke out into a smile. He looked up at the ve. Name.
The ves face flushed with excitement, and he answered truthfully.
The cultivator sitting behind the table took out something that looked like a jade tablet. Spiritual Power flowed through his hands and that jade tablet soon disyed that ves name. Handing the jade tablet over to the ve, he said, Take good care of this. You will be using it in the future. Now, go to the tent over there and look for my Third Senior Brother to check how talented you are.
Yes. Yes. Thank you, Sir. The ve held the jade tablet in his hands as though he was holding a precious treasure and jogged toward the back. There was a simple tent set up at the back.
Chapter 11: An Introduction to the Sect
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Upon seeing that, Lu Ye immediately understood that there were two parts to the test. The first part was to find out whether a person had the aptitude to cultivate. The second part was to ascertain how talented a person was.
Aptitude and talent were two different things. The former determined whether a person had the right to cultivate at all. Thetter was an important factor in a persons future achievements. Theoretically, a highly talented person would achieve greater heights in the future.
Certainly, due to the limitations, the talent examination was just a general test, and uracy couldnt be guaranteed. However, the margin of error was pretty small.
Lu Ye wasnt worried about his aptitude at all. Since he had been enlightened, there was no doubt that he could cultivate. Nevertheless, it was hard to tell how talented he was, and he wasnt sure about it himself. Therefore, he could only find out the result after going through a test behind the tent.
When the first person with the aptitude to cultivate appeared, the listless group of people became slightly energised. At that instant, they thought that they could probably cut it. However, reality was cruel. More than ten people had been eliminated in the test before the next person with an aptitude appeared again. Then, the same scene went on and on.
The long line slowly shortened as the ves hope turned into despair. Generally, there would be one person with the aptitude to cultivate for every dozen people. The ratio was pretty close to what Lu Ye had spected.
He was at thetter half of the line. However, since the test could be carried out quickly, he reached the desk in just one hour.
Have you been enlightened? The cultivator behind the desk asked a question that he had asked countless times before.
Ive unlocked one Spiritual Point, Lu Ye replied honestly.
Upon hearing that, the cultivator quickly lifted his head and examined him before he put on a smile. Thats great. Finally, theres a person who has been enlightened.
Although seven to eight people had passed the aptitude test, they hadnt been enlightened. Among this group of people, Lu Ye was the first one who had been enlightened.
Come on. ce your hands on it. The cultivator pointed at the Crystal Ball on the desk.
Lu Ye was puzzled as he thought that this thing was to test a persons aptitude. Since he had been enlightened, why was there still a need to go through the test?
Seeing through the doubt in Lu Yes heart, the cultivator exined, Im not only responsible for testing the aptitude of all of you, but Ill also have to ascertain your attributes.
Our attributes? Lu Ye was perplexed as he had never heard of it before.
Perhaps it was because Lu Ye had been enlightened, the cultivator decided to patiently exin it to him. Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth are the five elements. Everyones Spiritual Power is skewed towards one of them, and this is what we call an attribute. Every attribute has a different emphasis.
I see! Lu Ye finally understood what the Crystal Ball was for. Then, he asked doubtfully, What about those people
The cultivator replied with a smile, They havent even been enlightened, so they have no Spiritual Power, which is why its impossible to examine their attributes.
I see. Upon hearing his exnation, Lu Ye lifted his hands and ced them on the Crystal Ball.
Activate your Spiritual Power and infuse it into the ball, the cultivator uttered.
Lu Ye did as he was told, then he stared fixedly at the transformation of the Crystal Ball. He was curious what attribute he was.
The Crystal Ball started glowing, which went to show that he had the aptitude to cultivate. However, since he had been enlightened, the oue was meaningless to him. The following change was the result of his attributes.
Under his attention, an orange me was suddenly ignited inside the Crystal Ball, then it started burning brightly. His pupils contracted when he saw that because the orange me looked familiar to him.
Oh? The cultivator behind the desk arched his brow as his interest was piqued. Your main attribute is Fire and your supporting attribute is Gold. Thats not bad. Alright. Retract your hands now.
Lu Ye could understand that his main attribute was Fire. After all, it was thanks to the Skill Tree that he was enlightened. At that time, it was the tree that had swallowed an orange me that allowed him to be enlightened all of a sudden. The tree leaf with the Spiritual Pattern, Sharp Edge, was aze as well.
However, he didnt understand why his supporting attribute was Gold as he had a feeling that this was his original attribute.
.
Keep it and go over to the tent at the back to look for my Third Senior Brother. The cultivator gave Lu Ye a jade tablet. Lu Ye thanked him and took it. Then, he saw that his name and a symbol that should mean that he had unlocked one Spiritual Point had been engraved on one side, while the other side was engraved with his attribute.
Moving past the desk, he kept walking forward.
There was a temporary tent in a nearby ce. Everyone who had passed the aptitude test had to enter it to get their talent checked.
Before entering the tent, Lu Ye apologised to the person inside it before he pulled the curtains open and stepped into it.
It was spacious inside the tent. There was a cultivator with a solemn and cold expression who was seated on a futon with his legs crossed. With his eyes closed, he appeared to be taking a rest. It seemed that he was Third Senior Brother.
On a spot near Third Senior Brother, there was a disc that was made from some kind of wood. The disc was asrge as a table and there were eight pits around the edge. Some bare saplings had even grown on the pits.
Lu Ye walked up to him and cupped his fists. Nice to meet you. My name is Lu Ye. Please examine my jade tablet, Senior Brother.
Third Senior Brother opened his eyes and took the jade tablet. After looking at both sides, he arched his brow. Youve been enlightened? Then, he made a gesture with his hand. Have a seat.
It seemed that the disc was used to ascertain a persons talent. Lu Ye stepped onto the table and sat down in the centre with his legs crossed. Inadvertently, he saw that manyplicated patterns had been engraved on it.
[Are they Spiritual Patterns?] Lu Yes interest was piqued as he studied the patterns. However, he did not have enough knowledge to find out what these patterns were for. The only Spiritual Pattern he knew was Sharp Edge.
The patterns engraved on the disc wereplicated and dense. They were so well connected that they looked like a unibody.
[Theyre not just Spiritual Patterns!] Lu Ye finally understood what it was as he recalled something that he had heard of before. [Its called an array! Is an array made up of Spiritual Patterns?]
Ahem! Third Senior Brothers cough made Lu Ye snap back to reality as he quickly straightened up.
As they stared at each other, the ce fell into silence. Suddenly, Third Senior Brother uttered, Green Jade Sect is located on Mount Heavenly Tree, which is a strategic location in Bing Zhou. We have 300 Spirit Peaks of different heights. Were one of the top five Sects in Bing Zhou in terms ofprehensive power. Our Sect Master and Deputy Sect Masters are all in the Divine Ocean Realm. Under the Sect Master, there are about 100 Real Lake Realm Masters
Initially, Lu Ye thought that Third Senior Brother was a taciturn man, but at this moment, he realised that he was mistaken.
Third Senior Brother was incessant as he kept talking about Green Jade Sect, which made Lu Ye to feel lost. For some reason, as he listened to Third Senior Brothers narration, he had a strong sense of deja vu.
When Third Senior Brother talked about the sword techniques and cultivation techniques of his Sect, the memories that Lu Ye had forgotten seemed to be springing back into his mind.
The corners of Lu Yes mouth twitched as he wondered if this was the introduction to the Sect before a disciple was recruited in the cultivation world.
Chapter 12: Take It As If I Didn’t Tell You Anything
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The grim-looking Third Senior Brother went on to talk all about Green Jade Sect. Momentster, he changed the topic by saying, Your main attribute is Fire. I remember that we do have a Fire Destion Technique, which should suit you. Certainly, you can work on your Metal Attribute if you want. We do have some Metal Attribute Techniques. Furthermore, if you join our Sect, youll get two Spirit Restoring Pills every month even if youre just an apprentice. If you pass the test and be a formal disciple, youll get even more.
Lu Ye hurriedly bowed his head. Got it.
In his heart, he was feeling doubtful as it seemed that Third Senior Brother was trying to recruit him. It appeared that as a cultivator who had been enlightened, he was in an advantageous position. With this thought in mind, he was secretly ted.
Third Senior Brother went on to say, Alright. Stay seated and focus your mind. You might feel a slight painter, but you dont have to worry. Its just a process to examine your talent, so dont resist it with your Spiritual Power.
Got it, Lu Ye replied and ced his hands on his knees with his palms facing up. Then, he closed his eyes.
The next moment, he could feel the fluctuation of Spiritual Power. Although he was curious about what Third Senior Brother was doing, he didnt think he should open his eyes. As the Spiritual Energy undted, he felt a vibration on his backside. He reckoned that the array on the disc was beginning to take effect.
Just like what he thought, Third Senior Brother had stuffed eight silkworm-sized crystals into the eight pits around the edge of the disc. They were the Spirit Stones that cultivators used to set up an array. Lu Ye had never seen these stones before.
When Third Senior Brother activated the array, smoke started billowing from the Spirit Stones inside the pits. The smoke was the Spiritual Power stored inside the stones, and with the help of the array, it turned into very pure Spiritual Qi.
The thick Spiritual Qi soon spread around the disc. However, there seemed to be an invisible barrier around the disc as the Spiritual Qi was restricted in it.
The seated Lu Ye felt his chest tightening. Although he had closed his eyes, he could sense that he was surrounded by some mystical stuff as they prated his body, which made him feel refreshed.
[Is this Spiritual Qi?] Lu Ye understood that absorbing the Spiritual Qi in the world was one of the main ways a cultivator could cultivate. When he was inside the mine, he had tried it before. Perhaps it was because of the terrain, he did not feel any Spiritual Qi inside the mine, so he had no choice but to refine vitality into Qi instead.
After he was brought out of the mine by the old man surnamed Tang, he forgot to sense the Spiritual Qi in the world. It wasnt until this moment that he could directly sense the existence of Spiritual Qi. However, recalling Third Senior Brothers advice, he suppressed his urge to absorb the Spiritual Qi.
Facing across from him, Third Senior Brother was performing a hand seal as he continuously activated the arrays power. At the same time, he was staring fixedly at the saplings around the edge of the disc.
The array on the disc was to examine a persons talent. When Third Senior Brother activated the arrays power, the eight Spirit Stones stuck around the disc would release their Spiritual Power, which then turned into thick Spiritual Qi.
Under his control, the Spiritual Qi would be led into the body of the person being tested and then swirl around the array, which caused the saplings around the disc to go through some changes.
In a nutshell, Lu Ye, who was seated on the disc, was actually a terminal that the Spiritual Qi passed through and spread around the array, which then caused the saplings to change. The more saplings that had gone through transformation, the more talented the person was, and vice versa.
Fundamentally, the test was to find out whether the Spiritual Qi could easily pass through the persons body. If the process was smooth, the cultivator would be deemed as highly talented. Basically, a cultivator had to strengthen the Spiritual Qi in his body. If the Spiritual Qi couldnt even move around his body smoothly, it was pointless for him to cultivate.
Beside the disc, Third Senior Brother continued working on the array. Seeing that the eight saplings did not change one bit, he frowned and expended more power on the array.
At that instant, Lu Ye scowled as he could faintly feel that his entire body was in pain, as if a lot of external Spiritual Qi was madly prating his body, which made him feel that countless needles had been jabbed into him. As time passed, the pain became increasingly unbearable.
Just when he almost couldnt take it anymore, the pain all over his body vanished all of a sudden. Following that, Third Senior Brother uttered, Its done.
Lu Ye quickly opened his eyes and let out a long breath. As their eyes met, he realised that Third Senior Brothers gaze appeared conflicted. His chest tightened as he had a terrible feeling.
Senior Brother, how is my talent? Lu Ye asked.
Without uttering a word, Third Senior Brother took a look at the disc before he whisked across the jade tablet with his hand and returned it to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye took it and realised that on the side where his attribute was engraved, one more word had appeared.
[What does it mean?] He wanted to ask what had happened, but Third Senior Brother apparently had no intention of speaking further, so he reckoned that he shouldnt be relentless. Getting to his feet on the disc, he saluted him. Thanks, Senior Brother.
When he turned to leave, he saw that a tree leaf had grown on one of the eight bare saplings around the disc.
[Could the word on the jade tablet represent a sapling?] He spected.
Wait a minute! Third Senior Brother suddenly uttered.
Lu Ye, who was already at the door, turned around and asked, Whats wrong, Senior Brother?
Third Senior Brother replied, Just take it as that I did not tell you anything just now.
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye was rendered speechless. After leaving the tent, he took a deep breath repeatedly as he had a premonition.
He wasnt certain whether his talent was good or terrible, but judging from the change in Third Senior Brothers attitude, he felt that something was off. He reckoned that his talent was a little unusual, so he decided to look for someone to ask about it.
When he looked around and saw someone standing silently in the corner, he directly walked up to her. Before he even reached her, the woman saw him and beckoned to him with a smile.
Standing in front of the woman, Lu Ye called out to her. Miss Yu.
Yu Xiao Tiea elegantly saluted him. Brother Lu.
It was apparent that she was in a better mood than the previous day, as she had passed the test, and her result was alright.
Lu Ye passed her his jade tablet and asked, Can you exin to me whats wrong with my talent?
.
As Yu Xiao Tiea was taking the tablet, she replied with a smile, Brother Lu, since youve been enlightened, your talent is definitely not terrible.
She saw the word on the back of the jade tablet when she uttered thest two words, which was why her eyelids twitched and her tone sounded hesitant.
Upon seeing her reaction, Lu Ye realised that his talent left much to be desired.
Miss Yu, how is your talent? Lu Ye asked.
Yu Xiao Tiea replied, Its simr to yours.
Lu Ye waved his hand. You dont have to console me. I understand whats going on. The smaller the number, the lower the talent, right?
With her lips pressed together, Yu Xiao Tiea had the intention of consoling him, but she wasnt sure what to say. Eventually, she could only bow her head. Yes.
No wonder. Lu Ye recalled thest words Third Senior Brother said to him and thought that these cultivators were pretty snobbish.
Yu Xiao Tiea went on to say, Brother Lu, you dont have to feel dejected. The test isnt very urate, and the array used isnt a high rank one, so mistakes do happen sometimes.
Lu Ye replied with a smile, I dont know what array that is. However, since the result is there, I can only ept it.
Yu Xiao Tiea looked curiously at him. Do you really think its alright? Lu Ye didnt seem to be pretending to be nonchnt. Most people would be utterly disappointed if they got this kind of result.
Lu Ye looked away and replied with a smile, Compared to those people, Im considered lucky since Ive been enlightened.
Following his gaze, Yu Xiao Tiea could see a lot of crestfallen people over there. Those people had all been eliminated as they were unable to pass the aptitude test.
The Liu Brothers were among them.
Chapter 13: What Is Going on?
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
By the way, how is your talent? Lu Ye turned his head and asked.
Judging from Yu Xiao Tieas expression, he knew that her talent must be good, but he still wanted to make aparison. He wanted to find out how terrible his talent was that made Third Senior Brother change his attitude in such a drastic way.
Yu Xiao Tiea was already holding her jade tablet, but upon hearing his question, she subconsciously concealed it. It wasnt that she wanted to hide anything from him, but that she didnt want to hurt his feelings.
Lu Ye teased her by saying, Are you looking down on me? Dont you know that men bounce back stronger after were hurt?
A helpless Yu Xiao Tiea asked, Brother Lu, do you really want to see it?
Lu Ye replied with a smile, Since my result has been revealed, it cant get any worse.
After giving it some thought, Yu Xiao Tiea uttered, Youre right. Youre such a big-hearted person. Admiration was written all over her face.
Since Lu Ye had said so, there was no reason for her to reject his request. The information on the jade tablet wasnt confidential anyway. Then, she extended her hand and passed the jade tablet to him.
Lu Ye took it and saw that the side facing him was carved with her name. Then, he turned it around and saw that the word Wood was engraved on it. It seemed that her main attribute was Wood. Below her attribute, there was a number.
Thirty-eight? Lu Ye was dumbfounded as this was different from what he had imagined. Then, he asked, Miss Yu, why is it thirty-eight? Isnt the highest number supposed to be eight?
He remembered clearly that there were only eight saplings around the disc, so why would there be thirty-eight, which was beyond the reasonable limits?
The highest number is sixty-four. Yu Xiao Tiea was puzzled by what he said. Then, she made a calction with her hand and murmured, Eight saplings times eight leaves. Thats sixty-four. Theoretically, the most talented person would get sixty-four leaves.
Lu Ye stared at her as the light in his eyes went out.
A bbergasted Yu Xiao Tiea called out to him. Brother Lu, are you alright?
He had just said that men would bounce back stronger after they were hurt, so why was he hurt so terribly after she showed him her jade tablet? Yu Xiao Tiea med herself and thought that she shouldnt have let him see her tablet. Be strong, Brother Lu.
Just give me some time to calm myself down. Lu Ye waved his hand and looked up at the sky with a listless gaze.
Finally, he realised that the number one on the back of his jade tablet did not represent a sapling but a leaf. During the talent test, every sapling could grow eight leaves. Since there were eight saplings, the maximum one could get were sixty-four leaves.
The number thirty-eight was engraved on Yu Xiao Tieas jade tablet, which meant that during the talent test, she had managed to make the saplings grow thirty-eight leaves. On the other hand, his result was one leaf instead of a sapling.
At that instant, Lu Ye felt terribly hurt. He had tried his best to lower his expectation, but in the end, he realised that his lowest expectation wasnt even the bottom. One out of eight and one out of sixty-four werepletely different stories.
Brother Lu Yu Xiao Tiea looked worriedly at him as she could feel that he was engulfed in a gloomy atmosphere. He no longer looked as energetic as he was earlier. Although talent is important, it isnt everything. Brother Lu, I once heard that the Heavenly Way rewards those who are hardworking
I guess you havent heard of the saying that the Heavenly Way does not favour anything in the world as it lets nature take its course
What? Yu Xiao Tiea felt that something was off.
Lu Ye took a deep breath and pulled himself together. He was still frustrated, but just like what he had said, since the result was there, all he could do was face it. Moreover, he still had the Skill Tree. Even if he wasnt highly talented, the amazing tree might still make up for his deficiency.
Tell me what the talent test is based on, Lu Ye asked.
Although he had gone through the test in the tent, he did not know how it was carried out as his eyes remained closed throughout the entire process.
Instead of immediately exining it to him, Yu Xiao Tiea looked seriously at him.
Noticing the worry behind her gaze, Lu Ye said with a smile, Im really fine.
After a sigh, Yu Xiao Tiea replied, Since you want to know, Ill tell you what I understand about the test.
Then, she went on to tell him the theories and process of the test.
Upon hearing her exnation, Lu Ye asked, Does that mean that its difficult for the Spiritual Qi to be led into my body? Is that why my talent is regarded as low? He couldnt help but recall how he felt at that time. The external Spiritual Qi prated his body but couldnt get out, which caused him to be in pain.
Yu Xiao Tiea nodded. Thats right.
I see. Lu Ye finally understood what had happened, but soon something started bothering him. But what could it really tell? How can they determine whether a persons talent is high or low based on this kind of superficial factor? Dont get me wrong. Im not doubting that my talent is low. I just want to know the reason behind it.
Seeing how he attempted to reassure her that he was fine, Yu Xiao Tiea was torn between tears andughter. Then, she exined patiently, Brother Lu, do you know how a cultivator can get stronger?
Lu Ye replied, Consume Spirit Pills, absorb Spiritual Qi, refine vitality into Qi, and make use of Spirit Stones?
Thats right. Yu Xiao Tiea nodded. However, the main ways are still absorbing Spiritual Qi and making use of Spirit Stones. The other two methods are just auxiliary. If its difficult to lead the external Spiritual Qi into your body, itll be less efficient for you to cultivate, and your talent will be deemed low. Given the same time and resources, a highly talented cultivator will unlock more Spiritual Points and achieve greater heights in the future. Since youve been enlightened, Im sure youre aware of how difficult it is to cultivate.
Lu Ye recalled his days in the dark mine. He would consume Qi Blood Pills every day and refine vitality into Qi. As he felt himself growing stronger by the day, he didnt think that it was difficult. Instead, he was joyful.
Yu Xiao Tiea said that a cultivator mainly relied on absorbing Spiritual Qi and making use of Spirit Stones, while consuming pills and refining vitality into Qi were just auxiliary methods. It seemed that he had been doing it in the wrong way.
Feeling that something was amiss, he asked, Miss Yu, how long did it take you to fill your first Spiritual Point after you unlocked it?
If there was a directparison, he could judge how efficient it was for him to cultivate. He still didnt believe that his talent was so terrible.
It took me about twenty days, Yu Xiao Tiea replied. She didnt ask how long it took Lu Ye to achieve that because she was worried that this question would hurt his feelings again.
Given his talent, even if he had the help of pills, it would probably take him a few months to fill his first Spiritual Point. Since Lu Ye had saved her before, she was still grateful to him. At that moment, she found him to be pitiful.
As expected, Lu Ye appeared startled upon hearing what she had said, then he muttered, About twenty days?
Yu Xiao Tiea quickly said, Brother Lu, our situations are different. Previously, I was taken away by an Evil Moon Valleys disciple. I guess she wanted to make use of me to cultivate an evil technique, which was why she helped me enlighten and even gave me some Spirit Restoring Pills. Thats the reason I could fill my Spirit Point in about twenty days.
[She had actually consumed some pills to shorten the time?] On the other hand, Lu Ye had only consumed some cheap Qi Blood Pills, but it only took him more than ten days to fill his first Spiritual Point, which was faster than what she had achieved. [What is going on?]
Chapter 14: Realms
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
All the signs showed that, even though Lu Ye wasnt highly talented, his result couldnt possibly be only one leaf. [Does it have something to do with the Skill Tree? There are some Spiritual Patterns on the leaves of the tree, but how do they help me in my cultivation?]
Besides the Skill Tree, he couldnt find any other exnation. In that case, he had a feeling that the Skill Tree wasnt as simple as it appeared to be.
Miss Yu, theres something I need to ask you about. He decided to change the topic to stop feeling sorrowful.
Just ask away, Brother Lu. Yu Xiao Tiea looked solemnly at him.
After pondering on how he should word it, he said, The thing is, my first Spiritual Point is full now, and I want to unlock the second one. However, I cant locate where it is. How should I solve this?
This question had been guing him for several days. He thought that after his first Spiritual Point was full, he could readily unlock the second one. However, after several attempts, he still couldnt locate the second Spiritual Point. He had even wasted a lot of Spiritual Power during the process. There was no doubt that Yu Xiao Tiea was more experienced than he was, and she was his only friend in this ce, which was why he wanted to ask her about it.
To people like us who have just started cultivating, this is indeed a tricky problem. This has nothing to do with aptitude or talent. The main problem is that our Spiritual Power is still weak, which is why its hard for us to locate the Spiritual Point. If you want to solve this problem, youll either have to explore it on your own or look for a strong cultivator to help you. When I was unlocking the second Spiritual Point, it was the cultivator from Evil Moon Valley who helped lead my Spiritual Power to the second point. In order to do that, the cultivator has to be in the Cloud River Realm at the very least.
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye put on a bitter smile. Ill explore it on my own then. He couldnt think of anyone who could help him.
Brother Lu, all the cultivators Source Spiritual Points are simr, but due to the fact that we cultivate different techniques, the location of each individuals second Spiritual Point is different. If you dont have a suitable technique, I suggest that you dont unlock your second point on a whim. Otherwise, youll get into trouble.
I do have the manual of a technique. Golden Liberation Technique probably wasnt an excellent technique, but Lu Ye had no other options.
By the way, you just mentioned Cloud River Realm Is it a kind of cultivator realm? He remembered that when he was inside the tent, Third Senior Brother mentioned Real Lake Realm and Divine Ocean Realm, which he had never heard of.
During his one-year stay in the mine, he rarely talked to anyone and he had no friends. All the information he learned about cultivation was hearsay, which was why it was fragmented.
Yes. Yu Xiao Tiea nodded. For the cultivators, there are four major cultivation realms, which are Spirit Creek Realm, Cloud River Realm, Real Lake Realm, and Divine Ocean Realm. There are nine orders in every major realm.
[Creek, River, Lake and Ocean. The categorisation is interesting and straightforward.]
Are we in the Spirit Creek Realm, then? Lu Ye asked.
With a smile, Yu Xiao Tiea shook her head and replied, Not yet. Were just people who have been enlightened. We have to unlock more Spiritual Points so that our own Spiritual Power can pass through these points and form a Cosmic Orbit cirction. Only when our Spiritual Power passes through the points like the flow in the creek can we be regarded as Spirit Creek Realm Masters, and well have the right to be called cultivators then.
Lu Ye asked in shock, You mean were not cultivators yet? Then what are we?
Cultivators-to-be? Yu Xiao Tiea tilted her head, which made her look adorable.
Alright. Lu Ye epted that he was just a cultivator-to-be. He thought that he was already considered a cultivator since he had been enlightened. However, now it seemed that he was still too naive.
Realising that he had no basic knowledge of the cultivation world, Yu Xiao Tiea decided to tell him more about it. There are countless Sects in Jiu Zhou. If were talking about Bing Zhou alone, there are more than a thousand Sects and ns of different sizes. A Sect is considered strong or weak based on their inner disciples cultivations. If the inner disciples are in a higher realm, the Sect will be considered powerful. Moreover, these Sects are tiered as well.
Oh? How are they tiered? Lu Yes interest was piqued. He had figured out that she was trying to tell him the basic knowledge of the cultivation world, so he wouldnt let this chance slip through his fingers.
Every major realm of a cultivator is divided into nine orders. Sects are divided into nine tiers as well. The Ninth-Tier is the lowest, and the First-Tier is the best. Im not sure how theyre actually categorised, but there are definitely top cultivators in the Divine Ocean Realm in the First to Third-Tier Sects. I remember that the number of such cultivators is taken into consideration as well. For Fourth-Tier to Sixth-Tier Sects, there have to be enough Real Lake Realm Masters. For the Seventh-Tier to Ninth-Tier Sects, they only need some Cloud River Realm Masters.
What about those with only Spirit Creek Realm Masters? Lu Ye asked curiously.
Yu Xiao Tiea pressed her lips together and smiled. Spirit Creek Realm Masters have no right to found a Sect.
Lu Ye started flushing as he felt that he was so ignorant.
Yu Xiao Tiea went on to say, In Bing Zhou, we have ten First-Tier Sects, and theyre collectively called One Pce, Two Temples, Three Sects and Four ns. One Pce refers to Auspicious Cloud Pce. Two Temples are Yama Temple and Rainbow Temple. Three Sects are Righteous Sect, Green Jade Sect and Rasho Sect. Four ns are Infinity n, Scarlet Moon n, Northern Profound Sword n and Sky Origin n. Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge respectively upy half of them. There are many Divine Ocean Realm Masters in each Sect.
Lu Ye recalled that Third Senior Brother told him that Green Jade Sect was one of the top five Sects in Bing Zhou when it came toprehensive power. At that time, he thought that the Sect was indeed highly ranked, but he hadnt expected that it was actually so powerful. There were more than a thousand Sects in Bing Zhou, so the Green Jade Sect was truly incredible if it could rise above others and be one of the top ten Sects.
.
This time, in order tounch an attack on Evil Moon Valley, Grand Sky Coalition has sent a Deputy Coalition Leader. He is from Righteous Sect.
Is the Deputy Coalition Leader surnamed Pang? Lu Ye nonchntly asked.
Im not sure. How do you know?
I just heard it from somewhere. Lu Ye did not exin it in detail. It seems that Evil Moon Valley is pretty formidable. Two out of ten First-Tier Sects, Righteous Sect and Green Jade Sect, havee together to destroy Evil Moon Valley.
Yu Xiao Tiea replied with a smile, Thats not how you should judge their power. Although Evil Moon Valley is fairly powerful, its still notparable to a First-Tier Sect. I think it should be around Fifth-Tier or Sixth-Tier. Although two top Sects havee together, not everyone in the First-Tier Sects is a top cultivator.
Youre right. Lu Ye agreed with her.
Yu Xiao Tiea went on to say, Besides the two First-Tier Sects, we still have some other Sects. The test is almost over. Anyone with a jade tablet has a chance to join one of those Sects. Brother Lu, you mustnt miss this chance.
Aptitude and talent tests were just to pick out people who could cultivate. Joining one of those Sects to cultivate and learn new techniques was the real opportunity. It wasnt that these Sectscked disciples. First-Tier Sects like Righteous Sect and Green Jade Sect were nevercking disciples.
They had somewhat agreed upon such a way to take in disciples. For people like Lu Ye and Yu Xiao Tiea who had been rescued, even though the world was big, they had nowhere else to go. Therefore, Grand Sky Coalition had to help them settle down and help those with the aptitude to cultivate to join one of the Sects. They wouldnt suffer any losses anyway. Perhaps they could even find some highly talented people.
Lu Ye put on a smile. I guess no Sect will take in someone like me who has only one leaf.
You should look on the bright side. Yu Xiao Tiea consoled him. Your advantage is that youve been enlightened. There are about ten Sects that havee over. Im sure youll be able to join one of them.
Thanks for your kind words.
Chapter 15: Pang Da Hai and Lu Ye’s Sincerity
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
.
You have to be careful when selecting a Sect. If you manage to join a proper Sect, your wish might be granted, a voice was suddenly heard saying from the side.
Lu Ye and Yu Xiao Tiea turned around in shock, only to see that a fatty had appeared beside them when they were not paying attention. Currently, he was looking at them with a smile, and his eyes were small because of his chubby face. He was the one who had registered the ves and examined their identities previously. Lu Ye was stunned because he didnt even realise when the fatty hade over.
Senior Brother! Yu Xiao Tiea hurriedly saluted him with a solemn expression. Although she had unlocked some Spiritual Points, a cultivator like the fatty was still a powerful figure to her, which was why she was anxious.
Lu Ye saluted him as well.
I heard you chatting happily, which was why I came over to have a look. Do you mind? With an amiable expression, the fat cultivator pped his own bulging stomach with one hand.
We wouldnt dare to. Yu Xiao Tiea quickly waved her hands. Although she was nervous, she remained clear-headed as she realised that this was a chance to get some information from him. Senior Brother, what did you mean when you said that?
Although she knew more about the cultivation world than Lu Ye, her knowledge was limited. Certainly, she wasntparable to a formal cultivator from Grand Sky Coalition like the fat cultivator in this regard.
Of course I mean it literally. Do you want to know more? The grin on the fat cultivators face widened. Even though he was replying to her, his gaze was actually fixed on Lu Ye.
Lu Ye didnt understand why the fatty was staring at him, but he could feel that thetter was ill-intentioned. However, since it had something to do with his future, he still decided to reply in a respectful manner, Senior Brother, please enlighten us.
If you want to know The fat cultivator hospitably pped Lu Yes shoulder. Thatll depend on how sincere you are.
[How sincere I am?] Lu Ye arched his brow as he recalled that the first time he met this fat cultivator, thetter was staring at the Storage Bag on his waist.
[No way! It cant be. Hes a cultivator with profound cultivation, so its unlikely that he has his eye on a nobody like me. However, the meaning behind his words is obvious. Anyone who isnt a fool would understand it.]
After a moment of silence, he decided to lift his hand and snuck it under the Storage Bag on his waist, only to see that the fat cultivator slightly opened his eyes and widened his grin. After that, he lowered his hand, and the cultivators expression became normal. Then, he lifted his hand again, and the cultivator also widened his eyes. After doing it for a few times, he could finally confirm that the truth was exactly what he had imagined.
The fat cultivator couldnt take it anymore as he had never seen someone like Lu Ye who so brazenly tried to mess with him. Displeased, he swung his sleeve and uttered, It seems that you dont want to know.
Right after he turned around, he felt a weight in his hand. Lowering his head, he realised that there was a bottle of Qi Blood Pills in his hand, and Lu Yes expression was that of a man who had some of his flesh cut off.
The corners of the fat cultivators mouth twitched. Is this how you show me your sincerity?
[What the Hell is this? I did note all the way here for this rubbish!]
Senior Brother, what do you want, then? Lu Ye asked.
Unable to take it anymore, the fat cultivator directly revealed his intention. The mineral ores!
Lu Ye asked curiously, Why is someone as powerful as you interested in those mineral ores?
The fat cultivator exined, You may not be aware that the mineral ores that are excavated from the Evil Moon Valleys mine are all exquisite and rare items. Moreover, if you want to get some information from me, you have to pay a price. Were not friends, so theres no reason for me to tell you anything for free.
Youre right. Lu Ye nodded in agreement as he randomly fished out a mineral ore from his Storage Bag and passed it to him.
The fat cultivator did not immediately take it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and shook his head. I dont see your sincerity.
But its huge! Lu Ye pointed at the washbasin-sized mineral ore. It was thergest mineral ore in his Storage Bag.
Ignoring him, the fat cultivator started humming a song.
Lu Ye couldnt help but click his tongue. With a conflicted expression, he put down the mineral ore on the ground and took out one more mineral ore.
He had been inside the mine for more than a year, so he knew a thing or two about these mineral ores. Although he wasnt sure their exact value, he reckoned that the ones that were easily found were normally cheaper. Although the two mineral ores he had taken out were huge, they were not rare inside the mine. In fact, they were easily found.
There were only a small number of mineral ores in Zhou Chengs Storage Bag, which were about five to six pieces, and they were the mostmon ones. On the other hand, not only were there a lot of mineral ores in Manager Yangs bag, but there were also a lot of rare ones.
The fat cultivator finally sported a smile when he saw the second mineral ore. Brat, dont think that Im taking advantage of you. Its just that I find you to be likeable, which is why Ivee all the way here to give you some advice. I, Pang Da Hai from Righteous Sect, am quite famous in the cultivation world in Bing Zhou. Normally, I wouldnt bother to give other people advice even if they wanted me to.
Seeing what the fat cultivator was doing in broad daylight, and that he even imed to be from Righteous Sect, Yu Xiao Tiea felt that something in her heart had broken into pieces.
Lu Ye also found it unbearable. Are you sure you are from Righteous Sect?
[Hes not righteous in any way!] As he spoke, he fished out the third mineral ore.
However, Pang Da Hais eyes remained narrowed, apparently still not content with what he saw.
The corners of Lu Yes eyes twitched as he had the urge to pry open the fattys eyes to make him see clearly. Unfortunately, he was no match for him. When he took out the fourth mineral ore, he selected the precious Yuan Metal.
Pang Da Hais brows twitched as he kept a smile on his face.
Lu Ye pped his hands and pointed at the four mineral ores on the ground. Is my sincerity enough now?
A smiling Pang Da Hai did not respond to him.
Alright. Theres no choice, then. Lu Ye heaved a sigh, and as Pang Da Hai and Yu Xiao Tiea stared at him in shock, he crouched down and put the first mineral ore back into his Storage Bag. Then, he looked up at Pang Da Hai and asked, Is it enough?
Pang Da Hai widened his eyes and stared at him in disbelief. At the same time, he was flustered.
Yu Xiao Tiea was also stunned by Lu Yes action as she didnt understand what he was trying to achieve.
Then, Lu Ye put the second mineral ore back into his bag and lifted his head before asking, Is it enough?
I Pang Da Hai seemed to have the urge to scold him, but he refrained from doing it to show that he had the demeanour of a top cultivator. However, his expression suggested that he was exasperated.
When Lu Ye was reaching out to the third mineral ore, he felt a grab on his shoulder. He lifted his head, only to see that Pang Da Hai was glowering at him and saying through clenched teeth, Enough! Thats enough!
Chapter 16: Pang Da Hai’s Advice
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A momentter, Pang Da Hai took the two mineral ores and uttered, Brat, youre pretty interesting.
A bbergasted Yu Xiao Tiea was standing on the side. Seeing that rather than getting angry, Pang Da Hai was grinning from ear to ear, she didnt understand what was on his mind.
Since Lu Ye had shown enough sincerity, Pang Da Hai uttered in a straightforward manner, A cultivator has to cultivate for life, so when youre starting out, youd better select a direction based on your attribute or talent. Certainly, Im not talking about the talent that you were tested just now, but yourpatibility with a particr cultivation faction.
A cultivation faction? Lu Ye sensitively caught the most important point, but he was doubtful. [Isnt he supposed to give us advice on how to select a Sect? Why is he talking about cultivation factions?]
Thats right. Im going to talk about cultivation factions. Pang Da Hai nodded. There were a lot of strange cultivation factions in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou in the past, but only a small number of them remain to this day. There are six main cultivation factions, which are body tempering,bat, spells, medicine, ghost, and the external cultivation faction which epasses refining pills, drawing talisman papers, setting up arrays, and making weapons. Certainly, some smaller cultivation factions have survived, but theyre notmonly seen. Youll find out about them if you happen toe across them. It can be said that ny-nine percent of the cultivators belong to one of the six cultivation factions, and it has determined the area they have to work on. If youve chosen the right cultivation faction, itll be much easier for you to cultivate. For example, if someone is born to be strong and burly, hell choose the body tempering cultivation faction. If someone is excellent at spells, hell go down the path of spell cultivation faction. If someone doesnt like to kill or fight with other people, he can learn to refine pills or save lives. Theyre all suitable choices, so choosing the right cultivation faction is important. If someone wants to learn how to wield a sword but hes joined Hundred Flower Valley, no one can teach him anything.
Lu Ye and Yu Xiao Tiea nodded repeatedly as they listened to Pang Da Hais introduction. Even Yu Xiao Tiea had never heard of such information.
Based on what youve said, different Sects ce emphasis on different cultivation factions, right? Lu Ye could somewhat grasp what Pang Da Hai was saying.
Have I ever said that? Pang Da Hai was shocked.
You just said that people from Hundred Flower Valley dont teach their disciples how to use a sword.
Youre quite clever. Pang Da Hai gave him an approving look. He had never expected that Lu Ye could deduce something from what he had said. Normally, there wouldnt only be a single cultivation faction in a Sect. There are two to three at the very least. Some of the Sects even have four, five and even more cultivation factions. For example, the ten First-Tier Sects have all the major cultivation factions. However, there is an exception. Northern Profound Sword Sect only has one cultivation faction, which isbat cultivation faction, and they can be pretty extreme. At the mention of the Sect, his chubby face twitched as though he had recalled some unpleasant memories.
He paused for a moment before continuing to say, Although a Sect is made up of a few cultivation factions, theyll still emphasise a particr one. This situation is prevalent in the lower tier Sects. Thats because they dont have enough energy and resources to focus on so many cultivation factions at the same time. For example, we have some people from Burning Moon Mountain with us this time, and theyre focused on pill cultivation faction, which is a part of external cultivation. The pills theyve produced are famous in Bing Zhou. People whose main attribute is Fire are in an advantageous position if they want to join Burning Moon Mountain because Fire Attribute Spiritual Power is needed to refine pills.
He took a look at Lu Ye when he said thest sentence, so it was apparent what he was trying to say.
Upon hearing his exnation, Lu Ye asked, Is this what you mean that we should choose a cultivation faction based on our own attribute?
Thats right. Pang Da Hai nodded. People whose main attribute is Gold are generally more aggressive, so they can go withbat, spell and body tempering cultivation factions. Wood is all about vitality, so people with this attribute can go with body tempering, medicine, spells, pills and even arrays. People whose main attribute is Water are soft and tolerant of all things in the world, so they can go with all sorts of cultivation factions. People with a fire attribute are violent, so besides medicine and ghost cultivation factions, theyrepatible with the rest. People with an Earth attribute are generally strong, so they can go with body tempering. The path you want to take not only depends on your interest but also your attributes. The mortals have a saying that the biggest mistake a man can make is going down the wrong path, and its true for cultivators as well. Now that everyone has gone through the test, someone will distribute some stuff to all of you. It has got something to do with whether you will stay or go, so you have to choose carefully. Before you join any Sect, youd better find out which cultivation faction the Sect is focused on and whether it will sh with your own attribute.
Got it. Lu Ye nodded with a serious expression and cupped his fists. Thanks, Senior Brother.
Pang Da Hai might appear to be greedy, but after taking two mineral ores from Lu Ye, he indeed gave him some useful information that thetter hadnt heard of before. Hence, his information was worth the two mineral ores.
Then, Pang Da Hai waved his hand. Its justmon knowledge. Youve rarelye into contact with other people, which is why you dont know.
Senior Brother, since my main attribute is Fire and my supporting attribute is Gold, which Sect should I go to?
Ha! You? Pang Da Hai sized him up and grinned. I think youll not be epted by any Sect.
Lu Yes expression darkened in an instant. Then why did you tell me so much just now?
An ted Pang Da Hai replied, Ive heard that theres one guy whose talent is only one leaf, which is why Ivee over to see a rare creature like you. Do you know that youre the first one with a single leaf that Ive seen over the years? Hahaha!
All his flesh was convulsing when heughed. Lu Ye had the urge to pounce on him and beat him to a pulp.
[Who is the bastard that exposed my talent to everyone? Bad news does spread around quickly!]
Just when Lu Ye was about to explode, Pang Da Hai suddenly stoppedughing and uttered to him in a lowered voice, If I were you, Id lower my expectation and not be irresolute. By doing so, you may stand a chance to have your wish granted.
Upon finishing his words, he turned to look at Yu Xiao Tiea and said, smiling, Young girl, do you need my advice?
Certainly, Yu Xiao Tiea badly needed that, so she quickly asked, Senior Brother, which Sect do you think I should join?
Do you love to fight and kill? Pang Da Hai questioned.
Yu Xiao Tiea shook her head like a pellet drum as no girls liked to fight and kill.
Go to Hundred Flower Valley, then, Pang Da Hai uttered. Most of them focus on medicine, so they dont need to go to any battles. Furthermore, even if theyre captured, theyll not be treated harshly.
Hundred Flower Valley Yu Xiao Tiea fell into her thoughts for a moment before she saluted him. Thanks, Senior Brother.
Her main attribute was Wood, so Hundred Flower Valley did suit her. Pang Da Hai must be aware of that, which was why he gave her this advice.
After Pang Da Hai left, Lu Ye remained in the same spot with a terrible mood.
Yu Xiao Tiea wanted to console him, but she did not know what to say, so she decided to change the topic by uttering, Brother Lu, theres something I dont understand.
What is it?
Senior Brother Pang did not take your mineral ores when there were four, but why did he ept them after you took away two ores?
Lu Ye nonchntly exined, To him, all four ores belonged to him, which was why he didnt treasure them. Only after losing them would he understand that they were valuable.
Upon hearing that, Yu Xiao Tiea fell into her thoughts as she felt that he was right.
Certainly, it had something to do with the fact the two mineral ores that Lu Ye had taken back were worthless. The valuable mineral ores were the ones that were left behind.
Chapter 17: Applying for a Sect
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Pang Da Hai had said that someone would give them something and tell them to make a choice. As a cultivator from Righteous Sect, there was no doubt that he knew what woulde next.
As expected, not long after he was gone, all those who had passed the test and possessed the jade tablets were gathered together.
More than a thousand ves had been saved, but at this moment, only more than a hundred people were left, which was ten percent of the original number.
All of them were standing there in silence. A cultivator walked over and passed a piece of paper to every one of them. Lu Ye took it and had a look, only to see that the names of ten Sects had been written on the paper.
Righteous Sect was at the top while Green Jade Sect came next. There were also other Sects that Lu Ye had never heard of. Nevertheless, he saw Burning Moon Mountain and Hundred Flower Valley, which Pang Da Hai had mentioned.
These were supposed to be the Sects that hade over tounch an attack on Evil Moon Valley. The tier of each Sect was marked behind the name. There was no doubt that Righteous Sect and Green Jade Sect were First-Tier Sects. The tiers of other Sects were wildly different, which were mostly Fourth to Seventh-Tier.
Behind the tier of each Sect, there was also a note that stated the cultivation factions that the Sect focused on, which was the information Pang Da Hai had talked about.
At that instant, Lu Ye was somewhat grateful to Pang Da Hai. Without his introduction, he wouldnt have been able to understand what was written on the paper.
Just when he was poring over the information, a cultivator in the front of the crowd suddenly said, If you want to join any Sect, just take a pen from here and draw a circle around the name of the Sect. You can choose three Sects at most. However, which Sect youll eventually join will depend on your luck and the people in charge of taking in disciples for the respective Sects. If youre lucky, you might be able to join one of the two First-Tier Sects.
After he finished speaking, the ce fell into silence for a moment. Soon, someone asked, Senior, do you mean that while were selecting a Sect, the Sect will also choose us?
Thats right, the cultivator replied dispassionately. So, dont expect instant sess. If your aptitude and talent are not good enough, itll be pointless for you to choose First-Tier Sects.
Another person asked, What if all three Sects dont take me in?
Then youre not meant to cultivate, and youll be handled together with those without the aptitude to cultivate!
Upon hearing that, the people who had intended to try their luck became alerted.
Many of them had the intention of choosing both First-Tier Sects. However, if they really did that, the oue would be disappointing. Be it Righteous Sect or Green Jade Sect, they were strict when it came to taking in disciples. If these people were rejected by those two Sects, they would only have one chance left. If thest chance also slipped through their fingers, they would miss this opportunity to be a cultivator.
To people like Lu Ye and the others, joining one of the Sects would be the best oue, so no one wanted to miss this chance. At that instant, all of them became serious.
On the other hand, as Lu Ye was holding the paper and listening to the cultivator, his expression turned awkward.
[Why does it look like were applying for a university? After we were tested for our talent, the Third Senior Brother from Green Jade Sect gave us an introduction to the Sect. Then, the jade tablets we obtained were like test results. These Sects are just like universities, and cultivation factions are like courses. Now, were all applying for our desired universities. We also have to choose our top three universities. As for the Sects written on the paper, the top two are undoubtedly the best universities. Fourth to Fifth-Tier Sects are like average universities while Sixth to Seventh-Tier Sects are like below average universities.]
When Lu Ye saw thest name, he was stunned.
[Why is there also a diploma mill here?] Thest Sect on the list was Crimson Blood Sect, which was a Ninth-Tier Sect. He did not notice it at first.
The situation was pretty clear by now. The more than a hundred people here who had passed the test had to pick three Sects out of the ten. Although it wasnt so difficult, there was somepetition in secret. If too many people chose a particr Sect, arge number of candidates would be knocked out.
Clenching the jade tablet in his hand, Lu Ye secretly heaved a sigh. His one-leaf talent had put him in a disadvantageous position, but he still had to give it a try. Since his main attribute was Fire and his supporting attribute was Gold, he had a n in his mind.
There was a desk in front of the cultivator who spoke earlier. Some pens and an ink b had been put on the table. Then, some people stepped forward and picked up the pens to draw on their papers. After that, they passed the papers and their jade tablets to the cultivator. Soon, half of the more than one hundred people were done with it.
Yu Xiao Tiea walked over and asked, Brother Lu, have you made a decision?
Well yeah.
She went on to say, Why dont we go together?
Youll go first. I still need some time. Lu Ye had actually made a decision, but when he thought about his one-leaf talent, he felt diffident.
There were ten Sects and more than a hundred people. On average, each Sect could ept more than ten people. However, that was just the ideal allocation. Lu Ye was certain that Righteous Sect and Green Jade Sect wouldnt take in many disciples. Each of them would ept two to three people at most. In other words, the other Sects had to ept more people.
Lu Ye did not even think about applying for one of the First-Tier Sects. However, if thepetition was too intense, he would still be knocked out even if he applied for those Sixth to Seventh-Tier Sects.
He had arrived at Jiu Zhou more than a year ago, but he had spent the past year as a mining ve for Evil Moon Valley. Although he had been enlightened, he couldnt even find the second Spiritual Point. So, how was he going to cultivate?
Nevertheless, it would be a different story if he could join a Sect. By then, he could ask one of the top cultivators from the Sect to give him some guidance. Whatever the case, he wouldnt want to miss this chance, even if his starting point was worse than that of the others.
With this thought in mind, he stepped forward and picked up a pen from the desk. First of all, he drew a circle around the name of Crimson Blood Sect. It was a Sect with the lowest tier. Lu Ye reckoned that he was probably the only one who would choose it. Hence, this was a safe choice for him to ensure that he could join a Sect.
After that, he attempted to draw a circle around the name of Burning Moon Mountain. However, as soon as the tip of his pen came into contact with the paper, he suddenly recalled what Pang Da Hai had said to him. The fatty told him that he should lower his expectations and should not be irresolute. Only by doing so could his wish be granted.
At that time, he didnt understand what Pang Da Hai meant. He thought that it was just a piece of advice for him. However, now it seemed that there was a hidden message in his words. Furthermore, Pang Da Hai did not have any high hopes for him. When Lu Ye asked him which Sect to choose, he directly told Lu Ye that none of the Sects would choose him.
After all, he was a cultivator from Righteous Sect. Although he was greedy, there was no reason for him to mess with Lu Ye. In other words, even if Lu Ye also chose other Sects, he probably wouldnt get into any one of them.
Then, he closed his eyes as he knew that every decision at the crossroads of life was utterly important, especially the one right in front of him. Suddenly, he lifted his head and gazed at the cultivator before asking, Senior Brother, what if I only choose this Sect?
The cultivator looked curiously at him because no one had chosen Crimson Blood Sect before Lu Ye did, and it could be expected that no one would pick the Sect after him. That was because the Sect was of the lowest tier. What the cultivator hadnt expected was that not only did Lu Ye choose Crimson Blood Sect, but he had also asked such a question. The cultivator stroked his moustache and grinned. Youll find out about it after you do it.
Chapter 18: Elder Tang’s Dilemma
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
To lower his expectation, Lu Ye should probably choose the lowest tier Sect. To show that he wasnt irresolute, he should only make one choice. If Lu Ye wasnt mistaken, that was what Pang Da Hai meant when he said those words to him. The most important question for Lu Ye now was whether he should trust him.
After giving it a thought, he made up his mind and put down the pen on the table. Then, he passed the paper and his jade tablet to the moustachioed cultivator. Senior Brother, Ive made a decision.
The cultivator arched his brow. Do you need more time to think it over?
Lu Ye looked down and uttered, Theres no need.
His talent was indeed outrageously low, so it was pointless for him to choose other Sects. In that case, he would rather ce all his hopes on Crimson Blood Sect. Pang Da Hai did not have a reason to mess with him. After all, he had given him two mineral ores.
Alright. The moustachioed cultivator nodded before he stored Lu Yes paper and jade tablet. Then, he took a look at the tablet. Oh, you are Lu Ye the One Leaf.
My name is just Lu Ye, Senior Brother! The corners of his eyes twitched.
Alright, Lu Ye the One Leaf! The moustachioed cultivator smiled at him as he emphasised One Leaf.
At that instant, Lu Ye had the urge to scold him. He already had a nickname before he even ventured into the cultivation world, so how was he going to face other people? Also, who had spread the news that his talent was only one leaf?
A momentter, the moustachioed cultivator stored all their papers and shot into the sky. Then, he turned into a beam of light and flew towards the middle of a mountain in the East.
There were many pces in that location. The pces were the residences of those cultivators from Evil Moon Valley, but they had be a temporary base for those from Grand Sky Coalition now. Many cultivators kept entering and leaving the base. There were also a lot of items that had been collected and pending allocation. The moustachioed cultivator directly flew towards the innermost pce. There was already a female cultivator waiting outside the pce.
Seeing him, the woman asked, Is everything ready?
The moustachioed cultivator replied, All the papers are here.
Just give them to me. The representatives are talking about retreating from this ce. After theyre done with the discussion, Ill pass them the papers.
Are we going to retreat so soon? The moustachioed cultivator was shocked.
The female cultivator replied, Those from Thousand Demon Ridge have reacted quicker than we expected. Some of their Sects are gathering together, so we have to leave this ce quickly.
Upon hearing her exnation, the moustachioed cultivator nodded. Although many people from Grand Sky Coalition hade over, they were in the territory of Thousand Demon Ridge after all. If they got into a war again, the other party could continuously summon more people, which would put Grand Sky Coalition in a disadvantageous position.
Since Evil Moon Valley had been destroyed and they had gained a lot of benefits, it was the right time to leave. After passing the pile of papers to the woman, the moustachioed cultivator quickly left the ce.
The female cultivator waited outside the hall for a moment before a loud voice could be hearding from inside. Come in.
Upon hearing that, she quickly pushed the door open.
There were only ten people in the hall who were the representatives of the ten Sects that hade over to destroy Evil Moon Valley. The person at the front was an upright-looking and authoritative person, who was Pang Zhen from Righteous Sect. He was also the Deputy Coalition Leader of Grand Sky Coalition. He was the most powerful cultivator among these people as he was in the Divine Ocean Realm.
The woman walked up to Pang Zhen and respectfully put down the pile of papers before saying, Ill take my leave now.
After she was gone, Pang Zhen flipped through the pile of papers and picked out only one. Then, he passed the rest to the representative of Green Jade Sect.
For Lu Ye and other people, every piece of paper carried their future and dreams. However, to people like Pang Zhen, these papers were not worth their attention.
Every time they attacked the territories upied by Thousand Demon Ridge, they would save some people, and taking in the ones with the aptitude and talent to cultivate was just something they had agreed upon.
Each of these Sects had thousands of disciples. If a persons aptitude and talent were not particrly outstanding, no one would bother to spare them a nce. Apparently, among the people that had been saved this time, no one was worth their attention.
As the more than a hundred papers passed through the hands of these representatives, the number of the papers decreased. When the papers were in the hands of Hundred Flower Valleys representative, he picked out more than ten people. Just when he was about to pass the papers to the next one, he seemed to have discovered something interesting as he looked at an old man at the back of the row. Elder Tang, someone has chosen Crimson Blood Sect.
Upon hearing that, Pang Zhen, who was speaking to the representative of Green Jade Sect, couldnt help but lift his head. Are you serious?
He had just randomly picked one person out of more than a hundred people, so he did not pay attention to the other candidates.
Other people appeared surprised as well. Someone even said with a smile, It seems that this person is pretty astutepared to the others
Judging from his words, it was as if choosing Crimson Blood Sect was an incredible decision. The person at the back of the row who was called Elder Tang was the old man who had brought Lu Ye out of the mine.
Upon hearing that, Elder Tang was surprised as well. Their Sect had joined many such operations before, but no one had selected their Sect even though those who had been saved were given three choices. That was because Crimson Blood Sect was of the lowest tier. Any ambitious and aggressive people wouldnt choose this Sect.
Although he was surprised, Elder Tang still waved his hand. Youre aware that we dont take in any disciples. If it werent because of the coalitions rules, the name of Crimson Blood Sect wouldnt even have appeared on the paper.
Upon hearing that, the representative from Hundred Flower Valley uttered, Im afraid you cant reject him, Elder Tang. He has only chosen Crimson Blood Sect, and no one else has picked your Sect.
A shocked Elder Tang extended his hand. Let me see it.
After taking the remaining papers from the representative of Hundred Flower Valley, Elder Tang pored over the papers and realised that, just like what the representative had said, the person had only chosen his Sect.
Lu Ye Gazing at the name on the jade tablet, Elder Tang immediately recalled the young man that he hade across in the mine, so he was surprised that the young man had chosen his Sect.
The representative from Hundred Flower Valley uttered, ording to the rules, in such a situation, its mandatory for you to ept this person.
There was indeed such a rule in the coalition. Grand Sky Coalition would give three chances to those who had been saved. However, if a person only chose one Sect, the selected Sect had to take the person in. The prerequisite was that no one else had made the same choice. This rule was to give those who were determined to cultivate a chance. Only a small number of representatives from the Sects were aware of this rule, so there was no way that those former ves could find out about it.
This guy Elder Tang appeared helpless. The fact that Lu Ye had chosen his Sect seemed to have put him in a tight spot.
Elder Tang, its time you took in a disciple. The representative from Hundred Flower Valley persuaded him, then he changed the topic. Although this guy has been enlightened, his talent leaves much to be desired.
So what if his talent is low? It doesnt mean anything. You all have cultivated for years, so havent youe to this realisation?
Have you ever seen someone with one-leaf talent?
Thats terrible. How was he even enlightened?
Since hes made such a decision, theres no reason for Crimson Blood Sect to turn him down.
Im worried that those from Cinnabar Heart Sect will
At the mention of Cinnabar Heart Sect, all of them fell silent as if there was something that had stopped them from talking about it.
Rules are rules. If those from Cinnabar Heart Valley are not happy with it, they cane at me! Pang Zhen, who had remained silent for a long time, suddenlynded a p on the table. Elder Tang, just take him in. Although a person with one-leaf talent isnt worth nurturing, this might be a chance to save your Sect.
Elder Tang clenched Lu Yes jade tablet in his hand for a moment before he uttered, Ill think about it.
Chapter 19: The Result
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After making a decision, Lu Ye was finally at ease. He had always been an optimistic man. When he was captured by Evil Moon Valley and became a mining ve, he was able to ept the truth quickly. Presently, things wouldnt go any worse. The worst he could get was losing the chance to join any Sect.
Since the results would be ready soon, the people who had applied for their favourite Sects did not go away. Instead, they remained in the same ce and waited quietly.
On the other hand, the cultivators inside the valley became busy all of a sudden as they flew in the sky and moved between the peaks.
Lu Ye did not know what they were doing, but there seemed to be an emergency. However, he was just a budding cultivator whose fate was yet to be determined, so he wasnt in any ce to worry about it.
When the moustachioed cultivator, who had collected their papers earlier, reappeared half a dayter, Lu Ye knew that the results were ready.
The moustachioed cultivator walked up to them with a list of names in his hand, and upon making sure that everyone had their focus on him, he yelled, Righteous Sect, Cui Da Yuan!
When a burly young man heard his name, he was startled for a moment before he leaped into the air and eximed as excitement was written all over his face. The people around him shot him envious looks, and his friends congratted him.
Without stopping, the moustachioed cultivator ignored themotion and went on to announce, Green Jade Sect, Lu Tian Yi, Dong Peng! Rare Wood Mountain, Zhao Wen Lin, Tang Ni, Gao Rui! Burning Moon Mountain
He wasnt speaking in a loud voice, but no matter how rowdy the people were, his voice could be clearly heard by everyone.
As the Sects and names were announced, those who heard their names became over the moon because it meant that they would not have to be mining ves again and had the capital to change their fates. Unlike in the past, they would no longer be powerless to resist oppression.
At the back of the crowd, Lu Ye was quietly listening to the announcement with a calm expression. Unlike the anxious people around him, hisposure seemed out of ce.
Just like what he had predicted, the First-Tier Sects did not take in a lot of disciples. Righteous Sect only epted one person while Green Jade Sect only took in two people. They had taken in disciples for the sake of doing it. The Fourth to Seventh-Tier Sects were the ones that epted most people. The lower tier the Sect was, the more people they would ept. One of the Sects had even taken in more than twenty people.
Yu Xiao Tieas name was mentioned as well, and she was going to join Hundred Flower Valley with some other people. She was so agitated that her face started flushing, but there was no one who could share her joy.
More Sects had been announced, and those who hadnt got their names mentioned became increasingly fidgety.
Finally, after thest name was announced, the moustachioed cultivator put away the paper and uttered, Those who have been epted by the respective Sects should wait on the same spot. Your Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters wille over and take you with them. I hope that after you join the Sects, youll cultivate diligently and aspire to join forces with me to battle against our enemies one day.
Senior Brother, was that thest? someone asked in a shaking voice. Apparently, his name hadnt been mentioned.
There were ten people whose names had not been mentioned, including the one who uttered earlier. It meant that they had lost the chance to join a Sect and start cultivating. At this moment, most of them were crestfallen, and one woman even started sobbing.
Lu Ye was among the ten people, but he did not appear dejected at all. He had made a decision by choosing only the lowest tier Crimson Blood Sect. Since he wasnt even selected in this case, it meant that there wouldnt be any positive oue no matter what choices he made.
He had heard that a cultivator without a Sect could be a rogue cultivator. However, without a Sects protection, itd be difficult for the person to cultivate on their own. The upside was that he was free and no one would restrict him.
At the thought of this, he realised that it was actually a good option. Furthermore, he still had the Skill Tree, which was an unfair advantage that the others did not possess.
While he was in his wild thoughts, the moustachioed cultivator lifted his head as his gaze traversed the crowd and fixed on a particr spot in the distance.
In that direction, an old man was standing there as he stared fixedly at Lu Ye. He was none other than Elder Tang. He had already appeared when the moustachioed cultivator started making an announcement as he secretly observed Lu Ye.
Due to some special reasons, Crimson Blood Sect had not taken in any disciples in the past thirty years. If he epted anyone at this point all of a sudden, he would get on the nerves of some people.
However, if it was this disciple whose talent was only one leaf, it seemed to be alright. With such terrible talent, he was destined to be unable to achieve anything in the future, and it wouldnt alert some particr people.
Elder Tang did not want to take in any disciple, but he couldnt reject the coalitions rule, so he was in a dilemma. That was why he decided to personallye over to observe Lu Ye.
There was no doubt that Lu Ye was a little special among the more than one hundred people. Those who heard their names would exim in surprise, and those who did not have their names mentioned would be dejected. However, only he was standing there in silence throughout the process.
Recalling the first time he met Lu Ye inside the dark mine, Elder Tang heaved a sigh, and under the moustachioed cultivators attention, he nodded gently. He could not ignore the coalitions rule, so he decided to ept Lu Ye for now. In the future, he could make a request with his friends and send him to one of the Sects.
Upon getting Elder Tangs reply, the moustachioed cultivator put on a smile and gazed at the person who had asked him a question earlier. By the way, theres one more Sect.
With a solemn expression, he yelled, Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye!
Lu Yes mind was already elsewhere when he heard his name. After he was startled for a moment, he lifted his head and gazed at the moustachioed cultivator.
As their eyes met, the moustachioed cultivator uttered with a smile, Congrattions, Lu Ye the One Leaf!
[Is he not done with it yet?] The corners of Lu Yes eyes twitched.
The moustachioed cultivator went on to say, Alright, its over. Those whose names have not been mentioned, follow me.
Senior Brother! Lu Ye raised his hand and shouted.
The moustachioed cultivator turned around. What?
Staring at him, Lu Ye asked, Senior Brother, whats your name? Whats your realm?
The moustachioed cultivator touched his moustache and looked curiously at him. Whats wrong? Do you want to beat me up?
An emotionless Lu Ye replied, I wouldnt dare to. Im just grateful to you for what youve done for me.
Youre quite ambitious. The moustachioed cultivator giggled. Listen up, then. Im Le Shan from Righteous Sect, and Im a Seventh-Order Cloud River Realm Master. Got it?
[Hes also from Righteous Sect.] Lu Ye nodded. Got it.
Alright. Cultivate diligently from now on, Lu Ye the One Leaf!
Then, Le Shan led away those whose names had not been mentioned. At that instant, they were all regretful. If they had known this would be the oue, they would have chosen Crimson Blood Sect. At the very least, they would stand a chance to join the Sect, which was much better than the helpless state they were in now.
However, they were not aware that if they had also chosen Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye would not have been epted. Crimson Blood Sect had not taken in any disciple for the past thirty years. If it werent because of the coalitions rule, Elder Tang wouldnt have agreed to it.
Chapter 20: Boarding a Ship
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The cultivators from the respective Sects came over and took the new disciples away, so the number of people present slowly decreased. Yu Xiao Tiea left with a female cultivator from Hundred Flower Valley. Before that, she had bid Lu Ye farewell. In just one hour, all one hundred people were gone, leaving only Lu Ye behind.
Two hourster, the people from Crimson Blood Sect were still nowhere to be seen. Lu Ye wondered what was holding them up. Since he had nothing to do, he decided to look for a clean ce and took a seat with his legs crossed before he attempted to unlock the second Spiritual Point.
His first Spiritual Point had been filled and he had mastered the Golden Liberation Technique, which he had obtained from Manager Yang. However, since he couldnt find the second Spiritual Point, his progress was held up.
Yu Xiao Tiea had told him that this was amon problem facing cultivators who had just started out. That was because cultivators like them did not have enough Spiritual Power to locate their own Spiritual Points. There were two ways to solve this problem. One of them was to try their luck and slowly explore it. The other way was to ask a cultivator who was at least in the Cloud River Realm to give them some guidance.
This was the main reason Lu Ye wanted to join a Sect. During his time in the mine, he had made several attempts to locate his second Spiritual Point but to no avail. If he could join a Sect and ask a Senior to lend him a hand, it would save him lots of trouble.
However, no one from Crimson Blood Sect had yet to appear. Since Lu Ye had nothing to do, he decided to try his luck. It would only take him some Spiritual Power, but if he was lucky enough to locate the second Spiritual Point, his power would increase significantly.
Two hourster, he opened his eyes with a frustrated expression. It seemed that luck truly had nothing to do with him. He had failed in his attempt again. Fortunately, he had been given enough food recently and he still had some Qi Blood Pills, so he had ample vitality in his body. He just had to refine some vitality to make up for his losses.
At this moment, more cultivators were moving around the valley. It seemed that they were going to gather in the same ce, and judging from this situation, it was apparent that they were going to retreat.
Before Manager Yang passed away, he had told Lu Ye that Grand Sky Coalition couldnt stay in this ce for a long time as they would have to retreat in just one to two months. It seemed that what he had said was true.
Hence, if Manager Yang could kill Lu Ye and hide inside the secret passageway, he wouldve stood a chance to escape from deaths door.
However, he had never expected that amoner like Lu Ye had the guts to set him up by bringing him to a ce where he was engulfed in Yuan Metal Force Field, causing him to be unable to use his power. He still did not understand how he ended up getting killed by someone like Lu Ye.
Just then, someone could be heard shouting from a nearby ce. Lu Ye turned to look at the source of the voice and saw a middle-aged cultivator floating in the air. Spiritual Power could be seen undting around him as a thing appeared from his palm.
There was still some distance between Lu Ye and the cultivator. Before he could make out what it was, he would soon see a sight that he would never forget.
The thing that flew out of the middle-aged cultivators palm expanded along with the wind as it turned into a gigantic object in a short time and hovered in mid-air. It was a huge ship that was floating in the air!
The ship had three floors and was 300 metres long. Its entire body was dark, so it was difficult to tell what material it was made of. The outline of the ship was smooth, and the things that were embedded around the ship gave off an eerie feeling.
Lu Ye had never seen anything as bizarre as this before, so he was rooted to the spot.
In fact, it wasnt the only ship. Not long after the middle-aged cultivator made a ship appear out of thin air, more ships continued to appear. Following that, someone shouted, Everyone from the various Sects, board the ships now!
Then, the cultivators from different Sects who had gathered in the same ce turned into colourful beams of lights and shot towards the ships. Looking from afar, the sight was truly magnificent.
After recovering from his shock, Lu Ye could feel the emotions in his heart undte. He had been in this ce for more than a year. Although he was aware that this was a cultivation world, he had spent most of his time with mineral ores. Furthermore, the people around him were all lowly mining ves who could lose their lives at any moment.
Hence, he had never expected cultivation techniques to be disyed to him in such a colourful manner one day, which was beyond what he couldprehend. It also made him clearly realise that this world was different to the one he came from.
Its magnificent, right? Just when he was dazzled by the splendid sight, someone was heard speaking next to him.
Lu Ye subconsciously grunted in response, but he soon realised something and turned his head, only to see an old man standing beside him when he wasnt paying attention.
With a faint smile, the old man ran his fingers through his beard. As he gazed at the ships that were floating in the air, he said slowly, These are Grand Sky Coalitions Flying Dragon Boats, which are useful in upying cities and destroying fortresses. So, they would only use these ships when its absolutely necessary.
Looking at the old mans profile, Lu Ye recognised that the old man was the one who brought him out of the mine. Recalling how others called him, he immediately saluted him. Elder Tang.
In response, Elder Tang put on a smile and beckoned to him. Lets go.
Where are we going? Lu Ye was puzzled.
Elder Tang pointed at one of the ships. We should board a ship now.
Lu Ye replied hesitantly, But I have to wait for my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters from Crimson Blood Sect All of a sudden, he realised something. Are you from Crimson Blood Sect?
There was no reason for Elder Tang to look for him and even ask him to board a ship, unless he was from Crimson Blood Sect.
I was held up by some urgent matters. Did you be anxious from all the waiting? Elder Tang asked amiably.
[Hes really from Crimson Blood Sect!]
No, I didnt. Lu Ye was slightly excited. Earlier, it was handsome Senior Brothers and soft-spoken Senior Sisters who came over to fetch the other people. However, when it was Lu Yes turn, it was an old man from Crimson Blood Sect that hade over. With that said, the old man was a kind-hearted person.
That was because he had helped Lu Ye unlock the Restraining Lock on Zhou Chengs Storage Bag. Although Lu Ye wasnt sure about how powerful Elder Tang was, he didnt have the right to reject him if thetter wanted Zhou Chengs Storage Bag. Nevertheless, the old man only took a bottle of Dragon Tiger Pills as his pay and gave the rest to Lu Ye.
Lets go. Elder Tang smiled and leaped into the air. Then, Lu Ye felt that he was engulfed in a warm aura before he was sent flying towards one of the Flying Dragon Boats alongside Elder Tang.
After theynded on the deck, Elder Tang directly walked into the boat while Lu Ye followed him.
There were many rooms inside the boat. At this moment, many people, who were the cultivators from various Sects, were passing through the corridors. When they saw Elder Tang, they all saluted him in a respectful manner, which amazed Lu Ye.
Crimson Blood Sect was just a Ninth-Tier Sect. ording to what Yu Xiao Tiea had told him, Elder Tang was supposed to be a Cloud River Realm Master. If he was in the Real Lake Realm, his Sect would rank higher than Ninth-Tier.
Hence, it seemed that even though Elder Tang wasnt so powerful, he was respected by most people. [Does it have something to do with his age?]
When the young man and old man reached the innermost ce, they stopped in their tracks in front of a door. Elder Tang waved his hand, after which a light shed across the door. Then, he pushed the door open and entered the room. Lu Ye followed him closely and closed the door.
Upon entering the room, Lu Ye looked around and realised that it was a simple bedroom with minimal decorations. There wasnt a bed or a table as the only piece of furniture there was in the room was a futon on the ground.
There was a window that could not be opened. The rounded window frame was sealed off with a transparent ss, so the view outside could be seen clearly.
Chapter 21: Opening the Book in the Wrong Way
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the room in the Flying Dragon Boat, Lu Ye kept looking around. When he came to his senses, he realised that Elder Tang was already seated on the futon. Hence, he quickly walked over and took a seat in front of him.
Sometimes, fate was truly intriguing. When Lu Ye met Elder Tang in the mine, he could not have expected that he would join thetters Sect one day. Whatever the case, he finally had a ce to stay from now on. At the thought of this, he felt warm in his heart. He was left with no choice when he decided to join Crimson Blood Sect. However, if Elder Tang was also in the same Sect, it wasnt so uneptable after all.
Im Tang Yi Feng, Elder Tang uttered. The tenth Sect Master of Crimson Blood Sect.
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye was startled. Although he didnt know much about the cultivation world, he understood what a Sect Master was. Previously, he had spected that Elder Tang held an important position within Crimson Blood Sect, but he had never expected that thetter was actually the Sect Master. Therefore, he quickly saluted him. Sect Master.
Elder Tang nodded. Although Ive taken you on as a disciple, we do have some rules in our Sect. At the moment, youre just a disciple on paper, not a formal one yet. You have to go through some tests first. Ill not talk about the tests now as youll find out about it after you join our Sect. Furthermore, given your cultivation now, youre still far from being able to take part in the tests.
Lu Ye listened carefully and nodded. I understand.
Previously, the mining ves had to go through some tests if they wanted to join Evil Moon Valley, so Lu Ye wasnt surprised to hear that from Elder Tang. Besides him, those who had been selected by the various Sects were also not formal disciples yet. Every Sect had their own tests to examine the disciples temperament, morality and other aspects. Only by passing the tests could they be considered formal disciples.
Crimson Blood Sect is located on Mount Ao in Bing Zhou. The Sect has been around for a thousand years, and weve nurtured a total number of 63,662 disciples. As for Divine Ocean Realm Masters, there are
As Lu Ye listened to Elder Tangs narration, the history of the Sect seemed to be unfolding like a scroll right in front of him, allowing him to understand the basic information of the Sect. At this moment, he still didnt understand what these numbers meant. When he realised how incredible those numbers actually were in the future, he would be amazed.
A momentter, Elder Tang stared at him and uttered, If theres anything you want to know, just ask me straight away.
Lu Ye randomly asked a question that he was curious about. Sect Master, why didnt I see other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters from our Sect during the attack on Evil Moon Valley?
He didnt notice when Elder Tang went over to fetch him. However, upon learning that Elder Tang was the Sect Master of Crimson Blood Sect, he immediately realised something. Elder Tang seemed to be the only one who hade to this ce. Otherwise, he wouldnt have been the one to fetch Lu Ye. Any disciple could do the job of weing a newbie, so it wouldnt require a Sect Master to personally show up.
Well Elder Tang coughed into his fist. The thing is, we dont have many people in the Sect.
Upon hearing his exnation, Lu Ye replied, It means that not many people have joined our Sect, and its on the decline currently.
That seemed to be the case as a Ninth-Tier Sect was already at the bottom of the cultivation world in Jiu Zhou, so it was difficult for them to recruit any disciples. For example, of the more than one hundred mining ves that had been rescued, only Lu Ye had chosen Crimson Blood Sect, and the reason he did that was due to Pang Da Hais advice.
Well youre not wrong to say that. Elder Tang appeared helpless.
Then, how many disciples are there in the Sect now?
Elder Tang uttered, Change a topic.
Huh?
Dont you have any questions regarding cultivation?
Yes! Lu Ye nodded hurriedly. Currently, my first Spiritual Point is full, but I cant find the second one to unlock it. Please give me some guidance.
Elder Tang nodded gently. Its amon problem facing new cultivators. However, if you want to unlock the second Spiritual Point, you have to obtain a suitable cultivation technique first.
I do have a manual. As Lu Ye spoke, he started taking off his clothes, and under the shocked Elder Tangs attention, he fished out his second Storage Bag from his undershirt.
This was Manager Yangs Storage Bag. Before Lu Ye decided to leave the secret passageway, he had hidden it under his undershirt. There were many valuable things inside the bag, so he was worried that others might have their eyes on it. Since he had joined Crimson Blood Sect, it wasnt necessary to hide it from the Sect Master anymore.
After taking a look at the Storage Bag on Lu Yes waist and then the one the young man had just fished out, Elder Tang immediately understood that Lu Ye had killed more than one person from Evil Moon Valley in the mine. Youre such a cunning man! he remarked.
With a smirk, Lu Ye took out a book from Manager Yangs bag and passed it to Elder Tang. Ive obtained Golden Liberation Technique from an Evil Moon Valleys cultivator, so Im not sure if I should cultivate it.
Since this is a cultivation technique, you can definitely cultivate it. What are you worried about? Elder Tang took the book and opened it.
This is a technique from an Evil Moon Valleys cultivator after all, so Im worried that it might be some kind of evil technique Lu Ye was unable to finish his words because he suddenly heard some strange noisesing from Elder Tang. In this serene room, the noises sounded unpleasant to the ears.
While the corners of Lu Yes eyes twitched, Elder Tang appeared excited.
The noises became increasingly loud as some rhythmic moaning could be heard. There were also some strange conversations. If anyone outside the room heard it, they would think that the people inside the room were engaging in some kind of underhanded activity.
Unable to take it anymore, Lu Ye leaned closer to take a look at the book in Elder Tangs hands. As Elder Tang infused his Spiritual Power into the book, the characters on the pages seemed to havee to life. The noises that Lu Ye could hear were from this book.
It wasnt until this moment that he finally realised that he had taken out the wrong book.
There were three books in Manager Yangs bag in total. One of them was Biographies of Sword Saints, and the other was Golden Liberation Technique. Thest book was the one that was in Elder Tangs hands. Lu Ye had randomly fished out a book, but he hadnt expected that this was the one he had taken out.
When he went through the book in the past, he realised that the drawings were impable and the characters on the pages appeared vivid. However, it had never crossed his mind that the book was actually so amazing. [Did I open it in the wrong way previously?] That realisation made him stunned.
While he was in a dazed state, Elder Tang suddenly closed the book. At that instant, all the images and noises disappeared.
As their eyes met, Lu Ye uttered, Sect Master, this book
A solemn Elder Tang replied, This is a manual of dual cultivation technique, which is pretty useful. However, youre still too young to learn it.
No, Sect Master. This isnt my book. I obtained it from an Evil Moon Valleys cultivator, Lu Ye hurriedly exined.
Elder Tang nodded. Alright. Youre still very young, so Ill keep it for you now. Ill give it back to you when you be older.
For some reason, Lu Ye found Elder Tangs words familiar.
Elder Tang had kept the amazing book, but there didnt seem to be any Storage Bag around his body, so Lu Ye wasnt sure where the old man had stored the book.
Chapter 22: A Cultivation Technique Is Neither Good nor Evil
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Elder Tang broke the silence by uttering, Wheres the Golden Liberation Technique that youve just mentioned?
Lu Ye quickly took out the manual from the Storage Bag and passed it to him.
After taking the book, Elder Tang went through it and nodded gently. This is amon Yellow Rank cultivation technique. If you can cultivate it to the full, youll be able to unlock 27 Spiritual Points.
Lu Ye could understand what Elder Tang meant by 27 Spiritual Points, as he had seen that when he was poring over the manual previously. If he could cultivate it fully, he would be able to unlock 27 Spiritual Points. However, he didnt know what the old man meant by Yellow Rank, so he voiced his doubt.
Elder Tang exined, There are 360 Spiritual Points in total, which are in sync with the Macrocosmic Orbit. There are countless cultivation techniques in Jiu Zhou, and the number of Spiritual Points that can be unlocked is different depending on the cultivation technique. Depending on the number of Spiritual Points that can be unlocked, cultivation techniques are graded into different ranks, which are Heaven, Earth, ck and Yellow. Only Heaven Rank cultivation technique can allow the cultivator to unlock 360 Spiritual Points. For Earth Rank cultivation techniques, its 180 Spiritual Points and 81 Spiritual Points for ck Rank cultivation techniques. Then, he pointed at the Golden Liberation Technique in his hand. The lowest rank is this kind of Yellow Rank cultivation technique, and theyre the mostmonly seen.
Upon hearing Elder Tangs exnation, Lu Ye finally had a better understanding of the different ranks. [So, this Golden Liberation Technique is just a piece of trash in Jiu Zhou. Its no wonder that Manager Yang would bring it with him.] Fortunately, he did not take it as some kind of treasure. Otherwise, he would have be aughing stock.
The different ranks of cultivation techniques not only determine the number of Spiritual Points a cultivator will eventually be able to unlock, but theyll also create a huge difference between the cultivators powers when theyre in the same realm. Also, itll have a huge impact on a cultivators future.
Are you saying that a cultivator who has cultivated a higher rank cultivation technique will be more powerful and have a brighter future? Lu Ye asked.
Thats right. Elder Tang nodded. Do you understand the reason behind it?
Please enlighten me, Lu Ye uttered humbly.
Elder Tang gave it a thought as though he was trying toe up with a clearer exnation, for he hadnt told anyone about it for a long time. A momentter, he asked, Do you know the different realms?
Spirit Creek, Cloud River, Real Lake and Divine Ocean Realms, Lu Ye replied. He had heard it from Yu Xiao Tiea.
What does Spirit Creek mean?
Recalling what Yu Xiao Tiea had told him, Lu Ye went on to say, To unlock enough Spiritual Points so that our own Spiritual Power will be able to flow through the points and form into a Cosmic Orbit. Its called Spirit Creek Realm because we aim to make our Spiritual Power flow as smoothly as a creek.
Thats right. Elder Tang ran his fingers through his beard. How many Spiritual Points are considered enough, then?
Err Lu Ye was unable to answer the question.
A smiling Elder Tang pointed at the Golden Liberation Technique in his hand and uttered, If you cultivate this technique, youll reach First Order Spirit Creek Realm by unlocking 9 Spiritual Points, then 18 points for the Second Order Realm and 27 points for the Third Order Realm.
Lu Ye immediately realised that something was amiss. Arent there supposed to be nine orders for Spirit Creek Realm?
Youll only be able to reach Third Order Spirit Creek Realm by cultivating a Yellow Rank cultivation technique, which is why its the lowest rank. If you cultivate a ck Rank technique, youll reach Sixth Order Spirit Creek Realm. If you cultivate an Earth Rank technique, youll reach Ninth Order Spirit Creek Realm. As for a Heaven Rank technique
Twelfth Order? Lu Ye was shocked as he had never heard of Twelfth Order Spirit Creek Realm before,
Elder Tang shook his head with a smile. Its still Ninth-Order.
A puzzled Lu Ye asked, Why?
Elder Tang exined, Thats because different cultivation techniques correspond to different numbers of Spiritual Points even in the same realm. For example, by cultivating Golden Liberation Technique, youll only need to unlock 9 Spiritual Points to reach First Order Spirit Creek Realm. However, if you cultivate a Heaven Rank cultivation technique, youll need to unlock 18 points to reach the same realm. A cultivator who has cultivated an Earth Rank technique will reach Ninth Order Spirit Creek Realm by unlocking 180 points. However, for a cultivator who has cultivated a Heaven Rank technique, hell only reach Sixth Order Spirit Creek Realm after unlocking 180 points.
Lu Ye could somewhat grasp the idea. You mean, if we cultivate a high rank technique, well need to unlock more Spiritual Points to reach the same realm aspared to a lower rank technique?
Thats right.
In that case, we cannot judge how powerful a cultivator is based on the realm he is in, right?
A cultivator who had cultivated an Earth Rank technique would reach Ninth Order Spirit Creek Realm after unlocking 180 Spiritual Points. However, he wouldnt be a match for a Seventh Order Spirit Creek Realm Master who had cultivated a Heaven Rank technique, because thetter had unlocked more than 180 points.
At that instant, Lu Ye suddenly understood what Elder Tang had told him earlier. In that case, even if two people were in the same realm, their powers were not on the same level if their cultivation techniques were of different ranks. The rank of the technique would also affect a cultivators future.
Sect Master, since Heaven Rank cultivation techniques are so good, why doesnt everyone cultivate them? Whats the point of having Earth, ck and Yellow Rank cultivation techniques? Is it very difficult to obtain a Heaven Rank technique?
A smiling Elder Tang replied, Although its difficult to find a Heaven Rank technique, even a rogue cultivator will be able to obtain one if hes determined enough. The reason not everyone is going for Heaven Rank techniques is that every cultivator has their limitations when ites to the number of Spiritual Points they can unlock.
What do you mean?
When youre a new cultivator, its extremely difficult to unlock any Spiritual Points. However, as your own number of Spiritual Points and power increase, itll be much easier for you to unlock the points until you reach your limit. Once the limit has been reached, itll be difficult for you to unlock more points. So, itll be pointless even if you have a better technique. Its useless for a cultivator, whose limit is 180 Spiritual Points, to cultivate a Heaven Rank technique. Hence, you have to cultivate ording to your own capabilities.
I see. Lu Ye finally understood it.
Moreover, its actually better to cultivate a Yellow Rank technique when youre just starting out.
Because its easier?
Thats right. Youll reach First Order Spirit Creek Realm by unlocking 9 Spiritual Points. However, if you cultivate a Heaven Rank technique, youll need to unlock 18 points. By allowing your Spiritual Power to pass through your points earlier and bing a Spirit Creek Realm Master, youll be more efficient at cultivating. Hence, be it the rogue cultivators who are without any support or the disciples from the major Sects, theyll start with a Yellow Rank technique. After they cultivate the technique fully, they can still change to another technique.
In fact, Elder Tang didnt tell him the whole story regarding changing the cultivation technique. Only those rogue cultivators who didnt have a solid foundation and the disciples from small ns would start with a Yellow Rank technique.
Although there were no drawbacks in changing the cultivation technique, it would still be troublesome. Those with a powerful background would choose to cultivate either a ck or Earth Rank cultivation technique. That was because be it Yellow, ck or Earth Rank, a cultivator would only need to unlock 9 points to reach First Order Spirit Creek Realm. There was no difference between the three. A cultivator would only make a shift to Heaven Rank technique when necessary after he unlocked all the points and reached his limit. Those who were not capable could only attempt to achieve a breakthrough.
However, Elder Tang was concerned that Lu Yes talent was only one leaf, so thetter probably couldnt unlock many Spiritual Points throughout his life. Therefore, a Yellow Rank technique was enough for him. Certainly, he did not point it out, not did he look down on Lu Ye because of that. As a Sect Master, he did not show any impatience when teaching Lu Ye, who was a disciple on paper.
As for your worry that this might be an evil technique Elder Tang lifted his head and stared solemnly at him. You have to remember that only people can be categorised as good or evil, not a cultivation technique. Whatever the technique, its for people to cultivate. It is the Human heart that makes something good or evil. There are sly people within Grand Sky Coalition, and there are also upright people in Thousand Demon Ridge.
Ill remember it, Lu Ye replied respectfully.
Chapter 23: Spiritual Point’s Barrier and Residue
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Didnt you learn such things from Mystical Sky Sect? During the conversation, Elder Tang realised that Lu Ye knew little about cultivation, which was why he was curious.
It was difficult for Lu Ye to tell him the truth, so he replied, I was young and naughty in the past, so I didnt pay attention to the Seniors teachings.
A smiling Elder Tang uttered, Thats fine. Youre still young, so you can start working hard from now on.
Yes.
Elder Tang lifted his hand and pointed one finger at Lu Yes abdomen. Your first Spiritual Point is full now. If you want to unlock the second one, feel it carefully!
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye quickly straightened up. Feeling Elder Tangs finger on his abdomen, he realised that an external force was prating his body. It was Elder Tangs Spiritual Power, but it was very gentle, so it wouldnt cause any harm to Lu Ye.
The force passed through Lu Yes Source Spiritual Point and clustered in a nearby spot. Lu Ye was familiar with the spot as it was the second Spiritual Point for Golden Liberation Technique. He had failed in his previous attempts to locate it, but Elder Tang was able to find it with ease.
It was the benefit of joining a Sect and getting some guidance from a Senior, which could allow a new cultivator to save a lot of time and energy. The period of time when a cultivator was just starting out was most crucial. If he could unlock more Spiritual Points quicker than the others, he would be in a more advantageous position.
This is the second Spiritual Point of Golden Liberation Technique. You can try to lead your own Spiritual Power to this point, Elder Tang uttered.
Lu Ye quickly followed the old mans advice and led his ample Spiritual Power from his Source Spiritual Point to the second one. However, he could clearly feel there was a barrier in front of the point which fended off his Spiritual Power.
Every Spiritual Point has its own barrier. You can only unlock the point by breaking through the barrier. No one can help you, so you have to give it a try on your own. Given Elder Tangs power, he could easily help Lu Ye shatter the barrier. However, if he really did that, he might cause some irreversible damage to the young mans Spiritual Point. Hence, he could only help Lu Ye locate the Spiritual Point but not break the barrier for him.
It was the first time Lu Ye learned that there was a barrier in front of every Spiritual Point. He had managed to unlock Source Spiritual Point with the help of Skill Tree. Recalling what had happened, he realised that there was indeed something that had broken apart. Now, it seemed that the thing that had been shattered was the barrier.
Elder Tangs Spiritual Power did not remain on the same spot as it went on to flow through Lu Yes body. It would take a long time to break through a barrier. He had helped Lu Ye locate the second Spiritual Point, and the rest depended on thetters hard work.
A momentter, he retracted his hand and uttered, Ive left some leads in eight of your Spiritual Points following Golden Liberation Techniques cultivation route. Every time you unlock a new Spiritual Point, youll immediately feel the location of the next one. After you unlock all eight Spiritual Points, you should make your Spiritual Power flow through the Source Spiritual Points and the other eight points following the cultivation route, and youll be a Spirit Creek Realm Master.
Thanks, Sect Master. Lu Ye saluted him.
A smiling Elder Tang replied, Just go on cultivating for now. Itll take some time before we reach Mount Ao.
Yes, Lu Ye replied and just continued cultivating on the same spot.
Since the Sect Master was right in front of him, he could ask the old man to give him a hand if anything went wrong. After confirming the location of the second Spiritual Point, Lu Ye became energised as he activated his Spiritual Power from the Source Spiritual Point and tried to break through the barrier of the second point.
He wondered what the barrier was made of. Every time he tried to crush it, he could feel that it would be looser. Nevertheless, it felt terrible trying to shatter the barrier. Every time he hit the barrier with his Spiritual Power, it felt like his Spiritual Point was smacked with a hammer.
It would still be alright if it was just one or two times. However, after several attempts, he realised that his second Spiritual Point felt sore. Furthermore, it would take some Spiritual Power every time he wanted to shatter the barrier. It was then he understood why the Sect Master said that breaking through barriers was difficult for a new cultivator, but it would be increasingly easier as the cultivators power increased.
If a Spiritual Point was likened to a bucket, then Spiritual Power was like the water inside the bucket. Presently, Lu Ye only had a bucket of water. If he had two to three buckets, he would have more Spiritual Power to use, and it would significantly increase his speed of breaking through the barrier. He might even be able to achieve it in one go.
One hourter, he realised that he couldnt mobilise his Spiritual Power anymore as the water in his bucket had almost dried up. Hence, he took out a bottle of Qi Blood Pills from Zhou Chengs Storage Bag and dropped two pills on his palm.
Did you always use those to assist your cultivation? Elder Tang suddenly asked.
Lu Ye quickly replied, Yes. His chest tightened when he saw that Elder Tangs expression appeared awkward. Sect Master, is there anything wrong with these Qi Blood Pills?
Elder Tang frowned. Did those from Evil Moon Valley tell you theyre Qi Blood Pills?
Arent they? Lu Ye was shocked. He had consumed these pills before, and they indeed could help restore his vitality. What were they if they were not Qi Blood Pills?
Elder Tang took Zhou Chengs Storage Bag and dropped all the bottles on the ground before examining them one by one. Then, he passed a bottle to Lu Ye. These are the real Qi Blood Pills.
Lu Ye took the bottle to have a look and realised that the Spirit Pills inside it were indeed different from the ones he had consumed before. He had examined these pills in the past, but since he couldnt recognise what they were, he didnt dare to take them as he pleased. He had never expected that the pills he had been consuming were not Qi Blood Pills. The real ones were in a different bottle.
What are these, then? Lu Ye pointed at the bottle of pills that he was about to take just now.
Theyre the residue from refining Qi Blood Pills, Elder Tang exined. Not every attempt to refine pills will be sessful. If it fails, itll be residue, which is practically useless. However, some residue still retains some medicinal efficacies. These are the things that are left behind after failed attempts to refine Qi Blood Pills.
Lu Yes expression darkened when he heard Elder Tangs exnation. It was no wonder that he always felt there was a char taste when he consumed these pills in the past. He thought that it was the original taste of Qi Blood Pills, but now it seemed that it wasnt the case. He had been taking the residue from failed attempts to refine pills, which was why it had a strange taste to it.
Why did the Evil Moon Valleys cultivators bring this stuff with them? Elder Tang was puzzled.
Its for the mining ves. Lu Ye exined the mechanism of exchanging contributions for rewards in the mine.
Upon hearing that, Elder Tang took the residue. You cant have it anymore as itll affect your cultivation.
A nervous Lu Ye asked, How does it affect me?
Every drug in the world is slightly poisonous. The Spirit Pills we use for cultivation contain Pill Poison as well. The lower quality the pills are, the more poison they contain. In fact, the residue from refining pills is the most poisonous. Thats why even though you can rely on Spirit Pills to help with your cultivation, you cant be overly reliant on them. If you take too many pills, a lot of Pill Poison will umte in your body. The consequences could range from turbid Spiritual Power and difficulty in using spells to irreversible damage to your foundation and power.
Lu Ye was terrified upon hearing that. Previously, he had consumed 200 to 300 pills that were made from the residue. If it was as serious as what Elder Tang had said, he was basically doomed.
After a gulp, he asked anxiously, Sect Master, are there any guidelines on the dosage we can refer to when using pills to help with our cultivation? How do we know how much Pill Poison weve umted?
Elder Tang replied, Just observe your Spiritual Power. Just like what I had said, when too much Pill Poison has been umted, your Spiritual Power will be turbid. To a cultivator, the purer his Spiritual Power is, the easier it is for him to cultivate and battle against other people, and vice versa. I could see that your Spiritual Power is pretty pure, so you dont have to worry about it.
When he helped Lu Ye locate his second Spiritual Point just now, his Spiritual Power had passed through Lu Yes points, so he was clear about whether thetters Spiritual Power was pure.
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye felt awkward.
Chapter 24: The Joy of Cultivating Through the Use of Spirit Pills
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Sect Master might be unaware of Lu Yes situation, but Lu Ye himself was well-aware of his own situation.
.
Putting aside the fact that he had sessively redeemed more than 30 of those Qi Blood Pills residue from Manager Yang and consumed them over the past year, he had also consumed about 200 to 300 of those pills in the span of 10 or so days during the period he had spent inside the cave.
Under normal circumstances, taking so much residue into his body would surely have caused great hidden dangers to himself. So, why did the Sect Master im that his Spiritual Power was still fairly pure?
On the other hand, the Sect Master couldnt have been mistaken about something like this. Lu Ye might not know how high his cultivation was, but he was a Ninth-Rank Sect Master. He should be in the Cloud River Realm at the very least. In other words, there really was nothing wrong with Lu Yes Spiritual Power. But, how was that possible?
The first thing that came to mind was the Skill Tree. Even when Lu Ye had been in the mines, he had the vague feeling that the Skill Tree wasnt something as simple as the host for the Spiritual Patterns. It would now seem that the purity of his Spiritual Power was also rted to the Skill Tree. There was simply no other exnation for the current situation otherwise. Unfortunately, this wasnt something he could tell the Sect Master so easily. After considering it for a bit, he asked, Sect Master, how do you cure a person who has umted too much Pill Poison in their bodies and caused their Spiritual Power to be clouded as a result?
Naturally, they have to stop cultivating and slowly remove the Pill Poison from their bodies. This process will take a very long time toplete. Therefore, an excessive reliance on Spirit Pills during cultivation will not increase your cultivation speed. On the contrary, it will have the opposite effect. But, you dont have to worry. Appropriate use of the Spirit Pills as a supplement is not a problem. The key is moderation and knowing your limits.
I understand.
Hmm. Your cultivation is still fairly shallow at this moment, so it is understandable for you to borrow the help of Spirit Pills to aid your cultivation. But, why arent you using the Spirit Restoring Pills when you already have them? Why do you choose to use the Qi Blood Pills to refine your vitality into Qi instead? You must know that even though both Spirit Pills can assist you in your cultivation, thetters main function is to replenish ones Qi and blood, as well as consolidate ones energy.
He was surprised. I cant tell which are the Spirit Restoring Pills
He had taken out the Qi Blood Pills to consume them out of habit. All he wanted was to recover his Spirit Energy as soon as possible to break through the barrier of his Spiritual Point. He had not thought much about what he was doing.
Elder Tang burst into a peal ofughter before pushing a bottle over to Lu Ye. This bottle contains the Spirit Restoring Pills. Although these are the lowest-rank Spirit Restoring Pills and their quality is poor, its just right for your use.
Lu Ye tipped a single pill from the bottle and studied the appearance of the Spirit Restoring Pill carefully. [As I expected, Manager Yang had some Spirit Restoring Pills in his possession. Ive seen something simr in his Storage Bag. Its just that I didnt dare to consume them lightly.]
Now that he had the Sect Masters guidance, he confidently swallowed the Spirit Restoring Pill in his hand and calmly refined it.
After consuming the Spirit Pill, you need to guide the Pill Power so that it doesnt remain stagnant and causeplications down the road. The Sect Masters voice rang in his ears. This was the reason why the Sect Master had said that the lowest-rank Spirit Restoring Pill was just right for his use. With his cultivation of only One Spiritual Point, he would not be able to guide the dense power of the Pill Power in time if he had consumed a better-quality Spirit Pill. Once too much Pill Power had been umted in his body, it would have a huge negative impact on his cultivation.
After listening to the Sect Masters teachings, he did as he was told. A warmth slowly seeped out of his lower abdomen. It was the Pill Power of the Spirit Restoring Pill being released and converted into the Spiritual Power used by cultivators. Following his guidance, the Spiritual Power converted from the Pill Power slowly poured into his Source Spiritual Point.
His Source Spiritual Point, which had almost dried uppletely, gradually filled up again. The medicinal efficacy of the Spirit Restoring Pill was iparably better than the residue of the Qi Blood Pills that he had been consuming before!
In the first ce, Spirit Restoring Pills were more suitable for cultivation than Qi Blood Pills. Moreover, what he previously consumed was the residue formed from the failed attempts of Evil Moon Valleys cultivators in refining Spirit Pills. It had required a process of refining his vitality into Qi to transform his vitality into Spiritual Power. Therefore, it was only natural that it was utterly iparable to what he was experiencing now. It wasnt until this moment that he truly realized the joy of cultivating through the use of Spirit Pills!
His nearly dried-out Source Spiritual Point was filled to the brim again in less than half a day, but the Pill Power of the Spirit Restoring Pill was still in effect. Thus, he hurriedly guided the Spiritual Power in his Source Spiritual Point to charge at the barriers of his second Spiritual Point repeatedly. At one point, he vaguely felt as though something inside his body had broken and the Spiritual Power that had been blocked before suddenly flowed onward without any hindrance.
His second Spiritual Point had been unlocked!
The Spiritual Power brimming in his Source Spiritual Point gently flowed into his second Spiritual Point, which gave him a veryfortable feeling. Be that as it may, some of the Spirit Restoring Pills medicinal efficacy still remained. A very long time passed before he sensed that the medicinal efficacy of the Spirit Restoring Pill waspletely consumed. Only then did he open his eyes again. He was about to report his achievement to the Sect Master when he realized that the Sect Master was nowhere to be seen.
The Sect Master had left at some unknown point in time. Nevertheless, Lu Ye wasnt too bothered by the Sect Masters departure. The Sect Master was a Sect Master after all; he would surely be busy with his own affairs. Besides, he had already helped Lu Ye locate the positions of the next few Spiritual Points. All that came afterward was for Lu Ye to follow the steps he was taught and work hard in his cultivation.
Lu Yes goal was to unlock his Spiritual Points ording to the training courseid out by the cultivation method as soon as possible. After all, he could only be regarded as a proper cultivator once he unlocked those Spiritual Points with his Spiritual Power and reached the Spirit Creek Realm.
He also intended to test whether his previous conjecture regarding the Skill Tree was correct. Thus, he did not stop to rest as he took out another Spirit Restoring Pill and consumed it. The dense Pill Power was converted into Spiritual Power, which filled his Spiritual Points under his guidance. Two dayster, he had consumed almost 6 Spirit Restoring Pills and filled his second Spiritual Point to the brim.
He was startled by the speed. It had taken him more than 10 days just to fill up his first Spiritual Point when he first achieved Enlightenment. However, the same process now only took 2 days toplete. The gap was simply too wide. It could be seen that the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Restoring Pills were truly nothing like those residues, even if it was only the lowest-quality Spirit Restoring Pill.
He suddenly thought of Yu Xiao Tiea. At the time, Yu Xiao Tiea had told him that she had spent more than 20 days to fill up her first Spiritual Point when she first achieved Enlightenment. In addition, she had consumed a Spirit Restoring Pill at the time. It was something a cultivator of Evil Moon Valley had given to her.
Inparison, his cultivation speed was clearly abnormal. What he could be certain of was that it had something to do with the Skill Tree. Unfortunately, he had no means of figuring out what the exact connection between the two was at the moment. In any case, it was a good thing for him. He could probably unearth the secrets of the Skill Tree once his cultivation foundation had gotten much stronger in the future.
The Sect Master did not reappear again. Meanwhile, Lu Ye had already cultivated for two days. He was not tired, but he was starving. Ever since he achieved Enlightenment, his appetite had grown. He had already noticed this point when he had been in the mines. It was just that having a good appetite at his age was a good thing. The more he ate, the more vitality he would have. It wasnt convenient for him to leave in search of food. Fortunately, Zhou Chengs Storage Bag still contained some food. He was not too picky about what he ate, so he took them out and ate them with some clean water to wash it down.
After he had his fill of food and drink, he continued cultivating. He broke through the barrier of his third Spiritual Point half a dayter. Two more days after that, he filled his third Spiritual Point to the brim. The entire process consumed 6 Spirit Restoring Pills, just like before.
Although he wanted to continue cultivating, he was struck by a wave of drowsiness the moment he rxed his mind. He knew that he had been cultivating for too long. He had no choice but to rest for now. Taking out some bedding from the Storage Bag, hey down to sleep and soon fell asleep.
Chapter 25: Sneak Attack
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was gently awakened by the Sect Master. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Sect Master standing next to him and quickly got to his feet.
Sect Master. He rubbed his eyes and pped his cheeks, which immediately cleared the drowsiness from his eyes.
Its time to get off the boat, the Sect Master said with a smile.
The dozens of Sects that made up the Grand Sky Coalition had departed Evil Moon Valley together, but it was only natural that everybody was returning to their respective homes now that they were back on Grand Sky Coalitions territory. Several Sects had already left earlier.
Lu Ye gathered up his bedding and stuffed it back into his Storage Bag. Then, he tidied up his appearance before leaving the cabin with the Sect Master.
They soon arrived on the deck. Somebody was waiting there for them. It was a tall and broad middle-aged man with a majestic appearance. Lu Ye did not know this man. Upon a closer look, he felt as though this middle-aged man seemed to be giving off a powerful militant vibe.
The Sect Master stepped forward to speak with that middle-aged man. A momentter, the middle-aged man turned around to look at Lu Ye, who was standing beside the Sect Master. Being able to enter the Crimson Blood Sect is your good fortune. You have to do your best to cultivate well. Dont ruin the Crimson Blood Sects reputation.
Lu Ye quickly responded. Yes!
The Sect Master cupped his fists. Then, this old man will be taking his leave.
Please! The middle-aged man stretched out his hand.
The Sect Master turned his palm over and took out something from somewhere. He casually tossed it into the air, and a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage appeared on the deck with a sh of light. The two horses pulling the carriage werepletely snow-white and very handsome. Snorting lightly, they shifted their hooves restlessly.
Before Lu Ye could get a good look, his body floated over to the carriage. The Sect Master had picked Lu Ye up with his Spiritual Power.
Release the array! The middle-aged man shouted loudly. Following hismand, a gap opened up in the Flying Dragon Boats Defensive Array. A burst of wind roared in, causing the clothes of everybody standing on deck to p about wildly.
The Sect Master and that middle-aged man cupped their fists and exchanged greetings. Afterward, the two horses pulling the carriage raised their heads and neighed, clusters of light appearing around their hooves. They then rushed out through the gap in the Defensive Array and sped off into the distance at an extremely fast speed.
Watching the two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage disappearing out of sight, the middle-aged man turned around and strode toward the cabin. He left only one sentence behind: Bring that bastard, Pang Da Hai, to me!
Yes! Several cultivators from the Grand Sky Coalition responded with gleeful smiles on their faces as though enjoying another persons misery. They might not know what Junior Brother Pang had done to upset the Deputy Coalition Leader, but from the look of the Deputy Coalition Leader, Junior Brother Pang was probably going to lose a few kilograms.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was excitedly observing and touching anything and everything inside the two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. His eyes were filled with wonder.
He had arrived at Jiu Zhou more than a year ago now, but it wasnt until recently that he realized that the Jiu Zhou he thought he knew was not the true face of this world at all. There were many things about this world that he could never have imagined.
Take the Flying Dragon Boat for example, or the two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. The huge gaps in cognition had truly driven one point home: This was a world of cultivation. Joining the Crimson Blood Sect had finally given him the capital to step into this world of cultivation. Moreover, the splendor of this world was slowly showing itself to him, bit by bit, as his cultivation continued to increase. How could he have seen such wonders if he had spent his entire life in the mines?
These two horses They arent living creatures? He stood on the cowl and reached out to touch the butt of the horse in front of him. He discovered that it did not feel like flesh and blood. Rather, it felt as though he was touching a piece of metal. It was cold and cool to touch. Upon a closer look, he realized that the two horses did not give off the aura a living creature should have. It was just that they were so vivid and lifelike that they gave off the illusion of being alive. On the other hand, the carriage behind him was open-aired. There was arge umbre on top of the carriage. That umbre spun in the wind, releasing rays of light that hung down like threads and blocked the high winds when they were traveling through the sky.
The Sect Master was sitting in the carriage. Heughed when he heard those words. These were created by a Golem Master for transportation purposes.
A Golem Master. Lu Ye was curious.
Its a kind of external cultivation. They excel at making tools. Im sure you will get the opportunity to meet them in the future.
Lu Ye stopped asking questions. He enthusiastically looked around a bit more before entering the carriage and taking his seat. The carriage was very spacious. It could easily fit 3 to 5 people without issue.
Naturally, he was not so stupid as to sit next to the Sect Master. He was familiar with the basic etiquette of showing respect to his Master. Therefore, the position he took was the seat in front of the Sect Master so that he was facing the Sect Master.
How did your cultivation go? the Sect Master asked.
It went well, Lu Ye replied. He had confirmed something during that period of cultivation: He didnt seem to be affected by any major hidden dangers of overdosing on Spirit Pills while cultivating. Over the past few days, he had consumed more than 10 Spirit Restoring Pills and managed to unlock his third Spiritual Point. Leave aside the rate of efficiency for other people when it came to their cultivation; at the very least, it was impossible for them to consume Spirit Pills as continuously as him.
The situation the Sect Master had mentioned regarding Pill Poison umtion, which would ultimately lead to the clouding of ones Spiritual Power, had not urred in him. It was possible that he had yet to reach the threshold. He had only consumed more than 10 Spirit Restoring Pills after all. This point would require further observation before he could form any conclusions.
He was considering whether to mention the fact that he had unlocked his Spiritual Points. While he was hesitating, he heard the Sect Master speaking. Which path do you intend to choose out of the Six Factions?
The so-called Six Factions was, without a doubt, the information that Pang Da Hai had mentioned before. Lu Ye had never considered this question before. At the moment, it could be said that he had only just been exposed to the world of cultivation. He was ignorant of everything. How could he decide on the path he wanted to take in the future? Thus, he asked, Sect Master, what do you think?
Elder Tang reached out his hand and stroked his beard. Your body is not that strong, and you do not have any unique talents. Therefore, you are not suited to the body tempering cultivation faction. Out of the Five Elements, your Primary Attribute is Fire which is supplemented by the Gold Attribute. Hence, you are unsuited to the medicine cultivation faction and ghost cultivation faction. The only ones left are thebat cultivation faction, spell cultivation faction, and external cultivation. Speaking of external cultivation Every cultivator actually knows something or other about external cultivation, so it can be regarded as a supplementary cultivation. Theres no need to specialize in it.
Lu Ye understood. In other words, the only suitable paths for this disciple are thebat cultivation faction and the spell cultivation faction?
Thats correct.
Sect Master, which path did you take? he asked curiously.
Elder Tang chuckled. This old man is in the spell cultivation faction, but you dont need to imitate me. Its a step-by-step process to determine the path you want to take. You need to ask yourself this question. Im asking you this question now just to give you an idea. Im not trying to force you into making a decision in a hurry. Once we return to Mount Ao
Lu Ye was listening to the Sect Masters teachings when he suddenly felt the world spinning around him. Immediately after that, he heard a loud explosion that left his ears ringing. As his vision spun, he saw a ball of mes burning in mid-air out of the corner of the eyes. He looked in that direction and discovered that it was a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage that was on fire. He did not know what kind of attack that carriage had encountered, but it had fallen apartpletely. The two horses that were pulling the carriage had also broken into pieces and scattered in the air.
Lu Ye shook his head. He had the feeling that the two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage that was burning was identical to the one he had been riding in previously. The realization suddenly dawned on him. [Thats the carriage I was riding in before! Its just that it encountered an unknown attack!]
It wasnt until this moment that he discovered he had been pulled out of the carriage by the Sect Master and was currently floating in mid-air. There was a bright light glowing around the Sect Master, and he was enveloped in that light. Concurrently, the Sect Master was casting a cultivation technique and coldly studying his surroundings with an extremely solemn expression.
Chapter 26: Official Disciple
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
[Weve been ambushed!] Even though Lu Yes head was spinning, he quickly understood the truth of the matter and couldnt help feeling anxious as a result. He was only a Three Spiritual Point cultivator. How could he cope with a situation like this?
A yellow ray of light suddenly shot out from the hill below them. It was aimed directly at the spot where Lu Ye and the Sect Master were standing. That yellow ray of light was steady and extremely fast, arriving in front of them in an instant.
The Sect Masters hair, beard, and clothes were pping wildly in the wind. He quickly drew a circle in the air, his Spiritual Power surging at the tips of his fingers. A Spiritual Power Shield visible to the naked eye immediately formed. It was circr in shape, forming a barrier behind the Sect Master and Lu Ye. There were countless exquisite runes in the shield that were swimming about like tadpoles.
There was a loud boom. The yellow ray of light mmed into the shield and was firmly blocked by the shield. However, it gushed forward like a spring, sting toward them continuously. The Sect Master red at it furiously. Spiritual Power fluctuated in his palm as he maintained the Spiritual Power Shield, stuck in a stalemate with that yellow light.
Having never seen such a mysterious fighting scene before, Lu Ye was utterly stunned by the sight for quite some time.
While the yellow light and the Spiritual Power Shield were shing against each other, the sound of something kicking off against the ground on the other side rang out deafeningly. He turned his head to look in that direction only to see a figure as burly as a steel tower soaring into the sky and rushing toward this direction. Below the figure, a small hill shattered to pieces. It had obviously been crushed by that man.
The man lunging toward them was enveloped in a blood-red light as though his blood was evaporating from his body, which made him look extremely brutal. Meanwhile, the Sect Master was casting spells and wrestling with the yellow light at this moment. The burly cultivator clearly wanted to make use of this opportunity to rush forward. His speed was extremely fast and he arrived within 100 meters of the Sect Master.
The Sect Master changed the cultivation technique he was casting. The Spiritual Power Shield that had been contending with the yellow light immediately turned in a different direction slightly. The yellow light hit against the Spiritual Power Shield, but the shield that was as smooth as a mirror deflected the trajectory of that yellow light and directed it toward the burly figure instead.
The burly figure clearly never expected something like that to happen. By the time he saw the yellow light shooting toward him, it was already toote to avoid the attack. He could only let out a roar and put up his arms in front of him. In the next moment, the burly figure was enveloped in the yellow light. He staggered from the impact, a burnt smelling from his flesh and blood.
Lu Ye almost couldnt help cheering at the sight. Although he couldnt see the dangers during the short exchange with his eyesight, the Sect Masters attack gave off an inexorable vibe. It was an extremely light yet sophisticated movement. However, he was enveloped by a huge sense of horror immediately afterward. His whole body instantly went cold as though all the blood in his body had frozen over. Before he could figure out what was going on, the Sect Master let out a groan. A glimmer of blood appeared in front of his eyes and the scent of blood filled his nostrils.
The world spun dizzily. By the time Lu Ye returned to his senses, he lowered his head to look with a shocked expression. It was because a 30-centimeter-long wound had appeared on the Sect Masters abdomen. The flesh around the wound was curled. A trace of something green surrounded the edges of the wound, wriggling like maggots. He did not know when the Sect Master had gotten injured nor who had injured the Sect Master.
At this moment, the Sect Masters Spiritual Power poured out. He desperately escaped in a certain direction at a great speed, bringing Lu Ye with him.
Howling gusts of wind whistled in Lu Yes ears. He was safe and secure with the protection of the Sect Masters Spiritual Power. It wasnt until this moment that he saw how many people had attacked the Sect Master.
One of them was the burly figure he had noticed earlier. There was also a thin man. That person was probably the sneak attacker who had shot out that yellow ray of light just now. That person was still casting cultivation techniques non-stop while in pursuit, interfering with the Sect Masters escape. Fortunately, the Sect Master was able to resolve those attacks.
[No! Theres a third person!] There was a flickering figure in the air behind the Sect Master, chasing after him relentlessly. That figure looked like a ghost and was hard to see properly. Judging by the slim figure, it was probably a female. Every time her body appeared, the distance between her and the Sect Master closed a little more.
They would not be able to escape sessfully if this situation continued. The cultivation technique cast by the thin man had greatly interfered with the Sect Masters speed. Not to mention, the Sect Master was injured.
At this point, how could Lu Ye not understand that the Sect Master had been injured by the woman with the flickering figure? The three people had a clear division ofbor. The thin man who was casting the cultivation techniques was tasked with exhausting the Sect Master; the burly man was tasked with distracting the Sect Master; the real assassination was supposed to be carried out by the woman hiding in the shadows.
It was just that they had underestimated the Sect Masters strength. Despite such an borately nned ambush, the Sect Master not only managed to survive but also had enough strength to keep Lu Ye safe.
The situation at the moment was obviously very bad for the Sect Master. If he had been alone, he would have been able to escape even if he couldnt have won against those three. This was the Grand Sky Coalitions territory. He would only have needed to hold on for a while. Help would havee eventually since he had already sent out a message for help the moment he had been ambushed just now. Unfortunately, he had to take care of Lu Ye and was unable to exert his full strength as a result. He was going to be surrounded by those three in less than 10 seconds at this rate.
[Lu Ye will most certainly die if a fight breaks out between us. Just the impact from a fight between cultivators of our level alone is not something he can withstand. He ispletely reliant on my protection to remain safe and sound. Im afraid I can only take a gamble at this point!] Having made up his mind, he asked, Lu Ye, have you ever heard of the Spirit Creek Battlefield?
Lu Ye quickly replied, No!
He did not know why the Sect Master was asking about this for no reason while they were on the run. It was a pity that he had honestly never heard of the Spirit Creek Battlefield before. His understanding of this world was simply too shallow.
Theres no other option even if youve never heard of it. The Sect Master sighed. While fleeing, he took out a jade slip and pressed it against his forehead. Immediately afterward, he took out an engraved block. The engraved block was square in shape. It was difficult to determine what material it was made out of. Light was flowing across the engraved block. It was easy to tell that it was an extraordinary item at first nce.
He shouted, Tang Yi Feng, the 10th Sect Master of the Crimson Blood Sect respectfully invites the Heavens to witness the eptance of Lu Ye from Bing Zhou as an official disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. May the Heavens witness this!
While speaking, he sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the engraved block. The engraved block that was already shing with light became even more radiant than before. Something seemed to fall out of the sky andnded on the engraved block.
Give me your hand! he shouted.
Lu Ye hurriedly reached out his hand. The Sect Master lifted the engraved block and pressed it against the back of his hand. With a loud bang, he felt as though his entire body had been hit hard by a sledgehammer. He immediately felt dizzy.
Survive! I will send somebody to search for you! The Sect Masters voice rang in his ears. At the same time, he felt the Sect Master stuffing something into his arms.
When the three people chasing after them in the rear saw what was happening, they immediately increased the intensity of their pursuit. That thin man continuously shot out rays of yellow light, forcing the Sect Master to dodge desperately. Borrowing this momentum, the ghostly figure of the woman swiftly drew closer to the Sect Master. She looked like she was about to take action.
At this moment, the Sect Masters figure suddenly fell downward and crashed into the trees on the mountain. This mountain was barren and overgrown with weeds, but he seemed to be very familiar with this ce. He urately found a dpidated pce among the weeds as tall as a Human. With a great swish of his sleeves, the weeds flew apart and revealed the true appearance of the pce.
Upon seeing this pce, the thin mans expression darkened. Stop him quickly!
The three of them had been hunting the Sect Master silently all this while with a posture that indicated they were going to kill him. However, they panicked at the sight of the pce.
Chapter 27: Thinking of Escaping After Stroking the Tiger’s Whiskers?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 27: Thinking of Escaping After Stroking the Tigers Whiskers?
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The thin man, who was proficient in casting cultivation techniques, quickly cast different cultivation techniques while shouting furiously. Spell after spell continued to shoot out in the meantime. On the other hand, the burly man moved as quickly as lightning with an overwhelming aura while the figure of the slender woman flickered in and out of sight. The three of them formed an encirclement in an instant and lunged toward the Sect Master and Lu Ye.
The Sect Master flipped his hand over. Several small banners appeared out of thin air. He shouted, Go!
The small banners flew away in all directions and concealed themselves in the void.
Rise! he shouted again. The Spiritual Power in his body surged violently. Immediately following that, a transparent curtain of light formed a semi-circr shape that covered the entire pce. Mysterious Spiritual Patterns flowed across the curtain of light.
The cultivation technique cast by the thin man sted against the curtain of light, causing ripples to form on its surface. The burly mans figure mmed against the curtain of light, and several Spiritual Patterns on that curtain of light immediately shattered. The woman with the flickering figure showed herself too. Her face and hands were painted with strange patterns, which masked her original appearance. It made her look rather ghostly. She was holding a dagger in her hands that resembled a Spirit Snake. She shed at the curtain of light aggressively, and more Spiritual Patterns shattered.
An Array! That thin mans eyes contracted at the sight. The information had not mentioned that Tang Yi Feng was proficient in Arrays. However, the speed at which Tang Yi Feng had set up the Array undoubtedly showed that he was very skilled in Array cultivation.
Three seconds! the burly man shouted.
The meaning behind his words meant that he could break the Array in three seconds. This was an Array that the Sect Master had set up in a hurry after all. Being able to withstand the attacks of three cultivators on the same cultivation level for three seconds was already an extremely remarkable achievement.
As soon as those words rang out, the burly man poured his Qi into his dantian. Then, he slowly threw a punch. It might have looked extremely slow, but his arm steadily swelled and thickened.
Inside the Array, the Sect Master ignored all three people standing outside. He dragged Lu Ye over to the center of the dpidated pce. There was something simr to a crystal pir that was as tall as a Human and as thick as a bucket standing there.
Put your hand on that and activate your Spiritual Power! he shouted.
Although Lu Ye did not know the purpose of doing so, he knew that the Sect Master would not harm him. Hence, he quickly did as he was told. The moment his hand covered the top of the crystal pir and he activated his Spiritual Power, the figure of the Sect Master, who was standing in front of him, began to blur without warning. He couldnt help feeling as though he was getting further and further away from this world.
Once you enter, find a ce to hide immediately! You must survive! Also Never tell anybody that you are the disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect! The Sect Master looked at Lu Ye with a look of guilt in his eyes.
Lu Ye opened his mouth to speak but could not hear his own voice. The figure of the Sect Master in front of him was bing more and more blurred. Even the world became blurred. When he came back to his senses, the Sect Maser was no longer in front of him again. Even his position had changed.
*Crack.* The Array shattered. The moment the Array broke, the burly man rushed at the Sect Master with great vigor. He sted out with a punch and secretly thought to himself. [I did it!]
In the next instant, a violent wave of Qi swept out. The already dpidated pce fell into further ruin. Only the crystal pir remained safe and sound.
The burly mans eyes contracted abruptly. He was staring at the Sect Master. The Sect Masters shirt was in tatters, which in turn revealed a well-defined and muscr chest. Moreover, he had single-handedly caught the burly mans punch. The sight caused the corners of the burly mans eyes to twitch in response. How is this possible!?
It was public knowledge that Tang Yi Feng of the Crimson Blood Sect was in the spell cultivation faction. However, he was unlike a practitioner of the spell cultivation faction at this moment. That was clearly the body tempering cultivation faction! Moreover, the level of cultivation he was revealing right now was by no means as simple as the information had reported.
Mission failed! The information was wrong! Retreat! The thin man proficient in cultivation techniques let out a shout.
The slender woman, who had lunged at the Sect Master, did not hesitate whatsoever and swiftly retreated. The target of their mission was gone. It was obviously not cost-effective to fight Tang Yi Feng to the death.
*Crack.* The sound of bones breaking was apanied by a muffled grunt. Several bones in the burly mans fist that had been caught in the Sect Masters hand were broken and crushed. Even so, the burly man was extremely stubborn. He didnt even make a single sound. In the next moment, a fist struck at him from an unexpected position and hit him severely on the chin. He was thrown into the air, and golden stars spun in front of his eyes.
Are you thinking of escaping after stroking the tigers whiskers? The Sect Masters gaze was lowered. He had appeared in mid-air while he was speaking. Then, he kicked out at something.
Something crashed into the ground. The slender woman, who had concealed her figure and fled into the distance, had been kicked in the middle of her escape. Her screams rang out as she fell out of the sky and crashed into the mountains.
Afterward, the Sect Master raised his hand again. A rope-like treasure flew out and curled toward the thin man.
A short while ago, Pang Zhen sat in the cabin of the Flying Dragon Boat. There was an obese figure kneeling in front of him. It was none other than Pang Da Hai. He was pinching his ears with both hands, looking extremely pitiful.
Pang Zhen mmed his hand on the desk and roared furiously. You stupid idiot! Do you know what you have done!?
Pang Da Hai looked very aggrieved. I was only giving some pointers to Lu Ye and directed him to choose Elder Tangs Crimson Blood Sect. Isnt that all?
Dont you know that that vites the rules of the coalition!? Pang Zhen was even more livid than before.
When Pang Da Hai had been giving advice to Lu Ye and Yu Xiao Tiea, he had done it in front of many people. Other people might not know what they had been talking about, but many people had witnessed it. An investigation would easily reveal that the mey on Pang Da Hais head.
Over the years, Elder Tang had apanied the Grand Sky Coalition on many missions and rescued many enved people. However, those who had the aptitude and talent for cultivation seldom chose the Crimson Blood Sect when the time came for them to choose their Sects, much less choose only the Crimson Blood Sect.
An exception had urred this time around. Therefore, Pang Zhen had found this matter to be rather suspicious and wondered if somebody had secretly taught them something. In the end, his investigation revealed the culprit to be his own family member.
Well, what now? Why dont you deal with me ording to the rules of the coalition, Uncle? Pang Da Hai nced at Pang Zhen, blinking his small eyes.
You bastard! If not for your mother, I would have pped you! Pang Zhen raised his hand to p Pang Da Hai as he spoke. Pang Da Hai couldnt help shrinking back slightly. Seeing that Pang Zhen wasnt nning to hit him, he smirked again.
Pang Zhen became more and more irritated at the sight of his smug, smiling face. Fuming for a while, he said, Thank goodness you knew where to draw the line. That brat only has one talent, so he wont be too aplished in the future. ording to Elder Tang, he nned to send the boy to another Sect the moment he got the chance. I hope it wont cause too much trouble.
Pang Da Hai frowned. Uncle, the Crimson Blood Sect has not taken in any disciples for more than 30 years now. The Sect will be deposed off ording to the rules of the coalition if they dont take in any disciples soon. Elder Tang and Senior Sister Shui Yuan are good people. I only gave Lu Ye some advice because I couldnt bear watching without doing anything. But, Uncle, what on Earth happened back then? Why does everybody want to suppress the Crimson Blood Sect to this point?
Dont ask what you shouldnt know. Dont forget; this is a veryplicated matter. Its not something a Cloud River Realm Master like you can intervene in. Dont act ording to your own assumptions on your own in the future.
Yes! He quickly responded, knowing that the catastrophe had passed him by. Then, he slowly stood up from the ground.
Who allowed you to stand? Pang Zhen raised his gaze.
*Thud* Pang Da Hai knelt smartly.
Pang Zhen gave Pang Da Hai an angry look. He was just about to reprimand Pang Da Hai some more when he scowled suddenly. Lowering his head, he looked at the thumb ring on his thumb. His expression changed drastically in the next moment. Afterward, he stood up abruptly and rushed out anxiously!
10 secondster, a beam of lightnded on the mountain to reveal a figure. It was Pang Zhen, who had rushed over as quickly as he could. He had not hesitated in the slightest, rushing here as soon as he received the message from Elder Tang. Lifting his gaze to look around, he saw that the mountain was a mess. There were traces of battle everywhere.
The corpse of a burly many by the side with a huge gaping hole in his chest. It looked as though somebody had killed him with a punch. On the other side, a womans body who was covered in strange patterns appeared to be twisted and distorted in a strange direction. She was also embedded on a mountain wall. There was another person under Elder Tangs foot. His head had been smashed to pieces and his brains were sttered all over the ground. Meanwhile, Elder Tang was topless. The Qi in his body was churning and his Spiritual Power was boiling.
The corners of Pang Zhens eyes twitched involuntarily.
Chapter 28: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 28: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
One body tempering cultivator, one spell cultivator, and one ghost cultivator. These three had concealed themselves andunched a sneak attack to kill Elder Tang only to be killed by Elder Tang instead. Pang Zhen quickly organized his thoughts in a short time.
Judging from the aftermath of the fight nearby, the three people who were killed had been cultivators in the Divine Ocean Realm. As for what level they stood in the Divine Ocean Realm, that remained unknown.
[Fighting three against one and still sessfully killing all three in such a short period of time It would seem that the conjecture that Ive held for all these years is true. The cultivation of this old man in front of me is not as simple as it seems on the surface. He used to be one of the three most outstanding people in Jiu Zhou after all!]
Were they targeting you? Pang Zhen broke the silence.
Elder Tang slowly shook his head in response. They were targeting the boy.
He originally thought that those three were after him. Only during their confrontation did he realize that their target was actually Lu Ye! The main target of that female ghost cultivator, who was the most hidden among the three, had been Lu Ye. She also very nearly seeded in killing him. The Sect Master had received the wound on his abdomen in order to protect Lu Ye from the attack. In the end, that spell cultivator even imed that they had failed their mission once Elder Tang sent Lu Ye away. That one sentence undoubtedly said it all.
That cant be. Pang Zhen furrowed his eyebrows. Where is the boy?
He did not see the young man named Lu Ye anywhere.
I sent him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Only then did Pang Zhen notice the crystal pir in the middle of the ruins. He eximed in surprise, A Divine Opportunity Column? This is the ruins of White Dragon Courtyard which was destroyed 100 years ago?
Entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield required the use of a Divine Opportunity Column. However, the Divine Opportunity Column was a gift from the Heavens that was usually erected in various Sects of all shapes and sizes. Not surprisingly, there were also many Divine Opportunity Columns scattered across the wilderness. If one were to look back in time, they would see that these forsaken Divine Opportunity Columns each represented the annihtion of a Sect.
The Divine Opportunity Column was made from an extremely durable material. It was also protected by the Heavens. Hence, it was very difficult to destroy and would be preserved for many years, even long after the Sect it originally belonged to had been wiped out. If anybody wanted to re-establish a Sect in this location, they would only need to respectfully request the Heavens to obtain the ownership of the Divine Opportunity Column for their own use. It was just that no Sect had been established in this ce during the 100 years that had passed since the destruction of the White Dragon Courtyard. Therefore, this ce had been deserted all this while.
Pang Zhen was a native of Bing Zhou. Not to mention, he was also the Deputy Sect Master of the Righteous Sect and the Deputy Coalition Leader of Grand Sky Coalition. He only needed to ponder a little to know which Sect had left this Divine Opportunity Column behind.
This is going to be troublesome. He furrowed his eyebrows together. The Divine Opportunity Column could certainly send somebody into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was just that there was only one result if a cultivator entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield without going through the Divine Opportunity Column of their respective Sects: They would be sent to a random spot on the battlefield.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was extremely vast. It was practically asrge as a continent. Now that that boy named Lu Ye had been sent into the battlefield, nobody could determine his current whereabouts. Even if Pang Zhen dispatched several hundred cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm into the battlefield to search for Lu Ye, they could not be sure they could locate his whereabouts.
Whats more, that boy was only a One Spiritual Point cultivator Entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield with such weak cultivation was basically a death sentence. The minimum requirement for the major Sects to send their disciples into the Spirit Creek Battlefield was for their disciples to be in the First Order Spirit Creek Realm.
Elder Tang Pang Zhen called out.
Elder Tang turned around to re at Pang Zhen for a moment before lowering his gaze. Crimson Blood Sect has tolerated oppression for 30 years, and yet those people still refuse to give up. This is taking it too far!
Pang Zhen sighed in his heart. He was also feeling very annoyed inside. The incident today might seem as though it was a simple incident where Elder Tang had been ambushed on the way home, but it actually involved a whole lot more behind the scenes. Not to mention, three Divine Ocean Realm Masters had died! These three Divine Ocean Realm Masters could not have popped out of nowhere, so who was the mastermind behind them? In the worst case, the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou would be greatly shaken by this incident.
He could clearly feel the rage suppressed in Elder Tangs heart. It felt like a volcano that was about to erupt. He had never seen Elder Tang in such a state before.
I never said that I was going to ept that boy into my Sect. Rather, I was thinking about sending him to another Sect to cultivate. Elder Tang gave a coldugh. But, some people are too impatient to even wait for a little while. He turned to look at Pang Zhen, an endless rage burning in his eyes. I want to know who is behind this!
Pang Zhen understood and nodded affirmatively. I will definitely give you a satisfactory exnation regarding this matter.
The duration from the time Elder Tang left the Flying Dragon Boat to the time he was ambushed had been very short. How did the attackers know his whereabouts? And, how were they able to n out the location of the ambush so urately? It was obvious that there were some dirty dealings going on behind the scenes that nobody knew about.
Lu Ye, that boy Pang Zhen hesitated for a moment before he continued, Do you need me to gather some people to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield?
Elder Tang shook his head sadly. No.
In that situation just now, it was impossible for Elder Tang to fight with Lu Ye around. Therefore, Lu Ye would have died if he had chosen to keep Lu Ye by his side. In his desperation, he could only choose to send Lu Ye into the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Be that as it may, what were the chances of a cultivator who had barely started cultivating surviving in that ce? Not to mention that Lu Ye had not entered the battlefield through his Sects own Divine Opportunity Column. Heaven only knew where he would appear inside the battlefield. He would have been turned into mincemeat by now if he had appeared in the territory belonging to any of the Sects under the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Even if he was fortunate enough to survive, he would still have a hard time doing anything in a ce as dangerous as the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
At this moment, Elder Tang could only hope that Lu Ye was lucky enough to appear in a no mansnd. That was the only way Lu Ye could stand a chance to survive. It went without saying that searching for Lu Ye was a must, but it would not be done through another persons hands. Besides, this matter could not be publicized or those people with malicious intentions would surely make things difficult for Lu Ye once they learned that a disciple from Crimson Blood Sect had entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield. If that happened, there would be no other ending but death for Lu Ye. It was precisely with this consideration in mind that Elder Tang had warned Lu Ye at thest second so as not to reveal his identity!
Lu Ye sat straddling a tree branch in arge tree so wide it would need several people just to hug its tree trunk. There was an expression of lingering fear on his face. Several dozen sturdy wolves were gathered around the tree beneath him, snarling and baring their fangs at Lu Ye.
He neither knew why he had appeared in such a ce nor where the Sect Master had gone. He had simply done as the Sect Master instructed, cing his hand on top of the crystal pir. Then, the world had gone blurry. By the time his surroundings came into focus again, he had appeared in this jungle. There had been a wolf not too far away. When they encountered each other, the wolf had tried to lunge at him for the kill. In response, he quickly drew a longsword and yed that wolf with everything he had only for more wolves to gather around.
With no other choice, he could only flee for his life and ultimately ended up climbing this tree. Straddling the tree branch, he looked around. All that entered his vision were thoserge trees that required several people just to circle its trunk. Therge canopies of these trees blotted out the sky, and only a little bit of sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves.
[Where is this ce? Where is the Sect Master? What about those three people who attacked the Sect Master? Why did I appear in this ce?] His brain was filled with countless questions. Looking down, he studied the wolf pack surrounding him. It looked like they were not nning to leave any time soon. Thus, he couldnt help feeling extremely helpless. In any case, the most important thing right now was to figure out where he was and determine his situation. At the very least, he had to learn the name of this ce. For that reason, he tried hard to recall the conversation he had with the Sect Master previously and soon came across a keyword.
Spirit Creek Battlefield?
[The Sect Master asked me whether I heard of the Spirit Creek Battlefield before.] The Sect Master would not have asked any irrelevant questions at such a critical moment. Following that, the Sect Master had taken out an engraved block, respectfully invited the Heavens to witness something, taken him in as an official disciple, and stamped something on the back of his hand.
When that thought shed across his mind, he hurriedly inspected the back of his hand. Unfortunately, he found nothing. Pondering for a bit, he poured his Spiritual Power into the back of his hand. A mysterious screen appeared in the next moment. A blue Spiritual Pattern suddenly emerged from the back of his hand. The Spiritual Patterns squirmed and changed, quickly transforming into several rows of words. Name: Lu Ye. Identity: Disciple of Crimson Blood Sect. Cultivation: Three Spiritual Points. Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield. Contribution: None.
Chapter 29: Current Situation
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 29: Current Situation
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye stared fixedly at the back of his hand, and it wasnt until a long timeter that he came to his senses.
Looking back at what had happened, he realised that the thing on the back of his hand must have something to do with the fact that the Sect Master had stamped an engraved block on it.
He had no idea what it was. Anyway, there were many things in the world that he wasnt aware of, and he wasnt afraid of facing the unknown.
The good news was that he had confirmed his location. He was indeed in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
By just looking at the prelude to the battlefield, he began having a premonition. If he wasnt mistaken, only Spirit Creek Realm Masters had the right to step into this battlefield.
He was just a cultivator who had only unlocked three Spiritual Points, so there was no doubt that he was surrounded by danger in this unfamiliar ce. He was lucky that he only came across a group of wolves just now. What if he bumped into some cultivators?
Since this was a battlefield, there must be cultivators around.
Without the need to give it a thought, he was certain that Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge were on the opposing sides of the battlefield.
He could understand the reason the Sect Master had sent him to this ce. At that time, the Sect Master wasnt able to battle against his enemies with him around. If he insisted on fighting with them, a weak cultivator like Lu Ye would end up in a miserable state. The Sect Master was left with no choice when he sent Lu Ye to this ce so that thetter could escape from a perilous situation.
The Sect Master had also stuffed something into his clothes.
At the thought of this, Lu Ye quickly snuck his hand under his clothes and found a Storage Bag. After opening it, he fished out a few bottles and a few piles of talisman papers. There were also some clothes and a jade slip.
He meticulously examined every one of them.
The bottles contained two types of Spirit Pills, which were Qi Blood Pills and Spirit Restoring Pills. The number of Spirit Restoring Pills was greater than that of Qi Blood Pills. There were about twenty Spirit Restoring Pills in two bottles and fewer than ten Qi Blood Pills in a bottle.
On the other hand, he had never seen these kinds of talisman papers before, but he had figured out what they were.
As expected, they were Spirit Talisman Papers.
Some of the external cultivators were experts in drawing talisman papers. Spirit Talisman Papers could help a cultivator to cultivate or battle against their enemies. However, Lu Ye didnt have a chance to learn about it, so he had never seen it before.
There were many kinds of Spirit Talisman Papers in the Storage Bag. For example, there were Thunderbolt Talisman Papers that could protect the user, Fiery Snake Talisman Papers that could be used to attack the enemies, Breathing Curbing Talisman Papers that were of auxiliary use, and Shadow Reflecting Talisman Papers that could conceal the user. The uses of each type of? talisman papers had been clearly written as if the Sect Master was worried that Lu Ye wouldnt know how to use them. There were more than thirty of them.
Looking at all the stuff, Lu Ye felt warm in his heart.
There was no doubt that the Sect Master had specifically prepared these items for him because the Spirit Pills and the Spirit Talisman Papers were only suitable for a cultivator at Lu Yes level. They were useless to the Sect Master.
Furthermore, the clothes were meant for a young man.
Looking back at their journey on Flying Dragon Boat, during the several days when the Sect Master had gone missing, Lu Ye realised that the Sect Master must have collected these items, which were useful for Lu Ye, from the disciples from other Sects.
Perhaps the Sect Master had intended to pass them to him after they returned to Mount Ao. However, since they hade across such an incident on their way back, he had no choice but to give these items to him earlier.
There was no doubt that these items were extremely valuable for a person who had just started cultivating. Besides the Spirit Pills, the Spirit Talisman Papers also looked very expensive.
He had never seen any talisman papers in the Storage Bags of Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng, which went to show that talisman papers were valuable. Nevertheless, the Sect Master had collected more than thirty of them with different uses and passed them to him.
After gently taking a breath, Lu Ye stored everything and picked up the jade slip.
If he wasnt mistaken, this jade slip was the one that the Sect Master had fished out when they were running away from their enemies. At that time, the Sect Master asked Lu Ye whether thetter had heard of Spirit Creek Battlefield before. Lu Ye replied that he hadnt heard of it, after which the Sect Master took out a jade slip and pressed it against his own forehead.
Perhaps the jade slip contained some information that the Sect Master wanted him to know. He wasnt able to exin it to him in that kind of perilous situation, which was why he decided to leave the message to him in such a way.
Lu Ye activated his Spiritual Power and infused it into the jade slip. However, the jade slip did not react to his power, which puzzled him.
After giving it a thought, he decided to press the jade slip against his forehead just like how the Sect Master had done it before he activated his Spiritual Power again.
At that instant, a lot of information prated his mind, which caused him to fall into a dazed state.
Momentster, he lowered the jade slip with a conflicted expression.
The information the Sect Master had left behind for him in the jade slip was about Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Jiu Zhou was made up of nine continents, but they were not the only known areas in the world. Besides the nine continents, there were also some other spaces.
Spirit Creek Battlefield was one of them.
No one was certain where exactly Spirit Creek Battlefield was located in Jiu Zhou. In the past, some Divine Ocean Realm Masters attempted to explore the secret behind the battlefield, but over the years, no one had managed to obtain any useful clues. In the end, the battlefield remained a mystery.
.
The conflicts between Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge did not only happen in Jiu Zhou. Their shes in such spaces were most intense.
In order to enter Spirit Creek Battlefield, one had to make use of a Divine Opportunity Column, which was the crystal column Lu Ye had seen previously. Basically, every Sect had a column like this. Even if the Sects were destroyed, the columns would be kept. Over the years, countless Sects in Jiu Zhou had been devastated, so there were also an innumerable number of Divine Opportunity Columns.
After the cultivators entered Spirit Creek Battlefield through their Sects own Divine Opportunity Column, they would arrive at a particr area. This area was normally built to be the base for the Sect in the battlefield. Some strong cultivators would be stationed here all year round to fend off any intruders.
However, if a cultivator did not enter the battlefield through their Sects own Divine Opportunity Column, they would randomly appear on a spot in the battlefield.
Hence, cultivators would normally go through their Sects column to go into the battlefield. They wouldnt choose to use other Sects columns unless they got the approval from the respective Sect Masters. They would be marked with a particr engraved block before they could appear in the bases of other Sects.
The Sect Master did not have a better option when he and Lu Ye were in that kind of situation. Although he was aware that there was only a slim chance for Lu Ye to survive if thetter was sent to Spirit Creek Battlefield, he still had to give it a try.
After checking out the message in the jade slip, Lu Ye finally understood the current situation he was in.
Presently, he was somewhere in the battlefield, but he wasnt certain about his exact location. That was because the battlefield was asrge as a continent.
The invisible thing on the back of his hand was a Battlefield Imprint. Basically, every cultivator that had entered the battlefield had it. The cultivators background, cultivation and achievements were recorded in the imprint.
This thing was also crucial for him to find his way out.
His Battlefield Imprint was marked by the Sect Master using the Crimson Blood Sects engraved block, so this imprint was connected to the Divine Opportunity Column in the Crimson Blood Sects base. By just following the connection, Lu Ye could reach his Sects base in Spirit Creek Battlefield and go back to Crimson Blood Sect.
Chapter 30: The Power of a Talisman Paper
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 30: The Power of a Talisman Paper
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After going through all the clues, Lu Ye had a better understanding of the situation he was in now.
There was no doubt that he was in a perilous situation. The biggest problem was that his cultivation was too weak, as even a group of wolves were able to get him trapped on a tree. If he came across any ill-intentioned cultivator, he would be powerless to counterattack.
The good news was that with the Battlefield Imprint, he was certain which direction he should be heading. However, he had no idea how far he was away from the Crimson Blood Sects base.
In order to reach the Sects base in Spirit Creek Battlefield, he needed to have powerful cultivation. Hence, the most important task for him now was to increase his power.
Presently, he had many Spirit Pills with him. If he could absorb and refine all these pills, his power would increase significantly. He couldnt be certain which order in the Spirit Creek Realm he would reach, but he would have enough power to defend himself at the very least.
With the n in his head, Lu Ye looked down at the wolves that had gathered around the tree. If he wanted to cultivate, he had to get out of the woods first. Currently, it wasnt a proper situation for him to cultivate.
Although these ferocious wolves were not able to harm him, they were making noise, which might attract the attention of others. Hence, there was potential danger.
After giving it some thought, he fished out the talisman papers from the Storage Bag that the Sect Master had given him, then he picked out a Thunderbolt Talisman Paper from the pile.
Of the more than thirty talisman papers, only half of them could be used to attack. The rest were either for defensive or auxiliary use. The dozen talisman papers that were meant for attack either had a Fire or Gold Attribute, which were suitable for a cultivator like Lu Ye, whose main attribute was Fire while his supporting attribute was Gold.
The Sect Master must have taken that into consideration when collecting the talisman papers.
Lu Ye did not choose to use the Fire Attribute Talisman Papers because he was worried that they would create noise. After all, Explosive Talisman Papers and Fiery Snake Talisman Papers just sounded violent.
The problem he was facing was that he wasnt sure how to activate the talisman paper, as he had never used one before. Whatever the case, he had to give it a try to get out of trouble. With the talisman paper in his hand, he carefully infused his Spiritual Power into it.
At that instant, the talisman paper started gleaming with a golden glow. Following that, the golden light formed into something like a disc. The washbasin-sized disc was golden and translucent with Spiritual Patterns swirling on it.
Before Lu Ye could understand what was going on, a golden de that looked like a crescent moon shot out from the disc and disappeared the next moment.
Hearing a thud, Lu Ye looked up and saw a deep cut on a tree trunk, which required a few people to encircle it.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!* des that looked like crescent moons kept shooting out from the golden and translucent disc. At that instant, all the twigs around him were cut off and then fell to the ground.
I see! Upon realising how to use it, Lu Ye quickly adjusted the disc in his hand and aimed at the wolves below him.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The razor-sharp des broke through the barrier of space and shed at the wolves that had gathered around. At that instant, blood was sttered everywhere as the flesh scattered around the ce.
As soon as the des came into contact with the ferocious wolves, which were as burly as calves, they would be cut into half in an instant.
The wolves were apparently flustered as they started dispersing. Lu Ye continuously adjusted the direction as he aimed the des at the areas where the wolves were most densely gathered.
A metallic tang permeated the air as the wolves were killed.
Soon, the wolves seemed to have noticed that the situation wasnt in their favour. Therefore, after a howl was heard, the wolves below Lu Ye started running away with their tails tucked between their legs, leaving behind the more than ten carcasses of the wolves.
With the disc in his hand, Lu Ye continued shooting the des at the wolves as he was overjoyed.
Talisman papers were indeed very useful. Just one was enough to allow a cultivator like him, who had only unlocked three Spiritual Points, to kill the beasts with ease.
While he was in his thoughts, he suddenly felt exhausted as his heart started pounding against the chest. Then, he began seeing stars as he almost lost his bnce and fell from the tree.
bbergasted, he quickly stabilised himself and gasped for air for a moment.
After he recovered a little, he looked down and saw that the golden and translucent disc had disappeared. The talisman paper in his hand had turned dim and the patterns on it had be blurred.
At that instant, he understood that the talisman paper was no longer usable.
[But what was wrong with me just now?] Upon self-inspection, he found out the truth.
All his Spiritual Power had been exhausted as his three Spiritual Points were empty. The Spiritual Power that was stored inside had been dried up, which was why he felt so knackered.
Then, he quickly fished out a Spirit Restoring Pill and gulped it down before refining it. It wasnt until a momentter that he recovered a little.
Certainly, a Spirit Restoring Pill wasnt enough to help him recover fully. However, before the pill evenpletely dissolved, he leaped off the tree.
The atmosphere around here was too bloody, which might attract even more ferocious beasts. Hence, he had to leave this ce as quickly as possible. As for the remaining Pill Power in his body, he could dissolve it as he ran. It was just that it would be less efficient.
He even spent some time cutting some meat off the wolves with his sword before putting them into his Storage Bag.
After this incident, he learned his lesson. He shouldnt be too ted when using a talisman paper and he had to monitor the depletion of his Spiritual Power during the most critical moments.
He was fortunate that he was only confronted by a group of wolves this time. If he came across any ill-intentioned cultivators in the future, he could only wait for death if his Spiritual Power was used up.
Half a dayter, he entered an arid and dark cave. Then, he ced a futon on the ground and took a seat on it with his legs crossed.
There were plenty of such caves that could serve as a shelter in the wild. Upon inspection, Lu Ye realised that it was supposed to be a cave without an owner. By taking a rest here, he wouldnt have to worry that a beast mighte home all of a sudden.
The cave was dull, but it wasnt the right time to be picky. If things were going as he had nned, he reckoned that he would have to spend a long time here.
He had scanned the surroundings earlier and realised there were no traces left behind by any ferocious beasts. Instead, there were many traces left behind by small animals. That was some good news for him. If he was hungry, he could go out to hunt some animals so that he wouldnt starve.
At this moment, many things were scattered in front of Lu Ye as he was counting his assets.
Presently, he had three Storage Bags that belonged to Manager Yang, Zhou Cheng and the Sect Master. The bags were basically worthless. Every single cultivator Lu Ye hade across before was seen holding one bag. Perhaps some of the cultivators even had more than one.
However, he had never seen the Sect Master using one. Anyway, the Sect Master must have other means of storing items that he wasnt aware of.
There were twenty-five Spirit Restoring Pills, twenty of which were given to him by the Sect Master while the remaining five were obtained from the Storage Bags of Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng. There were twenty-six pills previously, but he had consumed one after killing the wolves.
There were sixteen Qi Blood Pills in total. Half of which were given to him by the Sect Master while the remaining pills were taken from the bags of Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng. There were also eight Healing Pills.
There were about thirty Yuan Metals of different sizes and some other mineral ores that he had no idea what they were called.
Besides that, there were a nove, a copy of Golden Liberation Technique, about thirty talisman papers of different uses and five sets of clothes of various styles.
The pills that had been stored in the Storage Bags of Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng were missing. He reckoned that the Sect Master must have taken them away when he was cultivating on Flying Dragon Boat. Those pills were probably useless anyway.
Chapter 31: Eighth Spiritual Point
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 31: Eighth Spiritual Point
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
For a lowly Three Spiritual Point cultivator, these items were undoubtedly a huge asset.
[I cant use the mineral ores and Spirit Talisman Paper yet. For now, I can only rely on the Spirit Restoring Pills and the Qi Blood Pills to further increase my cultivation.]
Lu Ye stored the mineral ores along with most of the Spirit Pills and Spirit Talisman Paper in the Storage Bag the Sect Master had given him, then tied the Storage Bag to his body for safekeeping. Afterward, he divided the remaining items into two parts before cing each part in Manager Yang and Zhou Chengs Storage Bags respectively. One was tied around his waist for easy ess at any time while the other was hidden in his chest area for emergency use.
When that was done and over with, he changed into a set of clean clothes. The clothes he had been wearing before were in tatters and there were also bloodstains on them from his fight with Manager Yang. If not for the fact that he had nothing else to wear, he would have tossed them out a long time ago.
He suddenly felt incredibly refreshed with new clothes and a new look.
All his preparations were in order. Thus, he took out a Spirit Restoring Pill, stuffed it into his mouth, and began refining the medicinal efficacies. A current of heat soon formed in his lower abdomen. It was the Pill Power dissolving and transforming into his Spiritual Power, then pouring into his Spiritual Points.
His Spiritual Points that were originally only half-filled slowly began filling up. However, he soon noticed something strange. He discovered that there were some strange existences next to him. They were invisible and intangible, but omnipresent. Moreover, he could only sense them when he calmed down and focused. It reminded him of the time when he sat on that array disc during the test to determine his level of talent back then.
[Is this Spiritual Qi?] Absorbing Spiritual Qi was one of the most important methods of cultivation for a cultivator. The supply of Spirit Stones could be exhausted. It was also not advisable to consume Spirit Pills frequently, lest the Pill Poison umted in the body. On the other hand, the efficiency of refining vitality into Qi was very low. Therefore, cultivators mostly utilise the method of absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the world. After all, the Spiritual Qi was everywhere in the world. It was only a matter of how dense it was.
From the time he achieved Enlightenment until now, he had only ever sensed the existence of the Spiritual Qi during the test to determine his level of talent. That was also only due to the atomisation of the Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Stones on the array disc. He had never felt any trace of the Spiritual Qis existence before aside from that one incident. That was, not until this moment!
[Why am I suddenly capable of sensing the Spiritual Qis existence now? Im sure its not because my cultivation has gotten stronger. Theres not much difference between unlocking one Spiritual Point and three Spiritual Points. In that case, is it because the Spiritual Qi in this ce is dense enough to make even me aware of it?] Lu Ye quietly cultivated and discovered that the density of the Spiritual Qi in his surroundings was only slightly less dense than the environment during his test. Even so, it was much better than the environment at Evil Moon Valley or the outside. [Is this environment unique to the Spirit Creek Battlefield? In that case, it is clearly more advantageous for a cultivator to cultivate on this battlefield.]
He was starting to gain a vague understanding of what the Spirit Creek Battlefield meant to most cultivators. In reality, his guess was correct. The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was indeed much richer than the outside world. Moreover, this was only on the outskirts of the battlefield. If he went to the encampments of the various Sects, he would discover that the Spiritual Qi there was even denser than where he was now. The higher the grade of the Sect, the greater the concentration of Spiritual Qi, and the faster the cultivation progress of a cultivator.
That was also one of the reasons why so many new Sects have sprung up continuously over the years like mushrooms after the rain. The establishment of a new Sect allowed them to obtain a Divine Opportunity Column, which in turn gave those Sects their very own territory within the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Cultivating in their own encampments in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was far more efficient than cultivating in the outside world.
In addition, the encampments of the major Sects in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were not only used for the sole purpose of cultivating but also to grow and produce Spirit nts and Spirit Herbs. It could also be used for other things. It could be said that each Sects encampment in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was the most important foundation of the Sects.
At present, Lu Ye did not know much about the situation on the battlefield. He had simply felt a slight sense of curiosity upon discovering the Spiritual Qi in his surroundings. Nevertheless, he did not bother cultivating by absorbing the Spiritual Qi. It was not an efficient method. There was no denying that the most effective method out of all the other methods for cultivation was by consuming Spirit Pills.
One dayter, his third Spiritual Point was filled to the brim again. He took a short break, took out the wolf meat he butchered from before, grilled it, and ate it wholeheartedly. Wolf meat was not delicious. Even if he grilled it, there was still a gamey smell to the meat. However, he knew that it was more important for him to focus on cultivating right now and did not want to waste time hunting.
He practically cultivated without pause as he continuously consumed the Spirit Pills one after the other.
Just half a dayter, he broke through the barriers of his fourth Spiritual Point.
Three dayster, his fourth Spiritual Point was brimming with energy.
Another three days passed, and his fifth Spiritual Point was brimming with energy.
Yet another three days passed, and his sixth Spiritual Point was brimming with energy.
Consuming arge amount of Spirit Restoring Pills and Qi Blood Pills allowed him to unlock his Spiritual Points, one by one. By the time he finished all the Spirit Restoring Pills and the Qi Blood Pills in his possession, he had already reached the eighth Spiritual Point. Furthermore, only half a month had passed since he began!
Unlocking five Spiritual Points in half a month basically meant that he progressed at a rate of unlocking one Spiritual Point every three days. If he counted the three Spiritual Points that he had unlocked previously, he was now an Eight Spiritual Points cultivator! He was only one step away from breaking through to the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm!
This cultivation speed was extremely shocking. He was not sure how fast other people progressed in their cultivation, but he was certain they did not progress as quickly as he did. That was because he had consumed too many Spirit Pills in this half a months time.
At this point, he could finally confirm something. He did not experience any major hidden dangers from cultivating by consuming Spirit Pills. His Spiritual Power remained as pure as ever. There were no signs of his Spiritual Power bing cloudy due to the umtion of Pill Poison like what the Sect Master had mentioned before.
He had exhausted his supply of Qi Blood Pills and Spirit Restoring Pills but had yet to break through to his ninth Spiritual Point. This made him feel a little ufortable. Thus, he tried cultivating by absorbing Spiritual Qi and was frustrated to learn that the efficiency of cultivating in this manner was very low. It was very difficult for him to incorporate the Spiritual Qi from his external surroundings into his body. Still, it wasnt to say that there were no effects. He estimated that he might have a chance of breaking through the barrier of his ninth Spiritual Point after cultivating for 3 to 5 months. Unfortunately, there were too many variables in a period of 3 to 5 months. He had to reach Spirit Creek Realm as soon as possible. Only then would he have the qualifications to barely scrape by on the battlefield!
Lu Ye secretlymented that the Sect Master had not prepared more Spirit Pills for him. However, this was his misunderstanding. In general, the correct cultivation method for those who were just starting out like himself was to consume one Spirit Restoring Pill every 3 to 5 days. As his cultivation increased, he could then consider increasing the frequency of consuming the Spirit Pills.
The Sect Master had prepared 20 Spirit Pills for him in one go. Combined with what he had from before, it would have been enough for him to cultivate for a very long time. Not to mention that he also had some Qi Blood Pills in his possession. Who could have known that he would consume those Spirit Pills as though he was eating peanuts? He had finished the entire supply in just half a months time. There was nobody else in this world who could cultivate in this manner. Absorbing Spiritual Qi or borrowing the power of Spirit Stones were the most orthodox and safe ways to cultivate for most cultivators.
Chapter 32: Tiger
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 32: Tiger
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye feasted on arge snake beside the dying embers of a fire. Thatrge snake was at least 3 meters long and as thick as his forearm. Its meat was very delicate and tender, which left a lingering fragrance in his mouth.
It had been half a month since he exhausted his supply of Spirit Pills. During this period, the results of his cultivation progress could notpare to before. However, it was better than what he had estimated previously. Judging from his current progress, he would be able to break through the barrier of his ninth Spiritual Point in another month.
The main reason he could achieve such progress was that he had discovered something: The efficiency of refining vitality into Qi was greater than absorbing Spiritual Qi. And, where did he obtain that vitality? Without the Qi Blood Pills, he could only obtain it through eating!
He had first noticed it when he ate the wolf meat earlier. When heter hunted several other beasts, he found that the meat of these beasts living in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was very nutritious. Therger these beasts, the stronger the supplementary effect.
He was not very adept at absorbing Spiritual Qi. It might be due to his low talent, but it was very difficult for him to bring the Spiritual Qi into his body. On the contrary, it was different when it came to the food he ate. Anything that he could digest would aid in replenishing his blood and Qi. Then, he refined the vitality in his body into Spiritual Power, which could also lead to the enhancement of his strength.
For that reason, there was a significant decrease in the number of beasts in the surrounding areas over the past half month. Lu Ye, who already had an increase in appetite ever since he achieved Enlightenment, was eating more than ever now that he had converted to cultivating by refining his vitality into Qi. His actions ultimately resulted in not a single beast to be seen within several kilometers of this cave. He had to search for a very long time before he came across thisrge snake today.
Lu Ye was halfway through his meal when the entrance to the cave darkened and a foul stench blew in his face. Lifting his head, he saw arge figure standing at the entrance of the cave. Moreover, a low roar wasing from that direction.
He hurriedly got to his feet and took out the longsword from his Storage Bag. Holding the sword in one hand, he held a Fiery Snake Talisman Paper in the other hand while simultaneously drawing upon his Spiritual Power in secret.
He had been living here for a month now. During this period, he had not encountered any other cultivators norrge and powerful beasts. Hence, he had thought that this was a peaceful ce. He never imagined he would be disturbed by an unexpected guest today.
He had expected such a situation to ur, so he was not that disturbed. He quickly responded to the situation promptly and correctly. This cave was small and narrow. If his opponent dared to rush at him, he could use the Fiery Snake Talisman Paper in his hand to teach his opponent a lesson. He still had other Spirit Talisman Papers even if the Fiery Snake Talisman Paper was useless against his opponent. In the worst case, he could p a Thunderbolt Talisman Paper on himself. The sword in his hand was not a mere decoration.
It wasnt until this moment that he saw what his uninvited guest was. It turned out to be a tiger. The tiger was covered in spotlessly clean fur that was as white as snow. There was the character King on its forehead, and its pale amber tiger eyes were extremely enchanting.
When Lu Ye met the gaze of that pair of tiger eyes, he felt his mind sway for a moment and knew that he had run into something very powerful. He had killed many beasts during this period. There had been beasts even bigger than this tiger, but there had never been a beast that gave him such an oppressive feeling as this tiger. He was an Eight Spiritual Point cultivator now. This was not an ordinary beast. It was most likely a Spirit Beast with a cultivation base!
There was a difference between a Spirit Beast and an ordinary beast. Spirit Beasts were capable of cultivating. It was said that Spirit Beasts would be able to take on Human forms if they unlocked certain Spiritual Points. That was where the saying Demons who were not Enlightened had difficulty taking Human form, and Humans who were not Enlightened had difficulty cultivating in Jiu Zhou originated from.
There were many Sects that would take Demon cultivators in as disciples. That was because most Demon cultivators were physically strong, so they were natural talents born to be body tempering cultivators.
Since Lu Ye did not know much about the Cultivation World in Jiu Zhou, it was only natural that he was unaware of this information. The only thing he knew was that he was currently stuck in a sticky situation. He was inside a cave and the tiger was blocking the entrance of the cave. There was no way out of this situation unless he killed the tiger. Unfortunately, he did not know how powerful this tiger was.
During their confrontation, the tiger roared at him. It made him even more nervous than before, and he nearly activated the Fiery Snake Talisman Paper in his hand!
Boy, are you the one who is going around on a killing spree? A thunderous voice resounded inside the cave, causing the rocks in the surroundings toe tumbling down from the tremors.
Lu Ye couldnt help jumping in shock. He stared at the tiger with an expression of inexplicable astonishment.
Yes, I am the one who is speaking. Stop making a mountain out of a molehill, brat! The tiger spoke again as though it had seen through Lu Yes doubts.
Lu Ye felt his heart sinking to the bottom. [This is bad. I seem to have underestimated this tigers true strength. This guy is capable of Human speech. I dont know what cultivation it has, but it seems to be much stronger than me.]
I am asking you a question. Why arent you speaking? The tiger seemed to be bad-tempered. It gave another roar, and an even more threatening growl came from its throat.
[Theres nothing to worry about if its a blessing. But, if its a curse, I wont be able to avoid it anyway.] With that thought in mind, Lu Ye could only bite the bullet and deny, It wasnt me!
That tiger lifted its paws and pped the ground in a fury. The entire ground trembled from the force. Who else could it be if not you!? You are the only Human within a radius of 10 kilometers in this area! It paced the entrance of the cave, but its eyes never left Lu Ye. This is my territory! How dare you wilfully ughter my food without my expressed permission!? It seems you dont want to live anymore!
Lu Ye felt his scalp go numb, suddenly feeling as though he was toeing the line between life and death. Nevertheless, he finally understood the reason the tiger hade looking for him. This area was its territory, so all the beasts he had killed so far were the food in its territory. He had killed so many during the past half month that it had caught the tigers attention and it came looking for clues as a result.
Speak. How do you n to resolve this matter? the tiger asked.
At this point, Lu Ye was not in as much of a panic as he had been before. Although it was strange that a Spirit Beast was here to negotiate terms with him, it was still better than the other partying to kill him without any warning. Frowning, he asked, Ive already eaten everything. How do you want me to resolve this matter?
The tiger stared at Lu Ye steadily and said, Hand over all your Spirit Pills, and Ill consider this matter over. If you dare to refuse, this ce will be your grave today!
I ran out of Spirit Pills. Lu Ye shook his head. [Why would I kill beasts for their meat if I still had Spirit Pills?]
The tiger said, Spirit Stones will work too!
I dont have Spirit Stones either. [The Sect Master didnt prepare any Spirit Stones for me. Maybe he thinks that I wont be able to use them?]
You dont have this and you dont have that. It looks to me that you are begging to die! It was obvious that the tiger was rather irritated.
Lu Ye sighed. I really dont have any!
Then, what do you have in your Storage Bag!? The tiger roared.
Some Spirit Talisman Papers and a bottle of Healing Pills, Lu Ye replied honestly.
What a poor bastard! The tiger couldnt help sneering. Hand me the Healing Pills, and Ill let this matter go.
Why do you need the Healing Pills? Lu Yes expression was a little strange.
Why do you care!? Give them to me quickly!
Fine Lu Ye reluctantly replied. He took out a bottle of Healing Pills, pondered for a moment, and slowly ced it on the ground.
Toss it here! the tiger instructed.
Lu Ye nced at the tiger. Why dont youe and get it yourself?
I told you to toss it here! Lu Yes attitude had angered the tiger. It let out a fierce roar in response.
Fine. Lu Ye lifted his foot and kicked the bottle on the ground over to the tiger. At the same time, he activated the Fiery Snake Talisman Paper in his hand. As the Spiritual Qi in his body surged, the Spirit Talisman Paper transformed into a red light and shot toward the tiger like a fire snake. That wasnt all. He stomped down and lunged forward for the kill with the sword in hand, his figure resembling thunder and lightning itself.
Chapter 33: Not Enough Power? Compensate With a Spirit Talisman Paper
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 33: Not Enough Power? Compensate With a Spirit Talisman Paper
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the beginning, Lu Ye believed that he had encountered an amazing and ferocious creature. However, he discovered that the tiger might not be as powerful as he originally assumed after actually interacting with it.
The tiger stood at the entrance to the cave, seemingly not daring to go too deep into the cave. If it was very much stronger than him, then it would not have wasted so much time on words. That was the first reason. The second reason was that it had asked him for Spirit Pills. When that request fell through, it backed down and asked for Spirit Stones in ce of the Spirit Pills. When that didnt work out either, it decided to ask for the Healing Pills instead. It gave him a vibe that it did not want to leave this ce empty-handed.
From this, Lu Ye came to a conclusion: The tiger was imposing indeed, but it was most likely all show and no substance. Taking out the Healing Pills and cing them by his feet was his final test to confirm his suspicions. Sure enough; the tiger was unwilling to approach him and simply asked him to throw the Healing Pills over.
Having determined that the tiger was not as powerful as he had imagined, he felt a great sense of relief. What he had to do now was very simple: [Im going to kill the tiger and eat its meat!]
There was no denying that this was a Spirit Beast with a cultivation base. Killing and eating it would surely bring more benefitspared to eating many ordinary beasts. Perhaps, it would fall on this tiger to help him unlock his ninth Spiritual Point.
Lu Ye had never been one to y on the safe side of things. Otherwise, he would not have led Manager Yang to the mine filled with the Yuan Metal Force Field back then. Although he would take precautions against potential dangers, he would also try his best to grasp all the potential opportunities that might exist.
The Fiery Snake Talisman Paper activated and mes writhed about, striking toward the tiger. At the same time, he lunged forward with his sword in hand. However, he felt his shoulders sinking down the moment he made his move. It felt like something was pressing down on him, causing his body to dip downward. He almost fell to his knees as a result.
The attack was apanied by a sharp shriek in his ears. In the next instant, he felt somebody smashing viciously at his head with a hammer. He felt dizzy and stars danced in front of his eyes.
Holding his sword in one hand, he forcibly propped up his body to prevent himself from falling while simultaneously calling upon the Spiritual Power in his eight Spiritual Points to protect himself. The surface of his body instantly burned with ayer of mes. There was a trace of gold mixed in with the mes. ording to his Five Elements, he was primarily Fire Attribute supplemented by Gold Attribute. Therefore, the Spiritual Power in his body would reflect the properties of these two Elements.
A bloodcurdling scream rang out. The weight pressing down against his shoulder vanished immediately. He was still feeling rather dizzy, but he had recovered considerably. Rather, what surprised him was that he had been ambushed! Moreover, the one whounched a sneak attack on him was not the tiger but somebody else!
He had been lurking in the deepest part of the cave while the tiger blocked the entrance to the cave. From the start until the end, he had beenmunicating with the tiger. There were no signs of anybody else around them. Hence, he had not expected a sneak attacking from behind him. It was fortunate that the sneak attacker was not very strong. He had simply activated his Spiritual Power to protect himself and was able to force the opponent back as a result.
When that scream rang out, Lu Ye abruptly turned his head and caught a glimpse of some unknown thing sinking into the rock wall and disappearing from view out of the corner of his eye. Nevertheless, he did not have the leisure to investigate the identity of his sneak attacker. That was because the tiger had lunged at him, apanied by a foul stench on the wind. The Fiery Snake Talisman Paper had failed to kill the tiger and only managed to burn the opponents fur to a crisp. It could be seen from this that the tiger really did have a cultivation base.
It was obviously toote to use another Spirit Talisman Paper at this point. He had missed the best opportunity to make his attack. Thus, he could only sh out fiercely with his sword. At the same time, he drew upon his Spiritual Power and enchanted the longsword with the Spiritual Pattern, Sharp Edge!
During this period, he had used the longsword that once belonged to Manager Yang to kill many beasts. It was a pity that he had never learned any swordsmanship before, so he basically just used the sword to sh and hack at his enemies.
The longsword enchanted with Sharp Edge was incredibly sharp. During Lu Yes fight against Zhou Cheng before, he had sliced his opponents sword of the same quality in half in one swing. Unfortunately, this tigers bones seemed to be tougher than Zhou Chengs sword. Lu Ye shed his opponent across the shoulder des but couldnt cleanly slice through his opponents body. Instead, he lost his bnce due to the strong kickback.
He staggered backward and pulled out his longsword, causing tiger blood to ssh everywhere. Before he could do anything else, he felt a numbness spreading out in his chest. The tigers ws had swiped at him, taking ayer of flesh with it.
The pain did not negatively affect him, but sharpened his mind and cleared his head instead. Fighting against a tiger in this narrow cave was extremely perilous. He could lose his life at any time. Even so, he felt calm and confident after their exchange of blows. That was because his conjecture was correct. This tigers cultivation was not as advanced as he had assumed. It wasnt an opponent he couldnt win against. As long as he performed well, killing the tiger and feasting on its meat was just a matter of time!
The tiger roared and rushed at Lu Ye again. An unearthly screech suddenly rang out in the cave at the same time, disrupting his concentration. That was the tactic employed by the enemy hiding in the shadows. Be that as it may, he ignored the enemy hidden in the shadows and focused solely on the tigers movements. When his opponent lunged through the air at him, he lowered his body, kicked at the ground, and slid his body out from under the tigers body.
As the two figures passed each other by, Lu Ye stabbed his sword upward with all his might. That attacknded on the tigers tender abdomen. He initially assumed that this attack would pierce through the tigers stomach and intestines. Who could have known that the other partys abdomen would suddenly glow with a faint golden light? Even enchanted with Sharp Edge, the sword only managed to slice through the protectiveyer of light. He failed to seriously injure his opponent.
When he got to his feet again, the positions of both parties involved in this fight had been reversed. He was originally standing in the depths of the cave while the tiger blocked the entrance of the cave. The situation was the other way around now.
Furthermore, he realized something through this exchange of blows: Even though the tiger was not that powerful, it was not that weak either. The tiger was probably slightly stronger than him. It was just that he had a weapon in his possession. In addition, the fact that he could bless his weapon with a Spiritual Pattern gave him a slight advantage.
Be that as it may, the situation would inevitably end with a loss for both sides if this fight dragged on for much longer. The moment that thought struck him, he reached his hand into his Storage Bag and took out a Spirit Talisman Paper. [Since I dont have enough strength, I can justpensate for myck of strength with a Spirit Talisman Paper! The 30 Spirit Talisman Papers that the Sect Master prepared for me is not just for disy. I have no ns on saving them forter. Besides, when else should I use them if not now?]
Before he could activate the Spirit Talisman Paper, a crisp voice rang out urgently. We surrender! Have mercy!
Lu Ye scowled deeply. Hearing such words at such a critical moment would undoubtedly dampen his fighting spirit. His Spiritual Power surged in the hand that was holding the Spirit Talisman Paper as he shouted, Show yourself!
In the depths of the cave, a figure slowly walked out of the rock wall next to the tiger. That figure was not a physical entity. It was more like a congregation of Spiritual Power instead. After walking out, that figure slowly solidified and gradually became no different from ordinary people. It turned out to be a slender and beautiful girl dressed in a white dress with ck hair hanging down to her waist. A mole at the corner of her eye added a hint of seductive charm to her appearance. She looked around 16 or 17 years old.
The girl stood next to the tiger after revealing herself, staring at Lu Ye timidly with an expression as though she was feeling guilty over making a mistake.
Lu Ye frowned. What are you?
Chapter 34: Lu Ye, Who Has No Common Sense
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 34: Lu Ye, Who Has No Common Sense
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
With Lu Yes insight, he could not tell whether this strange girl was a Human or a ghost. Nevertheless, judging from her performance just now, the possibility that she was Human was very low.
She was capable of appearing behind him andunching a sneak attack on him undetected. Moreover, her body seemed neither tangible nor intangible. Being able to move about freely within the rock walls of the cave was clearly not something a Human could achieve. It was his first time encountering something as strange as this girl. Consequently, he couldnt help feeling extremely wary toward her, especially since she seemed to be in cahoots with the tiger.
Although he currently held a geographically advantageous position, any carelessness on his part could lead to a disastrous ending. In his opinion, he was holding the initiative right now. The best oue was for him to activate the Spirit Talisman Paper and kill the tiger quickly. However, he did not know how to deal with that mysterious girl and was stuck in a dilemma as a result.
His question seemed to trouble the girl. She hesitated for some time before she replied, My name is Yi Yi
I didnt ask for your name. Lu Ye waved the Spirit Talisman Paper in his hand. The threat behind his words was self-evident. His actions made the tiger lower its body and let out a low growl.
The girl called Yi Yi hurriedlyforted the tiger. In this situation where they were at his mercy, it was in their best interests to cooperate obediently in order to survive. She asked rhetorically, Have you ever heard of the saying The ghost who helps the tiger hunt?
He nodded in response.
She continued, Some Tiger Spirit Beasts will awaken to a Divine Power as they grow up, which allows them to transform the Souls of the recently departed into a Ghost that will help the tiger hunt other prey.
So are you a Ghost? He frowned at those words. The saying The ghost who helps the tiger hunt was something he had heard of before, but it was just an old saying. He never imagined that there would be such a strange exnation behind that old saying in this Cultivation World.
No. The girl shook her head, her ck hair fluttering behind her.
Are you making a fool of me!?
Im not! She seemed a little anxious. Generally speaking, a Ghost will be controlled by the Tiger Demon cultivator who created it. The Ghost has neither intelligence nor autonomous thinking. But, I am different. Look at me. Aside from the fact that I dont have a corporeal body, I am no different from a living person!
So, what the Hell are you?
A Ghost Spirit? She tilted her head sideways.
Lu Ye did not bother saying anything. His gaze shifted from Yi Yi to the tiger and back again. He narrowed his eyes and asked, So, will you also disappear if I killed the tiger?
Right No! Yi Yi yelled, seeming to have noticed his murderous intentions. Dont kill us! We were wrong We will buy our lives with money!
The shing glowing from the Spirit Talisman Paper in his hands gradually dimmed and died out. He had nearly activated the Spirit Talisman Paper just now.
If it really came down to a fight, he had the confidence to win against the tiger. He originally had some reservations about the girl called Yi Yi, but there was no need to fear her now that he had confirmed that she had a symbiotic rtionship with the tiger. Moreover, she was not that powerful. Even when sheunched the sneak attack on him before, she had only managed to pull off some small tricks to distract him. She could not actually harm him.
Be that as it may, the battle would surely require sacrificing several Spirit Talisman Papers. He was also bound to get injured during the battle.
Fighting was not worthwhile if the price he had to pay was too high, especially since he was only one step away from breaking through to the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm. More importantly, it would only dy him from breaking through to the Spirit Creek Realm if he exhausted too much Spiritual Power here.
Therefore, Lu Ye decided to suppress his murderous intent upon hearing thest sentence Yi Yi uttered. He frowned and asked, Buy your lives with money? What do you have? [What good stuff would a Spirit Beast living in the Spirit Creek Battlefield with a Ghost Spirit forpany have?]
Wait for a bit! Ill go and get them now! Yi Yi yelled. Then, she shifted her body and disappeared into the rock wall beside her. However, she soon stuck her head out of the rock wall again. You cant kill Amber! Ill be right back!
[Amber] Lu Ye nced at the majestic tiger in front of him that had an auraparable to that of a mountain, and his facial muscles twitched slightly.
Lu Ye and Amber were left facing each other with some distance apart after Yi Yi left.
At the same time, Lu Ye kept a watch out for Yi Yi. Although the girl seemed very sincere, he did not know what kind of intentions she harbored inside her heart. Who knew if she would conceal herself in the shadows and ambush him again? His cultivation was still very low right now, so he did not have the means to track or detect her whereabouts.
The girl returned quickly. He had only waited for less than 15 minutes when she appeared again. It was just that she walked out from behind him this time around.
With his back to the rock wall, he asked the girl to enter the cave. She was holding something in her hands. Lifting those items up, she said, Well use this to buy our lives. Please dont kill us!
When he saw what she was holding in her hands, he was shocked. Those were several Storage Bags! A Storage Bag was something that belonged to a cultivator, so it was very problematic for them to appear in the girls possession. Moreover, it wasnt just one Storage Bag. She was holding at least 4 or 5 Storage Bags in her hands!
[As expected, this Spirit and tiger duo are not a decent pair. Killing and looting others is probably something they do often.]
Youre mistaken! Seeing the expression on his face, she immediately knew what he was thinking. Amber is not that strong. Im sure you noticed after exchanging blows with it. All the cultivators that appear in the Spirit Creek Battlefield are in the Spirit Creek Realm, at the very least. Theres no way Amber can kill those people!
Then, where did those Storage Bagse from? It was only logical that he would not believe her so easily.
She squirmed slightly. From scamming others Those cultivators are very cowardly. They will leave behind their Storage Bags just by giving them a little scare.
He thought back on his previous experience. [If not for the fact that I noticed that the tiger was acting strangely or that I truly did not have any Spirit Pills or Spirit Stones in my possession I might have chosen to give up my possessions in exchange for my life. After all, my life is more important than these extraneous items.]
He had to admit that the tigers imposing aura was extremely frightening. Most cultivators with low cultivation would lose their bravado the moment those amber-coloured tiger eyes fixed on them. Combined with some threatening words, who would still retain any fighting spirit? Little did they know, the one hiding behind the tiger and making threats was just a slender and petite young girl.
Toss them over, he instructed.
Yi Yi gave a small grunt of effort as she tossed the Storage Bags in her hands over to Lu Ye. Lu Ye lifted his foot to pick one up. A quick inspection made his expression darken. The Storage Bag was locked The same went for the second and the third
After inspecting all the Storage Bags, he lifted his head. Are you trying to deceive me?
It wasnt as if there was no way to unlock a locked Storage Bag. It was just that he did not have the means to do so.
She looked a little aggrieved. Some guys ran away so quickly that they didnt even undo the Restraining Lock when they left their Storage Bags behind. There were some that obeyed our instructions to unlock their Storage Bags, but weve already used up all the useful things in those
That was the truth. Yi Yi and the tiger had obtained more than just these few Storage Bags in this jungle over the years, but they had more or less used up all the usable items within the other Storage Bags. There were only empty bags left, so she didnt bother to bring them,
Lu Yes eyebrows furrowed deeper. If this is all the sincerity you have, then theres nothing more to discuss. These items are not enough to buy your lives.
How can that be She was close to tears, deeply regretting provoking Lu Ye in the first ce. The main reason was that she never imagined he would be different from the other cultivators they had met in the past.
All the cultivators that appeared in this area were not very powerful. They mostly consisted of rogue cultivators or the disciples of small Sects because this ce was considered the edge of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. When these cultivators encountered a Spirit Beast that could speak the Humannguage, those with the slightest bit ofmon sense would be horrified and terrified. That was because a Spirit Beast that could speak the Humannguage was not something they could afford to provoke.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye had nomon sense. He did not know what it meant for a Spirit Beast to speak the Humannguage. Without that preconceived notion, he only believed in his own judgment.
Chapter 35: The Barrier Penetrating Fruit
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 35: The Barrier Prating Fruit
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In retrospect, Yi Yi and the tiger had never shown any intention to attack Lu Ye from the beginning. Rather, Lu Ye was the one who initiated the fight. It could even be said that the only reason they came looking for him was that he had trespassed on the tigers territory and killed too many beasts. They probably only wanted to chase him away from this ce and obtain some benefits from him while they were at it.
If he had even the slightest bit ofmon sense, their n would have seeded in all likelihood. Unfortunately for them, things did not develop as they expected. They ended up in a situation where not only did they fail in their original mission, but also suffered an additional loss instead. Moreover, they were stuck inside the cave with him blocking their escape. It was a dilemma indeed.
On the other hand, it wasnt as though Lu Ye himself wanted a fight to the death with the tiger. Eating the tigers flesh might be beneficial to him, but the battle was simply not worth the effort if the price he had to pay was too great. It was just that he had wasted one Fiery Snake Talisman Paper. He also received an injury on his chest. Hence, he wanted to obtain somepensation from the other party.
These Storage Bags did not satisfy him. They were locked. Who knew what was inside them? Besides, low-leveled cultivators rarely had anything good inside their Storage Bags. Not everybody was as wealthy as him after all.
You can bring these Storage Bags to Green Cloud City and ask somebody there to help you open them. Im sure there will be good stuff inside them, Yi Yi anxiously said.
Green Cloud City? He frowned.
Thats the city where all the rogue cultivators gather. Its only 30 kilometers from here. I can lead you there.
No need! The reason he had always remained inside this jungle was that his cultivation was too low. ording to his ns, he refused to leave this ce without reason until he became a Spirit Creek Realm Master.
His refusal topromise gave her a terrible headache. She beggingly said, Cant you just let us go? We have reflected on our actions.
He responded in an indifferent manner. You have to pay a price when you make a mistake. My patience is limited. You had better not waste my time with nonsense!
She gritted her teeth loudly. If it really came down to a fight, you wont get out of this unscathed either. I dont believe
Is that so? He lifted his hand and took out another Spirit Talisman Paper.
She immediately froze and lost her confidence. Staring at the Spirit Talisman Paper, she shrunk back in fear with the dreaded realization that they were up against a difficult opponent this time around. He had to be an important disciple from one of the major Sects for him to have so many Spirit Talisman Papers in his possession. Faced with somebody like that, it was no wonder that the Storage Bags of such low-leveled cultivators did not interest him. She seemed to resolve herself to something and gave a heavy sigh. There is one more thing. I will fetch it for you.
The tiger seemed to understand what she was nning to do and immediately turned toward her with a soft whimper. She forced a smile on her face and lifted a hand to pet its head. Wait here for me. Ille back as soon as possible. Dont pick a fight with him while Im gone.
The tiger roared loudly once more, to which she responded with a stern expression. Behave!
The tiger involuntarily lowered its head. She petted it once more. Then, she turned around, sank into the rock wall, and disappeared out of sight.
After her departure, Lu Ye and the tiger continued with their staring contest.
From the exchanges between Yi Yi and the tiger, Lu Ye understood that the Spirit Beast could understand Humans. It made sense when he thought about it. How else could Yi Yi work with the tiger to frighten those low-leveled cultivators if it did not understand Humans?
Time ticked by. In the meantime, his expression gradually became more and more grim. That was because the tiger he trapped inside the cave was bing increasingly restless and uneasy. It paced the depths of the cave, ncing at him from time to time. As such, he could sense a waft of danger which made him even more vignt than before.
Unfortunately, Yi Yi took a long time to return. About an hour or so went by before she suddenly appeared again. However, there was clearly something wrong with her condition. Her body was slightly translucent and she gave off a very weak feeling.
Lu Ye frowned at the sight, wondering whether this girl was simply pretending or if she had really gotten injured. Whatever the case, his attention was quickly drawn to the item in her hand. It was a bright red fruit about the size of a babys fist. When she brought this fruit into the cave, it filled the entire cave with a strange fragrance.
What is that? he asked. He might not know what that fruit was, but he instinctively knew that it was something good.
She weakly replied, A Barrier Prating Fruit.
What is it used for? he asked again.
She felt a little puzzled. Logically speaking, it was impossible for an important disciple from a major Sect like him to have never heard of something as well-known as a Barrier Prating Fruit. This was a precious treasure to any cultivator in the Spirit Creek Realm. It was just that she was in poor condition and couldnt be bothered to talk nonsense. Thus, she exined, Its used to prate the Spiritual Points barrier.
His eyes lit up at those words.? He did not know where she found this fruit, but if it was as she said Then, this item was extremely useful for him. He lifted his head and indicated to the girl. Toss Bring it over!
She shook her head. I can give this fruit to you. But, you must swear a Heavenly Oath. With the Heavens as witness, swear that you wont hurt us again after receiving the fruit.
Despite being so weak that she was almost unconscious, she did not forget the situation they were currently in. If Lu Ye decided to harm them after obtaining the fruit, it would be difficult for her and the tiger to leave this ce alive.
Lu Ye did not understand what a Heavenly Oath was. However, he had heard about respectfully requesting the Heavens to bear witness once before. He more or less understood what Yi Yi meant, so he nodded in response. Okay!
He paused for a short moment to consider his wording before continuing, Lu Ye, cultivator of Bing Zhou, respectfully requests the Heavens to bear witness. If Yi Yi hands me the Barrier Prating Fruit, I will not trouble Yi Yi or Amber again under the condition that they do not actively provoke me or harm me.
He originally thought that it was just a simple oath. To his surprise, an invisible and mysterious force came roaring down from the Skies the moment the words left his mouth and poured into the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand. That force did not hurt him in any way, but it gave him the strange feeling that it would not end well for him if he vited the oath he just made. This discovery made his heart go cold for a moment. He instantly understood that the oaths in this world were not mere words or casual talk, especially when it came to the Heavenly Oath which was witnessed by the Heavens.
After he made the Heavenly Oath, Yi Yi let out a breath of relief. She floated over to him and handed the Barrier Prating Fruit in? her hand to him.
Are you injured? He took the Barrier Prating Fruit and looked at her.
Yes. She nodded. Turning around, she called out to Amber. Amber, lets go.
As the sturdy and muscr Amber slowly walked forward, Lu Ye gripped the Spirit Talisman Paper tightly and retreated out of the cave.
A short whileter, Amber walked out of the cave. Yi Yi plunged into Ambers body and vanished out of sight. Turning around, the tiger roared at Lu Ye. Afterward, it disappeared into the jungle and out of sight in a few strides.
Looking in the direction the tiger had disappeared, Lu Ye pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head. The entire experience he went through this half a day had been very weird to him. Fortunately, the end results were not too bad. He looked at the Barrier Prating Fruit in his hands and his expression became excited. [If this thing works like how Yi Yi said, then the time for breaking through to the Spirit Creek Realm is just right before my eyes!]
Chapter 36: What a Cute Rabbit
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 36: What a Cute Rabbit
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was in no hurry to take the Barrier Prating Fruit. He did not know whether it was real or fake, so he did not dare to rashly consume it.
His battle with the tiger might have been short, but that short moment of confrontation had been extremely dangerous and he was injured in the process. He had been in a stand-off against the tiger just now, so he had not had the time to check on his injuries.
Finally removing his clothes at this moment, he discovered that the flesh and blood on his chest was a total mess. There were several immensely deep w marks across his chest, and his blood had long since dyed the front of his clothes crimson. Fortunately, he was no longer just an ordinary person now. During his confrontation with the tiger, he had consciously urged his Spiritual Power to seal his wounds. Therefore, the blood lost was not too serious even though the wound looked extremely hideous.
He moved his muscles a little and confirmed that there were no broken bones. Then, he let out a breath of relief. It would be much easier to handle if it was only a flesh wound.
He still had 8 Healing Pills in his possession, which had very good restorative effects. Taking out the bottle with the Healing Pills, he poured one out and swallowed it. After that, he took out another one, crushed it with his fingers, and evenly applied the powder to the wound on his chest. The agony that followed made him grit his teeth and grin in pain.
Once he was done with that, he put his clothes back on, sat down cross-legged, and refined the Pill Power of the Healing Pill. He felt much better after one night passed. The wound had begun to heal and knit, so it probably wouldnt take more than a few days to recover. During that interval, he polished off therge snake he had been eating before to replenish his energy.
When day broke, he came to the watering hole several kilometers away and easily caught a big, fat rabbit. Holding it by the ears, he returned to the cave.
A short whileter, he sat cross-legged inside the cave. Holding the Barrier Prating Fruit in his hand, he used his longsword to gently slice off a small piece of the fruit, forced the rabbits mouth open, stuffed the piece of fruit into its mouth, closed its mouth again, and gave it a vigorous shake. Only after ascertaining that the rabbit had cleanly swallowed the entire piece of fruit that he let it go. It might have been because of the shock it received earlier, but it simply crouched frozen stiff on the ground.
He ignored the rabbit and blocked the entrance of the cave to prevent it from escaping. Afterward, he began investigating the Storage Bags that Yi Yi had brought over. Neither Yi Yi nor Amber had asked for the Storage Bags back when they left yesterday. The main reason was that these bags were locked by the Restraining Lock, so these Storage Bags were useless to them.
The Storage Bags were covered in dirt as though they had been dug out of the ground. He casually picked one up at random and poured his Spiritual Qi into the Storage Bag. However, he distinctly felt that his Spiritual Qi was unable to prate the Storage Bag. It was being blocked by a strange force. That was the Restraining Lock. Every Storage Bag had its own Restraining Lock, and the key to unlocking it was the owners Spiritual Qi.
Lu Ye originally had three Storage Bags. One belonged to Manager Yang, one belonged to Zhou Cheng, and thest one was given to him by the Sect Master.
Although Manager Yangs Storage Bag had a Restraining Lock on it, he had unlocked his Storage Bag to take his longsword out of the bag before he died. The situation at the time had been such an emergency that he did not have the physical or mental energy to lock the Storage Bag again. Therefore, all the items inside the Storage Bag had greatly benefited Lu Ye. On the other hand, the Restraining Lock on Zhou Chengs Storage Bag had been forcefully unlocked by the Sect Leader. The Restraining Locks on these two bags had remained in an open state all this while.
Meanwhile, the Storage Bag that the Sect Master had given to Lu Ye was brand-new. When Lu Ye obtained it, he had used his Spiritual Qi to register himself with the Restraining Lock on the Storage Bag. Thus, he could freely open and close the Restraining Lock as long as he poured his Spiritual Power into the lock. Even if he identally lost his Storage Bag and other people got their hands on it, they would not be able to open it easily unless they had some special way to unlock the Restraining Lock.
.
Needless to say, he had no special way to unlock the Restraining Lock. He was simply giving it a try out of boredom. His Spiritual Power slowly flowed into the Storage Bag. Feeling the existence of the Restraining Lock, he repeatedly stimted his Spiritual Power and used it to ram against the Restraining Lock.
Once Twice On his third attempt, he felt the Restraining Lock vanished without a trace all of a sudden.
While he was reeling from the surprise, the Storage Bag in his hand abruptly burst into mes and burned fiercely. He quickly threw the Storage Bag away from him and watched nkly as it turned into a pile of ash in a very short time
[So, it does that too?] He frowned.
It wasnt until this moment that he finally understood: The Restraining Lock was not just for protecting the Storage Bag and preventing strangers from stealing the contents of the Storage Bag. It could even destroy the entire Storage Bag at critical moments. It was a bit like the principle of better to destroy everything than to let another person have it.
[Looks like I really cant mess around without a special way of unlocking the Restraining Lock.] Ruining a Storage Bag was a trivial matter, but if some of these Restraining Locks had any dangerous restrictions hidden in them, he might be wounded as a result.
Therefore, he put the remaining Storage Bags away and checked on the rabbits situation. There was nothing wrong with the rabbit. It was still alive and kicking, looking extremely adorable. He grabbed the rabbit by the head and gave a brutal twist. There was a cracking sound. [Such a cute rabbit will certainly taste delicious.]
He had confirmed that the Barrier Prating Fruit was not poisonous even if it did not have the properties to break through his barrier. Therefore, it totally put his mind at ease. Walking over to the spot where he cultivated, he took out a floor cushion and sat down cross-legged. Then, he took out the Barrier Prating Fruit and bit into it. The juice flooded his mouth with a fragrance that lingered on his tongue. It was surprisingly sweet. Lifting his eyebrows in amazement, he polished the Barrier Prating Fruit off cleanly in several bites.
The fruit did not have any seeds. It was simr to a small tomato. Reminiscing about the vor, he closed his eyes, concentrated, and quietly perceived its effects.
Nothing changed at the beginning. However, he soon felt a current of heat in his lower abdomen. The feeling was simr to when he consumed the Spirit Pills while cultivating. The difference was that the Pill Power of the Spirit Pill would transform into Spiritual Power or vitality whenever he took the Spirit Pills. In contrast, the heat produced by the Barrier Prating Fruit was neither Spiritual Power nor vitality. It was a force that he had never felt before.
The current of heat umted in his lower abdomen. Thus, he tried to guide it into his Source Spiritual Point. The process was very smooth
The heat then flowed from his Source Spiritual Point into his second Spiritual Point, then his third Spiritual Point, followed by his fourth Spiritual Point
Very quickly, it entered his eighth Spiritual Point and continued to rush toward his ninth Spiritual Point. In the next moment, he felt the barrier of his ninth Spiritual Point rapidly melting away like snowkes under the sun!
The discovery shocked him. Every time he unlocked a Spiritual Point in the past, it had required great effort for him to guide his Spiritual Power and use it to ram against the barrier of the Spiritual Point, again and again. Moreover, every impact he made felt extremely ufortable. It was almost as if somebody was using a small hammer to strike at the location of his Spiritual Point. It would inevitably give rise to a feeling of soreness when it happened many times. But now, there was no impact and no difort. The barrier of his Spiritual Point had rapidly dissolved when touched by the medical efficacy of the Barrier Breaking Fruit.
Comparing the two, the Barrier Breaking Fruit was certainly a blessing for a cultivator to achieve Enlightenment.
No wonder Yi Yi had given him such a strange look when he asked her about the use of the Barrier Breaking Fruit. It would seem that the Barrier Breaking Fruit was not an unknown item. Perhaps, every single cultivator was aware of this Spirit Fruits existence.
Chapter 37: Nine Spiritual Points Connect and Spiritual Power Turns Into a Stream
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 37: Nine Spiritual Points Connect and Spiritual Power Turns Into a Stream
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The entire process didnt take longer than several dozen seconds. When the barrier on Lu Yes ninth Spiritual Point fell apart, his Spiritual Power that had been blocked out all this time began gurgling into it.
At this point, he only needed to prate his ninth Spiritual Point with his Spiritual Power and allow his Spiritual Power to form a Microcosmic Orbit inside his body to break through to the Spirit Creek Realm!
That was the ultimate goal of all of his hard work for the past month.
However, he discovered that there was still a lot of the Barrier Prating Fruits medical efficacies remaining even though quite a lot had been consumed. If he left that energy alone, the remaining medical efficacies would be wasted. That would be the barest minimum. Who knew what possible side effects it might have on his cultivation in the future?
This fruit was definitely not something that could be obtained easily. It would be a pity to just let the effects go to waste. Therefore, he only hesitated for a moment before he began stimting his Spiritual Power again to try and locate his tenth Spiritual Point.
The Sect Master had only helped him locate his Spiritual Points up until his ninth Spiritual Point previously. That was because the Sect Master believed that it would take him at least 2 to 3 years to cultivate to the level of a First Order Spirit Creek Realm with his talent of only one leaf, even if he had a sufficient supply of Spirit Pills.
The Sect Master was not looking down on him. It was just that his level of talent was too low, so the efficiency of cultivating was very poor. The Sect Master simply never imagined that he would be able to unlock his Spiritual Points all the way to the ninth within the short span of a month. Furthermore, this situation was only due to ack of Spirit Pills. If he had enough Spirit Restoring Pills, his speed would have been even faster.
Even without outside help, he could locate the position of his Spiritual Points with his own Spiritual Power reserves at this point. It just was not as effortless as how the Sect Master had done it. During this period, he had been taking the time to study the Golden Liberation Technique. Hence, he had an idea of where the next few Spiritual Points were located. As long as his luck was not too bad, locating the position of his Spiritual Points would not be a problem.
After working hard for an hour or so, he finally located the position of his tenth Spiritual Point. He hurriedly guided the remaining medical efficacies of the Barrier Prating Fruit toward his tenth Spiritual Point. The barrier around his tenth Spiritual Point swiftly dissolved just as the previous asion.
A few dozen secondster, the barrier around his tenth Spiritual Point fell apart. Unfortunately, not much of the Barrier Prating Fruits medical efficacies remained. He continued to locate the position of his eleventh Spiritual Point.
More than an hourter, he blew out a long breath and opened his eyes. He could no longer feel the medical efficacies of the Barrier Prating Fruit. The current of heat in his lower abdomen was gone too. In the end, he failed to break through the barrier of his eleventh Spiritual Point. Even so, he had managed to weaken the seal by a lot. It would be very easy for him to break through the barrier when he was cultivating in the future, so it was not without gain either.
A single Barrier Prating Fruit had allowed him to unlock 2 Spiritual Points and weaken the barrier of his eleventh Spiritual Point. The gains he obtained from this were enormous!
He suppressed the impulse to immediately break through to the Spirit Creek Realm. That was because he had a faint feeling that even though he had a chance to seed in breaking through to the Spirit Creek Realm, it would be far easier to achieve if he first filled his newly unlocked Spiritual Point to the brim. Now that he had reached this point, he was no longer in a rush to move forward.
Walking over to the side, he peeled and cleaned the dead rabbit, lit a fire, and feasted on the rabbit meat.
Over the course of the next few days, he hunted the nearby beasts on a massive scale. His appetite every single day was extremely astonishing. Everything he ate was transformed into his vitality, which would in turn be refined into Qi and poured into his ninth Spiritual Point.
Approximately 6 dayster, Lu Ye sat cross-legged inside the cave. Although he had eaten a lot of beast meat recently, his body was no fatter than it had been 6 days ago. On the contrary, he seemed even thinner than before. Even the clothes that used to be fitting on his body had be considerably looser.
This was the result of refining his vitality into Qi. Too much of his vitality had been refined into Spiritual Power, and those effects were reflected on his body. Be that as it may, he did not feel any difort even though he had gotten thinner. Instead, he felt as though he had gotten stronger. Thepact muscles on his body were very distinct. Lean and muscr were the most apt descriptions for his body.
In addition, he also finally filled his ninth Spiritual Point to the brim.
After working so hard for so many days, he couldnt help feeling excited now that the day of harvest was upon him. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. Following the training course recorded in the Golden Liberation Technique, he first stimted the Spiritual Power in his Source Spiritual Point and poured it into his second Spiritual Point. Next, he gathered the Spiritual Power in his second Spiritual Point and poured it into his third Spiritual Point. Then, he gathered the Spiritual Power in his third Spiritual Point and poured it into his fourth Spiritual Point He repeated this process all the way until his ninth Spiritual Point!
The ninth Spiritual Point was located close to the Source Spiritual Point. Once his Spiritual Qi poured into his ninth Spiritual Point, he guided his spiritual Qi back to his Source Spiritual Point. His Spiritual Qi ran through his Nine Major Spiritual Points and formed a closed circle. That was the Microcosmic Orbit!
If hepared the Spiritual Power stored in his Spiritual Points to a pool of stagnant water, then it now became a flowing stream. The Spiritual Power in his body flowed from his Source Spiritual Point to the eight other Major Spiritual Points and back again to his Source Spiritual Point in an endless cycle.
A different feeling struck him all of a sudden. Even so, he didnt stop there. He continued to guide his Spiritual Power and unceasingly executed the Microcosmic Orbit in an endless cycle.
The speed of his Spiritual Power flowing through his Nine Major Spiritual Points became faster and faster. It kept increasing until it reached a certain limit. At that moment, a buzzing sounded in his ears and his vision went as white as snow even though his eyes were closed. Immediately following that, the nkness retreated. His hearing and vision cleared up, and his entire being was filled with a sense of invigorating exhration.
A wave of Qi visible to the naked eye suddenly spread out in all directions with him as the center, causing sand and stone to fly about inside the cave. He had broken through to the Spirit Creek Realm!
He did not open his eyes in a hurry. Instead, he quietly perceived his current condition. He was no longer guiding the flow of his Spiritual Power at this moment, but his Spiritual Power continued to flow through his Nine Major Spiritual Points. It was gurgling happily like a little stream, unceasingly executing the Microcosmic Orbit in an endless cycle. That was a sign that he had be a Spirit Creek Realm Master.
Unless he died, exhausted his Spiritual Power, or had his Spiritual Points destroyed, the Spiritual Power in his body would never stop flowing throughout his body from now onward.
.
Slowly opening his eyes, he lifted a hand and activated a little bit of his Spiritual Power. A faint but radiant light surged from the palm of his hand. It was the light of his Spiritual Power. However, his Spiritual Power currently gave him a very different feeling from how it had been in the past. His Spiritual Power reserves might not have increased from before, but it was unmistakably more destructive than before.
He was acutely aware of that fact. His strength had more than doubledpared to before. If he were to fight that tiger again right now, he was confident he could defeat it even without the help of a Spirit Talisman Paper.
After pondering over it for a moment, he understood the reason behind it. He might have unlocked many Spiritual Points in the past, but he could only utilize the Spiritual Power in one of his Spiritual Points at a time. Once the Spiritual Power in that Spiritual Point was spent, then he could only utilize the Spiritual Power in another Spiritual Point. He was unable to activate two or more Spiritual Points at a time.
Now that his Nine Major Spiritual Points were connected and his power flowed through the Microcosmic Orbit, the Spiritual Power he could utilize was no longer limited to the Spiritual Power of one Spiritual Point. He was now capable of utilizing the Spiritual Power of all nine Spiritual Points.
While the difference in destructive power might not be as much as nine times more powerful, there was still a two-fold increase in power at least. As for his tenth Spiritual Point Although he had unlocked his it, ity within the scope of the Second Order Spirit Creek Realm. It was temporarily not connected to the same system as the nine other Spiritual Points in the First Order Spirit Creek Realm, so it could not give him much of an increase in terms of power. At the most, it would only increase the total reserves of his Spiritual Power in the future.
In conclusion, the Spirit Creek Realm was a process of transforming ones cultivation from a quantitative change to a qualitative change. Once a person unlocked enough Spiritual Points and allowed their Spiritual Power to prate these Spiritual Points and activate the Microcosmic Orbit, their strength would increase in huge leaps and bounds! Prior to this change, thergest effect of achieving Enlightenment was increasing their Spiritual Power reserves. It would not directly increase their strength.
That was basicmon sense in cultivation. Every cultivator would have a Senior teaching them in the beginning stages of their cultivation. Unfortunately, Lu Ye had been stranded in the Spirit Creek Battlefield without any support. There was nobody who could teach him all of this. Thus, he could only rely on himself to explore and gain insight into these matters.
Chapter 38: Leaving
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 38: Leaving
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After bing a Spirit Creek Realm Master, Lu Ye discovered something extremely interesting: his perception of the Spiritual Qi in his surrounding environment had gotten more acute.
The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Creek Realm was much richer than the outside world. Even if he were in the state of cultivation, he would not have been able to sense the existence of the Spiritual Qi in the outside world. But, in this ce, he basically only needed to calm his mind to sense the Spiritual Qi in his surroundings.
Now that his Nine Spiritual Points had turned into a stream, he realized that he could distinctly perceive the Spiritual Qi in the world around him just by focusing slightly. He didnt even need to consciously try to perceive the Spiritual Qi. That was undoubtedly a huge improvementpared to before.
[Does that mean I can cultivate by absorbing Spiritual Qi now?] When the thought crossed his mind, he immediately became excited. [If thats true, then my cultivation will surely progress much smoother than before. Lets give it a try right now!]
An hourter, he stopped his current attempt at cultivating with a moody expression. The situation was no different from before. He did not know what was wrong with his body, but he found it very difficult to guide the Spiritual Qi in the world into his body. Going by this cultivation speed, it would be impossible for him to fill up his tenth Spiritual Point without at least half a years time.
[Looks like the one leaf result I received when testing for my level of talent was not without reason.]
By this point, he was starting to gain a vague sense of understanding regarding the method a cultivator absorbed Spiritual Qi. He was not supposed to absorb it through his mouth but through his body. In that state of cultivation, all the pores on a cultivators body would perform a mysterious kind of breathing that guided the Spiritual Qi in the world into their body and transform it into their Spiritual Power!
Unfortunately, he was unable to use this type of cultivation method.
Standing up, Lu Ye felt that it was time for him to go outside and take a look around. The Sect Master sent him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield more than a month ago. He was lucky enough to arrive in this jungle where he never encountered any enemy that was too powerful for him to handle even though he had been here for so long. The only ones that came looking for trouble before were Yi Yi and the tiger, and they suffered a huge loss because of him.
However, one could not always be so lucky in life. If he continued to remain hiding here, he would eventually meet a strong and invincible cultivator. He would have no power to resist if that were to happen.
He had progressed from a Three Spiritual Point cultivator to a First Order Spirit Creek Realm Master in a period spanning slightly more than a month. He also unlocked his tenth Spiritual Point. Thus, it was a tremendous growth on his part. While it was undeniable that his cultivation was still very low, he more or less had some means of protecting himself now if he supplemented his strength with the Spirit Talisman Papers that the Sect Master had given him.
As for where to go He nned to look for that tiger and the young girl. He recalled hearing some interesting information from that girl during theirst encounter.
Two days passed by in a rush. Lu Ye found the snow-white tiger sprawled out on the floor of a cave in a deep sleep. The moment he walked into the cave, a half-translucent shadow floated out of the tigers body and stared at him warily. What is your purpose foring here?
It was none other than the Ghost Spirit that called herself Yi Yi. She had looked extremely weak when she left that day. Almost 10 days had gone by since then, but her body remained in a semi-translucent state. She was unable to form a corporeal body. It would seem that the injury she received from before had been rather severe.
The slight movement she made immediately woke the sleeping tiger. It stood up and growled at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye did not take another step further into the cave, lest he agitated the Spirit and the tiger. Besides, he couldnt do anything to this pair with the Heavenly Oath in ce anyway. He said, Dont panic. Im only here to ask about something.
What do you want to ask? Yi Yi nced at him.
I heard you mention something about a Green Cloud City previously. Can you tell me more about it?
Are you nning to go to Green Cloud City?
Yes!
He was unable to cultivate via absorbing Spiritual Qi. On the other hand, refining his vitality into Qi was not a viable long-term method and he had almost killed all the beasts living in the nearby areas. At the end of the day, cultivating via consuming Spirit Pills was his source of happiness.
Green Cloud City sounded like a trading ce where all the cultivators gathered together. He nned to take a look around. Who could know? He might even be able to obtain some Spirit Pills there. Even in the worst-case scenario, going there would widen his knowledge of this world. He had been cultivating behind closed doors ever since he entered this Cultivation World. That was not a good thing.
I see She tilted her head to the side pensively before sticking her tongue out at him. I wont tell you. If you want to know about it, then find it yourself!
She had suffered such a terrible grievance at his hands before. How could she willingly and obediently work together with him? With the Heavenly Oath in ce, he couldnt do anything to her as long as she and the tiger did not actively provoke or harm him. So, what was there to fear?
He gazed at her calmly for a moment, then turned around to leave.
Eh? His actions left her feeling a little dumbfounded. She couldnt believe that he was walking away so readily. Hesitating for a moment, her figure shifted and she floated over to his side. But, if you beg me I might tell you if Im in a good mood.
He nced at her, getting a full taste of how bad her personality was.
Come on! Hurry up and beg me! If you dont, then I wont tell you! What about She floated about in front of him with a grin on her face, feeling as happy as a butterfly. I forgive you if you admit that you were wrong!?
He stopped in his tracks, took out his longsword from the Storage Bag hanging at his waist, and slowly drew his sword out of its sheath.
What are you doing!? Yi Yi was so frightened that she paled considerably. She instantly lost her confidence and hid behind the tiger. Likewise, the tiger crouched low in a position to pounce and gave a low growl. Sticking her head out from behind the tiger, she spoke a warning with a stern expression. You better not mess around with the Heavenly Oath binding you! Otherwise, you will die a horrible death!
Lu Ye ignored her, simply pointing his sword at the void in front of him. Pouring his Spiritual Power into the sword, the longsword shed with a stream of light. He murmured softly under his breath, Ive decided!
What did you decide on? She was utterly baffled by his words and actions.
From today onward, Im going to kill 10 beasts a day. Im going to continue until not a single beast exists in this area! He spoke in a sonorous tone. After saying that, he rubbed his stomach. Im hungry!
*Clink.* His sword slid back into its sheath and he strode forward.
She was taken aback by his words for a moment. Then, her expression became bitter. Meanwhile, the tiger turned to look at her and rolled its eyes in a Human-like manner.
Wait, Senior Brother! She chased after his leaving figure while shouting at him.
15 minutester, Lu Ye studied the map that was drawn on the ground like a bunch of squiggly lines. Yi Yi was pointing out the directions to him in front of him. This is Green Cloud Mountain. Green Cloud City is located right at the foot of this mountain. We are here right now. Head East from this ce. You wille to a small river after 10 kilometers. Cross the river and you will arrive at a rocky forest after 5 kilometers. Proceed another 10 to 15 kilometers and you will arrive at Green Cloud City.
He scowled so deeply that furrows appeared on his forehead. He impatiently snapped, Just point me in the direction I have to go. Dont tell me words like North, South, East, or West!
This way! She decisively reached out and pointed in a certain direction.
Chapter 39: Division of the Battlefield
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 39: Division of the Battlefield
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
An hourter, Lu Ye stood up and headed in the direction of Green Cloud City. Yi Yi floated in mid-air behind him, sending him off enthusiastically.
For Yi Yi and the tiger, Lu Ye was an unwee guest who had barged into their territory. He had killed so many beasts recently that it was affecting the stability of this area. That was the reason why they had gone to pick a fight with him previously.
If he continued to stay in this ce, it might not take long before all the food in this area was wiped out. They would have needed to find another ce to live if that happened, but there were many other Spirit Beasts in this mountain range. Recklessly barging into another territory would mean that they would have to face unknown dangers. Therefore, she immediately cooperated obediently upon learning that sending him away was a good thing. Otherwise, she would never have been this docile.
Needless to say, he had given them a warning before he left. He threatened to return again if he failed to locate Green Cloud City smoothly or they gave him false information. In this regard, she patted her t chest and guaranteed that everything she told him was the absolute truth.
As Lu Ye traveled toward his destination, he thought back on all the information that Yi Yi had revealed to him. It wasnt just information on Green Cloud City. Heter also asked her about many things regarding the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It wasnt easy for him to encounter somebody he couldmunicate with yet was easy to manipte. It was only natural to make the best use out of it.
Meanwhile, Yi Yi also told him everything she knew without reservation!
Although the jade slip he received from the Sect Master had contained some information on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the situation at the time had been too dire. The Sect Master also had no idea where he would arrive upon entering the battlefield, so the information he left inside the jade slip had not been detailed. On the contrary, the information he obtained from Yi Yi was much more suitable for his current situation.
ording to Yi Yi, the Spirit Creek Battlefield was an extremely vast area in the shape of a circle. There was only one state, which could be further subdivided into three major areas. The outermost circle was known as the Outer Circle, the middle circle was known as the Inner Circle, and the innermost was known as the Core Circle.
The abundance of the Spiritual Qi in the world increased the deeper one went into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. There were certain special areas as well as mysterious resources that could be found too, such as rare mineral veins and rare Spirit Fruits. These were the cultivation resources that cultivators fought desperately to obtain.
All the major Sects in Jiu Zhou had their own bases in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The higher the Tier of a Sect, the closer their bases were to the center of the battlefield. For example, the bases belonging to the First Tier, Second Tier, and Third Tier Sects were located in the Core Circle. Meanwhile, the bases of the Fourth Tier to Sixth Tier Sects were generally scattered around the Inner Circle. Lastly, the Sects in the Seventh Tier and up upied the area that made up the outermost circle. Needless to say, the Sects on this Tier made up for most of the total forces. That was why the Outer Circle also happened to be the most extensive area.
The good news was that Lu Ye was currently located within the Outer Circle. Be it in terms of Spiritual Qi density or resource output, this ce could notpare with the other two ces. Hence, it was unlikely that he encountered any particrly powerful Spirit Creek Realm Master in this ce.
The bad news was that he did not know the exact location of the Crimson Blood Sects base. The Crimson Blood Sect was a Ninth Tier Sect. So, they were definitely somewhere in the Outer Circle.
If he was lucky, the Crimson Blood Sects base was located not too far away from him.
If he was unlucky, the Crimson Blood Sects base might be located directly opposite his current location. They might be separated across the entire length of this circr-shapednd. If that were the case, he was bound to pass through the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield if he were to move forward ording to the Battlefield Imprint. He would be required to enter the Inner Circle and the Core Circle.
He just barely had enough strength to protect himself in the Outer Circle as a First-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. As such, he would surely face a disastrous ending if he had to enter the Inner Circle and the Core Circle. There would surely be as many powerful Spirit Creek Realm Masters in those areas as there were clouds in the sky. Hence, the best solution was to take a curved path and travel along the Outer Circle so as to avoid encountering enemies that were too powerful.
The two factions in Jiu Zhou, the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge, were in constant conflict with each other. Many Sects had risen and fallen in this war. It could be said that all the cultivators in Jiu Zhou grew up amidst the mes of war and devastation.
Basically, the disciples of every Sect, regardless of the faction they came from, would be thrown into the Spirit Creek Battlefield to hone and train themselves once they reached the Spirit Creek Realm.
Even so, the gap in power between a First-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master and a Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm was simply too great. Even those disciples of the First Tier Sects did not have much of an advantage when their cultivation was still low. Therefore, the Inner Circle and the Core Circle were not suitable for cultivators with low cultivation to hone their skills.
Consequently, a tradition was derived from this situation. All Sects would send their disciples with low cultivation to the Outer Circle. These disciples would hone their skills in the Outer Circle so as to allow the talents to emerge thoughpetition.
It went without saying that the disciples were sent to the Outer Circle via the Divine Opportunity Column. The Divine Opportunity Column had all sorts of functions after all, one of which was the ability to transport a person to a fixed location.
After paying a certain price, therge and medium Sects in the Core Circle and the Inner Circle would borrow the power of the Divine Opportunity Column to send their disciples with low cultivation to the bases of the allied small Sects so that those disciples could gain some experience in the Outer Circle.
In return, theserge and medium Sects would ensure the safety of these small Sects on certain asions such as when the bases of these small Sects were raided. That was why the rtionship between the various Sects in Jiu Zhou were fairly close-knitted. Oftentimes, arge Sect would offer protection to 10 or more small Sects while a small Sect might also be allied with severalrge Sects.
After digesting all of this information, Lu Ye finally had a clearer understanding of his current situation. He had to admit that his luck was pretty good. The ce he arrived in after the Sect Master sent him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield was located in the Outer Circle, which gave him a surviving chance in this entire ordeal.
As for Green Cloud City It turned out to be more than one city. The entire Green Cloud Mountain was very big, and there were several cities located at the foot of the mountain. All of these cities were known as Green Cloud City.
The city was a gathering of cultivators from all over Jiu Zhou, including cultivators from both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge
The city was without a leader. It was a ce where cultivators gathered on their own. It was also a ce for them to trade and rest. Therefore, it was generally much safer within the city. That reason being that a rash move within the confines of the city could easily cause a huge war between the two factions.
There had been several precedents whereby the grievances of one or two people ultimately led to a chaotic battle between several thousands of people. The deaths and casualties were countless. Ever since those incidents, anybody who dared to cause trouble within the city would immediately be besieged to death by the nearby cultivators. That was basically an unwritten rule that almost all of the cultivators within the city abide by.
Naturally, if a person had the ability to quietly get rid of somebody else without anybody noticing, then there was nothing for that person to fear. It was just that the cultivators in the Outer Circle had low cultivation. Who could pull off such a feat?
.
That was undoubtedly good news for Lu Ye. He was only a First-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master who just barely qualified to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It wasnt far from the truth to say that he was among the group with the lowest cultivation in this entire battlefield. It would not benefit him in any way to pick a fight with anybody.
Following the directions given by Yi Yi, he first crossed a small river and then passed through a rocky forest. After that, he continued onward until he reached the foot of the mountain. An area covering several kilometers stretched out before him. Various buildings of all shapes and sizes dotted the area that appeared in his field of vision. He had arrived at Green Cloud City!
Chapter 40: Green Cloud City and the Local Wealthy Man
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 40: Green Cloud City and the Local Wealthy Man
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were no fixed entrances or exits in Green Cloud City. Lu Ye came down from Green Cloud Mountain, joined the stream of people going in and out of the city, and naturally blended into the crowd.
The hustle and bustle of the city washed over him. Cultivators brushed past each other as they came and went on these intricate maze-like streets. He could not believe that so many cultivators could gather together in such a tiny city. After all, he had not even seen a single person on Green Cloud Mountain before. [No, I did see a half-person.]
It was not that strange when he thought about it. No matter the Sect, the number of cultivators at the bottom rank would always be thergest. Besides, the outermost part of the Spirit Creek Battlefield happened to be where the cultivators at the lowest ranks gathered.
He was unable to tell which faction these cultivators belonged to just by looking at their appearances. Nobody would swagger about with information on their origins engraved on their foreheads after all. He couldnt even tell how high or how low the cultivation of these cultivators were.
In the beginning, he had found it rather strange. The Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge were two opposing factions. Their brains had been turned to mush from the countless wars and conflicts. Both sides regarded each other as sworn enemies, so how were the cultivators from both factions able to coexist peacefully? It wasnt until he arrived at this ce that he understood the reason. Everybody had no idea which faction the other belonged to. Therefore, they could only remain alert toward strangers at best. They could not act out rashly even if they were all clustered together.
The cultivators who came and went were dressed in all kinds of colorful clothes, which dazzled him. Some of the women cultivators were dressed so lightly that they exposed a lot of their fair skin. It was truly a beautiful sight to enjoy.
[I never knew that the atmosphere in Jiu Zhou is so open-minded.] This assumption was his misunderstanding. Jiu Zhou was a veryrge world. The cultures and customs of the people across thend were very different. The customs in some of the ces were simply like that. It wasnt as though their manner of dressing light was equivalent to them being open-minded.
Boy, move aside. A deep voice suddenly sounded behind Lu Ye.
Lu Ye turned around to look. What entered his vision was a muscr chest covered in arge mass of ck hair. Under his gaze, the two pectoralis major muscles even quivered intentionally. It gave off a feeling of explosive power. He slowly lifted his gaze and saw an unimaginably muscr figure standing behind him. His head only reached up to the other partys chest.
In addition, that person had two curved bull horns on his head. Lu Ye couldnt help staring in dumbfounded amazement,
Whew Two billowing waves of heat spurted from the nostrils of the burly figure. He looked down at Lu Ye. Youre blocking the way!
.
Thus, Lu Ye hurriedly jumped to the side with one hand pressed against the hilt of his sword. However, his wariness vanished swiftly. That was because a petite girl was standing next to the burly bull-horned man. The key point was that the girl had two furry ears sitting on top of her head. They looked like cat ears. She was probably the burly bull-horned manspanion.
Meow The woman gazed at Lu Ye in amusement and gave a soft cry. She winked at him in an insanely seductive manner.
[Wow] Lu Ye felt as though flowers were blooming in his heart. Under his reluctant gaze, that burly bull-horned man and the cat-eared woman quickly disappeared into the crowd.
They are Demon cultivators that have notpleted their transformation. A voice suddenly sounded beside Lu Ye.
Lu Ye turned to look in the direction of the voice only to see a chubby figure standing beside him. That person was looking at Lu Ye with a huge smile on his face, and his eyes were slightly squinted from his smile. His clothes were iid with gold and jewels. There were also several jade rings on his fingers. He did not look like a cultivator. Rather, he seemed more like a local wealthy man.
Demon cultivators? Lu Ye lifted his eyebrows at those words.
He had heard of Demon cultivators before. The Sect Master once mentioned that many Demon cultivators held a natural physical advantage which made them suitable for entering the body tempering cultivation faction. There were many Sects that would ept these Demon cultivators as disciples. It was just that he had never seen a Demon cultivator before, so he couldnt help being fascinated when he saw one for the first time.
Yes. But, their Spirit Beast characteristics will slowly disappear once their cultivation improves a little more. Buddy, you seem to have an interest in cute and furry Spirit cultivators. When the local wealthy man spoke, he reached up and made a gesture above his head with two fingers to indicate ears.
Lu Ye hesitated for a moment before he replied, Its my first time seeing one.
I see. Buddy, you must be a rogue cultivator, right? The local wealthy man asked with a chuckle. The reason for this inference was mainly that Lu Ye was all on his own. Generally speaking, disciples from a Sect would never enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield alone. They would definitely travel together with a few of their Sect members so that they could take care of each other. Likewise, the two Demon cultivators just now were part of the same Sect.
Lu Ye gave a casual response. I guess.
The Sect Master had warned him that he should never reveal his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect to anybody, so he would not mention it so carelessly.
The local wealthy man let out a sigh. Its not easy to be a rogue cultivator. I was also a rogue cultivator, so I understand your situation very well. He changed the topic andughed. Buddy, you should visit the Divine Trade Association if you have an interest in cute stuff. As long as you can afford it Heh heh Anything can be discussed.
Lu Ye replied sternly, Youre mistaken. Im not that kind of person!
I understand. I understand. The local wealthy man nodded repeatedly. Of course, you can also visit the Divine Trade Association if you are looking to purchase any Spirit Pills, Spirit Artifacts, Spirit Talisman Papers, information, maps, or have anything you want to sell. I guarantee that we can meet all your needs, Buddy.
Lu Ye was puzzled. What does the Trade Association do?
The Trade Association seemed to cover a wide range of services. Even so, what bothered him most was that the Trade Association carried the word Divine in its name. It seemed rather unusual.
The local wealthy man replied, Well Its a Trade Association. Its basically a business. We do any business that brings in money. All guests from Jiu Zhou are weed. We are happy to receive wealth from any party after all. But, dont you worry, Buddy. The Divine Trade Association might be a big business, but we have always adhered to the principle of ying fair. No matter what kind of customeres to us to do business, we will treat them equally. We will never treat our customers differently just because of their cultivation.
At this point, Lu Ye finally came to his senses. This local wealthy man was a member of the Divine Trade Association. He probably noticed Lu Ye reacting like a countryman who just arrived in a city, so he came over to establish a friendly rtionship to see if there were any business opportunities.
Im very poor. Lu Ye shook his head.
The local wealthy man chuckled. A dragon will not be satisfied to swim in shallow waters. You have a special look about you, Buddy. Im sure youll achieve great things in the future. It doesnt matter if you are poor now, there wille a time when you will flourish.
Thank you for the auspicious words! Lu Ye nodded. He did not believe that this person had seen anything about him. If his guess was right, this person would say the same thing to any stranger on the road. Thus, he simply took it as a friendly kindness.
Buddy, if you wish to visit the Trade Association, you only need to head in this direction. It is the most eye-catching building there. The local wealthy man gave Lu Ye some directions and cupped his fists. I wont take up any more of your time then! After saying that, he walked away in a carefree manner.
After their conversation, Lu Ye became somewhat interested in the Divine Trade Association. It was undeniable that the local wealthy man had struck up a conversation to attract a potential customer, but he had not given Lu Ye any bad feelings from the start until the end. Even when he believed Lu Ye was a rogue cultivator, his manner of speech had been courteous. It was easy for him to leave a good impression on others
[I suppose it wont hurt to go and take a look.] Lu Ye did not have the financial resources to buy anything, but he had some things on hand that he could sell. Perhaps, he could even exchange them for some Spirit Pills or something at the Divine Trade Association. Be that as it may, he was in no hurry right now. He had just arrived in this city. It was important for him to familiarize himself with the environment and the atmosphere of the Cultivation World.
Chapter 41: Setting up a Stall
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 41: Setting up a Stall
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Green Cloud City was a small city. There were countless cities like this scattered across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Cultivators would always need a ce to trade and rest. Their spontaneous gathering in one ce tended to result in cities like thising into being.
Everything in the city was very messy since nobody was in charge of managing these cities, especially when it came to the buildings. Buildings of various different styles from all over Jiu Zhou stood scattered around in a disorderly manner, making the city look like a smorgasbord.
These buildings were built by the cultivators who lived here all year round. There were a lot of cultivation resources that could be found in the nearby Green Cloud Mountain. Moreover, the safety factor was also pretty high. That was why many low-leveled cultivators were drawn to this ce, especially those rogue cultivators that belonged to no Sect.
Every building was a storefront, selling various cultivation resources. There were also restaurants and tea houses among them. Low-leveled cultivators still needed to eat after all. Moreover, they had greater daily needspared to ordinary people. It was inevitable that there would be these kinds of livelihoods.
Lu Ye walked past the shops, looking but buying nothing. The main reason was that he had no money to buy anything. Thus, he gradually figured out how the cultivators traded among themselves.
He did not know what currency system was used among themon people in Jiu Zhou. However, Spirit Stones were generally used for transactions between cultivators. That was the currency of the Cultivation World. Spirit Stones were of great use to cultivators, whether it be during daily cultivation sessions, in battle, or even to prepare talisman paper and set up Arrays. That was precisely the reason why Spirit Stones could be used as a standard of measure in the transactions between cultivators.
He had never seen a Spirit Stone before. The Third Senior Brother of the Green Jade Sect had ced some Spirit Stones on the Array during the test to determine his level of talent before, but he had not paid any attention to it at the time. Only now did he learn that Spirit Stones were a kind of semi-translucent crystal approximately the size of a thumbnail. Furthermore, it could be differentiated by the quality of the stones. It might be that the cultivators here were very weak, hence why only Low Grade Spirit Stones were being used. It could be seen from this that there probably also existed High Grade Spirit Stones that were of better quality.
Pharmacies selling the Spirit Pills used by cultivators were the mostmonly found store throughout the city. Since he had no money, he could only browse around. Even so, he was starting to get a grasp on the general prices after visiting so many shops.
Aside from the stores that were selling stuff in the city, there was also a street where many rogue cultivators had gathered. These rogue cultivators set up simple stalls by the side of the road and disyed the wares they wanted to sell at their stalls. Anybody could bargain for the items if they took a fancy to anything. As such, this street was incredibly busy. It was livelier than all the other streets he had strolled through today. There were all kinds of things for sale, which made it seem like an open market.
He had seen everything he needed to see after strolling through the city for more than half a day. Thus, he decided to find an unmanned spot along this street, sit down cross-legged, took out a few ores from his Storage Bag, and disyed them for sale. He pondered for a moment, then took out a Yuan Metal ore about the size of a fist. It wasnt that he really wanted to sell these ores. Rather, his main purpose was to figure out how much these items were worth.
He was hungry after walking around for more than half a day, so he took out some beast meat to eat. Having hunted many beasts previously, he had roasted them all and stored them into his Storage Bag. It was enough to sustain himself for a few days.
While eating, he observed the cultivatorsing and going in front of him carefully.
A cultivators strength in terms of cultivation remained aplete mystery to him. He only knew that those who were qualified to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield had to be in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm, at the very least. Unfortunately, he couldnt tell how high their cultivation was.
That was not a good thing. He was bound to get into disputes with other people in the future. Thus, it would be dangerous for him if he had no way to determine the opponents cultivation. If he happened to encounter a cultivator he could not win against, he might lose his life before he could even try to gauge his opponents strength. Therefore, he wanted to try and figure out a clue from his observation so that he would have more means of protecting himself in the future.
He studied every single cultivator that passed him by extremely carefully but was unable to figure out anything.
Junior Brother, what are you looking at? Lu Yes abnormal behavior had attracted the attention of the stall owner next to him. That was a female cultivator with a plump figure. She was wearing a deep green dress. That dress had obviously been washed many times, but it was still fairly neat and clean. Her hair was pushed behind her ears, revealing her slender and fair neck.
Lu Ye had not paid any attention to her prior to this. Turning to look at her, he was immediately greeted by the sight of an ample bosom. He withdrew his gaze and shook his head. I wasnt looking at anything.
He took a bite of his dried jerky and washed it down with a sip of water.
The female cultivator pursed her lips. You cant be trying to judge their cultivation, right?
He was surprised. Was it that obvious?
Sheughed. Thats because I was just as dumb and foolish as you when I first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
[Turns out everybody has the same idea] He burst intoughter.
Its not easy being a rogue cultivator. Theres nobody to guide you and no Elder to protect you. You dont even have a ce to stay to shelter you from the elements. She was clearly recalling her precious experiences. Sighing, she stopped reminiscing and pointed out. You wont be able to see anything just by looking with your naked eye.
He asked, What should I do?
Now that youre in the Spirit Creek Realm, you should have enough Spiritual Power. Why not try using your Spiritual Power?
He was stunned when he heard those words. Then, he secretly scolded himself for being stupid. He tried doing as the female cultivator had instructed and gathered his Spiritual Power in his eyes. In the next moment, it felt as though he had opened the doors to a whole new world.
The cultivators passing by in front of him were enveloped in ayer of light that was invisible to the naked eye. The light flowed around them slowly. It was an indicator of the Spiritual Power flowing inside their bodies. At a nce, there was not much difference between the light of each individual. However, a closer inspection revealed that there were some subtle differences. The light around some people flowed faster than the others. It was also unmistakably denser. On the other hand, some people were the pr opposite.
He understood immediately: The people whose light was denser and flowed faster had higher cultivation, and vice versa.
Do you see it now? she asked.
He nodded repeatedly in response.
She said, If you can enter a Sect, you will learn of these things naturally. Unfortunately, rogue cultivators dont have people teaching them. We can only figure it out ourselves.
At this time, he saw a few strange people. They did not have the slightest bit of light around them, which baffled him greatly. Hence, he asked the female cultivator about them once they were out of earshot.
She replied, Thats normal. They have Spirit Artifacts that can conceal their aura, or they cultivate some kind of Secret Technique that slows them to conceal their aura. However, the cultivators who appear in this ce are weak. They wont have the energy to practice any Secret Techniques. So, its probably due to the former reason.
I see! He nodded in understanding.
Let me give you a piece of advice, she said solemnly. If you ever run into people like them in the future, run as far as you can. The reason being that they definitelye from a powerful background. They are not people rogue cultivators like us can go up against. Also, this method might be able to give a rough estimate of a persons cultivation, its not an urate measure. Only when the other party has made their move can you urately judge their cultivation from the fluctuations in their spiritual power.
He gratefully said, Thank you for your advice, Senior Sister. After pondering for a moment, he took out a piece of meat from his Storage Bag and handed it to her.
She burst out in a peal ofughter but did not refuse his kind gesture. Reaching out her hand, she took it from him and slowly began to eat. In any case, it was undeniable that the way she ate was much more elegant than his.
Chapter 42: The Divine Trade Association
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 42: The Divine Trade Association
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye watched the light surrounding the bodies of the cultivatorsing and going in front of him for a while. Then, he studied the light around himself. Using himself as aparison, he managed to roughly estimate the cultivation of these cultivators.
Generally speaking, there were more cultivators in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm and the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. On the contrary, there were fewer of those in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and most of them were rogue cultivators.
It was said that anybody was eligible to cultivate in the battlefield as long as they could achieve the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Even so, most Sects would wait until their disciples were a little stronger before letting their disciples leave the base, under the prerequisite that they had the spare capacity to afford doing so. In that way, their disciples would have a higher chance of survival.
On the other hand, rogue cultivators had nobody to rely on. The battlefield might be dangerous, but it was filled with opportunities at every corner. They had to start working as soon as possible if they wanted to live infort. That was simr to the disparity between a child from a poor family and a child from a rich family.
There were also some in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm, but their numbers were notrge. There were usually only one or two out of dozens of cultivators.
Lu Ye even saw somebody who seemed to be in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. That persons perception was very keen. He turned to re at Lu Ye the moment Lu Yeid eyes on him. Those scarlet eyes of his looked like a pair of beastly eyes, and they gave off an extremely oppressive feeling that gave Lu Ye chills all over his body.
After a series of observations, Lu Ye formed a rough spectrum in his mind. He thought back to Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng, whom he had killed back in the mines. At the time, he only knew that their cultivation was not that great. He did not know their exact cultivation level.
Looking at it now, Manager Yang was probably in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm at most. The first had been affected by the Yuan Metal Force Field and could not bring out his Spiritual Power as a result. The other had been severely injured, which gave Lu Ye an advantage. Both their graves were probably overgrown with weeds by now.
Lu Ye did not know if it was merely his imagination. Nevertheless, he had the feeling that the light around his body seemed much clearer than most in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
While he was absorbed in his observations, somebody suddenly crouched down in front of him. That person picked up one of the mineral ores he had ced on disy and asked, How much are you selling this for?
How could he know the market price of this item? He had simply ced these ores on disy to gain an understanding of their value. Therefore, he had prepared his speech in advance. Name your price. Ill sell it to you if the price is suitable.
At the same time, Lu Ye checked the other partys cultivation. Judging by the light around that persons body, he seemed to be in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. However, his aura seemed to be much more turbidpared to the others.
Then, the realization abruptly dawned on Lu Ye. [Could this be what the Sect Master mentioned before regarding the Spiritual Power turning cloudy? If thats the case, that means this person in front of me has consumed too many Spirit Pills recently and umted too much Pill Poison as a result.]
That person came up with a number. 2 Spirit Stones!
Scram! Lu Ye did not know the worth of his mineral ores, but he was certain that this person only approached him with the intention to try and take advantage of him. Therefore, there was no need for him to think too much about it.
That person wasnt annoyed either. He only came to see if he could take advantage of the situation after seeing how airheaded Lu Ye looked. He did not want to make enemies with Lu Ye for no reason. Thus, he ced the mineral ore back down and left upon confirming with his own eyes that Lu Ye was not somebody he could take advantage of.
Afterward, a number of people approached Lu Ye in session to ask about the price. Lu Ye asked all of them to name their price, but there was no sessful transaction. What bothered him was that the Yuan Metal ore received the most queries. The price offered for the Yuan Metal ore was also the highest. The highest price offered was 20 Spirit Stones. Moreover, it was offered by a cultivator in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
[Looks like these items are pretty valuable after all. No wonder both Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng had abused their authority to secretly keep some for themselves. Items of such value are considerably significant assets for cultivators of their level after all.]
Although Lu Ye did not carry out any transactions, the items sold at the female cultivators stall next to him kept dwindling. She was selling the herbs that she had harvested from Green Cloud Mountain herself. It was very well-received, so it sold out in just half a day. As she packed up her things and prepared to leave, she asked him a question. Are you trying to figure out the value of these mineral ores?
She had been watching him for half a day. How could she not have guessed his intentions by now?
Yes. He nodded. Do you know the value of these items, Senior Sister?
She shook her head. I dont have much knowledge regarding mineral ores. I dont even recognize these stones of yours, so I dont know how much these are worth. You should head to the Divine Trade Association if you really want to sell them. Their purchase price might be slightly lower than the normal price, but they are generally considered quite fair. The main reason is that the cultivators here are not wealthy. Its not a problem if you are only selling some smaller items. Unfortunately, not many people have the means to purchase that Yuan Metal ore of yours. The price they can offer wont get much higher than that.
Lu Ye had also noticed this problem. It was just that he had no real ns to sell his mineral ores in this ce. Thus, he readily epted her good advice after listening to what she said. Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister.
I wish you the best of luck! The female cultivator smiled gently at Lu Ye. Then, she took a few steps and disappeared into the crowd.
Not long after the female cultivator, Lu Ye packed up his stall. He did not set up a stall here to sell anything. His main purpose had been to observe the passing cultivators in a more convenient manner and figure out a way to judge their cultivation. Now that he had achieved his purpose under the guidance of that female cultivator, there was no need for him to waste his time here any longer.
15 minutester, he stood outside a huge circr building and looked up. A building like this definitely stood out as an eye-catching symbol amidst the chaotic and disordered structure of the city.
This was the Divine Trade Association. Just the building itself revealed its deep heritage and extensive financial resources. The Trade Associations gue hung above the main door. The open doors looked like the mouth of a beast with countless cultivatorsing and going through those doors. A pair of golden couplets hung on both sides of the door. The words All customers from Jiu Zhou are weed were written on the left, and the words Happy to ept all kinds of wealth were written on the right. Meanwhile, a horizontal scroll with the words A home away from home hung between the two couplets!
He followed the moving crowd and entered the hall. Strangely, the hall was extremely quiet even though many cultivators came and went through the doors. A good-looking and slim-bodied female cultivator immediately walked up to him and gave a polite bow in greeting. Hello, Senior Brother.
He returned the bow but couldnt stop himself from ncing up at the furry pair of ears sticking out of the top of her head. This was another Demon cultivator. Moreover, she was a Demon cultivator who had yet toplete her transformation.
ording to the chubby cultivator from before, the Spirit Beasts characteristics would gradually disappear as the cultivation of these Demon cultivators became more advanced. They would eventually look no different from ordinary people. Therefore, it wasnt surprising to see many Demon cultivators sporting the characteristics of Spirit Beasts in this ce since the cultivators here did not have very high cultivation.
Despite noticing Lu Yes gaze, the female Demon cultivator seemed used to it and did not react strangely to his gaze. She simply asked in a gentle voice, Senior Brother, are you here to buy or sell? Or, perhaps to browse around?
[Seems like each choice will be received differently.] He calmed down and said, To sell.
She smiled brilliantly and stretched out her hand in a certain direction. Senior Brother, pleasee this way.
He walked in the direction she indicated. There seemed to be many separatedpartments in that direction, and he could vaguely see people sitting inside of thosepartments while carrying out business negotiations.
Chapter 43: Making a Sale
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 43: Making a Sale
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A short whileter, Lu Ye sat in one of thepartments with several screens surrounding him to block out prying eyes. The female Demon cultivator from before was nowhere to be seen. However, she had asked him to wait here before she left. She also informed him that somebody in charge would soone to do business with him. If he had any other instructions, he could simply shake the bell ced by the side and somebody would attend to his needs immediately.
There was a pot of tea on the table. Thus, he poured himself a cup. He immediately made a surprised expression after taking a sip of the tea. That was because the tea did not seem to be just any ordinary tea. The tea contained some Spiritual Power. It might not be much, but it was definitely there.
This discovery made him even more aware of the Divine Trade Associations extensive financial resources. This was simply the tea they prepared for their guests. Heaven knows how much tea was consumed in a day; they would not be able to afford something like this without deep pockets. Hence, he began gulping the tea down greedily. Nobody came to greet him even after he finished one pot of tea. Fortunately, he was in no rush. He simply rang the bell ced next to him gently.
A maid from the Divine Trade Association immediately walked into thepartment. How may I help you?
He pointed to the empty pot on the table. A refill please!
The maid seemed taken aback for a moment, but she came back to her senses quickly and instantly understood what he meant by a refill. Pursing her lips in a smile, she picked up the empty pot and walked out. A short whileter, she returned with another pot of Spirit Tea and ced it down gently. Please enjoy.
It wasnt until he drank 3 pots of tea that a woman walked into thepartment. By then, he was so full that he was hupping. I apologize for the long wait. Its a pleasure to meet you, Fellow Cultivator. My name is Liu Ru Yin.
A faint but lingering fragrance immediately tickled his nose. Then, he looked at the woman who had just walked in. She was dressed very lightly, exposing a great deal of snow-white skin. Combined with her soft and smooth voice, the atmosphere in the tinypartment immediately became somewhat ambiguous.
Its fine. He nodded at her.
The woman named Liu Ru Yin pulled out a chair opposite him and sat down. After that, she picked up the tea pot and personally poured a cup of tea for him. Her body leaned forward greatly, revealing the seductive arcing outline of her entire back. The snow-white bosom that peeked out from her open neckline jiggled slightly with the movement, causing him to feel dizzy from the sight.
He hurriedly took a gulp of tea to suppress his shock. He had checked her aura when she walked in just now. ording to his spection, she was in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. It was just that her aura was rather cloudy. It would seem that she was the type to consume Spirit Pills frequently while cultivating.
Putting down the teapot, she asked, So, what do you intend to sell?
In response, he took out the mineral ores he nned to sell from his Storage Bag, but did not take them out all at once. It was his first time engaging with the Divine Trade Association, and he was not yet familiar with the business ethics of this Trade Association.
What he brought out were the mineral ores he had put on disy at his stall previously.
Various mineral ores were ced in front of her. She randomly picked one up and studied it for a moment before nodding slightly. This piece of Scarlet Eye Iron is of a good quality. Its a pity its slightly on the smaller side. It could have been refined into a longsword if it were just a little bigger.
Her eyes lit up when she picked up the second piece of ore. This Star Moonstone is amazing. It has very few impurities.
Afterward, she picked up the third piece of ore
Lu Ye learned what it meant by professionalism when he watched her. This woman named Liu Ru Yin was extremely familiar with all of the mineral ores he had ced in front of her. All herments were to the point, even though he didnt understand much of what she said.
Finally, she picked up the Yuan Metal ore with a smile lifting the corner of her lips. This is rarely seen in the Outer Circle of the battlefield. It will fetch a good price. She ced the Yuan Metal ore down and looked straight at him. The Trade Association can offer you a price of 55 Spirit Stones for all of these. If you find the price suitable, we canplete the trade immediately.
Thanks to the results from his observations at the market earlier, he roughly understood the purchasing power of 55 Spirit Stones. Besides, the price was within his expected range.
Many people had offered him a price with the intention of taking advantage of him when he set up his stall previously. Nevertheless, he had gotten a general idea of the estimated value of his mineral ores from their offers. It could be said that his estimation was not too far off from the offer Liu Ru Yin had given him.
He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Its a little low.
Sheughed.? Its only natural for the price to be slightly lower than if you peddled them off separately on your own. But, it saves you a lot of time and effort, right? Moreover, the Trade Association is a big business with many mouths to feed. You have to give us a little room to make a profit.
Up the price a little more.
She lifted a hand and rubbed her temples as though she was experiencing a headache. However, her outstandingly good looks made her look even more charming instead. Alright then. Since you are so sincere in making this sale, I will add 4 more Spirit Stones. But, you must not try to bargain any further. Otherwise, I will need to pay out of my own pocket just to facilitate this business transaction.
She looked at him with a pitiful expression, acting as though she had been bullied or something.
It stood to reason that he did not believe her. Even so, judging by her appearance, he knew that the price would not increase any further. Therefore, he said, Okay.
She immediately broke out into a brilliant smile. How would you like to receive your payment? Would you like your payment in Spirit Stones or Spirit Pills?
How much do you charge for your Spirit Pills? he asked.
He was a little surprised to learn that he could receive Spirit Pills as payment. It just so happened that he had nned to use these Spirit Stones to purchase Spirit Pillster. After giving it some thought, he realized that many low-leveled cultivators would probably do the same. Therefore, providing this payment method would undoubtedly help the Divine Trade Association save on one extra procedure.
One bottle of nine Spirit Restoring Pills is worth 10 Spirit Stones.
He frowned at those words. Dont try to trick me. They sell one Spirit Pill for one Spirit Stone on the streets. Why are your goods more expensive?
She exined, Although they are all the same Spirit Restoring Pills, the quality of the Spirit Pills produced by each pill cultivator is different. All the pill cultivators who refine the Spirit Restoring Pills for the Trade Association are highly skilled cultivators. They are iparable to the pill cultivators you can find on the streets. If you dont believe me, you can buy some topare their quality for yourself. You will immediately see the difference. Whats more, if there were any problems with the Spirit Restoring Pills sold by the Trade Association, there wouldnt be so many cultivators who woulde to the Trade Association to buy them anymore.
He nodded. There is some truth to what you said. Alright then; please give me 5 bottles of Spirit Pills and give me the remaining payment in Spirit Stones.
Okay! She nodded and got up. Please wait for a moment.
She turned around with a twist of her waist and left thepartment. Returning a short whileter, she ced 5 bottles and 4 Spirit Stones in front of him. These are your goods.
Upon receiving both his money and his goods, he put them away into his Storage Bag.
Before he could stand up, she spoke up suddenly. Its gettingte. Do you have a ce to stay for the night?
When she asked that question, he abruptly realized something: There was no amodation simr to inns in this city. At least, he had not seen any.
Seeing the expression on his face, she immediately understood what he was thinking about. She said, The third floor and above of the Trade Association serves as an inn. It only costs one Spirit Stone per night. It is guaranteed that you wont be disturbed at all, whether you want to rest or cultivate. Also She leaned close to his ear and whispered, We can also satisfy you if you have other needs. You only need to inform the person in charge there.
Im not that kind of person! he replied sternly. At the same time, he was secretly shocked. [The Divine Trade Association really does carry out all kinds of business!]
Having met many people like him before, she simply pretended not to have heard him. She seductively murmured, I finish work at 11 PM. If you would like for me to service you, you only need to inform somebody in charge to call for me when I finish work.
He was feeling a little exasperated. Im not that kind of person.
A short whileter, Liu Ru Yin watched Lu Yes departing figure. The smile on her face vanished and she angrily muttered, Stingy man!
Under general circumstances, a cultivator would give a small reward of one or two Spirit Stones if they sessfully carried out arge transaction. Especially after Liu Ru Yin had increased the purchase price for Lu Ye. That was an unwritten rule. Unfortunately, it was Lu Yes first time doing business here. It was only natural that he did not know he had to give a reward.
Chapter 44: I’m Back Again
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 44: Im Back Again
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were many people in the Trade Association like Liu Ru Yin who were responsible for facilitating trade with the cultivators. Although they received a fixed sry every month, it was not high enough to meet their cultivation needs. Therefore, the rewards they received were one of their additional sources of ie. Needless to say, the willingness to use their bodies to serve customers like how Liu Ru Yin offered was also a kind of additional source of ie.
Most of the workers in the Trade Association used to be rogue cultivators. They had been impoverished before entering the Trade Association, so they understood the cruelty and difficulty to survive in the Cultivation World better than any other cultivator. Therefore, providing personal services to a guest was not something they deemed uneptable. It was simply something they were forced to do in life.
Lu Ye sighed as he walked out of the Divine Trade Association. He had originally nned to ask if he could sell those Storage Bags in his possession. However, Liu Ru Yins actions flustered him so badly that he had forgotten about it.
It wasnt good to return immediately, so he could only wait until next time. He originally nned to set off for the Crimson Blood Sects base, but it would seem that there was no need for him to be so eager. He had some good stuff on hand. It would only be right to digest them fully and transform them into his cultivation. The higher his cultivation, the safer his journey after all.
As for staying at the Divine Trade Association He didnt even bother to consider the option since he was currently strapped for cash. While the price of one Spirit Stone per night did not sound high, it would turn into a huge expense if he stayed there for many days.
He still had 4 Spirit Stones in his possession. Relying on his memory during the day, he came to a Spirit Pill shop and spent 2 Spirit Stones to purchase 2 Spirit Restoring Pills. Afterward, he returned to the street where he had set up his stall during the day. Taking out a few more mineral ores from his Storage Bag, he put them on disy and sat down cross-legged. Then, he took out another Spirit Stone.
It was his first time getting his hands on a Spirit Stone. It was something that could help with his cultivation. He had already tried cultivating by consuming Spirit Pills, so now he wanted to cultivate using Spirit Stones. He wanted topare between these two methods to see how efficient cultivating using Spirit Stones was. If the efficiency wasnt too bad, then there was no need for him to exchange his Spirit Stones for Spirit Pills in the future.
Although he had never cultivated using a Spirit Stone before, he had seen others doing it. He noticed many owners of the stalls around him cultivating with a Spirit Stone in hand while carrying out business. They looked very leisurely doing so. Hence, he mimicked their actions and discovered one of the benefits of cultivating with a Spirit Stone: He could stop cultivating at any time.
When consuming Spirit Pills, the Pill Power would dissolve in his abdomen. If he did not guide the Pill Power in time, it would cause the Pill Power to build up inside his body. On the contrary, it was different when he cultivated using Spirit Stones. There was no adverse effect if his cultivation was interrupted partway.
This street was still very lively at night. Cultivators would approach Lu Ye to ask about his wares from time to time. He handled it just like how he did during the day, but unexpectedlypleted a transaction this time. He sold one of the ores for 5 Spirit Stones. When daybreak came, he stopped cultivating and opened his palm to gaze at the Spirit Stone happily. It had only been reduced by a bit. However, he frowned slightly when he saw how much Spiritual Power had increased in his tenth Spiritual Point.
After experimenting for the whole night, he came to several conclusions. Using Spirit Stones to cultivate was safer than using Spirit Pills. For one, he could stop cultivating at any moment. For another, there were no hidden dangers attached to cultivating with Spirit Stones. On this point, it was simr to absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the surroundings. Unfortunately, the efficiency was far inferiorpared to consuming Spirit Pills.
It might have something to do with his talent, which made it difficult for him to guide the Spiritual Qi into his body. He felt that it would take him several days of cultivating without sleep just to finish one Spirit Stone at his current cultivation efficiency. The other cultivators might be more efficient at this, but it was still not as effective as consuming Spirit Pills. As for the cost performance The value of a Spirit Stone was more or less equivalent to a Spirit Restoring Pill. The increase in Spiritual Power after using up a Spirit Stone was no different from the increase in Spiritual Power after consuming a Spirit Pill. For that reason, their cost performance was about the same.
After experimenting around this time, he finally understood why other people would exchange their Spirit Stones for Spirit Pills when cultivating. Consuming Spirit Pills were higher in terms of efficiency, so it was only natural that this method was popr with everybody.
As the sky brightened, he packed up his stall and left the city. Since he was not willing to waste his money on amodation at the Divine Trade Association, he could only search for another ce to stay. He nned to return to the cave on Green Cloud Mountain where he used to stay. That ce was fairly safe, so he would not be disturbed in the middle of his cultivation. The main reason he did not leavest night was that traveling at night wasnt safe.
Before he left, he spent another 2 Spirit Stones to purchase plenty of food supplies. It was very time-consuming to hunt in the mountains. Besides, there were not many beasts left in that area.
He did an inventory of all his current assets. He currently had 47 Spirit Restoring Pills, 5 Low Grade Spirit Stones, nearly 30 Spirit Talisman Papers, 6 Healing Pills, and approximately 30 Yuan Metal ores of various sizes. He also had some mineral ores that he did not know the names of and 4 sets of clothing.
Compared to the time when he first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, his assets remained almost the same, but his cultivation had greatly improved. He believed that he could advance several Orders in the Spirit Creek Realm if he could turn everything in his possession into his strength. It was just that things like this should not be done in a rush. It would be better if he took his time to figure it out.
There were many cultivatorsing and going from the city. Most of them traveled in groups, but there were also some lone wolves like Lu Ye. These people were usually the rogue cultivators with no loving family or support.
It was dawn when Lu Ye left the city. He inevitably had to be more careful in his actions since he was traveling alone. He ran all the way without stopping after sessfully entering Green Cloud Mountain. In the meantime, he also deliberately circled around several times just to make sure nobody was tailing him. Only then did he proceed along the path to get off the mountain.
Before noon, he arrived back at the cave he used to live in. To his surprise, there was movement inside the cave. He carefully inched his way inside while holding a Spirit Talisman Paper at the ready in his hands. When he took in the sight that greeted him, he was so furious that he nearly turned his nose crooked.
A snow-white figure was sprawled upon the ground inside the cave, sleeping deeply. Who else could it be but the tiger? Yi Yi floated out from the tigers head. The atmosphere became extremely awkward when they met each others eyes.
Why are you in my home? Lu Ye questioned.
Yi Yi also asked, Didnt you leave?
I came back again!
A short whileter, that sturdy figure of the tiger slinked out of the cave. Then, it turned around and let out a roar in Lu Yes direction. Yi Yi remained floating above the tigers head, gnashing her teeth in absolute fury. Big fat liar! Untrustworthy!
Get out! Lu Yes shout came from inside the cave.
After driving the Spirit and the tiger who had taken over his home away, Lu Ye ate something before entering the state of cultivation. He first took out the 2 Spirit Restoring Pills that he had spent 2 Spirit Stones to purchase and swallowed one of them. Once the Pill Power dissolved in his abdomen, he guided the Spiritual Power into his Spiritual Point. His tenth Spiritual Point slowly began to pool with Spiritual Power.
When the Pill Power of the Spirit Restoring Pill was spent, he opened his eyes. He had discovered a problem. The medical efficacy of the Spirit Restoring Pill he had bought in the city was not as good as the ones the Sect Master had given him. The difference was not huge, but the gap was there. He could infer this point just by looking at the Spiritual Power umted in his Spiritual Point.
Nevertheless, he did not stop. He took the other Spirit Restoring Pill and became more certain of his previous conjecture when the Pill Power waspletely spent. Afterward, he took out the Spirit Restoring Pills he obtained from the Divine Trade Association and consumed one.
Following a series ofparisons, he finally came to a conclusion. Liu Ru Yin had not lied to him. The Spirit Restoring Pills from the Divine Trade Association were indeed better than the ones sold outside. It was simr to the ones the Sect Master had given him. From this point of view, he had not wasted his money on the purchase. He had to go to the Divine Trade Association if he wanted to purchase more Spirit Restoring Pills. At the very least, the quality was guaranteed.
Chapter 45: We Are So Pitiful
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 45: We Are So Pitiful
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye painstakingly cultivated inside the cave without stopping. His days passed by in a loop. He consumed Spirit Restoring Pill after Spirit Restoring Pill and filled up his Spiritual Points, then broke through the barrier of his next Spiritual Point. In the meantime, he also slept when he was tired and ate when he was hungry. The days passed by in a calm and boring manner, but he could feel the Spiritual Power umting inside his body as the days passed. Thus, he knew that this was a process for him to be stronger.
Before he entered the Spirit Creek Realm, he basically maintained a rate of unlocking one Spiritual Point every three days. It took him about 6 Spirit Restoring Pills to do so. Now that he was in the Spirit Creek Realm, he continued to maintain a rate of unlocking one Spiritual Point every three days. It was just that his consumption of Spirit Restoring Pills had increased slightly. He now needed approximately 8 or 9 Spirit Restoring Pills to unlock a single Spiritual Point.
The reason he could maintain this speed was that his cultivation had increased, which in turn increased his efficiency and speed of refining the Spirit Pills. In the past, it had taken him half a day to finish refining a single Spirit Restoring Pill. Therefore, he could only refine two Spirit Pills a day. In contrast, he was currently capable of refining 3 Spirit Pills topletion in a day if he concentrated hard enough. In that way, he managed to maintain his rate of unlocking his Spiritual Points even though his consumption had increased.
Half a month passed by in a sh, and he consumed thest of his Spirit Restoring Pills. Inspecting his cultivation, he found that he was still in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm, However, he had unlocked the fifteenth Spiritual Point. He had yet to fill his fifteenth Spiritual Point with Spiritual Power.
He was only three Spiritual Points away from breaking through to the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm! If he could enter the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm, he would surely experience a great boost in power. Unfortunately, it was not something he could achieve yet. The Spiritual Power reserves in his body might have increased by a lot, but his newly unlocked Spiritual Points were not joined in a system. Therefore, they would not be of much help to him in a fight.
There were still some mineral ores in his possession that he could exchange for Spirit Stones. Therefore, he prepared to leave the mountain to visit the Divine Trade Association once more with his previous experience in mind.
He leisurely walked out of the cave. The sun outside was shining brightly, but the forest canopy was so dense that only sporadic rays of light filtered through the dense foliage to form pools of light on the ground. Squinting slightly in the sun, he waited a while until his eyes adjusted to the light before he finally strode forward.
He didnt get very far when he suddenly heard a strangemotioning from not far away. Frowning slightly, he quietly headed in the direction of the voices. A short whileter, he hid behind arge tree and peered forward.
There were three cultivators standing in that direction, looking as though they were facing a great enemy. Every one of them had sorrowful and anxious expressions on their faces. One of them was a female cultivator who looked like she was on the verge of tears.
Not far from those three was a well-built and sturdy snow-white tiger that was pacing back and forth. Its amber tiger eyes nced at the three cultivators from time to time, giving them an extremely oppressive feeling. Its mouth moved as it walked. Unlock your Storage Bags and toss them on the ground. Then, get the Hell out of here! Otherwise, I dont mind eating you up!
The corners of Lu Yes eyes twitched at the sound of that voice. He had heard that majestic and ancient sounding voice once before, but it eventually turned out to be a trick that Yi Yi yed on him.
Those three cultivators were clearly frightened. One of them tremblingly untied the Storage Bag around his waist, unlocked the Restraining Lock, and tossed it to the ground. Staring at the tiger in horror and trepidation, he beggingly said, Please forgive us! We didnt mean to offend you! Everything is right there! Please let us go!
The tiger nced at the Storage Bag on the ground and roared. Get lost!
That person hurriedly turned around and fled without even looking back. With his lead, the other two cultivators hurriedly dropped their Storage Bags to the ground and ran for their lives.
After making sure that the three cultivators were gone, the tiger slowly stepped forward. However, somebody rushed out and snagged the three Storage Bags before the tiger could get any closer.
Shocked, the tiger violently jumped back in fright. On the other hand, a small figure came out of its head and stared at Lu Ye bbergasted. Thats ours!
Lu Ye held the Storage Bags in his hands and quickly checked through them, furrowing his eyebrows in response. The contents of these Storage Bags were extremely pitiful. Each of them only had a few Spirit Restoring Pills and some herbs, as well as some misceneous daily necessities. There were no Spirit Stones at all.
He secretly cursed them for being poor bastards, then took out the Spirit Restoring Pills and divided them into two portions. He kept one portion for himself and tossed the other portion to Yi Yi. Witnesses get a share!
Yi Yi was shocked by his actions. Baring her teeth at him, she leaped at him. Return them to me!
*nk.* His longsword slid out of its sheath. He smiled at her without uttering a single word as she threw herself at him.
Her figure froze in front of the longsword. She was so livid that she was gnashing her teeth furiously and cursing wildly. Hernguage was so colorful that it was like her mouth had been smeared with honey.
Should I call those three back?
She instantly shrank back from him and grudgingly retreated, knowing that she was not going to get the Spirit Pills back from him. She could sense that he was much stronger than he had been one month ago, and the tiger was by no means capable of being his opponent if it really came down to a fight. Even so, having her loot stolen from her made her feel extremely wronged. Thus, she muttered words such as Shameless and Contemptible under her breath.
I want to ask you a question, he said.
I refuse to answer any questions you may have! she snarled through gritted teeth.
If you answer me well, I will return these to you. He lifted the stolen goods in his hand and gave it a little shake. There were only a few Spirit Restoring Pills, so he didnt care too much for them.
Hah! She gave augh of contempt, acting as though she looked down on money as though it was dung. Sitting cross-legged on top of the tigers head, she straightened up and lifted her head. Ask away!
I met many Demon cultivators in the city at the foot of the mountain. They dont seem all that great, so why are people so afraid of you?
This was something that had been puzzling him greatly. Those Demon cultivators were definitely stronger than the tiger. Logically speaking, a cultivator who was ustomed to seeing Demon cultivators had no reason to fear a Spirit Beast that had not transformed. So, why were they scared witless with just a few words?
You dont understand. She became proud. There are differences between Demon cultivators who transform and Demon cultivators who dont
After listening to Yi Yis exnation, Lu Ye finally understood. Not every Spirit Beast would choose to undergo transformation. It might have been a Spiritual Intelligence issue, their own choice, or even their bloodlines inheritance. In short, a considerable amount of Spirit Beasts maintained their original appearances. This kind of Spirit Beast did not have the ability to speak when their cultivation was low. However, they would gain the ability of speech when their cultivation reached a certain level.
In other words, a Spirit Beast that could speak was synonymous with a powerful person! As for how powerful they were At the very least, they were not something the low-leveled cultivators in this area could afford to upset. Thebined performance between Yi Yi and the tiger was extremely terrifying, and many cultivators who trespassed into this area had suffered from that as a result.
I see! He felt as though he had learned a little more about themon sense of the Cultivation World. Lifting his hand, he tossed the stolen goods to Yi Yi and turned around to go down the mountain.
She checked the items and confirmed that there was no problem with them. Then, she shouted at his departing back. Are you leaving?
Its none of your business! Lu Yes voice came from afar.
Damn it! Yi Yi muttered. Turning around, she hugged the tigers head andmented sorrowfully, Amber, we are so pitiful!
Woo
Chapter 46: The Differences Between the Maps
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 46: The Differences Between the Maps
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was unmistakably much calmer when he left the mountain again. He came to Green Cloud City located at the foot of the mountain and arrived at the Divine Trade Association with practiced ease. Without waiting for the maid at the door to ask, he spat out the words, To sell!
He sat inside thepartment and drank the Spirit Tea provided by the Divine Trade Association as usual. It was a pity that he only managed to finish one pot of tea before somebody walked in.
You waited a long time, Fellow Cultivator! Following that voice, a middle-aged man walked into thepartment and bowed at Lu Ye. This lowly one is Liu Quan. Its a pleasure to meet you.
Lu Ye nodded in acknowledgement. Liu Quan took a seat and got straight to the point. What do you want to sell?
Lu Ye took out the few mineral ores he had prepared in advance. Needless to say, the Yuan Metal ore was the most expensive. Most of the Spirit Stones he earned from selling those mineral ores previously came from the value of the Yuan Metal ore. This time around, the Yuan Metal ore that he brought out was slightly bigger than the one before. Hence, the price might be more expensive as a result.
Liu Quan checked the mineral ores one by one, then he gave a quotation for each piece of mineral ore. During this period, Lu Ye said nothing and simply drank his tea quietly. Finally, Liu Quan ced the Yuan Metal ore down and said, This item is rarely found in the Outer Circle. I can give you a price of 38 Spirit Stones. The total pricees to 51 Spirit Stones. If you are happy with the price, we canplete the transaction immediately.
Cant you increase the price a little more? Lu Ye looked at Liu Quan.
Liu Quan shook his head with a troubled smile. I cant increase the price any further. After purchasing these raw materials, they will need to be refined and extracted by professionals before they can be made into something useful. There will be no profit margin for the Trade Association if I increase the price any further.
[This guy is harder to deal with than Liu Ru Yin!] Lu Ye criticized Liu Quan in his heart. Thest time he had tried to bargain with Liu Ru Yin, she had immediately increased the purchase price by 4 Spirit Stones. She was much more easy-going than Liu Quan even though she was a woman.
Unbeknownst to him, Liu Ru Yin had only been willing to raise the price for him because of an unwritten rule. Besides, she also wanted to do another business with him. That was why she had agreed so readily. Unfortunately, he waspletely oblivious of the unwritten rule and had not bothered to give her a reward for her efforts. It had left her feeling quite upset as a result.
On the other hand, Li Quan was a man. He was not hoping to do any other business with Lu Ye, so it was only natural that he adopted a business-like attitude.
Lu Ye fell silent for a moment. He couldnt be bothered to waste his time on nonsense. Taking out 4 Storage Bags, he asked, Do you have a way to unlock these?
Those were the Storage Bags that Yi Yi had offered to him in the past. She once told him that there were people in Green Cloud City who had the ability to unlock the Restraining Lock on the Storage Bags. Unfortunately, he had forgotten all about them during hisst trip here.
Liu Quan calmly took the Storage Bags from Lu Ye. It was clear that he was well-versed with such things. He checked the Storage Bags briefly and said, We do offer such service if you wish for us to help you unlock these Storage Bags. But, there is a fee involved.
How much?
He responded with a number.
Lu Yes expression turned gloomy. The price was a little too high.
Liu Quan smiled. Of course, you can also sell these items to the Trade Association. Every Storage Bag will be priced at this amount.
He indicated a number with his hands.
Lu Yeughed. This number is lower than the quotation you gave me just now!
In other words, the amount of Spirit Stones required as payment for the Trade Association to unlock these Storage Bags was higher than directly selling these Storage Bags to the Trade Association. It seemed a little unreasonable.
Liu Quan replied with a smile, I understand what you are thinking, but Im afraid this really is the price. You must understand; the Storage Bags belonging to cultivators in the Outer Circle are not worth much. It might even turn out to be just an empty bag with absolutely nothing inside. The Trade Association will be taking some risks in this transaction, so the price will not be high. Of course, if you wish to take a gamble to see if there are any valuable treasures in these storage bags, you only need to pay a small fee to unlock them. Its entirely up to your choice.
Lu Ye thought back on the three cultivators Yi Yi and the tiger had robbed just now. Their Storage Bags had not contained anything of value at all. Thus, he immediately made up his mind and started bargaining with Liu Quan again. In the end, he sold the 4 Storage Bags to the Trade Association for a total of 20 Spirit Stones. Combined with what he had already sold just now, the total amount came up to 71 Spirit Stones!
Liu Quan clearly looked a little happy once their transaction waspleted. He asked, Fellow Cultivator, how would you like your payment? Will you take your payment in Spirit Stones or Spirit Pills?
Lu Ye said, Do you have a map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield?
The reason he asked this question was that he recalled hearing from the local wealthy man he met when he first entered the city not long ago that there were maps for sale in the Trade Association. If he wanted to head toward Crimson Blood Sects base, he first had to pinpoint the exact location where Crimson Blood Sect was situated. Thus, it would be more convenient if he had a map on hand.
Liu Quan immediately became enthusiastic. Of course, we do. Which kind of map would you like?
How many types do you have?
Theres a 3-point map, a 7-point map, and a 10-point map. Three kinds in total.
What are the differences? Lu Ye couldnt help frowning. [They are just selling a map. Why make it soplicated?]
Its like this Liu Quan began to exin. After listening to Liu Quans exnation, Lu Ye slowly began to understand the differences between the three kinds of maps.
There were countless bases located across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Every Sect in Jiu Zhou had their own base in the battlefield after all. These forces were constantly at odds with each other and the bases would change hands frequently. Therefore, drawing a map was an extremely troublesome affair.
Even so, the Divine Trade Association had the ability to do so. Due to the Trade Associations countless branches located across the entire battlefield, they could easily draw up a map of the entire battlefield just bypiling the information from the various areas. None of the other forces could have done this.
Aplete map would feature the situation of all the bases in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It included a description of which faction these Sects belonged and which Tier the Sects were on. That wasnt all; the various terrains and topography of the battlefield were also clearly indicated on the map. That was the 10-point map.
Meanwhile, the 7-point map was a simplified version of the 10-point map which only included the general situation of 70% of the forces on the battlefield
The 3-point map provided even less information. It only provided 30% of all the information regarding the bases. There was no information whatsoever on the topography andndforms found on the battlefield
In Lu Yes case, it was clear that he had to buy a 10-point map if he decided to buy a map. The Crimson Blood Sect was a Ninth Tier Sect, so it might not be written in the 7-point map and or the three-point map. It would be a huge waste of money if he bought the map only to discover that the Crimson Blood Sect was not indicated on the map.
Furthermore, there was another advantage to buying the 10-point map. He could simply go to any Divine Trade Association branches in the future to update the map. Due to the constant wars across the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Sects changed hands frequently. A base might belong to the Grand Sky Coalition today, but it might belong to the Thousand Demon Ridge the very next day. If a person failed to pay attention to these changes and plunged right into the situation, it would surely lead to a disastrous ending. Hence, having a map that could be updated in real time would inadvertently help with avoiding many unnecessary risks.
Unfortunately, he immediately gave up on the idea when he heard the prices involved. A 10-point map was priced at 600 Spirit Stones. Moreover, this was already after a discount. On the other hand, even the 3-point map that Liu Quan had rmended was priced at several dozen Spirit Stones. But, what would he do with a 3-point map?
In the end, he could only end the transaction there. Out of 71 Spirit Stones, only 1 remained. The rest of the 70 Spirit Stones were used to buy 7 bottles containing 63 Spirit Restoring Pills. With so many Spirit Restoring Pills, it was only a matter of time before he broke through to the Second Order Spirit Creek Realm.
Chapter 47: Second Order Spirit Creek Realm
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 47: Second Order Spirit Creek Realm
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the Divine Trade Association, Liu Quan politely saw Lu Ye off. Apart from the disciples that came from the major Sects, most cultivators in the outer circle were poor. Therefore, it wasnt easy toe across a transaction of several dozen Spirit Stones. Moreover, Lu Ye appeared to be a straightforward person, which was why Liu Quan was willing to befriend him so that there would be more business deals between them in the future.
After Lu Ye was gone, Liu Quan turned around and caught a whiff of a pleasant scent, only to see a woman standing in front of him. You freaked me out! He shot her a re. What were you doing behind me instead of weing more guests?
The woman uttered softly, I missed you.
Liu Quan looked around in a furtive manner, and upon making sure that no one was paying attention to them, he said in a hushed voice, Ill look for you after work in the evening.
Alright, the woman replied with a smile.
As though nothing had happened, Liu Quan shuffled towards the hall and greeted other guests. On the other hand, the woman dispassionately looked in the direction Lu Ye had left and fell into her thoughts.
At night, the man and the woman became one. After the congress, they had a small chat. The woman attempted to make Liu Quan talk about the transaction in the morning. An exhausted Liu Quan replied to her in an intermittent manner, then he nodded off.
The woman snuggled up to him, but she found it difficult to fall asleep. If she wasnt mistaken, she had served the customer that she saw in the morning half a month ago. At that time, he sold many ores and bought some Spirit Pills.
However, she hadnt expected that half a monthter, he would return to sell even more ores. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be an amateur cultivator. Without any support, how was he able to amass several dozen Spirit Stones? That was what caught her attention.
She worked in the Divine Trade Association. Including her additional ie, she could get twelve to thirteen Spirit Stones at most. Recalling her time as an amateur cultivator, she couldnt help feeling bitter that she was significantly worse off than that customer. After having some wild thoughts for a long time, she finally felt sleepy, but she couldnt sleep soundly throughout the night.
At the same time, Lu Ye was cultivating inside the cave in Green Cloud Mountain. After the transaction in the Divine Trade Association in the morning, he traded his remaining Spirit Stones for some food before rushing back to this ce eventually managing to return to this cave before the night descended.
With enough Spirit Pills now, he could start swallowing them and cultivating. After consuming many pills, the Spiritual Power in his fifteenth Spiritual Point finally became full as it attempted to break through to the sixteenth Spiritual Point.
Twelve dayster, Lu Ye sat down with his legs crossed inside the cave as he adjusted his breathing.
This was an important day for him. If everything went well, he would ascend to the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm on this day. Since he returned to this ce twelve days ago, he had consumed more than thirty pills and broken through to the eighteenth Spiritual Point, in which the Spiritual Power was also full.
Recalling the cultivation routes of Golden Liberation Technique, Lu Ye activated his Spiritual Power. Starting from the tenth Spiritual Point, his Spiritual Power streamed through the eleventh point, the twelfth point until the eighteenth point. He had already done such a thing when he broke through to the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm, so he was familiar with it, and he didnte across any difficulties.
His Spiritual Power streamed through the nine major Spiritual Points like a creek. As he progressed, the speed at which the Spiritual Power moved through the nine major points became increasingly rapid, and he repeated the same cycle again and again. When he reached a certain limit, he felt energised all of a sudden as his Spiritual Power started running from the tenth to the eighteenth point on its own. He had reached the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm!
With a simr experience in the past, he didnt feel overjoyed or anything as it was bound to happen anyway. Now, he was no longer the weak cultivator with only three unlocked Spiritual Points who was roaming around the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Reaching the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm had earned him the right to survive in the outer circle of the battlefield, while attaining the Second-Order had earned him the right to move around freely. Certainly, there was still some gap between the stronger cultivators and him, but he was already satisfied with his achievements. It took him a shorter time to ascend to the Second-Order than when he reached the First-Order. He had spent about forty days going from the third point to the Spirit Creek Realm. On the other hand, it took him less than a month to go from the First-Order to the Second-Order.
The main reason was that he had enough resources for cultivation. With that said, the speed at which he improved was indeed inconceivable. In the initial stage of cultivation, it would take a cultivator about ten days to unlock one Spiritual Point. That was because they mainly cultivated by breathing in the Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere. With a weak cultivation, doing so was inefficient, which would slow down a persons cultivation speed. Things would only improve after the cultivator reached the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
In other words, in the initial stage of cultivation, it would take a cultivator three months to reach a new realm. However, Lu Ye managed to do so every month. That was the joy of cultivating with the help of pills. When he was in the First-Order Realm, he only had a Microcosmic Orbit that went from the Source Spiritual Point to the ninth point in his body. However, after he reached the Second-Order Realm, the cirction started from the tenth point to the eighteenth point. Now, there were two cirction systems for his Spiritual Power in his body.
That way, he could activate more Spiritual Power in a short period of time, which enabled his Spiritual Power to be more destructive. When he reached the Third-Order Realm, there would be three such Microcosmic Orbits in his body, and so on. When he reached the Ninth-Order, there would be nine Microcosmic Orbits.
There were thirty pills left. Even though he wanted to continue cultivating, he knew that he shouldnt rush things. After eating some food, he left the cave and took a bath in a nearby mountain spring. Then, he changed into clean clothes, and as he listened to the sounds of the flowing water, he started reading Golden Liberation Technique.
He was trying to reach the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, so he had to find out the locations of the Spiritual Points after the eighteenth one in order to cultivate smoothly. It was serene on the mountain as only the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects were heard. The sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast its glow on the young mans face, which made the sight look like a scene in a painting.
Why are you hiding there? Lu Ye uttered without raising his head.
Just then, a petite head stuck out from a tree branch on the side. Anyone would be shocked by her dishevelled appearance. Yi Yi took a look at the manual in Lu Yes hands, and upon making out that it was an entry-level technique, she pressed her lips together with a dismissive look.
Suppressing his urge to give her a punch, Lu Ye tilted his head and asked, Whats wrong?
When are you leaving? Yi Yi questioned.
It had been a long time since Lu Ye hunted anything on the mountain, but this was the tiger and her territory after all, so they wouldnt allow him to stay here forever. If it werent because they were wary of the talisman papers he possessed, they wouldve chased him away. Nevertheless, she had suffered a setback before, so she wouldnt dare to re up now. Moreover, she could see that he had grown stronger than he was two months ago.
After closing his book, Lu Ye got to his feet and stretched his back. Im sleepy now. See you!
Hey, Im asking you a question, Yi Yi bellowed. Getting no reply from him, she clenched her teeth. What a thug! Im so angry! Argh! She forcefully scratched the tree beside her, causing tree chips to scatter everywhere.
Chapter 48: Ambush
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 48: Ambush
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After one day of rest, Lu Ye no longer felt exhausted from cultivating for days. It was time to attempt breaking through to the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. He didnt rush to take any pills. Instead, he activated his Spiritual Power to locate the neenth Spiritual Point.
He was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm now, and his Spiritual Power was more ample than it was two months ago, so he found it easier to locate the next Spiritual Point. In just one hour, he found the neenth point.
It wasnt until this moment that he fished out a pill and swallowed it to refine the Pill Power, then he led his Spiritual Power to strike the neenth points barrier. Three dayster, he had consumed eleven pills, and his neenth point had be full. This oue was within his expectation.
Before reaching the Spirit Creek Realm, it would take him three days to unlock one Spiritual Point, and he would need six pills. After reaching the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm, the speed at which he unlocked the points was the same, but he needed eight to nine pills to unlock one point.
Now that he was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm, the number of pills he had to consume had increased to eleven pills. It still took him the same time to unlock a new point mainly because his cultivation had improved, so he had be more efficient at refining Pill Power. In that case, it seemed that the higher his cultivation was, the more pills he needed to unlock new points. Now, he was only left with twenty pills, which should allow him to unlock two more points.
Lu Ye made some calctions and realised that if he was able to consistently unlock one point every three days, it would take him one thousand and eighty days to reach the 360th point. The revtion shocked him. He wasnt sure how other people cultivated, but he reckoned that his cultivation speed was pretty quick. Despite that, it would still take him nearly three years to reach the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
For the next few days, he stayed inside the cave. It wasnt until he consumed thest pill that he left the cave. Just like what he had expected, he managed to break through to the 21st point, but it still wasnt full.
If he wanted to reach the 27th point, it would require seventy Spirit Restoring Pills at the very least. Now, he was only left with Yuan metal ores. The other misceneous ores had been sold to the Divine Trade Association in thest two transactions. He reckoned that he would need two Yuan metal ores to trade for seventy pills.
Half a dayter, he stepped into the Divine Trade Association, and when he left, he already had eighty-one pills and a few Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag.
A curvy woman was standing beside the window on the second floor of Divine Trade Association. Watching him leave, she appeared to be hesitating for a moment before she heaved a sigh and pointed her finger at the back of her hand, which revealed a mark. Unlike the blue Battlefield Imprint on Lu Yes hand, her mark was yellow. Then, she parted her lips and murmured at the mark, then it disappeared.
Fifteen minutester, she left the Association. Faced with people who greeted her, she would respond to them with a smile.
At this moment, Lu Ye was heading to the cave in Green Cloud Mountain. He wasnt sure if it was an illusion or something, but after leaving Green Cloud City, he started having a strange feeling. However, he couldnt really tell what was amiss.
After circling around the forest for a while, he finally realised there was a figure who had been following him, but before he could make out who the person was, the figure had disappeared. [Is someone stalking me?] He became vignt.
He was very careful every time he visited the city, especially when he returned to his ce. Nothing had happened the past two times, but now, he was being stalked by a cultivator, which puzzled him. He wasnt sure if that person was looking for him, or that it was just a chance encounter. It wouldnt have mattered if it was thetter. If it was the former, things would get prettyplicated.
Fortunately, the persons speed wasnt particrly swift. If Lu Ye fully used his power, it would be difficult for the person to race after him. It seemed that the persons cultivation was low. It was understandable as most cultivators who roamed around the outer circle were not powerful.
Just when he was in his thoughts, he felt Spiritual Power surging behind him, and it was followed by a cold sensation. Turning his head, he realised that an icicle broke through the air and reached him in the blink of an eye. A shocked Lu Ye hurriedly swirled around and drew out his sword. As he activated his Spiritual Power, he shed at the icicle, upon which the broken pieces whisked across his face.
Upon impact, Lu Ye was forced to stagger backwards. He decided to do a back flip to stabilise himself, but he still appeared battered. When he straightened up, he realised that the attacker was already right in front of him. That was a man who was older than him by a few years. His skin was fair with no beard on his face. Two fist-sized earrings were hanging from his ears, which made him look pretty exotic.
The weapon in his hand looked like a mixture between a sword and a dagger. It was slightly longer than the average sword, but it was only half as wide. It looked simr to the legendary Embroidered Spring de. Right after Lu Ye straightened up, the fair-skinned man shed at him.
Lu Ye had no time to activate his Spiritual Pattern to bless the sword, so he had no choice but to raise his sword to parry the attack. With a ng, sparks could be seen scattering. Lu Ye felt numb in his purlicue, and his sword was almost sent flying away. Upon impact, he was forced to lower himself, and he almost fell on his knees.
Oh? The fair-skinned man was surprised as he hadnt expected that Lu Ye could parry his attack. He had been waiting for a long time before he made the move. While he was stunned, Lu Ye had already fended off his weapon and attempted to jab his sword into the mans chest.
Unperturbed, the fair-skinned man gently swung his de. Before Lu Ye even realised what was going on, he felt a pain in his arm, which caused his attack to lose momentum. The other party managed to dodge his sword with ease. The missed attack caused Lu Ye to stagger forward. As the glint of a sword shed across his eyes, he felt cold all over his body as he waited for his imminent death.
With a ng, the de shed right at Lu Yes chest, but it couldnt prate his body. Instead, Lu Ye was sent flying backwards. Raising his head, the fair-skinned man realised that Lu Ye was engulfed in ayer of golden light, which protected him from getting severely injured. Earlier, Lu Ye realised that he was no match for the man, which was why he immediately used a defensive talisman paper on himself.
Golden Body Talisman Paper? The eyes of the fair-skinned man turned bloodshot. It wasnt that he was jealous of Lu Ye for having this talisman paper. It was just that the talisman paper was supposed to belong to him, but it was wasted by Lu Ye in such a way, which was why he was heartbroken.
However, now, he was certain that the information he had gathered was right. This amateur cultivator in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm was indeed rich. Otherwise, he wouldnt have possessed any talisman papers to use. Any talisman paper was worth ten to twenty Spirit Stones. Low-level cultivators would rarely use any talisman papers during a fight. That was because most of them didnt have enough money to buy it. They would only prepare one to two talisman papers for emergencies.
Gazing at the golden light around Lu Ye, the fair-skinned man flew backwards for several metres as he held his de with one hand and performed a hand seal with his other hand. Following a sneer on his face, his Spiritual Power could visibly be seen gathering on the tips of his fingers.
Chapter 49: Have Mercy, Tiger King
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 49: Have Mercy, Tiger King
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the blink of an eye, an icicle appeared in front of the fair-skinned man. Under the mottled sunlight, the icicle radiated with a seven-coloured light!
At that instant, Lu Ye realised that he was in trouble.
When he gathered his Spiritual Power to his eyes just now, he had managed to see the aura around the body of the person who sneaked up on him. He judged that the other party was a cultivator in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm or above but less than the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
The opponents cultivation was higher than his own. Judging by the way the opponents attack hade out of nowhere just now, the opponentsbat experience was also above his own.
It had not been long since he started cultivating. He had not gone through any rigorous training before. He did not have any Master to guide him either. Therefore, he did not have any other moves or skills to speak of aside from the basic motions of hacking, stabbing, and shing with the longsword in his hand.
[My cultivation is lower and my skills are inferior. The opponent also knows how to cast Spells The situation is beyond terrible!]
Just as the icicle in the opponents hand was taking shape, he kicked off the ground and borrowed the power of the impact to propel himself forward.
Lu Yes reaction stunned the fair-skinned cultivator. He had assumed that the other party would run away immediately. Who could have known that his opponent would choose to attack instead? His figure fluttered backward once more. At the same time, the icicle flew out of his hand at great speed.
That icicle struck Lu Ye but was blocked by the golden light on the surface of his body. Although it had not harmed him, the force of the impact made his chest tighten in pain. The momentum of his forward charge also slowed considerably and the golden light surrounding his body faded significantly as a result.
After shooting out that icicle, aura gathered on the fair-skinned mans hand once more. It was clear that he nned to create a second icicle.
The corner of Lu Yes eyes twitched at the sight. In a battle between low-levelled cultivators, those who could cast spells obviously held a huge advantage over the other.
How many can you block? The fair-skinned man kept a safe distance from Lu Ye while trying to provoke Lu Ye. Between the two of them, one chased while the other retreated. Lu Ye was hit by three consecutive icicles in a short period of time and the golden light around his body became so dim that it was about to be extinguished at any time. In contrast, he couldnt even touch the other partys clothes during this time.
This kind of battle made him feel very suffocated. He was very tempted to take out a Fiery Snake Talisman Paper and teach the other party a lesson on how to behave. Nevertheless, he suppressed the impulse. He was not certain if a Fiery Snake Talisman Paper was enough to kill the other party. This was a cultivator, not the wolves he had killed when he first entered the battlefield. He did not have the geographical advantage that he had when fighting the tiger either. Although he had a vague n in his mind, he was not sure if he could pull it off smoothly. It would depend on his luck.
Fifteen minutester, the golden light surrounding his body vanishedpletely when he was hit by another icicle. He had sustained internal injuries after being hit by all those icicles. Blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth. A chill shrouded him and he couldnt help shuddering from the cold. He red at the fair-skinned man fiercely. With a look of resentment on his face, he spoke his first words since the start of the battle. What bad blood do we have between us?
The fair-skinned man chuckled. We have no bad blood between us.
Lu Ye said nothing, waiting quietly for the other party to continue.
Sure enough, the fair-skinned man said, But, if you tell me where you found so many mineral ores, I can spare your life!
A sharp light shed in Lu Yes eyes. He finally determined the root of the problem. This confrontation did not happen by chance. The other party hade looking for him on purpose! And, the reason was the mineral ores that he sold.
Frankly, he had always been very careful. He had always dealt with different people during the three times he had gone to the Divine Trade Association. Moreover, he only sold a small portion of mineral ores each time. He did not dare to sell too many, lest he caught the attention of ill-intentioned people. Even during his return journey, he would make many detours to ensure that there was nobody following behind him.
Unfortunately, reality proved that some people still sought to harm him anyway. It didnt matter how careful he was. There was no stopping this unless he stopped selling stuff to the Divine Trade Association. Nheless, he needed the Spirit Pills to cultivate. Where would he go if he did not go to the Divine Trade Association?
.
The only thing he could confirm was that this was not masterminded by the Trade Association. An extensive Trade Association that prided itself on its sincerity and fairness had no reason to target a weak cultivator like him. Therefore, it was most likely caused by the private actions of somebody within the Trade Association.
He thought back to the three cultivators in the Trade Association that he traded with previously but could not figure out who among them was targeting him. All three transactions had been very ordinary. If there was anything that was out of the ordinary, then it could only be the subtle hints of the woman called Liu Ru Yin during his first time there. But, even that did not exin the issue.
Judging from the words of the fair-skinned man, he suspected that Lu Ye had found a vein containing various ores and wanted to find out the location of the mine. He waspletely unaware that Lu Ye had not found any mines whatsoever. All his mineral ores came from Evil Moon Valley.
His expression darkened slightly when he saw that Lu Ye was not speaking. I gave you the easy way, but you just had to choose the hard way!
He immediately made up his mind to beat Lu Ye half to death before forcing Lu Ye to cough up the location of the mine. While speaking, he shed his knife at Lu Ye. He did not activate the Icicle Technique again. The main reason was that the consumption was too great. Having broken through Lu Yes Golden Body Talisman Paper, he was confident that he could easily bend Lu Ye to his will.
Contrary to expectations, Lu Ye, who had been acting tough until now, suddenly turned around and ran away at a very fast speed.
The fair-skinned man was so furious that heughed. He looked at Lu Yes back and said leisurely, Can you escape?
Afterward, he took his time chasing Lu Ye. At the same time, he took out a Spirit Stone from his Storage Bag and held it in his hand to slowly recover from his fatigue.
He could tell that Lu Ye was terrified. Running away desperately like this would only increase the consumption of his Spiritual Power. Once a low-levelled cultivator lost his Spiritual Power, he would be no different from an ordinary person. Manager Yang, who was murdered by Lu Ye, was a prime example of that fact.
Therefore, it was enough as long as he did not lose sight of Lu Ye.
During their chase, they passed through a rocky forest, crossed a small river, and arrived at an open space. In the end, the fair-skinned man found Lu Ye standing in the middle of the open space, pale-faced and motionless while gasping for breath.
[Did he run out of Spiritual Power so quickly?] The fair-skinned man let out a sneer and walked forward slowly. He made a few shes in the air with the knife in his hand. Why did you stop running?
He was standing 30 metres away from Lu Ye with a contemptuous look on his face. However, he soon realised that something was wrong. That was because Lu Ye looked extremely frightened. Not to mention, he was staring in a certain direction and his hand that was holding his sword shook violently.
There was a musty stench on the wind. A low growl sounded. Then, a sturdy snow-white tiger slowly walked out from behind arge tree at a leisurely pace. The amber pupils of the tiger nced in the direction of the fair-skinned man. A chill went through his heart and he suddenly recalled the rumour he heard in the market two days ago.
[I cant be that unlucky, right?] He wailed in his heart. However, the thing that made him despair urred. That tiger opened its mouth and spoke in the Humannguage. How dare you disturb my dreams!? It looks like you no longer wish to live!
The fair-skinned mans forehead was instantly covered with fine beads of sweat. He finally understood why Lu Ye was so frightened. The source of that fear was not him, but that tiger!
Just as he was at a loss for what to do, he heard Lu Ye saying, Please have mercy, Tiger King. We did not know that this was your territory. We will take our leave immediately!
When the fair-skinned man heard those words, he nodded so vigorously that he looked like a chicken pecking at rice.
The tiger roared in fury. Coming as you please and leaving as you please!? Just where do you think this ce is!?
Chapter 50: Chase
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 50: Chase
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The tiger crouched low in the forest with a majestic and imposing air. Inparison, the two figures standing in front of the tiger could not be any stiffer.
Just as the fair-skinned man was at a loss for what to do, he heard Lu Ye saying, Tiger King, please calm down. I know the rules. Please dont hurt me if I follow your rules!
While saying so, Lu Ye unfastened the Storage Bag around his waist, pretended to activate his Spiritual Power, and tossed the Storage Bag to the ground. Not only that, but he also tossed the longsword in his hand to the ground.
The tiger nced at him and snorted lightly. Since youre so obedient, I guess I can spare your life.
Thank you, Great King!
Then, the tiger turned to look at the fair-skinned man. What about you, brat? Do you choose to die? Or, to live?
I choose to live! The fair-skinned man blurted out with a pained expression. Imitating Lu Yes actions, he unfastened the Storage Bag around his waist, unlocked the Restraining Lock, and tossed it to the ground in front of him.
He had heard some rumours floating around in the city. The rumours imed that a Spirit Beast that could speak the Humannguage was living in Green Cloud Mountain. Many cultivators had encountered the Spirit Beast, but it generally did not harm anybody. It was only interested in Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones. As long as a cultivator was willing to pay a price, they would safely escape the jaws of death.
[I cant believe I encountered the Spirit Beast while chasing Lu Ye into the mountains. How unfortunate!]
The tiger seemed quite satisfied with the performance of the two Humans. After that, it spoke again. You better not y any tricks on me. If I learn that you did not unlock the Restraining Lock Hmph!
The threat in those words was self-evident.
Its open! Both Lu Ye and the fair-skinned man said in unison. That wasnt all. Lu Ye even stretched out a hand to point at the fair-skinned man. Great King, he did not get rid of the weapon in his hand. Im afraid he wants to harm you!
The fair-skinned man was stunned by those words. At the same time, he rained curses down on Lu Ye in his heart.
Likewise, the tiger was obviously taken aback. Nevertheless, it soon turned to look at the fair-skinned man. A low threatening growl came out of its throat.
*ng.* The fair-skinned man swiftly and decisively threw the knife in his hand down. He was so heartbroken that his heart was practically bleeding! The long knife in his hand was a Spirit Artefact. Even if it was a low-ranked item, it was still a Spirit Artefact. A low-level cultivator with a Spirit Artefact and a low-level cultivator without a Spirit Artefact werepletely different concepts altogether. It could be said that a Spirit Artefact would increase the cultivators strength by 10%!
Be that as it may, survival was more important. He would not get away unscathed if he offended the Spirit Beast. Compared to his life, he could give up everything else aside from his body.
Great King, we will take our leave now if there is nothing else, Lu Ye said.
Get lost! The tiger roared carelessly.
Both Lu Ye and the fair-skinned man slowly withdrew without turning their backs to the tiger. That was the normal response. Anybody would react warily when faced with a danger after all.
After they retreated by several metres, the fair-skinned man was stunned to see Lu Ye rush forward without warning, grab the long sword that had been thrown to the ground, and charge at him like lightning.
He turned pale in shock. He never imagined that Lu Ye would do something so outrageous at a time like this. [Shouldnt it be more important to prioritise our survival in front of the tiger!? How can he be so daring!?]
In any case, there was no time for him to consider anything else. He lunged forward almost at the same time that Lu Ye made his move and arrived in front of his weapon in a few steps. Grabbing his weapon, he poured his Spiritual Power into the long knife and light flowed through the knife.
Just then, a strong wind blew in his face. He didnt even have the time to think as he raised the long knife in his hand to counter. Following a loud nging sound, his body that had yet to fully straighten into a standing position was overwhelmed in an instant and he fell to his knees on the ground.
One was premeditated while the other had responded in desperation. This time, Lu Ye had the upper hand in the fight.
The fair-skinned man raised his head abruptly and saw the calm and indifferent look in Lu Yes eyes. At that moment, he vaguely noticed something. Before his thoughts could go any further, Lu Ye raised his sword and stabbed forward.
The fair-skinned man hurriedly activated his Spiritual Power to protect his body and concurrently shed at Lu Ye with his knife. To hisplete surprise, his defensive Spiritual Power did not have the slightest effect. The longsword prated his heart directly and pierced straight through his back.
Afterward, Lu Ye kicked out again and sent the fair-skinned man flying with his kick. A fountain of blood gushed out of the hole in the fair-skinned mans chest that was caused by the longsword.
The winner was decided in the blink of an eye. Not knowing whether the other party was dead or not, Lu Ye did not rush forward rashly. Instead, he took out an offensive Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag and held it at the ready in case of emergency. If the other party so much as dared to stand up, he would immediately activate the offensive Spirit Talisman Paper.
However, the body of the fair-skinned man lying on the ground twitched violently a few times before it stopped movingpletely. It would seem that his attack had hit a vital spot. The battles between cultivators were extremely dangerous because life and death was often decided in a matter of moments.
The ground was stained red with fresh blood and the pungent smell of blood filled the air. Lu Ye took a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. A small red light suddenly flew out from the fair-skinned mans corpse and sank into the back of his hand.
Why Yi Yis figure appeared above the tigers head. She was staring at him in confusion.
Lu Ye had suddenly barged into this ce and hurriedly said, Help me with the robbery.
The fair-skinned man hade charging into this ce immediately after that. Thus, she instantly understood that Lu Ye had encountered some sort of trouble and wanted the tigers cooperation to put on a show. Seeing as this was something they excelled at anyway, there was no reason not to cooperate if they could also steal something good in the process.
[But wasnt it supposed to be a robbery? Why was a persons life involved?] Yi Yi slowly came to understand something. She and the tiger were the ones who wanted to carry out the robbery. Lu Ye had nned to murder that person from the start. It was just that he had borrowed their strength to do so.
You deceived me! She red at him furiously.
He nced at her and criticised, Your acting is too exaggerated!
What? She was confused.
Lu Ye was just about to say something when a soft sound came from not too far away. He only hesitated for a second before he rushed out with all his strength. At the same time, his voice rang out. Your secret has been exposed. There are still people nearby. Hurry up and follow if you dont want to die!
Yi Yi wanted to cry but had no tears. She felt as though she had hopped onto a pirates boat with no way to get off now. Exchanging a nce with the tiger, she gritted her teeth. Chase!
The tiger roared and ran out on all fours.
Inside the forest, an enchanting female cultivator fled desperately with a panic-stricken expression on her face. She felt that she had made a big mistake. [But, is it my fault!? I only wanted to live a better life. I didnt want to have to tter those disgusting customers again. They are all rogue cultivators anyway. Why should I have to deal with their attitudes all day long!? If this had gone smoothly, I would have had a much better life in the future!]
Unfortunately, she never imagined that the person she recruited would fail at the task. She had followed that persons secret signals from the Divine Trade Association to this point. She initially believed that she could sit down and share the spoils between them, but what greeted her instead was the sight of Lu Ye, that rogue cultivator, killing the person she recruited. In her panic, she had identally revealed her whereabouts. She was even being hunted right now.
[I dont want to die! Im still so young! I still have a great life waiting for me in the future! How can I die in this ce!?] Nevertheless, the pursuit behind her was getting closer and closer. She knew that she was doomed at this rate.
Chapter 51: Actions and Consequences
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 51: Actions and Consequences
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye concentrated his Spiritual Power in his legs and his speed of pursuit became noticeably faster.
This was a little trick he had identally discovered during the few times he had gone in and out of Green Cloud Mountain. There were many ways to use a cultivators Spiritual Power. If he gathered the Spiritual Power to his eyes, he could see things that he normally could not see. If he gathered the Spiritual Power to his legs, it would increase his running speed. If he gathered the Spiritual Power to his sword, it would increase the lethality of his weapon.
The terrain of the mountain forest was treacherous. There wererge trees everywhere. These trees were wide enough that several people had to join hands just to encircle their trunks. It was only natural that the fleeing figure was not as familiar with the terrain as him, so the distance between them gradually closed.
When he got a clear look at that persons back, various questions suddenly became clear. He finally knew who was behind all of this, but the result surprised him. From his point of view, he had no bad blood with this person. In fact, they only interacted with each other on one asion before!
*Roar!* A snow-white figure suddenly rushed out from the front to block that persons path. It was the tiger!
That person was so frightened by the tiger that her Soul nearly left her body. She let out a shrill scream and threw out the Spirit Talisman Paper that she had been holding in her hand without even thinking about it. The Spirit Talisman Paper transformed into a crescent-shaped sh in mid-air and flew straight at the tiger.
The tiger hurriedly dodged to the side and the crescent-shaped sh narrowly brushed past its body to slice through the tree trunk of therge tree behind it. That went to show just how powerful the prating power of the Spirit Talisman Paper was.
Failing to seed in one go, that person panicked even more and frantically tried to dig something out of her Storage Bag.
At that moment, a small figure quietly and stealthily clung to her back and let out a piercing scream.
Lu Ye saw that persons figure staggering suddenly as though something heavy was pressing down on her. At the same time, the movement of her hands froze. This scene reminded him of the first time he fought Yi Yi and the tiger inside the cave. He had been ambushed by Yi Yi in the same manner at the time
In that short moment of dy, he arrived in front of that person and brought his sword down on her. A cold Sword Light shed out, an arm went flying, and blood sttered everywhere.
The pain made her scream. Although she was a rogue cultivator, she had been scouted and taken in by the Divine Trade Association not long after she entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield due to her outstanding figure and beauty. Therefore, she had never fought anybody before, much less received such a severe injury. It would not be exaggerated to say that she was a flower raised in a greenhouse.
That was the case for most people in the Trade Association. There was no need for them to fight others or experience hardships and dangers with their various Sect members on the battlefield. They only needed to excel at doing business.
Immediately after that, the tiger pounced and pressed her down to the ground. It let out a ferocious roar, a bloody stench blowing right into her face. She nearly fainted from the fright.
What horrified her even more was the sound of footstepsing from the side. She looked to the side and saw the sword in Lu Yes hand pointing diagonally to the ground. Blood was still dripping from the de as he walked toward her.
When Lu Ye came closer, he lowered his head to look down at her and lightly said, Liu Ru Yin!
This woman was the one who had traded with him during his first trip to the Divine Trade Association.
Dont kill me! Please dont kill me! Liu Ru Yin was crying so hard that her makeup had smeared all over her face. She kept begging over and over again.
He lowered his eyes. Who ordered you to do this?
Nobody! I just got greedy and became blinded by the riches In her fear, she blurted out everything that she knew. She didnt even wait for him to question her and exined everything in a panic.
Is that so He raised the sharp sword high above his head.
Sensing his murderous intent, she screamed, Dont kill me! I will give you anything you want!
The longsword came shing downward. The tiger dodged out of the way just in time. The de of the sword blessed with Spiritual Power sliced through Liu Ru Yins fair and slender neck. Then, a small yellow light flew out of the back of her snow-white hand and sank into his right hand.
The headless corpse twitched incessantly, blood spurting out of the neck area like a fountain. A long while passed before it finally stopped moving.
Yi Yi watched from the side, her eyelids twitching at the sight. Everything that had happened today had given her a new insight toward Lu Ye. Only now did she understand that it had been pure luck that the tiger had not died at his hands back then. This man was no good-natured pushover.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye bent down and retrieved the Storage Bag around Liu Ru Yins waist. Then, he reached out a hand to inspect her entire body. Naturally, he was not trying to take advantage of her or grope her. He just wanted to see if she was hiding any other Storage Bags on her body.
He himself had several hidden Storage Bags on him after all Using himself as the standard, he believed that other people might have them too. Unfortunately, Liu Ru Yin did not practice that kind of habit. She was a part of the Trade Association after all. There was no need for her to fight others or face any risks out in the field, so it was perfectly safe for her to carry her Storage Bag on her body.
Her Storage Bag was currently in an unlocked state. Thus, he rifled through the contents and found some useful stuff inside. After that, he ordered, Dispose of the body.
Huh!? Yi Yi stared at Lu Ye incredulously as if asking him, Are you joking!?
Lu Ye took out a bottle from Liu Ru Yins Storage Bag and tossed it up and down in his hand.
Sure! Yi Yi replied without hesitation. She shot a look at the tiger and they hurriedly got to work.
Returning to the fair-skinned man he had killed previously, he retrieved the other partys Storage Bag and did not forget to bring the other partys weapon with him too.
About half an hourter, Lu Ye sat topless and cross-legged inside the cave he was sitting in. He was using some Healing Pills to treat his wounds. There were precious few Healing Pills left in his possession. After using two this time, he only had four left.
Looking back on the battle today, he did not becent just because he had managed to kill a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. He reflected on himself instead. Most of the battles between low-level cultivators revolved around close-quarterbat. It could be said that most low-level cultivators walked the path of thebat cultivation faction. As their cultivation was not high enough and their cultivation period was not long, they did not have the time nor the energy to study spells and the sort. Only when they became much stronger would they gradually figure out their future path.
The battle with the fair-skinned man this time had revealed a very serious problem: He had nobat skills to speak of. That was not something that could be helped. Less than three months had passed since the day he started cultivating and he had been busy improving his cultivation during this period. Where would he find the extra energy to improve his skills in battle?
Although he managed to kill the fair-skinned man in the end, he only seeded by taking advantage of the tigers prestige to catch his opponent by surprise. Unfortunately, he did not know how to improve on something like skills. With no suitable teacher to guide him, it was impossible for him to figure this out on his own.
Then, there was the issue regarding his weapon He had not noticed this issue in the past. The longsword in his possession was the same one that Manager Yang had left behind after his death. He had used this sword in the past to kill Zhou Cheng, but the battle with Zhou Cheng had been a fleeting one.
It wasnt until the deadly battle with the fair-skinned man today that he noticed something crucial. His affinity was seriously ipatible with this longsword. The longsword simply felt wrong in his hands. He could not wield it freely no matter what he did.
A sword was all about lightness and speed. In addition, sword techniques were extremely important. Seeing as he could only use the longsword to hack and sh, he waspletely incapable of bringing out the strengths of a sword.
While mulling over this issue, he changed into a new set of clothes and picked up the longsword by his feet to study it carefully. The de was full of nicks and chips caused by all of his chopping and hacking actions. In particr, there was a chip on the de located three quarters along the length of the de. It was practically the size of a grain. A chip like this was a huge problem for a longsword. It was no longer usable.
He picked up the fair-skinned mans long knife again. Standing up, he swung it about several times and lifted his eyebrows in surprise. [This feels surprisingly easy to use.]
Chapter 52: Changes in Contribution
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 52: Changes in Contribution
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
This knife was not a standard machete. It was longer than most swords, but the de was very narrow. It was simr to the legendary Embroidered Spring de.
Lu Ye waved the knife around a few times and discovered that it felt very natural in his hands. [This is a pretty good result. I can no longer use that sword, but I immediately received a new weapon through an exchange of hands. It saves me the trouble of going out to buy another weapon.]
Then, he tried pouring Spiritual Power into the knife. A faint glow immediately appeared on the knife de. The glow did not give off a sharp feeling but a feeling of solidness. What surprised him even more was that he could feel that there was something hidden in the de. Closing his eyes, he sensed through the flow of his Spiritual Power and gradually figured out the secret inside the de. There was a Spiritual Pattern inside the de of this knife!
[Is this a Spirit Artefact?] An astonished expression appeared on his face. He had gone in and out of the city many times, so the knowledge he now had was no longerparable to when he first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield back then. He had heard of Spirit Artefacts. It was a special weapon for cultivators. A good Spirit Artefact would oftentimes be of great help to its owner.
The sword he had been using before was just an ordinary weapon. It had been made sharper than most, but there was nothing special about it. On the contrary, Spirit Artefacts were different. Each Spirit Artefact had its own unique strengths depending on the type of Spiritual Pattern carved into them.
For example, this knife contained a Spiritual Pattern inside its de. Pouring his Spiritual Power into the Spiritual Pattern, he easily stimted the power of the Spiritual Pattern so that the knife was endowed with the unique characteristics of the Spiritual Pattern.
After several experiments, he confirmed that the Spiritual Pattern had the effect of reinforcing the knife de. Thanks to that, this Spirit Artefact would not break easily during a battle against an enemy. He suddenly had an epiphany. [No wonder I couldnt slice this knife in two even though I blessed my longsword with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern]
This was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Although strengthening the knife de did not sound very useful, it was still an extremely practical Spiritual Pattern. Whats more, since he himself had mastered the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern, he could bless this Spirit Artefact with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern to greatly improve the sharpness of his weapon at any time.
With a Spirit Artefact like this in his possession, his strength would be enhanced by 10% or 20%, at the very least. Furthermore, he could hack and sh to his hearts content without worrying about the damage to his weapon the next time he encountered another enemy. Nevertheless, a Spirit Artefact with only one Spiritual Pattern was probably the lowest ranked Spirit Artefact out there.
Come in! Lu Ye sheathed his knife and returned to a cross-legged sitting position.
A small figure slowly drifted in from the entrance of the cave. Stopping in front of Lu Ye, Yi Yi gave him a ttering smile and obediently reported, The other persons corpse has also been disposed of.
Lu Ye casually tossed a Storage Bag over to her. It was the one that had belonged to Liu Ru Yin.
She caught it, rifled through the contents, and eximed in surprise. This much!?
There was more than one bottle of Spirit Pills in there, not to mention several Spirit Stones.
I split everything evenly between us. Thank you so much for your help this time. He gave her a grateful nod. Although he had enough Spirit Talisman Papers to kill that fair-skinned man on his own, he would not have been able to open the other partys Storage Bag if he did that. Furthermore, there would have been some risks involved.
When he came looking for Yi Yi and the tiger, he had fully intended to borrow their power. Fortunately, Yi Yi was smart enough to understand what she was supposed to do with just one sentence from him. It had been an easy and pleasant cooperation effort between them.
The fair-skinned man did not have much in his Storage Bag. The only valuable thing he had was that weapon of his. On the other hand, Liu Ru Yin was richer, though not by much.
More importantly, the Spirit Talisman Paper in Liu Ru Yins hand had been activated at thest moment. If the tiger had not taken the brunt for him, he would have needed to face the power of the Spirit Talisman Paper on his own. That would have added a bigger element of danger for him.
Everything else was divided evenly, but he took the Spirit Artefact for himself. Therefore, it could be said that he profited the most from this entire incident.
Yi Yi never expected him to be so generous. Hence, she looked at him with aplicated expression before she finally thanked him.
Wait, Lu Ye stopped her.
She looked back at him.
You probably heard everything the woman I killed earlier said.
Yes.
This matter began from her personal actions, so she deserved to die. Be that as it may, she is still a member of the Divine Trade Association. I dont know how the Trade Association will react to her death, but it would be best if you move to a different location. This ce is too close to the city. If the Trade Association investigates the cause of her death, their investigation will easily lead them to you.
What about you? she asked.
I will be leaving this ce soon. This incident had taught him a lesson. All the Spirit Pills he currently used for cultivating hade from selling the Yuan Metal ores and his only channel for selling them was the Divine Trade Association. He had only gone there on three separate asions, but it was enough for Liu Ru Yin to target him. Who could say if another Liu Ru Yin was hiding in the Trade Association? He could not remain in this ce any longer.
If being in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm gave him the qualifications to survive in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, then being in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm gave him the capital to travel around.
He could not control what decisions Yi Yi and the tiger would make. The Spirit Creek Battlefield was too vast. There might not be a chance for them to meet again in the future. It was only out of morality that he kindly gave them a word of advice.
After Yi Yi left, Lu Ye did an inventory of the supplies in his possession.
There were 93 Spirit Restoring Pills, of which 81 were purchased from the Divine Trade Association while the other 12 were obtained from the spoils of war he shared with Yi Yi; 4 Spirit Stones, all of which were obtained from the spoils of war since he had used all of his Spirit Stones to buy food; and 7 Healing Pills, of which four were his own while the other three were taken from the fair-skinned mans Storage Bag. Liu Ru Yins Storage Bag did not contain any Healing Pills. She probably never imagined that there woulde a time when she would need to use a Healing Pill.
There were also less than 30 Spirit Talisman Papers in total; a total of 26 Yuan Metal ores of various shapes and sizes; a Spirit Artefact of the lowest rank; and the Golden Liberation Technique.
His strength would be increased once he advanced into the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and the current amount of Spirit Pills was enough for him to reach it. While it was not enough for him to go wild in the Outer Circle of the battlefield, it would at least increase his chances of survival.
He could not shake the vague feeling that he had forgotten something important. After ruminating over it for some time, he finally remembered and immediately poured his Spiritual Power into the back of his right hand. The Spiritual Power rippled and transformed into a blue Spiritual Pattern, which then wriggled and transformed into several lines of words that appeared in his field of vision. Name: Lu Ye. Identity: Disciple of Crimson Blood Sect. Cultivation: Twenty-One Spiritual Points. Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield. Contribution: Eight.
The information regarding his name, identity, and location remained the same as the first time he checked the Battlefield Imprint. However, his cultivation had changed from Three Spiritual Points to Twenty-One Spiritual Points. That was the result of his hard work over the past two months, so it was nothing to be surprised about. Rather, what interested him was the Contribution column! He had been very curious about what the Contribution represented and how to obtain it since he first saw the Contribution column.
It wasnt until this moment that he had a faint realisation: He could only umte Contribution by killing people. He recalled that a small red speck of light had emerged from the back of the fair-skinned mans hand at the time of death and flew into the back of his hand. The same thing had happened with Liu Ru Yin. It was just that the light that came from her was yellow.
[Do the different colours represent different factions? In that case, the fair-skinned man I just killed probably belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge. Is the Divine Trade Association a neutral party? Thats probably why it can do business with both sides.]
As for the Contribution He currently had no idea what it was used for, so he could only figure it out slowly in the future.
Chapter 53: Bearing
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 53: Bearing
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Now that Lu Ye had decided to leave this ce, it was essential for him to have an urate map. Whether he liked it or not, he had no choice but to visit Green Cloud City one more time. Thus, his figure appeared in front of the Divine Trade Association early the next morning.
ording to what Liu Ru Yin said before her death, she identally saw Lu Ye when he went to the Trade Association to trade for the second time. It so happened that she was quite close to the man called Liu Quan. Thus, she managed to learn about the contents of the transaction through Liu Quan.
At that time, she began to suspect that Lu Ye was monopolising a rich mineral vein and started having dishonest intentions. Unable to hold back her greed in the end, she contacted the fair-skinned man and told him to be ready at all times. She then kept an eye out for Lu Ye every single day.
It wasnt until Lu Ye came to the Trade Association for the third time and made an evenrger transaction that she made up her mind and asked the fair-skinned man to hunt Lu Ye down. Afraid that the fair-skinned man might pocket all the benefits for himself, she hurriedly took leave from work a short while after Lu Yes departure to chase after them. How could she have known that she would witness the scene of Lu Ye killing the fair-skinned man and lose her life in the end?
Considering Liu Ru Yins mental state before her death, it was impossible for her to lie. Hence, nobody would learn about her death any time soon.
For the time being, Lu Ye was safe. That was also the reason why he was in such a hurry to leave the city. He previously only sold the Yuan Metal ore in small quantities because he was afraid of attracting attention to himself. That was also why the profits of his sale generally was only enough to meet his short-term cultivation needs. Now that he had decided to leave this ce, there was no need for such considerations anymore. His top priority was to obtain a map to determine the location of the Crimson Blood Sects base!
One hourter, Lu Ye drank so much tea inside a private room that he was just barely hanging in there. A middle-aged man was politely handing him a palm-sized white jade disc along with 2 bottles that contained 18 Spirit Restoring Pills, 3 bottles that contained 15 Healing Pills, and more than 10 Spirit Stones.
This time around, he had sold more than 12 Yuan Metal ores in one go! He received more than 600 Spiritual Stones in this transaction. This was undeniably a huge transaction in the Outer Circle of the battlefield, so much so that the middle-aged man gave him the best treatment avable.
The facts had proven that, if not for some unfortunate circumstances, it was very safe to do business with the Divine Trade Association. Lu Ye had visited the Trade Association four times so far and would trade with a different person each time he came. It was quite difficult for him to be targeted, unless he brought out a substantial amount of goods like in this transaction. Needless to say, part of the reason he was targeted was his low strength. Liu Ru Yin would not have dared to plot against him if he were a cultivator in the Fourth Order Spirit Creek Realm.
Upon handing over the money and the goods, the middle-aged man saw Lu Ye off at the door and even handed a name card to Lu Ye. He bluntly asked Lu Ye to contact him directly if there was anything else to sell and promised to give Lu Ye a good price for the goods.
This was treatment that Lu Ye never received during his first three times here. Therefore, he eagerly epted.
After leaving the Divine Trade Association, Lu Ye exchanged all the Spirit Stones for food and some daily necessities as usual. Spirit Stones were not very useful for him. Since he might be travelling very far on this journey, some camping gear for outdoor living were indispensable and various daily necessities were essential. Fortunately, he had enough Storage Bags so there was no worry about failing to store them all.
After this transaction, the number of Spirit Restoring Pills in his possession increased to a total of 111 pills. The number of Healing Pills also increased to a total of 22 pills, but only 14 Yuan Metal ores remained.
He originally thought that the Yuan Metal ores in his possession would be enough tost him a long time. Maybe even until he advanced into the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. However, it would now seem that the Yuan Metal ores werepletely insufficient for his use. He had to rush back to the Crimson Blood Sects bases as soon as possible. Only once he returned to his Sects base could he be considered safe.
A short whileter, Lu Ye returned to the cave where he lived and took out the white jade disc. This was the 10-point map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield! It included information on the distribution of all the bases belonging to the major forces on the entire battlefield, the terrain andndforms of the battlefield itself, and also some dangerous areas.
Nevertheless, he felt as though his heart was bleeding in distress whenever he recalled that this thing was worth 600 Spiritual Stones. All his expenses umted since the day he started cultivating did not even amount to 600 Spiritual Stones. Unfortunately, this was the price that he had to pay in order for him to return to his Sects base. The only thing thatforted him was that he could go to any of the Divine Trade Associations branch offices to update the information of this map at any time. Therefore, the information would never go out of date.
Holding the white jade disc with both hands, he poured his Spiritual Power into the disc. A soft light immediately flowed out of the disc to form a halo of light on the surface. That light twisted and distorted, transforming into a map in the blink of an eye. What surprised him was that this was not a 2D map, but a 3D map. He could even see the many undting mountains on the map, each with a different height.
There was a spot of light on the map that flickered constantly. He shifted his gaze to that spot on the map. The spot of light remained unchanged. Conversely, the image zoomed in on the area when he focused his Spiritual Power on that spot of light. The map was continuously erged in response to the influx of Spiritual Power, but the disc was only so big. Therefore, as the map zoomed in on one area, the other areas of the map that could be covered gradually became smaller.
In the end, the map was erged to the maximum. He saw that the spot of light was located on an undting mountain range and the mountain range wasbelled as Green Cloud Mountain. Looking around, he saw a ce that seemed to be marked as Green Cloud City No.3.
The realisation struck him immediately. That spot of light was where he was currently located! And, Green Cloud City No.3 was the city where he often visited. Aside from this city, there were ces in the vicinity of Green Cloud Mountain marked as Green Cloud City No.1 until No.6. In other words, there were a total of 6 cities in the vicinity of Green Cloud City.
After ying around for a while, he gradually figured out how to use this 10-point map. Thus, he began searching for the location of the Crimson Blood Sect. At the same time, he secretly prayed that he was not too far away from the Sects base. He did not know how long it would take for him to get back to the base if he was too far away.
The Crimson Blood Sect was a Ninth-Tier Sect. Naturally, it would be located at the periphery of the battlefield, which made it slightly easier to search. He searched the map little by little, his gaze passing over name after name. At one point, he thought that he had finally found the name Crimson Blood Sect, but it turned out to be Crimson Heart Sect upon further inspection. He nearly lost his temper right then and there.
Half a circleter, he still had not found the Crimson Blood Sect. On the contrary, his tense nerves that had been stretched to the limit rxed instead. That was because it meant that the situation could not get any worse than it already was.
More time passed, but he still could not find it. His mood became increasingly cheerful in response. At this rate, it could only mean that he was not too far away from the Crimson Blood Sect. Finally, his gazended on a certain spot on the map. There were three words written there. It was the Crimson Blood Sect that he had been searching for so desperately. [I found it!]
After calming down somewhat, he zoomed out the map topare his current location to the position of the Crimson Blood Sect. He was currently located slightly west to the south of the map while the Crimson Blood Sect was located slightly north to the west of the map. In other words, he would have to head west if he wanted to reach the Crimson Blood Sects base. He had to travel across a quarter of the entire battlefields periphery. The situation was neither good nor bad. It was within an eptable range.
Chapter 54: Taking the Blame for No Reason
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 54: Taking the me for No Reason
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the process of searching for the Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye had noticed something. The font colours on the map could be divided into four: red, yellow, blue and white. Green Cloud City No.3 was marked in yellow font while Crimson Blood Sect was marked in blue font.
Looking at it in this way, the ces written in blue font probably belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition faction, the red font belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge, and the yellow font belonged to the neutral areas. As for the white areas He guessed that those were thends without owners since most of the mountains and rivers were marked in white font.
ording to the 10-point map, thebels in red and blue font were intertwined and intricately interspersed with each other. If the map waspared to a game of chess, then the red and blue bases represented the pieces of chess belonging to both factions. Years of conflict and dispute had turned the chess pieces on the board into Big Dragons that ughtered each other.
At this point, he had yet to actually integrate himself into this battlefield. Even so, he could sense the danger and ferocity of the battle between the two factions just by looking at the movement of the chess pieces of both factions on the map. It was just that the general situation in the world had nothing to do with him. He was only a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master after all. All he wanted to do was arrive at the Crimson Blood Sects base as soon as possible.
Staring at the 10-point map of the battlefield, he carefully plotted out a route and slowly formted a n.
The lighting from the entrance of the cave darkened suddenly. Lu Ye lifted his head to look and saw the tiger walking in. Yi Yi emerged from the tigers head and said happily, Youre still here?
She came over once in the morning but did not see him anywhere, so she assumed that he had already left.
Im about to leave. Do you need something? He put the 10-point map away carefully. This was something that would affect his ability to return to the Crimson Blood Sect smoothly. It was also the most valuable item in his possession. It was only natural for him to take good care of it.
I want to discuss something with you. She floated over and sat upright in front of him with a tense expression on her small face.
He couldnt not understand what she was trying to do by acting as though they were having a negotiation. Frowning, he asked, Discuss what?
She asked, Where are you heading after you leave this ce?
Thats none of your business.
Okay. She knew that what she was asking was nonsense. They were neither friends nor family. Thest few encounters between them had not been very pleasant either. The only time they cooperated was when they killed the fair-skinned man and Liu Ru Yin. Therefore, she was in no position to ask about his ns.
Looking at her hesitant expression, he said impatiently, What do you want?
Her expression became more and more conflicted. The tiger walked over and nudged its head against her back. Thus, she gritted her teeth and looked at him. Can you take us with you?
What!? He suspected that he had heard her wrongly.
Take us with you. She repeated.
The reason?
She exined, You said it yourself. The Divine Trade Association mighte after us for killing that woman, so this ce is no longer safe. We need to leave this ce, but we have no idea where to go.
The battlefield is vast. You can go anywhere you want. Her proposal surprised him. He had never even considered this idea before, much less expected that Yi Yi would approach him to discuss this matter.
But you were the one who killed them. We didnt want to kill anybody. Yi Yi looked extremely aggrieved. After returning yesterday, she suddenly realised something. She and the tiger had been resting in their territory when Lu Ye lured a cultivator over to them and asked them for their help in a robbery. In the end, he had swiftly and decisively killed those people. Not to mention that one of them had been a member of the Divine Trade Association From the start until the end, they had failed to understand what was going on. It was a case where they were forced to take the me for something they did not do.
Didnt I share the loot with you? He looked at her with an iprehensible expression. Since they killed those people together and shared the loot between them, then it was only natural for them to take the risks together.
She opened her mouth wide, feeling somewhat speechless at those words. In the end, she could only force out one sentence, Why cant you bring us with you?
Youre too small!
Huh? She stared at him nkly for a while. It took her a long time to react to his words. Crossing her arms in front of her chest and hugging herself defensively, she blushed furiously. You scumbag!
Only the Heavens knew how a ghost like her managed to blush so hard.
Lu Ye stood up and dusted off his behind. Do you have anything else? If theres nothing else, Id like to take my leave. We probably wont meet each other again after this parting, so I hope that everything goes well for you.
Yi Yi could not understand why the size of her bosom had anything to do with his refusal to bring them along with him. However, she became anxious when she saw that he was serious about leaving. She was not a little girl who did not understand anything. She had been a cultivator when she was still alive. It was only after her death that the tiger transformed her into a Ghost by chance. Although she had lost most of her memories, she still remembered the cruelty of the Cultivation World.
She and the tiger might look like they were dominating their territory, but the truth was that they were walking on thin ice. Nobody could tell when disaster would befall them. Both her strength and the tigers strength were not enough to protect themselves. She once considered taking refuge in the shadow of another cultivator. Unfortunately, the cultivators in the Outer Circle were too weak. How could she be interested in any of them? Besides, the tiger might end up being sold off if she chose to serve under somebody.
In this aspect, Lu Ye was different. He was probably a disciple from one of the major Sects. Otherwise, he could not have so many Spirit Talisman Papers in his possession. Furthermore, she had watched him grow stronger over the past two months. His growth rate was terrifying.
Therefore, she believed that following him was a good choice. He might seem a little hateful, but he had his own principles that he abided by. Take the loot from yesterdays battle for example. There was nothing she or the tiger could do to him if he had chosen to monopolise everything. Even so, he had split it evenly between them.
Various factorsbined had caused her to make up her mind. Staying in this ce was equivalent to slowly waiting for death toe to them. The only way out of their predicament was to travel and experience the world with him. That was why she came and said all these to him.
When they passed each other by, Lu Ye suddenly felt something pulling on his clothes. He turned and saw Yi Yi looking up at him with a pitiful expression. Tears were swimming in her eyes.
He was indifferent to her tears. Crying is useless!
Nevertheless, she continued to look at him with that expression. They stared at each other, stuck in a stalemate. He finally yielded in exasperation a long whileter. Ill give you three chances to convince me!
Her eyes brightened somewhat. It seemed as though she had already thought about what to say beforehand. She hurriedly said, You also know how scared the low-levelled cultivators are of Amber. If you meet an enemy you cant beat in the future, Amber and I can cooperate with you to give them a scare. Im sure it will make the enemies retreat in the face of difficulties.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded at her words. That makes some sense when you put it that way.
Feeling encouraged, she continued, Also you can ride on Amber if you are in a rush. It will save some of your physical strength and conserve your energy for any unexpected emergencies. Moreover, it can run very fast. It can carry you and escape if you are being chased by enemies!
Will it listen to me? He looked at the tiger.
.
He had witnessed the speed of the tiger for himself yesterday. When he went to chase after Liu Ru Yin, the tiger had obviously gotten ate startpared to him. Even so, it managed to block Liu Ru Yins path. If not for the tiger blocking Liu Ru Yins path, it would have taken him more effort to catch up to her.
Of course! She nodded vigorously. Also Also She was eager to continue, but her sentence trailed off for a long time. In the end, she patted herself on the chest. Also, theres me!
You? He looked down at her.
I can sneak up on people! Just like yesterday! She stood proudly with her head held high.
Chapter 55: Something Good
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 55: Something Good
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Thebination of the tiger and Yi Yi together was certainly very intimidating. Most low-level cultivators with little experience in the world would be frightened senseless by a Spirit Beast that could speak. Besides, riding on the tiger while travelling was undoubtedly a tempting offer.
It was a long journey to the Crimson Blood Sect and Lu Ye had no idea how long it would take for him to arrive at his destination. If he could ride on the tiger, he could preserve his energy and even cultivate during his journey. For him, this was a very good choice. His cultivation was still pretty low at the moment, so his top priority was to improve his strength. If he had to travel on his own, there was no way for him to cultivate during his journey. It would waste a lot of his time.
He originally had no intention of bringing these two along with him. Giving Yi Yi three chances to convince him had been nothing more than a way for him to refuse her. He had nned to refuse no matter what she said. However, he found that her words had tempted him instead
Well? How about it? Yi Yi nced at Lu Ye with earnest eyes, afraid that the word No woulde out of his mouth.
Its not like I cant
Before she could cheer, she heard him continuing, But, we need to establish three rules!
She was confused. What three rules?
He raised a finger. Firstly, I will have the final say in everything. If we disagree on anything, you will listen to me.
She nodded in response. Thats not a problem.
Having decided to rely on him, both she and the tiger had already mentally prepared themselves for something like that.
Secondly, there might be times when I ask you to do something. You cannot refuse as long as it is within your abilities. Naturally, you will not be asked to do anything that will endanger your life. If such a situation arises, you can make your own judgement based on the situation.
Okay.
Thirdly, please let me know if you no longer want to stick around with me. Dont leave without saying anything.
That wont happen. She shook her head.
If there are no problems with these, then I hope we get along? Lu Ye stretched his hand out to Yi Yi.
Yi Yi tilted her head to the side and looked at him in bewilderment. Nevertheless, she imitated his actions and stretched her hand out toward him. He grabbed her hand and shook it gently. She seemed to understand his intentions and smiled so widely that her eyes became slitted. Lets get along!
The tiger behind her purred. Then, she jumped onto its head and looked at Lu Ye. As a sign of my sincerity, I have something good to tell you!
Something good?
The three words that came out of her mouth immediately caught his interest.
Under the tiger and Yi Yis guidance, Lu Ye came to a well-concealed cave located in the area adjacent to the tigers territory deep within the depths of Green Cloud Mountain. The entrance of the cave was overgrown with weeds. If one was not familiar with the terrain here, it would be very difficult to find the entrance of this cave.
Is this the ce? Lu Ye stuck his head into the cave and looked around. The inside was pitch-ck and he could not see anything.
Yes. Yi Yi and the tiger were leading the way in front, beckoning for him to keep up.
He was carrying a knife around his waist. Pressing his hand against the handle of the knife, he prepared himself to deal with emergencies at any time.
ording to her, a snake-type Spirit Beast was living deep inside this cave. She and the tiger had once entered deep into this cave and suffered a great loss at the hands of the Snake Demon as a result. However, they also managed to discover a secret. That secret was the something good that she mentioned wanting to show him earlier.
The cave sloped downward. He felt as though he was so far from the surface that there were more than 10 metres between him and the surface of the ground. Even so, he had yet to reach the end. It could be seen just how deep this cave went.
At this point, the surroundings were no longer nice and cool. Rather, a wave of heat was constantly pouring out from the front. The further inward they went, the more intense the heat became.
Yi Yi was already starting to gasp for breath. Finally, she stopped and said, I cant go any further.
She was a Spirit after all. It was only natural that a scorching environment like this was not verypatible with her.
Lu Ye had a sudden realisation. Did youe here thest time you were injured?
She nodded. That thing can only be found here. Amber will go with you. The Snake Demon is not that strong. You should be able to take it down with the tigers cooperation.
Okay. Wait here. He nodded at her words and continued onward with the tiger. He walked for a long time. By this point, he suspected that he was currently several hundreds of metres underground by now. The heat in the air was extremely intense. Despite activating his Spiritual Power to protect his body, he still found the heat extremely unbearable. On the other hand, the tiger was panting with its tongue lolling out of its mouth. It also had a lethargic expression on its face that made it look like a dog suffering from heatstroke.
A short whileter, they finally reached the end of the road. It was an underground karst cave that could be considered spacious. Standing at the entrance of the cave, Lu Ye noticed a huge snake upying the depths of the karst cave at a nce. The huge snake was probably as thick as his thighs and he could not tell how long it was. It was holding its head high, breathing heavily in front of a small tree about half a persons height.
The entirety of the small tree was glowing red, like a red-hot branding iron. Moreover, there were two fruits approximately the size of a babys fist hanging from the tree. The entire karst cave was filled with a bizarre fragrance. It was the Barrier Prating Fruit!
That was the something good that Yi Yi had mentioned before. With Lu Yes current wealth, it would not have impressed him if it were just any ordinary thing. However, the Barrier Prating Fruit was different. This item was extremely effective in prating the barriers of a cultivators Spiritual Points. It could be said that it would remain useful as long as the Spiritual Points of a person were not fully unlocked.
He had consumed the Barrier Prating Fruit once before. It was all thanks to that fruit that he managed to advance into the Spirit Creek Realm. Therefore, his interest was immediately piqued when she mentioned it.
The Barrier Prating Fruit that she gave him previously was something she had stolen from this ce. As a Spirit, she was able toe and go without any traces. Even the Snake Demon that upied this ce was unable to guard against her. It was just that the environment here was extremely harmful to her. If not for the fact that she had no other choice back then, she would not have risked her life bying here. Although she obtained the fruit in the end, the effort had weakened her so much that it took her many days to recover.
Both Yi Yi and the tiger held a grudge against this Snake Demon, but they had not been strong enough in the past to get their revenge on the Snake Demon. Now that they had Lu Ye as their backer,bined with the fact that they were leaving soon, it was only natural that she wanted to get her revenge against the Snake Demon.
At the same time, Lu Ye would obtain two more Barrier Prating Fruits. Not only would this deepen their mutual affection, but it would also solidify their cooperative rtionship. It could be said that she was killing two birds with one stone.
The Snake Demon was coiled up around the Barrier Prating Fruit Tree. It was using its body as a cover to keep the tree surrounded in the centre. Its head was held high as it breathed, a fiery red aura visible to the naked eye flowing into its mouth and nose. It looked like it was cultivating.
Unfortunately, it was about to be disturbed by two uninvited guests.
The Snake Demon abruptly raised its head when the tiger let out a furious roar, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. The tiger had already pounced like a gust of wind. In the next moment, the Snake Demon shot forward, opened its mouth, and bit down on the tigers neck.
The tiger roared out in pain, but it also bit into the belly of the snake. Nevertheless, their strength was not equal. Although the tiger was bleeding from the Snake Demons bite, the Snake Demon waspletely unhurt. There was a fiery red Demon Power permeating the surface of the Snake Demons body to form ayer of protection that prevented the tiger from biting through.
The majestic and imposing tiger was at a disadvantage as soon as they confronted each other. Moreover, the several metre long snake body wrapped around the tiger tightly and immediately turned the tiger into a dumpling. It was an instant kill! Even though they were both Spirit Beasts, the difference in strength between them was not small.
Fortunately, there was still Lu Ye. When the tiger rushed forward, he had used the tigers body as a cover to charge forward. This moment where the two creatures were tangled together in a fierce struggle was the best time to make a move. While unsheathing his knife, he drew upon his Spiritual Power to bless the knife with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern. A cold light instantly shed out of the de and blood sttered everywhere.
Chapter 56: Something’s Stirring
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 56: Somethings Stirring
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye brushed past the two fierce beasts that were struggling against each other. Before he could stand up straight, the reddish tail of the snakeshed out at him like a whip. A gust of wind blew in his face. Unable to dodge aside, he could only hastily call upon his Spiritual Power to protect himself.
*Smack.* He was sent flying. A soreness spread across his shoulder des as he rolled across the scorching ground several times. He got to his feet and looked up in surprise. His attack that was enchanted with the Sharp Edge had failed to slice the snake in two. He only managed to slice through most of the snakes body. Blood gushed out of the wound as the Snake Demon rolled on the ground in excruciating pain.
Meanwhile, the tiger took the chance to break free of the snakes restraints, bravely and fearlessly rushed forward, aimed for the wound, and took a huge bite. Then, it viciously tore off arge chunk of flesh.
In response, the snake raised its head up high and opened its mouth. A faint red light brewed in its mouth, aiming directly at where the tiger currently stood. At the same time, the temperature within the karst cave increased considerably.
The tiger instinctively sensed that something ominous wasing. Thus, it let out a low roar and sprang to the side with vigorous movements. In the next moment, mes spewed out of the snakes mouth. It was so hot that the very air became distorted from the heat.
The corners of Lu Yes eyes twitched at the sight. He could tell that the Snake Demon was much stronger than the tiger. It was fortunate that the tiger was currently holding the snakes attention. Otherwise, he would have been forced to use a Golden Body Talisman Paper to block the attack if that mouthful of mes had been directed at him.
The tiger avoided the attack in the nick of time, so the mes failed to hurt it. On the other hand, Lu Ye took the chance to sneak behind the Snake Demon and shed at the snake just below its head. This attack once again only managed to slice through most of the snakes body because the de was stopped by the snakes bones.
Having suffered twice at his hands, the huge snake immediately turned around and took aim at him. A red glow began brewing in its mouth again. He did not retreat in the face of the attack. Instead, he stabbed his knife into the snakes mouth and threw himself backward at the same time.
When the mes poured out, the knife pierced through the snakes head and prated through the back of the snakes head.
At that moment, a snow-white figure rushed out from the side, mmed into the snakes body, and knocked the snake to the side. As a result, the mes that spewed out of the snakes mouth missed its target and burned the air instead.
Lu Ye, who had fallen to the ground, quickly got to his feet and took out a Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag. Holding the Spirit Talisman Paper in his hand, he nced to the side and remained alert. However, he soon put the Spirit Talisman Paper away and quietly stood there waiting.
Hisst attack had pierced right through the snakes head. It could be said to be a fatal blow. Although the huge snake was wriggling and twitching on the ground, it was obvious that it could not survive much longer. Moreover, the knife that was stuck in its mouth caused even greater damage with every twitch it made. The ground was stained with sttered snake blood, which was then evaporated by the high temperature in the cave with hissing sounds.
In the meantime, the tiger got to its feet and shook its body. Its snow-white fur was a mess. There wererge patches of burnt marks here and there, making it look extremely dishevelled.
The entire process, from the time the tigerunched its first attack until now, had taken no more than a dozen seconds. The battle was decided during that brief period and the victor emerged alive. Nevertheless, the fight in that few short seconds had been extremely dangerous.
What surprised Lu Ye was that his first time cooperating with the tiger had gone so perfectly. In particr, during thatst moment when hended that fatal blow and fell backward in order to avoid the opponents ming breath, the tigers mming attack had ensured his safety even more.
He secretly reflected that it would have been a difficult battle against this Snake Demon had hee here alone. He might even be forced to use several Spirit Talisman Papers. However, it only took such a short time for him to defeat the opponent with the tigers help. He suddenly felt that it was a good thing that he agreed to Yi Yis request back then.
Good job. Lu Ye nodded at the tiger, being generous with his praise.
The tiger responded with a purring sound. It was not able to speak and its strength was not that great, but he found that it was very intelligent after interacting with it on several asions. It could understand words, which was an amazing feat.
After a while, the huge snake finally stopped moving. He stepped forward and kicked it to confirm that it waspletely dead. ncing at the long knife sticking out of the snakes mouth, he couldnt help feeling a little troubled. The knife was glowing red from the heat of the snakes mes. It would take ayer off his skin if he tried to retrieve it now. Thus, he had no choice but to wait a while.
Taking advantage of this time, he walked over to the Barrier Prating Fruit Tree, carefully plucked the two Barrier Prating Fruits, and ced them into his Storage Bags. As for the tree He had no ns to do anything to the tree. Besides, it would not survive even if he brought it with him.
Just as he was about to go and retrieve his knife, his mind suddenly became disoriented. Something inside his body stirred restlessly. This feeling inadvertently reminded him of what happened a few months ago
He quickly said, Amber, go back first. I will join youter.
The tiger made a soft growl, raising its paws to tap the dead snake.
He immediately understood its meaning. I know. This is a good thing. How can I leave it behind?
Only then did the tiger walk out in satisfaction. Before it left, it even picked up the chunk of meat that it tore off the huge snake previously.
Lu Ye looked back at the Barrier Prating Fruit Tree once the tigers figure waspletely out of sight. The same feeling of excitement stirred in him again. He hastily focused his mind. To his surprise, the shadow of the Skill Tree did not appear in his field of vision. Instead, something strange urred in his Source Spiritual Point. Closing his eyes quickly, he carefully perceived the changes. He could vaguely see the phantom of arge tree appearing in his Source Spiritual Point. It was the Skill Tree.
The roots of the Skill Tree grew countless fine roots, just like that time in the mines of the Evil Moon Valley a few months ago. Those fine roots then plunged into something, somewhere. In the next moment, a fiery red power was drawn out along the roots.
Following the influx of the fiery red power, he clearly saw one of the leaves on the Skill Tree burst into mes and burn brightly. It was followed by a second leaf When it came to the third leaf, that particr leaf only glowed slightly but did not burn.
Afterward, the roots slowly disappeared. He opened his eyes again and discovered that he had ced his hand on the Barrier Prating Fruit Tree at some point. The tree waspletely withered. The originally scorching hot karst cave had also undergone aplete change. It was no longer hot.
He became lost in thought, thinking back to the time when the Skill Tree experienced a change for the first time.
At the time, he had been going through Manager Yangs belongings when he found an unknown mineral ore. Then, the Skill Tree had grown roots that plunged into the ore. In the end, the mineral ore cracked open to reveal a ball of orange-yellow mes. After the Skill Tree absorbed the power of those mes, a leaf engraved with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern had burst into mes.
This time around, it was even more incredible. He did not know what kind of power the Skill Tree had absorbed, but it caused two leaves to burn while the third showed obvious changes.
[It looks like the conjecture I came up with a long time ago is correct. The Skill Tree needs to absorb the power of mes or some sort of searing heat to show any changes. What happened just now has indisputably proven this fact.]
This underground karst cave must have contained the energy needed by the Skill Tree. Once the Skill Tree absorbed those powers, this ce was no longer scorching hot as before. Since the living environment of the Barrier Prating Fruit Tree had been destroyed, it was only natural for it to die as well. It could even be said that the tree originally contained some of the power of heat. How could it survive once that energy had been depleted by the Skill Tree?
Chapter 57: On the Road
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 57: On the Road
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the karst cave, Lu Ye closed his eyes again and quietly perceived something.
The Skill Tree was indeed located in his Source Spiritual Point. He could see this whenever he focused his mind. This was not the same as before. In the past, the Skill Tree had always appeared in his field of vision as a phantom whenever he concentrated.
[Perhaps the Skill Tree has always been in my Source Spiritual Point. It might be that I was not Enlightened at the time, so all I saw was the phantom reflected in my field of vision. Perhaps I gained the ability to sense the Skill Tree more intuitively after achieving Enlightenment.]
After entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had been busy improving his cultivation. He underwent intense cultivation and stopped paying attention to the state of the Skill Tree, so it wasnt until the Skill Tree absorbed another external power that he noticed these changes.
This was a good thing. There had always been a question in his heart that remained a mystery until today. It was rted to how he could cultivate by consuming Spirit Pills without experiencing any side effects. He had guessed that it was rted to the Skill Tree, but he did not know the exact rtionship between these two factors. Now that he could intuitively sense the existence of the Skill Tree, he might be able to study it carefully when he had the time.
He looked at the two burning leaves on the Skill Tree. Despite knowing that those leaves were very beneficial to him, he couldnt help recalling some unpleasant memories at the sight
Suppressing his desire to investigate the leaves, he walked over to the Snake Demon corpse, tugged his weapon out of it, and chopped it into 10 parts before storing them into his Storage Bag. The Snake Demon was much stronger than the tiger. It also had the ability to spit fire. Therefore, the snake meat was sure to contain rich Spiritual Power. Eating it would greatly nourish him.
After he finished his task, he looked around and confirmed that he had not missed out on anything. Only then did he finally leave the karst cave.
More than an hourter, Lu Ye met up with Yi Yi and the tiger who were waiting at the entrance of the cave. Seeing that there was blood on the tigers shoulder des, he took out a Healing Pill and gave it to the tiger. This was the bite injury the tiger received from the Snake Demon during the previous battle.
He himself had also sustained some light injuries around his shoulder des from the time the snakes tail whipped him, but his injuries were nothing serious.
A short whileter, he rode on the tigers back and reached out to stroke its soft fur. He recalled the first time he met Yi Yi and the tiger. At the time, he would never have imagined that there woulde a day when the majestic and imposing tiger would be his mount. He had to admit that riding on the tigers back was a nice experience. It gave a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him an air of kingly arrogance. Besides, the tiger had a sturdy body and a spacious back. It was not ufortable to ride.
Where to? Yi Yi sat cross-legged on top of the tigers head and turned around to ask.
Following the guidance he got from the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand, he pointed in a direction. That way! Go along the foot of the mountain!
Lets go then! She waved her small hand. It was obvious that she was in a very good mood.
The tiger let out a low roar in response. Then, a snow-white figure shot forward like a sharp arrow. On that day, many low-level cultivators preparing to enter Green Cloud Mountain for training saw the figure of a young man leisurely riding past them on a snow-white tiger.
Drops of water fell into the sea, causing small ripples. Even so, those ripples would eventually set offrge waves
When night fell, they arrived beneath a cliff that protruded and sloped outward. There was a depression at the bottom of the cliff that formed into a natural shelter. Yi Yi, who had gone ahead to check out the situation, stood there beckoning at Lu Ye. Lu Ye, this way! This way!
Lu Ye strode over with awe-inspiring majesty under the moonlight, steadily making his way over to her, step by step.
Looking at his strange walking posture, she could barely keep a straight face while looking at him. In the end, she could not hold back and burst outughing
He walked past her and red at her fiercely. At first, he thought that riding a tiger would be a pleasurable experience. However, the first day of his travels immediately taught him how naive he was. The main reason was that the friction had chafed his thighs so badly that it was unbearable. He was certain that his inner thighs were currently a bloody mess. Furthermore, he could still remember the bumpy feeling of riding on the tigers back. Forget about cultivating while riding, it was a miracle he didnt fall off during the journey.
Youll get used to it, she called out from behind him.
Walking into the natural depression, he nodded in satisfaction. This was a great ce to rest. There were traces of a bonfire that had burnt out inside the depression. It appeared to have been left by the travellers before them.
He rested for a while before he got up to gather some firewood and started a fire. Then, he took out a section of the snakes body, peeled the skin, cleaned out the innards, and sliced off a chunk of snake meat that was approximately 10 kilograms. As for the rest, he tossed them to the tiger. The tiger held several kilograms of snake meat between its paws and feasted on the meat, enjoying itself immensely.
The fire danced; a fragrance gradually permeated the air; hot oil sttered on the fire and made crackling sounds. While roasting the snake meat, Lu Ye took out one of the Barrier Prating Fruits from his Storage Bag and motioned to Yi Yi.
Yi Yi looked at him suspiciously.
There were two fruits. Im splitting it equally between us, he exined.
She shook her head in response. This is only useful for you. Both Amber and I are unable to use it. You can keep it for yourself.
He mulled over it for a bit before asking, Does Amber eat Spirit Pills?
She nodded. It also eats Spirit Stones.
He was shocked to hear that. It can also eat Spirit Stones!?
She exined, Spirit Stones are the condensation of Spiritual Qi. All Spirit Beasts can consume them. Only Humans cant since they cant refine the Spirit Stones.
He learned a lot from their conversation. No wonder Yi Yi and the tiger began asking for Spirit Stones when they failed to get Spirit Pills from him during their attempt to rob him back then.
Then your share of the fruit will be converted into Spirit Pills He looked a little embarrassed. But, I dont know how much these fruits are worth.
She pursed her lips into a smile. Just give whatever you like. Currently, Amber only needs two Spirit Pills a day.
Thats not much.
The snake meat was soon cooked. He sprinkled some salt to taste and began wolfing it down. All of a sudden, he raised his head and nced at her. She was staring at him wistfully. Thus, he handed the snake meat in his hand to her. Do you want some?
She shook her head. I cant eat.
Afterward, he continued to eat. The snake meat was truly very nourishing. After wolfing down several kilograms of the snake meat, he felt warmth spreading throughout his body. He was filled with energy. Even the flow of his Spiritual Power seemed to be faster.
While refining his vitality into Qi, he took out his knife and walked over to the open space beside them. He took off his shirt, revealing his supple upper body. Then, he began making chopping motions in the air with a serious expression.
His previous battle with the fair-skinned man had shown him that hisbat skills were a mess. He could improve his cultivation by consuming Spirit Pills, but Spirit Pills were useless for things likebat skills.
Seeing as there was nobody who could teach him, he could only think of a simple idea. And, that was to keep shing and chopping away methodically. He did not know if this method would work, but it was the only idea he coulde up with. In the future, he would surely meet more and more powerful enemies. If he were to fight them personally, both his cultivation andbat skills would be indispensable.
Under the moonlight, the young man earnestly shed away with sweat dripping down his back. Not far away, a snow-white tigery on the ground and slept soundly with a hazy white light lingering around its body. A ck-haired girl sat with her arms around her knees, watching the young man quietly. With the full moon hanging high in the sky as the background, it made a beautiful picture.
Chapter 58: Protection
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 58: Protection
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After a full two hours passed, Lu Ye finally stopped. He walked into the shadows, took out the water bag, and quickly cleaned himself up. When he finished putting his clothes back on, he returned to the cliff.
The tiger was already sound asleep, snoring loud enough to shake the Heavens. On the other hand, Yi Yi was still sitting there as though she had been waiting for him.
She felt a little curious when she saw the expression on his face. He seemed to have made a difficult decision at this moment. He had a look on his face that seemed to say he was determined to bravely forge forward regardless of the difficulties in his path. Thus, she couldnt help tilting her head to the side in confusion
Meanwhile, he sat down cross-legged with a distressed expression. Pondering over something for a moment, he gave her a quick warning. Dont be too bothered if I suddenly fall unconscious.
Huh? She was utterly bewildered.
However, he did not give a further exnation. He closed his eyes and immersed himself into his mind. Then, he once again saw the Skill Tree entrenched in his Source Spiritual Point. There were three leaves burning among the leaves of the huge canopy. The fourth leaf was glowing slightly but had not caught on fire yet.
The first burning leaf on his Skill Tree had appeared inside the mines of the Evil Moon Valley. That leaf carried the Spiritual Pattern known as Sharp Edge. If not for the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern, he could not have killed the seriously injured Zhou Cheng so easily, pierced through the fair-skinned mans defensiveyer of Spiritual Power, or even inflicted heavy damage on the Snake Demon to obtain victory in the end.
It could be said that this Spiritual Pattern had been of great help to him during several critical moments. Now that two more leaves on the Skill Tree had caught fire, he was both feeling anxious and looking forward to what other kind of Spiritual Pattern he was going to get.
As his concentration slowly focused, he looked at one of the burning leaves. Just like the first time, that small leaf quickly erged until itpletely filled his vision and his mind in the blink of an eye. Arge amount of information came pouring uncontrobly into his mind at the same time. He once again experienced the feeling as though somebody was smashing his head with a sledgehammer.
He had fainted thest time. This time around, he did not lose consciousness even though he felt as though the world was spinning around him and the pain was unbearable. He would rather have fainted. The entire process almost made him wish that he was dead. It was a living Hell. It felt like somebody was tearing his brains apart, forcibly stuffing something he did not understand into his brain, and vigorously mixing them up
All of a sudden, he jerked his eyes open. A suppressed scream came out of his throat and his eyes becamepletely bloodshot.
Yi Yi, who had been watching him all this while, jumped in fright. Her shock was so great that even the sleeping tiger woke up with a start. The tiger roared and looked around its surroundings vigntly, mistakenly thinking that they were being attacked.
A short whileter, Lu Ye gradually calmed down. His vision was bloody and his body was drenched in sweat. Yi Yi and the tiger stood beside him in a panic, at a loss for what to do.
His appearance at this moment was extremely ferocious. It was one thing that both his eyes were blood red, but even the veins in his temples were bulging as though he was enduring great torture. He panted heavily for a while before he managed to recover somewhat. Then, he directed his words at the nervous duo, Im okay now.
Afterward, he closed his eyes again. The pain and agony were over. It was time to harvest the fruits of his victory.
Yi Yi and the tiger exchanged a nce with each other. Both of them were clueless about what was going on, but this matter seemed to be rted to Lu Yes cultivation. It was not her ce to ask if he did not want to speak about it. Therefore, she could only wait by the side with the tiger.
At this moment, Lu Ye was investigating the characteristics of the second Spiritual Pattern. Protection! That was the word written on the second Spiritual Pattern. Judging from the name alone, it seemed to be a Spiritual Pattern for defence.
In the past, he had made some conjectures that since the first Spiritual Pattern was offensive-based, the second Spiritual Pattern might be defensive-based. It would seem that his guess had been correct.
He opened his eyes. After a moment of deliberation, ayer of aura that was visible to the naked eye suddenly shed into existence on the palm of his hand. That aura took on the appearance of a triangr shield. The shield was engraved withplicated and intricate patterns.
Is that a Spiritual Pattern? Yi Yi, who had been observing him in silence, was shocked. Although she had lost many of her memories, she still retained her memories regardingmon sense in the Cultivation World. In this regard, she knew much more than Lu Ye. Therefore, she found it absolutely absurd that he could actually use his Spiritual Power to construct a Spiritual Pattern.
It had to be said that low-level cultivators like Lu Ye generally focused only on improving their cultivation. They did not even have the time to study up on Spell Techniques, much less theplicated Spiritual Patterns. Naturally, there were some Spell Techniques that could be regarded as the manifestation of Spiritual Patterns. It could even be said the Spiritual Pattern he was currently operating could be regarded as a defensive Spell Technique.
Spell Techniques and Spiritual Patterns were closely rted. They often had simrities between them, but they were not exactly the same. It was hard to exin the nuances in just a few words. Nevertheless, it was hard to believe that a low-level cultivator could construct a Spiritual Pattern.
Yi Yi was bing more and more certain that Lu Ye was most likely a disciple of a top Sect. Moreover, his status in the Sect was definitely not a lowly one. He might even be the illegitimate son of a Sect Master or something simr. Due to some unavoidable reasons, he had no choice but to leave his Sect and gain experience in the world all on his own
In just a few short seconds, she had already concocted a story full of grievances and revenge in her head.
On the other hand, Lu Ye ignored her gaze. He was currently trying to gauge the durability of the Protection. Purely from a defensive point of view, the Protections defensive abilitiespletely surpassed his Spiritual Power protection. If he were topare between the two, there would be a difference of several times in terms of defensive abilities alone. That meant that he would have a better means of defence if he had to deal with any more attacks in the future.
While the defensive abilities might be extraordinary, the consumption rate was nothing to sniff at either. This palm-sized Protection Spiritual Pattern had already used up one of the spiritual power reserves of his Spiritual points. It had an even greater consumption rate than the Sharp Edge.
In other words, he would run out of Spiritual Power if he activated this Spiritual Pattern 20 times in a row. Furthermore, the consumption would increase if the range of the protection was expanded. He was only activating a palm-sized Protection Spiritual Pattern, but that did not mean that the Protection Spiritual Pattern was limited to this size. If he wished, he could control it so that it became bigger than this.
In any case, this was not a bad Spiritual Pattern. He might have something like the Golden Body Talisman Paper, but there woulde a day when he ran out of Spirit Talisman Papers. On the contrary, this Protection Spiritual Pattern was something that belonged to him.
Comparing between the two, the Protection Spiritual Pattern could be activated with just a single thought. In contrast, it was much more troublesome to activate a Spirit Talisman Paper. First, a person had to take the Spirit Talisman Paper out of their Storage Bag and pour their Spiritual Power into the Spirit Talisman Paper. During a fierce battle, there was often not enough time for him to take any of those steps.
If he had a Spiritual Pattern like this before he met the fair-skinned man, he could have faced the opponents attack head-on and ughtered the other man without resorting to tricks. This Spiritual Pattern might not have increased his cultivation, but it greatly increased his repertoire ofbat skills.
There was one more to go
Recalling the previous experience, he involuntarily gave a shudder at the thought. He had no ns to investigate the other Spiritual Pattern yet. At the very least, it would not be within the next two days. His mind was currently a mess. If he tried to investigate the Spiritual Pattern in this condition, he might end up losing his life instead. Hence, there was no other choice but to rest for a few more days at home.
Taking out a Spirit Restoring Pill, he ate it and then prepared to investigate the other question that had puzzled him all this while. [Why do I not experience any side effects from cultivating through the use of Spirits Pills? Does that have anything to do with the Skill Tree?]
Thus, he continued to quietly perceive the situation and soon glimpsed the Skill Tree that was hiding inside his Source Spiritual Point.
Chapter 59: The Secret of the Skill Tree
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 59: The Secret of the Skill Tree
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye had not noticed anything before he began paying attention to this matter in detail. Now that he was explicitly investigating this matter, he could clearly sense the existence of the Skill Tree. That mysterious tree had taken root in his Source Spiritual Point.
The Pill Power of the Spirit Restoring Pill dissolved in his abdomen and turned into Spiritual Power. While concentrating on guiding the Pill Power into his Spiritual Points, he paid close attention to the Skill Tree.
The Spiritual Power converted from the Pill Power could not be directly injected into just any random Spiritual Point. It must first pass through the Source Spiritual Point.
Take his 21st Spiritual Point that was currently only partially filled for example. The Spiritual Power he obtained by consuming the Spirit Pill had to first go through the Source Spiritual Point before it could flow into the 21st Spiritual Point. If any of the Spiritual Points were too far away from the Source Spiritual Point, then the Spiritual Power would need to pass through several other Spiritual Points along the way.
There were no exceptions. The Source Spiritual Point was the entry point for receiving Spiritual Power. That was the reason why it was dubbed as the Source Spiritual Point. It was also the most important Spiritual Point for all cultivators.
Based on his understanding, the Source Spiritual Point was simr to the dantian that all Martial Arts Masters had. Having said that, the Source Spiritual Point was indeed located right at the dantian.
In addition, the Spiritual Points unlocked by low-grade cultivation techniques were generally located close to the Source Spiritual Point. Therefore, there was no need for transfers between Spiritual Points. The Spiritual Power would only need to pass through the Source Spiritual Point.
In the past, he had never bothered to examine the process carefully. After intentionally observing the process, he was astonished to learn that the Spiritual Power converted from the Pill Power did not seem to be as pure as his own Spiritual Power. That Spiritual Power was mixed with a trace of something unknown. That something was most likely harmful to his body.
[Is that the Pill Poison?] A thought popped up in his mind. The Sect Master had once mentioned that all medicine was somewhat poisonous, including the Spirit Pills that cultivators consumed. The lower the quality of the Spirit Pill, the more the Pill Poison. That was why cultivators needed to figure out a way to remove the Pill Poison from their bodies after consuming Spirit Pills during their cultivation. Otherwise, various hidden dangers would remain in their bodies.
That vaguely contaminated Spiritual Power flowed into his Source Spiritual Point, passed through his Source Spiritual Point, and flowed into his 21st Spiritual Point. However, something strange happened during that process. Not the slightest trace of Pill Poison remained in the Spiritual Power that flowed into his 21st Spiritual Point. It had be as pure as the Spiritual Power in the rest of his Spiritual Points.
He became acutely aware of this. From this, he could be certain that the changes in his Spiritual Power had urred within his Source Spiritual Point. Hence, he hurriedly focused most of his attention on his Source Spiritual Point. Upon a closer inspection, he soon discovered the hidden mystery.
The Skill Tree that had rooted itself in his Source Spiritual Point had grown roots. It seemed to be absorbing the Spiritual Power in his Source Spiritual Point, circting it through the tree trunk, and feeding it back out. The vaguely contaminated Spiritual Power became pure after going through that process. During the entire process, a grey aura simr to ashes was continuously discharged from the tree trunk of the Skill Tree.
Sure enough; the crux of the mattery in the Skill Tree! ording to what he observed, the Skill Tree seemed to have the ability to purify Spiritual Power. All the Pill Poison had been burned off by the Skill Tree.
Then, he remembered something else. Ever since he achieved Enlightenment, he would feel slightly ufortable after every cultivation session because it felt as if he was covered in ayer of dust. That situation had only be more and more obvious after he entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield and consumed a lot of the Spirit Restoring Pills. On the contrary, this situation had not urred during the period where he refined his vitality into Qi and did not consume the Spirit Restoring Pills.
Afterbining all of these facts together, he finally came to a realisation. The Skill Tree had the ability to purify Spiritual Power. Thus, all the Pill Poison he umted from consuming Spirit Pills while cultivating had been burned off by the Skill Tree. That was why he had suffered no hidden dangers from consuming so many Spirit Pills during his cultivation. Since the burned Pill Poison could not just disappear without reason, it had been excreted from his body. That was what caused him to feel as though he was covered in ayer of dust after every cultivation session.
Everything became clear now. All his previous conjectures had been confirmed, but the results were not that surprising. Nevertheless, he would no longer experience any psychological pressure from consuming Spirit Pills while cultivating in the future after learning the truth.
He rxed his mind and continued to guide the Pill Power in his abdomen. The Spiritual Power in his 21st Spiritual Point gradually increased as a result.
At first, Yi Yi had monitored him nervously. However, she identally fell asleep when she saw that his condition was no longer abnormal. The Heavens only knew how a Spirit could fall asleep
She was awakened by the sound of something slicing through the air. By the time she opened her eyes again, the sky had already gotten bright and the bonfire next to her had long since died. Not far away, Lu Ye stood topless with his knife in one hand. He was continuously making shing motions. Each move could not be considered fast but his expression was meticulous.
[This guy Is he made of steel?] The corner of her eyes twitched at the sight.
The truth was that he had slept for six hoursst night. Although a cultivators body was stronger than that of an ordinary person, they still needed rest. That was all the more so for a low-level cultivator like him who had yet topletely separate himself from the limits of ordinary men. It was just that he knew how difficult the road ahead was going to be, so he could not afford to waste any time.
By the time he finished his morning training, Yi Yi and the tiger had already gathered enough firewood to start a fire. Therefore, he took out a section of the snakes body from his Storage Bag and tossed it to them to handle.
After they ate their fill, they continued on their journey.
The journey was not as nice as he had imagined. During the bumpy journey, he swallowed a Spirit Restoring Pill and tried to cultivate whilst riding on the tigers back. As long as he could not solve this problem, he would waste a lot of time on this journey.
Along the way, they would asionally encounter some low-level cultivators passing by in a haste. It was just that the tiger would avoid them in advance. In any case, as long as none of those cultivators were sick in the head, none of them would dare to challenge the tiger that they saw from afar. Besides, they might not even manage to catch up to the tiger.
When night fell, they would find a suitable ce to rest as usual. He would then eat some snake meat, practise his swordy, consume some Spirit Pills, and cultivate. Todays progress had been fairly good. Although he still felt that riding on the tigers back was very bumpy, he at least managed to start cultivating. It was just that his efficiency was rather low.
At dawn, he took out the 10-point map andpared his current position with his starting position to determine the direction of their travels and their nearest destination. Despite riding on the tiger for two days, they had yet to leave the mountain range of Green Cloud Mountain. That just went to show how vast this mountain range was.
Another dayter, it was evening when Lu Ye gazed at the city not far away and let out a long sigh. They had finally arrived at the nearest destination. This ce wasbelled as Green Cloud City No.5 on the 10-point map.
He attracted a lot of attention when he rode the tiger into the city. Although he had seen many cultivators with Spirit Beasts apanying them during his time in Green Cloud City No.3, those Spirit Beasts had been small and insignificant. None of them was as majestic as the tiger.
At the beginning, he had considered asking the tiger to wait for him outside the city. Unfortunately, the tigers true strength was simply not powerful enough. Not to mention that they were unfamiliar with this ce. Things might end badly if the tiger ended up identally intruding on another Spirit Beasts territory.
After mulling over it, he decided to bring the tiger along with him. He was nning to rest here for a night. He had to admit that having the tiger by his side was very intimidating for others. Therefore, many of the more cowardly cultivators gave him a wide berth.
About half an hourter, Lu Ye came to the Divine Trade Association in this city. He did not have any Spirit Stones on hand, but the Trade Association also epted Spirit Pills as payment. Hence, he was led to a guest room on the third-floor by a person of the Trade Association after he paid for his stay with a Spirit Restoring Pill.
The room was not that big, but it was very clean. He fed the tiger a Spirit Restoring Pill. Then, the tigery on the floor and rested. On the other hand, Yi Yi, who had been staying hidden for a long time, finally came out for a breath of fresh air. Meanwhile, Lu Ye sat cross-legged on the bed, guiding the Pill Power to prate the barrier of his 22nd Spiritual Point.
Chapter 60: Gathering Spirits
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 60: Gathering Spirits
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye had already filled his 21st Spiritual Point to the brim during the day. Therefore, he only needed to prate the barrier of his 22nd Spiritual Point to be one step closer to the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. However, he did not consume the Barrier Prating Fruit even though it had the miraculous effect of prating the barriers around the Spiritual Points.
ording to his estimation, the Barrier Prating Fruit was likely to be something very precious. He only took the Spirit Fruit previously because he had been in a hurry to advance into the First Order Spirit Creek Realm. Seeing as he had enough Spirit Restoring Pills at the moment and could achieve the same results with a little more time, he did not wish to waste the Barrier Prating Fruit on something like this.
Instead, he wanted to preserve these two Spirit Fruits and wait until the time was right to consume them so that he could make the most of them. Besides, the Spiritual Power in his body nowadays was iparable to how it had been in the beginning. Breaking through the barriers of his Spiritual Points had be much easier for him.
The entire process took less than two hours. He sessfully broke through the barrier of his 22nd Spiritual Point and allowed a trickle of Spiritual Power to flow into it. Afterward, he continued to cultivate for a while. It was not until hepletely digested the remaining Pill Power that he finally stopped cultivating.
Three days had passed since thest time he inspected the Spiritual Pattern on the leaves of the Skill Tree. He had nned to investigate the third burning leaf tonight to see what kind of Spiritual Pattern it carried.
Despite mentally preparing himself for what was toe, he still felt a little reluctant when he was about to do this. It was mainly because the experience was simply too unpleasant. Be that as it may, it was something that he needed to experience sooner orter. Dragging it out would only make it worse. Therefore, he resolutely focused his mind and looked at the Skill Tree in his Source Spiritual Point.
The burning leaf was rapidly erged. Following that, theplicated and intricate pattern on the leaf filled his vision and his mind in an instant. At the same time, the feeling that somebody was smashing his head in with a sledgehammer came again. His brains were pried open, arge amount of unknown information poured into his head, and then everything was vigorously mixed together
A long whileter, he finally opened his eyes and gasped for breath. Beside him, the tiger lifted its head to look at him. Simrly, Yi Yi stood beside the bed and looked at him worriedly. It was fortunate that they had already experienced a simr urrence three days ago, so this incident did not shock her as much anymore.
Afterward, Lu Ye immersed his mind once more and studied the information that had been added into his brain. Gathering Spirits! That was the name of the Spiritual Pattern carried on the third leaf.
[The first Spiritual Pattern is offence-based, the second Spiritual Pattern is defence-based, and now, the third pattern is support-based?]
The function of this Spiritual Pattern was easily understood just by looking at the name alone. It was used to gather Spiritual Qi. Thus, he activated his Spiritual Power and constructed this Spiritual Power on the palm of his hand. The moment theplicated and intricate Spiritual Pattern appeared, all the World Spiritual Qi in the room gathered toward the palm of his hand. Even the World Spiritual Qi outside the room was pulled toward him and came pouring into the room.
He waited for some time and discovered that the World Spiritual Qi in the room did not seem to have changed much. It might be that the Spiritual Pattern he constructed was neitherrge enough norsted long enough. If he could construct a Spiritual Pattern that could cover the room or even the entire Trade Association, then the effect of gathering the World Spiritual Qi would probably be very outstanding.
Putting aside whether or not his Spiritual Power could support such arge Spiritual Pattern, it was meaningless even if he did do something like that. His body was unable to absorb Spiritual Qi effectively. It did not matter how dense the Spiritual Qi around him was, it would still be of little use to him.
[Trash!] He cursed in his heart, feeling disappointed.
Both Sharp Edge and Protection could provide great help to him in battle, so he had been looking forward to the third Spiritual Pattern. Disappointingly, it turned out to be such a useless Spiritual Pattern. Nevertheless, the consumption of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern was very smallpared to Sharp Edge and Protection. For a Spiritual Pattern of the same size, the consumption of Gathering Spirits was only 10% of Protections. Moreover, it seemed like it could be maintained for a long time.
Be it Sharp Edge or Protection, the duration they could be maintained was very short. That was why he had to grasp the perfect timing when using them in battle. It was possible to maintain them for a long time, but the consumption of his Spiritual Power would increase. In this regard, Gathering Spirits was different. It would also replenish itself while gathering the World Spiritual Qi. In that way, it would continue operating forever once it was activated, unless he actively dispersed the Spiritual Pattern.
Thinking about it this way, it was notpletely useless after all. If he could construct arge enough Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern in the base of a Sect, then the World Spiritual Qi in that base would be more and more dense over time.
Meanwhile, Yi Yi was staring at this scene in shock. She had personally witnessed Lu Ye casually constructing an unknown Spiritual Pattern that night three days ago and she was seeing it again tonight. More importantly, they werepletely different Spiritual Patterns. Although she was not sure what the Spiritual Pattern three days ago was used for, the Spiritual Pattern this time obviously had the effect of gathering the World Spiritual Qi.
[Just who on Earth is this guy? His cultivation is not high, but his research in Spiritual Patterns is so thorough This is something that takes up a lot of time and energy after all. From the looks of it, he really is rted to some bigshot in a major Sect]
The more she thought about it, the stranger her thoughts became. Even so, she was smart. There were some things that should never be questioned, so she simply pretended not to know about them.
Lu Ye was very grateful for her consideration in this regard. Otherwise, he would have had to re-consider whether to continue their cooperative rtionship.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had already dispelled the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern. He took off his shirt, picked up his long knife, and began practising his shing. The tiger had no choice but to curl up in the corner to avoid being identally injured
Stroke after stroke, he shed away seriously.
Soon, the night passed and dawn came. Lu Ye exited the third floor and came to the main hall on the first floor. He sought out one of the Trade Associations managers and sold two pieces of Yuan Metal ore to the other party.
He currently had another 14 pieces of the Yuan Metal ore. Each of them was rtivelyrge and thergest one of them all was the size of a washbasin. Be that as it may, he did not trade too much, lest he met somebody like Lin Ru Yin again. In any case, he woulde across many more branch offices of the Divine Trade Association during his journey. He nned to slowly sell off the mineral ores in his possession to reduce some of the risks.
If not for the fact that he was in a hurry to purchase a 10-point map before he left Green Cloud City No.3, he would not have taken the risk to sell off more than 10 pieces of Yuan Metal ore at once. Those kinds of actions would cause him to be targeted very quickly.
The two pieces of Yuan Metal ore were exchanged for 103 Spirit Stones. This time around, he did not purchase any Spirit Restoring Pills but kept the spirit Stones instead. He currently had more than enough Spirit Restoring Pills tost him until he advanced into the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, so there was no need to keep umting them. As for the Spirit Stones He needed arge amount of Spirit Stones for something else.
Lu Ye had only just walked out of the Trade Association when a male cultivator with a pointed mouth and pinched face greeted him with a smile. Hello, Fellow Cultivator!
He frowned and stared at the man. At the same time, the tiger next to him stepped forward and let out a threatening growl.
The smile on the male cultivators face stiffened and he involuntarily took several steps back. Please calm down, Fellow Cultivator. I dont have any malicious intentions. I simply wish to speak to you about business-rted matters.
Lu Ye nced at the aura around this person and confirmed that the other party was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Not to mention, the purity of the other partys aura was below average. It was easy to tell that this person was not that strong.
The male cultivator felt his scalp going numb with fear when he saw both Lu Ye and the tiger ring at him, but he forced himself to smile. I really only want to speak to you about a business-rted matter.
Move aside! Lu Ye spoke in a quiet voice. His hand was pressed against the hilt of his knife as he led the tiger forward.
That person hurriedly stepped to the side but did not give up. He probably believed that Lu Ye would not do anything to him here. Thus, he chased after Lu Ye while saying, Fellow Cultivator! I have a set of auxiliary cultivation techniques that can help boost your cultivation. If you use these cultivation techniques, your cultivation efficiency will be doubled at the very least! Its suitable for people with cultivation like yours. Are you interested in buying?
Chapter 61: Name Your Price
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 61: Name Your Price
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
[An auxiliary cultivation technique that doubles a persons cultivation efficiency!? Thats obviously bullshit! If there really were a cultivation technique like that, then it would be a secret scripture that would never be passed on to others. Even the top major Sects would cherish a cultivation technique like that. Why would there be a need to sell something as valuable as that on the streets!?]
Looking at the male cultivators behaviour, Lu Ye could tell that the other party had not been targeting him specifically. Rather, the male cultivator had been waiting outside the Trade Association and selecting random targets to approach. He just so happened toe across Lu Ye at the right time.
Im not interested. He refused to continue entertaining that male cultivator. To his surprise, that person continued to chase after him, all the while exining to him about the beauty of the cultivation technique.
ording to the male cultivator, the cultivation technique was easy to cultivate, highlypatible with various low-grade cultivation techniques, and simple enough that anybody could master it easily. He even went so far as to say with a solemn expression, If you dont believe me, I can take the Heavenly Oath to prove to you that everything Ive said is the truth. I will never deceive you, Fellow Cultivator.
Lu Ye paused in his tracks and looked at the man, frowning. He had taken the Heavenly Oath himself before, so he knew that an oath made while asking the Heavens to bear witness was not a joke. Thus, he couldnt help wondering. [Is there really such a powerful cultivation technique in the world? One that can even double a persons cultivation efficiency? What kind of concept is that?]
When the male cultivator saw that Lu Ye was being swayed by his words, he stretched out his hand and said, There are too many people here. Its not convenient to talk. Pleasee this way, Fellow Cultivator.
After a brief consideration, Lu Ye followed the man to a ce with few people. Then, he bluntly got straight to the point. Swear on it!
The other party swallowed back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue and burst intoughter instead. Sure. But, Fellow Cultivator, you have to buy this once I take the oath.
Ill buy it if the price is right.
The make cultivator nodded at those words and spoke with a stern expression. Rogue cultivator, Chen He, respectfully requests the Heavens to bear witness that everything I just said is true. If there are any untruths among my words, then I will die a torturous death!
There was a vague feeling as an invisible force descended from the sky and sank into the back of his hand. That was clearly where his Battlefield Imprint was located.
On the other hand, Lu Yes expression became cold. [This guy sure is working hard to sell off that cultivation technique. I cant believe he even dared to take such a poisonous oath!] Show me the item.
That male cultivator by the name of Chen He shook his head. You must be joking, Fellow Cultivator. That cultivation technique is very simple and straightforward. If you were to read it, you would be able to memorise it in an instant. Why would you buy it from me then?
How much are you selling?
30 Spirit Stones! Chen He announced his price.
Lu Ye turned to leave after hearing those words. Although he did not know what was so special about that cultivation technique that Chen He would be willing to take a Heavenly Oath just to sell it, he was certain that there must be some kind of w to this cultivation technique. Otherwise, forget 30 Spirit Stones, it would even sell for 3,000 Spirit Stones.
Dont go, Fellow Cultivator! Its business! If the seller asks for a price that is too high, the buyer can make a more reasonable counter offer. Why dont you name your price? How can you just turn around and leave!? You have to show some sincerity! Chen He quickly stopped Lu Ye and tried to persuade thetter with all his heart.
Three Spirit Stones! Lu Ye tried to be amodating and replied with a counteroffer.
Done! Chen He took out a jade slip and pped it on Lu Yes palm.
The corner of Lu Yes eyes twitched in response.
Fellow Cultivator, I made a Heavenly Oath. Just now you promised to buy it if the price was right. You set the price of three Spirit Stones yourself! You cant go back on your word, right?
Lu Ye was speechless. There was nothing he could say to refute those words. Thus, he finally forked out the three Spirit Stones and handed it to the other party.
Afterward, Chen He took the Spirit Stones and left happily.
On the other hand, Lu Ye held the jade slip in his hand. Before he could check the contents, he saw somebody walking over with a smile. That person teasingly said, You got ripped off, didnt you?
He looked up and observed the other party. That person simply shrugged in response. I was tricked too. That cultivation technique is useless.
Lu Ye understood immediately. Were you watching just now?
That personughed. Its better to have two unlucky people so that Im not the only unlucky one. Dont you agree? This way, I feel much better now.
He even winked at Lu Ye while saying that.
Lu Ye calmly replied, If I were you, I would have tried to snatch his business instead. If he can sell that cultivation technique, then why cant you? Instead of just watching other people getting tricked, you might as well do the tricking yourself and obtain some Spirit Stones while youre at it. Who knows? You might end up making a fortune.
That person became lost in thought after listening to what Lu Ye said. After a while, he pped his thigh and eximed, That makes sense!
When he looked up, Lu Ye was nowhere to be seen by then.
Lu Ye rode on the tigers back outside the city, having already taken his leave a long time ago. He could not be bothered to involve himself in the intrigue of those profiteers.
It was pretty much confirmed that he had been tricked. Fortunately, he had not spent a lot of Spirit Stones on the cultivation technique, only three. Besides, he had just traded with the Trade Association and obtained more than 100 Spirit Stones in return. He could be considered a rich man, so he was not too bothered by this expenditure.
Still, Chen He had taken a Heavenly Oath. That could only mean that the cultivation technique was really as he said: It was capable of increasing a persons cultivation efficiency. Otherwise, he would have long since suffered the bacsh of his oath.
[Just what is going on?] Lu Ye couldnt help feeling suspicious. Hence, he began inspecting the name of the cultivation technique.
Gluttonous Feast. That was the name of the cultivation technique. Moreover, it was a cultivation technique that was difficult to judge the value of. That was because the entire training course of this cultivation technique only included a total of 15 Spiritual Points!
It had to be said the Golden Liberation Technique he was currently cultivating was already the lowest grade among the Yellow Grade cultivation techniques. Nevertheless, even that could unlock 27 Spiritual Points. On the other hand, the Gluttonous Feast could only unlock 15 Spiritual Points. It was even less than that of a Yellow Grade cultivation technique. However, it was understandable considering that this cultivation technique was not meant for cultivation but for auxiliary purposes.
Just as Chen He had mentioned before, the training course of the cultivation technique could be understood at a nce. It was extremely simple. That was because the number of Spiritual Points involved was very low and those Spiritual Points were scattered around the lower abdomen area. That was also why it was highlypatible with most low-grade cultivation techniques.
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Thepatibility of two cultivation techniques depended on how many of the Spiritual Points that ovepped between the two cultivation techniques in their training courses. The more they ovepped, the higher thepatibility.
The Spiritual Points unlocked by most of the low-grade cultivation techniques were scattered around the lower abdomen area. That was because the Source Spiritual Point was located in that area. Therefore, many low-grade cultivation techniques would unlock more or less simr Spiritual Points. It was only the differences in the training courses that influenced the disparity in the characteristics of the cultivation techniques.
When nine identical Spiritual Points were connected in a different sequence, the speed of the Spiritual Power flowing through them would be different. That would in turn affect the strength of a cultivator. That was why the sequence that the Spiritual Points were connected was an extremely important matter.
The 15 Spiritual Points in the training course of the Gluttonous Feast basically ovepped with the 27 Spiritual Points in the training course of the Golden Liberation Technique. There were only 2 Spiritual Points that were not included in the Golden Liberation Technique. In other words, once he finished cultivating the Golden Liberation Technique and then unlocked the other 2 Spiritual Points, he could catch a glimpse of the Gluttonous Feasts secrets.
In any case, he was in no hurry. He decided to finish cultivating the Golden Liberation Technique first before testing to see if the Gluttonous Feast was truly as miraculous as described and could actually double his cultivation efficiency.
Putting the jade slip away, he took out the 10-point map again,pared the distance between Green Cloud City No.3 and Green Cloud City No.5, and calcted the time he had spent travelling. Afterward, he checked the route he had nned to take on his journey to the Crimson Blood Sect.
After some calctions, he couldnt help sighing. At his current speed, it would take a very long time for him to return to the Crimson Blood Sects base even if he did not experience any dys during his journey. If he ran into any dys, then it would take an even longer time toplete his journey. The road ahead was long indeed, but he was fortunate that he was not alone. At the very least, he had Yi Yi and the tiger apanying him.
Chapter 62: Split Sky Gorge
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 62: Split Sky Gorge
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Half a monthter, a dusty Lu Ye appeared in front of a canyon. He was undoubtedly much moreposed nowpared to the miserable state he was in when he first rode on the tiger during the journey.
On the first day of riding the tiger, he had barely prevented himself from falling off from the jostling. Moreover, the inner part of his thighs had been rubbed raw by the friction. They were bruised and bloody as a result. At the time, he had been in no state to cultivate at all.
However, he had since aplished his original expectations to cultivate by consuming Spirit Pills while riding on the tiger during his travels. Although his efficiency was lower than if he cultivated under normal circumstances, it was still better than wasting his time away doing nothing.
Over the past half a month, he had unlocked another 3 Spiritual Points and was now a 25 Spiritual Point cultivator. That meant that he was only two Spiritual Points away from the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm! At this rate, it would only take another six or seven days before he cultivated the Golden Liberation Technique to perfection.
On another note, he was not the only one who grew in strength. The tiger had also gotten noticeably stronger.
Lu Ye and the tiger had both finished eating all the snake meat in his Storage Bag. Almost 80% of it had gone into the tigers stomach. That snake meat had been extremely beneficial to a Spirit Beast like the tiger. In addition, Lu Ye would also feed it two Spirit Restoring Pills every single day. Therefore, the tiger had experienced a significant increase in size in just half a month. It was bing more and more majestic.
Lu Ye had no way to determine how strong the tiger was now. Based on his estimation, he would not have much of an advantage if he fought against the tiger without the support of various Spirit Talisman Papers and Spiritual Patterns.
On the other hand, Yi Yi was a Ghost Spirit tied to the tiger. Her strength would increase as the tiger became stronger and stronger.
All in all, the average strength of the group consisting of a Human, a tiger, and a Spirit might not be that great. However, the power they could exert if they worked together was not something that should be underestimated. This ultimately increased Lu Yes capital to travel across the Spirit Creek Battlefield, which reinforced his belief that his decision to bring the tiger and Yi Yi along with him back then was a wise decision indeed.
Along their journey, Lu Ye passed through another neutral city. He stayed in the city for a night and sold two Yuan Metal ores in exchange for some Spirit Stones. At this point, he had more than 200 Spirit Stones in his possession. [Im still a little short, but I should have enough after my visit to the next Divine Trade Associations branch office.]
Jumping off the tigers back, he studied the canyon in front of him and took out his 10-point map for reference. This was a ce called the Split Sky Gorge. The terrain was steep and treacherous. Moreover, it was surrounded by a cliff wall that soared thousands of metres into the sky on both sides. The map indicated that the base of Nine Star n, which was affiliated with the Thousand Demon Ridge, was located to the left of the Split Sky Gorge while the base of Mystic Sect, which was affiliated with the Grand Sky Coalition, was located to the right of the Split Sky Gorge. The Split Sky Gorge was located between these two bases, but it was slightly closer to Nine Star n.
Both Sects were not ranked high. Mystic Sect was in the Ninth Tier while Nine Star n was in the Eight Tier. Such Tiers were the norm in the Outer Circle of the battlefield. Since the route Lu Ye charted was curved in an arc, he was practically travelling along the edges of the battlefield. That was why all the Sects, whose territories they had passed through during their travels, were only in the Eight Tier or the Ninth Tier.
Needless to say, he would not rashly enter the territories of Sects in higher Tiers. Not even if those Sects were affiliated with the Grand Sky Coalition. Since entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Sect Masters final warning continued to echo in his ears. He did not dare to reveal his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect even though he had no idea what kind of consequences he would face if his identity was exposed.
It was gettingte. He had no ns to enter the canyon yet. Having travelled the whole day today, it was not toote to enter the canyon tomorrow after getting a good nights rest. He called out, Yi Yi!
Got it. Yi Yis voice sounded. Immediately after that, she floated out of the tigers head and drifted into the distance. She had gone to check out the surrounding environment.
After travelling together for so many days, they had reached some form of tacit understanding whereby Yi Yi would be responsible for investigating their surroundings to avoid any hidden dangers. She was a Spirit, so she was capable ofing and going without a trace. It made doing something like this very convenient for her. There had been several asions where they managed to avoid various hidden dangers in advance because of her.
It was just that she was in a symbiotic rtionship with the tiger, so she could not stray too far away from the tiger. ording to her, it was no problem if it was within a distance of 5 kilometres. However, she would rapidly weaken when separated from the tiger by more than a distance of 5 kilometres. If such a situation were to continue for too long, she would most likely dissipate into nothing as a result.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye would search for a suitable shelter nearby. After wandering in the wilds for more than half a month, he had long gotten used to this task. A suitable shelter should have an essible means of entry and retreat. Secondly, it should be fairly hidden. Andstly, it should shelter them from the elements.
After searching for a while, he led the tiger to a spot between a patch of rocks. This location was not the best, but there was no better ce nearby. Looking at the weather today, it did not look like it was going to rain. It should be fine for a night.
Then, he took out the firewood in his Storage Bag that he prepared beforehand and lit a fire. Next, he took out arge piece of beast meat and roasted it over the fire. After that, he took out an evenrger piece of meat and tossed it to the tiger. The tiger pounced on the meat and began devouring it with relish.
Watching the tiger feasting away with a ferocious appearance, he couldnt help feeling a little worried. He originally thought that the Spirit Restoring Pills he had saved up would be more than enough for his use until he advanced into the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Unfortunately, it would seem that it was just barely enough.
The tiger consumed two Spirit Restoring Pills a day. On the other hand, he required around 11 or 12 Spirit Restoring Pills to unlock each Spiritual Point. Seeing as he only had slightly more than 30 Spirit Restoring Pills left on hand, he would probably run out of Spirit Restoring Pills once he unlocked his 27th Spiritual Point. Furthermore, he had the vague feeling that the tigers consumption of Spirit Restoring Pills would gradually increase as its strength increased.
[This is so worrying! But, this is the price I have to pay for bringing the tiger and Yi Yi along with me on my travels. At the very least, I can now continue cultivating while on the road. That has saved me a lot of time.] For a low-level cultivator like him, the early stage of cultivation was very precious.
The beast meat roasting by the bonfire dripped oil onto the mes, causing a crackling sound. All of a sudden, the tiger that was happily munching on its meal of raw meat raised its head and turned toward a certain direction. A low growl came out of its throat. Immediately after that, it abruptly jumped to its feet and rushed in that direction
Lu Ye was stunned for a moment before he immediately came back to his senses: Something had happened to Yi Yi! Yi Yi was the Ghost Spirit transformed by the tiger, so they had a very close connection with each other. For that reason, the tiger would be able to notice if anything had happened to Yi Yi.
The tigers speed was extremely fast. Even if he poured all his Spiritual Power into his legs, he would still be left behind by the tiger. Thus, he could only shout desperately, Amber, dont be impulsive!
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Seeing as he had no idea what had happened to Yi Yi, rushing headlong into the situation without preparations was not a good idea. The tiger was wise enough to slow down slightly after hearing his shout. Once he caught up to the tiger, he swung himself up on the tigers back and the tiger took off once more.
A short whileter, a ball of fire came into view behind a huge boulder. There were several cultivators gathered around a bonfire. It looked like they were nning to spend the night here. In front of these cultivators was something that looked like a huge upside-down bell. Aura flowed around the huge bell. Variousplicated and intricate lines converged together to form a pattern that slowly revolved around the huge bell.
A muffled banging wasing from within the huge bell. Yi Yi was trapped inside!
When Lu Ye saw this scene, he immediately understood the current situation. Yi Yi was a Spirit, so it was impossible to trap her with normal means. That could only mean that the huge bell was a Spirit Artefact!
Fortunately, the tiger was able to suppress its animalistic instinct after hearing his warning and did not rush out immediately.
Gathering his Spiritual Power to his eyes, he observed the aura surrounding the cultivators. There were a total of four cultivators. One was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm, two were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and thest one was in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm!
Chapter 63: Silenced
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 63: Silenced
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were three men and one woman among the four cultivators. The woman was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. She was dressed very lightly and her figure was very seductive. She was currently snuggling against, and being hugged by, a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. They looked to be very intimate.
That Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master had a good-looking appearance. He was dressed veryvishly and looked quite handsome. In addition, he had a sword and a bulging Storage Bag hanging from his waist. It would seem that he came from an extraordinary background.
The other Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was a sturdily built man. His shirt hugged his torso tightly and his well-built muscles were faintly visible through his clothes. He was currently standing in front of the couple and seemed to be a guard.
Lastly, the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was a man as thin as a bamboo pole. He was watching their surroundings vigntly.
Lu Ye and the tigers arrival had not alerted those four to their presence. The Human and the tiger hid in a spot approximately 35 metres away and watched the group through the gaps in between the rocks. He did not know how Yi Yi was being held by them, but these cultivators had mysterious and unpredictable resources. There would always be many things that he did not understand.
Nevertheless, his top priority was to rescue Yi Yi. He had to admit that the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master stressed him out greatly, not to mention that there were four opponents in total.
Young Master, what is that? A pleasant voice rang out. That woman was the one who asked that question. Although the Mystic Spirit Bell had been triggered, none of them had noticed how it had been triggered. At this moment, only the owner of the Mystic Spirit Bell knew what had happened.
The handsome man holding her cast a Secret Technique with one hand. After sensing for a brief moment, he raised his eyebrows and said, How interesting. Is that a Spirit?
The Mystic Spirit Bell was his Spirit Artefact. It was an extremely powerful and hidden Spirit Artefact for protection.
A Spirit? The woman shrunk back in fear and deliberately snuggled into the mans embrace. Young Master, Im scared.
The Young Masterughed heartily and patted the other partys tender waist reassuringly. Dont be scared. Dont be scared.
Then, he shot a nce at the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master and issued an order. Senior Brother Zhang, give it a try.
Senior Brother Zhang nodded and responded. Understood.
Striding toward the huge upside-down bell on the ground, he suddenly threw a punch when he got closer. There was a loud bang, which was immediately followed by Yi Yis agonised screamsing from within the bell. It was clear that she had been injured by the attack.
Roar! A tigers roar came from the forest. A snow-white figure rushed out of its hiding ce and charged toward Senior Brother Zhang. Those actions had agitated the tiger. Lu Ye had previously warned the tiger not to act impulsively and it had listened. Unfortunately, its animalistic instinct won over its reason when it saw that Yi Yi was being hurt In the first ce, its intelligence had always been pitifully poor.
Not only were the four cultivators both shocked and frightened, but even Lu Ye was caught off guard. He had been in the middle of thinking about how to rescue Yi Yi
When the tiger rushed out, a beastly stench filled the air. The woman let out a terrified scream. This time around, she was really frightened. Meanwhile, the burly man instantly changed his position so that he was standing in front of the Young Master and the woman.
On the other hand, the expression of Senior Brother Zhang, who had the highest cultivation of them all, turned grim. He formed a sigil with one hand and lightning began to flicker at the tip of his fingers. However, his expression changed drastically in the next moment. That was because a humanoid figure appeared behind the tigers robust body.
That figure was none other than Lu Ye. When the tiger lunged forward to attack rashly, he had no time toe up with a countermeasure. He practically rushed out at the same time as the tiger. By borrowing the tigers body to conceal himself, he managed to quietly buy himself some time. He charged toward the Young Master!
Among these four, it was obvious that the Young Master was the most respected individual. As long as he could defeat the Young Master, then all their problems could be solved easily. That was the only way out since there was no other way at the moment.
Stop him! Senior Brother Zhang shouted. Lifting his hand, he struck out at the tiger with his palm. A lightning strike visible to the naked eye shot out of his palm andnded squarely on the tigers body. The tiger roared in pain. The sound of its roar reverberated through the sky and a visible st of air spread out.
The tigers roar caused Senior Brother Zhang to be dazed for a moment. Thus, he thought to himself. [What a fearsome creature. If this fierce beast were to grow and develop, it would surely attain strength that far exceeded its peers.]
He touched his Storage Bag lightly and two machetes appeared in his hands. Turning the machetes upside down, he rushed forward to attack the tiger
On the other hand, Lu Ye pressed his hand against his knife and poured his Spiritual Power into his legs. He charged toward the sturdy man like a gust of wind.
The other party let out a shout and his Spiritual Power surged violently. His originally tight-fitting shirt exploded apart as his already well-built figure seemed to swell considerably. After that, he touched his Storage Bag, took out a 60-centimetre-long hammer, and held it horizontally in front of him.
Just by standing there, he gave off a sense of impregnability. It was not going to be easy to break through his defence and attack the Young Master standing behind him. Besides, the Young Master himself was no ordinary person. He was a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Furthermore, there was also another woman next to him who was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
As the distance between them rapidly closed, Lu Ye pressed his hand against the hilt of his knife as though he was about to draw his knife. Contrarily, there was no glint of a de when he raised his hand. Instead, a zing fire snake appeared out of thin air and slithered toward the burly man.
The Fiery Snake Talisman Paper! the sturdy man shouted. At the same time, he cursed his opponent for being cunning. [Sneaky little bastard! He clearly pretended as if he was going to pull out his knife! I cant believe he secretly took out a Spirit Talisman Paper instead!]
The attack had overwhelmed him. The best solution at this time was to avoid the attack from this Spirit Talisman Paper. The Fiery Snake Talisman Paper was quite powerful and the range of the attack was quiterge. Even so, he was perfectly capable of dodging out of the way if he wanted to. It was just that he would be forced into a defensive situation after that.
Unfortunately, the Young Master was standing right behind him. How could he dare to dodge aside? Gritting his teeth, he hastily took out a Golden Body Talisman Paper and applied it to his body. At the same time, he activated his Spiritual Power to protect himself.
There was a huge explosion of fire and light. The Fire Snake that came dancing through the air swallowed the figure of the burly man. In the next moment, he came out of the mes unscathed and rushed toward Lu Ye, who was also charging straight at him. Raising therge hammer in his hand, he shouted furiously. Did you think a mere Spirit Talisman Paper could hurt me!?
Those arrogant words had just left his mouth when the light of a de shed. He couldnt help staggering backward and reaching out to clutch at his throat. He even dropped his weapon to the ground.
Guh Uh He gasped for breath. However, blood gushed out from between his hands. He could not stop the blood from flowing out no matter what he did. He could not understand what was going on. [Why couldnt the Spiritual Power that I put so much effort into tempering even block a single attack from that man!?]
The protection of the Golden Body Talisman Paper he applied on himself had been broken by the Fiery Snake Talisman Paper. Even so, he still had the protection of his Spiritual Power. Moreover, he was a body tempering cultivator. That was part of the reason why he always stood in front of the Young Master.
In the Cultivation World, body tempering cultivators were the most durable among all other cultivators. The more powerful body tempering cultivators could even resist various Spell Techniques of the spell cultivator with their body alone. Although he was a weak body tempering cultivator who was not capable of fully bringing out the strengths of a body tempering cultivator, his defence should not have been prated with just a single blow from the other party.
Be that as it may, the reality was that his neck had been sliced open by a single move from Lu Ye. If not for the toughness of his body, that attack would have severed his head from his neck! The destructive power of the long knife Spirit Artefact endowed with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern was beyond his imagination.
Simrly, Lu Ye himself was extremely surprised. He never imagined that he would be able to kill his opponent in a single strike. He had instinctively swung the knife, hoping to force his opponent back. Never did he imagine that the result of his attack would be so unexpectedly powerful.
Chapter 64: Release the Hostage!
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 64: Release the Hostage!
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye guessed that this had something to do with his recent improvements in terms of strength. It would seem that the stronger he became, the more powerful his Spiritual Patterns would be. In short, his Spiritual Patterns existed on the basis of his Spiritual Power.
Furthermore, the long knife in his hand was still very much different from the ordinary iron sword he used before even though it just barely qualified to be considered a Spirit Artefact. Likewise, the power of the same Spiritual Pattern endowed upon a Spirit Artefact and an ordinary iron sword was also different.
A Fiery Snake Talisman Paperbined with an attack fortified by the Sharp Edge allowed him to kill a body-tempering cultivator in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm when he was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
In the meantime, his body barely paused as he bypassed the body-tempering cultivator and reached the gaudily-dressed Young Master in an instant.
The Young Master was clearly frightened. The main reason was that everything had happened too quickly. He had just been thinking about studying the Spirit trapped inside the Mystic Spirit Bell. All of a sudden, a snow-white tiger rushed out after Senior Brother Zhang threw a punch at the huge bell. The tiger was closely followed by a vicious cultivator that immediately came for the kill. Before he could understand the situation, the body-tempering cultivator standing in front of him copsed to the ground while clutching at his own neck
At the juncture of life-and-death, he instinctively shoved the woman in his embrace in front of him.
The woman waspletely caught off guard when he pushed her toward Lu Yes de. Looking absolutely terrified, the woman could only watch helplessly as the sharp and cold light of a de shed in front of her eyes. She only had time to activate her Spiritual Power to protect herself before her vision began to turn upside-down and she quickly lost consciousness.
Taking advantage of the short time bought by the womans sacrifice, the Young Master hurriedly took out a Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag, poured his Spiritual Power into it, raised his hand, and threw it out in front of him.
Lu Yes ferocity had scared him out of his wits. He rarely fought anybody directly. Whenever he killed anybody, his two Senior Brothers would usually capture the opponent or beat his opponent half-to-death first before they let him deal the finishing blow. Thus, he had never experienced such a dangerous and adrenaline-fueled scene in the past. He even forgot to retrieve his Mystic Spirit Bell to protect himself.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was extremely calm from the beginning to the end. He had a clear goal in front of him. Therefore, he managed to be as imposing as a Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master even though he was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm!
The character of a person was rted to their past experiences. In this case, it was only natural for a Young Master who had been enjoying all sorts of luxuries since he was a child to be inferior to a miner who had struggled just to survive.
All of a sudden, a whip-like attack appeared in front of Lu Ye. He was not surprised by this. Even that burly man had a Golden Body Talisman Paper to protect himself, so this Young Master would definitely have one too.
The Spiritual Power in his body surged and erupted. Both his Macrocosmic Orbit and his Microcosmic Orbit were operating to their limits. His eyes overflowed with Spiritual Power, allowing him to clearly see where that attack wouldnd. Then, something triangr that looked like a shield withplicated and intricate patterns flowing across it appeared on his chest. It was the Protection Spiritual Pattern!
Almost at the same moment that the Spiritual Pattern was formed, the attack from the Spirit Talisman Paper arrived. He felt a huge force smashing right into him, causing him to feel a sudden tightness in his chest and a shortness of breath. He did not know how much the attack had impacted him. Nevertheless, he had no time to pay attention to his injuries at the moment. He had already rushed in front of the Young Master. Under the Young Masters helpless gaze, he stabbed his knife forward.
The protection formed from the Spiritual Power that the Young Master had managed to call up in his haste was as flimsy as paper mach. It was prated by the long knife in an instant and the sharp de pierced through his shoulder, causing blood to stter everywhere.
A blood-curdling scream rang out.
On the other hand, Lu Ye pulled his knife out, turned around, and came to stand behind the Young Master with his knife pressed horizontally against the Young Masters neck!
The Young Masters screams stopped abruptly. His entire body froze in ce when he felt the cold touch of metal on his neck.
Only a total of five seconds had passed since the tiger revealed itself until now. During that time, Lu Ye had broken through the defence of the sturdy body-tempering cultivator, cut down that woman in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and then captured the Young Master in front of him. In between, he had consecutively activated the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern thrice and the Protection Spiritual Pattern once.
There was no time for him to think about anything throughout the entire process. He had unsheathed his knife and killed those people all in one go. It had all happened very quickly.
Ow! The tigers low roar came out. Its powerful figure flew backward, mmed against the rock cliff nearby, and slid to the ground. It was no match for the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master at all. Therefore, it immediately fell into a disadvantage in just a few short moments.
Even so, the winner showed no signs of joy whatsoever at his victory. He turned back to look at the chaotic battlefield behind him with eyes filled withplete disbelief
Junior Brother Sun was lying on the ground, clutching at his neck. His eyes were staring wide open and his body was twitching endlessly. Although he had yet to die, there was no saving him with that level of injury.
Junior Sister Yuans headless corpse was lying by the side, blood spurting out of her neck with a gurgling sound. Her pretty head had rolled to the side with a lingering expression of horror and fear that remained on her face.
The Young Master was bleeding profusely from his shoulder. A long knife was pressed against his neck and a hidden figure stood behind him. Only the eyes of that figure were exposed, staring at Senior Brother Zhang like a lone wolf. The look in those eyes was ferocious and decisive!
[Whats going on!?] Senior Brother Zhang felt his scalp tingling in fear. [I only fought the snow-white tiger for a moment. How did my three otherpanions end up in a situation where two were dead while the other was injured and captured in those few moments!? And, who are these people!?]
The tiger that was sent flying earlier got to its feet and walked over. However, it did not rashly attack Senior Brother Zhang again. That was because it could sense that it was no match for the other party. Besides, Lu Ye had already managed to capture one of their opponents. There was no need to be so anxious anymore.
Release the Spirit! Lu Ye shouted, staring at Senior Brother Zhang.
Who are you? Senior Brother Zhang asked through gritted teeth. The names of numerous aplished opponents shed through his mind, but he could not match Lu Yes appearance to any of those names.
Lu Ye withdrew his long knife and brutally stabbed it into the Young Masters leg.
A piercing scream rang out and the Young Master practically fell to his knees. It was only because Lu Ye was holding him up that he managed to regain his footing.
Pulling out the long knife again, Lu Ye pressed the knife back against the Young Masters neck once more as blood sttered in the air. He looked at Senior Brother Zhang and repeated his previous words. Release the Spirit!
You Senior Brother Zhang felt as though his eyes were going to pop out of his eye sockets. He had underestimated Lu Yes decisiveness and ferocity. Even though all he did was utter something non-relevant, his actions had caused the Young Master to suffer another wound. Thus, the meaning behind the other partys actions came across loud and clear. If he dared to speak nonsense again, the Young Master would be stabbed again! He did not know where the knife was going to stab next.
With the Young Master being held hostage, even a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him waspletely powerless since he did not dare to rush forward. It really made him feel extremely aggrieved. Ensuring the safety of the Young Master was his top priority at this moment. Otherwise, he would not be able toplete his mission and report back to his superiors. Looking gloomy, he said, The Mystic Spirit Bell is a Spirit Artefact handed down by one of the Seniors of our Sect. It is not easy to release the huge bell once it is triggered. It will take some time!
*Slice.* The light of a de gleamed for a moment and an arm went flying in response.
The Young Master who was being held captive in front of Lu Ye was taken aback for a moment, then his entire body began trembling violently. He screamed loudly but did not dare to make any strange movements. That was because the weapon pressed against his neck could slice through his neck in a heartbeat at any time.
He roared, Zhang Wu, are you trying to kill this Young Master!? I will punish your entire family down to thest ancestor!
Release the Spirit! Lu Yes voice was low. It was obvious that he was losing his patience.
Ill do it! Ill do it! Ill release the Spirit! Snot and tears were flowing down the Young Masters face unchecked. The pain was driving him crazy and the only reason he did not faint was that he was also a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. He lifted his remaining arm with great difficulty and cast a Secret Technique. Following that, the Mystic Spirit Bell that was upside-down on the ground immediately flew upward. The huge bell spun slightly and shrank rapidly before it flew back into the Young Masters hand.
Lu Ye was stunned. Only then did he realise that the Spirit Artefact had been under the Young Masters control
Yi Yi, who had been trapped inside the huge bell, was freed from her restraints. She immediately rushed toward the tiger, plunged headlong into the tigers body, and disappeared out of sight.
.
Although Senior Brother Zhang had intended to pull some dirty tricks, he did not dare to act rashly. ncing at Lu Ye, who was hiding behind the Young Master, he slowly said, Let the Young Master go. Todays affairs will end here and well leave it at that. I can swear on the Heavenly Oath.
Okay! Lu Ye responded. He reached out and shoved the Young Master from behind.
The Young Master staggered forward a few steps. Before he could rejoice at escaping the jaws of death, he felt a fountain of hot liquid gushing out from his neck.
How dare you!? Senior Brother Zhang roared wildly.
Chapter 65: Combined Attack
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 65: Combined Attack
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
This battle started extremely unexpectedly. Lu Ye didnt even know who his opponent was. Even so, the oue of this battle was fixed the moment he followed the tiger out onto the battlefield. Either his opponent died, or he died!
There was no writtenw in the Cultivation World. A persons cultivation was thew, so to speak. Therefore, it would not have worked out if a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him had tried to reason with his opponent. He might even put himself in a difficult position instead. This became a situation that would only end with death the moment he made his move and killed two people in quick session.
Zhang Wu had been willing to take the Heavenly Oath, iming that he was willing to overlook everything that happened today as long as Lu Ye released the Young Master. However, that oath would only affect him!
It had to be said that Lu Ye was currently holding the Young Master of a Sect hostage. How could a person of such standing allow this matter to end peacefully after suffering such humiliation? Even if Lu Ye forced him to take the Heavenly Oath, he would still have an entire Sect behind him! Moreover, the others would not be bound by the Heavenly Oath.
In the end, the most usible oue in this situation would be that Lu Ye was hunted down by the whole Sect. If he wanted to avoid that oue, then there was only one thing he could do. He had to wipe out all of his opponents!
Of the four cultivators, two were dead and one was seriously injured.
At this moment, the Young Masters neck had been sliced open by that long knife and blood was gushing out of his wound. Even though he was covering his wound with his hands, his efforts were showing little sess.
At the same time that Zhang Wu had let out his furious roar, Lu Ye kicked the Young Master squarely in the back and sent thetter flying forward to fall in Zhang Wus direction.
Save me! The Young Master wed at the air and shouted while his body was in mid-air.
When Zhang Wu saw the Young Master falling headlong in his direction, he also vaguely noticed that Lu Ye was hiding behind the Young Master and rushing in for the kill. Therefore, he panicked for a moment.
[If I dont catch the Young Master, he will definitely fall to the ground. That will only aggravate his injuries and he might lose any chance of rescue as a result. That person was very careful in his execution. The Young Master might still survive despite the injury to his neck if he receives timely treatment. But, I wont be able to defend against the opponents attack if I catch the Young Master!]
That momentary hesitation made him realise just how cunning the enemy was.
In the end, he did not dare to let the Young Master fall to the ground. A punishment was inevitable since he had failed his mission as a bodyguard, but he could at least avoid the death penalty if he kept the Young Master alive. Conversely, there would be no other ending for him than death if the Young Master died here.
Holding his two machetes backward in his hands, he took two steps forward and raised his hands to catch the Young Master who came flying at him. At the same time, he activated his Spiritual Power.
He had already seen through the opponents cultivation. That person was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. As a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, he was much stronger than his opponent. For that reason, he was confident that his Spiritual Power would be able to protect him even if his opponent attacked.
*Stab* The sound of a long knife stabbing into flesh rang out. The Young Master, who had just been caught by Zhang Wu, suddenly widened his eyes and opened his mouth in shock. The intense pain that followed made him scream again.
Likewise, Zhang Wus pupils contracted to the extreme at this moment. He watched as the knife pierced right through the Young Masters chest and stabbed straight at him. Thus, he exerted all his strength to call upon his Spiritual Power to protect himself.
If he had seen how Lu Ye previously broke through the body-tempering cultivators defence, he would not have been so blindly confident in his abilities. Unfortunately, he had been fighting the tiger at the time and failed to see how the body-tempering cultivator died.
Blessed with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern, the cold de gleamed with a ray of light. Even the protection formed by the Spiritual Power of a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master could not defend against this sharp de. Theyer of protection around him only managed to hinder the knifes progress for a moment before the long knife punctured through his defence.
He felt paining from his chest. At the juncture of life and death, he abruptly arched his body to prevent the knife from prating further into his body. At the same time, he released the Young Master whom he had been holding in his arms, crossed his machetes in front of him, and stopped the long knifes progress.
The de sank 8 centimetres deep into his body but could not prate any further than that. He let out a sigh of relief in response. Just when he thought that he had sessfully blocked the other partys attack, a gust of wind blew from behind him.
Shit! He immediately realised what was going on. The other party might be alone, but there was also a snow-white tiger apanying that man. The one lunging at him from behind was none other than that tiger. He was just about to react when his shoulders sagged as though something heavy was pressing down on him. At the same time, he heard an ear-splitting scream next to him. His mind nked out for a moment when the sound entered his ears.
The Young Master, who was being held in the middle by Lu Yes long knife, was not dead yet. He was currently facing Zhang Wus direction. His mouth fell wide open when he saw a Spirit, who was as exquisite as a porcin doll, pounce on Zhang Wus back and scream in Zhang Wus ear.
Immediately after that, the powerful figure of a tiger lunged forward and mmed its two front paws against Zhang Wus back. The overwhelming force caused his body that was bent over to straighten in an instant and propelled him several steps forward. Then, a stabbing sound rang out. The long knife pierced through his chest and came out the other side of his body!
As soon as the attack seeded, Lu Ye immediately retracted his knife and leaped backward. He wasnt the only one to do so. The tiger that had mmed into Zhang Wus back also nimbly retreated by several metres.
Almost as soon as the tiger retreated, Zhang Wu stabbed his two machetes at the empty air behind him. Afterward, he staggered backward several steps and lost all the strength in his body. Hurriedly using his machetes to prop himself up, he narrowly avoided the fate of falling to his knees on the ground.
Lu Ye looked at the wound on Zhang Wus chest and frowned. His attack had been aimed at the other partys heart, but from the results, it would seem that he had failed to achieve his aim. The trajectory of his attack was off, causing him to fail to take his opponents life in one go.
When Lu Ye pulled out his knife and Zhang Wu staggered backward, the Young Master who had been held up between them copsed to the ground. Blood stained the ground below him and his body twitched slightly several times before hepletely stopped moving altogether.
At this point, Zhang Wu could no longer spare the time to check on the Young Master anymore. All he knew was that he was going to die here today! [I am a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master! I cant believe I was overwhelmed by thebined attack of a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master and a tiger in just 10 seconds or so If I did not experience this myself, I would never have believed this to be possible! Just what kind of Spirit Artefact does the other party have that can prate my Spiritual Power defences in a single blow!?]
From the severity of his injuries, he knew that he was not going to survive for long. Although he was not going to die for the time being, an injury like this would only worsen if it was not treated immediately. Besides, judging by the other partys ruthless behaviour, it was clear that he would not be allowed to leave this ce alive.
Panting slightly, he lifted one hand to press against the back of his other hand. The back of his hand immediately began to glow with a faint red light.
Lu Ye watched Zhang Wu warily. ording to his estimation, Zhang Wu should be severely injured. In that case, there was no need for him to continue fighting with all his strength. He only needed to drag the battle out long enough and he would be able to kill his opponent sooner orter. However, he suddenly had a bad feeling when he saw the red light glowing from the back of Zhang Wus hand!
Amber! While shouting, he was already lunging forward at Zhang Wu with his knife.
Zhang Wu quickly got to his feet. He swayed unsteadily and blood gushed out of the wound in his chest like a fountain. Even so, he wasughing maniacally. The Nine Star n will never forgive you! Youre dead!
Lu Ye shed down with his knife, but Zhang Wu raised his two machetes in front of him and blocked the attack.
Be that as it may, Zhang Wu was unable to defend against the tiger that seized the right timing to pounce from the side. The tiger fiercely bit down on his leg and tore off a huge chunk of flesh.
.
Yi Yi also emerged and clung to his back, screaming endlessly in his ears to make herself as useful as possible.
All of a sudden, the tiger that had torn off a chunk of his flesh was sent flying backward with a kick. Yi Yi, who was clinging to his back, was sent flying by the defensive power of his Spiritual Power. After that, he shifted his two machetes.
Lu Ye felt his centre of gravity shifting. Although he quickly stabilised himself again, the sharp and cold light of a de entered his vision.
Chapter 66: Nine Star Clan and Mystic Sect
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 66: Nine Star n and Mystic Sect
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Zhang Wu was in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Moreover, he clearly had morebat experience than Lu Ye. The two machetes in his hands were dancing so swiftly that it was a whirlwind of movements.
Lu Yes opponents second attack was already stabbing diagonally toward him at a very high speed by the time Lu Ye had brought his knife up horizontally to block his opponents first attack. At this moment, it was clearly toote for him to retract the knife and defend.
Just as Zhang Wu thought that his attack was about to seed, a small triangr thing that looked like a miniature shield suddenly appeared on the surface of Lu Yes body. There was a loud nging noise as the machete struck the Protection Spiritual Pattern. Thus, the brutal attack was blocked by the Protection Spiritual Pattern.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye went along with the shift in his centre of gravity and slid sideways. At the same time, he shed out diagonally with his long knife! The sharp de opened up a long wound down Zhang Wus arm, causing blood and flesh to curl.
The tiger also took this opportunity to lunge forward. The tigers roar reverberated throughout the Heavens. On the other hand, Yi Yis figure floated about erratically like a Ghost to distract Zhang Wus attention.
It was three against one!
A short whileter, Lu Ye panted heavily. The long knife in his hand had pierced through Zhang Wus chest once more. This time around, it stabbed directly into his opponents heart.
Consequently, Zhang Wus head drooped, both hands fell to his sides, and his weapons ttered to the ground: He was dead.
This arduous battle ended in Lu Yes victory. Even so, he had paid quite a high price for his win. Leaving aside the fact that he had exhausted most of his Spiritual Power, he even had four wounds on his body that were deep enough to see the bone. Blood practically dyed his entire shirt red and a thick stench of blood permeated his surroundings.
The Protection Spiritual Pattern was indeed capable of defending against the opponents attacks. Unfortunately, there were quite a few asions where he didnt even have the time to activate the Protection Spiritual Pattern at all. The other partys attacks were too fast for him. That was the gap brought about by the difference in their cultivation andbat experience. Fortunately, none of his injuriesnded on his vital spots.
He had fought a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master with the strength of a Second-Order Spirit Creek Master under highly advantageous circumstances where he managed to severely injure the other party in addition to seizing the initiative in battle. Even so, he had paid such a high price just to take his enemy down. It made him deeply realise his own shorings.
He was not the only one with serious injuries. Both the tiger and Yi Yi were wounded too. Half of the tigers body was covered in blood while Yi Yis figure had dimmed considerably.
He hurriedly cleaned up the battlefield and grabbed the Storage Bags of those people, not forgetting to take the Young Masters Mystic Spirit Bell as well. Then, he swung himself up on the tigers back and shouted, Go!
The tigers figure leaped forward, charging straight for the Split Sky Gorge.
Halfway through the journey, Lu Yes vision began to blur. His body was on the verge of copse. Knowing that he could not hold on any longer, he only managed to utter one sentence to Yi Yi and the tiger. If you encounter a fork in the road, dont arbitrarily wander around on your own. Find a ce to hide instead. We can talk about the rest when I wake up.
Yi Yi didnt even have time to react to those words when his body slumped to the side and he nearly fell off the tigers back. Thus, she hurriedly leaned forward to support his body.
Approximately half an hour after the tiger left with Lu Ye on its back, a figure suddenly appeared on that battlefield. Looking around at the traces of battle that were left behind, he raised his head and shouted, Found it!
A short whileter, two other figures came over from not far away. The three of them looked at the chaotic battlefield and knew that the situation was very bad.
What do we do?
Notify Senior Brother Cao Ye, one of them said with a sigh. He activated his Battlefield Imprint and sent out a message.
Another short while passed. A burly figurended on the battlefield. The aura around his body was very dense. Looking at the aura around him, it was stronger than what Lu Ye had once seen on a Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.
Senior Brother Cao! The three of them greeted the man.
Cao Ye stepped forward to investigate the four corpses of his Sect members.
Judging from what was left on the battlefield, Junior Brother Sun had gotten his neck slit and bled to death quickly; Junior Sister Yuan had been beheaded; and the Young Master had sustained injuries on his thigh, shoulder de, and neck. He even lost an arm. However, he died from the fatal wound in his chest. Zhang Wu, on the other hand, was covered in injuries. It was obvious that he had experienced a huge battle. Simrly, he died from a stab to the heart.
Trash! Gritting his teeth, he cursed angrily. He simply could not understand how the Young Master who was protected by the Mystic Spirit Bell could end up dead. It had to be said that although the Mystic Spirit Bell was only a Low-Grade Spirit Artefact, its defensive properties were fairly strong. As long as the Mystic Spirit Bell was activated for protection in the case of danger, it could even withstand the attacks of a Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master for a short while. There was no way anybody below the Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm could even hope to prate the defences of the Mystic Spirit Bell in a short period of time.
In the Outer Circle of the battlefield, forget a Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, even a Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master would be hard to find. A Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master and a Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master were existences akin to the overlords of thisnd. Cultivators with that level of cultivation would generally oversee the bases of their Sects and rarely leave the ce. He would not havee out here if he had not received a message from Zhang Wu.
The Young Master had the protection of the Mystic Spirit Bell, as well as a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like Zhang Wu escorting him. That was why both Cao Ye and Dong Shu Ye had felt at ease to let him wander around outside. Whats more, this ce was still within the territory of the Nine Star n Nevertheless, he was killed within the territory of his own Sect!
[How am I supposed to exin this situation to the Sect Master!?] It could be said that the entire Nine Star n had beenpletely humiliated in this incident. Cao Ye could almost imagine how furious the Elders of the Sect would be when the news was reported back to the Sect.
Send a message back to the base. Seal off the area within 50 kilometres of this ce and search for a young man apanied by a white tiger. He is probably in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm or the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm and uses a knife-type Spirit Artefact. Regardless of the factions, we will reward those who provide any leads on this man with 30 Spirit Stones; those who manage to kill him with 500 Spirit Stones; and those who capture him alive with 1,000 Spirit Stones! His low voice rang out.
The three other cultivators looked grim and hurriedly went to carry out the orders.
Zhang Wu had only managed to send a simple message that contained just one sentence before he died: Young man with white tiger. Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Even so, Cao Ye had gained a lot of information from his investigation.
Zhang Wu had fought with the killer before being killed. Therefore, Cao Ye deduced that the other party was stronger than a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. It was most likely that the perpetrator was a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master or a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master instead. Otherwise, that person could not have managed to kill Zhang Wu. As for the part where the other party used a knife That was very simple. Both the Young Master and Zhang Wu carried injuries that clearly indicated they were caused by a knife. In addition, the opponent most likely had quite a good Spirit Artefact. How could he have killed Zhang Wu otherwise? It was impossible for the weak to defeat the strong.
While lost in thought, Cao Ye suddenly raised his head to look in a certain direction and shouted, Whos there!?
As soon as Cao Yes voice rang out, a handsome man with a charming attitude dressed in green clothes walked out from the shadows. That man wore a longsword at his waist. His hand was pressed against the hilt of his knife as he glided over with light steps, acting as though he was a King patrolling his own territory.
The moment Cao Ye saw this man, he reacted as though he was facing a great enemy. Quickly activating his Spiritual Power, he shouted through gritted teeth, Wang Yang!
It was no wonder that he was so nervous. Although he was in the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm, the other party was in the Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Even with only one Realm difference between them, there was a dividing line on the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm and the Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Therefore, a cultivator would experience a huge difference in strength after crossing this dividing line.
Having suffered great humiliation at the hands of this man during their past battles, he immediately felt troubled as soon as he saw this person appearing in this ce. He had the confidence that he could escape, seeing as he was a body tempering cultivator. Besides, he had a tough hide. Even if he could not win against Wang Yang, it was still possible for him to escape alive. Unfortunately, the three otherpanions behind him did not have the ability to do so.
[Why didnt this damned dog stay quietly inside the Mystic Sects base!? Why did hee here!?] He cursed in his heart. At the same time, he knew that themotion had been so huge that it had attracted the Mystic Sects attention.
Chapter 67: The Hunt Is Starting
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 67: The Hunt Is Starting
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The bases of the Nine Star n and the Mystic Sect were located next to each other. Seeing as they belonged to different factions, it was only natural that friction would exist between them. It could be said that they fought so ferociously over the years that nobody could think straight anymore. The blood feud between them was so deep that it could never be resolved.
The Nine Star n was an Eighth Tier Sect. Although it was one whole Tier higher than Mystic Sect, the Mystic Sect held an advantage within the Spirit Creek Battlefield. That was why, the Eighth Tier Nine Star n had suffered greatly in the hands of the Ninth Tier Mystic Sect over the years.
In particr, this man called Wang Yang was one of the most extreme types of people in thebat cultivation faction. Hisbat power was unquestionable. In the entire Nine Star n, only Dong Shu Ye, who had remained behind to guard the base, could fight against him.
Even Cao Ye had to admit that he was not this persons opponent.
Behind Wang Yang was a young girl with her hair in twin buns. She had a delicate figure. Her appearance was pure and lovely. She walked one step behind Wang Yang, which made her seem as though she was his maid.
The truth was that this was indeed the case. Wang Yang came from arge and prominent family and that young girl was a servant who grew up with him. When he joined Mystic Sect, he had brought his maid along. Unexpectedly, both of them turned out to have extraordinary talent and aptitude for cultivation. At the moment, they were both disciples of Mystic Sect. Although they were Brother and Sister in name, they actually had a Master-Servant rtionship between them.
The Master and Servant walked to the edge of the battlefield as though they did not see Cao Ye and the others standing there. Wang Yang looked around, raised his eyebrows, and asked in surprise, Who killed your Young Master?
[I was wondering why the Nine Star n was in such an uproar tonight. It turns out that something big has happened to them.] He only came here to check out the situation after receiving the news. Otherwise, a Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him would not be allowed to leave the Sects base at will.
Cao Ye stared at Wang Yang intently, not letting any expression on thetters face go unnoticed. However, he did not see anything unusual.
Ive always told Dong Shu Ye to keep a tight leash on that piece of trash, but he refused to listen. Now, look what happened? He was murdered! Wang Yang had a gloating expression on his face that indicated he was enjoying this tragedy. He turned to look at Cao Ye. Do you know who did this?
Cao Ye did not wish to answer but had no other choice but to answer. A young man apanied by a white tiger.
Wang Yang rubbed his chin. Ive never heard of this person before. Is he a rogue cultivator? Or, a disciple from one of the major Sects who came out for training? After mulling over it for a bit, he shook his head. Whatever. Its none of my business anyway.
Run! Cao Ye shouted abruptly. At the same time, the ground beneath his feet shattered and his figure rushed off into the distance.
Haha Wang Yang chuckled. The longsword in his hand slid out of its sheath and a whip-like Sword Light shed straight at Cao Ye.
At the same time, Spiritual Power surged around the young girl who was following behind him. Despite her harmless appearance, she raised her hand and pointed a slender jade-like finger at the three other Nine Star n disciples with apleted Spell Technique at her fingertips.
A short whileter, Wang Yang returned from chasing Cao Ye. His expression was as calm and indifferent as ever.
Young Master, one got away. Xiao Zhu, his maid, walked over to report the results of her battle to him. In front of him, she was an obedient and lovely maid. However, she was a power cultivator in the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm to those Nine Star n disciples.
On average, those three Nine Star n disciples were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm or the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. How could they be a match for her? It was just that they had been quite smart. They chose to split up in different directions when they escaped. Therefore, she only managed to kill two. Thest one among them was already nowhere to be seen by the time she started chasing that one down.
Oh, well Let them go. Wang Yang responded nonchntly. Cao Ye had also managed to escape. Thus, he couldnt help sighing in amazement. [Body tempering cultivators really do have a high endurance for beatings.]
Also, call me Senior Brother! He raised a hand and tapped his fist against her head.
She immediately clutched at her head with both hands and pouted.
How many people can we send out? He asked another question.
Less than 300, she replied. But, if we include the rogue cultivators, then we have around 500 or so.
What about those in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm?
Only 6.
Tsk He curled his lips in annoyance. A bunch of useless dogs! Theyve all gone out to reap the benefits and left me to guard the empty Sect all alone. Its too much!
Needless to say, Mystic Sect had more than 300 disciples in the Spirit Creek Realm. Unfortunately, it was impossible for these people to stay in the vicinity. Doing that would not benefit anybody. Hence, the cultivators would spread out to explore and travel around. That was all the more so for cultivators in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm and above. They rarely remained in the Outer Circle simply because the benefits in the Outer Circle were far too few. That was why most of them would generally choose to enter the ces closer to the Inner Circles once they advance into the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm or above.
ordingly, the low-level cultivation disciples of the Middle and Large Sects would alsoe to Mystic Sects territory to train. Nevertheless, they had to ept being mobilised to a certain degree while receiving Mystic Sects protection in this ce.
It wasnt just the case for Mystic Sect. All the Sects in the Outer Circle operated in the same manner. Sects of various sizes had close rtionships with each other in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Simrly, their disciples would interact with each other frequently.
Unfortunately, it was also precisely because of this reason that Mystic Sect only had six Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters that could be deployed Of these six, two had only just advanced into the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm recently. As such, they had not had time to leave yet. On the other hand, the remaining four were in their forties or older. There was not much room for improvement in terms of their cultivation.
There was a wide age range among those in the Spirit Creek Realm. Some, like Lu Ye, had only just started practising for some time. Then, there were also those old-timers who had been cultivating for decades. There were no exceptions; the people in the second groupcked both talent and aptitude for cultivation. Hence, their cultivation was the result of grinding for a lifetime.
Young Master, are you thinking Xiao Zhu nced at Wang Yang.
Wang Yang grinned. Send out a message. The hunt has started! Ask all the little guys to get their blood pumping! Also, pay extra attention to a young man with a white tiger. If theres any news about him, report it to me immediately!
Okay!
Inside the base of the Nine Star n, Dong Shu Ye frowned as he studied Cao Ye, who was covered in wounds. What happened to you?
The corners of Cao Yes mouth twitched slightly. I ran into that lunatic, Wang Yang!
Upon hearing the name Wang Yang, Dong Shu Ye could not stop his facial muscles from spasming slightly. He fell silent for a moment before he asked, In other words, news of this has spread?
Cao Ye sighed. We caused such a hugemotion. There was no way we could have concealed this matter.
Do you think Mystic Sect has anything to do with the Young Masters death?
He thought back to Wang Yangs expression at the time and shook his head. I dont think so. Wang Yang only came to investigate the situation after receiving word about themotion we were making. Also, he seemed surprised to see the Young Masters corpse. More importantly, with his arrogance, he would not have denied having a hand in the Young Masters death if Mystic Sect had been involved. Rather, he would have been boasting about it.
Dong Shu Ye nodded slightly. Thats true.
The blood feud between these two Sects could not be resolved. If the other party had truly taken the Yang Masters life, it was impossible for them to keep quiet about it.
Ive already sent a message to seal off the surrounding 50 kilometres. The cultivation of the Young Masters killer is not that high, so he should not be able to leave this ce so quickly. As long as his whereabouts are exposed, he will not be able to escape easily.
I just fear that Mystic Sect will get in the way. He scowled.
Its a given that Mystic Sect will make a move. But, we still need to give the Elders of the Sect an exnation for the Young Masters death. Otherwise, both you and I will be in deep trouble.
He sighed. I am unable to leave my post in the base, so I will leave the external affairs to you.
Senior Brother, please rest assured. Cao Ye nodded. Although he had been injured by Wang Yang, his injuries were nothing more than flesh wounds. With the toughness of his body, he would more or less recoverpletely after a nights rest.
By the way, the Young Masters corpse Dong Shu Ye recalled another relevant matter.
Cao Ye bit the bullet and said, I will go and bring the Young Masters corpse back tomorrow.
He desperately prayed in his heart. [Wang Yang, that bastard, had better not have taken the Young Masters corpse away. But, based on that guys temperament, he probably will not do something so tasteless.]
Chapter 68: Plight
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 68: Plight
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the darkness, Lu Ye slowly regained his senses and immediately felt the paining from his wounds. There was the sound of heavy breathing next to him. It was Amber. Then, he slowly opened his eyes to look around the environment he was in right now. It was a deep and dark tunnel. The sound of wind whistling through his ears clearly indicated that this was not a sealed tunnel. Rather, it was open at both ends.
Upon realising this point, he immediately understood that he was probably still within the Split Sky Gorge. He did not know how long he had been unconscious, but it should not be too long. Seeing as Amber had not brought him out of the Split Sky Gorge, something unexpected probably urred.
It was marked on the 10-point map that the Split Sky Gorge had extremelyplicated terrain. Upon entering the Split Sky Gorge, it would seem like just any ordinary canyon at first. The terrain on both ends might be a little steep. However, further inward, the canyon would be separated by a solitary mountain peak and one road would split into two. Beyond that, two would turn into four and four would turn into eight
At the end, there would be as many as more than 10 roads within the Split Sky Gorge. Furthermore, these roads might not bepletely independent. The bottom of the mountain peaks that separated these roads were full of tunnels that were opened at both ends. Therefore, it was possible to travel between these paths by using these tunnels.
The constantly splitting roads and the countless tunnels that connected these roads together made the depths of the Split Sky Gorge into an extremely huge naturalbyrinth. That was also the reason why Lu Ye had chosen to pass through the Split Sky Gorge. With such aplex terrain, it would be difficult for anybody to figure out their direction. The only exception being the cultivators who lived here for a long time.
On the other hand, he had a highly valuable 10-point map in his possession. With the map in hand, there was no need for him to worry about getting lost. He would only need to follow the directions written on the map to safely cross the Split Sky Gorge.
It was just that he never expected to encounter trouble outside the Split Sky Gorge, which resulted in the slightly troublesome situation at the moment. The tunnel he was in right now was probably a tunnel in one of the random mountain peaks. In other words, he was currently inside the Split Sky Gorge.
He was slightly surprised to see that his outer shirt had been taken off when he sat up. Somebody had torn it into strips to bandage his wounds. Judging from the clumsy technique, it was probably Yi Yis doing. It was obvious that Ambercked that ability.
Lu Ye, are you awake? Yi Yi floated over from the side, looking overjoyed.
Amber also lifted its head and nced at him.
Lu Ye responded with a grunt, checking the injuries on his body. He had taken 2 Healing Pills before fainting. At the moment, his wounds were clearly showing signs of improvement. Nevertheless, it would take a few more days for him to recoverpletely.
Although Zhang Wu had severely injured him, the most dangerous injury on his body was the sh wound that he received from the Young Master with the use of a Spirit Talisman Paper. At the time, Lu Ye had managed to activate the Protection Spiritual Pattern in the nick of time. Even so, the results indicated that the shing attack had prated the defence of the Protection Spiritual Pattern. There was a wound about 3 centimetres deep right above his heart.
It had to be said that even Zhang Wu had failed to break through the defence of the Protection Spiritual Pattern, but that Spirit Talisman Paper had seeded in doing so. It only went to show just how powerful the Spirit Talisman Paper that the Young Master had activated in his desperation was. If not for the Protection Spiritual Pattern, that attack would have taken Lu Yes life.
After Lu Ye confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his body except a slight feeling of weakness, he took out a set of clothes from his Storage Bag and got dressed. Then, he took out a water bag and some food. He tossed a portion to the tiger and began eating his own share.
How long have I been asleep? he asked while eating.
A day and a night. Yi Yi sat cross-legged in front of him and answered his question in a soft voice.
What happened?
There are many people around. They are probably searching for us. We nearly exposed our whereabouts on several asions, and then we got lost
He nodded. That was within his expectations.
In the beginning, Lu Ye had no intention of struggling desperately against Zhang Wu after using the Young Master to inflict heavy damage on thetter. With that injury, Zhang Wu would only be weaker and weaker as the battle went on. Killing him once hepletely exhausted himself was undoubtedly a better strategy. Unfortunately, Lu Ye knew that his original n would not work the moment he saw the back of Zhang Wus hand glowing with a faint red light.
The Battlefield Imprint on the back of a cultivators hand not only recorded certain information but could also be used formunication. It was obvious that Zhang Wu was calling for backup at the time, so Lu Ye had no choice but to end things as quickly as possible.
Lu Ye had wanted to cross the Split Sky Gorge as soon as possible after killing Zhang Wu. As long as they crossed the Split Sky Gorge, that would mean leaving the territory that the Nine Star n controlled so that there was nothing the Nine Star n could do against him.
Judging from the current situation, it would seem that the Nine Star n had responded faster than he expected. Arge number of cultivators had already made their way into the Split Sky Gorge and were searching for his whereabouts. The Young Master of the Sect had been killed after all. It was reasonable for the Nine Star n to react a little more strongly that he expected.
He was still rtively safe at the moment, but the current situation was certainly not promising. Going up against an entire Sect alone, even if that Sect was only in the Eighth Tier, was more than what he could bear. When it came down to it, he was only a weak cultivator in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. It had only been three months since the day he entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
He got lost in his thoughts while eating.
It was impossible for him to face this crisis with his strength alone. Mystic Sect was located next to Nine Star n. Even though these two Sects were affiliated with different factions, they were located so close to each other. It was almost a given that there would be grievances between them. Therefore, Mystic Sect would probably not turn a blind eye to themotion in Nine Star n. If his guess was correct, then Mystic Sect would probably take action as well.
In that case, Mystic Sect might be able to relieve him of some of these burdens. However, he could not take the initiative to seek out Mystic Sect for cooperation. There were two reasons for that. The first reason was that he could not expose his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. The second reason was that a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him had no qualification to ask for their cooperation. Naturally, that was the most ideal situation. He could not be certain whether Mystic Sect would interfere in this matter.
Im sorry! Yi Yi suddenly apologised. She could sense that Lu Ye seemed to be a little angry.
Lu Ye lifted his head to look at her. The words that came out of his mouth were vague and unclear. Did you do something wrong?
She replied, I will be more careful in the future. I wont expose our whereabouts so easily.
When she had been trapped inside the Mystic Spirit Bell, she had felt as though she was shrouded in an endless darkness. There was no light at all. It wasnt until she faintly heard Lu Yes voice that she calmed down.
If she had to be honest, the fact that he had gone to rescue her had surprised her greatly. There had been four cultivators in that ce and basically all of them had greater cultivation than him. Under those circumstances, she would not have med him if he had chosen to abandon her. When it came down to it, they only had a cooperative rtionship between them. Moreover, it had not been long since they started cooperating. They had yet to establish a deep friendship between them, so there was no reason for him to risk his safety just to rescue her. Even so, he had gone to save her anyway
In truth, this incident could not be med on her. She had been investigating their surroundings when she discovered the four cultivators of Nine Star n. She only wanted to sneak up on them to check out the situation. Who could have known that they had set up the Mystic Spirit Bell in advance? It had resulted in her immediate capture.
Ultimately, this incident only urred because she had not been careful enough. If she had not gotten so close, the Mystic Spirit Bell would not have been triggered by her presence. In the end, she med herself even more when he lost consciousness due to the severity of his wounds.
Swallowing the food in his mouth, he looked at her and said, I was the one who asked you to scout out our surroundings. Getting trapped was not your fault; saving you was only to be expected; and getting beaten up was simply because my cultivation was not good enough. You dont need to feel bad about that.
She looked at him emotionally, thinking that the person in front of her was the nicest man in the world.
Then, he changed the subject. But, if you dont discipline Amber well, then I think its better for us to part ways!
Amber Whats wrong with Amber? She waspletely bewildered.
Chapter 69: Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 69: Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Amber was eating by the side when it suddenly cowered slightly at those words. Even its eating movements became much more subdued than before.
Yi Yi immediately knew from the tigers reaction that it must have done something wrong Pursing her lips, she asked Lu Ye, What did Amber do wrong?
Lu Ye turned and red at Amber. Then, he briefly exined about how Amber had rashly rushed into the enemy camp when they went to rescue her previously. He added, Do you still remember the first of the three rules that we agreed upon?
Yi Yi obediently sat in front of him with her back straight and answered immediately, You make the final decisions in everything. If there are any disagreements, we will defer to you!
Good memory!
Following that, she turned her head to the side and shouted, Amber!
Amber whined softly. Its sturdy body slowly crept over to her. When it arrived in front of her, it lifted its gaze and looked at her pitifully. However, she simply raised her hand and pped the tiger on its head. Lu Ye told you not to act rashly. Why didnt you listen!? You should not have been so impulsive at that kind of time! You should have followed the n!
Every sentence was followed by a p.
Yi Yi was aware that the tigers impulsive actions had created more trouble for them. The incident eventually ended with Lu Ye killing those four cultivators and rescuing her from that predicament. However, if Amber had endured a little more, the situation might have ended with better results. Who could say? Perhaps, Lu Ye would not have lost consciousness because of his injuries.
The only reason she could escape back then was all thanks to Lu Yes decisiveness. If he had hesitated even slightly back when Amber had rushed out, he would have missed the opportunity and lost his advantage. Therefore, she felt indebted to him in her heart. It was also to teach Amber a lesson that she did not hold back her strength and hit the tigers head so hard that loud thuds rang out.
Thats enough. Lu Ye interrupted and gave her a stern look. I dont want to see this kind of thing happening again.
They had only just started cooperating recently, so they were still getting used to each other. Although there was a transition period where everybody had to learn how to get along, experiencing something like that once was enough. He could not guarantee that he coulde out of the situation unscathed if it happened again. Besides, he did not wish to be killed by hisrades carelessness one day.
Got it! Yi Yi nodded before turning to look at Amber. Do you understand!?
Amber let out a soft whimper that was taken as its response.
After that, she turned back to Lu Ye again and earnestly thanked him. Thank you!
This thank you of hers was both for Amber and herself. The only reason she could get out of trouble was that he had risked his life to rescue her. Furthermore, this matter was not over yet. They were currently trapped within the Split Sky Gorge, so it was still unknown as to whether they could escape this ce safely.
Lu Ye waved his hand dismissively and checked the state of his body. There was no need to worry about his injuries. They would be fully healed after a few days rest. On the other hand, he had consumed much of his Spiritual Power in his previous battle. There was a need to replenish his Spiritual Power, but he was astonished to see that the barrier of his 26th Spiritual Point was showing signs of weakening.
During his previous cultivation session, he had cultivated until he filled up his 25th Spiritual Point but did not try to unlock his 26th Spiritual Point. Now it would seem that the surge of his Spiritual Power during the battle with Zhang Wu had impacted the barrier of his 26th Spiritual Point. That was a good thing. It saved him some cultivation time.
Nevertheless, he needed to replenish his Spiritual Power before all else. It was extremely important that he remained in peak condition when he was currently in such a crisisdened situation. After all, it was hard to say when they might get attacked by their pursuers. He would not have the time to recover when that happened.
Be that as it may, he was in no hurry to start cultivating. He shot Yi Yi a look. Yi Yi immediately understood and patted Amber on the head. The Spirit and the tiger then split up, each heading toward one end of the tunnel. With the two of them monitoring the front and rear entrances of this tunnel respectively, he would not be caught like a rat in a trap inside. There would be room for them to retreat in case of danger.
Once Yi Yi and Amber left, Lu Ye lowered his head to look at the back of his hand and activated his Spiritual Power. The back of his hand shone with ayer of blue light that transformed into a few lines of words. Name: Lu Ye. Identity: Disciple of Crimson Blood Sect. Cultivation: Twenty-Five Spiritual Points. Contribution: Thirty-Four.
He stared at the row of words indicating his Contribution in amazement, feeling unsure as to how the number 34 came about. When he killed that fair-skinned man and Liu Ru Yin back at Green Cloud Mountain, he had received 8 points of Contribution. Unexpectedly, his Contribution became 34 after he killed those four people. In other words, those four people had given him a total of 26 points of Contribution.
For the time being, he was still clueless about the function of the Contribution. He had asked Yi Yi about it before, but she did not seem to know much about it. Her memory from before was severely impaired. Consequently, there were some things that she could recall and other things that she waspletely ignorant about.
In any case, there must be a use for the Contribution. As for how it was used and where or when it could be used He had no choice but to slowly figure it out on his own.
Seeing as he could not understand it, he didnt bother mulling over it any longer. He popped a Spirit Restoring Pill into his mouth and refined it into Pill Power to replenish what he had consumed. Thus, his Spiritual Power slowly recovered.
He had previously discovered that there were great differences between the efficiency of recovery and cultivation, as well as the consumption of Spirit Pills. It would seem that if he was simply recovering, the speed of recovery would be significantly faster than cultivation. The consumption was drastically lowered too.
The most straightforwardparison would be the fact that he had used nearly 200 Spirit Pills in total over a duration of 3 months to unlock up to his 25th Spiritual Point. Having exhausted his Spiritual Power in battle, he now wanted to replenish his reserves. However, it was impossible for him to consume another 200 Spirit Pills or spend another 3 months just for that. If that was the case, then the price a cultivator had to pay for every battle would be far too high.
There was a lot of wastage in cultivation when it came to the Pill Power of a Spirit Pill, not to mention that it also took a lot of effort to hone each Spiritual Point. It was a gradual step-by-step process from unlocking each Spiritual Point to filling up each Spiritual Point. But, once the Spiritual Point was fully cultivated, it became much easier and simpler to recover what was lost.
Time passed. At the same time, Spirit Pill after Spirit Pill was consumed. Lu Ye recoveredpletely after two days. Unfortunately, he only had slightly more than 20 Spirit Pills left in his possession. There was no news from Yi Yi and Amber, so it would seem that they were in a rtively safe location.
He was in no hurry to leave this ce. Seeing as he did not know about what was going on outside, leaving this ce rashly would only make the situation more troublesome. Besides, he was only two more Spiritual Points away from advancing into the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm and the barrier surrounding his 26th Spiritual Point was already loose. Since he had enough Spirit Pills on hand, he decided to first increase his cultivation by one Realm before doing anything else.
He had managed to kill off Zhang Wu with Amber and Yi Yis help. If he could reach the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, then his strength would increase even further. That would be extremely helpful for their current situation! Whats more, his injuries had yet to healpletely. It was also a good idea for him to recuperate for a few more days.
Having made up his mind, he continued to consume the Spirit Pills and urged his Spirit Power to m into the barrier of his 26th Spiritual Point.
Another five dayster, Lu Ye sat cross-legged in the tunnel somewhere in the mountainside with a serious expression. He had unlocked his 27th Spiritual Point yesterday and spent a few more Spirit Pills to charge up his 27th Spiritual Point until it was full. Hence, today was the time for him to advance into the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm!
With two previous experiences under his belt, he was very familiar with the process by now. His Spiritual Power began flowing from the 19th Spiritual Point, flowing in ordance to the training course to pass through his 20th Spiritual Point, 21st Spiritual Point, and all the way until his 27th Spiritual Point. As his Spiritual Power looped through these Nine Major Spiritual Points in an endless cycle, the speed became faster and faster until he suddenly broke through the bottleneck.
Lu Ye, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, shuddered without warning and his Spiritual Power surged through his entire body.
Chapter 70: Declaration of War
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 70: Deration of War
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the Spirit Creek Realm, every advancement into the next Realm would add another Microcosmic Orbit Cirction System to the body. Now that Lu Ye had advanced into the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, he had unlocked 27 Spiritual Points. Every 9 Spiritual Points formed a Cirction System, so he currently had 3 Microcosmic Orbit Cirction Systems in his body and his Spiritual Power flowed through them like a babbling brook in a never-ending loop.
What amazed him was that he could clearly feel that all three of these Spiritual Power Cirction Systems seemed to resonate with each other after he entered the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. This was something that had never happened before when he first entered the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm and the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. The resonance between them made the Spiritual Power in his body flow a little faster than before.
At this moment, he had more or less perfected his cultivation of the Golden Liberation Technique that he received from Manager Yang. If he connected the 27 Spiritual Points that he unlocked in a specific order, the pattern formed would depict a toad lying on the ground. The name Golden Liberation Technique which loosely tranted to a carefree toad probably came from that. Every time his Spiritual Power flowed through the Cirction System, it looked like there was a toad breathing in and out. The three Spiritual Power Cirction Systems might look independent of each other, but they actually influenced one another
Logically speaking, his strength would usually increase by approximately 30% whenever his cultivation increased by a whole Realm. However, he could feel that his strength had skyrocketed by more than 30%. It seemed to have nearly doubled instead! The realisation struck him all of a sudden: These were the additional benefits of cultivating the cultivation technique topletion.
If he had his current cultivation when he was battling against Zhang Wu, he would not have needed to pay such a heavy price. He might even be able to defeat his opponent without getting injured.
In terms of offensive power, he had the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern. That was something a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like Zhang Wu could not block even when he was still in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. In terms of defensive power, he had the Protection Spiritual Pattern. Simrly, it was also a Spiritual Pattern that Zhang Wu had not been able to prate.
Both his offence and defence were beyond the limits of his current cultivation. All that hecked was undoubtedly the experience and the necessary skills in battle. Unfortunately, something like experience could only be umted over time by personally experiencing numerous battles. As for skills He had spent at least four hours a day practising his knife throughout his journey. It had not been long since he started, so he did not dare to say he had great knife skills. Nevertheless, he could at least hold his knife much steadier than before. His attacks also flowed more smoothly now.
He had killed a few people before, so he was slowly familiarising himself with the feeling of breaking through the defensive Spiritual Power around his enemies as well as cutting into his enemies flesh. He kept this feeling in his heart, turning the feeling into a form of instinct that would naturally evolve into a superb technique.
There was no way for Lu Ye to continue cultivating anymore. He only had a few more Spirit Pills in his possession, but he had yet to obtain a new and suitable cultivation technique to practise. Besides, his injuries had healed uppletely. After giving it some thought, he stood up.
A short whileter, he gathered Yi Yi and the tiger before walking out of the tunnel he had been hiding in for the past few days.
ording to Yi Yis feedback, Mystic Sect and Nine Star n had been fighting fiercely against each other in the Split Sky Gorge over the past few days. Small skirmishes would break out from time to time, causing both sides to suffer casualties.
He quietlymended Mystic Sect in his heart. This was the exact situation he had been hoping for. It was also the reason why he managed to hide here for so long.
From the start, he had the feeling that it was impossible for Mystic Sect and Nine Star n to coexist peacefully. The moment there was argemotion in Nine Star n, Mystic Sect would definitely respond in kind. Judging from the current situation, it would seem that he had underestimated the deep blood feud between the Sects brought upon by the confrontation between the opposing factions.
This entire incident stemmed from the fact that Lu Ye had killed the four cultivators that were led by the Young Master of Nine Star n, which then triggered arge-scale search for his whereabouts. However, this incident had turned into a chaotic battle between the Spirit Creek Realm Masters of the two major Sects in the time that the main culprit had been secretly recuperating from his injuries.
He originally wanted to stir the pot, but from the looks of things, there was no need for him to go to such trouble. The current situation was in his favour. Even so, it was unrealistic for him to think of leaving just like that. He did not know how many people both Sects had deployed into the Split Sky Gorge, but he was now caught right in the middle of it. He needed to borrow strength from somebody if he wanted to get out of this situation. More urately, he needed to borrow the power of Mystic Sect.
With a n in mind, he asked Yi Yi to move ahead of them to investigate the situation. Meanwhile, he and the tiger quietly sneaked along at a distance of around 100 metres behind her.
In a gorge that was about 35 metres wide, seven cultivators were fighting each other in an endless battle. There were three on one side and four on the other. Looking at the situation, it was obvious that the side with less people had the upper hand in the battle. The main reason was that the average cultivation of those three was higher.
Out of the three of them, one was in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm while the other two were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. On the other hand, the party of four on the opposite side wasposed of two in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm and two in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. One of the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters was bleeding profusely from his arm. It was clear that he was injured.
The battles between low-level cultivators basically revolved around closebat. There were very few who could disy the full power of Spell Techniques. That was because their cultivation was too low, so the power of their Spell Techniques was weak. Not to mention, activating Spell Techniques required time and the process of activation could easily be interrupted. Moreover, uracy was still an issue even if they managed to seed at activating the Spell Technique. Therefore, whoever had a higher cultivation and stronger weapon would naturally hold the advantage in closebat.
Among those four people, the leader was a strong and burly man. He was holding arge knife and standing in front of the others. He shouted while retreating, Go!
His words implied that he was going to bring up the rear.
The other three looked sad, but they did not abandon him to escape. On the contrary, they fought beside him to retreat and fight at the same time. Unfortunately, that was nothing more than a temporary reprieve. The moment that burly man copsed, all four of them would die in this ce.
The Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master on the opposite side seemed aware of this fact. Hence, he did not take action even if he had the chance to kill the burly man. Instead, he continuously shed away at the burly mans body, creating more wounds on thetters body. It made the burly man look more and more wretched.
Lu Ye and the tiger were hiding among a pile of rocks not far behind these four people. They were observing the situation through the gaps in the rock. At first, he had been troubled over how he was supposed to distinguish between the cultivators of Mystic Sect and Nine Star n. It was not like he could just go up to them and ask after all.
However, he realised that he had been overthinking the moment he saw the fight between these two parties. It was very easy to distinguish between the cultivators of Mystic Sect and Nine Star n. That was because there were different coloured lights glowing from the backs of the hands of both parties.
He was amazed by the sight despite not understanding the reason behind that phenomenon. His Battlefield Imprint had never shown any changes before during his previous battles.
Unbeknownst to him, this was all thanks to Wang Yang. Mystic Sect and Nine Star n had been struggling against each other on this territory for many years. It was just that Mystic Sect had always held the upper hand in the situation due to their advantage in numbers and strength among the Spirit Creek Realm Masters. For that reason, the Spirit Creek Realm Masters of Nine Star n had always kept a low-profile in this area. It used to be very difficult for the people of Mystic Sect to hunt down their opponents.
However, the Young Master of Nine Star n had been killed. Almost all of the Spirit Creek Realm Masters within the Sect had been deployed as a result, so it was a great chance for Mystic Sect. It was the perfect opportunity for them to go on a rampage to hunt and ughter the disciples of Nine Star n.
That was why Wang Yang couldnt care less about the reason behind this incident. All he saw was a good chance for him to severely damage the Nine Star n. For that reason, he used the Divine Opportunity Column in his base to dere war on the Nine Star n, regardless of the cost.
The Nine Star n was well within their rights to reject such a deration of war. But, they were trying to hunt down the person who killed their Young Master. How could they reject this deration of war at this time? That being the case, Dong Shu Ye could only bite the bullet and ept the deration. At the same time, he cursed Wang Yang with all his heart.
During the period when war was dered, a different coloured light would shine from the backs of the hands of cultivators from both sides the moment they confronted each other. It made their positions clear in an instant.
It had to be said that both sides had many rogue cultivators under them. The faces of these rogue cultivators were extremely unfamiliar to many of the cultivators from both Sects. Therefore, the Battlefield Imprint not only prevented either side from identally injuring their own allies, but it also allowed both sides to instantly determine which was their enemy and which was a trusted ally.
Chapter 71: Casual Demonstration of Ability
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 71: Casual Demonstration of Ability
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
As a neer who had only been in the Spirit Creek Battlefield for approximately three months, it was only natural that Lu Ye was clueless about the social rules in this ce. Nevertheless, the lighting from the Battlefield Imprint would make things more convenient for him.
At this moment, he and Amber were hiding at a spot behind the four people from Mystic Sect. They were approximately 100 metres away from the opposing party. However, the distance was gradually shortening as the four people from Mystic Sect continued to retreat.
The burly man was bing increasingly more injured as time went on. Thus, the situation was bing more and more disadvantageous for these four people from Mystic Sect. Seeing that the burly man could not hold out for much longer, the other Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master beside him shouted, Die, all of you!
While speaking, he took out a Spirit Talisman Paper that was shining with a golden light and drew upon his Spiritual Power to activate the Spirit Talisman Paper. A golden disc flowing with Spiritual Patterns that was about the size of a wash basin immediately appeared in front of him.
This was the Golden Wheel Talisman Paper that Lu Ye had once used against a pack of wolves when he first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield. This Spirit Talisman Paper was not as powerful as the Fiery Snake Talisman Paper in terms of strength, but itsted much longer. At that time, Lu Ye had used this Spirit Talisman Paper to repel the wolf pack that had been surrounding him.
When a golden light shed brilliantly, a golden half-moon-shaped sh swept out from the disc with the sound of something slicing through the air. A Spirit Talisman Paper was extremely expensive for a low-level cultivator. Even so, every one of them would carry one or two as a trump card to get them out of difficult situations as long as they were financially capable of doing so.
The moment that person shot out the Golden Wheel Talisman Paper, the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master from Nine Star n immediately took a step back. His cultivation might be the highest among these people, but even he did not dare to arbitrarily take on the attack of a Golden Wheel Talisman Paper. That was simply seeking death.
Then, he immediately took out a palm-sized circr shield from the Storage Bag hanging from his waist and brought it up in front of him. At the same time, his two otherpanions raised their hands and each pressed a hand on the shield, and the three of them simultaneously poured their Spiritual Power into it. Following that, the palm-sized shield instantly became the size of a table that stood in front of all three of them.
Numerous golden half-moon-shaped shes mmed into the shield with a booming sound. The force of impact caused the three people from Nine Star n to stagger backward repeatedly. Various sh marks of different depths appeared on the surface of the shield. Be that as it may, it was obvious that the attacks of the Golden Wheel Talisman Paper could not prate the defenses of the shield. That shield was a defensive Spirit Artifact.
Consequently, the four people from Mystic Sect began to wallow deeper and deeper in despair
The golden disc formed from the Golden Wheel Talisman Paper slowly dissipated. Thus, the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master from Nine Star n put away the shield with a sullen look. You wont even get to wish you were dead now!
Although his defensive Spirit Artifact had managed to block his opponents attack, it had been severely damaged. He did not know how many Spirit Stones he would need to spend in order to repair it, which upset him so much that his heart was practically bleeding. Raising the weapon in his hand, he was about to charge forward when he nced at something behind the four people from Mystic Sect in astonishment.
At the same time, the four people from Mystic Sect also noticed an anomaly. Somebody was charging toward them at an extremely high speed from behind. Before they could even look behind, a shadowy figure had already passed over their heads.
In the next moment, apletely snow-white tiger appeared in their field of vision. Moreover, there was a young man in ck riding on the tigers back
[A white tiger and a young man] In that instant, all seven cultivators present immediately realized who that person was.
Lu Ye pressed his hand against the hilt of his knife, leaping off the back of the tiger. His gaze was fixed on the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. His long knife slid out of its sheath and came shing downward, aiming for the opponents neck.
The Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was not slow to react. He instantly discerned Lu Yes cultivation the moment the other party turned up. [Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Sure enough, its exactly as Senior Brother Cao had guessed.]
His cultivation was one Realm higher than Lu Yes, so he was not afraid of the iing attack. The weapon in his hand came up before him to block the menacing attack.
It was just that Lu Ye had the advantage of a pre-emptive strike. Combined with the momentum of his attack, the force of impact caused Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters body to stagger slightly.
Before the other party could recover his strength, Lu Ye had already stabbed forward while his body was still in mid-air.
This attack was extremely tricky, so the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master had a difficult time trying to defend against it. Nevertheless, he was a ruthless man. He immediately activated his Spiritual Power to protect the ce where the knife wouldnd while simultaneously chopping at Lu Yes neck with the weapon in his hand.
A Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master and a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master might only be one Realm apart, but there was a huge gap in strength. That was because the number of Spiritual Points that a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master had to unlock would increase considerably. That was why this person assumed that Lu Yes attack would only injure him slightly. His Spiritual Power defense was not for show after all. On the other hand, he was certain that Lu Yes head would go rolling if his attacknded.
Thinking about the 1,000 Spirit Stones reward, he felt his blood boiling with excitement. [With so many Spirit Stones, I can definitely cultivate until I reach either the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm or the Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm!]
There was a tearing sound as the long knife sliced through his chest. An intense wave of pain shattered his fantasy. What shocked him even more was that his sure-kill attack had failed to injure Lu Ye in the slightest. Just as his weapon was about to touch Lu Yes neck, he vaguely felt something shing for an instant and blocking his attack.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye jumped over him and shed out at his opponents neck again. The sharp de sliced through his opponents neck like slicing through tofu. The other partys Spiritual Power defense was no more than a decoration. Following that, a head flew off and blood gushed out from his opponents neck.
Lu Ye tumbled to the ground, a stream of blood spurting out from his waist area. It was an injury inflicted upon him by one of the other Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters when he was unguarded. Fortunately, the injury was not serious. It was only a flesh wound at most.
At the time, he had to activate the Protection Spiritual Pattern to defend against the lethal attacking from the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. That was why he had been unable to defend against the other attack and could only use his Spiritual Power defense to block. It was lucky that his Spiritual Power was pure enough so the defense had been fairly effective.
The changes that urred in the blink of an eye left all four people from Mystic Sectpletely dumbfounded. They originally thought that they were going to die. Who could have known that a young man riding the back of a tiger woulde rushing out from behind? Moreover, that person had killed the enemy Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master as soon as he appeared.
They were shocked, but Lu Ye did not stop there. The moment hended on the ground, dust flew up again as he lunged at the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master who stabbed him.
The other party was clearly in shock over hispanions death and could only lift his sword by instinct to block Lu Yes frontal attack. To his dismay, the longsword broke the moment their weapons came into contact! Not every low-level cultivator would have a Spirit Artifact, and only a Spirit Artifact could withstand an attack from the long knife blessed with the Sharp Edge. An ordinary weapon waspletely helpless against it.
The sharp de came shing down on the bridge of his nose, slicing open his face, and ripping a 30-centimeter-long wound from his chest down to his abdomen. Blood and internal organs burst out together. Only then did the man scream in agony.
On the other hand, Lu Ye raised his hand again and cut the other party down. That was the second one!
The remaining Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was currently struggling against Amber. When Lu Ye came charging in on Amber, he had immediately targeted the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. In contrast, Amber had pounced upon one of the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Sadly, it was no match for its opponent and was cut up so badly that its ferocious roar rang out loudly and repeatedly.
However, the situation changed when Lu Ye joined the fight. They were both in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, but Lu Yesbat power was significantly higher than the other partys. Combined with the tigers cooperation from the side, the two of them immediately made short work of their opponent in a matter of seconds. Still feeling frustrated, Amber even broke the other partys neck in one bite. Warm blood spattered all over its head and face, causing it to seem even more terrifying than ever.
The intense battle subsided. All three people from the Nine Star n were dead. Even so, the entire battle had only taken approximately 10 seconds or so in total. It happened so quickly that the four people from Mystic Sect had yet to return to their senses.
Chapter 72: A Look of Confirmation
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 72: A Look of Confirmation
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
By the time the four people from Mystic Sect returned to their senses, Lu Ye had already retrieved the spoils of his battle, leaped onto the tigers back, and left in a cloud of dust.
Just now He A young woman among those four stuttered incoherently. Even herpanions did not understand what she was trying to say. The shock of everything they had just witnessed was far too much for them.
The fact that Lu Ye was only in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm was not something he could conceal. They also had two Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters among them, but none of them could ever have imagined that a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master could be so aggressive. In the short span of 10 seconds, that person had managed to ughter three opponents that they had difficulty contending against. Not to mention, one of the opponents was a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master!
What Lu Ye did could be considered exceeding his limits to kill his opponent. That was something generally only disciples from the major Sects could do. Nevertheless, they were sure about one thing: If that young man riding on the tiger had wanted to attack them, they would die even faster than the three people from Nine Star n.
While they were absent-minded, the tiger that was disappearing into the distance suddenly turned around and ran back toward them again. The expression of the burly man in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm immediately changed at the sight. He hurriedly protected his three otherpanions behind his back and looked forward vigntly.
A short whileter, Amber stopped right in front of these four people. Lu Ye sat up straight on the tigers back and looked down on them from above. The distance between them was no more than 15 metres. A strong sense of oppression made the chest of the female cultivator in the group tighten with a sense of breathlessness.
Do you have Spirit Pills? The young man on the tigers back suddenly asked.
Huh Yes! The burly man quickly replied. Do you want them?
Lu Ye nodded. I need Spirit Pills.
The burly man hurriedly untied the Storage Bag around his waist and unlocked the Restraining Lock on his Storage Bag. An idea seemed toe to him and he turned to hispanions and said, Hand your Spirit Pills to me.
How could those three dare to defy him? They quickly took out the Spirit Pills from their respective Storage Bags and clumsily ced them in the hands of the burly man. After that, the burly man emptied out the contents of his Storage Bag and transferred them to somebody elses Storage Bag. A short whileter, he tossed the Storage Bag containing the Spirit Pills to Lu Ye. Lu Ye caught the Storage Bag easily.
Many thanks, Lu Ye said. Then, he tossed the spoils of his battle that he collected previously to the ground. Amber turned around and left once more.
It wasnt until Lu Yes figure vanished out of sight that the four people from Mystic Sect breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. They thought that they were going to be robbed when Lu Ye turned back to ask them for Spirit Pills. Even if Lu Ye had done that, they could only pinch their noses and resign themselves to their fate. Putting aside the fact that they were no match for Lu Ye, he was still their saviour regardless.
In any case, it was only natural that their lives were more important than their Spirit Pills. The burly man had even prepared his speech when he tossed the Storage Bag containing the Spirit Pills to Lu Ye. He was ready to use those Spirit Pills to express his thanks for saving them. Who could have expected that Lu Ye did not take those Spirit Pills for nothing? He had tossed the spoils of the previous battle to them in exchange.
The four people from Mystic Sect looked at the three Storage Bags on the ground, two low-grade Spirit Artifacts, and a small battered shield, feeling speechless for a while. A quick calctionter, they realized that not only did they not suffer any losses but they even earned quite a sum of money instead! Thus, they felt a little unsure as to whether they shouldugh or cry.
Bending down to retrieve the items on the ground, the burly man pondered in silence for a moment before he said decisively, Lets head back to base!
Every one of them was injured. More importantly, none of them had any Spirit Pills left. It would be difficult for them to fight another battle. In their current circumstances, the most sensible decision was to return to the base to replenish their supplies. Besides, they did not have the ability to unlock the Storage Bags obtained from the cultivators of the Nine Star n. They had no choice but to return to the base, turn those Storage Bags over to the Sect, and ask the Elders of the Sect for help.
On the other side, Lu Ye rode on the tiger to find a secluded tunnel where he could check out his harvest. It had been a sudden and whimsical idea to ask those people from Mystic Sect for Spirit Pills. The main reason was that he had a little too many Storage Bags in his possession. He already had a few Storage Bags on him before he entered the Split Sky Gorge. After he killed that batch of people from Nine Star n, he obtained another four Storage Bags.
If he took any more, he would run out of ces to hide them. Even if he tied them all at his waist, they would only hinder him in a fight More importantly, all of these Storage Bags were sealed with the Restriction Lock so he had no way of opening them. Instead of bringing them along with him, he might as well exchange them for Spirit Pills with the people from Mystic Sect.
Those four in Mystic Sect did not give him many Spirit Pills. Their cultivation was rtively low and they were not particrly wealthy, so whatever Spirit Pills they received would be consumed immediately. The four of thembined had given him a total of 16 Spirit Pills. Moreover, 5 of these Spirit Pills were Healing Pills. He mentioned that he needed Spirit Pills but did not say which, so they took out both the Spirit Restoring Pills and the Healing Pills.
[Not a bad harvest The idea I thought up on the spot is ingenious indeed. This way, I just might obtain arge amount of cultivation resources in the Split Sky Gorge.]
On another note, the number recorded as his Contribution in his Battlefield Imprint had changed too. It went from 34 to 56, increasing by a total of 22 points of Contribution. The increase in these numbers was very puzzling to him. He previously gained 26 points of Contribution from killing four people from Nine Star n, including the Young Master of Nine Star n, and another 22 points of Contribution from this battle. He could not tell what the standard of increase was for the Contribution.
Hence, he made up his mind, deciding to pay careful attention to the changes in the numbers the next time he killed a person. Hopefully, he might be able to infer something regarding the rules of how it worked.
He had not been seriously injured in this battle. The only injury he suffered was a stab to his waist by a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Therefore, he lightly bandaged his wound and cleaned himself up a little before he continued on his journey. The Spiritual Power in his body was enough that he could still continue fighting with no issues.
From time to time, he woulde across traces left behind by battles in the gorge. Many of these ces also had dried bloodstains and mutted corpses. It went to show just how fierce the battles were between Mystic Sect and Nine Star n.
They had not traveled far when Yi Yi, who was scouting the way ahead, came back to report that there was a group of twoing in this direction. Lu Ye immediately told Amber to hide, then he walked toward those two on his own.
A short whileter, he ran straight into the two-man group. Both sides were on guard as they looked each other up and down.
A bright light shed across Lu Yes eyes. He swiftly determined the other partys cultivation. Both of them were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Abination like theirs could not be considered weak. Moreover, judging by the injuries on their bodies, it was obvious that they had just experienced battle not too long ago. It might be that the other party used to consist of more than just two people
What bewildered him was that the Battlefield Imprints on the back of their hands were not glowing with light. He could not tell which faction these two belonged to, so he was unable to make a move.
To his surprise, the other party studied him for a moment before visibly rxing. One of them even walked over with a smile. He spoke as he walked. Arent you a brave one, Fellow Cultivator? I cant believe you dare to walk around even though you are alone.
The cogs in Lu Yes brain turned quickly. He realized that the other party had mistaken him for one of their own. His hand that had been holding the hilt of his knife rxed as he calmly replied, I got separated from the rest during a fight.
That person said, You sure are lucky. If you dont mind, you can join the two of us. The three of us will be better able to take care of each other that way.
Of course. Lu Ye nodded in response. In this situation, silence was golden.
That person raised his hand. Although I dont think its necessary, its still best if you verify your identity with us.
While speaking, a red glow appeared on the back of his hand.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows and confirmed the situation with his own eyes. This was a person he could cut down! When the gravel under his feet flew into the air, he had already rushed forward to attack with his knife under the stunned gazes of the other two.
Chapter 73: Mountain Tiger
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 73: Mountain Tiger
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Only a short whileter, Lu Ye picked up the spoils of the battle and departed from the scene. Two mutted corpses were left in his wake. Even a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master could not withstand more than three attacks from him, much less a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master? From the moment he took the advantage ofunching a preemptive strike, they were doomed.
This time around, he made sure to pay close attention and noticed that every time he killed a person, his Contribution would increase by 3 points. That meant that two people gave him 6 points. At the moment, he had umted up to 62 points of Contribution!
When night fell, he hid inside a tunnel on the side of the mountain to rest and recuperate. Yi Yi and the tiger each kept a watch on one end of the tunnel as usual to prevent them from being blindsided by an attack.
He had fought three battles today and his harvest had been pretty good. He had not kept any of his spoils of war, using them to exchange for Spirit Pills with the people of Mystic Sect instead. As a result, he received more than 20 Spirit Pills, 80% of which were Spirit Restoring Pills.
Compared to these spoils of war, he felt that the most rewarding thing he obtained was the experience of fighting other people. Even though he had experienced several battles since the day he first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there were often great intervals of time between those battles. It wasnt like today where he fought consecutive battles within a single day.
Such high intensity battles not only allowed him to quickly examine his shorings but also allowed him to enrich and improve hisbat skills. Blindly cultivating behind closed doors was not as good as experiencing real battles with actual weapons. That was the experience gained through spilling blood and suffering injuries after all.
Although Lu Ye also suffered some injuries, his injuries were not serious. He first ate some jerky to relieve his body of hunger. Once he filled his stomach, he began to consume some Spirit Pills to replenish the Spiritual Power that he had consumed during the day.
He frequently used both the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern and the Protection Spiritual Pattern in battles. Although these two Spiritual Patterns allowed him to exceed the limits of what his current cultivation was capable of, they had obvious disadvantages in that their consumption rate was very high. If he wanted to ensure that he had enoughbat power in his future actions, then he had to keep his Spiritual Power at sufficient levels of satiety.
Now that he was in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, his efficiency at refining the Pill Power had improved again. For the time being, he did not know how many Spirit Pills were required for him to unlock another Spiritual Point. Based on his previous experiences, the consumption rate of unlocking his Spiritual Points would only continue to increase in the future. Fortunately, his cultivation efficiency would also improve in tandem. The time taken to unlock each Spiritual Point should not increase by much and might even remain unchanged.
The night passed in silence. The Split Sky Gorge was quiet at night. There were no sounds of battle between the cultivators from Mystic Sect and Nine Star n. Seeing as everybody had simrly low cultivation bases, there was an unspoken agreement that night time was generally used to rest and replenish their consumption during the day. The real battles were only fought during the day.
When dawn broke, Lu Ye led the tiger and Yi Yi out of the tunnel and began their hunt. He spent the next couple of days in constant battle, ranging from one or two battles a day to three or four battles a day. Meanwhile, the Spirit Pills in his possession gradually increased. Likewise, his Contribution also increased steadily.
He finally figured out the calction method of how the Contribution was distributed. From his observations, the cultivation Realm of the cultivator he killed represented the number of points he would receive for his Contribution. That was the basic value. For example, if he killed a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, then he would receive 2 points of Contribution. If his opponent was a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, then he would receive 3 points of Contribution Furthermore, if he killed an enemy who was stronger than him, his Contribution would increase by one base value for each Realm that he surpassed.
To put it simple, he was in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. If he killed a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, he would receive 3 points of Contribution. On the other hand, if he killed a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, he would receive as many as 8 points of Contribution instead. He previously killed a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master when he was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. At the time, he had surpassed two whole Minor Realms. Thus, he gained a total of 12 points
He did a quick calction in his head and discovered that his calction corresponded with the Contribution he previously received after killing his enemy. It would seem that his calction method was correct.
After several days of fighting, he gradually became familiar with the feeling of fighting his enemies in life-and-death situations. His cultivation did not increase any further, but hisbat skills had improved significantly, which in turn increased his efficiency in killing his enemies.
Over the past few days, he had tried to see if he could get out of the Split Sky Gorge. He eventually discovered that it was not possible. He did not know how many people Mystic Sect and Nine Star n had deployed into this area, but ording to his and Yi Yis observations, both sides seemed to have deployed almost 1,000 Spirit Creek Realm Masters!
Over a thousand cultivators were scattered throughout this hugebyrinth. He could encounter an enemy at any time and anywhere. Furthermore, the terrain ahead would suddenly narrow again after passing through thisbyrinth and would eventually converge into a gorge that passed through the Split Sky Gorge. If he wanted to leave this ce, that was the only way out. The Nine Star n had ced a huge number of people at the exit of the canyon, so things would end badly for him if he dared to show up there. In that case, he might as well hide out in thebyrinth to kill his enemies.
His whereabouts were exposed after he spent a few days attacking. He could clearly sense that the pressure of Nine Star ns search for him was intensifying. The most obvious sign was that the number of cultivators among the groups he encountered recently had increased. At the beginning, he would only run into small groups of three to four people. However, most of the small groups would have at least five or six people now. There were also some that had at least a dozen or so.
If it was a small group of three or four people, Lu Ye could still win by the skin of his teeth. However, he did not dare to attack if it was a group of five or six people. As for those groups with more than ten people in them, he stayed as far as he could from them.
After the cultivators from Mystic Sect suffered several losses because of this, they also made corresponding adjustments to their arrangements. The number of people in their small groups increased in order topete against the Nine Star n.
Inside thebyrinth canyon, a battle was breaking out. The scale of this battle was not small. Around 20 cultivators were involved in the battle. Both sides had brought ten men each and there were quite a few Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Even so, the results indicated that both sides were holding the upper hand in the battle as there were casualties on both sides.
When the battle was in full swing, a loud tigers roar rang out. The expressions of both parties froze at the sound. Somebody shouted excitedly, The Mountain Tiger is here!
It was a cultivator from Mystic Sect.
Lu Ye, who was riding on the tigers back and charging toward the battlefield, frowned at those words. He had no idea how he received the moniker Mountain Tiger. [Isnt that nickname a little too unpleasant?]
However, considering that neither party in the war knew his name, he could only resign himself to the fate of being known by that nickname.
Lu Ye came charging in from behind the people of Mystic Sect. Upon hearing the tigers roar, most of the cultivators from Mystic Sect tacitly opened a path for him. Thus, the tigers figure leaped straight into the battlefield and mmed a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master to the ground.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye, who had been riding on the tigers back, had alreadyunched himself forward. His long knife slid out of its sheath. The cold light of his de shed as he shed at a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master
A Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master from Mystic Sect had been battling this person. That person had a baby face, which made him seem harmless. When he saw Lu Ye swooping in for the kill, he couldnt help shouting, Dont steal my prey!
He currently held the upper hand in battle. As long as he had enough time, he would be able to defeat his opponent.
He could not be med for shouting. The main reason was that the reputation of the Mountain Tiger had been widely circted among the cultivators of Mystic Sect recently. It was rumoured that this person would not im his spoils of war after every kill he made. He was happy as long as the people of Mystic Sect gave him some Spirit Pills in exchange. Another point was that this person was extremely elusive and liked to steal other peoples kills.
Sometimes, he would save the Mystic Sect disciples who were in deep trouble by doing so. Many people owed their lives to him and were extremely grateful for receiving his life-saving grace. On the other hand, he would sometimesunch a sneak attack even though the people of Mystic Sect were clearly holding the upper hand in battle. That would result in him snatching the Contribution that other people had worked hard to obtain. Therefore, the cultivators of Mystic Sect both loved and hated this person.
Chapter 74: Yi Ye
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 74: Yi Ye
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Lu Ye charged forward out of nowhere, the baby-faced cultivator that shouted out just now panicked and his attacks became increasingly violent.
Meanwhile, the person facing the baby-faced cultivator was no match for thetter in the first ce. However, Lu Yes appearance put him in a situation where he was being attacked from both sides and his situation instantly turned critical.
The name Mountain Tiger originated among the cultivators of Mystic Sect, but the cultivators of Nine Star n were also familiar with that name. It could be said that this was the prestige Lu Ye gained from all the killing he did recently. The thing about reputation was that it worked in mysterious ways. Any Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master would not be pressured by the thought of facing a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. But, if this Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was somebody known to have killed several Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters and even created a name for himself as a result, then the situation was very different.
.
At this moment, the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master from Nine Star n was under huge pressure. Stuck with facing two enemies alone, he did not have enough hands to deal with both sides at once. Thus, it only took three seconds for him to be suppressed by the baby-faced cultivator and Lu Ye. He was practically powerless to counter their attacks.
Seeing Lu Yes knife shing down at him, he was about to activate a Spirit Talisman Paper in his desperation. However, the baby-faced cultivator cunningly stabbed him in the wrist so that he lost his grip and the Spirit Talisman Paper fell to the ground. Lu Ye immediately took the opportunity to bring his knife down, striking the enemy cultivator to the ground in one move.
What a sharp knife! The baby-faced cultivator narrowed his eyes at the sight. [Sure enough; its just as Senior Brother Wang Yang guessed. This Mountain Tiger does indeed have an extraordinary Spirit Artifact in his possession. Otherwise, a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him could not have sliced through the Spiritual Power defense of a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master so easily, much less heavily injure the other party.]
Immediately after that, he broke out into a huge grin. Nice one, Brother! I must be your friend!
On the contrary, Lu Ye didnt even turn around. He simply charged straight into the center of the battlefield instead, leaving the heavily injured enemy on the ground in front of the baby-faced cultivator.
Have Have mercy! The lower body of that Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was stained red with blood. He was staring at the baby-faced cultivator in horror.
The smile slid off the baby-faced cultivators face. He indifferently said, Youre already in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Dont speak such na?ve words.
The longsword in his hand stabbed straight into his opponents chest and that persons body stiffened in response A small red light emerged from the back of the dead Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters hand and floated into the back of the baby-faced cultivators hand. After that, the baby-faced cultivator smiled brightly again. He grabbed his sword and rushed toward Lu Ye while shouting, Brother, let me help you!
15 minutester, the battle subsided. The entire forces of the Nine Star n werepletely wiped out. It wasnt that they did not wish to escape but that they had no chance to escape whatsoever. There was practically no hope of survival once they were defeated during a confrontation in a canyon like this. Turning their backs on their enemies would only cause them to die even faster.
On the other hand, Mystic Sect also suffered some losses. There were three dead and the rest were injured to a degree. Nevertheless, they obtained a delightful victory in general. Those who survived were not shrouded by sorrow but beamed with joy instead.
This was the norm in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Countless cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm would fight each other on the battlefield, so death wasmonce. During this battle, only two people died at Lu Yes hands but at least four or five were injured by him.
After the battle subsided, nobody from Mystic Sect picked up any of the spoils of war. They simply looked at Lu Ye quietly. It wasnt that they did not want their spoils of war, but that they had formed a tacit understanding between each other from the way he behaved over the past few days. Mystic Sect would take all the spoils of war. In exchange, the cultivators of Mystic Sect would give Lu Ye some Spirit Pills aspensation.
The baby-faced cultivator was the leader of this group. He stepped forward and cupped his fists. Junior Brother, how should I address you?
Standing 15 meters away from the baby-faced cultivator, Lu Ye was currently applying some powdered Healing Pills to his wounds. It was his first time participating in a battle of such scale. All the battles he previously fought had not involved many people from both parties. Thergest battle he had seen before this did not even amount to 10 cultivators.
Unlike before, the battle this time had involved 20 people. He discovered that a battle on this scale was very dangerous for any cultivator. Even if his cultivation was slightly higher, there was still the possibility of getting hurt or dying. That was because a persons energy was limited. It was impossible to defend against all the attacks directed at him. There were several wounds on his body, all of which were caused by the dying struggles of the Nine Star n cultivators.
He pondered quietly when he heard the baby-faced cultivators question. Before entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Sect Master had warned him not to reveal his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. Therefore, the name Lu Ye could not be used. The fact that he was taken in by the Crimson Blood Sect was something known to many Sects. [But, I dont want to be known by the name Mountain Tiger]
Yi Ye! He swiftly made his choice.
I see. So, its Junior Brother Yi Ye. The baby-faced cultivator smilingly cupped his fists again. This one is Chu Tian of Mystic Sect!
Lu Ye cupped his fists in response with an indifferent expression. His behavior made him seem distant and unapproachable.
You see Chu Tian took some time to sort out his thoughts. A few days ago, Senior Brother Wang Yang sent a message saying that we should invite you back to Mystic Sect as a guest if we get the chance. What do you think about this, Junior Brother Yi Ye?
Wang Yang? Lu Ye frowned slightly.
Chu Tian replied with a smile. He is one of the Senior Brothers that oversees the Sects base.
Inviting him to the Sect was clearly a sign of goodwill. It was just that he could not expose his identity, so he did not dare to have close contact with any unfamiliar Sects. In addition, he was only passing through this ce. He would not be interacting with Mystic Sect for long.
No need. With a n in mind, he shook his head and refused.
While saying that, he shot a look at somebody behind him. That person immediately took action by taking out a Storage Bag and walking over to each of the Sect members to collect their Spirit Pills. During the wait, Chu Tian continued, Junior Brother Yi Ye, if its convenient for you, why dont we exchange contact information? That way, you can contact Mystic Sect if anythinges up.
Lu Ye did not know how to exchange contact information, but he had some guesses about it. While killing his enemies over the past few days, he noticed that many Nine Star n cultivators would touch the back of their hands just before their deaths. Then, their Battlefield Imprint would light up. It was simr to what Zhang Wu did after bing severely injured. The Battlefield Imprint not only recorded some information, but it could also be used formunication. When that thought came to him, he nodded. Okay!
Chu Tian touched the back of his hand and a small blue light lingered on his fingertips like a burning me. With a flick of his fingers, the blue light flew towards Lu Ye like a blue butterfly andnded on the back of Lu Yes hand.
Lu Ye was astonished. The blue light imprinted something on his Battlefield Imprint before vanishing. At the same time, he vaguely felt that something had been added to his Battlefield Imprint. It was just that it was not convenient for him to investigate the changes at this time, so he continued to maintain his arrogant appearance.
In the meantime, the Mystic Sect cultivators finished collecting their Spirit Pills among themselves and handed them to Lu Ye at Chu Tians instruction. Lu Ye put the Spirit Pills away without even bothering to check the contents. Signaling to Amber, he swung himself up on the tigers back.
Junior Brother Yi Ye! Chu Tian suddenly stopped Lu Ye with a shout.
Lu Ye sat up straight on the tigers back and turned to look back at Chu Tian.
Chu Tian said with a serious expression, There seems to be a guy from Infinite Ind in Nine Star n. Please be careful, Junior Brother.
Lu Ye nodded slightly. Following that, the tiger turned around and left in a cloud of dust.
Chu Tian watched their departing figures and rubbed his smooth chin. These disciples from the major Sects are truly arrogant indeed. He didnt even bat an eye at the name Infinite Ind!
Chapter 75: Master and Servant
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 75: Master and Servant
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A short whileter, the Mystic Sect cultivators under Chu Tians leadership found a tunnel to rest and recuperate. Chu Tian leaned against the rock wall, waiting for the people from the Sect to deliver the supplies while using his Battlefield Imprint to send out a message.
Inside the base of Mystic Sect, severalrge buildings were scattered among the Spirit Peaks like the pieces on a chessboard. The Spiritual Qi lingered among the mountains and the base was enveloped in a dense fog. The situation inside could not be seen from the outside. It was clear that the base was protected by a Grand Array.
In a courtyard located on one of the mountain peaks, the handsome and dashing Wang Yang dressed in white stood by the fish pond. He casually threw some fish food into the pond and watched the Koi fish in the pondpeting for it. Xiao Zhu stood behind him quietly.
All of a sudden, Xiao Zhu activated her Battlefield Imprint and quickly checked something. She lifted her head and said, Young Master, Chu Tian encountered the Mountain Tiger. He invited the other party over for a visit but was rejected.
Wang Yang said nothing. He finished feeding the fish and dusted off his hands. Walking over to a chair nearby, he took a seat and sipped on a cup of tea. Only then did he speak unhurriedly. Its within my expectations. Somebody like that would not enter the base of another Sect so easily.
Then, why did you invite him over, Young Master? She was puzzled.
He chuckled. Many of our Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters in the Sect have received his saving grace. They even profited because of him. Its only natural that we should extend a sign of sincerity. It is our choice whether or not to invite him. Likewise, it is his choice whether or not to ept the invitation.
She made a nonmittal sound in response.
What else did the message say?
Chu Tian confirms that the Mountain Tiger does indeed have a powerful Spirit Artifact in his possession. Also, that person called himself Yi Ye.
Yi Ye? He looked pensive for a moment, then he shook his head. The name waspletely unfamiliar to him.
Intriguing rising stars would pop up in the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou from time to time. Few people would know of their existence before they debuted in the world. But, their light would be dazzling indeed once they began to shine. Needless to say, many rising stars would be eliminated before they could begin to shine. The Cultivation World was full of dangers, especially in this chaotic Spirit Creek Battlefield where countless geniuses died every year.
Chu Tian also imed that this person seemed to have mastered a defensive Spiritual Pattern. That Spiritual Pattern could be used at will during battle and was capable of defending against the attacks of a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.
During the battle, Lu Ye had frequently activated the Spiritual Patterns in his arsenal. The Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern was less noticeable because it was endowed upon the long knife. Even if it was activated, an outsider would only assume that it was a prohibition that came with the long knife. They would not think too deeply about it. On the contrary, the Protection Spiritual Pattern was not the same. Even if the Spiritual Pattern would vanish in an instant, there was no concealing it from Chu Tians intentional observation.
A defensive Spiritual Pattern that could be used at will during battle!? He was actually a little shocked now. A Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master!?
It had to be said that Spiritual Patterns were extremelyplicated and mysterious. Therefore, it required a long time to learn and research the Spiritual Patterns. He himself had tried his hand at learning Spiritual Patterns when he was bored in the past. However, the lines and patterns recorded in the books were incrediblyplicated and confusing. Reading the books left him feeling drowsy every time. It also made his head buzz painfully. In the end, he tore the book to pieces with his own hands and gave up on it
Thats what Chu Tian said.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Which major Sect did this freake from!?
Wang Yang had reached the conclusion that Lu Ye was definitely a disciple from one of the top major Sects who probably came to the Outer Circle for training due to a low cultivation base. The reason he formed such spection was entirely due to Lu Yes shocking performance recently. ording to the data from Mystic Sect, just based on what they had seen in the past few days, no less than 20 Nine Star n cultivators had lost their lives at Lu Yes hands. Furthermore, many of them were Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters.
Being able to kill beyond ones cultivation was an indicator that a person came from a major Sect. A small Sect could not have produced such astounding disciples. Moreover, Lu Ye had a beast for a pet. That majestic beast was not something an ordinary person could subdue.
Combined with the information that Chu Tian brought back today, Wang Yang was bing more and more certain of his conjecture. Only a person who came from power could have such profound heritage and capability to activate a Spiritual Pattern in battle despite only being in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
The name Mountain Tiger was something Wang Yang himself came up with. That was because, in his opinion, Lu Ye was a fierce tiger climbing a mountain!
This manner of letting a disciple out to roam in the wild is a bit like something that Sect in Tian Zhou would do. Not to mention that there are many top Spiritual Pattern Masters there! He murmured thoughtfully.
Xiao Zhu did not know which Sect Wang Yang was referring to. All she knew was that the Mountain Tiger with the name Yi Ye came from an unusual background. She asked, Young Master, should we help him in secret?
Theres no need for that. He waved his hand dismissively. He came out for training, so his survival has nothing to do with us. Why should we help him? If we dont handle this matter well, we might end up hurting him instead.
Many of the major Sects had the habit of letting their disciples out to roam freely. These talented disciples would leave the protection of their Sects while their cultivation was still low and travel the world on their own to hone their skills. Although this manner of doing things was very risky, these people would far exceed their peers once they sessfully developed their strength.
That was why there was an unwritten rule in the Spirit Creek Battlefield: The major Sects could not retaliate even if their disciples in training were killed. This was the price they had to pay for the sake of growth.
In any case, the major Sects were not short of talented individuals. They generally did not grieve the death of these geniuses, unless the dead disciple was a rtive of a high-ranking individual in the Sect. Nevertheless, that would only count as the private act of revenge of an individual. It had nothing to do with the Sect.
If Wang Yang could specte that Lu Ye was a disciple from one of the major Sects, then it was only natural that Nine Star n would alsoe to the same conclusion. Even so, the Nine Star n did not give up hunting Lu Ye down. It wasnt that the Nine Star n was not worried about the major Sects. It was just that they knew the major Sects would not trouble them over something as trivial as this.
Besides, this war began because of that person. Mystic Sect has helped to draw enough pressure away from him. If he knew what was good for him, he should obedientlye and grovel at my feet to thank me instead! Heughed lightly.
She rolled her eyes at his words. As his personal maid, she knew much more than other people. The deration of war might seem like Mystic Sect was simply taking advantage of the situation, but the truth was that it was premeditated. It was just that he had failed to find the right time to implement this n. Lu Ye killing the Young Master of Nine Star n had simply given the opportunity for him to do so. Putting it that way, Lu Ye could be considered his lucky charm.
He was about to leave for the Inner Circle of the battlefield. A Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was nothing special there, so there was a high chance he might face extremely dangerous situations. That was why he wanted to deal a huge blow to the Nine Star n before he left. By doing so, even if something happened to himter, the situation here would be stable for a while until somebody could rece him.
How are the casualties? Wang Yang asked.
30 have died, but 70% of them are rogue cultivators, Xiao Zhu replied.
He nodded at those words. The results were quite satisfactory to him. He ordered, Intensify the efforts and end this deration of war as soon as possible!
[Ending this deration of war as soon as possible is only the beginning of my n!]
Chapter 76: Gluttonous Feast
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 76: Gluttonous Feast
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Simrly, Nine Star n was also calcting the number of casualties it suffered so far.
Cao Ye looked at Dong Shu Ye gloomily. Senior Brother, our casualties are too high. Weve already lost close to 60 people since the start of the war.
Dong Shu Ye was shocked. Why are the numbers so high!?
Even if Nine Star n was no match for Mystic Sect, there was no reason for them to suffer such great losses in just a few days time.
Cao Ye replied, Its all because of that Mountain Tiger. He will suddenly attack out of nowhere when both parties are engaged in battle. Many of our disciples have died because of him.
That damned bastard! Dong Shu Ye raged. His expression darkened for a moment. What about the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters in the Sect?
They are all being watched. Cao Ye was feeling rather exasperated. There were so few Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters that both Sects could deploy at the moment. Since they knew everything about each other, it was very easy for the other party to target their weaknesses. Senior Brother, should I take action
Dong Shu Ye shook his head. You cant. If you make a move, then Wang Yang wont just sit back and watch. Besides, can you handle that lowly wench!?
The lowly wench he was referring to was none other than Xiao Zhu.
Cao Ye replied with a troubled expression. I cant beat her. But, she cant kill me either.
That maid mighte from a humble background, but her strength was undeniable. He did not know what kind of luck Wang Yang was born with for a maid serving by his side to grow to such a degree.
What about Luo Ji? Dong Shu Ye asked.
Speaking of Luo Ji, Cao Ye felt his headache intensifying. That guy did not take this deration of war seriously at all. I have no idea where he went. He doesnt reply to any of the messages I sent either.
Hees from Infinite Ind. Of course, he does not take our deration of war seriously. Dong Shu Yes expression was stormy. After a while, he gritted his teeth. Doesnt he want Zi Yi? Tell him that as long as he brings me the head of that Mountain Tiger, I will give Zi Yi to him!
Senior Brother! Cao Ye nced at Dong Shu Ye in shock.
Go! Dong Shu Ye shouted.
Yes! Cao Ye epted the order with a sullen expression. When he walked out of the hall, he turned and nced at a young girl in purple clothes who was crouching in front of a flower bed and sniffing the fragrance of the flowers.
Chu Tian soon received a message. At first, he thought that it was a reply from Senior Brother Wang Yang. However, a quick check told him that it was actually a message from someone he had never contacted before. Moreover, the message was very simple and contained only two words: Chu Tian?
Chu Tian waspletely mystified by the message. Nevertheless, he soon realised who it was that had sent him the message. There was only one person he had never contacted before in the records of his Battlefield Imprint. Thus, he immediately replied to the message, Yes, its me. Do you need something, Junior Brother Yi Ye?
Nope! He received an immediate reply from the other side.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. [If theres nothing, then why did you send me a message!? I thought that the Mountain Tiger had something important to tell me!]
After pondering for a moment, he sent another message. If theres something you need, Junior Brother Yi Ye, please let me know. I will definitely help you if it is within my abilities.
Like a rock sinking into the sea, his message received no response whatsoever!
On the other side, Lu Ye hid in one of the tunnels and perceived his Battlefield Imprint with a strange expression. He was feeling a little odd. [Does this count as my first friend in my contact list? I really do not understand how this world works. Ever since I entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, one strange thing after another has been happening without pause.]
Fortunately, his investigation indicated thatmunicating with Chu Tian would not reveal his real name. That made him feel slightly relieved.
Ignoring Chu Tians message, he took some Spirit Pills to restore his strength. The consumption during the previous battle was not high, so he recoveredpletely in less than half a days time. Be that as it may, he did not stop there. He continued to consume Spirit Pills to try and break the barrier of one of his Spiritual Points instead.
Even though he was only in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, he had already unlocked 28 Spiritual Points. The extra Spiritual Point was the Spiritual Point recorded in the Gluttonous Feast.
He had cultivated the Golden Liberation Technique topletion. Since he did not have any higher-grade cultivation techniques in his possession, he had no way to further his cultivation. After mulling over this issue, he decided to cultivate the Gluttonous Feast.
This cultivation technique was something he bought for 3 Spirit Stones. It included 15 Spiritual Points and most of these points ovepped with the Golden Liberation Technique. There were only two Spiritual Points in the Gluttonous Feast that were not included in the system of the Golden Liberation Technique.
There was nothing better to do anyway, so starting from a few days back, he began to wonder about the Gluttonous Feast. Now that he had sessfully unlocked one Spiritual Point, he would be able to see the truth behind this cultivation technique once he unlocked one more Spiritual Point.
ording to the cultivator who sold this cultivation technique, this cultivation technique could double a persons cultivation efficiency. It was just that Lu Ye felt certain that he had been ripped off. There could not exist such a Heaven-defying cultivation technique. Even if there was, it would not be sold so casually.
Either way, the two extra Spiritual Points were real. If he unlocked two Spiritual Points now, then he could unlock two less Spiritual Points when cultivating a higher-grade cultivation technique in the future. In any case, he cultivated this cultivation technique with the mindset that he had nothing to lose.
His Spiritual Power surged and repeatedly mmed into the barrier of his Spiritual Point. Compared to the time when he first started cultivating, it was much easier for him to break through the barriers of his Spiritual Points now. That was because he had umted enough Spiritual Power in his body.
With every impact, the barrier of his Spiritual Point would weaken even more. A feeling of soreness also spread out from his Spiritual Point. Approximately two hourster, he abruptly felt the barrier around his Spiritual Point shattering. He had unlocked his 29th Spiritual Point!
What came next was simple. In order to operate a set of cultivation techniques, he had to allow his Spiritual Power to flow ording to the training course of the cultivation technique. Seeing as 15 of the Spiritual Points in the Gluttonous Feast ovepped with arge part of the Golden Liberation Technique, he first had to stop the operation of the Golden Liberation Technique to operate the Gluttonous Feast. There was no need to cut off the third Microcosmic Orbit since those nine Spiritual Points were not included in the training course of the Gluttonous Feast.
He had never done anything like interrupting the operation of his Spiritual Power before. However, he discovered that it was actually a very simple task after experimenting for a bit. The Microcosmic Orbit Cirction System was produced by the rapid flow of his Spiritual Power passing through his nine Spiritual Points. As long as he stabilised the rapidly flowing Spiritual Power, the flowing Spiritual Power would return to their respective Spiritual Points and be quiet again.
He tried making his Spiritual Power flow once more. It only took a moment for it to return to its original state. Now that he had a n in mind, he rxed considerably and became much bolder as a result.
He calmed the flowing Spiritual Power of the first two Microcosmic Orbit Cirction Systems in his body once more. When all his Spiritual Power had returned to his Spiritual Points, he began directing his Spiritual Power through the 15 Spiritual Points in sequence ording to the training course of the Gluttonous Feast.
The first Cirction The second Cirction Gradually, the speed of his Spiritual Power flow became faster and faster until it could operate independently without his urging.
An idea came to him all of a sudden. He hurriedly took out a Spirit Pill and swallowed it. In the next moment, the squirming in his abdomen became more apparent. It felt as though his entire lower abdomen had turned into a millstone. The Spirit Pill that he swallowed quickly released its Pill Power and transformed into Spiritual Power under the grinding of the millstone.
He jerked open his eyes with a shocked expression. He abruptly realised that the person named Chen He who sold him this cultivation technique had not been lying! The Gluttonous Feast could actually double a persons cultivation efficiency!
Chapter 77: Flights of Fancy
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 77: Flights of Fancy
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Pill Power was released at a much faster rate than before. In this way, it was a given that the efficiency of refining Spirit Pills would be improved.
[Chen He had been speaking the truth. No wonder he dared to swear on the Heavenly-Oath in front of me.]
However, Lu Ye quickly understood why this cultivation technique was being sold all over the ce.
The Gluttonous Feast was certainly capable of doubling a persons cultivation efficiency. Although it sounded extremely overpowered at first, the truth was that cultivators would umte Pill Poison when they cultivated through the use of Spirit Pills. Once the Pill Poison began to build up, the Spiritual Power in their bodies would be murky and obscure. The more Spirit Pills they refined, the more apparent this situation would be. Therefore, cultivators would stop taking Spirit Pills after cultivating for some time. They had to figure out a way to remove the Pill Poison from their bodies instead.
In other words, under normal circumstances, it made no difference to a cultivator whether their efficiency of refining Spirit Pills was fast or slow. Rather, there were benefits to being slower
But, Lu Ye was different! He had the Skill Tree which could burn away the Pill Poison, so a Spirit Pill would only be transformed into Spiritual Power. Moreover, his Spiritual Power was much purer than what most cultivators could achieve despite their best efforts. In this way, the Gluttonous Feasts effect of improving cultivation efficiency was the real deal to him. It could be said that thebination of the Skill Tree and the Gluttonous Feast was simply a match made in Heaven!
Upon realising this fact, he couldnt help feeling a little excited. With this, he would undoubtedly save a lot of time on cultivation in the future. This also meant that he was destined to go even further on the road of cultivating through the use of Spirit Pills.
The Pill Power of one Spirit Pill was quickly exhausted. In return, his body gradually filled with Spiritual Power. It might be that he had just finished a cultivation session, but his stomach began to growl. He immediately took out some food from his Storage Bag and ate heartily.
All of a sudden, he noticed something interesting: His ability to digest his food had also be much stronger.
The 15 Spiritual Points of the Gluttonous Feast were all distributed around the stomach area. When the cultivation technique was in operation, his entire stomach would squirm violently as though it was a millstone. The mighty grinding force not only quickened the refinement of the Pill Power but also the digestion of food.
After a series of investigations, he discovered the principle behind how the Gluttonous Feast worked. It was not as simple as mere digestion. Rather, it was more about gathering. There was no point in digestion without absorption. Only through absorption could the cultivation efficiency truly be improved.
From what he could perceive, he suddenly realised that he would get a pattern that seemed rather familiar to him if all 15 Spiritual Points were connected in a specific sequence He briefly thought about it, then he lifted a hand and activated his Spiritual Power to construct a Spiritual Pattern. It was the third Spiritual Pattern that he obtained: Gathering Spirits.
An invisible pulling force was born the moment the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern appeared in his hand, causing all the surrounding Spiritual Qi to flow in this direction. The Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern was an extremelyplicated and intricate pattern that was constructed using Spiritual Power. On the other hand, the pattern he discovered when he connected all the Spiritual Points of the Gluttonous Feast in a specific sequence was undoubtedly much simpler. Nevertheless, they were probably derived from the same source!
[Is it a coincidence? Or, did the cultivator who created the Gluttonous Feast cultivation technique copy the structure of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern?]
The main purpose of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern was to gather the World Spiritual Qi. If he reced the Spiritual Qi with Pill Power, then the Gluttonous Feast was certainly also gathering. It was just that the Gluttonous Feast was transforming all the Pill Power it gathered into Spiritual Power for a cultivator to absorb.
[If I think about it in that way] A vague idea suddenly popped into his head. However, he discovered that he could not conceptualise his idea when he tried to focus on it. Thus, he lost himself in his thoughts while leaving the Gluttonous Feast to operate on its own
The World Spiritual Qi in his surroundings was pulled toward him by a mysterious guiding force, then it would sink into the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern on his hand before dispersing back into the air. The process repeated itself over and over again. However, he soon came to notice that a part of the World Spiritual Qi had entered his abdomen. Under the grinding of the Gluttonous Feast, the World Spiritual Qi was being turned into his own Spiritual Power
This phenomenon astonished him greatly. He had always used the method of refining Spirit Pills to cultivate and supplemented that practice by refining his vitality into Qi. The main reason was that his cultivation efficiency of absorbing the World Spiritual Qi was extremely low. His body had a hard time epting the Spiritual Qi. It was as though there was an invisible barrier covering his body that kept the World Spiritual Qi isted outside his body.
Even cultivating with the aid of Spirit Stones was not very efficient. Strictly speaking, a Spirit Stone was the condensation of Spiritual Qi. Since it was difficult for his body to ept Spiritual Qi, it was only natural that he could not ept the power of the Spirit Stones either.
Be that as it may, the Gluttonous Feast was gathering Spiritual Energy to grind and refine even though he was not cultivating at the moment
This scenario sessfully verified his previous conjecture: The person who created the Gluttonous Feast cultivation technique must have copied the structure of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern. Otherwise, these two would not have such simr properties.
Needless to say, the Spiritual Qi gathered by the Gluttonous Feast was not much. This cultivation techniques real purpose was to refine everything that was consumed. Gathering Spiritual Qi was simply a side effect.
As he mulled over this, the vague and indistinct idea from before suddenly became clear!
[The Gluttonous Feast can gather Spiritual Qi. Likewise, the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern can gather Spiritual Qi. The two of them originate from the same source. The effects of the Gluttonous Feast cultivation techniquee from the operation of the 15 Spiritual Points connected in a specific sequence, so the focus was on the Spiritual Points. In that case What if I endow a Spiritual Point with the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern? What will happen then?]
Lu Ye was shocked by his bold idea. He was just an unimportant cultivator who only started cultivating several months ago, so he was utterly clueless aboutmon sense in the Cultivation World. Nevertheless, even he knew how important a Spiritual Point was to a cultivator. It could be said that the entire life of a cultivator would be affected if a problem arose with one of the Spiritual Points.
When he first obtained the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern, he had studied the characteristics of this Spiritual Pattern and finally came to the conclusion that it was trash. That was because his body had a hard time epting Spiritual Qi from the outside, so activating the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern would do nothing for him.
Unexpectedly, he seemed to have found a blind spot in his analysis. His hand was not the only ce he could cast the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern; he could also cast this Spiritual Pattern on other ces. For example His Spiritual Point!
[If I can pull off this idea of mine, then Gathering Spirits is definitely not rubbish. It might even turn out to be the most useful Spiritual Pattern of all!] the more he considered the idea, the more he believed that it was feasible. Thus, he stopped the operation of the Gluttonous Feast cultivation technique and switched over to the Golden Liberation Technique instead.
Other cultivators would never dare to cast a Spiritual Pattern on their Spiritual Point. The main reason was that the construction of a Spiritual Pattern was extremelyplicated. Even the most experienced of Spiritual Pattern Masters could fail in the construction of a Spiritual Pattern. If the construction of a Spiritual Pattern failed, the Spiritual Power used in the construction of the Spiritual Pattern would explode and cause damage to the Spiritual Point.
However, Lu Ye did not have any concerns in this regard. He currently mastered three Spiritual Patterns. Every time he obtained a new Spiritual Pattern, arge amount of information regarding the Spiritual Pattern would be forcibly poured into his head. Therefore, there was no precedent of him failing to construct a Spiritual Pattern before.
Even if that was the case, he did not dare to try anything on his Source Spiritual point and chose a different Spiritual Point instead. The Source Spiritual Point was the most important Spiritual Point of them all. If something went wrong with it, then it really was over for him. On the other hand, he might still have a way to remedy the situation if something happened to the other Spiritual Points.
Perceiving the location of the Spiritual Point, he moved his mind gently and activated his Spiritual Power to bless his Spiritual Point with the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern. Contrary to his expectations, the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern was dissipated by the Spiritual Power flowing through his body in an instant.
[No. It needs some adjustment. I cannot cast the Spiritual Pattern inside my Spiritual Point or there will be no way to maintain it.]
Chapter 78: A Small Funnel
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 78: A Small Funnel
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Despite numerous attempts and countless failures, Lu Ye did not be discouraged. Instead, he became more and more excited. That was because he was umting experience with every failure he faced.
The hardest part about casting the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern on a Spiritual Point was the surging of his Spiritual Power. The Spiritual Power flowing through the Cirction would wash the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern away. Therefore, he needed to avoid the flood of his Spiritual Power if he wanted to cast the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern on a Spiritual Point. There was no chance of sess otherwise.
Unfortunately, this would create another problem. If the constructed Spiritual Pattern was located too far away from the Spiritual Point, then it would not have much of an effect. For example, if he constructed the Spiritual Pattern on his hand, the Spiritual Pattern would function to gather the Spiritual Qi. It was just that his body had difficulty in epting Spiritual Qi from an external source, so he had no way of converting the Spiritual Qi into his own Spiritual Power.
It was necessary that he found the bncing point which would allow the Spiritual Pattern to function perfectly while also maintaining the bnce of the Spiritual Pattern. Fortunately, the consumption of constructing the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern was not high. That was something he already discovered when he first obtained the Spiritual Pattern.
He was still unsessful four hourster. Therefore, he decided to try changing the shape of the Spiritual Pattern. Under normal circumstances, a Spiritual Pattern would be disyed as a t surface when constructed. It was impossible for a person to make changes to a Spiritual Pattern unless that person had extremely profound attainments in this field.
Although Lu Ye did not have the knowledge that came from researching Spiritual Patterns, a huge amount of information regarding the respective Spiritual Patterns had flooded his mind when he obtained these Spiritual Patterns. That knowledge had given him great insight into the mysteries of these Spiritual Patterns. When it came to the three Spiritual Patterns that he had mastered, he was perfectly capable of changing their forms. All hecked was the practical experience of actually doing it.
After another round of numerous attempts, he finally formed a Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern approximately half a dayter. This time around, this Spiritual Pattern was no longer dissipated by the flow of his Spiritual Power.
[I did it!] He looked ecstatic. Silently perceiving the state of his body, he could sense that the surrounding World Spiritual Qi was pouring into that Spiritual Point and being converted into his Spiritual Power under the influence of the Spiritual Pattern.
At this moment, the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern had been transformed into the shape of a funnel. When he cast this Spiritual Pattern on his spiritual Point, the tip of the funnel would poke into his Spiritual Point on the smallest margin possible.
In other words, the Spiritual Qi gathered from the outside world would be injected into his Spiritual Point through this tiny funnel and directly converted through the flow of his Spiritual Power. There was no need for the Spiritual Qi to pass through his body. In this way, it didnt matter whether his talent in cultivation was one leaf or sixty-four leaves, it would not affect the effect of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern.
[Im such a genius!] He couldnt resist praising himself in his heat.
Although he seeded in casting the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern on his Spiritual Point and also allowed his body to begin absorbing the World Spiritual Qi, the effects of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern were very small and limited due to the small size of the Spiritual Pattern. Nevertheless, it was only one Spiritual Point
[Now that I have unlocked 29 Spiritual Points What would happen if I blessed all 29 Spiritual Points with the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern?] He couldnt help looking forward to the results. If his idea could be implemented, then his cultivation would not be limited to only consuming Spirit Pills in the future! He would also be able to absorb the World Spiritual Qi! Not only would it save a lot on cultivation resources, but it would also improve his cultivation efficiency at the same time.
As soon as this idea appeared in his head, he could not suppress his excitement and immediately began experimenting. The second time was much easier after his first sessful attempt previously. It didnt take him longer than an hour before he managed to cast a small funnel-like Spiritual Pattern on his second Spiritual Point, then his third Spiritual Point, followed by his fourth Spiritual Point He was gradually getting better with practice.
He began to notice a faint effect when he reached his tenth Spiritual Point. The effect became much more noticeable when he reached his twentieth Spiritual Point. By the time he finished casting the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern on all 29 of his Spiritual Points, it was already night.
At this point, he could distinctly feel that the World Spiritual Qi in the surroundings was continuously pouring into his Spiritual Points. It was then converted into his strength with the rapid flow of his Spiritual Power.
The Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern could be maintained for a long time since it was constantly gathering the World Spiritual Qi to replenish itself. In principle, the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Patterns in his body wouldst forever as long as he himself did not take the initiative to disperse them. Needless to say, this was impossible to actually achieve in reality. The Spiritual Patterns could only be maintained since his condition was stable at the moment. On the contrary, the flow of his Spiritual Power would surge violently the moment he started fighting and that would easily destroy the Spiritual Patterns.
In the end, this was a deal with rtively no cost. Lu Ye would only need to reconstruct the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Patterns on his Spiritual Points at a suitable time. After that, the World Spiritual Qi would gather and pour into his body without him doing anything whatsoever. He could even focus on doing other tasks
All that was left was to see how much these Spiritual Patterns would benefit him in a certain period of time. Thus, he quietly focused himself and sensed the changes in the Spiritual Power within his body in order to figure out the answer to this question.
Six hourster, he finally came to a conclusion. If he maintained the Spiritual Patterns on all of his 29 Spiritual Points for a day and a night, then the benefits he obtained were almost equivalent to consuming a Spirit Restoring Pill
It was not a lot but not little either. It had to be said that this was only the effectsing from 29 Spiritual Points. There were as many as a total of 360 Spiritual Points in a cultivators body. If he could endow all 360 Spiritual Points with the Gathering Spirits one day, then the benefits he would gain would be monumental.
He currently had a lot of Spirit Restoring Pills in his possession. Not to mention that he also had the auxiliary cultivation technique Gluttonous Feast, as well as the support of the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern. He was feeling extremely eager and couldnt wait to find a ce to retreat and cultivate until he reached the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm
Unfortunately, what made him feel extremely helpless was that he did not have a suitable cultivation technique on hand. The Golden Liberation Technique that he previously received from Manager Yang could only be used up to the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
He originally nned to wait until he arrived at the next city and see if he could buy a cultivation technique from the Divine Trade Association. For this reason, he had sold four pieces of Yuan Metal ore during his journey and saved more than 200 Spirit Stones. Who could have expected that he would temporarily be unable to escape from the Split Sky Gorge?
[This is a bit troubling] After pondering over it for a while, Lu Ye lifted his hand, touched his Battlefield Imprint, and sent out a message.
Chu Tian was meditating and recovering his strength when a message arrived suddenly. He hurriedly checked the message and saw that it was from Lu Ye. Having learnt from his lesson during the day, he cautiously replied with a single sentence. Junior Brother Yi Ye, can I help you?
Do you have any ck Grade cultivation techniques? Sell me one.
Chu Tian was very puzzled. Why do you need a ck Grade cultivation technique?
Inside the tunnel, Lu Ye stared at Chu Tians message with a speechless expression. [Is this guy an idiot?] Even so, he patiently replied, To cultivate!
Chu Tian couldnt help scratching his head in bewilderment when he saw Lu Yes reply.
A short whileter, a message was sent to Mystic Sects base. Wang Yang nced at Xiao Zhu in surprise. Is the information true?
Xiao Zhu nodded. Its a message from Chu Tian. It should be true.
He seriously considered the matter for a moment and couldnt help snorting withughter. That truly is the style of those major Sects. The disciples who are sent out for training have to rely on themselvespletely, so they dont even receive any cultivation techniques. It looks like he was previously cultivating a Yellow Grade cultivation technique. Now that he haspleted the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, he needs to switch to a new cultivation technique.
Chu Tian is waiting for a reply. How should I answer?
Its just a set of cultivation techniques that can be found anywhere. Just give it to him. Also, ask Chu Tian to ask him about his Element.
Okay. She nodded in response. [These disciples from the major Sects seem to be quite pitiful. Our Sect might only be in the Ninth Tier, but our Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters will help us during the early stages of our cultivation. We dont have to suffer through so many hardships.]
By the way, dont just give it to him. The major Sects hate that the most. Sell it to him, but dont charge him too many Spirit Stones. He is probably very poor.
I got it.
Chapter 79: Luo Ji of Infinite Island
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 79: Luo Ji of Infinite Ind
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the tunnel, the very, very, poor Lu Ye was currently taking inventory of all his assets. He only had slightly over 200 Spirit Stones. He did not know if that was enough for him to purchase a set of cultivation techniques. [If thats not enough]
He took out the small bell Spirit Artifact from his Storage Bag. That was something the Young Master of Nine Star n used to own, so it was probably worth quite a lot. In the worst case, he could use this to offset his debt. If that did not work, then he could always use his Yuan Metal ore He still had the Storage Bag that belonged to the Young Master of Nine Star n. There should be a lot of good things inside; it was a pity that he could not open it.
[Having said that Many Mystic Sect cultivators benefited from my actions over the past few days. Its only reasonable that Mystic Sect should give me a small discount, right?]
Chu Tian sent another message to ask about Lu Yes Element.
Lu Ye answered honestly. There was no need to conceal this. Besides, it was very important for a set of cultivation techniques to match well with his Element.
A short whileter, Chu Tian sent another message to inform Lu Ye that he would provide the exact details tomorrow at the earliest and the day after tomorrow at thetest since it would take some time for the cultivation technique to be delivered from the base.
Lu Ye responded that it was no problem. After that, he ended the correspondence with Chu Tian and got up to get ready for sword practice. Even though he had been fighting continuously these days, he never stopped his sword practice. That was because he could tell that this most basic training had been of great help to him and the sess of something like that depended on perseverance.
However, before he could draw his knife out of its sheath, the roar of a tiger rang out all of a sudden. He immediately turned to look behind him and saw Ambers figure rushing toward him in a miserable state. Yi Yi, who had been monitoring the other side of the tunnel, came running over too. She nced at him before hiding inside the rock wall.
Meanwhile, Amber ran over to Lu Ye, turned around, and lowered its body. There was a wound that could not be considered too serious on its body. It faced forward and let out a mighty roar.
A figure slowly appeared from there. Lu Ye activated his Spiritual Power to check on the other partys aura while making a decision in his heart. [If the opponent is a Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, well withdraw immediately. If the opponent is any lower than a Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, then Ill ughter him with no mercy.]
He frowned slightly when he saw the aura surrounding that person. Judging by the luster of the aura, that person was no more than a cultivator in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm What puzzled him was that the aura around that person was very different from an ordinary Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Not only was it extremely pure, but it also gave off a very solid feeling.
.
It sure wasnt easy to find you. That person stood 30 meters away from Lu Ye and smiled. In the darkness of the night, his pearly white teeth stood out conspicuously.
That person was not very old. He might even be younger than Lu Ye by a year or two. In addition, he did not have a burly stature. Even so, he made all the nerves in Lu Yes body tense in apprehension just by standing there calmly.
Lu Ye had fought many battles against the cultivators of Nine Star n over the past few days. He might not be able to urately judge whether his opponent posed a threat to him, but he would get a vague sense of danger. [This Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master must have some sort of unique characteristic for him to make me feel so stressed.]
Mountain Tiger? That person spoke first. Without waiting for Lu Ye to respond, he went on to introduce himself. Luo Ji of Infinite Ind!
Lu Ye immediately recalled that Chu Tian had mentioned this person to him during the day. He did not question where Infinite Ind was at the time, but judging from Chu Tians manner of speech, it was probably a very powerful force. A cultivator who came from such a background was bound to have an extraordinary heritage. That was why he immediately leaped forward the moment the other party finished the introduction. The long knife came out of its sheath and he ran toward the man.
[Kill first, thinkter!] He had managed to kill a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master when he was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Now that he was in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm, why would he be afraid of somebody in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm?
His legs that were pumping with Spiritual Power rushed forward at a rapid speed, shortening the distance of 30 meters in an instant. His Spiritual Points made a crackling sound as the Gathering Spirits Spiritual Patterns he previously constructed were all shattered under the violent surging of his Spiritual Power.
Reckless man! Luo Ji snorted lightly. He raised his hand unhurriedly and pointed at Lu Ye. White re!
When those words left his mouth, a small fluorescent light appeared on his finger. That fluorescent light suddenly expanded and transformed into a ring white light that fully illuminated the dark tunnel.
Lu Ye was instantly blinded by that ring light and could not open his eyes as a result. At this moment, he felt as though he was staring straight at the sun. Even though he had closed his eyes as soon as possible, it was inevitable that he hurt his eyes. The pain made his tears flow unchecked.
[This damned bastard by the name of Luo Ji sure is despicable!] He hurriedly backed away.
Earth Protrusion! Luo Ji shouted again while simultaneously stomping his foot against the ground.
In the next moment, a cone of soil formed on the ground behind Lu Ye without warning and mmed into his waist hard. He was in the midst of backing away when he was struck by the cone of soil, which caused him to stagger unsteadily as a result. His lumbar spine was aching badly. If he had not activated his Spiritual Power defense, he could have gotten seriously hurt.
Icicle! Cold air swirled and Luo Ji pointed at Luo Ye. A sharp icicle about the length of a chopstick immediately shot toward Lu Ye like an arrow that was released from a bow.
Lu Ye had yet to open his eyes. The main reason was that he had been stunned by the bright light that caught him off guard just now. When he felt the cold airing straight at him, he immediately activated the Protection Spiritual Pattern in front of him without even thinking about it.
There was a loud bang. It was as though what mmed into the Protection Spiritual Pattern was not an icicle but a huge rock instead. He was pushed back by the great force and staggered backward again. At the same time, he felt a searing pain across his cheeks. The shattered splinters of the icicle had resulted in numerous small wounds all over his face.
Golden Arc!
Inside the tunnel, a golden crescent-like sh appeared. The attack shed toward him as he backed away. Compared to all the other Spell Techniques from before, this Spell Technique carried much more lethality to it.
Lu Ye once activated a Golden Wheel Talisman Paper. That was something that was created based on the Golden Arc as the foundation. The attacks that came flying out of the Golden Wheel Talisman Paper were numerous weakened Golden Arc shes.
Just in terms of power alone, the Golden Arc sh that Luo Ji released was even more powerful than the shes of the Golden Wheel Talisman Paper that Lu Ye had once used. If a person was caught off guard and received a hit from this attack, that person might end up sliced into two halves.
The Golden Arc sh was extremely fast, appearing in front of Lu Ye in the blink of an eye. The corners of Luo Jis mouth curled upward.
With a loud ng, the Golden Arc sh was cut down by Lu Ye. Behind the long knife, Lu Yes eyes were narrowed into slits and his expression was extremely solemn.
His opponent was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Hence, he originally assumed that he could defeat Luo Ji even if there was something strange about the other party. It wasnt until he exchanged blows with his opponent that he realized how mistaken he was. This Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was different from all the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters he had ever met!
Over the course of thest few days, he had killed many Nine Star n disciples. He also witnessed how the Mystic Sect disciples fought. Although there was the asional Spell Technique, those Spell Techniques had required a lot of time to prepare. None of those cultivators could do what Luo Ji was doing.
On the other hand, Luo Jis Spell Techniques seemed to be right at his fingertips and could be called upon in an instant. Moreover, he had extremely high attainments in those techniques. It was obvious that he was walking the path of a spell cultivator
What surprised Lu Ye even more was that the Spiritual Power of this Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master seemed to be even richer than his own. He failed to tell from looking at his opponents aura just now. But, now that they were fighting, he could see the fluctuations in the other partys Spiritual Power with just a single nce. That was by no means the Spiritual Power fluctuation that a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master could have. It was even stronger than the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master he killed previously!
Combining all the facts in front of him, he immediately thought of a possibility. [This guy is cultivating a Heaven Grade cultivation technique!]
Chapter 80: Different
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 80: Different
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Cultivation techniques could be divided into four grades: Heaven Grade, Earth Grade, ck Grade, and Yellow Grade. A Yellow Grade cultivation technique would only allow a person to cultivate until the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. On the other hand, a ck Grade cultivation technique could go up to the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm while the Earth Grade could go up to the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
There were only Nine Orders in the Spirit Creek Realm, so Earth Grade cultivation techniques were generally enough for a Spirit Creek Realm Master toplete their cultivation in the Spirit Creek Realm.
However, that was not always the case. An Earth Grade cultivation technique would only allow a cultivator to unlock 180 Spiritual Points, but a persons body contained a total of 360 Spiritual Points. Once all 180 Spiritual Points were unlocked, a cultivator would need to switch to the Heaven Grade cultivation technique in order to unlock even more Spiritual Points.
A person who cultivated an Earth Grade cultivation technique and unlocked all 180 Spiritual Points would be in the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. After switching to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique, that person would be able to unlock their 181st Spiritual Point. However, switching cultivation techniques would cause their original cultivation Realm to drop by several Orders. That was because 180 Spiritual Points were only equivalent to the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm ording to the division of a Heaven Grade cultivation technique.
In short, how many Spiritual Points a cultivator unlocked was not the criterion for determining a persons cultivation. The real criterion was how many Microcosmic Orbit Circtions there were in a persons body. Therefore, a cultivator with the same number of Spiritual Points might not necessarily have the same cultivation.
The Sect Master once exined the differences between the cultivation techniques to him during their one and only lesson together, so he remembered these things.
Luo Ji might seem like just a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, but the truth was that he had unlocked at least 50 or more Spiritual Points! That was because the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power were much stronger when he was casting spellspared to Lu Ye.
Besides, cultivating a Heaven Grade cultivation technique meant that a First-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master would have 18 Spiritual Points while a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master would have 45 Spiritual Points!
After realising this point, Lu Ye immediately understood one thing: Luo Ji was the most powerful opponent he had ever met up until now.
It had to be said that for all cultivation techniques that were Earth Grade and below, having 45 Spiritual Points would put a person in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. In other words, the actual cultivation of Luo Ji, who was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm because he cultivated a Heaven Grade cultivation technique, was equivalent to an ordinary cultivator in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm or the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Combined with his attainments in spell techniques, he would not lose to an ordinary Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.
This was the true heritage of a disciple from a top major Sect! They would begin to determine their future path from a very young age. Then, they would continue to study and explore their path to hone their bodies in their struggle to survive. Once they reached the suitable age to begin cultivating, they would not be in a hurry to improve their cultivation. That was because the number of Spiritual Points that they needed to unlock were two or three times more than that of ordinary cultivators.
People like these would often be able to fight and ovee enemies who were two or three Minor Realms stronger than them even though their cultivation was still low. Even once their cultivation base improved, killing stronger enemies beyond their cultivation would be amon urrence. People like these would be supreme powerhouses once they fully developed their skills!
Lu Ye had the privilege of meeting a future supreme cultivator
The confrontation thatsted for only a moment ended in hisplete defeat. He had rushed forward the moment Luo Ji appeared. However, his opponents consecutive Spell Techniques had forced him back to his starting position again. The kingly way for abat cultivator like him to confront a spell cultivator was to shorten the distance between them, but it was clear that it would not be easy to approach Luo Ji so easily.
Which Sect are you from, you reckless man? Luo Ji did not pursue victory just because he had the chance to win. It was not that he was underestimating Lu Ye. It was just that the current environment was simply not suited for abat cultivator like Lu Ye to flourish. On the contrary, the environment would allow his spell techniques to be a greater threat. The ability to use spell techniques was extremely advantageous in the early stage of cultivation, especially seeing as the tunnel was too narrow for Lu Ye to manoeuvre about freely.
It was obvious that Lu Ye had also noticed this. Although retreating through the rear exit was the correct thing to do at the moment, he had no intention of doing so. That was because he had the vague feeling that if he retreated now, he would never have the courage to face Luo Ji directly when they encountered each other again in the future. Besides, it could be inferred from what this person first said at the beginning that this person came here specifically to find him.
[There is no avoiding this! In that case, my only option is to fight! So what if the other party has a great heritage? Dont I have one too!? When ites down to it, all Luo Ji can cast are some small-scale spell techniques. The Protection Spiritual Pattern can stop those attacks.]
Lu Ye tightened his grip on the knife he was holding in his right hand and leaned forward slightly. He shifted so that his centre of gravity was lowered and assumed the posture of a cheetah that was about to pounce. Taking a deep breath, the Spiritual Power in all three of his Microcosmic Orbit Cirction Systems began to churn violently. He suddenly rushed forward in the next moment, causing the gravel under his feet to fly.
White re! Luo Ji shouted.
Lu Yes eyes were still aching from when he suffered because of this attack previously. Therefore, he immediately squinted and simultaneously raised his left hand to block his eyes when he heard Luo Jis shout. However, there was no strong burst of light. A frosty icicle came shooting at him instead. At the same time, he heard Luo Jis mockingughter. I lied!
[Damned bastard!] He raged, finally understanding why his opponent would shout the name of the spell technique before casting the spell technique. It was all in preparation for this moment. [Truly an insidious man.]
Raising his knife and shing out, he shattered the icicle. Immediately following behind the first icicle was a rain of icicles. The sound of things flying through the air rang out endlessly. The other party seemed capable of releasing multiple spells in quick session with no need for rest. If he had not seen this for himself, he would have suspected the other party of sneakily activating an ice-type Spirit Talisman Paper.
A series of nging noises rang out. The knife in Lu Yes hand danced as he smashed down the iciclesing at him. He had no choice but to use the Protection Spiritual Pattern to block those icicles that he failed to cut down in time. It was very difficult for him to progress forward. The tunnel started to be cold from therge amount of ice chips that were scattered everywhere.
A whole 10 seconds passed. During that time, he only managed to move three steps forward! The icicles that came flying at him carried a huge impact that greatly hindered his progress as a result.
Yi Yis small head suddenly popped out of the rock wall behind Luo Ji. However, Luo Ji immediately turned around to look at her before she could even make a move. It was as though he had eyes at the back of his head. He concurrently lifted a hand to point at her and a Golden Arc sh flew out at her.
She left out a scream and quickly retracted her head.
Roar! Amber roared. It seemed to think that Yi Yi had been injured.
This tiger roar was clearly a little different from the usual. When the tiger roar reverberated through the tunnel, Lu Ye felt as though his head was smashed by a small hammer. Opposite him, Luo Ji staggered slightly and muttered in surprise. A Spirit Beast?
Luo Ji had seen Amber before but did not bother to pay attention to the tiger. It wasnt until this moment that he realised the majestic white tiger had some special abilities. Unfortunately, he had no time for idle thoughts. Lu Ye had taken the opportunity to charge at him when he was distracted by the tiger roar just now.
He shouted, White re!
After falling for this trick just now, how could Lu Ye fall for the same trick twice? He simply squinted slightly and continued charging forward regardless.
*Crack. Crack. Crack.* The shattered ice chips that were scattered everywhere suddenly wrapped around Lu Yes surroundings and quickly hardened in ce. It seemed like Luo Ji was nning to freeze Lu Ye inside that block of ice.
At a critical juncture, Lu Ye was forced to step back. Only then did he manage to stabilise himself again. There was a huge block of ice standing between him and Luo Ji. If he had not moved aside so quickly, that ice block would definitely have enveloped him. With Luo Jis strength, he would have been doomed in that situation.
Phew Luo Ji let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Lu Ye was stopped by the ice block. The intensity of this battle had exceeded his expectations. He originally thought that it would be a piece of cake when Nine Star Sect first asked him to get rid of Lu Ye. Even if the other party came from one of the top powerhouses, his strength was not just for show. A Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master who cultivated an ordinary cultivation technique was not worth his attention.
It wasnt until he actually fought Lu Ye that he realised something: Unlike all the other Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters he met before, this Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was a little different.
Chapter 81: Intense Battle
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 81: Intense Battle
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Given Luo Jis power, he could easily kill those Third-Order cultivators with just two to three moves. However, he had used many moves on Lu Ye, but he still hadnt managed to kill him. He was especially surprised that this Mountain Tiger was able to use a Spiritual Pattern in a battle.
Studying Spiritual Patterns was much harder than Spell Techniques because building Spiritual Patterns was delicate work. Any slight mistake would lead to failure, not to mention activating them in a battle. Normally, only experienced Spiritual Pattern Masters were able to do that. However, Lu Ye was just a young man, but he was already adept at using one.
Through his observation, Luo Ji could confirm that Lu Ye had mastered a defensive Spiritual Pattern, which could fend off his Icicle Technique. Furthermore, Lu Ye was able to use it as he pleased.
That revtion made him stop looking down on Lu Ye. Before leaving his Sect, his Senior Brothers had warned him not to becent and underestimate any enemy. Although Lu Ye hadnt opened up as many Spiritual Points or learned as many techniques as he had, his Spiritual Pattern Technique was rarely mastered by any cultivators.
With that said, Luo Ji didnt back down because of that. Instead, his fighting spirit had been ignited. The people he hade across since he left the Sect were all much weaker than he was. Now that he had finally bumped into an equal match, he certainly wouldnt miss this chance.
While he was in his thoughts, a cold glint from a de shed across his eyes. Following a crack, a gap appeared in the middle of the huge ice block. Through the gap, a figure wasing right at him like a gust of wind.
[How did he break my Ice Jail Technique so easily?] Luo Ji was shocked as it wasnt an ordinary ice block. Instead, it was a Spell Technique that was built on the foundation of the Icicle Technique. Although it couldnt confine Lu Ye, it shouldnt be broken so easily.
That also made him realise that the sword in Lu Yes hands was no ordinary weapon. Certainly, he wasnt able to ward off the attack. In the light of that, he activated his Spiritual Power and threw several moves at him.
Lu Ye charged forward at full speed. This time, he didnt break the attacks with his sword, nor did he dodge them. Instead, he forcefully pushed him way through the attacks as the enemys technique was warded off by his Spiritual Pattern. Inside the dark tunnel, lights repeatedly expanded as the gap between them shortened.
Luo Jis eyelids twitched as he secretly cursed at Lu Ye for being reckless. However, without a doubt, he was starting to be terrified of this reckless guy.
In a battle between abat cultivator and a spell cultivator, thetter would gain the upper hand when there was a long distance between them. However, once they got closer, the spell cultivator would usually end up in a miserable state.
In just three breaths time, Lu Ye reached a spot that was only six metres away from Luo Ji. A cold glint shed across the de in his hand. As he inched closer, he wielded his sword at him.
Hurriedly, Luo Ji dashed backwards, but just then, Yi Yi appeared behind him once again as she swiftly raised her hand andnded a palm on his shoulder. Upon that realisation, Luo Ji was horrified, but he soon noticed that this strike wasnt harmful at all. His Spiritual Power, which was protecting his body, could easily fend it off.
All of a sudden, a Spiritual Light expanded behind him. The Spiritual Light was so sharp that it was as though countless needles had been jabbed into his back. Uponnding a palm on his shoulder, Yi Yi eximed in pain and went away. After getting blocked by her earlier, Luo Ji was unable to flee anymore.
If Lu Ye were any other Third-Order cultivator, Luo Ji was confident of warding off the attack with his Spiritual Power. However, he had seen how ruthless Lu Ye was when breaking the Ice Jail Technique, so he wouldnt dare to underestimate the power of this strike.
He activated his Spiritual Power and yelled, Mist Shield! Following that, he was surrounded by ayer of mist in an instant.
Lu Ye shed at the mist, but he was unable to break the Mist Shield. He felt as though he had hacked his sword into a piece of rubber, and his weapon got stuck inside it.
As Luo Ji stepped backwards, he pointed at Lu Ye and said through clenched teeth, Golden Arc!
This time, it was Lu Ye who was unable to dodge. The Golden Arc struck right at his chest, but before that, he had activated a Spiritual Pattern to protect himself. Following that, he lifted his sword again and hacked at the mist.
Icicle! Wind de! Thunder Halberd! Inside the tunnel, Luo Jis barks reverberated around the ce. Following his shouts, he activated Spell Techniques of different attributes and struck right at Lu Yes chest with loud booms.
Although he appeared imposing, he was actually stepping backwards. That was because as Lu Ye repeatedly shed at the Mist Shield, it started showing signs of falling apart.
I dont believe you can keep using the Spiritual Pattern! Luo Ji bellowed as he traded moves with Lu Ye. Even though he was astounded to see that Lu Ye was able to use a Spiritual Pattern in a battle, he knew that it was energy-consuming to sustain one. As soon as Lu Ye exhausted his Spiritual Power, he would stand a chance to defeat him.
However, the reckless guy in front of him remained silent like he was a mute as he became increasingly ruthless with his strikes. A momentter, Luo Jis eyelids twitched as he realised that the situation wasnt in his favour.
While it was exhausting for Lu Ye to use a Spiritual Pattern, Luo Ji had to consume a lot of Spiritual Power to use his Spell Techniques as well. Although he had more Spiritual Power than Lu Ye, he had used too many spells. Furthermore, in order to prevent Yi Yi fromunching a sneak attack on him, he had to sustain the Mist Shield, which exacerbated his consumption of energy. If this intense battle dragged on, it was hard to tell who would be thest one standing.
Uponing up with an idea, he yelled, White re! When he raised his hand, there was already a talisman paper between his fingers, whereupon he infused his Spiritual Power into it.
Lu Ye had a feeling that he wasnt able to keep going. It had only been a few mins since the battle started, but in such a short period of time, eighty percent of his Spiritual Power had been used. This was the most intense battle he hade across so far, but his enemy was only a Second-Order cultivator. Therefore, when Luo Ji shouted White re, he immediately realised something was off and dashed backwards. At the same time, he snuck his hand into the Storage Bag on his waist and pinched a talisman paper between his fingers.
As their eyes met, they became startled for a moment. Following the activation of their Spiritual Powers, two talisman papers shone brightly at the same time. Then, three water columns shot towards Lu Ye. On the other hand, a fire snake zigzagged towards Luo Ji.
With a loud boom, the tunnel shook violently as rocks started falling down. The sh between water and fire caused the tunnel to be filled with vapour. The Spiritual Lights of Lu Ye and Luo Ji glinted as they were sent flying away upon impact. Both of them secretly cursed at each other as they got to their feet with difficulty.
When Lu Ye raced after Luo Ji with the sword in his hand, Luo Ji had already fled from the tunnel as he turned around and cast a talisman paper at Lu Ye.
Hurriedly, Lu Ye ducked his head as the talisman paper exploded into countless golden lights and formed holes on the ground. Lifting his head, he realised that Luo Ji was running away, which prompted him to race after his enemy at full speed. Seeing as Amber had reached him, Lu Ye leaped onto the tigers back and moved forward at a greater speed.
Turning his head to take a look, Luo Ji became infuriated. Seeing as he was unable to flee, he decided to stop in his tracks and turned around to face Lu Ye. With talisman papers in both hands, he pped one of them on his own chest, whereupon his body was engulfed in a golden light.
It was a high-quality Golden Body Talisman Paper. At the same time, he cast the other talisman paper at Lu Ye.
Seeing that, Lu Ye leapt off the tiger and shed at the attack. Meanwhile, he said to Amber, Hide somewhere else.
Upon impact, he copsed to the ground as his entire body was in pain. As soon as he got to his feet, he saw Luo Ji arrogantly standing on the same spot. Luo Ji provoked him by beckoning to him and said, Come on!
Without uttering a word, Lu Ye fished out a Golden Body Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag and used it on himself.
Seeing that, Luo Ji couldnt help but heave a sigh as Lu Yes fortune seemed to be on par with that of his own.
Chapter 82: Every Dog Has Its Day
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 82: Every Dog Has Its Day
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the gorge, Lu Ye and Luo Ji, who had little Spiritual Power left, startedpeting against one another using talisman papers. As these different talisman papers were activated, lights of different colours expanded.
The noises reverberated the ce and attracted the attention of the cultivators from two nearby Sects. Upon seeing what was going on from afar, no one dared to go over. There was no way they could butt in on such an intense battle. If they were not careful enough, theyd be dragged into the battle and get killed.
A Fifth-Order cultivator might be able to interfere in this battle. However, there were not many Fifth-Order cultivators in either Sect to begin with. Since the war started, the Fifth-Order cultivators from both Sects had been mping down on each other in Split Sky Gorge, so none of them were able to go away. That was the reason Lu Ye hadnte across any Fifth-Order cultivators in the past few days.
It was already morning at the moment. Lu Ye panted heavily as he had never expected that the battle would lead him to end up in such a state. Nevertheless, the dawn of hope was right before his eyes because he realised that his enemy had no more talisman papers for attacks.
That wasnt surprising because Luo Ji was a spell cultivator who had mastered some low-rank Spell Techniques. The spells he was able to cast were more powerful than ordinary talisman papers. Therefore, he had fewer than ten offensive talisman papers with him. Most of his talisman papers were for defence.
After an intense battle with Lu Ye, he had used up all of his offensive talisman papers, which made him feel humiliated. He was taught that a spell cultivator shouldnt even use talisman papers because that was a sign of ipetence, but now, he would rather be called ipetent than get killed by a reckless guy.
Seeing as Lu Ye was charging towards him with a sword, he felt horrified and immediately turned around to flee. However, he could hear that Lu Ye was getting closer to him. Turning his head, he realised that Lu Ye was riding on the snow white tiger again.
[How shameless!] he secretly cursed. At the same time, he barked, Stop running after me. Otherwise, Ill teach you a lesson!
Certainly, Lu Ye wouldnt care about such aughable threat as the tiger charged forward at a greater speed.
Youre forcing me to do it! Luo Ji said through clenched teeth. Upon whirling around to face Lu Ye, he fished out something from his Storage Bag.
Lu Ye had no idea what Luo Ji had taken out, but thetters posture made him feel that he was in danger. While he was in his thoughts, Luo Ji had tossed the thing at him. Upon closer look, he realised that it was a square seal the size of a palm. The seal was translucent and white, but it wasnt certain what material it was made from.
However, the next instant, he felt a chill running down his spine as the petite seal expanded to be asrge as a table beforeing at Amber.
An agile Amber changed its direction and dodged the seal with Lu Ye on its back. With a loud boom, a 60-centimetres deep pit appeared on the ground where the sealnded. Following that, the ground seemed to be shaking.
Lu Yes eyelids twitched when he saw that. This thing must be an incredible artifact. If he and Amber were struck by it earlier, they wouldve be mashed meat. Amber attempted to bring Lu Ye to pounce on Luo Ji. However, even though the seal wasrge, it was actually dextrous. It repeatedly fell from the sky as the tiger dodged it with difficulty. There were times when they almost got struck by it.
Run! Lu Ye, who was on Ambers back, yelled. Knowing that the situation wasnt in their favor, the tiger turned around and fled from the scene with Lu Ye.
Where do you think youre going? A relentless Luo Ji put on a frenzied grin. Wasnt it fun racing after me? Come fight with me, reckless brat!
The situation had flipped around. Earlier, it was Lu Ye who was racing after Luo Ji, but now, it was Luo Ji who was trying to kill Lu Ye. It could be said that every dog had its day, and no one could always be on the lucky side.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* Every time the sealnded, the ground would tremble, which caused the rocks to scatter everywhere. This artifact was supposed to be Luo Jis trump card. He hadnt used it earlier because he was confident of his capabilities, and it also had something to do with his pride. However, after he was pushed over the edge by Lu Ye, he broke free from his psychological restraints. Since he had used talisman papers, it made no difference to also use an artifact.
The speed at which the sealnded became increasingly faster. The huge impact made it difficult for Amber to flee. Eventually, the tiger fell to the ground upon impact. The seal immediately hovered above it and shaded the Sunlight. Hurriedly, Amber got to its feet, but it was toote. At the most critical moment, Lu Ye activated his Spiritual Power, which was running low, and formed a defensive Spiritual Pattern to protect the tiger and him.
As the sealnded, the Spiritual Pattern onlysted for a short moment before it fell apart. Following that, the secondyer of defense took shape and broke apart again. Then, the third one appeared. Finally, he managed to shut out the seal. After just a moment of deadlock, the light around the seal dimmed as it shrunk to its original size. Then, all its light went out.
Lu Ye raised his hand to grab the seal, but he missed the target because his hand was trembling violently from exhaustion. The sealnded on his head and caused a bump on it, but fortunately, the seal had lost all its power. Following augh from a distance, the seal whooshed back into Luo Jis hand.
Presently, they were about 100 meters apart. A sloven Luo Ji leaned against a boulder and stared at Lu Ye with augh, as though he had won the battle. There were countless holes on the ground in the gorge they were in. The repercussions of the battle had died down, but the battle was far from over.
Lu Ye got to his feet with difficulty as he dragged his feet towards Luo Ji, which wiped the smile off thetters face. However, after taking just a few steps forward, he copsed to the ground and made the dust rise.
Seeing that, Yi Yi dashed towards him and helped him up. As their eyes met, she looked inquisitively at Lu Ye, who shook his head slowly. Seeing as Luo Ji was in a terrible state, Yi Yi intended to join forces with Amber and get rid of their enemy for good.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye felt that even though Luo Ji looked like he was on hisst legs, he might still be able to use one to two spells. It was difficult to deal with his big seal as well. Lu Ye had used three Spiritual Patterns earlier, but he still almost couldnt ward off the seal, not to mention that Amber and Yi Yi were much weaker than he was. If they were struck by the seal, they would immediately lose their lives.
There was no doubt that Luo Ji was a wicked man, which was evident in what he had done during the battle. Such a man wouldnt really have exhausted himself when he was fully aware that Lu Ye had two helpers. Lu Ye even suspected that even if he walked up to Luo Ji, he still couldnt kill him. He was the one who was really on hisst legs.
From a distance, Luo Ji observed them with a cold gaze. Seeing as Yi Yi and Amber didnt seize the chance to kill him, there seemed to be a tinge of disappointment behind his gaze, but at the same time, he heaved a sigh of relief. Just like what Lu Ye had expected, even though he seemed to have used up his power, he wouldnt mind showing Yi Yi and Amber the heritage of a disciple from a top Sect if they dared toe near him.
The present oue was the best as he didnt need to use hisst bit of power to deal with two insignificant helpers. Raising his head, he yelled at Lu Ye, After I take a rest for a bit, Ill definitely kill you!
Chapter 83: Goodwill From Mystic Sect
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 83: Goodwill From Mystic Sect
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the station of Nine Star n, Cao Ye and Dong Shu Ye were waiting together. On the previous night, they had learned that Luo Ji and Mountain Tiger had traded moves. One of them was a Second-Order cultivator while the other was a Third-Order cultivator. However, their battle was as violent as that between two Fifth-Order cultivators.
Then, they were shocked to learn that Luo Ji, whom they had high hopes of, wasnt able to settle their enemy quickly. Instead, he and Lu Ye had fallen into a deadlock. Lu Ye indeed lived up to his name as a disciple from a top Sect. It wasnt so easy to kill him. If it was just a normal grudge between them, those from Nine Star n wouldve let him off. However, they must get revenge for their Young Master, so they could only wait. Just then, Dong Shu Yes expression changed.
Is there any oue? Cao Ye asked anxiously.
No. Its that bitch who works for Wang Yang. She has left the Mystic Sects station.
Is she going to deal with Luo Ji? Cao Yes heart sank.
I dont know, but we cant rule out that possibility. Youll have to go over.
At that, Cao Yes face twitched. Although both of them were Sixth-Order cultivators, he was no match for that woman. Every time he traded moves with her, he would end up getting beaten up. This couldnt be helped, as he was a body tempering cultivator while that woman was a spell cultivator, which was why she was naturally at an advantage. In the past two years, they had battled against one another several times, but hed always end up getting assaulted.
Therefore, he wasnt willing to face that maidservant called Xiao Zhu. However, since Dong Shu Ye had said so, he had no choice but to execute the order. [Well, Ill just get beaten up one more time.] With this thought in this mind, he strode out of the ce with a resolute expression on his face.
Dong Shu Ye watched him leave and heaved a sigh.
Presently, Chu Tian was taking a rest with other Junior Brothers and Sisters in a hidden ce. Just then, a woman with two buns on her head shuffled towards them. Seeing her, Chu Tian hurriedly greeted her by saying, Senior Sister Xiao Zhu.
Xiao Zhu walked over and asked, How is it going? She was asking about Lu Ye instead of Chu Tian and the others.
Since those from Nine Star n could find out that Lu Ye and Luo Ji were in an intense battle, those from Mystic Sect could do that as well. Therefore, everyone was aware that these two disciples, who were from some of the top great forces, were in a life-and-death battle. Still reeling from the shock, Chu Tian replied, Their brains almost spurted out. Senior Sister Xiao Zhu, those two cant even be considered Humans!
Who has got the upper hand? Xiao Zhu questioned.
Chu Tian shook his head. Theyre equally matched. Sometimes, one would race after the other one, and the next instant, itd be the other way round.
Have they been battling against one another sincest night? Xiao Zhu furrowed her brows.
They dont keep fighting all the time. Sometimes, theyd take a break to recuperate, but theyd soon get into a scuffle again. Chu Tian had apparently gathered quite some information.
Their restorative powers Xiao Zhu was astounded. For cultivators in the Second-Order and the Third-Order, their restorative powers were unbelievable. Most people couldntst for such a long time in a battle. Where are they? she asked.
After Chu Tian pointed out the direction for her, she started striding forward. A momentter, Lu Ye and Luo Ji, who were in an intense battle, vigntly turned to look in a particr direction at the same time.
This had been a maniacal battle as both of them were on theirst legs. After taking a rest for about two hours to restore their energy, Luo Ji was the first one tounch an attack and ignited the second round. However, this time, they didnt use any talisman papers because they had no more offensive talisman papers left. They only had some defensive talisman papers.
On the other hand, Luo Ji also never activated the big seal again because that would consume a lot of his energy. The small amount of Spiritual Power he had restored wasnt enough to sustain using the artifact. If he couldnt kill Lu Ye quickly, he would be waiting for death. Now, he even stopped using other spells as he only traded moves with Lu Ye using his Icicle Technique. It was because he was most adept at this technique, and hed be able to consume less energy with this one.
In fact, there were no grudges between the two of them, and they had never met one another prior to this. However, battles on Spirit Creek Battlefield had nothing to do with grudges. It had everything to do with whose side they were on. Since they were from different sides, that was a good enough reason to kill one another.
As they watched attentively, a curvy figure approached them from a distance. Luo Ji immediately felt his chest tightening because he realised that the person wasnt from Nine Star n. However, the next moment, he was able to be at ease because immediately after the woman appeared, another burly figure also arrived at this ce. He was Cao Ye from Nine Star n.
The fact that two Sixth-Order cultivators suddenly appeared in this ce puzzled Luo Ji, so he looked inquisitively at Cao Ye, who shook his head and motioned for him to stay calm before standing beside him. It was then Luo Ji realised that Cao Ye was here to restrict the other party, so he seized the chance and sat down with his legs crossed before fishing out some pills to consume them.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had no idea what was going on, but upon seeing what Luo Ji was doing, he also gulped down some pills and fished out a big chunk of meat to eat. Then, he tossed another piece of meat at the tiger beside him. A speechless Xiao Zhu stood in front of Lu Ye, and as he stared vigntly at her, she introduced herself by saying, Im Chu Tians Senior Sister.
Certainly, Lu Ye wouldnt readily believe her, so he immediately sent a message to Chu Tian to inquire about it. Upon getting his confirmation, he nodded slightly and murmured, Whats wrong? At the same time, he sized her up and took a brief nce at her plump chest. He couldnt help wondering why this woman was dressed up like a maidservant.
Give me two Spirit Stones, Xiao Zhu uttered.
What? Lu Ye thought he had heard it wrongly.
Two Spirit Stones! She repeated herself.
A puzzled Lu Ye didnt understand why this woman came all the way here to demand two Spirit Stones from him. Was she trying to rob him? That was practically impossible. After giving it a thought, he fished out two stones from his Storage Bag and tossed them at her. After taking them, Xiao Zhu threw a jade slip at him. Youve bought it now.
With a frown, Lu Ye took the jade slip and scanned it, whereupon he immediately understood what this woman was doing. This jade slip was actually an Earth Grade cultivation technique.
Certainly, two Spirit Stones were not enough to buy an Earth Grade cultivation technique. This was apparently how those from Mystic Sect expressed their goodwill. Whatever the case, he had saved some disciples who were from Mystic Sect recently. This came as a surprise to him. Previously, he had contacted Chu Tian in an attempt to buy a ck Grade cultivation technique. Naturally, an Earth Grade one was much better, which would allow him to open up to 180 Spiritual Points, and he wouldnt need to look for a new cultivation technique upon ascending to the Sixth-Order. Thanks, he said.
A nonchnt Xiao Zhu turned around and shed a smile at Cao Ye, who wasnt far away. Cao Ye felt a crawling sensation on his scalp as terrible memories from the past sprang back into his mind. However, Luo Ji was just beside him, so he couldnt appear weak. After taking a step forward, he uttered, Why dont we go to a different ce?
The grin on Xiao Zhus face widened. Thats what I thought as well.
The next instant, Cao Ye turned around and flew away at an incredible speed. Seeing that, Xiao Zhu leaped into the air and raced after him. After both of them disappeared, Lu Ye hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth and picked up his sword before pouncing on Luo Ji.
At the same time, countless battles that were more violent than the previous ones were ignited in different parts of Split Sky Gorge. The cultivators from both Sects shed with one another as more and more of them lost their lives.
Chapter 84: I Can Definitely Defeat Him
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 84: I Can Definitely Defeat Him
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Three dayster, on a battlefield where the ground was covered in holes, Lu Ye and Luo Ji were several dozen metres apart as they recuperated on their own. During this period of time, they had battled against one another for over a dozen times. They had practically fought with each other a few times every day, but no one had yet to emerge as a winner until now.
Three days of intense battles had made Lu Ye extremely exhausted as he hadnt had much time to sleep. He didnt understand how this guy called Luo Ji was able to restore his energy so quickly. After such a long time, they had basically used up their trump cards. None of them could defeat the other party by fighting head-on, so the speed at which they recovered was immensely important.
Given the same period of time, if one of them could restore more Spiritual Power, he could slowly make the situation tilt in his favour. With the help of Gluttonous Feast, Lu Ye was able to refine pills at twice the speed. When he took a break, he would also build a Gathering Spirits Spiritual Pattern around his Spiritual Points to absorb the World Spiritual Qi around him. With two techniques that he could deploy, it could be said that the speed at which he recovered was incredible. Most Sixth-Order cultivators wouldnt be able to recover as fast as he could.
On the other hand, Luo Ji also had the same doubts as he secretly cursed at Lu Ye. [How does this reckless guy recover so quickly?] Although he was just a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, he had opened up 55 Spiritual Points, which was twice the amount of what Lu Ye had achieved. Moreover, the pills he had been consuming were not the ordinary Spirit Restoring Pills. These were Small Returning Pills specially made on Infinite Ind. These pills worked just like Spirit Restoring Pills when used during cultivation. However, when they were used for recovery, they were more effective than Spirit Restoring Pills by 30 percent.
When he was restoring his energy, he also made use of Spirit Stones. With both hands grabbing each stone, he greedily absorbed the Spiritual Power contained in the stones. However, he hadnt managed to gain the upper hand by using three methods at the same time, so he didnt understand what was going on.
Compared to Lu Ye, he had little to no rest as he couldnt really have a shut-eye in the past three days. That was because Amber and Yi Yi would disturb him from time to time. Both of them were unable to fight against Luo Ji, but they were good at disturbing him.
After each of them recuperated for about four hours, Lu Ye opened his eyes. Just like how theyd usually did it, it was time for the next battle. As expected, Luo Ji also opened his eyes and got to his feet. Staring at Lu Ye, he shuffled towards him. It wasnt that he wanted to get close to Lu Ye. It was just that the distance between them was too wide, so he needed to get into a suitable range where he could use his spells.
Across from him, Lu Ye rode on top of Amber and charged towards Luo Ji. He was pointing his sword downwards as he was ready for a strike. Upon stopping in his tracks, Luo Ji prepared to use a spell as a Spiritual Light shed across his hands. Just then, he detected something and frowned, whereupon he raised his hand and shouted, Wait a minute!
Lu Ye furrowed his brows, but he still told Amber to stop.
The Spiritual Light around Luo Jis hands dissipated as he panted and uttered, Stop fighting. You win.
Lu Ye stared fixedly at him, wondering what thetter was up to. As though he was trying to make Lu Ye set his mind at ease, Luo Ji took the initiative to exin, The battle between Mystic Sect and Nine Star n has ended. Those from Nine Star n have admitted defeat and returned to their station, so I have to go as well.
He was sent to deal with Lu Ye by those from Nine Star n. Since his n had been defeated, it was pointless for him to stay there. Naturally, Lu Ye wouldnt easily believe him. After days of battle, he became certain that Luo Ji was a cunning man, so he immediately made use of the Battlefield Imprint to ask Chu Tian about it.
After just a short moment, Chu Tian replied with a cheerful tone in his voice and confirmed what Luo Ji had said. During this battle, those from the Mystic Sect eventually defeated the other party. In fact, this didnte as a surprise. Although both Sects were one rank apart, Mystic Sect was stronger when it came to their Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Therefore, Nine Star n wasnt even a match for them to begin with. Previously, Lu Ye had killed many cultivators from Nine Star n, which helped those from Mystic Sect to gain an even bigger advantage.
In the past few days, those from Mystic Sect had been slowly gaining the upper hand through the small-scale battles. Eventually, there came a moment when they destroyed Nine Star n and forced them to return to their station. It was then the battle between the two great forces came to an end.
After Lu Ye was done with the inquiry, Luo Ji asked, How was it?
Lu Ye nodded slightly and clenched his legs, whereupon Amber dashed forward and pounced on Luo Ji.
You A horrified Luo Ji didnt understand what was wrong with Lu Ye. The battle between both great forces hade to an end, so it was pointless for them to keep fighting against each other. Therefore, he had no idea why Lu Ye was still pouncing on him. However, he didnt have the time to ponder on this issue as Lu Ye and the tiger were about to reach him. Left with no choice, he hurriedly activated his Icicle Technique to deal with them.
Lu Ye tilted his head to dodge the icicle and leaped off the tigers back as he wielded his sword. There was a rarely seen hideous smile on his face. Its you who decided when to start the war, but its me who will decide when to end it!
Previously, Luo Ji suddenly came over and attempted to kill him. Three days of battle had made him very infuriated. Moreover, he had consumed a lot of pills during this period of time. Prior to this, he had umted a substantial amount of pills, but now, he was left with just over thirty pills. In the past three days, he couldnt even cultivate, so he had practically wasted lots of time. Luo Ji couldnt make up for his loss by just saying that the other party had won the battle. If he couldnt get the fury out of his chest, he would never let Luo Ji off.
Three days of tussle had made them be familiar with each others moves. Usually, Luo Ji wouldnt easily allow Lu Ye to get close to him. However, he hadnt expected Lu Ye to be so obstinate, so he became astounded for a moment. When he came to his senses, it was already toote to retreat. Before the sword even reached him, he had used a Golden Body Talisman Paper on himself. When the sword, which was blessed with Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern, hit theyer of golden light, it was unable to break it. On the other hand, a seal appeared out of thin air and expanded to the size of a table beforending on Lu Ye.
Hurriedly, Lu Ye leaped backwards, whereupon a pit appeared on the spot he was standing earlier and the ground started shaking, When he stabilised himself, Luo Ji was already over a hundred metres away from him, and thetter had even fended off Amber and Yi Yis joint sneak attack. However, Luo Ji wouldnt dare to activate the seal for the second time as it was energy-consuming.
Seizing the chance, Lu Ye stomped his foot on the ground and dashed towards Luo Ji. In a zigzag way, he dodged the icicles as the light of a defensive Spiritual Pattern shed across his body from time to time. [I can definitely defeat him.] As long as the battle dragged on, he could certainly kill Luo Ji.
Although the speed at which Luo Ji recovered was the same as or had even surpassed Lu Ye, he had gulped down too many Spirit Pills in the past few days. If a cultivator consumed too many pills in a short period of time, his Spiritual Power would end up bing turbid. It was especially fatal for a spell cultivator like Luo Ji to have impure Spiritual Power. That was because the power of the spells he used would weaken, and the time he needed to activate his spells would also lengthen.
Lu Ye was fully aware of that, which was why he insisted on continuing the fight. He didnt have to end his life this time. As long as he could force Luo Ji to keep exhausting his Spiritual Power and consuming pills to replenish his energy, thetter would be increasingly weaker. There would finallye a moment when he could hack this guy to death.
Chapter 85: I’ll Give You Money if You Spare My Life
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 85: Ill Give You Money if You Spare My Life
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
However, this battle didnt go on in the end. In the middle of? the battle, Luo Ji bellowed, Ill give you money if you spare my life!
Apparently, he had realised the problem with himself as he couldnt keep on fighting. Presently, Lu Ye was unable to kill him, but if the battle dragged on,? he would end up in a terrible state and eventually get killed by Lu Ye. Startled by the imposing shout for a moment, Lu Ye then pointed his sword at the front, I want your seal! The seal must be an incredible artifact, which might be more valuable than the bell he had obtained from the Young Master of Nine Star n.
Luo Ji chuckled and prepared for a Spell Technique. Have a life-and-death battle with me! Right now!
What can you give me, then? Lu Ye asked in a grim voice. In fact, he wasnt determined to kill Luo Ji. He just felt that he had suffered immense losses after three days of battle. If Luo Ji could make up for his losses, he wouldnt mind ending the fight. With that said, the main reason was that if they kept on fighting, he would have to pay a hefty price even if he could kill Luo Ji in the end. The other party wouldnt just keep on battling against him like a fool. Before the oue became irreversible, Luo Ji would certainly risk his life to destroy the other party.
Then, Luo Ji fished out his seal from the Storage Bag and lifted the bag. Its all yours.
[Hes pretty generous.] Lu Ye was surprised. However, considering that Luo Ji had also consumed lots of stuff in the past few days, there were probably not many things left in the bag. It was likely that there were only some pills and stones in it. Seeing as Luo Ji was so straightforward, Lu Ye wouldnt want to keep forcing him as both parties would be destroyed if this battle dragged on. After giving it a thought, he nodded. Sure.
Hearing that, Luo Ji directly tossed the bag at Luo Ye without making him take an oath. That was because to him, even though their stances were different, they were from some of the top great forces. Therefore, he believed that the other person was a man of integrity.
Weve been fighting for a long time, but I dont even know your name.
Yi Ye!
Luo Ji dipped his head and stared fixedly at Lu Ye as though he was trying to imprint thetters face into the deepest part of his memory. Then, he turned around and dragged his leaden feet out of the gorge. On the other hand, Lu Ye didnt seize the chance tounch a sneak attack. Although Luo Ji appeared to have put his guard down, the seal in his hand was radiating a faint glow. If Lu Ye chose to go back on his word, hed be forcing Luo Ji to fight with him until one of them perished.
After walking for a long time, Luo Ji looked up at the sky with a sorrowful expression. In fact, he had suffered immense losses. The things he had lost in the Storage Bag didnt matter. As a disciple from Infinite Ind, he didnt care about it. The crux of the problem was that he had consumed too many pills recently, which made the Spiritual Power in his body be turbid. It would take him at least one month to restore his Spiritual Power to its original state.
In other words, he couldnt cultivate in the next month, which had a huge impact on any low-rank cultivators, especially a cultivator like him who was from a top great force. With that said, he had lost the battle, and he wouldnt me anyone. Both of them were still low-rank cultivators, and theyd definitely meet again in the future. At that point, hed get his revenge.
After Luo Jis figure was out of sight, Lu Ye let out a long breath and beckoned to Amber before riding on its back. With the tiger leading the way, they found a tunnel to take a rest. [Its finally over!] He had be exhausted, both physically and psychologically, from the battle. Even though it had only been a short time since he started cultivating, he had experienced tons of battles. However, he had nevere across an equally matched opponent like Luo Ji, who was extremely difficult to deal with.
In the end, it was Luo Ji who admitted defeat, but in fact, it was Lu Ye who had lost the battle. That was because he had Amber and Yi Yi to assist him, while Luo Ji was on his own. Amber and Yi Yi were unable to directly deal with Luo Ji because they were wary of? the seals power. However, they couldunch a sneak attack on him from time to time. Because of what they had been doing, Luo Ji hadnt had any time to take a nap.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had taken a few naps. It could be said that if Lu Ye was also on his own, he wouldnt have been at an advantage in such a battle.
These cultivators from the top great forces were indeed extraordinary. The battle with Luo Ji served as a lesson for Lu Ye, that he should never judge a cultivators power based on his realm. He wasnt even in the mood to take a look at the things inside Luo Jis bag. After he was done with eating some jerky, he dozed off.
Amber and Yi Yi traded nces before shuffling to both ends of the tunnel. The war between Nine Star n and Mystic Sect had ended, and Luo Ji had admitted defeat, so they probably wouldnte across any danger again. However, they still had to remain vignt.
Lu Ye was awakened by the noisesing from the Battlefield Imprint. Still in a groggy state, he opened his eyes and furrowed his brows. For some reason, he became grumpy upon waking up as he felt extremely displeased. After remaining frustrated for a bit, he checked on his Battlefield Imprint, and just like what he had expected, it was Chu Tian who had sent over ten messages asking if he was around. Im not! he replied.
In the Mystic Sects station, Chu Tian appeared puzzled as he realised that Lu Ye seemed to be in a terrible mood. After bing startled for a while, he sent him one more message. Brother Yi Ye, thats funny.
He had been calling him Junior Brother Yi Ye in the past. The fact that he had changed the way he addressed him suggested that some news had been spread around Mystic Sect. Although he already knew that Lu Ye was from a top great force, Lu Ye proved to be a cultivator with huge potential by defeating Luo Ji.
Whats the matter? Lu Ye was trying to find out how to cklist this guy. A momentter, he realised that he just had to remove Chu Tians brand from his Battlefield Imprint. However, considering the fact that this guy was his first and only friend so far, he decided not to do it.
The thing is Upon reading Chu Tians exnation, Lu Ye learned that after those from Mystic Sect won the war, they decided to hold a celebratory banquet to reward the disciples who had done a great job. Therefore, Chu Tian wanted to invite him toe over. Regardless, Lu Ye had lent a hand to Mystic Sect in the beginning of the war.
Im not free. Lu Ye rejected him outright. Because of the advice given to him by the Sect Master previously, he wasnt willing toe into contact with too many people, let alone join their celebratory banquet. Moreover, he believed that Chu Tian had only invited him out of politeness.
Well As Chu Tian read the rude message from Lu Ye in the Mystic Sects station, he realised that this man was indeed a willful person.
Then, he replied, Since youre not free, Ill stop disturbing you. However, many of our Junior Brothers and Sisters want to thank you face-to-face. Brother Yi Ye, when are you leaving? Ill personally see you off.
Lu Ye didnt respond to Chu Tians message. Instead, he fished out Luo Jis Storage Bag to have a look. As expected, the restriction on the bag had been lifted. Upon examining it, Lu Ye was surprised. He thought that there were not many things left in the bag, but he realised that Luo Ji was richer than he thought.
There were indeed not many good things left as these were all Spirit Pills, Spirit Stones and some defensive talisman papers. Nevertheless, these were the things Lu Ye needed most now.
There were about thirty stones. A low-rank cultivator didnt need to consume many of these, so Luo Ji had brought these stones with him just in case he needed them all of a sudden. On the other hand, there were many pills. There were ten bottles of Spirit Restoring Pills and three bottles of a different kind of pills. In total, there were over a hundred pills. Although these things were not enough to make up for the losses he had suffered in the past three days, it was better than nothing at all.
Chapter 86: Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 86: Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Name: Lu Ye
Identity: A disciple from Crimson Blood Sect
Cultivation: 29 Spiritual Points
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution: 142 points
Lu Ye was examining the information in his Battlefield Imprint. If he wasnt mistaken, beforeing to Split Sky Gorge, his Contribution was 34 points, but now, it had be 142 points, which was an increase of 108 points. These were the points he had obtained from killing the cultivators from Nine Star n. If he hadnt been held up by Luo Ji for a few days, he would have obtained more.
For now, he had no idea what Contribution was for. Although he could ask Chu Tian about it, his secrets would be exposed by doing so. Therefore, he didnt intend to ask anyone about it. Whatever its uses were, he would find out about it after returning to the station of Crimson Blood Sect.
As for his wealth, he had 10 Yuan Metal ores, 1 ten-point map, 135 Spirit Restoring Pills, 251 Spirit Stones, 31 Healing Pills, 22 Small Returning Pills, 9 talisman papers, 1 bell artifact, and 4 Storage Bags that hadnt been opened yet.
The Small Returning Pills were from Luo Jis bag. The name of the pills was written on the bottles. Lu Ye had seen Luo Ji use it when taking a rest, so he was certain that these pills were useful for cultivators. As for the talisman papers, they were all defensive and auxiliary ones. The four Storage Bags belonged to the Young Master of Nine Star n and his subordinates, but Lu Ye reckoned that apart from the Young Masters bag, the others didnt contain any valuable items. He would have to get someone else to open the bags to find out.
Although he seemed to have many resources at hand, he wasnt actually wealthy. Now, he was a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, so he needed about 15 Spirit Pills to open up one Spiritual Point. With the help of Gluttonous Feast and Gathering Spirits, he was able to consume fewer pills and improve his efficiency. Now, the most important thing for him was to recuperate. Even though he had be more energetic after a nights sleep, the Spiritual Power he had used wouldnt be restored automatically.
Curious about the efficacies of the Small Returning Pills, he took out one from the bottle and consumed it. As he used Gluttonous Feast, he refined the pill and constructed some Gathering Spirits around his Spiritual Points to restore his Spiritual Power. When all the Spiritual Points were blessed with Spiritual Patterns that looked like a funnel, he could clearly feel a pull around his chest and belly that could attract the World Spiritual Qi around him. That was the effect of 29 Gathering Spirits Spiritual Patternsbined.
Now, he could confirm the efficacies of Small Returning Pills. These pills were more useful than Spirit Restoring Pills. It was no wonder that Luo Ji would always consume these when taking a rest. He secretly cursed and thought that these disciples from top great forces indeed had a rich heritage. Even the pills they took were different.
After spending one day and taking six Small Returning Pills, he was finally able to fully restore his Spiritual Power. It was then he fished out the jade slip given to him by the woman with double buns from Mystic Sect and studied it.
Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic was the name of this Earth Grade cultivation technique. If he cultivated ording to this technique, he was able to unlock up to 180 Spiritual Points. What surprised him was that there were a few Spell Techniques that came with the cultivation technique. However, these spells required the cultivator to reach a certain point in Spiritual Power to start cultivating, so it wasnt useful for Lu Ye at the moment. This cultivation technique was supposed to be costly, but those from Mystic Sect only sold it to him for two Spirit Stones, so it was indeed a bargain for him.
Presently, he was a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master who had opened up 29 Spiritual Points. In order to ascend to the Fourth-Order, he had to unlock 45 points. In other words, he still had another 16 points to go. Nevertheless, it was far from the truth as there must be parts between the cultivation techniques he had studied that didnt ovep. Therefore, he had to unlock more than 16 points.
Afterparing the Spiritual Points he had unlocked and what was written in the Mnemonic, he came to the conclusion that he needed to open up 18 more points before he could achieve the Fourth Order. Only until then could hepletely switch from Golden Liberation Technique to Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic.
He estimated that he would need about 250 pills to unlock 18 points. Given the number of pills he had, it was far from enough. Fortunately, he still had Spirit Stones. After giving it a thought, he decided to send someone a message. That was the only person he could look for at the moment. Ill buy some Spirit Restoring Pills and food from you for 251 Spirit Stones.
He wasnt willing to stay here any longer. The station of Crimson Blood Sect was far away from this ce, so itd take him a long time to arrive at his destination. Therefore, he decided to set off on his journey as soon as possible. Moreover, the Sect Master must be worried about his safety.
When he left Green Cloud Mountain, he had only unlocked 21 Spiritual Points, but now, it was 29 points. Amber and Yi Yi had also grown their powers. He had spent about ten days in Split Sky Gorge, so it was time he moved on. As a Third-Order cultivator, he was already able to protect himself in the outer circle of the battlefield.
As for cultivation, he could do so while heading to his destination. There shouldnt be any problem with it. He had mastered the correct way to use Gathering Spirits. Even if he didnt consume any pills, his Spiritual Power would still increase slowly. However, before he embarked on his journey, he had to trade the useless things in his possession for useful stuff.
He didnt really need any Spirit Stones, so itd be best if they could be traded for pills. As for food, both Amber and he were gluttons, so he had to prepare more foods well.
Soon, Chu Tian sent him a message. Sure. Brother Yi Ye, are you leaving? He must have realised something.
Yes, Lu Ye replied.
Ill get everything ready by tomorrow morning and look for you.
.
After the conversation with Chu Tian, Lu Ye picked up the Mnemonic to study it and ascertained the location of the next Spiritual Point he had to unlock. Following several attempts, he was finally able to break through the barrier of the 30th point.
Then, he started practising sword-wielding instead of continuing to cultivate. In the past few days, he had been in an intense battle with Luo Ji, so he hadnt had the time to do such a thing. However, on this day, he realised that something was different. It became smoother and more natural when he wielded his sword. He had a feeling that this was the upside of his previous life-and-death battle.
Amber and Yi Yi had also returned. Since the war between the neighbouring great forces had ended, it was dead silence in Split Sky Gorge. Therefore, they didnt have to worry about any potential danger. Presently, Amber was lying on its stomach. After finishing its own jerky, it waited for Lu Ye to give it more food.
In the beginning, he only had to feed Amber two Spirit Restoring Pills every day, but as the tiger grew in power, it had to consume more. So, hed give the beast four pills every day now. As for Yi Yi, she didnt live on anything. She was a Ghost Spirit associated with the tiger. As long as the tiger became more powerful, she would be stronger as well.
Four hourster, Lu Ye put the sword back into the sheath and started having roast meat beside a bonfire. He also tossed two pills at Amber. Suddenly recalling something, he asked, Yi Yi, does Amber know how to use spells?
When he was battling against Luo Ji in the tunnel, Yi Yi went over to disturb him, but she was forced to retreat when faced with a Golden Arc sh. At that time, she yelped in shock. Amber thought that she had been injured, so it roared at Luo Ji.
The roar not only disturbed Luo Ji, but it also caused Lu Ye to feel like someone had struck him with a hammer. This was obviously not normal.
Chapter 87: Mystic Sect Goes to War
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 87: Mystic Sect Goes to War
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye recalled that when he came across Amber for the first time and met with its amber pupils, his mind went nk for a moment. Then, the tiger hadnt shown any anomalies until this time.
After giving it a thought, Yi Yi replied, I dont think so. Then, she turned her head. Amber, can you use any spells?
In response, Amber howled.
Yi Yi went on to say, It said it cant.
The corner of Lu Yes mouth twitched as he still hadnt figured out how Yi Yi was able tomunicate with the tiger. It was amazing that she could understand the tiger through the noises it made. It was probably her unique capability as a Ghost Spirit. Lu Ye stopped asking as he was only curious about it upon recalling this matter. After he was done with having his meal, he started cultivating again while Amber had dozed off beside him. It remained silent throughout the night.
In the station of Mystic Sect, following Lu Yes demands, Chu Tian was collecting some pills and food from the other disciples. Because of that, word got out that the Mountain Tiger, Yi Ye, was leaving. Before the break of dawn, Chu Tian contacted Lu Ye and confirmed his location before heading over to meet him with two Junior Brothers. After the exchange, Lu Ye obtained lots of food and about 200 Spirit Restoring Pills.
At that moment, the sky waspletely bright. After Lu Ye got onto the tigers back, Chu Tian cupped his fists and uttered, Good bye. Please contact me when youre free.
After Lu Ye dipped his head, Amber charged forward and went further into Split Sky Gorge. Watching Lu Ye leave, Chu Tian suddenly became envious of him because Lu Ye was carefree as a rogue cultivator. However, he came from a top great force, which was why he had the confidence and heritage to survive. If Chu Tian were to do the same, he wouldnt havested for a few months. After returning to the station with his Junior Brothers, he found out that Wang Yang was looking for him, so he hurriedly went over.
When he arrived at his destination, he realised that something was unusual. All the people in the station had gathered together. Besides their own disciples, even the rogue cultivators that relied on their Sect were also there. Presently, a few hundred people had assembled on a square. Wang Yang was standing there with a straight back, and he was holding the hilt of a sword as though he was waiting for something. The atmosphere around the ce was sombre.
Chu Tian walked over and cupped his fists. Senior Brother.
Has the Mountain Tiger left? Wang Yang asked.
Yes, Chu Tian replied.
Wang Yang nodded slightly with a gratified expression on his face. Thats great. Join them now. He seemed to wish that Lu Ye couldve left sooner.
Yes! Chu Tian got into the formation as he was puzzled by the current situation. However, Wang Yang must be going to do something important by gathering everyone together. Chu Tian had a spection in mind, but in that case, there was going to be an epic battle on this day.
Time went by slowly. One hourter, Wang Yang, who had been standing there for a long time, suddenly arched his brow and shouted, Both Mystic Sect and Nine Star n have been stationed here for 30 years. During this period of time, weve gotten into countless battles, and there have been deaths on both sides. The blood feud between us is basically unresolvable. Even though weve won the battle in Split Sky Gorge, well never be able to live a peaceful life as long as Nine Star n is around. Therefore, I intend to invade Nine Star ns station, and I hope that all of you will lend me a hand!
Upon hearing that, all of them broke intomotion. It had only been one day since the war ended, so they were shocked to learn that Wang Yang intended to invade Nine Star ns station. Mystic Sect had just won the battle, so they should be celebrating their victory instead of creating trouble again at this point. It wasnt easy to raid a station, which was protected by a Grand Array. Without breaking the array first, they would never be able to enter the station. However, recalling what Wang Yang had been doing over the years, they realised that he must havee up with such a n in advance.
Chu Tian was the first one to raise his arms and shout, Senior Brother, Im willing to go with you to strengthen Mystic Sects power!
The others also roared in unison. Senior Brother, were willing to go with you to strengthen Mystic Sects power!
Standing at the front of these people, Wang Yang put on a smile. Thats great.
Then, he turned to look at Chu Tian. Send a message to Mountain Tiger and inform him that Dong Shu Ye has gone over to hunt him down an hour ago.
.
Upon hearing that, Chu Tian was astounded by the fact that Dong Shu Ye was so brazen. At the same time, he was surprised by Wang Yangs ability to gather information. Dong Shu Ye was the strongest cultivator who was in charge of the Nine Star ns station. With him around, the station was safe. However, if he wasnt around, the defence around the station would weaken.
It seemed that the death of Nine Star ns Young Master had greatly humiliated them. They could concede defeat in the war against Mystic Sect, but they were determined to kill Mountain Tiger. Otherwise, Dong Shu Ye wouldnt have taken the risk to leave the station and hunt Lu Ye down. He must have left secretly lest those from Mystic Sect were given a chance to invade them. Despite that, Wang Yang had still found out about it. Apparently, they must have made some arrangements outside Nine Star ns station. As soon as Dong Shu Ye left the ce, Wang Yang would immediately receive the news.
Then, Chu Tian recalled that some of the disciples were not around during the celebratory banquet on the previous night. Nevertheless, how did Dong Shu Ye find out that Mountain Tiger had left? Chu Tian wasnt a fool, so he immediately realised what had happened. Someone from Mystic Sect must have leaked the news.
It was no wonder that when he reported to Wang Yang regarding Mountain Tigers demands on the previous night, thetter told him to collect the items from other disciples. It was actually easier to get the items from the headquarters. When he was collecting the pills and food, many people asked him about the reason behind it. He didnt intend to hide anything, so he told them that Lu Ye was going to leave. The disciples from Mystic Sect wouldnt share any information with Nine Star n, so the person who had leaked the news must be one of those rogue cultivators who had been staying in their station.
While he was in his thoughts, Wang Yang suddenly stared at a particr cultivator and uttered, Shi Jun, do you have anything to say?
The rogue cultivator called Shi Jun had his forehead drenched in sweat. With an apprehensive expression, he replied, N-No
However, Wang Yang only kept gaping at him.
Shi Jun became more anxious as he eximed, Senior Brother Wang, please forgive me!
It seems that you really have nothing to say.
Then, Wang Yang flicked at the sword by his side, whereupon the sword left the sheath with a swish and turned into a beam of light. The next instant, it reached Shi Jun and circled around his neck, after which his body became as hard as a stone. When the sword light returned to the sheath, Shi Juns head fell to the ground, and blood spurted out of his neck. Following that, the headless corpse copsed to the ground. The turn of events caused all the rogue cultivators to be covered in cold sweat as they stared at Wang Yang in shock.
There was a cold expression on Wang Yangs face when he exined, Shi Jun had joined us as a rogue cultivator, but he was actually a mole from Nine Star n. I killed him on this day to serve as a warning, so I hope all of you will behave yourselves.
All of them couldnt believe what they had heard, but recalling Shi Junsst words, they realised that it was indeed the truth. The fact that Shi Jun had begged for mercy suggested that he was feeling guilty.
Lets go. Well destroy the Nine Star n now! Wang Yang waved his hand.
A momentter, hundreds of cultivators from Mystic Sect streamed out of the ce, leaving the empty station behind.
Chapter 88: We’re Even Now
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 88: Were Even Now
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was riding on Ambers back with a nonchnt expression. Compared to the time when he had just left Green Cloud Mountain, he was undoubtedly more calm and collected now. Also, he was already used to such a bumpy ride, so Amber running at full speed wouldnt affect his cultivation session. Certainly, he was less efficient now than when he was able to cultivate in a serene environment. Fortunately, he had the help of Gathering Spirits.
All thirty of his Spiritual Points had been blessed with Gathering Spirits as they continuously attracted the World Spiritual Qi in the air. As the pill was being refined in Lu Yes stomach, and with Spiritual Qi streaming in, the thirtieth point he had just unlocked was slowly filled with Spiritual Power. He didnt use Gluttonous Feast because it would require some time to switch to a different technique, which was unlike when he was taking a rest after bing exhausted from the battle with Luo Ji. At that time, Luo Ji was well within his sight, so he could immediately find out and use a different technique should Luo Ji make a move.
However, it was impossible to do that when he was on the go as an ident might happen at any moment. Maybe in just ten breaths time when he had to use a different technique, he woulde across danger. By keeping the Golden Liberation Technique running, he was better prepared to react to any turn of events. The only thing he had to sacrifice was the speed at which he cultivated, which was no big deal.
He made some calctions and realised the pills he had were enough tost him until he ascended to the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Certainly, that was assuming that there was no additional consumption. If he got into a scuffle again, he would need to use more pills. Besides that, Amber also needed some pills every day. One hour ago, he had left Split Sky Gorge as Ambers speed was truly incredible. Referring to the 10-point map and the instructions in the Battlefield Imprint, Lu Ye pointed out a direction for Amber and let it run.
While he was enjoying the ride, he suddenly frowned and took a look at the Battlefield Imprint. [Why has Chu Tian contacted me again?] However, after he was done with reading the message, his expression changed drastically, whereupon hended a p on the tigers back and yelled, Amber, run! Someone is racing after us!
Hearing that, Amber immediately hastened its pace, which almost caused Lu Ye to fall off its back. Yi Yi stuck out her head from the tigers back and asked in a grim voice, Did Chu Tian from Mystic Sect send you a message? Who ising after us? Whats the persons cultivation?
A Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master called Dong Shu Ye, Lu Ye replied.
When he was killing the disciples from Nine Star n in Split Sky Gorge, he hadnt evene across a single Fifth-Order cultivator. He thought that he hadnt seen any strong cultivators because he was in the outer circle of the battlefield. However, it wasnt until he met the woman with double buns and the burly man from Nine Star n that he realised that it wasnt the truth. Although he had no idea how powerful they were, they were definitely above the Fifth-Order. It was then he realised that it wasnt that there were no cultivators above the Fifth-Order in the outer circle. The reason he hadnt seen any one of them prior to that was that the two great forces had been tying each other down.
A Seventh-Order cultivator must be a mainstay in any great force. The fact that such a person wasing all the way to hunt him down suggested that those from Nine Star n were determined to get him killed. Presently, there was an extremely solemn expression on Lu Yes face. Although he couldnt really defeat Luo Ji, he was confident that he could even deal with a Fifth-Order cultivator if he ever came across one. Nevertheless, if his opponent was a Seventh-Order cultivator, he would never be able to resist.
Upon realising the severity of the matter, Yi Yi urged Amber to run faster. Amber expended all its energy to run at the speed of lightning as the wind howled and the view around them moved backwards rapidly. Seeing a new message in his Battlefield Imprint, Lu Ye quickly read it.
Hang in there, Brother Yi Ye. Dong Shu Ye wont stay at your ce for too long.
What do you mean? Lu Ye hurriedly asked.
At this moment, Chu Tian was walking alongside Wang Yang as those from Mystic Sect were about tounch a sneak attack on Nine Star n. He was in a dilemma as he wasnt sure how to exin it to Lu Ye. In fact, they had made use of Lu Ye because they deliberately let word get out that Lu Ye was leaving Split Sky Gorge, which prompted Dong Shu Ye to hunt him down. However, Chu Tian couldnt explicitly tell him what had happened as it would only irritate him. The Mountain Tiger came from a top great force. As long as he could survive, he would certainly make a name for himself in the future. Offending him at this point would do no good for Mystic Sect.
Just then, Wang Yang was heard saying, Just tell him the truth as it is. Since weve done such a thing, we shouldnt be afraid to let him know. If hes clever enough, hell know what to do.
Upon getting Wang Yangs permission, Chu Tian pulled himself together and sent another message. All of us are heading to Nine Star ns station at this moment. As soon as Dong Shu Ye receives the news, he will immediatelye back here. So, Brother Yi Ye, you must try your best to survive!
Looking at the message, Lu Ye was somewhat doubtful. The mainstay of Nine Star n, Dong Shu Ye, had just left his ce to hunt him down, but on the other hand, those from Mystic Sect went all out tounch an attack on their enemies station, which was too coincidental.
It was as though those from Mystic Sect had been waiting for this chance. Moreover, they had even invited him to join the celebratory banquet on the previous night. Lu Ye had no idea whether they would be able to upy the Nine Star ns station, but since they had decided to do so, they must have some confidence in achieving their goal.
When he was still in Split Sky Gorge, it was inconvenient for Dong Shu Ye to make a move because they were too close to the Mystic Sects station, which might prompt them to intervene. Therefore, if Dong Shu Ye wanted to kill Lu Ye, he had to wait for thetter to leave Split Sky Gorge first. However, only Chu Tian was aware that Lu Ye was leaving. How did Dong Shu Ye find out about it and race after him?
[Have they made use of me?] That was the only possibility Lu Ye could think of. After giving it a thought, he sent a message to Chu Tian. Were even now.
Then, he decidedly cklisted him. Although he was pretty sure that he had been used, he didnt me anyone. In fact, he was the one who had ignited the war in Split Sky Gorge. The fact that he had killed the Young Master of Nine Star n had caused the two great forces to sh with one another.
If Mystic Sect hadnt interfered in this matter, given Nine Star ns heritage, Lu Ye might not be able to counter them. At the very least, he had to deal with arge number of cultivators, some of whom were Fifth-Order cultivators. Mystic Sects intervention had spared Lu Ye the fate of facing the entire great force on his own. After the warmenced, he had saved quite some disciples from Mystic Sect, but he had never looted anything on the battlefield. He had only demanded some useful pills and stones from the disciples he had saved.
It could be said that Lu Ye and the disciples from Mystic Sect had been helping one another out. Therefore, even though those from Mystic Sect had taken advantage of him in the end, he wouldnt me them as he was the one who had caused the trouble.
His connection with Mystic Sect should stop here. Anyway, those from Mystic Sect had lent him a hand, and he had saved their disciples. He had also gotten an Earth Grade cultivation technique from them, which solved an urgent problem. Now that he had been used, he reckoned that they were even, and they should stop contacting one another.
Walking alongside those from Mystic Sect, Chu Tian sported a bitter expression and heaved a sigh.
What did he say? Wang Yang was heard saying.
Chu Tian replied honestly, He said that were even now and removed my brand from his Imprint.
That made Chu Tian feel dejected. After all, Lu Ye was from a top great force, so the average person rarely had the chance toe into contact with him.
Wang Yangs lips curved into a smile. Hes a clever person. Interesting.
Chapter 89: I Hate Spell Cultivators
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 89: I Hate Spell Cultivators
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Outside Split Sky Gorge was arge area of nd, which was a disadvantageous environment for the current situation Lu Ye was in, as there was nowhere he could hide. Upon going through the 10-point map, he realised that there was a mountain after crossing the nd. There was a river on the other side of the mountain. From there, he had to keep going for several dozen kilometres before he could reach a town.
[I have to head to the mountain.] Lu Ye immediately made a decision. He wasnt sure how powerful a Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master truly was, but given the situation he was in, he would only stand a chance to survive by heading to the mountain. However, the mountain was pretty far away from this ce. Given Ambers speed, it would still take him two hours before arriving at his destination.
He secretly prayed that Dong Shu Ye wouldnt run too fast. While he was still in his thoughts, he felt as though a de had been pressed against his back. Turning his head, he was astounded to see a beam of lighting at him at full speed from the gorge. Without even the need to think about it, he knew that the beam of light must be Dong Shu Ye. Although they were still far apart, Dong Shu Ye could still clearly see Lu Ye, who was on Ambers back, at first nce and targeted him with a pair of eyes as sharp as those from an eagle. The feeling of a de that had been pressed against his back was Dong Shu Yes murderous intent.
[He can fly?] Lu Ye felt his chest tightening. He thought that by relying on Amber, he could possibly get rid of Dong Shu Ye. After all, Amber was pretty swift when it was running. Moreover, the tiger was doing its best given the danger they were facing. However, he had never expected that Dong Shu Ye could fly. The situation wasnt in his favour because they were running on the ground while their opponent was flying in the sky. Apparently, Amber was unable to outpace him.
Just then, Dong Shu Ye suddenlynded on the ground. Before Lu Ye could understand what was going on, Dong Shu Ye shot into the sky again and continued chasing him. A momentter, he finally realised that Dong Shu Ye was gliding instead of flying. Every time he glided, he could move for 300 metres, which was much faster than Amber.
The situation wasnt as terrible as he thought, but he couldnt afford to be optimistic either. The gap between them was shortening. If this went on, Dong Shu Ye would reach them in an hour.
A Seventh-Order cultivator was indeed extraordinary. The reason Dong Shu Ye decided to hunt him down was that he was confident of achieving his goal.
[I muste up with a solution.] After giving it a thought, Lu Ye fished out a talisman paper from his Storage Bag.
Presently, he was left with nine talisman papers. Three days of battle against Luo Ji had made him use arge number of talisman papers. The ones he had now were all defensive and auxiliary. The talisman paper he had taken out was called Move With the Wind, which was an auxiliary one that could increase ones speed. He hadnt had the chance to use it in the past, but it proved to be useful at this point.
Then, he activated his Spiritual Power and pped the talisman paper on Amber. The next instant, ayer of Spiritual Light surrounded the tiger before it gathered on the beasts feet. At that moment, Amber felt significantly lighter. With the help of the Spiritual Light, the tiger was able to run even faster. Although they still couldnt get rid of Dong Shu Ye, they could stall for more time.
The pursuit went on as they moved closer to the mountain. The murderous intent behind Dong Shu Yes eyes seemed to have materialised and erupted like a volcano. He thought that he could easily kill Lu Ye by personallying all the way here. However, he had underestimated the snow white tigers speed. Now, Lu Ye had also used a talisman paper, which made it more difficult for him to run after them.
Nevertheless, it didnt hinder Dong Shu Yes determination to kill Lu Ye. The Young Master was killed under his watch. Upon learning about it, those old guys from the n were infuriated. The n Master was especially incensed as he had given the order that his Son, who was basically useless, couldnt be killed for nothing. The murderer must die. If it werent because Cloud River Realm Masters were not allowed to enter Spirit Creek Battlefield, Dong Shu Ye believed that the n Master wouldve stormed into this ce.
Because of the useless Young Masters death, Dong Shu Ye had been reprimanded. The fact that they had lost the battle against Mystic Sect had also weakened his authority in the n. If he could avenge the Young Masters death, he might be able to keep his position. If he couldnt, it would be difficult for him to have any say at all in the n. Therefore, the murderer must be killed. So what if Lu Ye had used a talisman paper? He still couldnt get rid of Dong Shu Ye. The gap between them was shortening. When Dong Shu Ye finally reached a suitable location, he would be able to end Lu Yes life with a spell.
One hourter, there was only a distance of 3 kilometres between them. The power of Move With the Wind had been exhausted. Lu Ye fished out another one and pped it on Amber. This was thest Move With the Wind talisman paper he had. The Sect Master had only prepared two of these for him.
One more hourter, the mountain in front of them became clearer. It would only take them another fifteen minutes before Amber could bring Lu Ye to reach the mountain. By then, it would be easier for them to go into hiding. However, Dong Shu Ye was only 900 metres away from them now, which was a dangerous distance. Lu Ye felt his heart pounding against his chest. There was an indescribable pressure that made it difficult for him to breathe.
600 metres, 300 metres Lu Ye felt a very strong fluctuation of Spiritual Power behind him. Turning his head, he saw that Dong Shu Ye, who was gliding in the air, pointed at him with one hand. There was a red disc made of Spiritual Power that was spinning around in front of him.
Those from Mystic Sect have gone all out to attack the Nine Star ns station. How do you still have the time to race after me? Lu Ye hurriedly yelled. Since those from Mystic Sect had made use of him, he didnt have to hide the news for them. At this critical moment, he had to stall for more time with any ways he could think of.
Upon hearing that, Dong Shu Ye became startled for a moment as his instincts told him that Lu Ye wasnt lying. As his mind was elsewhere, the disc in front of him became unstable as well. Following that, he bellowed, How dare you spout nonsense to distract me! Go to Hell!
His Spiritual Light expanded as a lot of fist-sized fireballs came at Lu Ye like a meteor shower. There were probably several dozen fireballs as they were about to strike their target.
.
Lu Yes eyelids twitched when he saw that. He knew that it was difficult to deal with a Seventh-Order cultivator, but he hadnt expected that Dong Shu Ye was this powerful. Moreover, Dong Shu Yes moves suggested that he was a spell cultivator. Luo Ji was also a spell cultivator.
[I hate spell cultivators!] Lu Ye gritted his teeth. Then, he turned around on the tigers back to face his opponent. With his hand firmly holding the hilt, he focused on countering the attack.
As the fireballsnded on the ground, Amber zigzagged forward to dodge them. The fireballs were extremely powerful as they immediately formed many pits on the ground. The pits were still seen burning with mes. If they were struck with such an attack, their skin wouldve been burned even if they survived.
On the tigers back, Lu Ye continuously shed at the fireballs as the defensive Spiritual Pattern kept flickering. The fireballs Amber was unable to dodge were either cut open or fended off by him. The sparkles caused him to feel immense pain. Amber also kept wailing as the smell of roast meat exuded from its body.
After all the fireballsnded, Lu Ye felt fortunate that besides some burns on their bodies, he and Amber were fine. However, his hand, which was holding the sword, was trembling violently. It wasnt so easy to sh a Seventh-Order cultivators spell.
The spell was meant to cover arge area in an attempt to kill Lu Ye in one go, so the power of the spell had been scattered. Nevertheless, Lu Ye had to fully use his power to fend off every fireball that came at him. This time, Dong Shu Ye had only hastily used a spell. What if he decided to fully use his power? By then, there was no way Lu Ye could survive.
Chapter 90: Running for Their Lives
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 90: Running for Their Lives
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
While Lu Ye was suffering terribly, Dong Shu Ye was surprised that he hadnt managed to kill Lu Ye with his spell. It was then he realised that Luo Ji wasnt lying. He wasnt certain which great force Lu Ye was from, but thetter was able to use Spiritual Patterns in a battle. He had seen a Spiritual Pattern that looked like a shield which shone and fended off his fireballs.
It was no wonder that someone like Luo Ji had lost the battle. Upon Luo Jis return, Dong Shu Ye asked him what had happened and found out that he had lost the battle. Initially, he thought that Luo Ji hadnt done his best, but now, it seemed that he had wronged him. Nevertheless, he was different from Luo Ji, after all. Luo Ji came from a wealthier background, and he had been studying a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. However, his biggest problem was his weak cultivation.
.
As a Seventh-Order cultivator, Dong Shu Ye had more moves to deal with his opponent. After he activated his Spiritual Power, a fireball the size of a washbasin appeared in front of him, whereupon it shot towards Lu Ye at an incredible speed. Ill see how youre going to ward this one off!
Seeing as the fireball was about to hit him, Lu Ye felt a crawling sensation on his scalp. Although there were many fireballs earlier, they were only the size of a fist. Therefore, he could still fend them off with some difficulty. However, how was he going to drive off a washbasin-sized fireball? Amber! he yelled.
Amber hastened its pace and leaped forward. The huge fireball descended from the sky and almost struck the tigers backside. The scorching heat made Lu Ye feel an immense pain on his face. The Spiritual Pattern was unable to help him with it as he caught a whiff of a burnt smell from hair. He felt fortunate that even though this thing was big, it was slightly slower than the smaller fireballs earlier. Otherwise, Amber wouldnt have been able to dodge it.
However, the next instant, his expression changed because the big fireball didntnd on the ground. Instead, it changed direction and raced after them. [This thing can change direction!]
Dong Shu Ye was gliding in mid-air with one hand behind his back while performing a hand seal with his other hand. His hair and clothes swayed with the wind, which made him look as light as a feather. Nheless, the Spiritual Power surged around him as he was engulfed in a murderous intent.
The huge fireball became increasingly faster and was about to hit its target. Lu Ye knew that if he still couldnte up with a solution, he and Amber would lose their lives in this ce. After taking a deep breath, he put his sword back in its sheath and raised both of his hands. As he activated his Spiritual Power, a defensive Spiritual Pattern appeared in front of him.
Apparently, it wasnt enough. It was already difficult for the Spiritual Pattern to fend off the fireballs earlier, let alone such arge one. However, as Lu Ye madly infused his Spiritual Power into it, the palm-sized defensive Spiritual Pattern expanded into a table-sized one in a short period of time. A very intricate pattern was flowing around on the Spiritual Pattern as it radiated a glow.
At that instant, Lu Ye felt as though all his energy had left his body. Although he hadnt had the time to check on himself, he knew that this Spiritual Pattern must have cost him 30 percent of his Spiritual Power. In other words, he could only use this Spiritual Pattern three times before his Spiritual Power would be depleted.
He had never activated this Spiritual Pattern before. In the past, he would only need a short moment to use Sharp Edge or Protection. There was onemon trait about Spiritual Patterns. As long as there was enough Spiritual Power to sustain it, the Spiritual Pattern would keep going. The reason Gathering Spirits was able to sustain itself was that it had the ability to attract the World Spiritual Qi around it, which allowed it to keep existing.
The substantial fireball struck the defensive Spiritual Pattern and sent an immense force across it. Upon impact, Amber was almost forced on its knees. The muscles on Lu Yes arms had be swollen as though he was trying to hold out against an extremely heavy object. The scorching heat came right at his face. Sparkles emitting from the fireball caused the glow on the Spiritual Pattern to turn dim rapidly. Even though he was still infusing his Spiritual Power into it, he couldntst for a long time.
With that said, he was able to slightly set his mind at ease as he had sessfully parried the strike. Now, he was ready to tilt the Spiritual Pattern to drive off the fireball.
However, before he could make a move, Dong Shu Ye was heard snorting from a distance. How foolish!
Then, he used a different hand seal. The fireball exploded with a loud boom as the mes swept across the ce. The expansive void seemed to have contorted, and the trees around them started burning.
[Is he dead?] With a cold gaze, Dong Shu Yended on the ground and took a nce. Normally, there was no way a Third-Order cultivator could parry even one spell from him. However, the person he had to kill wasnt the average Third-Order cultivator. This guy was from an unknown top great force, and his mastery of Spiritual Patterns was awe-inspiring.
Right then, a rustle was hearding from the forest as it went further away. [Hes not dead?] The eyelids of Dong Shu Ye twitched as his murderous intent surged.
Just when he was ready to race after him, he realised there was a new message on his Battlefield Imprint. Initially, he wanted to ignore it, but upon recalling what Lu Ye had said earlier, he felt his chest tightening and immediately took a nce. It was a brief message from Cao Ye, but upon reading it, he felt his heart sinking. Wang Yang is leading 600 cultivators from Mystic Sect tounch an attack on our station. Senior Brother, pleasee back quickly!
If he hadnt managed to get close to Lu Ye, he wouldve immediately returned to the station upon seeing the message. However, Lu Ye was well within his reach now, so he wasnt willing to give up at this point. Therefore, upon making up his mind, he sent a message back to Cao Ye.
The n Defending Grand Array of Nine Star n had been activated. All the important ces were guarded by cultivators as they got ready to face their enemies. No one in Nine Star n couldve expected that those from Mystic Sect would go all out to raid them. After all, they had only recently gone to war and it was Nine Star n that conceded defeat in the end. Cao Ye didnt understand what Wang Yang was trying to achieve.
However, things were already happening. As the strongest cultivator in this station at the moment, Cao Ye had the responsibility to lead the cultivators in the station to fend off their enemies. Nevertheless, he couldnt do it on his own, which was why he immediately sent a message to Dong Shu Ye to inform him about it. However, Dong Shu Yes reply made him feel helpless. His message was: Hang in there!
What else could Cao Ye do apart from trying his best to persevere? Tons of Spirit Stones were needed to keep the Grand Array running, which served as a force of defence to ward off the cultivators from Mystic Sect. ording to Cao Yes estimation, they could resist the attack from Mystic Sect for about one to two days. Hence, even though Nine Star n was besieged, those in the station were only slightly anxious. They were not flustered at all.
[Fuck Wang Yang!] Cao Ye secretly cursed as he had no idea what had gotten into that guy.
Just then, a disciple came over in a nervous manner and reported something to Cao Ye, who became shocked and strode out of the hall, only to see a figure hurriedlying in his direction. That person was holding the hand of a woman in purple clothes.
Luo Ji! Cao Ye bellowed before he leaped into the air andnded in front of the person. Then, he took a look at the person and the woman in purple clothes behind him. What are you doing?
With a frown, Luo Ji replied, Im leaving.
A puzzled Cao Ye asked, Huh? Where are you going at this point?
Of course Im leaving this ce. Should I be waiting for death, then? Luo Ji gazed at him like he was a fool.
Cao Ye furrowed his brow as he had no idea what Luo Ji meant, but he still came into his way. You can leave, but why are you bringing Zi Yi with you?
Luo Ji uttered, From now on, shes no longer a disciple from Nine Star n.
Chapter 91: A Furious Cao Ye
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 91: A Furious Cao Ye
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Upon hearing that, Cao Ye was infuriated. She has been raised in the Nine Star n!? Who are you to say that she is no longer one of us? If the one we raise is not one of us, then what is she!? A disciple of Infinite Ind!?
He was already hard pressed because their station was besieged by those from Mystic Sect, so he was truly incensed upon seeing the fuss Luo Ji was making. If it werent because Luo Ji came from a powerful background, he wouldve taught him a lesson instead of letting him keep causing trouble.
Luo Ji uttered impassively, Thats right. Zi Yi has agreed to leave with me, so she has nothing to do with your n anymore.
Thats ridiculous! Cao Ye was so exasperated that he startedughing. Then, he shot a re at the woman in purple clothes behind Luo Ji. There was no emotion on the womans face as she looked up at the sky and spaced out. It was as though this matter had nothing to do with her.
It wasnt that she wanted to ignore Cao Ye or steer clear of this matter; it was her nature. Although Cao Ye and this woman in purple clothes were from the same n, and they had known each other for a few years, they had rarely spoken to one another. That was because she always sported a dispassionate expression, and shed rarely respond to anyones questions.
He had always felt that his Junior Sister was a peculiar person. In fact, she wasnt indifferent. It was just that nothing in this world seemed able to pique her interest. Therefore, he didnt believe Luo Ji when thetter said that she had agreed to leave with him. Why would such a woman agree to anyones request on a whim?
Upon retracting his gaze, Cao Ye sported a cold expression and uttered, Luo Ji, Ive been putting up with you because youre a disciple from Infinite Ind, but it doesnt mean you can keep making a scene.
After a sigh, Luo Ji refuted, Why dont you get it? All of a sudden, he took a big step forward as his face almost came into contact with that of Cao Ye. Then, he looked deep into his eyes. Im bringing Zi Yi away now. Do you dare to disagree?
A furious Cao Ye thought that this guy was trying to oppress him. Although Luo Ji was only a Second-Order cultivator, he was backed by Infinite Ind. Therefore, if he wanted to bring Lan Zi Yi with him, Cao Ye wasnt able to stop him. It wasnt like Cao Ye could beat him up. If he really did that, those from Infinite Ind wouldnt let him off. Certainly, he could capture Zi Yi, but Luo Ji wouldnt stand back and do nothing. All of them would be embarrassed if the tension escted.
At the thought of this, Cao Ye bellowed, You can leave, but Zi Yi must stay! If you insist on taking her away, youll only leave with a cripple!
As he spoke, he lifted his right hand where a Battlefield Imprint that radiated a red glow appeared. In an impassive manner, he stared at Luo Ji and uttered, Dont you forget that Im the deputy leader thats in charge of this station. If she dares to betray us, I can request the Heavens to destroy her cultivation.
An unfazed Luo Ji retorted, You can try.
Dont force me, Cao Ye said through clenched teeth.
Get lost. Luo Ji pressed his hand against Cao Yes shoulder in an attempt to push him away. However, he was just a Second-Order spell cultivator, so how was he able to move a Sixth-Order body tempering cultivator like Cao Ye one bit? No matter how much force he exerted with his hand, the other person remained unmoving. Then, he quit doing that as he circled around Cao Ye with Lan Zi Yi and shuffled towards the main hall at the front.
Zi Yi, its still not toote to repent. Can Ye turned around, and as he watched his Junior Sister that was following Luo Ji closely, he decided to give her onest chance. However, she was still looking up at the sky and ignoring him. Nevertheless, he knew that she had heard him.
After a sigh, he yelled, Lan Zi Yi from Nine Star n ignores our rules, lusts after wealth, and intends to betray our n. I, Cao Ye, request the Heavens to destroy her cultivation!
After he finished speaking, he looked sorrowfully at his Junior Sister who never stopped in her tracks. Although she was a little dispassionate, she was from the same n after all. If it werent because they were in a critical situation, he wouldnt have taken such a drastic measure. However, those from Mystic Sect wereunching an attack on them, so he had to settle this issue quickly. Moreover, he had to let the others know the consequences of betraying the n. Nevertheless, Luo Ji and Lan Zi Yi continued moving forward as they soon entered the main hall.
Cao Yes expression changed as he realised something. Has she altered her Imprint?
It was a fact that Lan Zi Yi had betrayed the n, so supposedly, if the deputy leader requested the Heavens to destroy her cultivation, it would certainly happen. However, nothing seemed to have happened to her, which was virtually impossible, unless she was no longer a disciple from Nine Star n, thus enabling her to break free from their restriction. Nevertheless, she could only quit the n by modifying the Battlefield Imprint, but that would require arge amount of Contribution, which the average Spirit Creek Realm Master couldnt afford.
At that instant, Cao Ye suddenly figured out many things. It was no wonder that Luo Ji had suddenlye over to the station of Nine Star n to experience life. Given the fact that he was from a top great force like Infinite Ind, he would be weed by everyone wherever he went. Now, it seemed that he was well prepared. Since the beginning, his target had always been Lan Zi Yi. However, why would he pay such a hefty price for her? In the past, Cao Ye thought that Luo Ji lusted after her beauty, but now that didnt seem to be the case. There was no way someone like Luo Ji would be seduced by anyones beauty.
Wait a minute! Cao Ye bellowed and directly leaped into the main hall, only to see that Luo Ji and Lan Zi Yi had pressed their hands against the Divine Opportunity Column. A glow radiated from the column and engulfed them.
You cant leave just like this! Cao Ye lifted his hand in an attempt to stop them.
Luo Ji raised his chin at him. I suggest that all of you leave this ce quickly. Otherwise, youll end up in a terrible state.
Huh? Cao Ye was stunned.
*Boom!* All of a sudden, the entire ce shook as Cao Ye almost fell to the ground. Turning his head, he saw a curvy figure hovering in the air outside the n Defending Grand Array. She was none other than the maidservant from Mystic Sect.
At this moment, nine Big Spiritual Dragons in different colours had entangled with one another in front of the woman as they swirled around and turned into a violent force. Like a drill, they were shing with the n Defending Grand Array.
Whats that? Given Cao Yes knowledge and experience, he still couldnt recognise what spell that was. However, he was certain that given her cultivation, it was impossible for her to cast such a spell. The power of her move was equivalent to that of a Cloud River Realm Master.
[Its the power of a talisman paper! Its a talisman paper thates from the Core Circle! One has to spend tons of Contribution to get such a talisman paper. How did she get it? Was it Wang Yang? But, he hasnt been to the Core Circle, so how did he manage to get such a talisman paper?]
However, Cao Ye didnt have the time to keep pondering this issue. That was because as the nine Dragons continuously pounded on the Grand Array, it started showing signs of falling apart. It wouldnt take a long time before the array would be broken. By then, all of them in the station would fall into danger.
With a bitter smile, Cao Ye staggered. It was no wonder that Luo Ji had decided to run away. He must have seen their enemies getting ready to activate the talisman paper. It would take a Sixth-Order spell cultivator a long time to get prepared in order to activate such a talisman paper. Luo Ji was from Infinite Ind, so he was more knowledgeable than Cao Ye when it came to spells. That was the reason he could recognise the talisman paper.
Svin: Increased Patreon tier read ahead.
Chapter 92: Nowhere To Flee
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 92: Nowhere To Flee
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Nine Star n hadpletely lost the battle. The only person who could go against Wang Yang was Dong Shu Ye, but he had left the station to hunt Mountain Tiger down. Once the Grand Array was broken, no one could stop Wang Yang from ughtering them.
Cao Ye had a feeling that there was a secret plot going on, but he didnt have the time to ponder it. After activating his Spiritual Power, he yelled, All of you, get ready to retreat!
The disciples, who had scattered everywhere to help defend the station, were already apprehensive. Upon hearing what Cao Ye had said, they immediately ran towards the main hall where there was a Divine Opportunity Column. With the help of the column, they would be able to return to Jiu Zhou, which allowed them to escape from this cmity.
Right then, a crack was hearding from the n Defending Grand Array. Arge area of fluorescent light spread around from the periphery of the station as though the entire ce had been lit up by fireflies. Xiao Zhu, who was hovering in the sky, lethargically fell to the ground. A well prepared Wang Yang hurriedly caught her and held her in one arm.
Then, he unsheathed his sword with his other hand and pointed at the front. Kill them all!
In the forest, Lu Ye was running for his life. His arms had been covered in blood, and his chest appeared burned.
Someone like him waspletely powerless to counter Dong Shu Ye, who was a Seventh-Order cultivator. If it werent because of his defensive Spiritual Patterns, he would have lost his life after his opponent used the first spell.
Initially, he thought that he could increase his chance of survival by sneaking into this forest, but in fact, the densely grown trees were not able to help him conceal himself. Dong Shu Ye relentlessly raced after him and continuously cast his spells, which easily felled the extremelyrge trees.
Also, Lu Ye had been separated from Amber. When he was struck by Dong Shu Yes second attack, he was sted off the tigers back upon impact, which was how his chest was burned. He had no idea about Ambers condition, but the tiger must be severely injured. That was because when Amber tumbled, the ground was immediately dyed crimson.
He didnt even have the time to check on Amber as he realised that there was no way he could survive. Therefore, he immediately decided to leave Amber. If they stayed together, Amber would also lose its life. Even if he was bound to perish, Amber could still survive at the very least.
The feeling of a de that had been pressed against his back became clearer. Fortunately, Dong Shu Ye stopped gliding in the sky. That was because the trees around this ce were tall and densely grown. If he continued gliding in the sky, he would lose Lu Ye quickly.
Despite that, Lu Ye still couldnt get rid of a Seventh-Order cultivator like him. There was only 30 percent of his Spiritual Power left. He could only activate the Spiritual Pattern that could fend off Dong Shu Yes spell one more time.
[Theres no chance for me.] Lu Ye raised his blood-soaked right hand and clenched the hilt. Even though his life was short and not interesting enough, he still had to directly face his enemy before his death.
All of a sudden, he heard a loud crashing sound of water. Initially, he didnt pay much attention to it, but when he realised what the source of the sound was, he hurriedly changed direction and rushed over to that ce.
When Dong Shu Ye saw Lu Ye from a distance, he was so incensed that his gaze seemed able to spit fire. He had never expected that it had taken him such a long time to race after a Third-Order cultivator, yet he hadnt managed to capture his target, which was uneptable for him. Therefore, he became more determined to kill Lu Ye. Seeing as Lu Ye had changed direction, and upon hearing the crashing sound of water, he immediately figured out what Lu Ye was up to.
Brat, you cant run away from me. Ill spare you the pain if you obediently wait for death! Dong Shu Ye bellowed. As his Spiritual Power swirled around him, he shot into the sky.
While in mid-air, he saw a huge waterfall in front of him. Under the dazzling Sunlight, the mist that was formed from the ssh of water radiated the colours of the rainbow. At this moment, Lu Ye was seen leaping towards the bottom of the waterfall as he was engulfed in the rainbow light.
Where do you think youre going? Dong Shu Ye yelled and hurriedly cast a Golden Arc sh at Lu Ye. The Golden Arc sh that was cast by him, a Seventh-Order cultivator, was certainly more powerful than the one used by Luo Ji, a Second-Order cultivator. The Golden Arc sh was about a metre long.
The half-moon shaped sh broke through the air and reached Lu Ye. However, due to the fact that both of them were moving rapidly, the sh slightly missed its target as it whizzed past Lu Yes back. The Spiritual Power that was supposed to protect Lu Ye seemed to be made from paper as blood spurted out of his back. He felt so much pain that his face twitched.
Just now, he didnt even have the time to activate a defensive Spiritual Pattern. If he was struck by the Golden Arc sh, he wouldve been cut into halves. As his figure fell swiftly, he plunged into the waterfallke a momentter. He immediately dived deeper in an attempt to conceal himself.
At the same time, Dong Shu Ye also glided down the waterfall and hovered above theke. Without hesitation, he hurled a Golden Arc sh at the spot where Lu Ye had plunged into the water. Compared to other spells, a Golden Arc sh was undoubtedly more prative. The water current would hinder the power of the sh, but there was no better way now, unless Dong Shu Ye was willing to get into the water to look for Lu Ye.
As soon as the sh came into contact with the water, the surface of the waterfallke separated for a moment. Blood started dyeing the water red, and the shreds of some organs floated to the surface. Seeing that, Dong Shu Ye hurriedly checked his Battlefield Imprint. Realising that ten points had been deducted from his Contribution, he felt heartbroken.
Spirit Creek Battlefield was a peculiar ce. There seemed to be a mysterious force that controlled the Contribution points of all cultivators. A cultivator who managed to kill an enemy in the higher Order would be rewarded handsomely. However, if a cultivator killed a person that was three Orders below them, a lot of Contribution points would be deducted.
The mysterious force seemed to be encouraging cultivators to challenge people in the higher Order while punishing those who oppressed the weaker cultivators. That was the reason powerful cultivators were rarely seen in the Outer Circle of the battlefield. Contribution was immensely useful for any cultivator. In order to earn more Contribution points, one had to kill an opponent that was simrly powerful.
A cultivator in the Sixth or Seventh-Order couldnt really get any benefits in the Outer Circle anymore. Even though they wouldntpletely leave the Outer Circle, they would try to get closer to the Inner Circle to receive some training.
Dong Shu Ye was a Seventh-Order cultivator, so he would only get some Contribution by killing a Fourth-Order cultivator. If he killed a Third-Order cultivator, 10 points would be deducted from his Contribution. Likewise, if he killed a Second-Order cultivator, 20 points would be deducted from his Contribution.
10 points were not a lot, but it wasnt a small number either. To Dong Shu Ye, he could only get 7 points by killing a person in the same Order. If it werent because those old guys from the Sect had given the order, he wouldnt havee all the way here to kill Lu Ye.
Fortunately, everything was over now. Then, he took one more look at the Battlefield Imprint because he realised that someone had sent him a message when he was checking his Contribution points earlier. After he finished reading the message, his expression changed drastically.
Chapter 93: Saved
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 93: Saved
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Initially, Dong Shu Ye intended to look for Lu Yes corpse, but the message in the Battlefield Imprint had made him feel flustered, so he wasnt in the mood to confirm that Lu Ye was truly dead. Just then, he received a brief message from Cao Ye again. Were in danger. Come back quickly!
When he saw Cao Yes message earlier and realised that those cultivators from Mystic Sect wereunching an attack on the station of Nine Star n, he wasnt anxious at all. That was because it wasnt easy to invade a station. ording to his own estimation, even if those from Mystic Sect had gone all out, the Grand Array around his station couldst for one to two days, which would buy him enough time to kill Lu Ye before going back.
However, just a short timeter, Cao Ye sent him such a message, which went to show that the situation in the station was truly terrible. Hurriedly, he headed back to the station, and at the same time, he sent a message to Cao Ye in order to find out what was going on. Nevertheless, just like a stone plunging into the ocean, he couldnt get any reply.
Under the waterfallke, Lu Ye was in a groggy state as almost all his Spiritual Power had been depleted. Blood kept spurting out of his wounds, and some pieces of his flesh floated around. Upon plunging into the water, he realised that there was someone else in there. The person seemed to be collecting something under the water. As their eyes met, both of them were shocked.
However, Lu Ye didnt have the time to exin anything to him. Upon stabilising himself at the bottom of theke, he immediately activated a Spiritual Pattern above his head. The next instant, a Golden Arc sh broke through the water and reached them. The cultivator didnt even groan in pain when he was cut to pieces, so it could be said that he had suffered from a disaster that was uncalled for. The Spiritual Pattern above Lu Yes head also broke apart upon impact. Fortunately, the rest of the Golden Arc didnt reach him.
The attack soon stopped, but he didnt dare to show up as he wasnt certain about what Dong Shu Ye was doing. Enduring his exhaustion and pain, he kept moving forward under the water for several dozen breaths. It wasnt until he was about to suffocate that he hurriedly stuck his head out on the surface. After taking a deep breath, he quickly submerged into the water again and moved forward with difficulty.
After doing this several times, he became extremely exhausted. Nevertheless, he felt fortunate that Dong Shu Ye didntunch an attack on him again. When he emerged on the surface again 15 minutester, he felt a force striking him from behind as though something had hit him.
His back was already injured, and he was in a terrible state, which was why he almost passed out upon impact. Instinctively, he thought that Dong Shu Ye had reached him, so he unsheathed the sword from his waist and turned around to sh back at him. However, there was no one in sight. All he saw was a wooden b that had been cut into halves. It was this wooden b that had struck him. Looking around, he realised that Dong Shu Ye was nowhere to be found.
Holding the sword in his hand, he felt perplexed. [Wheres that guy? A Seventh-Order cultivator hase all the way here to hunt me down, and he pushed me over the edge. Its not likely that hed give up at this point.] Nevertheless, he couldnt find Dong Shu Ye at all, so he could confirm that the older guy had really left.
Soon, a realisation dawned upon him. When he was under the waterfallke earlier, a cultivator was killed by Dong Shu Ye. [Could that guy think that he had killed me?] It was highly possible. Moreover, those from Mystic Sect were raiding the station of Nine Star n, which was why Dong Shu Ye wasnt in the mood to get into the water to make sure that Lu Ye was dead. After confirming that he had indeed killed a person, he hurriedly left the ce.
[Is that the reason Ive gotten out of the woods?] Upon that realisation, Lu Ye became at ease as his exhaustion and pain came over him, which caused his body to keep sinking. Hurriedly, he raised his hands and grabbed the wooden b to make himself afloat with difficulty.
He felt extremely dizzy as if he might pass out at any moment. Nevertheless, he knew that if he became unconscious at this point, he would not be able to awaken again. This time, he was seriously injured. With his right hand trembling, he fished out a jade bottle from his Storage Bag. After lifting the lid, he poured everything into his mouth regardless of how many Healing Pills there were. Upon chewing them, he gulped them down.
He even intended to switch his cultivation technique to Gluttonous Feast to increase the speed at which the pills were absorbed. However, he didnt have much Spiritual Power left as all his Spiritual Points were empty. His Golden Liberation Technique was about to stop running, and he didnt have much energy left to use a different cultivation technique. Therefore, he could only do his best to tie his clothes to the wooden b.
[Dont drown That would beughable.] When thest thought sprang into his mind, his vision darkened as he lost his consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, he realised that he was lying on his stomach on a bed. After a momentary daze, an indescribable pain came over him. What surprised him was that there was a person seated beside him. A pleasant scent permeated the air. From the corner of his eye, he could see that it was a curvy figure, so he reckoned that the person next to him was a woman.
Besides the pain, he also felt a numbing sensation on his back. Additionally, he could feel a slight fluctuation of Spiritual Power, and a green light kept flickering. Was he saved by someone? He recalled that, before he passed out, he had tied his clothes to the wooden b. Therefore, he would supposedly flow with the water current afterwards. Now that he appeared in such a ce, it was apparent that someone had saved him.
He didnt utter a word as he wasnt sure who his rescuer was. Secretly, he tried to check on himself. It was terrible as he was still severely injured, and his Spiritual Power hadnt recovered. Besides a deep cut on his back, his chest and arms were all burned.
These injuries were fatal for the average person, but he was a cultivator now, so he was able to persevere for a longer time. Moreover, he had gulped down some Healing Pills before he passed out, which should help keep him alive. Nevertheless, he was still in a horrible state.
Your breathing has changed, a pleasant and soft voice was suddenly heard saying. Its expected that youre vignt of a stranger, but if I wanted to kill you, you wouldve lost your life by now.
An embarrassed Lu Ye remained silent as he wasnt sure what to say.
Just then, the woman extended her fair hand and said, Although Ive saved you, I still have to find out which side youre from.
After she finished speaking, a light blue glow radiated from the back of her hand. She had taken the initiative to reveal the side she was from, which made Lu Ye to be at ease. After he activated his remaining Spiritual Power, a light blue glow also appeared on the back of his hand.
Ive saved the right person, then, she uttered gently.
Despite her soft voice, Lu Ye was certain that if he wasnt willing to reveal the colour of his Battlefield Imprint earlier, or that the glow on the back of his hand was red, she would certainly kill him. In Spirit Creek Battlefield,ing from a different side was a valid reason to kill. There was no room for mercy and pity.
The numbing sensation on his back intensified, and the green light flickered more frequently. A momentter, the fluctuation of Spiritual Power on his back stopped, and following that, the woman applied something on his wounds, which pained him and caused him to be covered in sweat.
Then, she pasted something on the wounds on his back. Lu Ye couldnt see it, but he reckoned that it was a ster or something. After she was done with all that, she rose from the chair and said, Youre seriously injured, and youd better stay put so that your wounds are not irritated.
Thanks.
She replied, It was Ling Yu who discovered you and brought you back. After she finished speaking, she shuffled out of the room.
It wasnt until this moment that he saw the womans profile. Perhaps it was because she had helped him, but he felt that this woman was as beautiful as a fairy. Her chest was especially plump. With her hands ced on her belly, she walked in an elegant manner.
Chapter 94: Kind-Hearted People
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 94: Kind-Hearted People
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After staying awake for a moment, Lu Ye slowly dozed off again. When he awakened, he realised that there was a chair in front of him, on which a young woman was seated. With her head hung low, she kept dipping her head as though she was knackered.
The pungent smell of blood permeated the room, and it was tinged with the scent of herbs. Although he hadid on his stomach for a long time, he didnt find it difficult to breathe at all. Even the burn on his chest didnt feel painful, which puzzled him. After scanning it, he realised that the part of the bed beneath his chest had been hollowed out. The person who had ced him here must be very considerate as they had taken his injuries into consideration.
With difficulty, he tried to move his body in an attempt to get up, but presently, he didnt have much energy. After several attempts, instead of getting up, he felt so much pain that his forehead was drenched in sweat. Hearing the noise, the young woman suddenly opened her eyes and stood up straight. Youre awake?
She came close to the bed and helped him up. Despite her petite figure, she was still strong as a cultivator. However, since Lu Ye was injured both on his back and his chest, he could only sit up on the bed.
Then, the young woman picked up a bowl of green herbal juice from the side and said, Sister Hua Ci said that you have to drink this bowl of herbal juice when you wake up. This will help with your wounds.
Lu Ye had no idea who Sister Hua Ci was, but he reckoned that it must be the curvy woman he had seen earlier. After taking the bowl, he said, Thanks.
When he got the bowl closer to him, a pungent smell came right at him. He frowned as the smell of this bowl of herbal juice was terrible. Nevertheless, it was said that medicine was always bitter, so he directly chugged it down. He wasnt worried that they would harm him. If they were ill-intentioned, they wouldve done it a long time ago, which spared them the trouble.
The next moment, a myriad of expressions came over him. This thing wasnt only pungent, but it was also nauseating. He regarded himself as a man who could put up with nasty things, but as soon as the herbal juice came into his mouth, he almost passed out again, for it was extremely bitter. He even suspected that he was drinking some kind of bile.
The young woman seemed to have expected this, so she stared fixedly at him and said anxiously, Sister Hua Ci said that you must drink it all. Otherwise, shell get mad. When that happens, well be doomed.
Without waiting for her to speak any further, Lu Ye only paused for a moment before he finished the herbal juice.
After taking the bowl, the young woman fished out a taupe-coloured thing from her Storage Bag and passed it to him. Have a taste.
A curious Lu Ye took it and put it into his mouth before arching his brow. This thing tasted like maltose. It wasnt until this moment that he had the time to scan his surroundings. Presently, he was in a building made from bamboo. The room he was in couldnt be considered spacious, and the decorations were rather simple. He wondered where he was now.
While he was looking around, the young woman cleaned things up as she said, Im Ling Yu. Senior Brother, whats your name?
Yi Ye, Lu Ye replied, then he immediately realised that he had heard of that name before. After giving it a thought, he finally recalled where he had heard the name from. It was you who saved me?
Earlier, the curvy woman told him that it was Ling Yu who saved him. If he wasnt mistaken, Ling Yu must be the young woman in front of him.
I brought you back, but it was Sister Hua Ci who saved you. Ling Yu smiled. You were floating on the river, so I thought you were dead. Initially, I wanted to get some stuff from you, but after discovering that youre still alive, I decided to bring you back.
The smile on her face made the corner of Lu Yes mouth twitch. Anyway, thanks for saving me.
That was the least I could do. In fact, we were both saved by Sister Hua Ci. Ling Yu shed a smile at him. Her face was rather fleshy and fair. There was a dimple on the left side of her face when she smiled, which made her look adorable. At this moment, she was already done with cleaning things up. Take a rest. Sister Hua Ci has gone out, but shelle back in the evening and check on you. If anything happens, just shout. My room is only beside yours.
In response, Lu Ye nodded gently. After Ling Yu left the room, she also closed the door.
[Theyre all kind-hearted people] Lu Ye felt that luck was indeed on his side. Anyway, the most important thing was that all of them were from the Grand Sky Coalition. If he came across those from Thousand Demon Ridge, his stuff wouldve been taken away from him. Regardless, he was grateful for what they had done for him.
His sword was still around as it was also brought back and ced beside the bed. His Storage Bags were also neatly ced on the bedside table. Although they didnt know one another, they were truly virtuous for saving him and not taking his stuff.
Even though he had survived, it would take him a long time to recuperate. After all, he was severely wounded by Dong Shu Ye. The most important task for him now was to restore some Spiritual Power first. Whatever the case, a cultivator needed Spiritual Power to protect himself.
With difficulty, he raised his hand and picked up one of his Storage Bags. Then, he fished out a bottle of Spirit Restoring Pills and stuffed one pill into his mouth before refining it. After refining two pills, he was finally able to reactivate Gluttonous Feast, which would improve his recovery efficiency.
Then, he took out a Healing Pill and gulped it down. Following that, he started building Gathering Spirits around his Spiritual Points. All of this hard work got him covered in sweat.
Soon, the night descended upon them. Lu Ye was adjusting his breathing when he heard someone pushing the door open in the adjacent room. Following that, Ling Yus melodious voice was heard saying, Sister Hua Ci, youre back.
Yes. It was the same soft voice Lu Ye had heard some time ago. Then, thedies started murmuring among themselves for a long time.
Outside the bamboo room, the woman called Hua Ci talked to Ling Yu for a bit before shifting her attention to Lu Yes room. She could faintly feel that with his room as the centre, the Spiritual Qi in the air was gathering together. Although it wasnt conspicuous, she could still see it when she was paying close attention. At that instant, she was surprised as this young man brought back by Ling Yu seemed to be highly talented. However, she wasnt aware that the reason Lu Ye was able to gather the World Spiritual Qi was mainly due to Gathering Spirits. As for his talent, it was a sorrowful story.
Have some rest. Hua Ci patted the young womans head.
A smiling Ling Yu asked, Do you need my help?
Theres no need.
Ill have a rest, then.
After they were done with the chat, Hua Ci shuffled towards Lu Ye room and knocked on the door before pushing it open.
Lu Ye had stopped cultivating and even deactivated his Gathering Spirits. That was because he realised a problem in the past. Once he activated Gathering Spirits, the sign of World Spiritual Qi moving towards him was conspicuous. It was a normal sign when he was cultivating, but, if others still saw that the Spiritual Qi was still flowing towards him when he wasnt cultivating, he would have a hard time exining it.
When he saw the woman entering the room, his eyes brightened. On the previous day, he had only seen her profile, but now, they were directly facing one another. She was indeed a gorgeousdy! The white dress with blue stripes she was wearing perfectly outlined her hour-ss body.
Chapter 95: Medicine Cultivator
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 95: Medicine Cultivator
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
How do you feel? Hua Ci walked up to Lu Ye and stopped in her tracks. A soothing scent wafted from her body.
Lu Ye replied, I feel much better now.
Ill have a look. Hua Ci sat her fleshy backside on the bed and lifted his sleeves to examine the wounds on his arms. Following that, she unbuttoned his cor to take a nce at his chest before nodding. Not bad.
Then, she fished out something from her Storage Bag and put it on the bedside table before saying, Take off your top.
Lu Yes top was tattered and drenched in blood. Previously, he was too focused on healing his wounds, so he had forgotten to change into new clothes. Now, upon hearing what she had said, he obediently took off his top.
As Hua Ci got ready with the thing she had just taken out, she said, Your arms and chest are severely burned, so I cant dress them up yet. Ill apply some herbs on them for the next few days.
Alright, Lu Ye replied.
Stretch out your hands, Hua Ci uttered.
Lu Ye extended his hands, which revealed his arms that were covered in green herbal juice. It was supposed to have been applied to his arms on the previous day. At that time, he was still unconscious.
Then, Hua Ci used something to clean his arms before applying the same kind of green herbal juice again. After she was done with his arms, she went on to apply the juice on his chest. There was a cut on his back, which wasnt handled in the same way. Lu Ye recalled that she had pasted a ster on his back on the previous day, which made him feel itchy all day. When it was time to handle the wound on his back, she told him to turn around and said, Bear with it.
Before Lu Ye could reply to her, he heard a tearing sounding from his back. She must have peeled off the ster from the previous day. Instantly, he felt a sharp pain in his wound, which caused him to tremble and be drenched in cold sweat. This woman called Hua Ci was always soft in her tone, but she was ruthless whenever she made a move.
A green light started flickering again as a fluctuation of Spiritual Power was felt. An astonished Lu Ye turned his head and faintly saw something. Upon realising something, he asked, Senior Sister, are you a medicine cultivator?
Previously, Pang Da Hai from Righteous Sect had told him that cultivators were categorised into six major factions: body tempering cultivators who focused on training their bodies;bat cultivators who focused on close-quartersbat; spell cultivators who studied all kinds of spells; medicine cultivators who healed the wounded; ghost cultivators who couldmunicate with the supernatural beings; and external cultivators who studied making pills, drawing talisman papers, setting up arrays, and forging artifacts. Most cultivators were weak in the beginning, so they would focus onbat cultivation. With a weapon in their hand, they could better protect themselves when they were still weak. It was also easier for them to walk around Spirit Creek Battlefield.
However, during this period of time, cultivators could make some preparation ording to their own attributes and preferences. When they became powerful enough, they could choose a faction to focus on.
The cultivators Lu Ye had seen in Split Sky Gorge were mostlybat cultivators. Only Luo Ji had established himself as a spell cultivator when he was only in the Second-Order. That was because he was from a top great force, so he had the kind of heritage and wealth most peoplecked. Dong Shu Ye was also a spell cultivator, but he was already in the Seventh-Order.
Now, Lu Ye hade across another cultivator who had confirmed her faction, and she was a medicine cultivator. It was no wonder that she could heal him.
Yes, Hua Ci replied. Whats wrong? Do you hate medicine cultivators?
Lu Ye hurriedly said, No. I only have grudges against some spell cultivators. He secretly swore that whenever he bumped into a spell cultivator that he hated in the future, he would kill the person first.
With her mouth covered, Hua Ci giggled. I can see that. Lu Yes wounds were obviously caused by powerful spells. As a medicine cultivator whose job was to heal the injured, she could make a judgement by just looking at the wounds.
As she directed more Spiritual Power into his body, Lu Ye could feel that the pain on his back diminished. Eventually, his wounds only became itchy. After she stopped, she pasted a new ster on his back.
Following that, she started dealing with the wounds on his chest and arms. It was then Lu Ye could clearly see that as her hands hovered above his wounds, her palms radiated a green glow. With the nourishment of her Wood attribute, his wounds slowly healed. This was indeed an amazing way to treat a patient.
She was an alluringdy with a curvy figure and a pleasant voice. Certainly, Lu Ye didnt feel bored during the treatment.
A momentter, she stopped what she was doing and rose from the bed. Alright. Todays session is over. Then, she extended her hand. Ten Spirit Stones, please.
A puzzled Lu Ye looked up at her. Huh?
A smiling Hua Ci said, Every treatment costs five stones. You were knackered yesterday, so I didnt tell you about it. Including the fee today, its ten stones in total.
You charge a fee? Lu Ye was stunned.
She went on to say, I have to buy you the herbs, and I need pills and stones to restore my Spiritual Power, so I do charge a fee.
At that, Lu Ye was rendered speechless.
Youre a disciple from a top great force, so I believe that you wont renege on your debt, right? Her hand obstinately and firmly remained stretched out.
Of course I wont. Lu Ye had no idea how she had figured out that he was a disciple from a top great force, but she had a valid point. They were not friends or rtives. Since she had spent time and energy treating him, he certainly had to pay a fee.
Coming across a medicine cultivator here had undoubtedly saved him a lot of time of recuperation. Taking that into consideration, he had actually gained some benefits.
I dont have Spirit Stones. Do you take Spirit Pills? Lu Ye asked.
Sure. Hua Ci nodded.
Then, he fished out a bottle of ten pills and passed it to her.
Thanks. Upon taking the pills, Hua Ci became ted.
Lu Ye was so worried that she would say something like Pleasee again the next moment.
Take a rest, then, she uttered. Ille back tomorrow to treat your wounds again.
Before she pushed the door open, she turned her head and said, If you can make use of Healing Pills, youll recover more quickly.
Got it. Lu Ye dipped his head.
For the next few days, Lu Ye remained bed ridden. In the morning, the young woman called Ling Yu would send him the extremely bitter herbal juice. In the evening, Hua Ci woulde over to heal his wounds.
The young womans full name was Ruan Ling Yu. She was a pretty vivacious and talkative girl. After some chats with her, Lu Ye learned that this ce was the ruins of a great force.
No one knew which great force it was. Several dozen years ago, this ce was invaded and the entire great force was destroyed. Although a Divine Opportunity Column remained, it was no longer usable.
This made Lu Ye recall the time when the Sect Master sent him to Spirit Creek Battlefield from the middle of nowhere. That ce seemed to be the ruins of a great force as well.
There were countless such ruins in both Jiu Zhou and Spirit Creek Battlefield. Whenever a new great force emerged, they would pick one of the ruins to be their base. That was because there was most likely a Divine Opportunity Column.
However, many ruins remained deserted, which then became the gathering ces for rogue cultivators.
Although most of the buildings in these ruins were dpidated, there were still many ces that could fend off the rain. Moreover, most of them were strategically located, which was why homeless rogue cultivators loved staying in these ces.
Chapter 96: Rogue Wanderers’ Club
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 96: Rogue Wanderers Club
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Rogue cultivators didnt have a base, nor did they have the protection of Seniors like those in a great force. After they entered Spirit Creek Battlefield, the road ahead of them was paved with danger. Therefore, many rogue cultivators woulde together and form into small groups.
Those new great forces in Jiu Zhou were mostly developed from these small groups.
With Hua Ci, a medicine cultivator, as the core member, over ten rogue cultivators had gathered in this ce and formed a small group called Rogue Wanderers Club.
Ruan Ling Yu was an inexperienced girl, so after Lu Ye asked her some questions, he soon figured out the powers of the rogue cultivators in this ce.
Certainly, Hua Ci was the most powerful among them as she was in the Fifth-Order. Below her, there were two Fourth-Order cultivators. The rest of the members were all Second or Third-Order cultivators. There were eleven people in total. Due to the fact that Lu Ye had been recuperating in his room, apart from Hua Ci and Ruan Ling Yu, he had only seen another Fourth-Order cultivator.
There were countless such small groups in Spirit Creek Battlefield, and they were certainly notparable to those real great forces.
Lu Ye had taken part in the war between Mystic Sect and Nine Star n. Although they were Eighth-Rank and Ninth-Rank great forces respectively, they could easily deploy over a thousand people. Even if all of them in Rogue Wanderers Club joined the war, no one wouldve noticed them.
After a few days, Lu Ye had finally restored all his Spiritual Power, and he had even started cultivating. He was a Third-Order cultivator whose thirty Spiritual Points were all full. Normally, if he wanted to unlock one more point, he would need 15 Spirit Restoring Pills. However, with the help of Gathering Spirits, he needed fewer pills.
When he left Split Sky Gorge, he had about 350 pills in his possession. Initially, he believed that they were more than enough for him to ascend to the Fourth-Order, but now, it seemed that his pills were not sufficient.
That was mainly because he had to pay Hua Ci 5 pills every day as treatment fee. It would take him one month to fully recover.
That was thanks to her meticulous care. If she wasnt around to heal his wounds, it would take him longer to recuperate.
During this period of time, he had used the ten-point map to ascertain his location and realized that he was about 100 kilometers away from the waterfall. In other words, he had drifted such a long distance after he became unconscious.
Previously, Yi Yi and Amber were separated from him, so he intended to look for them soon. At that time, Amber was injured, but he didnt even have the time to check on the tiger. Fortunately, he was Dong Shu Yes only target, so the tiger was ignored.
As long as Amber wasnt dead, and with Yi Yi to keep itpany, it should be alright. Now, his n was to recuperate and then look for Amber.
Under the night sky, Lu Ye was bare-chested when he wielded a sword in front of the bamboo room. Due to his injuries, he had stopped practicing sword-wielding for a few days. Now that he felt much better, he couldnt sit still anymore.
With her palms supporting her chin, Ruan Ling Yu looked out the window and observed him in silence. She didnt understand why he found it fun to wield a sword. He was injured, so shouldnt he be lying on a bed instead of exerting himself out here? However, she wasnt in any position to stop him, so she could only let him be. All of a sudden, her gaze brightened as she waved her hand. Sister Hua Ci.
Hua Ci emerged from a nearby spot, and she was followed by a muscr man. That man was the Fourth-Order cultivator Lu Ye had met some time ago. His name was Kong Niu.
ording to Ruan Ling Yu, the reason Hua Ci always left the ce early in the morning and came backte was that she had to go to the neighboring towns to treat the injured rogue cultivators to earn some cultivation resources.
The battles between rogue cultivators were intense, so they would get injured most of the time. If their wounds were not severe, they could just take some Healing Pills. If their wounds were serious, they had to seek help from a medicine cultivator. Otherwise, they would be left with some hidden health concerns. However, they didnt have a great force to rely on, so their only option was to look for a medicine cultivator who was also a rogue cultivator.
In that case, Hua Ci wouldnt have to worry about having no business. Perhaps that was the biggest upside of being a medicine cultivator. They didnt have to take part in any battle in order to earn enough cultivation resources.
Under the night sky, Hua Ci shuffled towards a spot that was a short distance away from Lu Ye. Then, she turned around and told Kong Niu to take a rest. In this small group of rogue cultivators, Hua Ci was undoubtedly treasured and respected by everyone. No one would disobey her orders.
Ruan Ling Yu wasnt lying when she told Lu Ye that all of them were saved by Hua Ci. That was indeed what had happened. Everyone in this small group had received treatment from her before. She single-handedly pulled them back from the deaths door.
These people owed her a favor. After they became healthy again, they chose to stay in this ce because they admired her temperament or for some other reasons.
Lu Ye stored his sword as he was already covered in sweat. Although some blood had streamed out of his wounds, he felt more energetic after some exercise. Furthermore, perhaps it was because he had escaped from deaths door once, he felt that his sword-wielding technique had improved significantly. Nevertheless, he had to practise sword-wielding with someone else to be certain about it.
Tsk I thought I could earn more pills. Why did he recover so quickly? Hua Ci was heard muttering under her breath.
Lu Yes eyelids twitched. What did you say?
After a few days of contact, they had be familiar with one another, and he had finally realized this beautiful womans true colors. She was practically a miser. Every single day, right after she was? done with treating his wounds, she would immediately demand payment from him as though she was worried that he would renege on his debt.
On the previous day, she had sold him an even more bitter herbal juice. After drinking it, he felt as though his face had turned green. Moreover, he was unable to suppress the bitterness he felt in his body. Then, she introduced to him another kind of herbal juice and imed that it could soothe his difort. These two bowls of herbal juice cost him four Spirit Pills.
At that time, he even suspected that this woman was lying to him. Nevertheless, judging from how he felt on this day, she didnt lie to him. The bowls of herbal juice he consumed on the previous day were indeed more effective than the previous ones.
Hua Ci shed a uniquely charming smile at him. Her voice remained soft and soothing, but she still had no qualms about saying words that were different from what she thought. I said that youve recovered quickly.
Lu Ye pointed at his ear to mean that he wasnt deaf.
Ignoring his gesture, Hua Ci ced her hands on her belly, her posture remaining as elegant as ever as she said, In that case, Ill formally start treating your wounds tonight.
What do you mean by that? Lu Ye was stunned. Then the previous treatments
They were just the preparations prior to the formal treatments. Do you think your wounds can be healed so easily? Hua Ci appeared solemn. Doctors are most concerned about their patients. Dont worry. Ill take good care of you and make sure that you wont be left with any hidden health concerns.
Lu Ye appeared befuddled as there was an idea that sprang into his mind. [Is this woman trying to con me again?]
Take a bath now. Ill get ready and look for youter.
Chapter 97: Formal Treatment
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 97: Formal Treatment
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the room, Lu Ye was bare-chested and seated on his bed.
Hua Ci was seated across from him as her jade-like hand whisked across his chest. Your wounds have healed quicker than I expected. Whats wrong? Are you going to walk down the path of body tempering cultivation?
A puzzled Lu Ye asked, What do you mean?
Your vitality is richer than most cultivators in the same Order, which is why your wounds have healed so quickly. Since youve cultivated vitality in the beginning of your cultivation journey, dont you intend to focus on body tempering?
No. Lu Ye shook his head.
He wasnt interested in bing a body tempering cultivator. If nothing unexpected happened, he would choose to be abat cultivator as it felt good to wield a sword to hack at other people. As for what Hua Ci had said, he reckoned that the reason his vitality was abundant was that he ate a lot every day.
Since he started cultivating, his appetite had be astonishing. He began eating even more after he mastered Gluttonous Feast.
With so much food getting into his stomach every day, his vitality was expected to be plentiful. Nevertheless, he had always refined vitality into Qi, so there wasnt any change in his body weight. If he had only gained vitality, he wouldve be a burly man by now.
Thats great. Theres nothing good about being a meaty barbarian. Just like what other cultivators say, those people enjoy the best resources, but theyll also get punched the hardest. Hua Ci started giggling. Moreover, youre too thin to be a body tempering cultivator.
Meaty barbarians?
Its what they call body tempering cultivators.
Thats interesting. Lu Ye put on a hearty smile. What do others call medicine cultivators, then?
After giving it a thought, Hua Ci replied, They normally call us Fathers or Mothers.
Lu Ye frowned. Why is that?
Thats because its said that a doctor is like a patients parent. Haha! Hua Ci was convulsing withughter.
Lu Yes expression darkened as the image of a mild-tempered and knowledgeable woman he imagined her to be had fallen apart. It was then he realized that this womans appearance was different from her nature. One would only discover her true colors after getting into close contact with her.
Youve been stroking my chest for a long time. Are you sure youre treating my wounds? Lu Ye couldnt help asking. Even though it felt nice to be touched, this couldnt go on forever. After all, he was a young and energetic man.
No. Hua Ci retracted her hand. Id forgotten about it as I was talking to you.
Presently, she was seated across from him as she stared at him with a solemn expression. Well start now. You might feel some difortter. Bear with it and dont make any strange noises. The walls around here are not soundproof, so others might get us wrong.
Lu Ye wasnt sure how to reply to her, nor did he have the time to do so. That was because right after Hua Ci finished her words, she pointed her fingers at his chest as Spiritual Power undted around the tips of her fingers. In an instant, Lu Ye grunted. The spot that was pointed at not only hurt, but there was also an indescribable feeling that almost caused him to yelp.
Hua Ci tried to suppress herughter and repeatedly pointed at his chest. Lu Yes face started twitching as he couldnt help but keep grunting.
Cultivators fight against one another all the time, and they might get injured. Although there are many forms of treatments, they might be left with some hidden health concerns. Normally, these injuries are not conspicuous, but theyre hidden deep in the organs. Theyre not fatal, but if theyre umted over time, they might affect a cultivators physique and Spiritual Points, which will hinder his cultivation in the future. Flesh wounds caused by weapons are easy to deal with. However, the injuries caused by spells cant be cleared with pills. Youre hurt by a fire spell, so some fire poison has been left in your body. Once the fire poison prates your Spiritual Points, itll be hard for you to unlock new ones. If possible, I suggest that you look for a medicine cultivator to help look after your health from time to time to make sure that there are no hidden health concerns with you.
At this moment, Lu Ye was clenching his teeth as he was unable to respond to her regardless of what she said. He was worried that when he parted his lips, he might really make some strange noises. There was a reason for him to suspect that this woman was doing this intentionally. Otherwise, she couldve told him about it after the treatment instead of doing it now.
A momentter, Hua Ci started patting him instead as her slender hands gently stroked the mans chest. Following her pats, her pure Wood Attribute Spiritual Power continuously streamed into his chest. After getting through the most tortuous moment, he could finally be at ease.
One hourter, Hua Ci retracted her hands. Lu Ye looked down and realized that his chest was covered in blood. These were all burns on his chest, so it was hard to heal them. After she patted his chest, his scabs broke apart, and blood started streaming out of his wounds, which made his injuries look worse.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye knew that it wasnt the case. His wounds might appear to be worse, but some other stuff had also flown out of his wounds together with blood. It was supposed to be the fire poison she had just mentioned. After taking a deep breath, he realized that he could breathe more easily, and his entire body felt energized.
Then, Hua Ci came over and applied the same kind of green herbal juice on his chest before she activated her Spiritual Power to help him heal his wounds. Following that, she dressed up his chest. Next, she handled his arms in the same way. Lastly, she had to deal with the cut on his back.
After she was done with all that, she was already drenched in sweat. After wiping the sweat off her forehead, she stood by the bed and stared bitterly at him. What a shame. I guess youll recover in ten days.
Hey Lu Ye looked up at her.
With her mouth covered, she chuckled. Oh, no. Why did I blurt out my thoughts? She paused for a moment. Anyway, you dont have to worry. Youre my most important client now, so Ill treat you properly. Then, she extended her hand. Ten Spirit Pills, please.
Without protesting, Lu Ye passed her ten pills. Although the fee was two times more expensive than what he usually paid, it was worth it. He could clearly feel that her methods were indeed useful for healing his wounds. ording to his own initial estimation, he would need a month to recuperate. But now, it would take him only over ten days.
Moreover, she had indeed put in lots of effort on this day. At this moment, she was covered in sweat, and her face had turned pale. Apparently, she had expended quite some energy.
What a generous man. With so much wealth in your possession, you can do whatever you want. Im envious of you. Hua Ci mocked him.
Lu Ye became startled for a moment before realizing that she had just mocked him for spending resources willfully. Give the pills back to me if you dont want them! He extended his hand in an attempt to grab his pills.
In an agile manner, Hua Ci dodged his hand and put on a faint smile. Take a rest. Then, she calmly left the ce.
Close the door! Lu Ye yelled at her back.
Getting no response from her, he furiously leaped off the bed and closed the door before returning to his bed. He secretly decided that once he recovered, he would immediately leave this ce. Otherwise, he would spit blood in fury sooner orter because of her.
Chapter 98: Tassel City
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 98: Tassel City
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Life had been peaceful for Lu Ye as he focused on healing his wounds and cultivating. With the consumption of Spirit Pills and the help of Gathering Spirits, he could unlock a Spiritual Point much quicker than he thought. If he did it wholeheartedly, it would only take him two days to unlock a new one.
This was indeed incredibly efficient. Moreover, an auxiliary cultivation technique like Gluttonous Feast was also immensely useful for him.
Hua Ci would still pay him a visit every night. Under her meticulous care, Lu Yes injuries recovered quickly. Sometimes, they would have a chat. Interestingly, he had learned some useful information through her. The station of Nine Star n that was 200 kilometers away had been destroyed by Mystic Sect.
It was easy for information to be spread around among cultivators. With the Battlefield Imprint in possession, they could add each other as friends. As long as they were in the same space, they could easily share information. This piece of news caught the attention of many people mainly because, of the two great forces, Nine Star n was of a higher Rank.
It wasnt easy to invade the station of a great force because every station was protected by a Grand Array. Without breaking the array first, the invaders couldnt storm into the station. Even if the array was broken, they might not even seed because the cultivators in the station were not ornaments. The invasion of a station rarely happened in the Outer Circle as all great forces were of a low Rank, and their cultivators were rtively weak. Telling these weak cultivators to shatter a Grand Array was unreasonable.
The reason those from Mystic Sect seeded was that they had used an immensely powerful talisman paper that was exclusively used for breaking an array. Hence, those from Nine Star n suffered immeasurable losses. Many of their disciples were killed, and all the treasures in the station were taken away. After those from Mystic Sect left, they even burned the station down.
Upon learning the news, Lu Ye wasnt surprised. Since those from Mystic Sect had the guts to make a move, they must have the confidence to achieve their goal. At that, he was gleeful. His injuries were all caused by Dong Shu Ye. Now that the station of Nine Star n was destroyed, he could also get the fury off his chest. It was a shame that he couldnt take part in it.
However, judging from what Hua Ci had said, invading a station was different from what he imagined. He thought that after those from Mystic Sect upied the station, it would be their territory, but it wasnt the case. They had only killed the disciples of Nine Star n and snatched their resources. Then, they burned the ce down and left.
It was just like how those from Grand Sky Coalition had done it after upying Evil Moon Valley. After invading the valley, they didnt stay there for a long time as they left the ce quickly. That was because the valley was considered a territory of Thousand Demon Ridge. If they stayed there for too long, they would be besieged by those from Thousand Demon Ridge.
It was the same case on this battlefield. Nine Star n must have other allies. If those from Mystic Sect remained in the station, they would be attacked by other great forces. That was the reason they hurriedly fled the ce after grabbing all the treasures.
Hua Ci said that those from Mystic Sect had gained some considerable benefits for invading Nine Star ns station. Besides the resources, there were also more important benefits. She exined that when the next evaluation of great forces took ce, Mystic Sect would certainly ascend to the Eighth-Rank. On the other hand, Nine Star n would drop to the Ninth-Rank. It was unlikely that Mystic Sect could reach a higher rank by just snatching some resources. It wasnt appropriate for Lu Ye to ask about it, so he could only listen to her.
She seemed to believe that he was a disciple from a top great force. It wasnt certain how this misunderstanding came about. Perhaps it was because he had been generous with his pills. Nevertheless, if he was really a disciple from a top great force, it was impossible that he wasnt even aware of suchmon knowledge.
Tassel City was one of the neighboring cities, which was just like the ones Lu Ye had visited. There wasnt a uniform architectural style as the buildings were a mixture of different styles from Jiu Zhou. The biggest building in this town was the branch of the Divine Trade Association.
Lu Ye was a regr customer of this association. After tagging along Hua Ci and the others to this town, he headed straight to this ce. That was because he didnt have many pills left.
After half a month of recuperation, he had given over 100 pills to Hua Ci, which allowed this unconscientious woman to be wealthy. Additionally, he needed the pills to cultivate. Initially, he had over 300 pills, but half of them were gone now. Presently, he had unlocked up to 35th Spiritual Point, but his remaining pills were not enough to help him ascend to the Fourth-Order.
Certainly, he could rely on Gathering Spirits to slowly improve himself. Nevertheless, to him, Gathering Spirits was just an auxiliary method. He mainly cultivated through the consumption of Spirit Pills. It was like once a person was used to eating delicate food, he would lose interest in in food.
The interior design of this branch of the Divine Trade Association was about the same as the one he had visited previously. Following a maidservant, he stepped into a room and waited patiently. Just like what he had done in the past, he gulped down a few bottles of Spirit Tea. This time, it was a well-mannered male cultivator in his thirties who made a deal with him.
Lu Ye decided to sell four Yuan Metal ores. After that, he only had six ores left. Then, he decided to deal with the Storage Bags he had obtained from the Young Master of Nine Star n and three of his subordinates. These four bags had been with him for quite some time. He didnt care about three of the bags as they probably didnt contain any good stuff. Therefore, he sold them all to the association and received 15 Spirit Stones.
In the past, he had sold some Storage Bags, which were basically worthless. That was because one had to bear the risk to unlock a bag. Most low rank cultivators didnt have any treasures with them, so the buyer from the association would only offer 5 stones for one bag. Certainly, one could also choose to ask someone from the association to help lift the restriction of the bag. It depended on the persons luck whether he could obtain anything useful. If he was lucky, he would be rewarded handsomely. If he was unlucky, he would suffer a huge loss.
As for the Young Masters bag, there was no way Lu Ye would sell it for a dirt cheap price. That guy must possess some good stuff. After he made such a request, those from the association directly agreed to it. They wouldnt care where their customers got the bags from. Their service could be purchased with a fee.
In Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Divine Trade Association was a unique presence as it didnt belong to any side.
The manager of the association brought Lu Ye to a secret room and introduced him to an old cultivator before leaving the ce. The old cultivator was an expert in unlocking Restraining Locks as he was one of the best in his trade. There was a job title for these people in the cultivation world. They were called locksmiths.
Lu Ye fished out the Storage Bag of the Young Master from Nine Star n. The old cultivator examined it for a moment and offered a price. After making the payment, Lu Ye waited patiently.
One hourter, a glint shed across the old cultivators hands, whereupon he passed the bag back to him. Its done.
Without intending to take a look inside the bag, Lu Ye took it and then fished out the bell-shaped artifact before saying, Sir, please help me unlock this as well.
Chapter 99: A Doctor Is Like a Patient’s Parent
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 99: A Doctor Is Like a Patients Parent
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The intense battle with Dong Shu Ye previously made Lu Ye feel helpless. Faced with a high-rank cultivator, a low-rank cultivator could hardly survive. However, if he had a defensive artifact at that time, he wouldnt have fallen into such a battered state. A defensive Spiritual Pattern was wonderful, but it consumed a lot of Spiritual Power.
This bell-shaped thing was undoubtedly a good defensive artifact, which was why he wanted to own it. Nevertheless, he tried to activate its power some time ago, but this thing wouldnt ept a foreign Spiritual Power. Whenever he tried to infuse his Spiritual Power into it, his force seemed to be repulsed by something.
It was like trying to open a Storage Bag that didnt belong to him, which was why he figured that this thing must have been locked.
He wouldnt dare to keep trying blindly because when he was in Green Cloud Mountain in the past, he attempted to open a Storage Bag. In the end, he triggered its restriction and caused the bag to be destroyed. It didnt matter that a low-rank cultivators bag was ruined, but it would be a shame if such a thing happened to this bell.
The old cultivator gave him a weird look and took the bell. After examining it, he passed it back to him. A puzzled Lu Ye gazed at him.
Following that, the old cultivator picked up a tea cup and took a sip before saying slowly, Little friend, youre a rogue cultivator, right?
.
[How did he figure it out?] Lu Ye yed along and replied, Yes.
The old cultivator nodded. Its difficult to be a rogue cultivator. Alright, seeing as youre so generous, Ill teach you something. He pointed at the bell in Lu Yes hands. An artifact is different from a Storage Bag. Everyyer of restriction in an artifact is immensely important because itll affect the artifacts quality. Hence, there normally isnt any restriction that will cause the artifact to self-destruct as it will lower its power, especially if its a Low-Grade artifact. Although this artifact isnt a Middle-Grade one, its already at the top of Low-Grade. The restrictions inside the artifact are only defensive. Do you understand what I mean?
Upon pondering over what the elderly man said, Lu Ye finally figured out something. Sir, you mean, there isnt a Restraining Lock in it?
The old cultivator chuckled. A Restraining Lock is just a name. A restriction itself is an invisible lock. However, if some restrictions are not resolved in an ingenious manner, there might be some terrible consequences like shattering or self-detonating. However, most restrictions dont share this characteristic, like the ones in this bell. You just have to use your Spiritual Power to prate those restrictions and soften them before you can use the artifact with ease. The reason youre unable to use it now is that the artifact is left with the traces of its previous owner.
Hearing that, Lu Ye was stunned as he had gotten it wrong from the beginning. After getting this bell, he only gave it a try and quit because he was worried that he would make the same mistake. Now, it seemed that he had actually given up too early.
The artifact originally belonged to the Young Master of Nine Star n and was nurtured using his Spiritual Power. Therefore, the restrictions inside it were left with his traces, which was why Lu Ye was unable to use it. However, if he could erase those traces and nurture them with his own Spiritual Power, hed be able to own this artifact.
If the restriction inside an artifact was like a lock, the cultivators Spiritual Power was like a key. The Young Master of Nine Star n was dead, so the key was lost. Hence, Lu Ye had to make a new key for the artifact using his own Spiritual Power. That realization finally dawned upon him.
Thanks, Sir. Lu Ye rose from the chair and saluted him.
The old cultivator waved his hand and picked up his tea cup again.
After leaving Divine Trade Association, he took a peek inside the Storage Bag and found over 30 Spirit Restoring Pills, over 20 Spirit Stones, some bottles of pills he couldnt recognise, and some other misceneous items like womens clothes. These clothes were on the skimpy side. The tailors must have been economical with the fabrics. Lu Ye sighed and thought that the Young Master was such a yboy.
There were not many things inside the bag, but he hadnt suffered a loss at the very least. Now, he only had 350 Restoring Pills. Unfortunately, he was left with thest six Yuan Metal ores, which made him feel dejected. Initially, he thought that these ores were enough to help him ascend to the Ninth-Order, but now it seemed that he was wrong.
After walking along the chaotic streets, he arrived at one corner of the city. In an instant, a shriek was hearding from a short distance. Upon a nce, Lu Ye realized that a simple tent had been set up over there. There were several beds inside the tent. On one of the beds, the muscr Kong Niu was pinning down a male cultivator who was trying his hardest to struggle out of his grip. A scarf had been wrapped around Hua Cis head. Presently, she was rapidly pping the mans belly, and following every p, the man would screech. From time to time, blood would spurt out from the mans wound. His blood was of a dark color rather than red. It seemed that he had been poisoned.
This ce was a fixed spot where Hua Ci would treat her patients in Tassel City. Many severely injured cultivators from Grand Sky Coalition would seek her treatments. Business seemed to be terrific for her on this day as there were several wounded people lying on the beds, awaiting her help. All of them appearedpletely battered, which made one wonder what had happened to them.
Every time the male cultivator shrieked, he would also call out, Oh, Mother!
There was no doubt that Hua Ci was an excellent doctor, but undeniably, her way of treating her patients was brutal. Lu Ye could once again confirm that she was the kind of woman who said the softest words but made the most ruthless moves. Hearing the mans cry, Lu Ye couldnt help recalling the joke regarding medicine cultivators that Hua Ci had told him. It seemed that she wasnt lying. Some people would really call her Mother.
I told you to stop moving! Stop! Kong Niu forcefully pinned the man down on the bed to make sure he couldnt escape.
Tears and snot streamed down on the mans face as he eximed, Kill me! Kill me! His wail horrified the onlookers. Anyone who had no idea what was going on would have thought that he was being tortured inhumanely upon hearing that.
A momentter, Hua Ci retracted her hands and caught a glimpse of Lu Ye, who was watching a good show on the side. Then, she directly said, Hey, you. Come over and help.
Lu Ye pointed at himself.
Yes! You! Hua Ci picked up a piece of cotton cloth and cleaned the blood on her hands.
A helpless Lu Ye walked over, then she picked up a bowl of green herbal juice and pointed at the man. Feed him.
After Lu Ye took the bowl, terrible memories from the past sprang into his mind. With his lips curving into a smile, he shuffled towards the man who was to be fed with this bowl of herbal juice.
Presently, Kong Niu was still pressing the man against the bed. When the man saw Lu Ye approaching him, he had a premonition all of a sudden, so he struggled even harder. Release me! Release me!
Lu Ye walked over and stood in front of the man before shing a benevolent smile at him. Hey man, its time to take your medicine.
I dont want it! The man felt terribly rmed as he shook his head violently.
Lu Ye gave Kong Niu a hint with his gaze, upon which thetter clenched the mans chin. Following that, Lu Ye directly poured the juice into his mouth.
I Gulp Dont Gulp
Chapter 100: You Drugged Me
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 100: You Drugged Me
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Its such a fun and fulfilling day Inside the horse carriage, Lu Ye fiddled with the bell in his hand and sighed.
Tassel City was 30 kilometers away from Mount Ying, where Rogue Wanderers Club was located, so they would always move between the two ces using a horse carriage, which saved time and energy. A weak cultivator wasnt able to fly. Even a Seventh-Order cultivator like Dong Shu Ye could only glide in the air for a short moment.
Therefore, when low-rank cultivators had to go to a faraway ce, they would make use of horses or horse carriages. Certainly, if one was capable enough, he could tame a Spirit Beast. Compared to riding a horse, moving around on a Spirit Beast was undoubtedly more impressive, and it suited his identity as a cultivator. Besides that, a domesticated beast could also help the cultivator battle against his enemies, which was why it was more useful than a horse.
There had never been ack of Spirit Beasts or other wild beasts in Spirit Creek Battlefield. When Lu Ye arrived at this ce for the first time, he came across a group of wolves straight away. Amber was also a wild beast in this battlefield. Naturally, there were horses as well.
Lu Ye had spent the entire day assisting Hua Ci and finally witnessed how she treated other patients. It had to be said that the way she treated her patients was brutal, but there was no denying that the results were excellent. That was why so many injured cultivators would seek her help.
Initially, Lu Ye thought that she was a ruthless miser, but what he had seen on this day changed his mind. She indeed charged a hefty price for treating her patients, but for those cultivators who were too poor to pay, she would give them a grace period. They just had to pay her the fee at ater time that had been agreed upon.
This kind of verbal agreement wasnt legally binding. Most rogue cultivators had a hard time getting enough money to put food on the table, and they might lose their lives at any moment. In fact, some rogue cultivators wouldnt really fulfill their promises. Therefore, after a busy day, they had only earned 20 Spirit Stones. Deducting the costs of the herbs and her own efforts, their profit was negligible.
Despite that, she still gave Lu Ye 2 Spirit Stones as his wage for assisting her on this day. She was such a conflicted woman.
All of a sudden, he felt a weight on his shoulder. He slightly turned his head, only to see that Hua Ci had nodded off as her head rested on his shoulder. Remaining in the same posture, he gently activated his Spiritual Power to nurture the bell in his hands.
At night, after he was done with practicing sword-wielding, he took a bath and sat down on the bed with his legs crossed. Just when he was ready to cultivate, he thought of something, so he got off the bed and shuffled out of the room. Arriving at a neighboring room, he knocked on the door.
A momentter, Hua Ci was seen opening the door. She must have taken a bath a while ago as the room was still filled with steam, and her hair was damp. Seeing him, she became startled for a moment. Whats wrong?
I have some bottles of pills that I dont recognise, so Id like to ask you to have a look at them, Lu Ye exined.
Besides Spirit Restoring Pills and Spirit Stones, he had also obtained some bottles of pills that he had never seen before from the Storage Bag of the Young Master of Nine Star n. Hua Ci was a medicine cultivator, so she must be familiar with all sorts of pills.
Hearing that, she stepped aside to let him pass. Come in.
Lu Ye stepped into the room and scanned his surroundings. Just like his room, the decorations in this ce were simple. It seemed that she wasnt particr about decorating her room.
Show me the pills. Hua Ci tied up her long hair and extended her hand to motion for him to have a seat.
Then, Lu Ye fished out those bottles. After picking up a bottle, Hua Ci dropped one pill onto her palm and carefully examined it. Then, she sniffed it under her nose and frowned. This is the Five Poison Pill. Cultivators below the Fifth-Order will either be mentally confused or even lose their lives upon consuming it.
With a disdainful look on her face, she put down the pill and picked up another bottle. A momentter, she said, These are Spiritual Point Burning Pills, which are a kind of evil drug. If a Spirit Creek Realm Master identally consumes it, his Spiritual Points will be damaged.
All of them were either poisonous pills or pills that could harm people. Lu Ye secretly despised the Young Master of Nine Star n and thought that thetter was indeed a wicked man. Hua Ci picked up thest bottle and gave him a look. Where did you get all these from?
They are the rewards from a battle, Lu Ye replied.
It was then Hua Ci understood how he obtained these pills. Thest kind of pill was weirdly pinkish, and there seemed to be a sweet scent wafting from it. She couldnt help but be startled. This is
As though she wasnt certain what it was, she sniffed it under her nose. All of a sudden, the pill dropped onto the ground with a thud. She ced her hand on her forehead and staggered before hurriedly pressing her elbow against the table.
A stunned Lu Ye asked, What happened to you?
You You drugged me!? Hua Ci stared at him as her face became visibly redder. Her vision seemed to have lost focus, and her eyes were watery. Despite her usation, her soft tone and expression were somewhat seductive.
An astounded Lu Ye finally realized what thest bottle of pills were for, so he quickly waved his hands. I have never done that! Stop spouting nonsense!
Things were getting out of hand. He just wanted Hua Ci to help identify these pills, but he hadnt expected that the Young Master of Nine Star n had such potent aphrodisiacs. At this moment, her head had slumped onto the table as she fell silent.
Hurriedly, Lu Ye walked over to check on her and realized that she had passed out. Looking at the unconscious woman, he felt a headache. Even though he didnt mean to drug her, this matter should never be exposed. Otherwise, those cultivators from Rogue Wanderers Club would cut him to pieces.
After giving it a thought, he carried her up and ced her on the bed. After covering her in a quilt, he snuck out of the room in a guilty manner. However, he soon returned to the room and retrieved the bottles of pills. After closing the door again, he quickly went back to his room.
As his footsteps faded, Hua Ci, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes and covered her mouth with the quilt beforeughing silently. The pink pill was indeed some evil stuff, but she was a Fifth-Order medicine cultivator, so it was impossible that she would be knocked out because of a drug so easily. All she had done was improvisation to make fun of Lu Ye.
With that said, the way Lu Ye reacted surprised her. This man seemed to be very upstanding. It was a shame that he wasnt a rogue cultivator. Otherwise, she could have epted him into Rogue Wanderers Club. However, it was apparent that he was from a top great force, so he was different from rogue cultivators like them.
At the break of dawn, Ruan Ling Yu came knocking on the door in an anxious manner. After Hua Ci opened the door, Ruan Ling Yu passed her a jade bottle and said, Senior Brother Yi Ye has left without anyones knowledge, and he has also taken a horse away. This is what hes left here.
After taking the jade bottle, Hua Ci took a look and saw 10 Spirit Restoring Pills inside, which were supposed to be the fee for buying a horse. She dipped her head and replied, Just let him be.
They had been getting along pretty well recently, but they were from different worlds after all, so it was just a matter of time before they parted ways.
In fact, she realized that he had the intention of leaving on the previous day. He had already be healthy again, so there was no reason hed keep staying in Rogue Wanderers Club. Therefore, she wasnt surprised upon learning about it.
On the other hand, Ruan Ling Yu grunted in a dejected manner. There were only a small number of people in Rogue Wanderers Club because Hua Ci was strict when it came to recruiting people. She wouldnt just ept anyone.
Initially, Ruan Ling Yu thought that Lu Ye had a chance of joining their club to strengthen their collective power, but he had surprisingly left the ce without informing anyone, which made her be listless for the entire day.
Chapter 101: Looking for Amber
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 101: Looking for Amber
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The horse was running at full speed as Lu Ye remained seated on the horses back in a steady manner. Although he had never ridden a horse before, he had the experience of moving around on a tigers back. In fact, it felt bumpier to be riding on Ambers back, so the current situation didnt affect him one bit.
After half a month of recuperation, he had almost fully recovered. Initially, he intended to bid Hua Ci farewell on this day, but after the farce on the previous night, he had no idea how to exin it to her when she awakened. Therefore, he decided to directly leave. He had to look for Yi Yi and Amber.
Half a month ago, he was hunted down by Dong Shu Ye. The reason he was able to get out of the woods in the end was all thanks to Amber. If it werent because the tiger brought him to charge forward, he wouldnt have had the chance to run across the nd. When they were separated, Amber was already injured. He wasnt sure how horrible its injuries were, not did he have any idea about whether it was still alive. Regardless, he had to look for the tiger and find out.
Riding on the horse, he was moving forward beside a river. The direction they were heading was against the water current. As he refined pills to cultivate, he activated his Spiritual Power to nurture the bell.
One dayter, he took a nce at the majestic waterfall and got off the horse. Then, hended a p on the horse using his sheath. The shocked horse started running away and disappeared. Since he was on a mountain, a horse was practically useless. Therefore, he could only let it go.
At the bottom of the waterfall was a hugeke. The water continuously fell into theke and caused a ssh. Lu Ye recalled that he had leaped off from the top of this waterfall and plunged into thiske. If he wanted to look for Amber, he had to go back up.
While he was examining the terrain, he suddenly heard a strange sound. Turning his head, he saw a person emerging from theke. That person saw Lu Ye as well and became vignt.
In Spirit Creek Battlefield, cultivators would always react in such a way whening across people they didnt know. That was because they had no idea which side the other party was from. If both of them were equally powerful, no one would easily reveal the side they were from.
Looking at that person, Lu Ye recalled that after he plunged into theke, he saw someone else under the water. At that time, that person seemed to be looking for something. However, he was unlucky as he was cut to pieces by Dong Shu Yes Golden Arc shes, which allowed Lu Ye to escape unscathed. On this day, he bumped into someone else again.
It seemed that there were things under the water that were useful to cultivators, which was why so many people woulde over here. That person slowly got onto shore and stared at Lu Ye. Seeing as that person was a Third-Order cultivator, Lu Ye could be at ease.
Then, he took a look at the top of the waterfall and asked, Hey buddy, do you know how I can go up there? On the sides of the waterfall were steep cliffs, and there didnt seem to be anywhere he could climb up.
That person stared fixedly at Lu Ye for a moment before pointing in a particr direction. 10 kilometers away from here, theres a ce where you can go up the mountain.
Lu Ye nodded. Thanks.
Then, he shuffled in the direction where that person pointed. When they brushed past one another, that person became tense. It wasnt until Lu Ye was out of his sight that he could set his mind at ease.
Half a dayter, Lu Ye reached the top of the waterfall. He traced back the path he had taken and looked around. The spells from a Seventh-Order cultivator like Dong Shu Ye were truly powerful as the traces of the attacks against Lu Ye were still left on the ground.
A momentter, he squatted in front of a pit that was caused by a fireball. The trees around it had been burned down. At that time, he was separated from Amber on this spot. Recalling the sight, he moved forward in a particr direction for over 10 kilometers.
There wasnt any corpse on the ground, which eased his anxiety a little. It seemed that Amber wasnt dead. The ground had been dyed crimson as the trace of blood extended into a particr direction, which led to the location of the waterfall.
With his heart growing heavy, he seemed able to imagine what was going on. At that time, he was sted off the tigers back by Dong Shu Yes spell, and Amber passed out upon impact.
He didnt have the time to check on the tiger as he fled immediately. That was because he believed that Dong Shu Ye was only chasing after him. If he stayed with Amber, both of them would be killed. If he fled on his own, the tiger would stand a chance of surviving.
However, after Amber awakened, it followed the trace of blood in an attempt to look for him. He walked alongside the faint trail of blood and indeed arrived at the waterfall.
There was arge ck bloodstain on the ground. Apparently, Amber had stayed in this ce for quite some time. Even though he had seen the bloodstain earlier, he thought that it was his blood, which was why he didnt pay attention to it. It wasnt until this moment that he found out it was Ambers blood.
Following the trail of blood, he kept moving forward. He didnt have any experience in tracking down anyone. Fortunately, since he was a cultivator now, his eyesight and observational skills had be stronger than those of ordinary people. That was why he could keep going with difficulty.
In the evening, he followed the intermittent trail and arrived at a cave. There wasnt a trace of blood anymore. Apprehensively, he called out at the cave, Yi Yi! Amber!
All of a sudden, a growl was heard as a metallic tang came right at him. A ck panther leaped out of the cave, after which Lu Ye unsheathed his sword and shed across the beast. The ck panthers head was sent flying away as its burly figure copsed to the ground. Blood was still spurting out of its body.
Lu Yes expression darkened. He had followed the lead toe to this ce, but a ck panther emerged from the cave instead of Amber and Yi Yi. At that instant, he had a terrible feeling. If Amber didnte here on its own, it might have been dragged towards this ce by a different beast.
Upon sheathing his sword, he stepped into the cave and directed his Spiritual Power to his eyes. At first nce, he saw some bones at the end of the cave, which made him feel more anxious. With heavy steps, he shuffled forward and crouched down in front of the bones to examine them.
A momentter, he heaved a sigh of relief as these were not Ambers bones. The tigers skull was muchrger.
At this moment, darkness was about to descend upon him, so it wasnt possible for him to keep looking for the tiger. Left with no choice, he decided to stay the night in this ce. Now, he was certain that Amber wasnt dead at that time. The bloodstain on the ground proved that the tiger hade to this ce on its own.
However, Amber soon left the ce. As for where it had gone, he could only keep tracking the next day.
At night, after Lu Ye was done with his meal, he continued cultivating. 36 Spiritual Points had been unlocked so far. He had to look for Amber during the day, so he didnt have the time to break the barrier of the 37th Spiritual Point. Therefore, he could only do it at night. Now, he could unlock a Spiritual Point more easily than when he first started cultivating. That was because he had enough Spiritual Power at his disposal. Moreover, his Spiritual Power was pure, which was naturally advantageous for unlocking Spiritual Points and improving efficiency.
After only one hour, the barrier of the 37th Spiritual Point was shattered as his Spiritual Power streamed into it. Things became much easier after this. He just had to keep refining pills and make use of Gathering Spirits to fill up this Spiritual Point before he could attempt to break the next barrier.
With Gluttonous Feast running in the background, it could automatically refine the pills for him. Gathering Spirits also wouldnt distract him, which was why he decided to fish out the bell and continued nurturing it with his Spiritual Power.
Chapter 102: Heading to the Source of the Voice
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 102: Heading to the Source of the Voice
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The old cultivator from the Divine Trade Association had said that this bell was one of the best Low-Grade artifacts, which went to show that it was of high quality. Lu Ye had no idea how artifacts were categorized, but after someparison, he realized that there was more than oneyer of restriction in this bell.
His sword could be considered an artifact, but there was only oneyer of restriction which seemed able to strengthen the de so that it wouldnt break easily when its owner fought against his opponents. The restriction in the sword was actually a Spiritual Pattern. When this sword was forged, the desmith used an amazing technique and engraved the Spiritual Pattern inside the de.
When Lu Ye battled against his opponents, he just had to infuse his Spiritual Power into the de to activate this Spiritual Pattern, so he didnt have to build it from scratch. Fundamentally, it was like using Sharp Edge to bless the sword, but the difference was that the blessing was only temporary, while the Spiritual Pattern in the de was permanent. He just had to infuse his Spiritual Power into the de to use it.
There was more than one Spiritual Pattern in the bell. He found out about it when infusing his Spiritual Power into it. The Spiritual Patterns were weaved together using a brilliant technique, which then formed the so-called restriction. He understood that Spiritual Patterns were the foundation of restriction. Every Spiritual Pattern could be regarded as ayer of restriction, but these patterns could bebined in a remarkable manner, which allowed them to work wonders.
It had only been a short time since he started cultivating, and he had obtained his Spiritual Patterns from the Skill Tree, so he wasnt familiar with all these yet. He wasnt even sure whether he understood this information correctly. This stuff could be studied at ater time. For now, he just had to inject his Spiritual Power into the bell to nurture it as well as erase the traces of its previous owner. By then, hed be able to use the bell freely.
During the day, he would look for Amber and Yi Yi. At night, he would cultivate diligently. Time flew as seven to eight days had passed, but he still hadnt found them.
He believed that it must have been Yi Yi who told Amber to head to the waterfall. In that case, they must be aware that he had plunged into theke. If they wanted to look for him, they must have been looking around near the river.
However, Amber was severely injured, so it must have hidden somewhere to recuperate first. Nevertheless, Lu Ye had looked around for 100 kilometers in the past few days, but he still couldnt find any useful leads. At that moment, he wasnt sure where he should go.
Two dayster, they were still nowhere to be found. Lu Ye was crestfallen. Although it had only been a short time since he, Yi Yi, and Amber came together, they had been getting along well. The fact that he could ride on the tigers back to move around saved him lots of time and energy. He could even cultivate while heading to his next destination, which was immensely beneficial to him.
If Amber wasnt around when he was hunted down by Dong Shu Ye, he wouldve been captured. It could be said that the tiger had saved his life. Therefore, he was determined to look for hispanions.
Since they had set off on the journey together, they had to reach the end together. He wouldnt want to abandon thepanions who had saved his life before.
Under the night sky, Lu Ye wielded the sword in his hand as he was covered in sweat. At the same time, he was pondering where he should search the next day. He had a 10-point map with him, so he was fully aware of whether a ce had been searched. While he was trying toe up with a n, he heard a roaring from the forest. He abruptly stopped what he was doing and listened carefully.
A momentter, another roar was heard, and it sounded familiar to Lu Ye. It was Amber! Hurriedly, he sheathed his sword and charged towards the source. Shocked by his move, the birds shot into the air.
Tiger roars were heard more frequently. It seemed that Amber was battling against some people. As the gap shortened, Lu Ye could faintly feel the fluctuations of Spiritual Powersing from that ce. There were cultivators who were in a scuffle with Amber!
Lu Ye felt his heart sinking as he didnt understand what was going on. Amber was indeed weak, but with the help of Yi Yi, most low-rank cultivators wouldnt dare to go near the tiger. When he was on Green Cloud Mountain, he saw how Yi Yi and Amber cooperated and scared off the low-rank cultivators.
For low-rank cultivators, it was impossible to offend a Spirit Beast that could speak Humannguage. However, presently, some cultivators were attacking Amber. Were they powerful?
At the thought of this, Lu Ye became increasingly anxious. If it werent because he had no more Move With the Wind talisman papers left, he wouldve fished out one and used it on himself. Before he reached his destination, the tiger stopped roaring, and no noises were hearding from the location of the battle again, which made Lu Ye feel flustered as he wondered what was going on.
After going up the mountain, he stopped in his tracks and tried to curb his panting. Then, he fished out a Breathing Curbing talisman paper from his Storage Bag and used it on himself. At that instant, his breathing was covered up.
He had never used this talisman paper before, so he had no idea how long it couldst. However, he reckoned that it would lose its effect pretty quickly. Therefore, after hiding his breathing, he hurriedly shuffled forward in silence.
A momentter, he emerged from the edge of the disorderly battlefield. His figure was hidden in the darkness. After a nce, he saw the snowy white Amber.
Under the night sky, the stout Amber seemed to be intoxicated as it staggered and repeatedly shook its head. The tiger was threatening them by growling at them, but there was something wrong with its voice, as though something had been tied around its neck, which made its voice be hoarse. There was indeed something that looked like a cor which radiated a faint Spiritual Light that had been wrapped around the tigers neck. It was an artifact.
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes and quickly looked around. There were five cultivators in total, four men and one woman, who were all separated by a distance of 30 meters as they surrounded Amber.
Secretly, Lu Ye directed his Spiritual Power into his eyes and examined their Spiritual Lights. Soon, he found out their cultivation bases. There was one Fifth-Order cultivator, one Fourth-Order cultivator, and three Third-Order cultivators. The woman was the Fourth-Order cultivator. Presently, she was performing a hand seal with one hand as her Spiritual Power swirled around her.
The Fifth-Order cultivator was a young man in ck clothes. All of a sudden, he said, Rx your grip on the Beast Taming Cor. If the tiger is killed, itll be useless.
Got it, the woman replied and used a different hand seal. A Spiritual Light glowed on the cor around Amber, whereupon the cor became looser.
Heavy panting was heard as Amber leaped into the air and pounced on the Third-Order cultivator nearest to it. While it was in mid-air, the cor around its neck shone again. Amber seemed to have lost control as it fell onto the ground. The cor seemed able to suppress the tiger.
Seeing that, the Third-Order cultivator sneered. This beast is weak, but its pretty hot-tempered.
The woman snorted. The tiger is weak, but the three of you still obediently gave it your Storage Bags.
The Third-Order cultivator who spoke earlier became embarrassed and refuted, Senior Sister Yu, please stop teasing us. We didnt expect that this beast had a Ghost Spirit. They joined forces to frighten us!
Another Third-Order cultivator nodded repeatedly. Thats right. At that time, Junior Brother Xiong almost pissed on his trousers.
Bullshit! Thest Third-Order cultivator curse. I didnt.
Senior Sister Yu put on a smile. Senior Brother Zhou is indeed intelligent. After hearing about this incident, he immediately realized that something was off. Otherwise, we wouldve missed such a Spirit Beast. It already has a Ghost Spirit when its still weak. If we can properly nurture it, this beast might grow to be extremely powerful.
Chapter 103: A Lesson From the Cultivation World
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 103: A Lesson From the Cultivation World
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Upon listening to the conversation between these cultivators, Lu Ye finally understood what had happened.
Just like what he had imagined, after he disappeared into theke, Yi Yi and Amber looked for a secret ce to recuperate. However, their whereabouts were discovered by the three Third-Order cultivators. The Ghost Spirit and the tiger had dealt with such circumstances before, so they were not flustered. They joined forces and scared off these cultivators. Judging from the fact that these cultivators had even given up their Storage Bags, they must be terrified.
After they returned to their great force, they told Senior Brother Zhou, who was in the Fifth-Order, about what had happened. Senior Brother Zhou felt that something was off, so he brought these people to look for Amber. He must have invited the Fourth-Order woman to help him. The woman was able to use an artifact that could tame beasts, which was useful when dealing with Spirit Beasts.
Just like this, five of them came back here and found Amber. After some probing, Senior Brother Zhou confirmed that Amber was just pretending to be powerful, so he decided to make a move.
Fortunately, they were trying to capture Amber, so they didnt use any fatal moves. Otherwise, Amber would have lost its life by now.
Recently, Lu Ye had given Amber a lot of Spirit Restoring Pills, and the tiger ate the best food every single day. Therefore, its power had increased significantly as it was as powerful as a Second or Third-Order cultivator. However, even with the help of Yi Yi, the tiger was no match for these cultivators. Senior Brother Zhou alone could easily capture it.
After copsing to the ground, Amber tried to get back up, but the Beast Taming Cor seemed to weigh 1,000 kilograms. Although it could hoist its body, its head was still firmly pressed against the ground. Immovable, the tiger roared in a hoarse voice again.
A Spiritual Light shed across Amber as Yi Yi emerged from the tiger and furiously pounced on that woman. She yelled, Release Amber!
Seeing that Amber was suffering, she couldnt take it anymore despite knowing that she was no match for the woman.
However, after she charged forward for a bit, she became startled for a moment before appearing ted, as though she had seen something surprising. The next instant, she whirled around and disappeared into the tiger again.
On the other hand, Senior Brother Zhou had already dashed forward in an attempt to deal with the Ghost Spirit, but he hadnt expected that she had backed down all of a sudden, which puzzled him.
However, following Yi Yis yell, the cor around Ambers neck dimmed. Without the cors suppression, the tiger slowly lifted its head as its amber eyes radiated a strange glow. Golden Demon Power spun around its body, which made it look murderous. All the tiger had gone through earlier had ignited its ferocious nature.
Senior Sister Yu, please tighten your Beast Taming Cor quickly! a Third-Order cultivator hurriedly shouted.
However, Senior Sister Yu didnt respond to him. A perplexed Senior Brother Zhou turned to look at her, whereupon his expression darkened. That was because there was someone who was standing just 60 centimeters behind her with a sharp weapon in his hand that had been pressed against her back. At this moment, Senior Sister Yu had turned pale as she wouldnt dare to move a muscle.
As their eyes met, she called out to Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother, help me
It wasnt until this moment that the smell of blood permeated the ce. The three Third-Order cultivators finally realized that something was amiss. When they turned around and saw the man behind their Senior Sister, one of them bellowed, Who are you? Release her now. Otherwise, all of us from Serene Cloud Mountain will never let you off!
After he was done barking, he activated his Spiritual Power to examine Lu Yes Spiritual Light, but to no avail. That was because Lu Ye didnt exude any Spiritual Light at all. His chest tightened as he wasnt sure whether Lu Ye had covered up his Spiritual Light with an artifact or a talisman paper. If it was thetter, he could be at ease. If it was the former, it suggested that their opponent came from a powerful background.
While he was doubtful, Senior Brother Zhou said through clenched teeth, Shut up, dumbass!
While the cultivator who spoke earlier didnt understand why Senior Brother Zhou chided him, Lu Ye, who was behind Senior Sister Yu, became at ease. Serene Cloud Mountain
He had seen this great force on the 10-point map before. It was a Ninth-Tier great force that was on the Thousand Demon Ridges side. Initially, he wasnt certain which side these people were from, but one of them had made a mistake by trying to threaten him with their great force.
That was the reason Senior Brother Zhou scolded him. When cultivators met one another for the first time, itd be extremely unwise for anyone to expose their background without first finding out which side the other party was from. This Third-Order cultivator was obviously inexperienced in battles, which was why he hadnt been taught a lesson from the Cultivation World.
Initially, Lu Ye was worried that these people might be on the Grand Sky Coalitions side. In that case, he wouldnt know how to handle it. Even if they were from the same side, if he just leaped forward and told them that Amber belonged to him, they would probably ignore him. Therefore, whatever side they were from, he had to control one person first so that he had a bargaining chip to talk to them. The reason he chose Senior Siser Yu was that she was focused on controlling the cor, so hed stand a greater chance of seeding to restrict her.
As for Senior Brother Zhou, he was a Fifth-Order cultivator. There was a gap of two minor realms between them, so Lu Ye wasnt confident of restraining him. The reason he didnt press his sword against her neck was that there were too many uncertainties by doing so. She was a Fourth-Order cultivator, so she might have some ways to escape from him.
Therefore, he decided to sneak behind Senior Sister Yu and directly stab her in the back with his sword. At the same time, he ced his hand on her shoulder as the tip of his de was only 5 centimeters away from her heart. In that case, if she wanted to stay alive, she wouldnt dare to make any rash moves.
It could be said that the moment he made a move, regardless which side the other party was from, a grudge had been formed between them. He had no other choice. If he wanted to save Amber, it was pointless to negotiate with them. The weapon in his hand was what could save the tiger. However, upon finding out that they were from Serene Cloud Mountain, he had no more worries.
With a whoosh, he extended his hand as the sword stuck out from Senior Sister Yus chest. The de was covered in blood, which dropped onto the ground. Her pupils contracted and then expanded. Stretching out her hand towards Senior Brother Zhou, she uttered, Senior Brother, save
Lu Ye directly pulled out his sword andnded a kick on her, which sent her flying towards Senior Brother Zhou. Of all these people, Senior Brother Zhou was the most powerful and agile. The moment Lu Ye made a move on his Junior Sister, he unsheathed his sword and stomped his foot on the ground before charging towards Lu Ye. His Spiritual Light dazzled, and his eyes were bloodshot as he said through clenched teeth, Go to Hell!
He had never expected this man to kill his Junior Sister directly. His resoluteness sent a chill down his spine. Faced with his Junior Sister that was flying towards him, he hurriedly caught her, but before he could find out whether she was still alive, he was engulfed in darkness.
Looking up, he saw a spinning bell. A belt of light had been formed around the bell as it swirled around the artifact. The bell soon descended from the sky and covered him in it.
Svin: Created a new Patreon Tier. We are more than halfway there!
Chapter 104: Senior Brother Zhou, an Expert in Sword Wielding
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 104: Senior Brother Zhou, an Expert in Sword Wielding
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The thing that had engulfed Senior Brother Zhou was the bell Lu Ye had obtained from the Young Master of Nine Star n. He had been nurturing the bell with his Spiritual Power for quite some time, which proved to be effective. Although he hadnt softened all theyers of restriction, he could already activate some of its powers.
By just activating the bell, he could use it to trap his opponent. In the past, Yi Yi was confined just like this. As for the bells other powers, Lu Ye still couldnt activate them.
The sudden change stunned everyone. In the blink of an eye, of the five cultivators from Serene Cloud Mountain, Senior Sister Yu was killed, and Senior Brother Zhou was trapped, so only three Third-Order cultivators were left. Before they could figure out what was going on, Lu Ye had charged towards the person nearest to him.
That person hurriedly stepped backwards and fished out his weapon to deal with his opponent, but Lu Ye had already whizzed past him. This Third-Order cultivator became rooted to the spot as his figure shook a little. The next instant, he copsed to the ground, and the ground was soon dyed red.
Although both of them were Third-Order cultivators, he wasnt able to parry a strike that had been blessed with Sharp Edge. One was well prepared, while the other was unsuspecting. Once they traded moves, he was bound for Hell.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had already reached the next Third-Order cultivator. This person was Junior Brother Xiong, who almost pissed on his trousers after he was frightened by Amber and Yi Yi some time ago. He had more time to react, but faced with a ferocious man like Lu Ye, he had lost the courage to resist. With a horrified expression, he clumsily wielded his weapon and stepped backwards. At the same time, he yelled, Donte near me!
.
This couldnt dy his imminent death. Lu Ye dashed forward and shed at him. A terrified Junior Brother Xiong instinctively raised his weapon to parry the attack, whereupon the weapon in his hand glowed with a Spiritual Light. Apparently, this was also a Low-Grade artifact.
Such a Low-Grade artifact was usually engraved with a Spiritual Pattern that could strengthen the item. That was because low-rank cultivators normally engaged in close-quartersbat, so a sturdier weapon would allow them to fight for a longer time. If the weapon was destroyed in the middle of a fight, the cultivator could only wait for death.
Before the two artifacts came into contact, Lu Ye twisted his wrist as his weapon whizzed past his opponents artifact. Then, he hacked his weapon at him.
If he were still the guy who had just left Green Cloud Mountain, he wouldve kept going and tried to break his opponents weapon. However, after going through countless life-and-death battles in Split Sky Gorge, he had be a more experienced fighter. The attack almost split the opponents chest open as his heart could faintly be seen pounding.
Argh! That person shrieked and copsed to the ground, but he wasnt dead yet.
Lu Ye turned his sword around and jabbed it into his body. Junior Brother Xiong convulsed for a moment before bing immovable. He soon stopped breathing. Following that, Lu Ye pulled out his weapon. While blood was still dripping from his artifact, he pounced on thest Third-Order cultivator.
Presently, this person was in an intense battle with Amber. Yi Yi had also appeared to harass their opponent. She was a very agile Ghost Spirit, so she could appear and disappear as she pleased. As the tiger and the Ghost Spirit joined forces, they couldnt really harm this cultivator, but they could definitely hold him down.
Seeing that Lu Ye had killed two other Third-Order cultivators, this person knew that he was no match for him. As he wielded his weapon to fend off Amber, he anxiously rummaged through his Storage Bag and fished out a talisman paper. Just when he was ready to use the talisman paper, Lu Ye reached him and shed at him.
In an instant, his hand, which was holding the talisman paper, was cut off. As the palm fell onto the ground, blood spurted out of the cultivators wound. A shriek was heard, but following that, it abruptly stopped as Lu Ye had urately jabbed his sword into the opponents mouth and stuck it out from the back of thetters head. Then, he twisted his weapon to ensure that his opponent was killed.
While Amber was panting on the side, a surprised Yi Yi came over and called out, Lu Ye!
Lu Ye shed a smile at her, but before he could speak, a loud boom was heard from a short distance. Turning his head, he saw the bells surface glittering. The bell, which was originally the size of a water tank, had expanded significantly.
After all, he hadnt fully refined this bell, so he could only use it to trap his opponent, but the duration was rather short. As a Fifth-Order cultivator, Senior Brother Zhou certainly wouldnt wait for death inside the bell. Under his attack, the time the bell could trap him became shorter.
If Lu Ye didnt retrieve the bell, it would be destroyed in no time. After all, this bell was meant to save its owner, so it was sturdier on the outside. Inparison, it was easier to damage it from the inside.
Take Amber away! Lu Ye hurriedly said. Amber hadnt really recovered, but it was harmed again by these people from Serene Cloud Mountain. Presently, its white fur was dyed red. Moreover, given its power, it was unable to deal with a Fifth-Order cultivator.
Fully aware of the situation, Yi Yi only said worriedly, Be careful.
Then, she took Amber away, but she still stared fixedly at Lu Ye. As soon as Lu Ye fell into danger, they would pounce on the opponent together to offer as much help as possible.
After a nod, Lu Ye dashed towards the bell and extended his hand, whereupon the bell hoisted and shrunk rapidly beforeing back to him. As soon as he stored the bell, he leaped into the air and brought down his sword.
Right after the bell was lifted, a cold glint from a de shed across Lu Yes eyes as Senior Brother Zhou extended his hand and shed his weapon with that of Lu Ye. Upon impact, Lu Ye almost couldnt support his own weight. Not only was his attack fended off, but he also fell backwards.
Seizing the initiative, Senior Brother Zhou charged forward and repeatedly pushed his sword forward in a rapid manner. Although his attack wasnt violent, it was continuous as Lu Ye was forced to retreat. It was the first time Lu Ye came across such an opponent. When he killed people in the past, he was always swift, urate, and ruthless. He would either break the opponents weapon or cut off their body in a resolute manner. Even the Fourth-Order cultivators from Nine Star n were not able to parry his sword, which had been blessed with Sharp Edge.
However, Senior Brother Zhous mastery of sword wielding was incredible, so Lu Ye wasnt even sure how he could make a move. His hurried moves were all resolved. Not only was Senior Brother Zhou unharmed, but he had also managed to leave some cuts on Lu Yes body. Lu Ye activated a defensive Spiritual Pattern to protect himself, but the other partys weapon was as erratic as a snake. His sword could always circle around the Spiritual Pattern and harm Lu Ye, which made thetter waste some Spiritual Power.
Unless Lu Ye could activate a Spiritual Pattern that could fully block his front, he was unable to ward off his opponent. If he really used such a Spiritual Pattern, not only would his Spiritual Power be depleted in no time, but he would also be unable to attack.
This battle was different from that against Luo Ji in the past. Luo Ji was a spell cultivator, so his spells were somewhat predictable. Lu Ye just had to activate a Spiritual Pattern to fend them off. However, Senior Brother Zhou was abat cultivator, so it was hard to predict how he would wield his sword.
Therefore, even though Luo Jis power was equivalent to that of an ordinary Fifth-Order cultivator, it was apletely different battle for Lu Ye. He could defeat Luo Ji, but he was no match for Senior Brother Zhou. After moving back several dozen meters, he realized that the other partys attacks had intensified. At that moment, he knew that his opponentsbat skill was much better than his.
After all, it had only been a few months since he started cultivating, while Senior Brother Zhou had been a Fifth-Order cultivator for a long time, so thetters mastery of sword wielding was much greater. If the battle dragged on, Lu Ye was bound to be defeated.
A furious Lu Ye decided to fully use his Spiritual Power to protect himself, and at the same time, he recklessly pushed out his weapon. A Spiritual Light glistened on the sword as it was blessed with Sharp Edge.
Chapter 105: Exchange
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 105: Exchange
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Blood sshed as Lu Ye and Senior Brother Zhou respectively stepped backwards. At this moment, blood was spurting out from the right side of Lu Yes chest as his opponents sword had prated his body. On the other hand, Senior Brother Zhou wasnt in a better state either. There was a cut that extended from his chest to his belly. If it werent because he moved backwards at the most critical moment, his chest and stomach wouldve been cut open.
Certainly, he had seen Lu Yes attack. The reason he didnt dodge it initially was that he was confident that his Spiritual Power could protect him. Earlier, Lu Ye had used a Breathing Curbing Talisman Paper to cover up his figure and Spiritual Light, so these people from Serene Cloud Mountain were not able to find out his power. However, Lu Ye was exposed as soon as he made a move. There was no way he could hide the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power.
[Hes a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master!] The moment Senior Brother was freed from the bell, he realized Lu Yes true power. He was a Fifth-Order cultivator, which meant that he was two minor realms above the other party, so his protective Spiritual Power was stronger. Therefore, he was confident that Lu Yes attack wouldnt harm him. He would be slightly wounded at most. On the other hand, he could severely injure Lu Ye with his sword.
If it werent because he had always been careful, he wouldnt have stepped back when faced with Lu Yes sh. His decision had saved his life. When the sword came into contact with his protective Spiritual Power, it was only stopped for a moment. The next instant, his protective Spiritual Power fell apart, and he was wounded.
After widening his gap with Lu Ye, Senior Brother Zhou looked down at the wound as he couldnt believe that his protective Spiritual Power was so weak. The weapon in his opponents hand was sharper than he thought.
It wasnt until this moment that he had the time to scan his surroundings. He was astounded to see that his Junior Brothers and Junior Sister were lying on the ground as they were covered in blood. No vitality could be felt exuding from them. Presently, he and Lu Ye were the only Humans that were alive. In the distance, the tiger was pacing around and growling at him. His eyelids twitched violently.
He was trapped inside the bell for about ten breaths. Prior to that, his Junior Sister had already been killed. However, the remaining Junior Brothers were all Third-Order cultivators. How was Lu Ye able to kill his Junior Brothers on his own in ten breaths? He was even injured by Lu Ye. [Where is this Monster from?]
At that instant, he was both exasperated and sorrowful. With his eyes turning bloodshot, he said through gritted teeth, Third-Order cultivator. Youre just a Third-Order cultivator
Lu Ye wasnt in the mood to listen to what his opponent had to say. The prative jab from earlier made it difficult for him to breathe. He knew that this battle couldnt drag on. Therefore, while his opponent was still engulfed in sorrow, he decided to charge forward.
Senior Brother Zhou clenched his teeth and cursed. After they rubbed past one another, three more cuts had been formed on Lu Yes figure, but at the same time, he had left one more cut on his opponent as well. The angle from which he shed at his opponent was tricky. He managed to hack at Senior Brother Zhous thigh, which made the flesh around that area roll up and caused blood to gush out of the wound.
Since Lu Ye wasnt able to overpower him with his techniques, he decided to let the other party hurt him in exchange for a chance to injure his opponent as well. If they were topete against one another using their techniques, he wouldve been tortured to death.
Lu Ye turned around and lowered his gaze. His chest and his neck, which were the vital parts of his body, were respectively protected by Spiritual Patterns. His Spiritual Power was rushing to infuse new energy into the Spiritual Patterns to sustain them.
Lu Yes rationale was simple. He just had to use two Spiritual Patterns to protect his vital parts. As for his other body parts, he wouldnt mind exposing them to his opponent. He wanted to see which one of them would be brought down first. It had to be said that his way of defending himself was shameless but extremely effective. That was because his chest was indeed attacked by Senior Brother Zhou, but his Spiritual Pattern had fended off the fatal strike. It was also because of this attack that Senior Brother Zhous thigh was exposed, which allowed Lu Ye to harm him.
It wasnt that Lu Ye didnt want to activate arge Spiritual Pattern, but it was energy consuming to do so. He wasnt powerful enough to sustain it. Therefore, he had to ensure that he could kill his opponent before his Spiritual Power was exhausted. Otherwise, he and Amber would be doomed. It was enough to have two Spiritual Patterns to protect his vital parts.
Damn it! Senior Brother Zhou cursed again in exasperation. After he finished speaking, he fished out a talisman paper and used it on himself. That was a Golden Body Talisman Paper. In an instant, he was engulfed in ayer of golden light. Following that, he took out another talisman paper and hurled it at Lu Ye.
As a Fifth-Order cultivator, he certainly had some talisman papers that could save his life. Normally, he was reluctant to use them, but now, he was left with no other choice. After trading moves twice, which caused both of them to be injured, he realized that it was difficult to deal with this Third-Order cultivator who came out of nowhere. The weapon in his opponents hand was especially sharp, which could easily prate his protective Spiritual Power.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had already dashed forward. Seeing that Senior Brother Zhou had cast a talisman paper, he had no choice but to stop in his tracks. Following that, a bell spun and became as tall as a Human before it came into the way between Lu Ye and his opponent. The power of the talisman paper shed with the bell with a loud ng.
While his figure was covered up by the bell, Lu Ye seized the chance and emerged from the side. When Senior Brother Zhou saw him, they were only 15 meters apart. He wanted to retreat, but the wound on his leg caused him to totter. Faced with the ferocious Lu Ye, he clenched his teeth and pushed his sword forward.
Lu Ye charged forward and shed at him. Blood sshed everywhere as the sounds of weapons jabbing into flesh were heard. After their Spiritual Powers shed, the battlefield became a mess. They had traded moves again as both of them were hurt.
Although Senior Brother Zhou was two minor realms above Lu Ye, thetters Spiritual Patterns, Sharp Edge and Protection, were able to make up for the gap between their powers. In fact, Lu Ye was even stronger than his opponent when it came to attack and defense.
The only thing Senior Brother Zhou had an advantage over Lu Ye was his Spiritual Power reserve. A Fifth-Order cultivator must have unlocked 63 Spiritual Points at the very least. Although Lu Ye had been cultivating while looking for Amber on the mountain, he had only managed to unlock up to 41 Spiritual Points. There was a gap of over 20 Spiritual Points between them, which was why Senior Brother Zhou was at an advantage when it came to Spiritual Power reserve.
However, that didnt allow him to gain the upper hand in the battle. This kind of brutal and violent fight made him feel despondent because his opponent was able to use Spiritual Patterns, which protected his two vital parts. As a Fifth-Order cultivator, he was still unable to break the Spiritual Patterns.
He had attempted to shatter the Spiritual Patterns. However, whenever he weakened the powers of the Spiritual Patterns using his sword, his opponent was able to use Spiritual Power to repair them. Unless he could destroy the Spiritual Patterns with one strike, anything else he did was futile.
Realizing that his injuries had worsened, he stopped having the urge to avenge the death of his Junior Sister and Junior Brothers. That was because he felt that if he kept fighting, he would probably lose his life in this ce. Faced with the other partys relentless attack, he didnt even have the time to send a message.
Chapter 106: Not Following Any Rules
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 106: Not Following Any Rules
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A cold glint shed as Lu Ye charged forward with his sword again, which prompted Senior Brother Zhou to lift his sword to parry it. In the past, he wouldve stabbed his opponents sword-holding hand because he was confident of harming his opponent before the sword reached him. However, now, he didnt have the guts to do so because he knew that itd be futile. Lu Ye wouldnt back down. Even if he would be harmed, he was determined to hack at his opponent.
Senior Brother Zhou managed to parry the attack, but he started tottering upon impact. On the other hand, Lu Ye lifted his leg andnded a kick on his opponents blood-soaked thigh. That was one of the injuries he had inflicted on his opponent earlier. The wound was very deep.
Following a shriek, Senior Brother Zhou staggered and fell on one knee. Nevertheless, he also managed to inflict a long cut on Lu Yes calf. As though feeling no pain, Lu Ye pounced on him again as a sword light radiated from his weapon and engulfed Senior Brother Zhou.
*ng! ng! ng!* The sounds of weapons shing with one another were heard. Senior Zhou managed to fend off every strike from Lu Ye. There came a moment when a crack was heard as the sword in Senior Brother Zhous hand broke apart. The weapon was only left with a 15-centimeter long de.
A long sword wasnt suitable for hacking, which was why Lu Yes shorter sword was at an advantage. Despite the fact that Senior Brother Zhous sword was of better quality, it couldnt remain intact after a long time of shing with another weapon. The fact that his weapon broke apart at this point was undoubtedly terrible news for Senior Brother Zhou.
Seeing as Lu Yes weapon was about to reach him, he knew that he had nothing else to ward off the attack. A momentter, Lu Ye was standing on the same spot with his clothes drenched in blood. His sword-holding right hand was trembling violently. His face had turned ashen from severe bleeding.
In front of him was Senior Brother Zhou, who was lying on the ground and covered in blood. His body was convulsing, and blood was still streaming out of his mouth as he coughed weakly. The golden light around his body had shattered due to Lu Yes attacks. The wounds on his body were so deep that his bones could be seen. The worst wound was on his neck. The strike almost decapitated him.
He wasnt dead yet. As a Fifth-Order cultivator, he was obstinately lifeful, but he had lost the capability to resist. Lu Ye raised his sword and jabbed it into his body. The sound of a weapon prating flesh was heard. Following that, Senior Brother Zhou shuddered and fell silent.
It wasnt until a red light left the back of his opponents hand that Lu Ye could be at ease. He had won the battle!
In fact, the reason Lu Ye could defeat his opponent was that he wasnt following any rules and doing things on a whim. Senior Brother Zhous cultivation and technique were much greater than those of Lu Ye, but he had nevere across such an opponent before. Besides protecting only two vital parts, Lu Ye didnt care about exposing his other parts as he continuously hacked at his enemy with a sword that had been blessed with Sharp Edge. Faced with an opponent who didnt care about his own life or death, Senior Brother Zhous cultivation and technique were rendered useless.
Right then, Lu Yes sword dropped onto the ground with a ng, and he started falling backwards.
Lu Ye! Yi Yi cried and rushed over in time to support his weight with her petite figure so that he could slowly sit down on the ground. Amber also tottered forward and approached Lu Ye before gently pushing him with its head.
At this moment, Lu Ye was panting heavily. The deep wound on his right chest made it difficult for him to breathe, and his lungs had already be numb. With difficulty, he fished out two Healing Pills from his Storage Bag and checked on himself. His condition was terrible as there were over 20 serious injuries on his body. Although Healing Pills were useful, they couldnt heal such severe wounds.
Also, he was only left with 10 percent of Spiritual Power. Despite the fact that the battle onlysted for 15 minutes, he had consumed too much energy. Secretly, he felt fortunate that he had only activated two Spiritual Patterns to protect his vital parts. If he used one more Spiritual Pattern, he wouldnt havested long enough to defeat his opponent. An anxious Yi Yi wanted to help, but she wasnt sure what she should do.
With trembling hands, Lu Ye took out some clean clothes from his bag and said weakly, Dress up my wounds
Hurriedly, Yi Yi tore the clothes into strips and dressed up his wounds. Apparently, she had never done such a thing before, so the bandages were messy, but fortunately, they were effective in stopping the bleeding.
Take me away. We cant stay here any longer. Lu Yes voice had be weaker as though he would pass out at any moment. Although Senior Brother Zhou didnt manage to send any message before his death, it was an intense battle, which might attract the attention of cultivators from nearby ces. Moreover, many beasts roamed around this forest, so the smell of blood might draw them to this ce.
Yi Yi nodded and spoke to Amber, whereupon the tiger crouched down and waited for her to get Lu Ye onto its back before getting back up. She also retrieved Lu Yes sword from the ground before picking up the bell and the Storage Bags of those people from Serene Cloud Mountain.
Lying on his stomach on the tigers back, Lu Ye was gratified upon seeing that. It was such an excellent tradition that they would never abandon any rewards from a battle.
Lu Ye, where are we going? Yi Yi asked.
Lu Ye pointed in a particr direction, whereupon Amber immediately dashed forward. Yi Yi had also taken a seat on the tigers back and supported Lu Yes weight to prevent him from falling. The view around them was moving backwards rapidly. Lu Ye had fallen into a groggy state as he realized that he was about to pass out. Yi Yi knew nothing about treating wounds. If he lost consciousness, the two pills he had consumed earlier might not be effective enough, and he might die.
Therefore, the most important thing for them was to look for someone to treat him. At this moment, the image of a soft-spoken woman came into his mind. Presently, it was thetter half of the night, and they were two hours away from the break of dawn. If Amber could hasten its pace, they might reach their destination in time.
100 kilometers away. Mount Ying. Look for Hua Ci! Lu Ye fished out a 10-point map from his bag and passed it to Yi Yi. After he finished speaking, he became unconscious.
Yi Yi had no idea who Hua Ci was, but since Lu Ye had said so, shed definitely execute his order. As she supported Lu Yes weight, she took a look at the map. Upon ascertaining Mount Yings location, she led Amber to run in that direction.
Presently, a horse carriage was moving forward on a road as it was bound for Tassel City. The coachman was Kong Niu, and it was Hua Ci who was seated inside the carriage. They had been leading this kind of life for quite a long time. If nothing unexpected happened, she would head to Tassel City every day to treat those injured cultivators.
Inside the carriage, she had fallen into a dazed state as she was in her thoughts. Sometimes, she would put on a smile as though she had recalled something funny.
All of a sudden, she looked down at the back of her right hand because someone had sent her a message. Only those people from Rogue Wanderers Club could contact her. After reading the message, she leaped out of the carriage.
Noticing the noise, Kong Niu immediately tightened the reins and turned his head, only to see that Hua Ci was heading back. From a distance, she shouted, Were not going to the city today. You shoulde back too.
Oh, Kong Niu replied and made the horse turn around. He didnt ask her what was going on because everything she said was an order, and he just had to execute it. After all, his life was saved by her before.
Chapter 107: My Name Is Lu Yi Ye
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 107: My Name Is Lu Yi Ye
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Hua Ci returned to Mount Ying in a hurry, Ruan Ling Yu approached her.
How is he? she asked.
In a grim voice, Ruan Ling Yu replied, Hes severely injured. She had never seen anyone as seriously wounded as Lu Ye before. Honestly speaking, she found it strange that he was still alive. It could be said that no part of his body was intact. He might be better off going to Hell than staying alive.
Are you Senior Sister Hua Ci? Please save Lu Ye! Yi Yi walked over and looked up at Hua Ci. Her expression seemed to be pleading with her.
Hua Ci looked at the source of the voice and became startled. Previously, Lu Ye hade to this ce on his own, but this time, he was sent here by a sweet-looking young girl. There was also a burly tiger that was lying on the ground. The tigers fur was supposed to be white, but now, it had been dyed red. It was just lying there as its chest heaved.
Without saying anything redundant, Hua Ci asked, Where is he?
Ruan Ling Yu replied, Hes in the room where he used to live.
Ill have a look now.
A momentter, Hua Ci arrived at the bamboo room where Lu Ye used to live and saw the blood-soaked young man. Although she hade across countless injured cultivators before, she still frowned upon seeing him. That was because his injuries were more serious than she thought. Upon checking on him, she knitted her brows.
Just then, Lu Ye slowly awakened and opened his eyes. With a blurred vision, he saw the woman sitting beside him. As their eyes met, Hua Ci chuckled and said, Oh, who is this man lying here? We meet again so soon? What are the odds?
Upon hearing that, Lu Ye felt embarrassed. Whatever the case, he was in the wrong for leaving this ce without informing her some time ago.
Your wounds are too severe. Even a deity cant save you. Hua Ci slowly shook her head. With the softest voice, she uttered the meanest words. Tell us what you have to say before your death. Otherwise, itll be toote.
On the side, Yi Yi started bawling upon hearing that. Ruan Ling Yu also felt a lump in her throat as her eyes reddened. Unable to hold it in anymore, she wrapped her arms around Yi Yi to allow thetter to rest against her chest and cry.
Why are you frightening these young girls? Lu Ye said weakly. Dont listen to her nonsense. With a trembling hand, he fished out a bottle of pills from his Storage Bag.
Hua Ci said, I said no one can save you. Lug him out of here and bury him.
In response, Lu Ye fished out another bottle of pills. It was then Hua Ci snorted and stealthily took the bottles before saying impassively, Well, I can give it a try. Then, she spoke to Ruan Ling Yu. Get me a basin of hot water. After that, she shifted her attention to Yi Yi. Youll stay here to help me.
Ruan Ling Yu grunted in agreement and dashed out of the room. On the other hand, Yi Yi was standing there and not knowing what to do. She turned to look at Lu Ye, only to see that he had passed out again.
Hes not dead. Hua Ci kept taking out things from her Storage Bag to get prepared. Help me take off his clothes.
T-Take off his clothes? Yi Yi became startled.
His entire body is wounded. How am I going to save him if his clothes are not taken off? If you want him dead, you can choose not to do it.
Ill do it! Yi Yi hurriedly replied. It seemed as though she was asked to take off her own clothes. With a determined look on her face, she gritted her teeth and shuffled towards the bed.
Soon, hot water was ready. Hua Ci had already started treating Lu Ye as a green light surged around the room. The light felt warm and seemed able to nurture life. With a flushing face, Ruan Ling Yi darted out of the room and kept guard at the door, awaiting Hua Cis orders. Under Hua Cis guidance, Yi Yi soaked a towel with hot water and cleaned the dirt off Lu Yes wounds.
They then spent a long time treating Lu Ye. It wasnt until afternoon that they were able to take a rest. Compared to his previous injuries, his wounds this time looked more horrifying, but in fact, they were less severe. That was because he was hurt by a weapon this time, whereas he had been wounded by spells previously, so the situations were different. However, there were too many wounds on his body, so it was difficult to handle them.
After brushing away the sweat on her forehead, Hua Ci turned to look at Yi Yi. Do you want me to save the tiger?
Yi Yi dipped her head repeatedly. Yes.
Earlier, she had witnessed how Hua Ci saved Lu Ye. Following her treatment, his breathing had stabilized. Although his face was still pale, he was already in a much better state. That was how she knew that this alluring Senior Sister was a medicine cultivator. Amber was injured as well, but it wasnt as seriously wounded as Lu Ye. As Ambers Ghost Spirit, she was fully aware of the tigers condition.
Hell also pay for the tigers treatment, then, Hua Ci said and left the room. A momentter, Amber was heard grunting from outside.
It wasnt until one dayter that Lu Ye awakened again. He was weak, and every part of his body hurt, especially his right lung. However, he was aware that it was a good sign. Itd have been troublesome if his right lung still felt numb.
Lu Ye, youre awake! Yi Yi was heard saying. The next instant, her face was just centimeters away from Lu Yes as she stared at him in surprise.
Lu Ye shed a smile at her. He wanted to sit up on the bed, but he was too weak to do so. Seeing that, Yi Yi quickly helped him up and let him rest against the headboard. Looking around, he saw Hua Ci sitting on the side with a bowl of green herbal juice in her hand. His expression became bitter.
Since youre awake, you should drink this medicine. Hua Ci leaned closer to him and passed him the bowl.
Lu Ye wanted to raise his hand, but he couldnt do so. That was why he looked pleadingly at her. A helpless Hua Ci rose from her chair and approached him. As she fed him the medicine, she said, It costs one Spirit Pill for feeding you the medicine.
Cough Lu Ye almost choked to death. This evil woman was really crazy about money.
If you dare spit the medicine, Ill stuff the bowl into your mouth, Hua Ci uttered in a gentle tune with a smile on her face.
In disbelief, Yi Yi turned to look at Hua Ci as though thetter was a different person. After Hua Ci was done with feeding him the medicine, she checked on him again and nodded. Given your ample vitality, you can recover faster than most people.
She had mentioned the same thing previously. Lu Yes vitality was stronger than that of most cultivators in the same Order, so initially, she suspected that he was going down the path of body tempering.
Well start the treatment for today, then. Hua Ci pped her hands.
Immediately, Yi Yi sprinted out of the room. Lu Ye was puzzled at first, but after Hua Ci lifted the quilt, he realized that he was naked. Fortunately, his entire body was dressed up like he was a mummy. A green light started undting. Lying on his stomach, Lu Ye felt the pain and numbnessing from his wounds.
Didnt you tell me your name is Yi Ye? Hua Ci suddenly asked. Why did Yi Yi call you Lu Ye?
Previously, Lu Ye had stayed in this ce for half a month, so he had told her his name before.
My surname is Lu, and my name is Yi Ye, Lu Ye exined with a straight face.
Oh, is it? Hua Ci replied.
Gasp! All of a sudden, Lu Ye felt an excruciating paining from his back.
Oh, no! My hand slipped. Im so sorry, Hua Ci said with a smile.
Stop acting! Lu Ye became exasperated.
This isnt how a patient is supposed to speak to his doctor. Hua Cis voice became gentler.
At that instant, Lu Yes expression darkened as he had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
Chapter 108: Recuperating and Cultivating
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 108: Recuperating and Cultivating
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It was a familiar environment and a simr situation. However, unlike previously, it only took Lu Ye three days before he could get out of bed. It was indeed easier to heal wounds that were caused by weapons. Moreover, with Hua Cis treatments every day, he could feel that it wouldnt be long before he fully recovered.
For the past few days, he hadnt been idle. After receiving Hua Cis treatments, hed always consume some Healing Pills to speed up his recovery. At the same time, he had refined some Small Returning Pills to replenish his Spiritual Power. A few dayster, he was on the mend.
Under the night sky, Lu Ye was wielding his sword while Amber was taking a rest beside a nearby tree. From time to time, the tiger would open its big mouth to yawn. Yi Yi was leaning against the tigers soft belly as she wrapped her hands around her knees. She seemed to have fallen into her thoughts. A long timeter, she heaved a sigh and said in a small voice, Amber, were so useless.
The reason she had this feeling was that she came to the realization that since they left Green Cloud Mountain with Lu Ye, they had never been helpful in the battles Lu Ye found himself in. Be it the pursuit from Dong Shu Ye or the life-and-death battle against Senior Brother Zhou, they could hardly offer any help. That was because they were still too weak.
The best Amber could do was to bring Lu Ye to his destinations, while all she could do was to keep watch on the surroundings when Lu Ye was taking a rest. This made her feel helpless. If she and Amber were able to help Lu Ye, he wouldnt have been severely wounded.
We have to be stronger, she said to Amber. Do you get it?
Amber opened its mouth and growled.
Its decided, then. Yi Yi nodded solemnly.
When Lu Ye sheathed his sword in the afternoon, Yi Yi trotted towards him and looked up at him. Lu Ye. Lu Ye.
Yeah?
Can you give us some Spirit Pills? Yi Yi asked hesitantly.
What do you need the pills for? Lu Ye was perplexed.
Its for Amber. Whenever youre busy, you dont have to worry about the tiger as Ill feed it.
Sure. Lu Ye wouldnt reject this kind of request. Then, he took out a Storage Bag and put some bottles of pills into it.
An ted Yi Yi returned to Amber and found a solid rope before tying it around the tigers neck. By doing so, she could take the pills whenever she had to. After fishing out a Spirit Restoring Pill from the bag, she stuffed it into the tigers mouth. You have to eat more to be stronger!
Waves of Spiritual Power pounded against the barrier of a Spiritual Point, which caused it to be looser and eventually break apart. Following that, Spiritual Power streamed into the new Spiritual Point. Lu Ye had unlocked the 46th point!
He had already unlocked the 37th point when he left Mount Ying to look for Amber. During the search, hed always cultivate at night. With the help of both Gluttonous Feast and Gathering Spirits, he was able to unlock Spiritual Points quickly. When he found Amber, he had already unsealed the 41st point.
It had been 12 days since he returned to Mount Ying. Apart from the first few days when he didnt cultivate, he didnt waste any time. His injuries were not a hindrance to cultivation. Instead, he had more time to cultivate. On this day, he had finally unlocked the 46th point.
Normally, a cultivator was able to ascend to the Fourth-Order by unlocking 45 points, but that was considering the fact that they had only cultivated one technique. However, Lu Ye had cultivated a Yellow Grade technique like Golden Liberation Technique as well as an auxiliary technique like Gluttonous Feast. These techniques had two ovepping Spiritual Points with the technique he was currently cultivating, which was Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic. Therefore, if he wanted to ascend to the Fourth-Order, he had to unlock two more points.
In other words, he was only a point away from the Fourth-Order. By then, he could also change the training course of his Spiritual Power to that of the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic. The ovepping Spiritual Points were not useless. Lu Ye had studied the rest of the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic and realized that the two points were included in the training course of the Fifth-Order Realm. Hence, these two points would be exempted when he ascended to the Fifth-Order.
There were nine minor realms in the Spirit Creek Realm. The Fourth-Order and the Seventh-Order were respectively the dividing points. That was because for the first three Orders, one only had to unlock 9 points to reach the next Order. However, a Fourth-Order cultivator had to unlock 18 points to ascend to the next Order, which was two times the amount. Once a cultivators Spiritual Power prated these Spiritual Points and formed a Microcosmic Orbit, his power would increase significantly.
Normally, it wouldnt take a Fourth-Order cultivator much effort to kill a Third-Order cultivator. Only someone like Lu Ye, who could use Spiritual Patterns in a battle, could make up for the differences between the minor realms. Given the speed at which he cultivated, he would only need two days to unclose thest point.
However, he had been cultivating for a long time on this day. Although it wouldnt affect him one bit for consuming pills, cultivating was a boring process. After a long time of meditation, his vitality had be stagnant. Upon opening his eyes, he took a look at his pills and sighed.
The price he had to pay for the rapid power increment was a massive consumption of Spirit Pills. Now, hed need about 14 to 15 pills to unlock one Spiritual Point. After deducting the treatment fees for Hua Ci and the pills he had given Yi Yi and Amber, he was left with a small number of pills. After he reached the Fourth-Order, he had to head to Divine Trade Association again. He was only left with six Yuan Metal ores that he could sell.
Lu Ye. Lu Ye. Yi Yi, who had been keeping guard on the side, approached him.
Whats wrong? Lu Ye looked up at her.
Yi Yi asked, Will we stay here? Recently, she had been getting along with Ruan Ling Yu well, so they had be close friends.
Through Ruan Ling Yu, she found out about what had happened to Lu Ye when he stayed here some time ago. She also became aware that he had left this ce to look for them, which moved her. After going through life-and-death moments together, they had undoubtedly be closer.
Do you want to stay here?
With a tilted head, Yi Yi gave it a thought and said, Ling Yu is a nice person. Senior Sister Hua Ci is wonderful as well. Everyone else has been treating me well. Itd be fantastic if we could stay here. Anyway, its up to you.
You dont have to worry about what I think. You can stay here if you want to. Theyre all nice people indeed.
Oh, Im not staying, then. Yi Yi gazed at him and smiled. Since weve left Green Cloud Mountain together, well also keep moving forward together. Well stay with you.
Lu Ye lifted his hand and patted her head.
An annoyed Yi Yi growled, Stop patting my head like Im a kid!
Hearing that, Lu Ye clenched her head and forcefully rubbed it.
Hey, stop it! After struggling out of his grip with difficulty, she stomped her foot on the ground and dashed out of the room. Soon, she was heardughing with Ruan Ling Yu in the adjacent room.
Chapter 109: Bumping Into an Enemy
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 109: Bumping Into an Enemy
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
On this day, Lu Ye stepped out of the Divine Trade Association in Tassel City as a manager saw him off. He had sold thest six Yuan Metal ores as well as the Storage Bags of those people from Serene Cloud Mountain to the Association.
He didnt sell Senior Brother Zhous bag. Instead, he had paid a fee to the old cultivator from the Association to lift the restriction on the bag to find out what was inside. However, the oue was disappointing. Compared to the effort he had put in, he had actually suffered a loss. It was risky to unlock a bag, so one had to be careful when it came to this type of investment.
The only thing that was worth some money was Senior Brother Zhous long sword, but it had been destroyed by Lu Ye during the battle. This lesson made him secretly decide that as long as a bag didnt belong to someone like a Young Master, hed just sell it in the future.
On the other hand, the Beast Taming Cor had been traded for over 10 Spirit Stones. It was an artifact from Senior Sister Yu that was specifically used for dealing with Spirit Beasts. The uses were rather limited, so it wasnt worth a lot of money. He had traded most of the stones for pills, and he had kept 30 stones just in case he needed them. After all, cultivators mostly used Spirit Stones to trade goods. One could also use Spirit Pills, but it wasnt worth it.
In the Divine Trade Association, 10 stones could only be traded for 9 pills. The Yuan Metal ores he had sold were pretty big, so they were worth a lot. In the end, he had obtained 500 pills. Including the dozens of Spirit Restoring Pills he was left with, that was all he possessed. To a low-rank cultivator, it was actually an immense wealth.
However, after some calctions, Lu Ye knew that these pills couldntst him a long time. Now, his cultivation had improved, and he had be more efficient at refining pills. After he became a Fourth-Order cultivator, the speed at which he could refine pills would be quicker. On the other hand, Amber had also started consuming more pills as well. He had given Yi Yi a few bottles of pills the other day, but when he asked her about it on the previous day, he was told that there were not many pills left.
Nevertheless, there was no denying that after just over ten days, Amber was able to give off a greater pressure, so it was apparent that it had grown a lot. Hua Ci had mentioned to Lu Ye in private that Amber might be a very rare Spirit Beast, which was evident from the fact that it could transform Yi Yi into a Ghost Spirit. Given enough resources, this beast could grow rapidly and be a powerful helper for him in the future.
Lu Ye couldnt really see the potential in the tiger as he was still an inexperienced man. He just knew that he had toe up with a way to earn more resources for cultivation. That was because he had sold off all the Yuan Metal ores he had taken from Evil Moon Valley. After all his pills were finished, he couldnt possibly wait for Gathering Spirits to slowly help him increase his power. That would be too inefficient.
Therefore, despite the fact that he had arge amount of pills at the moment, he was dejected.
As Lu Ye walked along the streets, he was heading to the fixed spot where Hua Ci treated her patients. A momentter, he heard someone growling from the second floor of a restaurant. Wheres my wine? Where are the waiters? Are all of you dead?
Lu Ye became startled because he found the voice familiar. He was supposed to have heard it before. Since he left Green Cloud Mountain, he hadnte across many people. So, how was it possible that someone he knew was here? After he pondered about it for a moment, his expression became solemn.
Then, he turned around and shuffled towards the restaurant. As soon as he stepped into the ce, someone approached him and asked, Fellow cultivator, wee. What do you want to eat or drink?
Although he wasnt as obsequious as the average waiter, he was hospitable. These jobs were mostly taken up by rogue cultivators because they didnt have a great force to rely on or Seniors to take care of them. Therefore, they could only slowly earn the resources for cultivation this way.
Im looking for someone, Lu Ye replied in a small voice and ambled towards the stairs. The rogue cultivator went away with a smile.
Lu Ye walked up the stairs and stopped in his tracks before reaching the second floor. After a nce, he saw that a disheveled and crestfallen man was seated beside the window. Some dishes were ced in front of him. The table and the ground had been covered in wine jars. This person seemed to have been hit hard by a terrible event as he was trying to cast away his trouble by drinking wine.
Upon making out the persons face, Lu Ye immediately went away as his heart pounded against his chest. It was Dong Shu Ye!
Earlier, although Lu Ye found the voice familiar, he didnt think it was possible that this person was Dong Shu Ye. To be safe, he decided to take the risk ande upstairs to have a look. After that, he realized that this person was indeed Dong Shu Ye, who had hunted him down before.
He had no idea what Dong Shu Ye had gone through, but thetter no longer looked as haughty as before. It could be said that he looked just like a loser. Besides the fact that he appeared miserable, there was also a new scar on his face. Lu Ye couldnt understand why Dong Shu Ye hade all the way here.
Nevertheless, he was certain that the older man wasnt looking for him. Dong Shu Ye must have thought that he had killed Lu Ye at that time, which was why he left. If he was still hunting Lu Ye down, he wouldnt have been unrestrainedly drinking wine in a restaurant. Then, Lu Ye recalled what Hua Ci had told him before. The station of Nine Star n was upied by Mystic Sect and burned down.
Despite that, the station was still there. It was just that Nine Star n had to pay a hefty price to rebuild it. Those from Mystic Sect didnt have the power to manage two stations at the same time. Now, it seemed that even though the station had been upied, Dong Shu Ye wasnt dead. After all, he was a Seventh-Order spell cultivator, so it wasnt easy to kill him.
Lu Ye didnt know why Dong Shu Ye was here, nor was he interested to find out. He just knew that he had to run away quickly. If he stayed in this area, Dong Shu Ye mighte across him one day and kill him.
On the second floor, Dong Shu Ye was looking at the people on the street with a listless gaze. The hustle and bustle of this world made him have the urge to kill all of them. While he was racing after Lu Ye the other day, he saw a message from Cao Ye. Afterpleting his task, he hurriedly returned to the station, only to see countless corpses lying on the ground, and that the entire ce had been engulfed in fire.
From the mess, Wang Yang, who had been waiting for a long time, emerged and pounced on him with a sword. Dong Shu Ye had spent a lot of Spiritual Power carrying out his task anding back to the station, while Wang Yang had been waiting in silence, which was why thetter was at an advantage. Moreover, he wasnt really a match for Wang Yang to begin with.
In that battle, he was almost killed by Wang Yang. Although he escaped in the end, three of his Spiritual Points had been damaged by his opponent, which made him drop from the Seventh Order to the Sixth-Order. He only reappeared after recuperating in the wild for about a month. Those from Nine Star n had been summoning him, but he wouldnt dare to respond.
Besides the fact that the station had been upied, and countless of their disciples had been killed, the crux of the problem was that those from Mystic Sect had taken away the blessings from the Divine Opportunity Column. The station could be rebuilt, new disciples could be recruited, and the lost resources could be umted again. However, it wasnt easy to restore the blessings around the column. It was the result of decades of hard work that had been put in by the Spirit Creek Realm Masters from Nine Star n.
It could be said that this battle had destroyed the foundation of Nine Star n in Spirit Creek Battlefield. Moreover, the Young Master was killed under his watch. Even a Ninth-Order cultivator wasnt able to take up the responsibilities for all these mistakes, not to mention that Dong Shu Ye was only a Seventh-Order cultivator.
The reason those from the great force had been summoning him was to hold him ountable. If he dared to go back, he wouldnt even be able to see the Moon this night, let alone the Sun on the next day. He was terrified, which was why he had squandered all the Contribution points he had umted over the years to erase Nine Star ns Brand from his Battlefield Imprint. Since then, he had betrayed his great force.
Chapter 110: Running Away
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 110: Running Away
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In Jiu Zhou, it was very rare for anyone to betray their own great force. That was because in order to erase the great forces Brand, one had to spend arge amount of Contribution points. Nevertheless, Dong Shu Ye had no other choice. Not only had he squandered all the Contribution points he had umted over the years, but he also had to bear the reputation of being a traitor. Three of his Spiritual Points had been damaged, and there was basically no future for him. It could be said that he was in the worst possible situation.
All this had happened because a Mountain Tiger called Yi Ye had killed the Young Master of Nine Star n. Otherwise, his great force wouldnt have epted Mystic Sects deration of war. If that hadnt happened, he wouldnt have taken the risk to race after Lu Ye, and the station wouldnt have been destroyed.
At the thought of the dead Mountain Tiger, he felt his chest burning with fury as he had the urge to find his corpse and slice it into pieces. He had practically spared his enemy a horrible death!
Fortunately, he wasnt without anywhere to go. In the past few years, he had established quite a few connections in Spirit Creek Battlefield. Despite the fact that his cultivation had dropped, he was still a Sixth-Order cultivator, and he was more powerful than most others in the same minor realm. It was possible for him to join an Eighth or Ninth-Tier great force. However, before that, he had to stay away from the station of Nine Star n. Those people from the n must have started looking for him.
Inside the room, Yi Yi asked, Lu Ye, are we leaving soon?
Lu Ye nodded. Its time to leave. He turned to look at her. You and Amber can stay here.
Dont even think about getting rid of us! Yi Yi became displeased. Weve promised each other that well start and finish the journey together. Do you think were a burden to you?
Thats nonsense. Lu Ye flicked at her forehead. If it werent for Amber, I wouldve been killed.
Yi Yi covered her forehead and pouted. So, Im the useless one here.
Youre useful as well.
How am I useful? Yi Yi looked at him with a hopeful gaze.
After giving it a thought, Lu Ye replied, You always keep guard around me whenever I rest. I can have some shut-eye thanks to you.
Oh. Yi Yi hung her head low.
Then, Lu Ye lifted his hand and gently pinched her face. Alright. Were leaving tomorrow, so youd better bid Ling Yu farewell now.
After she was gone, Lu Ye pondered for a moment and reckoned that he should say goodbye to Hua Ci. Previously, he had left this ce without informing her. Regardless, she had saved him twice, so it was inappropriate for him to do that again. Upon leaving the bamboo room, he headed to a neighboring room and knocked on the door.
Hua Ci opened the door, and upon seeing that it was Lu Ye, she said vigntly, Whats wrong? Are you going to drug me again?
Stop acting! Lu Ye shot her a re. You were just fooling me the other day. Do you think I didnt know?
He only came to that realization a few days after the incident. Hua Ci was a Fifth-Order cultivator who was an expert in medicine, so how was it possible that she was so easily drugged? Even if the pill had that kind of effect, it wasnt likely that shed pass out after sniffing it. Therefore, he decided to fish out the pinkish pill and sniffed it. Upon confirming that nothing had happened to him, he finally realized that he had been fooled by Hua Ci.
You found out about it
Lu Ye shot her another nce and told her about his purpose of visit. Im leaving tomorrow, so Id like to bid you farewell now. Thanks for saving me twice.
Hua Ci batted her eyes. Im a doctor, and youre a patient. Youve paid me pills to save you, and its how things should be.
Whatever the case, I have to thank you, Lu Ye said solemnly.
Hua Ci put on a smile. Bon voyage, then. I hope that youll have a bright future.
Thanks.
Is there anything else?
Hmm? No.
Ill have a rest, then.
It wasnt until the door was closed that Lu Ye recalled he hadnt added this woman to his friends list. He raised his hand in an attempt to knock on the door, but after some deliberation, he decided not to do it. After he was gone this time, they probably wouldnt meet again.
The next morning, Hua Ci and Kong Niu went to Tassel City as usual. When Lu Ye left the ce, she was already nowhere to be seen. On the other hand, Ruan Ling Yu hade over to see them off and she and Yi Yi wept for a bit. After Lu Ye went away for a long distance on the tigers back, he turned his head, only to see that she was still waving her hand at the dpidated entrance.
After they left the mountain, Amber started running at full speed as the view around them moved backwards rapidly. Yi Yi appeared dispirited. Recently, she had developed a close bond with Ruan Ling Yu, which was why she was reluctant to part with her friend. Lu Ye had no idea how to console her, so he could only let her be. Staying on the tigers back, he consumed some pills and refined them.
Presently, he was just one step away from the Fourth-Order, and he reckoned that he could achieve it the next day. When they were taking a rest in the evening, Yi Yi finally pulled herself together. After untying the Storage Bag from Ambers neck, she took out some herbal powder and clean cotton cloths from it.
As Lu Ye was eating his roasted meat, he asked curiously, Where did you get all these from?
Senior Sister Hua Ci gave them to me, Yi Yi exined. She said that if you get injured again, this medicine could be applied on your wounds and also consumed.
There was no doubt that these clean cotton cloths were used for dressing up wounds. Looking at these things, Lu Ye felt conflicted within. Although Hua Ci was a miser who was also sharp-tongued, there was no denying that she was a kind-hearted person. Knowing that Lu Ye might get injured in battles in the future, she decided to prepare these things for him.
She Lu Ye pressed his lips together. Since she had prepared these things for him, she couldve given them to him when he was bidding her farewell on the previous night. Nevertheless, she said nothing.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye. Do you think Senior Sister Hua Ci has a thing for you? Yi Yi asked curiously. Amber, who was chewing on a piece of meat, lifted its head and stared fixedly at him.
Stop spouting nonsense, Lu Ye replied as he cleaned up the mess. He didnt think he was charming enough to make a woman like her fall for him. It had only been a short time since they got to know each other.
Hua Ci had treated many people before. To her, he was just a wealthy patient. However, to Lu Ye, he would never forget the fact that she had saved his life twice.
In fact, Rogue Wanderers Club was a wonderful ce. If it werent because he had to head to the station of Crimson Blood Sect, he mightve chosen to stay there. As he continued cultivating, he realized that Yi Yi was nowhere to be seen. When she returned, she appeared to be stealthy.
The next morning, they went on with their journey. Yi Yi would disappear from time to time, and shed bring along the Storage Bag given to her by Lu Ye. When Lu Ye asked what she had done, she would only put on a mysterious smile but not tell him anything. There was a special connection between Amber and her. As long as they were not too far apart, they could sense each others presence. Therefore, Lu Ye wasnt worried that shed be lost.
When Yi Yi was finally sitting still on the tigers back, Lu Ye asked, Yi Yi, whats your surname?
I dont remember it. Yi Yi shook her head. She could remember many things, but there were also things that she had forgotten.
In that case Lu Ye gave it a thought. A person has to have a surname. Why dont you get my surname?
Get your surname? With a tilted head, Yi Yi pondered on it and beamed. Thats great. Your name is Lu Yi Ye, and Im Lu Yi Yi. We sound just like a family!
All of a sudden, she leaped onto Ambers head, and as she faced the gale, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, Im Lu Yi Yi!
Her voice reverberated around the wilderness.
Chapter 111: Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 111: Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
As the pills dissolved, Lu Yes Spiritual Power streamed into the 47th point and filled it up. On the second night after he left Mount Ying, he achieved the requirement needed to break through to the Fourth-Order.
However, in order to ascend to the Fourth-Order, he had to transition to a different cultivation technique. Due to the fact that he always switched between Gluttonous Feast and Golden Liberation Technique, this matter wasnt so difficult for him. Under his control, the speed at which his Spiritual Power flowed slowed down, and the connections between the Spiritual Points broke off.
Then, he followed the training course of Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic and activated his Spiritual Power. Starting from the Source Spiritual Point, his Spiritual Power prated his 1st point, 2nd point until the 9th point. Perhaps it was because it was the first time he activated the Mnemonic, so the speed at which the Microcosmic Orbit was running was slow. Patiently, he sustained it as the Spiritual Power, which was flowing along the Spiritual Points like the water in a creek, became increasingly faster. In the end, it could run on its own.
After he was done establishing the first Microcosmic Orbit, he activated the 10th point as his Spiritual Power streamed from the 11th point to the 18th point in the same way. A momentter, he established the second Microcosmic Orbit, and just a whileter, he was done with the third one.
Then, it was followed by the fourth one. However, it was a great leap forward from the Third-Order to the Fourth-Order as the Microcosmic Orbit of the Fourth-Order included 18 Spiritual Points. It was the first time he activated a Microcosmic Orbit with 18 points, so he was extra careful.
Just 5 minutester, his body shook a little. With his location as the center, an air st spread around and almost put out the bonfire. He had ascended to the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm! An ted Lu Ye silently felt the transformation he had gone through.
Compared to the Third-Order, he had indeed be much stronger as a Fourth-Order cultivator. The benefits that came with 18 Spiritual Points were two times greater than that of the minior realm prior to this. Presently, the Spiritual Power he could use had increased by 50 percent. In that case, he could activate a greater power.
Moreover, Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic had many advantages over Golden Liberation Technique. One was an Earth-Rank cultivation technique, and the other was a Yellow-Rank one, so the benefits they could bring to the cultivator were different. The most conspicuous difference was the speed at which his Spiritual Power flowed. There was a huge difference between the speeds at which the Spiritual Power moved when a person cultivated a Yellow-Rank technique versus an Earth-Rank technique. For thetter, the speed was quicker than the former by 20 percent. This kind of change could benefit the cultivator and increase his power.
After getting to his feet, Lu Ye unsheathed his sword and infused his Spiritual Power into it. At that instant, a red glow radiated from the de as though it had been engulfed in ayer of me. With the help of Sharp Edge, this kind of weapon was immensely lethal. He arched his brow and wielded the sword. Under the night sky, the sword looked just like a dancing Dragon. Then, he pushed the weapon forward as the sound of breaking through the air was heard.
After his ascension to the Fourth-Order, his power had indeed increased significantly. The increment was much greater than those of the previous ascensions. It was no wonder that people always said the Fourth-Order was a dividing point. If he already had this kind of cultivation when battling against Senior Brother Zhou from Serene Cloud Mountain at that time, he was confident of killing his opponent without paying a hefty price.
.
Upon retracting his Spiritual Power, he put the sword back into the sheath and sat back down. Then, he fished out Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic and studied it. This Earth-Rank cultivation technique came with several spells, which he had seen before. However, the spells required the cultivator to have a powerful cultivation. The weakest spell required the cultivator to be in the Fourth-Order at the very least. In the past, he couldnt cultivate it, but now, he was qualified.
Honestly speaking, when he was fighting against Luo Ji, he was envious of the other party for having the ability to use spells. When low-rank cultivators got into a scuffle, the one who could use spells would be at an advantage. On the other hand, Lu Ye could only charge forward and forcefully deal with the spells. If it werent because of the fact that he had defensive Spiritual Patterns, he wouldve been tortured to death by Luo Ji.
In the past, he could make use of talisman papers to make up for the deficiency in his battle tactics, but now, he was left with only a small number of talisman papers, and he had already used up all the offensive ones. If he could master a spell, his power might not increase by a lot, but hed have one more technique to deal with his opponents at the very least.
Nevertheless, he wasnt in a rush to study the spell. He had never learned any of those before, so he might not be able to understand it at all. He reckoned that he could study it at ater time. At this moment, he was going through the Spiritual Points he needed to unlock to reach the Fifth-Order.
In order to ascend to the Fifth-Order, he had to unlock up to the 63th point, which was 18 more points than the Fourth-Order. However, he had unsealed two extra points before, which were included in the training course of the Fifth-Order. Hence, he only needed to unlock 16 points to attain the Fifth-Order.
Given his cultivation speed, as long as he had enough energy and no one disturbed him, it would only take him a month to achieve that. Then, he recalled that when the Sect Master threw him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield in the past, he was only a rookie cultivator who had unlocked three Spiritual Points. Upon entering this ce, he waspletely clueless and surrounded by danger. Even a group of wolves were able to trap him on the tree.
It had been four months since the incident. Although he still wasnt powerful, he had gotten through the most difficult period. Moreover, his life could be said to have been eventful in the past few months. He had taken part in the epic battle between two great forces, was hunted down by a much stronger cultivator, and had battled against a disciple from a top great force who had cultivated a Heaven-Rank technique. Besides that, he had fallen into life-and-death battles with those who were way more powerful than he was.
At the thought of this, he felt that the path he had walked down in the past four months had been paved with danger, so he couldnt help feeling sorrowful for himself. Anyway, all that was history. In the past, he was weak, so he could only be oppressed, but now, he was a Fourth-Order cultivator. Although he couldnt swagger around the Outer Circle, he was already capable of defending himself. In the Outer Circle, there were lots of people who were weaker than he was, so he was no longer at the bottom of the hierarchy. Now, he had the right to stand on a high spot and look down at other people.
Then, he activated his Spiritual Power and took a look at his Battlefield Imprint. The information about him was as simple as ever.
Name: Lu Ye
Identity: A disciple from Crimson Blood Sect
Cultivation: Up to 47th Spiritual Point
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution: 174 points
He remembered that when he left Split Sky Gorge, his Contribution was 142 points. After killing the five people from Serene Cloud Mountain some time ago, he obtained 32 points. Using a method he hade up with on his own, he realized that the numbers matched. It seemed that if he wanted more Contribution points, he had to kill people in higher minor realms. He had a feeling that Contribution would be immensely useful for him in the future.
It was time to practise sword-wielding. He took off his top and revealed his lean upper body. The scars that criss-crossed one another appeared hideous on his body. Although his wounds had healed, he was left with scars. Hua Ci still wasnt able to erase the scars for him.
With a solemn expression, he slowly hacked at the air. Four hourster, with his body drenched in sweat, he sheathed the sword and went over to take out a bota bag. Then, he washed his body using the water from the bag. A momentter, he took a seat beside the bonfire and meditated. Now that he was a Fourth-Order cultivator, he had to find out how efficient he was at cultivating, and how many pills he needed to unlock one Spiritual Point.
Chapter 112: A Spell
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 112: A Spell
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After one night, Lu Ye stopped cultivating. Just like what he had expected, after ascending to the Fourth-Order, he needed more pills to unlock one Spiritual Point. If he wanted to unseal one Spiritual Point, hed need about 18 pills. Certainly, with the help of Gathering Spirits, hed consume fewer pills.
As for his efficiency, there wasnt any change. With an auxiliary cultivation technique like Gluttonous Feast, the speed at which he refined a pill had always been faster than most people. He had already expected the increased consumption of pills because when he unlocked the 46th point and the 47th point, he had used significantly more pills.
Riding on the tigers back, he went on with his journey. With Yi Yi around, he didnt feel lonely at all. However, since they left Mount Ying, she had been acting mysteriously. Besides disappearing all of a sudden when they were on the road, shed also go away when they took a rest at night. Lu Ye wondered what she was up to. Nevertheless, since she refused to reveal anything, he stopped asking.
One day, after entering a city, Lu Ye decided to buy some supplies. Suddenly, Yi Yi passed him a Storage Bag. Take these things with you and sell them all.
Whats inside? A puzzled Lu Ye took the bag and opened it, only to see many kinds of nts inside. There were also some rhizomes and fruits.
[Are these herbs?] All of a sudden, he came to the realization of what she had been doing recently. The reason shed disappear from time to time was that she had been picking herbs.
How did you know all this? Lu Ye asked curiously. She knew nothing about herbs in the past.
There was a proud smile on her face. Senior Sister Hua Ci and Ling Yu taught me a lot about it, she exined. Its not like Amber can rely on you forever. Its appetite has been increasing. What if you cant afford to feed it pills anymore? Thats why I asked Senior Sister Hua Ci and Ling Yu to teach me a thing or two about medicine. I dont know how many Spirit Stones these things are worth. Well find out after selling them.
There were many kinds of herbs in the bag, and they came inrge quantities. Nevertheless, it was apparent that she was still a rookie, so the way she handled the herbs was rough. These herbs were all put together in a disorderly manner. There were about 20 to 30 kinds of herbs.
With a smile, Lu Ye replied, Ill sell them now, then.
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Alright. Yi Yi nodded and snuck back into the tiger.
There were many cultivators in the city that brought Spirit Beasts with them. However, to low-rank cultivators, it was impossible to tame powerful beasts. Therefore, these beasts were meant to be a mode of transportation. Basically, a Beast Taming Cor was wrapped around every beasts neck.
Most Spirit Beasts appeared ugly and hideous, so it was rare to see a beast as handsome as Amber. Therefore, as soon as Lu Ye appeared in the city, he attracted the attention of many cultivators. Some of them even walked up to him and expressed their interest in buying Amber, which he had rejected.
After buying some food and clothes in the city, he brought Amber to Divine Trade Association. A whileter, they left the ce and roamed around the city. Riding on the tigers back, Lu Ye said with a smile, Not bad. Your herbs were sold for four Spirit Stones.
Yi Yi didnt utter a word or stick out her head. Four stones were not even enough to buy pills for Amber to consume in a day. The tigers appetite had increased significantly as it consumed as many pills as Lu Ye. Nevertheless, its growth was also noticeable.
Lu Ye consoled her by saying, Thats already a good profit. Most rogue cultivators umte wealth slowly. Four stones are enough for us to buy Four Spirit Restoring Pills. You are still a green hand. Im sure youll definitely get better as you umte more experience along the way.
Still, Yi Yi remained silent as she appeared crestfallen. She thought that after she spent a few days collecting all these herbs, they could be sold for a good price, but the oue was disappointing.
Seeing as his attempt was futile, Lu Ye stopped talking. The greater the hope, the more disappointed one would be if things didnt go as expected. She was still a young girl, so it was expected that she could be emotional. After stuffing a Spirit Restoring Pill into his mouth and letting Gluttonous Feast refine it, he fished out Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic and studied the spell.
He had never studied spells before, and no one could teach him about it now, so he had to explore it on his own. Soon, he became totally focused in learning the spell as his Spiritual Power surged.
Half a dayter, Yi Yi appeared all of a sudden and took a seat in front of him before dering, Ill find much better herbs in the future.
Lu Ye took a nce at her and encouraged her with a smile. Im looking forward to it.
She balled up her fists and said through clenched teeth, Ill look for them now. Then, she leaped off the tigers back and disappeared into the distance.
Lu Ye shook his head, but he didnt stop her, for it would only bring the opposite of the desired results if he did that. She was well-meaning to want to earn some money to buy pills for the tiger, so he just let her be. Riding on the tiger, he studied the spell as he activated his Spiritual Power.
The first spell that came with Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic required the cultivator to be in the Fourth-Order at the very least. As for the second spell, the cultivator had to be in the Seventh-Order. Thest spell required the cultivator to have fully cultivated the Mnemonic, which meant that he had to unlock all 180 Spiritual Points.
He still had a long way to go before he could learn thest two spells, so he focused on studying the first spell, which was called Fire Phoenix. As he digested the spell, he became increasingly amazed. That was because using a spell was simr to building a Spiritual Pattern.
Both of them required the cultivator to build a specific pattern using his Spiritual Power. The head and the tail of a pattern had to be connected. As Spiritual Power moved along a specific route, it would have some amazing effects. [Are spells also a form of manifestation of Spiritual Patterns?] He couldnt help having this question.
Now, he was on his own, so no one could exin it to him. Therefore, he decided to keep studying. Fortunately, he had obtained three Spiritual Patterns from Skill Tree. Every time he got a Spiritual Pattern, a lot of information would spring into his mind and allow him to master the Spiritual Pattern.
However, he hadnt systematically learned one before. Even though he was able to activate the three Spiritual Patterns with ease and use them in a battle, he still had no idea how they worked.
It was just like cooking. Lu Ye, the chef, followed the instructions given to him and added some seasoning to the ingredients. The dishes would turn out to be delicious as well. However, if there was an experienced chef who knew exactly how much seasoning to add at the right time and how to control the heat, there was no doubt that the dishes he made were more ptable.
However, thanks to the knowledge regarding the three Spiritual Patterns he had obtained, he was able to study Fire Phoenix and realized that it wasnt difficult to use it.
Chapter 113: Fire Phoenix
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 113: Fire Phoenix
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Under the night sky, Yi Yi looked at the burly bird that radiated a red glow, which was intertwined with a hint of golden light, and eximed, Wow! Its such a beautiful quail!
If it werent because this bird was a manifestation of Lu Yes Spiritual Power, she wouldve held it in her hands.
The veins on Lu Yes forehead bobbed as he corrected her by saying, Its not a quail; its a Fire Phoenix. Repeat after me. Fire Phoenix.
Yi Yi stared at him with a gaze which seemed to read, Do you think I am blind?. She obstinately believed that this was a quail. Amber also approached them and sniffed at the chubby bird that seemed stuck in the air with its wings pping. Upon realizing that not only was this thing inedible, but it was also dangerous, the tiger leaped away.
Lu Ye felt that he had been humiliated. He was studying a Fire Phoenix spell technique, but how did he end up producing this thing?
Upon going through Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic again, he was certain that the way he cast the spell and activated his Spiritual Power was right. What was the problem, then? How did a Fire Phoenix spell technique turn out to be a quail one? Was this the result of spending the entire day studying it? Lu Ye was torn between tears andughter.
Of all the techniques he had mastered, defensive Spiritual Patterns were the most power consuming, and Sharp Edge came next. Gathering Spirits was the least power consuming. The power consumption of Fire Phoenix spell technique was between defensive Spiritual Patterns and Sharp Edge.
After one day of studying and over a dozen attempts, he finally seeded, but the oue wasnt what he had expected, which was why he was upset. It was just like a man who became a father for the first time. Upon seeing that his newborn baby was ugly, hed have the urge to stuff it back into the Mothers body and remake it.
However, regardless of whether he could ept it, the oue was there, and there was nothing he could do to change it. How was he supposed to use it to deal with his opponents? Before the bird could burn them to death, theyd be convulsing withughter upon seeing it.
Seeing as Lu Ye was hit hard by her remark, she went against her heart and said, Alright Its a Fire Phoenix.
Its a quail Lu Ye raised his hand, upon which the quail dissipated in the air. After walking away, he took off his top and started practicing sword-wielding. Certainly, spells were all trash. Sword-wielding was the only thing he was most adept at.
[If I ever study spells again, Ill be a pile of dung!] he cursed.
Ten dayster, a snowy white tiger barged into a mountain range. Seated on the tigers back, Lu Ye felt his clothes pping in the air.
It had been four months since he left Green Cloud Mountain, but he had only spent half of the time on the road. Most of the time, he was held up for various reasons. He was in a rush to head to the station of Crimson Blood Sect, which was why he rarely took any rest since he left Mount Ying.
He was still very far away from the station, but a journey of a thousand kilometers began with a single step. He believed that hed definitely reach his destination one day. ording to the information on the 10-point map, this mountain range was called One Hundred Peaks. That was because there were indeed a hundred peaks in total, and there were three great forces that were based in nearby ces.
Lu Ye wasnt willing toe into contact with any great forces lest his identity was exposed. Therefore, he intended to pass through One Hundred Peaks. Throughout his journey, he had rarelye into contact with any cultivators. Although the mountain range was expansive, he believed that given Ambers speed, they could move through it in a few days.
Yi Yi loved this kind of ce because she could find many herbs on the mountains. After the disappointing oue of selling the herbs the other day, she became more diligent.
There was a hall on a peak that was in the center of all the mountains. At this moment, many cultivators were entering and leaving the hall. In the middle of the hall, there was a huge Shadow Moon Disc. The rounded disc clearly reflected the entire terrain of One Hundred Peaks.
Besides that, it could detect the movements of all cultivators in the mountain range and indicate them in an intuitive manner. On the disc, dots of three different lights kept flickering. They were blue, ck, and red.
Every dot represented a cultivator. The deeper the color, the more powerful a cultivator was. These colors represented three great forces. These were the three great forces based in the periphery of the mountain range.
One of them belonged to the Grand Sky Coalitions side, which was Green Feather Mountain. The other two belonged to Thousand Demon Ridges side, which were Tai Luo n and Qin Family. Thetter was a family-controlled great force.
In Jiu Zhou, rarely any family could be a big shot. That was because there were many limits that hindered a familys growth. Nevertheless, there was an exception to everything. There were still some families in Jiu Zhou with deep heritage. Of the Seventh to Ninth-Tier great forces, there were quite some powerful families.
In fact, Yu Xiao Tiea and the Liu Brothers that Lu Ye hade across in Evil Moon Valley were from family-controlled great forces as well, but due to the fact that they were too weak, they were not even ranked. When those from Evil Moon Valley invaded them, they were powerless to resist. Although the Qin Family was considered a Ninth-Tier great force, it was still notparable to a real Ninth-Tier great force. Fortunately, they had Tai Luo n as a neighbor, so life had been peaceful for them in Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Presently, it was during a period of time when the Dragon Spring Conference was held. Therefore, many cultivators from the three great forces had gathered together in One Hundred Peaks. This tradition had been ongoing for 100 years, and it was held every three years.
The reason was that there was a Dragon Spring hidden beneath this particr hall. It was a spring that contained an amazing power. When the spring water gushed out, a Spirit Mist would appear. The mist could strengthen a cultivators body and resolve Pill Poison. To a low-rank cultivator, they certainly craved a stronger body, especially those who were determined to walk down the path of body tempering. The Dragon Spring was able to help build a solid foundation for them.
There were many rare resources in Spirit Creek Battlefield like ore mines and Spirit Fruits, which were exclusive to the battlefield and not found in Jiu Zhou. In order to get their hands on these resources, great forces had been battling against one another for years, and blood feuds had been formed as a result. To great forces like Green Feather Mountain, Tai Luo n, and Qin Family that were in the Outer Circle, Dragon Spring was undoubtedly an important resource.
When the spring was discovered in the past, the Qin Family wasnt around yet. Only Tai Luo n and Green Feather Mountain would fight for this resource, and every battle resulted in many people losing their lives. However, due to the fact that Green Feather Mountain had a richer heritage, they would always win the battle. Everything changed when the Qin Family decided to set up a station in this ce 50 years ago, and they started joining thepetition as well. The Qin Family and Tai Luo n were allies because both of them were from Thousand Demon Ridges side. Hence, there was no way Green Feather Mountain could go against two great forces at the same time.
Prior to that, even though Green Feather Mountain always won the battle, they couldnt possibly exhaust all the power in Dragon Spring. That was because their number of disciples was limited. After they were gone, the cultivators from Tai Luo n could go over and get some leftovers. Although it was rather pitiful, it was better than nothing at all. Nevertheless, since Tai Luo n and the Qin Family began to triumph, everything had changed.
Certainly, there were more cultivators in two great forces than in one. The power in Dragon Spring could only umte so much every three years. After the cultivators from the two great forces were done using it, the spring would lose its power, and it could no longer help temper a cultivators body. In the end, those from Green Feather Mountain red up because the same thing happened over and over again.
Chapter 114: Dragon Spring Conference
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 114: Dragon Spring Conference
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
During the Dragon Spring Conference 30 years ago, Green Feather Mountain invited a Sixth-Tier great force to interfere in the conference, which resulted in Tai Luo n and the Qin Family losing miserably. Certainly, Tai Luo n and the Qin Family also had their allies.
Since Green Feather Mountain had broken the rule, the other parties didnt want to be outdone. Therefore, in the next few conferences, allies from all three parties joined thepetition and killed each other. Countless cultivators had been buried beneath the ground of One Hundred Peaks. After about three to five times, they realized that this kind ofpetition benefited no one. Besides the fact that the loser would suffer immense losses, even the winner had to share arge amount of the benefits to the allies, so only about 20 percent of the portion was left for them.
Moreover, this kind ofrge-scale battle would create chaos and cause arge number of cultivators to lose their lives. For the past few conferences when allies were invited, all three parties suffered much greater losses than in the past. If this farce dragged on, all three of them would have no one left to inherit their great forces.
In the end, it was Tai Luo n who took the initiative and invited the high-rank cultivators from the other two parties to have a discussion. With the Heavens as their witness, they eventually came to an agreement, which was to never look for allies to take part in thepetition again. However, considering the fact that Green Feather Mountain had to battle against two great forces, they were allowed to invite some helpers from nearby ces, and a restriction regarding the cultivators power had been imposed if they wanted to take part in the conference. Besides that, they were also given some preferential treatment.
It wasnt that Tai Luo n and the Qin Family were showing signs of weakness, but both of them knew that only by doing so could they ensure the continuation of their heritage. Otherwise, a chaotic battle every three years wouldve cost innumerable lives. Those from Green Feather Mountain were fully aware of the situation as well. After all the conditions were discussed and agreed upon, all of them were satisfied.
The Dragon Spring Conference in its current form started 15 years ago. As for the helpers Green Feather Mountain had to recruit, they were the rogue cultivators in nearby ces. Theyd always offer attractive benefits, which was why many rogue cultivators would dly take part in it.
In the past few conferences, it was Green Feather Mountain who gained the upper hand. It couldnt be said that they had won by andslide, but theyd always gained the most benefits in the end. However, it had been a few days since the start of the current conference and they had suffered immense losses as they were unable to protect their mountains.
There were exactly one hundred peaks in this mountain range. In the agreement they had signed, they had also agreed on how the portions would be distributed, which was to fight for the ownership of all these mountains.
In that agreement, one particr condition was considered a preferential treatment for Green Feather Mountain. Of all 100 peaks, they already owned 40 of them initially. For the remaining 60 peaks, Tai Luo n had 35 while Qin Family had 25. In other words, if such a situation persisted until the end of the conference, Green Feather Mountain would have 40 percent of the quota, and theyd be the first to enter the spring.
Tai Luo n woulde next as they had 35 percent, and the Qin Family would be thest as they had 25 percent. This kind of distribution wasnt perfect, but they were fine with it.
Nevertheless, since it was apetition, the situation wouldnt remain stagnant until the end of the conference. Three days ago, the fight for the peaks had started. Presently, of all 100 peaks, Green Feather Mountain owned 35 of them, and Tai Luo n had 40. Things remained the same for the Qin Family as they still had 25. That was because the Qin Family rarely made a move in the past few days as the other parties fell into intense battles.
In the hall, three people had surrounded Shadow Moon Disc in positions that resembled a triangle. They represented the three different colors on the disc. The person who represented Green Feather Mountain was Tang Wu. He was about 30 years old and had a sturdy figure. By just standing there, he gave off a feeling that he was as steady as a mountain, and his vitality was vigorous as well.
The representative of Tai Luo n was an alluring woman whose name was Han Zhe Yue. Her clothes were on the skimpy side. Seated on a wooden chair, she ced her long legs on the Shadow Moon Disc. Her legs were blemish-free, and her toenails had been polished with a red gloss. Theyers of her dress separated at her thighs, so her private parts were not covered, which attracted the attention of the disciples who passed by. However, she seemed oblivious to their attention.
Behind her, a fair-skinned young man was rubbing her shoulders.
The representative of the Qin Family was Qin Wan Li, who was a thin and short man. There was a machete that had been hung on his waist. Presently, he was staring fixedly at Han Zhe Yue. When their eyes met from time to time, she would throw him a charming nce, which caused him to smile like a fool.
All three of them were Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Usually, theyd get their training in the Core Circle of the battlefield. The reason they hade to this ce was to chair the Dragon Spring Conference. With an agreement that had been signed under the witness of Heavens, all three parties wouldnt dare to go back on their word, but there might still be some loopholes one could take advantage of. Therefore, every time the conference was held, all three parties would respectively send a Ninth-Order cultivator to chair the conference.
Normally, such powerful figures were not seen in the Outer Circle. Mystic Sect and Nine Star n had some Ninth-Order cultivators as well, but theyd only send cultivators in the Sixth-Order and the Seventh-Order to be in charge of the stations. Of these three people, Tang Wu sported a cold expression which seemed to be warning anyone against going near him. On the other hand, Han Zhe Yue was behaving like a seductress while Qin Wan Li appeared somewhat harmless.
Staring at the alluring woman, Tang Wu said coldly, Get your feet off the disc. Otherwise, Ill cut them off!
With her mouth covered, she replied with a smile, Whats wrong? Are you displeased? Are you going to re up just like you did 30 years ago? Seeing as Tang Wu was upset, she was gleeful. Since they were opponents, she certainly didnt mind annoying him.
However, under his stern attention, she still moved her feet away and turned to look at Qin Wan Li. Lets join forces and kill this guy!
Qin Wan Li kept a foolish smile on his face. Senior Sister Han, stop pulling my leg. Im not powerful enough to do that.
What a coward! Han Zhe Yue pressed her lips together as she appeared bored.
A momentter, someone walked up to Tang Wu and spoke in a low voice, upon which Tang Wu nodded. After that person was gone, Tang Wu gazed at Han Zhe Yue and said, Your n has done a great job in hiding your true power by keeping arge number of disciples in another great force. Arent you worried that theyd betray your n?
All three great forces were based in this area, so they were fully aware of each others heritages. That was why Tang Wu had been wondering what had gone wrong. How did those from Green Feather Mountain suffer such tremendous losses when it had only been a few days since the battle started?
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It wasnt until this moment that they found out the truth. Previously, Tai Luo n had recruited some gifted disciples. However, instead of keeping them in their own station, they let these people receive training in a great force which was their ally. When the conference took ce, they returned to the n all of a sudden and caught those from Green Feather Mountain off guard. These people were fairly powerful now as some of them were in the Fifth-Order.
Now, only cultivators between the Second-Order and the Fifth-Order were allowed to take part in the conference. The restriction had been imposed because First-Order cultivators were inexperienced in battles, so theyd easily lose their lives if they participated. On the other hand, Sixth-Order cultivators were too powerful. If they identally killed some low-rank cultivators, a lot of their Contribution points would be deducted, which was unbearable for any cultivator. At the same time, the restriction on cultivation could prevent unnecessary deaths for people who joined thepetition.
Presently, the most powerful people in One Hundred Peaks were Fifth-Order cultivators. Initially, Green Feather Mountain had the highest number of Fifth-Order cultivators, but these people from Tai Luo n who appeared out of nowhere tilted the bnce. It was the main reason Green Feather Mountain was on the losing side.
Chapter 115: Thunder?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 115: Thunder?
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
This had something to do with the number of peaks that Green Feather Mountain had upied earlier. upying so many mountain peaks in the early stages of the Dragon Spring Conference might not necessarily be a good thing. In this way, Green Feather Mountain had to spread out its strength to guard these hills.
Now that ten mountain peaks had been lost in a row, Green Feather Mountains defenses were strengthened instead. It would be difficult for the Tai Luo n to proceed any further. Besides, Green Feather Mountain did not lose many men. The cultivators originally guarding those mountain peaks did not choose to fight recklessly after sensing the strength of the enemy forces, which preserved arge part of their strength.
The current disadvantage was only temporary. It could not determine the final result.
After several days of confrontation, Green Feather Mountain was obviously going to start a counterattack. There was an area on the topographic map reflected by the Shadow Moon Disk where blue and ck dotted lights intersected. Fierce battles had broken out on several of the mountain peaks. The cultivators from both sides were tangled together in battle and some of the dotted lights would be extinguished from time to time.
The blue dots were the cultivators of Green Feather Mountain while the ck dots were the Tai Luo n. As for the red dots, they represented the Qin Family.
The gazes of Tang Wu and the other two were focused on the ce of confrontation. They were judging the pros and cons of the situation from the remaining number of dotted lights. Han Zhe Yues expression gradually became gloomy. That was because the Tai Luo n was clearly at a disadvantage in this confrontation.
An hourter, the oue of the battle came out. Green Feather Mountain had regained two mountain peaks!
Han Zhe Yue immediately became unhappy and coldly snorted. A bunch of trash!
Tang Wu stood there as motionlessly as a mountain, showing neither joy nor anxiety.
A rogue cultivator just barged into the fray, Qin Wan Li suddenly said.
Tang Wu and Han Zhe Yue turned to look at the same time and immediately noticed the addition of a white dot that had appeared on the edge of the Shadow Moon Disc.
Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Han Zhe Yue quickly determined the other partys cultivation from the brightness of the white dot. She curled her lips into a smile. This guy is pretty unlucky.
The reason for her words was that the location where that white dot had appeared was the territory of the Tai Luo n. Arge part of the continuous mountain range in that area was upied by the Tai Luo n. Moreover, there were at least five or six ck dots on each mountain peak that stayed behind to guard the ce. A Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was not considered weak in this area, but he was by no means powerful either. He could be defeated by any random Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.
One Hundred Peaks was veryrge, so it was impossible for the three factions to waste their resources to seal off the entire One Hundred Peaks during the Dragon Spring Conference. Besides, the rogue cultivators nearby knew that the Dragon Spring Conference was currently being held here. Aside from the rogue cultivators summoned by Green Feather Mountain, nobody else would suddenly barge into the area.
Naturally, there were always exceptions to everything. The Dragon Spring Conference had been held so many times before. It was not as though no rogue cultivator had identally barged into One Hundred Peaks during the Dragon Spring Conference. It was just that those rogue cultivators never enjoyed a good ending.
If he had intruded into the area upied by Green Feather Mountain, he might have been recruited by Green Feather Mountain. Unfortunately, those who intruded into the area upied by either the Tai Luo n or the Qin Family there was no saving them anymore.
Due to the previous contract, Green Feather Mountain could recruit these outsiders as helpers. However, the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family could only use their own strength to prevent any problems before they happened. Therefore, the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family would never allow any outsider to roam the One Hundred Peaks alive.
Guess which faction he is from. Han Zhe Yue looked at the white dot with interest. As a Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, she had no choice but to return to host the Dragon Spring Conference. It was actually a very boring event for her. Since she could neither kill nor beat up these weaklings, she could only find other things to amuse her on her own.
Qin Wan Li chuckled. He will belong to whichever faction you say he belongs to, Senior Sister Han.
His response was equivalent to him not saying anything at all.
Tang Wu, what about you? She lifted her head to nce at Tang Wu.
Tang Wu didnt even bother to acknowledge her, which made her pout. Wooden pir! Then, she turned to look at Qin Wan Li. Do you want to make a bet?
Qin Wan Li said, Its rare for you to be interested in something, Senior Sister Han. This Junior Brother will keep youpany.
200 Contribution! She suddenly became excited.
Cough, cough He abruptly coughed violently. Lets y a small wager for entertainment only.
After saying that, he didnt even give her a chance to respond. He immediately continued, Ill wager 20 Contribution points that this person is associated with the Thousand Demon Ridge!
She snorted softly, her interest gging slightly. How boring!
She leaned her body back and threw her hands into the air, leaning back against the chair in a spread-eagle pose. Her womanly charms were on full disy, and her posture invited ones imagination to go wild. There was not the slightest shred of a Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters demeanor in her behavior.
200 Contribution points that he is from the Grand Sky Coalition! Tang Wu, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up.
Han Zhe Yue immediately got up and nced at Tang Wu. She pursed her lips into a charming smile. Alright! Ill bet against you!
May the Heavens Witness!
May the Heavens Witness!
In an instant, three pairs of eyes focused on the white dot. They watched as the white dot approached the nearest mountain peak at an extremely fast speed.
Sitting atop the tigers back, Lu Ye frowned. He did not know if he was only imagining things, but he felt as though he was being watched. It was just that a careful check of his surroundings revealed nothing. This made him be vignt, and he even recalled Yi Yi, who was picking medicinal herbs nearby.
As they continued forward, they did not meet with any incidents until they climbed the nearest mountain peak. Amber suddenly stopped in its tracks.
Lu Ye, who was sitting atop the tigers back, pressed his right hand against the hilt of his knife. He secretly activated his Spiritual Power. Amber also crouched down low and let out a deep growl. There was an ambush here.
.
Lu Ye had clearly noticed the fact that he had fallen into someone elses ambush. He did not know who was hiding in ambush here, why they had set up an ambush here, or even what the other partys cultivation was. The current situation was very disadvantageous for him.
Wind blew across the mountain top, making the leaves rustle in the wind. A persons voice suddenly rang out from not far away. Lightning!
Lu Ye immediately turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw a young man sitting among the branches of arge tree. The young man was quietly looking at him, and it was this young man who spoke just now. Activating his Spiritual Power, he studied the aura around the other partys body. It was a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master!
Frowning, he tentatively asked, Thunder?
There was a sound of something slicing through the air. Lu Ye hurriedly ducked his head. Two sharp arrows narrowly passed over the top of his head from both left and right directions. Several strands of his hair fell to the ground. The other party had attacked without warning. If not for the fact that he had experienced many life-and-death struggles recently, he would not have been able to avoid that attack just now. It was obvious that he had wrongly answered the other partys secret password. The people hiding in ambush here were extremely decisive and immediately attacked when the secret password was answered wrongly.
Meanwhile, Amber was already charging toward the left. Lu Ye kicked off from the tigers back, leaping straight into the air. Blocking an arrow shot toward his head when he was suspended in mid-air, he fixed his gaze upon the young man who spoke earlier.
At the same time as those attacks wereunched, that young man had leaped off the tree. A longsword appeared in his hand as he lunged toward Lu Ye.
Lu Ye had justnded on the ground and the young man had already closed the distance between them. The longsword stabbed forward like a snake sticking its tongue out, aiming directly for Lu Yes chest. The young man was really going in for the kill because of a single wrong answer.
Chapter 116: What the Hell!?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 116: What the Hell!?
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the face of such a fierce attack, Lu Ye neither dodged nor stepped aside. Instead, he shed at the young man fiercely! A fiery-red light shed across the de of his knife, making his knife seem as though it was on fire.
The young man was clearly taken aback by Lu Yes ferocity. He hurriedly changed the trajectory of his sword, lifting his sword to block the attack instead. There was a loud shing sound. When their des interlocked for a moment, his sword nearly flew out of his hands and he was pushed back by that force. The shock in his eyes intensified. Before he could do anything, the knife in Lu Yes hands came shing down upon him like a tempest.
Ever since Lu Ye left Green Cloud Mountain, he would resolutely practice his swordsmanship for at least four hours a day as long as the conditions allowed. While this training might not allow him to master any special or mysterious sword techniques or skills, it had made his foundation be more and more solid.
Coupled with the experience he umted from the battles over the past few days, he was no longer the same greenhorn who left Green Cloud Mountain back then. He had slowly formed a fighting style of his own. It was fierce and vicious. That was because he could rely on the Protection Spiritual Pattern.
If the young man had not hurriedly changed his move to block the first attack just now, he would have been cut in half by that blow. His prudence had allowed him to escape death, but that was all
The shing sounds rang out incessantly. Every sh thatnded would force him back by three steps. Moreover, his wrist was beginning to crack under the impact of that mighty force. He wailed inwardly, [Where did this lunatice from!? How can he fight so aggressively!? I am also in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm, but I am significantly weaker than him!]
Whenever his opponent attacked, the vitality around his opponents body would surge greatly. It gave him the illusion that the person in front of him was a wild beast that escaped from a cage and was choosing its prey to devour.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see his two Junior Brothers nking his opponent from behind. He would be able to join forces with his two Junior Brothers to besiege his opponent as long as he persevered for a few more seconds. While backing away, he reached his hand toward his Storage Bag. He had just taken out a Spirit Talisman Paper and was just about to activate the Spirit Talisman Paper when he heard a cracking sound
He was shocked. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that his longsword had broken into two. The broken de flew out to the side. Immediately after that, his body went numb and he froze in ce. Then, his field of vision began to tilt. Thest thing that came into view was one half of a body that looked very familiar.
[Is that my body?] His consciousness began to fade.
When the blood sttered everywhere, Ambers tiger roar came from the right. It was immediately followed by a terrified scream. There was another sound of something slicing through the air on the left. The enemy hiding in the shadows had shot another arrow at Lu Ye again. It was just that this arrow missed its target. The death of that young man seemed to have shaken the attackers mental state. That person was not the only one who was unsettled. The other two cultivators not far away who had rushed up behind Lu Ye were simrly shaken.
There were a total of five cultivators on this mountain peak. One was in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm; two were in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm; and two were in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
This line-up was not that strong, but Tai Luo n was right behind them. That was why there was no need for them to have such a strong line-up. As long as the mountain peaks in front were not lost, the Green Feather Mountain cultivators would not reach this ce. This position could be said to be the safest location.
The only reason they left some people here to keep guard was just in case, but this originally fool-proof arrangement was destroyed by Lu Yes arrival.
The two Tai Luo n cultivators who had sneaked up behind Lu Ye felt as though they had been sshed with a basin of cold water. Their entire bodies were ice cold. They had just witnessed their Senior Brother in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm being cut in two by an uninvited guest in no more than five seconds. Therefore, their shock and panic had risen to extreme levels. This in turn caused them to abruptly halt in their tracks at a position less than 10 meters away from Lu Ye.
Lu Ye spun around, his knife pointing diagonally at the ground. Blood was dripping from his de. He pushed off the ground with both feet, leaving behind a hole in the ground where he stood before. It didnt take more than a few strides for him to arrive in front of the two Tai Luo n cultivators who were frozen stiff in terror.
At a juncture of life and death, these two finally burst out their potential and lunged at Lu Ye all at once. The sounds of their confrontation nged loudly. The two cultivators in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm leaned back, leaving themselves wide open. The difference in their cultivation left them unable to block Lu Yes attacks despite working together.
The long knife blessed with Spiritual Power drew a long arc of fiery red light in front of him. He didnt even bother to use the Sharp Edge spiritual Pattern in this attack. When the screams rang out, the chests of the two people struck by the blow split open and a faint burnt smell came from their wounds. One person copsed to the ground while the other person staggered backward.
He took a step forward and stabbed the cultivator who fell over backward in the chest. Without stopping, he pulled out his knife to sh at the other person. Then, he saw an arrow flying toward him out of the corner of his eye. Lifting his knife in a swinging sh, he cut down the arrow. He was just about to deal with the surviving Third-Order Spirit Realm Master, but that person had already copsed headfirst to the ground. His previous attack had shed right through that persons heart
An extremely terrified scream came from the side. Lu Ye turned his head to look and saw Amber biting a female cultivator in the neck. The female cultivator held a bow in her hand, blood spurting wildly from her mouth. Despite struggling desperately against Amber, she couldnt even make Amber budge in the slightest.
This female cultivator was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. She was the one hiding in the trees and shooting arrows at Lu Ye.
When Amber separated from Lu Ye earlier, it immediately ran straight in this direction. The tiger alone might not have been able to do anything to her. She was hiding up in a tree after all. However, things were different with Yi Yi around. Yi Yi had appeared directly behind the female cultivator and shoved thetter off the tree.
After following Lu Ye for all this while, Amber had been eating well every day. Who knew how many Spirit Restoring Pills it had consumed during this period? Therefore, its current strength had greatly improvedpared to before. With Yi Yis support, they easily took down the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.
Ignoring the female cultivator, Lu Ye looked to the side. Two people had attacked him with arrows just now. Amber had caught one in its mouth, so there was another one. To his surprise, he discovered that the other party had already fled nearly as far as 30 meters away when he looked over in that direction.
He raised his knife and was about to give chase when he suddenly remembered something. Raising his hand, he faced his palm toward that persons back. At the same time, fiery red Spiritual Power began to gather at the palm of his hand. The pure Spiritual Power then formed into a fat and pudgy Fire Quail, which pped its wings and flew forward like an arrow released from the bowstring.
In the blink of an eye, the Fire Quail brushed past the fleeing cultivator and hit arge tree. The tree went up in mes.
[I missed] He raised an eyebrow, Spiritual Power gathering in the palm of his hand again. This time around, he adjusted his aim slightly.
A second Fire Quail flew out and struck that person squarely in the back. There was a loud explosion. That person fell to the ground as if he was struck by a bolt of lightning. His back was a charred mess, and he twitched several times before he died.
This was one of the Spell Techniques that came with the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic. It turned out to be quite powerful.
Just then, a small red light flew over from that spot and sank into the back of Lu Yes hand. He nced around, frowning. What the Hell!?
This battle came out of nowhere. He simply answered the other partys password wrongly and the other party instantly attacked without mercy. They didnt even bother to ask him which faction he belonged to. Since the other party had not held back, he did not bother to restrain himself either. It wasnt until he finished killing them all that he became certain that these people belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge faction. It looked like he had not killed the wrong people.
Chapter 117: Chase and Intercept
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 117: Chase and Intercept
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the main hall, three pairs of eyes watched as that white dot encountered five ck dots. In less than 20 seconds, the five ck dots vanished one after another. Only the white dot continued to blink steadily.
Their eyelids twitched at the sight. Han Zhe Yue hurriedly lifted her hand, pressed her Battlefield Imprint, and quickly sent out a message. Soon, nearly ten ck dots gathered toward the nearby mountain peaks where the white dot was located.
The woman was clearly enraged. A Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master had appeared out of nowhere, intruded upon the back of the Tai Luo n, and taken over a mountain peak. That was practically a p to the face.
In any case, that part of the mountain was upied by the Tai Luo n. It was very easy for her to mobilize some people to encircle and suppress him. Besides, there was a high probability that the other party was injured. As long as he dared to remain in that ce, she would definitely kill him without mercy!
Tang Wu lifted his gaze and nced at her but did not interfere in her matters. This matter could not be interfered with anyway. Everybody had a Battlefield Imprint, which mademunication between each other very convenient. Furthermore, there was a steady stream of peopleing and going in this hall. It was a given that all the information in this hall would constantly leak to the outside.
The three of them in the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm were not just stationed here to ensure the smooth progress of the Dragon Spring Conference but also to interfere and conduct the Dragon Spring Conference to the necessary extent.
It was quite a pity that this Fourth-Order Spirit Creek had barged into the One Hundred Peaks from the wrong direction. If he had entered the Green Feather Mountains territory instead, he might have be a powerful ally to the Green Feather Mountain. Unfortunately, he chose to intrude upon the Tai Luo ns territory instead. Things would not end well for him. The only way for him to survive was to retreat immediately. The Tai Luo n would not have the time nor energy to chase after him during the Dragon Spring Conference.
Just as Tang Wu was mulling over these thoughts, the white dot began moving once more. He immediately knew that this person was doomed the moment he saw the direction the white dot was moving.
On the other hand, Han Zhe Yue gritted her teeth and sneered. Good! Courageous indeed!
There was no other alternative. Despite killing five Tai Luo n cultivators, that white dot did not choose to retreat. On the contrary, that person chose to charge deeper into the One Hundred Peaks instead.
Qin Wan Li stood by the side and began tough. Where did this greenhorn pop out from? Doesnt he know that the three Sects are currently holding the Dragon Spring Conference in this ce?
Tang Wu simply stretched out a hand toward Han Zhe Yue and stared at her wordlessly. The meaning behind his actions were clear.
What!? Have I lost the bet!? Who knows which faction this guy belongs in? He only killed a few of the Tai Luo ns disciples. Who can prove that he belongs to the Grand Sky Coalition? Han Zhe Yue was currently in a bad mood, so her tone was very harsh.
Her words were not without reason. Even those in the same faction could attack each other on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. After all, they would also receive the equivalent Contribution points from killing their own.
Therefore, Tang Wu withdrew his hand and left the matter alone. He pretty much had the same idea in mind just now when he made the bet. Ultimately, the bet they made earlier had been a spur-of-the-moment thing. They all knew that it was very difficult to force the other party to fulfill the conditions of the bet, unless they had a way to prove which faction the white dot belonged to.
On the mountain peak, Lu Ye packed up his spoils of war, climbed on the back of the tiger, and continued on his journey. For him, the previous battle was nothing more than a small hup in his journey forward. It did not affect him in any way. Nevertheless, he asked Yi Yi to scout ahead for danger just to be on the safe side. Yi Yi was extremely elusive, so she was most suitable for these kinds of tasks.
Sitting on the back of the tiger, he tossed a Spirit Restoring Pill into his mouth. The battle started all of a sudden and ended just as quickly, so he did not use up a lot of his energy. If he did not perform those two Spell Techniques at the end, his consumption would have been even lower. As for the injuries that Han Zhe Yue expected him to have They did not exist! It was just that maintaining his Spiritual Power at its peak while traveling alone on the road was undoubtedly a good practice to maintain.
Speaking of which, the power of the Fire Phoenix Technique was rather impressive. It had immediately taken the life of the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm he hit. The only w to this Spell Technique was the slight sense of shame that came from casting this Spell Technique. He would require a strong heart to cast the Fire Phoenix Technique. [It looks like I will need to find the time to research this Spell Technique properly. I need to try and see if I can change the external appearance of this Spell Technique to resemble a more regr form.]
15 minutester, Yi Yi returned and informed Lu Ye of some very bad news. There were several cultivators on the mountain peak ahead. Not to mention, they were charging in this direction. They seemed to be thepanions of those people he killed earlier.
Lu Ye could be certain that those five cultivators he killed earlier had not sent out any messages before they died. That was because the battle had ended too quickly, and they had not had the time to do so. Even so, it seemed that the other partyspanions wereing to kill him. [What is going on?]
After briefly considering his options, he decided to retreat. He did not know the cultivation strength of those cultivators approaching him. Yi Yi only managed to glimpse several people. She did not dare to get too close to them, so there was no way for him to determine the strength of their cultivation.
If the other partys cultivation was not high, he would have the confidence to face them. But, if some of those people happened to be in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm or if one or two of those people were in the Sixth-Order Spirit Creek Realm, things would be very troublesome indeed. Naturally, the possibility of those scenarios was not high. This was the Outer Circle of the battlefield after all.
He simply felt that the situation was strange. Although he would asionallye across some cultivators throughout his journey, it was his first time facing such frequent encounters. Therefore, he suspected that he had intruded upon the territory of one of the Sects. However, the 10-point map indicated that this was the intersection point between three different Sects. This area did not belong to any one of the Sects.
Yi Yi left to scout their way forward again and soon came back with even worse news. There were more than ten peopleing from the back, nking him from both sides.
He immediately had a bad feeling. At this moment, he could be sure that he had intruded upon the territory of one of the Sects. Otherwise, his movements would not have caused such a big reaction. It was toote for him to retreat now. He could vaguely sense the Spiritual Power fluctuationsing from some of those people. That indicated that those people were very close at hand.
Thus, he patted Ambers body. They turned in a different direction and tried to escape from the sides. [There are peopleing from the front and the back. But, surely there wont be peopleing from the sides, right?]
Inside the main hall, Han Zhe Yue was ring hatefully at the white dot leaping up and down the One Hundred Peaks. Asmand aftermand was conveyed to the troops, wave after wave of ck dots set off from each mountain peak to surround the white spot. She had now gotten a piece of definitive information. The cultivator who had barged into the territory was riding on a snow-white tiger. That was why he could move around so quickly and the Tai Luo n cultivators chasing after him were unable to catch up to him.
However, she did not need her disciples to catch up to the enemy. Under her constant mobilization of the troops, a tight encirclement was slowly taking shape. There were no less than 30 ck dots surrounding the white dot in all directions. No matter which side he tried to break through, he would be attacked. They only needed to dy him for a moment and the others would be able to swarm him and turn him into mincemeat!
She was furious that something like this had urred during the Dragon Spring Conference. If not for the fact that she could not make a move during the Dragon Spring Conference, she would have personally gone out to capture the person riding on the white tiger and give him a taste of extreme torture!
Lu Ye sat on the back of the tiger with an extremely solemn expression. After running around for two hours, he discovered that he could not shake off these unknown enemies. Rather, the situation was bing worse and worse. Yi Yi didnt leave to scout the path ahead anymore. That was because there were enemies everywhere!
He could not figure out how the enemy managed toplete the encirclement. He had been riding on Amber, charging left and right without a fixed pattern to their movements. Even so, he had been surrounded anyway. [If I cant escape, then I can only ughter my way out of this situation!]
He lightly patted the tigers back with one hand and pressed his hand against the hilt of his knife with his other hand. Seeming to understand his intentions, the tiger let out a loud roar. Its speed increased sharply as it broke through the front.
Chapter 118: Breaking Out of the Encirclement
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 118: Breaking Out of the Encirclement
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
While crossing a mountain pass, several figures came charging at Lu Ye from the front. The person in the lead had dense Spiritual Light surrounding his body, indicating that he was in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
He leaped from tree branch to tree branch, his figure moving as agilely as the wind. When he was 30 meters away, heunched an attack at Lu Ye. The spear in his hand stabbed forward as ferociously as a Dragon. At the same time, he shouted, Die!
A burst of overwhelming Spiritual Power surged at the tip of the spear, adding to the power of this attack. It was apanied by the sharp sound of something slicing through the air.
The distance between the two parties closed rapidly. It was toote by the time Amber wanted to dodge the attack. Lu Ye raised his hand in the direction of that man, Spiritual Power swelling in the palm of his hand. In the next moment, a red light burst forth. A fat bird pped its wings and dived straight at that man.
A spell cultivator!? The Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was shocked. For a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master to cast spells at such a speed, it could only mean that this person was a spell cultivator.
This Spell Technique looked simr to the Fire Bird Technique. However, it was a little different from the normal Fire Bird Technique in the sense that the Fire Bird shot out by the opponent was rather chubby
The Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was stuck in mid-air and had difficulty avoiding the attack. Thus, he stabbed his spear forward and struck the fat bird flying toward him squarely in the middle.
There was a loud explosion. A st of Spiritual Power erupted and a scorching aura wrapped around him. It was fortunate that he was in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Only by hurriedly drawing upon his Spiritual Power to protect himself did he manage toe out of that attack unscathed.
His expression was very solemn when hended on the ground. Even though he only made contact for a moment, he had felt the purity of the opponents Spiritual Power. It did not seem like something a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master would possess
Turning his head to look around, he saw that the young man riding on the white tiger had swerved to the nk. That young man clearly had no intention of confronting him directly.
On that side, two Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters joined forces tounch a pincer attack on the young man. One of them wielded a machete that looked extremely heavy as a weapon. The de came shing downward, aiming directly at the tigers head. The other person wielded a longsword. He swung his sword and created sword flowers that stabbed at Lu Ye, who was riding on the tigers back.
A scorching aura spread out once more as Spiritual Power with a red glow gathered. Another fat Fire Bird flew out and swooped down on the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master wielding the machete.
At the same time, Lu Ye pulled out his knife and shed at the enemy with the longsword.
*ng.* The Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master wielding the longsword steadily backed away under those attacks. Despite their simr cultivation, he could not hold up against Lu Yes aggressive attacks.
On the other side, the fat Fire Bird was cut down by the machete-wielding Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. It had not managed to harm him, but it did save Amber from the misfortune of being cleaved apart by the machete. Moreover, he was momentarily stunned by the explosion of the Fire Birds Spiritual Power. Taking advantage of that brief moment, Amber swiped its ws out. That man gave a muffled groan. The sound of bones breaking came from his chest and he fell to the ground.
It only took an instant before thebined attack of the two Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters was broken. Behind them stood several other Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters, staring wide-eyed at the tiger and the young man lunging at them. For a time, they were at a loss for what to do.
Hurry up and dodge! The Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master shouted desperately.
In the original n, he and the two Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters were responsible for leading the first round of attacks to ensure that the opponent was forced off the tigers back.? That young man would be doomed as long as they could knock him to the ground.
However, he never imagined that this Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master would be a spell cultivator who could perform the Fire Bird Technique so quickly that his aggressive barrage of attacks failed to achieve anything.
A Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him could not bring about the desired obstructive effect. Two Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters could not do a thing either. How could the remaining Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters stop that person?
The majestic tiger brushed past the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters and rode off into the distance.
The Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master tried to chase after them for some time. It was not until he watched the distance between them growingrger that he was forced to stop. Turning his head back to look, he caught sight of one of his Junior Brothers in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
That man was clutching at his throat and red blood dyed his upper body. Blood continuously trickled out of his mouth. He stretched out a hand toward the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master and cried out with difficulty. Save me, Senior Brother!
How could he be saved? With the severity of his injuries, he could only wait for death.
By the time the Tai Luo n cultivators chasing from the rear arrived, they were greeted by the sight of these people standing frozen in ce with ugly expressions. One of their fellow Sect membersy dead on the spot.
Lu Ye continuously broke out of countless encirclements!
His expression was solemn. He could sense that there were enemies in all directions. No matter which direction he went, he could not escape the encirclement and suppression of those people. Unfortunately, he simply could not understand the situation. [Who on Earth have I offended? Who does this territory belong to? Did I identally fall into a den of thieves?]
Fortunately, he had Amber. It was all thanks to Ambers swift speed. He would not have the capital to escape in the face of the continuous encirclements and suppressions otherwise. Nevertheless, he could sense that the force of the encirclements grew stronger the further he moved forward. It had been rare to encounter Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters at the beginning. But now, he would encounter one or two Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters every time he ran into any cultivators. This situation made him very miserable.
Lu Ye was not the only person feeling miserable. Han Zhe Yue, who was watching the Shadow Moon Disc back in the pce, felt equally miserable.
She watched helplessly as the white dot dashed left and right across the One Hundred Peaks, constantly breaking out of the encirclements. Moreover, one or two ck dots would disappear suddenly from time to time. In less than a days time, more than ten Tai Luo n cultivators had died at the hands of that man!
Therefore, she gnashed her teeth together loudly in irritation. She wished that she could grab the white dot out of the Shadow Moon Disc and bite him to death!
The Dragon Spring Conference had been going very well until this troublemaker popped out of nowhere. Out of all the options, the Tai Luo n had suffered many losses under this person. As the person-in-charge of the Dragon Spring Conference, it was only natural that she needed to bear some of these responsibilities.
It would not have been a big deal if that were all. It was only the deaths of a few dozen disciples after all. Such losses were something the Tai Luo n could bear. When was there ever a Dragon Spring Conference that did not involve death?
However, the Tai Luo n had spent too much energy and manpower in order to encircle and suppress this person. This situation had given rise to their repeated defeats in the battle against Green Feather Mountain.
Tang Wu would not simply stand by the side-lines and watch the drama unfolding. When he saw that the Tai Luo n was being restrained by an outsider, it was only natural that he would take various actions.
The mountains that had been captured earlier were now being lost one by one. Be that as it may, the Tai Luo n could not simply leave the outsider alone. More than a dozen disciples had died at that mans hands. They would not have an exnation for the higher-ups if they left the matter alone. Besides, the outsider was currently within the Tai Luo ns territory. The losses would be even greater if they left him be.
That was why the Tai Luo n was currently facing a difficult situation. They wanted to kill the outsider as soon as possible, and then put all their energy into the battle against Green Feather Mountain. However, they could not kill him and were caught in a dilemma as a result.
In contrast, Tang Wu was undoubtedly reveling in a secret sense of enjoyment. Green Feather Mountain had always been in a disadvantaged situation, but the arrival of an unwanted guest had allowed them to slowly turn the situation around again.
He watched the white dot running around the One Hundred Peaks, feeling slightly ufortable. [Its a good thing if this person continues to move forward in a straight line. That way, he will enter Green Feather Mountains territory. Both parties will encounter each other as long as he enters Green Feather Mountains territory. Based on his previous disy, he will surely be of great help to Green Feather Mountain if we can recruit him. At this moment, I can only pray in secret that this unwanted guest will persevere for as long as possible. Only by surviving can he continue to distract the Tai Luo n.]
Just as the thought passed through his mind, he raised an eyebrow. That was because the white dot in the Shadow Moon Disc had changed directions once more. This time, it was heading directly toward Green Feather Mountains territory.
[This bastard has finally been enlightened!] He immediately sent out a message. [This is an opportunity for Green Feather Mountain to try and see if they can get in touch with that person.]
On the other hand, Tang Wus actions had not escaped Han Zhe Yues notice. Her gaze immediately became as sharp as a knife, sweeping over him with a fierce re. She activated her Battlefield Imprint and sent out a message. [No matter what, we cannot allow the outsider to enter Green Feather Mountains territory!]
Chapter 119: A Good Place to Go
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 119: A Good ce to Go
Trantor: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye rode on Amber, fleeing desperately through the mountains. Several Spirit Talisman Papers exploded behind him. During the surge of Spiritual Power, one of the Spell Techniques sealed within the Spirit Talisman Papers struck him and left him in a miserable state.
After a whole day of confrontation, the cultivators besieging him had gotten smarter. They would st out with Spirit Talisman Papers as soon as both parties encountered each other. Although Spirit Talisman Papers were valuable, low-level cultivators could still afford to purchase them if they simply gritted their teeth and bit the bullet. Therefore, most people would prepare one or two Spirit Talisman Papers as a trump card for life-threatening situations.
At this moment, the fact that they were throwing out Spirit Talisman Papers without regard for the losses was certainly making things very difficult for him. If not because he could frequently activate the Protection Spiritual Pattern to defend against those attacks, he and Amber would have been powerless to resist a long time ago.
Despite that being the case, both man and tiger were covered in wounds all over their bodies. It was not just the Spirit Talisman Papers. The cultivators of the unknown faction had also dispatched Spirit Beasts to hunt them down. Not many cultivators had Tamed Beasts because Spirit Beasts were quite hard to domesticate. The slightest mistake could cause the Spirit Beasts to turn on their Masters instead.
At this moment, Lu Ye was fleeing in front. Five or six cultivators riding on various Tamed Beasts followed closely behind him. These Tamed Beasts might not be as impressive or swift-footed as Amber, but he constantly faced obstructions from the front which severely impacted his efficiency in breaking out of the encirclements. It only took a moments dy for them to catch up to him immediately. Therefore, he was almostpletely surrounded and trapped on several asions. It had taken a lot of effort for him to open up a path in those situations and continue his escape.
Following these confrontations, he finally realized something: He could not travel in circles. The more twists and turns he made, the more enemies he would face. On the contrary, he faced lesser enemies if he simply charged forward in a straight line.
What he did not know was that the Tai Luo n cultivators had Han Zhe Yuemanding them from the shadows. With the Shadow Moon Disc, none of his movements could be concealed from her eyes.
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out once more. Several arrows shot toward Lu Ye from various directions. Even though he was startled, he did not panic. He activated his Spiritual Power to protect his body while simultaneously pulling out his knife to sh at the air in front of him.
One of the arrows aiming at Amber was cut down by him. At the same time, Amber quickly moved in a zigzag manner to avoid the rest of the arrows. It was not something hemanded Amber to do; it was something Amber learned from previous bloody experiences.
The Tai Luo n were aware that they had to cripple Amber first in order to besiege and suppress Lu Ye. The presence of such a Spirit Beast made it very difficult for them to restrain him. That was why the people shooting arrows from the shadows changed their target after the first few encounters and aimed for Amber instead. They wanted to annihte Amber first.
For that reason, Amber was met with great misfortune and took several arrows to the body. It was fortunate that none of the injuries were serious. Lu Ye had broken off the arrows and left the other half of the arrows in Ambers body.
Since then, Amber had gotten much wiser. Whenever it heard the sound of arrows slicing through the air, it would begin to move zigzaggedly like a snake. Thus, it sessfully avoided many of the attacks. It had only just dodged those arrows when several figures popped out from the front. Under the night sky, the Spiritual Light around them was extremely conspicuous.
[Three Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters!?] Lu Ye lowered his eyes. The realization that he was knee-deep in trouble did not escape him. He could manage if it were only one Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. It was impossible for him to deal with two at once, let alone the three Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters in front of him right now. Once trapped, only death would await him.
[I wonder which Sects territory I encroached upon that has such a powerful heritage.] Along his journey here, he had encountered more than ten Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. It had to be said that there were no Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters when he participated in the battle between Mystic Sect and Nine Star n previously.
What he did not know was that the deration of war between Mystic Sect and Nine Star n had urred very abruptly. Most of their Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters were training outside and could not rush back in time. That was why there had been so few Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Besides, they were mutually restraining each other. It was only natural that Lu Ye had not seen them.
On the other hand, the Dragon Spring Conference was different. It was held once every three years, so all three forces nearby ced great importance on this event. All the Spirit Creek Realm Masters ranging from the Second-Order to the Fifth-Order had gathered in their respective bases ten days ago in preparation for the start of the Dragon Spring Conference.
Each Sect usually had many Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. The ten or so Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters that Lu Ye met so far only made up a small portion of them. Most of them were guarding the various mountain peaks.
Although Han Zhe Yue could not wait to slice Lu Ye into a thousand pieces, she had not forgotten her priorities. She could not mobilize all the strongest members for the sake of dealing with a single Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master of unknown origins. Green Feather Mountain would definitely take advantage of the situation if she were to do that. At that time, things would not end with just the deaths of a dozen or so people. It would result in the loss of many mountain peaks under their control.
Out of the three Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters who leaped forward, two of them charged toward Lu Ye. Meanwhile, the remaining person stood not too far away and raised his hand to point in Lu Yes direction. Spiritual Power surged at his fingertip. He was a spell cultivator!
Lu Ye couldnt help feeling extremely troubled. Most of the people shooting arrows at him from the shadows had rtively low cultivation. Moreover, Lu Ye and Amber had experience dealing with them now. They could no longer be harmed by those attacks under most circumstances.
However, it was different if the opponents were Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. The power of such a cultivators spell techniques should never be underestimated. Things might end badly for him if he were careless. That was why he made a swift decision when he saw that cultivator casting spells. He threw an object with one hand and single-handedly formed a seal with the other hand.
The object he tossed out immediately arrived above the spell cultivators head and rapidly erged. The object transformed into arge bell that overflowed with Spiritual Light, looming over the other party. The spell cultivator clearly did not anticipate such a move from Lu Ye. It was toote for him to dodge the attack and he was firmly covered beneath the bell.
Meanwhile, the other two Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters had arrived in front of Lu Ye. The person in the lead was burly, strong, and vigorous. It could be seen at a nce that he nned to be a body tempering cultivator.
Despite facing Ambers charge, he neither dodged nor evaded but provocatively stepped forward instead. He raised his hands to catch Ambers two front legs, his posture indicating that he was nning to catch and throw the tiger.
Roar! The tigers roar resounded throughout the forest. The body tempering cultivator only managed to maintain a stalemate against Amber for two seconds before he copsed to the ground.
He had overestimated his capabilities. In terms of brute strength, Amber was not as strong as him. Even so, Spirit Beasts had their own advantages. That was especially true for sturdily-built Spirit Beasts like Amber. It was impossible to stop them without enough strength to crush their forward charging momentum.
Taking advantage of the two-second dy brought about by the body tempering cultivator, the other Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master attacked from behind. This person was most likely abat cultivator. That was because he was wielding a sledgehammer that was the size of a head. It did not look like something to be trifled with.
The sledgehammer that seemed to weigh thousands of kilograms looked like it weighed nothing in his hands. He leaped forward from behind hispanion and brought his sledgehammer smashing down on Lu Ye. The Spiritual Light on the sledgehammer shone so brightly that it was blinding. He shouted, Get down from there!
This attack was extremely heavy. It gave off the feeling that one blow could crush ten men. A blow like this was not something Lu Ye could defend against no matter what he did. If he forcefully took the blow, he would only end up with several broken bones. Therefore, he hurriedly activated the Protection Spiritual Pattern to form a shield in front of him.
*Boom* There was a loud explosion. Lu Ye felt the Spiritual Power in his body gushing outward like the floodwater released from a dam. The Protection Spiritual Pattern seemed somewhat unable to stop this menacing attack. Small cracks appeared along the Spiritual Pattern. Three secondster, the Spiritual Pattern shattered apart.
It was his first time meeting somebody who could break his Protection Spiritual Pattern in one blow. It had to be said that even Dong Shu Ye, who was a Seventh-Order Spiritual Creek Realm Master, had failed to do that. It would seem that the Protection Spiritual Pattern was more adept at defending against Spell Techniques. In contrast, it had a weaker defense against pure brute force attacks.
The Protection Spiritual Pattern might have been broken, but it had deflected most of the impact from the blow.
When the sledgehammer came down, Ambers body slumped from the impact and its front legs crouched slightly. On the other hand, Lu Ye fell backward from being struck by the sledgehammer. If he had not hastily brought his knife up in front of him, his chest would have been crushed t.
He was about to fall off the tigers back. At a critical moment, a small hand suddenly emerged to grab him by the belt and pull him back. It was Yi Yi, who had been hiding inside Ambers body all this while. There was nothing much she could do to help during a fight, so she had kept herself hidden all this while. Appearing and saving him at this time was a stroke of genius.
His mouth was filled with the taste of metal. In addition, his chest and shoulders were incredibly sore. It was clear that he had been injured. A blow like that was not easy to blockpletely.
At this moment, he was rejoicing over the fact that he had used his Bell Spirit Artifact to restrain the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm spell cultivator. If all three of his opponents joined forces against him, he would most likely die here.
The body tempering cultivator climbed up from the ground and retreated several hundred meters, watching Lu Ye warily. Simrly, thebat cultivator also backed away several thousand meters. He held his sledgehammer with both hands, looking very solemn. If one were to look carefully, one could see that his hands holding the sledgehammer were trembling hard. The attack just now was the result of his full strength It was a heavy burden on his body.
Just in those few moments of dy, rustling movements could be hearding from the surrounding forest. Cultivators were surrounding this area from all directions. The cultivators riding the Spirit Beasts were also quickly approaching.
Lu Ye did not have the time to examine the wounds on his body. He quickly identified the weak points in their defense and immediately found a direction. Just as he was about to guide Amber in that direction, he suddenly heard shouting in the distance. The shouting continued endlessly. The shouts were also apanied by powerful Spiritual Power fluctuationsing from that direction.
Turning to look in that direction, he saw colorful Spiritual Light shing constantly on the mountain peak closest to him. Somebody was fighting over there! Moreover, it was a rather intense battle!
He patted the tigers back and pointed in that direction with his knife. Head there!
He did not choose the weak points in the opponents defense but the direction where the cultivator wielding the sledgehammer stood!
[It doesnt matter who is fighting over there. Im certain one of those parties will belong to the cultivators pursuing me. It turns out that they have enemies] He immediately decided that that location was a good ce to go.
Furthermore, the umtion of all his previous encounters had allowed him to understand one thing: He could not escape this ce with his current methods. The opponent seemed to have some sort of ability to grasp his movements. Moreover, there was a highly intelligent personmanding these people. That was why they could repeatedly form encirclements around him so easily.
Upon seeing Lu Ye fleeing in that direction, the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm body tempering cultivator hurriedly shouted, Dont let him escape!
Thebat cultivator wielding the sledgehammer stepped forward with his back straightened proudly. He stood in front of Amber, the veins in both his arms bulging. When he raised his sledgehammer high above his head, the blood vessels along his shoulders burst and crimson blood stained his clothes red.
Come and die! He shouted while charging toward Lu Ye.
Spiritual Power mixed with a red light surged violently. Lu Ye lifted his hand and shot a Spell Technique at that man.
Chapter 120: Reinforcements From Green Feather Mountain
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 120: Reinforcements From Green Feather Mountain
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Combat Cultivator could barely keep his rage in check as his eyes throbbed. [This scoundrel is skilled in spells! How could I have been so careless!] Still, he adamantly stood his ground, choosing not to evade, but instead, he channeled every ounce of Spiritual Power he could muster and swung his hammer forward.
*BOOM!*
The impact saw him being hurtled through the air before crashing to the ground with his chest bloodied and charred. Amber leaped over the fallen Cultivator with Lu Ye on his back, who bent down and gave a finishing blow with Sharp Edge fully activated?to make sure that his enemy was dead.
The morbid crunch of steel gnashing through flesh and viscera?elicited a blood fountaining out of the wound, but Amber did not stop. The magnificent animal bounded off into the distance before Lu Ye could ascertain that his enemy was really dead
There he is! Quick! a voice screamed from behind, followed by the shrill whistle of an arrow that plunged into the darkness, missing himpletely.
Lu Ye could see that he was right, especially seeing how anxious the pursuing mob was.
If he had made the mistake of charging at where he thought the mob was weakest, then he might be able to gain a momentary initiative, but it would not be enough to prevent him from being overrun. If anything, that seemed more like a trap that his enemies intentionally set for him.
Withdrawing the Bell Spirit Artifact allowed the Spell Cultivator to regain his freedom and the first thing he did was fire an energy bolt at Lu Ye. But it was toote; Lu Ye was gone.
The mounted Cultivators gave chase, but after a certain distance, as if they had received orders to not overstretch themselves, the riders stopped, staring at Lu Ye from afar, awash with resentful bitterness.
From the Shadow Moon Discs disy, Lu Yes position:?which was denoted by a white dot: had well reached the safety of the Green Feather Mountain with a?group of more than two dozen blue dots racing towards him while not far away, on the summit of a hilly knoll, another cluster of blue dots was locked in a fierce battle against apany of ck dots.
That must be where Lu Ye had noticed amotion earlier.
Inside a great hall, Han Zhe Yue shot Tang Wu a scathing re, her eyes ring with rage. If only her eyes could emit death rays and kill him, that would have pleased her greatly.
The blue dots closing in on Lu Yes position were obviously men sent forth on Tang Wus orders, or the Tai Luo n forces would not have called off their pursuit of Lu Ye. Thest thing they wanted was to intrude into the territory of Green Feather Mountain.
It was also Tang Wu who hadunched an attack on the summit of the hill as a means of sending a message to Lu Ye.
As it happened, Lu Ye immediately caught on to the gist despite not having any directmunication with Tang Wu, whose tactful arrangement was enough to make Lu Yee his way.
In the meantime, Han Zhe Yue could not believe that her gambit failed to work. Lu Ye had not charged towards the trap as she intended him to.
The ndestine duel of wits had seen Han Zhe Yue emerge as the clear loser. Not only was Lu Ye well and alive, but he had sessfully made it to the Green Feather Mountain forces while she had lost more than a dozen Cultivators, to say nothing of the territories which she had lost after all of todays skirmishes.
What in Gods name was that?! the scrawny Qin Wan Li yelped with disbelief.
For the entire length of the afternoon, Qin Wan Li had barely taken his eyes off the Disc, seeing how the tiny white dot weaved and twisted back and forth amid the pandemonium that centered on him whilst he snaked his way out from the mountains and rode into the sunset in triumph. Qin Wan Li himself could hardly im simr sess even if he were in Lu Yes shoes. Hence his awed silence while he felt both pride and admiration for Lu Ye. Anyone else would have long been killed in the early exchanges of what Lu Ye had just survived, never mind making it to the end safely.
But that was not all. There was another key point of this contest, one which did not escape the notice of many who had been watching the event: a ck dot that denoted one of the Fifth-Order Cultivators had vanished all of a sudden during the chaos.
That could only mean one thing: that the Outsider Lu Ye had in a Fifth-Order Cultivator!
The notion itself could practically frighten anyone. If Lu Ye had only just escaped unscathed, then one could argue that it was his mount that had saved his life. But Lu Ye had managed to kill his enemy, a Fifth-Order Cultivator. That practically shone a different light on things.
[My goodness Is this fellow a member of some powerful faction or a great family?] Qin Wan Li mused quietly.
What are you doing?! Han Zhe Yue barked at him furiously, Make yourself useful!
Qin Wan Li hastily feigned a cough, replying politely, Of course, Senior Sister Han! Just give the word, and Ill go wherever you will go!
The Qins might wield enough influence and authority to earn a fiefdom of their own, but they were still very much new. That meant that the Qins were still very much reliant on the aegis of the Tai Luo n. For this reason, all members of the Qin Family knew better than to antagonize any member of the n and Qin Wan Li understood fully well that he needed to be careful and subtle in dealing with Han Zhe Yue in her full wrath.
But Qin Wan Lis obsequious ttery seemed to have worked. Han Zhe Yues anger subsided like a tide and ignoring Tang Wu, she beganying out her ns for a retaliation right in his face.
But Tang Wu wasnt idling. He stole a furtive nce at the Disc. The squad of blue dots had formed up on the white dot, meaning that everything had been progressing smoothly for the moment.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye found himself surrounded by more than a dozen Cultivators. He beheld the unfamiliar faces quietly, gripping a jade slip firmly between his fingers.
These strangers did not appear to be hostiles and they clearly expected his arrival. Even before they got close, they had announced themselves as members of the Grand Sky Coalition, prompting Lu Ye to show them his blue Battlefield Imprint to prevent any unwanted misunderstanding.
The jade slip was handed to him by one of them, a Fifth-Order Cultivator by the name of Xie Jin who told him that the jade slip contained everything that he needed to know: the current status quo and his own situation.
For a Fifth-Order Cultivator who obviously was more powerful than he was, Xie Jin was awfully polite.
Lu Ye warily made sure that his pursuers were nowhere in sight before he gave his mount a light pat, tacitly signaling the tiger to be vignt before he finally tapped the jade slip on his forehead to ess the information it contained.
By the time he finished going through the contents of the jade slip, he lowered it from his head with a bewildered expression on his face. [The Dragon Spring Conference? The contest held by three powerful factions where the winner would be awarded the chance to enter the Dragon Spring?]
Lu Ye could not believe his luck. He had been traveling the wilderness, trying to avoid territories belonging to great families and powerful factions, choosing only to enter towns or hamlets that usually teemed with independent Cultivators if he needed anything.
Ten days had passed since hest stumbled upon a settlement that was filled with independent Cultivators.
While he avoided contact with anyone else, he did not realize that this was the venue of the Dragon Spring Conference. His initial decision to travel via the One Hundred Peaks mountain range was only because this particr area appeared to be his safest way to travel, being the neutral crossroads leading to the territories of the three most powerful factions in this locale.
Little did he realize that his arrival would cause such a ruckus.
That was the same reason thatpelled him to choose traveling via the Split Sky Gorge: the border of the fiefdoms held by the Mystic Sect and the Crimson Heart Sect respectively before the former unified both domains under one single rule.
It was a mistakeing here. He should not have chosen the neutral area which was smack bang in the middle of so many dangerous and powerful parties, with all sides trying to outdo one another and thus making the ce chaotic enough. He should have chosen to travel through territories controlled by the Grand Sky Coalition.
He immediately made a mental note about this.
And from what he gleaned from information supplied by the magical jade slip, the area in the One Hundred Peaks?mountain range which he had just passed through was well within the Tai Luo ns circle of influence. That would exin the relentless pursuit by the ns Cultivators.
But Lu Ye noticed one more detail: he had rarely seen any Fifth-Order Cultivators before. Yet so many had been popping out of the woodworktely, just to attack him.
He could think of one possible exnation. ording to the jade slip, he had entered the ns territory from the back and the n had stationed a few of its most powerful Cultivators mostly?at the front lines where?most of the conflicts with the rest of the other factions would be. This was why, as he made a beeline that intersected straight through the entire breadth of the ns territory, more and more powerful Cultivators were roped in to hunt him down.
The Shadow Moon Disc was the only reason he could think of behind how easily the Green Feather Mountain forces tracked him down.?All three factions had Ninth-Order Cultivators garrisoned around the Disc and that allowed them to be aware of his whereabouts no matter how hard he tried to hide.
He had the strange feeling that someone had been watching him, especially since the ns Cultivators were able to locate him at every nook and cranny, and the information inside the jade slip?confirmed his suspicions.
Seeing how everything made sense, Lu Ye was satisfied with the veracity of the information he now received.
At any rate, the timely appearance of these riders had thwarted the pursuit of the n and that was good enough for Lu Ye to believe that they meant him no ill will.
Come with us, my friend. Its not safe to loiter around here.
Xie Jin gestured at Lu Ye to follow him.
Lu Ye nodded, Very well.
Lu Ye dug his heels into his mounts nks and rode ahead with the escort of Cultivators around him.
Xie Jin struck up a conversation with Lu Ye on the way and thetter called himself by his alias Yi Ye. Oddly enough, Xie Jin did nothing to pry about Lu Yes provenance and background.
It was usual for people inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield to not reveal any information about their own background, more so, if the Cultivator is a member of a powerful faction or an influential family on a wandering pilgrimage.
Cultivators from such distinguished provenance would be sorely mistaken if they started waving the names of their sects or families around like a g and think this would bring them convenience. If anything, this would only invite more trouble, or more specifically, attacks by other hostile parties.
Having been forewarned by Tang Wu that Lu Ye might be a student from one of the great sects and other militant orders, Xie Jin naturally knew how to avoid offending Lu Yes sensitivities.
Thepany of more than two dozen Cultivators eventually dispersed slowly as they rode further. The group was made up of Cultivators stationed at nearby garrisons and forts, hence with their current mission sessfullypleted, they would be expected to resume their posts. By the end, only Xie Jin and Lu Ye remained.
In the meantime, Han Zhe Yue, with Qin Wan Li assisting her,unched another desperate attack on one of the hills controlled by the Green Feather Mountain forces, piling enough pressure on the Green Feather Mountain forces that thetter had to withdraw and give up the hill that they had just captured not so long ago. But luckily enough, they managed to prevent many casualties and wounded men.
Xie Jin and Lu Ye made it through a couple of mesas and mounds before they reached a brightly-lit glen: a hive of activity with Cultivators in the hundreds and even thousands scuttling back and forth among scores of tents and canopies.
Seated atop the back of his tiger, ?Lu Ye beheld therge campsite and spied that many of the Cultivators were injured and hurt. Even from his spot, he could make out the assortment of painful groans and cries from inside the tents and canopies that never stopped wafting into the air rank with the stench of blood and sweat.
This must be the field infirmary, Lu Ye realized. The spot where all Cultivators who were wounded from the skirmishes at the front lines were brought to to heal and recuperate.
Lu Ye rode to the campsite and eyes began to pan his way. Splendid performance just now, my friend! a voice hooted cheerily.
Some began giving him apuding whistles
Female Cultivators started to bat their eyshes coquettishly at him
Lu Ye was bbergasted by the warm wee the wounded Cultivators threw at him.
Everyone has heard about what you did, my friend. Youre a hero right now, Xie Jin grinned at him.
Only now did Lu Ye understand what was going on here.
Xie Jin led Lu Ye ahead until they reached a tent. Have a rest here, Junior Brother Yi Ye. Ill have someone tend to your wounds in just a while, he said.
All right. Thanks.
As much as Lu Ye wanted to decline the offer, he did not want to sound impolite and ungrateful. His wounds werent too bad and after his few near brushes with death, he had since developed a greater endurance to pain.
But the same could not be said for his mount Amber. The Tai Luo n Cultivators had been trying to incapacitate him in their attempts to prevent Lu Ye from escaping. They rained him with spells and Spirit Talisman attacks, to say nothing of the arrows and bolts they managed to wound him with, despite Lu Yes best efforts to parry and deflect them away.
Ill leave you to rest then, said Xie Jin. He was about to turn around and leave, but he stopped short. Ah, yes. I nearly forgot.
He retrieved a Storage Bag from inside his pockets as he spoke.
Chapter 121: Soothing And Comfort
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 121: Soothing And Comfort
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Xie Jin tossed the Storage Bag at Lu Ye.
Urm, this is? an incredulous Lu Ye said.
A reward from the Green Feather Mountain forces to you. Two Spirit Stones for each Contribution Point and ten for killing a Fifth-Order Cultivator. Lets see One Fifth-Order enemy, three Fourth-Order enemies, five Third-Order enemies, and six Second-Order enemies. ?As a Fourth-Order Cultivator, youre entitled to a reward of forty-nine Contribution Points. Apparently, everyone was not only aware of the full details of what he had done, but they even had his Contribution Points fully calcted!
But that must be the Shadow Moon Disc, or Lu Ye would have suspected that someone must have had his or her eyes literally stuck onto his back without him knowing.
Senior Brother Tang Wu has left us strict orders that the reward must reach your hands. Please ept this as a token of appreciation. I shall leave you to rest then.
Xie Jin finished what he wanted to say all in one breath, all to prevent Lu Ye from declining the offer before he quickly slipped away, leaving Lu Ye alone with Amber in the tent staring nkly at the Storage Bag.
Lu Ye examined his Battlefield Imprint. It was true; his total Contribution Points had risen up to two hundred and twenty-three. A forty-nine point increment since thest sum.
[So That would mean that the Fifth-Order Combat Cultivators dead, innit?] Lu Ye mused thoughtfully. Small wonder, especially since Lu Ye himself had delivered the final coup de grace when Amber bounded over the enemy with Lu Ye riding on his back. The Sharp Edge-reinforced blow had ripped half the poor fellows throat apart. In his haste to escape from his pursuers, Lu Ye did not have the chance to stop and verify his kill, but the Contribution Points he gained today clearly showed that the kill was secured. The Fifth-Order Combat Cultivator really was dead.
With a casual toss, he threw the Storage Bag to the top of a table nearby and sat down, where he retrieved some water from inside his own Storage Bag to rehydrate himself.
The exertions today had been greatly exhausting and even Amber was hanging his tongue out like a thirsty dog. Lu Ye poured him some water too.
Yi Yi appeared. She strode to the table, curiously pried open the Storage Bags drawstring, and looked inside. Lo and behold! The sight of a hundred and eight Spirit Stones shining inside made her lit up with excitement.
For one with insatiable avarice for wealth second only to Hua Ci, Yi Yi had neverid eyes on so many Spirit Stones before. For years, she and Amber had lingered around poverty and destitution. Plundering and raiding low-tiered Cultivators was their only way of surviving in the wilderness and things would not have turned for the better if they had not encountered Lu Ye.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye! Yi Yi called loudly with brimming exhration. So happy was the Spirit Ghost that she couldnt put down the pouch full of Spirit Stones, she asked, What do you think theyre trying to do?
Buying us over, I guess, remarked Lu Ye.
But what for? the Spirit Ghost pressed naively.
Lu Ye gave her a concise brief about the Dragon Spring Conference. The Green Feather Mountain forces are ted to be the underdogs in this contest, therefore, the rules dictate that they are allowed to enlist outside help from independent Cultivators who are in no way affiliated to any of their allies. With so many Tai Luo n Cultivators dead at our hands today, its only natural that Green Feather Mountain wants us on their side.
Lu Ye only knew about this after essing the information contained within the jade strip that Xie Jin had given to him when they first met earlier and making a few guesses of his own, all of which were promptly confirmed by Xie Jins handing him of the Storage Bag filled with Spirit Stones.
Green Feather Mountain had sent forth a cavalry of more than twenty Cultivators and this would not have been possible if Lu Ye did not impress them by surviving the gauntlets of steel and doom on his own.
Otherwise, Green Feather Mountain would not have even the slightest inkling of interest in him. They would hardly bat an eyelid and Lu Ye would just be one of the many weak Cultivators who tragically lost their lives every day in the vicious and highly-demanding hell known as the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Still, no one from Green Feather Mountain had said anything about recruiting him into their ranks: at least not yet. ?First, they sent a squad of mounted men to meet and escort him to safety, then they brought him here to heal and recuperate, andstly, they presented him with the prize of his derring-do. It could not have been subtler enough. At any rate, the gestures havent been too straightforward or vulgar by Lu Yes reckoning.
[Tang Wu] Lu Ye murmured the name Xie Jin told him about. [I guess he must be the Ninth-Order Cultivator that leads Green Feather Mountain]
Well, if thats the case, said Yi Yi dryly now that she had had a clearer picture of the status quo, What do you think we should do?
What do you think? Lu Ye threw the question back to her.
Yi Yi peered at the Storage Bag she cradled in her hand and ced it on the table carefully. If its too dangerous, maybe we should just walk away. Were talking about being caught in the middle of a three-way battle royale? Talk about a hell of a mess!
Well, things might not be as bad as they sound, Lu Ye grinned. Only Second- to Fifth-Order Cultivators are allowed to join this Conference. So as long as we make sure were not being outnumbered by more than one Fifth-Order enemy, it should be fine.
Wait, that means youre ready to say yes? Yi Yi gasped, her head tilting quizzically.
I mean to say goodnight.
That elicited a round of muffled giggles from Yi Yi before she got up and looked at the entrance of the tent and yelped, Someonesing! She quickly discorporated and went back inside Amber.
The chirping voice of a woman called from outside. Yi Ye? Are you still up, Junior Brother?
Yes, I am. Come in, please!
The p opened and a young woman came inside. She looked like she was Yi Yis age, although more shapely than she was. Lu Ye just couldnt neglect the fact of how bosomy her chest was.
She wore a headscarf on top of her head, donning a garb that looked more like an apron?if not for the fact that it was mottled with blood spatters.
[A Medical Cultivator of the Green Feather Mountain forces?]
She bore an uncanny resemnce to Hua Ci, who was also simrly dressed when Lu Ye encountered her in a town.
Unfazed, the young woman smiled at Lu Ye. Something about her demeanor told Lu Ye that she was on orders toe?and tend to him. Im one of Green Feather Mountain too. My names Mu Ling.
Lu Ye got up at once and bowed, Nice to meet you, senior sister.
Im here to see to your wounds, junior brother, said the bright Medical Cultivator as she strode to a corner and began rummaging through her Storage Bag.
Im fine, senior sister. But my mounts rather the worse for wear. Can you take a look at him? said Lu Ye.
Im afraid Im still gonna examine you, junior brother. Senior Brother Tang Wu has expressly stressed that I must make sure that youre okay, said Mu Ling as she swiveled around.
Not wanting to sound ungrateful, Lu Ye could only oblige. Fortunately, he really wasnt hurt much and it only took a couple of minutes to dress most of the superficial wounds he suffered. The only injury worth noting was the internal wound incurred during his bout against the Fifth-Order Combat Cultivator.
But with the blow greatly mitigated by Lu Yes Protection Spiritual Pattern, Mu Ling did not have much trouble treating him.
Finally, after making sure that Lu Yes injuries were all seen to, Mu Ling turned her attention to Amber. She carefully removed the bolts and arrows jutting out of the tigers hide before applying some healing salve and herbs.
That took the better parts of almost two hours before Mu Lings work here was done. She said her farewells and left, but not before leaving?a pair of Healing Pills for both Lu Ye and Amber.
Lu Ye knew better than to decline the kind offer. As soon as Mu Ling was gone, he swallowed one, giving the other to Amber.
Yi Yi reappeared. Only this time, she looked rather miffed at Lu Ye.
Whats wrong with you? Lu Ye asked, perturbed by the nasty look she was giving him.
But Yi Yi refused to respond.
What the hell is going on?! Lu Ye yelped incredulously.
Hmph!?Yi Yi averted her eyes, peeved and distant.
Lu Ye reached for the side of her face, his hand caressing her supple skin as he lifted her chin. Come on, whats wrong?
Yi Yi vanished again, withdrawing back into Amber with a quick Someonesing.
The p of the tent folded sideways to admit another young woman with a curvy figure. Amid a strange whiff of fragrance that lingered around her as she drifted across the tent, she sidled close and cooed into his ears, Time to tend to those wounds of yours, junior brother.
W-Wait! I-I J-Just now?! Lu Ye gasped, utterly at loss for words.
That was just the first part of the process. Now get on your bed, she ordered curtly.
Lu Ye could not believe it. [Heavens, are they really that serious about us?!] he wondered to himself. [That they needed two healers to make sure Im okay? But Im not really hurt anyway]
The female Cultivator wasnt too amused to see Lu Yes hesitation. Get on the bed, please, she pressed again impatiently.
[Whats wrong with her? In a bad mood?]?Lu Ye thought at that moment. But before he could say no, the female Cultivator pushed him and kept him pinned down on the bed before she began stripping his tunic.
She ran a slender finger through the firm curves of his hardened chest yfully, staring at him with a dreamy look. Impressive, junior brother. Look at how strong you are She caressed the dreadful scars on every inch of his taut flesh. Men who survived great battles are just so irresistible
[Something is terribly wrong.]
Lu Ye got up at once before the young womans hands could skim on his body further and seized her wrist. Um, senior sister, are you sure youre a Green Feather Mountain Medical Cultivator?
She gave him a naughty and kittenish wink. Medical Cultivators deal with injuries to your body, Im here to provide soothing andfort to your mind!
[Wait a minute! Wasnt this one of the female Cultivators who were batting their eyshes at me?!] Lu Ye recognized her atst.
[Shes not some ruddy Medical Cultivator!]
Lu Ye refused to let go. Grimacing at the situation, he urged, Im injured and I could do with some rest, senior sister.
So what if youre injured? countered the female Cultivator, Life is short. We take what we can, while we still can. Carpe diem! Heaven forbid, we could be dead by this time tomorrow, so its wise to spend each day like its ourst!
Lu Ye could barely take his eyes off the generous curve of her bosom and bobbed his head, Cant contradict you there, senior sister!
Then he felt it: the weight of Yi Yis and Ambers stares bearing down on him. Lu Ye looked up again and there were both of them, giving him angry and nasty looks!
Yi Yi looked like she was going to blow a gasket. She thrust a finger at the female Cultivator and Amber lunged.
The next few seconds were utter pandemonium inside the tent before the female Cultivator scrambled out, spewing litanies of curses and expletives between every breath. If only she knew how lenient Amber had been or she could have been dead.
The inside of the tent looked like the aftermath of a cyclone with the bed utterly copsed.
Lu Ye sat on the ground with Yi Yi towering over him imperiously. Oh, you found yourself unable to contradict her, eh?
Well, what she said made sense.
In what way?!
In how inviting her generous offer was, Lu Ye answered cryptically, not forgetting to hold up his hands in front of his chest to emphasize how enticing the female Cultivators womanly charms were.
Yi Yi peered at her own chest and that infuriated her. With a final howl of total frustration, she vanished back into Amber.
That left Lu Ye and Amber both tossing nk stares at each other. Atst, Lu Ye decided to look for something to eat. They had barely consumed anything yet and some epicurean pleasures would certainly help to satiate those particrly good appetites of them both.
He left the tent and found a ming bonfire where he sat down. He got some animal flesh he had been keeping inside his Storage Bag and cooked them over the fire. He had only just begun eating when more Cultivators appeared. Some of them well and a good many of them hurt, they came bearing gifts. Some offered him more meat while some presented him with some liquor and wine, and every one of them was kind and warm.
This was a first for Lu Ye, who had never been showered with such generosity and attention since his arrival into this dimension. But he was somewhat relieved to find that the Cultivators did not stay to talk much. They merely came and left whatever they brought, exchanging only some short but friendly greetings.
Lu Ye did his best to respond politely to every one of them.
[Is this the dignified presence that members of great and powerful sects often carry?] The Cultivators all thought when they took their leave and walked away.
Chapter 122: Recruitment
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 122: Recruitment
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye had a walk around the campsite the next day with the Medical Cultivator Mu Ling chaperoning him.
It was miserably stuffy and boring inside the tent, so he needed a walk. He was just out of the tent when he stumbled into Mu Ling who offered to take him around for a look and Lu Ye saw no reason to decline the kind offer.
As they wandered around, scores of Cultivators came by to greet them warmly.
Lu Ye could expect that part of the reason so many people came by was because of Mu Ling. As a pretty and attractive female Medical Cultivator, one could understand why.
On the other hand, almost every Cultivator of Green Feather Mountain had heard the heroic epic of how a Fourth-Order Cultivator Yi Ye had made his way all the way from the rear of the Tai Luo n territory, oveing all manner of obstacles and challenges the n hurled at him until he finally entered the domain of the Green Feather Mountain forces. It was this feat that propelled him into prominence.
But there were not only Cultivators of the Green Feather Mountain here. Independent Cultivators from everywhere else made up less than half the number here and they too were orded great hospitality and immediate medical attention once they were wounded in battle, to say nothing of the Spirit Stone rewards that Green Feather Mountain would distribute every day ording to any Contribution Points they gained.
For every Contribution Point, a Cultivator was awarded two Spirit Stones and he or she was allowed to keep whatever spoils they looted from enemies. As a matter of fact, Lu Ye even heard that Green Feather Mountain would be doling out invitations for any exemry Cultivators who had proved their worth to join them after this Conference.
These generous and enticing offers were part of how Green Feather Mountain had been able to maintain its fifteen-year-long supremacy, allowing this excellent militant order to bolster its ranks with fresh troops at the end of each Conference.
No independent Cultivator could ever turn their heads from offers like this when all they needed to do was shine and survive in the Conference, and their unique talents and skills would not go unrewarded.
Life in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had always been terrible for independent Cultivators. Bereft of supplies and resources critically needed for their progress, many ambitious, if not desperate, independent Cultivators saw the Dragon Spring Conference as a gamble that could potentially mean a huge transformation in their lives. After all, if surviving this meat grinder called the Battlefield was already a gamble, whats another?
While Lu Ye knew he could take Xie Jin for his word, he still maintained his reservations about Green Feather Mountains generosity. But the things he now saw and heard from the mouths of others could almost convert him.
[So everything in that jade slip is true,] he mused quietly.
The Dragon Spring Conference is not just any contest, Junior Brother Lu Ye. It has everything to do with the future of all three factions, including that of its members and acolytes. Its as close as it gets to a real war between the three factions, so Im sure you understand why everyone is on tenterhooks. You appear to be remarkable and special, Lu Ye, and therefore you might not be interested in the rewards we offer. But as a member sect of the Grand Sky Coalition, we implore your help. We of the Green Feather Mountain forces shall greatly appreciate this favor, said Mu Ling, indicating that their stumbling into each other was no mere coincidence.
In the meantime, Han Zhe Yue had gone deranged since Lu Ye was taken in by Green Feather Mountain. She roped in the Qins in a reckless crusade against the Green Feather Mountain forces, forcing them to cut their losses and give up some of their territories that included a few hills, making the total number of hills now controlled by Green Feather Mountain amount to not more than thirty.
Tang Wu had never felt such daunting pressure before.
He did not want to push things initially. As much as he wished for Lu Ye to join his side, Tang Wu did not want to pester him for he did not want to look desperate and risk bing a nuisance instead. To that end, he would have wanted to let things take their course instead. But with the enemies now eager to spill more Green Feather Mountain blood, an all-out war would see both sides suffering heavy losses, and Tang Wu expected the worst for his side.
This was definitely not something he could ept, not with the Conference being just around the corner.
Hence, he desperately needed Lu Ye, and the best person to tender that invitation would be the lovely female Medical Cultivator who had been taking good care of Lu Ye and his mount Amber. Even if Lu Ye declined to participate in the Conference on Green Feather Mountains behalf, at least he wont be offended.
Long ustomed to how people had always mistaken him as a Cultivator of distinguished pedigree on a trip of pilgrimage, Lu Ye halted in his tracks. A beat passed in silence as he mulled again his decision before he finally said, Im appreciative of what Green Feather Mountain had done for me. Im not an ungrateful person, so I guess Ill say yes. Ill be honored to participate in the Conference on behalf of Green Feather Mountain.
He never once thought of declining their invitation. The reinforcements that came to escort him had saved him a lot of trouble, in addition to delivering him from danger. Verily, the whole thing: the long horn-like call, the battle that was waged to draw the enemies attention away from him, and everything else: must be Green Feather Mountains intricate n to lead him to safety.
There really was no reason why Lu Ye shouldnt return the favor.
Especially since participating in the Conference wouldnt be as dangerous as what he just did. In fact, he could be in for a huge haul of supplies and resources.
He still had enough Spirit Pills tost him until the Fifth-Order at the moment, but with his and Ambers voracity for Spirit Pills, there coulde a day when their supplies of pills and ores might dwindle, and therefore, he needed to secure whatever opportunities before they slipped away.
And the Dragon Spring Conference appeared to be one such opportunity.
With scores of Cultivators from the two opposing factions that belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge as prey ripe for the plucking, the chance to ughter them and loot them of their belongings and even win rewards in the form of Spirit Stones made this an opportunity that he could die for. Even a Second-Order Cultivator would yield a two-Spirit-Stone reward that could spare Yi Yi days of scouring through the wilderness for herbs. But if he could y a Fifth-Order Cultivator, then the reward would be ten Spirit Stones plus the original twenty, making the amount a total of thirty!
How could Lu Ye ever decline such a prospect? Nay. Never in his wildest dreams. That he did not make known his inclination to participate was only because of his injuries. He needed the rest. But he also wanted to see with his own eyes how independent Cultivators were treated here. He wanted to make sure that the information he got from the jade slip Tang Wu prepared for him was true.
But now that he had ascertained the facts and his hosts hadid their cards on the table, Lu Ye felt obliged to ept their offer and agree to the favor.
Mu Ling looked rather surprised. Are you sure, Lu Ye? She did not expect it to be so easy for Lu Ye to say yes. She thought that Lu Ye might need some persuading and she had been preparing a litany of reasons and aundry list of benefits that she hoped would sway him. His saying yes so readily really was not what she expected.
Lu Ye nodded.
A beaming Mu Ling responded with tion, Ill speak to Senior Brother Tang Wu immediately. Hell be pleased to hear this!
Um, but I have a request of my own, said Lu Ye suddenly.
Pray tell.
You said just now that the Conferencests one entire month? how many days has it been since it began?
This is the seventh day.
Im afraid thats too long for me. I still have errands to run so this is my request: I ask that Im allowed to leave any time I want to, said Lu Ye, articting his condition very clearly. Thest thing he ever wanted in return for participating was to sink or swim with Green Feather Mountain. If and when something bad were to befall this side, he wanted the freedom to leave whenever he wanted to so as to prevent being involved in any subsequent fallout. As for his errands, it was just a pretense.
Granted, Mu Ling made the decision herself and she proceeded to make the arrangements with her Battlefield Imprint.
Meanwhile, at the great hall where the Ninth-Order Cultivators of the three participating militant orders were keeping watch of the Disc, Tang Wu received word about Lu Ye agreeing to join Green Feather Mountain and he breathed with relief. Although the addition of such a formidable figure as Lu Ye might not fully turn the tables in Green Feather Mountains favor, beyond any doubt, his presence would be a stalwart bulwark that could at least prevent any more slippage. They could easily n theireback in due time.
Han Zhe Yues fervor had yet to see any signs of diminishing and the enemies were still very much rabid and delirious in their assaults on all Green Feather Mountains territories. Thus, a tactical retreat might be just the reprieve the Green Feather Mountain forces needed while they bid their time for recovery.
WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?! Han Zhe Yue shrieked like a banshee the moment she realized Tang Wu was looking at her. ONE MORE GLANCE THIS WAY AND ILL HAVE YOUR EYEBALLS PLUCKED OUT!
The two hundred Contribution Points you owe me, when are you gonna pay up? Tang Wu retorted with deliberate cidity.
Han Zhe Yue responded with a snort. Whos to say which side he belongs to yet? At any rate, I will only believe it when I see it!
Unreasonable as she always was, Han Zhe Yue refused to admit that, being that the tiny white dot that was Lu Ye had been inside Green Feather Mountain territory for two days, everyone could guess where his loyalties lied by now.
But something happened just as night beckoned that wiped that smug grin off her face:? the white dot turned blue.
Any more excuses? Tang Wu asked quietly.
Like I said, Han Zhe Yue averted her gaze, You can say what you want, but Im not going to believe it until I see it.
Even to Ninth-Order Cultivators, the sum of two hundred Contribution Points was hardly a measly amount at all. Han Zhe Yue would never so easily give up her Points. As a petty termagant on the opposing side, she felt no scruples at all in being deliberately and wilfully petnt. After all, Heaven had not yet passed judgment on her, so that would mean that she had managed to exploit a loophole.
Tang Wu returned a snort of his own, hardly in a mood for any childish and over-excessive bickering.
But Han Zhe Yue was not yet quite willing to let go. Dont you ever for one second believe that recruiting this man makes you the winner of this Conference! Its a numbers game after all!
That made sense. Every hill that has been upied by either side required men to guard it. Without enough men to hold your territories, they would be recaptured easily. This was why the Qins had only twenty-five hills at first because they were severelycking in manpower.
Well see then, Tang Wu replied coldly, not wanting to breathe new life into this argument by continuing it.
Inside one of the tents in the glen where the Green Mountain field infirmary was, Xie Jin hade hurrying, bringing with him a contract. Written in fine print was Lu Yes request, saying that he would be allowed to leave any time during his participation in the Conference on Green Feather Mountains behalf.
The rest of the contents included all provisions about rewards and punishments, all expressed very clearly.
Lu Ye was satisfied with the contract.
So, Junior Brother Yi Ye, Xie Jin said as he tucked away the signed contract, Do you prefer to be on Offense or are you more interested in Defense?
Can you tell me more about both roles?
If youre on Offense, we can assign you to either the vanguard or one of the nking parties to help capture other hills. That would put you on the front lines in direct confrontation against enemies of the other sides. Its hard work and dangerous too. But if you wish to be on Defense, well send you to one of the hills that needs defending. You can withdraw too if things get too hairy.
Lu Ye was not surprised by the exnation of the roles. Offense, he replied.
There was little to be gained by being on Defense. He could be there all day and no prey woulde. Only by being on Offense could he y more enemies and earn more rewards and loot. That has been his one and only purpose for participating in the first ce.
Heh, I expected no less, Xie Jin grinned. I knew youre an Offense guy. Anyway, my squad is short one man and I could use someone like you. Have a good rest tonight. Ille for you tomorrow.
He lifted his forearm and did something to his Battlefield Imprint. A blue light rose up from his mark and flew towards Lu Ye, who raised his own forearm too and the bluish glow dropped inside his Imprint.
That made Xie Jin the second contact he saved in the Imprint.
The first one has been erased.
Xie Jin gave him a few more instructions about tomorrow before he took his leave.
Yi Yi appeared from inside Amber. Are you sure about participating in this Conference, Lu Ye?
Youre not keen about it?
Yi Yi shook her head. Were going wherever you may go, she said firmly, her resentment and tantrum towards him a few days ago all but subsided the following day. In fact, she was rather afraid that Lu Ye would be bitter toward her instead. Seeing him behaving just like normal breathed relief into her.
Lu Ye stroked her hair, saying, Well, someones gotta demand some payback for what they did to Amber. What goes aroundes around.
I guess youre right, Yi Yi nodded.
Youre sure about that?
Whatever you say! At least we get to knock on some heads! Yi Yi dered loudly, deciding not to dwell on right or wrong. It was something she and Lu Ye had never been able to properly see eye to eye about.
Chapter 123: Raiding
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 123: Raiding
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Battles in the Dragon Spring Conference were often waged between squads belonging to the three contesting factions.
Large-scale assaults regrly urred as well, but only when a faction was trying to capture a specific site. Then, all nearby Cultivators on its side would be roped in to assist in the fierce skirmishes.
After huge losses in two such urrences, no one had the stomach for such internecine conflicts ever again. The gains did not quite justify the losses from such? Pyrrhic victories.
Minor skirmishes were a wholly different equation because losses and injuries could be controlled or even be kept to a minimum. The squads of Cultivators on defense could also withdraw during an attack if they felt that the situation was unsalvageable and live to fight another day.
Squads were divided into three different roles: defense squads where their members would stand guard on hills or any captured territory and defend it against other enemies; vanguard squads that spearheaded assaults to capture more territory; andstly, raiding squads that roamed the battlegrounds tounch gueri attacks against enemies, in addition to providing nking support for vanguard squads during an assault.
As it happened, Lu Yes squad was a raiding squad.
It wasprised of five good men, all of them being Fourth-Order Cultivators with the exception of Xie Jin, the lone Fifth-Order Cultivator in the squad.
Due to the dangerous nature of raiding and roaming the battlegrounds without immediate support from others, the selection of members for raiding squads was more demanding than most other roles.
Besides that, raiding squads were often mounted groups, allowing them to have the mobility that would be crucial to their purpose.
Lu Ye met up with Xie Jin and the rest of the squad?: four males and one female:? before daybreak and got acquainted with them. To his dismay, the female Cultivator was none other than the one who had tried to seduce him just two days ago. Even now, she could barely stop fluttering her eyshes at him.
Her name was Qiao Qiao Er, an independent Cultivator recruited by Green Feather Mountain clothed in a suit of mboyantly revealing outfit that was a testament to how free-spirited she was.
The rest of the squad was made up of another independent Cultivator named Song Xie and a Green Feather Mountain acolyte called Tao Tian Gang.
Lu Ye was recruited to rece another Green Feather Mountain acolyte who lost his life in battle not long ago, also a Fourth-Order Cultivator.
Each of them had their own mount. One rode a wolf, another rode a leopard, while another rode a huge boar. Only Song Xies mount appeared the most intimidating: a ferocious-looking scorpion the size of a dining table. The oversized insects jagged outer shell shone with a dark-golden luster and the tip of its arched tail gleamed with cold fury. No one knew how Song Xie managed to tame such a frightful creature, but at least it could give any enemy the jitters.
Song Xie himself was every bit the semnce of a man suffering from a weak and frail constitution, his frame gaunt and his skin mottled with a pale-greenish shade. Lu Ye just couldnt help wondering if Death was looming over him, ready to im him any time.
Thepany of five stayed huddled together in the cover of the thick wilderness around them, each of them silently meditating with their mounts obediently taciturn while they waited for their instructions.
A dozen minutes barely passed when Xie Jin called suddenly, Lets go!
The rest of the squad opened their eyes and hopped onto the backs of their mounts. With Xie Jin at the lead, they kept a close pace behind, maintaining the same bearing.
Not far ahead, a squad of Green Feather Mountain Cultivators was doing their best to ward off a Qin assault. Scorched patches scattered everywhere on the elevated terrain as the battle waged. The Qins would have wanted to take a more passive role in the Conference, but Han Zhe Yues tantrums werepelling enough for Qin Wan Li to order more attacks on Green Feather Mountain territories to keep the pressure piling.
Xie Jins instructions were to lead his squad to nk the invaders. Such a maneuver that required high mobility was just a raiding squads bread and butter.
The enemies were still a vast distance ahead when Xie Jin suddenly yelled, Brace yourselves!
It was an enemy raiding squad and it was heading their way. In mere seconds both squads would sh.
It did not take long for Lu Ye to spy movements up ahead: enemies mounted on their Spirits Beast prancing nimbly with dazzling agility amongst the trees of the woods just beside them as both squads closed in on each other.
Lu Yes squad employed an arrowhead formation with Xie Jin leading, Lu Ye and Qiao Qiao Er nking him, and Song Xie with Tao Tian Gang in staggered positions bringing up the rear.
With barely a hundred meters between both squads, spiritual energies red as Cultivators from both sides readied themselves. As if they had been reading each others minds, Xie Jin and the leader of the enemy squad each hurled at each other a Golden Wheel Talisman Paper. The strips of talisman papers erupted simultaneously, sending golden arcs of deadly energies zipping towards both squads.
Golden de-like scythes, forged purely of destructive energies, felled trees and split timbers, viciously carving trenches on the ground as Cultivators of both sides scrambled in frantic chaos to escape annihtion.
With the prelude of a miniature auric cyclone owing to the two talisman papers finally subsiding, both squads charged at each other.? A pair of whips: one from each squad: came swinging into the air. One could almost make out the diaphanous membrane of energies imbuing the two whips, indicating that they were both Spirit Artifacts.
The ends of both whips coiled into each other and the two wielders tugged with all their might, pulling each other forward, forcibly dismounting them both. From one end, Qiao Qiao Er scowled at her counterpart, another Fourth-Order Cultivator with undisguised disdain, A man using the whip as a weapon?! Are you a sissy or what?!
Her enemy did not respond. Instead, he iled his weapon, ripping it away from the disentanglement before swinging it back around, aiming at Qiao Qiao Ers face. But the female Cultivator was nowhere near a pushover herself. She threw herself forward and engaged her enemy with her mount following suit, mauling and tearing at the enemys mount as well.
The rest of their squads were not idle. Their sh marked the beginning of the skirmish and as soon as bodies hurtled into each other, at least six Cultivators fell off their mounts in just seconds.
Few Cultivators were ustomed to horseback warfare. Mounts were used chiefly for mobility reasons and support and riding on a saddle only made it more difficult for a Cultivator to fight to his fullest.
So was the case for Lu Ye, only he vaulted off Amber on his own ord. In the first sh, he managed to unseat a Fourth-Order enemy with a blow that almost connected. Thetter had to leap off his mount in the most undignified manner to save his own skin.
That gave Lu Ye the chance to dismount quickly. The enemy barely collected himself only to find Lu Ye swinging his saber at his throat.
With lightning-quick reflexes, the enemy raised his weapon to parry the blow. But Lu Yes saber did not arrive; it stopped just before it collided with the enemys Spirit Artifact.
The enemy immediately sensed Lu Yes spiritual energies churning. He looked up at once and there was Lu Yes hand, radiating a pale-reddish glow in the center of his palm.
The sound of pping wings filled his ears and arge bird-like creature materialized from Lu Yes hand and shot straight at him, pummeling into his chest like a cannonball.
With a loud bang, the bird-like projectile burst, and a huge eruption of searing heat swept forth, knocking the Cultivator off his feet and throwing him backward with his chest a sickening red pulp of scorched flesh and blood.
The cold glint of steel shed before he even realized what was going on. The enemy hectically summoned his powers, but to no avail. It was toote. What came first was the prickly sensationing from his throat, then everything went ck. He was gone.
Lu Ye sheathed his saber. Being able to fire spells changed things and made fighting so much easier. He would have needed more time and effort to defeat a Fourth-Order enemy like the one he just killed. He was not facing unarmed wooden dummies in realbat, but real enemies who could see his attacks and defend themselves.
But the ability to fire spells provided an element of surprise that, unless the enemy had any defensive talisman papers, few could adequately defend against, giving him an edge to quickly seal the oue or turn the tables to his favor.
When everyone else was still in the heat of fighting after what were the initial exchanges of the skirmish, Lu Yes fight had ended with him drawing first blood.
He kicked andunched himself towards the nearest fight: Xie Jin against a Fifth-Order enemy.
Being Combat Cultivators, Xie Jin and his enemy dismounted the moment they engaged and began trading blows in closebat that appeared to be a stalemate because of their simr levels of strength and power.
In the midst of the fighting, the enemy felt a chill running up the back of his spine. Something wasing from behind, his senses warned. He ducked and something passed over the top of his head quickly, grazing his hair and skimming the top of his scalp.
When he looked up and saw who it was, he jerked his head around and saw one of his men lying in a pool of his own blood.
[What on earth?! Dead, so fast?!]
Then he remembered what happened recently. He stared at Lu Ye with shock and awe etched on his face, T-That was you!?
He remembered the story of a stranger who managed to fight straight through Tai Luo ns territories despite whatever adversity that stood in his way and still lived to tell the tale. One of the most conspicuous details about him was the snowy-white tiger that he rode as a mount.
It was said that the n lost more than a dozen men on his ount, including a Fifth-Order Cultivator.
No one from the enemy squad recognized Lu Ye because they were Cultivators fighting under the Qin banner and none of them had seen Lu Ye before.
Xie Jin himself was already formidable enough and the enemy leader immediately realized how the odds were stacked against him with the presence of such a dangerous opponent like Lu Ye. The first impulse that shed through his mind was to sound a retreat.
But that was easier said than done. Xie Jin was not eager to let his first prey flee. With Lu Yes addition, they both ramped up the pressure on the enemy leader, forcing him backward while overrunning him with a cascade of attacks until they managed to force an opening in barely ten seconds.
Seeing his chance, Lu Ye whipped his saber forward with all the speed he could muster with his Spiritual Patterns activated and the weapons de imbued with his spiritual energies to make it sharper and stronger. The des sharper-than-sharp edge sliced into the enemy leaders abdomen, eliciting a howl of pain as he crashed to the ground.
Xie Jins sword trembled with brimming fervor in his grasp like it was struggling to break free before his hand shot up and the sword speared through the enemys wrist, severing his tendons.
The enemy leaders weapon fell to the ground with a tter while Lu Yes saber arced back around for its second stroke, cleaving straight through his torso and into his heart.
Lu Ye withdrew his saber. A geyser of blood shot out of the hideous fissure on the enemys chest. But Lu Ye and Xie Jin did not wait to enjoy the spectacle. They split up, darting left and right respectively to assist their other squadmates. They too were still locked in fierce battles.
Lu Ye found Qiao Qiao Er, who was still caught up in a blurry whirl of whips curving back and forth dangerously with her opponent, the male Cultivator from earlier. The thongs of the whips shimmered with spiritual energies at every swing but Lu Ye could see the swollen bruise on her face and a painful-looking mark burning on the misshapen face. But it would appear that she managed to return the favor, for her opponent was scurrying around with his legs pressed firmly into each other as if she had hit him at a certain spot below his pelvic area where it would definitely hurt the most.
Qiao Qiao Er knew what had happened. Her opponent saw how his squad was down by two members, one of them being their best, a Fifth-Order Cultivator, and that told him that he should withdraw. He knowingly took a blow from Qiao Qiao Er, enduring the whips vicioussh on him while he used the chance to rummage his bag for a Spirit Talisman Paper that he used to fire a spell at the female Cultivator.
The talisman paper imploded, bing three square-shaped energy bolts that streaked towards Qiao Qiao Er.
But it was just too fast for Qiao Qiao Er. She hastily dug inside her Storage Bag and found a golden Spirit Talisman Paper of her own. Yet before she could use it, a shadow clouded her view of the front. A figure stood in front of her, shielding her from the st.
ng! ng! ng! With three strokes from his weapon, the person easily nullified the attack with barely any effort.
Qiao Qiao Er looked up to gaze at her benefactor and smiled sweetly, although her swollen, misshapen face only made her smile look somewhat unsightly.
A huge rumble distracted everyone and a huge boar charged into the fray. That gave Qiao Qiao Er the chance she wanted to dispense some vengeance. Her whip only just connected with the man, knocking him senseless before the hog rammed into him before he could do anything, breaking a few bones and leaving some bruises.
The boar charged again and crashed into the enemy Cultivator again, tossing him up into the air while its tusks tore through his skin, the pain itself knocking him out.
Angrily, Qiao Qiao Er iled her whip and whacked it at the persons head so strong enough for blood to pour out like a smashed watermelon.
In the meantime, Song Xie let loose a little cough. His giant scorpion mount was scuttling just beside him with the body of a man impaled from the tip of its tail. The poor and weak old man was still barely alive with the contents of his insides slowly pouring out in a morbid avnche of entrails and internal organs.
Chapter 124: Clash
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 124: sh
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
What an uncanny coincidence it was that not only did Lu Yes squad share the same number of members as the enemy squad, even theirposition of Cultivators based on ranks was exactly the same.
Anyone would have hoped for a squad with better men or a stronger rankposition any day. But with the vastness of One Hundred Peaks, a squadposition simr to Lu Yes squad was only toomon. The contesting factions in this Conference needed to field a lot of personnel to cover as much ground as possible. To that end, with every faction simrly strapped for good men and quality resources, they needed to divide all their good men into different squads to make up the bnce.
In just a handful of minutes, the Qin raiding squad lost almost every one of its members. The final surviving member, a Fourth-Order Cultivator, managed to flee with his tail between his legs.
It was not because he was better than his opponent that he managed to flee unscathed, but rather, due to his good luck. He wasnt knocked off his mount early in the initial exchanges of the battle, and before he could dismount and fight, he saw how easily Lu Ye had dispatched his squadmate. By the time Lu Ye and Xie Jin took down his squad leader, he had long been gone with not so much as a backward nce.
Tao Tian Gang had tried to give chase but to no avail. There was no way he could ever catch up to his fleeing enemy on foot.
Xie Jin and the rest of the squad regrouped. Standing amid the blood they bled and the carnage they wrought, the members of the raiding squad traded disbelieving looks between one another.
[Is this it?! Since when did skirmishes be so easy?!]
Lu Yes squadmates were no strangers to gritting and gruesome battles as members of Green Feather Mountains raiding squads and their battles nevercked pools of blood, maimed limbs, and charred patches of soil. Skirmishes between squads of simr strength and rankposition were never cakewalks.
But this time, not only were they victorious: they were glorious. Four out of five enemies were dead and aside from Qiao Qiao Er who was mildly injured, the rest of the squad were fine.
It was incredible.
Everyones eyes panned to Lu Ye. They knew what had happened. They had seen it. It was Lu Ye who had made short work of his opponent and that started the ball rolling when he went to assist Xie Jin and together, they killed the enemy leader.
[The man who singlehandedly thrashed his way through Tai Luo n territories, no less!] they thought in unison. As much as they admired Lu Ye when they heard the tales of his derring-do, almost all of them could confess dismissing a huge part of his triumph to good luck.
But now that they had witnessed his prowess up-close, they could now concede that it was not all luck. It was his power and his skill that made all the difference.
His quick defeat of the enemy Fourth-Order Cultivator was the reason that their squad could trample over the enemy squad with unprecedented ease.
Xie Jin exhaled heavily with relief. His faith and confidence in bringing Lu Ye into his squad were not misced. Small wonder why Tang Wu held such great interest in him.
He gave Lu Ye a curt nod of approval, then he barked, We have thirty seconds! Clear the area!
Everyone scrambled to work.
.
The victory was more than just the death of four Cultivators. Amber too had in one of their mounts, the one owned by the Fourth-Order Cultivator Lu Ye killed at the start. The rest of the mounts had absconded during the chaos and with their masters or mistresses now dead, they would never return to the Qin encampment. They would be wild Spirit Beasts, free to roam thends unfettered until they were killed or captured by other Cultivators.
That would mean that this skirmish was more than just a simple win. Lu Ye and his squadmates have decimated a Qin raiding squad in its entirety and this could prove very useful to the future oue.
Lu Ye scurried over to the carcass of the Spirit Beast that Amber killed and carved it into pieces before putting the meat away inside his Storage Bag. The meat could be a source of nutrition for him and Amber.
When their thirty seconds were up, everyone mbered back up the saddles of their mount and followed Xie Jins lead, continuing their original mission of reinforcing the defenses of a hill now besieged by Qin forces.
The fighting had begun and the Green Feather Mountain defenders were struggling to stave off the waves of attacks sent forth by the Qin invaders.
But Green Feather Mountain controlled no more than thirty hills at the moment. This allowed them to concentrate a greater number of Cultivators on the defenses of its current holdings.
That made trying to capture this hill a fools errand. But the Qin forces were aware of this as well. The attack was all for Han Zhe Yues benefit to show that they were carrying out her orders to chip away at Green Feather Mountains supremacy.
The raiding squad that came with the Qin vanguard had broken away to intercept the Green Feather Mountain raiding squad which wasing to reinforce the defense. Under normal circumstances, this should make the invasion: or rather the feint: a safe undertaking with few to no losses. Except that the circumstances turned out to be very unusual as soon as the raiding squads met. On the Shadow Moon Disc, four out of five dots that were supposed to be the Qin raiding squad had vanished in quick session when the skirmish had only just begun. There was only one survivor, a lone dot that managed to flee unscathed.
Qin Wan Li could not believe his eyes. But he quickly recollected himself and ordered a speedy retreat of the vanguard squad to prevent from being trapped on two fronts.
On the other hand, the Green Feather Mountain forces werent too happy either at recent developments. They had been losing a lot of territories and mentely. The Qin attack gave the defenders just the outlet they needed to vent their recent frustration and perhaps regain some justice for their fallenrades. That the defenders had more men than the retreating Qin invadersunched their morale off the charts.
Their mission was supposed to be done the moment the Qin vanguard squad was withdrawing, but an order came and the leader of the Green Feather Mountain defense squad iled an arm and gave his men a rousing call to arms, KILL THESE MONGRELS!
The defenders of the hill flooded down the slopes like a huge deluge.
Spells zigzagged back and forth like the firework disy of a circus as the battle ensued mid-hill with the defenders now mounting a retaliation of their own.
It was through great difficulty that the Qin vanguard squad managed to make it down to the foot of the hill when a raucous series of rumbles thundered from its wing. The leader of the vanguard jerked around and looked. It was a cavalry of five and once he saw who it was, he froze.
Who else would it be if not Xie Jin and his squad? The squad of five, riding on their mounts, came stampeding at full speed in the same arrowhead formation as before and plowed right through the Qin vanguard squad, sending them into total disarray as a mor of steel gnashing on steel erupted and men began falling to the ground with pools of blood spreading from under them.
But Xie Jin did not stop and dismount. Rather, he wheeled his mount around and led his squad into another charge to fully wipe out the Qin vanguard squad.
The raiding squad smashed through the ranks of the vanguard squad, eviscerating what resistance still left before Lu Ye and his squadmates finally dismounted to mop up what was left of the enemy.
Wielding his saber, Lu Ye darted around the mess, looking for more targets. With the Spiritual Pattern Protection shining brightly, he parried an attack that came his way before he reciprocated, killing an enemy Cultivator with one blow using his saber, smearing the grass meters away with his blood.
There were two Fifth-Order Cultivators in the Qin vanguard squad, but the rest were Second- or Third-Order Cultivators who could barely stand a chance against Lu Ye. He could finish them off with just two or three blows while some were ughtered with just one blow: one powerful stroke that could even snap their weapons in half, killing them instantly.
Every once in a while, he would fire a spell, making him so deadly that despite just being a Fourth-Order Cultivator, no one couldst more than three seconds against him.
Shrieks of agony and dying curses filled the field of death and ughter.
It was a huge loss for the Qins. Qin Wan Li could only watch with despair and disbelief as one after another, the red dots that denoted his men discorporated from the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc. Even Han Zhe Yue was hardly amused, for she had never witnessed such a one-sided beatdown before: not since the Conference was first held.
Most battles in the Dragon Spring Conference ended with manageable losses: even if it was for the losing side. The victorious side would just take the win and refrain from pushing their luck and risk being ambushed or trapped instead.
But right here, right now, the Qin vanguard squad was being decimated right before their eyes and what remained of its members were swiftly being massacred.
Its surviving membersbored to defend themselves as they retreated towards another nearby hill where it was upied by Qin forces. The defenders there needed time to mobilize before they coulde to their fellowrades aid.
In the meantime, Lu Ye had found one of the Fifth-Order enemies of the Qin vanguard squad. Killing an enemy one rank above his would yield the most rewards: an additional ten Spirit Stones to the original twenty. That would mean killing a Fifth-Order enemy would yield a thirty-Spirit-Stone reward, allowing Lu Ye to purchase three sks of Spirit Restoring Pills.
Right before Lu Ye now, he saw not a heavily-bloodied and wearied Fifth-Order enemy, but a glittering heap of Spirit Stones!
He had agreed to participate in this Conference not only because he wanted to repay Green Feather Mountain for helping him, but more importantly, he needed more resources. Therefore, he would never let the chance of killing a Fifth-Order enemy slip away.
Lu Yes saber came up before curving back down so viciously that the cold and keen sh of the weapons de illuminated the Fifth-Order Cultivators stern and defiant countenance as heunched an attack of his own. Yet barely a split-secondter, he quickly regretted his belligerence.
His attack fell harmlessly against Lu Ye as if he was trying to hit a wall. No amount of damage he dealt could get past the aegis of Spiritual Pattern Protection. Yet in contrast, whatever Lu Ye was doing, it was working.
Scarcely ten seconds had passed since the moment they flung blows at each other and here he was with numerous shes andcerations that had belched so much blood that his tunic was heavy and sticky. Verily, he could have long been dead if not for his timely activation of a Golden Body Talisman Paper which had saved his life.
He gawked at Lu Ye with frustration, incredulity, and shock fraught in his eyes. [HOW?! WHAT WEAPON IS THAT HES WIELDING?! HOW ON EARTH COULD THIS BE POSSIBLE!]
But that was it. Before another thought came to mind, Lu Yes hand shot up and a shiny red projectile the shape of arge and well-fed bird came darting straight at his chest. With reflexes that he could rely on to keep himself alive a little longer, he evaded the attack.
The bird-like projectile brushed past him by mere inches but that was all the opening Lu Ye needed. Lunging even before he knew his opponent would dodge the attack, Lu Yes saber came shing down right at his head. Having sampled its deadliness, the Fifth-Order Cultivator would be tremendously appreciative to forgo a repeat of what he just lived through. He ducked and rolled on the ground to escape like some filthy animal: something that was obviously a humiliation for one with his strength and power.
He sprang to his feet immediately once he reached safety. Or so he thought. The tail of a whip glowing with spiritual energy coursing up its length coiled around his throat before it jerked him backward.
The force pulled him off his feet.
Lu Ye pounced at the chance and attacked. The first stroke weakened the protective aura maintained by the Golden Body Talisman Paper, the next shattered it into oblivion, and the third disemboweled him.
By the time he crashed to the ground, he was no more alive than a piece of oak with a pool of morbid red drenching the grass beneath him.
Lu Ye looked up to find Qiao Qiao Er shing him a flirting wink. But the bloodstain and swell on her face only made her too unsightly to behold!
Watch out! Qiao Qiao Er called suddenly.
The tip of a spear thrust straight for the back of Lu Yes head.
But that attack too struck the protection of his Spiritual Pattern that deflected the sharp tip away. Lu Ye spun around and seized the pole of the spear and swung his weapon furiously down the spears length.
The de of Lu Yes saber carved through his assants hand, severing off his palm at the center, causing the assant to stagger backward, clutching his maimed hand with blood still gushing out amid his screams of pain before a stroke by another passing by Green Feather Mountain acolyte with his sword ended the agony with a coup de grace.
Ones reaction and mindfulness towards his or her surroundings were what would ensure ones survival in a pandemonium such as this.
GREEN FEATHER MOUNTAIN SCUM! WERE COMING FOR YOU! a sonorous roar boomed from not far away. The Qin reinforcements had finally arrived.
They had been spoiling to ride the moment they received their orders to support the vanguard squads retreat, and they thought that they could reach in time and form up with the vanguard for a renewed assault. But now that they had arrived, they realized that they were toote. The vanguard squad was all but decimated.
In ce of what should be the Qin vanguard squad were more than thirty Green Feather Mountain Cultivators, all of them seething with the blood of their enemies and their morale as high as the clouds, surrounded by the corpses and broken limbs of what should be formerly the members of the vanguard squad they should be meeting up with. Even the ground was practically flooded with the blood from the dead.
The Green Feather Mountain Cultivators all panned their gazes at the origin of the voice with the same bloodlust glowing in their eyes.
The Qin Cultivator who yelled earlier immediately regretted his outburst. Even the rest of his men screeched to a halt immediately.
G-Get back! G-Get back quick!
Chapter 125: Advantages and Initiative
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 125: Advantages and Initiative
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Qin reinforcements hastily withdrew to a safe distance and maintained their surveince from there. It was not that they were afraid of battle, but rather, because of the vast difference in numbers.
With more than a dozen men strong, if they could have arrived earlier to regroup with the vanguard squad, that would have yielded them enough men to renew their assault.
But the Qin vanguard squad was decimated all too quickly that by the time the reinforcements arrived, the remnants of the vanguard squad were barely a handful. To charge right now would be nothing but folly hence the reinforcements decision to withdraw and cut their losses.
In the meantime, the Green Feather Mountain Cultivators broke ranks and surrounded the remaining members of the Qin vanguard squad inside a ring.
The Qin Cultivators huddled together, standing back to back looking desperate and absolutely forlorn.
But none of them begged for quarter, for they knew as well as any other contestant in this Conference that begging for mercy was futile. All the years of animosity had left bad blood between the contesting factions and their members. To beg for pity would only result in their being ridiculed and further humiliated by the enemy.
WE CHARGE! cried the only surviving Fifth-Order Cultivator. Despite his grievous wounds, he rallied his remaining kinsmen and rushed together.
But none of the Green Feather Mountain Cultivators were interested in engaging the stampeding enemies now going full berserk. Getting senselessly killed while their victory here was already secured was hardly their idea of fun.
Thus, the only viable mode of attack was slinging spells at the enemy.
In most cases, Cultivators of the Fifth-Order and beyond would usually have determined what specialization they would pursue by then. Cultivators still in the Fourth-Order, on the other hand, might still be uncertain about their future, but some, especially those who aspired to be Spell Cultivators, would usually begin preparing themselves beforehand. Hence it wasmon for some to have already learned how to fire spells.
Without being properly trained in casting spells and without the prerequisite rank, Cultivators below the Fourth-Order were not adept enough to use spells freely during battle. But a few of them had been readying themselves for this eventuality before the Qin vanguard squads final breakout sortie and that was all the time they needed to get their spells ready.
Deadly bolts and beams of myriad colors crisscrossed everywhere, each of them of varying elements, and one in particr, one in the shape of a fiery plump avian, looked the most conspicuous.
Only the Fifth-Order Cultivator was left standing in the aftermath of the anarchic onught. But he did not survive unscathed; scores of smoldering wounds littered all over him, although he did not let his injuries hamper his desire to exact as much vengeance as possible. He charged at another independent Cultivator fighting under the Green Feather Mountain standard, only to realize that he could no longer summon any powers. Realizing his good luck, the independent Cultivator bellowed triumphantly, roaring What good fortune while he drove his spear through the Fifth-Order Cultivator, putting down atst the final member of the Qin vanguard squad.
A few other Green Feather Mountain Cultivators peered at their independentrade with envy. Being only a Third-Order Cultivator, thetter had won himself forty Spirit Stones from thatst blow alone for killing an enemy well beyond his rank.
The prize of forty Spirit Stones was handsome enough, especially for independents. At his current stage, the amount itself couldst the independent two to three months worth of training and meditation.
Still eager for some more? Xie Jin nced at Lu Ye who was just beside him, wiping the blood off his de with the tunic of the dead body on the ground. Lu Ye nodded quietly.
Xie Jin peered at the rest of his squadmates.
Song Xie coughed again, still looking very much like he was on his way to meet his maker and not fighting on the back of his mount. Count me in if its more fighting! he panted with great difficulty, Anything else, Ill just take a raincheck!
Tao Tian Gang would hardly want to contradict his own senior fellow acolyte of Green Feather Mountain and that left only Qiao Qiao Er, who did not want to appear weak at all, If you boys are up for it, theres no way Im gonna sit out!
The others nearly giggled at her.
So be it then! Onward! Xie Jin shouted, grinning broadly.
The battle was still far from over. In fact, for Green Feather Mountain, theireback was only just beginning.
All five members of the raiding squad got up their mounts and Xie Jin gave another fellow squad leader, also a Fifth-Order Cultivator, a knowing nod then he rode on with Lu Ye and the rest following behind. It was time theyunched an offense of their own.
The squad leader quickly marshaled his vanguard squad and sped after Xie Jins squad.
The tables had been turned and the defenders were now mounting an invasion instead.
The Green Feather Mountain forces arrived at the next hillock at such a good time that the Qin defenders there: the very same squad which had withdrawn to prevent being caught up in the massacre of theirrades earlier: did not see theming until they were halfway up the slopes. The defenders were so terrified to see them, that for one split-second, their ranks panicked.
Get a grip, men! Hold the line! yelled the Fifth-Order squad leader, Its only five men! Thats just a Green Feather Mountain raiding squad!
He was right. Composure and discipline in the face of the enemy were crucial in battle. If anyone were to break ranks, that would only give Lu Ye and his squadmates the chance to iste the defenders from each other, turning the battle into one-on-one duels which were raiding squads most prominent fortes.
Xie Jin and his squad tugged at the reins of their mounts and halted, stopping a few hundred meters away from where the Qin defense squad was waiting and peering at them.
The eyes of the leader of the Qin defense squad met Xie Jins and that was all he needed to guess what Xie Jin was nning.
[Theyre stalling! A vanguard squad must be peeling just behind! We need to get out of here before we get overrun out here in the open!]
Retreat very slowly!
The leading Fifth-Order Cultivator barked at his men.
The defense squad uniformly withdrew.
But their movements did not go unnoticed; Xie Jin immediately gave his word to attack.
Hold the line! the leading Fifth-Order Cultivator urged his men. The rest of the squad immediately stood their ground and made ready to defend themselves. To their surprise, the Green Feather Mountain raiding squad suddenly veered off when they were just about a hundred meters away and circled around the perimeter before vanishing.
The Qin defense squad did not know what to do. They waited for quite some time before deciding to pull back further. That was when the Green Feather Mountain raiding squad popped out of the woodwork again to maintain a close watch on them from a distance.
This would repeat another few more times and after every time, the Qin defense squad would emerge looking worse for the wear. This incessant harassment was taxing, if not humiliating enough, yet even so, the sullen squad leader could do nothing but mutter words of expletives under his breath. Xie Jin and his squad had all the advantages and initiative on an open field.
But all was not lost. He had received word that a nearby defense squad was inbound towards their position to reinforce them. So long as both squads could regroup, then theyll have nothing to fear from this sted raiding squad!
[Very well then! Well hold the ground here and await our reinforcements!] the Qin defense squad leader thought quietly.
But another message arrived just when he thought he saw a silver lining. One that was enough to shatter what confidence he just discovered.
Apparently, the Green Feather Mountain vanguard squad that he was expecting to join up with this raiding squad had circled around them to attack the hillock they were originally assigned to hold!
The defense squad first received orders earlier to ride with all speed to support their beleaguered vanguard squad. But by the time they arrived, there was nothing they could do hence they withdrew, not wanting to get caught up in the massacre just now.
This defense squad was half of the original defense squad defending this hillock area. This half wasmanded to ride first while the other was supposed to be acting as rearguard ande meet up with them. The total number of the entire defense squad was thirty-men strong.
Yet, the Green Feather Mountain vanguard squad had intercepted the defense squad rearguard!
All three contesting factions each had Ninth-Order Cultivators keeping an eye on the Shadow Moon Disc. Any troop movements in the field were no secret at all, but one could expect dys for messages to reach their intended party.
The Shadow Moon Disc shared between all contesting factions was a key reason why losses were able to be kept to a minimum. Whenever things went south, the Ninth-Order Cultivators would immediately make proper adjustments to prevent further casualties to their respective factions.
But the first battle between the Green Feather Mountain and Qin raiding squads had turned out to be aplete surprise, catching Qin Wan Li off-guard, so he did not manage to react in time. By the time the order for the Qin vanguard squad to retreat reached them, it was already toote. The lopsided ughter had already begun.
And that was hardly the end. The dominoes were still falling one after another.
Right now, the Green Feather Mountain vanguard squad was assailing the hillock. The information the Fifth-Order squad leader received told him that the enemy vanguard squad had a few shy of thirty men, whereas his rearguard only had about half that number. The entire rearguard could very well be exterminated if a battle were to break out right now.
The Fifth-Order squad leader peered around. The enemy raiding squad which had been harassing them was gone. They had gone missing. Where are they?! he asked.
Um, they havent appeared yet, answered one of his men meekly.
Oh, Heavens! the squad leader yelped, realizing something was amiss. [Have they gone to regroup with their vanguard squad to support the offense?!] QUICK! WE NEED TO GO! he yelled frantically.
As he wheeled around, he sent another quick message to ascertain the whereabouts of the five-man enemy raiding squad.
Five seconds passed like an eternity before the answer finally came. The enemy squad closing in fast from the slopes!
The squad leader only just digested what he just read when approaching cascades of padded thuds of mounts thundering towards his position could be heard. He looked up and there was the Green Feather Mountain raiding squad charging down the inclination!
TALISMANS AT THE READY! WE MUST SURVIVE! he roared.
A series of whooshes filled the air around them as the defenders immediately activated seven to eight talismans and hurled them as quickly as possible at their enemies. One after another the talismans erupted like dynamites blowing up once their sparks finished off thest of their fuses, dispensing destruction and woe.
But Lu Ye and his squadmates were already prepared. As soon as they saw the barrage of talismans heading their way, they dispersed at once, relying on the agility and mobility of their mounts to avoid the sts of the magical paper-made incendiaries.
That was the end of the first exchange. The raiding squad breezed past the gauntlet virtually undeterred and unharmed, with Song Xie as the only exception when he was caught in a st that knocked him off his scorpion. Still, it was fortunate that the st did not manage to hurt him at all.
AGAIN! the Fifth-Order squad leader bellowed and his squad let loose another volley of talismans.
This second barrage proved no more useful than thest. Lu Ye and his squadmates had managed to reach the cover of the woods that they could use to shield away from many of the sts.
Just as the second barrage ended, Lu Ye and everyone else peeked from their covers, readying their own talismans while they channeled their powers so that they could activate them on the fly.
The talismans they used were all provided by Xie Jin, showing how Green Feather Mountain was well-supplied with an abundance of resources and arms.
All five talismans detonated into a flurry of projectiles of various elements: serpents of me, scythes of winds, spears of ice:? that rained down amongst the Qin defense squad. Qiao Qiao Ers was a Golden Wheel Talisman Paper that she employed with brutal but no less impressive efficacy when she doled out death and despair to the poor Qin Cultivators amid her shrill and triumphant howls ofughter.
The Qin Cultivators ran helter-skelter everywhere to evade the bombardment, but without mounts, they were not able to avoid being hit like Lu Ye and his squadmates. By the time the raiding squads retaliation ended, one of the defenders was killed with a handful more injured.
But there was no respite. Before the Qins could reform their lines, the entire hillside forest shuddered with the same rumbling of padded thuds they heard before the skirmish began. The Fifth-Order squad leader looked and beheld with dismay the sight of the raiding squad galloping towards them at full speed and fury.
The entire defensive line was in total disarray and nothing could restore discipline back to the chaotic situation. That practically made the Qin Cultivators sheep ready for ughter as the raiding squad steamrolled through their disorganized lines.
Lu Ye wheezed by an enemy, lopping off his humongous head as easily as driving a hot knife through butter. Song Xies scorpion whipped its deadly tail around and speared its tip through another, eliciting loud anguish screams of pain while Qiao Qiao Er had another enemy pinned down with her whip coiled around his neck, although he managed to free himself and escaped.
Xie Jin and Tao Tian Gang barely got any kills, but the former managed to keep the enemy Fifth-Order squad leader at bay while thetter helped to divert the attention away from the others during the first run.
All five members of the raiding squad plowed through their enemies and halted about a hundred meters away before they wheeled around at Xie Jins signal and resumed their positions back at the slope just over the dibobted and scattered mass of the enemy defense squad for their next charge.
Chapter 126: The Qins Battered and Crushed
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 126: The Qins Battered and Crushed
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The battlested just over a quarter of an hour. Lu Ye and his squadmates rested in the woods, each leaning against a tree trunk while they recuperated and healed, leaving their mounts to lick their own wounds.
Not far away was the site of the battle where the bodies of dead Qin Cultivators were strewn everywhere. But they should have been thankful. Their leader, the Fifth-Order Cultivator, was thest one standing in the end before he was ultimately dismembered limb by limb by Lu Ye and the others as he made hisst stand.
In just one morning, the Xie Jin raiding squad first encountered an enemy counterpart before joining a friendly defense squad in a concerted effort in thwarting an enemy offense which ended up in theplete decimation of the enemy vanguard squad, and now, they managed to wipe out half an enemy defense squad all on their own. One could call it an extremely productive morning.
The many engagements in such a short period had seen them collecting a few cuts and bruises of their own, but fortunately for everyone in the squad, there was nothing serious.
Thank you so much! the soft and tender body of a woman snuggled into Lu Ye, her fragrance filling his nostrils as Qiao Qiao Er tossed him a thankful wink.
In thest attack against the enemy Fifth-Order squad leader, Lu Ye had a chance to perform the killing blow but he did not take it. Instead, he allowed his squadmates to have the final coup de grace. The opportunity eventually fell on Qiao Qiao Ersp, allowing her to earn an additional thirty Spirit Stones.
Beyond any doubt, Lu Ye had the most kills out of the entire squad in this mornings skirmishes. He alone made up more than three-tenths of the teams rewards for this mornings raids. In the final attack against the enemy Fifth-Order squad leadersst stand, it was he who spearheaded the charge to distract him to prevent any unwanted losses to the squad against a cornered enemy of such powerful strength.
Lu Ye was aware that he had profited enough and he knew better than to be greedy. After all, his fellow squadmates had been shedding blood and sweat of their own as well. Hence Lu Ye thought that he might as well give them a little hand.
More so, since independent Cultivators have often had to struggle against privation and destitution.
You earned it, said Lu Ye curtly as he shifted sideways to make space for his meditation. As much as he wanted to be nice to his fellow squadmates, he just couldnt tolerate Qiao Qiao Ers over-passionate advances on him.
But Qiao Qiao Er was not going to give up just yet. How bout Ie to your tent tonight?
Growl arge white furry head stuck itself between them both as Amber hurled a fierce re at Qiao Qiao Er.
I-I was just joking! Qiao Qiao Er got up at once, her hand quickly caressing her backside as she trotted hastily away, still reeling with fright from that traumatic experiencest night.
A peal of giggles broke out amid coughing fits. It was Song Xie, who had been watching the whole scene as he healed himself.
Ill see if that coughing will kill you! Qiao Qiao Er scowled nastily at him.
All of a sudden, a wave of rustling leaves swept through the woods, followed by the unmistakable emanation of spiritual energiesing this way.
The entire squad tensed before Xie Jin raised a hand. Its fine, he said, Friendlies.
And he was right. It was the Green Feather Mountain vanguard squad that was sent to attack the other half of the enemy defense squad and capture the hillock. Afterpleting their mission there, they rushed this way to help.
The Fifth-Order squad leader was astounded to find nothing but an empty hillside otherwise filled with dead corpses. Wh-What?! The battle heres ended already?!
They were under the impression that this side of the two-pronged attack would be a most difficult one since the raiding squad would be heavily outnumbered by at least three to one. Even with their superior mobility due to their mounts, the Xie Jin raiding squad was only expected to just hold off the enemy while the friendly vanguard squad finished off the other half of the enemy defense squad beforeing back here to help mop up the rest. None of the vanguard squad thought that they woulde here to find that the battle here had finished.
The Green Feather Mountain vanguard did a quick survey of the bodies and in the end, the Fifth-Order squad leader exhaled with disbelief. [Gods, this wasnt a battle. This was an all-out ughter]
[Since when did this raiding squad be so powerful? Last I checked they shouldnt have been able to do something like this.]
The squad leader of the vanguard squad gave Xie Jin a nk look before thetter nudged a chin at Lu Ye by means of an exnation. The squad leader finally understood why.
It was not a question of whether the raiding squad was powerful or not, but rather because of the addition of a strong and dependable member.
Lu Ye had demonstrated his ability to kill one enemy Cultivator in every skirmish that had happened today, maybe even two if he was lucky enough. But the same could not be said for the rest of the squad.
The half of the Qin defense squad that the Xie Jin squad was supposed to be holding off had lost what ability or morale to fight back, but without mounts of their own they could barely hope to flee.
In the meantime, the leader of the vanguard squad was rather sour. To make sure that they were in time to support the Xie Jin raiding squad, about seven to eight Qin Cultivators had managed to escape. If they knew how well things here had progressed, they would have killed them all for a better win.
Not that he couldin about todays win.
Xie Jin and the leader had a quick discussion about their ns and it was concluded that the vanguard squad would retreat back to the hillock and upy it for now.
Meanwhile, the raiding squad would withdraw to the field infirmary campsite to refresh themselves. The raiders and their mounts could do with some rest and recuperation after all the fighting and exertions.
The raiding squad rode past two hills and saw tents erected on a third that belonged to Green Feather Mountain and there were more than twenty defenders there.
Lu Ye was rather surprised to find Mu Ling, in addition to two other Medical Cultivators, being posted there.
He did not have to be a genius to know why. cing Medical Cultivators so far up the frontlines was a risky business. As Cultivators who focused on the magic of healing, they could barely defend themselves against Cultivators of simr rank let alone superior ones. Therefore, one could expect how dangerous it would be for them if and when the Qins or the Tai Luo n were tounch a sudden attack here.
Lu Ye and Amber went inside a tent where Mu Ling busied herself with dressing his and Ambers wounds.
With only light wounds between both man and beast, Mu Lings treatments and just a couple of pills were able to restore them back to fighting fite the next morning,
Xie Jin led his squadmates out for another day of raiding the next morning. Only this time, they did not encounter any enemy raiding squads at all. In fact, it felt as if their enemy counterparts were all deliberately avoiding them. To this end, they eventually discovered that the enemy raiding squads had all been disbanded with all its raiders assigned to different defense squads. In the end, Lu Ye and his squadmates were assigned to assist their vanguard squads in capturing more territory.
And they were unstoppable.
One after another, they took over other hillocks like knocking down dominoes.
In just three days, the Qin forces lost a total of eight hillocks which formerly made up a considerable part of its twenty-seven-hillock territory. They had taken over two of Green Feather Mountains hills at first, only to lose six of their own instead.
No one at the great hall sitting on the summit of the central neutral region could fail to notice how dismal Qin Wan Li looked.
From the Shadow Moon Disc, the status quo of the Conference could have not been any clearer: the Qins tally of hillocks they controlled now numbered at neen, while Green Feather Mountain had caught up from behind with thirty-two hills securely defended, whereas the Tai Luo n was leading with forty-nine hills, which was almost half the total number of hills, to call its own. It was a most amazing feat for the n for even in its heyday, Green Feather Mountain could only boast forty-six hillocks under its control.
Forty-nine: an unprecedented record.
But this was only possible because of the new Green Feather Mountain strategy to allow the ns vanguard squads to freely upy its hillocks while its own Cultivators vigorously chipped away at Qin territories. All defense squads were given orders to abandon their assigned hillocks if and when a Tai Luo n invasion wasing their way.
This could help to prevent unwanted losses and preserve the bulk of Green Feather Mountains strength.
This was all Tang Wus simple master n: that Green Feather Mountain would first devote its entire might into annihting all of the Qins and once they were ready, they would deal with the Tai Luo nter.
But Qin Wan Li was not a five-year-old who failed to guess the obvious. Only, what could he do? The rules were clear: every hillock in the Qin domain made up the blind bets he ced to qualify for this Conference. He could hardly say no.
Come on, Tang, Qin Wan Li peered at Tang Wu morosely, Thats so underhanded of you.
Underhanded? In what way? Tang Wu hissed cidly. Weve not broken any rules,st time I checked. So how underhanded have we been, pray exin. This is just us? ying to win without infringing the rules of this Conference, which Im sure youll agree.
[But at my expense], Qin Wan Li wanted to say. The Qin forces have been bleeding men and supplies for the past three days with more than a hundred casualties. Anymore and the Qins would be ruined.
The dots began shifting again, indicating more troop movements on the Shadow Moon Disc. A mass of blue dots were marching straight for another hillock held by a cluster of scarlet specks, indicating another invasion. Qin Wan Li checked the numbers of blue-dotted invaders and their ranks and sighed. [Heaven forfend that the Qin casualties would be piling again this time.]
His face squirmed and distwisted with suppressed horror and disgust before he finally said quietly. Master Tang, a parley, if I may? On behalf of the Qin forces, Im permitted to say that were happy to contend with just eighteen hillocks.
Tang Wu at him briefly before the corner of his lips curled into an imperceptible grin. Very well then!
That was all Qin Wan Li could have asked for as he quietly careened with gratitude and relief as he immediately dispatched his orders at great haste. In mere minutes, the cluster of crimson spots immediately teemed down the slopes of the hillock, giving way for thepany of blue dots to upy the ce without any resistance.
Qin Wan Li stole a nce at Han Zhe Yue. There she was, hurling at him a most venomous re.? He returned a weak and sheepish smile. After all, he really was at his wits end. The Qin forces could only take so much beating and his request for just eighteen hillocks in the parley was as good as admitting defeat and a pronouncement of surrender
And Tang Wu had graciously epted the parley.
That effectively ruled him out of getting involved in the feud between Green Feather Mountain and the Tai Luo n.
Naturally, Han Zhe Yue was hardly happy about how things were developing. But she could hardlyin. The Qins could have just watched from the sidelines but it was she who dragged them into this mess. In the end, the Qins not only lost both men and arms, they had even lost a portion of their territory. In contrast, it was the n that had benefited the most by gaining almost half the total number of hillocks in this Conference with minimal losses of their own.
Therefore, she could hardly direct any word of me to Qin Wan Li. The Qins were a noble house with a rtively young history of just thirty years and wealth and influence that the n and Green Feather Mountain each could easily dwarf. For this reason, tossing him a scathing re was just as far as she was willing to go. She swiveled around to lose her temper at the person who she thought most deserved it: Tang Wu. Scoundrel! she glowered at him.
You can talk all you want, Tang Wumented dryly.
Han Zhe Yue nearly blew her gasket. Come fight us then! Whats with all that retreating whenever you see us? Are you wimps?! Is Green Feather Mountain made up of nothing but a ragtag bunch of cowards?!
You want a fight? Tang Wu said, Very well, you got it.
As soon as he was finished, the Shadow Moon Disc indicated more abrupt troop movements. Waves and waves of blue dots were mobilizing, marching towards a hillock now being upied by ck spots.
Dont you feel that youre a tad too overstretched? Tang Wu smirked. You sure youll win this skirmish?
Each faction only had a limited number of men signing up in the Conference. That made defending a real science. One could control a great number of hillocks but at the same time, had to sacrifice the integrity of their defense since the deployment of manpower would have to be stretched thin. Hence, Han Zhe Yue might have enhanced defensesid out on hillocks skirting the peripherals of the ns territory, but still, the defenses remainedcking in manpower. An invasion right now would be an easy win for Green Feather Mountain.
Just you look! Han Zhe Yue scowled. She quickly sent urgent orders to her men and in mere minutes, more ck dots marched towards the frontlines to reinforce the hillocks now closest to the enemy lines.
The wry grin on Tang Wus expression only creased deeper as if he had guessed thising from a long way. Qin Wan Li, who had been watching Tang Wu, knew better than to say a word. Tang Wu must be plotting something and thest thing Qin Wan Li could afford was to meddle with Tang Wus plot and face the full wrath of Green Feather Mountain.
Chapter 127: Hijacked
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 127: Hijacked
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Smoke of war undted up into the skies as battles waged on the hillocks closest to the frontline. Even from a distance, one could almost make out the myriad-colored death rays weaving here and there as well as the violent trepidation of spiritual energies rippling from there.
The Green Feather Mountain offensive on Tai Luo n territories had begun with more than five to six vanguard squads being mobilized on simultaneous assaults on different fronts, making at least dozens to hundreds of Cultivators from both sides, trying to kill, maim, and destroy their enemies with extreme prejudice.
On the hillside of one of those hillocks, the Xie Jin raiding squad was parked, awaiting orders.
The whole squad waited in silence, using the time to rest and recuperate with anticipation.
The task given to them was simple. They were to wait for the enemy raiding squad assigned here and intercept them if and when they appeared, otherwise, they were to group up with the nearest vanguard squad to assist their assault.
With the Qins now out of the picture, it was open season on any Tai Luo n Cultivator and territory.
An hour had passed since the battle began. Xie Jin opened his eyes. Quietly, he called his squadmates, Lets go.
Everyone vaulted themselves up their mounts and they rode on with Lu Ye taking point. Xie Jin and Tao Tian Gang peeled just closely behind while Song Xie and Qiao Qiao Er brought up the rear.
Lu Ye was asked to be point-man due to Xie Jins recent injury. It was not serious, but it was bad enough to affect his performance.
Hence the decision to have Lu Ye take his ce.
A decision that everyone unanimously agreed to since the whole squad realized how easy and victorious their battles had be with the addition of Lu Ye. With him leading their charge, the squad could easily draw first blood as early as the first exchange, allowing the odds to tip in their favor.
His ir and ingenuity which had been a great boon often made everyone wonder more about Lu Yes provenance.
The squad sped across the sloppy hillside meadows, apanied by the rapid padded gallops of their mounts.
Xie Jin gave Lu Ye a bearing that led nowhere near the crest. Instead, they were riding to the other side of the hillock.
Lu Ye knew at once what Xie Jins n was: they were going to intercept the enemy raiding squad. That would mean that the vanguard squad must be making good progress at the top of the hillock, hence the need for the enemy to dispatch a raiding squad to assist with the defense.
Five targets! Two Fifth-Orders, three Fourth-Orders! Xie Jin shouted from over Lu Yes shoulders, Take one down, Lu Ye, and leave the other to me!
Lu Ye nodded without a word, knowing that Xie Jin was referring to the Fifth-Order Cultivators.
Qiao Qiao Er chuckled, A pair of Fifth-Orders? Looks like theyre taking us seriously, eh?
That was true. That the n had sent forth a raiding squad with two Fifth-Order Cultivators indicated how wary it was towards the Xie Jin raiding squad. Not that it came as a surprise; with Lu Ye being an integral presence in this squad, the Xie Jin raiding squad had be greatly feared for their invincibility and deadliness.
They areing this way! Xie Jin roared at the top of his voice.
Lu Ye did not need to be told. At the front of the formation, he could already make out figures approaching like a shot.
Both squads closed in on each other until they were almost a hundred meters apart. Lu Ye set his sights on a ferocious-looking Fifth-Order Cultivator that could only be the leader of the enemy raiders. With a tiny little goatee below his chin, he looked like a greenhorn in his early twenties.
Lu Ye fired a spell, although it missed squarely. Riding on a mount galloping furiously contributed to the bad aim.
He fired a second spell. This time, it went straight for one of the enemy raiders, although his target was able to evade the blow by ducking low.
With barely a few meters ahead, Lu Ye drew his saber.
He could care less about what animal his target was riding, only that it resembled a lion and a tiger. As soon as they nearly brushed past each other, Lu Ye brought his weapon down on the Fifth-Order squad leader.
The enemy dodged, but his mount twisted and rammed into Amber.
The beefy white tiger gave an apoplectic roar as it fell. Up above, Lu Ye knew that Amber was falling. He leaped off Amber and fell to a roll on the ground before he managed to get back on his feet.
He scanned his surroundings quickly. Everyone was the same. The enemy squad was using the first exchange to dismount everyone.
The enemy was trying to prevent this from bing a mounted skirmish!
Lu Yes gaze turned intent and grim as his grip on the hilt of his saber tightened. The enemy must be confident in fighting them on foot if they had decided on such a strategy.
[But why on Earth are they so confident?]
But there was no time to think. Lu Ye dashed forward as soon as he was ready. The enemy Fifth-Order squad leader was only just getting back on his feet too and it was too good a chance for Lu Ye to miss.
He swung his weapon, aiming for his targets throat. The enemy quickly raised an arm to shield himself.
A loud metallic ng resounded. Even with Spiritual Pattern Sharp Edge, the enemys arm was somehow able to withstand his attack. In fact, Lu Ye thought for one second that he had struck metal instead of human flesh.
He looked and realized that his enemy was wearing an iron manica. [So that was why he dared to use his arm to protect himself!]
He might not fit the typical stereotype of therge, beefy man who Body-Tempering Cultivators usually were, but he was agile and nimble enough.
He was quick enough that before Lu Ye could follow up with another attack, he lunged and barreled a fist straight into his chest, forcing Lu Ye to retreat with his weapon back on the defensive.
The sharp, ear-splitting bangs of spells ricocheting everywhere with fiery sparks bursting around could be distracting enough if Lu Ye did not have an enemy flinging his fists at him. Lu Ye used the t of his saber to shield himself as the blows rained on him and the powerful impact threw him a few paces backward.
Then he heard bestial roars and snarls. The mountsall ten of themmust have engaged each other by now, and apparently, so did Xie Jin and the rest of his squadmates. Everyone had found their match and the battle had begun.
All of a sudden, he heard a voice screaming, Theyre not Fourth-Orders! That was Song Xie and he sounded distressed.
That really was a bombshell.
All real-time intelligence that Xie Jin received as leader of his squad was supplied to him by Tang Wu. The colored dots on the Shadow Moon Disc were all participants of the Conference and each color represented a different faction while the different hues denoted the participants varying ranks.
Right now, the disy on the Disc clearly indicated that the enemy raiding squad consisted of two Fifth-Order Cultivators and three Fourth-Order ones. The set-up wasnt exactly powerful and strong, but Lu Ye and his squadmates werent dreading the encounter at all. With Xie Jin as their resident Fifth-Order Cultivator and Lu Ye who had proven himself capable of handling one himself, the rest of the squad was expected to just focus on the rest and not make a pigs ear of what should be a manageable win.
That ounted for the rxed and casual mood before the battle began. At the very least, even if they failed to get the win, everyone anticipated a safe withdrawal with little to no injuries.
But only after the first exchange did Song Xie realize that he was up against a Fifth-Order Cultivator. To make things worse, the enemy was a Spell Cultivator whose prowess in slinging one dead ray after another at him with tremendous efficacy and finesse prevented him from making the fight close-quartersbat. Instead, he had to duck and evade for dear life and it would take only one mistake for him to lose his life.
AARRGGHH! another anguished howl came from another side. It was Tao Tian Gang, yowling as he staggered backward with a bloody gash almost a foot long that anyone could almost see the grotesque viscera inside.
But his enemy was not going to just let him go. He pounced on Tao Tian Gang, eager to finish him off, and the flux of his Spiritual Powers clearly showed that he too was a Fifth-Order Cultivator.
That almost sent Qiao Qiao Er into a hysterical fit. But fortunately for her, her enemy was only just a Fourth-Order Cultivator, unlike the others. Not that it made the situation any better; what was supposed to be an enemy squad with only just two Fifth-Order raiders had turned out to be four instead. They might not be outnumbered just yet, but they were still being overtopped.
All it would take was for either Song Xie or Tao Tian Gang to be killed and the enemy squad would be able to snowball their advantage by having one extra Cultivator free.
Deep inside the great hall at the central neutral region, Tang Wus face fell with despair as he tore his gaze from the Disc and hissed with undisguised sarcasm, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, eh?
He would be a fool if he could not see by now how he had fallen for Han Zhe Yues ruse. The Tai Luo n had methods to mask its participants real rank, which wasmonce trick enough, if not for the fact that the n would see the use of such Talismans on Cultivators as lowly as the Fifth-Order. Ordinary Talismans could not suppress a Cultivators Spiritual Energy signature, and Breathing Curbing Talismans would only obscure ones Spiritual Energy signature entirely, not containing it down to a lower rank.
To actually do that, one needed a special Spiritual Pattern. A Spiritual Pattern that needed to be branded on its wielders physical body.
To that end, the n would require the outside help of a master in the arcane arts of manipting Spiritual Patterns. Understandably, the services of such a virtuoso could never be cheap.
Tang Wu knew for a fact that the Tai Luo n did not have such a talent within its own ranks, so the two disguised Fifth-Order Cultivators must have been a pair of hidden aces that the n had kept specially for situations like this.
No longer her incandescent and seething self, Han Zhe Yue was now struggling to cover her wicked grin, What a naive little boy. She gave him a coy look, What? You think I dont know that the white tiger brat is in this raiding squad?
All that outburst and histrionics were all for Tang Wus benefit.
Youve been making a lot of changes and adjustmentstely and I know its all to prevent me from finding him. But youre mistaken. Ive known where he was all along, Han Zhe Yues finger came up and tapped on the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc, poking at the spot where the raiding squads were battling each other. I know for a fact that hes been instrumental in your trouncing of the Qins recently, so Im sure you understand why I have to remove him as quickly as possible. In fact, maybe I should just wipe out the whole raiding squad just to be safe.
Her finger traced upwards and stopped at where the nearest assault was underwaya cluster of ck and blue dots mixed together on the crest of a hill not far away. Then Ill have my raiders ride here and wipe out your vanguard after this. That way, Ill be able to tear through your defenses and make a beeline for your rear where your logistics corp is. Thats where the true ughter will begin! A ughter that shall see Green Feather Mountain eternally castrated! Hahahahaha!
Tang Wu never looked so dismal before. Of all things, he did not see thising, not knowing that Han Zhe Yue had seen through his ns. In fact, Han Zhe Yues n mirrored his in almost every way! The Green Feather Mountain assault was going smoothly enough and if Xie Jins squad could join in, then they could work on securing a victory from there.
For the purpose of bolstering her defense line, Han Zhe Yue had mobilized much of her forces to the frontlines, leaving the rear in a verypromised situation. If only the Xie Jin raiding squad could seed, then it would be the Green Feather Mountain forces instead who would be dealing a most crippling blow to the ns logistical division, effectively copsing the ns entire defensive line.
For this reason, the battle today was the most important skirmish of this years Conference. The most important showdown where the winner would take all and the loser would be crushed.
What was initially thought of as Han Zhe Yues mistake in moving the bulk of the ns troops to the frontlines was just a gambitand a well-nned one since she had seen through Tang Wus ns right from the start and her irascible outlook were just so that Tang Wu believed her.
She had allowed Tang Wu to set his n into motion while she plotted to hijack it and use it against him.
It was all Tang Wu could do to stifle the boiling rage and frustration swelling inside him. He had underestimated Han Zhe Yue far too much and now he was paying the priceone that he knew was far more grave than what he could possibly endure.
Watching from the sidelines, Qin Wan Li could feel his heart race. He could neverpare himself to the likes of Han Zhe Yue and Tang Wu. These two geniuses in the art of intrigue and conspiracy could easily eat him alive!
Chapter 128: Kill-Streak
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 128: Kill-Streak
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The battle between the raiders of both sides had barely just begun but the difference between the two raiding squads was clear enough: Tao Tian Gang was wounded and Song Xie could barely defend himself. It wouldnt be too long before he, too, would find himself injured, or worse, killed. Qiao Qiao Ers situation might be on the sunny side, but there was no way that a lone victory from her end could turn things around. Meanwhile, Xie Jin himself was doing all he could by keeping his target upied in spite of being already impaired by his injuries fromst time.
The situation could not have been any worse. Either Tao Tian Gang or Song Xie would be dying first and so would the rest of them in due time.
[We need to flip the tables!]
The notion shed through Lu Yes mind as he delivered a blow that forced his target behind, giving himself enough space to dig out the Bell Spirit Artifact from his pocket. He infused his Spiritual Powers and activated the magical bell. The bell soared up into the air, growingrger andrger at an unbelievable speed before it mmed down on the Fifth-Order Spell Cultivator Song Xie was fighting against, trapping him inside.
That was a tactical choice. Spell Cultivators usually stood stationary while they fired their spells, making them the sweetest targets since they would be easy to aim at. Moreover, trapping the Spell Cultivator inside could have the best efficacy since any spells that he fired could bounce off the inner wall of the bell and potentially hurt himself instead.
With a deafening ngor, the bell had the Spell Cultivator securely captured inside.
Song Xie was doing all he could to evade whatever death rays came his way when he saw the gigantic belle crashing down on his foe. Doubt and disbelief swept across his face for one split second before he wheeled around and dashed towards Tao Tian Gang to give him a hand. Whether the bell would hold, he did not know. All he knew was that this was the chance of a lifetime to turn things around. If he could regroup with Tao Tian Gang and hold back his target for as long as he could, even if they failed to defeat the enemy, that would at least give the whole squad more breathing space.
The notion to desert his squadmates had reared its head for one brief moment just now, although he quickly perished the thought. Beyond any doubt, he too would not be able to survive much longer than hisrades if he were to abandon them and flee. At least by standing firm and fighting, he and everyone might still have a chance of surviving this ordeal.
His arrival helped to relieve the pressure on Tao Tian Gang and together, the duo realized that they might just give the Fifth-Order enemy a run for his money.
In the meantime, Lu Ye renewed his attacks on Goatee as soon as he cast the Bell Spirit Artifact, raining blow after blow with his saber and forcing his enemy on the defensive that the Body-tempering Cultivator could do nothing but depend solely on his iron manica to defend himself.
Realizing another opening, Lu Ye immediately fired a spell. The crimson plump bird-like energy bolt tore straight into Goatees chest and detonated, the st incinerating half of his face. Yet somehow, he was able to prevent real damage to himself all thanks to the protective cuirass he was wearing beneath his tunic.
Nevertheless, the st propelled him backward. Staggering unsteadily, he growled, Impressive!
In fact, he really was impressed by Lu Yes strength. He was the superior Cultivator out of the two and yet here he was, being kept on the defensive while it was Lu Ye who has been maintaining the initiative of this duel.
But the word merely just slipped out his lips when Lu Yes foot was already heading his way. Goatee snarled and channeled his Spiritual Powers, sending every iota of them coursing through the veins all over him. A pale-gossamer shroud like a veil of scarlet-red blood rose over the surface of his skin. Then he twisted around, throwing a punch of his own at Lu Yes foot.
The collision of both attacks and their various Spiritual Powers hurled both men backward. Lu Yes foot grew so numb from the pain that he could almost barely stand up. But Goatee didnt get the better end of the exchange either; the impact had sent him crashing to the ground.
Lu Ye saw his chance.
He charged forward and unleashed another onught of attacks before his target could get up.
Goatee roared with indignation and ire. With more of his Spiritual Powers suffusing with his blood, the thick and crimson mist-like veil that was his protective shroud was looking more and more corporeal.
But that did not go well. With Lu Yes brutal and ceaseless barrage of attacks reinforced by Spiritual Pattern Sharp Edge, the protective shroud thinned more quickly than it could manifest.
Not far away, pops and bangs wereing from inside the shaking Bell Spirit Artifact. The color of the magical relicthe indicator of its integritywas quickly fading. Any longer and the enemy Spell Cultivator inside would manage to get out and by then, whatever upper hand that Lu Ye and his squadmates had just found would all be for naught.
Lu Ye realized how crucial it was for him to defeat his target quickly or all of them would die.
With desperation slowly waxing in him as he swung his saber recklessly at his enemy, distantly hoping for one of his attacks to work, Lu Ye could feel his patience waning. He shed, chopped, and hacked all he could, but to no avail. The Body-tempering Cultivators budding protective shroud and his iron manica were fending off every attack with tremendous effectiveness. Nothing Lu Ye did could prate his defenses and inflict any fatal wounds.
Meanwhile, the Bell Spirit Artifact was turning duller by the second. It was going to break!
Youre dead meat! bellowed the Body-tempering Cultivator Goatee with triumphant glee despite being overwhelmed by Lu Yes relentless salvo of attacks. He knew that his squadmate was close to escaping the magical bell and the initiative of this battle would be restored back to theirs.
For this reason, he did not even attempt any retaliation. There was just no need to. The situation had been in their favor right from the start and there was no need for any changes yet. All he needed to do was to bide his time and wait.
Lu Ye refused to give up and finally, his efforts bore fruit. The iron manica worn by Goatee on his arm cracked atst, much to his disbelieving surprise. He was informed prior to this battle about how he should deal with Lu Ye with caution. That prompted him to equip himself with more protective gear. His purpose was to keep Lu Ye pinned down while his squadmates dealt with the rest of Squad Xie Jin, even though he had clearly miscalcted Lu Yes ability.
It would not be a stretch to say that the n had specifically chosen him to be Lu Yes nemesis.
That was the spur Lu Ye needed to go on. It emboldened and encouraged him and instead terrified Goatee enough that he could no longer tolerate being on the receiving end of Lu Yes abuse. He rummaged through his Storage Bag as if he was looking for something and Lu Yes best guess was that he was looking for a defensive Talisman, most likely the Golden Body Talisman.
All of a sudden, Goatee felt a strange weight crushing down on his shoulder before hearing a strange but sharp whistle ringing in his ears, disorienting him for one brief moment.
Panicking, he hastily channeled more Spiritual Power, infusing every bit of it into all the vital energy he could muster to strengthen once again the thinning protective shroud, reviving it back to its deep red richness.
A shrill cry of pain came from his back. He did not know who it was trying to attack from behind, but Goatee knew that re-strengthening his protective shroud have somehow warded off the unseen enemy from behind.
But Lu Ye saw who it was: Yi Yi. She had materialized just behind Goatee earlier and seeing how his protective shroud had hurt his friend rekindled the mes of wrath in him. Furiously, he stormed toward Goatee and attacked.
Yi Yi had never once shown herself in Squad Xie Jins battles before. Without a corporeal physical body, there was only so much she could contribute to their skirmishes. Yet right now, in their hour of need, she had decided to appear to create a distraction for Lu Ye.
Goatee was just in the midst of retrieving his Talisman from inside his Storage Bag when the distraction cut short his attempt of activating it. Little did he realize that he would never have the chance to.
With the iron manica gone, there was nothing that Goatee could rely on to shield himself against a blow reinforced with Spiritual Pattern Sharp Edge. The blow carved through what defensive auras Goatee conjured, defeating the scarlet-red protective shroud, and cleaved off the arm that was still clutching the unused Talisman before slicing into the side of his neck, engendering a ghastly burst of blood oozing out like a fountain.
Goatee grunted at the enormous pain, his teeth gnashing as he tried to maintain his hold of Lu Yes wrist to prevent the saber from slicing any further. In the nick of time, he reacted quickly enough right after his arm was severed to stop what would have been a fatal strike and prevented his own death.
Lu Ye took one more step forward to reposition himself for more leverage. cing another hand on the front of his de, he pressed down on the de with hardly an ounce of mercy.
Standing inches away from each other, both men stared at each other eye to eye.
Crunch!
The keen edge of the de sliced through flesh and more blood gushed out like a geyser. Lu Ye stood over his foe whose huge and bloodshot eyes were transfixed to his. Kneeling and still desperately trying to stop Lu Ye, Goatees mouth trembled as if he wanted to say something.
Swish! If Goatee really had something to say, Lu Ye certainly had no interest in hearing it. Applying more strength, the long shiny steel of the saber sundered whatever fibers in his enemys flesh, ripping through every tendon in his neck and exiting cleanly in a morbid arc.
The headless body swayed in the wind for a couple of seconds before it finally tumbled lifelessly to the ground.
[The Body-tempering Cultivator was, at longst, dead!]
But there was no time for respite. While Lu Ye defeated his opponent, adding another notch to his belt of Fifth-Order enemy kills, all thanks to Yi Yis timely intervention, the durability of the Bell Spirit Artifact was going to give way, as shown by its color which looked almost dark by then.
Lu Ye wiped his face clean of the blood that was the souvenir that his dead opponent left him and peered around to survey the battlefield. Xie Jin was steadily losing ground while Song Xie and Tao Tian Gang were just barely holding their own against their Fifth-Order enemy. Thebined might of both of them should have been able to make it a fair fight, but Tao Tian Gang was wounded before Song Xies arrival and thetter had to carry much of the heavy lifting himself. The overall situation for Squad Xie Jin really wasnt good at all.
Whereas Qiao Qiao Er was still locked in a stalemate against her enemy, the only Fourth-Order Cultivator in the enemy raiding squad.
There was no time for second thoughts. He darted for the Bell Spirit Artifact, his arms swinging up to withdraw the magical bell and it obeyed, rising up to the air swiftly and flying back to him.
Bang! A spell sted out from inside as soon as the bell flew up, hitting an empty spot. That was the Spell Cultivator who had been trying to free himself. Then, thinking that he had defeated the magical relic himself, he couldnt help cracking into triumphantughter.
He had been firing spells after spells inside, trying to whittle down the bells defenses from inside while getting himself scalded so badly by the very same spells he fired when they bounced off the inner walls. Fortunately, he was careful enough to prevent killing himself instead and looking disheveled and smoldering seemed like a small price to pay.
But he did not know that his tion would be short-lived. His vision was only just getting used to the light again when the cold glint of steel blinded him. Before he even knew what was going on, Lu Yes saber was already hacking through his protective aura, and with his smile still frozen on his face, the Spell Cultivators severed head hurtled through the air.
That the most durable of his team, a Fifth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator, could be in in such a diminutive period of time during his incarceration inside the magical bell was certainly well beyond hisprehension.
He did not even see the blowing and there he was, as dead as a doornail.
In mere minutes, the tables had been turned. This time, for real.
Two out of the four Fifth-Order Cultivators that the n had fielded specifically to wipe out Squad Xie Jin were dead. The sudden shift in the status quo not only shocked the remaining enemy raiders and even Xie Jin and the rest were having difficulty believing this to be true.
What followed was an ecstatic blur of frenzy.
What was initially expected to be a fight to the death had just yed out way beyond everyones expectations. [A Fourth-Order who could y a pair of Fifth-Orders in one go?! Never. No one would have been capable of such a feat. No one else except himthe one who had single-handedly survived smashing through the defenses of the Tai Luo n could pull off such a kill-streak.]
Lu Ye could feel his adrenaline still pumping as he darted towards Qiao Qiao Ers end of the battle this time. His Spiritual Powers were churning like a storm raging in his belly after his ying of two Fifth-Order enemies and he needed an easier challenge to cool things down.
More so, since Qiao Qiao Ers preferred weapon, a whip, was a good match to his fighting style.
Both he and Qiao Qiao Er had formed quite an unlikely double act in the recent battles, sharing a chemistry that had tranted into numerous sesses in the field. Seeing Lu Ye rushing her way, Qiao Qiao Er instinctively knew what to do.
She stepped aside and allowed Lu Ye to take point. Meanwhile, her target was reeling with disbelief and panic at seeing both his seniors killed. He turned around and bolted. But he barely took two steps when the crack of a whip reverberated in the air and the end of it coiled tightly around his throat like a hangmans noose.
Qiao Qiao Er gave her whip a furious yank, pulling the man off his feet.
Before he could fall, the enemy shed at the whip with his weapon. But before he could, Qiao Qiao Er had withdrawn her weapon.
He tumbled with a big crash and when he finally got up, Lu Ye was already upon him with his saber swinging down on his head. The Fourth-Order Cultivator quickly raised his weapon, hoping to parry the blow.
Only then did he see Qiao Qiao Ers whip already wrapping around his legs. Then he felt it pulling his legs from under him and he lurched unsteadily. That was all the opening Lu Ye needed to chop him down.
Go help them! Lu Ye yelled. Without even stopping for one split-second, he tore right after Xie Jin.
Help who?! Qiao Qiao Er cried after him as sheshed her whip at her fallen target with onest blow to the head, sting it open like a watermelon.
Lu Ye gave no reply. He sped towards Xie Jin with every semnce of a wolf on the scent of blood and rejoined his squad leader in a brief staredown against the enemy Fifth-Order Cultivator. The leader of the enemy raiding squad looked rather sullen and crestfallen at the astonishing, if not ignominious, oue, but that dampened his rancor and fury not one bit at all.
Chapter 129: Annihilated
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 129: Annihted
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Tai Luo n squad leader was no fool, nor was he a five-year-old who was still dubious about his situation. He knew that he would be dead no matter what and he had every intention of bringing as many enemies as he could into the grave with him.
Meanwhile, Qiao Qiao Er surveyed the battlefield and decided to head towards rejoining Song Xie and Tao Tian Gang instead since she failed to get an answer out of Lu Ye. Song Xie might yet survive this day, but the same could not be said for the already-wounded Tao Tian Gang if their enemy was not defeated quickly enough.
On the other hand, Han Zhe Yues smug tion dissolved into reticent gloom inside the great hall at the central neutral region as she failed to take her eyes off the disy where the two raiding squads were battling each other. When one of the ck dots there vanished, her grin froze. Then a second disappeared and that was when her smile evaporated before a third faded, portending the failure of her intricate ploy and an unbelievable blow that had left her stupefied and petrified with disbelief.
HAH! a usually-stoic Tang Wu cackled so hard that he looked like he could almost double over inughter as he patted the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc.
Even he could hardly confess to anticipating such an incredible turn of events. He did not know what really happened out there on the field and how his raiders managed to defy such impossible odds and triumphed, but the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc showed the irond truth: the enemy raiders had lost two Fifth-Order and one Fourth-Order Cultivators and it wouldnt be too long before his raiders mopped up thest of the two.
His raiders had won! That was reason enough for a celebration, although his hunch told him that this could only be the doing of the new recruit, the Fourth-Order Cultivator called Yi Ye. He knew for a fact that the rest of the squad did not have the ir for such heroics.
Recruiting Yi Ye for this years Conference might have been the best decision he had ever made.
But Tang Wusughter only managed to rile up an already-miffed Han Zhe Yue whose very hands and shoulders were shaking with boiling rage as she stared at the disy of the Disc. Another onyx-ck spot melted into nothing. She closed her eyes with frustration.
If only she could unsee what just happened!
[What a waste! That would have been such a perfect n if all those ipetent and inept fools had not botched its execution!]
Qin Wan Li involuntarily shifted sideways if it was to put as much distance as he could between both him and Han Zhe Yue. Thest thing he wanted was for him to get caught up in the fallout of her rage.
The battle was still ongoing, but with only thest enemy raider still standing.
Lu Ye and Xie Jin had in their target beforeing over to assist Qiao Qiao Er and the rest.
Thest Fifth-Order raider of the enemy squad had thought of fleeing, but he could not risk exposing his back to three Fourth-Order adversaries if he turned tail and ran. To do that would be tantamount to suicide.
And his plight was not alleviated one bit at all by the addition of Xie Jin and Lu Yu, whose arrival had practically sealed his fate.
Barely ten secondster, the final enemy raider crumbled to the ground and into a pool of his own blood after a final, futile act of defiance where he fired hisst Talisman at Tao Tian Gang. Mumbling curses with hisst breath, he died knowing that his squad had failed their charge miserably and his attempt to kill at least one target had ended in vain.
At longst, the gritting struggle was over for Squad Xie Jin with Tao Tian Gang badly wounded and Song Xie making it through without anything life-threatening. But their kill tally had just risen by four Five-Order and one Fourth-Order kills.
Despite the vast differences in strength and power, they had managed to scrape a win as underdogs. A feat no one else would believe was possible.
Everyone peered at Lu Ye with the wonder and awe of discovering a unicorn.
They knew that it was he who first killed his target, the Fifth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator, before making short work of the Spell Cultivator who had been giving Song Xie a hard time. No one could dispute that it was they who would be lying on the ground dead and maimed if it wasnt for Lu Ye.
Come on, we need to support the vanguard! Xie Jin called.
Lu Ye swiveled around to peer at Tao Tian Gang, who wasnt looking well at all with his massive hemorrhaging. Leaning against the trunk of a tree and gasping for air, the chalk-white Green Feather Mountain acolyte looked like he could be sailing perilously close to the brink of dying any moment now.
Junior Brother! Xie Jin groaned with guilt.
Tao Tian Gang forced a grin. Weakly, he said, Dont worry about me. Go! Ill meet you back at the field infirmary!
Ive called for people toe get you.
Win this for me! Tao Tian Gang said gravely.
Xie Jin nodded without a word.
Two out of the five mounts that the Tai Luo n raiders had ridden here were dead, all thanks to Amber, who had shown that it was the strongest and most dangerous of the mounts they had encountered up until now. That allowed them a certain edge when it came to fights between raiding squads.
The rest of the mounts had been routed the moment their riders were killed.
Squad Xie Jin got on their mounts and resumed their charge up the slopes with Lu Ye leading the front. The battle at the crest had been going on without them and it was time the raiders made their entry.
The Green Feather Mountain vanguard squad assaulting the crest was clearly in the advantage as per Han Zhe Yues original n. It was all so that she could send her raiding squad this way without arousing suspicion.
She anticipated that her squad would easily decimate Squad Xie Jin before assisting in the defense uphill. The raiders numbering only five, but with four Fifth-Order Cultivatorsincluding a Spell Cultivator in their midsttheir presence would surely be able to surprise the Green Feather Mountain vanguard squad and reverse the circumstances
Yet instead, it was her raiding squad that was annihted in its entirety, making the already-unfavorable situation worse.
Lu Ye could never forget the looks on the faces of the Tai Luo n defenders when he and his squadmates reached the top of the hill. They looked utterly astounded. They were told that they only needed to hold the defenses until their raiding squad arrived. The knowledge that there were enough Fifth-Order Cultivators in the raiding squad to make a difference in this battle had been what kept their morale intact.
But seeing that it was the enemy raiding squad arriving instead of their own sapped their confidence and will to fight on.
The raiders had just survived a grueling and almost-fatal battle that had greatly fatigued and exhausted them. A charge straight through the defensive lines might do more harm than good, hence Lu Ye led his squad around the edges, chipping away at their men and morale as they looked out for chances to exploit.
Qiao Qiao Er rather enjoyed this way of fighting. The length of her whip made her the one with the widest range, allowing her to either yank an enemy into the dirt or hook him away from the defensive formation, isting him enough for Song Xie and Xie Jin to deal with him from a safe distance.
Lu Ye allowed his teammates to rake up all the kills. Being able to fire spells of his own, he circled around, firing one phoenix-like bolt after another into the midst of the enemy defenders, causing more pain and misery, if not death.
That slowly and steadily heaped more pressure on the defenders.
More defenders fell one by one, firmly securing Green Feather Mountains victory here.
Han Zhe Yue stared nkly at the disy of the Disc, watching how the ck dots slowly vanished one by one.
She could send more raiding squads this way. But help would take time to arrive, even if Tang Wu did nothing to make sure that the reinforcements were not intercepted and cut off.
And she was right. For every raiding squad that she sent to the same hillock where Squad Xie Jin was fighting, Tang Wu would send another to meet them halfway.
She could barely mobilize some help from the nearby hills, for this was a multi-pronged assault by Green Feather Mountain; a joint offensive being conducted on at least five to six fronts. With more than a handful of the nearby defensive squads bogged down in a deadlock trying to fend off their invaders, both her and Tang Wus original ns respectively were for the men on this particr hill to break the impasse.
That presented her with only onest viable option: to retreat before every defender there made the hill their final resting ce.
But retreating was easier said than done, for that would mean exposing their rear to the enemy. More often than not, this could turn out to be a dangerous mistake; the defenders might be totally wiped out instead, especially with Lu Ye and the rest of Squad Xie Jin lurking around like a pack of wolves.
The skirmish atop the crest manifested into a grind that persisted until sundown. The aftermath was a hellish sight of dead bodies littering everywhere along the descending slopes of the hill. The air was rank with the stench of blood and the hilltop ins were scattered with bloody maimed limbs and sickening chunks of flesh and viscera. Many of the dead were those killed when they were trying to retreat.
Squad Xie Jin and their friendly vanguard squad were victorious.
Tired and weary, Lu Ye and his squadmates rode behind Xie Jin as he led them back to the field infirmary campsite hidden in the glen at the far rear.
But the day had not yet ended for the rest of the Green Feather Mountain forces.
Those who could still fight quickly regrouped and reorganized themselves before they marched towards a nearby hillock to shatter the deadlock there.
Han Zhe Yue looked as if she was going to try and smash a chair at the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc. She tore her gaze off the magical surveince device and hissed at Tang Wu with eyes moist and bloodshot with despondency, You wish to put an end to us once and for all?!
Tang Wu snorted at the closest thing to a plea from her. As if you lot would show us any mercy if we were in your shoes. Were enemies, remember? Dont you think that its hrious that youre saying such silly things to me?
Han Zhe Yue gritted her teeth and swallowed what retort she was going to say and stole a nce at Qin Wan Li instead.
Qin Wan Li quickly averted his gaze, trying to avoid looking at her. Life for the Qins wouldnt be easy after this, of this he was certain. Even so, the Qins could hardly say yes to the ns appeal for help. He did not want to be caught between a rock and a hard ce.
Green Feather Mountain would make sure that he would regret agreeing to provide any assistance to the n. What the Qins now had was a peace that was built on the lives of more than a hundred loyal Qin acolytes and retainersa price so dear that Qin Wan Li would never forget.
If anything, he would rather tell Han Zhe Yue to just yield and admit defeat, if only she was not giving him such a venomous re right now.
The choice between antagonizing the n and ensuring the safety of his kinsmen was a clear one. The security of his family was paramount.
Very well! Han Zhe Yue broke into a sudden smile with resignation, conceding atst that all hope was lost. All her borate nning and preparation in her fearsome duel of wits against Tang Wu had boiled down into such an inglorious and irreversible defeat just because of a simple miscalction.
.
She shut her eyes and ced her finger on her Battlefield Imprint. Quietly, she ryed an orderthe one order that she would have done anything to prevent sending if she could help it!
Almost immediately, the masses of jet-ck flecks began to swarm away from the hillocks at the frontlines, including the ones that were still in fiercebat.
More ck dots vanished, signifying more casualties. Han Zhe Yue looked away, fearful that watching how thest of her withdrawing forces were being ughtered like dogs would send her into such delirium that couldpel her to reverse her orders.
Thest vestiges of her rationale and reason were urging her to cut her losses or the n would suffer a ruin far greater and far more detrimental than the one they were in right now.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye and his squadmates were just passing another crest on their way back when word came from the field infirmary that the worst was finally over for Tao Tian Gang and he was now safe. The d tidings were greeted with exhtions of relief.
The raiders barely knew each other, but having shed blood and sweat together had created a close bond between them all.
Xie Jin remained in close contact with the other squads, keeping himself informed about the situation at the frontlines, and when he told everyone how the n was recalling its troops en masse and the Green Feather Mountain forces at the front were giving an all-out push, both Song Xie and Qiao Qiao Er cheered jubntly.
Lu Ye took the time to check on Yi Yi.
She was hurt when she tried to distract his target, the enemy Fifth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator, and he recognized the wounds she received. They were the same as the time when she was trying to retrieve the Barrier Prating Fruit for him. Her entire form turned so pale and faint that she looked like she was teetering on the edge ofplete disintegration and it took almost a month before she was back to normal.
Chapter 130: Premature Conclusion
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 130: Premature Conclusion
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It took a lengthy examination for Lu Ye to finally confirm that Yi Yi was fine. All she needed was some rest. Only then did he finally breathe easily. With Amber now stronger and more powerful than before, Yi Yi was expected to make a quick recovery.
It was well past midnight when Squad Xie Jin made it back to the field infirmary campsite.
The people there had been keeping Lu Yes tent and Mu Ling was already expecting him, who took great care in dealing with his and Ambers wounds.
Although Lu Ye fell asleep halfway through her treatment.
Fighting one battle after another for the past few days had taken quite a toll on him.
Lu Ye woke up the next morning to a sunny day with a nket draped over him. He mbered up and peered around. Amber was nowhere in sight, although he could hear Qiao Qiao Ers voice outside. Come try this! Its delicious! OY! Lemme go! Theres no need to bite even when youre not epting my favor!
Lu Ye quickly dressed up and went outside. There was Amber with his vice-like jaws locked around Qiao Qiao Ers arm. She was twisting and writhing violently, but she did not dare to pull too hard, culminating in a tug of war with her own arm as the rope.
Both of them were ring at each other, totally oblivious to Lu Yes presence until he finally scowled at them, What the hell is going on here?
Amber released his hold of her and bounded excitedly over to Lu Yes side like the oversized but doting cat he was and rubbed his head affectionately on Lu Ye.
In Qiao Qiao Ers grasp was this fresh b of meat still dripping with juices. She lifted it aloft, yowling indignantly, I was only trying to feed your tiger something to eat, and heres what I get! Your pet could do with some discipline, Yi Ye!
Amber groaned like he was being wronged.
Lu Ye peered at him before regarding Qiao Qiao Er crossly, Or maybe you should not be trying to drug him!
What drug?! Whos drugging who?! Qiao Qiao Er retorted nkly, feigning ignorance.
But Lu Ye had already gone back inside his tent with Amber padding after him. Qiao Qiao Er looked around to make sure no one was looking before she stowed the meat back into her Storage Bag. Heavens, just how intelligent is he? she whispered to herself, referring to Amber.
Then she trotted away, whistling as if the episode just now hadnt taken ce at all.
Inside the tent, Amber went to a corner and picked up a Storage Bag that was lying around with its mouth. Then he ced it beside Lu Ye. That was the reward Green Feather Mountain paid them.
Rewards were usually issued during the squads debriefing whenever they returned after a battle. Qiao Qiao Er and Song Xie had made quite a fortune from their recent sorties.
Lu Ye picked up the Storage Bag and checked its contents. There were at least a hundred and eighty Spirit Stones and by his calctions, it was more than what he earned. Green Feather Mountain must have given him a bonus for his remarkable contributionstely.
At the moment, his stores of Spirit Stones had reached as much as five to six hundred, all of which came from the rewards for his kills and the spoils he got from his in enemies. Like the Divine Trade Association, Green Feather Mountain had been buying magically-sealed Storage Bags that their Cultivators had looted and that included low-tiered magical weapons and tools as well. These were all divided evenly amongst all members of Squad Xie Jin.
He examined his Battlefield Imprint:
[Name: Lu Ye
Identity: Disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect
Cultivation Progress: Fifty-three Spiritual Points unlocked
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: Three hundred and sixty-eight]
He had reached his fifty-second Spiritual Point when he first arrived at this campsite before he unlocked another Point just a few days ago. The recent fights had exhausted him so greatly that Lu Ye had to rely on his pills to refresh himself to be ready for more skirmishes, causing the slight deceleration in his progress.
But he had made great progress in his Contribution Points since leaving Mount Ying. From just a hundred and seventy-four Points, he had reached three hundred and sixty-eight. Thats almost a two-hundred-point increment that indicated how many kills Lu Ye had scored in his recent skirmishes.
But there was little to be wondered. He had in dozens when he first entered the One Hundred Peaks mountain range. Joining Squad Xie Jin yielded even more kills where he did great work in raking up his tally. In the skirmishes yesterday alone, few enemies had managed to escape his wrath.
Then again, the frequent sorties had caused him and Amber enough exhaustion to ze through his stores of Spirit Pills. With more than four hundred Pills when he first arrived here, his Pills now numbered just barely three hundred.
But he could notin, at least not with such rich returns. Participating in this years Dragon Spring Conference had turned into a bountiful haul after all.
Lu Ye finished surveying his possessions before he took a bath and changed into a fresh set of clothing. Next, he brought Amber out on a walk to look for something to eat. The Green Feather Mountain mess staff worked round-the-clock to provide good food to all Green Feather Mountain personnel. Anyone who felt hungry needed only visit the mess and they would be served their fill.
He stumbled into Xie Jin halfway and they talked as they walked together. As it turned out, the multi-pronged assault was a huge sess. The Tai Luo n was forced to give up one hillock after another yesterday, marking a massive cutback in its territories. Out of the one hundred hills inside the One Hundred Peak mountain range that was the battleground for this Conference, the Green Feather Mountain forces had raised their tally to a record-breaking fifty upied hillocks.
From the looks of things, the situation of the Conference could very well remain so until the end. Both the Qins and the ncked the needed men and resources to mount any offensive worthy of the name to capture more hillocks. One might argue that cutting their losses and epting their defeat might be the more prudent and rational course of action for the two factions.
Green Feather Mountain hadnt enjoyed such tremendous sess since the Qins inception into the Conference and Tang Wu was said to be so euphoric that he contacted Xie Jin and praised his good work.
Lu Ye picked up a juicy piece of meat and deposited it into his mouth. Chewing it, he said, Does that mean that theres no more fighting?
I guess so, Xie Jin nodded. The skirmishes the previous night had turned out to be a premature conclusion for this years Conference.
Lu Ye mulled about the response. That would mean that perhaps it was time he took his leave and continued his journey.
Past Dragon Spring Conferences usually took a month but this time, the winner was determined in just a span of a dozen days.
Xie Jin seemed to have read Lu Yes mind. He sidled closer and said quietly, Theres no hurry to leave, my friend. Senior Brother Tang Wu has explicitly told me that our squad is qualified to enter the Dragon Spring.
Lu Yes brow piqued with interest. [Oh?]
Its all thanks to your heroics that we managed to survive yesterdays battle, Lu Ye, Xie Jin said, beaming very broadly, Whats more, Green Feather Mountain has never been stingy in rewarding well-deserved effort. Were not known to be generous to independent Cultivators for nothing, you know.
[Youve got to hand it to them. They really are good at wooing fresh talents,] Lu Ye observed quietly.
In the jade slip that Xie Jin handed him when Lu Ye first met him, the information inside the object did mention that independent Cultivators who had proven themselves worthy would be awarded a ce to enter the Dragon Spring.
In fact, Lu Ye had heard Song Xie and Qiao Qiao Er chatting about this once. In all past Dragon Spring Conferences, Green Feather Mountain would only allow one or two independent Cultivators the chance to enter the Dragon Spring together with its own acolytes. That three were allowed in this time really was a new precedent.
It all boiled down to the scarcity of the ces themselves. With only limited admissions allowed, the Green Feather Mountain forces would have been more than happy to hoard all the ces themselves. But several ces might be distributed to other middling sects or powerful militant orders allied with them. With fresh talents and young prodigies of their own, these allied factions had kept abreast of the progress of the Conference with great interest, although they would never be involved in the contest due to the sacrosanct covenant of the Conference.
That would mean that any ces that trickled down to any participating independent Cultivators came in pitifully rare supply.
Stepping into the Dragon Spring was any low-tiered Cultivators ultimate dream for the cleansing properties of the springs water were said to be able to temper ones physical constitutions so greatly that no amount of magical pills or herbs could everpare. Having a strong physical constitution coulde in handy to any Cultivator no matter what path he or she aspired to devote himself or herself to.
Xie Jin ced a hand on Lu Yes shoulder. Dont worry about it, Lu Ye. Its very likely that this years Conference might end earlier. After all, Senior Brother Tang Wus a busy man. He cant be nestling himself up there like hes roosting on an egg to no end.
Up at the great hall sitting atop of the centermost summit of the mountain range designated as neutral grounds, Tang Wu crossed his arms as he took onest look at the Shadow Moon Discs disy. Looks like everythings settled. So, how about we call it a day? he asked the others.
Qin Wan Li shot a look at Han Zhe Yue, not wanting to speak first.
Han Zhe Yue smirked. The Conferences only halfway. What makes you think that were thinking of calling it a day already?
What Tang Wu said was true and she knew it. The n could ill-afford fielding more assault forces only to add more casualties to their already-substantial losses and to sit on the present status quo until the end of the Conference would be nothing but just aplete waste of time. But she was too spiteful and vain to allow Tang Wu to have his way.
Oh? So you are all for sitting down here and watching paint dry? Tang Wu hissed cidly.
Watching paint dry is interesting enough if you know how to appreciate it, Han Zhe Yue chuckled flippantly. So long as she could cause even the slightest difort and displeasure to Tang Wu, Han Zhe Yue was game for anything. Just like what Tang Wu said himself not long ago, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
You seem to beboring under the delusion that just because youve withdrawn your defensive line, that would prevent me from trying another attack? Tang Wu asked.
Id love to see you try, Han Zhe Yue taunted.
With their defensive line withdrawn, the Tai Luo n defenses had grown considerably stronger. On the other hand, the Green Feather Mountain forces were all stretched precariously thin since they had to hold fifty hillocks. It was the vast number of independent Cultivators that they managed to recruit for this Conference that had kept the Qins and the Tai Luo n from wanting to try anything funny. Hence Han Zhe Yues reasoning that it wouldnt be easy for Green Feather Mountain to muster enough men for another assault withoutpromising itself.
That gave her the courage to openly taunt Tang Wu. Literally, every contesting faction in this Conference was already at its bare bones.
Tang Wu kept his stare transfixed on Han Zhe Yue for seconds before he issued a litany of orders.
In mere moments, the swarms of blue dots on the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc began to roil and mass.
Green Feather Mountain defenders holding the hillock at the most front immediately withdrew, leaving the ce unupied.
At the same time, more bluish hordes peeled off from the defensive squads guarding all other nearby hillocks, coalescing into arge group that swamped the foot of the nearest Tai Luo n hillock. But that was not all; faraway in the glen where the Green Feather Mountain field infirmary was situated, a tiny squad of five bright bluish dots appeared and began speeding towards the frontlines.
The edge of Han Zhe Yues eyes throbbed. Tang Wu had summoned forth his best raiding squadthat brat with the white tiger and his squadmates!
Hourster, the five bluish dots finally converged with the Green Feather Mountain contingent now besieging the Tai Luo n hillock, making the assault force a provisional but no less formidable vanguard toon more than fifty-man strong.
Meanwhile, Han Zhe Yues breathing raced as her chest heaved under her robe, her face now as taut as a clenched fist as she looked at the disy of the Shadow Moon Disc.
Tang Wus head swiveled around and he peered at her quietly.
Qin Wan Li moved not even an inch. Without any desire to get involved in this pantomime, he could barely understand what was going on. [Why is Green Feather Mountain giving up one of their hills to attack another one of Tai Luo ns?!]
Silence pervaded the hall for minutes until Han Zhe Yue finally let loose a long sigh. She tapped on her Battlefield Imprint and issued her final order.
From another Tai Luo n hillock nearby, a few raven-ck spots extricated themselves from their main group and marched over to the unupied hill that the Green Feather Mountain forces just vacated, although, the sluggish movements of the spots were sign enough of how reluctant they were to undertake this mission.
They hiked up the slopes and stayed there but Green Feather Mountain made no attempt to attack them.
Smart choice, Tang Wu chortled, his lips curling into a wry grin.
A resigned Han Zhe Yue dered, I move to end this years Conference now. What do you say, Qin?
Qin Wan Li could hardly squeak anything beyond a yes. Only now did he finally understand what was going on.
Chapter 131: Winnings
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 131: Winnings
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Tang Wus thorough flurry of troop deployment looked mind-boggling enough at first nce, when he was, in fact, presenting to Han Zhe Yue a pair of options.
The first was obvious. Green Feather Mountain first surrendered a hill territory to the Tai Luo n as a gesture of goodwill on the condition that the n agreed to end the Conference.
It was a win-win deal for Han Zhe Yue, saving everyone the trouble of prolonging what was already a determined victory for Green Feather Mountain. But if Han Zhe Yue were to foolishly decline this offer, then the second option would kick in.
The hastily-assembled vanguard toon would immediatelyunch an attack at the Tai Luo n hill they congregated at. With Squad Xie Jin in y, Tang Wu was certain that even if the toon failed to capture the hill, the defenders would most definitely suffer huge casualties.
With less than twenty days before the actual end date of the Conference, Tang Wu hadplete faith that Green Feather Mountain would be able to maintain its advantage and initiative with the help of Squad Xie Jins invincibility and prowess on the field of battle.
Han Zhe Yue was no fool and she knew very well which of the two options was the one she should go for.
And in the end, she resigned by sending a few of her men to take the hill Tang Wu surrendered, indicating her intention to take him up on the offer.
Capturing that one hill posed quite a sizable significance to her and the n. Without that one hill, Green Feather Mountains dominance in this Conference could be viewed as being manifestly smaller with less than half the number of hills in its control.
That would at least allow the n to salvage some of its dignity that has been shredded into tatters during that fateful multi-pronged assault before.
By now, Qin Wan Li finally understood the euphemistic exchange between the two masterminds before him. He could barely suppress a shudder when the truth kicked in that he would never be on par with them
On the other hand, with a mutual understanding established, all representatives of the three contesting factions announced the end of this years Dragon Spring Conference.
There were mixed feelings amongst the participants from all three factions. The experience had its ups and downs. Green Feather Mountain looked as if it was stripped of its former might and supremacy at first, being cedst when almost forty of the hillocks it controlled were wrested away with impunity. But it was Tang Wus strategic wizardry that managed to turn the tables around, leading Green Feather Mountain in aeback charge that not only saw a remation of all lost territories, but also a one-sided beatdown of first the Qins then a subsequent routing of the Tai Luo n forces, culminating in their record-breaking performance in the Conferences history.
With this credit, Tang Wu would undoubtedly enjoy a bright future with more attention and opportunities afforded to him by the orders upper echelon leadership, so long as he didnt err in his ways.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was meditating inside his tent when he received word from Tang Wu about the early conclusion of the Conference, leaving him surprised and impressed at how efficient Green Feather Mountain was. Xie Jin was only just telling him about how the Conference could be ending prematurely in the morning and here was everything a done deale sundown!
The Dragon Spring Conference might have arrived at its end, but the excursion into the Spring needed to be dyed for one day. This was for the leadership of the Green Feather Mountain forces toe up with a list of names of participants who would be awarded a ce of admission, in addition for all other Green Feather Mountain participants to travel and gather here.
With no stomach for diplomacy, Lu Ye kept to himself the whole time, staying inside his tent and meditating.
He needed power, not the joy and merriment of mingling over liquor and food.
Xie Jin came again the following day to tell him that the list of names was ready. He came bearing more good news. Apparently, all of Squad Xie Jin had been included in the list and they were to hurry to the centermost peak in the One Hundred Peaks Mountain Range to meet up with the rest of the chosen participants to enter the Spring.
In just minutes, Squad Xie Jin rolled out with Xie Jin leading the front, riding over hills and valleys as they headed straight for the centermost peak of the range.
Unlike their earlier sorties where Squad Xie Jin rode in solemn silence, the raiders traveled with garrulous revelry and high spirits. Tao Tian Gang was so jubnt that his heartyughter triggered more pain from his wounds eliciting groaning and wincing the rest of the way.
The raiders mount did good work in making sure that Squad Xie Jin made it to their destination in good time. In barely a half days time, they reached the top of the peak where they found themselves staring at the huge gates of an ancient and stately structure.
The building looked very, very old, which was expected since the Dragon Spring Conference has been a tradition for more than a century.
Scores of Green Feather Mountain acolytes thronged outside the gates and all of them greeted Xie Jin warmly the moment they arrived. The raiders responded to them all with polite nods as they passed by.
Until they reached the gates where they dismounted.
Xie Jin led his squad to right before the gates and saluted. Squad Xie Jin reporting in, Senior Brother.
Doe in! a deep voice boomed from inside.
Xie Jin and his squadmates stepped into the hall.
Lu Yes gaze immediately fell on the Shadow Moon Disc the moment his eyes got used to the dimness indoors. But before he could observe it better, he immediately felt a sharp, harsh re on his back.
He turned around and found himself looking eye to eye with a mysterious yet jaunty-looking woman who was staring at him with unfriendly eyes.
[This must be the Ninth-Order Cultivator of the Tai Luo n,] Lu Ye realized. Feeling tense and wary, he quietly channeled his powers in anticipation of an ambush.
He might not be able to best a Ninth-Order Cultivator in a fair fight, but he would nevertheless do whatever it took to defend himself.
[What the hell is Tang Wu thinking by calling us here?! To shift the hatred of the n on me?!] Lu Ye frowned, absolutely displeased. For the past few days, he had been putting Tai Luo n Cultivators to the sword by the tens and hundreds, especially in thatst assault when it was he who had almost single-handedly thwarted Han Zhe Yues n. Of all people, she must be thirsty for his blood the most!
Green Feather Mountain had snagged the victory it wanted. Not rubbing it into the faces of the defeated would have been a smarter thing to do.
Dont ogle. Youll frighten the kids, Tang Wu remarked coldly. Yet despite hisposed stoicism, he was doubly pleased with himself. He turned to face Lu Ye and said, Show us your Battlefield Imprint.
Lu Ye did not know what it was for, but heplied nevertheless. He lifted his arm and tapped on his Battlefield Imprint. The back of his arm shone with bright bluish text.
Thats all, thanks, Tang Wu nodded.
Squad Xie Jin took their leave and went away.
Tang Wu said, Now, satisfied?
What?! Han Zhe Yue was still staring at Lu Yes back with undisguised revulsion and rancor when Tang Wus question jerked her out of her momentary stupor. Then she realized what he was referring to. How dare you! she snarled like a lioness.
Tang Wu had been pestering her for the winnings of his wager with her which she had been avoiding with the pretense that she needed to see the proof with her own eyes. For this reason, Tang Wu summoned Lu Ye here and had him show her his Battlefield Imprint to prevent her from talking her way out of paying.
Your oath was sworn upon Heavens! Tang Wu growled, motioning at her arm, Fulfill your promise!
Han Zhe Yue could hardly find the words to retort him. But he was rightthe oath of their wager was made upon the divine judgment of Heavens and she needed to do as she promised to. She wiped a hand on her Battlefield Imprint and a red-glowing spot rose from her arm and melted into Tang Wus. I hope you choke on these winnings! she cursed viciously.
[Good Heavens, thats two hundred Contribution Points!] Han Zhe Yue could barely hide her agony.
Heh, Tang Wu chuckled with triumph as he watched the reddish speck vanish into his arm. Then he peered at Qin Wan Li, growling, And what are you waiting for?
Me?! uttered Qin Wan Li, astounded. [Im just an innocent bystander! I have nothing to do with all this!]
Dont you dare deny! Twenty Contribution Points! One point less and Ill rip your head off with my bare hands! Tang Wu snarled viciously, seeing no reason to be nice to him.
Qin Wan Li did not know what to say, although he finally realized what it was all about. Han Zhe Yue had been the one who suggested a wager as to who Lu Ye was and he had agreed to a twenty Contribution Point wager that Lu Ye was not one of the Grand Sky Coalition. But that was originally between him and Han Zhe Yue. He did not agree to anything with Tang Wu. One could argue that it was unreasonable for Tang Wu to demand his winnings from him.
But Qin Wan Li could barely enunciate hisint out loud. He rubbed at his Battlefield Imprint and a red glowing speck flew towards Tang Wu. As much as all three of them were peers of the same rank, he could nowhere near im to be equals in bothbat ability and guile.
The Green Feather Mountain candidates who had been chosen had all arrived. Being just nearby, most of them did not take long to converge on this spot.
More people arrived less than two hourster, riding up the slopes inrge retinues of men.
Unlike ordinary Green Feather Mountain Cultivators who were dusted with grime and disheveled with weariness, this new group looked like a bunch of privileged rich kids with their handsome-looking mounts and fancy colored silks.
Lu Ye immediately recognized them for who they were: acolytes or scions of militant sects and orders who were allied with Green Feather Mountain. They had been watching the Conference and knew that the entry into the Dragon Spring was nigh, they had ridden all the way here to meet up.
The new group numbered at least thirty to forty men.
The imposing cavalcade rumbled past adroitly, attracting envious and admiring looks from many Green Feather Mountain acolytes. Not that there was no reason to. Acolytes belonging to the Outer Circles of most militant orders and sects did not enjoy the same privilege, treatment, and abundance that Inner Circle acolytes were blessed with and the difference was even more in stark contrast, especially between low-tiered Cultivators.
The neers stopped outside the hall and got off their mounts. Despite their different-colored garbs, they mingled together and talked like old friends.
Lu Ye discovered something strange. Xie, he asked Xie Jin, Why are there no Fifth-Orders around at all?
None of the neers or even Green Feather Mountain candidates were Fifth-Order Cultivators.
The magical effects of the Dragon Spring do not work well for Fifth-Order Cultivators. That is also why only Cultivators of the Fifth-Order and below are permitted to participate in the Conference. As to why, Im afraid I dont know the answer to that myself. But we are certain about this restriction.
Lu Ye nodded.
But what about our mounts when we get in? Qiao Qiao Er voiced another point of concern.
With so many Spirit Beasts around, they might get into a riot and fights that could end up very bloody and awkward for everyone.
Theres no need to worry about that, Xie Jin smiled, There are stablehands who will take your mounts into temporary safekeeping until wee back.
Green Feather Mountain has had numerous experiences in managing the custodial duties of the Dragon Spring Conferences in the past where they have always had staff and infrastructure ready to handle matters such as the care of the participants mounts.
They did not wait long. Stable Hands appeared soon enough and they took the mounts away. Lu Ye apanied Amber to make sure he would be fine. There were more than one hundred cages specifically prepared for this purpose and the caretakers ced Amber inside one of them.
Thest glimmers of the Sun were just peeking over the rims of the mountains in the distance as night slowly descended when a huge rumble came from beneath their feet, followed by ripples of tremors.
Just when everyone was reeling with shock at what was going on, Tang Wu appeared, stepping out of the hall. He surveyed the crowd and dered loudly, The Dragon Spring is opened, everyone! Kindly wait for your turn and proceed with order, my friends! The Spring will remain open for nine daysthree for each faction! Only go as far as you can and dont force yourselves. Remember, Green Feather Mountain will not be responsible for any mishaps that might happen
After Tang Wus short briefing, everyone began shuffling towards the entrance leading into the hall beginning with the allied Cultivators.
Only after theyve all gone inside, the Green Feather Mountain Cultivators took their turn.
Conquering forty-nine hillocks in the contest had won Green Feather Mountain ny-eight ces, but with more than thirty of these slots allocated to its allies, that would leave Green Feather Mountain with only sixty-plus ces.
The number might not seem small, but it really was not enough, considering how many Spirit Creek Realm Cultivators Green Feather Mountain had in its ranks.
For this reason, Green Feather Mountain, more often than not, found itself hardpressed to offer any ces to independent Cultivators. This year, however, was a real anomaly where Green Feather Mountain had given three ces to the independent Cultivators in Squad Xie Jin. After all, victory would have not been possible without Squad Xie Jins crucial and all too important gantry and valor in battle.
Chapter 132: Enrichment
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 132: Enrichment
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A hole cracked open right in the middle of the hall like a tunnel that led down into the center of the mountain. One after another, candidates who were chosen to enter the Dragon Spring stepped into the hole, their footsteps echoing loud and long as they descended deeper inside.
The passage spiraled downwards and it took almost a quarter of an hour before the candidates arrived before arge set of brass-hewn doors.
Ponderous and ancient, the heavyset doors looked like they had survived the washes of Time and remained steadfastly enduring. An intricately-carved relief depicting a life-like dragon in all its majestic splendor adorned the center of the doors.
Only, the opening of the doors was ajar with a soft red glow, veiled by gossamer mists, pouring from its seams.
No one stopped. No one could stop. Everyone who came here, filled with adrenaline and anticipation, immediately mobbed the brass doors and poured into the reddish mists like a stampede, and the scarlet gossamer fog, like a shapeless monster who had been waiting for prey, engulfed everyone into its bowels.
Following just behind Xie Jin, Lu Ye stepped into the red mists too.
He was only just inside when a sudden sense of weightlessness assailed him. A fleeting moment when he thought he was falling down an endless abyss. By the time his feet felt firm ground once more, everyone was gone. Xie Jin was no longer in sight and so were the thronging Cultivators before him.
Lu Ye wasnt startled at all. On their way here, Qiao Qiao Er had been peppering Xie Jin with questions about the Dragon Spring and their leader had been very frank about what he knew, although there was little to what he could attestwhatever he knew about the Dragon Spring was confined to the stories and experiences he heard from others.
One of the many hearsays he had heard about was about how bizarre the trip here would be. Apparently, everyone who stepped into the red mist would be transported to a separate pocket dimension where they would be detached from the others.
As for why, Xie Jin did not have the answer to that question either. But maybe the upper echelonshis mentor or the other eldersof Green Feather Mountain might understand the arcane secrets that governed this special location.
Lu Ye spun around to survey his surroundings. The scarlet-red gossamer veil was not thick enough to prevent him from discovering where he really wasa room. A small room with a natural spring bubbling with fresh, clean water-like liquid, although instead of drenching everywhere and creating a flood, the liquid immediately seeped into the earth as soon as it hit ground. The crack in the ground where the water was pouring out from was where the scarlet-red mist was building.
Barely ten by ten meters in size, the room wasnt spacious at all although there really was nothing else in this space aside from the effervescent groundwater source.
An amazed Lu Ye could barely guess where the others were, but he was sure that they must be somewhere inside a strange little box with strange water-like liquid pouring out of a hole in the ground.
Whatever this ce was, Lu Ye realized, it must hold some unknown magic. But he was not curious enough to find out morewhatever secrets that prowled here must have long been unraveled by the factions vying for the full and absolute control of this ce.
As was he was told earlier, time was of the essence. Lu Ye strode to a corner and produced a round cushion. He sat on it and began meditating and assimting whatever goodness he could detect.
Instructions from Xie Jin told him that he only needed to meditate and his body would automatically assimte the enriching properties of the pale reddish mist which would temper and hone his physical constitution.
But something told Lu Ye that it might not work with him. His methods of cultivating his powers had never been orthodox, to say the least.
He sat there for minutes until he had enough. He was right. Meditating alone would not help. None of the red mist was being consumed by him at all.
He needed to be able to absorb the red mist into his body or he could never enjoy its effects and have his physical strength and abilities enriched.
Fortunately, he already had something else prepared. Lu Ye immediately began activating the Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits.
The Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits could function as a funnel of sorts that would help direct and focus the flow of the red mist on him. If this scarlet-red mist was the same as the Spiritual Energies that swirled in the atmosphere, then Gathering Spirits might just be what Lu Ye needed.
The Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits quickly took form at his mentalmand and as soon as it began functioning, Lu Ye feltpletely different: the red mist swirled towards him, passed through what looked like a holographic funnel hanging in midair and flowed into the pores on his skin.
If there was any difference between this and ordinary meditation, that would be the prickly sensation as if someone was poking him with a needle when the rich reddish mist swirled into him and filled up his Spiritual Point.
But he was unperturbed by the sensation. Xie Jin had told him about this too, and apparently, such sensations were said to be normal. That was the reddish mist doing its work to improve his bodily strength and abilities.
This exined what Tang Wu told everyone in his briefing beforeing in here: that one should only go as far as one could and not force him- or herself beyond the limit. The more gifted a Cultivator was, the greater the boon he or she would enjoy in here. But a greater boon would also mean greater pain.
The awful throes of pain just kept on going like an army of bees swarming on him as the Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits never stopped drawing in more red mists for him.
Feeling used to the pain, he began constructing a second Gathering Spirits. Then a third. Then a fourth
By the time he had constructed his thirtieth Gathering Spirits pattern, he was already grunting heavily at the arduous difort.
The red mist was surging into him at different parts of him and the pain was only getting clearer than ever. It no longer felt like a pinprick. Instead, it was like having needles piercing into him from all directions.
Lu Ye stopped constructing more Gathering Spirits. Any more and he might just ckout from the pain.
The agony crescendoed and it was all he could do to remain conscious. It was as if mes had engulfed him and the fire was trying to peel his skin and his flesh from his bones. His muscles and sinews tensed and flexed like well-chiseled marble and the veins at his temples never looked so obvious before while his face contorted and twisted like a grotesque monstrosity.
Droplets of sweat mottled his back and his front as he grappled with the torment, soaking his tunic.
Then, his senses registered a huge difference.? The pain was subsiding. It was still there, but to a much lesser extent than before.
Lu Ye took a beat to calm himself and began constructing more Gathering Spirits.
The thirty-first, then the thirty-second Until he reached the fortieth.
That was another threshold. The same level of pain beset him again, followed by the same burning sensation that he had to tolerate until his body got used to it
Only then did he start to construct his third round of Gathering Spirits.
In the end, he had Gathering Spirits over each and every one of his Spiritual Points, making the number of activated Spiritual Patterns he was trying to maintain at the same time fifty-four in total.
Virtually every wisp of the pale rubescent mist whirled around Lu Ye, engulfing him like a tornado because of the collecting drawing force of the multiple Gathering Spirits working concurrently. Clenching his fists tightly, he tried to ignore the excruciation, although his body could barely stop shaking.
All of a sudden, he thought he saw a gigantic and disembodied pair of eyes staring down at him. Malice, anger, and confusion permeated its gaze, sending ice trickling down Lu Yes spine.
The pair of bulbous and sanguine eyes was there for one second, then it vanished in the next when Lu Ye opened his eyes at once, leaving Lu Ye staring into thin air.
Lu Yes expression turned taut with apprehension. Was that just a delusion?! But he was certain that he was being watched. He was certain that he almost heard a deep and ancient voice, saying something unintelligible that he did not manage to catch.
But somehow, the pangs of agony were gone, now reced with the pangs of hunger. He felt absolutely ravenous.
Poof!
Lu Ye turned his head in the direction where he just heard the strange sound. It wasing from the eye of the spring. Something small and t had just been spewed out of it.
He looked at it, wondering if he should pick it up, although his curiosity quickly got the better of him. He mbered up to his feet and strode over. But he only took a few steps when he felt something amiss.
His feet were wobbling. He was sure that it was not dizziness or giddiness. It was like he was losing control of his own limbs.
He tried to get to the eye of the spring, yet he stumbled past it instead and tottered into a wall, nearly falling.
He steadied himself and closed his eyes. Then he began checking himself.
His vigor had doubled and his strength greatly enhanced. Just by clenching his fist, he could feel so much power coursing through his veins.
His physical constitution really had strengthenednot by a bit, but a real spike on a huge scale! So this was why he felt like losing control of himself! The physical enhancements he just experienced had been great ande too quick, his mind needed time to get used to them.
He stood there and took a couple of deep breaths. Then he noticed it. Even the flow of the water pouring out from the eye of the spring had slowed. Everything seemed slow.
[So this is it?! The so-called physical enrichment that one could enjoy by using the Dragon Spring? Thats awesome!] Lu Ye reeled amazement.
[Wait. No. Thats not right. If this spring could really give anyone who walks in here such substantial enrichment, there would have long been an all-out war to fight for this ce. Thest thing theyd want would be a silly and jejune tournament every year just to contest for the chance to send their acolytes and students into this ce when they could have just conquered this ce and hoard its boon for their own consumption.]
He remembered full well what Xie Jin told him prior toing here. The physical enrichment that the Dragon Spring afforded could do much good, but not to the extent of aplete upgrade or transformation. At any rate, the boon of the Dragon Spring was never expected to really eclipse whatever rare resources that these militant orders and sects had in their private stores. For this reason, the ces that Green Feather Mountain had won in every Dragon Spring Conference were used mostly as gifts to its allied sects and orders for diplomatic purposes rather than an actual means to strengthen its ranks of acolytes.
Then again, Lu Ye was absolutely sure that what he had just experienced was aplete makeover, if not an upgrade of his physical constitution.
He exhaled very slowly and regained hisposure. Then he wheeled around and started to pace around the tiny room.
It was baby steps to begin with. He would stagger around at first, banging into walls and almost crash to the ground. But after ambling around for a few rounds, he finally got used to his new physical condition and everything went more smoothly afterward.
Only then did he realize that the red gossamer mist was gone. The spring was still bubbling with water exiting the hole in the ground, but it no longer churned out any more reddish vapors.
All that bothered him now was the insatiable appetite as if he had been famished for days.
Lu Ye ignored the t object that came out of the spring. He continued pacing around the room while he chewed at some dried fruits and meat jerkies that he kept inside his Storage Bag.
He wolfed down almost a stones worth of food until he finally felt the starvation gradually ebb away.
Dhael Ligerkeys: On the off chance that it might be misunderstood, here stone is referring to the unit of measurement for weight still used in the UK. 1st = 6.350kgs.
ng!
The raspy metallic sound registered clearly in his ears. Lu Ye was surprised at first, but he quickly settled down.
ng! ng!
The sound repeated two more times, swift and sharp.
Three bell-like chimes. That was the signal that Xie Jin told him before that it was time to leave.
[Has it been three days already?!] Lu Ye looked up with bewilderment. It only felt like half a day to him here.
As soon as he heard the third chime, he dashed towards the eye of the spring and fished up the t object, and stuffed it into his Storage Bag without even examining what it was.
The same weightless sensation like when he first stepped into the mist struck him again. With a blurry whirl, he found himself just in front of the brass heavyset doors once more.
And he was no longer alone. Clearly, everyone had been transported here tooalong with a sour and odoriferous stench. Even Lu Ye could barely hold back from frowning at the effluvium. It was just too thick and too many to be bearable that many female acolytes squealed with disgust, choking for fresh air.
GET OUT! GET OUT! HEAVENS, THE SMELL! screamed a voice from the front, leading the way back out the passage.
Chapter 133: Farewell
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 133: Farewell
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A Cultivators physical body could never avoid the build-up of impurities as well as poison caused by the over-ingestion of Spirit Pills and the cultivation process of immortal powers. The process of such enrichment would expel these impurities and poison out of a Cultivators body.
That was the real reason that Green Feather Mountains allied militant orders and sects wanted their acolytes to have the chance to step into the Dragon Spring. It was not so much to enrich their physical bodies as to expel the impurities and poison.
Hence, many of these acolytes usually devoured as many Spirit Pills as they could beforeing here without worrying about getting poisoned.
A visit to the Dragon Spring would see the poison all expelled, making this a quick way to increase their powers.
For this reason, Cultivators would emerge from their visit to the Dragon Spring malodorous and sticky with sweat-like excretions from their bodies. Put ny-four such young men and women together inside a stuffy and suffocating underground cave and that could really be the worst possible nightmare for any female Cultivators finicky about hygiene and cleanliness.
Everyone was so enthused with anticipation and leisure on the way in, but now, the entire crowd made their way quickly out of the passage like an unruly mob spoiling for a riot.
A Green Feather Mountain acolyte was already standing by, waiting for them. He led the crowd to a nearby mountain spring. A bath after a round of enrichment in the Dragon Spring appeared to be the usual custom here and with many such water sources around, there were amenities well-prepared for both male and female segregated baths.
Lu Ye finished his bath in an hour and changed into some crisp new clothing,ing out of the facilities refreshed and invigorated.
So, how was it inside? It was Xie Jin, looking rather cheerful.
Fine, I guess.
All right. But the potency of the Dragon Spring seems to be waning, I wonder if you noticed. Last I checked, the red mist was noticeably thinner by the second day. When we were leaving, the mist was almost gone.
And thats not normal? Lu Ye asked, feeling rather guilty.
Well, its not irregr, but it doesnt really fit what Ive been told, said Xie Jin, Theres a reason why the Dragon Spring Conference is only held once every four years, that is to allow that bloody-red mist to umte. If the first round had exhausted much of the mist, then people who go in for the second and third rounds would not have much to reap. He paused to smirk, obviously thinking about the Tai Luo n and the Qins. I bet the n goons are still none the wiser about what theyll find inside and theyll be stuck inside there for three days with nothing to do and nothing to gain. I daresay theylle out of that underground cave after three days empty-handed.
Thats too bad.
What matters is that weve collected what we wanted, Xie Jin chuckled, Anything beyond that is no concern to Green Feather Mountain.
Lu Ye nodded quietly then he said, As a matter of fact, Senior Brother Xie, now that everything here has reached a conclusion, I think Ill be taking my leave soon. His time here has been a fruitful endeavor. The physical enrichment he received at the end of the Conference alone was too handsome a prize for him, to say nothing about the Contribution Points and Spirit Stones that he managed to earn.
His journey might have been dyed for at least ten days, but he could never deny that the stay here had been an immensely rewarding one.
It was time he continued his way to the Crimson Blood Sect outpost and he wasnt in the mood for any more hold-ups.
Xie Jin looked around as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Then he said, If you would take my advice, brother, its not safe for you to leave now.
Because of the n and the Qins? Lu Ye enunciated aloud his thoughts.
You have nothing to worry about the Qins, Xie Jin nodded. Its that Han woman from the Tai Luo n. Youve been nothing but a glimmering star at this Conference. And for that, she will never forgive you. Senior Brother Tang Wu has instructed me to tell you that he will personally see you off once hes finished with his affairs here. He will make sure that you leave this ce safe and sound.
That came as a relief. That Han woman was exactly the reason he was so anxious to leave. He was sure that the venomous stare she gave him just three days ago would continue to torment him for days.
His original n was to leave while the Tai Luo n acolytes were taking their turn undergoing the enrichment process in the Dragon Spring. Han Zhe Yue must be busy and Lu Ye thought that this would be the best time to leave.
But clearly, Green Feather Mountain had guessed this too, prompting Tang Wus assurance to Lu Ye via Xie Jin.
But what about Qiao Qiao Er and Song Xie? Lu Ye did not forget the other two independent Cultivators who were also his squadmates with whom he had shed blood and sweat together.
Dont worry about them, Xie Jin grinned broadly. Senior Brother Tang Wu has received permission from the leadership of our order to offer them the chance to be fully-fledged acolytes of Green Feather Mountain.
[Well yed, Green Feather Mountain] Lu Ye mused quietly. By making Song Xie and Qiao Qiao Er its legitimate members, Green Feather Mountain had practically turned the three initial Dragon Spring candidacies for independent Cultivators into just onehim. Qiao Qiao Er and Song Xie, despite being independent Cultivators at first, have proven themselves to be on par, if not better than many Green Feather Mountain acolytes. The leadership of the order must have noticed this too and for better or for worse, at least they would no longer have to scrape a living like they once did before.
Then again, that Green Feather Mountain did nothing to offer Lu Ye anything must mean that they believed that Lu Ye could be the student of another great and powerful order out on a trip of pilgrimage. If that were true, there was no reason for Lu Ye to ept their offer, so they might as well just save themselves the embarrassment.
Xie Jin and Lu Ye talked while more and more Green Feather Mountain members finished their baths and were gathering together. With this years Dragon Spring Conference now at its end, it was time for them to return back to their stronghold.
Back inside the great hall not far away from the mountain spring baths, Han Zhe Yue scowled at Tang Wu bitterly, Eight hundred Spirit Stones and three hundred Contribution Points! This is personal!
Qin Wan Li peered at his own foot as if he had found a smudge on his shoes, pretending he didnt hear a word.
Is this an attempt to insult me or are you asking for a fight? Tang Wu turned furious, before he shot Han Zhe Yue a piercing re, Do that again and youll have a taste of what Im capable of!
He wheeled around and stormed out of the hall without giving Han Zhe Yue the chance to retort. Once outside, he tossed something out of his sleeves. It expanded and grew in size, allowing Tang Wu to step and ride on it. Next, it shot up into the air.
Han Zhe Yue watched him leave, growling through gnashing teeth, sted hell!
There was only one reason for such a fat offer. Eight hundred Spirit Stones and three hundred Contribution Points. That was her price for Lu Yes head.
But Tang Wu tantly denied it outright. With more Dragon Spring Conferences toe in the future, thest thing Green Feather Mountain needed was the ill reputation of being the faction that betrayed its participants, whether they were their own acolytes or not, once they had discharged their purpose. Green Feather Mountain would never be able to recruit any more independent Cultivators ever again in the future.
The trek from the centermost peak of the One Hundred Peaks range to the Green Feather Mountain stronghold needed two days. It wasnt far by usual standards, but not near either. The whole procession walked almost halfway when Xie Jin said to Lu Ye suddenly, Please wait here, Yi Ye. Senior Brother Tang Wu will be here to rendezvous with you shortly.
Lu Ye nodded.
It was time for them to say their farewells. Squad Xie Jin huddled around. Qiao Qiao Er urged her giant boar closer toward Lu Ye and smiled, Remember me, Yi Ye. And if you ever miss me, you know where to find me.
Amber immediately emitted a low growl even before Lu Ye could say anything. Qiao Qiao Er gave him a nasty look and scampered away.
Song Xie rode over on his oversized scorpion, forming up just beside Lu Ye. Farewell, my friend.
Lu Ye returned the salute and responded, Farewell!
Xie Jin and Tao Tian Gang too exchange their goodbyes with him.
The Green Feather Mountain pressed on, passing over another hillock before it was out of sight.
Lu Ye remained there with Amber for moments before he spied a spark of light streaking across the sky, approaching his position with the growing presence of a powerful aura.
When it got near, Lu Ye saw what it was: a t Chinese gond-styled boat.
Tang Wu was riding at the bow of the gond, looking so suave and smart that Lu Ye could not help feeling envious. He called at Lu Ye, his brows angling with mild interest, Come on up!
Lu Ye yelped a quick thanks and he got up the boat with Amber.
RISE! Tang Wu lifted a hand, his fingers held up in a peculiar hand seal. Rich Spiritual Powers surged from him like a storm, kicking up dust and winds that Amber howled with fright and crouched itself low as the vessel shot up into the air, afraid that it might fall off.
Lu Ye ran a hand down the back of his head and neck tofort him.
So, where to, my friend? Tang Wu asked.
[How far can you send me?] Lu Ye nearly asked. If Tang Wu could ferry him all the way to somewhere just nearby the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, that would save him a great deal of time and trouble.
But that was just a fanciful pipe dream, as he well knew. The journey from here to the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold was a very, very long one and Tang Wu was only ferrying him out of courtesy to prevent him from being attacked by Han Zhe Yue. Lu Ye understood that he needed to be reasonable.
A moment please, sir, Lu Ye retrieved his 10-point map and pored over it.
Tang Wu beamed at him. I can send you anywhere within a two day of journey. I have an appointment after that and I expect to be punctual, he exined so that Lu Ye knew how to make up his mind, sparing him the awkwardness in case he picked a destination that was too far.
Lu Ye handed Tang Wu the map. Im heading west. Anywhere as far as you can is fine with me.
Tang Wu chuckled at his straightforwardness. He checked the map and finally said, YiAn then? What do you think?
Lu Ye took the map from Tang Wu and searched for the city of YiAn. He bobbed his head, That sounds fine, sir. Thank you very much.
No problem, Tang Wu waved his hand gently. Deep inside, he mused with surprise and awe at how Lu Ye must really be a student of distinguished pedigree to be able to own a 10-point map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Such a meticulously-detailed map could fetch up to several hundred Spirit Stones. Even he had barely enough money to purchase a 3-point map back in the day when he first embarked on his pilgrimage. But he was by no means jealous; he had enough wealth and power to buy himself all the 10Cpoint maps he would ever need.
If anything, this gond itself was many times the price of Lu Yes map already.
Cultivators could still not fly without external assistance in the Spirit Creek Realm. Only those in the Cloud River Realm could.
But Cultivators who have reached a certain level of mastery in the Spirit Creek Realm could use magical conveyances to fly. This would often involve substantial exhaustion of Spiritual Powers, but it would save time.
Lu Ye had no idea what was the lowest minimum rank for a Cultivator to use his or her own magical conveyance, but he knew that it must be at least Eighth-Order or above, for Dong Shu Ye was not able to fly, as shown in his earlier pursuit of Lu Ye.
The entire journey turned out to be a quiet one, for both of them had not been close before and nor were they loquacious talkers.
Lu Ye knew for a fact that Tang Wu would not be expending every bit of his Spiritual Power to ferry him to YiAn, at least not on his ount. They were both Cultivators fighting for their survival in this dimension called the Spirit Creek Battlefielda world where grueling challenges and brutal perils prowled unseen. No one could tell what could happen and hence reserving some of ones Spiritual Power could never be too prudent a thing to do.
Lu Ye did not spend his time consuming Spiritual Pills. It seemed a rude and vulgar thing to do. But at the same time, consuming Spirit Stones would not do him any good either. Therefore, he spent his time meditating with the Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits activated.
A spot of lightnded just outside a city two dayster. They had finally arrived at YiAn city.
Lu Ye led Amber off the gond, then he spun around and saluted politely, Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate your kind gesture.
Tang Wu returned a courteous smile. Piece of cake, my friend. Farewell, and I hope we meet again!
Farewell!
Lu Ye watched as the white speck of light tore into the distance and vanished. If only he could be so smooth and debonair, he mused. But the cultivation of ones immortal powers had always been a lifelong quest, not a hundred-meter sprint. Besides, his progress was already incredible enough by usual standards.
It had been five months since he first madendfall here and the fifty-four Spiritual Points he unlocked would have been an impossible feat for any other novice Cultivator.
He swiveled around. Right in front of him loomed the gates of a city where its locale and its people were foreign to him. The day was growing dark and he should be looking for a ce to stay the night. Additionally, it was time he replenished some of his supplies.
Chapter 134: All Roads Lead To Yi’An
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 134: All Roads Lead To YiAn
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
YiAn really was a big and bustling city. Lu Ye had no idea as to who were the founders of this vast city, but he could see that the activity here was not what the usual hamlets and towns that he ventured to before couldpare with.
Sitting inside walls more than fifty meters tall, the main gates of the citythere were twelve in total, eachrge enough for carriages to pass throughtowered over two or three times his height and it was the south-eastern gate from whence Lu Ye arrived.
The threshold of the gates was wide enough for several coaches to pass through at the same time and the passages that led to roads stretching far into the city were nked with rows and rows of shops and othermercial establishments each peddling all kinds of wares and services.
Pedestrians swarmed the road, weaving to and fro as they hurried about their lives, their shoulders rubbing against one another while they jostled through the crowd.
The darkness of night had already descended over YiAn, but the cityscape remained brightly lit like day, a night which was still very clearly young for all of YiAn.
Lu Yu walked through the streets, feasting his eyes on various sights and scenes that he had never seen before in all his life. At the same time, he noticed something peculiar: most of the people in this city seemed to be ordinary humans.
In the beginning, he wondered if the people swarming around the city were using some magical technique or instruments that could help mask the aura of their powers. Then he knew that was impossible. Not everyone possessed such wherewithal, at least not in a city with so many people. Until he stumbled upon a drunkard who crashed to the ground, utterly knocked out by the intoxication, and only then did Lu Ye realize that most of the people here were not Cultivators at all, but ordinarymon-folk.
[But how could there bemon-folk in the Spirit Creek Battlefield?]
But if Lu Ye were to think closely, he would know better. Cultivators who were members of militant sects and orders were able to rely on the Divine Opportunity Columns at the outposts of their native orders and sects to return to the world of Jiu Zhou freely. But the same could not be said about independent Cultivators. Using the Divine Opportunity Columns too flippantly might only incur the ire of the sect that the Columns belonged to, making life more difficult for themselves.
For this reason, most, if not all independent Cultivators who entered the Battlefield never chose to go back to the world of Jiu Zhou.
They would intermingle and marry, then usher in their offspring, which not all of them would have the potential to be Cultivators. Through time, more and more, progenies of former and old independent Cultivators teemed the Battlefield, causing quite a sizable poption of ordinarymon-folk.
In fact, it was not umon for ordinarymonfolk to rediscover the natural gifts that their forebears were once bestowed to be Cultivators. The immensely-rich natural energies that pullted the Battlefield made the chance that an ordinary person here could unlock his or her Spiritual Points possible, making it also a regr urrence that militant sects and orders often recruited new members into their ranks of fresh acolytes and initiates from dwellers of this world.
But unseen dangers and perils posed by wild Spirit Beasts abounded the Battlefield and impromptu fights often broke out between over-eager and irascible Cultivators. That contributed to the reason why ordinarymon-folk often kept torge citiesrge human settlements with better defensive infrastructure governed by properw and orderand not the usual viges and towns that Lu Ye had seen before.
A river passed through the city. Basking in the soft gossamer illumination of the silvery orb shining in the dark sky above, tiny little boats waddled idly in the casual andzy flow of the water with mostly young men and women onboard.
Lu Ye walked around the city for more than two hours, enjoying the sights while he replenished his supplies.
Most of what he bought was food and clothing.
The first was self-exnatory since both he and Amber were rapacious eaters with gluttonous appetites.
Every meal meant meat of at least three to four pounds but he did not have to buy much since his Storage Bag was already filled with quite a lot of Spirit Beast fleshfresh meat he acquired from the carcasses of Spirit Beasts mauled to death by Amber when they were fighting in the Dragon Spring Conference.
Spirit Beast flesh was Lu Ye and Ambers absolute favorite andpared to the flesh of ordinary animals, it provided far more nutrients and nourishment, most notably the flesh of serpent-type Spirit Beasts which tasted extraordinarily sulent. It was a shame that Lu Ye might never be able to enjoy that vor ever again since he left Green Cloud Mountain.
As for fresh clothing, that had turned out to be a necessity after each fight. It was either his blood or his enemys blood and washing the blood and stench away from any soiled clothes was almost a nigh-impossible task.
Lu Ye asked around for directions, then he rode Amber towards the local branch of the Divine Trade Association.
Doubtless, there must be taverns and inns that he could put up for the night, but Lu Ye felt more ustomed to the lodgings of the Divine Trade Association. At any rate, he felt safer there, especially since he now had enough Spirit Stones to make himselffortable.
A female scream pierced the zing city lights overhead that watched over the busy and energetic nighttimendscape below. It came from a woman who was desperately trying to readjust her dress as tears swirled in her eyes. Apparently, she was fondled by a young man in rich silks when she was strolling the streets.
His appearance instantly reflected how privileged he must be. But no amount of mboyant, bespoke couture and shiny, dazzling jewelry could do much to hide his crude and savage predatory lust for women as he raised his hand and sniffed with ascivious look of wanton hunger, Delicious!
The womans husband immediately stormed forward to demand an apology, but all he got in return was a huge round of whacking courtesy of the rich young mans retainers that left him groaning as he rolled on the ground with pain.
A few heroic Cultivators thought that this rich young bully could do with some discipline. One of them stood out and challenged him. That was when everyone noticed that one of the retainers looked unusual.
One look at that glowing and vibrant aura was enough to show that this retainer was a Sixth-Order Cultivator.
Few Sixth-Order Cultivators ever roamed the outskirts of the Battlefield. Even more so, one who would serve as a glorified bodyguard for a rich and hedonistic young man.
The Cultivator who stood out wanted to be the one to dole out the beatings, not receive them. Seeing a superior foe immediately extinguished any passion to exact justice in him, a weaker Third-Order Cultivator.
Revolting behavior! he scowled bitterly and turned around to leave.
He might be a helpful Good Samaritan, but not to the extent of risking his own hide.
Thats enough, thats enough, the pampered young yboy called to his men. The retainers withdrew as they were told. Heads began shaking morosely, almost everyone who lived in these parts knew what a big bully this rich yboy was.
The woman whom he molested threw herself at her semi-conscious husband and wailed. With his enthusiasm sapped away by the sight, the rich young man turned around, patting on his Sixth-Order retainer as he sighed, What a put-down, Ding-Dong
[Did he just call me Ding-Dong in front of everybody?!]
The Sixth-Order Cultivator could feel the corners of his eyes throbbing with barely-suppressed annoyance. He looked up at the vast blue skies overhead, hoping to find some sce and peace, [What in Heavens name have I gotten myself into?!]
He had deserted his former order, suffering a deterioration in the levels of his cultivation in the process, and fled for his life. Through day and night, he journeyed all the way here, thinking that this ce would be far enough to escape his formerrades-turned-bitter enemies, where he relied on some of his old friendships to gain himself employment with a wealthy and powerful family.
As a Sixth-Order Cultivator, he thought that he might at least be able to scrape himself a decent and respectable position, even if he had yet to prove himself useful. With few Cultivators of simr or superior ranks in this vicinity, he thought that he might at least be made a minor captain of the local guards.
After all, he once enjoyed a simr position and responsibilities. His former experiences and power would have made him a good fit.
The family that took him in gave him a warm wee when he first arrived. But only after he had pledged his loyalty to them, did he realize that all the friendly and cordial hospitality was just a charade! He was made a lowly bodyguard of the young and pampered son of the family!
Never in his life! A lowly bodyguard!
[I, a Sixth-Order Cultivator, now serving as a glorified bodyguard for an ordinary and useless man?!] Thinking about the notion itself could make his face melt with rage.
But he urged himself to be patient. This was a test, he told himself. Trials and tribtions that he needed to navigate to prove himself worthy again and he should be grateful that anyone was willing to give a deserter like him who had gone rogue against his former order a second chance.
Like all other self-indulgent rich kids, his ward liked to strut around the city with his cadre of trustedckeys apanying him, making life hell for anyone unfortunate enough to enter his sights. Apparently, he was once beaten up before for the troubles he had caused, although the near-fatal lesson did not seem to have been enough to make him a changed man.
The young man was an ordinary person who enjoyed little love from his father, the patriarch of the family, but from his mothera racy vamp who had the patriarch eating out of her handhe received so much that she literally spoiled him. It was she who cajoled his father into making this neer her dotted sons bodyguard to keep him safe from harm.
It has been days since his guard-dog-duty job began and he had been liking it not one bit at all. The indolent and good-for-nothing man-child was just the very devil who loved conjuring up havoc everywhere, even if he wasnt anywhere near to being wantonly wicked yet.
For one, he just loved molesting women. Not a day went by without him having eight to ten women fondled by him, and most of these poordies could do nothing but swallow the shame and indignity that he had inflicted upon them with impunity.
Still, it was amazing enough that this young brat had the sense to never antagonize any Cultivators, demonstrating a certain ir for selecting his prey well and picking out Cultivators.
One could argue that those seemed to be his only gifts.
Besides that, he had always been careful to not cause any loss of life. The husband of the woman he just fondled was only able to survive because this rich sybaritic brat was cautious enough to not let things escte. Perhaps that could be the reason why he still lived, in addition to the aegis of protection that the power and wealth of his family afforded him.
Lets go, Ding-Dong! the young man called and led hisckeys away.
Ding-Dong glumly kept up, feeling very gloomy about his future prospects.
Somewhere near the south-eastern gate of the city, a horse drawn carriage eased to a stop and another young man stepped down, leading two more people out. The other passengers of the carriage disembarked and marveled at the splendor of the huge and busy city.
The young man who brought them here was a Fifth-Order Cultivator while his fellow travelers, another young man and a woman, were both Second-Orders.
Its crowded here. So stick together; itll be hell finding each other if we get separated, warned the leading young man.
The youngss responded obediently with a wordless mutter, but the younger boy remarked slyly, Senior Brothers just pulling our legs. We can still easily find each other using our Battlefield Imprints.
Oh, youre right! the girl yelped with a dawning look. Then she looked at their senior hard with anticipation and pleading in her eyes.
The elder young man sighed in resignation. Oh, all right. Go have fun. But remember: Ill be at the Divine Trade Association. Well stay a night here and continue our way tomorrow.
Understood! The girl leaped with joy and dove into the crowd with the younger boy.
The Fifth-Order Cultivator exhaled heavily before he turned around and began walking toward the YiAn city Divine Trade Association branch.
Inside one of the third-floor rooms of the Trade Association, Lu Ye was in a seated position, meditating. With the help of the Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits working on all fifty-four of his Spiritual Points, he was now ravenously consuming every iota of Spiritual Qi that he could gather from his surroundings.
There was no need to hurry. There was still something that he needed to wrap his head around.
He reached his hand into his Storage Bag and felt his fingers grasping something t and thin: the object that came out of the water in the Dragon Spring.
He had not had the chance to examine it then and during his journey here, he did not want to take it out with Tang Wu around.
AWWW!!
He took it out of his Bag and Amber howled and crouched with a fearful but no less furious re at the object in his hand.
Amber was showing an extreme loathing and dislike for whatever it was!
Puzzled, Lu Ye looked at Yi Yi and nudged with his chin. Yi Yi quickly tried to calm Amber down before shemunicated with him. Then she came over, Ambers not sure of whats going on either. Its just an instinctive reaction when he saw that thing.
Instinctive reaction?
Yeah, Yi Yi nodded.
Lu Yes gaze panned down at the object. The slightly-acorn-shaped object, barely the size of his hand, looked like the scale of some animal. [A fish? Nah, doesnt look like it.]
[How about a snake?]
Then Lu Ye recalled the low-relief carving of a dragon flying in the air on the big brass doors leading into the Dragon Spring. Something told him that the scales of the dragon bore an uncanny resemnce to the object in his hand.
[Surely not?! A dragon scale?!]
[But how?! A dragon scale that spouted out of one of the springs eyes?] He had never heard of Xie Jin saying anything like this before. If anything like this had happened before, then it would have long been news to virtually every ear near the One Hundred Peaks mountain range. Green Feather Mountain was not the only faction to enter the Dragon Spring.
Then he remembered therge pair of eyes that appeared in his mind. The pair of crimson-red eyes that were ring at him when he was undergoing the physical reconditioning of his body.
[What was that thing and whats this, really?] he asked himself.
Chapter 135: An Ironic Place
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 135: An Ironic ce
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Was it just a coincidence that this object came to him? Lu Ye reckoned not. As far as he could remember, it was after he had his fifty-fourth Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits constructed and activated upon his fifty-fourth Spiritual Point when those huge red eyes appeared. Then there was an old and ancient voice that echoed in his head, saying some sort of gibberish that he did not manage to pick up.
That was when this object came out of the springs eye.
It did not seem like a coincidence at all. If anything, it rather felt like some unknown and supernatural force or being had deliberately handed this dragon scale to him.
Whatever it was, it only meant one thing: there was more to the Dragon Spring than met the eye. Secrets pertaining to the Spring that not even Green Feather Mountain and the Tai Luo n were aware of. But Lu Ye did not see any need to trouble himself by overthinking it. At any rate, he needed to grow stronger before he could start thinking about the Spring.
He peered at the dragon scale. Red in color, it looked as if there was a cavity inside the scale and blood was swirling in it.
From within the object itself, he could sense a familiar auraone that reminded him very strongly of the pale red-colored mist wafted over the Dragon Springs spout.
The Dragon Spring could enrich a Cultivators physical constitution only because of that pale red mist. Cultivators would only need to meditate and allow themselves to breathe in the vapors of the mist and the vapors would do their job. [So what if this dragon scale is actually] he wondered quietly.
Then it dawned upon Lu Ye. [Well, if this is what I think this is, then this dragon scale is a priceless treasure indeed.]
The Dragon Spring was a fixed location that functioned only once every three years, and entry into the Spring needed to be earned through gauntlets of life and death, and a messy lot of fighting and violence. Whereas he could carry this dragon scale anywhere and use it any time he wished to.
As to how it should be used, that would be a question that Lu Ye needed to seek out himself.
It was the many Spiritual Patterns that he conjured over his Spiritual Points that helped him to consume all the red mist to enrich his body. So if the mist was a form of energy made air like how dragons were fire made flesh, then this dragon scale must be energy made solid.
The Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits would be useless in such an instance, or he would already be able to notice any difference since he already had fifty-four of his Spiritual Points assisted with Gathering Spirits at the moment.
Just when he was still wondering what to do, Amber came over and bent down, shoving its head towards the dragon scale, and drew in a long drag of air.
Thin tendril-like lines as red as blood rose like spiderwebs from the dragon scale and entered its nostrils before the giant white tiger fidgeted like it was having a stroke, then it froze before crashing to the floor.
Amber! cried Yi Yi.
Lu Ye got up at once to check on him too.
Momentster, both man and apparition traded quiet looks. At least they could calm down for now. Amber appeared to be absolutely fine, although it was now in a deep and peaceful slumber.
Maybe not so peaceful. Amber never stopped groaning even as he slept, to say nothing of the soft pulsing glow of red now enveloping its entire body.
Lu Ye, do you think Ambers fine? Yi Yi whimpered again, still visibly concerned.
Should be, said Lu Ye, recalling his own experience of having his body reconditioned the same way. I think hes just had too much of whatever it is and its too powerful a kick for him. Thats why hes fainted.
He could still remember the gnawing pain that battered at his will and resolve to go on and that was just from the pale red mist he breathed in. But what Amber consumed was a deep-red line of whatever it was and Lu Ye knew without a doubt that it must definitely be more concentrated and more potent than the mist.
Both were energies given different forms but they worked just the same. Energies that could enrich ones physical properties at a cost, terrible pain, that was what knocked Amber out.
The pulsing glow must mean that it was working.
With Ambers idental demonstration, Lu Ye did not want to pull off the same stunt himself. If he wanted to use the miraculous energies inside this dragon scale, then he would need toe up with a viable method.
Lu Ye stowed away the dragon scale. Yi Yi and he both sat together for the better part of the afternoon to make sure Amber was fine. Yi Yi relied on her spiritual link with Amber to keep a close watch but she could positively sense his vigor growing stronger and his physical body turning more robust very rapidly.
It was exactly what Lu Ye had guessed.
Whatever object this scale waswhether it was really a scale that came off a true dragon or notit really was a valuable treasure!
He made sure that the dragon scale was kept safely inside his Storage Bag, then he had something to eat before he got up to practice with his saber.
Practicing for the first time since the Dragon Springs enrichment of his physical body was unlike any time he had before. He felt stronger. His strokes were faster and the force of every blow felt noticeably more powerful by at least threefold.
Such a major enhancement to his physical attributes easily made him a formidable enemy for anyone foolish enough to cross him. He doubted anyone had ever had as huge a degree of enhancement as his. But he wasntining; he had consumed so much of the vapor from the pale red mist that barely anything was left by the time he left that tiny room-like dimension in the Dragon Spring.
All of a sudden, his mind wandered to Hua Ci. He had the strange feeling of thinking if she might suspect him of having chosen to be a Body-tempering Cultivator if she could see him now.
Even the Fifth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator, whom the Tai Luo n had specifically sent to terminate him during the Dragon Spring Conference, could barelypare to Lu Yes present physical strength and vigor.
For the rest of the night, Lu Ye did not meditate. He spent the whole time training his skills with the saber so that he could quickly limatize himself with his new physical attributes.
The morning sun was just making its climb up a softly-lit pearl-gray sky when Amber finally woke up. Yi Yi immediately examined him to make sure he was all right. Which he was, plus a great increase in his bodily dynamism and a fresh, never-before-seen luster on his fur.
The shop adjacent to the one directly facing the YiAn city Divine Trade Association was a pleasure house where the girls that worked there were not only ordinarymon-folk but also independent Cultivators with little power. That somehow contributed to their roaring trade.
After a whole nights worth of exertion, a vigor-sapped young man, the very same hedonistic young bully, trudged out the doors of the pleasure house with only his underclothes on. Ding-Dong was waiting outside, albeit stiffly. He had been standing there all night, as steadfast as a retainer bodyguard ever could, using the time to derive rest and peace of mind. He had been very dedicated to his job and was thankful enough to have not been ordered to stand guard beside his wards bed all night.
Were leaving, Ding-Dong! the wretched young prodigal strutted away, still licking his lips at the pleasures he had enjoyed all night and feeling carnally satiated. Most men would have shown more, if not greater respect to Cultivators. But he was not most men. One other reason that he had not sexually assaulted an ordinary woman was because of his exotic tastes for female Cultivators. Being able to dominate women with power and strength that easily exceeded most men turned out to be exceedingly gratifying to him and this particr entertainment establishment has just what he desired.
[So what if these whores are Cultivators? Dangle some Spirit Stones in front of their faces and they couldnt get out of their dresses quickly enough for me!]
The madam of the pleasure house personally came out to see off the young man who swaggered his way down the street with Ding-Dong dutifully shadowing him from behind. He was all that was left of the whole retinue; the yboy had sent them awayst night.
Two individuals were hurrying as quickly as they could towards the YiAn city Divine Trade Association building. The young male of the pair wore such a sour look as if he had just had cowpat smashed into his face.
Although the girl behind him looked no better.
So absorbed were they in their tour of a city of such wondrous and endless delights that they had forgotten the time. In fact, they would still be caught up inside this dream-like wondend of dazzling sights and scenes if their Senior Brothers message did not arrive, urging them to rendezvous with him quickly and that cut short their sight-seeing.
Apprehensive, both the young acolytes dreaded the stern admonishment that awaited them.
Were here, gasped the panting boy as they finally drew near to the doors of the Trade Association. There was no time for respite and his hand groped for the handle.
The door swung open before his fingers grazed anything and the giant head of a tiger came face-to-face with the girl, who yelped with fright. The boy leaped to her aid, shielding her from what was just a harmless encounter as the tiger merely snorted and padded past them both.
The girl patted her own chest to calm herself down, realizing that they were not in the wilderness but in a developed and bustling city. Cultivators with Tamed Beasts were not an umon sight here in this city, even though such a handsome Tamed Beast was one.
The boy stared at the snowy-white tiger with envy and admiration too, until his gaze swept upwards to look at the Cultivator walking beside it. He gasped. Then his eyes shot wide and blinked twice as if to make sure that his sight wasnt failing him. Just as he was sure that he saw the right person,? he scampered after the tiger and stood in the way of the Cultivator. He thrust a finger at the young man as he struggled to recall a name distant and far in his memories, Y-Youre
Lu Yes hand gripped the hilt of his saber before he even started to think while his eyes squinted to scan the young man who might be a potential foe. Spiritual Powers focused around his eyes as he studied the young man.
[Second-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm Thats a piece of cake]
[Wait a minute He looks oddly familiar]
Not far away, at a roadside stall near the pleasure house, the hedonistic prodigal was chomping down on a delicious bowl of wontons and broth when he spied the white tiger outside the Divine Trade Association building. Heavens, what a beautiful animal! Ding-Dong, go speak to that man and ask his price! I wanna buy that animal!
Ding-Dong swiveled around to hide his face that was darkening with mounting rage from the brat calling him out in public. But when he saw the tiger, his pupils erged with disbelief. Did he just see a ghost?!
No! That was that boy! The boy that he thought he had killed!
How could this be!? The changes to his Contribution Points tally were correct and he was positive that he saw a body inside the pond and blood spreading on its surface
[Wait a second], he mused. He was in a hurry to rush back to his stronghold and neglected to make sure that his target was dead. [What if that was another Third-Order Cultivator instead?]
[Could such a coincidence be true?!]
But the world had always been an ironic ce, one filled with inconceivable and oundish coincidences, like how Dong Ding-Dong Shu Ye was here having breakfast with his ward who just happened to catch sight of the oversized white tiger Amber, and like how the young boy who was beginning to recognize Lu Ye
Youre Lu Yi Ye! the young man remembered atst. It had been months since that day, but he could never forget that Lu Yi Ye nickname.
Lu Yes face contorted into a frown, for he too, recognized the young man.
He was one of his fellow ve miners who was rescued by the Grand Sky Coalition a few months ago. Lu Ye had been a loner who kept himself only to himself and this young man arrived rtivelyte, so they had barely seen each other at all, let alone spoken.
[Why in Heavens name is this fellow here?!] Lu Ye was not liking this one bit at all. [Of all ces, why the hell is he here!?]
Its me! Wu Hua! I was epted into Burning Moon Mountain back then, remember? said Wu Hua, brimming over with bonhomie. He looked very happy to find a friendly face here.
I think youve got the wrong person.
Lu Ye responded with cold cidness. He vaulted himself up Amber and left.
The wrong person? Wu Hua uttered incredulously, Thats impossible!
He was about to chase after Lu Ye when a voice called from behind.
What in Heavens name is going on here?!
Wu Hua and the young girl stiffened. They turned around to find their senior ring at them sternly.
Senior Brother! The pair greeted him with a crisp salute.
Realizing that the senior was about to lose his temper, the young girl immediately quipped, Brother Wu here stumbled upon someone he knew!
Wu Hua was nk at first, then he bobbed his head vigorously, Yeah, right! Thats the one! The one riding away on that big white tiger! He aimed a finger at Lu Yes back.
The senior gazed into the distance and saw Lu Ye melting into the mob of swarming pedestrians. But that brief look was enough for him to read the aura radiating off Lu Yes back and discern his rank.
But he said that Ive got the wrong person, Wu Hua muttered morosely, But I was sure. He must be that Lu Yi Ye I knew.
Lu Yi Ye? What a strange name? quipped the girl, hoping that the conversation might distract their senior from his wrath.
His real name is Lu Ye. But during the entrance assessment, it was found that he only had the potential of one leaf. That is why people called him Yi Ye.
Chapter 136: Dong Shu Ye’s Coming For Us—Again
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 136: Dong Shu Yes Coming For UsAgain
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Someone you knew from Evil Moon Valley? asked Wu Huas senior, knowing full well the story of how Wu Hua came to join his order. That was how he knew Lu Ye must be someone from the very same ve mines the Grand Sky Coalition assaulted months ago.
Yeah, Wu Hua nodded. I was lucky enough to be epted. As for him, his potential was so poor that almost no one wanted him. Somehow he managed to enter the Crimson Blood Sect. But its been months since Ist saw him and hes clearly changed a lot!
He would have missed Lu Ye just now, if not for the big white tiger.
Back in the days when they were still ves, everyone looked almost the same: disheveled, haggard, and their faces caked with grime and dirt. But now that they had be Cultivators, their appearances had all changed and that was why he nearly missed Lu Ye and vice versa.
You said he only had the potential of one leaf? asked Wu Huas senior brother. What rank was he at that time?
That took seconds before Wu Hua could finally answer, I think he had only just unlocked his first Spiritual Point.
Then I daresay youve got the wrong man, said his senior. The man with the white tiger just now is at least a Fourth-Order Cultivator.
What?! gasped Wu Hua. In his haste, he did not have the time to read Lu Yes rank but he believed what his senior said.
[Impossible. How could Lu Ye ever manage to reach the Fourth-Order with that one-leaf-worth of potential? Never. Not when I am only still in the Second-Order myself and I was ted to have greater potential than him!]
[So, I really was mistaken just now, eh?] Wu Hua wondered quietly to himself, scratching the back of his head dubiously.
He and his fellow Burning Moon Mountain acolytes did not notice a stranger drifting past them with a sharp and piercing re at the crowd where Lu Ye disappeared.
[Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Yi Ye?!]
[That trespasser, Yi Ye?!]
[They share the same name. There must be no mistaking it then and I wasnt wrong. It really is him!]
[But what happened to him that he managed to improve from just a novice Cultivator into the seasoned Fourth-Order today?! But here are people saying that he has only the potential of one leaf!]
Whatever the answers were, there was one thing that Dong Shu Ye was certain of: Lu Yi Ye had improved by leaps and bounds. He was still in the Third-Order when theyst met and here he was, just fresh after a few months, a Fourth-Order Cultivator.
[Whatever he is, Lu Yi Ye is definitely more than just a one-leaf-potential weakling!]
Not that it mattered much. He had allowed Lu Yi Ye to slip past his fingers once, and he was determined to not allow that blunder to repeat, whether Lu Yes a Third-Order or a Fourth-Order Cultivator.
As far as Dong Shu Ye was concerned, every iota of suffering and indignity that he has been enduringtely was all Lu Yes fault. If he had not in the heir to the Nine Star n, then the n would not have epted the Mystic Sects challenge. That would have spared the n a hell lot of losses and he would not have to personally abandon his post to give chase, since his subsequent absence was the very reason that the enemy dared to mount an attack on his outpost!
If only he did not try to pursue Lu Ye back then, Wang Yang would never dare to attack him!
[This is all Lu Yi Yes fault and for that, he must pay!] thought Dong Shu Ye bitterly.
[And that name the Crimson Blood Sect I know that name A well-known militant order of Bing Zhou. While younger members of the Grand Sky Coalition might not recognize that name, we of the Thousand Demon Ridge grew up listening to tales of the elders who witnessed the Crimson Blood Sects once-glorious past with their own eyes and it was because of these ounts that the even recent generations of the Thousand Demon Ridge knew something that you Grand Sky Coalition pups know nothing about.]
Whats wrong with you? Who insulted your mother? The rich and pampered prodigal stared at the Ding-Dong when he trotted back to the roadside stall with a bitter look on his face. What about the tiger I wanted?
Dong Shu Ye turned and faced his young employer. Are you certain that you want that tiger? he asked with a grin as a n hatched in his mind.
Of course. Is he refusing to sell?
Well, if you want it, then lets take it from him!
The young brat stared at Dong Shuye nkly for seconds before he cracked into a sly grin himself. Heavens, Ding-Dong, you read my mind! Taking it would give me more satisfaction than just buying it! Good idea! Lets go!
No, youre staying here, Dong Shu Ye shook his head. I can handle this alone.
Now, thats a no-no, Ding-Dong. This is a show Im gonna want to witness with my own eyes. If youre leaving me here, Ding-Dong, you can bet your arse that Ill make sure my mother hears about this. I know what you wanna do but if you wish to make a name for yourself in these parts, youre not going to do so without the help of my mother.
Dong Shu Ye held his young employer in a transfixed stare thatsted for seconds. cidly, he observed, Youre not just a profligate and pampered hedonist, are you?
Ick only the gifts to be a Cultivator, or I would have already been wreaking havoc here and there, the young prodigal chuckled proudly. I might look like a rich good-for-nothing, Ding-Dong, but Im definitely not a fool. So get me the tiger and I will put in a good word to my mother for you.
Very well, sir, if thats what you wish, muttered Dong Shu Ye as he got up and he left.
The young brat sprang to his feet, not forgetting to leave a Spirit Stone on the table as payment for the breakfast, then he ran after Dong Shu Ye with the same excitement as a child expecting his birthday present. He had never witnessed a Cultivators duel before in his life and this could seem like the field trip that he had been waiting for all his life. He was not at all worried about his own safety, for his mother had told him about how powerful Dong Shu Ye really wasthe kind of Cultivators who could basically rule a city with absolute supremacy. To that end, she had always been reminding him to be nice and courteous to Dong Shu Ye and how he could one day be useful.
Lu Ye and Amber rode out of YiAn and continued their way.
Tang Wu took two days to send him here, but that actually saved him a months worth of journey. That was just how fast Tang Wu and his little magical boat were. Pity he couldnt take him further.
But Lu Ye was thankful enough. The Crimson Blood Sect outpost here in the Battlefield was still a long, long way ahead, but now as a Fourth-Order Cultivator of the Spirit Creek Realm, he no longer had to be as anxious and fearful as he once was. Atst, he had the means to keep himself safe.
So long as he could steer clear of any mishaps, his journey ahead in the outer peripherals of the Battlefield should be expectedly safer than before.
Lu Ye felt morefortable with more than enough supplies to keep himself sustained for his passage. A quick calction yielded the possibility that he might be able to reach somewhere between Eighth- or Ninth-Order by the time he reached the outpost, assuming he had enough Spirit Pills to keep his progress steady.
All of a sudden, just when he thought things were progressing just a little too smoothly, he felt as if he was being watched.
He knew that feeling. He had it before, right when Dong Shu Ye was hot on his heels. The same prickly sensation on his back that could strike the fear of Heavens into him.
[Is it the n? Have Tai Luo n Cultivators arrived here to exact their vengeance upon me?] That was the first thing Lu Ye could think off the top of his head. He looked around anxiously but there was no one, and nothing appeared amiss.
Then he heard it. He positively heard it. From somewhere far, far behind, he could hear cries and whoops and whoever or whatever it was, the stranger wasing at himfast.
Lu Ye quickly focused his Spiritual Powers around his eyes and he looked hard. But whator rather, whohe saw was enough to petrify him into stone.
[Dong Shu Ye?!]
[Why the hell is he here?!]
Lu Ye could barely forget thest time they walked into each other at Tassel City. He had to take Amber away and run for his life and avoid leading him to Hua Ci and her friends. But meeting him here and now was thest thing he expected to happen and the sight of Dong Shu Ye chasing after him was a real dj vu moment!
Lu Yes mood plummeted into the depths of an abyss. If only he knew Dong Shu Ye was here, then he would have avoideding here at all!
And from the looks of things, Dong Shu Ye must have caught sight of him earlier, and here he came now.
Amber was too handsome a Spirit Beast for anyone to not look at and ignore. Even the average stranger would stare and admire his beauty, never mind a Dong Shu Ye who had a vendetta against both Amber and him.
But Lu Ye was even more amazed that Dong Shu Ye did note alone. He was holding someone by the scruff of his neck and the screaming and yowling wereing from him.
But Lu Ye definitely wasnt in the mood to dwell on that particr subject. He patted Ambers back and said, Run, Amber! Its Dong Shu Ye! Hesing after us again!? As he spoke, he pped a Move-With-The-Wind Talisman on the tigers back.
Thest Move-With-The-Wind Talisman, one of the few Talismans his mentor left him prior to sending him into the Battlefield, was used up thest time he tried to run from Dong Shu Ye. This one was freshly purchased just not long ago at the cost of twenty-five Spirit Stones apiecea price that was not at all cheap by usual Talisman standards. Offensive Talismans often cost the least, followed by defensive Talismans. That made utility Talismans the most expensive of the three types and the Move-With-The-Wind Talisman was one of the most expensive utility Talismans ever sold.
Fortunately, he now had enough Spirit Stones to call himself affluent, so he had already bought a total of three Move-With-The-Winds this morning.
Only, he did not expect that he would be using them so soon.
The screaming from behind never stopped and Dong Shu Ye could have sworn that his ears were ringing from the noise ever since he began gliding in the air to catch up to Lu Ye. Finally, he could tolerate no more and he growled, Shuddup, you!
THIS IS FUN, DING-DONG! the boy might be yowling like a pig on the way to ughter, but he was actually enjoying the thrill and exhration from the up-and-down motion. Never had he experienced anything like this before with any of his former Cultivator bodyguards.
Growing fonder of Ding-Dong, he craned his neck so that he could yell into Dong Shu Yes ears, More! I want more!
That was thest straw for Dong Shu Ye who felt as if someone had whacked the side of his head with a sledgehammer. He withdrew the cocoon of energy that he initially employed to protect his young ward from the strong and vicious winds in the air. Without the protection of the energy cocoon, the skin and flesh on the face of the young prodigal were buffeted so furiously by the winds that his features looked grotesquely distorted, snapping like a g in the wind.
Three seconds. That was all it took and the boy fainted.
Only then did Dong Shu Ye restore the energy cocoon. He was already regretting his choice of allowing the boy toe. The kid was just too noisy.
Toote toin, Dong Shu Ye knew. Not that he could leave the boy anywhere now. It was dangerous out here in the wilderness and if anythingany harm or dangerwere to befall his ward, he would never be able to exin himself to his new master and mistress.
[To say nothing about how that bloody white tiger seemed to be stronger and faster nowpared to thest time]
He could remember vividly how easy the chase was two months ago even though Lu Ye was also using Talismans then. Catching up to Lu Ye was not just difficult this time; it was nigh impossible, especially since he could only make sure that he was not being shaken off even though he was already gliding as quickly as he could.
.
He could only think of two reasons. One, his powers had taken a plunge when he was injured by his formerrades at his old order. The next would be the undeniable truth of Lu Yes improvements.
It didnt take long before the young brat regained his consciousness and the discordant chorus of excited shrieks began once more.
Suppressing the urge to knock out his young ward with his own hand, Dong Shu Ye had to quietly withdraw the magical cocoon again
The young prodigal cked out once more.
Both the hunter and the hunted gradually traveled further and further away from YiAn.
This could not go on, Dong Shu Ye surmised. All he could do was glide while his quarry could rely on his mount and Heaven knew how many Talismans he still had! Gliding itself was taking quite a toll on him and if his quarry had more than a few Move-With-The-Wind Talismans, it was only just a matter of time before they could shake him off for good.
He looked ahead of Lu Ye in the direction he was fleeing and an idea came up. Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, he was riding straight intonds that belonged to Dong Shu Yes benefactor. [Maybe I can get some help from the rest of the familys retainers in the young boys name,] he mused quietly.
He ced a finger on his Battlefield Imprint and delivered a message.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was not feeling as anxious as he was earlier. He and Amber hade a long way since theirst encounter with Dong Shu Ye. The physical enrichment Amber had received from the dragon scale justst night was showing: he was running very much faster than before.
If this status quo could be maintained, then they might have a chance to shake Dong Shu Ye off their tail, assuming they had enough Move-With-The-Wind Talismans, for it was the one thing that was giving Amber the much-needed burst of speed.
But Lu Ye could see that Dong Shu Ye was exhausting himself as well by trying to keep up. And he wondered if his senses were wrong, but it felt as if Dong Shu Ye no longer was a Seventh-Order Cultivator.
He looked rather like a Sixth-Order instead, for the natural radiation of Spiritual Powersing off him had be rtively weaker.
But they were quite a distance away from each other and Lu Ye could be mistaken, although he did not want to find out. Thest time he had a fight with Dong Shu Ye, it didnt turn out well and he would give anything to avoid a rematch.
He looked up. Dark clouds loomed ominously overhead as thunder groaned sonorously.
[Dammit you, Dong Shu Ye! Why does my greatest nemesis have to be a Spell Cultivator!?]
Chapter 137: Skirmish in the Rain
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 137: Skirmish in the Rain
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Rain began pouring down in a terrible deluge with lightning shing intermittently across the darkened sky.
Amber flitted swiftly like a white apparition over the marsnds. Both he and Lu Ye each radiated a pale glow that hugged their skina thinyer of Spiritual Power just over their epidermis. Theyer could not fully keep them dry from the rain, but it did manage to help keep the rain away from their eyes, allowing them to see better despite the torrential downpour.
Right behind them, Dong Shu Ye was still doggedly maintaining his pursuit. He had managed to close the distance bit by bit, just like a wolf on the scent of blood as he swore to not let Lu Ye slip past his fingers this time.
It was the terrain that had helped his cause greatly. The waterlogged soil was making it very difficult for Amber to travel fast. In fact, the tiger would have got himself stuck if he had not lept out of the sinking soil that was trying to devour him fast enough. It was that, plus the unfriendlyndscape that allowed Dong Shu Ye to catch up.
At the same time, Lu Ye could see that the effect of his first Move-With-The-Wind Talisman was weakening. He was about to take out another one when he sensed the emanation of Spiritual Powersing from somewhere ahead of him. A pair of shadowed figures leaped into the air, casting a huge over him and Amber. The webbing of the gave off a shiny shimmer and Lu Ye immediately realized what it was: a Spirit Artifact!
One that was especially used to ensnare Spirit Beasts!
Amphibian- and reptile-type Spirit Beasts inhabited these marsndsnds which were part of Dong Shu Yes masters estate. That made the animals partly the masters properties, in a manner of speaking. Hence servants or employees woulde and hunt for game, which contributed handsomely to the familys ie.
These two retainer Cultivators were sent here to hunt for crocodiles when they received Dong Shu Yes message to set up an ambush for Lu Ye and they were just in time to cast the.
Amber was only just clearing a jump over a pond when the whacked right into him. Without any footholds mid-air, the wrapped all over him, causing him to lose his bnce andnd with a crash.
[We did it!] The pair of Cultivators were ted. [Weve got the tiger that Young Master wanted! The Mistress would surely reward us generously!]
In their joy and exuberance, they did not notice a figure lunging at them under the cover of the thick rainfall with his saber bared and ready to attack.
Lu Ye mbered up and used Ambers wide back as a springboard when he saw theing so that he could attack one of the Cultivators before they could get ready.
He did not know if a blow with his saber might work against the or not. Being a Spiritual Artifact, it might have strength and sturdiness that outstripped his expectations. Failure would mean that both Amber and he were trapped. Therefore, the safest bet would be to separate temporarily to prevent them both from being incapacitated together.
The blow came swift and sure, but Lu Yes quarry was just in time to see himing. As a Fourth-Order Cultivator himself, he was surprised, but not at all nervous. Dong Shu Ye had told him about Lu Yes rank earlier and knowing that he had the same rank as Lu Ye was what kept him cool. Besides, he was not alone and the odds really were stacking against Lu Ye since Dong Shu Ye would be arriving any time now
All he needed to do was stall.
The ng of his weapon gnashing against the glinting saber of his assant jerked him back to reality and his weapon, which he had raised just in time to deflect Lu Yes blow, was knocked out of his grasp by the sheer force of the attack. His right hand throbbed uncontrobly with soreness while he faltered unsteadily as the bashing force nearly tossed him backward.
.
[What kind of ungodly strength is this?!] the Fourth-Order retainer gasped. He had felt such strength before, not from Fourth-Orders, but rather, Fifth-Orders instead.
But before he could react, another steely glimmer came shing dangerously close at him.
Blood shot into the air, coalescing with the droplets of rain as the man staggered with his final ounce of defiance, then his knees buckled and he crashed face first into the mud.
Lu Ye felled his equally-ranked enemy before shifting his attention to the next one without a moment of respite. The second Cultivator was just hurrying over to help his colleague only to witness his grisly death at Lu Yes hand which left him somewhat stupefied. He managed to regain his senses quickly but it was toote. Lu Ye was already upon him and all that filled his sight was the metallic gleam of the saber boring down on his head.
A litany of harsh and sharp ngs of steel bashing on steel resounded. The second Cultivator managed to defend himself against the first three blows of Lu Yes onught, but not the fourth. Since his physical enrichment, Lu Yes speed and raw strength had risen manyfold. His cultivation rank might not have risen much since the Conference, but his physical constitution had evolved greatly.
The fourth blow came cleaving down the mans chest. He was fast enough to take a step backward or the blow itself would have hacked his brain into halves already.
His protective aurathe energy shield of Spiritual Power simr to Lu Yes and Amberscould do nothing at all. Where Lu Yes saber came down, the edge easily cracked through the shield like a hammer smashing through ss, allowing the de to tear open his chest from top to bottom.
Then Lu Ye twisted around and gave him a roundhouse kick into his foe as a final touch. The Cultivator crashed to the ground with a painful grunt and he cked out.
A pair of red glowing orbs padded closer to him. Lu Ye hurried towards Amber and ripped the magical off him. They needed to leave quickly before their pursuer caught up. Then his movements froze. It was toote.
With a deafening bang that left Lu Ye wondering if some asteroid had just crashed just nearby, spattering mud and slime everywhere. Then he saw a figure standing not more than a hundred meters away, his eyes ring with intense rage at Lu Ye.
Even through the thick veil of rain that separated him now from his nemesis, Lu Ye could almost feel the heat from the hateful re.
[Dong Shu Ye! Hes here!]
Lu Ye felt his fingers grasp on his weapon tighten involuntarily.
Thest few months of surviving on the Battlefield had taught him enough to know that fleeing with his back exposed to a Spell Cultivator at such close distances was tantamount to suicide. There was one and only one way to survive: fight!
Three minor tiers stood between the Fourth and Seventh-Orders, the difference between their respective unlocked Spiritual Points somewhere between fifty to sixty. That would mean that Dong Shu Ye has almost twice as many the number of unlocked Spiritual Points as Lu Ye had.
Then Lu Ye spied something else. Dong Shu Ye was holding an ordinary person by the back of his clothes like he was an oversized bag. Lu Ye gave one curt look and dismissed it. It looked odd, but Lu Ye could care less about that. He was more worried about his own safety.
Heavens, its freezing here the young prodigal rubbed his arms to make himself warm while his teeth chattered uncontrobly. But that did little to extinguish his desire to take Amber for himself. He craned his neck up to shout at Lu Ye, Oy, you! My idea was to make an offer for your tiger, but Ding-Dong here was the one who suggested that we should just kill you and take your tiger instead. So if youre gonna me anyone, that persons not me, all right?
He wriggled himself free and stood a good distance away behind Dong Shu Ye. Go, Ding-Dong! Take him down! As your young master, Im rooting for you!
Knowing that he could contribute nothing to a fight between Cultivators, he decided that he should at least keep himself at a safe distance to not be a nuisance.
[Who the hell is he?!] Lu Ye stared at him nkly, failing to make heads or tails of what was going on.
But that somehow reminded him of the heir of the Nine Star whom he had in months ago
[Young Master? That makes him almost like that fellow I killed that time Only, that was a Cultivator while this blokes an ordinary person.]
[What the hell is between me and all these rich and privileged fellows?!]
You should be six feet in the ground, Dong Shu Ye broke into a wicked grin. Perhaps I should return you to where you belong.
Lu Ye refused to respond. Instead, his eyes squinted as he quickly made ns.
Dong Shu Ye was about seventy meters away. If he had another hidden ace, a head-on charge could be dangerous if not risky. Lu Ye exhaled grimly and gripped his weapon more firmly. He bent his knee and readied himself to charge nevertheless. The ground beneath him sank as he mustered his Spiritual Powers and right in front of him, his protective aura kept the rain away from him. With a kick, heunched himself straight at Dong Shu Ye, barreling through the rain and parting it like a bullet tunneling through water.
Amber did not move. Instead, at Yi Yis directions, the white tiger retreated slowly away and melted into the thick curtains of the heavy downpour.
Dong Shu Ye was none too amused at Lu Ye choosing to wrestle for the initiative. That explosiveness that Lu Ye disyed was well beyond what a regr Fourth-Order Cultivator should possess.
But as a former Seventh-Order Spell Cultivator with vast experiences in battle, he knew better than to allow Lu Ye the chance to undo his main advantage.
He did not even think of moving. Instead, his hands rose up swiftly and a golden crescent-shaped energy bolt fired from his hand and raced straight for Lu Yes face. He had no intention to use any fire-based elemental magic like thest time because of the rain. To attempt using me elemental magic in such a wet condition wasughable even to him.
The bolt wheezed at an incredible speed, reaching Lu Ye even when it barely finished taking its shape.
In the meantime, Lu Ye had concentrated his Spiritual Powers in his eyes the moment he saw Dong Shu Ye fire his shot. He wanted to see where the blow would hit so that he could activate his Spiritual Pattern Protection in time.
Just when he looked hard with his Spiritual Power-imbued sight, everything around him became slow as if Time itself had suddenly decided to switch gears
He could see what was the supposed line of where the energy bolt would travel, allowing him, for the first time, the ability to evade the blow. He lowered himself quickly, letting his body limatize to the heightened sense of perception his newfound vision afforded him. Lo and behold, as soon as he crouched, something fast swept over his head, the deadly force shing through the rain and slicing a few strands of his hair.
[It worked!]
But there was no time to celebrate; a second blow came screaming through the air at him. This time, Lu Ye saw where it wasing and swung his saber with all his weight behind it. The second golden scythe-like bolt collided hard against the steel and erupted into a minor explosion that tossed Lu Ye backward. He managed to remain standing despite staggering unsteadily at first, but his wrist felt painfully sore.
Then came a third. Resolved to settle this once and for all, Dong Shu Ye was giving it his all to make sure that Lu Ye would never be walking out of these marsnds alive.
This time, he withdrew and stood straight and the third attack hissed past his nose harmlessly.
He knew what was going on. The physical enrichment he experienced at the Dragon Spring had not only made him stronger where he could fight faster and deal harder and heavier blows, it even enhanced his reaction speed and granted him incredible rity of perception, allowing his eyes to capture things that he could not before.
That was why he felt as if the world around him had slowed down.
This was a much-weed variableone that truly convinced him that he might survive another encounter with Dong Shu Ye yet again.
His initial n was to soak up whatever damage Dong Shu Ye hurled at him by relying on Spiritual Pattern Protection. But that could result in a huge exhaustion of his Spiritual Powers, not to mention the amount of strain and internal injuries that he might still collect.
Inch after inch, he pressed closer toward Dong Shu Ye. Whatever attacks Dong Shu Ye fired at him, he would just employ whatever evasive maneuvers to keep himself unharmed while maintaining his pace as much as he could, shing and hacking at some with his saber. Those that he could not dodge nor destroy, he would just absorb using the Spiritual Pattern Protection.
A few of the blows did manage to throw him backward, but he was, beyond any doubt, drawing nearer and nearer towards Dong Shu Ye.
Dong Shu Ye wasnt pleased. Not one bit at all. If anyone had told him that a Fourth-Order Cultivator would weather an endless barrage of attacks from him while closing the distance between them, he would have only dismissed the notion as a mere figment of a phantasmal delusion.
Being in the Sixth-Order where some of his Spiritual Points were too damaged to construct Microcosmic Orbits, he might still retain the experience of what the Seventh-Order felt like, but his powers had nevertheless taken a dip.
Even so, that did not change the fact that dealing with Fourth-Order Cultivators should have been a cakewalk for him!
Yet right here, right now, the very thing that he could have flippantly and easily dismissed as impossible was unfolding right before his eyes. To say nothing that it was being aplished by the one person whom he held the most hatred and loathing for.
Frustrated, Dong Shu Ye snarled. He mustered more Spiritual Power and condensed them into a fixed point. Slowly, the churning magical energies began to take on form and mass, slowly turning into first a pole and then a spear. At Dong Shu Yes control, it shot into the air and streaked straight at Lu Ye like a golden thunderp.
Lu Ye did not need to be told how dangerous this attack must be. His sensesboth physical and mentalwere tingling like mad. But the spear forged of magical energies was just too fast and just too powerful for him to evade or endure. [Spiritual Pattern Protection just wont cut it!] he thought at that moment.
But just when he thought all was lost. The round runic circr sigil of Spiritual Pattern Protection, this time asrge as the size of a gong, materialized right in front of him, glowing and zing in full splendor.
With a resounding bang that could shake even the entire marsnd forest, the energy-forged spear smashed into the runic round shield of energy protecting Lu Ye, eliciting a shockwave that rippled in all directions. Lu Ye crouched to lower his center of mass, but it was no use. The waves of shock, steam, and dirt nearly knocked him off his feet and it was all he could do to not fall while his entire body slid backward.
The energy-forged spear and the circr shield of glyphs slowly ebbed into the air, dissipating like dust and ashes. Dong Shu Ye fired another shot at Lu Ye that missed abysmally. Lu Ye saw his chance and dashed forward before his adversary could attack again.
Chapter 138: Dong Shu Ye, Deranged And Mad
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 138: Dong Shu Ye, Deranged And Mad
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye could feel all four of his Microcosmic Orbits spiraling quickly in resonance with the Spiritual Powers swirling in his Spiritual Points as he charged. He was getting closer to his adversary!
[Thirty-three meters, thirty, twenty-seven]
Then an attack mmed into him, sting him backward. He reeled back, but he immediately recollected himself and pressed on, undaunted and undeterred.
Blood trickled out the corners of his mouth while his chest ached with pangs of soreness from the st. If Lu Ye had thought that closing his distance with Dong Shu Ye would improve things, he was sorely mistaken.
Being closer made it more difficult for him to evade the spells Dong Shu Ye fired his way. He could evade most spells that his sight managed to catch at more than thirty meters away, but any less than that the feat was proving nigh impossible to repeat.
He would have been defeated if not for his repeated use of Spiritual Pattern Protection.
[Thirty meters. That would have to do for now!] he thought.
He made another attempt to get closer and as soon as he reached the thirty-meter mark, he yelled, AMBER!
ROAR! Amber, who had vanished out of sight since the skirmish in the rain began, appeared behind Dong Shu Ye all of a sudden.
But Dong Shu Ye was prepared. Right when he heard Ambers roar, he was already spinning on his heels like he knew Amber was there all along, firing a golden crescent-shaped bolt even before the roar was over. The shiny energy scythe split the rivulets of rain that showered from the boughs overhead and missed. All thanks to his predatory instincts, Amber had the sense of switching positions as soon as he made himself known.
Dong Shu Ye did not allow himself to be distracted. He could almost read Lu Yes n now. It must be for the Spirit Beast to nab his ward and use him as a bargaining chip.
But Dong Shu Ye was confident that the n wouldnt work. Come any nearer and he could easily y the beast anywhere within thirty meters. The spirit beast could not employ any magical means to protect itself and with his ward just ten meters behind him, Dong Shu Ye was certain that he could deal with Lu Ye and safeguard his ward at the same time.
Therefore, he immediately returned his focus to Lu Ye as soon as he forced Amber away. He could not afford to take his eyes off the main quandary at hand. But before he could fire any more spells, he sensed the signature of Spiritual Powers drawing close quickly.
His gaze panned up just in time to see a gigantic bell shimmering with a magical luminescence mming down on him and trapping him inside before everything went dark.
[Dammit, the Mystic Spirit Bell!]
He of all people should recognize the Mystic Spirit Bell, the iconic Spirit Artifact that belonged to the heir of the Nine Star n. But having missed the best window to dodge it, he now found himself trapped inside, all alone in the dark within such a tight space!
He had been careless, he groaned at himself. That was why Lu Ye was trying to get close to him! It was not so that he could turn this skirmish into a melee, but because he needed to make sure that the Mystic Spirit Bell would work! Too far away and his n might fail terribly!
The Mystic Spirit Bell was designed mainly for defensive purposes, but it could also be used to temporarily restrain ones opponent, although it wouldnt work so well. Dong Shu Ye, who knew more about the Bell than Lu Ye, was aware of this very well.
He was about to fire some spells to break open the bell when it rose up into the air all of a sudden, freeing him out of the temporary trap.
He traced the Bell to where it flew and what his eyes saw left him seething with stifled indignation.
Lu Ye had a hand holding a knife up at his young wards throat. Therge de of the saber gleamed dangerously with its edge just grazing by his artery while Lu Ye kept himself fully shielded behind with only one eye exposed to keep Dong Shu Ye in sight.
Lu Ye had never once thought of gambling with whether he could kill Dong Shu Ye because of the vast difference in their ranks. He had his fair share of ying enough Fifth-Orders during the Conference, but he wasnt going to let his hubris get the better of him. Of all his enemies, he knew how he would regret underestimating Dong Shu Ye, who clearly was far better and far deadlier than ordinary Fifth-Orders, and the skirmish up until nowwhere he could not even get within thirty meters of himwas proof enough of that.
To that end, Lu Ye did not want to put stock in the improbable or let alone the impossible. He could never seed in turning this fight into a closebat melee. He could never expect the fiery plump bird-like spell of his to work, not in such damp conditions.
Hence, his motive had been clear right from the start. If Dong Shu Ye had any weaknesses, that would only be his young ward.
He did not know who the ordinary man was at first, but the tone he used when he was addressing Dong Shu Ye showed that he must be someone important and he could very well be the best leverage Lu Ye could ever depend on to defeat Dong Shu Ye.
Lu Ye and Ambers perfect cohesion in this tag team was all because of Yi Yis instrumental involvement. There was no time at all to discuss any ns, yet still, Yi Yi could guess Lu Yes thoughts like they were reading each others minds.
Ambers earlier roar was exactly the distraction that Lu Ye needed to cast the Mystic Spirit Bell.
Right now, Lu Yes gaze met Dong Shu Ye. He could see the burning anger raging inside thetter, while thetter could see that Lu Ye meant business.
The young prodigal was dripping snot and spit because of the cold and having a steely de now held up his throat certainly did nothing to improve things. Nervously, he gasped, Come on, you two were fighting so why the hell am I being dragged into this!?
As the hedonistic scion of the local mercantile plutocrat, the boy had barely any respect for Cultivators, whether they earned it or not. With the wealth and influence that his familymanded, he could do almost anythingso long as he had the sense of keeping it from going overboardand get away with it. Even the most beautiful female Cultivator could be a mere ything to him.
For this reason, he never once feared the powers that Cultivators wielded at their fingertipspowers that could allow them to rule any ordinary humans life and death with ease.
Until now. For the first time, he felt the fear of mortal danger with the chilly sensation of steel being held up his throat. The feeling of its sharp edge pricking his skin could almost make him wet his pants as he whimpered, Save me, Ding-Dong!
Dong Shu Ye eyed Lu Ye with the ze inside his re growing stronger and wilder by the second.
Ask him to walk away or youll die! Lu Ye growled from behind Dong Shu Yes young ward.
Careful, man! It hurts!
Get-him-to-bloody-leave!
Okay, okay! Go away, Ding-Dong! Go!
If Im gone, then you really are dead, you fool!
Oh, Heavens, youre right! the young prodigal gasped with dawning realization.
Get him to bloody leave or youll die now! If he leaves, Ill let you go! I swear!
You swear?
I so swear, now get on with it!
The stinging paining from his throat and the sensation of something warm flowing from there werepelling reasons enough for the rich brat to not prolong the argument. Just go, Ding-Dong! Just go and Ill be safe!
Dong Shu Ye stared at Lu Ye, desperately forcing himself to swallow all the frustration, resentment, and anger that he had been enduring because of Lu Ye.? How he would relish killing Lu Ye with his own hands. But he restrained himself and snarled, Swear it! Swear upon Heavens that you are a man of your word! Swear it and Ill let you go!
Lu Ye and Dong Shu Yes re fixated upon each other for seconds before the former finally broke his silence. I will do nothing to harm this ordinary person if Dong Shu Ye will do me no harm. In three days, Ill set him free. This I swear in Heavens name!
Everyone present could feel the same surrealistic tingle of Heaven acknowledging the oath.
Dong Shu Yes resentment reduced not one bit, but he had to concede that this was the only possible course of action at the moment. He held Lu Ye in a long and deep stare, full of enmity and unresolved rage. Youd do well to remember your oath.
He stepped back into the heavy deluge and retreated.
[One step, two steps, three steps]
Then he stopped suddenly. He gazed up into the sky and felt the raindrops beating on his face. Then he smirked at himself, Pathetic.
He was a proud and illustrious Seventh-Order Cultivator, a highly-ranked and immensely-respected member within his order. Then a certain Third-Order trespasser came into his life two months ago, marking the start of the terrible change in his life. He failed his mission to y that trespasser and for that, here he was, two monthster, now relegated to the Sixth-Order while the trespasser had risen to the Fourth.
His Spiritual Points were damaged and as a result, his powers waned. His future prospects were all in tatters as he was forced to desert his former order and be a rogue. And just when he thought he found a ce where he could start anew, he was made a simple bodyguard of an ordinary human.
Whereas his nemesis was making progress by leaps and bounds! Dong Shu Ye wondered if he would ever get another chance to y and defeat him in the future? No! His nemesis was growing just too fast while he was falling further into ruin and squalor! The gap between them was growing smaller and it wouldnt be long before he surpassed Dong Shu Ye and Dong Shu Ye knew who to me for this! No, he could never let this slight pass!
In just the blink of an eye, his aura burgeoned as the radiation of Spiritual Powers from him intensified. Without warning, his hand came up and he fired a golden energy scythe at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye knew something was wrong the moment he saw Dong Shu Ye halted. Then when he saw his nemesis reneging on his promise and attacking him, he grabbed his hostage and dashed forward. In a mere few steps, he covered almost a couple dozen meters until he felt it was enough for him to cast the Mystic Spirit Bell that he had been holding with his other hand all along.
The golden crescent of death hit the poor young hostage in the chest, ripping it open and sttering his blood everywhere on the mud-sodden soil, before barreling out his back and smashing into the runic shield of Spiritual Pattern Protection, shattering the round shield forged of pure energy and sending Lu Ye hurtling through the air before he crashed down.
The Mystic Spirit Bell bore down on Dong Shu Ye just in time before he could ramp up another attack, trapping him inside once more. But the outer surface of the bell began to glow vividly with a fiery assortment of colorssigns of the Bell being vehemently attacked from the inside.
ROAR! Amber bounded out from nowhere, stopping just in front of Lu Ye, who vaulted himself up on his back while he quickly pped his second Move-With-The-Wind Talisman on the tigers strong and stout girth.
Lets go!
[Dong Shu Ye has gone deranged and mad!]
Lu Ye never knew that young prodigal. But his being able to give Dong Shu Ye orders must mean that he wielded influence and privilege enough for Dong Shu Ye to be worried about his well-being to agree to a parley at first. But what had possessed Dong Shu Ye into breaking the promise, Lu Ye did not know. He could only chalk it up to a sudden streak of madness that he dared to risk, and eventually killed with his own hands, the one person he was obviously supposed to defend!
Nevertheless, that impressed upon Lu Ye Dong Shu Yes overzealous and rabid resolve to kill him. That was why he needed to run. He had exhausted much of his Spiritual Powers in this skirmish and he had collected too many wounds to continue any longer. Fleeing was the only option and there was no time to retrieve the Bell, not without letting Dong Shu Ye out.
Amber carried Lu Ye on his back and bolted. Seconds barely ticked by when the Bell exploded. Dong Shu Ye emerged amid the fumes and steam, looking slightly charred and bedraggled, but free.
He looked around and found Ambers tracks and took to the air once more to give chase. Without his ward this time, the speed of his gliding was considerably faster.
The rain was showing signs of subsiding until it finally stopped two hourster. A beautiful rainbow arched across the sky like a bridge. Squads of Cultivators arrived at the scene of the skirmish just now and discovered three bodies and the signs of a battle.
When the Cultivators recognized one of the bodies, all of them stood around it grimly with dreadful trepidation. The son and heir of their master, lying dead in the mud like some mongrel dog
It did not take long for the family to put a bounty on Dong Shu Yes head. But Dong Shu Ye was long gone, still hot on Lu Yes heels miles and miles away.
Night slowly set in as Amber galloped swiftly, flitting through a rocky wilderness where towering high-rise columns of rock and granite almost seventy meters tall sprawled across a t meadow otherwise densely filled with craggy hills.
Amber was beginning to show signs of tiring and they had used up all three of Lu Yes Move-With-The-Wind Talismans. Fortunately for them, Dong Shu Ye appeared to have abandoned his chase somewhere more than an hour ago. Lu Ye could only assume that his nemesis must be at his limits too.
The fight and the chase had been for so long and Dong Shu Ye, even with his vast supply of Spiritual Powers, still needed as much rest and recuperation as they did.
In contrast, Lu Ye was able to recover some of his Spiritual Powers during the journey, all thanks to Amber.
Lu Ye knew that Dong Shu Ye might have abandoned the chase for now, but he would never abandon his quest for vengeance. Lu Ye would have wanted to put as much distance as possible between them and their hunter but Amber was too tired to go on. Using Move-With-The-Wind Talismans could increase ones fleetness of foot, but it also caused a lot of strain and exertion.
Lu Ye did not need to rest but Amber most definitely did.
But the rocky wilderness afforded them a lot of cover. Yi Yi found a hidden and secluded spot and led Amber there. The tiger plopped to the ground with a heavy thud as soon as he reached the spot, his furry chest heaving and his tongue hanging out like a tired and thirsty dog.
It pained Yi Yi to watch him like that and she delved into a long litany of curses directed at Dong Shu Ye while she fed Amber water and food.
In the meantime, Lu Ye examined his own injuries. There was nothing serious aside from the concussions to his torso and head from the sts Dong Shu Ye fired at him. His abdomen carried several heavy bruises too, but nothing a Healing Pill couldnt solve quickly.
Lu Ye did not need to be told that Dong Shu Yes behavior earlier indicated his dogged determination to see Lu Ye dead with his own eyes and by his own hands. He did not like this at all, but for the moment, trying to fight Dong Shu Ye as a Fourth-Order Cultivator was asking too much.
If he could ascend to the Fifth-Order quickly, then he might be able to triumph just yet!
Chapter 139: I Need A Room
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 139: I Need A Room
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It was not hubris. Since he left Green Cloud Mountain, Lu Ye had managed to y Cultivators well beyond his rank with rtive regrity, killing at least five Fifth-Order enemies in the Dragon Spring Conference alone.
It was the Spiritual Patterns Protection and Sharp Edge that had given him enhancements to both his defense and offense, allowing him to even the odds against superior enemies.
Hence, fighting against enemies beyond his rank wasnt really fighting against enemies beyond his rank actually.
At any rate, this recent encounter with Dong Shu Ye had given Lu Ye one crucial piece of information: something must have happened to Dong Shu Ye and he had now fallen to the Sixth-Order!
His powers had plummeted noticeably since thest time they met two months ago. If the opponent he was fighting just now was the Dong Shu Ye from two months ago, then Lu Ye would never have felt that defeating Dong Shu Ye was possible at all, physical enrichment or not.
But it was rare for a Cultivator to fall down the ranks of their cultivation and this left Lu Ye wondering if Dong Shu Ye had had some of his Spiritual Points damaged.
The rankings of Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm were simple enough;? the number of Microcosmic Orbits a Cultivator had inside his or her body denoted how far up thedder one was. Any damaged Spiritual Points would mean a dissolution to the Orbits they were part of and the rest of the Spiritual Points would be no use at all other than just increasing the capacity of the Cultivators Spiritual Power reserves.
[So, what really happened to Dong Shu Ye? Was it the Mystic Sect?]
Lu Ye could barely profess any knowledge about how Dong Shu Ye could fall in rank, but whatever it was, it must have had something to do with the Mystic Sect invasion of the Nine Star n stronghold back then. If that were true, then it would be his fault, since his intrusion was what caused the all-out war between both factions to take ce. That would exin Dong Shu Yes obsession with him.
Anyone would be. Anyone in Dong Shu Yes shoes. In fact, it would not be far off to say that anyone in Dong Shu Yes position would have the utmost hatred for Lu Ye.
Nevertheless, it was d tidings to Lu Ye. He would never survive against a Seventh-Order Dong Shu Ye, never mind defeat him. The mere notion itself was unimaginable.
But since he had now fallen to the Sixth-Order, this really pointed to a usible chance of defeating him.
But to do that, Lu Ye would first need to reach the Fifth-Order.
He now had fifty-four Spiritual Points unlockednine more and he would have all the Spiritual Points he needed to reach the Fifth-Order. If he could focus all his time and effort on meditating, that would take no more than twenty days!
But he could not. Being out here in the wilderness, there was no telling if Dong Shu Ye might renew his pursuit of Lu Ye or not. Without any baggage this time, Dong Shu Ye would be faster and he was out of Move-With-The-Wind Talismans, which would make fleeing from Dong Shu Ye a near-impossible task.
Hence, the first order of business was to look for somewhere safe and secure. Somewhere where he could concentrate on meditating without being bothered.
Now that he had a n, Lu Ye took out his map to look for a suitable spot.
He swallowed a Spirit Pill and tried to unlock his fifty-fifth Spiritual Point.
And indeed, just before midnight, Dong Shu Ye came looking for him. Not wanting a fight yet, Lu Ye rode on Amber and they fled. Fortunately for them, Dong Shu Ye did not have enough time to recover, hence he was not able to glide at full speed and that gave Lu Ye the chance to give him the slip once again.
But that went on and on with both sides stopping to rest before the hunt resumed until two dayster, Lu Ye and Amber finally arrived at a small town where they managed to locate the local Divine Trade Association branch just in time to rush inside with Dong Shu Ye hot on their heels.
The moment Dong Shu Ye stormed inside right after them made many heads turn. Even more appalling was the thick miasma of malice that radiated off Dong Shu Ye, making his eyes bloodshot, with rage and rancor.
One of the stewards of the branch, a Cultivator of the Third-Order, meandered near to them and squeaked fearfully, No fighting in the Divine Trade Associations premises. Whatever it is between you, please take it outside.
I want a room! Lu Ye demanded at once.
Um the steward did not know what to say.
Dong Shu Ye shot him a re so scathing as if he was saying, Give him a room and youll never see daylight ever again, and it was making the steward more nervous.
All of a sudden, Spiritual Power ripples so huge that they swept through the whole building and took everyone by surprise. Every head in the foyer panned towards the stairs and they saw an elderly man in his sixties descending the final flight, feigning a light cough every now and then.
Despite having a crooked back that made him look frail and weak, his skin glowed with a luster brighter than even Dong Shu Yes in his best days.
Lu Ye knew what it was. [This old mans at least a Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator of the Eighth-Order!]
And seeing him filled Lu Ye with relief.
As a regr patron of the Divine Trade Association, Lu Ye understood just how rich and how powerful the trade organization was. More so, for an organization that had the intrepidity and gumption to use Divine in its name, it showed just how confident the organization was.
.
The floor staff of the Divine Trade Organization might not be powerful Cultivators in their own rightat least Lu Ye had yet to meet any one of their staff who had very high rankingsbut he knew that the Divine Trade Association would not enjoy such a great prestige in the Battlefield without having a few champions in their payroll. How else would the Divine Trade Association ward off potential robbers or pilferers? The Battlefield teemed with no shortage of reckless scoundrels, daring enough to try and challenge anything and many would have been coveting the riches and valuables that the Divine Trade Association hoarded in its vaults.
Like how militant orders needed champions to watch their strongholds and guard their wealth, so did the Divine Trade Association. Which was why he chose toe here. The Divine Trade Association was a ce to conduct business, therefore it would never allow any form of violence to take ce within its walls.
It was a gambit that paid off. As expected by Lu Ye, there really were champions hired to keep every branch of the Divine Trade Association safe, although they would never show themselves until the moment called for them.
Dong Shu Ye was well beyond what the usual floor staff could handle when he barged in, thinking that he could kill Lu Ye then and there, and that called for the intervention of the branchs resident champion.
Meanwhile, the elderly man paced slowly towards them. Dong Shu Ye could feel his hair standing. He knew better than Lu Ye just how powerful the Divine Trade Association was, or he would have already dealt the killing blow as soon as he pped eyes on Lu Ye. Thest thing he would have wanted to do was to waste time ring at his quarry.
Peace, gentlemen, the old man ambled in his slow but steady approach towards them. With a jovial fa?ade, he said, Nothing goodes out of violence.
He stopped a few paces away from Lu Ye and Dong Shu Ye and tapped the well-polished floor with his staff. From the very spot where the staff struck the floor, a burst of Spiritual Powera very highly-concentrated and potent burstswept forth in waves in all directions.
The corners of Lu Yes eyes twitched involuntarily. Surprised, he did not expect the old man to wield powers and strengthparable to those of Tang Wu.
At any rate, it worked. Dong Shu Ye ceased at once the aura of malice and rage that was being emanated by him and saluted the elderly man, My apologies for causing trouble. Please forgive me. Lu Ye was somewhat amused by the quick shift in stance.
In fact, he was enjoying every second of italbeit quietly.
And what about you, my young friend? the elderly man turned his attention this time to Lu Ye.
Im here to seek amodations.
Why, wee! the elderly man beamed broadly at him, which left an even sourer taste in Dong Shu Yes mouth.
Immediately, the elderly man barked at the steward, Arrange a room for this young gentleman! Ten Spirit Stones a night!
Hold it right there! Lu Ye snapped, Ten Spirit Stones a night?!
For one moment there, it was either the old man who had been mistaken or his ears were deceiving him.
The elderly man shed a cheery grin at him and repeated very clearly, Ten Spirit Stones.
Wait a minute, all of your other branches only charge one Spirit Stone a night! Lu Ye was beginning to wonder if he had just walked into a scam. Meanwhile, Dong Shu Ye was beginning to enjoy this show.
The smile faded from the elderly mans face as his voice turned stony. You might be weed here, but youd do well to bear in mind that all Divine Trade Association outlets are ces to conduct business. We are not a shelter that provides protection. Anyone whoes here with the intent of abusing our policy of having zero violence on our premises will face the consequences. He paused for one beat as if to let that sink in before he finally asked, Are we clear, young friend?
He was right. The elderly man owed Lu Ye nothing and there was no obligation for him to defend him from Dong Shu Ye. At the same time, he was trying to impress upon Lu Ye the truth that he could have easily tossed both Lu Ye and Dong Shu Ye out the doors so that they could settle their differences outside if he was not adhering to the Divine Trade Associations strict policy to remain neutral towards whatever squabbles or conflicts.
Very well, Lu Ye conceded. All that mattered was finding a safe ce to get to the Fifth-Order as soon as possible. He rummaged in his Storage Bag for quite some time until he finally dug out a sack that he tossed at the steward. Im staying then. Ten days.
The elderly man was bbergasted and so was Dong Shu Ye.
One hundred Spirit Stones. That was definitely not what the wealth that Fourth-Order Cultivators were supposed to be able to fork out that easily.
The steward cradled the sack full of Spirit Stones and peered at the elderly man, tacitly requesting instructions.
The same smile as before once again formed on the wrinkled face of the elderly man. Get this young gentleman our best and biggest suite!
Yes, sir! the steward responded like a soldier fresh out of boot camp, This way please, sir!
Lu Ye and Amber followed the steward up the stairs to the next floor.
What about you, sir? the elderly man cast a look at Dong Shu Ye. How about a room too?
Ten Spirit Stones a night? asked Dong Shu Ye.
Naturally, the Divine Trade Association aspires to be fair and just to all its patrons.
Forget it then! Dong Shu Ye scowled. Last he checked, he was still much too sane to let himself spend ten Spirit Stones for a room. He knew where Lu Ye was so there was no need for him to be afraid of Lu Ye slipping out of his clutches this time. He paused to think, then he left the Divine Trade Association and found a shop just opposite where he stood outside, keeping a close watch on the entrance to make sure Lu Ye wouldnt get out. In his grasp, he held a pair of Spirit Stones, absorbing the energy from within to replenish his powers.
[There is no way Lu Ye could go on paying ten Spirit Stones every night!
It was a spacious suitebigger and wider than all the rooms that Lu Ye had rented before in the past and the furnishing inside wasfortable. But what truly amazed Lu Ye was how thick and rich the Spiritual Qi inside the suite waspared to the atmosphere outside.
Some form of enchantment must have been conjured in the suites, something that functioned like Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits and that would be very useful to his meditation.
To top it all off, the suite even came with an en-suite bathroom, suiting Lu Yes needs perfectly.
Fatigued and weary from their long flight from Dong Shu Ye, Amber and Lu Ye first had a good meal before they took a bath. Only after that did his meditation begin.
He needed to use his time here as efficiently as he could, more so, since the price of this amodation wasnt cheap at all. Even with his present affluence, he could ill-afford spending so profligately on a regr basis.
Lu Ye first started by constructing copies of Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits all over his Spiritual Points. He instantly felt the difference. With the dense concentration of Spiritual Qi inside the suite, using Gathering Spirits was making his assimtion of the natural energies more potent and effective.
Spiritual Points began unlocking one after another at every quarter of every hour Lu Ye maintained his meditation.
[Fifty-sixth Point, then the fifty-seven, then the fifty-eighth]
Finally, when he got too tired, Lu Ye decided to take a rest. He had been sitting for so long that his legs were growing numb. To shake off the stupefaction, he decided on a change of pte and switched to training with the saber to stretch his legs.
Lu Ye had been tirelessly training and cultivating his skill, strength, and powers ever since he stepped into the Battlefield. But never had he yearned to progress fast so greatly before. The thirst and the hunger for power were never this strong before.
Ironically, it had nothing to do with wanting to defeat Dong Shu Ye, but rather, because of the cost of staying here. Every second he spent in this suite cost moneyhard-earned money!
It was Lu Yes fourth night in the Divine Trade Association branch when a female steward with a lithe and petite figure went up to the fifth floor. She gave the elderly manclearly, a manager or someone with authority at the branchthe sales report of the day and before she reached halfway, the old man teetered on the brink of dozing off.
The female steward ignored the elderly mans shenanigans like she had grown ustomed to them, droning on until she reached the end of her report where she added, There is one more thing of note, sir.
Oh, just speak up, for Heavens sake.
Our enchantmentsthe ones conjured for the amassment of Spiritual Qihave been depleting three or four more Spirit Stones recently.
And where did this probleme from? asked the elderly man, opening his eyes, atst, feeling puzzled and intrigued.
Premium Suite Number Three.
Chapter 140: To Lay One’s Bones
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 140: To Lay Ones Bones
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Premium Suite Number Three. That was the suite Lu Ye was staying in.
Such potential the elderly man mused aloud. Thats very rare.
The higher ones potential was, the more Spiritual Qi one could assimte. The Divine Trade Associations Premium-level suites were all, just as Lu Ye guessed, fitted with enchantments to amass Spiritual Qi and that exined why the suites were all pullting with such rich natural energies. But at the same time, the functioning of these enchantments required the sustenance of Spirit Stones.
The more the enchantments functioned, the more Spirit Stones would be depleted.
The elderly overseer had seen his fair share of gifted Cultivators. Cultivators whose potential could easily engender an excess cost of three to four Spirit Stones to upkeep the enchantments visited the Divine Trade Association branches on a regr basis, but the elderly overseer could have sworn that he could count with one hand the number of Fourth-Order Cultivators who could do the same.
Should we evict him? asked the steward.
Can we? Hes a paying patron, not a pest, and nothing in the deal stated that he needs to pay us anything for the Spirit Stones. Were doing business, my dear, so we need to be fair to all our patrons. We do not make decisions based on our whims and fancies.
Understood, sir.
Off you go then, the elderly man waved her away.
The female steward politely took her leave and walked away.
Leaving the aged overseer in his chair, pondering quietly on his own while he shook his head.
[A student or acolyte from one of the greater militant orders on a trip of pilgrimage, I suppose, although few ever venture so far to the outer peripherals of the Battlefield But he might not survive though with that Sixth-Order Cultivator trying to hunt him down Pity]
On the sixth day of their stay, Lu Ye was taking a short break from training when Amber padded up to him and nudged him with his muzzle.
What does Amber want? Lu Ye peered at Yi Yi quizzically.
Yi Yimunicated with the tiger before she said to Lu Ye, He wants that dragon scale you showed himst time.
A dawning look spread upon Lu Yes face. He quickly took out the dragon scale and held it out for Amber, who came closer and inhaled a long drag of air, drawing in a thin red, bloody line from within the dragon scale. The oversized tiger staggered unsteadily as if he was drunk. Like thest time, he tottered around, swaying off-bnce until he crashed to the ground, unconscious while his entire body pulsed with a crimson glow. The unknown substance must be enriching his physical constitution again, like thest time.
Lu Ye wasnt at all interested in emting Amber. The substance inside the dragon scale looked like it packed quite a punch that not even a Spirit Beast as strong as Amber could withstand its effects. If anything, Lu Ye was afraid that effects might do him more harm than good.
Nevertheless, there was no denying the good that the substance had done. Amber had gained much physically since hisst enrichment and Lu Ye was anxious to see what other benefits Amber could glean this time.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye would carry on with the pace of his meditation.
One by one, Spiritual Points in him unlocked piecemeal.
By the fifteenth day of Lu Yes stay, the barrier of the sixty-third Spiritual Point was showing signs of giving way after his ungging and relentless attempts of weakening it. But just before the barrier came down, Lu Ye stopped abruptly.
He got to his feet and examined himself. Everything appeared fine. He felt strong and his vigor replenished. His sixty-third Spiritual Point was just on the verge of being unlocked and it was time to set his n into motion.
He went downstairs and found a steward and made a purchase of several Talismans.
That would bring his present amount of Spirit Stones down to just two to three hundred plus. He had spent the most on his amodationsa whopping a hundred and fifty Spirit Stonesbut it was worth it. The extraordinary efficiency because of the enchantments inside the suite turned what he initially thought as a twenty-day n to reach the Fifth-Order into just fifteen days. The amount of time saved was especially valuable to him.
He checked his stores of Spiritual Pills and found that there were just a few shy of a hundred. It did not take long for him to make up his mind before spending another two hundred Spirit Stones on Spiritual Pills, leaving just thest thirty or so Spirit Stones as reserves.
With everything ready, Lu Ye mbered onto Ambers back and they left the Divine Trade Association branch together.
As soon as they were outside, a pair of piercing keen eyes homed in on them. As expected, Dong Shu Ye was there, waiting for them! Apparently, he had been there the whole time!
Lu Yes eyes met Dong Shu Yes. The former looked as if he had seen a ghost and that pleased Dong Shu Ye immensely, who gobbled down thest piece of meat jerky he was holding hungrily, absolutely on tenterhooks to exact his vengeance.
[AT LONG LAST!]
There was no longer any need to think. Lu Ye immediately pped a Move-With-The-Wind Talisman on Amber who identified the best direction to run and he bolted.
Dong Shu Ye shot up into the sky and glided after them.
Down on the ground, at the shop where Dong Shu Ye had been maintaining his half-month-long vigil, the proprietor of the store was only too happy to see Dong Shu Ye leaving that he was practically in tears of joy. For half a month, Dong Shu Yes threatening presence had turned his roaring business down into the gutters that barely any of his regrs wanted toe again. Hardly anyone would enjoy visiting when a dangerous-looking Sixth-Order Cultivator lurked outside like a robber waiting to jump on any unsuspecting prey that happened to pass by.
The proprietor could not afford to antagonize Dong Shu Yenot when he was only a Third-Order independent Cultivator.
[AT LONG LAST! FINALLY! THAT CROOK AND HIS PLAGUE-LIKE MIASMA ARE GONE!] The proprietor reminisced how he had endured the past fifteen days with frustration and agony, and tears once again streamed down his face.
Ambers speed was manifestly faster than before.
And it was all because of the enrichmentst night. Coupled with the effects of the Move-With-The-Wind Tasliman, Dong Shu Ye was having difficulty keeping up with Amber and this infuriated him.
But Dong Shu Ye wasnt a fool either. He stuffed a Spirit Pill into his mouth to restore his Spiritual Powers while he grasped a Spirit Stone in each of his hands, absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the Stones while he maintained his pursuit.
It was like thest time. The chase included numerous forays into hidden corners of the wilderness where both sides would stop for a break. Ambers speed was gradually lessening with the effects of the Talismans wearing off and he needed rest badly. Fortunately for them, Dong Shu Ye was having the very same predicament. Even with his constant ingestion of Spiritual Pills and the assimtion of Spiritual Qi through the Stones he grasped, they were just not fast enough against the rapid depletion of his Spiritual Powers.
As if they were reading each others minds, they would stop at regr intervals before Lu Ye and Amber continued their hasty absconding and Dong Shu Ye would have to get up quickly to keep up with them.
The pursuitsted a day and finally, Dong Shu Ye found himself staring at the yawning entrance of a cave, frowning with hesitation.
He could have sworn that he positively saw Lu Ye and that white tiger of his bounding into the cave and that puzzled him.
Running into a cave was tantamount to putting himself into a corner, making Lu Yes choice to do so very odd and bizarre to Dong Shu Ye.
But there was one other possibility: that the cave had another exit somewhere. This cave could be part of a system that led to somewhere else and Lu Ye was thinking of using it as cover to escape, therefore nullifying Dong Shu Yes aerial advantage.
Realizing this, Dong Shu Ye knew that he couldnt dawdle anymore. He needed to keep up or he might lose them. But he knew that he needed to be careful. This might be Lu Ye trying to set up an ambush for him. He smacked a Golden Body Talisman on himself before stepping inside. That way, he would still have enough time to react if Lu Ye really was skulking about in the darkness inside.
To his surprise, the cave was damp and cold. But he was even more amazed to find that this was not a trap. Lu Ye was gone.
As he ventured deeper inside, the cave gradually widened into arger stone passage.
Until he finally walked into a cavernous rock chamber formed in the soluble rock limestone that spanned almost one-third of an acre wide and tens of meters high. Icicle-like stctites hung from the ceiling of the cave with water dripping off their pointed tips, filling the whole chamber with the intermittent drip-drop noises that echoed everywhere.
The ce was barely lit but Dong Shu Ye almost immediately spied Lu Ye in the deepest parts of the chamber, sitting cross-legged as if he was meditating with his entire self emanating a roiling effluence of Spiritual Qi!
By now, Dong Shu Ye was certain that Lu Ye must be up to no good. There was no other way out of this cave other than the stone passage he just came in with. All he needed to do was to seal off this exit and his quarry would be trapped in here!
[Finally! Finally, I caught him!] He mused with anticipation. Lu Ye could dish out whatever tricks hidden up his sleeves and nothing would trump his superior powersor so he thought.
He inhaled lightly, his face cracking into a smirk. So, this is where you choose toy your bones?
Those words barely escaped his lips when the aura of churning Spiritual Qiing from Lu Ye suddenly turned up several notches, bing a huge storm of tossing natural energies while Lu Yes very person began to glow brilliantly.
The Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm!
Dong Shu Ye could not believe it. Lu Ye was still very much in the Fourth-Order thest time he checked just moments ago outside. Yet here he was, ascending into the Fifth-Order right before his eyes. That could mean only one thing: Lu Ye had been intentionally dying his ascension and had been specifically waiting for this moment!
[What incredible progress!] Dong Shu Ye thought with disbelief.
Just two months ago, this boy was just a Third-Order Cultivator, and finding him already in the Fourth-Order fifteen days ago was already surprising enough for Dong Shu Ye. Although he quickly dismissed it, thinking that Lu Ye must have been stuck in the Third-Order for quite some time prior to their initial encounter months ago and a one-level ascension should be nothing he needed to be worried about.
But now that Lu Ye had risen to the Fifth-Order right before his eyes, there was no denying just how incredible Lu Yes progress had been.
From the Third-Order to the Fifth in just two and a half months? That was as impossible and as rare a feat as finding a unicorn.
For what its worth, Dong Shu Ye was rather pleased to have made the correct choice. He would never be able to exact vengeance if he allowed Lu Ye to slip by his fingers this time. Give him time and he would be far stronger and deadlier than Dong Shu Ye. The hunter would be the hunted and vice versa.
While Dong Shu Ye was being taken by surprise, he sensed the signature of Spiritual Qi behind him. Without even thinking, he fired a st in that direction.
A shadow flitted past him, avoiding the stpletely, followed by an explosion at the entrance into this rock chamber which was caused by a detonation-type Talisman. That, plus the death ray Dong Shu Ye just fired, caused the structure of the cave around the entrance to cave in. Rocks and boulders smashed into one another at the entrance, keeping the passage tightly shut, closing them off from the outside world.
Only then did Dong Shu Ye realize what he had done. The talisman was not intended for him, but rather, to seal off the exit to make sure no one else got in or out!
His spiritual senses immediately picked up another signatureone strong and robustracing towards him. Dong Shu Ye wheeled around at once, tearing his gaze off the sealed entrance frantically to look back to the front and there was Lu Ye blitzing at him like a bull on a rampage!
Lu Ye no longer wore that forlorn and dismal mask that he did when he saw Dong Shu Ye outside the Divine Trade Association building yesterday. Confident and sure, he charged straight at Dong Shu Ye, avoiding an aureate energy scythe that came screaming past him with a deft twist of his body.
This really was a perfect spot toy ones bones, but in this case, Lu Ye has every intention ofying Dong Shu Yes bones here for good!
Yi Yi was already scouting the terrain, reconnoitering for suitable spots like this rock chamber when they were running from Dong Shu Ye.
One of Lu Yes chief considerations for his n to work was Dong Shu Yes ability to glide in the air. The Sixth-Order Cultivator could easily take into the air and withdraw if he realized that the tables had turned him. To that end, Lu Ye needed Yi Yi to find a spot that would afford him the geographical advantage to prevent just that.
That was when Yi Yi discovered this cave. A rock chamber that was neither too vast nor cramped, but narrowly fitted Lu Yes requirements.
For this reason, Yi Yi was given the task to detonate the magical talisman to elicit the explosion that sealed off the exit. That was to prevent Dong Shu Ye from fleeing.
With the cave now fully cut off from the world outside, there could only be one survivor of this showdown and that person would be walking out of here alive.
.
Reaching the Fifth-Order created another Microcosmic Orbit system inside Lu Ye which greatly enhanced his explosiveness and speed. Now all he needed to do was to make this fight a close-quarter melee to ensure his victory!
Spell Cultivators were one of the deadliest brands of Cultivators skilled in different kinds of powerful and potent spells, but they were also known by another name in the world of Cultivators.
Lu Ye had once heard Hua Ci mention this before during one of their little chats. If Body-tempering Cultivators were colloquially known as Tanks and Combat Cultivators were known as Berserkers, then Spell Cultivators were nothing more than a bunch of Squishies!
To Body-tempering and Combat Cultivators of the same rank, Spell Cultivators possessed the weakest physical strength and endurance. Their long years of rubbing their noses into tomes and scriptures to study magic and hone their spell-slinging prowess had deprived them of the time and attention to strengthen their physical bodies.
Even Ghost Cultivators who spent more time in the shadows than in the light could easily best Spell Cultivators when it came to a closebat fisticuff.
In duels between low-tiered Cultivators, distance was a Spell Cultivators greatest ally. But if the distance was closed, the Spell Cultivator would find his or herself facing very difficult odds.
Lu Ye was still in the Fourth-Order when he and Dong Shu Yest fought half a month ago and he managed to get almost within thirty meters of Dong Shu Ye back then. But now that he has reached the Fifth-Order, he was absolutely certain that he could get past Dong Shu Yes defenses and attack him from point-nk range.
Lu Ye flitted and darted about erratically while he maintained his pace, dodging one death ray after another, steadily closing the gap. In the meantime, Dong Shu Yes face was illuminated by the very spells he fired at his opponent and he wasnt looking pleased at all. He looked nervous.
Chapter 141: No Pain No Gain
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 141: No Pain No Gain
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The battle had only just begun but Lu Ye managed to get within just thirty-three meters!
Dong Shu Ye had fired two spells at him but Lu Ye was able to evade them both cleanly.
Dong Shu Ye channeled more Spiritual Powers. This time, a crimson-red disc zed into life just in front of his chest. From the center of the disc spewed a long barrage of fireballs into the air, raining fire and destruction down on the whole area where Lu Ye was.
The fire dispelled away the darkness in the cave, driving them up to the eaves of the rock chamber like wraiths retreating into the abyss from whence they belonged.
This was a spell he used before the first time he pursued Lu Ye. A single fireball might not deal as much damage as one of those golden scythes he normally used, but he could conjure a whole barrage of these fireballs to cover a wide area, to say nothing of the fact that he found it easier to use fire elemental magicpared to metal ones.
Lu Yes face squirmed with irritation. He backtracked at once, only to realize that he had made a mistake. Then he thought of skirting the side of the area now being shelled by the fireball barrage. But Dong Shu Ye instantly adjusted his magic in time while keeping his infusion of Spiritual Qi into the disc ongoing non-stop.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fireballs mmed into the walls of the cave one after another, eliciting a huge cascade of explosions that would never end so long as the fireball barrage ensued. Cowering behind a thick stgmite in a far corner of this rock chamber was apletely exhausted Amber. So fatigued that he could barely get up and walk, he was no use to man or beast at the moment, therefore Lu Ye had carefully hidden him here where it would be safe for him.
But even if Amber wasnt tired enough, this was one fight where the tiger could barely contribute anything to Lu Yes favor. He might have grown bigger, stronger, and faster, but there was still a long way ahead before he could hold himself against an enemy like Dong Shu Ye.
With his blitz attack now an unequivocal failure, Lu Ye had to keep on hiding behind the stgmites protruding from the jagged ground of the cave, using them as shields against Dong Shu Yes fireball shelling while he prodded for weaknesses in thetters defense.
There was no need to rush. The situation, despite the stalemate, was still very much in his favor. Dong Shu Yes fireball shelling needed constant depletion of his Spiritual Power. The spell was obviously taxing and Dong Shu Yes energy was finite. If anyone were to feel anxious, that should be Dong Shu Ye, not him.
And he was right. Just a few secondster, Dong Shu Ye switched to attacking with another spell. From his fingers, a slithering serpent of fire shot forth and coiled around the stgmites like it was searching for Lu Ye. Unlike ming serpents conjured using Talismans, Dong Shu Yes version looked more life-like. One could almost make out the fine detail of the snakes scales on the whole length of its ming trunk.
The ming serpent constricted itself around a stgmite, but Lu Ye was gone. Dong Shu Ye panned his gaze around frantically, then he caught sight of Lu Ye dashing towards him from his nk!
Dong Shu Ye quickly channeled his powers once again and repeated the same trick: the same fiery-red circle materialized in front of him once again and he went back to firing fireballs the size of a mans fist at Lu Ye.
Lu Yes figure was shimmering. He dodged one fireball. Then another. Then a third. All while keeping a steady pace in approaching his foe.
Dong Shu Yes forehead wrinkled with a mix of stress and vexation. Lu Ye appeared to be faster than before.
But he was right. Lu Yes speed and agility did indeed increase.
The ascension into a higher rank also meant the overall increase of a Cultivators ability, but that was only after a brief moment of limatization. To lure Dong Shu Ye into his trap, Lu Ye had intentionally held back from unlocking his sixty-third Spiritual Point and by the time he sprung his trap and unlocked his newest Spiritual Point, there was no time to get used to his new physical condition.
That called for whatever limatization to be done on the fly as he fought his enemy. No pain, no gainwithout the stress and difficulty that came with this battle, the process would have not been so expeditious.
The renewed bombardment of fireballs again forced Lu Ye to retreat. But this time, Lu Ye felt more confident with his newfound abilities.
He took cover behind the same sprawl of stgmites and waited for an opening.
Then he found one and he charged, his reaction and his speed now a notch faster than before.
[This is it!] Lu Ye mused, very sure that sess was at hand.
He sidestepped and dove past the fireballs that came his way one by one. Those that he could not evade, he would just allow them to hit while he defended himself using Spiritual Pattern Protection. [Thirty-three meters Twenty-seven meters Seventeen meters!]
Lu Ye reached for the hilt of his saber. The weapon swished out of its scabbard with ming-red Spiritual Powers dancing all along the length of its de in me-like tendrils, casting shadows that gesticted wildly on the walls of the cavern.
The saber glinted dangerously in the dimly-lit ambiance and with Spiritual Pattern Sharp Edge activated, Lu Ye brought the weapon down on Dong Shu Ye with his full weight and strength behind it.
Dong Shu Yes expression contorted into that of horror, confusion, and disbelief. He could not understand just how Lu Ye managed to get so close so quickly. Instinctively, his arms came upa gesture that seemed oddly futile to Lu Ye at the time as if flesh and blood could protect him against steel.
The first thing that resounded was a metallic crack, followed by a shatter as a tiny spurt of golden sparks crackled angrily. That must be the Golden Body Talisman Dong Shu Ye used before he entered the cave. Lu Yes present strength and power could easily defeat the effects of normal Golden Body Talismans and all he needed was just one blow with his saber.
But before Lu Ye could celebrate, an aureate sparkle caught his notice, and next he knew, a pair of golden energy scythes fired crosswise was heading straight at him.
The crescent-shaped blows were just so close that there was no way of dodging them!
[ITS A TRICK!]
That was why Dong Shu Ye flung his arms up when Lu Ye came close enough to attack him! After all, Dong Shu Ye was a Seventh-Order Cultivator proven and experienced in the crafts of war. He would never do anything stupid and futile as using his own arms to stop a swinging de.
That was not a defensive move, but rather a feint to mask how he was casting his spells! Even the expression on his face was what helped to fool Lu Ye.
[Good Heavens, he could be a performer on stage!] mused Lu Ye in his panic.
Little did Lu Ye realize that he was mistaken on that part. Dong Shu Ye was genuinely shocked and distressed when he saw Lu Ye closing at him so suddenly and easily, but the action of raising his arms to fire his spells really was a feint. To top it off, Dong Shu Ye had been imnting the impression that he could only fire one spell at a time when, in fact, he could do even more.
Therefore, when Lu Ye brought his saber down at him, he quickly fired two crescent-shaped energy bolts simultaneously, thinking that the effects of the Golden Body Talisman, coupled with his own protective aura, Lu Yes blow would cause no more than a scratch on him.
Whereas Lu Ye could very well die or at least suffer a major blow if the pair of crescent-shaped blows could hit.
And his ns worked. The pair of golden scythes mmed into Lu Yes chest, just as he wanted.
The impact flung Lu Ye into the air and feeling the angst of pain barreling through his ribs, Lu Ye spit up a mouthful of blood just before he crashed to the ground.
But Lu Ye was not the only one who had miscalcted. Dong Shu Ye was mistaken as well.
While Lu Ye was careening backward, puking blood from the heavy blows that pummeled straight into his chest, he missed how Dong Shu Ye was howling in pain himself. The Sixth-Order Cultivator tottered several steps backward and stared at his arms to find a horrifying gash where he could almost see the white of his bones peeking back at him amid the bloody mess.
His eyes widened involuntarily with disbelief.
[What in Heavens name is Is this really caused by a Fifth-Order?!]
[A stroke that not only just defeated the effects of my Golden Body Talisman, it also plowed through my protective aura and left a gaping sh in my arms!]
Dong Shu Ye was only too relieved that he had the habit of keeping his protective aura on at all times, or else, he would have to spend the rest of his life eating with his face in his food like a dog.
But he had never heard of a Fifth-Order Cultivator that could deliver such a deadly attack! [Unless the saber he wields is some incredibly potent Spirit Artifact?!]
Dong Shu Yes incredulity was not misced: in thest few encounters with Lu Ye, he had only witnessed Lu Ye fighting using Spiritual Pattern Protection. He knew that whatever spell Lu Ye was using, it had incredible defensive capabilities. It was not until today did he finally sampled how dangerous and powerful were Lu Yes attacks and being so nearly permanently maimed, even he couldnt help feeling so terrified that cold sweat drenched his back.
In one of the few moments of retrospective terrors in his life, Dong Shu Ye realized how his gambit nearly resulted in his abysmal ruin and death.
Cough! Cough! Lu Ye mbered to his feet, using his saber to keep himself steady. Inside his mouth, he could taste the salty and metallic vor of blood.
Dong Shu Ye cast a long look at Lu Yes chest and was dismayed to find nothing there. The pair of energy scythes did not hit him. Lu Ye had managed to activate Spiritual Pattern Protection in the nick of time to protect himself. Although he was not able to fully avert the resulting impact, which caused quite a concussion in Lu Ye, resulting in some internal injuries.
Lu Ye quickly looked for more wounds. Despite the pain in his chest, there appeared to be no fractures, which was good news enough for him. His physical constitution had been greatly strengthened since the enrichment process in the Dragon Spring and his endurance had be a lot stronger than before.
But Dong Shu Ye was not going to give Lu Ye any chance for respite. Seeing Lu Ye getting up to his feet, Dong Shu Ye ignored the unbearable pangs of pain shooting up his arms and fired more spells at his enemy.
Bolts and rays of a smorgasbord of dazzling huesgold, red, and even whitestreaked across the air like an artists strokes and swishes on a jet-ck canvas and Lu Ye had to resort to all sorts of maneuvers, even unsightly ones, just to keep himself safe.
It took a while for Lu Ye to recollect himself. Once he was ready, he charged headlong into Dong Shu Ye again, his saber bared and alight with a swathe of Spiritual Powers zing on its de.
He had finally seeded innding one attack on Dong Shu Ye just now. All he needed to do now was to repeat the feat again and again until his enemy fell, which was slowly bing easier with Dong Shu Yes apparent sluggishness because of his injured arms.
Little by little, Dong Shu Ye found how he was involuntarily stepping backward. His body was instinctively trying to put as much distance between Lu Ye and him. For once he began to realize the importance of geographical advantage in a battle. He could have easilyunched himself into the sky and glided away to safety if this battle was going on outside. But being trapped inside this rock chamber was preventing him from doing exactly that.
The closer Lu Ye got to him, the more resentful and hateful Dong Shu Ye looked.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye reached within ten meters of his enemy. He ducked low to avoid another spell that just wheezed harmlessly past him and delivered a reprisal of his own, swinging his saber in a swift and vicious uppercut.
What Lu Ye thought was the blow that would seal his victory hit nothing. Instead, he picked up the signature of a huge burst of Spiritual Powers approaching from overhead. He quickly activated Spiritual Pattern Protection just in time for the st to batter him down with the force of a dam burst that nearly caused his knees to buckle as his feet skidded backward, sinking deeper into the ground.
He looked up and there was Dong Shu Ye, hovering in mid-air, smirking deviously at him, Thats what you get for underestimating Spell Cultivators, brat!
Dong Shu Ye did not possess the ability to fly, but with magical spells, he could levitate himself in mid-air for a short time.
What could a Fifth-Order Combat Cultivator do? Unless Lu Ye could sprout wings on his back and continue his assault aerially, this battle was over.
Dong Shu Ye had always kept this trick hidden up his sleeve. He initially thought he was able to kill Lu Ye without much trouble. But now that Lu Ye had fully entered the Fifth-Order and his arms were wounded, Dong Shu Ye no longer had any interest in prolonging this encounter.
He lifted a hand and took aim at Lu Ye, his face turning to stone as he savored the moment of his triumph. Spiritual Powers began concentrating at the tip of his fingertips and bright shimmering threads appeared and began elongating, curving, and crisscrossing quickly to take on the form of a big round circle the size of a dinner table that was filled with myriads of runic glyphs.
As far as Dong Shu Ye was concerned, Lu Ye was just too fast and he had that magical energy shield with strange glyphs to protect him. Single-target spells just wouldnt be enough to kill him, so Dong Shu Ye decided to opt for a spell with a wide area of effect. He needed to fill the entire rock chamber with enough mes to ensure his sess.
The infusion of Spiritual Powers into therge magical circle was slowly reaching itspletion when Dong Shu Ye sensed the signature of Spiritual Powers racing his way. He looked and before he saw what it was, he heard the clucking sound that reminded him of a hen. Then he saw a fiery bird with a tummy so fat that the fowl looked like it just came out of a buffet meal skirring headlong into his chest before he could react!
The bird erupted into a terrible explosion and Dong Shu Ye, with incredulity and shock still frozen on his face, came crashing down from the air. The runic magical circle that he just finished conjuring evaporated into the air like dust whisked away by wind. But that was not all, being hit by the blow had thrown his Spiritual Power off-bnce.
[A SPELL!? SINCE WHEN COULD THIS BRAT USE SPELLS?!] Still dazed by the explosion, Dong Shu Ye could barely think clearly. Most of all, he could barelyprehend how a Cultivator who had only just ascended to the Fifth-Order could already employ spells in battle!
With only slivers of his consciousness remaining, he could remember how swift and practiced Lu Yes casting of the spell was, as if he had been using it for years; he did not see iting at all!
[IMPOSSIBLE?! IS HE ALSO A SPELL CULTIVATOR?!]
Through the corners of his eyes, he could see Lu Ye blitzing straight for him at breakneck speed. He hopelessly tried to readjust himself, but he couldnt. Taking a direct hit in the course of casting a spell, in spite of his protective aura, was causing his Spiritual Power to surge so wildly beyond control in all his Spiritual Points that he could barely control his own limbs, let alone stabilize his churning spiritual energies.
Chapter 142: I’ve Barely Used My Full Strength
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 142: Ive Barely Used My Full Strength
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye pounced the moment he saw his chance, bounding towards Dong Shu Ye with quick and long strides that easily covered the whole distance, swinging his Spiritual Power-swathed saber down at thetter.
A huge pulse of energy surged forth to meet Lu Yes falling saber. What magic this wave of energy came from, Lu Ye did not know. But whatever spell that Dong Shu Ye had cast, was working in his favor by driving into Lu Ye like an invisible wall pushing him further and further away from Dong Shu Ye. He had to draw back several tens of meters before he could regain steadiness.
Lu Ye renewed his gaze upon his opponent. Dong Shu Ye was already up on his feet, clutching at the gaping wound on his chest. On the right side of his torso, he could see blood still pouring out, drenching Dong Shu Yes tunic red.
The blow had nearly killed him and Dong Shu Ye was clearly still reeling in the sudden onset of panic and disbelief. Lu Yes spell had thrown his Spiritual Power off-bnced making him lose all ability to defend himself for one fleeting moment, and he would have already been dead if his control over his Spiritual Power did not return in the nick of time.
He might have escaped death, but the wound on his chest was bad enough to cost him this skirmish.
Hoo Hoo Dong Shu Ye panted, heaving for air as he struggled to keep himself upright. At this point, he finally realized that Lu Ye led him here and had sealed off the exit because this was where he chose to end their feud. Lu Ye had chosen this ce as Dong Shu Yes final resting ce!
Funny how it was he who initially thought he was the one being the hunter, without realizing how the roles had switched and how it was hubris that had prevented him from seeing it sooner.
Dong Shu Ye watched as his foe charged for him again. There was no time to rest, no time for respite. Inparison, his opponent was brutal and straightforward, and his way of battle clearly showed how much he favored being on the offense. Up until now, his foe had barely said anything; an opponent whose very focus was centered solely on trying to get close and attack.
How fitting for a skirmish to the death!
Dong Shu Ye beheld Lu Yes approach, his hand slipping into his Storage Bag and finding another Golden Body Talisman. He pped it on himself. His end might being fast, but he refused to go down without a fight.
Dong Shu Ye raised his arms, his entire body enfolded in a golden drape of protectiveyers. This time, knowing that his end was nigh, he had nothing more to lose. Without any regard for the rapid exhaustion of his Spiritual Power, he unleashed volleys after volleys of spells at Lu Ye.
But his arms were hurt and on the right side of his chest was a wound so chasmal that the loss of blood was already making him feel dizzy. Even breathing itself felt difficult and strenuous. All that was making him so sluggish and weak that he could not fire spells as quickly as he could before.
Lu Ye effortlessly evaded the bolts that screamed past him. He rushed up to Dong Shu Ye and swung his saber without guile and without mercy.
The goldenyer crumbled. Even as Dong Shu Ye made ast-ditch effort to conjure up another protective shield, it was no use. Lu Yes saber sliced through the shield and shattered it.
The blow almost split his right shoulder, ripping its way all the way down to his left abdomen, his entrails and viscera barely clinging to his inside.
Lu Yes saber came up again before Dong Shu Ye could fire any spells. But before he could attack, the same invisible force as vast as a wall like before mmed into him, knocking him back several tens of meters again.
He regained his bnce once more and this time, Dong Shu Ye was already hovering in mid-air. Only this time, he wasnt hanging in the air stationary; he was floating around in non-uniform speed as if he was trotting around near the eaves of the rock chamber.
Lu Ye flung an arm and fired at the same plump-looking bird-like projectile he had used before. It missed badly. uracy had always been a problem that never stopped guing him and it was the reason why he rarely used spells in his skirmishes.
The first spell he fired worked only because Dong Shu Ye did not expect him to be able to use spells and he was fast enough that the magical bolt caught Dong Shu Ye unaware.
That was Dong Shu Yes biggest miscalction. While the damage the spell caused wasnt great, it was the resulting disorientation of his Spiritual Power that lost him this fight.
Their eyes met suddenly. Dong Shu Ye cracked into a malicious grin and lifted his arm to tap on his Battlefield Imprint. [Dammit, hes calling for reinforcements!] Lu Ye realized and he intensified his firing of spells.
All of a sudden, the glow from Dong Shu Yes Battlefield Imprint was gone. At the same time, the glow from the emanation of Spiritual Power from his person subsided and he crashed face-first into the ground.
Lu Ye did not know what was going on at first, but it did not take long for him to catch on: Dong Shu Ye had used up all his power!
But that was impossible. There was no conceivable way that Dong Shu Ye could have fully depleted his Spiritual Power so quickly. He was a Cultivator who had unlocked one hundred and eight Spiritual Points and that meant that he had twice as much Spiritual Power as Lu Ye. But what Lu Ye did not realize was how he had used up a huge amount of his Spiritual Power trying to keep up with Lu Ye during the earlier chase and the fire elemental spells that he had been using to prevent Lu Ye from getting close were ultimately spelled his inevitable doom.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had Amber to carry him and that was what allowed him to save up all his Spiritual Power for the final showdown, including his ascension to Fifth-Order which sealed the victory.
The crash from so high up in the air nearly fractured every bone in Dong Shu Yes body.
He could hear footsteps drawing near. Lu Ye strode to him slowly, with his saber at the ready. There was no doubt that this was not a show for his benefit. Falling from so high was definitely not what Dong Shu Ye had in mind, especially with the injuries he carried.
That would mean that his initial suspicion was true: Dong Shu Ye really had finished off thest of his Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye stood over his fallen enemy and gazed down at him. Blood smeared all over Dong Shu Yes face. The Sixth-Order Cultivator looked up at Lu Ye and his throat rattled as if he was trying to say something.
Lu Ye raised his saber, holding the weapon in a backhand grip with its tip aimed at Dong Shu Yes heart. Then he plunged it through the ribs and through the organ.
Dong Shu Yes body jerked and stiffened.
Well Meet again In Purgatory! Dong Shu Ye managed his final words with great difficulty and with apparent hatred and resentment. Then his body went limp and he was gone, dead with his lifeless eyes still wide open.
A reddish glow rose from the back of his forearm and flew into Lu Yes Battlefield Imprint.
Lu Ye stared at Dong Shu Yes body with a surrealistic sensation.
He could remember how he was chased like a dog two months ago; so desperate that it was only by a stroke of luck that he managed to give Dong Shu Ye the slip back then. Yet here he was, two and a half monthster, having defeated the same Cultivator whose very name could put the fear of the Heavens into him.
To think that he hade a long way since that day.
And besides
Ive barely used my full strength Lu Ye muttered softly.
And that was true. Lu Ye still had another trick hidden up his sleevesMove-With-The-Wind Talismans. The Talismans worked on Amber, naturally, they would work on him too.? At his present abilities, a Move-With-The-Wind Talismans could give him at least an additional increase by at least three-tenths of his usual speed.
That was Lu Yes original n: to first get used to his new physical condition after his ascension to the Fifth-Order, then he would decide if he wanted to use one of the Move-With-The-Wind Talismans. Thest thing he wanted was to flippantly use the Talisman and risk the same blunder that urred when he momentarily lost proper control of his body after his physical enrichment in the Dragon Spring.
Too great a speed increase isnt necessarily a good thing, especially since he was up against an experienced Spell Cultivator like Dong Shu Ye. Dodging spells required precise control of his body and if he could not properly handle the speed increase that came with using Move-With-The-Wind Talismans, that could do more harm than good.
A blunder like that could be a fatal mistake.
But the skirmish had ended even before he had the chance to use any of the Talismans.
He had notmitted any blunders. If anything, it was Dong Shu Ye who had made the miscalction that allowed Lu Ye the chance to wound him using that ming phoenix spell.
Yi Yi was clutching a Talisman when she peeked out from behind one of the huge rocks she and Amber were taking refuge at. Carefully, she squeaked, Is it done? Have you won?
Lu Ye allowed himself to fall back to the ground in a spreadeagle form while he cried, Yeah, I won!
Yi Yi had been hiding since she used a Talisman to detonate an explosion that sealed off the exit. Lu Ye had reminded her not to appear. She was supposed to be his final option if and when he failed to defeat Dong Shu Ye. They did not expect the fight to end so easily and Yi Yi did not have to appear again.
Youre strong, Lu Ye, Yi Yi expressed her admiration without guile and without sarcasm.
Lu Ye grinned at her. Well, its not really safe to stay. Get Amber something to eat while we rest, then were outta here.
There was no telling what Dong Shu Ye was doing to his Battlefield Imprint moments before he died. He could be calling for reinforcements, for all Lu Ye knew.
That was why they needed to leave as quickly as possible.
But what Lu Ye did not know was that Dong Shu Ye had long deserted his former order. He could no longer summon his former sworn brothers for help. Furthermore, Dong Shu Ye should know best of all that he was going to die and no help would have been able toe in time.
But he did deliver a message. One that was sent to lots of people.
Yi Yi fed Amber some food before she went to clear up the site of the battle. She came trotting back with a Storage Bag, Lu Ye, Lu Ye! Were rich!
From her reaction, Lu Ye could only surmise that the contents of the Storage Bag must be valuable.
Dong Shu Yes Storage Bag was still unsealed because he was still retrieving Talismans from inside the Bag during the fight and there was no time for him to reseal it with magic.
Lu Ye was sitting on the ground, taking some Spirit Pills to replenish his powers while he ate some food. Then he checked his Battlefield Imprint.
[Name: Lu Ye
Status: Crimson Blood Sect acolyte
Cultivation: Sixty-three Spiritual Points Unlocked
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: Three Hundred And Ny-Seven]
Thest time he checked his Contribution Points when he departed from the Hundred Peaks Mountain range, the tally was three hundred and sixty-eight. His points had risen as much as twenty-nine now.
He had killed two Fourth-Order enemies back at the marsnds. That would have raked him eight points, meaning Dong Shu Ye alone had ounted for twenty-one points.
Dong Shu Ye might have, for reasons unknown, fallen back to the Sixth-Order, but the Contribution Points Lu Ye rued indicated that he was still viewed as a Seventh-Order Cultivator.
But Lu Ye could not yet get his head around what happened to Dong Shu Ye and what caused him to fall back to the Sixth-Order.
But that would seem to be a question that he would never learn the answer to.
There were lots of Spirit Stones and Pills inside the Storage Bag. A count yielded one hundred and thirty-four Stones and fifty-seven Pills.
That was the most enormous bounty Lu Ye had ever gotten from a looted Storage Bag, which was definitely enough to make up for losing the Mystic Spirit Bell.
Still, Lu Ye couldnt help feeling that Dong Shu Yes belongings were still a tad too modest. He expected more of a Seventh-Order Cultivator, even if its a former one.
But that was Lu Yes own misconception. He had never been in real destitution of resources because of the Yuan Metal ores he brought from the Evil Moon Valley ve mines, which was something that no other novice Cultivator could boast.
Therefore, Dong Shu Yes belongings were by no means modest. Asmander of a Nine Star n outpost, he was the one responsible for the distribution of the outposts supplies, allowing him to embezzle what should have been for the rest of the ns other acolytes to build up his own stores.
Most Seventh-Order Cultivators would barely have anything left inside their Storage Bags because of the huge amount of supplies they needed to upkeep their cultivation. The amounts issued by militant sects and orders to their members were barely enough just for upkeep alone, most of the time, let alone saving up for a rainy day.
Lu Ye stowed away his loot and made sure everything was ready before he and Yi Yi removed the rocks sealing the exit of the rock chamber and went back outside.
Chapter 143: Would You Believe It
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 143: Would You Believe It
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Somewhere in the Battlefield proper, where most of the war and strife, plots and intrigues took ce, a huge battle had just ended and a young man, whose tunic and robes were soaked with sweat and the blood of his enemies, sat on the ground, meditating and recuperating. A youngss stood guard not far behind,bing her own hair. She looked no less fatigued than the young man, but her bright, sparkling eyes vigntly scoured all directions to ensure that no threats were around.
Her Master Wang Yang was resting and she would not let anyone disturb his peace.
The young scion-and-handmaiden duo was none other than Wang Yang and Xiao Zhu of the Mystic n. After the Mystic ns invasion of Nine Star nnds, Wang Yang brought Xiao Zhu with him, and together, they ventured deeper into the Battlefields interior. A trip of pilgrimage would do them some good and gain them more benefits for their current strength and rank.
They could enjoy great power and influence by staying in the peripherals of the Battlefield, but that would only lead to stagnation andcency. Cultivators who hungered for more growth usually moved deeper into the inner areas of the Battlefield, hoping to reap more Contribution Points.
All of a sudden, Wang Yang opened his eyes. He examined his Battlefield Imprint.
Oh? the look on his face turned odd.
Whats wrong, Master Wang Yang? Xiao Zhu scurried over when she heard his audible reaction.
Wang Yang peered at his handmaiden and hispanion. Would you believe it, Dong Shu Ye just sent me a message.
Dong Shu Ye? Xiao Zhu gasped with surprise.
Dong Shu Ye was rushing back to the Nine Star n outpost of hismand when he heard it was under attack. It was during the subsequent battle that Wang Yang destroyed three of his Spiritual Points and since then, Dong Shu Ye had not been seen or heard of. Until they heard about how Dong Shu Ye had gone rogue and the Nine Star n began issuing bounties for his head. But as far as he was aware, no one had been able to locate Dong Shu Ye.
That was understandable. Pinpointing Dong Shu Yes whereabouts would not be easy, considering the vastness of the Battlefield, unless the Nine Star n decided to handpick a team of master Cultivators to hunt down the deserter.
As for why Dong Shu Ye delivered a message to Wang Yang, that was easily exinable: because they had once exchanged contact details via their Battlefield Imprints before.
There was no friendship between the men. In fact, they were on opposing sides, so they had no love lost for each other. But asmanders of their respective outposts, the men under theirmand regrly got into fisticuffs that required them both to parley and negotiate.
For that reason, they exchanged each others signatures which they kept inside their Battlefield Imprint, allowing them the convenience tomunicate from afar.
It was Dong Shu Yes suggestion at first.
Although, he wouldter regret it, for Wang Yang often loved to harass him by sending insulting remarksStep out of your fort and try taking a punch from me, you coward!, Curse you, you mongrel dog!, and the likejust to mess with him. Dong Shu Ye had lost count of the number of times he was tempted to erase Wang Yangs signature from his Imprint.
But contact between them both came to an abrupt end on the day Dong Shu Ye lost the use of three of his Spiritual Points. With all future prospects now crumbled into dust following his weakening, Dong Shu Ye was no longer a threat to Wang Yang, who saw him as nothing but a beaten dog that wouldnt warrant any further attention.
Yet Dong Shu Ye had made contact with him out of the blue.
What did he say? asked a curious Xiao Zhu.
Try believing this then: its about that intruder with a tiger.
Wait, that intruder Lu Yi Ye?
Xiao Zu would never forget the intruder whose inadvertent incursion was what sparked the war between the Mystic Sect and the Nine Star n. He was instrumental in the Sects sessive conquest of the outpost despite not being one of them and it was by Wang Yangs order that she sold an Earth-Grade cultivation discipline to him. To think that three months had passed by since theyst met and Xiao Zhu did not believe that she would be hearing this name once again, even more so, from the mouthor rather, in this instance, a missiveof Dong Shu Ye.
The fact that he sent a message itself was odd and bizarre enough. [No wonder Master Wang Yang looked so surprised], she mused.
Here, take a look at it yourself, Wang Yang said, forwarding the message to Xiao Zhu.
Xiao Zhu read the message and her forehead creased deeply with bewilderment.
Lu Yi Ye, often seen riding a snow-white tiger. Acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou, and a rare prodigy. In two months time, he rose from the Third-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm to the Fifth-Order. Last seen in the vicinity of Mount Fengyun, suspected to be on his way back to his orders stronghold, she read aloud.
Xiao Zhus first notion after reading the message was that nothing in it made sense at all.
If only Lu Ye had seen it. He would have been doubled over with horror at rare prodigy. Even today, he could still remember how that Le Shan fellow with a mousy mustache was poking fun at him after it was tested that he only had the potential of one leaf.
The Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou? Xiao Zhu almostughed out loud, Looks like were mistaken, Master Wang Yang. It turns out that that intruder wasnt a student of one of those great militant sects.
Yeah, we were mistaken, all right, Wang Yangs lips twisted wryly, But that doesnt mean that hes not special like those students of great militant sects and orders you just described.
The Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou Xiao Zhu murmured the name again thoughtfully. She had seen the name of this militant order somewhere before, although she could not quite put her finger on it yet. But hearing Wang Yang mentioning it gave her a sense of dj vu. Wait, she said all of a sudden, Thats the one!
Thats the one! she eximed.
Xiao Zhu was surprised now that she knew where did she see that name before. But why did Dong Shu Ye send you this, Master Wang Yang? she asked, feeling something was amiss.
He wasnt sending it only to me. He was sending it to every signature stored in his Battlefield Imprint moments before his death.
Moments before his death?!
Hes dead now! Wang Yang confirmed suddenly. He had been trying to raise Dong Shu Ye since he saw the message, then he saw the signature belonging to Dong Shu Ye fading from his Battlefield Imprint: the sign that its possessor had perished.
Then he saw it. Wang Yang finally saw what Dong Shu Ye was trying to do. In the final moments of his life, Dong Shu Ye sent a simple message to everyone he knew. A message that could cause a storm so huge that it would rock the whole dimension of the Spirit Creek Battlefield until the provinces of Jiu Zhou in the real world.
Whether it was a hundred or maybe a thousand people that Dong Shu Ye had sent the message to, Wang Yang would never know. It was clear that by sending the message to every signature in his Battlefield Imprint, Dong Shu Ye was just seconds away from dying, showing how he was out of time to pick who the recipients of his message were.
[Was it the doing of that intruder Lu Yi Ye? Very likely. In the message, Dong Shu Ye specifically mentioned that Lu Yi Ye has reached the Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm. Meanwhile, Dong Shu Ye himself was now in the Sixth-Order since the destruction of three of his Spiritual Points. Killing an enemy one rank higher wasnt impossible, especially for those who are unbelievably gifted,] Wang Yang contemted quietly.
[But if that were true,] Wang Yang realized again, [And if Dong Shu Ye was telling the truth, then I really have misjudged that fellow. He might not be an acolyte of one of those great militant sects, but that didnt mean that hes in any way weaker than them!]
He could feel the abundant tides of his blood coursing vigorously in its warm flush. He got up at once.
Um, Master Wang Yang? Xiao Zhu asked, puzzled at why Wang Yang was looking suddenly enthusiastic.
The games afoot, Xiao Zhu! Its time we acquaint ourselves with the heroes of all around the Battlefield! said Wang Yang as he trotted away. disseminate that message as widely as possible!
Understood, sir, answered Xiao Zhu obediently, tapping on her Battlefield Imprint as she followed him demurely behind.
At the same time, people from all corners of the Battlefield received the same message from Dong Shu Ye. Some thought nothing about it, merely dismissing it as just some inconsequential ramblings from a man whose fall from grace must have addled his mind, but to others, reading the message left them so greatly disturbed that they immediately reported the contents of the message to their higher-ups.
Slowly, the information about Lu Ye spread far and wide with the speed and intensity of a raging bushfire on an unstoppable rampage. In barely a half-days time, those who had been wary of the Crimson Blood Sect were made aware that the militant order had found a fresh young prodigy in Lu Yethe young wunderkind who grew from the Third to the Fifth-Order in just barely two months.
Progressing two ranks in just two months might look like an extraordinary feat, but it was doable. So long as a Cultivator could ensure that he had enough supplies to maintain his upkeep, progressing two ranks in the same time frame as Lu Ye was not impossible, especially for acolytes belonging to militant sects and orders that enjoyed greater wealth and affluence.
[Or maybe, those who had experienced a fortuitous encounterrewards of providence or the likein the course of their travels around the Battlefield] Wang Yang realized.
People have been trying to unravel the secrets behind the mysteries of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Where did ite from and where it was really located, many had asked. Yet no one knew anything about the enigmatic pocket dimension. Questions have been asked about if the Battlefield was a dimensionpletely alien from the world of Jiu Zhou and some had spected if the Battlefield was a pocket dimension separately created by an ancient entity of immense power.
Each hypothesis has its own merits. The Battlefield teemed with ruins and relics alien to the cultures and heritage of the civilization of Jiu Zhou and some were way older than Jiu Zhou itself. As well-hidden and protected as such ancient remains and monuments often were, they yielded to anyone lucky enough to stumble into them rich rewards that could bring great progress or advancement.
[So if that intruder really had such a lucky encounter, that would exin how he managed to rise two ranks in just two months plus] he mused further.
It did not take long for intelligence about Lu Yi Ye to arrive from the outside world of Jiu Zhou.
Apparently, the Grand Sky Coalition had attacked the Evil Moon Valley just less than six months ago. The ves of the mines were freed and were allowed the chance to enroll into the ten militant sects and orders who were part of the Coalition and Lu Yi Ye was epted into the Crimson Blood Sect.
His real name was Lu Ye and he was called Lu Yi Ye (One-leaf Lu) because he was shown to have only the potential of one leaf during the magical potential assessment.
And records indicated that he only had his first Spiritual Point freshly unlocked at that time.
In order words, Lu Yi Ye had grown from having just one Spiritual Point unlocked to the Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm in just barely six months. That alone was more amazing than thepletion of the First to the Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm in the same time frame.
If Lu Ye did indeed only have the potential of one leaf, then his precipitous rise could only be attributed to an incidental encounter that had granted him bounteous providence.
He was never in any good environment to train nor was any proper tutge to guide him, for his mentor and Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect Tang Yi Feng was attacked on the way back to the stronghold of their order.
Further information would yield that Tang Yi Feng managed to defeat his assant and killed him, but he too was hurt and for the past six months, he had been recuperating somewhere in Ao Shan, keeping himself hidden from public eye while his student Lu Ye was allegedly killed during the ambush.
So the Crimson Blood Sect had finally found an heir one moment only to have lost him in the next like a sleight of hand act gone wrong
The deputy chief of the Grand Sky Coalition Pang Zhen was rumored to have confirmed this information and he was reported to have been extremely enraged by the attack that he ordered a full-scale inquiry, resulting in the arrest of several notable members of the Coalition discovered to have been colluding with the forces of Evil. The news of treacherous spies lurking within the ranks of the forces of the Good shocked the whole world.
[But clearly,] Wang Yang mused, [This is just a load of bullshit by Pang Zhen.]
Lu Ye was very much alive and beyond any doubt, it was Tang Yi Feng who had sent him here. In fact, Wang Yang now had every reason to suspect that the information about Tang Yi Feng still recuperating in Ao Shan was nothing but just a charade.
Tang Yi Feng might look like an honorable and venerable elder, but the Cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge knew better, especially after enduring his ruthlessness and wrath so many years ago.
News traveled fast in the world of Cultivators. In just one day, Lu Yes provenance and historyfrom his days as a ve to how he and his mentor were attackedbecame public knowledge to virtually everyone with power and influence inside the Battlefield.
With Lu Ye and his one-leaf potential being a minor legend, breadcrumbs were lying everywhere, making it easy for anyone to put two and two together.
Militant sects and orders all around the Battlefield roused into action. Just decades before, the Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou was a name that once sent fear creeping down the spine of anyone who dared to defy it and one thatmanded both respect and awe. Cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge from the yesteryears of the Crimson Blood Sects supremacy could reminisce with horror and apprehension about how they managed to survive the Sects abuse until today.
Chapter 144: Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 144: Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A rock perched proudly over the precipitous cliffs of the mountains that belonged to a Tier-Two militant sect, the Devoted Ones, was known to all members of the sect as the Hawksflight Rock. The rock, andmark of the Devoted Ones outpost that was located right near the central region of the Battlefield, looked exactly like a hawk spreading its wings, ready to take into the air. A lone figure sat on top of the rock. d in a fitting tunic of white embroidered with crimson cloud-like patterns, the lean and strong man in his hair of flowing long mane of silver-white hardly looked like a thirty-year-old man in his prime. If anything he looked rather like he has seen more winters than he ought to.
With one leg propped up and the other dangling off the edge of the rock, he sat there, apanied by a gourd filled with wine.
His eyes squinted as he gazed at the dimming red sun that was slowly sinking down the western horizon. Seizing his gourd, he threw his head back for a swig, only to realize that it was empty. His urge to intoxicate himself further remained unsatiated.
He gave the empty gourd a little shake as if he couldnt believe it until he finally sighed.
All of a sudden, his dejected eyes shot wide with renewed vigor. He looked down and saw a sh of light streaking towards him like aet. Grinning, he eximed Wine! and waved at his iing visitor.
The streak of lightnded beside him and faded, revealing a youngss smiling at him yfully.
The petite maiden in a shamrock dress and her hair tied into a pair of twin tails beamed broadly at the man, unting her dimples.
Brother Baxian! her voice chirped sweetly at him.
Not Brother! he feigned a re at her, Call me Senior!
Oh? the youngss tilted her head quizzically at him, the yful look in her eyes portending something mischievous, Are you certain about that?
The man pensively responded, The ranks of seniority are clear. Your father is like a brother to me, its only right that you address me as Senior.
The youngss held her hands behind her back and paced around, slowly inching further and further with every bit the semnce of a yful kitten. She threw him a look through the corners of her eyes. If you say so. Only a brother to me gets to enjoy the sweet draught that Ive brought him. But a senior, eh? Guess hell have to contend with the fresh air here instead
Sister Yuechan, thats so wrong of you! the man berated, the stolid and wistful demeanor he was struggling to maintain crumbling atst.
The girl called Yuechan giggled and turned back atst, satisfied. She rummaged inside her Storage Bag and pulled out a few sks of wine. Baxian peeled off the seal of one of the sks and inhaled the sweet aroma wafting out of the vessel. His face broke into a contented smile, Nice wine!
He upended the sk and took a few mouthfuls before he burped. Then he asked offhandedly, Where did you find such a fine draught? It tastes as if its been aged well.
Yuechan was emptying the sks of wine into Baxians gourd while she answered nonchntly, This is the wine my mother hid in the ground somewhere inside that bamboo grove below.
Baxian stopped in his tracks and slowly swiveled around to face Yuechan with a nk stare. Wait, that means this is supposed to be part of your dowry?! Heavens, youre a brazen one If your mother knows about this
Yuechan giggled impishly, If you dont tell and I dont tell, shell never know.
Baxian peered at her, visibly perturbed. He took one more look at his gourd and took a couple more mouthfuls. [Whatever Its not the first time Ive had a spanking by that old hag So long as I stay here, theres nothing she can do]
So, um Brother Baxian? When will you be marrying me? Yuechan was finished with filling up Baxians gourd and she sat in front of him, eyeing him solemnly.
Cough! Cough! Baxian nearly choked on his wine. He wiped his face dry of the wine that he spilled and red at the girl, Watch what youre saying! Im your elder!
Yuechan looked up into the sky nowhere in particr and began tapping her lower lip gently. Well, you did kiss me that night thirty-two years ago Skilled in magic that could make herself younger than her true age, no one could tell how old she really was at first nce.
WAIT! Thats enough! a flustered Baxian yelled at once. He looked around as if to make sure no one heard what Yuechan just said and said, Come on! What if your mother hears you!? Besides, we were just kids back then!
[We were just a few years old back then! How in Heavens name did she manage to remember everything with such detail!? Is this my past transgressionsing back to bite me?!]
All right, as you wish, Yuechan chuckled, beaming broadly at him while she mimed a gesture of closing up her lips and zipping her mouth shut.
Baxian grimaced mournfully. He, of all people, knew Yuechan the most. The more she behaved like an obedient girl, the more likely that she had something hidden from him.
He sighed. All right, out with it.
Well, heres the thing, she grinned yfully at him, Youre marrying me!
Im not hearing a word from you ever again, said Baxian, turning around to avert his eyes from her, exasperated.
Are you sure? Not even a word about the Crimson Blood Sect? her cooing voice came from the back of his shoulders.
The young man spun around. This time he looked genuinely morose. His lips quivered as if to speak, although he managed to force a few words bitterly, Is it time then? For the Sect to be defunct?
On the contrary, Yuechan shook her head, herrge glimmering eyes curving up into little crescents. It would appear that the Crimson Blood Sect might not have to be removed from the Coalition after all.
What do you mean? Baxian frowned. With no new acolytes for the past three decades, the Crimson Blood Sect was teetering on the brink of being expelled. There would be fresh assessments of the Coalitions militant sects and orders in two months and for thest thirty years, it was his mentor and another fellow studentand the only surviving one he still hadwho had been keeping things running within the order. But that did not prevent the Crimson Blood Sect from falling down thedder of preferment from Tier-One to Tier-Nine and if the Sect failed to once again meet the mark, it could face expulsion from the Coalition.
Well, there are rumorsjust rumors, mind youthat your mentor epted a new student somewhere about six months ago. But on the way back to the stronghold, they were attacked, and with no other ways to safeguard your newest fellow student, Grand Master Tang had to send him here. Right now, this young fellow who they call Lu Yi Ye has reached the Fifth-Order and is on his way to the Crimson Blood Sect outpost.
Baxian was already on his feet even before Yuechan finished, his face fraught with disbelief and amazement. So that old senile has finally taken in a new one?
It would appear so!
From where did you hear this? Is there any way to verify it?
Im not sure how, I barely know where it came from. But its all over the Battlefield now and people are talking about this.
All over the Battlefield now?! Baxians forehead wrinkled into a deep frown before he hissed, Good Heavens, this is bad!
A ze of light engulfed him and he shot into the sky and was gone.
Remember to marry me! Yuechan cried cheerily. But there was no reply. Then she snorted, Whats the rush anyway? You didnt even ask me where!
Even so, she delivered a message to Baxian, making sure that he had all the details he needed.
Almost as soon as he left, a voice echoed through the misty cliffs. What do you think youre doing, Li Baxian!? You are hereby forbidden from leaving without explicit orders! ARRGGGHH!
The voice sounded as if it was plummeting down the chasm.
Yuechan stood up and got off the Hawksflight Rock. She paused and thought aloud, Hmm? The ckfyre Cult, the Tower of Morning, and the Vale of Venom Which should I go to first? Oh, what a chore!
She peered around to make sure no one was looking and removed one of her shoes. Then she tossed it up into the air and let it fall down to the ground. She looked at where the tip of her shoe was pointing and murmured, So Vale of Venom, eh? So be it then. Vale of Venom it is.
As she spoke, she flung out a handkerchief. The tiny piece of cloth fluttered in the wind and expanded immediately into such a size that a few could sitfortably on it together. Yuechan glided up onto the gigantic piece of cloth and soared up into the air too.
The same disembodied voice from earlier resounded once more, Sister Yuechan! Where are you off to?!
Leave me alone! Go! Scram! Yuechan waved her hand dismissively.
The same thing happened to that voice again. ARRGGGHHH! It sounded like it had just fallen off a cliff again.
A figure, disheveled and dusty, crawled up from the ground momentster, gazing in the direction where the giant handkerchief had vanished with forlorn sadness.
[What the hell just happened?! Our Legate and Vice-Legate just ran off?! Just like that!? This is the first time that something so ludicrous could ever happen since the founding of the Devoted Ones!?]
[Oh no!]
He immediately sent word to all senior members of the Devoted Ones, ordering them to hold their posts and activate the magical force field that guarded the outpost. Thest thing they needed was an invasion by one of the forces of Thousand Demon Ridge. At the same time, he ordered his men to inform their headquarters in the world of Jiu Zhou about what just happened.
Two dayster, somewhere within the inner-ring region of the Battlefield and just outside the outpost of the Vale of Venom, the legate in charge of the Vales outpost here was gazing up into the sky, fuming with rage from the safety and fastness of the outposts defensive force field. Whats the meaning of this, Feng Yuechan?!
But that was all he could do. He dared not risk his own hide bying out of the force field and saying this right into Feng Yuechans face.
That woman was the number one name on the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy. The most supreme Cultivator in thends here.
And the one who had been dominating the top spot of the Roll for more than a decade.
She did not have extraordinary gifts in the study of magic and fighting. Her gifts, although exemry, were not nearly enough to ce her on the top of the Roll of Supremacy for so long. There were other reasons.
It was because she refused to ascend further. It was more than a decade ago when she unlocked her three-hundred-and-sixtieth Spiritual Point, prompting everyone back then to think that it wouldnt be long before she ascended into the Cloud River Realm. Yet year after year went by and she just refused to ascend.
For more than a dozen years, she stayed in the Spirit Creek Realm and that dormancy allowed her powers to grow purer than most. But that was not all. Feng Yuechan was a Spell Cultivator.
Since she had reached the zenith of the Spirit Creek Realm and she could go no further unless she ascended, Feng Yuechan devoted the rest of her time to the study of more spells. That, in a way, helped to make her stronger and stronger year by year, seeing her rising up to the throne of the most supreme Cultivator in the Battlefield where she has remained undefeated and undisputed.
Word had it that she had fully mastered more than a hundred spells.
Which was in its way an unbelievable feat, for most Ninth-Order Spell Cultivators could use only ten to twenty spells, and the spells that they fully grasped, even less so. Hence being able to master more than a hundred spells spoke volumes of how dangerous and deadly the reigning number one of the Roll of Supremacy was.
But refusing to ascend was nevertheless detrimental, especially to gifted Cultivators such as Feng Yuechan. Her potential would undoubtedly wane as she grew older and this would certainly affect her future progress.
A few of her peers were already Cloud River Realm Cultivators by now with another handful now in the Real Lake Realm.
Therefore none really wanted to knock her off the top spot. The longer she stayed there, the more she would suffer in the future.
The Roll of Supremacy was the ranking list of the most powerful Cultivators in the Battlefield,piled by the sentient will of thews of Nature that governed the Battlefield. The impartiality of the Roll of Supremacy was what lent credence to its veracity. There was no doubt that Feng Yuechan was the most powerful Cultivator in the Battlefield.
But few were amused at the notion of having a woman reigning over them. That led to a trend where new crops of Cultivators would be happy to quickly progress to the Ninth-Order and ascend so that they could leave the Battlefield as soon as possible.
And now, the Cultivators of the Vale of Venom were thetest to sample Feng Yuechans overbearing abuse. All it took was just a few spells from her and the force field of the outpost was already shuddering as if it was going to give way. The Vale might be a Tier-Four militant sect today, but those old enough to remember the old days might recall that forty years ago, the Vale of Venom was a Tier-One monstrosity of immense power and influence.
It was during one of the many wars in the past where the Vale suffered huge losses. That saw its plummet from grace where it became the Tier-Four militant order it currently was. Still, the Vale remained a force that no one was foolish enough to flippantly trifle with.
Yet right here, right now, just outside the entrance of its outpost, all it took was one woman to keep the Vales every single Cultivator cowering inside the safety of the outposts defensive force field. The one woman whose existence now lorded over the entire Battlefield.
By means of response to the questions posed to her by the legate in charge of the Vales outpost, Feng Yuechan conjured a massive fireball the size of a cottage. Inparison, Dong Shu Yes fireballs looked just like a pea.
Chapter 145: Clash of Carnage
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 145: sh of Carnage
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When the miniature sun mmed itself into the strongholds defensive force field, the ground rock and the earth shook. A huge eruption of steam, dust and winds rippled in forceful, pulsing waves from the collision. The defensive barrier might still hold, but everyone inside could feel the heat from the fireball that the insides of the entire fort felt like it was going to burn.
Recall all your men right now, or Ill begin the ughter! Feng Yuechan called imperiously from atop her magical flying device.
The legate-in-charge of the stronghold knew better than to test her wrath. He frantically sent word to every single acolyte and champion of his order, urging them toe home at once.
All around the Battlefield, every single Vale of Venom Cultivator who was converging on the outer rings of this pocket dimension immediately wheeled around and set a new course for the currently-beleaguered outpost at once, but not without muttering a string of curses under his or her breaths.
The entire Spirit Creek Battlefield had turned into a vast hive of activity. Outposts of militant sects and orders belonging to the Grand Sky Coalition that were located in the inner rings of the Battlefield immediatelyunched surprise attacks on nearby Thousand Demon Ridge outposts in unison.
More ludicrous was a certain order known by the name the Battalion of Strength. The Battalion sent forth a force that traversed almost a thousand miles, passing through thends attendant to various order sects and orders, just to attack another Thousand Demon Ridge outpost that belonged to the Sanctuary of Perfidy.
When informed of the attack, the Sanctuarys low-tier Cultivators were stunned beyond words. The Battalion was an order that was supposed to be a thousand miles away! Yet why in Heavens name were they attacking them, the Sanctuarys Cultivators did not know why. None of them knew how the beef with the Battalion started at all.
But the Sanctuarys higher-tier Cultivators knew what was going on. Explicit orders hade from their headquarters in the world of Jiu Zhou, bidding them haste for the outer rings of the Battlefield to hunt down a certain someone.
Faced with such a dilemma, the higher-tier Cultivators could hardly carry on with their mission. With a whole army of enemies at their gates, none of the Sanctuarys low-tier Cultivators could venture out without being mauled by flurries of deadly spells. With no other choice, the Sanctuarys Eighth- and Ninth-Order Cultivators had to call off their hunt and head back home to help lift the siege.
The surprise assaultsunched by Grand Sky Coalition sects and orders on their Thousand Demon Ridge counterparts included only a handful of them at first, but the numbers began to pile. By the Divine Trade Associations reckoning, more than a hundred small-scale skirmishes had broken out between both sides in the span of just five days. Never in history did the Coalition ever waged a war on the Thousand Demon Ridge at such a scale before.
In fact, this was the first time in several decades that a head-on conflict between the Coalition and the Ridge really broke out. Sects and orders with outposts deep within the core region of the Battlefield followed the progress of the war with interest, all of them anxious to see if the standard that once stood proudly at the head of the Grand Sky Coalition army so many years back would still endure.
It was expected to fall in just two more months, before the sudden appearance of a sessor who showed that he might just have what it took to keep the standard standing. The Thousand Demon Ridge could never allow that. Not when its long wait was finally bearing fruit. For thirty years, the Ridge had watched the standard inching closer and closer to crashing down. Yet all of a sudden, something has changedLu Ye. The one person whose unannounced advent into the fold could shatter the whole status quo. To that end, the Ridge needed Lu Ye to die. The Fifth-Order Cultivator must be eliminated to ensure that the standard fell and that it would be buried and never be seen again!
The standard that had been the prime object of shame and ignominy for each and every single sect and order that belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was giving his saber a forceful flick to fling away the blood that caught on its de. Around him on the ground was a sprawl of several dead bodies. Bodies of fallen Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators. Lu Ye had just survived an attack and he was not liking the number of enemies he was encountering at all!
[Something is badly wrong!]
Since ying Dong Shu Ye a few days back, Lu Ye had continued riding for the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. With his nemesis and nightmare finally conquered, that part of his journey was exhrating and refreshing.
It was not until three days ago that something changed.
He was just on his way when he stumbled into a squad of Cultivators. Encountering unfamiliar Cultivators wasmon, especially in the wilderness. Lu Ye had lost count of the number of times he ran into strangers in the middle of nowhere.
But most of the time, everyone would exchange not so much as curt nods and nervous nces, giving each other a wide berth to prevent any unwanted misunderstanding.
But this time, the squad of Cultivators he ran into came straight at him even when he tried to avoid them. The looks on their face nearly left Lu Ye wondering if he was a fat slice of ham and they had been famished for days.
Even so, that did not prevent Lu Ye from dispatching them in short order. He rode on Ambers back and unleashed death with no quarter giventhere was no need to since his newfound enemies clearly werent going to show him any as well.
The squad had a Fifth-Order Cultivator, but Lu Ye was not the average garden variety Cultivator who could barely hold his own in a fight with an enemy of simr rank. The skirmish was just way easier than dealing with Dong Shu Ye. All it took was just a couple of moments before the entire squad of enemies was annihted.
He looted his fill of the bounty and went on his way.
Just when Lu Ye thought that that was the sum of all his troubles, he was proven wrong when he met another group of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators.
And in the following three days, he had been killing, killing, and killing. He had stumbled upon and in at least six groups of enemies. All that yielded him a bounty of more than twenty Storage Bags with a hundred or so Contribution Points.
But Lu Ye was far from pleased with the rewards. As much as he had gained a lot. All the fighting was just slowing him down.
More than that, he was starting to encounter problems with his Spiritual Power. He could feel the presence of impurities inside his Spiritual Power.
In the past, he could fully depend on consuming Spirit Pills to build up his Spiritual Power because of his Skill Tree. He once observed and discovered that the mes on the Tree could consume any impurities or toxic waste that resulted from his ingestion of Pills and expel them out of his body. For this reason, his Spiritual Power had always been pure and he was able to avoid what his mentor Tang Yi Feng had described as toxic poisoning from the consumption of Pills.
The purity of Lu Yes Spiritual Power was one of the main reasons that he was able to defeat any Cultivator of simr rank aside from the Spiritual Patterns of Sharp Edge and Protection that he could both utilize freely during battle. The purer a Cultivators Spiritual Power was, the more potent and powerful the effects of his spells and whatever employment of his Spiritual Power would be.
Even if it was the same stroke, the same skill, or the same technique, the difference in the two Cultivators Spiritual Power purity would result in varying oues and effects.
Yet right now, he could positively detect impurities inside his Spiritual Power.
When he stopped to restst night, he examined his Skill Tree and what he discovered shocked him. His Skill Tree had somehow lost its former ability to burn away all poisonous and toxic waste from his ingestion of Spirit Pills and that was how his body was beginning to build up more impurities.
The Skill Tree was none other than the biggest reason behind his rapid progress that saw him bing a Fifth-Order Cultivator when he barely just unlocked his first Spiritual Point. Without the ability to remove all impurities from his Spiritual Power the speed of his future growth would surely be impaired.
That left Lu Ye in a sullen mood, which he vented by reducing to bloody bits and viscera any Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators unlucky enough to run into him.
It took him quite a great deal of thinking that not all was lost with his Skill Tree. All he needed to do was to absorb some sort of heat-based substance that the Skill Tree could use to reignite the mes on its leaves. These mes were what the Skill Tree would need to burn away the toxicity in his body.
The sustenance for the mes must have been fully exhausted and that could be why his Tree could no longer purify his Spiritual Power.
It was a hypothesis that still needed due verification, and he needed the aforementioned heat-based substance to find out if his guess was true.
The first time when Lu Ye first activated his Skill Tree, it was a strange tangerine-yellowish me that he discovered sealed inside one of the ores he found. The next substance his Skill Tree absorbed was the heat source from below the roots of the Barrier Prating Fruit Tree. Yet despite the experiences, Lu Ye did not know from whence he should find the third heat-based substance for his Skill Treethe first two times were pure happenstance.
Fortunately for him, the bulk of his Spiritual Power was still pristine enough to not impact him heavily. All he needed to be careful of was to not inhale any Spirit Pills as recklessly as he did before. He consumed only one Pill per day and spent the rest of his time using the Spiritual Pattern Gathering Spirits to do the rest of the work.
With a copious amount of Spirit Stones at his disposal, his initial n was to pay the nearest Divine Trade Association branch a visit and see if he could find any heat-based substances that his Skill Tree could use.
But that n hardly looked viable right now. For the past few days, Lu Ye had found himself walking straight into waves and waves of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator squads and each of them had at least one or two Fifth-Order Cultivators. It did not take long for him to wonder if these were not ordinary squads, but rather, hunting parties, and a hunch told Lu Ye that he himself was that prey.
Yi Yi was flipping through the dead bodies when Lu Ye looked up. A hawk was circling in the air, a predator in search of prey.
At the same time, under a tree three miles away from Lu Yes position, a tiny troop of Cultivators was huddled together. As if they were oblivious to the more than seven to eight dead bodies strewn on the ground around them, they were sharing a view of a device that was showing Lu Yes position just like how the Shadow Moon Disc could.
Lu Yes position viewed from a birds eye view.
All of them watched the disy pensively without a word.
One of them gulped hard. How is that a Fifth-Order Cultivator?! he gasped.
They had seen with their own eyes how Lu Ye had cleaved his way through a gauntlet of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators with the ease and finesse of an experienced butcher carving down a b of meat. One look was enough to tell that Lu Ye was not only no stranger to killing, he was born for it. Not even normal Sixth-Order Cultivators could boast that kind of deadliness.
Is this the right guy? asked another. Just make sure that we got the right guy.
Its him. Fifth-Order, riding a snowy-white tiger, and on the path between Mount Fengyun and the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. Theres no mistaking it, said a woman with voluptuous curves. It was her who was powering the miniature Shadow Moon Disc with her Seventh-Order level Spiritual Powers. The rest of her squad was made up of three Sixth-Orders and several Fifth-Orders.
A team of such aposition would never have been roaming somewhere in the outer circles of the Battlefield under normal circumstances.
The squad was moving towards the intersection between the outer and inner rings of the Battlefield from their outpost. That was the ideal spot for a team with thatposition to train. But halfway on their journey, they received an urgent order from their orders leadership toe here at once.
What was actually going on, not one of them knew. But they had heard about how their mentors in the order had once enjoyed the kindness and generosity of the Crimson Blood Sect a long, long time ago. Hence when news about Lu Yes true identity as an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect began to sweep all over the Battlefield like a virulently contagious disease, the mentors of this squad ordered them toe and watch over this youngd and make sure that he was safe.
They were not the only ones. Furious undercurrents abounded the whole Battlefield. While many wanted to protect this youngd, even more wanted to see him dead. It was a contest between both sides where the boys survival would determine which side would be the victor.
Chapter 146: Am I Not Screaming Hard Enough
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 146: Am I Not Screaming Hard Enough
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Well, weve found him. So what now? Make contact? asked another member of the squad, a Sixth-Order Cultivator.
Not a good idea, said another. Its better if we just shadow him and watch him. A good many of Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders have sent forth kill squads to hunt him down. Were only here because were close. That is an advantage we could use. Breaking concealment leaves us in a muchpromised position. We could be overrun very easily. Its obvious that thisd is still none the wiser over the ruckus thats now brewing on his ount. Making contact with him might turn out poorly, especially if he bes suspicious of us.
But shadowing him might not be good enough to keep him safe.
I have another idea! Why dont we just give him a bloody bludgeon to the head so that he faints? We can easily carry him away, added another member, a hulking giant of a man.
That earned him the stares and res of all his fellow squad members. What, bad idea? he muttered sheepishly.
Well, since youre the one toe up with this bright idea, nodded one of the Sixth-Orders, Why dont you do the honors?
Me? Hed just reduce me into pork chops before I ever get close! bawled the beefy man. As a Sixth-Order Cultivator, even he could not ensure that he would defeat Lu Ye squarely in a fight. Witnessing Lu Yes ferocity in action earlier had left him badly daunted.
It was up to the female leader of the squad to make the final decision. Ill make contact with him, said the Seventh-Order Cultivator, Ill stay around him while you guys shadow us.
That was a decision that no one objected to.
Although in mere seconds, everyone was wondering if they had erred in agreeing to the n. As soon as the female leader broke away to approach Lu Ye, she began tearing her own tunic and tried to make her chest look more bosomy by trying to lift her chest with her hands and squashing her ample mounds together
One of the Sixth-Orders pped his forehead with exasperation as he averted his gaze. [Heavens, Sister Lan. The lengths youre going toplete your mission]
In the meantime, Lu Ye was pressing forward on Ambers back when he heard a weak voice calling for help. Lu Ye paused and listened. It was true. Someone was calling for help and it was a woman.
He did not go nearer to her at once. Being attacked again and again with such a bizarrely persistent frequency had left him extremely wary about strangers.
Yi Yi was sent ahead to quickly reconnoiter the area before she came back with her findings. There really was a woman who looked like she had just survived a Spirit Beast attack, although there were no signs of animal traps anywhere around them.
Lu Ye nodded and had Amber shift to another bearing.
The female Cultivator called Lan was still moaning for help in her tattered tunic when her Battlefield Imprint alerted her to new iing messages. She nced through them quickly and said, totally bbergasted, What the hell?!
[Why the hell did he run away?!]
[Anyone would havee to have a look when they ran into ady crying for help in the wilderness! What the hell is wrong with him!?]
[Is it because Im not crying loud enough or am I not screaming hard enough?!]
The female Cultivator got up to her feet, so indignant that the veins on her temples were bulging.
[Gods, how Id love to give that brat a punch!]
She rejoined her squadter after changing into a fresh set of clothing, although the look on her face wasnt fresh in any way at all. She was utterly dour and glum.
What now? asked one of them.
The female Cultivators eyes wavered with uncertainty. The same n. Ill try to get close to him myself this time. The rest of you just keep close!
All thats well, but this fellows got a mount thats very fast. We can do our best to keep up but its only just a matter of time before he gives us the slip, quipped one of the Sixth-Orders.
That wont matter. Our jobs just to watch him for one part of the journey. Therell be other squads from other Grand Sky Coalition orders waiting to take over ahead, said Lan.
That was good news to the squad. With more help from other allies, that would mean that their job had just be considerably easier.
It was night and Lu Ye made camp. He used a bonfire to roast some meat for himself and Amber. Halfway through his meal, he detected the signature of someone with Spiritual Power approaching. He got up at once and stared intently into the darknessin the direction from whence the stranger wasing.
Just momentster, a figure dashed out of the thickets, stepping into the light of the fire. Lu Yes hand snapped to the hilt of his weapon immediately, ready to draw it at a moments notice while he eyed the neer with an unfriendly re.
It was a woman and one whose appearance was disheveled and bedraggled with her half-naked womanly charms spilling out of her loose clothing. She looked like she was running for her life. Frantically, she tore towards Lu Ye the moment she pped eyes on him. Help, sir! Someone is trying to kill me!
Unfazed by the theatrics, Lu Ye drew his weapon with deliberate, menacing slowness. That was enough for Lan to stop in her tracks, and quickly realize that one more step and this youngd would attack with extreme prejudice and without mercy. The cold hard stare he was giving her was telling her as much!
[This ungrateful and brutish whelp!]
She screeched to a stop and cried with tears welling in her eyes, Help me, please! As she spoke, she did not neglect to raise her arm to show him a glimpse of her Battlefield Imprint.
From within the darkness behind her, a few more strangers leaped out into the open. One of them peered at Lu Ye and squealed, A Fifth-Order! Quick, run!
With just that, the pursuers immediately turned on their heels and scrambled away.
Lu Yes forehead creased deeper. He gave the woman another curt look. Confirming that she was only just a Fourth-Order, he gradually slid his weapon back into its sheathe.
Lan heaved a heavy breath of relief. Still wearing that damsel-in-distress look, she said to Lu Ye, To what sect or order do you belong to, kind sir?
Lu Ye did not bother to reply. He ignored her and went back to munching on his roasted meat. Amber pawed him affectionately and he leaned back, lying down on the tigers huge belly.
But he did not take his eyes off the woman at all.
[Funny] he thought. He was just thinking that he could have sworn that he had heard that voice somewhere before, then he realized that she was the same woman who was moaning for help earlier.
He did not get to see her, but Yi Yi recognized her the moment she showed herself. Ambers pawing at him just now was at Yi Yis behest to send him a signal to warn him.
[So, this woman was trying to get me to save her just now but she failed Then now shees to me on her own ord? What is her scheme in trying to get close to me?]
[And shes made it clear that shes a member of the Grand Sky Coalition]
Lu Ye was still contemting in silence when Lan forced a smile, Would you let me stay here for the night, sir? Just for the night until Im sure Im safe?
As you wish!
[What the hell is wrong with you, you ungrateful and snobbish brat?!] Lan almost screamed aloud. Her anger was getting harder and harder to keep in check. Still, she forced another smile, Why, thank you so much!
But that was her chance to get closer to her target. Her clothes were still loose and disheveled, not to mention the speckles of blood that mottled all over her tunic. But all that did little to dissuade her from trying to reveal her womanly charms to Lu Ye.
She sat down beside the fire and held up her hands to keep them warm. Thank you so much, she tried to make conversation, I would have been killed if not for you! I really couldnt thank you enough
Without responding to her melodramatics, Lu Ye tossed her a piece of roasted meat all of a sudden, catching her by surprise that she nearly dropped it. She stared at him in silent bewilderment.
[So, hes the tough-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside type?] That seemed to have quelled what displeasure and resentment about him a great deal. Plus, the juicy yet tender roasted steak and its alluring aroma were making her stomach groan in protest. Unable to resist her pangs of hunger, she began wolfing down on the food ravenously.
Whats your name, sir? Lan mumbled as she ate, Im Lan Yudie.
Quit talking when you eat.
Uh, okay
Is it good?
Yeah, it is. Thank you.
Hasnt anyone told you before about not epting food from strangers? Lu Ye said suddenly. Without her realizing it, he was already on his feet with his weapon drawn as he strode towards her menacingly.
Lan Yudies face fell with dread and dismay. She immediately dropped the b of meat and tried to channel her Spiritual Power but to no avail. What answered her call was only the twinging sensation where her Microcosmic Orbits felt like copsing, let alone functioning at all.
Before she could even get to her feet, the long de of Lu Yes weapon rested on her shoulder with its sharp edge grazing the skin of her neck. Lan Yudie looked up and their eyes met. Her eyes red with rage, You drugged me?! How dare you!?
That was thest straw. It was not so much as indignation as the humiliation that a Seventh-Order like her would fall prey to such a simple parlor trick by a Fifth-Order. If word of this got out, she could never tolerate the shame!
She could barely confess to seeing thising at all!
No one had ever done something like this to her!
Rx. Its only something that inhibits the use of your Spiritual Power temporarily. Its nothing harmful.
The substance was first found inside the Storage Bag that belonged to the son of the Nine Star ns Master before he had Hua Ci analyze it. He had been waiting for the chance to put it to good use after he knew what it was andbeled it.
Now, lets hear the truth of your trying to get close to me.
What the hell are you talking about?! eximed Lan Yudie, feigning ignorance.
That was you moaning for help earlier today, wasnt it? So what are the odds that youll be stumbling into me at night again? Dont tell me that its a coincidence because you and I both know that it ruddy well is not.
Y-You Lan Yudie could not believe it. Lu Ye couldnt have seen her!
But how did he manage to recognize her just by hearing her voice alone?!
Lan Yudie gazed up at Lu Ye who was looking at her crossly. She cracked into a simper. Impressive! [It would appear that this might be an interesting mission after all!]
So youre admitting that youve been deliberately trying to get close to me?
Yep! Lan Yudie conceded, allowing her long hair down to conceal the expression on her face.
Lu Ye began to notice something amiss. The surface of Lan Yudies skin was beginning to glow at an unprecedented paceportending the real level of Spiritual Power that she had been hiding from him! Knowing better than to wait, he whipped the edge of his saber across her artery without any hesitation.
But he missed. Broken strands of hair fell to the ground and Lan Yudie had vaulted herself up with one hand on the ground to not only evade Lu Yes attack but also to deliver a kick straight into his face!
Lu Ye leaned backward to avoid the heavy blow that swished just inches past his face before he kicked hard and withdrew to a safe distance, putting more than fifteen meters between them both.
Lan Yudie reached up and caressed her fair and slender neck, only to feel something slick and wet. The corners of her eyes twitched with utter shock and disbelief as she registered what it was. What the hell?! Were you actually trying to kill me for real?!
The nick on her neck would have been a sideways sweep that would have seen her head lopped off if she had not been dodging quickly enough! [Dammit, just what the hell is wrong with him!? Does he need to be so brutal?!]
Opposite, Lu Ye wasnt looking pleased at all, for he realized that this woman wasnt just some lowly Fourth-Order but rather, a Seventh-Order!
Whatever she used, it had managed to conceal her powers and hoodwinked him!
But that would exin why the drug did not work as intended. The level of her Spiritual Power was three ranks above what he initially thought, which was why the effects of the drug on her were so light.
Amber melted into the darkness, biding for his time tounch a surprise attack.
Youve left me in a terrible mood, brat! Ill just vent it on you for what youve done! Lan Yudies figure was gone with just her afterimages trailing in her wake as she lunged at Lu Ye.
[Such incredible speed!] Lu Ye nearly gasped aloud.
Without any prior experience in dealing with a Seventh-Order, Lu Ye did not know what to expect in a real fight against a Seventh-Order Cultivator! All he knew was that Lan Yudies incredibly fast!
But since his physical enrichment inside the Dragon Spring, he could at least pick up her movements with his sight, or he would be in real danger indeed!
Lan Yudie came so close to pouncing on him and he quickly countered with a vicious backhand sweep aimed at the side of her head.
The keen edge of the de came dangerously close to scraping her nose as she took a couple of light-footed steps to retreat backward. But she was nheless astounded by what just happened. [Did he just read my moves?! Or was that just a fluke?!]
But there was no time to think. Her figure vanished into thin air again amid a trail of afterimages chasing after her like wraiths.
Lu Ye quickly readjusted the grip of his saber and swung it forward once more.
That left Lan Yudie even more bbergasted and dibobted. Lu Ye really was able to read her moves! Every one of his moves was aimed at countering that of hers!
Chapter 147: Protect Him, Not Attack Him!
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 147: Protect Him, Not Attack Him!
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Yes weapon came back around for another furious hack down at Lan Yudie. Sparks were elicited from the collision. Instead of withdrawing, Lan Yudie had just parried thatst blow with the help of a dagger that she had produced out of nowhere.
Lu Ye recovered and readied himself for another attack.
Lan Yudie snorted, Too open!
She threw herself at him with a barrage of punches raining down on him. Lu Ye might be able to catch her movements with his eyes, but he could barely react quickly enough this time. Immediately, he activated Spiritual Pattern Protection and the circr image of a runic sigil materialized in front of his abdomen.
A bang resounded, followed closely by a huge sweeping wave of force and dust. The blow nearly knocked Lu Ye off his feet, sting him some twenty or so meters away. Even with the magical shield, Lu Ye still felt his stomach aching so painfully that breathing itself was already torture.
What the hell?! an incredulous Lan Yudie gasped.
She was positive that she had hit something, although in the eruption of dust she could barely see what it was.
But before she knew it, Lu Ye was already upon her. He recollected himself just as soon as his feet hit solid ground and dashed forward at full speed, eager to not give his enemy any moment for respite. All Lan Yudie could manage to see was the frosty glint of his weapon bearing down on her.
Lan Yudie quickly sidestepped the blow. Something changed in her aura. Her speed gained a sudden burst.
More ngors ensued, filling the dark forest with the incessant, slipshod din of steel gnashing against steel.
ROAR! Amber came lunging out of the darkness all of a sudden at Lan Yudie from behind. But as if she had an eye on the back of her head, she easily evaded the massive white tiger with a deft twirl on her toes that even a skilled ballerina would have approved before she drove her foot into the tigers nk, sending the huge beast hurtling away through the air.
But Amber was not going to admit defeat just yet. Just before it careened out of reach, the big, muscr animal twisted andshed his tail at Lan Yudie. The vicious attack caught her unaware and smacked at her face like a deadly whip, enough to leave her staggering while she clutched at her face, growling, You horrendous thing!
She quickly withdrew to a safe distance.
That gave Lu Ye the chance to rejoin Amber and get up on its back. It was time to leave. The battle wasnt long but it was definitely enough for him to know that he wasnt going to defeat herat least not yet. Therefore, they needed to go. Fast.
But the situation was made worse when he sensed more Spiritual Power signatures closing in on his position rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he was surrounded.
Wait What the hell happened here?! Why did you fight?! gasped one of the neers, a young man who looked totally bbergasted to see the aftermath of the brief fireside fisticuff.
Lan Yudies team was supposed to maintain their distance when they picked up the mors of battle going on. Thinking that Lan Yudie and Lu Ye must be under attack by some Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, they rushed here at once only to stumble into this mess.
Stop fighting, just stop! cried another.
Please, calm down, Brother Lu! This is a misunderstanding! shouted a third quickly.
Lu Ye surveyed the neers from the back of Amber. The entire band of neer strangers was a party of six. Three Sixth-Orders and three Fifth-Orders, and if his guess was correct, one of them was the one who had been masquerading as the one who was pursuing Lan Yudie earlier when she was pulling off that damsel-in-distress act.
[Are they all a team?] he mused grimly.
The only point of egress from being surrounded by such a team would be through their weakest pointthe Fifth-Orders. Even so, there really was no guarantee of sess.
But Lu Ye was quick to note that none of them had shown him any hostility the moment they showed themselves. In fact, one of them was even addressing him as Brother Lu!
Which was something odd, for the only ones who knew his true name were those from the Rogue Wanderers Club and Yi Yi. Since entering the Battlefield, Lu Ye had been calling himself Yi Ye instead of his real name Lu Ye.
[So how did these people know what my real name is?]
Then there were the numerous attacks that he encountered recently. A hunch told him that all of these bizarre incidents in the past few days must be rted somehow.
The Sixth-Order who called him strode over to Lan Yudie and muttered dubiously, What happened? Why did you both begin to fight all of a sudden?
[The n was to protect him, not attack him!]
Lan Yudie finally simmered down. Looking slightly embarrassed, she hissed, I just couldnt help it! She was just too overwhelmed by the indignation and shame that the very target that she was trying to protect had managed to drug her and she allowed herself to walk right into it.
Even so, she was only too impressed by Lu Yes prowess in battle. Despite being two ranks lower, even she had to admit that she was nearly intimidated by his aggressive style of fighting and his ruthlessness. Never had she felt such a way towards a Fifth-Order before.
In contrast to him, the Fifth-Orders of her own team has all the formidability of meek and soft little bunnies.
Now that she had sampled firsthand Lu Yes deadliness, she fully understood how easy it was for Lu Ye to cut down an entire Thousand Demon Ridge kill squad. Any other Cultivator of lower or simr rank would immediately find his- or herself frightened and daunted by his bold and assertive style which would allow Lu Ye to secure the initiative of any battle quickly.
Who the hell are you?
Still wary of the neers, Lu Ye did not stop observing them. He spied one of the Fifth-Orders, the weakest member of the team and the best possible chance for escape in case these strangers were enemies.
The young man who spoke first grimaced. It was apparent that Lu Ye still maintained a sizable mistrust towards them all. But that was hardly a surprise; even he would behave so if he were in Lu Yes shoes. Believing a bunch of strangers was easily one of the quickest ways to die in the Battlefield.
He did not immediately answer Lu Yes question. But to ensure that no further misunderstanding would ur and that the conversation would progress smoothly, he held out a hand and said solemnly, I, Qi Xin, of Mount Aurora hereby swear in the name of Heavens that all seven of us bear Brother Lu Ye no ill will. Wee under the orders of our orders leadership to carry out the mission that they have delegated to us. Once again, in the name of the Heavens, I so swear!
The palpable sensation of something ethereal and divine descended from the air and lingered amongst them for a few seconds.
Please, Brother Lu, Qi Xin said atst to Lu Ye who looked like he wasnt getting off Ambers back just yet, Please allow me to exin.
Lu Ye slowly and reluctantly allowed his saber to slide back into its scabbard. Swearing in the name of Heavens was so sacrosanct that not even Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators would not foolishly and flippantly dare to toy and flirt with. That Qi Xin was willing to make such a vow proved that at least he was speaking the truth. He and his team werent trying to harm Lu Ye in any way at all.
Pensively, Qi Xin said, I know you must have a lot of questions that you want answers to. But Im afraid this is hardly the time and ce. Can youe with us somewhere safe to talk?
Very well, said Lu Ye after a moments thought.
There were questions that were waiting to be answered.
This way, please! Qi Xin beckoned with a flourish and led the way. The others followed closely behind.
Wait a minute! Lan Yudies hand shot up suddenly.
Yes, Sister Lan? Qi Xin turned back around quizzically.
A red-faced Lan Yudie muttered quietly, Im still under the effects of the poison. I cannot use my Spiritual Power and I cannot move!
She had been trying to keep the effects of the poison suppressed, but that only served to dy the inevitable. If anything, the effects turned to be worse after her attempts, causing her Spiritual Power to bepletely useless at the moment.
What happened? cried everyone, Who did this?!
Lan Yudie cast an using nce at Lu Ye, who averted his gaze and pretended to have a sudden interest in the starry night sky overhead.
The entire team broke into myriads of expression. Some wanted tough although they couldnt bring themselves to. Their shoulders shook as they fought against the urge to explode into guffaws. That would exin why a fight between them urred when Lan Yudies supposed to be the one protecting him.
At any rate, no one could me her for losing her cool.
Do you need me to give you a lift? Qi Xin squeaked meekly.
Gimme a break! As if I need your help! Lan Yudie hissed furiously, Whoever did this should take responsibility! He has a mount that I can ride on!
Lu Ye hesitated, but he patted Ambers back nheless.
Lan Yudie strode up to the tiger and vaulted herself up. Amber didnt look too happy, but he relented nevertheless.
All right, off we go then, said Qi Xin, leading the way. They moved quickly without any more conversation.
Two hourster, the squad found a cave where they took shelter inside.
Lu Ye first waited for the Mount Aurora Cultivators to step into the cave before he went inside with Amber. The squad knew what it was for, but they decided not to make any remarks about it.
It was barren and arid inside and everyone sat on the ground.
So, lets first begin by telling me how you came by my name, said Lu Ye, wanting to gain control of the initiative as usual.
Qi Xin almost giggled. Brother Lu Ye, are you really unaware of what is really going on right now?
What is going on right now?
So, you really are in the dark, eh? Qi Xin sighed at that. It appears that your identity is public knowledge now, Brother Lu Ye. Not only does the Ridge know that youre an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect, the whole Battlefield knows. Especially those who have been looking.
Lu Ye never looked so grim before, his forehead crumpling into one of the deepest frowns he had ever had.
[Public knowledge!? How?! And what does those who have been looking even mean?!]
He had been cautious and prudent sinceing into the Battlefield, all because his mentor Tang Yi Feng had urged him to keep his identity as a member of the Crimson Blood Sect a secretalways.
He never understood why, but there was no reason for him to doubt his mentor nor suspect him of any treachery.
To that end, he had been introducing himself to others as Yi Ye. Hua Ci and a handful of others might know his true name, but none of them were aware of his provenance.
If there was anyone who knew his true name, that would only be his former fellow ve from the Evil Moon Valley mines whom he encountered outside the YiAn city branch of the Divine Trade Association not long ago.
That was a coincidence, but Lu Ye had quickly left the ce without staying to talk.
But that was when Dong Shu Ye managed to track him down, he suddenly recalled
Then he remembered Dong Shu Ye sending a message using his Battlefield Imprint just moments before his demise. He thought that was Dong Shu Ye calling in reinforcements at the time, although he quickly dismissed the matter when he saw no oneing.
Dong Shu Ye knew he was dying at the time. Even if he called for help, they would never arrive in time. But what if he was not calling for help at the time?
[Is this Dong Shu Ye then? He must have overheard that Burning Moon Mountain git calling my name and somehow managed to divine my provenance then?]
Before his death, Dong Shu Yes final words were that he would be expecting me in Purgatory. That might seem harmless at the time. But what if that was not just an empty threat?
What is wrong with my identity? Lu Ye asked.
That was the question that had left Lu Ye wandering intote nights without knowing the answer. His mentor Tang Yi Feng had specifically warned him about not divulging his identity as if it would be a dangerous thing to do, but he did not say why.
[Did the Crimson Blood Sect do something that angered the whole Battlefieldst time? Was it what caused the Sect to be so hated in this pocket dimension?]
Im afraid I myself dont know the true answer to that question, said Qi Xin, It involves a secret known only to the older generations of our order. But I do know this: the whole Battlefield now churns because of you, Brother Lu Ye. The beacons of war are lit on your ount. The Thousand Demon Ridge wants you dead and many in the Grand Sky Coalition are doing their utmost to protect you, which includes Mount Aurora. That is why were here. We were given strict orders by the leadership of our order toe and make sure that youre safe.
What do you mean that the whole Battlefield now churns because of me? asked a bewildered Lu Ye.
What could a Fifth-Order Cultivator do to rock the whole Battlefield?
No. Lu Ye realized. It could only be due to his identity as an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect.
If Qi Xin was speaking the truth, then there must be more than meets the eye with this ancient order which he was forced to reluctantly be a part of in the first ce.
Younglings like us dont know much about what happened long ago, Im afraid. But I do know that the Crimson Blood Sect used to be a Tier-One Order within the Coalition, said Lan Yudie suddenly. She had been busy trying to expel the poison from her body. Being the leader of her squad and the most senior member, she knew more than the rest of the others. But something happened. Something that saw the Crimson Blood Sect became a Tier-Nine Order and now, it teeters on the brink of being defunct. Its been thirty years since the Crimson Blood Sect has ushered in new blood and if this goes on, thene the assessment two months from now, the Crimson Blood Sect would be nothing more than just a name in the history books.
Chapter 148: The Story So Far
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 148: The Story So Far
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Many amongst the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders have been waiting for this day with bated breath. The day when the Crimson Blood Sect would be nothing but a footnote in history. That was when word came out about your existence. The Crimson Blood Sect acolyte who appeared out of nowhere just months ago and the one who would see their deepest wish be nothing more than wishful thinking! Your very survival, Lu Ye, spells the continuity of Crimson Blood Sect! said Lan Yudie quietly.
Everyone thought you were dead back then during the ambush on you and your mentor, until word came a few days ago that you still lived,rger than life, here inside the Battlefield. That prompted many Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders to act. They needed to kill you for once youre dead, the Crimson Blood Sect shall have to cease!
Lu Ye listened quietly, still trying to digest what he had just been told.
He did not know that his survival was linked to the Crimson Blood Sects!
[Thirty years without a new acolyte?] Lu Ye recalled himself asking Tang Yi Feng about the other members of the order and how his mentor had looked reluctant to discuss further. At first, Lu Ye thought that the sect did not have many members. But right now, things seemed more dire than he expected.
It was not that the Sect had few members. It was on the verge of going defunct.
That would exin the waves and waves of Thousand Demon Ridge kill squads that he had been encountering. They were hunting him. That was why they looked so happy when they saw him.
The Thousand Demon Ridge forces are riding in full force as we speak. At the same time, the Grand Sky Coalition is heading out to meet them. One side wishes to see you dead while the other wants to see you live. Right now, that is the story so far: the Spirit Creek Battlefield engulfed by total chaos where victory between both sides is determined by whether youll survive reaching the Crimson Blood Sect outpost.
Our order once enjoyed the kindness of one of your Crimson Blood Sect forebears. Hence here we are to protect you at our mentors bidding. We were worried that you might be suspicious of us, that was why we did not reveal ourselves the moment we met. Besides, it was also to prevent being ambushed by the Thousand Demon Ridge forces. Staying in the dark gives us more advantages. Sister Lan is strong enough to stay with you.
That is what we know for the moment. Do you have any questions you wish to ask?
Qi Xin finished his lengthy exnation and looked at Lu Ye.
Of course, Lu Ye had questions. In fact, he had a lot to ask. For starters, he was worried if his mentor was injured from the fight that separated them. Then he wanted to know why. Why were all Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders so intent on seeing the Crimson Blood Sect buried, although the real truth of this particr matter might only be privy to a select few?
Lu Ye paused. Does that mean that more powerful people woulde hunting for me? he asked.
Naturally. People from the inner areas or even the centermost region of the Battlefield would be here. They would be flying here, but that would still take time. At the moment, the ones were handling arent too dangerous; low-tiered Cultivators from nearby. But more wille, and you can bet your hide that they will be more powerful and more dangerous. But not all is lost; help ising from our allies in the Coalition as well. At the very least, I know that person ising. So long as we can dy everything until that persons arrival, youll survive just yet.
Wait. Whos that person? Lu Ye interjected.
Lan Yudie shook her head. Youll know. That person doesnt have a good temper and thest thing we want is to be caught gossiping behind that persons back, she said.
[Well, whoever this is, he or she must be somehow rted to the Sect, and he or she must be immensely powerful too,] mused Lu Ye quietly.
I guess that is all for now, he said.
Lets draw up a n then, said Lan Yudie. Her gaze fell on Amber, who had been curling up behind Lu Ye. You now have two choices. First, youe with usalone. The whole world now knows that youre riding a white tiger. The moment the enemy sees him, theyll know its you. This tiger of yours is like a beacon to them.
Ill go for the second.
Lu Ye knew full well that separating from Amber would mean the tigers death since Amber was now what the enemies were actively searching for.
Hmph, Lan Yudie snorted, So be it then. The tigeres with us. At least you can depend on him for speed if we get spotted.
She rose to her feet gradually, her powers having fully restored. Solemnly, she regarded her squad. We stick to the original n. Ill stay with Lu Ye in close detail while we do our best to keep out of sight. In the meantime, I leave the rest to you all.
All six of her squad responded in unison, Yes, Sister Lan!
Very well. Lets move out.
There was no reason to dawdle. They had established contact with Lu Ye and a n was ready. Staying here would only bring about more unnecessary variables.
That improved Lu Yes mood not one bit at all. He could never believe that a lowly Fifth-Order Cultivator like him could set off such a powder keg that hurled the whole Battlefield into total war. Was that reason to be proud of or should he be worried, he really didnt know.
He stood before the squad whose members had willinglye and done their best to protect him and bowed deeply. Thank you, everyone.
He couldnt be certain if Lan Yudie and the others were lying to himat least not yet. But the probability of that urring was very, very low.
There was no reason for him to decline their help. He was curious enough to see if things really were as dire as they described. If it were true, then he would need all the help he could get. No Fifth-Order Cultivator could possibly escape such a deadlock. If there was anything that he could rely on, then that would be the favor that the Grand Sky Coalition owed the Crimson Blood Sect.
Heh, Lan Yudie chuckled. Thats more like it. But if you really wish to repay us for our help, then live. We dont know what happened between our forebears and yours, but live. Live or our mission is nothing but a stupid failure!
As she spoke, she tapped and swiped across her Battlefield Imprint. A speck of bluish light flew up from her arm. Lu Ye held up his arm and showed his Imprint. The blueish lightnded on the back of his hand and vanished.
Lu Ye now has another mark. The mark of another contact.
At the same time, a message wasing from another mark on his Imprint. It was Xie Jin of Green Feather Mountain.
[Weve heard some news, Brother Yi Ye. We dont know if thats about you, but if it is, be careful. The Thousand Demon Ridge are hunting for you.]
Lu Ye thought for one beat and sent a reply, Thank you for that.
That even Xie Jin knew about what was going on really indicated how serious things had be. The whole Battlefield must be in utter pandemonium by now.
The rest of the Mount Aurora Cultivators were gone. Qi Xin had led them away.
Only Lan Yudie was there with him.
They waited in silence before an hour passed. Finally, Lan Yudie gave the signal to leave the cave, Its time.
She vaulted herself up on Ambers back, leaving Lu Ye staring at her incredulously.
What are you waiting for? Get up now! Or are you thinking that Ill be on foot while youre ridingfortably on the back of your tiger? Lan Yudie scowled at him.
Lu Ye flipped himself up without protest, but he rode behind her.
Amber bounded out of the cave. At Lan Yudies direction, the white tiger glided swiftly over fern and field. Having overheard Lu Yes conversation with the Mount Aurora Cultivators, the perceptive and intelligent animal knew how dangerous the situation was and he did his best to prevent causing unnecessary noises.
Damn! Your Spirit Beasts a fine animal! Hes so fast! cried Lan Yudie over the winds screaming by their ears. That was to dispel the awkwardness between them. Having Lu Ye riding just behind her, in close physical contact with him was making her nervous. But there was little choice to be made since she needed to be close to keep him safe.
Despite her straightforward and boisterous demeanor, Lan Yudie had never been so close with any man before and the harmonic rocking motion was causing them to bump into each other in rhythmic cadence. That was enough to cause goosebumps to erupt all over the smooth surface of her back.
Four hours passed by uneventfully until they sensed violent pulses of energy signaturesing from not far away. A fight must be going on in that direction.
But Lan Yudie immediately directed Amber into another bearing, avoidinging anywhere close to the fight at all. Keeping Lu Ye concealed took precedence and any battles were left to Qi Xin and the others.
In the meantime, a hawk was circling over Amber all the time, maintaining a clear birds eye view of Lu Yes movements.
Forward, forward, and forward they kept pressing on. But Lan Yudie would stop to let Amber and Lu Ye rest every four to six hours.
Lu Ye and she might have not needed the break, but Amber certainly needed it and so did Qi Xin and the others, who had been covertly trying to remove whatever threats before they coulde near Lu Ye.
The journey went on for another day, until Lan Yudie asked suddenly, Do you think youll be able to hold yourself against a Sixth-Order enemy, Brother Lu Ye?
Yes, grunted Lu Ye from behind.
Very well, she nodded. In herst fight against him, she noticed that Lu Ye possessed strength and prowess far beyond ordinary Fifth-Orders. She might have not been fighting at her best yet, but no ordinary Fifth Order could easily take several blows from her and still deliver some of his own. Then show me what youre capable of then, she cried from the front, Youll encounter a woman in red. Hold her off until Ie back. But dont be soft on her!
Is she pretty?
Well, I dont know about that. But she has a great physique, thats for sure. Is that you going soft already?! Lan Yudies lithe face sank.
She almost wanted to steer Amber off in another direction.
But Qi Xin and the others could find themselves pinned down. Right now, they were already engaging another squad of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators.
At any rate, it was toote for a change of direction. Amber was just too fast and they could almost see enemies waiting up ahead.
Lan Yudie mbered up into a crouching position on Ambers back. With both her daggers drawn and grasped in both hands, her limber and petite frame arched and ready to pounce like a lioness on the hunt.
Far ahead, the enemies had caught sight of Amber. Surprised at first, they broke into tion, crying, Thats Lu Yi Ye!
A vein became visible on Lu Yes temples. [Ill make sure Le Shan pays for this stupid epithet!] he quietly cursed under his breath.
They were about seventy meters away when Lan Yudie growled, Watch yourself now, kitty! That was her warning for Amber to be safe.
Amber let loose a short wordless response. [Im not a kitty! You are!]
Lan Yudies entire person turned opaque and she dove forward at her foes.
Her shadowy figure charged into the midst of the enemy Cultivators to wreak havoc. Spells fired her way, instantly ripping the mirage of her into shreds. Only then she reappeared behind their ranks, ready to unleash death and destruction upon her unsuspecting foes who were still searching for her in the wrong direction. How did she do it, Lu Ye did not even manage to see clearly.
But one thing was certain, he realized. Lan Yudie had not been fighting him seriously back then.
The sh of steel pierced the low light, followed by a shriek of pain. A Sixth-Order enemy crashed to the ground with a growing pool of red spreading across the ground.
[Thats a one-hit-kill that drew blood!] Even though she was the superiorly-rank Cultivator, being able to y an enemy with one just one blow was by no means an easy feat.
The rest of the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators squealed, A Seventh-Order Ghost Cultivator! Careful!
All hell broke loose.
Svin: Just catching up to the Patreon. Its been 4 chapters a week for like 9 weeks. I scheduled the post in advance before I flew so this is to catch up. Will end on Sunday at chapter 159.
Chapter 149: Going Soft
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 149: Going Soft
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Lan Yudie began her attack, Amber was just thirty meters away and closing. A spell came screaming at it, but the tigers massive girth lurched sideways with amazing agility and easily evaded the attack. At the same time, Lu Ye bent up and pulled a leap off Ambers back that emted what Lan Yudie did and hurled himself towards one of the enemies, a woman in red.
[Lan Yudie was right. The woman possessed a great physique, especially those ample bosoms]
She was a Spell Cultivator. The spells that were fired at Lan Yudie and Amber earlier were both her doing.
That gave Lu Ye sufficient incentive to cut her down.
Lu Yes weapon ripped out of its sheath as he hurtled forward. The saber curved down in a deadly arc, shing into harmless dregs of energy another spell that was aimed at him, defeating it easily enough.
Another streak of light came flying towards him. The enemy Spell Cultivator might not be as fast as Dong Shu Ye, but she wasnt slow either.
There was no way to avoid it.
The Spell Cultivators face flushed with florid hues as she thought, [Ive done it! Theres no way hell escape unscathed from a hit like this! Hes just a Fifth-Order!
[Im getting rich this time!] She could almost see it. The mounds and mounds of Spirit Stones that she would win as a reward for killing the target. An abundance of Spirit Stones that couldst her entire lifetime!
That was the motivation all Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators were given to hunting down Lu Ye. A fat bounty. Anyone who killed Lu Ye would be rewarded handsomely by every sect and order in the Thousand Demon Ridge faction. The huge amount of Spirit Stone rewards in total sum could even make a Real Lake Realm Cultivator hang his jaws in awe.
Therefore, when she saw that her energy bolt was going to hit its target, the enemy Spell Cultivator just couldnt resist feeling anxious and expectant.
Only, what she hoped to see didnt happen. Lu Ye appeared right beside her all of a sudden with his me-swathed saber swinging at her.
The glint of steel was enough to jerk the woman in red out of her momentary delusions of grandeur. She frantically summoned an energy barrier to shield herself.
CRASH! The energy shield was a strong one, but not sturdy enough to stop the sharp edge of the de from cracking through it like ss before shattering the entire energy shield and cleaving through the woman in reds swanlike throat.
[Huh?!] That was one of the final thoughts that shed in the woman in reds mind. [Wait. Why is Lu Yi Ye suddenly here beside me already?!]
Her vision tilted and crashed sideways until she dropped dead on the ground, her eyes still lifelessly open. Thest thing that registered in her mind before everything went dark was the sight of Lu Yi Ye driving his saber through the back of one of her juniors.
The battle only just started, but it ended swiftly. Once Lu Ye was finished with that woman in red, he cut down another Fifth-Order Combat Cultivator, and that was it. The fight was over.
Despite both being Sixth-Order Spell Cultivators, the woman in red could barely profess the same deadliness as Dong Shu Ye. Thetter was nevertheless a former Seventh-Order who has more experience and knowledge in battle.
To say nothing of how the woman in red was already luxuriating in the fantasies and delusions of victory, allowing Lu Ye the chance to close the distance between them. Nothing good would evere out of counting his or her chickens too early.
If Dong Shu Ye himself had suffered terribly when he allowed Lu Ye the chance to get near, then an inexperienced and less-skilled Spell Cultivator like her would fare even worse.
Standing at a distance from each other, amongst bloody corpses and severed limbs, Lu Ye and Lan Yudie shared a nce, both mildly surprised at each other.
[Heavens, what speed and shrewdness!] The very same thought loomed in their minds.
The enemy squad consisted of five Cultivatorstwo Sixth-Orders and three Fifth-Orders. Lan Yudies initial n was for Lu Ye to just hold off the enemy Spell Cultivator while she dealt with the rest. Yet, he surprised her by making short work of the enemy and adding another Fifth-Order to his tally.
I see Ive underestimated you, said Lan Yudie, looking rather satisfied. Deep inside, she admitted to herself that she was mistaken. Sorely mistaken. She and her squad had arrived, half-expecting to find a weak and defenseless acolyte of an order that teetered on the brink of being extinct, only to find a Fifth-Order Cultivator who could even give her a run for her money.
If the top echelons of the Thousand Demon Ridge had seen his performance, their determination to see Lu Ye six feet under the ground would most undoubtedly intensify. At the moment, the Ridges fervor to put down Lu Ye only stemmed from the impatience and zeal to put a full stop to the Crimson Blood Sects continuity. Kill him, and the Crimson Blood Sect would be just a page in the history books.
But few knew Lu Yes true prowess. If they knew that this Crimson Blood Sect acolyte could cut down enemies beyond his rank with the skill and ease of a chef lopping off vegetables, then their anxiety would double or even triple. The growth of such a figure could very well be the greatest nightmare for all sects and orders of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
As for the possibility of Lu Ye going soft on any female enemies, that never once urred to him before. At any rate, that female Cultivator whom he found attractive was still lying on the ground with her eyes devoid of both light and life. That was proof enough of his grit.
Lets go! Lan Yudie called. Amber bounded over quickly. He had wanted to help, but the fight had ended too fast before he could do anything.
The journey continued.
Lan Yudie was not at all pleased. The battle earlier might have ended swiftly without any casualties, but it was heralding another bigger problem: more enemies from the inner areas were already reaching. It was only a matter of time before they found themselves being waid by enemies more powerful and more difficult than what they had encountered thus far. Before long, even those from the centermost parts of the Battlefield would arrive. By that time, the situation would be far beyond her ability to handle.
To which sect did those enemies just now belong? Lu Ye asked from over her shoulder.
How am I to know about that?! Lan Yudie barked, What for?
To remember them.
Youre an eager one, arent you? Lan Yudie smirked, Very well! If we manage to survive through this, Ill track them down for you!
Thanks.
No problem!
The ride went on with Lu Ye and Lan Yudie finding themselves assailed by more enemies. But these were all low- to mid-tiered Cultivators that the collective might of Lu Ye and Lan Yudie could easily defeat.
In the meantime, Lan Yudie never stopped tapping at her Battlefield Imprint whenever she could as if she was transmitting some sort of message to parties unknown.
It was two dayster when Lan Yudie exhaled wearily with a tinge of moroseness in her look as she delivered another message. Qi Xin and the others cant keep up anymore, she said to Lu Ye, Theyve taken too many losses.
Shouldnt we wait for them?
No, Lan Yudie shook her head firmly, There will be others ready to take over up ahead.
Lu Ye nodded quietly.
For the next few days, Lan Yudie became gloomier. Her mood soured as well like she had just received some bad news.
It was dusk when she nced at Lu Ye all of a sudden. Solemnly, she pointed a direction, Ride this way. Dont stop no matter what happens. Avoid any shes with Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, heard me?
She climbed up into a crouching position on Ambers back again.
Wait, where are you off to? asked Lu Ye, the creases on his forehead deepening with dread.
There are enemies up ahead. Im heading off to hold them off, she said. She turned back to look at him. A look that she held for several long seconds before she finally said, Stay alive!
Then she was gone. Pouncing forward like a panther before she was gone.
Amber kept pressing on in the direction Lan Yudie instructed him.
Ahead of them, on the side nk, Lu Ye could detect the eruption of Spiritual Powers from varying sources. That must be Lan Yudie locked in a battle against more enemies.
Themotion was huge and Amber knew better than to waddle about in these parts any longer.
At a jungle clearing not far away from Lu Yes position, dead bodies sprawled on the ground with several maimed limbs scattered about. The fight had cleared the whole area of any undergrowth and other low-lying vegetation. But Lan Yudies dance of death with her twin daggers had not yet ended. She was still trying to ward off three enemiesa Seventh-Order, a Sixth-Order, and a Fifth-Order.
With the Seventh-Order as their point man, the trio provided support in terms of firepower by maintaining a ceaseless barrage of attacks to overwhelm Lan Yudie, who already was badly injured with blood drenching her tunic.
Any longer and she would lose even herst chance to escape.
But she knew that that was not all. As if the odds were not badly stacked against her enough, another Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator was skulking about unseen. It was he who had been firing spells at her when she was not looking and the main reason she was in her present predicament.
But she remained undaunted. A heliotrope streak smeared across one of her cheeks, adding a vampish touch to her already remarkable beauty.
She might be outnumbered, but that did little to impair or lessen her ferocity. The glints of her twin daggers were enough to keep the trio hesitating, intimidated by her frenzied-like fierceness.
The Seventh-Order enemy was the only one between the trio who was getting the worse of this whole debacle. Most of Lan Yudies attacks were centered on him as if she was intent on dragging him down to hell with her.
A tigers roar suddenly came from somewhere off the outside fringes of the jungle, drawing everyone to a stop. The Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators lifted their heads just in time to see a massive white tiger springing out of nowhere, passing them by.
[That white tiger?!] Everyone was stunned. One of them screamed, Thats Lu Yi Ye!
[So that is why this womans been trying so hard! Shes trying to cover for Lu Yi Ye!]
Just when everyone was looking in Ambers direction, the Spell Cultivator who had been sniping at Lan Yudie from his concealed position failed to notice a figure approaching from behind. His senses quickly picked up the presence of a stranger from behind, but it was toote. All he heard was the screaming of steel through the air.
That managed to stop another spell that would have hit Lan Yudie and given her enemies the chance to further cause her more harm.
The enemy Sixth-Order felt somethinging fast. Then it came. A stinging jolt of pain from his neck. Just before everything went dark around him, he saw through the corners of his eyes a figure that streaked past him. He tried to raise his hands, but his limbs just wouldnt answer his call.
In the meantime, Lan Yudie was beginning to find her groove. Her twin daggers gleamed brightly in her hands, her dance filling the air around her with torrents of silver-white shes from her weapons.
In long but quick strides, Lu Ye appeared just at the edge of the clearing all of a sudden, charging for the other Sixth-Order enemy as soon as he saw him.
The Sixth-Order was the one in the trio of enemies who had been delivering attacks every now and then to slowly chip off Lan Yudies defenses. It was Ambers abrupt appearance that had diverted his attention, allowing Lu Ye to catch him off-guard with a swift attack.
The blownded on his back. Blood and entrails began pouring out of the hideously long horizontal sh like a calf being gutted.
With an anguished cry that did notst long, he fell dead as Lu Yes weapon speared through his heart and came jutting out of his chest.
The remaining two enemies looked aghast with disbelief. They had the absolute advantage. They had taken several losses because of Lan Yudies ambush earlier and few could possibly survive an ambush by a Seventh-Order Ghost Cultivator.
But they managed to recover and hold their ground. All they needed to do at first was to slowly break down Lan Yudies defenses and wear her down. But Lu Yes unexpected appearance and his expeditious ying of both Sixth-Ordersthe one hiding in the bushes and the one forming part of the triowas what flipped the tables again
Lan Yudie rxed atst, although that puzzled the two surviving enemy Cultivators.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was not slowing down at all. He lunged at the Fifth-Order enemy, swinging his saber down with all the weight he could put behind the stroke. Ashen-pale with horror, the Fifth-Order was sharp enough to realize that Lu Yes strength and speed far outstripped his defenses to hold on.
All he could do was parry the first blow, then a second, andstly, a third, before he staggered rearward and fell, leaving the sweetest opening that Lu Ye could have asked for.
But he was quick enough to quickly slip a hand into his Storage Bag and dig out a Golden Body Talisman. In the nick of time, he managed to p it on himself.
Seeing a golden sheen of light enveloping his body filled him with hope andfort
Until a crack formed on the aureate light shield and the whole thing shattered. The tip of a saber came bashing through the falling ss-like shards and shed through him, eliciting a blood spray that mimicked a painters flourishing swish with his brush, and the Cultivator began to fall on his back.
However, before he even hit the ground, Amber appeared out of nowhere and sank his jaws around his throat. With a vicious jerk, the massive tiger snapped the poor mans neck, killing him instantly and filling Ambers mouth with the acrid vor of blood.
Seeing how dire the situation had be for him, the enemy Seventh-Order Cultivatora Combat Cultivatorwithdrew dozens of meters away. His sword whistled through the air at his call and hovered to a halt just before him, its hilt up and its tip down. Then he spewed a mouthful of blood at the de of his weapon. The magical weapon erupted with a sudden brilliance of light and angled its tip at Lu Ye. Without any warning, it shot straight at him like an arrow, reaching him in just the blink of an eye.
Sword magic! Lan Yudie gasped, her face chalk-white with terror.
Chapter 150: I Want To Live
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 150: I Want To Live
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Even as she was gripped with terror, Lan Yudies training took over before her mind initiated the process of reacting. One of her daggers screamed through the air, heading on a collision course with the iing sword. But the dagger shot wide; the sword was just too fast like a lightning bolt.
Lu Ye could see with his own eyes the sparkle of the swords tiping closer and closer. For the first time in his life, he truly felt danger, awash with cold fear that swept through him from head to toe as Death loomed so near he could almost feel Its breath.
His body must have received the impulse of fear and the palpability of Death that a Spiritual Pattern Protection shieldrger and more solid than usual materialized before him. Just as the magical sigil-festooned shield barely took shape, the sword swathed in light mmed into it almost instantly.
Crack!
Even the strongest Spiritual Pattern Protection shield that Lu Ye had ever conjured could only take one hit from a blow so powerful and deadly. It shattered, despite his best efforts to keep it intact.
But it was the shield that bought him the short sliver of time he needed to tilt his body ever so slightly.
The sword whizzed just by, missing his throat by just a hairs breadth.
There was neither time to think nor hesitate. Even before he could retaliate, he could sense air roiling at the back of his head: something wasing.
He quickly conjured another Spiritual Pattern Protection shield just behind him.
Crack!
The shield burst into pieces before dispersing into dregs of energy that vanished. Lu Ye dropped himself to the ground in a roll, just in time for the strange, unseen force he sensed to plow through the air just over his head. He looked up and saw the same sword missing him just by a fraction of a second.
Hum
The sword hummed in a tremble that indicated just how much power was condensed into it. The magical weapon pivoted around, a needle on apass where its North would always be centered on Lu Ye. As the sword readied itself for a third charge, Lu Ye focused his thoughts on what he should do. Beyond any doubt, the force of the sword was one that he had never encountered before. Err but one step and he would be dead.
Just when Lu Ye was bracing himself for another attack, a cry pierced the silence in the clearing. As if on cue, the swords brilliant radiance ebbed immediately, and it fell to the ground with a tter like any other ordinary sword.
Lan Yudie flung out an arm. The dagger that she had thrown earlier magically returned to her grasp and she caught it in an icepick grip with which she viciously ran her de through the artery on the Combat Cultivators throat. Blood sprayed out like a fountain, but she withdrew quickly enough to not be caught in it.
The enemy Seventh-Order fell on his knees, his hands wing incessantly at his throat before he finally lurched forward face-first into the ground. A speck of red glow rose from the mans arm and fell into Lan Yudies Battlefield Imprint.
The purplish streak on her face only just subsided and Lan Yudie tottered unsteadily. Lu Ye had to hold her to prevent her from falling.
We need to go. Quick! she urged.
They could sense masses of Spiritual Powers closing in on them. Someone must have realized that there was a fight here. There was no way to discern if they were allies or enemies, but from how Lan Yudie chose to intercept this group alone, Lu Ye was willing to bet that they must be hostiles.
Lu Ye helped her up Ambers back and they raced out of the clearing.
They quickly left behind the traces of Spiritual Powers that they picked up earlier, although Lu Ye did not look relieved just yet. Something was wrong with Lan Yudie. Whatever happened earlier, she must have used some sort of spell or enchantment that she needed to pay a cost for. Even after the battle had ended, she appeared to be manifestly weak and fragile, and her body was scorching.
Yi Yi was already ahead, reconnoitering for a spot where they could take temporary refuge at.
Night was already upon them when Lu Ye finally held Lan Yudies arm to help her into the cave. Yi Yis search finally bore fruit.
When Lu Ye was carefully lowering Lan Yudie from Ambers back, he was horrified to find so many cuts andcerations on her. Owing to the urgency to escape from the clearing, there was no time to dress her wounds and now, she had fainted.
Her wounds certainly looked worse than how she looked on the surface.
Dress her wounds, Yi Yi, asked Lu Ye while he produced some of the medicinal powder and gauze that Hua Ci had left for Yi Yi.
Yi Yi materialized.
She had learned much from Hua Ci and Ruan Ling Yu in the crafts of healing during their stay in Mount Ying. What she was drilled in wasnt anything remarkable, but Yi Yi was at leastpetent enough to deal with superficial wounds.
The medicinal powder was a specialty of Hua Ci. A concoction of her invention that worked remarkably well against cuts andcerations caused by sharp weapons.
As Yi Yi went to work, Lu Ye found a spot and sat down. He took out his Spirit Pills and swallowed them to replenish himself.
Later that night, Lan Yudie finally woke up. She warily got up and surveyed around before she finally breathed easily.
Lu Ye tossed some meat jerkies to her which she caught and began nibbling on the dried ration. Finally, when she was feeling better, she croaked hoarsely, I was careless. I thought Id be able to get away.
She would have been dead if Lu Ye did note back around to her aid.
What about Qi Xin and the others? Lu Ye asked suddenly.
Lan Yudie stared at Lu Ye incredulously. Of all the questions she thought he would ask; this was thest. She had not told him before about the fates of her brothers-in-arms.
Weve lost two of them, Lan Yudie revealed morosely.
Lu Ye fell silent. He did not even know who the two were, much less their names and how they look.
You should go, said Lan Yudie. Ill only drag you down. My injuries will take time to heal and if we were to encounter any enemieswhich were bound toI will be no use to man or beast.
Were going together.
Frustrated and annoyed, Lan Yudie hissed, I told you. Ill only be dragging you down. Cant you understand?
I can.
Then go!
Were going together, insisted Lu Ye with resolve burning in his eyes.
Are you deaf or are you dumb?! Lan Yudie growled, Dont you understand?! For this bloody mission, Ive lost two fellow acolytes! Two who are as good as a brother and a sister to me! I dont even know you, yet here we are, throwing our lives away for you just because our mentors gave us this godawful mission! Why should we die for you anyway?! If this is a debt incurred by our forebears, then why should we, the future generations, bear the brunt of it!? And you, do you even know that in ces that you dont even know where, people are fighting to keep other Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators off your back? The battles that weve waged in these few days alone for your sake!? Why are we even here?! What are those people out there fighting for?! Dont you see it!? Its all for you, you moron! So go! Go and stay alive! Dont let the deaths of my fellow acolytes be for nothing! Dont let the deaths of those who are fighting to keep you alive be for nothing!
What she thought was a furious rebuke that would make Lu Ye change his mind evidently failed to work when Lu Ye just stood there with a nk look on his face, saying, Are you done?
Wha?! Lan Yudie was speechless. Finally, sheshed out, Oh, how I wish to give you a tight p in the face!
Lu Ye sighed. You know? Just half year ago, I was just a ve. A lowly ve in the Evil Moon Valley mines. The Grand Sky Coalition attacked the mines and liberated us. They even inducted us into the sects and orders which are part of the Coalition. I was lucky enough to have been able to enter the Crimson Blood Sect. But before I even got a glimpse of what the stronghold looks like, my mentor was forced to send me here. So all this while, I have only had one aim: that is to reach the Crimson Blood Sect outpost here.
Its just as you said. Whatever our forebears had, why should it now burden us the future generations? You, me, and possibly all other Toms, Dicks, and Harrys out there? We dont even know what happenedst time. But you know what? It matters. It matters because Ive entered the Crimson Blood Sect. For better or for worse, Im a member of the Sect and I represent it here. So whether I like it or not, our forebears burden is now mine to carry. Its my duty.
For these six months here, I might have gained much power and strength, but what am Ipared to the vast world of the Spirit Creek Battlefield? Who am I to be the powder keg that sets off this fragile bnce between the Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition? Im just nothing, and why should they center all their battles on me? I know that people are losing their lives on my ount, but I only just found out about that now.
I cant say that I dont care about the deaths, nor would I just brush all that off with a simple I dont know. Whether youre doing it on your mentors orders or out of goodwill for me, I dont know. But I know this: I will remember this forever. I acknowledge what everyone is doing for me!
Lan Yudie stared at him, atplete loss for words.
She was unhappy and displeased that she was given this mission at first. None of her squad knew Lu Ye and they owed him no obligation. But by orders of their mentors, they were required to protect him with their lives. Right now, two of their number were dead and more might follow, to say nothing about many more who could very well be losing their lives this very instant out here in the wilderness on Lu Yes ount.
But after listening to him, their fates were not pitiful at all; his was.
And how could it not be. A Fifth-Order Cultivator caught in the middle of a war between two vast and powerful confederaciesprising of thousands of Cultivators. So many wanted him deadeven more so, the champions who were now on their way from the centermost regions of the Battlefield. Any other Cultivator of his age and rank would have crumbled under the shear stress and pressure.
He did not ask for this. But rather, he was shoved into this mess. Lan Yudie could have sworn that she herself would have long caved in to such a challenge.
And Your point is?
And so, Lu Ye smiled at her, I want to live. I dont care what happened in the past, and I dont know what happened that caused the Crimson Blood Sect to be so hated by the Thousand Demon Ridge. But people are dying to save me so I must live. You said it, I need to survive, or those people would be dead for nothing. I might be weak and helpless today and I know any talk about avenging them is nothing but stupid talk. But if I survive, Ill have that chance. Those Thousand Demon Ridge goons better make sure that I dont make it to the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, because one day, I promise Ill be back to make them pay!
Lan Yudie stared at him, gawking with disbelief as if she had just heard the most absurd nonsense in the world. It took her several seconds before she could respond, Are you mad?!
But she chalked it up to a young mans brash insolence. Staying close to Lu Ye ofte had made her reassess her judgment of him. She thought that he was just a quiet introvert at first, but she was mistaken.
I will not leave you here, said Lu Ye. That earned him an exasperated rolling of eyes from Lan Yudie, I can go but youll never survive. So rest well tonight, we have an early ride tomorrow.
She stared crossly at him and Lu Ye returned a cid gaze.
It took minutes before she finally averted her stare, resigning atst to his stubborn intransigence.
Wait a minute, she said suddenly. Did you change my clothes?!
Only now did she realize that her garb looked different. These were mens clothing that she was wearing. From the size, it was clear that they belonged to Lu Ye, and her wounds have been dressed. She could feel just mild diforting from the ces where she had been hurt.
No, that was not me.
Lan Yudies face blushed furiously. Y-You saw everything?!
I told you, that wasnt me, Lu Ye persisted.
Lan Yudies was the color of ret by now. Who else could it be if its not you?! That white kitty of yours?!
Ambers head came up to shoot her a scathing look of indignance.
Chapter 151: Here I Am
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 151: Here I Am
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Even before first light, Lu Ye and Lan Yudie continued their journey.
They maintained extreme vignce to remain unnoticed. Somehow Lan Yudie possessed the ability to detect enemies within a certain vicinity, allowing them to circumvent a lot of trouble.
Lu Ye only realized that because he could feel the violent undtions of Spiritual Powers nearby and they were always hugefurious battles must be going on somewhere around his position.
These must be the Cultivators that had arrived from the inner ring areas of the Battlefield and they had begun engaging each other.
They rode for the whole day before they veered into a glen at Lan Yudies instruction.
Riding on Ambers back and sitting just in front of Lu Ye, Lan Yudie fiddled with her Battlefield Imprint. Before long, a group of Cultivators arrived. From the looks of the wounds they carried, these dozen or so men looked like they had just survived a battle.
Rx, said Lan Yudie at once when she noticed Lu Ye looking tense at the sight of the strangers, Theyre friendlies.
Before they got near, Lan Yudie lifted an arm to catch their attention. Am I addressing the men of the Northern Star?
The leader of the group, a man with a bushy beard, disyed to Lan Yudie his Battlefield Imprint and responded, Indeed you are!
They approached the cave and once they got near, Lu Ye finally had a better look at thema pair of Seventh-Orders, three Sixth-Orders, and the rest of the squad were made up of Fourth- and Fifth-Orders.
The overall strength of the squad was enough to scare off any Thousand Demon Ridge kill squad.
Lan Yudie flipped herself off Ambers back. She looked at Lu Ye with an apologetic expression wiped across her face, Im afraid this is as far as I can go with you. Youll have to carry on on your own. There will be others waiting ahead to join you.
When Lu Ye refused to leave her and continue his journey without her, she had to seek out any allies who could be around and set up a meeting so that they could take over from her.
That was why he refused to leave her behind. He could not ride off while knowing that she could be in danger at any time. Lan Yudie had been so badly weakened since thest fight that if left alone, she would never survive defending herself against a squad full of Cultivators.
Lu Ye immediately understood what she was doing. He nodded, I see.
And youre Lu Ye? asked the bushy beard leader.
Lu Ye nodded, ncing at the Northern Stars whose sights were all trained on him.
Were by no means the best Cultivators anyway, the leader grinned from behind his beard, But well never stand and allow those Thousand Demon Ridge scum to bully one of us! Go! Well hold off whoeversing for you! At any rate, live! The standard of the Crimson Blood Sect must never be allowed to fall!
Lu Ye stared at them, feeling uneasy. He had never met these people before nor did he ever have dealings of any sort with them. Yet here they were to help, defend, and protect him.
And they were not the only ones. Among the others who were fighting for his sake, the Mount Aurora Cultivators too must be somewhere using their own lives and bodies to stave off waves of enemies trying to get to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye did not know what to say, except that he felt an inexplicable weight on him.
Then it dawned on him: he might have been on this journey of power and skills all by himself since he arrived at this Battlefield, but he was never alone. He had his mentor and the Crimson Blood Sect to depend on, and by extension, the Grand Sky Coalition!
He did not know what happened in the past and what caused this whole debacle to center on him. But people have been dying all for his sake.
Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was no longer just his name. It has be a symbol.
A symbol that would make even strangerssuch as these Northern Starswilling to give their lives to ensure his survival.
Live. He must live on!
For the first time in his life, he felt the burden and the weight to remain alive. The urge to ensure his own longevity had never felt so strong.
Lu Ye saluted to the men from on top of Ambers back. Solemnly, he vowed, I shall hope that I will have the chance to thank you all for this over wine and merriment! Heres to good fortune in our wars toe!
The Northern Stars and Lan Yudie all returned the salute. The bushy-bearded leader chuckled, If we get through this, you can well be sure that well hold you to that promise!
Lu Ye wheeled Amber around and rode away with plumes of dust kicked up in his wake.
He was just barely away when he heard the ngor of battle erupting behind him.
He steered Amber up the crest of a hill and looked back. The Northern Stars were locked in a vicious battle against several Thousand Demon Ridge kill squads who hade pursuing Lu Ye. It did not take long for themotion to attract all other Cultivators in the vicinity, and they all converged here, turning the battle into a chaotic battle royale with more Cultivators joining the fray every now and then.
Still, one look was enough for Lu Ye to tell that the Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators were being severely outnumbered, and their numbers were quickly dwindling under the onught of the enemy Spell Cultivators who never stopped firing spells after spells.
One of the Northern Stars was shot, but he dragged his mangled body and hurled himself into the enemies and managed to kill one of them before sumbing to his injuries.
Another gave off a defiant snarl before he dove into the midst of the enemies and detonated himself like a stick of dynamite, sacrificing his own life to kill off several enemies.
He spotted the bushy-bearded leader amongst the chaos. He had been stabbed a few times and was practically bathing in blood that clearly looked like his own, yet he ardently fought on without any signs of giving up.
Then there was Lan Yudie, flitting amongst her foes like a fluttering butterfly, her twin daggers like a pair of fangs in her graceful whirlwind of woe.
Amber pawed the ground anxiously.
Lu Ye would have ridden into the fray to join them. But he knew he couldnt. He inhaled deeply, shoving the urge down into the innermost corner of his mind, and thundered as loudly as he could, throwing his head back, I AM LU YE OF THE CRIMSON BLOOD SECT!
HERE I AM!
HERE I AM!
His voice rumbled across the valleys and glens nearby, bouncing off the peaks and crests that ringed the area.
Amber added a roar of his own.
That did the trick. More Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators were just about to pour towards Lan Yudie and the Northern Stars position when Lu Ye made his appearance, a youngd on the back of an enormous white tiger perching off the top of a mountain.
Standing right in the setting sun only made him more conspicuous as ever.
Thats Lu Ye! cried a voice.
Go! There he is!
Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators besieging Northern Stars began peeling off, redirecting their attentions on Lu Ye. That was enough to spur more enemies, especially those who had yet to converge on the Northern Stars, to rush towards the peak Lu Ye was standing on.
They were not alone. Many more enemy Cultivators scouring for him nearby heard the voice and the tiger roars and they immediately veered this way.
Down in the glen, Lan Yudie and the Northern Stars were quick to notice how the pressure had been lifted substantially all of a sudden. She disengaged and withdrew herself back into the midst of her allies, her tunic caked with the blood from her wounds and her fallen enemies, scowling bitterly, Dammit!
The bushy-bearded leader broke into a burst ofughter, You know what? At least were not going to be dying for no reason or purpose!
By the time, the mountain was swarming with Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, Lu Ye had long fled.
Hardly a fool, he knew that he needed to go as soon as he made his presence known. Announcing himself was pretty much the only thing he could do at the moment to lift the pressure off Lan Yudie and the Northern Stars or it would only be a matter of time before they were overrun.
How well did his n work out, there was no time to check. As Amber sped away from the mountain to put as much distance between them and their pursuers, Lu Ye could spy figures rising up into the air before descending again far behind himthat must be enemy Seventh-Order Cultivators who possessed short-distance gliding abilities like Dong Shu Ye.
[At least that would mean that Lan Yudie and the others must be all right by now], he mused.
As for his pursuers who were trying to use gliding to close the distance, Lu Ye was hardly concerned about them. Ambers speed had increased since Lu Yesst skirmish against Dong Shu Ye and that was all thanks to the blood-red substance inside the dragon scale.
There was nothing for him to be worried about unless they were enemy champions from the inner ring areas of the Battlefield. Enemies of that strength and level would most likely be arriving on magical conveyances.
As if Fate had heard him, Lu Ye and Amber did not escape long when Lu Ye felt a powerful presence bearing down on him with the speed of a cannonball.
Lu Ye jerked his head to look back. There really was someoneing! A sh of light streaking from behind and it was catching up fast! That must be a Ninth-Order enemy!
Amber, run! Lu Ye urged.
The white tiger bounded as far as it could and galloped with the longest strides it could manage, yet still, it just couldnt shake off the enemy pursuer from behind. As the enemy got closer, Lu Ye heard a voice that he could have sworn he had heard somewhere before, Youre dead meat, brat!
[Han Zhe Yue?!] Lu Ye recognized that voice. Han Zhe Yue of the Tai Luo n!
He should have known! Xie Jins earlier warning to him clearly meant that those around the Green Feather Mountain locale had received word about his identity and so would the Tai Luo n!
The n had suffered a lot because of Lu Yes active involvement in the Dragon Spring Conference and back then, Han Zhe Yue had paraded her fervent desire to vent her displeasure by killing Lu Ye.
For that reason, the senior Green Feather Mountain acolyte in charge of the Dragon Spring Conference had personally ferried Lu Ye all the way to YiAn, just so that he could prevent Han Zhe Yue from killing Lu Ye.
It was so that she would not know where to locate Lu Ye and she would have better things to do than to track down a mere stranger.
But when Lu Yes real identity was made public knowledge, Han Zhe Yue immediately knew that her chance had fallen straight on herp.
Her failure to win the Conference had resulted in the severe admonishment that the senior members of the n peppered on her and, naturally, she med this all on Lu Ye. Hence when she learned that Lu Ye was none other than an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect, she embarked at once from the Tai Luo n outpost toe here, only to hear Lu Ye announcing himself as soon as she arrived.
Thanking the stars for her chance to exact her vengeance, she hurried this way as quickly as she could.
Hovering over Lu Ye in mid-air, Han Zhe Yue gazed down at her prey with a satisfied and smug grin. Her hand came up and sped between her slender fingers was something that resembled a feather. But it was shining. Lu Ye immediately knew that it wasa Spirit Artifact!
Han Zhe Yue was about to set her Spirit Artifact on her prey when a loud thunderp cracked from one of the mountain peaks somewhere below her. Something, with the speed of a loose arrow, came mming into her with the force of a battering ram!
Han Zhe Yue sensed something was charging at her, but despite her best efforts to evade it, the object just managed to collide squarely into her, and she careened away, shaken and perplexed.
A figure that she would have recognized anywhere floated in the air just above her. Coldly, the man growled, Down you go!
The terrible force bore down on her with the speed and force of a tidal wave, allowing Han Zhe Yue no time to maneuver to safety at all. She immediately summoned her magical protective shield, but that did not prevent her from being batted down to the ground.
Han Zhe Yue crashed to the ground with a deafening boom. She got up to her feet at once, indignant and dusty. Like a deranged termagant, she shrieked, What was that for, Tang Wu?!
Spoken as if we have a truce, Han Zhe Yue, Tang Wu snorted with frost. He lifted a fist and attacked again, Enough talk, take another one!
Both Nine-Ordersone a Body-tempering Cultivator while the other, a Spell Cultivatorhad known each other for a long, long time and the rivals engaged each other in a gritting battle.
But Tang Wu had all the advantages. With the element of surprise and his already-superior powers, it did not take long for him to secure the upper hand in the fight. Han Zhe Yue, now absolutely disheveled and heavily bruised from all the abuse, screamed, What is this madness, Tang Wu!? Since when does Green Feather Mountain interfere in the business of the Crimson Blood Sect!?
Since when did I say that Im here because of the Crimson Blood Sect?
Only then did Han Zhe Yue understand why Tang Wu was here. This brute wasnt here for the Crimson Blood Sect! He hade for her!
Such were the motives of the participants of this war. While most were fighting due to the camaraderie they shared with the Crimson Blood Sect, some were here because of some personal vendetta while some saw this war as a cornucopia of opportunities to really hone their skills and experience.
Chapter 152: So If You’re Not Going, I’ll Go
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 152: So If Youre Not Going, Ill Go
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
While the unlikely couple of Tang Wu and Han Zhe Yue were locked against each other in what seemed like a rtionshipor rather, a duelof intense fervor, more and more Cultivators of Orders Eighth and Ninth were beginning to pop out of the woodwork.
That left Lu Ye genuinely shocked and awed at the sheer number of powerful champions that he never knew existed.
Whenever an enemy Eighth- or Ninth-Order appeared to assail him, a Grand Sky Coalition Cultivator of simr rank and power would appear to intercept.
But that was not all. As he made steady progress, he encountered parties from both sides waging battles both furious and bloody.
These were all Cultivators from the inner ring areas of the Battlefield. Some clearly knew each other while some appeared to be strangers. But being on opposing sides, they had no love for each other, and hence needed no further reason to start hurling spells or swinging their weapons at each other.
The war was turning out to be a feast of champions.
Battles between various factions in the Spirit Creek Battlefield weremon but were usually confined to minor skirmishes without many losses. But since the fall of the behemoth that was the Crimson Blood Sect of old, the Battlefield has not seen war of such widespread magnitude for decades.
Beyond any doubt, the name of the Crimson Blood Sect must be tabooa subject of such sensitivity that could easily strike a nerveespecially with the older generations of the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators. They could not enter the Battlefield, but that did not prevent them from giving strict orders to their juniors and students to hunt down Lu Ye at whatever cost.
At whatever the cost, the Crimson Blood Sect acolyte whose name was Lu Ye must be put to death!
The Crimson Blood Sect must never be allowed to escape the fate of going defunct!
That, plus the rich rewards promised by all Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders, was enough to make almost every Cultivator of their side rally towards Lu Yes position. Anyone who could win the triumph and glory of ying Lu Ye would win an entire lifetimes worth of rewards and riches.
Lu Ye had just made it through another fierce battle. Droplets of blood dripped off the tip of his weapon as he shoved another healing pill into his mouth. Still panting from the exertion, he allowed Yi Yi to help dress his wounds, surrounded by the dead bodies of the enemies he felled, before he got up Ambers back again to press on.
With Cultivators from both sides engaging each other as soon as they entered the fray, Lu Ye was fortunate enough to be able to make it thus far without getting into much fighting. But it was not so much his luck as the concerted effort of the entirety of the Grand Sky Coalition trying to keep him alive.
But without Lan Yudies detection ability, there was zero way for him to fully avoid running into enemy Cultivators and some fighting would ensue.
If there were any Seventh-Orders amongst the enemies he stumbled into, he would just rely on Ambers speed and pace to escape. But if the enemy were all low-tier Cultivators and their numbers were low, Lu Ye would just stay and fight.
He was beginning to lose count of the number of times he had been waid by enemies and the shapes and sizes they came in were beginning to outstrip his imaginations.
Amber needed rest and so did he. But thest thing they dared to try was to find somewhere to rest. With their tracks now all butpletely exposed, a pause could very well see him being surrounded by all sidessomething that he knew he would never be able to escape unscathed.
There was no way to be sure whether hed able to walk into the sunset triumphantly at the end of this episode, but Lu Ye was nowhere near giving up just yet.
At the same time, the impurities in his Spiritual Powers were starting to be more significant to the point where it was slowly affecting his fighting. But he needed to heal and for that, he had to swallow Spirit Pills. There really was no other way.
Meanwhile, in the province of Bin Zhou in the real world of Jiu Zhou, where the Grand Sky Coalition ruled supreme. It was also thend where the standard of the great and majestic behemoth that was the Crimson Blood Sect of old once made its name, although the unfortunate events that urred after that were what caused the Sect to suffer a devastating blow. Since that day, the respect and fear that the Sectmanded as the pride of the Grand Sky Coalition had long been extinguished and the Sect, now a merely a lowly Tier-Nine order, teetered on the edge of being defunct.
For decades, dust and grime swathed the floors of the seemingly dpidated structures that sat atop the crests of the hills that belonged within the grounds of the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold. The boisterous merriment long gone from its halls was every bit the semnce of the youthful exuberance lost from a man in his twilight years if not an elderly decrepit now on the brink of sumbing to old age.
Of all constructed structures that belonged to the Sect, almost every single one of them looked as if it could copse any moment, save for one: the main audience hall of the Sect where a rufous-red standard hung from a post, fluttering and snapping in the wuthering winds. The red was blood from the Crimson Blood Sect acolytes who shed their blood on the battlefield through the generations. A yellow-gold me-like motif was embroidered on the long field of red, signifying the orders mission and purpose to eradicate all evil.
It was this same standard which the mere sight of struck fear into every single Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator whenever it was unfurled during battle.
Few could recognize this standard now, least of all the younger-generation Cultivators. But even among those old enough to remember, few could
care less.
Such was how the Sect had waned.
Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect Tang Yifeng was sitting on his chair in the main audience hall, looking grim and morose. If Lu Ye could see him now, he would find he looked so much older and frailer since theyst separated months before.
A petite young woman was bowing at his feet, her head bumping on the floors just inches away from her mentors feet. Please, Teacher! Save him please!
His survival is now in the hands of Fate, Im afraid, said Tang Yifeng glumly. Theres nothing I can do. As a Divine Ocean Realm champion, he was forbidden entry into the Battlefield and despite the perils that Lu Ye was now facing, there really was nothing he could do.
Hes done nothing wrong! What hes enduring now was only because he joined us! You brought him in, Teacher! So if youre thinking of leaving him out there to fend for himself, that hardly seems fair!
And you think I dont know? But what am I to do? My hands are tied! Tang Yifeng responded bitterly.
Ive called in some favors and have ascertained Lu Yes position. Hes very near to the Turbulent Watch outpost there. Back when they were in danger of being annihted, it was the Crimson Blood Sect who rushed to their aid. Reforge our alliance with them, Teacher! That way, Lu Ye could go straight to the Turbulent Watch outpost and use their Divine Opportunity Column toe back! That would save him!
In the Sects golden days, it shared alliances with many other militant sects and orders nearby, although many of them had cut off ties since the fateful day the mishap urred. Out of his own bitterness and resentment, Tang Yifeng himself severed ties with the Sects remaining allies and chose to bring the entire order into a period of pseudo-reclusion.
An alliance between two separate militant sects or orders could only be forged upon a sacred and unbreakable oath sworn by the Grand Masters of both parties. That way, both parties could provide aid and refuge to each other in times of need and peril.
With that, acolytes from both sides could use each others Divine Opportunity Column besides other means of convenience by paying a small toll of Contribution Points.
This allowed for orders with acolytes to move easily around the Battlefield without being too exposed to danger. Weaker acolytes who wish to roam and train in the outer circles of the Battlefield could rely on any allied outposts nearby for protection and conveyance while stronger acolytes of outposts situated in the outer circles of the Battlefield could likewise travel into the inner ring areas of the Battlefield safely and more efficiently.
Turbulent Watch was a Tier-Seven order and one of the militant orders that belonged in Bin Zhou. They were once an ally of the Crimson Blood Sect and its present existence was arguably all thanks to its ties with the Sect.
Turbulent Watch was just a fledgling Tier-Nine order with just a handful of Cloud River Realm Cultivators when the Crimson Blood Sect was at the height of its power and influence. The Watchmen now boasted several Real Lake Realm champions amongst its number, making Tier-Six a very real and serious aspiration for the Watchmen in this years Coalition assessment.
If the Crimson Blood Sect could renew ties with the Watchmen, then Lu Ye could just ride to their outpost in the Battlefield where he could use their Divine Opportunity Column to escape to safety.
This could be Lu Yes only chance, for he still had a long way to go to reach the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. The Grand Sky Coalition could field every Cultivator to protect Lu Ye and nothing they did couldpletely guarantee his safety.
I could do that, but that would ce the Turbulent Watchmen in the crosshairs of our enemy. If anything happens to them, that would be on me! This is not fair to them either!
Tang Yifeng had thought of this idea a long time ago, but if word got out that the Watchmen were trying to help tooNo, word would most definitely get out. Nothing of this scale could ever be kept a secretthat would make the Turbulent Watch outpost there the prime target of all other Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators as well. Turbulent Watch would never be able to survive such an onught.
Knowing this, Tang Yifeng could not bring himself to ask others for help. Doing so would only be subjecting the lives of the Watchmen as sacrifices on the altar of his own acolytes safety.
The young woman did not get up. Somberly, she argued, Be that as it may, Teacher, please do that, or the life of your newest student and my junior would be undoubtedly forfeit. If fairness is what youre concerned about, then what about fairness for him? Hes just a Fifth-Order now caught in the middle of a fearsome war with his very survival as the stake. How is this fair at all when hes suffering the brunt of what his forebears did? How is this his burden to bear?
If were going to be defunct, then so be it. Weve seen thising decades ago and were ready for it, whether we like it or not you took him in, Teacher I was happy when I heard you took in a new student. For years, I have been praying for something like this to happen. I have not seen him yet, and I dont know what hes like. But nothing changes the fact that hes your student and my junior and I will not have him die before I even get to meet him!
She slowly got up, her eyes swirling with grit and determination.
Wait a minute! Tang Yifeng gasped when he realized what she was going to do.
You took him in, Old Man! So if youre not going to rescue him, Ill go! she hissed. All of a sudden, her aura and her presence had changed. She stormed away, grumbling loudly enough for his benefit, I might just as well die with Lu Ye so youll grow old alone! Youll die a lonely and a remorseful man!
Wait, Shui Yuan! Tang Yifeng called urgently. As a Ninth-Order Real Lake Realm champion, forcing entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield was not only dangerous; it was suicide.
No one in the Real Lake Realm could enter the Spirit Creek Realm. Forcing an entry would not only cost a huge amount of Contribution Points but also be limited to the levels of the Spirit Creek Realm.
But while it was possible for Real Lake Realm Cultivators to enter the Battlefield, the same could not be said for champions of the Divine Ocean Realm. It was just unequivocally impossible.
Therefore, it was very, very rareso rare that it bordered on impossiblefor Real Lake Realm Cultivators to force an entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They could be defeated and even killed by Cultivators who were only de facto Spirit Creek Realm Cultivators if they werent careful.
Hence when Shui Yuan made her decision, she really was going to risk everything to save Lu Ye.
Tang Yifeng threw himself before her to stop her from doing anything foolish. You cannot go! he snarled.
That earned him a re from his student. The steadfast resolve she embodied belied her lithe frame and her stern gaze permeated with strength. Im going and nothing you do will stop me! Now get out of my way or Ill shove you so hard that youll fall and hurt yourself!
You ill-bred whelp! Tang Yifeng glowered, I should have kicked you out the door a long time ago!
Just like what you did to my other juniors?
That somehow struck a chord and the mood turned palpably tense and awkward. Tang Yifeng fell silent and for one moment, he looked older and more weathered than he was.
Oh, very well! he groaned after exhaling gravely, Ill go and beg if it means Ill have to lose face! To Turbulent Watch it is!
Chapter 153: Turbulent Watch
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 153: Turbulent Watch
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The gates of Turbulent Watchs stronghold creaked open to reveal the Head Watchman Meng Dancheng and the various lieutenants, sergeants, and the rest of the Watch who waited amid nine tolls of the strongholds main bell.
When Tang Yifeng and his other female student Wei Yang appeared out of thin air, the Watchmen all bowed.
Head Watchmen Meng Danchen scurried Tang Yifeng, Everything is ready, Grand Master Tang. Come with me please!
That did not seemforting at all to the Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect, who merely nodded and responded, I apologize for the imposition.
Say no more, Grand Master Tang, Meng Dancheng beamed at him, shaking his head. Turbulent Watch had been waiting just for this day to arrive.
An hourter, the two swore upon Heaven and made their pact. Turbulent Watch had been careful to not let any word of this escape, but they were being watched and news of the freshly-minted alliance quickly broke out.
In the meantime, somewhere in the Battlefield, Lu Ye was resting while he swallowed some Spirit Pills to recuperate. Amber was beside him, wolfing down on a b of meat despite still panting for breath. He knew he needed sustenance, or he wouldnt be able to run.
Not wanting to dy, they did not stay long before continuing their journey.
In mere moments, a streaking light which had been circling around in the skies nearby flew down and glided beside Lu Ye. The man on top showed Lu Ye his Battlefield Imprint. It was an ally, a Cultivator of the Grand Sky Coalition.
Come on, get up! the man stopped his magical conveyance although Lu Ye looked hesitant and doubtful.
Since parting with Lan Yudie, Lu Ye had encountered several Grand Sky Coalition allies who gave him lifts to expedite his progress. Without them, Lu Ye would not have made it this far.
But none of them could stick with him for long. Whenever they stumbled into Thousand Demon Ridge kill squads, they would have to break off with Lu Ye so that he could press on while they held back the enemies.
Some time before this, a Ninth-Order Cultivator ferried Lu Ye using his magical conveyance but they were discovered by the enemies who quickly tried to shoot them down.
The ally Cultivator might survive the fall if they were really shot down, but not Lu Ye and Amber. Not at such a height, at any rate.
This exined Lu Yes hesitation when this newest ally Cultivator urged him to get onto the magical conveyance. This mode of travel was unequivocally fast, but it also made them more conspicuous.
But right now, Lu Ye, with no other choice in mind, could only bite the bullet and step onto the magic conveyance with Amber in tow.
The ally Cultivator performed a hand seal andmanded, Up!
The canoe-like magical conveyance lifted up into the sky. But unlike before, this ally Cultivator had the sense to remain at lower altitudes so even if they were shot down, they would survive the fall easily enough.
But that did not give him any reason to not maintain constant vignce. As they pressed on quickly, he told Lu Ye, The Crimson Blood Sect has reached a pact with an order called Turbulent Watch, that means you dont have to go all the way to the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. Just go to the Watchs outpost here and youll be able to get back!
Turbulent Watch?
Yes, Turbulent Watch.
Lu Ye immediately rummaged for his map. He did not understand the significance of that pact, but it seemed as if this was a n for him to get to safety.
He quickly located where the Turbulent Watch outpost was. A Tier-Seven militant order, it was situated just somewhere between the outer and inner ring areas of the Battlefield. It was too far, but it would still take him quite some time to reach there.
At the very least, it was way nearer to him than the Crimson Blood Sect outpost.
He knew what was going on: his mentor Tang Yifeng must be doing something to save him. There really was no incentive for the Sect to be making a pact with the Watch especially at this juncture.
Be warned! The Thousand Demon Ridge orders in the vicinity of the Watchs outposts have dered war on the Watch. So the nearer we get, the more careful we must be!
Understood! Lu Ye nodded. His head swiveled to look back. Scores of enemy Cultivators had discovered the magical conveyance and were rushing to catch up, but there were also Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators who were popping out of the woodwork to intercept.
I guess this is it then, said the ally Cultivator all of a sudden, Dont stop moving towards the Watchs outpost. There will be others up ahead, waiting for you! He waited for Lu Ye and Amber to hop off before he wheeled around and zipped straight towards an enemy Cultivator who managed to follow them here. The two streaking lights smashed into each other like a pair ofets colliding, eliciting sweeping waves of deafening rings.
Lu Ye did not look back. There was no need to. A fight of such magnitude was far beyond his ability to intervene. All he could doall he should dowas to get back on Ambers back and continue riding for Turbulent Watch.
Meanwhile, chaos swept all over the Battlefield like a tempestuous storm.
News of the pact made between Turbulent Watch and the Crimson Blood Sect had practically be public knowledge and anyone could easily figure out the why and the how. That culminated in the Watchs outpost now bing the focal point where virtually all Cultivatorsboth the Thousand Demon Ridges and the Grand Sky Coalitionscongregated and that was enough to make allnds within a thousand-mile radius of the Watchs outpost the most dangerous ce to be in at the moment.
The Watch immediately recalled all its members at once, but the collective might of the enemy sects and orders were steadily whittling down its defenses.
Without being able to fight back, the Watchmen all stayed within the fastness of their stronghold and its defensive force field. But that did not prevent the enemy Cultivators from relentlessly attacking, hurling spells and whatever they could find at the magical barrier with hopes that they could defeat it and capture the outpost before Lu Ye arrived.
But not all was lost. Help was on the way and Cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition were bent on seeing the Turbulent Watch standard flying at the top of the outpost. The fall of the outpost would mean the endgame of this entire contest and Lu Yes death.
In barely a days time, thends around the Turbulent Watch outpost became a meat grinder. Numerous Cultivators met their ends there.
As if there wasnt enough bad news, word arrived to further erode the morale of Grand Sky Coalitions side. ckfyre Cultists had arrived, and a huge force was marshalingone so big that they created arge perimeter around the areas that Lu Ye would need to pass to get to the Watchs outpost.
Cult ckfyre was once a Tier-One dark order decades ago and it was because of the Crimson Blood Sect that its strength had dwindled to its present Tier-Four rank today. But they were hardly the only ones. The might of the Crimson Blood Sect in those days was what saw the decline of more than a handful of Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders.
So was the Vale of Venom, whose outpost was now besieged by Feng Yuechan, just to name a few.
The hatred and grudge they held exceeded what animosity all other Thousand Demon Ridge factions had for the Crimson Blood Sect.
It was in the golden age of the Crimson Blood Sect when, at the zenith of its power, Thousand Demon Ridge sects and others cowered in fear at the mere mention of its name. But now with the Sect in what could very well be its final days, all they needed to do was to make sure that its newest acolyte Lu Ye died. If they did that the Crimson Blood Sect would be historye the next assessment.
All those who had suffered the Crimson Blood Sects wrath before were all waiting for this day toe.
They would do whatever it took to prevent Lu Yes entry into the Turbulent Watch outpost.
It was for this very reason that Tang Yifeng was against the idea of forging a pact with Turbulent Watch at first. He knew that doing so was tantamount to putting the Watch in the line of fire. The Watch might have now risen to be a Tier-Seven order with considerable strength but being caught between anvil and hammer at the same time, the Watch would most likely endure terrible losses.
Outside, at the main audience hall of the Turbulent Watch stronghold in the real world of Jiu Zhou, Wei Yang ced her hand on the Divine Opportunity Column.
Meng Dancheng was wearing a solemn look as he warned, Careful, Sister Wei Yang.
Its fine, Wei Yang smiled at him. We cant let you do all the heavy-lifting by yourselves.
Just do what you can, Tang Yifeng cautioned gravely.
.
Understood, Wei Yang responded politely while her hand wandered to tap on her Battlefield Imprint.
Her very person shimmered and vanished. She was gone.
Hails of spells peppered at the magical force field that held up the defenses of the Spirit Creek Battlefield Turbulent Watch outpost. Scores of Watchmen scurried about anxiously and hurriedly about, struggling to lug magical supplies to keep the force field standing. But the downpour of spells battering the force field intensified with ripples upon ripples fanning out on the force fields dome-like surface. The enemies were just too many, and more from the inner ring and the central regions of the Battlefield wereing.
The Watchs legate-in-charge had long activated the force field to its fullest, yet, it still wasnt going to hold for much? longer.
How long do we still have?! the legate cried over the din of the incessant explosions urring over their heads.
No more than four hours at this rate! cried his deputy, The force fields not going to hold for long!
Sir! the deputy yelled again, Should we not prepare for an evacuation back to Jiu Zhou? The longer we hold on here, the more losses well incur. The numbers of the dead and the wounded were slowly rising and if they were not careful, this could be an all-out bloodbath.
We hold! insisted the legate. This is the order that the Grand Master himself has given us. I dont know what happened between our forebears and the Crimson Blood Sects, but a Watchman always obeys! Im assigning you to guard the Divine Opportunity Column! Your orders are to execute any deserter!
The deputy legate gulped hard and responded, Yes, sir!
But before he could spin on his heels and move inside, the magical force field shuddered, and the tremor shook the whole outpost.
Who the hell just undid the force field?! the legate yelped with horror.
He was certain that the tremor just now was because of a momentary deactivation of the outposts magical force field.
They marched towards the main audience hall where they could get a better vantage point and what they saw left them bbergasted with shock.
A streaking jet of light as dark as the ckest night shot around here and there. Where it passed through, Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators crashed to the ground in droves. As if Death himself had manifested, shrieks and cries of terror resounded from within the ranks of the enemies as the ck jet of light engulfed them in a tempest of despair and destruction.
Not even those who came from the core and inner ring regions of the Battlefield could resist being ughtered by the streaking light.
Who in Heavens name is that?! gasped the Watchs legate with perplexed bewilderment. He could have sworn that no one within Turbulent Watch had such power.
The deputy legate too was equally stunned. A hunch told him that this could be Feng Yuechan, the current reigning Number One of the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy. But he knew better. Feng Yuechan was known to be a Spell Cultivator, but the stranger clearly wasnt one.
In mere moments, more than a dozen Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators perished, most of them champions who had traveled far from the central regions of the Battlefield.
All of a sudden, the magical force field of the Turbulent Watch outpost showed signs of weakening.
Lighting crackled in the distant skies. Its mauvish shade as the lightning bolt shed in the overhead plumes told the legate what he needed to know. Someone senior or beyond Spirit Creek Realm hase! But who!?
Only Cultivators within the Spirit Creek Realm could enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Those with powers beyond could stille in, but at a terrible price and his or her powers would be limited to the Spirit Creek Realm and the powers and damage he or she could use would also be bound to the Spirit Creek Realm.
That was not all. Heaven would inflict its judgment whenever such individuals killed somebody.
Which was what that purplish lightning was all aboutthe Judgment of Heaven. More killings would invite upon oneself heavier punishment and it was only a matter of time before this powerful stranger had to endure a fatal strike from the Judgment of Heaven!
Chapter 154: Goldentip
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 154: Goldentip
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
As the jet of obsidian rays exacted chaos and pandemonium amongst the ranks of the Thousand Demon Ridge invaders besieging the Turbulent Watch outpost, the legate-in-charge of the outpost saw their chance for a counterattack. Loudly, he rallied his men, DEACTIVATE THE FORCE FIELD! ATTACK!
Attacking was the best form of defense, it was always said and the perfect moment for aeback had arrived.
A hole in the force field yawned open and Turbulent Watchmen, all of them irate and hungry for some revenge, charged out of the hole. At the same time, droves of Grand Sky Coalition who were being kept at bay from aiding the outpost too realized the opportunity to reverse the odds. Caught between the anvil and the hammer themselves this time forced the invaders to retreat.
The Grand Sky Coalition reinforcements quickly rendezvoused with the Turbulent Watch defenders before the entire contingent of Cultivators withdrew inside the outpost. The magical force field was re-erected with its defensive strength doubled or even quadrupled this time.
With help from the rest of the Grand Sky Coalition, Turbulent Watch would be able to make any Thousand Demon Ridge invaders regreting here.
In the meantime, the jet-ck streak of light which was an unknown stranger who came from the real world of Jiu Zhou was gone, enveloped by the amaranthine lightning bolts that danced all over the strangers figure menacingly.
Even now, no one from the Turbulent Watch outpost knew who the stranger was.
It did not take long for the answer to be made known to them.
What?! Her?! the legate-in-charge was stunned when he realized who it was. Wait, isnt she a Medical Cultivator!? He could still remember himself being injured a few years ago and the Grand Master of the Watch had to bring him to the Crimson Blood Sect quickly just to see thisdy. Her healing skills were so ungodly that he fully recovered in just three days. It was said that she was one of the best healers in Bin Zhou with skills that could even defy Death.
But what he just saw her do had left him stupefied with shock.
Meanwhile, Wei Yang sped as quickly as she could, swathed not only in the ck lightless luminescence from her own aura, but also amaranthine electrical bolts snaking all around her like countless whipsshing furiously at her very person.
She had been careful enough not to cause too many fatalities, the Judgment of Heaven wasnt something she was foolhardy enough to take lightly. Beautiful but yet terribly deadly, the lightning bolts now sizzling angrily around her could have caused any other Cultivator in the same shoes agonizing pain, although Wei Yang seemed to be feeling zero pain at all.
With her gaze transfixed at the front, she pressed on with all the speed she could muster. [Faster! I need to be faster!]
Somewhere way ahead, Lu Ye and Amber were desperately fleeing with enemies hot on their heels. The dark silhouette of an enemy took into the skies. Still hovering in mid-air, the enemy aimed a finger at Lu Yes back.
Casual and confident like he was about to crush an ant to death.
The colossal phantom of a finger materialized above Lu Ye. Without mercy, it crashed down rapidly, only too eager to really have Lu Ye squashed like an ant!
Amber shifted left and right. But nothing the tiger did could help them evade the iing attack. As the gigantic phantom monolith bore down on Lu Ye, he roared furiously in defiance, activating Spiritual Pattern Protection. The sigil-inscribed energy shield appeared right over his head.
He channeled every bit of Spiritual Power he could find into maintaining the integrity of the shield, but it was not enough. The gigantic finger rammed into the shield with a huge bang and the shield shattered with a sickening crack.
Almost immediately, Lu Ye felt an invisible force crushing down on his shoulders with the weight of a mountain and Amber crumbled to the ground with a painful grunt.
Struggling for air and with his chest about to explode, Lu Ye was wondering if his moment had finally arrived when the unmistakable ring of steel pierced through the air sonorously like the toll of a bell, followed by an angry snarled, Who is that?! Wait, is that you, one of the sword-freaks of the Northern Profound Sword n!?
The invisible force immediately dispelled, and Lu Ye looked around. Right beside him was a stranger. d in a shamrock tunic, he was but a few feet away with his back to Lu Ye. But Lu Ye did not fail to notice the sword he was toting.
So, is the Sword n inclined to intervene as well?! growled the enemy Cultivator, although he sounded clearly apprehensive.
Go! said the green-robe stranger to Lu Ye softly, clearly a man of few words.
Thank you so much, sir! Lu Ye uttered a word of thanks before he escaped the area.
The Northern Profound Sword n; one of Bing Zhous ten strongest Tier-One militant orders, ording to what Yu Xiaodie once told him.
He was just barely out of earshot when he heard the mor of battleing from his behind and the screams of steel incessantly ringing in his ears.
Lu Ye quickly referred to his map. He was getting closer to the Turbulent Watch outpost, but the nearer he got, the more dangerous it became. He did not know if he would ever make it to the outpost safely, but he did not have another choice. Whatever perils awaited him, Lu Ye understood that he needed to face them all head-on.
Fortunately for him, whenever an enemy far more powerful than him appeared to thwart his progress, a Grand Sky Coalition equivalent would appear to deliver him from harm.
After a half days worth of riding, Lu Ye found himself stranded at the crest of a hill. The odd shape of thendscape appeared like it was formerly a mountain that had a huge portion of its top part skimmed off. The entire crest of the hill was a t and barren teau with little to no vegetation. Whatever flora that grew was only limited to the edge of the teau as if there was an unseen boundary that forbade any growth on the top of the hill.
There was a name for this ce on the map. Goldentip.
It would have looked to Lu Ye like one of the many unnamed mountains that he had passed by before. Most of the mountains on the map were only marked as being a part of the long stretch of a mountain range that carried a name, just like the ranges of Green Cloud Mountain and One Hundred Peaks, both of which he had visited before.
That such a hill was given a name made this ce a specialndmark.
Old wives tales from these parts spoke of how a legendary figure with god-like powers created the hill with his prowess with the saber, but Lu Ye doubted the veracity of the myth. The Battlefield allowed only the entry of Cultivators equipped with techniques or disciplines limited to the Spirit Creek Realm. Even so, causing such a phenomenal change to the terrain would require more than just anyone like them, even if they could amplify their powers tenfold.
That made the formation of Goldentip an enigma that could never really be solved.
At the moment, more than a dozen Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators were using their own bodies to enclose Lu Ye in a ring of steel while they were protecting him from a hoard of Thousand Demon Ridge enemies who had surrounded them.
They could not run and there was no way to.
The allied Cultivators were all stout and powerful men, but the enemies were just too many. Having surrounded Lu Ye and his allies, the enemy Cultivators did not attack. Instead, they began calling in for more help.
News about the acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye, being stranded on the top of Goldentip zed through the Battlefield like an epidemic, causing every Cultivator involved to stop what they were doing and rush this way at once. However, many would stop to engage each other in battles halfway through their journey.
We cannot afford to waste time here any longer, everyone! The longer we wait here, the more certain that every one of us here will die, said a tall and bulky Body-tempering Cultivator.
Then lets fight our way out of this mess then! concurred another voice.
Thats all and well, but were talking about trying to keep our little Crimson Blood Sect friend here alive.
Then what? Wait until we grow old and shriveled?
Well, if dying is what is going toe, then Ill be sure to take a few more down with me
Boy, are you afraid? one of the men asked Lu Ye gruffly.
I am!
That appeared to be thest thing he expected Lu Ye to say, for the man did not know what to respond with.
But I dont want to die here, said Lu Ye as he drew his weapon with grave slowness. I am grateful for your help, all of you. These Thousand Demon Ridge scums are here for me, so just do whatever you can to get yourselves to safety. Ill be sure to keep up as best as I can. If I fail to make it out of here, then leave me. Donte back for me.
A smacknded right at the back of Lu Yes head. Tough talk for a puny Fifth-Order like you! At any rate, youre not dying before we do, all right? That was the beefy Body-tempering Cultivator.
He inhaled a mouthful of air and the already-muscr physique of the brawny giant of a man expanded even further. The well-chiseled thickness and powerful size of his muscles looked even more stunning as jets of air escaped his nostrils with every breath. Keep up then! Were getting out of here!
Make sure you stay alive. All is lost if you die; the Thousand Demon Ridge scum will triumph, and all our deaths will be for naught, said one of the men to Lu Ye.
Up until now, few among the Grand Sky Coalition cared about the debt owed by their forebears. Most just wouldnt care about what would befall the Crimson Blood Sect. But they could never tolerate Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators taking the win and gloating at them. To that end, they were willing to do whatever was needed to thwart themeven if it meant their own deaths. After all, lives were lost in the Battlefield on a daily basis by the hundreds or even thousands. Even without Lu Ye, Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators and their Grand Sky Coalition counterparts would still find new beef to fight over.
CHARGE! the tiny cadre of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators blitzed towards an upward slope with the Body-tempering Cultivator spearheading the front. The enemies all ducked, giving way for Lu Ye and his allies to run straight into a hail of spells fired at them.
The Body-tempering Cultivator barreled forward like a bull, enduring the barrage of spells raining down on him. Peeling closely behind were the rest of the Grand sky Coalition Cultivators, doing whatever they could to fend up the merciless gauntlet of attacks meant to wear them down.
Despite their valiant efforts, they could not break through the enemy lines. The onught they faced not only came from the front; it wasing from all directions.
The group quickly found themselves surrounded and trappedonce again. Only this time, almost every one of them had collected several injuries of their own, save for Lu Ye, whom they had been shielding with their own bodies.
.
AGAIN! the Body-tempering Cultivator roared, deciding on another bearing. A separate group of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators wasing that way, making the direction the most feasible way of egress.
But their hopes were dashed when more Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators arrived, and the new group of friendly Cultivators too found themselves stranded and they needed to fight for their own lives as well!
Things were turning dire for Lu Yes group. Pinned and beleaguered by enemies, what was more than a dozen men at first had been reduced to just barely less than ten.
mes erupted like a storm, but it was no cause for joy. Several Spell Cultivators took to the air as they prepared their magic. Despite their different garbs, a tiny me zed on every one of their foreheads, marking them as members of the same militant order. The tongues of mes they conjured took on the shapes of serpents and bore down on the Body-tempering Cultivator, engulfing him in an inferno that threatened to roast him alive. The poor brawny man tried his utmost to weather the storm, but that did not prevent his flesh from being burned raw.
Despair and despondency filled the eyes of the men. With the Body-tempering Cultivator now incapacitated, so ebbed were their hopes of getting out of the quandary alive.
More ming serpents rose into the air, waving their ws menacingly at the Body-tempering Cultivator. Their n was clear enough: once the Body-tempering Cultivator was in, Lu Ye and the others would be nothing but sheep ready to be ughtered.
And what do you think youre doing to my junior Lu Ye?!
A voice of suppressed rage echoed from far away, swamping even the din of the battle so that every single person could hear it clearly.
When everyone heard just the first two words, the voice sounded far and distant. But by the time the final syble was heard, everyone could see that the stranger had arrived with unbelievable speed.
The streaking light of ck, shrouded with purplish lightning crackling with protest, arrived right before one of the enemy Spell Cultivators in just a sh.
Horrified, the Spell Cultivator frantically wheeled around to fire a spell into the face of the neer.
Chapter 155: Sister Wei Yang
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 155: Sister Wei Yang
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
First came a bang. Wei Yang smashed through the ming serpent like a battering ram on a rampage, reducing it into a fiery burst of cinders. That did not reduce her speed at all; she raced past the Spell Cultivator who fired the ming serpent and was gone with slivers of her ck luminescent aura ebbing in her wake. The Spell Cultivator, still hovering in mid-air, stiffened before a thin red line appeared as if traced by an invisible hand across his throat and he crashed to the ground.
By now, the jet-ck glob of light had made its way through the enemy lines from behind, plowing through men and steel while leaving a bloody trail of dead bodies and maimed limbs being tossed into the air before they fell with a morbid thud to the ground and what was already a scene of gore and destruction now devolved into Purgatory of pure carnage in real life.
Lu Ye could see the ck streaking light fleeting around from his position. He did not know who it was or how he or she could move through the enemy rank and file like a hot knife through butter, but its presence somehow filled him with an inexplicable sense of renewed hope and warmth.
How did this strange and foreign feelinge to be, he did not know.
Lu Ye lowered his gaze and peered at his Battlefield Imprint. The warmth wasing from there and something told him that it was because of that ck glowing light fighting its way towards him.
[Is she from Crimson Blood Sect?!]
[The Sect still has members other than Teacher and me?!]
He knew little about the Crimson Blood Sect. But he knew that for thirty years, the Crimson Blood Sect had not taken in any new acolytes and that was why he always thought that the Sect was made up by only him and his mentor and Grand Master of the Sect Tang Yifeng.
However, he was wrong. The Crimson Blood Sect still had more acolytes and by the looks of things, at least one more.
IGNORE HER! FOCUS ON GETTING LU YE!
A voice from the mob rallied the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators.
But before his voice even ended, the ck streaking light bore down on him like a panther and a human head sprang into the air with blood spraying everywhere.
That was with spells after spells that never stopped firing at her. Volleys of fire-based bolts, each shaped like serpents, shot straight at her and the searing heat of each and every strand was enough to warp even the air wherever they passed.
The ck glownded right in front of Lu Ye and the others. Wei Yang materialized and grabbed a falling leaf. It magically grew in size, expandingrger andrger until it was wide enough to envelop everyone underneath like a big dome.
[Bang! Bang! Bang!]
More spells peppered down on the massive leaf-shield, but none of it could prate its defenses and there was Lu Ye, inplete shock and awe at the figure towering over him.
Being clothed in robes that looked like dyed elephant skin on her did not fail to do her curvy, tall and slender figure proper justice. Even with the purplish lightning bolts dancing around and gnawing at her flesh, she ignored the endless barrage of spells pelting on the leaf-shield she just conjured and smiled at Lu Ye, So, youre Lu Ye? Im your senior in the Sect. You can call me Sister Wei Yang.
That felt as if the world had crashed down on him.
Lu Ye hastily bowed, So nice to meet you, Sister Wei Yang!
[Heavens, a senior from the Sect?! And one so energetic too!]
[Gods, and shes so pretty and charming!]
Forgive myteness. The Old Man at home was being just too stubborn.
[Old Man?] That left Lu Ye confused, although he immediately realized that it was their mentor and Grand Master that she was referring to, although he did not know if he should reply.
At the same time, the other group of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators had managed to fight their way here, all thanks to the opening that Wei Yangs arrival had given them.
She might have only just arrived, but she had read the situation enough to know that it was impossible to save Lu Ye with her power alone. She needed help if her newest fellow student was to walk away from this quandary alive.
Which was why she had opened a way for the other Grand Sky Coalition group and all other allies to meet up with Lu Yes. Only that way could she ensure that there were enough men to keep him safe.
All of a sudden, Lu Ye found himself being squashed in the middle of apany of more than a hundred allies. Some of them huddled around while others fought to deflect any spells that came their way. But everyone knew full well that this would hold, at least for now, but not forever. They would eventually tire out and be overrun by the enemies.
Everyone, I call upon your help to keep Brother Lu Ye safe! Wei Yang implored all of a sudden.
Scores of Cultivators responded almost immediately in rowdy mor, As you wish, Sister Wei Yang!
Everyone sounded fervent and ardent despite the overwhelming odds.
Wei Yang did not dawdle. She hurled herself forward and her tall and slender figure was once again engulfed by the ck glow that dove into the midst of the enemy for a second round of ughter. The Spell Cultivators who were still hovering in mid-air looked horrified the moment the ck streakinget came barreling at them and those who were unfortunate enough to find themselves being preyed upon by Wei Yang never lived for more than three seconds.
The first enemy Spell Cultivator crashed to the ground, shrieking with terror while he plummeted to his death. Then another. And another.
Back and forth she smashed through the rows of enemies who were floating in the air until no Spell Cultivators were left. Those who managed to survive immediatelynded on the ground and kept a low profile.
Wei Yangs intentions were clear: she would attack anyone who remained in the air.
Then she returned to Lu Yes side.
The entire teau went silent and everyone quelled the emanation of their powers, for in their bewilderment, a vicious looking scythe that stood almost as tall as its wielder had appeared in Wei Yangs grasp. The weapon exuded an ominous aura, making all who gazed upon it avert his or her eyes with disquiet.
Begone, if you know whats good for you! Wei Yang growled quietly. Everywhere she set her sights on, Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators frantically retreated several paces.
But a lone figure stepped forward. One with a ming sign branded on his forehead. Defiantly, he stared at Wei Yang, It is an honor that our ruckus here has caught even the notice of one of your station and might, Senior. But surely after all that killing, might I hazard a guess that the effects of the Judgment of Heaven is beginning to feel painful? Look at the color of the lightning arcing all around you, its looking dark purplish at the moment. Just how many more of us do you think you can kill before you too pay the ultimate price yourself?
Wei Yang peered at him. Without a warning or a word, she discorporated, leaving only an after-image at where she was standing, and reappeared in front of that man. With just a simple tap on his chest, so quick that he could barely react, the man stiffened. As if he was petrified, he could only watch with wordless horror as Wei Yangs giant scythe swung down at him and lopped off a head with a disbelieving expression still stamped on it.
Wei Yang quickly retreated back to Lu Ye. Coldly, she regarded the mob of enemies. Does Cult ckfyre wish to defy me? I might not be able to kill many, but kill I shall, nevertheless. Any of you who are interested in testing the wrath of my scythe is wee to try.
What honor is there in besting the likes of those who are weaker than you, Senior?! a resentful voice echoed from the crowd, although the person was clearly using some unknown technique to spread his voice everywhere to prevent anyone from pinpointing his position.
Besting the likes of those who are weaker than you, eh? Wei Yang looked around, searching for the origin of the voice. Then what were you doing to little Brother Lu Ye here just now?
Whatever happens here is purely something between us participants of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Your barging in here is hardly the conduct of someone of your stature and power. What if the seniors of every militant sect and order were toe in here like you? This Battlefield would be anything but peaceful.
Id love to see them try. Ill make sure any one of your seniors who darese in will never walk out living.
IMPUDENCE! the voice thundered with undisguised rage, Look at the bolts arcing all around her, everyone! There can only be so much killing that she can do before the Judgment of Heaven ims her! I say we charge together! She would only be inviting death if she dared to kill again!
Found you atst! The corners of Wei Yangs lips twisted with glee as she hurled her scythe forward. When she retracted her scythe, it hooked back a tiny,nky man with the scythes de impaled through his chest. She raised up the poor man for all to see like a standard being held aloft. Blood dribbled out of the hideous wound and the pain was making him wince and groan.
Many amongst the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators shuddered. None of them saw what happened. She was just too quick.
Wei Yang looked up at the scrawny man hanging from her scythe. Her eyebrows piqued with mild annoyance. Youre from the Tower of Morning, arent you? Good Heavens, seems like you lot have not yet learned your lesson even after so many decades. Always the rabble-rouser, eh?
That wasnt me! the scrawny man protested, writhing in pain.
Not wanting to bandy words, Wei Yang gave her scythe a forceful shake that looked all too easy for her and the man erupted into a burst of tiny bits of flesh and blood.
She turned around and instructed Lu Ye. The next time you encounter any enemies from Cult ckfyre or the Tower of Morning, act first and talkter. They are sworn enemies of our Sect.
Understood, responded Lu Ye.
Hold up. Theres also the Vale of Venom. But strange, if the Cult and the Tower are here, I can imagine no reason as to why no one from the Vale is here she murmured, scanning the mob as if she was looking for someone from the Vale to vent some of her displeasure. But the tightly-knit mob made it difficult for her to single out anyone from the Vale.
A Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator balked under her piercing re and stammered, The men of the Vale are all being held at bay by Feng Yuechan
Yuechan? Wei Yangs re melted into a forlorn gaze into the distance, So the littlesss all grown up too, huh?
Wei Yang brandished her weapon and aimed it at the mob surrounding them. Im taking my junior with me. Is there anyone who wishes to protest?
Another ckfyre Cultist broke ranks from the crowd and said solemnly, We are the me that lights the darkness, In the face of Death we feel remorseless!
There he stood not far away from Wei Yang, looking at her cidly.
She swung her scythe at him and bisect him into two bloody halves.
Another came out and uttered the same mantra, We are the me that lights the darkness, In the face of Death we feel remorseless!
Wei Yang waved her weapon furiously at her new target without any shred of hesitation.
A third ckfyre Cultist stepped forward and recited the same maxim.
Only this time, Wei Yang did nothing to attack. She grinned broadly and pointed a finger up into the sky. I wont have to kill you, because someone else can do it for me!
The sharp ringing of steel screamed through the air, whining like the cry of a banshee. Every head spun in the direction from whence the sound wasing from. Lo and behold, a ring ray of light shot down from the sky and a sword drove its tip through the third Cultists skull and pummeled its way down, severing him into a pair of blood-soaked bs of meat and viscera, all before he could react or protest.
By the time the bright illumination of the weapon ebbed, all they saw was a sword stuck into the ground. Out of nowhere, a man descended from the skies, gentlynding on the hilt of the sword while his body bounced very softly to the movement of the sword as if he weighed only as much as a leaf.
He flung back his mane of long flowing white hair that reached well over his shoulders, and upended a gourd to empty some of its contents down his throat before he gave a drunken hup, muttering, Sorry. I was dyed.
Thats Li Baxian! cried a voice with unmasked terror.
The mob of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators stirred uneasily.
Most of them had never seen him up close before, but few would not recognize the name of Li Baxian, the tenth on the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy.
Being the tenth strongest person in the Battlefield wasnt reason enough for the whole world to be afraid of him, but rather, it was the fact that he aplished such an achievement as an Eighth-Order Cultivator made him all the more dangerous.
The Battlefields Roll of Supremacy marked the names of the one hundred men and women that represented the Battlefields cream of the crop and most, if not all, of these elites were Ninth-Order Cultivators skilled in Heaven-grade disciplines and techniques.
All except onethe number ten on the Roll of Supremacy, Li Baxian.
The entirety of the Spirit Creek Battlefield had an innumerable number of Ninth-Orders skilled in Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines. With virtually every militant sect and order from the real world of Jiu Zhou having its own presence here, Cultivators reached the Ninth-Order everyday. But the number rose and fell with every ascension and deathbe it a Cultivator who had just entered the Ninth-Order, a Cultivator who had surpassed the Ninth-Order and achieved the Cloud River Realm, or just as simple as a Cultivator who had lost his life during battle.
For reasons such as these, the number of active Ninth-Orders in the Battlefield was just impossible to keep track of since changes could ur anytime.
But it wouldnt be a stretch to say that the number must be higher than ny thousand in the least.
Out of the ny thousand, the best and most dangerous one hundred Cultivators have their names recorded in the Roll of Supremacy.
Simr to Lu Yes former nemesis Dong Shu Ye, Li Baxian was formerly a Ninth-Order before his plunge back to the Eighth-Order. Hence, with his experience and skills still intact, he was able to still remain within the top ten.
Before Feng Yuechan was crowned the Queen of the Battlefield, he was the King before her.
It was a terrible mishap that saw his Spiritual Points damaged, causing him to plummet back down one Order.
The other reason, however, was rather straightforward: Li Baxian was a Combat Cultivator specialized in swordsmanship.
Chapter 156: Make It Up To You
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 156: Make It Up To You
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
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Most considered the breed of Combat Cultivators specialized in the use of swords as a peculiar sort. Hence the epithet of all Combat Cultivators of this kind: de-freaks. Yet despite whatever disdain or disapproval others might have of them and their entricities, no one would dare make the foolish mistake of underestimating them. de-freaks were known to be capable of defeating even enemies that outrank them and that made them highly feared by everyone else.
The Northern Profound Sword Sect of Bing Zhou was a militant order of a modest size where most other Tier-One militant orders and sects could easily outnumber them three to one, for the Sword Sect was extremely strict in its enrolment of fresh members.
That was due to the fact that the Sword Sect, as its name suggested, epted only Combat Cultivators specializing in the crafts of swordsmanship. They studied only the skills and eldritch crafts of wielding the sword and nothing else. Despite the Sword Sects rtively small number of members, it nevertheless remained an undisputed entrant of the ten greatest Tier-One militant orders in all of Jiu Zhou.
The sum of Tier-One militant orders that scattered around Jiu Zhou could reach almost a hundred, but the Northern Profound Sword Sect was the one name that everyone feared the most. An entity that not even the rest of the other Tier-One militant orders would dare flippantly trifle with.
After all, the ounts of eight hundred swords marching down the slopes of Heavenstone into war remained a tale that could easily strike fear into any foes of the Sword Sect.
Li Baxians history had been a strange one. Once a Crimson Blood Sect acolyte in his youth, he joined the Devoted Ones before being allowed to study with the Northern Profound Sword Sect at one point on exchange. The few years with the acolytes of the Sword Sect had earned him their friendship.
In fact, the Grand Master of the Sword Sect himself had once traveled all the way to the stronghold of the Devoted Ones to implore to have Li Baxian transferred to the Sword Sect, although the Devoted Ones had declined the request at the time. But the gesture was sufficient to demonstrate how greatly the Sword Sect valued him.
But being unable to make Li Baxian as one of his own students did not stop the Grand Master of the Northern Profound Sword Sect from giving whatever advice and tutge to Li Baxian. Whatever knowledge, skill, and experience he could impart, he bestowed them all to Li Baxian except for the carefully guarded secrets reserved only for members of the Sword Sect.
And Li Baxian did not disappoint. As soon as he reached the Ninth Order, he managed to defeat the reigning number one on the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy and imed the seat for himself in the same year.
If not for the damage he suffered to his Spiritual Points he would have long be a Cloud River Realm or even a Real Lake Realm Cultivator by now.
For more than a decade, Li Baxian had been wallowing in the Spirit Creek Realm, unable to ascend his rank further. But he had not been idle. His skill and technique had reached such heights that no other Spirit Creek Realm swordsman could dare im superiority over him. Even the Cultivators of the Northern Profound Sword Sectde-freaks known for their intransigence and austere rigidnessalways treated him with respect and reverence whenever they met each other as if he was one of their own.
Such was the respect and fear hemanded being an Eighth-Order who now reigned as one of the ten greatest Cultivators of the Battlefield.
Right now, out of nowhere, he had appeared. A lone man armed with just his sword, but his mere presence was enough to make every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator in his presence shudder with fear.
Wei Yang might be powerful enough to save Lu Ye alone buting inside the Battlefield had forced her to move around with the Judgment of Heaven inflicted upon her. She had killed enough enemies since her entry here for the Judgment to be stronger and thicker. Any more killings and the effects of the Judgment would kill herCloud River Realm or not.
To that end, that was exactly the reason the ckfyre Cultists had been goading her into attacking them. None of them even resisted. In fact, one could argue that they had been offering themselves to her as a sacrifice likembs to be ughtered. That illustrated their resolve to have Wei Yang removed as a threat to their cause.
But Li Baxian was an altogether different case. As an Eighth-Order Cultivator of the Spirit Creek Realm, he could kill without suffering any consequences.
While the mob of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators reeled with horror, Li Baxian ignored them and spun around casually. He beamed to them brilliantly, Which is my junior?
But there was no need to ask. Being the only Fifth-Order Cultivator present, he could easily make out his rtively weaker signature of Spiritual Power, especially since he was the one being surrounded by Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators trying to protect him.
Their eyes met. Li Baxian said to him, I am your senior. The fourth student of our mentor Tang Yifeng.
My respects to you, Brother! Lu Ye bowed. Li Baxian had mentioned himself being the fourth student of Tang Yifeng. That would mean that there was a first, a second, and a third too!
Thats great, Li Baxian grinned, bobbing his head. The Old Man has finally let go and decided to ept a new student! Marvelous!
He turned to Wei Yang and grumbled, You should have told me about this, Sister Wei Yang. I would not have known that I have a younger fellow student if not for Yuechan.
me it on the Old Man. It was he who did not want me to tell you about it, Wei Yang exined.
That Old Man and his god-awful stiff-necked intransigence, snorted Li Baxian. He hopped off his perch on the top of his sword hilt andnded on the ground before he yanked it out of the ground, all with a smile that could have sent numeroussses swooning with adoration and infatuation. Even Lu Ye himself had to admit that Li Baxian was blessed with good looks and electrifying charisma.
Its a pleasure to meet you, Brother. Im sorry I came without gifts. But let me kill a few enemies to make it up to you!
He shook his weapon like he would with a whisk and let go. The sword ripped out of his grasp like a falcon taking flight and turned into a sliver of light before streaking forward with the speed and intensity of a lightning bolt, zigzagging amongst the enemy host like currents of electricity zapping unimpeded.
Careful! cried a voice.
ARRGGHH! another voice screamed.
The flying sword tore its way through the enemy mob, unleashing bem and pandemonium while the air mored with the sickening hubbub of steel shredding and rending through flesh. The air roiled with the chaotic undtions of Spiritual Powersing from the panicking enemies and Cultivators tried in vain to frantically summon their powers to fight back. But Li Baxians sword was just too fast, and the deadly weapon easily felled anyone who dared to stand in its path.
Anyone witnessing the ughter could almostprehend how fragile life could be in the face of such vicious violence. Blood collected in dribbles, into streams, and eventually pools.
In just the blink of an eye, more than twenty enemies had died because of the sword alone, and its feast had only just started.
A Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator made the mistake of attacking Li Baxian. As most swordsmen were defenseless during the use of their sword magic, this enemy Cultivator clearly believed that this would be his best chance to put down the all-famous Li Baxian by catching him unaware.
Also a swordsman, the enemy did not choose to use magic on his sword. Instead, he opted to attack Li Baxian personally. As he drew near, he brandished his weapon and lunged with his weapon piercing with lightning-speed dexterity.
Lu Ye could feel a knot in his gut as he watched the enemy approaching Li Baxian who merely stood there, motionless while heckadaisically took another swig of wine off his gourd.
The de of his foes weapon swept towards him, bursting into numerous doubles that all swarmed at Li Baxian simultaneously. Unfazed, he opened his mouth and a tiny energy bolt shaped like a sword shot out.
Small and quaint, yet powerful and deadly. The lone needle-like bolt met the deluge of death alone and single handedly incinerated them all before barreling straight for the enemy Cultivator with its speed and force undiminished where it easily speared through him and burst out the back of his rib cage.
Still standing but very much stiff, the man stared at Li Baxian in what were his final moments of life, awash with disbelief and frustration.
The likes of you are unfit for a weapon as noble as the sword, Li Baxian muttered with frost reserved only for his enemies.
The tiny sword did not dissipate like most other energy bolts did. Like a little hummingbird of death, it joined Li Baxians first sword. Big and small, the dual swords streaked around like a pair ofrge and smallets, crisscrossing andncing their way through countless enemies that the Thousand Demon Ridge enemies suffered even bigger losses.
Watch your Contribution Points, Wei Yang warned all of a sudden. An Eighth-Order at the moment, Li Baxian nevertheless retained the experience and techniques he learned as a Ninth-Order, not to mention that the disciplines and skills he embodied all belonged to the Heaven Grade. Therefore, by authority of the inherently magicalws of nature that governed the Battlefield, Li Baxian could only kill Ninth-Order enemiesor more specifically, Ninth-Order enemies trained in Earth-Grade martial disciplinesto avoid the penalization of his Contribution Points. His Points would still face deduction even if he killed an Eighth-Order enemy trained in Earth-Grade martial disciplines for the difference between their powers would still be absurdly vast. This illustrated how actually powerful Li Baxian really was.
Contribution Points are hard-earned rewards Cultivators earned with their blood and sweat. Rewards that could be extremely useful if used well, therefore no Cultivator would dare flippantly squander them.
Having killed so many weaker enemies must have cost Li Baxian a lot of points.
Dont worry about it, Li Baxian answered. He raised an arm and waved. Both his swords shot back to him; one of them returned into his gourd while the other flew back into his grasp.
The carnage had ended, but the aftermath was no less terrible with the air was rank with the stench of blood and the ground littered with mangled viscera, muscle, cartge, and even maimed limbs.
Still surrounded by allies making sure that he was safe, Lu Ye could feel his heart racing with exhration.
[Sister Wei Yang is already incredible enough and now a Brother Li Baxian who is an even deadlier figure Just what in Heavens name is the Crimson Blood Sect?!]
Dangers were still abound, but that did not stop him from grinning. For once, Lu Ye felt relieved and rxed.
[Doesnt it feel so good to have someone to depend on!]
Then he remembered what Lan Yudie told him. She mentioned a certain someone who was already on the way here. So long as they could meet up, Lu Ye would be safe.
Lu Ye did not know who that was then. But he now knew who Lan Yudie was referring to now.
Li Baxian!
Thats enough dawdling! Take Brother Lu Ye and go! Wei Yang urged.
Li Baxian shook his head. I cant, he said suddenly, Someones here and hes waiting for me. Meaning that he would have taken Lu Ye away right when they met each other. After all, Lu Yes survival was the singlemost important matter, and sending him into the safety of the Turbulent Watch outpost took precedence.
But he couldnt. As soon as he arrived, he picked up the Spiritual Power signature of his rival and that was when Li Baxian knew that he needed to do something.
His killing of so many Thousand Demon Ridge enemies was hardly just for some frivolous reason. It was to lessen the pressure that his allies had to endure so that their job of keeping Lu Ye safe would be easier, even if that meant losing a lot of Contribution Points.
His rival had long arrived, but he did not choose to show himself. With Wei Yang around, Li Baxians adversary clearly wasnt thrilled at the prospect of being cut down by her.
Even from so far away, I could smell you, you scoundrel! Show yourself! Li Baxian swiveled his head all of a sudden to look in a particr direction. He swung his sword and fired an energy bolt in the same bearing.
All enemy Cultivators nearby quickly flinched and some even ducked. Still, some did not manage to escape in time. The energy bolt speared through them before a wicked-looking saber mmed into it, defeating it soundly.
Wielding the saber was this man with a long mane of hair that was let loose down his shoulders. Under a circlet that he wore around his head, his sharp eyes emitted a re so fierce that it burned with as much hatred as a hungry wolfs.
Thats Yan Xing! cried one of the Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators who recognized him.
In the real world of Jiu Zhou, members of the Jianghu oftenpared the Northern Profound Sword Sect to its bitter rival from the Thousand Demon Ridgethe Raving desmen of Dingzhou.
Both Tier-One militant orders, the Sword Sect and the Raving desmen were all blessed with no shortage of promising talents.
It had been a long-enduring tradition that practitioners of the saber loathed all who trained in the crafts of wielding the sword and vice versa. With one in the northern regions of Jiu Zhou and the other in the south, the bitter rivals each enjoyed rtive peace in the real world and never the twain should meet. But the same could not be said inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Their outposts sat just right next to each other, prompting frequent conflicts between the two sides. The years of enmity and the countless deaths of acolytes from both factions had turned the rivalry into a blood feud that could only be resolved by the destruction of either side.
A Raving desman himself, Yan Xings position on the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy far outranked Li Baxians, in second ce just behind Feng Yuechan.
But whatid between Yan Xing and Li Baxian was more than just some simple rivalry. It was a vendetta.
Long when Li Baxian was still learning his craft within the halls of the Northern Profound Sword Sect, he had once joined an assault by the Sword Sect on several Raving desmen units. It was during that attack that Li Baxian killed a female Raving desman.
That woman was none other than Yan Xings sweetheart
Since then, Yan Xing vowed to kill Li Baxian with his own hands to avenge her.
Part of the reason behind Li Baxians demotion in his rank of cultivation was because of Yan Xing, although his original n, if worked correctly, should have culminated in Li Baxians demise.
But with his Spiritual Points damaged, Li Baxian had lost his chance of ascending into the Cloud River Realm. More than a decade had passed since then.
Like Feng Yuechan, Yan Xing refused to ascend. He adamantly refused to leave the Spirit Creek Battlefield, hoping for the chance to realize his dream of killing Li Baxian.
That was not good news at all to all other champions whose names were on the Roll of Supremacy as well. Both the Number One and Number Two champions of the Roll were refusing to ascend because Li Baxian and all the rest of the other champions could only settle by being the third.
But seasons passed and the champions all decided to just leave this ce of constant chaos and tumult by ascending into the Cloud River Realm directly.
Meanwhile, Li Baxian did not give Yan Xing any chance to enact his vengeance. All the time, he steadfastly guarded the Devoted Ones outpost, holding his station at the iconic Hawksflight Rock within the outpost grounds.
Chapter 157: Come Fight Me
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 157: Come Fight Me
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Yan Xing heard that Li Baxian had finally left the Devoted Ones outpost, he knew his chance had arrived. He came early and hid himself. Lo and behold, his vigil did not turn out to be fruitless. Li Baxian did indeede.
He could care less about the massive contest between the Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition. Brash and straightforward, all he wanted was Li Baxian and to end this more-than-one-decade-long vendetta.
Let me deal with him! Wei Yang barked, Take Brother Lu Ye and go!
Li Baxian shook his head. You know as well as I do that I can kill, but I can hardly protect. Whats more Yan Xings not the only one here.
Wait, you mean Wei Yang murmured quietly. The Judgment of Heaven electrical bolts still trying to gnaw at her flesh and body had impaired her spiritual senses enough for her to not notice the presence of other powerful foes.
Theyre all lurking nearby, hiding amongst the crowd. Watching and waiting for their best chance to strike, snorted Li Baxian with contempt. Ill create a chance, take Brother Lu Ye and leave this ce. Its not a lot, but we still have to try.
Careful! Wei Yang warned him.
Li Baxian raised his gourd up to his lips and took a swig. But he did not swallow the gulp of wine. Instead, he spewed it all out. What came out of his mouth was not liquid, but a torrent of tiny little quarrels shaped like swords. At least a dozen of them, the tiny little swords whizzed quickly with purpose and haste and streamed straight at Yan Xing with Li Baxian himself peeling just closely behind, engulfed in a shining glob of light.
That was the cue for Wei Yang to act. She flung out a leaf that magically erged into the size of a nket and she wrapped it around Lu Ye. Then she seized the cor of his tunic and shot up into the sky. The chaos that Li Baxian was now creating would be her best chance to take Lu Ye and leave.
From inside the bundle, Lu Ye could not see what was going on outside. But he could feel the discharges and re-ups of Spiritual Powersing from nearby and the asional thuds and bumps hitting him.
Then he heard a grunt that he recognized as Wei Yangs. Next, he realized that the leaf-nket was no more. He looked around. They were back where they were before. Wei Yang had failed to take him away.
When Wei Yang was killing the enemies with ease earlier, the true Thousand Demon Ridge champions were all skulking around quietly without attracting her attention.
They knew that the more lives she took, the stronger the Judgment of Heaven would be and soon, she would die by her own hands, with their interference or without.
But none of them would sit back and allow Wei Yang to leave with Lu Ye. As soon as she soared up, they attacked her in unison, forcing her to retreat lest Lu Ye might be killed before they could even get any further.
That was the impetus for another wave of pandemonium. As soon as Li Baxian attacked and Wei Yang tried to bolt with Lu Ye, the enemy horde attacked and the fragile, short-lived peace was shattered. The Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators held their ground and staved off waves and waves of onught piled on them by the enemies.
Fortunately, the enemy numbers had been drastically reduced all thanks to Li Baxian and Wei Yangs earlier efforts and this had greatly lessened the pressure, or none of them would be able to weather the storm.
Wei Yang no longer actively tried to attack. She stayed close beside Lu Ye, swinging her scythe around to parry away whatever spells and Talismanic attacks that came this way.
Lu Ye would be safe so long as she was around.
She did not let her botched attempt at escaping with Lu Ye dissuade her from trying again. But whenever she rose up into the air, volleys of spells flung at her by the enemies were enough to force her tond. She might be able to endure the sts and get away, but Lu Ye would never survive that kind of damage.
As the battle dragged on, more Cultivators from both sides hurried here as quickly as they could. Word of Lu Ye being trapped here on Goldentip had long spread and as more time passed, the Cultivators that thronged around Goldentip had reached in the thousands and the number was still rising.
Countless skirmishes had broken out everywhere around the crest with Cultivators from both sides doing their utmost to make sure that no enemy would get to see the next daylight, making Goldentip a veritable Purgatory in real life.
From day till night, and night till day; Cultivators fell like flies but more woulde to take the ce of the fallen to keep the fight going.
More than ten Cultivators of the Roll of Supremacy hade, engaging each other once they crossed paths. Never before had the Battlefield witnessed such a furious war happening.
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No one had anticipated that what was initially a manhunt for the newest acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect would spiral into such a chaotic disaster. Killing a Fifth-Order Cultivator should have been easy enough. Given time and chance, anyone with the prerequisite skills and rank of Cultivation for such a deed could have finished the job and be done with it.
But the one thing that the Thousand Demon Ridge confederacy underestimated was the resolve of the Grand Skyan iron-like resolve that would not be dented and was what had kept Lu Ye alive up until this moment.
Despite the stalemate, so long as any Grand Sky Coalition Cultivator endured, Lu Ye would still have a chance to stay alive.
What a huge conundrum this had be!
Since the beginning of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, never before had a war of this scale urred this far out in the outer regions of the Battlefield. With such huge losses on both sides, both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge had long passed the point of any truce.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye, the center of this whole war and the one person his allies were desperately trying to protect stared at his weapon. The growing feeling of helplessness and frustration was gnawing at him.
He liked none of this at all. The sensation andprehension that his life and death had slipped out of his own grasp were unbearable and he hated it.
Weakness really was a sin.
[The weak get sidelined and ignored while the powerful get heard and noticed; such is the way the world works. The survival of the fittest,] Lu Ye realized. But he wouldnt have it. [Screw this war,] he told himself. If he was going to die, then he would be leaving this world on his own terms and instead of just waddling here like a sitting duck with nothing to do but wait for an oue while others did the fighting for him.
Just then, somethingnded with a crashing bang right at his feet. It was Li Baxian and he looked absolutely battered with bruises andcerations all over him. Perhaps expecting the Number Ten of the Roll of Supremacy to defeat the current Number Two just be a pipe dream after all.
Dont worry, I am not making it easy for him either! Li Baxian roared heartily. He might look beaten, but apparently, his spirit was not. He shed Lu Ye a grin and said, Dont worry, Brother. Ill lop off that head of his soon enough!
He sprang to his feet at once. Swordsmen Combat Cultivators like him never cowered from enemies greater and stronger than them. His powers might pale inparison to Yan Xings but that did not mean that Li Baxiancked the confidence to kill Yan Xing, even if it meant his own death as well.
But before he could leave, Lu Ye ced a hand on his shoulder.
Li Baxian stared at Lu Ye incredulously.
Its enough, Brother Baxian, said Lu Ye softly. Youve done enough.
What?
Please, stop, Lu Ye smiled. He lifted his head and stared all around him. He took a deep breath and with his Spiritual Powers to amplify his voice, he roared, STOP! ALL OF YOU, STOP!
He was only in Fifth-Grade, but his Spiritual Powers-magnified voice swept all around the battlegrounds like a thunderp.
Those who were already hankering for a respite immediately stopped. At first, it was those who were nearest to Lu Ye. They immediately backed away from the enemies with whom they had been trading blows. Gradually, like a rippling wave, the fighting stopped everywhere around him, spreading farther and wider as thebatants all realized the sudden pause. Warily, everyone disengaged and in thirty seconds, all the fighting and the noise ended. Peace once again returned and the huge fluctuation of Spiritual Energies everywhere all returned to a rtive stillness.
Every pair of eyes trained on Lu Ye. Only now did everyone realize that it was he who gave the signal to stop.
Lu Ye? uttered a surprised Wei Yang with confusion. She had been just beside him all the time. She peered at Li Baxian quietly as if asking for an answer although all thetter could do was shrug. Even he did not know what Lu Ye was up to.
Let me speak, Lu Ye said to Wei Yang before he surveyed everyone around him and cried loudly, Let me speak!
The second time was for the benefit of all other Cultivators nearby.
I know Ick the power and authority to give orders, but every single one of you is here because of me, said Lu Ye, I believe that gives me the right to a few words. Does anyone disagree?
Pray tell, my friend.
Indeed. Youll hear no disagreement from me!
Several Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators were quick enough to voice their support. Lu Yes sudden call for a parley might have caught them all off-guard, but it nevertheless provided all thebatants a chance of respite.
It was a break that everybody sorely needed. The long hours and stress of the battle had been wearing them down.
Speak! a Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator demanded. Being a Cultivator who was among the twenty best champions of the Roll of Supremacy, he was the second most senior champion present after Yan Xing. That plus the fact that he was a member of a Tier-One militant order made him the most eligible person to speak for the rest of the enemy horde after Yan Xing, who appeared as if he could care less.
All he cared about was only Li Baxian and no one else.
I was epted into the Crimson Blood Sect months ago and during our way back to the stronghold, we were waid, and my mentor was forced to send me here. Truth be told, I know nothing about the Sect. I dont know where this stronghold is and what it looks like. I dont even know who my fellow acolytes were until today. I was not even aware of what happened in the past until I was told about it days ago. Only then did I know that my existence had sparked a war. Im just a meager Fifth-Order weakling. How could this even be possible: thats the question Ive been asking myself. But Im but a powerless person unable to change what has happened. I can only concede to the current state of affairs. I could have been killed by you Thousand Demon Ridge folks. It was through the tireless and relentless help of my allies in the Grand Sky Coalition that I managed to make it here. People have died. Either before my eyes or in ces I dont know. I dont even know their names. But right here, right now, more people are dying. If this goes on, none of you will be going home. Is this what we all want?
No one responded.
The losses will be greater than what they already are. Is this what every one of us wishes? Lu Ye pressed.
What do you suggest? asked the Thousand Demon Ridge champion who spoke earlier before he paused with a snort. That all of us here should just give up what we started and just walk away? That would work out just fine for you, I reckon.
Nay, Lu Ye shook his head, So many have died. Im sure both the Ridge and the Coalition cannot simply just back down now. Even if you do, the higher leadership of the various militant sects and orders youe from wont sit on this.
Clever, smirked the enemy champion, Well if youre really feeling sorry for your allies dying for you, then take your own life. Do it and this war will be over!
Thats right! Take your own life! Youre never walking away from this alive!
Take your own life! At least you can be guaranteed a clean death, boy! Getting hacked to death by a mob isnt going to be a pretty sight after all!
Scores of heckles mored from the midst of the Thousand Demon Ridge mob.
Wei Yangs lithe face never looked so dark with rage before as she struggled to suppress the urge to pounce and cut down every single man who dared to cry out for Lu Ye to kill himself.
Lu Ye shook his head wearily. Can I? So many of my allies have been killed on my ount. Is this the right gesture of gratitude to repay their sacrifice? No. Whats more, Im still too young to die!
Then why the hell are we wasting time here, having this useless conversation? the enemy champion glowered.
Lu Yes eyelids drooped to a close. He paused and said atst, Being protected gives mefort and thrill, but I am a Cultivator. This is a matter that concerns me so I must be doing something!
But I admit that Im powerless to bear the whole weight of the war on my shoulders. Regardless, Ill do this, he said, drawing his weapon from its sheath and holding it up against the enemy mob. I am Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect and I hereby issue this challenge to all those of simr rank to me:e fight me!
Chapter 158: Proposal
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 158: Proposal
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
I am Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect and I hereby issue this challenge to all those of simr rank to me:e fight me!
The deep and loud voice swept further from the crest of Goldentip with every pair of eyes fraught with disbelief, puzzlement, and most especially with amazement.
Challenging the entire mob sounded mighty and impressive enough, but arguably foolish too. Almost a thousand Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had amassed here in Goldentip and Fifth-Orders among them numbered somewhere around a hundredenough men to easily overrun Lu Ye with.
Although no one could deny that Lu Ye demonstrated courage and valor that even his enemies had to acknowledge.
Are you saying this on behalf of the Crimson Blood Sect and all of the Grand Sky Coalition? the enemy champion piqued a brow with interest.
Were not going to take seriously the nonsense babbled by a boy! Li Baxian interjected coldly.
Lu Ye swiveled around and gave him an assuring grin. He looked at the enemy champion again. Thats true. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I daresay I can speak for myself. Are you all not here because of me? Then heed this! Theres no possible way to solve this quandary through ordinary means; not unless you wish to see more casualties! What Im offering is a way to solve this problem while minimizing the losses on both sides! But if the Thousand Demon Ridge folks find my offer uneptable, then by all means, continue! Let the war go on and Ill just be here, watching with my arms folded!
Go on then, the enemy champion growled.
I will ept one challenger from every militant sect and order of the Thousand Demon Ridge. If I lose, youll hear no objections from me. But if I were to be lucky enough to survive, then the sects and orders whose challenges I have endured must agree to leave this war! Youll swear this upon the Heavens!
Li Baxian couldnt help tilting his brow wryly. It appeared that his newest fellow student was more level-headed than he initially gave him credit for. He had been worried that Lu Ye might be acting rashly earlier. But what bothered him now was whether Lu Ye had what it took to survive the crucible of challenges.
If Lu Ye could triumph, then this would really be the best way to end this war. Otherwise, Lu Ye could be killed and his meager existence would be nothing but someone elses stepping stone for greater advancement. The victor would reap huge rewards for being able to kill the newest member of the Crimson Blood Sect and effectively ensuring its impending dissolution.
He turned around to nce at Wei Yang, tacitly conveying his doubt. But all he got in return were dubious shakes of her head. She too did not know how Lu Ye would fare. Wei Yang knew about Lu Ye, but she had zero knowledge about his abilities. Having just met him, all she knew about him was that he had reached the Fifth-Grade and nothing more.
What is this? For all the Thousand Demon Ridges might and power, is there no one who would step forward and challenge me?
No one uttered a syble. Only Lu Yes voice pervaded the air above the barren and deste crest of Goldentip.
Easy for you to talk, Lu Ye, when you can defeat and kill enemies beyond your rank! Hardly anyone in your rank is your match! cried a shrill female voice.
A woman sauntered forward, extricating herself from the mob while staring coldly at Lu Ye. He knew who it was: Han Zhe Yue of the Tai Luo n!
She had just not long ago tried to kill him for his exploits during the Dragon Spring Conference although Tang Wus timely intervention had thwarted her. But Tang Wu was nowhere to be seen now and here she was.
What do you mean he could kill enemies beyond his rank? The Thousand Demon Ridge champion could not believe his ears. He had been frowning over how Lu Ye could have the audacity to issue such a challenge and Han Zhe Yues revtion was exactly the answer he needed.
The female Ninth-Order Cultivator bowed to the champion to show respect. She gave Lu Ye a hard look and said, Its true. I have seen how this brat could kill Fifth-Orders from my n with ease back when he was still a Four-Order. Since hes a Fifth-Order now, that would mean that only Sixth-Orders and above stand a chance at defeating him.
Oh? Remarkable. I guess thats why hes epted as an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Thats not all, added Han Zhe Yue who looked only too happy to reveal more of Lu Yes secrets. As most of you might not still know, he is skilled in employing a form of defensive Glyphs that activate during battle. So it wont be easy trying tond a hit on him. When she finished, she looked absolutely gleeful to have contributed to Lu Yes downfall.
Peals of exmation mored from everywhere around. But at the same time, Lu Ye finally knew what those strange Spiritual Patterns that he had been relying on really wereGlyphs.
Most Cultivators knew all about Glyphs. They were an integral part of a Cultivators journey of ascension to true power or even immortality. There existed in the real world of Jiu Zhou a role specialized in the study and use of Glyphs known as Glyphweavers. With most of their time spent poring over tomes and scripts in their indefatigable research of the arcane and eldritch symbols and runes, they could hardly devote any excess effort to training how to fight.
But within the entire species of Glyphweavers, a certain breedmanded both the fear and respect of others: Glyph Warlocks. Known sometimes simply as Warlocks, this special brand of Glyphweavers were just as feared as Swordsmen Combat Cultivators, if not more. Skilled in various kinds of methods, enemies could crumble to their knees and die a painful death without even knowing how they were killed.
The study of Glyphs is a mostplex craft that most Cultivators needed to undergo a period of learning the elementary knowledge of the eldritch craft before they could begin proper research of Glyphs. The researching part itself would take up years before Cultivators could truly employ Glyphs in actualbat.
Even for a continent as vast as Jiu Zhou where more than thousands of Cultivators thrived and flourished, Glyph Warlocks worthy of the name numbered barely a hundred, and each of them was highly sought-after talent coveted by great sects and orders as well as noble families.
That said, no one has ever heard about a Fifth-Order Cultivator being able to use Glyphs in actualbat, let alone seen one up close. That would easily make Lu Ye a rare wunderkind with the talents to be a Glyph Warlock. If any of the existing Glyph Warlocks knew about this, they would undoubtedly be on their way here by now.
Therefore, beware any challenger of the same rank who wishes to take on Lu Ye. What youre doing is suicide, jeered Han Zhe Yue with undisguised derision; she had guessed Lu Yes idea the moment he enunciated it.
Is Sang He a senior in your order? the owner of a cold voice breathed ominously down her neck.
The smug grin on Han Zhe Yues face froze. Her head swiveled at once toe face to face with a glowering Li Baxian. No, I dont know that name!
Start preparing a funeral for him then, Li Baxian hissed with venom.
[What the hell is wrong with these Crimson Blood Sect lunatics?!] cursed Han Zhe Yue. [I get that youre trying to protect one of your own, but thats over the line!] All she did was just reveal some truths and thest thing she felt that she deserved was a threat issued by the deadly Li Baxian himself! [Brother Sang He, if you ever hear my voice, beware! Li Baxian ising for you!]]
[I did not mean this to happen!]
Meanwhile, the Thousand Demon Ridge champion smiled at Lu Ye. The premise of your idea is a good one. But Id suggest some adjustments: that your challengers can be no greater than the Seventh Order. What do you think?
Lu Ye looked absolutely glum and silent with every bit the semnce of someone whose ploy had just been discovered.
You were so loud about wanting to be in control and take charge just now? Is this the sum of your in-charge and control? Is this what all Crimson Blood Sect members are? A bunch of wimps and cowards? prodded the enemy champion.
All right, you have a deal! Lu Ye muttered with apparent frustration. One could almost make out the veins bulging at his temples.
Lu Ye, no! Li Baxian and Wei Yang gasped in unison.
The boy himself has agreed to the terms. Who are you to object? Or does the Crimson Blood Sect expect all of the Grand Sky Coalition toy down their lives for your sake? the enemy champion pressed what seemed like his advantage. Youre nothing but an order on the brink of dissolution, so you might as well submit to your fate!
Li Baxian could barely say anything at those remarks, especially the part about the rest of the Grand Sky Coalition sacrificing themselves for Lu Yes sake. All he could do was return a scathing re, although he quickly looked at Lu Ye. That was reckless, Brother. You know hes clearly riling you up. You shouldnt have said yes! Fighting enemies of his same rank was risky enough; singlebat or not, he would be fighting a long battle of attrition against a group of enemies, not one. The exertion could easily tire him out. Yet if he was going to face enemies higher than his rank, this could very well be suicide.
Lu Ye peered at him and insisted, I can do this, Brother!
Li Baxian really wished to chastise Lu Ye for behaving so brashly. Though not umon for youths to sumb to their hot-blooded temperament, Li Baxian knew firsthand how this was most likely going to be a very painful if not fatal lesson.
But he would not have epted such terms even if he were a Fifth-Order. But as much as he was angry at Lu Ye, he was more worried about his safety. That was when he saw the look on Lu Yes face. There was no frustration and no apprehension. In fact, he looked rather excited
Lu Ye allowed his eyelids to droop and closed his eyes. Then he turned around to see Li Baxian showing him the back of his hand. When Lu Ye indicated that he understood the gist, Li Baxian tapped on his Battlefield Imprint and a tiny blue glow sprang from his forearm andnded on Lu Yes.
All right, Brother. Time for some truth now. How confident are you about this?
Ive killed my fair share of Sixth-Orders before. As for Seventh-Orders, I have not had the chance yet, but I daresay that itll be quite risky, but Ill give him a run for his money.
Gosh! Li Baxian could hardly believe his own ears. [Thats killing enemies waaayy beyond your rank, Brother!]
[Of all things, I didnt expect Lu Ye to be so deadly! You might be a stubborn old goat, Old Man, but you do have a great ir for recognizing talent!]
Careful to not let his amazement show, Li Baxian put up a worried fa?ade. So, all that yacting was just for the benefit of our enemies just now?
He really had to give it to Lu Ye. The frustrated look really was so real that he thought it was an actual manifestation of his true feelings.
Just ying along with the situation, replied Lu Ye. He did not expect Han Zhe Yue to be here. If only he had noticed her earlier. Now that that vengeful woman had spilled all the beans, he would never have the chance to fight enemies of the same rank anymore.
Even so, Lu Ye, this will be a long battle. The enemies will being for you one after another. I see at least thirty to fifty sects and orders from the Thousand Demon Ridge side which have arrived. Are you sure about this?
Ill do what I can, Brother. Prolonging the war is not good for anyone. If I could end this here and now, that would be for the best.
Li Baxian did not answer. Lu Ye was right and he of all people knew it.
Beyond any doubt, the Thousand Demon Ridge side knew this too. The status quo of the battle had spiraled out of control with more Cultivators joining the fray by the minute and the mayhem would intensify further. Yesterday, Lu Ye could have sworn that he saw at most a thousand people here at Goldentip. But the number of Cultivators now embroiled in the battle here had doubled in just a single night. Prolonging this fight would only cause more bloodshed.
How else could the entirety of the Thousand Demon Ridge mob listen to a Fifth-Order?? The die had been cast and both sides had long passed the point of no return. Lu Yes idea was the single chance they ever had for the survivors to walk away alive.
It wouldnt be a stretch to say that Lu Yes proposal came at a perfect moment with the exact thing that both sides yearned for: survival. That was the exact reason the Thousand Demon Ridge mob ever agreed to the proposal.
Now that the terms had been articted clearly, there was no way for Lu Ye to worm out of this. Numerous Cultivators from the Grand Sky Coalition side had perished and the rest would hope to be able to live and breathe and see the next sunrise. Disagree with the terms and the Crimson Blood Sect would lose respect and credit.
Especially with that crisp-clear talk about how the Crimson Blood Sect expected the Grand Sky Coalition toy down their lives to save Lu Ye. That sentence had practically sown the seeds of discord which could very well bud if Lu Ye refused to ept the new terms.
Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators all came because of the rewards promised if they could kill Lu Ye, but on the Grand Sky Coalition side, most if not all of them were here by orders of their mentors or leaders.
They owed no duty or obligation to die for Lu Yes sake. Therefore, whether Lu Ye liked the new terms or not, there really was no backing down now.
Chapter 159: The Sacred Pact
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 159: The Sacred Pact
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Li Baxian suddenly realized that Lu Ye might just be a Fifth-Order who had survived this war because of everyone trying to protect him, but he did not let all that dull his instincts at all.
He exhaled heavily. With a weary look at Wei Yang, he asked, Can you change to her?
That would have sounded like an odd question to everyone else, but Wei Yang, who obviously knew what he was talking about, answered pensively with her head shaking, Shes dormant at the moment.
That means were on our own, I guess, Li Baxian muttered glumly.
Now that a deal had been made, it was time to hammer out the details.
He wiped a hand across his face and pretended to grimace and muttered, Brother Lu Ye here has decided to not allow anyone to die senselessly in his stead. If you Thousand Demon Ridge folks agree with his terms, kindlye with me to discuss further details.
There was much to discuss if Lu Yes proposal was to go on and it definitely wasnt as simple as just a e fight me especially if everyone wished to prevent any disputes.
Naturally, it would involve decisions that would have to be agreed upon by both sides. Despite being the lynchpin of the whole debacle, Lu Ye stillcked the seniority, knowledge and wisdom, as well as the power and authority to join in on the debate.
Fortunately, there was Li Baxian to negotiate on his behalf. With full confidence, Lu Ye could trust Li Baxian to make sure that his best interests were maintained as best as able. He had seen firsthand how protective both his seniors Wei Yang and Li Baxian were, especially the former, who had entered the Battlefield against the odds just so that she could personally stay at his side and keep him safe.
Li Baxian spun around and waved to another swordsman Cultivator, who vanished from where he was and reappeared right before Li Baxian with a respectful bow. Sir, he greeted.
Despite looking like they were of the same age, it would appear that Li Baxian enjoyed a more senior station over him. In fact, it wouldnt be a stretch to say that Li Baxian was more senior than most Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Not that he preferred this oue. With his Spiritual Points damaged, he could not ascend and there was nowhere else he could go.
Lu Ye did not have to be a genius to guess that this swordsman was a powerful champion of the Northern Profound Sword Sect with a ce within the Roll of Supremacy.
Please, keep Brother Lu Ye safe, implored Li Baxian.
The swordsman immediately responded without any hesitation, Leave it to me, sir.
Wei Yang might be around to watch over Lu Ye, but with the Judgment of Heaven still upon her, there was little she could do. All it would take was just a couple or more of those madmen from Cult ckfyrewhose minds were clearly addled by whatever it was they worshipedto throw themselves at her and the effects of the Judgment would grow strong enough to kill her.
Enlisting the help of this swordsman was just for insurance.
The debate did not take long to mutate into a rowdy quarrel with the champions trading barbed words amongst themselves. Curses were exchanged and Li Baxian had to forcibly adjudicate peace by summoning his Spiritual Powers, tacitly indicating that he would cut down anyone that threatened to foil what should be a smooth negotiation.
Apprehensively, Lu Ye muttered, They are not going to fight, are they? Another spark right now could potentially mean the end of any discussion.
Wei Yang peered at the group of champions huddled together not far away with a disinterested nce and remarked, Nah, its just brutes flexing their muscles.
Lu Ye continued watching the debate, only to realize that the heated debate was showing signs of aggravating. To his surprise and relief, the situation did not escte and that was when he begin to understand that Sister Wei Yang was right
He lifted his arm and patted the shoulders of the swordsman standing guard in front of him. I have not thanked you for saving me not long ago, sir.
This was the same Northern Profound Sword Sect swordsman who saved him from a very deadly enemy just not so long ago.
Any concern of Brother Li is a business of the Sword Sect. Theres no need to stand on ceremony, sir, replied the swordsman cidly, no more a conversationalist than he was thest time.
[Sir?! Did he just call me sir?!] Then Lu Ye remembered that if he was Brother Lu Ye to Li Baxian, that would put them both on a simr level of seniority. [But what about my age?] he grimaced. [Heavens, what a peculiar thing this seniority thing is!?]
Wei Yang bent down to stroke Ambers head. The tiger lifted himself to allow her to continue, keeping his eyes closed with ecstasy as Wei Yang moved her hand to scratch his chin.
Strangely, the lightning bolts that were still crackling around Wei Yang looked dangerous enough, yet they seemed to not affect anyone who got in close contact with her.
From the conversation with others, Lu Ye learned that the lightning bolts were called the Judgment of Heaven and Wei Yang incurred its wrath because of her entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and the more enemies she slew, the greater the damage it would deal to her.
But seeing her all normal as if nothing was going on, Lu Ye did not know if it was prudent to allow the lightning bolts to continue bouncing all around her.
All of a sudden, Li Baxian roared, All persons-in-charge of all Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders! Get here at once!
The enemy mob stirred uneasily before one figure after another disengaged from the crowd to head over to Li Baxians side. Lu Ye did a headcount and realized that there were at least forty people.
In other words, that was the amount of Thousand Demon Sects that hade to Goldentip.
Next came a litany of muffled voices that Lu Ye recognized as Li Baxians. He could not make out anything from that gibberish. But almost immediately after Li Baxian stopped, a golden vortex swirled in the skies overhead before a column of light shafted straight down from the sky andnded on Li Baxian.
Before the column of light hit the ground, Li Baxian flung out an arm and he caught something that Lu Ye first thought was a g: an animal skin parchment.
The column of light quickly ebbed into nothingness and the golden vortex disappeared as quickly as it came.
What is that? asked Lu Ye curiously, it was the first time he saw something like that.
The Sacred Pact! Wei Yang exined. For so many people to make sacred oaths in the name of Heaven would be messy and time-consuming, thats why one can just opt to use the Sacred Pact, although it would cost a few Contribution Points.
That was a real surprise to Lu Ye. So Heaven was a real and yet mysterious entity that not only watched but governed the Battlefield, and with the use of Contribution Points, one could trade and engage with Heaven too.
Li Baxian held up the Sacred Pact and examined its contents carefully before he bit the tip of his finger and stamped a mark using his blood. The others followed suit and did what he just did.
Minutes passed and by the end of it, the Pact contained several dozens of marks all left with blood.
Quietly, Li Baxian came back to rejoin Lu Ye with the Sacred Pact in his hands.
As if on cue, both sides withdrew. As per the agreement, the crest of Goldentip would be where the duels began. Cultivators from both sides began clearing up the area, removing every dead body in the vicinity. Atst, the Cultivators all stood around a makeshift ring almost seventy meters in diameter. This would be where Lu Yes reckoning would ur!
In the meantime, Lu Ye and Wei Yang were still going through the uses in the Pact. Agreements made on the Pact were as good as oaths made in Heavens name and anyone who refused to abide by the Pact would suffer heavy consequences.
More than thirty uses were set out in clearnguage to prevent any possibility of any loopholes.
Among the terms included the explicit statement that the highest possible rank for challengers could only be Sixth-Order Cultivators trained in Earth-grade cultivation disciplines. Cultivators skilled in Heaven-grade disciplines and Earth-grade disciplines were a far cry from each other; using Heaven-grade disciplines meant that one must have more than a hundred and eighty Spiritual Points unlocked whereas thetter required only eighty-one Spiritual Points. That alone reflected how huge the difference in power.
Lu Ye did not think of this before but fortunately, Li Baxian was around to keep an eye on things for him.
Next were the restrictions that prohibited the use of any external aid, except weapons or personal tools which had already been fully assimted with ones Spiritual Powers. Even Talismans were not to be used in the duels.
All the stringent rules left the Thousand Demon Ridge challengers no other choice but to fight Lu Ye in a fair and open manner if they wished to win the glory of defeating and ying him.
A few of the uses werent too favorable for Lu Ye, but in contrast, a sizable amount of them still afforded him certain advantages.
For instance, one of the uses dictated that Lu Ye had the right to a quarter of an hour break after every duel. It was all thanks to Li Baxian who managed to think of this, although he would have preferred a longer duration if not for the persistent objections proffered by his Thousand Demon Ridge counterpart. The time was nowhere near enough for any proper rest but there was little Li Baxian could do otherwise.
Although that did not prevent him from securing another advantage for Lu Ye.
This string of duels must end in three days. If Lu Ye could survive past the third day, then the Thousand Demon Ridge coalition must withdraw.
Another way for Lu Ye to win was to just defeat each and every single challenger who dared to stand before him.
Lu Ye read through the Pact andmitted whatever he could into memory.
Wei Yang looked hardly pleased. You dont have to do this, Lu Ye. As your seniors, both Baxian and I will do anything if you wish to just walk away from this! Im sure well have a chance of getting out of here if we try our utmost!
Despite Li Baxians best efforts to secure as much advantage as he could, one could barely expect a Fifth-Order Cultivator to survive three-days worth of fighting. The onught itself could easily swamp Lu Ye and tire him out while all the enemies needed to do was throw enough men at him.
But Lu Ye shook his head. Youve all done enough for me. So many have died on my ount and I cannot just sit in the back and watch you all do all the fighting for me. I know you wish to do more for me, but as the newest fellow student, Im afraid I cannot ept your good gesture. This war started because of me, so it must end by my hand as well!
Wei Yang did not know what to say. She had waited for so long, and they finally got a new and young brother-in-arms in Lu Ye. For once in decades, there was hope that the Crimson Blood Sect would endure. But Fate once again proved itself to be a paragon of vengefulness and irony; Lu Ye found himself bing the center of a huge war. What a shame that her hands were now tied and there was little she could do for Lu Ye.
[What cruelty is this, Heaven?!] Wei Yang grimaced bitterly. If only she had more power!
Sister! Li Baxian warned her with a sharp growl.
Wei Yang immediately recollected herself to prevent her churning emotions from getting the better of herself. Her dted pupils slowly contracted back to their usual size.
I will survive! Lu Ye said to them sternly, I still have to see with my own eyes the stronghold of the Crimson Blood Sect. I have no home and no family, but Teacher took me in nheless. So that would be my home and you are all my family. So I will survive. I must survive!
He stepped forward and paced towards the center of the ring. Champions standing around the ring watched his every movement. Finally, he paused at the dead center of the circle and called out, Come challenge me!
But all he got were derisive stares from the enemy mobsardonic gazes as if they were staring at a dead man and victory was assured.
Every one of them was under the impression that Lu Ye had been driven mad by the stress of the war into making such an irrational and brash decision. That a Fifth-Order Cultivator has the courage and valor to challenge the whole Thousand Demon Ridge coalition was nothing but foolish recklessness to them.
But the Sacred Pact was what assured them. In their eyes, the Grand Sky Coalition had practically tied their hands by agreeing to the solemn contract. Anyone who tried to interfere with the oue of these duels was to be executed by everyone.
For this reason, even Yan Xing had to dy exacting his vengeance. All he could do at the moment was to stand at the other side of Goldentip and hurl hateful res at Li Baxian.
Chapter 160: Next
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 160: Next
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Whatever happened was also all thanks to Li Baxians wisdom to first cate Yan Xing by promising to meet again to settle their score.
That was exactly the reason why Yan Xing could still sit still and allow the
n to go on without a hitch.
Meanwhile, the mob of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators around Goldentip all stared at the lone Fifth-Order target like a predator eyeing a prey. Whoever he was, that was a walking cornucopia of treasures and supplies for them.
Kill him and riches of untold worth would be bestowed upon the one who aplished the deed.
Just as soon as Lu Ye issued his challenge, a tall and brawny man broke away from the mob. Let me try, he said.
One look at him was enough to tell Lu Ye that this was a Fifth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator. Blessed with robust physical properties, he wished to test Lu Yes capabilities and see what thetter could do. If the Fates were smiling at him, he might be able to defeat Lu Ye and im the prize for himself!
I am Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye announced.
Shi Lei of the Weiberwolvenstein. As soon as he finished, he groped inside his Storage Bag to look for his Spirit Artifacta defensive magical relic. Confident that his Spirit Artifact would keep him safe, he did not notice what was happening around him. Just as soon as he looked up while his hands were just reaching inside his Bag, there was Lu Ye, already upon him with incredible speed.
In just a few strides, Lu Ye blitzed his opponent and Shi Lei had only just retrieved his Spirit Artifact. He yanked out the shield-like magical relic quickly and frantically injected a spurt of his Spiritual Powers into it to activate its powers.
At the same time, Lu Ye ripped his saber out of its sheath and whipped it as furiously as he could, the weapons de swathed with ayer of Spiritual Powers both red and fiery like raging mes.
Petrified like stone, Shi Lei did not move an inch. With eyes as wide as saucers and bloodshot with spider web-like veins sprawled over the whites of his eyes, he stared at Lu Ye. Then it appeareda thin red line that traced across his throat. The line gradually grew thicker and thicker until a gaping hole yawned upon and out poured a gush of blood before the sheer pressure of the geyser of bloodunched the head up into the air, ripping apart whatever skin, tendons, or sinews that the head had been desperately clinging on to.
From over his shoulders, Lu Ye could see the faces of the Thousand Demon Ridge mob watching the bloody sight with horror inscribed all over their faces as they reeled, speechlessness.
Han Zheyues warning might have impressed upon the entire mob about Lu Yes ability to kill enemies beyond his rank, but no one had expected that he could do it with such speed and ease, more so, a Body-tempering Cultivator who has physical properties as strong as a bull. The twobatants had only just exchanged their names and the next secondter, victory was decided.
Fool! a Thousand Demon Ridge champion spat with disgust, referring to the deceased Shi Lei. Apparently, the champion, who had earned himself a ce on the Roll of Supremacy, believed that Shi Lei should have had his Spiritual Artifact prepared beforehand prior to the battle. Especially since Lu Ye was already widely known as a difficult opponent. Only a fool would make such an amateurish mistake and even if he survived today, his days would still be numbered anyway.
On the other hand, on the side of the Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators, the crowd was first stunned into silence before they regained their senses secondster and burst into mors of cheers and whoops. Li Baxians yelpintecing both surprise and exhrationwas especially the loudest. Even Wei Yang looked relieved after she had been utterly worried sick.
Lu Ye retrieved thete Shi Leis shield Spirit Artifact and Storage Bag, which he tossed to Wei Yang. He had drawn first blood and that was his first spoils of war.
Collecting spoils of war was amon and yet widely practiced custom that shouldnt be forgotten under whatever circumstances at all.
The loss of the first battle was a humiliating blow to the Thousand Demon Ridge side. But they knew as well as everyone watching this duel that this was only the beginning. Every single Thousand Demon Ridge sect and order which had gathered here had a chance to put forth a challenger. The Ridge could suffer defeats and deaths, so long as one of them seeded. Whereas Lu Ye did not have that luxury; he couldnt lose, for losing would mean the forfeiture of his life.
Three days. That could amount to at least several dozen rounds of duels. That a Fifth-Order Cultivator must endure such a gauntlet of death and survive was unimaginable.
NEXT! Lu Ye withdrew to his corner, giving his weapon a shake to fling off the blood.
The seniors of the sects and orders which were present quickly debated a choice and a new challenger stepped into the ring. It was a woman. Not only beautiful and shapely, but the scanty clothes she wore hardly concealed any of her charms, making her the prime focus of hungry gazes from the men all around the ring.
Wei Yang was none too happy. What a slut! she hissed.
Li Baxian frowned as well. Quietly, he was concerned if a hot-blooded youth like Lu Ye mightck the nerve and grit needed to attack a woman of such beauty and allure. One could argue that the Thousand Demon Ridge side had picked a target specifically aimed towards a person of Lu Yes temperament.
He looked at Lu Ye, who looked utterly unfazed. He announced himself again, I am Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!
The girl stole a look at the dead body lying not far away from where she was standing and winced like she was afraid. The manner of disposition alone could have made many men keel over with pity. Then she heard Lu Ye announcing himself and replied with timid coyness, Chu Xue of the House of Wintry Blossoms.
First came a bang, then dirt and gravel came tossing up the air and Lu Ye was gone. Next secondter, he was already upon her before anyone could see him properly.
Do you really have to be so hasty?! Chu Xue remarked with a honeyed voice, although she responded with venom. Her hand only just came up and a big, blustery fireball spewed forth, followed closely behind by a pale mint-green de of wind.
But what was more unwonted was Chu Xues almost-nonexistent clothing. Whenever she made any movement, the thin gauze-like fabric of her clothing just couldnt shield her womanly charms from thescivious stares from everyone watching.
Shameless bitch! blurted out Wei Yang who was teetering on the brink of blowing her gasket. What she would give to storm forward and rip the saucy vamps head off, Li Baxian wondered quietly to himself.
But the next secondter, he yelped with consternation.
Inside the ring, Lu Ye was raising his saber to hack at the fireball. He felt not an ounce of fear since it was so much smaller than the ones Dong Shu Ye fired at him.
But he would pay for this mistake. Just before the steel of his saber came in contact with the fireball, the de of wind behind the fiery orb erupted and Chu Xue grinned with glee. Deep inside, she was screaming I win with exultation.
Winds raged and that exacerbated the mes. What was a harmless fireball at first suddenly grew rapidly into a round monstrosity of fire three times over that thundered towards Lu Ye, threatening to swallow him whole.
Those who knew Chu Xue must have recognized this from the start: her trump card. The Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator did nothing to underestimate Lu Ye right from the start. The dead body of the Body-tempering Cultivator just paces away from her was a constant reminder for her to not repeat that mistake. To that end, she used the techniques and tactics that worked the best for so that she could do the most damage to Lu Ye as quickly as possible.
Then something made the grin on her face freeze. Lu Yes figure burst through the mes all of a sudden, his speed and intensity doubled or even tripled.
With all color gone from her face, Chu Xue desperately tried to conjure another spell to defend herself.
But it was just toote. Lu Ye callously hacked down on her shoulder, easily lopping off the arm that flung up before it could fire a spell at him, then with another blow, he easily defeated her protective aura before he swung his de for a third blow that nearly had her entrails pouring out of a terrible gash right between her chest and her midriff.
With a shrill shriek, she fell backwards, the nakedness underneath her translucent robes exposed for all to see. Still, she crashed ignominiously to the ground with tears obscuring her sight and thest thing she ever saw was a final glint of steel that ultimately robbed all life from those eyes of hers for eternity.
Lu Ye staggered unsteadily as he straightened up. With the dead body of his second opponent at his feet, he counted himself lucky that he managed to activate Glyph: Protection fast enough to prevent from incurring heavier wounds. That trick by Chu Xue had caught him unaware although he escaped with just a few burns other than his hair and his robes which were singed by the mes.
This time, he did not retreat to his corner. He stood there, just meters away from the Thousand Demon Ridge mob and stared them all down. Slowly, his saber came up. He held it tauntingly, NEXT!
That was a call that sounded like it was intended for every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator now ring at him
At the other end, just over his back, the crowd of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators did not know how to react. Silent and bewildered beyond word, some of them were reeling with amusement at how reckless and audacious this Crimson Blood Sect brat was.
No one could deny that seeing one of them giving the enemies hell was justjust way too satisfying!
Good job! Wei Yang eximed, so pleased that her eyes were practically curved like a pair of crescents. Lu Yes savage butchery of his female opponent was gratifying enough for her, and it delighted her that he did not show any signs of going soft despite his opponent being a female with seductive allure that few men could resist.
Meanwhile Li Baxian looked very annoyed. Gods in Heavens?! Why is he taking after Brother Xinghe?! he gasped with manic frustration. Wait, theyre both using sabers! Why!? Dammit! Why sabers!?
The third round was about to begin.
ording to the terms in the Sacred Pact, Lu Ye reserved the right to demand a fifteen-minute period of rest before he epted the next challenge. But since he did not invoke this right, the Thousand Demon Ridge side were more than happy to oblige and get the next round going so that Lu Ye could remain fatigued.
But the round did not take long for Lu Ye to secure the initiative. He practically chased his Sixth-Order opponent all around the ring and the opponent could barely do anything but defend himselfalbeit feebly.
Seeing this filled the mob with dness. If no one had told them about how Lu Ye could easily defeat enemies beyond his rank, then agreeing to his earlier terms would have seen him walking out of this crisis virtually unharmed and unfazed. Every Fifth-Order challenger they threw at him would be senselessly ughtered for nothing.
Especially since even Sixth-Orders were already having a hard time trying to defeat him.
A sh of steel elicited a horrid spray of red. Lu Ye pounced. But before he could bring his weapon down to split the head of his opponent, thetter yelped at the top of his voice, I yield!
The sharp edge of his de halted just a hairs breadth away from the enemy. Glyph: Sharp Edgesyer of energy that shrouded the de had nicked the skin and blood was trickling out like a leak.
I yield! the man screamed again, jumping away. When he pped a hand on his wound and saw the blood, his face went deathly pale.
Just one second slower and the man could have already been dead on the ground with grey matter pouring out of his head. Surrendering might be disgraceful enough to certain quarters, but at the very least, this man had managed to salvage his own life and live another day.
Lu Ye sheathed his weapon. His enemy had admitted defeat and the terms of the Sacred Pact were clear: any Thousand Demon Ridge challenger was orded the right to yield and have his or her life spared. There was nothing else he could do.
But this was a luxury that only the Thousand Demon Ridge challengers enjoyed, not Lu Ye. Losing simply wasnt an option for him.
There was hardly any fairness at all.
But life had never been fair.
The defeated challenger quietly slithered away. As he withdrew back through the mass of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, he reminisced about what happened during the duel and couldnt help shivering. He had never meet anyone like Lu Ye beforea Fifth-Order that could unleash such overwhelmingly aggressive and brutal attacks that even though he was the one with the rank advantage, he wondered if it was the other way around instead.
NEXT! Lu Ye roared, ring at the crowd.
Another enemy stepped forward as the fourth challenger!
In the meantime, a few Grand Sky Coalition champions and fellow colleagues with Li Baxian on the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy were huddled around him. Its good that hes on a roll with morale so high, said one of them, frowning with apprehension, But hes going to burn himself out if hes not careful and he wont be able to go on any longer.
Indeed. Hes brutal and savage and thats obviously a good thing, but I cant really say that theres any finesse in how he uses his saber. If he encounters anyone skillful, hed be in a very difficult situation, said another.
As champions who had earned themselves spots on the Roll of Supremacy, these were men who could read the situation with utmost rity and tactical acumen. Lu Ye had only just finished three rounds but that was enough for them to notice his w: his style of fighting was wearing himself out.
His brutal and aggressive style would be perfect if he was up against just a limited number of enemies. In fact, he could intimidate his enemies so that they wouldnt be able to perform at their best against him. But his enemies were just too many this time and he should be ying safe. His intimidation tactics werent going to work with so many enemy champions were also around. As champions of the Roll of Supremacy themselves, they were just too formidable and experienced enough and the challengers wouldnt stoping so long as their presence could rally and assure the others.
It was also true that Lu Yecked finesse. Each and every blow he dealt were just simple blows aimed at his enemies fatal spots. During his battles, his thought process included only what and where to attack without any tactical consideration.
Such was his way of fightinga crude method honed by empirical learning for he never had any real tutge in the crafts of wielding a saber.
Aggressive and effective thus far, all it would take was for anyone skillful enough to thwart him and that was only just a matter of time before he encountered anyone with such a capability.
Chapter 161: Not One To Let Things Slide
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 161: Not One To Let Things Slide
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If the Grand Sky Coalition side noticed Lu Yes weakness, it was only natural that the enemy side would notice it as well.
Hence, it did note as a surprise that the next challenger was a Cultivator skilled in the crafts ofbat. Armed with a sword, the enemy challengers every Spiritual Power-imbued movestabs, pokes, flicks, and so forthformed abination of a confusing blur.
But it only took Lu Ye a couple of furious chops at the enemy challenger to throw him off bnce. Just when he thought he found an opening, he drove his sword straight at Lu Yes heart, but thetter easily thwarted him with just a quick activation of Glyph: Protection.
With the secrets of his ability to use Glyphs now all but public knowledge, Lu Ye no longer has any reason to keep it a secret anymore. Unlike before when he had to try to maintain it a secret, Lu Ye could now use them as much as he liked to. More so, since the utilization of Glyph: Protection against an opponent of such skill was crucial. Fortunately for him, the experience of saving Amber so long ago had turned out to be an instructive one. He was forced to fight against an enemy of superior skill back then and that had given him an idea of how to hold his ground against enemies of this kind.
And the trick of it was to avoid turning it into a contest of skills. This was a deathmatch, not a contest. The enemy challenger could perform all the quaint techniques as he liked, but Lu Ye would still stick to his n as he always did: by seeking the most straightforward and efficient way to kill.
With the well-calcted thrust of his sword thwarted, it was toote for the enemy challenger. He looked up to see Lu Yes saber already bearing down on him. Terrified, he quickly screamed, I yiel
Before he couldplete his sentence, his head dropped lifelessly to the ground.
Lu Ye stood where he was without moving an inch, feeling adrenaline coursing through his veins as the pangs of blood remained fresh in his nostrils.
Something else had dawned upon him: so long as Im fast enough, my enemies will not be able to yield and walk away alive!
He knew as well as everyone else that his style was wearing him out. He also understood fully that he should be keeping his duels as short as possible. But most of all, he was aware that he was one man facing an unknown number of challengers. He needed to y as many challengers as he could so that he could go into every round with his opponents already intimidated. This would help to ensure that he secured the initiative right from the get-go.
He stared at the dead body at his feet. Thest time when he was trying to save Amber, defeating that enemy back then was so hard that he and his foe nearly died together; he had managed to defeat and kill his opponent, but not without incurring grievous wounds himself. It was Amber who brought him back to Hua Ci and that girl had a good time having her fill of fun and thrill at his expense.
But he understood the difference. This time, he stepped into battle against a superiorly-skilled foe with more battle experience than before. All that blood, sweat, and tears that he shed had not been for nothing. What he received in return was not just the growth of his powers and strength, but also his experience and tactical awareness as well.
It was true that hecked finesse. But because he now had the ability and acumen to read his enemies, Lu Ye could make the right call on where, when, and how to attack.? This alone could make up for hisck of skills.
One could almost call this his craft of ying.
Brother! Li Baxians urgent voice rang out suddenly from over his shoulders. In his stupor, Lu Ye did not notice that his next challenger had already stepped into the ring.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was still reeling with the bewilderingprehension that he had unknowingly picked up a lot through his journey through the Battlefield.
That was when he felt a powerful forceing from his back. He twisted himself around, swinging his saber in a quick and deadly arc just in time for it to collide with the enemy Spirit Artifact, eliciting a fiery burst of angry sparks!
Only then did Lu Ye manage to see who his new challenger was: a tall and muscr man wielding a broadsword whose de was thicker than the length of a mans finger. With a gravity-defying leap into the air, the challenger brought his broadsword down on Lu Yes head with his weight and his strength behind it.
The moment their weapons met for the second time, Lu Ye could feel a staggering force threatening to crush him. Only it could not. Lu Yes knees might have sunken a little, but he managed to hold on and with a dangerous sh that nearly cut his enemy into two, he managed to drive him away.
In the meantime, the moment his steel gnashed against his opponents, thest thing the enemy challenger expected was for Lu Ye to be able to remain standing and respond with a shove carrying strength that he never thought was possible in a man of Lu Yes size, followed by a riposte that sent him retreating quickly away to a safe distance.
Evidently, he was not the only one astounded.
Whether it was the size of his frame or weapon, Lu Ye was just too much of a Davidpared to the challengers Goliath. Most would have thought that with his remarkable size and girth, this challenger would have chosen to be a Body-tempering Cultivator. Yet, being a Combat Cultivator was clearly his desired choice and his superhuman strength made it possible for him to use such a colossal weapon to easily fell any foes like a giant crushing ant.
And his decision had not been misced. He had never been defeated nor had he ever met a match in brute strength before when going up against foes of simr rank. Even if he had encountered anyone who had strength close to his, he could still defeat them with that incredible broadsword of his.
Until now.
More unbelievable was the fact that his adversary managed to withstand his wrath, his weight and that of his weapon with just one arm! This time, it was he who found himself bbergasted.
Heavens, what kind of brute strength is that?! Li Baxian heard a gasp. That was a Grand Sky Coalition champion who also has a position on the Roll of Supremacy. Somehow, there was something about Lu Ye that had changed.
If Lu Ye had looked as if he was holding himself back before, this time, he looked like he wasfree? Or liberated? Li Baxian just couldnt put a finger on it.
His eyes blinked. He too noticed the change in Lu Ye.
You seem to have not yet announced your name and the order to which you belong! Lu Ye bellowed as he bolted forward before the enemy challengernded. By the time he did, Lu Ye hadnded more than a half dozen cuts andcerations on his opponent, prompting thetter to frantically swing his ponderous weapon around in a vain attempt to defend himself as Lu Yes blows elicited more blood to be spilled.
No that his feeble attempts were doing him any good. A heavyset weapon like the broadsword was hardly the ideal weapon for defense. Clumsy and bulky, Lu Ye fleeted and waltzed around him like a butterfly dancing around him with tremendous agility and dexterity.
In mere moments, the enemy challenger began collecting more wounds than a bull in a bullfight. Luckily for him, the wounds were mostly superficial and that gave him the impression that he still had a chance to win.
Unbeknownst to him, everyone else could see clearly that the sole reason that he was still standing was only that Lu Ye had not yet chosen to kill him. Lu Ye was ying the cat and he was the vole now being toyed with by the former.
The name of the order you belong to? Lu Ye demanded after another sh to keep his opponent honest.
The giant of a man gasped for breath. He knew that victory was slipping through his fingers, but he belligerently replied, Fort Friedensbund!
Lu Ye bobbed his head, satisfied at the answer. With a stomp into the gravel, he vanished. He reappeared just in front of the burly challenger before he could do anything and raising his gigantic broadsword was pretty much the only thing he could do when he saw the gleam of Lu Yes steel.
Lu Ye easily avoided the parry and drove his saber straight through the mans chest, the tip of his weapon spearing out his back, a straight tunnel from the front to the back.
Then he callously yanked his weapon out amid the sickening crunch of flesh and bone, giving the challenger a kick to pull his weapon free.
As the challengery on the ground, life seeped out of him. But that was not the only thing on his mind. [Why was Lu Ye waiting when he could have easily in him and be done with it?!]
Watching the duel from the Grand Sky Coalition side, Wei Yang muttered softly, It seems that our new fellow student is not one to let things slide easily.
Li Baxian could only nod his head in tacit agreement. Twice Lu Ye had specifically demanded to know the order his opponents belonged to, and it clearly wasnt anything about respect. No, Li Baxian mused. It was only so that he could remember the names of the sects and orders since he would just quickly dispatch them once he got what he wanted.
Li Baxian grinned to himself; he did not even realize himself doing it. If Lu Ye could still think of such things during his battles, that would mean that he expected to survive this ordeal. He was confident that he would be able to make it out of this and remembering the names of the sects and orders which had slighted him was for a future reprisal.
Li Baxian had initially mistaken Lu Yes polite gesture at the start of his duels as just a sign of respect, only to realize that it was just so that he could repay the favor in the future.
Inside the ring, Lu Yes hand came up. Im taking a break! he announced.
There was no need to rush things. He had won all five duels in one go with four of his opponents in. Aside from his first opponent which was a Fifth-Order, the rest were all Sixth-Orders and that was enough as a good start to making any future challengers wary.
He had used up some of his Spiritual Powers, but with all of his duels ending quickly, he was able to prevent too much exhaustion. Even so, knowing that this was not going to end so soon, he was aware that he needed a break to be at his best.
Such was his right. As one of the many terms stipted clearly in the Sacred Pact, the Thousand Demon Ridge side could barely object to his decision.
Lu Ye trotted back to his corner. With Li Baxian, Wei Yang, and the others attending to him, he swallowed a few Spiritual Pills and held a pair of Spirit Stones firmly in his grasp.
There was no time for him to use Glyph: Gathering Spirits. Using the Glyph itself would consume Spiritual Powers and after weighing the cost and gain, he believed that it would not be worth it.
Therefore, he activated Gluttonous Feast instead. The auxiliary cultivation discipline would help to increase the pace of assimting the Spiritual Pills.
In the meantime, the Thousand Demon Ridge champions convened. They were in need of ways to secure a victory.
Han Zhe Yue was summoned, and the Thousand Demon Ridge champion asked, The boy has extraordinary speed and strength that no Fifth-Orders should have. Has he always been like this?
The champions have all noticed how Lu Ye had managed to win despite being outranked and his utilization of Glyph: Protection had little to do with his victories. At least notpletely. Instead, it was his speed and strength. This was proven by how seldom Lu Ye had been using the defensive Glyph in thest few duels.
His opponents could be one or two ranks higher than he was, but with his speed and strength, he could still easily cut them all down.
But that was a question that Han Zhe Yue could barely answer since she was directing her side of the battle from the main summit of the One Hundred Peaks mountain range without any actual knowledge of how Lu Ye fought.
She paused to think. Mulling for several seconds, she finally answered, It could be due to the Dragon Spring. He did secure himself entry to improve his physical constitution there.
Physical constitution? The Dragon Spring? the champion said, frowning with puzzlement. He must have not heard about the Dragon Spring before. But it was a small wonder, since the Battlefield was so vast, and every ce had its own unique feature. The Dragon Spring was only useful to low-tiered Cultivators and that was why few ever bothered about it.
Han Zhe Yue gave her colleagues a quick run-down about what the Dragon Spring Conference was about and exined something odd in this years Conference. Something went wrong. By the time it was our turn to get inside the Spring, the power of the Spring had waned so greatly that it barely afforded any benefits. Ive had sources in the Green Feather Mountain side who reported that they had simrints as well.
She could still imagine how angry she felt when she first heard of this.
The Dragon Spring Conference was nothing more than a three-way battle royale where the winning side would secure first dibs on entry into the Dragon Spring. The Tai Luo n had only managed to secure second ce after huge losses but yet none of the nsmen who went inside enjoyed any noticeable increase in their health and physical properties. All those who had died during the Conference had be meaningless sacrifices just for nothing.
It was out of this resentment and frustration that Han Zhe Yue came all the way to hunt Lu Ye down the moment when she learned of his identity.
If thats true, then I dont think it has anything to do with the Conference, the champion refuted the theory. It might be because of his potential.
That would exin his audacious confidence to make a proposal for such a duel.
But the champion wasnt worried. At least not yet. The duel had only just begun. The Thousand Demon Ridge side had lost the first five rounds and there were more toe. So long as they nned their approach carefully, victory would be theirs in three days and Lu Ye would be
Chapter 162: Frightened
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 162: Frightened
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Scribbles of TheBrokenPen: Ive taken the liberty to change the trantion of the term . The former trantion used the term demon, which I dont believe is correct. Simr to ykai in Japanese, s are not the literal demon in the Western sense of the word but are instead spirits and entities. Their behavior can range from malevolent or mischievous to benevolent to humans. Therefore, Im using mutants instead.
A quarter of an hour was just such a short time for a break. Lu Ye got up and marched into the ring where his next round of the duel would begin.
The next challenger the Thousand Demon Ridge side fielded was another big and brawny figure. The bare-chested man appeared proud to show off his chest hair but what was more disturbing to Lu Ye was the pair of horns on his head.
A Mutant!
Tall, hulking, strong of vigor, and rich in energy. Such were the physical advantages of Mutants, making them ideal Body-tempering Cultivator materials. Many sects and orders loved recruiting Mutants because of their unique physical potential.
And this Mutant wielded a round buckler the size of a basin. The radiance of the weapon was enough for Lu Ye to know that it must be a very remarkable Spiritual Artifact.
The purpose was evident enough. The Thousand Demon Ridge side must have decided that since Lu Ye, as a Fifth-Order who has speed and strength that outstripped even Sixth-Orders, could easily outpace and overpower any Sixth-Order Combat Cultivators, sending anymore would do nothing to help turn the tables. The one rank advantage just wasnt enough and the death of the Combat Cultivators earlier was proof of that.
With Combat Cultivators out of the question and Ghost Cultivators numbering a pitiful few, that remained the Body-tempering and Spell Cultivators as the only viable options left.
Lu Ye had incredible offensive capabilities, hence the Thousand Demon Ridge side decided to counter this by fielding a challenger with good defense. Seeing how adept he was, the enemy side had realized by now that it would take more than a few rounds to defeat him. All they needed to do now was whittle down his strength and endurance until he became ripe for the plucking.
Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect! Lu Ye announced himself as politely as ever.
The Mutant hesitated. Yet despite his reluctance to announce his name, he appeared to be afraid of Lu Ye. Sourly, he responded, Niu Meng of Mount Tyrantine!
As soon as he finished, Niu Meng quickly raised his buckler and injected his Spiritual Power into it to activate the bucklers special ability: an energy barrier-like projection from all sides of the buckler for as wide as 3 meters wide, effectively increasing its range.
But that was not all. Niu Meng summoned his spiritual vigor and conjured a secondyer over his original protective aura before lowering his stance to a defensive position.
This was a tactic devised by Niu Mengs senior before he entered the ring. The Mutant was very gifted in defense, but hecked the speed to make any offense viable. Hence his first course of action the moment he stepped inside was to quickly erect a defensive position and hold for as long as he could for Lu Ye to tire out.
Niu Meng did everything as he was bidden to, down to a tee.
But the onught that he thought would be raining down on him did note. He looked up and peered through the energy shield projection of his buckler and saw Lu Ye standing where he was, gazing at him quietly instead of charging forward to attack him like everyone thought he would.
Niu Meng scratched his head. With a puzzled and confused look at his seniors who were all watching the fight, he tacitly indicated that he needed a solution.
But all he received in return were dubious and nonplussed stares; none of them knew what to do as well. The sudden change in Lu Yes disposition from being tremendously aggressive to being reticently reserved was definitely not something they had foreseen!
Another Mutant Cultivator yelled at Niu Meng. Blitz at him since hes noting for you!
Stalling was a tactic that would undoubtedly work in Lu Yes favor. The terms in the Sacred Pact were clear: the duel would end in three days, whether the Thousand Demon Ridge side had fielded all their challengers or not. To that end, time was of the essence, especially for them. In fact, they would have wanted the duels to go on without allowing Lu Ye any chance for respite, but fortunately, Li Baxian was sharp and adamant enough to insist on a period of rest for him after every round.
Oh, all right! Niu Meng responded loudly. Using his Spiritual Artifact as a battering ram, Niu Meng rushed as quickly as he could toward Lu Ye. He was not fast by usual standards but seeing his girth and size storming forward was definitely intimidating enough like a huge mammoth rumbling in motion.
This was the first time Lu Ye had encountered an opponent that set up his or her defense first. But that was also why he did not charge at the Mutant in the first ce. He was still looking around, looking for weaknesses that he could exploit, although he seemed to have found none.
But his enemy wasing and he needed to act. As the distance between them closed faster and faster, Niu Meng waited until the right moment before he suddenly screeched to a fleeting halt where he suddenly pushed forward with all his might again.
Immediately, the energy projection around his buckler grew evenrger that for one brief second, Lu Ye had the impression of a gargantuan wall chasing after him!
He could take the hit and still survive with barely any fractures, but the impact would still dibobte him for minutes.
His quick reflexes allowed him to quickly leap up into the air, gliding just over Niu Mengs head where Lu Ye furiously brought his weapon down on the Mutants head from mid-air.
Niu Meng swiftly raised his buckler and deflected the blow. But before he could turn around, he heard the scream of another blow heading towards him.
The glint of steel shed dangerously near. The sharp edge of the saber easily prated his protective auras and the Mutant registered the sensation of paining from his back. He quickly turned around, his fist barreling forward.
Only, Lu Ye was already gone, and the blow caught nothing but thin air.
In just a split-second exchange, all Niu Meng got was a sh wound on his back.
Gosh, that hurts! the Mutant snarled, his nostrils ring with rage. His eyes were a scarlet shade and the pain was dulling his rity, filling his already-slow mind with rage that Niu Meng was consumed only by the blind frenzy to reduce his opponent into a pulp!
If Mutants made good material for Body-tempering Cultivators, then on the flip side, they were not meant to be Spell Cultivators that require higher intelligence and wit. The level of intelligence of a Mutant was reliant on his or her rank and theparativeck of intelligence often left Mutants susceptible to their animalistic and bestial pangs which could only be fully suppressed once they reached the Cloud River Realm.
Incensed by fury, Niu Meng groped after Lu Ye. The pair of hands sorge that they were the size of a barrel came so near that Lu Yes vision was obscured.
Lu Ye deftly ducked and skittered past him from under his armpit where he found Niu Mengs backpletely exposed, allowing Lu Ye to deliver another sh at the same spot on the Mutants back.
Niu Meng stumbled forward with blood gushing out his back and dripping on the ground in a wide puddle of blood.
He spun around, eager to recollect himself and get back into battle when a deep and manifestly irate voice resounded from his back. We yield! He looked and saw that it was one of his seniors, an Eighth-Order who could no longer bear to watch. Thetter knew that his Mutant junior had practically lost the fight. Even before he finished, he was already disengaging himself from the mob and dragged Niu Meng back into the crowd by the horns on his head.
Niu Meng could only obedientlyply with a confused look on his face.
Lu Ye had made no attempt to really y Niu Meng, having something of a soft spot for the slow-witted Mutant. At the same time, he was genuinely impressed by how sturdy a Mutants physical endurance was. Even after two blows, Niu Meng was still very much alive. The two blows were simrly imbued with Glyph: Sharp Age and that would have been enough to cleave any Sixth-Orders into halves. Niu Meng might be badly injured, but his condition was nevertheless stable, to say the least.
Lu Ye made a mental note, reminding himself to double or even triple his attacks the next time he faced a Mutant opponent.
Do you need a break, Brother? a concerned Li Baxian asked.
Nope, Lu Ye shook his head, not taking his eyes off the Thousand Demon Ridge side.
Another beefy Body-tempering Cultivator stepped into the ring.
Only this time, all it took was just twenty seconds and the Cultivator was lying in a pool of his own blood with more flowing out of a gaping wound on his throat like a spring, his body twitching post-mortem.
Without Niu Mengs inherent physical endurance, this poor fellow could hold his ground for so long before Lu Ye ultimately sent him to see his maker.
More rounds ensued, and unless Lu Ye was fast enough to express his wish for a break, the Thousand Demon Ridge side would quickly send in another challenger in so as to prevent him from getting his much-needed rest.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge side thought that they could wear out Lu Ye using Body-tempering Cultivators, they began to realize after a few rounds that the idea might be a good one, but it wasnt working at all, for no Body-tempering Cultivators were able to withstand Lu Yes blows.
Whatever weapon he was using appeared to be extraordinarily sharp and dangerous!
All that heightened physical endurance and enhanced brute strength meant nothing at all to Lu Yes saber. Finally, when Lu Ye cut down another Body-tempering Cultivators defensive Spirit Artifact, the fact was truly affirmed.
Defensive Spirit Artifactseven low-tiered oneswere Spirit Artifacts that should be able to withstand a greater amount of abuse than other Spirit Artifact types. That anyone could destroy one in just three blows really was too ludicrous for words if not seen with ones own eyes.
That prompted the Thousand Demon Ridge side to send in a string of Spell Cultivators. That turned out to be a major blunder for the enemy champions failed to ount for the fact that due to the size of the ring, their Spell Cultivators could at most put just six to seven meters between Lu Ye and them.
That was a distance that Lu Ye could effortlessly cover in the span of just three seconds, and with the battles turned into close-quarters ones, only one fate awaited Spell Cultivators who failed to keep a Combat Cultivator like Lu Ye at bay: death.
Night bore down on Goldentip and the Grand Sky Coalition side was having a chat over some drinks and music in joyous merriment.
In contrast, the Thousand Demon Ridge side looked absolutely glum and sullen with the same pall of despondence and despair as a funeral.
For the past hour, Lu Ye had been waiting in the ring and no one stepped in to ept his challenge!
The reason was simple enough. Lu Yes tally for the day had risen up to more than a dozen. Even the best of the Sixth-Orders could barelyst thirty seconds under his wrath. Most, if not all, of the rounds were decided with just a few blows. Yield quickly enough, they might be able to escape with just a few cuts or a maimed limb at most whereas the slower ones never got to walk out of the ring alive.
Everyone on the Thousand Demon Ridge side waspletely terrified of Lu Ye!
No one dared to step into the ring. Whether Lu Ye was a walking treasure trove or not.
It was also noted that with every victory, Lu Ye was changing. The radiation of his pumping adrenaline and his aura congealed around himthe intangible taking on corporeal formslike a halo or a mantle of confidence, stature, and majesty intensifying and concentrating all around him that right at that moment, Lu Ye looked every bit the semnce of a triumphant and indomitable hero!
You know, Li? If your fellow student here manages to survive this day, hell be a great figure one day, one of the champions beside Li Baxian said to him.
Li Baxian was only too pleased to hear that. He chuckled facetiously, Well, hes not my fellow student for nothing.
You know what Im talking about, Li.
Li Baxians eyes gleamed with reticence. He knew exactly what the allied champion was referring to, but he did not want to respond. He could see where this conversation was leading to.
The Aureole of Invincibility, the Gift of Providence! a voice answered what Li Baxian did not want to. It was another Grand Sky Coalition champion who was nearby and who had overheard the conversation. He too knew what was going on with Lu Ye.
Li Baxian could only manage a smile. Its too premature to talk about that, my friends.
He already has the makings of it, I daresay, said the colleague, shaking his head gently.
The Gift of Providence. With the Battlefield all within the circle of Heavens influence and power, it was said that he who received the Aureole of Invincibility would enjoy the Gift of Fortune in the form of some sort of enhancement, be it power or physical.
Meanwhile, the Aureole of Invincibility was a concept and also a belief that required one to be victorious in war. Once a Cultivator managed to remain undefeatable in battle, the umted momentum would enable him to invoke the power of Heavens to beseech for the Gift of Providence.
Countless Cultivators had roamed the realm of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but few have enjoyed the Gift of Providence. Thest time the Gift of Providence was bestowed, that was decades ago.
And the receiver of the Gift was Feng Wujiang.
But coincidentally, Feng Wujiang was, at that time, an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Chapter 163: 32 Rounds
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 163: 32 Rounds
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Any champion with a ce on the Roll of Supremacy knew what they were looking at.
Lu Yes proposal might have been due to circumstancehe was forced tobut it was nevertheless an opportunity. One for him to attempt for the Aureole of Invincibility.
Although he himself wasnt aware of this at all.
But there was one ring caveat: he must stay alive.
Lu Ye might have struck the fear of Heaven into the Thousand Demon Ridge mob that every one of them no longer had the courage to step into the ring at all, but the situation wasnt optimistic at all. If anything, the status quo was hardly in his favor.
The string of duels in the day had given the enemy side enough information about how Lu Ye fought and that would allow them to formte a better n.
That no one was willing to step into the ring to challenge Lu Ye was in fact not because of theck of valor, but rather because of an internal conflict between the sects and orders within the mob that the leading champions were all still busy trying to mediate.
In the end, it was the same champion, the strongest one present and the one who was one of the Battlefields twenty most dangerous Cultivators, who had toe up with a suggestion, Heres my suggestion: anyone who kills Lu Ye gets two-tenths of the entire trove of rewards while the remainder goes in equal shares to every order that has contributed in one way or another. Do we have any objections?
He ended his sentence with a steely re at every de facto leader of the sects and orders present.
The conflict started because everyone on the Thousand Demon Ridge side saw how many losses were piling up because of Lu Ye. Every sect and order only had one chance and whenever Lu Ye killed a challenger, he was not only killing an enemy. He was also killing their sole chance for a go at the prize and possibly a potential talent of that sect or order.
And this pattern was making everyone stall and dy sending in their challengers as much as possible.
With this problem threatening to splinter the confederacy of the Thousand Demon Ridge, the champion knew that it must be resolved. The rewards for killing Lu Ye were just so rich that anyone would feel jealous if they had no share in it and naturally, no one would be willing to sacrifice just so that others could reap the rewards.
Hence the deal for the yer of Lu Ye to get two-tenths while the rest would go in equal shares to all sects and orders who had contributed turned out to be one that everyone weed greatly.
This way, so long as the sects and orders did their part and put forth a challenger, they would still get a cut of the cake.
If there are no objections, then each of us will nominate a challenger! Try to destroy his weapon or cripple him. The one who does so gets a one-tenth share as well! the champion announced.
Killing Lu Ye was now clearly easier said than done. The strength, speed, and ir that he had disyed so far had impressed the Thousand Demon Ridge side enough to realize that he could never be defeated and killed in just one round. He might be a Fifth-Order Cultivator, but he was more deadly and more dangerous than regr Sixth-Orders. Seventh-Orders might stand a remote chance to defeat him. To that end, they decided to separate the n into two phases.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was sitting in the middle of the ring, chomping down on his meat jerky. As he swallowed thest of the dried rations, he got up to his feet slowly.
He needed to eat to replenish his strength, but at the same time, he was also consuming food as a means of restoring his Spiritual Power. He could not fully rely on Spiritual Pills to make up for the exhaustion of his energies. With the loss of the Tree of Glyphsnow that he discovered its real name after Han Zhe Yues revtion about his use of Glyphsability to eliminate all toxins in his body that he incurred whenever he consumed Spiritual Pills, he could no longer swallow Pills as wantonly as he did before lest the umted toxins in his body might affect his ability to fight.
His Spiritual Power was no longer as pure and pristine as before, for he had been consuming Pills during his flight here.
The assimtion of Spiritual Power through eating might be very much less efficient, but that was pretty much all he could do now. With Gluttonous Feast activated, he was doing as best as he could.
On the other hand, the Thousand Demon Ridge side did not want to dawdle any longer. A challenger stepped into the ring. Lu Ye nced at the neer. It was a Combat Cultivator armed with a spear.
As soon as they had announced their names and the sects they belonged to, the enemy challenger charged. The tip of his spear glinted dangerously as it dove straight for Lu Yes vital points, its red-scarlet plume in a wild dance to the spears motion.
However, it took Lu Ye just a couple of minutes before he easily cut down his opponent
But this time, Lu Ye did not press on to the next round directly. He imed his right to a respite because he learned that his intimidation earlier was no longer working. Thus, he decided to just take a rest. Whatever had happened in the interim, it must have spurred the enemy challengers enough to be daredevils who hardly feared death.
At the moment, he could only attribute this reckless streak to the reality of being in the Battlefield. It was usual for skirmishes to break out between sects and orders of the two sides hence Cultivators who managed to reach the Sixth-Orders have seen their fair share of life and death.
Lu Ye thought of the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators that he had in before throughout his journey. Few ever pleaded for their lives, and most would rather just hurl threats, insults, and curses as a final act of defiance. Even Dong Shu Ye too, right before he died, although Lu Ye doubted if all that cursing did much good to him.
The reason for their disposition, however, was simple enough: no quarter was ever, nor would it ever be, shown to the defeated.
That was why the Cultivators of Jiu Zhou did not fear death and the higher their rank was, the less likely they would be intimidated by the prospect of dying.
Lu Ye rested, then he killed, then he rested again, then he killed again
The cycle repeated itself again and again like a wheel. One after another, challengers stepped into the ring in their bid to kill or at least injure Lu Ye. Most ended up dead and only a paltry few managed to escape death.
As daybreak began to rise, the losses incurred by the Thousand Demon Ridge side began to pile. But the rising number of deaths daunted them not one bit at all. The challengers might still be shivering with fright at the onset of facing Lu Ye, but none of them allowed their fears to dampen their resolve to fight for their sects and orders.
The day went by quickly enough and dusk slowly gave way to night.
Blood swathed the earth within the ring and the air was rank with the acrid and metallic tang of blood so thick that one could almost suffocate and choke at the smell of it.
Lu Ye was sitting on the ground, right at the corner of the ring where he was nearer to the Grand Sky Coalition side. In his grasp were a pair of Spirit Stones while he munched on some meat jerky. His head hung over his shoulder as he rested.
For two continuous days and nights, he had been fighting. To say that he was fatigued and wearied would be a mere understatement. That made rests after every round all the more crucial to him.
He worried little about his Spiritual Power. Every time he swallowed a Spiritual Pill, he relied on Gluttonous Feast to make sure that he could assimte as much content as possible.
Watching by the side of the ring, Wei Yang looked every bit the semnce of a doting big sister. The many rounds of fending off the challengers had seen Lu Ye collecting a great number of wounds. She would have been able to help to heal him, but the Sacred Pact prohibited any external assistance, therefore, Lu Ye had to dress his own wounds.
Wrapped only with bandages, Lu Ye had long discarded his tunic. It was tattered and caked with so much blood that he could no longer wear it. Fortunately, he had the medicinal powder and salve that Hua Ci left him, and they were proving to be most useful in this hour of need.
How many rounds has it been? a stranger asked Li Baxian.
Li Baxians parched lips quivered. Thirty-two rounds, he croaked hoarsely.
Thirty-two?! the Cultivator who was asking took one long, deep breath. He peered at Lu Ye, who was hanging his head in extreme fatigue. [What an incredible record!], he mused.
Thirty-two rounds of singlebat against enemies of superior rank! One could expect that Lu Ye might be able to finish forty rounds even before noon!
Forty-three sects and orders from the Thousand Demon Ridge had left their mark on the Sacred Pact when it was made.
No one thought that Lu Ye could survive past all forty-three roundsnot even Li Baxian himself. All he was counting on was for Lu Ye to stall until after the third day when he would be able to walk free.
No one expected him to seednot Li Baxian and certainly not the Thousand Demon Ridge mob. No one could me them. Nothing like this had ever happened before, even in the real world of Jiu Zhou. Hence as far as the Thousand Demon Ridge champions were concerned, at first, Lu Ye was fresh meat right from the start.
Only right now did people begin to realize that they had underestimated Lu Yes speed, strength, and acumen to take life with the ease of a farmer scything stalks of wheatevery Sixth-Order challenger sent forth was either ignominiously routed or savagely killed.
They were only just halfway past the three-day deadline, but Lu Ye hadpleted thirty-two rounds, and by the Sacred Pacts reckoning, he would only just have to make it past the remaining eleven challengers.
The Thousand Demon Ridge could marshal more men and raise the mob up to four-thousand-man strong, but nothing would change the oue. So long as Lu Ye finished all forty-three rounds and still remained alive, victory would be his and the Grand Sky Coalitions.
The Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators could sulk or curse all they wanted but nothing would ever make them renege on their word. They could not. The terms of the Sacred Pact dictated that anyone who lifted a hand against Lu Ye once the oue had been settled would face judgment. Every single Grand Sky Coalition would spring up in his defense, including the forty-three Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders as well as their own championseven, or especially the ones who were on the Roll of Supremacywho were all honor-bound by the Pact to punish anyone who went against the Sacred Pact.
By the will of Heaven, the authority of the Sacred Pact was sacrosanct and any attempt to overthrow or defy it would stand no chance.
Eleven. That was the number of challengers that now stood between Lu Ye and his victory. But Li Baxian felt nowhere near relieved at all. There was no telling if Lu Ye could still hold on, for he of all people could see that Lu Yes glow was already fading. He knew what it was. The toxicity from Lu Yes consumption of Spirit Pills must already be taking a toll on him. Whether he could admit it or not, the toxic poisoning must be affecting him, and Li Baxian could have sworn that he noticed Lu Yes speed and strength already waning noticeably.
As if to prove his point, Lu Yes fights were taking longer and longer. That would mean that his exertions were growing, and he would need more Spirit Pills to replenish himself in what was culminating into a vicious cycle.
The duration of his break was up. Wei Yang grimaced, feeling her heart wrenching. If only it could be longer. With reluctance as heavy as lead, she poked Lu Ye gently, calling very quietly, Lu Ye.
Lu Yes head piqued up at once. He looked at Wei Yang full of weariness in his gaze, lost in dazed bewilderment that it took him a full second before he was able to react, realizing it was time for him to get ready for the next round. He swallowed the unchewed morsel of meat jerky in his mouth and lifted his saber when he got up. He looked at his next opponent and repeated what he had been saying more than thirty times, Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!
That was the start of another round. The steel of his weapon shimmered, reflecting the orange-red incandescence from the fires around him as he lunged, and blood spattered to the ground.
That was another long night of duels until dawn visited once again.
Later in another round, Lu Ye would find himself outpaced by an enemy smaller and more agile than he was. Drifting to and fro with blinding speeds like a phantom around the ring, Lu Ye stood at the center as he could only watch his opponent run circles around him.
Cuts andcerations scattered all around him, some of the wounds so grisly that his flesh was literally torn and yed, and these were all the handiwork of this nimble opponent. Still, Lu Ye remained where he was, stoically enduring the rain of attacks with his saber held firmly in his hand.
Only after so many rounds, Lu Ye finally met an opponent that he genuinely found both difficult and onerous to deal with.
With fluffy ears on top of her head that made her look like a feline, the Mutant would have appeared every bit as harmless as a demure pet, if not for the fact that she really was as agile as she was deadly like a panther.
There was no way that Lu Ye could have bested her in speed. Not even on his best day. Hence, it did not take a genius for him to guess that she must be an ace that the Thousand Demon Ridge side had kept up their sleeve until now. She must have been kept hidden and was only put forward after his fatigue and the toxic poisoning were taking a toll on him.
And it was a good y. ying her at this juncture really was a well-calcted move; Lu Ye could no longer keep up with her and the moment he struck, he not only missed but also exposed himself, allowing her tond several vicious swipes on him. That was how the cuts andcerations came to be.
Soon, Lu Ye found himself surrounded in the middle of a blurry whirl once again. He shed and hacked, only to hit only another afterimage before a sudden jolt of pain came from his midriff.
He immediately lifted a foot and kicked hard. But his leg was deftly caught by the feline Mutant with both her arms when she wasnding, and she hit the ground with all the grace and finesse of a cat.
Meanwhile Lu Ye tottered unsteadily rearward. Wei Yang could not help letting loose a yelp of fright when he nearly crashed to the ground if he had not managed to nt his saber into the soil just in time to prevent himself from falling.
Chapter 164: Declawed
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 164: Dewed
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye watched as his blood was dyeing the ochre brown of the soil inside the ring red. He looked up again and saw the feline Mutant arching her back with one hand to steady herself while her other hand wandered up to her mouth. She licked the blood off the sharp iron ws she wore. Her eyes twinkling with wicked glee, she purred as if to taunt him.
A demented grin cracked on her face. She could see how exhausted and depleted Lu Ye was and how victory was waving at her.
Sleek and smooth were her motions; sharp and deadly were her ws. She was no cat. She was a lioness out on a hunt.
Crouching on the ground, she allowed her entire body to recoil like a spring being let go,unching herself forward into a sprint at breakneck speed. She was just inches away from Lu Ye when she suddenly made a sharp veering cut. Not missing her this time, Lu Ye followed her every movement until he anticipated her move and lunged, driving his saber forward as quickly and furiously as he could.
An ear-splitting ring of steel gnashing against iron rang in Lu Yes ears as bursting sparks nearly blinded him. The edge of his saber wheezed just right by her face, its sharp sting grazing a thin red line across the supple skin of her cheek. But she was nowhere near furious. She was absolutely ted, for her ws were wrapped around the de of Lu Yes weapon.
Lu Ye tried to withdraw his weapon, but he just couldnt.
He watched as the feline Mutants other w mauled at his weapon, the tips of the ws glinting dangerously as they came down.
Then he heard it. An audible and metallic crack and the saber that had been Lu Yes trusty weapon for the past several months was broken, leaving barely half its de still intact.
The saber was a prize he looted from an enemy he slew at Green Cloud Mountain. Enchanted to be stronger and sturdier than usual weapons, as a Spirit Artifact, it was otherwise a very much ordinary weapon. The enemy Lu Ye slew back then was just a low-tier Cultivator, which prevented him from using any good Spirit Artifacts.
Even so, despite its rtively modest grade, Lu Ye had been able to use it with tremendous efficacy all because of Glyph: Sharp Edge that he regrly applied on the weapon.
With this saber as a reliable partner throughout his journey through the Battlefield, Lu Ye had managed to y more than fifty to sixty enemies. If added to the number of enemy challengers that he had killed in the ring, the number could easily reach beyond a hundred.
Yet today, the one instrument that Lu Ye had depended so greatly upon had finally met its end.
Meanwhile, at the Grand Sky Coalition side, everyone reeled with apprehension and dread. The loss of ones Spirit Artifact undoubtedly meant that his or her ability to fight would be impaired. Especially since everyone believed that Lu Yes ability to defeat so many enemy challengers beyond his rank was chiefly because of this weapon.
On the other hand, sighs and exhtions of relief came from the Thousand Demon Ridge mob with the leading champions all breaking into triumphant grins expectant of the oue they had long awaited.
[Victory is at hand!], each and every one of them believed.
In the eyes of both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge sides, Lu Yes saber must be a Spirit Artifact of the highest order. That he as a mere Fifth-Order Cultivator could defeat so many Sixth-Order challengers was proof enough. If Lu Ye were a ferocious beast, then the saber would undoubtedly be his fangs which he mauled and ripped at his enemies with.
To that end, the Thousand Demon Ridge side had been raking their minds for ways to cripple Lu Ye by disarming him. Without the saber, they believed, Lu Ye could lose. That was what the past few challengers had been trying to do: they werent trying to defeat Lu Ye. Their sole purpose was to inflict as much damage as they could to his saber!
Nevertheless, sess had been eluding every single challenger who stepped into the ringuntil now. Relying on her extraordinary dexterity and speed as well as her iron ws, she had finally ruined the very weapon which had spilled so much Thousand Demon Ridge blood!
With his weapon all but wrecked, there was no way Lu Ye could win anymore and the Crimson Blood Sect would never survive.
When the saber snapped, the feline Mutant threw herself at Lu Ye at once, her fervor and her thrill getting the better of her. Her eyes shed with the sparkle of anticipation, and she could see a huge mound of prizes waving its hand at her. Last but not least, she saw Lu Yes broken saber swinging around in a deadly arc back at her!
She would have chosen to duck. As a fighter that relied on her speed, the feline Mutant had little to boast about in her defense. A blow like that could have easily killed her.
But she did not. Disoriented by her own delusions and fantasies, she dove straight at Lu Ye, her right w aimed towards where his heart would be.
Crunch!
Blood sprayed out like a geyser. The feline Mutants w barreled straight into Lu Yes chest but she stopped halfway, frozen as her head angled up to stare at Lu Ye with disbelief and shock, How could
But the only response she got from him was a kick that sent her falling backward. As gravity slowly bore her down, she clutched and groped for her throat. She crashed to the ground and blood spewed out of where her hands were, with more gurgling out of her mouth and nose. Choking on the very fluid that kept her alive, she wanted to speak but she could not. It did not take long for the glow in her eyes to slowly dim and extinguish.
Lu Ye clutched at the wound on his chest and inhaled deeply. He could sense that the wound was mostly superficial at best and the w did not manage to get anywhere deep.
He could have activated Glyph: Protection. But considering how he was getting low on Spiritual Power and any more use of his powers would require the consumption of more Spiritual Pills, he decided to just conserve power and just take the hit, knowing that it would only be a light injury.
Lu Ye ignored the stunned silence that pervaded the entire teau atop Goldentip, dragging his broken saber while he made a beeline straight for the corner just in front of the Grand Sky Coalition side where he sat down and retrieved some medicinal powder out of his Storage Bag to apply on his wounds.
Wei Yang gazed at him, the impulse to rush to him and help dress his wounds struggling to break free of its restraints like a raging beast.
Fool! one of the Thousand Demon Ridge champions spat with venom. That was the closest they had ever gotten to victory and if only the feline Mutant had practiced caution, then she would have all the chance in the world to defeat and kill Lu Ye. Yet she allowed her hubris to get the better of her and that gave Lu Ye the chance to slit her throat. That she died not knowing what really happened only made her defeat all the more disgraceful.
That was the fortieth round and there were three more to go. The morning sun was rising up in the eastern skies.
But it would not matter anymore. With his weapon now destroyed, Lu Ye was now as deadly as a dewed tiger and the Thousand Demon Ridge champions were confident that the final three rounds would be sufficient to defeat him.
They traded firm looks and exhaled gravely.
None of them had expected that this duel woulde to such an end prior to their agreement in making a Sacred Pact. None of them had believed that Lu Ye would be able to make it past ten rounds.
But it was not just ten rounds in the end. It was a whopping forty rounds!
Han Zhe Yues information could not have arrived at a better moment. The revtion about Lu Yes ability to use Glyphs inbat was what prevented Lu Ye from turning this duel into aplete rout of all forty-three challengers from the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders present and an utter farce at their expense.
Three enemy Cultivators were standing beside the ring, exchanging apprehensive looks. They were the final three challengersthe first a ckfyre Cultist, as shown by the fire-shaped brand on his forehead, while the rest were acolytes from a pair of Tier-Three sects.
That they were arranged to be the final challengersrgely because of the influence and authoritymanded by their respective sects and orders while those who were unlucky enough to be sent into the ring first were fated to be mere cannon fodder.
Forty such cannon fodders had, by the blood they spilled and the lives they offered, paved the way to victory. Anyone who now stepped into the ring could very well be the winner to im the prize.
But the prize was not just the rewards, but also future prospects, making the next round an opportunity equally coveted by all three challengers.
But the ckfyre Cultist, understanding fully that Cult ckfyre, being only a Tier-Four order, took one step behind after a moment of hesitation. The gist of it was clear enough: the chance should go to the remaining two challengers.
What say you, Brother Hu Ping? asked one of the remaining two challengers with ambition zing in his eyes.
Thats a difficult question to answer, Brother ZiAn. I know you wont like it if I say yes. But at the same time, Im hard-pressed to let you go first too, said the one called Hu Ping. And we dont have the time nor the space to settle this quandary.
Of course. But nevertheless, this remains a dilemma that needs to be settled, replied the one called ZiAn.
How about we let him decide? Whoever he picks gets to go in first?
Thats a great idea!
The pair easily concluded their negotiation and stood there, watching Lu Ye who was still taking his break like a pair of hungry wolves eager to sink their flesh into amb waiting for ughter.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was quietly examining himself. He wasnt feeling well at all. His body could barely recover any Spiritual Power even with the periods of respite he had, and the continuous fighting had expended his Power so much that he barely had three-tenths left.
There was hardly anything to be worried about his wounds; the medicinal powder Hua Ci had specially concocted for him worked magically on all surface wounds, although he was still feeling somewhat giddy after losing quite a lot of blood.
How many he had killed, Lu Ye had long lost count. He did not know how many more challengers were waiting, but so long as anyone was waiting, he would step forward and ept the challenge.
That was the decision that he made and the path he had chosen. He was not afraid of death but he had no wish to end his life just yet.
The candle finally burned out. It was time for the next round.
Lu Ye struggled to get up. Still holding on to his broken saber, he hobbled forward strenuously.
Wei Yangs mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out.
She wanted to tell Lu Ye that he only had three more rounds to go, but at the same time, she wondered if telling him this might affect his condition. One could never know what might happen.
The crest of Goldentip never looked so crowded before. Two swarming masses clustered around a tiny circle in the middle. The massesprised more than five thousand men and when Lu Ye was still resting, he could hear whispers and chattering from everywhere. But as soon as he got up and stepped towards the middle of the ring, all of Goldentip became as quiet as a crypt.
More than ten thousand eyes were on Lu Ye. Even the Thousand Demon Ridge mob, who earlier hurled ridicule and heckles at him, now watched him with pensive silence.
A Fifth-Order Cultivator who had just won forty consecutive rounds of singlebat against opponents beyond his rank. No one could dare besmirch such an exemry record. Even Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators knew better than to show disrespect.
But the sight of Lu Ye trudging to the center of the blood-drenched ring with his broken sword would be haunting the dreams of many great Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators for a long, long time toe.
Lu Ye stood alone in the ring, hearing the mountain breeze howling around him.
A pair of challengers stepped into the ring. The moment their feet went over the line, thousands of pairs of eyes from the Grand Sky Coalition side red at them, including champions of the Roll of Supremacy who hardly deigned to mask their anger at all.
That was enough to have both the enemy challengers duck out of the ring. [The atmosphere was just too frightening!] mused one of them.
Hu Ping quickly exined, We mean no disrespect and certainly not trying to fight him together. But we only want to let Lu Ye pick his own opponent.
ZiAn bobbed his head profusely, indicating that they would attempt no such dishonorable thing as trying to win the fight through sheer numbers.
Lu Ye raised his broken sword and aimed its tip at Hu Ping. Stoically, he said, You then.
Hu Ping was overjoyed at the surprising oue.
Reluctantly, ZiAn withdrew from the ring.
Hu Ping took a deep breath. He was about to announce himself to Lu Ye when his peripheral vision caught sight of Lu Ye, a dusty and bloody heap hurtling towards him like a battering ram.
Hu Ping panicked. [Why on earth is this fellow on this sudden rampage when he usually announces himself all the time?! What the hell is wrong with him!?]
Chapter 165: I Am Lu Ye!
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 165: I Am Lu Ye!
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye breaking his previous pattern and attacking his opponent right off the bat was something no one expected to happen. At the same time, many amongst the Thousand Demon Ridge side began to wonder if he was losing hisposure and rationale at the impending arrival of death
Both challenger and target traded furious blows, their weapons gnashing and gnawing at each other with the same rage and rancor as their owners whenever they met amid the din of their shes.
Hu Ping not only was a Combat Cultivator, but he was also a user of the saber, although his saber was shorter in length, but broader in widththe conventional manner which was how sabers were forged.
Hailing from a Tier-Three sect, Hu Ping might not have Lu Yes ir in being able to fight enemies beyond his rank, even so, few could match him in both skill and strength.
Especially his epic style of fighting which illustrated his preference to overwhelm his opponents through force and momentum. If Lu Yes aggressive style paralleled that of a vicious and destructive gale, then his was as violent and fierce as a storm.
Yet in this duel against Lu Ye, he discovered that despite being one rank higher, he just couldnt fully unleash his repertoire of deadliness and force to its fullest. His opponents saber might have broken, but Lu Yes own strength and speed were not what his like could easily counter.
Right after the first few blows they traded, Hu Ping began to realize that he was losing ground. He was gradually being forced backward and the back of his palm was feeling numb and sore every time their weapons collided with each other like the flesh and skin were going to break. He was not fighting a mere Fifth-Order opponent. This was a beast. A raging beast lunging and mauling its ws at him.
{What in Heavens name is this kind of pressure?!], he thought.
With a deafening nk from which another exchange of blows elicited, Hu Ping found himself staggering rearward again. Only this time, not only did the force nearly fling his weapon out of his grasp, but he also nearly fell. He tried to steady himself, but he couldnt. nting his foot into something greasy, he slipped.
Too many had died in the ring and every one of those predecessors of his who had spilled their blood on Goldentip each had a part in dyeing the crest red, and because of that, Hu Ping, who stepped into the ring for the first time found himself undermined by this.
As the cold glint of steel arced dangerously near, Hu Ping desperately tried to keep himself upright while he swung his weapon forth to meet it. Yet before he could parry away the blow, the enemy saber deftly whizzed past his own and pounced straight into him.
It was toote for any hopes of defending himself. In a streak of reckless abandon, Hu Ping, who had had his fair share of fighting to the death himself, decided to just return to Lu Ye the favor by veering his saber at Lu Yes throat as well.
Barely ten seconds hadpsed since the round began, but that did not stop bothbatants from trying to turn the heat up and the crowds were thrilled.
Unfazed, Hu Ping had little fear in Lu Yes broken saber. He was confident that it could do him no harm. It might have been of remarkable quality in its best days, but now broken, he strongly doubted if it could do anything at all.
On the flip side, he was certain that if his blow to Lu Yes throat was fast enough, then he could end this duel so long as his opponent did not manage to activate his defensive Glyph in time!
As expected, just as the edge of his saber was about to cleave into Lu Yes throat, a shield-like glyph appeared out of nowhere. But Hu Ping wasnt going to stop. He drove his saber further as much as he could in a bid to try to exhaust his opponents Spiritual Power as much as he could.
But what made him stop was a stab of paining from his chest. The tang of blood and warmth from the liquid indicated that he was bleeding, and the wound was real. Hu Ping immediately pulled off his attack and using the momentum of his thrust, he vaulted himself backward instead to dislodge.
He lowered his gaze and was shocked to find a gash on his chest almost a foot long, and the brigandine that he wore on the inside of his tunic was ripped open with its magical glow all but faded!
Feeling a sensation of numbness on his scalp, Hu Ping failed toprehend what was going on.
Half the reason he dared to take a blow from Lu Ye while he delivered one of his own was because of his brigandine. The leather armor, enchanted with magic, was supposed to defend him against a blow from a broken weapon with whatever magical properties it carried severely crippled. Many a time it was this leather brigandine that had saved him from certain death and helped to turn the tide of the battles he had fought before.
Yet this time, his brigandine not only failed to protect him, but it was also torn apart instead.
[Isnt his saber broken?! Why is it still so dangerous?!]
A myriad of thoughts shed through his mind. But there was no time to think. Lu Ye wasnt giving him any time to; he was already on him before he even noticed it.
The de of the broken saber zed with a reddish luster, bearing down on Hu Ping who defiantly raised both his voice and his weapon in response to the broken weapons terrible splendor.
The bem of battle once again resounded. Both men locked each other into another rapid round of savage blows but Hu Ping no longer retained his formerposure. That allowed the opening Lu Ye needed to gain control of this fight. In contrast, Hu Ping was beginning to realize that the tide was not in his favor and his defenses were slowly crumbling against Lu Yes relentless onught.
He did notst long. Barely twenty secondster, Hu Ping stiffened all of a sudden, his saber held aloft. Despite his tries, he just couldnt seem to summon any strength to swing his weapon. Until he looked down at his own chest with horror.
The broken de of Lu Yes saber was buried in his chest, right where the brigandine was torn open.
Standing so close to each other, their eyes met. Lu Ye held his foe in a long, hard stare and breathed, I am Lu Ye! Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!
With onest kick from him, Hu Ping crashed to the ground. Motionless and dead.
A puffed-out Lu Ye limped weakly back to where he was before the fight began and sat down, stuffing another Spirit Pill into his mouth before he lowered his head and rested.
Nothing but silence perfused the air.
No one moved until Hu Pings senior strode carefully into the ring to examine him and he confirmed itHu Ping was already as dead as a doornail.
Furtive whispers began to rise in waves, slowly rising into a crescendo of raucous chatters
Hu Ping was defeated! Just when the Thousand Demon Ridge side believed that victory was as certain as the sun that rises in the east, Hu Ping was killed!
Every single Cultivator of the Thousand Demon Ridge side had been waiting for this war to end. They expected it. They knew it. Only they were wrong. None of them believed that Lu Ye could ever y Hu Ping in such cold blood when it was supposed to be the other way around.
Few realized that Hu Ping was killed after taking just two blows from Lu Ye.
He too had managed to deliver two blows, although both were nullified by Lu Yes use of Glyph: Protection.
With his death, Hu Ping had proven something else: Lu Yes saber might be broken, but its deadliness waned not one bit at all.
The other challenger, ZiAn, hardly looked anywhere near amused. In fact, he was pale with fright, silently gratefully that Lu Ye chose Hu Ping first or it would be him who was dead instead of Hu Ping.
Just when everyone believed that the beast was dewed, it once again disyed its predatory lethality.
ZiAn watched the quiet man sitting alone in the ring who was so tired he could barely lift his head. His very person swayed like a man who was teetering on the brink of copse. ZiAn inhaled a long, deep breath.
Hu Ping might have been killed, but the status quo was very much the same. It was up to him now. If he lost, then the hopes of the whole Thousand Demon Ridge faction would rest on the shoulders of thest man who was not only weaker than Hu Ping but him as well One could argue that their mission to have Lu Ye in was as good as lost
Therefore, ZiAn knew very well that he could not lose.
And to achieve that, he needed to make sure that Lu Ye could never hit him. That saber of his was just too powerful and unstoppable. Yet, ZiAn had but only one conundrum: he too was also a Combat Cultivator. As Cultivators who were masters of close-quartersbat, he at the same time waspelled to acknowledge that not getting hit at all was a virtual impossibility.
[Gods, what have Inded myself into?!]
But before he coulde up with a n, a voice from the Thousand Demon Ridge side hollered, Times up!
Li Baxian shot a scathing re at the one who called out loudly.
The candle that marked the duration of Lu Yes respite burned until thest of its wick and Lu Ye, who had kept his head lowered to rest, once again looked up. With more than thousands of eyes watching him, he mbered up again, just like before, and hobbled his way back to the center of the ring with his broken saber in hand.
The corners of the eyelids of a good many Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators twitched uncontrobly. Premonition told them that Lu Ye, while he looked so weak and frail, was every bit the semnce of a man who was going to copse due to fatigue. But they knew better. What happened justst round was truth enough; [give him his weapon and point him to where his opponent is, and Lu Ye would be as ferocious as a predator once again], they knew.
For forty rounds he had endured and no one in the five-thousand-man audience would dare doubt himat least not anymore.
No one knew nor understood what will and what resolve fueled him, that even in such feebleness and failing of might, Lu Ye still steadfastly stepped into that blood-swaddled ring without fail and yet remained victorious.
ZiAn stepped forward and announced his own name and that of the sect he belonged to.
But Lu Ye could barely hear a word he said. His hearing was nothing if not a cascade of incessant buzzing because of his extreme weariness. Nevertheless, it mattered not to him; he was sure that Sister Wei Yang would remember it for him.
Rumble!
The Spiritual Power of both men erupted as they charged at each other in tacit unison as if they had a mutual understanding. Undaunted by Lu Yes incredible valor, ZiAn had not the slightest intention of being on the defense. As Combat Cultivators, they knew best of all that offense would always be the best defense.
Two figures flitted back and forth like a pair of wraiths in a ghastly dance of blurry whirl, their weapons shing and grinding into each other like a pair of beasts locking their horns into each other and eliciting bursts of angry sparks.
On desperate tenterhooks, the entire Thousand Demon Ridge mob held its breath. Each and every single one of them was aware of one pressing fact: lose this round and they would lose the war. As much as they were aware that there was onest challenger left: a ckfyre Cultist, barely anyone could stake any shred of hope that the Cultist would prevail against Lu Ye. With power and strength weaker than Hu Ping and even ZiAn, no one expected him to survive.
Three seconds, five seconds, then ten, twenty, and finally fifty
Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who had their eyes peeled on the duel finally exhaled with relief. ZiAn had managed to hold on!
[As expected of one with the pedigree of a Tier-Three sect!], some mused. None of Lu Yes earlier challengers had been able to weather Lu Yes onught for so long while being able to maintain his own ground.
Few had been able to hold on, but not without running around the ring in circles like moronic halfwits! If those fools thought they could deplete Lu Yes Spiritual Powers that way, they were shown how wrong they had been when Lu Ye finally ended the fights by ending their lives, paving the way for his bing a minor legend. Only ZiAn was the only challenger who could give Lu Ye a run for his money.
If he were to be victorious, he would one day be a great Cultivator in the future.
The adrenaline rush was restoring more and more rity to Lu Ye, although the buzzing noise and sporadic moments of blurriness to his sight lingered. But the sheer stress from the hails of blows raining down on him plus his senses were telling him that he was up against an opponent with strength and speed that could well match his!
Lu Ye knew what to do: he needed to settle this fight fast.
To prolong this fight would be tantamount to suicide. His Spiritual Power was on the verge of being fully drained and there was no way he would ever hold on after that if his opponent could still fight while he couldnt.
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, another blow came straight at him. Instead of evading, he drove his saber straight into his opponent in a ruthless response.
That Lu Ye would dare to take a direct hit from him was something that shocked ZiAn greatly. While he was open to the idea of trading blows, he did not intend to trade injuries with Lu Ye. If there was anything that those deaths before him had taught him, that would be to never foolishly underestimate the deadliness of Lu Yes weapon. [That is no weapon that a low-tier Cultivator should have!], he yelled deep down inside with anguish.
ZiAn ducked frantically.
But at the same time, the decision turned out to be a maneuver that he might regret because it threw his tempo off bnce. The fight that started off as a battle of equal strength and speed immediately became lopsided the moment he balked, and the loss of his aggressiveness prevented him from being able to wrestle back control.
In just a couple of seconds, Lu Ye pressed his advantage by delivering a flurry of seven to eight attacks. The blows either missed or were parried away, but it was enough. He had effectively regained the initiative and was slowly piling the pressure upon his opponent.
ZiAn had fought enough battles to know that this could not go on, but just when he was raking his mind for solutions, he heard a metallic crack and the weight on his hand vanished.
His gaze panned down and to his absolute horror, his weapon was broken!
For forty rounds, Lu Yes opponents had been trying to destroy his weapon. The same thought had never urred to Lu Ye to disarm his challengers before.
The strengths of Glyph: Sharp Edge and the innate sturdiness of his weapon itself had made sure that most of his opponents either died quick or surrendered just in time before the fatal blow came. He did not even have to think about other ways of winning.
Until now. For the first time after forty rounds, Lu Ye found himself up against an opponent who could give him a real challenge. The steel of their weapons met and collided in the most brutal ways imaginable in their fierce duel, causing Lu Ye to wonder if his opponents weapon could still snap even if he did not use Glyph: Sharp Edge.
The saber swung down and engendered a macabre spray of red.
Chapter 166: Self-Mutilation
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 166: Self-Muttion
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
ZiAn retreated at once with a hideous gash at his midriff. But Lu Ye wasnt just about to let go. He doggedly kept chase and delivered another blow.
That forced the Thousand Demon Ridge challenger to leap to the ground in a roll just to avoid the stroke, getting himself soiled with blood-soaked grime and dirt that only further entuated just how desperate and unsightly he was.
Even when he just got up, he could feel somethinging at him from behind. He ducked again, throwing himself t on the ground with every semnce of a lowly hound lunging for a bone. That was when he felt the unmistakable sensation of something fastand incredibly sharpslicing through the air right above him, shaving off parts of his scalp.
ZiAn crashed to the ground but that was not all; his confidence plummeted as well as he began toprehend his impending doom.
At the same time, he was still reeling with the disbelief that despite being broken, his opponents weapon still retained every bit of its deadlinessits sharpness and its sturdinesswhile his own broken weapon was now as good as a ss hammer.
Then came the next blow. ZiAn knew that he would never be able to evade it. The prospect of dying daunted him, but the pride and prestige of being a member of a Tier-Three sect kept his jaws locked, preventing him from saying the words that would have spared his life.
Yet before the sharp edge of the saber came close to piercing his skin and anywhere near his artery, a voice hollered, YIELD! WE YIELD!
That was one of ZiAns seniors. She knew that if she hesitated any longer, ZiAn would die. As much as she knew that surrendering would mean that the Thousand Demon Ridge had all but lost its chance for triumph, she did not want to see her junior dying for nothing.
Lu Ye halted his chase at once. He withdrew his saber and peered at ZiAn mbering ignominiously back to his feet.
A deafening cacophony of raucous cheers and whoops erupted from the Grand Sky Coalition side with the magnitude of violent volcanic discharge that sent tremors across the entire length and breadth of Goldentips teau.
A fatigue-dazed Lu Ye slowly meandered back to his corner with his broken saber. He peered at Li Baxian and Wei Yang with eyes he could barely keep open and said, Is it done?
The joyous revelry at the Grand Sky Coalition side that could rival even an uproarious New Year celebration left him befuddled.
Li Baxian grinned at him, Im afraid not.
Lu Ye sat back down and tossed another Spirit Pill into his mouth and activated his Gluttonous Feast cultivation discipline to expedite his assimtion.
[What the hell are they being so happy for?! The fights not even over!]
You have only one more fight left, added Li Baxian from over his shoulders. See that fellow with the fire-shaped brand on his forehead? Thats a ckfyre Cultist; hes yourst opponent. But theres nothing to be afraid of; ckfyre Cultists are all Spell Cultivators.
A duel against a Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator would have posed more risks to Lu Ye if this was a skirmish elsewhere, but they were fighting in a ring where space was limited and that would greatly impair a Spell Cultivators threat towards him.
On that ount, Li Baxian was relieved that he did not neglect to set into stone the limits of the ring during the forging of the Sacred Pact.
In the rounds before, Lu Ye did not have any difficulty at all in dealing with the Spell Cultivators that the Thousand Demon Ridge put forth. His speed and agility made it easy for him to close the distance before the enemy challengers could fire more than a spell or two. Those with greater skill might have managed a few more than that, but all thanks to Glyph: Protection that helped to fend off whatever offense thrown at him, Lu Ye could effortlessly turn the tide into his favor, forcing the enemy Cultivators either down a course that led straight to their maker or an ignoble surrender to save themselves.
Lu Ye looked around in the direction of the Thousand Demon Ridge side. There really was someone else waiting to enter the ring, a Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator with a brand on his forehead that resembled a me.
That must be his final opponent.
But Lu Ye wasnt feeling hasty at all. He patiently examined his condition. He had only a little more than one-tenth of his Spiritual Power left and the duration of his respite wasnt going to improve the situation one bit at all since there was barely enough time to restore his Spiritual Power up to two-tenths. But with some prudence, he might be able to survive just yet.
Is this thest fight, Brother? Lu Ye asked softly, so tired that he could barely lift his voice, After this, we can go home?
Thats right. Survive thisst one and home it is! Li Baxian responded.
.
All right! Lu Ye lowered his head to focus on recuperating as much as he could.
In the meantime, the atmosphere on the Grand Sky Coalition side was nothing if not gay and jubnt. The death and defeat of both Hu Ping and ZiAnboth acolytes of Tier-Three sects and ordershad all but sealed Lu Yes victory and survival. As far as the Grand Sky Coalition side was concerned, thest and only challenger left, a ckfyre Cultist, would never survive fighting Lu Ye and celebratory toasts were already underway.
In an ironic juxtaposition, the Thousand Demon Ridge mob now appeared absolutely glum and sullen.
But one could hardly me them. The Thousand Demon Ridge mob started with so substantial an advantage. Aside from the first round where a Fifth-Order was sent forth only as a means to gauge Lu Yesbat capabilities, the rest were all Sixth-Orders who stepped into the ring with defeating him in mind. But Lu Ye had surprised them all by not only surviving all forty-two rounds, but he had veritably routed whatever the Thousand Demon Ridge mob had hurled at him, leaving only onest challenger left, a ckfyre Cultist that barely anyone could stake his or her hopes on.
If anything, the huge contest which had swept the entire length and breadth of the Battlefield had as good as reached its end with the Grand Sky Coalition emerging as the triumphant victors. The Thousand Demon Ridge had suffered losses. But an all-out war against the Grand Sky Coalition would undoubtedly incur losses as casualties are just part of the deal. But what daunted the leading champions here were the prospects of facing their mentors and the greater leadership of their respective sects and orders. Fierce admonishments if not punishments would surely await them in the aftermath of their failure to kill Lu Ye.
The leading Thousand Demon Ridge champions all huddled around the ckfyre Cultist, speaking to him in hushed and furtive tones and the Cultists ominous shake of his head left them all looking grimmer than ever.
Lu Yes moment of respite quickly came to an end.
For the forty-third time, Lu Ye stood up again. Armed with his broken weapon, he paced to the center of the ring and stood there, waiting for the ckfyre Cultist to make his entry.
Yet there he stood, motionless with his head kept low.
The boisterous Grand Sky Coalition crowd behind Lu Ye took this as a sign of cowardice. Calls roared from all sides, calling for Lu Ye to attack, with some taunting the Cultists, heckling them to just give up and retreat with ignominy.
But if the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had all but lost hope in besting Lu Ye in this final round, they were not yet eager to admit defeat in verbal warfare against their counterparts in the Grand Sky Coalition. Scores of enemy Cultivators hurled insults and jeers back in the direction from whence they came and the war atop Goldentip just exacerbated from one of blood into one of saliva and spit.
But there was little doubt that this violent bicker would have deteriorated into a melee if not for the Sacred Pact.
Just when the Thousand Demon Ridge mob thought that everything was lost, a figure stepped into the ring.
The discordant and chaotic mayhem immediately died down in the blink of an eye as several thousand pairs of eyes panned toward the figure. It was not the Cultist that everyone saw earlier, but rather, a female Cultivator.
What is the meaning of this, you Thousand Demon Ridge lot!? Li Baxian thundered with an enraged re.
There was no other reason for Li Baxians simmering wrath; despite being also a ckfyre Cultist herself, everyone could see even with their naked eyes that the glow the female Cultivator radiated indicated that she was not just a Sixth-Order.
But rather, a Seventh-Order Cultivator!
From the looks on their faces, it was apparent that even the leading Thousand Demon Ridge champions did not see thising either. The terms of the Sacred Pact had limited all challengers to be at the Sixth-Order and no higher. That Cult ckfyre would put forth a Seventh-Order was a tant disregard for the rules agreed upon.
Direct disobedience to the authority of Heaven was not only audacious but also foolish; as soon as Heaven let its vengeance fall, every single champion, and the de facto leaders of all Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge sect and order presentevery single person who had left their mark on the Sacred Pactwould be bound by the sacred rule of the Pact to attack Cult ckfyre, whether the Cult was an ally or not.
No one has ever survived defying Heaven before, not since the inception of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
For all the oddities and entricities that ckfyre Cultists were famed for, that they would dare to endanger their very own existence was a wholly new level of madness.
Despite the outwardly fierce and threatening appearance, Li Baxian was rather pleased. If doom was what Cult ckfyre wished for, then this would veer the status quo in Lu Yes favor.
[Have these lunatics really gone insane because of that holy fire nonsense?!] he mused with glee.
And he was hardly the only one. The rest of the other champions of the Grand Sky Coalition were having the exact same thoughts or they would have acted to strike down the Seventh-Order Cultivator before she could ever get further into the ring.
Just what in Heavens name do you think youre doing?! the leading champion of the Thousand Demon Ridge side and one of the Roll of Supremacys twenty best demanded of the champion of Cult ckfyre furiously.
Even if they were about to lose, a direct defiance of Heavens sacrosanct authority would bring about terrible retribution!
As if on a cue, just as soon as he finished, the sky rumbled with thick dark plumes clustering over Goldentip with menacing shes of illumination in the middle of sporadic groans of mounting wrath.
So fell the vengeance of Heaven for this transgression
The Thousand Demon Ridge mob roused with panic. Those who were anywhere near the ckfyre Cultists retreated at once, giving them such a wide berth that the Cults members all stood together like an ind in the middle of a storm.
Yet, even in the face of impending doom, the Cultists all looked asposed and serene as ever. For one moment, enemies and allies all looked at them and felt a tinge of admiration for their fearlessness, although that would do little to rewrite the dismal fate that would befall them all.
We are the me that lights the darkness, In the face of Death we feel remorseless!
The champion of Cult ckfyre and Cultists de facto leader on site chanted softly.
Standing in the ring, the female Cultivator kept her head low like a reverent devotee before the god she worshiped and echoed after her champion, reciting, We are the me that lights the darkness, In the face of Death we feel remorseless!
At the same time, she raised aloft a hand and held out a thumb, which she tapped a spot just below her chest with, and pressed very, very hard.
Thats Li Baxian gasped with dread as he realized what she was doing.
UGH!
Everyone heard a distinctive pop like a balloon being punctured, followed by the female Cultivator staggering unsteadily, looking like she was going to copse. But she managed to remain upright. At the same time, huge violent waves of air and force burst from within her in destructive ripples, rumbling in all directions.
She grunted with an unmistakable hint of grimace on her face; her Spiritual Power signature weakening rapidly.
Shes destroying one of her Spiritual Points! Li Baxian yelled over the riotous pandemonium, his teeth gnashing with frustration at not being able to stop her.
Everyoneno matter Grand Sky Coalition or Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivatorstottered unsteadily in the tossing winds from the raging tumult with shock and disbelief.
For one to destroy his or her Spiritual Points was easier said than done, especially with the repercussions that followed since anyone brave or otherwise foolish enough to do so would have veritably given up all future prospects for advancement. He or she would forever be stuck in the Spirit Creek Realm, unable to ascend any further. Li Baxian was living and walking proof of such a setback. Blessed with gifts that even the Grand Master of the Northern Profound Sword Sect himself admired so greatly, the destruction of his Spiritual Points had indefinitely dyed his ascension for more than ten years and counting. Stuck forever in the Eighth-Order, he coulde nowhere topleting hisst Microcosmic Orbit and thus preventing him from ascending into the Ninth-Order.
While the damage to ones Spiritual Points could be repaired, to do that would nevertheless incur a hefty cost. That and the risk of not being able to recover made self-mutting ones own Spiritual Point a disastrous folly that no one would dare attempt.
Yet, right in front of several thousand pairs of eyes from both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge, the female ckfyre Cultist had, in all her valiant lunacy, destroyed one of her own Spiritual Points with the serenity of one clipping off her hair.
The sheer resolve and callousness she disyed could make even the bravest of all Cultivators shiver, more so, the thousands of Cultivators who could feel numbing sensations crawling all over their scalps. [She really lives up to the name of being one of the ckfyre lunatics! How could she do such a thing!] many mused in silence and bewilderment.
But everyone swiftly recollected themselves from the initial shock and looked up into the skies to observe the stirring storm clouds overhead, the gathering storm that would bring Heavens retribution.
When she first stepped into the ring, Heavens machinations immediately whirred into motion like clockwork. There was no doubt that retribution woulde and the dark clouds that heralded itsing sent everyone in the vicinity reeling with fright and apprehension.
But as soon as she had destroyed her Spiritual Point, effectively falling back into the Sixth-Order, the baleful and malefic dark clouds looming overhead Goldentip immediately dispersed into nothing, and Heavens ceased its execution.
Radiant rays of sunlight once again showered upon Goldentip.
And every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator all beamed with joy.
Chapter 167: The Sacred Child of Cult Blackfyre
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 167: The Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
IMPRESSIVE! the leading Thousand Demon Ridge champion boomed gloriously.
He too had been thinking that the ckfyre Cultists must have gone terribly insane to dare challenge the authority of Heavens when he saw the female Cultivator stepping into the ring. Even he did not think of such a masterful stroke as destroying ones own Spiritual Points to avoid breaking the Sacred Pact.
As much as it was a loophole, the Heavens ceasing its wrath was sign enough that it acknowledged the sheer ingenuity of the move.
With the damage to her Spiritual Point, the female Cultivators rank had now fallen back to the Sixth-Order, thereby fulfilling the terms of the Sacred Pact. Seeing the Heavens rescinding its punishment was grounds enough for the Grand Sky Coalition side to swallow what discontent and frustrations they had down into their bellies.
A Seventh-Order who had just been relegated down to the Sixth-Order because of the muttion of one of her Spiritual Points. That was the final trump card the Thousand Demon Ridge side could y: a Sixth-Order more powerful and more dangerous than ordinary Sixth-Orders.
[Crunch]
Lu Ye drove his feet into the gravel. Before the leading Thousand Demon Ridge champion finished his utterance of the final syble of his Impressive remark, Lu Ye, his entire person still bloodied and wearied,unched himself at the female Cultivator with every iota of ferocity and doggedness he could muster.
This was not his first time facing up against an enemy Spell Cultivator and a former Seventh-Orderin fact, he had fought in and even managed to survive one such encounter some time ago when he just ascended into the Fifth-Order. Extremely worn out and stuck in a feverish state of fatigued delirium he might be and he could barely tell what was going on, but Lu Ye knew that someone had entered the ring and he knew who it was: a challenger. That was reason enough? for him to attack.
Seventy meters. That was the distance Lu Ye covered in almost a blink of an eye as he raced forward with the overwhelming ferociousness of a raging predator.
The figure of the female Cultivator was clearly reflected in his red vein-filled eyes.
Thirty meters. Fifteen meters. The broken de of his saber zed once more with a red-fiery sheen with me-like tonguesshing out. He might be weakened, his powers might not be as pure as before, and his weapon might be broken, but he knew that he could always depend on Glyph: Sharp Edge to make his weapon invincible.
The female Cultivator did nothing to run. There was no way she could ever best Lu Ye in a contest of speed and since she was willing to risk so much to step into the ring and take on Lu Ye, she knew what to do.
She lifted both her hands and channeled her Spiritual Powers. On her chest was a heart-shaped pendant hanging from a chain over her neck. It rose, levitating in the air and it began glowing with fiery incandescence as she injected her Powers into it. Next second, the pendant expanded rapidly until it was big enough to envelop her inside like a protective cocoon.
Moltenva flowed and dripped down the edges and curvatures of the fiery-red cocoon like syrupy tears of fire. The top of Goldentip felt terribly warm since the moment of its appearance and with the rising temperature, the red-slicked earth was beginning to sizzle with acrid tangs of blood filling the nostrils of everyone nearby.
Thats the Molten Heart! cried a voice from within the Grand Sky Coalition. Someone had recognized what that pendant was.
The Molten Heart, a Spiritual Artifact the properties of which were carefully guarded secrets of Cult ckfyre. It was said that only five could be forged in each generation, and only the incumbent Sacred Childthe male or female acolyte who was also the designated future heir of the Cults leadershipof that generation could carry one. The Molten Heart had rarely seen use in battle, but those who lived after having witnessed its ming and impetuous splendor could talk about its incredible defensive ability, that so long as its wielders Spiritual Powers remain present, the Molten Hearts shield would never falter. Only enemies with powers far beyond its wielder could possibly hope to destroy the Molten Hearts shield with just one blow. After all, what could be used to defend against an enemy of incredibly superior strength and power?
Hence, the possession of the Molten Heart showed who the female Cultivator really was: the sitting Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre.
[This is madness! The Sacred Child of the Cult sacrificing her own future just to win this duel!?] thought many of the Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators.
Lu Ye approached the shield quickly to find the searing heat hitting him straight in the face and he immediately felt parched and thirsty. But ignoring the difort, he swung his weapon viciously at the red-hot screen of fire.
He had dealt with enough defensive Spiritual Artifacts in the forty-plus rounds before and most, if not all, usually failed to withstand more than a couple of blows from him.
But the moment his blow struck the fiery shield; Lu Ye sensed something amiss. It was not as hard as he expected, but it remained nevertheless sturdy and resilient enough to endure his abuse. Despite having Glyph: Sharp Edge activated, his saber just couldnt prate through the shield that felt more like rubber than anything metallic.
But there was no time for hesitation. He swung his weapon for a second time, then a third, and a fourth
The hand that gripped the saber was singed incessantly by the mes, but Lu Ye did not let that stop him. Watched by more than thousands of eyes, he went on hacking and shing like a madman as if he felt no pain at all.
Oh, no Li Baxian murmured. He did not know what the Sacred Child was up to inside that ming cocoon, but whatever it was, she must be preparing some spell that could cause wide area-of-effect damage.
The fights where Lu Ye had easily defeated challengers who were Spell Cultivators had allowed the Thousand Demon Ridge side to learn something: Spell Cultivators failed to pose any threats to Lu Ye because of his ability to activate his defensive Glyph freely duringbat and the Glyphs particrly sturdy defense could help ward off most spells without any difficulty.
If the Sacred Child thought that she could defeat Lu Ye just because she thought that being a former Seventh-Order would make any difference, then she would be mistaken, just like the other Spell Cultivators whom he had ughtered.
For Spell Cultivators to defeat Lu Ye inside this ring, there would only be one way. That was to use a spell with wide area-of-effect damage that his Glyph: Protection could not fully protect him from.
But area-of-effect spells were hardly the forte of Seventh-Order Spell Cultivators; only those at the Ninth-Order could perform suchplex conjurations. But as the Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre, she must have unique and exceptional talents that allowed her to do just that.
To that end, she immediately activated the Molten Heart and used it to keep herself safe so that she could have all the time in the world to prepare unhindered.
Lu Ye must have realized this too, for his blows grew swifter and more forceful.
In the meantime, inside the Molten Heart cocoon, the Sacred Child, whose icy expression had barely stirred even during the muttion of her own Spiritual Point, finally had her imperturbable dispassion broken.
The Molten Heart was sapping her Spiritual Powers quickly to maintain the defensive cocoon. That Lu Yes blows could produce such an effect really was something she did not expect.
This fully exposed the single most ring weakness of the Molten Heart despite its impable defensive capabilities: it required a huge amount of Spiritual Power to function.
It was not that the Molten Heart was fully impregnable, but rather, whenever Lu Ye attacked, the Molten Heart would consume every ounce of Spiritual Power from the Sacred Child as needed to repair its defensive shield at unbelievable speeds just to keep itself intact.
In other words, the greater the damage the Molten Heart sustained, the more Spiritual Power it would draw from its wielder.
As a veteran of countless battles against Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators of the Seventh-Order, she could have sworn that she had never seen anyone equal to her rank that could deplete her Spiritual Powers through the Molten Heart as quickly as this!
Every blow from this fearsome monster could deplete a sizable portion of her Spiritual Power; then came a couple or more blows and more than one-tenth of her power was gone.
[That ursed saber! It really is sharp beyond belief!] she mused in her horror.
But it was not enough to disrupt her nat least not yet. After all, she did not expect this battle to be long since all she needed was only one spell.
Her powers dipped at an unprecedented pace. In just barely ten seconds, she sensed that she only had barely six-tenths of her Power left.
[Atst, it is time!] she thought.
She exhaled a gentle breath and pushed both her arms outward. A turbulent wave of searing heat spread out with the motion of her arms, rolling forth with the entirety of the Spiritual Power left in herevery bit of the six-tenths left in herpushing forward as furiously as a breaking dam!
Just on the other side of the shield still mmy with beads of dripping moltenva, Lu Ye retreated at once. All of a sudden, he could have sworn that he heard a voice deep inside him, urging him to retreat or he would die!
And the premonition was right. He had only just withdrawn when the Molten Heart shield crumbled, not by his doing, but from a terrible and destructive force erupting from inside.
Right at that very moment, all Lu Ye could see was a gigantic red wall of zing congration rumbling straight at him, threatening to engulf him whole with such force that could reduce all things into mere ashes and cinders.
In just one instant, the ring of length and breadth of seventy meters each was devoured whole by a fiery inferno. That was not just an ordinary firestorm, but rather one mixed with the fullplement of the different myriads of volcanic discharges. The Cultivators who stood by the edge of the ring did not need to be told that they needed to get to safety. The moment they saw the rolling scarlet waves of death and destruction, they immediately bolted.
That was not the only thing on their mind. None of the Cultivators who witnessed the scale of the mes could dispute that there was no way a Fifth-Order would survive such destruction.
Li Baxian was about to act brashly when Wei Yang seized him. Calm down, she urged. Our little brother-in-arms is still alive!
Her vision of what was going on inside the ring might be just as obscured as everyone else, but she could still sense him. With an acute sense of the aura of living things, so long as Lu Ye still drew breath, Wei Yang might still be able to save him!
But if Li Baxian were to do something stupid, he might be able to save Lu Ye, but the culmination of what would happen next could be disastrous.
Li Baxian listened to her advice and restrained his anxiety.
The fires inside the ring slowly died down, revealing a Goldentip nowpletelyid waste and scorched, plus fragments of crystallization in the roasted soil.
Everyone gradually regained their sight of what was happening inside the ring.
In one corner, the Sacred Child of the Cult tottered unsteadily. Looking like she could copse any moment, her face was a ghastly chalk-whiteplexion of utter paleness with blood trickling out her eyes, nose, mouth, and even her ears. The radiation of her Spiritual Powernowpletely spentbarely existed.
She had exhausted herself too much. Using the Molten Heart had cost her more than three- to four-tenths of her Spiritual Powers and the final attack was what had bled everything dry.
It was not a spell meant for a Cultivator of her rank and hence, she barely had any control of it. Using it could have caused serious and devastating drawbacks, but she did not have anything else. She just needed to defeat Lu Ye.
It was only through sheer will and resolve that she managed toplete the spell, although using it had practically crippled and disabled her, causing serious internal damage that could have almost killed her.
But death might have been more satisfactory; residual mes now burned at every single Spiritual Point in her body. Even at the skillful hands of the best healers, she could never fight again.
Fraught with misery and despondence, she peered forward, hoping to find sce in the fulfillment of her purpose and the death of her opponent.
Steam roiled and twisted in curling eddies in the ring. Then a lean and taut figure stormed through the white tendrils, stepping out into sight. Scorch marks mottled his bare-chested skin and his hair was a disheveled mess because of the heat. Slick and sodden by sweat and blood, the fabric of his breeches clung to his raw, burned skin. Every step he took left a bloodied footprint that quickly sizzled as the heat evaporated the blood.
The Sacred Child twisted with shocking disbelief.
[Hes alive!?]
[How?!]
Lu Ye did have Glyph: Protection to rely on, but what she just used was a spell that the Glyph should not be able to protect him from. So long as he stood inside the ring, he should have been dead by now!
She really had to wonder if Lu Ye had gotten outside help.
But she did not neglect to notice that the champions from her side did not protest about anything and that spoke volumes.
However slow he might be, her opponent still endured and he wasing. He was struggling but the distance between them was undeniably closing fast. Once he got near, that would be her doom!
Chapter 168: Steel Against Spell
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 168: Steel Against Spell
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre bit hard and groped around with her lithe, petite hand. With what little that remained of her Spiritual Power, a glowing orb of red burst to life in her hand.
She was channeling her power.
The scarlet glow burned radiantly in her hand, drawing back the destructive and torrid waves of fire.
Goldentip which had be a mountaintop teau with the sweltering of a desert immediately cooled down.
The mes condensed back into her grasp. Then they were gone. Next second, a humanoid figure formed purely of mes appeared over her.
A Fire Golem! cried a voice from within the midst of the Grand Sky Coalition, enunciating the name of this spell the Sacred Child had just cast.
Conjurations of Fire Golems were also spells that no Sixth-Orders or even ordinary Seventh-Orders could manage. That the Sacred Child could perform the spell at such a juncture was testament enough to her exemry and unique talents.
Whether it was because of her sapped powers, no one knew. The column of mes with the torso of a human would have looked intimidating and impressive if it were a gigantic colossus of fire, although even with just the size of an ordinary human being and features obfuscated by roiling tongues of fire, the elemental simcrum of mes still lookedrge and bulky enough that it stood protectively over its mistress, preventing Lu Yes advance.
But using this spellpletely exhausted the Sacred Child who promptly copsed to the ground,pletely spent.
Nevertheless, no one could dispute that she has a keenly strategic mind.
With thest ounces of her power, she had chosen to conjure a Fire Golem instead of firing spells at Lu Ye. She knew that spells could be easily avoided and that would only expose herself to retaliation which she had neither the strength nor speed to escape from.
Pain stabs like a thousand needles were burrowing into her mind and the blood that trickled out of her mouth, her eyes, her nose, and even her ears were ck and thick. Crumpling to her knees would have made her look defeated if not for the defiant re she gave Lu Ye as she controlled the Fire Golem with her mind, willing it to march towards her foe.
The hulking mass of mes bore down on Lu Ye and he instinctively swung his broken saber straight into it.
It was all thanks to Glyph: Protection that Lu Ye was able to survive that firestorm just now. Just before the fiery waves of death hit him, he had conjured a shield wide andrge enough to keep the whole of him safe from the torrents of scorching heat.
But that also expended the entirety of his Spiritual Powers.
Then again, he was fortunate enough that the Sacred Childs firestorm spell did notst long, or he would have run out of Spiritual Powers and the mes would have incinerated him.
At that moment, Lu Ye knew that he still had enough Spiritual Power for onest Glyph activation, and he needed to save it forst instead of squandering it over the seemingly meaningless hocus-pocus right before his eyes.
With his sight obscured by his own blood, the whole world had turned red all around him. If the Sacred Child had bepletely enervated after thest exchange, then so was he.
All around the ring, the onlookers from both factions watched intently. Never did anyone know that a contest between low-tier Cultivators of only the Fifth and Sixth-Orders could be such a savage and brutal bloodbath.
At any other time, the duel right now would have looked as hrious and silly as a ridiculous clown show. Lu Ye was swinging his weapon with the grace of a clumsy walrus, his ferocity and ruthlessness all but vanished. Each and every swing of the steel looked as feeble as a frail old mans motion with a stickstaggering and tottering aimlessly about despite his best efforts to keep himself steady only to look like he was just going to fall anytime instead.
In the meantime, the Fire Golem wasnt doing any better either. Its sluggish and lethargic movements mirrored how the Sacred Child was losing consciousness. The Fire Golem was conjured using her essence and power, but it did not have a mind of its own. Therefore, it relied on her to control its movements.
To that end, the fight appeared like a pair of children in futile fisticuffs.
But all around them, no one could dare giggle. No one could even chuckle. There was nothing hrious at all. Only awe and shock at the sheer resolve and will of the twobatantsdespite their current disability and helplessnessstill wing their way towards victory with whatever means possible at their disposal without any sign of giving up.
Scores of champions stood around the ringeach of them powerful warriors in their own right and each of them among the deadliest of all Roll of Supremacy champions. But could they ever go to such lengths just for the sake of winning like the two now in the ring back when they were still in the Fifth or Sixth-Order? No. None of them could safely say that they could. But if one or even both the Sacred Child and Lu Ye were to survive todays fight, there was no doubt that they would be great Cultivators in the future.
The frivolous fight continued with barely any damage. But the longer it took, everyone was noticing how the Fire Golem was teetering on the brink of losing its form. Even its size was starting to shrink.
The Thousand Demon Ridge mob was beginning to feel anxious.
They hade too far to ept defeat.
We are the me that lights the darkness, In the face of Death we feel remorseless!
It started first with a deep, lone voice, but more and more others joined him in the incessant chanting and the voices became a thronging chorus that grew louder and stronger, rising into a crescendo.
And it worked. The rallying voices of her fellow brothers- and sisters-in-arm renewed the Sacred Childs resolve. More tears of blood streamed down her eyes. With her final ounce of grit, willpower, and determination, the Fire Golems girth burgeoned at hermand and the me elemental simcrum barreled a fist straight at Lu Ye.
Crack! The blow hit its mark, breaking Lu Yes broken saber further, rendering itpletely shattered while he was sent flying into the air by the destructive force.
And he crashed to the ground, broken and beaten. So were the hopes of the Grand Sky Coalition side.
Havingpleted its purpose, the Fire Golem crumbled and disintegrated into cinders as the Sacred Child exhausted all her powers.
Gasping for air, she crawled to her feet, struggling to find the strength to even get up. When she finally did, she looked at the incapacitated Lu Ye. Limping step after step, she made her way slowly towards him, her lips quivering as she recited the mantra of the Cult repeatedly and softly, finding strength and sce as her pained and grimacing expression faded into one of serenity.
Meanwhile, Li Baxian and Wei Yang both channeled their powers quietly. But this did not go unnoticed; the champions at the Thousand Demon Ridge mob have been watching them. Any attempt to break this fight just to save Lu Ye would be met by heavy and strong opposition from the enemy champions.
The atmosphere atop Goldentip once again turned perilously tense.
Inside the ring, the Sacred Child produced a sword from inside her Storage Bag. Even that was strenuous and taxing enough for her. The de of the weapon shone with nothing save for an ordinary glimmer of steel. It was just a sword asmon as any other. But it should be enough.
Without the strength to even lift it, she dragged the weapon all the way as she approached Lu Ye until she stopped right in front of him. Her petite frame swayed like she was going to fall, but she didnt. She managed to steady herself.
Quietly, she peered down at the foe she had defeated. Taking in the full sight of the scorch marks and burns, raw skin that was her handiwork. For once in all her life since she joined the Cult, the Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre smiled.
She wanted so much to tell it straight into Lu Yes face: Youve lost!
Her mouth opened, but she could barely even speak.
Her fingers found afortable but firm grip on her weapon. With both hands holding the sword with its tip down in an icepick grip, she lifted it and aimed the tip of the weapon at Lu Yes chest.
That was it. The silent and brooding atmosphere atop Goldentip never felt so palpable before as champions all summoned their powers in tacit preparation to spring into action.
Then they saw it. Everyone saw it. A handLu Yes handcame up, his opened palm held up towards the female Cultivator like a feeble, desperate, and futile attempt to defend himself.
Hoarsely, he throated words that despite their faintness, every single onlooker could have sworn they heard him clearly.
F-Fire P-P-Phoenix
The palm of the outstretched hand glowed all of a sudden with a deep-scarlet luminescence that froze the triumphant grin of the Sacred Child. Realizing what could be going on, she drove the weapon down with what strength was left in her.
A fiery bird that looked more like a plump pheasant than a majestic phoenix materialized from Lu Yes hand and mmed into the Sacred Childs chest with a popping explosion of mes.
The eruption of burning air and force was apanied by the shrill cry of the Sacred Child as the impact blew her away, knocking her off her feet before she crashed, atst, her chest charred and ckened.
Bewildered and astonished beyond words, no one spoke a word. No one anticipated that Lu Ye, after being pummeled to the ground by the force of a battering ram, could still fight back, more so, by using a spell
What an uncanny irony! That the Spell Cultivator in this fight had tried to decide the oue of this fight using a sword while the Combat Cultivator, a spell!
But there was no time for idleness. With the ring of steelnot of one, but a hundred swordsscreaming into the air, a pair of figures flitted into the ring like a pair of shadows. Li Baxian stood protectively in front of his brother-in-arm with more than a hundred energy bolts each shaped like swords hovering menacingly behind him as if they were daring anyone from the Thousand Demon Ridge mob to make a stupid move.
The air roiled with the thick and suffocating presence of Li Baxian in full wrath which was substantiated by the army of energy bolts shining radiantly.
No one could dare move. No one would dare to try their chances against the shafts of pure energy that looked like they were spoiling for a chance to perforate anyone.
Wei Yang cloaked the heavily bloodied and hurt Lu Ye in her arms and examined his wounds.
A terrible presence burst forth like a tidal wave. It came from just behind the Thousand Demon Ridge mob, terrifying many of the enemy Cultivators. When they swiveled around to look, they were horrified to find a gigantic colossus more than hundreds of meters tall, towering so high over the mob that its mere length could blot out even the sun overhead, bearing down on them.
Those who had survived enough battles to have watched her in battle before knew what it was: a Cloud Golem.
Only three people in the entire Battlefield were capable of a spell this intricate and borate
I would suggest that you remain where you are! Or your lives could be in danger! cried a girlish voice somewhere from the Cloud Golem. Many Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators looked up. Tracing the origin of the voice, they discovered that it came from a woman sitting on the shoulder of the Golem. Her tiny size was a stark contrast to the massive and behemothic size of the Golem, but everyone knew better than to discount how dangerous she really was.
The number one name on the Roll of Supremacy, the Queen who had reigned all of the Battlefield supreme for more than a decade.
Feng Yuechan! a Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator growled through gritted teeth.
No one knew when she had arrived. Thest time anyone had heard about her, was when she was just outside the Valley of Venom, preventing the Cultivators there from joining in the Battlefield-wide manhunt for Lu Ye. Evidently, she had left toe here a long time ago. But they should have known; the most powerful Cultivator in the Battlefield would definitely do more than just guard the entrance of the Valley like a simple hound.
Ive finally arrived to help! Feng Yuechan waved at Li Baxian with the cheerfulness of a young teenagess.
With hardly any interest to berate her for her levity, Li Baxian merely nodded in acknowledgment and said loudly to her, Kill anyone who moves!
Aye, aye! Feng Yuechan responded stiffly, mildly miffed that he did not respond to her affection.
Inside the ring, Wei Yang fed Lu Ye a Spirit Pill and some unknown potion to keep his condition stable.
His lips quivered. Wei Yang only heard some iprehensible gibberish. She bent down closer and asked, What were you saying, Lu Ye?
Is it done? Lu Ye croaked raspily.
Yes. It is done, she nodded.
Lu Ye could barely keep his eyes open; one was tightly shut and keeping the other squinted as far as he could get it wide enough to see. He could not even smile despite surviving atst. But he really could use a rest. Just when he finally sighed with relief and released all that stress that he had been carrying like a yoke for days, he immediately cked out.
Wei Yang frantically checked him and learned that he was only just too tired. Feelingforted, she said to Li Baxian from behind, Were heading back!
Li Baxian snorted a wordless ent, then he called loudly, Yuechan! I need your help sending Sister Wei Yang and Lu Ye back to the Turbulent Watch outpost!
Got it! Feng Yuechan answered. The giant of more than several hundred meters in length bent downmuch to the panic of the Thousand Demon Ridge mob that many scattered and fledand lowered a massive hand in the ring.
Wei Yang carried Lu Ye and hopped onto the huge open palm. She had only just ced Lu Ye down when she realized that she was not alone. She turned around and saw a snowy-white tiger.
She recognized the worried look of concern in the tigers eyes and knew that he must be Lu Yes Spirit Pet. Despite feeling awkward, she remarked, Dont worry. Hes not dying on my watch.
The Cloud Golem lifted its hand and cradled them in its arms. Feng Yuechan steered the Golem around and it ran, thundering with quick strides heading straight in the direction of the Turbulent Watch outpost.
My friends of the Thousand Demon Ridge, kindly entertain my request to just stay put for another few minutes. After that, youll be free to do whatever you want. But before that, move and one of my energy swords will be more than happy to cut you down!
Li Baxians voice might sound calm, but the more than one hundred energy shafts in the air behind him showed that he wasnt joking.
Yan Xing had been watching from afar. Only now did he discover that Li Baxians magic with his sword had grown to such an elite finesse. Clearly, Li Baxian still had aces hidden up his sleeves during their fight.
Chapter 169: The Devoted Ones
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 169: The Devoted Ones
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The bloody Battle of Goldentip finally came to its curtain call. With thousands of Cultivators from both opposing factions acting as witnesses, Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, a Cultivator of the Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm had defeated all forty-three opponents who challenged him, including the incumbent Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre who had deliberately mutted her own Spiritual Point to fulfill the requirements to step into the ring to fight him. Formerly a Seventh-Order Cultivator, the Sacred Child intentionally demoted herself so that she could kill Lu Ye, only to be in by him instead.
Word of the oue of the battle swept across the Battlefield and reached even the ears of those in the real world of Jiu Zhou through various channels.
Word that rocked both dimensions simultaneously.
No one would have batted an eyelid at a lowly Fifth-Order defeating a single opponent above his rank, but to pull off something like Lu Yes exploits at the Battle of Goldentip would definitely make some heads turn.
Even so, to the entire faction of the Thousand Demon Ridge, Lu Ye did not escape certain death unscathed. It was said that he was grievously wounded, and some were keeping their fingers crossed, banking on the fact that he might not survive.
At the Turbulent Watch stronghold in Jiu Zhou, Tang Yifeng could barely believe his ears when he heard about what happened. How the youngd looked when he epted him as his student six months before had faded from his memory. The boy had only just unlocked his first Spiritual Point back then, if memory served. Therefore, that Lu Ye was capable of the exploits that Tang Yifeng had only just heard about left him wondering if the Turbulent Watchmen who brought him the news did not mistake Lu Ye for someone else.
One could expect that Lu Ye must have had some sort of fortuitous encounter during his travels in the Battlefield. That would exin how he managed to reach the Fifth-Order in the unbelievable span of just six months.
Chances and opportunities teemed the Battlefield like weed after all.
But for a Fifth-Order to single handedly y more than three dozen of Sixth-Orders, that was teetering on being ludicrous.
He did not notice such potential in Lu Ye back when he epted thed as a student.
The Crimson Blood Sects former prestige, respect, and fear had been lost for decades until now. The Battle of Goldentip had once again propelled it back to prominence just when the whole world thought that it would be just a distant memory or just a simple name in the pages of history.
Those who had discounted the Sect now realized their error.
Hence, barely two hours after word of the oue of the Battle of Goldentip got out, various Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders ryed explicit orders to their acolytes still inside the Battlefield. If Lu Ye were to sumb to his injuries, then all would be well; the Crimson Blood Sect would face imminent dissolution and triumph would once again be theirs. But if the Fates had deemed that his end should not be thus, then so long as the Natural Laws of the Battlefield permitted, all Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators must do whatever it took to ensure that this victory and his life were short-lived.
Such a figure needed to be eliminated quickly before he reached full bloom.
The Thousand Demon Ridge faction would never forget the mistake that they had made several decades ago, and they were not going to allow history to repeat itself.
At the Devoted Ones main stronghold in Bing Zhou province.
A Tier-Two sect of the Grand Sky Coalition, the Devoted Ones held great power and authority, such that the Devoted Ones nearly made Tier-One if not for a huge mishap that urred several decades ago. It was during that mishap that the Devoted Ones lost a good many good men and they waned in strength and influence until they managed to mber back to their feet in recent years.
On this day, members of the higher echelon of the Devoted Ones leadership had congregated at the strongholds main audience hall. Most kept their eyes shut in silence as they listened to Yu Guanjia, a high-ranking senior even in the top echelon and a Divine Ocean Realm Cultivator. With a calm voice, he articted his experience of what he heard about the Battle of Goldentip and enunciated the consequences that could follow.
Each of the members of the High Council present was an influential member of the Grand Sky Coalition and each had his or her own methods that apprised them of any news from inside the Battlefield despite not being able to enter the pocket dimension themselves. An incident as famous as the Battle of Goldentip had long reached their ears.
Yu Guanjia added, Two of our acolytes too were present during the Battle of Goldentip. One was Li Baxian and the other was Feng Yuechan. As it happened, they were both the legate- and vice legate-in-charge of the security of our outpost there. Hence the charges that now stand against them: a tant dereliction of their duties to guard and maintain the safety of our outpost and acting against orders of the High Council. With the Grand Master himself now in solitary meditation, I move that we decide the punishments upon their transgressions right here and right now amongst ourselves.
How could they?! an Elder of the Devoted Ones grumbled, his wrinkles creasing with displeasure. That the legate and vice legate could just saunter off together?! What if an attack were to befall the outpost? Were talking about risking centuries worth of legacy! If any other acolytes were to take a leaf out of their book, the Devoted Ones future would be numbered indeed! I suggest that we pronounce a sentence so heavy and harsh that everyone gets the message!
More members of the High Council joined the chorus as well.
If Li Baxian can lose his cool every time the name Crimson Blood Sect pops up, quipped another, Then I daresay that we need to be wary of his divided loyalties. As for Feng Yuechan He paused and stole a nce at a respectable-looking woman, well, Yuechans one of ours. Weve known her since she was a little girl. Im sure this is only an innocent mistake, one that only happened because of spending too much time with Li Baxian!
Indeed. Yuechans been a good and obedientss. Shes the prime reason our outpost has been peaceful for the past decade. I too agree that this is a small error that we can all overlook.
Nevertheless, she has broken the rules. I suggest that we sentence her to mandatory solitary meditation. The sooner she could ascend, the better it is for all of us. After all, shesnguishing in the Spirit Creek Realm for far too long.
Thats a great solution!
As for Li Baxian We canmand him to return to his post immediately. His sentence cer, after weve evaluated the whole situation and his behavior.
The men talked about how they wouldy down the punishments upon the acolytes Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, but anyone with any shred of intelligence and wit could see the stark difference between how they were both treated. Feng Yuechan was like a doted daughter who would escape with not so much as a p on the wrist while Li Baxian would have to bear the brunt of his misdemeanor with the full contempt and prejudice of the entire High Council like an unwanted bastard child.
Yu Guanjia finally turned his focus to the woman just now, What do you think, Sister Qiu?
The woman rose up from her chair stiffly. With no sense of her decorum lost, she quietly retreated out of the audience hall with not a word, much to the bewilderment of every other member of the High Council.
Please carry on without us, Yu Guanjia spoke to his colleagues hastily before he chased after her.
Yu Guanjia caught up to his junior Sister Qiu in midair. Flying in the air abreast with her, he implored solemnly, looking rather anxious, Please, Sister Qiu. You need to understand the burden and responsibility that now rests on my shoulders in the Grand Masters absence. As the Keeper of Seals, its my job to handle things that take ce inside the Battlefield. Li Baxian and little Yuechan have unmistakably broken the rules and for that, they need to atone for their wrongdoings. I know that one is your own daughter and the other is as good as a son to you, but you know as well as I do that he is actually as much a senior as you and I. Nothing good wille out of little Yuechans little infatuation with him. This is a good chance to drive a wedge between them both. Speak to her as a mother, please. Have her ascend as soon as possible. I know that you wont want her to jeopardize her future any longer and it would be such a shame if we lose a talent with such gifted potential.
Qiu halted and turned around to re at Yu Guanjia. Senior? she retorted with frost, Last I checked, you took a new concubine, didnt you, Brother Yu? If its seniority that were talking about, that young girl could easily call you Grandfather, no?
Yu Guanjia could feel his cheeks burning. My private life is not the subject here.
Whatever, Qiu muttered, her face stony and cold, You are the one in charge in the Grand Masters absence. So just do what you want. But if you darey a hand on Li Baxian, youll have my sword to contend with!
She flung her sleeves as she spun around and sped away.
Yu Guanjia watched as she vanished into the distance with a pensive look on his face. But deep within the folds of his robes, his fists clenched firmly with anger.
The Devoted Ones issued a directive an hourter, urging its outpost legate-in-charge Li Baxian to report back for duty at once!
But word came back soon after. Apparently, Li Baxian was locked in fiercebat against the Number Two of the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy Yan Xing and there was no way he could leave on short notice.
In the meantime, at the main stronghold of the Righteous Sect, a group of Cloud River Realm Cultivators was huddled together gambling.
The plump and stocky Pang Dahai was serving as dealer with a bunch of his brothers-in-arms cing their antes, enthusiastically piling heaps of Spirit Stones on the tabletop.
Pang Dahai was especially ecstatic to see the mound of Spirit Stones right in front of him. Being bigger than the rest must have meant that he must have just had an immensely bountiful moment.
He tossed his nce to another fellow Cultivator with a goatee. Hey, have you heard of what happened in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Le Shan?
The only thing Le Shan was more interested in other than his goatee was his hand. Without much interest in any conversation, he answered nonchntly, As if there could be anything major happening in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Pang Dahai quickly gave them a recap of the Battle of Goldentip and his story left every gamblereach of them had been here for dayshanging their jaws in speechless awe.
He chuckled at the end of his tale. You know what, you, Le Shan, of all people, should know that Fifth-Order kid.
I know him? Whats his name?
Evil Moon Valley, just about a half-year ago. The kid who was taken in by Grand Master Tang of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Le Shan paused and raked his mind for any recollections pertaining to those details. Then with a looking of dawningprehension, he gasped, That Lu Yi Ye!?
Exactly.
Thats impossible! Le Shans face creased with disbelief, Are you sure theyre not mistaken?
Le Shan knew the name. A boy who had been epted by Grand Master Tang Yifeng of the Crimson Blood Sect and the very same to whom he had given the nickname Yi Ye, which referred to the one-leaf potential back when they first met six months ago. Apparently, the nickname had stuck. But that was not the point. How could it be possible that with such meager potential, Lu Yi Ye had grown to the Fifth Order of the Spirit Creek Realm in just five months? To say nothing of the legendary feat of defeating and ying a string of forty-three Thousand Demon Ridge challengers?
Hes been taken back to the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold, so no one knows for sure if hes still alive. But you can bet that so long as he still draws breath, with Sister Shui Yuans healing wizardry, theres no way he wont survive.
And you know one more thing? Pang Dahai gazed upon Le Shan with a wry look. I hear that the kids very miffed at the Yi Ye nickname you gave him. It was said that a Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator called him by that name and was cut down into halves instead. With his potential, it would only be just a matter of time before he reaches the Cloud River Realm. At that time, Brother Le Shan, Id pray for forgiveness if I were you Heh heh heh heh
That was enough to make Le Shan shift in his chair apprehensively before he chuckled, Funny. Why should I be afraid? Well see if he survives first. All right, lets see your hands, gentlemen
Pang Dahai was about to reveal his hand for the showdown when he sensed the presence of Spiritual Powers surging from outside. Next thing he knew, the entire ceiling was ripped off the eaves of the room.
The Cloud River Realm gamblers all looked up to find more than a dozen figures hovering in mid-air, led by a Real Lake Realm senior of their sect who was ring down at them crossly. They were surrounded.
Disciplinary!? gasped one of the gamblers and they bolted, scattering into different directions like a bunch of mice.
The Real Lake Realm senior growled through gritted teeth, Gambling! To think that this is the example youre setting for your juniors! Seize them all!
A magical fell down from the sky, preventing the gamblers from escaping. Every single one of them was captured and was promptly ced in detention.
They were brought to the halls of the Disciplinary Division an hourter. Peals of anguished cries ensued from within the halls there as the punishments were carried out and any Righteous Sect member who passed by could only shudder with fear.
A group of fresh recruits was walking past and a few of the seniors warned them, If you see any of these people ever again, especially that plump one; remember his face, stay away from him. They are the ones that give the Sect a bad name. Dont get yourselves influenced by them.
The fresh recruits all bobbed their heads profusely in full obedience.
Chapter 170: Recuperation
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 170: Recuperation
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the vast and boundless darkness, an eddy swirled. It grew wider andrger, spreading further and faster, and something stirred.
Time passed unnoticed until the darkness was ripped and torn like a fabric. Next came the waves of indescribable pain and sorenessa pair of inseparable Siamese twins that existed in tandembefore Lu Ye finally blinked his eyes open abruptly.
He could see two figures standing beside his bed. One of them sat down and took his head. Warmth seeped into his hands. The warmth of a hand that cared funneling Spiritual Powers into him to examine his condition.
He could not see who it was. His vision was still blurry. But he sensed that it was a woman.
The other person remained standing. Lu Ye struggled to get a proper look and he seemed to be his mentor
His mouth opened to speak, but the warm and soothing energy coursing through him was only making him more lethargic and drowsier. Then he heard his mentor asking, How is he now?
A lilting voice rang, Hes dying!
Stop it, girl, Tang Yifeng berated, Stop scaring me after Ive gone to such lengths to
Lu Ye missed the rest. He felt as if he had fallen further and further away from the world as sleep took him.
He woke up once againter.
Someone was sitting beside him again and whoever it was, was injecting more Spiritual Power into him to heal him. Lu Ye felt better this time. At the very least, he did not feel so blurry and drowsy anymore.
As his vision gradually gained rity, he could see that the person sitting next to him was a girl not much older than he was. The pretty young woman had eyes as pellucid as the waters of the clearestke but what was more intriguing was how uncanny her resemnce to Sister Wei Yang was.
On a more serious note, she looked like a younger version of Wei Yang, and the airs that she exuded made her look like a younger and more blithelyss than thetter.
Youre up!
Youre Lu Ye croaked, his throat so parched that he could breathe steam.
She smiled at him. Im your Sister Shui Yuan. Im more juniorpared to Wei Yang.
[That would make her something of a second big sister?] Lu Ye thought.
Where are we? Lu Ye wanted to look around, but then he found that he could not move his neck.
This is the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold, Brother Lu Ye, said Shui Yuan. Youvee home.
[Home? Have I finally achieved what Ive always wanted since the day I was sent to the Battlefield?] Lu Ye could feel as if something that had been tense and taut for so long ckened atst. Then he remembered Yi Yi and Amber. What about my mount? Where is he?!
If Yi Yi and Amber were here, they would surely be by his bedside all the time.
Still at the Turbulent Watch outpost. Without a Pact between you and the tiger, there was no way we could bring him out here. But Ive arranged for him to be taken to our outpost. So, when you get better, you can go see him.
Lu Ye knew nothing about making Pacts, but he had spent enough time in the Battlefield to know that some sort of prerequisite condition needed to be met for a form of transmission to ur between the real world and the Battlefield. Nevertheless, with Yi Yi apanying Amber, there was nothing much to be worried about. Being at the Crimson Blood Sect outpost should be safe enough.
Lu Ye examined himself. His Spiritual Power had been fully depleted. But having endured this before, he wasnt too worried. While his body recovered, so would his Spiritual Power.
And that looked like it was going to take some time, for Lu Ye then discovered that he was now wrapped up like a spring roll. Aside from his eyes, nose, and mouth, every other part of him was pretty much bandaged with not even a square inch of his skin exposed.
At Sister Shui Yuans doing, that was not the only thing he was wrapped in. A soft and tenderyer of energy enveloped him firmly, eliciting an endless wave of soreness, pain, and even itchiness.
The methodology was a match of how Hua Ci used to heal him, although she used Wood Elemental powers, while Sister Shui Yuans powers were of the Water Element.
The Spiritual Powers of these two elements held great healing properties since both Wood and Water are vital to the nurturing of natural life.
That would mean that Sister Shui Yuan must be a Medical Cultivator too.
But Sister Wei Yang and Brother Li Baxian were nowhere in sight. The same could be said for their mentor Tang Yifeng and one more brother- or sister-in-arms which he had not yet met. Sister Wei Yang had mentioned to him before that she was the first student, and if Sister Shui Yuan and Brother Baxian were the second and fourth students respectively, that would mean that Lu Ye still had one more senior.
Two hourster, Sister Shui Yuan stopped channeling her powers. Stay put, she instructed. Just give me a call if you need anything. Ill be just outside.
Yes, Lu Ye replied softly.
Shui Yuan rose from her chair and strode out of the chamber. She shut the door behind her back, then she paused to think. She tapped on the Battlefield Imprint on her arm and delivered a message that said: Hes safe now!
At the same time, somewhere where the provinces of Bing Zhou and Yun Zhou intersected. This was within the circle of Thousand Demon Ridge influence, but that did not stop Tang Yifeng froming all the way here. The Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect was hovering in the air, radiating torrents of Spiritual Power that gradually calmed like a storm reaching its end. Below his feet was a swath of rubble and debris that formerly formed parts of the stronghold of a Thousand Demon Ridge sect known as Weiberwolvenstein. Close to being single handedly ughtered by Tang Yifeng alone, most of the sects membership nowy bloodied and lifeless under the heaps of fallen walls and copsed ceilings.
As a mere Tier-Six sect, Weiberwolvensteins bestprised only a handful of Real Lake Realm Cultivators whose puny might could barely hope to match Tang Yifengs. That they managed to prevent the full decimation of the whole sect was only because of the quick thinking of some of the members who managed to slip into the Spirit Creek Battlefield to escape imminent doom. But there was little doubt that Weiberwolvensteins tier would be taking a deep divee the next assessment.
A sh of light approached from afar at great speeds. Before it ever got close, a voice thundered, Are you seeking death, Tang Yifeng?!
The Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect said nothing. As a response, he morphed into a sh of light himself, piercing through the skies in pursuit. The two figures fought in a blurry whirl of fists and kicks. Whoever it was, he was not feeling pleased at all; Tang Yifeng was disying strength that Thousand Demon Ridge had never seen before. In just a matter of seconds, the neer knew that he would never win, hence he fled.
Tang Yifeng watched the neer leave. There was no need to give chase. As much as he could defeat and kill his enemy, doing so would only consume more time. Yun Zhou was after all within the circle of influence of the Thousand Demon Ridge faction and more Divine Ocean Realm champions must be on their way here.
He immediately flew away.
Weiberwolvenstein was hardly the only one that came under attack. In just one day, three Thousand Demon Ridge sects in Yun Zhou sustained heavy losses on Tang Yifengs ount and Weiberwolvenstein was the one that got the brunt of the Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sects full wrath with almost every Real Lake Realm Cultivator in and more than half of its crop of Cloud River Realm Cultivators put to the sword.
Such was the terror that a Spell Cultivator in full rage could wreak, more so, a Spell Cultivator who was a Divine Ocean Realm champion with powers and deadliness few in the world could match.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had to marshal a force of more than a dozen Divine Ocean Realm champions and even with such odds, Tang Yifeng managed to defend himself before he escaped with serious injuries himself.
But before he escaped, he left a message.
One that was loud and clear enough: anyone who dared toy a hand on another one of his students ever again, he woulde, and more death and destruction would ensue, the dignity of being an elder or not.
The Thousand Demon Ridge faction was still reeling over their defeat at the Battle of Goldentip and now this? It was manifestly clear enough that Tang Yifeng was exacting this reprisal for the slight they had caused his student.
The three sects and orders that heid waste to each had yed a part in the Battle of Goldentip.
They had awakened the sleeping giant who had been slumbering for years and his emergence once more sent jolts of fear and panic down the spines of many Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was sitting on his bed inside his room.
He was amazed by Sister Shui Yuans prowess in healing. In just two days, the pain and soreness from the heavy injuries he received were nearly gone. He might still be all wrapped up like a spring roll, but he really was feeling better now.
She had been feeding him some sort of strange potion, which tasted considerably better,pared to the concoctions of that sadistic Hua Cis, the terrible odor of which never stopped making him vomit.
To help regain his Spiritual Power, he was fed a Spiritual Pill. As he digested it, he channeled his cultivation discipline with Glyph: Gathering Spirits activated. That was when he discovered something troubling: his Spiritual Power had be impure. Even as he now gathered fresh Spiritual Power, the contamination still existed, if not worse than before.
He could barely help it. He had consumed too many Spirit Pills during the Battle of Goldentip. While most of them were high-quality pills, there really wasnt any way for him to prevent being affected by the umted toxins.
To solve this quandary, Lu Ye would need to restore the Tree of Glyphs ability to consume away the toxic in his body, although the how of it was what befuddled him at the moment. But that would be a question for ater time; what mattered most right now was getting back to good health first.
He needed to get back into the Battlefield and get Amber. Yi Yi must be worried sick about him right now.
[Bang!]
The door swung open, nearly ripping off its hinges and taking Lu Ye by surprise. He looked and saw arge beding in upright through the threshold. It was Sister Shui Yuan trying to lift the bed in despite her petite frame.
Being taken care of by her for the past few days was enough for Lu Ye to understand that Sister Shui Yuan was a gentle and kind woman, unlike Hua Ci who might wear her damsel-in-distress fa?ade like a mask to disguise how cunning and devious she could be. In fact, she had been so attentive in her care of him that Lu Ye was wondering if he was her long-lost son long separated since birth.
That said, nothing exined the reason behind how angry she looked as she carried the bed into the chamber.
Um, Sister Shui Yuan? What is this [Surely shes not thinking of wanting to take care of him day and night?!]
She shed him a sweet smile and said to him softly, Dont you worry about it. Just rest.
Oh, okay.
She tossed the bed aside and magically produced a set of sheets and nkets from somewhere that left Lu Ye gawking in stunned silence. She made the bed before she swiveled around and scowled coldly at the open door. Come on, get in here! Are you feeling embarrassed?
Only then did Lu Ye realize that there was someone else outside. He tried looking but he found no one, hence he could only throw furtive and quizzical nces at Shui Yuan.
You eithere in or Im gonna be making youe in! she snorted crossly.
Ahem! a gruff cough came from outside the door. Is this how you speak to me in front of your junior fellow student?
An elderly man stepped into the chamber, looking stern as he stroked his beard.
Enter Tang Yifeng, the Grand Master of the Sect and their mentor.
The whites of Lu Yes eyes trembled. He got up at once. But before he could stand up, he nearly lost his bnce and fell. Tang Yifeng rushed forward and held him. Their eyes met. Lu Ye could see the guilt in his eyes. The aged, wrinkled lips of the old man quivered as all myriads of emotions condensed into one short sentence, Much you have endured, my child.
He did not expect this, nor did he wish this to happen to Lu Ye the day he epted him as a student. It was a debt the Crimson Blood Sect incurred and Lu Ye, as a fresh recruit who had not evenid eyes on the door of the stronghold before, should not have borne the brunt of, which had nearly cost his life, alone.
For the past few months, he knew that Lu Ye was alive. But hecked the manpower for a Battlefield-wide search to find him. He had Shui Yuan roped in several independents that he knew and pleaded for their assistance in tracking down Lu Ye. But the Battlefield was a huge haystack and finding Lu Ye, the proverbial needle in this case, was a job that no low-tier independents could easilyplete.
Chapter 171: The Three Stooges
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 171: The Three Stooges
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect, Tang Yifeng, knew little about the life of his young student in the Battlefield, but he saw with his own eyes the many cuts, abrasions,cerations, and bruises that mottled the body of the sixteen-or-so-year-old, Lu Ye, when Shui Yuan was dressing his wounds. He did not neglect to note that several of the wounds could have killed Lu Ye.
That was enough for him to know how dangerous life had been for Lu Ye for the past six months.
That his youngest student had to endure such hardships and perils, Tang Yifeng could only me himself. He attributed it all to his ipetence and to vent his anger, he went a rampage into Yun Zhou right after Lu Ye came back.
At least, he needed to ensure that no injustice like what happened at the top of Goldentip would ever repeat. The Thousand Demon Ridge faction clearly needed a reminder that he was still Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect and so long as he still lived, he would never allow his students to suffer the threat of death and humiliation for nothing!
To that end, he even exposed his true power. True power that he had kept hidden for at least decades.
Back inside the chamber where Lu Ye was still recuperating, Tang Yifeng ced a hand on his youngest student. Its good that you are safe and youre back here now, son. Have a good rest, he beamed proudly.
Yes, sir, Lu Ye responded reverently.
Nevertheless, he was very curious. Tang Yifeng looked absolutely beat up with all the bruises and swells that littered his face. Was he doling out the beating or was he actually on the receiving end?
But that would exin the bed that Sister Shui Yuan was carrying in earlier.
So are youing here yourself or do you need me to give you a hand? Shui Yuan barked sharply,
Tang Yifeng got to his feet and dismissed it with a casual smile, Its just some light wounds. Like I said, theres no need to ARRGGHH
Teacher! Lu Ye cried as he watched so much blood spewing out of Tang Yifengs mouth all of a sudden that all colors left his face.
Tang Yifeng struggled to maintain a grin, No problem. Its just some clotted blood inside. Once its out, Ill Arrgghh!
Shui Yuan drifted over at once and whisked Tang Yifeng off into the other bed to administer some healing magic and stabilize his condition. At length, she grumbled, albeit with her eyes red and moist that belied her thorny temperament, Quit pretending youre strong! Sooner orter, youll get yourself killed out there. How do you suppose well be able to collect your dead body then?
Funnily enough, Tang Yifeng did not seem to dare chastise her. All he could do was grumble andment about his misfortune at having such a disrespectful student.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was frightened by Shui Yuans rapid change in demeanor. Suddenly, Sister Shui Yuan who had been so gentle and soft with him did not look so gentle and soft after all
Sister Shui Yuan had only just finished her chores of babysitting both Tang Yifeng and Lu Ye when a voice began hollering from outside, Hey, Old Man! Sister Shui Yuan? Im back!
Lu Ye recognized the voice. Is that Brother Baxian? he called.
A tall and rangy figure appeared at the door. It really was Li Baxian.
Their eyes met. Li Baxian shed Lu Ye a grin, only to fall facedown into the ground amid a puff of dust and soot the next second, much to everyones shock.
Brother Baxian!? Are you all right?! Lu Ye eximed.
Li Baxian rolled himself around and sat on the ground. He shed Lu Ye a thumbs-up, saying, Dont worry about me. Im fine!
Shui Yuan, who had just finished tucking Tang Yifeng into bed, came around in the blink of an eye. She seized Li Baxian by the scruff of his neck and surveyed him briefly. A tinge of annoyance fleeted by her stare, What in Heavens name did you get yourself into?
Li Baxian beamed broadly at Shui Yuan, Well, at any rate, Ive given Yan Xing a good walloping myself! The honor of the Sect is intact!
Although he immediately cked out the next second.
Shui Yuan delved into round of tucking in another one that needed her care and help.
She only finished two hourster, standing at the ends of the three beds, observing her handiwork with beads of perspiration lining her face and her limbs weighing like lead after all the work.
But that did not stop her from grinning. It has been years since the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold had been so boisterous!
That began Lu Yes bizarre and awkward stint in the chamber with his mentor Tang Yifeng to his right and Brother Li Baxian to his left while all three stooges recuperated together.
Three of four members of the Crimson Blood Sect were bedridden and that left only Shui Yuan to deal with all the chores alone
Three more giant tubs were added to the chamber two dayster, each steaming with an emerald-green concoction filled to the brim. Tang Yifeng, Li Baxian, and Lu Ye were ced in their respective tubs so they could soak in the concoction that would help to heal them.
The concoction was Shui Yuans very own creation, a medicinal draught that would work tremendously well for their injuries.
In the meantime, Lu Ye discovered that his hair had turned shorter than hest remembered it to be when his bandages were removed. It must have been singed by the mes during his final round against the Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre. Fortunately, he had not be bald or he would have to find a hole to worm into whenever he saw anyone.
But most of his external wounds had all healed, all thanks to Shui Yuans extraordinary healing skills.
Thest few days being in the same chamber with Li Baxian and Tang Yifeng had helped to deepen his knowledge about the Sects history.
Before his arrival, there was only Tang Yifeng and Shui Yuan. But even with him, the entire Sect was just the three of them.
To describe the Sect as dwindling was more than just a mere understatement. No wonder the Sect was about to be defunct.
Li Baxian might have been a Crimson Blood Sect acolyte back when he was still a young boy, but heter joined the Devoted Ones. Apparently, the same could be said for the third Crimson Blood Sect acolyte; he was also recruited into another order despite being once an acolyte of the Sect a long time ago.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had not seen Wei Yang since he woke up. He tried speaking to Li Baxian about her, but all he got was a cryptic shes the mysterious kind speech.
But it only served to substantiate the feeling that Li Baxian was trying to hide something and this was puzzling enough. No matter what, Lu Ye wished to thank Wei Yang himself. She was the first toe and it was her timely intervention that saved him.
But Li Baxian did exin why a Crimson Blood Sect acolyte like him was so vehemently hunted down.
And it was all because of an incredible person who was once a Crimson Blood Sect memberthe first acolyte of the Sects present generation and Tang Yifengs first student, Feng Wujiang.
It was by his leadership that the Crimson Blood Sect was once the leading order in the Grand Sky Coalition. A call to arms by the Sect would lead to a huge muster of all Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators. That demonstrated how powerful and influential the Sect was in its heyday; a name thatmanded both the respect and fear of its peers. Every sect and order in the Thousand Demon Ridge cowered the moment they heard his name or saw the standard of the Crimson Blood Sect unfurled. A few Tier-One orders had even suffered so many losses that they were no longer Tier-One; Cult ckfyre was one of the many ones in this case. That was why the Sacred Child would rather stake her own future and the Cults just so that she could defeat and y Lu Ye with her own hands.
It was the over-inted sense of self-worth and hubris that ruined him; he turned vain and stubborn, refusing to listen to the caution of others, until a battle thirty years ago, he led argepany of Cultivators to conduct an ill-advised assault on a Tier-One Thousand Demon Ridge stronghold. It was an ambush. Feng Wujiang was killed and the Grand Sky Coalition lost many good men.
That defeat was what almost extirpated the Crimson Blood Sect.
It was due to that fateful battle that the decline of the Crimson Blood Sect began and continued to this day. Once the pride and the banner of the Grand Sky Coalition, those who had suffered the Sects wrath all those decades ago were circumspect to see its existence preserved. Hence, when Lu Yes identity was revealed, that sparked a great war.
That is why this is not your burden to bear, Lu Ye. Brother Wujiang was the architect of all this mess, not you, quipped a naked Li Baxian who was leaning his back on the side of the tub with an arm on the edge while he took a swig of wine off his gourd. Well, theres also Old Man. He failed to keep the show running after Brother Wujiang was gone, he did not neglect to add.
As if you know everything, snorted the Old Man from Lu Yes other nk. Youre still soiling your pants when all that happened. Id hardly rely on his ount for the full details, Tang Yifeng added for Lu Yes benefit. The Crimson Blood Sect was never a high-tier order in the first ce. It was Wujiang who single handedly elevated us all. Hes the sole reason were even Tier-One back in those days. Thus, with him gone, so falls the Sect. Hes an extraordinarily gifted one, that boy But s Fate just tends to act in the cruelest fashion; Wujiang was killed and the only legacy that hes managed to leave was a sackload of mess.
Extraordinarily gifted, eh? Li Baxian chuckled, What do you think about Lu Ye then?
Tang Yifeng went silent. Comparing Feng Wujiang and Lu Ye would not be easy; the former might be known as an extremely gifted Cultivator, but he was virtually nameless in Lu Yes stage. In fact, he aplished nothing remarkable until he reached the Cloud River Realm when thete-bloomer suddenly had a growth spurt that saw him rising in both strength and prestige to be the Grand Chieftain of the Grand Sky Coalition.
Yi Ye, Tang Yifeng said with a sudden grave tone, mistaking Lu Yes name, much to Lu Yes chagrin, You will need to be very careful henceforth. The Battle of Goldentip might have made you famous, but it basically ced you in the enemies crosshairs. Thest thing the Thousand Demon Ridge faction wants is a second Feng Wujiang. If anything, theyd be more persistent in trying to eliminate you.
Tang Yifengs original n was to have Lu Ye transferred to another sect or order. But the Battle of Goldentip had made Lu Ye famous enough to know that he was now the newest face of the Sect and the one ted to reach great heights.
Lu Yes jaw hung loose. He wanted to insist that his name was not Yi Ye or Lu Yi Ye, but the grimness of the message robbed what he wanted to say. Yes, sir, he responded.
[Le Shan!] he grimaced sourly as he recalled the name of the Righteous Sect acolyte who gave him this thrice-damned nickname. [Ill settle this score with you one day!]
But you wont have much to worry about, Lu Ye, Li Baxian said, hoping that he could calm some of Lu Yes anxiety. Two days ago Old Man umsent a loud and clear message. Something like the Battle of Goldentip will not be happening again, so long as Old Man is still Grand Master. Even if the Thousand Demon Ridge faction wishes ill upon youwhich they would, undoubtedlythey will still have to y by the rules.
Rules?
That is, what happens inside the outer circles of the Battlefield is a matter handled by those within the area itself. There wont be another instance of enemy Cultivators from the inner ring or core areas of the Battlefield trying to hunt you down anymore. Another turbulence like this most recent war would not only risk destabilizing the whole Battlefield but the real world of Jiu Zhou as well.? The Coalition and the Ridge might be opposing factions that would salivate at the opportunity to vanquish each other, but rules exist, which would have been adhered this time, too, if not for the fact that the Thousand Demon Ridge side was panicking.
Lu Ye nodded. That was good news. Being a Fifth-Order Cultivator would mean that he could still wreak enough havoc in the outer circles before he rose to the Seventh-Order. Only then did he have to move to the inner rings of the Battlefield.
[Bang!]
The door swung open like someone had given it a heavy kick from the outside and in the open threshold, cryptic mists billowed, obscuring the clear sight of whoever it was standing there menacingly.
The cold and steely voice of Shui Yuan resounded eerily, Who is drinking?
Li Baxian stiffly swiveled his head and responded hesitantly, N-Nope N-No one
Youre so badly wounded, how dare you drink liquor now!? I told you before, no drinking during your recuperation! So you love to drink, eh? Alright! Have your way then! Shui Yuan stormed up to Li Baxians tub, rolled up her sleeves, and grabbed his head, dunking it into the concoction and holding him down.
[Gurgle! Gurgle! Gurgle!]
Lu Ye and Tang Yifeng both shared a furtive nce and in tacit unison, they sank themselves deeper into the potion with only their eyes above the water level with hopes that they would be left alone.
[Shes scary!]
Chapter 172: Legate-In-Charge
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 172: Legate-In-Charge
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Yes injuries had almost fully healed by the seventh day. A feat that could not have been possible without Shui Yuans skillful hands.
Even the condition of his Spiritual Power had improved. The daily intake of medicine and bathing in herbal potions had helped to reduce the toxins in his body. Shui Yuan must have realized the problem and included this matter in the regimen of treatment she performed on him.
Last but not least was Shui Yuans masterful cooking skills. She could turn medicinal herbs that tasted nd or bitter into a dish of sumptuous food which was not only amazingly delicious, but also immensely nourishing that, after a few days, made Lu Ye feel his vigor improving, if not enhancing.
But all the love and care were not without reason; Lu Ye was the newest recruit. In fact, he was the only recruit the Crimson Blood Sect had seen in recent decades and he had to endure being hunted down like a dog before the Battle of Goldentip, which made Shui Yuan feel that she owed Lu Ye a lot of love and care.
On the other hand, Li Baxian was showered with scorn and ridicule foring over this side to get a free meal and free treatment for his wounds. Sister Shui Yuan did not stop giving him a piece of her own mind every now and then, especially during mealtimes.
The Crimson Blood Sect might have been a shadow of itself from decades ago, but that did not mean that they werecking in resources and supplies, They might not be enough for high-tier Cultivators, but they were definitely helpful to Lu Ye who was still progressing up the ranks of the Spirit Creek Realm.
It was noon in the Sanctum of Tranquility that sat on the Summit of Fortitude.
The Summit of Fortitude was one of a hundred mountain peaks that sat within the wide and spacious Crimson Blood Sect grounds and in their heyday were teeming with scores of acolytes thronging about when the Sect was still a hive of activity.
But a long time had passed since then and most of the mountain peaks had all been abandoned, leaving only the Summit of Fortitude as the only one still being used.
The Summit was where Tang Yifeng and Shui Yuan usually lived.
Once set up on another mountain summit called the Summit of Tranquility, the Sanctum of Tranquility housed the many memorial ques that belonged to every Crimson Blood Sect Cultivator who had passed on since the founding of the Sect.
Lu Ye was kneeling solemnly before the tens of thousands of memorial ques with Shui Yuan and Li Baxian quietly standing in a corner.
Tang Yifeng nted three incense sticks into the brazier that stood before the multitude of memorial ques and bowed very reverently. I am Tang Yifeng, Tenth Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect. To the forebears of the Sect, here I present native of Bing Zhou, Lu Ye. Kind of heart and noble of soul, he demonstrates fortitude and strength, talent and heroism
The long paean left Lu Ye bashfully awkward.
Hence on this day, it is my honor to offer Lu Ye a ce as a member of the Crimson Blood Sect. May the forebears watch upon you and keep you safe.
He turned around and faced Lu Ye. Pensively, he said, From this day onwards, you are hereby a true initiate of the Crimson Blood Sect. You will strive to live up to the name of the Crimson Blood Sect and you will do nothing to dishonor it. May our forebears shower their blessings on you that Tang Yifeng paused for one second and tapped gently on Lu Yes head, you shall remain safe at all times.
Lu Ye did not have to be a genius to guess that more words of praise and ambition must have been uttered under usual circumstances. But with only just the three of them, there was hardly any ce nor need for exaggeration. What mattered more to Tang Yifeng, especially after the Battle of Goldentip, was something else.
Lu Yes well-being.
Yes, sir! Lu Ye responded crisply, bowing deeply.
A half year ago when Lu Ye and Tang Yifeng came under attack, thetter had made an oath with Heaven as his witness that Lu Ye was recognized as an acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect. But since the oath was made hastily, the ceremony today was to properly acknowledge Lu Ye as a real member of the family.
Lu Ye gazed at the tens of thousands of memorial ques, feeling as if the predecessors of the Sect were all watching him.
He stood up slowly. This was the first time this loner felt that he belonged.
[I belong here! From this day hence, this is where I belong!] he wanted so much to exim that out loud.
Congrattions, Brother Lu Ye, Li Baxian beamed at him.
Brother Baxian! Lu Ye bowed deeply; not only to convey his gratitude for Li Baxians painstaking efforts to make sure that he survived during the Battle of Goldentip, but also as a form of respect.
Sister Shui Yuan, Lu Ye bowed to Shui Yuan as well.
Shui Yuan could feel her eyes throbbing with redness. Li Baxian was still a young child when the Crimson Blood Sects fell from grace, but not her. Seeing the Crimson Blood Sect falling into ruin was a huge blow to her and seeing Lu Ye now being officially inducted invoked memories of the bright and young faces of new recruits so eager to join the Sect back when the Sects name was still filled with pride and loftiness.
[The Crimson Blood Sect of old Oh, how majestic it was!]
Shui Yuan approached Lu Ye at a slow pace and took his right hand. Then she produced a seal. The object glimmered with the bright luminescence of a miniature sun the moment it appeared. Next, after a deep breath, she dered coyly, Keeper of the Seal and an eleventh-generation acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect Shui Yuan invokes the Heavens as witness, I hereby appoint eleventh-generation acolyte Lu Ye as the legate-in-charge of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. With this seal, so I swear!
She stamped the seal on the back of Lu Yes hand.
Everyone could feel the otherworldly sensation of the Heavens acknowledging the oath; it was done.
Lu Ye could feel his very own self shuddering. He stared at Shui Yuan incredulously, Um, Sister Shui Yuan, what was that all about?
Every sect or order has a legate and a deputy in charge of the running of its outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. I, for instance, am the legate-in-charge of the Devoted Ones outpost, exined Li Baxian, Being legate gives you the responsibility of keeping the outpost safe from invasions, and it also affords you privileges. It will take a long time to glean through the details; Ill give you a jade slip containing thorough information about what the job entails. Youll understand better then.
With you and Sister Shui Yuan being the only eleventh-generation acolytes left, Sister Shui Yuan could only rely on you to watch over the outpost, Brother. A Real Lake Realm Cultivator like her could not enter the Battlefield as freely as you could, so the burden is yours to bear, Im afraid
The outpost is not important, Shui Yuan added, Im only appointing you as legate so that you can enter and exit the Battlefield more easily. Youre still in the Spirit Creek Realm and the Battlefield is still the best ce for you to cultivate your power and hone your skills.
But hasnt the outpost fallen into enemy hands? Lu Ye asked incredulously.
He thought that with his identity now virtually public knowledge, the outpost should havee under attack by now.
It used to be so until there were no benefits to be reaped, said Li Baxian, Theres nothing there for anyone to plunder anymore. To say nothing about that beast. So long as it is still there, no one from the outer ring of the Battlefield could possibly capture the outpost.
The situation at the outpost is kind ofplicated, added Shui Yuan, At the moment, its mostly independents who gather around there. Those were the ones I used to help find out about you, although none of them managed to locate you. Whether you want to keep the independents there is up to you, Lu Ye. There is a handful that you could ce your trust in, although the rest Im not too sure about.
Lu Ye bobbed his head. There was too much he did not know about the outpost, so there was hardly any need to make any hasty decisions. That could wait until he had a better look at the ce. With Li Baxian as a fellow legate-in-charge, he could always rely on him for advice.
By the way, that pet tiger of yours has safely arrived at the outpost, ording to the Turbulent Watchmen who sent him there. The tiger will be there when you go to the outpost.
All right, Im heading there now, Lu Ye said at once.
Very well. Come with me, said Shui Yuan.
She led Lu Ye to another chamber called the Sanctum of Providence.
The strongholds of every sect and order each had a Sanctum of Providence of their ownone in the main stronghold and the other at the outpost within the Battlefield, each with a Divine Opportunity Column. Some called the Sanctum the most important of all chambers in every stronghold for the Column was how acolytes entered and exited the Battlefield. So during an invasion, securing the Sanctum was usually one of the most important objectives, whether for the defense or the offense.
Lu Ye ced his hand on the Column, as instructed by Shui Yuan.
It reminded him of the first time he entered the Battlefield. The moment he felt a tremoring from the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand as it resonated with the Column, the entire world around him warped into a blurry whirl.
Remember to get a Pact from the Column once you get to that side for your pet, Shui Yuans voice came from somewhere around his ears.
In the blink of an eye, everything was clear again.
Only this time, he found himself standing in a wide and spacious chamber with no one else around.
He peered at the Divine Opportunity Column. He could feel a connection between the Column and his Battlefield Imprint, possibly because of his identity now as an actual Crimson Blood Sect acolyte and legate-in-charge of this outpost.
But that was not all. The Column held something more. Something intangible that he could feel but not yet quite describe, although he sensed that he, as legate-in-charge, could alter and manipte.
As for how, that would need time to master and get ustomed to.
He did not want to try anything yet. At the moment, he had too much to learn and he should wait for more information from Li Baxian.
His first order of business was to get to Amber as soon as possible; Yi Yi must be worried sick about him.
He stepped out of the Sanctum and into the sunlight, basking in its weing and cheery warmth. Then he looked up and noticed something peculiar. The passage of time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the real world outside seemed to be simr.
That was when his peripheral vision caught someone looking at him. Lu Yes hand instinctively reached for his weapon, only to find that nothing was there.
He remembered it now: his saber had been shattered beyond repair.
He looked around. A few Cultivators were giving him dubious and surprised stares and all of them posed no threat. They were only Third- and Fourth-Orders at best.
They must be the independents Shui Yuan had told him about.
With the outpost abandoned for decades, this ce had turned into a safe haven where many independents gathered, turning the surrounding areas into arge bazaar.
And the independents had the sense to not focus their activities around the Sanctum of Providence of the outpost. Much of the bazaar was spread around the outerpounds where none of the noise and mess would get anywhere near.
That was the least the independents could do as a form of respect to the Crimson Blood Sect and avoid antagonizing any of the members.
Without any form of support, independents had to scrape for a living in the harsh environments of the Battlefield. Those who could survive only managed because they had be experienced enough in the ways of the world and the attendant vagaries and subtleties.
For this reason, no independents would knowingly choose to offend any member of a militant sect or order.
The independents that resided in the bazaar of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost knew that the outpost had been abandoned for decades. That someone just stepped out of the Sanctum of Providence was something barely any of them had seen before.
Lu Ye stood there for a few seconds, then he heard the familiar sound of a tiger. He spun around and sped in the direction where it wasing from. He arrived at a wide square where the first thing he saw was the white furry girth of Amber.
Chapter 173: Bonding Pact
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 173: Bonding Pact
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
But the reunion wasnt all sunshine and rainbows. A monstrous eagle of gigantic size was towering over Amber, and it was eyeing the tiger as if deciding if the tiger was food!
Even with Ambers already-massive girth, it appeared as tiny as a little cat next to the graphite-coated behemothic avian predator which could fully grasp Amber in its ws.
That was just how colossal this eagle was.
Lu Ye immediately recalled what Li Baxian told him: the Crimson Blood Sect outpost might be undefended by any of the Sects members, but the reason that it was still unconquered by any of the other forces from the outposts in the Battlefields outer ring was because of a ferocious beast.
Clearly, this eagle must be it!
But since Sister Shui Yuan and Brother Baxian had not told him much about this eagle, that must mean that it would not be a threat to himat least not a big one.
Bearing that in mind, Lu Ye quickly rushed forward to referee the situation.
The eagle was quick to notice him. It studied him with such a gaze that almost said that Lu Ye was a walking piece of meat.
Meanwhile, Amber quickly wheeled around and stood between Lu Ye and the eagle protectively. Only then did Lu Ye realize that Amber was not alone; another Cultivator was just beside him and he was looking at aplete loss for what to do.
Are you one of the Turbulent Watchmen? Lu Ye asked. By his reckoning, this Cultivator was at least a Ninth-Order who had learned at least an Earth-grade discipline or he would havecked the skills and strength to see to Ambers safe arrival here.
I am, said the Watchmen, nodding.
Greetings, Lu Ye saluted, And my deepest gratitude for your help in bringing my tiger here.
I was just on the way, the Watchmen smiled. He studied Lu Ye and remarked, Impressive. Allow me to congratte you and express my admiration for your derring-do at the top of Goldentip.
You are too kind, sir, Lu Ye muttered bashfully.
But he was annoyed at the same time. [Gods be damned, looks like this Yi Ye thing is going to be sticking on me for the rest of my life]
They exchanged a few more words before the Watchman took his leave on the pretext of running some errands. But that did not stop Lu Ye from feeling grateful, repeating his thanks once more.
Lu Ye watched him until he was gone. Then he looked up to find the eagle still staring at him. The gigantic bird lowered and gave Lu Ye a couple of gentle pecks on his head that felt like a pair of taps that Lu Ye did not know the reason for, before the bird pped its albatross-like wingspan and took into the sky,nding at the top of a mountain peak not far away.
Amber was only too happy to see the eagle gone. He finally padded over and rubbed his big head on Lu Ye affectionately.
Come, lets show you the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold! Lu Ye patted Ambers head, saying to him as well as to Yi Yi.
They ignored the curious and dubious stares from the independents and made a beeline straight back inside the Sanctum of Providence of the outpost where they stopped just in front of the Divine Opportunity Column.
Sister Shui Yuan had reminded him about getting a Bonding Pact, although she did not exin how.
He paused and wondered, then he said aloud, Acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect Lu Ye, hereby requests for a Bonding Pact.
The Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand glowed and he felt a warm sensation before a rush of unknown information that he had never seen before crammed into his mind. Then he saw what a Bonding Pact was in his mind: a piece of animal hide parchment.
That must be it. The Bonding Pact which allowed Cultivators to forge a spiritual bond between themselves and their Spirit Beasts. That way, Spirit Beasts coulde and go freely with the respective Cultivators they were bonded to. Amber, for instance, had always been a Spirit Beast born in the Battlefield. Hence, he could never leave the Battlefield and into the real world of Jiu Zhou without a Bonding Pact.
It looked awfully simr to the Sacred Pact Li Baxian used at the Battle of Goldentip
[But Sacred Pacts or Bonding Pacts, they muste from somewhere. So where exactly? Why could it only be created by Heavens? How do the Heavens operate exactly?]
A stream of strange questions loomed in Lu Yes mind. But there was no need to trouble himself with such matters at the moment. Whatever the truth was, it must be something of the utmost secrecy and he needed to be stronger before he could unravel the truths himself.
In the meantime, requesting a Bonding Pact was not free; it cost Lu Ye a hundred Contribution Points, although Lu Ye only knew about the price from the stream of information that surged into his mind.
He examined his Battlefield Imprint.
Name: Lu Ye
Identity: Acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect
Cultivation: Sixty-four Spiritual Points
Position: The Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: Nine Hundred and Forty-Three
He could barely confess to being satisfied; there had been little progress in his cultivation. He had unlocked his sixty-third Spiritual Point back when he fought and slew Dong Shu Ye. The days that ensued that fateful battle did not allow him the chance to focus on training and meditation. He had been busy running from his pursuers and killing anyone unlucky enough to have caught up.
That would exin the huge increase in his Contribution Points tally. Thest time he checked the tally after he had killed Dong Shu Ye, the amount was hardly four hundred. But now, it looked like he could reach a thousand anytime.
The why of it needed no guessing; he had fought a whopping forty-three consecutive rounds of solobat at the crest of Goldentip and had killed at least thirty of his opponents. Aside from the first opponent who was a Fifth-Order, the rest of the poor souls who had died by his saber were all Sixth-Orderseach of them worth twelve points apiece. Thatst round itself had earned him twenty-one points.
If the Battle of Goldentip alone had garnered him about three hundred and sixty-plus points, then the rest must havee from the kills he had gotten during his flight.
Yet despite being within a spitting distance of reaching the one-thousandth point mark, Lu Ye knew how difficult it had been for him to scrape all these points. Each and every point was a testament to how far he hade and how much blood, sweat, and tears he had put in, and a hundred points for the Bonding Pact was not a price that he would consider as cheap.
However, he wasforted by the fact that he had not been alone; Yi Yi and Ambers presence had been both reassuring and very crucial throughout their journey, especially during the short-lived war when he was hunted by virtually every enemy Cultivator in the Battlefield. Therefore, the Bonding Pact was something that he felt obliged to procure for Amber and Yi Yis sakewhether it was a hundred points or even a thousand.
With his mind, he quietly agreed to the payment. A cream-white vortex swirled just in front of the Divine Opportunity Column and Lu Ye noticed that a hundred Contribution Points had been deducted from his tally.
Curiously, he reached his hand into the vortex and felt his fingers wrapping around something stiff and wide. He pulled it out. It was an ancient-looking parchment made of animal hide. The Bonding Pact.
Knowing how to use it now from the information supplied to him just moments ago, Lu Ye bit his thumb and left a mark on the parchment before injecting some of his Spiritual Powers into it and putting it between him and an incredulous Amber who obviously did not know what was going on.
The animal skin parchment burst into mes. The fire consumed the parchment and elongated into a ring that rose into the air andnded on the ground with Amber right at its center. Then it shrunk and the ring of mes melded into the tiger. Amber understood nothing of it, but he didnt resist. The fire was not scalding him at all.
When the ring of fire waspletely gone, Lu Ye could feel a bond between him and Amber. He could sense the tigers position within a small distance and Lu Ye could better guess his mind now.
[Interesting thing, this Bonding Pact,] he mused.
Without further ado, Lu Ye brought Amber back to the Jiu Zhou Crimson Blood Sect stronghold with him.
It was only after he had left that several heads popped out of the sides of the Sanctums entrance to find that it was empty. [That was Lu Yi Ye! Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect and he hase!]
News of Lu Yes appearance in the outpost began to sweep across the whole bazaar, leaving many independents apprehensive
Shui Yuan and Li Baxian were waiting in the main stronghold Sanctum of Providence when Lu Ye came back with Amber. The first thing that Li Baxian asked when he saw Lu Ye was, Have you met Beaky?
Beaky?! Lu Ye was bbergasted, although he was quick to realize that Li Baxian was referring to that monstrous eagle. Cringing at the name, his eyes twitched. Wait, who gave it that name?
That such a magnificent beast should be given a name as frivolous as Beaky was just
Beaky is the Spirit Pet that Brother Wujiang kept all those years ago, Li Baxian exined, chuckling, After he left the Battlefield, Beaky stayed around the outpost. Thats why Sister Shuiyuan told you that theres nothing to be worried about. The outpost is nothing but a bare and empty fort and with Beaky around, the usual ragtag of outer-ring forces wouldnt dare to invade.
He tossed Lu Ye a jade slip. Inside is pretty much everything youll need to know about the outpost. Just go through it when youre free. As legate, there will still be benefits in focusing much of your training in the outpost, especially since youre still a long way behind.
Lu Ye nodded as he fingered the jade slip. Then he remembered something. He patted Ambers head and said, Come out and say hi to Sister Shui Yuan and Brother Baxian.
Thetter two stared quizzically at the tiger, not knowing what was going on.
Although their curious expressions turned into that of amazement.
Yi Yi slowly materialized. Coyly, she greeted them, Um, hello, Sister Shui Yuan, Brother Baxian! She did not know how she should be addressing them both, so she thought she might as well just follow Lu Ye.
Yi Yi had not shown herself at all during the Battle of Goldentip, chiefly because she would not only be useless but also as an apparition, her appearance in public would have been inappropriate.
But right now, with only Shui Yuan and Li Baxian present, everyone was family.
Li Baxian stared at her before he gave Lu Ye a grin that all men would understand, nudging him yfully, Good job, Brother!
Lu Ye hastily exined, Yi Yis the Spirit that lives inside Amber. Both she and Amber have been very crucial and helpful to me.
Spirit? uttered Shui Yuan with interest. She had never seen anything like Yi Yi before. She strode nearer to Yi Yi and poked at her arm gently. To her surprise, Yi Yi felt as corporeal as a living human being, although she could see how unique Yi Yi was, being a Spirit that could transition between having a corporeal and an incorporeal body.
Being ogled by both Shui Yuan and Li Baxian made Yi Yi nervous and she cast anxious nces at Lu Ye, tacitly calling for help.
Shui Yuan patted her head. Youre Lu Yes family, so that makes you our family too. You are one of us and this is your home, all right?
Those words had such weight and significance that Yi Yi stared at her for a few seconds, her eyes turning red and moist before she bobbed her head vigorously.
[I have a home too! I have a home too finally!] she thought, reminiscing the time she encountered Lu Ye and how thankful she was to have chosen toe with him.
Meanwhile, Li Baxian gave Lu Ye a knowing look and signalled for them to talk outside.
Lu Ye followed closely behind.
They walked out of the strongholds Sanctum and Li Baxian said, Well, under normal circumstances, you would be assigned a tutor to supervise your learning, especially since youre already in the Fifth-Order as its time for you to decide on your path.?But as you can see, the Sect isnt under normal circumstances, so to speak. Old Man might be powerful but its been years since he actually took anyone under his wing. Besides, just between you and me, hes a real blockhead, so that rules him out of this job.
A stone flew out of nowhere and smacked right into Li Baxians head.
One could almost tell how fast the swell grew. But Li Baxian ignored it. He turned around to look at where it came from before spinning back to face Lu Ye, still rubbing the swell on his head, Luckily enough, you seem to be doing well on your own. But the matter still persists: have you thought about which path to pursue?
Combat Cultivator! Lu Ye gave his answer at once, his eyes still on the lump that was growing out of Li Baxians head.
Chapter 174: The Vault of Providence
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 174: The Vault of Providence
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Yes journey into achieving the Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm did note without all the many battles which he had survived with the help of his saber. It was such a modal of fighting that, not only had he grown ustomed to, but also defined the path that he had decided upon a long time ago.
Combat Cultivators are a broad breed, Li Baxian nodded, Chief among them practice the sword. It is widely regarded that swords are the most versatile of all weapons and Swordsmen Cultivators are especially deadly even among Combat Cultivators. Are you interested in being one?
I think Ill be morefortable with the saber, Brother Baxian.
I know. But Ive seen your saber before; it resembles the sword a lot in some ways. If you have any inclinations towards bing a swordsman, I believe I can be of help. That would save you a lot of trouble.
Lu Ye thought about it. At length, he shook his head, Ill still stick to the saber. Ive tried using a sword before, but it never felt right.
Well, things like this take time, Li Baxian persuaded, Im sure that given enough time, youll feel used to the sword.
Thank you, Brother Baxian, but no thank you, insisted Lu Ye, The saber is still my favored weapon.
The corner of Li Baxians eyes throbbed. [How could I have failed to convert him?!] he nearly screamed out loud. But he sighed and relented. Very well then. Go find yourself a suitable weapon. Ill teach you a thing or two starting tomorrow. Things that Im sure youll find very useful and illuminating,
Lu Ye noticed his lips curling and that did not look good at all.
In the meantime, he needed a new weapon. The one he had been using had been damaged beyond repair back at the Battle of Goldentip. Fortunately enough, it was only just a cheap weapon and Lu Ye wasnt too perturbed about losing it.
But it wont be easy recing that saber. He had been collecting the spoils of the opponents he had defeated during the Battle of Goldentip. Most of them he had collected himself, much to the reluctance of the Thousand Demon Ridge side.
But when he got too tired, it was Wei Yang who took over collecting the spoils for him, and antagonizing her was thest thing anyone in the enemy faction wanted to do.
These were all handed to him just a few days ago by Shui Yuan. The magic that sealed them all had been undone, but Lu Ye wasnt amused at all to find that most of the Storage Bags formerly belonging to his now-deceased opponents contained Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills and nothing else.
Guessing Lu Yes predicament, Li Baxian pointed out, Go have a look at the contents of the jade slip I gave you, then youll know what to do.
Oh, okay.
Lu Ye went back to his chamber and took out the jade slip. He gleaned through its contents and found it immensely instructiveespecially for one who barely knew enough about the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Li Baxian must have expected that he would like to know more about the Divine Opportunity Column and the forces that be which governed it, therefore he had the jade slip specially prepared for Lu Ye.
Despite spending almost six months in the Battlefield, Lu Yes understanding of the Battlefield barely scraped the tip of the iceberg.
It took two hours for him to soak up all that information and even more time to digest what he had just learned.
After quite some time, he finally got up. He went to the Sanctum of Providence and entered the Battlefield again using the Divine Opportunity Column there.
He found himself back inside the outposts Sanctum of Providence.
He patched to the Divine Opportunity Column there using his Battlefield Imprint, then he recited what Li Baxian taught him, Low-grade Spirit Artifacts!
A vortex opened right before him just like when he requested the Bonding Pact. Only this time, the vortex emitted such a powerful force that before Lu Ye could even react, his entire self was sucked into it.
When his senses finally returned to him, he was already standing right in the center of a very spacious and cavernous hall filled with rows and rows of racks eachden with weapons that stretched so far into the distance that he could not even see their. Each of the weapons now presented right before his eyes were really Spirit Artifacts.
This was the first time Lu Ye had seen something like this. Feeling amazed, he examined himself. His body was still inside the Sanctum of Providence in the outpost, it was only his consciousness that was transported here.
This must be the Vault of Providence that Li Baxian had told him about.
Any Cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield with enough Contribution Points could conduct trade with Heavens, just like how Li Baxian had purchased a Sacred Pact and like how he had purchased Ambers Bonding Pact.
Almost anything could be purchased from the Heavens with the utmost convenience. If there was any downside, it would be that all transactions with the Heavens were conducted with Contribution Points and nothing else.
Trading with the Divine Trade Association just required the use of Spirit Stones, which was easy enough.? But one could not deny that conducting transactions with the Heavens was fast. With enough Contribution Points, one could procure almost anything from the Heavens.
If Lu Ye wished to rece his shattered saber, the Vault of Providence would be his best shot at getting a suitable one.
No one knew how or from where the Vault of Providence came to be. Like the mystery of the Battlefields real location, it remained an unsolvable enigma that had boggled the minds of those curious enough to try to divine its secrets.
But inhabitants of the Battlefield did know this: the Divine Trade Association must have rtions or links of some sort with the Vault of Providence. There have been people who discovered that the Trade Association had been selling items that came from the Vault and items sold to the Trade Association had appeared in the Vault before.
But at the moment, Lu Ye had zero interest in solving mysteries. He came to find a saber and he needed one fast.
But the hall stretched so far that he could hardly see its end, and rows of racks filled with weapons were dizzying and confusing enough. Too many items and certainly too many to pick
He opened his mouth and called out, Saber!
His surroundings warped and distorted into a blur and when everything went back to normal, the Vault had changed: it looked considerably shorter nowstill breathtakingly big, but at least he could see where it ended now.
And the Spirit Artifacts presented on the racks were, as per his request, sabers.
Many even resembled the one that he had been using before.
He took one up and channeled his power into it. To his dismay, it felt no better than the one he had used. He returned it to its position on the rack and picked another one, it was also the same.
He paused to think again, then he said, Nine Glyphs, plus a reinforced de!
A Spirit Artifacts quality is contingent on the materials used and the number of enchantmentsyered on it. A nine-Glyph enchantment was the maximum for all Low-grade Spirit Artifacts. Anything with more than that number of enchantments would at least be a Middle-grade Spirit Artifactthis was also included in the information Li Baxian supplied to Lu Ye.
And judt because a Spirit Artifact was good did not mean that it would be suitable for everyone; it depended on the wielder. The more Glyphs were enchanted upon the weapon, the more Spiritual Power one needed to use to wield it. Therefore, a low-tiered Cultivator could never be able to use a High-grade Spirit Artifact, even if it really belonged to him.
As a Fifth-Order Cultivator, a Low-grade saber with a nine-Glyph enchantment would be ideal for Lu Ye, one that would be useful for quite a long time.
As for the reinforced de, Lu Ye did not require a sharp weapon. All he needed was for it to be sturdy and strong enough. Glyph: Sharp Edge was enough to fulfill his needs for how deadly the weapon should be.
The Vault transformed again; this time, only a little more than a dozen rows were left lined up for him.
Lu Ye walked down the aisles of weapon racks and scoured for something that he liked.
He quickly found one that looked almost the same as the one he used before, although it felt heavier. But the weight was what made it morefortable for he was now stronger than when he got his first saber.
He examined it and noted that the nine Glyphs were merged in a very intricate manner. Seven of the Glyphs were to reinforce the de while the remaining two were to increase its damage, thetter two being quite simr to his Glyph: Sharp Edge.
[So Glyphs could also be merged in such ways, eh?] he mused.
After all, much of his understanding of Glyphs was limited to only what he knew about his Tree of Glyphs and the three Glyphs that he unlocked. Everything else was news to him.
He resisted the notion of finding out more about Glyphs; at the moment, he was immensely satisfied with his new weapon.
The saber might be less than useful to other Cultivators, but not Lu Ye. With Glyph: Sharp Edge, he could cut down almost anything.
The cost of the saber was tagged just on the de in the form of numerals glowing in soft light.
A hundred and thirty-eight Points!
That would mean that if Lu Ye wished to take the saber out from the Vault, he would need to pay a hundred and thirty-eight Contribution Points.
Whether the price was high or low, Lu Ye did not know. But ifpared to the cost of getting a Bonding Pact, then this would seem like a real splurge.
He did not want to look through the rest. The rest of the Low-grade sabers wouldnt be much different and he was quite satisfied with this one. But as soon as he made up his mind, everything whirled into a blur once again.
When he finally came to, he was already back in the Sanctum of Providence.
Next came a? sensation of fatigue.
Lu Ye was already informed about this. Another cost of using the Vault of Providence was the exhaustion of his vigor. The longer one spent inside the Vault, the more tired he or she would be.
He was initially thinking of going back inside for something else, but that would have to wait.
He looked at the saber in his grasp. The one-hundred-and-thirty-eight-Contribution-Point saber he had just bought. He slid the weapon out of its sheath. It did not look sharp or dangerous at all, but it certainly felt weighty and massive.
Then he saw it. Inscribed on the hilt were runes that, upon closer inspection, said Invible.
This was a saber that had a name. Who forged this weapon, Lu Ye wondered.
He swung it around to get a proper feel of it. It yielded the same feeling to when he tested it in the Vault. In fact, being able to swing and get a sense of its bnce now made it morefortable.
He returned the saber into its sheath and stepped out of the Sanctum. There was somewhere else inside this outpost that he needed to go to, ording to the instructions given to him by Li Baxian.
Not long after Lu Ye had left, a young Cultivator came rushing here. He tidied himself just outside the entrance of the Sanctum of Providence as if to make himself more presentable before stepping inside. Lu Ye was nowhere to be seen. He looked back at another Cultivator who came with him, frowning, I thought you said Lu Ye is here?
He was, exined the other Cultivator.
Gods, did he just go back again?mented the young Cultivator. He had hurried here as soon as he heard about Lu Ye being around only to find that he was just one step behind.
He took a second to think and gave his next instruction, Wait here. When he gets back, see to it that I am informed first thing. Ask him to please wait for me, if needs be.
The other Cultivator acknowledged the order.
In the meantime, Lu Ye reached another part of the outpost; a cluster of tiny little cottage-like structures. These were the training chambers for acolytes of the Crimson Blood Sect. Anyone who wished to spend some solitary time training and meditating could use one of these chambers. All outposts had training chambers of their own, simrly constructed in the quieter parts of the grounds.
But for years, the Crimson Blood Sect outpost had been left in a state of neglect and disrepair and the many weeds and wild grass that infested the wholepound were proof of that.
Chapter 175: Outpost
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 175: Outpost
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye spent some time tidying up the training chambers, weeding the hedges outside in thepound before he finally found one which he liked and stepped inside.
Despite the rtively deserted and neglected surroundings, the Crimson Blood Sect once expended a great amount of resources and wherewithal into building this ce. The training chambers were of crucial importance to the progress of the Sects younger generations. Thest thing the former leadership of the Sect wanted was to be flippant towards the future of the Sect, and for this reason, each and every chamber was guarded with specially erected enchantments to prevent strangers from using them.
But it had been quite some time since the chambers were used and maintained and that was the reason why the enchantment there had stopped working.
Lu Ye looked around. The chamber wasnt quite asrge as he expected, and the furnishing was modest. But his eyes immediately caught sight of a magical circle inscribed on the floor.
It was a magical circle designed to gather all Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere nearby and focus them here to help facilitate their training process: the Circle of Boon.
In addition to the circles, Lu Ye noted tiny little hollows around the circle. Spirit Stones could be deposited there to help thicken the atmosphere with more Spiritual Qi when the magic circle operated.
The atmosphere in the outpostpounds was often richer with Spiritual Qipared to the environment outside. The atmosphere in the Crimson Blood Sect outpostpound, for instance, had one-tenth more Spiritual Power than that in the wild.
It wasnt a lot by usual standards. The outpost hadnt been manned in decades and hence the increment afforded by the Divine Opportunity Column was only at its bare minimum. But so long as the Column continued to operate, the entirepound of the outpost would still have more Spiritual Qi than outside.
Which was also part of the reason why independents chose to gather around the outpostso that they could also make use of the denser Spiritual Qi in the vicinity.
But once an outpost was conquered, the Divine Opportunity Column of that outpost would lose its increment. One such instance would be the Divine Opportunity Column in the stronghold at Mount Ying, where Lu Ye could barely feel any difference to the environment therepared to outside.
An additional one-tenth of the Spiritual Qi richness in the atmosphere was the most basic increment for all Divine Opportunity Columns; with enough Contribution Points, one could purchase more increments from the Heavens to further intensify the richness of Spiritual Qi in the outpost.
Most of the outposts in the core region of the Battlefieldredoubts that belonged to the more elite sects and ordersoftentimes carried increments that were few or even dozens of times richer in Spiritual Qi than outside. That made training and meditating in such an environment extremely efficient.
Hence the Crimson Blood Sect outpostwith a Divine Opportunity Column that carried no additional incrementsoperated only the most basic amplification of Spiritual Qi.
Fortunately, the training chambers still had Circles of Boon.
Which was also why Shui Yuan had rmended Lu Ye to train at the outpost.
But the Circle of Boon wasnt working. It had long run out of its sustenance to continue functioning. Hence Lu Ye did not have to hurriedly activate it; he first began by studying the circle itself.
A thorough study of the magic circle gave him a conclusion: the patterns of the Circle of Boon were very, very simrup to eight-tenths at leastto the Glyph: Gathering Spirits that he used. One could argue that they might share the same provenance. In fact, Glyph: Gathering Spirit was very much a miniature Circle of Boon.
Lu Ye took out eight Spirit Stones. He ced each of them in one of the eight cavities around the Circle of Boon, then he ced his hand on the Circle and channeled his power.
As he felt his Spiritual Power seeping into the Circle bit by bit, it began to operate. The air began to thicken with Spiritual Qi.
In mere moments, the Spiritual Qi in the air inside the chamber had grown more abundant than outside.
It was not just because of the Circle working, but also due to the eight Spirit Stones being used as the catalyst to intensify its effect.
Nevertheless, there was a limit to the Circles ability. Just when the air was two-tenths denser in Spiritual Qi than outside, it did not go any further. The Circle of Boon just persisted at the rate of gathering every shred of Spiritual Qi in the air and if left unconsumed, the Spiritual Qi would begin to leak out of the chamber.
Lu Ye paused. He ced a hand on the wall and created a Glyph: Gathering Spirit circle using his Spiritual Power.
The air roiled and swirled with even more Spiritual Qi.
He had a feeling that his guess would be correct. The bigger a Glyph: Gathering Spirit circle wad, the stronger its effects would be. And today, he finally confirmed his hypothesis.
Moreover, unlike the Circle of Boon which required the use of Spirit Stones as sustenance and catalyst, the circles of Glyph: Gathering Spirit could consume Spiritual Qi as fuel to keep running.
He examined himself. Creating such arge Glyph: Gathering Spirit circle had taken a toll on his Spiritual Power reserves. He had never created one so big before, although he was certain he could make another one.
It did not take long.
Lu Ye created a second Gathering Spirit circle on the wall and the exertion felt like a huge gaping hole in his gut. But it was not for naught; the air was now practically teeming with so much Spiritual Qi he could almost taste it.
At the same time, he was curious to know how fast he could progress with one Circle of Boon and two Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles working in tandem.
He extracted a cushion from his Storage Bag and tossed it on the floor. Next, he sat on it and began creating tiny Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles all over himself.
The process of creating sixty-four miniature Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles over each and every single one of his Spiritual Points took almost a half-hour.
It was like being in the eye of a squall. Spiritual Qi percted into his body in huge torrents and his cultivation discipline was burning on full cylinders to keep on converting the Spiritual Qi into his Spiritual Power.
That helped to replenish his exhausted reserves.
Six hourster, Lu Ye got up again and created another Glyph: Gathering Spirit Circle which was asrge as the other two on the face of another wall.
The amassing of Spiritual Qi became more incredible!
He scanned himself.
In the end, he was genuinely surprised to find that meditating for one day and night under this condition was akin as consuming five Spirit Pills.
It was when Lu Ye was unlocking his twenty-ninth Spiritual Point that he had discovered the marvel of using Glyph: Gathering Spirit. He had conjured Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles on all of his twenty-nine Spiritual Points which resulted in his hypothesis that a night and day of meditation under that condition would yield the same results as swallowing one Spirit Pill.
But now that he had reached sixty-four Spiritual Pointswhich was more than twice the amount of twenty-nine Spiritual Pointshe discovered that this could make up for lost time and expedite his progress.
Unlocking a new Spiritual Point after reaching the Fifth-Order needed at least twenty Spirit Pills, but now that he had discovered this new idea, he could expect to unlock his next Spiritual Point in just four to five days.
But if he could also swallow Spirit Pills, that would certainly make the process even faster.
That was not all. Lu Ye did not neglect the fact that the Divine Opportunity Column of this outpost did not have any increments purchased yet. What if he could somehow increase the increments and make the amount of Spiritual Qi in this vicinity richer by double, triple, quadruple, or even several times higher?
Just thinking of the possibilities could make Lu Ye feel ecstatic.
His next order of business was clear enough: he needed to restore the Tree of Glyphss ability to burn away the toxins in his body and find ways to enable more increments on the Divine Opportunity Column here.
The Vault of Providence might have what he needed to restore his Tree of Glyphs. As for securing more increments for the Divine Opportunity Column, Lu Ye figured that he would need to look for Li Baxian for advice. The jade slip that thetter gave him did not contain enough information in this regard.
His Spiritual Powers had been almost restored and Lu Ye was ready to try unlocking his sixty-fifth Spiritual Point.
But before he managed to break through the barrier, his Battlefield Imprint glowed. It was a message sent to him by Shui Yuan.
Brother Baxian is looking for you!
Under most circumstances, there was no way for Cultivators tomunicate directly between the real world of Jiu Zhou and the Battlefield. The Spirit Creek Battlefield remained a separated pocket dimension after all. But as legate-in-charge of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, Lu Ye was afforded the privilege tomunicate directly with Shui Yuan, who, as it happened, was the Sects Keeper of Seal.
Only then did Lu Ye realize that he had been so busy that he had forgotten about the appointment with Li Baxian that he agreed to.
[What is Brother Baxian up to?] He wondered.
He responded quickly and decided to continue his meditation some other time.
He nced at the eight Spirit Stones in the magical circle. They were almost spent. Lu Ye ignored them and left the chamber where he sealed the entrance before using his credentials as legate-in-charge of the outpost to reactivate the enchantments that guarded the training chambers.
He needed to make sure that no one could intrude into this area. His personal training area.
He strode towards the Sanctum of Providence where he found a sullen-looking man sitting just outside the steps of the Sanctum, looking more like he was dozing than meditating.
His footfalls jolted the stranger awake, who opened his eyes and was surprisingly pleased to see him. Are you Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect?
I am, Lu Ye answered. He studied the stranger: a Third-Order Cultivator. Can I help you? he responded glumly.
Its Chen Yu, said the stranger quickly. Hes looking to speak to you, sir. Its about the bazaar.
The bazaar? uttered an incredulous Lu Ye. [What for?] was the first thought that came to mind. But he quickly grasped the reason. The bazaar had been here for a long time with so many independents gathering there. In fact, the bazaar could function as a pseudo-Divine Trade Association branch in some ways. But now that he had been made legate-in-charge, the independents did not know what to do. The bazaar had turned this ce into a ma of sorts for all independents but at the same time, Lu Yes presence here had introduced a new unknown into the equation which they could no longer solve. As much as they knew that they needed to respect the wishes and arrangements of the Crimson Blood Sect, the independents were in no way amused to have a stranger breathing down their necks all of a sudden.
If you could just wait a moment, sir. Ill have Chen Yue here at once, said the stranger who was about to trot off.
Wait a minute. Im in a hurry. Lets talk next time, said a fidgety Lu Ye who wanted to get back to the Sects main stronghold as soon as possible. Besides, he could use some advice from Li Baxian and Shui Yuan on how he should manage this quandary with the bazaar.
When would you being back? I could at least have Chen Yu here at that time, then, said the stranger with every semnce of a dutiful steward.
Tomorrow then, Lu Ye responded curtly before he dashed into the Sanctum of Providence and transported himself back to Jiu Zhou.
Lu Ye only just stepped out of the Sanctum of Providence when the aroma of delicious food tingled his senses. He followed the smell that led him straight to the dining hall and there was this tableid full of sumptuous food. Just the sight and the smells could instantly pique anyones appetite.
This was a feast not only to satisfy ones pte but also for nourishment; the dishes were all cooked by Shui Yuan in person and the ingredients included very wholesome herbs and spices.
But Lu Ye noticed that todays feast appeared unusually big.
Li Baxian was already at the table, stuffing his mouth with food on one end before flushing them all down his gullet with mouthfuls of liquor. He was ted to see Lu Yee back. Come, Lu Ye! Come try this fish I just caught!
Lu Ye hastily sat down and helped himself to some fish. He tasted the flesh and pronounced it fresh and delicious.
Li Baxian was delighted. This is the Blood Sturgeon from theke Lunarmere. In the past, each acolyte had a monthly allocation of Blood Sturgeon flesh because of its nourishing properties. It can help to enrich ones physical constitution. But now, you can have your fill. In fact, if you ever find yourself strapped for cash, all you have to do is to get a few of these and sell them for Spirit Stones. A Blood Sturgeon can easily fetch you hundreds of Stones.
Cough! Cough! Cough! Lu Yeunched into fits of coughs. Never did he realize that he could be eating anything so valuable.
By the way, Beaky loves these. Take some back with you. A couple of these should make him happy. Poor thing has been alone for so long.
Understood, Lu Ye nodded.
Do you drink? Li Baxian asked, although a secondter, he quickly regretted his question. He could feel the scalding stareing from somewhere that was threatening to burrow a hole through him. He quickly rephrased, Well, youre too young, so you better abstain. By the way, be careful of women trying to get you drunk. You could be forced into a verypromising situation where you could be ckmailed.
Lu Ye did not know how to respond to that.
Chapter 176: Li Baxian’s Advice
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 176: Li Baxians Advice
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye ced a hand on the hilt of his sheathed saber hitched to his waist as he stood at the square outside the main audience hall of the Summit of Fortitude. Overhead, the standard bearing the golden motif of a me woven on a bloody red field snapped in the winds as he looked on with a vacant and taciturn look on his face.
Facing him was Li Baxian who was twirling a sword in his grasp, ying with it like a toy. Chuckling, he said, In barely six months, youve gone from unlocking your first Spiritual Point to bing a Fifth-Order. Its good, but its too fast, and sometimes, growing too fast isnt all that good for you. Thats because people will have spent more time honing their skills and techniques. You wont. And thats never good news, especially for a Combat Cultivator like you. Combat skills are importantcrucial, even. During the Battle of Goldentip, your most ring weakness was that youcked skill, even though you managed to defeat every opponent the enemy side threw at you.
At present, almost half the Battlefield now knew that Lu Ye had reached the Fifth-Order in just six months, and how he could use Glyphs freely in battle.
Lu Ye was half-expecting Tang Yifeng to question him about that, and he was ready to tell his mentor the truth.
Oddly enough, Tang Yifeng had spoken nothing about his use of Glyphs at all. If anything, he had specifically warned Lu Ye to be careful during the time when all three of them were recovering from their wounds together. It was public knowledge to everyone in the Battlefield that he must have had some unknown encounter that had ended up with him being able to use Glyphs freelysomething which could have ced him in the crosshairs of many nefarious parties.
But he might just be overly concerned, as Tang Yifeng admitted himself. Growing to the Fifth-Order in just five months might be rare, but not unheard of. In fact, there have been people who progressed much faster than Lu Ye as well. An ordinary man was once heard to have reached the Ninth-Order in just one year after a fortuitous happenstance somewhere in the Battlefield.
That was what the Spirit Creek Battlefield was all about. Chance and opportunities abounded the Battlefield, but it all boiled down to luck and Fate on whether anyone could find them.
Incidents like this appeared once every few years and no longer came as a huge surprise. But that did not make others feel any less jealous.
But real Cultivators who wished to be stronger would not have time to feel jealous. That theycked such luck only made their devotion to bing better and more resilient greater than before.
Old Mans a Spell Cultivator while Sister Shui Yuans a Medical Cultivator. But its been years since both had ever taught anyone anything. So I daresay they have little to offer to you. But fear not. As your brother in arms, I shall teach you everything you need to know to be a Combat Cultivator, Li Baxian beamed radiantly as if giving advice to Lu Ye was the best job in the world. Youre a Fifth-Order now, so Ill keep my Spiritual Power to the same rank. Nowe at me and let me see what youve got!
As he spoke, he took a swig of liquor off his gourd.
He only just raised his gourd to his lips when Lu Ye charged. As he drew nearer rapidly, he ripped his saber out of its sheath and shed.
Ambush, thats interesting, Li Baxian remarked dryly. He leaned back just as Invibles keen edge arced just by his gullet, missing him by mere centimeters. Unfazed, Li Baxian critiqued, Its good that you attack with decisiveness. But you apply too much force; thats not a good thing for it leaves you open enough for any good enemy to retaliate with a riposte.
Lu Ye was already angling his saber in a vicious downward swipe, only for Li Baxian to easily evade without even moving an inch while he went on, Slow to the uptake and clumsy maneuvering
That was only the first few blows that eventually became a long onught of attacks that hardly deterred Li Baxians long litany ofments. This served to fuel Lu Yes frustration, rage, and rancor to keep shing and hacking as wildly and as quickly as he could.
Yet nothing he tried could graze Li Baxian, let alone hit him. Thetter might have lowered his power down to the Fifth-Order, but that did not close the gap between their skill levels at all.
As if he could see through Lu Yes mind, Li Baxian just seemed able to avoid every sweep and strike that came his way. To top it off, Li Baxian did not even attempt an attack of his own yet; all he did was shift around deftly while he held on to his sword, waving it around carelessly while he took a few swigs off his gourd every now and then.
For the first time, Lu Ye began toprehend just how dangerous Li Baxian really was. If he had encountered anyone with such skill during the Battle of Goldentip, he would have already been annihted right from the start.
Li Baxian took another gulp of liquor. His aura and presence took a sudden change as he shifted the grip on his weapon. He parried a blow and said casually, Be careful now, Iming!
The next second ensued a cascade of metallic nks. Lu Yes expression turned stony hard. Li Baxians blows were nowhere near strong or fast yet, but his timing was unbelievably impable. Each and every time he attacked, he would nullify whatever Lu Ye was trying to do. In fact, Lu Ye was beginning to feel as if he was under an enchantment of sorts where he was forced to be on the defensive while Li Baxian pelted one attack after another in endless session.
Li Baxian slowly advanced while Lu Ye was finding himself retreating with piecemeal paces. After another series of nks, Li Baxian said, Tempo is the paramount concern to Combat Cultivators who are fighting each other. Control the tempo and you control the battle. Like this!
As soon as he finished, the long de of his sword angled upwards like a venomous serpent and Lu Ye frantically threw himself backward. That left a huge opening and Li Baxian thrust his sword straight, firing a tiny bolt of light. That sent a jolt of fear tingling down Lu Yes spine as he quickly summoned a Glyph: Protection shield just in front of his chest.
But he froze. He looked down only to find that Li Baxians sword had entered an inch through his chest. Another inch and he would have ruptured Lu Yes heart.
Glyph: Protection did not work quickly enough!
Brother Baxian?! Are you for real?! he nearly gasped.
He looked up at Li Baxian, who responded nonchntly, Youre dead, Lu Ye!
He withdrew his de and Lu Ye staggered backward with some blood trickling out of the wound.
Yi Yi had been watching the training session with interest when she saw what happened and she almost scampered across the square to get to Lu Ye. If not for a hand that seized her shoulder.
She turned her head around and there was Shui Yuan shaking her head at her. He will meet enemies that would show him anything but mercy. I would rather that he faces some hardships today than face the pain of death in the future.
Yi Yi was sure that Shui Yuan only had Lu Yes best interests at heart. As much as she felt worried for him, she knew that she could do nothing else but sit by and watch. At the same time, she began to understand why Shui Yuan prepared arge basin of medicinal potion
One more time! Lu Ye grunted, taking a deep breath. He was only an inch from having his heart perforated, but he could trust Li Baxians impable skills and he was certain that he would be safe. Brandishing his saber, he lunged once more.
It did not take long for another spray of blood and Li Baxians voice insouciant voice pronouncing the end of another round, Youre dead again, Lu Ye!
Another few minutester, the same voice rang out again, Thats the third time, Lu Ye!
Two hourster, Lu Yeid on the ground, pallid and incapacitated. Poke marks scattered all around him. Although none of them were life-threatening, the loss of blood was enough to render him motionless and wearied.
In just a span of two hours, he had died almost a hundred times by Li Baxians sword, which would have really killed him if Li Baxian had not been careful to stay his hand.
The ring light of the sun blinded Lu Ye.
A shadow loomed over him. It was Li Baxian beaming down at him, How do you feel, brother?
Lu Ye did not know how to respond to that question. Should he just say terrible?
At the risk of being insolent, he finally asked, Um, Brother Baxian? Is this how the Crimson Blood Sect trains its acolytes? A tad too brutal, dont you think?
Nah, not even close, Li Baxian giggled, Its only because youre the only one left here, so were showering you with our unbridled love and care. Anyway, theres nothing to be worried about. That delicious and nourishing food you ate just now? Theyre good at reviving your vigor and replenishing what blood youve lost today. All you need is one good night of rest, and youll be as fit as a flea tomorrow.
Lu Ye finally knew the reason behind such avish and nourishing meal.
But have you trained anyone before, Brother Baxian?
Cant say I have.
That means you know nothing about training someone!
But that made sense somehow. Because Li Baxian did not know how he should train Lu Ye, the best way that he coulde up with was for Lu Ye to remember the palpable sense of danger through paina sensation that his body would never allow him to forget. That way, he would forever remember this lesson for as long as he walked the Battlefield.
Li Baxian ced a hand on his shoulder. Solemnly, he admitted, Well, well just try to do this for each others sakes, all right? This is Sister Shui Yuans idea, by the way, not mine
Before he could finish, Shui Yuan appeared out of nowhere and seized him by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him to a corner.
Then she came back for Lu Ye. She got him back to his feet and helped him to a chamber just nearby where the potion was already waiting.
Shui Yuans skills as a healer once again performed miracles. All thanks to her potion and her incredible skills, Lu Ye could feel his vigor renewed and the superficial wounds all over him recovering at a noticeable rate. Come evening, Lu Ye could get up on his own already.
The wounds were still healing, but another night should be able for him to restore back to fighting form.
As a bonus, even the scars that he had been collecting during his journey across the Battlefield, plus the ones he caught during the Battle of Goldentip were gone, which could have not been possible without Shui Yuans amazing expertise.
That night, Lu Ye had another feast of medicinal delicacies before he went back inside the Battlefield via the Divine Opportunity Column.
He wanted to spend the night inside the Battlefield where he would have the most efficient progress in his training.
Lu Ye had only just emerged from the outposts Sanctum of Providence when he immediately noticed that he was not alone. He wheeled around and noticed a pair of heads staring at him. One was the independent he encountered yesterday and the other, a stranger that he did not recognize. But thetters emanation of power showed that he was a Seventh-Order.
Lu Ye paused and decided to approach them.
The Seventh-Order looked overjoyed to meet him. He bowed and saluted as soon as they were near, Are you Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect? Greetings, my names Chen Yu!
Lu Ye nodded and tossed Chen Yu a pact. Leave your mark on it if you have no problems with it.
Huh? Chen Yu gasped with bewilderment. He quickly peered through the contents of the pact.
Lu Ye had discussed with Shui Yuan and Li Baxian about how he should handle the situation with the independents when he was still at the main stronghold earlier and Shui Yuan had given him a thorough walkthrough of the status quo.
She might have been away for quite a long time, but there have been a handful of independents that she would dly vouch for. She had earlier sought their help in locating Lu Ye before, but being powerless and nowhere near influential, they did not manage to find out where Lu Ye was before it was toote.
It was also these independents who had been keeping her informed about the ins and outs of what had been going on inside the Battlefield.
Among this number of trusted independents was Chen Yu, the strongest of the independents and the de facto chief of the group of independents taking refuge here. Being a Seventh-Order, he had reached a level where he was powerful enough to survive in the outer rings of the Battlefield. As chief of the bazaar, it was imperative for him to speak to Lu Ye as well.
The bazaar area here varied slightly from the townships and cities that Lu Ye had visited before. Owing to the fact that this was the Crimson Blood Sects territory, the Divine Trade Association did not have a presence here. That allowed the independents to operate their bazaar here.
Even so, that did not mean that the bazaar would pale inparison to a Divine Trade Association branch. The bazaar here had always been busy and because of the richer Spiritual Qi in the atmospherepared to outside, this ce was the nearest the independents could get to a proper safe haven in these parts.
Chapter 177: Flame of Earthen Spirits
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 177: me of Earthen Spirits
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The independents were allowed to freely use the Crimson Blood Sect outpost in the past because the Sect did not have any acolytes in the Spirit Creek Realm. But with Lu Yes induction now being made official, plus him now being the legate-in-charge of the outpost, the fate of the independents livelihood here now depended on Lu Yes word.
Since news of Lu Yes appearance took the entire bazaar by storm, scores of independents were apprehensive as to what his decision would be. Would they be allowed to stay, or would he drive them out the door like a sack of filth?
It was for this reason that Chen Yu had been trying so desperately to meet Lu Ye.
But to his bewilderment, before he could even articte his purpose for wanting to meet Lu Ye, thetter first shoved a pact into his hands and insisted that he read it.
Chen Yu pored through the contents and once heprehended Lu Yes intentions, he felt relieved.
The terms of the pact were simple: the bazaar would be allowed to carry on, although the Crimson Blood Sect reserved the right to dismantle it and reim the area at any time.
Chen Yu was appointed as the person in charge of the bazaar while the independents, should they intend to stay, would have to agree to a levy of two to five Spirit Stones per month, ording to how high their ranks were.
This was Shui Yuans idea. The price of the levy was a cheap one that all independents could easily cope with and it would provide Lu Ye with a fixed ie. In addition, it was a formality that would constantly remind the independents that this ce remained a dominion of the Crimson Blood Sect and their stay here warrantedpensation and respect to the Sect.
Chen Yu quickly reexamined the terms and without hesitation, he bit his thumb and left a blood-red mark on the pact to seal it.
Next, he exchanged contact information with Lu Ye before he trotted off a delighted and satisfied man ready to break the good news to the rest of the independents.
There was good reason for his good mood. In the past, Chen Yu might be the de facto leader of the independents here but there has not been any proper recognition for the work he has been doing. But with this pact, the Crimson Blood Sect formally acknowledged him as the person in charge of the bazaar, and this would go a long way in making his job easier and much more efficient.
On the other hand, Lu Ye had no reason to send the independents packing. Thepound of the outpost was big enough for everyone and he had no need for such a vast spaceat least for the time beinghence he would rather keep the status quo than break it and offend everyone.
Lu Ye went back inside the Sanctum of Providence and stood in front of the Divine Opportunity Column. He needed something else.
A quarter of an hourter, he emerged from the Sanctum with a tiny little box barely the size of his hand and hurried to the training chambers.
The richness of Spiritual Qi at the training chamber area was evidently much denser than the rest of the outpost, especially the one that he had used the day before. With all three Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles still operating, the entire area was practically thick with natural energies in the air.
He stepped into the training chamber and sat down with the tiny box still clutched in his hands.
He gazed at it, feeling both relieved and yet sour at the same time.
The Vault of Providence had practically anythinganything that a Cultivator could have asked for and it had just what he needed. That was what made him relieved. But at the same time, seeing how a tiny little box and its contents could cost him two hundred Contribution Points was what wrenched his heart like a punch to his gut. Even Invible did not cost this much.
He gingerly removed the lid from the box, revealing a me the size of a babys hand zing inside the box and the air inside the chamber began to feel sweltry.
It was the cheapest Mystic me that Lu Ye found inside the Vault of Providencea me of Earthen Spirits.
At the moment, what Lu Ye needed the most was his Tree of Glyphss ability to cleanse the toxins in his body so that he could go on progressing. All along, he had hypothesized that the Tree needed some form of energy or heat to keep its leaves burning so that he could discover more Glyphs.
Although he had not been able to prove whether his hypothesis was correct or not.
Until his first visit to the Vault of Providence. When he realized that the Vault had almost anything that a Cultivator could ever ask for, he knew that he had stumbled upon the only way to validate his hypothesis. Standing amongst the many Mystic mes and other heat sources up for sale, the Tree of Glyphs that had long been dormant suddenly stirred with life. But it could not absorb the heat from all the heat sources because technically, the items were still inside the Vault even though Lu Ye stood just inches away from them.
But now, as soon as he flipped open the lid of the box, Lu Ye could feel a rousing frisson from inside himself. Next, he could see the illusory image of the Tree of Glyphs extending its tendril-like roots towards the box and into the Mystic me.
In just the blink of an eye, the heat was gone and so was the me of Earthen Spirits.
Meanwhile, the fourth leaf on the Tree of Glyph burst into mes!
Since the battle that saw him winning a Barrier Prating Fruit prior to his departure from Green Cloud Mountain, Lu Ye had noticed this leaf glowing. But without enough sustenance, the Tree could not experience any changes yet.
But with it burning now, Lu Ye expected to have unlocked another new Glyph.
Keeping his excitement and delight restrained, he continued observing, only to watch with his own eyes how the mes went on and on without yielding any results.
The fifth leaf wasnt even glowing at all, let alone sizzling into mes
Lu Ye frowned. This was definitely an unexpected disappointment.
But he was at leastforted to find that the Tree of Glyphs could now cleanse the toxins in his body. It began operating almost readily with dull-greyish smog slowly releasing from him.
The toxins inside Lu Ye had reached such a point where the glow of his Spiritual Power had be dim and drab. That was a telltale sign of how the toxins were affecting his strength and his progress.
Since the Battle of Goldentip, Lu Ye had refrained from consuming more Spirit Pills. Shui Yuan might have ways to help expel the toxins from his body and the effects had been quite sessful albeit imperfect. There were still residual toxins residing within him.
Topletely remove the toxins would require a long regimen of conditioning and care.
Unlike the Tree of Glyphs which took only a half-hour topletely purify his Spiritual Power now that its ability has been restored.
Lu Ye could finally exhale with relief after such a long time of apprehension and disquiet.
And it would appear that his hypothesis was correct.
The Tree of Glyphs needed heat or me-like energies to sustain itself so that it could continue burning its leaves. That would unlock ess to even more Glyphs. On the other hand, excess energies would also be stored inside the Tree to be used as fuel to burn away any toxins incurred from the ingestion of Spirit Pills.
This time, only one leaf was set aze. Lu Ye surmised that this could be due to the Trees need to reserve fuel hence only a tiny fraction of the energy was used to have the fourth leaf burned.
But there was nothing to be worried about; the Vault of Providence has an abundance of Mystic mes that the Tree could feast on. For starters, this was only one of many mes of Earthen Spirits that Lu Ye found inside the Vault.
All that was needed to get more Mystic mes was Contribution Points. With enough Points, Lu Ye would be able to purchase more Mystic mes to unlock the full potential of the Tree.
Lu Ye checked his tally and sighed. Five hundred Contribution Points. To think that just a few days ago, he was so close to breaking a thousand.
Contribution Points. Like money, Contribution Points did not grow on trees. Yet they just seemed to flow out of his pockets as easily as a leak.
Without any interest to train yet, Lu Ye centered his spiritual sight on the Tree of Glyphs, specifically on the fourth leaf that was still ame. He took one deep breath and looked as intently as he could with every shred of will and focus he could muster.
His sight homed in on the leaf and it grewrger andrger. But that also blocked his mind from being able to think. Then all of a sudden, he felt a jolting pain in his mind as if a red-hot piece of iron was shoved into his brain.
The blow nearly knocked him out and by the time he recovered his senses, he was drenched in his own sweat. Shaking his head, he attempted to dispel the terrible difort in his mind.
As always, trying to observe the Glyph using his spiritual senses was just as difficult and taxing as beforeFifth-Order or not. But luckily enough, he did not ck out as he did the first time.
Glyph: Bloodrage!
That was the name of his fourth Glyph.
Upon closer inspection, Lu Ye discovered that this might be an offensive Glyph, but its function was something other than of a direct enhancement of damage, unlike Sharp Edge.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye was confident that if utilized properly, Bloodrage would give him an edge, especially when dealing with a superior opponent!
One that would make him extremely dangerous, even to enemies of higher rank.
Every single Glyph on the Tree of Glyphs could very well be a trump card that Lu Ye would rely on, but first, he needed sustenance suitable for the Tree
And for that to happen, he would need Contribution Points. Lots and lots of them.
At the moment, he still had five hundred Contribution Points in reserves. But he wouldnt be using the Points for another me of Earthen Spirits. He needed to keep them in reserve for a rainy day.
He got up and ced Spirit Stones inside the eight cavities around the Circle of Boon. At the eighth cavity, he paused. He stowed away the Stone he was about to put and instead took out the blood-red color scale that he picked from inside the Dragon Spring and ced it in the cavity.
If the Circle of Boon could benefit from having Spirit Stones as catalysts, then it might be able to draw out the energy from inside the scale too.
Thest thing he wanted to do was to emte Amber in taking sniffs off the scale and spending the rest of the day cked out. After all, he could hardly profess to have the same physical properties as the white tiger.
But if the Circle of Boon could draw out its power, then it could be a safer way for him to consume the energies from the scale without harming himself.
Lu Ye began creating Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles over his Spiritual Points.
Once his preparations wereplete, he swallowed a Spirit Pill and began his meditation. Before long, the air swirled with thick curls of Spiritual Qi mixed with a reddish tinge, with the reddish effluence looking more like dragons the more Lu Ye looked at it
Days went by like an arrow. He would spend his days under the brutal tutge of Li Baxian, honing his skills and finesse, and suffer being killed by Li Baxian again and again. Not one day passed without him being bloodied, and the more holes he collected, the more he felt like a beehive. Fortunately enough, there were always Shui Yuans potions to rely on which he would dip himself in for hours to heal himself.
He would stay there until the night when he would return to the outpost to study more about the secrets of the Divine Opportunity Column and the privileges that he was entitled to as legate-in-charge, or he might enjoy another tour inside the Vault of Providence to further see and observe what else was inside, or he would just head back to the training chamber to meditate.
Li Baxian had not been teaching him any techniques. No tricks and no fancy moves; for Li Baxian believed that these had more aesthetic value than actual worth inbat.
The simplest and most direct thrust, sh, or hack was oftentimes the best way to kill.
But what Li Baxian was trying to instill in Lu Ye was the invaluable intangiblesthe awareness and feel of fightingby allowing Lu Yes body to remember via muscle memory how he got killed every time. Brutal was a mere understatement to describe the manner of training, but only the Crimson Blood Sect was capable of such training methods. Any other sects or orders trying to replicate this might cause more harm than good to their own acolytes.
On this day, Lu Ye was gobbling down food at the dinner table when he, with his mouth still full of food, mumbled to Li Baxian, Brother Baxian. How can I collect more Contribution Points?
Killing, of course, Li Baxian answered curtly.
I know. But didnt you tell me to keep my head low for the time being?
The ripples of the Battle of Goldentip that urred a month ago were still in the throes of subsiding, hence Li Baxians advice for Lu Ye to sit tight until things in the Spirit Creek Battlefield got calmer. In the meantime, Lu Ye had been focusing on recuperating and training, hence he had not been outside wreaking havoc yet.
Well, otherwise, you could always trade items with the Vault.
Chapter 178: The Fast Way to Gain Points
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 178: The Fast Way to Gain Points
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Trade with the Vault of Providence went both ways.
Anything of value could be bought and could also be sold to the Vault.
However, there was little worth in reselling items to the Vault. Lu Ye had tested reselling Invible to the Vault and the price he was offered was just a measly fifty Contribution Points.
He bought Invible for a hundred and thirty-eight Contribution Points and less than one-third of the original price was offered in return?!
But if there was anything of value, then beyond any doubt, that would be the dragon scale he got from inside the Dragon Spring. To his surprise, the scale was offered a price of a whopping eight thousand Contribution Points during a test he did on a whim.
But of all the things Lu Ye could trade away, he would never sell that. It had just done so much good for both Amber and him. In fact, putting the scale in one of the training chambers Circle of Boons cavities has been what he had been doingtely so that he could gradually assimte its energy.
And as a result, Lu Ye had been feeling his physique making noticeable improvements.
Not unlike how Amber had be more intimidating and ferocious since he began inhaling the energy released by the scalest time.
The next item that the Vault ranked lower than the dragon scale was Lu Yes Barrier-prating Fruits. Valued at five hundred Contribution Points apiece, the fruits were one of the few items that Lu Ye could barely bring himself to part with. The Fruits have proven to be extremely useful in unlocking Spiritual Points and he would need the fruits one day.
As it happened, he had already given both fruits to Shui Yuan. Not only a Medical Cultivator, but Shui Yuan was also an aplished Pill Cultivator who could synthesize the Barrier-prating Fruit with other herbs and turn them into pills which could be better and more effective than just ingesting the fruit.
Buying a Barrier-prating Fruit from the Vault required three to four hundred Contribution Points and every one of the Fruits could, in the skillful hands of Shui Yuan, produce at least four to five pills.
Is there no other way? Lu Ye muttered as he shoved another morsel of Shui Yuans cooking into his mouth, and he gobbled away.
Issue a challenge then, Li Baxian smiled, You could challenge Thousand Demon Ridge factions to battle. Assign a fixed amount of Contribution Points, both sides put it on a wager, swear the terms with a pact in Heavens name, and if you win, the entire sum goes to you!
Lu Yes face turned sour. With him as the only Crimson Blood Sect member in the Battlefield, he could hardly just strut up to another outpost, bang on its doors, issue a challenge, and expect to win, could he? As much as they really were enemy outposts scattered around the vicinity, even he did not have any certainty that victory would be his, assuming that they would even ept the challenge in the first ce. Besides, at the moment, Lu Ye was sorelycking in Contribution Points which would be needed to put forward as coteral.
Or how about the Battle Royal of the Legates?
The suggestion only just slipped out of Li Baxians tongue when Shui Yuan gave him a nasty re.
Lu Ye could hardly just keep his head low for the rest of his life, could he? Theres no way that you, Sister Shui Yuan, and Old Man could mollycoddle him for the rest of his life. Lu Yes a proper acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect now and hence, he should be allowed to see the world and broaden his perspectives for his own good.
Shui Yuan glumly added more food to Lu Yes te without saying a word.
Lu Ye peered at her and saw how she was avoiding his gaze, so he asked, Whats the Battle Royal of the Legates?
The results of the tier assessment will be out in almost a half-month. Usually, thats when the Battle Royal of the Legates begins said Li Baxian and he went on exining further.
Lu Ye now knew what this Battle Royal was all about.
Most of the sects and orders woulde to an understanding to keep a temporary peace until the tier assessment had concluded. Any disturbances or turbulence with the assessment being so close could very well jeopardize their performance and that was certainly what no one wished to see.
But the Spirit Creek Battlefield was not called a Battlefield for no reason. Peace, however lovely and cheerful, is just so brittle and fragile. The specter of horrific carnage that just couldnt stop haunting the Battlefield still loomed. So, the sects and orders each agreed to a huge festival of violencethe Battle Royal of the Legates.
The Battle Royal was a contrivance of the Heavens, or Fate, or whatever sustained the Battlefield. A malefic design shaped by the very unseen hands that kept the Battlefields existence. No one could stop it from happening. If anything, it only seemed like the Heavens wished to further ignite the powder keg between both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge that was already about to blow.
As soon as the tier assessments had ended, the legates-in-charge of the outposts in the Battlefield would be allowed to submit their names. With one level of enhancement on the outposts Divine Opportunity Column as a wager, the legates would be magically transported into another unknown pocket dimension where the many-sided melee would take ce and the defeated of every skirmish would not only yield to the victor his or her life, but also the level of enhancement that was waged.
Enhancements applied to an outposts Divine Opportunity Column were what strengthened the richness of Spiritual Qi in the outpost where every level of enhancement increased the richness by one-tenths. Each enhancement was valued at five hundred Contribution Points, Lu Ye once surveyed the cost, although Li Baxian had warned him before that each level was priced differently. Enhancements could grow increasingly expensive the more enhancements the Divine Opportunity Column of an outpost rued.
Therefore, legates who performed well in the Battle Royal would win more enhancements to be ced on the Divine Opportunity Column of their outposts and that would ensure a heavier effusion of Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere.
But that was not all; it was said that rare itemsBarrier-prating Fruits, for instancemodities with impossibly sparse supply, could be easily found inside this mysterious pocket dimension.
Thus, making the triennial event a major g that almost every sect and order in Jiu Zhou with an outpost in the Battlefield would take part in.
Lu Ye sat in his chair, bewildered and perplexed as he struggled to digest what he just heard. He had been wondering what he could do to increase the abundance of Spiritual Qi in the outpost. If it was not for the hefty price tag, he would have invested in at least one level of enhancement already. That the news of this tournament came at such a timely moment really was a pleasant surprise.
Naturally, only legates and prolegates from each sect and order would qualify for the Battle Royal. Still, even with only two contestants from each denomination in both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge, the total number of contestants nevertheless made up a sizable crowd.
But wait, Brother Baxian. Im only just a Fifth-Order. Although I might be able to hold up against Seventh-Order enemies, what if I encounter those from the centermost areas of the Battlefield?mented Lu Ye. As much as he was thrilled about the Battle Royal, he realized that his chances were slim.
If contestants as dangerous as Li Baxian, the prolegate of the Devoted Ones outpost here in the Battlefield, were joining the Battle Royal, one could hardly expect that a Fifth-Order like Lu Ye would have any chances of winning at all.
The Heavens might be brutal, but it would never send you to certain death for nothing. A bnce must be maintained. That is why the Battle Royal is held inside a pocket dimension. In this separate reality, theres an unknown force at work that functions to inhibit the powers of high-ranking contestants. The more they travel outwards, the greater the inhibition is on them. For instance, when Im transported to that pocket dimension, once I begin moving away from the center and inner ring areas, my powers will be limited by certain degrees depending on how far am I moving from my area. On the other hand, with your present rank, the enemies that youll encounter are usually legates and prolegates of the outer ring areas whose rank and powers would not be too difficult for you to handle. Thats why the Battle Royal isnt just for high-ranking contestants. Of course, most legates and prolegates are at least Seventh-Orders, although you might encounter Sixth-Order prolegates as well.
Ohh, thats great then! Lu Ye quipped with brimming enthusiasm.
That prompted a furtive nce from Li Baxian at Lu Ye. He would have responded with a sardonic snort if it were any other Fifth-Orders who expressed such excitement despite the odds. Yet Lu Ye had proved himself to be extraordinary; far from ordinary Fifth-Orders in fact. In the past few days of training, Li Baxian had witnessed with his own eyes the exponential growth in Lu Ye at such a pace that even he had to admit was ungodly.
Just then, Shui Yuan said quietly, But that doesnt mean that our Sect qualifies for entry. Admission into the Battle Royal requires BOTH the legate and prolegate of the outpost. Theres no way you could join unless you could find yourself a prolegate.
None of them failed to miss the catch in Shui Yuans voice that hardly disguised her disapproval at Lu Ye joining the Battle Royal, even though she did not want to dash his hopes just yet
But Lu Ye knew that Shui Yuan was only just worried about him. He understood her concerns about his well-being, but at the same time, Li Baxian was right: Shui Yuan and Tang Yifeng could only watch over Lu Ye so much, making it even more important for him to grow as well.
That would mean he needed a prolegate if he wanted to join the Battle Royal.
But where would he be able to recruit one in time? He needed one that he could trust, not to mention one who could hold his or her own in the tournament. Thest thing he needed was a Third- or Fourth-Order whom he needed to babysit for the entire length of the Battle Royal.
Then he thought of the independents. But he barely knew any of them, to say nothing of the fact that none of them might be interested in gambling away their lives in such a brutalpetition of life and death.
Lu Ye racked his brain for ideas to no avail.
After his meals, Lu Ye continued his training with Li Baxian before he was dragged off by Shui Yuan for another round of treatment. By the time he headed back to the outposts training chamber for his nocturnal meditation, it was already night.
It was during one of his meditation sessions in the outpost when Lu Ye felt a fleeting and ethereal sensation sweeping the wholepound. It wasing from the outposts Sanctum of Providence.
Squinting his eyes with curiosity, he got up and paced quickly towards the Sanctum of Providence where the answer to the strange phenomenon was revealed immediately.
The tier assessment results had been announced. The assessment itself was an act of the Heavens that no one could sway.
The Crimson Blood Sect should have been defunct in this years tier assessment but due to his induction, the Sect managed to endure. But it was also due to the fact that the Sect had at least one member each in the Divine Ocean Realm and the Real Lake Realm, otherwise the Sect would have lost even its present Tier-Nine status.
The tier assessment was done based on the Heavens very own ordained set of standards which remained an enigma to most, but what was certain about the grading was that the number of members of a sect or order and the overall strength of the members had direct influence on the performance of the group in the assessment.
Not knowing what just happened to the Divine Opportunity Column, Lu Ye could only choose to return back to the training chamber to continue his meditation.
Two figures fleeted around in a whirl of metallic ngor and gnashing at the square outside the main audience hall of the main stronghold the next day, a pair of caliginous shadows throwing themselves at each other before dislodging only to ram right into each other again. At times, they just missed each other just by inches, although that too, was followed by the shrill ring of steel striking steel. That was until Lu Ye retreated and when he looked down, there was blood trickling out of puncture wounds on his chest and abdomen. But that did not stop him from wheeling around to face his opponent and maintaining a defensive stance.
Not far away, across the other side, Li Baxian focused his gaze on his chest and there it was: a faint red line of blood. His own.
He smiled and sheathed his sword. Youve done it, Lu Ye! Well done! I have nothing else to teach you after this. But trust that your skills with the saber have greatly improved and you will do well.
This was the first time Lu Ye had managed to hurt Li Baxian since they began training a month ago. Even with Li Baxian keeping his power down to Lu Yes rank, he was nevertheless a very deadly opponent and training with him was what gave Lu Ye a deep impression of the finesse, the strength, and the power of the one who was one of the ten deadliest Cultivators of the Battlefield.
Lu Ye returned his weapon to its sheathe and bowed, Thank you so much for your help, Brother Baxian.
Li Baxian tossed his gourd into the air. The object grew in size with visible speed, until it was the size of a tiny boat. Li Baxian leaped into the air and glided on top of it. The results for the tier assessment are out. So its time I head back to prepare. Farewell, brother. Let me know if you are in need of help. Ill see you soon.
He waved to Shui Yuan then he paused and respectfully bowed in the direction of the main audience hall before he morphed into a bolt of light that shot into the distance and vanished.
That was it. Li Baxian left with suaveness and style.
Lu Ye watched him leave. Finally, the question that had been like a rock in his chest could not stay suppressed any longer. Sister Shui Yuan, why is Brother Baxian a member of this Sect and yet he became an acolyte of the Devoted Ones?
In fact, Li Baxian was hardly the only one. Lu Ye remembered that a Brother Xinghe was mentioned as well, another one of the Sects former acolytes who had joined another sect.
But Li Baxian came and went like this was his home. Even Tang Yifeng and Shui Yuan too treated him like he was still one of theirs.
Chapter 179: Revisiting Mount Ying
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 179: Revisiting Mount Ying
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Still, the answer to the puzzle remained elusive for Shui Yuan tly dodged the question.
Whatever her reasons were, Lu Ye felt that she was holding back the answer from him. But since she refused to tell him now, Lu Ye did nothing to pry.
He kept himself submerged in the giant tub filled with Shui Yuans painstakingly concocted potion and his wounds healed quickly.
Lu Ye only got out of the tubpletely refreshed and invigorated when the sun was about to set. Amber trotted up to him and nudged him with his big furry head.
The recent days at the main stronghold of the Sect had seen Amber growing beefier with all thefort and good rest, not to mention the mounds of Spirit Pills to feast on and the asional inhtion of the red substance from Lu Yes dragon scale. It really was paradise for him.
On the other hand, Yi Yi
He had not seen hertely. She had been spending a lot of time with Tang Yifeng. She had been with Shui Yuan all the time, at first, before telling him that she was learning how to be a Medical Cultivator.
Her reason was simple enough. She had witnessed how frequently Lu Ye was injured during their journey. But Lu Ye would one day fight again and, at that time, he could be hurt once more.? That prompted Yi Yi to opt to be a Medical Cultivator. She might not be useful in battle, but she could at least keep him alive.
But for the past few days, she had been missing, leaving Lu Ye puzzled and confused, although he could only chalk it up to some early-stage difficulties.
Next, he heard about how Tang Yifeng had taken her under his wing. Was she thinking of bing a Spell Cultivator now?
Lu Ye knew that his mentor Tang Yifeng was a Spell Cultivator and one of the best in thend too.
Lu Ye retrieved his dragon scale and allowed Amber another sniff. The big burly tiger took one draft and shuddered. Stiffened, he crashed to the ground with a loud thud with his blood churning like choppy waters.
Shui Yuan was rather unperturbed by this. Lu Ye had exined to her before about the dragon scale and its provenance. In fact, she had borrowed it for closer observation, and finally, at the end, she concluded that the substance in the scale really did have the ability to enrich ones physical properties and all he needed to do was to have precise control of his ability and it would be safe.
There must be some sort of secret prowling beneath the Dragon Spring, Shui Yuanter told him. There might be treasures that Lu Ye might be able to ess if he was strong and powerful enough to explore the Dragon Spring himself one day.
That was a notion that Lu Ye would dly entertain. He had not forgotten how Han Zhe Yue of the Tai Luo n exposed to the entire world the secrets about his Glyphs, and what happened after that nearly killed him.
That was a debt that Lu Ye vowed to collect one day.
Ignoring Ambers spasmodic fits as if it was having a stroke, Lu Ye headed straight for the Sanctum of Providence.
He traveled back to the outpost and jabbed a hand at his Battlefield Imprint the moment he reappeared at the Sanctum there to deliver a message.
A reply came back quickly enough. Im afraid that theres few that match your requirements, Lu Ye. Ive been asking around, but not many are keen to go on such a perilous quest. I have two though, but one of thems a Fifth-Order and the others a Fourth-Order. Still, I dont think youll want to enter the tournament with dead weight instead of a partner.
Lu Ye had asked Chen Yu to be on the lookout for any possible candidates that he could partner with to join the Battle Royal of the Legates. However, it would appear that the search remained fruitless.
Most if not all Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield knew about the Battle Royal of the Legates. But with most of the independents that clustered at the Crimson Blood Sect outposts being low-tiered independents aside from Chen Yu, Lu Ye was in a situation where he could count himself lucky if he could find enough Sixth-Orders to make a quadruple. Those that he managed to find did not look convincing enough; needless to say, a bunch of cowards that Lu Ye could barely rely on.
As Sixth-Orders, they could have long ventured into the inner ring areas of the Battlefield to further challenge themselves to climb greater heights. That they chose to stay here only showed how severely theycked in both fortitude and mettle.
To say nothing of the Battle Royal of the Legates where deaths and injuries were asmon as the very dirt they stepped on.
The same went for Chen Yu. Not unlike the others, he too possessed the ability to try his luck in the inner ring areas of the Battlefield.
But Lu Ye saw thising a long way ahead. As disappointed as he might be, he knew all along to not ce any faith in any independents saying yes.
[I guess that leaves me no choice then] Lu Ye mused quietly.
He stepped out of the Sanctum and dug inside his Storage Bag until he yanked out a fish the length of a yardstick by the tail. Red from head to tail, the fish glistened with such luminescence like a b of crimson jade.
It was a Blood Sturgeon. Li Baxian had caught a lot of this fish and most of them had been eaten. Those that managed to be spared from the dinner tablefor nowwere given to Lu Ye.
The silhouette of somethingrge shadowed him from overhead before itnded just before Lu Ye, eliciting a huge burst of wind mming into Lu Yes face with such force that it felt like a p to him. It was Beaky the giant eagle.
The giant eagle lowered its head and gave Lu Ye a yful nip before scooping up the Blood Sturgeon, throwing his head up to swallow the fish down in just one gulp.
Since Li Baxian told him about how Beaky loved Blood Sturgeon, Lu Ye had been bringing him some every now and then. But with his size and girth, a Blood Sturgeon or two wasnt anywhere near enough. The one-meter-long fish looked just like a tiny worm for Beaky.
Still, that quelled Beakys love for that unique species of fish not one bit at all. In fact, feeding him the fish has helped to make Lu Ye closer to the gigantic avian predator.
For decades it had guarded the outpost alone. Neither snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night had kept Beaky from maintaining a steadfast watch over the Crimson Blood Sects only, albeit abandoned, presence here in the Battlefield until Lu Yes appearance, which added colors back to its humdrum monotony.
With one fish down into its belly, Beaky peered at Lu Ye, tilting its head with anticipation gleaming in its round bulbous eyes.
Lu Ye pulled out another Blood Sturgeon. This time, he tossed it up into the air and Beaky caught it with his beak deftly.
He looked at Beaky and said, Beaky. Can you give me a ride?
The giant predator gave him a judging look before he craned down and caught Lu Ye by the cor of his shirt with his hooked beak and flung Lu Ye up on its wide and feathery back.
That was not amusing at all for Lu Ye, who scowled, Just nod next time. I can climb up myself, you know. Im not a five-year-old that needs help climbing up your back!
Ignoring the jibe, Beaky unfurled its wings. The winds howled and tossed. Then came the sensation of weightlessness that assailed him without notice. Before Lu Ye even knew it, they were already flying.
Lu Yeid down prone on the eagles back, channeling his power to keep himself enveloped in a shroud of energy that kept him protected from the winds.
From the front, Beaky let loose a shrill screech as if it was asking for directions.
Lu Ye quickly extracted his map and found his destination, then he gave Beaky a bearing. The behemothic bird quickly maneuvered and veered to where Lu Ye pointed him.
In the meantime, Lu Ye delivered a message to Shui Yuan using his Battlefield Imprint.
A reply came swiftly enough: [Safe travels! Come back early!]
Riding on Beakys back, Lu Ye learned the full definition of breakneck speed.
Even Tang Wus magical flying conveyance couldnt hope to match Beakys speed. As a flying Spirit Beast of such age and power, it was not that much of a surprise to Lu Ye. Still, that made him wonder if Beaky had power and strengthparable to a Ninth-Order Cultivator trained in a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline.
Perhaps it was because of the magicalws that governed the Battlefield that Beaky could grow no further.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was envious of how suave and smart Li Baxian was when he rode on his magical conveyance. If only he could grow faster. He had not yet reached the stage of cultivation where he could operate his own magical conveyance yet.
Most Seventh-Order Cultivators learned how to manipte objects using Telekinesis. But only those who rose up to the Eighth or Ninth-Grade could have enough Spirit Power to operate a magical conveyance and sustain it long enough for travel.
Reaching the Ninth-Order would mean that one could learn Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines. By switching to Heaven-grade disciplines, one would finally be qualified enough to try breaking out of the spheres of the Spirit Creek Realm to enter the Cloud River Realm.
Reaching the Cloud River Realm would also mean one would be able to fly unassisted.
Which was something so far ahead for Lu Ye.
Meanwhile, Beaky was not only fast; the gigantic avian had enough strength to fly for long hours without rest. They traveled for one day and one night before they finallynded to rest. There was no need for Lu Ye to worry about food. Beaky circled around to forage for food and came back with lots to spare, both for himself and Lu Ye.
If there was any nuisance to riding Beaky, that would be the constant need to maintain an energy shroud to prevent being frozen or knocked off Beakys back because of the whish of the winds raging around him in flight.
But it was safer flying in the air. With few Cultivators in the outer ring areas being able to fly, the ride turned out to be smooth sailing all the way.
Five days had passed by the time Lu Ye arrived at his destination with the sun almostpletely set.
They had arrived at Mount Ying, as indicated by his map.
If he wanted to join the Battle Royal of the Legates, then he would need help. But since the independents at the outpost werent dependable enough, the only one that came to mind was Hua Ci.
When theyst met, Hua Ci was a Fifth-Order Medical Cultivator, so Lu Ye expected that she might be a Sixth-Order by now.
That would qualify her for the tournament. Plus, the fact that she was a Medical Cultivator would make her a valuable asset since she could provide healing if and when he got hurt.
Then again, Lu Ye was prepared for the eventuality that she might decline. A carnival of blood and death might not be a well-disposed healers idea of fun.
Still, Lu Ye needed to try.
Additionally, there was another reason for his revisiting Mount Ying. Twice, Hua Ci and the independents here had saved his life. Life for the independents here wasnt safe at all and he thought that if he could convince Hua Ci and the
independents here to move to the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, then he could at least provide them safer pastures.
He had long thought of this. But without any knowledge about the Sect himself, he wasnt in the position to make such a promise.
A miniature cyclone buffeted the bamboo-constructed buildings around the empty expanse where Beakynded with a grace that belied his gargantuan girth, causing people to frantically evacuate the buildings in fear of copse.
Panicky and terrified stares came from all sides, centering on the stranger and his behemothic avian mount.
Lu Ye immediately caught sight of Hua Ci, Ruan Lingyu, and the ever-so-brawny Kong Niu, plus a few other faces that he could not recognize
[Has the Rogue Wanderers Club recruited new members?] Lu Ye mused.
But what was slightly disturbing was the fact that the neers were all powerful Cultivators: a Seventh-Order, a Sixth-Order, and
Your name please, friend? the Seventh-Order called loudly, at the same time, quietly channeling his power, Lu Ye did not fail to note.
As Lu Ye panned his gaze in Hua Cis direction, the smile on his face evaporated. There was an unmistakableceration on her fair and slender neck that could have been caused by a sharp object. He quickly realized that it was not a light on either, although the angle and position did not quite suggest that she was attacked. If anything, it rather indicated that Hua Ci did it herself
[Did you just try to kill yourself, woman?!] Lu Yes face creased with disbelief.
Just then, Hua Cis hand shot up, forming a hand seal. Immediately, grayish waves of smog burst from her, rolling in all directions around her.
Ruan Lingyu squealed loudly, Kill them, Lu Yi Ye! Theyre Thousand Demon Ridge!
With a loud bang, Kong Niu stomped into the ground andunched himself at a Fifth-Order like a battering ram. They locked each other in a furious melee. But the skirmish only just broke out when the enemy Cultivator began showing signs of faltering; tiny objects were blooming inside his mouth like poisonous mushrooms, causing a much-needed distraction for Kong Niu.
Chapter 180: Honest Man
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 180: Honest Man
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
But the Fifth-Order enemy was not the only one facing the unbelievable quandary of having mushrooms mysteriously popping out of nowhere in his mouth; the same was happening to the rest of the neers. It was the Seventh-Order who had it worst. When mushrooms began sprouting out of his nose, eyes, mouth, and ears, he reached a hand and grabbed them, crushing them only to find that his hands were drenched in his own blood. Realizing what was going on, he snarled furiously, Poison?! How dare you, you worthless wench!
Enraged, he sped straight at Hua Ci.
Boom!
Lu Yeunched himself off Beakys back and hurled himself to just in front of Ruan Lingyu and Hua Ci where he ripped Invible out of its scabbard and swung it without any hesitation.
A streak of red tore through the air with a trail of sparks following in its wake. The deadly force drove the Seventh-Order backward. Lu Ye backtracked a couple of paces, but quickly collected himself and propelled forward as soon as his feet caught the bamboo floorboards.
The two figures hurtled forward to meet each other, their weapons colliding fiercely amid incessant ngors of steel.
This was Lu Yes first skirmish against a fully-fledged Seventh-Order and he was positively feeling the challenge. Fortunately, he was no longer the Lu Ye of the Battle of Goldentipalthough he was still a Fifth-Order, being trained by Li Baxian made him formidable enough to hold his own despite the rtively wide gap in rank.
As if a creature with a life of its own, Invible was a thrashing serpent with unmatched agility and venomous viciousness. In mere moments since the skirmish began, Lu Ye found an opening. He hacked down hard, slicing through the Seventh-Orders protective aura and causing a hideous gash more than a foot long that traced from his chest and down to his abdomen with blood pouring out of the sickening wound.
Staggering backward, the Seventh-Order gawked with disbelief. Never did he know that a Fifth-Order could hurt him so badly.
Just when he was still reeling with amazement, Lu Ye bolted forward.
After another sh, the Seventh-Order collected another wound.
By then, his surprise had turned into terror. Whoever this Fifth-Order was, he noted, his speed and strength unequivocally outstripped his own. But what truly terrified him was how the weapon just managed to draw blood whenever it grazed him.
Whatever type of toxin he was poisoned with, the Seventh-Order could feel his vision blurring and his ears ringing. His power was plummeting at a noticeable rate and more and more vibrantly hued mushrooms were blooming all around his face. It was the poisonous spores that were sapping his power, causing the mushrooms to bloom!
That would mean that he needed to settle this fight quickly and apprehend that wench to obtain an antidote!
He immediately dug inside his Storage Bag and drew out a Spirit Artifact which he flung into the air with a low grunt, GO! The Artifact shot off into the air with a stream of sparkles in its wake, dashing straight for Lu Ye.
A Seventh-Order who had learned Telekinesis.
Lu Ye could have sworn that his hair instantly stood on end the moment he spied the Artifact being set loose by the enemy Seventh-Order. An engulfing sensation of lethal danger expanded all around him, threatening to swallow him whole as he could barely take his eyes off the streaking glow. Time seemed to have paused for that one second as he quickly calcted the trajectory of the object. That was when he finally saw what it really was.
That was the effect of his physical enrichment at y. All thanks to the mysterious red substance from inside the dragon scale, he was not only bing stronger and faster but his vision was enhanced to a superhuman degree. His body wasnt the only thing that could react more quickly than before, his vision could too.
[Theres no time! Im not going to be able to parry it in time!] Lu Ye realized, knowing how fast the object was moving.
He quickly channeled his Spiritual Power and a Glyph: Protection energy shield immediately took form right in front of his chest as he injected more power into it to strengthen his final line of defense,
Next came a bang and a violent discharge of force as the object collided with the energy shield. Lu Ye grunted as the impact battered his ribs and he immediately tasted the acrid tang of blood. But his feetas if rooted to the groundkept him upright even as the huge but invisible force pushed him backward, his legs plowing through the soil in the ground, leaving two long ditches in his wake.
Yi Ye! Ruan Lingyu who was beside Hua Ci yelped with fright, her face now a pallid white.
Hua Ci bit her lip and performed another hand seal.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
One after another, the tiny little mushrooms growing on the enemy Seventh-Order began to pop, spreading a smog of poisonous spores all around his face. He began screaming maniacally as the very flesh on his face began to melt like liquid in sickening sizzles, leaving his face grotesquely deformed and bloody as more damage urred.
That was a much-needed breather for Lu Ye, who saw his chance and delivered a blow to the object still trying to spear through his Glyph: Protection shield, sending the object careening elsewhere. Then he dashed straight at his enemy who could only watch helplessly with panic and horror and drove his weapon through him.
The Glyph: Sharp Edge-reinforced Invible pierced through the mans chest, rupturing his heart, and punched out his back.
Satisfied that victory was his, Lu Ye extricated his de from his enemy and watched the blood pouring out the wound.
ARRGGHH! another shrill cry shed through the air. Lu Ye jerked his head around just in time to see Beaky pecking at the enemy Sixth-Order and tossing him up into the air. Did he attack Beaky in some way or had Beaky just deemed him an enemy when the skirmish began, Lu Ye did not know.
All he knew was that Beaky easily tore the man into two bloody halves that fell to the ground with a huge morbid stter of blood, entrails, and viscera.
At the same time, Kong Niu had sessfully dealt with his opponent. Fresh into the Fifth-Order, Kong Niu would have had a difficult time holding up his own. But the neers had been poisoned even before the fight broke out and Hua Cis timely triggering of the poison was what helped to even the odds.
Anyone in their shoes would have been distracted and intimidated by mushrooms suddenly growing out of his or her face. More so, mushrooms that could sap ones Spiritual Power as sustenance to grow
With the impromptu melee now concluded, Lu Ye flicked the blood off his saber before sliding it back into its sheath. He rubbed at his chest to ease the gnawing soreness. Glyph: Protection might have saved him from certain death, but it did not manage to prevent the entirety of the impact at all.
Who were these people? Lu Ye asked, creasing into a worried frown.
That was more than just a concern. He only just arrived, wanting to visit a friend when he stumbled upon Hua Ci trying to kill herself before Ruan Lingyus squeal sparked what turned out to be a bloody brawl.
Just a few pieces of filth from the inner ring areas, Hua Ci muttered quietly. She looked at Lu Ye, upset that he was hurt, Are you all right?
Lu Ye shook his head.
Letse inside, Hua Ci motioned toward her bamboo abode.
Lu Ye went with her.
Ruan Lingyu and Kong Niu stayed outside to help clear up the bodies.
Hua Ci poured Lu Ye a cup of water once inside. Thetter did note that she looked slightly at ease than she was earlier. At any rate, the weary look on her face must mean that life had not been too kind to hertely.
Lu Ye lifted his cup and sipped at the water, Are you in trouble?
He did not have to ask. The look on her face was enough for Lu Ye to guess what was going on. In fact, this was exactly what he had been worried about back when he first visited Mount Ying.
As a local household name in the viges and townships nearby, any Cultivator who got injured often sought her treatment and help and Hua Ci would be willing to provide it in exchange for a small payment which she relied on to get her supplies. It was only a matter of time before somebody powerful and dangerous heard of hersomeone that the Rogue Wanderers Club could do nothing to resist.
As a Fifth-Order Cultivator, Hua Ci and the Cluba band of barely more than a dozen independentshad been able to keep themselves safe in the outermost areas of the Battlefield.
But trouble oftenes when youre least expecting it.
Hua Ci was eventually discovered when the enemy Seventh-Order came looking for her when he somehow heard of her name, wanting her to heal his injuries. Naturally, Hua Ci was reluctant to provide her services to a Cultivator of the Thousand Demon Ridge. Unfortunately, she had little choice but to do as she was told.
By the time the enemy Seventh-Order was fully healed, he tly refused to leave. Seeing her as a golden goose, he enved her and used her to earn Spirit Stones. So long as he could control her, he would not have to venture into the inner ring areas of the Battlefield anymore.
He was only hurt because he lost a battle during his time in the inner ring areas and that was what brought him to these parts.
More than three weeks had passed since then and every Spirit Stone that Hua Ci made was surrendered to the enemy Seventh-Order and his band of ruffians just so that the rest of the Rogue Wanderers Club could be safe.
What of the rest?
Thest time Lu Ye came, the Club had more than a dozen men. But all he saw now were the three of them.
Killed, Hua Ci exhaled grimly. Kong Niu and the others had tried to resist the enemy when he wanted to enve Hua Ci, and in the ensuing altercation almost everyone in the Club was killed.
It was only when Hua Ci threatened to kill herself that the enemy stayed their hand and spared the rest. That was how the cut on her throat came to be.
Hope only arrived in the form of Lu Ye on the back of a gigantic eagle today and that was enough for Hua Ci to set aside any reservations. She knew that Lu Ye would do whatever was needed to help her and decided to gain control of the initiative.
Fortunately enough, Lu Ye had improved more than she anticipated, making the attempt to take down the enemy Seventh-Order a rtive cakewalk.
Noticing Lu Ye was staring at her neck, Hua Ci tried to cover the wound on her neck with a hand. She cracked her usual soft and demure smile and said, Nevertheless, were thankful that youvee.
Looks like they werent going to survive long anyway, with or without me, Lu Ye added dryly, waving her off.
Whatever devilry Hua Ci had concocted, from how her mushrooms worked, Lu Ye knew that, given time, she could have eliminated them all by herself, although doing so might incur some unwanted repercussions.
Medical Cultivators could also kill, and among them existed a select breed of Cultivators who loved to use poison poprly known as Poisoneers. Using toxins and venom, Poisoneers could dispense death and carnage without anyone knowing and those unlucky enough to be their victims oftentimes died painful and agonizing deaths.
Enough about me. What about you? What brings the famous Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect to this ce? Have you left something here? Clearly, news about the Battle of Goldentip had reached these parts too.
My name is Lu Ye! he insisted vehemently with his veins bulging at his temples.
Really? Hua Ci feigned ignorance. I seem to recall someone telling me that his name was Lu Yi Ye. Was he lying?
She peered at Lu Ye through misty eyes, then her head began shaking. Its true then. Men are not to be trusted at all, she sighed. But what can I do? Youve saved my life and I should perhaps devote myself to you in gratitude
Her lilting voice went hushed as she lowered her head, stealing furtive nces at him with her face now fully blushing red. Then he saw her handthe one she used to cover her neck wounding down to tug on the hems of her clothing.
Lu Ye felt unbearably parched all of a sudden and he couldnt take his eyes off her. [What the hell?! Is this even true?! I saved her and shes willing to give herself to me? Is this her trying to make an honest man out of me?!]
Her hand innocently tted a wrinkle
Lu Yes gaze panned upwards and met hersa toying and sly look on her face.
He shut his eyes and took a deep breath instead. [Gods, Im a fool for entertaining such fantasies and thinking that they could be real!]
Chapter 181: You’re Pretty Fast Yourself
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 181: Youre Pretty Fast Yourself
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the building, a kittenish smile tugged at Hua Cis lips while Lu Ye stared at her in annoyance.
The staredown continued for a while before Hua Ci finally let out a chuckle. Youve only saved my life once, but Ive saved yours twice, so technically you still owe me one. If there is someone here who should be offering their benefactor their body, it would be you, dont you agree?
Yourepletely right! replied Lu Ye while nodding his head repeatedly. What kind of man would decline such a fabulous offer? So, he took two steps toward the woman and started undressing himself.
Hua Ci watched him with an unchanging smile.
When he loosened his shirt and was about to drop his pants though, her eyebrows finally twitched involuntarily.
s, it was not meant to be. Ling Yu suddenly burst into the room while calling, Sister Hua Ci! Not a moment too soon, she realized she was staring at Lu Ye with his shirt loosened and his hands on his pants.
Silence descended on the trio for a moment. Then
Im so sorry! Ling Yu backed out as quickly as she could before shutting the door with a light touch. Her face had turnedpletely red, and her heart was thudding like it was about to jump out of her chest. Since when did Sister Hua Ci and Senior Brother Ye get together?
No wonder he was willing to travel all that distance just to see her!
Back in the room, Lu Ye took his time putting his clothes back into order before giving Hua Ci the nod. You win this time!
Hua Ci took a sip of water from her cup before askingzily, So, what brought you here this time?
Lu Ye collected his thoughts before exining the reason for his arrival.
When he was done, Hua Ci nodded and said, I see Give me a moment.
Lu Ye allowed it knowing there was no forcing a decision like this. Sure. Take your time.
He then stepped out of the building to give Hua Ci the space she needed. Coincidentally, he met eyes with the stoic Kong Niu and was rewarded with a smile that was uglier than a cry. Not far away, a blushing Ruan Ling Yu was trying to avoid Lu Yes eyes but kept sabotaging herself by sneaking looks at him from time to time.
Lu Ye thought it necessary to exin things to her, if only because she seemed disturbed by the scene she had identally stumbled upon earlier. But before he could even start, Ruan Ling Yu preempted him with a question, Are you finished already, senior brother Ye? Thats faster than expected.
Realizing she had misspoken the second she finished her sentence, she added, Er, what I mean to say is, shouldnt you keep Sister Hua Cipany a little longer?
Lu Ye sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly, he thought it would be better if he said nothing at all.
It was at this moment someone opened the door behind him. Hua Ci stepped out into the open and dered, Ive made my decision.
Already? Lu Ye eximed in astonishment.
Sure! You were pretty fast yourself, werent you? Hua Ci teased him.
Lu Ye red at her slender, pale neck as he fought back the urge to strangle her on the spot. At the same time, he realized that his decision to seek out Hua Ci had been a total mistake.
What was I thinking? I shouldve just left her to fend for herself!
Hua Ci ignored his expression and exined things to Ruan Ling Yu and Kong Niu. You already know this, but Yi Ye is a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. The reason he came today is to escort us to his sect. Ive decided to go with his n, but what about you two? Would you like to follow him, or do you want to set out on your own? Either decision is fine.
It was only then Ruan Ling Yu finally realized what Lu Ye was here for. Without hesitation, she nodded and dered in excitement, Count me in!
Kong Niu was silent, but he too nodded his head to show he was going with them.
It seems that the decision is unanimous. Shall we go then? Hua Ci looked at Lu Ye.
Sure. Lets go!
Lu Ye had not expected this mission to go this smoothly. At first, he thought Hua Ci might reject his offer and wondered if he should make an attempt to change her mind. He never thought she would agree with barely a second thought.
Then again, maybe it wasnt that surprising. The Rogue Wanderers Club was eleven strong at the beginning, but now there were only three of them left. Moreover, they were lucky that Lu Ye had appeared just in time to aid Hua Ci in killing that Seventh-Order cultivator. There was no guarantee that a simr incident wouldnt happen to her in the future, and she could not always count on an ally to appear in the nick of time to save her.
Following Lu Ye to the Crimson Blood Sect, though, was a different story. At the very least, the chances that they would encounter another incident like this would be exceedingly rare.
The hawks back was more than wide enough to fit four peoplefortably. However, Ruan Ling Yu screamed on top of her lungs, and all the blood had drained from Kong Nius face when the hawk spread its wings and took to the sky. Even Hua Ci, the only person besides Lu Ye to look calm and collected on the surface, was secretly clenching her fists in anxiety.
The girls trepidation did notst long though. After their initial difort had passed, Ruan Ling Yu started opening her arms wide and shouting in excitement from time to time. Even Hua Ci could not help but look over the edge every so often like a sheltered child who was shown the world the first time.
Kong Niu was the only one who remained seated with a face as white as a sheet.
Noticing that the young man wasnt doing well, Lu Ye asked with concern, Are you okay, Kong Niu?
The stoic man moved his lips and squeezed out, Im fine. Its too high.
Both Hua Ci and Ruan Ling Yu shot Kong Niu a surprised look. They never knew that the strong, stoic man had such a fragile side to him until now.
It had taken Lu Ye around five days to make it to the Rogue Wanderers Clubs location. The return trip was no different.
A few dayster, the giant hawknded on the public square of the Crimson Blood Sect Outpost, and the gang jumped off its back one by one. When Kong Niunded on the ground, he immediately copsed to his knees while panting like a drowning man who just barely made it back to the shore.
Ruan Ling Yu gently patted him on the back while he was regaining hisposure.
Hua Ci crossed her hands across her stomach while examining her surroundings with a critical eye. This is the Crimson Blood Sect Outpost?
Lu Ye nodded in agreement while feeding Grey a Blood Sturgeon, I know. Its been decades since anyone bothered to tidy up the ce.
After Grey had eaten a couple Blood Sturgeons, it took off to the sky once more beforending on a nearby hill.
First things first, Lu Ye activated the Battlefield Imprint and informed Shui Yuan that all was well. Only then did he lead the Rogue Wanderers Club trio on a tour of the Outpost.
Funnily enough, Lu Ye himself wasnt very familiar with the Outpost. There were plenty of ces he had never been to before because he spent most of his time cultivating in the training chamber.
In that sense, the tour was an eye-opener for him as well.
After Lu Ye had found the trio a ce to stay, he took them to the bazaar next.
This was the first time Lu Ye had ever visited the bazaar. Somehow, Chen Yu caught wind of his arrival and rushed over to receive him in person. Judging from the fact that he was practically holding their hands throughout the tour, the man must have thought that Lu Ye hade to carry out an official inspection or something. He treated the trio especially well because he could see that they shared a great rtionship with Lu Ye.
The Crimson Blood Sects bazaar was huge; bigger than any the bazaar Lu Ye had ever seen in the past. It was also located on the outskirts of the Outpost. Although the Crimson Blood Sect hadnt frequented the Outpost in decades, no independent cultivator had ever dared to infiltrate the stronghold. Their cautious nature would not allow them to take such a risk.
As a result, the presence of the bazaar was more beneficial to the Outpost than it was detrimental. Not only did it add some much needed liveliness to the stronghold, it made things quite convenient for Lu Ye as well. He normally consumed Spirit Pills to cultivate his power, but right now he had more Spirit Stones than he had Spirit Pills. Thanks to the bazaar, he only needed to travel a short distance to buy the Spirit Pills he needed.
Chen Yus attitude only improved when he learned that Hua Ci was a medicine cultivator. Medicine cultivators were exceedingly rare among independent cultivators, so battles almost always ended badly for the injured. The rich ones could still buy some Healing Pills to heal themselves, but the poor ones could only rely on their innate strength to recover.
It was clear that Hua Ci was going to make a killing if she opened a healing spot here.
A whileter, after he was sure that the trio had be familiar enough with the ce, Lu Ye finally bade them goodbye and took his leave.
It had been over ten days since he left the headquarters. Although he had sent Shui Yuan a message some time ago, the girl could not help but worry about him anyway.
By the time he returned home via the Divine Opportunity Column, he discovered that his senior sister had already prepared a full table of medicinal cuisine for him.
Lu Ye took to the food like fish to water. It felt a little lonely without Li Baxian though.
Shui Yuan didnt eat much because she had prepared the food for Lu Ye, not herself. While dropping a slice of vegetable in Lu Yes bowl, she said, If you believe that your acquaintances are trustworthy, feel free to recruit them into the sect, okay?
Lu Ye asked unclearly, Revvy? Are yo sur?
Shui Yuan giggled. You are a Legate-In-Charge. Of course you have the authority to recruit potential cultivators. You couldnt do it before because of various circumstances, but thats not the case anymore, is it? Not only that, I would encourage you to recruit as many people as you can because it directly concerns certain future matters of the sect. Also, you may ept any independent cultivator who wishes to attach themselves to you now. This way, you wont be undermanned if a faction decides to dere war on the Outpost or something.
Understood.
Feel free to recruit anyone at your discretion. The old man and I are confident in your judgment, even if the people you brought in are independent cultivators. That said, if you n to make them an official member of the sect, then you must remember to bring them to the headquarters. I must register their names and investigate their background.
Sure!
Lu Ye was still in the middle of eating when Yi Yi ran into the room. She sat down beside him and watched him with a smile on her face.
Did something good happen? Lu Ye watched her suspiciously.
No? The girl shook her head. Youve been away for a while, so I just came over to see you.
Sure. Keep your secrets! Lu Ye swallowed before remembering something, Oh right! Do you still remember Ling Yu and the others?
Of course. How could I forget? Yi Yi nodded before growing nervous all of a sudden. Are they okay? Did something happen to them?
Well, the Rogue Wanderers Club ran into a little something and lost most of their people. There are only three of them left now. Dont worry, Hua Ci and Ling Yu are both fine. In fact, Ive brought them all to the Outpost.
Yi Yis eyes widened like saucers. You brought Ling Yu to the Outpost?? She then dashed out of the door like the wind while saying, Ill go meet her now!
Just a secondter, Lu Ye heard her shouting, Amber! Amber!
Wait for me! cried Lu Ye while looking behind his back, but the girl was gone already. He shook his head helplessly whilementing, Oh, the impetuousness of youth.
Not wanting to keep Yi Yi waiting, he gobbled up everything in a couple of bites and patted his stomach in satisfaction before rising to his feet. Ill be taking Yi Yi to the Outpost, senior sister.
Be seeing you, Shui Yuan replied smilingly while clearing the table.
To Lu Yes surprise, he was unable to find Yi Yi or Amber despite circling around the entire headquarters.
Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the duo had already left the headquarters.
It wasnt until he entered the Outpost that he finally found Yi Yi chatting excitedly with Ling Yu.
Confused, he asked, How on earth did you get inside?
Yi Yi is Ambers Ghost Spirit, and Amber her Tamed Beast. Normally, they should not be able to enter the Outpost without his help.
A smug expression on her face, Yi Yi raised her right hand and channeled her Spiritual Power. A Battlefield Imprint immediately appeared on the back of her hand!
Lu Ye wasnt expecting to see this. You have an imprint too?
Yep! The Sect Master imprinted it for me himself! Yi Yi giggled. In other words, Im a Crimson Blood Sect disciple now!
Seriously? Lu Ye was a bit speechless, to be honest.
It was a good thing though. Now that Yi Yi had a Battlefield Imprint, she and Amber could visit the Outpost anytime they wanted now. Their freedom was no longer limited by him.
It was at this moment Lu Ye realized something. Wait a second does that mean youre my junior sister now?
Yi Yi rose to her feet and saluted him respectfully. Crimson Blood Sect disciple Yi Yi greets Senior Brother Yi Ye!
Lu Ye immediately raised his palm threateningly. What a polite junior sister you are. Now get over here so I can spank you!
Yi Yi let out a yelp and hid behind Hua Ci immediately. She then poked out her head and stuck out her tongue at Lu Ye.
Svin: Wee Truth. New trantor.
Chapter 182: The Sect Master Got His Ass Kicked
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 182: The Sect Master Got His Ass Kicked
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The next day after he brought the remnants of the Rogue Wanderers Club to the Outpost, he consulted their opinion before taking them to the headquarters as the Legate-In-Charge.
After Shui Yuan imprinted them with the Battlefield Imprint in her capacity as the Keeper of the Seal, and the standard ceremonies were performed, they officially became members of the Crimson Blood Sect.
In other words, the Crimson Blood Sect now had five Spirit Creek Realm disciples including Lu Yi.
Ruan Ling Yu was obviously happy with the oue, and even the stoic Kong Niu wore a bigger-than-normal smile on his face. After all, life as independent cultivators was austere in the best of circumstances. Now, they no longer had to worry about that.
Hua Ci though Lu Ye could sense that she didnt care nearly as much about joining a sect, but that was hardly unsurprising. As a Sixth-Order medicine cultivator, there was no Outer Circle sect who wouldnt ept her with open arms. Medicine cultivators would always be a must-have to major sects.
The reason she still joined the Crimson Blood Sect despite not really feeling it was because of two reasons. One, she wanted to give Ruan Ling Yu and Kong Niu some stability especially after that harrowing incident. Two, it was because of Lu Ye.
Come to think of it, she had considered recruiting Lu Ye into the Rogue Wanderers Club by force at the beginning. However, she ultimately decided against it because she was afraid that he belonged to a major faction or something.
Now the Rogue Wanderers Club was gone, and she herself had joined the Crimson Blood Sect instead. Life truly was as interesting as it was unpredictable.
All Crimson Blood Sect disciples were paid a monthly sry. All sects provided this basic benefit. When Ruan Ling Yu epted her very first sry from Shui Yuan, the girl had smiled and smiled and suddenly burst into tears without warning. Yi Yi had to console her for a while before she regained herposure.
On a side note, Lu Ye had expended a great deal of effort to construct a number of Gathering Spirit glyphs in several rooms. It was to improve the trios cultivation efficiency. Now that they had joined the Crimson Blood Sect, the sry Shui Yuan paid them should be more than enough to sustain their cultivation in the short term.
When he walked out of the training chamber, he realized that Hua Ci was waiting for him outside. Lu Yes handiwork had given Hua Ci quite the shock when she gave the training chamber a go and discovered that it was brimming with World Spiritual Qi. She was starting to understand how Lu Ye was improving so quickly.
Whats the matter? He asked.
Hua Ci replied, The reason you sought me out at Mount Ying is the Battle Royale of the Legates, isnt it?
Who told you that? Lu Ye eximed in surprise. He was going to wait another two days before bringing this up to Hua Ci. He did not expect her to find out the truth herself so quickly.
Chen Yus the one who told me about it. He said you were nning to sift through the independent cultivators and see if theres anyone suitable who will join you.
Lu Ye nodded. That is the n, yes.
Then why didnt you tell me sooner? Are you worried that I will drag you down?
What? No! I just havent found the time to do so. So, what is your decision?
Hua Ci said in a docile voice, You are the one who saved my life. Do I even have the right to say no? Naturally, I will obey anything you say.
Cut it out. Lu Yes skin crawled with goosebumps. Anyway, tell me your decision when youre ready. If youre joining, then you should know that the registration will happen in a couple of days. If not, that is fine too. This is not a mandatory participation.
Sure, Ill go. Why wouldnt I? If you, a Fifth-Order, arent afraid, what do I, a Sixth-Order, have to fear? Hua Ci replied with a sweet smile on her lips.
Lu Ye nodded and started toward the Sanctum of Providence. However, he didnt go far before turning back and looking at Hua Ci seriously. Just so you know, the opposing Legate-In-Charge has at least one Seventh-Order cultivator. There will be danger. Are you sure you want toe?
I already told you Iming. She giggled. Who will bury your corpse if not me?
Lu Ye snorted before leaving for real this time.
It took him almost no time to arrive at the Sanctum of Providence. After connecting to the Divine Opportunity Column as the Legate-In-Charge, he spent five hundred Contribution to purchase a Blessing.
He immediately sensed something extraordinary going on inside the Divine Opportunity Column. It made clicking sounds while turning from side to side.
Then, the concentration of the surrounding World Spiritual Qi became noticeably thicker.
A Divine Opportunity Column with no Blessing whatsoever naturally increased the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the Outpost by ten percent. A single Blessing would improve that effect by another ten percent. In other words, the Spiritual Qi within the Outpost was twenty percent thicker than it was outside.
Lu Ye tried to purchase another Blessing but did not seed. It was because he had run out of Contribution Points.
His Legate-In-Charge imprint informed him that he would need one thousand Contribution Points to purchase a second Blessing. He did not know how much the third Blessing would cost, but ording to Li Baxian the cost would keep increasing as more Blessings were added. Clearly, improving the Divine Opportunity Column wasnt something a single cultivator could do. The entire sect had to work together to gather the Contribution Points necessary to improve it.
Besides that, the Legate-In-Charge had the right to make some adjustments to the range of the Blessing such as restricting them to certain areas only. If he wanted to, he could exclude the bazaar and prevent the independent cultivators living there from enjoying the effects of the Blessing at all.
With this Blessing imposed came the opportunity for the Crimson Blood Sect to participate in the Battle Royal. Lu Ye was wondering how he should proceed when he felt the same tingly and sublime sensation whenever the Heavens interacted with mortals. His Battlefield Imprint burned like a brand mark and all of a sudden, a torrent of information surged into his mind.
Now that they had a Blessing, the Crimson Blood Sect was officially qualified to register for participation in the Battle Royale of the Legates. It took Lu Ye some time before he finally figured out how to carry out the registration. A pir of light descended from the skies, warming his Battlefield Imprint and causing the energy within to churn a little. At the same time, a lot of useful information flooded his mind.
There were still a few days before the Battle Royale of the Legates officially began. During this time, Lu Ye nned to improve his cultivation to the Sixth-Order. He was now only a step away from doing so.
This was the real reason he felt confident enough to participate in the battle royale. He might be less confident as a Fifth-Order cultivator, but a Sixth-Order? That would be a different story.
At the headquarters, Lu Ye and Hua Ci entered a sanctum behind the Summit of Fortitude together.
You were looking for us, sect master? Lu Ye greeted while sping his hands in salute. Hua Ci also performed a disciples salutations.
The old man turned around to face them. Your senior sister told me that you are nning to join the Battle Royale of the Legates, and that youve alreadypleted the registration. Is that true?
Yes, sect master.
It will be a good experience. The sect master nodded slightly. Its been decades since the Crimson Blood Sect has epted a disciple, and your presence has made the sect so much livelier than it was before. I would like to lend you a hand, but there is only so much an old man like me could do, not to mention that that previous incident nearly killed you.
Lu Ye hurriedly responded, As a member of the Crimson Blood Sect, it is only natural that the feuds and favors of the sect will fall on my shoulders. Plus, the reason I survived is thanks to the sects reputation, however much it waned. You do not need to trouble yourself with this, sect master.
The sect master stroked his beard. I am d to hear your thoughts, boy. He then let out a sigh before adding, Come. There is a ce you two should visit.
He started toward the exit as he said this. Lu Ye and Hua Ci hurriedly followed behind him.
After they left the sanctum, the sect master pped his sleeves once and summoned a powerful gust of Spiritual Power. It wrapped around Lu Ye and Hua Ci and carried them all into the sky.
A momentter, theynded on the summit of a Spirit Peak. Lu Ye looked around and spotted the Summit of Fortitude just a short distance away from them. It probably meant that this Spirit Peak was still within the boundary of the headquarters.
There was a building on the summit, but it didnt look like a sanctum, a tower, or anything like he had ever seen, actually. It was pretty unique-looking.
After they arrived outside the entrance of the building, the sect master looked back at them and said, Wait here.
He then turned back toward the entrance, straightened his expression, and stepped inside.
Outside the building, Hua Ci elbowed Lu Ye and stared at him inquiringly. However, the young man could only shake his head at her. He had no idea this location even existed, let alone the reasons the sect master had brought them here.
Suddenly, a womans voice came from the building, How dare you show your face around here?
Lu Ye was surprised. [Someone lives here?]
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew out from inside the building. Even with Lu Yes eyesight, he just barely caught a glimpse of a person being thrown out of the entrance and causing a huge bang when they crashed against arge tree.
The wind was so strong that his clothes wouldnt stop pping, and his face actually hurt from the contact. When he spun around and narrowed his eyes at the victim, he nched. It was none other than the sect master himself! Hua Ci and him hurriedly rushed to his side and lifted him back to his feet.
There was a bluish ck circle around the sect masters left eye. It was clear that someone had punched him in the face.
Sect master, what on Lu Ye could not even begin to fathom what was going on here. All he knew was that a woman lived in this building, and she had just kicked the sect masters ass
Im fine, Im fine. The sect master smoothed the wrinkles in front of his shirt before exining, An old friend of mine lives here, and as you may have noticed, shes a little more hot-tempered than most. Dont worry, Ill get through to her eventually. Just wait here.
For some reason, his exnation left Lu Ye and Hua Cipletely speechless. They watched nkly as the old man slowly entered the building once more.
Get lost! I swear Ill break your third leg if you dare show your face to me again!
Another yell, another time the sect master mmed against the same tree and slowly slid to the ground like a cartoon. This time, his right eye was covered in a bluish ck circle. At least the fist prints were matching nownot!
Sect master! Lu Ye just could not stand and do nothing after seeing this. However, the sect master raised his hand and said again,
Its fine. If she wants to vent, then let her vent.
He rose to his feet and walked toward the building for the third time. He cut such a courageous and dauntless figure that Lu Ye could not help but feel respect toward the man!
It didnt take long for the woman to start yelling, and Spiritual Power to flood out of the building once more. Both Lu Ye and Hua Ci held their breaths in trepidation as they wondered if the sect master was going to be punched out a third time.
He did not. In fact, the yells and scoldings actually declined over time. Things were happening a little too quickly for Lu Ye to understand, but thankfully he had a temptress to whisper the answer right beside his ear, I guarantee you that the woman living here is the sect masters lover.
Are you serious? Lu Ye rolled his eyes at her. Did you not see the sect master getting his ass kicked twice?
Hua Ci merely chuckled. Youre still young. You dont know women yet.
And you do?
Duh! Im a woman! Of course I know women, She dered while puffing up her chest.
She was right, of course. Lu Ye didnt even know why he asked such a stupid question in the first ce.
A whileter, the sect masters authoritative voice finally came from inside. Come in.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci immediately straightened their expressions and returned a respectful response. Then, they filed into the building with Lu Ye in the lead.
Astonishment spread across the young mans features when he crossed over the threshold and looked around. It was because the building looked small from the outside, but the inside was like apletely different world. He saw wondrous glyphs swimming on all four walls of the buildings like fish.They also appeared and disappeared on asion.
When he tried to identify the glyphs, he was surprised to find that he did not recognize a single one of them.
They were inside what looked to be a sanctum, and the sect master was standing next to a gorgeous-lookingdy. Although she looked like she was in her twenties, her actual age was up for debate. Someone with a keen eye would notice that her eyes were nothing like that of a young woman.
Chapter 183: Tattooed Glyph, Transient Wings
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 183: Tattooed Glyph, Transient Wings
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The woman couldnt be too young because the sect master imed that she was an old friend of his. If he were to make a conservative estimate, he would guess that she was in the same generation as the sect master. She looked young probably because she practiced some kind of youth technique.
This is Lady Yun, the sect master introduced simply.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci saluted her. Well met, Lady Yun.
The woman gave them a nod of acknowledgement before examining Lu Ye from head to toe. Then, she said, So, the old fool told me that one of the good fortunes you received from the Spirit Creek Battlefield was a Glyphweavers inheritance?
Lu Ye wondered how the misunderstanding came to be. It probably had something to do with his ability to use Glyphs in battle. After he shot the sect master a look and got a nod in return, Lu Ye replied, Yes.
It technically wasnt a lie because the Tree of Glyphs definitely had something to do with Glyphweavers.
Activate your Glyphs and show me, she ordered.
Lu Ye hesitated for a moment, but he opened his palm and activated a Protection.
A look of surprise spread across Lady Yuns face. What incredible speed
She hadnt inquired too deeply when the sect master had told her that Lu Yes good fortune had something to do with Glyphweavers. It was only now she realized that the little guys Glyph mastery had reached the point where he could activate it any time he wanted to.
That said, she was a woman of vast experience and knowledge. She knew that it was possible for the top sects disciples to produce the same results if they had been studying Glyphs from a young age.
She stepped closer and looked down to examine the Glyph in Lu Yes hand. This is the Protection G hmm? Your Glyph is
She abruptly cut herself off and frowned. Then, she surprised everyone by grabbing Lu Yes hand and examined the Glyph closely. What did she discover to make her react like this? Lu Ye shot his sect master a pleading look, but he slowly shook his head and motioned for the young man to calm himself.
A whileter, Lady Yun finally released Lu Yes hand and fell into deep thought. Her expression was inscrutable.
The sect master decided to break the silence, Is something wrong with his Glyph?
No, no. Lady Yun shook her head. Its just that his Glyph is a little different from the onemonly used in Jiu Zhou, and unless Im mistaken his looks a little more logical. I would have to make someparisons to determine the exact differences though.
She then looked at Lu Ye again and asked, Do you know any other Glyphs?
Lu Ye replied honestly, Yes. I know three more.
Show them to me.
Lu Ye did as she asked and showed off Sharp Edge, Gathering Spirits and Bloodrage. When Lady Yun was done examining them, she dered with a note of certainty, The inheritance you got is pretty extraordinary. Whoever left it behind must be extremely aplished in the Path of the Glyphs.
Oh? The sect master was surprised. He rarely heard such high praise from Lady Yun. He asked curiously, How do theypare to yours?
Lady Yun shook her head without hesitation. They are better. In fact, their Path doesnt belong to any existing system in Jiu Zhou. Despite being an original expression, these Glyphs are much stronger than their Jiu Zhou counterparts.
She looked at Lu Ye again. How much do you know about the Path of the Glyphs?
Lu Ye replied with an embarrassed look on his face, I only know how to use these four Glyphs, and I know nothing else.
Lady Yun looked surprised but broke into an understanding chuckle. It seems that the inheritance you received is iplete. That is pretty normal. There were plenty of fortuitous encounters to be found on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and plenty of people have obtained the inheritances of unknown champions as a result. However, many of these inheritances were iplete for one reason or another.
In Lady Yuns opinion, Lu Yes being able to activate the four Glyphs at the speed of thought but knowing next to nothing about Glyphs in general was because the inheritance he received was iplete. Aplete inheritance would have taught him the structure and basic characteristics of Glyphs at the very least.
Come visit me often in the future. You will allow me to study these Glyphs, and in return I will offer you my Glyph knowledge. Is that okay with you?
As soon as she said this, the sect master blinked rapidly at Lu Ye like he was having a stroke. Knowing what he was trying to hint, Lu Ye responded, Of course. Thank you, senior.
Lady Yun nodded with a smile. Her expression looked much kinder than before.
It was at this moment the sect master let out a cough. Now that thats done, lets get down to business, shall we?
Follow me, said Lady Yun while leading them down a long corridor to the side. A short whileter, they arrived at a small room with a bed at the center. There was also a bench next to the bed.
After she entered the room, Lady Yun performed some sort of hand seal before pressing her hand against the wall. There was a surge of Spiritual Power, and the entire room suddenly lit up like multiple powerful lights had been turned on at the same time. However, the light felt soft instead of ring.
Take off your shirt and lie down on the bed, Lady Yun instructed.
Lu Ye was confused until the sect master exined things to him, Lady Yun will be tattooing a Glyph onto your body. We call this type of Glyph a tattooed Glyph, and it functions just like a normal Glyph. We believe it may help you in the uing battle royale.
This was the first time Lu Ye heard of something like this, so his curiosity was immediately piqued. This was probably the real reason the sect master had brought Hua Ci and him to this summit. His doubts settled, Lu Ye took off his shirt andyed down on the bed.
Lady Yun sat down on the bench and took out a jade box. She opened it to reveal a stack of needles of varying lengths.
Where is it? Lady Yun held out her hand to the sect master. After he passed her a bottle, she opened it and gave it a tentative sniff. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. The blood of a great Spirit Beast of the Real Lake Realm? What Beast is this?
The sect master replied simply, A Firecube!
That is pretty rare. Lady Yun nodded approvingly before ridiculing him a little. I cant remember thest time you were this generous.
The sect master wisely kept his mouth shut.
Lady Yun picked up a long needle from the jade box and dipped it in the blood of the Firecube. After she activated her Spirit Power, the needle drank the blood and turnedpletely crimson almost as if it was alive.
She raised the needle and pressed a hand against Lu Yes shoulder de. It will hurt a little. Try to endure it.
She then stabbed the needle into his back.
Lu Ye felt something entering his flesh before a kind of burning pain red from the point of contact. It wasnt particrly painful, but it irritated like an itch that could not be scratched. It was incredibly difficult to endure, but Lu Ye had no choice but to grit his teeth and soldier on.
In the process, Lady Yun kept changing the needles she was using, slowed or quickened her movements whenever necessary, and even changed the intensity of her Spiritual Power from time to time. The one constant throughout all this was that her hands were incredibly steady.
Hua Ci stood next to him while the tattooing was happening. She watched as the peculiar picture of a Glyph slowly took form on Lu Yes back.
Two whole hourster, when Lady Yun had pierced his skin for thest time, she finally let out a long sigh of relief and patted Lu Yes back lightly. Its done!
Lu Ye slowly climbed to his feet and took a moment to feel things out. Not only did he feel like something had been added to his backsomething that was fused to his very skin, yet still felt like a foreign objecthe had the distinct feeling that he could channel Spiritual Power into the object and activate it.
The sect master exined, Your cultivation level is still pretty low right now, so tattooing a permanent Glyph to your body would be a bad idea. The tattooed Glyph Lady Yun gave you is a temporary Glyph that grants you the power of flight. If you ever encounter a champion that is beyond your ability to defeat, simply channel your Spiritual Power to activate it.
Transient Wings is the name of this Glyph! Lady Yun added. At full activation, youll be able to fly for six hours max. Any longer than that, and the tattooed Glyph will lose its efficacy.
A Glyph of flight? Lu Ye thought in shock. If he didnt know the sect master cared for him before, he knew now.
The Battle Royale of the Legates was right around the corner, meaning that there was only so much power he and Hua Ci could cultivate before then. On the other hand, this Glyph of flight was an instant power-up. It granted them the ability to escape if they ever ran into a champion they couldnt hope to defeat.
It was hardly low cost, however. Forget that it took a master like Lady Yun to tattoo the Glyph, the blood of a Firecube alone was a rare treasure. He wouldnt have wasted the blood of a Real Lake Realm great Spirit Beast on a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator like himself.
Lu Ye was touched to say the least.
Well, what are you two still standing here for? Get out! Lady Yun suddenly shooed them with a stern expression. After the sect master and Lu Ye had scrambled out of the room, she shut the door firmly behind her.
After the sect master led Lu Ye out of the sanctum, he asked, It takes practice to master flight properly. Would you like to give it a try now, Yi Ye?
Of course! Lu Ye could barely suppress his excitement.
Countless people had dreamed of flying at least once in their life. Although he had flown before, to fly while being carried on someones back and to fly via ones own strength were twopletely different things. Originally, he thought he would have to cultivate to the Eighth or Ninth-Order before he could attempt true flight, but now his experience had been expedited thanks to none other than the sect master himself.
Although Transient Wings would onlyst six hours before losing its efficacypletely, the sect master was also right that he needed to practice the ability. Otherwise, he might screw up if he waited until danger was right on top of him.
So, he channeled his Spiritual Power and poured them into his back. When Transient Wings activated, a pair of wings covered in a fiery red Spiritual Power shot out of his left and right shoulder de with a whoosh.
The pair of wings looked rather thin. Judging from its shape, it resembled the wings of a Spirit Beast. He reckoned that it was the same shape as a Firecubes.
Anyway, he sent a mentalmand to the wings and caused them to p a little. The next thing he knew, he was sting off diagonally like a meteor.
The sect master immediately waved his arm and enveloped Lu Ye in a gentle gust of Spiritual Power. The young mans ascent was stopped before he could crash into anything.
Cold sweat broke out of Lu Yes forehead as he stared at the tree he damned near crash into. If the sect master hadnt been here to watch over him, he would have suffered quite the concussion.
Again and again, he lost control and nearly crashed into far more objects than he cared to count as he practiced, but eventually he got the hang of it and was able to steady his flight to an extent. He still didnt dare to fly too quickly though. He knew he would lose control if he pushed it beyond a certain point.
A full hourter, Lu Ye was finally able to let loose and fly freely in the sky. He had a lot of fun and wanted to enjoy it more, but considering that Transient Wings time was limited, he reluctantly returned to the ground and allowed them to fade away.
Transient Wings was absolutely one of the best escape tools he could ask for. Its only w was that it consumed a lot of Spiritual Power. He had only been flying for an hour, but his Spiritual Power had already dwindled to thirty percent. The Tattoo should be saved for crises where it was the only viable option left.
A whileter, Hua Ci exited the sanctum as well. The sect master and Lu Ye walked up to Lady Yun to bid her goodbye, and thedy responded with a wave before walking back into the building.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows at Hua Ci and asked, Do you want to test out your wings now? The sect master said it takes practice to master flight properly.
Hua Ci nodded in agreement. Sure.
There was a surge of Spiritual Power, and a pair of green wings grew out of Hua Cis back. She wobbled a little as she slowly floated into the air, but it took her little time to stabilize herself.
A short whileter, the young woman was flying across the sky as lithely as a butterfly. Lu Yes eyelid twitched at the sight. Why why is the difference so big?
Chapter 184: Battle Royale of the Legates
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 184: Battle Royale of the Legates
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the Outposts training chamber, a Circle of Boon and three Gathering Spirits were drawing in World Spiritual Qi like crazy. The entire room was overflowing with Spiritual Qi and wisps of Blood Qi that looked like Spirit Snakes. Both types of Qi were drawn into Lu Yes body non-stop by some sort of indescribable power.
Not only that, his stomach was rumbling like thunder. It was his Gluttonous Feast working its magic.
Suddenly, Lu Ye opened his eyes. He looked down at the back of his hand. The Battlefield Imprint was warming up a little, and the power of the Heavens were giving him a sign.
It was time.
He paused his cultivation techniques and took back the dragon scale he had ced on the Circle of Boon. Then, he left the training chamber. Within moments, he was standing in front of the Divine Opportunity Pir at the Sanctum of Providence.
Hua Ci hadnt arrived yet. As ofte, she and Shui Yuan had stuck to each other like glue doing god knows what. If he had to guess, his senior sister was probably teaching her stuff regarding medicine cultivation. They were both medicine cultivators after all.
While waiting, Lu Ye activated his Battlefield Imprint and inspected his own personal information.
Name: Lu Ye
Identity: Crimson Blood Sect disciple
Cultivation: Eighty Three Spiritual Points
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: Twenty Six
Nearly two months had passed since the battle at Goldentip. Since he recovered from his injuries and restored the Tree of Glyphs ability to burn Pill Poison, his cultivation had been improving by leaps and bounds. On the same day he returned from Lady Yuns residence, he had unlocked his eighty first Spiritual Point and entered the Sixth-Order of Spirit Creek Realm. Today, he had unlocked another two Spiritual Points.
In fact, he wouldve made even greater progress if he hadnt spent almost two weeks flying to Mount Ying and seeking out the Rogue Wanderers Club. It was because the Outpost was a peaceful ce, and its cultivation environment was much better than the ces he used to cultivate in.
So far, his cultivation progress had met his expectations. His Contribution Points, on the other hand, were a bit of an eyesore to put it mildly. This was after he had killed that Seventh-Order cultivator at Mount Ying too. He would have had 5 Contribution Points instead of 26 otherwise.
In the past, Lu Ye had no idea what Contribution Points were good for, but after he learned of the existence of the Vault of Providence he realized that Contribution Points were an extremely attractive currency to any cultivator.
In his case, he needed to spend Contribution Points to purchase suitable resources for the Tree of Glyphs as well, so he foresaw that his need for Contribution Points would be tremendous.
umting Contribution Points by killing other cultivators alone, unless the targets were of a higher Order, was too slow. This was why the Battle Royale of the Legates was a great ce to collect Contribution Points. Since every participating sect would be betting one Blessing in the battle royale, a powerful cultivator could easily amass a tremendous number of Contribution Points.
In fact, Lu Ye had considered bringing Amber with him to the battle royale because he had formed a Bonding Pact with the tiger, meaning that it was his Tamed Beast and a part of his strength. Rule wise, there was nothing stopping him from taking Amber with him.
Shui Yuan and Li Baxian strongly advised against this idea, however. The tremors caused by the battle at Goldentip had just subsided recently, and plenty of people knew that Lu Ye was apanied by a massive white tiger. If he were to bring Amber into the battle royale, it would be all too easy for fellow cultivators to recognize him. Consequently, the Thousand Demon Ridge could gang up on him if they realized his identity.
To put it simply, the benefits of bringing Amber with him werent worth the risk. Without Amber, it would be much easier for him to keep his identity a secret.
It was true that a lot of people had seen Lu Ye at Goldentip, but Spirit Creek Battlefield was a vast ce. There were far, far more cultivators who had never seen him before.
It was at this moment a sweet-smelling figure entered into view. Hua Ci had finally arrived.
Lu Ye looked her up and down once before asking in a surprised tone, New clothes? Are you wearing it for good luck or something?
Hua Ci was wearing something very different today. It was a tight-fitting white dress with small red flowers adorning the hems of her skirt. The pure colorsplemented her soft, fair skin perfectly.
Lu Ye quickly noticed something off, however. It seemed that the beautiful dress wasnt just a beautiful dress.
A Spirit Artifact? Lu Ye raised his eyebrows.
Its a gift from Senior Sister Shui Yuan. She used to wear it until her cultivation level outgrew its usefulness.
Lu Ye thought skeptically, [Is Shui Yuan even big enough to wear something like this? Its the perfect size for Hua Ci, sure, but Shui Yuan I can only imagine her wearing this on a Chinese opera stage.]
He also felt a tad neglected and voiced as much. Im the one who joined the sect first
Hua Ci giggled behind her palm. Senior Sister Shui Yuan mentioned thatbat cultivators like you shouldnt wear defensive Spiritual Artifacts. Excessive protection will cause you to lose your edge.
Lu Ye mulled over the exnation and nodded. That makes sense. It was what he learned when Senior Brother Li Baxian was still teaching him as well. Abat cultivator who refused to dance on a knifes edge could not improve themselves. If he kept relying on outside power to win his battles, it was only a matter of time before he became overly dependent on said power.
Suddenly, he felt something touching the top of his head. He immediately turned toward Hua Ci and stared at her with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. What the hell are you doing?
The woman was patting his head like he was a child!
Hua Ci smiled kindly like an older sister. Nothing? I just thought that this wasnt a bad feeling is all.
Lu Yes eyes became hidden behind his hair. Did no one ever teach you that a mans head should not be touched thoughtlessly?
Of course not, replied Hua Ci matter-of-factly. What will happen if I do it?
Lu Yes eyes suddenly turned sinister, and
Its begun! Hua Ci abruptly turned serious and pressed a hand against the Divine Opportunity Column.
Lu Ye shot her a look but ced his hand on the pir as well.
Their surroundings became distorted as the Heavens swirled around them. The vague sound ofpping waves resounded beside their ears.
When their surroundings returned to normal, the duo found themselves standing on an unfamiliar beach. They exchanged a quick nce with one another and watched their surroundings closely. Not a moment too soon, Lu Ye saw two strangers turning around andying their eyes on them.
Their gazes met. Everyone wore guarded expressions as they channeled their Spiritual Power at the same time.
Lu Ye examined the strangers Spiritual Light and quickly identified them as Seventh-Order cultivators. Not only that, the Battlefield Imprint on the back of their hands glowed red instead of Lu Ye and Hua Cis blue.
They were members of the Thousand Demon Ridge!
Looks like were off to a great start, partner! The youngster donning abat outfit barked out augh before charging straight toward Lu Ye and Hua Ci. Clearly, he considered himself and his partner lucky to encounter a pair of Sixth-Order cultivators right from the get go.
The other Seventh-Order cultivator responded with a curt, Dont get careless! before firing a beam of golden light. Both Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had wasted no time in attacking Lu Ye and Hua Ci.
Hua Ci leaped to the side to dodge the ranged attack. Lu Che crouched lower and charged straight toward his enemies.
The golden light hit no one and sted a hole in the sand.
Their positions were pretty close to begin with, and in Lu Ye and the youngsters case they were both charging toward their foes. The distance between them narrowed to nothing in a short time.
Lu Yes aggression annoyed the youngster. How dare he, a Sixth-Order cultivator rush him like they were equals! Mind set on teaching Lu Ye a lesson, he unsheathed his sword andunched a piercing strike right away. The Spiritual Light on his sword flickered like the tongue of a Spirit Snake. It was clear that there was a lot of power behind the attack.
Lu Ye unsheathed his own saber and met the youngsters attack halfway. There was a loud ng of metal, and the youngsters confident expression morphed into shock. It was because Lu Yes saber swing had nearly been powerful enough to wrench his sword out of his grip!
Doubt sprung in the youngsters head like weeds. [Is he a body tempering cultivator or abat cultivator?] His hand never stopped moving though. He tightened his grip and attacked Lu Ye with everything he had.
Sparks flew everywhere as metallic ngs echoed throughout the beach. It looked like the duo were evenly matched with one another, but the look on their faces told a different story.
Lu Yes expression was calm since the start of the battle, but the youngsters grew more and more shocked with every passing second. It was because the Sixth-Order cultivator he thought he could manhandle as he pleased was far stronger than he imagined!
In fact, he gradually realized that he was actually the inferior one between the two of them!
Not only was his opponent faster and stronger than him, he had fallen into aplete disadvantage in almost no time at all. Every time he shed des with his opponent, his sword would shriek like it was in pain, and his purlicue would sting like hell.
[Theres no way hes a Sixth-Order cultivator!]
His instincts were screaming that his opponent was a wolf in sheeps clothing wearing some sort of cultivation-concealing Spirit Artifact, but he was also aware that the rules of the Heavens were immutable. Since his opponents had appeared at the beach, their cultivation level should not exceed theirs.
Another three breaths passed, and the youngster felt like he was tethering on the edge of defeat. Already, his purlicue had begun to rupture and bleed profusely.
Realizing that there was no longer any time to hesitate, the youngster hurriedly pulled out a Golden Body Talisman Paper, channeled his Spiritual Power, and pped it on his own body. He was trying to save his own life, but the very act actually opened him to greater attacks.
The reason mostbat cultivators did not use Spirit Talisman Papers in the middle ofbat was because they were effectively disrupting their ownbat rhythm.
The Invible swung upward, and the youngsters sword flew out of his grip with a resonant ng. He let out a cry of surprise as he was thrown back. The attack hadnt just disarmed him, it destroyed his Golden Body Talisman Paper right after it took effect as well.
Lu Ye caught up to him in a sh. He shed at the youngster without hesitation.
While the youngster was utterly shocked, he wasnt without onest trick up his sleeves. Eyes glinting with triumphant deceit, he pressed his fingers into a hand seal and channeled his Spiritual Power. Die!
The flying sword immediately stopped its trajectory and shot toward Lu Ye like a beam of light. There was no dodging it. It reached Lu Yes back in but an instant.
Blood sttered, but the cunning glint in the youngsters eyes turned into terror. A diagonal wound about a third of a meter long had appeared on his torso at the same time Lu Ye was mmed face first into the sand. However, the youngster had suffered a grave wound, whereas Lu Ye was only somewhat winded. The battle at Mount Ying had taught him to watch out for telekic techniques, so the second he noticed that the youngster was controlling his sword remotely, he had immediately cast Protection behind his back.
When a cultivator reached the Seventh-Order, they would be able to learn telekinesis. The technique was both a foundational block for flying and an additional method to kill their opponent.
It also increased the power of ones Spirit Artifact.
Lu Ye climbed to his feet in a hurry because the youngster wasnt dead yet. Not taking any chances, he reversed his grip on the Invible and stabbed the youngster right through the chest. Blood gushed out like a fountain when he withdrew his saber.
It wasnt yet time to take a breather though. Feet leaving deep footsteps in the wet sand, Lu Ye took off toward the spell cultivator without a pause.
The spell cultivator was currentlyunching a barrage of spells against Hua Ci. As a medicine cultivator, there was nothing the young woman could do except endure until Lu Ye came to her rescue. He thought hispanion would be able to take out Lu Ye without issues, but the oue surprised him to say the least.
Somehow, his Seventh-Orderpanion had managed to get himself killed by a Sixth-Order cultivator!
[That bloody idiot! ] The spell cultivator thought furiously. He was busy with his own fight and so did not really pay attention to the duel between hispanion and Lu Ye. Normally, it was impossible for a Seventh-Order cultivator to be outmatched by a Sixth-Order. He thought hispanion was defeated because he had severely underestimated his opponent.
Chapter 185: Chess Sea
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 185: Chess Sea
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The spell cultivator had no choice but to abandon his assault on Hua Ci when he saw that Lu Ye was rushing straight toward him. The golden light in his hands changed directions and began sting away at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye swayed left and right as he charged toward the spell cultivator. It looked like he was just barely dodging out of harms way, but he really had full control of the situation.
The spells werent moving so fast that his eyes couldnt capture their trajectory. His body was keeping up with his brainsmands as well. In other words, it would take an extremely fast spell or one with a wide range to hit Lu Ye.
In just three breaths, the spell cultivators eyes had be filled with shock and disbelief. It was because Lu Ye had perfectly dodged each and every one of his spells!
He hurriedly backed away from Lu Ye and channeled his Spiritual Power at the same time. Judging from the huge ball of golden light gathering in front of his chest, he was about to cast a powerful spell technique.
It was at this moment an Aquamarine Arrow struck his side. Since the spell cultivators attention waspletely on Lu Ye, he never saw the attack until it was toote. The spell technique had struck him hard enough to stagger him and dispel the Spiritual Power he just gathered in haste.
The attack came from Hua Ci, of course. She was a medicine cultivator, but that didnt mean she was incapable ofbat. An independent cultivator who couldnt fight wouldve died a long time ago.
Moreover, Hua Ci wasnt just a medicine cultivator. She was also a spell cultivator. Sure, she only knew a handful of spell techniques, and none of them were particrly powerfulfor example, the Aquamarine Arrow had failed to inflict a serious wound on the enemy spell cultivatorbut it didnt matter, because it had achieved its intended effect. It had interrupted the enemys powerful spell technique.
By the time the Seventh-Order cultivator recovered, Lu Ye was already in front of him. Left with no choice, he cast his golden light and sted at Lu Ye again.
Lu Ye easily sidestepped the spell and brought down the Invible. The saber passed through the spell cultivators body with ease, shattering the golden light covering his skin and leaving a massive wound across his chest.
The guy screamed in pain and stumbled backward, but Lu Ye followed him like a maggot sucking on his marrows. He stabbed the man right through the sr plexus. His saber was empowered by Sharp Edge, so it met little resistance even though its de was thick and heavy.
The spell cultivators expression was filled with incredulity even as he grabbed the de in a futile attempt to save himself. It was only now he realized that hispanion hadnt died because of a moment of carelessness. His enemy had simply been too formidable.
Blood and severed fingers flew through the air as Lu Ye withdrew his saber with a flourish. The spell cultivator swayed on his feet for a moment before copsing heavily on the ground. A pool of blood formed beneath his body. His eyes were wide open even as he drew hisst breath.
After Lu Ye had gotten close to the Seventh-Order cultivator, he had killed the man in just two strikes. On the surface, killing a spell cultivator seemed far easier than killing abat cultivator, but anyone who thought that would be making a grave mistake. Most of the time, assuming that their cultivation levels were identical, abat cultivator would be hard pressed to close the distance between themselves and the spell cultivator. In fact, Lu Ye had experienced this exact scenario when his cultivation level was still poor.
Of course, that was in the past. These days, it was nigh impossible for a spell cultivator at his cultivation level to even put a scratch on him, much less survive after he got close to them.
A pair of red lights flew out of the dead cultivators and entered the back of Lu Yes hand one after another. When he looked down to check, he discovered that his Contribution Points had increased by 28, and there was something new lurking within his Battlefield Imprint. He probed it for a bit until he realized that it was the Blessing of the Divine Opportunity Column.
The entry cost of the battle royale was a Blessing worth 500 Contribution per sect. The participants could kill their opponents and rob them of their Blessing. If Lu Ye could return to the Crimson Blood Sect safely, he would have the choice of imbuing the Blessings in the Divine Opportunity Column to increase the Outposts Spiritual Qi, or exchange them for an equal amount of sect Contribution Points.
Speaking of which, sect Contribution Points was not the same as individual Contribution Points, though the two currencies were interchangeable to a certain degree.
This was why the Battle Royale of the Legates was considered a major event in Jiu Zhou. Both major and minor sects were keen on participating in this event because the Heavens guaranteed that the oue would be fair.
You okay? Lu Ye asked while turning toward Hua Ci. She looked a little dirty after the battle, but sported no obvious injuries as far as he could tell.
Hua Ci nodded. Although her cultivation level was an Order lower than that Seventh-Order spell cultivator, she wouldve been fine for at least a while longer. The Spirit Artifact Shui Yuan gifted her had greatly improved her defenses.
After they had organized the loot, they began scouting the surrounding terrain. A whileter, the duo were standing on the highest spot on thend and looking all over the ce. As it turned out, they had been transported to a small ind; one that was only as big as a public square. While the ind was overflowing with vegetation, it was surrounded by sea from all sides.
It was impossible to hide in such a small, confined terrain, so they knew that the only ones on this ind were them and the two Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators they killed just now.
One good thing about the ind was that it was overflowing with Spiritual Qi. There was barely any noticeable differencepared to the wilderness of Spirit Creek Battlefield, so they were able to recover quite quickly after the battle.
The Chess Sea! Lu Ye exhaled after confirming the location of this years Battle Royale of the Legates.
So far, the Battle Royale of the Legates had never taken ce on the same battlefield. ording to the iplete statistics of the major sects in Jiu Zhou, as many as thirty four kinds of battlefields had been featured in the Battle Royale of the Legates. There were mountain forests, deserts, swamps, nds, seas and more.
The Chess Sea was one of the most famous battlefields of the royale because it was an unknown sea filled with tiny inds that, from a birds-eye-view, looked like chess pieces on a chess board.
The curious thing about the Chess Sea was that the inds werent static. They would automatically float across the sea and merge with other inds to form bigger inds. As time passed, these inds would keep merging with one another until finally, they formed a province-sized continent.
As miraculous as this ce was, this was actually bad news for most participants. If this was any other battlefield, a battered, exhausted cultivator at least had the choice of escaping to the edge of the battlefield and hide there until the battle royale was over.
However, this could not be done on the Chess Sea. The inds would keep merging with each other and forcing cultivators of differing factions to sh against one another.
Moreover, the sea itself was rife with danger. Violent, massive sea beasts were just one of the many threats one could potentially encounter in the sea, meaning hiding in the sea wasnt a viable strategy either.
Finally, flying before the inds were fully merged was also a bad idea. It was because flying above the sea depleted far more Spiritual Power than normal. The flier could easily run out of Spiritual Power before they got anywhere.
This was why even the Legates of the Core Circle could not strike out on their own. Their only choice was to stay on their ind and wait for their inds to merge.
If someone were to rank the battlefields of the battle royale by their casualty rate, then the Chess Sea would definitely rank among the top three.
Lu Ye did not know what the other cultivators thought after discovering that the battle royale would be taking ce on the Chess Sea, but he knew he and Hua Ci could see the excitement in each others eyes.
Im going to grow some mushrooms, Hua Ci said before taking off toward the center of the ind with a delighted look on her face.
As partners of this Battle Royale of the Legates, they hadmunicated some of their enemy-ying and self-preservation skills with each other as a matter of course.
.
Hua Cis enemy-ying tactics were meager at best, so it would be wishful thinking to expect her to quickly y a powerful opponent like Lu Ye. On the other hand, she could be far, far more useful than a Sixth-Order cultivator if she was allowed the time and space to work her magic.
And mushroom growing was her most powerful ability bar none.
Previously at Mount Ying, Hua Ci had nted mushrooms in the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators bodies without them knowing. If Lu Ye had arrived a few dayster, and everything was in ce, she could have eliminated all three cultivators by herself without their knowledge.
Although she had had to spring her trap prematurely due to Lu Yes arrival, she still gave that Seventh-Order cultivator quite the fright.
Lu Ye had to hide his surprise when Hua Ci had told him about her ability. Who would have thought that the medicine cultivators, savior of the ill and injured would be capable of such devious methods?
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Hua Ci had single handedly readjusted his view of medicine cultivators, especially independent medicine cultivators like her. The young woman might look kind and gentle on the surface, but she could wipe cities and massacre nations if she wanted to.
With that in mind, it should be obvious why the Chess Sea was an extremely favorable terrain for Hua Ci and other cultivators like her. It was one of the best ces she could hope for to unleash her abilities.
Lu Ye was also lucky to have recruited her before entering the battle royale. After all, there was no way he couldve known that this years Battle Royale of the Legates would be set on the Chess Sea.
Hua Ci wasnt just growing mushrooms, either. She was also collecting medicinal herbs.
The Spiritual Qi in Chess Sea was incredibly rich and suitable for growing medicinal herbs. Killing enemies wasnt the only way to make a profit after all.
Lu Ye remained on guard while Hua Ci was busy doing her thing. It wasnt difficult since the ind was small enough that he could literally view it from one end to another.
He also sensed that the ind was moving toward a particr direction at high speed. He could not help but wonder how the ind managed to float on the sea. After all, it was no boat, and there was no way it was an empty shell, right?
Suddenly, Lu Ye felt a reaction from his Battlefield Imprint. He inspected it and discovered that Li Baxian had sent him a message. His senior brother was the prolegate of the Devoted Ones, so of course he was participating in the battle royale and present in the Chess Sea as well. He had to be in the centermost area though.
The message contained Li Baxians knowledge of the Chess Sea and one message, Do your best, but dont go overboard, junior brother.
Lu Ye responded with a thank you message.
Unfortunately, nothing happened even after Hua Ci finished her preparations, so Lu Ye decided to switch up his cultivation discipline and cultivate. They werent going to encounter any danger until the ind merged with another anyway, so why not?
Two hourster, Hua Ci suddenly called out to him. He immediately paused his cultivation and dashed to the highest spot of the ind. He followed her gaze and found a tiny ck dot moving toward them at high speed.
Another ind was floating in their directionor rather, both inds were attracted toward one another like mas.
The other ind was still too far away for him to glean anything concrete. He could not tell if there were enemies on the ind either.
The sea breeze filled his mouth and his nose with a fishy, salty taste.
Lu Ye took a moment to calcte the inds speed. At this rate, they would collide in less than an hour. After some consideration, he ced the Invible into his Storage Bag and stood side by side with Hua Ci.
When the distance between the two inds had narrowed to a certain extent, they suddenly sped up almost as if they were reacting to the others presence.
This time, the inds were close enough for Lu Ye to observe the other ind. He could see two people standing on a high ce and observing them in turn.
Chapter 186: It’s The Mushrooms Who Killed Him
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 186: Its The Mushrooms Who Killed Him
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Both sides confirmed each others cultivation level after a moment of observation.
The two cultivators on the other ind were Seventh-Order cultivators. They carried a saber and a sword, respectively, and they looked likebat cultivators.
Before the ind got close, the thinner of the two cultivators called out to them, Which faction do you belong to, fellow cultivators? We belong to Grand Sky Coalition!
Their Battlefield Imprints werent responding yet because they were still pretty far away from each other. At a close enough range, the imprints would automatically light up and expose the persons faction just like when they had fought the two Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators before.
This was one of the rules of the Battle Royale of the Legates. It made it easy for the cultivators to recognize each others factions.
Lu Ye did not respond to the thin cultivators call. He simply stared at the man expressionlessly.
The thin cultivator said again, If you dont mind, can you please show your Battlefield Imprints, fellow cultivators? We would like to avoid friendly fire, you see.
This time, Lu Ye responded by channeling his Spiritual Power and raising one arm. The next moment, a fat Fire Bird pped its fat wings and flew straight toward the opposing ind. Hua Ci was so stunned by how rotund the Fire Bird was that she nked out for a second before following up with an Aquamarine Arrow.
This was the first time she saw Lu Ye using a spell technique, much less one with such an impressive style. If not for the inappropriateness of the asion, she would have burst outughing already.
Now she understood why Lu Ye had put away his saber
The spells had beenunched straight at the other party. While Lu Ye could not tell if the other party was lying, he was certain they harbored questionable motives at the very least.
In Jiu Zhou and the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it wasmon sense for unfamiliar cultivators to hide their factions from each other. That they had given up their faction so readily only made him suspicious.
That was why Lu Ye had decided to attack first. If the other party was from the Grand Sky Coalition, then he wouldnt mind offering them an apology after the inds were merged.
But if they hailed from the Thousand Demon Ridge, then he would be making the first move against them.
.
One way or another, he wanted the initiative to be in their hands, not the other partys.
There was a burst of Spiritual Power as the thin cultivator exploded in anger, How dare youunch a surprise attack against us! You must be looking to die real bad!
The guy was mouthy, but he certainly wasnt slow. Both men dodged out of harms way in an instant.
Neither Lu Yes Fire Phoenix Technique nor Hua Cis Aquamarine Arrow was particrly fast or powerful, not to mention that they were still quite some distance away from each other. Therefore, it wasnt difficult for them to dodge the spells. For a time, Lu Ye and Hua Ci threw ineffective spell after ineffective spell at their opponents until finally, the twobat cultivators decided it was a bit humiliating to dodge enemy fire without retaliating at least a little. A quick discussionter, they fished out Spirit Talisman Papers from their Storage Bags, activated them and threw them at Lu Ye and Hua Ci.
For a time, spells flew between the closing inds like colorful fireworks. Fire Birds, Aquamarine Arrows, Golden Arcs and Icicles flew all over the ce.
While retaliating, the thin cultivator dered with a malicious grin, Two little Sixth-Order spell cultivators, huh? Just you wait. Youre going to regret attacking us real soon!
Suddenly, both parties swayed unsteadily on their feet. It was because the two inds had finally collided with each other.
As if on cue, Lu Ye and Hua Ci floundered all over the ce as if they had no sense of bnce at all. On the other hand, the twobat cultivators quickly steadied themselves and rushed toward Lu Ye and Hua Ci at high speed.
As the distance between them shortened, the back of everyones hand started glowing brightly. While Lu Ye and Hua Cis glowed blue, the twobat cultivators glowed red. Grand Sky Coalition? No, they were obviously Thousand Demon Ridge!
You are dead! The thin cultivator uttered in a chilling tone while dodging Lu Yes spells. He was just a few seconds away from the young man now. When hispanion charged toward Hua Ci, the young woman immediately ditched Lu Ye and fled in haste.
Haha! The thin cultivator cackled at the sight. It was always a treat to watch fellow partners abandoning one another to escape his wrath.
The thin cultivator dodged onest spell before leaping high into the sky. He unsheathed his sword with a victorious look on his face. Not only did his opponent fail to maintain his distance from abat cultivator, his cultivation level was an Order lower than his. This was his victory no matter how you looked at it!
It was at this moment he saw Lu Ye pulling a saber from his Storage Bag.
Hmm? A tinge of worry suddenly colored his features.
When Lu Ye swung the saber at him, and fiery red Spiritual Power covered his vision, that worry reached peak level in an instant and transformed into terror!
ng! His sword was sent flying in the first strike. As he was in mid-air, he would only watch as Lu Yes saberit looked like the entire de was on fire because it was covered in red Spiritual Powercut through his arm and his body!
Aiya!
The thin cultivator let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was sent flying. A shower of blood exploded from his body, and his arm flew lifelessly into the air.
It was only now he realized that the Sixth-Order young man wasnt a spell cultivator after all. He was abat cultivator!
Still, how did he cast his spells so quickly? It wasnt like he never suspected that the young man was trying to pull a fast one on him, but his casting speed had dispelled his doubts. It was the kind of speed that was only attainable with an incredible amount of practice.
[That crafty little bastard!] The thin cultivator swore in his head while making a hand seal with his remaining hand. His Spiritual Power cycled furiously as his sword sang and transformed into a beam of light.
Unfortunately, a saber shed across his vision before he could do anything with the sword. The next thing he knew, his life had already departed his body.
It had only been three breaths since the thin cultivator charged Lu Ye
After Lu Ye had in his opponent, he wasted no time in rushing to Hua Cis aid. Although the young woman had great running speed, she was ultimately no match for abat cultivator. She was about to be caught up when a bloodcurdling scream caused the mans heart to skip a beat.
When he turned to look behind him, he saw that Lu Ye was approaching him at high speed.
[My partner died? But how? Also, I thought that young mans a spell cultivator, so why is he wielding a saber?]
One difficult question after another popped into his head. He was just deciding whether to turn around and face Lu Ye or continue his pursuit when suddenly, vertigo struck him without warning.
He had identally stepped on a gray mushroom. Nigh invisible spores clung to his body and entered his lungs as he breathed.
He had no idea what just happened, but he instinctively channeled his Spiritual Power and chased away the ufortable feeling.
It was only a moments dy, but Lu Ye was already in front of him and swinging his saber. He had no choice but to fight the young man.
Metallic ngs rang across the battlefield. Sparks flew everywhere as Spirit Artifact shed against Spirit Artifact.
Since she no longer had to flee for her life, Hua Ci turned around and cycled her own Spiritual Power. Suddenly, the Spiritual Light surrounding the Seventh-Order cultivator grew dimmer and dimmer.
Lu Ye could visibly feel his enemys moves weakening with each strike. At the beginning, his enemy had performed exactly as a Seventh-Order cultivator would. Two movester, his Spiritual Power suddenly weakened as if some sort of invisible power was suppressing a portion of his strength. It actually dropped to that of a Sixth-Order cultivator.
Lu Ye could have killed a Seventh-Order cultivator with little effort, much less a Sixth-Order. That said, he wanted to see how Hua Cis mushrooms performed in battle, so he dragged out the fight instead of ending it immediately.
It didnt take long before the enemy cultivators Spiritual Power weakened yet again. This time, not only did his strength fall to that of a Fifth-Order cultivator, the ominous scene he saw at Mount Ying reared its head once more. Tiny mushrooms started growing out of the mans eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. It was terrifying to say the least.
This time, even the enemy noticed that something was terribly wrong. After he drove Lu Ye away with an attack, he yelled at them in panic and anger, What did you do to me?
Is this all? Lu Ye asked Hua Ci.
More or less, yes.
Okay. You can kill him now.
Who, me?
Duh? Hes worth 14 Contribution Points, you know?
But my hands are made for healing the wounded and saving lives, not murder, Hua Ciined with an affronted look.
Ill take you both to the grave with me! The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator roared in fury before charging straight toward Lu Ye. Not only had they treated him like air, they had discussed the value of his life right in front of him. No one could have borne such humiliation.
It was toote though. Before he could reach Lu Ye, the tiny mushrooms growing out of his head suddenly exploded in rapid session like tiny fireworks. When the explosions ended, the mans face was a gruesome goo of melted flesh, and he hit the ground with a resounding thud. Even the blood pooling beneath his body was greenish red instead of normal red. A pair of red lights then flew toward Hua Ci and Lu Ye respectively.
The Contribution Points went to Hua Ci, and the Blessing Lu Ye.
Lu Ye looked at Hua Ci and held a gaze for a moment. She smiled innocently as she asked, Why are you staring at me like that? Its the mushrooms that killed him, not me.
What could Lu Ye even say to that? In the end, he decided to ignore it and focused on gathering the loot.
While he was inspecting the Battlefield Imprint, he suddenly realized that he got not one, but two Blessings. In other words, these two Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had killed a team of cultivators and stolen their Blessing prior to meeting them.
His face turned thoughtful when he realized this. From the looks of it, the longer they survived and the more enemies they killed, the greater the rewards they would receive. He could only imagine what kind of reward they would receive if they managed to kill the final team. After all, every time a participant team dies, the Blessing they paid as the entry cost would be transferred to the victor.
After the battle, Lu Ye and Hua Ci proceeded to investigate the other ind. While crossing over, they discovered that the two inds werent actually merged into one seamless whole. They were just stuck together like a pair of mas. At the same time, they were both floating in a certain direction.
Hua Ci walked to the other ind with a spring in her step. She was going to grow her mushrooms, of course. Ideally, she wanted to transform every ind that floated their way into an invisible death trap. This way, anyone who dared to enter their territory would have to endure hell.
Lu Ye did not follow her this time. There was no danger since the enemies had already been killed.
Lu Ye discovered that the World Spiritual Qi of the ind had be richer after the merging. Since he hadnt used up much energy during the fight, it only took him a moment to return to full strength.
Two hourster, Hua Ci returned to his side while humming a song he had never heard before. She seemed to be in very high spirits.
Your mushrooms seemed more powerful than before, Lu Ye voiced his thoughts. He was pretty sure they werent this strong when she had used the same tactic against that Seventh-Order cultivator at Mount Ying. They hadnt taken effect nearly as fast either.
Senior Sister Shi Yuans the one who taught me, she exined.
Lu Ye eximed in surprise, She knows how to grow mushrooms as well?
No, but she does have the foresight and the experience. Its no problem for her to instruct a small cultivator like me.
He couldnt deny that.
As if seeing through his thoughts, Hua Ci added, smiling, All medicine cultivators are experts in poison. Whether theyre willing to use it this way is another matter entirely. After all, how can you heal without knowing the illness? How can you treat poison without knowing poison? If you think that medicine cultivators are easy to bully just because they look soft and cuddly, youve got another thinging.
Ive never underestimated anyone before, and Im not about to start now!
Chapter 187: Bone Fragment
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 187: Bone Fragment
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Three dayster, Lu Ye and Hua Cis ind had be ten times bigger than before. A few more inds had merged with their ind during this time. Some contained enemies, and some werepletely empty.
There was a time Lu Ye observed the merging inds in hopes of finding a pattern of some sort, but he quickly discovered that the mergers werepletely random.
When they first appeared at the Chess Sea, it had taken two hours before the first ind showed up. After that, nothing happened for half a day before the second and third ind appeared on the horizon at nearly the same time. Their appearance had scared Lu Ye and Hua Ci quite a bit because fighting two inds worth of enemies even with their setup was hardly easy, but it all turned out okay in the end.
All inds that came afterward had also appeared on the horizon without warning. There was no discernible pattern that Lu Ye could identify. All he knew was that these inds would keep drifting across the Chess Sea until they got close enough to attract each other.
So far, Lu Ye and Hua Ci had taken out a few teams of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Their coordination had only improved after their first kill.
Every time they spotted the enemy, they would pretend to be spell cultivators and bombard them with spell techniques. The enemy could never resist charging them if they were abat cultivator or a body tempering cultivator, and Lu Ye never failed to reward their predictable behavior with a pleasant surprise.
There was one time they ran into a team of two spell cultivators instead and exchanged a passionate dialogue of spells and more spells with each other. In the end, Lu Ye and Hua Ci had to pretend that they ran out of stamina and fled before they finally managed to lure their adversaries to their ind, a massive death trap that was overflowing with Hua Cis mushrooms. Their fate was as good as sealed after that.
Whenever Hua Ci activated her mushrooms, they would release a cloud of tiny, nigh invisible spores that invaded the targets body. While they werent immediately fatal, their main function was to corrupt the cultivators Spiritual Power and seal arge portion of their strength.
Not only that, these spores would absorb their targets Spiritual Power to grow tiny mushrooms out of their eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. It shouldnt need to be said how rming it was to experience such a phenomenon in the middle of a battle. It came as no surprise that no one was able to survive Lu Yes saber after the mushrooms took effect.
Hua Cis method of killing might be incredibly tedious and nowhere as cathartic as Lu Yes, but there was no denying its effectiveness.
Of course, her mushrooms werent unstoppable. Fire type Spiritual Power could suppress the invading spores to a great degree or destroy thempletely. If someone knew about the traps and flushed the area with fire-type spell techniques first, then all of her hard work would be destroyed.
It had been three days since they entered the Chess Sea, and they both had a fair amount of rewards to show for it. The Contribution Points they had received werent great, but the Blessings were a different story. If they could survive until the end of the battle royale and invest all these Blessings into the Divine Opportunity Column, the quality of the Outposts Spiritual Qi would surely improve by leaps and bounds.
Another battle ended, and this time Lu Ye was covered in blood. Some of it belonged to his enemy, and some was his own. He panted heavily as he stood amidst a pool of blood and four dead Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators!
Their luck had run out during thetest merging. The other ind contained not one, but two teams of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. If it wasnt for Hua Cis mushrooms, there was no way he could have survived this.
He was powerful enough to defeat foes whose cultivation levels were higher than his own, but that did not mean he was invincible. At his current level, fighting two Seventh-Order cultivators at the same time was more or less his limit. Three was just impossible.
Just like all their previous battles, Hua Cis mushrooms were the main reason they were able to turn this around. Upon seeing four enemies on the other ind, they knew there was no chance they could defeat the enemy via brute force this time. Not even bothering to pretend to be spell cultivators this time, they immediately turned tail and retreated into their ind.
It was a good thing that the ind was much bigger than before. Otherwise, they wouldnt even have the option to run.
What happened afterward was a cat-and-mouse chase that spanned across the entire ind. They must have circled the ce at least a couple of times before they were finally surrounded.
As the four enemies approached with malicious grins on their face, Hua Ci finally sprung her trap. Their Spiritual Power suddenly became corrupted, and tiny mushrooms began growing out of their heads. At the same time, Lu Ye dashed like lightning and yed an enemy cultivator in an instant.
The ensuing battle was a deadly dance where the slightest mistake couldve ended in Lu Ye and Hua Cis death. The mushrooms were effective, but thebined explosive power of three Seventh-Order cultivators still dealt a ton of damage to Lu Ye. Even Hua Ci had taken a hit from a telekically-charged sword. If it wasnt for the dress Shui Yuan had gifted her, that hit would have pierced her stomachpletely.
After they managed to survive the first ten breaths, the tides slowly but surely turned in their favor. It was because the enemies were losing strength with every passing minute. Near the end, they didnt even have the strength to use telekinesis anymore. Lu Ye eventually cut them all down with his saber.
Lu Ye turned to check how Hua Ci was doing and found blood trickling down a corner of her lips. Clearly, that telekically-charged attack had done a sizable amount of damage even after it was blocked by her Spirit Artifact.
Lu Ye himself was covered in a number of wounds, the worst one almost deep enough to see bone. But overall, he had gotten out of that battle rtively intact.
They exchanged nces, both still reeling from how easily everything could have gone south.
Hua Ci walked over and started treating Lu Yes injuries. His wounds abruptly ceased bleeding and tingled non-stop as warm aquamarine light gently enveloped his body.
It was clear that the medicine cultivators healing power had be stronger after she entered the Sixth-Order. Although the wounds wouldnt heal instantly as a matter of course, they were no longer a major problem.
Hua Ci tended to her own injury only after she had finished treating Lu Ye.
In the meantime, Lu Ye consumed a Healing Pill and a Spirit Restoring Pill. He kept a watchful eye on their surroundings while switching his cultivation discipline to quicken his recovery.
Unlike most people, he did not need to enter a state of meditation while recovering his strength. All he needed to do was to swallow the pills, and the Gluttonous Feast would do the rest for him.
It was the same when he was cultivating at the Outpost. When other cultivators cultivated, they had to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling the World Spiritual Qi around them. If they lost concentration for even a moment, their cultivation efficiency would be impacted to a certain degree. This wasnt the case for Lu Ye though. All he needed to do was to construct Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points and switch out his cultivation discipline, and he could divert his attention elsewhere.
Of course, most of the time he just stared at a nk space or slept because he had nothing to do
The ind he and Hua Ci had appeared on at the start was in the middle of the merged inds. There, he had built a fairly-sized Gathering Spirits for Hua Ci because her recovery speed wasnt as quick as his. This way, they would be able to recover more efficiently after every battle.
The Chess Sea was a battlefield where a huge battle could happen at any moment. Therefore, it was critically important to maintain an abundance of ones Spiritual Power. This was especially true for Hua Ci because her mushrooms required a lot of Spiritual Power to grow. Despite their inconspicuous appearance, each and every mushroom had been grown by her own Spiritual Power and some facilitation methods.
As the ind continued to grow in size, the number of ces she needed to grow her mushrooms were also increasing. Thankfully, the concentration level of the World Spiritual Qi was increasing as well. Most of the time, she only needed to meditate for a short moment to recover her Spiritual Powerpletely.
They took care of the loot as they had done many times before. This time, Lu Ye received a total of five Blessings from the four Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. These people had obviously in a number of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators before they came upon them.
Lu Ye was certain that these teams belonged to separate sects, and yet somehow they were lucky enough to encounter one another instead of another enemy team. He and Hua Ci, for example, hadnt encountered a single Grand Sky Coalition team sinceing here.
He put away the enemies Storage Bags before dumping their bodies into the ocean. It was how he dealt with all the other bodies so far. After all, no one knew how much longer they were going to stay in the Chess Sea, and to leave them on the ind was to leave them to rot and stink to the high heavens.
Every time Lu Ye dropped a body into the ocean, countless shadows would rise to the surface and devour everything in an instant. Not a single piece of flesh was left behind.
He had never managed to identify these shadows, but he knew beyond any doubt that he had to avoid entering the sea at all costs. Maybe he could skirt the surface in case of emergencies, but to venture any deeper was to court certain death.
The second body he tossed also disappeared in the blink of an eye. The third one was no different. When Lu Ye was about to toss the fourth body though, he suddenly frowned and nced in the direction of the sea.
A bone fragment had floated to the surface before he realized it. This alone wouldve been strange enough, but what really surprised him was that the shadows were swimming away from the bone fragment.
Lu Ye stared at the bone fragment until he recalled seeing it hanging around the neck of a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he killed. At the time he had ignored it after confirming that it was no Spirit Artifact or precious material, but now it seemed that he was mistaken. After all, it had repelled even the shadows beneath the Chess Sea!
Lu Ye thought for a moment before setting down the body he was carrying on the ground. He then pulled open their shirt and grabbed the item around their neck.
It was another bone fragment. It was definitely the same as the bone fragment on the sea.
He tried channeling Spiritual Power into the object but failed to elicit any reaction from it. When he tried squeezing it, he discovered that it was exceptionally tough. It definitely wasnt a Spirit Material.
So what on earth is it?
At first, he thought that the bone fragment was just a meaningful trinket to the cultivators who wore them. However, he found the theory unlikely because the wearers of the bone fragment did not belong to the same sect. This waspounded by the fact that they hadnt coordinated with each other during the earlier battle at all.
So, these two cultivators wore the same pendant even though they belonged to different sects. Was it just a coincidence? Or was there something else here?
He left the body where it was and left temporarily to find a long branch. Once he came back, he fished out the bone fragment that was floating on the sea. Only then did he dump the rest of the bodies.
After the bone fragment was gone, the shadows beneath the sea immediately became active once more.
With that done, Lu Ye returned to the highest spot of the ind to resume his watch and study the bone fragments at the same time.
Two hourster, a fully recovered Hua Ci returned to his side and saw the bone fragments he was studying. She asked curiously, What are those?
Lu Ye shook his head before exining his findings. Feeling even more curious, Hua Ci said, So, youre saying that two cultivators belonging to different sects are wearing the same bone fragment pendant for some reason?
Yeah. Lu Ye nodded before reciting the characteristics of the two cultivators to help Hua Ci remember. A whileter, the young woman nodded thoughtfully. Youre right. I dont think they belong to the same sect. But what if theyre siblings, and these bone fragments are some sort of heirloom?
Lu Ye could not deny that possibility.
Well, it doesnt matter. Shui Yuan should be able to tell us what they are after we get back, he said as he put them inside his Storage Bag.
Suddenly, Hua Ci bumped him with her elbow and pointed down a certain direction.
Lu Ye followed her gaze and tensed up immediately. It was because he saw an ind that was no smaller than theirs floating swiftly in their direction.
Chapter 188: Reinforcement
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 188: Reinforcement
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
All inds in the Chess Sea were pretty small at the beginning. At most, they were as big as a public square. Over time, they grew bigger by attracting other inds and merging with them.
The bigger the ind, the greater the enemys strength and numbers might be. It was because such an ind would have gone through multiple mergings and battles already.
Of course, there were always exceptions to the rule. For example, Lu Ye and Hua Ci had managed to amass quite the ind despite being Sixth-Order cultivators only.
Suddenly, Lu Ye noticed something unusual. He could see shes of spells from time to time and hear the sounds of fighting. Themotion only grew more obvious as the inds moved closer and closer to each other.
The fact that there wasbat could only mean that cultivators from both Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and Grand Sky Coalition were present on that ind. It was impossible to tell who had the upper hand from where they stood though.
Judging from how fierce the battle was, it was clear that neither party was aware that an ind was fast approaching their direction. Lu Ye considered his options for a moment before saying to Hua Ci, Im going to fly over and check things out. You stay here.
Be careful.
He channeled his Spiritual Power, and a pair of fiery wings came to life behind his back. He then flew toward the other ind.
The second he crossed over to the sea surface, Lu Ye immediately sensed his Spiritual Power pouring out of his body like someone had drilled a hole in it. It was as bad as maintaining a Protection that covered his entire body.
Although he had been warned about this before, he couldnt help but feel surprised by how much Spiritual Power he was losing anyway. No wonder flyingor rather flying over the sea surfacewas something to be avoided unless one had a specific purpose in their mind. He wondered why the energy consumption was so terrible over the sea surface, but that wasnt a question that was going to be answered anytime soon, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.
The good news was that the two inds were already fairly close to each other. It only took him a couple of breaths tond on the other ind and withdraw his wings. After that, he suppressed the presence of his Spiritual Power as best he could and carefully sneaked his way toward the sounds ofbat.
He didnt have much time though. The two inds could collide into each other at any moment. When that happened, thebatants would take notice for sure.
Luckily, the ind wasnt so huge that it would take him too long to reach the battlefield without being detected. A short whileter, Lu Ye saw five Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators attacking two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators.
Not only that, there were three dead bodies on the ground. It was clearly a fierce battle.
The Thousand Demon Ridge party of five was made up of two spell cultivators, one body tempering cultivator, onebat cultivator and one ghost cultivator.
The two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were a man and a woman who were covered in blood and wounds. They werent going tost much longer.
This was a two versus five, so of course they were no match for their opponents. The reason they managed tost until now was because the man was a resilient body tempering cultivator with a powerful physique and overflowing vitality. He also wielded a Shield Spirit Artifact that made it even harder for the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to punch through his defenses.
Of course, one of the reasons the battle had dragged on for so long was because the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators wanted to y it safe. Why take unnecessary risks when the battle was already won? Animals were most dangerous when they were injured and cornered, much less cultivators with onest trick or two up their sleeves. One of theirpanions had perished precisely because they had ignored the age-old adage.
At the beginning, this was a six-versus-four battle instead of five-versus-two. After they had taken out the first Grand Sky Coalition cultivator, one of theirpanions grew impatient and tried to end the battle as quickly as possible. Instead, they were dragged to the grave by their prey.
Right now, all they needed to do was to trap their prey until the body tempering cultivators shield was destroyed. The battle was as good as over after that.
The three melee-ranged cultivators kept encircling and harassing the enemy while their spell cultivatorsunched spell after spell from a safe distance. Already, the Spiritual Light on the Shield Spirit Artifact was so dim that it could falter at any moment.
The two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators looked grim-faced and determined. It was because they knew that their chance of surviving this was next to zero. The thought of begging for mercy never crossed their minds because they knew it would be useless. All it would earn them was more humiliation especially for female cultivator. It did not take a genius to know what would happen if the woman fell into the enemys hands alive.
That was why they werent aiming to win. They were aiming for the opportunity to drag an enemy down to the grave with them.
And it came. There was a terrible boom, and the ground suddenly shook like an earthquake. The two inds had finally collided with one another. No one was able to stay steady on their feet.
The five Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators nched at the same time. They had encountered the Grand Sky Coalitions ind less than two hours ago. No one was expecting another ind so soon.
Watch out! Someone cried out in warning, but it was toote. The instant the inds had collided, the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators rushed toward thebat cultivator at the same time. The body tempering cultivator let out a furious roar and brought his shield to bear, covering for the beautiful woman behind him. The determination and ruthlessness in their eyes were so that thebat cultivator could not help but panic a little.
Ah!
A bloodcurdling scream cut through the air, but it hadnte from thebat cultivator. It left all thebatants in shock and confusion.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators spun toward the direction of the scream and found one of their spell cultivators convulsing on his feet, the tip of a de poking out of his chest. Behind him stood a man they had never seen before.
[What the hell just happened? How did he show up this quickly?]
From the moment the inds collided, they already knew that a new party might interfere with their battle. If the neers belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge, then it was a happy ending as a matter of course. If they belonged to Grand Sky Coalition, then the situation might be a little dicey. Either way, they were prepared to deal with the situation.
What they werent prepared to deal with, was their spell cultivator dying practically the second the inds had collided! What was going on here? Had the man been hiding on the ind all this time?
There was no time to think. Charging with wanton abandon, the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had managed to make their way to thebat cultivator and were doing their best to drag him to the grave with them, self-preservation be damned. Unfortunately, they failed because their injuries were just too severe. Thebat cultivator only took a hit before his body temperingpanion came to his rescue.
For a time, the four cultivators danced the dance of death with each other. The ghost cultivator wasnt doing nothing either. His presence suddenly became much harder to detect as he cut in from the nk and pushed the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators to the edge.
At the same time, Lu Ye charged toward the second spell cultivator while shouting, Hang in there!
The shield-wielding body tempering cultivator did not react to his shout, but the female cultivator wielding a pair of daggers did. Astonishment spread across her features because that voice felt familiar for some reason. But of course, this was no time to be distracted. Purple patterns crept all over her pale neck and dyed her pupils purple. The way they slithered all over her face made her look both demonic and beautiful.
Ghost cultivators excelled at assassinations, so head-on battles like this one was not her strong point. It wasnt like she had a choice though. The only thing she could do now was to bring her full power to bear.
Back on Lu Yes side. The young man was rapidly closing the distance between himself and the spell cultivator while dodging every spell that was flying in his direction. It was such an unbelievable sight that a bit of panic had crept onto the spell cultivators features. He had never seen such a nimblebat cultivator in his life.
When Lu Ye was almost right on top of him, the spell cultivator gritted his teeth and channeled his Spiritual Power. The next second, a powerful repulsive force erupted from his body.
The surprise attack caused Lu Ye to stumble on his feet. Not about to let the golden opportunity slip by, the spell cultivator hurriedly ran toward hispanions.
Unfortunately, he only managed a few steps when he felt a surge of hot energy flying toward him from the nk. He looked back and saw a big ass Fire Bird flying straight toward him. He hurriedly summoned a Spiritual Power Shield in front of himself.
Boom! The Fire Bird crashed into the shield and caused a tremendous explosion. By the time he had recovered his footing, Lu Ye was already on top of him.
The Invible swung upward and sent the spell cultivators forearm flying. Lu Ye then brought it back down and put a good amount of holes in the spell cultivators body. The poor guys scream could be heard throughout the ind.
Boom! Seconds before his death, the spell cultivator cast onest spell that struck Lu Ye squarely in the chest. Despite Protection, the spell was still powerful enough to send him flying through the air.
When Lu Ye mbered back to his feet, he was just in time to see the spell cultivator falling forward on his knees. A dot of red light floated toward him at the same time.
Lu Ye turned sideways and spat out a mouthful of blood. This was why he had sworn to kill any spell cultivator that annoyed him!
The battle wasnt over yet though. He ran straight toward the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators.
Maybe it was because Lu Yes appearance gave them hope, or maybe it was because their n to drag their enemy to the grave had failed. Right now, the duo were doing their best to retreat in Lu Yes direction.
It was a close thing. Their injuries were so severe that they were leaving bloody footprints with every step they took, not to mention that this was still a two-versus-three. The three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were also doing their utmost to overwhelm them before Lu Ye could reach them.
But they did it. They managed to hold out until Lu Ye reached them. When the battle was joined, the female cultivator finally recognized their savior. Her feelings were mixed. This was thest ce she had expected to see him again.
Go! Lu Ye yelled while blocking an attack with the Invible.
They were still at a disadvantage even though their numbers had equalized. While Lu Ye was sure he could survive the three enemy cultivators, the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators would die if they continued fighting any longer.
The duo looked hesitant, but Lu Ye shouted again, GO!
This time, they obeyed his order and made their escape.
The pressure on Lu Ye increased dramatically. Not even he could withstand the assault of three Seventh-Order cultivators for long.
A Protection the size of a table appeared in front of Lu Ye at the cost of a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power. The trio kept attacking and putting cracks on the Glyph, but the young man simply injected more Spiritual Power into it and restored it anew.
He only managed to hold on for another three breaths though. By the time he reached his limit, his internal organs felt like they were vibrating, and blood threatened to spill out of his mouth.
He dished out a horizontal sh at the same time as he canceled Protection. While the trio backed away from the attack, he immediately turned tail and ran.
Lu Ye was at least thirty meters away by the time the three cultivators noticed that he was escaping. Although they were shocked by his speed, they did not forget to employ telekinesis andunch their Spirit Artifacts at Lu Ye.
Sensing the killing intent behind him, Lu Ye immediately activated Transient Wings and took to the sky.
He did not activate Protection because he knew it wouldnt be enough to block the attacks. Even if it was, the resulting impact would still grievously wound him.
Svin: Happy New Year! I know. Kinda bted. Was too busy to change the scheduling.
This week, Well have 12 Chapters! Enjoy!
Chapter 189: My Medicine Cultivator Is A Scary Woman
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 189: My Medicine Cultivator Is A Scary Woman
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Transient Wings, the Glyph Lady Yun tattooed on Lu Yes back was a big help this time. The three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators visibly nked out for a moment when the young man suddenly soared into the sky. No one was expecting him to be capable of flight, of all things.
Bathed in red light, Lu Ye flew like the wind while being chased by three Spirit Artifacts carrying different colors of Spiritual Lights. They almost looked like rainbows from a distance.
Not every low-level cultivator could acquire a tattooed Glyph. After all, there werent many Glyphweavers in Jiu Zhou, much less Glyphweavers who possessed the knowledge and technique to tattoo a Glyph. In fact, there were less than twenty Glyphweavers across the entire Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou who were capable of such a feat, and it so happened that Lady Yun was one of them.
If it wasnt for the sect master, it would have taken much more effort to convince her to tattoo a Glyph for Lu Ye and Hua Ci.
Lu Ye must have flown at least a hundred meters before the pinpricks of danger gradually faded from his back. When he felt confident enough to look back, he discovered that the three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had withdrawn their Spirit Artifacts. It was because Lu Ye had escaped beyond their attack range.
Telekinesis was great, but it was hardly omnipotent. For these Seventh-Order cultivators, ny meters was their absolute limit. Anything more than that would cause them to lose contact with their own Spirit Artifact.
After Lu Ye was gone, the three cultivators exchanged hesitating nces with each other. They didnt know if they should chase after the enemy or not. Lu Yes ability to take out two spell cultivators in a row was worrying, but they also knew his cultivation level was only Sixth-Order. Moreover, the other two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were so badly injured that they barely counted as a fighting power. Logically speaking, their best option was to chase and hunt down the enemy before they could recover.
However, the other ind was also the enemys territory. It was never a good idea to chase into the enemys territory recklessly, not to mention that there was the possibility of traps.
It didnt even need to be aplicated trap. Assuming that the enemy had the numberseven if the likelihood was pretty lowall they needed to do was to lie in ambush somewhere.
A brief discussionter, it was decided that the ghost cultivator would sneak into the enemy ind and scout out the area first.
Of the six major cultivation systems, ghost cultivators were most adept at infiltration and assassination. However, most of the ghost cultivators Lu Ye encountered werent too different from abat cultivators. The reason for that was cultivation level. Ghost cultivators could not disy their true capabilities until they had passed a certain threshold.
There was one edge a ghost cultivator had over other cultivators even at a low cultivation level, and that was their running speed. It was why the ghost cultivator was entrusted with the duty to scout the enemy, even if he wasnt exactly eager to bear the risk. It was simply their best choice right now.
Thanks to the cover provided by his twopanions, the ghost cultivator was able to infiltrate Lu Ye and Hua Cis ind with no issues. After scouting out the enemy from a far distance, he returned to hispanions with both good news and bad news.
The good news was that the enemy reinforcements they feared only consisted of one Sixth-Order cultivator.
The bad news was that she was a medicine cultivator, and she was treating the two injured Grand Sky Coalition cultivators right now!
For a time, the body tempering cultivator and thebat cultivator werepletely speechless. What kind of sect would assign a pair of Sixth-Order cultivators to be their Legate and prolegate, not to mention that one of them was a medicine cultivator?
It wasnt like medicine cultivators could not study another cultivation system to make up for their ws, but they still had to invest most of their time in studying medicine. Combat wise, no one would dispute that medicine cultivators were the weakest of all types of cultivators.
This was why medicine cultivators rarely showed up in the Battle Royale of the Legates. In a battle royale, participants were expected to battle each other to the death most of the time. If the team wasnt strong enough, then the most likely oue was death. With that in mind, who in their right mind would intentionally halve their fighting strength by bringing a medicine cultivator? Were they nning on the medicine cultivator sewing their corpse back together after they were chopped to a dozen pieces?
The three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators just could not figure it out no matter what. Just who was the bizarre sect who came up with such an ingenious tactic?
Regardless, their course of action was clear now. If they chose to stay idle, then it was only a matter of time before the two injured cultivators regained their strength. When that happened, it would be a three versus four where they were the disadvantaged party. They needed to end this before those two cultivators could recover!
The three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators hurried toward the other ind uponing to a decision. On the way, they discussed battle ns and agreed that the ghost cultivator would keep Lu Ye upied. The way Lu Ye had in two of their numbers and kept the three of them at bay before escaping to their sky was still fresh in their minds, so they knew that it would be idiotic to treat him as a normal Sixth-Order cultivator. All they asked of the ghost cultivator was to keep Lu Ye upied until they had taken out the other three Grand Sky Coalition cultivators. After that, there should be no reason they couldnt kill Lu Ye even if he could fly.
Meanwhile, Hua Ci was in the middle of treating the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators when she suddenly shot Lu Ye a look. The young man caught her meaning immediately.
The body tempering cultivator asked, Are they here?
Yeah.
He forced himself to rise to his feet and raised his Shield Spirit Artifact. Thinking that this was it for all of them, he let out a resigned sigh in his head and smiled at Lu Ye. Sorry for bringing such trouble to your doorsteps. Ill do my best to stop them.
The female cultivator also rose to her feet and grabbed her Dagger Spirit Artifacts.
Hua Cis treatment was useful, but the enemy hade too quickly. All she managed to do was to stop their bleeding.
The female cultivator looked like she wanted to say something to Lu Ye, but in the end she didnt. It was at this moment Lu Ye slowly unsheathed his saber and dered in an indifferent tone, Calm down, you two. If those three dare to show their faces here, you have my word that they wont live to regret it.
Both the body tempering cultivator and the female cultivator looked at him in astonishment. Should they say he was boastful or an idiot? They might outnumber the enemy, but anyone could see that their chances of survival were low.
Sensing their doubt, Lu Ye added, You dont know this, but my medicine cultivator is a scary woman!
As if on cue, three Thousand Ridge Demon cultivators appeared at the distance. Lu Ye tightened his grip around the Invible as the enemiesunched their Spirit Artifacts at them using telekinesis.
The brawny body tempering cultivator let out a mighty roar and blocked in front of their group. He mmed his Shield Spirit Artifact on the ground and channeled his Spiritual Power to summon a thick barrier. It wasrge enough to protect all four cultivators behind it.
Every time a Spirit Artifact shed against the barrier, the body tempering cultivators body would shake a little. However, he refused to budge as if he was rooted to the ground.
The barrier began to crumble as it blocked more and more attacks, but that was fine, because Lu Ye and the female cultivator had already rushed out of the cover.
The female cultivator controlled one of her daggers using telekinesis in an attempt to give thebat cultivator a taste of his own medicine. The man had no choice but to channel his own Spirit Artifact to defend against his attack.
Lu Ye had also channeled his Spiritual Power andunched a spell at the ghost cultivator.
Mayhem reigned supreme for a time. Spiritual Power rose and fell all over the ce.
.
Then, Hua Ci casually raised her hands, activated her Spiritual Power, and made a Secret Technique.
The three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators nched at the same time. Their Spiritual Power had suddenly be corrupted, and it felt like they were trying to cycle sludge instead of energy. As a result, their strength plummeted like a rock, and their skills became much weaker than before.
Not only that, they could feel something growing out of their eyes, their ears, their nostrils and their mouths. Not only did it block their breathing and eyesight, their Spiritual Power was leaking like a burst dam. It scared the shit out of them as a matter of course.
Then, Lu Ye ran up to the ghost cultivator and took off his head in a single sh
Thirty breathster, the battle ended with the body tempering cultivator crushing his counterparts head to bits with his Shield Spirit Artifact.
Lu Ye had returned his saber to its sheath, and Hua Ci looked so calm it was as if a battle hadnt happened just now. The only ones who were affected were the body tempering cultivator and the female cultivator.
When Lu Ye told them that his medicine cultivator was a scary woman, they hadnt really taken him seriously. Maybe he was right, but how scary could a medicine cultivator really be? Everyone knew that a medicine cultivators niche was saving lives, not taking them.
Then, Hua Ci shattered their world viewpletely.
They hadnt even seen it happen properly. All they saw was tiny mushrooms growing out of their enemies heads all of a sudden and severely impeding their performance in every aspect. The next thing they knew, they had killed the three Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators as easily as taking out the trash.
They had never heard of such a treacherous method of killing in their lives. It wasnt like their sects didnt have medicine cultivators who could kill, but none of them was even close to being as scary as this one!
Both Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had the feeling that the seemingly sweet-tempered medicine cultivator must have obtained a good fortune or an incredible inheritance in the past. It was the only exnation why she was so much deadlier than her peers.
Ill deal with this. Just focus on healing your injuries, Lu Ye said before leaving to clean the battlefield.
Hua Ci looked at her patients and asked sweetly, So, who wants to go first?
The body tempering cultivator and female cultivator exchanged a nce with each other before dering in unison, He will! She will!
Hua Ci beamed at them. Rx. Im not going to grow mushrooms in your bodies.
The body tempering cultivator scratched his head in embarrassment. You go first, Junior Sister Lan. Im a body tempering cultivator. I can wait.
And so the trio focused on treatment and recovery while Lu Ye put away the enemies Storage Bags and Spirit Artifacts. He then dragged the bodies to the shore and dumped them all into the sea.
Then he ran to the other ind and did the same thing there.
An incense stickter, Lu Ye returned with a strange expression on his face. He seemed to be holding something in his hand.
Junior Brother Yi Ye! The female cultivator called out to him. Hua Ci had already finished treating her, though it would take her some time to recover to full health as a matter of course.
Senior Sister Lan! Lu Ye smiled back at her. We meet again.
It had been a while since he rescued them, but it was only now they had the time to properly speak with each other.
The female cultivator was none other than Lan Yudie of Mount Aurora. Over two months ago, after Lu Yes identity was exposed, and countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators attempted to murder him, it was she who sought him out first and escorted him the entire way.
Lu Ye received help from many more people during that time, but Lan Yudie was the one he remembered the clearest.
When they parted waysst time, she and the Northern Stars were being besieged by the members of Thousand Demon Ridge. However, Lu Ye exposed his whereabouts willingly and lured a good number of them away.
After the incident had settled, he messaged Lan Yudie and confirmed her safety.
He never expected to run into her again in the Battle Royale of the Legates, however. The fact she was here could only mean that she was a Legate or a prolegate.
Thank you for saving our lives, junior brother, Lan Yudie said seriously.
Lu Ye shook his head. I would not be alive if you hadnt escorted me that day, senior sister. Im the one who should be thanking you.
Then I suppose were even now, Lan Yudie replied with a smile.
Suddenly, Hua Ci interrupted the conversation with an innocent look. Didnt you tell me that the saved person should repay their benefactor with their body?
What? Lan Yudie shot Lu Ye a confused look.
Lu Ye grunted. Ignore her. My medicine cultivator also likes to talk crazy from time to time.
Chapter 190: Came Prepared
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 190: Came Prepared
Trantor: Truth
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Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye proceeded to exchange names with the body tempering cultivator who was receiving treatment from Hua Ci. He was the Legate of an Eighth-Tier sect from Dingzhou, and his name was Gao Tai.
Gao Tai expressed his astonishment when he learned of Lu Yes identity. Youre Lu Yi Ye of Crimson Blood Sect? Themotion you caused two months ago at Goldentop was quite something.
Lu Ye did not correct him. He just could not even be bothered to try anymore. Some aspects of fame were irreversible once made, and his nickname was one of them.
Lan Yudie was a prolegate and Gao Tai a Legate. They were previously a party of four until they ran into these Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and lost two of their number. Lu Ye had collected their belongings when he went to the other ind earlier, so he returned their Storage Bags after Lan Yudie and Gao Tai identified them.
The duo should be happy to escape the jaws of death, but the death of theirpanions still put them in a mncholic mood.
Lu Ye spoke with them for a while and discovered that they had been extremely lucky. They had met up with each other soon after they arrived, and together they were able to take out multiple teams of Thousand Ridge Demon cultivators with no issues. Thatsted until they encountered thetest group of enemies.
They were four strong, but the enemy had two more over them. Since their cultivation level andbat strength were more or less the same, the party with the superior numbers clearly held the advantage. If Lu Ye hadnt appeared in the nick of time, they had no doubt that they wouldve died already.
Suddenly, Lu Ye tossed a pair of bone fragments into their hands. Do you recognize these things?
Lan Yudie and Gao Tai caught them and inspected the bone fragments for a moment. They shook their heads as Lan Yudie asked, What are they?
I dont know either, Lu Ye replied while fiddling with another two bone fragments. I picked them up from the other ind.
He had already collected two bone fragments beforehand, and he found another two while looting the battlefield. One of them hade from the spell cultivator he ambushed, and the other from a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator who was already dead by the time he entered the other ind. He was one of the three corpses on the ground.
After Lu Ye had exined his findings to Lan Yudie and Gao Tai, they both wore shocked and had puzzled looks on their faces. Youve collected these bone fragments from four different people? Assuming they all belong to a different sect, thats four different sects owning the same object!
What on earth is it? Lan Yudie attempted to channel her Spiritual Power into the bone fragment and failed to elicit a response. Squeezing it did nothing either. She even went so far as to hack it a couple of times with a dagger, and to her shock she was unable to break it in half.
Ive never seen it either. Perhaps it is some sort of exotic Spirit Material that we do not recognize, Gao Tai guessed.
But why would they be in the hands of people from four different sects? Lan Yudie had recognized the problem as well.
Lu Ye wanted to know the answer too, but nothing came to him yet. Earlier, Hua Ci had guessed that the two Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators might be blood-rted, and he had agreed with her assessment. But now, he wasnt so sure. Assuming they were siblings, why would they each join a different sect?
In the end, they werent able to arrive at anything conclusive. He decided to ask Li Baxian about it. His senior brother should be far more equipped than him to find a clue considering his knowledge and experience.
While Lan Yudie and Gao Tai were recovering from their injuries, Lu Ye kept watch and sent a message to Li Baxian. Hua Ci had left to grow her mushrooms on the other ind. Right now, the merged inds werent so big that it was beyond her control yet, but it was only a matter of time. Eventually, she would have to focus on one particr area only.
His senior brother didnt respond to his message immediately, which probably meant that he was in the middle of a battle. Lu Ye wasnt worried though. He hade to know the Cultivation World a little better these days, and he found out that his senior brother was the tenth strongest champion on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy. It was also rumored that the strongest champion on the Roll of Supremacy was the Legate of the Devoted Ones. He couldnt imagine that there were many enemies who could threaten them here.
A whileter, he received a reply from Li Baxian.
I was fighting just now. What is it, junior brother? His senior brother said in a casual tone. It was clear who was the winner of the fight.
Lu Ye proceeded to tell him everything he just learned and inquired about the bone fragment. To his surprise, Li Baxian recited the characteristics of the bone fragment before he could give a description.
You got one too, senior brother? Lu Ye asked in a surprised tone.
I just found one, yes.
Lu Ye suddenly had a bad feeling about this. He was on the outer edge of the Chess Sea, and his senior brother the center. The fact that bone fragments were found not just on different Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, but different locations of the Chess Sea seemed to imply something.
I dont recognize this thing either, but dont worry, Ill ask around. Ill let you know when I have the results.
Okay!
After the conversation was over, Lu Ye rubbed the bone fragments thoughtfully before putting them back in his Storage Bag.
Four hourster, a new ind appeared on the horizon. It was smaller than theirs, meaning that it had undergone a merge a couple of times only.
When it got close enough, Lu Ye discovered that it belonged to fellow Grand Sky Coalition cultivators. There were only two of them, and they were all injured to a certain degree. It was clear that they were in quite the scrap before running into them.
Both cultivators were overjoyed to find a medicine cultivator among Lu Yes group as a matter of course. Previously, they were prepared to fight to the death because they knew they were too injured to realistically survive the next fight. Luckily for them, not only was their next encounter a friendly one, they even had a medicine cultivator among them.
Hua Ci wasted no time in treating their wounds and winning their eternal gratitude.
With this, their ind had officially grown to six cultivators strong. Everyone felt much better about their chances because they were no longer helpless beforerge groups of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. In fact, there was a good chance that they would be the ones to outnumber the enemy from now on.
At the same time, countless fierce battles were being fought on countless inds across the entire Chess sea. Without exception, each battle ended with one side being thoroughly annihted.
Looking at the bigger picture, there was no doubt that Thousand Demon Ridge held the dominant advantage in this Battle Royal of the Legates. It was because most of the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were able to meet up with one another, while those from Grand Sky Coalition were theplete opposite. It was a bad situation for Grand Sky Coalition. Even if they managed to win one battle, more battles awaited them in the future.
Moreover, because the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge kept meeting up with one another, they almost always outnumbered their opponents when they did encounter an enemy group. Unable to put up an effective resistance, Grand Sky Coalition suffered even greater casualties.
Another big battle visited Lu Yes group almost half a dayter. The enemy group was also six cultivators strong, this time. On the surface, it looked like both sides were evenly matched, but Lu Yes group consisted of four wounded cultivators and two Sixth-Order cultivators. Although Hua Ci had treated all of them, it would take them at least a couple more days to recover to full health.
There was a short exchange meant to test the waters, and Lu Yes group had fallen like dominos. They withdrew to their ind, and the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gave chase believing that victory was well within their grasp.
Then it was over. They stepped into Hua Cis mushroom grounds, and the rest was history.
Lan Yudie and Gao Tai felt nauseous even though they had already seen the mushrooms in action once. The two neers were beyond shocked as a matter of course. At least it didnt affect their performance.
When the battle was over, everyone was counting their loot with smiles on their faces. The Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were already grateful in the first ce, but now they were treating Hua Ci like their closest friend.
In a battlefield like this, there was nothing more reassuring than a medicine cultivator in the backlines, not to mention one who could also weaken their enemies. Without exaggeration, Hua Ci was the reason they were able to win this fight as easily as they did.
As a show of gratitude, they gave all the loot to Hua Ci after it was tallied. To them, the Contribution Points and Blessings they gained from killing the enemy was already more than enough. No one was thick-skinned enough to ask for a share of the loot as well.
Hua Ci tried to turn down their gift, but her persuasion was no match for the others. In the end, she had no choice but to ept them with a smile.
After this battle, everyone realized Hua Cis importance in this battle royale and discussed battle strategies with Lu Ye. In the end, they decided to stick a bodyguard by the medicine cultivators side in every battle. Lu Ye could clearly feel the difference in treatment.
That wasnt to say he was unhappy with the arrangement, of course. Quite the opposite, Hua Cis capabilities beyond her healing and her mushrooms were fairly weak, so she would be much safer if she had someone to guard her at all times.
As with all previous battles, the group focused on recuperation and recovery after everything was taken care of. It was around this time Lu Ye received a message from Li Baxian.
Ditch those bone fragments as soon as you can. It has the ability to affect the Chess Inds and draw them toward each other, and Thousand Demon Ridge is using this to gather their forces! Grand Sky Coalition is in big trouble this time!
Lu Ye nked out for a second. He already knew that something was off about those bone fragments, but this was definitely not what he was expecting.
ording to his senior brother, the bone fragment could affect the Chess Inds and draw them toward another bone fragment owner, effectively allowing Thousand Demon Ridge to snowball into an unstoppable force. This coincided with everything he had experienced in the battle royale so far. The four bone fragments in his possession had been collected from different Thousand Demon Ridge forces that were somehow able to meet up with one another in the vast ocean that was the Chess Sea. They could just be lucky, but the likelier exnation was that the bone fragments were affecting the Chess Inds.
If this was true then his senior brother was right. Grand Sky Coalition was screwed.
Where did these bone fragmentse from? Have they appeared in the past? Lu Ye messaged.
From what I gathered, a Thousand Demon Ridge sect had identally discovered them in the Chess Sea decades ago. They were the remains of a powerful Sea Spirit Beast. After they brought it back to the sect, they found a way to break it down to bone fragments and distributed them to every sect thats participating in this battle royale. Li Baxian responded as quickly as he could. You absolutely must be careful, junior brother. Try to meet up with other Grand Sky Coalition cultivators and hang in there until all the Chess Inds are merged. Ill find you then!
Dont worry, senior brother. I can manage things here. You should take care since you have a bone fragment yourself, Lu Ye replied.
Lu Ye frowned deeply after he ended the conversation.
He had no doubt that Thousand Demon Ridge hade prepared. In fact, they must have been plotting this for a long time. They had purposely withheld all information regarding the bone fragments until the Battle Royale of the Legates happened.
Chapter 191: A Pair of Treasures
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 191: A Pair of Treasures
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There was also the possibility that Thousand Demon Ridge had always passed out the bone fragments in the Battle Royale of the Legates. They just werent useful in most instances because the selected battlefield wasnt Chess Sea.
The bone fragment was not a Spirit Material. Therefore, it drew little to no attention even when it fell into the hands of a Grand Sky Coalition cultivator.
So far, Thousand Demon Ridges preparations had given them a massive advantage over their opponents practically since the start of the battle royale.
His senior brother was in great danger right now. There was no way Thousand Demon Ridge would be satisfied with just killing some insignificant Seventh or Eighth-Order cultivators with this scheme. Lu Ye had no doubt that their true aim was the Legates and prolegates in the Core Circle.
These talented cultivators were expected to be the pir of their sects in the future. If they were all killed in the battle royale, it would be wishful thinking to say that a rupture would happen in the Spirit Creek Realm level, but Grand Sky Coalition would definitely be missing a tremendous amount of future pirs in the next few decades.
Thousand Demon Ridge was ying the long game here!
Even if the effects of the bone fragments were leaked, Thousand Demon Ridge still had nothing to lose. The movement of the Chess Inds was fully automated, so the participants could only passively wait for the inds to merge with one another and lead them to enemies, allies, or no one at all.
Until the Chess Inds had merged into one giant continent, it was unlikely that anyonenot even a champion like Li Baxianwould attempt to fly across the sea and escape to another ind either. It simply cost too much Spiritual Power to do so. Lu Ye himself could attest to that.
Naturally, the upper hand was firmly in Thousand Demon Ridges grasp right now.
Everyone looked stunned after Lu Ye shared the information he had learned from Li Baxian with them. None of them was expecting the bone fragments to have such a major effect in this battle royale.
My senior brother wants me to throw away these bone fragments as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would continuously pull us toward Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who also possess a bone fragment, Lu Ye said while ying with the bone fragments in his hand. He did not look like he was nning to throw them away, however.
What do you think we should do, Lu Ye? Lan Yudie looked at him.
What do you guys think we should do? Lu Ye deflected the question to everyone else.
One of the two Grand Sky Coalition cultivators they rescued earlier spoke up, Brother Li is unaware of our circumstances, so its only natural for him to ask Lu Ye to throw the bone fragments away. However, there are six of us here, and we have Sister Hua Cis medicine skills and mushroom traps on our side. As long as the enemy count isnt higher than ten, I do not believe there is any group we cannot defeat. Therefore, assuming that the bone fragments truly work as Brother Li imed, I believe we should keep them instead of throwing them away. I believe we should use them to get to as many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators as possible and kill them all!
The man looked around after he finished giving his answer. His sect mate agreed as a matter of course. Lan Yudie and Gao Tai also nodded after exchanging a nce with each other.
When everyone turned to look at Lu Ye, he smiled and said, Since we are all of the same opinion here, then lets all carry one bone fragment each. I wonder if the effectiveness of the bone fragments will increase if we collect more of them? Well, better safe than sorry.
He proceeded to give away three of the four bone fragments he was holding. Coincidentally, each sect got exactly one bone fragment.
With that done, Lu Ye said solemnly, A lot of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators must have met up with each other at this point, and Im sure Grand Sky Coalition has suffered a lot of damage. The only thing we can do to stop this is to kill as many enemies as possible. Only then will we have the strength and numbers to fight against Thousand Demon Ridge when all of the Chess Inds have merged!
Lan Yudie nodded. Lu Ye is right.
A sense of mission and honor suddenly seized Gao Tai. Does that mean its up to us to save the Grand Sky Coalition now?
The two cultivators from another sect also turned serious.
Lu Ye broke out a chuckle. Its not that serious. Some of our allies will have to meet up with one another eventually. Anyway, all we need to do is do our best.
Everyone nodded, but their shoulders felt heavier than ever before.
If there isnt anything else, Ill be returning to my watch. Please focus on recovering your strength, my friends, Lu Ye said before dashing back to the highest point of the ind.
Two hourster, Lu Ye saw a new ind on the horizon. He immediately sounded the rm and roused his allies from their rest. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to determine what was happening on the iing ind, much less the allegiance of the cultivators upying it. Regardless, everyone was ready to fight at a moments notice.
While waiting for the ind to arrive, they held a quick meeting and churned out a new n to bait the enemy into their trap.
It was decided that Lan Yudie and Gao Tao would act as bait and lure the enemies into the ind. Everyone else would remain at the back of the ind
If the neers belonged to Grand Sky Coalition, then they would wee them with open arms as a matter of course. But if they came from Thousand Demon Ridge, then Lan Yudie and Gao Tai would lure them toward their main force as best they could. Once the enemy had passed through Hua Cis mushroom zone, it was simply a matter of killing the enemy and reacting to the situation as they saw fit.
.
The reason Gao Tai was chosen to be the bait was because he was a body tempering cultivator. Body tempering cultivators were naturally sturdy and they could survive most attacks that would have killed a cultivator from another cultivation faction. With Hua Ci in the backline, he would recover as long as he didnt die on the spot or took fatal wounds.
In short, Gao Tai would be acting as the enemys punching bag.
Lan Yudies role was even simpler. She was to act as the beautiful damsel in distress.
Between a sweaty mess of a man and a beautiful, sexy woman whose clothes were covered in blood stains, it did not take a genius to know who the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge would chase.
The n was proposed by Lu Ye and approved by everyone. Lan Yudie was the only one who was shooting Lu Ye an unfriendly look, and not without a good reason.
They put the n into action immediately after the nning stage was over. While Lan Yudie and Gao Tai remained on the high ground, everyone else retreated to the back of the ind and waited for the signal.
A whileter, the two inds collided with a boom, and the ground shook like an earthquake. Lu Ye focused his senses and waited for something to happen, and soon he felt fluctuations of Spiritual Power and heard the sounds of spells whistling through the air.
After that, it didnt take long before he received a message from Lan Yudie. There are five enemies in total!
Five enemies meant that there were at least three hostile sects on the new ind. There were only five probably because one of them could have died in an earlier battle. While Thousand Demon Ridges scheme was devious, there was no way they would not sustain any casualties even if the battle royale ended with their victory. No one from Thousand Demon Ridge or Grand Sky Coalition was a weak-willed person. In a hopeless situation, they were all capable of sacrificing themselves to drag the enemy down with them.
But of course, this determination did not amount to much after Hua Cis mushrooms had weakened them.
Rumbling noises came from the front non-stop. It wasnt long before Lu Ye saw Lan Yudie and Gao Tai fleeing in their direction in a hurry. They had split up so they wouldnt slow each other down.
The pursuers were pretty cautious. While making sure that their prey did not escape their sight, they constantly checked their surroundings to ensure they werent ambushed.
Too bad for them, their fate was sealed from the moment they set foot on this ind.
Hua Ci could not say that her mushrooms were spread across the entire ind, but she had trapped every key area in the ind. Unless the enemy cultivators remained in the air the entire time, they would inevitably inhale some spores.
An I knew it expression appeared on the pursuers faces when they saw Lu Yes group. When they noticed that Lu Ye and Hua Ci were only Sixth-Order though, they immediately let out a sigh of relief.
While they were outnumbered six to five, Lu Ye and Hua Ci were the only ones who seemed perfectly unharmed. Everyone else was clearly injured to a certain degree.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were still wondering if they shouldunch an assault when they discovered that Lu Yes group was already rushing toward them. They had no choice but to engage the enemy in battle.
Spirit Artifacts shed against one another both in the air and on the ground. Halos of Spiritual Power erupted all over the ce.
Because Lu Yes group had left one person behind to guard Hua Ci, and Lu Ye himself was only Sixth-Order and incapable of telekinesis, the tide swung drastically in the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators favor right from the get go.
However, just when they thought that this would be an easy victory, the tables were turned all of a sudden. Their Spiritual Power suddenly became slow and unsteady to the point where their very Spiritual Artifacts werent functioning properly. The sudden loss of power allowed Lu Yes group to strike three Spirit Artifacts out of the air and Lu Ye to run up to a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator without resistance. The stunned man retreated in shock, but was unable to stop the saber flying straight at him.
Blood sttered everywhere, and screams rang out one after another.
Twenty breathster, the battle was over. Lu Ye shook off the blood on the de and returned his saber to its sheath before calling out to Gao Tai, Brother Gao,e check out the other ind with me, will you?
Of course! The body tempering cultivator agreed without hesitation and joined up with him shortly.
Although it seemed highly unlikely that the enemy would leave someone behind on the ind, it was still a non-zero chance. It would be terrible if they lost someone because they were careless. The rest of the group stayed behind to clean up the battlefield.
Speaking of which, the group was still giving Hua Ci all the loot and amusing her greatly. The medicine cultivator felt bad taking it, but the group wouldnt ept even a small share no matter how hard she tried to change their minds. It was because they knew that Hua Ci was the reason the battle had gone as easily as it did. Without her, they could have lost someone even though they outnumbered the enemy.
Instead, they suffered no injuries and barely lost any Spiritual Power at all. In this world, who didnt enjoy apletely one-sided battle? It also affirmed their determination to protect Hua Ci at all costs.
Hua Ci could not help but wonder how many Storage Bags she would umte when this battle royale was said and done.
On the other side, after going through the ind with a fine-toothb and confirming that there were no hidden Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, Lu Ye and Gao Tai returned to their ind. A short whileter, Lan Yudie apanied Hua Ci to the other ind to make the necessary arrangements.
With thistest expansion, it was no longer possible for Hua Ci to trap every inch of the ind. It took a lot of Spiritual Power and effort to grow the mushrooms. That was why she had no choice but to grow them in certain key locations only. The good news was that Lu Yes Gathering Spirit did wonders to recover her Spiritual Power. Every time she finished a setup, all she needed to do was meditate for a bit and return to full strength.
Not only that, the World Spiritual Qi in the ind grew richer and richer with every expansion. Right now, it was almost twice as rich as the Spiritual Qi in the Crimson Blood Sect.
Hua Ci was busy growing her mushrooms, but Lu Ye wasnt idle either. He decided to construct a bigger Gathering Spirits at their resting spot that cost sixty percent of his Spiritual Power.
Everyone was stunned by his handiwork. It was only now that they realized that Hua Ci and Lu Ye were a pair of treasures.
Hua Ci could heal people and weaken the enemy with her mushrooms. Lu Ye could easily construct a Gathering Spirits that sped up everyones recovery and lessened their qualms regarding energy consumption during battle.
Was Crimson Blood Sect a sect of gods or something?
Chapter 192: Golem Master
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 192: Golem Master
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Time passed quickly. Lu Yes ind continued to collide and merge with other inds, and from time to time a huge battle would break out.
Since their initial battle n had worked wlessly, Lu Yes group saw no reason to change it besides fine-tuning some details. Gao Tai and Lan Yudie would bait the enemy into their ind, and they would take them out once they had inhaled the spores. The routine was nothing new but extremely effective regardless.
There were many times the enemy had seen through their simple tactic, but so what? Unless the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators chose to remain on their ind, victory was the only oue.
Of course, they also ran into cultivators from Grand Sky Coalition sometimes.
The attraction and merging of the Chess Inds were probably decided by proximity. The two closest Chess Inds would be pulled toward one another, and it was the same with the bone fragments.
Three dayster, over twenty Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had gathered on Lu Yes ind. At this point, it was pretty rare for either Thousand Demon Ridge or Grand Sky Coalition to encounter isted groups of cultivators. The weaker groups wouldve been ughtered to thest, and all the stronger ones wouldve met up with some allies and formed groups of various sizes.
A group of over twenty people was not an insignificant force. For one, it made their battles much easier than before. They werent worried even when the enemy group was bigger than theirs. Thanks to Hua Ci, they did not need to minimize their injuries every time a battle was engaged. The medicine cultivator would naturally treat them all when the battle was over. Lu Yes Gathering Spirits also allowed them to fully regenerate their Spiritual Power, meaning that they could go all out every time without needing to worry about energy consumption. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who had the misfortune of going up against them sometimes wondered if they had taken some drugs.
At some point, Hua Ci stopped growing her mushrooms altogether. It was because the ind had grown beyond the limits of her control. Even so, she was a high-value target that was protected by two bodyguards at all times. Lu Ye himself was no exception. Every time he walked down to the battlefield, Gao Tai would be there to protect him. The body tempering cultivator followed him like a shadow and was ready to sacrifice his life to save him if necessary.
Although their cultivation level was easily the lowest of all the Legates and prolegates participating in the battle royale, their effectiveness in a battlefield like the Chess Sea could not be understated. Nobody dared to let anything happen to them.
Aquamarine light caressed the edges of Lu Yes vision as a tingly sensation came from his wounds. Hua Ci was treating him right now.
Theirtest opponent had been a tough nut to crack. They were a group of over thirty Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators; a terrifying force that was nigh unstoppable at this stage of the battle royale. Under normal circumstances, no one would be a match for them.
Clearly, this group was able to meet up with many of their allies prior to encountering Lu Yes group. They had invaded the ind in high spirits believing that there was nothing the enemy could possibly do to stop them. Of course, that wasnt the case at all. The moment they had entered the kill zone, they lost at least a dozen of people in just dozens of breaths. The rest scattered in panic and lost a couple more members before they finally returned to their ind.
Lu Yes group gave chase as a matter of course, but it turned out that the enemy had alsoid their own traps. After suffering some casualties and deciding to pull back for the moment, the battle came to a screeching halt.
Neither side was willing to invade the others ind without thought, so instead they dispatched a few people with a way with words to the shores and have them yell obscenities all day and night. For a time, it seemed like the battle of insults would never end, but Lu Yes group knew they couldnt allow the stalemate to continue. After a brief discussion, they decided tounch an attack on the basis that they had the numbers advantage and a medicine cultivator in the backline.
In the Chess Sea, it was ill-advised to drag out a battle because there was no way to know when the next ind would arrive. If the neers were allies, then all was well, but if they were enemies then their situation would only worsen for them. After all, even with Lu Ye and Hua Cis help, they still needed some time to recover after every battle.
Unfortunately, the second attack didnt go very well either. They didnt lose anyone this time, but they still had to retreat after sustaining some injuries.
We cant drag this out any longer. Thanks to those bone fragments, the chances that the next ind will also belong to a Thousand Demon Ridge group is extremely high. The situation will get much worse if that happens, said the Legate of an Eighth-Tier sect.
It was no rmist talk. Although their group was over twenty people strong, they had encountered far more enemies than allies in the past three days. In fact, their probability of encountering a Thousand Demon Ridge group so far was around 70%. The bone fragments were clearly affecting the Chess Seas movements.
The problem is the array cultivator of the enemy group. Although his arrays are pretty crude, their power is not to be underestimated. Well need to eliminate him first before we can vanquish the enemy.
They know that though. Thats why theyre defending him with everything they got. Itll not be easy to kill him!
The group discussed tactics while they were recovering their strength, but no one was able toe up with a viable n. Worry and fear weighed heavily in their minds. It wasnt like the enemy was unbeatable. They outnumbered the enemy almost two to one, so they could definitely win if theyunched a mindless, all-out attack. There was no telling how many people would die in the process though. It was thest resort no one wanted to use unless they had no other choice.
While this was going on, Lu Ye was watching a thin male cultivator repairing a palm-sized spider; a golem that was almost lifelike enough to be the real thing. The thin cultivator was the Legate of Thousand Gear Pavilion, and his name was Lu Yushan.
Thousand Gear Pavilion was a special sect in Jiu Zhou. It was because they were a sect of Golem Masters.
There were plenty of minor factions besides the six main factions of cultivation. Some of them had a long history, and some did not. However, they were all niche factions with little to no influence because they did not fit with the current trend of cultivation.
Lu Yes sect master had owned a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage that was pulled by horse-shaped golems that almost looked like the real thing. Unfortunately, it was destroyed on the way to the Crimson Blood Sect.
Lu Ye remembered Tang Yi Feng telling him that he might encounter a Golem Master in the future, and he was right.
Lu Yushan was a Golem Master who excelled at crafting various mechanical tools. In the past, Lu Ye believed that Golem Masters were only good for crafting supporting equipment such as the two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, but he realized his perspective was too narrow after fighting side by side with Lu Yushan. They could craft powerful weapons that dealt huge damage to the enemies as well.
Lu Yushan owned a Spirit Artifact named the Thunder Dragon Cannon. Its function was very simple. The Spirit Artifact would absorb the Spiritual Power from Spirit Stones andpress them into a ball. Once it was ready, it would unleash its power at the usersmand.
Lu Ye had seen with his own eyes a Seventh-Orderbat cultivator taking a hit to the torso and losing half of his chest just like that. The attack was so powerful that even his Protection wouldnt be able to stop it.
That said, the cannon had plenty of ws. For starters, it took ages to charge up its power, meaning that it was easy for the enemy to dodge out of the way if they knew where to look. That was why Lu Yushan rarely used it unless he found the perfect opportunity to do so. Second, it cost a lot of Spiritual Power to fire the Thunder Dragon Cannon just once; four Spirit Stones worth of Spiritual Power to be exact.
The mechanical tools of Golem Masters were extremely sophisticated. Since they mostly relied on external tools to bolster their strength, very few of them ever became high level cultivators. Of course, that didnt mean that the way of Golem-making was a dead end. Talented Golem Masters were perfectly capable of cultivating to a higher realm. One such example was the sect master of Thousand Gear Pavilion, a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. The only reason their sect was just an Eighth-Tier sect was because they had too few disciples.
The spider Lu Yushan was repairing right now was a purely supportive mechanical tool that was used for scouting purposes only; a Spider Golem. It was how he scouted the enemys ind earlier.
After Hua Ci was finished treating him, Lu Ye picked up a Spider Golem and examined it curiously. Lu Yushan shot him a smile before asking, Do you like my Spider Golem, Brother Yi Ye?
Ive never seen something like this before.
We Golem Masters are a small faction. Its no wonder youve never seen one before.
How many Golems do you have, Brother Yushan?
A dozen or so. Feel free to y with it if you want to, offered Lu Yushan generously.
Lu Ye thanked him before walking toward Hua Ci with the Spider Golem in hand.
Every hair on Hua Cis body stood on end when she saw this. Keeping herposure on the outside, she asked, What are you doing?
Take a look at this.
Lu Ye tossed the Spider Golem in Hua Cis direction, but to his surprise she did not catch it. The girl had frozen right as itnded on top of her chest, the blood visibly draining away from her face as she looked down on it. Even her body was beginning to tremble slightly.
Youre scared of spiders?
Lu Ye shot her a surprised look after he picked the spider off of her chest.
No.
That was what she said, but she couldnt even keep her pitch straight.
Lu Ye nodded. Brother Lu has a dozen more Spider Golems, and I was wondering if you could grow your mushrooms in them. If it works, he can slip them behind enemy lines, and when the time is right He unclenched his fist. Boom!
.
If the enemy wouldnt step into their mushroom trap, then they would deliver it to them themselves. The effects would be the same either way. In the future, this meant that they were no longer limited to just baiting the enemy into their kill zone. They could also take the fight to the enemy and win practically any engagementassuming that Lu Yushan had enough Golems, of course.
So? What do you think?
The Legates who were still discussing battle strategies stopped their discussion and looked in their direction. Even Lu Yushan had stopped repairing his Spider Golems.
Hua Ci sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the spider in Lu Yes hand. She then said in a calm voice, Ill give it a try!
She might have fooled the others, but Lu Ye could feel exactly how cold her fingers were
A short whileter, Hua Ci gave them the good news. I did it. Im not sure if Brother Lu can still control it though. Can you give it a try?
The moment Hua Ci said this, Lu Yushan channeled his Spiritual Power into the Spider Golem. It suddenly came to life and brushed its hairy legs against her palm.
[p!] Hua Ci pped the spider right across Lu Yes face. His face was instantly covered in spores, and the delicate golem was shattered into a couple of pieces as well.
Everyone could only watch this in stunned silence.
Hua Ci mustered a brave smile and said, Sorry, my hand slipped
Lu Ye wiped his face and stared at her expressionlessly.
And Lu Yushan extended a trembling hand while groaning, My baby!
After the little intermission, everyone immediately made the necessary arrangements to execute the n. Lu Yushan had joined the Battle Royale of the Legates with a junior sister, so they had more than enough golems to spare for this battle. Hua Ci looked like she was about to faint after she grew her mushroom in each and every one of them.
Chapter 193: Taking The Initiative
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 193: Taking The Initiative
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Once everything was set, all twenty or so Grand Sky Coalition cultivators started advancing toward the other ind. The body tempering cultivators led at the forefront, thebat cultivators followed behind them, the spell cultivators and ghost cultivators were in the middle, and finally Hua Ci at the very back. She was apanied by two bodyguards whose job was to block any attack that might fly in her direction.
As usual, the battle began with spell techniques and tele-controlled weapons flying in both directions. For a time, Spiritual Powers and explosions red all over the ce.
Lu Ye and Lu Yushan were currently standing at the highest point of their ind. They did not join the battle this time because they had something more important to do. The Golem Master was currently sitting cross-legged in front of Lu Ye and controlling his Spider Golems to slip behind enemy lines.
The reason the others were faking a forceful attack was to draw the enemys attention and distract them from Lu Yushans Spider Golems. Otherwise, they wouldve been discovered real quick because animal life did not exist on the Chess Inds.
Lu Ye stood behind Lu Yushan not just to protect him, but also because he was waiting for the right time to act.
The enemy array cultivator must be killed, or they would suffer casualties even if Hua Cis methods worked as intended.
He observed the battle for a moment before turning his head toward a different direction. A new Chess Ind had appeared in the distance, and they would collide with theirs in an incense stick at most.
He had no idea if they were friend or foe, which was why they could not drag this out any longer. If it turned out that the iing Chess Ind carried dozens of additional Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, they would be caught in a deadly pincer attack.
The shockwaves grew more and more intense until finally, Lu Yushan abruptly opened his eyes and rose to his feet. Everything is in position!
Lu Ye nodded. Lets go.
He took a step forward and slipped his arms beneath Lu Yushans armpits. Afterwards a pair of fiery wings appeared behind him, as he took to the sky and flew straight toward the battlefield.
Lu Ye and Lu Yushan flew their own battle line in just the blink of an eye. Of course, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators also saw this and nched. They had no idea what Lu Yes group was nning, but whatever it was, it could only mean bad news for them. Some of the flying weapons immediately changed direction and flew toward Lu Ye, but they lost their strength before they even got close to him.
A Seventh-Order cultivator could only extend their weapon so far, and Lu Ye had learned their attack range a long time ago. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was invincible as long as Transient Wings was still active.
Lu Yushan was hanging right beneath Lu Ye, so he didnt feel nearly as confident as his partner. Once he discovered that they were out of range of the enemy though, he immediately rxed and made a hand seal. He muttered, Explode!
The Spider Golems hiding behind enemy lines immediately exploded and surprised the hell out of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. No one knew what just happened especially since the explosions had dealt next to no damage to them.
Hua Ci made her move while doubt and suspicion filled their minds. A visible circle of aquamarine energy surrounded her for a moment before sweeping in every direction, passing over her allies and enveloping her enemiespletely.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators panicked immediately. It was because their Spiritual Power had be corrupted just like the time they had invaded the Lu Yes ind. That battle hadnt just killed many of their allies, it took them a tremendous amount of effort to finally eject the spores from their bodies and restore their Spiritual Power to normal.
It was why they had given up on invading Lu Yes ind and chose to passively defend their corner for now. Unfortunately, it would appear that even that wasnt enough to stop the enemy from hitting them with the spores. A couple of flying weapons were instantly struck down from the sky.
Behind the Thousand Demon Ridge battle line, a man d in green clothes was observing the battlefield closely with an array disc. He was waiting for the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition to step into certain areas so he could activate the arrays he had set up previously.
He had a feeling that he wasnt going to survive today, but he had no intentions of departing this world alone. One way or another, he would drag at least a couple of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators to the grave with him.
It was at this moment a sense of crisis enveloped him without warning. When he looked up, he found a speck of light that definitely wasnt the sun growing bigger and bigger in the sky. In just a scant few seconds, it had transformed into a mini sun and filled him with an unbridled sense of danger.
Its that Golem Master! One of his bodyguards growled.
Lu Yushan had shattered the chest of a Seventh-Order cultivator in a single st earlier, and to say that the memory was still fresh in everyones mind would be an understatement. They all recognized the light the moment theyid their eyes on it.
Not only that, they saw a second person carrying the Golem Master in the sky. That man had a pair of wings made of fiery red Spiritual Power.
Dont let him get close! Someone yelled. Two flying weapons immediately flew toward the array cultivator and surrounded him protectively. The second Lu Ye moved into range, they would be bombarded to hell and back.
Lu Ye never got within the range of the flying weapons though. They were unable to touch even a hair on him or Lu Yushans person no matter what they tried.
Lu Yushans smile grew increasingly malevolent as his oddly-shaped Spiritual Artifact charged up. A few breathster, the weapon was finally ready to be shot.
Thunder Dragon Roar! Lu Yushan roared. A pir of light exploded out of the Thunder Dragon Cannon and descended straight toward the array cultivator. The two flying weapons in its path were easily blown away like cheap pieces of metal.
The array cultivator knew it was bad the moment Lu Yushan fired his Spiritual Artifact. He hurriedly dodged to the side at the same time the body tempering cultivator acting as his bodyguard raised a Shield Spirit Artifact and stood in front of him. Like an immovable mountain, he channeled his Spiritual Power and attempted to block the attack with all he had.
Unfortunately for him, the bright light of the Shield Spirit Artifact was overwhelmed by the pir of light. When all was said and done, the powerful Spiritual Power that once surrounded the shield scattered into many tiny light particles that popped into nothingness the second it made contact with the ground. The shield itself was covered in cracks, and it broke into a million pieces a couple of secondster. At the same time, the body tempering cultivator wielding it spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees.
The array cultivator himself waspletely unharmed, but the shockwave of the attack still disoriented him greatly.
He had just climbed back to his feet when a figure descended from the sky. The next moment, he saw a bright saber shing before his eyes.
Not far away, Lu Yushan hit the ground with a resounding thud. After scrambling to his feet and spitting out the dirt in his mouth, he looked in Lu Yes direction andined with a painful grimace, You couldve been gentler, dammit!
Lu Ye had dropped him the second he fired his Thunder Dragon Cannon. If he wasnt a Seventh-Order cultivator who had learned just enough Telekinesis to cushion his fall, this couldve been the end of him. He didnt me thebat cultivator though. He knew that Lu Ye just wanted to kill that array cultivator as soon as possible. He himself had scrambled to his feet, grabbed his Thunder Dragon Cannon, and ran toward the enemy backline.
However, he had only taken a few steps when he saw Lu Ye soaring to the sky once more with blood spurting out of his body. A couple of flying weapons were chasing just a few meters away from his ass.
Its done! Lu Ye roared.
Kill them all! Gao Tai shouted from the frontline and charged toward the enemy faster than anyone else. Now that the array cultivator was dead, the arrays he left behind were basically dead weight. They no longer had to worry about them.
The battle ended quickly. The Thousand Demon Ridge group had lost their array cultivator, weakened by Hua Ci, and was at an absolute numbers disadvantage. There was no chance they would be able to do anything. They quickly fell and were annihted to thest man.
It was yet another total victory. A few people were wounded, but no one was dead. In fact, Lu Ye was the one who took the most damage. When he flew into the enemy backline and slew that array cultivator, he also took a number of hits here and there. Luckily, they were all flesh wounds that would be healed in just a short time.
Keep fighting! Dont stop! Another Chess Ind is about to hit us!
Lu Ye shouted, and everyone figured out his n immediately. The spell cultivators began channeling their spell techniques, and those who knew Telekinesis shed their flying weapons against one another. They made sure that the sounds ofbat could be heard from far, far away. Meanwhile, Lan Yudie and another two cultivators had moved to a nearby hiding spot to act as scouts.
A whileter, the two Chess Inds collided with a massive boom. A few more minutes passed, and Lan Yudie sent a message informing that there was no need to keep up a charade any longer. Against all odds, the cultivators upying the new Chess Ind were Grand Sky Coalition, and there were at least a dozen of them.
After the two forces met, their numbers jumped to almost forty.
The new group was in far worse condition than Lu Yes group, however. Nearly everyone was injured in some way, and they looked like they just had a literal bloodbath. Some were so grievously wounded they were close to death.
Their joy was palpable when they learned that Lu Yes group had a medicine cultivator. Hua Ci treated them all starting from the one carrying the worst injuries.
Thanks to the Battlefield Imprint,munication between cultivators from different Chess Inds were pretty quick. Soon, almost everyone had learned that Thousand Demon Ridge had joined this Battle Royale of the Legates with the intend to massacre as many Grand Sky Coalition cultivators as possible.
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to improve the situation until the Chess Inds had merged into one giant continent, so instead they prayed that they would meet up with Crimson Blood Sects Chess Ind. It was because they heard that they had a medicine cultivator that could treat their wounds, and several massive Gathering Spirits that allowed them to recover their Spiritual Power quickly.
Since there was no way to control the merging of the Chess Inds whatsoever, the best the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators could do was to stick together and minimize their losses as much as possible. Only then would they have a shot at surviving the enemys attack.
It must be said that Lu Yes ind had disrupted Thousand Demon Ridges devious n to a certain extent. If they hadnt in every the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator that came their way, the enemy wouldve snowballed into an unstoppable force that no Grand Sky Coalition group would be able to stop eventually. Their actions hadnt just saved their own lives, but also prevented the deaths of many more.
Earlier, Gao Tai was joking when he said that it was up to them to save the Grand Sky Coalition, but now the situation was slowly but surely developing in that direction.
Moreover, the sessful cooperation between Hua Ci and the Golem Masters meant they now had a new way of dealing with their enemies. Instead of waiting passively for the enemy toe to them, they could also attack the enemy if the situation asked for it.
To this end, Lu Yushan and his junior sister were giving their all to create as many small Golems as possible.
Chapter 194: The Final Merging
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 194: The Final Merging
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The tenth day since they entered the Chess Sea, over a hundred cultivators had assembled on the Chess Ind. It was so vast that it was no longer possible to view it from one end to another.
On the fifteenth day, the number of cultivators increased to two hundred.
The reason their numbers had grown so explosively was because each ind now carried a considerable amount of cultivators on them. The smallest group were around a dozen, and the biggest around forty or so.
This was a tremendous boost to their fighting strength as a matter of course, but the battles were also more intense than ever before. Just as Grand Sky Coalition was gathering their numbers, Thousand Demon Ridge was doing the same thing. Small-scale battles no longer happened, and every battle filled the sky with spells and flying weapons.
From what Lu Ye knew, the merging usuallysted between eighteen to twenty days. During this time, the Chess Inds would continuously merge with one another until they formed a province-sized continent.
When the continent was fully formed, natural treasures and resources that were rarely found would appear for the taking, usually on Chess Inds that no one had set foot on before.
The continent wouldst for around ten days or so before breaking into countless Chess Inds once more. When that happened, the Battle Royale of the Legates would end, and the survivors would be teleported back to their Outposts.
It was now the fifteenth day, meaning that the second andst phase of the battle royale was about to begin. Right now, everyone could only wait passively for their opponents to be delivered to their ind, but once the continent was fully formed they would be free to act however they pleased. The battle between the two factions would intensify dramatically, and the preparations Thousand Demon Ridge had made would finallye into y.
The participants had kept each other up to date using the Battlefield Imprints, and from time to time the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition would receive the terrible news that their allies had been ughtered to thest.
If too many outer ring Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had perished during the first phase of the battle royale, then Thousand Demon Ridge would drastically outnumber them when the continent was formed. With that kind of advantage, forget just knocking Grand Sky Coalitionpletely out of the game, they could even ughter everyst man and woman provided that there was enough time.
The situation was even worse for the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators in the inner ring. The outer ring cultivators at least had the Crimson Blood Sects Legate and prolegate to rely on, but the inner ring cultivators could only rely on themselves. They had no one to reduce the enemys forces or heal them when they were injured. They could only rely on Spirit Pills and meditation to recover if they ran out of Spiritual Power.
After all the terrible battles they had fought, even cultivators who had cultivated Heaven Grade Eighth or Ninth-Order cultivation techniques sustained a significant amount of casualties.
Another two days passed, and the number of cultivators on Lu Yes ind grew past the three hundred mark. Thetest Chess Ind had carried a whopping seventy plus Grand Sky Coalition cultivators on them, and they were beyond overjoyed to learn that they had finally met up with the Chess Ind belonging to Lu Ye and Hua Ci. They even paid them a visit to get to know them better.
Three hundred cultivators was an incredible force on the Chess Sea. They could not wait for the final merging to happen because it was the only way their still stranded allies could meet up with them and have a chance at survival.
The day finally arrived. Every Chess Ind on the Chess Sea suddenly trembled for a second before speeding down a particr direction. The atmosphere turned gravely serious when everyone realized that the final merging was upon them.
At the beginning, an innumerable amount of Chess Inds moved toward each other to form a bigger and bigger conglomeration of inds. Now, they were all being pulled toward the center of the Chess Sea by an invisible force, though mergings still happened from time to time. Some of these inds contained people, and sometimes they did not. It was worth noting that most of the uninhabited Chess Inds were tinyit was almost as if they hadnt undergone a merging until nowbut they all contained a good amount of rare treasures and resources. Some were even unique to the Chess Sea.
There was also arge resource ind at a certain corner of the Chess Sea. A fruit tree had grown on the highest point of the ind, and it had nine palm-sized blue flowers which fragrance could be smelled from five kilometers away.
World Spiritual Qi was visibly being sucked into the nine flowers and forming tiny vortices. Over time, fruits began growing beneath the stems.
It did not take a genius to imagine that these fruits were precious, and that the two factions were going to battle each other to the death for them. A great battle was destined to ravage thesends.
The Chess Inds had not yetpleted its final merging, but Lu Yes group was embroiled in battle once more. It was because two Chess Inds had happened on them on their way to the center, and they just happened to sandwich their ind in the middle.
Both Chess Inds carried at least a hundred cultivators or so. They attacked before Lu Yes group even had the chance to rify their faction.
Both Chess Inds belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge. Aftermunicating with one another and confirming that the Chess Ind caught between them belonged to Grand Sky Coalition, they did not hesitate tounch a joint assault.
Unknown to the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, Lu Yes group was more than happy to wee them onto their ind. Ever since their numbers had exceeded a hundred, they had been forced to take the fight to the enemy every time. No one was stupid enough to carelessly invade an enemy ind that was obviously crawling with hostiles. Pretending that their force was weak wasnt possible either because the enemy simply needed to dispatch a few scouts to find out their true numbers.
Although Hua Cis presence ensured that every battle was won with minimal casualties, it was never a perfect victory. Their enemies were no pushovers after all. The cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were just as experienced and fearless as theirs.
As a result, it had been days since any force had even set foot on their ind. Hua Cis mushroom traps were feeling neglected to put it lightly.
Not anymore. Believing that they held the advantage because they had caught the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators in a pincer attack, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators decided tounch a joint assault, not realizing that this was exactly what the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators wanted. The battle hadnt even begun, and everyone was already channeling their Spiritual Power in secret and waiting impatiently for the massacre to begin.
Killing a Legate rewarded not just Contribution Points, but also their Blessing. Killing a prolegate only rewarded Contribution Points, not to mention that there were more wolves than sheep on the battlefield so to speak. Therefore, this wasnt a battle to defeat the enemyvictory was all but confirmed from the moment the enemy had set foot on their indbut apetition to outdo their fellow cultivators and kill the most Legates. The spoils would go to the ones with the keenest eyes and fastest hands.
The two Thousand Demon Ridge forces had high morale and excellent coordination. On the other hand, the Grand Sky Coalition force looked like a disjointed rabble. When the spell techniques and flying weapons started flying across the sky though, the Thousand Demon Ridge forces abruptly realized that something was off with the situation.
[Is it just me, or do they outnumber us? But how is that possible?]
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators could hardly believe that they were outnumbered even though they were two Chess Inds against one, but the battle had already begun, and to withdraw now would be to incur massive casualties. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and keep fighting.
However, they soon realized that the Grand Sky Coalition force were unable to gain the upper hand despite their superior numbers because they did not have a unified chain ofmand. Assured by their enemys apparentck of coherence, their attack grew more and more ferocious.
Unknown to them, the reason the three hundred cultivators appeared incoherent and even distracted was because most of their attention was focused on a sweet-tempered woman. Her name, was Hua Ci.
Speaking of which, Hua Cis number of bodyguards had increased to five. They were a body tempering cultivator, abat cultivator, a spell cultivator, a ghost cultivator, and a Golem Master; Lu Yushans junior sister to be exact.
When the time was right, Hua Ci raised her hands and activated her secret technique. An aquamarine halo of light swept across the battlefield.
As if the halo was some sort of signal, all three hundred Grand Sky Coalition cultivators abruptly turned up the heat!
Cries of surprise came from both sides of the battlefield as the stalemate in the air was suddenly broken. The next thing they knew, Grand Sky Coalitions flying weapons had stabbed into the enemys battle line and killed at least a dozen of body tempering cultivators andbat cultivators.
Thunder Dragon Roar!
Lu Yushan let out an energetic cry that did not fit his small and thin stature as his Spirit Artifact unleashed a powerful pir of light into the enemy group. No one but him knew exactly how many people he had killed with that one st, but the blissful expression on his face said it all.
Kill! Gao Tai roared. Once again, he was the first to charge toward the enemy while holding up his Shield Spirit Artifact. None of the enemys attacks were able to get through his shields barrier.
Following right behind him were dozens ofbat cultivators. They looked so pumped that their eyes were almost shining with greed and bloodlust. Lu Ye was one of these people.
A few secondster, Gao Tai crashed into an enemy body tempering cultivator and elicited a boom that sounded like two rocks smashing into one another. Screeches of metal pierced the eardrums as his barrier flickered a little.
The impact was so that both body tempering cultivators were pushed a few steps away from each other. On the surface it looked like they were equally matched, but Gao Tai was grinning from ear to ear because thebat cultivators he was protecting were already dashing toward his opponent.
Terrified for his life, the enemy body tempering cultivator cranked both his Spiritual Power and his Spirit Artifacts power to the max in an attempt to save himself. It wasnt enough. As thebat cultivators dashed past him, blood exploded from various corners of his body and dropped him to his knees.
He wasnt the only one who suffered such a fate. All body tempering cultivators standing at the frontline had perished in the same way.
Since the frontline was broken, all that was left to do was to reap the harvest.
Lu Ye rushed toward a spell cultivator and was about to cut him down with his saber, but a flying weapon reached the poor guy first and put a hole in his head. He had no choice but to withdraw his weapon and chase after another target.
It wasnt the first time he had his kill stolen from him, and it wouldnt be thest. In fact, he hadnt gotten many kills since the battles had evolved torge-scale battles. It was because there were too many of them. There was always someone who, after a big battle, was unable to even a single kill.
Having no desire to be one of those poor fucks, Lu Ye hit thebat cultivator he was chasing with a Fire Phoenix. Once the man was staggered, he immediately jumped on top of him and took off his head.
It wasnt until two dots of red light had entered the back of his palm that Lu Ye finally let out a sigh of relief. At this stage, it was getting really difficult to kill anyone.
The enemy was in total copse after that, leaving a trail of bodies as they futilely tried to escape. When thest dozen of people reached the sea and realized that there was no escape, they shocked everyone by jumping into the sea. It took but a few seconds for the swarm of humongous shadows lurking beneath the waters to consume them all.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A Grand Sky Coalition cultivator screamed while holding out his hand. His heart was full of sorrow, and tears were literally streaming down his face. Someone who didnt know better wouldve thought that the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators whomitted suicide were his loved ones.
Why why would you rather kill yourself than let me do it?
[God dammit, not another fruitless battle!]
Chapter 195: Making Their Sect Proud
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 195: Making Their Sect Proud
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The battle Lu Ye was participating in had ended, and so was the one on the other side of the ind. The loot was collected, the casualties were tallied, and the wounded visited Hua Ci to receive medical treatment.
All in all, it was yet another major victory with minimal losses.
Lu Ye messaged Li Baxian and inquired about his situation. The Chess Inds still hadnt fully merged yet, so it wasnt possible for them to interfere with the business of another Chess Ind. However, the final merging had already begun. The restrictions would be gone once the continent was formed.
The reason Lu Ye sent Li Baxian a message was to know if his senior brother wished to meet up with him. For now, his force wasnt just doing okay, they were strong enough to overpower most Thousand Demon Ridge groups they had encountered up until this point.
If his senior brother wasnt doing okay, then of course he should meet up with him as soon as the final merge wasplete.
There was just one problem though. His Chess Ind was in outermost ring. If Li Baxian were toe here, his cultivation level would definitely be suppressed.
No matter which terrain the Battle Royale of the Legates took ce, the Heavens always made sure to keep things as fair as possible. After all, the power gap between some Legates were as big as night and day. Take the difference between Lu Ye and Li Baxian for example. Lu Ye was an Earth Grade Sixth-Order cultivator, and his senior brother a Heaven Grade Eighth-Order cultivator. On the surface, it looked like they were only two Minor Realms apart from one another. In reality, it was five.
This was because the Ninth-Order of an Earth Grade cultivation technique was only equal to the Sixth-Order of a Heaven Grade cultivation Technique. In terms of Spiritual Points, the two cultivation techniques shared exactly one hundred and eighty Spiritual Points in total.
In other words, the power gap was so massive that without the suppression of the Heavens, Li Baxian alone could have murdered every Thousand Demon Ride cultivator in the outer ring.
It took some time before his senior brother finally responded to his message. He told Lu Ye that he still had some things to do, and that he would meet him after they were done. He also told Lu Ye to keep doing what he was doing.
On the Chess Sea, a number of colorful lights could be seen streaking across its surface. The Spiritual Light at the forefront belonged a Spirit Artifact that was shaped like a cbash, and Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were sitting right on top of it. They were both wounded to a certain extent, but Feng Yuechan looked especially pale. She was also leaning against Li Baxians shoulder for support and coughing lightly from time to time.
They were currently being pursued across the Chess Sea. A several lightsor two dozens of pursuers to be exactwere flying behind them.
Li Baxian let out a sigh of relief after responding to Lu Yestest message. His junior brothers safety had worried him since practically the start of this battle royale, so he was really d to hear that everything was going fantastically on his side of things.
His own situation was pretty bad, unfortunately. As Lu Ye had deduced earlier, Thousand Demon Ridge hadnte up with this n just to take out some Seventh or Eighth-Order Legates. Their real aim was powerhouses such as Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. Assuming that they could kill off enough of them, Thousand Demon Ridge would definitely gain the upper hand over Grand Sky Coalition in the next couple decades or so.
Twenty days had passed since they came to the Chess Sea, and Grand Sky Coalitions inner ring group had sustained huge losses during this time. Even Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, for all their power, had taken some injuries. Now, they were even forced to escape their own Chess Ind because the enemy group outnumbered them too much.
Normally, to fly across the Chess Sea was akin tomitting suicide. Not even Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan could be certain that they could reach another Chess Ind before they ran out of Spiritual Power, much less everyone else. However, the Chess Inds were currently undergoing the final merging, so they were all moving toward the center of the Chess Sea. Unlike before, what was absolutely suicide was now just a gamble with a small chance of sess. If they were lucky, they would be able to find a ce to rest their feet. Of course, they also had to be lucky enough not tond on a Chess Ind that was also upied by Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, or they would still be dead.
I dont think I can hold on much longer, senior brother, Feng Yuechan said in a weak voice, Im d I could meet you in this lifetime.
A grim-faced Li Baxian let out a sigh. Stop saying silly things.
I can feel it approaching I want to go back to the sect, senior brother.
And I will take you home! Li Baxian uttered while bowing his head.
Lets [cough] lets get married when we get back, okay?
[p!]
Without hesitation, Li Baxian smacked Feng Yuechan right across her smooth, wide forehead. The girl clutched her head in disbelief for a second beforeining, Im going to die, and this is how you treat me?
Li Baxian rolled his eyes at her. Do you think Im stupid? I know your mother gave you an Armor before we came here.
Feng Yuechan blushed like an apple. How did you know that? I wore it under my dress!
Li Baxian suddenly looked in a certain direction with gleaming eyes. Wait a second, is that? It is a Chess Ind! Were saved!
Without hesitation, he flew his Cbash Spirit Artifact straight toward the Chess Ind, their pursuers following closely behind them.
There was a series of loud rumblings when the Chess Inds merged together. The final merging wasplete when thest of the tremors subsidedpletely.
From a birds eye point of view, the Chess Sea was no longer a vast ocean that was popted by countless small inds. Instead, it was a giant, province-sized continent that was surrounded by a sea of blue. At the same time, all Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators simultaneously began to travel in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction around the edges of the continent in search of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators to kill. It was what they had nned since the beginning.
Of course, it wasnt just the cultivators in the outer ring who were doing this. The ones in the inner ring were doing the same thing. It was like the entire continent had turned into a continent-sized millstone in an instant, and the power pushing it was the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Any Grand Sky Coalition cultivator who had the misfortune of running into them would be ground down into tiny, unrecognizable pieces.
Or so they thought. Before the final merging wasplete, the three hundred Grand Sky cultivators on Lu Yes Chess Ind had alsoe up with a n of their own. Going forward, they had two ways of handling the situation at hand. One, they could stay exactly where they were and continue developing their base. It had been three weeks since they worked on the ind. Disregarding all the other efforts that had been made to make it a more defensible ce, Hua Cis mushroom traps and Lu Yes dozen of massive Gathering Spirits alone made holing up in the ind an extremely enticing choice. It was definitely a viable strategy to just stay put and wait for other Grand Sky Coalition cultivators to join them or Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to throw themselves against their defenses and die.
There was a huge w with this strategy, however. They would be putting their fellow cultivators who were scattered across the continent in greater danger. Right now, their group was the biggest Grand Sky Coalition force in the entire continent. If they were to do nothing at all, then it was only a matter of time before their weaker allies were destroyed by the enemy one by one.
This was especially true since Thousand Demon Ridge definitely outnumbered them, even if they had no way of estimating their numbers right now.
The second strategy was the total opposite of the first. They would actively explore the continent to kill as many enemies and absorb as many allies as possible.
The participants of the Battle Royale of the Legates were all Legates or prolegates. Even those who had never participated in this level ofrge-scale operations possessed a modicum amount of intelligence and foresight.
The decision was made after just a brief discussion, and it was almost unanimously agreed that they would give up their home field advantage and be proactive not just to save the others, but also to save themselves. Thousand Demon Ridge would definitelye after them after they had sessfully rooted out all other Grand Sky Coalition forces in the outer ring. When that happened, they would be fighting not a couple hundred enemies, but a couple thousands.
After their strategy was set, they quickly reorganized themselves thirty or so squads made up or ten people or so. This arrangement would allow them to act in tandem while being closely connected to each other.
After that, they chose a direction and set off in earnest.
On a rted note, they also informed all other Grand Sky Coalition forces about their movements and told them to meet up with them as soon as the opportunity presented itself via messages.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci were in the same squad as a matter of course. Lan Yudie, Gao Tai, Lu Yushan and his junior sister were present as well. The rest of the squad were made up of Hua Cis bodyguards.
Most of them had to run through thend on their own two feet. Only Hua Ci and the two Golem Masters got to ride Wolf Golems.
Lu Ye was starting to regret not bringing Amber with him. He had refrained from doing so because he didnt want to expose himself to his enemies, but it turned out that it didnt matter because the battlefield was the Chess Sea. Even if someone had recognized him and told the world about it, they wouldnt be able to do anything until the Chess Inds had fully merged.
On a funnier note, Hua Cis Wolf Golem was carrying over a hundred Storage Bags in total despite politely declining to receive more. If it wasnt for the fact that she physically could not carry more Storage Bags, she would be drowning in hundreds of Storage Bags right now.
Loot wise, Hua Ci was the indisputable winner of this Battle Royale of the Legates because she had earned not just an unbelievable amount of Storage Bags, but also a lot of favors. Most of the people in their group had received treatment from her at least once, and a good amount of these people belonged to big sects.
When she was just an independent cultivator, she was as famous as a weed in a prairie. Now, countless Legates and prolegates were made aware of her name. Disregarding the benefits of having arge socialwork, most sects would do their best to protect her on the Spirit Creek Battlefield if only to return the favor they owed.
It was the same for Lu Ye, of course. The Gathering Spirits he constructed had drastically reduced everyones recovery time to the benefit of all.
Even better, they had won all this recognition not because they were the disciples of the Crimson Blood Sect, but because they were deserving of it. In fact, they had made their sect as proud as it could be.
Suddenly, an angry roar erupted from the forefront. I spot allies being pursued by the enemy fifteen kilometers ahead, and they are heading straight toward us! All squads, get ready to fight!
The continent was formed, and the sun was hanging in the middle of the sky. Now that they had a rough method of confirming ones location andmunicating with others, pinpointing each others locations became much easier than before.
Show them no quarter! Someone roared in response.
The Grand Sky Coalition cultivators started running down the hill while crying all kinds of battle cries. They sounded less like saviors and more like bandits in that moment.
They did not need to run the full fifteen kilometers because the other party was also running toward them. Not a moment too soon, Lu Ye felt Spiritual Powers shing against each other at the distance. The squads at the forefront must have engaged the enemy already.
The other Grand Sky Coalition group was escaping from the enemy, so of course their situation wasnt good. However, the tables turned immediately after Lu Yes group met up with them. Caught like a deer in the swordlight, the pursuers were forced to leave behind some bodies before they were finally able to disengage.
The pursuers had be the pursued, and the pursued had be the pursuers. It was a hectic situation to say the least.
Lu Ye himself had joined the pursuit after informing Hua Cis of his intentions. Like an arrow, he flew straight over his allies, caught up to the escaping cultivators, and staggered one of them with his Fire Phoenix Technique. Once he had cut down his target, he chased after the next without even bothering to pick up the loot.
Chapter 196: Back To The Starting Point
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 196: Back To The Starting Point
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Kill the enemy, regroup, set off, rinse and repeat. Their numbers kept growing as every Grand Sky Coalition cultivator in the outer ring who had heard the news did their best to meet up with them. Some managed the entire journey without issues, and some were intercepted midway and suffered terrible losses.
This had never happened in the history of the Battle Royale of the Legates. In the past, no cultivator had ever formed a group bigger than a squad of ten even when they hailed from the same faction because the bigger the group, the moreplicated things became. Loot distribution, Contribution Point distribution, rights to treasure found and more. Everything was so much more difficult to handle in a big group than it was the other way around.
It was different this time though. Due to the pressure generated by Thousand Demon Ridge, all the Legates and prolegates of the Grand Sky Coalition had been forced toe together as a united force. In other words, this battle royale had somehow transformed into a literal war between two factions.
At first, Thousand Demon Ridge did not realize the seriousness of the problem. Every group that had survived until this point had been dominating their opponents until the final merging, and they believed that the bone fragments had allowed them to snowball their advantage into something that was absolutely unstoppable. Now that the final merging wasplete, all they needed to do was to take out the remaining enemies and im the entire continent as their own.
However, as more and more messages were traded between their ranks, they suddenly discovered that Grand Sky Coalition had somehow managed to gather a group that was made up of hundreds of cultivators. Not only that, they were circling around the outer ring to kill any enemy and absorb any ally they encountered along the way. Already, a lot of Thousand Demon Ridge groups had run into this group and sustained major losses as a result.
The situation was not developing the way they were expecting. Not only had Thousand Demon Ridge failed to take control of the continent, they were getting their asses kicked right now. Although they tried to emte their enemys example and meet up with their own forces, it was too little toote. Lu Yes group had had days to wipe out as many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators they could find, meaning that the massive numbers advantage they had rued was all gone. Not only that, Grand Sky Coalition was the one with the superior numbers in the outer ring. The war eventually devolved into a cat-and-mouse chase epassing the outer ring of the entire continent after that.
On the sixth day after the continent was formed, Grand Sky Coalition decided to halt their march and make camp. By now, their numbers had blown past the one thousandth mark, and some of them were cultivators from the inner ring. There were Eighth-Order, Ninth-Order, and even Heaven Grade cultivation technique champions among them.
In the past few days, these inner ring cultivators had been hunted like rats by the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge. After hearing that their outer ring brethren were doing fantastically, they decided to escape the inner ring altogether and join the outer ring instead. Of course, everyone in the outer ring weed them with open arms.
Although the Heavens would suppress their cultivation level to that of an outer ring cultivator, there was absolutely no reason to say no to extra manpower. In fact, their group would never have grown to one thousand people if they hadnt epted the inner ring cultivators into their ranks. No thanks to Thousand Demon Ridges scheme, there werent nearly enough outer ring cultivators to form such a big group.
Even now, their numbers were still growing because Grand Sky Coalition cultivators kept running out of the inner ring to join them. This had almost never happened in the previous Battle Royales of the Legates for the same reason Cloud River Realm and Real Lake Realm cultivators normally refrained from entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
No ones cultivation journey was easy, and to enter an area that suppresses ones cultivation level was to risk losing it all. If they lost to someone of the same cultivation level, then they only had their own weakness to me. But if they lost to someone whose cultivation level was much lower than theirs, then the shame would linger even after they were dead.
In fact, there had been a precedent where a Real Lake Realm champion had been in by a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. As a result, the champion and his sect became theughingstock of the entire Cultivation World in a single night, and that shame still haunted them to this very day.
Back to the present. Lu Yes group was currently hunting down arge group around six hundred cultivators strong. It was also all the cultivators Thousand Demon Ridge had had in the outer ring.
The reason they temporarily halted their advance was because the ghost cultivators acting as their scouts had sent back some crucial intelligence.
Each of the six cultivation factions had a strong suit, and for ghost cultivators it was their movement speed. They also excelled at sneaky stuff such as infiltration, assassination, espionage, tracking and more. Naturally, they were entrusted with the duty of scouting.
As the group had grown to a thousand cultivators strong, and the conflict had escted into a literal war, they hade up with a decision-making circle a few days ago. The circle was made up of nine representatives, and each one of them represented a continent of Jiu Zhou.
The nine representatives had been chosen not because they were strong, but their sect was prestigious, and their socialwork was massive. There was an exception though. Of the nine of them, Lu Ye was the only one who hailed from a Ninth-Tier secteveryone else hailed from Seventh-Tier sectsand possessed the lowest cultivation level. The continent he represented was Bing Zhou.
No one had a problem with this despite hisck of qualifications because he and Hua Ci were the reason Grand Sky Coalition was able toe this far. Without them, they would have lost the ability to throw down with Thousand Demon Ridge a long time ago.
Right now, the nine representatives were standing on a mountain peak and gazing toward the distance.
A cultivator with the appearance of a youngster said, ording to the intel brought back by our ghost cultivators, a lot of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators hade out of the inner ring to assist their brethren. Their numbers had grown to eight hundred or so, and they are currently regrouping themselves and getting ready to challenge us to one decisive battle.
To say that the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were pissed off for the past couple days would be an understatement. Not only had their advantage disappeared like it never existed, they had been forced to run with their tail between their legs again and again. They were all looking forward to taking revenge against Grand Sky Coalition.
Realizing that their brethren in the outer ring no longer possessed the strength to resist the enemy, the inner ring cultivators had decided to dispatch a portion of their numbers to reinforce the low level cultivators. After the two groups met up, their numbers jumped to eight hundred cultivators or so.
Now, the fighting strength of the two factions was almost even. Even if Grand Sky Coalition still had a slight lead over Thousand Demon Ridge, it wasnt nearly enough to decide the oue of the uing battle.
Moreover, the enemy wasnt sitting on theirurels while they waited for the decisive battle to begin. They were actively making preparations for the battle such as setting up all kinds of arrays in key points of the battlefield. Given enough time, they could set up a massive kill zone that would narrow the number disparity between the two factions even further. If Grand Sky Coalition dared to attack recklessly, they would suffer massive casualties for sure. Not that either side was going tomit to anything reckless at this stage of the war.
There was one more point of interest that the ghost cultivators discovered, and that was the location Thousand Demon Ridge was upying right now.
The youngster looked at Lu Ye and asked, Did you notice it yet, Brother Yi Ye?
Lu Ye gazed into the far distance andpared it to their surroundings. He even checked the sun above his head to confirm he wasnt mistaken. Finally, he nodded. Theyve set up camp in our Chess Ind!
That was correct. Thousand Demon Ridge had chosen to set up camp at the Chess Ind where he and Hua Ci had appeared at the very beginning and stayed for nearly twenty days. There was no one besides Hua Ci who was more familiar with the terrain than him. In fact, he could see the peak that they had used many times as a lookout right now.
So, youre saying that wevee back to our starting point? Another guy with a short stature asked while scratching his head.
The youngster replied smilingly. That is exactly right.
Oh, I get it! A girl eximed with bright eyes. They chose that ind as their headquarters because its where Brother Yi Ye had built his Gathering Spirits! Those evil bastards must have used up a ton of energy while they were running away from us, and suddenly they found a special location that drastically reduced their recovery time! Thats why they chose that ind to make their final stand!
Lu Yes expression was odd to put it mildly. When they had chosen to leave their Chess Ind behind and take the fight to the enemy, he had thought that they would never see it again. He never imagined that it would attract their enemies like flies to honey, not knowing that they were really sitting on a giant death trap!
Had Thousand Demon Ridge continued to run away like they did before, Grand Sky Coalition would not have been able to do anything substantial to them. After all, the one thing a big army did not possess was speed. But now? You could say that the Heavens themselves wanted to see these evildoers punished!
The credit is all yours and Sister Hua Cis, Brother Yi Ye! The female cultivator said excitedly.
Everyone, I believe that now is the time for Grand Sky Coalition to unleash their might, the youngster said seriously. In fact, I believe we shouldunch an attack right now. What do you all think?
Not only did they unanimously agree to attack the enemy, they wanted to do it as soon as possible. After all, dying the assault would only allow the enemy to prepare better.
This battle could very well be thestrge-scale sh between the two factions. Almost two thousand cultivators would be participating in this battle. Assuming that everything went smoothly, Thousand Demon Ridge would lose the outer ring to Grand Sky Coalitionpletely.
That said, they couldnt sound the horn of battle just yet. They still needed to discuss the best way to kill or wound as many enemies as possible.
The nine representatives were just discussing tactics when suddenly, Lu Ye received a message. He inspected his Battlefield Imprint for a moment before frowning deeply. Everyone, may I have your attention for a moment? I just received word that this may be an borate trap by the enemy.
They all looked at him immediately. What do you mean?
My senior brother, Li Baxian just sent me a message saying that he spotted a troop of three hundred hiding in a forest, and judging from the location theyre only ten kilometers away from us! Not only that, hes pretty sure that they came from the inner circle.
Everyone exchanged worried nces with each other. It did not take a genius to figure out what this meant, and since the message was sent by Li Baxian himself, it was highly unlikely that this was a mistake.
Did they find out about the mushrooms? A couple of people voiced the first thought that had entered their minds.
Lu Ye considered this for a moment before shaking his head. I dont think so. Hua Cis mushrooms are real mushrooms, so I doubt that Thousand Demon Ridge would pay them much attention even if they realized that they did not quite fit with the local flora, not to? mention that everyone who bore witness to Hua Cis technique perished to thest. Even if they figured out that the mushrooms were bad news and avoided them, we still have our Golem Masters to deliver the mushrooms straight to the enemy. In any case, Im pretty sure its just a straightforward ambush.
If thats the case, then well turn their ploy to our advantage!
The group quicklye up with a battle n. At the same time, Lu Ye told Li Baxian to keep a close eye on the three hundred ambushers and be ready to notify him at a moments notice. Li Baxian agreed as a matter of course.
Speaking of which, Li Baxian had joined Lu Yes group a while ago. When they first entered the Chess Sea, he had promised to visit Lu Ye after the continent was fully formed because he believed he would able to provide his junior brother protection. However, the situation had developed in a way that no one was expecting, and now it was he who needed Lu Yes protection. It was pretty embarrassing all things considered.
Chapter 197: Turning The Enemy’s Ploy To One’s Advantage
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 197: Turning The Enemys Ploy To Ones Advantage
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Grand Sky Coalition army split into three groups. The first group would meet the enemy head on, and the other two would attack from the nks. This way, they would be able to form half an encirclement.
There were several reasons they had left a gap for the enemy. One, it was unrealistic to think they would be able to circle around to the enemys rear and form a full encirclement. Two, they did not want to turn the enemy into a cornered animal that would rip and tear regardless of the cost. They werent so green that they did not understand something as basic as leaving an outlet free when surrounding the enemy.
Their activity was detected by the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators immediately, but not a single person had attempted to escape the battlefield. And why would they? This was their chance to repay all the humiliation they had suffered tenfold. They quickly formed battles lines and formations before waiting patiently for the battle to begin.
The three Grand Sky Coalition groups slowly arrived at their designated positions and waited for a moment. A short whileter, a dazzling pir of light pierced through the skies. It was Lu Yushans Thunder Dragon Roar and the signal to start the battle. All three groups and over a thousand cultivators immediately charged toward the enemy.
Spells and flying weapons shed against one another in mid-air. It wasnt long before Grand Sky Coalition gained a small advantage because they outnumbered the enemy slightly. It wasnt obvious, but Thousand Demon Ridge was definitely being pushed back to a certain extent.
The encirclement grew tighter and tighter over time, though it was partly because Thousand Demon Ridge was intentionally giving up ground as well. Cultivators shed against cultivators, and teams tried to keep each other busy so they would not be able to interfere with another fight. For a time, it looked like both sides were evenly-matched.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci were currently standing at the rear and staying out of the battle. It was because they were waiting for a signal.
If Thousand Demon Ridge really hadid a trap for them, then they should receive a message very soon.
The battle was in full swing when Lu Ye suddenly felt something from his Battlefield Imprint. After looking down and inspecting it for a moment, he gave Hua Ci a nod and said, Its our turn now!
Li Baxian had sent him a message to inform him that the three hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators lying in wait ten kilometers away from their current location had made their move. They were clearly nning to hit the Grand Sky Coalitions army while they were at their busiest. Theoretically speaking, they could rip a hole in the battle lines and catch them in a pincer attack.
If they could overtake one battlefront, then they could continuously snowball their advantage and deal a massive blow to the enemy.
This was why the eight hundred strong Thousand Demon Ridges army was feigning weakness. For one, they werentpletely acting since the enemy did outnumber them, and two, they didnt want to resist so hard that Grand Sky Coalition would have second thoughts about their assault. It would be highly disappointing if the enemy withdrew and identally foiled their trap because they were putting up too much resistance.
Of course, since Grand Sky Coalition had found out about their n, the question became: could the three hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators get to the battlefield in time to save their main army?
There was a burst of red and aquamarine light, and a pair of wings appeared behind both Lu Ye and Hua Cis backs. They took to the skies, flew all the way to the frontline, and waited patiently at the center of the battlefield.
Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators looked up at them in that moment. No one here was capable of flight, so of course they caught the enemys attention instantly.
It did not take a genius to know that they were scheming something, and some Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators tried to respond by shooting their flying weapons at them. Unfortunately, the weapons lost strength long before they even got close to Lu Ye or Hua Ci.
The duo were just too high up in the sky.
Lu Ye was currently gripping his saber and hovering protectively over Hua Ci. His task this time was very simple: protect Hua Ci so she could unleash all of her power.
After expanding her perception outward and confirming that the enemies were already infected by the spores, she gave Lu Ye a nod and dered, Ill start now!
She sucked in a deep breathso deep that her wholesome chest visibly shuddered from the movementbefore unleashing an aquamarine halo that swept over half of the battlefield instantly.
Cries of shock immediately erupted from the ground. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators suddenly discovered that their Spiritual Power was flowing slowly and disjointedly almost as if they were suffering from Pill Poison. Their fighting strength plummeted sharply in just a short amount of time.
This wouldnt be too rming if they were out ofbat, but they were currently engaging the enemy in a deadly battle. What was an evenly-matched battle quickly turned into a one-sided massacre in favor of Grand Sky Coalition. In just a few breaths, bloodcurdling screams, blood and severed limbs pierced through the air. God knows how many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had been wounded or killed because of this.
Its that woman! Kill her! A grievously wounded Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator shouted on top of his lungs before his head was cut off by his opponent.
As if on cue, a beam of light shot straight toward Hua Ci, but unlike the flying weapons it showed no signs of stopping. It was because it wasnt a flying weapon. Someone wielding a Bow Spirit Artifact had shot an arrow at Hua Ci. Unfortunately for them, Lu Ye easily deflected the shot with a swing of his saber.
[Twang twang twang]
The bow wielder possessed outstanding archery skills. His arrows flew toward Hua Ci like tiny stars, and each time Lu Ye deflected one his saber hand grew just a little number.
Thankfully, the attack didntst more than a couple of breaths. A few Grand Sky Coalition cultivators pounced on the bow wielder and cut him into many tiny pieces.
Aquamarine haloes erupted from Hua Cis body again and again. This was hardly the first time she activated her ability, but it was certainly the first time she performed it in rapid session.
The amount ofbatants far exceeded any battle she had participated until now after all. She knew that the only way to end it as soon as possible was to go all out.
It took only a teas time for Hua Cis face to turn pale. Some timeter, she called out in a weak voice, Lu Ye!
Lu Ye hurriedly turned around and wrapped his arms around Hua Cis delicate waist. His red wings pped, and he carried her away from the battlefield in an instant.
Hua Ci was unhurt, of course. She was just exhausted because she had used up nearly all of her Spiritual Power. Thankfully, that Thousand Demon Ridge was already routing when she finally had to leave.
There had been over eight hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators at the start of the battle, but now the number disparity between their army and Grand Sky Coalitions had grown from two hundred to five hundred. That was how many people Thousand Demon Ridge had lost in the short time Hua Ci had repeatedly activated her ability.
Realizing that the battle was lost, nearly every survivor started running toward the gap Grand Sky Coalition had intentionally left open for them. This was the moment where ones running speed mattered the most. One didnt have to outrun the bear, they just had to outrun the people around them. After all, there was no way Grand Sky Coalition could kill every one of them. Someone had to slip through the eventually.
An incense stickter, the battlefield was covered in mutted corpses, and the stench of blood was so thick it was almost tangible. Grand Sky Coalition had lost less than a hundred people, so this battle absolutely counted as a great victory. It wasnt over yet, however. Instead of chasing after the fleeing cultivators, they regrouped and charged toward the center of the continent. It was because that was the direction the three hundred Thousand Demon Ridge ambushers were expected to appear.
Meanwhile, the group of three hundred were running toward the battlefield believing that Grand Sky Coalition had taken the bait and were currently tied up by their main army. Ten kilometers was but a short distance for them, so they reached the edge of the battlefield just a short timeter. Then, they saw what seemed to be a sea of highly motivated, extremely bloodthirsty Grand Sky Coalition cultivators running straight toward them.
To say that they were stunned would be an understatement. [Whats going on? Wheres our army of eight hundred?]
It was only then they received the warning messages of their fleeing brethren. They were informed that their army of eight hundred was now just a husk of two hundred, and that they should abort the operation and flee immediately.
The three hundred cultivators were so pissed they could spit blood. This battle was supposed to be a ughter where Grand Sky Coalition put their foot in the trap, got caught, and got stabbed in the kidney while they were trying to pull free. They never thought their main army would be so useless as to be routed before they could even arrive at the battlefield. To call them weaklings would be an insult to weaklings!
Although they wanted nothing more but to strangle those useless bastards with their own hands, they knew that they had a bigger problem to deal with. They might be all inner circle cultivators, but here in the outer ring most of their powers were sealed. Here, quantity mattered much more than quality, and it did not take a brain to know that there was no chance they were defeating an enemy force that outnumbered them three to one.
So, all three hundred inner ring cultivators turned around and made their escape. They didnt need to go too far either. All they needed to do was to run ten or twenty kilometers toward the center of the continent, and the Grand Sky Coalition army would abandon the pursuit. After all, the deeper they traveled, the more their power would be unsealed. If the Grand Sky Coalition army was stupid enough to chase them to the inner ring when most of their members were low level cultivators, they would learn the meaning of fear in no time at all.
Unfortunately, they didnt make it far before a massive array appeared out of seemingly nowhere and trapped all of them. The array itself wasnt particrly deadly, but that was because its main effect was to increase their weight and slow down their movement.
The group of Thousand Demon Ridge looked left and right in shock as they attempted to find the person who was responsible for their predicament. They quickly found a petite female cultivator standing beneath a tree and beaming at them. She was also holding a shining array disc.
Feng Yuechan! someone eximed in shock as they nched.
Feng Yuechan alone would not have rmed them so, but everyone here knew that the female cultivator was always apanied by Li Baxian. In this case, they were also apanied by a bunch of Grand Sky Coalition champions.
As expected, they heard Li Baxian dering from somewhere, Sword Array, rise!
Sword lights started shooting from multiple directions inside the massive array. Blood sprayed out of flesh whenever they hit a target.
Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian had worked together to create thisposite array. Although it wasnt particrly powerful due to how little time they had to set everything up, Li Baxian had made up for that w somewhat by incorporating all of his flying swords into the array. As a result, it was several times stronger than it should be.
A group of thirty or so Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had also appeared out of seemingly nowhere to harass the enemy. They did everything in their power to dy Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators as much as possible.
They seeded. As if on cue, the army of nine hundred strong whom they barely outpaced appeared at the distance. Despair colored the features of all Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were trapped inside the massive array.
Spells and flying weapons rained mercilessly on the trapped cultivators. A whileter, someone suddenly broke out into a full-throated guffaw, Holy shit! I killed a Heaven Grade Ninth-Order cultivator! Hahaha! The Heavens are finally smiling on me!
The guy was just an ordinary Seventh-Order cultivator. There was a two hundred Spiritual Points gap between him and his in foe. In any other circumstance, he would never have been able to kill the other person even if he just stood there and withstood all of his attacks. But thanks to the special environment around them, he was able to do the impossible.
A Heaven Grade Ninth-Order cultivator could only be the Legate of a major sect in the Core Circle. He likely never anticipated that he would die to weakling one day, but at least he would not be bearing the shame alone. A good number of these three hundred cultivators were champions who had reced their old cultivation technique with a Heaven Grade one, but now they were dying one after another like flies. Many low level cultivators suddenly found themselves gaining tens of Contribution Points while attacking the enemy.
Seeing that the tides had swungpletely in their favor, Li Baxian waved his arm and cried, The time for revenge is now, my brothers and sisters! Charge!
He became the first to charge toward the nearest enemy. The thirty or so cultivators who had joined his little band also followed suit with bloody murder in their eyes. The past three weeks or so had been hellish for them, but now they were finally able to unleash the fury in their hearts.
Chapter 198: Allow Me To Widen Your Horizons
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 198: Allow Me To Widen Your Horizons
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
By the time the battle was over, less than fifty of the three hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who came to assist their allies were able to escape with their lives. A good number of them were Legates belonging to major sects from the Core Circle, and even the number two cultivator on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy, Yan Xing was forced to run away with serious injuries.
Yan Xing was a pretty unlucky man. Since thest time he shed against Li Baxian, he already knew that he would never be able to take his revenge without external help. Believing that this years Battle Royale of the Legates to abe the perfect opportunity to do so, he had kept a close eye on the sword cultivators location and activities, gathered hispanions, and tracked him down as soon as the continent was formed. It wasnt a bad n, but they just had to stumble onto this exact battle where a bunch of low level cultivators he normally deigned too humble to even look at got the perfect circumstances to beat the crap out of them.
Overall, this battle was andslide victory for Grand Sky Coalition and a most joyous moment for the low level cultivators. It perfectly embodied the phrase strength in numbers!
After the decisive battle, Grand Sky Coalition took a moment to regroup before splitting into two groups that were led by the champions from the Core Circle. They began invading the inner ring and systematically hunt down all enemy cultivators in the area. As news of their sess spread far and wide, more and more cultivators from the Core Circle decided to meet up with the two groups to join in the hunt as well.
At the beginning, Thousand Demon Ridge had trounced them so hard that they nearly sank into total despair. They never thought that their low level cultivators would surpass everyones expectations and singlehandedly turn around what shouldve been an unwinnable war.
Before the continent was fully formed, Thousand Demon Ridge definitely had more high level cultivators and low level cultivators than Grand Sky Coalition. Although Lu Ye and Hua Ci were able to rally a sizable force in the outer ring, it did not change the fact that Thousand Demon Ridges scheme to rally their forces and cull their enemies using the bone fragments was mostly sessful. Had they maintained the same level of dedication and unity they had at the beginning, Grand Sky Coalition wouldve continuously lost ground no matter how well they fought. They might not be able to eliminate every Grand Sky Coalition Legate and prolegate on the continent by the end of the battle royale, but eighty to ny percent? That result was considerably more likely.
They wouldve aplished their initial objective of culling most of Grand Sky Coalitions future pirs and ensuring that they would not be able topete against Thousand Demon Ridge for the next couple decades.
Unfortunately, Thousand Demon Ridge did not maintain their initial level of motivation. They thought they were dominating both the outer circle and inner circle and so grewx at the most critical juncture of the battle royale. That said, no one could have predicted that two lowly cultivators would be able to dominate every Thousand Demon Ridge group and eventually rally themselves into a force to be reckoned with, much less sweep the outer ring of the continent in unstoppable fashion in just a couple of days. During thetest battle, they even managed to vanquish an incredible amount of high level cultivators.
As a result, they were able to rewrite the conclusion of this battle royalepletely.
Currently, Grand Sky Coalitions low level cultivators vastly outnumbered their counterpart in Thousand Demon Ridges, but their number of high level cultivators were more or less the same as their enemies even after thetest battle. It was because the high level cultivators did not have a Lu Ye or Hua Ci equivalent to turn things around and so sustained a ridiculous amount of losses in the past twenty days.
Even so, Grand Sky Coalition had achieved aplete revival in this Battle Royale of the Legates. It was now their turn to beat the crap out of Thousand Demon Ridges cultivators.
The two of you have brought so much honor to the sect that I bet the old man would wake upughing in his dreams, Li Baxian said.
After the decisive battle was over, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had opted to seek out Lu Ye and Hua Ci instead of joining in the hunt. He looked happier than if he was the one who pulled off the feat.
Hua Cis the one who deserves most of the credit, replied Lu Ye while enjoy a piece of jerky. It was the truth. Besides constructing the Gathering Spirit glyphs that helped his allies to recover their Spiritual Power in the shortest amount of time possible, his contributions in this battle royale were more or less the same as his peers. On the other hand, Hua Ci wasnt just the only healer in the entire Chess Sea, her ability to weaken enemies was the reason Grand Sky Coalition was ultimately able to turn this around.
Li Baxian shot a look at Hua Cishe was speaking with Feng Yuechan in a small voice right nowand nodded. That may be true, but your contributions are not to be underestimated either. He then winked at the young man and added, Feel free to pick up more junior sisters like her in the future. I promise the sect will take as many as we can get.
Lu Ye puffed up his cheeks in response before shoving more jerkies into his mouth.
Li Baxian patted Lu Ye on the shoulder. I feel so much better knowing that the sect is seeded by promising younglings like the two of you. Anyway, are you done eating? If you are, then Id like to take us on a treasure hunt.
That caught Lu Yes interest immediately. After swallowing the mouthful of jerkies in his mouth in a hurryyou could see them slowly slide down his throathe asked, What is this treasure were looking for?
I dont know either. With luck, well find something good, Li said with a chuckle before tossing his cbash into Lu Yes hands. The young man looked left and right to ensure that no one was looking in his direction before uncorking the container and gulping down a mouthful of liquor. He immediately felt like his stomach was on fire as a wave of dizziness shot up his head and caused him to stumble.
Panicking, he hurriedly switched out his current cultivation technique and activated Gluttonous Feast. His stomach growled audibly for a moment, and the drunkenness afflicting him finally began to fade away.
Even so, it wasnt until a whileter that he finally able to stand on his feet without swaying. Hemented, That is one hell of a liquor you have there!
He even tossed the cbash back into Li Baxians hands not because he didnt want to drink more, but because he knew he literally couldnt handle more than a single mouthful. Li Baxian could not help but guffaw at his reaction.
They set out on the treasure hunt afterward, but unfortunately they werent able to find anything worthwhile. It wasnt like they didnt exist, but most of the good stuff had already been imed by the other cultivators.
Of the four of them, Hua Ci was the only one who found plenty of useful herbs using her medical knowledge. She was apanied by a Wolf Golem that Lu Yushans junior sister had gifted to her.
Two hourster, Li Baxian suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked in a particr direction. He asked smilingly, Say, do you think you can kill an Eighth-Order cultivator, junior brother?
It was a weird question to ask out of nowhere, but Lu Ye replied honestly after a moment of consideration, I think so.
Really? Li Baxian was a little surprised to hear this. Back when Lu Ye was still a Fifth-Order cultivator at Goldentip, he had told him that he could kill a Seventh-Order cultivator if he went all out. In fact, he proved that winning forty three duels in a row and killing the Sacred Child of Cult ckfyre who willingly crippled her own Spiritual Points to enter a duel against him, which was a feat greater than ying just one Seventh-Order cultivator.
Lu Ye was a Sixth-Order cultivator now. Li Baxian had asked the question only because he happened to recall what Lu Ye had said that day. He did not think that the young man would give him more or less the same response.
You are aware that the gap between each Minor Realm after the Seventh-Order is slightly greater than before, right?
I know.
Li Baxian watched him seriously for a moment before nodding. Very well. Allow me to broaden your horizons then.
Lu Ye had no idea what Li Baxian was talking about until the sword cultivator looked in a certain direction and said, Do you want toe out yourself, or do you want me to st you out of your hidey-hole?
Feng Yuechan suddenly flew forward andnded at a certain spot. Then, she stared at the same spot Li Baxian was looking at.
Lu Ye followed their gaze but could not find anything out of the ordinary. All he saw was a giant rock.
He was quickly proven wrong, however. There was a distortion in the air next to the rock, and a thin man appeared as if stepping out of water. He was a shady-looking youngster with an aquiline nose and an expression dark enough to dye a white paper ck.
Lu Ye had no idea what cultivation technique he was using, but somehow he was able to hide himself from his senses perfectly. If Li Baxian hadnt exposed the guy, he couldve stepped right over the rock and not notice a thing.
Oho! Li Baxians expression turned amused. Its you!
What a coincidence. It looked like they knew one another.
Flowing Cloud Sect shares no grudges with the Devoted Ones or Crimson Blood Sect, nor were we present during the Battle of Goldentip. What do you want, Li Baxian? All I ask is you allow me to live, said the grim-faced youngster.
Li Baxian chuckled as he scratched his chin. The only reason Flowing Cloud Sect wasnt present during the Battle of Goldentip is because you were in the middle of a war. Also, you belong to Thousand Demon Ridge, and I to Grand Sky Coalition. Did your elders not tell you that the mere fact that we are born to different factions is enough of a reason to kill each other?
The youngsters tone grew darker. Must we do this?
He intentionally looked at Lu Ye and Hua Ci when he said this, making it clear that he was implying a threat against the duo. He wasnt weak, but neither were Li Baxian nor Feng Yuechan ordinary cultivators, not to mention that they were practically glued to each other. To offend either one of them to offend both.
Since Grand Sky Coalition was currently moving deeper into the continent in search of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, he knew it would be folly to remain within the inner ring. His n was to escape to the outer ring and hole up there until the end of the battle royale. He knew it wouldnt be a smooth journey, but he never thought he would run into Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan of all people.
It was such terrible luck that it wasparable to choking on water.
Well, I suppose I can give you a chance, Li Baxian replied smilingly.
What is it?
The sword cultivator put a hand on Lu Yes shoulder before saying, Youll fight against my junior brother. If you win, then Ill let you go!
Shock spread across Lu Ye and the youngsters face. It was only now Lu Ye understood what his senior brother had meant by broadening his horizons earlier.
The youngster was fuming with anger despite being given an out, however. Is this a joke? I know you will kill me anyway if I wound or kill this guy!
He knew exactly how protective Crimson Blood Sect was of their own people. During the Battle of Goldentip, a Real Lake Realm champion of the Crimson Blood Sect had invaded the Spirit Creek Battlefield and killed a ton of low level cultivators despite knowing they would be sted by the Soul Destroying Divine Lightning. As far as he was aware, there wasnt any other Real Lake Realm cultivator in the entire Jiu Zhou who would lower themselves to this extent just to protect their own.
That was why he wasnt happy at all to hear Li Baxians offer. He thought that the bastard was just making fun of him.
You dont seem to understand your situation. Have you never heard of the saying when in foreignnds, do as the foreigners do? Li Baxians voice grew just a tad threatening. Feng Yuechan was also juggling what seemed to be a ball ofpressed fire soundlessly.
A vein popped on the youngsters forehead. He knew he had no chance of surviving against a sword cultivator and spell cultivator duo, not to mention that they were the first and tenth strongest cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy. Realistically speaking, there was only one choice he could make if he wanted to live, even if that choice was almost as suicidal.
You really will let me live if I beat this little guy?
Yep! I swear on my junior brothers honor!? Li Baxian dered while patting Lu Yes shoulder again.
The young man couldnt help but frown at the statement though. [Why is he swearing on my honor? Does that mean that Brother Li has no honor to speak of in the eyes of most cultivators? That is a little worrying.]
Can we not y this childish game of words? Maybe you will keep your word, but what about Feng Yuechan?
She? She will swear on my junior sisters honor! Li Baxian pointed at Hua Ci and elicited an innocent smile from her.
The youngster finally nodded. Very well. Please make a Heavenly Oath then.
However, Li Baxian suddenly erupted. Who do you think you are to bargain with me? Either you duel my junior brother now, or Ill carve you up with my flying sword! Make your choice, now!
The youngster immediately turned as red as a gammon.
Li Baxian wasnt done yet, however. He let out a cold humph as he exposed the youngsters true thoughts, Who do you think youre trying to fool? I know you want to duel against my junior brother. I know youre hoping to get lucky and drag him down to the grave with you!
Chapter 199: Bloodrage
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 199: Bloodrage
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The youngster knew he was dead from the moment he was exposed by Li Baxian. The reason he put on that charade was just to conceal his true motive. Since the sword cultivator had called him out, he assumed a stance and gestured with his scimitars. Come on then. Lets get this over with.
Lu Ye ced a hand on his saber and gripped it lightly.
Li Baxians voice rang beside his ear. Be careful, junior brother. Not only is he a ghost cultivator, hes really a Heaven Grade Seventh-Order cultivator with over two hundred and forty Spiritual Points unlocked. The reason hes only an Eighth-Order right now is because of the Heavens suppression. That said, the suppression doesnt extend to battle experience, and both his strength and speed are much greater than that of an ordinary Eighth-Order cultivator as well. You might not be a match for him even if you are capable of killing an ordinary Eighth-Order.
I know!
Lu Ye was charging toward the youngster even before he gave Li Baxian his reply. Whatever the reason his senior brother had decided to pit him against such a difficult opponent, it was a fact that the Battle Royale of the Legates was going to end soon. He would not allow the opportunity to kill such a powerful opponent slip through his grasp.
However, a stream of light flew toward his face almost as soon as he moved his feet. It took only an instant to get close to Lu Yes face.
Lu Ye responded by unsheathing his saber and shing at the stream of light. The second the sparks flew, he felt a tremendous power transferring over the metal and splitting his purlicue instantly. In fact, it struck the Invible so hard that it was pushed upward. Lu Ye flicked his saber upward so that the stream of light would be knocked into the air.
The light turned out to be one of the enemys scimitars, meaning that the enemy had nearly skewered him with just telekinesis. He didnt even get away unscathed. The qi of the flying weapon had left a bleeding wound on his chest.
Before he could even steady himself, the youngster rushed him so fast that he looked like a blur to Lu Yes eyes. Ghost cultivators were famous for their speed to begin with, not to mention that he was a Heaven Grade Seventh-Order cultivator. While the Heavens had suppressed his cultivation level for fairness sake, he was still way faster than your ordinary Eighth-Order cultivator.
The youngster swung the scimitar he was holding at Lu Yes face, prompting the young man to block it with his saber. This time, he was knocked back a step or two. Not only that, the scimitar he had parried earlier had boomeranged and was flying straight toward the back of Lu Yes head.
At his current level, telekinesis was something he couldnt handle no matter what he did.
Hua Ci looked nervous, and Li Baxian was ready to fire a sword at a first notice. While he was the one who encouraged this battle, that didnt mean he was going to leave his junior brother to his own devices. The second it looked like something was about to go horribly wrong, he would save Lu Ye immediately.
For a second, it looked like the scimitar would hit the back of Lu Yes head and kill him. Instead, it hit a Glyph and shattered it in a single hit. Lu Ye dropped his head the second he heard Protection breaking and just barely avoided getting killed. Seriously, it was close enough that the scimitar had cut off a few strands of hair as it flew by.
Not about to surrender the initiativepletely to the ghost cultivator, Lu Ye thrust the Invible forward and imbued it with both his fiery Spiritual Power and a Sharp Edge. Unfortunately, the ghost cultivator was able to sidestep the attack and twist the curved de around like it was a living thing. It cut into Lu Yes arm from an unthinkable angle and left yet another bleeding wound.
It hadnt even been three breaths since the battle began, and already Lu Ye had taken two wounds from the enemy. They were only minor wounds, but it made two things clear. One, there was a considerable gap between Lu Ye and the ghost cultivators strength. Two, things were only going to get worse for Lu Ye at this rate.
Feng Yuechan shot Li Baxian an inquiring look, but he shook his head because he deemed it too early to interfere. The reason he had decided to pit Lu Ye against this ghost cultivator was because it was a rare opportunity to let Lu Ye experience the fine line between life and death.
During his stay at the Crimson Blood Sect, he had taught Lu Ye the art ofbat for twenty days. It was a valuable lesson for the young man as a matter of course, but it couldnt teach him how it felt to dance on a knifes edge, something everybat cultivator must grow ustomed to. It was because they both knew Li Baxian wouldnt actually kill him even though he had beaten the shit out of him during those lessons.
The situation at hand was different, though. Lu Ye was now facing off against a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator, and his opponent had every intention of sending him to the afterlife. In other words, this was the perfect opportunity to hone Lu Yes ability to dance on a knifes edge. Barring some exceptions, it was a rite of passage allbat cultivators must go through if they wished to surpass their own limits.
That said, Li Baxian could not help but wonder if his decision had been too rash. Lu Ye might have a shot at beating an ordinary Eighth-Order cultivator at his current strength, but this ghost cultivator was obviously too much for him right now. The only good news was that his fighting spirit hadnt waned in the slightest even though the enemy waspletely overwhelming him right now.
The two men exchanged a couple more moves in the blink of an eye, and the ghost cultivator proved that he was both stronger and faster than Lu Ye. Considering he could use telekinesis as well, Lu Ye was hard pressed to do anything at the beginning.
As time passed, he slowly but surely became ustomed to his opponentsbat rhythm. It wasnt enough for him to turn the tides, but he did manage to force a counterattack once in a while and protect himself from the flying scimitar using Protection.
They shed a couple more times before the ghost cultivator abruptly called back his flying scimitar. It was because he realized that the infamous Crimson Blood Sect cultivator of the Battle of Goldentip was deserving of his reputation. At the beginning, he had thought he would be able to defeat Lu Ye with ease. He had even nned out the speech to bargain for his life after he had defeated Lu Ye and taken him hostage. Instead, all he got was the realization that the young mans strength and battle experience were greater than his cultivation level suggested.
He could not afford to drag out this battle. At any moment, Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian could decide that enough was enough and interfere with this fight. He would be dead if that happened. On top of that, flying weapons werent all that useful in a melee fight like this, so he determined that wielding two scimitars would allow him to defeat his opponent in the shortest amount of time possible.
After the ghost cultivator had regained his weapon, his attack speed shot up drastically. Lu Ye immediately started ruing wounds at a much faster rate.
However, to the ghost cultivators shock, Lu Yes attack speed and strength actually increased as well. Even the Spiritual Power on his saber seemed much thicker than normal. It was almost as if he was growing stronger as he rued more wounds.
A dozen or so breathster, Lu Ye managed to stabilize the battle. He was actually going even against his opponent now.
The ghost cultivator simply could not understand how Lu Ye was able to increase his strength and speed in such a short time, but this was just the beginning. Another dozen breaths passed, and he discovered that he was slowly but surely being outsped and outmuscled by Lu Ye!
Lu Ye wasnt the only one who got hurt when they shed des now. He too was ruing wounds little by little!
The Invibles de had turnedpletely crimson almost as if it was drowning in blood. In fact, a closer look would reveal that a thin stream of blood was surrounding Lu Ye as well.
When the ghost cultivator finally realized this, he eximed in surprise, Blood Artifact?
A Blood Artifact was a special Spirit Artifact that was branded with a Glyph of Blood Sacrifice. If the wielder was hurt, or if the wielder cut themselves to offer up their blood, a Blood Artifact would devour it and grow more powerful.
When the ghost cultivator saw the Invibles transformation, he thought that it was a Blood Artifact. While a Blood Artifact was incredibly powerful, it also put the wielder at great risk. It was because it would continuously consume the wielders blood until the fight was over, or the wielder was sucked dry. That was why Blood Artifacts werent very popr in the Cultivation World. The average cultivator wouldnt use this type of Spirit Artifact either.
If the ghost cultivator noticed that something was wrong with the Invible in the middle of a fight, then of course Li Baxian had noticed it as well. His expression turned serious. The reason he encouraged this fight was to earn Lu Ye some battle experience against powerful enemies, but he didnt think his junior brother would go so far as to activate a Blood Artifact. Shui Yuan was going to bash his head in if his junior brother hurt his own foundation and vitality because of this.
It was at this moment Hua Ci spoke up, Dont worry, Brother Li. Its not a Blood Artifact.
What is it then?
She exined, Lu Ye knows a Glyph called Bloodrage. Its most likely that. Back at Lady Yuns residence, Lu Ye had told her about his four Glyphs. Since Hua Ci was present at the scene, she knew about them as well.
Bloodrage? Li Baxianmented with a frown. He didnt know much about Glyphs because hecked the patience to study them. That was why he had no idea what Bloodrage might be. Still, it should be fine as long as it wasnt a Blood Artifact.
The battle continued. Metallic ngs peeled incessantly through the air, and Lu Ye was covered from head to toe in wounds. Strangely, every drop of blood that dripped out of his wounds had transformed into mist that surrounded his person.
If Lu Ye were to take off his clothes right now, they would see that aplicated Glyphpletely made of blood was cycling slowly at the center of his chest. Bloodrage was a Glyph that was applied to his body, not his weapon. Not only was he shrouded by a mist of blood, his eyes had turned crimson from Bloodrage as well.
Lu Ye kept growing in strength and speed as more and more blood turned into mist. He had surpassed his limits a long time ago.
The tables hadpletely turned. The ghost cultivator who utterly dominated Lu Ye at the beginning of the battle could only defend himself now. He didnt even have the time tounch a counterattack.
Another moment passed, and Lu Ye finallynded the decisive hit. A bloodcurdling scream pierced through the air as his opponent staggered away from him, blood spurting out of his chest like a fountain. When he looked up, the pair of crimson eyes was right in front of him. The young man,pletely shrouded in a blood mist, descending upon him with an equally crimson de.
He roared in defiance and raised his own Spirit Artifacts into a block.
There was the sound of de cutting through flesh and blood, and Lu Ye appeared behind the ghost cultivator as light as a raindrop. He threw off the blood on the Invibles de and returned it to its sheath.
Behind him, the ghost cultivator stiffened while still maintaining his block. Then, he copsed on the ground and bled a pool of blood underneath him.
At the same time, the blood mist surrounding Lu Ye suddenly dispersed into nothing. The young mans knees buckled, but Li Baxian caught him before he could copse as well.
Im okay. Im just out of strength! Lu Ye exined even as his face turned white at a visible rate. He had lost too much blood.
For a while, Li Baxian watched him with aplicated expression on his face. Finally, he said, You pushed yourself a little too hard there, dont you think?
To say he did not expect this oue would be an understatement. When Lu Ye told him that he could kill an Eighth-Order cultivator earlier, he had believed it to be the arrogance of youth. He had been prepared to jump in at every point of this fight. But not only did his junior brother make his im a reality, he had done it all by himself! It was bonkers! This was before mentioning that his opponent was really a Heaven Grade Seventh-Order cultivator, which put him on par with an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator even after his cultivation level was suppressed!
It was at that moment Li Baxian realized that he had underestimated his junior brother.
Chapter 200: Becoming Famous Overnight
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 200: Bing Famous Overnight
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In a mountain, Hua Ci was kneeling next to Lu Ye and massaging his elbow while hey t on top of a big rock. Every once in a while, she would inject refined streams of Wood Spiritual Power deep into his muscles and repair injuries that were invisible to the naked eye.
Li Baxian was sitting next to Lu Ye with an awkward expression on his face, while Feng Yuechan was standing guard nearby. She hadid down multiple arrays in the area, so no one should be able to sneak up on them.
They had set out at the beginning to look for treasures, but that n was obviously a no-go now. Lu Ye hadnt just sustained massive injuries during that fight, he waspletely exhausted. He was so sore that he did not even have the strength to lift a finger right now.
When Lu Ye obtained Bloodrage, he learnt that he had gained a new trump card. However, he hadnt had the chance to test it out until today.
The Glyph was as impressive as he thought it was. It increased his strength via consuming his blood, and the more blood it consumed, the greater the increase.
The fact that he had won that battle was a testament to its power. At the beginning, he had beenpletely outssed by the ghost cultivator. Not only were his speed and strength considerably greater than Lu Yes, he could telekically control his scimitar as well.
However, the gap was gradually closed as Bloodrage worked its magic. He even surpassed his opponent near the end of the battle.
Lu Ye had the feeling that that wasnt Bloodrages limit either. He was sure the boost would be greater if the battle had dragged on a little longer, and Bloodrage had consumed more blood.
In the future, as long as the enemy did not possess the strength or skill to kill him in an instant, he should always have the chance to turn the tides eventually.
Of course, it wasnt all positives. The price of unleashing power greater than his body could endure was threefold, muscle tears that spanned his whole body, excessive blood loss, and an incredible drain on his Spiritual Power. Unlike Sharp Edge or Protection, Bloodrage was a Glyph that required a continuous upkeep of Spiritual Power. If he hadnt opened over eighty Spiritual Points, and if he hadnt saved up plenty of Spiritual Power before the battle, he would not have been able to use the Glyph in battle.
It was basically a one-shot deal and a trump card. The moment he used it, the battle could only end in his or his enemys death.
This was after he used the dragon scale to temper his body too. Every time he cultivated in the training chambers, he would insert the dragon scale in the Circle of Boon to activate its Blood Qi. He would then devour and refine the Blood Qi to temper his body. Otherwise, he wouldve been even more hurt and exhausted than he already was.
The good news was he had Hua Ci with him. While enjoying her treatment, he produced his jerkies and gobbled them down like a starving man. In fact, he felt hungry enough to devour a cow after that battle. It wasnt until he had stuffed himself to the brim that hisplexion finally looked a bit rosier.
Half a day flew by like that before Lu Ye gingerly rose to his feet. Weakness still gripped his body, but it was no longer incapacitating. Now that he was aware of the repercussions of Bloodrage, he resolved to use it only if it was hisst resort.
Li Baxian asked concerned, How are you feeling?
I feel great. Thank you, senior brother! Lu Ye replied sincerely. If it wasnt for Li Baxian, he would not have had the opportunity to fight against such a formidable foe. That battle was so enriching that he was even tempted to prod his senior brother to seek out a couple more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators that fit the bill.
He wasnt insane though. He knew he wasnt fully recovered even after Hua Cis treatment, so he pushed away the impulse.
If youre feeling fine now, would you like to follow me and see something good?
Sure!
The quartet set off immediately after that.
The suppression on Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans cultivation lifted little by little as they traveled toward the inner circle. A dozen or so kilometerster, Li Baxian still hadnt returned to peak strength, but he was now capable of flight via telekically-controlled artifacts. He tossed out his cbash and channeled his Spiritual Power. After the Spirit Artifact had grown to the size of a truck, he and Feng Yuechan leaped onto it one after another. Hua Ci went third on her Wolf Golem, and Lu Ye wentst. She pulled him up when he nearly failed the jump because of his weakened state.
Rise! Li Baxianmanded after they were all ready. The cbash took to the sky and flew toward the horizon at high speed.
Their travel speed improved drastically after that. In fact, they were moving faster by the second because the suppression on Li Baxians cultivation continuously weakened as they flew deeper into the inner circle. An incense stickter, they arrived at a crowded spot. Looking from above, it looked as if every Grand Sky Coalition cultivator had gathered at this ce. The debris and damage also made it clear that a terrible battle had been fought at this location.
Li Baxians Cbash Spirit Artifact was iconic. It drew the eyes of many the second it appeared on the horizon.
Someone pointed at it and said smilingly, Brother Li and Sister Feng are finally here! Thousand Demon Ridge should finally give up.
After the cbashnded, a lot of people snapped out of their meditation to greet them. Li Baxian jumped off his Spirit Artifact, looked at the massive tree the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators seemed to be guarding and asked, What is the situation?
A burly body tempering cultivator replied, Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt quite willing to give up on this location andunched a couple of frontal attacks. However, they wised up after we repelled them a couple of times. Now that you are here, I doubt theyll even show their faces anymore.
Li Baxian nodded and greeted the rest of them.
On the other side, a lot of low level cultivators were also making small talk with Hua Ci and Lu Ye. During the time they had fought alongside each other, Hua Ci had saved many lives and healed even more. There was practically no one who didnt like the prolegate, not to mention that she was a beautiful and elegant woman in her own right.
Not only that, during the finalrge-scale battle against Thousand Demon Ridge, it was Lu Ye and Hua Ci who risked their lives flying into the enemys formation and activating the traps they had left behind. It allowed Grand Sky Coalition to turn what shouldve been a costly victory at best into a crushing one.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the two of them were the reason Grand Sky Coalition was able to ovee the enemys ploy and rewrite their fate in this Battle Royale of the Legates.
These two must be Brother Yi Ye and Sister Hua Ci. The body tempering cultivator speaking to Li Baxian suddenly looked at them.
Smiling, Li Baxian patted Lu Ye on the shoulder and introduced the body tempering cultivator, This is Brother Meng Si. He is the Legate of the Righteous Sect and a Heaven Grade Ninth-Order cultivator. He is ranked eighteenth on the Roll of Supremacy.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci hurriedly saluted Meng Si. Lu Ye had heard of the Righteous Sect a long time ago. It was a First-Tier Sect in Bing Zhou, and their Deputy Sect Master was none other than the Deputy Coalition Leader of Grand Sky Coalition, Pang Zhen. The Deputy Coalition Leader was responsible for everything big or small within the Cultivation World of Bing Zhou.
Meng Si nodded in acknowledgement. As expected of the prodigies of distinguished pedigree, your contributions in this Battle Royale of the Legates are second to none. On behalf of the Cultivation World of Bing Zhou, I would like to thank you for everything that youve done for us!
Then, he surprised them both by giving them a solemn bow. Behind them, all Heaven Grade Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators from Bing Zhou followed his example as well.
While Lu Ye and Hua Ci were panicking and wondering how they should handle a situation like this, another cultivator walked up to them and said, On behalf of the Cultivation World of Ding Zhou, I would like to thank Brother Yi Ye and Sister Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect for your service as well.
Someone else said, The Cultivation World of Yun Zhou thanks Brother Yi Ye and Sister Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect for your service.
The Cultivation World of Lei Zhou thanks Brother Yi Ye and Sister Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect for your service.
The Cultivation World of Wu Zhou
Group after group, cultivators bent and raised their backs like swaying grass.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci exchanged a nce with each other before returning the salutations with a solemn face as well.
As Li Baxian watched on from the side, he knew that his junior brother and junior sister would be known throughout the Cultivation Worlds after this.
This was different from the Battle of the Goldentip. Back then, the sects of Grand Sky Coalition hade together to protect Lu Ye in remembrance of the Crimson Blood Sects past achievements. It was the good karma of the Crimson Blood Sect paying dividends so to speak.
This time though, their merits were wholly their own. Lu Ye and Hua Ci had brought honor and glory to the sect via their own strength.
Li Baxian could not help but recall a blurry yet imposing figure from a long, long time ago. [Are you seeing this, Brother Feng? The Crimson Blood Sect might have waned, but it looks like it isnt going to disappear into the annals of history after all. Decades after your passing, a new hope has picked up our banner and waved it in the skies of Grand Sky Coalition once more.]
Do pay our Outpost a visit when you enter the Core Circle to train in the future, okay? We would very much like to have you as a guest, Meng Si said after the salutations were finally over.
The Auspicious Cloud Pce wees you as well!
Everyone else extended their invitations to Lu Ye and Hua Ci as well. Lu Ye had zero reason to turn this down, of course. He was a Sixth-Order, so he could still linger in the Outer Circle for some time. When he reached the Seventh-Order though, he would have to consider entering the Inner Circle. The day he reached the Ninth-Order and reced his cultivation discipline with a Heaven Grade one would be the day he entered the Core Circle.
Thanks to the favors he had earned in this Battle Royale of the Legates, he now had a lot more options than before.
A long whileter, the crowd finally dispersed and went back to their own businesses. Freed from their attention, Lu Ye looked to Li Baxian and voiced a question he had been harboring for some time, What is this tree, senior brother? Its fruits smell incredible.
He had noticed the unusual tree practically the moment the cbash hadnded. The fruit tree had nine fruits in total, and each fruit was so fragrant that they could be smelled from as far as five kilometers away.
Lu Ye was well aware that the Chess Sea harbored plenty of natural treasures. Some were even unique to the battlefield and could not be found in Jiu Zhou or the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Unfortunately, he hadnt encountered anything special since he came here most likely because the good stuff had already been imed by the other cultivators.
That was until he encountered this fruit tree. Whatever it was, it was clearly some sort of treasure.
The fruit of this tree is called a Mystic Fruit, Li Baxian exined. Its an incredible treasure.
Feng Yuechan added, Mystic Fruits are incredibly rare not only because they can only be found in the Chess Sea, but also because they dont appear every time the Chess Sea is open to Jiu Zhou. For example, there were no Mystic Fruit Trees during thest battle royale where the Chess Sea was chosen as the battlefield.
The Mystic Fruit is special for a number of reasons. For one, it possesses incredible recovery abilities. Take your senior brother for example. If he ran out of Spiritual Power, and he took a single bite from the Mystic Fruit, he could probably replenish all of his energy in one go.
Thats amazing, Lu Ye eximed. Li Baxian might be a Heaven Grade Eighth-Order cultivator only, but that was because one part of his Spiritual Points was destroyed. He had unlocked the rest of his Spiritual Points a long time ago, so in terms of energy storage he was no different from a Heaven Grade Ninth-Order cultivator.
If even a champion like Li Baxian could regain his Spiritual Powerpletely in one bite, a Sixth-Order cultivator like him could probably achieve the same oue just by nibbling at its skin.
The recovery rate of ones Spiritual Power was key when battling against a powerful opponent. If both sides had run out of energy, and one of them suddenly took a bite from the Mystic Fruit, their opponent would probably drop dead from sheer despair. The Mystic Fruit was without a doubt an absolute life-saver.
Li Baxian added, That said, the true value of the fruit lies not with its flesh, but its seed.
Chapter 201: Well Deserved
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 201: Well Deserved
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
What do you mean? Lu Ye humbly asked.
The effects of a Mystic Fruits seed arent fixed. For example, there was a sect in Tian Zhou who used a seed and was connected to a small, unknown realm that contained a top quality Spirit Vein covered in High-Grade and Top-Grade Spirit Stones. I dont need to tell you how valuable that was.
There was also a seed that put the user under a strange cultivation state that allowed them to learn anything at twice the normal rate.
Some seeds were so valuable that they could be sold to the Vault of Providence for a hundred thousand Contribution Points at least!
Lu Ye was stunned to hear this as a matter of course. How much me of Earthen Spirits could he purchase if he had a hundred thousand Contribution Points? This was the lowest number too. Assuming that the seed was that valuable, it should always sell for higher than a hundred thousand Contribution Points.
There were also seeds that could be used as the core of certain arrays and multiply their strength by several fold. Theres a Second-Tier sect at the Core Circle that was lucky enough to obtain this seed and propel their array to the strongest in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Not even the arrays of First-Tier sects were a match for them.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan took turns to tell Lu Ye all about the incredibly varied and mysterious effects of the seed of the Mystic Fruit. He thought that a treasure that could only be found on the Chess Sea would be pretty special, but it was still quite the eye-opening lesson.
Previously, Thousand Demon Ridge had upied this ce. If Lu Ye and Hua Ci hadnt participated in this battle royale, it was likely that Grand Sky Coalition would not be able to im even a single Mystic Fruit for themselves.
However, not only did the low level cultivators foil Thousand Demon Ridges ploy in spectacr fashion, the champions of the Core Circle had mustered their forces and swept through the entire continent in dominant fashion, killing countless and chasing out the enemy forces entrenched around the Mystic Fruit Treepletely.
Thousand Demon Ridge was extremely unhappy with the fact that their treasure was stolen right before their n coulde to fruition as a matter of course. They tried attacking this position a couple of times, but Grand Sky Coalition drastically outnumbered Thousand Demon Ridge in both high level cultivators and low level cultivators right now. There was just no way they could seed. All they managed to do was lessen their own numbers.
Now that Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were here as well, the chances they wouldunch anymore attacks were next to nothing.
That meant that theirst few days on the Chess Sea should be quite peaceful. Grand Sky Coalition was going to stay here until the Mystic Fruits were fully ripe, and Thousand Demon Ridge could only seethe with hatred and envy from the sidelines.
On a side note, the Mystic Fruits were definitely going to ripen before the battle royale was over, so no one was worried that their passive waiting during theirst few days on the Chess Sea was for nothing.
I count only nine Mystic Fruits though. How on earth are we going to share it? Lu Ye voiced his doubts. The Mystic Fruits were valuable enough that anyone would like to get their hands on them. While low level cultivators werent a factor in thisthey did not have the power, wealth or influence topete for the fruitsthe high level cultivators were a different story. They couldnt settle this with a might-makes-right approach. Any in-fighting, even a friendly one would only give Thousand Demon Ridge the chance to steal the Mystic Fruits from under their nose.
Situations like this are usually resolved via bidding, Li Baxian answered without hesitation. He had clearly experienced such a scenario many times in the past. The Legates would bid on behalf of their sects, and the treasure would go to the highest bidder. The proceeds would be split equally among the sects present at the scene.
Thats pretty fair, Lu Ye said with a nod. The method ensured that even the sects whocked the wealth to bid for the treasure would be able to get something out of this.
Time passed quickly. There were many Grand Sky Coalition cultivators who were focused on healing and recovering from their ordeal, but even more were gathering in groups to talk about various matters.
Generally speaking, Legates and prolegates from different sects rarely had the opportunity to socialize with one another. The Battle Royale of the Legates was one such opportunity because it was participated by nearly every sect with an Outpost on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. This was their chance to meet up with the other sects and to negotiate deals and even form alliances.
Of course, alliances created in this manner were limited to the Spirit Creek Battlefield only. If two sects wished to form a true alliance, the responsibility would fall on the Sect Masters as a matter of course.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci were tending to a huge group right now. A lot of familiar faces had paid them a visit for various reasons.
Right now, Lu Ye was toying with a small Golema ball that was embedded with a pair of small wings for flight, and a pair of polished gems for sightwhile Lu Yushan exined the principles behind it.
Strictly speaking, the Golem wasnt very useful. It could be used to scout out certain dangerous locations, but that was it.
You are more than wee to visit Thousand Gear Pavilion if you are interested to learn more, Brother Yi Ye, Lu Yushan said warmly. They were close enough to be friends at this point, and Thousand Gear Pavilion had never cared to keep their knowledge to themselves especially because Golem Making wasnt very popr at all. They were such a small faction that every Sect Master to date had made it their lifelong mission to expand their sect.
This was why Thousand Gear Pavilion opened their doors to any Grand Sky Coalition cultivator who were interested in learning their ways, and why they possessed some of the biggest socialworks in the entire Jiu Zhou despite being an Eighth-Tier sect only. There were countless sects who shared some sort of covenant agreement with them.
Unfortunately, Golem Making was an art that required an incredible amount of talent. Despite generations of hard work, there were still very few Golem Masters in Jiu Zhou especially among high level cultivators. The biggest reason for this was that Golem Masters relied too much on external force to win their battles.
Below a certain level, a Golem Master could unleash power far beyond their cultivation level by creating and using all kinds of miraculous tools. However, it also meant that time that could be spent on cultivating their strength were wasted on creating these tools instead.
Thousand Gear Pavilion was well aware of their major w, but it was one that was fundamentally impossible to fix. A Golem Master was destined to spend most of their time creating mechanical tools that fit their purposes, which meant that their cultivation rate could never catch up to that of a pure cultivator.
On a rted note, the Beast Taming cultivation faction was in the same boat as the Golem Masters. They too were unable to poprize their ways for simr reasons. As a clique that mainly focused on Beast Taming, a Chosen Beast was paired together with their cultivators from a young age. Their cultivators would live, eat and sleep with their Chosen Beast like they were their lifelong partner.
Of course, neither the Golem Masters nor the Beast Tamers were easy foes just because they were a small clique. They were quite capable of defeating stronger foes because their strength came not just from themselves, but also their Golems and Chosen Beasts. To measure their strength by their cultivation level alone would be incredibly foolish.
Brother Lu. Lu Ye suddenly remembered something. Does the Thousand Gear Pavilion have superrge Golems that a cultivator can control tobat bigger enemies? And I dont mean a Beast Golem, I mean a humanoid one. In fact, a humanoid one would be best.
You mean an Armor Golem?
Lu Yes interest was piqued immediately. So, its actually a thing?
Yep. it is beyond my current abilities though. Id have to cultivate more before I can build one. Lu Yushan smiled. I can make one for you when I reach that level.
Oh! Thank you in advance then, Brother Lu. Lu Ye could not help but look forward to it.
An Armor Golem I dont know if its the same as what I imagined, but it can only be a good thing.
This Battle Royale of the Legates had been an eye-opener in every way. The more he learned, the more he discovered that the Cultivation World was unfathomable.
It was a lively gathering, but they didnt let down their guard. There were plenty of ghost cultivators standing guard about five kilometers away from the Mystic Fruit Tree in case Thousand Demon Ridge decided tounch a sneak attack. Although it was an unlikely possibility, that was no reason to let their guard down.
At some point, the scent of the Mystic Fruits vanished without warning. All the cultivators who noticed this immediately looked at the Mystic Fruit Tree. As expected, the nine blue fruits had ripenedpletely. At the same time, the barrier surrounding it had vanished as well.
Speaking of which, the main reason Thousand Demon Ridge hadnt destroyed the Mystic Fruit Tree when they were pushed out from this location was because it was protected by an invisible barrier, one that would not disappear until the tree had fully ripened. Thanks to it, no one could even get close to the tree, much less destroy the Mystic Fruit Tree. Otherwise, Thousand Demon Ridge would a thousand percent have destroyed the Mystic Fruit Tree already. After all, why leave something beneficial to the enemy if you had the option to destroy it?
It wasnt long before everyone was staring at the Mystic Fruits with greed. Although it was impossible to predict the effects of a seed, few had ever caused disappointment. Worst case scenario, they could sell it to the Vault of Providence and earn a hundred thousand Contribution Points.
In that sense, every Mystic Fruit was beyond invaluable.
Everyone was staring at the Mystic Fruits, but no one made a move to grab them as a matter of course. Anyone who tried would be a smear of blood in less than a second.
Fellow Cultivator Li, if you may? Someone spoke up suddenly, and everyones eyes were drawn to Li Baxian for a moment.
The sword cultivator smiled politely before sping his hands together and bowing respectfully in every direction. Thank you for your trust in me, everyone. Then, without further ado
He leaped into the air and stayed there for a bit. He looked like he was trying to choose the best fruit, though it was impossible to tell if there was even a difference at all. A short whileter, he plucked a Mystic Fruit from its branch, produced a wooden box, and stored it safely. He then flew up to Lu Ye and passed him the box. This is for you. Both of you.
Lu Ye looked like he couldnt believe that Li Baxian was giving him such a valuable gift, so the sword cultivator exined, As the others had mentioned earlier, Sister Hua Cis and your contributions in this battle royale are unparalleled. Rather than just thanking you verbally, we unanimously agreed gifting you a Mystic Fruit would be a much betterpensation.
Meng Si also nodded and said, It is what the Crimson Blood Sect deserves. Please, ept it.
.
Lu Ye looked around him and found only smiles and approving gazes.
It was a sudden boon that Lu Ye hadnt expected at all. Of course he would like to have a Mystic Fruit, but as his senior brother had mentioned earlier, the ownership of the fruits were going to be determined via bidding. They were supposed to go to the highest bidder.
The Crimson Blood Sect was, to put it mildly, in a bad state right now. Besides a couple of fish, shrimps and Spirit Peaks, they had absolutely nothing at all. He had believed that they were out of this auction before it even began.
He was just wondering how much they were going to get in proceeds when the auction was over when Li Baxian suddenly announced the pleasant surprise.
That said, it was a deserving reward for the two people who were the turning point of their victory. Without the core of cultivators they had formed during the first half of the battle royale, they would not have what they had today. When then Chess Inds hadpleted the final merging, their high level cultivators had been busy running away from Thousand Demon Ridge, and even Li Baxian and his group of dozens had to escape to Lu Yes group to survive, much less everyone else. It was the low level cultivators battles in the outer ring that extinguished the rising morale of Thousand Demon Ridge and turned the tidespletely.
A verbal thanks wasnt nearly enough to make up for what they had done for all of them. The only properpensation there was a Mystic Fruit.
As Meng Si said, it was what they deserved.
Chapter 202: Return
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 202: Return
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye could not find it in himself to turn down such a valuable treasure, so he epted the wooden box from Li Baxian, passed it to Hua Ci and sped his hands together. Thank you everyone for your love and generosity. The two of us will engrave this kindness in our hearts.
Li Baxian smiled. Since you have a Mystic Fruit, you wont be getting the proceeds of the auction. Do you understand this?
Of course. Its only right.
The Mystic Fruit alone was worth the trip. To desire the proceeds that were supposed to be split among those who could not obtain a Mystic Fruit as well would be insensitive to the extreme.
Li Baxian looked at everyone and asked, I will be conducting this auction. Is everyone okay with this?
The answer was a resounding yes, and not just because they had decided this beforehand. Some of the Legates and prolegates present were older and more prestigious than Li Baxian, but none of them couldpare to him in strength, much less the younger ones. He was ranked tenth on the Roll of Supremacy, and he had fought Yan Xing, the first runner up to a standstill. The only cultivator present who could give him a run for his money was Feng Yuechan, and everyone knew she was deeply in love with him. There was no way she was going to undermine his authority.
Without further ado, Li Baxian started the auction immediately. In that case, let us begin the auction for the first Mystic Fruit! Bidders, you may make your bid now!
A smiling Feng Yuechan called out faster than anyone else. The Devoted Ones bid ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.
The bid was immediately challenged. Sky Origin n bids thirteen thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones!
Green Void Pce offers ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones and five kilograms of Aquamarine Heaven Divine Steel!
The ce became as boisterous as a market for a time. Practically everyone who bid for the Mystic Fruits were big sects originating from the Core Circle. Both their wealth and foundation were much greater than the sects residing in the Inner Circle and the Outer Circle.
The foundation of a sect especially wasnt something that could be built up by just one or two generations of people. It took the continuous effort of countless generations for the most sessful sects to surpass theirpetitors and be First, Second or Third-Tier sects. No one was born powerful after all. Everyone had to start somewhere and toil ceaselessly to get to where they were.
Most of the bids consisted of High-Grade Spirit Stones, and sometimes they would throw in some unique natural treasures to increase the value of their bid. There were many names that Lu Ye hadnt heard before, much less known their function.
Then again, he hadnt seen a High-Grade Spirit Stone before either. All the Spirit Stones he had obtained until now were ssified as Low-Grade. From what he heard, there were Low-Grade Spirit Stones, Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, High-Grade Spirit Stones and finally Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
Thepetition for the Mystic Fruits was fierce yet peaceful. The first Mystic Fruit was won by a big sect hailing from Wu Zhou. After Li Baxian had announced the result, the Legate of the sect saluted in all directions and gave everyone his thanks. Then, he flew up to the Mystic Fruit Tree and searched for the best one just like Li Baxian before putting it inside a container. He was out of the auction after that.
The auctionsted two hours in total. Near the end, the Legates had ramped up the bids to levels he could scarcely imagine. When all was said and done, there were eight happy winners and countless more not-too-unhappy losers. After all, the effects of a Mystic Fruit were random. No one knew if the Mystic Fruit someone got was worth the price until they determined its exact effects.
In fact, the only clear winner here was the Crimson Blood Sect. They were the only ones who obtained a Mystic Fruit without having to pay a single Spirit Stone.
The Legates were only representing their sects, so of course they couldnt pay the bid price immediately. It would have to wait until they returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and Jiu Zhou and reported back to their sects. Their sects would then gather the resources that were promised and distribute them to all relevant parties.
Grand Sky Coalition would be overseeing this matter because they had people that specifically dealt with this type of matter. After all, the proceeds of the auction had to be distributed not just to the sects of the surviving Legates, but also those who had perished inbat as well. Of course, what was a massive sum of resources would be a pittance after it was split evenly between all the sects, but it was still better than nothing.
You should give the Mystic Fruit to Shui Yuan when you head back, junior brother. She will process the flesh for you, Li Baxian advised Lu Ye.
Got it.
The sword cultivator then patted him on the shoulder and said, Youre growing quickly, but make sure it did note at the expense of your skills, okay? You need time to grow into your power.
Yeah.
Some timeter, rumbles came from every direction, and the entire continent was shaking like an earthquake. The massive continent was splitting up into Chess Inds once more, meaning that the Battle Royale of the Legates had finallye to an end.
Lu Yes surroundings were distorting and blurring all around him. It was as if they were ovepping with another space.
Take care, Brother Li, Sister Feng! Lu Ye bid the two cultivators goodbye formally.
Beside him, Hua Ci also bowed respectfully to her seniors.
Take care! Li Baxian nodded back.
People were bidding each other goodbye everywhere. Lu Ye turned around and saw Lan Yudie, Gao Tai, Lu Yushan and his junior sister. He bid them goodbye as well.
The spatial distortion worsened, and before Lu Ye and Hau Ci knew it they were standing in the Outposts Sanctum of Providence once more. The Grand Sky Coalition cultivators surrounding him just a moment ago were nowhere to be seen.
Hua Cis Wolf Golem was still with her though, and thank the Heavens for that. It would be a shame to lose all the Storage Bags it was carrying.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci exchanged a smile with each other. The battle royal hadsted a month, and what a month it had been. It would go down as one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
Youre finally back!
A voice came from outside the sanctum. Lu Ye turned toward the source of the voice and saw it was Chen Yu.
He told Hua Ci, Head back to the sect first and inform the sect master and Sister Shui about our safe return. Ill be right behind you.
Mm, Hua Ci responded simply before teleporting back to the sect using the Divine Opportunity Column.
Lu Ye then stepped out of the Sanctum of Providence and sat down on a chair. While rxing, he asked, Why were you standing outside? I thought you were a crook for a second, you know?
That was what he said, but the Outpost was the safest ce on the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. It wasnt until now that Lu Ye finally rxedpletely.
Chen Yu hurriedly answered, We independent cultivators are already infinitely grateful that the Crimson Blood Sect would allow us to use their Outpost. How could I test that generosity by invading a key location such as the Sanctum of Providence?
Speaking of which, the independent cultivators they had gathered so far were of good characteror rather, they were all wise enough not to give in to stupidity under Chen Yus management. The Outpost might have been semi-abandoned for decades, but no independent cultivator had ever dared to take it over.
So, why do you want to speak with me? Lu Ye asked while cracking his neck. They had interacted with each other a couple times now, so they were past the point where they were strangers. Lu Ye had even asked Chen Yu to buy Spirit Pills for him some time ago.
Chen Yu responded with a question of his own, I heard that the Crimson Blood Sect is recruiting new disciples again. Is that true?
Lu Ye shot him a nce. Youre pretty quick on the uptake.
Shui Yuan had in fact mentioned this before. In the past, the Crimson Blood Sect could not recruit disciples and was basically pending their name to be struck off the list. After Lu Ye and the Rogue Wanderers Clubs had joined the sect though, his senior sister saw no reason to hold back any longer.
As a Legate, Lu Ye possessed the right to recruit disciples from the Spirit Creek Battlefield, initiates to be exact. The initiates must go through a period of examination first before they were allowed to be official disciples.
Also, Shui Yuan had told him to absorb as many independent cultivators as he could because many of them were looking to be an associate of Crimson Blood Sect. Their participation would help the sects development and ensure he wasnt alone if new crises were to befall the sect.
Previously, Lu Ye had no time to consider this because he was preparing for the Battle Royal of the Legates. He did not think that the news would spread before he even began to handle it.
On second thought, it was probably Kong Niu or Ruan Lingyu who leaked the news; Ruan Lingyu most likely because the girl loved to visit the bazaar.
So its true? Chen Yu eximed in pleasant surprise.
You seem pretty happy about this. Are you nning to join the Crimson Blood Sect yourself? Lu Ye asked.
Oh, yes. I do hope Im qualified for this opportunity.
Youre a Seventh-Order cultivator though. It shouldnt be hard for you to join a good sect, so why wait for the Crimson Blood Sect?
Chen Yu let out a bitter chuckle. Big sects prefer to recruit non-cultivators with potential than semi-aplished cultivators like me because its the best way to cultivate loyalty and a sense of belonging in their disciples. Also, I wouldnt be valued as highly if I were to join any other sect. Seventh-Order cultivators are a Spirit Stone a dozen in any sect, you know.
That was the truth. Even a Ninth-Tier sect in the Outer Circle owned a lot of Seventh or Eighth-Order cultivators. They just werent seen often because they were all training in the Inner Circle.
While Chen Yu was qualified to be the Legate of a Ninth-Tier sect, who in the world would dare to entrust such an important position to a new recruit?
This reminded Lu Ye of Dong Shu Ye. The man used to be the Legate of the Nine Star n until he joined another faction and became the personal bodyguard of a hedonistic young master instead. It was the epitome of a fall from grace.
I have been here since I was a Second-Order cultivator, and Ive developed an attachment to this ce. Its not just me either, there are a lot of independent cultivators living in the area who share the same story. We independent cultivators usually have no one to rely on but ourselves, but here in the Outpost we are able to meet up and form amunity of some sort. Even if the Crimson Blood Sect had never intended for this to happen, it did not change the fact that you had given us a shelter.
It was because the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost was guarded by Gray. The enemy would have to be crazy or extremely confident to provoke the beast.
If its not too presumptuous, may I suggest that the Crimson Blood Sect considers us independent cultivators during the recruitment? What weck in talent, we make up for with our loyalty and sense of belonging. Its just that we have never dared to call ourselves disciples of the Crimson Blood Sect, Chen Yu said sincerely.
Is this your personal opinion?
The independent cultivator shook his head. Its not just me. There are many others who think the same. Im just the one they chose to carry the word.
While propping up his chin with one hand and tapping his knee with the other, Lu Ye said in a rxed voice, You are aware that the Crimson Blood Sect is not your average Ninth-Tier sect, right? Youll face far more dangers than normal. You shouldve heard what happened to me at the Goldentip.
Chen Yu replied, What is cultivation if not a journey full of dangers? Its not like remaining independent is going to improve our safety either; would a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator let us go just because were independent? Of course not. As for your magnificent battle at the Goldentip, of course weve heard about it, and we all admire you for what youve done. While we are incapable of replicating the feat, we swear to defend the Crimson Blood Sects honor to thest if you would ept us!
Chapter 203: Congratulations From All Parties
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 203: Congrattions From All Parties
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In front of the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye thought for a moment before replying, Ill speak to the Sect Master about this. Ill inform you once I have something concrete.
He did not give Chen Yu an immediate response.
No problem. Thank you for your trouble.
After Chen Yu had left, Lu Ye was going to tally his rewards when suddenly, he received a message from his Battlefield Imprint. It was Shui Yuan. Lunch is ready. Come back soon!
The delicious food his senior sister cooked shing across his mind, he decided that the tallying could wait and stood up. He then walked back to the Divine Opportunity Column and teleported back to the sect.
His senior sister had most likely prepared the food ahead of time. She was just waiting for Lu Ye and Hua Ci toe home.
First things first, Lu Ye went to visit the Sect Master. Although Hua Ci had informed him that both her and Lu Ye had emerged from the Battle Royale of the Legates safe and sound, the Sect Master still took a moment to inspect Lu Ye and confirm that he was indeed unharmed. Finally, he nodded and said, Go. Your senior sister has prepared a lot of delicious food for you two.
He did not ask Lu Ye how he did in the Battle Royale of the Legates. He was an old man, and all he wanted was for his few remaining disciples to return home unharmed. Nothing else mattered.
Yes!
With that done, Lu Ye quickly joined his fellow disciples at the dining table. It wasnt long before the ce was filled with the sounds of eating, cheer and gusto.
Outside the door, Amber stared at the Wolf Golem Hua Ci had brought back up and down before dropping it to the ground. It grunted in satisfaction after it nted a couple of footprints on the mechanical creation.
Meanwhile, Tang Yi Feng was meditating in his bedroom when suddenly, he opened his eyes and checked his Battlefield Imprint. It was Pang Zhen sending him a message that didnt seem to make any sense. The Crimson Blood Sect has recruited a pair of great disciples, Elder Tang!
The message did not exin why Pang Zhen thought this, but since it came right after the Battle Royale of the Legates, did that mean that Lu Ye and Hua Ci had performed well during the battle royale?
He was just about to shoot back a reply when he received another message. This time, it came from the old fox presiding over The Devoted Ones. When is the Crimson Blood Sect dissolving? This is my reservation for your two disciples, Lu Ye and Hua Ci for when it happens.
Fuck off! Tang Yi Feng shot back without hesitation.
This was just the beginning. For the next hour or so, he would continuously receive messages from nearly every Sect Master in Jiu Zhou, and a lot of them came from major sects too. There were so many that even he was unable to look through and reply to all of them. The torrent of messages eventually slowed down to a stream, but he was still receiving new messages after half a day had passed.
From what he could tell, most of the messages could be broken down into three categories: congrattions, thank yous on behalf of their disciples, and requests to form an alliance with the Crimson Blood Sect. To say that he was both baffled and bewildered would be an understatement. The only thing he knew for certain was that his disciples had achieved something big during the battle royale; something so incredible that it affected not just a sect or two, but the entire Grand Sky Coalition, though he still had no idea what it was.
Tang Yi Feng shot a message to Pang Zhens Battlefield Imprint. Whats going on?
Pang Zhen replied quickly, Why are you asking me? Havent you heard it from your disciples already? Or are they still away from the sect for some reason?
No, theyve alreadye home.
Then ask them yourself.
The kids are enjoying lunch right now. I dont want to disturb them. Just tell me already.
And so Pang Zhen told him everything that had happened during the Battle Royale of the Legates.
Tang Yi Feng was speechless for a long, long time after Pang Zhen was done. Then, he burst outughing.
He never imagined that Lu Ye and Hua Ci, two Sixth-Order cultivators would be able to achieve so much in the Chess Sea. He had only intended for them to rue some experience and broaden their horizons, but instead they saved the future of Grand Sky Coalition for decades toe. It was a once-in-a-century achievement that only his first disciples battle from forty years ago couldpare.
Unfortunately, his first disciple ultimately fell from grace and even dragged the sect down with him. Just a day ago, they were still treated as the sinner who had single handedly lost the Grand Sky Coalition its golden age.
Decades after that fateful day, the disciples of Crimson Blood Sect had saved the Grand Sky Coalition from a bleak future. Hopefully, this was enough to wash off at least some of their past sins.
It was the best news Tang Yi Feng had heard since forever.
By the way, Ive given the order to suppress all information regarding their involvement in the battle royale. Well keep Thousand Demon Ridges eyes away from the Crimson Blood Sect for as long as possible, Pang Zhen sent another message.
Thank you, Tang Yi Feng replied.
Youre wee. Its only right for me to protect the young just like you protected us back then.
After that, Tang Yi Feng focused on responding to all the messages he received until now. Only then did he leave his bedroom and visit the canteen.
At the canteen, the Crimson Blood Sect disciples were still gorging themselves on Shui Yuans food when suddenly, the Sect Master appeared at the entrance. They hurriedly stopped what they were doing and rose to their feet.
Tang Yi Feng waved them down and said smilingly, At ease.
Then, he looked at Shui Yuan and said, I feel like cooking today. Can you prepare some food ingredients for me? Thank you. He then went straight to the kitchen.
For a few seconds, the gang simply exchanged incredulous looks with each other. Then, Lu Ye asked Shui Yuan, The Sect Master can cook?
Shui Yuan giggled. Of course he can. Hes the one who taught me how to cook. She then followed the sect master into the kitchen.
One thing puzzled her, however. The old man looked unusually happy today. Did he finally make things right with Lady Yun and spend a jolly night with herst night? Or was it something else?
When lunch was finally over, everyones belly was bulging to a certain degree. Yi Yi even poked at Ruan Lingyus round tummy until the girl yelled for her to stop. No one expected their Sect Master, a Divine Ocean Realm Master of all people to possess such excellent cooking skills.
After a most satisfying meal, Lu Ye bid everyone goodbye before heading straight into his room. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He and Hua Ci had barely had any time to properly rest after they entered the Chess Sea. As a result, they were worn down to the bone even though they were cultivators.
He didnt know how long he slept, but his nose felt ticklish all of a sudden. He blearily opened his eyes and found Yi Yi poking his nose with his own hair.
He slowly sat up with a dazed expression on his face.
Yi Yi brought him a bowl of fresh water and wet a towel. Wake up, sleepyhead. Youve been asleep for almost a whole day and night.
Lu Ye didnt respond to her, so she pped the towel right across his face and scrubbed away at full force.
Im awake! Im awake! Lu Ye said as the cold water finally pulled him out of his sleep haze. He grabbed the towel and climbed off his bed.
How was the sect while Hua Ci and I were gone? Lu Ye asked while freshening himself.
Yi Yi hummed a small tune while standing next to him with her hands ced behind her back. Pretty good. Its less lively without you and sister Hua Ci, but thats it.
The girl was enjoying the time of her life right now. It was to the point where she thought of her first meeting with Lu Ye as a meeting of destiny.
If she and Amber hadnt encountered Lu Ye, there was a high chance they wouldve been captured by cultivators who were stronger than them eventually. She dared not to think what wouldve happened then.
While her adventure with Lu Ye was hardly peaceful, she was now a Crimson Blood Sect disciple with loving elders like the Sect Master and Shui Yuan, and ymates like Lingyu. If this wasnt the best time of her life, she didnt know what was.
After Lu Ye had put away the towel, he suddenly turned toward Yi Yi and watched her carefully.
Whats wrong? Yi Yi asked in puzzlement.
Instead of answering, Lu Ye gave her cheeks a pinch.
What are you doing? Yi Yi asked again in an unclear voice.
Youre starting to feel more and more like a real person, Lu Yemented in astonishment, Also is it just me, or are you getting fat?
Yi Yi pulled away in panic. What? Im not fat! Stop making fun of me! eximed the girl before touching her own face uncertainly.
No, Im serious. Youre not just fatter, youre bigger as well, Lu Ye said seriously. I had no idea that ghosts could grow up. How very interesting.
Yi Yi turned tomato red when she caught his meaning. Where are you looking at!?
Is it because of Amber? Lu Ye ignored her and mused to himself. Not only was Amber much strongerpared to thest time he saw it, it had asked him for the dragon scale immediately after they were reunited. Lu Ye had no reason to turn it down of course. Just like the previous time, the tiger had copsed immediately after inhaling a whiff of Blood Qi from the dragon scale. It kind of reminded him of a junkie, to be honest.
Im telling sister Hua Ci about this, you pervert! Yi Yi stomped her foot and ran out of the room.
Lu Ye stepped out of his room feeling fully refreshed. However, he ran into Ruan Lingyu almost immediately. For some reason, the young girl was giving him the evil eye and even standing in his path. She then put her hands on her waist, stomped her foot and let out a loud humph. It was probably a protest against him bullying her best friend.
Have you finished your cultivation quota for the day? Lu Ye looked down on her.
Ruan Lingyu immediately deted. N-no. I havent started yet.
Then what are you doing here? Get cultivating already!
Y-yes. The girl hurriedly ran toward the Sanctum of Providence with an aggrieved look on her face.
Senior sister, Lu Ye greeted when Shui Yuan walked up to him.
His senior sister passed him a familiar-looking wooden box and said, Im still processing the flesh of the Mystic Fruit, but the seed is ready to be used, so take it. I dont know about its effects yetyoull have to inject your Spiritual Power into it and find out for yourself.
He wondered why his senior sister didnt just investigate the seeds effects herself when she exined, Some seeds only recognize one master, and its usually on a firste-first-serve basis. Thats why you need to do this yourself.
The flesh of a Mystic Fruit possessed incredible recovery effects, but it would be a waste to consume it as it was. That was why Li Baxian had advised him to give it to Shui Yuan.
Shui Yuan was a medicine cultivator and a pill cultivator. She was the best candidate in the sect to process the Mystic Fruits flesh.
On a side note, it was quite the interesting coincidence that two of the six disciples of the Crimson Blood Sect were medicine cultivators. Every other sect had the least percentage of medicine cultivators.
Lu Ye epted the box with a thanks and opened it right away. He discovered that it was holding what seemed like a blue gem. In fact, he absolutely couldve confused it with a sapphire if he hadnt known that this was the seed of the Mystic Fruit.
Just in case, he looked at Shui Yuan for confirmation. His senior sister nodded affirmatively and said, You are looking at the seed of the Mystic Fruit.
Lu Ye hid a sigh. He shouldve known thatmon senseeven themon sense of a Cultivation Worlddid not apply to the Mystic Fruits.
Would you like to give it a go now? Shui Yuan asked. She wanted to know about the effects of the seed just as much as him.
He nodded and held the blue-colored seed in his palm. As soon as he channeled his Spiritual Power, he was hit by a somewhat familiar feeling. It felt like he was entering the Vault of Providence
Chapter 204: Recruitment Drive
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 204: Recruitment Drive
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When a person enters the Vault of Providence, their physical body would be left behind. That was more or less what Lu Ye was feeling after channeling his Spiritual Power into the seed.
In fact, the feeling was strongerpared to when he entered the Vault of Providence. Everything looked exactly the same as it was in the real world. He felt like he was physically standing wherever he was right now.
First things first, Lu Ye tried to sense his physical body. After he confirmed that a link existed, he rxed and examined his surroundings.
He was inside a small room right now. His senses told him that there was absolutely nothing in it besides him.
After searching around for a bit and confirming that it really was empty, he finally walked up to the doorthe one and only exit of this roomand gave it a push.
Suddenly, a few lines of words appeared on the door like water ripples. It stated: All who wish to enter the Rift of Illusions must pay fifty Contribution Points.
Lu Ye furrowed his brow for a moment. 50 Contribution Points wasnt cheaphis Invible was only 138 Contribution Pointsbut it also meant that the potential rewards lying behind this door were worth that much. Recalling what Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had told him earlier, Lu Ye prayed to find a leyline that produces all kinds of High-Grade and Top-Grade Spirit Stones behind the door.
Lu Ye gave the door another push and felt his Battlefield Imprint warming up a little. He didnt inspect it because it was probably just the Heavens taking its toll. He felt the same thing when he was buying stuff in the Sanctum of Providence.
Lu Ye stepped through the door. What he saw froze him in his tracks.
Back in the real world, Lu Ye suddenly jolted back to reality. He was immediately assaulted by a powerful headache that felt like needles pricking inside his brain.
Shui Yuan had been watching over him this whole time. She asked concernedly the moment he came to, Are you alright?
Lu Ye shook his head. He felt like his brain was rattling inside his skull.
So? What are the effects of this seed? Shui Yuan asked curiously. For some reason, Lu Ye looked like he had just fought a battleone he had lost no less.
Lu Ye told her everything he experienced, and Shui Yuans eyes widened in astonishment. Ive never heard of a seed with such an effect. Can I try?
After receiving the Mystic Fruits seed from Lu Ye, Shui Yuan sat down on the ground and channeled her Spiritual Power into it. Just like him, her consciousness departed her body to somewhere, leaving her body behind.
Lu Ye dutifully watched over his senior sister despite his headache. Over time, it gradually faded into a mild, unpleasant feeling.
Two whole hourster, Shui Yuan finally exhaled and opened her eyes. She looked a little pale and tired as she returned the seed to Lu Ye. This is a great seed. If you use it well, youll be able to improve yourbat skills rapidly. That said, it wears out the users mind considerably. Be sure not to use it when youre fatigued, or you might hurt yourself.
I know, Lu Ye replied while putting away the seed. He could not im that his earlier experience was a pleasant oneone might even say that his fifty Contribution Points had gone down the drainbut he could not deny that it was an amazing item.
It was as his senior sister said. If he used the seed well, he would be able to improve hisbat skills rapidly. In fact, that was exactly what he needed right now.
Even better, the seed wasnt keyed to one person only. Anyone could use it if they had the Contribution Points to spare. This was where its true value lied.
Oh right, theres something I need to consult with you about, senior sister. Remember that time we talked about recruiting associates? Some of the independent cultivators at the bazaar caught wind of the news and inquired about it.
Shui Yuan replied, Youre the Legate of the Outpost, so you do not need to consult me on this. Just do whatever you want.
Arent you afraid I might screw this up?
His senior sister chuckled. Before you came, the sect was a few years or even months away from being removed from the list of sects forever. It is thanks to you we are able to maintain the status quo. So yes, I trust in your judgment.
I understand. That was all he needed to hear.
After he bid Shui Yuan goodbye, Lu Ye returned to the Outpost using the Divine Opportunity Column and sent out a couple of messages. Soon, Hua Ci and everyone were lined up in front of him.
Lu Ye looked at the five Crimson Sect disciples one by one before starting, You might have already noticed, but we are the only disciples in our sect. In fact, Im pretty sure were the smallest sect in the entire Jiu Zhou. That is why Id like to start a recruitment drive. It is the only way the sect can grow further and have a future. Does everyone agree with me?
Yi Yi immediately raised her hand and dered, I agree! Amber also growled in agreement. Lu Ye shot them both an approving nce.
Ruan Lingyu was Yi Yis best ymate, so of course she raised both hands in support of her. Even the stiff-faced Kong Niu had raised his hand in agreement.
Everyone turned to look at Hua Ci, and the medicine cultivator shrugged. Youre the Legate. Just do whatever you want. You dont need to consult our opinions, do you?
In fact, I do. I may be the Legate, but the sect belongs to everyone. I will not abuse my authority like a tyrant. Also I would strongly advise you to fix your attitude, fellow cultivator Hua Ci.
The serious rebuke caught Hua Cipletely off guard. What did I do?
Lu Ye looked at her seriously. Have you forgotten that youre the prolegate? From the moment the back of your hand was marked with the symbol of the Crimson Blood Sect, the sects honor and disgrace has be your honor and disgrace. It is your responsibility to develop the sect and share the Legates burden.
Hua Ci thought for a moment before nodding in apology. Youre right. Im still behaving as if Im still the queen of Mount Ying. My apologies.
Im d you can see that! Lu Ye shot her an approving nce. Since we are all in agreement, let us begin the Crimson Blood Sects recruitment drive right away! Prolegate Hua Ci, I want you to draft the n and the necessary procedures as soon as possible. While there are a lot of independent cultivators at the bazaar who wish to join the sect, we cannot possibly ept all of them. Its one thing to grow our numbers and another to have no standards, so please discuss among yourselves as to what these standards might be. Does anyone have a question?
Hua Ci shot him a suspicious look. I do.
Speak!
If I am going to spearhead the recruitment drive, then what are you going to do?
Lu Ye answered without hesitation, I am the Legate of the Outpost. In a sense, I am the face of the sect. Currently, I am only a Sixth-Order cultivator, while everyone elses Legate is at least a Seventh-Order cultivator or higher. Therefore, my first priority is to increase my cultivation level to meet the standard as soon as possible. Im sure youll all agree with me.
Everyone stared at him, but Lu Ye continued as if he didnt notice, If were all in agreement, then lets get to work immediately. Time waits for no one!
While Hua Ci and the others were busy nning the recruitment drive, Lu Ye ran off to the training chambers not to cultivate as he told the others he would, but to install some Gathering Spirits.
Currently, everyone in the sect had a private training chamber of their own. Each chamber contained a Circle of Boon and three Gathering Spirits in total. This equipment ensured that everyone was cultivating at a highly boosted rate.
However, this equipment wouldnt be enough when the independent cultivators joined the sect especially since independent cultivators were generally untalented and slow to cultivate. The only way to boost their cultivation speed was to install more Gathering Spirits.
One or few powerful individuals wasnt enough to make a sect powerful. If the Crimson Blood Sect wished to be stronger, then they must improve themselves in every aspect. Ensuring their cultivation facilities could keep up with the demand was one such aspect, and it so happened that Lu Ye was equipped to deal with it.
While Lu Ye was busy constructing Gathering Spirits in the training chambers, the others hade up with the first draft of the recruitment n and procedures in just half a day. Lu Ye thought it was a passable n, though just in case he asked Hua Ci to bring it to Shui Yuan to iron out the details.
The next day, Ruan Lingyu hopped, skipped and jumped into the bazaar. A lot of independent cultivators greeted her warmly and even offered her delicious food.
Many of them were acquainted with Lingyu because she frequented the bazaar a lot. There was also the fact that she was a Crimson Blood Sect disciple.
There was a notice board at the entrance of the bazaar. It had been set up by the independent cultivators a long time ago to promote all kinds of things. There were resource hunt notices, party invitation notices, and so on.
After Lingyu had arrived at the entrance, she fished out a notice from a Storage Bag and pped it on the noticeboard.
A female cultivator immediately asked when she saw this, Whats this about, lil Lingyu? Oh no, did you lose a precious item or something?
What? Lingyu lost a precious item?
What is it? Well find it for you.
The nearest independent cultivators immediately roused to action.
No, I didnt lose anything. This is the notice for our recruitment drive, Lingyu replied while making sure that the notice was as pretty as it could be.
The female cultivator smiled. I see. Its a recruitment d she abruptly cut herself off and stared at the notice for a second. Then, she took off toward the Sanctum of Providence like her life depended on it.
Meanwhile, the rest of the independent cultivators had realized the same and ran up to the notice board. Ruan Lingyu was pushed away from the notice board immediately.
The Crimson Blood Sect is recruiting! Someone shouted in excitement. It didnt take long before the word was spread to every corner of the bazaar.
Meanwhile, a couple of desks and chairs had been set up in front of the Sanctum of Providence. Hua Ci was sitting at a desk with a small book in front of her. Kong Niu sat to her right, and Yi Yi to her left. They were also holding a book of their own.
Chen Yu was standing at the side with a silly grin on his face. As the bazaars manager and the cultivator with the highest cultivation level in the bazaar, he was of course the first person to be registered in this recruitment drive. His name was listed on the first line and first page of Hua Cis book, followed by his background and cultivation level. He had stayed behind after registering to maintain order and to offer his opinion when applicable. It was because he knew many of the independent cultivators living in the bazaar to a good degree.
It wasnt long before they saw a swarm of cultivators running toward them at full speed. The first person to reach them was the female cultivator who spoke to Ruan Lingyu a while ago. While panting heavily, she asked, Is this the registration?
Chapter 205: Gains
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 205: Gains
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Sanctum of Providence was usually as empty as it was silent, but today it was bustling with activity. The independent cultivators had split into three lines in front of Hua Ci, Yi Yi and Kong Nius tables to register their basic information such as name, background, cultivation level, cultivation period, talents and so on.
They wouldnt be joining the Crimson Blood Sect immediately after the registration, of course. That would be no different from epting anyone and everyone into the sect. This was just basic information gathering. When all was said and done, Lu Ye and Hua Ci would go through the papers and select those they believed were qualified to join the sect; the behemoths among the dwarves so to speak.
When the day turned into night, they finally registered every independent cultivator that had gathered in front of the Sanctum of Providence.
Lu Ye was sitting on the stairs and going through a book when suddenly, he asked with a frown, Whos the one who wrote this book?
He was asking because the handwriting was god awful. It was so terrible that he, a cultivator had to squint to identify the chicken scratch before his eyes.
Me! A stuffy voice answered. Lu Ye looked up and saw Kong Niu shooting him a silly grin. There was nothing he could say to that.
After he put away the registration books, Lu Ye spoke up, Thank you all for your hard work. Hua Ci, Chen Yu, please stay with me for the moment. The rest of you may take your leave.
Ruan Lingyu, Yi Yi and Kong Niu left after he said this. The two girls went to the headquarters while Kong Niu went to the training chambers. It was because he wanted to cultivate.
Kong Niu was an extremely hard-working man who more or less spent all of his time cultivating at the training chambers unless it was mealtime. In the past, he couldnt progress as much as he would like because the environment of Mount Ying wasnt cultivation-friendly so to speak. It was a different story after he joined the Crimson Blood Sect though. Not only was there an abundance of cultivation resources, the World Spirit Qi in the training chambers were incredibly dense. Mount Ying had nothing on the Outpost.
He was deeply appreciative of what he had right now. That was why he did not want to waste even a second of it.
Lu Ye, Hua Ci and Chen Yu had stayed behind to go through the list of independent cultivators and select those who were qualified to join the sect. The reason Chen Yu was here was because of his knowledge. While he couldnt im to know every man and woman down to the color of their underwear, he knew them better than Lu Ye and Hua Ci at the very least. There was no doubt that his help would ensure the quality of their recruits and speed up the screening process.
There were a total of four hundred and thirty two long-stay independent cultivators in the bazaar, and that the number of names that had been registered in the books. In other words, every single independent cultivator had registered to join the Crimson Blood Sect. Their enthusiasm had exceeded Lu Yes expectations to say the least. He had thought it would be good if even half of them came to register to join the Crimson Blood Sect.
It was well into the night when the trio finally finished their work. A hundred people were chosen to join the sect as disciples, while those who did not make the cut were given the choice to be an associate. Judging from the enthusiasm he had seen today, Lu Ye did not think anyone would reject the offer.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, many independent cultivators willingly became associates because it would grant them ess to the sects infrastructure such as the training chambers. They would also be allowed to build their own homes within the boundaries of the Outpost and enjoy the improved World Spirit Qi of the Divine Opportunity Column.
In return, the sect required the independent cultivators to contribute in certain areas and follow orders. For example, if someone dered war on the Outpost, the associates who received the call to arms would be required to participate in the battle. Those who refused would have their associate status revoked.
Generally speaking, the personnel of each Outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield could be split into three types: disciples, cultivators-in-training from allied sects, and associated independents.
The biggest difference between a disciple and the other two types was that disciples were paid a monthly sry, which also meant ess to more cultivation resources.
Those who failed to make the cut on the first try had nothing to worry about though. Since the Crimson Blood Sect had begun recruiting once more, they were definitely not going to stop here. If their performance was good, it was only a matter of time before they were made a disciple.
Chen Yu returned to the bazaar and posted thepleted list on the noticeboard the same night. The one hundred independent cultivators who found their names on the list were overjoyed, and those who didnt were disappointed as a matter of course. That said, it wasnt all bad news since they were still given the option to be associates of the Crimson Blood Sect. Chen Yu also informed them that the sect would be recruiting more disciples in the future, so they simply needed to keep up the hard work and wait for the next opportunity.
As for Lu Ye, he had returned to the headquarters to report to his senior sister and to obtain an appropriate sum of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills.
The next day, Lu Ye and Hua Ci were standing in front the Sanctum of Providence, and their one hundred new disciples were slightly further away from them. Chen Yu was standing at the forefront of the group.
Lu Ye announced amidst a hundred pairs of excited eyes, From this day onwards, you are all initiates of the Crimson Blood Sect. The sects will is your will, and the sects pride is your pride. Today, you are proud to be able to join the Crimson Blood Sect, but in the future, it may be the sect who is honored to have you. The Sect Master believes that there will be such a day, and so do I. That day will surelye as long as we work together as one!
Yes, senior brother! Everyone roared.
Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction. Now, please step forward when your name is called!
Hua Ci brought out a name list and called out in a melodious voice, Chen Yu!
I am here! Chen Yu answered the call immediately.
Lu Ye produced an engraved blockit was his Legate Sealand invoked the Heavens. After stamping an imprint on the back of Chen Yus hand, he gave him a couple of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills. It was the monthly sry of the initiates Shui Yuan had given himst night. It wasnt muchnot even enough for half a month of cultivationbut it was the basic benefit every sect offered to their initiates. Finally, he said, Keep up the hard work.
Yes, senior brother. Chen Yu epted the offering with the utmost seriousness.
Zhang Hai.
I am here!
Liu Wu.
Every time someone was called out, Lu Ye would stamp them on the back of their hand and pay them their monthly sry. There wasnt a single person who wasnt brimming with happiness.
A million thoughts shed through Lu Yes mind as he stared at the one hundred cultivators in front of the Sanctum of Providence. With this, the Outpost finally possessed the semnce of an Outpost, but they were still a long, long way from true prosperity. None of their new recruits were particrly powerful given that Chen Yu was the only Seventh-Order cultivator among them, and there were only a handful of Sixth-Order or even Fifth-Order cultivators. Worse, none of them were particrly talented, which meant that their cultivation speed was going to be worrisome.
That said, what theycked in talent, he could make up with sheer quality of Spiritual Qi. He wasnt done setting up the Gathering Spirits at the training chambers yet, but once he was, their cultivation speedat least for the early stages of cultivationshould be on par with the average at the very least.
It didnt take long for the official registration to finish. Once the one hundred initiates were gone, the hundreds of independent cultivators waiting outside the venue came in.
These independent cultivators were here to be associates of the Outpost. They did not get a sry, and their benefits were a tad poorerpared to the initiates. For example, sect disciples would always have priority ess to the training chambers.
Lu Ye left it to Hua Ci to process the independent cultivators while he went to the training chambers to set up the Gathering Spirits.
When it was evening, Hua Ci finally messaged him to tell him that the process was done.
Lu Ye rushed back to the Sanctum of Providence where Hua Ci waited for him.
Lets begin.
He was going to improve the Outposts concentration of World Spirit Qi. It was also the biggest reward he and Hua Ci had gotten from the Battle Royale of the Legates.
The reason he hadnt done this immediately after returning to the sect was because he did not want it to influence the independent cultivators decision when he began the recruitment.
Of course, it turned out that he had overthought this. Every single independent cultivator in the bazaar had be an initiate or an associate of the Crimson Blood Sect. There were no exceptions.
Once the news had spread, he was sure that more independent cultivators would show up to join them.
At the beginning, every Outposts Spiritual Qi was ten percent higher than the wilderness. One must purchase Blessings at the Divine Opportunity Column to improve its concentration.
Before the Battle Royale of the Legates, Lu Ye had purchased a Blessing with five hundred Contribution Points, which put the Outposts Spiritual Qi at a total of twenty percent higher than the wilderness.
He had tried to purchase another Blessing only to be informed that he didnt have enough Contribution Points. Not only that, he was told it required a thousand Contribution Points to purchase the second Blessing.
Lu Ye thought then that he might have to spend exponentially more Contributions to continuously improve the concentration of the Outposts World Spiritual Qi. Li Baxian had spoken about this as well.
He checked his Battlefield Imprint. He and Hu Ci had obtained a total of eighty eight Blessings from the Battle Royale of the Legates. They were all the most basic type of Blessing and were worth five hundred Contribution Points each.
While these Blessings could be exchanged for Contribution Points, they could only be exchanged as Sect Contribution Points because they were technically wealth that belonged to the sect.
There was some room for maneuver when exchanging between Sect Contribution Points and Personal Contribution Points. For example, Lu Ye could convert his Personal Contribution into Sect Contribution Points by donating it to the Divine Opportunity Column.
In fact, the reason so many sects were able to purchase Blessings for their Divine Opportunity Column was thanks to their disciples donations. There were plenty of things in an Outpost that could only be solved via the concerted effort of many disciples.
The opposite was also true. A Legate was burdened with the important responsibility of guarding an Outpost, so they were granted the special right to obtain a portion of Sect Contribution Points as their monthly sry. The prolegatein this case, Hua Cialso possessed the same right.
If a disciple performed exceptionally well or made major contributions to the sect, they could also be rewarded with a certain amount of Contribution Points besides Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills. The Contribution Points would be obtained from the Divine Opportunity Column.
These were all basic knowledge. They were all recorded in the jade slip Li Baxian had given him before.
In the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye ced a hand on the Divine Opportunity Column before converting all eighty eight basic Blessings into Sect Contribution Points. The Crimson Blood Sects Sect Contribution Points immediately jumped up by forty four thousand.
He did not purchase the Blessings immediately, however. Instead, he used his authority to pay himself and Hua Ci their monthly sry.
Hua Ci noticed this and inspected her own Battlefield Imprint. She was shocked by what she found. What the heck?
Her Personal Contribution Points had skyrocketed by four thousand and four hundred points, or ten percent of the total Sect Contribution Points.
It was the same for Lu Ye.
You were great at the Chess Sea, but your kill count was extremely low, wasnt it? Its what you deserve.
Its still too much. I dont need this many right now.
Youll need it eventually, so just save it until then.
If it wasnt for the fact that the monthly sry could not exceed ten percent, he wouldve paid her and himself even more Contribution Points.
He and Hua Ci had put in their blood, sweat and tears to acquire all these Contribution Points. No one could say they were being unfair even if they were to split it half-half and leave nothing for the sect. That said, the Outpost desperately needed to improve its Spiritual Qi concentration right now, not to mention a couple thousand Contribution Points was pretty huge for their current level.
Chapter 206: Buying Blessings
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 206: Buying Blessings
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After deducting their sries, the Divine Opportunity Column was only left with 35,200 Sect Contribution Points.
Next, Lu Ye purchased a Blessing with a single thought. The sound of turning gears resounded, and it felt as if something inside the Divine Opportunity Column itself was changing. It was exactly the same as before.
One thousand Contribution Points were deducted from the total, but in exchange the Outposts Spiritual Qi was improved by another ten percent.
The second Blessing he purchased cost 1,500 Contribution Points, and the third cost 2,000 Contribution Points. It looked like each Blessing cost 500 Contribution Points more per purchase.
Lu Ye stopped when he had 2,700 Contribution Points left. It was because the next upgrade cost 6,000 Contribution Points.
All this time, the gears of the Divine Opportunity Column kept grinding. As expected, the purchases had induced a massive change inside the column.
At the same time, a vortex of Spiritual Qi appeared in the sky of the Outpost without warning. A massive amount of World Spiritual Qi was drawn in from every direction.
At first, the initiates and associates exploring the Outpost were greatly confused by the sudden phenomenon. They immediately realized what happened when they felt the Spiritual Qi in their surroundings improving at an incredible rate though. Loud cheers filled the Outpost for a time.
It took two whole hours before the vortex finally dissipated, leaving the Outpost with a much greater concentration of World Spiritual Qi than before
Including the Blessing Lu Ye had purchased a month ago, there were now a total of eleven Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column. This meant that the Spiritual Qi within the Outpost was 120% greater than in the wilderness!
To say this was incredible would be an understatement. One might say that ones cultivation speed had been elerated by 120%.
It was only now Lu Ye that realized just how terrible it was to lose an Outpost. In the past, he thought that losing an Outpost to an enemy wasnt too big a loss becauseassuming that the ground itself wasnt fully destroyedthey would lose some facilities and disciples at worst.
But now, he realized that losing an Outpost also mean losing all the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column! That was one or even several generations of slow umtion gone just like that! To say it would be a unbearable loss would be an understatement!
With this, he finally realized why Dong Shu Ye had left the Nine Star n as well. He was the Legate when the Mystic Sect had conquered their Outpost and stolen all the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column. There was only one way a mere Seventh-Order cultivator could atone for this sin, and that was death. Naturally, the man had run away before he could be executed.
The Battle Royale of the Legates was a festival to the sects of Jiu Zhou because it equalized the ying field and gave everyone the opportunity to plunder another sects Blessings to their hearts content.
The Crimson Blood Sect was a prime example of this. At the current stage, forty four thousand was an unimaginable amount of Contribution Points. If Lu Ye and Hua Ci hadnt performed well in the Battle Royale of the Legates, it would take god knows how many decades to umte that many Contribution Points necessary to improve the World Spiritual Qi of their Outpost to the current extent.
Thanks to them, decades of hard work had been shortened to just a single month. Not only were they able to improve the Outposts World Spiritual Qi by over a hundred percent, they themselves had gained tons of rewards.
The Battle Royale of the Legates was an opportunity for all sects to obtain a huge reward at a small cost, but of course, one must be prepared to suffer a huge loss as well. If they won then all was well, but if they lost It was one thing to lose a Blessing worth five hundred Contribution Points, and another to lose both their Legate and the prolegate.
Even so, the potential loss wasnt enough to dispel the sects enthusiasm toward their festival.
Unfortunately, the Battle Royale of the Legates only happened once every three years, so Lu Ye could hardly rely on the next instance to make his fortune. He reckoned he would be long gone by the time the next battle royale took ce.
Oh right. Lu Ye suddenly recalled something and took out his Mystic Fruit seed. Do you wanna give this a try?
What is it used for?
Lets just say its greatly beneficial to ones cultivation. Youll know exactly what I mean when you try it out yourself, Lu Ye threw the seed into Hua Cis hands.
The moment Hua Ci channeled her Spiritual Power into the seed and nked out, Lu Ye immediately broke out into a shit-eating grin.
A momentter, Hua Ci suddenly opened her eyes and let out a huge groan. At the same time, she panted heavily while sweat poured down her forehead like the rain. It wasnt until she checked her stomach as if to confirm she was unharmed before she finally let out a long sigh of relief.
I didnt scare you, did I? Lu Ye was deeply amused by her reaction. Neither he nor Shui Yuan had reacted nearly as badly as she had.
In response, Hua Ci red daggers at him and said after a long time, You owe me fifty Contribution Points!
Youre a richdy now. What do you care for fifty Contribution Points?
Hua Ci shot him another re before she finally tossed the seed back into his hands. While she could see its uses, it just wasnt suited for a medicine cultivator like her. She strode toward the exit after that.
Right as she was going to pass through the door, Hua Ci suddenly looked back with an innocent smile on her face. Try not to get hurt in the future, okay?
Lu Ye caught her meaning immediately andined, Come on, its just a small joke
After Hua Ci was gone, Lu Ye put away the Mystic Fruits seed and inspected his Battlefield Imprint.
Name: Lu Ye
Identity: Crimson Blood Sect disciple.
Cultivation: Eight Six Spiritual Points.
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution: Five Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty Two.
Five thousand Contribution Points was an incredible sum to say the least. If he were to spend it all on me of Earthen Spirits, he would be able to purchase over twenty of them in one go.
Of course, the reason he had this much was because he paid himself a sry of 4,400 Contribution Points earlier. But even without the sry, he still had almost a thousand Contribution Points thanks to all the enemies he had killed at the Chess Sea, and as a Sixth-Order cultivator no less. At the minimum, he earned fourteen Contribution Points per Seventh-Order cultivator he killed.
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. In the future, he had to participate in as many wonderful festivals like this as possible.
On a side note, he had only unlocked two Spiritual Points since he joined the Battle Royale of the Legates. It was difficult to remain at 100% Spiritual Power in abat-rich environment, and one could not cultivate unless they were at one hundred percent. Plus, all the Spiritual Power he converted had been used for recovery.
It was fine though. Now that the Outposts Spiritual Qi was 120% thicker than normal, his cultivation speed should go up tremendously.
Now that Lu Ye was, rtively speaking, rich as fuck, he did not need to worry about Contribution Points in the short term. He also had plenty of cultivation resources. He went to the Vault of Providence and paid two thousand Contribution Points to purchase ten me of Earthen Spirits in one go.
He could buy more, but the seed of the Mystic Fruit was a new sinkhole for Contribution Points. There was no harm in holding some Contribution Points in reserve.
Brimming with excitement, Lu Ye headed straight to his personal training chamber after he made his purchase.
He encountered a lot of people on the way. They all paused in their tracks to pay him their respects.
Some people addressed him as fifth senior brother because Li Baxian was the fourth disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. Although Li Baxian was now a disciple of the Devoted Ones, the Crimson Blood Sect would always have a ce for him. Hua Ci was the sixth, Kong Niu the seventh, Yi Yi the eighth, and Ruan Lingyu the ninth. That was all.
There were also people who addressed him as Legate, associates to be exact.
In the past, the Outpost was as quiet as a ghost town. Now, it was so much livelier than it was before.
After Lu Ye had entered his personal training chamber, he sat on the floor and took out the me of Earthen Spirits. Then, he waited as his Tree of Glyphs devoured the mes one by one.
Each time a me of Earthen Spirits disappeared, one of the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs would burst into mes. On average, one me of Earthen Spirits would ignite one leaf.
When all of the me of Earthen Spirits were gone, there were fourteen burning leaves on the Tree of Glyphs. This was the first time Lu Ye had ignited so many leaves in one go. Before this, he had only ignited four leaves and obtained four Glyphs in total.
He could hardly contain himself as he stared at the burning leaves. By now, he realized that each leaf represented a priceless treasure of untold value.
He sucked in a deep breath and concentrated on the fifth leaf.
A whileter, Lu Ye opened his eyes with an odd expression on his face. The good news was that learning the Glyph didnt tax him too much this time. The bad news was that the fifth Glyph was not what he expected it to be.
Previously, all the Glyphs he had obtainedSharp Edge, Protection, Gathering Spirits and Bloodragehad a clear use and focus. They were either for offense, defense, or support.
The fifth Glyph was a very special Glyph, however. It could not be used independently, meaning that it waspletely useless on its own.
To put it simply, it was a connection-type Glyph that connected multiple Glyphs together and allowed them to unleash their effects at the same time.
In fact, it might be more urate to call it a technique than a Glyph. One he had seen before, even.
There were a total of nine Glyphs in the Invible. Seven of them were used to reinforce the de, and the remaining two to increase its damage. These nine Glyphs had been connected together using some sort of technique so that they would function as one cohesive unit.
In the past, he was pretty interested in the technique butcked the time to research it in any capacity. Moreover, he was pretty sure hecked the knowledge and experience to discover anything useful even if he did spend the time. For starters, it was only now he realized that there existed a kind of Glyph that connected all kinds of Glyphs together.
Lu Ye rested for a moment before moving onto the sixth leaf. To his surprise, it was yet another connection-type Glyph, though it was vastly different from the one etched on the fifth leaf. This meant that there wasnt an all-in-one solution that connected all the Glyphs together. To put it simply, different Glyphs required different techniques to connect.
It wasnt until the seventh leaf that he finally obtained a Glyph that could function independently.
And so Lu Ye spent the whole day inspecting his new Glyphs. Every time he became tired, he would cultivate to restore his strength and focus. He didnt need to do anything special either. Thanks to Gathering Spirits, World Spiritual Qi was constantly being funneled into his body, and Gluttonous Feast was also converting the Spirit Pills he ate into Spiritual Power. In fact, you could say that he was growing his strength just by sitting on his ass, changing his cultivation discipline to Gluttonous Feast and constructing Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points. Of course, he still needed to take charge when he had umted enough Spiritual Power to attack the barrier surrounding a Spiritual Point, but that was it.
Chapter 207: Visit
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 207: Visit
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It took Lu Ye two days to examine all of the burning leaves. In conclusion, he had obtained four independent Glyphs and ten connection-type Glyphs.
There were many things he could say about his new Glyphs, but the strangest one was easily Glyph: Radiance. Long story short, it produced a bright sh upon activation. Lu Ye had nearly blinded himself the first time he gave it a go
The Glyph immediately reminded him of Luo Ji of Infinite Ind. The man had also executed a spell technique called White re that produced a powerful lightthough it was weaker than Radiancethat blinded the opponent. In fact, it was how he caught Lu Ye off guard the first time they had shed against each other.
His feelings toward the Glyph were lukewarm to say the least. It wasnt really useful, but it wasnt entirely useless either. Situational was probably the best way to describe it.
Glyph: Reinforcement was, as its name suggested, a reinforcement Glyph. He hadpared it to the Glyphs within the Immovable and found it to be very simr to the one currently reinforcing the de of the weapon. It was probably because they shared the same origin.
Reinforcement also shared simrities with Protection, though the way they functioned were quite different. If Protection constructed a barrier that shielded an object from harm, then Reinforcement made the object itself tougher. Lu Ye had tried applying it to his arm and found that the affected flesh and blood were tougher. The aftereffects were pretty bad, however. The area felt sore and ufortable after he had dispelled the Glyph, which made him realize that the Glyph was meant to be applied to Spirit Artifacts, not a persons body.
Glyph: Windwalk, on the other hand, was definitely meant to be applied to the body. It made him both lighter and faster.
In fact, there was a talisman named Move With The Wind that produced the same effect, and it had yed a crucial role back during his escape from Dong Shu Ye. Since then, he always made sure to keep a couple of Move With the Winds in his Storage Bag. Some enemies were too powerful to be beaten, and the only logical option was to run away. In those situations, Move With The Wind would undoubtedly allow him to run faster.
That said, a talisman was a consumable, and there was always a chance one could run out of consumables. It was also risky to use it in the middle ofbat given that he was abat cultivator. Now that he had Windwalk though, he could do away with Move With The Windpletely. In that sense, Windwalk was the most valuable Glyph of the fourteen Glyphs he obtained.
Glyph: Gravity Well produced an invisible, gravitational forcefield that increased the weight of everything in it. Lu Ye had tried applying it on himself and felt as if he was suddenly carrying several hundred kilograms of weight.
Although several hundred kilograms wasnt a great burden even for a Sixth-Order cultivator like him, he could imagine just how useful it would be to disrupt an opponentsbat rhythm. The first time he used it against an enemy, they would definitely be caught off guard. Once they had adjusted to the weight, he could cancel it and knock their rhythm out of whack again.
Radiance, Reinforcement, Windwalk and Gravity Well. With these new additions, Lu Ye now possessed eight independent Glyphs in total.
Just like before, none of these Glyphs improved his power or cultivation level directly. However, they could dramatically improve hisbat strength if he employed them at suitable times.
Lu Ye was slowly but surely finding out how deadly Glyphweavers were. Unlike most cultivation factions, Glyphweavers were extremely unpredictable inbat thanks to all the Glyphs they could use. If you couldnt keep up with a Glyphweaversbat rhythm, then you were probably going to die a slow and painful death.
He only knew eight Glyphs right now, but he could alreadybine them and envision all kinds of new fighting styles in his head. How strong would he be if he mastered eighteen, twenty eight, or even eighty Glyphs?
No wonder Glyphweavers were as formidable as they were rare.
There was one problem though. His Glyphs originated from the Tree of Glyphs, and thanks to it he could construct any Glyph it had unlocked perfectly. Unfortunately, like a certain guy who was handed a remote that could change time, he only knew the effects of the Glyphs but not the process that led to the oue.
This meant that it was time to pay Lady Yun a visit.
The first time he visited Lady Yun, the woman had told him to visit her when he was free probably because she found that Lu Ye had the potential to be a Glyphweaver. However, Lu Ye did not because he was was busy increasing his cultivation level for the Battle Royale of the Legates.
Not only that, he was saddled with the responsibility of improving the Outpost almost as soon as he returned. It was only now he finally had time to pay her a visit.
Back then, he had no idea who Lady Yun was. He only knew that she shared a long andplicated rtionship with the Sect Master after prodding Shui Yuan about it. The long story short was that Lady Yun detested the Sect Master had done wrong by her. On the other hand, they shared such a long and storied history with each other that there was no way they could cut ties with each other.
That was why Lady Yun chose to live alone in one of the headquarters Spirit Peaks and barely interacted with the Sect Master unless absolutely necessary. Shui Yuan visited her often to make sure that she wasnt lonely.
To put it in simpler terms, Lady Yun and the Sect Masters rtionship was partially damaged for some reason, but neither party was willing to give up on it. As a result, they had been living apart for decades now.
Despite her less-than-sterling rtionship, Shui Yuan admired Lady Yun deeply for her Glyph-weaving skills. If someone were to rank all the powerful Glyphweavers in Jiu Zhou, Lady Yun would probably be in the top twenty at the very least. And this was decades ago when her skills were less impressive too.
The only reason the entire Jiu Zhou except the older generation had forgotten about the genius woman was because she had been living in seclusion for the past few decades. She was Lu Yes best choice if he wished to study the way of the Glyphs.
Lu Ye exited the training chambers and teleported back to the headquarters from the Sanctum of Providence. Then, he sought out his senior sister.
The girl was studying a new recipe when he spoke to her about his wish. You wish to visit Lady Yun?
Yeah. Id like to learn more about Glyphs from her.
That makes sense. You carry the inheritance of a Glyphweaver, and Lady Yun is a master at the craft. But why have youe to me? Do you need me to escort you?
Of course not, its not far that I have to ask you to bring me there. Its just, well, Im visiting her to ask her for a favor, right? It wouldnt be right to see her without a gift
Shui Yuan giggled. In that case, I would suggest you catch a couple of Blood Sturgeons from the Lunarmere. Theyre her favorite food, but it usually falls on me to bring her some because she couldnt be seen debasing herself like this, especially with the Sect Master nearby. Speaking of which, never mention the Sect Master in front of Lady Yun, okay? You will regret it otherwise.
At its peak, the Crimson Blood Sect owned a vast amount of territory and dozens of Spirit Peaks. Since that fateful day, it declined to the point where even their Grand Defensive Ward had been dismissed. Although the Crimson Blood Sect still owned those Spirit Peaks, it had been ages since anyone took care of them at all. As a result, most of the buildings had crumbled into rubble that just barely retained a semnce of the sects past glory.
Today, the only two Spirit Peaks that were still in use were the Summit of Fortitude and Lady Yuns Summit of rity. The Lunarmere was located between the two Spirit Peaks.
After bidding Shui Yuan goodbye, Lu Ye was just about to make a trip to the Lunarmere when Amber ran up to him. It bumped his leg with its head and let out a cute growl. Long story short, the tiger was feeling lonely.
Lu Ye had been busy as a bee as ofte, but Yi Yi was no better. She had been staying at the headquarters more than the Outpost because she was learning spell techniques from the Sect Master.
Unfortunately, it also meant that she was spending less time with her beloved pet.
Amber was technically Lu Yes Tamed Beast, and they had adventured together for a long time. Naturally, it had developed quite the affinity with Lu Ye. It knew it was time to make an appearance when it heard Lu Ye and Shui Yuans conversation.
The ancient saying imed that you train an army for a thousand days to use them for one moment, and Amber knew it was its turn to shine.
Maybe it was because Amber was his Tamed Beast now, but Lu Ye was getting better at figuring out its thoughts. He wasnt literally speaking tiger like Yi Yi, but he understood Amber most of the time.
So, he gave it a pat on the head and dered, Lets go together then! Then, he climbed onto Ambers back. Excited, the Tamed Beast immediately took off toward the Lunarmere. It wasnt long before a beautifulke that was shaped like a half-moon entered their vision.
This wasnt the first time Lu Ye had visited the Lunarmere. When Li Baxian was still in the Crimson Blood Sect, his senior brother had often brought him here to fish.
Li Baxian enjoyed fishing as a hobby, but Lu Ye could not see any point to it. In his opinion, it was aplete waste of time to do nothing for hours when they could catch it in no time, and his opinion hadnt changed even now. So, he took off his clothes and dove into theke. Less than a minuteter, he had caught a couple of fat and juicy-looking Blood Sturgeons.
With that done, he returned to the shore, put on his clothes, and rode Amber to the Summit of rity.
When he reached the peak, he climbed off the tiger and saluted respectfully in front of the entrance, Disciple Lu Ye hase to visit you, Lady Yun.
Come in, Lady Yun responded immediately.
Lu Ye signaled Amber to wait for him with his eyes before feeding him a couple of Spirit Pills. It was only then he went inside with the Blood Sturgeons in his hands.
The hall looked the same as before. Lu Ye quickly walked up to Lady Yun and bowed, Well met, Lady Yun.
The woman nced at his gift and broke into a smile. Did Shui Yuan ask you to bring some for me?
Yes. Sister Shui said it was your favorite food, so I went to the Lunarmere to catch a couple for you.
Much appreciated. Lady Yun waved, and a servant girl stepped forward to take the Blood Sturgeons from him. She shot him a smile while doing so.
Curiosity grew inside Lu Ye as he nodded in response. He hadnt seen the girl before the first time he visited this ce, but this indicated that Lady Yun didnt truly live alone on the Spirit Peak. At the very least, she had someone to take care of her needs.
Something felt very strange about the servant girl, however. As of now, he couldnt pinpoint the source of his confusion.
Sit, Lady Yun beckoned while taking a seat herself.
Its fine. I dont mind standing.
Lady Yun didnt push him and went straight to the point, So, why have youe today?
I would like to learn more about Glyphs from you,dy.
No problem. As long as youre not here for that old fart, Lady Yun agreed immediately.
Lu Ye had no doubt she was referring to the Sect Master. Of course, he pretended he didnt hear a word about it.
Last time, you told me that you know nothing about Glyphs besides constructing those four Glyphs you showed me. Is that still true?
That is correct,dy.
Lady Yun nodded. It definitely looks like the inheritance you obtained is iplete in some ways, or maybe its because it imparts its knowledge via Enlightenment.
Chapter 208: The Two Primary Elements, Yin and Yang
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 208: The Two Primary Elements, Yin and Yang
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Last time, Lady Yun had mentioned that his inheritance might be iplete in some ways. While Lu Ye had no way of knowing if this was true, he was fairly sure that the Tree of Glyphs was the inheritance of a Glyphweaver. The only thing everyone got wrong was that he had obtained the inheritance from the Spirit Creek Battlefield, when it had been with him since he came to this world.
Of course, he saw no reason to correct the misunderstanding.
What do you wish to learn from me? Lady Yun asked.
If you dont mind, I would like to start from the very beginning.
She nodded. That is the right answer. Follow me.
She took off toward a corridor. Lu Ye followed right behind her.
A whileter, they arrived at a room. It was a much bigger room than the one where he had received his tattoo, and the walls were filled with recesses. They were used to hold books of all kinds, and at a nce it looked like there were at least a thousand books in the room. It would not be an exaggeration to call it a small library.
Not only that, Lu Ye could see Glyphs swimming around the walls like living fish. It was clear that the room was protected by extremely high level wards.
Lady Yun waved, and a book almost as thick as her finger flew into her hands. She then passed it to Lu Ye and said, We will begin our lesson after youve finished reading this book.
Lu Ye mentallyined even as he epted the book respectfully: Self-study even before the first lesson? Come on.
After Lady Yun had left the room, Lu Ye looked around and found no table and chair where he could take a seat. So, he took out a praying mat from his own Storage Bag andid it on the ground. He looked at the book after he had taken a seat.
The book didnt have a cover title. When he flipped to the first page, he saw the title Exploration of Glyph Fundamentals and the words Mu Xiaoyao underneath it. Clearly, the book had been written by a person named Mu Xiaoyao.
He turned to another page and began reading,
Chaos isposed of Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang make up all things in existence. Just as all things contain Yin and Yang, the Way of Glyphs is founded on Yin and Yang as well. Bybining the elements, one could construct an infinite amount of possibilities
Time passed. Lu Ye quickly became fully immersed in the reading.
The Exploration of Glyph Fundamentals wasnt a record of miraculous Glyphs. It was the breakdown of aplicated subject into simple and easily understandable chunks of knowledge. It was especially suited for Lu Ye because he was a semi-beginner who had mastered a small number of Glyphs. A total beginner might have struggled to understand the concepts exined inside the book, but in Lu Ye was able to process the knowledge better by referring to his Glyphs from time to time.
Before he knew it, Lu Ye had read to the end of the book. He became absorbed in thought as he held the book in one hand and propped his chin up with the other.
Have you finished? Lady Yuns voice suddenly rang beside him. Surprised, he attempted to stand when she motioned for him to stay where he was. She then sat down in front of Lu Ye.
Care to share your thoughts? Lady Yun asked.
The Way of Glyphs is broader and deeper than I could imagine, Lu Ye replied honestly. He always knew that Glyphs wereplicated, but the book opened his eyes to how deep it really was.
Lady Yun smiled. That is why there are so few Glyphweavers out there. More than just perseverance and determination, it also takes an incredible amount of talent to walk this path. Luckily for you, talent is not a problem since you possess the inheritance of a Glyphweaver.
This disciple promises to work twice as hard to study the Way of Glyphs, Lu Ye replied formally beforeunching to a new question, ording to the book, the primary elements of a Glyph is Yin and Yang, and all Glyphs can be broken down to differing numbers of Yin and Yang. Are there no exceptions at all?
Lady Yun shook her head affirmatively. There are none that I know of at the very least.
Respect welled inside Lu Ye. The person who discovered Yin and Yang is truly incredible.
In the Exploration of Glyph Fundamentals, it was stated that Chaos wasposed of Yin and Yang, and that they made up all things in existence. This was why all living and nonliving things could technically be quantified as sums of Yin and Yang, and Glyphs were the purest representation of it (T/N: I think of this as pure math as a method to observe reality).
To reiterate, a Glyph was made up of the two primary elements, Yin and Yang. The Yin element looked like a two-dimensional picture of the letter S, while the Yang element was the same letter but inverted, ?. To construct a Glyph, one mustbine and arrange the two primary elements in various ways. The Glyph would not take form if any part of the process were wrong, let alone function as intended.
To Lu Ye, constructing a Glyph was like constructing a house using two different types of building blocks, and there were, theoretically speaking, an infinite type of houses. It was up to the Glyphweaver to determine how to build a stable house that fit their purpose.
This wasnt an easy task, of course. A single Glyph contained several hundred elements at the very least, and the amount ofbinations and arrangements one could make with that many elements were almost incalcble.
This was why Lu Ye had said that the Way of Glyphs was broader and deeper than he could imagine.
When he recalled all the Glyphs he had created until now, he realized that they were allposed of Yin and Yang. In the past, he had thought that the internal structures of his Glyphs looked more or less the same, but now he knew that he couldnt be any more wrong. This was what people meant when they said that ayman admires the art, but an expert recognizes the artistry. Someone who had never studied Glyphs in their life would not be able to tell the anatomical differences between two Glyphs.
The person who discovered Yin and Yang is impressive, but the Glyphweavers who invented all kinds of Glyphs are even more impressive. Every useful Glyph we enjoy now may be the culmination of one or multiple generations of study and research. They could have performed millions, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of failed experiments before they discovered abination and arrangement of Yin and Yanga Glyphthat was usable.
Lu Ye nodded in agreement. The number sounded exaggerated, but he knew it wasnt.
It is thanks to our predecessors that we are able to enjoy the Glyphs we have today. Lady Yun looked at Lu Ye. A truly outstanding Glyphweaver isnt one who can utilize the known Glyphs to its maximum capacity, but one who can innovate new Glyphs and unveil more of its mysteries. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time before the Way of Glyphs falls to obscurity. I hope to see your work in the field one day.
I will do my best.
Lady Yun nodded. Now that you have some understanding of the fundamentals of Glyphs, it is time you solidify that knowledge with practice.
She lifted an index finger and summoned a dot of light on the fingertip. What do you see?
Lu Ye squinted for a long time before he answered in a hesitating voice, Is that a Yin element?
And now?
A Yang element?
Not bad. It takes both excellent eyesight and precise control over their own Spiritual Power to be a Glyphweaver. Now, show me what you can do. I want you to construct a Yin element and a Yang element like I did just now.
Yes!
Lu Ye adjusted his posture before lifting an index finger. Then, he attempted to construct a Yin element on the fingertip with his Spiritual Power.
Lady Yun had made the action look as easy as pie, but as with most things in life he quickly discovered that it wasnt as easy as he thought. Thankfully, he had constructed enough Glyphs to shorten his learning time even if those experiences were half-baked.
An incense stickter, a Yin elementposed of Spiritual Power appeared on his fingertip. However, Lu Ye was frowning because the Yin element he constructed was too big. Lady Yuns was so small it was nigh invisible even with a cultivators eyesight, while his was as big as a fingernail. Not only that, he was unable to hold it stable despite his best efforts. As if on cue, the element suddenly dissipated after a surge of Spiritual Power. He couldnt even maintain it for two full breaths.
Even if he managed to keep the element stable, it was too big to be used to construct a Glyph. A Glyph was made up of hundreds of elements at least, so the Glyph made up of elements this size would be incredibly huge. It would be a huge drain on his Spiritual Power if he were to use it inbat, not to mention that it wasnt stable enough.
Lady Yun smiled. Very good. When I first started practicing, it took me two days to reach this level. That inheritance you have is definitely helping, not to mention that your fine control is good because your Spiritual Power is quite pure. Do not hesitate to exploit those advantages. Now, try building a Yang element.
Lu Ye responded affirmatively before throwing himself to the work.
Thanks to the first experience, he was able to construct a Yang element much quicker this time. Unfortunately, its size and stability remained a problem he couldnt solve.
Lady Yun was more than happy with his progress, however. You are improving quickly. Now that youve learned how to construct the two primary elements, all you need to do is to practice until they be as natural as breathing. When you are able to switch between the two primary elements with ease, stabilize them, and shrink them to the size of a grain, we will continue to the next step of your training.
While saying this, she raised an arm and caused a dozen or so books to fly out of the recesses. After they had joined into a neat stack, she handed them to Lu Ye and said, Take these with you and read them at your leisure. They are all books regarding the fundamentals of Glyphs. You may return once you have met the requirements I mentioned.
Lu Ye rose to his feet and replied respectfully, Yes, maam. I will practice diligently until I am ready to return.
A short whileter, Lu Ye exited the door and bowed toward Lady Yuns residence. He then climbed onto Ambers backthe tiger had been waiting outside this whole timeand returned to the Summit of Fortitude.
So far, Lady Yun had proven herself to be a good teacher and a kind woman. In fact, he could not imagine why the Sect Master was willing to leave her alone at the Summit of rity. Whatever grave offense he mightvemitted in the past, surely she was worth apologizing to and getting back with, right? Well, it was none of his business.
After he returned to the Summit of Fortitude, he met Shui Yuan briefly before teleporting to the Outpost.
The Outpost was less noisy than he thought, not because something bad had happened, but because both their new disciples and the associates were cultivating hard right now.
Power was the root of all cultivators, and any cultivator whocked the resolve to dedicate most of their time in cultivation would not go far on this path. Considering how much better the Outposts cultivation environment was than before, any time not spent on cultivating could be considered a waste of time.
First things first, Lu Ye sought out a junior brother at the Sanctum of Providence and confirmed that there was nothing that required his attention. It was only then that he headed to the training chambers.
In the past, there were far more training chambers than there were disciples. But now, people were queuing outside the entrances even though there were several hundred training chambers in the Outpost. It wasnt like they couldnt cultivate without the training chambers, but it was so much more efficient to cultivate with a Glyph of Gathering Spirits than without.
Of course, this was just a temporary problem. Once everyone had used up their sry, the training chambers would be much less crowded than before.
Chapter 209: The Rift of Illusions
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 209: The Rift of Illusions
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye did not enter his personal training chamber. Instead, he took a moment to identify his target before moving straight toward a training chamber and opening the door with his authority as the Legate.
There was a girl cultivating inside the room, and his sudden intrusion scared her to say the least. Did I do something wrong, senior brother? As if recalling something, she suddenly hugged her head and begged, I swear Im not trying to steal your woman, senior brother! I wont harass Sister Hua Ci any longer, so please dont hurt me!
Huh?
Was it just his imagination, or did the girl just drop a bomb on him?
A whileter, Lu Ye finished adding a Gathering Spirit that epassed an entire wall of the training chamber and stepped away, leaving behind the girl who looked stupefied for one reason or another.
There were a ton of training chambers in the Outpost, and Lu Ye was unable to install Gathering Spirits to all of them despite starting early. That was why he dropped in whenever he was free.
At first, his goal was to install one Gathering Spirits to each training chamber. Later, he decided to upgrade his goal to two Gathering Spirits per chamber, then three.
After he was done fulfilling his quota for the day, Lu Ye entered his personal training chamber and used his remaining Spiritual Power to construct a small funnel. Then, he switched his cultivation discipline to Gluttonous Feast and threw two Spirit Restoring Pills into his mouth.
He read the books Lady Yun gave him as he cultivated. From time to time, he would practice constructing a Yin or Yang element on his fingertip.
The Spiritual Power he used up to build the Gathering Spirits quickly regenerated. Since the Outposts World Spiritual Qi had be much denser than before, both his recovery speed and cultivation efficiency were twice as good than before, if not better.
If he were to invest all of his energy into cultivating, Lu Ye was confident he could reach Seventh-Order in less than twenty days.
It wasnt necessarily a good thing to cultivate too quickly, however. During the Battle Royale of the Legates, Li Baxian had warned him about the dangers of cultivating power without regard to ones own strength. He would only be putting his life at risk if his skill was not befitting of his cultivation level.
That said, Lu Ye wasnt particrly worried about this problem. His cultivation speed was dragging because he was studying the Way of Glyphs and constructing Gathering Spirits in the training chambers anyway, so all was well.
Lu Ye went through the books quickly and consumed the knowledge they contained like a ravenous beast. Eventually, he hit a point where he could construct both Yin and Yang element with rtive ease. He was still a ways away from being able to switch between the two primary elements as he pleased, however.
Studying Glyphs was fun, but it became tedious after he spent too much time on it. A thoughtter, he took out the Mystic Fruit Seed in his Storage Bag and almost channeled his Spiritual Power into it when he recalled something. He hurriedly stopped his action and grabbed his Invible.
He wanted to know if he could carry the Invible into the Rift of Illusions with him. His first dive had almost been a total waste of Contribution Points because the saber hadnt entered with him.
When he was ready, he channeled his Spiritual Power into the Mystic Fruit Seed and entered that strange little room. Lu Ye hurriedly looked down and was greatly relieved to find his weapon firmly in his grasp. Now were talking.
He knew what to do justice to his prior experience. He walked up to the one and only door in the room and pressed his hand against it.
Just likest time, a short passage rippled into existence. It informed him that entering the Rift of Illusions would cost him fifty Contribution Points.
Lu Ye was, for theck of a better word, filthy rich right now, so he didnt even bat an eyelid when he pushed open the door. His Battlefield Imprint warmed, and fifty Contribution Points were deducted from his total just like that.
Behind the door was a small space surrounded by thick fog. Everything beyond a thirty-meter radius was invisible to the naked eye. It was as if the fog was concealing an unimaginable amount of danger.
Lu Ye looked behind him. Just likest time, the door had vanished as if it never existed. It seemed like this small space was a transit point of some sort.
Suddenly, strange noises came from the fog directly in front of him. It sounded like something was crawling rapidly toward him.
Lu Ye immediately spread his legs and crouched a little. At the same time, he gripped the hilt of the Invible tightly!
The fog in front of him started coiling unnaturally. It looked as if something was about to burst out of the fog.
[Here ites!]
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power. The next moment, something strange leaped out of the fog and fell straight toward him!
The creature looked like a praying mantis. Its four hind legs allowed it to move incredibly fast, and its forearms looked as sharp as a well-polished cleaver.
The praying mantis was at least as huge as Lu Ye, and its color was green darkening into ck. It had a pair of wings that allowed it to glide across the air.
Lu Ye had never seen such a huge praying mantis in his life. The first time he entered this god forsaken ce, it had caught himpletely off guard and weaponless. As a result, he onlysted for a couple of minutes before he was killed.
Its mouth opened and closed repeatedly as it fell toward him, showcasing jagged, saw-like teeth. There was no question in his mind that being bitten by it was a terrible idea.
As their distance closed, the praying mantis swung its forearms at his neck like a pair of scissors. It was aiming to remove his head from his body.
The attack was as strong as the full-powered attack of a Sixth-Orderbat cultivator. In fact, Lu Ye had the feeling that its strength was tweaked to match his own.
Lu Ye was already making a low dash toward the praying mantis underbelly when the mantis des came swinging. The Invible drew a bright arc in the air, and dark green blood mixed with internal organs burst out in a shower of gore. The praying mantis copsed in a heap just like that. The sh had nearly cleaved its entire body in half.
That was the strength of a Sharp Edge-empowered sh. Anyone at his cultivation level would die if they were to take a direct hit.
Before he could steady himself though, he heard more crawling noises from the fog to his left and right. The next moment, two praying mantises burst out of the fog and pounced toward him.
Lu Ye wanted to test out the strength of his new Glyph, so he did. His legs shed as he empowered himself with Windwalk, and his running speed abruptly improved by leaps and bounds. He reached one of the praying mantises in an instant and brought down the Invible. The attack cleaved both the mantis des and its head in one strike.
There was no time to celebrate. He turned around and swung out just in time to block the second praying mantis attack.
Lu Ye applied Gravity Well to his saber without a word. The praying mantis was no match for his strength to begin with, so the sudden weight instantly caused it to crash to the ground. Lu Ye seized the momentum and thrust over half of the Invibles de into its mouth. When he withdrew it, the praying mantis twitched weakly on the ground while making hissing, air-leaking noises.
Lu Ye was breathing heavily at this point, but the unnatural fog surrounding the space churned yet again. This time, three praying mantises appeared from three different directions
There were no breaks since the battle began. Every time he took out a squad of enemies, a new squad with one additional praying mantis would enter the fray.
Everything felt incredibly real. Lu Ye could smell the acrid smell of the praying mantises blood and feel the liquid sshing against his skin. Even he was bleeding bright red blood when he took a hit from the enemy.
Lu Ye did not know where this Rift of Illusions was or how the Mystic Fruit Seed was able to connect him to it, but it felt exactly the same as the real world.
The only difference between here and the real world was that death wasnt permanent. Also, the bodies of the praying mantises he killed disappeared in just a short time.
If he wasnt mistaken, the purpose of this ce was to temper a cultivatorsbat skills.
Shui Yuan was of the same opinion after she tested out the Mystic Fruit Seed.
This ce was a dreame true for Lu Ye because his cultivation speed was too fast, and he had risen to power too quickly. Despite being a Sixth-Order cultivator and a battle maniac, he hadnt actually fought that many cultivators and so was verycking in battle experience.
The Rift of Illusions made up for his w perfectly. Yes, his opponents were praying mantises and not cultivators, but the pain and the feeling dancing on a knifes edge were all real.
Here, Lu Ye could unleash everything he knew and fix his ws little by little.
When nine praying mantises charged out of the fog, Lu Ye sensed that he was almost at his limits. The problem was that the arena he was in was only so big, so even with his Glyphs he was unable to avoid being ganged up on. As a result, his body was covered in bone-deep sh wounds, and some of his internal organs were leaking out of his cut abdomen.
When he killed the third praying mantis of the nine, a mantis de finally pierced through his head!
The sensation of death was about as real as it could be. Inside his personal training chamber, Lu Ye abruptly opened his eyes and panted heavily. Despite knowing that dying inside the Rift of Illusions wouldnt lead to true death, that didnt mean dying was in any way a pleasant experience. Not only that, his head was hurting like there was a needle inside his brain.
It was why Hua Ci had given him the death stare after he tricked her into trying out the Mystic Fruit Seed. No one wanted to experience death as a matter of course.
He inspected himself to confirm that none of the injuries he suffered in the Rift of Illusions were reflected in real life. On the other hand, he had exhausted most of his Spiritual Power. It seemed that everything he experienced in the Rift of Illusions except his usage of Spiritual Power and umted fatigue was fake.
As for the stabbing pain at the back of his head, it probably had something to do with mental exhaustion.
This meant that he could only enter the Rift of Illusions every once in a while unless he spent an entire day recuperating.
A Mystic Fruit Seeds effect waspletely random. Although this one hadnt given him a rich leyline that would drastically increase his cultivation efficiency, it did give him the ability to hone hisbat skills through false death experiences. In a sense, it waspletely priceless.
Li Baxians eye for valuables was truly impressive. There were nine fruits on the Mystic Fruit Tree, and somehow he had chosen the one that was best suited for him.
With that done, he returned to his cultivation and recovered his Spiritual Power. He also ate some food from his Storage Bag to regain his strength.
The days passed quickly. Besides returning to the headquarters once in a while to enjoy Shui Yuans delicious food, he spent most of his time in the training chamber studying the books Lady Yun had given him, constructing the elements of Yin and Yang, and entering the Rift of Illusions once per day to murder praying mantises everyday. The days were fulfilling to say the least.
After he grew ustomed to the praying mantises way of fighting, his skill began improving by leaps and bounds. He was able to identify the least tiring method to kill the big fellows in the shortest amount of time possible. At the same time, he was bing more and more familiar with his new Glyphs.
On the fifth day, Lu Ye finally left the training chamber and, as per usual, checked with the junior brother guarding the Sanctum of Providence at the time if they had need of him. After confirming that all was well at the Outpost, he teleported back to the headquarters and sought out Amber. Then, he rode it to the Summit of rity.
He had gone through all the books, and he was now capable of constructing and switching between the two primary elements at the level Lady Yun demanded of him. It was time to move onto the next step of his training.
Chapter 210: Disassembling Glyphs
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 210: Disassembling Glyphs
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
At the Summit of rity, Lu Ye was seated in front of Lady Yun in the library. His palm held out in front of him, he channeled a bit of Spiritual Power and created a Yin element that was smaller than a grain of rice in just a short time. Once done, he changed it to the Yang element. For the next couple breaths, he would continuously switch between the two primary elements while maintaining their stability.
Lady Yun inspected his work for a while before saying, You may stop now.
Lu Ye dispelled his Spiritual Power as she asked.
Now I understand why the Glyphweavers inheritance chose you. You are incredibly talented in this Way. Lady Yun looked at him with approval.
When the Sect Master brought Lu Ye to her, she had made the decision to teach him not because she had caved to that bastards pleadings, but because she did not want the Glyphweavers inheritance to be wasted on an amateur who didnt even know the fundamentals of Glyphs. At the very least, she would teach him enough to make the most out of the inheritance.
Now though, she realized that thete Glyphweaver who chose Lu Ye to be his sessor also had a discerning eye for talent.
When she created her first ever Yin and Yang element, it had taken her two days to perform the exercise sessfully. Lu Ye was just as green as she was back then, but he had done it in just an incense sticks time. On top of that, it had taken her a whole month of practice before she was able to switch between the two primary elements and maintain a stable form, but Lu Ye had reached that level in just five days.
Clearly, he was much more talented in the Way of Glyphs than she was. He was definitely worth her teaching.
Her eyes grew softer as she stared at Lu Ye. [Maybe just maybe I could steal him from the old fool and make him my official disciple? I doubt that old fool would dare to go against my wishes.]
[There is no hurry though. Lets take this one step at a time.]
She cast away her stray thoughts and summoned a wafer like translucent crystal about the size of an egg on her palm. The crystal was t with many hollow spots on its surface. In fact, the hollow spots looked like a picture made of many joined Yin and Yang elements.
Lu Ye took a moment to examine the crystal after Lady Yun tossed it into his hands. He said, Is this a Glyph?
That is correct. Lady Yun nodded. Anybination of Yin and Yang that could exist in a stable form is a Glyph.
It was a line that Lu Ye was familiar with because he had read it in a book before, one that was written by Mu Xiaoyao no less.
He had no doubt that Mu Xiaoyao was an incredible Glyphweaver.
ording to Mu Xiaoyao, stability was the determinator if a Glyph could be considered a Glyph.
You could not create a Glyph bybining a bunch of Yin and Yang elements at random. Certain rules and principles must be obeyed in order to create a stable Glyph, or it wouldnt take form 99% of the time. Even if it took form somehow, the primary elements would actively try to repel each other. Worst case scenario, it might even trigger a Spiritual Power explosion.
This was why inventing a new Glyph was never an easy task. It was quitemon for a Glyphweaver to walk out of their abode while covered in self-inflicted wounds.
Glyphs can be divided into two major categories: useful Glyphs and useless Glyphs.
There are useless Glyphs?
The one youre holding is one such example. Lady Yun exined, A useful Glyph is a stable Glyph that creates some sort of effect, while a useless one is stable but does nothing at all. Now, try disassembling the Glyph I gave you and tell me how many primary elements it contains. I also want you to tell me exactly how many Yin and Yang elements it isposed of.
Understood, Lu Ye replied and examined the translucent crystal in his hand closely. At the same time, he began simting the construction of the Glyph in his head.
This wasnt an easy task because the patterns in the Glyph looked almost identically to one another. Thebination of Yin and Yang elements was also so seamless that what looked like a link made up of two primary elements were really three or even four primary elements.
It tested not just his eyesight, but also his mind.
The lesson was incredibly useful though. Already, he was getting a better understanding of the Glyph. Only by disassembling the Glyph correctly would he be able to grasp its structure in its entirety.
In fact, most of the great men and women Lu Ye knew from his past life had begun their career by breaking down what seemed like an impossible task into small, manageableponents and dealing with them one at a time.
An incense stick and many confirmationster, Lu Ye finally looked up and replied, Lady, there are thirty primary elements in this Glyph in total. Twelve of them are Yin, and eighteen are Yang.
Lady Yun nodded smilingly. That is correct. To date, this is the simplest Glyph we know and the first Glyph all Glyphweavers teach their disciples. We call it the Glyph: Thirtieth.
Glyph: Thirtieth?
All useless Glyphs are referred to as numbers instead of names.
I see. The senior who created Thirtieth must be an incredible genius.
Glyphs werent necessarily better the more primary elements it contained. While it was true that a Glyph containing more primary elements possessed greater potential and power, to create a stable Glyph with only thirty primary elements was an incredible feat in its own right.
It was like how cooking stir-fried shredded potato was one of the hardest tests a chef could receive. A chef who could prepare an incredibly time-consuming andplex dish like the Buddhas Temptation was certainly skillful, but they might not necessarily be able to cook a stir-fried shredded potato that absolutely everyone was satisfied with.
I am d you feel that way.
After that, Lady Yun quizzed Lu Ye on some of the knowledge that was written in the books she gave him. More than happy to learn, Lu Ye used the opportunity to pick Lady Yuns brain about problems that confounded him as well. Finally, Lady Yun gave him another lecture on the fundamentals of the Way of Glyphs.
Time passed quickly. The teacher was eager to teach, and the student was eager to learn. It was a match made in heaven.
When night fell, Lady Yun finally rose to her feet and said, Let us stop here. Your cultivation level could be better, and the Way of Glyphs is wide-ranging and profound. It will take time for you to be a master. For your new exercise, study the Thirtieth and try to construct it. You may find me when you have seeded.
Just likest time, she made a hand gesture and summoned a dozen books to her. She gave them all to Lu Ye and sent him away.
A whileter, the servant girl fromst time escorted Lu Ye to the exit. He turned around to thank her before asking, If you dont mind, may I ask for your name, miss?
This wasnt the first time he met the servant girl, and it wouldnt be thest. Naturally, he would like to put a name to her face.
However, the servant girl merely smiled at him and said nothing. Lu Ye watched her for a moment before sping his hands together and saying respectfully, Until next time.
He did not realize she was deaf. What a pity.
After he returned to the Summit of Fortitude, he saw the Sect Master standing beneath the square and looking up at the g of the Crimson Blood Sect; a golden me with tinges of red. He immediately stepped forward and saluted the man respectfully. Sect Master.
The old man turned around as if he just noticed him and asked, Did youe back from Summit of rity?
Yes.
Thats good. Theres no harm in learning the Way of Glyphs. The Sect Master nodded before looking to his left and right. Then, he lowered his voice and asked, Did Lady Yun mention me while she was teaching you?
Lu Yes expression immediately turned conflicted. [How the heck am I suppose to answer this?] In the end, he decided to be honest and said, No, Sect Master.
The dejection on the old mans face was in to see.
Lu Ye left after answering a couple more questions from the Sect Master. Then, he entered the Outpost, hid in his training chamber, and constructed a small funnel in his Spiritual Points just like before. He then switched his cultivation technique to Gluttonous Feast and ate some Spirit Pills.
Finally, he began constructing the Thirtieth.
First, he created a Yin element on his hand. Then, he embedded it with a Yang element
A Glyph must be constructed in one go. To pause for even a second in the middle of the work would result in failure. Not only that, the Glyphweaver must possess incredibly precise control over their own Spiritual Power. Otherwise, the work would fail as well.
Although Lu Ye was now capable of switching between the two primary elements freely, he had never created more than a single primary element at a time. As a result, he felt difficulty immediately after he started constructing the Thirtieth.
This was unlike any of the Glyphs he had constructed in the past because those Glyphs took form the instant hemanded them to. It was because the secrets of the Glyphs had already been imprinted into his mind through the leaves of the Tree of Glyphs.
It is why he was able toplete Lady Yuns first exercise as quickly as he had. Unlike his peers, he possessed the unique advantage of having constructed many Glyphs in the past. His foundation in the Way of Glyphs was quite special.
His first attempt ended in failure after he had constructed just three primary elements. It was because his Spiritual Power wasnt stable enough. He tried again, and again, and again
An hourter, Lu Ye felt like murdering someone. Despite repeatedly telling himself to be patient and stay calm, the frustration kept mounting with each failure. Another hour passed, and he finally could not stand it any longer.
He sucked in a deep breath and took two items from his Storage Bag. The first one was the Mystic Fruit Seed, and the second was the Invible.
[Daddyse to see you, insects!]
He paid fifty Contribution Points to enter the Rift of Illusions and he went to town on the praying mantises.
For the past couple days, Lu Ye had entered the Rift of Illusions almost once everyday. While honing hisbat technique through countless death matches, he realized that the praying mantises werent the only monsters he could encounter. He had fought against an ant that was as big as a human, a locust that was half his height tall, a spider, and many, many more strange creatures whose name eluded himpletely.
In fact, he almost never encountered the same monsters every time he entered the Rift of Illusions, not to mention that they all possessed a unique ability of their own. For starters, the ant-like monsters possessed extremely corrosive blood. He had nearly pissed his pants the first time he almost caught a full body acid bath. The locust was even worse, however. Every time itnded a wound on his body, it also left behind parasitic eggs that hatched mini locusts in just a short time.
He had also encountered one monster that could spit venom, and another that was covered in spikes like a porcupine. Unlike a real porcupine, this one could actually discharge its spikes in every direction and deal a crazy amount of damage.
Their unique skills were so varied and deadly that his first meeting with these monsters never went perfectly. It was also why he was never able to ovee the stage where nine of the monsters were set on him. His best record so far was killing five monsters before sumbing to the other four. The way he had died, well that was better left unsaid.
This time, the monster he encountered after entering the rift was the boar-like monster. He kept fighting until their numbers grew to nine, and spikes were flying toward him from literally every direction. He was unable to survive even though he spammed Protection as frequently as he could, though he was able to kill six of them before perishing.
He was improving bit by bit. Lu Ye was pretty sure that he could ovee the stage in another two or three tries.
His head hurt as usual after he exited the Rift of Illusions, but his frustration was much diminishedpared to before. The best way to vent ones frustration was to kick someones ass, or have your ass kicked.
Chapter 211: The Seventh-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 211: The Seventh-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Wielding his saber soaked with blood, Lu Ye finally managed to cut down thest monster inside the pocket dimension of the Rift of Illusions. Strewn on the ground around him were puddles of slimy green ichor, maimed limbs and entrails from the monsters he yed. After so many days, he had seeded in defeating the nine monster wave.
Despite the wounds that were making him dizzy, Lu Ye maintained as much vignce as he could muster. He did not know if a tenth monster might appear out of nowhere. But if there really were one prowling nearby, he might as well just surrender.
The mist up ahead roiled like a gathering storm, then he spied a shadowy figure approaching him through the obscuring veil.
Lu Ye looked, his eyes throbbing with disbelief. Thest thing he expected to see here, instead of monsters of myriad species, was a human!
Whether it was a man or a woman, Lu Ye could not tell. Whoever it was, the figure remained surrounded by the mist that he could barely tell if it was a human at all.
Naturally, its not a real person, but a magical contrivance conjured by this pocket dimension.
But Lu Ye was still recovering from his surprise while observing his new opponent when the stranger lifted a finger at him. A sh of light sparkled through the mist and Lu Ye recognized it instantly. TELEKINESIS!
[This humanoid things a Seventh-Order!]
Minutester, Lu Ye reopened his eyes and found himself back inside his training chamber. His head was stinging from the imaginary blow that killed him and his face was a sickly-pale white, but he looked positively thrilled.
That a humanoid opponent would appear was certainly thest thing he expected to see inside the Rift, especially after nine rounds of dealing with oversized bugs, but he weed the change.
Killing bugs might help to hone his skills but on a very limited scale. What he would be facing were real enemies. Human enemies. Hence a humanoid opponent would be more useful to his training than just insects.
But whether he would still need to get past gauntlets of bloodthirsty insects first, Lu Ye would have to find that out himself the next time he entered the Rift. Better not, he thought, to save time and effort.
He would rather just fight humanoid opponents than go for another bug-killing spree once again. Especially since the humanoid opponent fought with the strength and power of not just any Seventh-Order, but rather, an elite Seventh Order.
The answer to that would have to wait until tomorrow.
He shoved two more Spirit Pills into his mouth and extracted the book Lady Yun gave him to read it.
His strength returned a few hourster and all weariness that weighed his shoulders down was gone.
It was time he tried to construct Glyph: Thirtieth.
Somehow, either through good mood or great form, he seeded on the first try.
He dispelled his magic and tried to replicate the feat once more. Only this time, he failed.
Nevertheless, it was not too hard trying to replicate his initial sess. He managed to get it right on the third try. Then he failed during the fourth, although he did well again on the fifth and the subsequent sixth
Lu Ye practiced a couple more times, paying attention to his errors and making sure to grasp the feel as he umted enough experience and skill. By the time he almost reached the one-hundredth time, he had grown adept enough to pull off at least seven out of every ten of his tries.
That was a respectable score that Lady Yun would be proud of. That would mean that she would be happy to give him his next instruction.
The repeated construction of Glyph: Thirtieth should have caused a dent to his reserves of Spiritual Power, but with both Glyph: Gathering Spirits and the cultivation discipline of Gluttony Feast in motion, his stores of power not only did not reduce, but instead, it was replenishing.
In fact he was fully replenished.
He examined his Spiritual Points. Perhaps he could try to break down the barrier and see if he could unlock his next Point.
And his prayers were answered in the following hour. The barrier burst open like a dam rupturing, and he finally reached his one-hundred-and-eighth Spiritual Point.
The exact number of Spiritual Points he needed to reach the Seventh-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm!
Lu Ye channeled his power, allowing its effluence to flow through all remaining separated Spiritual Points, conjoining them into various Microcosmic Orbits that churned out greater power! The power of a fully-fledged Seventh-Order!
Such a day of fruitful oues! After his discovery of the Rift of Illusions, his attempts to practice constructing Glyph: Thirtieth had been rewarding and he had achieved the Seventh-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm!
It had only been one month since his return from Chess Ind. Anyone who had noticed how fast he had progressed would have been in awe.
It was time for a break. Lu Ye stepped out of the training room. With his Spiritual Power now fully replenished, he went to all other training chambers to cast more Glyph: Gathering Spirits magical circles there. He had been doing this for the past few days and almost every training chamber now had at least one Gathering Spirits magical circle. Some had two while the ones upied by Hua Ci and a handful of others had three. All those Glyphs plus the Circles of Boon that were already inside the training chambers in the first ce would help to enhance the efficiency of their meditation by leaps and bounds.
Lu Ye arrived at the Summit of rity two hourster. He took his seat before Lady Yun.
Satisfied at his demonstration of the construction of Glyph: Thirtieth, she produced arge handful of the same crystalline wafers she had shown him before. Each of them contained GlyphsGlyphs that looked like they were frozen, encased in ice, and suspended through time. Each of the wafers was numbered to denote the different types of Glyphs. That they were numbered showed that they were useless in battle, although their very existence carried immense and enduring academic value to the tutge of new Glyphweavers.
He dismantled the Glyphs down to their basic elements without a hitch.
Next, Lady Yun instructed him in more techniques for constructing Glyphs by assembling Yin and Yang elements. Lu Ye never stopped asking questions whenever he found himself boggled, but Lady Yun provided answers to all his queries with tremendous patience and rity.
The sun outside looked like it was about to set when Lady Yun finally singled out two crystalline wafers from the others. These are Glyphs: Eighty-third and A-Hundred-and-Sixty-fifth, practice on them ande see me once youre able to reconstruct them.
She also handed Lu Ye a few books.
Lu Ye stowed them away carefully, said his farewells, and left the Summit of rity with Lady Yuns maidservant seeing him out.
He went back to the Summit of Fortitude and found Shui Yuan.
Wait, youre in the Seventh-Order now?! she gasped, her surprise and amazement at his rapid progress undisguised. That means you can start learning Telekinesis now.
Which was exactly Lu Yes reason foring to Shui Yuan. He had encountered enough Seventh-Orders during the Battle Royal of the Legates for the seed of envy in him to be the impulse that had driven him to hurry here as soon as he had reached the Seventh-Order himself.
But Im afraid Im not adept enough in the magic of Telekinesis, said Shui Yuan, although her eyes gleamed with inspiration, Why dont you try asking Li Baxian? Hes particrly masterful in this regard. Im sure hes the ideal person to speak to about this.
Brother Baxian, eh? All right, Ill speak to him and see.
He had his fill of good food with Shui Yuan to restore his energy before he gave Amber another round of the red substance from his dragon scale, then he rushed back to the outpost and straight into the training chamber.
As he began meditating, he delivered a message to Li Baxian.
Thetter too was astounded to hear about Lu Ye achieving the Seventh-Order in such a short time. But he was even more pleased and delighted to give Lu Ye advice and instructions when he knew how Lu Ye was interested to learn about Telekinesis.
Li Baxian might not be able toe over and teach Lu Ye personally just yet, but he could still provide a trove of helpful information through his messages.
After a lengthy exnation of how to master Telekinesis, Li Baxian said, Give it a go on your own, Lu Ye. Feel free toe to me with more questions.
Understood, Brother Baxian, and thank you!
He drew out Invible and ced it across his knees. Next, he channeled his Spiritual Power into it.
Telekinesis was all about the maniption of objects using Spiritual Power, so Li Baxian told him. The purer Spiritual Power a Cultivator had, the greater the strength of the mental connection to the object would be and the higher the speed would be. There was also the matter of distance. Seventh-Orders usually could employ Telekinesis on an object within a hundred meters but those with purer Spiritual Power could reach even further, which would undoubtedly be an advantage during battle.
A Cultivators finesse in the handling of his or her Spiritual Power was equally important in affecting the maniptions reach and speed.
Hence both speed and distance were the advantages that Cultivators who mastered Telekinesis could rely on during a battle while the purity of ones Spiritual Power and the finesse in controlling Spiritual Power were the two main requirements to mastering the discipline.
And in a battle where bothbatants were Cultivators who could use Telekinesis, the one with greater reach and higher speed would definitely have the upper hand, if the Spirit Artifacts were both of the same grade and ss.
The requirement of pure Spiritual Power was not something Lu Ye worried about. With the Tree of Glyphs now regaining its ability to consume the toxins in his body, his Spiritual Power had been restored to its former pristine state and he had never been more confident in his handling of Spiritual Power.
That he could manipte the Yin and Yang elements with the ease and deftness of fiddling with a toy was proof enough of that.
There were no better masters in handling Spiritual Power than Glyphweavers.
But the crux of Telekinesisy with the fact that a Cultivator would gain the ability to control Spiritual Power that had physically detached from them when they reached the Seventh-Order.
Those who had yet to attain the Seventh-Order could not do the same. Once a portion of the Spiritual Power was separated, a Cultivator would lose control of it.
Just like the Fire Phoenix technique that Lu Ye had been using to clumsy andmentable effect. Lu Ye had always refrained from using the Fire Phoenix technique in battle unless he absolutely needed to because hecked the precision to make sure that his projectile would hit its target. Every time he used the technique, more often than not, the projectile would just miss, and his Spiritual Power would be wasted, to say nothing of the fact that missing would also mean giving his opponent an opening for a riposte.
However, he did note that thete Dong Shu Ye once fired a fireball at him that could chase him like a bloodhound on a scent. The technique had once proven to be a major headache for Lu Ye and Amber.
Now that he knew more about Seventh-Orders, he finally understood how Dong Shu Ye was able to do it. Dong Shu Ye could also manipte the Spiritual Power that had separated from him; that was why he could steer the fireball around and make it chase Lu Ye.
At longst, he had reached the Seventh-Order himself.
To test his theory, Lu Ye exited his training chamber. He fired a Fire Phoenix projectile up into the sky, feeling the sensation of heat escaping his hand as a plump bird-like firebolt dashed up into the night sky, pping its wings furiously.
Lu Ye had always believed that whether his spell would work depended purely on luck.
But this time, everything felt different. He could feel the tingly sensationing from the glob of Spiritual Power separated from him. He could still control it! He willed it to loop around and the fiery avian made a circle in the air, although the Spiritual Power that fueled the spell quickly ebbed away as the bird eventually dissipated into nothing.
Hahahaha! A peal ofughter burst out from beside him.
Lu Ye swiveled around and found a youngss with a hand propped against the pir of a gazebo. She was looking to the sky at where the fiery projectile was flying before it had vanished.
[Whos she? She looks familiar] Lu Ye mused quietly.
Realizing Lu Yes stare upon her, the girl quickly withdrew her gaze sheepishly.
Who are you?
She snapped to attention like a sentry and swallowed hard before she managed to squeak, My name is He Xiyin, Brother Lu Ye! Her eyeballs rolled nervously in their sockets before she stole a guilty look at him, And Um I wasntughing at you just now.
Then why were youughing just now?
I-I dont know! He Xiyin gulped down a mouthful of saliva anxiously. Something just felt funny, and I-I justughed! I swear, Brother Lu Ye! I wasntughing at you! Then she realized that what she said did not sound convincing at all. She dropped to the ground, crouching with her arms over her head. Please, Brother Lu Ye! Dont hit me!
She was there on the floor, shivering with fright for a few seconds until she finally looked around. Lu Ye was gone. Only then did she pat her chest and exhaled with relief.
Chapter 212: It’s Not Me
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 212: Its Not Me
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power into Invible and tried to control it using his mind.
Nothing worked at first. But he followed Li Baxians advice, focusing on the tips that were provided, and eventually, he was overjoyed to see his fiery-red Spiritual Power swathed over the Invibles de and it gradually wobbled its way up into the air.
But before his delight could even set in, the Spiritual Power that enveloped the saber vanished and the weapon fell with a heavy tter on the ground.
He readied himself and tried again.
But progress came at a cial pace, to say nothing about the huge depletion of Spiritual Power after every attempt. Lu Ye began to doubt he could evenst this long if not for the fact that he was still inside his training chamber.
At present, a bnce had been struck between the expense and gain of Spiritual Power. This allowed Lu Ye to maintain a full level of Spiritual Power whenever he meditatedenough to try unlocking his next Spiritual Point.
Meditating had never been so efficient.
His curriculum included meditating and reading the books that Lady Yun handed him so that he could learn as much as he possible about Glyphs, in addition to practicing how to construct Glyphs. Then he would venture into the Rift of Illusions for a round of monster-ying. But now, he would also need to practice Telekinesis.
That was not all. Reaching the Seventh-Order also meant that he could finally learn the next spell in the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic.
The first spell was the Fire Phoenix technique and the second was a spell called Fire Dragon
Learning spells had not been difficult at all and something told Lu Ye that it could be due to his talented aptitude in Glyph mastery. For this reason, there had been many who mistook him for a Spell Cultivator, owing to his casting speed that could even put other Spell Cultivators to shame. But any Spell Cultivator who was worth their salt would never know just one or two spells.
Learning the Fire Dragon technique took just a few hours and Lu Ye had great sess with it,pared to Telekinesis.
The Fire Dragon spell turned out to be more powerful than Fire Phoenix, which should have been natural, given that it was a spell that only Seventh-Orders and beyond could conjure. Lu Ye had a couple of more tries somewhere secluded within the outpostpound before he decided that he had learned enough about the spell today.
He had chosen his path to be a Combat Cultivation and he wasnt going to give up just yet. Therefore, knowing a couple of spells just in case was good enough for him.
Hence he needed to spend the entirety of his attention on mastering Telekinesis. A Seventh-Order who could not use Telekinesis only had the deadliness of a newborn pup.
Every day, Lu Ye would venture inside the Rift without fail. The Rift cost him fifty Contribution Points per entry, but the invaluable experience from every attempt inside the Rift was something that no amount of money or Contribution Points could equate.
Although he wasnt pleased at all to face the insectoid monsters all over again. Ascending into the Seventh-Order had somehow restarted the cycle all over again and he was forced to deal with the insectoid monsters again. Only this time, the monsters were not of the Sixth-Order, but rather of the Seventh Order just like him!
It would appear that the Rift was putting forth monsters with strength aligned to his rank.
And experience dictated that he would need to finish all nine rounds of insectoid monsters before he could once again fight against a humanoid opponent.
But with his mastery of Telekinesis now progressing at a snails pace, getting through all nine rounds in one go might seem like a pipedream for now. He needed to be patient.
.
Five days went by like a year and Lu Ye could finally take no more of the setbacks of seeing how he was barely making any headways with mastering Telekinesis.
He was hardly a person weak of heart, but he just could not help feeling beaten, especially after seeing Chen Yus demonstration the day before.
With him and Chen Yu as the only two Seventh-Orders in the outpost, Lu Ye wished to take a look at how Chen Yu magically controlled his weapon. Hence he sent a message and asked if Chen Yu could demonstrate Telekinesis for his benefit. The newly-elected person-in-charge of the bazaar was only too happy to oblige. With a swoosh, his weapon flew into the sky in a sh of light, fleeting freely through the air with the grace and ease of ark.
As if that was not bad enough, Chen Yu even admitted to Lu Ye that his Telekinesis was amateurish at best before he had taken his leave.
But where would he be if Chen Yus level was only just amateurish? Disgraceful? In fact, Chen Yu even told him that he learned the basics of Telekinesis within three days after he ascended to the Seventh-Order. What about him?
Lu Ye left the outpost and went back to the Sects main stronghold to have a meal with Shui Yuan.
Tormented by frustration that just wouldnt stop haunting him, Lu Ye shoved everything into his mouth with little regard for table manners.
An observant Shui Yuan gently added more food to his te as she asked, Something wrong at the outpost?
Nope, Lu Ye mumbled through his mouth full of food.
Then whats wrong? she asked softly.
Lu Ye swallowed everything down and exhaled morosely. I just discovered that I have zero talent in Telekinesis The way I see it, Im not gonna be able to do in one month what others could do in three days
Everyone has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, Lu Ye, said Shui Yuan. You have great talents in Glyphs; Lady Yun could barely stop singing praises about you. And you could even defeat enemies well beyond your rank. But no one is good at everything. Theres no need to feel bad just because you just discovered something youre bad at, young Brother Lu Ye. With full of affection and sisterly love she said young Brother Lu Ye for even though the Sect has many new fresh inductees, but Lu Ye remained the special one whose very existence in the first ce had ensured the continuity of the Sect.
I know, but I just couldnt stop feeling terrible about it.
How about I take a look at whats the problem after this? I might not be as good as Li Baxian in the magic of Telekinesis, but I would still say that Im fair.
As if a Real Lake Realm Cultivator would be poor in Telekinesis. She sent Lu Ye to learn from Li Baxian not because she refused to teach him herself, but because of Li Baxians incredible and extraordinary talents in this branch of magic. Most Seventh-Orders could only magically control one Spirit Artifact. Only through the increase of ones finesse in controlling Spiritual Power and rank of cultivation could the number of Spirit Artifacts be increased.
But Li Baxian proved himself to be a freak of nature the moment he ascended to the Seventh-Order. As soon as he learned Telekinesis, he was capable of magically controlling up to nine Spirit Artifactsdemonstrating an impable level of Spiritual Power control that no one had ever seen before. This was also the reason behind the Grand Master of the Northern Profound Sword Sects interest in him.
That, plus his being a Swordsman Cultivator was what made him the tenth deadliest Cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield even though he was only just an Eighth-Order who was trained in a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline. Even Yan Xing, his biggest rival in the Thousand Demon Ridge, had to admit that he had underestimated Li Baxian after theyst fought where Li Baxian rained hell down on him with a bombardment of more than a hundred energy bolts.
After their meal, Shui Yuan and Lu Ye adjourned to the square outside the main hall. They stood a hundred meters away from each other. All right, Lu Ye, said Shui Yuan. Give me all youve got.
Lu Ye looked around to make sure no one was around before he drew his weapon out of his Storage Bag.
Shui Yuans forehead betrayed an imperceptible crease the moment she saw Invible.
Lu Ye was already channeling his Spiritual Power through the saber, saying, Here Ie, Sister Shui Yuan.
There was no need for him to worry about hurting her. She was just too strong for him to eveny a scratch, assuming his Telekinesis could get Invible past the hundredth-meter mark.
Lu Ye watched the reddish shade of his Spiritual Power washed over the entire length of the saber. Next, he directed it with his mind, and Invible, in a fiery splendor, shot straight at Shui Yuan.
Shui Yuans eyes widened with shock.
The flying saber was not traveling at slow speeds, but it was nowhere near fast either. In fact, if this was the best any Seventh-Orders could do, then Lu Ye would have nothing to be worried about. Such a level of Telekinesis mastery would be of no threat to Lu Ye even if it were a swarm of more than a dozen weapons hurtling toward him.
Invible streaked until it was thirty meters away from reaching Shui Yuan when it stopped. That was as far as Lu Ye could gojust barely seventy meters.
He steered Invible into several somersaults and swishes. Then, he summoned it back to him before the Spiritual Power in the saber was depleted and it slid back into its sheath.
Thats pretty much all I could do, Lu Ye muttered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
Which was the best he could do after five days of never-ending practices.
There was hardly any range. If Lu Ye were to use Telekinesis in a fight against an opponent who could also magically control his weapon, he would be at a massive disadvantage.
Next, there was no speed, which tranted to ack of momentum which would also mean zero damage.
Then there was the matter of duration. Within seconds, he needed to recall Invible or the weapon might run out of Spiritual Power and he would lose control of it. That would leave his saber vulnerable enough to be captured by an enemy instead.
Shui Yuan strode to him and reached out a hand. Let me see your saber.
Lu Ye pulled Invible out of its scabbard and handed it to Shui Yuan, who took the weapon and tried injecting her own Spiritual Power. A pale glow swept all over the saber and she examined it carefully.
Um, she asked after looking at the saber, looking very odd, Have you been using this saber to practice Telekinesis, Lu Ye?
Yeah.
She looked like she almost burst outughing. The enchantments ced on this weapon are not suitable at all for Telekinesis. Why of all weapons did you choose this one? Also, its too heavy. Did Li Baxian not tell you that you should select a suitable weapon for Telekinesis before you begin practicing?
Lu Ye thought about it and responded, Um, nope.
Li Baxian had told him so much about Telekinesishow he could learn it more quickly and what matters he should pay close attention to and so forthbut somehow the matter of a suitable Spirit Artifact never came up.
What a moron! Shui Yuan pped her forehead.
Is it the saber? Lu Ye gasped anxiously with every semnce of a dying man who had just been told that he might have a chance of surviving.
It is. This sabercks the prerequisite enchantments needed for Telekinesis and its heavy. Thats what caused theck of range and speed. Furthermore, Lu Ye You must have seen people using Telekinesis during the Battle Royal. Did you not notice anything different?
I did. But I thought the problem came from me.
Well, for what its worth, your being able to cast Telekinesis on something like this shows how extraordinary you are Shui Yuan said weakly.
So what kind of Spirit Artifacts more suitable for Telekinesis?
For starters, it needs to be light. But not as light as possible. Too light and you riskpromising your momentum. It all depends on your personal preference. Next, you need to select one with the proper enchantments. A Spirit Bank enchantment at least, or else, what happened justwhere your Spiritual Power wouldntst enoughwould happen. A Spirit Bank enchantment is what helps to keep your Spiritual Power in your weapon and therefore lengthens the duration of your Telekinesis.
I see Lu Ye exhaled heavily, visibly relieved, thinking to himself, [Its not me!]
Its our shoring as your seniors, Shui Yuan admitted. It has been years since the Crimson Blood Sect had seen a new acolyte and Shui Yuan had lost her touch with teaching others. As for Li Baxian, he had been so caught up with teaching Lu Ye how to use Telekinesis that he neglected to tell him about picking a proper Spirit Artifact. Maybe he was under the impression that Lu Ye had already found one.
Shui Yuan began to tell Lu Ye more about the enchantments on Spirit Artifacts.
Chapter 213: Telekinesis, At Long Last
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 213: Telekinesis, At Long Last
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Being no stranger to making purchases from the Vault of Providence, Lu Ye knew exactly how to quickly find what he needed.
He stood in the middle of the Vault, fenced in by abyrinth of shelves and racks each filled to the gunnels with myriads of different Spirit Artifacts.
There were just so many types of Spirit Artifacts that the sheer number of selections could satisfy anything that a Cultivator could ever need.
The Spirit Artifacts used for Telekinesis and weapons for realbat had real differences, ording to Shui Yuan. The former required at least three types of enchantments for Telekinesis to work properly: Spirit Bank, Reinforcement, and Sharpening.
The Spirit Bank enchantment was to ensure a Telekinesiss duration.
Without this enchantment, a Cultivators Spiritual Power would quickly leak away over time, just like Invible would lose all of Lu Yes Spiritual Power after only just minutes of using Telekinesis.
Reinforcement and Sharpening enchantments, on the other hand, were verymon types of Spirit Artifact enchantments. The former was to ensure a Spirit Artifacts sturdiness while thetter is to intensify any amount of damage dealt by the Artifact.
Lu Ye strolled amongst the jungle of shelves and racks like a hunter on the prowl, searching for his prey. Still, he had yet to find anything that was perfect. Every single piece of equipment hereeven after filtering everything based on his criteriawas just too expensive. Forged with nine weapon enchantments, Invible, despite being one of the best weapons in the Low-grade tier, was priced at only a hundred and thirty-five Contribution Points. Yet Telekinesis-qualified Spirit Artifacts with nine weapon enchantments cost almost close to two hundred Points.
He began to appreciate just how economical Invible had been.
Just when he was about to pick one, he paused before the decision was made. He did not have to buy here, he realized. Hua Ci should have a lot of Spirit Artifacts by now.
Hua Ci had barely spilled any blood during the Battle Royal of the Legates. But it was by her assistance that the many legates on the Grand Sky Coalition side managed to rake up innumerable kills. Hence to thank her for her help, many of the legates and prolegates showered her with spoils after they cleared up any scene of battle.
By the time Lu Ye and she returned triumphantly, her wolf golem was strapped with scores of Storage Bags hung all around it like ornaments on a Christmas tree. There would have been even more Storage Bags had she not had the wisdom to sort and organize whatever she collected back then.
Lu Ye got out of the Vault of Providence and the first thing he did was contact Hua Ci, who came from the direction of the training chambers in no time.
Wow, youre Seventh-Order now? Hua Ci eximed with surprise. They had been so busy training and meditating since their return from the Battle Royal that they barely saw each other, and she would not have known that Lu Ye had made a breakthrough if he did not ask to meet.
Mmhmm. Do you have anything thats suitable for Telekinesis?
I guess so. Ive kept everything, but not here, said Hua Ci, twirling around on her heels and walking away. She waved, Come with me.
They made a beeline straight back to the training chamber quarter.
They stepped inside Hua Cis personal training chamber and there Lu Ye saw mounds of Storage Bags piled up in a corner. Those must be her spoils from the Battle Royal.
You have not opened all of them yet?
Ive been saving them for you.
What for?
Sister Shui Yuan told me that youve been making great improvements in your studies of Glyphs. It would be just a matter of time before youd be needing these Storage Bags.
Lu Ye did not understand at first how his making great strides in his studies would have anything to do with the Storage Bags, although he caught on pretty quickly. With a dawning look on his face, he said atst, Thank you so much.
Hua Ci picked three of the Bags out of the pile and handed them to him. The Spirit Artifacts are all inside these three Bags. Go through them yourself. Who knows what youre looking for.
Lu Ye took the Bags and sat down on the floor to pore through the contents.
Hua Ci just left him be and went back to her meditation.
There were just so many Spirit Artifacts that the other Grand Sky Coalition legates had collected during the Battle Royal that Hua Ci couldnt carry any more Storage Bags, hence they had to assemble all the Spirit Artifacts into three Storage Bags for her convenience.
And amongst the number, there had to be many that were suitable enough for Telekinesis.
Lu Ye was amazed to find more than several hundred Spirit Artifacts in total, all of them crammed into the three Storage BagsSpirit Artifacts of different shapes and sizes. Trading all of them off to the Vault of Providence would surely bring Hua Ci a huge sum of Contribution Points.
But since she wasnt in need of Contribution Points yet, she might as well just tuck everything aside for posterity.
Hua Ci had eased quitefortably into her role and position as prolegate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. Shui Yuan has been very kind to her and as a Medical Cultivator, Hua Cis learning from her could reduce a lot of trial and error, and naturally, she was keen to do her part for the Sect.
Finally, after some time of rummaging through the hoard of Spirit Artifacts, Lu Ye found a one-foot-long knife.
The weight and length of this short weapon were just what Lu Ye needed; all he took was one nce and he knew that it would be perfect, especially since this knife did not have a hilt, just a double-edged de.
Lu Ye could only surmise that this knife must have once belonged to a Thousand Demon Ridge legate who was killed during the Battle Royal. It had nine enchantments so it would have fetched a price of at least a hundred and eighty Contribution Points in the Vault of Providence.
Of the nine, two were Spirit Bank enchantments, three were Reinforcement enchantments, and another two were for increasing the deadliness of the weapon. Lu Ye could not recognize the remaining two, but they had to be something to help increase the weapons potency, by his best guess.
Pick a few more. I hear that a Cultivator with incredible control of Spiritual Power can Telekinesis a few Spirit Artifacts at the same time, urged Hua Ci when she saw him with only one.
Ill have this one first to practice. I can alwayse looking for you when I need more.
As you wish. Its not as if Ill be leaving any time soon.
Why does it sound as if youre being held captive here?
Who knows?
Lu Ye left Hua Cis training chamber and went back to his own. The first thing he did was channel his Spiritual Power into the knife.
Invible was a weapon Lu Ye bought from the Vault of Providence. A Spirit Artifact that had not recognized a master, unlike the hiltless knife.
The hiltless knife once belonged to an enemy legate. Even after his death, the knife still carried traces of his Spiritual Power, imprints of his ownership of the weapon that the knife had been ustomed to. Hence, even with Lu Ye channeling his power through it, the hiltless knife might not just yield willingly.
Hence Lu Ye needed to channel his powers continuously into it, keeping it inundated with his Spiritual Power so that it would slowly grow to limatize to him. That would help him to be able to use the knife to its fullest.
That was what Lu Ye did to gain full control of the Mystic Spirit Bell after he looted it from the heir of the Nine Star n after he slew him. He could not even activate the Mystic Spirit Bell at first and it was after speaking to a smith during a visit to one of the Divine Trade Association branches that he learned what to do.
For this reason, no one ever picked up someone elses weapon to use in the heat of battle. One only relies on ones very own ones.
With Spiritual Power as pure as the morning dew and now that he had reached the Seventh-Order, Lu Ye trusted that the process would not take too long. Within hours, the hiltless knife was wheezing to and fro in the air like a swallow flying around freely.
Lu Ye broke down into tears that streamed uncontrobly down his face.
After such a string of difficulties, Telekinesis, at longst!
Feeling cramped up inside the chamber, Lu Ye decided to take his practice outside and he was rewarded by the howling whistles of his knife shooting around in the air like a bolt of lightning.
An even bigger surprise was how long his range was: almost a hundred and twenty meters! That delighted him for most Seventh-Orders would not even make it past the hundredth-meter mark.
The additional twenty meters might not mean much in conventional skirmishes, but to opposing Cultivators both fighting with Telekinesis, the extra range would give Lu Ye an edge to grasp the initiative quickly.
In fact, the speed of his Telekinesis seemed to outstrip that of other Seventh-Orders by a far stretch. He had seen enough of Telekinesis in action back when he was fighting enemies in the Battle Royal and afterparing what he saw with his own Telekinesis, he discovered this advantage.
With greater range, higher speed, and better momentum, Lu Ye might not even need to lift a finger to defeat opponents of the same rank.
In the meantime, his demonstration of Telekinesis had attracted the attention of scores of other fellow acolytes who stood by to watch. Everyone cheered at the sight of the shiny bolt of steel streaking around like a shooting star.
All of a sudden, the sky rumbled as it slowly grew dark with gloomy cumulonimbi clustering overhead.
Lu Ye withdrew his knife and waved everyone away. Shows over, everyone. Now, off you go! Its gonna rain!
He wheeled around and headed back to his training chamber.
Having made headway in mastering Telekinesis, Lu Ye realized that he needed to put it to the test to actually know how effective his Telekinesis really was. His hiltless knife might look all quaint and dandy flying around as freely as a bird, but it would still be useless if it could not perform during realbat.
And to do that Lu Ye thought of entering the Rift of Illusions.
He extracted the Mystic Fruit seed and paid fifty Contribution Points to step into the illusory mist.
The gossamer strands curled and swirled around him. Before long, Lu Ye saw it: an insectoid monster of simr rank as his charging right out of the mist, heading straight for him.
But the monster only just appeared when a tiny bolt of light speared through it with the ease and smoothness of a fiery-hot knife slicing through butter, eliciting a spray of greenish slime.
The monster crashed to the ground within seconds of its appearance
Lu Ye tilted a brow with interest. [Telekinesis really is useful], he mused. [Beats having to run and dive around whacking at it with Invible]
The mist rolled uneasily again. This time two insectoid monsters emerged. One of them tumbled to the ground the moment it appeared, just like the first monster, while the other crumbled after barely two steps.
Lu Ye effortlessly breezed past the next few rounds with the help of Telekinesis. But there was only so much his hiltless knife could do. By the fourth round, Lu Ye had to attack any remaining monsters with Invible, owing to the present limitations of his Telekinesis.
The knifes Spiritual Power was finished in the fifth round and Lu Ye recalled it, switching to closebat to deal with the insectoid monsters.
Minutester, Lu Ye reopened his eyes, his face chalk-white and he was back inside his training chamber. He had made it up to the eighth round before he was killed by one of the monsters.
The difference between Sixth-Order monsters and Seventh-Order monsters was noticeably huge, just like the gap between Cultivators of both ranks. But with Telekinesis, he felt strongerso strong that the gap did not seem too significant, at least to him.
Even though he did not manage to reach the ninth round, Lu Ye wasnt at all distraught. It had only just been a few days since his ascension to the Seventh-Order and he had only just mastered Telekinesis. Prior to this, the fifth round was pretty much the best he could do and with the addition of one Telekinesis-sensitive knife, he was able to reach the eighth round. That in itself was a major breakthrough.
If only he could control more Spirit Artifacts using Telekinesis, he wondered. He might really be able to make it to the ninth round then. He would be able to fight against that humanoid opponent once more.
That would mean another visit to Hua Cis to procure more suitable Spirit Artifacts. It was easy enough controlling his new knife and Lu Ye sensed that he could at least magically wield one more. Such was the benefit of having immacte control of his Spiritual Power.
All of a sudden, the thunderous groans from high up in the skies only seemed to grow louder and longer. The rain really wasing.
Then he felt a throbing from his Battlefield Imprint. It was Li Baxian sending him a message. Watch out, Lu Ye! An insectoid attack ising!
Chapter 214: Insectoid Attack
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 214: Insectoid Attack
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A rtively t canyon sat in the wilderness more than ten miles away from the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. Right in the middle of this canyon was a gaping pit more than thirty meters wide. A hideous shaft that reached down towards a bottomless abyss, no one knew how deep the pit went. But standing by the edge of the pit alone and feeling the spine-chilling howls of winds screaming into ones face could easily strike the fear of the Heavens into any man.
Such was the Spirit Creek Battlefieldand of untold bounty and a cornucopia of unimaginable horrors.
Riding on Ambers back, Lu Ye perched at the precipice of a cliff that overlooked the clearing where the pity. From his vantage point, the entire gorge was infested with myriads of insectoid monstersspiders, mantises, locusts. Every one of them looked just like the insectoid monsters he encountered in the Rift of Illusions, although the ones in the Rift were just so muchrger.
Swathed in a strange coating of ck like paint on the oversized insects heads, thoraxes, and abdomens, the collective mass of insectoid monsters exuded a very unsettling presence unlike the usual foul aura that mutants emitted but rather a sinister presence that threatened to eradicate all life in this world.
What filled the air was this incessant buzzing that could only be the sound of the insectoid monsters feeding. The formerly verdant and lush vegetation and flora that once embellished the canyon with life and tranquility were gone. Everywhere the insectoid monsters went, they left behind destion in their wake, not a de of grass left standing. By Lu Yes reckoning, the insectoid army now swarming the gorge was at least ten thousand strong and counting. The torrent of monsters pouring out of the hole barely looked like they were going to stop and with enough time, this insectoid horde could be an unstoppable force of wanton destruction and death.
It really is an insectoid attack!
That was Chen Yu, who came with Lu Ye on his own mount, a leopard Spirit Beast. But standing beside Amber was enough to make it honest and tame with its usual ferocity and wrath all but extinguished.
Many at the outpost had sighted a rare disy of lightning where a deadly column of electricity had zapped all the way from the sky to the ground. Even from more than ten miles away, the terrible lightning strike could be seen with absolute rity. That phenomenon was what prompted Chen Yu to quickly inform Lu Ye about the possibility of an insectoid attack.
Lu Ye was just speaking to Li Baxian about this after thetters warning.
Insectoid attacks were a form of periodic natural disasters that ur in unpredictable cycles. After one attack, it could take months or even years before the next attack came.
That lightning phenomenonst night was the telltale sign of an imminent attack.
Right after the prognostic urrence of the lightning, the appearance of the pit would follow, which the people in the real world of Jiu Zhou called the wormhole. The bottomless ck pit from the depths of which the insectoid horrors would emerge toy waste upon whatever they saw.
That was the difference between insectoids and mutants. There were also insect-type mutant races, but they did not inherit the same destructive instinct as real insectoid monsters.
In fact, mutant races could co-exist easily with humans even in the real world of Jiu Zhou where many even took on the shape and appearance of humans to join various militant sects and orders.
On the other hand, insectoid monsterscked such intelligence; their actions all relied on their baser instincts, which was to destroy.
Whenever an insectoid attack urred, it was regarded as a cataclysmic event, for it affected the whole Spirit Creek Battlefield where wormholes would appear near each and every outpost in the Battlefield.
If allowed to fester, the insectoid scourge would have all the time they needed to build up enough strength to overrun and decimate outposts and even cities.
No one could know which outpost could be facing imminent invasion whenever the wormholes appeared.
Everywhere the insectoid swarm went, they would leave behind death and destruction in their wakenonds left unpiged, no crops left undamaged, and no fields left unstrippedand the biggest threat came from how fast they grew and bred.
.
As such, what ordinary Cultivators needed months to achieve, a single insectoid monster could be in mere days. It is for this exact reason that insectoid infestations needed to be handled quickly and decisively lest the monsters be too great in number and too dangerous a force to deal with.
Nevertheless, as with all situations of threat and peril, insectoid attacks also pose as moments of fortune.
Cultivators were awarded Contribution Points for every insectoid kill and their carcasses could be sold to the Vault of Providence, despite how obscenely low the price was. But with so many monsters to kill, the sale of their carcasses would nevertheless rake in a sizable amount of Points.
Therefore, to many Cultivators of the Battlefield, the insectoid scourge was both a threat and a boon.
Insectoid attacks had urred here at the Crimson Blood Sect outpost before. But with no one to defend the outpost, the scourge had enough time to burgeon, so the insectoids effectively overwhelmed even the outposts of prominent forces nearby. With no one else nearby powerful enough to deal with the threat, the eradication of the monsters was, in the end, left to the champions from the centermost areas of the Battlefield.
Hence, the vicinity of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost was always a deste and bare wastnd in the aftermath of an insectoid attack, before the rich Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere of the Battlefield once again breathed new life into Nature where all forms of flora were once again reborn.
Stay here. Report back if anything is wrong, instructed Lu Ye.
Understood, responded Chen Yu.
Amber wheeled around and sped off in the direction of the outpost.
As he rushed back, Lu Ye delivered a message to Hua Ci.
His reconnaissance of the insectoid scourge and the information that Li Baxian had supplied him told him what he needed to know about handling this threat. If this happened two months earlier, the Crimson Blood Sect outpost would be in no shape to deal with the stampede when it arrived and it would.
But things at the outpost had changed now.
His fellow acolytes at the outpost could not train and meditate all day without honing their experience and testing their skills in the real world outside. This insectoid attack could just be what everyone needed.
ording to Li Baxian, every outpost in the Battlefield needed to manage its own defenses against insectoid attacks, but the strength of the attacks at each outpost varied. Was this actually a contrivance of the Heavens, no one could say. But somehow, the initial attacks on outposts situated in the outer ring areas of the Battlefield were usually light. So long as they did enough to repel the invasion, the crisis could be averted with little to no losses.
Which was a stark contrast to the insectoid attacks which could already be happening now on the outposts at the centermost areas of the Battlefield.
Lu Ye arrived at the outpost. Meanwhile, Hua Ci already, as Lu Ye instructed, had the acolytes all mustered just outside the Sanctum of Providence of the outpost where everyone waited pensively without a word.
Aside from Hua Ci and a handful of full-fledged members of the Crimson Blood Sect, the rest were the hundred-or-so initiates who had joined them recently. But they were not alone; the independents who had pledged themselves to the Sect numbered almost six-hundred-man strong.
Such was the advantage of having so many independents pledged to their cause. Lu Ye could rely on them to help shore up the defenses. No outpost could survive being assailed by the insectoid scourge with just a hundred initiates and acolytes holding it.
Lu Ye vaulted himself off Ambers back. Stares and gazes all homed in on him. More than seven hundred pairs of eyes were watching him, but the mood was quiet and tense.
He addressed his fellowrades. Im sure by now you know whats happening. An insectoid attack ising! This is a test that every sect and order with an outpost in the Battlefield must suffer and endure. In the past, this outpost did not have the strength to withstand any attack! But this time, it does!
Ive seen what every one of you has been doing! Ive watched how you all improved and grew! Thats all fine! Your rank is what Cultivators depend on! But you need more than just power! You need realbat experience! You need to feel how it is exactly in real battle! So here is a chance for you to do so! I was with Chen Yu just to reconnoiter the insectoid force and they are big enough! But take heart! Our enemies are many but that is all! They do not possess great capabilities; even a Second-Order can easily y more than ten of these monsters!
So here is your opportunity, everyone! A chance to not only gain real and valuablebat experience, but also to earn Contribution Points. I believe I dont have to borate any further about the benefits of thetter. So the scourge is a field of Contribution Points waiting for you to pick up! Question is, DO YOU WANT THEM!?
WE DO! the entire congregation roared with voices that threatened to bring the outpost down.
THEN GO GET THEM! We are not like other sects and orders. They have defensive enchantments to keep their outposts safe so that they could fall back inside if things get tough. But not us! We dont have such luxury! So we fight for our survival! Our enemies are a spiteful force that knows nothing but wanton destruction. Fail, and the fields that youve worked so tirelessly on will be ravaged by these abominable beasts! So here we are, thest bulwark to everything in the outpost that we hold dear! There is no turning back now! While we draw breath, we fight! There is only war!
Leave the outpost! Heed my call, brothers-in-arms andrades! You have one hour to break into squads of five to ten! Elect a squad leader! The squad leader shall be responsible for the allocation of Contribution Points after the attacks! The more you kill, the more you get! The best ten performers of this skirmishwhether youre an acolyte, an initiate, or just an associateshall be awarded a bonus of Spirit Stones! The best three will win an additional prize: a nine-enchantment Spirit Artifact!
That was enough to send a sweeping wave of exmation through the whole crowd. While most were expecting only Spirit Stonesdespite not knowing how manyas prizes, with this skirmish being the first-ever endeavor mounted by the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, the rewards were bound to be generous.
Yet now, Lu Ye shocked everyone by announcing nine-enchantment Spirit Artifactsthe best of all low-tiered Spirit Artifacts, where one would cost at least a hundred Contribution Points in the Vault of Providenceas additional rewards to the best three performers.
The squad with the best overall performance will get to make a request of me after this skirmish! Anything you ask for, so long as it is within my power to confer, just ask it.
A tiny arm shot up into the air, followed by a squeaky voice. I have a question, Brother Lu Ye!
Lu Ye looked, it was He Xiyin.
Speak!
I have a friend who wished to ask if the special team request could be used on Sister Hua Ci!
Is that your friend or is it you?! Lu Ye scowled at her yfully. He Xiyin had this strange attachment to Hua Ci; she was just so full of admiration for her. At the same time, she was one of the best Cultivators Lu Ye hada Sixth-Order.
With Lu Ye and Chen Yu being the only Seventh-Orders in the outpost, Hua Ci and He Xiyin made up two of the handful of Sixth-Orders they had at the moment.
Lu Ye gave Hua Ci a look, and she bobbed her head demurely.
All right, Lu Ye pronounced, before he added, But only for you!
An overjoyed He Xiyin clenched her fists with anticipation and excitement.
Off you go then! You have one hour! After that, we march for the wormhole!
The square turned into a massing whirl of disorganized clutter as Cultivators began to look for friendly faces and formed groups. It did not take long for them to get into their squads and their leaders were elected.
In the meantime, Lu Ye extracted an empty jade slip and channeled his power to store some information inside. Li Baxian had given him a lot of useful knowledge, including the traits of some of the insectoid species and their weaknesses, and he too had some tips of his own from his bug-ying exploits in the Rift of Illusions.
All this information would be invaluable for the Cultivators who would be facing the insectoid attack for the first time and he needed to disseminate it before the skirmish began.
Chapter 215: Insectoid Wormhole
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 215: Insectoid Wormhole
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In just one hour, thepound of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost that had been teeming with activity with the recent inception of fresh members immediately became empty with every Cultivatoracolytes, initiates, and associated independentsmaking a beeline for the insectoid wormhole more than ten miles away.
The outpost was leftpletely undefended, but there was no need to worry. With Beaky still around, no Thousand Demon Ridge enemy would dare to attack and risk getting attacked by him instead.
But more importantly, with the insectoid attacks that were happening all over the Battlefield, everyone would be busy handling their own defenses.
More than ten miles away in the canyon where the wormhole had appeared, a battle had already begun.
The number of insectoids had increased further in thest hour, and with the insectoids incredible speed in breeding and growing, there was little wonder as to why insectoid attacks were regarded a cataclysmic event. So long as these monsters could find enough sustenance, they could be a potent legion of insectoids capable of ravaging and annihting literally everything on the face of the Battlefield.
Hence, it could not be stressed enough that this was the single most important factor in defeating an insectoid attack. So long as one could whittle down their numbers and prevent them from bing an all-out infestation, the insectoid threat could be contained.
The seven-hundred-man-strong force was broken down into almost a hundred smaller squads. Led by their respective squad leaders, they were scattered all around the perimeter of the canyon where they were to y every insectoid monster they found while slowly moving in towards the bottomless abyss from whence these abominations emerged.
Individually, the insectoid monsters would not pose as much threat at all. By usual Cultivator standards, most of the insectoid monsters were just First- or Second-Orders. There were barely any Third-Orders at all and if anything, none of them were anywhere close to the ones Lu Ye encountered in the Rift of Illusions. The insectoid monsters inside the Rift were almost a mans size.
But out here, the monsters were the size of a mans head at best, the smallest just as big as a fist. Plus, with their crude methods of offense, ying them wouldnt be too difficult a task.
The only caveat would be their innumerable numbers. With tens of thousands of them now swarming the hills, every inch of the vista in sight had been turned into barrennd.
Traces of Spiritual Power were spiking everywhere. Every single squad busied itself with clearing out the infestation of their respective zones and drenching almost every inch of the canyon with the slimy-green hemolymph of the monsters and leaving the whole area reeking with an intolerable acrid stench.
Contrary to the steady pace of the squads mowing their way through the multitudinous horde of insectoids was Lu Ye rapidly hacking a path straight through the insectoids like a bulldozer, leaving a trail of maimed torsos and limbs in his rear sight.
There was only so much that he could do with Invible against enemies of such diminutive girth. He could easily swing his weapon and y a few with one blow, but it was nowhere near enough.
Fortunately, Invible was not Lu Yes only mode of offense. After all, he was a Spell Cultivator, to a certain extent.
Using Fire Phoenixes and Fire Dragons interchangeably, Lu Ye was able to dole out vast amounts of area-of-effect damage, incineratingrge amounts of insectoids into charred remains with every attack. Most especially the Fire Dragon techniqueas a subsidiary technique of the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic and a spell that could only be learned by a Seventh-Grade, its damage and range far outstripped the Fire Phoenix technique by leaps and bounds, although that would also meant that the spell would consume more Spiritual Power.
Of the two fire-elemental spells, Lu Ye was especially satisfied with the Fire Dragon technique. At the very least, he would not feel embarrassed whenever he used it.
Somehow his Fire Phoenix looked every bit like a puffy chicken alight with mes instead of a majestic bird of fire.
On the other hand, the Fire Dragons he conjured appeared so real and so borately detailed that he could almost make out the scales on the Dragons trunks.
The canyon was not at allrge or wide. Lu Ye reached within sight of the wormhole in no time. When he finally made it to the bottomless abyss, he looked inside and saw a ck pit staring up at him. Swarms of insectoid monsters of different shapes and sizes were still scaling the jagged and rough surface of the hole as if they had detected him approaching and some even lunged at him, although all of them were already reduced to sickening pieces of bug flesh and viscera all thanks to Invible before they even got any closer.
With just one beat of hesitation, Lu Ye hurled himself into the hole. As he plunged downwards, insectoid monsters pounced at him one after another but every one of them was repelled with Lu Ye channeling his power and enveloping himself in an energy shroud.
Boom!
Lu Ye hit the bottom of the abyss with a loud crash. He looked up and estimated the depth. The fall was barely thirty-five meters by his reckoning and that was good news.
All around him, he could hear the incessant buzzing surrounding him. More insectoids were stampeding at him.
Lu Ye channeled his powers once more. There was no time to stop. Swinging Invible wildly at anything that came his way, he charged deeper into the insectoid nest.
The fiery luminescence zing over the sabers de illuminated his way.
That was Glyph: Radiance at work. While it might have seemed useless at first to Lu Ye, in this situation, it turned out to be extremely handy.
But to conserve Spiritual Power, Lu Ye kept the glow to just within thirty-five meters.
He was down there for at least a quarter of an hour before he came screaming out of the pit like a soaring bird, the fiery pair of wings on his back was the first thing that everyone noticed the moment he made his appearance.
He flew over the canyon until he found Hua Ci and hended next to her, utterly sodden with green mucginous hemolymph dripping off the hems of his clothes.
A few First-Order independents rushed forward to attend to him by washing off the muck with water.
Hua Ci had been keeping herself away from the action. As the only full-fledged Medical Cultivator they had, she needed to be here so that she could administer treatment whenever needed to. But the extermination had only just begun so there were hardly any casualties yet.
There were more than a dozen Cultivators here. Most of them were only First-Orders and being in the thick of the fight could be too risky for them, hence they were assigned to assist Hua Ci here.
The rest were acting as apprentices to Hua Ci since their desired path was Medical Cultivation just like hers.
That was fine for Lu Ye. In fact, the Crimson Blood Sect could use different varieties of Cultivators, especially Medical Cultivators. At the moment, the strength of the outpost here might still be in its infantile stage, but with Cultivators of different principal paths, its development was heading in the right direction
Found it? asked Hua Ci as she plucked a maimed arthropod leg out of Lu Yes head and tossed it ignominiously away.
Lu Ye shook his head.
Its a maze down below. I couldnt go further without risking being lost.
He was searching for the nest.
Deep inside thebyrinthian underground passage, the insectoid monsters must havee from somewhere and it could only be the nesttheir very origin.
To end an insectoid attack, one needed to locate the insectoid nest and destroy it.
This information came from Li Baxian.
The nest would expectedly be guarded by stronger and more powerful insectoids that Lu Ye would need help dealing with. That had been the usual tactic other sects and orders used whenever they were dealing with an insectoid infestation. While not all of them would marshal the entire force of their outposts, the gist had always been the same: to deploy men to control the number of insectoids while they located the nest for further action.
But with enough experience in dealing with insectoid attacks, many of the sects and orders in the Battlefields had long mapped out the subterranean tunnels where the insectoids would emerge from, and that had helped them to know how to n their strategy.
In the meantime, this was the first time the Crimson Blood Sect had mounted any endeavor to meet the insectoid threat. Hence, they would need to search the underground tunnels themselves.
The first order of business would be to first clear out the whole canyon before they could shift their focus underground.
No one knew how the insectoids came to be. Cultivators could fully exterminate the scourge up to thest monster, and still, more woulde after some time.
But every time an insectoid attack came, the same indicative lightning column phenomenon would ur.
Next, insectoids would appear out of nowhere and start to multiply. Before long, they would proliferate enough to stampede and overrun everything they could find.
Therefore, whenever the same lightning phenomenon repeated after quite some time, everyone would know better than to discount it as just some harmless anomaly.
Which was also the reason behind Li Baxians immediate warning to Lu Ye when he realized what was going on.
The first casualty came in atst, which was expected since the enemies were just so numerous despite their being so weak.
Hua Ci quickly attended to him as best as she could, not neglecting to provide exnations and advice to her apprentices.
There was no need for Lu Ye to get directly involved. He could y these insectoids with the same ease of a farmer wielding his scythe through a fistful of stalks, but Contribution Points he would be rewarded would just so few because of his rank, where he would need more than twenty or thirty kills just to scrape enough points to matter.
Unlike the rest, who were awarded enough points the moment they made a kill. This bug-killing spree really was turning out to be a windfall for them all.
Without a permanent way to earn Contribution Points steadily, this was a one-in-a-million chance for the Crimson Blood Sect members to earn as much as they could.
With enough manpower to deal with the insectoid infestation, there really was no need for Lu Ye to get involved.
Heading inside the pit and searching for the nest, that was his forte.
More casualties began to pile in, although the wounded were quickly allowed to rejoin the fight once Hua Ci was done with them.
A few hourster, the area of infestation had been drastically reduced by at least half. By closing in the perimeter, the work was getting easier the more the perimeter constricted.
At longst, with thest insectoid felled four hourster, everyone celebrated with peals of cheers.
Maimed carcasses still dripping with hemolymph agglutinating into sickening-green streams and puddles swaddled thendscape.
Clean the ce then take a rest. Were going spelunking in six hours!
As soon as Lu Ye finished barking his orders, everyone sprang into action. With several squads watching the entrance of the pit to prevent any more insectoids froming up, the rest scurried about to collect the carcasses.
Carcasses that could be sold to the Vault of Providence.
The Vault really was a cornucopia of boon to the Cultivators of Jiu Zhou. Whatever one needed, so long as one had enough Contribution Points, one could procure from it. At the same time, virtually anything could be sold to the Vault in turn, although the prices offered by the Vault oftentimes were borderline scandalous.
These insectoid carcasses were not worth much individually, but there were just so many that the full amount would have been astronomical.
By the end of the sixth hour, all seven hundred Cultivators mustered around the pit, each of them lit up with confidence and exuberance.
With a hand on the hilt of his weapon hung from his waist, Lu Ye strode towards the abyss with Amber padding quietly beside him as the crowd parted to let him through.
Yi Yi was sitting just on top of the white tigers back.
He paused at the edge of the pit then he leaped down without even a hint of hesitation. So did Amber with Yi Yi still on his back. Next to jump was Chen Yu, followed closely by the squad led by Sixth-Orders.
Almost immediately, those still waiting outside the pit could hear the screeching death rattles of the insectoid monstersing from below.
Minutester, everyone could hear Chen Yu calling. Its safe down here! Come on down!
The squads still outside now began to descend the pit. As soon as they got down, they set alight their torches as they prepared to explore the tunnels with their squad leaders in the lead.
Chapter 216: The Insectoid Nest
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 216: The Insectoid Nest
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Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The bottom of the pit was an empty clearing where even the ground was roasted by Lu Ye using the Fire Dragon technique when he first came in.
Ropes came dangling down and those who were not strong enough to jump down just rappelled their way down. The ropes were also there to facilitate quick exfiltration if need be.
As soon as a squad regrouped at the bottom, they would set alight their torches and begin their exploration of the underground passages.
With this being the first Crimson Blood Sect operation against the insectoid threat, they had two objectives toplete. The first was finding out the location of the main insectoid nest. That would go a long way in helping to contain this times threat.
The next would be to map out the whole subterraneanwork of tunnels for posterity.
Insectoid attacks woulde again, and the site of the insectoid nest would not be the same as it was now. Therefore, going the extra mile to map out the wholebyrinth would make future incursions against the insectoids easier and more convenient.
Lu Ye had discovered that the tunnels were interconnected with countless forks everywhere. How did thisbyrinthe to be, he did not know, but it did remind him of the mines at Evil Moon Valley.
And to explore such a dibobtingwork of tunnels, he would need manpower. Lots of it.
In this regard, he wasforted that the Crimson Blood Sect had managed to attract a number of acolytes, initiates, and associates recently, especially after the Battle Royal of the Legates. Or else, he would not even know what to do in this situation.
Then he remembered that it was Shui Yuan who had advised him to attract more initiates and associates, saying that since the Sect had once again begun taking in fresh acolytes, having more people would be useful for the future of the outpost.
She must have expected this insectoid attack, Lu Ye realized. That was why she had given him the instruction back then.
Now, Lu Ye channeled his power. He constructed arge Glyph: Gathering Spirits where the wounded and weary would rest and recuperate.
Hua Ci and her apprentices could also set up a temporary staging area here to tend to the wounded.
There was no need to hurry. Lu Ye first rested and regained his power. He swallowed a few Spirit Pills and made sure that he was fully replenished before he ventured deeper into the tunnels.
Splotches and puddles of greenish hemolymph were scattered everywhere he passed by. There were no carcasses in sight; the squads must have been collecting them while they fought.
He reached a second fork and he chose the one he liked best.
The deeper he explored, the more forks he encountered.
Finally, he arrived at a tunnel where the fighting had not reached. He drew Invible and slew any insectoids that he came upon, pressing forward to explore and to see if the insectoid nest could be nearby.
In the meantime, in different parts around thebyrinth that honebed deep underground, squads of acolytes, initiates, and associated independents were busy exterminating the insectoids.
The deeper they ventured, the bigger and more dangerous the insectoids became. Naturally, that would also mean casualties. The wounded would immediately withdraw to prevent further injuries, retreating the same way they got in while bringing along with them a sketch of their explored routes to be handed to Hua Ci.
While she attended to their wounds, the others wouldpile all the sketches into oneplete map of the whole subterraneanwork.
The extermination was progressing well enough, even though no one had yet reported any sightings of the insectoid nest. Everyone was raking in a rich bounty so far, but as the difficulty gradually ramped up with bigger and more powerful insectoid monsters, more people were getting wounded.
But as Cultivators, they expected no less. Theirs was a life of untold perils where every night of merrymaking and glorious singing could very well be theirst.
It took one full day before reports came to Lu Ye, who was, at that time, dispensing death and carnage to a bunch of insectoid monsters, that the insectoid nest had finally been sighted. Thats the advantage of having numbers! Lu Ye mused.
He immediately wheeled around and backtracked in the direction he came from.
Lu Ye returned to the temporary staging area at the bottom of the pit an hourter, fully swaddled in clothes slick with hemolymph.
Hua Ci helped to wash away the green slimy muck, next he channeled his power to heat himself up, radiating enough heat to dry his clothes. Then he found himself a ming torch as Hua Ci led him to one of the tables set up there.
On the table was a map. The onepiled by the collective efforts of all seven hundred members of this battle in thest twenty-four hours.
One look at the map and Lu Ye saw too many forks and bends that could confuse even the most experienced pathfinder. The disorderly tangle of subterranean tunnels and caverns actually connects to one another.
But the map was not yet perfect. There were still parts that needed surveying.
Hua Ci pointed at a particr spot. The insectoid nests here. But its kinda dangerous there. Chen Yu and his squads heading that way already. So are Amber and Yi Yi.
Lu Ye studied the map intently and nned his route.
He looked at the other parts of the map. ording to Brother Baxian, the nest usually upies arge underground space. Look at this site where the nest is sighted; there are so many tunnels leading away from it and if Brother Baxian is right, they would all converge at the exit, which is this hole where it leads to outside. That means, I could take any route and Id still end up where the nest is!
He was certain that by the time the undergroundwork was fully mapped out, the whole thing would look like a spindle apparatus with the nest cavern being at one end while the exit here would be at the other.
Now that much of this spindle apparatus shape was almostplete, it showed that the squads were making good progress, although one had managed to reach the destination: the cavern where the insectoid nest was housed.
That the other routes were making varying headway was only due to the different overall strengths of the squads. But a few, Lu Ye noticed, were very close to catching up. A little more time and they would reach the nest cavern as well.
Im heading to the nest now.
With that, Lu Ye spun on his heels and headed back inside the tunnels.
The tunnels were illuminated with ming torches hanging off the walls at regr intervals, which was hardly a marvel since Cultivators often carried items such as torches in their Storage Bags just in case.
After almost an hour of traveling, he heard the din of battleing from ahead, plus the unmistakable roar of a tigerAmber.
He focused his sight and looked ahead. Spells of myriad colors screamed through the air. Then he heard a girlish voice snarling ferociously.
A Seventh-Order insectoid! Thats you, He Xiyin! Chen Yus voice resounded.
Apparently, someone must havee up with the way to ssify the insectoid based on their strength and power inparison to the human Cultivator fashion. A Seventh-Order insectoid would be the insectoid equivalent of a human Seventh-Order.
But Im a girl, Brother Chen Yu! How could you leave such a job to a girl!? Even so, she screamed, HERE I COME, YOU MONSTER!
Lu Ye rounded a bend just in time to see He Xiyin, her face andplexion flushed red as she lifted a shield almost as tall as her, using it to shield the blows of a gigantic mantis very much taller than her. The blows the giant bug rained down on her shield elicited metallic ngors akin to the tolls of a bell with such force that with every blow, He Xiyin could only brace as her entire self trembled at the impact.
He Xiyin might look like the average youngss normally, but she was in truth a Body-tempering Cultivator.
When Lu Ye found out about this, he was so astounded that he looked as if he had been hit by a sledgehammer. He did not think that the small and petite frame of hers could contain such rich and powerful endurance and vitality.
With He Xiyin soaking up the damage and abuse from the gigantic bug, Chen Yu and Yi Yi were free to fire all the spells they could and deploy whatever Spirit Artifacts they needed, allowing them to make short work of the oversized insect.
But if anyone thought that this was the end of the battle; they would be sorely mistaken for another gigantic insectoid the size of a mammoth appeared.
Pull back! There are too many of these monsters! Chen Yu roared. The fight must have alerted the rest of the nest to their presence and more Seventh-Order insectoids, apanied by scores of Fifth- and Sixth-Orders stampeded this way.
They had to retreat without Lu Ye, losing a lot of precious ground.
Im a Body-tempering Cultivator! Id rather die fighting than turn around and run with my tail between my legs! He Xiyin growled through gritted teeth. But she only just finished when all of a sudden, a strange force dragged her from behind and she felt as light as a feather as she glided backward.
Someone had seized her by the back of her cor and tossed her into the air.
By the time shended safely, she saw a stranger standing at where she originally was and scores of insectoids were copsing at every swing of the strangers fiery-red weapon, its ring glow lighting up the entire passageway.
A Seventh-Order insectoid lunged through the air and the weapon shot up, slicing the monster into two grotesque bs of insectoid flesh and viscera in one fell stroke
Lu Ye! Yi Yi eximed with joy and surprise.
Brother Lu Ye!
Hearing the cries of his name, Lu Ye swung his weapon, flicking away the slimy green muck from his weapon as he acknowledged everyone with a curt nod. Enough of that. We fight!
His sudden appearance was like the much-needed jab of adrenaline to rejuvenate the offense, turning the tables back once again in their favor. A silvery bolt of light zigzagged through the insectoid mass, tearing through them as effortlessly as a needle through bolts of cloth. Scores of insectoids fell in that exchange alone and that was what was needed to rally the men for a renewed charge.
That was enough for Lu Ye; maintaining his Telekinesis was enough to ensure their advantage. He strode over to Yi Yi and Amber.
The brawny white tiger had grown much since thest time Lu Ye saw him. Since he started living at the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold, he had had all the food and Spirit Pills he needed, notwithstanding the amounts of times he came to Lu Ye to ask for his usual mysterious-red-substance fix from thetters dragon scale.
It would not be easy to gauge Ambers power levels, after all, it wasnt a human Cultivator. But the radiation of its beastly aura could parallel even a Sixth-Order, especially with that ethereal aureole of gold that cloaked him. Amber could easily bite through the insectoid defenses and one maul with its ws could easily dent any insectoid armor-like shell.
On the other hand, Yi Yis initial vocation was first to learn the ways of healing magic from Shui Yuan. She had lost count of the number of times that she had been stricken by worry and anxiety at Lu Yes injuries. That prompted her desire to be a Medical Cultivator so that she could be of some use to him.
But her hopes were dashed when she discovered that shecked the aptitude for the talent-demanding discipline and for that, she had been wallowing in disappointment for quite a few days.
Feeling sorry for her, Shui Yuan then rmended that she learn how to be a Spell Cultivator from their teacher and Grand Master Tang Yifeng. With her emotional wounds still raw from the setback, little did she realize that this would turn out to be a revtion.
Lu Ye had not been aware of how Yi Yi had been doing in her tutge with Tang Yifeng. All he knew was that she did spend a lot of time with him.
Yet right now, as he saw how deftly Yi Yi was firing one spell after another with great skill
Tang Yifeng had been singing praises about how Yi Yi was gifted in spell casting. In fact, he had even posited that Yi Yi must have been a Spell Cultivator before she died and her soul got attached to Amber. Just a couple or maybe a third demonstration and that would be enough for Yi Yi to master any spell.
As a ghost attached to Amber, her strength and power all came from Amber and that would mean that she wielded the power of a Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator.
And because of her spectral physical properties, Yi Yi was not confined only to a certain element. She could use ANY element she liked with little to no difficulty.
But she has her weakness as well. As ghostly entities are not able to consume Spirit Pills, the only way she could recover her power was to retreat into Amber and feed on his vitality.
That would mean that Amber would be shouldering the taxing strain from her as well since all her power was derived from him.
Chapter 217: Take Heart
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 217: Take Heart
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The fighting had never once stopped since it began. Once the insectoids sensed any discharge of Spiritual Power because of the fighting, they would immediately stampede toward where the discharge wasing from. It was always just a matter of how many of them.
Unless someone could destroy any insectoids they stumbled upon with just one blow to prevent emitting enough fluctuation of Spiritual Power to alert the rest of the colony.
But that was simply just impossible.
At the same time, Lu Ye was leading a charge that barreled through the insectoid horde with He Xiyin providing him cover, making straight for the insectoid nest cavern. He only had one foot inside the chamber when the insectoids, in a stalwart rally of their kind, managed to force him back outside.
What Lu Ye did manage to see was that the cavern was a very spacious and wide underground chamber. In fact, he surmised that it was even bigger than the square outside the outposts Sanctum of Providence. But it was too dark for Lu Ye to get a proper look.
But he did manage to catch sight of strange and grotesque walls of raw flesh all around the whole chamber as far as he could. There was an infinite number of sacs dangling from the ceiling and one after another, they burst open to reveal fresh additions to the ranks of the insectoid horde.
This is the nest! Lu Ye mused.
The sheer repugnant hideousness of the ce was enough to make one vomit; the whole ce was reminiscent of the bowels of a colossal demons stomach. A warren of innumerable abominations waiting to grow and hatch and a cesspit of horrors biding its time to unleash hell upon the entirety of the Battlefield.
Insectoids were a unique type of creature, as Li Baxian told him. Once an insectoid hatches from its egg sac, it would, like the rest of the colony, fall into a collective and destructive rampage to devour everything and anything with life. Part of what they consumed would go to further facilitate their growth and another part would be siphoned back to the nest where it would be used to nurture more insectoid hatchlings.
That demonstrated the close bond between the nest and the individual insectoida symbiotic rtionship that mutually benefited both sides. In fact, it was because of this bond that a hypothesis was once formed: a nest of insectoids like this, if left unfettered, would take only ten years before its number and power grew strong enough to overrun andy waste to the whole Battlefield, ousting humans to be to new dominant species of this dimension.
An insectoid horde that would engulf the entire Battlefield whole and would snuff out all life from this dimensionhardly anyone could envision such a horrifying scene.
But something like this would never happen, for every sect and order in the Battlefield would immediately march forth to nip the insectoid scourge in its bud before its toote.
At the moment, with the perimeter exterminationplete, the Crimson Blood Sect side had basically contained the threat of the insectoid infestation. Without being able to destroy and consume anything, the insectoid horde would not be able to further grow and multiply. All that was left to do was to keep cutting down their numbers until the nest had fully used up its life and energy. Then the battle would be won.
That was the standard course of action that many sects and orders in the Battlefield employed against insectoid attacks given their extensive experience in meeting the threat.
Naturally, casualties came hand-in-hand with skirmishes like this, even if it were sects and orders of the central regions of the Battlefield. Unlike the outer ring areas, insectoid infestations at the center were far more difficult to handle. Lu Ye had encountered inside the Rift of Illusions insectoid monsters before that could almost fully render themselves invisible. They could creep up on any unsuspecting prey and deal a sudden and fatal one-hit-kill attack.
And these were the kinds of insectoid monsters that the sects and orders of the Battlefields central areas would have to fight against. Fortunately enough for the Crimson Blood Sect, this must be a certain machination intended by the Heavens to prevent weaker factions from incurring catastrophic losses.
Still, given enough time, the infestation here would eventually produce insectoids of the same ability and deadliness.
Another important thing that Lu Ye was explicitly warned about, was to prevent any dead bodies of Cultivators from falling into the hands of the insectoids. Consuming the corpse of a Cultivator would mean a great boon to the insectoid nest and the resultant hatchlings produced would be far greater and deadlier than before.
With only one passage leading straight to the nest cavern cleared and Lu Ye holding down the enemies on his own, there was little to be feared.
The rest would only need to clear away the rest of the passages and force the insectoids back into the nest cavern. That way, the insectoid threat could be contained inside and no longer endangered anything outside.
Aware that some passages could do with a bit of help, Lu Ye sent Chen Yu and Yi Yi to aid the other squads.
He alone would be enough to hold this point.
He stood there. Alone.
But he did not idle around. He sent forth his hiltless dagger, using Telekinesis to harass the insectoids and luring them into the passage where he could easily make short work of them.
Knowing that the nest cavern must house a huge number of insectoids, Lu Ye was not foolhardy enough to gamble his own safety. In fact, he could sense a threatening presence within the darkness that pervaded the nest cavern. There must be something dangerous and deadly enough that he would be a fool to flippantly challenge.
It did not take long for the passage to fill up with dead carcasses of the insectoids. Lu Ye was able to divert some of his attention to stowing away the carcasses at first. But as he got busier killing and killing, he began to just ignore the carcasses.
That was when he realized something was amiss. Despite the never-ending streams of insectoids swarming at him, which he could easily cut down, the number of carcasses never seemed to drop or increase.
That was when he saw insectoids dragging the carcasses of their dead back inside the nest cavern.
Without any other ideas, he crammed whatever he could inside his Storage Bag while he kept the ughter going on.
After what seemed like hours, the rest of the tunnels had all been cleared and the undergroundwork of tunnels had all been fully mapped. The disorienting number of twists, bends, and intersections ultimately formed nine main tunnels that led straight to the nest cavern.
That did note without its price. The casualties had been piling up during the extermination and at least a dozen men were dead, including a whole squad that had been wiped out because of their unfortunate encounter with a Seventh-Order insectoid.
At their present strength, only squads with Sixth-Orders stand a chance against Seventh-Order insectoids. Any other squad would only be dead meat in the face of such odds.
But with the passages all basically cleared, the oue was more or less decided. So long as they could hold all nine passages and prevent the escape of any insectoids, the battle was as good as won.
But it wouldnt be easy. The tunnels were only as wide as three men standing abreast. With close to seven hundred men, the narrow passages werent in their favor at all. Those in the front would be overwhelmed by the insectoids while those in the back could only watch with their hands tied.
Therefore, it was imperative to fight their way out of the passages and secure the open area just outside so that more men could get out of the passages and fan out, thus fully taking advantage of their superior numbers.
But at the same time, Lu Ye was wary of the unknown threat that still prowled in the darkness ahead. There had to be an Eighth-Order insectoid inside there somewhere, he guessed.
And if this threat could not be handled properly, the tables could very well turn against them.
If it were only one or two Eighth-Order insectoids, Lu Ye would hardly feel so worried. But he feared the worst, that an entire cadre of them could be lurking unseen inside.
Which was exactly the reason why insectoid infestations were regarded as a cataclysmic disaster: because people died whenever insectoids attacked. It was not about strength or power; even a Cultivator as formidable as Li Baxian could be killed if he were not careful enough.
Now, Lu Ye was grateful enough to know that the stronger an insectoid was, the more sensitive it would be to the traces of Spiritual Power in the atmosphere and light.
If only he could make use of this information
He could still hear the din of fightinging from the rest of the nine tunnels. But the narrow width of the tunnels limited the scope of the fighting and it allowed for Cultivators to take turns dealing with the insectoids.
Lu Ye pressed a finger on his Battlefield Imprint and sent a message to everyone. Status check!
Replies poured in at once.
Yi Yi responded, Ready.
Chen Yus reply said, Ready and waiting.
He Xiyins was a yfully snide one that said, If Im dead, Brother Lu Ye, please get Sister Hua Ci to take care of my body or Ille back and haunt you.
Zhu Wenbo replied, Awaiting orders, Brother Lu Ye.
Yin Haoran answered, Anytime, Brother Lu Ye.
Luo Qisheng returned, All clear right here.
Gu Yang replied, We are ready.
Kong Nius one said, All good here!
[Very good], Lu Ye mused. [Everyone is ready.]
Kong Niu was the only Fifth-Order out of everyone who responded; the rest of them being Sixth-Orders at least. With them leading the charge from all nine tunnels, it would be easier especially since the bulk of the defensive pressure from the insectoids would be divided to every side equally.
As for Kong Niu, Lu Ye had sent more men to help shore up his side of the offense with more than a hundred men under hismand.
But no ns survived first contact with the enemy. Lu Ye would have to depend on his abilities to help mitigate any unforeseen circumstances.
Im a Medical Cultivator, Lu Ye. Should I not be at the rear to help tend to the wounded?
Hua Cis demure and gentle voice rang from over his shoulder.
Lu Ye had Hua Ci reassigned here to help him. He was aware of her aversion to bugs; he had seen firsthand how she was so frightened of one during the Battle Royal of the Legates, even though it was only a mechanical one. The prospect of having to go face to face with an unruly drove of bugs was enough to make her squirm and shift uneasily with her hair standing on ends.
There were two types of bugs that she hated the most: those with no legs and those with too many legs.
But Lu Ye had little choice. His best peopleYi Yi and Kong Niu includednumbered up to only eight and there were nine tunnels to hold.
The Crimson Blood Sect really could do with additional manpower.
Hence, Lu Ye had little choice but to rope in Hua Ci. She might be a Medical Cultivator, but she was still a Sixth-Order. Holding the passage should be simple enough for her, even though she might not be able to deploy those poisonous mushrooms of hers in this situation.
Lu Ye swiveled around to look at her and their eyes met.
Take heart!
Huh?! Hua Ci gasped incredulously.
It begins now!
Before she could even demand an exnation, Lu Ye turned back around and crouched. With a hand on the hilt of Invible hooked to his waist, heunched himself forward in a backwash of force and air, shooting forward like an arrow released. The metallic sh of a drawn Invible zipped straight for the opening of the tunnel with several insectoids crumbling to the ground, dismembered and maimed.
CHARGE! A deafening battle cry resounded as one after another, Cultivators poured out of Lu Yes tunnels on cue, joining him in the attempt to secure the forward expanse just outside the tunnel entrances. The eruption of mor and violence took the entire nest by storm, rousing the whole cavern enough that cascades of incessant buzzing filled the air as grotesque insectoids all rushed forth to meet them.
High-tier Cultivators all rushed forward to form up the battlelines forming an arching semicircle with the rest of the low-tierrades just behind them, firing what spells and talismans they could to their hearts content and felling one insectoid after another without being endangered.
Those in the rest of the other eight tunnels punched through the insectoid defenses in unison, maintaining the same semicircle formation as Lu Yes with the best Cultivators holding up the frontlines.
The battle was slowly nearing its conclusion.
A voice echoed in the air, Those who are hurt or weaker than the rest, collect the carcasses! We dont want the insectoidsing back to collect their dead!
It was out of crucial necessity. The nest could absorb life and energy from insectoids and their dead carcasses and use those as sustenance to conceive new hatchlings.
And the ability stemmed from the morbid walls and ceilings of flesh that could extract life and energy and funnel it to the nest as part of a biological system.
Hence the need to quickly collect the insectoid carcasses or the life and energy still contained within the dead insectoids would be drawn away by the walls and ceilings.
That was what the insectoid monsters were doing: dragging the carcasses of their dead kin back inside the nest so that the nest could feed and produce new offspring.
Chapter 218: Aerial Advantage
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 218: Aerial Advantage
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If nothing was done to clear the insectoid carcasses, then the nest would consume them to produce new offspring and the extermination would never stop.
That was what Li Baxian had specifically warned him about. For this reason, Lu Ye ordered everyone to make sure to bring along a few spare Storage Bags to store the carcasses.
Unlike the insectoids that got out, the ones in the nest were mostly Third- to Fourth-Orders, with quite a number of Fifth- to Sixth-Orders in between. Fortunately, there were not many Seventh-Orders so the situation was still manageable for the entire Crimson Blood Sect force.
One after another, Lu Ye zapped every insectoid he saw with relentless streaks of Fire Dragons. The faster and the more he killed, the better he could keep the situation under control.
And so it was, with him holding down the fort. But despite their advantage, no one was reckless enough to push into the darkness ahead. After all, there was no telling what else could be prowling around, waiting for the humans tomit an error.
Nevertheless, a Seventh-Order furiously using his Spiritual Power, not to mention the brilliant eruptions of luminescence from the Fire Dragon spells, was causing another problem.
Barely thirty seconds passed since the Crimson Blood Sect force managed to push into the nest, Lu Ye began to feel a powerful presence in the darkness ahead and it was approaching quickly. He knew what it was: Eighth-Order insectoids.
Not one. Not two. Judging from the cluster of presence, there were three.
There were not many. With Lu Yes current rank and strength, there was every chance of him being able to kill one of them with just one blow, then he would just have to deal with the remaining two with the help of the rest of hisrades.
The n had only just crossed his mind when Kong Nius voice pierced through the din of the fighting from nearby, DANGER!
It was a keyword. If any side were to face too much pressure, all they needed to do was give the call and Lu Ye woulde over to assist.
In the meantime, he intentionally had Kong Nius tunnel just beside his own. Knowing that he was only just a Fifth-Order, Lu Ye was aware that he might still need help against the Seventh-Order insectoids even though he has the biggest squad of Cultivators.
Lu Ye had nned well.
There was no time to wait for the Eighth-Order insectoids to appear. A pair of wings unfurled on Lu Yes back and he took into the air. With Invible gripped in one hand, he held aloft its scabbard with another, and without warning, it shone with a brilliant radiance as if the sun had risen inside the nest cavern!
The strong and blinding light stretched as far as its rays could reach, allowing Lu Ye a glimpse of the darkened subterranean stone chamber. If he could not see it before, the light now gave him the chance, although it was not quite a sight that Lu Ye would enjoy. In fact, it sent a numbing sensation across his scalp.
The infestation inside the nest cavern had strayed far beyond his imagination. Of shapes and sizes most grotesque and horrific, the insectoids were a vast boundless sprawl all over the cethe walls, the ceilingseverywhere, and they were crawling towards Lu Ye and the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force because of the waves of Spiritual Power released from the fighting.
Watch your heads! Lu Ye screamed to hisrades, at the same time, he maintained constant vignce about the Eighth-Order insectoids. One reason for his soaring up into the air was to create a diversion to lift some of the pressure off the backs of hisrades, and if the Eighth-Order insectoids werent moving his way, then his n would be a failure and the others would be in danger.
Not even Hua Ci could withstand the onught of the Eighth-Orders insectoids.
Luckily enough, the insectoidsEighth-Order or notbarely had a shred of tactical acumen and intelligence.
And this was all thanks to Li Baxian who had supplied Lu Ye with a lot of crucial information.
Like a lighthouse with its shining beacons lit during a squall, Lu Ye, with his shimmering scabbard, became the sole target of the Eighth-Order insectoids. They plodded through hundreds of their own kind blocking their way, mercilessly cutting down any insectoid unlucky enough to be in their way with their razor-sharp forelegs.
These were not all of them. Further inside the depths of the nest cavern, Lu Ye could sense three more Eighth-Order insectoidsing.
That would make six Eighth-Order insectoids. Sects in the outer ring of the Battlefield would not have the means of defeating such a force if they failed to take the insectoid threat seriously. Even for humans, Seventh-Order Cultivators were rare enough in these parts, never mind Eighth-Orders.
The only Seventh-Order Cultivators were usually the legates of the outposts and their prolegates.
Lu Ye let loose a Fire Dragon from mid-air. The borately detailed visage of a ming dragon screamed all its way down into the massing horde of insectoids, killing a huge number of them in one blow.
Another one came down near Kong Niu, instantly relieving much of the pressure on his side.
Brother Lu Ye! cried another voice.
Lu Ye flew over quickly.
The standard method of dealing with an insectoid infestation would be to seal up the pit of the wormhole and just keep on killing until the nest ran out of sustenance to reproduce, where victory would be a virtual certainty.
That would take time and patience, but it remained a safe method where any unforeseen mishaps could be addressed timely.
Still, that was not what Lu Ye opted for. He led the Crimson Blood Sect force on an assault straight into the nest cavern, sending everyone in hismand into a full-scale head-to-head skirmish against the insectoids at their doorstep. It was risky, no doubt, but the returns were huge as well.
That he chose to undertake such a risk was only because of his great mobility which allowed him to provide assistance on whichever front needed his help.
Such was the advantage of being able to fly.
One that no ordinary Seventh-Order had.
Lu Ye held aloft his makeshift torch. That did not prevent him from unleashing his fiery wrath ceaselessly, leading the six Eighth-Order insectoids on what appeared to be a cavern-wide wild goose chase as he flitted around to help stave off the pressure on all fronts of the Crimson Blood Sect assault force and steadily gaining the initiative of this skirmish.
In the raving pursuit of Lu Ye, the Eighth-Order insectoids had been causing a great deal of coteral damage even to their own kind. The Crimson Blood Sect assault force might not have been able to collect those carcasses being so far out of their reach, but the relief on their pressure was nheless very much weed.
Now that the tables were in his favor, Lu Ye decided that perhaps he should deal with the core of Eighth-Order insectoids still gunning for him. The longer he allowed them to survive, the more they would be a threat.
Still in flight, Lu Ye cast forth his hiltless knife. Steeped with destructive energy, the knife soared around like a fieryet, finding its first markan Eighth-Order insectoidand sting a hole through it amid a backwash of mucky hemolymph.
Admittedly, this gave Lu Ye his first impression of how dangerously sturdy the physical endurance of an Eighth-Order insectoid could be. It took Lu Ye more than seven to eight blows using Telekinesis before one was finally killed.
The tiny reddish sparkle retraced its way back to Lu Ye where he caught it with his fingers to replenish the Spiritual Power imbued inside before he cast it forth again.
But the continued use of his flying ability, Glyph: Radiance, the relentless firing of Fire Dragons, and Telekinesis caused such a great toll on his Spiritual Power. In barely a quarter of an hour, Lu Ye could feel that he had expended almost seven-tenths of his full power, with just a measly three-tenths left.
And that was even though he, a Seventh-Order, already had a much bigger storage of Spiritual Power with more than a hundred Spiritual Points unlocked.
If he had pulled off a stunt like this when he was still a Fifth-Order, he would have long been exhausted.
Unfazed, Lu Ye retrieved a jade sk from inside his Storage Bag. He unstoppered it and upended the bottle, emptying its contents down his throat.
It tasted odd. For one moment, he tasted the sweet fruitiness of some fermented beverage before a bitter zest kicked in.
A cider made of crushed Mystic Fruit.
Li Baxian had bid him to give to Shui Yuan all the Mystic Fruits that he collected during the Battle Royal of the Legates.
With the Mystic Fruits peeled and crushed before being mixed with a number of expensive and rare herbs that Lu Ye did not even know the names of, Shui Yuan turned the Fruits into a beverage that could simte the exact same effects of ingesting Mystic Fruits.
When she handed Lu Ye the Mystic Fruit cider, Shui Yuan had informed Lu Ye that a sk of the cider would restore almost half a Seventh-Order Cultivators full reserve of Spiritual Power in thirty seconds.
Nevertheless, there were also drawbacks to Mystic Fruit ciderit would take a longer time for the effects to take ce, indicating a slightly reduced potency ifpared to consuming a Mystic Fruit the normal way.
Even so, drinking a sk of Mystic Fruit cider gave a bigger amount of restoration.
What Lu Ye had just consumed was one sk of Mystic Fruit cider; Shui Yuan had given him and Hua Ci thirty sks in total.
Which would have made spending his Spiritual Power so wantonly something Lu Ye loathed to do. To use his power so recklessly in such a short span of time was nothing short of being foolhardy for any Cultivator.
Lu Ye could feel the warmth emanating from inside his belly the moment he finished the bottle. The warm rush began to swirl in him like a vortex, filling every Spiritual Point of the Microcosmic Orbits inside him. In just thirty seconds, Lu Ye no longer felt the fatigue and lethargy that came from having just three-tenths of his full reserves of Spiritual Power. He felt invigorated.
He was everywhere, giving help to whichever side that needed him while he would find time to eliminate one Eighth-Order insectoid at a time whenever he could.
Gradually, the pressure from the insectoids had grown noticeably weaker. The nest was still desperately trying to reproduce fresh insectoid hatchlings to replenish the colonys ranks, but the rate could no longer keep up with the ughter. Across the different fronts just outside the tunnels leading into the nest cavern, the Crimson Blood Sect assault forces were slowly solidifying their foothold here and of the original six Eighth-Order insectoids doggedly hot on Lu Yes heels until now, only one remained; two if you counted the one still reeling with spasms from Lu Yes hiltless knife savagely turning it into a honeb beehive.
When the hiltless knifes work was finally done, that left only thest remaining Eighth-Order insectoid.
Satisfied, Lu Ye ceased the magic of his Glyph: Radiance andnded just in front of Kong Nius group where, this time, it was his turn to charge straight at the lone Eighth-Order insectoid.
He drew Invible and activated Glyph: Sharp Edge, sidestepping the iing monster deftly while he ducked, slicing his weapons de through the monsters leg.
A stter of greenish hemolymph hit the ground, apanied by a shrill screech from the adult-sized monster as it crashed to the ground, its jet-ck exoskeleton failed to prevent the deep bite of Invible.
The monster had only just fallen down when Lu Ye was already back on his feet and over his fallen enemy, driving Invible straight through its back and punching out the front.
The insectoid monster writhed and contorted with agony, its movements eliciting more slimy green muck spraying everywhere like a fountain.
Invibles de shone with bright red radiance, emitting a burst that ripped a bigger hole through the monsters torso before the st ultimately ripped the carcass into halves.
KILL THEM ALL! Kong Nius voice red through the din like a war horn. More battle cries thundered from the rest of the other fronts in response to his call.
For the next hour, the Crimson Blood Sect assault forces steadily pressed deeper inwards, limiting the surviving insectoids area of activity.
Lu Ye gave Invible a forceful flick to shed off any blood before he returned it to its scabbard as he finally exhaled easily with relief and contentment.
[It is game, set, and match!] Lu Ye mused. There was no longer any need for him to intervene. The others could mop up the rest of the insectoids with hardly any difficulty. More so, since such a chance to garner more Contribution Points is hard toe by and there was no reason for Lu Ye to get in their way.
Sister Hua Ci! Stay with me! Ruan Lingyus frantic voice wasing from one end of the nest cavern.
Lu Ye strode over at once. With a ming torch, he found Hua Ci fallen on her knees, looking dazed as if in a trance.
Ruan Lingyu was kneeling just in front of her, shaking her shoulders madly.
Is she hurt? Lu Ye asked quickly.
Ruan Lingyu shook her head. But there was no missing those tears welling in her eyes.
ording to her, Hua Ci was just leading this side against the insectoid horde not long ago. Everything was fine until the victory was certain and she fell into such a state as soon as she rxed.
Lu Ye examined Hua Ci and made sure that she was not hurt. Next, he bent down just beside her and patted her lightly on the shoulder. Youll be fine the next time. You can bet that this is not thest time well be meeting these bugs.
Hua Cis head strenuously swiveled like a rusty wheel, and she gave him a stare of indescribable despair at the prospect of facing more insectoids
Stay with her. Let me know if you need anything, instructed Lu Ye before he left Ruan Lingyu with Hua Ci.
The oue might be certain, but the battle was still far from being won, and knowing that, Lu Ye knew that he still needed to keep an eye on things. Thest thing he wanted was for some of his men to lose their lives in a time like this and give the insectoids any chance for a rebound.
If what Li Baxian told him was right, then there would be at least another three powerful insectoids to deal with. They might be Eighth-Order insectoids, but they would be better, stronger, and deadlier than the ones Lu Ye had just disposed of earlier.
Chapter 219: Farming Points
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 219: Farming Points
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Crimson Blood Sect assault force progressed deeper into the nest caverns depths, mowing down insectoids as they moved.
Lu Ye skirted around, keeping just behind the forefront to provide backup whenever needed. His job now was to prevent any unnecessary losses on his side.
It took another few hours before the lions share of the colony had been exterminated. The nest never stopped churning out new life and new hatchlings kept popping out of the egg sacs hanging from the ceiling, but most if not all of them were swiftly dealt with before they could even get their first glimpse of the world.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was studying a particrlyrge meat sac. Unlike the others, this bulbous bud of flesh and liquid inside looked unusuallyrgethe height of a manand it had tiny capiry-like vessels reaching up to the ceiling of flesh before spreading off everywhere else.
But that was not the point. What really perturbed Lu Ye were the three Eighth-Order insectoids guarding this insectoid nexus.
These three were unlike the rest of the Eighth-Order insectoids Lu Ye had in earlier. They had forelegs armed with sharper and deadlier serrated edges, stronger and thicker jet-ck exoskeletons that looked more like real armor than just biological constructs for defense and support, as well as girth and height much bigger than that of the usual Eighth-Order insectoids.
The aura they emanated was telling enough that they might not be Ninth-Orders, but they were definitely far more dangerous than their ordinary Eighth-Order counterparts.
These were the Praetorian types that Li Baxian had warned him about, one of the special sses of insectoids in a colony.
Most insectoids would be driven by the impulse to venture away from the nest to explore and consume whatever sustenance they could find.
But not these Praetorian types. Their duty and calling were the well-being of the nexus, which they would watch and protect at all times, even with their own lives.
That was why none of them were attracted to Lu Ye despite him flying around with Glyph: Radiance shining so brightly like a beacon. That was why none of them came to aid their kind when Lu Ye and the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect assault force ughtered them.
For nothing mattered more to them than the safety of the nexus. So long as nothing came within reach of the nexus, the Praetorian types would remain steadfastly immobile.
The only way to defeat such enemies would be to overrun them with superior numbers.
A group of Cultivators skilled in using spells and talismans was handpicked for this task. They stood almost seventy meters around the insectoid nexus, surrounding the Praetorian insectoids in a ring of steel.
Lu Ye would have preferred more people, but a hundred men were the best he could do for now.
Everyone channeled their powers.
With his Telekinesis, the hiltless knife left Lu Yes fingers, shooting into the air with a sharp whistle. Like a zing meteor, it jetted straight for one of the Praetorian insectoids at the same time as Chen Yuunched another Telekinesis attack of his own.
On cue, more than a hundred spells and talismans hurtled for the three surviving insectoids as well.
A cascade of explosions, plus the chaotic pulses of Spiritual Power, rocked the entire subterranean stone chamber, threatening to bring the whole ceiling down.
The insectoids unique screeches shed across the bem. Goaded, the three Praetorians finally marched forth to meet their human foes.
They might refuse to stray far from the nexus, but that did not mean that they were going to take any attacks lying down. For this reason, Lu Ye had expressly forbidden everyone from hitting the three at all to avoid any unwanted consequences.
The red sparkle of light soared back and forth, spearing through the first Praetorian insectoid that came Lu Yes way again and again until it toppled to the ground in a crash before a swarm of spells and talismans rained down on it. It would have got up to its feet if not for the hail of death and destruction sting off its exoskeleton, prating its flesh and ripping it apart.
Its other two brothers suffered simr fates. Individually, they could have defeated most of the Cultivators present, but none of them could ever withstand the sheer intensity of the volleys of spells battering down their defenses.
It did not take long for them too to crash to the ground, joining their brother in death.
One did manage to weather through the crippling salvos of attacks, but before it could get any nearer to threatening any of the Cultivators, it was pinned down by a group of Body-tempering Cultivators led by He Xiyin until the rest mobbed and slew it.
Who it was who had dealt the killing blow, no one could tell in that pandemonium.
But everything had gone well with a properly thought-out n. All three Praetorian insectoids were easily disposed of and the battle was finally won. This would have not been possible without Li Baxians adviceknowledge and wisdom amassed by the many Cultivators of the past who had given their lives to thwarting the insectoid threat.
Cheers erupted from all around the nest cavern, and everyone was jubnt.
They had almost a dozen men in this battle against the insectoids, but everyone nevertheless remained happy and delighted at surviving their first insectoid attack.
Most of them were gripped by fear, apprehension, and dread when they first heard about the insectoids attacking where many had lost their lives in the past. But this year, this timefor the first timethey prevailed. They survived.
And those who managed to pull through all reaped rich rewards.
But the battle was not yet over. Technically. The nest had not yet fully withered and so long as it endured, the nest would never stop churning out new hatchlings.
Lu Ye strode to the centermost meat sac where the Praetorian insectoids had been standing guard. He recognized it for what it was: the insectoid nexus.
He carefully ran Invible by its side, slicing open the meat sac gently. The membrane burst open with an unbearable and putrid stench surging out, but no one could miss how much life was pulsing inside.
Lu Ye thrust an arm into the flesh and rummaged around as if he was looking for something.
The sickening squishes were graphic enough to make several female Cultivators so disgusted that they scurried away with their hands sped on their faces to prevent them from throwing up.
Lu Ye did not have to dig long. He retracted his arm momentster with a grotesquely misshapen mass of flesh and blood vessels barely the size of his fist still beating in his grasp.
One look at it and anyone knew what the thing was: the heart of the insectoid nexus was still full of life.
So its true.
Lu Ye murmured to himself. This was what was absorbing the sustenance whenever an insectoid consumed somethingthe very instrument of the colonys continuitythe heart that would pump more life into the nest to reproduce more hatchlings. This was why the Praetorian insectoids stood guard here so that they could protect the heart and keep it safe from all harm.
In his hands, Lu Ye held the amalgamation of life and energy, which, in the real world of Jiu Zhou, was known as the Nucleus of Life. But the rich vitality and energy stored inside this thing were of no use to Lu Yeor any other Cultivator for that matter. The sole purpose of this biological instrument was the continuity of an insectoid colony and nothing else.
An insectoid nexus like this usually had more than one Nucleus of Life. Lu Ye could count more than a handful of them when he was digging through the fleshy fold of the nexuss insides. He would need to slice open the whole thing if he wanted to know exactly how many Nuclei were inside.
And doing that would fully extinguish all life and energy inside the nexus. Without the sustenance from it, the nest would wither and die, and the battle would finally be over.
But Lu Ye wasnt going to do that. Lacking proper ways to farm Contribution Points, the members of the Crimson Blood Sectits acolytes, initiates, and associatescould use this chance to earn as much as they could while the chance was still presenting itself. With all seven hundred Cultivators camping here in the nest cavern, all they needed to do was to just y any insectoids that the nest produced, and they could easily gain points.
Therefore, Lu Ye only gave the Nucleus another brief look before he stuffed it back inside the nexus.
As soon as he retracted his arm, the incision he made immediately healed with noticeable speed, portending to the nexuss incredible vitality and energy.
That was what they did next: everyone just loitered around the nest cavern and once the nest reproduced another hatchling, the Cultivators would be upon it before it ever saw the light of day, sending it straight on its way to its maker.
There was nothing else for Lu Ye to do. He divided the squads, assigning them to every egg sac hanging from the meat ceiling of the nest so that they could farm all the Contribution Points they wanted before he left them to it
He went back to check on Hua Ci and made sure that she was fine. Only then was he relieved.
Although reminiscing how she looked earlier really was funny and gratifying at the same time.
[Well, I suppose as a woman, its understandable for her to have some form of vulnerability,] Lu Ye mused.
Lu Ye! Lu Ye! Yi Yi was calling him all of a sudden.
Hmm?
Theres a tunnel there that leads to somewhere else.
What do you mean somewhere else?
Like what I said: a tunnel. Juste and youll find out what I mean, Yi Yi pulled at his arm to get him toe with her.
Now that the situation in the nest cavern was fully under control, Yi Yi had taken the time for a leisurely walk around where she discovered a tunnel that no one had explored before.
Yi Yi led Lu Ye to the tunnel in question. He stood there and tried to remember all the underground routes that everyone had mapped. That was when he realized that this particr tunnel was the one tunnel that no one had noticed. A dark underground passageway which was not one of the nine tunnels that they had discovered, and no one knew where it would lead.
Lu Ye scoured around, and he bent down, finding a patch of viscous liquid that was still slick and wet.
The same type of secretion that insectoid hatchlings were born with the moment they broke out of their egg sacs.
That meant that some of the insectoids had left the nest ande this way. That the patch was still wet indicated that the insectoids did not leave too long agoa day at most.
That reminded Lu Ye of a possible scenario that Li Baxian had warned him about. A sense of foreboding hung over him.
Go in and have a look? Yi Yi suggested.
Im heading in.
Iming along, Yi Yi added briskly.
All right.
Take Amber with us.
Right.
Yi Yi pranced off and went to fetch Amber.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye called Chen Yu to him before leaving Chen Yu instructions to watch over the others in his absence and to raise him over anything urgent.
Riding on Amber, Lu Ye and Yi Yi explored the unknown tunnel, plunging deeper into the darkness.
He had Invible drawn in case of any surprises while he held aloft its scabbard with Glyph: Radiance activated like a ming torch. Yi Yi sat in front of him, and Amber bounded forward as quickly as it could.
That brought back some form of nostalgia like how all three of them used to travel together in the past, carefree and happy. Yi Yi loved those days and being reminded of that left her in such a jovial mood that she began humming a tune.
Lu Ye propped his chin on her head and the strands of her hair iled in the passing wind, pricking his face gently enough to feel itchy.
Your heads so heavy! Yi Yi protested.
Lu Ye deliberately applied more force.
Im telling Sister Hua Ci about this! wailed Yi Yi angrily, Ill have her deal with you!
Hua Ci, eh? Lu Ye smirked. He might be concerned with her before, but now that he knew her weakness and with the tiny spider golem still in his possession, the tables had been turned!
Youve grown bold enough to not fear Sister Hua Ci anymore, eh, Lu Ye?
And you seem to have forgotten whose surname you now carry, Lu Ye clenched his fist and noogied her head with it.
WAA! Im a Lu! All right! Yi Yi tried to push him away to no avail, Im Lu Yi Yi, all right, all right!
The banter went on as the trio pressed forward through the tunnel.
It took almost an hour before they finally reached somewhere they could sense the pulsing discharge of Spiritual Power up ahead, notwithstanding a loud, continuous buzzing.
Lu Ye quickly shut down Glyph: Radiance and fell quiet immediately, so did Yi Yi as well as Amber who padded forward quietly to maintain stealth.
Lu Ye patted the tigers back to motion for it to stop. Next, he and Yi Yi mbered off its back and they sneaked forward themselves. They reached a corner and peeked. An incredible sight filled their visions.
Chapter 220: Free Food
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 220: Free Food
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It was another gigantic underground cavern filled from top to bottom with walls and ceilings of flesh pulsing with Spiritual Power. Even from a distance, they could make out the multitude of insectoid monsters massing in an incredibly huge cluster.
Yet another insectoid nest?!
But this nest was not within the vicinity of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. This was somewhere else.
Insectoid attacks did not just ur at only a select few outposts. They urred everywhere around the Battlefield, making it a worldwide cataclysmic event where virtually every person, sect and order would be affected. Right now, everyone should be defending their outposts from insectoid attacks.
That would mean that in the event of insectoid attacks, an insectoid nest would appear in the vicinity of virtually every outpost in the Battlefield.
The Crimson Blood Sect force was done with the insectoid nest on their side with all seven hundred Cultivators under itsmand now underground farming Contribution Points at their leisure.
And this only happened because Lu Ye opted for a drastic and aggressive course of action that had not only worked in the Sect and everyones favor but was also rewarding.
Unlike this side.
Whatever this sect was, the people here have clearly chosen the standard way of sealing the exits of the nest cavern and ying all insectoids that came their way. It was by no means an efficient way of dealing with the infestation, but under usual circumstances, it was a safe and dependable way.
Without legates that possessed the ability of flying and dangerous prowess that could easily defeat opponents beyond their rank like Lu Ye, it was understandable for most sects and orders in the outer ring areas of the Battlefield to select such a safe course of action.
That was exactly the reason why Lu Ye had the confidence to undertake such a risky method, but his gambit paid off, or else, the Crimson Blood Sect would need more time and resources to deal with the infestation.
The fact that Lu Ye was able to reach this nest showed that both coloniesthis and the one in the vicinity of the Crimson Blood Sect where he and hisrades had just defeatedwere connected. This should not have been possible under usual circumstances since most colonies existed as separate entities.
But in this case, it was. ording to what Li Baxian had told him, a colony that had grown too strong and too numerous would invade another colony and take over its nest. That would mean that once a colonys growth was left unfettered, it would turn aggressive enough to burrow more tunnels in search of other colonies for a hostile invasion of their own kind.
With no one to defend the outpost in the past, the insectoid colony in the vicinity of the Crimson Blood Sect would grow and thrive. The nearby sects and orders would first deal with their own infestation before they would join up to deal with the one there, knowing that if they did not intervene quickly, the infestation would eventually be their problem.
But there had also been times when the insectoid colony became too dangerous, and they had to call upon the aid of champions from the sects and orders with outposts in the inner ring or even the centermost area of the Battlefield.
But at any rate, that would exin why both colonies were connected. The tunnel must have been made by a past infestation that had gone awry.
Only no one expected that the Crimson Blood Sect would be able to deal with their side of the infestation so quickly. Just when all nearby sects and orders were still busy defending their outposts and conducting their side of the extermination, the Crimson Blood Sect side had already sealed their victory.
In the meantime, Lu Ye could hear grunts and snarlsing from the other tunnels leading into this nest, intertwined with the asional yelps and shrieks of pain. Someone must be hurt.
Risks existed even with the safest course of action. One could have all the tunnels leading into an insectoid nest manned, but once the insectoids reached a certain level of strength and number, their attempts to break past the defenses could still incur huge losses.
There were three factions near the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. One of them belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition, while the remaining two are part of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
A look at the map of this locale showed that the locations of the three factions outposts formed a triangle and the Crimson Blood Sect outpost was situated right in the middle of that triangle.
They were: the outposts of Bayshore Abbey, the Redoubt of Wrath, and n Feng.
Bayshore Abbey was the sect that belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition. The Tier-Nine orders outpost was situated somewhere to Lu Yes outposts west, while the outpost of the Redoubt of Wrath, a Tier-Eight order of the Thousand Demon Ridge, was positioned to the north, whereas the outpost of n Feng, another Tier-Nine Thousand Demon Ridge faction, sat just somewhere due east.
Lu Ye paused and deliberated about the route that took him here. Next, hepared it to his map and discovered that he had reached somewhere below the outpost of the Redoubt of Wrath.
That would mean that the people now in the other tunnels leading into this nest and were fighting off the insectoids were acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath.
Needless to say, the acolytes of the Redoubt must be experienced Cultivators in dealing with insectoid attacks.
That would exin the rtively stable situation here. Given enough time, the extermination of the insectoids here would end without a hitch.
Beyond any doubt, both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng must have enjoyed imposing their tyranny upon the undefended Crimson Blood Sect outpost. The independents here would not have been able to gain a foothold if it were not for the presence of Bayshore Abbey.
Since his appointment as legate of the outpost, Chen Yu had told him the things that he knew about the outpost. It was said that geological veins of ore existed beneath the vicinity of the outpost and above it, a sprawl of magical fruit trees. These are all part of the outposts property.
But with no one to man the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, it was the acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath who had been iming these resources as their own and this had been going on for years.
And Lu Ye had been ignoring this for the moment. The outpost had only just epted new recruits and a conflict so soon did not seem smart at all. It would take some time for the new members to get used to the ce and develop a feeling of belonging and attachment to the outpost before Lu Ye could feelfortable leading them into a real battle.
But this could pose a real chance for a rehearsal.
Lu Ye crouched in a corner and watched a while longer before he crept backward and waved to Yi Yi.
Yi Yi sidled closer, cocking her earl closer to listen.
Lu Ye whispered his instructions to her.
At length, she nodded, All right.
She mbered back onto Ambers back and they backtracked into the tunnel, heading down the same way they came.
Little did the acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath know that in their fierce skirmish against the insectoid horde, the victory they expected to be a certainty would not being today.
Unsure about their safety,ing here at first took a long time for Lu Ye and Yi Yi since Amber did not travel at its highest speed. But now that it was certain that this tunnel was safe, Yi Yi and Amber could ride as quickly as they could on the way back.
This time, Yi Yi took one hour to ride back and forth, rejoining him with almost two to three hundred Storage Bags now hanging all around Amber.
She handed a Storage Bag that she intentionally singled out. Theyre all here, she reported, And Sister Hua Ci has ordered a full retreat from the nest. It is already withering as we speak.
Good.
But are you sure about this, Lu Ye? asked Yi Yi, seeing the look on Lu Yes face was enough for her to guess that he must be up to something no good.
Who knows? But theres no harm in trying. If things go south, wed just be losing some insectoid carcasses. Big deal.
Lu Ye retrieved the Storage Bags hanging on Amber and crept to the entrance of the tunnel and opened the Storage Bag to empty its contents into the nest.
There were insectoids nearby. But because of the ruckus caused by the acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath at the other end of the nest, none of them noticed Lu Yes presence.
Sensitive to light and the discharge of Spiritual Power, none of the insectoids would ever notice Lu Ye hiding inside the tunnel so long as he maintained a low profile.
But the sudden deluge of carcasses out of nowhere caught the insectoids nearby by surprise. They screeched to each other, and a few came over to have a look, finding nothing but a huge heap of dead carcasses.
In mere seconds, a swarm of insectoids headed this way and began working to move the dead carcasses into the nest so that the nest could do what insectoid nests did bestthe assimtion of the carcasses for the reproduction of fresh hatchlingsin just moments, reducing the remains into dust.
The insectoids only just finished their toil when they discovered another heap of carcasses appearing out of nowhere.
None of them knew what was happening. Their stunted sentience and intelligence prevented them from wondering what was happening and who was behind it, but every one of them was overjoyed at the prospect of free food.
Driven by their instinct, the insectoids rushed this way quickly and mobbed the heaps of carcasses, moving them inside.
[Thud! Thud! Thud!]
At one end was Lu Ye emptying the hundreds of Storage Bags to his hearts content, and at the other was the horde of insectoids trying to drag every carcass into the nest, forming a tacit and cohesive synergy that struck just so perfectly.
Lu Ye finished the first fifty Storage Bags, then he moved on to the next fifty, then the next
Whether his n would work, even Lu Ye could not say for certain. But on the off chance that it did, then things would be really interestinga real opportunity for further gain.
As Lu Ye busied himself with serving up heaps after heaps of rotting nourishment for the insectoid nest, the fight between the acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath and the insectoid monsters was beginning to grow more difficult and furious.
From the other end of the nest, he could hear voicesining, Wait a minute, brother!? The insectoids are not getting lesser! For one moment just now, I thought the tide was already weakening!
Youd do better by just swinging instead of whinging! Shuddup and focus on the job! Their numbers will be dropping soon enough!
Okay.
It all started with the acolytes manning the entrances of the tunnel. The sudden intensification of pressure on them rose a notch without warning, but they persisted, mistakenly steadfast in the belief that the number of insectoids inside the nest are still falling. After all, they had been doing this for years and the years of being victorious had created a sense of confidence.
But as time progressed, they began to realize that they were right: despite their relentless efforts, the insectoids really were growing more and more numerous. They were getting pushed back by the rising pressure from inside the nest as more and more of their men were getting hurt and killed.
Lu Ye was listening to every word they said and hearing that his n was working injected thrill and excitement into his endeavor.
When he finally emptied thest of the Storage Bags that Yi Yi brought him, Lu Ye retrieved another Storage Bagthe one that Yi Yi had singled outand extracted from inside a lump of flesh the size of his palm that was still pulsing with life.
A Nucleus of Life!
As the one thing that ensured the continuity of an insectoid colony, this Nucleus of Life would be the catalyst to the fruition of Lu Yes n, which, in his attempt to see it work, he had to effectively stop everyone from farming Contribution Points.
Which was also why the nest at their side was beginning to show signs of dying.
A Nucleus of Life contained more sustenance than dead carcasses could ever hope topete.
He squeezed it and weighed it in his hands as if he was hesitating, then he lobbed it into the nest.
[Heres to an early Christmas, guys. You better appreciate it.]
The lone Storage Bag was carrying up to eight Nuclei of Life. That they had so many was only because of the Crimson Blood Sect forces quick and efficient manner in exterminating the insectoids before the sustenance inside these Nuclei was used up.
A quarter of an hourter, the entire nest chamber stirred with more intense rustling, buzzing, and popping.
Lu Ye knew what the noises meantwoe for the acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath.
That had to be new insectoid hatchlings breaking out of their egg sacs and the sheer loudness and magnitude of the mor had to mean that there was a sudden surge in numbers.
[Well, I hope you guys at Redoubt are ready for a nightmare] Lu Ye mused mischievously.
ARRGGHH! an agonizing shriek came from the other end of the nest, joined by several more.
What is going on?! Why are there so many, suddenly?! an angry snarl shed over the din.
Hold! Hold! Dont let them break through!
Help, brother! We need help! Were losing ground!
Inside the darkness of the tunnel at the other side of the cavern, Lu Ye deposited a Spirit Pill into his mouth. He waved to Yi Yi.
Lets go.
With the first phase of his n working, it was time to work on the next.
Chapter 221: Depravity
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 221: Depravity
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Fifty miles to the north of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost was this canyon where arge gaping pit could be found. That was another wormhole.
Like the one near the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, the vicinity of the pit was a forlorn and bleak destion with not even a de of grass in sight. The only thing with any semnce of green were the dried patches of hemolymph plus some maimed insectoid limbs and carcasses.
The Crimson Blood Sect force was hidden just over the precipice of a cliff nearby and everyone waited, quietly and tensely.
They were enjoying an easy moment ying bugs to farm Contribution Points after a fierce battle tobat the insectoid threat when Hua Ci had everyone brought here. The appearance of Lu Ye joining themter was telling enough: something big was about to happen and it was going to be fast.
As if their recent adventure with their legate and prolegate wasnt enough to show what crafty figures they both were. It did not take long for the rest of the force to guess what Lu Ye and Hua Ci were up to and that made everyone anxious. For good reason, since the onlyrge-scale operation everyone had ever taken part in was the extermination of the insectoid infestation they had just lived through.
But it was this battle turned out to be a steep learning curve; one that had helped every squad to learn how to fight as a group, and being victorious against the insectoid had turned out to be a much-needed confidence boost. Despite their apprehension, no one was worried enough to panic.
The mountain breeze rustled through the thin vegetation where the Crimson Blood Sect force waited in silent vigil.
Lu Ye peered over the cliffs, mumbling impatiently under his breath, Why the hell are they taking so long
He had made sure that the acolytes of the Redoubt of Watch were showing signs of sounding a forced retreat before he left. That would mean that they should have been out by nowunless they had managed to rally for a riposte.
That prompted Lu Ye to wonder if he needed to initiate things himself. If he could strike when Redoubt of Wrath acolytes were still in the heat of their furious skirmish against the insectoids and give them a well-ced stab in the back, he could wipe them all with the insectoids here all in one fell swoop.
But such a huge undertaking especially in such a tight and cramped space like the pit and adjoining tunnels could meanrge amounts of casualties.
For this reason, Lu Ye would prefer to fight on an open field. If he could strike when the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes wereing out of the pit, then all they need to do after that was to guard the pit and let the insectoids mop up the rest of the enemies still inside the pit in what could seem like a two-pronged attack.
I think we should be more careful next time, Hua Ci, said Lu Ye suddenly. He had noticed that the Redoubt of Wrath had left a handful of men outside to watch the exits so that they could keep an eye on things outside and inform the ones inside as quickly as possible. Weve been sloppy.
He reflected on how he had sent every man from the Crimson Blood Sect outpost down into the pits with no one to watch their homes and no one to guard the exit of the pit.
I nted my mushrooms, just in case, Hua Ci gave him a resentful look.
.
Oh? Lu Ye answered curtly, Good thinking.
The conversation was abruptly cut off by a sensationing from his Battlefield Imprint. Lu Ye checked it quickly and beaming broadly, he eximed, At longst!
It was Yi Yi. Since her inception as a member of the Crimson Blood Sect, she was also orded her very own Battlefield Imprint.
And as a spectral entity, she could be invisible at will. That made her the perfect candidate for reconnaissance and scouting.
Lu Ye had sent her into the pit to reconnoitre and after quite some time, she had finally responded.
Lu Ye vaulted himself onto Ambers back, pulling Hua Ci up with him. Next, he called to everyone, Lets go, people!
Amber bounded forward, bolting down the slopes on the side of the hill with the wind in their faces and ying with Hua Cis locks.
The rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force swept forward in a tide just closely behind. There were no battle cries nor was there any howling, but the sight of several hundred Cultivators flowing out of the mountains and the jungle would have seemed intimidating nheless.
Almost every single one of the Cultivators who had pledged themselves to the Crimson Blood Sect bannerespecially the associate independents and initiateshad all suffered the torment of the two nearby Thousand Demon Ridge sects before. Many of them had at least lost a friend or two to these scum and hence, they had no love for both the acolytes of the Redoubt or n Feng. But even without the long-repressed sentiments of resentment, hate, and frustration, knowing that they were the enemies was reason enough for every single Crimson Blood Sect Cultivator to swing their weapons at them.
The Crimson Blood Sect force stampeded halfway down the slope when Lu Ye mbered to his feet into a crouched position on top of Ambers back. With onest whisper beside Hua Cis ear, he said, Im off!
The charge would have been easily noticed by the Redoubt of Wrath Cultivators watching the pit.
So Lu Ye needed to deal with them before they could warn the others inside.
His powers surged and a pair of ming-red appendages unfurled into wings on his back, and he shot up into the sky, heading straight for the wormhole.
Only five acolytes were assigned to guard the wormhole entrance into the nest and all five of them were panicking. Not because they had discovered that they were under attack by the Crimson Blood Sect, but because they had been in contact with their people within. The situation was dire and the rest of the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes was pulling back out to regroup outside.
How could this be?! yelped one of the acolytes watching outside, a male with a pallidplexion, Never!
Their many times of exterminating insectoids in the past should have made the acolytes of the Redoubt effective bug-killers. Losses had always been expected, but no one thought that something like thiswhere they were being beaten back in addition to piling up deathscould ever happen.
Brother Liu said something about the insectoid tide suddenly bing stronger. Thats what changed things.
Thud!
One of them fell to the ground on his knees with tears surging out of his eyes. Sombrely, he murmured, No Sister Sun Shes gone! How could they!? He bent down in grief and knocked his head on the ground, NOOO!! SISTER SUN!
Keep yourself together, Brother Guo! Sister Sun is not our only casualty!
Shes dead! Thats enough for me! screamed the acolyte called Guo. He got up and began stalking toward the pit with eyes as red as a feral wolf, Im going in there! Those monsters must pay!
One of his brothers quickly locked his arms around Guo. Calm down, you fool! Brother He Meng and the others are pulling back out and our job is to hold this ce for them!
Wait a minute, whats that!? another acolyte called out with astonishment.
Everyone looked in the same direction he was staring at. Something ring red was speeding towards them.
When the bright incandescence finally subsided as the objector rather, persondrew nearer, what filled their sights left them petrified with disbelief and awe. It was a person with a pair of wings on his back shaped with Spiritual Power.
But it was toote by that time. Rooted to the spot like a statue, they could only sit on their own hands as the stranger unleashed a tiny redet-like spark that speared through every single one of them with lightning-quick speed, leaving streamers of blood-red ichor in its wake. One after another, the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes fell.
The pair of wings on Lu Yes back disintegrated and hended. Next, he withdrew his hiltless knife.
This went well; none of the enemy acolytes here had managed to send any warning to the ones inside.
He strode to the edge of the wormhole and peered inside, finding nothing butplete pitch-ckness staring back at him. He knelt and ced an ear to the ground. A deep rumbling was approaching. But when he looked up, he frowned. The noise came from his own men marching to him.
Hua Ci was the first to arrive with Amber and the first thing she did was scurry around the perimeter, nting some mushrooms everywhere. They might look harmless at first nce, but Lu Ye knew better.
By the time the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force formed up around the pit of the wormhole, everyone nced at Lu Ye with looks of anticipation, apprehension, or even dread. None of them had an inkling of how a bug extermination just turned into a war.
AROUND THE PIT! KILL ANYONE WHO COMES OUT!
The men all dispersed into their squads, forming threeyers of concentric perimeters around the wormhole.
Body-tempering Cultivators and Combat Cultivators to the front! Spell Cultivators at the rear! Dont be too anxious to strike; wait for my signal! AND DONT FALL INTO THE PIT! ITS INSTANT DEATH IF YOU DROP INSIDE!
The Cultivators only just formed into formation when Yi Yis head popped up, much to everyones surprise, more so, for those who were witnessing this special trick of hers for the first time.
Theyreing! Yi Yi squeaked as soon as she found Lu Ye.
A loud groaning reverberated from inside the abyss, intertwined with the mour of battle. That must be the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes fighting their retreat.
GET UP QUICK! a voice from below bellowed, FAST!
The ropes leading into the pit went taut. They shook and scuffed the edges of the pit for a few minutes until the first head peeked out of the hole.
It was at least seventy metres from the top of the pit to the bottom of the wormhole. That the enemy acolytes managed to climb out so fast showed how frightful and anxious they were to be alive.
The first head that looked out of the hole cried, Gimme a hand!
He even reached out an arm.
But no one took it. Incredulously, he looked up to find a horde of stony-faced people staring at him.
[Wait a minute?!] How did we have so many people out here?! The enemy acolyte thought, [No Ive not seen these faces before! And why are they raising their weapons?!]
Thest thing he saw was the ming image of a roaring dragon that looked so real baring its fangs at him before a loud KILL THEM ALL drowned the rest of the bem as spells and talismans of all sorts rained down on him. Those without talismans or who were not yet able to fire spells swung their weapons down at those who were just emerging out of the pit.
Shrieks and howls shed over the pandemonium as enemy acolytes were struck down tottered and plunged back into the abyss, knocking and bringing with them a number of those who were just climbing up.
None of the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes below knew what was going on at first. Bodies started to fall from the sky, and everyone was panicking until a voice cried, Its the Grand Sky Coalition!
Only people from the Grand Sky Coalition would attack them, though which sect or order the enemies above were, none of the Redoubt of Wrath knew.
After all, everyone should be busy dealing with their own insectoid infestation right now. There was supposed to be no one here but their own people!
But knowing that the enemies outside the wormhole were Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators dashed all hopes of surviving this disaster.
Caught between the hammer and the anvil which were the Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators and a horde of raging insectoids, none of them could ever hope to survive such odds.
Down below the wormhole, near the entrance to the tunnels where the insectoids were pouring from, a Combat Cultivator was swinging his polearm in deadly circles,shing down one insectoid after another in his bloody attempt to keep as many as his brethren alive. This was He Meng, legate of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost in the Battlefield and a Seventh-Order Cultivator with more than a hundred and thirty Spiritual Points unlocked.
The sudden increase in the strength of the insectoid horde had caught them all unawares, disrupting the Redoubt of Wraths original ns of the extermination. Beset by the string of failures that had cost several of his men their lives, He Meng was forced to order a retreat. At least that way, he might be able to salvage what forces he still had, and they could lick their wounds while they made new ns. As a veteran of many insectoid attacks, he was sure that his men would ultimately prevail.
But when he sensed waves of Spiritual Power and heard screaming and shrieksing from behind, he knew something was wrong. He quickly demanded to know what was going on and the reply came swift and speedily enough.
[The Grand Sky Coalition ambushing us from above?!]
[Who on earth could that be?! What depravity is this?! Dont they need to contend with their own infestation?!]
Even so, He Meng immediately realised what dire straits he and his men were in.
How were they going to survive this?!
Chapter 222: Sucker Punch
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 222: Sucker Punch
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
What should we do, Brother He? asked a Sixth-Order acolyte fully sodden with slimy hemolymph.
How about we send word to Brother Cheng to call for help? suggested another.
Unlike the Crimson Blood Sect, it was standard practice for legates and prolegates to leave part of their force in the outpost to watch it while the rest headed out to deal with the insectoid threat. Outposts were a sect or orders main presence and symbol of power in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the security of an outpost should never be taken lightly.
In this case, the Redoubt of Wrath had almost a hundred men watching the outpost while more than five hundred were here inside the wormhole. Among the one hundred watching the outpost was Cheng Bo, prolegate of the Redoubt and a Cultivator fresh into the Seventh-Order.
But with the oue of this expedition now taking a terrible and disastrous turnwith the insectoids mowing them down and Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators cutting off their exitcalling Cheng Bo for help really seemed like the best course of action.
He wont make it in time, He Meng shook his head. The outpost was only just ten miles away, but Cheng Bo would still need time to consolidate the needed resources for a reinforcement party and that would be toote by then.
FIGHT WITH ME! He Meng growled, a hint of defiance and ferocity gleaming in his stare. He might not know who his enemies were, but he was a Seventh-Order and a veteran of many gritting battles; there was no way he would be daunted by the situation, and fighting their way out was the only way for any of them to survive since the alternative was sitting on their own hands before they end up as bug food. Whatever had gone wrong, the insectoids had suddenly grown stronger, and the acolytes of the Redoubt of Wrath would have triumphed in this extermination if not for it.
With no time to lose, He Meng entrusted the fight to his men while he quickly selected a handful of Sixth-Orders toe with him.
They reached the bottom of the pit more than ten secondster. A handful of Fifth-Order Cultivators were there, half-crouched with their hands on their knees. One of them called, Lets do this!
At more than fifty meters away, He Meng and the Sixth-Orders bolted. As soon as they reached the Fifth-Orders, thetters cupped their hands around the feet of the runners and gave them a boost.
GO! the Fifth-Orders grunted strenuously as one, pushing with all the might and Spiritual Power they could call upon. That gave He Meng and the Sixth-Orders the propulsion they needed to fly up and out of the pit.
He Meng immediately channeled his power. Reaching the top of the wormhole in mere seconds, the rancorous legate of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost was shocked to find faces staring down at him as he neared the opening of the pit. By the time he rose high enough to get a full view of the force that already had the wormhole surrounded, he spied a force of at least six to seven hundred men!
[What?! So many?!] He Meng was informed that Grand Sky Coalition members were waiting to ambush anyone getting out of the pit, but he was under the impression that the number of ambushers wasnt many since most other sects and orders, at this time, should be busy with dealing with their own insectoid infestation. That was why he expected to see just a minor drove of enemies, not an army of Cultivators.
Clearly, his assumption was misced. The six to seven hundred men that now had the opening of the pit surrounded were enough to make up the fullplement of an outposts force of Cultivators.
[What the Hell?! Dont they have to defend their own outpost from insectoid attacks?!]
Before he could even answer his own question, a pair of streaking lights shot straight at him, followed by a volley of spells and talismanic bolts.
Shrieks and screams cascaded all around him. The Sixth-Orders who came up with him werent ready for the assault by the enemies that caught them by surprise and all He Meng could do was watch as his men fell back into the pit, one after another, like flies.
Of the cadre of Redoubt of Wrath acolytes who came up, He Meng was the only one to survive the onughtall thanks to his prowess as a Seventh-Order and his skills with his spear. He parried every blow that came his way, just before a fiery red sparknced through him, creating a wound that disgorged a fountain of red as it exited him.
As his weight dragged him back downward, a fiery image shaped like a dragon flew and lunged at him.
In the meantime, Lu Ye, who had been just beside the pit, mused aloud wryly, Thats a rather nice trick, these fellows.
He could almost guess how these enemy acolytes managed to get out of the pit and what they were thinking of doing. But clearly, they had underestimated the number of people here. That was why they came up only to serve themselves up on a silver tter.
Down below the pit, the Fifth-Orders who gave He Meng and his squad vanguard of Sixth-Orders a boost watched as they rose up and came back down without even a second of stopping to fight at the top. In fact, He Meng came back down withpanya fiery energy bolt shaped like a dragon snapping its jaw at him while it gave chase. Bodies tumbled to the ground in a series of heavy thuds, each of them crackling and burning in me causing the bottom of the pit to be filled with the odor of roasted flesh.
But these were not all; several more of those who were climbing up with ropes were singed by the mes and asphyxiated by the fumes, fell amid wails of despair and crashed down as well.
Brother He! one of the Fifth-Orders cried, rushing over to help snuff out the mes.
Any man weaker than He Meng would have been killed already; he had just taken a hit from Lu Yes hiltless knife before the Fire Dragon spell hit him.
His hand shot up and seized the Fifth-Order by the cor, and he hissed bitterly, The Crimson Blood Sect! Its the Crimson Blood Sect!
He had spied a snowy-white tiger and a young man just beside it when he was falling back into the pit. Any legate worth his salt would have instantly recognized who it was.
With that, his head hung limply between his shoulders. And so died He Meng, legate of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost in the Battlefield.
The Fifth-Order burst into tears. But there was no time for grief. With the Crimson Blood Sect sealing off their exit, the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes down herewithout He Meng and the Sixth-Orders who had perished in their ill-fated attempt to secure their survivalwere about to find themselves neck-deep in insectoids at any moment.
Harrowing screamsing from those at the front told him as much. With no more Sixth- or Seventh-Orders to keep the insectoids at bay, the remaining Redoubt of Wrath acolytes down here could never prevent the fate of bing bug food. Driven into manic delirium, a few of them began mbering up the ropes, wing their way as desperately as their limbs would carry them. They would rather just die at the hands of the Crimson Blood Sect.
The Fifth-Order got to his feet. He tapped on his Battlefield Imprint and delivered a message. Next, he grimly took up his weapon and charged at the insectoids.
If he must die, then he would rather die at the hands of the insectoids instead.
Many followed in his footsteps. Terrible and heart-wrenching howls came from the bottom of the wormhole as the insectoids feasted on the poor men and women stranded down below.
More than ten miles away, the message that had just arrived drained all color off the face of Cheng Bo, the prolegate of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost.
Caught between the Crimson Blood Sect and the unstoppable insectoid tide, He Meng had lost his life in the course of his duty and the remaining Redoubt of Wrath acolytes were facing certain death!
He checked his Battlefield Imprint. To his horror, he saw with his own eyes how the names of the acolytes in his Battlefield Imprint vanished piecemeal. Cheng Bo crashed into his own chair with despair.
The rest of the acolytes still manning the outpost began to realize what was going on as well. They swamped Cheng Bo with questions but when they received not so much as a despondent and nk stare from him, they feared the worst. The expression on his face was enough to indicate that whatever they dreaded was indeed true.
CRIMSON BLOOD SECT! Cheng Bo snarled, his teeth gnashing as blood filled his eyes in rage.
As prolegate of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost, Cheng Bo heard all about Lu Yes exploits at the Battle of Goldentip. In fact, Cheng Bo and He Meng had discussed much about their new neighbor and had talked about how they should be prepared and wary of him.
[What an ungodly bunch of people], mused Cheng Bo at the time. [For decades, they had not got any new acolytes, then all of a sudden, when they had finally stumbled upon one, they found one who is obviously able to live up to that reputation.] If that Lu Ye could defeat opponents well beyond his rank when he was only just a Fifth-Order, then there was no telling what incredible feats he would be capable of once he hit the Seventh-Order.
To both of their amazement, Lu Ye turned out to be rtively quiet after his appointment as legate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. There was almost no development up until the Battle Royal of the Legates.
If alone, they were confident that there was little to what Lu Ye could achieve. But what the Redoubt of Wrath legate and prolegate did not know was this was only just the calm before the storm.
Word about the Crimson Blood Sect that came in the aftermath of the Battle Royal of the Legates unsettled them both.
Without warning, the Crimson Blood Sect had flung its doors open, receiving a hundred initiates in one go, including five hundred associate independents as retainers.
That overnight maneuver instantly turned the Crimson Blood Sect into a force too formidable to ignore. Since that day, the Redoubt of Wrath followed the Crimson Blood Sects every movement with great interest, wary that they might attempt anything untoward. But the watchful vigil did notst long when both the legate and prolegate deemed that the Crimson Blood Sects ambition did not stretch farther than just wanting to keep themselves to themselves.
Never did they realize that this assessment could not have been any more disastrously erroneous.
Just when the Crimson Blood Sect looked every bit the semnce of just a harmless group of people looking to live like recluses, they delivered a sucker punch out of nowhere, knocking the Redoubt of Wrath dizzy.
Four hundred and ny-three Cultivatorsincluding their legate He Mengperished in barely four hours. Never had the Redoubt of Wrath suffered such a devastating loss since its founding.
Ill remember this, Lu Yi Ye, and when the timees, youll pay! Cheng Bos enraged howls rocked the whole outpost as the remaining hundred-or-so acolytes there mourned the demise of their brethren.
In the meantime, the Crimson Blood Sect Cultivators maintaining their watch of the wormhole were growing restless. Since that small skirmish, they had hardly seen any action and all they could do was just sit by the edge of the pit while the screams and shrieks from down below slowly waned.
And by doing absolutely nothing meant zero chance to farm more Contribution Points.
Momentster, the cries were gone. Utterly gone. Next, came an endless litany of incessant buzzing. That must be the insectoids.
The Crimson Blood Sect force reeled with anticipation. They had been somewhat miffed and exasperated when Yi Yi retrieved the Nucleus of Life from the nest of the insectoid infestation at their side, cutting short everyones leisurely kill-bugs-to-earn-points frenzy.
Now, the chance to do so again had arrivedby their own makingand everyone looked more than happy to start farming points again.
So, Brother Lu Ye, Chen Yu asked. The anticipation was almost written on his face. Are we gonna fight our way down again like the first time? The sess of dealing with their first insectoid infestation had given the Crimson Blood Sect Cultivators enough confidence to make another attempt.
But to their dismay, Lu Ye shook his head. With a wave of his arm, he called, Were retreating!
Chen Yu could barely believe his ears, Retreat!?
Yes, retreat!
The seven-hundred-man-strong force rumbled away despite everyones dubious incredulity. But be they acolytes, initiates, or associates; no one would dare to disobey Lu Yes orders.
The entire force withdrew back into the hills where they were waiting a few hours earlier and Lu Ye returned to his perch at the top of the cliffs overlooking the rocky canyon.
Retreat, he called it, even though they did not withdraw far enough.
A quizzical Hua Ci formed up to Lu Yes side, asking, What are you thinking of doing?
Lu Ye was surveying the growing mass of insectoids in the canyon. Quietly, he muttered, We may have just, with our own hands, created horrors out of our deepest nightmares.
What do you mean?
Did you not notice how deadly and dangerous these insectoids arepared to the ones we exterminated? One might argue that the Redoubt of Wrath goons had in off the weaker ones of the horde, but I doubt thats the real reason.
Which is?
Brother Baxian had warned me about this: during the course of exterminating the insectoids, we must never, under whatever circumstances, allow the insectoids to get their hands on any human Cultivator dead bodies. Obviously, I guess there are other reasons other than just the sheer amount of energy stored inside a Cultivators body. But the bottom line remains unchanged: once the insectoids consume a human Cultivator, they will be incredibly stronger. Lu Ye paused and murmured, How many of those wretched Redoubt of Wrath goons were down there just now, you think?
Three to four hundred? Hua Ci articted what Lu Ye has been dreading.
Then were doomed. This insectoid infestation has just grown beyond what we outer-ring-region outposts can handle.
Chapter 223: Playing Both Ends Against the Middle
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 223: ying Both Ends Against the Middle
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
One look at the insectoids and one could imagine how dangerous these invertebrate monsters were. Those just the size of a mans fist were only as harmful as chickens while those asrge as a mans head, Second- and Third-Order Cultivators would still hold them back. But the kind almost as tall as a man would need more caution to deal with; these were Sixth- and Seventh-Order insectoids.
And so many of these Sixth- and Seventh-Order kinds teemed among the growing swarm of insectoids that slowly crowded the whole canyon in just the span of a few hours since Lu Ye and the Crimson Blood Sect retreated into the hills.
Everyone could only silently give thanks that they did not enter the wormhole.
There was no dispute that these insectoids were much, much stronger, and more dangerous than the ones the Crimson Blood Sect had just exterminated. An expedition into the wormhole would most definitely be a doomed one.
And these were just the ones outside. Needless to say, the ones inside the nest and guarding the nexus must be even worse. For all everyone knew, there could be an army full of Eighth-Order insectoids or even Ninth-Order ones inside.
Lu Ye gave Hua Ci some quick instructions before he vaulted himself onto Ambers back.
Everyone watched as he rode away, heading straight into the canyon.
He got near enough for the insectoids to see him, then he fired a Fire Phoenix at those at the forefront. The fiery bolt shaped like a bird smashed into the insectoid mob and several came rolling out of the congration, roasted and charred.
Sensitive as ever to Spiritual Power, the insectoids swiveled at Lu Ye the moment he fired his first spell. The entire throng of insectoids swarmed straight for him like an unstoppable tide, their sickening susurration a constant indication of their insatiate appetite.
Amber roared as it carried Lu Ye, bounding and scampering in circles around the mouth leading into the canyon to make sure that they were catching more attention from the insectoids while Lu Ye fired his spells again and again at the approaching horde. Naturally, more insectoids pullted towards him with gigantic spider-like insectoids spewing threads of silk in their vain attempt to capture him.
The rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force watched from their position, feeling apprehensive and concerned for his safety, being spectators who witnessed how Lu Ye had ridden down alone and the entire insectoid swarm surging towards him after he had done enough to catch their notice.
What in the world was Lu Ye thinking of doing, no one knew.
He made circles around the canyon, leading the insectoid swarm behind him and the ruckus he caused attracted even those who initially did not give chase.
Such was the peculiar bond the insectoids shared that they couldmunicate in ways that only their kind could fathom and understand.
Hence, it was usual that if one was provoked, the rest would follow.
The multitude of insectoids remained hot on Lu Yes heels, following him northward as quickly as their legs could carry them, leaving the canyon bare and bleak as every new insectoid that popped out of the wormhole immediately joined the northbound throng.
A birds-eye view would have yielded the sight of a long serpentine parade of insectoids that was elongating all the way from Lu Ye to the pit.
Wow So it works, huh, Hua Ci muttered under her breath, genuinely astounded.
She was skeptical when Lu Ye told her about his n. She did not expect that he would be able to pull it off, since she believed that without intelligence, insectoids functioned on their base instincts. But clearly, theck of intelligence was what made them susceptible to maniption.
She recollected her thoughts and ryed Lu Yes instructions: the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force was to follow the insectoid horde north as well. Their destination: the Redoubt of Wrath outpost more than ten miles away!
In the meantime, prolegate Cheng Bo and the remaining acolytes at the outposts were still wallowing in grief, utterly oblivious to the iing threat that was marching towards their doorstepa gift that was being delivered personally by the very person whom Cheng Bo was thinking about now, Lu Ye.
Right now, the prolegate of the Redoubt of Wrath was giving a report to the main stronghold out in the real world through his Battlefield Imprint. Apparently, the news had hit the higher echelons of the Redoubts leadership so hard that one of the Elders copsed with an aneurysm.
Almost five hundred good men lost to the insectoids and no such devastation had ever urred before.
The hundred-or-so acolytes of the Redoubt were still saddened by the deaths when all of a sudden, a thunderous crack resounded across the entire vista outside the building before everyone could feel the eruption of Spiritual Power.
Cheng Bo evidently sensed it too. He was left bewildered for one split-second before he almost leaped to his feet, bellowing, How could they?!
[Something, or someone, is attacking the defensive ward of the outpost!]
Rage overwhelmed him. The Redoubt of Wrath might only be a Tier-Eight order, but through their illustrious history, they had never endured such ignominy before. On the same day the Redoubt had lost almost half of a thousand men, someone had decided tounch an assault on the outpost! Since when did the Redoubt of Wrath be an object to be trifled with?
Cheng Bo tore out of the outposts main edifice with a host of his men, still aggravated by somberness.
He looked up and saw a lone figure flying in the air with a fiery-red pair of wings pping on his back.
WHO GOES THERE?! Cheng Bo demanded sonorously.
The deafening voice seemed to have worked to intimidate the stranger, who quickly flew away and vanished.
How ridiculous! Cheng Bo cursed, stillpletely unaware of what was going on and what that strangers motives were.
B-Brother Cheng! cried a shaking voice behind him, the acolytes face fraught with horror and disbelief, T-Those are Those are insectoids! Were under an insectoid attack!
Cheng Bo began to realize something was amiss. He gazed into the distance and there it was: an endless jet-ck trail of insectoids winding all the way from the direction of the canyon toward the outpost.
His face went white as he finally grasped the severity of what had just fallen into hisp.
For the insectoidscreatures driven only by an unquenchable hungerto make such a purposeful beeline for the outpost was impossible. Like a disease, insectoids only moved further away from their nest in a concentric pattern. Without motivation or provocation, they would only look for the nearest source of sustenance.
But what if they were being driven here like mules with a carrot?
Crimson Blood Sect bastards! Cheng Bo roared, all that anger, resentment, and frustration swelling in his chest erupted in one tempestuous outburst. He would not have felt so disgusted if the Crimson Blood Sect had marched up to his doors themselves instead.
There was no reason to grudge each other personally just because they belonged to opposing factions.
But for the Crimson Blood Sect to cut off the exit of his people and cause the deaths of He Meng and the rest of the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes, before driving the entire insectoid horde right to his doorstep was nothing short of despicable.
Cheng Bo could confess that for all his life of cultivating his arcane skills and power, he had nevereverencountered anyone so depraved and vile. Whoever was capable of something so heinous must have insidespletely ckened with sin.
What are we supposed to do now, Brother Cheng?
The Redoubt of Wrath acolytes were on tenterhooks. The stranger who hadnded a blow on the outposts defensive ward earlier was gone but the insectoid horde remained persistent in its advance as the monsters began to crawl around the edges of the defensive ward, feeding off its energy.
The magical energy channeling through the ward made it a real buffet of sustenance for the insectoids.
The present number of insectoids feeding on the magic of the defensive ward was not nearly enough to fully deplete its poweryet. But the wards defenses would eventually crumble if given enough time with more and more insectoids emerging from the endless stream leading straight from the nest.
Those who are manning the defensive ward; make sure that its holding! The rest of you,e with me! Cheng Bo barked hismands.
With the rich Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere of the Battlefield, the defensive wards of outposts rarely ceased since the wards could consume Spiritual Qi from the air to maintain their operation. No further supply of Spiritual Power would be needed for the wards to run in a passive state. In fact, moreplex defensive wards could even store additional amounts of Spiritual Power for future use.
Hence, under most circumstances, a defensive ward operating passively would immediately activate during the event of an invasion, during which, its operation would begin to consume Spirit Stones.
Some outposts, especially the more affluent and powerful ones, had more than one defensive ward that linked up into arger defensive arrangement. That way, the multiple wards wouldplement one another to maintain the integrity of the overall defenses during the event of a breach.
Outposts in the outer-ring area of the Battlefields, on the other hand, usually had only one defensive ward. Wide-area defensive wards were very costly and having one was usually the most of what lower-tier sects and orders could afford.
Especially since defensive wards can seem like ss hammers sometimes.
Weaker and minor sects and orders situated in the outer-ring areas of the Battlefield were rarely under attack and did not actively seek to invade each other. Hence, when the Mystic Sectunched attacks on the Nine Star n back then, the entire Battlefield was shocked.
As if an invasion was not bad enough, the Redoubt of Wrath outpost was finding itself facing imminent destruction and ruin at the handsor rather, the wsof an insectoid horde now besieging the outpost! Nothing like this has ever happened before!
But Cheng Bo was not going to abandon the outpost just yet, even with barely a hundred defenders left. It was his duty as prolegate to hold the defenses, by life or by death and it was a charge that he meant to keep.
He ryed his orders. The defensive ward was to be strengthened immediately, but just when Cheng Bo was about to lead the rest of the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes on a sortie against the insectoids, he sensed another Spiritual Power disturbanceing from the back of the outpost.
He immediately sent a force to deal with the insectoids at the gates while he brought with him a tiny retinue to check the rear.
To his ultimate surprise and horror, he, with the few acolytes who came with him, discovered another horde congregating just outside the rear. This time it was humans, and they were firing spells at the defensive wall, eliciting ripples that spread upon the translucent wall of energy keeping the outpost protected.
Cheng Bo nearly fainted. Never had the outpost endured such trying times with them being attacked on both fronts.
He tottered unsteadily and it took another acolyte to help hold him. Next, he gathered his thoughts and roared loudly, iling his arms, LU YI YE! SHOW YOURSELF!
He could barely recognize any of the faces from the invading army of Cultivators, but he was sure of one thing: that they must all be Crimson Blood Sect!
It was obvious enough, with these people attacking as soon as the insectoid army appeared right in front of their doorstep.
He had been careless, and he had underestimated how devious and brutal the Crimson Blood Sect could be.
As if they were not satisfied by the lives of so many Redoubt of Wrath acolytes already taken by the insectoids previously, they wanted to conquer this outpost! But Cheng Bo could see why; being able to conquer an enemy outpost would yield huge rewards.
At this juncture, Cheng Bo was convinced as much as every other acolyte in the outpost that the outpost was as good as lost. If it were just the insectoids or just the Crimson Blood Sect force, then there might still have been a way to save the outpost. But with the insidious n of ying both sides against the middle, no one could take such abuse and hope to survive.
[It is dark. Everything now seems dark] Cheng Bo mused in despair.
How dare you do something so heinous, you Crimson Blood Sect scoundrels!? Are you not afraid of retribution!? one of his acolytes howled belligerently.
As if you have been kind and generous to us before! a voice responded from the Crimson Blood Sect force outside. Were just returning the favor! Wait till this defensive barrier falls and Ill be more than happy to show you how!
Chapter 224: Successful Seizure
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 224: Sessful Seizure
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The defensive ward of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost did notst beyond an hour. As the golden sparkles of its final dregs got whisked away by the wind and dissipated in the air, the deluge of Crimson Blood Sect Cultivators poured through the first crack in the barrier they saw, charging straight into the outpost.
The invaders themselves were incredulous. None of them had expected that the seizure of an enemy outpost would be so easy.
It was rare enough for an outer-ring-area outpost to be attacked, never mind captured. Yet here they were, after barely an hour, and the enemy outpost was theirs for the taking.
The defendersRedoubt of Wrath prolegate Cheng Bo and the remaining hundred-or-so acolyteswere nowhere to be seen. He had led his men in a retreat to the real world of Jiu Zhou, preferring to risk his future prospects rather than jeopardize his own precious life.
Never once a staunch believer of slogans such as To the death and the like, Cheng Bo liked his life and he would not even need to waver between the choices of defending the outpost with his life and saving his own hide. Dying meant losing everything, at least that was what he always believed in.
The Crimson Blood Sect force captured an empty outpost save for the insectoid horde which was beginning to overrun the ce.
And Lu Ye already had a n set in ce. Chen Yu was already at the forefront, leading a band of Third-Orders and above to meet the insectoids head-on.
Those who were weaker immediately fanned out and dispersed, clearing every room and chamber they could find and sacking the outpost clean.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci both veered somewhere else: the outposts Sanctum of Providence. Thetter ced a hand on the Divine Opportunity Column and used her privileges as prolegate of the Crimson Blood Sect to strip away all the enhancements.
Lu Ye was only there to make sure she was safe. He had known from Li Baxian that the process needed time and Hua Ci would be defenseless during that period, hence Lu Ye wanted toe along just in case.
Hua Ci shut her eyes while she worked. In the meantime, Lu Ye strode and found arge chair that he sat on before he deposited a Spirit Pill into his mouth and began chewing.
Next, he tapped on his Battlefield Imprint and started to look for something.
He had kept the marks of all ally legates and prolegates that he had the chance to fight side-by-side with during the Battle Royal of the Legates and some of the outposts of these friendlies were nearby.
Among them was a certain order known as the Atheneum of Finality, whose outpost currently stood near the outpost of n Feng.
As it turned out, the Atheneum of Finality outpost was due east of the n Feng outpost, which was itself also due east of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. That would ce the n Feng outpost right in between both Grand Sky Coalition orders.
The schrly-looking Ding Yushu had spoken to Lu Ye about a possible alliance during their encounter in the Battle Royal of Legates. But Lu Ye was too hard-pressed tomit to anything yet since he did not have enough manpower to raid a pantry, let alone invade the n Feng outpost.
But now that the chance had presented itself, Lu Ye decided that it was time for him to hold the Atheneum of Finality legate to his promise.
The seizure of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost had been surprisingly easy and that prompted Lu Ye to conceive the notion of taking down n Feng too, vanquishing both opposing factions in one fell swoop.
His power has been seeing improvements by leaps and bounds. It would not be long before he would have to travel to the inner-ring areas of the Battlefield if he wanted to progress further. Hence if he could eliminate the threat posed by n Feng prior to his departure, then he could rest easy knowing that the outpost would be safe even in his absence.
Even so, whether his n would work would first depend on the Atheneum. n Feng might be a Tier-Nine order but capturing its outpost wouldnt be as easy as seizing the Redoubt of Wraths.
The bulk of thetters force had perished due to the insectoids.
Whereas n Fengs strength was very much intact.
The caveat was apparent: Lu Ye would first need to secure the Atheneums support before he could attempt an invasion on the n Feng outpost. That would mean that a no from Ding Yushu could immediately kill the idea in its crib.
Lu Ye found Ding Yushus mark and delivered a message.
How are things going, Ding?
A reply came speedily enough.
Everythings fine at my end. Were pressing steadily into the insectoid nest as we speak. It wont be long before were done here. Do you need help, Brother Yi Ye? I can spare a few of my men.
Its all good. Im contacting you because I have a proposal.
A proposal? an incredulous Ding Yushu uttered when he saw Lu Yes message. What proposal could Lu Ye have hatched when he should be busy dealing with his own insectoid infestation?
Lu Ye ended his lengthy conversation with Ding Yushu with a pondering look on his expression.
Outside the outpost, Chen Yu and his contingent of Cultivators were maintaining a perimeter, holding off the insectoids from inundating the outpost.
The insectoids at the front were just the tiny and weaker ones, plus a handful of stronger ones which Chen Yu and his men could still resist for now. But they could not be expected to hold out for long. The long trail of insectoids leading from the wormhole ten miles away was hardly stopping and it would take more than just several Cultivators to fully mow them down.
Im done here!
Hua Cis voice broke Lu Yes train of thought. The look she was wearing indicated sess.
The extensive amounts of enhancements on the Divine Opportunity Column of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost showed just how glorious and historic it had been, despite being just a Tier-Eight sect. Just the affluence of Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere alone was thicker than that of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. Lu Ye and Hua Ci might have reaped enough bounties from their participation in the Battle Royal of the Legates to improve things at their outpost, but it still didnte close topeting with the boon of this ce. That madeing here to strip away the enhancements one of the prime objectives of capturing this fort.
Even so, the process of stripping away enhancements from a Divine Opportunity Column was bound to incur unwanted coteral damage. Nevertheless, the gains were still huge indeed.
Lu Ye paced towards Hua Ci and told her the new devilry he had juste up with.
Hua Ci stared at him. Are you sure about this?
As if taking down the Redoubt of Wrath wasnt enough, now Lu Ye has set his sights on n Feng!
Theres no harm in trying, he shrugged, Might as well give it a go.
[That was what you said before. No harm in trying. Now look at what happened to the Redoubt of Wrath] Hua Ci mused sardonically.
That was exactly what he said before when he was trying to downy his motives and the Redoubt of Wrath really took the brunt of his shrewd design.
Hua Ci began to feel somewhat sorry for the n Feng outpost for the cmity they were about to face.
The two Thousand Demon Ridge outposts could only me their luck for building their outposts so close to the Crimson Blood Sect.
At the shrill signal of a whistle, the Crimson Blood Sect force withdrew from the outpost expeditiously at Hua Cis lead while Lu Ye, Chen Yu, and those more powerful helped to make sure everyone pulled out safely.
Within moments, Chen Yu and the others found a chance to slip away too, leaving Lu Ye to face the insectoids alone. Thetter surveyed his handiwork: a full vista of ck; an endless sprawl of crawling insectoids wanting to sink their mandibles, pincers, chelicerae, or whatever mouthparts they had on his flesh.
Lu Ye unleashed his full plethora of skills. The fiery-red sparkle of his hiltless knife shot around like a deadlyet, engendering sprays of hemolymph everywhere. His Fire Dragons pummeled into masses of insectoids, releasing waves of infernos. Glowing red, Invible was just as deadly, cutting down every insectoid its edge found with unnerving ease. Everything Lu Ye was doing, he was certainly making sure that the insectoids could see him and only him.
Satisfied that he had done enough, atst, he unfurled his wings, and he took to the air.
Hended almost a hundred meters away where Amber was already waiting. Lu Ye fired another Fire Dragon for good measure and the resultant trace of Spiritual Power was enough to make every insectoid look his way!
Lu Ye thrust an arm in a certain direction and Amber began speeding that way. In the meantime, Lu Ye retrieved another sk of Mystic Fruit cider and gulped down everything to restore the Spiritual Power that he had expended.
Chen Yu gazed at Lu Ye scampering off. Wait a minute, where is he going?
That was not the direction of the outpost!
Nope, not yet, at any rate, replied Hua Ci, Now, everybody! Come with me! She got up on her Wolf Golem and led the Crimson Blood Sect force onward.
At the same time, inside another insectoid nest deep underground, the acolytes of the Atheneum of Finality gave one final push, ending the infestation at their end with the ughter of the remaining insectoid monsters.
That wouldst another two hours until Ding Yushu finally walked up to the nexus and sliced it open to retrieve the Nuclei of Life inside.
Chapter 225: Clan Feng
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 225: n Feng
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
With the nexus split open and its Nuclei removed, the insectoid nest was beginning to deteriorate and shrivel.
.
Those who are wounded but can still move, stay and clear things up here! Ding Yushu barked loudly, The rest of you who can still fight,e with me! He began striding out of the nest and the rest of his mena four-hundred-man-strong forcewent with him.
They mbered out of the wormhole and headed somewhere else.
It was only halfway when the men began to realize that they were not heading back to the outpost. It rather seemed like they were heading for the n Feng outpost.
Filled with anticipation, one of them finally asked, Brother Ding, are we hitting n Feng? Now?
n Feng! Gods, have I waited so long for this! Thest time Zhang and I fought with a bunch of n Feng goons, we killed one of theirs!
Dont forget that Feng girl. She looks sweet enough for Brother Ding to keep as a concubine, hahaha!
Damn, Ive never seen anyone who couldugh so vilely as you. And leave Brother Dings name out of any smutty deliberations of yours. Thest thing we want is for his name to get tarnished for nothing. And what makes you think that Feng girl is a good match for one as distinguished as Brother Ding?
Oh? Give her to me then? I wouldnt mind having her.
Quit prattling! So, Brother Ding, are we really gonna hit n Feng?
The notion ofunching an assault on the n Feng outpost was like a jab of adrenaline to the battle-weary men who had just survived a gritting skirmish against the insectoids. Clearly, the beef between the Atheneums and n Fengs acolytes must be more brutal and personal than just the simple enmity of being on opposing sides.
As if Fate had had a hand in this, every outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield would always be near two or even three other outposts and at least one belonged to an ally faction. Understandable, if Fate, or maybe even the Heavens, had a part in this, for outposts surrounded only by outposts owned by enemy sects and orders would never be able to allow any of its acolytes out for fear of being attacked. That would be detrimental to the growth of the orders future generations.
Right now, Lu Ye was looking at his map, studying the positions of the nearby outposts, and noticing that if two ally outposts could join forces, they could form a force formidable enough to take down any enemy.
Of the three outposts near the n Feng one, two belonged to the Crimson Blood Sect and the Atheneum of Finality respectively with thest formerly upied by the Redoubt of Wrath.
With the Crimson Blood Sect outpost virtually empty in the past, n Feng could devote all of its resources to the Atheneum of Finality.
On the other hand, the Atheneum could hardly boast the same luxury. Their hands were tied with having to handle the threatsing from not one, but two enemy outposts. The usual fisticuffs were pretty much the most they could afford to incur for if anything were to escte into an all-out skirmish with either side, the other enemy faction would intervene to make life hell for the Atheneum.
That culminated in a massive pileup of resentment and bitterness between both sides where even the pettiest of rivalry could mutate into the most savage vendetta.
Thats enough! Ding Shuyu cautioned for silence from the front. Until now, he has been extremely tight-lipped as to the details of this sudden expedition. He could use the secrecytoo many with knowledge about what the real n was could risk jeopardizing the missionand he wasnt too certain about the n himself, despite Lu Yes assurance. No n survived the first contact with the enemy, so it was said.
Obviously, Ding Yushu enjoyed a very high standing amongst hisrades. All the chatter immediately went dead at his reprimand, and everyone busied themselves with consuming Spirit Pills to restore themselves as they pressed on.
As long-time neighbors of n Feng, the acolytes of the Atheneum knew exactly where the formers insectoid nest would be and the sight of a four-hundred-man-strong army stampeding at full speed was one that no one could overlook.
They were noticed from afar by acolytes of n Feng who were stationed outside the wormhole and they immediately sent word to warn the ones still inside.
Before long, all four hundred men encircled the wormhole, staring at the dark abyss that led meters down below in silence. Prolegate of the n Feng outpost Feng Lianju was not worried at all. He merely snorted when he got wind of the Atheneum shutting off his exit and returned his focus to the extermination at hand.
Unfazed, Feng Lianju did not believe that having his exit route sealed by the Atheneum of Finality acolytes would pose any threat at all. So long as he could hide down here and bide his time, the enemy acolytes outside would never dare to venture into the pit.
In the meantime, he was sure that he could contact his outpost and request aid from the other Thousand Demon Ridge outpost tounch an assault on the Atheneum of Finality.
For this reason, Feng Lianju was not worried at all by Ding Yushu and his men camping outside the wormhole.
Word of the Atheneums movements was quickly reported to the n Feng outpost. When Feng Yue, the female legate of the outpost, heard that four hundred Atheneum of Finality acolytes had cut off the exfiltration route of her men from the underground insectoid nest, she was stunned. As much as she was surprised at how fast the Atheneum dealt with their insectoid threat, she was equally befuddled as to the purpose of the seemingly pointless move.
Nevertheless, she needed to be certain, hence she delivered a message.
A reply came back soon enough.
What is it, my dear? Feng Yue was not liking the intimate tone of the message at all. In fact, she could almost imagine the hideous and misshapen face of the person who sent the reply.
She could almost confess to being disgusted by the mere notion of the face. But she could use his help and antagonizing him wont be useful to her cause at all, hence she swallowed her pride and ignored her loathing as she articted the situation at hand.
Brazen fools, came the next reply, Its been a month since that Ding whelp got a whacking from me. It seems that he is beginning to forget thatst lesson! Dont worry my dear. Ill deal with my insectoid threat then Ill ughter some of his men to put him back into his ce!
No need to trouble yourself, sir, Feng Yue responded coolly and formally. Im only reporting this to keep you informed. n Feng has enough resources to safeguard its own interests.
She would never openly ask for a favornot from him at any rate. If she did that he would start making nonsensical requests in return. If his side were to suffer any losses in their skirmish against the Atheneum, Heavens knew that he might demandpensation from n Feng instead.
But she could not let Ding Yushu do as he liked with impunity. Knowing that this presented a chance for that hideous and insufferable imbecile, who would never resist pouncing at a chance to make a name for himself, she knew that just a little nudge would do the trick.
That was why all she did was just supply information. By telling that imbecile about Ding Yushu making a move on her side, what happened after that would not and could not be any responsibility of hers.
That went well, Feng Yuemented dryly to herself as she sipped her drink.
BOOM! A sonorous crash jolted Feng Yue from her chair, causing her to choke on her water. It took a couple of coughs before she could atst regain her senses.
A n Feng acolyte rushed in urgently.
WHO?! She growled furiously. She did not see with her own eyes, but she knew what happened: something, or someone, must have just attacked the defensive ward of her outpost! Infuriated, she thought, [Who in Heavens name could be doing this at this time or day?!]
The acolyte who came in reported in dismay, Insectoids!
What insectoids?! Feng Yue responded sternly, the creases on her face making her look like a seething hen. But as she spoke, she could have sworn that she caught an irritating and interminable buzzing.
Her expression twisted. She got out at once and rushed to the battlements where what she saw drained all color from her face.
Insectoids of all assortments and proportions were crawling all around the dome-shaped barrier of light that was the magical defensive ward of the outpost. Many were even the length and breadth of a man, and they were chewing and gnawing at the barrier, feeding on its energy. In every spot that was bitten, the glow turned noticeably weaker.
As if that was not bad enough, some of the insectoids even spewed a strange, greenish secretion that, once dripped on the surface of the defensive ward, could nibble its way through the barrier like acid.
The sight of the insectoids threatening to overrun the outpost was enough to send a jolt of cold and fear down Feng Yues spine.
[What in Heavens name?! This is not an infestation that outer-ring outposts could deal with anymore!] She thought of the Atheneum at first, but that was impossible! If the Atheneums infestation hade this far and at this force, then they should be at their own outpost, panicking like ants in a hot pan, not here sealing off the exit of her men!
[But if not them, then who? The Crimson Blood Sect?]
[But did they not just recruit more than a hundred initiates?! Even if they had bungled the extermination, theres no way that the infestation could grow into such a monstrosity! And even so, how could the infestation in their area travel this fast to this ce?! Insectoids are supposed to spread slowly and gradually to consume everything nearby before they press further away!]
Sister Feng! Someone called from beside her.
Feng Yue immediately tore her attention off the swarming insectoid. [Yes. Its pointless to think about where these insectoids came from. The enemy has reached our gates and we need to handle these insectoids quickly if we dont want the outpost to be overrun!]
FAST! INCREASE THE STRENGTH OF THE WARDS! Feng Yue screeched. n Feng acolytes scurried hastily to where the defensive ward was ced, shoveling more Spirit Stones into it so as to increase its strength.
Three miles away from the rear of the n Feng outpost, the seven-hundred-man host of the Crimson Blood Sect force waited quietly just below a descending slope.
A group of such size would have easily been noticed under normal circumstances. But with most other sects and orders busy handling their own insectoid infestations, most of the Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were underground by now with barely just a skeleton crew to watch the outposts. This was why the Crimson Blood Sect force could wait in silence without anyone realizing how close they were.
So, um, Brother Lu Ye, asked somebody anxiously. Capturing the Redoubt of Wrath outpost was thrilling enough, especially for those who had just tasted their first sess. Everyone was more than eager to sample that same thrill once more.
Patience, Lu Ye responded. Hemunicated with the legate of the Atheneum of Finality Ding Yushu and received word that they had arrived, and his deputy was on his way.
Lu Ye lifted his chin and gazed at the n Feng outpost. The phosphorescent dome-like shield was still holding, and he was not amused.
He had intentionally waited here because he was giving time for the Atheneum prolegate to arrive with his reinforcements. But also, so that he could hunt down some n Feng acolytes.
After all, his motives were not only confined to just capturing the outpost. If he could kill a few Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators that would be all the more rewarding.
Li Baxians tips on dealing with the insectoid threat included a warning about how the magical barrier of defensive wards was usually weak against insectoid attacks.
If the Crimson Blood Sect were tounch an assault in conjunction with the insectoids gnawing down the defenses of the outposts, the n Feng acolytes inside would immediately withdraw back to the real world of Jiu Zhou, just like what happened at the Redoubt of Wrath outpost earlier.
Hence, Lu Ye decided that he should wait for the insectoids to first defeat the magical barrier. That would give him the chance to rush in and secure the outposts Sanctum of Providence and deny the n Feng acolytes their only chance of retreat.
He had regretted allowing the Redoubt of Wrath acolytes to escape earlier. Despite the huge loot, Lu Ye was pretty sure that the prolegate must have heaps of goodies inside that Storage Bag of his.
So this time, he was determined to not let the n Feng prolegate or legate escape.
This insectoid attack had posed the perfect chance for Lu Ye to umte his experience in siege warfare as he experimented with his methods on both enemy factions one after the other.
Chapter 226: Feng Yue
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 226: Feng Yue
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Chaos and panic pervaded the n Feng outpost. The power of the defensive ward was at its maximum.
The number of insectoids flooding the whole area wasnt falling just yet. They crept all over the semi-spherical shield, gorging on the Spiritual Power that flowed in it.
The view from inside the outpost never looked so horrific and bleak with the shieldpletely engulfed by the insectoid horde. So many of them were scrabbling at the top of the dome, in danger of falling directly into the outpost if the defensive ward ever failed and this was only prevented by the desperate and hurried strokes of the n Feng acolytes who never stopped depositing Spirit Stones into the wards nexus.
But the horde was only just growing bigger, stronger, and thicker. At this rate, the defensive ward would surely fall, give or take a few hours.
Feng Yue never looked so pale. For she had realized that with the Atheneum acolytes sealing off the exit at the wormhole, those trapped down below the nest could note back to lift the siege of the insectoid horde outside the outpost! [Was this a coincidence], she wondered for one split-second, [Or is this some sort of plot?!]
She would not have felt so worried if this were just a mere coincidence. But what if this really was a plot? Then this could be more than a simple insectoid extermination gone wrong!
In the meantime, Feng Lianju received word about his outpost currently being assailed by an insectoid of indescribable proportions. He would have been able to sound a retreat and lead his men back to help lift the insectoid siege. But with the Atheneum army keeping watch over the only exit, getting out of the wormhole was tantamount to suicide!
Besides, they were still far frompleting their side of the extermination. As much as they were worried about the situation of the outpost, there really was nothing they could do.
Time passed by swiftly.
More than six hours had passed, and the incandescence of the shield had be weak. The magic of the defensive ward was teetering on the brink of copsing and once it did, the hundred-or-so acolytes inside would not be able to hold back the unstoppable tide of the insectoid horde.
Feng Yue was shivering with panic. Of all the ways that anyone would use to attack the outpost, she had not thought about this. Then again, she was consoled by the fact that this appeared to just be an insectoid stampede instead of a real invasionunched by any enemy factions. She shuddered to contemte the loss that she would incur if this really were thetter.
But Fate just loved an ironic twist. Just when she thought that this was really just an insectoid infestation, deafening rumbles reverberated from the rear of the outpost, followed swiftly by the ripples of Spiritual Power discharge.
None of the n Feng acolytes could fight. Shaken to their very core, the only hope for survival would be Feng Yues call for a retreat where everyone would immediately withdraw back to the real world of Jiu Zhou. Theyer afteryer of surprises had delivered an unbelievable blow to what was left of their morale.
No one could tell what was going on amid the pandemonium until another n Feng acolyte came rushing in, howling, Attack! Were under attack! There are hundreds of Cultivators outside!
The news hit Feng Yue so hard that she nearly cked out.
[An attack?! Now, of all times?! Who the hell could that be?!]
[Were done for!] Just when she thought that the situation could not get any worse, the twist fell out of nowhere to punish her naivety.
A thunderp came on cue as the glowing wall of light shattered; the defensive ward had finally crumbled under the sheer pressure of the insectoid horde. Thousands of insectoid monsters rained down on the outpost like a heavy deluge, inundating the entire outpost with not only an insectoid army of unquenchable hunger but also their constant and vexatious buzzing!
BACK TO JIU ZHOU! Feng Yue growled through gritted teeth before she ran as fast as she could for the Sanctum of Providence.
And she was hardly the only one. Scores of acolytes thronged for the Sanctum, hoping that they could be the first to make it to the safety of the main stronghold through the Divine Opportunity Column in the Sanctum. But these were only those who were quick on the uptake. Heavens help those who were still unaware of what just happened.
But by the time they arrived at the square just outside the Sanctum. They were greeted by the sight of a rowdy group of strangers led by a Cultivator riding on a ferocious-looking white tiger. The leader swung his saber and off came the head of the first n Feng acolyte foolhardy enough to test his wrath.
A tiny red sparkle was flying around him. Feng Yue could clearly see that that was a weapon manipted using Telekinesis.
She had not seen this stranger before. The glow he emanated showed that he must be at least a Seventh-Order, but the purity of the glow was something that not even the superior Cloud River Realm Cultivators in n Feng could boast.
Feng Yue watched as the stranger dispensed death and destruction with unnerving coldness and efficacy. Of every Sixth-Order who dared to fight him, none of them survived beyond the first exchange of blows.
Suddenly, the young stranger noticed her. Their gazes locked for one split-second. Next, his eyes twinkled like a wolf who had discovered its prey. He leaped off the back of his tiger and glided over, bringing his saber down at her without any ounce of mercy orpassion!
That the blow failed to kill Feng Yue was not because of her skill, and Lu Ye was not one to show clemency, especially towards an enemy. But when Lu Ye threw himself at her, Feng Yue allowed herself to copse by bending her knees and deftly dropped to a kneel on the ground with her head prostrated before his ankles.
Of all the reactions that Lu Ye anticipated from her, none of them included this.
A few strands of her hair gently fell to the ground. The handiwork of Invible when it was just so close to nicking her.
Lu Ye had lost count of the number of kills that he now had under his belt since entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Many died before they could even mount anything resembling some sort of opposition while some died fighting him. A rare few had tried begging for their lives to no avail; most fights and skirmishes between Cultivators from both the Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition were often bloody and deadly since it was generally epted that no quarter would be shown to the defeated. To lose a battle meant forfeiting ones life and no amount of pleading and groveling would usually change that.
Therefore, one could almost imagine Lu Yes surprise when he saw the woman falling to her knees without even the slightest hesitation. This really was a first!
What was more ludicrous was the fact that this woman was also a Seventh-Order Cultivator, which was what caught Lu Yes eye the moment heid eyes on her. Lu Ye knew that she must either be the legate or prolegate of this outpost, which would also mean that she must be carrying enough valuables to make killing her worthwhile.
Until she bent her knees so willingly and so eagerly that Lu Ye became so confused and surprised that he failed to make any adjustments to his attack. That was what saved her life.
Lu Ye bent down to peer at the woman now humbly submitting herself to him. She had her forehead right on the grounda gesture of utmost reverence and deference. Herplexion was a pallid cream-white and it was this, plus her posture that when added to her form-fitting dress only presented to everyone her voluptuous curves.
Lu Ye might have fumbled the first time, but he wasnt going to let that stop him. He had survived long enough to know better than to underestimate an enemy Seventh-Order; the only safe enemy is a dead one. That the woman now presented herself before him appeared like the best chance for him to behead her.
Im a Medical Cultivator! Please, sir! Have mercy!
Lu Yes de immediately slowed to a sudden halt. He frowned.
This woman had the sense to invoke one of the most important unspoken rules in the Battlefield: that Medical Cultivators should be spared whenever possible.
This was something that Lu Ye wasnt aware of in the past. But since his appointment as legate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, Shui Yuan had had enough time and opportunity to instruct him more about the many practices and customs to observe in the Battlefield. As a matter of fact, Shui Yuan had taken special care to tell him about sparing the lives of Medical Cultivators. She must have realized what a bloodthirsty beast Lu Ye could be sometimes.
The reason behind this rule was simple enough. Medical Cultivators usuallye in short supply, even in the Battlefield, and most, if not all of them, who learned the crafts of other fields of study such as spells or weapon mastery only did so as a means of protecting themselves. The purpose of Medical Cultivators did not usually stray from their main objective, which was to save lives. That made them absent from the frontlines even in skirmishes and wars. Thest reason is a practical one: enemy Medical Cultivators could also be used to heal ones own wounded.
Come to think of it, Pang Dahai did mention this briefly when he told Lu Ye and Yu Xiaodie about how Medical Cultivators were usually spared even if they got abducted or captured by enemy factions.
While it was a virtual certainty that Cultivators from both sides would be more than happy to wipe the floor with each others faces, both factions nevertheless held on to this unspoken rule like it was an edict from the Heavens. Whatever happened, it would never be in anyones interest to have the already-meager ranks of Medical Cultivators be pruned further.
Theck of Cultivators engenders the loss of more lives and talents.
But that would exin why this woman knelt the moment she realized there was no escape. She knew that her role as a Medical Cultivator would save her.
Lu Ye swished his saber coldly. That elicited a gash on her arm plus a painful yelp from her. Blood poured out of the wound and turned the fabric of her dress red.
PROVE IT!
Feng Yue mbered to her knee. Ignoring the stabbing pain, she raised her other hand and held it over the wound. A soft and soothing sensation from her Spiritual Power immediately diminished the pain.
Lu Ye spat. So she really was a Medical Cultivator.
CHEN YU!
Chen Yu, who was leading a bunch of Crimson Blood Sect to intercept any iing insectoids, heard the call and answered, Yes!
Watch this woman and dont hesitate to kill her if she tries something funny.
Chen Yu peered at Feng Yue and responded, Yes, sir!
Lu Ye paced away only to pause, then he turned back around, Right, and strip her of her Storage Bag. Interrogate and see if theres anything worth taking here!
Understood.
When Lu Ye had left, Chen Yu looked at Feng Yue. You heard the man, now hand over your Storage Bag!
Feng Yue quietly surrendered her Storage Bag. But she did not get up. With a weak and helpless look at Chen Yu, she begged, I feel unwell. Could you give me a hand? As she spoke, she reached out for him.
She was only too thankful to have survived. All the tricks that she had used to great frequency and effect on men had failed to work on the young stranger. He did not even see her as a woman. Just an enemy.
But Chen Yu was different. He could feel something stirring inside him the moment he saw the milk-white skin of the woman. He looked and saw Lu Ye butchering some insectoids and shook his head firmly. No, youre getting up yourself.
Glumly, Feng Yue got up herselfslowly.
Im warning you. Nothing funny! Now take me to your vault!
He gave Feng Yue a shove, who let loose a womanly moan that could make any manand in this instance, Chen Yuswoon
With her outpost taken and herself captured as a prisoner-of-war, now, the enemies were demanding her to lead them to their vault! Feng Yue was none too happy about being treated as such, but she was at least relieved to know that she would survive.
Inside the Sanctum of Providence, Hua Ci retracted her arm. She said to Cao Huahong who had been waiting beside and said, Your turn, Brother Cao.
Cao Huahong burst into heartyughter, Well, my thanks to you! He ced a hand on the Divine Opportunity Column to remove the remaining enhancements inside.
With Ding Yushu upied with keeping the bulk of the n Feng force underground in the insectoid nest, Cao Huahong had arrived at his behest, leading the rest of the Atheneums acolytes here to assist with Lu Yes invasion as the prolegate of the Atheneum and with their victory, half of the enhancements upon the n Feng Divine Opportunity Column would now go to the Atheneum.
It was an alliance and naturally, the Crimson Blood Sect was obligated to honor it.
The Crimson Blood Sect were joined by the Atheneum of Finality acolytes when they were still waiting for the shield of the defensive ward to fall.
But it was nevertheless simple enough for Cao Huahong, especially since all he had just done wase all the way here and strut into the captured outpost like a conqueror. There has been no job so easy and yet so rewarding before. Buting here and witnessing Lu Ye and Hua Ci at work, he began to understand the respect and admiration Ding Yushu had for the legate and prolegate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. He had heard enough about what happened during the Battle Royal of the Legates and how these two young prodigies had managed to turn the tide of the battle in their favorall thanks to the tactical advantage that both had amassed right from the beginning. It would seem that some form of well-maintained friendship with the Crimson Blood Sect would not go amiss.
Chapter 227: Only Fair
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 227: Only Fair
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
As soon as Hua Ci and Cao Huahong had finished dividing the spoilsmost important of which were the enhancements of the n Feng Divine Opportunity Columnthe Crimson Blood Sect force withdrew in an orderly manner just like before. Lu Ye alone diverted the insectoids attention away from them with his Fire Dragon spells all zing in full force, using the discharge of his Spiritual Power to attract as many insectoids as he could.
The insectoids wasted no time in surrounding him.
Which would have been a death sentence if he did not have Glyph: Wings. It was being able to fly that made attempts like this way less risky than they should have been. Without the ability of flight or other means of escape, a Cultivator could be as powerful as he wanted but he would still be overrun by the insectoids.
With his wings, he could fly and flee if anything were to go sideways. In moments like this, Lu Ye gave thanks to both his mentor Tang Yifeng and Lady Yun for being able to fly.
Lu Ye made sure that every single member of the Crimson Blood Sect had fully retreated to a safe distance before he took to the air, turning into a speck of red that shot out of sight.
The insectoids tried in vain to give chase, but it did not take long before they hadpletely lost him. They stopped and began dispersing to consume whatever was within sight as their instincts dictated.
To the north of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, the Redoubt of Wrath had been fully wiped out with the bulk of its force crippled.
To the east, the n Feng outpost has also been taken. They might not have suffered as many casualties as the Redoubt of Wrath, but their losses were still quite substantial.
And the two Thousand Demon Ridge orders would not have suffered this fate today if not for the Crimson Blood Sect.
At the moment, Lu Ye did not have any ns for any more conquest. His men had taken down two enemy outposts consecutively and they could definitely use some rest.
Besides, most of the orders and sects would havepleted their extermination by now. He could lead and drive the insectoid horde to another Thousand Demon Ridge outpost, but the effects would not be as potent as before.
What demanded his attention at the moment was what to do with the remnants of the n Feng acolytes.
n Feng might have lost its outpost, but few of its members were in in the process. If the Crimson Blood Sect had done enough damage to the Redoubt of Wrath, then it was only fair that Lu Ye inflicted the same upon n Feng.
Lu Ye did not neglect to recall that Ding Yushu was still outside the n Feng wormhole with his men. He should be taking his men there to rejoin the rest of the Atheneum to mop up the rest of n Feng once and for all.
If that could be aplished, the Crimson Blood Sect would reign supreme across thends within a hundred-mile radius of their outpost.
Lu Ye veered around and flew off to rejoin his people.
Brother Lu Ye! Cao Huahong saluted as soon as they met, beaming broadly as if the very air he breathed in smelled so sweet.
How are things at the other end?
Cao Huahong gave Lu Ye an ount of what was going on at the wormhole. Apparently, word of their outpost being captured had reached the n Feng acolytes underground. But while they wallowed with dejection and anguish, they had no idea who was behind the attack.
It wasplete bem when the defensive ward of the n Feng outpost copsed and the acolytes who managed to get back to the real world of Jiu Zhou before Lu Ye and the Crimson Blood Sect invaders arrived failed to see who their enemies were.
In fact, even for Feng Yue, it was only when she had calmed down that she recognized the white tiger and guessed the mastermind of the attack was Lu Ye. But she could hardly inform everyone else right now.
Not in her current situation where Chen Yu and Kong Niu were keeping a watchful eye on her. One wrong move and she would either be beheaded by a saber or skewered through the heart by a sword, whichever got to her first.
She might be a Seventh-Order, but that did not prevent her from feeling like amb that had strayed into the midst of a wolfpack.
ording to Cao Huahong, Feng Lianju had been rallying the n Feng acolytes underground in a number of vain attempts to get out of the wormhole but the Atheneum of Finality acolytes had managed to repel them every single time, causing huge losses on the side of the n Feng acolytes.
That culminated in a stalemate where one party was none too eager to head into the wormhole while the other just couldnt get out at all.
Lu Ye frowned. The stalemate was proving a conundrum that he could not yet find a solution to.
He caught the scent of a unique fragrance. There was no need to turn his head. It must be Hua Ciing over on her Wolf Golem.
So, how was the loot?
Not bad, Hua Ci nodded before she added, I see youve collected some form of loot yourself.
Huh?
You got yourself a wife. They say shes the legate of the outpost, Hua Ci nudged her chin at their hostage.
[Wife?! How the heck did you arrive at that?!] Lu Ye was about to deny that remark when something dawned upon him. He hurried over to Feng Yue and whispered something into her ear.
Feng Yue bobbed her head at first as she listened until her face turned aghast with disbelief.
Whatever it was, it was reason enough for Lu Ye to rip Invible out of its scabbard. Yet despite the threat of death, Feng Yue shook her head vigorously, shedding tears of despair.
Invible zed with its fiery-red splendor and Feng Yue just stood there with her eyes shut as if she was expecting its wrath to befall her.
She waited for a few seconds and still, the blow never came. By the time she opened her eyes, Lu Ye was gone. She exhaled with relief. She had survived yet again and the vanishing tension almost reduced her knees to marshmallows.
Not far away, Lu Ye was alone. Sulking.
When he heard Hua Ci saying that Feng Yue was the legate of the n Feng outpost, Lu Ye expected that she must enjoy some measure of admiration, respect, and more importantly, obedience from her fellow acolytes. He thought of harnessing just that by using her to get her people to willingly step out into the open. That would have made the job easier for the Atheneum and the Crimson Blood Sect.
Lu Ye did not expect any sess in coercing her at first, but after gauging her, he judged her to be a cowardly person.
And as it turned out, he misjudged her. She might have been spineless when Lu Ye first swung his weapon at her. But now that he was asking her to betray her brethren, she found her courage all of a suddeneven under the pain of death.
She would dly use her role as Medical Cultivator to safeguard herself. She would beg and grovel at ones feet if it meant saving herself. But she would not go against her own principles when it came to her loyalty to n Feng. Her gamble paid off. Lu Ye just couldnt just flippantly sentence her to death for nothing.
Thebined forces pressed forward until they reached the n Feng wormhole, making it an alliance of more than a thousand men.
Lu Ye joined Ding Yushu by the edge of the pit, and they looked inside. The legate of the Atheneum of Finality gave Lu Ye a recap of the situation at hand and it basically matched what Cao Huahongs reports.
So thats where we are right now. Do you have any suggestions, Brother Yi Ye?
Im going down to have a look.
That was said with a straight face, and Lu Ye just dropped himself in with the nonchnce of dropping a stone into the pit.
Ding Yushus eyes bulged the moment he saw Lu Ye fall into the hole. [What the?! Is he mad?!]
He peered down into the ck, bottomless abyss and saw lights. Flickering luminescence from Spiritual Power being discharged. Energy bolts. The force of the eruptions rushed up the pit, a column of air mming into his face before he glimpsed Lu Ye shooting into the sky. Lu Yended back on the ground. He was unhurt, but he looked almost beat up.
It was just for one fleeting moment, but Lu Ye saw what he wanted to see: scores of n Feng Cultivators camped just around the bottom of the pit, ready to attack anyone who came down, which Lu Ye would have not been prepared to test if he did not have Glyph: Protection.
Do we have any way to copse the tunnels?
If they could do that, then they could easily dispose of the enemies by burying them all alive.
Ive thought of that too, Ding Yushus shaking of his head portended his answer, But we dont have the power to do that. The tunnels are too deep.
He sighed. Well, if theres nothing else, I say we call this off. We cannot spend all day around here and n Feng must have summoned help from the inner-ring areas. Those with enough Contribution Points could have called upon the power of the Divine Opportunity Column to transport them back to the outpost. But thats a big if, since it wont be cheap.
Contribution Points did note easily; Cultivators spend their Contribution Points on almost anything, making saving Points more easily said than done.
Lu Ye knew that full well as a legate himself. The Divine Opportunity Column had the ability to magically transport Cultivators back to their stronghold. But the cost varied between different Cultivator ranks and distances.
He might not have tested this ability before, but he knew that such a request would invariably be very, very expensive.
Beyond any doubt, both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng must have acolytes who had traveled farther into the inner ring or even central areas of the Battlefield. Powerful acolytes now spent their time training or wandering on a pilgrimage around the deeper and more perilous parts of the Battlefield.
There was no telling whether they had been informed about the attacks on their outposts, but if so, then they had to be on their way back by now.
Hence, the Crimson Blood Sect and Atheneum of Finality forces here would be sitting ducks by the time a bunch of disgruntled and vengeful Cultivators only too eager to avenge their fallenrades arrived.
Not far away, Feng Yue was quietly eavesdropping on the discussion. [Good. Go down that road], she thought. [Believe that people areing and you lot have to retreat. That way, its alls well that ends well for everyone.]
n Feng might have lost its outpost, but many of its members still lived. Its power and influence could always be rebuilt at any time.
Damn. Im not happy at all with this, Lu Ye shook his head.
Well, youre not alone there, Ding Yushu chuckled weakly, But theres pretty much nothing we could do.
Wait, let me think. There must be something we can do.
It wasnt easy getting n Feng down on its heels. To give up the advantage and leave would be nothing short of a waste. Lu Ye gazed at Feng Yue, who noticed it and quickly averted her eyes and lowered her head, putting up the appearance of a wronged damsel-in-distress in need of justice.
[Bloody woman And of all times, she has finally discovered her backbone now]
Something made Ding Yushu and Cao Huahong both look at their Battlefield Imprint in unison. They both exchanged grave looks.
Brother Ding! Cao Huahong muttered.
I know, Ding responded. He looked at Lu Ye, Im afraid I have to go now, Brother Yi Ye. Our outpost is under attack.
By who? asked an incredulous Lu Ye.
Mount Kchakra!
Lu Ye recognized that name as the one belonging to another Thousand Demon Ridge order whose outpost sat somewhere to the north of the Atheneum of Finality outpost.
But why would Mount Kchakra beunching an attack on your outpost all of a sudd Lu Ye did not allow himself to finish. Instead, he looked at Feng Yue.
Obviously, someone has been reporting our movements, Ding Yushu was looking at her as wellcoldly.
He immediately rounded up his men first. Then he gave Lu Ye onest salute, Till next time, Brother Yi Ye. I look forward to fighting alongside you once more.
I daresay well be fighting alongside each other soon enough. Wereing along. We might not be killing any n Feng goons just yet but killing Mount Kchakra goons would make up for the loss!
Thats great! Ding Yushu beamed at Lu Yes offer.
Lu Ye hurried through the crowd and seized Feng Yue by her cor before tossing her up on Ambers back, much to her protesting squeals.
In seconds, almost two thousand men began racing as speedily as possible for the Atheneum of Finality outpost, leaving the outside of the n Feng wormhole deserted and quiet.
Feng Yue finally exhaled easily as she rode on Ambers back. The gambit that she had pulled off worked without her expecting it to. With the Atheneum and Crimson Blood Sect now focusing on the siege of the Atheneums outpost, the n Feng acolytes still trapped underground could finally get out to safety.
Posting the trot on Ambers back, Feng Yue nced around her to make sure no one was looking before she quickly delivered another message: [Mount Kchakra is now attacking the Atheneum outpost! Everyones gone there! You can get out now! Quick!]
.
Little did she realize that Lu Ye and Ding Yushu were sending messages of their own.
Chapter 228: Trap
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 228: Trap
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Moments passed until suddenly, Lu Ye gave Ding Yushu a curt nod before he stopped abruptly.
The hundreds of Atheneum of Finality acolytes marched on with Ding Yushu in the lead while the seven-hundred-strong Crimson Blood Sect host halted.
Feng Yue was still sending a message to Feng Lianju when that happened. Caught unaware, Feng Yue hastily ended contact, turning her head left and right to look around. Still shocked, dazed, and incredulous, a hand shot out of nowhere and seized her by the throat. Next, she was flung off Ambers back and tossed down to the ground.
Grimy and dusty, she looked up and came eye-to-eye with Lu Ye towering over her.
Thank you!
Huh?! Feng Yue yelped with disbelief, What for?!
Lu Ye kept his eyes on her while he stuffed another Spirit Pill into his mouth and chewed it slowly.
Been exchanging notes with your n Feng mates, havent you?
Of course not! Feng Yue denied vehemently, although she quickly noticed the mischievous glint ying in Lu Yes eyes. Youve been using me!?
She did her best to hide that she was surreptitiously making contact with the remnants of n Feng, but anyone who had been watching her with enough effort would have noticed her. Atst, Feng Yue realized that Lu Yes tossing her up on Ambers back was not a gesture of charity, but rather, he was setting her up and she took the bait, stepping right into it by doing exactly what he expected her to do! Just when she thought that her meekness and submissiveness had disarmed him!
Feng Yue began to wonder if what she had just done was not good, but rather disastrous for Feng Lianju.
[Was everything just a show? A ploy to lure the prey out of itsir?]
So the outpost of the Atheneum isnt under attack at all?! Feng Yue gasped, remembering how real Ding Yushu and Cao Huahong looked earlier when they got wind of an invasion.
The Atheneum outpost is under attack, Lu Ye responded, Butpared to Mount Kchakra, Im more interested in dealing with the rest of n Feng.
At present, Ding Yushu and the rest of his men are on the way back to assist with the defense of their outpost. For an order or a sect to capture an enemy outpost, especially one of equal or simr strength, was never easy and Mount Kchakra could very well pull back its force the moment it spied Ding Yushu and his men appearing in the horizon.
Even if the Crimson Blood Sect host marched with its Atheneum of Finality counterpart to help lift the siege, it would at most be a one-sided ughter of a few Mount Kchakra acolytesan inconsequential loss to Mount Kchakra. There was little to be gained or achieved without capturing the enemys outpost.
But wheeling back around to fully mop up the rest of n Feng was entirely different; with their outpost now as bare as an abandoned temple, attacking the remaining n Feng members now emerging from the wormhole would be a massive blow and one withsting damage.
Truth be told, assisting the Atheneum in the defense of their outpost really was the first thing that came to Lu Yes mind the moment he heard about Mount Kchakra invading them. But it did not take long for him to realize that this was a good chance to set a trap, prompting him to toss Feng Yue onto Ambers back.
If she had been a good girl who had not been passing notes behind his back, then the Crimson Blood Sect would have had no other choice but go with Ding Yushu to help him lift the siege of the Atheneum of Finalitys outpost.
But she stepped right into Lu Yes trap by alerting the remnants of n Feng.
Whatever happened, the Crimson Blood Sect could derive an advantage from both scenarios.
The moment Feng Yue made contact with her fellowrades, Yi Yi, whom Lu Ye had charged to stay near the wormhole and not travel with the entire group, had verified that the remaining n Feng acolytes in the insectoid pit had begun climbing out of the wormhole. Little did they realize that a pair of eyes were watching and reporting their every move to Lu Ye.
Chink!
Invible ripped out of its sheath and Lu Ye drove it through Feng Yues open hand, nailing it to the ground amid a torrent of blood and screams.
Feng Yue looked at Lu Ye with unshed tears in her eyes. She was just going to send another message when the weapon pierced her hand
Consider this yourst chance. One more time and youre dead!
Lu Ye yanked his saber free, much to Feng Yues painful grunt.
Watch her, Chen Yu. One wrong move, dispose of her.
Of course, sir!
The rest of you, on me!
Lu Ye wheeled around, and the entire Crimson Blood Sect force looped back after him to head back.
At the wormhole, n Feng members were mbering out of the pit into the open. Warily, they peeked at first to make sure that their Grand Sky Coalition enemies were gone. They reconnoitered the surroundings and ensured that the coast was clear before they exhaled with relief. One of the scouts headed back to the pit and yelled loudly down the hole, ITS CLEAR! COME UP NOW!
For almost a day the n Feng acolytes had been trapped below and one after another, they climbed out of the wormhole. By the time everyone was out, the remaining acolytes numbered to almost a hundred.
As soon as he got out, Feng Lianju immediately tried contacting Feng Yue, but to no avail. Whatever messages he had sent had no reply.
That left him utterly on tenterhooks as to what fate might have befallen her.
But there was much to do; the remaining n Feng acolytes needed to get back to their outpost to reim it. Without the outpost, they were as helpless as hounds in the wild.
Feng Lianju jerked his head at once. He felt somethingthe sensation of Spiritual Power nearby. Then his sights homed in on the first thing that caught his eye: a fiery-redet streaking straight at him.
By the time he saw that it was a person, it was toote. The stranger was already upon him.
Another red spark caught his eye. A Telekinesis weapon. It shot straight at his chest, and it would have punched a hole through him if he had not been quick enough to parry it away with his spear. But the collision was so great that his hands were numb and sore by the force that also pummeled him backward, staggering before he could remain steady.
But his assant was not going to give him any moment of respite. Lu Ye swung Invible at him, only too eager to hack his opponent into pieces.
Once again, Feng Lianju deflected the blow with his spear. But Lu Ye held on, refusing to give up. Both men struggled with their weapons gnashing against each other, their furious stares locked until Feng Lianju was distracted by the presence of another force barreling straight at him.
Who the hell are you!? he growled. He could not believe that he was losing out in brute strength despite them both being equals in rank.
But the only reply he got was a strange glow that bristled over Invibles de.
Feng Lianju writhed with shock the moment he felt a sudden weight on his shoulders and his back. The weight of a mountain unseen crashing down on him. He was already at a disadvantage in this contest of strength and now this, the invisible force seeding in forcing him to bend and get down on his knees.
That was Glyph: Gravity Well, a Glyph that could produce a force field within a certain area where the gravity within that area would be intensified by many fold.
Feng Lianju sensed danger closing in. The tiny red spark that was the hiltless knife that had not only been a pest, but a real threat to him wasing from the back of his head and there was nothing he could do. The Telekinesis weapon burst through his protective aura, pierced through his skull, and came out of his mouth.
At the same time, Lu Ye leaped into the air, evading cleanly a few spells and weapons that hit the spot where he had just been standing a half-second earlier.
In just one exchange, Feng Lianju, prolegate of the n Feng outpost and equal in rank to this mysterious and unknown assant, was killed. That was enough to render any other n Feng acolytes petrified and terrified.
Still hanging in mid-air, Lu Ye lifted a hand. He aimed it at the rest of the enemy acolytes before unleashing his hiltless knife and a couple of Fire Dragons at them.
At the same time, the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force appeared from the direction he came.
Driven by panic and fear, the one-hundred-or-so n Feng acolytes immediately hurled themselves back inside the pit. But with Fire Dragons wreaking havoc inside the wormhole, their fates were as bad as could be expected.
Those still inside the pit were utterly dibobted. Just when they thought their chance to escape the godforsaken nest of the insectoids had finally arrived, those who were outside the pit began to tumble back in, causing a riotous chaos of men falling onto each other like dominoes inside the wormhole.
All of a sudden, screams and shrieks rang out and several n Feng acolytes dropped dead. It was Yi Yi, doing her bit to y whatever enemies she could find.
Thebyrinthianwork of tunnels of the nest was working in her favor. She could fire a few spells and kill some enemies before slipping away into one of the tunnels. No one could find her, and no one could stop her. At her current rank, ordinary low-tier Cultivators could easily be killed with only just a spell or two.
This also helped to further aggravate the pandemonium now raging at the bottom of the wormhole.
Thanks to Lu Yes Fire Dragons, by the time the Crimson Blood Sect host arrived in full force, more than thirty n Feng acolytes were dead outside the wormhole. Back inside, one could expect the number to be higher for Lu Ye had been firing Fire Dragons into the hole to his hearts content and the cramped space in the tunnels would ensure maximum effect.
With Feng Lianju killed in action and Feng Yue nabbed, there was no one else fit enough to lead the remaining n Feng acolytes. Of the Sixth-Orders that managed to survive Lu Yes assault, only a handful of them were still scrambling back into the wormhole, their will to fight and resist had all but crumbled into dust.
As soon as hisrades arrived, Lu Ye led the charge into the wormhole. Once inside, he just picked a tunnel and began stalking his way in, killing whatever enemies he could find.
So did the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force. They poured into the wormhole and separated into every tunnel, beginning their own extermination of both any surviving insectoids and n Feng acolytes.
That left only Hua Ci and Feng Yue outside the wormhole.
nkly and despondently, thetter beheld the sight of so many dead bodiesall of whom belonged to her brethren. When she was sending her messages to her people earlier, this was definitely not the oue she envisioned.
Hua Ci stood not far away. As opposed to Feng Yue, she looked rather serene and calm.
Despite being inferior in rank, Hua Ci was unfazed by what Feng Yue might be up to. As a Medical Cultivator, Hua Ci saw no need to be unkind to a fellow Medical Cultivator. But even if Feng Yue was going to attempt anything untoward, Hua Ci was more than prepared to show her what her mushrooms could do.
That was precisely why Lu Ye was satisfied with leaving Feng Yue with Hua Ci alone.
But Feng Yues current bewilderment came as a surprise to Hua Ci, who had been expecting some form of resistance. The former just sat there, dazed as a scarecrow with no signs of running or attacking her.
There they waited until the first group came out of the nest, with moreing back in gradual intervals.
There were people hurt and even dead. But losses were unavoidable since they were fighting under such narrow and dark conditions. Nevertheless,pared to the enemies, the oue was very much a favorable one.
Every n Feng acolyte who fled into the tunnels was hunted down and killed.
With the work here done, Lu Ye contacted Ding Yushu again to find out if the Atheneum needed any help, and the response came back soon enough. Mount Kchakra had withdrawn the second they found out that Ding Yushu was marching back with his men.
Which was an expected oue. Mount Kchakra would never want to risk an all-out war against the Atheneum of Finality. Not unless they had an unsolvable blood feud.
No good woulde out of such a war, even for both sides, and any legate or prolegate worth his or her salt would know that.
So, um, Brother Lu Ye, Gu Yangxing started. Gu was one of the few Sixth-Orders in the Crimson Blood Sect outpost. Where to after this?
That was evidently a sentiment shared by a good many of the Crimson Blood Sect for eyes panned over and gazed at Lu Ye with anticipation. The day had been weary and tiring, no less dangerous and deadly, but the rewards had been rich. There had not been any faction in the Spirit Creek Battlefield that could capture the outposts of two other opposing factions in one single day. That this urred in the outer-ring areas of the Battlefield made this all the more amazing and unbelievable, since invasions in the peripherals of the Battlefield were known to be rare.
And those Crimson Blood Sect Cultivators who had survived the day had been reaping huge returns from their looting and extermination of insectoids.
Were going home.
What else was there to do?
The invasion of the Redoubt of Wrath outpost was only possible with the help of the insectoid horde, which in turn, also helped in the seizure of the n Feng outpost, with the assistance of the Atheneum of Finality.
Most if not all insectoid infestations around the Battlefield should have been fully exterminated by now. Without enemy acolytes crowding their nearby underground tunnels instead of manning the parapets of their outposts, a reckless and forced invasion on an enemy outpost now would spell more harm than good.
To say nothing of the fact that high-tier acolytes of both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng must be rushing back by now. The Crimson Blood Sect host needed to withdraw at once to prevent an assault on their own outpost by the time these powerful acolytes arrived.
Therefore, for the good of everyone individually and for the Sect, they needed to get back home. Fast.
Chapter 229: Defensive Ward
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 229: Defensive Ward
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It was all smiles and giggles as the Crimson Blood Sect host marched on their way back to the outpost with Lu Ye. Everyone was definitely ecstatic.
The day of fighting had been surreal, to say the least. It was as if everyone had stepped into a swashbuckling fairy tale and those who survived would live to enjoy the spoils and have a great tale to tell.
It all started with the extermination of their own insectoid infestation, followed by a northbound expedition to assail the Redoubt of Wrath outpost where they had annihted a several-hundred-strong force and invaded the outpost.
Next, they veered south, heading to the n Feng outpost, and took it before putting to the sword another several hundred enemy acolytes.
All these were done just within sixty miles of the Crimson Blood Sects own outpost.
In barely an hour, the entire host arrived back at the outpost. Even from afar, they could spy the swarm of insectoids crawling all around the square just outside the outposts Sanctum of Providence.
The insectoid infestation from the Redoubt of Wrath area had reached these parts.
Standing out of the vast and endless sprawl of insectoids was the monstrous Beaky pping its wings and swooping down again and again to give any insectoid it found a fatal peck. Every now and then, it would seize a handful of these monsters and crush them with its talons.
Then everyone noticed: all over the square, it was not just living insectoids, but even carcasses as well. Beaky had not been idle in their absence.
And Lu Ye was pleased that everything had worked out well.
That he could entrust the outpost to Beaky was the main reason he could empty literally every man and woman from the outpost. Any intruders who dared to foolishly infiltrate the outpost would find themselves facing the wrath of the monstrous eagle.
In the meantime, Lu Ye had expected the outpost to be overrun with insectoids. The entire Crimson Blood Sect had been outside for far too long and with the Redoubt of Wrath wormhole just barely tens of miles from here, this hardly came as a surprise.
For this reason, Lu Ye had already been making arrangements during the Crimson Blood Sect hosts march back to the outpost. The insectoid horde was mainlyprised of Third- and Fourth-Orders, with the rest of the bulk being made up of Fifth- and Sixth-Orders. His predictions turned out to be spot-on: there were no Seventh-Orders, this being an outer-ring area infestation. Despite the presence of Seventh-Orders at the beginning, themotion created by Lu Ye would have enticed them to the n Feng area, or they could still be concealed within the underground nest chamber.
To that end, the entire host had not been moving like an unruly mob; in neatly arranged ranks and files the host pressed forward in an orderly fashion, steadily mowing down any insectoids in its path and the ruckus was attracting more insectoids their way.
Lu Ye kept a hand on the hilt of his saber as he stood outside the Sanctum of Providence. A tiny red spark wheezed around him, striking down any insectoids approaching the Sanctum.
Hua Ci rushed inside. She ced a hand on the Divine Opportunity Column and applied the enhancements that she looted from the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng Columns.
Lu Ye might not have an exact figure of how much was gained this time, but the enhancements plus Contribution Points looted from the two enemy orders must be more sizable than what his exploits during the Battle Royal of the Legates yielded. Both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng were orders having decades of presence in the Battlefield and the enhancements on their Divine Opportunity Columns must be substantial. That made the gains, despite having to share the n Feng loot with the Atheneum of Finality, easily outweighed whatever losses incurred in this whole episode.
Hua Ci emerged from the Sanctum.
I got it.
Is it expensive?
Very! Hua Ci grimaced as the cost involved a real pain.
Not that we have a choice. Everyone else has one, so we gotta have one too. We cant leave all the workload to Beaky after all and some form of preparation never hurts. Do you know how to set it up?
I dont, said Hua Ci. But she knows, she added, tugging at Feng Yue who was just beside her.
Dazed like a lost doe in the woods, Feng Yue was still very much a real and experienced legate of an outpost; which was more than what anyone could say of Lu Ye and Hua Ci, the inexperienced legate and prolegate still wet behind the ears.
The corner of Feng Yues lips twitched the moment her eyes locked with Lu Yes in what was a vain attempt to force a smile. But the notion of Lu Ye running his saber through her hand reyed vividly in her mind and the best she was able to do was a stiff and awkward smirk.
Lets go then!
Lu Ye called, leading Hua Ci and Feng Yue elsewhere. There was no need to worry about the others. The rest of the Crimson Blood Sect force had all be experienced bug exterminators after their recent adventures. They were more than enough to deal with the insectoids even without Lu Yes help now.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye, Hua Ci, and Feng Yue reached one of the corners of the outpostspound. Hua Ci extracted a tiny box from inside her Storage Bag. Almost the size of a mans face, the rectangr object barely looked like it was furnished from wood or gold.
Tiny and intricate runes and patterns festooned every inch of its surface. A closer inspection would have shown that these were actually some sort of glyph.
These were ward keystones that would mark the corners and outer perimeters of a defensive ward.
Every sect and order had its own defensive ward to guard the safety of its outpost, like the ones used by the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng outposts. But ward keystones were usually destroyed the moment a defensive ward was brought down, hence Lu Ye could not recover their keystones for his own use here.
As suggested by its name, the Spirit Creek Battlefield was a dimension that only Cultivators of the Spirit Creek Realm could freely enter. Yet the skill and power to forge a ward keystone or erect a defensive ward that could epass an entire outpost were simply too demanding for any Cultivator of the Spirit Creek Realm.
That raises one pertinent question: if so, from whence would ward keystonese? Naturally, there would only be one ce where the keystones could be procured: the Vault of Providence, although the cost of a ward keystone was not one that any individual Cultivator could easily bear.
How much does it cost for one of these? Lu Ye asked offhandedly.
Eight hundred and eighty-eight!
Lu Ye nearly felt his heart skip a beat.
And how many of these do we need?
Sixteen!
Lu Ye made a quick calction. The sum turned out to be an insanely huge one.
Fortunately enough, they had reaped equally huge rewards this time, enough to cover the cost. Knowing that the defensive ward would be strong enough to keep the outpost safe made it all worth it.
Um, so we just leave this one here?
Theres no time. Welle backter to bury it or to hide it.
Surely not. Ill have someonee here and guard it.
The ward keystones were not cheap and if left here unguarded, someone mighte and steal it away. Lu Ye sent word and within moments, a group of Cultivators came over from the direction of the Sanctum of Providence, all of them drenched in slick-green hemolymph.
Two of you, watch this thing and make sure no onees near it, all right?
Yes, sir!
The rest of you,e with me.
At Feng Yues instruction, Hua Ci ced the ward keystones at corners around the outpostspound. At every spot, Lu Ye assigned two Cultivators to keep watch.
When the work was finally done and the ward keystones were all set, the defensive ward was ready to be activated. At the same time, the rest of the Crimson Blood Sect host had finished ridding the outpost of the insectoids. More were stilling from outside but to fully eradicate the insectoid threat would require another expedition into the Redoubt of Wrath wormhole to extract the Nucleus of Life from the insectoid nexus there. Only that would truly solve the problem.
But the extent of the infestation had long passed beyond what outer-ring-area orders and sects could handle. Even Lu Ye would never dare to recklessly enter the wormhole now.
In the meantime, Hua Ci was holding a tiny jade-hewn disc in her hand. Barely asrge as a saucer, the eldritch power swirled in every notch and groove of the engravings, giving the disc a pulsing luminescence. That was the ward nexus, the instrument that would enable an individual power and control of a defensive ward. One could destroy a wards keystone and that would only weaken the ward. But if the ward nexus were to be destroyed, then the ward would copse.
Feng Yue dutifully exined to Hua Ci the ways of using the ward nexus. Hua Ci bobbed her head as she channeled her power into the instrument. All of a sudden, from all corners of the outpost, a loud hum resounded like a gong, and the emanation of Spiritual Power from every point around the perimeter of the outpost where the ward keystones had been ced resonated with each other.
Next, the emanation turned into torrents of light from all sixteen ward keystonesseparate regurgitation of Spiritual Power that eventually conjoined with one another before spreading upwards into the sky.
All it took was minutes, and the spread of Spiritual Power formed a dome that enclosed the wholepound of the outpost.
It was done.
A defensive ward that kept the inside safe from any outside threats.
With its protection, those inside the outpost would not have to worry about being invaded by insectoids. The infestation might be attracted to the Spiritual Power that sustained the defensive ward, but so long as their numbers were kept below a certain threshold, the dome-like shield of the ward would still be able to repair itself in perpetuity.
But Hua Ci intentionally left a few openings in the shield to allow insectoids through. Those who still wished to y more bugs could stand together and man the openings and cut down any insectoids they could find.
This also helped to relieve the pressure on the defensive ward.
On the other hand, the rest of the other Crimson Blood Sect Cultivators busied themselves with clearing up the ce and getting ready to take turns manning the openings. Everything was done in a very orderly manner.
Many of them had been hurt and Hua Ci led her people in helping to heal them. With just one Medical Cultivator, there really was only so much she could do.
.
But not that they had Feng Yue
Feng Yue was not liking it one bit. She was confused with thoughts of how she had a hand in the massacre of her own brethren and how here she was, fraternizing with the enemy faction and helping to heal their wounded.
But Lu Ye had been very good at persuading her. More so since it was not so much cajolery as coercion with his hand on the hilt of his weapon. It was this menacing exudation of his charms that finally swayed her to join the sacred vocation of saving lives. The lives of Crimson Blood Sect Cultivators.
The wounded were quickly tended to and given medical attention. All that they needed then was? to visit the training chambers, and the mess hall for something to eat, and everyone was back in action.
With Chen Yu being made the captain of the defense, the Sixth-Orders all led several squads in dealing with the insectoids and the extermination went on rewardingly.
But that came no closer to solving the problem.
Fresh insectoids were always ready to refill the ranks that kept on filing towards the openings in the wards shield.
While all was still peaceful and orderly at the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, the same could not be said elsewhere.
Word began to spread that the Crimson Blood Sect had ignored the insectoid infestation in their area and insteadunched consecutive attacks on both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng outposts. That was what led the insectoids in both their areas to grow rampantly like an epidemic so strong that no outer-ring-area orders and sects have the power and wherewithal to deal with it anymore.
The Thousand Demon Ridge expressed sympathy and condolences to both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng, and at the same time, issued threats and abusivenguage at the Crimson Blood Sect legate and prolegate for what they had done. Scores of enemy factions thronged as one,ining that how things were calm and harmonious before Lu Yes appearance here at the Crimson Blood Sect outpost had wrecked both peace and order and how the infestation was beginning to threaten even the safety of other outposts in the area, including a few Grand Sky Coalition ones. Lu Ye should be arrested and punished harshly, if not executed, for his crimes, so they said.
Within the Grand Sky Coalition was a rather different atmosphere. Most of them were exultant at Lu Yes performance. Sessful invasions between outer-ring-area forces were often hard toe by, never mind Lu Yes victories in capturing two enemy outposts and the ughter of all their acolytes, leaving just a meager few surviving. That would imply that the present generation of Spirit Creek Cultivators from both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng had nearly be extinct.
Chapter 230: Distribution of Spoils
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 230: Distribution of Spoils
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Yes name was beginning to be the very epitome of fear. How the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng outposts fell, no one actually knew. In fact, certain parties believed that this was malicious nder or baseless usations made against Lu Ye. Yet the Thousand Demon Ridge had spies and agents everywhere and whatever me they were directing at Lu Ye turned out to be less baseless than what most expected.
However, the rest of the Grand Sky Coalition had no intention to get entangled with the finer detailsor rather, ruthlessnessin the actions Lu Ye took to aplish the proverbial end. All that mattered was his triumph. Lu Ye had seeded in bringing two enemy outposts down on their heels in just a matter of days and that was good enough for everyone in the Coalition.
Once again, another period of strife sparked between both sides as Cultivators from the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge began flinging filth and mud at each other, volleying threats and curses bad enough for another all-out war to feel imminent.
With time, people began to realize that the insectoid infestation that had gone awry did not originate from the Crimson Blood Sect wormhole. It was instead the Redoubt of Wrath wormhole from whence the raging insectoid horde was pouring out.
That easily tore to shreds all nder and usations hurled against the Crimson Blood Sect although that did little to quell the unrest between both sides.
Cultivators from the inner-ring areas of the Battlefield sprang into action with tremendous crity. The ones from the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng were the fastest to arrive. They were said to have begun their expeditious journey back home the moment they got wind about the invasion and the first thing they did as soon as they came back was to assist the surviving acolytes with the rebuilding of their respective outposts.
More cultivators from other sects and orders eventually showed up. Fortunately, they were not merely here to watch. They took an active part in helping to deal with the infestation, which had grown strong enough for these inner-ring area Cultivators to earn Contribution Points by killing them.
But one could hardly expect zero friction when Cultivators from both sides met. It did not take long for the extermination to mutate into a three-way internecine battle royale where Cultivators of the Eighth- and Ninth-Ordersincluding a select few who were trained in Heaven-grade cultivation disciplineswaged war against each other while not forgetting to cut down a few insectoids in the process.
Whether it was the Grand Sky Coalition or the Thousand Demon Ridge that emerged as the victors of this little war, Lu Ye could hardly care less. What he did know was that the insectoid infestation was finally dealt with by the third day of his return to the outpost. Someone must have managed to get inside the nest and remove the Nuclei of Life from the insectoid nest.
The fourth day since the Crimson Blood Sect host returned to the outpost came.
The golden phosphorescent dome that shrouded the Crimson Blood Sect outpost was operating in a dormant state.
Lu Ye was sitting on the steps of the Sanctum of Providence, reading the books that Lady Yun had assigned him with utmost concentration.
Before him in the square were mounds of spoils that everyone had looted during the invasions they conducted. Being busy with the insectoid infestation for the past few days, only today did he finally find the time to go through everything.
Everyone had contributed in one way or another. That was why Lu Ye wanted everyone to surrender what they looted so that he could review everything and think of a proper and fair way to distribute the spoils.
Its all here now, Brother Lu Ye, He Xiyin came to him and reported.
Lu Ye muttered a wordless grunt. He lifted his head and peered at the mounds of items, although he quickly frowned with dismay. A lot of the spoils were items of little consequence and importancepots and pans, chairs and stools, and so forth.
The corners of his eyes twitched with annoyance as he fought to keep his vexation in check. [What the hell are these?!]
Coiled up like a shrimp in an unnoticed corner just outside the Sanctum of Providence was a sullen and forlorn Feng Yue. The arms that hugged her shoulders tightened and squeezed more firmly for she had recognized articles of furniture that looked awfully familiar.
Articles of furniture that originated from her own chambers.
[What a bunch of brigands and]
What is this?! Since when are you lot a bunch ofmon thieves and robbers?!
Lu Ye bellowed, feeling the kick of a headacheing. What in Heavens name are we supposed to do with these unimportant knick-knacks!? Seriously, pots and pans?!
He began to have the strangest feeling that the finite size of the Storage Bags inside was what stopped his men from bringing back even the beds from the outposts they invaded.
Chen Yu immediately exined, Well, its because were terriblycking in a lot of these items, sir. The men had noticed how these articles of furniture were made of such good materials and workmanship. The chairs and stools could be kept inside the Sanctum of Providence so that they could be used when we need to sit down and discuss things.
That seemed to make sense.
Very well then. Separate the more trivial items first. Whoever wants first dibs on them, be my guest.
Scores of Cultivators swarmed forward and surrounded the mounds of goods with the eagerness reminiscent of insectoids on the scent of Spiritual Power. Despite the seemingly disorganized clutter, everyone just took whatever they wanted. Chen Yu had some of the stools carried and ced inside the Sanctum of Providence. In just a matter of minutes, the rtively mundane items in the mounds were gone.
He Xiyin came to Lu Ye and handed him something that looked awfully like a ceramic pillow. Only this one was made of jade. Ive saved something for you, Brother Lu Ye.
All right.
Lu Ye gave a curt reply. He spent most of his time in the training chambers, but Chen Yu had a tiny little cottage built for him in one of the nicest spots in thepound and it was just beside Hua Cis.
Lu Ye had never been there before. Hence, he has not begun furnishing it yet.
Unbeknownst to everyone dividing the spoils, Feng Yue was staring at the jade-hewn pillow. Deep inside, she was screaming, [Thats mine! That jade pillow! Its mine, you filthy scoundrels!]
Now that the mundane and trivial scraps had been separated and distributed, it was time to look on to the main event: Spirit Artifacts, Spirit Pills, Spirit Stones, and various other kinds of supplies useful for any Cultivators.
It was a shame that the several hundred Redoubt of Wrath acolytes had perished inside the wormhole. The Crimson Blood Sect host was unable to recover any loot from them so the entire trove of treasures there must have fallen into the hands of one of the Cultivators who came from the outer-ring areas.
As for the loot here, most of it originated from n Feng.
Almost every enemy acolyte in ounted for at least one Spirit Artifact, allowing an abundance of Spirit Artifacts that numbered up to the hundreds. The rest were mostly Storage Bags which were still magically sealed. These two, in almost equal portions, easily made up the lions share of the loot.
Only a scarce few of the Storage Bags were in an opened state when they were recovered, and the contents inside had already been emptied.
That posed a big conundrum. In their sealed state, there was no telling what could be inside the Storage Bags. Even if Lu Ye were to distribute the Storage Bags to everyone, the contents inside, once opened, might not be able to fully satisfy everyone and this could sow jealousy and discord among the rank and file.
To that end, Lu Ye had everyone divided into tenrge groups. With seventy people in each group, they would be allowed to step forward one after another and make their selection of spoils they wished. Cultivators could either pick a Storage Bag or a Spirit Artifact, two Talismans, or up to twenty Spirit Stones, with the same amount of Spirit Pills being an option as well.
With everyone making their own decisions, it was up to their own luck and observation whether their picks would turn out to be rewarding or not.
The groups took turnsing forward. A few of the Cultivators chose to try their luck with the Storage Bags while some preferred the safer method of just going for Spirit Artifacts. Those who were short on Spirit Pills naturally went for their much-neededmodity while others opted for more Spirit Stones.
With the rules in ce, the distribution of spoils would be as fair and just as one could get with everyone being able to procure whatever supplies that needed replenishing.
The supplies dwindled quickly for two rounds until they noticed that there would not be enough for a third.
The leftovers Lu Ye had temporarily taken away for safekeeping. They could be distributed again in the future if and when enough spoils have been amassed for another go.
Before the start of our skirmishes, I pledged to reward the ten best performers with Spirit Stones. The top three would get a nonuple-enhancemed Spirit Artifact. Chen Yu!
Yes, sir!
How goes the calction of Contribution Points?
Its done, sir! We have the names of the best ten performers here!
Lets hear it.
In the first ce! Chen Yu announced very loudly, CHEN YU!
Chen Yu rubbed his nose sheepishly as he called his own name, although he quickly moved on to the rest of the nine. The results were hardly anything of marvel to Lu Ye, although he had to admit being surprised to find Yi Yis name not only in the list but in second ce just after Chen Yu!
Those whose names have been announced as the ten best performers in this times skirmishes can speak to Hua Ci about your rewards! What about squad performance?
Its here as well, sir.
And the winner is?
Squad He Xiyin!
He Xiyin was standing amongst the crowd with a silly grin on her face.
Lu Ye gave her an approving nod, with a few more encouraging words, Good work! But dont let that be enough! In the meantime, members of Squad He Xiyin cane to see me for that special reward. Anything that is within my power to give, I will give it. Now or anytime in the future. All right?
In addition to that, due to the rich returns from our skirmishes, this time, Hua Ci and I have agreed to distribute an additional twenty Contribution Points as a bonus! Consider this a gift from our sect!
Everyone cracked into smiles and cheers. This insectoid attack had turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience and the notion of an added bonus was a much-wee gesture.
Twenty Contribution Points apiece for more than seven hundred Cultivators. That would make the whole figure almost twenty thousand Contribution Points.
Many began to realize that it was a blessing that they could join the Crimson Blood Sect. Just one insectoid attack and everyone trotted into the sunset triumphantly with their pockets full. One could expect more fruitful days in the future!
Finally, I hereby announce that were going to induct another two hundred fresh initiates! The list of names of those who qualify shall be selected from the best performers of this times skirmishes! It will be announced shortly! In the meantime, queue up at the Sanctum of Providence to collect your Contribution Points from Hua Ci!
It was a long line that snaked all around the square outside the Sanctum as every single Cultivator took their turn going inside the Sanctum to collect their Points and stepped out looking absolutely pleased and delighted. It took hours before Hua Ci was finally done dishing out the twenty-Contribution-Point reward.
.
The rest of the Contribution Points were used to purchase additional enhancements for the outposts Divine Opportunity Column, making the total number of amplifications of ambient Spiritual Qi now at neen.
That made the ambient Spiritual Qi that now pervaded the entirepound of the outpost easily double that of outside.
Purchasing more enhancements in the future would be harder, the next one being a whopping ten thousand Contribution Points.
Then again, the total Contribution Points that the Crimson Blood Sect had gained from the invasions on both enemy outpostsif one were to include the amounts distributed to everyone plus what was used to purchase the paraphernalia needed for the defensive wardwas somewhere between eighty to ny thousand.
Which was more than double what Lu Ye and Hua Ci garnered during their exploits in the Battle Royal of the Legates.
In other words, invading and raiding was the only viable way of increasing the ambient Spiritual Qi in the outpost quickly.
But attacking enemy outposts was a more herculean task than it appeared. The string of sesses this time was owed to the insectoid horde that Lu Ye had manipted to his favor. The strength of the Crimson Blood Sect alone would have made the feat impossible.
But what if Lu Ye were to propose another alliance with the Atheneum of Finality? Maybe they could wipe Mount Kchakra off the map this time? It would not be that easy, though. With the entire Thousand Demon Ridge now on full alert, a full-scale invasion on Mount Kchakra would trigger a reprisal heavy enough to force both the Atheneum of Finality and the Crimson Blood Sect to call off the invasion. Worse, they might even find their own outposts under attack.
But if Lu Ye coulde up with something to destroy defensive wards quickly, then he could quite literally do anything!
To that end, Lu Ye realized that perhaps it was time he focused more effort on his study and training in the use of Glyphs.
Three of the six-man Squad He Xiyin came looking for Lu Ye two dayster with their request: they wanted a training chamber of their own. That was a wish that Lu Ye readily agreed to. Using his authority as legate of the outpost, he allocated three of the training chambers to be exclusively theirs. He even constructed the magical circles of Glyph: Gathering Spirits in each of the chambers to ensure maximum efficiency.
The roll of names of the two hundred associate independents eligible to be inducted as initiates did not take long to be announced. The entire outpost had been waiting with bated breath and those who found their names on the roll could have not been anymore overjoyed.
The outpost had not only just survived its first insectoid attack but they also had almost anything that they neededSpirit Pills, Spirit Stones, Contribution Pointswhile the ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere of the outpost had now been further intensified. All these helped to make the Crimson Blood Sect outpost an ideal environment to foster growth and improvement.
But in spite of the merriment was a certain figure whose presence in the outpost was not only a subject of controversy but also an icon of uncertaintyFeng Yue.
Chapter 231: Why Is No One Coming To Ransom You?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 231: Why Is No One Coming To Ransom You?
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Since kidnapping Feng Yue and bringing her back to the Outpost, Lu Ye had not bothered with her or even ordered someone to keep an eye on her. He wouldve broken her legs if she tried to make an escape or something, but she hadnt tried to do that. In fact, she hadnt done anything at all. She just spent all day and night sitting at random ces and staring into thin air with a sorrowful expression on her face.
At the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye was sitting on a big chair his people had taken from one of the Thousand Demon Ridge sects. He didnt know which, and it didnt matter. What mattered was that it belonged to the Crimson Blood Sect now.
Feng Yue was standing in front of him with her hands folded across her stomach. She was the perfect picture of an obedient prisoner right now.
As expected of a medicine cultivator, the puncture wound on her palm was almostpletely recovered. It had only been a couple of days, but he couldnt even see a scar anymore.
Why is no oneing to ransom you?
Lu Ye had been waiting for n Feng to ransom Feng Yue back. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, medicine cultivators who had been captured by the enemy could be ransomed for a price, not to mention that Feng Yue was also the Legate of n Feng Outpost. He was certain that she was worth a ton of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills and had been waiting to enter negotiations with n Feng since a few days ago.
To his surprise though, the other party hadnt contacted him at all. He was growing impatient to put it mildly.
Feng Yue looked down at her feet while replying in a voice that was almost too soft to hear, They probably think Im dead.
Bullshit!
He could see that the woman was trying to trick him. A personnel on the same level as the Keeper of Seal or the Sect Master had the ability to check the status of their disciples. He was in possession of the imprint of the Crimson Blood Sect. So long as he was still alive, the imprint would never disappear. It was how his Sect Master and senior sister knew he was still alive despite not knowing where he was on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Not only that, Feng Yue must have exchanged imprints with her fellow cultivators formunication purposes before. In this case, they did not even need to send her a message to know that she was still alive. If she had died, the imprint wouldve disappeared on its own.
Lu Ye wasnt the ignorant mining ve he was before. There was no chance he was going to fall for such a cheap trick.
Whos the person-in-charge of your Outpost?
Although most of their Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were dead, n Feng must have dispatched some of their Inner Circle or Core Circle cultivators to the Outpost afterward. He would need to speak with the person currently in control of the Outpost if he wanted to get the ransom.
Feng Yue pursed her lips and did not answer.
Lu Ye grabbed the hilt of the Invible and pulled it out of its sheath. He made sure to take his time so that she could hear the scratchy noises clearly.
Its my third brother, Feng Xiangyang! Feng Yue caved immediately. The young man before her was the kind of crazy who would stab her without batting an eyelid if she displeased him. Her palm might have healed, but the painful memory had remained as clear as yesterday.
Contact him and tell him that it costs a hundred thousand Spirit Stones to ransom you!
Their number of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators had been growing, so the total sry they had to pay per month had increased to several thousand Spirit Stones. He couldnt rely on Shui Yuan to pay it forever especially since she was hardly wealthy. The Crimson Blood Sect had declined to the point where it nearly ceased to be after all.
Before this, the Crimson Blood Sect had no resource production to speak of. Now, the situation was much better because both of their neighbours, the Redoubt of Wrath and Feng n had been crippled. From now on, everything within fifty kilometers of the sect including the leylines and other resources belonged to the Crimson Blood Sect.
Not only that, the disciples had built many farms within the Outpost recently. Hua Ci also nted a ton of herbs and Spirit nts to improve their ie.
It would take a long time before their ie grew to the point where it was self-sustainable though. In the meantime, the ransom from n Feng would greatly alleviate their financial pressure.
What? Theres no way n Feng is going to pay that much, Feng Yue eximed in shock as she stared at Lu Ye. It took a real heartless person to demand a hundred thousand Spirit Stones for a single medicine cultivator, but then again, a good person couldnt havee up with the devious ploy to conquer two Outposts in a row with an Insectoid invasion.
Contact your brother now, or else.
And so Feng Yue sumbed to Lu Yes gentle persuasion and contacted Feng Xiangyang.
In fact, Feng Xiangyang had contacted Feng Yue a few days ago and found out about her current situation. He even told her to pass on the message that he was willing to pay a certain amount of Spirit Stones for her ransom. She just hadnt told Lu Ye about this for reasons.
As for why Feng Xiangyang hadnte to the Outpost to give his message in person, it was because he didnt dare to. Every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator within five hundred kilometers knew that the area within five kilometers of the Outpost was a death zone. Literally. Once, a Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator had flown through the area using a flying weapon. Then, a shadow descended from the sky, and the guy was gone just like that!
Therefore, Lu Ye had really misunderstood n Feng. It wasnt that they didnt want to ransom Feng Yue, it was just that the girl had chosen not to pass on the message for unknown reasons.
What if they didnt respond? Feng Yue sneaked a look at Lu Ye.
The young man unsheathed the Invible and ced it next to his feet. He hadnt spoken, but his answer was as clear as day. Feng Yue hurriedly sent the message.
A whileter, she said in a quiet voice, Theyve responded.
Whats their answer?
Lu Ye asked a little distractedly. It was because he was creating Yin and Yang elements and joining them into a Glyph right now.
They they say that their highest offer is three thousand Spirit Stones
The Glyph suddenly crumbled at thest step.
Lu Ye lifted his head and just stared at Feng Yue.
Im sorry, but did you say three THOUSAND?
Mhm.
Youre useless then.
Lu Ye was ready to haggle with n Feng, but to offer three thousand in response to his demand of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones? An idiot couldve figured out that they werent going to y ball. It would be aplete waste of breath to try any longer.
Kong Niu! Lu Ye called out to the young man standing in front of the Divine Opportunity Column.
He looked back at him and responded, Mhm.
Take this woman away and execute her!
Oh.
The brawny man stopped whatever he was doing and strode straight toward Feng Yue. The girl could only watch in horror as a massive hand the size of a paper fan grabbed her by the hair, turned around, and started dragging her toward the exit.
Kong Niu was a taciturn man. In the past, he only obeyed to Hua Ci. Now, he listened to Lu Yes orders as well.
To say that Feng Yue was bbergasted would be an understatement. It wasnt until she was dragged about one-third of the way to the exit before she finally snapped out of it and screamed, The reason n Feng is ransoming me is to pin the me of losing the Outpost on me! Thats why theyll never pay you the amount of Spirit Stones you asked!
Miraculously, the medicine cultivator somehow broke free from Kong Nius grip and ran back to Lu Ye. Then, she dropped to her knees and exined in a tearful voice, There are multiple dissenting factions within n Feng, and the one I belonged to was the strongest of them all. That was until I lost the Outpost and greatly undermined their authority. I may be a medicine cultivator, but the crime of losing an Outpost is so great that the only punishment is death. Since theyre going to kill me anyway, why would they spend a hundred thousand Spirit Stones to ransom me? They just want a scapegoat to bear all the responsibility.
Not far away, Kong Niu stared at the bundle of hair in his hand before turning around. Then, he started walking toward Feng Yue once more.
Lu Ye raised his hand, and Kong Niu stopped just a step or two behind Feng Yue. His shadow covered her entire body.
Lu Ye looked down at the sorry-looking woman in front of him.
So, youre saying that n Feng wont pay the sum I want? Not even if I lower it a little?
It is impossible!
This reminded Lu Ye of Dong Shuye. The guy had run away from his sect because he had lost an Outpost, a crime that was only punishable by death for a Seventh-Order cultivator. It was the same for Feng Yue even though she was a medicine cultivator, and the faction she belonged to was in power.
To be fair, she had lost her Outpost, and countless Feng n disciples were killed or injured as a result. If they did not punish such an offense, then how could they appease the friends and families of the deceased? How could they cate the masses?
Then whats the point of keeping you alive?
Lu Ye was feeling annoyed to put it mildly. At the beginning, he kidnapped Feng Yue because she was a Legate, and he believed that all Legates were important people in a sect or a n. While he wasnt wrong, he hadnt given it enough thought. Legates existed not just to manage the Outpost, but also to function as a scapegoat if it fell for whatever reason. n Feng would like to ransom her, but only so they could execute her and appease the masses. Naturally, they wouldnt pay a high sum to ransom someone they were going to kill. Their Spirit Stones did not grow on trees after all.
Im a medicine cultivator! I can join the Crimson Blood Sect! Feng Yue said in a hurry. Judging from her appearance, this was what she wanted this whole time.
Lu Ye only scoffed when he heard this though. You must be dreaming.
Feng Yue dared to join the Crimson Blood Sect because it was her only chance to live, but Lu Ye didnt dare to ept her. The reason? He had conquered her Outpost and murdered hundreds of her fellow cultivators just days ago. What if she plotted behind his back after she managed to survive? Was he supposed to watch his back forever?
Plus, changing affiliation costs a lot of Contribution Points. To be exact, it cost a lot of Contribution Points to remove ones existing imprint wait a second. Feng Yue is the Legate of n Feng, so she has the authority to remove any disciples imprint including her own.
The question regarding her loyalty wasnt difficult to solve either. All he needed to do was to make her swear a Heavenly Oath.
By now, Lu Ye had interacted with Feng Yue enough to figure out her true nature. In times of crisis where her life was on the line, her backbone was as soft as a twig. This was evident from her dropping to her knees and surrendering right before he was about to behead her.
Sure, she was a woman, but she was also a Seventh-Order cultivator. It took a kind of courage to make that kind of decision in the timeframe she had.
On the other hand, there were times she was incredibly stubborn. When Lu Ye had tried to push her into sending false intel and tricking them intoing out of the Insectoid cave, she was immovable even when he threatened to kill her.
In summary, she was a selfish person, but not so selfish that she was loyal only to herself.
Lu Ye slowly bent down and grabbed Feng Yues chin.
How many Contribution Points do you have?
Four thousand plus The girl knew that this was the point where she lived or died. Naturally, she didnt want to damage her chances any further by concealing information.
Lu Ye released her and walked up to the Divine Opportunity Column. Momentster, he returned with a Sacred Pact and tossed it into her hands.
Sign it.
Still kneeling on the floor, Feng Yue took one nce at the document and was shocked to find that it was covered in an insane amount of uses. First, she was forbidden from hurting any Crimson Blood Sect cultivators in any way. Second, she was forbidden frommunicating any information rted to the Crimson Blood Sect with anyone. Third, she wasnt allowed to hold resentment toward Lu Ye or the people close to him
In total, at least twenty uses had been written in the Sacred Pact.
The more Feng Yue read, the colder she felt. She had no idea how Lu Ye was able toe up with all these uses in barely a few minutes.
The long story short was that her potential for harm against the Crimson Blood Sect if she were to sign this pact was exactly zero.
This is an indenture contract, isnt it?
Feng Yue stared at Lu Ye with watery eyes. This wasnt quite what she expected when Lu Ye had tossed her the Sacred Pact.
Are you signing or what?
Chapter 232: Free
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 232: Free
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A whileter, Lu Ye put away the Sacred Pact, and an invisible yet almighty power descended on Feng Yue.
Wipe your Battlefield Imprint, Lu Ye instructed.
The order snapped Feng Yue out of her depression. Yes!
A momentter, the red light on the back of Feng Yues hand disappeared and scattered into nothing. It was the sign that the Battlefield Imprint had been removed.
Lu Ye then produced his Legates engraved block, blew air at it, and beckoned Feng Yue toe closer. Then, he dered, The Heavens as my witness, I am recruiting independent cultivator Feng Yue as an initiate of the Crimson Blood Sect!
He stamped the block on the back of Feng Yues hand, causing a burst of blue light and Feng Yue to look at him with gratitude. Although she had lost her position, it was still better than losing her life.
Now go donate four thousand Contribution Points.
What? R-right, Feng Yue blurted before jogging up to the Divine Opportunity Column, heart aching about the loss she was about to incur in a few seconds. Normally, it was impossible for a Seventh-Order cultivator to gather this many Contribution Points, but she was the Legate of n Feng. Naturally, she had every opportunity to steal some Sect Contribution Points for herself. The method she used was the same as Lu Ye when he had paid Hua Ci and himself 10% of the total Sect Contribution Points in the Divine Opportunity Column after returning from the Chess Sea, but unlike them she did not deserve her four thousand Sect Contribution Points.
This was the main reason Lu Ye ultimately decided to ept her as an initiate of the Crimson Blood Sect. It was the price of Feng Yues life.
He might not be able to obtain a satisfactory amount of ransom from n Feng, but four thousand Contribution Points was not a bad constion prize. Why else would he have gone through with the trouble of kidnapping her? Some sicko might kidnap a woman purely for the sake of eye candy, but if he really wanted eye candy, all he needed to do was to look at Hua Ci.
After Feng Yue was done donating her Contribution Points, she returned to Lu Ye and reported in a sweet voice, It is done, senior brother.
Lu Ye shot her a look before dering, Feng Yue, Initiate of the Crimson Blood Sect, hasmitted the offense of disrespecting her sect. The Heavens as my witness, I, the Legate of the Crimson Blood Sect, will now strip her of her position!
? For a moment, Feng Yue could only stare at Lu Ye in shock. Then, she she felt the Battlefield Imprint that appeared on the back of her hand less than a minute ago vanishing into a smattering of light.
She could hardly believe it, but Lu Ye had screwed her over right in front of her. What offense did she evenmit? Did he have something against being called a senior brother? Did she not inject enough warmth to her voice or something?
It was only then she realized that the reason he made her an initiate was because it was the easiest way for him to take her Contribution Points. Once he had squeezed her for all she was worth, he had removed her without any hesitation whatsoever. And now
Feeling a little faint, she stumbled backward and said in a sobbing voice, Are you going to kill me now?
Lu Ye replied without any shame whatsoever, Of course not! Regardless of past offenses, you did donate four thousand Contribution Points to the sect, not to mention that I generally avoid killing women unless its necessary. Yeah, my earlier threats were just an act. Anyway, youre free to stay or leave as you wish. Its none of my business any longer. Goodbye!
Having said that, he walked to the Divine Opportunity Column and teleported back to the headquarters without even looking back. A few secondster, the shell-shocked woman burst into tears.
Ive lost everything
From the beginning, Lu Ye had no ns to ept Feng Yue into the sect, not even as an associate. It was because she was the former Legate of n Feng. He could kidnap her or kill her, but he could never ept her as a member of the sect.
Also, it was one of the unwritten rules Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge had obeyed since time immemorial. To break the rule was to encourage all captured medicine cultivators to join the enemy to preserve their lives, and neither faction was willing to start such a precedent.
Since the Sacred Pact ensured that Feng Yue could not threaten the Crimson Blood Sect in any way, there was no need to keep an eye on her. If she left, then that was it. If she stayed, and Thousand Demon Ridge were to discover her whereabouts, they could exin it off as the Crimson Blood Sect and n Feng were still negotiating the sum of her ransom. It wouldnt even be a lie. The Crimson Blood Sect was more than willing to see Feng Yue off. n Feng was the insincere party who wasnt willing to cough up a reasonable sum for her.
Lu Ye was fairly certain that Feng Yue would stay. After all, n Feng was looking for her. To leave the Outpost was the same asmitting suicide. And if she did stay, it meant that the Crimson Blood Sect had picked up a bondless medicine cultivator free of charge. Now wasnt that something?
The Insectoid Invasion had just passed, so the Spirit Creek Battlefield should be peaceful for the foreseeable future. There was also the fact that their Thousand Demon Ridge neighbors, the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng had lost the ability to do anything against the Crimson Blood Sect. Now was the time to take over the leylines nearby.
He didnt need to worry about this though. Hua Ci would take care of it.
In the meantime, Lu Ye nned to visit Lady Yun and study the Way of Glyphs some more. If he could learn how to break wards then all the better.
Having tasted the sweetness of conquering an Outpost, Lu Ye wanted nothing more than to repeat the feat again and again. While killing an enemy cultivator would earn him Contribution Points all the same, it wasnt even close to what conquering an Outpost would pay.
That was why he needed to learn how to break wards. If he could breach a Grand Defensive Ward, then there was no Outpost in the world that was safe from him!
After he returned to the headquarters, he immediately summoned Amber to his side and made a beeline for the Summit of rity.
He hadpleted Lady Yuns exercises as per her requirements. While he still couldnt sessfully construct the two useless numbered Glyphs one hundred percent of the time, it was more of a matter of experience than skill. Given enough time, he would eventually reach a level of proficiency where his sess rate was one hundred percent.
After he told Lady Yun the reason for his visit, the woman burst into a chuckle before rifying, You want to know how to breach a Grand Defensive Ward?
Yes, madam.
She shook her head and said, You have a long, long way to go before you can get to that level. For starters, you need to know how to create a Ward first before you can think about breaching it. Do you?
No, but Im willing to learn.
Lady Yun thought for a moment before saying, While it isnt normal for someone at your current level to learn about such things, you possess abnormal talent and the inheritance of a Glyphweaver. I suppose its okay to speed up your education. Very well. I will test you to see if you are worthy.
She raised her hand and caused several books to stack up in front of Lu Ye.
You have half a day to finish reading these books.
Lady Yun left the room, and Lu Ye began his reading immediately.
He had received many books from Lady Yun before this, and they were all about the fundamentals of Glyphs. These ones were clearly different, however. Not only were they advanced booksbooks that talked about the practical applications of Glyphs to be exactthey were all about how to disassemble a Glyph.
A Glyphweaver couldbine primary elements to construct a Glyph. Naturally, it was possible to do the opposite. One of the ways to breach a ward was to destroy the Glyphs they were made of. After all, all wards were created from from abination of Glyphs. If the core Glyphs controlling the ward were destroyed, then the ward would disappear as a matter of course.
The foundations he learned came in handy immediately. He would never have been able to make heads or tails of the books without them.
He was wholly absorbed in the books in no time. Once in a while, he would run into a particrly insightful passage and experience a eureka moment. He found answers to many of the questions that puzzled him as well. To say that it was an enlightening experience would be an understatement!
He just barely finished the books when his half a day was up. Lady Yun returned to the library and produced a ten inch long crystal tablet with Spirit Stones embedded around it.
There was a surge of Spiritual Power, and a Glyph immediately appeared on the tablet.
Glyphs created this way would disappear quickly without a constant supply of Spiritual Power. That was why Spirit Stones had been embedded around the crystal tablet.
Are you ready? Good. Your task is to disassemble the Glyph on this tablet! Lady Yun said while passing it to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye epted the tablet solemnly before channeling his Spiritual Power into the Glyph. To disassemble a Glyph, one had to first figure out its structure. It was the most fundamental step of disassembling a Glyph. If he could not even figure out how many Yin elements and Yang elements existed in the Glyph, then his dreams of disassembling a Glyph was nothing but that, a dream.
The way to disassemble the Glyph was to construct a inverse-Glyph that was made up of opposing primary elements. If he was sessful, then the two Glyphs would cancel each other out.
Lu Ye had learned how to analyze Glyphs before this, so it he quickly figured out the Glyphs Yin and Yang elements. Without further ado, he channeled his Spiritual Power and began the disassembly process.
As expected, he ran into problems in no time. The Glyph on the crystal tablet suddenly fell into disarray before exploding in a burst of Spiritual Power. His first attempt ended in failure.
Lady Yun took back the crystal tablet and reconstructed the Glyph. Then, she returned it to Lu Ye to restart the disassembly process.
He failed again and again. Lady Yun had to reconstruct the Glyph every time he screwed up, but his teacher did not look impatient in the slightest.
Time passed slowly. His progress wasnt quick, but Lu Ye did not feel impatient. He learned from his failures and tirelessly sought for the keys to disassemble a Glyph.
Lady Yun thought that he was extremely talented in the Way of Glyphs, but the truth was a little moreplicated than that. It was thanks to the Tree of Glyphs he was able to do what he did.
Each time a Glyph appeared on the Tree of Glyphs, he would know everything about it as if he had he had invented it from scratch. More often that not, the knowledge he learned from that particr Glyph carried over to other Glyphs as well. But of course, the ability to creatively apply that knowledge to other Glyphs was all his.
Six hours passed, but Lu Ye only managed to disassemble less than twenty percent of the Glyph. At this rate, it would take him several days and a bit of luck to disassemble the Glyphpletely.
In reality, that was not how things went. Two hours passed, and Lu Yes speed suddenly improved drastically. He was able to disassemble eighty percent of the Glyph before failing!
It was because he had finally found some of the keys to disassemble a Glyph from his failures.
Another two hours passed, and he finally seeded in disassembling the Glyph!
Lady Yun nodded approvingly. Not bad. You definitely learned something from the books I gave you. Its alreadyte though, so well resume your lesson tomorrow.
Yes, madam!
Lu Ye got up and received another few books? from Lady Yun. It was only then he returned to the Summit of Fortitude on Amber.
A whileter, he was seen hugging a huge bowl at the entrance to the kitchen and stuffing food into his mouth distractedly. He was so busy thinking about Glyphs that he never even noticed that Shui Yuan was adding food to his bowl the whole time.
An hourter, Lu Ye teleported back to the Outpost with a bulging belly. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt like he ate more food than usual today
The days flew by in the blink of an eye. During the day, Lu Ye would travel to the Summit of rity and study the Way of Glyphs from Lady Yun. When it was nighttime, he would return to the Outpost to cultivate and read at the same time. The days were very fulfilling.
He hadnt entered the Rift of Illusions again though. In fact, he wasnt going to try until he was certain he could ovee the ninth stage. He might have over five thousand Contribution Points right now, but that was no reason to spend them frivolously.
Chapter 233: I’m A Locksmith
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 233: Im A Locksmith
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When he came back from the Chess Sea, he had a total of 5,352 Contribution Points. Later, he spent a good amount on ten me of Earthen Spirits and the Rift of Illusions, but dealing with the Insectoid Invasion made up for most of the usage. More urately, Hua Ci had taken the initiative to pay him a monthly sry and bump up his total Contribution Points to five thousand. That was why he wasnt worried about running out for the time being.
In order to speed up his learning process, Lu Ye decided to purchase another ten me of Earthen Spirits for the Tree of Glyphs to consume and obtain a couple more Glyphs. It was because he realized that the more Glyphs he mastered, the greater his attainment in the Way of Glyphs, and the easier he learned about everything rted to Glyphs.
And it worked. His progress was already pretty fast to begin with, but these days Lady Yun could not praise him enough. On the first day, it had taken him all daylight to just barely disassemble a Glyph. But on the second day, it had only taken him four or so hours to repeat the feat. On the third day, it only took him one hour to disassemble a Glyph, and on the fifth and sixth day, he could disassemble any Glyph in just a short time.
A single Glyph no matter howplicated could no longer pose a problem to Lu Ye. So, Lady Yun tasked him to disassemble aposite Glyph. Aposite Glyph was multiple types of Glyphs joined together using a special method so that they could influence one another and unleash greater effect as a result.
Aposite Glyph had a much moremon name. To the public, it was known as an enchantment!
In the past, Lu Ye had attempted to study enchantments to no avail. While he noticed that the enchantments were made of Glyphs, he had not received any systematic instruction regarding the Way of Glyphs at the time. Without any education, self-exploration and the Tree of Glyphs could only carry him so far.
Today, his attainment in the Way of Glyphs was much greater than before. It was all thanks to Lady Yuns teachings.
The number of enhancements on a Spirit Artifact was equal to the number of Glyphs on its body. Take Lu Yes Invible for example. It was known as a nonuple enhancement Spirit Artifact because it had nine Glyphs engraved into its body, and they were linked using some sort of ingenious method to form a functional whole.
Lu Ye began his new exercise by disassembling a double enhancement, a.k.a twoposite Glyphs that were linked together. It took only a short time before Lady Yun had to up the difficulty to triple enhancements, quadruple enhancements, quintuple enhancements and so on.
To Lu Ye, it felt like he was ying a game with Lady Yun. Lady Yun would make a puzzle, and he would solve it. Ayman might find the task incredibly boring, but he thought it was most interesting. It was because no two disassembling processes were ever the same. Moreover, the longer he learned under Lady Yun, the more useful knowledge and techniques he was able to draw from the experience.
Meanwhile, Hua Ci was heading toward the training chambers after receiving a lesson from Shui Yuan. Just like Lu Ye, she didnt care about leading a sophisticated life and often spent her nights in her training chamber.
Of course, life in the Outpost was a lot morefortable than it was at Mount Ying. She did not need to set up a stall to sell her products everyday. She had plenty of junior brothers and junior sisters to dote on, and a senior sister who doted on her in turn. Her medicinal skills were improving by leaps and bounds under Shui Yuans guidance, and the World Spiritual Qi of the Outpost was much richer than Mount Yings.
She was slowly but surely falling in love with this ce.
While wearing a smile so kind that it warmed the hearts of everyone who saw her, she greeted her junior brothers and sisters until she reached the entrance of her training chamber. She pushed the door open and was about to walk in when suddenly, she took a few steps backward and looked to her left and right. No, it did not look like she had suffered a memory loss. Yes, there was someone in her training chamber. But what was he doing here?
She stared at him for a few seconds before she finally realized what he was doing. She broke into a smile. Was he finally going to put his hands on their hoard? When they came back from the Chess Sea, she had wanted to send them to the nearest Divine Trade Association center and process them. However, Shui Yuan had stopped her saying that Lu Ye might have a need for them in the future. It would appear that her prediction was spot on.
Hua Ci stepped into the training chamber and closed the door. Then, she walked up to Lu Ye and saw him sitting at a corner with two piles of Storage Bags in front of him. The left pile was considerably more numerous than the right.
Hua Ci picked up one of the dozen of Storage Bags on the right pile and probed it. She immediately discovered that the Storage Bag had been unlocked, and its contents could be taken out as she pleased.
Half a month had passed since he began learning how to disassemble Glyphs from Lady Yun, and Lu Ye was still a long way from being able to breach a Grand Defensive Ward. On the other hand, the Restraining Locks on Storage Bags no longer posed a big problem to him.
In fact, most Storage Bags were sewn from the skin of a special Spirit Beast. It possessed the unique quality of expanding space upon making contact with Spiritual Power. That was why it was such a popr choice for making Storage Bags.
Add to the fact that raising the Spirit Beast was fairly easy, there were countless sects across Jiu Zhou who sold its skin as a source of revenue. There were even sects that specialized in this trade.
This was the reason Storage Bags werent particrly pricey; the cost was pretty low.
Each Storage Bag had a certain amount of Glyphs carved into it, and depending on the Glyphweavers preferences the Glyphs could differ wildly from one another. However, there was one thing they all had inmon, and it was the enhancement known as the Restraining Lock.
Created using a special method, the Restraining Lock was an enhancement that caused a Storage Bag to burst into me and be destroyed if it were to make contact with unfamiliar Spiritual Power. All Storage Bags contained a Restraining Lock, and the key to unlocking it was a cultivators Spiritual Power.
It should be obvious, but the enhancement was the mother of the job known as locksmith. In the past, Lu Ye had requested the locksmiths of the Divine Trade Association to unlock Storage Bags for him. Sometimes he got what he asked for, and sometimes he didnt. Unlocking Storage Bags was risky business for the customers, so it should be treated with the same seriousness as an investment.
Lu Ye had reached the point where he was, frankly, a bit overqualified to be a locksmith. ording to Lady Yun, those who were truly talented in the Way of Glyphs would never debase themselves by bing a locksmith. That was why locksmiths were really just half-baked Glyphweavers who werent good enough to be true masters.
That said, locksmithing was the perfect exercise for Lu Ye to hone his skills and umte experience right now. While he was improving insanely fast under the tutge of a master like Lady Yun, there was no harm in experiencing another Glyphweavers skill and technique.
That was why Lady Yun had told him to practice his locksmithing. In her words, there were three things all Glyphweavers must possess if they wished to go far in the Way of Glyphs. The first was talent, the second was skill, and the third was practice and experience. All of them were indispensable.
While Hua Ci was inspecting the unlocked pile of Storage Bags, Lu Ye suddenly threw the one he was holding into the air. It burst into mes before it even hit the ground and burned to ashes just a few secondster.
Hua Ci shot him a nce. Am I disturbing you?
No.
Lu Ye expressionlessly picked up another Storage Bag and continued his work. While his sess rate was very high, it was hardly one hundred percent. There would be times his attempt ended in failure especially since he had just started the exercise a while ago.
So far, it looked like none of the Legates and prolegates who had participated in the Battle Royale of the Legates were particrly poor. Their Storage Bags always carried at least some Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills or Spirit Talisman Papers.
Unfortunately, he hadnt discovered anything that even came close to blowing his mind away. Then again, he didnt know what he expected. Everyone knew that the Battle Royale of the Legates was a high risk, high rewardpetition. To carry valuables on their person was to risk being killed and giving them up to the enemy. That was why most of these Storage Bags contained items that were practical in application and not too valuable.
The good news was that this was exactly what Hua Ci needed right now, not to mention that quantity was a quality of its own. With this many Storage Bags, even trash could umte to a point where they were worth something.
The night that followed was as deep as it was peaceful. Lu Ye kept chipping away at the Storage Bags while Hua Ci sat at the center of a Circle of Boon and cultivated.
It wasnt until morning that Lu Ye finally unlocked all of the Storage Bags. A dozen or so were lost in the process, but all things considered it wasnt a high failure rate. If anything, it was impressive how well he did taking into ount that this was his first go at locksmithing.
[I still got room to improve though!]
Lu Ye rose to his feet and stretched a little. While walking past Hua Ci, he gave her a head rub and said, Im going to the Summit of rity. Message me if anything happens!
As he opened the door, he was greeted by a crisp voice, Senior sister! There was a girl at the exit, and from the looks of it she had been waiting for a while.
Their eyes met, and He Xiyin eximed in astonishment, B Brother Lu?
Her gaze drifted behind Lu Ye andnded on Hua Ci. The gentlewoman was currently tidying her hair. Her smile slowly turned stiff.
Youre blocking the way!
Lu Ye grabbed her head with one hand and moved her to the side like she was a doll. Then, he walked straight to the Sanctum of Providence.
On that day, countless people saw He Xiyin roaming the Outpost like a zombie while muttering strange words such as, Ive lost my chance, he got ahead of me and so on
Lu Yes schedule hadnt changed too much. During the day, he still went to Lady Yuns ce to study the Way of Glyphs. When he returned to the Outpost at night though, he went to the bazaar instead of his training chamber.
The bazaar was the meeting ce of the independent cultivators with Chen Yu as their manager. This hadnt changed even after they became the initiates or associates of the Crimson Blood Sect. If anything it was a lot livelier than it used to thanks to an influx of new independent cultivators and even associates from nearby Grand Sky Coalition factions.
The bazaars poprity represented endless opportunities, so many disciples and independent cultivators frequented it to make a living so to speak. Of course, Lu Ye saw no reason to stop this. For starters, their sect only had one firm rule, and that was not to do anything detrimental against the Crimson Blood Sect. Add the fact that the two nearby Thousand Demon Ridge factions had been crippled, and their range of activity was greater than before. Naturally, that also meant greater ie.
After arriving at the bazaar, Lu Ye sought out a quiet corner and produced a signboard he had prepared a while ago. Then, he ced it on the ground, sat down on a chair, and started reading a book in aid back manner.
Brother Lu! A disciple who happened to be passing through the area caught sight of him and greeted in a hurry. He quickly noticed the signboard next to Lu Ye and read out loud, Free locksmithing!
Chapter 234: Destruction Before Creation
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 234: Destruction Before Creation
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
You know how to unlock the Restraining Lock on Storage Bags, Brother Lu? the disciple asked curiously. In fact, Lu Ye had not disyed such an ability until today.
Yes.
Please give me a moment.
The disciple went away after saying this. A whileter, he came back and handed Lu Ye a Storage Bag. If you would open this for me, Brother Lu.
It was the item he had chosen after the Insectoid attack was over, and the loot was distributed. Hundreds and hundreds of Storage Bags had been piled up on the public square that day. It was why Lu Ye was offering to open Restraining Locks for free.
The Storage Bags Hua Ci owned had already been dealt with, but the same could not be said for the other sect members. Since most of their Storage Bags hade from n Feng, the overall quality was guaranteed to be lousier than Hua Ci. It was impossible to tell what they contained either. There could be valuables, or there could be trash. It was why most people simply hoarded the Storage Bags instead of bringing them to the Divine Trade Association. They did not want to risk making a loss.
Lu Ye began working immediately after he epted the Storage Bag. At the same time, a crowd was gathering around him. They were here to watch Lu Ye perform since it wasnt everyday you encountered someone who would offer to unlock Storage Bags for free.
Suddenly, there was a surge of Spiritual Power, and Lu Ye frowned. The next instant, he tossed the Storage Bag into the air.
Everyone looked up just in time to see the Storage Bag transforming into a ball of me in the blink of an eye!
Lu Ye was watching the burning Storage Bag with a deep frown as well. What terrible luck! Of all the times he couldve failed, it just had to be the very first Storage Bag he received!
He was hoping to establish a good reputation among his fellow sect members so they would return to him with more Storage Bags, but s, all he managed was to show off some fireworks
The lively atmosphere was killed instantly. To say that there was awkwardness in the air would be an understatement.
Brother Lu The disciple who gave Lu Ye his Storage Bag stared at him with pitiful eyes.
Sorry, Lu Ye apologized calmly. Unlocking Storage Bags is risky business.
Right.
The disciple drooped his head. Since Brother Lu was the one who wrecked his Storage Bag, he couldnt even ask forpensation. He could only tell himself that he was unlucky, that the Storage Bag must be filled with trash, and that he wasnt hurt by the loss one bit
Lu Ye swept his gaze across the crowd. Not only was everyone avoiding his gaze, those carrying Storage Bags were doing their best to conceal it from view
You there!
Lu Ye pointed at a disciple. Give me the Storage Bag youre hiding behind your back!
The disciple nched like Lu Ye had just dealt him the death sentence, but what could he do exceptply? He shambled toward Lu Ye as if he was trying to dy the inevitable as long as possible before he finally gave up his Storage Bag and said carefully, Im in no hurry, Brother Lu. Just take your time, okay?
Lu Ye did not answer him. He simply channeled his Spiritual Power and began the unlocking process once more.
Luck did not abandon him this time. He tossed the Storage Bag back into the disciples hands after he was done.
Its unlocked.
The disciple was caught off guard at first, but he quickly checked the Storage Bag and discovered that it was unlocked. Whatever it contained must be pretty valuable because the disciple suddenly burst into a madugh. Im rich! Hahaha! Im rich!
He managed to rein in hisughter a few secondster and bow to Lu Ye. Thank you very much, Brother Lu!
Lu Ye nodded and said, Next!
Surprised murmurs broke out among the spectators immediately. Its not false advertising. Brother Lu really can open Restraining Locks! The enthusiasm that was extinguished at the beginning had been relit with this sess.
This time, a female cultivator stepped forward and passed Lu Ye her Storage Bag. If you will, Brother Lu.
Lu Ye unlocked it just as quickly and tossed it back into her hands.
After checking the Storage Bag and confirming that it was truly unlocked, the woman praised him from the bottom of her heart, This is incredible, Brother Lu. Thank you. She then ran off with obvious joy on her face.
Now that Lu Ye had seeded twice in a row, the amount of people willing to give it a go increased visibly. When his winning streak grew to a dozen, everyone was sure that Lu Ye was the real thing. At the very least, they now believed that his first failure was just bad luck and not because his technique was lousy.
The news that Lu Ye was opening Restraining Locks for free quickly spread after that. It wasnt long before an incredible amount of cultivators gathered around Lu Ye and even lined up in queues of their own ord.
Lu Ye didnt always seed, but his sess rate was much higher than it was yesterday. Those unfortunate enough to lose their Storage Bagsmented their bad luck, but that was it.
Lu Ye worked through the night and did not stop until the sky was fully bright. Finally, he waved his hands and dered, Thats all. Well resume tonight.
For the next few days, Lu Ye would unlock Storage Bags for his fellow sect members at the bazaar. He didnt stop until everyones loot had been dealt with.
Thanks to the practical experience he gained from opening Restraining Locks and the theoretical knowledge he learned from Lady Yun, his attainment in the Way of Glyphs continued to increase by leaps and bounds.
The greater his attainment, the easier it was for him to absorb the knowledge in the books, and the greater his attainment became thanks to said knowledge. It was a virtuous circle.
Speaking of which, Lady Yuns games kept increasing in difficulty as well. Since pure enhancements could no longer pose a challenge to him, she started creating wards for him to breach, a.k.a. exactly what he wanted to learn. His ultimate objective was to learn how to breach a Grand Defensive Ward. Once he could do this, he would be able to attack any Hundred Demon Ridge Outpost and rue as many Contribution Points as he wished.
The daily life, cultivation and even battles of a cultivator were intricately tied to Glyphs. It was why few cultivators were unfamiliar with Glyphs. Some were even proficient enough with Glyphs to construct them. That said, they were still worlds apart from true Glyphweavers.
Take ward cultivators for example. Technically speaking, ward cultivators could be viewed as a sub branch of Glyphweavers. It was because ward-making was intricately tied to Glyphs.
While all Glyphweavers were excellent ward cultivators, not all ward cultivators were Glyphweavers.
By now, Lu Ye had figured out Lady Yuns teaching strategy. In essence, everything began from disassembly just like the time she had taught him Numbered Glyphs. Lady Yun had never taught him how to construct an enhancement, but he had opened enough Restraining Locks to know the structure of a Restraining Lock by heart. Given the right materials, he absolutely possessed the capabilities to create his own Storage Bag. Of course, practice was still a factor, and his sess rate was going to be subpar until he became familiar with the process.
This was why Lady Yuns teaching strategy was so impressive. She had taught him destruction before creation, and that destruction naturally led to creation!
The reason Lu Ye was capable of constructing enhancements he had never learned to construct before was because disassembling them required him to know everyponent of the enhancement.
Take his current lesson for example. Lady Yun was only teaching him how to breach a ward, but in the process he came to know how a ward was created and how everyponent functioned and worked in tandem with one another. By the time he knew a ward well enough to breach them perfectly, the way to create them had also been engraved to his memory.
Meanwhile, Lady Yun was wearing aplex expression as Lu Ye was breaching another one of her wards.
Lu Ye wasnt the first disciple she had instructed, but this was the first time she employed such a teaching strategy. While it shortened the learning period considerably, it only worked if the disciple was inhumanly talented in the Way of Glyphs. Otherwise, it would only have the opposite effect.
At first, she wasnt sure if the teaching strategy was suited for Lu Ye either. She was ready to switch back to a normal teaching strategy the moment he showed any signs of struggle. The normal teaching strategy was slow, but at least it was a failsafe method.
As it turned out, the genius-only teaching strategy suited Lu Ye very well. In fact, he was so talented that the thought of taking him as her official disciple resurfaced in her mind once more.
All of her previous students had passed away for one reason or another. For a master Glyphweaver like her, there were few things sadder than not having a sessor.
She was certain that the youngster before her would be able to carry her mantle. Not only that, he would definitely surpass her and attain greater heights!
These thoughts kept tickling the insides of her heart until one day, she could stand it no longer.
While Lu Ye was busy breaching a ward, she left the Summit of rity and flew toward the Summit of Fortitude.
The Sect Master was teaching Yi Yi a lesson when suddenly, he looked in the direction of the Summit of rity. He then said urgently, Lets end todays lesson here. Be sure to practice what Ive taught you when you head back to the Outpost.
Yes, Sect Master! Yi Yi replied respectfully.
When she looked up, she saw the Sect Master rushing away in a hurry and calling out in a ttering voice, What brings you here today, Yuner?
[Yuner?] Yi Yi thought in puzzlement. She followed the Sect Master into a clearing and found him speaking to an unfamiliar, but beautiful woman she had never seen before. The woman was staring at the Sect Master with a cold expression, and the Sect Master had transformed from stern teacher to what she could only describe as an obsequious husband.
[Oh, she must be Lady Yun!] Yi Yi thought suddenly. Lu Ye had mentioned her in the past, and even Amber had spoken to her about Lady Yun. Lu Ye always rode it to the Summit of rity after all. The tiger had even met her in person a couple of times.
Shh!
Shui Yuan appeared out of nowhere and pulled a surprised Yi Yi into her room. Then, she poked a hole in the windows paper pane and peeked out. The young girl did the same thing.
Suddenly, Shui Yuan said, The old mans about to get a beating.
What?
That was all Yi Yi managed to say before the seemingly prim and proper Lady Yun punched the Sect Master in the face so hard that it threw his head backward. She could even see a shockwave spreading out from the point of impact.
Yi Yi shivered like a leaf. That punch had looked powerful enough to shatter a mountain.
Yi Yi had no idea why Lady Yun had punched the Sect Master, but she was surprised that the old man wasnt angry in the slightest. He wiped his nosebleed, as if he hadnt just been punched in the face and sighed. Yi Ye is a Crimson Blood Sect disciple now. He cant just ept an outsider as his teacher willy-nilly.
Willy-nilly? Lady Yuns voice rose an octave higher. Outsider? Youre calling me an outsider?
T-thats not what I meant! I
I see now! Im nothing more but an outsider to you, huh? The more Lady Yun spoke, the angrier she became. Spiritual Power started boiling around her. In that case, this outsider would like to learn a thing or two from the Sect Master of the Crimson Blood Sect!
Boom boom boom More shockwaves impacted the room and shook some furniture. Yi Yi could only watch as the Sect Master was physically beaten into the sky and out of sight.
When she ran out of the room to watch, she saw the two figures chasing one another as if they were ying hide and seek. From time to time, the duo would generate an impact powerful enough to rock the ground, but it was always Lady Yun hitting the Sect Master in some part of his body. Sometimes he defended, but not once did he try to retaliate against Lady Yun.
Shui Yuan let out an audible sigh, and Yi Yi asked worriedly, She wouldnt beat the Sect Master to death, would she?
Dont worry, the old mans tougher than he looks. Also, this happens at least a couple of times per year, so youll get used to it eventually.
Yi Yi looked confused. To her knowledge, the Sect Master was just a spell cultivator. Could he really survive such a brutal beating? Also, what did she mean by this happens at least a couple of times per year?
Suddenly, she thought that the Sect Master was really lucky to have lived to this day.
Chapter 235: Thoughts
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 235: Thoughts
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the Rift of Illusions, two flying weapons surrounded Lu Ye as he cut down a Seventh-Order Insectoid with the Invible.
During his days studying the Way of Glyphs under Lady Yun, he had obtained another Spirit Artifact that was suitable for telekinesis from Hua Ci.
This meant he now had two telekically-controlled Spirit Artifacts. Both items shared simr power and appearance as well.
While his talent in controlling weapons wasnt as monstrous as Li Baxians was, it definitely wasnt weak by any means.
It was because he was a Glyphweaver. His control over his own Spiritual Power far exceeded other cultivators of the same cultivation level.
Moreover, the Tree of Glyphs guaranteed that his Spiritual Power was as pure as it could be. If he wanted to, he could control three or even four flying weapons at once!
However, controlling weapons remotely used up a lot of mental power. It was why most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators could only control one flying weapon at a time. It wasnt because they didnt have the mental strength to control two at a time, but because doing so would greatly diminish the power and flexibility of both flying weapons, so much so that they were better off just using a single flying weapon.
As for Lu Ye, he wasfortable with two flying weapons right now. Anymore than that, and he would be taxing himself somewhat.
The two Spirit Artifacts did wonders at keeping the Seventh-Order Insectoids at bay. Even when they managed to break through their circle of protection and get close to Lu Ye, all they achieved was to kill themselves on the Invible.
A momentter, the flying weapons returned to Lu Yes side, and he was surrounded by nine dead Insectoids.
This meant that he had conquered the ninth stage.
The carcasses disappeared without warning, and the fog in front of him churned as if something was about to burst forth.
Here ites!
Lu Ye stared at the anomaly expectantly.
When he was still a Sixth-Order cultivator, he had once ovee the ninth stage and fought a cultivator on the tenth. Not long after he became a Seventh-Order cultivator and reentered the Rift of Illusions, he discovered that he had to start all over again from the Insectoids.
While killing Insectoids gained himbat experience all the same, it was nothingpared to battling against an actual cultivator. It was why Lu Ye had been so adamant at oveing the first nine stages at the beginning. He wanted to know if the tenth stage would feature more Insectoids or something else. After he discovered the truth, he did not return to the Rift of Illusions because he believed that he hadnt improved enough to make a difference.
But now, he could control two flying weapons inbat. As expected, he had a much easier time clearing the first nine stages.
A secondter, a person wielding a spear that was shrouded in Spiritual Light charged out of the fog. He thrust the weapon straight at Lu Yes face.
Lu Ye was overjoyed to see this. Just as he suspected, his opponents from the tenth stage onward were humans.
He wasnt fighting actual humans, of course. It was a miraculous construct of the Rift of Illusions. His opponent was shrouded from head to toe in fog, making it impossible to tell their appearance or even their gender.
An incense stickter, Lu Ye abruptly opened his eyes to his private training chamber. Hisplexion was a little pale, and his head hurt like a bitch as usual. This was the one and only w of the Rift of Illusions. Every time he died and awakened in the real world, he felt like someone had stabbed his brain with a needle.
He was able to kill several cultivators in the Rift of Illusions before dying, and he realized that the way they appeared was a little different from the Insectoids. The Insectoids had gradually increased in numbers until they reached the threshold, and their cultivation level was exactly the same as his.
On the other hand, he never fought more than one cultivator at a time, but their cultivation level increased by a level each time he cleared a stage.
Moreover, these cultivators fought like real cultivators even though they were covered from head to toe in fog. They also knew how to control flying weapons and execute various skills and techniques.
At the beginning, his opponent was a Seventh-Order cultivator. Then, it became an Eighth-Order cultivator. When a Ninth-Order cultivator showed up, well
To reiterate, there were no breaks between the stages. Every time an enemy died, the next one would immediately rush out of the fog. He didnt even have the time to catch his breath, much less recuperate his strength. Naturally, he was unable to hold out even after he went all out. The Ninth-Order cultivator in particr had sliced him to pieces with their sword.
Lu Ye wasnt depressed in the slightest. In fact, he thought the experience was worth every Contribution Point he spent!
Death inside the Rift of Illusions was as real as it could be. Not only that, it allowed him to experience the fighting styles of various factions without the associated risks. In the future, he would be so much more prepared against the same type of opponents.
He took a moment to inspect his Battlefield Imprint.
Name: Lu Ye
Identity: Crimson Blood Sect Disciple
Cultivation: One Hundred and Thirty Five Spiritual Points.
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: Two Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifty
A cultivator was Seventh-Order when they had unlocked 108 Spiritual Points, and Eighth-Order when they had unlocked 144 Spiritual Points.
Almost a month had passed since the Insectoid attack. Lu Ye only cultivated during nighttime since his daytime was reserved for his studies with Lady Yun, but the Outposts World Spiritual Qi was so rich that his cultivation level was still increasing gradually, not to mention that he had an abundance of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills. Even if he, for whatever reason, didnt have any, he could simply grab more from Hua Ci. Right now, the two things the medicine cultivator did notck were Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills. It was all thanks to the cultivators on the Chess Sea. While they didnt carry much valuables in their Storage Bags, they sure carried a lot of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills in preparation for the Battle Royale of the Legates.
Combined with Gathering Spirits and Gluttonous Feast, Lu Yes Spiritual Points increased to 135 despite him dying his cultivation speed on purpose.
He was slowly but surely getting close to the Eighth-Order of Spirit Creek Realm. It also meant that the time to leave the Outpost was near.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield had few written rules but many unwritten ones. Although Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge only wished that the other side would be wiped from the surface of the earth, they always strived to operate within the rules.
For example, it was ill-advised to capture and kill a medicine cultivator of the opposing faction. Instead, they should wait for the other party to ransom the medicine cultivator.
For example, it was ill-advised for an Eighth-Order cultivator or above to remain in the Outer Circle barring exceptional circumstances.
This was why the Legates in the Outer Circle were all Seventh-Order or lower. The sects had stronger cultivators as a matter of course, but they were all operating within the Inner Circle or the Core Circle.
In fact, most cultivators chose to move to the Inner Circle after they reached the Seventh-Order. There were several reasons. One, the Heavens forbade high level cultivators from ughtering low level cultivators who were much weaker than them. If they ignored this rule, they would actually lose Contribution Points for every kill they scored.
The second reason was that the World Spiritual Qi grew richer the deeper they ventured into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Naturally, one would want to travel to the Inner Circle or Core Circle to quicken their cultivation speed.
A Seventh-Order cultivator could spend a year cultivating in the Outer Circle and still be behind a peer who cultivated in the Inner Circle for only half a year. Of course, the effects were even greater if they entered the Core Circle, though the dangers were just as great.
From the moment one stepped on the path of cultivation, they were destined topete against fellow cultivators and the Heavens. Who didnt dream of attaining greater heights? Every cultivator strived to improve their cultivation in various ways. Trapped between the eternal war between Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge, the only way to master ones fate was to grow stronger.
In fact, Lu Ye had wanted to enter the Inner Circle a long time ago. However, the Crimson Blood Sect had just rebuilt itself, and as the Legate he could not escape his responsibilities.
He might do a lot less work than the average Legate, but his presence alone made everyone in the Outpost? feel safe and happy.
Now that the Outpost was in a stable state, he could finally entrust his responsibilities to Hua Ci. While she was a Seventh-Order cultivator just like him, meaning that she too was going to leave the Outer Circle some time in the near future, she was the best choice they had right now. She only needed to hold out until one of their sect members grew enough to seed her. Gu Yang and He Xiyin were two such examples. Speaking of which, he should probably convert them into official disciples soon.
Technically speaking, Kong Niu had the cultivation level to be a Legate or prolegate, but he was too introverted for the responsibility. He could kill the sects enemies and burn an Outpost just fine, but manage an Outpost? It would be a recipe for disaster.
Finally, there was one more reason Lu Ye wanted to enter the Inner Circle. It concerned the future of the Crimson Blood Sect.
To think youre almost at the Eighth-Order.
At the dining table, Shui Yuan looked at Lu Ye with aplicated expression on her face. When Lu Ye first returned to the sect, he was only a Fifth-Order cultivator. Barely a few months had passed, and now he was weeks or even days away from bing an Eighth-Order cultivator. Just how monstrous was his cultivation speed?
You should enter the Inner Circle soon. When are you departing?
In half a month, give or take. I still have much to learn from Lady Yun.
Speaking of Lady Yun, Lu Ye asked, By the way, I heard from Yi Yi that Lady Yun came to the Summit of Fortitude and gave the Sect Master a beating. What happened?
He was busy breaching the ward Lady Yun had prepared for him at the time, so he didnt know about it until muchter.
Shui Yuan answered, Lets just say that its a mixture of old age and a messy,plicated rtionship. Dont worry. Theyve been like this for years, and I expect them to keep this up for many more.
There was nothing else to say regarding the topic, so Lu Ye left it at that.
His senior sister changed the subject, Turbulent Watch is our only ally, and they ascended to Sixth-Tier a while ago. Since their Outpost happens to be in the Inner Circle, would you like to pay them a visit? I can send them a message and inform them of your arrival in advance.
The disciple of major sects often visited one another. It was a bit like a student exchange program.
Its fine. Im not just going to the Inner Circle to hone myself, I also n to implement an immature idea of mine.
Oh? Tell me.
As you say, the Crimson Blood Sect only has one ally right now. Not only that, their Outpost is extremely far away from ours, so much so that its just unfeasible for our future Seventh-Order cultivators to make the journey. That is why I n to form an alliance with someone closer.
Shui Yuan nodded. Makes sense.
Just to confirm, Legates have the right to propose an alliance, right?
Yes, but only within the specific battlefield.
Of course, an alliance that was proposed by a Sect Master would apply across all fronts.
Thats good enough. So, this is my n. Id like to keep my position for the moment and seek out some friendly Legates within the Inner Circle. Ideally, Id form alliances with them and open up more options for our disciples.
That sounds feasible. Do you have the right connections though?
But of course.
He had made the acquaintance of many Legates in the Chess Sea. A good number of them came from the Inner Circle and the Core Circle.
I have no other questions then. Youre the Legate of the Outpost, so do as you please.
Okay. Ill ask for permission from the Sect Master now. Lu Ye suddenly recalled something as he rose to his feet. Oh right, can you tell me about the incident regarding Brother Lis Spiritual Point?
In the past, he only knew that his fourth senior brother was extremely powerful. Recently, he learned a little more about the man.
Shui Yuan sighed. The long story short is that he made himself too obvious a target, not to mention that he was a Crimson Blood Sect disciple. So, Thousand Demon Ridge took him down a peg.
Is there no way to repair a broken Spiritual Point?
There is a type of Spirit Pill in the Vault of Providence that can fix this, but it costs an insane amount of Contribution Points.
Lu Ye nodded and bade her goodbye. Then, he went to the Sect Masters bedroom. His mind was set after he told the Sect Master his ns and obtained his permission.
Chapter 236: Departure
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 236: Departure
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The days continued as per usual. During the day, he would head to Lady Yuns ce to study the Way of Glyphs. When nighttime arrived, he would return to the Outpost to cultivate and rest.
Lady Yun had gotten worried since she heard that Lu Ye would be heading to the Inner Circle soon. However, she was aware that Lu Ye could not stay in the Outer Circle forever.
While no harm woulde to him so long as he remained a Seventh-Order cultivator, staying in the Outer Circle for too long wasnt conducive to his growth. While the building-a-cart-behind-closed-doors style of cultivation was technically an option, it had been proven to be a dead end time and again. Strength wasnt something you could obtain by cultivating alone, or no one would ever leave their training chambers. In fact, there wasnt a single pir in either faction who hadnt ovee mountains of challenges and rivers of blood to get to where they were.
Therefore, the best thing she could do to protect him was to be the best teacher she could. The more he learned, the better he would be able to protect himself. In private, she also gave him two valuable treasures that should prove very useful in his journey.
Lu Yes talent in the Way of Glyphs was satisfactory to say the least. A simple demonstration was normally all he needed to figure things out.
She could teach him even more if she could recruit him as her official student, but s, that old bastard refused to let him go no matter what she tried.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
In front of the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye said while watching the crowd who hade to see him off, Im going ahead to open up a new path for the sect, but that is no excuse to bex in your cultivation, okay? It is my sincere wish to meet you all in the Inner Circle and the Core Circle soon.
He then looked at Hua Ci and said, I leave the Outpost to you.
Hua Ci nodded slightly. Be careful.
Finally, Lu Ye turned to stare at He Xiyin for a moment. The brat was staring at the floor and clenching her fists for some reason. Her shoulders were shaking from time to time as well.
He Xiyin!
I am here! The girl abruptly looked up from the ground.
You look like you have something to say.
Huh? Right, yeah, uh, youre leaving, Brother Lu? What will the Outpost do without you? Im going to miss you so much hahahaha
Lu Ye watched her expressionlessly. Is that so? You cane with me then. Youre almost Seventh-Order anyway, so youre good enough to go to the Inner Circle. I dont mind traveling with apanion either.
No thank you! He Xiyin rejected the suggestion immediately.
Oh? And whys that?
My er, cultivation is still pretty low. I would only be dragging you down if Ie with you. For now, my time is better spent cultivating in the Outpost.
Lu Ye stared at her for a moment longer before he put his fingers into his mouth and whistled.
A massive shadow descended from the sky. It caught the Blood Sturgeon Lu Ye tossed into the air perfectly before crouching on the ground.
Lu Ye jumped onto Grays back with Yi Yi right behind him. A small white cat about a foot long was lying on top of his shoulder. It yawned once before letting out a cute growl
Three days ago, when she learned that Lu Ye was going to enter the Inner Circle soon, Yi Yi had shadowed him every step of the way. She was terrified that Lu Ye would leave her behind.
The girl hadnt said anything when Lu Ye had attended the Battle Royale of the Legates without her, but she was really unhappy that she had missed out on an adventure with him. That was why she had clung to him like a glue.
The good news was that Lu Ye had always intended to bring her and Amber to the Inner Circle, so her worries werepletely unfounded.
Speaking of Amber, it was none other than the white cat lying on Lu Yes shoulder. How did it transform from a massive tiger to a small cat? It was all thanks to the Transformation Pill Shui Yuan had refined for this exact purpose.
Spirit Beasts possessed the ability to take on a human form and be a Mutant. Lu Ye had interacted with a small number of mutant cultivators in the past, and the one he remembered the most were the women working as receptionists for the Divine Trade Association.
However, a Spirit Beast must first unlock some special Spiritual Points before they could take on a human form. Barring all external help, a Spirit Beast had to reach a certain cultivation level before they possessed the power to transform.
In the past, Lu Ye was puzzled by the fact that some Spirit Beasts were capable of taking human forms despite not being at the required cultivation level. Later, he learned that there were two ways a Spirit Beast could undergo transformation: one, being strong enough to transform into a Mutant naturally. Two, consuming a Transformation Pill.
The offspring of two Mutants had a chance of being born with a human form as well.
Amber had not taken on a human form after consuming Shui Yuans Transformation Pill. Instead, it had shrunk to the size of a cat. ording to Shui Yuan, it was Ambers own choice to transform like this, and it would likely not have a human form in the future either. It was because its instincts told it that a feline form was best suited for its growth.
The reason Shui Yuan had purposely refined a Transformation Pill for Amber was because she wanted Lu Ye to take Yi Yi and Amber with him. This way, they would be able to look after each other.
While everyone was waving goodbye, Gray pped its wings and caused such a powerful gust of wind that no one could open their eyes for the moment. When they looked again, the eagle and its passengers were already a dot in the sky.
On the eagles back, Yi Yi stretched her arms wide and giggled like a bell as she felt the wind blowing past her body. She felt as if she had returned to the days where it was just the three of them against the world.
Lu Ye took out a 10-point map and confirmed their current location. He then set the course for their destination.
He had made the acquaintance of many Legates and prolegates during the Battle Royale of the Legates, so he wasnt worried about finding someone who might be interested in forming an alliance with him. That wasnt the only reason he was heading to the Inner Circle though.
A few months ago, after his identity had been exposed, a ton of Thousand Demon Ridge sects had tried to hunt him down. This was especially true during the Battle of the Goldentip where a total of forty-three cultivators, each hailing from a different sect had tried to kill him
He had never forgotten those who had participated in the hunt and made his life difficult at the Goldentip. Every name was recorded in his mind so that one day he could take revenge against them.
Why else had he made each and every one of them announce their sects during the Battle of Goldentip?
It wasnt long before he found a familiar name on the map. [I choose you, Sky Pir Sect!]
A little over a dayter, Gray took off after leaving Lu Ye and Yi Yi in a spot in the wilderness. They were going to continue their journey on foot.
They were already within the Inner Circle. Without Gray, Lu Ye wouldve ridden Amber for an entire month and wouldve just barely made it to this ce. However, Gray wasnt just a flyer, it was also the strongest and fastest creature in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. This bit of distance was nothing to it.
It was also why it only took him a short time to travel from the Outpost to Mount Ying back then.
Unfortunately, Gray could only be used as a transport. Since his first senior brother left the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Gray had entrenched itself in the Outpost and done whatever it wanted. No one couldmand it to do anything, and even Lu Ye was just bribing it with the Blood Sturgeons to transport him somewhere. There was no chance he could order it to y his foes, or he wouldve ridden Gray to his enemies doorsteps a long time ago.
He once asked Shui Yuan why Gray had stayed behind in the Outpost. She told him that it was his first senior brothers final order before he left the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
That was why the Outpost was the most important thing in Grays world. It could afford to leave the Outpost a couple of days, but no more than that.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye! Yi Yi chirped, The World Spiritual Qi in the Inner Circle is so rich!
In the past, she could not absorb Spiritual Qi to increase her cultivation, but that had changed since she started learning under the Sect Master. Not only could she cultivate like a normal cultivator now, she could even form a positive feedback loop with Amber.
This was why Yi Yi and Amber were growing at an incredible rate. They were basically cultivating at twice the speed of a normal cultivator. Not only that, Ambers main method of cultivation was to eat a full meal, sleep, then eat some more. Even Lu Ye was incredibly envious of Amber. There could not be an easier way of cultivating than this.
Chapter 237: Where Do You Come From, Fellow Cultivator?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 237: Where Do You Come From, Fellow Cultivator?
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Then again, he wasnt so different from Amber. He ate a ton of Spirit Pills to cultivate as well
As Yi Yi said, the World Spiritual Qi of the Inner Circle was pretty rich. It was especially obvious when they were flying on Grays back. The deeper they ventured into the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the richer it became.
This was just the periphery of the Inner Circle, and the World Spiritual Qi was almost twice as thick as the wilderness surrounding the Outpost. No wonder the major sects tried so hard to increase their Tiers. The higher the Tier, the better their location in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and the greater their disciples cultivation efficiency.
Not only that, the resources of Spirit Creek Battlefield more or less followed the same rule as well. The deeper one traveled, the better in the resources were both in terms of quantity and quality.
Gray had dropped Lu Ye within the territory of Sky Pir Sects Outpost. Compared to the Outposts in the Outer Circle, the ones in the Inner Circle possessed much bigger territories. Take the Sky Pir Sect for example. Using the Outpost as the center, their territory epassed everything within a 150 km to 200 km radius.
On the other hand, the Crimson Blood Sects territory only spanned around fifty kilometers ofnd from the Outpost. Even after Lu Ye had crippled the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng, they were still just the lord and master of a tiny corner of the world.
This was due to the number of sects and the strength of ones cultivators. The sects in the Outer Circle were the lowest Tier and most numerous, so the area was densely popted even though the Outer Circle was technically more vast than the Inner Circle or the Core Circle. The cultivators were also Seventh-Order or lower, so their range of activity was quite limited.
Things were different in the Inner Circle. It was popted with Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order cultivators; cultivators who were capable of flight via flying artifacts to be exact. Their range of activity was much wider than the cultivators of the Outer Circle, which was why they needed more space to be able to unleash their strength in full. As a result, there were a lot less sects in the Inner Circle than the Outer Circle, which equated to morend per sect.
Regardless of poption density, conflict was inevitable so long as ones neighbor belonged to an opposing faction.
After taking a moment to confirm his direction, Lu Ye grabbed Amber from his shoulder and dropped it on the ground. Itnded lithely before shooting Lu Ye a dumb, confused look. The silencested a couple of seconds when it finally realized what Lu Ye wanted it to do. Golden light abruptly burst out of its body, and mutant qi washed over the area for a moment. It swiftly transformed from a foot long cat to a massive tiger.
Lu Ye climbed onto Ambers back and took off toward the Sky Pir Sects Outpost. He was here to take revenge, so of course he wasnt going to hold back.
That said, he wasnt nning to stir up trouble in the enemy Outpost either. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was no ce with greater cultivator density than an Outpost. He would not be doing himself any favors if he tried to battle them alone. No, his n was to hunt down any lone cultivator or party he might encounter along the way. This was the Sky Pir Sects territory after all. There had to be some Sky Pir Sect cultivators operating in the territory. At his current strength, he could kill practically anyone who hadnt changed their cultivation technique to Heaven Grade. On the off chance he ran into one, Wings would guarantee his escape.
Of course, he would rather not use Wings unless absolutely necessary. It wasnt a permanent Glyph, meaning that the Tattoo faded a little more with every usage. Eventually, it would disappearpletely.
His thoughts were very simple. He was going to explore the area and kill every Sky Pir Sect cultivator he encountered along the way. One of the reasons he came here was to hone himself anyway. It would be a slow and tedious effort, but given enough time he could eventually kill enough cultivators to hurt the Sky Pir Sect.
They were the ones who tried to kill him back at the Goldentip. They had no one but themselves to me.
On a rted note, Yi Yi was as elusive as ever. Sometimes she would vanish without a trace, and sometimes she would pop up from the most unexpected ces.
Although her dreams of bing a medicine cultivator had gone up in mes, she still enjoyed gathering herbs a lot. She carried a Storage Bag on her waist so she could extract and deposit anything that looked like a herb in it. It didnt matter if they were valuable or not.
In the past, she was unable to pass through objects while carrying an object with her. She might be able to pass through anything because she was a Ghost Spirit with no physical body, but her items couldnt. After she became the Sect Masters student though, she learned how to wrap an object with her energy, effectively imbuing it with intangibility and enabling it to pass through objects just like her. ording to the Sect Master, it was a kind of Escape Technique. Its one w was that the technique could not be applied to living objects, but it was damn impressive regardless.
Lu Ye thought it would be a piece of cake finding a Sky Pir Sect disciple or two to murder in their own territory, but in reality he didnt spot even a single soul after riding Amber for a long time. He even thought he had misread his directions and rechecked his 10-point map to confirm that it wasnt the case.
On second thought, he might have oversimplified things. His experience in the Outer Circle had led him to think that running into an enemy cultivator in their territory was a simple thing, but in the Inner Circle, the territory was several times bigger than normal. Moreover, most cultivators would be cultivating in the safety of their Outpost unless they had a specific task to carry out instead of wandering their territory like bums. The only exception was when they were shing against their neighbors.
So, wandering the territory at random was a terrible idea. Some quick thinkingter, he decided to seek out a production site such as an ore vein or a leyline. ces like that would definitely be overflowing with cultivators, and he would be able to kill and rob his enemies at the same time, killing two birds with one stone. [Yes, that would be perfect.]
There was another problem though. He had no idea where the Sky Pir Sects production site was located. Obviously, it wasnt recorded in the 10-point map. He was just thinking of a solution when Yi Yi popped out and said, Lu Ye, Lu Ye, look! There are a few cultivators over there.
This was one of the advantages of having a scout who could go anywhere without being detected. Be it good news or bad news, the news Yi Yi brought were always good surprises.
Lead the way.
And so Yi Yi leaped onto Ambers back and guided it toward their destination.
The group of cultivators she discovered was pretty small. It was a group of four made up of an Eighth-Order, two Seventh-Order and a Sixth-Order cultivator.
There was no rule saying that a Sixth-Order cultivator could not travel to the Inner Circle. There could even be a Fifth-Order cultivator out there. However, their numbers were few and far between because everyone else was stronger than they were. A Fifth-Order cultivator especially could never leave their Outpost unless they had a death wish.
On average, the cultivators roaming the Inner Circle were between Seventh-Order to Ninth-Order. A small number might even have upgraded their cultivation technique to Heaven Grade.
He was deep within the territory of the Sky Pir Sects Outpost right now, so the group of four were most likely Sky Pir Sect cultivators.
ording to Yi Yi, the group seemed to be guarding an unbloomed Spirit Flower. Yi Yi might not have the talent to be a medicine cultivator, but that didnt mean she learned nothing at all from Hua Ci and Shui Yuan. In her opinion, the Spirit Flower wasnt just valuable, it must also be harvested at a specific time such as when the flower was in full bloom. Otherwise, there was a high chance the efficacy of the herb would bergely diminished.
This was why the four cultivators were guarding the Spirit Flower. Perhaps they had learned of its existence a long time ago, or perhaps they just happened to run into it while strolling in their territory. In any case, they werent leaving until the flower was harvested.
When Lu Ye deemed that the time was right, he told Amber to transform back into a cat and draped it across his shoulder. He also instructed Yi Yi to slip underground and stand by for orders.
A whileter, Lu Ye felt a faint fragrance tickling at his nostrils. He followed the scent for about a couple hundred meters before noticing that three of the four cultivators were watching him with wariness.
Behind them was the source of the fragrance; a Spirit Flower that was close to reaching full bloom. Its purple-colored pod was as big as a fist, and it was enveloped in a misty light.
Judging from their Spiritual Light, they were a trio of one Sixth-Order cultivator and two Seventh-Order cultivators just as Yi Yi said. However, the Eighth-Order cultivator was nowhere to be seen. He remained invisible to Lu Yes senses even after he had swept the area with his perception.
All three cultivators were male. The one who seemed like a body-tempered cultivator because he possessed incredible vitality stepped out and asked, Where do youe from, fellow cultivator?
What he really meant was, Which faction do you belong to?
Lu Ye immediately raised his hand. Blue light shone from the back of his hand.
The body tempering cultivator looked surprised. The duo behind him were frowning as well. This was the first time they encountered a cultivator who revealed their faction before they even said a word, not to mention that he seemed to be alone
In Spirit Creek Battlefield, it was ill-advised to reveal your faction if you ran into a stranger. It was because you were basically forcing the other person to reveal their faction as well. If they turned out to be allies, then all was well. If not, then a battle to the death was inevitable.
There were only two types of people who would reveal their Battlefield Imprint to a stranger. Either they were arrogant and stupid, or they were confident and strong.
Lu Ye was just a Seventh-Order cultivator. It did not look like he fell under the second category.
The body tempering cultivator smiled. Ah, a friend from Grand Sky Coalition! He then raised his hand as if he was going to show off his Battlefield Imprint.
Chiang!
Lu Ye abruptly unsheathed his saber and shed behind him. There was a shower of sparks where the two des met, and a fourth cultivator who somehow snuck behind Lu Ye without him noticing staggered backward with a shocked expression on his face. He was wielding a dagger.
It was none other than the Eighth-Order cultivator Yi Yi had spoken of. He was a ghost cultivator!
When a ghost cultivator had reached the Seventh or Eighth-Order, they couldmune with the Nether, borrow its power and further their art of concealment and assassination. Back at the Chess Sea, Lu Ye had witnessed some techniques that gave him chills to this day.
From the moment he saw that the Eighth-Order cultivator was missing, he already suspected that he might be a ghost cultivator. Otherwise, he shouldve been able to pick him up with his senses. He must have hidden himself the moment the group sensed his arrival.
It was clear now that the Seventh-Order body tempering cultivator was just trying to distract him when he raised his hand as if he was about to proim his faction. If Lu Ye had been unprepared, he mightve missed the killing intent behind him and died. But since Lu Ye thought that the Eighth-Order cultivator might be a ghost cultivator, of course he was going to be wary of his surroundings.
The Eighth-Order cultivator was surprised that Lu Ye was able to block his killing blow. He was even more surprised when he raised his saber and brought it down on his face.
The attack was so overwhelming that he actually felt as if he couldnt breathe. Not only that, there was so much strength behind it that his hand was numb after blocking just three attacks.
How the hell is he so strong?
Stunned he might be, but he wasnt panicked in the slightest. It was because he saw out of the corner of his eye that his two Seventh-Order cultivators were making their move. They were just channeling their Spirit Artifacts when
Boom!
A surge of Spiritual Power ripped across the air. There was the sh of a spell, and one of the Seventh-Order cultivators let out a bloodcurdling scream. He had been struck by a spell powerful enough to turn his back into a scorched mess and drop him to the ground.
Chapter 238: This Guy Is As Good As That Lu Yi Ye
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 238: This Guy Is As Good As That Lu Yi Ye
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Since the group of four was a team, they had no reason not to attack Lu Ye when their ghost cultivator was ambushing him, especially true since his back was facing toward them right now. It just so happened that Yi Yi thought the exact same thing.
The remaining Seventh-Order and Sixth-Order cultivators immediately turned around, but they could not find a soul no matter where they looked. They didnt even know who or what it was that attacked them, only that theirrade had been struck down by a powerful fire type spell.
Ah!
Their blood chilled when another bloodcurdling scream erupted behind them. They turned around and saw something that numbed their scalps and turned off their brains for an instant.
They saw a head flying through the air and blood spraying out of its headless torso like a fountain. The dead man was none other than their ghost cultivator. The Seventh-Order youngster was still holding the end pose of his saber swing, making it clear that he was the one who had decapitated their senior brother in one hit.
How had a Seventh-Order cultivator managed to kill an Eighth-Order cultivator? And to do it in such a short time no less?
It had only been three breaths since the battle began. One moment they had spun around to search for their mysterious ambusher, and the next
They would not have believed it was possible if they hadnt witnessed this with their own eyes.
Lu Ye flicked off the blood on the Invible before looking at the group, causing the remaining duo to feel even more anxious. For a moment, they were unsure if they should fight or escape.
Pooh The Seventh-Order cultivator who took a fire spell from Yi Yi climbed to his feet and spat out the dirt in his mouth. His back hurt like hell, but the attack wasnt enough to kill him outright.
He could not believe that he had been ambushed by the enemy, but his misery had just begun. He had just risen to his feet when he saw a Spirit Artifact flying straight toward his face. rm bells ringing in his head, he let out an angry roar, channeled his protective Spiritual Power, and punched out at the iing weapon.
Powerful vitality circted around his entire body. As a body tempering cultivator, he was confident he would be able to stop the attack, and he did. The Spirit Artifact was sent flying into the air. Then, he discovered in horror that Lu Ye was right in front of him. How had he arrived so quickly? The explosive speed he disyed did not befit what the body tempering cultivator knew of a Seventh-Order cultivator at all.
He wasnt wrong. An ordinary Seventh-Order cultivator wouldnt have possessed such explosive speed, but Lu Ye had been cultivating his body using the red vapour within the dragon scale. His physique was improving in tandem as his cultivation.
Unlike the average body tempering cultivator, Lu Ye didnt just possess powerful vitality. His speed, reaction time and even eyesight were better than before.
In short, Lu Ye was tougher, stronger, faster, nimbler and more perceptive than most cultivators at his cultivation level, not to mention he had imbued the Glyph of Windwalk to his legs as well. His explosive speed literally rivaled that of thunder, which was why he was able to cover thirty meters of distance and reach the body tempering cultivator in the blink of an eye. And since the body tempering cultivator was the same cultivation level as him, there was no chance he would ever be able to block the attack.
The Invible pierced through the body tempering cultivators sr plexus and exited his back. Then, Lu Ye twisted his saber before pulling out the de and dropping him on the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
The two remaining cultivators were so stunned that they forgot to do anything for a moment.
Suddenly, they felt another burst of Spiritual Power behind them. It was Yi Yi emerging once more andunching a Golden Arc sh at the remaining Seventh-Order cultivator. It left a terrible sh wound behind the mans back and elicited a scream, but it was cut short when Lu Yes flying weapon pierced through his skull.
Lu Ye looked at thest Sixth-Order cultivator. Judging from his appearance, the man was clearly shell-shocked. He was no coward, and there was no one who made it to Sixth-Order without experiencing truebat. However, this was definitely the first time he had encountered such a one-sided ughter. How was it possible that his senior brothers, an Eighth-Order and two Seventh-Order cultivators, had perished so quickly?
Dont donte closer! The Sixth-Order cultivator raised his weapon and shouted powerlessly.
On Lu Yes shoulder, Amber let out a long yawn. The blood stench was making it feel a little hungry. Like it might enjoy a little snack when this fight was over
Lu Ye slowly walked toward the remaining Sixth-Order cultivator. The guy kept backing away until he tripped on a rock and fell on his butt.
Lu Ye frowned and stopped in his tracks, his flying weapons floating next to him and his Invible dripping blood. He thought it strange that this Sixth-Order cultivator was acting like he was the Devil incarnate, but he was wrong. The Sixth-Order cultivator thought him a million times worse than that.
It must be said that the Sixth-Order cultivator wasnt a coward. In the past, he had taken grievous injuries without batting an eyelid. This battle was unlike anything he had ever encountered though; ambushes that he still couldnt identify the source of and a Seventh-Order cultivator who yed his senior brothers like nothing. He was afraid because his enemy was aplete enigma to him. It was the main reason he was so off his game.
Where is your ore vein located?
Lu Yes sudden question confused him greatly, but the Sixth-Order cultivator knew it could not be anything good. Despite his fear and panic, despite knowing that there was no way he was surviving this, and despite the fact that his weapon was literally shaking in his grip, he gritted his teeth and yelled, I dont know!
Swoosh! A fiery red de stopped in front of his forehead just close enough to hurt his skin. The soundless threat was as obvious as it was deadly.
Ill kill you! He roared as his loyalty toward his own sect overcame his fear. He knocked away the Spirit Artifact hovering in front of his head and tried to stand up, but he was immediately greeted by a sh of white.
Thump! His lifeless body hit the ground, and Lu Ye slowly sheathed his saber.
If there was one thing he did not like about the cultivators of Jiu Zhou, it was the fact that even their cowards refused to bend when it mattered, and interrogations were almost always an exercise of futility. It was why he did not hesitate to kill the Sixth-Order cultivator after the initial refusal.
There were few people who bent the knee immediately like Feng Yue, and the only reason she got the option to do so was because she was a medicine cultivator. Also, she had a clear sense that she was going to die if she hadnt made the right choice back then.
Unfortunately for her, her life was the only thing she had now. She had no home, status or wealth to speak of. The one silver lining was that she was a medicine cultivator, so the cultivators of the Crimson Blood Sect unanimously agreed that it was a bad idea to bully a valuable resource like her.
Yi Yi began sweeping the battlefield and gathering the loot.
Lu Ye sat on a rock next to the Spirit Flower and examined the hiltless dagger he used as a flying weapon.
Right now, the power of his flying weapons left much to be desired. He disliked the fact that his dagger had been sent flying by a cultivator of the same cultivation level with a single punch, even if the other party was a body tempering cultivator. It just wasnt as powerful as the weapon in his hand, not to mention that he could imbue the Invible with Sharp Edge.
From the start, he had wanted to imbue his flying weapons with Glyphs. Even in the earlier fight, had the dagger been imbued with a Sharp Edge, all the body tempering cultivator wouldve achieved by punching it was to slice open his own fist.
Unfortunately, imbuing a flying weapon with Glyphs was a terribly troublesome process. Although Lu Ye could remotely control some of his Spiritual Power right now, he wasnt at the level where he could imbue a flying weapon with a Glyph. So far, his attempts to do so had all ended in failure, and he did not think it was going to change anytime soon.
It was because the Glyphs he constructed werent stable enough to unleash their power, which was caused by the fact that his fine control over his own Spiritual Power wascking. The task should be simple enough with enough control.
He would have to wait until his cultivation level was higher before he could attempt this again.
He did not leave immediately because he was waiting to harvest the Spirit Flower. Although Yi Yi herself didnt know what it was, he knew it was valuable enough to make four cultivators guard it while it achieved full bloom.
While waiting, he popped a Spirit Pill into his mouth. Amber immediately turned around, opened its mouth and waited for Lu Ye to feed it
Lu Ye tossed a Spirit Pill into its mouth before smacking it once on the forehead.
Youre gettingzier andzier, you glutton!
In the earlier battle, from start to the end, Amber hadid across Lu Yes shoulder without twitching a muscle. It clearly wasnt nning to interfere with the battle at all. Lu Ye missed the days where it would rush to protect him when he was still weak.
The four cultivators carried four Storage Bags in total. Since there was nothing to do, Lu Ye grabbed one of them and began working away at its Restraining Lock.
A few hundred meters away, a man and a woman were looking out from behind a giant rock and straight at Lu Ye. Although they were a good distance away from the young man, they had witnessed everything as if the battle had happened right before their eyes.
Lu Yes sudden appearance had been unexpected, but his killing of the group of fouran Eighth-Order ghost cultivator, two Seventh-Order cultivators and one Sixth-Order cultivatorwas absolutely shocking.
The second the battle was over, the duo withdrew their heads and exchanged a look. They could see the shock in the other persons eyes.
Holy mother of Heavens, who the hell is that guy? The guy cursed.
Brother, were my eyes ying tricks on me, or was he really a Seventh-Order cultivator? Hes not wearing some sort of cultivation-concealing Spirit Artifact, is he? The woman asked.
Even if he is wearing one, his true cultivation level would be exposed when he fights.
So, he really is a Seventh-Order cultivator. But how can this be? Is it possible for a Seventh-Order cultivator to be this powerful?
This is why I warned you time and again not to judge a persons strength by their cultivation level, sister. There is always a higher mountain out there, and many are able to fight above their cultivation level. Never forget this when you roam the battlefield.
Still this guy is a little too powerful, isnt he?
This wasnt the first time she saw someone winning against another foe that was beyond their cultivation level, but those fights were always close enough that it couldve gone either way. She had never seen a Seventh-Order cultivator taking out an Eighth-Order cultivator in a couple of hits. It was like he was killing a chick.
Oh, Im not denying that! The man nodded. A few months ago, I heard that the Crimson Blood Sect was blessed with a true monster called Lu Yi Ye. Despite being a Fifth-Order cultivator, the man had in forty three Sixth-Order cultivators in a row during the Battle of Goldentip. It was a shame we missed that show, but I dare say that this guy is as good as that Lu Yi Ye.
So, are we going to fight him for the Purple Cloud Flower, or?
From the sounds of it, these two were hiding here because they were lured by the Spirit Flower as well. In fact, they were nning to take it by force after it had reached full bloom. Considering that this was the territory of the Sky Pir Sect, they must be pretty strong and bold in their own right.
Of course, no one could have anticipated a Seventh-Order cultivator appearing out of nowhere and stealing their loot so to speak.
Of course not. Hes a Grand Sky Coalition just like us. Cmon, let us be acquainted with this incredible man.
Wait, really? Are you sure he wont attack us? He fights like a fiend, you know.
We are both Eighth-Order cultivators, you know. Come on!
And so they left their hiding spot and made their way toward Lu Ye.
Chapter 239: Brother and Sister x2
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 239: Brother and Sister x2
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye checked one of the Storage Bags he obtained from the four dead cultivators. It wasnt much, but it wasnt nothing either. Roughly speaking, the contents were worth around thirty to forty Spirit Stones.
Not everyone could bleed Spirit Stones like him. Currently, his Storage Bag carried a couple hundred Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones, but only a few Spirit Talisman Papers. It was because the low level items were bing less useful the stronger he became.
Amber and he both relied on Spirit Pills to increase their cultivation level, and they ate between thirty to forty Spirit Pills everyday. He was so tired of Spirit Pills that these days, the mere thought of eating them made him feel like throwing up. There were many times he wished that Spirit Pills could have different vors, but s.
What this meant was that Lu Yes stash of Spirit Pills wasnt going tost long. It was also one of the reasons he came to the Inner Circle before ascending to the Eighth-Order. He was using up more resources than he was earning, so it was only a matter of time before he ran outpletely. Hua Ci did have a lot of Spirit Pills, but he couldnt leech off of her forever.
Of course, therge majority of cultivators were poorpared to him. The only stable ie they had was the monthly sry they received from their sect, not to mention that most of what they received would be used to increase their own cultivation. Rarely would they have any savings at all.
Now, he could confirm that hunting cultivators in the Inner Circle was far more profitable than the Outer Circle. It did not hurt that their cultivation level was higher as well, meaning that he could earn even more Contribution Points.
Lu Ye! Yi Yi called out suddenly.
Lu Ye looked up and saw a man and a woman walking toward them from a distance. Judging from their Spiritual Light, they were a pair of Eighth-Order cultivators.
Hail, fellow cultivator! the man greeted and revealed his Battlefield Imprint when they were thirty or so meters away from them. Hao Ren of Silverlight Ind greets you!
Hao Ren (good person)? Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.
Once he hade within ten meters of Lu Ye, the good man stopped in his tracks and pointed at the girl next to him. She is my younger sister, Hao Qing.
Lu Ye returned a polite nod.
Silverlight Ind was a Grand Sky Coalition sect bordering the Sky Pir Sect. Both sects were Tier Six and the closest Inner Circle sects to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
There were two reasons Lu Ye had chosen the Sky Pir Sect as his first stop in the Inner Circle. One, it was because the Sky Pir Sect had tried to kill him in the Battle of Goldentip. Two, he was hoping to make the acquaintance of the Silverlight Ind and, with luck, form an alliance with their Legate.
Assuming that everything went well, all future Crimson Blood sect disciples would have a much easier time entering the Inner Circle.
Unfortunately, there was a problem. He had never made contact with a Silverlight Ind cultivator. He hadnt encountered their Legate and prolegate on the Chess Sea either. They had probably been killed before they could meet.
He had been wondering what was the best approach to make contact with the Silverlight Ind, but it would seem that Lady Luck was smiling upon him today.
Although Hao Ren and Hao Qing were both Eighth-Order cultivators, their behavior was very respectful.
They had just witnessed Lu Ye ughtering a quartet of Sky Pir Sect cultivators after all. Even if their cultivation level was a minor realm higher than the young mans, they werent stupid enough to use it as an excuse to lord over him. Ultimately, strength was the basis ofmunication between cultivators, and Lu Ye clearly had plenty of strength.
Lu Ye?
Both brother and sister blinked. Is it just me, or does that name sound real familiar?
Unable to control themselves, they began looking Lu Ye up and down as if they were trying to ascertain if he was who they thought he was
It was said that Lu Yi Ye was apanied by a massive white tiger, but all they saw was a foot long cat.
Wait a second, thats not a cat! Thats
Could this Lu Ye really be him? But how can this be? Lu Yi Ye was just a Fifth-Order cultivator when the Battle of Goldentip happened, and it had only been a few months since that day. He couldnt have reached the Seventh-Order already, could he?
Hao Ren thought it was a bit unlikely, but he still asked, Do you hail from the Crimson Blood Sect, friend?
In fact, I do.
Hao Rens pupils contracted. Then are you Lu Yi Ye?
Not again, Lu Ye thought sadly to himself. Behind him, Yi Yi covered her mouth and snickered.
Yes, I am Lu Yi Ye.
Heavens! Hao Ren pped his thigh, and his expression grew warmer instantly. It really is you? I have heard so much about you, Brother Yi Ye! During the Battle of Goldentip, you won much glory for the Grand Sky Coalition! I only wish I can be like you one day!
Hao Qings eyes were shining as well.
Hao Ren could not stop praising Lu Ye. In fact, many Grand Sky Coalition disciples would have done the same in his ce. Since the Battle of Goldentip, the sects had spread the news far and wide not just because they were proud of it, but also to encourage their low level disciples to work harder. If a Fifth-Order cultivator could do something so grand, then why not you? That was the gist of the message.
In fact, Thousand Demon Ridge spread the news far and wide as well, though in their case the Battle of Goldentip served as a lesson and a reminder. Failure wasnt scary, but to lose ones drive after just one failure was.
As a result, one could say that there was no low level cultivator across the whole Jiu Zhou who hadnt heard of Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
The only one who wasnt happy with his fame was, ironically, Lu Ye himself. He wondered if he should make up a fake name or something. So long as he called himself Lu Ye or Lu Yi Ye, attention would follow him everywhere.
Oh, look at me, I didnt even give you a chance to speak! I hope you will forgive me; I wasnt expecting to run into you here of all ces, Hao Ren said while pping his own forehead.
Its okay.
She is Hao Ren looked behind Lu Ye where Yi Yi was standing. Since he had witnessed that battle from the start until the end, he also noticed her performance as a matter of course. Her ability to go seemingly anywhere she wanted was simr to ghost cultivators, but far more superior. At the very least, he was certain that most ghost cultivators would be hard pressed to go underground as easily as her.
She is my younger sister, Lu Yi Yi!
Now that is what I call a happy coincidence! Hahahaha! Hao Ren guffawed.
They were a pair of brothers and sisters, and so was Lu Ye and Yi Yi. Not only that, they were both from Grand Sky Coalition as well. Themonalities between them immediately brought them closer.
Yi Yi was extremely happy with the way Lu Ye had introduced her. Her eyes curving into crescents, she gave the two Silverlight Ind cultivators a deep bow and greeted sweetly, Nice to meet you as well, Brother Ren, Sister Qing.
Who doesnt like honeyed words that came from the bottom of ones heart? Hao Qing beamed and responded in kind.
Forgive me for asking this, but may I know why have youe all the way to Sky Pir Sect? Are you carrying out a mission or something? Hao Ren suddenly turned serious.
Were just here to take in the sights per se. What about you two?
Hao Ren did not believe Lu Yes words, of course. Or rather, he read between the lines and figured out that Lu Ye was here to cause some trouble. Why else would a Crimson Blood Sect disciple be roaming a Thousand Demon Ridge sects territory?
Now that he thought about it, Sky Pir Sect was one of the sects who had dispatched a challenger to duel Lu Yi Ye during the Battle of Goldentip. It was said that Lu Yi Ye was a vengeful person, so this could only mean
Well, the two of us are here for the Purple Cloud Flower, Hao Ren pointed at the purple flower that was still in the middle of achieving full bloom beforeunching into an exnation. The Hao brother and sister had epted a mission to harvest a Purple Cloud Flower because one of their seniors needed it to concoct a kind of medicine.
Silverlight Ind was literally an ind in the middle of the sea. While their ind grew many exotic nts that could not be obtained anywhere else, they werecking nts that only grew on the continent as well. That was why Silverlight Ind often asked their disciples to keep an eye out for nts that could not be found on their ind.
After the Hao brother and sister discovered that their neighbor, Sky Pir Sect had a maturing Purple Cloud Flower in their territory, they immediately hid themselves and waited. They were going to take action after the flower had achieved full bloom, but somehow Lu Ye had gotten ahead of them.
After Hao Ren was done exining, he asked with embarrassedly, Now that you know, can we convince you to part ways with the Purple Cloud Flower, Brother Yi Ye? We are willing to offer a hundred no, a hundred and twenty Spirit Stones to buy it!
Fate has brought us together today. Since you need it for your mission, then you can have it. I do not require payment for this.
Lu Ye was feeling generous because he needed someone to introduce him to the Silverlight Ind. As mentioned before, he had zero contact with the sect until now, and it was weird to visit a sect you had no contact with directly. If he could convince the Hao brother and sister to introduce him to the sect, then he was more than willing to give up the Purple Cloud Flower.
No, no, Hao Ren turned down his offer immediately. You want us to receive the reward for free when you are the one who did all the hard work? That is just uneptable.
It did not look like Hao Ren could be convinced, and he did understand that giving someone you just met a free gift was about as weird as visiting aplete stranger at their house. He himself would have felt odd if he had been in Hao Rens position.
Very well. Lets make it a hundred Spirit Stones then.
Awesome! Hao Ren agreed without hesitation.
Their senior had offered a reward of one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones for the disciple who could bring him a Purple Cloud Flower. Had Lu Ye asked for the full sum, they would basically be giving up their reward entirely. However,pleting a mission also rewarded Contribution Points, and Contribution Points could be exchanged for cultivation resources. Therefore, they were still going to profit either way.
After picking Hao Rens brain a little, Lu Ye learned that the Purple Cloud Flower was still a day away from achieving full bloom. There was no telling if more Sky Pir Sect cultivators would show up after he killed the initial four guarding the flower, not to mention that the flowers scent was only spreading wider and wider. It was almost guaranteed that someone passing through the area would notice the flower.
For the sake of insurance, Hao Ren, Hao Qing and Yi Yi all went into hiding. Lu Ye was the only one who remained next to the Purple Cloud Flower to act as a guard and a bait.
There was no need to fix what wasnt broken, so the Hao brother and sister had gone back to the same hiding spot.
While waiting, Hao Qing asked suddenly, Bro, why do you think he inquired about the location of the Sky Pir Sects ore vein?
Lu Ye had asked them the question because he thought that they, the neighbor of Sky Pr Sect would know. And they did. Hao Ren had marked it on Lu Yes 10-point map for him.
Why else? Hes nning to cause some trouble, of course!
I thought so, but theres only two of them. Can they really? Hao Qing said uncertainly.
There were at least dozens of Sky Pir Sect cultivators guarding the ore vein, and at least some had to be Ninth-Order. To head there with only two people even with their skill was, in the Hao brother and sisters opinion, more foolish than courageous.
I know. Ill speak with themter. Hao Ren sighed. It was true that Lu Ye had ughtered that Eighth-Order cultivator like a chicken, but quantity was a quality of its own, not to mention that the cultivators guarding the ore vein werent necessarily weaker than Lu Ye. It wasnt everyday the Crimson Blood Sect produced such talent, and it would be a shame to lose him over something as trivial as overconfidence.
Someonesing! Hao Qing suddenly cried out in warning. Their hearts leaped to their throats as they both stared at a point in the sky.
It was a beam of light. A cultivator was flying in their direction, though it looked like they were just passing through the area.
This was another thing where the Inner Circle was different from the Outer Circle. In the Outer Circle, cultivators were rarely seen flying in the sky because their cultivation level simply wasnt at that level. On the other hand, the Eighth or Ninth-Order cultivators of the Inner Circle were pretty capable of flying around on their flying artifacts. That was why it was a far moremon sight in the Inner Circle.
Of course, most of them didnt dare to fly too close to the ground because that was just asking to be ambushed by enemies on the ground. The person in the sky clearly knew this and was flying about one to two hundred meters above ground. It was safe enough that few could ambush him from the ground, but not so far that he couldnt respond to an attack immediately.
Chapter 240: Nine Realms Scroll
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 240: Nine Realms Scroll
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Why would a cultivator purposely return to the ground before battling their enemies? It was because the risk was too great. Barring certain exceptions, not even Eighth or Ninth-Order cultivators would battle enemies in the sky. For one, they were still pretty new to aerialbat. Two, it took too much mental strength to control a flying artifact and fight at the same time.? Worst case scenario, they could even lose their flying artifact to an enemy attack and fall to their deaths.
No, it wasnt a joke, nor was it a particrly rare urrence. In fact, the ident happened less only after one had changed their cultivation technique to Heaven Grade. It was because that was the point where most cultivators possessed sufficient control over their Spiritual Power to pilot their flying artifacts and fight at the same time.
The man flying through the area was a Ninth-Order cultivator. They could tell just by looking at his Spiritual Light.
Although the Hao brother and sister were Eighth-Order cultivators, it was never a good idea to provoke an enemy that was clearly stronger than you. So, they dug deeper into their hiding spot and waited for the cultivator to pass. The good news was that he looked like he was just passing through the area, and not because he was responding to the deaths of his fellow sect members. There was also plenty of cover in this forest. Unless Lu Ye intentionally exposed himself, he should have no trouble hiding from the cultivators perception.
As for why they were so sure that the guy passing through the area was an enemy, it was because this was the territory of Sky Pir Sects Outpost. Only a member of the sect would dare to fly through the area so brazenly. And even if he wasnt, he was most likely a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator.
The Hao brother and sister didnt want to expose themselves because they were trying to avoid a fight, but
Chiang!
The noise wasnt particrly loud, but it was high-pitched enough that it could be heard miles away. It was the sound of a de being unsheathed.
Hao Ren and Hao Qing exchanged a nce. A bad feeling rose within their chest.
They nced up at the enemy cultivator. As expected, the man had heard the noise and changed his course. He eventually came close enough for Hao Ren to identify him.
The Silverlight Ind cultivators expression turned serious. The man was a Sky Pir Sect cultivator known as Yuan Guang. The reason he recognized Yuan Guang was because he was the former prolegate of the Outpost. It was said that many Thousand Demon Ridge Legates and prolegates had been stripped of their positions because they had suffered a massive loss during the recent Battle Royale of the Legates. Yuan Guang was one of those unfortunate enough to shoulder the me.
Most Legates of Tier Five or Six factions were Ninth-Order cultivators. That was all the strength that was needed to secure the Outpost. Only Tier Four factionsOutposts who were pretty close to the Core Circlewould have Legates with Heaven Grade cultivation techniques.
Yuan Guang was by no means an easy foe. Hao Ren was certain he already had a Heaven Grade cultivation technique, and the only reason he hadnt made the switch was because he didnt have enough Spiritual Points. Even so, he must have unlocked two hundred Spiritual Points at least.
Hao Ren was certain that Lu Ye was the one who made the noise. He had no idea where the young man found the confidence to challenge a champion like Yuan Guang.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was sitting next to the Purple Cloud Flower and waiting quietly for Yuan Guang to make his descent. He wouldve attacked the guy already, but he wasnt sure if he belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge or Grand Sky Coalition. He got his answer just a few secondster though.
Yuan Guangs face turned ugly when hended and saw the four dead bodies on the forest floor. He was so angry that his facial muscles were twitching a bit. He asked in a dark tone, Are you the one who killed them all?
Boom!
Lu Yes only response was to charge toward him and bring down his saber.
Yuan Guang was a Ninth-Order cultivator though, so his reaction was much better than Lu Yes earlier opponents. He immediately raised his sword and blocked the attack. For a second, two pairs of eyes red death at one another.
Yuan Guang erupted, You are courting death! but he was secretly shocked by how fast and powerful the Seventh-Order cultivator was. He was two minor realms above him, and yet the blow was so powerful that his grip had turned a little numb.
Is he abat cultivator or a body tempering cultivator? Not even a Ninth-Order body tempering cultivator could possess this much strength, could they?
He examined his opponent closely and tried to recall if he had seen Lu Ye before.
Yi Yi! Lu Ye shouted as light burst out of the Invible all of a sudden. It was as if a mini sun was born from the de.
Yuan Guang did not see thising, of course. One second he was staring at the young mans face, and the next his eyes were filled with blinding white! He didnt panic, however. He immediately jumped back in an attempt to buy time and recover, but an invisible power suddenly pressed down on him without warning. It was like someone had dropped a mountain on his back.
This was the first time Lu Ye had used Radiance and Gravity Well against an enemy. It was a resounding sess.
Unpredictability was the middle name of a Glyphweaver. Lu Ye only knew a handful of Glyphs, but he could already use them to great effect. He could only imagine how hard it was to battle a veteran Glyphweaver. More likely than not, their enemy would die before they knew what hit them.
The surprise gave Yuan Guan quite the fright to say the least. Without hesitation, he pped the Storage Bag on his waist and caused a flying weapon to shoot out of it. At the same time, he shed with his sword again and again in an attempt to buy as much time for himself as possible. He did not try to conserve his Spiritual Power because he would only die faster.
He was struck by a strange sense of vertigo. When his vision recovered, he abruptly discovered that he was not at the same ce he was before. Somehow, the mountain forest around him had transformed into a stone forest.
What the hell? Is this
A Ward Scroll? Yuan Guang blurted.
Meanwhile, the Hao brother and sister had just arrived at the scene to assist Lu Ye. However, all they saw was Yi Yi standing in front of a Spirit Artifact. They too eximed in surprise,
A Ward Scroll?
A Ward Scroll was an extremely valuable Spirit Artifact that could only be created by a pair of masterful ward and artifact cultivators. The ward cultivator would set up the wards, and the artifact cultivator would create the artifact. Depending on theplexity of the Ward Scroll, they might even need to invite a powerful Glyphweaver to help them. The process was asplex as it was expensive.
Hao Ren was just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. He had heard of Ward Scrolls, but he had never seen one with his own eyes. Scratch that, his own sect had never owned one since they were founded. It was a treasure far beyond the likes of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, and to say he never expected to see it in the hands of a Sixth-Order cultivator would be an understatement. He thought to himself,
I suppose that the Crimson Blood Sect is a powerful sect. They might have declined, but an emaciated camel is still bigger than a horse. Still, are they sure that handing a Ward Scroll to a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator is a good idea? What if they lose it?
In fact, Hao Ren waspletely mistaken. The Ward Scroll hadnte from the Crimson Blood Secteven they had never had a Ward Scrollit hade from Lady Yun.
Lady Yun had been worried for Lu Yes safety after learning of his intention to enter the Inner Circle. After themotion Lu Ye had caused during the Battle of Goldentip, it was practically guaranteed that he was going to be targeted by the Thousand Demon Ridge during his journey.
Since she had basically chosen Lu Ye as a discipleeven though she couldnt make him her official discipleshe saw no reason not to afford him some protection. That was why she had given him the precious Nine Realms Scroll.
In fact, the Nine Realms Scroll was so valuable that it was considered a ss above Spirit Artifacts. Officially, it was ssified as a Spirit Treasure.
The Nine Realms Scroll wasnt the only treasure Lady Yun had given him, but it was useless inbat.
Technically speaking, Lu Ye was nowhere near the cultivation level where he could use a Spirit Treasure. In fact, he, Yi Yi and Amber couldbine their powers and still not activate it for even an instant. That was why she had sealed off ny percent of the power.
Even at ten percent strength, the Spirit Treasure was still too powerful for Yi Yi to activate in full. It was fine though. It was enough that they could use it to defend themselves.
Yi Yi knew nothing about wards as a matter of course, and even Lu Ye just barely scratched the surface of the subject. Thankfully, the Nine Realms Scroll was both a Ward Scroll and a Spirit Treasure. Just like all other Spirit Artifacts and Spirit Treasures, all she needed to do was to channel her Spiritual Power into the item to use it.
The reason the Nine Realms Scroll was given its name was because it carried nine pocket spaces within itself. Each pocket space contained a different type ofndscape, and when activated the Ward Scroll could pull multiple people into the pocket spaces. Eight of the nine of the pocket spaces were currently sealed, so the stone forest was the only one they could use right now.
Speaking of which, all of thendscapes within the Nine Realms Scroll were real. In the process of creating the Ward Scroll, Lady Yun had traveled across Jiu Zhou in search ofndscapes that fit her criteria. She then physically extracted the space from the environment and refined them into the scroll using her Glyphs. That was how the Nine Realms Scroll came to be.
Right now, the Nine Realms Scroll was floating in front of Yi Yi. She was clearly pouring her Spiritual Power into the Spirit Treasure.
From an outsiders point of view, the Ward Scroll looked like an ink wash painting of andscape. It disyed a stone forest overflowing with stone pirs of differing heights and a floor of yellow sand. It looked cold and deste.
A closer look would reveal that a pair of tiny figures were standing off against one another at a corner of the painting. One of them was clearly Lu Ye, and the other Yuan Guang.
An Internal Ward Scroll?
Hao Ren swallowed. Ward scrolls could be broken down into two types: external and internal. When activated, an External Ward Scroll enveloped everything in its range in a number of wards. If a target were to set foot in those wards, they woulde alive and unleash their power upon them. It was the perfect item to use whenying an ambush for the enemy.
An Internal Ward Scroll functioned just like the Nine Realms Scroll. It would pull a target into the scroll before destroying them with their wards.
Both types of Ward Scrolls had their pros and cons, and it was impossible to say which was more valuable. However, there would never be enough Ward Scrolls in Jiu Zhou because they were far too difficult to create.
The most famous Ward Scroll in Jiu Zhou was called the Mountain River Scroll. It was the priceless treasure of a Tier One sect in Tian Zhou. Multiple mountains and rivers had been sealed within the Ward Scroll by Divine Ocean Realm cultivators, and each one could be summoned to y their enemies. Not only was it incredibly powerful, it had taken the sect over a thousand years and countless generations to perfect it.
The Nine Realms Scroll was created by Lady Yun alone, so of course it was iparable to the Mountain River Scroll. Even so, just ten percent of its power was enough for Lu Ye and Yi Yi.
Inside the scroll, Lu Ye and Yuan Guang were already shing against one another. Weak shes of Spiritual Power could asionally be felt from the Ward Scroll. From the outside, the moving pictures of men shing against one another actually looked pretty amusing, but everyone knew it was anything but that.
We can help, said Hao Ren after he had recovered from his shock. Now he understood why Lu Ye was bold enough to taunt a Ninth-Order cultivator. If the two of them were to join him in the scroll, then Yuan Guang was dead for sure!
That was what he thought Lu Yes n was, but Yi Yi shook her head and said, Lu Ye hasnt asked for help yet, so thank you for the offer, but lets just wait and see what happens for now.
There was nothing else Hao Ren could say. He looked at the scroll and watched the unfolding battle.
Chapter 241: As Long As My Saber Is Sharp Enough
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 241: As Long As My Saber Is Sharp Enough
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Looking at the painting, it was clear that the two cultivators battling inside the Ward Scroll were shing against one another using flying weapons. It was because they were standing a fair distance away from each other, and ink ck strokes appeared between them from time to time.
Inside the Ward Scroll, Lu Ye and Yuan Guang were standing about a hundred and fifteen meters away from each other. Between them, a pair of shining lights were zooming back and forth and shing against one another, causing metallic sparks from time to time.
Yuan Guang was beyond shocked right now. It was because he had correctly identified the situation he was in. In an unbelievable twist of events, he had been dragged into an Internal Ward Scroll. It had most likely happened when he was temporarily blinded by that powerful sh. Although he had responded correctly by activating his flying weapon and protecting himself with attacks, his opponent obviously knew how he was going to react, not to mention that he was just a Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master with an Earth Grade cultivation technique. There was no way he couldve resisted the Ward Scrolls pull.
His situation was beyond terrible right now. This was a Ward Scroll, meaning that there was at least one other enemy besides the one standing before him right now; the one who was keeping the Ward Scroll active. If he wasnt mistaken, it was the person whom the youngster had called Yi YI.
Speaking of the youngster, it was clear he was trouble even though he was just a Seventh-Order cultivator. Forget the explosive speed and power he had disyed at the start of the battle, his skill with the flying weapon alone was beyond the capabilities of the average Seventh-Order cultivator.
For starters, the flying weapon was almost as fast, strong and far-reaching as his own even though he was two minor realms above the youngster. He was still confident he could defeat the youngster, but the big problem was the user of the Ward Scroll, Yi Yi. He had no doubt that they would try and trip him up somehow and tip the bnce in favor of the youngster.
He was wrong though. The entire reason Lu Ye had decided to use the Ward Scroll was because he wanted to fight Yuan Guang alone. He had killed some fake Ninth-Order cultivators when battling in the Rift of Illusions, and he wanted to know if there was a difference between the fake and the real thing. It was also the best way to confirm how strong he was right now.
Also, this was a good opportunity to familiarize both him and Yi Yi with the workings of the Nine Realms Scroll. This wasnt the first time they had used the Ward Scroll, but they had never tried it in realbat.
Finally, Yi Yi was strong enough to maintain the Ward Scroll for a short time, but if she were to try and trip up Yuan Guang it was possible, but she would run out of Spiritual Power much faster than otherwise.
In other words, Yuan Guang was overthinking this.
While the two flying weapons shed continuously in the air, Lu Ye kept one hand on his saber and stared at the shing des intently. On the surface, it looked like he was fully focused in operating his weapon, but he was really observing the gap between his telekinesis and the enemys.
Despite his best efforts, it would seem that his telekinesis was ultimately weaker than a Ninth-Order cultivators. He was probably on par with an ordinary Eighth-Order cultivator, but that was it. He could tell this by observing the frequency of the shes. At the beginning, he was still able to trade attacks evenly with Yuan Guang. However, the sh gradually tipped in the favor of Yuan Guang until finally, his flying weapon could only attack once every ten blocks or so.
He was still in the middle of observing when Yuan Guang had made up his mind. He decided to put that Yi Yi to the back of his mind and focus on killing the youngster in front of him first.
There was a sudden ringing of metal when Spiritual Power circted rapidly around Yuan Guang. He then swung his sword repeatedly while yelling, Three Thousand Swords!
Shing shing shing!
Yuan Guang was about a hundred meters away from Lu Ye when he fired a number of fast-moving Sword Lights at him. Not only that, the Ninth-Order cultivator was running toward Lu Ye while still firing the Sword Lights!
He believed that there was no way the youngster could defend against the pincer attack because he was fully focused on controlling his flying weapon. If he tried to split his attention to defend both attacks, then even better. The youngsters telekinesis was no match for his to begin with, so splitting his focus would only weaken it further. He should easily be able to overpower him then.
All Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters were expected to be able to control their flying weapon and unleash another skill at the same time.
Yuan Guang followed closely behind the growing number of Sword Lights. The distance between the twobatants were decreasing rapidly.
Lu Ye finally looked away from the flying weapons in the air and stared at the iing Sword Lights. His gaze looked like it could pierce through the attacks andnd on the charging Yuan Guang.
He pped his Storage Bag once, and a beam of light shot forward. It thrust into theyers of Sword Lights and sliced them all in half.
! Shock bloomed across Yuan Guangs face even as he swung his weapon and blocked the iing light.
Two flying weapons?
If he hadnt felt the attack with his body, he wouldve believed that his eyes were ying tricks on him.
Normally, the average Seventh-Order cultivator had to use all their concentration to control just one Spirit Artifact, and that was assuming they could even use telekinesis to begin with.
To control two flying weapons, one had to possess both a tremendous amount of control over ones Spiritual Power and incredible mental strength. Only then could they multitask sessfully.
It wasmonly believed that a Heaven Grade cultivation technique was the minimum a cultivator must possess to remotely control two flying weapons at the same time. Even then, not every Heaven Grade cultivator could manage such a thing.
Telekinesis was undeniably a cool-looking technique, but the cultivator had to be naturally talented to be able to use it properly. Moreover, it wasnt always the more the better. After all, the more Spirit Artifacts you controlled, the more taxing it was on your mind.
As far as he knew, Li Baxian was the only man at Spirit Creek Realm to have pushed the Way of Telekinesis to its limits. It was rumored that he could control a hundred flying swords at the same time, though Yuan Guang had no way to know if it was true.
No other Ninth-Order Heaven Grade Master even came close to controlling as many flying weapons as him. After all, the more you split your focus, the weaker a single flying weapon became. In most cases, several powerful flying weapons were way better than dozens of impotent ones.
With all that said, how was it possible for a Seventh-Order cultivator to control two flying weapons at the same time? Not only that, their strength was almost the same as when he was controlling just one flying weapon, meaning that it was nost ditch effort to keep him at bay. He really was capable of piloting two flying weapons at the same time.
The surprise attack had failed, and there was no time to be awed by Lu Yes talent in telekinesis. Yuan Guang immediatelyunched into a sword dance and sent away the flying weapon seeking to skewer him. From time to time, a Sword Qi would erupt and knock the flying weapon away.
He was a Ninth-Order cultivator after all. If the youngster thought he could kill him with flying weapons alone, he was in for a rude awakening.
Suddenly, his thoughts came to a standstill. It was because he saw Lu Ye walking towards him.
It couldnt be A shocking thought entered Yuan Guangs mind before he shook it off immediately. It just wasnt possible. It already took an insane amount of mental strength to control two flying weapons at the same time. There was just no way a Seventh-Order brat could do this and fight a melee as well. This was just an attempt to intimidate him into slipping up!
Unfortunately, his foolish thoughts were mercilessly crushed when Lu Ye swung his saber at his face.
It was only now Yuan Guang realized there was a reason Lu Ye had dared to challenge him to a solo fight. It was because he was capable of controlling two flying weapons and fighting a melee at the same time!
And so, shining lights danced in the air while a pair of cultivators huffed and puffed amidst a forest of stones. The moment they shed, Yuan Guang found himself being pushed back by Lu Ye..
It wasnt because his strength was inferior to Lu Ye, but because Lu Yes bag of tricks were too difficult to deal with. It was hard enough to defend against a saber and two flying weapons at the same time, but the strength and speed of his cuts were unpredictable as well. Sometimes the saber would feel as heavy as a mountain, and sometimes it would move as quick as lightning. There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason behind the sudden increase in weight and speed either.
Most importantly, the saber was ridiculously sharp. He identally took a hit earlier, and the light surrounding his armor abruptly dimmed by a great amount. It was scary because he had spent a lot of Spirit Stones to purchase it from the Vault of Providence, and it was tough enough that no Ninth-Order cultivator could ever hope to break through its defenses. However, he could clearly feel his armor straining from the earlier hit.
On a rted note, there was light in the Nine Realms Scroll even though there was no sun. The stone forest was only a kilometer or two wide in radius. It was the smallestndscape of the nine that was captured within the Ward Scroll.
Everything else beyond the stone forest looked like a hodgepodge of ink ck stains on a piece of nk paper. The stains were also warping and changing constantly as if it was hiding some terrifying danger within. There was no telling what would happen if someone were to fall into it.
Lu Ye and Yuan Guang were doing battle on the only real piece ofnd in the strange world of the Nine Realms Scroll, the stone forest. Less than thirty breaths had passed since the battle began, but Yuan Guang was already at a severe disadvantage. He never thought that he, a Ninth-Order cultivator, would be suppressed by a Seventh-Order cultivator to this extent.
To say he felt bitter and regretful would be an understatement. Why had he allowed himself to be attracted to the noise? Why had he allowed curiosity to kill the cultivator? Right now he was both stuck and at a disadvantage. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he perished.
The only way out of this was to defeat the youngster, take him hostage, and force that Yi Yi to release him.
Yuan Guang was a man of action. The moment the idea shed across his mind, he gritted his teeth and stopped dodging Lu Yes attack. At the same time, he flicked his sword at the young mans wrist.
His n was to cut Lu Yes wrist tendon and disarm him at the cost of a single blow. Even if Lu Yes attack was more powerful than expected, his armor should be able to withstand one hit. Only then would he be able to capture the enemy and find a way out of this!
However
ng! The de was blocked by the Glyph of Protection. Not only that, Yuan Guang abruptly stiffened when a terrible pain exploded in his chest. His eyes widened as he felt his lung being pierced by Lu Yes saber.
How on earth had the young man pierce through his armor? His de was sharp, but it wasnt that sharp. Moreover, what the hell was that thing that appeared on his wrist just now? How did it block his attack!
Their eyes met. One pair was shocked, and the other pair calm. This wasnt the first time Lu Ye had traded an injury for an effective strike, and it wouldnt be thest. That was why he knew what Yuan Guang was nning the second he thrust his weapon.
Yuan Guang was a Ninth-Order cultivator, and a powerful one to boot. That was why Lu Ye hadnt been able tond a single hit besides that lucky strike from before. Not only that, the blow wasnt strong enough to pierce through his armor.
Lu Ye had been looking to create an opening this whole time, and he fully expected to continue searching for at least a while longer. He did not expect Yuan Guang to be the one to give him the opportunity.
During the decisive attack, he had imbued not one, but two Sharp Edge to the Invible.
Some of the Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs had no particr effect. Their only function was to act as a connector between Glyphs. In fact, it would be inurate to call them Glyphs. They were a type of technique meant to facilitate the usage of Glyphs.
This was how Lu Ye was able to activate two Sharp Edges at the same time. He had used the technique to connect andbine two Sharp Edges into one.
So what if the enemy had powerful armor? If one Sharp Edge wasnt enough, then two would do it! With enough sharpness, he could cut through any defense like it was wet tissue!
Chapter 242: The Sky Pillar Sect’s Ore Vein
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 242: The Sky Pir Sects Ore Vein
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were plenty of such techniques on the Tree of Glyphs. Lu Ye learned a lot from them.
In fact, the main reason he improved so quickly when studying the Way of Glyphs under Lady Yun was thanks to the knowledge he gleaned from these techniques.
At first, he had no idea how to use them. Over time, he was able to figure out the method through Lady Yuns teachings and his own explorations.
For example, one of the techniques on the Tree of Glyphs could connect two Sharp Edges together, drastically amplifying his weapons damage.
To put it in simpler terms, just view them as two enhancements. When he activated them, it was like the Invible had gained two additional Sharpening enhancements in an instant!
This was why Lu Ye was able to pierce through Yuan Guangs armor despite its excellent defensive qualities. The moment he attacked, the Spiritual Power surrounding his de had sharpened instantly.
The single attack wasnt enough to kill Yuan Guang, so he tried to stab Lu Ye in the face. However, it was not meant to be. He had just enough time to feel a sudden surge of Spiritual Power inside his body before countless energy spikes burst out of his body, killing him in an instant and turning him into a cactus.
In fact, the attackor rather the Glyphwas aptly named as Glyph: Burster. It was one of the new Glyphs Lu Ye had obtained after feeding his Tree of Glyphs another ten me of Earthen Spirits. When it was activated, it would use the Spiritual Power that made up its structure to grow a ton of energy spikes.
The spikes didntst very long, and the Glyph was useless in most situations. However, it was devastating if he could activate it inside an enemys body.
A defensive equipment could protect a cultivator from external attacks, but not internal attacks. In the past, Lu Yes attacks generally could not kill an enemy unless he managed to hit a vital spot. Now, he could just stab someone in, say, their shoulder and activate Burster, skewering them from the inside out. Even cultivators had squishy insides after all. They would be grievously injured even if they somehow survived the attack!
The energy spikes would disappear rapidly after taking form and losing its Glyph, but the damage it left behind wouldnt fade. It was a vicious Glyph to say the least.
Yuan Guangs sword stopped when it reached within centimeters of Lu Yes eyeball. It would never progress further.
The deed done, Lu Ye withdrew his saber and sent Yuan Guangs body flying with a kick.
ng
Without Yuan Guangs control, the flying weapon was no more than a decoration in the sky. Lu Ye easily struck it out of the air before withdrawing his own flying weapons.
Suddenly, he felt as if the world itself was rejecting his existence. Lu Ye knew it was Yi Yi bringing him out of the Nine Realms Scroll.
His eyes blurred, and he found himself standing before the girl once more. Yuan Guangs corpsey on the ground not far away from him.
Hao Ren was staring at him with aplicated expression. The man moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but he was unable to find the words no matter what he tried.
Hao Qing experienced no such difficulties, however. She praised, Youre incredible, Brother Yi Ye! The shiver in her voice proved that her praise hade from the bottom of her heart.
The Hao brother and sister had been fortunate enough to witness the battle from the start to finish. Although it was hardly a perfect portrayalin fact, the moving sketches looked so amusing that they couldnt feel the tension of the battle at allbut there was no denying the fact that Lu Ye was alive, and Yuan Guang was dead. It wasnt an easy death either; he looked like a blood bag that had been punctured all over the ce.
Everyone knows that cultivators hailing from top sects could fight above their cultivation level and win, but that was one minor realm, not two. Not only that, Lu Ye didnt have a scratch on his person, which could only mean that he hadnt gone all out.
They were mistaken on this point, though. Lu Ye did go all out and used practically everything he could possibly use to win the fight. If Yuan Guang hadnt made a questionable choice at the end of the battle, he couldve dyed his death for a while longer.
As for why Lu Ye waspletely unharmed, it was thanks to thebat experience he had umted in the Rift of Illusions. He almost never made a mistake anymore because he had literally died to learn how to avoid them.
Yuan Guangs Sword Light was something Lu Ye had encountered many times in the Rift of Illusions. It had thrown him off quite a bit when he encountered it the first time, but now he knew exactly how to counter that type of attack.
Also, he now knew that the Ninth-Order cultivators in the Rift of Illusions were practically the same as a Ninth-Order cultivator in real life. Their strength was more or less the same as well.
After he had collected himself, Lu Ye looked at Yi Yi with an inquiring look in his eyes. The girl dipped her head slightly to indicate that she was fine.
It was difficult for her to use the Nine Realms Scroll at her level right now, but if all she needed to do was to keep it running, then the drain was within eptable limits.
In any case, the battle had refreshed the Hao brother and sisters understanding of Lu Yes strength. It also took a lot of tension away from their shoulders. Before this, they were constantly worried about being discovered by a Ninth-Order cultivator in the Sky Pir Sect and killed.
But now? They knew that Lu Ye could easily take them out unless there was more than one of them, and maybe even then.
Lu Ye and Yi Yi needed time to recover their strength, so the Hao brother and sister offered to protect them as a matter of course.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the next morning.
The fragrance of the Purple Cloud Flower grew stronger and stronger until finally, it achieved full bloom.
While Hao Ren was paying Lu Ye a hundred Spirit Stones, Hao Qing carefully plucked the Purple Cloud Flower and stored it within a box they had prepared from the beginning.
Both sides were happy with the oue, and in Lu Yes case it was like getting a hundred Spirit Stones for free. It wasnt much, but it would cover his and Ambers cultivation needs for at least a couple of days.
Brother Yi Ye, you were asking about the location of Sky Pir Sects ore vein, werent you? Are you nning to Hao Ren drew a line across his neck after saying this.
Yeah. Do you have any advice you would like to offer, Brother Hao?
Hao Ren hurriedly waved it off. Oh no, I highly doubt Id be able to offer a genius like you any useful advice. Its just that are you sure you want to do this with just Sister Yi Yi? Isnt it a little you know He wanted to say reckless, but he was afraid of offending Lu Ye.
Dont worry. Ill use my discretion and operate within my limits.
Hao Ren then asked, If you dont mind, can wee with you?
Hao Ren would never have suggested this if he hadnt witnessed Lu Ye ughtering Yuan Guang with his own eyes. Since Lu Ye had proven to be most formidable, what had seemed like an insurmountable mission now only required, as Lu Ye said, a little discretion.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. Of course I wee your aid.
The offer didnt surprise him. Silverlight Ind and Sky Pir Sect were neighbors, and he was sure that they had a river of grudges to settle with one another. If someone wanted to give the Sky Pir Sect trouble, they were only all too happy to offer their aid.
The reason Lu Ye hadnt tried to recruit them himself was because, one, they were little more than strangers, and two, it was a pretty risky endeavor. He would be putting them on the spot if he asked them about it.
It was a different story if Hao Ren made the offer though. They were both Eighth-Order cultivators, so he more than weed their strength.
They spent a few minutesmunicating their abilities with each other. Lu Ye learned that the siblings were ghost cultivators who were versed in the art of concealment.
It made sense. They would never have dared to search for the Purple Cloud Flower on their enemys territory otherwise.
Ghost cultivators werent much different frombat cultivators at Seventh-Order or below. It was after they gained the ability tomune with the Nether that they were able to unleash the true strength of their cultivation faction.
Each major cultivation faction possessed a number of advantages that were exclusive to themselves. Body tempering cultivators had the strongest physique, spell cultivators were unrivaled in spellcraft,bat cultivators were fearsome in closebat, and medicine cultivators could heal the sick and ill.
A ghost cultivators exclusive advantage was their unpredictability. Not only were they fast, they excelled in the art of concealment and assassination. They also had the easiest time killing enemies that were above their cultivation level. After all, what could you do if a ghost cultivator managed to get within killing range undetected, even if your cultivation level was higher than theirs?
Of course, their advantages came with certain drawbacks. For starters, they were almost as fragile as a spell cultivator. Second, they could never learn spells because one had to pay a price tomune with the Nether. In fact, their Spiritual Power wasnt just Spiritual Power after they underwent amunion. It was a special mix of power that allowed them to pull off many seemingly impossible feats.
Originally, Lu Ye was just going to find a ce with plenty of Sky Pir Sect cultivators that wasnt the Outpost and y the bait. He was a Seventh-Order cultivator and a member of the Grand Sky Coalition. It should not be difficult to draw the enemy to him at all. He would then kill anyone who came his way. If their numbers were too great, then he would run away from them.
Nothing was off limits. He was here to take revenge against his enemy, so there was no need to factor benevolence and morality into the equation.
Now that he had the Hao brother and sister, he could make the n even better. Eighth-Order ghost cultivators were equally excellent baits, not to mention that they hailed from Silverlight Ind as well. The n was discussed and finalized in no time.
Technically speaking, flying to the enemys ore vein was an option. Eighth-Order cultivators had just enough control to fly via controlling Spiritual Artifact. However, it would exhaust them unnecessarily before the great battle, not to mention that they were currently behind the enemy lines. It would hardly be a good idea to travel openly.
That was why they ran all the way to the ore vein. The good news was that their destination was only one hundred or so kilometers away from their current location, and fifteen kilometers away from the Outpost.
As a general rule, a resource site was never too far away from an Outpost. It would be difficult to defend it otherwise.
This was one of the criteria the sects considered before choosing the location of their Outpost. It wasmon sense to scout out a piece ofnd and identify the location of the resource sites before founding the Outpost.
It took a full day to make it to the ore vein. The sky had turned fully dark by the time they arrived at their destination.
They were currently just thirty kilometers away from the Outpost, and fifteen kilometers away from the ore vein.
They did not act immediately. Instead they took a moment to rest and regain their strength.
When it was midnight, Hao Ren finally took off toward the ore vein. Lu Ye saw him abruptly melting into the darkness after moving just a short distance away from them. He was unable to see him even after he channeled Spiritual Light into his eyes.
This was one of the unique strengths of a ghost cultivator. In fact, Hao Ren wasnt able to conceal himselfpletely because his cultivation level wasnt high enough. Once he was at the right level, he would be able to conceal even his Spiritual Light.
Ghost cultivators only became harder to detect when they reached Cloud River Realm. That was why powerful ghost cultivators were to be feared. They could always im a life from the most unexpected corners.
Of course, a ghost cultivators concealment was hardly unbeatable. For starters, they could not maintain their concealment if they suffered a hit. Also, a cultivators perception naturally improved with their cultivation level. Even if they couldnt see the ghost cultivator, their sixth sense would warn them that there was danger.
Less than half an hourter, a pair of Spiritual Lights suddenly burst out of the ore vein and flew straight toward Lu Yes group. They were both Ninth-Order cultivators, and one of them was a spell cultivator. They could tell because they kept flinging spells at the forest floor with reckless abandon. The other cultivator did not emte his allys example, but he too summoned his flying weapon that zipped around the trees in a sheen of golden light.
Chapter 243: Baiting
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 243: Baiting
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
ording to the intel provided by the Hao brother and sister, there were definitely more than one Ninth-Order cultivator guarding the key location that was the ore vein. In total, there were three or four of them since the ore vein was big enough that a single Ninth-Order cultivator could not secure the entire area. They also expected to be chased immediately after they exposed themselves.
So far, it looked like things were progressing as nned. Hao Ren had managed to lure two Ninth-Order cultivators toward them, and their job was to take out both enemies!
The pursuers looked incredibly conspicuous under the night sky. They were more or less moving toward Lu Yes location in a straight line.
Hao Ren burst out of a bush when the enemies were still 1.5 kilometers away from the ambush site. Lu Ye could not help but be impressed by the ghost cultivators speed. It was one thing to outrun a normal cultivator, and another to outrun two cultivators who were one minor realm above your level, not to mention that they were also flying on Spirit Artifacts.
That said, he noticed that there were bizarre patterns growing over Hao Rens neck. It was the same pattern he saw on Lan Yudie. His face also looked a little pale and dusty. If he wasnt mistaken, the ghost cultivator had boosted his speed using some sort of secret technique.
Hao Ren gave Lu Ye a quick nod before moving to the agreed upon location and vanishing into thin air once more.
As if on cue, a pair of cultivators soared over the trees right in front of Lu Ye. One of them fired a beam of Spiritual Lighta flying weaponstraight at him.
Lu Ye eyed his attacker for a bit. If he wasnt mistaken, the guys skill with his flying weapon was even weaker than his, and the Spiritual Light surrounding his body looked fairly murky. He must have consumed a considerable amount of Spirit Pills during his cultivation. Despite being at the same cultivation level, he was much weakerpared to Yuan Guang.
Hes not the ghost cultivator! The mage cultivator who stayed his hand said suddenly.
The flying weapon bent slightly and brushed past Lu Yes face with centimeters to spare. The wind was enough to cause his cheeks to sting. Lu Ye hadnt moved from the start until the end, acting as if he was stunned by his close brush with death.
In fact, he hadnt moved because he was confident he could dodge or block the attack. Since it wasnt going to connect, there was no need to move even a muscle.
The attacker was probably abat cultivator. It was because he was flying on a saber.
When flying on a Spirit Artifact, cultivators had the choice to fly on Spiritual Artifacts that were specifically made for flying or their favorite weapon. There was a huge difference between the two.
Spirit Artifacts that were specialized for flying obviously offered a better experience overall. They offered bigger space, faster speed, and a smoother flight. The drawback was that it cost more Spiritual Power.
Thebat cultivator before him was obviously flying using his favorite weapon. The experience was nowhere as pleasant as the former, but it used a lot less Spiritual Power.
Moreover, some weapons werent suited for flying. Swords and sabers were generally the way to go, and it wasmonly epted that swords made for pretty cool flying weapons. On the other hand, no one would fly on spiked clubs unless their goal was to make themselves look as tacky as possible.
In the end though, wealth was the biggest factor behind the decision to acquire a specialized flying Spirit Artifact or not.
It was the same principle as choosing a flying weapon. Some cultivators Spirit Artifacts could function at both melee and long range.
There was no such thing as a cultivator with low expenses. The Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones one used to cultivate alone was a huge burden on ones wallet, not to mention that each cultivation realm came with its own additional costs.
Low level cultivators had to purchase Spirit Talisman Papers to make up for their own deficiencies.
Seventh-Order cultivators had to purchase flying weapons for use inbat.
Eighth-Order cultivators might want to purchase flying Spirit Artifacts if their weapon wasnt suited for flying, and Ninth-Order cultivators with the potential to grow further would definitely want to purchase a Heaven Grade cultivation technique
At the Spirit Creek Realm level, most cultivators led a destitute life. umting wealth could be a challenge greater than cultivating itself.
Specialized flying Spirit Artifacts werent cheap either. The cheapest ones cost around two to three hundred Spirit Stones, while the expensive ones could cost thousands or even tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. As with all things, the better the quality, the pricier it was.
Lu Ye might not be able to fly on a Spirit Artifact just yet, he had educated himself on the basics as a matter of course. That was why he could tell that thebat cultivator was one hundred percent a pauper. As a result, his interest in the man vanished like a candle in the wind. Killing him would not earn him anything but a workout.
The spell cultivator was a different story though. The small boat he was riding looked incredibly well made and possibly valuable.
The two cultivators looked down on the dumbstruck Lu Ye from the sky. Thebat cultivator asked, Have you seen an Eighth-Order ghost cultivator?
Lu Ye did not say anything. He was wondering how he should bring his enemies down to his level. The traps they hadid beforehand only worked on the ground.
Thebat cultivator grew impatient after the silence lengthened. He asked again, Which faction do you belong to?
Lu Ye still did not give him an answer.
You can die then! Thebat cultivator hmphed coldly. A cultivator who could not tell you their faction could only be an enemy, so there was no reason to hold back. The Spirit Artifact he was holding shivered, and killing intent burst out of his body.
Lu Ye grabbed an item from his Storage Bag and tossed it on the ground in front of him.
Hoh? Thebat cultivators eyes lit up before he pounced toward it like a hawk. It was because it was a flying Spirit Artifact.
To abat cultivator who was so poor that he could only fly on his saber, the flying Spirit Artifact was a most attractive offer. He did not suspect that it was a trap because they were a pair of Ninth-Order cultivators, and Lu Ye was just a lone Seventh-Order cultivator. He believed that Lu Ye was offering up the item to bargain for his life.
.
The flying Spirit Artifact belonged to Yuan Guang. Lu Ye had found it after unlocking his Storage Bag. It so happened that it was the perfect bait to use right now.
Thebat cultivator caught the flying spirit Artifact in the blink of an eye and examined it closely. However, his joy was quickly reced by confusion. It was because he felt like he had seen it before.
In fact, he had. He and Yuan Guang were both Ninth-Order cultivators in the Sky Pir Sect, so of course they were acquainted with each other. Not only had he seen the flying Spirit Artifact before, he had even ridden it with Yuan Guang in the past.
Lu Ye gave him no time to make sense of his confusion though. His surroundings suddenly distorted into the image of a stone forest. The next second, both the stone forest and thebat cultivator vanished into thin air.
The spell cultivator was shocked to say the least, but the worst day of his life was just beginning. Two Spiritual Lights zipped toward him with every intention to cut his body in half
The spell cultivator was a cautious one. Despite being two minor realms above the Seventh-Order cultivator, he never moved within a hundred meters of him for fear that he would attempt to surprise him with his flying weapons. He had learned his lesson the hard way in the past, and he wasnt keen on experiencing it a second time.
One hundred meters was beyond the absolute range of a Seventh-Order cultivators flying weapon. There was no chance the enemy could hit him.
He was wrong. The flying Spirit Artifact beneath his feet suddenly shuddered violently as if it had been struck by something. He was going to retaliate against Lu Ye, but the unexpected disturbance had interrupted his spell and forced him to focus on stabilizing his flying Spirit Artifact. He had to. If he fell, he would be half-dead even if he survived the fall. He was no body tempering cultivator after all.
His mind was in total havoc right now. Who said that the absolute range of a Seventh-Order cultivators flying weapon was a hundred meters again? Forget a hundred meters, this was easily a hundred and fifteen meters!
The attack wasnt over yet though. He had just stabilized his flying Spirit Artifact when something struck it and violently shook it once more. In fact, it was even worse than the first time. It was Lu Yes Fire Dragon technique!
A massive fire dragon mmed into the flying Spirit Artifact and knocked it overpletely.
The spell cultivator let out a cry of surprise as he fell from the sky. The pair of Spiritual Lights immediately went in for the kill but were unable to deal any damage to him as a terrifically thick Spiritual Power Shield had abruptly appeared on the spell cultivators body; a lifesaving technique every spell cultivator knew!
The flying weapons struck the spell cultivator again and again, bowling him over and making him see stars. It didnt matter though. So long as the Spiritual Power Shield remained active, they would not be able to threaten his life.
Lu Yes desire to construct Glyphs on his flying weapons grew even more after seeing this. They simply werent powerful enough without Sharp Edge.
The spell cultivators Spiritual Power Shield was pretty strong, but Lu Ye couldve shredded it in three to five strikes if he had used the Invible. If he enhanced the weapon with two Sharp Edges, he might even be able to shred it in a single hit.
It might look like he was trouncing his opponent right now, but the attacks were no more than scratches to his opponent.
That was what Lu Ye thought, but the spell cultivator was really in a full blown panic right now. Not only was he falling from the sky, he realized that the Seventh-Order cultivator was, against all odds, controlling two flying weapons at the same time. As a result of their attack, he was rapidly losing Spiritual Power like a burst dam!
He borrowed some momentum from the impact and steadied himself. Then, he hurriedly cast a Float spell.
The spell allowed the caster to float in the air for a short time. Dong Shuye had used it before he took a Fire Quail to the face.
Spell cultivators normally did not use flying weapons not because they couldnt learn, but because it was unnecessary. Their spells could already smite their enemies from long range, and manipting flying weapons required them to split their focus. As if that wasnt bad enough, it might not necessarily have better range than their spells. That was why telekinesis was a situational technique at best to a spell cultivator.
When a spell cultivator had reached the Seventh-Order, they could cultivate more powerful spells such as Lu Yes Fire Dragon. Most spell cultivators experienced a massive power boost after they reached the Seventh-Order.
The Ninth-Order cultivator let out a huge sigh of relief after casting the Float spell. Although the Seventh-Order cultivator had given him quite the panic, he was ultimately able to stabilize the situation. All he needed to do now was to rise back into the air and distance himself from the Seventh-Order cultivator. Once he had regained control of his flying Spirit Artifact, he would be able to attack the enemy with impunity, and the battle would be under his control once more!
He had never been humiliated this badly in his life, much less at the hands of a Seventh-Order cultivator. He was going to teach him the rage of a Ninth-Order spell cultivator!
He channeled his Spiritual Power and shot up into the air. After he had returned to his flying Spirit Artifact, he looked down and
Huh? Where did the bastard go?
He was too panicked to pay much attention to the Seventh-Order cultivator earlier. Before he knew it, the guy was gone like he never existed.
Suddenly, he felt a surge of Spiritual Power above him. The spell cultivator looked up and felt fear tingling his scalp.
Chapter 244: Insight
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 244: Insight
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The enemy who should be on the ground floor waiting for him to dish out a beating was actually above him. The round moon shining above his head, he pped what seemed like a pair of wings made of fiery red Spiritual Power and brought down his glowing saber straight at him!
Impossible! The mage screamed internally as the attack connected and sent him plummeting toward the ground.
Boom
Dust flew everywhere as the spell cultivator hit the ground like a meteor. He must have broken Heavens know how many bones, and blood sprayed out of his mouth against his will.
The Spiritual Power Shield that blocked the twice Sharp Edge empowered Invible had vanished into nothing as well. It wasnt because the attack had destroyed it, but because the spell cultivator had run out of Spiritual Power.
In his attempt to avoid Lu Yes flying weapons, he had flown almost 130 meters above ground level. That was why the impact had almost killed him outright, not that he was going tost much longer. His sight was pitch ck, his ears were buzzing incessantly, and blood was pouring out of the seven apertures of his head.
Lu Yended soundlessly beside him and withdrew his wings. He then reversed his grip and stabbed the spell cultivator through the chest.
The spell cultivator tensed at the sudden pain and instinctively grabbed the de in his chest. His eyes were overflowing with the unwillingness to ept defeat.
He was a Ninth-Order cultivator. If he had died in a fight to the death, then he only had his own ipetence to me. But Lu Ye was just a Seventh-Order cultivator, and he was going to die before he could fire a single spell at the bastard. How could he possibly rest in peace like this?
The choice wasnt in his hands though. His back sank to the ground again, and a dot of red light flew out of the back of his hand. That was the end of a Ninth-Order spell cultivator.
Lu Ye pulled out his saber, but the fight wasnt over yet. He walked toward the spot where thebat cultivator had disappeared until suddenly, it was as if he had broken through a thin, invisible barrier. His surroundings distorted, and he appeared in a familiar-looking stone forest.
A fierce battle was happening here right now. Hao Qing was fighting thebat cultivator in melee while Hao Ren harried him from afar using his flying weapon. Their teamwork was impable, and thebat cultivator looked frustrated at his inability to defeat them.
The Hao brother and sister might be no match for thebat cultivator one on one, but it was the reverse in a two on one.
Not all cultivators shared the same strength despite being on the same cultivation level.
Earlier, Lu Ye had observed that thebat cultivators Spiritual Light was rather impure. It was much worse than Yuan Guangs at least.
Yuan Guang might have been able to defeat the Hao brother and sister on his own, but thisbat cultivator clearlycked the ability.
As if that wasnt bad enough, Lu Ye appeared out of nowhere and caused his heart to skip a beat.
Under any other circumstances, a single Seventh-Order cultivator would not have worried him in the slightest. But now, any factor could be the straw that broke the camels back.
There was another question that puzzled him: Where was his ally? Why hadnt he killed the Seventh-Order cultivator?
A fiery red light shot out of Lu Yes hand and flew straight toward thebat cultivator. At the same time, he tossed a Spirit Pill into his mouth.
He did not know when it became a habit, but he always ate a Spirit Pill or two afterbat even if he didnt use up much energy these days
The Sky Pir Sectbat cultivator was trapped in the Nine Realms Scroll and fighting thest battle of his life. He was weak enough that even the Hao brother and sister could take them out by themselves.
That was why Lu Ye had merely supported them with his flying weapon instead of joining the battle.
He was cooperating with the duo right now, so he couldntpete for the kill like he had back at the Chess Sea. A cooperative rtionship where only one side got all the benefits was fragile as a matter of course.
Metallic ngs rang incessantly as a pair of flying weapons flew rings around thebat cultivator. From time to time, they would slip past his defense and deal him a flesh wound. Hao Qing might be a girl, but her skill and bravery were equal to that of any man. She moved so quickly that her Spiritual Artifact was practically a blur to thebat cultivators eyes, and she was always able to strike a vital spot every time he was distracted.
A dozen or so breathster, blood was soaking through thebat cultivators clothes. Another twenty breathster, Hao Rens flying weapon pierced through the back of thebat cultivators head and ended the fight.
A red dot flew out of the body and entered the back of the ghost cultivators hand. Hao Qing also wasted no time in looting the body.
There was a strong sense of rejection, and the trio returned to the real world an instantter. There were now two bodies on the ground, and Yi Yi was standing not far away from them while holding the Nine Realms Scroll.
That was fun! Hahaha! Hao Ren guffawed.
The two of them had decided to cooperate with Lu Ye after observing his skills. Even so, they werent confident that their n would seed.
But now, they had sessfully assassinated a pair of Sky Pir Sect Ninth-Order cultivators without losing a single person. Their confidence was greatly bolstered to say the least.
Lets go!
Lu Ye grabbed Amber from his shoulder and tossed it on the ground. The tiger immediately transformed into its original form so that Lu Ye could climb onto its back. After he pulled Yi Yi up, Amber took off toward the ore vein.
As for the Hao brother and sister, they melted into the darkness and could not be perceived by normal senses. However, his sixth sense told him that they were somewhere close even though he couldnt see them.
They always knew that the bait was only going to work one time. The cultivators of Sky Pir Sect werent dumb after all. They had dispatched two Ninth-Order cultivators to hunt down the enemy, but not only did they fail, they were killed in action as well. There was no chance they wouldnt notice their deaths either. It only took a bit of effort for them to confirm their status. When that happened, the guards would surely message the Outpost and sound the rm.
Hao Ren had scouted the ce earlier. Three Ninth-Order cultivators were guarding the ore vein today, and two of them had already died to their ambush. Once he had taken out thest guard, no one else in the mines would have the strength to stop him. They would be able to wreck as much havoc as they wantedat least until reinforcements showed up, and they were forced to withdraw from the area.
That was why the n now was to kill thest Ninth-Order cultivator as soon as possible.
They sprinted at full speed until they arrived within 1.5 kilometers of the mines. After Lu Ye climbed off Ambers back, the tiger transformed back to a cat and jumped onto his shoulder once more. As for Yi Yi, she was already scouting ahead in search for that Ninth-Order cultivator.
The Hao brother and sister were standing by as well. As soon as Yi Yi had found thest Ninth-Order cultivator, they would cooperate with Lu Ye and kill the enemy in the shortest time possible.
Lu Ye took a step forward and inhaled. A Glyph soundlessly appeared on his body before concealing his presence in an instant including that of Ambers.
He had obtained Glyph: Conceal Presence at the same time as Burster.
There was a Spirit Talisman Paper called Breath Curbing that he had used to save Amber in the past. Before acquiring the Glyph, he often kept a few in his Storage Bag because of how useful they were in certain situations such as this one.
Of course, he had discarded them since obtaining Conceal Presence from the Tree of Glyphs.
Conceal Presence was great, but Lu Ye would have preferred to obtain a Glyph that could turn him invisible just like the ghost cultivators. He wouldve be as elusive as them.
Lu Ye raised his head and stared at the haphazardly arranged lights shining out of the mines for a moment. It immediately reminded him of the days he spent mining in Evil Moon Valley
Back then, he thought he would never have to mine another ore after escaping the valley and bing a cultivator. In reality, many cultivators did this for a living.
It wasnt just the Sky Pir Sect. The major sects had more or less the same arrangement. Outpost resources were one of the main ie of cultivators, and no one was willing to leave them unattended. They werent that wealthy after all.
Of course, some sects had considered hiring ordinary people to do the miningthere were plenty of them on the Spirit Creek Battlefield after allbut there were plenty of dangerous creatures lurking within an ore vein, and sometimes an enemy sect would attack a resource production site. Every time these incidents happened, with ordinary miners there would be a massive amount of casualties. As such, no one was willing to work for them no matter what they offered.
That was why the cultivators had no choice but to work the mines themselves.
These days everyone who fought on the Spirit Creek Battlefield be it the heirs of major sects, disciples of ns or even independent cultivators was an expert miner in their own right.
Everyones Storage Bags carried at least one mining pick and or other bizarre mining tools.
They were less than five hundred meters away from the mines when Lu Ye came to a sudden stop. An rm bell was ringing softly in his head. It felt as if he was targeted by someone.
Without hesitation, he channeled a bit of Spiritual Power into his right eye. A delicate Glyph quickly appeared in his pupil, transforming his vision in the blink of an eye.
The Glyph he had constructed in his eye was called Insight. It allowed him to see things that the naked eye couldnt see. The scenery in his Insight-boosted eye seemed almost illusory, and he could see ribbons of strange light that constantly twisted and changed forms all over the ce. They were the light of the World Spiritual Qi.
Insight allowed him to see the flow of Spiritual Qi and the exchange of Spiritual Power clearly.
His gaze swept the area until it locked on a spot to his left. The flow of Spiritual Qi in that area was strange in the sense that it was thicker than its surroundings. In fact, if he could give the anomalous blob an outline, it would look just like a human being!
The humanoid figure was rapidly closing the distance between him. They were in front of him in just the blink of an eye. At the same time, his senses suddenly screamed danger and caused all the hair on his body to stand on their end.
He immediately unsheathed the Invible and enhanced it with a Sharp Edge. He then shed at the anomalous blob.
There was a metallic ng as a dagger suddenly winked into existence, blocking the attack. The next moment, a person appeared out of thin air right in front of him.
He was a man of short stature and a small mustache. His Spiritual Light revealed him to be a Ninth-Order cultivator!
A Ninth-Order ghost cultivator! That exins why his ability is so strange! Is he thest Ninth-Order cultivator guarding this mine?
There was no time to think. Lu Ye immediately withdrew his saber and went in for a thrust.
Meanwhile, the ghost cultivator was clearly surprised by his failure. Not only had the Seventh-Order cultivator seen through his concealment with surprising ease, he had seized the initiative as well.
The sh had been incredibly powerful. He felt like his purlicue was about to split when it connected with his dagger. He hastily raised his Spiritual Artifact when Lu Ye acted to stab him with his saber. Then
On Lu Yes shoulder, Amber suddenly opened its mouth and let out a roar. It was so powerful that the air visibly twisted, and the shockwave struck the ghost cultivator point nk. He felt as if someone had struck his head with an invisible hammer, leaving him dizzy andpletely confused.
Chapter 245: Am I Dreaming?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 245: Am I Dreaming?
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Yi Yi had been growing by leaps and bounds as ofte, and Amber was right there with her. After all, her strength was directly tied to Ambers.
When Lu Ye was fighting Yuan Guang, Amber had stayed its handor rather, pawbecause Lu Ye wanted to confirm his own progress. That was why the tiger had waited until now to unleash one of its abilities.
Lu Ye had noticed that Amber possessed some unique abilities a long time ago. When he asked Yi Yi if the abilities were spells, Yi Yi had shot down the theory immediately.
As Amber continued to grow stronger, its unique abilities began to surface more and more. Yi Yi was right to say they werent spells. In Lu Yes opinion, they looked more like some sort of racial abilities that awakened with its bloodline.
Ambers roar could not physically harm the enemy, but it could impact the mind greatly. Having been caughtpletely off guard, the Ninth-Order ghost cultivator was stunned long enough for Lu Ye to stab the Invible into his chest even though he recovered quickly due to the power gap.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye wasnt able to pierce the ghost cultivatorpletely before pulling away from him. Otherwise, this battle would have been over already.
Lu Ye did not let up on the assault. He immediately rushed forward and rained attacks on the ghost cultivator like an unstoppable storm.
Metal nged against metal as the ghost cultivators expression slowly turned shocked and horrified. It was bad enough that the terrible force being transmitted through his hand was beyond his ability to handle, but the enemys attack speed was unbelievable for abat cultivator as well. In just a few exchanges, his grip was slippery with his own blood already.
Suddenly, a pair of killing intents erupted from his left and right. It was the Hao brother and sister finally making their move. They had notmunicated a word with each other beforeunching the surprise attack, but they had also been together since their first day cultivating. Naturally, their teamwork was on apletely different level.
The Sky Pir Sect ghost cultivator nched immediately. Lu Ye had attracted so much of his attention that it never crossed his mind that he might have an ally or two. Worse, they were ghost cultivators just like him.
As a ghost cultivator, he knew better than anyone how deadly the surprise attack of a ghost cultivator was. Without hesitation, he sank to the floor and channeled a great deal of Spiritual Power.
Pssh pssh! A pair of bone deep wounds appeared on the ghost cultivators body at the same time the Hao Ren and Hao Qing revealed themselves.
The ghost cultivator stumbled to the back, but Lu Ye wasnt going to give him the chance to recover his footing. His arms were too numb to block another blow either.
The Invible shed, and the ghost cultivators head flew through the air. Blood sprayed out of his headless neck like a fountain. That was the end of the battle. It had taken the trio less than ten breaths to y a Ninth-Order ghost cultivator!
Lu Ye looted his body before rushing toward the light source in front of him. The Hao brother and sister were right behind him.
Whats going on? Where did that animal roare from? A man suddenly walked out from one of the tunnels. They had probablye out to investigate Ambers earlier roar. Unfortunately, he ran straight into the trio.
You are The man didnt even have a chance to voice his puzzlement before the two ghost cultivators stabbed him in the torso, killing him instantly. Hao Qing grabbed the Storage Bag and continued running after Lu Ye, never stopping for even an instant.
The mining tunnels were well lit with torches even though it was nighttime. Every Sky Pir Sect cultivator they ran into was killed in short order.
Dozens of cultivators between Sixth to Eighth-Order worked these mines throughout the year, but therge majority of them wereposed of low level cultivators as a matter of course. As for Ninth-Order cultivators, they were too powerful and important to be used as miners, not to mention that there were only so many Ninth-Order cultivators even in the Inner Circle.
Since the three Ninth-Order cultivators supervising the ore vein were already dead, the chance they would encounter a threat they could not handle was extremely low. Practically no one could stop them until the reinforcements showed up.
Not only that, the three Ninth-Order cultivators had died so quickly they werent even able to inform theirrades about the threat. As a result, the cultivators working within the mines had no idea that death was upon them.
The trio had even split up at a crossroad to improve their killing efficiency.
Since they werent trying to hide themselves anymore, it was only a matter of time before the enemy discovered their handiwork. An incense stickter, a bloodcurdling scream pierced through the tunnels and rmed all nearby cultivators. Various messages were sent, and soon they received a most horrifying news.
Many of theirrades Battlefield Imprints had disappeared, meaning that these people were dead. As if that wasnt bad enough, the Battlefield Imprints of the three Ninth-Order cultivators guarding this ce had vanished as well.
Panic began spreading through the ranks. All survivors began escaping toward the entrances while informing the Outpost about the attack.
At the Outpost, the Legate and the prolegate of the Sky Pr Sect, Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao stepped out of their training chambers with rmed looks on their faces. When they met up and discussed the incident, they realized that the situation was even worse than they had imagined.
They hadnt just lost the three Ninth-Order cultivators guarding the ore vein. Yuan Guang had died without a peep as well
While the Battlefield Imprint allowed fellow cultivators to check each others status, it wasnt like they were going through their list of contacts all the time. Usually, discovery was made when someone attempted to contact the person to no avail. That was why Yuan Guangs death was discovered sote.
This has to be the handiwork of Silverlight Ind! Yu Hongbao said through gritted teeth.
It was a logical assumption. Who else had the motivation and the strength to kill so many cultivators including three Ninth-Order cultivators in such a short time?
There was one thing he couldnt figure out though: why had none of the Ninth-Order cultivatorseven Yuan Guangsent a message before they died?
Silverlight Ind must have dispatched a considerablyrge force to attack them. At least one of the two bastardsLuo Fu or Qi Shimust be present as well.
Should we send reinforcements to the ore vein now, Brother Zou?
No. We do not know what is going on yet.
Zou Qi wanted to rescue hisrades just as much as him, but all they knew about the situation was that someone was attacking the mines. Assuming that Silverlight Ind was invading their territory with an army, setting out carelessly would allow the enemy to catch them off guard.
Zou Qi looked to the ck forest just outside the Outpost. It felt as if it was hiding an unimaginable amount of danger
Both the Sky Pir Sect and Silverlight Ind had attacked a key location with the goal of killing the enemys reinforcements before. They were neighbors for many years, and they knew each other like the back of their hands.
Send word to all disciples at the mines to escape as best they can. It is up to the Heavens whether theyll survive the night!
Zou Qi arrived at a decision quickly.
Yu Hongbao loathed the decision but understood that it was their only option. While sending the messages, they gathered every cultivator in the Outpost in one ce and waited for the sun to rise.
The only way they could be sure there wasnt an ambush lying in wait for them was to wait until daytime.
At the same time, at the Silverlight Ind Outpost several hundred kilometers away from the Sky Pir Sect, Luo Fu and Qi Shi were ying Go with each other. They had no idea that they were being med for a terrible crime they did notmit.
The Hao brother and sister had messaged Luo Fu about their decision after agreeing to apany Lu Ye on his mission, and the man was beyond shocked when he learned that the Seventh-Order cultivator had single handedly killed Yuan Guang.
He was a Ninth-Order cultivator himself, but he dared not say that he could defeat the man for sure, much less kill him in singlebat. He might have fallen from grace since the Chess Sea fiasco, but he was a former prolegate.
With that in mind, how on earth had a Seventh-Order cultivator aplished what he couldnt aplish? Even if he assumed that Lu Yes victory wasrgely thanks to the Ward Scroll, it was still a ridiculous feat.
To be honest, Luo Fu did not approve of Hao Rens decision to join Lu Ye on his bravado. Causing havoc in enemy territory was risky business after all. In the end though, he did not stop them because both Hao Ren and Hao Qing were ghost cultivators; experts in the art of concealment and escape.
Plus, he was well aware of their strength. If they worked together, they could definitely take on an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator.
At first, he thought that Lu Yi Yes mission to attack the Sky Pir Sects ore vein was destined to end in failure. Depending on how poorly it went, they might even have to shake off a tail or two. He had already messaged Hao Ren to extend Lu Yi Ye an invitation to their Outpost.
It was partially to give face to Lu Yi Ye, and to sate his curiosity regarding some very strange rumors he had heard through the grapevine.
Thetest messages from Hao Ren though he felt as if someone had taken a hammer to his head.
Am I dreaming, or did themon sense of the Cultivation World change overnight?
How did it go? Qi Shi asked while setting a stone on the board.
Im not sure youll believe me even if I told you
Seriously, it was so ridiculous that it was more believable that Hao Ren had been captured by the enemy and was forced to divulge false intel. However, he knew the man well enough to know that he would never do such a thing.
Qi Shi frowned. Are they in danger?
Luo Fu shook his head and uttered three names.
Qi Shi asked, Those are the names of the three Ninth-Order cultivators of the Sky Pir Sect, right?
Yes.
Are they pursuing Hao Ren and Lu Yi Ye?
No, theyre dead! Not only that, Hao Ren, Hao Qing and Lu Yi Ye are currently inside the Sky Pir Sects mines and going on a killing spree right now! Hao Ren even said theyve killed enough enemies to make a river of blood!
Bullshit! Qi Shi could not stop himself.
I thought he was bullshitting me too, so I messaged Hao Qing to confirm this. She told me the same thing. Luo Fu smiled wryly.
Qi Shis eyes widened like saucers. Youre telling me that they conquered the Sky Pir Sects ore vein?
It certainly sounds like it.
Thats just impossible! Qi Shi eximed while sending Hao Qing a message.
A whileter, he received more or less the same response Luo Fu had received a while ago. Suddenly, he understood why his fellow cultivator had looked like he was doubting the reality he was living in a while ago. A few secondster, he asked uncertainly, Do you think they were captured, or?
He had clearly arrived at the same assumption as Luo Fu. Just as quickly, he shook his head and added, No, theyre more likely to kill themselves than betray the sect.
That was what he said, but he still couldnt quite believe that four cultivators had conquered an entire ore vein.
You know, Sky Pir Sect must be thinking that its our handiwork. Qi Shi suddenly realized. Theyre definitely going to dispatch a squad to hunt down the Haos and Lu Yi Ye as well.
Luo Fu nodded. We can use this!
Qi Shi understood what his colleague meant without needing to hear the words. He immediately dropped the stone in his hand and dered, Ill assemble the men right away!
A momentter, several hundred cultivators had gathered in front of the Silverlight Inds Sanctum of Providence. Their cultivation level was between Sixth to Ninth-Order, and therge majority of them were sect disciples. There were also associates and cultivators who hailed from allied sects. Regardless, they all had to obey the orders of Silverlight Ind until the day they left the sect.
No one knew why the Legate and the prolegate had summoned them in the middle of the night, but they had a feeling that it was something big. Instead of fear, excitement flooded their veins and made them restless. Large-scale operations like this were very dangerous, but it was also a great opportunity to earn Contribution Points.
It was an irondw that the higher the cultivation level, the greater the need for Contribution Points.
A whileter, Luo Fu had tossed out a ship big enough to carry several hundred people at a time. They all boarded the ship and together, lifted it into the air and flew it toward the Sky Pir Sects Outpost.
Chapter 246: Great Serpent
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 246: Great Serpent
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the mines, Lu Ye received a message from Hao Ren. Its time to leave, Brother Yi Ye!
The survivors of the mines had been alerted of their deeds, and word of their killing spree must have reached the Outpost already. Since the ore vein was only fifteen kilometers away from the Outpost, reinforcements could arrive very, very quickly. If they did not leave when they still could, they would quickly find themselves with their backs against the wall.
Lu Ye knew it was unwise to linger for long as well, so he did not hesitate to leave the moment he received the message. He followed Yi Yi out of a mining entrance.
The mine had a ton of entrances mainly to facilitate escape. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, mining was a dangerous task. Without enough means of escape, it was all too easy to be cornered by a group of hostile cultivators or creatures. Barring exceptional circumstances, most mines were built with a ton of exits.
Lu Ye did not mind this of course. He liked that he did not have to backtrack the way he came.
Not long after he ran out of the mines, he heard what sounded like a bird cry from the nearby forest. He immediately dropped Amber on the ground, climbed onto its back, and rode it toward the bird cry.
A momentter, he met up with the Hao brother and sister and ran away with everything they had.
Everyone was expecting to be pursued after kicking the hos nest, and Lu Ye even had a number of backup ns in mind. If the pursuers turned out to be less than expected, then turning back and surprising their pursuers was an option. If it was the other way around, then he would split up from the Hao brother and sister and continue his escape using Wings. Wings was fast enough that the ordinary flying Spirit Artifact could not hope to catch up, and he could draw the enemy away from the ghost cultivators.
Things did not go as they had expected, however. After running for a while, they quickly discovered that no one was pursuing them at all. They were astonished and confused as a matter of course.
Two hourster, the three cultivators and a tiger came to a stop on a small hill. They decided to cut their escape short since no one came after them.
It was at this moment Hao Ren said, I think we made a mistake, Brother Yi Ye.
What?
I dont think Sky Pir Sect will being after us.
He wasmunicating with Luo Fu just now, and this was the conclusion the man had arrived at.
Exin.
We killed three of their Ninth-Order cultivators and invaded their ore vein, right? From the Sky Pir Sects point of view, it must have looked like arge group of cultivators had decided to invade them. They wouldnt think it was done by the three of us because the Ninth-Order cultivators died before they even managed to send out a message. Add to the fact that its the dead of night right now, of course they wouldnt dare to dispatch reinforcements willy-nilly. They must be holing up in their Outpost right now.
Lu Ye immediately realized that Hao Rens deduction might very well be the truth. As he said, Sky Pir Sect had no idea what was going on except that the three Ninth-Order cultivators guarding the ore vein were dead, and the mines were conquered by an enemy force. Add to that the fact that it was midnight, it made sense that they wouldnt dare to retake the ore vein.
Since when did you be so smart, brother? Hao Qing nced at her brother in astonishment.
Hao Ren simply shot her a re and ignored her. He wasnt going to tell her that it was Brother Luo Fu who told him all this.
That said, thats no reason to let down our guard. At the very least, the Sky PIr Sect will surely scout out the ore vein when dawnes. Theyll probably find out the truth then.
Heavens only know how they would feel when they realized that the massive force that attacked the ore vein was really just a couple of cultivators
Meanwhile, Luo Fu was wearing a strange look after he ended his conversation with Hao Ren. It was because he found out that there was nothing he could do.
For fucks sake, I cannot believe the Sky Pir Sect didnt send anyone to retake their mines. What should I do? Theres no way I can order the ship to turn around after dragging everyone out of the Outpost, can I? God dammit.
An incense stickter, the Hao brother and sister had led him to a tranquilke.
The night wind swept across the area and caused theke water to ripple a little. It felt as if the very air had be fresher.
They were rxing after confirming that the Sky Pir Sect had not sent anyone after them. The main reason they came to theke was because Hao Qing was covered with blood after their operation, and she wanted to take a moment to clean herself. Lu Ye had no problems with that.
Hao Ren started a fire and started barbecuing arge chunk of animal meat. Judging from his technique, he was very skilled in the art.
While resting, Lu Ye nced at theke where Hao Qing was standing. The girl had muttered something he couldnt hear before throwing something huge into theke, causing a loud ssh.
Sensing Lu Yes puzzlement, Hao Ren exined, It is said that there is a Great Serpent who lives in thiske, and it has a taste for bloody meat. It usually doesnt hurt people though, so cultivators who wish to collect water from theke or rest nearby throw some bloody meat into theke as an offering.
A Great Serpent?
Ive never seen it myself, so dont ask me what it looks like. I imagine that its just a long, fairly huge snake.
Lu Ye and Amber immediately recalled the tender, sweet flesh of snake meat and felt a pang of hunger.
Hao Ren chuckled. There are all kinds of legends and rumors in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and Heavens know what is real and what isnt. As far as I know, no one has ever seen the Great Serpent, so its probably just another baseless rumor.
A whileter, Hao Qing finished cleaning herself and rejoined the group. Her hair was wet with water. It so happened Hao Ren had just finished barbecuing the meat, so they immediately split the food and chowed down heartily.
It had been a busy day and night, and everyone was feeling tired and sleepy. Lu Ye and the Hao brother and sister meditated to regain their strength while Yi Yi kept watch.
Lu Ye inspected his Spiritual Points in the middle of his cultivation. More than half a month ago, he had unlocked a hundred and thirty five Spiritual Points. Now, he only needed to unlock one more to reach one hundred and forty four Spiritual Points and reach the Eighth-Order.
Entering a new cultivation level wasnt always a good thing. For starters, killing Yuan Guang hadted him twenty seven Contribution Points. Had he killed the man as an Eighth-Order cultivator, he wouldve earned just eighteen Contribution Points.
This was one of the reasons he hade to the Inner Circle before cultivating to the Eighth-Order. Yes, his cultivation level was a little weak for the Inner Circle, but those sweet, sweet Contribution Points were more than worth the trouble.
Next, Lu Ye grabbed the Storage Bags he had looted and began unlocking them one by one.
There was a limit to how many Storage Bags he could carry on his and Ambers person. Thankfully, Lady Yuns teaching had greatly improved his lockpicking skills. These days, it only took him a small amount of time to unlock a single Storage Bag.
He was just getting into it when the cat-sized Amber leaped onto his legs and bumped his stomach with its head. There was only one thing that caused Amber to act like this.
Lu Ye rolled his eyes a bit before producing the dragon scale. Amber immediately went over and sucked in a visible line of red mist into its stomach.
As usual, its limbs stiffened, and it copsed sideways like a frozen popsicle. At the same time, faint red light mingled with its golden mutant qi.
Since he obtained the dragon scale from the Dragon Spring of One Hundred Peaks, Amber would inhale the red mist it contained from time to time. Lu Ye had also installed it in his Circle of Boon when cultivating in his own private training chamber. It had been a long time since he started using the dragon scale, but the red mist it contained had barely decreased, showing just how much it contained.
His senior sister, Shui Yuan had tried researching the dragon scale before, but she was unable to identify what it was. She only knew that there was a great secret beneath the Dragon Spring.
Lu Ye nned to check the Dragon Spring again when he was stronger. He still remembered the massive pair of red pupils that appeared in his mind when he was tempering his body in the Dragon Spring to this day.
Lu Ye resumed his lockpicking practice after putting away the dragon scale.
Suddenly, ripples began appearing on theke even though the air waspletely calm. In fact, it was rippling outward from the center of theke. The ripples grew more and more violent until finally, a single horn emerged above the surface of the water. What looked like a massive shadow slithered soundlessly beneath the waters.
Lu Ye!
Yi Yi called out in a soft voice. Noticing that her voice didnt sound right, he quickly looked around only toe face to face with a pair of green eyes. Each pupil was the size of a washbasin, so it was incredibly obvious even under the cover of the night.
An unspeakable sense of terror and crisis gripped Lu Ye when he met those eyes. When he focused outward, he realized that the owner of the eyes was what looked like a ridiculouslyrge snake. Its head was absolutely massive, and it had a meaty horn at the center of its forehead. Its body was covered in densely packed scales, and there were a pair of bumps to the left and right of its abdomen. It looked like something was going to grow out of those bumps.
There was no way to tell how long it was since over half of its body was submerged beneath theke. It was at least as thick as a giant bathtub, however.
Lu Ye dared not move a muscle when their eyes met. It was because he could tell that the creature before him was probably on the same level as Gray. They were both existences who had reached the absolute limit the Spirit Creek Battlefield could tolerate, and not even champions like Feng Yue or Li Baxian could defeat them singlehandedly.
The good news was that the giant snake only stared at him instead of attacking him immediately. Heavens only know why it was staring at him though.
Brother Hao. Brother Hao!
Lu Ye kept his voice low as he called out to Hao Ren.
At this point, Hao Ren still had no idea what was going on. He responded normally, What is it?
What did you say was living in theke again?
The GreatSERPENT! Hao Ren screamed out thest word when he turned around and met the gigantic pair of pupils.
His sister waspletely caught off guard by his scream and tried to rise to her feet, but he realized his mistake and was able to push her down in time. She maintained an awkward one knee, half-kneeling position as her eyes widened at the sight of the Great Serpent.
Cold sweat slowly dripped down their foreheads. The atmosphere grew fearful and heavy.
No one dared to move because they could sense how powerful the Great Serpent was. Provoking it was only going to deny them the privilege of tomorrows sun for eternity.
I thought you said it was just a baseless rumor, Brother Hao?
Lu Ye did not know whether to cry orugh at his luck. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Hao Ren replied in a shivering voice, I believed it was a baseless rumor. Hao Qing and I have visited thiske several times and never seen it.
What do we do? And why does it keep staring at me?
Let me think. Hao Ren sucked in a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. What was I saying earlier? Right, it loves bloody meat. Maybe its drawn by our earlier offering and wants more? Give me a second to offer it some meat. No one moves except me, get it?
He slowly rose to his feet as he said this.
Meanwhile, Lu Yes concentration had hit its peak. The second the Great Serpent moved in a threatening manner, he was going to take to the sky and escape.
The reason he hadnt fled already was because he didnt want to risk provoking its ire. He might be able to escape the Great Serpent, but the Hao brother and sister would have to suffer its wrath.
Of course, flying away was his only option if the Great Serpent truly was malicious.
Chapter 247: Sky Pillar Sect Is Out Of Luck Today
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 247: Sky Pir Sect Is Out Of Luck Today
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Channeling courage into his body, Hao Ren slowly rose to his feet and pulled out arge chunk of animal meat from his Storage Bag. Practically every cultivator would keep some food in their Storage Bag just in case.
He raised the meat and tossed it in the direction of the Great Serpent, but contrary to his expectations, the creature ignored him and the meatpletely. He tried a couple more times to no avail.
Its no use, Brother Yi Ye said Hao Ren while sweat dripped down his head.
Lu Ye exhaled once before saying, You should leave. Its been watching me since the beginning. Unless Im mistaken, it shouldnt bother you if you leave.
What about you?
I have my ways.
Hao Ren hesitated for a good while before he finally nodded. Okay. Take care, Brother Yi Ye.
After exchanging a nce with Hao Qing, the two ghost cultivators began backing off bit by bit.
As it turned out, Lu Yes prediction was spot on. Forget bothering them, the Great Serpent hadnt looked at them even once. The Hao brother and sister were annoyed yet relieved they did not matter to the Great Serpent one bit.
When they were around three hundred or so meters away from the area, they finally vanished into thin air.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was doing his best to figure out what about him had caught the Great Serpents attention.
ording to Hao Ren, he and his sister had passed by theke multiple times and never encountered the Great Serpent. He, on the other hand, caught its attention right from the get go. He couldnt chalk it up as bad luck either, since it wouldnt exin why it was so fixated on him.
Lu Ye carefully recalled everything he had done since arriving at thiske. Then, he grabbed the still stiffened Amber by its leg and held it in front of himself.
For the first time, the Great Serpents eyes moved. Its gaze was following Amber.
Just in case, he tried moving Amber to another side and got the same response.
He could now confirm that the Great Serpent wasnt looking at him, but Amber. The reason he made an error in judgment just now was because the creatures eyes were so big that he couldnt be sure.
There was a chance the Great Serpent was interested in Amber because it was a Mutant, but Lu Ye thought that the red mist it consumed a while ago was the real reason.
If it was simply interested in Amber, it wouldve appeared as soon as Lu Yes group arrived at theke, if not sooner. In reality, it had appeared only after Amber had consumed the red mist of the dragon scale. In other words, it had been attracted by the dragon scale he took out earlier.
Dragons and serpents were thought to share simr characteristics, and the Great Serpent was probably some sort of serpentine Spirit Beast. That was why the dragon scales red mist had attracted it.
He still couldnt be one hundred percent sure though. Thankfully, there was one way to verify this immediately.
Yi Yi.
Mhm.
Take it and slip the underground!
Right after he said this, Lu Ye pulled the dragon scale out of his Storage Bag and tossed it into Yi Yis hands. At the same time, a pair of fiery wings spread behind his back and took him to the sky.
Yi Yi dove into the underground immediately after she caught the dragon scale, and not a moment too soon. Almost immediately after Lu Ye had taken to the sky, the massive serpent had mmed its head into the spot Yi Yi was standing just a moment ago. The impact was so great that it left a giant pit on the ground, and the shockwave pushed Lu Ye further away from the Great Serpent. It was a good thing of course.
Lu Ye did not dare to look behind him until he was at least three hundred meters above the ground. He immediately saw a gigantic snake striking the ground again and again in an attempt to dig out the hiding Yi Yi.
Spirit Beast energy washed through the area, and his eardrums buzzed unpleasantly at the continuous impact. Each time the Great Serpent struck, the ground would shake like an earthquake. It only took a moment for it to beat out a crater that was at least fifty meters wide and dozens of meters deep.
I knew it! Lu Ye thought when he saw this. Its definitely attracted by the dragon scale!
Regardless of the origin of the dragon scale, it must be very beneficial to the Great Serpent. It would not have been drawn out into the open otherwise.
It had reached the peak of its growth a long time ago. That was why it spent most of its time in theke these days. A sophist would im the Great Serpent was enjoying the retirement life because it had already reached the pinnacle. A realist would say it was drifting aimlessly because it literally could not grow stronger no matter how hard it cultivated.
It was a different story if it could obtain the dragon scale, however. It was a Serpent because it was one step away from bing a Wyrm, and its instinct was telling it that the dragon scale was the key to achieving that! Once it had transformed into a Wyrm, It would be able to break through the Heavens confinement and escape this eternal prison once and for all!
Not far away, the Hao brother and sister gulped as they watched the Great Serpent hammering the ground like it had gone crazy. They had no idea what Lu Ye had done to piss it off so much.
The good news was that they could clearly see Lu Ye in the sky. Whatever he had done, he was not the target of the Great Serpents ire for the moment.
Lu Ye was still watching the Great Serpent from the sky and wondering his next move. He wasnt worried about Yi Yi because of her ability to roam the underground unhindered. No matter how powerful the Great Serpent was, it would never be able to get to her unless it had the same ability, which it clearly didnt.
Now, all they needed to do was to shake off their tail, which was pretty easy actually. The only way the creature could follow the dragon scale was by sensing the red mist, meaning that all they needed to do was to iste the dragon scale, a.k.a hiding it in a Storage Bag. There was no easier and faster way of doing it.
Yi Yi did as she was told immediately after he sent her a message through the Battlefield Imprint. As if on cue, the Great Serpent hammered the crater harder than ever before.
Momentster, when it could no longer perceive the dragon scale no matter what it tried, the Great Serpent finally turned around and slithered back to theke. It was clear from its flicking tongue and the unstable energy around its body that it was anything but calm.
The Great Serpent was just about to reenter theke when suddenly, an idea struck Lu Yes mind like a lightning bolt: what would happen if he lured the Great Serpent to the Outpost?
This creature was obviously at the same level as Gray. If his n worked, Sky Pir Sects cultivators would be in for the most exciting night of their lives.
Originally, Lu Ye hade to the Inner Circle with the aim of honing his own strength and taking revenge against all the sects who had wronged him during the Battle of Goldentip. He was going to kill as many Sky Pir Sect cultivators as he could without putting himself at risk.
With thistest revtion perhaps he could dream a little bigger?
Of course, it all hinged on whether he could lure the Great Serpent to the Outpost.
Yi Yi, take out the dragon scale and move in this direction! Lu Ye messaged.
Got it. Yi Yi did not bother with the questions. She simply did as she was told and took out the dragon scale.
Beside theke, the Great Serpents snout was inches away from the water when it sensed the dragon scale once more. Body stiffening like it had been struck by a lightning bolt, it immediately turned in the direction Yi Yi was running and gave chase. It was surprisingly nimble despite being over sixty meters long. His first thought was that even Amber could not outrun the creature at full speed, much less Yi Yi.
So far, it definitely looked like the Great Serpent could sense the red mist of the dragon scale. It was about what he expected from the ridiculously powerful Spirit Beast.
The snake-and-ghost chase went on for about an hour or so. Then, the Great Serpent suddenly stopped and started hammering the ground once more. It was because Lu Ye had ordered Yi Yi to travel deeper into the ground.
The reason he ordered this was because he wanted to know the range of the Great Serpents senses. This was the only way since Yi Yi could not outrun it.
That said, Yi Yis ability to traverse the underground unhindered wasnt limitless. The deeper she traveled into the underground, the greater the interference of the omnipresent underground force field. It was simr to the force field of a Yuan Metal in the sense that it could shackle ones Spiritual Power. Therefore, the deeper she traveled, the less of her spiritual Power she could use. If she reached a point where her Spiritual Power was fully shackled, then she would be trapped in the underground for eternity.
Three hundred meters below surface level was the deepest Yi Yi could travel into the underground right now. At that depth, over half of her Spiritual Power was unusable. To go any deeper than that was to risk permanent entrapmentnot death since was a ghostwhich was a fate literally worse than death.
A momentter, Yi Yi messaged, How is it?
Its enough.
Despite having traveled three hundred meters into the ground, the Great Serpent was still hammering away like no tomorrow. It had already dug out a giant crater that was about forty meters deep. At this rate, assuming Yi Yi stayed exactly where she was, the Great Serpent would be able to dig her out in less than two hours.
Its time to move. Ill guide you where you need to go, Lu Ye messaged again.
Mhm.
Very soon, the Great Serpent began moving in a certain direction once more. Wherever it went, trees were crushed like toothpicks, and the ground was carved inward like butter.
Lu Ye corrected Yi Yis direction a couple more times until she was heading exactly where she needed to go. Then, he dropped back to the ground, grabbed Amberit had recovered by this pointand dropped it on the ground.
The Hao brother and sister ran out of the nearby trees with confused looks on their faces.
Whats going on, Brother Yi Ye? Is Sister Yi Yi okay?
Lu Ye climbed onto Ambers back and answered, Dont worry, Yi Yi is perfectly safe right now. As for whats going on lets just say that the Sky Pir Sect is out of luck today.
Sky Pir Sect is out of luck? At first, Hao Ren could not make heads or tails of the answer. Then, he nced at the direction the Great Serpent was headed to and eximed in realization, Is it heading toward the Outpost?
Unless Im gravely mistaken, yes!
But why?
Who knows? Maybe its feeling under the weather and wants to go on a killing spree to relieve itself? Anyway, this is where we part ways, Brother Hao, Sister Hao. Be seeing you.
Amber took off after the Great Serpent after he said this, leaving behind a pair of very confused siblings.
Lu Ye was certain that they could lure the Great Serpent all the way to the Outpost considering how attracted it was to the red mist within dragon scale. Not only that, the Outpost must be overflowing with people after he and the Hao siblings had conquered their ore vein.
There was still some time before the sun rose, so the Sky Pir Sect would not dare to send anyone away from the Outpost. They would wait until the sun rose before making a move.
They might be ready for a sudden invasion, but Lu Ye would bet that a Serpent was thest thing they expected to see!
He could not wait to see the shock and horror on their faces already.
Of course, Lu Ye had no idea if the Great Serpent was powerful enough to break through the Outposts Grand Defensive Ward. Since he was the one who started this mess, it was his responsibility to see it through.
He did not invite the Hao brother and sister this time because he could imagine that the situation was going to be pure chaos. They might be a minor realm higher than him, but he wasnt going to risk their lives just to improve his chances of sess a little more.
Yes, parting ways then was the best oue for both of them. In the end, they were just strangers who ran into one another by happenstance.
It was fine even if the Great Serpent failed to breach the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward. Casualties were guaranteed to ur as long as they shed against one another. Worst case scenario, he still got to enjoy a good show.
Chapter 248: Attack of the Great Serpent
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 248: Attack of the Great Serpent
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Hao Ren was feeling quite confused as he stared nkly in the direction Lu Ye had disappeared. Things were happening so quickly that his mind couldnt quite catch up to it.
Hao Qings confusion was even worse. Why would the Great Serpent go to the Sky Pir Sects Outpost if its unhappy, brother?
Maybe someone from Sky Pir Sect provoked it in the past.
I see! Hao Qing nodded in realization.
You actually believed that? Hao Ren said in a pained voice, Isnt it obvious? Brother Yi Yes the one luring the Great Serpent to the Outpost. It has absolutely nothing to do with its feelings, my foolish sister.
Shock and disbelief filled her face. But how did he do it?
Why do you think I would know that? Hao Ren thought to himself. He was certain it was Lu Yi Yes handiwork though. Why else would the Great Serpent choose today of all days to actpletely unlike its normal self?
He hurriedly messaged Luo Fu, The Great Serpent has left itsir. It looks like Lu Yi Ye is luring it toward the Outpost.
On the ship Spirit Artifact where hundreds of cultivators were gathered, Luo Fu was thinking if he should stay on course and return home. At first, he thought the Sky Pir Sect would definitely make a move in response to the attack on their ore vein. He hadnt expected them to do nothing at all and hole up in their Outpost. This put him between a rock and a hard ce.
He had pulled several hundred people away from their work for this with the expectation to score something big. That the Sky Pir Sect had given him no room to exploit annoyed him greatly to say the least.
It would be all for naught if he went back now, but it wasnt like they could do anything if he chose to stay either. Once the sky brightened, the Sky Pir Sect would definitely send someone to investigate the ore vein. However, it would also reveal them to their scouts. All the Sky Pir Sect needed to do was then to return to their Outpost and hole up some more, effectively wasting his time.
Luo Fu was still struggling when he received the message from Hao Ren. His expression grew increasingly astonished as he read its content. He recognized every word on the message, but for some reason he just couldnt make sense of them when hebined them together.
For starters, what did Hao Ren mean by The Great Serpent has left itsir? He had thought that the Great Serpent was just a myth, so how could it exist to do anything, much less be lured to the Sky Pir Sects Outpost by Lu Yi Ye?
This has to be a trick.
He thought for a second before messaging, Tell me the truth, Brother Hao. Are you being held hostage by the Sky Pir Sect right now?
I am telling the truth, Brother Luo! I didnt believe it myself until I saw the creature, but the Great Serpent is around sixty meters long and as thick as a bathtub. Its eyes look like a pair of giantnterns, and it has a meaty horn on its forehead. Its seriously fearsome.
I see. Hao Qings the one whos being held hostage?
Beside theke, Hao Ren grimaced like he just ate something sour. He thought for a moment before messaging again, Hao Ren, disciple of Silverlight Ind and my sister, Hao Qing swears that we are not being held hostage by the Sky Pir Sect. May the Heavens strike me down where I stand if a single word of what Ive told you is false!
Luo Fu waited for a few seconds before replying to the message, You still alive?
Please believe me, Brother Luo!
I believe you.
How could he not? Hao Ren literally swore a Heavenly Oath and lived. This meant that the mythical beast was real, and it really had been lured to the Sky Pir Sects Outpost by Lu Yi Ye. This was an opportunity straight from the Heavens themselves!
On the deck, Luo Fu announced with renewed spirit, Full speed ahead!
The ship that had been crawling forward at a snails pace rumbled visibly. Then, it sped toward the Sky Pir Sects Outpost while shrouded by rich Spiritual Light.
At the Sky Pir Sects Outpost, hundreds of murderous cultivators had been assembled at the square in front of the Sanctum of Providence. They were led by the Legate Zou Qi and the prolegate Yu Hongbao.
Right now, a couple of pale-faced cultivators were giving them a report of their earlier experience.
They were survivors who managed to survive Lu Ye and the Hao brother and sisters killing spree and escape to the Outpost. Although the trio was positively unstoppable, the mines were built with an excessive amount of exits. They werent trying to conceal their presence either, so of course some Sky Pir Sect cultivators managed to escape unscathed.
Their report was mostly useless though. These people had survived because they had had the fortune of not running into Lu Ye and the Hao siblings. All they knew was that the ore vein was attacked, and a ton of people had already died by the time they found out. They had no idea who had attacked them or how many attackers were present. All they knew was that the number of attackers was small.
Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao interrogated them thoroughly but were unable to dig out much useful information. In the end, they had no choice but to release them back to their ranks.
What are your thoughts? Zou Qi looked at Yu Hongbao.
Im surprised that none of these people were ambushed on the way back to the Outpost. Either there is no ambush outside the Outpost, or the ambushers have a huge appetite.
Zou Qi nodded in agreement.
At least a dozen cultivators had managed to escape the mines and return to the Outpost, and not a single person had been ambushed along the way. This wouldve been impossible if the enemy hadid in ambush at the mine entrances. So either there was no ambush at all, or the enemy was ying the long game.
It needed not be said what the right course of action was. They had to remain in the Outpost until dawn broke. Worst case scenario, they were scared but safe for an entire night. It was much better than setting out in the dark and potentially incurring huge casualties.
Zou Qi said as much while ncing at the dark forest that seemed to be teeming with unknown dangers, Lets wait. Its already Mao Shi (5-7 am). Dawn should be breaking any moment now!
Their caution might seem excessive from an outsiders perspective, but it was perfectly natural from their perspective. It was because the three Ninth-Order cultivators guarding the ore vein had died without being able to send a message. Even Brother Yuan Guang had died without a peep.
As a result, they sorely misjudged the situation and thought that factions hostile toward the Sky Pir Sect had attacked them with arge force. Otherwise, they couldnt have lost four Ninth-Order cultivators in a day without even knowing how. Who knows, it could be that the nearby two Grand Sky Coalition factions had joined forces.
While the Sky Pir Sect was battling wits with the air, a danger far greater than anything they couldve imagined was heading straight toward them. Yi Yi was luring the Great Serpent straight toward the Outpost, and Lu Ye was following behind the Spirit Beast on Amber.
Time passed bit by bit. The darkness began to lift as the first rays of dawn shone from the horizon.
As if on cue, the hundreds of Sky Pir Sect cultivators waiting at the square tensed up. They were just waiting for Zou Qi to give the order to exit the Outpost and give the ambushers a taste of vengeance.
Did you feel that?
Zou Qi frowned all of a sudden. The ground was shaking slightly, and he could hear a strange rumbling noise from somewhere.
Yu Hongbao immediately dropped to his knees and pressed his ears against the floor. His expression grew sterner the longer he listened. Something huge is moving toward us rapidly!
The Great Serpent! Zou Qi uttered with a tremor in his voice.
What? Yu Hongbao nced at his Legate and noticed that he was staring at a point in the distance with throbbing eyelids.
When he hurriedly got back to his feet and took a look, he too felt his mind nking out in an instant.
Every cultivator in the Sky Pir Sects Outpost was frozen right now. It was because they saw a massive Serpent at least sixty meters long slithering across the forest straight toward them.
The Great Serpent lived within the Sky Pir Sects territory, so they knew the creature better than most. Most outsiders thought that the Great Serpent was just a baseless rumor, but they knew that the creature actually existed. Decades ago, the senior cultivators of the Sky Pir Sect had witnessed it flicking its tongue at the moon and absorbing its essence with their own eyes.
Of course, the Sky Pir Sect had thought to tame the fearsome beast and transform it into their guardian, but they had never seeded. They gave up after making a couple of attempts to no avail.
To say that none of them was expecting the Great Serpent to appear before them would be an understatement. Not only that, it was clearly hostile for some reason!
What is going on here?
The first thought that entered Zou Qis mind was that it was the work of the Silverlight Ind. He rejected the idea almost as quickly as it came, however. If they were capable of this, they wouldnt wait until now to smash their sect to bits.
There was no time to think why the mythical creature who had not shown itself for the past decade had suddenly left theke where it resided. He shouted for the disciples to increase the power of the Grand Defensive Ward while praying that the massive beast was just passing through the area.
Unfortunately, his prayers proved to be useless. Not only did the Great Serpent not alter its course one bit, it had mmed head first into their Grand Defensive Ward at high speed.
BOOM
There was a terrible noise as a shockwave visibly spread out from the point of impact toward its surroundings. The light of the Grand Defensive Ward also dimmed and rippled as if it would wink out at any moment.
Thankfully for them, the Grand Defensive Ward regained its luster in just a short time. It was because the cultivators were tweaking its configurations as quickly as they could.
In the Outpost, the cultivators of Sky Pir Sect felt as if the Great Serpent had mmed not against the Grand Defensive Ward, but their hearts. A good number of them had even crouched down on instinct. The impact had been so terrible that some of the buildings within the Outpost were shaking a little.
Outside the Grand Defensive Ward, the Great Serpent raised over half of its massive body into the air, flicked its tongue, and stared emotionlessly at the panicked faces of the cultivators with its green pupils.
It then leaned a little to the back like a drawn bow.
Zou Qi knew it was bad the second he saw the Great Serpents posture. He was right. Itunched forward like a ballista and struck the Grand Defensive Ward once more.
BOOM
The world shook again, and the impact was worse than the first. It was because the Great Serpent was riding the momentum and not really aiming to breach the Grand Defensive Ward at the beginning. Now, it was. The force behind the two strikes were different as a matter of course.
The Grand Defensive Ward dimmed again before returning to full strength.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The shattering impact kept happening again and again. If the people in the Outpost werent panicking before, they were now. Everyones heart was bouncing up and down their chests at the same frequency as the shing Grand Defensive Ward.
The Great Serpent was hammering their Grand Defensive Ward like it was insane, and the worst part was that they didnt even know why it was doing this. The ward wasnt going to go down in a short time, but it was only a matter of time before it happened. When that happened, everyone in the Outpost was going to have to face the wrath of the Great Serpent.
Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao were running through the crowd and asking if someone had provoked the beast as ofte. However, no one was able to give them an answer.
The only person who knew the truth was currently standing on a slope about 2.5 kilometers away from the Outpost. He was looking over the hill and watching the Great Serpent mming into the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward again and again as if thetter had murdered its entire family or something.
Its working!
The young man was none other than Lu Ye. After he had caught up to the Great Serpent, he hurriedly messaged Yi Yi to check if she was fine. He rxed when she replied that she was safe and sound.
On the surface, it looked like the Grand Defensive Ward was a half globe that covered the top half of the Outpost only. In reality, it was a full globe that protected both the surface and the underground. It was to prevent enemies from attacking them through the underground.
That was why Yi Yi was unable to enter the Outpost even though she could pass through the ground. She didnt need to do that though. All she needed to do was to hang out underneath the Outpost.
The Great Serpent waspletely overwhelmed by its desire for the red substance within the dragon scale right now. Grand Defensive Ward or not, anyone or anything that stood between it and its objective was an enemy!
Chapter 249: Enjoying The Show
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 249: Enjoying The Show
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Great Serpent was a type of Spirit Beast that was a step away from transforming into a Wyrm. If it seeded, it would be able to break free from the Heavens shackles and escape this prison permanently. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. It had been stuck on this final step for decades.
It wasnt until it sensed the red substance in the dragon scale that it realized that its opportunity had finally arrived.
That opportunity was right in front of it, but a Grand Defensive Ward was blocking its way. How could it not be infuriated by this?
The scales covering its head were densely packed and incredibly tough. Every time it rammed against the Great Defensive Ward, it was like someone was hitting it with a gigantic battering ram.
Zou Qi was currently standing on his flying Spirit Artifact and facing toward the Great Serpent. He called out, There is no grudge between you and the Sky Pir Sect, Great Serpent. Why have youe to attack us?
The creature might not be able to speak humannguage, but he reckoned it could understand at least some of it.
Zou Qi knew that their Outpost was facing an unprecedented crisis, and to resolve it, he had to first understand why the Great Serpent was attacking them in the first ce.
The Great Serpent paused its movement and stared at the tiny human floating behind the Grand Defensive Ward. Then, it hissed as if responding to his question.
Unfortunately, Zou Qi did not speak Serpent. He was unable toprehend its words despite his best efforts
He tried asking for help from his fellow cultivators, Is there anyone here who understands what its saying?
Of course, the answer was no.
The Great Serpent ran out of patience then. It was because it sensed that the red substance was moving again. Without hesitation, it mmed its head against the Grand Defensive Ward once more.
Zou Qi erupted in anger, The Sky Pir Sect did not make an enemy out of you, Great Serpent, but if you must destroy our home, then we will retaliate in kind! Leave now before its toote!
The threat was like pouring fuel on the fire that was the Great Serpents already towering fury. Stopping its movement and channeling its energy for a moment, the green in its eyes deepened until they looked almost ck. The next moment, it opened its mouth and spat a mouthful of green fog against the ward.
Although Zou Qi knew that the fog could not harm him until the Grand Defensive Ward was breached, he still backpedaled in shock and terror.
Crackle crackle! The areas touched by the green fog started dimming rapidly. Clearly, it was incredibly corrosive. It might have breached the ward already if the cultivators of the Sky Pir Sect didnt do everything in their power to repair it.
The Great Serpent spat out even more fog when it saw its new attack was effective. The entire ward started sizzling like someone had tossed a handful of salt into a pot of boiling oil.
The Great Serpent was feeling a little faint after using its head as a battering ram for so long. Since the green fog was effective, it saw no reason not to wear down the ward with it.
At a slope about 2.5 kilometers away, Lu Ye was enjoying the show as if he wasnt the instigator behind everything. Now that the Great Serpent had revealed one of its trump cards, he was starting to get a better understanding of its strength. He now believed that the Serpent truly had the power to breach the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward on its own, though it was going to take some time still even with this new method.
It was at this moment he heard someone calling out to him, Brother Yi Ye!
It was the Hao brother and sister again. Lu Ye was the one who messaged them to join him. Whilemunicating with the ghost cultivators, he found out that Silverlight Ind had mobilized several hundred cultivators and were flying over to the Outpost right now.
He was more than happy with this oue, of course. In fact, he had predicted it might happen.
When he first parted ways with the Hao brother and sister, he had implied that the Great Serpent was probably going to attack the Outpost. Lu Ye was confident that Hao Ren would send the word to his sect.
Unless the Silverlight Inds Legate was aplete idiot, they should realize that this turn of events represented a great opportunity. And he was right.
His deductions werentpletely urate, however. For starters, Silverlight Ind had mobilized long before they learned about the Great Serpent.
It didnt matter though. The point was that they all shared themon goal of screwing over the Sky Pir Sect.
How long until they arrive? Lu Ye asked.
Two to four hours, Hao Ren answered.
That was perfect. The Great Serpent was going to need some time to breach the Grand Defensive Ward anyway. If the ward was still up when the cultivators from Silverlight Ind showed up, they would attack the Grand Defensive Ward together with the Great Serpent. One way or another, the ward was going down today!
In fact, Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward was already showing signs of breaking. The strength of a Grand Defensive Ward was directly tied to its energy reserves. The more Spiritual Power was saved up in the norm, the greater the protection it could provide when it was needed.
Of course, there was only so much energy they could save up at a time. There was no such thing as an infinite storage that could hold an infinite amount of Spiritual Power.
After the Crimson Blood Sect had gained its own Grand Defensive Ward, Lu Ye had spent some time researching it. That was why he knew a little about Grand Defensive Wards.
The maximum reserve a Grand Defensive Ward could have was proportional to the total number of keystones that made up the ward. That was why Hua Ci had said that the strength of the ward was directly tied to the number of the keystones that it was made up of.
There was no telling how many keystones had made up the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward, but he could tell that it was much stronger than the Crimson Blood Sect Outposts. This was the Inner Circle after all. They would not be able to withstand an enemy attack if their Grand Defensive Ward was weak.
At the rate the Great Serpent was wearing down their Grand Defensive Ward though, their reserves werent going to hold out for much longer.
The green fog spat out by the Great Serpent wasnt just incredibly corrosive, it lingered for a long time before dissipating. Right now, it was slithering circles around the Grand Defensive Ward and spitting fog all over it.
From the distance, the half globe was covered in massive patches of green. Every affected area was shing erratically and sizzling like a frying pan. As a result, the Grand Defensive ward was going through its reserves like crazy.
Had the Great Serpent stuck with its original tactic, and assuming that the Grand Defensive Ward could repair itself faster than the damage could stick, it couldve hammered away for a century and still failed to make a breakthrough. After all, the ward was constantly replenishing its reserves as well.
The green fog was apletely different story. Because it dealt massive, continuous damage to the Grand Defensive Ward, it was losing Spiritual Power much faster than it was replenishing it. It was like multiple floodgates had been opened on their reserves.
Were not going tost much longer, Brother Zou. Yu Hongbao rushed to Zou Qis side with a severe look on his face. If we do not stop the Great Serpent soon, the Grand Defensive Ward is going to use up more and more energy. ording to Zhang Hai, were going to run out of Spiritual Power in six or eight hours at best.
Six to eight hours!?
Zou Qis eyes were bloodshot. Even now, he still had no idea what the fuck had triggered the Great Serpent toe all the way here and and attack them. Their Grand Defensive Ward was powerful enough to withstand the full might of the Silverlight Ind for an entire day or two, but this goddamn snake was going to bring it down in just a couple of hours. It was infuriating to put it mildly.
Zou Qi red at the Great Serpent and said through gritted teeth, We wait.
Against a gigantic monster like this, he could mobilize every man and woman in the Outpost to fight it, and it would be a one-sided ughter. At the very least, they would incur an uneptable amount of casualties.
It wasnt hopeless though. One thing he noticed was that each time the Great Serpent spat out a puff of green fog, its aura would weaken a little. This meant that it couldnt produce the fog infinitely.
In other words, they must wait until it had weakened itself to a manageable extent before fighting it. Any other option was suicide!
.
Nothing happened for a while after that. The Great Serpent needed time to breach the Grand Defensive Ward, and the Sky Pir Sects cultivators could do nothing but wait for it to weaken further.
Two hours passed, and the Great Serpents aura had be much weaker than before. Unfortunately, they could not afford to wait any longer. Yu Hongbao came back and reported that they were almost scraping the bottom of the barrel. The Great Defensive Ward wouldst another two hours at most.
Zou Qi knew that it was time to make his move. He had already mobilized everyone into formation a while ago, and now he raised his arm and yelled, Open the ward! Prepare to engage the enemy!
At hismand, an opening slowly appeared on the Grand Defensive Ward. At the same time, the cultivators rushed out to meet the Great Serpent.
Body tempering cultivators wearing all sorts of defensive Spirit Artifacts stood at the forefront of the formation. Thebat cultivators and ghost cultivators were further back, and the spell cultivators were at the rear of the formation. As for the medicine cultivators, they were standing by to treat their fellow cultivators at first notice.
It was as if the entire sect hade alive in an instant. Spells and flying weapons were the first lights to cross the sky; colors of all sorts mming into the Great Serpents body with great power and fury. Almost surprisingly, it was effective. Metallic sparks exploded all over its body as the Serpent visibly flinched away from the ferocious assault.
The second wave of attacks began before the first wave had even ended. The Sky Pir Sect had clearly hunted gigantic Spirit Beasts in the past because they knew not just how to encircle the target, but also maintain a constant stream of attack. Slowly but surely, the Great Serpent was actually being pushed back by the unrelenting assault.
Zou Qi was clearly apetent Legate. Had he chosen tounch an attack when the Great Serpent was still at peak form, it wouldve been all too easy for it to crush them. But now, it had used up so much energy that even ants like them could hurt it.
The Great Serpent hissed violently as it twisted its body around. The energy covering its body had thinned to the point where even a Seventh or Eighth-Order cultivators flying weapons and spells could scratch it. Individually, a scratch was just that, a scratch. But hundreds of them? It was the point where quantity became a quality of its own.
The Great Serpents powerful scales were ripped off to reveal the tender flesh beneath. They began bleeding earnestly after just a couple more barrages.
There were a few times the Great Serpent tried to open its mouth and hit its enemy with a puff of deadly, corrosive fog, but the spell cultivators were always able to throw a barrage of well-timed spells into its mouth. It had no choice but to keep its mouth shut.
Not far away, Lu Ye was frowning deeply. The Great Serpent had turned out to be weaker than he expected, so much so that it seemedpletely helpless before the might of the Sky Pir Sect.
At this rate, the Sky Pir Sect was going to y the beast and im its body for themselves. Please tell me that I havent worked all night to benefit the Sky Pir Sect.
It couldnt be helped. Even Zou Qi, the manmanding the battle, was thinking the same thing. If he had known that the Great Serpent was this weak, he wouldve rushed out to engage it much sooner.
They were all wrong. Snakes were naturally cold, ruthless creatures, much less one that had transformed into a powerful Serpent. They had all underestimated its cunning.
When the Sky Pir Sects cultivators had pushed back the Great Serpent about a hundred meters away from their Outpost, it suddenly dropped its head without warning and channeled lightning from its meaty horn. The next thing they knew, a bolt of blue lightning about a full arm wide struck the spell cultivator group at the back dead on.
The spell cultivators at the center of the impact were turned into bloody mist instantly. Not only that, the lightning spread around and caused therge majority of the group to shake violently like they were experiencing a seizure. They had no choice but to cancel their spells mid cast.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
It wouldve been manageable if that was the end of the surprise attack, but no, the Great Serpent continued to shoot more lightning bolts out of its horn. Twenty to thirty spell cultivators were dead in an instant, and the lucky survivors could hardly cast a spell while they were running for their lives.
Zou Qis triumphant expression became frozen in an instant. His joy had beenpletely shattered by lightning bolts.
Chapter 250: You Are So Dead
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 250: You Are So Dead
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Sky Pir Sect was aware of the Great Serpents existence, but no one had fought against it before. Naturally, they had no idea what abilities it possessed until now.
First, the Great Serpent had pretended to be weak and lured its enemies about a hundred meters away from their Great Defensive Ward. It was to prevent the cultivators from retreating behind their ward and avoiding its attacks. When the time was right, itunched a series of lightning strikes that destroyed its biggest threat in an instant.
The surprise attack hadnt just thrown the spell cultivators into disarray, it also earned the Great Serpent a breather. Next, it opened its mouth and spat a puff of green fog at the Spirit Artifacts that were flying circles around it.
Exmations of surprise broke out from the cultivators immediately. It was because thebat cultivators and ghost cultivators attacking the Great Serpent discovered that their connection to their Spirit Artifacts had been severed.
The reason a cultivator could manipte a Spirit Artifact remotely was because they gained the ability to control Spiritual Power that was outside their body after they had reached the Seventh-Order. Assuming that the Spirit Artifacts contained a sufficient amount of Spiritual Power, they could be manipted like an extension of the cultivators body. This was the truth behind a cultivators telekinesis, at least at the Spirit Creek Realm level.
At higher cultivation realms, cultivators would gain a new power called the Divine Ego. For example, Divine Ocean Realm cultivators could skip this whole process and directly control their Spirit Artifacts with their Divine Ego. The long story short was that telekinesis via the Divine Ego was more powerful and flexible than via Spiritual Power.
At the Spirit Creek Realm level, the key to manipting a Spiritual Artifact remotely was to control the Spiritual Power within them. However, the green fog spat by the Serpent was so corrosive that even the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward couldnt quite withstand it, much less a mere Spirit Artifact. The second they were caught by the fog, the Spiritual Power within the Spirit Artifacts were immediately corroded to almost nothing. Naturally, the connection between the cultivators and their Spirit Artifacts were severed.
For a time, the sound of metal ttering against the ground filled the ears. That one puff had taken out at least a hundred flying weapons in one go. A couple more puffster, and no more flying weapons could be seen in the sky. It wasnt just because the Great Serpent had taken out most of them, but because those lucky enough to avoid being hit had been withdrawn by their cultivators. No one wanted to lose their weapons pointlessly.
Everything was happening so fast that the cultivators were unable to react immediately. The spell cultivators were unable to cast a spell, and thebat cultivators and ghost cultivators had lost the ability to use their flying weapons. This meant that the Great Serpent hadpletely neutralized the Sky Pir Sects ranged attacks in just a few moments.
Zou Qi felt like something had snapped inside his brain. A chill grew from the sole of his feet all the way up to his skull.
The Great Serpent looked down on the puny cultivators with cruelty in its eyes. It curled its body slightly before swinging its massive tail at the wall of body tempering cultivators.
The body tempering cultivators were ready for this. Vitality churning around their body and their defensive Spirit Artifacts shining like mini suns, they waited patiently and fearlessly for the attack to hit them.
It sounded like a mountain had been sundered when tail shed against metal and flesh. An entire swathe of Spirit Artifacts dimmed in an instant, and the weaker ones shattered into a million pieces. A good number of body tempering cultivators were also flying through the air, spitting blood and deting like balloons.
The only ones who managed to block the violent attack properly were a handful of Ninth-Order body tempering cultivators, but the impact was so great that they too were pushed uncontrobly to the back. Their bodies did not stop shaking even after they hade to a stop.
Humans were not meant to go up against a monster like the Great Serpent. If they werent as numerous as they were, Ninth-Order or not, that tail flick wouldve killed them already.
The Great Serpent still wasnt done, however. Next, it lifted its tail high and brought it down on a group of cultivators.
The fast ones managed to escape to safety in time, but the slow ones were ttened like pancakes. It was a terrible way to go, to say the least.
Since the Great Serpent began its counter attack, it had crushed the Sky Pir Sects formation in a scant few attacks. Each time it brought down its tail, someone would depart the world in a most unsightly manner.
Perhaps the bloodlust was starting to get to the creature, but it suddenly pounced forward and caught a leapingbat cultivator with its mouth. While the poor bastard was screaming in shock and terror, It bit him in half and spilled blood all over its mouth.
To say that it was a visually impactful sight would be an understatement. Countless cultivators lost their nerve there and then.
They could ept being electrocuted to a crisp or ttened like a pancake. But eaten alive? That was too much even for people who had fought in countless battlefields.
Flee! Flee! Someone lost itpletely and screamed.
Who said that!? raged Zou Qi while spinning toward the source of the voice. If the situation wasnt too chaotic already, he wouldve dragged the screamer out into the open and executed them. Thest thing they needed was for someone to bring down their morale even more than it already was. Anyone who flees will be executed! Spell cultivators, cast your spells as soon as youve recovered! Combat cultivators and ghost cultivators, use your Spirit Talisman Papers! Body tempering cultivators, follow me to keep the Great Serpent at bay!
He was supposed to bemanding from the back, but the situation would not allow it anymore. His side was already tethering on the brink of total copse. It would truly be over if he, the Legate still didnt do something, anything at all to save the day.
The Great Serpent was undeniably powerful, but it was one versus several hundred cultivators. They still had a chance to turn this around.
After seeing that Zou Qi himself had entered the battlefield, the panicking cultivators slowly but surely regained their cool. The spell cultivators had finally broken free of the lightning strikes interruption and began channeling their spells once more.
Thebat cultivators and ghost cultivators started using their Spirit Talisman Papers, and the group of body tempering cultivators led by Zou Qi wordlessly withstood the Great Serpents fury at the forefront.
Looking from a distance, a great number of ant-like cultivators were surrounding the giant Serpent and locking it down to a particr area. Further back, more cultivators wereunching an endless stream of colorful lights at it. It was an impressive spectacle if nothing else.
It had to be said that Zou Qi was truly a remarkable cultivator. It took wits and courage to correctly identify when he should step onto the battlefield and actually follow through with the n, especially considering how hopeless the situation had been. It was even more impressive that he actually managed to retake control of the battle despite having to pay a significant price!
He definitely deserved to be the Legate of this Outpost.
Once thebat cultivators and ghost cultivators had used up their Spirit Talisman Papers, they rushed forth to meet the Great Serpent in a melee. They attacked fearlessly while the body tempering cultivators covered for them as best they could. Although a casual flick was all the Great Serpent needed to crush them to bits, not a single person had backed down from the fight.
The Great Serpents scales might be as tough as steel, but no defense could withstand the fearless offense of a bunch of furious cultivators.
The Sky Pir Sects casualties were increasing rapidly, but the Great Serpent was ruing a ton of injuries as well. By now, it was covered from head to toe in wounds, and much of its scales had fallen off to reveal tender, vulnerable flesh.
At this rate, the Sky Pir Sect might actually be able to repel the Great Serpent, though killing it would be impossible since the Great Serpent would naturally retreat once the threat to its life became too great to ignore.
It was no wonder the Great Serpent was thought to be one of the strongest Spirit Beasts on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was impressive enough that it was fighting hundreds of cultivatorsa good number of them being at Eighth or Ninth-Orderto a standstill, but it wouldve utterly crushed them with humiliating ease had it been at full strength. Not even Gray couldve done better.
The Sky Pir Sects morale skyrocketed when they realized they were actually going to repel the Great Serpent. s, it was not meant to be. Right before they could press the attack, a massive ship suddenly appeared from the horizon. It was flying about a hundred meters above the ground and moving toward them at a fair speed. Engraved to the bow of the ship was a picture all Sky Pir Sect cultivators were most familiar with; the symbol of the Silverlight Ind!
As if that wasnt bad enough, they could see Luo Fu standing on the deck of the ship! The forces of Silverlight Ind had finally arrived!
On the deck, Luo Fu channeled Spiritual Power into his eyes and observed the great battle that was happening outside the Sky Pir Sects Outpost. When he confirmed that the situation was exactly as Hao Ren had reported it, he startedughing uncontrobly. Hahaha! The Heavens are on our side today! You are so dead, Sky Pir Sect!
Behind him, everyone else was rubbing their hands in anticipation as well.
At the battlefront, Zou Qis face had turned a shade of purple. Their Outpost was currently being attacked by the Great Serpent, and they had lost a good amount of people up to this point. As if to pour salt on their wound, their sworn enemy, Silverlight Ind had joined the party at the worst possible moment. The situation literally couldnt get any worse than this.
He already thought that it was the Silverlight Ind who attacked their ore veinst night, and he wouldve looked into the situation if the Great Serpent hadnt appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. He had no choice but to deal with the immediate trouble first.
Now, he was almost certain that it was Silverlight Ind who had attacked their ore veinst night. As he predicted, they had been lying in wait for the best opportunity to ambush their forces, and that opportunity was now.
There was only one question left: was the Silverlight Ind behind the Great Serpents attack?
There was no way to know. If the answer was yes, then he could not even begin to describe how terrifying that was. If the answer was no, then today must be the unluckiest day of the Sky Pir Sect!
Retreat to the Outpost! Zou Qi roared while dodging another fearsome attack from the Great Serpent. He was sessful, but the shockwave was still strong enough tounch him to the ground and eject a stream of blood from his mouth.
If the Great Serpent was their only enemy, the Sky Pir Sect could have emerged as the pyrrhic victor. But the Great Serpent and the Silverlight Ind? Only an idiot would insist on doing the absolutely impossible.
An opening appeared on the Great Defensive Ward almost as soon as he gave the order. The spell cultivators hurriedly withdrew back to the Outpost, followed by the ghost cultivators, thebat cultivators, and finally the body tempering cultivators.
By now, the Great Serpent had gone mad with rage from all the wounds it had suffered. There was no chance it was going to allow the Sky Pir Sect to withdraw peacefully. So, it summoned its lightning once more and sted the spot in front of the opening again and again. The blood ran like a river in no time at all.
The sh hadsted less than an incense stick, but the Sky Pir Sect had lost almost a hundred people in total. It showed just how fearsome the creature was.
That said, the Great Serpent seemed a lot weaker after it fired a series of lightning bolts. Clearly, it wasnt a power that it could use willy-nilly.
The Grand Defensive Ward closed right before the Great Serpent could break through. Beyond furious, the Serpent hammered the ward so hard that some of its wounds had split open once more.
On the other side, the ship carrying Luo Fu and the cultivators of Silverlight Ind brazenly flew past the Sky Pir Sects Outpost beforending on the opposite side of the Great Serpent. It was a despair-inducing sight for the Sky Pir Sect cultivators to say the least. That despair was only grief when they exited the ship and assembled into an army of hundreds.
The Great Serpent was still ramming the Grand Defensive Ward and spitting out green fog from time to time. It seemed that it would stop at nothing to obtain the dragon scale.
The Great Serpent alone was beyond the Sky Pir Sects ability to withstand, much less the forces of the Silverlight Ind. Their Grand Defensive Ward was only going to crumble faster when Silverlight Ind officially began their assault.
Are you the one who lured the Great Serpent to our Outpost, Luo Fu?
Zuo Qi questioned hotly from behind the ward. Luo Fu would be covered in mes right now if his eyes could spit fire.
Luo Fu chuckled good-naturedly. If only. No, we just happen to be at the right ce at the right time.
Chapter 251: Sealing The Divine Opportunity Column
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 251: Sealing The Divine Opportunity Column
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Behind the Grand Defensive Ward, Zou Qi stared into Luo Fus eyes in an attempt to confirm his nemesis was lying. However, he wasnt able to glean anything from it.
Are you going to escape? No? Wereing over then! A smiling Luo Fu raised his hand before dropping it in front of him. At the same time, he dered, Begin!
Lights of all shapes, colors and sizes erupted from behind him. Theynded squarely on the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward and disrupted itsposition.
The Sky Pir Sect had encountered countless big and small crises since the foundation of their sect, but they had never encountered one as hopeless as this.
The Great Serpent was attacking their front, and the Silverlight Ind their back. They just could not see a way out of this no matter how they tried.
Lets withdraw, Brother Zou, Yu Hongbao said next to his senior brother.
Although the Grand Defensive Ward could hold a while longer, it was only a matter of time before it broke downpletely. It would truly be toote if they waited until the ward was gone before they took action. The enemy would be able to destroy them like spearing fish in a barrel.
You say that, but where to? Zou Qi said listlessly.
Yu Hongbaos lips wriggled, but he could not bring himself to say the words he knew were in his senior brothers mind right now.
There was only one path of retreat for them, and that was to teleport back to their headquarters via the Divine Opportunity Column. But if they did this, it would be the equivalent of giving up decades ofbor and prizes to their enemies.
Even if the crime of losing an Outpost wasnt death by execution, this still wasnt an uneptable oue.
How could they continue living with such a taint on their honor? How could they continue calling themselves disciples of the Sky Pir Sect?
There might still be a way out of this! Zou Qi said suddenly.
Yu Hongbao was well aware how smart his senior brother was. He immediately looked at him expectantly and asked, What is your n, Brother Zou?
Instead of answering, the Legate sent him a message through the Battlefield Imprint.
Yu Hongbao mulled over the contents of the message and thought it was a viable n. He immediately returned a nod of assent.
Zou Qi turned toward his nemesis and asked, What do you think is going to happen if rumors that the Silverlight Ind can control the Great Serpent were to spread, Luo Fu?
Luo Fu was watching the Great Serpent tackling the Grand Defensive Ward with great interest when Zou Qi had asked him that sudden question. He instinctively felt a chill as he asked with a frown, What do you mean?
Zou Qi grinned. Take some time to mull over my words. Im sure you can work it out yourself.
Although Luo Fu believed that his nemesis was just trying to sow doubt in him, he could not help but consider his words regardless.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was the one who lured the Great Serpent to the Sky Pir Sects Outpost. Silverlight Ind had nothing to do with it whatsoever. However, the only ones who knew about this were Lu Yi Ye himself, the Hao brother and sister, Qi Shi and himself.
Sky Pir Sect had no idea about the truth. Considering the circumstances, it was only natural that they would pin the Great Serpents unnatural behavior on the Silverlight Ind.
The Great Serpent was a most formidable creature. Not even a Grand Defensive Ward could withstand its attacks indefinitely.
If the other sects were to hear about this incident
Luo Fus expression suddenly stiffened, and cold sweat began forming on his brow.
Before today, every sect on thisnd shared more or less the same strength. Although conflicts broke out between hostile sects everyday, no one was capable of doing true damage to the other party.
But what if the Silverlight Ind were to make an ally out of the Great Serpent? Who could stay still after hearing such a terrifying rumor?
That fear would surely unite the factions of Thousand Demon Ridge against Silverlight Ind.
The bastards trying to bring us down with them!
You would dare nder us, you treacherous bastard? The Great Serpent has absolutely nothing to do with Silverlight Ind! If anything, everyone knows it is a Spirit Beast that dwells in your territory! Luo Fu yelled angrily.
He wished that his sect could actuallymand a powerful Spirit Beast like the Great Serpent, but even if that was the case, it would actually be bad news for them. What if a cultivator were toe by a great weapon that could cut through anything, but they werent skilled or influential enough to keep it from their enemies? It would only fuel their enemys hostility and bring upon their death. It was the same thing here. Since the Silverlight Ind wasnt overwhelmingly stronger than its neighbors, the rumor that they could control the Great Serpent would only heighten their enemys aggression and unite all nearby Thousand Demon Ridge factions against them.
It didnt even need to be a full-on invasion. If, say, four or five Thousand Demon Ridge factions were to join hands and harass them from time to time, they would probably follow in Sky Pir Sects footsteps in just a few months time
Its just a rumor. Who knows if its true or not? If I remember correctly, an Elder whos a Snake Mutant is currently under your headquarters employ, am I right?
His implication was as obvious as it was nderous, but Luo Fu dared not to respond to his question. It was true that one of the Elders in the headquarters was a Snake Mutant, a Sea Snake Mutant to be exact. They had been neighbors for centuries, so they knew each other like the back of their hands.
The point was, Silverlight Ind would be in deep shit if Zou Qi were to spread such a rumor. It might not be believable, but even the tiniest bit of suspicion could potentially put them in a terrible spot.
Luo Fu was starting to understand Zou Qis intention. He narrowed his eyes a little as he asked, I think I can guess what youre going to say next. Youre going to ask us to withdraw our forces to prove our innocence, arent you?
You said it, not me.
Keep dreaming, you treacherous dog! Luo Fu let out a cold hmph. Just wait until your Grand Defensive Ward is broken. If I fail to beat the crap out of youter, its only because youve already voided everything in your bowels!
Zou Qis threat was very real, but only aplete idiot would allow such a perfect opportunity to slip through their grasp. They werent leaving until they had gotten what they wanted no matter what. Future problems were for future Luo Fu to handle, not him.
Plus, it wasnt like Silverlight Ind was alone and without allies. If Thousand Demon Ridge dared to gang up on Silverlight Ind, then the Grand Sky Coalition would dare to protect them. Zou Qi must be dreaming to think that he could scare them into retreating with just his rmist talk.
Yu Hongbao had been standing next to Zou Qi while thetter was negotiating with Luo Fu. He could not help but let out a sigh when he saw that his senior brothers attempt to negotiate had ended his failure. Frankly, he wouldnt have retreated if he was in Luo Fus position. The opportunity was just too good to let pass.
Seal the Divine Opportunity Column! Zou Qi ordered suddenly.
What? Yu Hongbao asked before realization struck him. He eximed with rm, Brother Zou! You
Do it! Zou Qi uttered through gritted teeth.
Yu Hongbaos expression turned solemn and tragic. Yes sir!
It wasnt long before the deed was done. By sealing the Divine Opportunity Column, the Sky Pir Sect had basically cut off their final path of retreat. They would no longer be able to teleport back to Jiu Zhou. The reason Zou Qi ordered this was to prevent his people from making a run for it. Their situation was already hopeless to begin with. If anyone were to lose their nerve and make an attempt, it would almost certainly result in a total copse. If that happened, there would truly be no saving their Outpost.
Yu Hongbao thought that Zou Qi was going to rally the men into one final hurrah and battle the enemy to the death. That was why he was wearing a tragic and mournful expression.
Zou Qi noticed this as well and consoled him, We still have a chance, Brother Yu.
Yu Hongbao thought he was just humoring him and shook his head. Do I look like a coward, Brother Zou? The sects the one who nurtured me and made me who I am today. Now is the time I repay everything theyve done for me. If there is one thing I am afraid of, it would be the possibility that I might fail to bring at least a few Silverlight Ind scum with me to the grave.
Since Zou Qi had already made up his mind, he as the prolegate could only trust in him and perform his role to the utmost. He had already made up his mind to hurt Silverlight Ind as much as possible before he inevitably went down.
.
Zou Qi rified, Im not humoring you. Didnt you hear what Luo Fu said earlier? Theyre definitely not the ones whore controlling the Great Serpent.
His negotiation attempt with Luo Fu had ended in total failure, but that was fine, because that wasnt his real objective. He was well aware that Luo Fu could not be persuaded to retreat with just words. The real reason he spoke with the man was to find out if the Great Serpent really was connected to Silverlight Ind, and Luo Fu had unwittingly given him the answer: they werepletely unrted to one another. It really had been a coincidence that they had shown up at the same time and at the same ce!
Zou Qi had felt like shit when he confirmed this. They were probably the first sect in the history of Jiuzhou to experience such terrible luck. Not only that, it had been decades, no, a full century since their Outpost and the Great Serpent had lived in harmony with each other. He just could not understand why the damned creature had suddenly decided to break the unspoken peace between them.
Zou Qi beckoned Yu Hongbao to his side and whispered his n into his ear. Yu Hongbao was skeptical at first, but his expression quickly turned into awe and confidence when he listened to the end. He quickly sent out a number of messages after that.
It wasnt long before every Sky Pir Sect cultivator had learned of the Legate and prolegates n and the fact that the Outposts Divine Opportunity Column was sealed. Retreat was no longer possible, and Zou Qis n was their sole ray of hope of making out of this alive. Everyone was worried, but surprisingly, things didnt feel as bleak as they were before.
By now, the Great Defensive Ward had be so transparent that it was almost non-existent. It could shatter at any moment now.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Sky Pir Sect cultivators led by the Legate, Zou Qi and the prolegate, Yu Hongbao had gathered in front of the Sanctum of Providence. However, they were facing toward the Silverlight Inds cultivators instead of the Great Serpent.
Luo Fu had been observing the battlefield from the start. In that moment, he realized what Zou Qi was nning and cursed hisck of foresight, Shit!
Zou Qi was nning to lead the Great Serpent to them! He wasnt going to give up the Outpost without making them pay a huge price for it!
He immediately messaged Hao Ren to check if Lu Yi Ye could control the Great Serpent. Unfortunately, he was toote.
Lower the ward! Zou Qi let out a tragic yet determined roar. The copsing screens of light abruptly winked out of existence.
Now that the Grand Defensive Ward was gone, nothing was stopping the Great Serpent from entering the Outpost anymore. It immediately slithered toward the cultivators of the Sky Pir Sect like an unstoppable mountain.
Kill! Zou Qi roared again as he and Yu Hongbao rushed toward the cultivators of Silverlight Ind.
It was a grand sight. The Great Serpent was charging toward the Sky Pir Sect, the Sky Pir Sect was charging toward Silverlight Ind, and Silverlight Ind was just staring at the iing enemies in stupefied shock
Luo Fus heart sank all the way to the bottom. Things had gone exactly as he thought, but his realization hade far toote.
Stop them! Luo Fu roared.
On the other side, the Hao brother and sister felt their hearts leaping to their throats as they cried out, Brother Yi Ye, you cannot let the Great Serpent reach our forces!
Lu Ye did not say anything. He was already standing on top of the hill and sending message after message to Yi Yi.
He had not anticipated the Sky Pir Sect to be so unyielding in face of great opposition. He was so certain that they would teleport back to Jiuzhou because their situation was one where even he could not wriggle out from, but contrary to his expectations, they had chosen the course of action that would do the most damage to their enemies.
In the Sky Pir Sects Outpost, two opposing lines of cultivators drew closer while screaming on top of their lungs. Spells and flying weapons were already flying through the air and striking the enemy with great force.
The cultivators of the Sky Pir Sect werent attacking, however. They simply defended passively until they were about a hundred and thirty meters away from one another.
Zou Qi shouted suddenly, Scatter!
Their formation instantly split into two smaller groups, each led by him and Yu Hongbao. They circled Silverlight Inds forces to reach their nk.
The split was so sudden that the Silverlight Inds cultivators were unable to halt their attacks before they struck the Great Serpent that was right behind the Sky Pir Sects forces. The Great Serpent was fairly injured to begin with, so the rain of spells and flying weapons easily stripped some scales or worsened an existing wound.
The Great Serpents green eyes immediately turned toward them.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! Luo Fu lost hisposure and swore on top of his lungs.
Chapter 252: Why
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 252: Why
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Zou Qis n was very simple. The Sky Pir Sect was standing on the line between life and death right now. Since he wasnt willing to slink back to Jiuzhou with his tail between his legs, his only remaining option was to bait the Great Serpent into attacking Silverlight Ind.
There was a prerequisite to this n, however. The Great Serpent must not be under the Silverlight Inds control, or executing the n would only be an exercise in futility. After baiting Luo Fu into revealing that that wasnt the case, he immediately ordered Yu Hongbao to seal off the Divine Opportunity Column, dropped the Grand Defensive Ward of their own ord, and led the charge against Silverlight Ind.
When they were about a hundred and thirty meters away from the enemys battle line, he ordered them to split up into two smaller groups before resuming their charge. As a result, a good amount of Silverlight Inds spells and flying weapons had struck the Great Serpent dead on.
The creature immediately hissed and stared at the panicking Silverlight Ind cultivators with its massive green pupils. As if on cue, the energy surrounding its body grew terribly violent.
Luo Fu was standing at the forefront of his troops, and right now he felt as if his blood was made of ice. Just a minute ago, he was at the top of his life. Now, he was plummeting toward rock bottom. It was such a thrilling experience he could have a heart attack right now.
The Great Serpent opened its mouth and spat out a puff of green fog, causing a ton of flying weapons to fall from the sky immediately.
Its over! Luo Fu groaned on the inside.
Meanwhile, Zou Qi looked behind him just in time to see the Great Serpent spitting out its fog. Joy filled his heart because he knew that his n had seeded. All he needed to do now was to lead his people to the back of Silverlight Inds formation, cut off their path of retreat, and force them to deal with the Great Serpent!
The Outpost had been on the brink of upation, but not only did he turn the tides with a clever ploy, he even managed to catch the enemys forces off guard. He could already imagine what would happen when news of his sess was reported back to the sect. The elders would shower him with praise and elevate his status. The sect would reward him with all kinds of cultivation resources, and if he yed the political game well enough, he might even have a shot at marrying the sect masters only daughter. He would reach the peak of his cultivation life!
s, his dream was just that, a dream. It was because the Great Serpent had not attacked the Silverlight Ind cultivators despite being less than sixty meters away from them. Instead, it changed directions and continued chasing after the Sky Pir Sect cultivators.
Zou Qis face turned green in an instant. Why? Why?? Why is it hounding us even though weve never provoked it?
Luo Fu had been half a second away from screaming, Stop it now! when he realized that the Great Serpent had changed directions. As if on cue, he received a message from his Battlefield Imprint and realized it came from Hao Ren.
He finally realized the truth after he checked the message. The reason the Great Serpent had attacked the Outpost, the reason it had ignored their idental provocation, and the reason it was chasing after the Sky Pir Sect right now it was all because of Lu Ye.
.
The Legate pulled out a wine gourd from his Storage Bag and gulped down a few mouthfuls of wine. These ups and downs were a little too much for his poor heart to endure
After the wine had warmed his belly somewhat, Luo Fu shouted, Focus on defense! Do not attack unless you absolutely have to!
The hundreds of Silverlight Ind cultivators immediately withdrew their formation into a tight circle. The body tempering cultivators stood on the outermost ring, followed by thebat cultivators, the ghost cultivators and finally the spell cultivators.
At first, they were all terrified for their lives. It was hard not to when there was a giant Serpent wreaking havoc right next to you after all. A few minutester though, they discovered that the situation was not what it seemed.
Some distance away from them, the scattered groups of Sky Pir Sect cultivators had met up once more. Led by Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao, they were currently running for their lives while being chased by the Great Serpent. What was funny was that the Sky Pir Sect was running circles around Silverlight Ind in an attempt to bait the Great Serpent into attacking them, but the creature just kept chasing them like they had murdered its whole family. From time to time, it would spit out a green fog or strike them with a lightning bolt, dishing out much death and destruction.
What is happening?
They were stupefied as a matter of course. Under any other circumstances, they wouldve been annoyed to be treated like air. They were a force of several hundred cultivators after all. This situation though? Attention was thest thing they wanted.
The Sky Pir Sect wouldve given them some love if they could, but the Great Serpent was hounding them too closely for that to be possible, and the Great Serpent was too busy smiting the bothersome pests standing between it and its freedom. A moment of observationter, everyone let out a sigh of relief. They werent safe yet, not even close, but at least they could afford to enjoy the unprecedented spectacle.
I cant believe you called me a treacherous dog, Luo Fu! If youre not the one controlling the Great Serpent, then who is!? Zou Qi yelled angrily.
By now, The Legate realized that he had been duped. The Great Serpent absolutely was controlled by their neighbor, or there was no way the Great Serpent would attack them and them only. Even his attempt to cause some coteral damage by running circles around Silverlight Ind had ended in failure.
Fuck you! Luo Fu yelled back just as fiercely. His heart was still thumping from the fright the Great Serpent had given him earlier.
You are fucking dead, Silverlight Ind!
Try repeating that after you have survived today, dog!
Both sides traded vitriol with one another for a time.
Finally, Zou Qi yelled angrily, Return to Jiuzhou!
His final n had ended in failure. If they dilly-dallied any longer, they were going to lose not just their Outpost, but most of their cultivators as well.
Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao abruptly changed directions and made a beeline toward the Sanctum of Providence.
Luo Fu was tempted to intercept them, but in the end he decided against the impulse. There was a good chance they might identally injure the Great Serpent and draw its attention. The reward was great, but ultimately not greater than the risk.
He watched the Sky Pir Sect and the Great Serpent for a while. Their neighbor was currently running toward the Sanctum of Providence as fast they could while the Great Serpent slithered madly behind them. If he didnt know any better, he wouldve thought that the Sky Pir Sect had ughtered the Serpents nine generations or something.
The Sky Pir Sect hadntpletely lost their heads despite their hopeless situation. After arriving at the Sanctum of Providence, they quickly moved into formation so they could buy time for their backlinethe spell cultivators and medicine cultivatorsto escape. They would be teleporting away in an orderly fashion.
And so the Sky Pir Sect shed against the Great Serpent once more. The sounds of impact seemed like it would never end.
However, the Sky Pir Sect had lost a considerable amount of people even before they enacted their final n. They also incurred a fair amount of casualties during the chase, not to mention that their forces were actively teleporting back to Jiu Zhou. The strength of their defense was decreasing rapidly.
In the end, it happened. The Great Serpent broke through the body-tempering cultivators defense line and crashed head first into the Sanctum of Providence. Bloodcurdling screams immediately erupted from the building as the cultivators who failed to teleport back to Jiu Zhou were killed.
A series of terrible booms and bangs followed after that. It sounded like the Great Serpent was thrashing about.
The survivors filed out of the Sanctum of Providence like ants. It was their only way out, but to stay inside the building was tomit suicide.
A bloodied and battered Zou Qi was currently lying spread eagled amidst the rubble. He looked at the one hundred or so Sky Pir Sect cultivators around him in despair.
It was because he knew that this was the end of the Sky Pir Sect.
2.5 kilometers away, Lu Ye climbed onto Ambers back and said to Hao Ren, You can tell your sect mates tounch their assault now. Dont enter the Sanctum of Providence though!
Amber then took off toward the Outpost.
The Hao brother and sister followed closely behind him while messaging Luo Fu.
When the Legate received Hao Rens message, he immediately ordered his forces to invade the Sky Pir Sects Outpost.
If the Outpost was a defenseless woman, then the Great Serpent, Lu Ye, the Hao brother and sister, and the Silverlight Ind cultivators were a couple hundred bandits hellbent on plundering everything she had. That should be all the imagery needed to imagine its fate.
By the time Lu Ye and Amber had arrived on the scene, the Great Serpent was still rampaging inside the Sanctum of Providence. The entire building was shaking like it might crumble at any moment.
The public square in front of the sanctum was covered in bodies and blood. The Sky Pir Sect had suffered innumerable casualties.
Of course, someone had to have seeded in escaping this ce of death, but they could only be the minority even including those who had teleported back to Jiu Zhou. It would be apt to say that their forcesthe ones at the Spirit Creek Realm at leasthad been utterly destroyed.
The Silverlight Ind cultivators were sweeping the battlefield. Luo Fu was waiting for someone on the public square.
Brother Luo! The Hao brother and sister arrived with Lu Ye.
Luo Fu nodded before giving Lu Ye a huge grin. Youre Brother Yi Ye, right? Ive heard a lot about you.
Well met, Brother Luo! Lu Ye returned.
As expected of the genius of a prodigious sect, you are as impressive as the rumors im. You have my wholehearted praise, Brother Yi Ye!
Lu Ye had not shown his face from start to finish, but Luo Fu knew that he was the sole reason they were able to upy Sky Pir Sects Outpost.
At the very least, the Sky Pir Sect would have suffered much less casualties if he wasnt able to control the Great Serpent.
He still didnt know how a Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like Lu Ye was capable of controlling a monster like the Great Serpent, but he wasnt stupid enough to ask the young man about it. It would be a bad idea to spread the news and earn the hostility of their enemies.
Now they had upied the Outpost, it was time to plunder the goods.
Luo Fu looked at the still trembling Sanctum of Providence and said seriously, Brother Yi Ye, we can give up eighty percent of everything we got out of this expedition to you. What do you think?
As the Legate of an Outpost, Luo Fu had a duty to his sect. Although he was very interested in befriending Lu Ye, he could not possibly surrender everything in the Outpost to him. He had pulled several hundred of his brethren into this battle after all. It would be remiss of him not to reward their hard work.
Yes, Lu Yes had done most of the hard work in this upation, but it wasnt like Silverlight Inds presence waspletely useless. If it wasnt for them, Sky Pir Sect probably couldve repelled the Great Serpent.
To Lu Ye, his original goal was just to deal a bit of damage to the Sky Pir Sect. Silverlight Inds opportune arrival had been most weed.
One could even say that they were the straw that broke the Sky Pir Sects back. To be perfectly honest, they deserved at least thirty to forty percent of the loot.
The reason Luo Fu offered to im just twenty percent of the loot was because he wanted to befriend Lu Ye.
Lu Ye shook his head immediately. Im fine with half-half.
Luo Fu immediately turned embarrassed. Half-half? Thats too much. Too much.
Its okay, Brother Luo. Im the one who has a favor to ask of you after all. Youd actually be putting me in a bad spot if you reject this.
Lu Ye was nning to form an alliance with Silverlight Ind because they were the closest Inner Circle sect to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost. If everything worked out, then his sect members would be able to cultivate here in the future.
By offering Silverlight Ind a generous reward, he was really securing their favor and protection for his sect mates. As someone who only managed toe this far thanks to them, he knew just how important and valuable they were.
Chapter 253: Sharing The Booty
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 253: Sharing The Booty
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A few months ago, when Lu Yes identity was exposed, and Thousand Demon Ridge had tried to hunt him down, it was the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition who had escorted and protected him. Without the aid of these cultivatorssome whose name and origin still eluded him to this dayhe wouldve died on the road a long time ago.
That was why he was willing to offer Silverlight Ind more than that was fair even though they werent affiliated with one another until recently. It was simply because they both belonged to Grand Sky Coalition.
Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge had been locked in conflict since forever. They wouldve been consumed by the other faction long ago if they were any less united than they were.
Luo Fu did not know what Lu Ye would like to ask from him, but he could make a guess or two. He wasnt the type of person to dwell on a decision for too long, so it only took him a moment of thought before breaking out into a refreshingugh. Very well, Brother Yi Ye. I would like nothing more than to be your friend.
He then exchanged imprints with Lu Ye on the spot.
Lu Ye sent out another message. Soon, the Great Serpent slithered out of the Sanctum of Providence and toward the distant horizon under everyones watchful gaze.
It was because Yi Yi had lured it away with the dragon scale.
The reason it had hounded the Sky Pir Sect cultivators and even invaded their Sanctum of Providence wasnt because it had a blood feud with them, but because it was chasing around the dragon scale like a dog after a bone. The Great Serpent cared little for cultivators, and it wasnt interested in bullying the weak either. If it was, it wouldnt have stayed in itske for years and showed its face only once in a blue moon.
If the dragon scale wasnt as attractive as it was, it would never have caused such a hugemotion.
You first, Brother Yi Ye, Luo Fu gestured respectfully.
Lu Ye did not decline the offer this time. After stepping into the Sanctum of Providence, he took a moment to admire the devastated building. It was a surprise that the building hadnt toppled outright as the Great Serpent had left a good number of giant pits on the floor. He could even see some broken scales here and there.
He walked up to the Divine Opportunity Column and put his hand on it. Then, he used his authority as the Legate of the Crimson Blood Sect to plunder its Blessings.
He could clearly sense a great number of something flowing into his Battlefield Imprint. While the process was going on, the Divine Opportunity Column made screechy, grinding noises that suggested that it might break down at any moment.
Lu Ye knew it was just his imagination though. The Divine Opportunity Column was a product of the Heavens, so it could never be broken or destroyed. This was just the natural reaction of the columns Blessings being taken away from it. No one knew about the internal workings of the Divine Opportunity Column, but it was directly tied to the richness of the World Spiritual Qi in the surrounding area. Every time a Blessing was added or removed from the Divine Opportunity Column, its internal structure would change ordingly.
Right now, the Sky Pir Sect Outposts World Spiritual Qi was thinning at a visible rate.
A short whileter, Lu Ye exited the Sanctum of Providence and gave Luo Fu a nod. The Legate immediately went in to plunder the rest of the Blessings. By the time he came out, the World Spiritual Qi of the Outpost had be almost the same as the wilderness.
Lu Ye would have liked to know exactly how much reward he had gotten out of this excursion, but that would have to wait until he had returned to the Crimson Blood Sect. It was because plundered Blessings could not be converted directly into Contribution Points. He would have to store them in the Crimson Blood Sects Divine Opportunity Column first before he could convert them.
It was a shame that much of the Blessings were lost during the plundering process, or their booty would only be greater.
Silverlight Inds cultivators still werent done looting the Outpost. For example, the Outpost possessed a good number of Spirit Farms, and some of the herbs and nts they grew were quite valuable.
Moreover, the Sky Pir Sects Outpost was way bigger than the Crimson Blood Sects, though it wasnt one of the natural benefits of being an Inner Circle Sect. The Sky Pir Sect had to buy the expansion via Contribution Points.
The range of a Divine Opportunity Column was equal to the size of an Outpost. At the beginning, every sect started out with the same amount of space and infrastructure. Over time, they could spend Contribution Points to increase the range of the Divine Opportunity Column and the size of the Outpost at the same time.
It should not need to be said that more space was always better.
Theoretically, it was possible to expand an Outpost infinitely if they had an infinite amount of Contribution Points. They could literally border their neighbors if they wanted to. Of course, not even the richest sects had that many Contribution Points to spend. The size of most Outposts was usually determined by the sects needs.
Two hourster, the cultivators of Silverlight Ind had assembled together once more. They then boarded the ship Spirit Artifact under Luo Fus order.
Luo Fu invited Lu Ye to be a guest in their Outpost, which was exactly what Lu Ye wanted. So, he joined Luo Fu on the ship and took off toward Silverlight Inds Outpost.
It did not take a genius to know that this massive ship-like flying Spirit Artifact was extremely valuable. Silverlight Ind had probably spent a considerable amount of Contribution Points to purchase it from the Vault of Providence.
Still, it was no match to the Flying Dragon Boat he had ridden in the past. The Flying Dragon Boat was an actual weapon capable of uprooting fortresses and sieging cities. This ship was at best a flying Spirit Artifact with some defensive qualities.
After assigning a cabin to Lu Ye, Luo Fu went away and busied himself with work.
Silverlight Ind hadnt walked away from this excursionpletely unscathed, though their losses were minimal as a matter of course. He was busy because he had to tally all the booty they had seized from the Outpost. Half of it belonged to Lu Ye after all.
While Silverlight Inds cultivators were flying home in high spirits, various messages had been transmitted to all major factions through all sorts of channels.
It was the work of the deceased Zou Qi, of course. He had passed the message that Silverlight Ind could control the Great Serpent before his demise.
His objective was very simple. If he could not save his Outpost, he would at least prevent his allies from suffering the same fate.
Plus, the message could prompt all Thousand Demon Ridge factions that were close to Silverlight Ind to join hands and take them out.
The ability to control the Great Serpent or worse, any Serpent was just too scary. A Core Circle Sect might not be too worried by the threatthey had plenty of champions who were cultivating Heaven Grade cultivation techniques after allbut an Inner Circle Sect? A Serpent was basically an unbeatable threat.
Who could sleep tight knowing that a goddamn Serpent might knock on their Great Defensive Ward one day?
Of course, the news could have the opposite effect. All Thousand Demon Ridge factions close to Silverlight Ind might swear off hostilities against the sect once and for all.
There was no way Zou Qi could anticipate how things would go, but a man on his deathbed had little to lose. All he knew was that he would definitely regret it if he took the intel to his grave.
As a result, countless factions had sent their cultivators to investigate Sky Pir Sects Outpost. Most hailed from Thousand Demon Ridge, and some from Grand Sky Coalition. Heavens only knew how a message that shouldve remained in Thousand Demon Ridge managed to leak to Grand Sky Coalition so quickly.
When the Ninth-Order cultivators arrived at the Sky Pir Sects Outpost, everyone was chilled by what they saw.
There wasnt a part of the Outpost that was left intact. Countless buildings had been knocked to the ground, and there were even traces of fires here and there. Silverlight Ind had set the Outpost on fire right before they evacuated. They had shown no pity toward their sworn enemy whatsoever.
Every nt in the Spirit Farms was uprooted regardless of their maturity. The public square in front of the Sanctum of Providence was covered in blood and bodies. Some of the pools of blood were so big they hadnt even dried yet.
To say that the Sky Pir Sect Outpost was a mess would be an understatement. When some Sky Pir Sect cultivators had learned of their enemys departure and came back to check the scene, their reaction was tragic to say the least. Some people had dropped to their knees and screamed themselves hoarse. Some could not stop weeping until many hourster. It was that bad.
A fight between the Ninth-Order cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge had even broken out afterward. It was inevitable considering that more and more people were gathering within the Outpost. It was unknown who had won in the end.
Half a dayter, Lu Ye and Yi Yi disembarked the ship and stood on the soil of the Silverlight Inds Outpost. Amber was lyingzily on his shoulder.
Luo Fu had personally led Lu Ye to the two-story building that he would be spending the night at and told him that a weing feast would be held that night. He wouldve liked to apany the young man some more, but he needed to report the upation of the Sky Pir Sect Outpost and Lu Yes role in it as soon as possible.
He told Lu Ye to speak with the Hao brother and sister if he needed anything.
After Luo Fu had left, Lu Ye sent the two ghost cultivators away to catch some well-deserved rest and promised he would message them if he needed anything. Then, he and Yi Yi went up to the second floor.
On the way back, Yi Yi told Lu Ye that she had put the dragon scale in the Storage Bag after luring it about five kilometers away from the Sanctum of Providence. The Great Serpent had looked so stupefied that she was going to remember its expression for years toe
It had rampaged on the spot where the dragon scale had disappeared for a while before finally taking its leave. She couldve been seeing things, but she thought that its eyes looked a little lonely when it left.
Judging from the direction of its departure, it was probably going back to its old haunt, theke. Yi Yi couldnt be sure because Lu Ye had messaged her to return to him by then.
In the room, Yi Yi meditated to recover her strength while Amber chowed down some Spirit Pills.
Yi Yi had been carrying the dragon scale underground for hours, so of course she needed to meditate to regain her strength.
Lu Ye was inspecting his Spiritual Points and deciding if he should ascend to the Eighth-Order.
Previously, he was hesitating because the Contribution Points he got for killing a Ninth-Order cultivator were much higher as a Seventh-Order cultivator than otherwise. However, while he absolutely possessed the power to kill enemies who were two minor levels above him, he discovered that the effort wasnt quite worth the reward. In the end, he decided that he was better off ascending to the Eighth-Order.
Also, the Contribution Points he got for upying an Outpost were way higher than what he got for killing an enemy cultivator. In fact, most of his Contribution Points had been obtained that way. Only a small fraction hade from killing an enemy cultivator.
Ascending to the Eighth-Order was the best choice here. If nothing else, greater cultivation level equaled greater safety.
Brother Yi Ye. A cry came from outside.
Lu Ye looked out of the window and saw a young man in blue clothes looking up at him from the ground. As if sensing his gaze, the young man looked up and smiled at him. I hope Im not bothering you. May we speak?
Give me a moment.
Lu Ye moved back into his room and went downstairs. After he opened the door, he saw that the young man was apanied by the Hao brother and sister. They were both carrying arge amount of Storage Bags.
Lu Ye figured out what was going on immediately. Silverlight Ind hade to give him his share of the booty. He liked how efficient they were.
I am the prolegate of Silverlight Ind, Qi Shi. I am very happy to make your acquaintance, Brother Yi Ye.
You are too kind, Brother Qi. Please,e in.
The building he was assigned was probably built for guest reception. The second floor was the resting ce, and the first floor the lounge area.
After Qi Shi and the Hao brother and sister had entered the building, the prolegate said, As per your agreement with Brother Luo, this is half of everything we got from Sky Pir Sect. Where should we ce them?
At first nce, they were carrying at least one or two hundred Storage Bags in their arms.
Please take them upstairs.
The Hao brother and sister followed Yi Yi upstairs and set down the Storage Bags at the ce she pointed. Then, they bade their goodbye and left Qi Shi to speak with Lu Ye. Qi Shi would have left too, but Lu Ye wanted to learn more about Outpost management. Since Qi Shi was a prolegate, he was sure he could learn from his knowledge and experience.
Beside him, Yi Yi brewed tea while listening to their conversation. Sometimes, Lu Ye would shoot her a look of astonishment. He didnt know that Yi Yi was versed in the art of tea brewing until now.
Chapter 254: Celebratory Feast
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 254: Celebratory Feast
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Since we achieved total victory this time, the sect is sure to reward us handsomely. Brother Luo intends to hold a celebratory feast that will serve as a weing feast for you as well, Qi Shi said. Before he left, he asked me to ask you if you are okay with showing your face. After all, you are the reason this battle has gone as well as it did.
Lu Ye figured out his meaning immediately.
Most Silverlight Ind cultivators were unaware of Lu Yes role in the Outposts upation. They thought that Sky Pir Sect was just unlucky enough to catch the Great Serpents ire.
However, those who knew the truth knew that Lu Ye was the one who lured the Great Serpent to the Sky Pir Sects Outpost. He was also the reason why the creature had only attacked the Sky Pir Sects forces during the final stage of the battle.
One could almost say that Lu Ye had single handedly taken down the Outpost. Out of everyone present, he was the one who deserved to attend the celebratory feast the most.
However, revealing his role in the upation would also expose the fact that Lu Ye was the one who, to a certain extent, controlled the Great Serpent. Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was already an infamous name in the Thousand Demon Ridge. Revealing the truth would surely inconvenience him.
Luo Fu and Qi Shi did not want to take his credit. In fact, they had already reported the whole truth to the headquarters. On the other hand, they had to respect Lu Yes own wishes.
It showed that they had given much thought to the matter.
Lu Ye did not think that Luo Fu was capable of such high-level thinkinghe didnt have the right personality for itso the consideration had probablye from Qi Shi. This was the reason he had paid him a visit.
Thebined efforts of the Silverlight Ind and the fortuitous attack of the Great Serpent is the reason Sky Pir Sect has fallen. My role in this matter really isnt as profound as it seems.
Qi Shi nodded knowingly. Your wish is mymand.
The prolegate left after chatting with Lu Ye a while longer.
Yi Yi closed the door and ran upstairs excitedly. She had wanted to tally their rewards since they were brought in.
Even with Lu Yes speed, it was going to take him at least two to three days to fully unlock the two hundred Storage Bags he had received from Silverlight Ind. Some of the Storage Bags werent locked though. They were filled with all sorts of strange nts and Spirit Artifacts.
He had no doubt that the nts had been plundered from the Sky Pir Sects Outpost. As for the Spirit Artifacts, they became ownerless after their original owners were dead, so it was up to the finders to do whatever they wanted with them.
Lu Ye only needed once nce to know that Luo Fu had split the booty exactly as he said he would.
Were rich! Yi Yi chirped excitedly. She had never seen so many Storage Bags in one ce.
Lu Ye grabbed one of them and began opening their Restriction Locks. Every time he opened one, Yi Yi would tally its contents and store them in separate Storage Bags ording to their categories.
Some of the Storage Bags contained unimaginable riches, and some had more dust than there were items. Overall, they added up to a sizable amount of wealth.
As the sun fell, the mor outside their building grew louder and louder. It sounded like a ton of cultivators had gathered in one ce. When Yi Yi poked her head out of the window, she saw that a lot of Silverlight cultivators were gathering at the Sanctum of Providence and setting down tables and chairs. The ce had also been decorated with so many lights that it looked as bright as day.
A whileter, the fragrant scent of food came through the window. It was the Silverlight Ind cultivators preparing their celebratory feast. They had been enemies with the Sky Pir Sect for over a century, but never had they won such a crushing victory until now. Their excitement was more than understandable.
The smell of food jolted Amber awake from its slumber. It stared at Lu Ye with a hungry look on its face.
It was at this moment the Hao brother and sister came over with a group of people. They set up a table on the first floor and filled it with all kinds of delicious food. They even brought in a huge chunk of freshly hunted meat for Amber.
A momentter, Luo Fus ted voice boomed all the way from the Sanctum of Providence. The man was giving a speech, and the gist of it was that everyone had done well today, that they had lived up the sects expectations, that they should work hard to replicate this victory and so on and so forth. After several rounds of apuse and cheers, the celebratory feast officially began.
A whileter, Luo Fu and Qi Shi showed up at Lu Yes ce.
Im so sorry, Brother Yi Ye.
Luo Fu had apologized the second he met Lu Ye. The young man was the biggest contributor of the upation, and yet he couldnt even participate in their celebratory feast openly. He felt quite ashamed to put it mildly.
Of course, he felt a tad better after listening to Qi Shis analysis and learning of Lu Yes decision. He also realized that he hadnt thought things as deeply as he should. Although it seemed like they werent giving Lu Ye the credit he deserved, it was the best option avable to them.
Its okay.
Lu Ye invited them to the house smilingly. A few minutester, the drinking began. Yi Yi was watching Lu Ye worriedly because the young man had not had a drop of alcohol until now. Courtesy to Li Baxian, alcohol was strictly forbidden within the sect by Shui Yuan. Even the Sect Master had to indulge in his vice in secret when he could not hold it any longer. Naturally, Yi Yi had no idea if Lu Ye could hold his alcohol.
The good news was that Lu Ye looked perfectly fine after a few rounds. He was a Seventh-Order cultivator after all. It would be embarrassing if he went under the table so quickly.
While they were eating, Luo Fu mentioned that he would like to form an alliance with the Crimson Blood Sect of his own ord. Naturally, Lu Ye was more than happy to ept it. It was the main reason he hade to their Outpost.
Since they were both Legates, they had formed the contract on the spot. Now, Crimson Blood Sect disciples could visit Silverlight Inds Outpost to train and even pay some Contribution Points to teleport back to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost directly.
Brother Lu, I heard a rumor saying that the two Thousand Demon Ridge forces bordering your Outpost have already been broken. Is it true?
The incident was extremely well known in the Outer Circle, but the Silverlight Ind was both an Inner Circle sect and a little too far away from the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost. Therefore, Luo Fu and the others had heard of the news but did not put much stock in it. In fact, Inner Circle sects normally paid little attention to Outer Circle business, just like how Core Circle sects paid little attention to Inner Circle business. It wasnt because they looked down on the others, but because they had their own Circle, allies and enemies to worry about. Few people had the time and energy to constantly look beyond their Circle.
It is true.
Is it because of the insectoid attack?
Mhm. A sect called the Redoubt of Wrath failed to handle their insectoid attack properly and caused an outbreak. It was so bad that it even affected their ally, n Feng. So, we took the opportunity to ambush and y many of our enemies.
I see! Luo Fu nodded. Does that mean that the Crimson Blood Sect is a very safe space right now?
It sounds like you have a request to make, Brother Luo. Lu Ye shot him a look.
Luo Fu sighed. Its like this. A daughter of our esteemed Elder has been cultivating in our Outpost for a while. She is now a Third-Order cultivator. As youre aware, cultivating in the Inner Circle ensures a speedy progress, but that also means she is sorelycking in worldly experience. A cultivator who hasnt seen blood is not a cultivator after all.
Now, Im not saying that my junior sister is unwilling to venture into the Outer Circle. In fact, shes been harassing me day and night to let her go, so much so that the mere sight of her is enough to give me a headache these days. You might ask me why I didnt just send her away. Thats because my Elder is a doting parent. He is terrified for his daughters safety and would strangle me if I sent her away, and something bad were to happen to her.
But now, an opportunity has presented itself. Do you think its okay if I send my junior sister to the Crimson Blood Sect? It should be pretty safe right now, right?
Yes. I dont think anyone would dare to attack our Outpost for the foreseeable future.
In fact, only a suicidal person would try to attack the Outpost. Gray, a Spirit Beast on the same level as the Great Serpent, is guarding it. The Great Serpent had nearly breached the Sky Pir Sects Grand Defensive Ward single handedly, and Gray was in no way inferior to it.
Thats wonderful. I will speak with my Elder and see if hes amenable.
Luo Fu and Qi Shi stayed a while longer before taking their leave. They were the Legate and the prolegate after all. Since they had drunk the wine, sated their appetite, and settled both casual and serious business, it was time to return to the celebratory feast. It would be remiss of them to spend all their time with Lu Ye and neglect their own junior brothers and sisters.
Lu Ye looked thoughtful as he saw Luo Fu and Qi Shi off. A whileter, he shook his head with a wry smile on his face.
Whats amusing you? Yi Yi asked in puzzlement.
Its nothing.
If its nothing, then surely you can tell me about it? Yi Yi pleaded in a cute voice while shaking his hand back and forth.
Id already formed an alliance with Luo Fu, so he didnt need to notify me about sending his junior sister to our Outpost. Instead, he asked me how our Outpost is doing and even exined her circumstances to me. Hes trying to tell me that his junior sister is an exalted member of Silverlight Ind, and that the Crimson Blood Sect should pay extra care.
Is that so? But why cant he juste out with it? What if youre too block-headed to understand his meaning?
Lu Ye grabbed her cheeks and squeezed. Youre the block-headed one. Also, sometimes the circuitous route produces better results.
Hmm, shes really starting to feel like a real person.
Yi Yi pped his hand away and pouted.
Overall, Luo Fus request was not a difficult one to ept. If they treated the junior sister and anyone else they sent to the Outpost well, then Silverlight Ind would be honor bound to reciprocate their kindness. This was how the world worked.
Meanwhile, Luo Fu and Qi Shi were walking side by side when Qi Shi said, Brother Luo, I feel that Brother Lu is extremely versed in using the strength of another to achieve his objectives.
What do you mean?
When he was in the Outer Circle, he had exploited the insectoid attack to cripple both the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng. Today, he used the Great Serpent to cripple the Sky Pir Sect.
Surprise shed across Luo Fus features. It was clear he hadnt made the connection until Qi Shi had mentioned it. You mean to say that Lu Ye has toppled three Thousand Demon Ridge factions to date?
Theres more. Brother Lu ims that they were able to ambush the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng because the former had failed to handle their insectoid attack properly, which leads to an outbreak that affects both sects. In reality, we both know that its quite easy for an Outer Circle sect to handle an insectoid attack. Assuming the sect in question wasntpletely in shambles, the worst that could happen is unnecessary casualties. Theres just no way they could fail so hard that an outbreak urs.
Are you saying
I suspect that our Brother Lu is the true mastermind behind the Redoubt of Wraths so-called failure to contain their insectoid attack. Of course, I wouldnt know how he did it exactly, just like those not in the know would never guess that he was the one who lured the Great Serpent to the Sky Pir Sect.
Luo Fu mulled over his aides words and realized he was probably right. Although insectoid attacks were a natural disaster, any sect could deal with it unless they were beyond unlucky, or if someone was actively sabotaging their efforts.
What a monster! Luo Fu clicked his tongue while looking clearly impressed. Looks like Thousand Demon Ridge is going to suffer a lot more pain from now on.
Qi Shi agreed. Yeah. Thank goodness he is one of us.
Luo Fu guffawed. This is a cause for celebration. We shall drink until we drop, Brother Qi!
Im being serious here, Brother Luo, Qi Shi said with a helpless sigh as Luo Fu dragged him toward the square. Soon, they were surrounded by cultivators holding wine jars.
Chapter 255: Spirit Creek Realm Eighth-Order
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 255: Spirit Creek Realm Eighth-Order
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Three days had passed since the Sky Pir Sects Outpost was conquered.
Luo Fu was receiving a few cultivators in the guest hall of the Silverlight Ind Outpost. They were all Ninth-Order cultivators. Every man or woman was either a Legate or a prolegate whose Outpost was located close to the Silverlight Ind.
He knew why they were here since Qi Shi had warned him about this. As expected, they were all here to ask about the Great Serpent and to express their desire in conquering another enemy Outpost. They offered to give up sixty percent of the loot if Silverlight Ind would agree to lend their support.
Zou Qis dying message was an effective one. Not only were all nearby Thousand Demon Ridge factions wary of them, even the Grand Sky Coalition factions believed that they were actually capable of controlling the Great Serpent. That was why they hade to discuss business with Luo Fu today.
Unfortunately, Luo Fu could not fulfill their wishes. If he was actually capable of controlling the Great Serpent, then this meeting would end in ten minutes at most. He would happily cooperate with these Grand Sky Coalition factions to take out all nearby Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts and drown in the spoils of war.
The problem was that they were not the controller of the Great Serpent, but they could not reveal the truth either because they would be breaking their promise with Lu Ye. In the end, he had to swear a Heavenly Oath dering that it was pure luck that the Silverlight Ind was able to conquer the Sky Pir Sects Outpost, and that they had nothing to do with the Great Serpent whatsoever.
Knowing that Luo Fu was telling the truth, the Legates and prolegates had no choice but to withdraw in disappointment.
After he had seen off his peers, Luo Fu shot the training chambers a nce and asked, Did Brother Yi Ye express his wishes to train in our Outpost, Brother Qi?
Unfortunately, no. Qi Shi shook his head.
That is truly unfortunate.
It could only be good news if Lu Yi Ye was willing to stay in Silverlight Ind. Forget the Great Serpent, his personal strength alone was worthy of their attention.
Since Lu Ye had not mentioned anything like this, it most likely meant that he was going to leave in the near future. It could not be helped. It wasnt like they could force him to stay with them.
Remind me to ask him if hes willing to lend us his aid again. If he truly can control the Great Serpent, then our next target would be the Cloud Smoke Sect. Ive been wanting to crush those preachy weirdos for a long time.
The Cloud Smoke Sect was another Thousand Demon Ridge faction that neighbored the Silverlight Ind. Although their feud wasnt quite as bad as the one they shared with the Sky Pir Sect, it wasnt a pleasant rtionship by any means.
If they could take out both the Sky Pir Sect and the Cloud Smoke Sect, then there wouldnt be anyone left within a few thousand kilometers who could challenge them. They would be able to do whatever they wanted in thesends.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was making a breakthrough inside a training chamber. He was channeling his Spiritual Power and breaking down the barrier surrounding his Spiritual Points little by little.
There was a soft pop, and the barrier blocking his one hundred and forty fourth Spiritual Point was breached. Streams of Spiritual Power immediately flowed into it.
A cultivator was considered an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master when they had unlocked one hundred and forty four Spiritual Points.
Lu Ye proceeded to fill up the Spiritual Point with Spiritual Power until it had formed a Microcosmic Orbit.
He officially entered the Eighth-Order when a gust of energy spread out of his body.
It had taken him between fifty to sixty days to ascend to the Eighth-Order, which was pretty slow if he were to be honest with himself. It was because he had to spend half a day studying the Way of Glyphs with Lady Yun everyday when he was still at the Crimson Blood Sect.
It was fine though. If he moved up the cultivation realms too quickly, he would not have the time to solidify his skills. Over time, he would be a cultivator whose strength did not match his cultivation realm. It was why Li Baxian had advised him to solidify his skills in between his cultivation.
Plus, his progress was slow only if hepared to himself. To most cultivators, ascending from Seventh-Order to Eighth-Order was pretty quick all things considered. Moreover, he had umted plenty of battle experience including his time in the Rift of Illusions. The Rift of Illusions was a hyper-realistic battlefield where everything he experienced including the sensation of death felt as real as it could be.
Thebat experience and skill he had umted by dying repeatedly wasnt something that could be replicated in a normal setting. They were essences he had engraved into his soul via repeated injuries and death. This was why Lu Ye was so much stronger than his peers even though he was ascending the cultivation realms fairly quickly.
Lu Ye still didnt stop after sessfully entering the Eighth-Order. He consumed a Spirit Pill and started cultivating because he wanted to know how many Spirit Pills it would take to unlock a single Spiritual Point at his current level.
A quarter of a day passed, and he concluded that he needed around thirty five Spirit Pills to unlock a single Spiritual Point.
It was a terrifying number to say the least. Back when he was a Third or Fourth-Order cultivator, it had only taken him a dozen or so Spirit Pills to unlock a Spiritual Point. He had thought his consumption rate was crazy back then, but it was nothingpared to his current consumption rate.
The higher ones cultivation realm, the more Spiritual Power it took to unlock a Spiritual Point.
If he wished to ascend to the Ninth-Order, he would have to unlock another thirty six Spiritual Points. Assuming that he cultivated using Spirit Pills only, it would cost him over one thousand and two hundred Spirit Pills!
Of course, consuming Spirit Pills wasnt his only method of cultivation. His actual consumption rate would probably be half of that, if not lower.
Suddenly, Yi Yi jolted and let out a muffled groan beside him. Herplexion also looked paler than normal. It was because she had just awoken from the Rift of Illusions.
Yi Yi had Contribution Points since the Sect Master had bestowed Yi Yi a Battlefield Imprint and made her a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. She could also earn Contribution Points by ying enemies. However, most of her Contribution Points were made up of the monthly wages Hua Ci had given her a while ago. She only had less than one thousand Contribution Points including the ones she earned via killing enemies. It wasnt much.
Since she didnt have much use for her Contribution Points right now, Lu Ye decided to put her through the Rift of Illusions. They had a long, tumultuous journey ahead of them, and the Rift of Illusions would prepare her adequately for those trials.
Was it fun?
Not in the slightest! Yi Yi grumbled loudly. Clearly, she had been taught a painful lesson by the Insectoids of the Rift of Illusions.
Its fine. Just take it one step at a time.
Mhm. Yi Yi responded unhappily before assuming a meditative position and began recovering her strength.
Lu Ye grabbed a Spirit Artifact from his Storage Bag. It was the flying Spirit Artifact belonging to the Ninth-Order cultivator Yuan Guang, and he was nning to refine it for himself.
The Seventh-Order was considered a dividing line for Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. It was because it was the level where a cultivator could start using controlling Spirit Artifacts via telekinesis to attack their enemies.
Technically, the Eighth-Order was also a dividing line of its own. It was the minor realm where a cultivator was powerful enough to fly on a Spirit Artifact. However, most Eighth-Order cultivators refrained from doing so not only because it cost too much Spiritual Power, but also because they generally could not fly fast and/or high enough to be useful in battle. If anything, it was fairly easy to target such a cultivator in the open. Defeat was almost a certainty if they were to be struck down from the sky.
This was less of a problem only after a cultivator had reached the Ninth-Order. That was why most cultivators who dared to fly in the open were Ninth-Order cultivators.
Technically, Lu Ye could already fly without a flying Spirit Artifact. However, Wings only had a lifespan of six hours. Lu Ye had used it as sparingly as he could since he obtained the Tattoo-type Glyph, but it was only a matter of time before it ran outpletely.
That was why he needed to master an actual flight ability as soon as possible. The good news was that he was now qualified to attempt flying on a Spirit Artifact.
A dayter, Lu Ye exited his training chamber with Yi Yi right behind him.
Luo Fu visited him immediately after he heard the news. It wasnt long before they took their seats in the guest hall.
Brother Yi Ye, Im not the type to beat around the bush, so Im just going to give it to you straight, okay? They had known each other long enough to skip the pleasantries. A few days ago, I was visited by several Grand Sky Coalition Legates and prolegates. The long story short is that they wanted our help to attack a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost or two.
Lu Ye nodded. It was perfectly normal to ask for a nearby allys help to attack an enemy. For example, he had contacted the Atheneum of Finality when he was attacking n Feng.
As youre aware, its incredibly difficult to breach an Outposts Grand Defensive Ward. In fact, two sects can work together and still not destroy the ward unless they possess a specific trump card. In this case, they would like to borrow the strength of the Great Serpent.
It was clear what Luo Fu was trying to say.
That is why Id like to know if you can still control the Great Serpent. If you can, then I would like us to pull off another big one.
You misunderstand, Brother Luo. I am incapable of controlling the Great Serpent. At best, I can lure it in a certain direction. I have no control over its actions whatsoever.
Thats enough. If you can lure it to an Outpost, theres a good chance they would break without much resistance considering what had happened to the Sky Pir Sect. With luck, they might even back off without needing us to fire a single spell. Its a high reward, low risk attempt, dont you think? Luo Fu said while rubbing his palms in excitement.
Lu Ye gave it some thought before nodding. Theres no harm in giving it a try, I suppose.
Delight immediately bloomed across Luo Fus face. We are in agreement then?
Yes, but please dont contact our allies yet. It would be highly disappointing for everyone if it turned out that I couldnt lure the Great Serpent after all. Ill contact you once Im certain about our chances.
That would be for the best!
Luo Fu walked Lu Ye out of the guest hall. A short whileter, the young man was already riding across the wilderness on Ambers back. The Legate wouldve sent the Hao brother and sister with him, but Lu Ye had turned down his offer.
Lu Ye was willing to give it a try, but frankly, he did not think well of his chances. That was why he had given Luo Fu no promises.
The Great Serpent was powerful enough to be quite intelligent. That was why he wasnt sure that it would fall for the same trick twice.
After moving about five kilometers away from the Silverlight Inds Outpost, Lu Ye climbed off Ambers back and produced an item from his Storage Bag. He filled it with Spiritual Power and tossed it into the air.
The item immediately transformed into a small boat about three meters long and one meter wide. There were beautiful engravings all over its surface. It was none other than Yuan Guangs flying Spirit Artifact.
There were several recesses on the bow and the stern of the boat. They were meant to fit Spirit Stones.
A cultivators Spiritual Power did not necessarily have to be the only source of power of a flying Spirit Artifact. Some could be installed with Spirit Stones to decrease the strain on the cultivators reserves. Obviously, the better the quality of the flying Spirit Artifact, the lesser the strain on the cultivator.
Yuan Guangs boat, for example, was a high quality flying Spirit Artifact.
The boat was only big enough to fit two or three people at best, but since Lu Ye was alone, it wasnt a problem whatsoever.
Lu Ye was extremely careful when he nted his first step on the flying boat. He could still remember the disastrous experience when he attempted to fly with Wings for the first time as clear as yesterday.
It wasnt until he was standing steadily on the boat that he beckoned Amber to get on. The tiger immediately transformed into its cat form and leaped onto his shoulder. As for Yi Yi, she had slipped inside Ambers body a while ago.
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power after everyone was ready. At first, it looked like things would go smoothly even though the boat was shaking quite badly as it took flight. However, it soon fell from the sky at an odd angle.
Chapter 256: Moving Forward
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 256: Moving Forward
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
An incense stickter, a boat-shaped Spirit Artifact flew in the sky a hundred and thirty meters above ground level.
Thanks to his experience with Wings and the fact that his control over his Spiritual Power was nothing like what it used to be, it took Lu Ye only a short time to grasp the key to flying on a Spirit Artifact.
He was moving faster than Amber was running at full speed, but that was perfectly natural. Flying was always going to be faster than running.
That said, riding Amber wouldnt cost him any Spiritual Power, while flying steadily ate away at his reserves.
Still, the cost was much smaller than he had imagined because his Spiritual Power was sufficiently pure. He made a rough calction and concluded that he could fly between seven to nine full hours without pause.
For a newly ascended Eighth-Order cultivator, that was an impressive amount of airborne time. In the future, his flight speed and time would only improve drastically.
There was also a basic defensive ward on the boat. It could barely block an attack, but it did well to repel the strong wind blowing his way.
Lu Ye was currently sitting at the center of the boat, and Yi Yi in front of him. She was leaning against his chest andughing like a bell as they soared toward the horizon.
Now that he could fly on a Spirit Artifact, both his repertoire of travel and escape had increased by one. He no longer had to rely just on Wings to fly anymore.
A quarter of a dayter, the sky had turnedpletely dark. Lu Yended beside theke where the Great Serpent had resided. They could even see traces of the bonfire they had made a few days ago.
Lu Ye had no idea if the Great Serpent had returned to theke, but Yi Yi had observed it moving in this direction, so it probably had.
He had Amber assume its cat form and Yi Yi standing by for anything. It was only then he took out the dragon scale.
For a while, he simply stared at theke for any movement. Nothing happened.
Next, Lu Ye held the scale in front of Amber so it could inhale a wisp of blood qi. As if on cue, Yi Yi warned, Here ites!
Lu Ye also saw the ripples on theke. The disturbance quickly grew until a meaty horn surfaced from the water and slowly moved toward the shore.
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power in secret. The second the Serpent did anything strange, he was going to activate Wings and book it.
There was a ssh as a gigantic Serpents head emerged from theke. Then, a pair of green eyes fell on the dragon scale in Lu Yes hand. The Great Serpent didnt look nearly as impressive as it had the first time he met it though. Judging from the missing scales all over its body, it was still recovering from its recent ordeal.
Their eyes met about a hundred meters away from each other. Lu Ye gave the scale a wave, and the Great Serpents pupils seemed to track it. Unlike the first time though, the creature did not rush him even though it still clearly desired the dragon scale. Instead, it watched him with extremely wary eyes.
Lu Ye knew he was probably going to disappoint Luo Fu the moment he saw this. The Great Serpent had disyed an exceptional level of intelligence from the beginning. Last time, he had lured it to the Sky Pir Sects Outpost and tricked them to fight against one another. Obviously, things had ended poorly for the Sky Pir Sect, but it wasnt like the Great Serpent had slithered away unscathed. The injuries it had sustained during the fight had enraged it to the point where its reason hadpletely fled; a mindless beast that could only think of taking the dragon scale and nothing else.
It wasnt until it was slithering back to its haunt after the dragon scales presence had disappeared that it realized that it had been used. It was well aware that the Humans of this world were in a state of constant conflict. In fact, it was the main reason it rarely left theke. For one, it didnt have much purpose left in its life after reaching the absolute limit of its growth. Two, it had no desire to get involved in Human conflicts. It was fine staying out of their way as long as they stayed out if its. One might even say that it was a pacifistic Serpent these days.
That was until the shameless, despicable Human had lured it with its hearts desire and made aplete fool out of it. The more it thought about it, the angrier it felt. But what could it do? That objects presence had vanishedpletely, and that despicable Human was nowhere to be seen either.
Today, both the object and the Human had appeared once more. It still desired the dragon scale as a matter of course, but its head was much cooler than it had been that day. It knew that the only way it could obtain the dragon scale was to y the despicable Human!
That was why it had stayed motionless for a couple of seconds before firing a lightning bolt the size of an arm from its horn all of a sudden. However, Lu Ye was prepared for this and took to the sky immediately. There was a loud boom as a ckened pit appeared on the spot Lu Ye was standing a moment ago.
In the sky, Lu Ye flew away from the Great Serpent while feeling cold sweat breaking out of his back. He knew it was unlikely that he would be able to take advantage of the Great Serpent a second time, but he hadnt expected the creature to loathe him this much. If he hadnt been prepared for an attack, that lightning bolt would have killed him already.
After he had moved far away enough from theke, Lu Ye gave Yi Yi the dragon scale. He was hoping that she would have better luck than him. Yi Yi carried the dragon scale into the underground and tried all kinds of things to bait out the Great Serpent, but an hourter she returned to him and shook her head. The creature had learned its lesson and refused to take even a step from its haunt.
Left with no choice, Lu Ye raised his hand and sent a message to Luo Fu. It stated, Im sorry. The Great Serpent will not move.
Luo Fu quickly responded to the message. The man was disappointed as a matter of course, but he already knew that failure was a possibility. After all, Lu Ye had already told him that he was only baiting the Great Serpent and not controlling it. That Lu Ye was willing to give it a try regardless was enough for him.
After he had received Luo Fus reply, Lu Ye called out to Yi Yi and said, Lets go.
Since he could not bait out the Great Serpent, Lu Ye decided not to return to the Silverlight Inds Outpost. It was time to move on. After finding a suitable resting spot, he recuperated while waiting for dawn to arrive.
There were two main reasons Lu Ye had entered the Inner Circle. One, he wanted to pave a path for his sect mates by forming Legate alliances with sects that he deemed to be suitable. This way, they would have more options in the future. Two, he wanted to take revenge for what happened to him during the Battle of Goldentip.
The Sky Pir Sect had been wrecked, so it was time to move on to his next target, the House of Wintry Blossoms.
The House of Wintry Blossoms was the second Thousand Demon Ridge faction to challenge him to a fight. His opponent was a female spell cultivator whose wind and fire attacks had given a bit of trouble until he got close enough to decapitate her.
Unfortunately, their Outpost was quite a ways away from his current location. It would take him at least half a month of travel time even if he rode Amber the entire way. The travel time could be shortened if he flew on the boat Spirit Artifact, but it would consume too much Spiritual Power.
He was in no hurry though, so he decided to ride Amber to the Outpost.
On Ambers back, Spiritual Power was surging out of Lu Yes left and right hand. His left hand was producing Yin and Yang elements non-stop until they gradually formed an incrediblyplex picture. It was a Glyph he had learned from a book. It wasnt the only Glyph he had learned from the books as a matter of course, and it was quite a useful Glyph too. However, since he wasnt familiar enough with the Glyph to conjure it at a moments notice, he had no choice but to practice with it again and again. He was unable to use it inbat either.
So far, Lu Ye only used Glyphs he had obtained from the Tree of Glyphs inbat. It was because he could create them whenever he wanted.
Despite Lady Yuns unreserved teachings, Lu Ye was only a novice in the Way of Glyphs. Since he could not consult Lady Yun right now, the only way he could improve further was to study on his own.
Thankfully, he had received many Glyph-rted books from Lady Yun before he had bade her goodbye. His skill should improve drastically after he mastered thempletely.
On his right hand was another Glyph, Sharp Edge, but he was trying to disassemble it. In other words, he was creating a Glyph with one hand and disassembling another with the other.
It was a doable but incredibly difficult task. Right now, he wasnt even close to being adept at multitasking with his Glyphs. Still, this method of practice would improve his mastery and further hone his control over his Spiritual Power.
Now that he was an Eighth-Order cultivator, he could control another one or even two flying weapons if he wanted to. He didnt do so though. Adding another flying weapon or two to his repertoire wouldnt increase hisbat capabilities by a significant amount, not to mention that the best way to improve the lethality of his flying weapons was still to create a Glyph on them.
It wasnt an easy task, and Lu Ye had no idea how to even begin. That was why he was studying the Way of Glyphs right now. Eventually, he would reach the level where he could construct Glyphs on his flying weapons at a moments thought.
If he was traveling alone, he would never have dared to split his focus like this. But since he was traveling with Yi Yi, he trusted her enough to watch his back.
And so Lu Ye practiced creating and disassembling Glyphs at the same time during the day, and studied the books Lady Yun gave him during the night. If he felt like getting into a fight, then he would enter the Rift of Illusions for some fun.
The Insectoid stages were gone after he entered the Eighth-Order. All his battles began with an Eighth-Order cultivator now. He wasnt sure why, but he certainly wasnt going toin about it.
Eighth-Order cultivators were no match for him as a matter of course. Even Ninth-Order cultivators couldntst long against his saber. The Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivators, they were a different story entirely.
Every battle was hard fought because a cultivators power improved explosively after they switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. Before this, Lu Ye was able to ovee two minor realms and y the Ninth-Order Yuan Guang without too much difficulty. Eighth-Order and Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order were technically two minor realms apart as well, but not only were the fights much harder, he sometimes died due to a mistake or moment of carelessness as well.
Thanks to these experiences, he knew exactly how strong he was right now. If he were to go up against a Seventh-Order Heaven-Grade opponent, it was a fifty-fifty chance who would live to see another day. It depended on who happened to be more in-form that day.
In the Rift of Illusion, the cultivation faction of his opponents waspletely random. Therefore, assuming he was willing to spend the Contribution Points, Lu Ye could amass a ton of practicalbat experience against all types of cultivators in no time at all. And once he had digested these experiences, they would be powerful skills that he could use to y his enemies in real life.
His journey to the House of Wintry Blossoms was not a peaceful one. Since Lu Ye had been traveling in a straight line, it was inevitable that he would trespass the territories of some Thousand Demon Ridge factions. Naturally, a fight broke out every time he ran into one or more enemy cultivators.
Therge majority of the cultivators in the Inner Circle were between Sixth to Ninth-Order. Rarely would one encounter a cultivator who had changed to a Heaven-Grade cultivation techniquethose people mostly roamed the Core Circle. As a result, not a single Thousand Demon Ridge party had managed to get the upper hand on Lu Ye, not even when they outnumbered him five to one. Plus, it wasnt like he was fighting alone. Yi Yi was extremely elusive, and she had be very proficient at using the Nine Realms Scroll. If necessary, she could drag one or more of Lu Yes enemies into the ward scroll and battle them there. Their fate was as good as sealed after that.
Chapter 257: Rift of Fortune
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 257: Rift of Fortune
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Spirit Creek Battlefield boasted an abundance of World Spiritual Qi, which was why its environment was extremely beautiful. Lu Ye, Yi Yi and Amber were able to take in all the sceneries on their path while they continued to travel to the House of Wintry Blossoms. In fact, there was probably no one on Lu Yes cultivation realm who had seen and heard more of the Spirit Creek Battlefield than him.
He had left Green Cloud Mountain and begun his journey to the Crimson Blood Sect as a Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. He had traveled the roads for at least five months before he became a Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.
Now, he was on a long journey once more.
Although cultivators often left their nests to experience the world once in a while, the vast majority of their time was still consumed by cultivation.
Naturally, Lu Ye was more knowledgeable and experienced than his peers.
Today, a travel-worn Lu Ye and Yi Yi had arrived at a bazaar.
Unlike the ones in the Outer Circle, this bazaar was clearly busier and more prosperous. After all, its main customers were no longer budding cultivators between the Third or Fourth-Order. Everyone who roamed the bazaaror the entire Inner Circle for the matterwas at least a Sixth-Order cultivator.
The name of this bazaar was very simple. It was called the Divine Trade Bazaar because it had been formed around the Divine Trade Association. There were many, many more of its kind across the Inner Circle and Core Circle.
While cultivators usually spent Contribution Points to purchase rare materials from the Vault of Providence, the same could not be said for daily necessities and generic cultivation resources. After all, it wasnt easy to earn Contribution Points. The need for trade naturally gave birth to many bazaars.
Lu Ye had visited several bazaars in the Outer Circle, but this would be the first bazaar he visited in the Inner Circle. As he explored the ce and took in the sights, he discovered that it was very different from the bazaars he knew.
For starters, theyout of the buildings was tidier, and the streets were cleaner. There was a good mix of independent cultivators and sect cultivators as well.
Yes, independent cultivators existed in the Inner Circle and Core Circle as well. Maybe it was because they were used to a loners life, or maybe it was because they carried certain pursuits that would not fit well with a sect cultivators lifestyle. Regardless of the reason, these independent cultivators had chosen not to join a sect.
Moreover, sects generally did not wee independent cultivators who had reached the Seventh-Order or higher. There were several reasons. They could not ascertain if their background was clean. It would be dangerous if the prospect turned out to be an enemy spy. Two, it was difficult to secure their loyalty. At their level, they might not be able to adapt to a lifestyle where they must answer to a sects beck and call.
In the Outer Circle, most Third and Fourth-Order independent cultivators still had a good chance to join a sect. But the higher their cultivation, the harder it was for them to join a sect.
The existence of independent cultivators wasnt unique to Spirit Creek Realm either. There were Cloud River Realm, True Lake Realm and even Divine Ocean Realm independent cultivators.
The vast majority of independent cultivators would choose to be the associate of a sects Outpost to enjoy their rich World Spiritual Qi. However, there was a small minority that chose to bepletely independent because a Qi-rich environment was the only benefit of bing an associate. Not only that, they would have to answer to the sects summons if thetter had need of their services.
Since they werent willing to subordinate themselves to a sect in any way, they had to find another way to earn their cultivation resources. Hence, the Divine Trade Bazaar. Barring a very small minority, the vast majority of independent cultivators were highly dependent on the Divine Trade Bazaars to make a living.
An independent cultivators life was full of poverty and hardships, but it could not be denied that they also enjoyed the greatest degree of freedom.
The main reason Lu Ye hade to this Divine Trade Bazaar was to catch a good nights rest. He also wanted to update his 10-point map.
It had been nearly a year since he had spent an obscene amount of money to purchase this map. He was sure that some of the details were no longer urate.
Besides that, this was a good opportunity to process all the useless loot in his Storage Bag, such as his share of the booty he had received from Silverlight Ind. Although he had sold most of it to the Vault of Providence, there was still some that was taking up space in his Storage Bag. That was why he wanted to exchange it for cultivation resources.
As he entered the Divine Trade Association, he noted that theyout was exactly the same as the one he visited in the past.
A manager led Lu Ye to a private room and listened attentively to his requests. Then, he took the items he gave him and left to process the request.
Lu Ye poured a cup of Spirit Tea for himself while he waited. It immediately brought back some memories. Back then, he made sure to drink until his stomach was full every time he entered the Divine Trade Association because the Spirit Tea contained a bit of Spiritual Power that he could use to improve his cultivation
He was seriously poor back then, so poor that he tallied his Spirit Pills every few days for fear of running out. Thankfully, that wasnt the case anymore. If hecked cultivation resources, he could simply rob them from an enemy cultivator. He was even able to umte a sizable amount of precious Contribution Points.
About an incense stickter, the manager returned with an updated 10-point map and a bag of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills. Lu Ye checked the contents before confirming that the goods were delivered, and the bill settled.
With that done, Lu Ye requested for a room to stay in the Divine Trade Association. It was processed ordingly as a matter of course.
A short whileter, Lu Ye sat cross-legged in the best room of the third floor and inspected his 10-point map closely. However, it looked practically identical to his old map as far as he could tell. It probably meant that not much had changed in the past year.
Anyway, the map informed him that he was only half a day away from the House of Wintry Blossomss territory. Thanks to his earlier experience, he decided to head straight for their ore vein.
He had opted for a more conservative approach with the Sky Pir Sect at the beginning because he was only a Seventh-Order cultivator and a neer of the Inner Circle back then. Now that he was an Eighth-Order cultivator, he believed he could afford to be a little more aggressive. Worst case scenario, he would just escape from his pursuers. Yep, he could not see anything wrong with the n.
After he put away the 10-point map, Lu Ye took out a thick book and began flipping through the pages. At the same time, he assembled and disassembled a Glyph on his hand. His movements were a lot better thanks to his daily practices; a clear indicator that he was slowly but surely deepening his understanding of the Way of Glyphs.
The night passed in the blink of an eye. The next day, after waking up to a wonderful nights sleep, he took a bath and changed into a clean set of clothes. Then, he walked down the stairs feeling like he could challenge the world itself.
To his surprise, the hall was almost empty. In fact, he couldnt see anyone besides the employees of the Divine Trade Association.
.
At first, he thought the ce was empty because it was early in the morning. Then, he stepped out and found that the streets were almost empty. It was as if most of the cultivators had left the bazaar overnight.
Lu Ye frowned. What the heck was going on here?
Yi Yi suggested, Do you want me to ask around?
After he gave her a nod, she turned around and called out to the female receptionist standing in front of the entrance of the Divine Trade Association, Good morning, sister. Do you know whats going on here?
The receptionist answered, I heard that something called the Rift of Fortune has appeared.
And what is that?
The female cultivator shook her head. Thats all I know.
She probably wasnt lying because she was just a Fourth-Order cultivator. She wouldnt even be in the Inner Circle if she wasnt affiliated with the Divine Trade Association.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye had already gone back into the trade association and sought out a manager. Does the association have information on the Rift of Fortune?
The manager immediately broke into a wide smile. But of course, sir. Which level of information would you like to purchase?
Give me the best one you got.
Truly, things were different from what they used to be. Back then, buying a single 10-point map had felt like gouging out his heart. Now? Lets just say that money wasnt a problem anymore.
Very well. Please wait a moment, sir.
A whileter, the manager returned with a jade slip and said, Thank you for your purchase. That would be nine hundred Spirit Stones.
He did ask for the best information they had, though whether it was worth the money remained to be seen. Lu Ye wordlessly paid the fee before stepping aside to inspect the contents of the jade slip.
Half a cup of teater, he set down the jade slip and felt Yi Yis curious gaze on him. He passed her the jade slip so she could inspect it as well.
ording to the information in the jade slip, the Rift of Fortune was an independent space not unlike the Chess Sea, but smaller. Moreover, there were many types of Rift of Fortune. Sometimes, it looked like something straight out of a painting. Sometimes, it looked like the depths of hell itself. And sometimes, its environment was constantly changing and unfathomable.
One thing was certain though, and that was each and every rift contained valuable treasures any cultivator would like to get their hands on. It could be precious natural resources, secret arts, secret books and even Heaven-Grade cultivation techniques.
Currently, cultivation techniques were in a state of prization in Jiu Zhou. All cultivation techniques beneath Heaven-Grade were cheap enough that even independent cultivators could afford them without difficulty. It was why Lu Ye was able to purchase the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic for the cheap, cheap price of a few Spirit Stones from the Mystic Sect. Even an Earth-Grade cultivation technique was worth only dozens of Spirit Stones at most.
On the other hand, Heaven-Grade cultivation techniques were absolutely priceless. There was only one way to obtain one, and that was to buy it from the Vault of Providence using Contribution Points.
It took a minimum of one thousand Contribution Points to purchase a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. Moreover, the cultivation technique was keyed to the buyer. Anyone who tried to teach it to someone else would be punished by the Heavens.
A thousand Contribution Points wasnt a huge sum for Lu Ye because he could y most enemies with ease, not to mention that he was a Legate. If necessary, he could just pay himself a monthly wage of Contribution Points.
The same could not be said for the other cultivators, however. Some people could umte Contribution Points throughout their cultivation lives and still not make enough to purchase a single Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. It was why countless people were stuck in the Ninth-Order.
It wasnt like they could skip the cultivation technique either. A Heaven-Grade cultivation technique was the key to ascending to Cloud River Realm. To put it simply, one could not be a Cloud River Realm cultivator without a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique.
This was why cultivators of opposing factions were more than willing to murder the hell out of each other. One might even say that their kill count directly affected their future.
This was why the Rift of Fortune was highly attractive to all cultivators. They effectively saved themselves over a thousand Contribution Points if they were lucky enough to pick up a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique from the rift.
The information provided by the Divine Trade Association was extremelyprehensive. It was because they purchased every bit and piece they could from cultivators who had survived the Rift of Fortune beforepiling them all into one neat little jade slip.
There was a reason the information was as expensive as it was.
ording to the jade slip, the Rift of Fortune could appear on any corner of the Spirit Creek Battlefield at any moment. While it wasnt an umon urrence, it definitely took a good bit of luck to stumble across one.
Of course, every time a Rift of Fortune appeared, all nearby cultivators would enter it to search for their fortune.
This was why the bazaar was so empty right now.
Unfortunately, the Rift of Fortune onlysted around a day before vanishing. It wasnt always discovered immediately upon appearing either. Add to the fact that there was usually a dy before the news were spread, and it meant that the number of cultivators who actually got to enter the rift were few and far between.
There was even one time where the Rift of Fortune was discovered when it was close to disappearing. The cultivators had arrived just in time to see it vanish before their eyes. It was a painful experience to say the least.
After he had fully digested the information, Lu Ye asked the receptionist at the entrance a couple more questions, before exiting the Divine Trade Association. Taking out his boat Spirit Artifact, he flew into the sky.
Chapter 258: The House of Wintry Blossoms
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 258: The House of Wintry Blossoms
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Forty kilometers to the east of the Divine Trade Bazaar, there was a U-shaped valley that was covered in gray fog, so much so that it was impossible to tell how it looked originally.
The valley was fairly small all things considered; a few kilometers in radius at most. Groups of cultivators could be seen standing on the hills. It was clear they were drawn here by the news of the Rift of Fortune.
This valley did not fall under any sects territory, so it was considered a neutral ground. In fact, there were plenty of neutral grounds in the Spirit Creek Battlefieldthe world was vast, and the sects werent so numerous that their territories bordered each other seamlessly after all.
The valley was located at the center of four sects. Two of them belonged to Grand Sky Coalition, and the other two to Thousand Demon Ridge. Ranging between the Fifth to Sixth-Tier, they were all pretty powerful sects in their own right.
Two of the four factions had already made it to the valley. One was the House of Wintry Blossoms, and the other Hidden Light Sanctuary.
The independent cultivators were gathered in groups of threes, fours and fives, both the two sects had brought at least a hundred cultivators with them. It showed just how much they valued the Rift of Fortune.
The reason they were able to arrive faster than the other two sects was because the valley was closer to their Outposts, and they had received word in a timely fashion.
The other two sects were not so lucky. It would take them a while to get here even if they caught wind of the news early.
Currently, both the House of Wintry Blossoms and the Hidden Light Sanctuary were attempting to recruit the aid of the independent cultivators. Unfortunately, neither of them were having much sess.
The independent cultivators of the Inner Circle were more independent than their Outer Circle counterparts. They were also less likely to be fooled by a sects empty promises. There was a reason they made it this far after all.
Moreover, safety in numbers wasnt always a good thing when exploring a rift like this. For starters, joining a sect meant that they were obligated to participate inrge-scale battles against the opposing faction, something that was guaranteed to happen more than once in a small space like the Rift of Fortune. They would also be putting their fate in their acting superiors hands. If the superior was ipetent or plotting to use them as sacrificial pawns, well Long story short, it wasnt necessarily less safe to stay with their fellow independent cultivators.
Plus, those who wanted to join a sect wouldve done so a long time ago. They would not have waited until now to join one. That was why the independent cultivators at the valley were more willing to team up with their peers.
By the time Lu Ye showed up on his flying Spirit Artifact, several hundred cultivators had already gathered at the valley. Things looked pretty messy from what he could see.
The first thing he noticed was that two one hundred man-groups were standing on opposing sides of the valley. They were clearly hostile toward one another.
One group had far more female cultivators than male cultivators, and they were all fairly beautiful in their own right. They also wore provocative clothes that showed off their legs, their waists and more. Flying behind them was a huge banner with petals on it. In fact, the fabric itself smelled faintly of flowers.
Lu Ye immediately identified it as the banner of the House of Wintry Blossoms.
Technically speaking, he had never seen their banner before. However, he had seen their symbol on his 10-point map. The symbol of every sect was disyed behind their name. For example, the Crimson Blood Sects symbol was a golden me with a red background.
Lu Ye did not recognize the other group, but a quick check of his map told him that they belonged to the Hidden Light Sanctuary. This meant that two of the four nearby factions had already arrived at the valley.
The two factions who hadnt shown up yet were the Lofty Plume Court of Grand Sky Coalition and Sunlit Mountain of Thousand Demon Ridge respectively. They were probably still on the road since their Outposts were farther away from the valley.
Lu Yended on the side belonging to Hidden Light Sanctuary. Then, he looked into the valley curiously.
The reason he paid nine hundred Spirit Stones for the best info on the Rift of Fortune and rushed over as quickly as he could was because the word Rift had tickled his mind.
It so happened that he had a Mystic Fruit that transported his mind to a Rift of Illusions so he could battle against all kinds of enemies and strengthen his skills. What if this Rift of Fortune was somehow connected to it?
He could bepletely wrong as a matter of course, but there was certainly no harm in checking it out.
.
So far, he was inclined to believe that his suspicions were right. It was because the rolling gray fog in the valley looked exactly the same as the one in the Rift of Illusions.
[Are they really connected to one another?]
That said, it was a bit presumptuous to make that deduction now. He would have to enter the space to be sure.
While he was thinking, a young cultivator walked up to him and saluted him respectfully. Greetings, fellow cultivator. I am Ji Yan of the Hidden Light Sanctuary. Would you be interested in exploring the Rift of Fortune with us?
Lu Ye nced at his party and thought for a moment. Then, he shook his head and said, Thank you for the offer, but no thanks.
While he was safer traveling with the Hidden Light Sanctuarys party, he would lose a certain extent of freedom. He did not believe that the trade-off was worth it.
Ji Yan did not waste his breath. He simply nodded at Lu Ye before moving on to the next person.
After Ji Yan was gone, a short cultivator with short mustaches standing next to him said in a friendly tone, You are wise to turn them down, buddy. I wont deny that Hidden Light Sanctuarys reputation is pretty good, but I doubt youll be able to gain much from the rift if you were to join them. We independent cultivators simply arent bornpatible with sect cultivators, dont you agree?
The guy must have had unpleasant experiences with sect cultivators. It was clear he wasnt fond of them.
He then changed his tune and continued, Would you like to travel with us? Whatever the rift might be, acting as a group cant be worse than acting alone. Plus, you look like abat cultivator. It so happens that Im a spell cultivator, and this big fellow next to me is a body tempering cultivator. If you join us, then all we need is a ghost cultivator toplete the team. What do you say?
He patted the shoulder of the guy next to him. The only reason he managed to do so was because hispanion was sitting on the ground.
Lu Ye nced at the guyspanion. He hadnt noticed at first, but the man was impressively broad and tall. It was clear he was a body-tempering cultivator judging from his overwhelming vitality alone, and he gave off the impression of a mountain even though he was just sitting on the ground.
His shock grew when he looked closer, however. It was because the body-tempering cultivators Spiritual Power was perfectly pure. It had been a while since he began his adventure of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and he had encountered cultivators of all shapes and sizes during this time. However, none of their aura was perfectly pure because of the Spirit Pills they consumed.
Without exaggeration, this was the first time ever he encountered someone whose aura was almost as pure as his, not to mention that he was a body-tempering cultivator.
The body-tempering cultivator was currently eating what looked like a bloody piece of meat. Seemingly sensing his gaze, the man met Lu Yes gaze and shot him a naive smile.
What is your answer, buddy? The short cultivator asked again.
Lu Ye replied indifferently, Thank you for the offer, but no thanks.
The short cultivator huffed. I was nning to provide you some guidance, but since you do not appreciate it, then whatever.
Technically speaking, it wasnt a boast. Both him and hispanion were Ninth-Order cultivators after all.
The guy then walked toward another lone independent cultivator. Clearly, he wasnt going to stop until he had recruited a team of sorts.
Suddenly, the body-tempering cultivator handed over the meat in his hand. Have a bite!
Lu Ye was going to reject the offer when Amber leaped off his shoulder andnded on the body-tempering cultivators legs. It then consumed the meat ravenous.
The naive-looking body-tempering cultivator smiled at the sight of this. He raised his ridiculously massive hand and stroked Ambers smooth fur.
[Interesting] Lu Ye thought to himself while watching this. The number of people who could approach Amber since he brought it back to the Crimson Blood Sect could be counted on one hand. Not even Yi Yis closest friend, Ruan Lingyu was an exception. One time, Ruan Lingyu wanted to ride Amber but was rejected no matter what she tried. The tiger simply refused to get up from its sunbathing spot until Yi Yi had given it a direct order. It carried Lingyu around the Summit of Fortitude once, but never again after that.
As for feeding Amber had never eaten anything that didnte from Lu Ye or Yi Yi. Not even his senior sister, Shui Yuan was able to convince it otherwise, much less aplete stranger.
Naturally, he was quite surprised with Ambers current behavior. It wasnt like he could ask Yi Yi what was going on either since the girl was currently hiding inside Ambers body.
Amber was capable of seeing through the heart. The fact that it was being so affectionate with the body-tempering cultivator seemed to indicate that he possessed certain qualities that were attractive to Amber. Could it be that simple-minded people were naturally pure in heart?
Time passed quickly. More and more cultivators heard the news of the Rift of Fortune and showed up, though none had shown up in arge group.
Meanwhile, the fog in the valley grew thicker and thicker.
On the other side of the valley, a tall and slim female cultivator wearing a short shirt that revealed her waist was listening attentively to a male cultivators report. She was the prolegate of the House of Wintry Blossoms, Chi Qing.
The Rift of Fortune was a ce of untold opportunities and riches. Naturally, the leader of the exploration party had to be a Legate or prolegate at the very least.
Sunlit Mountain is almost here. They should make it before the Rift opens, the guy reported while moving closer to Chu Qing. Her flowery scent was causing sparks to explode inside his head.
Chu Qing nodded. Good. What about Lofty Plume Court?
I havent heard anything about them yet.
Well, dont just stand here and do nothing. Go investigate them now.
Right away! The guy responded before retreating to the back.
The House of Wintry Blossoms was a very special faction in the sense that women enjoyed better status and treatment in this sect. In fact, the sect used to have no male cultivators at all. The founder of the sect was a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. It was said that she was tricked and betrayed by her lover in the past because she came to believe that all men in the world were disgusting, repulsive, and death-deserving creatures. That was why she wanted to found a sect with female cultivators only.
Unfortunately, dreams did not usually mesh well with reality. The restriction severely restricted their growth, not to mention that they were a body-tempering cultivation faction. Most women would prefer to be slim, beautiful and perfect, not massive hunks of meat whose very responsibility was to get hurt and ugly in battle.
That was why the sect changed their policies as soon as their founder had passed away. They began epting male disciples into their ranks, although seventy to eighty percent of their members were still female. Moreover, most of their male cultivators were body-tempering cultivators. Long story short, it was their job to brave all the dangers and endure all the hurt.
Despite this, the House of Wintry Blossoms remained incredibly popr within Thousand Demon Ridge. After all, who doesnt like a sweet, gentle beauty, and the House of Wintry Blossoms was overflowing with them.
Chapter 259: The Lost City of Xianyuan
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 259: The Lost City of Xianyuan
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Chu Qing looked over to the other side of the valley where Hidden Light Sanctuary was. Their Legate, Gu Canyang was watching her with a cold look, and vice versa.
Hidden Light Sanctuary and the House of Wintry Blossoms were neighbors, so of course they hated each others guts. Moreover, they werepeting for the fortunes within the Rift of Fortune this time. They were absolutely going to destroy one another when they went inside and the opportunity presented itself.
The reason no one was making a move was because the Rift of Fortune still wasnt open. There was no need to start a quarrel just yet.
Chu Qing nced left and right in search of any cultivator that might deserve her attention. It wasnt long before she saw arge man wearing a tattered hemp shirt that bared half of his chest. Her pupils contracted. If she wasnt mistaken, the independent cultivator was none other than the famous Ju Jia.
Ju Jia was quite famous among the independent cultivators, so much so that all nearby sects were made aware of his name. In fact, Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court had tried to recruit him before.
Normally, the sects would not recruit a Ninth-Order independent cultivator due to various concerns. However, they were all willing to make an exception for Ju Jia not just because he was simple-minded, but because he was unlike any other body-tempering cultivator they had ever known.
For starters, it was said that Ju Jia had never taken a life since he began cultivating. It was unthinkable that there existed a cultivator on the Spirit Creek Battlefield who had never taken a life, but Ju Jia was apparently the exception to the rule.
There were several reasons why Ju Jia had survived until now despite killing no one. The first reason was his spell cultivatorpanion. Assuming that the rumors were true, the duo had teamed up since they were Second or Third-Order, and the spell cultivator was the one who did all of the killing.
The second reason was that Ju Jia was extraordinarily tough. Practically no one at his cultivation level could break through his defense, and even those who were one or even two minor realms above him had a hard time injuring him. Somehow, the duo were able to make it from the Second or Third-Order all the way to the Ninth-Order.
The reason Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court failed to recruit Ju Jia was because of the spell cultivator. The guy seemed to think of Ju Jia as his money tree and refused to give him up to anyone else.
The fact that Ju Jia was here meant that he would be entering the Rift of Fortune, and Chu Qing did not want to know what would happen if they were to sh against one another. The good news was that Ju Jia wasnt standing with the cultivators of Hidden Light Sanctuary, which meant that he was probably still working with his spell cultivatorpanion. They should be fine as long as they did not provoke him on purpose.
Chu Qing began looking for the spell cultivator to confirm her suspicions. The spell cultivator was extremely recognizable because of his short stature and short mustaches. [That mans a bad egg no matter how you look at it.]
Her eyes were just skipping past Lu Ye when she abruptly retrained her gaze on him. She then poured Spiritual Power into her eyes and examined him closely. She slowly narrowed her eyes when she confirmed she wasnt seeing things.
[Why is that man here? This aura hes Eighth-Order already?
She was shocked because he was a Fifth-Order cultivator just a few months ago. This meant that he had climbed three minor realms in just the span of a few months.
She carefully withdrew her gaze and stared at her feet. She slowly clenched her fists as murderous intent began to flow out of her body.
On the other side, Lu Ye felt like someone was watching him and shot the House of Wintry Blossoms a nce. Unfortunately, he couldnt be sure because there were too many people. It could just be his imagination.
It was around this time Amber finished eating the meat it was given and leaped back to Lu Yes shoulder.
Seemingly reluctant to let Amber go, the body-tempering cultivator asked in a low, muffled voice, What is its name?
Amber.
The body-tempering cultivator nodded. Ju Jia.
It was probably his name.
It was at this moment a massive ship appeared from the horizon and flew toward the valley at high speed. The cultivators of the House of Wintry Blossoms perked up when they saw it because it belonged to none other than their allied sect, Sunlit Mountain.
A whileter, the massive flying Spirit Artifactnded on a t ground on the other side of the valley. Then, a group of one hundred cultivators led by a handsome young man stepped off the ship and met up with the House of Wintry Blossoms right away. For a time, the atmosphere grew warm and cheery as both sides engaged each other in a pleasant conversation. It was obvious that the two sects shared a close rtionship.
On the other hand, the cultivators of Hidden Light Sanctuary wore grim expressions on their faces. Ji Yuanthe same guy who had attempted recruit Lu Ye earlierwalked up to a man with bronze skin and asked in a low voice, How much longer until Lofty Plume Court arrives, senior brother?
The man with bronze skin was the leader of this Hidden Light Sanctuary group. He was also the Legate of their Outpost, Gu Canyang.
I dont think theyll arrive in time, Gu Canyang replied. Last I checked, theyre still four to six hours away from our location, and it looks like the Rift of Fortune could open at any moment.
Ji Yan looked deeply worried. What do we do then? Well be fighting one against two if we head in right now. Should we withdraw?
Gu Canyang shook his head. What do you think will happen if we retreat without even putting up a fight? Our sect will be aughingstock for months toe. Dont worry, the situation might not necessarily be disadvantageous to us. With luck, the Rift of Fortune this time could be one where superior numbers do not provide an advantage.
It was at this moment the fog in the valley began moving rapidly.
Its about to open! Someone shouted.
The entire valley fell silent as if a silencing spell had been cast over everyones mouth. They were all staring at the fog in front of them.
The fog continued to churn and converge in multiple locations. Soon, many vortices of varying sizes appeared across the valley.
It didnt take long before the churning fog abruptly turned still once more. However, the vortices were still present and leaking some sort of unspeakable aura.
Senior brother, Ji Yan called out.
Gu Canyang raised his hand and sliced the air in front of him. Forward!
Since he had decided to enter the Rift of Fortune, he wasnt going to quit at thest possible moment. As if to prove his resolve to his sect mates, he walked toward the closest vortex and jumped straight into it, vanishing immediately. Behind him, the cultivators of Hidden Light Sanctuary followed closely.
On the other side of the valley, the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain were doing the same thing. They were all entering the mysterious vortices that led them to god-knows-where. Same thing with the independent cultivators.
The spell cultivator had returned to Ju Jias side. Unfortunately, he wasnt able to recruit a single person. In his head, he grumbled how the times had changed, and people were far more heartless than they used to be, so much so that he couldnt even recruit a single helper. When he saw that Ju Jia was still eating his food like nothing was going on, he became so frustrated that he kicked the body-tempering cultivator once before barking, Get up! Its time to go!
Okay.
Ju Jia shoved all the meat in his hands into his mouth, filling up his cheeks like a balloon. Then, he followed the short cultivator into a vortex.
Lu Ye had leaped into the vortex next to theirs. He was hoping that he could peer through the vortex somehow, but unfortunately there was no such luck.
As he passed through the vortex and entered a foggy world, he suddenly felt an invisible energy wrapping around his entire body and holding him in the air.
There were noises all around him. When he looked around, he saw that all the cultivators who entered the vortices ahead of him were frozen in mid-air as well.
He looked behind himself. There were many holes in the grayish sky, and cultivators kept pouring in through them. He tried to channel his Spiritual Power but found that he was unable to muster even the slightest bit of energy.
Fuck! Its the motherfucking Lost City of Xianyuan! Someone shouted.
The shout was like a bomb in a pond. Countless people began shouting obscenities on top of their lungs.
Lu Ye looked beneath his feet. He saw a massive city with incredibly impressive structures sprawling across a vastnd. However, it was also in tatters as if it had just been ravaged by war. Even its humongous wallssome as tall as several hundred meterswere copsed in several sections
Not only that, he spotted massive w marks on some parts of the walls. There were also massive patches of dark blood that gave off a pitch ck smoke and a terrible sense of misfortune. It was almost as if the walls had been scaled by some sort of massive creatures.
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes with a serious expression on his face. ording to the information he bought from the Divine Trade Association, the Rift of Fortune was connected to many different pocket dimensions. Each one contained the ruins of an ancient faction, and no one knew when they were founded or how they were destroyed.
In fact, a good number of these pocket dimensions were safe and filled with all kinds of treasures. They were probably the valuables left behind by the vanquished factions, and a good number of them had entered the pockets of the cultivators throughout the years.
Some people had discovered an ancient herb garden in the Rift of Fortune, and every herb it contained was valuable beyond imagination.
Some people had found a Spirit Treasure and be powerful overnight.
And some people had even received the inheritance of a peak champion
This was why the Rift of Fortune was so attractive to the cultivators. Every time it appeared, they would swarm to it like bees to honeys.
However, some ruins were more dangerous than the others, and the Lost City of Xianyuan was among the most dangerous a cultivator could enter. It was because some of the dangers in this city were practically irresistible as a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. Death was almost a certainty if one came across these dangers.
Not only that, the Lost City of Xianyuan was overflowing with apparitions. These apparitions seemed to be Xianyuan City cultivators who died in the past and, for whatever reason, were turned into apparitions and trapped here. Most of these apparitions were mindless creatures who could only act as their instincts dictated, although there were some unique apparitions who still had their minds.
Therefore, enemy cultivators werent the only dangers in this ce. The city itself was one giant death trap.
Lu Ye recalled everything he knew about the Lost City of Xianyuan while looking at a massive pce at the center of the city. He vowed to himself to never set foot in that ce because it was the residence of the city lord. In other words, the apparition of the city lord himself was inside that building!
Meanwhile, the shouts and curses of his fellow cultivators had gotten louder. They would never have entered this Rift of Fortune if they knew it was connected to the Lost City of Xianyuan. Everyone loved valuables, but what was the point if they wouldnt live to use them?
Lu Ye didnt lower himself to their level, but he was a bit disappointed with this oue. There was a pocket dimension containing a vast number of valuable ancient scriptures called the Great Brahman Library. Although the scriptures themselves could not be carried out of the rift for whatever reason, it was overflowing with all kinds of inheritances including that of Glyphweavers.
Of all the pocket dimensions, the Great Brahman Library was the most desired because of its low risk, high reward nature.
Chapter 260: Liu Sanbao
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 260: Liu Sanbao
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It would be nice if swearing loudly could improve their situation somehow, but unfortunately that wasnt the case. It was impossible to leave after entering a Rift of Fortune. They could only wait until the time limit was up, and they were thrown out by the Lost City of Xianyuan itself.
It was at this moment Lu Ye felt a powerful attraction force from the front. The next moment, he began falling toward the city at high speed. People were crying out in surprise all around him.
About six or seven hundred cultivators had entered the Rift of Fortune this time. The sight of all of them falling toward the ground was impressive to say the least.
At this height, not even a body tempering cultivator like Ju Jia could possibly survive the impact. It wasnt a matter of tenacity, but of physics. A fall like this just wasnt survivable.
Everyone was trying to channel their Spiritual Power to save themselves to no avail. Cultivators who knew nothing about the Rift of Fortune started cursing even louder. Some were even screaming and crying that they didnt want to die yet.
Lu Ye didnt panic because the information he bought from the Divine Trade Association had mentioned this exact situation. He simply focused on channeling his Spiritual Power again and again.
As they were falling, some people started straying away from the main group as if they had been caught in a different air current. They felt horrible as the change of direction had nothing to do with their intentions whatsoever.
The short cultivator and Ju Jia had appeared not far away from Lu Ye, but they eventually moved out of sight as they were falling toward the city. It was impossible to say where they were right now.
The screams grew increasingly frantic as the ground grew closer and closer. It wasnt until they were around thirty meters from the ground when their descent abruptly slowed. When the distance had shortened to ten meters, the shackles around their Spiritual Power finally vanished like they were never there.
All cultivators who knew what was going to happen immediately channeled their Spiritual Power and saved themselves from crashing. Those who didntnded unceremoniously to put it mildly. They were close enough to the ground that the impact wasnt enough to kill even the weakest of them, but it certainly wasnt a good look tond on your face, ass, or any other embarrassing position.
Lu Ye performed a front roll immediately after his feet made contact with the ground. It was an evasive maneuver just in case someone hadnded close by and decided to take a cheap shot at him. Once he had risen to his feet, he immediately grabbed the hilt of the Invible and checked his surroundings. Luckily for him, the streeta market street judging from the dpidated shops lining on both sides of the streethended on looked to be devoid of people.
Everyones formation had beenpletely disorganized. Originally, the three sects held a major advantage over theirpetitors since they were in arge group. Now, it was going to take them a while to reunite with their fellow cultivators. This was good news for the independent cultivators because it meant that they wouldnt have to worry about being attacked by massive groups of enemy cultivators for the time being.
Suddenly, Lu Ye heard a shout, Who dares to enter Xianyuan without permission? Take them down! Immediately after that, he heard the sounds of fighting and felt shockwaves of Spiritual Power.
He was still trying to determine what to do when he saw two cultivators rushing out of a corner and running straight toward him. They looked like they were being chased by some sort of harbingers of doom.
Unlucky bastards! Lu Ye swore under his breath while checking his left and right. As soon as he found a building with antern at the entrance, he immediately applied Windwalk to his legs and rushed toward it like lightning. He pushed open the door, dashed inside, and mmed it behind him in one smooth motion.
After breathing a sigh of relief, he peered through the gap between the door to look outside. The two cultivators had barely run a couple of steps when a shining ropeshed toward them from behind. Judging from its appearance, it was less of a Spirit Artifact and more like a shackling spell. In fact, it looked pretty simr to the rumored Spirit Shackling Rope.
The Spirit Shackling Rope was targeted at thebat cultivator of the duo, but the man wasnt going to go down easily. Heshed out with his de and was able to destroy the spell in mid-run. He hmphed disdainfully and said, Piece of cake!
Not a moment too soon, five more Spirit Shackling Ropes appeared from the back and wrapped around him like they had a mind of their own. The poor guy was immobilized instantly.
Thebat cultivator yelped in surprise as he dropped to the ground. He struggled hard to break out of his binds, but the Spirit Shackling Ropes simply grew tighter and tighter until finally, he could barely breathe.
Its not fair! Fight me one on one if you dare! The cultivator yelled.
His captors merely ran past him without a sound and continued chasing after the other cultivator. Just ten breathster, Lu Ye heard a cry of surprise from the distance. Then, the captors returned with the cultivator in tow. They dropped the bound man next to hispanion. For a time, the two cultivators simply stared at each other with tears in their eyes.
The captors were all wearing the same type of armor. The leaders helmet had a long feather at the top. Their name was the Xianyuan City Watch, and they were the protectors of the city. Although the city was destroyed, and they were all transformed into apparitions a long time ago, not a day had passed where these spectral sentries werent carrying out their duties faithfully.
The Xianyuan City Watch was the biggest threat in the city bar none because every member was at least Eighth-Order or higher. Some squad leaders were Heaven Grade Seventh-Order cultivators as well. As if that wasnt bad enough, the sentries were the lowest rung on thedder. The officers,manders and higher were even more powerful.
As for the city lord, no one knew how powerful he was. No one had ever set foot in his residence and lived to tell the tale.
The Xianyuan City Watch was a major threat to all cultivators. They always operated in squads of five or six, and each squad was led by a squad leader. They were a formidable force that most cultivators would avoid like the gue.
Lu Ye only needed to look at the two captured cultivators before him to know the information was true. They were a pair of Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order cultivators, and they werent weaklings whose skill did not fit their cultivation realm either. However, the sentry squad had still captured them with ease.
Take them to the dungeon! The sentry leader with a feather at the top of his head dered.
Lu Ye silently offered his condolences to the two cultivators. They were all here to search for their fortune, but it took a kind of bad luck to be caught by the Xianyuan City Watch at the very beginning, much less imprisoned behind bars. Although it didnt look like their lives were in dangerthe sentry leader wouldve just executed them if that was the nHeavens only know what kind of fate awaited them in the dungeon.
It was said that those who were thrown into the dungeon were tortured horribly. The tough ones might be able to survive until they were ejected from the city, but otherwise death was the most likely oue.
The sentry leader wasnt done though. He strode to the shop where Lu Ye was hiding next and pressed an eye against the gap between the door, staring him directly in the eye. He then dered in a malicious tone, This is what happens to all those who dare to break thew in Xianyuan! Do not forget this!
It was only then he finally left with his squad and his prisoners.
Lu Ye kept watching until the spectral sentries werepletely out of sight. Even then, he never let go of the Invible. At the same time, he thanked his past self for spending nine hundred Spirit Stones to purchase the best information avable in the Divine Trade Association because he wouldve had no idea how to deal with this situation otherwise. He would have shed against the squad already if he was stingy, and Heavens only know what might have happened then.
ording to the info in the jade slip, all buildings with antern at the entrance seemed to be protected by some kind of strange power. Barring exceptional circumstances, the Xianyuan City Watch would not enter these buildings.
That was why Lu Ye had made a beeline for this shop.
A ton of cultivators should be roaming the streets of Xianyuan and engaging the Xianyuan City Watch in a deadly cat-and-mouse chase right now. After some thought, he decided that it would be safer to hide in this shop and wait until the situation stabilized than to explore blindly.
I wonder how many people were caught by the sentries already
Lu Ye turned around and stared wordlessly at a corner of the room. Three meters away, a fat middle-aged man wearing andlords outfit was rubbing his palms and smiling kindly at Lu Ye.
What terrible luck
Most of the buildings with antern at the entrance did not have an owner, but sometimes they housed an apparition or two. Moreover, these long-dead apparitions would often make all kinds of strange requests to the cultivators who paid them a visit. If they were able to fulfill the apparitions request, then they would be able to leave the ce unscathed. Otherwise, they would have to pay a terrible pricetheir lives included.
Long story short, the Lost City of Xianyuan was a bizarre ce.
It seems that fate has brought us together, my young friend. Would you like to gamble with me?
This guy had to be a gambler when he was still alive.
Lu Yes gaze lingered at the apparitions neck for a second. He was wondering if he could kill the guy in one hit.
Unfortunately, his aura was that of a Heaven Grade Seventh-Order cultivator, so chances were he was going to fail horribly. So, he suppressed his killing intent and went with the apparitions wishes for now. It wasnt the time to cause a hugemotion anyway.
Sure.
The apparitions expression grew even friendlier as he beckoned Lu Ye to follow him. Follow me!
Lu Ye kept a hand on his saber as he followed the apparition into another room. When he saw the gambling table at the center, he immediately figured that his theory was right. The apparition was a gambler in the past.
The apparition sat down at the head of the table and gestured. Sit.
Lu Ye did as he said and sat down on the opposite chair.
My name is Liu Sanbao. What is yours, my young friend?
Lu Yi Ye!
Liu Sanbao chuckled when he heard this. Fate truly has brought us together. Even our names match one anothers (T/N: Yi (One), San (Three)). That said, you do not look like a skilled gambler, so lets y a simpler game, shall we? How about dice?
Your house, your rules, Lu Ye replied unconcerned.
We are in agreement then. The apparition rolled up his sleeves as if he was going to give it his best shot. He flipped his palm and pulled out a dice cup seemingly out of thin air. A melodious sound rang when he threw three dice into the cup. Lu Ye shot the cup a nce but said nothing.
Liu Sanbao covered up the cup and shook it a little. Then, he mmed it on the table and dered, ce your bet on the left if you think the dice total is big, or right if you think its small. You may begin now.
He looked very excited. It was clear it had been a long, long time since he got to gamble with anyone.
What can I bet?
Anything. Literally, anything. Even a strand of hair is eptable.
So, Lu Ye grabbed a Spirit Stone from his bag and tossed it to the right side of the table.
The bet is decided, and the oue is!? Liu Sanbao yelled in excitement before removing the cup. He guffawed as he continued, Four, five and six; a big total. Youve lost, my young friend.
Liu Sanbao immediately grabbed the Spirit Stone and tossed it into his sleeves. He then scooped up the dice with the cup, covered it up and shook it once more. He said again, Bet left if you think its big, and right if its small.
Lu Ye wordlessly tossed another Spirit Stone to the right.
Chapter 261: Another Ghost Spirit
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 261: Another Ghost Spirit
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
One incense stickter, Lu Ye had lost thirty rounds in a row. It would be a shocker if he won, really. Liu Sanbaos dice cup was a Spirit Artifact. He could make the dice stand on their pointed ends if he wanted to, much less manipte their numbers.
By now, themotion outside the shop had subsided somewhat. Believing that the initial chaos had passed, Lu Ye rose to his feet and said, Your skills are impressive. I concede defeat.
He then walked straight toward the exit.
Liu Sanbao simply smiled and did not try to stop him. Lu Ye quickly found out why. When he arrived at the door, he peered through the gap to see if there was anyone on the streets. After confirming that it was as empty as it seemed, he grabbed the door handle and tried to pull. It wouldnt budge, however. It was as if some sort of invisible energy was holding it shut.
Spiritual Power surged into his pupils as Insight took form. He immediately noticed that the entire building was surrounded by an air-tight ward. The only way to break out of this ce was to breach it.
He knew it wouldnt be this simple.
He examined his surroundings to check if he could breach the ward. After studying the Way of Glyphs under Lady Yun for so long, he wasntpletely clueless about breaching wards.
The good news was that the ward was pretty simple. He should be able to break out given enough time.
The bad news was that he couldnt be disturbed during the process, and Liu Sanbao was hardly going to stand there and do nothing while he unraveled the ward.
He slowly walked back into the room and stood in front of the gambling table. While thumbing the hilt of his saber, he stared at the smiling apparition and said slowly,
Open the ward. I am leaving!
Liu Sanbao shook his head. I cannot do that, my friend. Our game isnt over yet.
When will it be over?
That depends on how many stakes you have. The game will end naturally when youve lost everything you have. He started chuckling sinisterly. After all, there is nothing a true gambler wouldnt stake to get his thrill not even his life!
I understand. Lu Ye nodded. Lets skip the trivialities and bet our lives then. Who do you think will live, you or me?
The second Lu Ye finished his sentence, he leaped over the table and unsheathed his saber. He empowered it with Sharp Edge and swung it straight at Liu Sanbaos face.
Liu Sanbaos smile remained unchanging. It was as if he knew Lu Ye would do this from the start. Not even bothering to dodge out of the way, he gave his dice cup a light p and fired a dice straight toward Lu Yes face.
There was a loud ng as Invible shed against the dice. It looked like the dice wouldnt even slow the saber, but in reality the impact was so great that Lu Ye had to bend backward a little and lose a bit of momentum. That wasnt all. Two more dice were flying toward his left and right side at high speed.
Roar! A tigers roar resounded within the building.
At the same time, Yi Yi shed out of Ambers body and fired a spell straight at Liu Sanbaos face.
Liu Sanbaos smile suddenly froze on his face. In fact, his entire outline wobbled a little when Ambers roar hit him.
The two dice flying toward Lu Ye suddenly lost a lot of power as well. Lu Ye was able to send them flying with ease.
The next second, Yi Yis spell sent Liu Sanbao flying through the air and crashing against the floor.
It was only now Liu Sanbaos eyes regained their rity. When he looked up, he met Ambers eyes and felt as if they could pull his soul into it, literally. For the first time in god knows how many years, he was paralyzed with fear and worry.
What on earth are
Amber did not wait for him to recover. Having returned to its original form, the tiger opened its mouth and inhaled in Liu Sanbaos direction like it normally did with the blood qi in the dragon scale. Something incredible happened. Liu Sanbaos entire body began distorting as if his form could copse at any moment. At the same time, a bulge appeared on the apparitions chest as if it was trying to break free.
Lu Ye wasnt expecting this to happen at all. His n was very simple, and that was to kill Liu Sanbao and escape this shop. He had no idea that Amber was capable of suppressing the apparition.
He did not think that the suppression only worked on Liu Sanbao either. It should work on all apparitions!
Amber once transformed Yi Yi into a Ghost Spirit, so it made sense that it was uniquely talented in this regard. He had no idea it could suppress apparitions though, and he wouldnt have found out if he hadnt entered the Lost City of Xianyuan.
No! Liu Sanbao screamed in panic as he attempted to pull away from Ambers mouth with all his might. Although the gap between their cultivation realms were massive, the apparition felt like he had encountered his natural enemy. Not only was he incapable of unleashing his normal strength at all, he was trembling with fear from the bottom of his soul.
Lu Ye did not hesitate to score a hit on Liu Sanbao, causing his resistance to weaken considerably. Another hitter, and his entire body folded like paper as he was pulled bit by bit toward Ambers bloody maw.
I was wrong! Save me! Please! Liu Sanbao begged while holding out a hand toward Lu Ye. It was far toote though. There was a gust of air, and the apparition vanished in the blink of an eye. Amber let out a loud burp, and its aura shed brightly for a moment.
After the battle was over, Lu Ye and Yi Yi exchanged a surprised look with each other. Obviously, none of them had expected this oue. This shouldve been a hard fight, but Ambers suppression against apparitions was so ridiculous that even a Heaven Grade Seventh-Order cultivator was unable to defy it.
How does Amber feel? Did it change in any way? Lu Ye asked.
It was a fair question. This was the first time Amber had disyed this ability since they had never encountered another ghost until now.
Yi Yi fell quiet for a couple of seconds before shaking her head. No, I dontwait!
Lu Yes heart skipped a beat as Yi Yi abruptly lunged into Ambers body. When she came out, she surprised him by dragging a familiar-looking apparition with her. It was none other than Liu Sanbao.
I guess Amber didnt eat him after all.
Anyone wouldve thought that Amber had eaten the apparition after that earlier scene. It looked like that wasnt the case though. If he wasnt mistaken, Liu Sanbao had been converted into its Ghost Spirit. He was nothing like Yi Yi though. His face was nk, and his earlier cunning was nowhere to be seen. He clearly did not have a mind of his own.
Moreover, Liu Sanbaos strength had dropped from Heaven Grade Seventh-Order to Ninth-Order. There was no telling if this drop in power was natural or not. It could be because Lu Ye had shed him multiple times while he was vulnerable, or it could be something else.
Can he be controlled? Lu Ye asked again.
Amber cocked its head thoughtfully. Then, an aura shed out of its body. Liu Sanbao began stuttering unnaturally like a puppet on strings, but it wasnt long before he seemingly returned to his usual self once more. He picked up the dice cup he had dropped on the ground, ran to the gambling table and yelled, ce your bet on the left if you think the dice total is big, or right if you think its small!
Yi Yi pped Ambers head immediately. Thats not something you should learn!
Amber immediately whined in protest. It was because it hadnt made Liu Sanbao act like this. All it did was give Liu Sanbao a simple order, and the apparition just acted of his own ord. The gambler was truly a hopeless gambler. He was unable to rid himself of his ingrained behavior even after he had been transformed into a Ghost Spirit.
How many Ghost Spirits can you control at a time? Lu Ye asked.
Amber responded with a cry, and Yi Yi tranted, Not sure. It would have to consume more apparitions to know for sure.
.
A bold n began taking form in Lu Yes head.
Come. Lets seek out the Xianyuan City Watch.
Amber made Liu Sanbao open the ward trapping them within the building. Then, they took off toward the distance.
Meanwhile, the chaos in the city had subsided considerably. It had been total chaos when hundreds of cultivators had descended from the sky. At least dozens of people were unlucky enough to be caught by the sentries and imprisoned in the dungeon right from the get go. In fact, the sentries were still scouring the streets for them. Combat was inevitable if they were discovered.
Everyone started contacting their friends and allies and traveled in groups. It was their only shot at survival if they stumbled upon the Xianyuan City Watch. In this Heavens forsaken ce, exploring alone was the worst possible thing you could do. The sentries werent just powerful, they were also capable of annoying spells such as the Spirit Shackling Rope. If someone was snared by a Spirit Shackling Rope, three or more were sure to follow. When that happened, not even the strongest Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could break out of their binds.
In fact, the Xianyuan City Watch was so oppressive that the cultivators actually stopped their infighting for the moment. If they ran into a cultivator from the opposing faction, they would simply bow their heads and go their respective ways. It was because there was simply no benefit to fighting each other right now. Worst case scenario, they might all be captured by the Xianyuan City Watch. The fighting could happen after they had met up with their friends and allies.
Speaking of which, the Lost City of Xianyuan did not have any valuable herbs or nts that could be harvested. What it did have was buildings that potentially contained valuable treasures. Of course, they could only get them if they could avoid the Xianyuan City Watch.
Right now, a battle was happening at a corner of the city. A group of cultivators had identally stumbled upon a squad of sentries and were now fighting for their lives. Unfortunately for them, they were losing horribly. Two of their group of four had already been captured, and the remaining two did not look like they wouldst much longer.
It was at this moment the squad leader suddenly looked in a certain direction. He saw a young man standing in the open and looking at him brazenly.
You dare! The squad leader erupted and rushed straight toward the intruder.
The young man immediately turned tail and ran. It wasnt long before both the pursuer and the pursued were out of sight.
A few secondster, a tigers roar erupted from the corner both men had disappeared to. And then that was it.
In an alley, Lu Ye watched the nk-faced squad leader with a satisfied look on his face. The apparition was almost as strong as Liu Sanbao, and he was devoured by Amber not long after Lu Ye had baited him to this location and hit him a couple of times with his saber. He was now a Ninth-Order Ghost Spirit under Ambers control just like Liu Sanbao.
A whileter, Lu Ye and the squad leader returned to the battlefield. Since Lu Ye was walking in front of the apparition, it looked like he had been captured as well.
The rest of the sentries were standing by for orders. The four cultivators they were battling had already been bound like worms.
At first, one of the captives shot Lu Ye a look and felt pity for his fellow cultivator. However, he quickly realized that Lu Ye wasnt bound in any way. His eyes immediately widened in shock and confusion.
Lu Ye had been watching the sentries closely as he approached them. When he noticed that they were frozen in their spots like statues, he immediately realized that they were just mindless apparitions. The squad leader was smart enough to judge a situation and take independent actions, but the ordinary sentries clearly did not possess such intelligence.
The fact that they hadnt even nced at Lu Ye pretty much proved his assessment.
Chapter 262: Growing The Squad
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 262: Growing The Squad
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye felt much more confident after he saw this.
Next, he turned toward the bound cultivators and raised his hand silently. The Battlefield Imprint immediately shone and revealed his affiliation.
Everyones expression changed when they saw this. One of the cultivators forced a smile and said, Were from Grand Sky Coalition too, buddy. Please help us.
The response he got was a flying weapon to his brain. Everyone else died the same way.
One of the cultivators had shouted angrily before he died, You will die for this!
Lu Ye couldnt say he was wrongno one could predict the future after allbut one thing was for certain, the guy wasnt going to live to see it.
If these cultivators belonged to Grand Sky Coalition, they wouldve shown him their Battlefield Imprints when he showed off his. Since they had refrained from doing so, they could only belong to Thousand Demon Ridge. Naturally, he wasnt going to let them live, much less release them from their bindings.
The four sentries had not moved a muscle when he killed the cultivators. It was like they couldnt see what had happened at all.
With that done, Lu Ye called Amber over and gestured at one of the sentries. The tiger immediately began inhaling the apparition into its stomach. As it turned out, the sentries werent so far gone that theycked even self-preservation instincts. He struggled a little, but his resistance was futile as a matter of course. Soon, the entire squad was remade into Ambers Ghost Spirits.
After Amber had resummoned the sentries, Lu Ye discovered that their cultivation levels were more or less the same as before. This meant that Liu Sanbao and the sentry leader were weaker, probably because he had attacked them, or because the tiger could not create a Ghost Spirit that was too powerful.
Amber itself wasnt particrly strong after all.
He would have to verify this at ater time, though he could not see what he could do about this even if it was the first reason. If he did not attack the apparitions, then Amber would struggle to devour them whole. The ideal oue wasnt achievable either way.
Anyway, he now had six Ghost Spirits in total including Liu Sanbao. Suffice to say, no one had ever done such a thing in the history of the Lost City of Xianyuan. Historically speaking, few people had ever profited from this pocket dimension not just because they had to contend against enemy cultivators and the Xianyuan City Watch, but also because the city itself did not contain many valuables.
The best reward one could get in this city was ess to a ce called the Soul Cleansing Reservoir. There, a cultivator could use the water of the reservoir to refine their Divine Soul; an invisible, intangible thing that a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator had no use for. The benefits only showed themselves when the cultivator had reached the Divine Ocean Realm and gained their Divine Ego. It was because the root of the Divine Ego was the Divine Soul. Suffice to say, any Divine Ocean Realm cultivator would happily buy the water off their hands if they could procure it.
Once, a cultivator was lucky enough to receive a few droplets of water and gift it to their elders. For his loyalty and generosity, he was rewarded with an incredible amount of treasures. However, it was also said that the Soul Cleansing Reservoir was located at the heart of the Xianyuan City Watch; the ce where most of the citys military force was concentrated. It was simply impossible for a bunch of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to break into that ce.
Despite Ambers newfound abilities, the thought of breaking into the Soul Cleansing Reservoir never once passed through Lu Yes mind. It was an unrealistic dream at best and a fatal distraction at worst. Right now, all he wanted to do was to convert as many apparitions into Ghost Spirits as possible. This way, he wouldnt be helpless no matter what kind of danger he faced. If he could make an entire army of Ghost Spirits, then he could even go up against the entire House of Wintry Blossoms party.
Now that he had six Ghost Spiritsand that was before factoring Yi Yi and his own strengthhe no longer had to tread every step like he was on thin ice. He began exploring the streets openly and even searched the buildings in hopes of finding some valuables. Unfortunately, he was quickly met with disappointment. While there were a ton of buildings in the city, he could not find anything that was even remotely useful. Soon, he gave up trying to search the buildings altogether. The information was right after all. The Lost City of Xianyuan was a terrible ce to look for fortune. He even wondered why it was connected to the Rift of Fortune at all. It just felt like one giant scam.
An incense stickter, he finally ran into a squad of six sentries. The sentry leader immediately pointed at Lu Ye and ordered his soldiers, Take them down!
To the sentry leaders surprise, not only did Lu Ye not try to flee, but started running straight toward him. He quickly found out why. A number of Ghost Spirits immediately flew out of Ambers body and engaged his soldiers in battle. Now, it was just Lu Ye versus the sentry leader.
The squad leader looked bbergasted for a second. Then, he erupted with towering rage, You dare!
By now, Lu Ye had run past the sentries and arrived in front of the sentry leader. Amber was also lying on top of his shoulder in its cat form. The moment he was close enough, the tiger roared at the sentry leader and blew away both his power and his mind. By the time he came to, a Spirit Shackling Rope was already wrapping around him. The spell had been thrown by none other than the sentry leader Amber had converted earlier.
Caught off guard in more ways than one, the sentry leader couldnt even attack before he was bound like a spiders prey. Amber then took a deep breath right in front of his face.
Beside Amber, Lu Ye kept a firm grip on the Invible, ready to act at a moments notice. His caution was unnecessary though. The sentry leader couldnt put up much resistance in his bound state, and it wasnt long before Amber had devoured himpletely.
Meanwhile, the sentries were still locked in battle with one another. That was the order their leader had given them.
After Amber had released the second converted sentry leader, he shouted, Stop!
Both squads stopped fighting immediately.
Things were simple after that. Amber walked up to the sentries and devoured them one by one.
With this, Lu Yes army of Ghost Spirits had grown to twelve in total. There were nine ordinary sentries, two sentry leaders, and one Liu Sanbao. Even better, Amber still hadnt reached its limit, so Lu Ye continued to roam the streets for more sentries.
The Lost City of Xianyuan was huge, but the same could be said for the Xianyuan City Watch. The fact that they were patrolling everywhere also made it easy to find them.
Sometimes, Lu Ye would run into groups of cultivators. He did nothing to those belonging to Grand Sky Coalition as a matter of course, but the same could not be said for Thousand Demon Ridge.
To his enemies, he looked like an isted Grand Sky Coalition cultivator who was trying to meet up with his allies. Of course they were going to seize the opportunity to kill him. However, they quickly discovered that they werent facing just one, but two sentry squads!
Once the Spirit Shackling Ropes were thrown out, the poor bastards were usually bound before they could even get close to Lu Ye. After that, well, lets just say it was some of the easiest kills of his life.
In fact, Lu Yes opinion of the Lost City of Xianyuan was changing bit by bit. While this pocket dimension was dirt poor in terms of loot and extremely unfriendly to most cultivators, it was the definition of paradise for Lu Ye. Ambers ability to convert apparitions to Ghost Spirits was just way too useful in this ce.
Four hourster, Amber finally reached its limit. Not including Yi Yi, it now had thirty one Ghost Spirits under its control. It was nowhere the city conquering army Lu Ye had dreamed at the beginning, but it was still a formidable force. At the very least, he could not imagine that there were many threats left in the city that could threaten him.
Moreover, Lu Ye was able to confirm through repeated experiments that Amber could not produce a Ghost Spirit that was stronger than Ninth-Order. It was because of its low cultivation level.
Moreover, the more Ghost Spirits it released at once, the faster Ambers energy ran out. The tiger had visibly shriveled in just a short time when they had fought a big battle against their enemies. Its energy was the source of the Ghost Spirits power, afterall.
They also consumed its energy when recovering from their injuries. Yi Yi was the same as them in the past. Back then, she had to return to Ambers body whenever she got hurt or used up too much strength.
Of course, she had broken free from this crutch some time ago. She could now cultivate on her own and partake in the joy of growing stronger. In fact, her joy was double that of other cultivators because Amber could consume Spirit Pills to cultivate as well.
Thanks to this, Amber and Yi Yi were able to grow at an elerated rate. Both of them benefited when one of them grew stronger.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the other Ghost Spirits. They did not possess a mind of their own and could only act ording to Ambers orders. Amber had to give up its own energy to recover their strength or injuries as well.
This was why it wasnt a bad thing that Ambers ability had a limit. Otherwise, the tiger would drain itself into a husk trying to sustain its Ghost Spirits.
Lu Ye was no longer actively searching for the Xianyuan City Watch. He did his best to avoid them just like the other cultivators because he could no longer benefit from fighting them. It would only waste his time and his energy.
He kept his gaze low as he strode through a street. For a while now, he had felt like someone was watching him from the shadows. He reckoned that it was a ghost cultivator. They were the only cultivators he knew who possessed such abilities.
He did not panic even though he was certain that someone was watching him; most likely hostiles who meant him harm. He was, despite his appearance, not alone after all. His would-be attackers would surely learn a painful, and perhaps fatal, lesson if they dared to ambush him.
With so many Ghost Spirits under hismand, he didnt even need to fight his enemies in person anymore. He simply needed to wait until they were bound before decapitating them.
Right now, what really troubled him was that he was unable to locate his enemies effectively. If this was the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Yi Yi could easily slip underground and scout out the area. However, there was an enchantment beneath the ground that prevented her, an apparition, from doing so.
It wasnt just the underground either. There was an enhancement in the sky that limited ones flight level to just thirty three meters. To fly any higher than that was impossible. It was why no one dared to fly in the Lost City of Xianyuan. Thirty three meters was just too low.
Suddenly, Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and gazed ahead. A group of people led by a tall woman wearing a small shirt that revealed her waist were walking toward him. Lu Yes eyes immediately narrowed when he saw this. He had thought it a coincidence when an enemy ghost cultivator began tailing him a while ago, but now he realized that that wasnt the case. These people hade specifically for him because of that woman!
He had seen her once on the other side of the valley. Unless he was mistaken, she was a member of the House of Wintry Blossoms.
Did she recognize me? Is she here to take revenge for her fallenrade?
It made sense. Thousands of people had seen his face during the Battle of Goldentip. It was unsurprising that some of his enemies would recognize him.
That wasnt all. Waves of Spiritual Power suddenly emanated from every direction, and the sound of rustling clothes entered his ears. Lu Ye looked up and found that all the rooftops around him were surrounded by cultivators. Not a single one of them looked friendly.
Chapter 263: Chu Qing
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 263: Chu Qing
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye had beenpletely surrounded before he realized it. He counted at least twenty of them.
The House of Wintry Blossoms must have been looking for him since they came through the Rift of Fortune. Otherwise, there was no way they couldve gathered this many people and formed an encirclement in such a short time.
If he was any other cultivator, this situation wouldve been aplete dead end.
The tall woman standing thirty or so meters away from him was staring at him with anger and a hint of satisfaction. It was because her vengeance was soon to be fulfilled.
She was also nked by two cultivators. The first one was an extremely fat woman. Her fatness could not be natural because even her thick clothes could not conceal the massiveyers of fat within. But unlike a normal fat person, her skin was incredibly smooth and fair. It made her look like the chrysalis of a silkworm.
The other cultivator was a petite woman who didnt seem to care much about her appearance. She had fairly short hair that was pulled into a short ponytail, and she was carrying a massive de on her shoulders. Seriously, the de was longer than she was tall by at least half her height. It painted quite the contrasting appearance.
Is that the one, Sister Chu? The petite woman asked while looking Lu Ye up and down. She wasnt admiring his figure though. She was searching for the right spots to sink her de into just like how Lu Ye normally did to his enemies.
The tall woman nodded, and the fat woman said with a smile, He doesnt look too bad. It feels a shame to kill him here. Any chance you might reconsider your decision, Sister Chu?
The tall woman uttered coldly, Why not? I wasnt nning to give him a quick death anyway!
The fat woman giggled behind her palm. Thank you for your kindness, Sister Chu. When she looked at him again, her gaze was a little more lustful than before.
Do you know who I am, Lu Yi Ye? The tall woman barked at him.
Lu Ye tossed a Spirit Pill into his mouth and chewed slowly. Nope. Who are you?
She replied in a chilly voice, Do you remember Chu Xue, at the Goldentip?
You mean that immoral woman who tried to seduce me before I killed her dead? Sure.
How could he forget? She was the second person to challenge him during the Battle of Goldentip, not to mention he was on his way to visit the House of Wintry Blossoms before he got sidetracked by the Rift of Fortune.
My name is Chu Qing!
Chu Xue, Chu Qing. It could not be any more obvious that they were sisters. In fact, Chu Xue had brought Chu Qing to the Goldentip that fateful day, meaning that the woman had witnessed her sisters death with her own eyes. If they hadnt sworn a Heavenly Oath, and the battle hadnt been witnessed by cultivators from both factions, she wouldve jumped in and torn him to shreds already.
Before this, Chu Qing thought she would never have the chance to take revenge against Lu Ye. Imagine how surprised and livid she had felt when she saw him on the other side of the valley. She was careful not to stare at him so long that he would notice her though. Why alert him of her murderous intent then when she could get her revenge in the Rift of Forter?
And that was exactly what she did. She gathered her people and searched for him as soon as she set foot in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Luck was on her side, it seemed. It wasnt long before she found him and immediately moved to encircle him.
So, how do you want to die? Chu Qing asked. She could not see how she could lose this. She had him surrounded tighter than a rats ass, and they outnumbered him more than twenty to one. He could sprout wings this instant, and he still wouldnt be able to get away from this.
Lu Ye swallowed the Spirit Pill he was chewing and lowered his gaze. He then gripped the hilt of his saber and said, Thats my question, silly girl.
Windwalk shed on his legs in an instant, and he rushed toward Chu Qing so fast he was a blur. At the same time, two flying weapons shot toward the fat and the petite women beside her respectively.
You dare! Chu Qing raged at his gall before ordering, Capture him!
She wasnt kidding when she promised the fat woman to keep him alive, at least for now. For the longest time, the horrible images of Chu Xues death had haunted her dreams. There was no way she was going to kill him until she had tortured him to her hearts content.
They outnumbered Lu Ye over twenty to one, so Chu Qing was confident that they could handle him however they liked. Their flying weapons alone were beyond his ability to handle.
Suddenly, cries of rm erupted from all around them. It was because the cultivators of House of Wintry Blossoms found themselves struck by multiple Spirit Shackling Ropes right as they were about to attack Lu Ye. Those who were too slow to react were immediately bound and dropped to the ground. Even those who managed to dodge out of the way quickly found themselves fighting against multiple enemies at once.
Its the Xianyuan City Watch! Someone shouted in surprise.
At least twenty sentries had ambushed them from behind, something they had never encountered until now. Itpletely nullified their numbers advantage to say the least. Their group had run into multiple sentry squads before this, but never more than one squad at a time. Moreover, the only one that possessed a modicum of intelligence within a squad was the sentry leader. Therefore, it took very little effort to take them out.
If the sentry squads were their only opponents, then they still couldve turned this around. After all, the sentry squads generally did not harm them unless they struggled too much or something. They also did not take a cultivators life after immobilizing them with the Spirit Shackling Rope.
The problem was that there was a strange fat apparition wearing andlords outfit among the sentries. He wielded a dice cup that fired three shiny dice, and he kept targeting the cultivators who were shackled by the Spirit Shackling Ropes. Three people had died to his attack in the blink of an eye.
Somehow, their ambush had transformed into a counter ambush by the Xianyuan City Watch. It was so unbelievable that the cultivators themselves doubted this was actually happening.
This was the work of Amber, of course. When Lu Ye realized that he was being followed, he did not send Yi Yi to scout the area like he normally would because the underground was sealed by an enhancement, and it was too dangerous. Instead, he sent Amber to look for his stalker. Imagine his surprise when Yi Yi came back and told him that only one ghost cultivator was stalking him, but dozens more cultivators were sneaking toward them from every direction
Knowing that these people were nning to ambush him, he did the only thing he couldhave Yi YI and Amber counter-ambush them. The Ghost Spirits usually hid within Ambers body until it released them, so there was little chance they would be discovered before they were ready.
The reason he spoke with Chu Qing at all was to buy time for Yi Yi to set up everything. Otherwise, not even Protection would keep him safe from so many enemies.
The current situation was much more manageable. His would-be ambushers were busy tangoing with the Xianyuan City Watch and Liu Sanbao, so they could not lift a hand against him. This meant that his only opponents were Chu Qing and the two women beside her.
They were all Ninth-Order, sure, but so what?
ng! His two flying weapons were sent flying by the petite woman wielding therge de. Holding her weapon with two hands, she weaved an imprable wall of steel that repelled everything within ten meters from her person. Nothing and no one could get close to her unless they broke her dance, and she was surprisingly nimble despite the des powerful style.
Although Chu Qing and the fat woman were surprised by the sudden turn of events, they did not lose their cool. Chu Qingunched a flying weapon that arced toward the right side of Lu Yes head. Lu Ye attempted to sh the weapon out of the way, but it nimbly dodged the attack before continuing its path, metal sliding against metal. Lu Ye just barely managed to flick it away at thest possible moment.
By now, Lu Ye was just ten meters away from the three girls. He did not continue controlling his flying weapons after they were sent flying even though he was capable of fighting at close range and controlling them at the same time. It was because splitting his focus in a life-or-death battle like this would only shorten his lifespan.
Before he was in the Seventh-Order, he envied his opponents for making him dance like a marite with their flying weapons. It wasnt until he was capable of the feat himself did he realize that the technique was more wed than it seemed. It was good for mid-rangebat and only that. Once the distance was closed, flying weapons were distractions at best and suicide tools at worst. But of course, this did not apply to scenarios where apanion was supporting the melee cultivator with flying weapons.
In the end, any method that could kill the enemy was a viable one. It was up to the user to make it a good one.
Lu Ye swung slowly yet fast at his enemy, but a de sailed toward his face as soon as he made the move. He had no choice but to cancel his attack and block the de.
A series of metallic ngs erupted through the streets. Sparks flew everywhere as Spirit Artifacts shed against Spirit Artifacts.
Chu Qing and the fat woman were just about to assist theirrade when suddenly, they felt a re of Spiritual Power behind them.
They looked behind just in time to see a sentry squad appearing behind them andunching their Spirit Shackling Ropes. They were beyond shocked as a matter of course.
Amber was currently in control of thirty one Ghost Spirits, and it had split them into six squads, as they were before they were captured. Five of the squads were currently engaging the other ambushers, while thest one was pit against Chu Qing and her two friends.
Although Lu Ye was capable of fighting above his cultivation level, not even he could battle three Ninth-Order cultivators at once and win. However, it was a different story if he had the support of a sentry squad.
The sneak attack was so surprising that even Chu Qing and the fat woman were unable to react in time. At thest moment, the fat woman moved in front of Chu Qing with a speed that did not match her appearance and blocked all the Spirit Shackling Ropes. For a moment, it looked like the ropes would cut into the womans flesh and turn this fight into a horror show. Then, she gritted her teeth, roared, and let loose a shockwave of vitality so thick that it was almost tangible.
Behind her, Chu Qing dashed out while holding a pair of swords in each hand. Although she was a woman, she fearlessly charged toward a sentry and danced the dance of murder with her Spirit Artifacts.
Chapter 264: Man Plans and the Heavens Laugh
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 264: Man ns and the Heavens Laugh
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Every member of the Xianyuan City Watch was a powerhouse in their own right, but their actions were rigid because theycked intelligence. As a result, their skills did not match their cultivation level.
Their advantagey in the fact that they operated as a squad and knew the Spirit Shackling Lock. When one Spirit Shackling Lock wasunched, more would follow. It was especially difficult for isted cultivators to handle this.
Chu Qing was the prolegate of the House of Wintry Blossoms, so of course she was a powerful cultivator in her own right. The moment she reached the sentries, she surrounded one of them in a storm of swords and cut him down in just three breaths.
It wasnt a wless kill, however. The other sentries were hitting her with their Spirit Artifacts while she was cutting down their ally.
After she sessfully cut down one of the sentries, Chu Qing immediately withdrew to the back before shouting, Qiao Yun!
The fat woman bound by the Spirit Shackling Ropes immediately let out a mighty roar. At the beginning, she was bound by four Spirit Shackling Ropes in total. Now, there were only three since Chu Qing had killed one of the sentries. Incredibly, she grew another size and actually broke free of the Spirit Shackling Ropes just like that.
Iming! The fat woman named Qiao Yun yelled with obvious anger on her face. She then ran straight toward Chu Qing.
For a moment, it looked like the two cultivators were in a collision course with each other. However,? as if she had eyes at the back of her head, Chu Qing leaped into the air andnded lithely on Qiao Yuns shoulder. The four spectral sentries attacking her had no such luck. They were bowled over by the fat woman and suffered great damage as a result.
Ill hold them back! Qiao Yun dered. She wasnt afraid even though she was fighting one against four because she was a body tempering cultivator. Her offensive repertoire might beckingpared to cultivators of other cultivator factions, but the opposite was equally true. No one was harder to kill than a body tempering cultivator.
Be careful! Chu Qing warned before rushing back toward Lu Ye.
They had gathered here to kill Lu Ye and take revenge for Chu Xue, not to do battle against the Xianyuan City Watch. Even if their numbers werent literally infinite within the city, killing the Xianyuan City Watch wouldnt help further their objective one bit.
That was why they werent going to waste time with the Xianyuan City Watch. They could retreat after killing Lu Ye.
Chu Qing pushed off the ground with both feet and rushed toward Lu Ye at high speed. However, her pupils contracted when Lu Ye abruptly sent the petite woman flying toward her. She even spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
Chu Qing hurriedly put away her swords and caught the petite woman with both hands. They rolled across the ground for a bit before catching themselves.
Pwack The petite woman spat out another mouthful of fresh blood while pushing herself to her feet.
Ruo Yan! Chu Qing cried out in rm.
Ill live! Herpanion answered with a light cough before heaving her massive de over her shoulders once more. She stared cautiously to the front. There, Lu Ye was slowly walking toward them with his saber pointed toward the ground.
Blood was dripping off the de, and his eyes were narrowed into half-slits. His hair cast a shadow on his face and hid his expression from view. He was just an Eighth-Order cultivator, and yet he was giving off an inconceivable amount of pressure.
Be careful, senior sister. Somethings not right about that man, Ruo Yan warned as she recalled her brief sh against Lu Ye. Even now, she had no idea how he had defeated her so quickly.
She wasnt so arrogant as to think she would be able to toy with Lu Ye as she pleased, but she did believe that she would have the upper hand fighting against a cultivator who was one minor realm below her. It wasnt until they actually shed that she found out that Lu Ye possessed some bizarre abilities that were nigh impossible to defend against without prior knowledge.
For starters, he seemed to possess the ability that instantly increased the weight of his attacks by a literal tonne. The hit that had sent her flying had appeared so abruptly and without warning that she had almost failed to react to it. If her intuition wasnt as sharp as it was, she would be lying on the ground in two halves already.
Chu Qings expression turned grim as she stared at the iing young man. The Battle of Goldentip began reying itself in her mind. That day, the Fifth-Order young man had epted the challenge of forty three Sixth-Order opponents, defeated them all, and killed at least thirty of them. The battlefield had run red with his enemies blood that day.
Since then, Chu Qing realized that there existed people whose strength defied allmon sense in this world. Killing enemies higher than their cultivation realm was as easy as breathing to them. That was why she hadnt underestimated him one bit when she saw Lu Ye in the valley. The guy had been able to defeat forty three Sixth-Order cultivators when he was just at Fifth-Order. It was not inconceivable that he would be able to kill Ninth-Order cultivators with the same ease as an Eight-Order cultivator.
This was why she had gathered over twenty people to kill him, and for a time, she was sure that nothing could stop her from obtaining her vengeance. That was until the Xianyuan City Watch appeared at the worst moment and ruined her npletely. It was bad enough that her people couldnt assist her, even Qiao Yun was busy keeping four sentries off their backs.
Retreat was not an option though. Ruo Yan was hurt, but her injuries werent so severe that she had to cancel the mission altogether. No matter how you looked at it, the upper hand was still in their hands.
Lets go! Chu Qing dered before leading the charge. The petite woman named Ruo Yan moved behind Chu Qing and concealed herself perfectly from Lu Yes view. The two of them had begun their cultivation journey together, so their teamwork had been perfected a long time ago. More often than not, they didnt even need to speak to understand each others intent.
At the same time, Lu Ye radically shortened the distance between himself and the two women in one step. Fiery red Spiritual Power ran along the edge of the Invible as he brought it straight down at Chu Qing. The swordswoman immediately raised one of her swords in response. Her n was to block Lu Yes with one sword while striking him down with the other, but she quickly realized that she was being naive when their Spirit Artifacts met. The force being transmitted to her hand was so massive that she nearly lost her grip!
Chu Qings eyes contracted into pins. Was it even possible for an Eighth-Order cultivator to possess such strength? Even Qiao Yun was only this strong!
Realizing she had erred, she hurriedly withdrew her other sword and blocked the attack with both weapons. She wouldve cut herself if she had not done so. However, Lu Yes second attack came much quicker than she had anticipated, forcing her to block it in a panic. The third attack had nearly run right through her chest.
How is he so fast!?
There wasnt a day or night where she didnt dream of killing Lu Ye and taking revenge for her younger sister, but it was only after she actually engaged him in battle that she realized just how terrifying he was. It was bad enough that his attacks were powerful beyond imagination, they also came almost too fast for her to react.
In fact, she almost certainly could not block his fourth attack!
As expected, Chu Qing was unable to defend herself when Lu Ye swung his saber at her pale neck. Luckily for her, she wasnt alone. At the critical moment, a massive de abruptly appeared beside her neck and struck the Invibles de. It was Ruo Yan finally making a move.
Sparks flew everywhere as the attack that wouldve hit Chu Qing was blocked. Spiritual Light erupted from the de and nearly mmed the Invible back into Lu Yes face.
Lu Ye turned his de to redirect the force acting against him while turning his head at the same time. He survived, but the enemys de was close enough to shave off a few strands of hair.
Sensing an excellent opportunity, Chu Qing reversed her grip on her left sword and thrust it toward Lu Yes chest like a dagger.
Suddenly, a great surge of Spiritual Power erupted from nearby. Without thinking, Chu Qing swung her sword in that direction and blocked the spell directed at her.
She looked in the direction of the spell and found a cute girl standing not far behind Lu Ye. She was the one who forced her to cancel her attack. Neither Chu Qing nor Ruo Yan had noticed her until she fired the spell.
The girl channeled her power and fired another spell at her. At the same time, Lu Ye swung his saber.
Chu Qing and Ruo Yan were fighting together, but Lu Ye wasnt alone either. In fact, Yi Yi had been searching for an opening since the start of the battle. Unfortunately, neither woman had revealed too big an opening even now, and she was forced to reveal herself when Lu Ye was in danger of taking a strong hit.
Frankly, this battle was quite dangerous for the likes of Yi Yi. Thankfully, a spell cultivator like her only needed to attack the enemy from a distance.
Chu Qing and Ruo Yans figures blurred as they attacked Lu Ye as one. Their teamwork was perfect even though their Spirit Artifacts were drastically different from each other. Their attacks filled every space within three meters of their person.
In the past, they had fought four Grand Sky Coalition cultivators like this and even killed one of them.
This time though, their perfect teamwork failed to give them a sense of absolute control. It was because the rhythm of the battle was fully in Lu Yes grasp. His de speed was unthinkable, and the spell cultivators support gave him just enough power to push them to the edge. Despite having gone all out, they just barely managed to keep his attacks at bay. They couldnt even retaliate against him!
The two women kept being pushed back as the blood slowly drained away from their faces. At this range, any mistake could be theirst.
They werent sure when it had begun, but the surrounding fog suddenly looked much thicker than before. At some point, it even started churning as if something was about to burst out from within.
Both sides noticed this unusual phenomenon and realized that their time was short. Lu Ye started pushing harder and harder.
When Chu Qing realized they were seconds away from faltering under Lu Yes assault, she finally cried out, Qiao Yun!
Im here! The fat woman responded. The next second, she ignored the sentries attacks, ran up to Lu Ye like a behemoth, and brought down a fat palm on his head.
Originally, Chu Qing was sure they didnt need Qiao Yuns help to defeat Lu Ye. She had imagined herself and Ruo Yan taking down the bastard in the shortest time possible while the body tempering cultivator kept the Xianyuan City Watch at bay. The remaining sentries werent a problem as long as they were able toplete their primary objective.
Unfortunately, man ns and the heavensugh. Chu Qing thought she had already given Lu Ye the highest amount of respect, but reality still gave her a p to the face. Both her and Ruo Yan were going to die here if she still did not call for help.
Chapter 265: Why Didn’t the Xianyuan City Watch Arrest You
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 265: Why Didnt the Xianyuan City Watch Arrest You
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Considering the amount of pressure Lu Ye was putting out right now, one death would quickly lead to the other if either one of them was killed.
Chu Qing swapped ces with Qiao Yun as soon as she arrived. It was a body tempering cultivators natural responsibility to fight at the forefront and endure the most amount of damage for their allies.
The fat palm flying toward Lu Yes head wasnt particrly quick. Lu Ye was able to change his trajectory and sh her in the arm. However, the Invible only left a bloody gash on her skin instead of lopping off her whole arm. He felt as if he had struck an extremely flexible piece of rubber instead of human flesh. The wriggling flesh and blood surrounding the de had minimized the force behind his sh.
Qiao Yun brought down another palm at him. Lu Ye tried to send her flying with a kick to the stomach, but he felt as if his foot had sunk into a mud pool. Not only was his counterattackpletely nullified, the wriggling fat abruptly mped around his leg and held it in ce. He was actually unable to pull it out on the first attempt.
By now, Qiao Yuns palm had made contact with Protection. The Glyph shattered into bits, and he saw stars as if he had just taken a hammer blow to the head. If the attack was this powerful even after it was partially nullified by Protection, he was certain that a perfect hit would turn his head into paste.
Ivee to show you some love, you flirt! Qiao Yuns words were sweet, but the look in her eyes was anything but. As she stretched her arms wide as if she was about to give him a hug, vitality gushed out of her body and boosted her speed to an unbelievable level. This was bad. If she managed to catch him, it would be worse than being fully bound by the Spirit Shackling Ropes. He wouldpletely be at his enemys mercy. As if this wasnt bad enough, his leg was still stuck in her stomach. He couldnt escape even if he wanted to.
Lu Yes eyes remained clear despite the fact that he was a moment away from defeat. His concentration climbing to peak levels, he wreathed Invible in mes and aimed a stab at Qiao Yuns chest. At the same time, Invibles aura shed.
[If one Sharp Edge isnt enough, how about two!?]
As the tip of his de sank into Qiao Yuns flesh, he could feel it wriggling and trying to nullify his attack likest time. However, it was way harder to nullify a stab than a sh, not to mention that it was empowered by two Sharp Edges.
Qiao Yun cried out in pain as the blood drained away from her face. Instead of hugging Lu Ye, she hit him in both shoulders and pushed him away from her. The attack was so powerful that Lu Ye was pushed almost ten meters to the back; his feet dragging across the surface and leaving deep gorges on the ground.
Qiao Yun stared at her bleeding chest with lingering fear on her face. She felt as if she had one foot in the grave just now.
A short distance away, Lu Ye caught himself and rolled his shoulder des a little. They were a bit numb from Qiao Yuns attack, but it wasnt going to affect performance. At the same time, hemented the missed opportunity. If Qiao Yun had hesitated even half a second just now, he couldve activated Burster and given her a taste of internal flowering.
Yi Yi was throwing spell after spell at Qiao Yun this whole time, but the fat woman didnt even bother defending herself against them. The mixture of vitality and Spiritual Power surrounding her body was more than enough to stop them all.
Lu Ye stared at the fat woman with a serious expression. He had to admit that she was a formidable opponent. Even if this was a one versus one fight, he still needed a bit of time to kill her, and right now time was something neither of them possessed.
By now, the surrounding fog had thickened to the point where it almost seemed solid. The unnatural churning was growing more and more intense as well.
Behind Qiao Yun, Chu Qing and Ruo Yan had taken out all the sentries that were keeping her busy leaving only the sentry leader. This was the reason they hadnt participated in the battle earlier. Someone had to keep the Xianyuan City Watch at bay, or it would be nigh impossible to continue the operation.
Now that the pressure had alleviated somewhat, Chu Qing took a moment to survey the other side of the battlefield. She was stunned by what she saw. Half of her people had already perished in battle, and the other half wasnt doing well either. The Xianyuan City Watch was immobilizing them with the Spirit Shackling Ropes, and the odd apparition was killing them all with his dice. Their teamwork was pretty much perfect.
Chu Qing could not help but feel saddened by this sight. She had assembled over twenty people to deal with Lu Yi Ye, and yet the Xianyuan City Watch had appeared out of nowhere foiled what shouldve been a wless assassination! Just why had it turned out like this?
Despite her reluctance, Chu Qing had no choice but to ept that they had been beaten for now. Eyes bloodshot, she ordered, Retreat!
The House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators were unwilling to engage the Xianyuan City Watch in the first ce, so they did not hesitate to retreat when she gave the order. The sentries gave chase until both parties were out of sight.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye rushed toward the trio the second Chu Qing gave the retreat order. He had been nning to take revenge against the House of Wintry Blossoms, so why would he let them escape especially since they were kind enough to deliver themselves to his doorstep? Besides that, he recognized that these three women were his greatest enemies in this city, that fat woman named Qiao Yun especially so because of her strange constitution. If he couldnt kill her now, her presence was going to make it that much more difficult for him to kill the others. Luckily for him, Chu Qingstest order was a mistake. Now was the time to take out the biggest obstacle in his path!
Lu Ye stabbed toward Qiao Yun as soon as he got in range. Much more cautious after the earlier brush with death, so the fat woman attempted to bat his weapon away with her palm. However, she missed because Lu Ye had withdrawn his de halfway before stabbing once more.
Qiao Yuns pupils turned into pins when an aura erupted from Lu Yes saber once more. At thest moment, Ruo Yan arrived and blocked the attack. At the same time, Chu Qing dashed out from the side and shed at her sworn enemy. They had finally taken out the sentry squad that was keeping them upied a while ago.
Lu Ye was immediately pushed back after the trio had joined forces. Even with Yi Yis help, he wasnt quite able to defend himself perfectly. His Protections kept shing with every hit they took.
We leave now! Chu Qing ordered. Although they had finally gained the upper hand, it was clear that it was going to take some time before they could kill Lu Ye, and right now their first priority was to find a ce and hide from the hidden threats of this city.
It was clear from the churning fog around them that something big was about to happen in this location or even the entire Lost City of Xianyuan. They all needed to leave this ce as soon as possible. It was why she had ordered her people to retreat.
Qiao Yun turned around and took off running. Ruo Yan escaped with Chu Qing after driving Lu Ye back.
Lu Ye chased after the trio relentlessly, though he made sure to pick up his flying weapons before giving chase.
For a time, four people could be seen leaping up and down the rooftops. However, every time Chu Qing looked behind her back, her expression grew just a little more frightened. It was because a dozen sentries were following behind Lu Ye, and she was certain they were part of the squads who had ambushed them earlier. How could she tell? It was because the odd apparition was among them as well.
[I thought they were lured away by my cultivators. Why did theye back? And why are they chasing us?] Chu Qing just could not figure out what was going on here.
She was wondering if she should turn around and give Lu Ye the death match he so desired if he continued to give chase, but now she had no choice but to extinguish that impulse. Everyone lost when they shed in the presence of the Xianyuan City Watch.
The sentry leaders and Liu Sanbao were obviously faster than the normal sentries. It didnt take them long before they caught up with the three women and attacked them. Liu Sanbao threw his three dice, and the other sentry captains unleashed their Spirit Shackling Ropes at Chu Qing.
Watch out, Sister Chu! Ruo Yan cried out while blocking Liu Sanbaos attack with her massive de.
Qiao Yun also moved behind Chu Qing to throw a punch at the Spirit Shackling Ropes. Her impressive vitality blew them away as if it was a physical thing.
However, that short dy was all the sentries needed to catch up and throw even more Spirit Shackling Ropes at them. Qiao Yun was forced to stay where she was and punch away all the spells. While this was happening, Lu Ye ran straight toward her.
Go! Qiao Yun roared while charging toward Lu Ye. She knew there was no longer any hope of escape for her.
Chu Qing and Ruo Yans eyes trembled, but they forced down their desire to help Qiao Yun and leap toward the distance. It wasnt because they were willing to abandon theirpanion to her death, but because they would all be captured if they remained.
The one silver lining was that the Xianyuan City Watch did not usually kill their captives unless they struggled too much. Most of the time, they were simply thrown into the dungeon and left there. With Qiao Yuns tenacity, she should have no problems surviving until the end of the rift.
As for Lu Yi Ye, she highly doubted he would be able to escape the Xianyuan City Watch. Moreover, he would definitely fare worse than Qiao Yun if he was thrown into the dungeon.
Lu Ye wasnt going to let Chu Qing and Ruo Yan escape if he could help it, but Qiao Yun grew her already massive body another size before running straight toward him. It was like he was facing down a hill of flesh. Not even Protection would be able to hold out if he took a direct hit.
He did not dodge out of the way, however. Instead, he empowered his saber with Gravity Well and brought it down for one mighty swing. The moment his de connected with Qiao Yun, the woman let out a muffled groan and nearly dropped to her knees, while Lu Ye was blown about thirty meters away from his original spot. His saber grip was literally shaking after he steadied himself.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh
Then, the Xianyuan City Watch surrounded them in an inescapable circle.
Qiao Yunughed despite her dire situation. Her saggy eyes were full of delight as she dered, If Im going down, youre going down with me!
Lu Ye merely massaged his wrist while staring at her with an odd expression on his face. She still had no idea what wasing for her.
Qiao Yun yelled, Dont kill me! I wont resist!
Capture her! A sentry leader yelled.
Spirit Shackling Ropes immediately hit her from every direction and wrapped her from neck to toe.
Suddenly, Qiao Yun frowned in confusion. Something didnt feel right about this. For one, the sentries only immobilized her and did not touch a hair on her person. Second, Lu Yi Ye was walking toward her with his saber in hand, and the sentries around them were acting as if they hadnt seen him at all.
Lu Ye walked until he was right in front of Qiao Yun. Then, he raised the Invible and aimed at the spot where her heart was.
Lu Ye had fought plenty of fearless enemies in the past, but this was the first time he encountered someone who ran head first to her death.
Shock and horror filled Qiao Yuns expression. Why didnt the Xianyuan City Watch arrest you?
Chapter 266: Concealment Bracelet
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 266: Concealment Bracelet
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Despite Qiao Yuns desperate struggles, she was unable to stop the double Sharp Edge Invible from piercing right through her heart.
In herst moment before death, she suddenly realized something and looked at Lu Ye in disbelief. They theyre with you!
It was the only exnation as to why the Xianyuan City Watch had attacked her but not Lu Ye. Not only that, they were the reason their perfect ambush had fallen apartpletely. Otherwise, Chu Qing wouldve gotten her revenge already.
Qiao Yun was no idiot. It didnt take much effort for her to put two and two together.
What horrified her was that a cultivator had somehow colluded with the Xianyuan City Watch. She could not imagine what would happen if Lu Yi Ye was allowed to continue like this. She had to warn herrades no matter what.
She raised her hand and tried to send a message through her Battlefield Imprint, but Invible shed once in her heart before blooming into a ball of energy spikes. Burster instantly turned her insides into mush.
Qiao Yuns entire body trembled a little. The light in her eyes faded rapidly after that.
Amber appeared out of seemingly nowhere and leaped onto Lu Yes shoulder. The reason it hadnt made an appearance throughout the battle was because it was controlling the Ghost Spirits from the shadows.
Unfortunately, even simple orders required a certain degree of control.
The surrounding sentries dissipated into Spiritual Light before returning to Ambers body. The only Ghost Spirit still standing in the open was Yi Yi.
Without the Spirit Shackling Rope to keep her up, Qiao Yuns massive body hit the ground like andslide. Lu Ye grabbed her Storage Bag before running toward the distance.
Right now, both the streets and the rooftops were covered in thick fog. Some sort of strange aura was seeping out of the fog as well.
Lu Ye barely took a couple of steps when a humanoid creature suddenly burst out of the fog and attacked him.
In fact, Lu Ye was incredibly familiar with this scenario. Every time he fought inside the Rift of Illusions, his opponentscultivators that seemed to be covered in fogwould rush out from the fog and attack him. Every time he killed one of them, a stronger foe would take their ce. They wouldnt stoping until he was dead.
The humanoid creature attacking him right now waspletely covered in fog, making it impossible to determine their appearance or even their gender. They looked exactly the same as the fog creatures inside the Rift of Illusions.
This discovery strengthened his belief that his Mystic Fruit was connected to the Lost City of Xianyuan. For now, he still didnt know what that connection was.
Just in case, he turned around and swung at the humanoid creature. Since the enemy was only a Seventh-Order cultivator, he easily cleaved them in half and returned them into fog. However, another enemy rushed out of the churning fog to engage him, and their aura was a tad stronger than the one he just killed. This time, Lu Ye did not hesitate to run like hell.
He was now absolutely certain that these humanoid creatures were the same as the ones he fought in the Rift of Illusions. Their numbers were endless, and they would only grow stronger each time he defeated them, so there was no point remaining at this ce for even a second longer.
He tried rushing into the nearest building and closed the door, but the fog passed right through it as if it didnt exist. Lu Ye cursed under his breath when he saw this. He already knew from the information he bought that only houses withnterns on the entrances could function as a shelter, but it was still annoying considering his current circumstances.
He cut down the humanoid creature blocking his way and ran back out to the streets.
Every once in a while, he would run into a stretch where one or both sides of the street was covered in fog. And every time he passed by these stretches, humanoid creatures would emerge from the fog and chase after him. It wasnt long before he had a tail of dozens of fog creatures.
He knew he couldnt keep running like this. At this rate, he would have an entire army of fog creatures breathing down his neck. If they caught up with him, he was going to die even with the help of his Xianyuan City Watch.
Yi Yi!
Lu Ye yelled and reached out toward her.
The girl immediately caught his meaning and passed him all the loot she had recovered from the battlefield. She then plunged head first into Ambers body.
Next, Lu Ye retrieved what looked like a wooden bracelet from his Storage Bag; a Spirit Artifact. He then injected it with Spiritual Power.
As he rounded a corner, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and pulled the bracelet down his wrist. Something incredible happened. A circr ripple spread out from the bracelet and covered Lu Yes entire body. Then, his entire figure distorted for a second before disappearingpletely.
Not a moment too soon, his pursuers burst out of the corner and tried to continue the chase. However, Lu Ye was nowhere to be seen. After running circles around the area like headless flies for a bit, they finally went away as if they had given up the chase.
Lu Ye did not move a muscle, however. In fact, he was doing everything he could to slow his breathing and suppress the cirction of his Spiritual Power to the max. It would be terrible if he was discovered at thest moment.
Lady Yun was the one who gave him the miraculous Spirit Artifact. When she learned that Lu Ye was going to enter the Inner Circle, Lady Yun had given him two objects. The first one was the Nine Realms Scroll, a Spirit Artifact made to trap or kill enemies. The second one was the Concealment Bracelet, a self-preservation Spirit Artifact.
The Nine Realms Scroll was a Spirit Treasure, and Lu Ye currently wasnt strong enough to utilize its full power. That was why Lady Yun sealed off ny percent of its power to make it usable.
The Concealment Bracelet wasnt a Spirit Treasure. In fact, its grade was subject to debate. There was no denying it was a very special Spirit Artifact, however. For example, it could turn its user invisible.
Lady Yun had forged it using an incredibly rare Spirit Wood Core as the body, a Concealment Glyph as the core, and a few more Glyphs as the support. The result was a Spirit Artifact that was borderline priceless.
If the Nine Realms Scroll was an offensive Spirit Treasure, then the Concealment Bracelet was a defensive Spirit Artifact. It was clear from this that Lady Yun truly cared for his safety. She wasnt nning for her sessor to die, now or ever.
While it wasnt difficult to achieve total concealmentall high level ghost cultivators could turn themselves invisiblethe ability was almost unique to ghost cultivators, or more urately, those who hadmuned with the Nether. Every other cultivation faction had a much, much harder time achieving the same effect.
One method every cultivation faction had ess to was a Spirit Talisman Paper called the Concealment Talisman Paper, but it was both expensive and incredibly rare. Not even the Vault of Providence had any in stock right now.
Of course, invisibility was hardly an unbeatable skill. All cultivators possessed enhanced perception, and the stronger they were, the greater their perception. While ghost cultivators were experts in concealment and assassinations, a cultivator with sufficiently powerful perception could still detect them.
Still, Lady Yun had basically granted him a ghost cultivators special ability with the Concealment Bracelet. Its only w was that he could not move after activating the Spirit Artifact. It was also why Lu Ye hadnt used it until now, and he still wouldnt have used it if he wasnt being chased by an endless horde of fog creatures.
Theck of mobility meant that a single wide-range spell was all it took to expose him. Luckily, his pursuers were mindless creatures just like the normal sentries of the Xianyuan City Watch. After he was sure they werepletely gone, Lu Ye finally moved and resumed his escape.
Unfortunately, it wasnt long before he was being chased by the humanoid creatures once more. The only silver lining was that the Xianyuan City Watch that should be patrolling the city were nowhere to be seen. It looked like they were avoiding the humanoid creatures as well.
After he had run far enough, Lu Ye used the Concealment Bracelet and turned invisible once more. He was able to ditch his pursuers just like thest time before continuing forward. This situation repeated a couple of times until finally, he found a building with antern on its entrance.
Lu Ye ran straight to the building and pushed open the door without hesitation. As he stepped in though, a massive shadow suddenly loomed over him and attacked him!
Lu Ye immediately lifted his saber and struck his attacker. However, he heard a ng that sounded like metal and saw literal sparks flying across his vision when the attack connected. He looked up just in time to see a giant of a man bringing down a paper fan-sized palm toward his head. The attack wasnt quick, but the air pressure alone told him how powerful it was.
Lu Yes eyes twitched. Today was turning out to be a ridiculously unlucky day. First, the Rift of Fortune he entered did not really fit its name. Second, the only two body tempering cultivators he fought today were abnormally strong. Qiao Yun was already an annoyance because heryers of fat were thick enough that his saber couldnt cut through them, but this guy was even worse. His Sharp Edge-empowered sh had only left a white mark across his chest.
At least Qiao Yun relied on her fat to reduce the force of the enemys attack to the utmost degree. This guy was just a goddamn walking hunk of metal. It waspletely unfair.
Right as the palm was about to hit his Protection, Amber suddenly let out a cute cry. The palm stopped just above Lu Yes head; the wind strong enough to blow up his hair for a moment. The Invible also stopped just inches away from the mans face.
The massive man nced back and forth between Amber and Lu Ye. Then, he withdrew his palm and scratched his head.
Suddenly, a spell erupted from Lu Yes side. He was just about to dodge out of the way when the hulking man moved his hand in the path of the spell. The fireball was at least the size of a washbasin, but it dispersed into nothing the second it made contact with his palm. Lu Ye couldnt even sense him channeling his vitality or Spiritual Power. This meant that the body tempering cultivator had dispelled with spell with just his flesh. Lu ye had never met such a tough Spirit Creek cultivator in his life.
Ju Jia! An angry voice erupted.
We know them, the hulking man responded simply.
Lu Ye looked to the side and saw the short cultivator he met this morning.
As their eyes met, the short cultivator twirled his mustache and eximed, Its you? I thought you were a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator. Sorry, sorry.
That was what he said, but he didnt look sorry in the slightest. In fact, Lu Ye had the feeling he wouldve killed him first and asked questionster if Ju Jia hadnt stopped, his affiliation be damned.
After all, killing cultivators from your own cultivation faction gave Contribution Points as well.
Lu Ye could smell blood in the air. He was pretty sure someone had died in this building. He shot the short cultivator a nce but sheathed his saber without a word.
The short cultivator walked up with a smile and said, Fate must have brought us together, fellow cultivator! To think we would meet again in this ursed city.
Mhm, Lu Ye replied nomittally before ncing left and right. He then walked to a corner and adopted a meditative position.
Ju Jia walked closer to him while staring at Amber worriedly. His big eyes looked a bit like mininterns.
His worry was very simple. The sentries who survived the earlier battle were absorbing Ambers energy to recover. Naturally, the tiger was looking a little shriveled right now. It was going to take a while before it could regain its strength.
Chapter 267: Lu Yi Ye Must Be Dead
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 267: Lu Yi Ye Must Be Dead
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye wasnt sure what Ju Jia and Amber saw in each other, but? the duo acted as if they were close friends or something. It was the same back at the valley despite that being their first meeting.
His impression of the short spell cultivator with a mustache was questionable at best, but Ju Jia? It was difficult to dislike such a simple and honest personality.
Lu Ye gulped down a couple Spirit Pills before feeding some to Amber. He then changed his cultivation technique and activated Gluttonous Feast. A rumble immediately started within his stomach.
This Lost City of Xianyuan is such a dangerous ce. The short cultivator walked up to the entrance and peered through the gap between the door. The Xianyuan City Watch is trouble enough, but this fog is just as bad. Heavens know how many people are going to die this time.
He looked back at Lu Ye and asked smilingly, You look like you were in a fight.
Lu Ye definitely wasnt looking his best right now. He had used up a lot of Spiritual Power and took some light injuries during his battle against the House of Wintry Blossoms.
It is a bit difficult to explore such a ce being just Eighth-Order and alone. Would you like to join my party, fellow cultivator? I promise you wont regret it.
No thanks.
The short cultivator chuckled. Dont be so hasty to turn me down. Take your time. You may yet change your mind.
The man was smiling, but it sounded like he was threatening him. In fact, he was standing in front of the only exit in this building right now. It looked like he was checking the streets, but Heavens knew what he really meant with his action.
[I knew this guy was bad news.]
Back at the valley, Lu Ye had declined the short cultivators invitation to join his party because they were strangers. However, the man had failed to recruit a single helper even after the Rift of Fortune had opened. This could mean that his reputation was unsavory, or that he had done something in the past that earned his fellow cultivators wariness, or both. In any case, no one was willing to work with him, and probably for good reason.
Moreover, when Lu Ye had entered the building and engaged Ju Jia in battle, the body tempering cultivator had stopped immediately after spotting Amber on his shoulder. The short cultivator, on the other hand, had thrown a big ass fireball in his direction.
The guy imed it was a mistake, but was it really? A cultivators eyesight was extremely powerful, not to mention the eyes of a Ninth-Order spell cultivator. Even if he wasnt able to identify him at first nce, he shouldve seen his face during his brief exchange with Ju Jia. However, the man still decided tounch a fireball at him. That act alone put his entire character in question.
[Is he nning to kill me and loot my corpse?] Lu Ye thought to himself.
Hahaha. Ille back here after youve made up your mind, fellow cultivator.
The short cultivators smile suddenly became much friendlier as he moved away from the entrance. He then beckoned Ju Jia to his side and said, Stop ying with our friends pet ande back already, Ju Jia!
Oh, Ju Jia replied in an unhappy voice but lifted his ridiculously huge finger from Ambers head. He then followed the short cultivator into one of the rooms of the building.
The short cultivators turned into shock and doubt after he sat down on the floor. It was because he couldnt get a grasp of Lu Ye.
Just now, he was seconds away from attacking the young man. This wouldnt be the first time he had killed someone from his own cultivation faction, and it wouldnt be thest. To an independent cultivator with no one to rely on like him, Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge might as well not exist. He himself was the only faction he could rely on.
As someone who climbed up thedder from the lowest rung, he had figured out the true face of Cultivation World a long time ago. Simply put, it was thew of the jungle.
The reason he suddenly decided against his decision was twofold. One, he wasnt sure if Ju Jia could go all out against the young man after his earlier restraint and inexplicable disy of concern. Two, he noticed at thest moment that Lu Yes waist was covered in Storage Bags.
Generally speaking, most cultivators only carried a single Storage Bag on their person. Some people might carry two or three Storage Bags for categorization and convenience sake, but that was it. However, he spotted at least a dozen Storage Bags hanging off the young mans waist, and many of them were covered in blood. That was unnatural to say the least.
This was the real reason the short cultivator had changed his mind at thest moment. As an independent cultivator who had suffered many hardships to get where he was, he knew better than anyone the folly of judging another cultivators strength by their cultivation level.
In this world, there existed people whose true power was not reflected by their cultivation level at all. There were also Spirit Artifacts that could conceal ones Spiritual Power and cultivation level.
Since he couldnt be sure of Lu Yes strength, he didnt dare to carry out his n. He had nevermitted to something he wasntpletely sure about, and he wasnt about to start now.
One thing for certain, that Eighth-Order youngster was a formidable cultivator. There was a small chance that the youngster had stumbled upon those Storage Bags by luck and not through his own strength, but that was even less believable than his original theory. If such luck existed, he would be the richest man on the Battlefield already.
He could not deny that he was sorely tempted by the young mans wealth though. He thought for a moment before tapping his Battlefield Imprint and sending a message to Ju Jia.
The body tempering cultivator didnt notice though. He was too busy eating his food.
It wasnt until the short cultivator elbowed Ju Jia and pointed at the back of his hand that thetter realized that he had a message. He checked it briefly before shaking his head.
The short cultivator stared at Ju Jia. His question was, Why do you like that guys pet so much? to which Ju Jia had responded with the shake of his head. What did that even mean? If he wasnt sure that the guy was simple-minded before, he was now.
We can kidnap it if you want it, you know, he sent another message.
This time, Ju Jia replied verbally with a shake of his head, No.
The short cultivator was so angry his liver hurt. If Ju Jia wasnt as useful as he was, he wouldve abandoned him a long time ago.
Ju Jia knew he had done something wrong when he noticed the short cultivator ring daggers at him. He scratched his head with a troubled look on his face, but he quickly returned to his carefree self after eating another piece of meat.
Outside the room, Lu Ye was still recovering his strength and unlocking the Restraining Locks of his Storage Bags. It was a hassle to carry a dozen Storage Bags on his waist, so he wanted to be done with them as soon as possible.
He had noticed the short cultivators hidden malice, but he didnt pay much attention to it. If the guy was dumb enough to attack him, he didnt mind sending him on a one-way trip to the afterlife.
It took him less than two hours to unlock all of the Storage Bags. He destroyed one in the process, but only because he didnt want to waste too much time on the task.
He threw the empty Storage Bags after transferring all the useful stuff into his own Storage Bag. All in all, he didnt find anything that was particrly noteworthy.
Generally speaking, most cultivators wouldnt carry items that were too valuable in their Storage Bag. Since most cultivators had a ce they called their home, they generally stored their valuables in said homeit could be an Outpost, a safe ce and so onand carried only recovery andbat items on their person.
Lu Ye was an exception to this rule because he was traveling and because he was beloved by his elders.
Amber recovered a little after digesting the Spirit Pills he gave it earlier. It still looked rather weakened, so Lu Ye allowed it to inhale some of the red essence from the dragon scale. At the same time, he messaged Yi Yi and asked her how their Ghost Spirits were doing.
She informed him that they had only fourteen Ghost Spirits left, meaning over half of them had died inbat. This meant he would need to replenish them as soon as possible. The Ghost Spirits were the reason he was able to turn the tables against the House of Wintry Blossoms. Without them, his only option was to run like hell. No matter how good he was, there was no way he could fight that many cultivators single handedly.
The House of Wintry Blossoms had suffered massive casualties during the previous engagement, but there was no way they were going to give up so easily. He was certain they would seek him out again. Whether he had an army of Ghost Spirits or not would directly affect the oue of that battle.
The good news was that it wasnt difficult to replenish the Ghost Spirits. The one thing this city didntck was sentries. Once the fog had faded, he could head out and replenish his soldiers.
In fact, he was going to attack the House of Wintry Blossoms the moment he was ready. He would kill Chu Qing before they could fully muster their forces!
Now that he had a clear goal in mind, Lu Ye felt much more spirited.
At the same time, eight House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators were licking their wounds in another building. Chu Qings eyes were filled with hatred, and Ruo Yan could not stop sobbing at the side.
It was because Qiao Yun was dead. In fact, she was dead not long after they had retreated. They had run away thinking that the Xianyuan City Watch would throw Qiao Yun and that damnable Lu Yi Ye into the dungeon after catching them, but for whatever reason things hadnt gone the way they thought at all.
Qiao Yun was the strongest body tempering cultivator in the House of Wintry Blossoms, and not just in terms of her cultivation level. Despite being at Ninth-Order only, her constitution wasparable to that of a Heaven Grade body tempering cultivator. If her image wasnt too unpopr, she wouldve been made the Legate of their Outpost for sure.
Qiao Yun was an essential talent to the House of Wintry Blossoms because they were criticallycking in body tempering cultivators, so much so that every loss was felt by everyone.
It was thanks to Qiao Yun that their Outpost had been nigh unassable. Every time they shed against the forces of Grand Sky Coalition, she was there to carry most of the pressure.
It would be an understatement to say that her passing would devastate the entire sect.
Stop crying! Chu Qing barked suddenly.
Ruo Yan immediately ceased her sobbing.
The life of a cultivator is one filled with death and struggle. Perhaps you and I will meet a simr fate in the future. Rather than crying, you should focus on improving your chances of survival!
Ruo Yan forcefully swallowed her sorrow and sniffed once.
Chu Qing patted her on the shoulder and said, Dont be too sad. If Qiao Yun died, then Lu Yi Ye must be dead as well. If nothing else, we were able toplete our primary objective. When the fog has faded, we will retrieve Qiao Yus body and put our dead brothers and sisters at peace with Lu Yi Yes head.
Mhm. Ruo Yan nodded strongly.
Chu Qing turned away after consoling Ruo Yan. No one saw the tear sliding down her cheek.
In another building, Ji Yan of Hidden Light Sanctuary was massaging his forehead with a terrible frown on his face.
His problem was very simple: Gu Canyang had been captured by the Xianyuan City Watch, and he wasnguishing in the dungeon right now.
Gu Canyang was one of the unlucky bastards to have encountered the Xianyuan City Watch as soon as hended in the city. Despite his valiant struggles, there was no way he could have escaped an entire squad on his own. He had been bound and dragged away almost immediately. A junior brother who happened to witness this scene imed that he had looked like the end of the world was upon him
If Gu Canyang was just an ordinary disciple, he wouldve put the guy out of his mind already. The problem was that he was their Legate, and he wasnt a body tempering cultivator. There was a huge chance he wasnt going to hold out until the end of the Rift.
As if that wasnt bad enough, their sect was more or less in shambles right now. While Ji Yan had done his best to keep his people united, it was clear that his prestige could notpare to Gu Canyangs.
Right now, the best he could do was to muster their forces and wait for the fog to fade. Then, they would try to rescue Gu Canyang from the dungeon.
He knew it was extremely unlikely they would seed though. A ton of sentries had been posted at the dungeon as a matter of course. Many people had tried to raid the dungeon in the past, but no one had ever managed to get inside.
Worse still, this was hardly Hidden Light Sanctuarys only problem. They had to watch out for Sunlit Mountain and the House of Wintry Blossoms as well. If either sect were to learn of their intentions, then they would interfere with their n for sure. There was no chance Hidden Light Sanctuary could defend against both sects alone.
Ji Yans headache seemed to worsen when the thoughts reyed in his mind yet again. Brother Gu, oh, Brother Gu. Just why are you so unlucky?
Chapter 268: I Know How To Kill
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 268: I Know How To Kill
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Back in the building Lu Ye was hiding in, the short cultivator would sometimes run to the entrance and peer through the gap between the door. He was probably checking if the fog had faded away.
Lu Ye paid him no attention and continued to recover his strength. ording to the jade slip he bought from the Divine Trade Association, it was uncertain how long the fog wouldst. Sometimes, it could be as little as two hours. Sometimes, it couldst around one or even two days.
Half a day passed like this. The short cultivator was peering through the door again when he suddenly, he shouted, Ju Jia.
The broad body tempering cultivator stepped out from the room. He was bare-chested and wearing a tattered hemp garment.
The short cultivator sped his hands at Lu Ye and said, We shall be taking our leave, fellow cultivator. See you another time.
Despite the temptation, he ultimately decided against attacking Lu Ye.
The tall and short duo left the building after that. It wasnt long before they vanished into the distance.
Lu Ye waited until they werepletely gone before he rose to his feet. After checking from the door for himself and confirming that the fog was gone, he too exited the building.
First things first, he was going to replenish Ambers Ghost Spirits. While doing so, he would search for the forces of the House of Wintry Blossoms as well.
In fact, he had another objective in mind. Ideally, he wanted to rece all of his Ghost Spirits with sentry leaders or special apparitions like Liu Sanbao. The normal sentries were just too dumb and inflexible, so their actual strength was lower than their cultivation level might suggest. The sentry leaders did not possess that problem, and special apparitions like Liu Sanbao even less so.
While it was true that neither the sentry leaders nor Liu Sanbao possessed a mind of their own after they were converted into Ghost Spirits, they were capable of executing Ambers orders perfectly. They were far more useful than your ordinary sentries.
Of course, apparitions like Liu Sanbao were pretty rare. Realistically, his army of Ghost Spirits would consist mostly of sentry leaders.
Both the Xianyuan City Watch and the cultivators had emerged from their hidey-holes after the fog had fadedpletely. Every once in a while, Lu Yes senses would pick up a nearby fight or two.
It wasnt long before he encountered his first squad of sentries. Before their sentry leader could even say, You dare! he had already sent his own Ghost Spirits to capture them. A momentter, the entire squad had been captured and converted into Ambers Ghost Spirits.
Although his objective was to rece all of his Ghost Spirits with sentry leaders or special apparitions like Liu Sanbao, he saw no reason to let go of the ordinary sentries just yet. It was more important to fill up the ranks first and leave recing for qualityter.
Every time he encountered a building with antern at the entrance, he would explore it in hopes of running into another special existence like Liu Sanbao. Unfortunately, his search hadnt borne fruit so far.
This suggested that special apparitions like Liu Sanbao were pretty rare in the city.
Two hourster, after Amber had fully replenished its Ghost Spirits, Lu Ye instructed it to release one into the open. It was because he wanted to perform a test.
When he rounded a corner and saw a sentry squad, the Ghost Spirit trailing after Lu Ye immediately summoned its Spirit Shackling Rope and bound Lu Ye. They then continued forward as if nothing was going on.
The distance between the two groups kept shortening until finally, they brushed past each other. The sentry squad hadnt even spared him a nce.
[It does work!]
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows.
The reason Lu Ye carried out this little test was because he wanted to avoid unnecessary conflicts with the Xianyuan City Watch afterpleting his objectives. After all, killing them only wasted his energy and earned him nothing.
Now that he knew that he could trick the Xianyuan City Watch by pretending to be bound, the amount of unnecessary battles he had to fight just went down drastically.
Of course, he wasnt done hunting the Xianyuan City Watch just yet. He wasnt going to stop until he had reced everyone with a sentry leader or special apparition.
Suddenly, a couple of cultivators walked out of a nearby alley and saw Lu Ye. Their leader was a guy who looked to be in their early twenties. He shot Lu Ye a nce and said, Please show us your Battlefield Imprint, fellow cultivator.
Lu Ye returned the nce and activated his Battlefield Imprint as requested. A blue light immediately shone from the back of his palm.
Kill him! The cultivator ordered with a wave of his hand. The group immediately assumedbat stances.
However, the sentry behind Lu Ye abruptly retracted the Spirit Shackling Rope. Then, countless apparitions flew out of Ambers bodythe tiger was currently lying on Lu Yes shoulder right nowand threw their Spirit Shackling Ropes. The group was tied up like a pig before they even realized what was happening.
Lu Ye took a moment to crack his neck before walking up to the male cultivator. He then pulled the Invible slowly out of its sheath.
The guy was stunned to say the least. He asked while staring at Lu Ye in disbelief, How could you control the sentries?
They hade out of the alley because they saw that Lu Ye had been captured by the Xianyuan City Watch. If he was an ally, then they would try to save him. If not, they would kill him and reduce their number of enemies by one.
However, they never imagined that there existed a cultivator who could control the Xianyuan City Watch!
Do you know where Chu Qing of the House of Wintry Blossoms is?
No.
Then youre useless. The Invible fell, and blood sttered all over the ground.
He repeated the question to the second person, and he answered, Yes, I know where she is.
Really? Swear it by the Heavens then.
I I dont know.
A minuteter, Lu Ye rose from the corpses and hung their Storage Bags on his waist.
He was pretty sure that this group wasnt from the House of Wintry Blossoms because there wasnt a single woman among them. Either they were Thousand Demon Ridge independent cultivators, or they were members of Sunlit Mountain. Naturally, they had no idea where Chu Qing was.
Still, this minor incident had turned out to be more useful than he initially thought. Not only was he able to fool the Xianyuan City Watch, he could trick enemy cultivators intomitting suicide as well. He was tempted to repeat this trick ad infinitum, but in the end he decided against it. Being bound by the Spirit Shackling Rope meant he would not be able to respond to sudden dangers immediately.
He continued forward. When he encountered a sentry squad, he would capture their leader and rece an ordinary sentry in his ranks. When he ran into a group of cultivators, he would battle them and kill them all. For obvious reasons, the cultivators were no match for him. What they thought was an easy kill was really a powerhouse with over thirty Ghost Spirits backing him up. It was like a horror show where their moment of joy turned into a nightmare at the snap of a finger.
.
The amount of Storage Bags he got steadily increased during this time.
Of course, he asionally ran into cultivators from Grand Sky Coalition as well. ording to them, the cultivators of Sunlit Mountain and the House of Wintry Blossoms were in the middle of massing their forces. They were clearly plotting to take down all the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators who entered this pce in one fell swoop.
After all, Thousand Demon Ridge outnumbered Grand Sky Coalition by at least a hundred people this time. It was because Lofty Plume Court wasnt able to arrive in time.
As a result, Hidden Light Sanctuary was in a dire position right now. Even the independent cultivators on Grand Sky Coalitions side were forced to join forces with Hidden Light Sanctuary for survival.
It could be foreseen that the two factions would sh in the very near future. The oue of this sh would directly decide the fates of all cultivators in the Lost City of Xianyuan as well. If Thousand Demon Ridge emerged victorious in this sh, they would surely press their advantage and ughter all Grand Sky Coalition cultivators.
There were supposed to be two Grand Sky Coalition factions versus two Thousand Demon Ridge factions in this pocket dimension. Unfortunately, the Grand Sky Coalition faction named Lofty Plume Court were unable to arrive before the Rift of Fortune was closed.
Naturally, every Grand Sky Coalition cultivator Lu Ye ran into had tried to persuade him to join them. He turned them all down though. He could not deny that it would be safer if he met up with his allies, but it would also be toote for everyone if they waited until Thousand Demon Ridge was ready. Plus, he only looked like he was alone. He really had an army of thirty one Ghost Spirits in hismand. He should be able to handle any threat as long as he didnt run into too many enemies at once.
Traveling alone also afforded him the freedom to take any course of action he wanted and the opportunity to weaken Thousand Demon Ridge. In fact, he had already killed many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators while he was searching for the House of Wintry Blossoms, not to mention that he hadnt reced all of his ordinary sentries with sentry leaders yet.
Some timeter, Lu Ye came to a stop at a three-storey building. It had caught his interest because it had not one, but an entire row ofnterns hanging at the front. There was also a horizontal board on top of the entrance, although it was tattered to the point where all but the first word was unrecognizable, House.
Lu Ye pushed open the doors. The stench of decay immediately washed over him.
It was impossible to tell how the room was originally arranged. It looked as if a hurricane had passed through the ce. There was also an old staircase leading toward the second floor.
Lu Ye looked around the first floor for a bit and found nothing. When he entered the second floor though, his eyes immediately lit up with delight. Finally, he had found his second special apparition.
Not including the apparition in front of him, Lu Ye had only encountered one special apparition throughout his search, and that was Liu Sanbao. Hisbat performance was beyond exemry, and he was at least several times stronger than a sentry leader.
The apparition in front of him was a fragile-looking woman with a gorgeous countenance. She wore a dress that suggested that this building couldve been part of the redlight district and carried a pipa.
Lu Ye did not think she was weak just because she looked fragile, however. It was because he saw three corpses not far away from the woman. He didnt know who these unlucky bastards were, but their expressions suggested that they had been tortured horribly before their deaths. There was encrusted blood on every hole on their faces, which were frozen in pain.
Noticing Lu Yes arrival, the woman shot him a shy look that would have stolen the soul of a lesser man. Her vermillion lips parted slightly as she spoke in a voice as gentle as water, Do you know how to recite poetry, sir?
All special apparitions in the Lost City of Xianyuan carried some sort of obsession or hobby from before they died. Liu Sanbao was a gambler, so the first thing he did after Lu Ye entered his house was to invite him to gamble. The gamble would not stop until one party had lost everything including their lives. Most of the time, Liu Sanbao was the undisputed winner.
Unlike Liu Sanbao, this apparitions obsession was a bit more esoteric. This was the first time anyone had asked him if he knew poetry.
No.
Do you know how topose a rhyming couplet then?
Nope.
What do you know then, sir?
I know how to kill!
Lu Ye raised his Invible.
The womans Spiritual Light was even thicker than Liu Sanbaos, so she was probably a Heaven Grade Eighth or even Ninth-Order apparition. As expected of the Lost City of Xianyuan, this ce was full of monsters.
The female apparition shot the Invible a nce but smiled at Lu Ye. She did not get angry despite his impudence.
Her smile quickly vanished from her face, however. It was because spectral sentries began flying out of Ambers body until the room was filled with them.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaah. The female apparition wailed. She looked terribly sad as tears streamed down her cheeks.
It wasnt because she was terrified for her life, however. An invisible wave of energy swept across the entire second floor, causing the Spiritual Light of every sentry to start shing erratically. Even Lu Ye felt a little faint.
Lu Yes expression immediately turned serious. It was a sonic attack; an attack that was transmitted via sound. He had heard about it, but this was the first time he actually experienced it in battle. He tried to raise his saber but discovered that he couldnt quite control his arm.
Chapter 269: Waaaaaaah
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 269: Waaaaaaah
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The sentries closest to the female apparition fared worse than him. Even Liu Sanbao wore a pained look on his face.
Roar!
Thankfully, Amber was here to seal the deal. From Lu Yes shoulder, it let out a mighty roar that not only suppressed the female apparitions cry, but also stunned her for a brief instant. When she came to, she realized that the tiger was not an ordinary one and watched it warily.
Amber pounced toward the female apparition and inhaled at her. Knowing she was in danger, she yed a note on her pipa and sent it flying from her. It even flipped a couple of times in mid-air.
Yi Yi immediately emerged from Ambers body and fired a spell at the female apparition. At the same time, Lu Ye rushed forward and brought down his saber.
The female apparition was able to block the spell but not Lu Yes attack. The aura surrounding her body shed once.
Not a moment too soon, the surrounding sentries tossed their Spirit Shackling Ropes, and Liu Sanbao his three dice at the female apparition.
The female apparition ced her long, slender fingers on a couple of strings and plucked them hard, freezing most of the Spirit Shackling Ropes in mid-air and shattering the rest.
Waaaaaaaaaah She began crying again.
Roar! Amber immediately countered with its roar, and it was even louder thanst time. A visible shockwave washed over the female apparition and stifled her cry. Her expression looked pained as well.
Lu Ye immediately brought down his saber a second time.
Waaaaaah
Roar!
Thwack!
Waaah
Roar!
Thwack
The female apparition was crying for real after that. Giant droplets of tears slid down her cheeks as she hugged her pipa close and stared at Lu Ye like a bullied child. Unfortunately for her, her customer this time was a tough one. Not only could he not recite poems orpose rhyming couplets, he was also a shouter and an abuser
A whileter, Amber swallowed the depressed female apparition and converted her into a Ghost Spirit. Naturally, Lu Ye was extremely pleased with this oue.
He asked Amber to release the female apparition to check on her condition. Just like Liu Sanbao, her cultivation level had fallen to the Ninth-Order.
Her expression was nk, and her eyes had lost their soul stealing quality. She was hugging her pipa, but her movement and posture were much stiffer than before. He could see a hint of her former fragility though.
Unfortunately, this was one of the major ws of Ambers ability. Any apparition it converted into Ghost Spirits would turn into mindless drones.
Lu Ye examined the pipa in the female apparitions hands for a moment and noted that it was simr to Liu Sanbaos dice cup. At the beginning, he had thought that the dice cup was a Spirit Artifact. However, he soon realized that it was really a manifestation of his power. It was neither real nor false like the apparition himself.
With that done, he gave his small army of Ghost Spirits a look over. Excluding Yi Yi, he had thirty one Ghost Spirits and only fourteen of them were ordinary sentries; the rest were two special apparitions and fifteen sentry leaders.
This was so much better than the force he had when he had neutralized Chu Qings ambush. If he had such a force back then, not a single one of them wouldve been able to make it out alive.
Suddenly, he realized that he had forgotten to ask the female apparition her name. It wasnt a problem though. He mentallybeled her as Pipa Girl before resuming his exploration.
Two hourster, Lu Ye stood in front of apound with tall walls and stared at thentern hanging at the entrance. He then pushed open the door and walked in.
Apound like this was pretty rare in the city. Its owner was probably an important person before they passed away. He could vaguely hear the sound of running water from nearby.
Lu Yes gaze was immediately drawn to a shade of red at a corner of thepound. A slender woman was sitting on a swing with her back to him.
Lu Ye could barely control his delight as he praised his good fortune. Before this, he had been searching for special apparitions like Liu Sanbao. Now, he had run into both Pipa Girl and this mysterious woman in just two hours! Perhaps special apparitions werent as rare as he thought after all. The reason he hadnt run into them earlier was probably because he was unlucky or because they were killed by other cultivators.
The swing gently swayed back and forth. The womans dress was long enough that it dragged against the ground.
Lu Ye was just about to ask Amber to release the Ghost Spirits andmunicate with the woman when suddenly, he turned as stiff as a statue.
He rubbed both his eyes before staring at the woman in red dress intently. When he confirmed that he wasnt mistaken, he hurriedly mped his hand around Ambers mouth.
The tiger looked at him innocently. It just wanted to yawn
He then slowly shuffled backward while trying his best not to make a sound.
Boom!
Suddenly, the wooden door he came through a moment ago mmed shut behind him. He immediately rammed his shoulder into it because it looked rotten enough to shatter at the slightest touch. It didnt work though. It felt as solid as the stones that made up the walls of thispound.
He wasnt out of tricks though. Spiritual Power surged into his back as a pair of fiery red wings burst into existence. He soared into the air and tried to jump over the wall, but he was frozen in ce at thest second by an invisible energy. Even his Spiritual Power waspletely frozen, causing his wings to disappear into nothing.
Cold sweat poured down Lu Yes forehead like a waterfall. rm bells rang loudly in his head as he stared at the woman in the red dress. Suddenly, he understood exactly how his enemies felt when they found out that the person they thought was prey, wasnt. It was an emotional roller coaster alright.
His senses had tingled immediately after he saw the womans aura or rather, ack thereof.
He had seen three people with no apparent aura in his life. They were Sister Shui Yuan, the Sect Master, and Lady Yun.
Sister Shui Yuan was a True Lake Realm Master, and the Sect Master and Lady Yun Divine were Ocean Realm Masters. The reason he couldnt see their auras was because they were way beyond his level.
This was also why Lu Ye had wanted to escape the moment he realized this. It was because the woman in the red dress was most likely unbeatable even with an army of Ghost Spirits on his side.
Of course, there was a chance she didnt have any Spiritual Power because she was powerless. For starters, non-cultivators did not have an aura.
This was the Lost City of Xianyuan though. How could there be an apparition who waspletely powerless?
Even if she was an exception to the rule, there would be no point in converting her into a Ghost Spirit. He wanted to capture special apparitions because they were powerful, not the opposite.
In any case, avoiding the woman was his only option.
Unfortunately, he was toote. The door was closed, and his Spiritual Power was sealed. The worst part was that the woman in the red dress had done all this without lifting a finger. She had not moved an inch from her swing.
As it turned out, the information of the Divine Trade Association wasnt so reliable after all. At the very least, there was no mention of such a terrifying existence in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
[I want my money back!]
Suddenly, the woman began singing. Her voice was soft, but it sounded like she was singing right next to his ears. The melody flowed straight into his soul.
Lu Ye rxed not because the melody was soothing, but because he was resigned to his fate. What was the point in resisting when the enemy was so obviously beyond his power? He might as well see where this goes.
Speaking of which, every special apparition in the Lost City of Xianyuan inherited an obsession or a hobby from when they were still alive. Liu Sanbao was a gambling addict, Pipa Girl wanted to recite poems andpose rhyming couplets, and this woman in red dress hadunched into song without warning.
Did she want him to listen to her song? Or maybe she wanted him to reciprocate with a song of his own after she was done?
In any case, there was still hope. The fact that the apparition only trapped him here instead of killing him outright meant there was still a chance he might escape with his lifebut only if he made the right choices.
So, he calmed his mind and listened closely to her song. What if she asked him about her songter, and he couldnt give her an answer? It would be a horrible way to go.
Unfortunately, he could only tell that she was singing a tragic and sorrowful song. He could not make out a single word of what she was singing.
The emotions of the song infected him before he realized it. The song seemed to be a story of parting where two lovers were, for whatever reason, separated for thousands of years. All that was left was a woman who still yearned for her lover to this day.
An unknown amount of timeter, the song that shook the soul finally faded into nothing. However, Lu Ye was unable to shake off the sorrow in his heart immediately even though he knew it was the influence of the song. It was quite tragic.
The swing stopped, and a quiet voice entered his ears, Have you seen Tang Yuan?
You want to eat Tang Yuan (glutinous rice ball), miss? Lu Ye sniffed while groaning on the inside. He had plenty of food inside his Storage Bag, but therge majority of them were jerkies. Of course he didnt have stuff like Tang Yuan.
Her back still facing toward him, the woman in the red dress shook her head. Tang Yuan is the name of my cat.
Oh. Sorry, but I havent seen it.
She fell silent for a moment before saying, Can you find Tang Yuan for me? Its a dangerous world out there. I worry for its safety.
Sure.
Thank you.
Youre wee!
Boom!
The door that had been shut all this time suddenly opened. Lu Ye immediately strode out of thepound as quickly as he could.
Boom!
The door closed once more. It sounded like the woman was singing again.
Lu Ye empowered himself with Windwalk before running at top speed. He did not stop until he was two streets away from thepound.
As he stopped to catch his breath, Yi Yi floated out of Ambers body with tears in her eyes. Clearly, she was affected by the song as well.
Are we going to look for the cat, Lu Ye?
Of course Lu Ye wanted to say of course not, but his heart skipped a beat right before he was about to finish the sentence. It was as if his sixth sense was warning him of a grave danger. Now that he thought about it, breaking his promise with the woman in the red dress or even talking behind her back would probably go poorly for him, so he hurriedly corrected himself, we will. It cant be too hard, right?
As if on cue, the feeling of danger vanished into nothing. It told him that it wasnt just his imagination.
Now, Lu Ye understood why the woman had released him so easily. At the same time, he felt a growing headache in his head. How was he going to find a single cat in such a huge city? Did the cat even exist for that matter? If it didnt, then he was as good as dead.
[No, wait, thats not right. She said, can you find Tang Yuan for me, not you will die if you dont bring me my cat. That means Ill live as long as I put in the effort. Whether I can actually find it is beside the point.]
He felt much better after he figured this out. His situation wasnt as bad as he thought.
Still, he couldnt help butment how odd the Lost City of Xianyuan was all over again. No wonder the cultivators hated this ce so much. Not only was it rife with danger, one had to take care of the special apparitions strange requests as well. The slightest mistake could be theirst.
Suddenly, Lu Ye sensed a fight nearby. Judging from the shockwaves and the noise, it was quite the huge fight too.
He told Yi Yi to hide before activating Conceal Presence. Then, he quietly made his way toward themotion.
Chapter 270: Peerless Loyalty
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 270: Peerless Loyalty
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A short whileter, Lu Ye peeked out from behind a rooftop. He saw what looked like a public square and a couple of bodies on the ground. At least thirty cultivators had gathered around the ce.
The three sects who entered this ce were the only ones capable of massing such a force, and since he already learned from his allies that Grand Sky Coalition wasnt assembling here, they most likely belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge.
His suspicion was confirmed when he saw the petite woman named Ruo Yan among the cultivators. Chu Qing was nowhere to be seen though.
As it turned out, he knew the person they were attacking. It was none other than the body tempering cultivator he bade goodbye a while ago, Ju Jia.
Ju Jia was currently standing with his back bent and his face facing toward the ground. Countless spells and flying weapons were smashing into his body and disrupting his aura. His hemp shirt was tattered to begin with, but now his upper body waspletely bare, exposing tough muscles and bloody wounds.
Lu Ye was shocked that Ju Jia was still standing. During their brief exchange earlier, Ju Jia had withstood a Sharp Edge-empowered sh and walked away with only a white mark on his chest. At the time, he was already awed by his toughness and wondering how it was even possible for a mere Ninth-Order cultivator to cultivate such a tough body.
The scene he was witnessing right now was even more impressive. Ju Jia was currently enduring a barrage of attacks no other Ninth-Order body tempering cultivator could possibly survive. At least seven or eight of the thirty Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were gathered here were throwing their spells or flying weapons at him, but he looked like he could withstand the barrage a while yet. It wasnt like he was dodging the attacks either. From the looks of it, he wasnt moving because he was protecting something underneath him.
Lu Ye focused his sight and realized that the thing underneath Ju Jia was hispanion, the short cultivator with a mustache. Ju Jia was making sure that not a single attack wouldnd on him.
Judging from the growing pool of blood beneath Ju Jia, though, there was a high chance the spell cultivator was already dead. In other words, Ju Jia was protecting a corpse right now.
How did they get themselves surrounded by Thousand Demon Ridge? The situation mustve been really bad if that cunning bastard couldnt survive even with Ju Jias protection.
Suddenly, Ruo Yan spoke up, Join the House of Wintry Blossoms, and you will live to see another day, Ju Jia!
In fact, Ruo Yan and her group hade specifically for Ju Jia. Even before they entered the Rift of Fortune, Chu Qing had already assigned her sect mates two missions: one was to kill Lu Ye, and the other Ju Jia.
She wanted Lu Ye dead because she wanted to take revenge for Chu Xue. As for Ju Jia, the man was famous for his inhuman physique. If they didnt kill him now, he might join the Hidden Light Sanctuary in the future. They would rather nip the danger in the bud.
They werent the only ones who were hunting Ju Jia either. Sunlit Mountain was looking for him as well. They were going to fight a decisive battle against the Hidden Light Sanctuaryter, so of course they were going to take out some potential threats before then. Ju Jia was easily at the top of their kill list.
Ruo Yan had given chase after discovering Ju Jia and the short cultivator. The short cultivator copsed first, but Ju Jia was still alive.
Ruo Yan had heard of Ju Jias reputation a long time ago, but it wasnt until today that she realized just how incredible he really was. Previously, she had thought Qiao Yun was the best of the best among her peers, but clearly that wasnt the case.
This was why Ruo Yan was trying to persuade Ju Jia to join their side. The House of Wintry Blossoms could always use more body tempering cultivators, and their best, Qiao Yun had died not long ago. If she could recruit Ju Jia, then this venture wouldnt be aplete tragedy.
She had already messaged Chu Qing about this and obtained her approval. In fact, the woman and her group were on their way over. They would be arriving very soon.
The House of Wintry Blossoms knew exactly what they wanted to do with Ju Jia. If they could recruit him, then all was well. If they couldnt, then they would end his life.
Long story short, if they couldnt have him, then no one would.
Dont be stubborn, Ju Jia! You know better than anyone how Sima Yang treats you! If you join us, we promise that no one will mistreat you ever again!
Sima Yang was the name of his deadpanion.
It wasnt like no one ever tried to recruit an extraordinarily talented body tempering cultivator like Ju Jia? Of course they had. In fact, the recruitment efforts hadnt stopped since the day he disyed his talent. A body tempering cultivator like him was worth ten ordinary body tempering cultivators. Who wouldnt want to have him?
But of course, Sima Yang rejected them all on behalf of Ju Jia. They had never joined a sect since they started cultivating because they would have to bow their head to a higher power if they did, and that was something Sima Yang could never ept.
Speaking of which, the rumor that Ju Jia had never taken a life was real, as unbelievable as it sounded. It was because Sima Yang always took thest hit. Ju Jia would fight at the forefront, and Sima Yang from behind. Once the enemy was crippled, Sima Yang would kill them and im everything for himself: Contribution Points, Storage Bags, everything.
Sima Yang had long ago realized that Ju Jias cultivation speed was far superior to his. If he did not do this, it was only a matter of time before Ju Jia left him behind. When that happened, he would not be able to travel with Ju Jia.
So, he forbade Ju Jia from killing. If Ju Jia didnt kill, then he couldnt earn Contribution Points. And if he couldnt earn Contribution Points, then he couldnt obtain a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. He would be stuck at the Ninth-Order until Sima Yang said otherwise.
With this arrangement, Sima Yang could eventually catch up to hispanion and umte enough Contribution Points to purchase himself a good Heaven Grade cultivation technique. In fact, Sima Yang was nning to do that right after they left this Rift of Fortune. Only then would he find a way to get Ju Jia a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. This way, they could continue sticking together in their cultivation journey!
Sima Yangs n was not a secret among his fellow cultivators. In fact, more than one person had secretly told Ju Jia about this a long time ago. He just didnt care since he had traveled with Sima Yang since he was still a weakling.
This was why no one was willing to help Sima Yang or join his team. Who in their right mind would cooperate with a known backstabber?
In the end, Sima Yangs selfishness and greed turned out to be his undoing. He never thought the Rift of Fortune would be connected to the infamous Lost City of Xianyuan, and that the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain were nning to take Ju Jiaand by extension, himout before their sh against Hidden Light Sanctuary. In his head, he thought the two sects would target Hidden Light Sanctuary first because they were the sworn enemy. He was even nning to y the fisherman while the two sides battled against each other.
Unfortunately, the House of Wintry Blossoms found them first. His fate was sealed after that. Even Lu Ye wouldve died if he didnt have the Ghost Spirits back then, much less the likes of him.
The House of Wintry Blossoms had attacked Sima Yang and Ju Jia with a party of thirty plus cultivators. However, they had lost a couple of people not because Sima Yang was all that impressive, but because Ju Jia was abnormal.
When Lu Ye firstid eyes on Ju Jia, he already noticed that his aura was almost as pure as his, if not purer. It was because Ju Jia had been stuck on the Ninth-Order for two or three years, and he hadnt consumed a single Spirit Pill during this time. Naturally, his Spiritual Power was as pure as it could be.
Meanwhile, Ju Jias continued silence had finally caused Ruo Yan to lose her patience. She raised her hand and opened her mouth to give the kill order. There was no point keeping an enemy they couldnt recruit to their side alive.
Suddenly, her arm paused in mid-motion. She spun in the direction of where a familiar figure was standing on the rooftop and looking down on her.
Her pupils contracted with shock for an instant before turning hateful. I knew youre still alive!
Initially, she and Chu Qing believed that Lu Ye had died with Qiao Yun. However, they didnt discover his corpse when they went to retrieve their fallenrades corpse. Since then, Chu Qing suspected that their nemesis was still alive.
That was why the duo had split up into two groups. Ruo Yans group would look for Ju Jia, while Chu Qings for Lu Ye. They werent going to stop until they killed him or found proof that he was dead.
She hadnt expected Lu Yi Ye to show himself right before she was about to order Ju Jias death. As if that wasnt arrogant enough, he was just as alone as the first time she met him.
Ruo Yan was so angry that her lips morphed into a toothy, savage grin. Last time, their ambush had failed because the Xianyuan City Watch had appeared at the worst possible time. However, that was just bad luck. There was no way the same thing could happen a second time, right?
Just as she thought this, a sobbing noise came from nearby. At the same time, spectral sentries emerged from every direction and threw a ton of Spirit Shackling Ropes at them.
Pipa Girls cries were no ordinary cries. It was a special sonic attack that even Lu Ye and his Ghost Spirits couldnt do anything against if they didnt have Amber back then.
The attack was much weaker after her cultivation level had fallen to the Ninth-Order, and she was converted into a Ghost Spirit. Even still, it was enough to buzz their ears and make them dizzy.
At the same time, Pipa Girl started ying her pipa. It was like a scene straight out of a horror show. Many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators swayed on their feet as if they were drunk.
Thanks to her power, many Spirit Shackling Ropes sessfullynded on their target. A single Spirit Shackling Rope was hardly inescapable, but it was a different story if they were hit by more than one.
Beside Pipa Girl, Liu Sanbao threw his three dice and killed everyone the sentries immobilized.
That wasnt all. Lu Ye had alsounched his flying weapons and made them spin like a top. Everywhere they went, blood and gore were sure to follow.
Yi Yi was casting her spells as well.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Eight people were dead, and at least a dozen were bound by the Spirit Shackling Ropes in but an instant.
Protect your minds! Ruo Yan screamed with bloodshot eyes. After releasing her Spiritual Power and breaking out of the Spirit Shackling Ropes binding her, she shot a flying weapon straight at the nearest sentry leader.
The rest of herpanions finally reacted and did everything they could to save themselves.
Blood curdling screams erupted all over the ce. A couple more people were killed in just a matter of seconds.
They were so busy fighting that they did not notice that Amber had leaped off of Lu Yes shoulder. It ran toward the crouching Ju Jia and stopped in front of him.
Chapter 271: Massacre
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 271: Massacre
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye spared some of his attention to Amber. He hadnt instructed the tiger to seek out Ju Jia. It had sought out the body tempering cultivator of its own ord, so he had no idea what it was nning either.
Amber bumped its head against Ju Jias legs once. It then let out a couple of iprehensible growls.
For the first time, Ju Jia stirred from his posture before slowly rising to his feet. The crisscrossing, bloody marks on his back looked absolutely terrible.
What looked like boiling vitality seeped out of Ju Jias body and mingled with his dense, solid, earthen yellow-colored Spiritual Power. Crimson light shone out of his pupils as well. In that moment, the man felt more intimidating than he had been his whole life.
Suddenly, he crouched lower and bowed his head as if he was about tounch into a sprint. He was facing the cultivators of the House of Wintry Blossoms. His messy hair was blocking his face from view, but it did not matter. All Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators abruptly shivered as if the killing intent of a monstrous beast had washed over them.
Boom
An actual shockwave spread from beneath Ju Jias feet as he abruptly sprinted toward a group of House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators. Crimson red vitality and earthen yellow Spiritual Power mingled together to form a visible halo that wrapped around his whole person.
He wasnt actually moving all that quickly, but he most certainly felt unstoppable. Not even a literal mountain was going to stop him from charging through.
Stop him! screamed someone as the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge grew even more panicked.
The Xianyuan City Watch was attacking them, the special apparitions were attacking them, Lu Ye and Yi Yi were attacking them, and now even Ju Jia was charging toward them as well.
They should be the ones who held the absolute advantage, so why was it that they were barely able to put up a resistance?
[I wanna cry!]
Flying weapons and spells bombarded Ju Jia, but not a single one was capable of even slowing his charge. They were all blocked by the halo made up of vitality and Spiritual Power.
No one had ever witnessed this Ju Jia, not even his lifelongpanion, Sima Yang.
He struck the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators frontline like andslide. The man who attempted to hold him back was a body-tempering cultivator himself judging from his rich vitality, but the second they made contact, his eyes widened like saucers, and he sailed across the air like a spilled blood bag. His bones snapped like twigs as well.
They were both Ninth-Order and body-tempering cultivators, and yet the power gap between them was like night and day.
It wasnt a pointless effort though. Thanks to his sacrifice, he managed to slow the giant a tad and caused him to take more attacks than he would have. His dimming halo reflected this.
Ju Jia might be simple, but he wasnt stupid. He was aware he couldnt withstand any more attacks as well. So, right before the body tempering cultivator he sent flying could fly out of his reach, he reached out and grabbed the mans leg.
The body tempering cultivators eyes bulged when he felt an iron grip around his ankle. Then, the world began spinning like a top.
On the rooftop, Lu Ye was chewing Spirit Pills and killing his enemies with his flying weapons. However, Ju Jias actions caused his eyes to twitch violently.
It had been months since he began exploring the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and he had experienced countless big and small battles. He was no longer the ignorant child he was before. Even so, this was the first time he ever saw such a ridiculous scene. Ju Jia was currently swinging the Ninth-Order body tempering cultivator around like he was a weapon. As a result, no Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator dared to get within ten meters of the man.
The nicest people were also the scariest when pushed too far.
A whileter, the weight in Ju Jias hand suddenly lessened considerably. When he looked down, he noticed that he was only holding a leg now. The poor bastard he was swinging around had turned into minced meat a while ago.
The giant was just starting though. Throwing the leg against the ground like he would smash it to pieces, he let out a wounded animals roar and charged toward the nearest enemy.
Ju Jia had never taken a life since he embarked on his cultivation journey. Today, he would break his streak with a massacre!
It had only been a few minutes since the battle began, but Thousand Demon Ridge had already sustained massive losses already. More than half of the group who surrounded Ju Jia at the beginning were already dead, and most of those who were still standing were bound by Spirit Shackling Ropes and being killed as well.
It was around this time Lu Ye recalled his flying weapons. They had run out of Spiritual Power. He would have to recharge them before he could use them again.
Lu Ye stored them in his Storage Bag and trained his gaze on Ruo Yan. He then slowly unsheathed the Invible.
Right before he could jump down from the roof and join the battle though, something pulled his gaze away from his target and toward the distance. He saw a massive group of enemy cultivators appearing from the end of a street and running toward the battle at high speed.
The leader of the group was a tall, slender woman with exposed hips. It was Chu Qing of course. At least forty people were following behind her.
Get ready to withdraw! Lu Ye said to Yi Yi.
If Ruo Yans tattered group was the only enemy he had to contend with, then he was sure he could wipe out most, if not all, of them. However, it was a different story if Chu Qing and her reinforcements joined the battle.
Moreover, it wasnt like his army of Ghost Spirits werepletely unscathed. The ordinary sentries were almostpletely wiped out, and a few of the sentry leaders were dead as well. The enemies werent stationary targets who didnt know how to retaliate, after all.
He shot a nce at the still fighting Ju Jia and jumped off the rooftop. Enhancing his speed with Windwalk, he shot into the battlefield and cut down an unguarded enemy like lightning.
Suddenly, a tide of violent energy swam toward his right side. Lu Ye managed to block the attack with the Invible, but the de shrieked as if it was in pain, and his entire body was flung into the air. His weapon arm was numb by the time hended on his feet.
The attack hade from Ju Jia. He had reached the point where he no longer cared to differentiate between friend or foe. That said, his bloodshot eyes regained a bit of rity when he saw Lu Ye.
Enemy reinforcements areing, and there are too many for us to handle right now! Follow me if you wish to take revenge for your partner! Lu Ye said before making his escape.
At first, Ju Jia paid his warning no heed and charged toward another group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Then
Roar!
Amber roared once at the body tempering cultivator before catching up to Lu Ye and leaping onto his shoulder.
The Ghost Spirits also mounted a swift retreat, leaving behind a mess of bodies and destruction.
Lu Ye didnt go too far before he heard heavy footsteps trailing behind him. It was none other than Ju Jia.
His warning had fallen on deaf ears, but not Ambers. It was partially due to the strange bond the two shared, and also because Ju Jia wasnt stupid. He had also seen Chu Qings group and knew that to stay any longer was to court death.
Not long after the duo retreated, Chu Qing and her cultivators arrived at the scene. The prolegate looked around the battlefield in shock as she asked, What happened?
She hade to meet up with Ruo Yan after the young woman informed her that she had found and trapped Ju Jia.
The scene before her was nothing like what she had expected though. Ruo Yans group was over thirty strong at the beginning. Now, less than half of them were left. It was no ordinary battle either. Looking at the battlefield, she saw what looked like minced flesh and massive swathes of blood. It almost looked like someone had been lifted into the air and smashed against the ground. She could hardly imagine what the hell had happened here.
Ruo Yan looked shell-shocked and afraid, her body still trembling even though she was safe now. Ju Jia going crazy had left that deep of an impression on her.
That wasnt the real reason they had lost though. No matter how powerful Ju Jia was, the amount of damage he couldve done on his own was limited. Just like thest time, it was Lu Yi Ye and those sentries who had fucked everything up.
Lu Yi Ye is still alive, Sister Chu. Not only that, I think he can control the Xianyuan City Watch.
Chu Qing shot her junior sister a dubious nce and wondered if she had lost her mind. She knew that Lu Yi Ye was capable of many things, but controlling the Xianyuan City Watch? That was a stretch too far, wasnt it?
Im telling you the truth! Ruo Yan hurriedly gave her senior sister a brief summary of the battle just now. It had taken her a while to ept this as well. This was the second time the Xianyuan City Watch had appeared at the worst possible time, and just like thest time they ignored Lu Yi Ye and attacked Thousand Demon Ridge. Not only that, they actually withdrew together with Lu Yi Ye.
Chu Qings skepticism faded as she listened to Ruo Yans story. In fact, she realized that everything that puzzled her before would make sense if she assumed that Lu Yi Ye could control the Xianyuan City Watch. It hadnt been a coincidence that the spectral sentries appeared just at the right time to screw up their perfect ambush; it was Lu Yi Ye counter-ambushing their ambush. It would also exin why Qiao Yun had died, but Lu Yi Ye had survived when they were both supposed to be thrown into the dungeon!
On the other hand was Lu Yi Ye really that powerful? If he was, then why didnt he justmand the Xianyuan City Watch to hunt down all Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators from the start?
In fact, why did he run away just now when he firmly held the upper hand?
Chase them! Chu Qing ordered immediately when she realized what was going on.
Lu Yi Ye might possess the ability to control the Xianyuan City Watch, but the fact that he was escaping meant that he currently did not have the power to throw down against all of them. Otherwise, he wouldve just stayed and killed them all. In other words, this was their best chance to take out Lu Ye and the heavily injured Ju Jia at the same time.
Once they were rid of these nuisances, they could devote their full attention to cooperating with Sunlit Mountain and take out Hidden Light Sanctuary.
And so, they hurriedly swept the battlefield before chasing after Lu Ye and Ju Jia. While doing so, Chu Qing sent out a message and caused all House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators in other locations to move in this direction as well.
While the enemy had a head start, they also left behind an incredibly obvious trail to follow. The massive, bloody footprints on the ground could only belong to Ju Jia.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was several streets away from the battlefield with Ju Jia behind him. However, the big fellow was looking pretty bad right now. His aura was weaker than normal, and his entire body was covered in wounds. He also looked like he had just crawled out of a pool of blood. His entire body was covered in the blood of his enemies and his own. No physique could have weathered through that level of assault unscathed.
His body wasnt the only thing that was damaged either. Even now, Ju Jia was wrapped up in a clear cocoon of sorrow. He mustve been really affected by Sima Yangs death.
Of course, Lu Ye couldnt empathize with Ju Jia. He did not know how close they were, but he certainly hadnt had a good impression of the spell cultivator. His death simply did not matter to him.
Chapter 272: What The Fuck’s A Tang Yuan
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 272: What The Fucks A Tang Yuan
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The reason Lu Ye had purposely informed Ju Jia about the imminent danger before withdrawing was because he didnt want to be killed by the House of Wintry Blossoms. The enemy of my enemy is my friends sort of thing, not to mention that his impression of Ju Jia was way better than Sima Yangs.
He tried to console Ju Jia, The dead cannote back to life, but the living can take revenge against those who wronged them. It so happens that I have a grudge to settle with the House of Wintry Blossoms too, so if you dont mind, we can work together.
The body tempering cultivator continued with his head bowed and maintained his silence, though. It was impossible to say if he heeded his advice.
The moment of peace didntst long. Lu Ye sensed a stir of Spiritual Power from nearby and looked up just in time to see a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator staring at them from a rooftop. The moment their eyes met, the man shouted, Lu Yi Ye is over here!
Lu Yeunched a Fire Dragon straight at the crier. The technique was so hot that it distorted the air around it.
The cultivators expression changed as he attempted to dodge out of the way. However, Lu Ye easily changed the direction of the technique and scored a perfect hit. The man screamed as he fell off the rooftop.
We need to go!
Lu Ye took off once more while Ju Jia followed closely behind him. Both of them could sense the unnatural fluctuations of Spiritual Powers behind him. They obviously belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge.
Despite their best attempts, they were unable to shake off the tail behind them. Not only that, the tail was growing longer and longer.
Escape wouldnt have been a problem if Lu Ye was alone. The chances of them catching up to him while he had Windwalk was almost zero.
Ju Jia was a different story though. The big guy wasnt slow, but he sure as hell wasnt fast either. His injuries were pretty bad as well.
Ideally, he wanted to find a ce where Ju Jia could recover, but with this many pursuers on their tail his dream was just that, a dream.
He mulled it over for a moment. In the end, he could only think of one ce to go.
A whileter, Lu Ye had led Ju Jia through a couple more streets. They had just arrived at the entrance of apound when a group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators appeared behind them. Chu Qing and Ruo Yan were among them as well. They were both moving at top speed.
Their eyes grew bloodshot when they saw their sworn enemy. They saw him taking a moment to straighten his clothes before pushing open the door to thepound and stepping in.
Surround the ce! Chu Qing yelled. There were now around eighty people strong; a mix of the remnants of the House of Wintry Blossoms and some Thousand Demon Ridge independent cultivators. Their numbers werent hugepared to what they were at the beginning, but even so, it should be more than enough to overwhelm Lu Yi Ye and the Xianyuan City Watch, not to mention that she hadnt seen thetter at all up until this point.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh! A group leaped onto the walls and surrounded the entirepound in no time.
As for Chu Qing and Ruo Yan, they stepped through the main entrance with twenty people behind them.
There was a swing in thepound and a woman in a red dress facing away from them, and Lu Yi Ye was standing not far away from her. Normally, the man was so arrogant it was as if the concept of humility did not exist to him. Right now though, he was saying something she couldnt hear to the strange woman in a surprisingly humble manner.
The House of Wintry Blossoms was well aware that special apparitions existed within the Lost City of Xianyuan. In fact, they had encountered a few of them already. However, they had killed them all because these special apparitions usually made strange demands that they werent equipped to fulfill.
If the request was resolvable, then of course they were willing to settle things peacefully. Otherwise, the only way out was to kill them.
Chu Qing knew immediately that the woman in red dress was a special apparition. At first, the realization did not trigger a red g. Then, she noticed that she couldnt see the apparitions aura.
Unfortunately for her, Ruo Yan wasnt as perceptive as her. The petite woman red daggers at Lu Ye and yelled, This is the end of the road for you, Lu Yi Ye!
.
Lu Ye was still speaking with the woman when he heard this. He immediately pointed a finger at them and said, Its them! Theyre the ones who keep chasing me and stopping me from looking for Tang Yuan!
The swing stopped without warning, and every hair on Lu Yes body abruptly stood on its end. At the same time, Ju Jia let out a guttural growl, grabbed Lu Yes shoulder, and pulled him behind his back. The young man stared at his huge, wide back in astonishment.
Retreat now! Chu Qing realized their mistake and cried out immediately. Unfortunately
Boom!
The door closed, and cries of surprise erupted from everywhere. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were standing on the walls suddenly found themselves falling into thepound.
While the walls werent nearly big enough to kill a cultivator, it certainly made them look foolish.
Thepound wasnt particrly huge to begin with, and now it almost looked crowded.
At this point, Chu Qings expression was grim enough to be a permanent fixture on her face. It was because she had lost control of her Spiritual Power exactly as Lu Ye back then. Worse, it looked like Lu Yi Ye was in cahoots with the strange woman!
Speaking of Lu Yi Ye, the bastard was currently making faces at her with a pleased expression on his face. It immediately made her feel worse.
She had encountered plenty of dangers in her cultivation journey, but none had ever been as despairing as this one. She knew they had fucked up the moment thepound suddenly turned into a no-Spiritual-Power zone.
The woman in the red dress was powerful beyond imagination. There was no way Spirit Creek Realm cultivators like them could hope to resist her.
Was she the reason Lu Yi Ye could control the Xianyuan City Watch?
That would exin why the bastard hade here
Chu Qing was mistaken though. Lu Yes ability to control the spectral sentries had nothing to do with the woman. Even the reason he came here was because this was the only ce both him and Ju Jia could find refuge. He wasnt willing to ditch the body tempering cultivator unless he had no other choice.
He was very satisfied with the current situation. If the woman in the red dress would get angry and take out the dozens of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in thispound, then even better.
Have you seen Tang Yuan? The woman in the red dress asked, suddenly.
The pleased expression on Lu Yes face was immediately reced by a frown. This was not how he expected things to go.
Chu Qing was also frowning as the massacre she had anticipated did not arrive. Sensing a sliver of hope, she recalled her previous encounters with special apparitions and Lu Yes strange mention of Tang Yuan earlier. Finally, she replied cautiously, No, we have not.
Will you find Tang Yuan for me? The woman in the red dress asked again.
Lu Ye sighed knowing that his ploy had been foiled. He was hoping to use the woman in the red dress to y his enemies, but it would appear he had underestimated her. Or rather, killing the cultivators had never been her goal. All she wanted was to find that cat named Tang Yuan. Naturally, the more helpers she could find, the faster she would be able to find her cat.
Of course, Chu Qing responded.
Immediately after she said that, she felt her Spiritual Power returning to her body. The omnipresent pressure pressing against her body had disappeared as well. She let out a huge sigh of relief knowing that they had escaped danger for now.
She thought for a moment before whispering something to Ruo Yan. Soon, Ruo Yan and most of her men backed out of thepound and surrounded the ce from outside. They were obviously nning to catch him as soon as he set foot outside thepound.
As for Chu Qing herself, she stayed behind with just a few men to keep an eye on Lu Ye and prevent him from doing something unexpected.
Lu Ye knew what she was nning, but could not think of a way out of this. While he was strong enough to take out Chu Qing and her small group, it would be unwise to do so after what the woman in the red dress had said. At the very least, fighting in front of her felt like a folly of the highest order.
But what if I just sound out her limits?
He was just thinking this when he saw Chu Qing walking straight toward him.
Lu Ye immediately tightened his grasp on the Invible, killing intent rising. If the woman dared to enter within sixteen meters of him, he was certain he could kill her in three strikes.
However, he felt a prickling sensation on his back the second his killing intent surfaced. He knew immediately that it came from the woman in the red dress.
Moreover, the greater his killing intent became, the worse the prickling sensation became. At a certain point, he actually felt like he was about to be pierced by tens of thousands of needles.
Chu Qing was feeling more or less the same. Her footsteps grew slower and slower until finally, she could not take a single step toward Lu Ye. Her forehead became covered in cold sweat.
In fact, she had arrived at the same thought as Lu Ye. She too wanted to sound out the apparitions limits.
The next moment, Lu Ye let go of his weapon and put away his killing intent. The feeling immediately subsided.
He then strode toward Chu Qing and caused her to finch in fright.
What are you doing? Chu Qing couldnt stop herself from backing away from Lu Ye. Those who didnt know better might think that she was a fragile woman being pressured by the local bully. This continued until her back was literally against the wall.
Then, Lu Ye raised his hand and pped it on top of her head. He then rubbed it vigorously until it was aplete mess.
He said expressionlessly, Do your best to find Tang Yuan, you hear? Tang Yuan is very important! You wont be eating dinner tonight if you dont find it!
The few Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators apanying the woman could only stare at this in shock. They looked like they wanted tough but didnt dare to.
In fact, they had tried to stop Lu Ye from approaching Chu Qing multiple times. Every time they tried to take action though, an inexplicable sense of crisis would befall them and prevent them from acting.
Lu Ye turned away and left after that, leaving behind a stunned and messy-haired Chu Qing.
Lu Ye hadnt attacked her, nor had she suffered any physical harm during that interaction. However, she felt worse than if he had just killed her. Her sisters killer was standing right in front of her, but not only couldnt she lift a finger against him, the bastard had made a fool out of her by messing up her hair!
Tang Yuan! What the fucks a Tang Yuan!?
She forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths. It was only after a while that she seeded in pushing down the boiling anger and murderous intent inside her heart.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye had strode to the middle of thepound where Ju Jia was sitting cross legged. The body tempering cultivator had left the apparitions side even sooner than Lu Ye. He might be extraordinarily tough, but even he didnt feel safe beside her. Right now he was staring at Chu Qing with bloodshot eyes, although there was no killing intent behind them.
Lu Ye hadnt illuminated him on the mysteries of thispound, but he didnt need to. He had figured it out faster than Lu Ye had the first time he came here. Simple-minded, pure-hearted people like Ju Jia generally possessed a kind of animalistic instinct. He might not know what was going on here, but he knew how best to act to avoid danger.
Lu Ye gulped down a couple of Spirit Pills before sitting down on a jagged piece of rock beside Ju Jia. Then, he passed the body tempering cultivator a bottle of Spirit Restoring Pills and Healing Pills.
Lu Ye noticed from the start that Ju Jia did not have a Storage Bag. Naturally, he did not have Spirit Pills he might consume to recover his strength.
Ju Jia did not turn down Lu Yes kindness. He epted the first bottle and swallowed all the Spirit Pills in it in one gulp. He did the same with the second bottle.
Chapter 273: I’m Not Alone
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 273: Im Not Alone
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye had never seen such a way of consuming Spirit Pills before. Although Tree of Glyphs could burn away the Pill Poison, he wouldnt dare to consume this many Spirit Pills at the same time.
He could only say that Ju Jia was exceptionally talented.
Lu Ye turned around when he heard footsteps approaching. It was Chu Qing walking toward him.
Her hair still as messy as Lu Ye had left it earlier, she stopped in front of him before clenching her fist. Then, shended a soft,pletely harmless punch on his chest.
Lu Yes eyelids twitched when he saw this.
Chu Qing eximed in realization, So, this is how it works!
She wasnt stupid. After she had recovered from her anger, she quickly wondered why Lu Ye was able to ruffle her hair and quickly came up with a hypothesis. To put it simply, the prickly sensation would not ur as long as they did not reveal any killing intent. That was why the woman in the red dress had ignored Lu Ye when he rubbed her head earlier.
The reason she came over to hit him in the chest was one, to confirm her hypothesis and two, pay back for the humiliation he dealt her.
She wasnt satisfied though, so she raised her fist and hit him again. This time, she injected enough strength into the punch to cause a thump.
Lu Ye looked at the woman in the red dress. The special apparition was swinging on her swing without a care for the world.
Chu Qing hit his chest again and again and she uttered through gritted teeth, You wont be able to hide here forever. The minute you leave this ce is the moment you die.
Lu Ye was an avid believer of paybacks, even one as slight as this, so he immediately started rubbing her head again and said, I killed Chu Xue.
Chu Qing nched and began tembling immediately. Killing intent burst out of her heart, and the temptation to kill Lu Ye no matter the cost swelled greater than ever before. However, the ballooning sense of crisis also made her recognize reality. She was certain she would die before she could kill Lu Ye.
The special apparitions cultivation level was ridiculously high.
So, she forced down her killing intent and smiled, her bloodshot eyes and fake smilebining to form the perfect image of a forced smile. Dont worry, you wont die easily. The House of Wintry Blossoms still has dozens of cultivators. Each one of us will have a go at you when you fall in our hands. You will die a horrendous death.
I killed Qiao Yun.
Chu Xues fist paused for an instant before she started hitting him faster.
I might consider granting you a swift death if you beg for mercy now. What do you think? Its not a bad deal, is it?
I will kill you.
Lu Ye frowned when he said this. Although Chu Qing wasnt exuding killing intent, she had hit him enough times that his chest was starting to hurt a little. It wasnt like he could do unto her what she was doing to him either. It was one thing to kill her and another to molest her chest. Still, he felt like he was losing because her hair was already messy, and he didnt like to lose even a little bit.
The moment he thought this, he leaped away from Chu Qing and said, Ju Jia, why dont you have some fun with her?
Ju Jia slowly rose to his feet and walked toward Chu Qing. Her mouth unconsciously fell open when he stopped right in front of her. She was tall, but the body tempering cultivator was almost a full chest taller than her.
Wait Chu Qing started a bit panickedly.
Ju Jia dropped his fan-sized hand on top of Chu Qings head. Then, he began rubbing earnestly.
Chu Qing tried to retaliate, but she was unable to reach his chest even after she fully stretched her arms.
What shouldve been a solemn, tension-filled moment turned hrious instantly.
Suddenly, a silent voice entered everyones ears. Why are you fooling around instead of looking for Tang Yuan?
Lu Ye the popcorn audience, Ju Jia the bully, Chu Qing the victim and the utterly dumbfounded Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators at the sidelines all straightened their backs instinctively.
Leave now!
Yes maam! Everyone answered in unison before rushing toward the exit.
Chu Qing and the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators walked at the front while Lu Ye and Ju Jia followed behind.
The situation had suddenly taken a downward spiral for him and Ju Jia. He hadnt expected the woman in the red dress to chase them out all of a sudden.
There were a ton of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators lying in wait for them outside thepound. They would be attacked the moment they set foot outside.
The woman in the red dress had already given them a warning though. Their situation would be far worse if they stayed.
Their only option left was to make a break for it. He had a chance to escape, but Ju Jia most certainly wasnt going to survive this.
Ill go first!
A massive palm and a booming voice stopped him in his tracks. Before he knew it, Ju Jia had already stepped past him and strode toward the exit.
Lu Ye followed right behind him, and Amber crouched on his shoulder.
A few secondster, thepounds door mmed shut behind them.
Lu Ye nced around them. As expected, every way was blocked by dozens of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators at least. They were all ring at him with murder in their eyes.
Spiritual Powers began rising. Spell cultivators began casting their spells, and ghost cultivators andbat cultivators released their flying weapons.
Ju Jie bent down and began channeling his boiling vitality. Lu Ye unsheathed his Invible as well.
Kill them! Chu Qing ordered.
Right before they could unleash their attacks, muffled groans suddenly broke out all over the ce. It was because their Spiritual Powers had suddenly be disrupted. The spells were all canceled in mid-cast, and the flying weapons suddenly fell to the ground as well.
The same had happened to Lu Ye and Ju Jia. The duo only managed to take two steps before they were forced to halt in their tracks.
Chu Qings expression turned ugly as she stabilized her chaotic Spiritual Power in a hurry. Lu Ye did the same thing while sheathing the Invible.
The woman in the red dress had nearly given him a heart attack. He hadnt realized that her rule of no-killing applied outside thepound as well.
Perhaps the woman had forbidden Lu Ye, Ju Jia, Chu Qing and everyone else involved from killing each other because she had ordered them to look for her cat. Naturally, it wouldnt be in her interest for her cat seekers to kill each other.
Lu Ye rxed when he noticed this. For now, they were safe.
A whileter, he finally let out a long breath and stabilized the Spiritual Power in his body. He then looked at the nearby Chu Qing and pointed a thumb behind himself.
[Im not alone!]
He and Ju Jia then strode toward the line of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and forced their way through. There was absolutely nothing they could do to stop them.
Chu Qing was seething with frustration, but so what? Nearly everyone had suffered from the womans curse just now. She would be foolish to continue along this course now that she realized that her power extended beyond herpound as well. In fact, there was barely any difference at all.
The second Lu Ye pushed his way out of the encirclement, he immediately cast Windwalk and ran forward.
Ju Jia wasnt stupid. He followed behind Lu Ye immediately.
Chase them! Chu Qing waved her hand, and the eighty Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators immediately gave chase.
The situation had returned to what it was before, but this time Lu Ye and Ju Jia couldnt hide in thepound anymore. The woman in the red dress was clearly dissatisfied with their ck attitude. To head back now would be to court death.
It looked like their situation had reverted, but in reality it wasnt quite the same as it was from before.
There was one thing Lu Ye wished to test as soon as possible. It would be most interesting if things went as he thought it would.
It wasnt long before they were a few streets away from thepound. Lu Ye abruptly skidded to a stop when he reached a round square.
Ju Jia followed suit even though he didnt know why Lu Ye had suddenly stopped running.
A few breathster, Chu Qing and the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators caught up with them.
Surround them! Chu Qing ordered.
They immediately formed a tight circle around the duo. The only reason they didnt act was because the apparitions invisible restriction was still present even though they were a long distance away from thepound. She knew this because she had tried to summon her killing intent multiple times during the pursuit to no avail.
This frustrated her greatly because she could not take revenge even though her hated enemy was right in front of her. It was no different from torture.
From the looks of it, the only way to remove the restriction was to find Tang Yuan. However, she had forgotten to rify exactly what Tang Yuan was.
She knew the apparition wasnt referring to the food. Apparitions did not need to eat to survive.
In fact, there was an easy way to solve this problem. They were unable to kill Ju Jia and Lu Ye because of the womans restriction, but those who werent at thepound earlier, could. All they needed to do was to get help from other people.
In fact, she had already contacted Sunlit Mountain about this. She requested if they could spare some men to take out Lu Ye.
Unfortunately, Sunlit Mountain was already fighting against Hidden Light Sanctuary. Including the independent cultivators, about three hundred of them were shing against one another right now. In fact, they were hoping that she and the House of Wintry Blossoms would reinforce them as soon as possible.
They were going to meet up with Sunlit Mountain before they ran into Lu Ye and were upied until now.
Chu Qing was unwilling to heed her allies call for help because her sworn enemy was right in front of her. If she left now, there was a huge chance she wouldnt run into him again until the rift was over.
That was why she had no choice but to wait. She would wait until Sunlit Mountain and Hidden Light Sanctuarys fight was over before borrowing their forces.
They had already finished negotiations. Once the battle was over, Sunlit Mountain would assist the House of Wintry Blossoms in taking out Lu Ye and Ju Jia. Then, they would work together and sweep the rest of Grand Sky Alliance.
It was an arrangement that benefited both of them.
For now, their group only needed to stick to Lu Ye. The guy was already dead, he just didnt know it yet.
She was just thinking this when something unexpected happened. Apparitions suddenly flew out of the pet crouching on Lu Yes shoulder, and soon at least a dozen of them were surrounding the young man and Ju Jia. Most of them were Xianyuan City Watch except two special apparitions.
Chu Qing was stunned by this. [So, he really can control the Xianyuan City Watch?]
One of the special apparitions started crying all of a sudden. At the same time, she plucked a note on her pipa. Before they even knew what was happening, a wave of dizziness struck all of them.
Spirit Shackling Ropes were thrown, and eight unsuspecting cultivators were caught immediately. At the same time, Liu Sanbao struck them with his dice, and Yi Yi with her spells. They began dying quickly.
By the time the House of Wintry Blossoms recovered, some of their bound cultivators were already killed.
Chapter 274: The Woman In The Red Dress’ Punishment
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 274: The Woman In The Red Dress Punishment
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye wasnt just escaping earlier. Just like Chu Qing, he was performing various tests such as growing his killing intent toward Chu Qing or something. Unfortunately, his suspicions were spot on. The woman in the red dress cultivation level was powerful beyond measure, and he was unable to lift a finger against Chu Qing even after he was several streets away from thepound. From the looks of it, he wouldnt be able to inflict any harm against those who were chosen to search for the womans cat.
However, the rule did not apply to Yi Yi. Maybe it was because she was hiding in Ambers body, or maybe because she was an apparition. Regardless of the reason, she was free to act as she pleased, and the same applied to Ambers Ghost Spirits.
It looked like Ju Jia and him had been surrounded by their enemies, but in reality he was getting ready tounch his counter attack. He would not have stopped otherwise.
Chu Qing had to seek help from others to kill Lu Ye, but Lu Ye could skip this steppletely because his helpers were already right next to him. They were all hiding in Ambers body right now.
The big battle before had cost him a lot of Ghost Spirits, but those who survived were elites. The sentry leaders and special apparitions such as Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl were all capable of giving his enemies a run for their money.
It worked just as well as he expected, if not better. The surprise attack had killed a couple of enemies instantly, and the rest started attacking on instinct as well. This wouldve been dangerous for the Ghost Spirits and Yi Yi because as powerful as they were, there was no way they could survive even one bombardment from seventy plus enemies at once.
Thankfully, Lu Ye had nned for everything. The second the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators attacked, Amber immediately inhaled in the direction of the Ghost Spirits and sucked them all into its stomach. At the same time, Lu Ye leaped into the air and charged straight toward an iing offensive spell, a Golden Arc sh to be exact. It had beenunched by a Ninth-Order spell cultivator, and it was quite powerful. It was perfect for the experiment he had in mind.
He quickly realized that his action was a tad pointless though. It was because Ju Jia had suddenly scooped Amber into his arms before baring his back at the iing spells and flying weapons.
Stop! Chu Qing realized what was about to happen and screamed in panic. Some quick-witted cultivators were able to control their spells or flying weapons just in time to miss Ju Jia. The slow ones though
At least a dozen spells or flying weapons bounced off Ju Jias back. At the same time, the Golden Arc sh was blocked by Lu Yes Protection.
There was so much power behind the spell that Lu Ye was struck down from the sky. He hit the ground and skidded at least ten meters before he came to a stop.
He rose back to full height and flicked a finger across his own chest. Then, he looked at the Ninth-Order spell cultivator who hit him.
A fearful expression was growing on the guys face. The same expression was spreading across the dozens of cultivators who struck Ju Jia as well.
Their Spiritual Power grew more and more chaotic until they reached the point of berserking. Then, he heard a series of pops that sounded pretty simr to popping balloons.
Save me, Sister Chu! The Ninth-Order spell cultivator screamed while stretching his hand toward Lu Ye.
Ah! Bloodcurdling screams resounded throughout the air. The dozens of cultivators were experiencing popping sounds as well.
Lu Ye watched this whole scene with a grim expression on his face. His experiment was a sess, but the consequences of disobeying the woman in the red dress ruleattacking a fellow cat seeker to be exactwere more severe than he had expected.
This was the first time he heard of the popping sounds, but he still recognized them for what it was immediately. It was the sound of ones Spiritual Point being punctured!
Judging from the painful looks on his enemies, it wasnt just one Spiritual Point either. Their Spiritual Points were being punctured one after another. This was the punishment of the woman in the red dress.
Everyone felt chilled watching the afflicted cultivators losing their cultivation bit by bit as their Spiritual Points were punctured. They went from Ninth-Order to Eighth-Order, and then from Eighth-Order to Seventh-Order. That was as far as it went because they died before they could lose more Spiritual Points.
Amber chose this moment to leap out of Ju Jias arms. Lu Ye didnt even need to give it the order before it opened its mouth and released its Ghost Spirits once more.
Chu Qings pupils shook violently as she screamed, Run!
Pipa Girl began wailing once more. Although Thousand Demon Ridge was prepared this time and managed to shield themselves from the worst effects, that didnt mean they werepletely unaffected. As if on cue, the sentry leaders Spirit Shackling Ropes, Liu Sanbaos dice and Yi Yis spells started raining from above.
The tables werepletely turned. The group who chased Lu Ye and Ju Jia before were now escaping for their lives.
At the front, Chu Qing gritted her teeth hard enough to crush it. Right now, the situation was overwhelmingly disadvantageous toward them because they couldnt so much as tickle their opponents with killing intent, while Lu Ye couldmand the Xianyuan City Watch to do some serious harm. It felt horrendous to be the victim of a one-sided beating.
That wasnt all. If this was a fair fight, they couldve wiped out the dozen or so apparitions with ease. The problem was that Lu Yes pet could just inhale the apparitions every time they were about to be hit, and the stray attacks that hit Lu Ye and Ju Jia would trigger the woman in the red dress punishment even if it was an ident.
After witnessing the consequences with their own eyes, no one was willing to take the risk unless they were absolutely certain.
So, their current situation was this. They were unable to attack Lu Ye and Ju Jia because of the womans punishment. They couldnt just surround them and do nothing either because the Xianyuan City Watch Lu Yemanded could attack them. Right now, the only thing they could do was run like hell.
Dozens of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators ran at the front while the Ghost Spirits chased them, throwing spells, dice or Spirit Shackling Ropes. Lu Ye and Ju Jia followed behind the Ghost Spirits.
It was impossible for the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to dodge or block all the spells flying toward them. People kept being caught by the Spirit Shackling Ropes and killed.
There were over eighty of them at the beginning, but half of them were killed just a quarter of a dayter. At this rate, Lu Ye was going to ughter all of them.
Ju Jia was wearing a stupid look on his face because he had no idea how things had turned out this way. That said, he was perfectly fine with this.
Tring ling ling
Suddenly, everyone heard a crisp ringing from nearby. It flowed through their hearts like a clear stream and cleared the mind a little.
Lu Ye turned toward the source of the ringing and saw something unbelievable. A small but agile figure was running across the rooftop, and it was none other than a cat. It had bright and smooth white fur and a cor wrapped around its neck. The ringing hade from the small bell in the middle of the cor.
[Theres actually a cat in this city?]
Honestly, he had thought that the woman in the red dress was delusional when she asked him to search for her cat. Some special apparitions requests werepletely insane after all. Now though, Tang Yuan the white cat really did exist in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Lu Ye did not know if he would receive a reward for bringing the cat back to the woman in the red dress. He hadnt fulfilled Liu Sanbao or Pipa Girls requests after all.
It was worth trying though. Who knows, the reward might be better than he thought.
Lu Ye immediately applied Windwalk to his legs and ran toward the white cat. The moment he was close enough, he immediately stretched his arm toward it.
To his surprise, he missed. The white cat turned out to be much more agile than he thought. Right before Lu Ye could catch it, it suddenly sped up and dashed out of his grasp.
Lu Yended on the rooftop but didnt stop. He continued to chase after the white cat.
As the man-and-cat chase continued, Lu Ye realized that the cat only looked like it was slow. In reality, it was extremely agile. Every time Lu Ye was about to catch it, it would speed up just enough to dodge out of his grasp.
It made him feel like he was being toyed with.
Lu Ye frowned and pped his Storage Bag. Two flying weapons flew out and stabbed toward the white cat.
The white cat immediately moved faster. It jumped at just the right time to dodge both weapons.
Ju Jia! Lu Ye shouted toward the bottom.
The body tempering cultivator immediately leaped into the air. He had seen the white cat a while ago and was waiting for the right opportunity to catch it. The moment he heard Lu Yes call, he immediately leaped onto the rooftop, stretched open his arms and blocked the white cats way. It almost looked like he was weing the creature into his arms.
The white cat leaped toward Ju Jia and caused him to reach out with his massive hand. He missed. Not only that, the catnded on top of his hand for an instant before flipping into the air andnding lithely on his head.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia froze immediately. It was almost as if they had been frozen by a spell.
On Ju Jias head, the white cat meowed once before licking its paws. It caused Ju Jia to look above his head before staring at Lu Ye. He slowly stretched his arms and slowly reached out to his head.
Lu Ye gestured for Ju Jia not to act carelessly by shaking his head. However, he nodded right after that.
The next instant, Ju Jias hands pped above his head like lightning.
Boom
A visible shockwave spread out from the point of impact. If the p had hit, the white cat would be ttened like a pie even if it was an apparition. It was a short distance away from Ju Jia though, and it was was that disdain in its eyes?
Ju Jia pounced toward the cat like a vicious dog. There was a loud bang, and the man crashed through the roof and into the building underneath. Right next to the hole, the white cat peered through curiously as if it had been there all along.
Lu Ye tried to seize the moment of distraction and rushed forward, but just like the previous times, it dodged out of the way right before he could catch it. The disdain in its eyes was definitely growing.
Lu Ye thought to himself as he stared at the cat. Then, he jumped off the rooftop.
He could confirm now that the little shit was toying with him and Ju Jia. It was so fast that he could never catch it with his own power.
Since he knew it was futile to catch the white cat, he wasnt going to waste anymore time on it. Right now, his top priority should be hunting down Chu Qing and her group.
Ju Jia stepped out of the room where the hole was connected to and looked up at Lu Ye with an inquiring look on his face. Lu Ye shook his head at him to indicate that the hunt was over.
Amber wasnt idle when they were trying to catch the white cat. It never stoppedmanding the Ghost Spirits to hunt down Chu Qings group. On the way, they encountered a scarce trail of bodies that were clearly in by Ghost Spirits.
The white cat was following them on the rooftops beside theirs, bell ringing the entire way. It was clearly taunting them, but Lu Ye simply pretended that he didnt see it.
They didnt go far before they sensed what felt like a turbulent mess of Spiritual Powers. It looked like there was a big fight ahead of them.
It was at this moment Yi Yi returned with Amber. When Lu Ye inquired her what was going on, she confirmed that there was indeed a big battle ahead of them. Judging from the scale, it was probably between Hidden Light Sanctuary and Sunlit Mountain.
Chu Qing and her group had already met up with Sunlit Mountain. They returned after seeing that it was impossible to keep up the pursuit any longer.
Chapter 275: Save Them
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 275: Save Them
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
They had predicted that Chu Qing would seek out Sunlit Mountain. Not only were they the mouse in their cat-and-mouse chase, they couldnt even retaliate against them. The only way they could survive was to meet up with their allies.
There was some bad news though. ording to Yi Yi, Hidden Light Sanctuary was currently being pushed back by Sunlit Mountain.
Lu Ye was a bit puzzled by this. The House of Wintry Blossoms had not been able to provide their allies any support because he had been keeping them busy and even ughtering them this whole time. Logically speaking, Hidden Light Sanctuary only needed to deal with Sunlit Mountain, andst time he checked their strength was more or less the same as one another. So why was Sunlit Mountain able to push them back?
Back in the valley, Ji Yan of Hidden Light Sanctuary had attempted to recruit his aid. He had turned him down because he didnt like working with strangers, much less obeying their orders. He had believed that his journey would be more rewarding if he traveled alone, and that was proven true not long after he entered the Lost City of Xianyuan. He would not have gained nearly as many rewards if he had worked with Hidden Light Sanctuary.
However, Hidden Light Sanctuary was in danger right now. If Sunlit Mountain, a Thousand Demon Ridge sect was able to defeat them, then all Grand Sky Coalition cultivators in the city would be in grave danger.
That was why it didnt take him long to decide that it was time to pay Hidden Light Sanctuary a visit.
Now was the time to work together with his allies.
An incense stickter, Lu Ye and Ju Jia had entered thebat zone where the two forces were engaging one another. The battlefield spanned at least a dozen streets, and every building could potentially be hiding an enemy or more. Just passing through the area might be enough to trigger the enemy to attack them.
On a long street, several Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were mounting an organized retreat as they weathered the enemys attacks. The street they were treading was red with blood, and theirpanions bodies littered its entire length.
They were outnumbered and outgunned by the enemy group pursuing them. They had already sent out the request for help, but their side was being pushed back to begin with. Almost everyone was facing the same situation as them, so how could anyone possiblye to their rescue?
They were unwilling to resign themselves to death though. Right now, they were just waiting for the opportunity to drag their enemies to the grave with them. Unfortunately, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were fighting very conservatively probably because they suffered the same trick before. They only attacked with spells and flying weapons, and they did not get close to their opponents unless absolutely necessary. Clearly, they were intending to force them to use up all of their Spiritual Power before killing them.
Knowing what their enemies were nning, the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were unwilling to drag out the battle any longer. They exchanged a nce with each other before the leadermanded them to charge toward the enemy.
Blood spilled as colorful lights sailed across the air. Two cultivators were dead before they ever got close to the enemy. Another two fell a breathter, leaving behind only an Eighth-Orderbat cultivator. He managed to reach one enemy cultivator, charge his Spiritual Artifact with power before bringing it down on their head.
.
Unfortunately, a spell struck him in the chest and sent him flying before the attack couldnd. By the time he hit the ground, he was already on hisst breath.
Foolish cur! The leader of the Thousand Demon Ridge group hmphed coldly before stepping forward to take thebat cultivators life. He had just taken a step when he paused with a frown.
Whats that noise? He demanded.
He could hear a rumbling noise approaching from the side. The next thing he knew, a towering figure blew a hole out of a nearby house and rushed out into the open.
The leader eximed in shock, Ju Jia!?
He clearly recognized the body tempering cultivator.
Contrary to his appearance, Ju Jia did not actually know what was going on when he burst through the house. He was just moving toward the nearest explosion of Spiritual Power when he suddenly found himself being attacked by a group of enemies.
He bowed his head and assumed a crouching position. Then, heunched himself forward like a cannonball.
Multiple ripples appeared on his body as the attacksnded. However, they were unable to stop him before they were forced to scatter and lose their formation. An unfortunate cultivator was even sent flying while his bones snapped like twigs.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators tried to return to formation, but not before a wail and the twang of a pipa hit them. As if on cue, the Xianyuan City Watch appeared on the rooftops and hit them with their Spirit Shackling Ropes.
Flying weapons sliced through bodies and reaped their lives. It wasnt long before the group of eight were reduced to just one.
Seeing that the fight was over, Lu Ye recalled his flying weapons and jumped down from the roof. While apanied by some Ghost Spirits, he walked up to the bloodied Grand Sky Coalitionbat cultivator and inspected his wounds.
A momentter, he sighed inside his head. There was no saving the man.
Suddenly, the Eighth-Orderbat cultivatorsplexion improved as if he was experiencing terminal lucidity. He was surprised to see the Ghost Spirits, but his attention was quickly drawn toward Lu Ye and Ju Jia. Hope reigniting from the ashes of his despair, he seized Lu Yes arm and croaked, Save them!
I will.
Lu Ye nodded slowly.
The arm let go, and thebat cultivators life force quickly faded into nothing.
Yi Yi was sweeping the battlefield. Ju Jia was lifting an incapacitated Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator and holding him in front of Lu Ye.
Lu Ye didnt understand what Ju Jia intended until he said, Take the kill!
Its fine, you can kill him yourself.
Lu Ye thought Ju Jia was trying to pay back the favor he received with Contribution Points, not knowing that Ju Jia was trained to be the first to charge into anybat situation, cripple the enemies, and leave thest hit to Sima Yang.
Ju Jia scratched his head after Lu Ye. He had killed some House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators earlier, but he did not remember at all because anger hadpletely overtaken his head at the time. Now that he was in control of himself, he found killing to be an extremely foreign concept to him.
That said, he was a Ninth-Order cultivator. He might not have taken a life until recently, but that was only because Sima Yang forbade him from killing, not because he was unwilling to kill.
So, Ju Jia threw the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator on the ground after a moment of thought. Then, he raised his foot and stomped the terrified cultivators head into pieces like a watermelon. It was quite the bloody scene to say the least.
Lu Ye shot Ju Jia a nce but did notment on the rather brutal method of killing. He waved and said, Lets go.
He and Ju Jia continued to follow the shockwaves and sessfully rescued two groups of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators along the way. They had all been split apart by the enemy until they were rescued.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia followed the directions they were given and finally arrived at the main battlefield an incense stickter.
All buildings within the main battlefield had been destroyed. Countless bodies were strewn across the rubble.
The group led by Hidden Light Sanctuary had dwindled to just a hundred or so, but the one led by Sunlight Mountain was over a hundred and fifty strong. Right now, they were trading flying weapon attacks and spells with each other.
The Thousand Demon Ridge group drastically outnumbered Grand Sky Coalitions, so they were able to force them back with ease. Their advantage kept snowballing as more and more Grand Sky Coalition cultivators died screaming and writhing.
At this rate, they were going to be routed very soon.
Not a single person tried to escape though. They all knew that escaping would only worsen their circumstances. If they stuck together, then they still had the power to put up some resistance. If they scattered, they might survive for now, but they would certainly be hunted down to thestter.
Unfortunately, even though their unity was at an all-time high, there was no denying that they were just dying their deaths.
Thousand Demon Ridges assault was fierce and unrelenting. They had mounted several charges already, but they were still unable to breach Grand Sky Coalitions defense line.
They were wondering if it was time to switch gears and fight conservatively. After all, victory was firmly in their grasp. As long as they held steady and kept pushing, it was only a matter of time before they exhausted their enemy and killed them all. The numbers advantage was irreversible at this point.
In fact, they were doing just that until the House of Wintry Blossoms met up with them and brought them a certain piece of news. Then, they resumed their aggression and attempted to grind down Grand Sky Coalitions defense line in the shortest amount of time possible; to win before a certain variable could potentially shake things up.
Unfortunately, they werent fast enough. Both sides were locking horns with one another when suddenly, a sound attack in the form of a wail spread across the battlefield. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators suddenly paused their actions for a short moment.
The brief respite was enough for the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators to take advantage of andunch a counterattack.
That wasnt all. A bunch of Ghost Spirits appeared out of nowhere and tossed their Spirit Shackling Ropes. Caughtpletely off guard, at least eight Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were caught and subsequently killed.
Suddenly, some Grand Sky Coalition cultivators heard something and turned toward the source of the noise. They immediately broke into looks of pleasant surprise.
It was because they saw a towering figure.
Its Ju Jia!
That fucking Sima Yang finally came to our rescue! I guess he wasnt hopelessly stupid after all!
Exmations of surprise broke out everywhere. It would seem that Ju Jias arrival was surprisingly well-received. Then again, the body tempering cultivator was extremely famous in the area, so much so that even their enemies kept tabs on him. The point was, everyones morale was lifted when they learned that the powerful body tempering cultivator would be joining them.
If nothing else, Ju Jias presence would make it so much more difficult for Thousand Demon Ridge to break through their defense line.
There were two things that puzzled them though. Not only was the body tempering cultivator standing together with a bunch of apparitions, these apparitions seemed to be on their side since they were only attacking Thousand Demon Ridges cultivators.
Also, the man casting Fire Dragons next to Ju Jia did not look like Sima Yang
Meanwhile, Ji Yan let out a sigh of relief when he saw Ju Jia as well. He had tried multiple times to recruit Sima Yang and Ju Jia to their cause, but not only did he fail, the goddamned spell cultivator had tried to charge him an arm and a leg for their services. However, Gu Canyang was currentlynguishing in the dungeons right now, and he was just acting as his recement. Since he did not have the authority to make executive decisions, there was no way he could promise Sima Yang the rewards he desired.
Now, it looked like Sima Yang wasntpletely short-sighted. At the very least, he knew that it would be bad for everyone if they lost.
He was puzzled by the apparitions surrounding Ju Jia, but now wasnt the time to ask questions. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If they were attacking Thousand Demon Ridge, then they were their allies. It was that simple.
On the other side, a young man was staring at the Ghost Spirits and Lu Ye with a stern expression on his face. He was none other than the Legate of Sunlit Mountain, Qi Ming.
Is that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect? Qi Ming asked with a frown.
Thats him, Chu Qing replied through gritted teeth beside him.
Hes the one who single handedly destroyed your group? Qi Ming said in a tone that conveyed clear dissatisfaction.
Chapter 276: Counterattack
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 276: Counterattack
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Chu Qing finally met up with him, he had thought that they would be able to topple Hidden Light Sanctuary in one fell swoop. However, he was shocked to find that her group was less than thirty strong!
Over a hundred House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators had entered the Rift of Fortune this time. Even if some of them were unlucky enough to be caught and jailed by the Xianyuan City Watch, they should still possess a considerable amount of troops.
In reality, their numbers had dwindled to just thirty or so including those who hadnt met up with Chu Qing yet. That wasnt enough people to overwhelm Hidden Light Sanctuarys defense line in one go. At best, it was adding flowers to a brocade.
Since the beginning, Qi Ming had messaged Chu Qing to focus on Hidden Light Sanctuary first and everything elseter. If the Grand Sky Coalition sect was vanquished, then the remaining cultivators would only be sand they could sweep away at their leisure.
However, Chu Qing could not let go of Lu Yi Ye. He couldve epted this if she at least seeded in taking out the cultivator, but no, they were reduced to less than thirty people.
Although Sunlit Mountain wasnt the one who suffered those casualties, their loss had greatly impacted his n. Naturally, he was incredibly displeased with this oue.
In fact, he wouldve called her a bimbo if they didnt share a good rtionship with each other.
Chu Qing could hear the criticism in his words as a matter of course. She felt aggrieved, but she could not deny that she had screwed up big time.
She had told him everything on the way here. The main reason Lu Ye was able to destroy around two-thirds of her force was all thanks to that woman in the red dress. They would not have suffered such a horrendous defeat if the apparition hadntmanded them to find that Tang Yuan they still had no idea about.
Still, she definitely deserved the me for the screw-ups. She was already trying to make up for it.
We should take out the apparitions first. They are more trouble than they seem, Chu Qing suggested.
The House of Wintry Blossoms had had enough of the apparitions. While the Xianyuan City Watch did not have many ways to kill the enemy, the Spirit Shackling Rope alone was enough to cause havoc among their ranks. In a big battle like this, getting caught by the Spirit Shackling Rope was practically a death sentence.
I know, Qi Ming replied in a disgruntled voice before giving an order. Dozens of people immediately switched targets to Lu Ye andunched their spells and flying weapons at him.
The fearless Ju Jia immediately stepped forward to block all the attacks with his flesh and blood. At the same time, Lu Ye attempted to intercept as many attacks with his two flying weapons.
His flying weapons moved quickly even though he could only control two of them at a time. Combined with Ju Jias defense, they were able to reduce much of the attacks flying toward the Ghost Spirits.
Moreover, since they drew away a good amount of pressure from the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators, thetter was able to recover and mount a much better counterattack. What shouldve been andslide defeat actually started trending toward a stalemate.
This oue greatly invigorated the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition as a matter of course.
The wailing noise was grating on the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators senses more and more. The constant bombardment of Spirit Shackling Ropes was a source of great annoyance as well. The lucky ones managed to break free before the flying weapons and spells could hit them, and the unlucky ones were killed as a matter of course.
More and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were killed. The situation really was starting to stabilize.
Realizing that Lu Yes team was having a huge effect on the overall battle, Ju Yan immediately ordered a squad of a dozen or so cultivators to move in their direction and share some of their burden. This allowed the Ghost Spirits to act to their hearts content. This was especially true for Pipa Girl as three cultivators surrounded and protected her at all times.
Both Ji Yan and Qi Ming had realized the massive effect Pipa Girl had on a battlefield like this. The Xianyuan City Watch and even Liu Sanbaos method of attacks was monotonousthe former could only shoot their Spirit Shackling Ropes, and Liu Sanbao his dicebut Pipa Girls wailing affected an entire area. Every time she cried, countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would suffer a short but potentially fatal loss of concentration. Combined with the twangs of her pipa, she was a killing machine capable of dictating the direction of any battlefield. Of course Thousand Demon Ridge would attempt to kill her as quickly as possible.
While everyone was busy murdering the hell out of each other, a blurry figure was slowly making his way toward Lu Ye.
The man wasnt moving particrly quickly. Those who knew what they were looking for might even be able to spot a vague outline of sorts. However, no one had the energy to do so since they were embroiled in the big battle right now. No one could imagine that the enemy would be bold enough to infiltrate their backlines at this time either.
Obviously, only a ghost cultivator was capable of such a feat.
The ghost cultivator had withdrawn his aura so thoroughly that even the Spirit Artifact in his hand was fully hidden. He was slowly but surely approaching the tiger on Lu Yes shoulder, Amber.
ording to Chu Qings intel, the pet was the true reason Lu Ye was able to control the Xianyuan City Watch. That was why Qi Ming had ordered the ghost cultivator to kill it. The apparitions should no longer constitute a threat if it was dead.
In fact, the ghost cultivator had been skulking about since the beginning. His original target was Ji Yan, but he was unable to find a good opportunity to carry out the assassination until Qi Ming changed his focus to Amber.
Thirty meters, fifteen meters, seven meters. No one saw iting when the ghost cultivator finallyunched his surprise attack.
Right before the attack couldnd, his vision suddenly blurred, and the surrounding noise suddenly vanished into nothing. Before he knew it, he found out that he was standing in the middle of a stone forest.
Lu Ye looked behind his back immediately. Yi Yi also took a few steps away from the front in a hurry. She lifted the concealed Nine Realm Scroll from the ground and saw that an unknown figure had appeared within the painting.
She immediately channeled her Spiritual Power to stabilize the Nine Realms Scroll. After she nodded at Lu Ye, the young man set Amber on the ground and waited for Yi Yi to throw the ward scroll over his head.
Ten breathster, Yi Yi shook the Nine Realms Scroll and Lu Ye reappeared along with a corpse.
Lu Ye had to admit that a Ninth-Order ghost cultivator was someone to be feared. They were able to conceal their presence so well that he never noticed a thing until it was toote. If he hadnt anticipated such a possibility andid down the Nine Realms Scroll beforehand, Amber would already be dead.
.
This was a good reminder to be careful whenever he went up against one or multiple ghost cultivators. They could sneak up on him at any moment.
Of course, it wasntpletely his fault. The situation was a bit chaotic right now.
Qi Ming vaguely sensed something amiss when his ghost cultivator had perished. He immediately checked his Battlefield Imprint and confirmed that his fear hade true. His expression darkened instantly.
The Ninth-Order ghost cultivator was a member of Sunlit Mountain and extremely proficient in the art of concealment. However, the enemy still killed him somehow!
When he observed the battlefield again, he also noted that the enemy had recovered to the point where they were capable ofunching effective counterattacks from time to time.
Since Lu Yi Ye had shown up with the apparitions, Thousand Demon Ridges body count had climbed to thirty plus or so. Although they still outnumbered Grand Sky Coalition for the moment, the one-sided beatdown they were applying on their enemies before was long gone and nigh impossible to regain. The apparitions wail also ensured that their numbers advantage was neutralized.
At this rate, they would end up with a pyrrhic victory even if they won.
Qi Ming hesitated to make the call, but he could see that the battle was growing worse for his side. In the end, he had no choice but to order a retreat.
The Grand Sky Coalition wasnt going to let them go easily as a matter of course. They gave chase until Ji Yan gave the order to stop. Both sides suffered some casualties during the process.
That was the end of the first big battle between the Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge. Almost everyone on the Grand Sky Coalition had suffered some degree of injury, and even Lu Ye had lost a considerable amount of forces. Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl were fine, but his dozen of sentry leaders had dwindled to just three. Most of them had been destroyed during the battle.
It couldnt be helped. Considering how chaotic the battle had been, he could not have protected his Ghost Spirits perfectly even with Ju Jias and his allies aid, not to mention that Thousand Demon Ridge had tried to mow them down for a while.
If Ju Jia wasnt present, he was sure he wouldve lost all of his Ghost Spirits.
Ji Yan and a few Hidden Light Sanctuary cultivators strode toward them. Before they even came close, they sped their hands together and said, Thank you for your timely assistance, fellow cultivator.
We are all Grand Sky Coalition here. It is only natural that I aid my faction, Lu Ye returned the salute.
Ji Yan remembered Lu Ye now. They had spoken briefly in the valley before. Unfortunately, the young man had rejected his invitation at the time.
May I know your name, fellow cultivator?
I am Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!
Crimson Blood Sect? Ji Yans eyebrows moved up. Is it the Crimson Blood Sect of Bingzhou?
The cultivators apanying him looked surprised as well. They were clearly aware of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Exactly!
Ji Yan looked Lu Ye up and down before asking doubtfully, About half a year ago, a Crimson Blood Sect cultivator named Lu Yi Ye had fought a great battle against the experts of Thousand Demon Ridge at the peak of Goldentop. Could it be
It is I.
Ji Yan immediately eximed in realization, It really is you? I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time, Brother Yi Ye. On that day, Brother Gu had told me how impressed he was with your feat, and that he regretted not being present to witness your greatness firsthand that day. Brother Gu would be most envious if he learned that I was able to meet you before him. If only
He suddenly cut himself off as if thinking better before smiling. Anyway, you are most deserving of your fame, Brother Yi Ye.
You praise me too much, Brother Ji.
Ji Yan made an inviting gesture. We have much to discuss, Brother Yi Ye. Please, follow me.
A whileter, they arrived at arge courtyard that had clearly seen better days. As they went inside, Lu Ye saw many cultivators receiving medical attention from the medicine cultivators.
Most of the time,rge groups like this were apanied by some medicine cultivators. The same applied to Thousand Demon Ridge. However, very few cultivators were medicine cultivators, and that was even more obvious in this city. There were only a few medicine cultivators among the one hundred strong group, meaning that they were absolutely swamped right now. Only those with serious injuries were carried into the courtyard to be treated. The ones with light injuries basically had to treat their own wounds.
If you dont mind me asking, why is Ju Jia traveling with you, Brother Yi Ye? Where is Sima Yang? Ji Yan asked while shooting a nce at the blood-soaked Ju Jia. He had a feeling he knew the answer, but he didnt dare to make baseless assumptions.
Sima Yang is dead. I decided to travel with Ju Jia after running into him by coincidence.
Sima Yang is dead?
Lu Ye wasnt sure if it was his imagination, but he thought that Ji Yan was happy to hear of the death of the spell cultivator.
That is a shame. Sima Yang may be an independent cultivator, but he is not without some merits. I had attempted to recruit him to my Hidden Light Sanctuary to no avail. I did not expect him to die at such a ce.
He called out after saying this, Sister Lin! Sister Lin!
A blood-soaked female cultivator with a scarf tied to her forehead ran over. Yes, Brother Ji?
Ji Ya pointed at Ju Jia and said, Please treat Brother Ju Jias wounds. He is one of the reasons we were able to seize victory today.
Of course, the female cultivator responded before gesturing for Ju Jia to follow. Come with me.
Ju Jia did as she said.
Chapter 277: A Gentleman Uses His Mouth And Not His Fists
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 277: A Gentleman Uses His Mouth And Not His Fists
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After seeing Ju Jia off, Ji Yan looked back at Lu Ye with a solemn expression on his face, Brother Yi Ye, Ill be frank with you. Our situation is pretty bad right now. If you dont mind me asking, will you stay and assist us in repelling the enemy?
Lu Ye replied affirmatively, That is why I havee.
Ji Yan let out a sigh of relief. Although he knew that Lu Ye would most likely assist them, he could not be assured until he heard a proper answer.
That is good to hear. He moved onto his next question, By the way, did you encounter the House of Wintry Blossoms while you were exploring the city?
I did, yes.
That was putting it lightly. They had shed so many times there was enough material topose a full tale.
Something isnt right with them. Ji Yan voiced his worries with a deep frown, Ill be honest with you, the only reason we were able to hold on until now is because the House of Wintry Blossoms had note to their allies aid. I mean, they did show up in the end, but it was only a small portion of their forces. I do not know what their main force is doing, and that worries me. There is no way we can hold back Thousand Demon Ridge if they were to meet up with Sunlit Mountain.
About that you dont need to worry about the House of Wintry Blossoms, Brother Ji. What you saw is everyone they have left.
Hmm? Ji Yan looked at Lu Ye in puzzlement.
Most of their forces are dead, Lu Ye rified while performing a quick mental calction in his head. At the beginning, Chu Qing had lost a dozen or so people when trying and failing to ambush him. Later, he and Ju Jia killed another dozen or so people when he was saving Ju Jia. After that, they and the Ghost Spirits pursued their main force for about a quarter of a day and killed over thirty people in the process. In total, the House of Wintry Blossoms had lost over sixty people.
The House of Wintry Blossoms had entered the Rift of Fortune with a party of over a hundred, but he had to assume that some of them were caught and jailed by the Xianyuan City Watch right from the get go.
Therefore, Chu Qings group could very well be thest remnant of the House of Wintry Blossoms.
Ji Yan was going to ask how they died when he realized that Lu Ye had to have a hand in their demise. He could not have been so sure otherwise.
Was it your doing, Brother Yi Ye?
You could say that.
Ji Yan was stunned to say the least. To singlehandedly vanquish over two-thirds of a hundred-person party it was an unimaginable feat even if he presumed that Lu Ye was underying Ju Jias role in this.
Now Ji Yan realized he had been worrying about nothing. The main bulk of House of Wintry Blossoms had already met up with Sunlit Mountain. It was just that their numbers werent nearly enough to pose a real threat.
Is it because of the apparitions? Ji Yan immediately put two and two together. There were two reasons he was treating Lu Ye with the utmost respect. One, the Crimson Blood Sect was extremely famous. Two, he had witnessed the apparitions helping Lu Ye in the big battle with his own eyes.
This was especially true for the special apparition who wailed and yed the pipa. Without exaggeration, their casualties wouldve been much worse without her presence.
That is correct.
Again, Lu Ye nodded and responded affirmatively. Since he had made up his mind to fight alongside Hidden Light Sanctuary, there was no longer any need to conceal his advantages. At the very least, he should let his allies know what he was capable of so they knew how to maximize his effectiveness.
Your abilities are truly unfathomable, Brother Yi Ye, Ji Yan said with admiration.
Lu Ye changed the subject. What is your n now, Brother Ji?
Ji Yan replied, We will rest and recuperate for the moment. Now that we have you and Ju Jia, Thousand Demon Ridge should not dare to mount another attack without considerable preparation.
Have you not considered retaliating, Brother Ji?
Ji Yan replied, Of course I have. The Lost City of Xianyuan may be huge, but there can only be one tiger in a mountain. I am sure that Thousand Demon Ridge would return even though your and Ju Jias timely assistance have foiled their ns temporarily. After all, the casualties they took werent enough to debilitate their overall fighting strength.
Rather than waiting for them to return and defend passively, I n to rest for the day and strike back tomorrow. What do you think, Brother Yi Ye?
I do not see a problem with that.
In fact, that was exactly what he wanted to hear. The reason he hadnt made the suggestion himself was because Hidden Light Sanctuary was the de facto leader of the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition right now. Since he had thrown in his lot with them, he should at least hear them out before voicing his own opinions.
He was d to hear that Ji Yans n coincided with his.
Do you know where I can find more special apparitions, Brother Ji?
Since the n was to attack Thousand Demon Ridge, he needed to replenish his Ghost Spirits as quickly as possible. If he could bolster his little army with more special apparitions like Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl then even better.
He only had two special apparitions right now, but their influence in any battle was more valuable than one or more squads of spectral sentries. Pipa Girls effect need not be said. Her cry and her pipa were capable of disrupting the enemys concentration to a certain degree and lower their fighting strength.
Liu Sanbao might not stand out as much as Pipa Girl, but that was only because thetters skill could affect a massive group. His three dice were far more powerful and flexible than any Ninth-Order cultivators Spirit Artifact, spell or technique.
His attempts to search for special apparitions alone had yielded subpar results. He was hoping his search efficiency would improve if he worked with Hidden Light Sanctuary.
Realization shed across Ji Yans features. He immediately said, You know what? I do know a special apparition. In fact, he is right around the corner. If you are in a hurry, I can send someone to take you there right now.
That will be perfect.
Ji Yan immediately called over an Eighth-Orderbat cultivator and gave him some instructions. Thebat cultivator immediately nodded and led the way.
Thebat cultivator obviously knew who Lu Ye washe had also witnessed the young man and his Ghost Spirits during the earlier battlebut he was wise enough not to ask about the sensitive subjects. He simply made idle chat with Lu Ye and told him about the characteristics of the special apparition. Lu Ye made sure to remember them all.
Lu Ye would have liked to run into some spectral sentries on their way to the special apparition, but s it wasnt meant to be. They soon arrived at a building with antern hanging at the entrance and an illegible inscribed board.
After they arrived at the entrance, the Eighth-Orderbat cultivator stopped in his tracks and let out a small cough. This is it, Brother Yi Ye. I will not be apanying you inside.
Lu Ye nodded before pushing the door open and stepping inside.
He had barely crossed the threshold when the door mmed shut behind him. Lu Ye looked to the front and saw a schrly apparition working away at a paper with gusto. It was impossible to tell what he was writing, only that he didnt notice even after Lu Ye had entered his abode.
Lu Ye strode forward and sat down on the opposite side of the table. He then waited patiently for the schr to finish his work.
An entire hourter, the schr finally set down his brush and broke into a wide grin. He examined his own work for a moment before praising it wholeheartedly, What a work of art you are.
He looked up at Lu Ye and greeted him like he was an acquaintance, Perfect timing! Come evaluate my work, will you?
He then handed the paper to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye did not ept it. He continued to caress Ambers fur and stare at the schr in silence.
ording to thebat cultivator, the schr wasnt a dangerous special apparition. Unlike Liu Sanbao, who wanted all who gambled with him to eventually gamble their lives away, this apparition only wanted to show off his work to outsiders and earn their praise.
The problem was that the schrs so-called work of art was so terrible that it hurt to give it any praise at all. It was why thebat cultivator hadnt apanied Lu Ye even though it wasnt dangerous. His conscience suffered to tell such a bald-faced lie.
Lu Ye did not know what kind of ability the schr possessed, but he could see that his aura was richer than Liu Sanbaos.
So, he held a finger above Ambers head and tapped it twice. The Ghost Spirits immediately flew out into the open and surrounded the schr.
The schr stared at the apparitions for a moment before holding his brush defensively in front of himself. He then threatened weakly, A gentleman uses his mouth and not his fists!
Makes sense. Lu Ye agreed. As if on cue, Amber opened its mouth and roared at the schr
A momentter, thebat cultivator saw Lu Ye walking out of the building. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the young man was perfectly unharmed despite the earliermotion.
Brother Yi Ye, Brother Ji just sent me a message. He told me that the independent cultivators know another two ces with special apparitions.
Can you take me there?
I think so, yes.
Lead the way.
This time, the Eighth-Orderbat cultivator got to see exactly how Lu Ye was able to control the apparitions. When they stumbled onto a squad of Xianyuan City Watch, Lu Ye immediately instructed Amber to release the Ghost Spirits and captured them all. Then, Amber swallowed the apparitions one by one.
Thebat cultivator could not help but be amazed. He wasnt an inexperienced fledgling, but this was the first time he saw a Spirit Beast with an ability like this. It was incredible it could control any apparition it devoured.
Two hourster, they arrived at the second location. This time, the Eighth-Orderbat cultivator went in with Lu Ye probably because he wanted to further his knowledge. He saw a bunch of spectral sentries flying out of Ambers body and binding the special apparition with their Spirit Shackling Ropes. After Lu Ye whacked them a couple of times with his de, and his pet did what it had done to the Xianyuan City Watch earlier.
The entire process was as fluid as it was practiced. It was quite the thought-provoking experience for thebat cultivator.
Two hourster, they arrived at the third building and stepped inside. A short whileter, the duo came out side by side.
Is there anyone else? Lu Ye asked a bit wistfully. He could get used to this.
No. Thats it. The Eighth-Orderbat cultivator shook his head. He looked a bit dazed for some reason.
Lets look for the Xianyuan City Watch then.
Special apparitions were rare, but the same could not be said for the Xianyuan City Watch. Although their numbers had dwindled considerablypared to the beginning, it still wasnt hard to run into one.
A quarter of a dayter, Lu Ye finally replenished his Ghost Spirit army in full.
He wasnt able to gather many sentry leaders; only seven to be exact. However, his number of special apparitions had grown to five. Besides Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl, he now had a schr, a blind fortune teller, and a butcher.
It was a strange party, but then again, maybe not. These special apparitions were cultivators of the Lost City of Xianyuan until they met with destruction. Considering how big the city was, it was only natural that there were all kinds of cultivators in it.
Ji Yan weed Lu Ye with open arms when they returned to their encampment. Clearly, he had heard of Lu Yes exploits from his sect mates.
Chapter 278: Battle
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 278: Battle
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Grand Sky Coalition was now ready tounch a counterattack. Ji Yans scouts had also discovered Thousand Demon Ridgestest encampment. They would officially mobilize half a dayter.
Originally, he wasnt sure if their side would win. Although Lu Ye and Ju Jias addition was a great boon, their overall number was still lower than Thousand Demon Ridges. Logically speaking, it was a coin flip who would emerge the victor.
He changed his mind after learning that Lu Ye had over thirty apparitions under hismand, however. Five of them were special apparitions no less, not to mention that these apparitions could be replenished even if they were destroyed.
This meant that they technically had a near infinite amount of reinforcements as long as Lu Ye was alive. It did not matter if they lost the uing assault, they could justunch another assault at ater date and eat away at the enemys strength slowly. They would run out of forces eventually.
At the beginning, Ji Yan was prepared to die for his sect and his cultivation faction. No matter how he looked at it, losing Gu Canyang at the very beginning and fighting one versus two against their neighbors was an irreversible disadvantage. He never thought that things would turn out this way, and so, so much better than even his most optimistic estimations.
He could already imagine his uing promotion. At the very least, he was going to receive all kinds of rewards.
Everything was looking up except for one thing: his senior brother and Legate, Gu Canyang. He wondered how Brother Gu was faring in the dungeon.
The news that they would beunching a counterattack in half a day had already been spread. The independent cultivators were already messaging the friends who hadnt shown up yet to join them.
Soon, another thirty or so cultivators joined their ranks. They were sure that there were still more independent cultivators hiding god-knows-where and doing god-knows-what, but there was nothing they could do about that.
The independent cultivators probably thought that Hidden Light Sanctuary was going to lose and chose to preserve themselves, no matter how unwise that decision might be.
Obviously, Thousand Demon Ridges independent cultivators must be meeting up with Sunlit Mountain and the House of Wintry Blossoms as well. In fact, they should be able to gather more independent cultivators than Hidden Light Sanctuary. After all, it seemed like Thousand Demon Ridge held the absolute advantage in this Rift of Fortune. Lu Ye was very curious to know what they would think after the next battle.
Lu Ye found a ce to sit down to recover his strength and unlock the Restraining Locks of his Storage Bags. Amber needed some time to recover as well. It had used up far too much energy tomand the Ghost Spirits, so much so that it was an entire size thinner than it was before. Yi Yi was heartbroken to see it right now.
Ju Jia also sat down beside Lu Ye after receiving treatment from the medicine cultivator. He was still wearing nothing but a pair of pants.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows when he looked at the body tempering cultivator. Ju Jia had umted a ton of injuries after all the battles he had fought until this point, and a not insignificant amount of them went as deep as the bone. However, they were almost invisible now.
There was no way the medicine cultivators treatment alone couldve healed him to this extent. His recovery speed must be ridiculous.
Lu Ye took out arge piece of meat from the Storage Bag and passed it to Ju Jia. The body tempering cultivator did not hesitate to ept it and chowed down earnestly.
It took Lu Ye two hours to unlock all of the Storage Bags. After cing all the items in one pile and sorting them out, he ced a small pile into a Storage Bag and gave it to Ju Jia. This is for you.
The simple-minded man hadnt even owned a Storage Bag prior to Sima Yangs death. Heavens only know how he managed to survive this far.
When Lu Ye was chatting with the Eighth-Orderbat cultivator earlier, he had learned a little bit about Ju Jia.
Apparently, it wasmon knowledge that Ju Jia was Sima Yangs cash cow. It was why both independent cultivators and sect disciples despised the spell cultivator. They considered it a sin to bully an honest man the way he did.
It wasnt like no one had told Ju Jia about Sima Yangs exploitation and advised him to leave, but the body tempering cultivator never paid the advice any heed. It was as if he didnt want anything but enough food to see another day.
The independent cultivators pitied him greatly, but there was only so much you could do to help someone who refused to be helped.
It was rumored that Ju Jia was born on the Spirit Creek Battlefield and not Jiu Zhou, and it was all thanks to Sima Yang he was able to cultivate. The spell cultivator was only Second or Third-Order when he encountered Ju Jia in the wilderness, and he decided to teach Ju Jia some cultivation techniques after taking note of his talent. Since then, Ju Jia had been his loyal servant.
Ju Jia clearly wasnt expecting the offer. He stared at the Storage Bag for a moment before looking at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye gave his own waist a p, and Ju Jia broke into a simple, toothy grin. He then hung the Storage Bag on his waist like Lu Ye did.
Theres a defensive Spirit Artifact in the Storage Bag. You may refine it for your own use! Lu Ye advised.
Ju Jia possessed some of, if not the toughest physique Lu Ye had ever seen in his life. Right now Lu Ye was strong enough to kill an ordinary Ninth-Order body tempering cultivator with ease. Even an elite like Qiao Yun of the House of Wintry Blossoms only cost im a bit more time and effort.
Even Qiao Yun was like a childpared to Ju Jia though. Lu Ye strongly suspected that Ju Jia possessed some sort of unique physique.
That said, there was no such thing as an invincible physique. The numerous wounds Ju Jia had umted earlier were proof of that. If he had a defensive Spirit Artifact though, he would be able to handle a massive attack better.
Half a day passed by in the blink of an eye. When Ji Yan gave the order, a hundred or so cultivators split into a dozen or so teams and set out.
People could be seen traversing through streets and rooftops at high speed. They soundlessly made their way toward Thousand Demon Ridges encampment.
Two hourster, they arrived at their destination.
The Thousand Demon Ridge watchmen were alerted of their movement immediately. It wasnt because they werent stealthy enough, but because it was simply impossible for a group over a hundred strong to travelpletely undetected.
An incense stickter, the battle was fully engaged. Spells and flying weapons shed fiercely in mid-air.
Ghost cultivators were constantly trying to slip behind enemy lines and assassinate suitable targets. From time to time, a scream would pierce through the air before being silenced abruptly.
While observing the battlefield, Ji Yan could not help but wipe away some cold sweat from his forehead. He had thought that the thirty independent cultivators they recruited would be enough to wipe out the numbers advantage the enemy had, but that was just his imagination. It was clear that Thousand Demon Ridge had had an influx of independent cultivators as well.
This wouldve been a hard battle without Lu Yes army of apparitions.
He snuck a nce at Lu Yes direction when he finally found the time to do so. He felt his confidence swelling when he saw how well the young mans apparitions were doing.
He already knew from his Eighth-Orderbat cultivator that the one whomanded the apparitions was Lu Yes pet.
Since these apparitions were the deciding factor of this and all future battles, Ji Yan gave them the best protection he could afford. An entire group was dedicated to protect Lu Ye and his pet only.
Not counting Ju Jia, three brawny body tempering cultivators were currently standing in front of Lu Ye and Amber. There were also five spell cultivators covering their nks with their spells. Of course, Lu Ye and Ju Jia werent idle either. They were doing their best to block or intercept the iing attacks as well.
Lu Ye had instructed Ju Jia to refrain from reckless actions long before the battle began. In fact, he told him not to attack even if the enemy managed to close the distance. It was because he didnt want either of them to fall for Chu Qings trap. He still remembered how horribly the House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators who hit him and Ju Jia had died. The reward was simply not worth the risk.
For obvious reasons, Lu Yes corner was easily the most eye-catching of the entire battlefield. The Xianyuan City Watch threw Spirit Shackling Ropes, and the five special apparitions did their own thing. Pipa Girl wailed and yed her pipa, Liu Sanbao killed his enemies with his dice, the schr wrote words in the air using a huge brush that was one-third of a meter long that automatically flew into the enemy ranks and dealt damage, and the blind fortune teller kept tossing the ancient coins he used to tell fortunes into the air. It looked like he was fooling around, but every time his coins formed a straight line, someone in Thousand Demon Ridges battle lines would let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The butcher was the only one who truly did nothing. More specifically, he was guarding Amber with his cleaver in one hand.
ording to Amber, the butcher was probably abat cultivator. Since the battle hadnt devolved into a melee yet, he wasnt able to join the battle.
If they could punch a hole in the enemys defense line and force a melee engagement though, Lu Ye was sure that the butcher would be able to show off its true colors.
In fact, a ranged battle like this wasnt particrly dangerous. Both spells and flying weapons had traceable trajectories after all. Theoretically speaking, those with good eyesight and fast reaction could avoid every hit. It was also why the Grand Sky Coalition hadnt copsed under Thousand Demon Ridges assault earlier.
Lu Yes apparitions made a pivotal difference though. Pipa Girls mind-affecting ability was just ridiculous, and the Xianyuan City Watchs Spirit Shackling ropes werent easy to dodge in this chaos.
Just an hour after the battle began, Thousand Demon Ridge had lost over forty cultivators. Their morale was also falling rapidly.
Grand Sky Coalition wasnt unscathed, but their casualties were less than thirty percent of Thousand Demon Ridges. Their numbers were now equal, and Grand Sky Coalitions morale was rocketing.
Another hour passed, and Thousand Demon Ridges defense line copsed in totality. Everyone was retreating or running away.
Ji Yan did not order a pursuit. Instead, he made camp on the spot and swept the battlefield.
The reason he refrained from pressing his advantage was one, everyone had used up a considerable amount of energy, and two, cornered animals were always dangerous.
Since the advantage was firmly in their hands, there was no need to take any unnecessary risks. They simply needed to snowball their advantage until they werepletely unbeatable.
Lu Ye threw a couple of Spirit Pills into his mouth and fed Amber some. He also gave it a wisp of the red essence so it could recover as soon as possible.
Half a dayter, most people had recovered their strength.
Lu Ye opened his eyes and saw Ju Jia staring at him.
? He cocked his head in confusion.
Revenge! Ju Jia said simply.
Lu Ye immediately understood his meaning and fell into thought for a moment. He nodded. Ill set things up.
Ju Jia obviously wanted to im revenge with his own hands, but that was impossible until the woman in red the dress restriction was lifted. That meant they needed to fulfill their promise to the apparition.
A momentter, Hidden Light Sanctuary took the lead and led everyone toward Thousand Demon Ridge.
It was during this time Lu Ye sought out Ji Yan and spoke to him about something. Ji Yan nodded affirmatively.
The Lost City of Xianyuan was huge, but not huge enough to hide a group that was almost a hundred strong. Moreover, Ji Yan had ordered his ghost cultivators to follow Thousand Demon Ridge when they had retreated. He knew exactly where they were hiding right now.
Chapter 279: To Catch A Cat
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 279: To Catch A Cat
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Spells and flying weapons continued to strike down on ones enemies from every direction. The battle was fierce, and the surviving members of Thousand Demon Ridge were all prepared to die.
It was the second day of the pursuit. Thousand Demon Ridge had shed against Grand Sky Coalition four times and each time it had ended with their defeat.
During the first two shes, they were still able to put up some measure of resistance. However, their numbers eventually dwindled to a point where they lost the ability to do battle against the Grand Sky Coalitionpletely. The enemy just outnumbered them too much.
By now, there were less than thirty surviving Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Even Qi Ming of Sunlit Mountain had been in during the earlier battles. Currently, the group of thirty were barely surviving under the leadership of Chu Qing of the House of Wintry Blossoms.
They all knew it was a matter of time before they died though. The only way to live was to break out of the encirclement!
They did so very soon. After probing the Grand Sky Coalitions encirclement and finding a weak spot, Chu Qing immediately led them on an all-out assault.
It was impossible for Grand Sky Coalition to stop them because they numbered just over a hundred people. Their encirclement wasnt nearly tight enough to stop a group of thirty from breaking through.
An incense stickter, Thousand Demon Ridge left behind ten bodies, but was able to escape sessfully. Everyone was panting like a dog and running away as quickly as they could.
They all let out a sigh of relief when they noted that no one was chasing them. They didnt dare to stop though. They kept running with the goal of putting as much distance between them and Grand Sky Coalition as possible.
On the battlefield, Ji Yan sought out Lu Ye and said cheerfully, We have done as you said, Brother Lu.
Was the Grand Sky Coalition so spent that they werent even able to send a squad to chase down their enemies? Of course not. It was questionable how well the pursuit wouldve gone though. After all, the enemy wouldnt just stand there and let themselves be killed. They were going to keep running until they ran out of energy, or their pursuers did. Either way, it wasnt really worth the effort.
Plus, Lu Ye specifically requested Ji Yan to let Chu Qings group go. He had ns for them, and Ji Yan was more than willing to oblige the man who turned the tables for them.
My scouts will keep an eye on them and notify you of their whereabouts, Ji Yan added.
Thank you. Lu Ye nodded. And thank you for helping out with the white cat as well.
It is no problem at all, Ji Yan said with a grin. Anyone could see that the man was very happy right now.
Lu Ye caught a bit of rest before going away with Ju Jia.
They were going to catch a cat. It was going to be a headache to put it mildly.
Lu Ye had only met the white cat one time, and he was unable to capture it even with Ju Jias assistance. The little shit was just too fast for either of them.
He had alreadye up with a proper n to catch the cat. He would know how effective it was when they executed it. Before he could do that though, they had to first locate it.
Thankfully, the Grand Sky Coalition had plenty of people left. Lu Ye had already requested Ji Yan to mobilize his men to search for the white cat. The remnants of Thousand Demon Ridge was a concern, but he highly doubted that they would be stupid enough to show their faces. They could afford to leave them alone for now.
The woman in the red dress would remove the restrictions she had imposed after he returned the white cat to her. They would then be able to do whatever they wanted to Chu Qings group.
If the white cat turned out to be too elusive to catch, then they had no choice but to leave it to their allies to finish the job. One way or another, no one from Thousand Demon Ridge was leaving the Lost City of Xianyuan alive.
It wasnt long before the Ghost Spirits he had lost in the battles had been replenished. They tried searching for the cat next, but unfortunately they didnt see or hear a peep about it.
An entire day passed before finally, Ji Yan messaged him saying that someone had found the white cat.
Perking up, Lu Ye immediately rushed toward the specified location with Ju Jia.
About an hour and a halfter, Lu Ye met up with a ghost cultivator. They traveled in stealth until they reached a certain corner, and the ghost cultivator stopped in his tracks. He poked his head out for a look before pulling back and saying, Its right over there.
Lu Ye looked. He saw the white cat lying on a rooftop and curled up like a ball. It was snoozing away peacefully right now.
Well done.
Do you need my help? The ghost cultivator asked.
Its fine. I can handle the rest.
The ghost cultivator nodded and went into hiding. It wasnt long before he disappearedpletely.
Lu Ye looked at the white cat again to confirm that he hadnt rmed it by ident. Then, he started executing his n.
A momentter, a squad of five spectral sentries passed by the street right below the rooftop. The resting cat swayed its tail but paid it no heed.
It wasnt long before another Xianyuan City Watch squad passed through the area. This one had six spectral sentries in it, and their presence caused the white cat to lift its head with a bit of puzzlement. It still didnt suspect that something was amiss though.
The white cat finally realized that something was wrong when a third Xianyuan City Watch squad appeared close by. It swiftly rose to its feet, looked left and right warily, and got ready to leave.
It was toote though. The Xianyuan City Watch beneath the rooftop turned toward it and tossed out their Spirit Shackling Ropes at the same time.
Meow! The white cat meowed while dodging all of the spells with supernatural speed. It then started running in a certain direction at full speed.
Unfortunately, it didnt manage to go far before a wailing sound and pipa twangs came from the front. There was also a schr standing next to her and writingrge words at the white cat.
At the same time, apparitions began appearing from every direction. They instantly formed a tight circle around the cat.
Lu Ye had literally deployed every Ghost Spirit under hismand to capture the white cat. Even he had entered the fray after empowering himself with Windwalk.
He could practically hear the rm bells ringing in the white cats head as it meowed louder. It really was too agile. It should be impossible for anyone or anything to dodge twenty plus spectral sentries throwing their Spirit Shackling Ropes at them continuously, but somehow the damn cat was able to dodge again and again.
.
It kept trying to break through the encirclement but was foiled again and again. The Ghost Spirits kept closing in on it until it looked like its capture was all but inevitable.
Suddenly, it turned around and shot toward Ju Jia like a ray of white light. It instantly arrived in front of the body tempering cultivator.
Ju Jia tried to catch it with his massive hand but failed yet again. Not only that, the cat jumped on top of his head and sat down. It even turned around and shot Lu Ye a disdainful look just like thest time.
Angry, Ju Jia brought his palm down on his own head but still failed to hit the white cat. It had alreadynded on the rooftop and was currently walking away at a leisurely pace. All Ju Jia did was to knock some stars into his eyes.
While leaving, the white cat did not forget to look back and savor Lu Yes dark expression.
Its delight was at its peak when suddenly, an unprecedented feeling of danger paralyzed its body. It puffed up its fur and let out a high-pitched meow before it abruptly vanished into thin air. The space where it was a moment ago was distorted, and there was what looked like a stone forest in the background.
Lu Ye and Yi Yi descended at the spot at the same time.
Yi Yi grabbed the Nine Realms Scroll and channeled her Spiritual Power into it immediately. Lu Ye had Amber withdraw the Ghost Spirits before entering the Ward Scroll together with it.
The Nine Realms Scroll was their final insurance and a trap Lu Ye hadid specifically for the white cat. He had purposely stationed Ju Jia in the direction of the Ward Scroll. He had realized that the white cat was incredibly smart the first time they met. He knew there was a high chance it would rush toward Ju Jia if forced into a corner.
He didnt really think that the Ward Scroll would be needed since he had the white catpletely surrounded with thirty one Ghost Spirits and Ju Jia, but he was d that his caution and preparation had paid off.
Ju Jia walked up to Yi Yi but did not follow Lu Ye into the Ward Scroll. He was now acting as her protector because she could not able to spare her concentration for anything else.
He looked at the Nine Realms Scroll. In the painting, a ton of figures were attempting to corner a white cat. From time to time, the Spirit Shackling Ropes would be drawn as well.
It took a little over an hour before Yi Yi finally gave the Nine Realms Scroll a shake and manifested Lu Ye. The mans face was dark and unhappy though. It was also covered in scratches.
The white cat was currently held by the scruff of its neck in his left hand, unable to move even a muscle. Its eyes were teary like that of a bully victim. Too bad no one was falling for it.
Lets go, Lu Ye said before making his way toward the woman in the red dresspound.
The white cat wanted to escape as a matter of course, but every time it tried anything Lu Ye would immediately inject its body with a wisp of Spiritual Power. It did not feel good to be invaded by his burning power. A few fruitless attemptster, the white cat had no choice but to abandon all hope.
They soon arrived at thepound. Lu Ye pushed open the door and found the red figure swinging on the swing just like before.
When he came to a stop behind the woman in the red dress, the prone cat suddenly came back to life and started making a series of meowing sounds at its master. It sounded like it wasining about the unfair treatment it had received.
Lu Ye frowned deeply because he could see that the white cat was very important to the woman in the red dress, and his actions against it could hardly be constituted as friendly. It would be bad if the woman got angry with him.
He squeezed the white cat a little tighter. It immediately got the message and stopped meowing.
Have you found Tang Yuan? The woman in the red dress asked.
Lu Ye responded by handing over the white cat.
Let it go, she instructed.
Lu Ye did as she ordered. The second Lu Yes grip loosened, the white cat immediately shot toward the wall as a white blur. Clearly, it had be addicted to the outside world and wasnt nning on staying home anytime soon. Unfortunately for it, a red ribbon easily caught up to it and wrapped it like cocoon. Then, it dragged the despairing and struggling cat back to its master.
Lu Ye had to hide how pleased he felt. [Thats what you deserve, you little shit!]
The woman in the red dress ced the white cat on herp and caressed its back gently. The petid down as if resigned to its fate and stopped struggling.
Lu Ye thought it would resume itsints and attempt to take revenge against him, but surprisingly, it didnt happen.
You did very well, the woman in the red dress spoke up.
The second she said this, Lu Ye felt as if an invisible restriction was lifted from his body. He looked at Ju Jia and got a small nod from him. Clearly, the body tempering cultivator had felt the same thing as him.
He wondered if Chu Qings group had experienced the same thing. If they hadnt, well, that would be most interesting.
If there is nothing else, then we shall take our leave right away.
Lu Ye shot Ju Jia a look after saying this. They then turned around and walked toward the exit without any hesitation.
The special apparition was way too powerful to be converted into a Ghost Spirit, and she hade very close to screwing him over. Naturally, he wasnt going to stay here even a second longer.
What if she tasked him to find her Yuanzi or Wanzi or whatever next? That would be an absolute nightmare. The sooner he was away from this ce, the better.
Chapter 280: Revenge
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 280: Revenge
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Wait.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia froze when the woman in the red dress called out to them from behind.
Is there anything else? Lu Ye asked while turning around, fingers brushing against the hilt of his de.
You returned Tang Yuan to me, but I dont have much to give you. Take this.
An item suddenly flew toward Lu Ye after the woman was done speaking.
He caught the item and found that it was a palm-sized medallion; an authority pass. The item looked fairly worn and traditional-looking, but that was normal considering the Lost City of Xianyuan was an ancient city from god-knows-when.
Lu Ye did not know what the medallion was made of. The word Immortal was engraved on one side of the medallion, and Order on the other side. The picture of some sort of fierce creature was engraved on both sides of the medallion as well.
What is this
Lu Ye was going to ask the woman in the red dress what the authority pass was for, but he suddenly found thepound shrinkingor more urately, going awayrapidly in his vision. The next thing he knew, he was standing outside the entrance and staring at a closed door once more.
This scared him because the woman had somehow moved him without any warning whatsoever. He could not begin to imagine what her true cultivation level was.
He knew better than to reenter thepound and ask the woman about the authority pass. She wouldve told him herself if she wanted to, not to mention that she had expelled them from her home.
That said, an authority pass was an authority pass. He could guess what it was used for, though he would have to test out his assumptions as a matter of course.
Lu Ye tapped on his Battlefield Imprint and sent out a message. Im done, Brother Ji.
Ji Yan replied quickly, Ill send someone to bring you to your destination. Do you need our help?
Its fine. This is personal.
They waited until the ghost cultivator who led them to the white cat a while ago reappeared in the distance. After they met up, the ghost cultivator once again took the lead.
It wasnt long before they encountered a squad of spectral sentries. Their guide immediately concealed himself, and Ju Jia got ready to charge.
Amber was at max capacity, so they could not convert this squad of Xianyuan City Watch for their own use. They could only take them out.
He put a hand on Ju Jias shoulder to keep him calm. Then, he grabbed the authority pass from his Storage Bag and waved it at the iing squad.
The hostile sentries abruptly stopped in their tracks. The sentry leader even saluted Lu Ye and said, My lord!
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. This was more or less what he had expected to happen.
He had already guessed that the authority pass might be able to affect the apparitions in the city to an extent. The woman in the red dress wouldnt have gifted it to him otherwise.
His suspicions were now confirmed, and the implications were even bigger than he expected. He still did not know what the authority pass represented, but somehow it got the sentry leader to call him my lord.
Since hes treating me as his superior, does that mean I canmand or mobilize all Xianyuan City Watch now? Lu Ye dared to think.
I have a mission for you all. Come with me!
Do you have amanders warrant, my lord? We are tasked with patrolling right now. We are unable to leave our post without amanders warrant.
[Warrant? I dont even know who themander is.]
Unfortunately, it would seem that the authority pass was less useful than he imagined. At best, it removed the hostility of the Xianyuan City Watch.
The holder of this authority pass should be able to travel almost anywhere they wanted to in the Lost City of Xianyuan. That might be a great boon for the others, but not so much for Lu Ye.
I see. You may continue your patrol then. Lu Ye waved the sentry leader off a bitnguidly.
Yes! The sentry leader responded before taking his leave.
The ghost cultivator broke out of his concealment and stared at Lu Ye with a look of surprise on his face. It was incredible enough that his pet could control apparitions, but an authority pass that gave him some power over the Xianyuan City Watch and made them address him as their lord? He had never seen something so unusual with his life. He was damn sure that the intel he received from the Divine Trade Association did not mention such a thing either.
This was incredibly valuable intel because the Lost City of Xianyuan wasnt a singr urrence. Eventually, some cultivators would enter this ce once more. Whoever managed to obtain an authority pass would never have to worry about the Xianyuan City Watch anymore.
He reckoned that this single bit of? intel was worth hundreds or maybe even a thousand Spirit Stones.
It was at this moment the ghost cultivator recalled something. He hurriedly messaged Ji Yan about the matter.
Ji Yan was greatly moved when he learned of the medallions existence. He told the ghost cultivator to assist Lu Ye in wrapping up his business before discussing the other matter, to which the former agreed.
The ghost cultivator led Lu Ye and Ju Jia down a certain direction. Every time they encountered a squad of sentries, Lu Ye would use the authority pass to shoo them away.
Four whole hourster, they finally arrived at a clearing. Twenty or so cultivators were gathered at the location. They were all injured. They were probably thest Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in the entire city, and Chu Qing and Ruo Yan were among them.
Lu Ye was surprised that they were sitting out here in the open. The ghost cultivator warned, They were in hiding before. Im not sure what prompted them toe out. Beware of the possibility of traps, Brother Yi Ye.
Normally speaking, these defeated dogs would do their best to conceal themselves from their hunters. However, the Lost City of Xianyuan was huge, but it wasnt that huge. They could hide, but it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. They certainly would not be able to remain hidden if Grand Sky Coalition made a concentrated effort to root them out. That was probably the true reason they had relocated to this clearing. They couldnt ambush anyone here, but the opposite was just as true.
Lets go. I think theyre waiting for us.
Lu Ye waved for Ju Jia to follow him before stepping toward the Thousand Demon Ridge group with one hand on the Invible. The body tempering cultivator followed right beside him as countless apparitions exited Ambers body. Ju Jias eyes grew redder and redder as he red daggers at the woman named Ruo Yan.
The ghost cultivator would have joined them, but he recalled Ji Yans message and stayed where he was.
The cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge grew more and more restless as the two cultivators and the Ghost Spirits came closer. Amidst the crowd, Chu Qing opened her eyes and slowly rose to her feet. She stared calmly at the iing group.
Lu Ye stopped when he was about a hundred meters away from the Thousand Demon Ridge group. He and Chu Qing stared at each other until thetter broke the silence,
I knew that the two of you woulde!
Lu Ye did not say anything.
Did you find Tang Yuan? Chu Qing asked again.
When Lu Ye had returned the white cat to the woman in the red dress, the restriction ced on him and Ju Jia had been lifted. The same had happened to Chu Qing and the others.
That was the moment Chu Qing had noticed that something was amiss. It was because things were a little too coincidental. Of the twenty Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who survived the battles, seventy percent of them belonged to the House of Wintry Blossoms. In fact, the rest of them were independent cultivators.
Chu Qing hadnt thought too much about this when she sessfully broke out of the encirclement and led her people to safety. She thought her sect was just lucky. This was especially true for her and Ruo Yan because they hadnt received many attacks throughout the battles.
But what if it wasnt luck?
What if someone wanted to keep them alive so they could personally take revenge at ater date?
She put two and two together and realized the truth after that.
Out of everyone in the Grand Sky Coalition, there was only one person who had the ability and the motive to do such a thing. He was Lu Ye.
The woman in the red dress restriction had been lifted. No one could stop them from killing each other anymore.
That was why she had made the snap decision to relocate to this clearing. It was to goad Lu Ye and Ju Jia into appearing personally. Had they chosen to stay in their hidey-hole, Lu Ye might have judged that it was too dangerous to go after them and just watch from the sidelines while his allies slowly and painfully ground them down to thest. At least this way, they might have a sliver of a chance of taking Lu Ye and Ju Jia to the grave with them.
Chu Qing looked like she wanted to say more, but Lu Ye could not be arsed to drag this out any longer.
Attack!
The Ghost Spirits immediately attacked in unison. Pipa Girls wails and pipa twangs were the first to reach the enemy. It was followed by the Spirit Shackling Ropes and the other special apparitions unique attacks. The butcher apparition who was unable to do anything in the previous battles finally got to show off his skills as well. He rushed toward the remnants of Thousand Demon Ridge together with Ju Jia.
Of course, their enemies werent just going to lie down and submit to their fate. They immediatelyunched their own counterattacks.
It was a one-sided massacre. Lu Yes Ghost Spirits alone couldve overwhelmed the group, but they were assisted by Ju Jia as well. The reason body tempering cultivators were valued no matter where they went was because no one was better than them at soaking up damage. This was doubly true since Ju Jia had refined the defensive Spirit Artifact Lu Ye gave him earlier.
Holding a shield in front of him, he acted as the point of their formation and charged toward the enemy. No one was capable of stopping him. Cries of shock and blood curdling screams filled the air as he sent them flying. At the same time, the butcher raised his cleaver and cut down all who happened along his path. Their defeat was carved in stone after that.
Suddenly, a disproportionallyrge de sailed straight toward Ju Jias head from the side. Ju Jia bent lower to dodge the attack at the same time he twisted toward the threat and punched. The violent attack crushed the cultivator blocking the way to bits, but Ju Jia wasnt even looking at him. From the moment he saw the owner of therge de, his mind became consumed by the overpowering desire for revenge. He lunged forward.
It was chaos, but for some reason, Chu Qing waspletely untouched by the battle around her. She wasnt moving either. It was because Lu Ye was staring at her this whole time.
Lu Ye slowly unsheathed the Invible and pointed its tip at the ground. He then dered, Block three of my attacks, and you may live to see another day!
The second he said the word day, he transformed into a blur and caused Chu Qings instincts to scream at her. She instinctively crossed her two swords protectively in front of herself.
Not a moment too soon, a saber flowing with fiery red Spiritual Power struck the weapons. There was a metallic ng as sparks flew everywhere. An indescribable amount of force traveled through the metal and down her arms. Despite injecting every bit of power into the block, the overwhelmingly swift and powerful attack had still nearly broken through her defense. Her body kept sinking as the de of Lu Yes saber twisted downward and pierced through the fabric on her shoulder, revealing the armor beneath.
She gritted her teeth and mustered more force and Spiritual Power into her arms. Right before she was about to push Lu Yes saber away with everything she got, a Glyph shed from the de of the Invible. It was Gravity Well.
There was a buzz, and the air itself became distorted. Now it truly felt like a mountain was pressing down on her. She was already crouching to begin with, but now her knees struck the ground like a meteor. Pain forced itself onto Chu Qings features as she vaguely felt her leg bones breaking.
Chapter 281: Dungeons
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 281: Dungeons
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Straightforward and directbat had never been Chu Qings forte. If she had a choice, she would not have wanted to reveal herself this early in a fight.
Having attempted an assault on Lu Ye before with the help of Qiao Yun and Ruo Yan, she knew just how dangerous and formidable an enemy Lu Ye was. That was how she knew that Lu Ye wasnt just bragging when he said that he would consider sparing her if she could survive three blows from him. Lu Ye possessed the capital to be magnanimous.
But thest thing she expected was how she failed to even endure one blow from him.
There was no finesse at all in the attack, just sheer speed and brute force that easily trampled down what feeble defense she strived to put up.
The incredible force was gone abruptly. But there was little reason to be happy; the sight of the tiny crimson sparkle fleeting around sent a jolt of chill through her.
An upswing came all of a sudden, the blow striking both of her dual swords simultaneously, transmitting enough force to cause pain on both her purlicues. Her arms throbbed with a stinging numbness. But these were the least of her problems. Steel rang into the distance as the blow knocked both her weapons into the distance.
As her knees buckled, Chu Qing griped with the loss of both her weapons as she looked up. There he was, the young man with a face of stone driving his saber straight at her heart.
The third blow!
[If I survive this, would he really spare me?]
That was the only thing that came to mind.
Pathetic. That was the one word she would describe herself with. To think that she believed that her chance to avenge Chu Xue had arrived when she stumbled upon him. But instead of killing him, herst stand had turned out to be nothing more than a one-sided massacre of her people and the subsequent skirmishes saw the House of Wintry Blossoms raking in more deaths than kills.
And yet now, here she was, distantly hoping that her enemy would show her mercy.
Chu Qing realized how she had overestimated herself. The resolve that she had always believed to be as steadfast as a rock had crumbled in the face of death.
A dagger materialized in her grip. There was no need to evade the iing blow. She would never be able to. But it posed a chance for her. She was wearing armor. If this blow failed to kill her instantly, then she might be able to triumph just yet.
The dagger gleamed with cold malice, and she swung it furiously at Lu Yes neck, its sharp edge arcing for his artery.
Then it stopped. The dagger came to a halt just inches away from his throat. Strength left quickly from Chu Qings limbs. She could not move. But her eyes throbbed.
She slowly lowered her gaze and saw the heavyset weapon jutting out of her armor-protected torso. It had run through her.
She had felt as if a thousand needles were spearing through her the moment the saber cleaved through her.
Is there anyone who doesnt wish to live?
Lu Ye muttered softly as he gingerly drew Invible from his fallen enemy.
Chu Qings body crumpled to the ground, her eyes rapidly losing all glimmer of life.
That rang true. Was there anyone who would not want to live? The same could be said for the Fifth-Order young boy at the top of Goldentip not so long ago. Yet so many had wished for his death and many still did. He did not know any of these people who thirsted and craved to see him dead on the packed earth. There was no vendetta, not even a feud. So why?
HAH! Ju Jias voice resounded not far away.
Lu Ye gave Invible a forceful swing to flick away the blood as he shifted his gaze in Ju Jias direction. The brawny Body-tempering Cultivator was taking blows from Ruo Yan while steadily pressing forward, forcing her into a corner. The defensive Spirit Artifact he wielded earlier was no longer in sight. Perspiring heavily with coils of steam rising from the surface of his taut and hard skin, the crimson aura he emanated lumbered ponderously forward, colliding with the ochre brown aura of Ruo Yan whoserge weapon was only good at causing superficial damage.
It was not without good reason. Ruo Yan appeared to have taken a punch from Ju Jia that was strong enough to have smashed her shoulder des, judging from the entire arm that now hung limply on her side.
Despite her best efforts to resist him, she had lost the battle.
The moment Ju Jia was close enough, he found a chance to seize her oversized weapon. Ignoring the edge gnawing into the flesh of his palm, he yanked the weapon towards himself, pulling the petite Ruo Yan close.
He viciously jammed a foot into the smaller girl, sending her careening with blood spewing out with bits of viscera.
Ruo Yan crashed to the ground, atst, no longer able to move. Ju Jia sealed his victory with another foot nted into the girl, snapping her ribs into pieces.
Lu Ye could only think of a few adjectives fit enough to describe watching Ju Jia fight: savage, brutal, and epic.
At length, Ju Jia flung away the oversized saber. He marched back to the fallen Ruo Yan and bent down. He grabbed her head like a tiny ball with thoserge and wide hands of his and lifted it, not taking his eyes off her for one second at allhis eyes livid, his nostrils ring, steam billowing outlike a raging beast eager to feast on her flesh.
Ruo Yans lips trembled feebly. She wanted to say something but all that could be heard were the sickening gargles of the frothy blood escaping her mouth.
Ju Jia took her head and mmed it into the hard ground like a melon, dying the dirt with a slick of red.
HHHAAAHHHH! Ju Jia threw his head back and let loose a bestial roar of triumph, satisfaction, and vindication.
[Ive gained revenge! Atst!]
The battle was over by the time Ji Yan and the rest of Hidden Light Sanctuary arrived. The fall of Chu Qing and her twenty-or-so brethren signified the end of the Thousand Demon Ridge campaign this time.
Naturally, it would not be remiss to expect that some minor elements of the Thousand Demon Ridge might have survived. But they would be no threat to the status quo. Lu Ye would be more than happy to deal with them if and when he was to stumble into any of them, but he would not devote any more time and effort to hunting them down.
He found a spot on the stairs and sat down to break the magical seals of the Storage Bags he looted while Ju Jia sat beside him, sharing some meat jerkies with Amber.
Ji Yan strode up to Lu Ye, looking like he had something to say.
Is there something I can help you with, Brother Ji? Lu Ye did not want to beat around the bush.
There is, Im afraid, Ji Yan nodded. Well, heres the thing: we came with Brother Gu Canyang as our captain But
Ji Yan told Lu Ye his tale.
Gu Canyang was the legate of the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost in the Battlefield, a figure of great power and prestige among his peers. But it was due to his poor luck that as soon as he stepped into the Lost City, he was immediately discovered by the City Watch whose officers quickly apprehended him.
Gu Canyang only had his poor luck to me. Many tried to save him but to no avail.
But not without good reason. The dungeons of the Xianyuan City Watch were kept by spectral guards wielding powers so great that no amount of Spirit Creek Realm Cultivators could hope to match.
Gu Canyangs Hidden Light Sanctuary brethren had little hope of saving him until they knew about the authority pass that Lu Ye received from the mysterious woman in the red dress. That prevented what embers of hope they had from extinguishing.
At longst, Lu Ye grasped what actually happened. When he first came, he knew for a fact that the Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition factionsing for the Rift of Fortunes were respectively simr in strength and size. That was what left him confused as to how the tables had turned against the Grand Sky Coalition side right off the first conflict. As it turned out, Ji Yan was not the legate; he was merely a stand-in, which exined his inferior leadership.
In the meantime, the thought of saving the people now imprisoned in the dungeons had not crossed Lu Yes mind. After all, he knew none of those who had been arrested by the Xianyuan City Watch. But hearing Ji Yans pleas, perhaps the authority pass really could work.
He had been miffed at the fact that the prize after what was an arduous pursuit of Rice Bag before returning the cat to its mistress was only just an authority pass that seemed to serve no purpose.
But if the authority pass could gain him entry into the dungeons, then that would shine a different light on things.
Lu Ye dug into his Storage Bag and found the authority pass, which he tossed at Ji Yan.
An overjoyed Ji Yan never stopped muttering words of thanks until he rounded a corner and was out of sight.
He quickly rounded up his men and they hurried straight to the dungeons. It was time they liberated Gu Canyang from the gaols he had been consigned to.
An hour barely passed and the Hidden Light Sanctuary people came scurrying back, looking absolutely gloomy. Lu Ye did not fail to notice that their numbers had dwindled noticeably.
He stared at them incredulously.
Brother Yi Ye, Ji Yan gasped hoarsely, panting for air, Im afraid you need toe with us.
What do you mean? Is the authority pass useless?
If the authority pass was not working, Lu Ye could see no reason why his presence would.
Its not the authority pass. My men showed the authority pass to the guards at the dungeons, but they were used of stealing the pass and were immediately apprehended by the City Watch. It was only due to the quick reactions of the one carrying the authority pass that he managed to throw the authority pass back to the rest of us or we would have lost this too.
That would exin the missing number of people. They have ended up as fresh inductees into the underground prison of the Xianyuan City Watch headquarters.
But the attempt had not been a futile one. It showed that the authority pass worked, but only with the right user would the City Watch not feel that it has been stolen.
And Ji Yan had noticed when Lu Ye encountered the City Watch, all he needed to do was wave the authority pass and none of them did anything to arrest him. But when his men used the authority pass on the City Watchmen, they were treated as nothing butmon thieves.
It did not take long for him to work out that Lu Ye was the only person who could use the authority pass without any consequences and that prompted him toe back quickly.
That was rather unexpected for Lu Ye. That would mean that the authority pass was not the only gift the woman in the red dress had given him. She had acknowledged him, making him, and maybe even Ju Jia, the rightful users of the authority pass. Anyone could steal the pass and it would still be as useless as a ss hammer.
Very well. Ill see if I can help. But I cant guarantee anything though.
Lu Ye got to his feet.
No matter, my friend, said Ji Yan, Whether you seed or not, the gratitude and friendship of the Hidden Light Sanctuary are yours.
All right, lets go then, Lu Ye motioned with an arm, gesturing for Ji Yan to lead the way. The former had no idea where the city dungeons were and what they looked like.
Ji Yan readily agreed.
It was a hike that took almost an hour for them to reach a corner of the city where there was an imposing edifice with arge sign in front that said: Dungeons. These must be the dungeons of the Xianyuan City Watch.
More than a dozen Xianyuan City Watch personnel stood guard outside, notwithstanding the frequent patrols of City Watch guards passing by every now and then. There was no doubt; the dungeons were as impregnable as a castle.
One look and Lu Ye could see that this was one ce where violence would solve no problems. He would be a fool to not expect more City Watch guards still inside.
All right, so here goes, said Lu Ye. Amber crouched on his shoulders like a demure feline would, holding the authority pass between its teeth.
Jia Ju stepped with him. Lu Ye swiveled his head and stared at him.
Iming with you, he said firmly.
Dont force things, my friend, Ji Yan was saying.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia strode to the dungeons. As he drew closer, the Xianyuan City Watch sentries gave him not so much as an ambivalent nce.
That was enough to restore hope to Ji Yan. He exhaled a long and easy breath. His guess was right; the authority pass could only be wielded by Lu Ye and Ju Jia. Only they were the rightful owners of the authority pass that the Xianyuan City Watch would recognize.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia made a beeline straight for the dungeon entrance where a City Watch guard stopped them.
Ju Jias muscles flexed nervously as he shifted uneasily. Lu Ye kept a wary hand on the hilt of his weapon. The spectral guard emanated a glow that indicated that he was not only stronger than any Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator. Even Feng Yuechan paled substantially inparison to this Cloud River Realm apparition.
This was not a fight that Lu Ye and Ju Jia could hope to survive.
Svin: 8 Chapters this week due to missingst week.
Chapter 282: The House of Wintry Blossoms
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 282: The House of Wintry Blossoms
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Cloud River Realm Watchman appeared to be a captain or a lieutenant at least, Lu Ye realized.
How can I help you, Lord Prefect, sir? muttered the spectral captain with a cursory nce on the authority pass Amber held in its jaws.
[Lord Prefect. So, thats the authority that the pass carried], Lu Ye noticed, although the name of the title Lord Prefect sounded odd to him. [Prefect of what, I wonder?]
Ive been informed that you have arrested some people? Lu Ye asked.
Yes, sir, responded the Watchman. We found intruders trying to enter this city, a tant disregard for rules and order. Hence we had, by the charge the Lord Governor entrusted upon us to keep the peace, arrested them all.
[Keep the peace? How could it be not peaceful enough when theres not even one resident of this city alive!] Lu Ye almost scowled aloud.
But Lu Ye knew that while the spectral City Watchman retained some form of sentience, their intelligence remained low, or they would not have so easily acknowledged him as Lord Prefect.
Not wishing to prolong the conversation, Lu Ye said curtly, And it is by Her Ladyships orders that Im here to escort the prisoners.
Her Ladyship? Doubt teemed on the captains face, looking like he was struggling to understand who Her Ladyship was. A hint of dawning revtion erased all that a secondter; the form of address must have struck a bell. The captain frowned, These dungeons are the most carefully-guarded areas in the City Watchs charge, sir. You may escort the prisoners, but only with a written statement from Her Ladyship herself.
Lu Ye could not know what exactly Her Ladyship meant to the captain. But he was trying to imply that he came with the authority bestowed upon him by the woman in the red dress. Since she could give him the power of Lord Prefect of the city, it was in enough that she must wield considerable sway here.
But it would not be practical to search for the woman in the red dress and ask for her help now. Lu Ye quietly channeled his power. The grip on the hilt of his weapon tightened slightly. With a stony face, he said, I dont have any written statements. All I have are orders that came directly from her lips. You can refuse to ede to thatmand, but you can bloody well do it to her face personally.
Troubled, the captain of the City Watch did not know what to do. But Lu Ye, on the other hand, was delighted. This showed that the woman in the red dress influence really could be relied upon.
So be it. I think even the Lord Governor himself wouldnt deny Her Ladyships request. Come with me then, the captain of the City Watch conceded atst. He lifted a hand and ced it on the heavyset doors of the entrance.
The set of doors shone with a momentary sh. Convoluted swirls of runes sprawled all over the door burst with a bright glow in the next second before they were gone, and the door gradually swung open to admit them.
Not far away, Ji Yan, who had been watching from a corner, exhaled a long and relieved breath. Lu Ye looked like he was going to strike at the captain of the City Watch and Ji Yan had been worried sick. If a fight were to break out, he and the rest of the Hidden Light Sanctuary would charge forward to assist.
After all, Lu Yes heading to the dungeon was for his sake. Honor dictated that the Sanctuary should do their best to at least safeguard Lu Yes wellbeing.
.
Fortunately, everything had turned out rather well.
Although the sight and sound of the door mming shut behind Lu Ye as soon as they were inside the dungeons of the City Watch headquarters did little to quell his anxious jitters.
If their infiltration were to go awry, they would be stuck here with apany full of City Watchmen behind a set of locked doors.
The only thing that calmed Lu Ye down was the absence of any sign that the captain of the City Watch had suspected anything. Without a word of protest, he led Lu Ye and Ju Jia down a long flight of stairs that wound deep underground.
The spiral stairs wound more than a hundred meters downward.
The downward trek took quite some time before they finally reached the bottom of the spiral. The passage was damp and dark and what light that illuminated the stone-hewn passage came from the ming brands flickering feebly in the darkness.
Furious snarls and angry howls could be hearding from the rows of jail cells up ahead.
Lu Ye scanned the cells and found a familiar face crawling towards the bars. A look of recognition registered on the face of the person before it was reced with that of surprised joy.
That must be a member of the Sanctuary. One of the ones who had been with Ji Yan before he was captured.
This one, Lu Ye pointed at the incarcerated Hidden Light Sanctuary acolyte.
The captain of the City Watch waved. Another spectral figure that looked like a jail warden appeared quickly with a huge set of keys jingling as he approached.
Take this one out.
The jail warden muttered a wordless acknowledgment and immediately did as he was told. The Hidden Light Sanctuary acolyte quickly got out of the cell to find Lu Ye giving him a knowing look, motioning for him to stay with him at all times. Next, they pressed on further.
The captain and the jail warden quietly followed behind.
Lu Ye just strolled past another jail cell. He looked inside and another haggard face replete with shock that eventually gave way to relief squeezed itself through the iron bars, crying, Please, help! Friend Lu Ye!
Lu Ye looked at the Hidden Light Sanctuary acolyte beside him. Thetter shook his head, not recognizing this stranger.
Lu Ye lifted his hand and showed his Battlefield Imprint.
The strangers face fell, although he was quick to force a smile, Im also a member of the Grand Sky Coalition! Please! Help!
Lu Ye ignored him and just pressed on.
Themotion was enough to tell everyone else locked down that the situation was changing. Every other Cultivator behind bars stood behind those said bars, waiting to see what was going on. As soon as Lu Ye came by a cell, the Hidden Light Sanctuary would help to identify any allies. For those that he didnt know, he would ascertain their loyalties by checking at their Battlefield Imprint. Any Grand Sky Coalition allies were duly rescued while all others, who belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge, Lu Ye was more than happy to leave to their own devices.
It did not take long for Lu Ye to realize that there was more than meets the eye with these underground dungeons.
The Cultivators who were kept here did not have any visible wounds. They were not ill-treated in any way; all they were subjected to was detainment.
But all of themaside from the few Hidden Light Sanctuary acolytes who were just locked down herelooked frail, their faces white like the color of death. Even standing appeared difficult and some had to be carried by Ju Jia on his shoulders.
Lu Ye knew what he sensed, a rotting aura lingering about them.
That was what was lurking around these dungeons. The moment Lu Ye stepped off the spiral stairs, he felt it. The inexplicable sensation of something trying to invade his body. Something sapping away what vim and vigor in him, making him feel tired and drowsy.
What exactly it was, Lu Ye did not know. But he knew that they needed to leave. Fast.
His pace quickened.
But that was hardly the full extent of his troubles. As the throng of Cultivators liberated from incarceration grew, the captain of the City Watch was slowly turning surlier and grumpier at a visible rate. Lu Ye had taken out too many people from his custody.
Brother Gu! a cry jolted Lu Ye awake from his deliberation of the situation. The Hidden Light Sanctuary acolytes had found their legate Gu Canyang.
Lu Ye motioned for the jail warden to unlock the cell and several acolytes rushed in to retrieve the severely-depleted Gu Canyang.
Surely you now have enough, Lord Prefect, sir? the captain of the City Watch asked with undisguised hints of annoyance and irritation.
I daresay we have.
Gu Canyang was kept in the deepest cell of the dungeons, not because of his strength and power, but rather because he was the first to be caught.
Lu Ye had found every Cultivator that needed to be saved. It was time to go.
The procession of thirty men began to wheel around to leave. Most of them looked pale. Ju Jia had to help carry two in his arms, with an additional two under both his armpits. The rest grappled with each other for bnce as they left.
Step after step, the procession limped slowly out of the subterranean dungeons amid the cries and curses from the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators still locked in their cells that were all eventually stifled with the deafening and final boom of the dungeon doors mercilessly mming shut.
They followed the circumvoluted stairs and ascended back to ground level, much to the tearful joys of the Cultivators who had been wallowing in the despair that they were going to be locked down in the dungeons for good with the keys to their cells tossed away.
Few of them knew how Lu Ye managed to pull off the stunt of engineering their salvation, but all of them did know to keep their silence.
Whatever questions swelling inside them could wait for a betteror safertime.
Lu Ye gestured to Ju Jia for him to leave with everyone else, while he stayed back a little longer to stall for time. Atst, he gave the ghostly captain of the City Watch a salute, Thats it then, good sir. Thank you so much for your cooperation.
The captain merely snorted with apparent disgust.
Lu Ye was not at all displeased. He spun on his heels and left.
He regrouped with Ji Yan, who was practically on his knees with gratitude.
Lu Ye waved off his ceaseless words of thanks. All he did was take a leap of faith and it paid off.
He would not have felt responsible if he did not have the means to make a difference. But Fate had seen fit to ce the very instrument of his Grand Sky Coalitionrades salvation in his hands. Ignoring the plight of so many downtroddenrades would only have made him feel guilty, especially since so manyrades had arrived in droves just to fight and even die for his sake back when his identity as a Crimson Blood Sect acolyte was made public.
If there were still Thousand Demon Ridge remnants lurking around the Lost City, their number would not be enough to change the status quo anymore. With most of them now either dead or behind bars, the rest were more likely to justy low until this was over.
The sum of anything dangerous in the city had be limited to just the roving patrols of the Xianyuan City Watchmen.
Meanwhile, the Hidden Light Sanctuary contingent had found an empty mansion where everyone could stay inside and recuperate while they waited for the duration of the Lost Citys appearance to expire. Everyone who had been liberated from the City Watch dungeons was relocated here. Ji Yan and his men were all here; to convey their thanks properly and in person, and also to invite him to stay with them for the time being.
Im afraid I still have some unfinished business. Well meet again when Im done.
Ji Yan knew better than to pry. Very well, Brother Lu Ye. I wish you good luck.
He promptly left with his men to attend to the others.
Lu Ye waited until they were well out of earshot before he peered at Ju Jia. The hulking Body-tempering Cultivator had been his stand-in sidekick since the death of his former partner, Sima Yang, staying by his side all the time with the reminiscence of a Siamese twin.
Lu Ye could attribute it to his fondness for Amber, but he knew that there was also what he first said to Ju Jia.
[Since we both share the same enemy in the House of Wintry Blossoms, why dont we work together?]
But their partnership could have ended with the demise of the whole House of Wintry Blossoms contingent.
So, what ns do you have for the future? Lu Ye asked casually.
Ju Jia kept his head low, uttering not a word.
He had been with Sima Yang for so long and it had always been thetter who made the decisions on where to go and what to do. Deciding had never been his forte.
Now that Sima Yang was no more, Ju Jia felt helpless and lost.
Well, if you have nowhere else to go yet, I was wondering if you wanna stick around with me a little longer.
That sounds nice! Ju Jia readily agreed.
Lu Ye was delighted. Ju Jia was an asset any order and sect would salivate over. A Ninth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator; any doors would be more than d to open to admit him, rules and traditions be damned.
It was because of Sima Yang that he had not joined nor pledged his allegiance to any order. But now things had changed.
Sima Yang was no more and if Ju Jia could stay around, given time, he would be a full and invaluable member of the Crimson Blood Sect.
The membership of the Crimson Blood Sect might have grown by incredible leaps and bounds, solidifying the outposts strength and position in the outer-ring areas of the Battlefield, but Lu Ye could barely confess to having enough men under hismand that truly possessed real fighting capabilities in a battle.
That he would arrive here and stumble upon such an asset in Ju Jia was beyond his wildest expectation. Despite knowing how unkind and hical his notion was, Lu Ye couldnt help but give thanks to both the demise of the House of Wintry Blossoms contingent and Sima Yang, both the winds that had helped to steer the useful Ju Jia into his open arms.
Lu Ye surmised that Ju Jia might even agree to be a full member of the Crimson Blood Sect now, but he did not want to push things so prematurely. Things like cultivating a sense of belonging and loyalty to the Sect needed time to foster true loyalty in the lumbering Body-tempering Cultivator, which was more important than mere lip service could provide.
But since they were not yet back at the outpost, Lu Ye would have to rely on the bond he and Ju Jia developed so far.
If Ju Jia could wholeheartedly serve a piece of filth like Sima Yang with such unwavering steadfastness, Lu Ye was confident that his friendliness and kindness to the former would prevail in swaying him.
Chapter 283: Dashed Hope
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 283: Dashed Hope
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
At any rate, Lu Ye could rely on Amber as the link that bonded both him and Ju Jia together.
But how did Amber manage to win over Ju Jia, that appeared to be an enigma that Lu Ye could still not wrap his head around. They barely knew each other but they looked inseparable.
Whats your Contribution Point tally at the moment, Lu Ye asked, something urring to him suddenly.
At the Ninth-Order, Ju Jia must have unlocked all prerequisite one hundred and eighty Spiritual Points needed for him to begin training in a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline.
Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines, more often than not, were in painstakingly scarce supply. But the easiest method possible of obtaining one was from the Vault of Providence. But the use of any cultivation discipline from the Vault of Providence would be limited to the individual who purchased it from the Vault, making it impossible for it to be transferred into the ownership of others.
But Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines are the key to reaching the Cloud River Realm. A Cultivator without Heaven-grade cultivation discipline would have no way of unlocking subsequent Spiritual Points, making the Cloud River Realm unlikely.
Therefore, for any Cultivator ready to ascend into the Cloud River Realm, there was no avoiding procuring a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline. These things have never been cheap, hence the need for Cultivators to begin saving up on Contribution Points as early as possible. Owing to the real possibility of not having enough Points by the time one reached the Ninth-Order, many Cultivators, especially independents, were forced to wallow in the dreaded state of quiescence until they had gathered enough Points.
Which clearly was the case for Ju Jia. With zero kills since the day he struck up his enduring partnership with Sima Yang, he barely had any chance to score any Contribution Points.
Thirty-five, Ju Jia muttered quietly.
Lu Ye knew the amount would be low but hearing it to be this low was clearly a shocking revtion.
A Ninth-Order Cultivator with only just thirty-five Contribution Points to proverbially rub together? For all Lu Ye knew, the thirty-five Points came from the House of Wintry Blossoms enemies he had killed earlier.
That would only mean that thete Sima Yang had been hoarding all the kills, leaving none for Ju Jia.
.
Lu Ye did not have to guess how long Ju Jia had been stuck in the Ninth-Order. Needless to say, it must have been a long, long time and that would mean that he needed a Heaven-grade cultivation disciplinefast. He would never be able to make it just by killing enemies. There were other ways, but they needed to get out of the Lost City first.
They pressed forward and reached the heart of the Lost City.
Most of the Cultivatorsboth the Grand Sky Coalition ones and the Thousand Demon Ridge ones alikehad intentionally given this area a wide berth when they were exploring as this ce was the closest to the Governors courthouse.
If the woman in the red dress was terrible enough, who could tell if the Lord Governor of the city wouldnt be worse?
So many times the Lost City of Xianyuan had appeared to the realms of Man, yet no one living had ever imed to have seen the Lord Governor of the city before. It was said that those who had seen him never lived to tell the tale.
But Lu Ye did note all the way here for an audience with the ghostly leader of this city.
He only came here to see if there was any benefit that he could turn to his advantage.
The thought ofing here had not crossed his mind until he realized that the authority pass the woman in the red dress bestowed on him might be more useful than just saving Gu Canyang and the other Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators.
But what other benefits could there be? What was the Lost City famous for?
The legendary Pond of Divine Purification! Anyone who had learned enough of the Lost City would know about it!
Would the authority pass enable Lu Ye entry into the Pond? If it did, then this could make this trip so much more worthwhile.
The benefits of the Pond of Divine Purification centered on ones soulones aspect that could not be seen nor felt. Cultivators of the Spirit Creek Realm stillcked the means to train and hone their souls, but that did not mean that souls did not exist.
Everyone had a soul.
And if Lu Ye could use the Pond to enrich his soul as he had with his physical body at the Dragon Spring, it would be extremely helpful in the long haul.
But the Pond sat right inside the Lost Citys Lord Governors court. With the benefits of the Pond in mind, Lu Ye had decided that he would have to risk meeting the mysterious and enigmatic Lord Governor of the city himself for one chance at the Pond.
What if he seeded?
At the entrance of the Lord Governors court, two squads of the citys City Watch stood guard. But they were not the garden variety City Watch guardsmen roaming around the city; both the squads were elite cadres of the City Watch more potent inbat than their ordinary counterparts. The glow they emanated was enough to impress Lu Ye that they wielded powers no weaker than the captain Lu Ye had the chance to brush shoulders with at the headquarters.
Lu Ye marched up to the entrance of the Lord Governors court with Ju Jia in tow. The moment they noticed him, the sentinels trained their watchful stares at him and Lu Ye almost crumbled with the substantial weight that fell on his shoulders at the same moment the stares did.
One of the guardsmen barked menacingly, THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA! KEEP AWAY!
Lu Ye took the authority pass from Amber and held it aloft, saying, Im here on orders of Her Ladyship!
He could only hope that the authority that the woman in the red dress conferred to him might gain him entry.
But none of the City Watchmen bulged. One of them growled, Leave or endure the consequences of trespassing!
It was obvious enough for Lu Ye. The only reason he was not yet being attacked was the authority pass he was holding.
But Lu Ye was not happy to give up just yet. He pressed just one step further, much to the intense displeasure of the two squads of City Watchmen, whose hands shot for the swords hanging from their belts. Tension lingered in the open area outside the entrance, hanging between Lu Ye and the City Watchmen like a pendulum. The sentries snarled in unison, STAY BACK!
Ju Jia clenched his fists, his aura rising and his skin aflush with a heaty-red swelter as if he was spoiling for a fight. Lu Ye seized him and pulled him away. Together, they scarpered off.
They were barely two blocks away before Lu Ye finally stopped. Beyond any doubt, their attempt at the Pond of Divine Purification had failed.
The situation was telling enough. The authority pass that the woman in the red dress had given him wasnt enough for Lu Ye to enter the Lord Governors court. That meant that he would have no way of reaching the Pond of Divine Purification.
It was a shame, but understandable.
If the biggest prize of the Lost City of Xianyuan was so easily essible, then it would not have been the biggest prize after all. It would have been as cheap as the dirt that collected at the bottom of everyones souls.
Lets go.
With a beckon at Ju Jia, they strode away. Lu Ye contacted Ji Yan.
Any hope about wanting to reach the Pond was as good as dashed in its entirety. But with most of the Thousand Demon Ridge elements purged and not much good left in the city to be gleaned, there was nothing else to do but wait.
Ji Yans reply came soon enough, pointing him in the direction of the abandoned mansion they found.
The journey took four hours before Lu Ye arrived at the designated spot. Ji Yan was there, waiting for him.
Thetter greeted him warmly. There was no mention of what Lu Ye was doing.
The spacious residence must have once been used by a wealthy andrge family. They went inside and after a flurry of corridors and avenues, they finally reached a separate little cottage within the estate grounds. Extremely grateful for Lu Yes help, the Hidden Light Sanctuary people made sure that Lu Ye was well-fed by sending over good food every day.
There was no telling when their time in the Lost City would expire. It had only been seven to eight days since it appeared. It could be weeks or even months before everyone could get out.
But there was no need to hurry. The nice atmosphere filled with rich ambient Spiritual Power was a boon for training and meditation, which he dly delved into with so much free time.
Besides his usual training, Lu Ye spent time reading the tomes and manuscripts Lady Yun had lent him to study Glyphs. Even though the construction of Glyphs would take a slight toll on his Spiritual Power reserves and somewhat impede his progress with meditation.
The materials he now read were all about defeating magical wards. She had specifically gathered a collection of that topic when he mentioned to her that he wished to learn how to defeat magical wards. To do that, he needed to first study how defensive wards worked and that had everything to do with Glyphs.
The peace and silence of the environment of the cottage helped to keep him concentrated.
Although itsted only two days. A mob of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators led by Gu Canyang and Ji Yan came to the cottage looking for him. They were all Cultivators Lu Ye had rescued from the Xianyuan City Watch dungeons.
They were here to personally express their gratitude.
Explorers of the Lost City were known to have been arrested by the spectral sentinels of the city, but few, if any, ever survived the dungeons. Therefore, the Cultivators were aware that they would have been doomed if Lu Ye had note to save them all. Only those who had been down there knew the horrors of the ce; how, just by staying there, Death coulde as quickly as a winds breath in the night.
So. here they were, to see and talk to Lu Ye themselves.
Everyone had a nice, short moment to talk, save for Gu Canyang and Ji Yan who waited for everyone to leave so that they could have Lu Ye for themselves.
The former had a proposal. On behalf of the Hidden Light Sanctuary, he hade to propose an alliance, which Lu Ye was more than eager to say yes to. After all, that had been one of his objectives ofing to the inner-ring areas of the Battlefield.
Using their credentials as legates of their respective orders, the two made their pact. Technically, such a pact would be limited to the confines of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. But it was enough.
Next, Gu Canyang extended Lu Ye an invitation to visit the Hidden Light Sanctuary. Lu Ye agreed to that as well.
The conversation wandered back to the dungeons, which sent chill down Gu Canyangs spine. Anyone who stepped into the dungeons would feel the will to live slowly being eroded, he imed. Death would swoop down on whoever stayed inside, constantly drawing away all life from anyone locked in there until the person was nothing more than a dried and shriveled husk. That was why Gu Canyang looked like a gangly root when he was retrieved from his cell as if he had been down there for years without food and sustenance.
He was not hurt, yet his vitality escaped him with the swiftness of air exiting a punctured balloon. The badly depleted Gu Canyang would clearly be needing some time before he could regain full health.
Listening to his ount exined the strange, foul sensation he felt when he was inside the dungeons.
Lu Ye wasnt long enough inside the dungeons to feel the same toll as Gu Canyang had endured.
That too exined why only a few survived such a trip into the Xianyuan City Watch dungeons. Death would begin constricting its fingers around any living person who stepped inside. Stay too long and anyone would die.
Maybe only someone with great physical strength and vigor could survivepeople of robust health like Ju Jia. He might be able to stay long enough inside the dungeons until the disappearance of the Lost City and yet still survive.
The men spent a bit more time on small talk before Gu Canyang finally took his leave.
Lu Ye saw him out of the enclosure and, as he was heading back to his cottage, something caught his sight.
There was Ju Jia, sitting on the ground, meditating.
If Lu Ye were to sense more closely, he could feel the ambient Spiritual Qi swirling towards the Body-tempering Cultivator and into the pores all over him.
That was sign enough that Ju Jia must possess great talent, or else, this phenomenon would not have urred.
As a native born and bred in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Ju Jia and his talents were discovered by Sima Yang who led him into the world of Cultivators. The Third-Order Spell Cultivator had, back then, begun showing Ju Jia the ropes only for him to catch up and grow faster instead.
No Cultivator without exceptional gifts in the arcane crafts andbat could aplish such a feat.
Ju Jia opened his eyes all of a sudden. He must have felt someone watching. He saw Lu Ye staring at him and he stared back, incredulously.
Ju Jia, you already have a hundred and eighty Spiritual Points unlocked. Why are you training when you do not yet have a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline to work with?
With all one hundred and eighty Spiritual Points unlocked, there was no need for Ju Jia to meditate. Without a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline, he would not be able to unlock more Spiritual Points and his reserves of Spiritual Power would not grow further. Meditating would only have the effect of keeping his reserves full and nothing more.
Nevertheless, Ju Jia had been diligently devoting time to meditation. He would spend time eating, resting, and having fun with Amber. The rest of his time he would use it to meditate.
Seeing this only made Lu Ye want to get him a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline as soon as possible.
Chapter 284: Ju Jia’s “Mutant Core”
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 284: Ju Jias Mutant Core
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Ju Jias exceptional talent should not be allowed to go to waste.
Ju Jia cracked into a silly grin at Lu Yes question. His hand wandered to his belly and he tapped himself there. Here! For storage!
What do you mean?
Ju Jia scratched his head. Struggling to answer the question, he decided to just demonstrate. He gave himself a punch into his gut and regurgitated something out of his mouth.
Something ochre-brown and round like a spherical marble.
Lu Ye stared at the odd sight nkly.
[How could Ju Jia be hiding something like this in his stomach?!]
What is this?
Ju Jia tossed the tiny round thing at Lu Ye, who quickly caught it. Thetter examined it closely and something that Shui Yuan had told him about some time ago popped in his mind.
A Mutant Core!?
Lu Ye had heard about how Spirit Beasts would form something called a Mutant Core inside their bodies upon reaching the Cloud River Realm. Their power would henceforth be drawn from the Cores. To humans, Mutant Cores had a variety of uses in the brewing of pills and the forging of Spirit Artifacts among all others, including the erecting of magical wards.
What sat at the very center of his palm looked awfully like one.
[Wait, so Ju Jias a Spirit Beast turned Mutant?!]
But nothing suggested that he was one. He appeared every bit a sound and proper human and he had none of the traits that usual Mutant Cultivators exhibited. So, if this wasnt a Mutant Core, then what could it be?
He looked more carefully again. The surface of the marble wasnt as smooth as he expected; countless tiny protrusions littered every millimeter of the small orb, giving it a coarse surface.
Finding no sign that would remotely illuminate him as to what this tiny item really was, Lu Ye tried channeling his power into it and his face contorted almost immediately.
He detected huge amounts of power contained inside the marbleSpiritual Power so vast and so pure that if forcefully released, it could be destructive and deadly.
Lu Ye quickly withdrew his powers to prevent triggering any unwanted eruption.
Then again, he realized how valuable this marble must be to Ju Jia. Yet the lumbering giant of a man just willingly tossed it to him, unhesitatingly and unwaveringly. The extent of trust he had for Lu Ye made Lu Ye feel rather pleased and touched.
Lu Ye pondered over what Ju Jia was saying earlier and came to a conclusion, So, the power that you draw during your meditation, you store in here?
Thats right, Ju Jia nodded.
And you can tap into it whenever you need to?
Whenever I need to, yes.
Lu Ye exhaled. [Incredible], he thought.
He had seen quite a lot of items and instruments with abilities and functions to store Spiritual Power. Weapons too depended on Glyph: Spirit Bank to temporarily save up small amounts of Spiritual Power inside for extended periods of Telekinesis.
But one could construct and conjure all the Glyph: Spirit Bank they wanted, but they would evere close topeting against the unbelievably vast amounts of Spiritual Power stored inside this marble that had been sitting inside Ju Jias belly.
That was the answer to the mystery of why Ju Jia had been meditating even though he did not have a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline. The marble would absorb every shred of Spiritual Power he gathered and store it for future use.
Power that he could arbitrarily tap into whenever he needed from within this strange marble.
In other words, Ju Jia might have reserves of Spiritual Power far beyond any other Spirit Creek Realm Cultivatorincluding those who had already begun using Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines.
For two to three years Ju Jia had been stuck in the Ninth-Order without any observable progress. One could barelyprehend how much Spiritual Power he had amassed inside this marble.
Nevertheless, this particr method brought something to Lu Yes notice, Ju Jias progress might have been stymied by hisck of a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline, but he did not allow that to be any hindrance to his meditation. His patience in training had never once waned. All he needed was just a suitable cultivation method that he could work with and he could well rely on all the Spiritual Power he had been storing up until now to break through as many Spiritual Points as possible to catch up.
Lu Ye peered at Ju Jia, feeling breathless with awe. [Where did Sima Yang find this freak of nature?!]
[Hes a talent that the Crimson Blood Sect cannot afford to let slip past its fingers!]
Lu Ye held the tiny marble in his hand for a while longer. Still unable to divine what it really was, he just gave it back to Ju Jia.
Whatever it was, he had now concluded that it was no Mutant Core. In fact, its value far outstripped that of usual Mutant Cores. This, if were to be seen by others, might invite trouble, especially from those who coveted this item.
You need to be careful, Ju Jia, and not flippantly show this around. Did Sima Yang not tell you about this before?
He did, Ju Jia responded curtly as he swallowed the marble back into his belly. The same mncholy that haunted him earlier reared its head once more at the mention of Sima Yang and Ju Jia hung his head somberly.
Lu Ye retrieved a big b of meat.
Ju Jia took it and that seemed to be the trick to lift his spirits.
The following day, Lu Ye was at the small enclosure of his cottage. He ced both his hands on the ground and channeled his power continuously. A brilliant glob of light shone beneath his palms, just over the ground, before radiant, silvery lines began to spread from the light, bursting farther and wider into a gossamerwork of intelligible runes.
The webs of undecipherable runes and lines stretched for a radius of several meters wide.
Next, the luminescence vanished abruptly as if nothing had been happening just seconds before. But anyone that could perceive Spiritual Power could feel the emanation of spiritual forces there.
Lu Ye, is that a magical ward? Yi Yi, who had been watching from the side with an idea of what he was up to, asked.
Mmhmm, Lu Ye responded, getting up to his feet. He extracted a ponderous and thickset tome from inside his Storage Bag, which he referred to briefly before he nodded approvingly as if to himself. [Done], he thought. Some results atst. What he had just done was a testament to what he had learned after so long. He finally harnessed enough knowledge about Glyphs to construct magical wards using his own Spiritual Power.
Of course, without something to provide proper anchorage like a ward keystone, the magical ward he just constructed could be easily defeated.
But this was nevertheless a good start. One small step in his study, but a giant leap for his overall strength; he had finally achieved elementary sess in the study of ward-casting.
Ju Jia, Lu Ye called.
Ah, right! Ju Jia yelped as he awoke from his stupor. He too had just been watching from beside.
Go ahead and try. But dont channel your power.
Constructing the magical ward might have worked, but it was still very weak. All it would take was for Ju Jia to channel his power and the ward would fail.
This was not unlike what caused Lu Ye to restructure his Glyph: Gathering Spirits to prevent it from failing at the first contact with excessive pressures of Spiritual Qi.
It took altering the magical circle of the Glyph into tiny little funnels and that seemed to have solved the problem.
All right, Ju Jia responded, marching forward.
Slowly! Lu Ye urged. Too fast or too forceful and the ward could vanish.
Ju Jia froze with his foot halfway in mid-air. At a cial pace, the foot came down very carefully, all the while searching Lu Yes face cautiously for any response. Only after Lu Ye nodded, did he finally move his other foot.
That wasnt easy at all; he nearly had a cramp because of this.
That took a couple of minutes before he finally reached the center of the magical wards area. The shiny lines on the ground that had vanished earlier pulsed with life once more like unextinguished embers, emanating with Spiritual Power before a st surged at Ju Jia.
Remembering Lu Yes instruction to not channel any of his Spiritual Power, Ju Jia just stood there, taking the st with his body.
When the dust settled, he scratched the back of his head innocently with a dubious look on his face.
Pffftt! Yi Yi nearly burst outughing. The st was just so weak that even a Fifth-Order could easily have done better.
The sprawl of shiny lines and runes that fanned the ground gradually ebbed away at thepletion of the st, the entire magical ward disintegrating into sparkling dregs that dissipated into the atmosphere.
Lu Ye kept a long and thoughtful look on his face, transfixed at where the magical ward was. He was not at all surprised by the potencyor rather, theck thereofof the magical ward; after all, he was still a novice with a long way to go. Constructing this ward itself took several Glyphs, including Glyph: Deatharc, the Glyph that fired the st at Ju Jia.
Because of his studies, Lu Ye could now construct Glyphs which were not part of his original assortment of Glyphs from his Tree of Glyphs. But these Glyphs that he learned from the many materials Lady Yun lent him require time to master. Still unstable and weak, it would still take some time of training and practice before he could properly use them in battle.
Hence Lu Ye thought of trying them on magical wards.
This was the first time Lu Ye tried his hand at erecting magic wards and it was feeble, obviously, from Yi Yis outburst and reaction.
But anyone who knew better, especially Ward Cultivators, would gulp hard with shock. They would be amazed.
For Lu Yes magical ward was one that did not have a point of anchorage. It was conjured solely relying on his Spiritual Power and nothing else. It would not have even worked, low potency or not, if he hadmitted even the slightest mistake.
If constructing Glyphs could be seen as writing a word with a pen, then the conjuration of a magical ward would be like writing an essay. Worse, one wrong move and Lu Ye would have to start all over. There was no margin for errors at all.
Such a task demanded a great if not perfect manner of control over ones Spiritual Power, to say the least.
Such a performance on his first foray into conjuring magical wards deserved praise. If Lu Ye were to employ the use of ward keystones and a nexus for his next ward-casting, the attempt would not only be easier; it would be substantially stronger and more potent.
Technically, Ward Cultivators were a branch of the Glyphweaver family.
Only, Ward Cultivators focused their study and training solely on the conjuration of magical wards. That spoke volumes on how vast and how huge the study of Glyphs could be, no man could fully learn everything. Hence one could only focus ones efforts and time on one specific discipline.
The discipline of Ward Cultivators concentrated on the study of ward-casting, while Glyph Warlocks pinpointed on the use of Glyphs in battle, those who specialized in Tattoo-type Glyphs focused on providing support in battle. Each discipline had its respective role and focal points, making the study of their Glyphs in stark contrast from others, just like how smiths who forge Spirit Artifacts learned Glyph-constructing so that they could castyers of enchantments on the very instruments and weapons they built.
Even Lady Yun herself, for all her talents and knowledge about Glyphs, wasnt a master of all trades.
In the meantime, Lu Ye had never tried making ward standards or keystones before. The forging of these items needed specialized materials and tools, making this an endeavor best attempted at the fastness of the outpost.
At the moment, the matter at hand should be his mastery of ward-casting, or more aptly put, ward destruction.
For that reason, he cared little about how good the wards he conjured were. He only needed to understand how the wards were conjured so that he could grasp the points of defeating wards conjured by others.
He gave Yi Yi a yful re before he retreated into his cottage to continue his training and study. He pored over tomes and manuscripts, cramming his brain with as many fragments of the vast knowledge of Glyphs as he could.
The existence of his Tree of Glyphs allowed him to employ the use of various types of Glyphs. That gave him the misconception that he was already a fully-fledged Glyphweaver. But only today did Lu Ye realize that while he wielded talents that made him a prodigy, he was still nowhere near a fullypetent Glyphweaver. While the Tree had afforded him great convenience, it made him a mediocre Glyphweaver at best. He still had a long, long way ahead before he could count himself a master Glyphweaver.
The gifts of the Tree of Glyphs might be plenty, but not yet enough.
Days went by as Lu Ye would emerge from the cottage to try out new wards and such to experiment with his understanding. From his failures, he learned experience; from his triumphs, he ascertained his understanding thereof. Each and every day he made progress.
Progress which began to increase from gradual to exponential. But one caveat remained, he needed to try his skills on a real magical ward to properly see if he was making any real headway. The first one that came to mind was the Hidden Light Sanctuary.
[Heres to hoping that Gu Canyang wont regret extending his invitation to me] Lu Ye mused.
Chapter 285: The Lord Governor of the Lost City of Xianyuan
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 285: The Lord Governor of the Lost City of Xianyuan
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Training, meditation, practice, and reading. Lu Ye did not know if anyone else was making full use of his or her time to be productive, but he certainly was.
For one moment, Lu Ye was toying with the notion of setting off back to the Crimson Blood Sect outpost and just locked himself in his chambers to train in peace and quiet, undisturbed. But his being an Eighth-Order reminded him that doing just that would be erroneous; staying too long in the outer-ring areas would be detrimental to his own progressto say nothing of the scores he wished to settle with those who had almost caused his death at the Battle of Goldentip.
He needed to stay in the inner-ring areas. Once he had grown strong enough to venture into the central areas of the Battlefield, he would begin his crusade of vengeance. The moment of reckoning would arrive for all those who slighted him not so long ago.
He fought through forty-three rounds during the Battle of Goldentip, but a lions share of the forty-three orders and sects were outer-ring-area orders.
That made it inappropriate for him to attack them. Doing so would only invoke an uproar.
Li Baxian told him before that what happens between the outer rings, stays in the outer ring. It was a custom that every sect and order in the Spirit Creek Battlefield observed so universally that it had bewa mutual understanding between both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge that all Cultivators adhere to. Any enmity between outer-ring orders should only be resolved between outer ring factions. No one else from other areasthe inner ring or the central areaswas to be involved. Any disobedience of this rule would be met with heavy and unyielding repercussions.
In the meantime, being in the Lost City of Xianyuan did not hamper Lu Yes progress a bit. With a Spiritual Point unlocked every three days, his total tally had now reached a hundred and sixty.
He might need to have a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline ready before his visit to the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost, just in case.
One day, Lu Ye felt bored. He extracted his seed of the Mystic Fruit from inside his Storage Bag. A visit to the Rift of Illusions to stretch himself might just be the change of pace he needed.
Reading all day had made his whole day nd and with nowhere else to go since the Lost City was still teeming with the City Watch patrols prowling about, he needed something else to do.
Moreover, Lu Ye had sensed a connection between the Rift of Illusions and the Rift of Fortune that led him into this Lost City, although he could not yet put a finger on it.
Both had the same appearance of a mysterious domain filled with plumes prolling mists with shadowy figures that would appear out of nowherecorroded ghosts barreling through the thin, gossamer veils to attack him. That was all he knew.
At the same time, when Lu Ye produced the seed of the Mystic Fruit from his Storage Bag, somewhere in the deepest corners of the Lost City, a pair of eyes blinked open. The figure stared nkly for seconds as if lost in contemtion. Next, the figure vanished into thin air.
Back inside the cottage, Lu Ye was frowning. He was just about to channel his power into the seed when the strangest sense of foreboding and dread gripped him. Someone was watching him.
He surveyed the inside of the cottage. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. He carefully looked around once more. The bizarre tingling was gone.
Still holding the seed, Lu Ye decided to give it another try. His powers surged.
[Crack!]
The bang caught Lu Ye unawares despite his premonition. His hair shot up at the sight of a figure that had appeared without warninga man almost in histe thirties, clothed in rich, regal robes of silk and purple. The tall and stern man, exuding authority and majesty, seized Lu Yes arm, albeit with a look of exasperation.
Lu Ye stared into his eyes, shocked and awed, by the sudden visit and the strangers mightmight that looked effortless on the strangers part as Lu Ye failed to free himself even with a couple of forceful tugs.
[THIS MAN IS DANGEROUS! VERY DANGEROUS!]
[More dangerous than thedy in red!]
[Who the hell is he?! How did he appear so suddenly and what does he want?!] A flurry of thoughts assailed Lu Yes mind. He could detect no malevolent intent from the stranger. The stranger did not have to; his vast powers easily made him a giant and giant have no concern for the cares of ants.
Even the deluge of thoughts did nothing to prevent Lu Ye from ripping Invible out of its sheath which he swung hard at the stranger.
CLANG!
The swing stopped short of hitting its target; it was stopped by the stranger with just two of his fingers.
Lu Ye could feel the corners of his eyes twitching nervously as he peered down at Invibles de from the other side.
The door burst open suddenly with Ju Jia storming forward and Amber roaring beside himthey had heard themotion from outside and had rushed inside to Lu Yes aid. The former was on fire with a ming-red aura enveloping him while Amber was unleashing every single one of its spectralckeys.
STOP! Hold it right there! Lu Ye barked.
But Ju Jia, in his overzealous frenzy, refused to heed the call. As soon as he reached the stranger, he delivered a furious punch, only for himself to be bounced back instead and he crashed to the ground in a tumbling roll.
What was more astounding was the fact that none of the apparitions that Amber released did anything to attack the stranger. They stood there like frightened chickens, if not scarecrows with distant looks in their eyes, leaving only Amber to charge forward alone while Yi Yi fired a spell.
The white feline erupted back into its full form, baring its fangs as wide as it could, and chomped down on the strangers head where it soon realized that it could not close its jaws.
So was Yi Yis spell; it barely left a scratch or a bruise on the stranger.
Who only looked more exasperated, if not utterly irritated.
Lu Ye withdrew his de and returned it to its sheath. Yi Yi and Ju Jia took their positions cautiously beside Lu Ye.
At several meters away, facing Lu Ye, the stranger stood there with Amber still clinging to him, surrounded by the many apparitions the tiger conjured.
Thats enough, Amber, Lu Ye called.
Amber obediently dislodged its jaw from the strangers head and released its hold on him.
The stranger exhaled a long and deep breath and adjusted his rich purplish robes. He sat in the chair opposite Lu Ye, saying, Peace, my friend. I bear you no ill will.
Which was true enough, Lu Ye thought quietly. If this stranger came with any sinister intent, all four of them would have been dead by now.
Lu Ye gave the cadre of apparitions another look before he too broke his silence, To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Lord Governor?
Taken aback by the subtle revtion, Yi Yi stared at Lu Ye with disbelief.
The stranger looked just as surprised himself. He shifted in his chair to assume a morefortable position and smiled thinly. And what makes you think that Im the Lord Governor?
I encountered a mysteriousdy in red who enjoys riding a swing and I was under the impression that she is the most powerful entity in this city until you appeared. Its you who is the most powerful being in this city and its not by a close marginthedy in reds a far cry from what you really areand I cant think of anyone who could be more powerful than she is, except the Lord Governor of the city.
Just because of that? Rather circumstantial, dont you think?
Them too, Lu Ye motioned at the apparitions around them. Amber clearly wanted them to attack, but they didnt. The only exnation I could think of is that what remaining instincts these apparitions still retain clearly are loyal to the Lord Governor of this city.
Lets just assume for one second that youre right then, the stranger dipped his chin in resignation.
That was the farthest he would go to admitting that Lu Yes guess was correct; he really was the Lord Governor of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
As for the purpose of my being here the Lord Governor spoke as he lifted up Lu Yes Mystic Fruit seed nestled between his two fingers. His expression took a turn and became grim, This is not something that is supposed to be used inside this cityor any other part of the whole Rift of Fortune for that matter.
Why?
Lets just say that doing so would bring about very terrible consequences.
For example?
Some horrors are best left unsaid, my friend, smiled the Lord Governor, refusing to exin further. He tossed the Mystic Fruit seed back to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye caught the seed, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he pondered about the horrors that were mentioned. He could barely guess the true nature of these horrors, but if the Lord Governor of this city came specifically to warn him about this, he knew better than to just dismiss it lightly. Especially since he had a good feeling that deliberately using the Mystic Fruit seed again would also incur his wrath.
Do you have tea? the Lord Governor asked all of a sudden.
Um, no.
Mores the pity, the Lord Governor rose up and stepped closer to Lu Ye. He clenched his fist and feigned another cough, saying, There is actually one other matter that Ivee here to speak to you about.
By all means, Lord Governor, pray tell.
The Lord Governor eyed the apparitions and said, You cannot take them with you.
For doing that will also bring about very terrible consequences?
Not very terrible consequences per se, but youll kill them.
That was certainly thest thing Lu Ye expected to hear for he fell silent for a couple of seconds, totally confounded.
The Lord Governor wasnt at all amused to see Lu Ye being surprised. Thest thing he ever wanted was to appear so haphazardly before Lu Ye. In fact, his original intention was to employ some sort of magic to remove the apparitions bond to Amber so that they would remain here when the time for Lu Ye and all other intruders of the Lost City to be booted out arrived.
Lu Ye would be none the wiser until he got back to the Battlefield, and he would have the impression that apparitions of the Lost City could not be transported elsewhere.
That would be the end of the miseries for all parties involved.
That was until Lu Ye took out his Mystic Fruit seedthe very object that had forced him to make such a sudden entry just so that he could personally speak to Lu Ye.
This personal meeting would make it unbing for him to quietly keep the apparitions here in the Lost City, making this conversation all the more necessary.
Is this an order by the Lord Governor?
Evidently, Lu Ye would be reluctant to part with a potent force such as these apparitions. They might not be useful in the long run, but Lu Ye could certainlye up with numerous uses for them at the moment.
Its a request, the Lord Governor responded pensively.
Lu Ye understood what he was trying to say.
But these apparitions are not mine; theyre Ambers. Its up to the tiger and not me. Maybe you can try making an offer to Amber instead?
The Lord Governor ignored Lu Yes attempt to deflect the responsibility and instead maintained an intent upon him.
Lu Ye could see that his cheap trick wasnt going to work.
This conversation only started a few minutes ago, but Lu Ye could already tell that the Lord Governor was not a person who enjoyed bullying or strong-arming people into saying yes, or he could have saved his breath and just done that to make everyone acquiesce to his demands.
But that was also why Lu Ye thought that he might perhaps try to derive some benefit from the situation. The Lord Governor said request, so that might imply some sort of deal.
Although Lu Ye could also confess to wondering if he might frustrate the Lord Governor instead and resort to using force instead.
All right, name your price, the Lord Governor exhaled heavily in resignation.
The Pond of Divine Purification!
A look of concession cracked upon the Lord Governors face as if he had seen thising from a long way.
Would I be able to interest you in something else? A new Spirit Artifact perhaps?
Yi Yi quietly extracted and unfurled the Nine Realms Scroll.
Two? Or maybe three?
Im afraid Spirit Artifacts are just tools and equipment; the significance isnt equal at all.
I suppose you have a point there, the Lord Governor muttered, nodding his head in agreement, Very well then. The Pool of Divine Purification it is.
Saying he was thrilled was an understatement. But Lu Ye did his best to not look gloatingly gleeful as he traced a finger in a circle over his head, indicating everyone present, And were not leaving anyone behind.
The Lord Governor snorted. Maybe you should call those people outside. Get the dogs and even the cats while youre at it, he added testily.
Surely not, Lu Ye remarked facetiously, We mustnt be too greedy, innit?
Its been a long time since I hit someone so you better not try me.
Lu Ye immediately kept his trap shut. He enjoyed being the one doling out the beatings, not receiving them.
The Lord Governor gave him a nasty look before he finally sighed. With a wave of his hand, he set the apparitions free.
Amber shook its girth as if something was just cut loose from its cut of fur. One after another, the nk and distant looks in the eyes of the apparitions faded away, gleaming once more secondster with consciousness.
The apparitions respectfully bowed to the Lord Governor before they dissolved out of view.
Lets go, the Lord Governor called curtly, and Lu Ye felt a strange, invincible force wrapping him along with the rest of hispanions. Thest thing he saw was their stares at him before everything went blurry.
Chapter 286: The Pool of Divine Purification
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 286: The Pool of Divine Purification
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
By the time Lu Ye and hispanions regained their senses, they found themselves standing just in front of arge pit with tendrils of mists hoveringzily out of its bottomless abyss. Sentinels of the Xianyuan City Watch stood guard around the area of the pit and the captain immediately bowed and saluted at the sight of the Lord Governor appearing.
The master of the city waved a hand to dismiss the captain.
Lu Ye looked at the pit. He could see nothing inside except the roiling plumes of fog rolling out of a hole in the ground listlessly and somehow the mists just wouldnt leak out of the edge as if an invisible wall was keeping them confined inside.
[Is this really the legendary Pool of Divine Purification?! If this is a pool, then wheres the water?!]
Yi Yi sidled close and whispered, Lu Ye, Lu Ye The mists I have a feeling that they could be a boon to me.
As a spectral entity herself, Yi Yi had a certain sensitivity toward the Spiritual Qi circting in the mist. Lu Ye could not feel anything; but Yi Yi was positive that if she could enter the pool, she could derive plenty of benefits.
So, um, thats it? Lu Ye panned his focus to the Lord Governor just beside him, Just jump in?
The master of the Lost City paced a couple of steps nearer to the pool with his hands held behind his back as if he was surveying its interior. Thats right. Just jump in. But you have only six hours. After which, I will transport you back to where you came from.
He barely finished speaking when Lu Ye threw himself inside. There was no time to lose, and Lu Ye knew he would need to make good use of every second he had.
As he plunged down the shaft, Lu Yes weight pulled him down into the ckness of the pit. He plummeted deeper and deeperuntil he began to feel something amiss. [Is it me or is this godforsaken hole disguised as a pool just too deep?!]
The Lord Governor mentioned nothing of this sort!
Lu Ye was about to activate Glyph: Wings when he felt an invisible forceing from below his feet and stopping his descent.
But the feeling below his feet was not of anything rocky or even remotely solid; it felt like stepping on cotton. He looked at his feet and saw nothing below but the gaping darkness of the abyss staring back at him. All around him, his sight was obscured by fog assailing him from all sides, and he could not find Yi Yi and the others.
But he was not rmed; they must be somewhere in the pool as well, and must be safe.
With only six hours Lu Ye wasted no time in sitting down and beginning his meditation.
Being here reminded Lu Ye of his experience enriching his physical endurance in the Dragon Spring where one needed to breathe in the deep scarlet effulgence from the spring to gain the benefits. Unlike the Spring, Lu Ye could feel power enveloping every inch of his skin and entering his body.
The sensation of being weightless left him in a very rxed and tranquil mood, dispelling all the difort that had been umting from his long hours of insipid study.
Such were the effects of immersing oneself inside the fog of the Pool of Divine Purification, a spiritual cleansing that refreshed ones mind and spiritual self. If Lu Ye was at a higher rank where his senses could perceive his own soul or other ectosmic substance, then the benefits that he would enjoy would be far greater than his imagination.
Even so, just being here was already a huge boon to him and most particrly his spiritual well-being.
But if he could already derive such benefits in his normal state, what about meditating? Would he gain even more?
Realizing this, Lu Ye constructed more Glyph: Gathering Spirits around himself.
The luminescent images of funnels hovered over every single one of his Spiritual Points. More churning swirls gathered around Lu Ye, rushing furiously into him. The torrents of energy being absorbed into his body greatly enhanced the rity of his state of mind and Lu Ye was feeling himself growing lighter and lighter.
Standing by the edge of the pit with his hands behind his back was a curious Lord Governor of the Lost City in deep contemtion. Two of the four signs have been revealed In fact, they share a resemnce with that one Intriguing
He was still murmuring to himself when he discovered a strange development urring where Lu Ye had jumped into. His face looked grim. [What is going on?! What method is he employing to make the consumption of Spiritual Qi around him faster?!]
That was not anything worth celebrating or apuse. The energies released by the Pool were so rich that just immersing oneself inside its gaseous emissions could make one spiritually stronger and more potent. But as with all things, moderation is the key to sess. Wanton consumption or absorption of the energies would only cause one to be disintegrated by the sheer power of the energies.
[He wont need six hours By the looks of things, this brat will be out of the pit in an hour if he knows whats good for him], mused the Lord Governor.
But the Lord Governor did nothing to stop Lu Ye. In fact, he stood there and watched with interest, eager to see what Lu Ye would do when he discovered the problem.
The enrichment of ones spiritual being was something that many hoped for but oftentimes failed to achieve thus making it easy for one to lose oneself within the Pool.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was still busy and thrilled in constructing more Glyph: Gathering Spirits funnels. The more energy he consumed, the more he felt light and free. The inexplicable sensation of thrill and ignoration was intoxicating and overwhelming enough to engulf him in joy and confidence, making him feel that he could aplish anything.
Feeling perturbed by the bizarre sensation, Lu Ye stopped constructing more Glyphs.
If the experience of enriching himself at the Dragon Spring had taught him anything, it was to not tempt Fate by pushing limits further than he ought to.
Lu Ye paused and reexamined himself. Something had changed. His spiritual senses had be more acuteno longer vague and murky like beforeand the more he consumed the energies teeming the fog, the stronger the rity became.
As a matter of fact, Lu Ye could even see the energies flowing in his veins. He could see his Tree of Glyphs; how it was growing and how many of the leaves on its boughs were ame.
Then he saw himself sitting cross-legged, hovering in the middle of a bottomless shaft, surrounded by a deluge of fog swirling around him like a swarm of bees over a bed of flowers.
That terrified Lu Ye enough. For one to see oneself from such an angle was surrealistic enough. He instantly thought of the tales of astral projection that he had heard before. Then it hit him, something was terribly amiss!
He lowered his gaze and looked at himself. He had be something like Yi Yia spectral being!
The link between his body and his spirit was weakening!
[This cannot be! What in Heavens name is going on?!]
He quickly stopped whatever he was doing and focused hard. That was when he felt a strong pull. He once again opened his eyes. He was back inside his body, sitting down in the middle of nowhere. He no longer was in his spectral state anymore.
[Something is wrong with the fog!]
Lu Ye understood that he needed to tread more carefully from now on.
He made sure that he was fine and reflected on what happened. It did not take long for him to pinpoint the issue.
Beyond any doubt, the Pool of Divine Purification enriching properties could do any Cultivator a lot of good, but Lu Ye realized that he needed to be careful since, as a Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator, there was a limit to how much good his physical body could take.
If his spirit were to be too strong for his body to sustain, then it would break free from the confines of his physical body like what happened just now. The degree of this matter could be worse the stronger his spirit became.
Once his spirit broke free from the force that bound it to his physical body, he would be a real spectral beingan apparition free andpletely separated from its vessel.
That was certainly not a price Lu Ye was ready or eager to pay.
Being a spectral being had its uses, but without a physical body as an anchor, there was little he could do as well. His options would be severely limited.
Yi Yi did not have her own physical body, but as the spirit possessed Amber, Amber was, in a way, her physical vessel.
Now that the problem has been identified, Lu Ye practiced more caution. At the Dragon Spring, Lu Ye did not have to worry about absorbing too much of the blood-red diffusion that the Spring emitted. All it took was a short duration of time for him to get used to the enhancements of his body.
But the Pool was altogether a different story. Having ones spirit be too strong and too potent wasnt good news.
From the one hundred and thirty Glyph: Gathering Spirits he constructed, Lu Ye quickly cut down more than half the amount to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. He needed to slow down his intake of energy.
Momentster, he cut down another half, leaving only thirty Gathering Spirits funnels operating.
But that barely improved things; he had absorbed too much energy from the Pool, making the growth of his spirit now at a zenith. Any further and his spirit would be forcibly extricated from his physical body once againthis time possibly for good.
He paused and waited. Ultimately, he concluded that all thirty Gathering Spirits funnels too needed to be unmade.
Lu Ye wasnt enjoying this one bit. Here he was, surrounded by so much energy, yet all he could do was sit and allow his body to absorb it at an arduously ponderous pace.
Outside the pit, the Lord Governor was still observing. His head nodded. That Lu Ye had discovered the crux of the problem and had decisively chosen to drastically lower his rate of absorption hade as a huge surprise.
[Interesting fellow. We mustnt be too greedy, eh? One really should understand that theres always a point where too much can do more damage than good.]
His sentiments of feeling impressed were quickly proven to be misced after all as Lu Ye took out his Storage Bag, made sure that its opening was as wide as possible, and began waving it around as if to fill its insides with as much fog as possible
That was hrious enough for the Lord Governor that he groaned with exasperation. [One must not be greedy? What a load of bollocks!]
Inside the pit, Lu Ye was peering into his Storage Bag. Did he manage to fill the Bag with some of the fog? No, he doubted it would be enough anyway. The Storage Bag was not without its limits; there was no telling whether this method would work and how much energy he could gather.
He had heard rumors about how people had brought back droplets of the Pools water to be presented to their elders and mentors as gifts. [How on earth did they even find the water?] He wondered.
Lu Ye stowed away the Storage Bag. That was when his gaze panned downwards.
[The swirling fog containing all this energy muste from somewhere below], he realized. [But how far is the bottom of this pit? Is the real Pool really down below?]
He clipped his Storage Bag back on his belt and dove down, falling deeper at breakneck speed to seek the bottom of the shaft.
He plummeted down the shaft with more fog wheezing by him as he fell. But it was not fast enough and he activated Glyph: Wings and zoomed all the way down.
He punched through the fog like ark streaking through clouds in its flight.
After almost a quarter of an hour of diving the bottom of this shaft was still nowhere in sight. Lu Ye was beginning to wonder if this pool was really a bottomless abyss. His long dive was beginning to feel unsettling.
Outside the pit, the Lord Governor had elected to just sit by the edge and watch with his chin cupped in one hand. Humans who were alive were known to enter the Lost City of Xianyuan every now and then, but seldom had the Lord Governor shown himself to them. It had been long since he had stumbled upon anything as interesting as this.
He had been watching Lu Ye and unbeknownst to Lu Ye himself, he had never been falling any deeper. In fact, he had been right where he was all the time. It was just the strange and otherworldly properties of the fog surging upwards that had given him the impression that he was moving.
Atst, Lu Ye withdrew his wings. He stopped and looked around, pondering quietly.
If he could not determine the true depth of this pit, and he could not ascertain if he reached the bottom; why couldnt he just find some other way to produce the droplets?
The fog should be thick enough for him to condense into liquid, like how normal vapor could be changed into water. As to how, Lu Ye had found an idea.
Chapter 287: The Liquid Energy of the Pool of Divine Purification
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 287: The Liquid Energy of the Pool of Divine Purification
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The fogthe mysterious energy of the Pool of Divine Purification in its gaseous statewas dense enough to be turned into liquid. Lu Ye only needed to gather as much of the fog as he could, and it could easily be liquid already.
Lu Ye wasnt sure at first if this would work. The idea urred to him just out of the blue, and he decided to just give it a go. After all, there was hardly anything to lose even if his hunch failed to work.
Lu Ye held his hand out before the swirling fog rising up to his face. He channeled his power. Each almost the size of his hand, Yin and Yang primary elements materialized right before his eyes and clicked into each other like Chinese Luban Lock puzzles. In mere seconds, the Glyphs grew so many that they filled his sight.
The Lord Governor was sitting by the pit when he saw what was going on inside. Shock filled his gaze. He did not expect Lu Ye to be a Glyphweaver and one who was able to construct Glyphs with such ease.
[Those are Glyphs!?] The Lord Governor realized. [And they are taking the shape of somethingrge big is that Glyph: Gathering Spirits?!]
Unlike the usual Gathering Spirits that the Lord Governor had seen before, what Lu Ye was constructing was differentbigger and strange in form. With a wide opening that tapered into a smaller neck, the Lord Governor recognized what it was: a funnel.
[A funnel?!] The Lord Governor straightened up nervously.
[Damn, this fellow is bing more than a mere nuisance] He had agreed to allow Lu Ye and hispanions ess to the Pool of Divine Purification only because he deemed that they would not consume too much of the Pools energies. For the release of the apparitions, they were thinking about spiriting out of the Lost City, this did not seem like a terrible price to pay at first.
But if Lu Ye really was going to do what he believed he was trying to do, then this would not be a trade. It would be a scam. He had fallen victim to a scam!
Inside the pit, Lu Ye exhaled a long and deep breath. He had just constructed the biggest Glyph: Gathering Spirits funnel he ever hada funnel as far as thirty meters wide.
This had easily depleted a considerable portion of his Spiritual Power.
He would have constructed an even bigger funnel if he did not have to worry about the risk of failing.
Now that it had beenpleted, all he needed to do was give it a go and see if it would work.
He paused. More fog was swirling and gathering around the funnel and the sma was beginning to grow thicker. The force of the Glyph was drawing in every shred of the fog nearby, pulling it into the funnel andpacting it while it spouted out of the bottleneck at the bottom, pouring out like a huge geyser.
[No, this helps to gather all the energy, but I need to do something to let it actually condense.]
Lu Ye lifted his arms and channeled his power, discharging Spiritual Power to seal off the bottleneck at the bottom of the funnel.
Without an outlet to escape from, the energy waspressed further and further until droplets of liquid appeared inside the funnel. The droplets grewrger andrger, putting on more and more weight until they slipped down the edge of the funnel and collected at the bottom of the bottleneck.
[It works! It really works!]
Overjoyed, Lu Ye watched the amount of liquid increase. Little by little, the waterline rose as more droplets resembling dew drops umting in the center of a lotus leaf in the morning slid down the edge of the funnel and into the bottleneck.
Meanwhile, the Lord Governor watching from the edge of the Pool could take no more. The Pool and its energy constituted not only the source of power for the entire Lost City of Xianyuan; it also provided power to the other parts of the Rift of Fortune. Therefore, there was no way he could allow the energy from the Pool to be depleted so wantonly.
If only he did not give Lu Ye six hours; he had mistaken Lu Ye for a middling Cultivator, so six hours should be more than enough to satisfy him. Only now did he realize that he had severely misjudged not only Lu Yes gluttony but also his ingenuity and shrewdness/.
If only he had promised one hour.
But there was nothing much he could do. A promise is a promise, and the die had been cast. As Lord Governor and a man of his word, he could not just head inside and drag Lu Ye out like a naughty child.
He looked left and right. Making sure that none of the Xianyuan City Watchmen were looking his way, he aimed a finger at the pit and twirled in circles.
Back inside the shaft, Lu Ye was watching as the liquid energy umted with thrill and satisfaction when the air around him began to toss. The peaceful air turned choppy as if a storm was beginning its rage and the gigantic funnel warped and shattered, releasing the fog inside, which scattered into the air as soon as it escaped.
They were gone.
And the droplets of liquid energy that he managed to umte so farafter all his troubles and effortsbegan bursting into the air.
Lu Ye frantically channeled his power and groped for every drop he could seize before they dissolved into nothing. He had lost some, but at least he managed to salvage the lions share of what he managed to produce earlier. From his Storage Bag, he found a jade sk which he used to store all the liquid.
He gave the vessel a gentle shake, finding it half-filled. There must be at least a dozen droplets inside by his reckoning.
He had never heard of anyone bringing that much liquid energy out of the Pool of Divine Purification before. Most stories mentioned only just a handful of drops.
Nevertheless, the sess of his first try was enough to spur him to another attempt.
If there was anything that he had learned from his first endeavor, it was that the Glyph: Gathering Spirits funnel that he constructed needed to be smaller. Being wider made the process faster, but itcked stability and strength. If there was turbulence again, the earlier mishap might repeat and thwart his efforts.
Therefore, he decided to construct a small funnel this time.
He focused his Spiritual Power in both hands and began constructing his Glyph once more as swarms of Yin and Yang elements fell into shape before his gaze.
Lu Ye finished creating another giant funnel, although this one was markedly smaller than the earlier one at barely twenty meters wide.
Lu Ye extracted a vial of Mystic Fruit cider from inside his Storage Bag and consumed it to replenish his Spiritual Power quickly.
With a smaller funnel, the droplets of liquid energy that it yielded were expectedly fewer. But somehow, the funnel failed tost longer than the bigger funnel he constructed earlier
But this time, as soon as the turbulence of air began, Lu Ye was ready to secure the droplets as soon as the funnel copsed and poured them all into his jade sk.
Lu Ye repeated the process again.
The cycle would go on and on. In spite of having more Mystic Fruit cider to restore his power, Lu Ye nevertheless felt overwhelmed. The refreshment of his Spiritual Power just couldnt keep up with the incessant and taxing depletion from every attempt. As time passed, the funnels that he could construct eventually became smaller and smaller. Even so, none of them could hold out long enough to produce a satisfactory yield.
Lu Ye finally lost track of time, but he did not stop until he felt a strange force constrict around him. Realizing that his time should be up, Lu Ye hastily collected what droplets that had formed in hisst attempt.
And he was fortunate his instincts served him well; as soon as he was finished, his vision went blurry. By the time he could see properly again, he was back in the enclosure of the cottage that was within the grounds of arge mansion where the rest of his Grand Sky Coalition allies were taking refuge. He crashed to the ground on all fours, an indication of how fatigued he was.
Yi Yi, Amber, and Ju Jia materialized just beside him. Seeing Lu Ye on the ground, Yi Yi wished toe over to help him up, but she did not look normal herself; her spectral self was pulsing with a strange glow and she, despite her struggles, failed to walk in a straight line, it was as if she was tipsy.
She was not the only one; even Amber and Ju Jia were disying simr traits. All of them wobbled around unsteadily as if they had just survived a drinkingpetition!
Perhaps six hours really were too long for them; each of them could barely get used to the sudden disorientation.
Nevertheless, there was hardly anything to be rmed about. They would fully recover in just a few days.
Lu Ye got to his feet, waving a hand to indicate that he was fine.
Satisfied that Lu Ye was uninjured, Ju Jia immediately sat on the ground and began meditating.
Yi Yi too vanished, retreating inside Amber to rest, while the tigerid down on the ground and rested its head on Ju Jiasp. Within seconds, the giant feline was in a deep slumber, snoring.
Back at the Lord Governors courtplex, the master of the Lost City of Xianyuan surveyed the aftermath of Lu Yes visit. He sighed. The Pool of Divine Purification had suffered a considerable loss, but fortunately, he had intervened just in time to prevent permanent damage.
That a young Cultivator like Lu Ye could pull off such unusual methods to turn the fog into liquid really was beyond his expectations.
To say nothing about the strange concoction he had been consuming, again and again, to replenish his power so that he could keep on constructing those funnel-like Glyphs!
As Lord Governor, it would be unbing of him to stop Lu Ye, hence causing the turbulence without thetters knowledge and disrupting the funnel-shaped Glyphs were the fullest extent of what he could do, which he only did after ascertaining that Lu Ye had his just desserts.
He could have chosen to not interfere, but Lu Ye would walk out of this encounter with a huge amount of liquid energy, which was greatly endangering the stability of this city and the Rifts existence.
In the meantime, a satisfied Lu Ye was examining his spoils. His soul had grown spiritually stronger, and he had managed to collect three to four tiny sks of liquid energy.
Despite their rtively tiny size, the sks, which were originally used to store pills, could fill at least thirty drops of liquid energy. That would make at least one hundred droplets of liquid energy now in Lu Yes possession.
Liquid energy which was the essence extracted from the swirling Pool of Divine Purification in its gaseous state.
Lu Ye wished to get back home fast. The droplets of liquid energy would make a great gift for his mentor, Grand Master of the Crimson Blood Sect Tang Yifeng.
And then there was also Shui Yuan. Still in the Real Lake Realm, the droplets would be extremely useful once she began her attempt at the Divine Ocean Realm.
Lu Ye did not forget Li Baxian as well. While, like Lu Ye, Li Baxian still had a long way to go before reaching the state where the potency of ones spirit substantially affected ones strength and power, Lu Ye was confident a soul that was spiritually stronger and more potent would nevertheless be a great boon.
On that note, Lu Ye reflected on and reexamined himself.
He had been so busy in the pit that he had not reassessed himself just now.
But now, he realized that he felt starkly different.
In the past, Lu Ye could only rely on the flow of Spiritual Power in his body to examine his condition. Even so, this method of probing would only provide a vague idea of what was going on in his bodynot unlike feeling with his hands without any visual representation. But now that he had grown spiritually enriched, he could picture himself more coherently.
It was a simr transitory feeling he sensed when he was in the state of astral projection earlier.
That way, he could more urately reassess himself and make correct decisions. If he were wounded somewhere he could not physically see, Lu Ye could now project a sixth sense to properly probe the wound.
And the use of this Divine Sense was not only limited to himself. With this ability, he could now sense and see everything within thirty meters of his position.
Everything that was close to him, especially within three meters, he could see with his sixth sense with tremendous rity. The further an object was, the more unclear it would be from him, making distance one of the only weaknesses of this ability.
He immediately thought of a great use for this newfound Divine Sense.
He no longer needed to worry about being ambushed from behind by any Ghost Cultivators.
He had relied on his Nine Realms Scroll to prevent him from being attacked by any Ghost Cultivators who managed to creep up on him from behind.
Glyph: Insight could only help him so much because constructing Glyphs required time. This newfound Divine Sense, on the other hand, was a self-subsistent ability without any blind spots. That easily made it more convenient and better than Glyph: Insight.
Lu Ye had encountered only a few Ghost Cultivators and while most of them were skilled in surreptitious methods of assassination, barely any of them posed any potent threats to him yet.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye was certain that he would one day encounter a Ghost Cultivator strong and deadly enough to be a menace, and this Divine Sense would be the very object of his salvation and triumph.
Chapter 288: The Perpetual War
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 288: The Perpetual War
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The benefits of having ones spirit enriched were more than just a heightened sixth sense. While it might still be some time until Lu Ye was able to freely perceive and manipte his own spirit, the boons of his visit to the Pool of Divine Purification ranged from his everyday life to fighting.
Many things had changed.
Lu Ye had noticed this back when he was still inside the shaft of the Pool of Divine Purification. His control of Spiritual Power had be smoother.
His diligent practice in the construction of Glyphs had seen his control of Spiritual Power rise far beyond most other Cultivators of the same rank and this new enrichment of his spirit appeared to have further strengthened this skill.
Lu Ye channeled his power and a ball of mes burst to life above the palm of his hand.
He tossed it forth and the glob of fire contorted in mid-air as he willed it into what he wished, a beautiful phoenix. The ming bird flew in the air with a streaming trail of cinders in its wake, soaring up into the sky.
[At longst!] Lu Ye thought, [Finally, after so long, my Fire Phoenix looks normal!]
It really was an emotional moment for Lu Ye. He had never been able to create anything more than a fiery, plump chicken even as he progressed up the ranks of his cultivation. For this reason, he had been actively reluctant to cast the Fire Phoenix spell just so that he could spare himself the embarrassment.
Then he reached the Seventh-Order and learned the Fire Dragon spell.
In the sky, the ming phoenix warped and assumed the form of something else, a slithering dragon of fire.
This was not ordinary spell-casting anymore. Even Spell Cultivators of the Eighth- and Ninth-Order could not perform something like this.
This was a higher order of fire maniption that most Cultivators in the Battlefield could do.
Lu Ye dispelled his power and the ming dragon was gone, dissipating into the air.
He had always been somewhat dissatisfied with the force of his Telekic attacks and it was due to the fact that he could not yet construct Glyphs and apply them to his hiltless knife to enhance its speed and damage during flight.
He had tried doing so before, but applying Glyphs to his hiltless knife was just too difficult and his attempts had all ended in failure.
The reason for those failures was that he still needed more finesse in controlling off-body Spiritual Power. He could employ Telekinesis without a hitch but constructing Glyphs and applying them on his hiltless knife were altogether different conundrums.
His initial thought was that he would first need to progress his Cultivation rank further before he could try applying this method inbat. But now, Lu Ye thought he should maybe give it another go.
He extracted his hiltless knife from inside his Storage Bag and cast it out. The small de took to the air, zooming around like a little star.
The hiltless knife sparkled as he mentally applied Glyph: Windwalk on the weapon. Flying weapon maniption was all about speed and agility; having Glyph: Windwalk would increase both attributes up to an iprehensible level.
That would make it both unstoppable and deadly to usual Spirit Creek Realm Cultivators, even Eighth- and Ninth-orders. Those who had begun transitioning to Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines might be able to survive Lu Yes newfound prowess, but not if they were caught unawares.
The hiltless de gave off another gleam. This time Lu Ye had cast Glyph: Sharp Edge.
Satisfied, Lu Ye stowed away his weapon.
Being able to apply Glyphs to his flying weapon would make it deadlier, but he noticed the time he was able to maintain its flight had shortened.
For a Cultivator to use Telekinesis to remotely manipte his weapon, one needed to have a certain amount of Spiritual Power stored in the weapon as sustenance for it to fly. But the use of Glyphs would also deplete the Spiritual Power, thus cutting short the amount of time it could remain in the air.
But Lu Ye was not too bothered. The use of Telekinesis to attack enemies oftentimes did not involve long durations of flight. Under most circumstances, Lu Ye would have already begun hacking at any enemies with Invible if they managed to survive the first Telekic offense.
Maybe he should start to consider using more flying weapons.
Lu Ye could have been using more than two flying weapons. But he did not want to be overwhelmed by the distraction, hence he stuck to using just two.
But now that his spirit had undergone an enrichment that had seen it far stronger and more potent than before, he could fight while mentally keeping control of two flying weapons with hardly any difficulty at all.
By the time he could call upon a hundred swords with just one impulse like Li Baxian, he would have no one else to fear in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.
But that would need more than a strong spirit and a powerful mind; he would need to rely on his talents as well.
That was exactly the reason Li Baxian remained such a singr figure in the Battlefield that hardly anyone coulde close toparing, even after so many years.
From his many triumphs and victories, Lu Ye had loads of weapons suitable for Telekinesis, including those with nonuple weapon enchantments. He easily found two that he deemed to fit his needs before stuffing Spirit Pills to replenish his power. Next, he began work on enchanting the weapons in preparation for battle.
With Ju Jia still in deep meditation, Amber still in deep slumber, and Yi Yi still nowhere in sight, that left Lu Ye all alone in that enclosure with the small cottage.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye did not feel bored with all the manuscripts and tomes he could spend his time pouring over.
That was when he discovered another benefit of having his spirit enriched: he could read more quickly and understand the contents of whatever he was reading with greater efficiency than before.
The days passed swiftly enough.
A studious Lu Ye was still in deep study when he felt a strange force descending on him. He mmed the ponderous tome shut and got to his feet.
Not far away, Ju Jia rose up as well.
They strode abreast, heading out of the enclosure when Ji Yan came looking for them, Its time, brother. The Lost City is fading.
Yeah, we felt it too.
They left the enclosure together and rendezvoused with Gu Canyang and the others. It was necessary to prevent being separated from the others during the process of being transported back to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. There could be a risk of reappearing somewhere else, all alone and surrounded by enemies. Therefore, regrouping with the others could help to reduce the chance of that happening.
Everyone stood together in silence. Each of them could feel the drawing force growing in magnitude until it reached a point where their vision started to blur and everything around them twisted into a dibobting whirl.
By the time they could coherently perceive their surroundings again, the entire group found themselves in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness.
At the same time, the Lord Governor of the Lost City of Xianyuan was in his chair at his courtplex. The captain of the Xianyuan City Watch came to him, Theyre gone, my lord.
The Lord Governor waved a hand gently and said, Do it. Undo the enchantment.
At once, sir!
The order was ryed to all levels of the City Watch and one after another, the enchantments cast over the city were removed. The whole ce trembled, a rocking earthquake, as the Lost City began to undergo a massive transformation.
The Lost City was every bit a dpidated and battered city during Lu Yes stay. But that was only just an illusory fa?ade.
The city-wide enchantments were removed and waves of air rippled before they dissolved, revealing the real Lost City of Xianyuan.
The sprawl of buildings and structures was gone, giving way to endless rows andyers of defensive lines filled with magical wards and engines of war. These valuable Spirit Artifacts could have easily fetched prices of astronomical value in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, yet here, they numbered so many like two a penny.
In the meantime, more fog billowed out of the pit where the Pool of Divine Purification resided. Out of the thick, murky plumes, spectral figures emerged in endless streams. Most of them were d in the garb of the Xianyuan City Watch while the rest looked like ordinary civilians.
Unlike any other apparitions that Lu Ye had encountered before, these were all powerful Real Lake Realm and Divine Ocean Realm apparitions, with only a handful of Cloud River Realm ones between them. No one in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, or even in the real world of Jiu Zhouincluding Tier-One sects and orders with centuries or millennia of glorious historycould boast of having a force of such strength and power.
Grim-faced and somber, the apparitions stepped out of the fog, looking like they were spoiling for a fight, for each of them knew war wasing. A long, endless war that had endured for many, many years.
If Lu Ye were here, he would definitely be able to recognize some of the faces here. The faces of the Xianyuan City Watchmen whom he had in.
No one knew that the spectral sentinels of the Xianyuan City Watch were indestructible. No one knew that so long as the Pool of Divine Purification remained, so would the apparitions of this city live on. One could destroy these apparitions and reduce them into nothing more than gossamer dregs that dissipated into nothing but air, and they would still emerge anew from within the fogs of the Pool.
That was why the Pool of Divine Purification held the key to the existence of the Lost City and all other parts of the Rift of Fortunes.
Liu Sanbao stepped out of his gambling den, his eyes gleaming with purpose and rity. He kicked and soared into the air, heading straight for the Lord Governors courtplex.
The girl with a zither left the brothel and paced pensively along the streets, making for the same direction.
In the meantime, the schr was still at the seminary he was studying at. He dropped the piece of paper he was holding, a half-written monologue, shaking his head and he sighed heavily, Sound trumpets! Let our bloody colors wave! And either victory or else a grave!
At the abattoir, the butcher reached for his honing steel and worked on sharpening his de.
At a street corner, the blind fortune-teller tossed a coin and read his signs. Ill omens, eh? he muttered under his breath.
They were five of the few apparitions that were under Ambers control until the Lord Governor released them and they were all Divine Ocean Realm Cultivators.
The level of strength and power they disyed before was just a fa?ade caused by the enchantments ced upon the city.
The only people unaffected by the city-wide enchantments were the Lord Governor himself and thedy in red.
And this was why the Lord Governor forbade Lu Ye from taking the apparitions away from this dimension, Amber could not take them away. The moment the apparitions were transported away from the dimension of the Rift of Fortunes, the apparitions, once free from the influence of the enchantments, would regain their full strength. That would kill Amber for it could not yet contain the power of so many Divine Ocean Realm entities.
In a matter of minutes, the Lost City of Xianyuan which looked like it just survived a war turned into an entire city bustling with spectral entities rushing about to take their respective ces at the defensive lines, readying themselves for war. Another war. A real one.
The spectral defenders stood at their spots, silent and unmoving, as they took in the presence and whiffs left by those who were here not long agothe smell of living humans who had just left. Lu Ye and the rest of the human intruders wont have noticed their own smells lingering around, but for these spectral entities who had long survived without their own physical bodies in their perpetual war for eons, the smell of human flesh was just too conspicuous to ignore.
It was this smell of human flesh that had anchored the sanity of these spectral protectors of humankind for ages. The only thing that had kept them from faltering, or the years of fighting would have corrupted them enough to give up or even defect. In their never-ending war, they had died again and again, only to emerge once more to resume their ce to resist the menace that threatened to destroy all mankind. The sheer amount of stress would have turned one into a mindless killing beast.
It was for this sole purpose that the Rift of Fortunes appeared sporadically around the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the real world of Jiu Zhou. For humans to enter different parts of the Rift and as living reminders to the spectral entities that resided inside the Rifts about their duty to safeguard the wellbeing of all mankind.
The Lord Governor sat in his chair, his eyes closed in deep contemtion nked by both the captain of the City Watch and thedy in red.
The formermanded every Xianyuan City Watch sentry while the other led the rest of the civilians that made up the militia force in this interminable conflict.
The Lord Governor opened his eyes, his gaze distant and somber as he panned upwards. Quietly, he said, So it begins. Let the war resume!
Chapter 289: Departure
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 289: Departure
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Lord Governor of the Lost City of Xianyuan had just finished speaking when a spiral popped out of nowhere in the middle of the sky. Small at first, the vortex gradually grew at a noticeable pace, spanning more than three hundred meters as if the sky was about to regurgitate something.
Where it connected to, no one knew.
But the heads of every apparition manning the defensive lines of the Lost City arched their heads upwards expectantly like they knew what was going to spring out of the swirling vortex overhead.
Countless eyes trained on the vortex spinning ominously in mid-air. Next, a quadrupedal, exoskeletal being of almost ten meters in length peeked its three-headed torso out of the vortex before crawling out and clinging to it like an insect hanging upside down from a ceiling, the many ommatidia of itspound eyes reflecting the entirendscape of the Lost City below.
More buzzing filled the air and another insectoid monster came crawling out. Then a third, a fourth, and so on In mere minutes, the entire sky was a massing swathe of insectoids threatening to overrun the city.
One could almost wonder if a hand had unlocked a hatch that led to an insectoid nest, for all of a sudden, a massive deluge of more insectoidseach of varying shapes and sizesrained down from the vortex.
In just ten seconds, the defenders visions all filled with the same jet-ck vista of impending death and destruction, and more were still crawling out of the vortex.
KILL THEM ALL! A voice bellowed like a war horn. Rays of light of myriad colors screamed into the air, smashing through the ranks of insectoids. Scores of insectoidsboth weak and powerfulfell as soon as the columns of colorful lights hammered through the insectoid horde and reduced them to sickening pulps of hemolymph and bug viscera. Nevertheless, the first volley daunted the insectoid advance not one bit. Fueled by a mindless impetus maintaining their charge, the insectoids surged forth like an incessant tide; a flood of ck that the apparitions defenses could barely staunch. One would fall and ten would rise up to take its ce, ripping and tearing in their rage-like frenzy to destroy. One after another, the apparitions felltheir spectral forms turning pale with every hit and damage they sustained until they ultimately vanished in a puff.
In barely an hour, the first line of defense crashed.
The next defense line would fall an hourter, followed by the third and fourth after that. Apparitions perished in the hundreds or even thousands.
Deep inside the Lord Governors courtplex, more apparitions emerged from the fog. The imprints of the souls they left in the Pool of Divine Purification allowed them to resurrect their spectral forms to rejoin the fight. Every ghost that stepped out of the fog hurried forward to bolster the ranks of the crumbling frontlines in their desperate attempt to resist the insectoid horde without so much as a beat of hesitation.
They might not die just yet, but that did not mean that they did not know the feeling of being dead. Whenever an apparition suffered a blow strong enough to kill it, they truly felt what it was like to have their bodies destroyed.
The stress of dying so many timespounded their suffering and anguish, chipping away at what remained of their sanity.
In just hours since the war resumed, more than half of the Lost City was lost to the insectoids merciless invasion, even though the apparitions were finally showing signs of being able to hold back the insectoid onught.
The apparition army stopped the insectoids from advancing from one half of the city to the other.
This current stalematealthough far from an ideal situationwould have not been possible without the tireless and ardent defense of the apparitions and the Pool of Divine Purification.
Without the magical power of the pool to revive the apparitions, the Lost City would have long been an insectoid-infested but otherwise barren and deste wastnd. The magical power of the Pool of Divine Purification was exactly the very beating heart the apparition defense hinged on.
Such was the oath that every single resident of the Lost City of Xianyuanfrom the Lord Governor of the city and down to the mostmon lowbornmade, to use their city as a base to mount the defenses and the Pool as the very quintessential crux to help the defenders circumvent death and achieve power strong and potent enough for them to keep the insectoids at bay.
One must notmit the error of mistaking this as something to be celebrated. For the apparitions of the Lost City to be revived again and again just so that they could rejoin this savage and perpetual war with no end in sight, only to experience once more the torment and pain of being destroyed and killed, there was no glory or triumph, only suffering.
Back when the Lost City of Xianyuan was not yet mysteriously lost, it wielded prestige, power, and influence that even the Tier-One sects and orders of today would salivate with envy.
It was for the sake of the entire world of Jiu Zhou that the whole city had to make such a terrible choice and forfeit their own lives.
Someone needed to step forward to preserve humanity back when the threat was evident and the Lost City of Xianyuan was not the only one; a total of seventeen other ns, sects, and orders had also made this terrible choice.
All eighteen powers and the pocket dimensions they were now confined to made up the cluster of interconnected dimensions now known as the Rift of Fortunes.
Meanwhile, the Lord Governor of the Lost City peered at the vortex in the sky. He could sense a foreboding presence leaking out of the spiraling portal in mid-air. A pinprick-like tingling of dread that was only more distinct than thest time he had this feeling.
[Time really is running short], mused the Lord Governor. [This city mightst this time. We might still seed next time, or perhaps even the time after But the day when we fail wille. It will surelye If everything is still not resolved until then The destruction of Jiu Zhou will only be a matter of time]
[Lets hope that it will not be toote] The Lord Governor suddenly thought of the youngd who had managed to surprise him. [Him He could be the one]
A flying vessel resembling a ship gradually approached. It was the Lofty Plume Court contingent.
The four nearest outposts had dispatched contingents of Cultivators toe here when news of the Rift of Fortunes reopening got out, but somehow, the Loft Plume Court contingent got dyed. That was why only three gained entry into the Rift and why the Hidden Light Sanctuary was at a disadvantage right from the start.
But the Lofty Plume Court Cultivators did not leave; they stayed around, waiting to receive their allies in the event of their return.
The leader of the one-hundred-man-strong contingent was the prolegate of their outpost here, Zhou Pei, and a long-time friend of Gu Canyang.
Being near each other had made both the Lofty Plume Court and the Hidden Light Sanctuary develop close ties to each other.
Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei exchanged a few words as soon as they met.
Withmunications all cut off between the Lost City of Xianyuan and the world outside, those outside did not know what was going on inside at all.
Zhou Pei could barely hide his astonishment the moment he heard that it was the Lost City of Xianyuan that had opened itself this time. He knew how perilous it was being there and despite the odds of being outnumbered two to one, most of the Hidden Light Sanctuary Cultivators still lived to walk out alive, prompting Zhou Pei to express his marvel and praise for Gu Canyangs leadership.
The legate of the Hidden Light Sanctuary blushed.
Never had he been in such an embarrassing situation before. As soon as he stepped foot into the Lost City, he was captured by a bunch of spectral guards and locked behind bars in the dungeons beneath the city. He would have been dead already if it wasnt for Lu Yes timely rescue. He quickly stopped Zhou Pei before thetter could sing any more praises and whispered the truth to Zhou Pei.
Thetters face lit up with excitement.
The name of Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was also, for a time, the talk of all Cultivators in these parts and so he was familiar with the story of the Battle of Goldentip. But Lu Ye was only just a Fifth-Order back then, and therefore, Cultivators of greater ranks did not pay much attention to the news.
However, in just such a short span of time, the central figure of the Battle of Goldentip had added more entries to his long list of feats by making it into the inner ring regions of the Battlefield and bing the hero of this episode as well.
If anything, his single-handed annihtion of the House of Wintry Blossoms contingent would henceforth be another legendary tale in these parts. It was this aplishment of his that had helped the Hidden Light Sanctuary turn the tables against the Thousand Demon Ridge side and survive this times Rift of Fortunes appearance.
Naturally, Zhou Pei would love to make his acquaintance and be friends with him.
The flying vessel rose up into the air. The Loft Plume Court acolyte at the wheel steered the flying ship in the direction of the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost.
At the same time, the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain both received word about the Rift of Fortunes closing. Next, they were informed about how none of their people had got out. They could not believe it. So many of their acolytes had gone inside and barely anyone from the Thousand Demon Ridge side got out. Those who did were friendly independents.
It was they who provided an inkling of intelligence as to what happened inside the Lost City of Xianyuan, although few couldprehend the staggering losses.
More than six hundred Cultivators had entered the Rift with the Thousand Demon Ridge side at more than six-tenths of the whole number; they had the advantage on their side.
But none of their own acolytes survived while the Grand Sky Coalition side traipsed out of the Rift with more than one hundred Cultivators living to tell the tale.
None of the Thousand Demon Ridge independents had anything resembling a coherent ount of the events within. By the time the Thousand Demon Ridge side realized that the tables had all been overturned, it was already toote to salvage the situation and the independents immediately went into hiding. They waited in silence until the Rift closed.
But they did hear that someone from the Grand Sky Coalition side had found ways to manipte the apparitions of the Lost City, which would be the best exnation for the Thousand Demon Ridge defeat this time.
The Divine Trade Association too was vigorous in its attempts to ascertain this rumor. Despite its neutral stance, this was one news that could well fetch a very good profit, hence the Association was very interested to know what methods were used in the maniption of the apparitions. The implications could be huge especially since no one had ever been able to aplish anything like this before.
News of what really happened in the Lost City would undoubtedly reach the ears of every other Cultivator in the Battlefield. The Hidden Light Sanctuary acolytes might honor their word to remain tight-lipped, but the independents friendly to the Grand Sky Coalition side might not. Perpetually beleaguered by poverty, if enough Spirit Stones and Pills were dangled right before their eyes, they would sing any secrets with the crity and vivaciousness of a canary to the Divine Trade Association with hardly any scruples.
But Lu Ye wasnt too bothered about this. It was Amber and not him who could manipte the apparitions, so he doubted that anyone could so easily replicate the method.
The flying ship arrived at the Hidden Light Sanctuary two hourster. The defensive ward was halted temporarily to allow the ship tond.
Zhou Pei and his men did not stay long. They had been out in the wilderness for almost a month just so that they could ensure the safety of their allies when they returned and now that their job was done, it was time for them to head home.
But Zhou Pei spared no hesitation in offering Lu Ye an invitation.
That night, Gu Canyang arranged for a feast to thank Lu Ye for his helpboth in saving his life and defeating their enemies. The feast ended with merriment and joy.
The next day, Lu Ye roused up a sleeping Ju Jia and led him to the outposts Sanctum of Providence.
With his Ninth-Order well within sight, it was time Lu Ye found himself a suitable Heaven-grade cultivation discipline or he would have to risk wasting valuable time when he could not progress any further, and early preparation never hurt.
He had enough Contribution Points to get himself one, so all he needed was time to find the right one.
As for Ju Jia who had spent Heaven-knows-how-long in the Ninth-Order, he had not the slightest idea what to do.
With Sima Yang now no more and with his loyalty now towards Lu Ye, thetter felt that it was his responsibility to take care of Ju Jia.
Ju Jia did not have enough Contribution Points, but killing enemies was not the only viable method of earning Contribution Points. Ju Jia could also sell items back to the Vault of Providence in exchange for Points.
With an abundance of Spirit Artifacts, including flying conveyances, Lu Ye could give them all to Ju Jia, so that he could gather the Points he needed.
Prices that the Vault of Providence offered in exchange for goods were oftentimes obscenely low ifpared to its selling price, but this was the only way Lu Ye coulde up with on short notice.
Ju Jia needed a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline, and he needed one on the double.
Even the seniors of the other sects and orders did this when they wanted their younger acolytes to have proper weapons and tools.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia stepped into the Sanctum of Providence. This was Ju Jias first foray into the Vault of Providence. Yet, despite his nk and simple appearance, Ju Jia was no fool. He immediately understood the ways of searching for what he needed in the Vault after just one round of exnation.
He activated his Battlefield Imprint and began going through the contents of the Vault while Lu Ye began his own search.
Chapter 290: Heaven-grade Cultivation Discipline
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 290: Heaven-grade Cultivation Discipline
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Heaven-grade cultivation disciplines were numerous, but the only way for a Cultivator to have ess to that many cultivation disciplines of such excellence would be through the Vault of Providence. For this reason, Contribution Points have always been the single-most importantmodity for any Cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Cultivation disciplines each had different directions and with a total of three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points, Cultivators had an infinite selection of paths to choose from, just so long as the cultivation discipline was suitable. Pick a good and proper one and the Cultivator could be faster and stronger in battle; pick the wrong one and the results could backfire badly.
The link between Spiritual Points in cultivation disciplines was never coincidental or arbitrary; Spiritual Points could be next to each other, but they might not be linked. Bonds flippantly established could incur disastrous results.
The many cultivation disciplines that could be found all around Jiu Zhou were disciplines tried and tested through the generations. For all their strengths and weaknesses, they were all cultivation disciplines that alltter-day Cultivators could rely upon at least to not fail.
Cultivators could disregard the instructions in the cultivation discipline they selected and link Spiritual Points however they wanted to, but they would be lucky to find no permanent damage to their bodies and health. The rest might find themselves permanently impaired with Spiritual Points getting damaged or the flow of their Spiritual Power inplete disarray. No Cultivator would ever wish for this to happen.
That said, in spite of the importance of cultivation disciplines, they were not the biggest factor behind a Cultivators true strength and power. A gifted Cultivator could adopt a lesser cultivation discipline and he or she would still be able to be dangerous and deadly.
Lu Ye found almost a hundred different sorts of cultivation disciplines suitable for him inside the Vault of Providence, but the difference in price between the disciplines was absurd.
The most ordinary one could cost a thousand and three hundred Contribution Points while the best one was priced at a mind-boggling five thousand plus Contribution Pointsa stupefying four-time difference.
But by Lu Yes own reckoning, the difference in training efficiency between both disciplines would only be one- or two-tenths at most. The same could be said for the difference in yield output.
An additional one- to two-tenths of increase in power might be what many Cultivators were willing to pay for, but the five-thousand-Contribution Point price tag was what made it somewhat unrealistic.
A Cultivator who picked the most expensive cultivation discipline would progress faster and be stronger than most, but how long would it take for him to hoard enough Contribution Points before he finally had enough to purchase the cultivation discipline and begin his training? Even acolytes of the strongest and richest sects and orders barelye close to that amounte the day they reached the Ninth-Order.
Thete Sima Yang, for instance, was only aiming to gather one thousand five hundred Contribution Points, although it was a pity that he did not live long enough to see the day he achieved his purpose or he would have already been using a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline.
Feng Yue, too, in her capacity as legate of the n Feng outpost, had been skimming Contribution Points, although all she had managed to collect was four thousand plus Contribution Points and all of them had been surrendered to the Crimson Blood Sect.
Lu Ye examined his Battlefield Imprint.
Identity: Acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect
Spiritual Points: one hundred and fifty-five unlocked
Position: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: five thousand one hundred and thirty-two
Lu Ye needed an additional two hundred Contribution Points if he wanted to purchase the most expensive cultivation discipline.
The sessful invasions of both the n Feng and the Redoubt of Wrath outposts had raked in such huge rewards for the Crimson Blood Sect that after Hua Ci had purchased all the different levels of Blessings she could for their outposts Divine Opportunity Column, she had still been able to give Lu Ye a stipend that brought his total tally up to five thousand.
Lu Ye had spent two thousand on ten me of Earthen Spirits, where he gained the new Glyphs, Burster, Conceal Spirit, and Insight, among others.
That made his Contribution Points total no more than three thousand when he set off from the Crimson Blood Sect outpost.
Part of the amount that had brought his total up to five thousand came from the sale of the spoils he got from Silverlight Ind. The Storage Bags he looted from the Sky Pir Sect acolytes contained a huge abundance of Spirit Artifacts. All that, plus Storage Bags that were empty, were all sold to the Vault of Providence. Aside from the usual toll for entries into the Rifts of Illusions, Lu Ye specifically refrained from using his Contribution Points.
Nevertheless, he understood full well the importance of having a good Heaven-grade cultivation discipline, which would dictate his future progress when he ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye extracted more Spirit Artifacts from inside his Storage Bags and sold them to the Vault of Providence. With the prerequisite amount of Contribution Points needed, he purchased the cultivation discipline he needed.
Unlike his purchase of Invible, nothing appeared. At least nothing corporeal. A tiny glowing spark appeared and flew into his forehead where it vanished.
A warm sensation swept all over him from head to toe, followed swiftly by a torrent of information flowing into his mind, allowing Lu Ye to learn everything he needed to know about this cultivation discipline.
The Great Sun Veluriyam Techniquethat was the name of this cultivation discipline; one that, unlike the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic, did not carry any affixed spells or techniques of its own. But that did not make the Great Sun Veluriyam any lessplex. Nevertheless, its quaint and bizarre nature was what Lu Ye wanted.
From the Golden Liberation Technique he retrieved from Manager Yang to the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic he traded from the Mystic Sect and finally the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique he obtained today, each and every step had been an immersive learning experience for Lu Ye.
It might still be some time before the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique meant anything to him, but that woulde in due time.
Lu Ye checked his Contribution Points tally. Barely thirty-plus Points. There was not even enough for a round inside the Rift of Illusions.
Lu Ye peered at Ju Jia. The hulking giant of a man was evidently still in a deep dive down the countless illusory aisles of the Vault of Providence. Was he lost somewhere inside, Lu Ye wondered.
He gave Ju Jia a gentle shove and the lumbering big man awoke from his tour.
Lu Ye handed him a Storage Bag filled with goodies he specially prepared beforehand, saying, Keep what you want and sell the rest.
Ju Jia took the Storage Bag and went back inside the Vault of Providence again.
Lu Ye did not know exactly how many Contributions Points the contents of the Storage Bag would fetch, but he was certain that it could rake in at least two thousand Points. The loot from most of the enemies that Ju Jia and he had killed as a duo were all with Lu Ye. Almost every single one of the enemies were Seventh-Order armed with Spirit Artifacts of their own, hence one could safely guess that the gear that they used would most definitely be of quality.
Each of the Spirit Artifactsevery one of the dozens or hundreds of themwas worth at least twenty to thirty Contribution points, so Ju Jia would have quite a substantial amount if he sold them all.
More so, since there were also flying conveyance-type Spirit Artifacts included inside the Storage Bags, which were more valuable than the rest.
A quarter of an hour passed before Ju Jia finally woke up from his trance-like state and bobbed his head to Lu Ye, indicating that he was done.
Lu Ye led him out of the Sanctum of Providence. They were just outside when a popping sound made them stop.
Lu Ye could hardly resist the curiosity and amusement to swivel his head back to look at his burlypanion, who returned a nk look.
They resumed walking and another pop came. Lu Ye looked left and right; there was no one else.
They quickened their pace and with every step, more popping noises came.
To the uninitiated and the uninformed, it might seem like Ju Jia was expelling tulence.
But Lu Ye knew better; he understood exactly what those noises were: the sound of the membranes of the Spiritual Points bursting open.
Lu Yes memories harkened back to the mysterious item reminiscent of a Mutant Core that Ju Jia showed him. His cultivation rank might have been stuck in the Ninth-Order for quite some time, but that did not mean that he had been idle at all. He had been amassing all the Spiritual Qi he umted in the tiny item. All he needed was a suitable cultivation discipline and he would be able to unlock more Spiritual Points in one go.
But Lu Ye was rather surprised to find Ju Jias Spiritual Points unlocking in such quick session.
Most other Cultivators needed time for the progression to be gradual, including Lu Ye himself, who needed to channel his own Spiritual Power to force open the membranes to unlock new Spiritual Points.
This was difficult and time-consuming enough, especially for low-tier Cultivators. But as he rose up the ranks of cultivation, unlocking Spiritual Points had be markedly easier, although not yet like Ju Jia, who made unlocking Spiritual Points as easy as a walk in the park.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye knew part of the reason was because of how much Spiritual Power Ju Jia had been saving up. The membranes might have not been able to withstand the sheer pressure of Spiritual Power surging with the force of a breaking dam.
All the way from the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye counted at least fifty-nine pops.
That would mean that Ju Jia had unlocked a total of fifty-nine Spiritual Points in quick session.
With one hundred and eighty Spiritual Points at the start, Ju Jia had increased the full total to two hundred and thirty-nine. Just one more Spiritual Point and he would be able to reach the next Order in his cultivation.
Clearly, this was intentional on Ju Jias part.
As soon as they got back to their lodging, Ju Jia immediately began to meditate. Lu Ye could only surmise that he wanted to replenish the exhaustion of Spiritual Power from his Mutant Core.
Since their time together in the Lost City of Xianyuan, Lu Ye had observed Ju Jia to be a diligent and extremely gifted person who never wasted a moment meditating to save up as much Spiritual Power as possible.
With Ju Jias studious vigor rubbing off on him, Lu Ye extracted a book and began reading.
The enclosure of their lodgingsamodations the Hidden Light Sanctuary maintained specifically for guestswas tranquil and peaceful enough.
While they recuperated from their adventures in the Lost City, the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain never stopped their tireless pursuit of information as to the fate of their acolytes. By the time they discovered the truth that the deaths of their exploration contingents were orchestrated by none other than the notorious Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, many within the two Thousand Demon Ridge orders swore vengeance.
Out of the two, the House of Wintry Blossoms reserved the greatest loathing and contempt for Lu Ye. The Battle of Goldentip saw the House lose just one member, yet now the hatred had intensified a hundred times.
But with no other way to exact their revenge, the House of Wintry Blossoms joined up with Sunlit Mountain in venting their anger on acolytes of the Hidden Light Sanctuary, and the hostilities had ramped up in recent days to include acolytes of Lofty Plume Court as well. The whole area turned into a massive and chaotic battleground for a two-way skirmish and casualties were piling.
Gu Canyang was listening to a report by Ji Yan a few dayster about another encounter between their acolytes and some assants from the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain. At length, he nodded and said, Have everyone maintain constant vignce and be wary of any ambushes or traps.
Yes, sir, answered Ji Yan.
Another youthful-looking man beside him in robes of white broke his silence, What of Ju Jia, brother? Do we really have no other way at all?
The man in white was the prolegate of the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost. As Gu Canyang was ustomed to leading sorties himself, it was usually his duty to keep the outpost safe.
A formidable Body-tempering Cultivator like Ju Jia had always been a much-coveted addition to any sect and order. It was only his attachment to Sima Yang that had prevented anyone from trying to recruit him. But now that Sima Yang was no more and his future was still uncertain, the prolegate clearly believed that having Ju Jia would be a tremendous boon to the Hidden Light Sanctuary. At the very least, his presence on the battlefield would help to greatly reduce casualties.
Gu Canyang shook his head and said firmly, No. We forget about Ju Jia. Brother Yi Ye has not only saved me, but he has saved us all. If Ju Jia wishes to stick with him, then hes one of the Crimson Blood Sect. To try to recruit him now would not only risk angering Brother Yi Ye; its dishonorable.
But I heard that Ju Jia is not yet an actual member of
Gu Canyang shot his deputy a scathing look to cut him off. The prolegate swallowed hard and responded, I understand, Brother Canyang. I shall perish all thoughts of recruiting Ju Jia.
Good.
Chapter 291: Ward-Breaking
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 291: Ward-Breaking
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The debate was still ongoing when the man in white lowered his gaze to examine his Battlefield Imprint. He had received a message. He checked the new transmission before he looked up again. With an odd look at Gu Canyang, he said, Brother Gu, is our guest a student in the crafts of ward-casting?
Gu Canyang paused to think. I heard that he is being trained as a Glyphweaver. He could cast and use Glyphs, and we know that Glyphs and wards are closely interrted branches of magic. Why? What is going on?
It appears that Brother Lu is near the peripherals of our outposts defensive ward. He seems to be studying how to undo its magic.
Undo its magic? Both Ji Yan and Gu Canyang yelped in unison, their faces replete with shock.
If wards could be cast it was only natural to expect that they could also be broken. Even so, defeating the magic of a defensive ward had, under most circumstances, been highly improbable for Cultivators of the Spirit Creek Realm. Those who were exceptions could only break simpler and elementary ones. Wards asplex and sturdy as defensive wards of outposts and strongholds often were impossible for them to defeat.
Such was the prime reason that the invasion and sessful capturing of an enemy outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had always been a rare urrence. More so, since virtually every outpost in the Battlefield had a defensive ward potent enough to keep it practically impregnable.
Perhaps he is learning ward-casting as well. Send word to everyone else: no one is to disturb Brother Lu Yi Ye. Just leave him be, ordered Gu Canyang, who was not at all bothered by the report.
In the meantime, at the edges of the Hidden Light Sanctuary defensive ward, Lu Ye really was studying the subsistent operation of the defensive ward in its dormant state.
He needed to find the weakness in the defensive ward if he wished to break it, and to do that he would need to employ a methodology that would force said weakness to reveal itself. Every defensive ward had its own weaknessCno ward was perfectly undefeatable.
But the moreplex a ward was, the fewer weaknesses it would have. Most of the defensive wards that outposts in the Battlefield utilized ward keystones that could be bought from the Vault of Providence, but those who maintained and operated it understood almost nothing about how the defensive wards worked.
The defensive ward of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, for instance, was controlled by Hua Ci using the jade tablet that corresponded to the ward. Despite her apparentck of understanding of the sophisticated intricacies of a defensive ward, she had had no problems in handling the defensive ward at all.
The same could be said for Hidden Light Sanctuary.
The ones in charge of the defensive ward knew little about ward casting, making it difficult, if not impractical, to expect them to know how to strengthen their defensive ward. But most would just deem such notions as superfluous since defensive wards in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were only expected to hold up against invasions conducted by Cultivators of the Spirit Creek Realm.
Lady Yuns training of Lu Ye whenever he went back to the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold often began first with the dismantling of Glyphs. She would construct various kinds of Glyphs for Lu Ye to practice breaking them apart. Simrly, if defensive wards were like Glyphs, then defeating a defensive ward would be akin to dismantling Glyphs.
Then again, Lu Ye was no fool. He knew that the construction of defensive wards involved more advanced Glyph construction, especially those that epassed the length and breadth of an outpost; an outposts defensive ward, for one, could easily carry more than ten separate Glyphs.
Lu Ye did not understand enough about ward-casting before he set off on this trip, hence he had not had the chance to properly examine the Crimson Blood Sect outpost defensive ward.
But he had been reading a lot about the subject since he began his journey. As his knowledge about magical wards grew, he could already cast small and simple wards of his own, like the ones he attempted back when he was still in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
But Lu Ye could read every book about ward-casting in Jiu Zhou and he would still not improve much if he did not have a chance for a practical way to test what he had learned.
Examining the Hidden Light Sanctuary ward, Lu Ye realized that the magic was way moreplex than he expected. The defensive ward appeared so immacte that he could not find any weaknesses at all!
And with no weakness, there was no way to know how the ward should be defeated.
Lu Ye closed his eyes and concentrated his Spiritual Power on his eyes. The detailed runic shape of a Glyph came into view.
Glyph: Insight!
The eleventh Glyph from the Tree of Glyphs had been especially instrumental in his defeat of a Ghost Cultivator during his attack on the Thousand Demon Ridge mines not long ago.
Lu Ye reopened his eyes. The world around him lookedpletely differentmyriads of colorful hues surged into his line of sightmaking the world around him strange and surrealistic. He could see Iights twisting and dancing around him,? shimmering and gyrating uncontrobly. He knew what they wereambient Spiritual Qi flowing in the atmosphere around him.
The ability to see the flow of Spiritual Qi and Energy. That was the function of Glyph: Insight.
Quite some time ago, Lu Ye discovered that the use of Insight was not restricted to finding invisible enemies; he had realized back then that this Glyph could be especially useful with ward-breaking.
With his Insight-enhanced sight, Lu Ye studied the workings of the Hidden Light Sanctuary defensive ward once more. It was different now. He could see the flow of Spiritual Energies in the phosphorescent magical ward like the swirl of water on akes surface. Only, the flow of the Spiritual Energies came from one direction and that was because magical wards were actually not in a semi-sphere, but, in fact, a full sphere. With one-half above the ground in full view, especially when the magical ward was fully activated. Stronghold and outpost defensive wards had another half of the shield underground. Hence the flow of Spiritual Energies in one direction would ensure the continued and perpetual operation of the magical ward so long as enough sustenance was supplied.
But with the rich ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere and the different levels of Blessing orded to every outposts Divine Opportunity Column, defensive wards had more than enough Spiritual energy to use and to hold up in reserve. This would allow wards to be strengthened during the asion of an invasion.
On most days the defensive wards would be kept dormant with a minimal amount of activity so that they could be activated at a moments notice.
To most people, an activated defensive ward resembled a transparent semi-sphere of water. But to Lu Ye through his Insight-enhanced sight, the shimmering shield of the defensive ward was a huge domeposed of thousands of tiny Yin and Yang element pieces, plus Glyphs glowing like stars twinkling back at him here and there. It would not take a genius to guess that these Glyphs must be there to amplify the defensive capabilities of the magical ward, augmenting its strength and increasing the efficiency of the Spiritual Energy to all quarters of the shield, among others
The whole magical ward was like one big enchantment made up of a tightly-knitted amalgamation of Glyphs!
But unlike enchantments cast upon Spirit Artifacts, this would be one that would onlye into shape and operation if and when Spiritual Energy was channeled through it.
That would exin what Lady Yun had told him before about how ward-casting was actually just a branch of Glyph-weaving.
Lu Ye studied the link of the Glyphs, finding patterns that were familiar to him.
That was because the Glyphs he had been using were not the only things his Tree of Glyphs had. There was also a plethora of techniques to bind Glyphs together. Unlike ordinary Glyphs, they were useless if used individually.
But they were essential knowledge for anyone wanting to learn the applications of being able to bind Glyphs together.
Lu Ye went on with his observation. Still, the Hidden Light Sanctuary defensive ward yielded no discernible weakness that he could exploit. He paused for several seconds, then he decided to step nearer for a closer look. As he examined the phosphorescent ward, he slowly paced around.
After almost a quarter of an hour of strolling, he finally halted and stared intently at a certain part of the ward.
Unlike every other part of the ward that he had observed, there was something different about this particr spot. If the parts that he had seen before were perfectly wless, then here he could find traces where the bindings were visible.
These traces were the weaknesses that he had been searching forthe points where the ward was exposed.
By his reckoning, Lu Ye knew that he must be somewhere in the middle of two of the wards keystones.
The defensive ward of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost consisted of sixteen ward keystones. Although the distances between the keystones were enough for them to function and activate a viable defensive shield, the spot where the parts of the shield met would be weaker than the rest of the shields other sections.
If one were to liken the wards shield to a jigsaw puzzle, then the Crimson Blood Sects defensive ward would have sixteen different parts in its shield when the ward was activated. Even if the bindings between each part looked well done, the spots where the different parts met would forever remain the weakest links in the entire shield.
Most people wouldnt have realized this and Lu Ye would have missed this too if he did not have his Insight-enhanced vision.
Lu Ye exhaled with relief. His intuition was right! With the help of Glyph: Insight, he had found a way to detect weaknesses in a magical ward.
Lu Ye drew Invible out of its sheath with deliberate slowness, all the while keeping his gaze transfixed upon the exposed binding. He channeled Spiritual Energy into his trusty weapon. Invible responded with a gleaming shimmer running down the length of its de. With dual Sharp Edges activated, Lu Ye put his entire weight behind his weapon and drove Invible forward.
The sabers tip hit right where the exposed binding was and Invible gave off a violent shudder and a hum, radiating a pulsing shock wave of Spiritual energy. The defensive ward gave an involuntary shudder and its otherwise calm surface twisted like a rumpled fabric.
Lu Ye withdrew his saber. But he wasnt stopping just yet. He pummeled the same spot again and again, the weapon in his hand now a blur of countless afterimages stacked upon each other as he pounded the exposed binding with dogged ferocity.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The signs of distortion on the shields surface began to deepen and stretch further.
Themotion sent the entire outpost into a panic. Every Hidden Light Sanctuary acolyte raced around to find out what was going on. Cries of Attack! Were under attack! could even be heard reverberating down the hallways and corridors.
No one knew where the attack wasing from, but there was no mistaking the signs. The shield was distorting and that could only mean that the shield was under attack.
Gu Canyang, his white-robed deputy, and Ji Yan were alerted at once. The white-d prolegate of the outpost immediately extracted his jade tablet to activate the shield and increased its strength to the fullest.
The entire outpost went intoplete disarray until word finally came that it was their guest Lu Yi Ye who was behind the ruckus. It was he who had been attacking the defensive ward; there was no attack at all.
The corners of Gu Canyangs eyes were still throbbing as he listened to the reports by one of the acolytes. You mean he caused all that alone?
Yes, sir. I saw it myself. He was using his weapon to attack the defensive wards shield, said the acolyte who had not been far when he saw what Lu Ye did. He had witnessed everything. He too was caught between bewilderment and shock for he had never seen anyone who was able to cause such a disturbance to the wards shield before.
If Lu Yi Ye, now just an Eighth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm, already possessed real strength and power to threaten the integrity of a defensive ward, then maybe he could even break it down with just one single stroke if he became a Ninth-Order trained in a Heaven-grade cultivation technique!
Lets have a look! beckoned Gu Canyang who had clearly arrived at the same conclusion. With his prolegate and Ji Yan, plus a mob of male acolytes in tow, he hurried to Lu Ye was.
They arrived to find Lu Ye sitting on the ground, recuperating.
Lu Ye had stopped when he sensed that the defensive ward was being strengthened. At that moment, he learned that his actions must have unsettled the entire outpost.
But what he did not expect was that themotion was big enough to have rattled the whole outpost.
Brother Yi? Ye, were you attacking the magical ward just now? asked Gu Canyang.
I had an idea, thats why I wanted to test it.
And were these attempts fruitful? Gu Canyang cocked an eyebrow quizzically.
Im afraid it only opened doors to more questions. Sorry, everyone, for the rm.
No problem! Gu Canyang waved a hand at Lu Ye. Whatever it is you wish, feel free to just put your ideas to the test. The Hidden Light Sanctuary is at your service!
This was more than just wanting to repay Lu Ye for his assistance during the exploration of the Last City. If Lu Ye could really defeat a defensive ward by himself, the implications could be groundbreaking!
Invasion of enemy outposts was often seen as one of the most rewarding endeavors to undertake, but few ever attempted it due to the presence of defensive wards.
Chapter 292: Penetration
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 292: Pration
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If Lu Ye were to seed in discovering the methods of ward-breaking, then woe be to every Thousand Demon Ridge sect and order that cross his path. With Hidden Light Sanctuary being the first to attempt such an invasion with Lu Yethe first where invaders would not have the shields of the defensive wards to contend with the rewards and loot would surely be handsome indeed!
Gu Canyang was so excited that he was willing to bear the risk of having his defensive ward damaged. To put it in another way, one could argue that the legate of Hidden Light Sanctuary was really hoping for it to happen!
Naturally, Lu Ye caught on to Gu Canyangs gist.
Thank you so much for amodating my request, Brother Gu.
Gu Canyang broke into a burst of merryughter, This is the least of what I can do, my friend.
If I may, who is the one handling the operation of the defensive ward here, asked Lu Ye.
Gu Canyang motioned to the white-d acolyte beside him, This is Wei Li. Hes the one in charge of the control of the defensive ward.
Wei Li stepped forward, greeting Lu Ye as he asked, How can I help you, Brother Lu?
Please, Im the one doing the begging here, said Lu Ye, I just want to request that you lower the strength of the ward back to its earlier state. When the ward was activated to its fullest, Lu Ye stopped striking at the exposed weakness because he knew that to continue would only be fruitless.
If he wanted to study ways to defeat a defensive ward, then the best way would be to start with baby steps. That meant that he should start by determining the methodology with the lowest difficulty before moving upward.
Wei Li immediately produced the jade tablet in his possession. The humming din of the defensive ward operating at full st gradually ebbed.
Gu Canyang and everyone else exchanged a few more words with Lu Ye before they took their leave and left him be.
The study of ward-breaking was an undertaking that demanded both time and patience. Knowing that, the acolytes of the Hidden Light Sanctuary decided to not dawdle around. But they left the ce with full knowledge that the outposts defensive ward would be suffering a lot of abuse in the days toe.
But Gu Can yang was not worried at all. In fact, he turned out to be anticipatory of Lu Yes sess. Extremely supportive, he even instructed his deputy Wei Li to provide whatever assistance Lu Ye might need.
When themotion had finally settled down and everyone was gone, Lu Ye reactivated Glyph: Insight. He returned his gaze to the exposed bindings of the defensive wards shield.
What he was doing before the interruption had allowed him to understand that brute strength was not what he could rely on to defeat a magical wardregardless of whether its bindings were exposed or not.
It might work, but only if the enemy outpost did not immediately increase the shields strength to its fullest. Which was more than likely to be impossible; anyone would have quickly done just that at the onset of an invasion, like Wei Li had done earlier.
Hence, Lu Ye knew that he needed more than just brute strength. He needed to depend on his knowledge of Glyphs.
Lu Ye observed the flow of Spiritual Energy coursing through the many Yin and Yang elements linked together as he racked his brain for ideas. He lifted a hand and ced it on the phosphorescent surface of the shield. He channeled his power and the spot where his hand glowed with pieces of Yin and Yang elements forming and linking together, spreading across an area of more than ten meters wide.
Lu Ye was unable to do anything like prior to his exploration of the Lost City of Xianyuan. Even with his skills as a talented Glyphweaver whose control of Spiritual Power already outstripped many of his peers, he could still not quite aplish something like this.? He could not construct such a wide radius of Yin Yang elements back then.
But the enrichment of his spirit in the pad of Divine Purification had greatly improved his control of Spiritual Power. That had helped him to surpass his former limits.
Ward-breaking could be described as being akin to unlocking the magical seals cast on Storage Bags in some ways since wards were a form of magical seal albeit bigger.
But ward-breaking wasparably more difficult. Magical seals on Storage Bags could easily be unlocked given time. All one had to do was to construct Glyph elements that could counter those of the magical seal and the magic would be defeated.
But the trick would not work against magical wards since they usually operated perpetually and defeating this brand of magic demanded speed and efficiency.
Assuming the defensive ward in question was not in manual control. Magical wards operated by manual control changed and shifted indefinitely and any opportunities to defeat it could show in the first second only to vanish in the next.
Hence, to defeat a magical ward, Lu Ye would first need to find and determine the weakness in any exposed bindings that he could find. Next, he would need to quickly construct the corresponding elements that would counteract against the ones in the bindings to nullify them.
That would undo a portion of the wards light shield, making a hole for entry through the defense.
The first part of the task was easy enough with Glyph: Insight; it was the second part that posed the biggest challenge.
Lu Ye took a break before he attempted a second try.
The whole attempt was not at all easyeven with his incredible control of Spiritual Power. The Yin and Yang elements that he needed to construct in a matter of seconds numbered up to the thousands.
There was no room for error. One mistake and he would have to start all over again.
Acolytes of the Hidden Light Sanctuary from that day forthwith could see a lone figure sitting all by himself beside the shield of the outposts defensive ward, plus the asional hums and tremors from the ward.
The acolytes at first would still fidget and flinch at the disturbances, but as days passed and the number of the incidents gradually grew, most, if not all eventually became ustomed.
Prolegate of the outpost Wei Li would receive sporadic messages from Lu Ye with requests for adjustments to the shields setup.
With the unconditional support and cooperation from the Hidden Light Sanctuary people, Lu Ye made steady progress in his study. Countless times he was battered by failures. but he did not let them keep him down; he just kepting back for more with new ideas and adjustments gleaned from his mistakes.
The manuscripts and books Lady Yun lent him yed a huge part; many a great difficult conundrum he had solved with the help of these invaluable materials.
A month swiftly flitted by like an arrow.
Gu Canyang and Wei Li found themselves back at the same spot they were standing just a month agothe spot where the exposed binding in the defensive wards shield was found. Only this time, they were standing within the ward while Lu Ye was standing outside. They were peering at each other with the glowing shield of light between them.
Lets do this, Wei Li called in a low voice. He took out the jade tablet used to control the magical ward and configured the wards strength to the maximum. The radiance of the shiny shield of light intensified like a solid wall pulsing with rippling hues.
On the other side of the shield, Lu Ye called upon Glyph: Insight. He studied the exposed binding at the joint where two parts of the shield met, following its constant shift in itsposition of Yin-Yang elements for minutes before he approached the shield.
His legs shed with a fleeting swarth of brightness; Lu Ye had cast Glyph: Windwalk. His walk turned into a sprint and the enhancement of Windwalk brought his speed to a zenith. At the same time, Lu Ye channeled his power. Hundreds of Yin-Yang elements formed and linked with each other, spreading all over him like an extrayer of skin.
He rammed into the wall of light. But instead of bouncing backward, he nted part of himself intoand through the shield,? much to the incredulity and disbelief of Gu Canyang, Wei Li, and everyone else. Like he was punching through a membrane, Lu Ye tugged and pulled himself out with a loud pop.
Well, thats it.
By the time Lu Ye withdrew his power, he had sessfully demonstrated how he had defeated the outposts defensive ward by prating its shield. He strode up to Gu Canyang and Wei Li.
His original intention had been to learn ways he could defeat the magical ward in its entirety. But his path veered halfway because he realized that his rank of cultivation was not high enough to undertake such an endeavor. Even if he could st a hole through the shield, hecked the means to keep the hole open long enough for anything to pass through before it closed up.
Opening a hole in a defensive wards shield was like opening a hole through a waterfalls current. If a hole could be maintained indefinitely, an army could pour through the hole to engage the defenders of an outpost directly, conveniently circumventing the wards protection.
But Lu Ye could not quite make the hole hold up thaty with his present skill and capabilities. The tiny crack that he could make in the shield would quickly close itself like the neverending water currents of a waterfall.
.
Lu Ye was nearly disheartened enough to give up when he realized the infeasibility of his original idea. But going through Lady Yuns manuscripts and books led him to enough clues toe up with more ideas.
The inspiration, followed by an almost-a-month-long period of trials and failures, eventually gave birth to this new oue.
Gu Canyang and Wei Li were speechless. Secondsminutes passed in silence with everyone present gawking at Lu Ye.
B-But how is this possible Gu Canyang murmured, still unable to both believe and understand what just happened. The shield was still holding, yet somehow Lu Ye had just prated with such ease that barely anyone couldprehend how it happened.
The defensive ward is made up of keystones and these keystones emit the different parts of the shield that guard the outpost. But where the different parts of the shield join up there are weaknesses. All I had to do is find the exposed bindings and construct Yin-Yang elements that correspond to those in the bindings. That allowed me to blend into the shield when I got into contact with it, making it possible for me to enter through it.
Gu Canyang thoughtfully responded, I see.
Deep inside, Gu Canyang could onlyment, [What on Earth are you talking about?! I dont understand a word youre saying!]
To put it more bluntly, its a disguise, added Lu Ye, to the benefit of those who could still not quite understand. I covered myself in ayer of Spiritual Energy that I used to construct elements that resonated with those of the exposed shield bindings. Here the shield was confounded into thinking that I was a part of it, this prevented the shield from rejecting me.
The additional details at least helped Gu Canyang enough to wade out of his quagmire of ignorance. Nevertheless, hearing all that, he was still puzzled. [A defensive ward being confused? Is that even possible?]
Its just that every ward has its weakness and Brother Yi Ye has found the one for this ward, remarked Wei Li all of a sudden.
So, that means the weakness of our defenses is already known to him?
Thats an awfully direct way of putting it. But yeah, thats pretty much it.
But I still dont see how this could be useful for invasions, Gu Canyang frowned.
Lu Ye might have performed a miracle that no one had thought possible, but a lone person being able to prate a defensive ward hardly seemed like a useful application to be used for an actual invasion.
Well, as a matter of fact, I have been doing some thinking said Lu Ye and he began to present to them a detailed n. The more Gu Canyang and Wei Li listened, the brighter their eyes lit up.
By the end of Lu Yes proposal, both Gu Canyang and Wei Li exchanged anticipatory gazes. They could almost see the interest and enthusiasm sparkling in each others eyes. If this turned out to be a sess, they would be heavily rewarded by the leadership of their order.
Hence, without further hesitation, Gu Canyang readily proffered his assent. Since you have volunteered yourself to attempt such a perilous undertaking alone, Brother Yi Ye, the Hidden Light Sanctuary sees no reason to get onboard with your idea at all!
So, Ill be expecting news from you, I presume?
Leave the arrangements to us.
Prolegate of the Lofty Plume Court outpost Zhou Pei was in meditation at his chambers when he received a transmission from Gu Canyang. [How can I help you, Brother Gu?] he responded.
[I bring you good news!]
[Thats a surprise. Lets hear it then.]
[How interested are you in an invasion on the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost?]
Zhou Pei could barely hide his excitement as he straightened up when he read the message.
Hourster, at the areas somewhere between the attendantnds of the Hidden Light Sanctuary and the House of Wintry Blossoms, a fight had broken out. The defeated party was routed and they quickly fled.
The winning side did not give chase. Knowing that this could very well be a trap, given previous experience, they knew better than to be overzealous in pursuits that could lead them well inside hostile territory.
A youngss of the defeated party made up of Hidden Light Sanctuary acolytes cried from a safe distance, Just you wait, you impudence scoundrels! I will have Brother Gu give you a walloping that youll remember for life!
A member of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost replied with a smirking retort, Only defeated dogs bark the loudest!
The youngss turned indignant and roared with anger. But before she could recklessly storm forward to engage the enemies again, her more-levelheaded bunch of teammates quickly held her back.
Chapter 293: Nighttime Infiltration
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 293: Nighttime Infiltration
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
As the Hidden Light Sanctuary party sounded their retreat, one could still hear the angry grunts and hisses of the young female Cultivator as she was being dragged away, much to her livid disgruntlement.
If I remember correctly, that youngssies the daughter of one of the Hidden Light Sanctuary Elders, remarked one of the House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes, before she added with a chuckle, Guess Daddy must have been doting on her too much for her own good.
If only taunting after being defeated would ever work. For years, the bad blood between the House of Wintry Blossoms and the Hidden Light Sanctuary was enough to make both sides more than happy to trade blows instead of just barbed words. If anything, the young female Hidden Light Sanctuarys taunts only exemplified how childish she was.
That was why no one really took her seriously.
But barely a dayter, the House of Wintry Blossoms received a summons from the legate of their outpost, urging them to withdraw home with haste. Apparently, the outpost was expecting an invasion by the Hidden Light Sanctuary.
The acolytes were stunned. Then they remembered their face-off against the female Hidden Light Sanctuary acolytes and the things she said. Her words were not merely tauntsshe really could make Gu Canyangunch an assault on the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost!
Maybe they really had underestimated the authority that the young, irascibless with the emotional maturity of a ten-year-old wielded at her fingertips, they realized. Maybe she really could rely on her father to overrule Gu Canyang. The House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes understood that the situation had spiraled out of their control, hence they quickly reported what had happened to their superior.
But all they received was an indifferent I see. If the Iegate of the House of Wintry Blossoms had other ideas, she certainly wasnt in the mood to share.
One after another, House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes received summons toe back to assist with the defense. The atmosphere was nowhere as warm or friendly when the acolytes were reunitedno giggles or trading of tales or jokes, just mncholic sombreness at the onset of what was expected to be a fierce battle. But no one was panicking just yet; with the shield of the defensive ward still holding, there was no need to. This was hardly the first time the House of Wintry Blossoms prepared for war, but every time the Hidden Light Sanctuary set its war dogs loose, they had always been sent home with their tails between their legs.
But another piece of bad news came knocking on their doors soon enough.
The Hidden Light Sanctuary wasnt the only one marching to their doorstep this time; Lofty Plume Court would be joining them as well. They had dispatched a force that was already on its way here. Clearly, they must havee to an understanding.
Legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms Yue Mei was going through the scouting reports inside the Sanctum of Providence of her outpost. Two Grand Sky Coalition orders wereing to attack them, but she was barely rmed; She had seen thising all along.
Like the rest of her sisters-in-arms, She was not concerned at all about the integrity of the defensive ward. But also like the rest of her sisters-in-arms, she was worried about whether this invasion was real. If the invaders were only here as a show of force, then she would not be too worried. But if this was a real invasion, she would need to be more careful. At the very least she would need to be expecting a siege.
A few seconds of quick thinking was enough to convince her that she needed to do something instead of just resting on herurels. She immediately transmitted a few messages. Before long, every Thousand Demon Ridge order in the vicinity was duly notified about the invasion that both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court were mounting on the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost.
The messages she sent were not calls for helpit was toote for any reinforcements to arrive in time. But she expected that the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court outposts would be empty by now and by notifying the other Thousand Demon Riege orders, she was prodding them tounch invasions of their own as reprisal. That should be more than enough to force the invaders to shorten the duration of the siege, if not call off the invasion entirely.
To lift a siege with such a method was not umon in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. This was how allied orders and sects assisted each other.
Hours passed into thete hours of the evening when two gigantic ship-like flying conveyances came lumbering into view of the House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes, lining up alongside each other.
One of the ships bore the sigil of the Hidden Light Sanctuary while the other vessel was emzoned with the livery of the Lofty Plume Court.
The flying ships came to a halt somewhere three miles away and men began pouring out of their respective holds.
Yue Mei was hanging in mid-air, watching from inside the enclosure of the outpost with a grim look on her face.
Both Grand Sky Coalitres Orles had at least fielded four hundred men apiecea number that was too big for her liking.
Most inner-ring area outposts had strengths of just about five to six hundred strong. That both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court were fielding four hundred men each meant that they now had barely two hundred men between them to man their own defenses.
Needless to say, the House of Wintry Blossoms must brace themselves for what could be a long and fierce struggle.
[Could it really be true? Like those girls said, that that young female acolyte had managed to get her father to strongarm Gu Canyang intounching this assault? Is he really so inept and soft?]
Something felt terribly amiss but with the enemy invader now already fast approaching, it was toote for any more wishful thinking. The House of Wintry Blossoms would go to war and just hope that more of its acolytes could survive to see the next daylight.
Meanwhile, the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court acolytes assembled. The eight hundred men strong force was the best the two orders could muster.
On the other hand, the House of Wintry Blossoms had only four hundred acolytes.
The annihtion of the contingent led by Chu Qing in the Lost City of Xianyuan had dented the Houses strength by almost two-tenths. Yue Mei had lost many a good nights sleep just because of this.
With Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei spearheading the advance, the invaders marched for the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost.
There was no need for barter; as soon as the invaders reached the walls of the outpost, the assault began without dy.
Spells and Spirit Artifacts wheezed through the air, mming into the phosphorescent shield that was the only thing now standing between the outpost and its invaders. Like a handful of grains peppering the otherwise peaceful surface of ake, the projectiles that hit the defensive wards shields elicited ripples that numbered up to the hundreds or even thousands that swept in endless waves.
Yue Mei was observing the assault begin at the za just outside the outposts Sanctum of Providence. Her grip on the jade tablet used to magically control the wards defenses tightened at each groan and tremor of the shield.
At the same time, cadres of House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes scurried around the peripherals of the shield, making sure that the ward keystones were all stocked up with enough Spirit Stones to keep the shield running.
The defense shield might have already saved up a rich deposit of Spiritual Qi, but no one could tell how long the invaders nned to keep up the assault, hence it was crucial and imperative to ensure that the defensive ward did not fully exhaust its supply.
Anyone would do the same in the face of an invasion.
Rich was the ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere surrounding the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost; the Divine Opportunity Column must have been enhanced with manyyers of Blessings. That helped to further strengthen the sturdiness of the defensive wards shield. For almost an hour, the invaders battered at the shield, yet all that incessant onught seemed to have aplished nothing. Aside from the ripples that propagated on the surface of the barrier of light, its glow seemed to have waned not one bit.
Clearly, the invaders would need to do more if they wanted to wear out the shield.
From the other side of the screen of illumination, Yue Mei focused her stare on Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei pensively, wondering what they were actually up to.
The countless times they had faced each other in battle were enough for Yue Mei to know what Gu Canyang and Zhou Peis aces were and vice versa. Beyond any doubt, both leaders of this invasion knew as well as she did that a straightforward assault would hardly yield any favorable results for the invaders. Still, the invaders did not look like they were about to call off the invasion any time soon and Yue Mei was beginning to feel that something was wrong.
The suspense was killing her.
If there was any constion, that would be her earlier decision to inform her allies about the invasion. A coalition of Cultivators from allied outposts was marshaling tounch an assault on both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court outposts and Yue Mei could only expect that they were already on the march by now.
Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei had to withdraw the moment they got wind of attacks on their respective outposts.
Yue Mei was still caught up in her train of thought when the jade tablet in her grasp emitted a sizzle. The sensation transmitted to her via the jade tablet was giving off the signal that the shield had been breached.
Aghast, Yue Mei tore her nce to where the breach had urred. But nothing. Everything in that area appeared to be fine.
[Was that just me, or what?!] she wondered. But ever a cautious person, she quickly sent forth a squad of acolytes to head to that area to investigate the anomaly earlier.
Unbeknownst to everyone else inside the outpost, Lu Ye had sessfully infiltrated the outpost.
The sensation that alerted Yue Mei about the breach urred exactly when Lu Ye was making his entry through the defensive wards shield, which would have not been possible at other times.
But the cover of night and the diversion caused by the assault had robbed much of the defenders attention and no one saw him enter.
As soon as he was inside, the first thing Lu Ye did was activate the Concealment Bracelet to mask his Spiritual Power signature from being detected.
He would not have decided on going behind enemy lines alone if not for this immensely useful piece of equipment that Lady Yun had given to him. He could easily slip through the defensive wards shield, but he would still be discovered without this Bracelet.
The Concealment Bracelet could mask his presence better than ordinary Ghost Cultivators could their own.
The n he had made with Gu Canyang specified that the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court wouldunch an assault to cause a diversion while he would infiltrate unseen. Next, Lu Ye was to locate and assassinate Yue Mei and recover her jade tablet. That way, the defensive ward would be just as useless as a ss hammer.
The n was straightforward enough and its simplicity would ensure its sess. Aplicated n with too many moving parts and variables could easily fail when pieces fail to match.
At the very least, the n had been working well enough up until now and the Concealment Bracelet would be his key to ensuring the sess of the second half of the n. For the sake of stealth, he had not brought Amber and Yi Yi with him this time.
Lu Ye found a secluded spot and hid himself there to watch. As expected, a squad of House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes came hurrying to where he entered through the shield.
Back when he was still studying how to defeat Hidden Light Sanctuarys defensive ward, Wei Li had told him about a tingly sensation the moment something foreignhimslipped through the shield. But it was only a tiny and transitory feeling and Wei Li would not have noticed it if he had not been paying attention to it.
But it was enough for Lu Ye to know that the legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost must surely have felt the same fleeting sensation, as proven by the appearance of this small group of acolytes.
The six acolytes came and looked around. Finding nothing, they marched off to investigate other areas for traces of anomalies.
Lu Ye did not move an inch; he could feel something unnatural somewhere thirty meters ahead. Something was swirling in the airsomething filled with Spiritual Energy.
He would have not been able to detect the unseen object but for the spiritual enrichment he had undergone at the Pool of Divine Purification had greatly increased his spiritual senses.
He could sense the presence of anything within thirty meters of himthe closer it was, the stronger his perception of it would be.
A Ghost Cultivator.
As warned by Gu Canyang, Legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost Yue Mei really was a careful person. On the surface, it looked as if she had just sent forth only one squad of acolytes to investigate the anomaly when in truth, there were two. If Lu Ye had acted brashly, he would have already been discovered.
The Ghost Cultivator dawdled around for a little while before she vanished and left after finding nothing. Lu Ye had not gotten a glimpse of her at all.
But Lu Ye stayed there for almost another quarter of an hour before he finally felt safe enough to move further inside the outpost.
The Concealment Bracelet had been helpful enough, except with one ring w: he could not channel his Spiritual Power or move if he wished to remain undetected.
At the moment, there was no telling if there were still people lurking around nearby. If he were discovered, then Lu Ye would have to withdraw the same way he came in.
He coulde in, and he could still withdraw. Of that, at least, he was sure.
Chapter 294: The Jade Tablet
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 294: The Jade Tablet
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
What enabled Lu Ye to breathe more easily was the fact that he was not attacked even though he had revealed himself. He kept his presence low before he sped to where themotion wasing from, looking rather frantic.
That he had managed to reach this far without being detected meant that he was halfway to reaching his main objective.
As if there was any need to stay invisible anymore An outpost usually had, not only the acolytes of a sect or order, but also allied acolytes from friendly sects and orders, as well as associated independents who had pledged their allegiance. Naturally, that would mean that no one could possibly know everyone, so even if anyone were to see Lu Ye traipsing around in broad daylight, no one would know that he was the enemy unless there were people in the outpost who knew what the famous Lu Yi Ye looked like.
To say nothing of the fact that it was already night, which made Lu Yes job easier.
Lu Ye kept his head down and let the bangs of his hair hang over half his face as he raced to the main za of the outpost where every one of the House of Wintry Blossoms members had congregated.
They had begun assembling here since the attack began. But although they were not worried about the shields integrity, they nheless wore apprehensive and wary looks.
Many people saw Lu Yeing out of nowhere, rushing to join them, although most of them merely cast a cursory nce at him before returning their gazes to whatever it was they were doing. Clearly, no one anticipated an infiltration when the defensive ward was operating at full st and the shield was still holding.
If anything, most of them only thought that he looked unfamiliar. But no one dwelt on the matter long enough to realize anything yet. After all, strangers were oftenmon at outposts; Cultivators who were acolytes of friendly sects and orders seeking temporary refuge or associated independents proiming their allegiance. Acolytes could sometimes spend up to months or even years in solitary meditation and by the time they emerged, they would find many unfamiliar faces in their midst.
Outside the shield, Gu Canyang saw with his own eyes how Lu Ye was joining the mob of defenders. The corners of his eyes twitched with amazement.
Deep within him, Gu Canyang made a mental note to remember to install some simple magical wards all around the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost. After seeing Lu Yes n working smoothly so far, he knew that the outpost would need some sensing wards to raise the rm in the case of any ndestine infiltration lest any enemies replicate Lu Yes feat in the future!
While he was still busy thinking about what to do, Lu Ye got to a fifteen meter distance from Yue Mei.
Lu Ye had seen her even before he slipped through the defensive ward. Information supplied by Gu Canyang indicated that this body-hugging-robes-d woman was the legate-in-charge of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost.
And Lu Ye immediately recognized what she was: a Spell Cultivator.
He used to hate Spell Cultivators so much. Luo Ji and Dong Shuye had never failed in making life hell for Lu Ye back when he was still a low-tier Cultivator.
But as he gradually grew stronger and more powerful, he found he rather liked fighting against Spell Cultivators. The great speed afforded by the activation of Glyph: Windwalk allowed him to close distances and evade spells quickly and easily. For those that he could not avoid, there was always Glyph: Protection to prevent any heavy damage.
Spell Cultivators rarely did well once Combat Cultivators like Lu Ye were able to close the distance and turn the fight into a closebat situation.
Hence, one could argue that no Spell Cultivator of simr rankor even those higher by one or two rankscould ever pose a threat to Lu Ye anymore.
Legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms Yue Mei was a Ninth-Order Spell Cultivator very close to reaching ascension to the next rank.
Her original intent was to make Chu Qing her sessor before picking another acolyte to be thetters future deputy.
But Chu Qing, and even the designated future prolegate, were killed during their foray into the Lost City of Xianyuan. It was due to their deaths that the outpost stillcked a prolegate and Yue Mei had to shoulder the duties of both roles together.
In the meantime, the members of the upper echelons of the House of Wintry Blossoms were still locked in an internecine squabble between each other. It was said that every one of the Elders wished to nominate their own students to the post. It was no secret that being legate and prolegate had its uses and benefitsmore ie and more opportunities to earn Contribution Points. Everyone in the order knew that being pegged as the prolegate now would mean an immediate promotion to bing legate when Yue Mei finally stepped downwhich everybody expected to happen any time soon.
[The order needs to select a prolegate after this. And fast,] Yue Mei was thinking to herself quietly. She and the busy business of handling the outposts day-to-day affairs could not suffer any more dys.
Still upied with her thoughts, a strange premonition of dread jolted her senses, and her peripheral vision caught sight of a figure bolting straight for her.
She tore her gaze away from the front to get a better look at the stranger. It was a young man no older than she was and he was dashing toward her with his head lowered, effectively hiding his face.
Yue Mei could feel a chill shooting up her spine. She could not see him, but she was sure. She had never seen this stranger before!
As Legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost, she knew almost every faceevery acolyte, every allied Cultivator, and even associate independents. She might not be close to all of them, but she knew their faces and names at least.
Only she and thete Chu Qing knew every face in the outpost, for everyone who first arrived here had to meet them both before being allowed entry into the outpost.
The unknown youth racing towards her might have kept his head down, but she could still see much of what he looked like.
For this reason, Yue Mei was sure that she had not seen this stranger here before! Not today, not before, not ever!
Quick enough to remember the anomaly with the defensive ward earlier, Yue Meis hand shot up swiftly and a glow sparkled at the tip of her fingers as a st came screaming straight for Lu Ye.
That Yue Mei could summon enough power in such a short time to fire a st was a testament to her skill and strength. The spell was nowhere near lethal, but it was enough to defeat most Eighth-Orders.
But firing that spell did not make her feel safe at all; Lu Ye was hardly one of most Eighth-Orders. Instead, panic engulfed her. The moment her arm came up and she fired her spell, Lu Ye was gone. All that was left in his ce was a harmless afterimage. One split-secondter, the glint of steel was all that filled her sight.
Death descended upon her like a ravenous beast, breathing down her neck and licking her there, making her shudder with intense trepidation.
The shrill cry of the strangers weapon grazing every inch of the floor as he barreled straight at her brought to mind images of her own recollections before her very eyesvisions vivid enough that she instinctively channeled her power just before a furious blow hammered at her throat. The force would have broken her spine, and as a burst of sparkles followed closely by another gleam of steel told her that the weapon was just withdrawingfor a second imminent blow, no doubtshe could feel a jabbing paining from her neck.
Yue Mei jerked to her senses. Her instincts had saved her by invoking a magical barrier just in front of her throat. She herself did not even know what had happened.
Unequivocally, her life was spared only by that. Lu Ye meant to behead her and the bursting twinkles were the magical barrier that took the hit for her.
Magical barriers like this were Spell Cultivators brand of magical defenses not unlike Lu Yes Glyph: Protection. They afforded sound protection and most Spell Cultivators were trained in using spells like these to defend themselves.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was not calling off his attacks just yet. Invible gave off another sheen of cold fury as Lu Ye thrust it forward for a renewed assault. If he could keep himself within fifteen meters of Yue Mei, he could win.
Eight times out of ten Lu Ye could kill an enemy with just one blow. But this obviously wasnt one of those eight times. Yue Mei was just so cautious and quick that he failed to live up to his reputation and expectation; he might have hurt her, but that was not enough to kill her just yet.
At the same time, Lu Ye knew he needed to be quick. He could only deliver one more attack before the rest of the House of Wintry Blossoms Cultivator realized what was going on and ganged up on him.
To that end, Lu Yes second blow wasnt after Yue Meis life. It was after his objective.
Yue Mei threw herself backward when she saw Lu Yeing for a second attack. All she wanted to do was to put in as much distance as possible. Her hand came up and she aimed a finger at Lu Ye again, her powers churning as she got ready to fire another spell.
Yet, Lu Ye was just too fast for her. Before she could even do anything else, Invible sank into her other arm. A sharp jolt of pain zapped through the legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost as she grunted in excruciation, her features twisting grotesquely.
With a twist that elicited a sickening crunch, the severed arm flew into the air.
An enraged Yue Mei ignored the pangs of pain consuming her and shrieked at the top of her voice, KILL HIM!
A pair of wings unfurled on Lu Yes back and he soared into the air, snatching up the severed arm.
It was only then that the rest of the House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes realized what was going on. They werent slow; but rather, Lu Ye was just too fast. In barely two seconds, Lu Ye had delivered two sessive attacks and no one knew what was going on or what to do, even if they had seen everything right from the start.
Rays and beams of light tore away from the fingers and outstretched hands of the acolytes but it was toote. Lu Ye was already in the sky, leaving all flying weapons that his enemies could unleash in the dust. Spells could reach far enough to hit him, but Lu Ye wasnt stationary. Thest thing he ever wanted in a situation like this was to be a sitting duck and wait for his death. He deftly ducked and weaved around, relying on the quickness of his magically-conjured wings and his speed to skillfully evade the many crisscrossing rays of light that came screaming at him.
A pallid-faced Yue Mei stared at the figure waltzing in the sky with the adroit grace and dexterity of a butterfly. When she saw the stranger removing something from her arm and throwing the arm away, her blood went cold.
[So that is what hes after!]
BACK TO JIUZHOU! she cried with as loud a voice as she could summon, BACK TO JIUZHOU, NOW!
Such was Legate of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost Yue Mei, a decisive leader with circumspection and wit that in spite of the rending pain of an arm lopped off gnawing at her, she made the correct judgment.
It was not a far stretch to expect that all legates in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were each blessed with their individual qualities. At the very least, none of them were fools.
Meanwhile, the rest of the acolytes of the outpost could barely believe what they had just heard. Petrified with bewilderment, they could hardly react to the order of pulling back to the orders main stronghold in Jiu Zhou when the defensive ward was still intact and the intruder was just an Eighth-Order who was also heavily outnumbered.
Those who were quick on the uptake immediately discovered why.
The defensive ward might still be holding, but the jade tablet used to control it was no longer in their possession!
Which was exactly why Lu Ye aimed for her arm in his second attack: he was after the jade tablet in her grasp.
The very instrument that was the lynchpin to the defense of this outpost. Destroy it and the defensive ward would be no more.
FAST! GET OUT OF HERE! Yue Mei cried hoarsely, leading her fellow sisters-in-arms in a breakneck charge for dear life towards the Sanctum of Providence. Everyone in the outpost tore after her.
Still hanging in mid-air, Lu Ye exerted his full strength to crush the tablet to pieces. Oddly enough, it was so hard that it felt like an incredibly hard piece of rock. It looked like an ornate object hewn from jade, but he did not know what it was actually made of.
But owing to the need for haste, there was no time to think. He tossed the tablet into the air and drove Invible through it, skewering the object with a double Glyph: Sharp Edge activated.
Chapter 295: Defeating the House of Wintry Blossoms
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 295: Defeating the House of Wintry Blossoms
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The jade tablet shattered with a crashing din. The defensive ward of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost gave off a sonorous groan, a deafening death rattle that portended its inevitable passing as the shield of light ceased its ripples. The shield was still standing as staunchly as it was helpless with all sustenance cut off from it.
All eight hundred Cultivators of the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court delivered one concerted attack, smashing the shield atst.
The barrier of light burst into thousands of glittering shards of energy dregs, standing out in the night sky like millions of tiny fireflies that gradually dissolved into nothing.
Charge! Gu Canyang bellowed a fierce one-syble battle cry. Leading at the front, men in their hundreds peeled after him, pouring into the entrances of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost. But in the meantime, the defenders of the outpost had barely made it farmost of them did not even make the two-hundred-yard line.
The House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes jerked their heads around at themotion. To their horror, the invaders had reached the inner alcoves of the outpost! There was no need for any more spurring; all of them bolted ever faster as if they were being chased by a pack of bloodthirsty hyenas. Most of them were females, but none of them would dare to wait around and bet that their enemies were in a merciful and forgiving mood.
The entire mob of desperate-looking escapees swarmed into the Sanctum of Providence. The Divine Opportunity Column was their only hope of salvation if any one of them hoped to return safely to the real world of Jiu Zhou.
But the Divine Opportunity Column could only work so fast. To transport almost four hundred people would require time which they did not have. By the time the invaders stormed the Sanctum of Providence, there were at least one hundred House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes who did not manage to escape in time.
The stranded escapees did all they could to resist the invaders, but there was little that they could do. Being so heavily outnumbered, it wasnt long before they were all cut down and left lying in morbid pools of slick red.
The ughter ended quickly. In less than a minute, dozens of dead bodies sprawled over the blood-mottled floors of the Sanctum of Providence, all of them House of Wintry Blossoms acolytes.
The ones who were the slowest died the worst, showing how its not only important to be faster than ones enemies during imminent peril, one needed to beat ones own friends andrades in the race for dear life.
That was great! Gu Canyang eximed excitedly.
Gu Canyang and the rest of the Hidden Light Sanctuary acolytes had been enemies with the House of Wintry Blossoms for as long as they could remember. But without having anything to tip the scales, both sides have been at each others throats without being able to do anything significantuntil today.
If there was anything toin about, that would only be the fact that there were just too few enemies to engage. There was hardly any real fight up until now and the few House of Wintry Blossoms that died here were just the ones who had failed to make it back to Jiu Zhou in time.
Nevertheless, it was enough. A victory was still a victory.
Defeating the House of Wintry Blossoms and capturing the outpost would mean that the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Columnthe legacy of the many generations of the House of Wintry Blossomshere was theirs to plunder. The Contribution Points must be many.
Clear the ce! You have a quarter of an hour! We will assemble again after that! Zhou Pei bellowed, his face alight with anticipation of more triumph.
Not without reason; Lu Yes n included Sunlit Mountain if conquering the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost was a sess. As a neighbor and a rival of Lofty Plume Court, their animosity mirrored the feud Hidden Light Sanctuary and the House of Wintry Blossoms shared in every way.
The sess of the n hinged on two parts: whether Lu Yes infiltration was a sess and whether he was able to pull off securing the jade tablet that controlled the defensive ward of the enemy outpost.
But this triumphant victory had proven that whatever reservations he formerly had about the chances of this working were unnecessary; Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect has turned out to be more dependable than he had ever imagined!
Acolytes from both orders busied themselves with the task at hand. Time was pressing and everyone hurried around looting and clearing the dead bodies.
Wheres Brother Yi Ye? Has anyone seen him? Gu Canyang cried loudly.
Here, Lu Ye responded curtly, stepping out of the Sanctum of Providence with Yi Yi beside him, meticulously going through every inch of him to make sure he was unhurt.
Yi Yi had gone into a deep slumber sinceing back from the Lost City of Xianyuan.
She had experienced many changes since then and now looked no different from anyone around her. Anyone could see her and they would think she was just another living personeven Shui Yuan herself.
Prior to the enrichment they experienced at the Lost City, Cultivators more powerful would have been able to tell the difference.
That was the difference between the good that she and the rest enjoyed.? What Yi Yi enjoyed was four to five times better than what Lu Ye, Amber, and Ju Jia had gotten from the Pool of Divine Purification for the Pool itself doubled as the resting site of the horde of apparitions that resided in the Lost City. That allowed spectral beings like Yi Yi to attain greater advantage as juxtaposed against the others.
In fact, her power and strength would have outstripped even Lu Ye, if not for the fact that she was a spirit attached to Amber. It was this bond with the tiger that prevented her from bing stronger than him.
Come, Brother Yi Ye, Gu Canyang beamed at Lu Ye broadly, flourishing an arm magnanimously.
They had seeded in capturing the outpost. It was time to split the spoils as agreed; the Blessings of the Divine Opportunity Column were to be divided into three equal portions.
There was no need to be coy; Lu Ye ced a hand on the Divine Opportunity Column and channeled his power through his Battlefield Imprint.
He should be familiar with the process by now, after what he had done at the Sky Pir Sect outpost.
The ambient Spiritual Qi that pervaded the atmosphere of the outposts vicinity thinned at a noticeable pace asyer afteryer of Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column were removed. But that was not all; even the range of the emanation itself was shrinking
Once Lu Ye was done, Guy Canyang stepped in, after which, he gave way to Zhou Pei for his turn.
The quarter of an hour passed swiftly enough. Everyone regrouped at the za outside the outposts Sanctum of Providence before they boarded the flying ships. It was time for their next target: Sunlit Mountain.
They were halfway there when both Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei received transmissions simultaneously, informing them about attacks on their respective strongholds.
It was the same old trick againnearby Thousand Demon Ridge orders had dispatched enough men to make up two separate forces that had marched to attack the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court outposts in their bid to get both Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei to retreat. Obviously, the enemies were unaware that the battle at the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost was over.
Under usual circumstances, the maneuver would have worked. Both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court forces would have beenpelled to retreat since capturing the House of Wintry Blossoms would have taken longer time, effort, and not to mention, losses. Just losing men during the course of an ordinary assault would have put both Grand Sky Coalition orders in positions much weaker than before and thus making them vulnerable to counterattacks.
But no one other than the invaders knew that the battle had been won and the outpost fully sacked and vacated.
It was just too fast. Too incredibly and inconceivably fast. The defenses of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost were brought to heel with such lightning-speed crity that not even its acolytes could fathom how everything had happened so quickly. Neither would the rest of their allied sects and orders who were nowunching assaults of their own on the Hidden Light Sanctuary and the Lofty Plume Court outposts. None of them knew that the invaders had homed in on another prey and were sailing there now.
For this reason, Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei disregarded the messages they received. They left instructions that the strength of their outposts defensive wards was to be activated to the fullest while the invaders maintained their advance on Sunlit Mountain.
Minutester, word came again from their respective outposts, reporting about the Thousand Demon Ridge forces retreatingvery hastily too.
Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei had a quick discussion where both of them unanimously concluded that the fall of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost must have leaked out. How else would the sieges by the Thousand Demon Ridge forces at their respective outposts be lifted so soon?
That was true; though Yue Mei had not been able to warn the rest of the Thousand Demon Ridge during the chaotic evacuation from the outpost. When she finally got to safety, she had been trying hard to transmit her warning.
It took her a long time and a huge effort until her warnings finally got through.
Messages between the real world of Jiu Zhou and the Spirit Creek Battlefield could not be transmitted directly. Yue Mei had to deliver her messages to the main strongholds of the ones her warning was intended for, where the acolytes there would pass them onto the Battlefield in her stead.
Naturally, that would mean that the messages needed time before they could reach the intended recipients.
When the legates received Yue Meis warning, all of them were bbergasted.
The purpose of attacking the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court outposts was to pressure the Grand Sky Coalition forces to retreat. It was to help lift the siege of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost.
But none of them could believe what they just heard: the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost had fallen before everyone could do anything!
If only these legates couldmunicate with Yue Mei directly. The foremost question looming in their mind was: [What on earth went wrong?! Is there something wrong with your outposts defensive ward?!]
With the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost already taken, the attacks on the Grand Sky Coalition outposts had be pointless. But what drove the Thousand Demon Ridge orders to quickly recall their forces was something else: the second part of Yue Meis warning.
It said of another unbelievable news, that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had developed an ability to slip through a defensive wards shield with stealth!
That was how the House of Wintry Blossoms had lost their outpost! Lu Yi Ye had managed to infiltrate the outpost and in his sudden attack on the legate Yue Mei, he somehow secured the jade tablet that controlled the defensive ward and undid its magic.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge legates had never before feared Lu Yi Ye, they did today.
There was nothing wrong with the defensive ward that guarded the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost. It was Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
An Eighth-Order who now possessed the ability to slip through defensive wards. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
There was little difference between the strength and capabilities of the House of Wintry Blossoms defensive ward and those of the defensive wards of their outposts. If Lu Yi Ye could enter the Houses outpost unimpeded, then they would surely have to expect that he would encounter little to no difficulty in getting through theirs.
The legate of Sunlit Mountain was the one closest to panicking. He knew how his men had crossed Lu Yi Ye during their exploration of the Lost City of Xianyuana mistake that the House of Wintry Blossoms was guilty of as well. So if the Houses outpost was sacked, something told him that his outpost would be next in line.
Knowing that shoring up their defenses was now the pressing matter at hand, every Thousand Demon Ridge order recalled its members. They needed to prepare for the defense against another Grand Sky Coalition invasion unless they wished to follow in the Houses footsteps.
The prolegate of Sunlit Mountain and his men were hurrying in the direction of their outpost when more news arrived.
Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court hade and they wereunching fierce attacks on the shield of the Sunlit Mountain defensive ward.
The prolegate was astonished to hear that. He ordered his men to pick up the pace, all the while muttering a long, endless string of curses under his breath at how the legate of the outpostand his senior brother toohad once again sumbed to the charms of another member of the opposite gender. As soon as he had received Yue Meis message for help in the first ce, the legate of Sunlit Mountain had made the ill-advised decision to dispatch a force of three hundred men to assist.
Sunlit Mountain outpost had about four hundred men. But with more than three hundred stranded outside, that left barely a hundred men manning the defenses. If Lu Ye could undo the magic of the defensive ward and dispel its shield, the meager force wont be able to resist the collective might of the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court forces.
Even from a distance, the Sunlit Mountain force could see many-hued beams and rays bashing at the phosphorescent shield that guarded their outpost. They stood their ground and watched; none of them dared to press any closer.
With just three hundred men, stampeding straight into a force of more than twice their number was tantamount to suicide.
They cowered and observed from their hidden positions, not wanting to attract any attention.
The outside of the Sunlit Mountain outpost was pandemonium. The invaders fired and attacked relentlessly, trying to whittle down the shields integrity by force.
Inside the shield was wholly different altogether; the acolytes and associate independents of Sunlit Mountain were divided into smaller squads that patrolled the area non-stop, making sure that no onenot even Lu Yi Yewould slip through.
The legate himself was surrounded by a ring of his own men who never stopped flinching at every little noise and bump.
And that was only because of Yue Meis warning about Lu Yi Ye. He might be just an Eighth-Order, but he disyed prowess far beyond anyone of his rank. The two blows that he delivered: the first nearly lopped off her head while the second severed an arm, which cost her the jade tablet.
The current legate of Sunlit Mountain was formerly the deputy of his predecessor Qi Ming who was killed in the Lost City of Xianyuan. He had been in contact with Yue Mei before, after his promotion, and he knew how powerful she could be.
So, if Yue Mei was defeated with just two blows, he knew he would fare no better himself. Hence his caution in facing this crisis.
Chapter 296: Trials and Errors
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 296: Trials and Errors
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The enemy response was proving most troublesome, at least that was the case with Lu Ye who was hiding unseen in the shadows.
He had spent some time observing. Deciding atst that he could not pull off the same trick he tried at the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost, he stepped out into the open.
The acolytes of Sunlit Mountain weremunicating too closely. They were clearly informed about his exploits during the defeat of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost. Otherwise, Sunlit Mountain would not havee to such a deliberately meticulous arrangement.
Lu Ye could onlyment this oue. Sneaking into enemy outposts to steal the jade tablet that controls an outposts magical ward had officially be a one-time-only trick that he would not be able to use anymore.
Acolytes of the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court werewith Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei leading themraining hell down on the shield of the Sunlit Mountain defensive ward; the incessant rumbles of the detonating sts terrible and daunting,
Lu Ye stepped out of the shadows and strode out into the open step by step.
Zhou Peis heart nearly burst out of his chest when he saw Lu Ye and he hurried forward to meet him.
Brother Yi Ye, whats wrong? You cant get in?
Lu Ye shook his head.
He could get in, but it wouldnt do much good with just him inside. It was due to the element of surprise that he was able to snatch Yue Meis jade tablet in the first ce. No one at the House of Wintry Blossoms had seen himing and that was what allowed him to close the distance unimpeded.
If Yue Mei had not been careful enough, she would have died by Lu Ye and his saber already.
But this time, the situation hadpletely changed. Sunlit Mountain had clearly been informed about his ability to slip through the energy shields of magical wards and they ramped up their defenses. Even the legate himself was constantly surrounded by a ring of his best and most trusted men. There really was no way for Lu Ye to get his hands on the enemy jade tablet anymore.
Ahh Gods Zhou Pei groaned sourly.
If only they could conquer the Sunlit Mountain outpost. Life at the Lofty Plume Hall would be so much better in the future. For instance, the House of Wintry Blossoms had suffered few casualties in the capture of their outpost, but they had lost the Blessings on their Divine Opportunity Columnwhich was a loss that they would never be able to repair in a short time.
Without the Blessings to keep the ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere rich enough, the House of Wintry Blossoms could reestablish their outpost and rebuild their magical ward, but it would no longer be as solid and sturdy as before.
In other words, the House of Wintry Blossoms force at the outpost there would never again be able to pose any threats to the Hidden Light Sanctuary. With the odds now perpetually against their favor for the foreseeable future, the Hidden Light Sanctuary would be wise to bank on this opportunity to ensure that the House of Wintry Blossoms became just a simple footnote in the history of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The House of Wintry Blossoms invasion had turned out to be a massive sess, and just when Lofty Plume Court had hope that their allies would be able to assist in dealing with Sunlit Mountain, an ironic stroke of fate had denied Zhou Peis wishes froming true and that left him somewhat disappointed.
If its not working, we attack with all we can! Gu Canyang remarked.
The more-than-eight-hundred-man-strong army made it possible for the joint force to capture the Sunlit Mountain outpost by force, although that would demand both time and patience to whittle down the defensive wards shield.
A straightforward invasion of such crudeness would not be feasible in the past. Nearby Thousand Demon Ridge forces would definitelyunch invasions of their own on the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court outposts. But no one would dare to attempt such a move anymore.
The shocking fall of the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost had left such asting impression on its allies that no one dared to risk dispatching any sorties for fear of having Lu Yi Ye of getting past their outposts defenses and capture their outposts in their absence.
There might be another way though.
Lu Ye uttered suddenly.
Zhou Peis eyes lit up with excitement. What is that way? he asked at once.
I cant guarantee that this method will seed; all I can only say is that its a chance.
Thats good enough. Lets hear it, Brother Yi Ye.
Well need tenjust nine, nine will doNine Body-tempering Cultivators. The very best from both orders. Then equip them all with whatever defensive Spirit Artifacts you can find.
Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei might not understand what Lu Ye was up to, but theyplied nheless.
Nine Body-tempering Cultivators were speedily handpicked and assembled before Lu Ye, who surveyed them closely. Most of them wererge and broad men with size and strength that could run through a brick wall with barely any difficulty. Two of their numbers were even Mutant Cultivators.
d in the fullplement of every defensive Spirit Artifact their orders could supply them, they looked as dashing and intimidating as a coterie of knights.
Lu Ye summoned Ju Jia.
Ju Jia joined the rest and stood beside them, basking in the envious gazes of every other Body-tempering Cultivator around him. He might not be the biggest, but he definitely looked like the one with the most vigor and strength, easily eclipsing the rest of the nine.
But that was not the only reason Ju Jia was admired. As one of the strongest Body-tempering Cultivators, Ju Jias gifts made him highly coveted by many sects and orders. No one would evermit the mistake of belittling him despite his rather modest provenance as being just a normal independent.
Everyone knew full well that Ju Jia was the sole reason Sima Yang managed to survive so longthe sole cause Sima Yangs fruitful life had managed to reach as far as the appearance of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Naturally, the death of Sima Yang was much-weed news. Cultivators, especially Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators, rejoiced on Ju Jias behalf for having the yoke of servitude finally removed.
But all of them could barely confess to not feeling envious that Ju Jia had chosen to follow Lu Ye and rejected other offers.
Lu Ye led the Body-tempering Cultivators on a beeline trail straight for the spot where he found a weakness in the shield, then he gave them all his instructions.
Everyone nodded their assent. Ju Jia got to his position and prepared to charge, bending down and arching his back.
Lu Ye gave him a look. He said nothing to Ju Jia. Next, he raised a hand and swiped it at the dome-like shield.
At the other side of the shield, the Sunlit Mountain acolytes who had been watching had not been idle.
More than eighty Cultivators were mobilized to this position at the legatesmand when he heard Lu Ye was about to try something. The men channeled their powers and positioned themselves, making ready to attack while their Spirit Artifacts pulsed with energy.
They looked as Lu Ye ced a hand on the surface of the glowing shield of light, a knot tying in their guts.
Every single defender had been notified about Lu Yi Yes strange ability to slip through defensive ward shields, hence seeing him up to something made everyone wonder if he was going to conjure that unknown witchery of his again.
Yet despite the mounting apprehension, they were nheless curious and anxious to witness the feat itself. Without even blinking, they eyed him intently.
Eighty defenders facing ten Body-tempering Cultivators, with just a shield of light separating themin spite of the mor of war still roaring at the other side of the shield, it was the rtive silence and stillness here that made the atmosphere tenser and more uneasy.
Lu Ye focused his Spiritual Power on both eyes. As Glyph: Insight activated, his vision of the world transformed and the Yin-Yang elements swirling in the glowing wall right before him looked like a castle emerging from the mist.
Power surged from his palms, centering right on a focal point as Yin-Yang elements materialized before him like massive jigsaw puzzle pieces locking into one another. The pieces grew to almost 10 meters wide as if Lu Ye was conjuring anotheryer over the shield of the defensive ward.
The defenders could not help feeling worried. Deep within the taut, well-muscled torsos, the men thought, [Is this the devilry that Lu Yi Ye is going to use to slip through the shields?]
A trigger-happy acolyte even lost his cool and fired a st on his own outpost ward shield inadvertently.
That elicited a chain reaction as more than half of the eighty defenders that huddled at the spot sprang into action. Radiant ribbons of myriad colors zipped through the air, ending with floral explosions on the wall of light and its surface rippled wildly at every st.
Lu Ye paused and withdrew his power. He stared at them nkly from the other side of the shield.
The Sunlit Mountain acolytes who fired at their own shield stopped in their tracks, trading embarrassed looks.
That marked the first failure.
Lu Ye was not certain if this method would work and that was the reason he could not promise Zhou Pei anything yet.
This was him really trying to defeat the magic of a defensive ward and the original intent of his study, which was what he had been attempting at first before he got sidetracked where he discovered a way to disguise his signature and slip through a defensive wards shield. Compared to cracking the shell, infiltrating the shell without breaking it was obviously the easier method, although not the better one.
Nevertheless, the premise of his study had not yet changed. The principles remained more or less simr. But to defeat the shield would require an ungodly amount of precision and skill. The elements on the shield changed all the time, especially when the magical ward was running at its fullest.
At the moment, the Sunlit Mountain outpost defensive ward had been activated to just that, the highest strength.
That would mean that the arrangement of Yin-Yang elements on the shield shifted every three seconds.
Hence, to defeat the defensive ward, Lu Ye would need to read the arrangements and construct the opposing elements to cancel the ones in the shieldall in three seconds. Being able to do that would break a hole in the shield and thus defeat it.
But that was easier said than done. That would include reading more than hundreds or thousands of elements and constructing the same number of opposing ones.
Even with Lu Yes impable control of Spiritual Power and his gifts in studying Glyphs, being able to do that would require a tremendous amount of luck.
But all those advantages were nothingpared to Glyph: Insight. Without the visual enhancement of Insight to enable him the ability to see the shield and read its intricate arrangements of Yin-Yang elements, Lu Ye would have needed more than just a few years of training before he could actually attempt defeating a magical ward of this size and strength.
Lu Yes trials with the shield went for a second time, then a third time, and on and on
He could go on for as many times as he wanted to. All he needed was to seed one time. Pull it off once and the outpost would fall.
For the umpteenth time, Lu Ye calmed himself down and observed the changes in the patterns of the shield again. He tried again, but he failedyet again.
Three seconds was just not enough time for him.
Whenever his hand came up as he got ready to construct Yin-Yang elements, all eighty-or-so Sunlit Mountain defenders would flinch. But as the failures began to pile up, they eventually became insensate. It was not because they had gone tired or bored. It was fatigue from the constant trepidation that arose whenever Lu Ye made another attempt.
The same trepidation that gnawed at their mind and souls whenever Lu Yes hand came up.
Ju Jia straightened up. Maintaining an arched posture was tiring enough, although he quickly resumed his bent stance in preparation to charge.
Maybe it was due to him staying with Sima Yang for far too long. Ju Jia had always left the decision-making part of things to Sima Yang. But whenever he received an order, Ju Jia would see itpleted without fail.
Lu Yes trials and errors barely yielded anything useful up until now. Even at his best, he just couldnt make it in three seconds.
Perhaps he could do it once he transitioned to a Sky-grade cultivation technique. Cultivators who made the leap would experience a substantial increase in their control of Spiritual Power, which was also a prime reason Cultivators became even more powerful once they began training in Sky-grade cultivation techniques.
Chapter 297: The Charge
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 297: The Charge
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
.
Lu Ye was just inches from giving up when a pleasant surprise presented itself.
The arrangements of elements on the shields surface changed once more, and this time, a portion of the patterns appeared to be oddly familiar!
And as if in a stroke of ingenuity, he knew why.
The Tree of Glyphs had many bits and pieces of iplete Glyphs that had used to boggle Lu Ye as to what their purpose could be. Unlike Glyphs like Sharp Edge or Protection that Lu Ye used during battle, they appeared nothing more thanum, welliplete Glyphs.
That was until Lu Ye began his tutge of Glyph-weaving under Lady Yun. His rapid progress could not have been possible without the iplete Glyphs which were nothing more than useless bits and pieces of Yin-Yang elements.
Yet, right here, right now, Lu Ye discovered that the arrangement of Yin-Yang elements in the shield matched the ones on one of the leaves on his Tree of Glyph!
There was no time to think. No time for the slightest inkling of hesitation. Lu Ye immediately conjured the element directly from the Tree of Glyphs and the moment he set it into ce, the patterns spread all over the whole surface of the shield like a virus.
A tiny click could be heard, followed by cascades of popping noises of balloons bursting open.
A gaping hole almost three meters wide yawned open on the surface of the phosphorescent shield.
CHARGE! Lu Ye grunted aloud.
Ready as ever, Ju Jia bolted forward like a loosened arrow. He stepped through the hole quickly and dove into the Sunlit Mountain outpost with Lu Ye peeling after him closely.
Lu Ye was well inside when the rest of the nine Body-tempering Cultivators broke from their stupor and rushed in after them.
The hole in the shield quickly closed behind them, sealing them in.
The energy shield of an outposts defensive ward was usually able to regenerate and repair itself. A hole like the one Lu Ye created would close itself before too long unless the defensive ward had taken too much damage and one that was barely just three to four meters was hardly crippling enough.
Panicking, all eighty Sunlit Mountain defenders let loose their attacks on the invaders.
The Cultivators had been stricken with lethargic tedium and monotony when Lu Ye was still trying to figure out a way to defeat the shield. But as soon as the hole in the shield cracked open, the sensation of regret hit them like a sledgehammer, for they now had to contend with not only just Lu Ye but also a coterie of ten heavily-armored Body-tempering Cultivators that included Ju Jia!
The surface of the skin of the Body-tempering Cultivatorswith Ju Jia as then de facto leaderemanated a soft glowing crimson gold aura like iron red-hot in the furnaces as they summoned their powers. Colorful strips of light belied how dangerous they were actually hit by the invaders, but the defensive aura that shrouded them reduced the spells to just harmless pops and sizzles. Those that managed to prate the aura too were, at the very least, greatly weakened.
Ju Jia lifted a shield Spirit Artifact. Like a raging bull, he fearlessly charged straight at the defenders.
Lu Ye stayed close at his heels. Rummaging through his Storage Bag and finding what he wanted, he flung into the air four tiny sparkles of steel that zipped through the air as one. Like a flying scythe, they flew in front of Ju Jia, cutting a path through the enemies for him; felling foes like shearing reed stalks.
Since the spiritual enrichment he experienced at the Lost City of Xianyuan had resulted in his control of Spiritual Power greatly enhanced, Lu Ye could now handle four flying weapons simultaneously. He could have used more than four, but he did not want the strength and force to wane.
The rest of the Body-tempering Cultivators quickly caught up. Forming up to Ju Jia alongside his nks, they charged together in an arrowhead formation with Lu Ye nestled safely in the middle.
STOP THEM! a Sunlit Mountain acolyte roared, to no avail.
Their number was eight times that of Lu Yes, but that did not make stopping the monstrous stampede any easier.
That was a testament to Ju Jias strength and endurance. No one in the Spirit Creek Realm could stop him when he began charging around like a thunderous rhinocerosnot unless anyone could kill him swiftly.
On the other end, Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei had heard themotion. They soared up into the air to get a good look at the situation inside the Sunlit Mountain outpost and there was the arrowhead formation plowing through the outpost, not unlike an insectoid stampede that could make any witness quake with trepidation.
Theyve done it! Gu Canyang murmured with some degree of disbelief. For so long Lu Ye had not been able to produce results that he was almost giving up. But Lu Ye had proven himself yet again. Not only had he managed to gain entry once more; this time, he even took ten Body-tempering Cultivators to wreak havoc behind enemy lines.
Gods, hes just so marvelous, Zhou Pei eximed with envy.
Lofty Plume Court had once extended an offer to recruit Ju Jia before.
But that ursed Sima Yang had tly refused it on hispanions behalf and Zhou Pei could hardly abduct Ju Jia and force him to join Lofty Plume Court. Doing that was nowhere near honorable and Ju Jia would never respect or be loyal to him, to say the least.
Fortunately enough, Ju Jia had somehow pledged himself to Lu Ye and thankfully, they now had him to depend on in this skirmish.
Breaking through the Sunlit Mountain outpost was only the beginning. The true test awaited.
The hole in the outposts defensive ward meant that Lu Ye and the others were trapped inside without help and reinforcements. With Ju Jia spearheading the charge, they might be in control of the initiative temporarily, but the unfavorable odds of more than ten enemies to one of them remained their biggest disadvantage.
For this reason, Lu Ye knew that he needed to secure the defensive ward jade tablet as soon as possible so that he could deactivate the ward and let the rest of the invaders in.
That was why the arrowhead formation did not stop to fight the eighty-or-so defenders; it kept pressing deeper into the outpost.
Sunlit Mountain acolytes rushed here in their dozens to try to thwart the invaders advance, but few could stop them. In barely ten seconds, they cleaved through the defenses like a hot knife through butter, trampling through all defensive lines and marching forward rapidly and unhindered.
Sunlit Mountain acolytes who crashed to the ground quickly recollected themselves and gave chase, attacking the charging formation from behind and filling the air with the din of steel-on-steel ngor and explosions amid their enraged snarls and roars.
The defensive gear that the Body-tempering Cultivators had put on earlier had been instrumental. The gear had kept them safe from the relentless attacks the defenders rained so desperately on them. But no amount or quality of equipment could be expected to hold on for so long under such an onught. As explosions began to blossom and balloon around his defensive detail, Lu Ye recognised what he was hearing, the death rattles of the protective gear failing.
Ju Jias shield, too, was beginning to collect more holes than a chunk of cheese, prompting him to discard it.
The nonuple-enchantment shield was given to him by Lu Ye during their adventures in the Lost City. That it was reduced to nothing but scrap iron indicated just how determined the enemy defenders were in wanting to thwart their advance.
But he just retrieved another shield from inside his Storage Bag and went on charging headlong.
Sima Yang had been hogging all the kills himself and he never tried to buy anything for Ju Jia. Equipment never came cheaply and Sima Yang was hardly generous enough to equip Ju Jia with enough gear. But things had changed since he joined Lu Ye, who had never been stingy with making sure that the lumbering giant of a man had all the items he needed.
Four to five defensive Spirit Artifacts. That was the minimum number of gear that Ju Jia now carried with him at all times.
Fortunately for the whole band, they had managed to punch through the eighty-man Sunlit Mountain defensive line.
They pressed on at full speed like a procession of siege engines rolling forward at full steam. Nevertheless, the defenders remained hot on their heels with dogged ferocity. The Body-tempering Cultivators holding up the rear began to realize that the group would never make it inside in time. A few of them peeled off and turned around to face the pursuing enemies.
GO! one of them cried.
With their own bodies a few nobly aspired to hold back the force of many. Not many could proudly im to have the same courage.
Yet their resolve wasnt enough to bridge the gap between the huge numbers. In seconds, they crashed to the ground, sshing into puddles of their own blood as Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei watched with wracking guilt and misery.
These were some of their best Body-tempering Cultivators; the cream of the crop that could not be easily reced. Losing one was painful enough and yet there were almost a handful of them.
But the enemy defenders did not stay long to make sure that their fallen enemies were truly dead; the Body-tempering Cultivators might be grievously hurt, but they could be alive too.
Nevertheless, they had bought Lu Ye and the rest more time, allowing them to put at least three hundred meters ahead. That was when they spied a group of thirty-or-so Sunlit Mountain Cultivators huddled together.
Lu Ye caught sight of a man kept safe in the center of a ring, wearing an aghast expression of disbelief as if he was still having trouble believing that anyone could defeat the outposts defensive ward shield.
That must be the legate of the Sunlit Mountain outpost and the jade tablet must be with him!
[Victory is at hand], Lu Ye realized. [Capture the jade tablet from him and destroy it and the eight-hundred-man-strong army will be able toe in!]
STOP THEM! the Sunlit Mountain legate cried as he saw the stampede of Body-tempering Cultivators led by Ju Jia charging his way. The rest of the defenders did not need to be told that this moment marked the very survival of the outpost. With a signal, beams of light arced from all directions, homing in on the blitzing group.
With an angry roar, Ju Jia lifted his shield, ready to ram into his enemies. But with all the hails of attacks crashing down on them, the glow of the shield was waning fast and his pace was gradually slowing.
On the other hand, the pursuers were swiftly catching up. Lu Ye, Ju Jia, and the others were about to find themselves caught between the hammer and the anvil.
Without their momentum, everyone would be sitting ducks.
A crimson burst of Spiritual Energy erupted and Lu Ye unfurled his wings. He shot up into the air, catching everyones attention.
Sparklestelltale signs of flying weaponsswarmed around the sky, streaking straight for Lu Ye.
Lu Ye grabbed Amber. The tiger had been in its cat form, riding on his shoulder. With as much strength as he could exert, Lu Ye sent kitty-Amber hurtling through the air.
A pair of steely sparkles grazed its fur, dangerously missing all vitals even though they left trails of blood in the cats wake.
Eldritch energies swirled around Ambers feline form, the ochre brown effulgence enveloping it as cat turned to tiger at a speed visible to the naked eye; Amber was back into its full form in mere seconds.
All thanks to Lu Yes forceful toss, the tigernded in a rolljust barely thirty meters away from the legate and his protective detail.
Every man in the detail shuddered. They saw their own reflections staring back at them. A strange sensation of dread and disorientation clenching its fist around them and petrifying them.
ROAR!
Amber bared its fangs viciously at them, its earsplitting roar setting loose a ferocious wave of aura rolling forward and engulfing the men.
As soon as the waves hit the men, some staggered. A few nearly stumbled. But all of them felt the same throbbing and crashing dibobtion as if they had been bashed with a sledgehammer.
For a long time, Lu Ye knew that there had been something unusual about Ambers roar. Every time it roared, he would experience some form of an unknown force. But being a low-tier Cultivator back then, he was not sure if the unknown force ever existed, let alone what manner of power it was.
But as his rank of cultivation heightened and his knowledge increased, he began to understand that his hypothesis was true.
Ambers roar did have some form of power to stun enemiesspiritually.
Chapter 298: Defeating Sunlit Mountain
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 298: Defeating Sunlit Mountain
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Which should have been nothing surprising. Amber had some degree of sway over spectral entitieswhich exins how its roars could have some manner of spiritual effect on the human mind.
One could call this an ability, or just simply a gift.
Lu Ye, Ju Jia, and Yi Yi had all enjoyed the benefits of entering the Pool of Divine Purification, making it perfectly logical to expect that even Amber, too, must have derived some good from being in the Pool with them. One of them was how powerful its roars had be.
The Sunlit Mountain acolytes were thrown into disarray at Ambers thunderous roars. That greatly weakened the strength of whatever attacks they wereunching. Even flying weapons were falling out of the skies like flies.
Yi Yi materialized. Raising her arms above her head, arge disc-like mass of energy coagted over her hands. Intricately detailed runes ran all over the disc.
Without warning, the glowing mass of energy spewed out swarms of projectiles, raining the enemies below with a deluge of scythes.
Gu Canyang and Zhou Pei could only watch from outside in disbelieving bewilderment. Even from the other side of the shield, they could feel the tremors from the onught Yi Yi was hammering into the enemy defenders. The emanation from her use of Spiritual Power told them what they needed to know about her strength, but they could not understand how she was able to use such a wide area-of-effect spell.
Spells of such potency and magnitude could only be used by Spell Cultivators who had transitioned to a Heaven-grade cultivation discipline. Only they had the precise control and the prerequisite amount of Spiritual Power required for suchplex magic.
That should not have been happening right here, right now, was taking ce right before their very eyes and they were having trouble believing it.
The two-pronged attack by Yi Yi and Amber was a highly synergistic one; Ambers roar had first stunned the enemies both mentally and spiritually, rendering them all paralyzed and helpless. Before they could even recover, Yi Yi was ready to rain hell down on them. The first volley immediately imed several casualties and the rest did enough to annihte the others.
Lu Ye did not remain idle; he pped his wings and swooped down on the Sunlit Mountain legate in a streaking jet of mes that zipped down from the air.
Four deadly sparkles flitted amongst the defenders like wasps, weaving and crisscrossing incessantly while eliciting more shrieks and screams of agony amid the veritable purgatory that was Yi Yis handiwork. But the din was hardly the only byproduct of the dance of Lu Yes own metallic bumblebees; men fell to the ground, dead and bloodied.
Flying weaponry was known for its extreme speed. A flying weapon imbued with Glyph: Windwalk would be even fasterso fast that the naked eye would not be able to catch up. While Lu Ye mightck what was needed to further imbue his flying weapons with more Windwalk Glyphs, the weapons in their current state were already deadly enough to deal with Cultivators in the inner regions of the Battlefield.
Nevertheless, using Glyphs on flying weapons came with its caveat: it reduced the flight duration of the weapon since flying weapons had a limited Spiritual Power reserve capacity.
Which was still enough to deal with his current enemies. By the time Lu Ye reached his prey, the legates retinue of more than thirty men had dropped dead to the ground.
Lu Ye drew Invible. With the momentum of his descent and every ounce of strength behind it, he brought it down hard on the enemy legate.
Thetter had been fortunate. Ambers earlier roars had affected him too, but the tireless sacrifice of his men to keep him safe, plus some amount of luck, had spared him from the death that Yi Yis spell was bringing down on both men and earth beneath her.
The enemy legate did all he could to defend himself. He seized his weapon and swung it up to meet Lu Ye, only for it to be knocked out of his grasp. Recoiling at the throbbing jolt of pain that shot up his arm, the legate dropped to his knees.
His strength was nowhere near Lu Yes in the first ce, let alone withstanding a blow augmented by the momentum of his fall.
That he tried to attack Lu Ye in retaliation was what saved himfor now. It was what prevented Lu Ye froming back with a follow-up attack and thetter did not want to haphazardly risk losing his initiative only tond himself at a disadvantage.
Lu Ye used the momentum of his opponents swing to propel himself back into the air.
Rumbles shook the ground. It was the calvary arrivingJu Jia and the rest of the arrowhead formation of Body-tempering Cultivators. They had been bogged down by the defenders when Lu Ye took to the skies earlier. Amber and Yi Yis attacks had helped to lift the pressure off their backs, allowing them to catch up when Lu Ye began his assault on the Sunlit Mountain legate.
The stampede sted through thest of the Sunlit Mountain defensive lines, much to the despondent dismay of the acolytes who had been giving their all trying to repel the invaders.
Like the predator it was, Amber roamed the area,unching attacks on its own on any unsuspecting Sunlit Mountain defender while Yi Yi picked off one target after another. With her allies now making an entry and the status quo pretty much under control, she had stopped her area-of-effect spell.
Still, each and every st she fired remained as potent and deadly as ever.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was wheeling back for a second charge at his target.
Still on his knees, the Sunlit Mountain legate barely had time to react when he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He looked up frantically, just in time to see the glimmer of steel blinding his sight. In his panic, he groped for his weapon. Only then did he realize that it was knocked out of his hand earlier. Desperate to survive, he lunged, aiming a bare-handed punch at Lu Ye.
It caught Lu Ye squarely in the shoulder, the blow causing him to careen sideways and they collided headlong into each other, crashing to the ground and rolling in a mass.
Lu Ye sprang to his feet quickly with his prize, the jade tablet, firmly between his fingers. The legateid on the ground, motionless with a spreading pool of red beneath him.
Jade tablets used to manipte defensive wards required a constant connection to the magical ward they controlled or the ward would cease to operate. That prevented individuals who were carrying these tablets from stowing them away inside their Storage Bags.
Lu Ye had noticed the jade tablet hanging off the legates belt the first time he attacked him. Hence he was ready to snatch it the second time he wheeled around for a renewed attack.
Lu Ye gripped the jade tablet in one hand and brought Invible down on it, smashing it with a crash, and the defensive ward gave an involuntary shudder.
The invaders outsideunched theirst attacks, overwhelming the shield enough that it shattered with a huge burst. The unstoppable tide of the invaders surged into the outpost, pouring through every door, every alcove, and every corridor. Any surviving Sunlit Mountain acolyte did not have to be told to escape; they began rushing for the Sanctum of Providence. The Divine Opportunity Column inside was their only chance at making it back to Jiu Zhou alive.
The choice was obvious enough, it was either retreat or certain death.
Therefore, by the time the invaders reached the inner depths of the outpost, everyone was gone. Aside from the handful of stragglers, the outpost was almost deserted.
But the battle was not yet won. Far from it. At another battlefront outside the outpost, it was still ongoing.
The Sunlit Mountain prolegate and more than three hundred of his men were stranded outside when the invasion began. Charged by the legate tounch a diversionary attack on the Lofty Plume Court outpost in a bid to force both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court forces from attacking the House of Wintry Blossoms, the men marched away from the safety of their own outpost only to realize that they were now under attack as well!
The three-hundred-man-strong assault force hurried back home at once, but there was arger force besieging their outpostthe eight hundred acolytes of the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court outpostsbarring their way home. That was when the Sunlit Mountain assault force decided to justy low.
Until the moment when scouts reported to the prolegate that Lu Yi Ye had managed to gain entry with ten Body-tempering Cultivators. That forced the assault force to take action.
None of them could just sit by and watch their outpost being invaded and their brethren in.
Hence, the prolegate made the suicidal decision of engaging the stronger enemy force from behind, hoping that this would at least relieve some of the pressure.
But they had only just revealed themselves when, to the shocking despair of the Sunlit Mountain assault force, their outposts defensive ward shattered right before their eyes. What hope there was that the defense would triumph dissolved into air, just like the kes of energy dregs from the shattered shield that vanished with the winds.
The very thing they had been dreading had happened and they had failed to stop it.
But things had now changed. The magical ward had failed and the outpost had been overrun. There was no longer any need to continue the fight, especially with the enemys superior numbers whittling down theirs. The prolegate gave the signal to retreat and the Sunlit Mountain force steadily began to withdraw.
But the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court acolytes were not eager to let their quarry leave just yet.
The main invasion force had been outside long enough to rush inside as long as the shield fell. But they had barely seen any action at all aside from hurling blows at the shield and ying a few mice that got left behind.
Back when the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost was breached, the acolytes had managed to withdraw to the real world of Jiu Zhou fast enough to prevent further loss of life.
Simrly, there were barely dozens when the Sunlit Mountain outpost fell.
For this reason, the invaders were restless struggling with an itch they could not scratch. Until the three-hundred-man-strong-Sunlit Mountain assault force appeared. Three hundred extra targets to hunt.
The invaders gave chase. They hunted the assault force down like dogs, cutting them down man after man until what remained of the force numbered less than half the original number. Atst, the invaders decided to call off the hunt when they finally had their fill of bloodlust. The remnants could finally escape alive.
On the other hand, the invaders did not want to back the remnants into a corner. Rat or tiger, anyone trapped with no way out would fight to their deaths and that would mean further unnecessary losses for the invaders.
The Sunlit Mountain prolegate might have survived, but he must be regretting the deaths of his men.
He had made the call to send his men to their deaths and the fall of the shield had proven that their deaths had been for absolutely nothing. As he grieved his men, he med himself for the poor judgment. If only they had stayed hidden.
The magical ward could fail and the outpost could fall. But if he had spared his men such reckless deaths, they could always rebuild.
What followed next was straightforward enough. The invaders spent the following hours stripping the outpost bare while Lu Ye, Gu Canyang, and Zhou Pei divided the Blessings of the outposts Divine Opportunity Column among themselves, each of them immensely pleased at the booty.
But the only rain on the proverbial parade was the oue of the ten Body-tempering Cultivators who went into the outpost first with Lu Ye. Of the ten that went in, four were killed and five were grievously wounded. Only Ju Jia emerged with light injuries.
Such were the differences in prowess between the Body-tempering Cultivators. All of them were of simr strength and cultivation rank to Ju Jia and few would dispute that they were the absolute best from each order.
Nevertheless, Ju Jia was the one that took the brunt of the abuse being in front, yet he was the one who was with the fewest wounds, unlike the other nine.
Compared to other types of Cultivators, this illustrated how important talents and innate qualities were to Body-tempering Cultivators. A Combat Cultivator could still improve himself through hard work, training, or through other methods. But Body-tempering Cultivators without the much-needed qualities of physical strength and endurance, oftentimes being the ones to spearhead attacks in battles, would die very easily.
To that end, Body-tempering Cultivators oftentimes received the most priority and attention. They would get the best portion of supplies and resources and the best training infrastructure since their presence on the battlefield could dictate the oue.
That was what Hua Ci told Lu Ye before, Body-tempering Cultivators receive the best amount of care and benefits, but they also needed to justify the favor by winning battles using their blood, sweat, and tears.
The plundering took two hours before everyone finally boarded their aerial conveyances. The two flying ships took into the air with acolytes from both orders still exchanging tales and giggles in merriment. Beneath the ship, the outpost was engulfed in a furious congration.
It wasmon for victors toy waste to and raze enemy outposts to the ground. After all, the bad blood between Lofty Plume Court and Sunlit Mountain was the cast-iron guarantee of this happening.
The flying ships flew together before they separated halfway and acolytes from both orders traded farewells and withdrew to their respective outposts.
Chapter 299: Prophetic Foresight
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 299: Prophetic Foresight
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After nine months, the name Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had once again be a household name. Unlike the Battle of Goldentip, Lu Yes notoriety this time had stirred up a never-before-seen ruckus.
The Battle of Goldentip started all because of the impending assessment of all sects and orders in the real world of Jiu Zhou where the Crimson Blood Sect was in danger of bing defunctsomething many in the Thousand Demon Ridge would have given anything to see. The situation ultimately boiled up intoplete anarchy where Cultivators from the central and inner rings regions of the Battlefield congregated in the outer ring area to hunt Lu Ye down.
It was through the tireless assistance of the Crimson Blood Sects allies that Lu Ye managed to escape death again and again before he was finally trapped at the top of Goldentip. Therefore, to resolve a stalemate that would unequivocally end with everyones death, he challenged representatives of the Thousand Demon Ridge to singlebat with every championThousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition alikeand Heaven acting as witnesses.
Forty-three rounds of singlebatLu Ye won every single round, making the whole debacle a humiliating affair for the Thousand Demon Ridge side.
No one could dispute his deadliness after that; a Fifth-Order who had killed enemies more powerful than him. The disy of his prowess and his acumen was enough to impress the whole world.
Nevertheless, the real champions could hardly care about the oue of the Battle of Goldentip. Unless Lu Ye grew any closer to threatening them, none of them would ever bat an eyelid at him.
The world had seen enough of prodigies and few ever live long enough to reach old age.
But this time, Lu Yes name once again reached everyones noticenot because of his prowess in battle, but rather because of his quaint ability which was a very potent security threat to literally every enemy outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The first report of this came from the House of Wintry Blossoms. Eyewitness reports imed that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was able to infiltrate their outpost using some unknown trick to slip through the outposts defensive ward. After entering the outpost, he had managed to seize control of their jade tablet and wrested control of the outposts defenses. That was what caused the outpost to fall.
That sent the whole Battlefieldplus the real world of Jiu Zhouinto another bout of unrest.
Every single Cultivatorstrong or weak, powerful or ordinaryall gawked with disbelief when they heard the story.
[A Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator who could prate the defenses of an outposts magical ward?]
While the feat wasnt unheard of, no one could believe that a lowly Cultivator had managed to replicate what others far more skilled and powerful than him in the mastery of Glyphs could do.
.
Many at first thought that the House of Wintry Blossoms survivors were exaggerating. Some believed that it was the legate who was trying to shift the me.
But when more news arrivedthis time from the Sunlit Mountain not far away from the House of Wintry Blossoms outpost, everyone realized that they were wrong.
Sunlit Mountain had lost its outpost too!
And that was not even a day after the House of Wintry Blossom outpost was captured.
A Sunlit Mountain survivor testified that Lu Ye had a strange and unknown method that allowed him to open a hole in the shield of a fully operating magical shield.
That was also what allowed Lu Ye to storm into the outpost with ten Body tempering Cultivators, culminating in the death of the Sunlit Mountain legate and the jade tablet being taken.
One ount imed that Lu Ye could infiltrate an outposts defenses unnoticed, while the other argued that Lu Ye practically sted a hole right through their shield. Yet despite the discrepancies, one thing was clear and undisputed, despite being just an Eighth-Order, Lu Yi Ye either possessed great mastery in the magic of Glyphs or he was immensely skilled at defeating ward magic.
On ount of him alone, two Thousand Demon Ridge orders had lost their outposts. The men of both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court might have been with Lu Ye during the two invasions, but no one bothered to mention them at all.
Word of the invasions spread in small ripples at first. But in barely a day, all around the Battlefield and the real world of Jiu Zhou, people could not stop talking about him.
For if what happened was just like what the rumor mill was specting, then the implications would be devastating.
Outposts in the Spirit Creek Battlefield depended on their defensive wards to keep their acolytes safe from any attacks. Like how themon folk would keep their doors barred and bolted, Cultivators relied on defensive wards to give them peace of mind.
Yet, out of nowhere, there was someone who could walk through doors like a wraith. He could even open a hole in it ande inside. Then he would steal, plunder, and even kill.
Anyone would go hysterical.
If the oue of the Battle of Goldentip had shown the tip of the iceberg of what Lu Ye would grow to be, then the fall of the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain was the catalyst of the panic and fear the Thousand Demon Ridge side had whenever his name was invoked.
Even Divine Ocean Realm Cultivators would not dare to discount Lu Ye anymore.
With outposts everywhere in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and how Cultivators relied on defensive wards to keep their refuge safe, Lu Ye had now be the biggest threat to each and every enemy outpost everywhere.
If outposts became no longer secure, then their existence would be obsolete and all
Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators would be deprived of safe shelter.
Without a viable defensive ward, all outposts would be exposed to invasion.
Just when the entire Battlefield was buzzing with rumors of Lu Yes unbelievable prowess, more beans about him were spilled.
A few months ago during the insectoid attacks, the outposts of two Thousand Demon Ridge factions nearest to the Crimson Blood Sect outpostn Feng and the Redoubt of Wrathwere also attacked. The former suffered the biggest losses with every Spirit Creek Realm member in its ranks almost extinct.
While some might attribute the copse of their stronghold to the insectoid attacks, everyone who was not a fool could recognize Lu Yes handiwork in this.
Both n Feng and the Redoubt of Wrath had never endured such ignoble humiliation before.
That would make the total number of Thousand Demon Ridge orders severely crippled by Lu Ye fourfirst the Redoubt of Wrath and n Feng, then there was the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain. All four orders were brought to heel within the span of a few months.
No one had ever done something like this since the early days of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The legate and prolegate of Silverlight Ind, Luo Fu and Qi Shi were sitting face-to-face within the vastness of their outpost.
Qi Shi had predicted that a number of Thousand Demon Ridge orders might find themselves in trouble when Lu Ye left a little more than two months ago.
Not even he himself knew that his prophetic words woulde true; after barely a couple of months, not one, but two Thousand Demon Ridge orders were lost.
If only the Thousand Demon Ridge coalition knew that the fall of the Sky Pir Sect outpost, too, was Lu Yes handiwork, albeit with the help of the giant serpent that single handedly brought down the shield of the outposts defensive ward.
That would mean that Lu Ye had been the cause of the destruction of a total of five Thousand Demon Ridge outposts.
But what everyone was certain about, was that Lu Ye was not yet in possession of the ability to defeat magical wards two months ago, or he would have long been seen to employ it.
To think that hes only just an Eighth-Order, Qi Shi murmured all of a sudden.
What do you mean, brother? Luo Fu nced at his deputy.
Lu Ye should be free to roam around the inner ring area of the Battlefield so long as hes not yet achieved the Heaven Seven Realm. Even if he does, he did not have to immediately leave the inner ring area yet, no? Judging from the rate of his progress, surely that would mean at least a year or two?
Chapter 300: This Instant
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 300: This Instant
Trantor: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Shui Yuan and Li Baxian spared no effort in peppering Lu Ye with messages about how he shouldy low at the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost for the time being. There was no reprimand, but Lu Ye knew how worried and concerned Shui Yuan must have been.
Li Baxians message, on the other hand, carried a wholly different sentiment. Instead of asking him to be careful, he encouraged Lu Ye to go wherever his heart would take him and leave the rest to him.
In the meantime, Hua Ci, too, had delivered him a message of her own. The duties and rigors of serving as prolegate seemed to have turned her yful and bohemian self into a more mature person. There wasnt much in her message save a few words about some recent events at the outpost. But the message was mainly to convey the assurance that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about.
Lu Yes forehead creased deeply when he arrived at the end. He could not help feeling like a soldier who had just received a letter from his wife.
He made a quick calction. It wont be too long before Hua Ci reached the Eighth-Order as well.
She would be expected to make a foray of her own into the inner ring areas of the Battlefield when the time came. She would be prudent to start handpicking deputies by now.
Picking Chen Yu would be out of the question; the de facto chief of the independents was expected to enter the Eighth-Order much earlier than Hua Ci herself.
That would leave her at an impasse. After all, the Crimson Blood Sect had only very recently flung open its door to ept new members. Electing a proper recement to watch over the outpost would be a conundrum requiring both time and patience to solve.
Nevertheless, future Eighth-Orders of the sect would no longer have to worry about where to go if and when they were about to venture into the inner ring areas. Lu Ye had already taken care of that by making many friends along the way. Hua Ci and Chen Yu would have all the freedom to make their own pick; Lu Ye was confident that all friendly sects and order that he had forged ties with would do their best to make sure that any guests from the Crimson Blood Sect would be well taken care of.
It took Lu Ye quite some time before he could finish going through the messages
What are you grinning about?
Lu Ye asked without even looking up.
Its nothing, Yi Yi shook her head.
Wow, looks like you have secrets of your own, huh? Lu Ye muttered before he sighed. Thats you growing up, I guess.
Then you should know better than to pry, Yi Yi returned a yful scowl.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, Yi Yi had always been worried about him. He was improving far too fast. They might not be equals when they first stumbled into each other, in fact, Amber was stronger and more powerful than the weakling Lu Ye was back then, but, as they stuck through thick and thin together, Lu Ye began to catch up rapidly before he became better and flipped the tables. As of now, the gap between? Ambers power and his was beginning to grow wider and wider.
Since their departure from Green Cloud Mountain to embark on their journey together to find the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, Yi Yi had discovered that, as Lu Yes capabilities had grown, and more powerful enemies kept popping out of the woodwork, the role that both Amber and she could y was bing more and more limited by the day.
To a certain extent, it would not be a far cry to describe that Amber had been relegated to nothing more than a white, furry mount while Yi Yi could barely serve as anything more than a scout that was best suited for reconnoitering and reconnaissance.
That was when the dread began to take root inside Yi Yi. She started to worry that the day that Lu Ye would leave them behind would eventuallye. The day when she would no longer be able to see him would eventuallye.
She could not bear to everprehend what that would even mean, nor could she believe that she would ever ept the mere possibility of this happening.
Affected by this, Amber increased the intake of Spirit Pills as best it could, to no avail; Lu Ye was progressing just too quickly.
Fortunately, being inducted as a member of the Crimson Blood Sect family helped to tilt things in her favor.
Tang Yifengs taking her under his wing gave her the chance to train and arm herself with panoplies of spells where she and Amber began to improve more quickly. Any increase in her power would be reflected upon each other hence, with both Yi Yi and Amber doing their best to catch up, they would enjoy twice the amount of gain, plus twice the amount of satisfaction.
That was how Amber managed to control all the apparitions at the Lost City of Xianyuan.
The spiritual enrichment Yi Yi experienced in the Pool of Divine Purification caused a paradigm shift in her abilities that was not only a one-time gain, but also a gradual one; the more she grew in the future, the greater the boon of the enrichment she would enjoy.
During the invasion of the Sunlit Mountain outpost, Yi Yi and Ambers assistance was what broke the impasse. Ambers stunning roars and her spells were what gave Lu Ye the opening he needed to seize the legates jade tablet and allowed Ju Jia and the rest of the Body-tempering Cultivators to catch up.
At that precise moment, Yi Yi was finally certain that they had finally caught up to Lu Ye.
No one could tell what the future had in store. But at leastfor the foreseeable futureYi Yi and Amber did not have to worry about being left behind anymore.
That was why she had been in an awfully good mood after that.
Oh, that reminds me. This came from the people of the Hidden Light Sanctuary, said Yi Yi, handing Lu Ye a Storage Bag.
Whats inside?
Spirit Stones and Pills.
The booty from the two invasions were not just the blessings of the Divine Opportunity Columns, but also the bounty that could be looted off the deadriches, treasures, rare herbs, among other stuff that could be found inside a Storage Bag.
The people of the Hidden Light Sanctuary must have considered the notion that Lu Ye would not like having too many things inconvenience him. That prompted them to just convert everything to Spirit Stones and Pills.
Both were widely-epted currencies all around the Battlefield.
Keep them then, Lu Ye muttered as he panned left and right, looking everywhere.
Wheres Ju Jia by the way?
Still training, I think.
How are his injuries?
Ive seen them. Hes fine.
Lu Ye nodded. After some food, he left and headed for the outposts training chambers to meditate and read.
His initial n was to leave after the invasion, but the situation dictated that he keep his head low for the time being while the hype and fervor of his recent exploits died down.
Shui Yuan might have sounded paranoid, but she had a point, Lu Ye needed toy low, at least, and not poke the bear any more than he ought to.
More so, since Lu Ye was willing to bet every Spirit Store in his Storage Bag that his image would have been disseminated to every Thousand Demon Ridge sect and order by now.
Retaining motion images was not a very difficult thing to do. Lu Ye knew that a Glyph by the name of Record Image existed for exactly this function. Another Glyph known as Record Sound functioned to retain the imprint of sounds and voices.
And Employing both Glyphs at the same time would yield amazing results.
Long ago, Lu Ye found from inside thete Manager Yangs Storage Bag an art catalog. But it wasnt just any art catalog. One could inject Spiritual Power into it and the images in the catalog would not onlye alive; they could even perform the most unbelievable and marvelous actions while emitting strange noises.
The art catalog itself was a manifestation of both the Glyphs Record Image and Record Sounds, although Lu Ye did not know about its true worth back then. Even as he did now, it was no good; the catalog had been confiscated by the Grand Master and his mentor Tang Yifeng.
Apparently, it was no ordinary art catalog. It was a manual for sexual methods of cultivation. Lu Ye did not believe it back then. He dismissed what Tang Yifeng said as mere piffle. But now that he knew better, Lu Ye understood how wrong he had been. Tang Yifeng was right all along.
In the past, Lu Ye was just a speck in a multitude of hundreds or thousands of Spirit Creek Realm Cultivators that roamed the Battlefield. Whatever feats he aplished, remarkable or not, most wouldnt even bat an eye at him.
Things had be different now. With the fall of two Thousand Demon Ridge outposts attributed directly to him, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had just be the enemy factions Public Enemy Number One.
Any sighting of him being near another Thousand Demon Ridge outpost could send the entire Battlefield into panic and disarray.
To that end, Lu Ye thought of purchasing something that could change his appearance from the Vault of Providence. Something like that wouldnt be cheap, but he could get it easily from the Vault and it would help to change his face.
Even so, getting his appearance changed would not help one bit. Anyone would instantly recognize Amber and Ju Jia right off the bat. Wherever they went, they would remain conspicuously identifiable.
Unless Lu Ye were to operate alone, he would remain instantly recognizable anywhere.
Lu Ye griped quietly to himself, [Is that it? Is my n toe to the inner ring area for some payback dying in its crib before I even manage to do anything?!]
But for all the frustration now swelling inside him, Lu Ye convinced himself that surely things werent that bad. Luck had yed a heavy role in the invasions of both the House of Wintry Blossoms and the Sunlit Mountain outposts and Lu Ye could only keep his fingers crossed that the Thousand Demon Ridge factions were aware of this too. So long as they came up with measures to prevent these lucky situations from happening, another sessful invasion in this manner wouldnt be possible anymore.
Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators were not fools. By the time they got to the bottom of what happened, they would most certainlye to the same view as Lu Ye.
While Lu Ye was enjoying the peace and quiet in the training chamber to read and meditate, a huge ruckus erupted in the audience hall of the Hidden Light Sanctuary outpost.
Guests from afar never stopped streaming into the outpostsall of them legates, prolegates, or even emissaries of all Grand Sky Coalition outposts nearby. In barely a day, representatives of more than seven to eight allied sects and orders had arrived.
Gu Canyang and Wei Li did their best to hold everyone at bay. Beleaguered by the incessant demands, none of them looked like themselves during the sessful invasions.
Lu Ye had given very specific instructions the moment they came back here. He expected that people woulde asking for his help tounch invasions of their own, but he needed Gu Canyang and Wei Li to disavow them of any notion of sess.
It was all because of the invasion with the Silverlight Ind people that had lent him this insight.
As soon as everyone nearby heard of how the Sky Pir Sect outpost was defeated, many began to try to make use of the serpent. But the smart beast slipped away, or more Thousand Demon Ridge outposts would have suffered its wrath.
For this reason, Lu Ye knew that people woulde banging on the doors, demanding to speak to him once word of his ability to slip through defensive ward shields reached every ear.
.
Hence he refused to show himself, choosing instead to let the Hidden Light Sanctuary people deal with the crowd instead.
Please! Everyone! Please! Gu Canyang flung his arms wide in exasperation with the resemnce of an albatross as if the gesture would kill the noise. I know the reason everyone is here and I understand how you all feel. But please understand! Were not trying to keep Lu Yi Ye to ourselves! This is his request and he has specifically confessed that the invasions were only sessful because were lucky. They cant be replicated. Not ever again.
Thats unfriendly, Gu. Both the Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court enjoyed the ride with Lu Yi Ye and were just asking for a fair and equal chance of the same. If Lu Yi Ye could defeat their defensive wards, then he could defeat anyone! Why cant he do it again if hes done so twice!?
Thats right! Weve known each other for so long, Gu, and Ive been nothing but good to you! Now get Lu Yi Ye out here or Im gonna tell everyone your dirty little secret!
Gu Canyang could feel the corners of his eyelids throbbing. [What dirty little secret about me could you possibly know?!] But he was not in the mood to find out, not in public. Caught between the anvil and the hammer, he begged feebly, Please, my friend. Please! Listen to reason!
Then get Lu Yi Ye out here this instant!
THIS INSTANT!
In the audience hall, repetitive peals of sonorous chants threatened to bring the roof down. Even those who just arrived joined in, much to Gu Canyang and Wei Lis annoyance and exasperation.
Chapter 301: Zhao Li
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 301: Zhao Li
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Never in history had a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator so praised. No one had ever been able to do what Lu Ye did at the Eighth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm either. One might say that Lu Ye had be the new idol of all sects after the upation of the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain.
Was there anyone who didnt dream of breaching their hostile neighbors Grand Ward and wipe the floor with them? The answer was no. However, no one had found a method that was even remotely viable, until now.
It was no wonder that the sects of Grand Sky Coalition had scrambled after the young man like worshippers after their idol.
Gu Canyang did another palm down gesture and said, Please calm down and listen to me, everyone.
After drawing everyones attention, the Legate began, It would be remiss of me not to give you all a proper exnation after you have traveled all the way to my Outpost, so I will. I wasnt lying when I said that the element of luck has yed a huge factor in the upation of the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountains Outpost. Lets start with the House of Wintry Blossoms first. You may not be aware of this, but the main reason we were able to upy their Outpost is because Yue Mei did not know it was possible for someone to slip past a Grand Wardpletely undetected
The Legates and prolegates slowly calmed down as Gu Canyangunched into his exnation. Wei Li seized the opportunity to order the servants to serve them some tea.
After Gu Canyang was done exining how they upied Sunlit Mountain as well, he said, It should be clear now that Brother Yi Ye infiltrates each Outpost using different methods. In fact, both methods will not work a second time. I am sure you all understand what Im saying.
The Legates and prolegates had all fallen into thoughtful silence. Assuming that Gu Canyang was telling them the truth, then the methods were impossible to reuse.
The House of Wintry Blossoms had lost their Outpost because Yue Mei was too carelesswas what they wanted to say, but that would be too unfair. No one couldve done better in her ce because no one had ever managed to slip past a Grand Ward undetected, much less snatch the Control Gem from a Legate like Yue Mei.
Not only that, Lu Ye had cut off Yue Meis arm and seized the Control Gem in just two strikes. That was how Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court were able to break through the Grand Ward and invade the Outpost.
The upation of Sunlit Mountains Outpost was even more clear cut. After Yue Mei had sent out the message, the Thousand Demon Ridge sect had immediately fortified their defenses to the point where even Lu Ye could no longer slip through the Grand Ward. He had changed his breaching method not because he wanted to, but because he had no other choice.
In fact, the main reason he seeded was because Sunlit Mountain did not have many cultivators in their Outpost. Their total force numbered only a little over a hundred cultivators, which was why Lu Ye and ten body tempering cultivators alone were able to disorient them.
If Sunlit Mountain had fifty or even thirty more cultivators in their Outpost, then the situation wouldve beenpletely different. Lu Ye and his group wouldve just died to a rain of attacks.
For a long time, there was only silence in the main hall. Finally, the Legate with the surname Niu said, So, youre saying that weve wasted our timeing here.
Gu Canyang shrugged. Brother Yi Ye said that he might be able to make further attempts if his cultivation level and attainment in the Way of Wards was better, but yes, he can do no more at the moment.
The crowd was disappointed, but they had to admit that Gu Canyang was right.
Lu Yes tactics were impressive, but they were also pretty easy to defend against after they had been discovered. In fact, one might say that no amount of ward bypassing techniques were enough if people were guarding the Outpost.
Actually, this might not necessarily be a bad thing, a thin cultivator spoke up suddenly.
What do you mean, Brother Zhao?
The cultivator with the surname Zhao exined, If Brother Yi Ye could breach any Grand Ward with impunity, then Thousand Demon Ridge would surely be wary of him. As long as he remained in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he would be beset by enemies and obstacles no matter where he went. In reality, the methods he used were fairly easy to defend against. He is a threat, but not a threat that they must eliminate at all costs. Therefore, Brother Yi Ye should not be in danger for the moment.
They agreed with him. If Lu Yes methods were indefensible, then Thousand Demon Ridge wouldve been agitated beyond imagination. The previous fiasco might repeat itself, meaning that they might try every trick in the book to eliminate Lu Ye. There was no chance the young man could survive if he was visited by the champions of the Core Circle, specifically those who were named on the Roll of Supremacy.
As of now, Thousand Demon Ridge was wary of Lu Ye, but they certainly hadnt been pushed to the point ofplete unscrupulousness.
It cant be helped. But dammit, Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court are so lucky! Someonemented. Why hadnt Lu Yi Ye visited their Outpost? If he had, it wouldve been them upying their neighbors Outpost!
Indeed, it cant be helped! Hahahaha! Gu Canyang guffawed. Now that he thought about it, Hidden Light Sanctuary really was incredibly lucky. If it wasnt for Lu Ye, he and Ji Yan wouldve died in the Lost City of Xianyuan already. Their sect wouldve been too crippled to attempt anything even if Lu Ye still possessed the skill to breach their enemys Grand Ward. It wouldve been hell.
Since Lu Ye could not repeat his feat, there was no point in staying any longer. The Legates and prolegates bade Gu Canyang and Wei Li goodbye, and thetter saw them off warmly.
Gu Canyang let out a small sigh of relief when the guests were finally gone. Then, he returned to the hall, sat down on the opposite side of Wei Li, and discussed the follow-up matters with him.
Around three hundred House of Wintry Blossoms cultivators and two hundred Sunlit Mountain cultivators had survived the upation of their Outpost. They were going to rebuild their Outposts as a matter of course, but Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court werent going to make it easy for them. It was impossible to wipe out their enemiespletely, but they certainly could oppress the shit out of them and lengthen their period of recovery. With luck, it would be years before either Thousand Demon Ridge factions recovered their strength.
Moreover, both Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court enjoyed a lot more freedom of choice than before. They could even lend some reinforcements to nearby allies and assist them in attacking more Thousand Demon Ridge forces.
Of course, they would have to spend a good amount of time nning and discussing their future direction. Such things could not be rushed.
The duo were still in the middle of discussions when suddenly, Gu Canyang felt something and checked his Battlefield Imprint. He then sent out a message.
Zhao Li has returned, Gu Canyang said while looking at Wei Li, has he not given up yet?
Zhao Li was one of the Legates who departed the Outpost a while ago. For whatever reason, the guy had chosen to return.
Wei Li pondered this for a second before answering, Brother Zhao is a thoughtful man, and we have said everything we shouldve said. I do not think he wille back just to pressure us on the same futile issue.
If thats true, then why did hee back?
Have you forgotten about the roots of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, senior brother?
Gu Canyang mulled over this for a moment before eximing in realization, I see what you mean. What a cunning fellow he is, this Zhao Li. He waited until everyone was gone before sneaking his way back. He must be plotting to monopolize all the benefits.
We Li chuckled. That isnt necessarily true, but yes, I agree that Brother Yi Ye may not turn him down.
He stopped talking after that. It was because he could sense Zhao Lis presence.
Brother Gu, Brother Wei, Zhao Li greeted while stepping into the hall.
Gu Canyang feigned ignorance and asked, Did you leave behind an item or something, Brother Zhao?
Zhao Li smiled. No, no. I just recalled something I forgot to tell you while I was here.
He then turned serious and said, Earlier, I said that Brother Yi Ye should be rtively safe after the Thousand Demon Ridge figured out the whole truth, but now that I think about it, that isnt necessarily the case.
What do you mean?
Im saying that Thousand Demon Ridge may yet abandon all dignity and attack Brother Yi Ye with everything they got, Zhao Li said seriously, Brother Yi Ye is just an Eighth-Order cultivator, but he has already pulled off the impossible multiple times. For now, his methods are easy to defend against once youve figured out the trick behind them, but who is to say he wouldnte up with new, harder-to-defend tricks after his cultivation and attainment in the Way of Wards improves? Just as we hope he would be able to repeat the feat in the future, there is a good chance Thousand Demon Ridge might want to nip him in the bud. Assuming the worst, even your Outpost would not be safe, Brother Gu.
Gu Canyang was surprised to say the least. How did his Outpost get dragged into this?
It is no secret that Brother Yi Ye is staying in your Outpost right now. If Thousand Demon Ridge wishes to nip Brother Yi Ye in the bud even at the cost of their face, then they would already be plotting with all nearby Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts and mobilizing their forces to attack you. Worst case scenario, your Outpost would be under siege in a matter of days!
Gu Canyangs expression gradually turned solemn. Do you really think your prediction wille true, Brother Zhao?
Zhao Li slowly shook his head. Im not sure. As I said, it is just a possibility. This is why Ive chosen toe back. If you dont mind, I would like to stay at your Outpost for the moment and observe the situation. Assuming that Thousand Demon Ridge is plotting something big, then the Heavenly Derivative Sect would be able to respond in time. Of course, it would be best if my fears are just fears, and nothing happens.
Thank you, Brother Zhao. You are more than wee in our Outpost.
But of course. That said, I think you should inform Lofty Plume Court and all allied sects to be ready to reinforce the Outpost as soon as possible. They are closer after all.
That makes sense. Gu Canyang nodded seriously.
If there is nothing else, then I would like to go to my temporary amodation now. My apologies for the trouble, Zhao Li said while sping his hands together.
It is no trouble at all. Brother Wei, please take him to his room, Gu Canyang said while looking at Wei Li.
Wei Li nodded and took Zhao Li to the guest area. After he returned, he saw Gu Canyang still sitting on his chair and thinking about something. Wei Li returned to his own seat and poured himself a cup of tea before asking, What are you thinking, senior brother?
Oh, Im just thinking how Zhao Li almost fooled me with his circuitous talk.
Huh? Wei Li looked at him in puzzlement.
Gu Canyang smiled. Before that, Brother Zhao asked to be assigned next to Brother Yi Yes amodation, didnt he?
The guest area was fairly huge and filled with detached pavilions. Right now, only Lu Ye and Ju Jia were using the facilities. While Wei Li could assign Zhao Li to any pavilion he wanted, he certainly wasnt going to refuse his guests request if possible.
Yes, Wei Li responded, Brother Zhao asked where Brother Yi Ye lived before choosing the neighboring pavilion to stay in.
Gu Canyang grimaced. I knew it.
I dont understand, senior brother.
Im saying that hes here for Lu Ye.
Wei Li wasnt stupid. He was just feeling a little slow after all the work he had done today. He immediately realized Gu Canyangs meaning and asked, Are you saying that Brother Zhao was just distracting us with some rmist talk?
Chapter 302: Hundred Wards Tower
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 302: Hundred Wards Tower
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
I wont deny that he exaggerated things a little, but no, the threat he spoke of is quite real, Gu Canyang said thoughtfully while sping his hands and cing them on his legs. I would not have realized it if he hadnt brought it up, but we do need to watch our backs for the moment. Just in case, Ive already messaged all our allies about this.
That said, it is very unlikely that Thousand Demon Ridge would actually attack our Outpost. Even if they somehow seeded, we could just escape by teleporting away through the Divine Opportunity Column or breaking through their encirclement. In any case, it is impossible for them toy a finger on Brother Yi Ye by attacking the Outpost.
A bitter smile cracked on Wei Lis face. Brother Zhao even imed that hes staying here so he could respond to the threat in time
I know right? That was the point where I realized that something was amiss. The Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost is a long, long distance away from ours. Unless Brother Zhao could see into the future, theres no way his allies would show up in time to aid us. Sure, he arrived pretty early during todays meet-up, but thats only because he happened to be in the area. If the Thousand Demon Ridge did decide to attack us, the battle would be over long before his people could reach us.
Oh, Brother Zhao I dont understand why he would go about this issue in such a roundabout way. He couldve just told us his request directly.
Like I said, hes here for Brother Yi Ye. He doesnt know if Brother Yi Ye is training under our sect right now. If he is, it wouldve been rather impolite to make a request directly. Its a different story if he spoke with Brother Yi Ye in private though. Knowing that silver-tongued bastard, I doubt Brother Yi Ye would be able to escape his clutches
Seriously. Wei Li didnt know whether to cry orugh. Ive heard of his reputation a long time ago, and as far as I can tell its more than justified. So, should we respond to this, or
No. Gu Canyang waved his hands. Brother Yi Ye never said anything about training in our sect, so theres a high chance hes just passing through. Weve already received much kindness from Brother Yi Ye, so it would hardly be right to influence his opportunities. If Zhao Li does seed in inviting Brother Yi Ye to whatever scheme he has in mind, then good on him.
What we should do right now is to send out the scouts and monitor the movement of our enemies. Every second is precious if Thousand Demon Ridge really does the unthinkable.
Yes!
Recently, Ju Jia had found a great ce to cultivate in. It was the training chamber of Hidden Light Sanctuary.
When he was following Sima Yang, the amount of times he entered an Outpost could be counted on one hand, much less using a cultivation chamber. He had never cultivated in a World Spiritual Qi rich environment until Lu Ye took him to a training chamber. Since then, he became absolutely obsessed and visited the ce at least once every night. He was barely seen during the day either.
Ju Jias tolerance for boredom was extraordinary. Even Lu Ye was no match for him in this regard. Then again, it wasnt that surprising. He was the guy who withstood Sima Yangs ridiculous exploitation without batting an eyelid after all.
Ju Jia was grateful to Sima Yang for putting him on the path of cultivation. That was why he neverined a word no matter how much abuse he received from the spell cultivator.
Today, the cultivators who killed Sima Yang were dead in the Lost City of Xianyuan, and even the House of Wintry Blossoms Outpost had been upied thanks to Lu Ye. If there was an afterlife, Sima Yang should be able to rest in peace now.
In the pavilion, Lu Ye and Zhao Li were sitting opposite each other and engaging in an eloquent discussion. They were talking about wards.
A few days ago, after the duo encountered one another by coincidence, they gradually grew familiar with each others presence. However, they didnt talk much because Lu Ye spent most of his time in the training chamber.
Thissted until Lu Ye identally learned that Zhao Li was a cultivator of the Way of Wards. His interest was immediately piqued, and he dragged the older cultivator into an academic discussion.
Lady Yun taught him much about Glyphs, but most of his knowledge regarding wards came from the books he took from her study. In that sense, he was a self-study in the Way of Wards, even though the Way of Wards was technically a branch of the Way of Glyphs.
He thought he was doing okay in this field, but he could just be deluding himself. There was no one he could measure himself against after all. Naturally, he was most happy to find out that Zhao Li was a ward cultivator.
So engrossed he was with the discussion that he did not notice that cold sweat was forming on Zhao Lis forehead at all.
Zhao Li was wailing mentally right now. He already knew that Lu Ye was pretty good in the Way of Wards since he was able to slip through or breach a Grand Ward using his special methods, but it wasnt until they engaged in an academic discussion that he realized that he was seriously talented in this department.
Zhao Li discovered that Lu Yes knowledge was a bit skewed, however. There were two main directions in the Way of Wards. One of them was creating Wards, and the other was breaching them.
Generally speaking, the two directions wereplementary to each other. Someone who knew how to create wards must know how to breach wards, and vice versa.
However, that wasnt the case for Lu Ye. His knowledge was impable when it came to breaching wards, but he almost felt like a novice when it came to creating wards.
The duo werent just exchanging words. From time to time, they would create wards for the other person to breach. Zhao Li quickly discovered that Lu Ye was able to breach any ward he created in two or three breaths at most. Although Zhao Lis attainment in the Way of Wards wasnt particrly impressive, and the wards he created were a reflection of that, he could not understand how they were breached as quickly as they were. It hurt Zhao Lis pride and made him wonder if he had wasted his time all these years.
The one thing that made him feel better was that the wards Lu Ye created werent particrly impressive either. He wasnt able to breach them as quickly as Lu Ye, but it also didnt cost him too much effort.
While the end result was nothing special, what really stunned Zhao Li was the process. Lu Ye had created his ward in an extremely short time by directly channeling his Spiritual Power. He did not use any ward creating tools in the process.
His Great Elder was the only one he knew who could create a ward with a single thought. However, their cultivation levels were night and day to put it mildly.
Generally speaking, it was incredibly difficult for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to create a ward without using some tools. Somemon examples were small ward gs or ward keystones. Moreover, each item possessed a unique characteristic of its own. Only by using them together in certain ways could a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator create a ward.
Zhao Li wanted to confirm one thing no matter what.
Who did you learn the Way of Wards from, Brother Yi Ye?
Lu Ye immediately thought of Lady Yun. Technically speaking, Lady Yun only taught him the Way of Glyphs. However, the Way of Wards was a branch of the Way of Glyphs, so it wouldnt be a mistake to say that she was his teacher in the Way of Wards either.
He could not tell Zhao Li the honest truth though. Lady Yun had specifically told him to keep her identity a secret.
So, he said, The Crimson Blood Sect owns some books on the Way of Wards, and you should know that Ive received the inheritance of a Glyphweaver, right? Glyphweavers and the Way of Wards are kinda rted to each other, so sometimes I would read those books to further my knowledge.
Youre saying that youre self-taught, Brother Yi Ye? Zhao Lis eyes twitched once.
If Lu Ye managed toe this far via self-study, just how much further would he go if he had a proper teacher? He could not even begin to imagine.
In the past, the seniors in his sect oftenmented that there were unparalleled geniuses in the world that ordinary people like them could never hope to stand with as equals. He never really took their words seriously because he thought that these so-called unparalleled geniuses might exist, but they could not be that much better than him. It was because he was a genius himself.
But now, he realized that he was just being arrogant and foolish.
This also exined why Lu Yes attainment in the Way of Wards was so unusual. He could breach most wards with ease, but the wards he created were rather shoddy. However, the process of that creation were paradoxically quite impressive.
Even more stunning was the fact that a self-study had somehow managed to breach a Grand Ward not once, but twice using his own special methods.
Have you ever heard of the Hundred Wards Tower, Brother Yi Ye?
No. What is that? Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. He had never heard of it, but it obviously had something to do with wards.
You could say that it was a treasure of the previous era.
By that, he meant the era before the Spirit Creek Battlefield came to be.
Lu Ye was no longerpletely ignorant about the state of Jiu Zhou. Naturally, he was privy to the Era Theory.
Previously, he thought that a world like Jiu Zhouone filled with countless sects and championswould possess a long and deep history. In reality, things were a little moreplicated than he thought.
To put it simply, there were no written records of Jiu Zhou before the Spirit Creek Battlefield came to be. All the history books only recorded events after the formation of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and the battlefield was two or three thousand years old at best. Not long after that, the two cultivation factionsGrand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridgecame to existence as well.
One thing was certain, the old Jiu Zhou must have been an incredibly prosperous and powerful Cultivation World. They knew this because there were a lot of relics that clearly did not belong to the current Jiu Zhou scattered across the continent. From time to time, ancient ruins and inheritances would pop up on the Spirit Creek Battlefield as well.
Unfortunately, no one was ever able to find any written record regarding the old Jiu Zhou. That was why they simply addressed them as relics of the previous era.
It made no sense that their history spanned only two to three thousand years considering the average lifespan of a cultivator. To make aparison, a Divine Sea Realm cultivator had a lifespan of a thousand years or so, a True Lake Realm cultivator around five hundred years, and a Cloud River Realm cultivator around two hundred years. As for Spirit Creek Realm, they were like garlic chives that kept growing back no matter how many times they were harvested.
Of course, these were just theoretical numbers. All cultivators led a life of violence. Even if someone managed to live to old age, something like invisible damage or worse would definitely impact their lifespan.
The most popr theory to date was that a catastrophic disaster had struck the previous Jiu Zhou and reset their Cultivation World altogether. It was the only exnation as to why their written history only spanned two to three thousand years.
The Hundred Wards Tower Zhao Li mentioned was probably one such relic.
There are a hundred floors in the Hundred Wards Tower, and each floor contains a different kind of ward. With the floors getting progressively harder, and the challengers who sessfully clear a floor are rewarded by the Heavens. Naturally, the rewards are all rted to the Way of Wards in some way.
There is a saying among ward cultivators, and that is that a ward cultivator who hasnt challenged the Hundred Wards Tower is not a true ward cultivator. ording to the current standards, someone who cleared the first ten floors is considered a novice in the Way of Wards, twenty floors, an elite, thirty-three floors, a master, and sixty-six floors, a grandmaster
What about a hundred?
No one has ever cleared a hundred floors, but not because they are all wanting. A bit of pity entered Zhao Lis eyes at this moment. It is because the Hundred Wards Tower itself is iplete. It only has sixty-six floors.
Chapter 303: Keeping An Appointment
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 303: Keeping An Appointment
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Hundred Wards Tower wasnt just iplete, it had been split into three separate portions. The first one was at the Heavenly Derivative Sect, and the second one was at the Cloud River Battlefield. As the name suggested, only Cloud River Realm cultivators could enter that ce. The Cloud River Battlefield was very different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield though. For example, there were no Outposts in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Unfortunately, the third portion of the Hundred Wards Tower remained missing to this day. It was a sore point for all ward cultivators of Jiu Zhou because the rewards it gave out to those who cleared its floors could only be described as incalcble. There wasnt a single top-tier ward cultivator in Jiu Zhou who hadnt received the boon of the tower.
No one knew why or how the Hundred Wards Tower was split into three portions. Some people spected that it had been sliced into three portions by a champion that only existed in myths and imagination because not even the strongest Divine Ocean Realm cultivator in Jiu Zhou could boast the strength to so much as scratch the Hundred Wards Tower, much less cut through it. One could even view it as a treasure belonging to an entire tier of its own; one that was definitely beyond a Spirit Treasure.
If you wish to cultivate the Way of Wards, I would suggest that you head to our headquarters and give the Hundred Wards Tower a try, Brother Yi Ye. I am sure it will benefit you greatly.
As Gu Canyang thought, Zhao Li had snuck back to the Outpost to tempt Lu Ye to his sect. He was certain that the young man would not be able to resist the Heavenly Derivative Sects wealth and knowledge in regards to the Way of Wards.
After engaging Lu Ye in an intellectual discourse, he truly believed that the young man deserved to further his skill and knowledge through the Hundred Wards Tower. The tower was a strange ce where the more talented the ward cultivator was, the better the rewards they would receive for clearing a floor. And if Lu Ye went to the tower, then he would have achieved his primary objective.
In fact, Lu Ye found the offer to be irresistible. While the others were impressed by his ability to subvert the Grand Wards of the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain, the experience only made him realize his shorings.
He would not belittle his own attainments in the Way of Wards, but he could not deny that he was stillcking somewhat. For starters, the methods he used to breach or sneak past the enemys Grand Ward could never be repeated. His enemies were sure to learn from their fallenrades mistakes and plug all the holes in their defenses.
Moreover, putting a hole in the enemys Grand Ward was a wed tactic to begin with. Even if he was skilled enough to repeat the feat, it wouldnt take long for the other side to repair the hole in the Grand Ward at all. That was why he had to take ten body tempering cultivators with him that time. It should not need to be said why attempting the same tactic against a prepared enemy would be a terrible idea.
Realistically speaking, there were only two ways to improve on his ward breaching skill. The first one was to increase his cultivation level. Glyph: Insight was an advantage any ward cultivator would be hard pressed to beat. The Glyph allowed him to discover the ws of any ward with ease. Therefore, he could theoretically destroy any ward as long as his cultivation was sufficient, skill be damned.
This was why there was a saying, One absolute power is superior to ten good skills. There was nothing in this world that could not be defeated with absolute power. And if one hit wasnt enough, then two hits would do it!
That said, he was ten years too early to consider this method right now. He had already tried to breach a Grand Ward via brute force and failed because hecked power. That was why he had no choice but to rely on the other method, a.k.a further his attainment in the Way of Wards.
There was a problem though. He knew he was improving at a considerable rate for a self-studier, but he was still nowhere close to the bar he had set for himself. Even if he returned to the Crimson Blood Sect and resumed his studies with Lady Yun right now, he still wasnt sure he could achieve his goal. His teacher was an outstanding Glyphweaver, but she might not necessarily be an outstanding or even average ward cultivator. A person could only split their focus so much after all.
Now a solution had been presented to him. If the Hundred Wards Tower truly was as incredible as Zhao Li imed, then he was definitely going to give it a try.
Lu Ye took out his 10-point map and checked the location of the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost. He soon discovered that it was a fair distance away from here. Even if he flew on his Spirit Artifact the entire way, it was going to take him a few days to arrive.
I am most grateful for your invitation, Brother Zhao, but I am busy with some matters right now. Why dont you head back to your Outpost first? I promise I will visit the Heavenly Derivative Sect when I am ready.
Zhao Li was overjoyed to hear this. He immediately rose to his feet and said, That is not a problem at all. In that case, I shall head back now and wait for your good news, Brother Yi Ye.
Lu Ye personally saw him off. A momentter, Zhao Li met up with Wei Lithetter was keeping watch right nowand bade everyone goodbye.
Since he had achieved his objective, there was no need to remain in Hidden Light Sanctuary any longer.
After Zhao Li was gone, Yi Yi appeared from the pavilion and asked in puzzlement, What is this matter were busy with, Lu Ye? Why havent I heard about it?
She certainly hadnt seen him do anything out of the ordinary for the past couple days.
That was just an excuse, Lu Ye said while shaking his head.
Oh, I get it now. You were just putting him down gently.
No, no. I do want to visit the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Lu Ye smiled. Its just that we stirred up the hos nest. Im worried that we might encounter some trouble when we take our leave. If my fearse true, we would be putting Brother Zhao in danger by traveling with him. That is why I decided to send him away first.
I see. Youre quite thoughtful, Lu Ye. Yi Yi nodded in realization. Do you really think were going to run into trouble?
Who knows?
Nothing was certain until it actually happened. The best he could do was to prepare for the possibility.
A couple more days passed in the blink of an eye. Deciding that it was time, Lu Ye sought out Gu Canyang and bade him goodbye.
Gu Canyang tacitly asked if Lu Ye was interested in staying, but it was clear that that wasnt the case. So, he didnt push further. While it was a shame, he knew from the start that Lu Ye was just passing through the area. He was always going to leave eventually.
In fact, he found himself envying Lu Ye a little. The man bore his burdens but did not allow them to dictate his fate, venturing the world wherever and whenever he wished. Although it was a more dangerous life, it also improved his knowledge and experience.
Of course, Gu Canyang was only envious. He had no desire to lead such a life himself. The Legate returned to his Outpost after seeing Lu Ye and Ju Jia off.
Lu Ye was flying, but he wasnt using the boat he obtained from Yuan Guang this time. It was because he discovered that it was just a little too much for him to pilot as an Eighth-Order cultivator. His main issue with it stemmed from the fact that it cost more Spiritual Power than he liked. That was also why Lu Ye almost always rode Amber barring certain circumstances. It was the most energy efficient method, and he could focus on cultivating.
The flying Spirit Artifact they were currently riding belonged to Ju Jia. Earlier, Lu Ye had given him a lot of Spirit Artifacts to exchange for Contribution Points, and a good number of them were flying Spirit Artifacts. Ju Jia found one that he liked and decided to keep it.
His decision to travel with Ju Jia was already starting to pay off. It wouldve taken him more than half a month to reach the Heavenly Derivative Sect if he had ridden Amber there. Now, it would only take them three or four days to arrive.
Ju Jia possessed something simr to a Mutant Core in his body that contained a tremendous reserve of Spiritual Power. If necessary, Ju Jia could pilot the flying Spirit Artifact continuously for several days straight.
Of course, doing this would put a tremendous burden on Ju Jia since Spiritual Power did not equal stamina. That was why most people chose to take a break after flying for a quarter of a day or so.
Meanwhile, at a concealed location over 2.5 km away from Hidden Light Sanctuarys Outpost, a pair of eyes were narrowing intently at the departing Lu Ye and Ju Jia. The one whom the eyes belonged to immediately sent out a message after confirming that they werent seeing things.
The receiver of the message immediately forwarded the message to others upon reception. It wasnt long before countless people were made aware of the fact that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had departed Hidden Light Sanctuarys Outpost, his destination was unknown.
Zhao Lis worries turned out to be true after all. Thousand Demon Ridge could no longer stand to do nothing after Lu Ye had yed a pivotal role in the upation of the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain.
Yes, there was an element of luck in his sesses. Yes, none of his methods were repeatable. However, Lu Ye had also been an insignificant Fifth-Order cultivator just eight to nine months ago. Today, he was an Eighth-Order cultivator who, by luck or no, was instrumental in the upation of multiple Outposts.
He was growing at a tremendous rate, and he would only grow harder and harder to handle as time passed. However, even their worry regarding hisbat strength was secondary to their worry regarding his attainment in the Way of Wards. If the young man could alreadye up with these unexpected, never-before-seen methods at his current skill level, what would happen when he became a true expert? At this rate, not even an Outpost would be a safe ce for them anymore.
That was why many Thousand Demon Ridge sects had arrived at the consensus to dispose of Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect as soon as possible. It was better to be safe than sorry. To this end, they even distributed Lu Yes picture to all relevant personnel and instructed them to memorize his features.
The entire cultivation faction came alive after Lu Ye came out, but they made sure to keep their movement as stealthy as possible.
The Battle of Goldentip was a lesson they werent going to forget any time soon. They would try to keep a low profile, or as low as they could with an operation at this scale anyway.
This was why they hadnt made a move when Lu Ye was staying in Hidden Light Sanctuary. It wouldve been meaningless. Even if they managed to upy the Outpost, Lu Yi Ye could just teleport back to Jiu Zhou through the Divine Opportunity Column. They wouldve failed their primary objective, and the cost would far outweigh their gains. No, their only chance to kill Lu Ye was to do it in the outskirts!
The scouts they posted all over the ce immediately began to take action. Every once in a while, a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator or two would report Lu Yes movements to their allies. So many people were involved in this operation that it was impossible for Lu Ye to escape their surveince no matter where he went. Once in a while they would lose sight of him, but it did not matter. It never took long before someone picked him out from the sky again.
There was one thing that amused Thousand Demon Ridge though, and that was Lu Yes movement was erratic and unpredictable. Sometimes, he would travel to the east in a straight line. Sometimes, he would reverse course and travel west instead. Sometimes, he even flew circles around a particr area.
It was clear he was doing this to confuse his pursuers. It was pointless though. Nearly every Thousand Demon Ridge sect in the Inner Circle hade together for this operation. Unless he hid himselfpletely, there was no way he could escape their tracking no matter where he went.
On Ju Jias flying Spirit Artifact, Lu Ye narrowed his eyes a little. He had no idea about Thousand Demon Ridges ns for him, but he did know that he felt like he was being watched since the moment he left Hidden Light Sanctuarys Outpost. It was why he asked Ju Jia to change directions again and again. Unfortunately, it didnt seem like his countermeasure was very useful, if at all.
In the past, he wouldnt even realize if he was being watched. That was the good thing about having a powerful Divine Soul. His sixth sense would tell him if something was off.
The fact that he was unable to shake off his spies could only mean two things. One, someone had been following him in secret this whole time. Two, this whole ce was being watched, so he was easily spotted no matter where he went.
[Looks like things are even moreplicated than I initially thought.]
He took a moment to inspect his Spiritual Points. He was now at one hundred and sixty five Spiritual Points and fifteen away from bing a Ninth-Order cultivator.
Given a good enough cultivation environment, Lu Ye could unlock fifteen Spiritual Points in less than a month. When that happened, he would be able to purchase the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique with five thousand or so Contribution Points and unlock more Spiritual Points. He was looking forward to the Heaven Grade cultivation technique.
Chapter 304: Old School Ninth-Order Cultivator
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 304: Old School Ninth-Order Cultivator
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Previously, Lu Ye was nning to ascend to the Ninth-Order first before leaving Hidden Light Sanctuarys Outpost. He was hoping to lie low until the danger had passed, or lessened to a certain extent.
Unfortunately, the Hundred Wards Tower Zhao Li mentioned was just too attractive. Before he knew it, he was already heading toward the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
Lu Ye wasnt too afraid that his enemies were spying on him. As long as Thousand Demon Ridge still conformed to the rules, there was only so much they could do against him.
Of course, there was always the possibility that they would ignore everything. That was what really worried him.
It wasnt until evening that the unpleasant feeling finally vanished from his back, but it did vanish. No matter how well Thousand Demon Ridges arrangements were, there was no way they could watch him all the time. They had to lose him once in a while.
Lu Ye immediately asked Ju Jia to lower them and fly into a forest.
A whileter, a bonfire was lit, and Ju Jia took out a good amount of raw meat from his Storage Bag. He gave Amber one before barbecuing the rest over the bonfire.
His movements were extremely practiced. Clearly, Sima Yang had made him prepare his food for a very, very long time.
Very soon, the silence was interrupted by the crackling of oil, and the fragrance of cooked meat filled the air. Ju Jia then produced a bunch of salt and spices from god-knows-where and sprinkled them over the meat.
The scent grew even more enticing.
Ju Jia did not wait until the meat was fully cooked before chowing down earnestly, though he did not forget to offer Lu Ye one of the meat before doing so. Lu Ye epted it without hesitation and happily dug into his meal, unwittingly winning Ju Jias affection with his gluttonous disy. In fact, the big man had be much closer to him for the past few days.
Realization struck Lu Ye in the middle of his meal. He discovered that everyone in his party except Yi Yi was a glutton.
It should not need to be said that he and Amber were both big eaters. They chugged down at least forty to fifty Spirit Pills everyday like addicts.
Ju Jia wasnt a big eater of Spirit Pill in the past because Sima Yang never gave him any. He cultivated his power purely through inhaling Spiritual Qi.
Of course, Lu Ye was nowhere as miserly and selfish as Sima Yang. He told Ju Jia to consume as many Spirit Pills as he wanted, and thetter gratefully epted the offer. Of course, Ju Jia still did not consume too many Spirit Pills. It was because consuming too much Spirit Pills would affect the purity of his Spiritual Power.
Two men and one tiger burped out in satisfaction after the fulfilling meal. Next, Lu Ye produced the dragon scale from his Storage Bag and inhaled a wisp of blood qi. He then offered Amber and Ju Jia one wisp each.
In the past, he wouldnt dare to do such a thing. His usual practice was to ce it in a Circle of Boon before absorbing and refining the nebulized blood qi bit by bit.
Now that his cultivation and Divine Soul were stronger, he could inhale the blood qi directly.
It was the same for Amber. Since it came back from the Lost City of Xianyuan, it no longer dropped like a sack of rocks after inhaling the blood qi in the dragon scale. Improving ones Divine Soul definitely brought more benefits than he initially expected.
In fact, Lu Ye reckoned that entering and exiting the Rift of Illusions should be less of a headache now. Literally. In the past, he would be beset by a painful migraine every time he died and exited the Rift of Illusions.
He hadnt confirmed this yet because he was engrossed with the Way of Wards as ofte.
After extinguishing the bonfire, Ju Jia adopted a meditative stance and began cultivating as usual. Lu Ye took out a book and began reading under the moonlight. As for Amber, the tiger was already lying next to the young man and snoring out loud.
Three hundred meters away, a slightly-built figure was stealthily making his way toward the group. His body blended almost perfectly with the environment, making him nigh invisible as he traversed the terrain. Even his aura and life force were fully concealed by some sort of unspeakable power. His footsteps were unnaturally light, making no sound even when he was stepping on leaves.
He wasnt moving slowly either. He was traveling at near normal walking speed. It was clear that the man was extremely confident in his ability to conceal himself.
Thousand Demon Ridge had lost track of Lu Ye a while ago, knowing that he had vanished somewhere in this area, but not his exact location. Therefore, a lot of people were scouring the ce for him. Naturally, they were all ghost cultivators.
Cloaked by darkness, the ghost cultivator peeked at the young man in front of him, his aged heart stirring a little with excitement. It was because killing the young man might give him a shot and bing a Cloud River Realm cultivator!
Last time, the major sects of Thousand Demon Ridge had put a ridiculous bounty on Lu Yes head to ensure the removal of the Crimson Blood Sect. That bounty had been hefty enough tost a cultivator a lifetime. The newest bounty they set up wasnt as hefty as the first, but it was still worth a hundred Barrier Prating Pills. That was enough for him to unlock his Spirit Points and finally meet the requirement to achieve Cloud River Realm.
Thirty years. He had waited thirty years to be a Cloud River Realm expert! He would be damned if he didnt give it his all!
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was a specialmunity of people known as old school Ninth-Order Realm cultivators.
Contrary to what some people might think, it was neither aplimentary nor a derogatory term. It was simply an apt one.
Not everyone possessed the talent to ascend and be a Cloud River Realm cultivator. The higher you climbed, the harder it became to unlock Spiritual Points. It was because everyone possessed a natural limit.
There were a total of three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points in the human body, and only ten percent of all Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were naturally capable of unlocking all of them. Without exception, these people were the most gifted of them all.
Did that mean that the remaining ny percent could never achieve Cloud River Realm no matter what they tried? Of course not.
A cultivator who had reached the Ninth-Order could purchase a Heavenly Grade cultivation technique to unlock another sixty Spiritual Points and obtain a total of two hundred and forty Spiritual Points. After they switched out the Heavenly Grade cultivation technique to the one that fit them best, they could then ascend and be a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
In other words, a cultivator needed at least two hundred and forty Spiritual Points to achieve Cloud River Realm, and not one less.
Despite this, there were still a ton of people who could not meet that requirement naturally. Some people hit their natural limit after just unlocking two hundred or so Spiritual Points. Take the slightly-built ghost cultivator for example. He had unlocked two hundred and twenty three Spiritual Points, meaning that he was still seventeen points away from the hard limit to achieve Cloud River Realm.
That was why he had been stuck on Spirit Creek Realm Ninth-Order for thirty years, and there were plenty more people like him in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Everyone who reached the Ninth-Order a long time ago but was unable to unlock more Spiritual Points to ascend was known as an old-school Ninth-Order cultivator.
Again, they were a very specialmunity of cultivators. Most of them could not be measured by their cultivation level because they all possessed the strength to fight beyond their level.
There were many such cultivators in sects as well. Generally speaking, a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator who looked old was most likely an old-school Ninth-Order cultivator.
Since there was no way to advance their cultivation level, these people often found other methods to further their strength. These methods could range from unpredictable to downright terrifying.
This ghost cultivator for example, had almost reached the pinnacle of the Way of Concealment for his level. In fact, he was better than most of his peers in the Core Circle who already cultivated a Heavenly Grade cultivation technique.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was an expert in killing enemies beyond his cultivation level. The first time he officially disyed his talent in this area was the Battle of Goldentip. More recently, he had sessfully cut off Yue Meis arm in two strikes and snatched the Grand Wards Control Gem despite being a cultivation level lower.
This wasnt a secret. The ghost cultivator didnt even need to hear through the grapevine to know this.
However, this talent did not belong exclusively to Lu Ye alone. There were plenty of geniuses in the Cultivation World who were capable of such a thing, and this was doubly true for ghost cultivators. Their entire niche was to assassinate targets who were usually stronger than them, so they rarely fought an enemy head on. Given the right opportunities and circumstances, forget assassinating enemies who were just one cultivation level above their own, they could kill targets who were two or even three cultivation levels higher than them!
The ghost cultivators n was very simple. While under cover, he would slip behind Lu Ye and kill him in one decisive hit. Then, he would bring his head back to the nearest bounty collection spot to receive his reward!
The body tempering cultivator named Ju Jia was a bit of a problem. The big fellow would definitely attack him if he were to reveal himself. He was confident in his speed though. As long as he could survive Ju Jias first attack, he was certain he could make his escape.
It was going to be a dicey assassination, but what was a bit of riskpared to the rewards? If this was the price he must pay to ascend to Cloud River Realm, then so be it.
Unfortunately, man ns and the Heavensugh. He was about ten meters away from Lu Ye when he suddenly froze in his tracks. It was because Lu Ye had abruptly closed his book, turned in his direction, and stared him directly in the eye. In that moment, he felt an icy chill shooting from his foot all the way to his head.
[Did he see me? But thats impossible! How can a mere Eighth-Orderbat cultivator possibly see through my concealment?]
The ghost cultivator had absolute confidence in his concealment abilities, and for good reason. Once, he had snuck up to a Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivator and took off their head right in front of them. He would never forget the look of shock and disbelief on their face before the light winked out of their eyes.
If even a Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivator could not see through his concealment, then how could an Eighth-Order possibly do the impossible?
[Yeah, theres no way he saw me. Something behind me probably drew his attention or something. It cant be me.]
The reason he thought this was because Lu Yi Ye wasnt the only one who was staring at him. The body-tempering cultivator, Ju Jia was, too. Even the Spirit Beast sleeping next to Lu Yi Ye had opened their eyes to stare in his direction as well.
He would not deny that there was an instant he had felt like pissing his pants
That said, he was an old-school Ninth-Order cultivator. A youngster mightve sumbed to the pressure and broken their concealment already, but he had survived long enough to turn his nerves into steel. That was why he remained calm and, while withdrawing his aura and pushing his concealment abilities to the limits, slowly took a step to the right.
He was wrong. His entire scalp tingled when all three pairs of eyes followed his figure like glue. Lu Yi Ye was evenying his chin on one hand and tapping the Invible rhythmically with the other, smirking as if he could see him as in as day.
This turn of events waspletely beyond the ghost cultivators expectations. He could believe that Lu Yi Ye was talented enough to see through his concealment, but Ju Jia, a simpleton who only knew how to flex his muscles? A Spirit Beast even? Had he been deluding himself all this time? Was the concealment technique he honed for decades really worth nothing at all?
The bonfire in the makeshift camp crackled once. It was because the mes hadnt died outpletely.
It was at that moment the ghost cultivator rushed forward and attempted to kill Lu Ye. Unfortunately for him, he was immediately met by a bright sh of steel.
Blood flew everywhere as a deep wound erupted across the ghost cultivators chest. The attack had nearly split him in half! Without hesitation, he began running away from the party. Any ghost cultivator worth their salt would know that staying after a failed assassination was folly.
Chapter 305: Intercepted
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 305: Intercepted
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Oh?
Lu Ye was surprised by the fact that he had failed to kill the ghost cultivator in one hit. Then he saw the other persons wizened, weather-beaten face and realized what was going on. His opponent was probably what they called an old-school Ninth-Order cultivator, and it showed. There was no chance an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator couldve withstood his charged attack. They might be unable to grow their cultivation level, but they definitely found other ways to expand their strength.
Suddenly, there was a strong disturbance of energy behind the ghost cultivator. Next, a shining rope descended from the sky and hit the ghost cultivator dead on. It was Yi Yi emerging from her hiding spot shooting a Spirit Shackling Rope at the old ghost cultivator.
It wasnt the sect master who taught Yi Yi the spell. She wasnt capable of mastering the spell at the time. Yi Yi had learned how to cast it herself after watching the Xianyuan City Watch throwing them again and again. It was because she thought that the spell was incredibly suited for immobilizing or catching enemies.
Caughtpletely off guard, the ghost cultivator was fully bound by the time he tried to react. He struggled with all his might in an attempt to break free, but discovered that it was firmer than he imagined. He still could break out, but it was going to cost him a bit of time, time he didnt have.
A beam of light pierced through an eye socket and exited from the back of his skull, killing the old ghost cultivator instantly. When Yi Yi canceled the spell, he copsed on the ground with a loud thud.
Lets go.
Lu Ye beckoned as he grabbed the ghost cultivators Storage Bag. Amber leaped onto his shoulder, and Ju Jia summoned his flying Spirit Artifact.
A momentter, a beam of light soared into the sky. It was incredibly conspicuous in the dead of the night.
At the same time, several beams of light also shot out of the forest and gave chase. They clearly belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were scouring the area for Lu Ye.
Knock him off! Someone yelled.
Generally speaking, cultivators refrained from fighting when flying telekically because their Spiritual Power control wascking. It was dangerous enough that they could be knocked off their Spirit Artifact even if they were stronger than the other party. It was more or less a death sentence if they fell from a height of tens of meters, and they had no way to reduce their fall speed.
Four Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had shown up to intercept Lu Ye. Although they absolutely outnumbered their prey, they still didnt dare to engage Lu Ye in aerialbat. It was rumored that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect possessed a Tattoo-type Glyph called Wings that gave him the ability to fly. If it was true, then fighting him in the air would be one of the stupidest things they could do. That was why they were attempting to knock him down with their flying weapons instead.
The shouter had barely finished his shout when the flying weapons got close to Lu Ye in an instant.
At the forefront, Ju Jia made the flying Spirit Artifact dance like a butterfly and sessfully dodged all of the attacks. Not one flying weapon managed to touch even a hair on their bodies.
Forget the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, even Lu Ye was surprised by this.
The body tempering cultivator was the perfect example of the idiom, Dont judge a book by its cover. He might look like a careless person, but his control of his flying Spirit Artifact was so fine that even Lu Ye believed himself to be inferior to the big guy.
Ju Jia then moved the flying Spirit Artifact closer toward their attackers, causing those at the forefront to turn fearful. Although they tried everything they could to resummon their Spirit Artifact, they were of course toote.
Lu Ye stuck his hand into his Storage Bag and threw four Spirit Artifacts at his attackers. Each and every one was empowered by a Glyph: Windwalk.
Bloodcurdling screams cut through the air. Two of the four Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were skewered and knocked off their flying Spirit Artifacts. From the looks of it, the fall was going to kill them.
The other two were also wounded by the flying weapons, but they did not fall off their Spirit Artifacts. However, they didnt even get to breathe out a sigh of relief before four beams of light shot toward them once more. A pair of blood curdling screams broke out, and the rest was history.
If the quartet had fought him on the ground as a group, it wouldve taken Lu Ye some effort to kill them all. But in the air? It was considerably easier to kill them.
With that done, Ju Jia shot toward the horizon with almost no pause in between. The flying Spirit Artifact left behind a brilliant ribbon of light in the night sky.
From time to time, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who caught wind of their movement would attempt to intercept them, but this was very different from the time he had to escape on Ambers back. Although the tiger wasnt slow, it wasnt quick either. His enemies had had a much easier time blocking his way and chasing him down.
This time, they were flying with Ju Jia at the helm. They were so much more mobile it wasnt even aparison. Add to the fact that Thousand Demon Ridge did not dare to escte things so much that Grand Sky Coalition would have the excuse to retaliate, all the attackers were Eighth to Ninth-Order cultivators.
As a result, Thousand Demon Ridge was unable to form an effective blockade on arge scale.
Not only that, almost none of the group of threes, fours or fives they sent to intercept Lu Ye was able to escape alive. The attackers dared not act recklessly after they lost a couple of groups like this.
As the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators kept each other updated in real time, they gradually managed to deduce Lu Yes next destination. Although they werent sure if it was his final destination, they had already assembled an ambush force in that direction. They were just waiting for him to fall into their encirclement now.
A dayter, while Ju Jia was flying across a big, winding river that looked like a living dragon from the sky, twenty beams of light suddenly rose into the sky and flew straight toward him.
That wasnt all. Another twenty figures suddenly appeared from behind his back and cut off their retreat.
In just the blink of an eye, their way forward and back had been cut off by the enemy.
Lu Ye wouldve told Ju Jia to change directions, but the big guy was wise enough to change directions immediately. However, he didnt manage to go far before another dozen beams of light flew out of the hill in front of him.
He had to admit that Thousand Demon Ridges n this time was well thought out and well executed. They had urately deduced where he would go and set up an ambush along his path.
It was toote to back out of the encirclement now, and it was folly tond on the ground. Losing their aerial mobility now was akin tomitting suicide.
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and produced four flying weapons from his Storage Bag. He silently channeled his Spiritual Power and made them float beside him.
Yi Yi had also shown herself and stood protectively behind Lu Ye.
Spiritual Power circted throughout Ju Jias body as they suddenly elerated. Right now, the only way they could survive was to choose one direction and attack that part of the encirclement with all their might. It would also minimize the amount of pressure they would receive.
If Ju Jia could move fast enough, the two groups of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who showed themselves at the very beginning would not even be able to touch them. They would only have to defeat the enemies in front of them.
The distance between the two groups quickly lessened until finally, the enemy group decided to attack first. Eight spell cultivators immediately channeled their Spiritual Power andunched a myriad of colorful spells at them.
Once again, Ju Jia stunned everyone with his fine control of his Spiritual Power. Somehow, the flying Spirit Artifact was always able to dodge out of the way at thest possible moment.
They had never seen someone who could fly a flying Spirit Artifact so well. Ju Jias control over his Spiritual Power impressed everyone.
As the distance between them shortened, the frequency of the spell cultivators attacks started increasing as well. Not only that, the spell cultivators started casting small, speedy spells after realizing that their big spells would notnd no matter what they tried.
The adjustment definitely gave Ju Jia some trouble. It was no longer possible to dodge all of the attacks. The big fellow wasnt stupid though. He made sure that the spells he couldnt avoid would only hit his body and not his flying Spirit Artifact.
He was a body-tempering cultivator who boasted a thick skin and powerful vitality, so it didnt matter if he got hit by a couple of small spells. On the other hand, the flying Spirit Artifact was apletely different story. The equipment was notoriously fragile, and even a few weak spells might just be enough to destroy it.
Speaking of which, Yi Yi was also casting her own spells and attacking the spell cultivators. She brought shame to every spell cultivator present because she was several leagues above in terms of casting speed, spell types and even spell power.
She was only one person, but her short-term explosive power was as good as three or four spell cultivators attacking at the same time.
Their spells met each other and exploded in mid-air. The explosions sent shockwaves across the sky and deafened the ears again and again. It was during this chaotic situation when a Thousand Demon Ridgebat cultivator suddenly took out his bow and performed a full draw. Aura started shing wildly from his body.
Swoosh!
There was an ear-piercing noise when a huge arrow that was at least one meter long cut through the air and reached in front of Ju Jia almost instantly. The arrow wasnt just faster than all the spells that had been cast until this point, it was obviously more powerful than a flying weapon as well.
Ju Jia was focused on flying his flying Spirit Artifact and could not dodge the attack. Letting out a mighty roar, he crossed his arms in front of himself. He was wearing a pair of pitch ck vambraces that looked incredibly solid and sturdy. It was clearly a powerful defensive Spirit Artifact.
Thebat cultivators aura destabilized a little because the full-powered arrow cost him quite a bit of Spiritual Power. However, the corners of his lips curled up when he saw Ju Jias movement.
He was aware of Ju Jias reputation. His full-powered arrow might be able to threaten an ordinary body tempering cultivator, but definitely not a monster like Ju Jia.
That was why the arrow wasnt aimed at him.
The arrow was seconds away from connecting with Ju Jia when, suddenly, it made an unnatural curve in mid-air. Looking at the angle, it was going to hit the flying Spirit Artifact.
From the beginning, his goal was to destroy the flying Spirit Artifact!
It looked like the man was going to seed when a Glyph appeared out of seemingly nowhere in front of the flying Spirit Artifact. It instantly enveloped the equipment in a solid defensiveyer.
Behind Ju Jia, Lu Ye was crouching on one knee and pressing a palm against the flying Spirit Artifact.
With his current control over his Spiritual Power, applying a Protection to Ju Jias flying Spirit Artifact was well within his ability.
Boom
The arrow struck the wall of Spiritual Power and caused a massive explosion. While it had failed to destroy the Spirit Artifact thoroughly, it was enough to knock it off bnce and send it spiraling toward the ground.
Ju Jia did his best to regain control, and he did. However, the short interruption was all the enemy spell cultivators needed to send more spells flying their way. Worse still, the two groups of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators chasing behind them were swiftly approaching. They were seconds away from getting close enough to attack them.
Chapter 306: It’s Bad
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 306: Its Bad
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Ram them! Lu Ye growled while applying a Windwalk to the flying Spirit Artifact underneath his feet.
There was a sh of light, and the stabilized equipment immediately shot toward the enemy like an arrow.
At the same time, Lu Ye fired all four of his flying weapons to intercept the enemys attacks. Yi Yi was doing the same thing with her spells.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator directly on a collision course with Lu Yes group turned frightful. It was because he realized that they werent nning to change directions at all. He could not help but cry out in terror, Donte closer!
Of course, Ju Jia ignored himpletely. The man could be an imprable wall of steel, and he still would obey Lu Yes order without question.
There was a loud boom as the two flying Spirit Artifacts collided with one another. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators flying Spirit Artifact immediately shattered into a million pieces, and the man himself was screaming, spitting blood and falling toward the ground with a caved chest. On the other hand, Ju Jias flying Spirit Artifact waspletely unharmed.
It was because Lu Ye had applied a Protection to the flying Spirit Artifact right before they collided with each other. As for the depression in the cultivators chest, that was caused by a punch from Ju Jia.
More bloodcurdling screams pierced through the air. They came from people who had been wounded by Lu Yes flying weapons and Yi Yis spells.
The group blocking their way was no more, and Windwalk allowed Ju Jia to outstrip their pursuers with ease. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators tried to give chase, but it wasnt long before they were forced to give up.
Ju Jia was just too fast. Even the Ninth-Order cultivators top speed was about one-third slower than the body tempering cultivators. Of course they wouldnt be able to catch up to him.
How weak are you people? How are they able to plow through you like nothing? yelled a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator who arrived just a tad toote.
To be fair, they had nned out this ambush extensively, and Lu Ye had fallen for it hook, line and sinker. But just when they thought they would finally be able to remove the thorn in their sides, the man had escaped and left them feeling like they hadpletely wasted their time and energy.
You try to stop him then! A youngster shot the guy a hostile look even though there were still traces of lingering fear on his face. That Ju Jia is as tough as a goddamn Divine Opportunity Column! No one couldve stopped him from breaking through.
Thats not an excuse for your failure! You outnumbered the guy at least ten to one!
Cut the crap. The same shit wouldve happened if Ju Jia had chosen to break through your group!
Like hell it would!
Calm down, you two. Someone finally acted as the mediator. We are all here for Lu Yi Ye. Just because the operation failed doesnt mean we should tear into each other. It would only give the Grand Sky Coalition the excuse to look down on us.
The two cultivators shot each other a hateful re before looking away. The less they saw each others faces, the better.
The other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were wearing grim expressions. Despite the first cultivatorsints, Ju Jias resilience had exceeded everyones imagination. Generally speaking, most people would not choose to collide into another flying Spirit Artifact unless they were aiming for a double suicide. It was rumored that Lu Yi Ye fought using Glyphs, and that he had the potential to be a Glyph Warlock. Now, it appeared that he could use his Glyphs on both his equipment and himself. That was how he was able to improve his flying Spirit Artifacts defense and shield it from damage. It was a pain in the ass to say the least.
Not only that, Ju Jias flying Spirit Artifact was a little too fast and nimble. There were many among them who were experts in telekic flight, but they were practically novicespared to Ju Jia.
Suddenly, they realized that Lu Yi Yes growth had gotten a little out of hand. They had mobilized a ton of people to kill him, and they had seeded in ambushing him. However, the young man was still able to break out of their encirclement. They highly doubted that they would get another chance like this in the future.
Even if they managed to force him tond, they still might not be able to gang up on him. Forget the fact that they had already failed to do so when all the odds were stacked against him, Lu Ye still had the Tattooed Glyph, Wings. Worst case scenario, he could activate it and fly away once more.
Also, where was the guy heading anyway? He had been moving non-stop since he left Hidden Light Sanctuarys Outpost. For now, there was no way to tell what his destination was.
Lu Ye had be a big headache for Thousand Demon Ridge. He was no longer the Fifth-Order cultivator whom they could trap and force to y their game like the Battle of Goldentip. The man had be far stronger and trickier than he was before, and as much as they loathed to admit it, no one in the Inner Circle could force him into a bad spot anymore.
Technically speaking, they could summon reinforcements from the Core Circle to deal with Lu Ye. However, doing so would undoubtedly have some serious consequences. Thest time Thousand Demon Ridge had broken the rules, a True Lake Realm champion of the Crimson Blood Sect had stepped into the Spirit Creek Battlefield andmitted a massacre while enduring the Judgement of the Heavens.
As if that wasnt bad enough, after the Battle of Goldentip was over, the sect master of the Crimson Blood Sect had personally invaded Yun Zhou and wiped out three Thousand Demon Ridge factions in a row. Although he was ultimately pushed back by their Divine Ocean Realm champions, no one dared to do unto the sect master what he did to them for fear of escting the conflictpletely out of everyones control. In the end, they could only leave it at that.
It was also said that the three destroyed factions hit rock bottom during the next Tier evaluation, which was a terrible fate to say the least.
Since then, everyone learned that the Crimson Blood Sect was extremely protective of their young. If they broke the rules, Heavens only knew how far they would go to take revenge against their wrongdoers. But if they operated within the rules, it was already proven their best efforts were not enough to get rid of Lu Yi Ye once and for all. It was a saddening situation to say the least.
Two dayster, they received word that Lu Ye had arrived at the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost. Every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator felt a burst of panic when they finally realized what the young man was plotting.
Why had they gone to the lengths they had to kill Lu Ye? It was because he had disyed an astounding amount of talent in breaching wards.
Although the methods he employed against the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain were unrepeatable, and Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt going to give him the chance anyway, everyone could see that he was a threat they had to nip in the bud as soon as possible. Before Lu Ye, they didnt even think it was possible to breach a Grand Ward without overwhelming force. At this rate, no ones Outpost was safe from the young man.
As it turned out, their window of opportunity was even shorter than they could imagine. What was the Heavenly Derivative Sect? It was the sect that owned the first portion of the Hundred Wards Tower. Many of their cultivators cultivated the Way of Wards, and although their Great Elder was only a Ninth-Order True Lake Realm Master, his attainment was among the best of the best in the entire Jiu Zhou.
It did not take a genius to figure out Lu Yi Yes motive for traveling to the Heavenly Derivative Sect. The sonuvabitch was nning to further his skill because he was addicted to breaching wards, and he knew that his existing methods were unrepeatable!
What would happen if Lu Yi Ye seeded in his goal? Well, for starters, peace and quiet would be a distant dream. Heavens knew when their Grand Ward would suddenly fail, and an army of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators would invade their home
The sense of impending doom hung over every Thousand Demon Ridge sect like a million dark clouds. Even the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators were beginning to realize the severity of the situation. That was why they began trading messages immediately after they confirmed that Lu Ye had entered the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost. Not long after that, an emergency meeting was held to discuss the situation.
This was the first time an insignificant Eight-Order Spirit Creek Realm cultivator had spurred the entire Jiu Zhou into action. Even better, he wasnt even doing it on purpose.
Funnily enough, the one who started it all, Lu Ye, had no clue about the brewing storm he just caused. Their journey was smooth after they had broken through the encirclement of almost a hundred cultivators, and they were able to arrive at the Heavenly Derivative Sect without further incidents. After they arrived, the prolegate warmly weed them into the Outpost and led them to the guest area.
Zhao Li wasnt present right now. ording to the prolegate, he was currently busy with something at their headquarters in Jiu Zhou. That was why he had assigned his prolegate to do the weing instead.
Lu Ye had no qualms with this. While he would like to enter the Hundred Wards Tower as soon as possible, a small dy would hardly kill him. He could wait until Zhao Li had wrapped up whatever it was that was keeping him.
At the same time, at the Heavenly Derivative Sects headquarters, the Sect Master Yu Xiao and the Great Elder Bai Qian were seated on the left and right side of a great hall. The former was a stern-looking middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, and thetter was an old man with white hair but a healthyplexion.
Of course, one could not decide a cultivators age based on appearance alone. There were people who looked like youngsters, but were really a couple hundred years old.
Zhao Li, the Legate of the Heavenly Derivative Sect was standing before the two men with a paleplexion. For some reason, his expression resembled a child who was ready to receive his punishment from his elders. He said dejectedly, I hadnt thought that deep, sect master, great elder. I invited Brother Yi Ye to the Heavenly Derivative Sect simply because his talent in the Way of Wards was incredible. I also thought that our sect might gain some fame and glory if he was able to achieve a breakthrough thanks to us.
He was telling the truth. He thought he had considered every possibility until the sect master and great elder told him exactly how wrong he was.
Under any circumstances, Zhao Lis decision to befriend Lu Ye and invite him to the Heavenly Derivative Sect would be a sound one. After all, it was perfectly normal for sect members between sects from the same faction to visit and exchange discourse with each other, not to mention that the Heavenly Derivative Sect and the Crimson Blood Sect shared some ties with each other.
The problem was that Lu Ye had stirred up quite a lot of trouble just a while ago and attracted the attention of countless Thousand Demon Ridge factions. To invite Lu Ye to the Heavenly Derivative Sect now was the same as pouring fuel on the fire. They were already afraid of Lu Yes talent in the Way of Wards. If the young man actually achieved a breakthrough in the Heavenly Derivative Sect, then no Outpost would be safe from the young man anymore.
In other words, Zhao Li had unintentionally forced Thousand Demon Ridges hands. They had to respond to the growing threat that was Lu Ye before it was toote. ording to the sect masters wisdom, they would most likely assemble a massive force and attack the Outpost with everything they had. Their only option now was to force Lu Ye to leave.
Again, to invite Lu Ye to the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost now was to invite destruction to their doorstep. A single misstep might result in the annihtion of their Outpost.
One might think that the sect master and the great elder were exaggerating things, but the fact was that the Grand Sky Coalition would probably have made the same decision if the situation was reversed. It would be folly to underestimate Thousand Demon Ridges determination and daring.
This was also why the sect master and the great elder himself were questioning Zhao Li regarding his decision. Normally, True Lake Realm cultivators like them would never interfere with the business of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators.
Zhao Li also realized hisck of forethought after listening to the great elders exnation.
Chapter 307: Poison
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 307: Poison
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Yu Xiao red at Zhao Li with disappointment. How much longer do you need before you finally learn to look at the bigger picture?
Zhao Li sniffed. I am sorry, sect master.
At least he didnt try to defend his mistakes.
I will message Brother Yi Ye and cancel the invitation immediately, Zhao Li said.
Are you listening to yourself? What would people think of us if we cancel an invitation we ourselves extended several days after the fact?
Zhao Li replied, Brother Yi Ye is an understanding man. I believe he wont mind if I tell him why it would be a bad time for him to show up right now. He can visit us after this danger has passed.
Perhaps, but youre far toote. Hes already at the Outpost. Yu Xiao waved. A disciple had just messaged him saying the Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had been received by the Outpost and assigned to the guest area.
Its fine. I can speak with him right now. Zhao Li immediately turned around and tried to take his leave.
Get back here! Yu Xiao raised his voice. At the same time, Bai Qian stretched out his leg and blocked Zhao Lis path, nearly tripping the surprised Legate in the process. The young man hurriedly turned around and stood still once more.
As a disciple of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, your promises are like spilled water. To take back your word is the same as breaking the trust others have in you. In any case, it really is toote. Thousand Demon Ridge should already know that Lu Yi Ye is with us, and theyre probably taking the appropriate measures. We must be prepared to lose the Outpost.
Sect master
The harshness in Yu Xiaos gaze lessened slightly. I know youre just worried for the sect. Our Outpost is surrounded by Thousand Demon Ridge on three sides, and we have been doing rather poorly for the past couple years. I dont mind that you are ambitious, Im just saying that you should always think thrice before you act.
Yes, sect master.
One more thing. You do not know this, but our sect actually shares some ties with the Crimson Blood Sect. Back in the day, many of our champions used to serve under that man, and we would not have be a Tier-five sect without his support.
Zhao Li did not know who his sect master was referring to, but he understood that his sect master was trying to lessen the guilt in his heart. He was saying that the Heavenly Derivative Sect was always going to ept Lu Ye because of the old favor.
A tribtion may soon fall upon us. You may return to the Outpost and make the necessary preparations now, Yu Xiao said with a wave.
Zhao Li bowed and left immediately.
Yu Xiao waited until the Legate was out of hearing range before letting out a sigh. He was determined to protect Lu Ye, but that didnt mean his heart wasnt aching from the loss. Assuming that the events went exactly as he predicted, they were going to lose their Outpost for sure.
Is it that bad? Bai Qian asked.
I heard some things, yes. Yu Xiao nodded before asking suddenly, How do you consider Lu Yi Yes talent in the Way of Wards, Elder Bai?
Bai Qian thought for a moment before answering, Judging from Zhao Lis exnation alone, the little fellow is both extraordinarily talented and very creative. That said, there is one thing about his story that I still cannot figure out even now.
What is it?
Hes only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek cultivator, so how on earth did he manage to identify the nodes of a Grand Ward? All the methods he employed could only be effective if he targeted the nodes, or it would be impossible even if he had the talent of the Heavens themselves. It is so strange.
Perhaps you can ask him directly, Elder Bai?
Thats exactly what Im thinking. Do remember to bring him to me when he visits the headquarters.
Back at the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost, Lu Ye was resting at a pavilion when Zhao Li finally paid him a visit. The Legate apologized deeply for his tardiness before instructing the disciples to prepare a small feast immediately, wanting to receive Lu Ye the proper way.
Lu Ye wanted to visit the Hundred Wards Tower as soon as possible, but he could not see a way to turn Zhao Li down without seeming rude. So, he had no choice but to ept the offer.
It wasnt long before the feast was ready. Lu Ye and Ju Jia took their seats while Zhao Li served them dutifully.
As an apology for his tardiness, Zhao Li punished himself with three sses of wine before toasting Lu Ye. He wouldve toasted Ju Jia too, but the big guy was busy stuffing his face with food right now
Did you have a peaceful journey, Brother Yi Ye? Zhao Li asked while drinking his wine.
Its not bad, but
Lu Ye suddenly cut himself off and scrunched his eyebrows. It was because he suddenly felt an odd sensation inside his body.
He hurriedly focused his mind and looked inward. He immediately noticed the leaves of the Tree of Glyphs rooted in his Source Spiritual Point were burning, and gray energy was being ejected non-stop.
Normally, this would be of no concern to Lu Ye. The Tree of Glyphs always reacted like this after he consumed a Spirit Pill, burning away the pill poison in the Spirit Pills and leaving behind only pure Spiritual Power.
However, he hadnt eaten a Spirit Pill. Moreover, the gray fog rising from the Tree of Glyphs looked incredibly thick. In fact, he had never seen the Tree of Glyphs reacting so fiercely. Whatever was causing it, it was definitely not a Spirit Pill.
Brother Yi Ye? Zhao Li looked at him in confusion. Not only had the young man fallen silent, his expression was growing more and more severe by the second.
Lu Ye abruptly grabbed Ju Jias chopsticks. A quick analysis and a moment of hesitationter, he dered darkly, The wine is poisoned!
It was a most deadly poison too, although it was probably a slow-acting one. Zhao Li had drank from the same wine, but on the surface he looked perfectly fine.
Of course, there was a chance Zhao Li was fine because he was the poisoner, but it was a very low chance. This was the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost, and Zhao Li was its Legate. It would be an understatement to say that there would be severe consequences if he poisoned Lu Ye, which was why Lu Ye had decided to speak frankly.
And if Zhao Li was the poisoner, the sudden reveal might be enough to make his mask slip.
It didnt look like that was the case though. A few seconds of stunned silenceter, Zhao Li asked weakly and disbelievingly, Youre joking, right?
Lu Ye didnt say a word.
B-but Im not feeling anything! Zhao Li started to panic a little.
Lu Ye nced at Ju Jia, and the body tempering cultivator slowly shook his head. He too didnt feel anything amiss, although it could be because he hadnt drunk the wine and so wasnt poisoned. He also didnt know if the dishes were poisoned.
Lu Ye continued to inspect the Tree of Glyphs. The thick fog had be much thinner, indicating that the poison had almost been fully purged.
He had no idea that the Tree of Glyphs had such a miraculous ability, although in hindsight he shouldve made the connection sooner. If the Tree of Glyphs could burn up something as obscure as pill poison, then of course it could purge other poisons as well.
A dozen or so breathster, no more fog emerged from the Tree of Glyphs. Uncertainty began growing in Lu Yes mind. Maybe he was wrong, and he was poisoned some other way?
Lu Ye thought for a moment before pouring himself another ss of wine. Then, he drained it all in one gulp.
Zhao Li continued to stare at the young man with a bbergasted look on his face. Brother Yi Ye?
He waspletely confused at this point. A moment ago, Lu Ye told him that the wine was poisoned. Now, he was drinking from that same wine. Was it a joke after all?
Its definitely poisoned, Lu Ye confirmed after seeing thick gray fog rising from the Tree of Glyphs once more.
Zhao Lis mind turned white, and his thoughts fell into chaos. For a moment he could not think of anything at all. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he was starting to feel a little unwell as well
He then saw Lu Ye taking a bite from the dishes, waited a couple of seconds, then said, The dishes are poisoned as well.
Brother Yi Ye! Zhao Li felt like crying at this point.
Spit it out now! Lu Ye turned to Ju Jia and ordered. The body-tempering cultivator immediately rose to his feet and went to a corner.
Lu Ye then tapped once on his Battlefield Imprint and sent out a message before looking back at Zhao Li. Brother Zhao, I need you to announce a lockdown over the Outpost immediately. Also, you should check if anyone has left the ce in the past two hours. Finally, please rally everyone you can trust to our side as soon as possible!
That was what Zhao Li needed to hear to finally realize the severity of the situation, especially since it didnt look like Lu Ye was joking. There really was poison in the wine and the dishes.
So, he sent out the messages as Lu Ye asked as quickly as he could.
At the headquarters of the Crimson Blood Sect, Shui Yuan suddenly barged into the sect masters living quarters and startled the man out of his meditation.
Lu Yes been poisoned!
A steely glint shed across the Sect Masters eyes as he asked, Where is he?
The Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost!
The sect master immediately went over to Shui Yuan. A few breathster, they took to the skies at high speed.
At the Heavenly Derivative Sects headquarters, Yu Xiao also looked like he could swallow a man alive. He shattered the armrest of his chair and uttered through gritted teeth, Bastard!
He had predicted many ways the Thousand Demon Ridge might attack his sect and Lu Yi Ye, but even he hadnt anticipated the young man to be poisoned barely an hour after he arrived at their Outpost. Clearly, someone at the top level was making some very swift decisions.
Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge had fought one another for many years, and espionage was a game as old as time itself. That was why no one dared to im that their disciples were one hundred percent clean.
Some spies might never reveal themselves for as long as they lived, but when they did act, they could always deal massive damage to their target.
In fact, the ambush that nearly killed Lu Ye when the sect master was bringing him to the headquarters was exactly the doing of a Thousand Demon Ridge spy. Moreover, the spy was a Real Lake Realm cultivator. Although Pang Zhen managed to locate the spy and take him out promptly, Lu Ye had been lucky to survive the encounter.
It took a tremendous amount of time and effort to nt spies in the other faction. Even if they seeded, there was every chance they might be routed before they could ever be of use. That was why everyone who managed to nt themselves behind enemy lines were incredibly valuable assets. They were almost never used unless it was for a critical job.
This time though, it was clear that Thousand Demon Ridge was desperate. They were willing to trade a spy just to kill an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
Very soon, the great elder Bai Qian returned to the main hall with a stern expression. Whats the current situation?
Theyre definitely poisoned. Were still searching for the poisoner, but weve narrowed it down to several possible culprits.
We must capture the poisoner no matter what. We cannot cure them without knowing the exact poison he was afflicted with, the great elder said.
My thoughts exactly. The good news is that Zhao Li had taken the appropriate measures immediately on Lu Yi Yes advice.
That is a surprisingly calm and rational decision from someone so young, Bai Qian eximed in surprise, How are they doing right now?
Zhao Li says that the symptoms are incredibly mild. He describes it as a nigh undetectable poison that is extremely toxic.
What? Mild symptoms, but extremely toxic? Bai Qian frowned. That made no sense. If a poison was very toxic, then the symptoms should be very obvious. The two characteristics should be mutually exclusive.
Chapter 308: A Poison That Attacks The Divine Soul
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 308: A Poison That Attacks The Divine Soul
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If the symptoms werent obvious, then how did he know that it was incredibly toxic?
Zhao Li said that Lu Yi Ye is the one who determined this.
Tell them toe to the headquarters as soon as possible!
I already sent them the message.
Back at the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost, Lu Ye was staring at the blood streaming out of Zhao Lis nostrils. Suddenly, he turned around and punched Ju Jia in the nose. It was such a powerful punch that even the body-tempering cultivator saw stars for a bit before he shot Lu Ye a look of confusion. At the same time, blood started dripping out of his nostrils as well.
Its your turn now. Punch me in the face, Lu Ye said.
Ju Jia scratched his head before replying in a muffled voice, I refuse.
Lu Ye rolled his eyes, but there was no forcing Ju Jia to do something he did not want to. Left with no choice, he sucked in a deep breath and mmed his own face against the table. Stars went round and round his head as he got up and sniffed a little. Now he too had a nosebleed.
By now, Zhao Li was growing a little dizzy. He asked weakly, What are you doing, Brother Yi Ye?
Were going to your headquarters! Lu Ye said while waving for Ju Jia to follow him.
Ju Jia nonchntly rose to his feet. He carried Zhao Li because the Legate could not even bnce on his two feet anymore.
When Lu Ye saw this, he hurriedly added, Carry me as well.
Okay.
Ju Jia did as he said and ced Lu Ye on his shoulder. Then, he started walking toward the Sanctum of Providence. On the way, they passed by many confused Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples, but it wasnt long before they heard that their Crimson Blood Sect guests and even their own Legate, Zhao Li had been poisoned.
Shock rippled across the Outpost like a Spirit Bomb. Now they understood why a lockdown had suddenly been imposed on the Outpost, and why the authorities were checking who were currently absent.
Lu Ye had been poisoned not long after he reached the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost, so it could only have been done by a disciple. Not only that, they were important enough that they could make contact with the food preparers.
Due to the circumstances surrounding the poisoning, it was quite easy to identify who the poisoner was. Therefore, the only way the poisoner might live was to leave the Outpost as soon as possible.
In other words, the disciple who could make contact with the food preparers and had left the Outpost within the past two hours must be the poisoner.
If Lu Ye was anyone else, the assassination wouldve been a total sess. However, his Tree of Glyphs was capable of burning any harmful substance such as poison, so he was able to notice and take the appropriate measures at first notice. The poisoner could not have known that they would be exposed so quickly either. If the Heavenly Derivative Sect acted fast enough, there was still a chance they might be able to capture the poisoner before they escaped.
Lu Ye was really d that Amber only ate raw meat. Otherwise, it wouldve been poisoned as well.
Judging from Zhao Li and Ju Jias reactions, the symptoms were more obvious the weaker the persons constitution was. That was why Ju Jia still looked as healthy as an ox on the surface. There was no telling if he would survive if he erupted in full force though. Lu Ye did not think he would. It was highly unlikely Thousand Demon Ridge wouldmit such a rookie mistake after sacrificing so much to kill them.
Lu Ye and Zhao Li had made an alliance pact with each other a while ago, and the former had recruited Ju Jia as an initiate of the Crimson Blood Sect earlier. That was why they were able to teleport to the headquarters through the Divine Opportunity Column even though they werent Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples.
The high level members in the Heavenly Derivative Sect were already waiting for them when they teleported to the sect. Yu Xiao and everyone else looked so grim one would think that the apocalypse was upon them.
While no one couldve prevented the poisoning from happening, it did not change the fact that the disciples of Crimson Blood Sect had been harmed on their territory. Therefore, the responsibility was theirs to bear. Heavens only knew how they were going to make it up with the Crimson Blood Sect if Lu Ye really did perish from this.
The medicine cultivators were already waiting for their patients. The moment the trio showed up, they were immediately brought to a room and tended to by a medicine cultivator each.
By now, Zhao Li was doing very poorly. He looked horribly weakened, and he kept throwing up liquid with blood mixed in it. The medicine cultivator tending to him had a hell of a hard time trying to keep the Legate alive.
Ju Jia was starting to disy some symptoms as well, although he was still considerably healthier than Zhao Li.
As for Lu Ye, he had cked out the moment he arrived at the headquarters.
The medicine cultivator tending to him raised her eyebrows after inspecting his condition carefully. It was because she discovered that things were not what they seemed to be.
After inspecting Lu Ye a second time to confirm that she wasnt mistaken, she went to Yu Xiao and said something softly.
Surprise shed across Yu Xiaos features as he asked in an equally low tone, Are you sure?
The female medicine cultivatora Third-Order Real Lake Realm Masternodded. I am.
Yu Xiaos trust was somewhat tested after this ludicrous incident, but he was quite confident in the medicine cultivators skills. In fact, she was the best medicine cultivator in the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
That they sent their best medicine cultivator to tend to Lu Ye and not their Legate showed how sincere they were at making amends.
Very well then. Please tend to Zhao Li now, Yu Xiao instructed before sighing deeply. His reliefsted only an instant before he worried for Zhao Lis life though.
Yu Xiao was the sect master of the Heavenly Derivative Sect. After he figured out what Lu Ye was nning, he wisely kept silent and did not expose the fact that the young man was, in fact, perfectly fine.
Time passed quickly, and Zhao Li gradually stabilized thanks to the medicine cultivators ministration. As for Ju Jia, his symptoms subsided even quicker than Zhao Lis because he wasnt too affected to begin with. When dawn came, Zhao Lis aura had fully stabilized, a sign that his life was no longer in danger.
There was a problem though. The Legate hadnt awakened after he fell unconsciousst night. Not only that, Ju Jia had fallen into an unwakeable slumber as well.
The female medicine cultivator who treated Lu Ye before went to Yu Xiao and reported, Sect master, we have sessfully purged all the poison in the patients physical body.
So, theyre fine now? Yu Xiao let out a sigh of relief. Zhao Li was chosen to be the Legate of the Heavenly Derivative Sect because he was both talented and intelligent. It would be a huge loss to the sect to lose him.
The medicine cultivator replied, Normally I would say yes, but judging from theirtest symptom, I suspect that
Go on.
I suspect that the poison doesnt just affect the physical body, but also the Divine Soul. In fact, Im pretty sure that the one affecting the physical body is just a misdirection. She did not think they would be able to purge the physical poison so easily otherwise.
Yu Xiaos expression immediately turned serious. Are you sure about this?
The medicine cultivator shot Zhao Li and Ju Jia a nce before nodding. Im at least seventy percent sure!
You worked hard.
A poison that affects the Divine Soul was incredibly difficult to cure. The situation wouldnt be so dire if the afflicted was a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator because they were powerful enough to express the power of their Divine Soul directly, which made it much easier to cure such a poison. Furthermore, a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator would not be so easily poisoned in the first ce.
Zhao Li and Ju Jia were only Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. They both possessed a Divine Soul of their own, but it was just their innate, untrained power. Because their cultivation level was insufficient, they were unable to manipte their Divine Soul and cooperate with the medicine cultivators to purge the poison, not to mention that they were both unconscious right now.
Clearly, Thousand Demon Ridge hadnt held back anything when they decided to assassinate Lu Ye. Not only had they activated one of their spies, the poison they used was one that no one in the Heavenly Derivative Sect was capable of curing.
We need to find a solution quickly, Sect Master. At this rate, both of them are going to die in their sleep. That Ju Jia might live for another ten to fifteen days, but Zhao Li would probably die in two days at most.
The medicine cultivator could not have put it clearer. She was saying that they were incapable of curing Zhao Li and Ju Jia.
Why is it that Ju Jia can live for another half a month, but Zhao Li only has two days? Theyre both Ninth-Order cultivators, arent they? Yu Xiao asked with a frown. It was impossible not to notice the gap between the duo.
The medicine cultivator shook her head. Im not sure. However, I can tell you that Ju Jias symptoms are a lot milderpared to Zhao Lis. He is a special one. Perhaps he is born with a greater Divine Soul than most.
She could not help but shoot Lu Ye a nce when she said this though. She could exin Ju Jias condition as a result of good birth, but what about Lu Ye? When they were treating Zhao Li, the Legate had told them that the young man had drunk the poisoned wine and ate the poisoned dishes. He shouldve been poisoned just like the rest of them, and yet
Elder Bai, Yu Xiao looked at his great elder, please set up a Soul Nurturing Ward and move them inside as quickly as you can.
If a powerful Divine Soul could slow the poisons effects, then the best thing they could do right now was to strengthen it. Although it cost a lot of resources to create a Soul Nurturing Ward, and the ward couldnt do much in just two days time, it was still better than nothing.
As youmand. Bai Qian left immediately.
Do you know anyone in Wu Zhou who is capable of treating this poison? Yu Xiao asked his medicine cultivator.
She thought for a moment before shaking her head dejectedly. I know a couple of people whose skills are greater than mine, but none of them are good enough to cure such a poison. Perhaps
Perhaps?
Have you forgotten, sect master? The Crimson Blood Sect has a first-rate medicine cultivator.
Yu Xiao nked out for a second before eximing in realization, Youre right! I shall contact Elder Tang immediately.
He was so flustered by the incident that he had forgotten the obvious answer. In fact, he shouldve contacted Elder Tang the moment he found out that a member of the Crimson Blood Sect was poisoned.
To his surprise, he received a reply almost immediately after he sent out a message. As it turned out, Elder Tang was already on his way, and he was apanied by none other than the first-rate medicine cultivator his medicine cultivator had spoken of, Shui Yuan.
Yu Xiao shot Lu Ye another nce. It must be the young mans handiwork because there was no way those two would be on their way already otherwise.
Suddenly, the sect master motioned for everyone to leave the room. Soon, he was the only one left. He then called out quietly, Are you awake, my young friend?
The young man who had been unconscious since the moment he came to the headquarters of the Heavenly Derivative Sect opened his eyes and rose to his feet. He gave the sect master a bow and said, Sect Master Yu.
His act might be good enough to deceive most people, but there was no way he could deceive the female medicine cultivator who inspected his body. He was also aware that the medicine cultivator would inform Yu Xiao about his condition. Anyway, Yu Xiao clearly wanted to discuss something with him since he had purposely cleared out the room beforehand.
Elder Tang and Sister Shui Yuan are already on the way. They should arrive in less than half a day.
Although Bing Zhou and Wu Zhou were very far apart, a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator could still cross the distance rtively quickly. Since the duo had taken off almost as soon as Lu Ye had messaged them, they were making good time to put it mildly.
You should have heard everything that was said, right? Yu Xiao turned to look at Zhao Li. I would not deny that Zhao Li invited you with ulterior motives in mind, but he never intended you any harm. We certainly hadnt expected Thousand Demon Ridge to go so far as to activate a spy in our midst to kill you. Regardless, we are deeply sorry that you and your friend, Ju Jia are caught up in this, and we
Lu Ye raised his hand and stopped him. You dont need to say anything, Sect Master Yu. I am aware of the circumstances, and I know that the knife in the back is the hardest to anticipate. None of us wanted this to happen.
Yu Xiao nodded. Thank you for understanding, young friend. If you dont mind, can I ask you a favor?
Dont worry. I promise that Sister Shui Yuan will not me the Heavenly Derivative Sect for this. Also, my impression of Brother Zhao is pretty good, so of course I will ask Sister Shui Yuan to treat him.
Chapter 309: I’m Born Exceptional
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 309: Im Born Exceptional
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye had known immediately what Yu Xiao was referring to when he said he wanted to ask a favor from him.
Just now, Heavenly Derivative Sects best medicine cultivator had admitted that she was incapable of treating the poison. It was why Yu Xiao had wanted to ask for help from other medicine cultivators in Wu Zhou until the woman had enlightened him. Since Sister Shui Yuan was already on her way, there was no need to invite anyone else.
There were some medicine cultivators whose medical expertise were greater than Shui Yuans, but they were all Divine Ocean Realm Masters. Not only were they scattered across the entire Jiu Zhou, they were all the trump cards of Tier-One sects. It would be expensive to employ their services, and that was assuming they cared enough to treat the lives of two insignificant Spirit Creek Realm cultivators.
.
That was why Shui Yuan of the Crimson Blood Sect was their best option bar none. There was no one whose medical expertise was better than hers beneath the Divine Ocean Realm.
However, the Crimson Blood Sect was also infamous for their protectiveness. There was a good chance Shui Yuan would refuse to treat Zhao Li for putting Lu Ye in danger, and with good reason. Lu Ye was poisoned in Heavenly Derivative Sects territory after all.
Still, Yu Xiao was the sect master. It was his responsibility to at least try to save a disciple of his sect. That was why he had asked Lu Ye to help him.
To Lu Ye, this was just a small issue. If his senior sister really could purge the Divine Soul poison, he did not see why she wouldnt cure Zhao Li as well.
Furthermore, Lu Ye was nning to improve his skill in the Way of Wards. Saving Zhao Li would give him the peace of mind to further his studies in the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
Of course, this was assuming that his senior sister was skilled enough to save Ju Jia and Zhao Li. If not, then
He had heard every word of the conversation between Yu Xiao and his medicine cultivator. His senior sister was one of the best medicine cultivators in Jiu Zhou, but the medicine cultivator had also exined why medical expertise alone might not be enough to cure Ju Jia and Zhao Li.
Thank you. Please get some rest while we wait for Elder Tang and Sister Shui Yuan to arrive. Of course, I will tell them to keep your condition a secret, and you have my word that I will give you a satisfactory resolution to this fiasco.
Yu Xiao made to leave, but he stopped when he arrived at the exit. Oh right, there is one more thing Id like to ask you about, if you dont mind?
Lu Ye simply looked at him and waited.
Yu Xiaounched into his question, You arewerepoisoned, were you not? So why are you perfectly fine?
Im not sure. Maybe its because Im born exceptional and immune to all poison?
Yu Xiao let out an involuntary chuckle before shaking his head and leaving. Naturally, he thought that Lu Ye was just joking or deflecting his question. There was no such thing as someone who was born immune to all poisons, and even if there was someone like that, they would not be immune to a poison that afflicted the Divine Soul.
Unbeknownst to Yu Xiao, Lu Ye was, in a sense, immune to all poisons. If the Tree of Glyphs could identify and burn something as obscure as pill poison, then of course it could do the same to other poisons.
Lu Ye had no idea that the Tree of Glyphs possessed such an ability until now. It wasnt without a cost, however. He could sense that burning the poison had used up much of its fuel reserves so to speak. When he ran out, he would have to feed it more me of Earthen Spirits.
There was no hurry though. It wasnt because he didnt want to unlock more Glyphs, but because he needed to save up his Contribution Points for something. Earlier, he had saved up his Contribution Points to purchase a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. Now, he was saving up for something that cost far, far more Contribution Points. To give an example, it was an amount that would discourage any other Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
This was also why he was so enamored with upying Outposts. There was no other way he couldve umted the necessary amount, not even if he sold all the loot he got to the Vault of Providence.
Although he had to go through several hoops to obtain his Contribution Pointsfirst, he would have to return to his Outpost. Next, he would have to convert the Contribution Points he got into sect Contribution Points. Finally, he would need to issue himself a sry, which was ten percent of the total Sect Contribution Pointsit was still much, much faster than earning Contribution Points via killing enemies.
Speaking of which, Yu Xiao was a meticulous man. It was clear he realized something since he purposely mentioned that he would keep Lu Yes condition a secret.
Lu Ye had notified his senior sister the moment he realized that the food and wine were poisoned because, one, her superior medical expertise could save a life, and two, he thought this was a good opportunity to drop out of Thousand Demon Ridges radar.
Thousand Demon Ridge had been keeping an eye on him since the day he left Hidden Light sanctuary. Not only was he ambushed multiple times on his way to Heavenly Derivative Sect, he was poisoned within the hour he arrived at his destination. As if that wasnt bad enough, the poison was untreatable even by the best medicine cultivator of the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
Just how badly did Thousand Demon Ridge want him dead?
However, he could drop out of their radar if he died in this poisoning incident. It wouldnt fool them for long, but it was certainly better than if they knew he still lived.
Of course, Thousand Demon Ridge might not be fooled if only the Heavenly Derivative Sect announced that Lu Ye was dead. That was why he wanted Sister Shui Yuan toe over.
He had told Shui Yuan that he was fine in the message, but his senior sister still brought the sect master with her. It made Lu Ye feel warm on the inside.
The smile on his face ttened when he looked at the sleeping Ju Jia though. He was safe thanks to the Tree of Glyphs, but the same could not be said for Ju Jia. He could only pray that his senior sister was skilled enough to save him.
Ju Jia had bathed in the Pool of Divine Purification just like him, but even he was still unable to resist this unknown poison. It showed just how toxic it was.
On a rted note, the Heavenly Derivative Sect had already captured the culprit thanks to Lu Yes quick reaction after realizing that the food and wine were poisoned. The poisoner clearly wasnt expecting his deed to be exposed so soon and was captured before he managed to go far.
It should not need to be said, but the Heavenly Derivative Sect showed no mercy to the traitor. They quickly tortured the information they needed out of the man and obtained residues of the poison from his hands. After a careful inspection, the female medicine cultivator was able to confirm that the poison was indeed more targeted at the Divine Soul than the body. That was why Ju Jias and Zhao Lis physical bodies were fine now.
However, they would still die if the poison eating away at their Divine Soul wasnt treated soon.
ording to the spy, he hadnt prepared the poison specifically to kill Lu Ye. It was just in case he needed it to use it one day. Then Lu Ye came to the Heavenly Derivative Sect, and he received the order to assassinate the young man. The rest was history.
That wasnt all that had happened during this time. While they were interrogating the spy, groups of cultivators belonging to different Thousand Demon Ridge sects had shown up outside the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost. At first, their numbers werent that threatening. They were members of the three Thousand Demon Ridge sects bordering the Outpost, and each sect had dispatched about two hundred people or so.
However, their numbers exceeded a thousand just half a dayter. Everyone in the headquarters was shaken when they received the news.
Although Zhao Li had heeded Yu Xiaos advice and made the necessary preparations beforehand, there was only so much they could do against this many invaders. Not even the toughest Grand Ward could hold for long against hundreds and hundreds of attackers, not to mention that their total force had long since surpassed the Heavenly Derivative Sects ability to withstand.
As if that wasnt bad enough, Thousand Demon Ridges reinforcements showed no signs of stopping. Each group was only one or two hundred cultivators strongit was basically the expected number of people a sect normally dispatched to assist in an operationbut a lot of sects were participating in the operation, even those whose Outpost was pretty far away from the Heavenly Derivative Sect. This rarely happened on the Spirit Creek Battlefield because it opened up the group to being ambushed in the middle of a march.
Of course, the Heavenly Derivative Sect also asked for help from Grand Sky Coalition, but most sects were too far away to assist in time, and those who were close could only dispatch so many cultivators withoutpromising their own safety. Still, no one hesitated to send help. They knew that they would suffer massive losses since they would be shing against a force with far superior numbers than theirs, but that was no excuse to let the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost be breached without resistance.
When the time was right, the Thousand Demon Ridge army finallyunched their invasion. As expected, the Heavenly Derivative Sect failed to defend their Outpost even though their allies were able to divert some forces away from them. Their Grand Ward was broken by force, and the disciples had no choice but to withdraw to Jiu Zhou.
For a time, somberness hung above everyones heads like dark clouds. This wasnt the first time their Outpost had been conquered by the enemy, but never had they been outmatched so thoroughly that they were unable to put up even a bit of resistance. They had practically teleported away while watching their Grand Ward be diminished little by little.
There was a silver lining though. Realizing just how outmatched they were, the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect had gone into evacuation mode from the beginning. As a result, not one person was injured or killed even though their Outpost was conquered.
They were temporarily stuck in the headquarters though. From what their allies had told them, the enemy had not retreated despite having upied the Outpost. They just stayed there as if the ruins were their new home.
This was clearly a warning to all Grand Sky Coalition sects. They were saying that anyone who dared to take Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect into their sect would have to face some serious consequences.
Naturally, Grand Sky Coalition was unhappy with this situation. Many Legates startedmunicating with one another and tried to organize a full force counterattack, but the effort quickly petered out, not because theycked the determination or couragethey were all youngsters eager to prove themselves after allbut because their seniors had put a stop to it.
There was no changing the fact that the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost was upied. If the Grand Sky Coalition were tounch a full force counterattack, the battle would surely escte into an all-out war. Thousand Demon Ridge would not like this, but Grand Sky Coalition would suffer massive losses as well. This was something the older generation could not ept.
As a result, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators hanging out in the Outpost grew even more arrogant.
Meanwhile, Gu Canyang and Wei Li of the Hidden Light Sanctuary were shaking in their boots and thinking how close they hade to losing their Outpost and potentially their lives. Although they knew that the reason Thousand Demon Ridge went to such extremes was because they wanted to stop Lu Ye from furthering his studies in the Way of Wards at the Heavenly Derivative Sect, they could not help but be scared anyway.
If Thousand Demon Ridge had acted sooner and pulled this stunt while Lu Ye was still at their Outpost, there was no chance they would have been able to repel them.
Meanwhile, the Thousand Demon Ridge sects were feeling much better after upying the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost and striking back against the Grand Sky Coalition. They felt even better when they heard the news that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was gravely poisoned, and he would be dead very soon.
The doom and gloom that hung above their heads a while ago was swept away like a hurricane. Now, they were just waiting for the news of his death to spread so they could bring out the gongs and fireworks to celebrate.
Chapter 310: Will It Help?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 310: Will It Help?
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Without exaggeration, Lu Ye was the first person ever to make Thousand Demon Ridge fear him so much at the meager cultivation level of Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.
While the entire Heavenly Derivative Sect was wrapped in a somber mood, two very special guests finally arrived at their headquarters. They were none other than the Sect Master and Keeper of Seal of the Crimson Blood Sect, Tang Yifeng and Shui Yuan.
Inside a hall, two people were lying inside a functioning Soul Nurturing Ward. The ward itself wasnt particrlyplicated, but individually it waspletely useless. It only nurtured the soul if some soul nurturing treasures were ced within the ward.
All treasures that could nurture the soul were incredibly valuable, and even an old sect like the Heavenly Derivative Sect only had a handful of them. They werent even particrly potent.
Even so, it was the only effective way to alleviate Zhao Li and Ju Jias symptoms.
Lu Ye was sitting at the side and watching Ju Jia worriedly. The great elder of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, Bai Qian was guarding the ce as well. He was the one who made the ward after all, so of course it was up to him to ensure that everything was functioning properly. They were the only two people inside the hall.
Countless shadows were swaying to the weak candlelight in the hall when suddenly, Bai Qian let out a sigh. Hey kid. If youre going to pretend to be dead, then at least act like it. What if someone sees you like this and spreads the news?
Lu Ye asked, Dont you trust your own people, Elder Bai?
Thats not it. Im just saying that its better to be safe than sorry. A pair of prying eyes and a loose mouth are all it takes for secrets to spread.
You must not be confident in your wards then.
Screw you. Bai Qian lifted his chin and dered arrogantly, I dare not im to be the best ward cultivator in Jiu Zhou, but I dare say that no one is capable of peering through the wards Ive set up.
The old man was generally a friendly man as long as you did not speak to him about wards. Otherwise, his personality would do a one-eighty. He was especially confident in his attainment in the Way of Wards.
Lu Ye would have loved to learn from the old man, but the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost had just sumbed to the enemy, and both Ju Jia and Zhao Li were still in grave danger right now. Naturally, he wasnt in the mood to expand on the subject.
Suddenly, Bai Qian warned, Get into the ward now. Someonesing.
Lu Ye hurriedlyy inside the ward and closed his eyes.
As if on cue, the door swung open with a creak. A series of hurried footsteps resounded across the hall as Yu Xiaos voice rang, We have ced them inside a Soul Nurturing Ward. For now, their lives are not in danger.
The next moment, Lu Ye felt someone grabbing his wrist as a familiar scent tickled his nostrils. He opened his eyes and saw Shui Yuan staring back at him.
Sister Shui Yuan.
Dont move. The ice on Shui Yuans face melted slightly as she pushed Lu Ye back to the ground. Then, he felt her gentle Spiritual Power entering his body and inspecting his condition.
The Sect Master was standing behind Shui Yuan with a worried look on his face. Although Lu Ye had already informed them that he was unhurt, neither of them could be assured until Shui Yuan had checked him herself.
Shui Yuan did not pull her punches this time, not letting go of Lu Yes wrist until an entire incense stick had passed. Finally satisfied, she released her grip and moved to check Ju Jia next.
It was only then Lu Ye rose to his feet and saluted Tang Yifeng, greeting, Sect Master.
The sect master nodded back. Im d youre safe. Since Shui Yuan hadnt said anything, it meant that Lu Ye really was safe and sound.
Im so sorry for the trouble Ive caused you both, Lu Ye apologized in a regretful tone.
The Sect Master tapped his head lightly with his fist. What are you talking about? Forget that this is no trouble at all, so what if you brought actual trouble to our doorsteps? We are your seniors, and we exist to act as your shield. If I was the type to balk at trouble, I would never have be a cultivator in the first ce. All is well as long as you do not regret the decisions you made. Do not allow fear to cow you into inaction.
Yes, Sect Master.
It didnt take long for Shui Yuan to finish inspecting Ju Jia and move onto Zhao Li. An incense stickter, she rose to her feet and scrunched her pretty eyebrows tightly. Its definitely a poison that attacks the Divine Soul.
Yu Xiao had given Shui Yuan the poison residue they obtained from the traitor after they arrived. Combined with her observation of Ju Jia and Zhao Lis condition, she was able to make several educated conjectures in just a short time.
Is it treatable? Yu Xiao asked hurriedly.
It is, but Im worried they wont be able to survive the treatment.
What do you mean?
His best medicine cultivator had been helpless before the poison, but Shui Yuan had dered otherwise shortly after her arrival. It proved that her medical expertise was far greater than his medicine cultivators, though it was clear from her words that her solution wasnt without its repercussions.
The poison will be attached to their Divine Soul, and I know of a way that can remove it. However, its going to deal massive damage to their Divine Soul because they are only at Spirit Creek Realm, and their Divine Soul is quite fragile. Frankly, their chances of surviving the operation is pretty low.
Lu Yes heart sank when he heard this. He was the reason behind this whole fiasco, so how was it that he was totally fine, and Ju Jia and Zhao Li were the ones who were suffering?
Yu Xiao frowned deeply. Is it truly hopeless?
Well, they might still survive if we feed them treasures that could strengthen their Divine Souls in a short time, but
Treasures that could strengthen the Divine Soul, huh Yu Xiao couldnt help but utter in a bitter tone. Such treasures were so valuable that even the Vault of Providence did not sell them, and if he did possess such a treasure he would have consumed it as soon as possible. Of course they wouldnt have such a thing.
It was at this moment Lu Ye called out, Sister Shui Yuan.
The medicine cultivator turned around and saw Lu Ye beckoning her to his side. After she went over, Lu Ye pulled her to a corner and produced a jade bottle from his Storage Bag stealthily. He then asked in a soft voice, Will this help?
Shui Yuan epted the jade bottle, but did not really think that Lu Ye could solve their conundrum. He was just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, and it was unlikely he would have a treasure that would be up to her standards.
Her skepticism onlysted until she opened the jade bottle and took a sniff. Shock and puzzlement shed across her features as she nced back and forth between Lu Ye and the bottle. She had a feeling she knew what it was, but she needed to be a hundred percent sure.
Sect master, Shui Yuan turned around and beckoned Tang Yifeng to their side.
After the Sect Master reached them, Shui Yuan passed him the jade bottle and asked, Can you please check what this is?
You dont recognize it? The sect master sounded surprised. His confusionsted until he epted the jade bottle and inspected its contents. He was so shocked that his hand trembled slightly. I cannot believe it
Is it really that? Shui Yuan asked for confirmation.
The sect master nodded seriously and said, Im pretty sure, before looking at Lu Ye. Where did you get this?
Lu Ye was just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, and he hadnt left the Spirit Creek Battlefield until recently. So, how on earth did he obtain a treasure that even Divine Ocean Realm cultivators would kill to get?
I recently entered the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Lu Ye had immediately thought of the Soul Cleansing Water when Shui Yuan said that only a treasure that could strengthen the soul in a short time could save Ju Jia and Zhao Li. As someone who had bathed in the Pool of Soul Purification before, he was well aware of the effects of the Soul Mist. The Soul Cleansing Water was the condensed form of the Soul Mist, so of course it was going to be beneficial to the Divine Soul.
Oh, the Lost City of Xianyuan The sect master eximed in realization. At his position, he was well aware that the Lost City of Xianyuan was connected to the Rift of Fortune. It was also the only way a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator might obtain such a priceless treasure.
However, the Rift of Fortune had appeared many times across the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and almost no one had obtained the Soul Cleansing Water. In fact, he had only ever heard of one lucky cultivator obtaining a couple drops of Soul Cleaning Water by chance. It might not sound like a lot, but it was easily worth a fortune.
However, Lu Ye had an entire bottle of Soul Cleansing Water. That was at least thirty or forty drops in total. Just how on earth did he do it?
Will it help? Lu Ye asked again.
Shui Yuan nodded affirmatively. Yes, but are you sure?
Their lives are more important. Lu Ye knew what his senior sister was trying to imply and looked at the duo lying in the Soul Nurturing Ward. Ju Jia is extraordinarily talented, and I am sure he will be a great cultivator in the future. Ive already epted him as an initiate, and I was going to convert him into an official disciple the moment we return to Mount Ao. Even if this wasnt the case, weve been traveling together and fighting side-by-side for a while now. There is no way Im going to leave him to die.
As for Brother Zhao, Im the reason he is suffering in the first ce. If this item will help save them, then please do not hesitate to use it, senior sister.
The sect master nodded. Im d you can think this way. A senior sister should not spurn her junior brothers good will, dont you agree?
Yes!
Meanwhile, Yu Xiao and Bai Qian were exchanging conflicted looks with one another. It was because they had heard the trios conversation of course. They werent trying to eavesdrop on purpose, but the trio werent really trying to hide their conversation either. Long story short, they heard enough to know what was going on.
There were only a handful of treasures in this world that could stun the sect master of the Crimson Blood Sect. Considering the circumstances and the mention of the Lost City of Xianyuan, it became obvious what Lu Ye was offering to save Zhao Li and Ju Jia.
Under any other circumstances, they would be rubbing their hands together with greed or wearing a look of desire at the very least. Of course, they knew better than to do that right now.
Forget that they belonged on the same side, the Heavenly Derivative Sect and the Crimson Blood Sect also shared some old ties. It also took a kind of moral fiber to offer such a priceless treasure just to save an acquaintance.
That was why the duo feigned ignorance even though they figured out what Lu Ye had produced from his Storage Bag.
Sect Master Yu, Shui Yuan said in a frigid voice as she turned toward Yu Xiao.
She had been fuming ever since she received the message from Lu Ye. The man should count himself lucky that she hadnt vented his anger on him.
Although the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost was conquered by Thousand Demon Ridge as a result of this, it did not change the fact that Lu Ye had been poisoned in their territory. She only cared about the effect and not the cause. That was just how she was, logic be damned.
What are your instructions, Sister Shui? Yu Xian asked in a humble tone.
I require some herbs. You will prepare them all within the hour.
Shui Yuan produced a jade slip, injected it with her Spiritual Power and imprinted it with some info. She then passed it to Yu Xiao.
I shall handle this myself.
If Lu Ye was willing to make such a huge sacrifice to save his disciple, how could the Heavenly Derivative Sect not cooperate to the best of their abilities? While it was true that they had lost their Outpost as a result of Lu Yes presence, Zhao Li was the one who invited the young man to his ce. It made no sense to me him for their loss.
Plus, Lu Ye himself did not realize that his visit to the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost would cause such a disaster.
Now was not the time to sort out this mess though. There were lives to be saved.
Plus, Zhao Li would actually benefit from this ordeal if he managed to survive. He was pretty talented to begin with, but now there was a chance he would surpass expectations. Yu Xiao was shrewd enough to realize this.
Chapter 311: Give Me Back My Junior Brother
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 311: Give Me Back My Junior Brother
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
After Yu Xiao left, Shui Yuan took out a small medicine cauldron and a bunch of precious herbs from her Storage Bag. She then mixed them up until they transformed into some sort of aquamarine medicinal liquid.
Lu Ye acted as her assistant and helped her whenever he could. He might not know much about medicine, but he could do simple stuff like measuring dosages, carrying stuff or literally lending her an extra hand when two werent enough.
When Im done here, you should return with me to the headquarters andy low until the danger has passed.
When Lu Ye did not respond, Shui Yuan abruptly paused her movement and stared at him unblinkingly.
His senior sister was a wonderful woman. During his time at the Crimson Blood Sect, she had doted on him like a caring older sister. Unfortunately, it meant that she was twice as scary when she was angry. Lu Ye could not help but panic a little despite anticipating her disapproval.
Exin, she demanded.
Knowing there was no getting out of this, Lu Ye chose his words carefully before starting, Thousand Demon Ridge is determined to kill me, and I dont think lying low is going to help me much unless I swear off the Spirit Creek Battlefieldpletely or hide permanently in my Outpost. However, Im already an Eighth-Order cultivator. It would be against the rules for me to stay in the Outer Circle for too long.
Thats why Im telling you toe back with me to the headquarters.
Its like this Lu Ye moved closer before spilling his entire n in a small voice.
At first, Shui Yuan was irritated that her junior brother was refusing to listen to her. However, the lines on her face smoothened after she listened to his n. So, youre nning to fake your death?
Thats right. By now, news of my condition shouldve spread throughout Thousand Demon Ridge. It is no secret that you and the sect master havee to the Heavenly Derivative Sect either. One might say that you are just in time to collect my poisoned corpse, dont you agree?
Shui Yuan frowned a little at his choice of words, but did not make a fuss about it.
This way, Thousand Demon Ridge would no longer be keeping an eye on me, and I would have the freedom to study the Way of Wards and deepen my attainment.
Thats a pretty good idea, said the sect master while nodding approvingly. He was going to share some of his own ideas when Shui Yuan shut him up with a re.
Fortunately or not, the great elder of the Heavenly Derivative Sectcked the sect masters keen eye. Unaware of Shui Yuans displeasure, he echoed in agreement, If that is your wish, then it is this old mans pleasure to teach you everything I know. Also, the Hundred Wards Tower is right around the corner. You are wee to challenge it at any time.
My thoughts exactly. Lu Ye hurriedly nodded in agreement. So, senior sister?
Shui Yuan fell silent for a moment before replying, I wont say that its a bad n, but you are aware that your status can be verified through the Battlefield Imprint, right?
Thats not a problem. The only ones who have my imprint are Crimson Blood Sect disciples or Legates. Ill tell them my n, and theyll keep the secret.
Why are you even consulting me if youve already thought of everything? Shui Yuan huffed.
Im d you approve, senior sister. When the timees, I would need you and the sect master to put on an act for me.
Their most talented disciple had perished in the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Logically speaking, Shui Yuan and the sect master would be mournful and vengeful. He did not tell them how to act the part, trusting that they knew better than him.
Not long after they wrapped up the discussion, Yu Xiao returned with the Shui Yuan she hadmanded him to prepare. Two hourster, she began treating Zhao Li.
The reason she treated Zhao Li first was because his condition was far more urgent. Ju Jia had been baptized in the Soul Cleansing Pond just like Lu Ye and so possessed a much stronger Divine Soul than Zhao Li. The dy would not affect him much.
The process of the treatment wasplicated and not easy to express sinctly. In summary, Shui Yuan continuously concocted all kinds of medicine and poured them into Zhao Lis mouth. Then, she used some sort of technique to pull out the poison rooted in his Divine Soul.
Zhao Li moaned and shook violently despite the fact he was unconscious. His clothes were so drenched it looked like he just crawled out of a pool.
One could only imagine how much worse his suffering would be if he was conscious.
The treatment did not finish until four hourster. Yu Xiao and Bai Qian looked at their disciple with great concern. The young man was still alive, but his aura had weakened considerably. As Shui Yuan had told them earlier, the treatment wasnt kind to the patients health. He wouldve died without Lu Yes Soul Cleansing Water.
Im not at Divine Ocean Realm yet, so there are certain methods that I am unable to employ without considerable risks. There might be some residue in his Divine Soul. Whether he will wake up is all up to him now.
Yu Xiao said gratefully, Thank you, Sister Shui Yuan.
He knew that Shui Yuan had given her all. She was only a Ninth-Order Real Lake Realm Master, and yet she was capable of treating an affliction that affects the Divine Soul. No ordinary medicine cultivator couldve done what she did.
Shui Yuan rested for half a day before moving onto Ju Jia.
To her surprise, treating Ju Jia turned out to be much easier than Zhao Li. Not only that, what had tormented Zhao Li greatly even in his unconscious state hadnt affected the body tempering cultivator in the slightest. It was almost as if he had fallen asleep.
Even better, the big guy actually started snoring when the treatment was over. It was such an unexpected reaction that Shui Yuan started doubting her own skill and inspected him all over again. She rxed only after she confirmed that she hadnt missed anything.
It was then Shui Yuan recalled Lu Yesment about Ju Jia and realized that the big fellow really was as special as he imed.
She took a moment to catch a breather before returning to Lu Yes side. She then attempted to hand him the jade bottle containing the Soul Cleansing Water.
She had used only a total of five droplets to treat Ju Jia and Zhao Li. The treasure was extremely precious, so Shui Yuan had saved them as much as possible.
However, Lu Ye pushed it back and said, You can keep it, senior sister. I have more.
Shui Yuan caught his wrist and deposited the jade bottle firmly in his palm. This treasure is more precious than you think. When youve reached Real Lake Realm, consume it bit by bit to realize its effects. A strong Divine Soul will make ascending to Divine Ocean Realm so much
Suddenly, Shui Yuans words became lodged in her throat. It was because she saw Lu Ye grabbing a couple more jade bottles from his Storage Bag.
How
I told you I have more, so just treat it as my gift to you and the sect master and keep it, Sister Shui Yuan. Dont hesitate toe back to me if its not enough.
For a moment, Shui Yuan could not say anything. She had gone through many highs and lows in life, but never had she seen this much Soul Cleansing Water. Lu Ye had told her that his reward came from the Lost City of Xianyuan, but since when did the city have this much Soul Cleansing Water? For that matter, how was it that everyone else who had gotten some walked away from the Lost City of Xianyuan with just a few drops of Soul Cleansing Water, while her junior brother had walked away with several bottles of the treasure?
In that case I happily ept your gift.
After she had calmed herself, Shui Yuan turned toward Yu Xiao and started walking toward the sect master. Let us begin, Sect Master Yu.
? Yu Xiao looked at her in confusion. He did not understand what she was talking about.
Suddenly, Shui Yuans pupils turned a shade of purple. At the same time, she spoke in a tone cold enough to rival the wind of the Nine Nethers, My junior brother visited the Heavenly Derivative Sect as a guest, but now he is dead by an assassins hands. What do you have to say for yourself, Sect Master Yu?
Now Yu Xiao waspletely confused. He nced at the perfectly lively Lu Ye standing behind her and started, Er, Im not sure I understand, Sister Shui Yuan. Your junior brother is right
Is that your answer? Very well! The petite woman suddenly began growing in size. In just a matter of seconds, she had be much taller, bustier, and more mature. Her hair reached all the way down to her waist, and her loose robes were now straining against her curves. Killing intent erupted from the woman as she summoned a war scythe into her hands.
BOOM! The closed door of the hall was shattered, and Yu Xiao flew out of it with a look of utter shock on his face. He thought he was dead when Shui Yuan hadunched her attack!
It was only now he realized that the famous medicine cultivator of the Crimson Blood Sect wasnt just versed in the art of healing. Herbat strength was just as formidable!
A sorrowful cry resounded throughout the entire Heavenly Derivative Sect, Give me back my junior brother!
On that day, Shui Yuan, Keeper of Seal of the Crimson Blood Sect had turned the Heavenly Derivative Sect upside down because her junior brother, Lu Ye was poisoned to death by Thousand Demon Ridge. Not only had she fought five Real Lake Realm champions to a standstill, the shockwaves of that battle had destroyed dozens of buildings and injured many disciples.
Thankfully, Tang Yifeng, Sect Master of the Crimson Blood Sect was a sensible man. He managed to stop her before she could cause anymore damage.
That was just the beginning of Shui Yuans revenge though. Furious and brimming with vengeance, the woman actually teleported into the Spirit Creek Battlefield through the Heavenly Derivative Sects Divine Opportunity Column.
As the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost had been upied, a lot of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were still camping in the area and acting as an eyesore to all Grand Sky Coalition cultivators. They were all celebrating and basking in their recent victory.
That was why they were caughtpletely off guard when Shui Yuan appeared out of nowhere with her ridiculously huge war scythe. Naturally, there wasnt a single person in the Outpost who was a match for her!
While enduring the Judgment of the Heavens, Shui Yuan yed dozens of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and chilled the hearts of every soul present. Not a single person dared to stop her when she finally ceased her madness and retreated.
Naturally, the world was shocked when the news was spread. The second time! This was the second time the Crimson Blood Sects Keeper of Seal had invaded the Spirit Creek Battlefield and thrown herself into a senseless ughter!
If the first time she invaded the Spirit Creek Battlefield was justifiable because Thousand Demon Ridge was the one who broke the rules first, then what about this time? Sure, the method in which they killed Lu Ye was scummy and despicable, but it hadnt vited the rules. They were enemies after all. No tactic was too much as long as it was within the rules.
So why did she do it? Because her junior brother was killed? It waspletely unreasonable to put it mildly. Lu Yi Ye had killed plenty of people himself. If everyone were to emte her example and go on a killing spree every time one of their disciples was dead, then the Spirit Creek Battlefield would surely fall into chaos. No low level cultivator would be safe anymore.
For a time, a mountain of usations and abuses were flung in the direction of Shui Yuan. That was all they did though. Shui Yuan dared to invade the Spirit Creek Battlefield because she could neutralize the Punishment of the Heavens via a special method, but the champions of Thousand Demon Ridge could not boast the same thing. They would most likely be dead if they tried to emte her example.
Moreover, the amount of damage she did was ultimately insignificant. Women were emotional beings, and in her fury Shui Yuan had chosen one of the worst ways to retaliate against Thousand Demon Ridge. The death of just dozens of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators just wasnt a big deal.
The Sect Master of the Crimson Blood Sect though, now that was apletely different story. If the rumors were to be trusted, the old bastard had made a beeline for the province bordering Wuzhou, Lei Zhou and gone on a rampage.
The good news was that Thousand Demon Ridge was prepared for this. Several Divine Ocean Realm cultivators showed up just in time to repel Tang Yifeng and prevent him from dealing any significant damage to their sects in Lei Zhou.
They were able to stop him in time not because they could predict the future, but because there was a precedent. During the aftermath of the Battle of Goldentip, Tang Yifeng had invaded Yun Zhou and destroyed three Thousand Demon Ridge sects singlehandedly, dealing them a massive blow.
Since then, everyone in Thousand Demon Ridge knew that the Crimson Blood Sect was stupidly overprotective over their young. Naturally, they were prepared for their retaliation for poisoning Lu Ye.
Chapter 312: Cry, Or Else
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 312: Cry, Or Else
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Just as they anticipated, Tang Yifeng had attacked Lei Zhou. What they didnt anticipate was him not retreating after they repelled him the first time. Right now, the man was roaming the borders between Lei Zhou and Wu Zhou and waiting for an opportunity to present itself.
This was a massive headache for Thousand Demon Ridge, of course. To give an example, it was way harder to be the guard than the thief because the guard had to be on the lookout all the time, while the thief only needed to seed once. This was doubly true for a champion like Tang Yifeng, who had shed all pretense no less.
The one true way to deal with him was to trap and kill him once and for all, but this was Tang Yifeng they were talking about. To call him a wily old fox would be to shame him, and to dream of catching him in a death trap was just that, a dream. The fact that he was singlehandedly turning Lei Zhou upside down was a testament to that.
Not even the Core Circle of the Spirit Creek Battlefield was spared from the Crimson Blood Sects wrath. Specifically, Li Baxian had left his sect to cause trouble.
The most authoritative list of the most powerful cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was the Roll of Supremacy. It was because it was governed by the Heavens themselves, meaning that it was one hundred percent fair. The list was automatically updated by the Heavens based on the strength a cultivator disyed inbat.
The names on the list were prone to frequent changes because a cultivator who reached the peak of Spirit Creek Realm rarely lingered at that cultivation level. At most, they would spend some time umting their strength before ascending to Cloud River Realm.
In the past, Li Baxian was tenth on the list and the only Eighth-Order Heaven Grade cultivator on the Roll of Supremacy. Everyone else was a Ninth-Order cultivator.
Today, he was third, not only because the previous holders had ascended to Cloud River Realm, but also because he was that powerful. He was able to hide his strength for a time until he battled the first runner-up on the Roll of Supremacy, Yan Xing. Since then, his true strength was revealed to all.
Speaking of which, every genius in the Spirit Creek Battlefield from both Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge had some nasty words to offer the top three cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy. Why? It was because the three bastards had remained at Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade. How could any up-anding youngster possibly hope to rece them?
It was said that the top three cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy would earn the boon of the Heavens, though the specifics were unclear because no one got the exact same boon. The only thing they knew for certain was that the higher your cement, the better the boon you got.
That was until these three bastards imed the top spots three years ago. Since no one could rece them, no one else had received the boon of the Heavens for the past three years.
Even the Heavens seemed to loathe their refusal to ascend and free up the Roll of Supremacy. It was because the Heavens stopped bestowing them its boons after the first couple times.
Of course, the Roll of Supremacy wasnt the only list that existed within the Spirit Creek Battlefield. There were many more lists created by the cultivators themselves such as the Hidden Dragon List, Beauties of Spirit Creek and so on.
One of them was called the Lazy Crane List. It was aimed at powerful cultivators, and they were evaluated based on their threat level, battle frequency and kill count. To put it simply, the higher the cultivators threat level, the lower their kill count, and the longer it had been since they fought a battle, the higher they ranked on the list.
Before the Battle of Goldentip, Li Baxian was the indisputable king of the Lazy Crane List. In fact, it had been years since anyone even came close to dethroning him. It was because he was that zy. He spent most of his days holed up in the Devoted Ones Outpost like a shy woman who was afraid to show her face to the public. He never exited the gates, and he barely even stepped out of his own room. He was nominally the Devoted Ones prolegate, but in reality even the disciples rarely got to see him.
However, the king was dethroned and knocked all the way to the bottom of the list after the Battle of Goldentip. Today, his name waspletely removed from the list.
The reason was very simple. He was like a young, healthy man who was locked in a monastery and forced to practice asceticism for decades until one day, he was suddenly let loose into the red light district. Day and night, the sword cultivator had roamed the Core Circle in search of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to kill. Since he was the second runner-up of the Roll of Supremacy, who in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was a match for him? Already, his wanton action had resulted in several massive battles.
Naturally, his newfound blood thirst had disqualified him from the Lazy Crane List.
.
To be fair, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had not caused any trouble during their time in the Devoted Ones Outpost. Their presence also made their Outpost the safest ce in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. No one even dared to shoot them a word of challenge, much less attack them.
So, why had Li Baxian suddenly done a one-eighty? It was because Lu Yi Ye was poisoned to death by Thousand Demon Ridge, of course.
At the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost, Hua Ci stepped out of her training chamber and stretched like a cat. The sunlight felt most weing after several days of secluded cultivation. That was when she noticed that Ruan Lingyu was waiting outside her door.
She asked curiously, Whats the matter? Did something happen?
Lingyu walked up to her and grabbed her hand. She then said in a serious tone, I need to tell you something, but first, you must promise me to stay calm, okay?
Hua Ci tilted her head in confusion. What was she talking about?
Ruan Lingyu looked left and right before moving closer to Hua Cis ear. She then said in a low tone, Lu Ye has been poisoned to death.
Hua Ci abruptly froze like a statue, and Lingyu could feel her body temperature departing her fingers in just a matter of seconds. Realizing that this was going to turn into a disaster if she didnt reveal the truth as soon as possible, she added hurriedly, Its fake! Hes faking his death! Lu Ye is really fine. When I asked Sister Shui Yuan about this, she said that a lot of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators mean to do Lu Ye harm, so Lu Ye decided to turn this against them and fool them into thinking hes dead. She also said we should act like hes dead because our Outpost is a lot busier than before.
The reason Lingyu had waited at Hua Cis doorstep was to be the first to inform her of the news. If the medicine cultivator had heard it from someone else, there was a chance she might identally reveal that Lu Ye was alive in her denial.
Hua Ci felt like her heart was bouncing all over her chest as she listened to Lingyus words. She immediately checked her Battlefield Imprint and to her relief, found that his imprint was still present. Not entirely convinced, she sent him a message and did not rx until she finally received a reply from him.
Hua Ci did not reveal her true emotions on her face or her body, however. She even copsed to her knees and started sobbing in silence, tears streaming down her cheeks like unending waterfalls.
Sister Hua Ci! Ruan Lingyu was stunned to say the least. She already told her that Lu Ye was faking his death, so why was she acting like this?
If Lu Ye was here, he wouldve praised her acting skills for sure.
Half a dayter, Hua Ci and the core members of the Crimson Blood Sect were gathered at a quiet ce in the Outpost. Why? Well, they were here to burn some ritual money for the deceased Lu Ye
Towering mes licked the air as Hua Ci dumped bundle after bundle of ritual money into the fire, tears still streaming silently down her cheeks.
Chen Yu, Kong Niu, Gu Yang, He Xiyin, Zhu Wenbo, Yi Haoran and Luo Qisheng were all present. They were also wearing extremely odd expressions on their faces.
Everyone here had been notified beforehand that Lu Ye was alive, and yet Hua Ci had criedwas still cryingso hard that her eyes werepletely swollen. It was such a convincing act that they were starting to wonder if Lu Ye really was dead.
It was at this moment Hua Ci uttered in a soft but threatening voice, Cry, or else.
The gang exchanged nces with each other. Finally, Chen Yu wailed, What a horrible way to die, Brother Lu!
The rest of them started fake crying as well. Gu Yang even went so far as to chant a soul returning mantra, Come back to us, senior brother. Come back to us, senior brother as he wept and burned the ritual money.
He Xiyin wanted tough, but one re from Hua Ci caused her to change her mind. She went, Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah while rubbing her eyes and tearing up like a waterfall.
Some distance away from the group, Feng Yue was watching this happening while barely hiding her glee. She was this close to cheering out loud and thanking the Heavens for giving the evil Lu Ye what he deserved!
Ever since she was kidnapped and swindled by Lu Ye, Feng Yue had been forced to stay in the Crimson Blood Sect. She could not return home because she had lost the Outpost, and as the Legate there was no way she could escape punishment. Even if she somehow managed to avoid execution, she wouldve been sold to another cultivation family in a political marriage. She would have no future to speak of.
Feng Yue would rather die than ept such a fate. She had been a Legate after all. There was no way she would resign herself to such a fate.
While she was basically a nobody in the Crimson Blood Sect, she was actually treated fairly well because she was a medicine cultivator. The sect had never shortchanged her when it was time to receive cultivation resources either, so she had actually grown stronger over time.
The only thing that still troubled her was her Contribution Points. She was an Eighth-Order cultivator who was soon to ascend to the Ninth-Order. When the time came, she would need to purchase a Heaven Grade cultivation technique with Contribution Points. However, she had donated the four thousand Contribution Points she had saved specifically for this purpose, so she basically had to restart from zero. To say she was extremely aggrieved would be an understatement.
Thankfully, that vile Lu Yi Ye was finally dead. In the future, Hua Ci would most likely be the new lord and master of the Outpost. Her mood was already so much better.
Back at the headquarters of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, everyone was downcast like a thundercloud was hanging above their heads.
Losing the Outpost had been a huge blow to them. Although the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators holding the ruins hostage had retreated after Shui Yuans rampage, rebuilding the Outpost was hardly an easy matter. At the very least, they had to umte enough Contribution Points to rebuild their Grand Ward.
Besides that, the Heavenly Derivative Sect had to temporarily ban their disciples from entering Spirit Creek Battlefield just in case Thousand Demon Ridge had other traps or ambushes in ce. As if that wasnt bad enough, they had activated the Grand Ward surrounding their headquarters and cut themselves away from the outside world as well. One could even say that the Heavenly Derivative Sect waspletely isted. Those outside the Grand Ward could not enter the headquarters, and those inside could not leave the ce. Not even messages could even get in or out of the headquarters.
Obviously, this had everything to do with the rampage of a certain Keeper of Seal. Nearly everyone in the Heavenly Derivative Sect held a grudge against the Crimson Blood Sect right now.
No one in the sect wished for Lu Yi Ye to die. The Keeper of Seals tantrum was unreasonable at best and loathsome at worst.
It was even rumored that their great elder, Bai Qian was injured in that battle. He was recuperating right now.
Lu Ye, Ju Jia and Zhao Li were all at Bai Qians residence. Ju Jia and Zhao Li had awoken in session thanks to Shui Yuans treatment, although thetter was far more weakened than the former. Still, that he was able to awaken at all meant that all was well. When the Real Lake Realm medicine cultivator hade to inspect him, she confirmed that the poison was fully purged from both his body and his soul. In fact, the reason he was weakened was just the side effect of Shui Yuans treatment. He was expected to make a full recovery after a period of rest.
Yu Xiao and everyone else in the know were most d to hear this.
At the library, Lu Yes mind was a jumbled mess after he finished speaking with Shui Yuan via the Battlefield Imprint.
The events had not gone the way he had envisioned at all. When he had asked his senior sister and his sect master to put on an act, he had expected them to fake a mourning at best. He had no idea that his senior sister would go so far to attack Yu Xiao, not to mention everything else. Yu Xiaos reaction made it clear that he wasnt expecting this either.
Chapter 313: Breathing Moon Essence
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 313: Breathing Moon Essence
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Of course, Yu Xiao wasnt a dim man. Shui Yuan had not told him what she was doing, but he still figured out her intentions immediately after she cried, Give me back my junior brother! That was why he cooperated with her and put on a convincing act even though he could barely keep his expression straight. As for the four True Lake Realm cultivators who appeared afterward, they truly did not know what was going on at all. As a result, the fight was most realistic.
That was just the beginning. Despite the persuasions of the virtuous and respectable Tang Yifeng, Shui Yuan still had a load of grievances to vent. So, she teleported into the Spirit Creek Battlefield and went on a rampage.
If even the Keeper of Seal was throwing caution to the wind, then the Sect Master could not possibly be left behind. He flew straight to Lei Zhou, a province of Thousand Demon Ridge and attacked the sects there
As if on cue, his fourth senior brother, Li Baxian also began hunting Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield as well.
Shui Yuan had already returned to the headquarters, and the Sect Master was on his way back as well. He wouldve liked to cause some real damage, but unfortunately the province was guarded too tightly even for him to slip through. Add to the fact that the Coalition Leader himself had messaged him to calm down and not risk his own life, he too evacuated from Lei Zou.
As for Li Baxian the poor guy had received quite the scolding by the Devoted Ones. He was then grounded and forbidden from leaving the Outpost without an order.
It wasnt until a few dayster that themotion caused by the death of Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect finally subsided. In the grand scheme of things, Lu Ye was just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, and the reason Thousand Demon Ridge went to such lengths to kill him was due his ward breaching skills. Since he was dead, there was no need to cause further problems.
In fact, Lu Ye was the one who was still busy responding to his fellow Legates and prolegates inquiries. Most people thought he was dead, but those he had added as friends simply needed to check their Battlefield Imprint to know he was still alive.
There was no hiding his fake death from them, and everyone he added were future pirs of their respective sects anyway. Their background was as clean as it gets, and he trusted them not to reveal the truth. Of course, he didnt go into the details. He simply said that circumstances had forced his hand. No one here was an idiot, so they all caught his meaning.
On a rted note, the incident triggered most sects in Jiu Zhou to begin ferreting out the spies in their midst. No one wanted to go through what the Heavenly Derivative Sect had gone through again. As a result, both Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge lost a massive number of spies. It was one of the fallouts of the incidents.
Lu Ye was in the middle of something when he received a message from Hua Ci. It stated, Todays the seventh day after your death. What do you want? Ill burn it for you.
He expressionlessly averted his gaze from his Battlefield Imprint, rose to his feet and made his way to Bai Qians bedroom.
The entire reason Lu Ye had epted Zhao Lis invitation to the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost was to deepen his education in the Way of Wards. Moreover, most of their disciples cultivated the Way of Wards because they owned the Hundred Wards Tower. But of course, their level of attainment varied wildly depending on their talent and investment.
Since Lu Ye had gone so far as to produce the Soul Cleansing Water to treat Zhao Li, Bai Qian had not hesitated to teach Lu Ye everything he knew. Thanks to this, Lu Yes attainment in the Way of Wards continuously grew by leaps and bounds.
Lu Yes original goal was to challenge the Hundred Wards Tower, so why was he studying under Bai Qian now? It was so he would have an easier time conquering the challenges, of course.
Bai Qian quickly discovered that Lu Ye was extraordinarily talented in the Way of Wards when he started teaching the boy, though it wasnt strange considering that he had received the inheritance of a Glyphweaver.
Ward cultivators were considered to be a branch of Glyphwewavers, and since Lu Ye had built a great foundation under Lady Yuns tutge, it was only natural that the Way of Wards came to him easily.
What really concerned Bai Qian was Lu Yes unimaginable insight when it came to breaching wards. For some reason, the boy could always find the ws in a ward no matter howplex it was.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that every ward cultivator wished that they had his ability because the very first step to breaching a ward was to identify its ws and nodes. It was impossible to breach a ward unless this first step was achieved.
At first, Bai Qian thought that it was the result of pure talent. However, he realized that wasnt quite the case after a few days of observation. When he voiced his doubts, Lu Ye asked,
Are you aware of Glyph: Insight, Elder Bai?
But of course. Bai Qian was a grandmaster in the Way of Wards, so of course he was versed in some Glyphs. That said, he did not learn any Glyph that wasnt rted to Wards.
He was aware of Glyph: Insight, but he wasnt familiar with its construction. He would be lucky to construct it sessfully once every ten times. It was the core Glyph in Spirit Artifacts that were built for scouting and other simr functions.
I build them in my eyes before inspecting a Ward. That is how I am able to identify the truths and falsehoods of a Ward every time.
Bai Qian stared wordlessly at Lu Ye. At first, he thought that the young man was joking. Then, he recalled Lu Yes performance when he was breaching a ward and realized it wasnt. The young man really had constructed an Insight in his eyes.
I see. Bai Qian nodded and sighed. The courage of youth is trulymendable.
What else could he say? It was the boldest feat he had heard in a long while.
I know youre a Glyphweaver, but you mustnt do this too frequently. The consequences are unimaginable if you make even the slightest mistake, the old man warned gravely. While Lu Ye wasnt a disciple of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, he had disyed an extraordinary amount of talent in the Way of Wards. As an appreciator of talent, thest thing he wanted to see was Lu Ye ruining himself.
It was ludicrously dangerous to build the Glyph: Insight in ones pupils. To give an example, it was as dangerous as building the Glyph: Gathering Spirits in ones Spiritual Point.
Glyph Weaving was an ancient, well-researched study that had been passed down across many generations. Lu Ye was hardly the only one who had considered constructing the Glyph: Gathering Spirits in their Spiritual Points to improve their cultivation efficiency or the Glyph: Insight in their eyes to see the invisible.
The reason no one had ever dared to do such a thing was because not even the greatest Glyphweaver dared to say that they had a one hundred percent sess rate when constructing any Glyph. Moreover, the smaller the Glyph, the harder it was to construct it. If the construction were to fail, then a catastrophic discharge of Spiritual Power was sure to ur. For this to happen in ones Spiritual Points or eyes was to ruin them.
That was why such ideas mostly existed in theory only. Not even a master Glyphweaver like Lady Yun would attempt this simply because there was a chance the construction could fail no matter how unlikely it might be.
But Lu Ye was different from all of them. He had never experienced a construction failure when activating a Glyph on the Tree of Glyphs. That was why he could abuse it to his hearts content.
Had he learned Insight from the books, he wouldnt dare to build it in his eyes either.
He could feel Bai Qians concern for him, but this wasnt something he could exin to the old man. Plus, it wasnt like he was skimping on practice. As ofte, he always tried to identify the ws of a ward with his own ability before verifying the results with the Glyph: Insight. Sometimes he got it right, and sometimes he got it wrong. In either case, he learned from the experience and was able to improve his ward breaching skills further.
Bai Qian had already given his advice, and it was up to Lu Ye whether he epted it or not. So, he stopped talking on the subject and summoned a small g into his hand. Today, were going to take a look into Ward gs and Ward Keystones
Lu Ye hurriedly sat up straight.
The days passed quickly. During the day, he would study the Way of Wards at Elder Bais ce, and when nighttime came he would cultivate and study the books he brought out of Lady Yuns study to validate the teachings of the day.
Elder Bais residence was extremely quiet and peaceful because he was an extremely important person in the Heavenly Derivative Sect. He might not be the sect master, but even Yu Xiao had to perform a disciples salute when meeting him. That was why no one discovered that Lu Ye and Ju Jia were hiding in his residence.
Plus, it was said that Bai Qian was hurt by thebat shockwaves caused by the Crimson Blood Sects Keeper of Seal, and that a medicine cultivator visited him everyday to treat his wounds. Who in their right mind would disturb him at such a time?
Ju Jia spent all day and night cultivating as usual. Although the cultivation environment wasnt as good as the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he wasnt the type to waste even a second if he could help it.
Zhao Li was getting better day by day and, as he improved, the benefits of the Soul Cleansing Water were beginning to show themselves. The Legate btedly realized that his control over his Spiritual Power had improved, and his perception was noticeably better than what it used to be. As no one had told him about the Soul Cleansing Water, he had no idea why his power had grown. All he knew was that he had, against all odds, benefited from this near death experience.
His heart ached every time he recalled his Outpost though. Although Thousand Demon Ridge was the one who should truly be med for the loss, it did not change the fact that the Outpost was lost while he was still in charge.
One night, Lu Ye was studying and cultivating as usual when suddenly, Yi Yi flew through the window and called his name in panic, Lu Ye, Lu Ye.
Lu Ye looked up inquiringly, and she said, Ju Jia and Amber are doing something weird. You should go see them as soon as you can!
A momentter, Lu Ye followed Yi Yi to a giant rock right next to a pitch ck cliff. The moon was hanging in the middle of the night sky and showering everything in its cold light.
On the rock, Ju Jia and Amber were crouching on all fours and lifting or bowing their heads from time to time. This was strange enough, but what was really strange was that he could see the essence of the moon gathering above their heads and being inhaled and exhaled through their mouths. Their bodies were covered in a faint sheen of light as well.
The moon essence looked like a translucent white ribbon dancing lightly to the wind. From the distance, it looked like a bridge made of moonlight was hanging in the sky.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows at this extraordinary sight.
Yi Yi asked, Are they okay?
When did this start?
A few days ago.
Lu Ye had been cultivating and studying his books every night, so he had no idea what was going on outside as a matter of course. However, there existed an unseverable connection between Amber and Yi Yi, so she always knew about its condition and movements.
A few days ago, Ju Jia had suddenly run to this ce with Amber right behind him. At the beginning, there was no bridge of moonlight or weird postures from the duo. It looked to Yi Yi that Ju Jia just wanted a change of environment as he cultivated.
That was until three days ago. Usually, Ju Jia could stay in the meditative position for a whole day without moving a muscle. However, the body tempering cultivator suddenly started tossing and turning as if his usual posture was ufortable. He kept changing his posture until finally, he arrived at this weird, almost animal-like posture.
Amber also copied his posture. Since then, the man and beast pair started lifting their heads when they were inhaling, and bowing their heads when exhaling. Their movements were unusually synchronized as well. The luminescence around their body also fluctuated ordingly.
Chapter 314: The Forge
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 314: The Forge
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
So? Are they alright? Yi Yi asked worriedly.
Although she couldnt feel anything wrong from Amberin fact, Amber had been growing faster than usual for the past couple daysher fears stemmed from the unknown.
They are breathing the essence of the moon. It is just the natural instinct of a Spirit Beast.
A voice suddenly rang behind them. Lu Ye and Yi Yi hurriedly turned around and saluted. Elder Bai.
Bai Qian had appeared behind them before they realized it. He had clearly noticed the oddity as well.
Are you saying that Ju Jia is a mutant cultivator, Elder Bai?
Lu Ye recalled the strange inner core in Ju Jias body. This wasnt the first time he wondered if Ju Jia was a mutant cultivator, but it was proventer that Ju Jia was definitely a human being. Not only that, mutant cultivators did not actually have an inner core. It was something that only a Spirit Beast possessed. That was why a mutant cultivated like humans after transforming into one.
Now though, it would seem that his knowledge was wed.
One of his ancestors is probably a mutant cultivator, which is why he inherited some of their bloodline. However, a mutants bloodline should grow thinner over the generations instead of the opposite, so Im not quite sure what is going on either.
That said, you should definitely do your best to grow your twopanions strength. I said that breathing the essence of the moon is a Spirit Beasts natural instinct, but in fact not every Spirit Beast possesses such an ability. Any Spirit Beast who can do this must be in possession of an extraordinary bloodline. Who knows, their ancestors might even have been extremely powerful in the past.
It was clear from Elder Bais words that he was quite optimistic of Ju Jia and Ambers future.
Amber was an obvious one. He had never heard of a tiger-type Spirit Beast that could convert apparitions into Ghost Spirits. Moreover, it could consume Spirit Pills and even Spirit Stones directly without suffering any consequences. This was something even Lu Ye couldnt do.
As for Ju Jia, Lu Ye already had high hopes for the extraordinary body tempering cultivator, but now he turned out to be even more amazing than he seemed to be. Elder Bais prediction that his ancestor was a powerful Spirit Beast might be spot on.
But Elder Bai, Ju Jia has never disyed such qualities in the past. What could have triggered it to happen so suddenly?
Bai Qian let out a chuckle and tapped his head with a finger. Have you already forgotten that he was poisoned a couple days ago? The experience has probably awakened something in him.
Lu Ye nodded. That was a reasonable assumption.
Oof, I cant believe Im getting tired already. My age is really getting to me. Ill see youds andsses tomorrow, Bai Qian said as he turned around. He let out a light cough before walking back toward his room.
Lu Ye snickered in his head. He knew what Bai Qian was doing, but he wasnt going to y the game, at least not now. So, he told Yi Yi, See Elder Bai off, will you.
Okay, Yi Yi replied hurriedly before chasing after the old man.
After Yi Yi came back, she returned to Lu Yes side and stared at the duo still cultivating under the moon for a bit. She then muttered, Do you think Elder Bai is right, Lu Ye?
What are you referring to exactly?
The part where he said Ju Jia awakened something because he was poisoned.
Elder Bai is a worldly man. Im sure he has his reasons for saying that.
No wonder Ju Jias been acting odd as ofte. Hes already a man of few words, but recently hes even quieter and dumber than usual.
Ju Jia is not dumb, Lu Ye chided her while rapping a knuckle against her head. The guy was only simple, not stupid.
Yi Yi hugged her head and pouted.
Well, now that we know theyre fine, lets leave them to their own devices. Lu Ye went back to his own room and resumed his studies after that.
The Way of Wards was broad and deep. Not even a grandmaster like Elder Bai dared to im that he had mastered itpletely. Just like the Way of Glyphs, there was always something new to learn, so it was impossible for Lu Ye to learn everything in just a short time.
That said, Elder Bai knew exactly what Lu Ye wanted to learn. That was why he taught him mostly about his experience in ward breaching. These experiences were insights Elder Bai had gleaned himself over a lifetime, and only a handful of people had ever gotten to hear them. Thankfully, Lu Ye had proven to be a fast learner. In fact, he had never encountered anyone who was as quick on the uptake as Lu Ye. He was very satisfied with Lu Yes progress to say the least.
Sometimes, Elder Bai could not help butment the fact that Lu Ye wasnt a member of the Heavenly Derivative Sect. If he was, he believed that the young man would be able to carry their sect to greater heights.
This was also why he taught Lu Ye everything he knew. He just could not bear not to polish a rough gem like him.
A month passed by in the blink of an eye. One day, Elder Bai said to Lu Ye, I know that your ambition lies not in the Way of Wards, and youre studying it only to breach the Grand Wards. Even so, I believe your attainment is enough to challenge the Hundred Wards Tower now. There isnt much I can teach you anymore, but do not think that the Way of Wards is shallow because of my ignorance. I hope you will continue to study it even if it may never be your main focus.
Yes, Elder Bai, Lu Ye replied respectfully.
I want you to carefully think about the ward gs you wish to build when you return to your room tonight. Tomorrow, I will take you to the forge to build them. Only then will you be properly equipped to challenge the Hundred Wards Tower.
When Lu Ye first heard about the Hundred Wards Tower from Zhao Li, he had wanted to challenge it immediately. It wasnt until he studied under Elder Bai for a month that he realized that things werent as simple as he thought.
It was true he could challenge it directly, but he would not have been able to ovee the challenges in an effective or efficient manner. It was because hecked the appropriate tools to do so, a.k.a. the ward gs. Ward gs would greatly improve his ability to create or breach wards.
Thank you, Elder Bai. Lu Ye produced a jade bottle from his Storage Bag and pushed it in front of Elder Bai. You have given me your full attention and taught me well for the past month, and this disciple is incredibly grateful for what you did. Please ept this as a token of my gratitude.
It was none other than the jade bottle containing the Soul Cleansing Water, but there were only eight drops inside it.
This wasnt a spur-of-the-moment decision, but the instruction of his own sect master. When Tang Yifeng learned that Elder Bai was personally tutoring Lu Ye on the Way of Wards, he immediately told the young man to prepare this gift. He was also the one who decided on the exact amount of the Soul Cleansing Water.
There were plenty of expert ward cultivators in the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Even a Cloud River Realm ward cultivator couldve provided Lu Ye the education he needed. Therefore, there must be a reason Elder Bai himself had deigned to teach a lowly Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, no matter how talented he was.
And there were a couple. One, the Crimson Blood Sect and the Hevenly Derivative Sect shared some old ties with one another. Two, Shui Yuan saved Zhao Lis life.
They werent the main reason Elder Bai had undertaken the task of educating Lu Ye, however. No, the biggest reason he did it was for the Soul Cleansing Water he owned.
Obviously, he could not ask the young man for it. It would be even worse if he made it a transactional thing. That was why he decided to earn it by offering his knowledge and experience.
Lu Ye was apassionate man who could give up something as precious as the Soul Cleansing Water to save someone he just knew for a couple of days. If he taught him the Way of Wards seriously, he was sure that the young man would repay the favor.
The only way a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could properly thank a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator was the Soul Cleansing Water.
Bai Qians plot was as obvious as it was understandable. The sect master had figured out his intentions the instant he heard that the man was teaching Lu Ye himself. That was why he had given Lu Ye those instructions.
The night Yi Yi had taken Lu Ye to see Ju Jia and Amber cultivate via breathing the essence of the moon, Bai Qian hadined about his age before he left. He was really hinting at Lu Ye that he would appreciate a certain valuable gift. If Lu Ye had not spoken to the sect master before this, he would not have been able to decipher the old mans meaning. But since he did, he could only snicker helplessly.
Sure, Bai Qian was an old man, but he was also a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. How could a night walk possibly tire him as much as he imed?
Bai Qians heart skipped a beat as he stared at the jade bottle in front of him. He let out a chuckle and said, I respectfully ept your gift.
The next day, Bai Qian took Lu Ye to the Heavenly Derivative Sects forge. It was one of the most heavily guarded locations of the headquarters.
Normally, the forge was overflowing with disciples. Those who had cultivated the Way of Wards to a certain extent would oftene here to forge their own ward gs and ward keystones.
However, the ce was conspicuously silent today. Not a single person could be seen anywhere.
It was Bai Qians doing, of course. Lu Ye was still faking his death after all.
The forge was located about three hundred meters beneath a Spirit Peak. Yes, it was located underground. There was a wooden elevator that led straight down into a seemingly bottomless hole. Lu Ye looked at his surroundings curiously while Bai Qian operated the elevator. He saw many interlinking gears that were probably made by Golem Masters.
The lower he went, the hotter the environment became. By the time he reached the three hundred meter mark, the air was hot enough to repel any ordinary mortal.
The Heavenly Derivative Sect had dug chambers of all shapes and sizes beneath the ground. He could feel hot air blowing out of them.
Lu Ye followed behind Bai Qian until they arrived at the deepest karst cave. They stopped in front of a forging table.
The forging table was ten meters long and three meters wide. There was a t space used to hammer equipment and a good number of iy molds on top of it. Judging from the shape of the molds, the forging table clearly wasnt only used to forge ward gs and ward keystones.
Finally, there were a bunch of forging tools next to the table, and a furnace in front of it. Hot air was blowing out from the bottom of the furnace.
The Heavenly Derivative Sect knows how to force Spirit Artifacts too? Lu Ye asked while admiring the molds above the forging table.
Bai Qian chuckled. Cultivation isnt cheap, so everyone has to do something to earn the resources they need. While there are some artificers in the sect, the Spirit Artifacts they create arent particrly impressive. Lets just say that they make just enough to make ends meet.
While saying this, Bai Qian took off his shirt and tossed it to the side carelessly, revealing a very muscr torso. Lu Yes eyelids twitched involuntarily at the sight.
[I cannot believe he had the gall to say he was getting old and tired when he had a body like this]
Since your objective is to breach wards, let us start by forging a ward g that does exactly that. Watch me closely as I forge, Bai Qian instructed while grabbing a forging hammer from the side. The hammer wasnt particrly huge, but Lu Ye could tell that it was quite heavy. Bai Qian made it look as light as a feather though.
Fire is the most essentialponent of forging, and a Fire Attribute cultivator who cultivates a Fire-type cultivation technique like you holds a natural advantage in this area. But what about those who do not have your natural advantage? Well, they can only rely on external help. That is why we set our forge where the Earth Fire is located and use wards to channel its fury, Elder Bai activated the fire channeling ward as he exined.
Soon, the karst cave grew even hotter, and Earth Fire seeped out from the bottom of the furnace. It quickly turned the furnace bright red.
Something clicked in Lu Yes head as he stared at the fire. He had a feeling that the Tree of Glyphs could absorb it. Moreover, the me of Earthen Spirits he bought from the Vault of Providence was very simr to this Earth Fire, which probably meant that they shared the same origin. Quality wise though, this Earth Fire was clearly inferior to the me of Earthen Spirits.
Chapter 315: Forging A Ward Flag
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 315: Forging A Ward g
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Of course, Lu Ye wasnt going to absorb the Earth Fire with the Tree of Glyphs. Bai Qian had brought him here to do him a good deed, to steal the fire source his sect relied on would be beyond the pale.
The furnace was bright red when Elder Bai tossed a metal ingot into the opening. While doing so, he decided to test Lu Yes knowledge. What should you look for when choosing the materials to make a ward g and a ward keystone?
I would look for a light but tough metal that has excellent Spiritual Power conductivity. Honeb Steel and ck Iron are among the mostmonly used metals when forging both items. If necessary, some Spirit Beasts skin can be made into the g
Lu Ye recalled Bai Qians teaching and answered diligently. The old man nodded in satisfaction beforeunching into a couple more questions. Lu Ye was able to answer them all in short order.
Remember that theory is just theory. If you cannot master both theory and implementation, then you are no more than an armchair strategist.
The metal ingots Bai Qian had tossed into the furnace quickly melted into red hot liquid. He snatched it out of the furnace using his Spiritual Power and shaped it into a ward g in an instant.
When your Spiritual Power control has reached a certain level, youll be able to forge a ward g with just your power. Otherwise, you can use a mold to achieve more or less the same result.
While saying this, Bai Qian sent the molten metal into an iy mold on the forging table. It was none other than the mold used to make ward gs.
After waiting a bit for the metal to cool, Bai Qian ced the heated metal on the face of the forging table, grabbed the hammer and swung.
It was just one strike, but Lu Ye heard a rapid of ngs as if the old man had struck the metal in rapid session. For a moment, he was unable to distinguish what was real and what wasnt.
Ward gs and Spirit Artifacts require exceptional Spiritual Power control to forge because the source of their poweres from the enhancements. They could be made of the most precious materials in the world, and they would be nothing more than an empty shell if they didnt have any enhancements.
An outstanding artificer is capable of altering the internal structure of a Spirit Artifact to form enhancements during the forging process. In fact, some artificers could use one type of material to form the shell and another to form the enhancements beforebining them to make a more powerful end product. However, that is an extremely high level technique, and I am unable to perform it because I have no talent in this way.
Bai Qian continued to hammer away at the metal as he spoke to Lu Ye. When Lu Ye looked closely, he discovered that the hammer would vibrate violently every time Bai Qian brought it down on the metal. That was why he heard a series of ngs instead of one. Lu Ye empowered his eyes with Insight to get a better look, and just as Bai Qian had said the interior of the heated metal was changing ever so slightly and forming many enhancements.
This is why I said that a Fire Attribute cultivator who cultivates a fire-type cultivation technique like you possess a natural talent in forging. Once your skills have grown to a certain point, youll be able to forge whatever you want using any forging technique without having to rely on external help. Of course, you do not need to think about this right now. At your current level, there is nothing more important than building a solid foundation.
I understand.
The incessant ngssted only an incense stick or so. Soon, a palm-sized, fully-functional ward g wasplete.
The metal itself was just a medium though. The enhancements within the metal was what made it a ward g. Its function varied depending on the enhancements as well. A single ward g was useless though. One could only create or breach wards by coordinating multiple ward gs.
Now that Lu Ye had witnessed the entire process, Lu Ye discovered that it wasnt difficult to forge a ward g at all. In fact, anyone with a mold could create the medium of a ward g, appearance be damned. The hard part was forming the enhancements within the metal.
This was very different from constructing a Glyph via his own Spiritual Power. Right now, his control was good enough that he could construct even the Glyphs in the books with rtive ease. But to hammer them into existence and join them into multiple enhancements inside a ward g? It was a kind of a difficulty he had never experienced before.
.
Its your turn now!
Lu Ye nodded. In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Although Bai Qian had demonstrated to him how to forge a ward g, he was sure there were intricacies he wouldnt realize until he had tried his hands at forging himself.
So, he epted a metal ingot from Bai Qian and tossed it into the furnace. After it had melted into liquid, he snatched it into the air with his Spiritual Power and dropped it within the mold. After waiting a bit for it to cool, he grabbed the hammer and, while recalling Bai Qians methods in his hands, swung it at the heated metal.
It was only one swing, but two distinct ngs resounded in the chamber. As Lu Ye continued, his Spiritual Power began to grow out of control.
This is just the beginning, so take it slow. First, you need to learn how to inject your Spiritual Power into the metal via hammering. Then, you need to learn how to alter its internal structure with your Spiritual Power. Only by familiarizing yourself with these two steps can you begin to form enhancements within the ward g, Bai Qian advised dutifully.
I understand.
Cling-ng, cling-ng
It wasnt long before Lu Ye was drenched in hot sweat. From time to time, Bai Qian would give him valuable advice that clearly highlighted his mistakes and deficiencies, allowing him to try and fix them immediately.
For a time, it seemed like the cycle of failure would never end. The good news was that the material wasnt wasted since he could simply toss the ward g into the furnace and melt it into a puddle if he failed. The Soul Cleansing Water he gifted Bai Qian before was starting to pay its dividends as well. If it wasnt for the gift, Bai Qian would not have taught Lu Ye so patiently and without reservation no matter how much he appreciated his talent. He wasnt a disciple of the Heavenly Derivative Sect after all.
A whole dayter, Lu Ye finally managed to create a coarse-looking ward g.
Bai Qian inspected it a bit before nodding, eptable. There is still much room for improvement though. Let us continue.
Armed with that one sessful experience, the next couple ward gs came to Lu Ye much easier than before. ording to Bai Qians teaching, the most basic set of ward gs consisted of thirty six ward gs in total. That was all he needed at his current cultivation level.
For now, he did not need more advanced ward gs. He could consider them once he had increased his cultivation level and his attainment in the Way of Wards.
At the beginning, Lu Ye could only construct one ward g a day. The process was that difficult. It was easy to alter the internal structure of a ward g in one hammer swing, but to shape into the unique patterns of a Glyph? That was apletely different story. Moreover, one mistake was all it took for the ward g to be thrown back into the furnace.
ording to Bai Qian, true master artificers could create a Glyph in one hammer swing. It guaranteed that the forging was more efficient, and the margin of error was much bigger.
It was even simpler for a Fire Attribute cultivator who cultivated a fire-type cultivation technique like Lu Ye. Supposedly, he could alter the internal structure of a ward g directly with their Spiritual Power when his cultivation was high enough. This would allow him to skip the hammering processpletely.
Half a month had passed by the time Lu Ye managed to forge the most basic set of ward gs. When Lu Ye stepped out of the forge with Bai Qian, he felt as if it had been ages since he stepped under the sunlight.
You should head back and rest for the day. Tomorrow, I will take you to the Hundred Wards Tower myself, Bai Qian instructed after leading Lu Ye back to his room. He then left the young man to his own devices.
Lu Ye went to the bed immediately after he bade Bai Qian goodbye. He was out like a light the second his head hit the pillow.
He had barely gotten any rest during the half a month he forged the ward gs. His fatigue was only natural.
When he woke up, Yi Yi had already prepared a tableful of delicious food for him. He regained his energy only after he had stuffed himself like a pig.
Bai Qian showed up as he promised he would. He wrapped Lu Ye in his Spiritual Power before flying in a certain direction. They soon arrived at a valley.
There was a stone tower that was at least a hundred meters tall and dozens of meters wide in the middle of the valley. It looked as ancient as time itself.
It was the reason Lu Ye hade to the Heavenly Derivative Sect in the first ce, the Hundred Wards Tower.
He had underestimated the preparation he needed to make at the beginning. In fact, he was going to enter the Hundred Wards Tower as soon as he arrived at the sect. In reality, it had taken him one and a half months just to further his studies in the Way of Wards and learn how to forge ward gs under Bai Qian.
It was worth it though. As the saying went, sharpening an axe will not dy the work of cutting firewood.
Just like the time at the forge, the Heavenly Derivative Sect had evacuated everyone in the Hundred Wards Tower and put the valley itself under lockdown. It was to prevent the fact that Lu Ye was still alive from leaking.
The Hundred Wards Tower really was iplete. On the surface, it looked like a tower that had been snapped in half by some sort of unimaginable force. The upper portion of its body waspletely missing.
In fact, Zhao Li had told him that the Hundred Wards Tower was split into three portions. The first portion was in front of him right now, the second portion was in the Cloud River Battlefield, and no one knew where thest portion was. It had never shown up.
There was a stele at the base of the tower. Aura circted across its surface, and from time to time it would manifest some random patterns that seemed to make no sense whatsoever. At the very least, Lu Ye wasnt able to make heads or tails of it.
It was theorized that this stele is really a ranking list, Bai Qian exined. Supposedly, all those who challenged the Hundred Wards Tower and put on an exceptional performance would be recorded in this stele for all future challengers to admire. Since the tower is iplete, the stele is unable to function properly. Perhaps it will return to normal once the Hundred Wards Tower is whole once more.
He then turned around and shot Lu Ye a serious look. You have researched the Hundred Wards Tower to an extent, so you must know that it is both a ce of opportunity and danger. No matter what happens, do not push yourself beyond your limits, understand?
I understand.
As Bai Qian said, Lu Ye had researched the Hundred Wards Tower thoroughly during his stay, so he knew Bai Qian wasnt trying to intimidate him. Everyone knew that challenging the Hundred Wards Tower was incredibly beneficial to ones attainment in the Way of Wards. In fact, there wasnt a single Grand Sky Coalition ward cultivator worth their salt who didnt want to challenge the tower at least once in their life. The good news was that the Heavenly Derivative Sect weed all these people with open arms. They never even charged their fellow cultivators an entrance fee. Theworking opportunities it brought alone was worth it.
However, the Hundred Wards Tower was also a very dangerous ce, and it wasnt just the wards that posed a threat to the cultivators. The reward one obtained after clearing a floor itself was dangerous.
This was why a lot of ward cultivators had died while challenging the Hundred Wards Tower. A good number of them were geniuses too.
Chapter 316: Tower Challenge
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 316: Tower Challenge
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Before a cultivator challenges the Hundred Wards Tower, someone from the Heavenly Derivative Sect would warn them of its dangers so as to prevent them from dying an early death. Unfortunately, idents still happened from time to time despite their best efforts.
That was why Bai Qian gave Lu Ye a severe warning. If only to avoid the Crimson Blood Sects wrath, Bai Qian did not want any harm to befall Lu Ye if at all possible.
After Lu Ye had stepped into the stone tower, he stood in the middle of a ward as per Bai Qians instructions.
Bai Qian installed Spirit Stones all around the ward before looking up to see if Lu Ye was ready. He activated the ward when the young man gave him a nod.
Lu Yes vision distorted not unlike how he usually entered or exited the Spirit Creek Battlefield via the Divine Opportunity Column. Before he knew it, he found himself standing in the middle of an empty space, alone.
The space wasnt particrly huge. It was about the size of a standard room.
He looked around and saw a bulging brick on a wall. The brick gave way the moment he walked up to it and gave it a light push.
World Spiritual Qi surged as patterns swiftly spread out in every direction. The patterns covered not just the floor, but also the walls.
Lu Ye understood what was asked of him immediately. The challenge was to breach the ward.
For many years, countless people from all across Jiu Zhou had challenged the Hundred Wards Tower. Naturally, they had figured out its variety a long time ago.
Generally speaking, the tests fell under three types: ward creation, ward breaching, and ward restoration.
The first two types were pretty straightforward. A ward creation test required the challenger to create a ward as the Hundred Wards Tower demanded, and a ward breaching test required the challenger to breach a ward that was generated by the Hundred Wards Tower. Ward restoration was a little moreplicated. Sometimes, the Hundred Wards Tower would generate half a ward and challenge the cultivator to fill in the nks. Sometimes, it would generate an incorrect ward and challenge the cultivator to identify the ws and repair them.
Each floor had a nine-hour time limit. The more challenges a cultivatorpleted during this time, the better the rewards they would receive.
Hundred Wards Tower was named the way it was not because it only had a hundred wards, but because it had a hundred floors.
The test was childs y for Lu Ye. His ward breaching skills were easily leagues ahead of his ward creation and ward restoration skills.
Lu Ye kicked off by tossing two Spirit Pills into his mouth and activating Insight. His eyes shed with aura, and he was able to identify the functional nodes in the ward immediately. This was just the first level after all. Of course the ward was fairly basic.
Lu Ye did not know the purpose of the wards, but he didnt need to. Not even bothering to summon his ward gs, Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible and thrust it into one of the nodes. The ward abruptly stopped functioning before crumbling into nothing.
He had breached his first ward in just three breaths!
Patterns of light spread out once more and formed a new ward. Again, Lu Ye stabbed a node with his saber after observing it for just a moment.
No more wards appeared when he breached his third ward. Instead, a dot of light appeared out of nowhere and floated in front of Lu Ye. When Lu Ye grabbed the light and pressed it against his forehead, a message immediately appeared in his mind.
This time, his test was to create a ward. Theyout of the ward was imprinted inside the message.
Lu Ye put away the Invible and thought for a brief moment. Then, he produced five ward gs from his Storage Bag.
Obviously, ward creation was more troublesome than ward breaching. In the past, Lu Ye had created his wards directly using Spiritual Power just like how he constructed a Glyph. While it was one of the fastest methods to create a ward, it tired him out faster, and the generated ward was pretty unstable. It wouldnt take much effort to breach it.
A ward created with the help of ward gs was a different story. Not only did it strain him less, the ward was stronger, and the margin of error was much bigger. This was how most ward cultivators created their wards. After all, not everyone possessed his level of Spiritual Power control.
Lu Ye set down the gs in all four directions and built the shape of the ward in a short time. Then, he channeled his Spiritual Power and filled up the nks within the ward.
This was one of the benefits of creating a ward with the help of ward gs. It was much easier to build a ward by establishing the shape first using the ward gs and filling the contentster, than creating everything from scratch and finishing in one go.
The ward waspleted just an incense stickter. It was a very swift progress all things considered. When Lu Ye finally created thest pattern, the ward circted for around three breaths or so before an unknown force wiped it out from existence. Lu Ye then put away his ward gs.
That was a mistake. It was because his next test was still a ward creation test.
It wasnt long before Lu Ye realized that the tower was seemingly targeting him. It was because only two out of the ten tests he took were ward breaching tests. The rest were all ward creation.
At least he didnt need toplete any ward restoration tests yet. That test type appeared only after one had cleared the tenth floor.
While he didnt know what his fellow ward cultivators had experienced during their challenge, he highly doubted that their tests were as skewed as his. It was to the point where he was starting to wonder if the Hundred Wards Tower had a mind of its own. Perhaps it was scaling the difficulty because he breached its wards too quickly?
Despite this, Lu Yes ward creation speed was actually increasing instead of decreasing. This was just the first floor after all. The wards were pretty simple in structure, and they shared plenty ofmon characteristics with one another. The more he practiced, the faster he was able to create the wards.
In fact, his only problem now was energy consumption. He had unlocked one hundred and seventy nine Spiritual Points in total, meaning that he was only one Spiritual Point away from reaching the Ninth-Order.
He wouldve ascended sooner, but learning how to forge ward gs with Bai Qian cost a ton of Spiritual Power. As a result, he wasnt able to make any progress during that half a month.
There was no hurry though. Once he had ovee the first floor, the Hundred Wards Tower would fill up the room with World Spiritual Qi so he could recover to full strength for the next challenge. He would use the opportunity to ascend to the Ninth-Order then.
And so Lu Ye created and breached wards again and again. He was so absorbed in the tasks that he even forgot the passage of time.
At some point, after Lu Ye had created another ward exactly as the Hundred Wards Tower had asked of him, the room suddenly became flushed with World Spiritual Qi. In just a few breaths, the room had be so foggy that he almost couldnt see his own fingers.
It was then he realized that his nine-hour time limit was up.
In fact, it wasnt difficult to ovee the Hundred Wards Tower. The challenger only needed to breach, create or restore a ward one time to qualify for the next floor. The challenger could clear additional tests to obtain better rewards, but otherwise it waspletely optional.
Technically speaking, the sudden rush of World Spiritual Qi at the end of the time limit counted as a reward as well. However, it was really aimed to hasten the challengers recovery and allow them to challenge the next floor at full strength.
Lu Ye hadnt counted exactly how many tests he hadpleted during these nine hours, but he reckoned that he had cleared forty or fifty tests at least. This was after the Hundred Wards Tower made it so that most of his tests were ward creation tests too. Otherwise, he couldve doubled or even tripled that number.
Lu Ye did not know this, but his score was among the best of the best. If the stele at the base of the tower was still functional, his name wouldve appeared on the list for sure, and it would be among the top.
Naturally, the Hundred Wards Tower rewarded Lu Ye handsomely for his efforts. The World Spiritual Qi that was thick enough to be condensed into a fog was the proof of that.
That wasnt all. A fist-sized light had appeared out of nowhere and floated in front of Lu Ye. It was the greatest reward the Hundred Wards Tower could offer.
Lu Ye did not rush to touch the ball of light, however. First things first, he checked how much Spiritual Power he had left.
Breaching and creating wards for nine hours straight was no joke. He had nearly run out of Spiritual Power even though he had been consuming Spirit Pills this whole time.
With a thought, he started constructing many Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points. Just an incense stickter, a hundred and seventy nine Gathering Spirits had taken form. They devoured the surrounding condensed Spiritual Qi like mini vortices and refilled his drained body in a short time.
When he had returned to full form, he finally grabbed the ball of light still floating in front of him and pressed it into his forehead.
The light disappeared into thin air, and a ludicrous amount ofplex information abruptly appeared in Lu Yes brain. What happened next was easily one of the most exotic experiences in his life.
If absorbing the info on the leaves of the Tree of Glyphs felt like someone prying open his skull with their bare hands, stabbing a red hot iron into his brain and stirring it into mush for good measure, then this one felt like someone had hit him in the brain with a hammer.
He was almost thrown on his butt as if the force was physical. His brain felt like it was bursting with information, and his temples were throbbing like the way only a migraine could, but ten times worse. His eyes had turned bloodshot in an instant, and they were bulging as if they could pop out of his eye sockets.
He was reacting this way because he had absorbed too much information in one go. It was also the greatest danger in the Hundred Wards Tower bar none! This was why Bai Qian had warned him tirelessly to not push himself beyond his limits. The ball of light contained a ludicrous amount of information regarding the Way of Wards, and it was basically all jammed into his brain via Enlightenment. Worst of all, the tower did not care if the challenger could withstand the knowledge at all.
For those whocked a strong willpower and a powerful Divine Soul, the first floor reward alone could knock them out, damage their mind, or even kill them outright. In fact, Lu Ye was the only Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master in the history of Jiu Zhou to have withstood the impact.
There were several reasons Lu Ye wasnt knocked out like the others. One, this wasnt the first time he had experienced a simr sensation. Second, his Divine Soul had been baptized by the Pool of Divine Purification, so it was much stronger than the average Eighth-Order cultivator.
Finally, his experience with the Rift of Illusions also helped to an extent. Every time he died in the rift and returned to reality, his Divine Soul was tempered ever so slightly. The improvement wasnt noticeable during his first or second entrance into the rift, but there was definitely an improvement. Lu Ye was unaware of this, however.
That was why clearing additional tests for better rewards wasnt always the right choice. The challenger must know exactly how much his mind could endure. Those who got greedy and exceeded their limit would be lucky to escape with their lives.
The majority of challengers who died in the Hundred Wards Tower had died not because the tests were too dangerous, but because the reward was so good that they could not resist absorbing it. It was a sad way to go to say the least.
Chapter 317: Ninth-Order
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 317: Ninth-Order
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was unaware of this, but the Hundred Wards suddenly rumbled when he pressed the ball of light into his forehead. The next moment, an invisible wave of energy spread out and enveloped the entire valley.
The cultivator responsible for guarding the Hundred Wards Tower was the first to notice this. He quickly reported the urrence, causing a bunch of high level cultivators and Yu Xiao himself to appear at the valley.
The great elder, Bai Qian, had also returned to the scene.
The news spread quickly. Many Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples hurried to the tower after learning of the phenomenon, although they could only watch from beyond the valley entrance since Yu Xiao hadnt lifted the lockdown here.
The phenomenon was called resonance. It wasnt amon urrence, but it usually happened once every few years. All Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples were familiar with it.
A resonance was triggered every time a challenger cleared a floor with flying colors. The Heavenly Derivative Sect had researched how well one had to perform to trigger a resonance, and they agreed that the result had to appear on the ranking list at the very least. Unfortunately, the ranking list was broken because the tower was in an iplete state, so there was no way to confirm their theory.
One thing was certain, the number of people who could trigger a resonance from the Hundred Wards Tower was low. Practically every ward cultivator from all across Jiu Zhou would visit the Hundred Wards Tower at least once in their lives, and a good number of them were repeat challengers. At least a thousand ward cultivators visited the tower every year, and yet a resonance only happened once every couple of years. It showed just how difficult it was to trigger a resonance.
A resonance urred when the reward gifted to the challenger was so great that the Heavens themselves were alerted. The buzzing also had an inspiring effect on all ward cultivators within its sphere of influence. That was why the disciples of the Heavenly Derivative Sect would go into a frenzy every time a resonance urred. If they cultivated within the valley while a resonance urred, they would be able to deepen their understanding of the Way of Wards and improve their attainment.
The Hundred Wards Tower was practically the holynd of all ward cultivators. The reasons the Heavenly Derivative Sect didnt just hoard it for themselves was, one, to build connections with the other sects, and two, to increase the chances that someone might trigger a resonance. After all, it was something that benefited all of them. While therge majority of the reward went to the challenger as a matter of course, the slops still benefited their disciples greatly.
Currently, the Heavenly Derivative Sects disciples were gathered outside the valley and gossiping among themselves like housewives.
No one knew why the Hundred Wards Tower had been put under lockdown in the first ce, and now a resonance had urred when the valley was supposed to be devoid of people. How could they not be curious about this?
Perhaps Sister Ling Yun is challenging the tower. I heard she achieved a breakthrough not long ago and was gearing up to make a third attempt.
But Sister Ling Yun is over there. said someone while pointing at a beautiful woman not far away from them. The speaker looked and found that he was right.
If its not Sister Ling Yun, then perhaps its Brother Ji Ye?
Are you blind or what? Brother Ji Ye is standing right next to Sister Ling Yun.
Huh. If its not them, then who? They are the only two people in our sect capable of triggering a resonance.
It doesnt necessarily have to be someone from our sect. Perhaps our elders had put the Hundred Wards Tower under lockdown because an important guest from another sect was scheduled to challenge the tower today. They must be the genius cultivator of a Tier-one Sect or something.
Are you kidding me? A good amount of Tier-one Sect cultivators visit our tower every year, but the sect has never locked down the entire tower for them.
Thats true
No disciple was able to figure out what was going on despite their discussion.
Outside the entrance of the Hundred Wards Tower, Yu Xiao and Bai Qian were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and looking at the first floor of the Hundred Wards Tower.
Didnt you tell him not to push himself beyond his limits? Yu Xiao asked while nursing a growing headache.
Bai Qians face looked as wrinkled as a bitter melon as he replied, Of course I did! I said exactly those words right before I escorted him into the tower. He mustve gone all out to trigger a resonance right from the get-go.
How many floors do you think he can ovee during his first attempt, Elder Bai? Yu Xiao asked again.
Its hard to say. You know the rules as well as I do. The better his performance, the greater the rewards. Assuming that he scaled the tower without epting any rewards, he would probably hit his limit at around the fifteenth floor or so. Realistically speaking though, of course he is going to take everything he can get. Assuming that the rewards are great enough, he could probably scale a couple more floors.
That is not good.
I know. Hopefully, he will realize the dangers of the Hundred Wards Tower and not rush ahead bullishly. If he overestimates himself because of his greed Heavens only know what the Crimson Blood Sect will do.
Bai Qian wouldve messaged Lu Ye to be cautious if he could, but the interior of the Hundred Wards Tower was cut off from the outside world. Nothing could go in or out of the tower.
It was at this moment an elder walked up to them and bowed. Sect master, great elder. The disciples are all waiting outside. Should I let them in?
Yu Xiao looked behind him and saw the disciples looking eagerly in his direction. He thought for a moment before nodding, Let them in.
A resonance only urred once every few years. It would be terrible to deny them the opportunity to further their attainments.
A momentter, everyone was sitting on the earthen floor, closing their eyes and searching for that profound feeling of enlightenment from the constant vibrations of the Hundred Wards Tower.
Inside the tower, Lu Ye was digesting the massive volume of information that was hammered into his brain. Although he had performed well enough to trigger a resonance, the information contained only the basics and fundamentals of the Way of Wards because this was just the first floor.
This reward would not be particrly valuable to other ward cultivators because any teacher worth their salt would strive to establish a solid foundation in their students. However, Lu Ye was really a student of the Way of Glyphs. Although the Way of Wards was technically a branch of the Way of Glyphs, and the two fields of study shared a lot of simrities, they were ultimately not the same. Moreover, he had only started studying the Way of Wards after he left the Crimson Blood Sect, so he was technically a self-study.
That was why his foundation in the Way of Wards was full of holes. If he were to continue as he was, he was almost certainly going to hit a wall very soon. Although he possessed unique advantages that other ward cultivators did not possess such as Glyph: Insight, his ws more than overshadowed them.
The first floors reward was exactly what he needed to fix the gaps in his knowledge.
Lu Ye swiftly digested the information inside his head. He used it to prove his learnings and fill up the gaps in his knowledge. Slowly but surely, he was fixing the holes in his foundation.
His head felt ufortably packed, but he was very happy with the oue. This trip would be worth it even if he received no more rewards from further floors.
A challenger could not remain on a floor indefinitely. If their time limit was up, and they did not move to the next floor, then the Hundred Wards Tower would automatically eject them from its inner world.
Therefore, the tests werent the only things a challenger must face in the Hundred Wards Tower. They must also digest its rewards to improve their attainment and recover their Spiritual Power as soon as possible, and do it all within the time limit. Poor time management would most likely ruin the cultivators tower climb.
That said, Lu Ye did not need to worry about any of this thanks to his unique advantage. He did not need to meditate to recover his Spiritual Power because the Gathering Spirits would automatically suck in the condensed Spiritual Qi into his Spiritual Points. He could invest his full attention in digesting the information he received.
Time passed, and the ufortable fullness gradually faded into nothing. It was the sign that he had digested the reward gifted by the Hundred Wards Tower.
An unknown amount of timeter, Lu Ye opened his eyes with a thoughtful look on his face.
The reward he obtained wasnt particrly deep or profound. He was able to digest it all in short order because it was all easy-to-understand fundamentals of the Way of Wards. It only stressed him because the volume of the information was too much. Even so, he could tell that this one simple reward had increased his attainment by half a level at least.
The Hundred Wards Tower definitely deserved its name.
He felt a little tired, but it wasnt an issue. Lu Ye observed his surroundings and noted that it was still filled to the brim with condensed Spiritual Qi despite all the Spiritual Qi he had absorbed. It was almost as if the World Spiritual Qi in the room was infinite.
This was because of his exceptional performance. The World Spiritual Qi wouldnt be this condensed if he hadnt cleared this many tests.
He was now full to the brim, and there was still time before he must enter the next floor. He decided then it would be a waste to ascend to the second floor without utilizing such an excellent cultivation environment.
He was one Spiritual Point away from ascending to the Ninth-Order. Without further ado, he channeled his Spiritual Power and began breaking down its barrier.
It didnt take long for the barrier to be broken. Streams of Spiritual Power began flowing into the new Spiritual Point. Soon, a new Microcosmic Orbit began circting inside the Spiritual Point. With this, he had officially ascended to the Ninth-Order.
In the past, it always took him two months or less to ascend to the next cultivation level. This time though, it took him almost four months to ascend to the Ninth-Order. It was because he had diverted most of his focus and energy on the Way of Wards recently. It was definitely worth it if he looked at the long-term picture though.
He thought back to the time he dueled wits and brawn against Manager Yang in the mining tunnels of Evil Moon Valley. It had almost been one and a half years since he embarked on the path of cultivation.
His cultivation speed was incredibly quick despite everything. In all of Jiu Zhou, only some genius disciples in Tier-one Sects might be able to be a Ninth-Order cultivator in less than a year and a half.
Lu Ye continued to cultivate since there was still time. It only took him one hour to fill up his new Spiritual Pointpletely.
It was mainly thanks to his cultivation environment. It was many, many times more concentrated than the world Spiritual Qi at the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
If his fellow disciples could cultivate in an environment like this, he was sure that their cultivation would improve by leaps and bounds. Of course, this was impossible. In fact, he did not think that even the Outposts in the Core Circle got to enjoy such condensed World Spiritual Qi.
Without further ado, Lu Ye gathered his Spiritual Power and attacked the next barrier.
After purchasing the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique from the Vault of Providence, Lu Ye had spent a bit of time figuring out the locations of his new Spiritual Points. That was why he could unlock them anytime he wanted to as long he was full of Spiritual Power.
However, he would have to increase the number of his Spiritual Points to two hundred and forty first before he could switch out his cultivation technique. It was the same as when he switched from the Golden Liberation Technique to Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic.
Chapter 318: Clearing 10 Floors In A Row
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 318: Clearing 10 Floors In A Row
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A cultivator could only cultivate the Golden Liberation Technique to the Third-Order of Spirit Creek Realm. After that, Lu Ye had to unlock the Spiritual Points needed to cultivate the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic and meet the necessary requirements first before he could change his cultivation technique.
It was the same now. He could only unlock the Spiritual Points necessary to cultivate the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique until he hit two hundred and forty Spiritual Points.
A momentter, Lu Ye had cultivated a new Spiritual Point. He was going to continue further when suddenly, his surroundings began distorting on its own. Knowing that his time was up, he immediately stopped his movements.
His vision blurred, and the next moment he found himself standing in a new room. It wasnt filled with condensed World Spiritual Qi, and it was bigger than the previous room he was in. This was obviously the second floor of the Hundred Wards Tower.
A new ward took form before his eyes as he readied himself for his new test. It was yet another ward breaching test.
Lu Ye was surprised. Considering how his test was skewed during the first floor, he thought for sure that he would face a ward creation test. He thought for a moment before deciding against activating Glyph: Insight like he did on the first floor. Instead, he took out the ward gs meant for breaching wards from his Storage Bag, set it on four corners and used them to search for the ws in the wards.
Insight was an amazing Glyph, and it allowed him to skip a ton of steps when breaching wards. However, it also didnt improve his attainment in the Way of Ward much.
Take solving a question for example. A normal person would read the question, uncover its hints, and solve the question step by step. However, Insight skipped all these steps and showed him the answer directly.
While Lu Ye didnt mind cheating to get his victories, there mighte a day where he was unable to use Insight for whatever reason. With that in mind, it wasnt a bad thing to learn how to breach wards the old-fashioned way.
The wards of the second floor were just a little harder than the ones on the first floor, so Lu Ye was able to identify its ws fairly quickly. It was only then he activated Insight to confirm that he had gotten it right before breaching the ward.
Over time, Lu Ye discovered that his intuition was right. This was indeed the correct way to challenge the Hundred Wards Tower because the test types were no longer ludicrously skewed like before. He now received equal amounts of ward breaching tests and ward creation tests.
Thanks to this, he was going through the wards quickly even though the second floors tests were harder. In fact, his overall efficiency actually improved because he was facing a lot more ward breaching tests than before.
Meanwhile, a lot of Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples were still waiting outside the Hundred Wards Tower.
The resonance had stopped over four hours ago. It should not need to be said, but the resonance of the Hundred Wards Tower did notst forever. To be more specific, it usually disappeared after the challenger had fully digested the reward they received.
Logically speaking, the disciples shouldve left the valley and returned to their respective businesses long ago. However, they stayed because they had good reason to believe that the mysterious challenger who triggered a resonance on the first floor had a chance of performing well on the second floor as well. If they were right, then they would be able to enjoy another resonance. If not, then they still got what they came for.
The one thing that still confuzzled them was the challengers identity. Just who on earth was challenging the tower?
Zhao Li was still resting at Bai Qians residence. He knew that Lu Ye was challenging the Hundred Wards Tower but did not expect the young man to be good enough to trigger a resonance.
He was a ward cultivator too, but he could not go to the valley and enjoy the resonance because he was supposed to be dead. He felt depressed and frustrated as a matter of course.
If Ju Jia and Yi Yi werent keeping himpany right now, he wouldve wondered if his sect had abandoned him.
Buzz
Suddenly, the massive tower made a buzzing sound once more. The next moment, an invisible power spread out and flooded the valley in no time.
Here ites! A lot of Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples burst outughing before adopting a meditative position and searching for inspiration from the resonance a second time.
Generally speaking, someone who could trigger a resonance on the first floor should definitely be able to do the same on the second floor. There was a high chance they would seed on the third floor as well. It was impossible to say for the fourth and higher floors though.
ording to the Heavenly Derivative Sects record books, the highest number of resonances a challenger had ever managed to trigger in a row was nine. This meant that some extraordinarily lucky disciples had gotten to enjoy nine resonances in a row.
Technically speaking, the benefits they received was nothing like Lu Yes. No information was suddenly jammed into their brain, nor did they experience an Enlightenment. What the resonance did was to create an environment where inspiration coulde easier to the ward cultivators. To give an example, if the information Lu Ye received was practically etched in stone, then theirs was as ephemeral as a winds whisper. Even so, the whisper might just be enough to inspire them and enlighten them to things they didnt understand before.
Therge majority of people would gain nothing from the resonance, but those who did always achieved a breakthrough.
Contrary to the disciples cheers, the second resonance only deepened the worry on Yu Xiao and Bai Qians face.
They had challenged the Hundred Wards Tower before, so they knew just how attractive its rewards were. Perhaps Lu Ye had ignored their well-intentioned warnings and went all out because he was youngto be fair, most youths wouldnt have heeded their warning at the beginning either.
However, he should have absorbed the reward and learned how dangerous it was. They were sure he would take it a little easier on the second floor, and yet
They were still confident in Lu Yes judgment, but they could not help but worry that Lu Ye would be blinded by the rewards and kept pushing for the best possible reward despite himself. It could only end badly if their fears were true.
It wasnt a baseless worry either. The exact scenario had happened more than once in the past.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was writhing like he was being electrocuted, bulging his bloodshot eyes and weathering a stupidly bad migraine once more.
The room was also, once again, filled with fog-like World Spiritual Qi.
Having learned from his first experience, he digested the information as quickly as possible so that the symptoms would disappear.
Strictly speaking, the reward of the Hundred Wards Tower and the Glyphs of the Tree of Glyphs were simr in the sense that they both imparted their content via Enlightenment. As for which experience was worse he could only say that both were quite terrible.
There was one silver lining to the Hundred Wards Tower experience though. The terrible sensation would gradually disappear as long as he kept digesting the information. And he did. He dared not split his concentration with anything else.
A few hours passed, and Lu Ye finally let out a small sigh of relief. It was hard, but he was able to digest the reward fully and strengthen his foundation some more. And just likest time, Lu Ye began cultivating and attacking the barriers surrounding his Spiritual Points.
The days flew by in the blink of an eye. The Heavenly Derivative Sect disciples were growing more and more excited.
It was because the mysterious challenger had scaled to the tenth floor in just five short days! Moreover, they had triggered a resonance every single time!
The resonance happened twice per day; once during the day and another time during the night
This had never happened in the history of the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
Most recently, the most anyone had triggered consecutive resonances was five times. It was because the volume information granted by the Hundred Wards Tower was so huge that the challenger had a hard time absorbing it all. If they failed to do it before entering the next floor, then the problem would onlypound until they finally gave up or lost their minds, sometimes literally.
It was such an unbelievable achievement that some disciples wondered if the challenger was a master of the Way of Wards or something. The bold ones tried to ask their sect master and great elder about it only to receive the scolding of a lifetime.
For whatever reason, the sect master and the great elder were in a foul mood right now. Their worry and anxiety had practically be a permanent feature of their face.
Of course they were in a foul mood. They had believed that Lu Ye would recognize the danger of the Hundred Wards Tower and continued his climb in a more conservative manner, but no, it was theplete opposite! Ten consecutive resonances! How could any Spirit Creek Realm cultivator possibly withstand the pressure!?
Calm down, Elder Bai. The kid has the Soul Cleansing Water, and Im pretty sure hes used it before. This means that his Divine Soul is much tougher than your average Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. He doesnt look like an idiot either, so Im sure he knows what hes doing, Yu Xiao said, but he was really persuading himself more than he was consoling Bai Qian.
You do not know that brats courage and determination like I do, and even if his Divine Soul is tougher than the average Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, there has to be a limit, no? I can only pray he knows his limit and exits that tower without exceeding it, or else
Who was Lu Yi Ye? He was the madman who dared to apply Glyph: Insight to his own eyes! Bai Qian had cultivated for many years, but he had never heard of a Glyphweaver who was reckless enough to try such a thing. At the time, he had thought that it was a good trait for a youngster to have, but now he realized it was anything but that. He hadnt slept a wink for the past couple days because he was worried that Lu Ye would die in the tower!
He had already messaged Zhao Li to keep a close eye on Lu Yes imprint. He was to report to him the second the imprint disappeared.
While Yu Xiao and Bai Qian were drowning in worry, Lu Ye was busy with work. He had cleared ten floors in a row, and each time he had received a tremendous reward for his efforts. He dared not say that his foundation was perfect, but he was certain that only a handful of ward cultivators in the entire Jiu Zhou could exceed him in this regard.
.
The Hundred Wards Tower was like an exceptional teacher. Every time he cleared a floor, it would bestow him aprehensive reward that contained everything he needed to know. Every time he finished digesting the reward, his skill would improve by leaps and bounds. Moreover, each reward he received was deeper and moreplex than thest. By now, his understanding of the Way of Wards had reached an incredible level.
No wonder the ward cultivators of Jiu Zhou loved to challenge the Hundred Wards Tower. It was way more effective than researching a dry, bore-inducing book.
Each floor was more difficult than thest, but his attainment was growing at a visible rate thanks to the rewards he received. As a result, he was able to continuosly clear almost the same amount of tests even though he was climbing higher and higher each time.
Take the tenth floor for example. He was rewarded generously because he had cleared around forty tests during the nine-hour limit.
There was a significant ramp-up in difficulty between the tenth and eleventh floor. He wouldve been stumped for sure without the foundation he had established on the tenth floor. Even if he managed to ovee the test, the rewards he received wouldnt have been nearly as impressive.
But he did establish an excellent foundation on the tenth floor, so his movements never stopped as he used the right ward gs to create or breach wards.
There was also a new test type starting from the eleventh floor, ward restoration. The Hundred Wards Tower would either form a partiallypleted ward that Lu Ye had toplete, or an incorrect ward that he had to fix by removing the mistakes and installing the proper patterns.
He was stumped for a bit the first time he encountered this test, but he gradually achieved a breakthrough after working out a clear action n.
Chapter 319: The Sky Is Clear, The Rain Has Stopped
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 319: The Sky Is Clear, The Rain Has Stopped
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Nine hourster, Lu Ye hadpleted around twenty tests and ovee the eleventh floor of the Hundred Wards Tower with flying colors once more. World Spiritual Qi so condensed that it was fog-like filled the room, and a palm-sized ball of light appeared in front of Lu Ye.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows when he saw the floating ball of light. Up until this point, every ball of light he absorbed was only the size of a fist, and each time he had felt like his head would physically explode. This one was bigger, so he had no doubt that the experience could only be worse.
In fact, he had a feeling that he was going to hit his limit if he absorbed and digested this one. His Divine Soul might be tougher than your conventional Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, but there was only so much abuse it could withstand.
He couldnt ditch his reward though. He had worked nine whole hours for this. So, he gritted his teeth, grabbed the ball of light, and pressed it into his forehead again.
The next instant, Lu Ye stiffened like a statue, and the world darkened before his eyes. The impact was so terrible that he went from okay to a hairs breadth away from fainting outright. Clinging desperately to the vestiges of his consciousness, Lu Ye digested the information as quickly as he was able.
The pressure subsided over time, and he was able to absorb all the information many hourster. However, the task left him so exhausted that he just copsed on the floor and stayed there, unwilling to move even a single finger.
[Im at my limit.]
Every time he absorbed the reward of the Hundred Wards Tower, his mind became a little more fatigued than before. It wasnt too obvious the first couple times, but eleven in a row was too much even for him. To put it simply, his mind was numb and nk even after the pressure was gone, and he was unable to form a coherent thought.
He didnt want to think about anything. The room was filled with condensed World Spiritual Qi, but he couldnt even muster the energy to move, much less cultivate. He just wanted to lie on the floor forever.
His instinct told him that he was forgetting something, but he just could not be bothered to pursue that line of thought right now.
An unknown amount of timeter, a bitter taste suddenly spread inside his mouth. At the same time, cool rity slowly returned to his mind. Initially, it was just a trickle not unlike a cool breeze in a hot summer. Then, it grew into a rush that washed over his mind. Not only did the sensation jolt his jumbled mind back to reality, it chased away his mental fatigue and filled him with energy.
Lu Ye immediately regained consciousness and blinked. He then realized that he was holding something to his mouth.
When he got up in a hurry and looked down, he discovered that he was a jade bottle. Yes, it was none other than the jade bottle holding the Soul Cleansing Water. The reason the inside of his mouth tasted bitter was because he had drunk from it. He tried recalling what happened earlier and realized that that was indeed the case.
Shui Yuan had mentioned that it was possible to consume the Soul Cleansing Water directly. She also mentioned that the effects would be better if it wasbined with some medicinal herbs and made into a pill. Frankly, it was a waste to consume it directly.
The reward of the Hundred Wards Tower impacted the mind and depleted the energy of ones Divine Soul. That was why the Soul Cleansing Water had rejuvenated him.
In fact, he had realized the solution earlier. He was just too tired to care at the time. However, his body instinctively sought out the one thing that could relieve its stress, and the next thing he knew, he was back on his feet. Even now, the Soul Cleansing Water was still eliminating the fatigue and restoring his Divine Soul to full strength.
The sky is clear, the rain has stopped, and this little man is ready to go for another round!
That said, it wasnt all good news. Lu Yes heart ached a little when he looked into the jade bottle and discovered that he had swallowed at least seven or eight drops of Soul Cleansing Water to recover himself.
He immediately put it back into his Storage Bag before building Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points once more. As the Glyphs devoured the Spiritual Qi inside the room to replenish his strength, he took out some jerkies and began chowing down earnestly.
It was true that he had returned to full strength, but his stamina wasnt something that the Soul Cleansing Water could recover. If he wished to continue the challenge, then he needed to restore his stamina as quickly as possible.
Time passed bit by bit. When he had returned to peak form, he finally started tackling a new Spiritual Point barrier once more.
So far, Lu Ye had unlocked at least one Spiritual Point after he fully digested the Hundred Wards Towers reward on each floor. He entered the next floor only when his time was up. Thanks to this, he was able to unlock over a dozen of Spiritual Points across eleven floors.
It was a pleasant surprise he hadnt anticipated but more than weed. He was aware that clearing a floor with flying colors would reward him with World Spiritual Qi, but he had no idea that it would be this condensed. In a sense, it was the fastest he had ever cultivated.
Another hour passed, and Lu Yes time was finally up. He proceeded to the next floor.
Right now, Yu Xiao and Bai Qian felt like they were going to lose their minds.
Up until this point, Lu Ye had ovee ten floors in five days and achieved a resonance each time he cleared a floor. At the time, they were sure that the young man was nearing his limit, and that he would exit the tower at any moment.
However, what happened next caused them to lose theirposurepletely. Lu Ye continued to ovee two floors every day without pause, and just like before he was able to trigger a resonance each time.
Before the fifteenth floor, Bai Qian had contacted Zhao Li at least once every hour to check if Lu Ye was still alive. After the fifteenth floor, they were so numb that they couldnt even be arsed to care anymore. It wasnt like they could do anything anyway.
In contrast, the ward cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect were absolutely ecstatic right now. It was because they were witnessing the birth of an unprecedented miracle. They still didnt know who the challenger was, but it no longer mattered. No matter who they were, they had ascended to god status in their hearts.
And how could they not? Not only had the mysterious challenger ovee twenty floors in ten days, they also triggered a resonance on every floor. How could they be anything else but a god?
At this point, there wasnt a single Heavenly Derivative Sect ward cultivator who hadnt benefited from the repeated resonances. One could even say that Lu Ye had unknowingly improved the level of every ward cultivator in the sect.
On the twenty first floor, Lu Ye was currently trapped inside a murderous ward and being attacked by it. He was forced to see through its disguises and identify its ws while dodging its attacks.
At this point, Lu Ye could confirm that there was a difficulty spike every ten floors. None of the wards he faced earlier had been nearly as troublesome.
He was d he spent some time eating to restore his stamina every time he entered a rest period. He might not have had the strength to continue his climb otherwise.
The attacks werent particrly powerful, but they were frequent enough that Lu Ye had to dodge as much as possible. He could block with Protection, but it would cost him a not insignificant amount of Spiritual Power.
Once again, heid down his ward gs in every direction. This time, he had to use sixteen ward gs before he finally managed to locate a single w in the ward. He began breaching the ward after he activated Insight and confirmed that his answer was correct. An incense stickter, the ward abruptly froze and crumbled into nothing.
There was no time to catch a breath though. The second test appeared almost immediately after the first time.
Countless ward cultivators had challenged the Hundred Wards Tower, and a good number of them were far stronger than Lu Ye in terms of cultivation level. However, no one had ever managed to trigger ten resonances in a row, much less twenty. It was because its reward put a huge burden on ones mind. The better the reward, the greater the impact. Only a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator could withstand the mental burden of the rewards continuously, but this was just the first portion of the Hundred Wards Tower, meaning that the tests were meant for Spirit Creek Realm and Cloud River Realm cultivators. Naturally, they wouldnt deign to challenge the tower.
Lu Ye possessed several unique advantagespared to other ward cultivators. First things first, Spiritual Power. Most ward cultivators had to spend most of their rest period digesting the rewards of the Hundred Wards Tower before they could start replenishing their Spiritual Power. The slower ones even had to stop the absorption mid-way to replenish their strength. After all, they would not be able to tackle the next floor without sufficient Spiritual Power.
However, this was not a problem for Lu Ye. He could digest the reward bestowed by the Hundred Wards Tower and replenish his Spiritual Power at the same time thanks to the Gathering Spirits he built within his Spiritual Points. He even had the time to unlock new Spiritual Points. This was an advantage no other ward cultivator possessed.
The second unique advantage he possessed was of course, the Soul Cleansing Water. Lu Ye was the first person ever to challenge the Hundred Wards Tower with the Soul Cleansing Water in his possession because the treasure was priceless and mainly used to improve the strength of ones Divine Soul. It was so precious that even Divine Ocean Realm cultivators desperately desired the treasure. No one in their right mind would use it just to wash away their fatigue.
But Lu Ye did, and not just one time. Since he discovered its function, he began consuming it as soon as he felt fatigued. It quickly washed away the fatigue and returned him to full mental strength.
Since neither Spiritual Power nor mental strength was a problem to Lu Ye, he was able to give his all on every floor, achieve the best results, and obtain the best rewards of the Hundred Wards Tower. He would then ascend to the next floor after he absorbed the reward and improved his attainment.
To put it simply, it was a virtuous circle.
Of course, the price he paid was pretty huge so to speak. The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators would probably kill him if they knew what he was doing. The Soul Cleansing Water was a rare treasure even they desired, and he was chugging it down like it was an energy tonic!
Lu Ye thought it was worth it though. No matter how valuable a treasure was, it was useless if it couldnt benefit its owner. To use it wastefully was still better than not using it at all. It wasnt like it would multiply if he left it in his Storage Bag untouched, so why not?
Furthermore, he still had two and a half bottles of Soul Cleansing Water in his Storage Bag. He thought it would be worth it to use half a bottle to clear the Hundred Wards Tower in one go. As the one who got it fair and square from the Lost City of Xianyuan, it was his right to use it however he wished.
Five dayster, Lu Ye had ovee the thirtieth floor and triggered a resonance once more.
Having learned from his experience and knowing that another difficulty spike awaited him on the thirty-first floor, he did not try to unlock a new Spiritual Point and focusedpletely on recovering this time. In fact, he even took a small nap to ensure that he would be at peak form.
Outside the Hundred Wards Tower, the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect had gonepletely insane. The number of cultivators in the valley had more than doubled during this time.
Before this, everyone in the valley was a ward cultivator. After all, only ward cultivators could be inspired by the resonances. However, even those who didnt cultivate the Way of Wards had joined their brethren. It was because they wished to know who was the god who triggered thirty resonances in a row, and if they could maintain their streak and leave an unprecedented mark in the history books.
Chapter 320: The Final Three Floors
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 320: The Final Three Floors
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Yu Xiao and Bai Qian were still standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the valley. However, they were less numb with resignation and more shocked and in disbelief right now.
Bai Qian was Lu Yes teacher in the Way of Wards, so he knew exactly how good the young man was. Earlier, he had told Yu Xiao that Lu Ye should be able to clear the first ten floors without much difficulty because they were pretty simple, and maybe a couple more if the rewards he obtained from the Hundred Wards Tower were good enough.
And his prediction was reasonable. He had studied the Way of Wards for many years, so his eye for people in this regard was pretty good.
However, Lu Ye had more than defied his expectations. He had ovee thirty floors in a row and triggered a resonance in all of them!
To be clear, Bai Qians assessment of Lu Ye was urate. The only reason reality had not gone the way he expected was because of the rewards. Bai Qian could not begin to imagine just how great the rewards Lu Ye had received to improve so much in just half a months time.
To make aparison, if Lu Yes attainment in the Way of Wards was a one out of ten before he entered the Hundred Wards Tower, now he was a five out of ten. In other words, his attainment was five times greater than what it was before!
To be fair, this was a perfectly reasonable oue. Lu Ye had triggered thirty resonances in a row after all. Bai Qian dared not im that Lu Yes achievement would never be surpassed, but it was certainly unprecedented.
What Bai Qian couldnt figure out was how Lu Ye, a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, was able to withstand the mental burden of the reward. Even if his Divine Soul was stronger than your average Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, he shouldve imploded from the strain ages ago!
At this point, he was starting to wonder if the boys Divine Soul was greater than his, a Ninth-Order Real Lake Realm cultivator. Of course that was impossible, but what other exnation was there? Even he dared not say he would be able to hang on for thirty floors straight.
[How on earth did the boy do it?]
Unfortunately, Bai Qian had gotten the wrong idea. Lu Ye might have consumed enough Soul Cleansing Water that his Divine Soul was nowparable to some Cloud River Realm cultivators, but it was still nowhere close to a Real Lake Realms. The reason he was able to hold on was because he was willing to consume one drop of Soul Cleansing Water every time he felt tired to wash away his fatigue.
Although his Divine Soul wasnt as tough as a Real Lake Realms, he was able to replenish his mental strength with the Soul Cleansing Water. This was something no one in the entire Jiu Zhou could emte.
What a shame, Yu Xiao said suddenly with a sigh. He wasmenting the fact that Lu Yi Ye wasnt a disciple of the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Looking at the boys current talent in the Way of Wards, he was certain he couldve carried their sect to greater heights. Forget Tier-five, he couldve transformed them into a Tier-one sect if he continued growing at this pace!
Bai Qian knew exactly what Yu Xiao was thinking, but he shook his head and said, You are wrong. If he was our disciple, our sect wouldve declined instead.
It sounded disparaging, but it was just a statement of fact. Lu Ye had been poisoned less than an hour after he arrived at their Outpost. A couple of days after that, Thousand Demon Ridge had amassed an army of thousands and conquered their Outpost. Had Lu Ye been a disciple of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, he highly doubted they would be able to establish any footing on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. And if their disciples could not enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, then their cultivation speed was going to suffer.
A single person could never make a sect strong.
Youre right. Yu Xiao quickly arrived at the same conclusion. Now that I think about it, its a good thing that the Crimson Blood Sect is only Tier-nine, isnt it?
Their Outpost was located in the outermost ring of the Spirit Creek Battlefield because they were Tier-nine. As a result, it was very difficult for Thousand Demon Ridge to attack them. On the other hand, it was all too easy for Thousand Demon Ridge to gang up on the Heavenly Derivative Sect. They only needed three or four sects worth of forces to overrun their Outpost.
This was why Lu Ye did not have to worry about his Outpost being conquered no matter how much trouble he caused, not to mention that there was a ferocious bird guarding the ce.
On a rted note, Bai Qian had sent Zhao Li a short message, Is he alive or dead?
Although he was past the point where he thought that the boy was in real danger of dying, he could not help but worry anyway.
Zhao Li quickly responded, Hes still alive, Great Elder. By the way, can Ie to the Hundred Wards Tower? Brother Yi Ye is going toe out in another three floors. When that happens, everyone will know that hes still alive, so I dont think it matters if I reveal myself now.
Good point. You maye.
Thank you, Great Elder! Zhao Li responded happily. It wasnt long before he appeared in the valley.
The moment he showed up, all cultivators who did not know the truth were stunned by his appearance. It was because it was rumored that he and Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had been poisoned to death by Thousand Demon Ridge. It was why the Crimson Blood Sects Keeper of Seal had gone on a rampage, and why they had lost so much face.
However, it was clear now that the rumor wasnt quite urate. After all, Zhao Li was clearly alive. What about Lu Yi Ye? Was he alive as well?
The smart ones immediately caught the scent of a conspiracy.
Zhao Li did not pay attention to them. After seeking out his acquaintances and inquiring a little about the situation, he sat down at a random spot and sent out a message. A group of people quickly gathered around him.
Before Lu Ye challenged the Hundred Wards Tower, he had spoken to Zhao Li about some of his ns. Assuming that everything went smoothly, they were going to execute those ns as soon as Lu Ye exited the tower. That was why he had made certain preparations beforehand. It wouldve been toote otherwise.
As for what those ns were, lets just say that Zhao Li had been looking forward to it for a very long time.
He was in the middle of discussing with hispanions when suddenly, the tower buzzed like it was struck by an earthquake. The next moment, an invisible energy swept across the whole valley.
They cleared the thirty-first floor! Someone cried.
The ward cultivators immediately stopped whatever they were doing and used the resonance to enlighten themselves.
Inside the Hundred Wards Tower, Lu Ye let out a long sigh of relief. Although his skill was many times better than what it was before he entered the tower, the tests on the thirty-first floor still gave him some trouble. They were so difficult that he only managed toplete five tests in nine hours.
He thought for sure that his reward would be less substantial this time, but he was wrong. In fact, the ball of light was slightly bigger than what he thought it would be.
As a result, Lu Ye wondered if the size of the reward was tied to his initial attainment when he first entered the tower. Had he remained exactly the way he was, there was no chance he wouldve been able to clear the tests on the twentieth floor, much less the thirty-first. But since he never stopped progressing, his performance far exceeded his former selfs capabilities. Assuming his theory was right, of course the tower had rewarded him handsomely.
It was very easy to verify this. All he needed to do was to not perform his best on the next floor.
The challenger only needed to clear the test one time to proceed to the next floor. It was believed that the more tests you cleared, the better the rewards would be. He would know if his theory was true if he cleared the test one time, but still received the same amount of rewards as before.
Lu Ye wasnt going to do this though. The rewards werent the only way to improve ones attainment in the Way of Wards. Oveing the tests themselves was one such method. He did not think he would get many opportunities like this in the future, so he wasnt going to waste it just to verify a theory.
Just like the previous floors, he was going to give it his all and leave no regrets behind.
Half a dayter, he overcame the thirty-second floor and digested its reward. After washing away his fatigue using the Soul Cleansing Water, he was able to unlock another Spiritual Point before his time was up. Finally, he entered the thirty-third floor.
This was the final floor of the Heavenly Derivative Sects Hundred Wards Tower. There would be no more floors to conquer after this one. If he wished to continue his tower climb, he would have to wait until he ascended to Cloud River Realm and enter the Cloud River Battlefield.
Surprise rippled across Lu Ye when his vision cleared. It was because he saw a Grand Ward epassing arge area in front of him!
The Grand Ward was more or less the same size as the one used by the Outposts in the Inner Circle, so it could not be easy to ovee. In fact, it was easily the biggest and mostplex ward he had encountered since entering the Hundred Wards Tower.
Was it a coincidence, or did the tower read his inner desires and created it as his final challenge?
The entire reason he came to the Heavenly Derivative Sect was to learn how to breach a Grand Ward. Only then could he upy his enemies Outposts and rob them of their Blessings.
This was as good a chance as any to verify his skills.
His time was limited, so Lu Ye spared only a bit of time to inspect the ward before throwing out his ward gs. He used them to determine the flow of the wards Spiritual Power and the rough location of the nodes before narrowing it down to the letter.
It was an enormous task. It took him an entire hour to confirm the location of the first node. After he confirmed that he had gotten it right using Insight, he moved onto the next node.
The first step was the hardest. Locating the second node only took a teas time after he confirmed the first node. He proceeded to identify the third node, the fourth node and more.
Over two hourster, he confirmed all the locations of the nodes. There were sixteen of them in total.
This meant that the ward was constructed using sixteen ward keystones. It was identical to the grand ward in the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost and the best grand ward one could buy from the Vault of Providence.
But although the grand wards were identical, they did not always share the same strength. The strength of a ward was usually determined by the concentration of the surrounding World Spiritual Qi. Generally speaking, the richer the World Spiritual Qi in the environment, the stronger the ward would be.
The grand ward in front of him was several times greater than the one at the Crimson Blood Sect, though it wasnt because the World Spiritual Qi around him was richer. It was naturally stronger because the Hundred Wards Tower made it so.
Lu Ye hopped onto his flying Spirit Artifact and flew around the grand ward. He then nailed the ward gs into the nodes.
When all thirty two ward gs were in ce, he came to a stop and grabbed the ward g in front of him. Then, he sucked in a deep breath and channeled his Spiritual Power into it.
All thirty two ward gs floated into the air and glowed with Spiritual Light at the same time. They started connecting and resonating with each other.
As more Spiritual Power poured into the ward g Lu Ye was holding, the invisible energy generated by the ward gs resonance began suppressing the grand wards cirction of Spiritual Power.
The Spiritual Power of a grand ward was constantly flowing. This was something Lu Ye had observed a long time ago. This was why a grand ward was capable of restoring itself and defending against all attacks.
To draw an analogy, a grand ward was like a flowing river. To breach it, Lu Ye had to cut the flow and turn it into a pool of dead water. Only by stopping the cirction of Spiritual Powerpletely would he have a shot at breaching a grand ward. Otherwise, the grand ward would continuously repair itself until it had run out of reserves, which was never going to happen in the Hundred Wards Tower.
Spiritual Power was draining out of Lu Yes body at a rapid rate. While he did not know if it was even possible to breach a grand ward with his own strength alone, this was, both, his final test and the proof that his ns werent just a pipe dream. Naturally, he was going to give it his all.
Chapter 321: Two Balls of Light
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 321: Two Balls of Light
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Thank goodness the ward wasnt controlled by someone, or Lu Ye wouldnt even bother to try and breach it. The difference between a grand ward that was controlled by someone and one that wasnt was like night and day. Even the most inexperienced controller would be able to make various adjustments to the grand ward, and right now Lu Ye was incapable of adapting to those changes.
This one was static because it did not have a controller, so he could easily target its weaknesses.
The Spiritual Power cirction of the grand ward grew slower and slower as he continued to pour his energy into the ward g, but it was far from enough. He was losing Spiritual Power at a rapid pace, so Lu Ye quickly drank a bottle of Mystic Fruit cider and stuffed a couple of Spirit Pills into his mouth to replenish his Spiritual Power.
Time passed bit by bit. It was a slow and arduous process, but Lu Ye could see that it wasnt a hopeless endeavor. He continued to pour his Spiritual Power into the ward g.
Even more time passed, and the flow rate of the grand wards Spiritual Power was less than half of what it was. However, Lu Ye also felt a substantial increase in resistance from the grand ward. His ward g had be as heavy as a mountain, and he could feel an obvious pushback of energy from it.
Not only that, he was losing Spiritual Power at an increasing rate. Despite consuming the Mystic Fruit cider and Spirit Pills non-stop, he wasnt quite able to keep up with the rate he was losing energy.
Suddenly, a soft creak drew Lu Yes attention like a bees sting. His heart sank when he realized that a tiny crack had appeared on the ward g he was holding.
Right now, he was suppressing the grand wards flow of Spiritual Power with his thirty two ward gs. To put it simply, he was singlehandedly fighting against the grand ward. Even if the ward wasnt controlled by anyone, it was still one of the most powerful grand wards he had ever faced. This was evident from the fact that his ward g was getting damaged from the pushback of energy.
Lu Ye became nervous. It would be a damn shame if he failed because his ward g could not withstand the pressure.
He might have forged the ward g himself, but the materials had been provided by Bai Qian. Since he had gifted Bai Qian the Soul Cleansing Water, the great elder had reciprocated with the best materials to forge his ward gs. Even so, the ward g wasnt going to hang on much longer.
Creak creak creak! More cracks appeared on the ward g. It was as if the item was made of y instead of metal, and it looked like it could shatter any minute now.
Lu Ye hurriedly increased his output of Spiritual Power. At this stage, the only thing he could do was to invest it all in a do-or-die gamble. Spiritual Power started draining out of his body like an open dam. His hard work wasnt wasted. The grand wards Spiritual Power slowed more and more until finally, it stopped dozens of breathster.
Lu Yes face waspletely flushed when he shoved his hand into his Storage Bag. Four auras zoomed across the air the second he raised his hand.
The four Spirit Artifacts made a full circle in the air before descending on top of the nodes like lightning. At the same time, Sharp Edge shed across every Spirit Artifact.
Lu Yes heart leaped to his throat as he stared at the affected nodes. He even forgot to breathe for a moment.
There was a short struggle between the grand ward and his Spirit Artifacts before he heard what could only be described as the sound of breaking ss. At the same time, dense cracks started spreading from where the four telekic weapons had struck. Finally
Shatter!
It was as if someone had brought a hammer to a giant mirror. Both the grand ward and his thirty two ward gs abruptly shattered into a million pieces!
It had only been half a month since he created the ward gs. To think they would all shatter into pieces in this test!
Even Lu Ye himself was thrown back by the sudden eruption of Spiritual Power and mmed against the floor.
Lu Ye hurriedly climbed to his feet as he panted like a dog. Joy was peeking out of his pale white face though. It was because he had singlehandedly breached a grand ward. It was no cheap trick that the enemy could easily adapt to either. He had actually breached a grand ward in its entirety purely through his own power and skill!
Of course, this wasnt max difficulty per se since it wasnt controlled by anyone. Then again, he hardly needed to take down an entire grand ward on his own when attacking a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost.
Heavens know what Thousand Demon Ridge would think when they learned of this. He could only hope that they wouldnt pass away from sheer shock. It would be a waste of Contribution Points.
The loss of his ward gs was a small issue. He could just forge another set when he exited the tower.
What troubled Lu Ye was the fact that he was almost out of power, and there probably wasnt much time left on the clock. He highly doubted that he would be able to pass the next test.
That was fine though. He was satisfied with this.
Lu Ye sat on the floor and adopted a meditative position. Since there was no chance he was going to ovee the next test, he might as well use this time to catch some rest.
To Lu Yes surprise, no second test appeared after the grand ward was destroyed. In the past, the tests came one after another without giving him a chance to catch even half a breather. He wondered why.
A million thoughts were running through his mind when suddenly, a palm-sized ball of light floated in front of his eyes. It wasnt as big as some of the rewards he had seen earlier, but its color was much richer than normal. It probably meant that it contained an incredible volume of information.
[I cleared the thirty-third floor already?] Lu Ye thought to himself in surprise. It was only now that he realized that the grand ward was the thirty-third floors one and only challenge. It was a surprise, but one that he weed greatly.
This seemed to suggest that his earlier theory was correct. The rewards bestowed by the Hundred Wards Tower was determined by the initial level of ones attainment when they initially entered the tower. Since he wasnt particrly good when he first entered the tower, he was rewarded handsomely even though had ovee the test of the thirty-third floor only once.
Another ball of light descended from the air. Its color wasnt as rich as the first one, but it was the size of a washbasin.
Frankly, it scared Lu Ye to see it. He had never seen such a huge reward before. Would it kill him the second he imprinted it into his head? Moreover, this was the first time ever he was given multiple rewards by the tower.
He was still weighing the risks and rewards when the basin-sized ball of lightnded on the floor. Then, it scattered into nothing and
Plink nk plunk
A bunch of items hit the floor with a series of metallic ngs.
As it turned out, the reward was unlike any of the rewards he had obtained before. It was because it contained not a massive volume of information regarding the Way of Wards, but actual items. To be exact, it was a bunch of pitch ck ward gs!
He counted thirty two of them in total, and they made a perfect set.
[The Hundred Wards Tower has a reward like this?]
Lu Ye was surprised because he had never heard of the Hundred Wards Tower rewarding a set of ward gs. In fact, he was the first ward cultivator ever in the history of Jiu Zhou to ever receive such a reward.
Again, Lu Ye didnt mind this because it was exactly what he needed right now. He had been nning to head back to the forge and forge a new set of basic ward gs for himself. While he fully expected to forge them better and faster than he did at the beginning, it was still going to take some time and effort to perform the task. Now, that was no longer necessary.
He did not bother inspecting these ward gs because the basic ward gs were thirty two gs a set, and they were good enough for most ward cultivators up to the Cloud River Realm.
These ward gs were clearly extraordinary, so he didnt think he would be able to make sense of them in a short time. He decided he could inspect themter when he wasnt on a time limit.
After he put the ward gs into his Storage Bag, he finally made a grab for the ball of light still floating in front of him.
This was the third-third time he absorbed the ball of light, and his Divine Soul was much tougher than it was at the beginning. Unfortunately, the experience remained as bad as before.
Outside the Hundred Wards Tower, every cultivator was holding their breaths and waiting to feel its unique vibration. When it did, thunderous apuse and cheers filled the valley instantly.
It was because they had witnessed the birth of a miracle, one that would go down in the history books as one of the most memorable events of its time. They still didnt know who the mysterious challenger was, but the facts that the feat had taken ce in the Heavenly Derivative Sect, and that they were all ward cultivators were more than enough for them to feel proud and honored about it!
Yu Xiao and Bai Qian exchanged a nce with each other and let out a long, long sigh of relief. It was finally over. It had been a terrifying half a month, but they were finally free from the mental torment.
Although they were utterly amazed by Lu Yes achievement, they had a lot toin about the boy as a matter of course. The brat had turned out to be a bigger troublemaker than anyone could have imagined, but in the end, their Hundred Wards Tower only had thirty three floors. He could be the incarnation of the god of troublemakers, but even he had to stop for the moment.
Their inner monologue aside, they were extremely envious of the Crimson Blood Sect as a matter of course. Any sect who had him was basically guaranteed to have a bright future, not to mention that the boy wasnt even a pure ward cultivator. An idiot could tell why he really started cultivating the Way of Wards. If one day he could focuspletely on the Way of Wards, Heavens only know how far he could go.
One thing for certain though, Thousand Demon Ridges time of peace was over. Heck, a shake-up that would affect the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was looming on the horizon.
Yu Xiao could not help but recall a certain past several decades ago. At the time, a Crimson Blood Sect disciple had led a storm of change that affected the entire Jiu Zhou. Wherever the banner with a golden me and a red background went, all Thousand Demon Ridge forces had backed away like it was their bane. Without exaggeration, the Crimson Blood Sect of that time had stood at the pinnacle of the world!
[Is the Crimson Blood Sect going to rekindle their former glory?]
All things considered, Yu Xiao was really d that he had formed an alliance pact with Elder Tang of the Crimson Blood Sect in secret when the old man was here.
The cheers in the valley eventually subsided, and the ward cultivators began meditating and finding inspiration from the resonance once more. However, their heads were all turned toward the entrance to the Hundred Wards Tower. It wasnt just the ward cultivators either. Everyone wanted to know who the mysterious challenger was.
Several painful hourster, their long wait finally came to an end. A young man pushed open the door and stepped into the open.
There were many who didnt recognize him, but those who did felt both astonished and a strange sense of understanding. They thought, Oh, I should have figured it out sooner.
Zhao Li was thought to be dead, but that belief was disproved a while ago. Naturally, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect must be alive as well.
Lu Ye wasnt expecting to see the sea of people gathered around the valley at all. Even Yu Xiao, Bai Qian and some of the Real Lake Realm cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect were present as well. They were clearly the higher-ups of the sect.
Sect Master Yu, Elder Bai. Lu Ye went up to them and saluted them respectfully.
Bai Qian nodded with a kind smile on his face. He might have ranted and raved at Lu Ye in his head when the young man was challenging the tower, but there was no changing the fact that Lu Ye had, against all odds, created a miracle to be remembered for many years toe. He might still be a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, but he could no longer treat him like one anymore.
Plus, Lu Ye had gifted him eight drops of Soul Cleansing Water. That gift alone obligated him to give the young man preferential treatment. It was because the Soul Cleansing Water had given him and Yu Xiao the chance to ascend to Divine Ocean Realm and improve their sects Tier.
Chapter 322: The Dragon Enters The Sea
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 322: The Dragon Enters The Sea
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Youve worked hard. Bai Qian gave Lu Ye a smile. Go catch some rest.
Before that, I need to tell you something. Brother Zhao and I were
Bai Qian raised his hand to stop him from continuing. Im aware of your ns, but Im sure you can afford to wait a day, no? Dont forget that weve put the entire headquarters inplete lockdown. I promise you that our enemies will not hear of your survival until its toote. So return to your room and catch some well-deserved rest. Zhao Li will take care of the preparation. You may depart when tomorrowes.
Lu Ye thought for a second before nodding. As you wish, Elder Bai.
Elder Bai immediately wrapped Lu Ye in his Spiritual Power and took to the sky. The reason he was in a hurry to leave wasnt because he was worried that someone in the Heavenly Derivative Sect might harbor ill intentions toward Lu Ye, but because the young man had conquered thirty-three floors in a row and triggered a resonance each time. Suffice to say, countless ward cultivators were eyeing him like a piece of meat to put it mildly.
Bai Qian knew his ward cultivators better than anyone. Forget leaving, the poord wouldnt be able to catch a breather if he did not leave now.
As the old man had predicted, countless ward cultivators sighed in resignation when they saw that Bai Qian had kidnapped Lu Ye. Not all of them had given up though. The bolder ones actually chased after Bai Qian, and a good number of them were in the Cloud River Realm too
Zhao Li,e with me. The rest of you should leave, Yu Xiao ordered.
Yes, sect master! Zhao Li responded from the crowd.
Very soon, Yu Xiao left the valley with Zhao Li in tow. It was obvious that they were going away to do something.
Despite the sect masters order, themotion in the valley didnt subside until muchter. It was because a lot of ward cultivators had rushed into the Hundred Wards Tower to challenge themselves after being inspired by Lu Ye. Of course, whether they would be rewarded for their efforts was a different story.
Lu Ye ate like a horse after he had returned to Bai Qians residence. He then took a long bath before copsing on top of his bed. The next morning, he woke up feelingpletely refreshed.
There was a message in the Battlefield Imprint. It was sent by Zhao Li. The Heavenly Derivative Sect was ready to go, and even their allies were just waiting for the signal. They were just waiting for him to start the operation.
Lu Ye replied to the message asking Zhao Li to give him a tally of their manpower so he could prepare ordingly. He then messaged Yi Yi and Ju Jia to meet him as soon as they were able.
While waiting for the duo, Lu Ye took a moment to inspect his Spiritual Points. He had ascended to the Ninth-Order when he was on the first floor of the Hundred Wards Tower, and now he had a total of two hundred and eighteen unlocked Spiritual Points!
This meant that he had unlocked thirty nine Spiritual Points during the seventeen days he spent in the Hundred Wards Tower. On average, he had unlocked one Spiritual Point per floor or two Spiritual Points per day.
This was easily the fastest Lu Ye had ever unlocked his Spiritual Points. If the Spirit Creek Battlefields cultivation environment was this good, he could probably ascend to the Cloud River Realm in two or three days.
Of course, this was just a pipedream. The reason the cultivation environment of the Hundred Wards Tower was as excellent as it was was because he had cleared the challenges with flying colors. Few people got to enjoy his level of treatment.
He could not help but look forward to the second portion of the Hundred Wards Tower. Unfortunately, he wouldnt be able to do so for a while.
That wasnt necessarily a bad thing though. Until the day he could enter the Hundred Wards Tower, he would continue to study hard at the Way of Wards so he could repeat what he did here and enjoy that cultivation environment once more.
His time in the Hundred Wards Tower was a fruitful one. In fact, it was too fruitful. Although he had digested and absorbed all the rewards that were bestowed by the Hundred Wards Tower, he was nowhere near the level where he understood thempletely. To give an example, he had digested all the food he had consumed, but the nutrients hadnt been fully absorbed by his body, nor had he trained those muscles to maximize his gains.
There was a lot to look forward to in the future. He was already quite impressive in the half-baked state he was in if he dared say so himself. He could not imagine how much better he would be when he fully made the learnings he had obtained from the Hundred Wards Tower his own.
Cultivation wise, he was only twenty two Spiritual Points away from hitting the two hundred and forty Spiritual Points requirement necessary to change his cultivation technique. It should take only one and a half months of normal cultivation to reach that level. Unfortunately, he was going to be quite busy in the near future, so he did not think he would be able to spare much time on cultivation.
Yi Yi and Ju Jia hadnt arrived yet, so he decided to check out the pitch ck ward gs he had obtained from the Hundred Wards Tower. A quick check revealed to him that the enhancements inside the gs were moreprehensive than his own, and even the materials they were made of were better than the ones Elder Bai had given him. Since he hadnt had much contact with natural treasures, he was unable to identify the materials they were made of.
It had to be good since it was one of the two final rewards of the Hundred Wards Tower. He would even bet that they were among the best of the best in the entire Jiu Zhou.
Ward gs were only tools used to support the ward cultivator in creating and breaching wards, but it went without saying that the better their quality, the greater their effects would be. Like a tiger who was bestowed a pair of wings, he had no doubt that he would be able to breach wards faster and create stronger and stabler wards with this set of ward gs.
A short whileter, Lu Ye rose to his feet and walked out of his room. Ju Jia was standing outside the door, and Amber was curled up on top of his head. Yi Yi was nowhere to be seen, but that was because she was hiding inside Ambers body right now.
Half a month had passed since he saw hispanions. Ju Jia hadnt changed much, but Amber was clearly stronger than before. Even his aura felt a lot denser than it used to be.
Now that everyone was gathered, he took them to Bai Qians room to bid the old man goodbye. Before they left, Bai Qian said seriously, I leave our meager savings in your hands, young friend. Do try not to be too extreme in your approach.
Do not worry, Elder Bai. I promise you that the Heavenly Derivative Sect will retake what they had lost at the very least.
Go with my blessing.
And so Lu Ye left the ce. Once they were outside the building, Ju Jia summoned his flying Spirit Artifact and waited for Lu Ye to get onboard. Then, they took off to the sky in a stream of light.
A short whileter, Lu Ye heard Zhao Li shouting passionately in front of the Sanctum of Providence. He was joined by hundreds of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. Every time he barked out amand, the cultivators would respond with a thunderous Kill! of their own. They were clearly doing some pre-mobilization exercises.
Morale was sky high to put it mildly. Their killing intent alone could pierce the heavens. Two months ago, Thousand Demon Ridge had upied their Outpost with overwhelming forces, and they were forced to withdraw to the headquarters without being able to fire so much as a single spell or telekic weapon. The entire sect was stewing with frustration and fury to say the least.
As if that wasnt bad enough, the elders had suddenly put the headquarters in total lockdown for two months straight, one so absolute that they couldnt even send or receive a message from the outside world, much less return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. No one knew what the elders were thinking at the time.
The disciples thought to themselves: [Why are we waiting when Thousand Demon Ridge has already withdrawn their forces from our Outpost? Shouldnt we rebuild as soon as possible so that our Spirit Creek Realm disciples have a ce to cultivate?] And the thought of all of them having to visit an allys Outpost just to cultivate normally It was humiliating to say the least.
That was why the disciples had been submitting letters to reenter the Spirit Creek Battlefield everyday. They had just been suppressed by Yu Xiao and the elders. One could say that Heavenly Derivative Sect had been stewing in rage for two months straight. A single spark was enough to cause everything to explode.
This statested until they saw a perfectly unscathed Lu Ye walking out of the Hundred Wards Tower, and certain news were spread among them. Then, Zhao Li gathered all Spirit Creek Realm disciples in front of the Sanctum of Providence today.
Everyone knew then that today was the day they paid back what had been done to them tenfold!
The Heavenly Derivative Sect hadnt holed up in their headquarters for two months because they were afraid. No, they were just waiting for the right opportunity to strike back.
To say that they were excited would be a massive understatement. Everyone was itching to go on a rampage already.
Several hundred pairs of eyes turned toward Ju Jia and Lu Ye after theynded. Zhao Li walked up to Lu Ye and sped his fist respectfully. Everything is ready, Brother Yi Ye.
Lu Ye took a step forward and swept his gaze across the animated crowd in front of him. He then looked at Yu Xiao and the Heavenly Derivative Sect elders floating not far away behind the crowd and gave them a nod.
Lets go!
Zhao Li immediately turned around and shouted, Lets go!
Without a word, the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect marched into the Sanctum of Providence and pressed their hand against the Divine Opportunity Column. Then, they teleported back to their Outpost one group after another.
It was like a dragon entering the sea. The storm that would turn the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield upside down began now.
The first few groups were all body tempering cultivators, followed by thebat cultivators and ghost cultivators, and finally the spell cultivators and medicine cultivators. Although Thousand Demon Ridge should have withdrawn their forces a long time ago, that was no reason to rx their guard. If the enemy had set up an ambush, then at least the body tempering cultivators would be able to survive until reinforcements arrived.
It took only dozens of breaths before everyone had teleported back to the Outpost. The ghost cultivators who had spread out to scout the area reported back that they hadnt seen any enemy within the vicinity.
This was normal. It had been two months since the Outpost was conquered. Thousand Demon Ridge could bepletely out of their minds, and they still wouldnt sit on an empty ruin for two months straight. It was just illogical and benefited no one.
A whileter, a massive ship Spirit Artifact floated into the air. After everyone had gotten on, Zhao Limanded the ship to fly in a certain direction.
Lu Ye was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhao Li on the deck. After thetter had finished messaging an ally on his Battlefield Imprint, he asked, Deep Sea Mountain has already departed. They are led by their Legate, Brother Song Yin. We will be attacking the Clear Wind Sect first as per your n, Brother Yi Ye.
How many people did he bring with him?
He brought everyone besides a hundred defenders.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. This Brother Song must be quite a bold fellow.
Zhao Li exined, On the contrary, Brother Song is usually a conservative fellow. If Im not mistaken, he did this probably because he received some advice from his elders, or maybe he felt guilty he couldnt do more when our Outpost was taken. We are close neighbors and so share an interdependent rtionship. In fact, they were scared for their lives when Thousand Demon Ridge had upied our Outpost.
Two months ago, Lu Ye had been poisoned by a spy right after he arrived at the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost. Not longter, several Thousand Demon Ridge sects had joined hands to conquer the Outpost by force.
It was the Heavenly Derivative Sects fault that he was poisoned on their turf, but it was his fault that their Outpost was upied, and Thousand Demon Ridge grew mad enough to activate a precious spy in the first ce. He could not deny that some of the responsibilities fell on his shoulders as well. If he didnt have the Tree of Glyphs, he would have been crippled or dead already. If he didnt have the Soul Cleansing Water, Ju Jia and Zhao Li couldve died even with Shui Yuans treatment.
Ultimately, there was no point in assigning me. Thousand Demon Ridge was the one who tried to destroy him, so he would destroy them in return. Not only that, he was going to take back what the Heavenly Derivative Sect had lost exactly as he had promised Bai Qian.
A huge amount of Sect Contribution Points was necessary to rebuild an Outpost. And how were they going to get all those Contribution Points? By upying their enemies Outposts and robbing their Blessings, of course.
The reason he came to the Heavenly Derivative Sect in the first ce was to be proficient enough in the Way of Wards to breach a grand ward, and now he had the ability to do exactly that.
Looking at the 10-point map, the Heavenly Derivative Sects location was poorer than expected. They were literally surrounded by three Thousand Demon Ridge factions on three sides. In fact, the Clear Wind Sect, Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect made up the main force that upied the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost.
The reason they chose to attack the Clear Wind Sect first was because they bordered both the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain.
The Heavenly Derivative Sect was fearless because they had nothing to losethey literally did not even have an Outpost anymorebut Deep Sea Mountain was a different story. That was why they had to take out the Clear Wind Sect first. Otherwise, Deep Sea Mountain would not be able to help them without reservation.
Chapter 323: You’re Alive?
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 323: Youre Alive?
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Of course, there was one more reason they were targeting the Clear Wind Sect first. It was a Tier-six sect while Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect were Tier-five.
This would be Lu Yes first battle after he came back to life per se, so of course they should go for the weakling first, rtively speaking. Just because the Clear Wind Sect was a lower tier sect did not mean it was weak.
The ship continued onward until they arrived at the Heavenly Derivative Sects ore vein. At least a hundred Spiritual Lights jumped off the ship and flew into the caves. A whileter, they returned with bloodstains on their outfits. The blood belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were mining in their ore vein.
It had been two months since the Heavenly Derivative Sect lost their Outpost and put their headquarters under lockdown. Naturally, their friendly neighbors were unwilling to let the resources go to waste. Unfortunately for the miners, their greed had doomed them today.
As they continued toward the Clear Wind Sects Outpost, news of their invasion eventually spread to both their allies and their enemies. It was basically impossible to conceal such arge-scale operation. There were countless ways a cultivator might obtain intel from their enemies, and in this case it was perfectly natural for the Clear Wind Sect to post watchersghost cultivators to be exactwithin their territory.
The Clear Wind Sect immediately leaped into action, and the Legate and prolegate made an emergency summon to all cultivators who were currently away from the Outpost. At the same time, they requested help from both Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect.
If the Heavenly Derivative Sect was attacking alone, then they wouldnt have bothered calling their allies for help. However, the Deep Sea Mountain was involved in the invasion as well. Together, they numbered around eight to nine hundred people. It wasnt a particrly massive force, but it was still something they could not afford to underestimate.
In fact, the Clear Wind Sect wasnt quite sure what the Heavenly Derivative Sect was thinking. Unless they could upy their Outpost in a short time, their reinforcements would be able to catch them in a pincer attack. If that happened, the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain would be crying for their mothers for sure.
While a million suspicions were running through their heads, a big ship Spirit Artifact came to a stop about 5 kilometers away from their Outpost. Judging from the emblem on the ship, it belonged to Deep Sea Mountain. They were the neighbors of Clear Wind Sect after all. It was only natural that they showed up sooner than the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
Less than an hourter, another ship Spirit Artifact arrived at the scene. This one was definitely the Heavenly Derivative Sect. The two ships then advanced toward the Outpost in tandem.
Suddenly, a cultivator flew over from Deep Sea Mountains ship andnded on their deck. Lu Ye looked at the neer curiously. He was a man with an imposing appearance and a face that invoked feelings of stalwartness and assurance. He was none other than the Legate of Deep Sea Mountain, Song Ying.
After Zhao Li had introduced them to each other, and they saluted one another in kind, Song Ying wasted no time in going straight to the point, Brother Yi Ye, Brother Zhao told me a few things about you, but I still need to ask you something. How confident are you in breaching the grand ward, and how long do you need to do it?
As Zhao Li had mentioned earlier, Song Ying was a very conservative man. Despite his personal and repeated assurances, the man would still rather hear the answer from Lu Yes own mouth. His peoples lives were at stake after all. He might be the Legate, but even he dared not make what he believed to be an extremely risky action without taking all the necessary precautions.
The main reasons he agreed to cooperate with Zhao Li on this operation were, one, he was good friends with the Legate and trusted his character, and two, Zhao Li swore on his honor that Lu Ye would be able to breach the Clear Wind Sects grand ward.
A bitter smile crossed Zhao Lis lips. Brother Song, Brother Yi Ye is the man who triggered thirty three resonances in the Hundred Wards Tower, not to mention that this isnt the first time hes breached a grand ward. Considering his recent improvement, I have no doubt that he will seed in this endeavor.
Song Ying continued to look at Lu Ye as he said in a calm voice, I know nothing about the Way of Wards. What I do know is that Clear Wind Sect has already sent out the call for help, and both Sanguine Valley and Thunderlight Sect have dispatched between three to four hundred people each to rescue their ally. If they managed to reach us in time, then our situation would be awful to say the least. The only way we could stop this is to breach the grand ward and upy the Outpost as soon as possible.
He did not press the matter, but he was clearly still expecting Lu Ye to give him a direct answer.
If I fail to breach the ward within an incense stick, feel free to withdraw from this operation.
Zhao Li shot Lu Ye an astonished look. Song Ying was frowning deeply as well.
Although he was ignorant of the Way of Wards, and he had no idea what it meant to trigger thirty three resonances in the Hundred Wards Tower, he could not interpret Lu Yes words as anything but a lie. A Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master iming that he could breach a grand ward in an incense stick? What kind of nonsense was this?
For a second, Song Ying was tempted to turn his back on the duo and withdraw on the spot. He had heard of stories of Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect. At the time, he was impressed with Lu Yes deeds during the Battle of Goldentip and was hoping to meet the man himself one day. Now though, he was thinking that the stories were exaggerated after all. It was one thing to be arrogant, and another to be blindly arrogant.
A few secondster, Song Ying answered, I look forward to it.
An incense stick wasnt a long time. As much as he disbelieved Lu Ye, he did not mind wasting that bit of time.
After Song Ying had flown back to his ship Spirit Artifact, Zhao Li asked worriedly, Brother Yi Ye, are you sure you can breach the grand ward in an incense stick?
The Legate knew how Lu Ye had conquered the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountains Outposts with Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court, and both times the young man had used cheap tricks that could only work one time. Objectively speaking, he could not really say that Lu Ye had breached a grand ward through pure skill and knowledge. He knew that Lu Yes attainment had improved by an unimaginable degree after conquering the Hundred Wards Tower, but he still could not imagine the young man breaching a grand ward in just an incense stick.
It was precisely because he was a ward cultivator that he understood just how difficult it was.
I can! Lu Ye replied firmly and without any hesitation.
It didnt take long to cross five kilometers of distance. After the two ship Spirit Artifacts hadnded on the ground, the cultivators marched out into the open and red at the enemies standing behind the screen of Spiritual Power. This was especially true for the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
Two months ago, they had red at one another in the exact same way. It was just that their positions were reversed now.
Although the enemy was right in front of their doorsteps, the cultivators of Clear Wind Sect werent worried for their safety. It was because they knew that it was unrealistic for the Heavenly Derivative Sect and the Clear Wind Sect to bring down their grand ward in a short time. Their reinforcements were already on their way. Once they arrived, their positions would be reversed immediately.
Their confidencested until Lu Ye stepped into their view. The Legate of the Clear Wind Sect was so stunned by this that he looked Lu Ye up and down a couple of times and even rubbed his eyes before eximing in disbelief, Youre alive?
The man clearly recognized Lu Ye. Although he had never seen Lu Ye in person, he had seen the young mans picture before. It was because Lu Ye wasbeled as a key monitoring target by Thousand Demon RIdge after the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain were conquered. Naturally, a lot of people had checked out his information and his picture.
Two months ago, the Keeper of Seal of the Crimson Blood Sect had turned violent at the Heavenly Derivative Sects headquarters and fought five Real Lake Realm enemies on her own. The Great Elder of the Heavenly Derivative Sect was even injured during that battle.
Not satisfied with just that, she entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield and killed dozens of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators before the Judgment of the Heavens finally drove her away.
The Sect Master of the Crimson Blood Sect himself had gone to Lei Zhou to wreak some havoc. Although he wasnt able to deal any significant damage, he still gave the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of Lei Zhou quite the scare.
Even the second runner up of the Spirit Creek Battlefields Scroll of Supremacy, Li Baxian, had gone on a bloody rampage in the Core Circle for a time.
The reason they had done this was because their disciple, Lu Ye had been poisoned to death by a Thousand Demon Ridge spy in the Heavenly Derivative Sect Outpost. This had been confirmed by both cultivation factions.
Thousand Demon Ridge had even held a short celebration when they confirmed that Lu Ye was dead. The thorn in their side was finally gone, and they no longer had to worry about their Outpost being breached any longer.
That was then, this was now. The young man who should have been dead two months ago wasnt just alive and healthy, he was standing right in front of him!
[This is bullshit!]
It took the Legate of the Clear Wind Sect some time to process his shock, but when he did he quickly figured out the truth. His emotions were a jumbled mess as he cursed the ancestors of everyone in the Crimson Blood Sect in his head. Were they professional actors or something? It was precisely because their acting was so convincing that everyone in Thousand Demon Ridge was sure that Lu Ye was dead.
[What the hell is wrong with this sect? Its one thing if its just the disciples who were putting on an act, but no, even their Keeper of Seal and Sect Master hade together to deceive the entire Jiu Zhou! How can the entire sect be so treacherous and deceitful?]
While the Legate was busy ranting inside his head, the cultivators of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had begun moving into formation. In ordance with Lu Yesmand, the body tempering cultivators had formed up at the forefront of a certain section of the grand ward, followed by thebat cultivators, the ghost cultivators, the spell cultivators and finally a dozen or so medicine cultivators.
The Legate of the Clear Wind Sect felt his heart skipping a beat when he saw this. It was clear that the enemy was nning to attack their grand ward by force. Considering what had happened to the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain, how could he not feel nervous about this?
He did not stay nervous for long though. Lu Ye had breached the grand ward of the two sects, true, but his methods were cheap tricks that could only be used one time. Lu Yi Ye might havee up with new tricks, but he should not be able to pull off anything as long as they kept a close eye on him.
He was just thinking this when Lu Ye stepped forward and swept his gaze across the grand ward in front of him. His eyes were circting with Spiritual Power because he had empowered them with Insight.
When he was performing the tests in the Hundred Wards Tower, Lu Ye had only ever used Insight to confirm that his deductions were correct. It was the way to improve his attainment in the Way of Wards. But since he was here to breach an enemys grand ward, there was naturally no need to limit himself.
A short period of observationter, Lu Ye fired a st of Spiritual Power at a certain spot on the grand ward. A Heavenly Derivative Sect disciple holding a pitch ck ward g immediately ran forward and stood at that exact position. The ward g in the disciples hands was none other than the reward Lu Ye had received.
It had taken Lu Ye over four hours to breach the grand ward on the thirty-third floor of the Hundred Wards Tower, but that was because he had to do everything by himself. That was not the case here. The one thing the Heavenly Derivative Sect did notck was ward cultivators, so he saw no reason not to let them assist him with the task. It would be much easier for him to breach the grand ward this way, not to mention that he wasnt aiming to bring down the whole thing.
That was why Lu Ye had asked Zhao Li to select thirty one ward cultivators before giving them a ward g each. Thest ward g was held by himself as a matter of course.
Lu Ye continued firing sts of Spiritual Power to direct the ward cultivators holding his ward gs into position. A momentter, all thirty one of them were in ce.
By now, the Legate of the Clear Wind Sect had realized that his wishful thinking was just that, wishful thinking. He immediately squashed his optimism like trash, brought out the Control Gem of the grand ward, and cranked up the ward to maximum power.
He knew nothing about the Way of Wards just like Song Ying, but it did not take a genius to see that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect hade prepared. He had no desire to experience the same fate as the House of Wintry Blossoms or Sunlit Mountain.
Chapter 324: Breaching The Clear Wind Sect
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 324: Breaching The Clear Wind Sect
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Now that everything was in ce, Lu Ye arrived at the final spot and gave his ward g a small wave. Then, he began pouring his Spiritual Power into it.
The other thirty one ward gs immediately resonated with it. The ward cultivators holding them began doing their thing as well.
All thirty two ward gs were pressed strongly against the grand ward. When the work officially began, the pitch ck ward gs began sinking into the screen of light at a visible rate.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows at this. The ward gs he had obtained from the Hundred Wards Tower were even better than he had imagined.
Zhao Li and Song Ying immediately perked up at this. Zhao Li himself was a ward cultivator, so he knew roughly what was going on as a matter of course. Song Ying was not a ward cultivator, but even he could tell that things were progressing smoothly.
As for the Legate of the Clear Wind Sect, he was panicking. He had never witnessed such a bizarre method in his life. Since he was holding the Control Gem, he could clearly sense something foreign merging into the grand ward. When he tried to purge it though, he discovered that he was unable to locate the foreign objects at all. It was almost as if they had be one with the grand ward.
Forget him, no one in the history of the Spirit Creek Battlefield had ever witnessed something like this.
Spirit Creek Realm was the lowest cultivation realm, so even the old school Spirit Creek Realm cultivators who studied the Way of Wards for decades after they had reached a dead end with their cultivation were unable to produce such an oue. They might be able to breach some smaller scale wards, but there was no chance they would be able to threaten a giant like a grand ward.
When the thirty two ward gs had sunk into the grand ward, Lu Ye, the holder of the main ward g, immediately sensed the flow of its Spiritual Power. It was almost like he had dipped his hand into a flowing river.
What he needed to do next was simple. He was going to use the thirty two ward gs to halt the flow of Spiritual Power between two nodes and open a hole in the middle of the grand ward.
From the start, Lu Yes n wasnt to bring down the whole ward. Even if he had singlehandedly breached a grand ward before, and he now had thirty one ward cultivators to help him, it was still going to take a lot of time.
Moreover, the grand ward in the Hundred Wards Tower had not been controlled by anyone. This was a different situation.
He had used a simr method when breaching the grand ward of Sunlit Mountains Outpost, but at the time he did not have the skill to tear a hole in the grand ward and hold it in ce. His n had been to rush in with Ju Jia and ten body tempering cultivators and snatch the Control Gem before the enemy could kill them all.
The method would only work if the Outpost happened to be undermanned. If Sunlit Mountain had thirty or twenty more defenders at the time, he wouldve called off the operation instead.
If he were topare the flowing Spiritual Power of the grand ward to a river, then what he was doing was akin to building a pair of dams at a section of the river, effectively turning the flowing stream into still water. After that, all he needed to do was to shatter the isted area.
The ward g buzzed as Lu Ye poured his Spiritual Power into the grand ward. The other thirty one ward cultivators picked up the feedback from their ward gs and responded ordingly.
The Clear Wind Sects Legate nched instantly as he could sense something odd happening to their grand ward. Although he tried manipting the Control Gem in an attempt to stop whatever Lu Ye was doing, it was no use. Lu Ye was able to respond to each and every variation without fail.
The flow of Spiritual Power in the isted area slowed at a visible rate. Soon, they came to aplete halt.
Only fifty breaths had passed since Lu Ye had begun his work!
Brother Zhao! Lu Ye erupted.
Zhao Li had been waiting for this. He immediately let out a full-throated roar, KILL!
The next instant, countless spells and flying weapons flew toward the isted area. One round was all it took to shatter it like ss!
The Legate of the Clear Wind Sect froze like a statue.
Every Clear Wind Sect disciple had frozen as well.
Even Song Ying had turned stiff.
He hadnt believed Lu Ye for a second when the young man imed that he could breach the ward within an incense sticks time. He had thought the young man was boasting and wouldve left already if it wasnt for Zhao Lis sake.
In reality, Lu Ye had breached the grand ward way sooner than that. Heck, it hadnt even been half a tea yet!
He was normally a calm and collected man, but even he could not help but gulp in disbelief.
[Since when is a grand ward so easy to breach? Ive never seen anything like this before!]
Shocked as he might be, Song Ying hadnt let it affect his actions. His own battle cry pierced through the air almost the second after the grand ward was breached.
And so the cultivators of both sects rushed through the giant gap and into the Clear Wind Sects Outpost in unison. The second they made contact, Clear Wind Sects cultivators immediately started dropping like flies. They lost twenty to thirty people instantly while the rest retreated in terror.
It wasnt that Clear Wind Sects cultivators were undisciplined. They were just caughtpletely off guard by how easily the enemy had breached their grand ward.
Before the ward was breached, the cultivators of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had already formed up for a strong assault. They were a united force of eight to nine hundred cultivators, and each cultivator faction knew exactly what their position and role was. For example, the resilient body tempering cultivators would bear the brunt of the enemys firepower at the frontline so that theirrades could mow down the enemy safely and in an organized fashion.
As if that wasnt good enough, they drastically outnumbered the defenders as well. That was why it looked like the Clear Wind Sect had crumbled at the tiniest gust of wind.
Battle cries filled the air as the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain rushed toward a certain building at high speed. Their objective was none other than the Sanctum of Providence.
Technically speaking, the Blessings they got for upying an Outpost were the same whether or not they killed their enemies. However, leaving their enemies alive meant that they would rise again eventually.
This was why their goal wasnt just to upy the Clear Wind Sects Outpost. They were also going to kill as many cultivators as possible.
There was no stopping the two Grand Sky Coalition sects. Their enemies died whichever way they fled. This was especially true for the group that relied on Ju Jia to be their tank. His Spiritual Power and vitality mixing together to form a nigh imprable defense that was visible to the naked eye, he was able to block most of the enemys attacks with nary a scratch. He was so tough that even his fellow body tempering cultivators were shooting him looks of envy.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye had withdrawn his thirty two ward gs the second the grand ward was breached. Then, he followed the two small armies into the Outpost, summoned his four flying weapons, and unleashed a bloody massacre on all enemies within two hundred meters of him. Wherever he went, red dots flew out of corpses and entered the Battlefield Imprint at the back of his hand.
Now that he was a Ninth-Order Spirit Order cultivator, his strength had experienced yet another qualitative increase. This was especially obvious with regards to his telekic prowess. Its power had increased more than a couple of times not just because he had entered another cultivation level, but also his stronger Divine Soul.
Back in the Hundred Wards Tower, he had consumed the Soul Cleansing Water repeatedly to wash away his mental fatigue. But of course, that was hardly the only benefit of the Soul Cleansing Water. After using up more than half a bottle of it, his Divine Soul was now tougher than even an average Cloud River Realm cultivator.
This was evident from the fact that Lu Ye was able to control four flying weapons at once without feeling any pressure whatsoever. He wasnt strained even after he imbued them all with double Glyphs.
The average Ninth-Order cultivator could extend their flying weapons range more or less a hundred and thirty meters at most. However, Lu Yes maximum range was two hundred meters. That was a whopping seventy meters of difference. It meant that cultivators at his cultivation level could be killed before they even got close enough to use their own flying weapons.
Lu Ye continued to wreak havoc across the chaotic battlefield until finally, his gaze locked onto the back of the Clear Wind Sects Legate. Empowered by Windwalk, he began making his way toward the enemy leader.
Some escaping Clear Wind Sect cultivators noticed his intent and turned around to stop him, but Amber let out a roar from his shoulder and sent a visible shockwave toward them. All enemies who were struck by the shockwave immediately felt pain and saw stars in their eyes.
Although they recovered quickly, they werent fast enough to defend themselves against Lu Yes flying weapons and the spells Yi Yi unleashed next to him. Bloodcurdling screams filled the air, and a dozen or so Clear Wind Sect cultivators dropped dead just like that. Their blood turned the ground red.
He continued forward until he was right in front of the Legate. The man was also abat cultivator, but he was still caught off guard by Lu Yes speed. He tried blocking Lu Yes attack with his Spirit Artifact, but the young man easily sliced through his neck and sent his head flying through the air.
Lu Ye was holding a Control Gem when he ran past the Legates headless corpse. Instead of refining it and iming ownership though, he decided to continue hunting the Clear Wind Sect cultivators.
The Clear Wind Sects Sanctum of Providence had been taken over by the allied forces. Zhao Li and Song Ying had also wisely left behind some men to guard the gap in the grand ward. Meanwhile, the main force was pushing forward and crushing the enemys breathing space at a steady rate.
Although Lu Ye had breached a section of the grand ward, it was still functioning this whole time. In fact, since Lu Ye had withdrawn his ward gs, the gap was shrinking because the grand ward was repairing itself. From the looks of it, it wouldnt be long before it returned to normal.
What this meant was that the only way the Clear Wind Sect disciples could escape was through the gap in the grand ward, one that was shrinking by the second too. Naturally, the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain werent going to let them reach it.
Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge had fought each other on the Spirit Creek Battlefield for centuries, but none of the battles had ever been as hopeless as this one.
In the past, they could usually teleport back to Jiu Zhou through the Divine Opportunity Column even if their grand ward was breached. However, the enemy had taken over the Sanctum of Providence, and the grand ward that was supposed to protect them had be their cage instead.
Finally realizing that there was no hope of escape, the survivors stopped running away and retaliating with all their might. Unfortunately for them, it was toote.
Their enemy was drastically outnumbered in the first ce, not to mention that one group had died in the initial sh, and the other had escaped through the Divine Opportunity Column. Less than two hundred of them were left in the Outpost.
How could they hope to defeat eight to nine hundred cultivators with so few numbers?
Chapter 325: Nightmarish News
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 325: Nightmarish News
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Although their side held the overwhelming advantage, neither the Heavenly Derivative Sect nor the Deep Sea Mountain showed signs of overeagerness. They continued to maintain their formation and stuck to the n.
No one wanted something unexpected to happen right before they plucked the fruits of victory. They would still win, but it would almost certainly cost unnecessary lives.
The survivors of the Clear Wind Sect tried charging the enemy line multiple times, but each time they were pushed back by the body-tempering cultivators led by Ju Jia. Moreover, they always lost someone when attacking or withdrawing from the enemy lines.
In all this, Lu Ye was the one who had the highest kill count.
With an attack range of two hundred meters and Glyphs that massively boosted his offensive power, a single flying weapon could usually kill multiple enemies in one revolution. Considering the fact that there were four, well
All four of his flying weapons ran out of power when the battle had reached the end. An incense stickter, when thest Clear Wind Sect cultivator had copsed on the ground, the sky shook from the cheers of the allied forces
They had never experienced such an exhrating victory in their lives. Not only did they upy an enemy sects Outpost, they had almost annihted their cultivators as well. This battle was destined to be remembered in the history books as one of the greatest sieges of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
There wasnt a single Heavenly Derivative Sect cultivator on the battlefield who wasnt flushed with pure joy. For two months they had stewed in anger, and today they were finally able to vent it in the best way possible. One would think that they were celebrating a new year from the way they were cheering and iling their limbs in joy. At that moment, they felt like they could do anything.
This was just the beginning of their conquest though. Zhao Li barked out a shout, You have one incense stick to sweep through the battlefield! Get moving now!
The Clear Wind Sect was but the first stop in his and Lu Yes n. There were still two more stops before their operation was officially over.
The reason this battle had gone as smoothly as it had was because the Clear Wind Sect had let down their guard too much. However, the other two sects must know what happened and be prepared for them. They might not be able to achieve such a crushing victory again.
The allied forces immediately leaped into action. An incense stick was hardly a long time. They were going to miss out on that precious, precious loot if they did not work as quickly as possible.
Lu Ye finally began refining the Control Gem as well. Last time, he had been forced to destroy the Control Gems to bring down the grand wards of the House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain. However, the situation wasnt the same as back then. Clear Wind Sects grand ward was perfectly functional, so he only needed to refine the Control Gem, shut it down, and dig out the ward keystones to im total ownership over it.
A full set of grand wards was worth a lot of Contribution Points in the Vault of Providence after all.
While this was going on, Zhao Li and Song Ying traveled to the Sanctum of Providence together to plunder the Clear Wind Sects Divine Opportunity Column. The former imed seventy percent of the Blessings, and thetter only thirty percent. That said, a portion of that seventy percent belonged to Lu Ye.
Before they had set out, Lu Ye had told Bai Qian that he was going to take back what the Heavenly Derivative Sect had lost. Naturally, now was the time to fulfill his promise.
They had discussed the distribution of loot before this, and it was agreed that the Clear Wind Sects grand ward would go to him. Lu Ye had no use for the grand ward, but he could sell it to the Heavenly Derivative Sect or the Vault of Providence for rewards. The former would give him a ton of cultivation resources for his troubles, while thetter would give him Contribution Points. Either exchange was more than eptable.
A short whileter, Lu Ye sessfully refined the Control Gem and shut down the grand ward. He then requested some help to dig out the ward keystones and put them in the Storage Bag.
While everyone was busy robbing the Clear Wind Sects Outpost, news of its upation was swiftly spreading throughout Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition. Rumors imed that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect wasnt dead at all, and he was the main reason the Clear Wind Sects Outpost was upied.
ording to the disciples who managed to escape back to Jiu Zhou before their Sanctum of Providence was taken, Lu Yi Ye had put a huge gap in their grand ward in just dozens of breaths. Then, the well-prepared disciples of the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain rushed through the gap and started ughtering them. Since they had been caught with their pants down, they were unable to put up any effective resistance. Their cultivators had dropped left and right like flies.
In this battle, the allied forces were able to upy the Clear Wind Sects Outpost and massacre over four hundred Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. There were so many deaths that it was almost enough to cause a total rupture of their talent session in the Inner Circle.
Naturally, the news stunned all of Jiu Zhou. What stunned them wasnt Lu Yi Yes return to life, but his ward breaching skills.
If the young man had used the cheap tricks he used when he conquered the Outposts of House of Wintry Blossoms and Sunlit Mountain, which could be easily adapted to, then his current method was easily ten times better.
The young man had, via his own power and skill, breached a grand ward the proper way. In other words, it was no longer possible to defend against his methods. Whoever this bastard targeted was going to lose their grand ward, meaning that every Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was in grave danger.
To say that the sects were nervous would be an understatement. Two months ago, all signs had indicated that Lu Yi Ye was killed by the poison. They had cheered and celebrated his passing all across Jiu Zhou. It was just a lie though. Not only was the young man alive and perfectly healthy, his attainment in the Way of Wards had grown by an unimaginable degree during his two months stay in the Heavenly Derivative Sect!
Countless ward cultivators skilled in the Way of Wards cried, Impossible! when they heard of this news. They had never heard of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator talented enough to breach a grand ward in just dozens of breaths, much less witnessed it with their own eyes. If grand wards were so easy to breach, they would have done so ages ago!
And yet Lu Ye had done the impossible. Short of denying reality itself, they had no choice but to ept the truth. Naturally, the entire Jiu Zhou was in an uproar because of this.
Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, both Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect were panicking right now. They were on their way to reinforce Clear Wind Sect, and they were going to reach the Outpost and catch the enemy in a pincer attack in just another hour or so. Then, they heard the impossible news that the Clear Wind Sects Outpost had been upied, and nearly all of their cultivators were ughtered to thest.
At first, no one was willing to believe the news. They all thought it was a sick joke and messaged theirpanions about it. Eventually though, they realized it actually wasnt a joke, and terror consumed them like someone had poured an ice bucket over their heads. They immediately turned around and flew back to their respective Outposts.
If Clear Wind Sects Outpost was truly conquered, then one of them was going to be the next target. As for who was more likely to be targeted, Sanguine Vale was probably it because they were closer to the Clear Wind sect than the Thunderlight Sect.
Sanguine Vales Legate and prolegate acted like headless chickens for a time. They sent out an emergency request for reinforcements and begged Thunderlight Sect to send their forces over to Sanguine Vale first. It was because Thunderlight Sects forces were already on the road. Assuming their ally was willing to take the risk, there was still a good chance they would be able to hold back thebined forces of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain.
Thunderlight Sect was aware that they were next if Sanguine Vale were to fall. The prolegate leading the expeditionary force was inclined to agree to Sanguine Vales cry for help as well. However, this wasnt a matter he could decide alone, so he had to send a message to the headquarters and request for direction from his elders.
The higher-ups of Thunderlight Sect quickly arrived at a consensus and agreed to respond to Sanguine Vales cry for help. Without further ado, the prolegate turned the ship around and flew toward Sanguine Vales Outpost.
Meanwhile, the cultivators Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had already finished sweeping the battlefield. They were now on their way to their next stop, Sanguine Vale.
Lu Ye was currently working on something with the ward cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Speed was of the essence here. The news of their upation of Clear Wind Sects Outpost must have spread by now. If they were toote to show up at Sanguine Vales Outpost, then their next battle was going to be a hard one. That was why they were making haste now.
If they werent mistaken, Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect should have dispatched some reinforcements to assist Clear Wind Sect. News of its upation must have reached their ears already, so they were probably on their way home right now. A funny thought arose in his mind though, [what if they could intercept these forces before they returned to their Outpost?]
All massive ship Spirit Artifacts that could carry hundreds of people at a time were all purchased from the Vault of Providence. They cost a lot, and their quality usually reflected that price. However, there was a limit to how fast they could go, and they were definitely slower than an individuals flying speed.
The cultivators flying the ship had already cranked up its speed to the max, but it still wasnt fast enough to catch up to their enemy. That was why Lu Ye was busy right now. He was going to boost the ships speed beyond its limit.
Some time passed, and a ward that epassed the entire ship Spirit Artifact was built. The ward was nothing special; it was just a ward with a massive Glyph: Windwalk as the core and sixteen ward gs as the base.
If he could apply the Glyph to himself and Amber, then of course it could be applied to a flying Spirit Artifact as well. However, Lu Ye literally could not sustain a Glyph that was big enough to empower the entire ship. It was a different story if they used a ward though. The reason he used sixteen ward gs to build a ward was to secure the Glyph to the ship and to make it so that it could absorb Spiritual Power to sustain itself.
A pile of Spirit Stones had been ced next to each ward g, and their Spiritual Power was being siphoned into the massive ward. After Lu Ye had activated the ward, it buzzed once beforeing alive. Complicated patterns began to appear and shower the entire deck in light.
One moment, the two ships were flying side by side. The next, the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship shot forward like an arrow and transformed into a dot in the horizon in an instant.
On the Deep Sea Mountains ship, Song Ying was tallying his casualties when he noticed the disturbance. When he looked up and realized that his allys ship had turned into a dot in the sky, he hurriedly sent a message to Zhao Li with a ck jaw.
He wasnt the only one who was caught off guard by the sudden movement. Nearly everyone on the ship was sprawled across the floor, and it took a not insignificant amount of effort to climb back to their feet.
Lu Ye hurriedly adjusted the output of the ward. He had created countless wards when he was challenging the Hundred Wards Tower, but this was the first time he created one a ward meant to elerate an object. Naturally, his inexperience had caused a minor screw up. If he did not adjust the output now, the ward was going to overload and destroy itself in less than an hour.
The ship gradually slowed down until Lu Ye had found the sweet spot. The ward was now stabilized, but the ship was still moving at more than twice its normal speed. While this was going on, Zhao Li replied to Song Yings message and exined what had happened before ordering his cultivators to pay close attention to their surroundings.
Two hourster, a cultivator reported that they had spotted a massive ship some distance in front of them. They were clearly moving toward Sanguine Vales Outpost.
Zhao Li perked up immediately. As he and Lu Ye predicted, Sanguine Vale had dispatched some reinforcements to rescue Clear Wind Sect from their predicament. Unfortunately for the reinforcements, they were able to conquer the Outpost before they could arrive, so they had no choice but to turn back.
Why had Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain left the Clear Wind Sects Outpost in such a hurry? It was to catch up to the reinforcements Sanguine Vale had dispatched!
Ram it! Zhao Li immediately ordered from the deck.
Chapter 326: The Unfortunate Thunderlight Sect
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 326: The Unfortunate Thunderlight Sect
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
At Zhao Lis order, the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship charged straight toward the enemys ship.
The enemy had clearly noticed them. A bunch of cultivators were looking their way from the deck and growing restless when they realized what was about to happen.
They did not understand how the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship was moving so quickly. No one could keep their calm as this was the first time they ever faced down a ship Spirit Artifact this way.
Shouts andmands erupted from the deck immediately. The cultivatormanding the ship ordered the disciples to change course and avoid a direct impact, but they quickly discovered that their efforts were useless. The enemy was just moving too quickly.
Back on the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship, a man reported, Brother Zhao, the enemy up ahead is not Sanguine Vale. Its Thunderlight Sect.
Doesnt matter. Ram first, thinkter.
Will do!
As it turned out, the ship they thought to be Sanguine Vales actually belonged to Thunderlight Sect. However, Zhao Li did not hesitate to continue the assault because both sects were on their hit list. It did not matter who they hit first in the grand scheme of things.
Meanwhile, the prolegate of the Thunderlight Sect felt like someone had just shoved shit into his mouth. They had tried to rescue the Clear Wind Sect, but the Outpost was taken before they could arrive at the destination. They then changed course to assist Sanguine Vale, but now they were intercepted halfway by the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Were the Heavens screwing with them today or what?
He was especially confused by how quickly the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship Spirit Artifact was moving. As far as he was aware, their speed should be impossible.
He watched the enemys ship nervously as the distance between them shortened more and more. Finally, a defensive ward appeared around the Thunderlight Sects ship.
The defensibility of this ward was iparable to an Outposts grand ward as a matter of course, but it was still better than nothing.
In contrast, the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect opted tounch as many spells from their deck as they could until the distance between had narrowed to sixty meters or so. Only then did they finally raise their defensive ward.
The prolegate of the Thunderlight Sect felt a chill in his heart when he realized he had fucked up. Everyone had purchased their ships from the Vault of Providence, so its quality and various functions were more or less the same. However, the enemy had managed to fire off a few rounds of spells and weaken their ward before the ram. This basically guaranteed that the oue was going to favor the Heavenly Thunder Sect.
The prolegate raged at how shameless and despicable the Heavenly Derivative Sect was inside his head, but he knew that the fault was his. If he was a bit more experienced in aerialbat, then he mightve been able to react to the situation better.
Then again, maybe not. No one in the Thunderlight Sectscratch that, no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield had ever encountered such a scenario.
A few secondster, the bow of the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship rammed into the enemys stern. There was a loud impact as everyone on both ships lost their footing, and the defensive wards shattered into fragments of light one after another. Some had even crashed hard against the deck.
On the deck, Lu Ye held onto the railings with a death grip while listening to the shrieks and groans of the ships. Then, a massive shadow loomed over his head. He looked up and saw the bottom of the Thunderlight Sects ship.
When the collision happened, the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship was moving so quickly that it mmed right through the bottom end of the ships stern and lifted into the air.
That wasnt all. Another series of shrieks and groanster, the enemys ship rolled forward for a bit before falling toward the ground at an odd angle.
Bloodcurdling screams rang out from the enemy ship. The next moment, countless cultivators flew out of the ship and attempted to catch themselves with their flying Spirit Artifacts. Some seeded, butcked the cultivation level and/or Spiritual Power control to fly yet. They were unable to control their flight despite their best efforts.
There were over three hundred cultivators on Thunderlight Sects ship, but only one hundred or so managed to fly out after the ship was sent flying. Not only that, every single one of them were escaping in the direction of Sanguine Vales Outpost.
On the other hand, Heavenly Derivative Sects ship had shaken like an earthquake for a bit, but it showed no signs of failing.
The Heavenly Derivative Sect cultivators immediately flew out of their ship and chased after the Thunderlight Sect cultivators, but they were still a tad slower than Lu Ye. He was the first to move and the fastest of them all. Naturally, he would be at the forefront.
Most cultivators avoided aerialbat until they had switched to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique because their Spiritual Power control wasnt good enough to fly their flying Spirit Artifact and fight at the same time. It was basically an ident waiting to happen, and why cultivators were much weaker fighting on their flying Spirit Artifacts than on the ground.
However, Lu Ye did not have this problem. He could control four flying weapons at the same time with mental strength to spare, so of course he could fight while riding his flying Spirit Artifact as well.
Windwalk allowed him to catch up with the escaping Thunderlight Sect cultivators with ease. Once he was within range, he immediately unleashed his four flying weapons and started ughtering the enemy like helplessmbs.
That wasnt all. A dozen or so breathster, he outstripped the farthest Thunderlight Sect cultivator and turned around, effectively blocking their way to Sanguine Vales Outpost. Now, there truly was no escape. Not in this direction at least.
Boom
It was only now the Thunderlight Sects ship finally hit the ground with a boom. Right after that, an enormous explosion shattered the ship and washed over everything within dozens of meters. Vague sounds of screaming could be heard from the remnants of the ship.
A hundred Thunderlight sect cultivators had escaped the ship Spirit Artifact before it crashed. So, where were the other two hundred? They were inside the ship, of course.
These people hadnt escaped, not because they didnt want to, but because theycked the power to do so. It was most gruesome to perish in a ship crash like this one, but a fall from a couple hundred meters high was hardly better.
In that sense, that one ram had killed two hundred Thunderlight Sect cultivators in one go.
As for the survivors, the prolegate of the Thunderlight Sect shouted in anger, Lets attack him together and kill him!
After witnessing Lu Yes flight speed and killing abilities, he knew that none of them were going to escape unless they took out Lu Ye. The cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect might not be able to catch up to them, but this Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had speed in spades. The only way they were going to shake him off was to kill him.
The response he got was a red fire ball to the face.
If this battle had taken ce on the ground, Lu Ye would never have engaged them even if his cultivation level was higher. It would be no different frommitting suicide. However, it was a very different story in the air, especially since no one here had cultivated a Heaven Grade cultivation technique yet.
Lu Ye was as strong in the air as he was on the ground because his Divine Soul and Spiritual Power control were far beyond the average Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, but everyone else? They would be lucky to maintain even seventy percent of their average strength.
Plus, there was a lot more room for maneuvering and dodging while riding his flying Spirit Artifact.
Long story short, it was basically impossible for the enemy to hit him, but he could kill everyst one of them with unerring uracy.
Thanks to him slowing down the escapees and shaving their numbers non-stop, it wasnt long before Zhao Li and the cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect caught up. Now that they were caught in a pincer attack, there was no longer any hope for the Thunderlight Sect cultivators of escaping alive.
Flying weapons and spells filled the air. Thunderlight Sect wasnt going to go down without a fight.
The great battlested for a moment. Eventually, the disturbances subsided into nothing.
Earlier, the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had suffered a small amount of casualties despite their total dominance at the Clear Wind Sects Outpost. This time though, they hadnt lost a single person. The worst they got was some light bruises when the two ships had collided.
After sweeping the battlefield, Lu Ye went back to the Heavenly Derivative Sects ship and inspected its condition with some ward cultivators. The bow had suffered a not insignificant amount of damage, and its overall performance was expected to suffer a little. All in all though, it was very much still shipworthy.
This time, they did not rush ahead immediately. Instead, they waited for the Deep Sea Mountain to catch up to them.
This one battle had cost Thunderlight Sect over three hundred cultivators. It was a horrible loss to say the least. More importantly, there was no chance they were going to keep their Outpost unless their allies could reach them in time. However, their closest ally, Sanguine Vale was next on the enemys hit list. Not only was Sanguine Vale unable to assist Thunderlight Sect, they were the ones who asked for help in the first ce. As for the other sects, there was almost no chance they would reach them before the enemy arrived.
Meanwhile, the Legate of the Thunderlight Sect had turned as ashen as death. Over three hundred imprints had vanished from his Battlefield Imprint in just dozens of breaths earlier. Each imprint represented the life of a Thunderlight Sect cultivator.
He knew that it was the force they had initially sent to assist the Clear Wind Sect before changing destinations to Sanguine Vale. He did not know what had happened to them as not a single person was able to send a message before they died!
Despite his overwhelming sorrow, the Legate managed to stay calm and messaged Sanguine Vale about the situation. To say that the Legate of Sanguine Vale was stupefied would be an understatement. They were waiting for Thunderlight Sects reinforcements to arrive so they could fight against the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain together, but now their Legate told them that they were all dead?
The Clear Wind Sect was gone. The reinforcements from Thunderlight Sect were dead as well. This meant that they would have to fight alone.
The pressure on his shoulders immediately felt as heavy as a mountain.
Despite the Clear Wind Sects fate and knowing that it was unlikely they would be able to hold the Outpost with their own power, Sanguine Vale wasnt ready to give up without a fight.
The reason Clear Wind Sect had been crushed without any resistance was because they were caughtpletely off guard while they were defenseless. They, on the other hand, were ready for the enemy. Even if their numbers were drastically inferior to the enemys, they should be able to utilize their geographical advantage and put up a good fight!
And so Sanguine Vale hastened to prepare for war while trading countless messages with their headquarters.
A long timeter, Deep Sea Mountains ship finally met up with the Heavenly Derivative Sects. They then took off toward Sanguine Vales Outpost once more.
Both sects had suffered a small amount of casualties during the upation of Clear Wind Sects Outpost; less than forty people to be exact. It wasnt enough to impact their overall strength.
As expected, Sanguine Vale was fully prepared when the two sects arrived at their doorsteps. They were using the same formation as the one the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had used to conquer Clear Wind Sect earlier: body tempering cultivators at the forefront,bat cultivators and ghost cultivators at the middle, and spell cultivators and medicine cultivators at the back.
The cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain leisurely disembarked their ships. Thanks to their numbers advantage and the two massive victories they had rued earlier, both sects were on top of the world right now. While eyeing the enemies like a predator would to a prey, they shot verbal threat after verbal threat and made throat-slitting gestures at them.
On the other side of the grand ward, Sanguine Vale looked nervous despite being fully prepared and determined to fight the enemy to the death.
The battle hadnt begun yet, but both sides were already swearing at each other at the top of their lungs. The amount of fuck yous in the dialogue was high to say the least.
Chapter 327: Sanguine Vale’s Guts
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 327: Sanguine Vales Guts
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye activated Insight and located the nodes on Sanguine Vales grand ward. Then, he cooperated with the ward cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect to bring it down just like before.
While this was going on, Zhao Li and Song Ying were arranging their forces into formations as well.
Although the Legate holding the Control Gem had already heard of Lu Yes ward breaching skills, it was one thing to hear about it and another thing to witness it with his own two eyes.
His despair was almost palpable. No matter how he manipted the grand ward with the Control Gem, he could barely slow Lu Ye from breaching the ward. Just as the rumors had imed, the flow of Spiritual Power on one section of the grand ward came to aplete halt in just dozens of breaths, and it shattered like ss after it was attacked by the two sects.
As if on cue, the swearings immediately transformed into an exchange of spells and flying weapons. Colorful light instantly filled the air.
Bloodcurdling screams filled the air, but the Legate of Sanguine Valemanding the battle from the backlines quickly realized that something was amiss. His body tempering cultivators were dying much faster than they should be.
The body tempering cultivators were the one thing that was keeping his people alive. If too many of them were dead, then their defense line would copse for sure.
He realized the problem after observing the battle for a moment. Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was the one killing his body tempering cultivators. In fact, nearly half of them had died by his hands!
His four flying weapons sailed through the air like birds. Any body tempering cultivator he set his mind to killing were simply incapable of withstanding his attacks. Sanguine Vale had spent much energy and resources to raise these body-tempering cultivators, and yet the mans flying weapons had pierced through them as if they were made of paper!
It had only been ten breaths since the battle began, and they had already lost half of their body tempering cultivators. As a result, casualties on their side were skyrocketing like crazy, and the situation only grew worse as time went on.
While the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain were losing body tempering cultivators as well, their defense line remained tight knit from the start until the end. This was especially true for the body tempering cultivator standing at the center of the formation. The Legate thought they had gotten the body tempering cultivator when the defensive Spirit Artifact he was holding had exploded into a million pieces, but he didnt so much as flinch when a dozen attacks struck him all over. Whoever the huge man was, his vitality was ridiculously powerful, and his body was tougher than the average defensive Spirit Artifact.
The Legate of Sanguine Vale realized then that the situation was bad, and that he had underestimated his opponents. They could not escape though. If they did, they would only be opening themselves up for the enemy to kill them all.
Not all hope was lost, however. The Legate hurriedly sent a message through his Battlefield Imprint. The next moment, five figures abruptly appeared in the Sanctum of Providence and rushed toward the battlefield without pause.
The group of five was made of men, women, the young and the old. They were clearly not Spirit Creek Realm cultivators either. They were either Cloud River Realm and Real Lake Realm cultivators.
Shui Yuan had entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield twice to take revenge for Lu Ye. Naturally, Sanguine Vale did notck people who carried the same courage and determination. The only reason this didnt happen more often was because the price they had to pay was massive, and the risk to their lives was very real. However, their Outpost was tethering on the brink of copse right now. The time to be pussyfooting around was over.
All five cultivators only appeared to be Heaven Grade Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm cultivators because that was the cultivation level they were at before ascending to the Cloud River Realm. The same went for the exact amount of Spiritual Power they could wield.
In this regard, they were inferior to Shui Yuan because the woman had ascended to Cloud River Realm as a Heaven Grade Ninth-Order cultivator. That was why her Spiritual Power was capped to Heaven Grade Ninth-Order when she entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The question was, why Sanguine Vale hadnt dispatched a group of cultivators who had ascended to the Cloud River Realm at Heaven Grade Ninth-Order instead to save their Outpost? The answer was simple. They didnt have anyone like that.
It was no easy feat to unlock three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points. Not even the disciples of Tier-one sects dared to im that they could definitely unlock that many Spiritual Points.
Less than one percent of all cultivators at the Spirit Creek Realm level could ascend to Cloud River Realm as a Heaven Grade Ninth-Order, and Sanguine Vale was just a Tier-five sect. This group of five was already the best they could afford to send.
Lu Ye noticed the five powerful auras faster than anyone else. When he looked up and saw the five auras flying their way, he immediately barked out a warning, Watch out!
Perhaps his shout had been too loud, but the senior of the five immediately shot him a look of cold murder.
What was looking to be another crushing victory instantly turned into a stalemate the moment the five cultivators joined the battlefield. In fact, Grand Sky Coalitions attack rhythm was disrupted to the point where their casualty rate skyrocketed in an instant.
They were five Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivators after all. Theirbined power was enough to turn the entire situation on its head.
Sanguine Vales Legate let out a sigh of relief, and Zhao Li and Song Ying grew incredibly worried.
A whileter, tendrils of purple lightning began slithering across the five cultivators bodies. Their expressions turned pained, and the middle-aged woman among them was even trembling slightly. She was so affected that even her attacks were much weaker than before.
They all knew what the consequences of killing someone in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was, they were all ready to bear it. That said, knowing wasnt the same as experiencing it for themselves.
They had heard of Shui Yuans two rampages in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and none of them thought that they were inferior to her in terms of guts. It wasnt until they killed their first Spirit Creek Realm cultivator that they realized that they had overestimated themselves.
The Judgment of the Heavens was a deadly punishment. The reason Shui Yuan could kill dozens of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators and still appearpletely unaffected was because her Divine Soul was special.
These five had the guts to do what was necessary, but to perform on the same level as Shui Yuan? That was apletely different story. They were already at their limits despite having killed only twenty or so enemiesbined. Right now, they were only defending against the enemys attacks.
Hold the line while I go kill that Lu Yi Ye! The senior uttered through gritted teeth before charging straight toward Lu Ye. His face was warped from the sheer amount of pain that was affecting his Divine Soul.
Lu Ye was the true reason they had entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield. If they could kill the young man, Thousand Demon Ridge would reward them handsomely even if they lost the Outpost in the end. It would be enough to rebuild their Outpost and some more.
The old man was abat cultivator judging from the fact that he wielded a sword. He fired several Sword Lights at Lu Ye when he descended from the sky.
Lu Ye hurriedly unsheathed the Invible and tried to cut through the Sword Lights. He was sessful, but there was still enough force behind the attack to send him flying.
As if on cue, the old mans sword sailed toward Lu Yes sr plexus like a snake strike.
The attack was so quick that Lu Ye nearly failed to react in time. He barely blocked the sword thrust with a Protection, but the old man immediately followed up with a number of blossoming attacks.
One of the benefits of a powerful Divine Soul showed itself at this moment. Lu Yes eyes were unable to keep up with his enemys skills, but several parts of his bodyall of them vital spotsabruptly hurt as if they were pierced by needles. He instinctively summoned several Protections to shield those areas.
His Glyphs shattered, and blood burst out of his flesh. He was in no danger of dying though. This time, the force of the attack sent him flying toward the ground.
The old man blinked in surprise. His cultivation level was Heaven-Grade Eight-Order right now. It shouldve been childs y for him to y a Ninth-Order cultivator. He was unable to ept this oue to put it mildly.
While dodging the enemys attacks, the old man dashed toward Lu Ye once more and thrust his sword at him. Light burst out of both his body and his weapon as if he had be one with the sword.
His power might be capped to that of a Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but he was really a Real Lake Realm cultivator. Even the champions on the Scroll of Supremacy wouldve found it difficult to defend against the attack, to say nothing of a Ninth-Order cultivator like Lu Ye.
In fact, Lu Ye had failed to block the attack because it actually moved faster than he could react. Although he had conjured a Protectionrge enough to cover more than half of his body when he fell toward the ground, the unknown skill still managed to shatter the Glyph and skewer him right below the sr plexus.
The de was half a finger away from his heart. The only reason he survived wasnt because the old man had misaimed, but because he had taken a deep breath at thest moment.
Brother Yi Ye! Zhao Li cried out in shock as he had been keeping an eye on Lu Ye. Song Ying was also running to his rescue without a word. Unfortunately, neither of them would reach Lu Ye before in time.
The old man did not celebrate even though he had scored a near fatal blow. He would not rx until his target was well and truly dead. Without pause, he injected Spiritual Power into his sword in an attempt to turn Lu Yes internal organs to goo.
It was the same principle as Lu Yes Burster. Even at the Spirit Creek Realm level, a puncture wound usually wasnt enough to kill a foe unless it struck a vital spot. However, it was an opportunity for the attacker to dish out some extra damage.
Terrible pain assaulted Lu Yes brain as the flesh around the wound wriggled. Without hesitation, he filled the Invible with fiery red Spiritual Power and swung it straight at the old man. There was so much energy that it looked as if the saber had burst into mes, and a red halo could be seen from a certain angle.
Realizing that he would not be able to execute Lu Ye without dying himself, the old man frowned and gave up his original n. He pulled his sword out of the young mans bodydrawing a shower of blood in the processand crossed his sword in front of himself.
There was a metallic ng and a shower of sparks as the des shed. The Invible shed once, and the double Glyph: Gravity Well he had engraved to the weapon came alive.
The old mans confident expression abruptly turned into shock. He felt the young mans de to be impossibly heavy! It was as if he wasnt blocking a saber, but a small hill!
Caught off guard, the old man nearly lost his grip over his sword. Still, he was able to hang onto it not just because he was stronger, but also because he was abat cultivator. He was able to channel his Spiritual Power into the weapon and steady his grip.
Both the old man and Lu Ye were still falling toward the ground as he endured the tremendous pressure. Their faces were just inches away from each other as they held their swords locked together.
The old man remained calm as he watched Lu Ye coldly. He had to admit that the young mans decision-making and performance were almost wless even from a Real Lake Realm champions point of view. Unfortunately, a power gap was a power gap. He could struggle all he wanted, but he was still going to die when all was said and done.
Then, what felt like a sun turned his world into pure white
Chapter 328: Killing a Real Lake Realm
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 328: Killing a Real Lake Realm
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye generally did not get the chance to use Radiance. In fact, he had thought it was rather situational since the day he got it. It wasnt useless, but it wasnt really useful either. To put it simply, it could only be used under certain circumstances such as the one he was facing right now.
Due to the effects of Gravity Well, the old man was forced to lock swords with Lu Ye. Their faces were also mere inches away from each other.
How did it feel to stare into an exploding sun? One that was right in front of your face.
Lu Ye did not know. He had closed his eyes the second he activated the Glyph. He was afraid he would go blind if he didnt.
The old man from Sanguine Vale was not so lucky. He noticed something amiss and tried to close his eyes as well, but in the end he was just a little toote. His vision dissolved into all kinds of shing, ever-changing colors, and tears instantly streamed down his cheeks like a pair of waterfalls. It was like someone had stabbed him in the eyes.
This was why fights against Glyphweavers were so tricky. No one knew when they would use a strange Glyph they could not possibly predict. Even better, practically everyone had forgotten that he had received the inheritance of a Glyphweaver because his ward breaching skills had drawn all the attention recently.
Then again, it didnt matter even if the old man remembered this fact. The only way to deal with a Glyphweavers bag of tricks was to counter them on the fly. Reaction speed was of the essence here.
Lu Ye immediately attacked the old mans vital spots, but a Real Lake Realm cultivator was not so easy to defeat even if they were blinded. Despite being temporarily blinded, the old man was somehow able to block all of Lu Yes attacks without fail. His perception must be insanely powerful.
Thest time Lu Ye used Radiance inbat was when he first arrived at the Inner Circle. At the time, he had employed it against a Ninth-Order cultivator of the Sky Pir Sect named Yuan Guang. He was only in the Seventh-Order at the time.
After he activated Radiance, Yi Yi had immediately tossed out the Nine Realms Scroll as nned. The two of them then fought to the death in the stone forest sealed inside the Ward Scroll.
What happened next was a foregone conclusion. Yi Yi had been sticking close to Lu Ye this whole time, never straying more than ten meters away from him. As a spell cultivator, her attack range was longer than most cultivators. She couldve piggybacked on Lu Yes shoulder and still killed her enemies left and right.
She had wanted to help Lu Ye since he was targeted by the old man, but she was also aware that there was little she could do that would turn the tides of the battle in Lu Yes favor. That was why she had been searching for an opening this whole time.
It wasnt until Radiance activated that she finally understood what Lu Ye was nning.
Without wasting a second, Yi Yi leaped to the spot where Lu Ye and the old man were falling toward and unfurled the Nine Realms Scroll. Then, she swung the scroll over Lu Ye and the old man like a.
The old man instinctively knew that something was off, but he was unable to identify the source of his unease because he still couldnt see. As a result, Yi Yi managed to draw him into the Nine Realms Scroll without any resistance.
After Yi Yi hadnded on the ground, she immediately ran toward a safe edge of the battlefield where she wouldnt be disturbed. Amber was sticking close to her to ensure that she wouldnt be attacked on the way. After she came to a stop, she unfurled the Nine Realms Scroll once more and stared at the two stick figures fighting inside the painting. At the same time, she channeled her Spiritual Power into the Spiritual Treasure.
In the stone forest that was only a few kilometers wide in diameter, yellow sand was kicked into the air as Lu Ye circled the old man like a lithe butterfly andunched a series of swift attacks from every direction. Despite being empowered by Windwalk, he never ovemitted and pulled back each time he failed tond a hit.
Their weapons shed again and again. The old mans vision hadnt recovered yet, but Lu Ye still wasnt able tond a hit. In fact, the old was pointing his sword at the ground most of the time and only lifting it asionally to point at and neutralize Lu Yes attack.
A true Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator would not possess such a powerful ability. It was because his skills were that of a Real Lake Realm even though his Spiritual Power had been suppressed.
There was one thing that worried the old man though. The surrounding noises had suddenly vanished a while ago. It was almost as if he and Lu Ye were the only ones left in the world.
Once again, Lu Ye charged toward the old man. Pushing his perception to the max, thetter turned his head slightly before raising his sword to block the attack.
However, the space surrounding him abruptly clenched as if it was bing solid. It caused his movements to slow just a tad.
The old man nched instantly. The next thing he knew, a blurry Lu Ye had left a massive wound that stretched from his shoulder to his abdomen and sent him flying back. Before he couldnd on his feet, Lu Ye summoned his four flying weapons, spun them around the old man like a top, and finally attacked him from four different angles.
One wrong move could be the death of the old man. He pointed his sword in four different directions in session and sessfully parried all the attacks.
The old man would have let out a sigh of relief, but Lu Ye was once again right in front of him. They fought on.
Outside the Nine Realms Scroll, Yi Yi was looking a bit pale. She was pouring all her Spiritual Power into the Spirit Treasure.
When Lu Ye had fought against Yuan Guang, she was only strong enough to keep the Nine Realm Scroll running. This was after Lady Yun had sealed ny percent of its power too. There was nothing she could do to affect the world within the Ward Scroll.
That was no longer the case. She now had enough strength to use some of its power. The sudden clenching of space that slowed the old man and allowed Lu Ye to score a massive hit was her handiwork.
On the surface, it looked like the old man was fighting Lu Ye one on one. In reality, it was a two on one where Yi Yi tripped his feet so to speak every so often.
Yi Yis help was absolutely pivotal in this fight. There was nothing Lu Ye could do that the old man couldnt defend against, but Yi Yis actions werepletely imperceptible even to him.
Some timeter, the old man looked to be panting heavily in the painting. There were only three wounds on his body, but each one was severe enough to call for immediate medical attention. The worst one was the puncture wound that skewered his right lung. The wound itself wasnt that serious, but the damage caused by Burster was apletely different story.
It was why the old man was breathing like an old pair of bellows.
He staggered to his feet as the blurry outline of a young man walked toward him. He stopped about three meters away from him.
Even now, the old man had no intention of going down without a fight. He squeezed out every ounce of Spiritual Power from his body before thrusting his sword at Lu Ye.
At the same time, Lu Ye rushed toward him with a fiery red Invible.
The two men passed by each other and stopped for a moment. Then, Lu Ye flicked the blood away from his saber and returned it to his sheath.
The old man behind him hit the ground with a thud.
In Lu Yes opinion, most cultivators of Jiu Zhou shared amon failing, and that was that they did not make a habit of giving their final opponent some parting words. The trait was only moremon at higher cultivation levels.
The reason for this was because the two factions had fought each other for countless years. The river of blood between them ran so deep that practically no one would allow their enemy to live if at all possible. Begging for ones life was just a pointless action that served no purpose but to belittle oneself. Hence, nearly all fights between Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge were to the death.
A pool of blood spread beneath the old mans body. His wide, bulging eyes were all one needed to see to know just how frustrated and confused he had felt before he died.
He was a powerful Real Lake Realm cultivator who entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield to defend his sect and take out the major threat to Thousand Demon Ridge, Lu Ye, and yet against all odds, he had died in the hands of the young man instead.
Of course he couldnt pass away with his eyes closed.
A dot of light so red it was almost ck flew out of the old mans body and into the back of Lu Yes hand. This was the first time he had seen such a color. Up until this point, most of the Contribution Points he obtained were more or less the same shade of red.
This was clearly because the old man was a Real Lake Realm cultivator. Although he could only express the strength of a Heaven Grade Eighth Order on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it did not change the fact he was really a Real Lake Realm cultivator.
[I wonder how many minor realms this old man is above me? Ten? Twenty? More?]
Lu Ye checked his Contribution Points and discovered that it had skyrocketed by about seven to eight hundred.
There were many reasons why high level cultivators who descended to the Spirit Creek Battlefield were unable to act as they pleased. One, the Heavens would automatically suppress their strength to their peak form before ascending to the Cloud River Realm. Two, they would be punished with the Judgment of the Heavens every time they took a life. The more they killed, the worse the punishment would be.
That was why high level cultivators generally avoided the Spirit Creek Battlefield barring peaceful visits and exceptional circumstances. It was because the price they had to pay was ridiculous.
The reason Sanguine Vale went this far was because they were desperate. Their Outpost had been moments away from being upied, and their allies were unable to show up in time. As a result, they had no choice but to deploy their high level cultivators.
However, the strongest of them all, the old man, had sumbed to Lu Ye and Yi Yi.
Sure, they had only seeded thanks to the Nine Realms Scroll, but Sanguine Vale was still going to be theughing stock of the year when the news was spread.
In the Nine Realms Scroll, Lu Ye hurriedly bandaged his wounds and put the old mans sword into his Storage Bag. He wouldve liked to loot the old mans Storage Bag, but he couldnt spot one no matter where he looked.
It was probably because the old man did not need a Storage Bag to store his items just like the sect master and Sister Shui Yuan. The high level cultivators had their own methods of storing items so to speak.
With that done, he grabbed the old mans bloody corpse and waited. His vision distorted, and he was back at the Outpost once more.
Lu Ye looked around him for a moment. The battle was still raging all across the battlefield.
Sanguine Vale had sustained a not insignificant amount of casualties at the beginning of the battle. If things had continued normally, the Outpost wouldve fallen by now. But, the high level cultivators of Sanguine Vale intervened at a critical moment and just barely stabilized the situation.
However, the situation took a turn for the worse for Sanguine Vale once more while Lu Ye and the old man were battling each other to the death. It was because the four champions did not dare to kill anymore enemies for fear of crippling themselves. The only thing they could do now was to defend passively against the invaders.
Neither the Heavenly Derivative Sect nor Deep Sea Mountain were idiots. They noticed this and quickly grewfortable enough going all out once more.
The four champions were frustrated with this turn of events, but they remained patient. They were waiting for their leaderthe old manto kill Lu Ye and rejoin them. If he seeded, then this would be a victory for them even if the Outpost was ultimately lost.
Unfortunately for them, that oue would nevere true.
A pair of fiery wings expanded behind Lu Ye as he took to the skies. Then, he flew to the frontlines and dropped the body on the ground.
The old mans tattered corpse hit the ground hard and sprayed out a massive pool of blood.
The world turned silent for an instant. Then, disbelieving cries erupted from both sides of the battlefield.
Third elder! One of the champions screamed with trembling eyes as he stared at the ruined corpse in front of him. He then looked up and saw Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect floating in the sky with a pair of fiery red rings behind his back. Blood stains still seeping out of fresh bandages, the man looked down on them with what looked like a world of ice behind his eyes.
The third elder was dead!
No one knew how the third elder had died. Countless things were happening on this chaotic battlefield, and they were all focused on the enemy in front of them. They were sure that the third elder would seed in killing Lu Yi Ye, but the exact opposite had happened instead!
Chapter 329: Mr. Idol
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 329: Mr. Idol
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Sanguine Vale was a Tier-five sect, so they did not have a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. The strongest cultivator in their sect was a Real Lake Realm, and this third elder was among the top even among the Real Lake Realm cultivators.
However, Lu Ye had dumped his tattered corpse from the sky like he was dumping trash.
This was a huge blow to Sanguine Vales morale to put it mildly, not to mention that they were at a disadvantage to begin with.
More importantly, if Lu Ye could kill the third elder, then of course he could kill the other four champions as well.
A sense of crisis enveloped the remaining four champions instantly. Not daring to hesitate even a second longer, the woman cried, Retreat!
All Sanguine Vale forces immediately started retreating toward the Sanctum of Providence.
The cultivators of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain pursued them relentlessly. Spells and flying weapons kept being discharged at their prey in an organized fashion. There wasnt a single street leading toward the sanctum that wasnt strewn with corpses.
By the time Sanguine Vale had reached the Sanctum of Providence, dozens more souls had been sent to the afterlife.
The defenders did their best to hold the line while their backline teleported back to the headquarters using the Divine Opportunity Column. As their numbers decreased, so did their ability to resist. Then, when their defensive power had dropped to a critical point, the cultivators of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain swarmed into the Sanctum of Providence like a flood.
All Sanguine Vale cultivators who hadnt escaped yet were well and truly trapped. Even the woman who gave the order to retreat just now had been killed in the attempt to protect the rear forces. During her final moments, she yed a few cultivators with all her might before screaming due to the sudden increase of purple lightning that was killing her from the inside out. The two invading sects rushed forward.
A momentter, the battle was over. This time, there were no cheers or even victory cries. This was the second Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost they had conquered, but they had also sustained much greater casualties.
Just like before, they started sweeping the battlefield for loot.
At the public square in front of the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye was sitting cross legged and receiving treatment from a medicine cultivator. The injuries the old man had dealt to him were more severe than his bandages could contain. His wounds tingled when the medicine cultivator started healing him with his powers.
Although his physique was iparable to Ju Jias, it was equal or slightly stronger than other body tempering cultivators at his level. It was all thanks to the dragon scale he had obtained from the Dragon Spring.
One good thing about having a powerful physique was swift recovery. This was especially obvious when receiving treatment from a medicine cultivator.
Zhao Li and Song Ying had visited him together to check on his condition. They rxed only after they learned that he was doing okay.
While the sects were busy looting Sanguine Vales Outpost, the news of its upation had spread through Jiu Zhou like wildfire once more.
Since Clear Wind Sects Outpost was upied, nearly every cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and even Jiu Zhou had been keeping a close eye on the allied force. They wanted to know where they were going and how well the battle had gone.
As a result, practically everyone had learned of the news in less than a cup of teas time after the Outpost was upied.
What shocked them was that Sanguine Vale didnt just lose their Outpost, but two Real Lake Realm champions as well.
ording to the news, Sanguine Vale had sent five champions beyond the Spirit Creek Realm into the Spirit Creek Battlefield in an attempt to emte the Keeper of Seal of the Crimson Blood Sect. However, two of them were killed in action, while the other three were currently suffering under the torment of the Judgment of the Heavens.
The purple lightning did not disappear even after they returned to Jiu Zhou. Its duration depended on how many people they had killed on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. To put it simply, they were going to wish they were dead for the next month or two.
This was why the powerful cultivators of Jiu Zhou were unwilling to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield without good reason. The punishment of the Heavens was just too terrible.
That wasnt all. It was said that one of the two of the Real Lake Realm champions who perished in that battle included the third elder, an Eighth-Order Realm Lake Realm cultivator.
Most people had the premonition that Sanguine Vale was going to lose their Outpost for sure, but to lose two Real Lake Realm champions in a row? That was something no one had expected to hear.
Countless people messaged Sanguine Vale to find out what the hell had happened. A Divine Ocean Realm cultivator had even visited them in person.
Eventually, they learned that the third elder had left in the middle of battle to kill Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect only to be killed through an unknown method. He lost his life and brought great shame to Sanguine Vale.
Lu Yi Ye was only a Ninth-Order cultivator right now. There was no way he could have killed a Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order on his own even considering his legendary feat during the Battle of Goldentip, and this was before mentioning that this particr Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator possessed the skill and experience of a Real Lake Realm.
There must be something Sanguine Vale had missed in the chaos of battle. Some other factor must have been in y to cost the third elder his life.
Unfortunately, it was going to remain a mystery for the time being. Yi Yi had left the battlefield after teleporting both Lu Ye and the third elder into the Nine Realms Scroll. As a result, no one in Sanguine Vale knew what had happened to the man.
This marked the second Outpost thebined army of the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had upied. Thunderlight Sect was next for sure.
For a moment, Thunderlight Sect fell under the limelight. Everyone wanted to know how they would deal with this crisis. However, they quickly learned that the sect had already evacuated all of their cultivators back to their headquarters in Jiu Zhou.
And how could they not? The three hundred man strong reinforcement they had sent to reinforce Sanguine Vale had been annihted by the Heavenly Derivative Sect on the way. This meant that there were only one hundred or so defenders left in the Outpost. To remain and fight was tomit suicide.
That was why Lu Ye and the two sects found no one by the time they reached the Outpost. Even the ward keystones of their grand ward had been dug out and taken back to the headquarters.
They could run, and they could remove as many valuables as possible. However, there was nothing they could do to remove the Divine Opportunity Column or the Blessings it contained.
Lu Ye continued to focus on recovering while Zhao Li and Song Ying happily split the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column between themselves.
Since Lu Ye had returned to the living, the army of several hundred cultivators had upied three Outposts in a row in just three or four days. No one had ever been able to achieve what he did. He had even outdone his past self who conquered two Outposts with Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court.
With this, Lu Ye had fulfilled his promise to Bai Qian. As per their agreement with Deep Sea Mountain, the Heavenly Derivative Sect was allowed to im seventy percent of all the Blessings they had imed. It was more than enough to make up for their ruined Outpost and the losses they had sustained during the consecutive battles.
Before this, both the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain were often oppressed by their neighbors due to their close proximity to them. This was especially true for the Heavenly Derivative Sect whose Outpost was surrounded from three sides. Their disciples always felt insecure when they were leaving their Outpost, and for good reason. It was a fact that they were ambushed quite often by their enemies.
No longer. All three Thousand Demon Ridge sects had been brutalized and massacred, and it would take them at least a decade to recover their strength. It could be longer if the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain worked together to oppress them from time to time.
After they had imed the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column, Zhao Li and Song Ying sought out the recuperating Lu Ye and asked about their future direction. A brief discussionter, they decided to withdraw to Deep Sea Mountains Outpost first.
The allied force was weed like heroesand they werewhen they arrived at their destination. Even before they reached the Outpost, Song Ying had already messaged his disciples to prepare a grand feast for them.
When nighttime arrived, nearly a thousand cultivators were gathered at the Outpost in celebration. The celebratory feast was held at the public square in the Sanctum of Providence, and tables full of food and drink were everywhere. Everyone was eating, drinking and socializing to their hearts content.
Lu Ye came to see his injuries as a blessing in disguise. Without them his allies would have drowned him in alcohol for sure.
The next day, Zhao Li and Song Ying entered Lu Yes amodations while thetter was still washing himself. They allowed Yi Yi to lead them to the table and serve them tea while they waited for Lu Ye to get ready.
After Lu Ye had taken his seat, Zhao Li immediately asked a question that wasced with meaning, What are your future ns, Brother Yi Ye?
Song Ying was also looking at him like a child would at his parents when they wanted something. His usual maturity was nowhere to be seen.
Lu Ye took a sip of tea before throwing the question back at Zhao Li. Well, what are your ns, Brother Zhao?
Zhao Li chuckled. What else? Assuming that Brother Yi Ye still needs our services, we are ready to follow you to the ends of the battlefield. The Outpost can always be rebuilt at ater date, dont you agree?
Clearly, Lu Ye wasnt the only one who had be addicted with conquering Outposts.
For many years, no one was able toe up with an effective method of defeating a grand ward. Overwhelming numbers was a must-have when conquering an Outpost. Did no one ever think to gobble up their neighbors and fatten themselves before Lu Ye? Of course they did. It just wasnt doable until Lu Ye came by.
That was no longer the case. Grand Sky Coalition now had a Lu Ye who could breach even grand wards as easily as eating lunch. If they didnt know better, they wouldve thought that the grand wards the Heavens had sold them were a scam.
Zhao Li had sought out Lu Ye in the first ce because he saw an opportunity, and despite the harrowing tribtions in the middle he was ultimately rewarded for his hard work. Now, he only wished he could do this forever. Three Outposts was good, but thirty Outposts was better. In fact, why not go for three hundred Outposts?
Song Ying hadnt said a word so far, but it was clear he shared more or less the same thoughts as Zhao Li.
How many people have contacted you so far?
Zhao Li and Song Ying exchanged a nce with each other before Song Ying said, Many. Theyve been contacting us non-stop sincest night. In fact, theyre hoping to visit me today after learning that youll be staying here temporarily.
That was what he said, but they all knew that the Legates and prolegates were really looking forward to meeting Lu Ye. After all, he was the man who made conquering Outposts possible.
Obviously, Zhao Li and Song Ying werent the only ones who had received a ton of messages. Lu Ye himself and even Hua Ci had received a lot more messages than normal.
The upation of the Outpost of Clear Wind Sect, Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect might be nightmarish news to Thousand Demon Ridge, but it was theplete opposite for Grand Sky Coalition. Sincest night, the two cultivation factions had exchanged enough messages to rival the snowkes of a harsh winter.
Some impatient Legates were already rushing to Deep Sea Mountains Outpost as quickly as they could. They would probably arrive in less than half a days time.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had be the Mr. Idol of Grand Sky Coalition in a single night. There was no man or woman who didnt want a piece of him.
Of course, I dare not give them a sure answer without hearing your opinion first. That is why I am here.
Its okay. Let them alle.
Both Zhao Li and Song Yings faces immediately flushed with delight.
Chapter 330: The Vanquisher of Sects
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 330: The Vanquisher of Sects
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
It was said that the wooden beam that sticks out rots first, and Lu Ye was that beam right now. From the moment he revealed his terrifying abilities in the Way of Wards to the world, he had more or less secured Thousand Demon Ridges eternal ire. By hook or by crook, they were going to eliminate the threat named Lu Yi Ye even if he chose to stop here. The proof was their attempt to assassinate him with poison not long after he had arrived at the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost.
That was why there would be no peace talks or enough is enough bullshit. To begin with, he had entered the Inner Circle with the intent of taking revenge against those who had done him wrong at Goldentip. It would take too long to attack his foes one by one, so Operation Conquer All The Outposts suited him just fine.
Lu Ye wasnt surprised by this turn of events because he already had a feeling since the day they took off from the Heavenly Derivative Sect. In fact, he was hoping this would happen because he needed to gather a lot of Contribution Points. How much did he need exactly? Suffice to say that it would be an unrealistic target without upying a ton of Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts.
Zhao Li immediately voiced his full support after obtaining an affirmative answer from Lu Ye. Their Outpost had been upied over two months ago, so they literally had nothing to lose except their lives, lives they would happily risk for the rewards they were expecting to obtain. They used to think that losing an Outpost was a bad thing through and through, but now they realized that it actually gave them the freedom to do whatever the hell they wanted.
Zhao Li and Song Ying bade Lu Ye goodbye a whileter. They no longer needed to hold back now that Lu Ye had given them his answer.
It was noon when their first guest arrived at Deep Sea Mountains Outpost. By the time the sun fell, another five had shown up at their doorstep. Naturally, there were many, many more people who were on the way.
Song Ying acted as the go-between between Lu Ye and these people. They spoke in a private room for a very long time before they finally parted ways.
There was a brief period of peace for two days. Then, two ships rose from Deep Sea Mountains Outpost and flew toward the horizon. Everyone in Thousand Demon Ridge flew into a rage and panic when they heard this.
In the end, their biggest fear dide true. Not satisfied with conquering just three Outposts, Lu Yi Ye was going to continue his rampage until god-knows-when. As if that wasnt bad enough, they had no real way of dealing with this. His ability to break down any grand ward was game-changing.
All Thousand Demon Ridge sects whose Outpost was located near Deep Sea Mountain panicked in an instant. They knew they were going to be attacked for sure, but no one knew who was going to be targeted first. As a result, they were unable to mount an effective response against the invasion force.
.
It wasnt until more than half a dayter that they finally heard that Silent Hill Sect would be the enemys first target. They thought this because the two ships were headed in that direction, and the cultivators of Evergreen Sect were mustering their forces in their territory.
Evergreen Sect was the hostile neighbor of Silent Hill Sect, and both of them were pretty close to Deep Sea Mountain. The two sects had shed against one another countless times in the past, but no one had been able to deal any real damage until now.
Without exaggeration, the Legate of Silent Hill Sect had nearly fainted when he saw the two ships.
It was at this moment that something strange happened. Instead of attacking, the two ships merely floated around five kilometers away from their Outpost. The Evergreen Sect cultivators who had assembled at a different location were doing nothing as well.
They got their answer just a short whileter: the Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost not far away from Silent Hill Sect named Sect of Perdition had been conquered by the enemy. Their cultivators were massacred, and even their Legate had been killed in action.
It was only then that Silent Hill Sect realized that the two ships floating in front of him were just a ruse. The invasion force had really left behind their ships midway to attack another sect. To ensure that Silent Hill Sect would not see through the ruse, the Evergreen Sect had even stationed a force here to keep them in check.
It was bad enough that they were fooled hook, line and sinker, but they were still on the chopping block. The next day, the invasion force finally showed up to say hello.
The Legate of Silent Hill Sect immediately ordered a full retreat after he saw this. Knowing what had happened to his allies, he wasnt even going to bother engaging the enemy. Unfortunately, it took time to evacuate several hundred people, so he still lost dozens of cultivators after Lu Ye breached the grand ward, and the invasion force swooped down on them like a hawk.
Lu Yes invasion force grew to four sects after conquering the Silent Hill Sect Outpost, although the Heavenly Derivative Sect was still made up the bulk of the army because they did not have an Outpost to guard. Unlike the other sects, they could afford to throw every man and woman into the invasion force.
The second biggest force in Lu Yes army belonged to Deep Sea Mountain. They were only over two hundred strong because some of them had to stay behind to guard their Outpost.
Finally, Evergreen Sect and the fourth Grand Sky Coalition sect chipped in a hundred cultivators each.
Personally, they would have chipped in more cultivators because it meant that they would get arger share when upying an Outpost, especially since it did not look like their conquest was going to stop anytime soon. However, Lu Ye had dissuaded them from this course of action not just because they needed the manpower to guard their Outpost, but also to keep the forces of Thousand Demon Ridge in check.
For instance, although Silent Hill Sects Outpost was conquered, they had only lost dozens of cultivators in total. If they did not leave a big enough force behind to keep them in check, they would surely find a way to surprise them.
Lu Yes invasion force could crush the force of a single Thousand Demon Ridge sect like a bug, but ten? Twenty?
Just like the Heavenly Derivative Sect, they had nothing to lose. All they had was the all-consuming desire for vengeance and the freedom to do whatever they wanted. If one sect could rally a force of five hundred, then ten sects could rally a force of five thousand, and twenty sects could rally a force of ten thousand
If these people were allowed to join with each other, the invasion force wouldnt be the only one who had to watch their backs. The entire Grand Sky Coalition would be in danger.
That was why it was necessary to leave behind a sizable force. Only then could they prevent the Thousand Demon Ridge forces from meeting up with one another, and the invasion force would not need to worry about their rear.
Speaking of the invasion force, the four sectsbined was almost enough to make up an army of one thousand. Combined with Lu Yes ward breaching abilities, there was no Outpost in the Inner Circle they could not conquer.
Furthermore, it wasnt like the nearby Grand Sky Coalition sects were going to do nothing when they were invading their neighbors. These sects would happily contribute at least three to four hundred cultivators to ensure that the invasion force would roll over their neighbors without fail.
A third Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost was upied that very night, and a fourth during the next morning. What happened next was most amusing for Grand Sky Coalition, and the total opposite for Thousand Demon Ridge. Wherever the invasion force went, the Thousand Demon Ridge sects would evacuate their Outposts without fail. The second they confirmed that they were going to be the next target, the Thousand Demon Ridge sects would immediately gather up all their valuables and evacuate back to Jiu Zhou in the shortest amount of time possible.
It wasnt like they enjoyed giving up without a fight, but being humiliated was still better than being dead.
Since then, a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost or two would fall to the invasion force every day. Moreover, every time they conquered an Outpost, their army size would grow slightly because all nearby Grand Sky Coalition sects would contribute a small amount of cultivators. Even some independent cultivators had decided to join in on the fun.
Lu Ye epted them all because the more the merrier. Sure, their share of the pie shrank with every new addition, but it wasnt like their allies contributed nothing to the invasion. Specifically, he only needed to do one thing properly, and that was to keep the local Thousand Demon Ridge sects in check while the invasion force rampaged across the Inner Circle.
Since the beginning, Lu Ye had not allowed anyone to chip in more than a hundred people to the invasion force. Even so, the invasion force continued to grow at an insane rate. Just ten days after the invasion officially began, the invasion force had grown to three thousand cultivators and eight flying ships strong.
The chaos that was currently rippling across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was unprecedented. Wherever the invasion force went, Thousand Demon Ridge sects bowed out without putting up even the slightest bit of resistance. There were some stubborn fools who decided that death was preferable to dishonor, but then Lu Ye breached their grand wards in just dozens of breaths. By the time they wanted to escape, it was already far toote.
The sight of thousands of cultivators pouring through a gap in the grand ward was a grand spectacle for the invaders, but a piss poor experience for the defending side.
After a couple of examples like this, not even the stupidest and most stubborn Thousand Demon Ridge sects dared to y the praying mantis to stand in the way of the wheels that was the invasion force anymore. They all evacuated to Jiu Zhou as soon as they learned that their Outpost was next even when the invasion force was still a few hundred kilometers away from them
Behind the invasion force were thousands and thousands of angry Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators with a bellyful of hatred and nothing to lose, but when they teleported back to their Outpost and tried to organize a resistance, all they got was the non-stop harassment of their neighbors.
This was the problem with not having a grand ward. For starters, the cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition coulde and go as they pleased. If they tried to pursue them, an ambush was sure to await them. If they gathered arge enough force to overwhelm an ambush, then their enemies would simply retreat to their Outpost and let them batter futilely against their grand ward. They were always on the back foot no matter what they did.
It was clear that Lu Yes earlier decision was a resounding sess. If the Grand Sky Coalition sects hadnt left behind enough forces to suppress the local sects, an army much bigger than theirs would be hunting them down right now.
As more and more Outposts fell to the invasion force, the nickname The Vanquisher of Sects suddenly spread across the Inner Circle like wildfire. It was of course referring to Lu Ye. No one knew how the nickname had begun, but it had probably originated from Thousand Demon Ridge because they were wrecked left and right and needed an excuse to justify their failure, never mind that all Lu Ye was breaching the grand ward of their Outposts, and not a single sect had been annihted in the process.
Seriously, a sect was still far from being annihted even if every Spirit Creek Realm cultivator in their Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost was killed.
For some reason, the nickname was unanimously approved by everyone in the Grand Sky Coalition as well. Lu Ye found the nickname tacky and pretentious, but there was nothing he could do about it.
A long time ago, he had been nicknamed Mountain Tiger when he left Green Cloud Mountain and passed through the Mystic Sect. Now, that nickname had somehow evolved to The Vanquisher of Sects.
The situation rapidly devolved into an uncontroble level in just half a months time. Countless Grand Sky Coalition sects were praying for Lu Ye and his invasion army to pass through the area so that they could finally give their neighbor the friendly spanking they so deserved.
Chapter 331: The All-Consuming Blaze That Began From A Single Spark
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 331: The All-Consuming ze That Began From A Single Spark
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In retrospect, Grand Sky Coalitions decision to escort Lu Ye back when he was still a small Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm cultivator had been wise beyond words. If they hadnt done what they did back then, Lu Ye would have died a long time ago, and Grand Sky Coalition would not be enjoying todays glory.
Everything in the world was predetermined. In this case, one might say that Lu Ye was just paying back the favor Grand Sky Coalition had done to him back then.
While the cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition were ruminating the past in a new light, their counterpart was deeply worried about the present.
Normally, the two cultivation factions were evenly matched on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The sects were like the ck and white stones on a Go board, and no one stone had the strength to turn the tidespletely in their favor.
That was no longer the case. Miraculously, one region of the Inner Circle had beenpletely upied by the Grand Sky Coalition.
The ck stonesthe Thousand Demon Ridge sectswithin that region had all been neutralized. The Tier-five and Tier-six sects werent the only ones who were affected either. Even some Tier-four sects close to the Core Circle had lost their Outposts. It pained the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge to see this to put it mildly.
Of course, none of these sects lost too many cultivators. It was because most of them had evacuated the moment they saw the invasion force, if not sooner. However, there was no saving the Blessings on their Divine Opportunity Columns. That was generations of hard work gone just like that.
What angered them even more was the fact that Lu Yi Ye showed no signs of stopping. Clearly, he was going to keep going until they had found a way to stop him, or he had finally conquered the entire Inner Circle. At this rate, that second worst case scenario would be months away at best.
And what was the worst case scenario? It was the invasion force growing big enough to threaten even the Core Circle.
This was the first time Thousand Demon Ridge experienced the fear of possibly losing an entire battlefield to one person. Scratch that, no one in the history of Jiu Zhou had ever experienced this until now.
The spark that began from the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain was showing signs of transforming into a ze that would consume the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge quickly gathered for an emergency meeting. It wasnt long before they arrived at a solution.
The moon was round, and the night was young. The invasion force was currently camping in a valley. Their number had passed the five thousandth mark a while ago, and they had conquered dozens of Outposts by this point.
There was no Outpost in the world that could amodate this many people, so they had begun camping and recuperating in the wilderness several days ago.
Tents of all shapes and sizes were littered across the valley, and the centermost and biggest tent was lit withmps. With Lu Ye at the helm, at least a dozen Legates were gathered together around the table discussing their next battle n.
A whileter, the battle n was finalized, and the crowd dispersed, leaving only Lu Ye, the meditating Ju Jia, and the sleeping Amber.
As the night deepened, the noise in the camp gradually quieted as well. Soon, only the patrols were still walking around the camp.
It was under this beautiful moonlight that several figures started approaching the tent Lu Ye was at. They did not exude a speck of presence, and they were also perfectly invisible to the naked eye.
Not only were they ghost cultivators, they were elite enough to infiltrate all the way to the center without being detected by the patrols as well. This alone should make their affiliation and intentions clear.
The current Spirit Creek Battlefield was super hostile toward Thousand Demon Ridge, and the root of all evil was currently residing in this camp. If they could kill him, then their predicament would resolve on its own.
It was the most effective and direct method.
These ghost cultivators had been handpicked for this mission from the most prestigious of sects. One might even call them the strongest Spirit Creek Realm ghost cultivators Thousand Demon Ridge possessed. A lot of expectation was riding on their shoulders to say the least.
Of course, the chances that these ghost cultivators would survive the mission was very low. Ideally, they would assassinate Lu Yi Ye without a sound and slip out just as stealthily as they came in. It was also the only scenario they might emerge alive. Every other scenario led to certain death. It was an enemy camp of five thousand cultivators after all.
No oneined about the mission though. From Thousand Demon Ridges point of view, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was the root of all evil. Because of him, dozens of Thousand Demon Ridge Sects had lost their outposts, and entire regions spanning thousands and thousands of kilometers were dragged into his personal war as well. For as long as he lived, the motherfucker was probably going to run through every Thousand Demon Ridge sect in the Inner Circle at least once.
So far, it looked like their infiltration had gone perfectly. There was one thing that concerned the ghost cultivators though. There were no guards outside Lu Yes tent at all.
If the situation was reversed, and they were protecting someone like Lu Ye, then they could not imagine a scenario where they wouldnt secure his tent with rms, guards, traps and a million other things. But no matter how they looked at it, the tent in front of them waspletely defenseless. They couldnt help but wonder if it was a trap.
It was toote to turn back though. It could be the dragonsir itself, and they still had to go in for everyones sake. They were powerful ghost cultivators after all. If they could enter the tent, locate Lu Yi Ye, and gang up on him together, there was zero chance the bastard would survive the assassination. As for what would happen to them afterward well, they came here knowing it was a suicide mission.
Time passed little by little. The ghost cultivators remained at their hiding spots with seemingly infinite patience.
Patrols kept passing by the tent, and sometimes they even flew through the area. However, not a single person was able to spot them because of the gap between their cultivation level.
.
They were the elites among the elites chosen to undertake this mission after all. How could they hope to seed if they couldnt even hide from the patrols?
Finally, their chance presented itself. A towering figure pushed away the tent p and stepped out into the open. They immediately recognized him as the body-tempering cultivator who often apanied Lu Yi Ye, Ju Jia.
It was rumored that Ju Jia was extraordinarily talented. His physique was so much tougher than your conventional body-tempering cultivator that he was worth ten of them.
These ghost cultivators had never met Ju Jia before. Now, they realized that the rumors had actually understated things a little. His vitality was rich beyond belief, and his physique shouldnt be possible for an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator.
For some reason, Ju Jia looked as if he didnt know what to do, ncing at the sky once before rubbing his head. In fact, he didnt. He was in the middle of meditating when suddenly, Lu Ye messaged him to leave the tent. He also specifically instructed the body-tempering cultivator not to react when he saw the ghost cultivators.
Ju Jia wanted to obey Lu Yes instructions, but the outline of the ghost cultivators looked so obvious that it was almost provoking. Left with no choice, Ju Jia could only bow his head and stare at his own feet. He was also holding the p open almost as if he was inviting the ghost cultivators toe in.
The ghost cultivators only hesitated for a moment. Then, the leadera man whose name wasnt worth mentioningled his cohorts into the tent.
The entire process was as soundless as it was invisible. Their movement didnt stir even a breeze.
When thest ghost cultivator had passed under Ju Jias armpit, he finally lowered the tent p and stepped forward. Again, he was just obeying Lu Yes instruction. The young man had told him that things were going to turn dangerous, and that he should be anywhere but the tent when it happened.
Inside the tent, the ghost cultivators stopped on their tracks and looked. They immediately spotted Lu Yi Ye sitting on a chair with one leg over the other, one arm on the armrest, one hand supporting his cheek, and staring straight into the eyes of their leader.
The leaders heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. [Did he see me? But thats impossible!] The ghost cultivator was very confident with his concealment abilities because he had sessfully assassinated a Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order champion before. Lu Yi Ye was an impressive man, but there was no way an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator could see through his concealment.
However
Why does Thousand Demon Ridge love breaking the rules so much?
Lu Ye questioned in a light but criticizing tone. Of course, none of them responded to him. The young man could just be bluffing after all.
After the Battle of Goldentip, Brother Li told me that the Spirit Creek Battlefield is governed by a set of rules. Outer Circle matters will be handled by Outer Circle people, and Inner Circle matters will be handled by Inner Circle people. I thought Thousand Demon Ridge would learn their lesson and wise up a little, but then again, what am I saying? Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
This time, the ghost cultivators did move. It was clear at this point that they were exposed, not to mention that Lu Ye was sweeping his gaze back and forth as if he was determining their cultivation level.
The leader took off first. The others followed closely behind him.
Killing intent erupted from the tent in an instant.
There was a loud whoosh as a pair of fiery red wings appeared behind Lu Ye. He took to the sky just in time to dodge the ghost cultivators fatal attack and wave the ward g that just appeared in his hand.
The scene before the ghost cultivators abruptly distorted. The next thing they knew, they found themselves trapped in a sea of mist. It was difficult to tell left from right.
Confusion Ward! A ghost cultivator yelled before they unleashed their Spiritual Power together. The fog was blown away in an instant, but what greeted them next chilled them to the core. It was because they felt a chaotic tidal wave of Spiritual Power flooding in their direction. A rain of spells and flying weapons were falling in their direction.
The tent was instantly turned into shreds. As for the ghost cultivators, they could be Divine Ocean Realm cultivators, and they would still be confined to Spirit Creek Realm level on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Naturally, there was no surviving a bombardment like this.
A few life energies extinguished instantly. The only one who survived was the leader thanks to a defensive Spiritual Artifact he owned. Unfortunately, he didnt even get to catch a breather before the next wave of attacks arrived.
Despair shed across his features for an instant before he too exploded into a gore of flesh and blood.
Lu Ye slowly descended from the sky as the Legates swarmed him. They rxed only after they confirmed that he was truly safe and sound.
What was their cultivation level? Zhao Li asked.
There was no way these ghost cultivators were Inner Circle stock. Only Core Circle ghost cultivators possessed the ability to infiltrate a camp of five thousand.
Five Heaven-Grade Ninth-Orders!
Everyone gasped audibly when they heard this. Thousand Demon Ridge had truly spared no effort to kill Lu Ye.
Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order ghost cultivators were among the best of the best even in the Core Circle. They were precious talents who couldve ascended to Cloud River Realm at any moment.
Now, they had all perished in the attempt to assassinate Lu Ye. Heavens know how sad their sects were feeling right now.
Do the rules mean nothing to Thousand Demon Ridge? Someone asked with a frown.
Its not like this is the first time theyve broken them.
Thest time they did it was because of Lu Ye as well, though at the time their goal was to remove the Crimson Blood Sect. It wasnt quite the same as this.
The Crimson Blood Sects Outpost was growing by leaps and bounds right now, so their dream of removing the Crimson Blood Sect was probably going to remain a dream for a long time toe. This time, they had broken the rule for Lu Ye and Lu Ye alone.
Another Legate was trading messages with someone when suddenly, he spoke up, I got confirmation that the thirty-ninth and eighty-second champion disappeared from the Scroll of Supremacy a moment ago.
This was obviously not a coincidence.
Chapter 332: Stand Off
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 332: Stand Off
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Scroll of Supremacy was a ranking list generated by the Heavens themselves. Only the top one hundred Spirit Creek Realm cultivators could enter this list, so of course they were all among the best of the best. In fact, they were guaranteed to ascend to Divine Ocean Realm if they did not perish before then.
Unfortunately, these two Scroll of Supremacy ghost cultivators would not live to see that day.
Li Baxian had told him that the Spirit Creek Battlefield was governed by a strict set of rules, but the Thousand Demon Ridge had also made an exception for him when he was just a Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. Naturally, he was ready for them to do so a second time.
From the moment the invasion force had grown to a certain scale, he had been watching out for an assassination attempt. The only way they could do so amidst a camp of thousands was to employ ghost cultivators, but unfortunately for them, ghost cultivators had not been a big threat to him for a while. Not only was his Divine Soul powerful, his perception was far greater than the usual Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. Even if that wasnt the case, his wards could still make up for that w.
The reason his tent was unguarded was because there was simply no need. He had already set up the necessary wards beforehand, and any assassin who dared to enter it would find themselves trapped as a butterfly in a. Why else would he message Ju Jia to let the assassins enter? He was that confident in his preparations.
At his current strength, he was no match for even one Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order cultivator, much less five. However, he was able to extinguish the five assassins like a candle me thanks to the wards and preparations. That two of them were listed on the Scroll of Supremacy was just the icing on the cake.
Thousand Demon Ridge was clearly getting desperate. The invasion force hemanded was just that threatening. Still, everyone in the camp was furious to learn that Thousand Demon Ridge was shameless enough to send five Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order ghost cultivators to assassinate Lu Ye.
Never one to let an opportunity slip through his fingers, Lu Ye immediately ordered his riled uprades to get ready to depart. A whileter, a fleet made up of dozens of ship Spirit Artifacts took off toward the horizon.
At the same time, the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge received confirmation that the five ghost cultivators had failed their mission. Their hearts felt as heavy as stones.
There had never been a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator in the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou who left such a deep impression in the minds of so many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators. It was such an impression that they couldnt wait to tear him to pieces with their own hands.
The attempt to remove the head of the snake had failed. Although they did not know how the five ghost cultivators had failed, Lu Yi Ye would be prepared for future assassination attempts now. It would be pointless to make another attempt.
In that case, they could only fight the enemy head on.
This was the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators backup n; theirst resort. The reason they didnt want to enact it was because they would have to surrender a ton of Outposts to execute it. That said, they no longer had a choice. Thest resort was their only way left to stop the Grand Sky Coalition invasion force in its tracks. Their losses would only be worse if they did not execute it.
The orders were sent out, and the entire Thousand Demon Ridge began to move. All sects on the invasion forces attack path began evacuating their Outposts ij the opposite direction of the invasion force.
Thousands of kilometers away from the invasion force, more sects were abandoning their Outposts. However, they were moving toward the invasion instead of away to meet up with their retreatingrades.
There was no hiding such arge-scale operation from Grand Sky Coalitions scouts. It wasnt long before they figured out Thousand Demon Ridges n. And it was a good one. It was the only way they could halt the invasion force in its tracks.
It was around this time the news that Thousand Demon Ridge had dispatched five Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order ghost cultivators to assassinate Lu Ye had spread. Naturally, Grand Sky Coalition was furious to hear this.
This was like having several adults join a fight between two kids because the loser was being soundly trounced. How could the Grand Sky Coalition tolerate such tant disregard of the rules?
Thest time Thousand Demon Ridge had done such a thing, Grand Sky Coalition had responded promptly. It was the same this time. By now, the war had spread to the Core Circle as well, so cultivators of the Core Circle started hopping over to the Inner Circle and joining the invasion force.
Of course, Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt going to be outdone by their counterpart. Their Core Circle cultivators began mobilizing en masse as well.
As a result, both armies started growing at an explosive rate.
Ten dayster, the two armies came face to face on the opposite sides of Weishui. Weishui was a massive three hundred-meter wide river that stretched across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Its waters were murky, yellowish and extremely rapid. It was also a natural stronghold.
Normally, a cultivator could easily fly over it via telekinesis. But today, no one dared to cross the river. The reason was simple. There were just too many people on either side of the river.
On the Grand Sky Coalitions side, there were over eighteen thousand cultivators in the invasion force. Most of them had joined the army recently, and a good percentage of them were Heaven-Grade Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators from the Core Circle as well.
Thousand Demon Ridges army was even bigger. They numbered over twenty thousand.
A sh on such a scale had never happened on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was because it involved too many sects.
Grand Sky Coalitions army was made up of over a hundred sects, but Thousand Demon Ridges was only forty. Thetter hade out in full force. All forty sects had abandoned their Outposts beforehand to gather all their forces in one ce.
This was the backup n the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge had prepared. There was no Outpost that could defend themselves against Grand Sky Coalitions invasion force anyway, so they might as well give it up beforehand and concentrate all their strength in one ce.
It was a costly response, but it was also a very effective one. At the very least, the invasion force was finally halted at Weishui.
Everyone was keeping an eye on the stand-off right now. Countless messages were being traded between the Spirit Creek Battlefield and Jiu Zhou by the second. As if this wasnt crazy enough, cultivators from every corner of the Spirit Creek Battlefield were rushing over to Weishui to bolster their cultivation faction.
Lu Ye had not imagined that the situation would escte to this extent. His original intent was to gather enough manpower to conquer every Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost in their path and earn those sweet, sweet Contribution Points, but at some point, the operation had slid out of his control.
A battle of this scale was bad news for everyone because both sides were destined to suffer a tremendous amount of losses no matter who came out victorious in the end. Plus, who in the world dared to im that they would win a battle involving tens of thousands of cultivators for sure?
Moreover, the Weishui made it so that whoever attacked first was going to be at a tremendous disadvantage. It was the main reason why no one had tried to make a move yet. After all, the only way to cross the river was to fly telekically. If their flying Spirit Artifacts were shot out of the air, then they would sustain serious injuries or perish for sure.
As a result, the two armies became stuck in this stand-off.
On the Thousand Demon Ridges side, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. It took a considerable amount of effort, but they had finally halted the enemy in their tracks. Since the Grand Sky Coalition invasion force had departed from Deep Sea Mountains Outpost, they had gobbled up every Outpost in their path like a greedy silkworm. At least one to two hundred Outposts had fallen to them. The losses were astronomical to say the least.
The cultivators couldnt attack each other without putting themselves at a tremendous disadvantage, but they certainly could curse at the other party. And they did. Everyone here had excellent hearing after all. They could hear every word despite the distance and the churning river.
However, the standoff was like a dry thunderstorm. Everyone was hoping to provoke the other party to attack first, but no one was stupid enough to actually do that. As a result, what was the biggest standoff in the history of the Spirit Creek Battlefield felt exceptionally trivial and pointless.
On a rted note, Lu Ye was the main focus of Thousand Demon Ridges verbal curses. He was, without exaggeration, the root of all evil in this incident after all.
Before the Vanquisher of Sects hade to be, the Spirit Creek Battlefield had been a stable and orderly ce. However, it all went to hell after he made an appearance. Right now, Core Circle cultivators were already hopping to the Inner Circle en masse. What if they ran to the Outer Circle in the future?
From Thousand Demon Ridges point of view, the Vanquisher of Sects was the biggest walking disaster the world had ever seen.
On the third day of the standoff, Lu Ye and dozens of people were gathered inside a big tent. He swept his gaze across everyones faces before saying slowly, I believe that everyone here has received a message from their elders, no? The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of Grand Sky Coalition have agreed to meet up with their Thousand Demon Ridge counterparts and negotiate an end to all this.
In fact, he had received news about this just an incense stick ago.
Under any other circumstances, the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of either side would never sit down for a peace talk. They had hated each others guts for countless years after all. Why talk when they could just bash the other persons face in?
Plus, no one at their cultivation level was particrly tolerant so to speak. It was all too easy for even the smallest chit chat to devolve into a bloody fight.
Finally, they generally kept their nose out of the Spirit Creek Battlefield because it was, from their point of view, a childrens yground. There were few things in that ce that was worth even a smidgen of their attention.
Not this time though. This was so big that it hadpletely gotten out of hand for their children. Not only did they have to get involved, they were forced to sit down and have the peace talk they so loathed.
If the two armies on the opposite sides of Weishui were to go to war, then it was going to be a real war. No matter who emerged victorious in the end, the losses they would sustain would be uneptable for either side.
Everyone in the tent nodded. As Lu Ye guessed, they had all received a message from their elders as well.
What are your ns, Brother Yi Ye? A Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order champion from the Core Circle inquired.
There must be a reason Lu Ye had gathered them here at such a sensitive time.
Lu Ye said calmly, From the looks of things, I am almost certain that peace talks will be the final oue. Perhaps our seniors could make Thousand Demon Ridge bleed a bit for this peace, but this is as far as our invasion force goes.
Everyone was silent. They were reluctant to end things here, but they could not deny the logic behind Lu Yes words.
Thousand Demon Ridge could not bear the fruit of a true war, and neither could the Grand Sky Coalition. Not even the champions of the Core Circle could gain too big an advantage in a sh of this scale.
Therefore, the only possible oue was both sides agreeing to stop here and withdraw their forces.
That said, Thousand Demon Ridge was the defending side, so their Divine Ocean Realm cultivators had the right to make some slightly excessive demands that were still within Thousand Demon Ridges ability to ept, stuff like resourcepensation and so on. It was going to take a while to finalize the details though.
That is why I would like to start over!
For a moment, everyone could only stare at Lu Ye in confusion. What exactly did he mean by start over? Then, the quick-witted ones figured out his meaning, and Zhao Li blurted, Are you saying that you want to redo all this at a different location?
Chapter 333: Brother Yi Ye Is Coming
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 333: Brother Yi Ye Is Coming
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the tent, Lu Ye said clearly, Considering the invasion forces current size, my presence no longer matters.
In fact, Lu Yes usefulness had be very limited after the invasion force exceeded three thousand people. That was enough firepower to breach any grand ward via brute force.
In fact, Lu Yes greatest effect in the invasion force wasnt his ward breaching skills, but his ability to bring people together. He was the reason the invasion force hade to be in the first ce. He was also the reason why the Grand Sky Coalition sects had contributed their forces wherever they went. Lu Ye might not have the strongest cultivation in the army, but he was the one that everyone was willing to listen to and obey.
Not even a champion of the Core Circle would have had an easier time at transforming the allied forces into a cohesive whole.
Now though, their army numbered almost twenty thousand people. They literally did not need him anymore.
The peace talks between the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of their cultivation factions were on the way, so it was only a matter of time before the invasion force was disbanded. However, Lu Ye wasnt nning to stop here.
He did not know exactly how many Contribution Points he had plundered on the way, but he was pretty sure that he was still a ways away from his goal. That was why he needed to upy more Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts no matter what.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had named him the Vanquisher of Sects for his deeds, but in reality a spark wouldve described him better. He could start an inferno anywhere as long as he was still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
What should we do after youre gone? A Legate asked.
Just stay here and apply pressure on the Thousand Demon Ridge, and our seniors will be able to demand morepensation that benefits us all.
The crowd mulled over his answer thoughtfully. A whileter, the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator nodded in agreement. I must admit that your n is pretty good, Brother Yi Ye. Do you want us to get you some help? We can send a squad to protect you just in case the Thousand Demon Ridge decides to send more Core Circle cultivators to attack you.
Its okay. Youve worked hard to earn your Contribution Points; you should keep them. Ju Jia will be enough to protect me.
Lu Ye was nning to conquer more Outposts, and to do that he must teleport to a different corner of the Spirit Creek Battlefield using the Divine Opportunity Column. Naturally, a long-distance teleportation like this was going to cost a ton of Contribution Points. It was fine if it was just him and Ju Jia, but the cost would outweigh the reward if too many people teleported with them.
The invasion force hade together because of Lu Ye, so of course they had no qualms with him taking his leave after a job well done. Although it meant that they would not be able to join Lu Ye on the second phase of his operation, every single one of them had earned more profits than they couldve earned in months. This was especially true for the sects who followed Lu Ye from the very beginning. Not including Lu Ye, their share of the profits was easily the greatest out of all of them.
Finally, there was no chance the two armies would be able to go to war with each other. Rather thannguishing here until the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators were done with their peace talks, they might as well do as Lu Ye suggested and find ways to insert panic and pressure within the Thousand Demon Ridge.
An incense stickter, a ship Spirit Artifact took to the sky and sailed to the nearest Grand Sky Coalition Outpost.
At the same time, tens of thousands of kilometers away from Wei Shui, Luo Fu of the Silverlight Ind sought out Qi Shi and reported in excitement, Brother Yi Ye ising!
Qi Shi immediately perked up. Really?
But of course! I just received a message from him.
Needless to say, Lu Ye and the invasion force were on everyones lips right now. There wasnt a single person in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who wasnt keeping an eye on them, not to mention Luo Fu and Qi Shi.
Back then, when Lu Ye had first entered the Inner Circle, the young man had had to manipte the Great Serpent to crack the Sky Pir Sect open like an egg. At the time, he did not yet have the ability to breach a grand ward, so he had left as soon as the deed was done.
It hadnt even been half a year since the day he left, and today he had be a living legend who singlehandedly mustered a cultivator army of twenty thousand and dominated a good section of the Inner Circle. Wherever the invasion force went, the Thousand Demon Ridge wailed in misery and defeat.
To say that Luo Fu and Qi Shi were envious would be an understatement. If Lu Ye already possessed such skill when he first arrived at the Silverlight Ind, they wouldve been the ones to reap the benefits of Lu Yes conquest, not that so-called Heavenly Derivative Sect or the Deep Sea Mountain.
In fact, they were the first sects to make contact with Lu Ye and form an alliance pact in the Inner Circle. However, they couldnt even meet up with the invasion force because they were simply too far apart.
The more Luo Fu thought about this, the more sad he felt. Every time his mood reached a certain low, he would gather his men and bully the Cloud Smoke Sect to fix it.
The Sky Pir Sect had transformed into a tortoise since they lost their Outpost. They were unable to rebuild their Outpost in peace even to this day due to the Silverlight Inds constant harassment.
They werent the ones who shouldered the brunt of the Silverlight Inds harassment though. No, that unfortunate honor went to their close ally, the Cloud Smoke Sect. That said, Luo Fu had had to call up their ally, the Spell Essence Sect each time he set out to harass the Cloud Smoke Sect because they shared almost the same strength.
As ofte, Luo Fu had been looking forward to Lu Ye and the invasion army moving close enough to his Outpost so he could partake on the fun, but when he learned that the Thousand Demon Ridge had gathered an army of almost twenty thousand on one side of the Weishui and blocked the invasion forces path, he knew that his dream might nevere true.
To say he was in a depressive mood as ofte would be an understatement.
Then, against all odds and expectations, Lu Ye personally messaged him to tell him that he was going to teleport over to his Outpost very soon. There was only one reason Lu Ye would abandon his army and teleport tens of thousands of kilometers away to their Outpost, and neither Luo Fu nor Qi Shi were ignorant to it.
The time hase for the Silverlight Ind to rise, junior brother! Luo Fu dered in excitement.
As usual, Qi Shi was the calmer between the two of them. He walked in circles for a bit before saying, We should contact the Spell Essence Sect!
Luo Fu pped his own head in realization. Yes, youre right! Ill do that immediately!
He was in the middle of a conversation with the Legate of the Spell Essence Sect when a disciple came over to inform him, Senior brothers, Brother Lu has arrived at our Outpost.
Which Brother Lu are you referring to, exactly? Luo Fu asked with a frown.
It is Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Luo Fu and Qi Shi exchanged a surprised nce with each other. Lu Ye had told them that he would arrive soon, but neither of them had expected to show up this quickly. They quickly made their way to the Sanctum of Providence. As the disciple had reported, Lu Ye was already waiting for them. He was also apanied by a massive body tempering cultivator.
It had been a while since they met, so of course they spent some time just catching up to one another. This was especially true since they had already figured out why Lu Ye hade here. However, news of his arrival was quickly restricted under Lu Yes request, and the few cultivators who knew about this were given a gag order and led to a private room by Luo Fu.
Four hourster, the Legate of the Spell Essence Sect arrived at the Outpost. He had been flying at full speed since he received the message, not daring to take even a seconds rest on the way. It was why he was looking a little pale when he finally arrived.
.
When he finally met Lu Ye though, his face immediately regained its color and then some. He realized that the chance for Spell Essence Sect to rise had finally arrived just like Luo Fu!
Meanwhile, the sect master of the Crimson Blood Sect, Tang Yifeng had just departed the headquarters.
A Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could never hope to match a Divine Ocean Realm cultivators flight speed. The sect master had managed to traverse two whole provinces and reach Wuzhou in just one night after learning that Lu Ye was poisoned by a Thousand Demon Ridge spy in the Heavenly Derivative Sect. In fact, he couldve arrived sooner if he wasnt carrying Shui Yuan.
A whileter, a beam of light flew near him while shouting, Elder Tang!
The sect master stopped in his tracks when he turned and saw who it was. It was none other than Pang Zhen of the Righteous Sect.
The sect masterined, I dont understand why you want me toe on this trip. You alone are enough to represent Bingzhou, no?
Pang Zhen chuckled. Well, the incident was caused by a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. What is there to be discussed if you, the sect master himself, refuses to show up?
Youre saying that the Thousand Demon Ridge specifically requested me to be there?
Thats right.
In that case, Im going to give them a good talking to when I get there. Its not like theyre young anymore. Why dont they understand something as simple as catering to the elderly?
Do whatever you want, Elder Tang. You have the full support of both the Bingzhou and the Grand Sky Coalition.
The sect masters eyes glinted with understanding. He nodded. Let us speak as we fly.
You first, Elder Tang. Pang Zhen gestured.
As the two men took off toward the horizon once more, Pang Zhen suddenly said in a wistful voice, Youngsters these days are incredible, arent they? Theyre so much bolder and better than me back in my day. The Crimson Blood Sects future is bright, Elder Tang.
The sect masters grin was brighter than the sun, but he said, You mean brash and have no sense of the gravity of things. This old man promises to give him a stern scolding when I see him again.
Please do not criticize him too harshly. Younglings should be bold, fearless, and forward-looking, not to mention one who brought honor to the entire Grand Sky Coalition. Its been a while since we have such a talented youngling. Did you know that Elder Xu of the Green Jade Sectined to me that he had missed such a good seed just a few days ago?
Hes just a petty bastard who cant stand others getting the better of him. I dont understand though. What does my disciple have to do with him or his sect?
Oh, you didnt know? Way back at the Evil Moon Valley, the Green Jade Sect actually had a chance to recruit Lu Ye. However, the disciple supervising the recruitment drive had rejected him after discovering that his talent was one leaf.
Really? Hahahaha! The sect masterughed boisterously when he heard this. He can only me his disciple for judging a book by his cover!
Indeed. Who wouldve thought that Lu Ye could achieve what he did with just one leaf? By the way, did you ever check his talent again afterward? Logically speaking, it should be impossible for Lu Ye to cultivate as swiftly as he has. The Green Jade Sect couldve missed something since they hadnt exactly measured the refugees with the best standards or equipment.
The sect master waved him off. Since when was talent the defining factor of anything? My talent wasnt particrly good eitherI was only thirty four leaves when they checked mebut where am I now? There are also countless people who are much more talented than you and I back then, and where are they now? Talent has never been the only deciding factor of ones achievements, and it never will be. Only those who fight tooth and nail to grow in every way will make it, while the rest are left in the dust. Sometimes literally.
You arepletely right, Elder Tang.
By the way, did you know that Lu Ye is extremely concerned with his nickname even to this day? If I remember correctly, it was your Le Shan who started it in the first ce. You should tell him to ascend to the Real Lake Realm as soon as possible, or Lu Ye will give him a run for his money when he ascends to the Cloud River Battlefield.
Hahaha, I do know about that, yes. If the dayes, Le Shan only has himself to me.
Chapter 334: The Meeting
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 334: The Meeting
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were nine provinces in Jiu Zhou. They were Ding Zhou, Qing Zhou, Lei Zhou, Yun Zhou, Wu Zhou, You Zhou, and Cang Zhou.
Qing Zhou and Wu Zhou belonged fully to the Grand Sky Coalition, while Yun Zhou and Lei Zhou to Thousand Demon Ridge. The other five provinces did not fall under one particr cultivation faction. They werent neutral, but they were constantly changing sides depending who was stronger at a given time. To give a metaphor, sometimes the eastern wind was stronger than the western wind, and sometimes it was the other way around. Both cultivation factions fought tooth and nail to control them.
Thousand Demon Ridge was the one who wanted to talk peace, so the right to choose the meeting location went to the Grand Sky Coalition as a matter of course.
There was a massive mountain range at an intersection point between Qing Zhou and Yun Zhou. It was like a massive dragon that split the earth and separated the two provinces.
Its name was Crouching Dragon Mountain. It was where the meeting would take ce.
When Tang Yifeng and Pang Zhen arrived at the meeting location together, a dozen or so figures were already waiting for them.
Not only were they all Divine Ocean Realm cultivators, they were the cream of the crop.
Most people thought that this meeting would be as terse as the one at Weishui right now, but in reality it was the opposite. Not only was there no conflict, they were chatting and mingling with each other like old friends. An ignorant person would have thought that they belonged to the same cultivation faction.
Did they not hate each others guts for one reason or another? Of course not. There wasnt a single person here who hadnt killed a mountain of cultivators to reach where they were. They had long since forgotten the amount of lives they had taken.
The reason they did not act standoffish was because the point of this meeting was to negotiate apromise regarding the conflict at the Spirit Creek battlefield. Because of this, there was zero chance this meeting could devolve into physical conflict. Since there would be no fighting, why would they act standoffish with each other? It would only be a waste of energy.
The socializing stopped when the two men from Bing Zhou arrived.
Apologies for beingte, Pang Zhen said while cupping his fist in greeting. That was what he said, but they werent actuallyte. It was the others who hade too early. It just showed how desperate Thousand Demon Ridge was to have this peace talk.
The leader of the Thousand Demon Ridge group was an old man with waxy yellowplexion. He said, Since we are all here, lets get started, shall we?
There was no objection. Pang Zhen immediately flicked a jade slip toward the old man. To put it simply, the jade slip contained the Grand Sky Coalitions list of demands. He had messaged his Divine Ocean Realm peers and finalized it on the way here.
Grand Sky Coalition wanted the peace talks just as much as Thousand Demon Ridge. The impasse they were currently in suited them just fine because they didnt want their children in the Spirit Creek Battlefield to go to war either. However, Thousand Demon Ridge must pay the price since they were the ones who wished for peace.
The old man caught the jade slip and inspected its contents. He then passed it to the person beside him wordlessly. Everyones expression varied after they had all read the list of demands.
The old man said, Pang Zhen, dont you think your faction is asking too much?
He already knew that the Grand Sky Coalition was going to bleed them like a pig, but he still underestimated the factions greed and determination. They werent justpensation in the form of resources, but alsond. To be exact, they were demanding that they give up half a province.
The amount of resources the Grand Sky Coalition was demanding was already shocking, but half a province? There was just no way in hell they could ept these demands.
If they didnt know better, they would have thought that the Grand Sky Coalition wanted to instigate a war.
Pang Zhen let out a chuckle and said, Thats fine. Thats the reason were here, arent we?
Sure, but the little fes in the Spirit Creek Battlefield can only wait so long. They are all young and rash. A lot of people will die if someone loses their cool.
The old mans Divine Sense stirred for an instant before he returned the jade slip to Pang Zhen. Here is our counter offer. We can go home right now if you think its eptable.
Pang Zhen caught the jade slip and checked the amended list of demands. He immediately shook his head and said, I cant see any sincerity in this.
He tried to pass the jade slip to Tang Yifeng, but the sect master waved his hand and said, Im too old for this. Please, feel free to discuss this among yourselves.
Lu Ye was the one who caused all this, so the Crimson Blood Sect was sure to profit no matter what the finalpensation might be in the end. Naturally, the sect master could not be bothered to get involved.
So, Pang Zhen passed the jade slip to another Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. It would continue to be passed around the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators until it finally circled back to his hands. After inspecting thetest list of demands, he threw in a couple more lines and finally flicked it back to the old man.
And so the jade slip went round and round among the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators seemingly without end. The list was amended again and again, but they were ultimately unable to arrive at a consensus.
The old man leading the Thousand Demon Ridge group had imed that the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators could only wait so long, but in reality he spared no effort to go through each and every line before making the appropriate adjustments. It was the same for the others.
More than half the day passed just like that. When the jade slip returned to his hands once more, he discovered sheepishly that thetest content was almost the exact same as the initial list.
Can you please show some sincerity already, Pang Zhen?
That depends on you, not me.
One side wanted the moon, and the other wanted to give nothing if possible. It would be stranger if they managed to arrive at a consensus.
Tang Yifeng closed his eyes in recuperation. He had a feeling that this farce was going to continue for another week or two at least.
The situation at the Spirit Creek Battlefield seemed urgent, but in reality it wasnt that bad. Thanks to the natural stronghold that was Weishui, neither side dared tounch an attack. Plus, the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were also waiting to hear the oue of the peace talks.
While the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators were haggling like a housewife, Silverlight Ind and Spell Essence Sect had already begun attacking Cloud Smoke Sects Outpost.
To say that the cultivators of Cloud Smoke Sect felt exasperated would be an understatement. This wasnt the first time it had happened, and it wouldnt be thest. Ever since Sky Pir Sect had been crippled by the enemy, they had been bullied non-stop by their two neighbors.
In fact, it was getting to the point where they were getting used to being attacked. Besides those who were responsible for overseeing the grand ward, everyone else continued on with their life as usual. There was no chance the two sects would be able to breach the grand ward anyway. Worst case scenario, they lost some Spirit Stones to maintain the grand ward.
That was until the Legate controlling the grand ward saw a familiar face stepping out of the crowd. He was apanied by thirty or so people.
At first, he couldnt quite understand what was going on. Then, the group of thirty plus started bringing out their ward gs and moving into position
The Legates face turned as pale as death. The Vanquisher of Sects! He blurted out in a trembling voice.
His mind turned nk. For a moment, he thought he was mistaken. After all, the Vanquisher of Sects should be standing off against their twenty thousand strong army on the opposite side of Weishui, right? That was thousands of kilometers away. It should be impossible for him to show up here so quickly and without warning, unless
unless he teleported over using the Divine Opportunity Column. The Spirit Creek Battlefield was huge, but the Divine Opportunity Columns were everywhere. Sure, it cost a ton of Contribution Points to perform a long-distance teleportation, but would the Vanquisher of Sects be wanting for Contribution Points? Of course not. God knows how many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had died by his hands. He would not be crowned with such a demonic title otherwise.
Retreat! Retreat back to Jiu Zhou now!
It took the Legate of the Cloud Smoke Sect only a moment to figure out the truth. Without further ado, He ordered his cultivators to withdraw back to Jiu Zhou.
Unfortunately, the cultivators of Cloud Smoke Sect were not gathered in one ce. They were so desensitized with the frequent attacks of Silverlight Ind and Spell Essence Sect that they had carried on with their life like it was just another day. As a result, everyone was scattered across the Outpost.
By the time the order reached everyone, they had already missed their best window of retreat.
The grand ward was breached, and the cultivators of Silverlight Ind and Spell Essence Sect flooded in like hungry animals. With Lu Ye and Ju Jia leading at the forefront, it took them only a moment to unleash a river of blood.
After the Outpost was conquered, Lu Ye immediately entered the Sanctum of Providence and imed his portion of the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Columns. Before Luo Fu and the others could even finish sweeping the battlefield, he and Ju Jia had already taken to the sky and vanished into the horizon.
Luo Fu shouted, Faster, faster, faster!
The reason Lu Ye did not wait for Luo Fu was simple: he was on a time limit. The Divine Ocean cultivators of both factions were already in the middle of peace talks. They could take forever, or they coulde to a consensus right now and give the order to cease fire. One way or another, Lu Ye wasnt going to wait and see if his fears woulde true. He was going to upy as many Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts as possible not only to gather the Contribution Points he needed, but also increase his sides leverage.
In fact, when Silverlight Ind and Spell Essence Sect were still attacking Cloud Smoke Sects Outpost, two nearby Grand Sky Coalition sects had already assembled their forces and rushed to another Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost. Lu Ye arrived just in time to coordinate with them and bring down that poor Outposts grand ward.
Back at a Spirit Peak at Crouching Dragon Mountain, the atmosphere between the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators was no longer as amiable as before. They hadnt dropped all pretenses and torn into each other yet, but people were starting to take shots at one another directly or indirectly.
It was at this moment the Thousand Demon Ridge old man received a message. After checking it for a second, he expressionlessly passed the jade slip back to Pang Zhen and said, This is our bottom line. If the Grand Sky Coalition thinks it is eptable, then we can sign a Sacred Pact right away.
Pang Zhen was surprised when he inspected the jade slips contents. It was because the amended list of demands actually looked sincere this time. In fact, it was better than what he thought the finalized list would be.
A negotiation was like doing business. One side would raise the stakes, and another would do the opposite until they finally arrived at apromise they could both ept.
The problem was that they werent even close to reaching that point. For Thousand Demon Ridge topromise so much and without warning could only mean that something was wrong.
Pang Zhen was no inexperienced greenhorn. He knew that something must have happened to cause Thousand Demon Ridge to make such a drastic decision all of a sudden, but for now he did not know what it was.
His eyes glinted as he passed the jade slip to Tang Yifeng. Will you please take a look, Elder Tang?
The sect master stopped napping and opened his eyes. He had clearly stated that he wasnt going to participate in the negotiation, and yet Pang Zhen was asking him to check the contents of the jade slip a second time. Something unexpected must have happened.
The sect master epted the jade slip and took a look. Just like Pang Zhen, he was surprised by the extent Thousand Demon Ridge waspromising.
The sect master looked up and stared at the old man. Pang Zhen did the same thing.
The old mans eyes twitched. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Grand Sky Coalition found out, he revealed the truth, Cloud Smoke Sects Outpost had been upied, and the Miluo Sect is under hmm. Their Outpost had just been upied.
He then looked at Tang Yifeng and said, Your new youngling is most impressive.
Chapter 335: Oh, They Fighting
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 335: Oh, They Fighting
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition immediately took out the 10-point map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield and took a look. When they discovered that the Cloud Smoke Sect and the Miluo Sect were at least tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Weishui, they could not say anything for a time.
They knew that the little fellow from the Crimson Blood Sect must have paid a sizable sum of Contribution Points to teleport using the Divine Opportunity Column. There was no other way to cover such a long distance in the short time he did.
To other Spirit Creek Realm cultivators, the option usually wasnt worth the price. After all, Contribution Points were a valuable currency, and every teleportation cost at least a thousand Contribution Points at minimum.
This was not a problem for Lu Ye though. Sure, the teleportation was extremely pricey, but he could just earn them back by upying another Outpost.
He had already upied the Cloud Smoke Sect and the Miluo Sect. Who was next?
At this point, even the slowest person knew that Lu Ye was nning to redo his nonsense again and again.
His first invasion force might have been halted, but that was fine. He could just create another one.
This was why the Thousand Demon Ridge had suddenly made such a hugepromise. The old man knew that Lu Ye was capable of setting the entire Inner Circle on fire if he was allowed to continue.
What? What is he thinking? Ill give him a stern scolding right now! Tang Yifeng eximed in fake anger before messaging Lu Ye right before the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye and Ju Jia were flying toward their next battlefield on their flying Spirit Artifacts. When he looked down, he saw his sect masters short but sinct message:
I got your back!
On the Spirit Peak, the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition had gotten busy as well. They messaged their contacts and got more or less the same information as the Thousand Demon Ridge. It was said that Lu Ye had left not long after he upied the Miluo Sects Outpost, and he was already on his way to his third target.
The old man let out a sigh. Pang Zhen, theres no point in dying the negotiation further. Weve stopped him once, and we can stop him again. All itll cost us is a couple of Outposts.
Pang Zhen nodded in agreement. Oh, we know what youre capable of.
The old man said exasperatedly, Show me your terms.
The Thousand Demon Ridge might be in a hurry to end this negotiation, but that definitely wasnt the case for the Grand Sky Coalition. Pang Zhen stared the old man in the eye and said, We want half a provinces worth of Outposts on top of what youve already seen earlier. Of course, you may negotiate among yourselves which province you wish to give up. And take your time. We are in no hurry whatsoever.
There was no doubt that thepromise offered by the Thousand Demon Ridge had exceeded Pang Zhens expectations. If he hadnt heard about Lu Yestest exploits, he would have agreed to it already.
However, the situation had changed since Lu Ye had begun a second conquest in apletely different location. One could even say that the stand-off at Weishui no longer mattered. Pang Zhen would not deserve his post if he failed to notice that they were in a position of great advantage once more.
As he had told the old man, the Grand Sky Coalition was in no hurry to wrap up the negotiations. It was quite the opposite. The longer the Thousand Demon Ridge took topromise, the bigger their losses would be. Each time Lu Ye conquered an Outpost, they would lose a massive amount of Contribution Points and resources.
Sure, the old man wasnt lying when he said that they could stop Lu Ye. The thing was, Lu Ye could just start a third, fourth, fifth and even a hundredth conquest. So long as the young man still lived, he wouldnt stop until he literally had nowhere else to go in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield!
Knowing this, Pang Zhens biggest responsibility right now was to force the biggest concession out of the Thousand Demon Ridge using their position of advantage.
In fact, the bigger themotion Lu Ye caused, the greater the pressure on the backs of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
You will regret it if you push us too far, Pang Zhen! The old mans tone wasnt nearly as warm as it was before. To be fair, no one couldve maintained their cool in his ce. The Grand Sky Coalition was going to squeeze them for all they were worth. It was only going to get worse if the Thousand Demon Ridge allowed them to do as they pleased.
Thats why I told you to take your time. Feel free to negotiate until youve arrived at a solution that all of you can ept, said Pang Zhen kindly as if he was doing the Thousand Demon Ridge a favor.
The old man shot him a long look before turning back to his peers. He began interacting with them via his Divine Sense while sending message after message.
It wasnt long before the news that a third Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost had been conquered broke out. Lu Yes second invasion force was now six sects strong. The group of one thousand or so was currently moving toward the next Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost in high spirits.
All Grand Sky Coalition forces in the area were excited to say the least. They all sent their forces to join the second invasion force.
The Thousand Demon Ridge was making some emergency mobilizations as well. Just like before, all Thousand Demon Ridge sects along the path of the invasion force gave up their Outposts and assembled at a point some distance away from the frontlines. Two dayster, two armies of three to four thousand cultivators each confronted each other with just 1.5 kilometers of ground between them.
Unlike the first conquest though, these armies werent separated by a natural stronghold, so the situation was a lot more sensitive. One misstep or two might just be enough to trigger a full-scale war.
It was only then the champions of the Thousand Demon Ridge let out a small sigh of relief.
The Thousand Demon Ridge hadnt suffered too many losses this time since they knew what wasing. They were able to mobilize in time and stop Lu Ye in his tracks before he could upy more than a dozen or so Outposts.
Even so, there was no denying that the Thousand Demon Ridge had lost another region of Outposts on the board that was the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Back on the Spirit Peak of Crouching Dragon Mountain, the old man stared at Pang Zhen with a dark expression on his face, Can we negotiate now?
For the past two days, both sides had been waiting to hear thetest news from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It wasnt until the second invasion force was halted in their tracks that the old man finally spoke up.
Pang Zhen eximed in mock surprise, Youvee to a decision already? Thats quick. Tell me.
The old man said, Our terms are unchanged.
Then there is no negotiation. Dont say I didnt warn you, but that kid is going to start a third conquest if you keep dilly-dallying like this!
Every Divine Ocean Realm cultivator on the Thousand Demon Ridges side felt their eyes twitch. That was exactly what they were worried about.
An unprecedented situation was happening on the Spirit Creek Battlefield right now. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge sects were recalling their cultivators and forming armies to defend their Outposts. Even those who werent affected were worried that the goddamn Vanquisher of Sects would suddenly step out of their neighbors forces and give them the fright of their lives.
There is no chance we are surrendering half a province no matter what!
Man, Im hungry. Pang Zhen gave his tummy a rub before looking at his peers. Did anyone bring some food?
Seeing that Pang Zhen wasnt going to budge, the old man looked at Tang Yifeng and said, Brother Tang, Lu Yi Ye is your disciple. Can you
The sect master waved him off before he could even finish. The Crimson Blood Sect is just a Tier-nine sect. We do not have the right to give any opinion in a matter of such importance, much less be involved in the decision-making. Our sect will follow whatever the Grand Sky Coalition decides.
Just Tier-nine, he said
Just Tier-nine
It was one of the most sarcastic things they had ever heard in their lives. But it was the truth. Literally no one had expected a mere Tier-nine sect to produce a monster unlike anything the world had ever seen. Not only was Lu Ye giving the Thousand Demon Ridge one of the hardest trashings they had ever experienced in their lives, the worst part was that they didnt really have a good way of dealing with him.
They had tried sending Real Lake Realm champions to kill him, but the young man managed to kill one of them and cause the death of another. They had tried sending Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order ghost cultivators to assassinate him, but not a single one of them had returned alive, much less seeded in the mission.
If the young man was currently in Jiu Zhou, then the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators could have annihted him with a single fart. However, he was in the Spirit Creek Battlefield right now, and he wasnt going to leave anytime soon.
The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge had never hated the bncing and suppression of the Heavens more than they did at this moment.
Oh my Heavens, theyre fighting! Suddenly, a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator blurted out in a trembling voice.
What?
Both sides lost their cool when they heard this. Even Pang Zhen had forgotten his hunger as he messaged his contacts for thetest updates.
What was going on over there? The negotiations werent over yet. The younglings were supposed to stay put until they were done!
More importantly, where had the battle broken out? If it was the second invasion force and the defenders, then that was still eptable. The numbers in that location werent so big that any sh would result in massive casualties. But it was the Weishui then the situation had officially slipped out of everyones control.
A momentter, they got confirmation that, thank the Heavens, the battle had not broken out at Weishui. Thanks to the natural stronghold, no one there dared to make the first move.
This meant that the battle had broken out on Lu Yes side.
Around six to seven thousand cultivators had shed against one another, and the Thousand Demon Ridge was the one who lost horribly.
The reason this happened was because the second invasion force was joined by a powerful reinforcement from none other than the Crimson Blood Sect itself.
The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition exchanged nces with each other for a moment. At their age and cultivation level, there should be very few things that could excite them so anymore, much less a bunch of Spirit Creek Realm younglings.
They could not help butment that younglings these days were way too active. If every one of them was like that boy from the Crimson Blood Sect, then the excitement alone was going to shave at least a hundred years off their natural lifespan. They werent even an active participant in the conflict, and the emotional roller coaster they were currently experiencing was easily the worst they had experienced in decades.
On the other side, the Thousand Demon Ridge Divine Ocean Realm cultivators were staring at their counterparts with dark expressions on their faces. This was especially true for Tang Yifeng.
The old man stared right back and rebuked, The hell youre looking at me for? Its not like Im the one who gave the order! That hopeless boy. Dont worry! Ill give him another stern rebuke right now!
Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, a couple thousand Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were currently chasing down their routing enemy. The giant eagle in the sky was particrly eye-catching.
It was none other than Beaky, the giant eagle that watched over the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
At first, Lu Ye was going to leave for another location. The Thousand Demon Ridge had gathered several thousand cultivators, and it didnt look like they would be able to break through them without suffering significant casualties. It was then he received a message from Hua Ci.
Hua Ci had wanted to help Lu Ye since Lu Ye had created his first invasion force. She was a proud member of the Crimson Blood Sect and a medicine cultivator, and Lu Ye never failed to get hurt in big battles like this. She would have liked to treat his wounds at the very least.
Unfortunately, he was just too far away at the time.
Then, she heard the surprising news that Lu Ye had teleported from Weishui to Silverlight Ind.
The Silverlight Ind was much, much closer to the Crimson Blood Sect, so Hua Ci immediately hopped on Beaky and rushed to his aid. She was almost at the battlefield by the time she sent him the message.
Lu Ye changed his mind the second he learned that Hua Ci had brought Beaky with her. When the time was right, he ordered the invasion force to charge the enemy.
The three thousand strong army had onlye to be a few days ago, but their morale was sky high thanks to all the benefits they had reaped under Lu Yes leadership. That was why they did not hesitate to obey Lu Yes order.
Chapter 336: Behind The Scenes
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 336: Behind The Scenes
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
On the other side of the battlefield, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were shocked by the scene in front of them. They didnt expect the Grand Sky Coalition tounch an attack at all. They thought that this would be the same as Weishui where both sides were stuck in a stalemate until the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators were done with the negotiation. After all, a battle involving thousands of cultivators was no joke. Someone would die, and only a delusional person would dare to im that they would end up victorious.
That was why the Grand Sky Coalitions action made no sense whatsoever.
Still, they had to respond to the attack. They had just fallen into formation when a giant shadow suddenly swooped down from above. It flew over the charging Grand Sky Coalition cultivators, spread its wings in mid-air, andunched a hail of wind des straight at the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. A hole immediately appeared in their defense line.
Gray was on the same level as the Great Serpent Lu Ye had manipted a while ago. It was a Tyrant-level Spirit Beast, and it wasnt an existence even the cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy could fight against.
Back then, drawn by the blood qi within the dragon scale, the Great Serpent had nearly conquered the Sky Pir Sects Outpost single handedly. The Sky Pir Sect had lost over a hundred cultivators despite resisting with all their might.
As a Spirit Beast that existed on the same level as the Great Serpent, Gray was just as powerful.
In fact, in a battle against cultivators, Grays mobility should make it deadlier than the Great Serpent.
Every time Gray swooped down from the sky, wind des would rain from the sky and cut the cultivators into pieces. Blood spilled all over the ground, and massive gaps appeared in what shouldve been a fairly tight defensive line. While the cultivators were panicking, the invasion force led by Lu Ye and Ju Jia cut right through them like a hot knife through butter. It took them barely any effort to split the enemy into smaller, easily manageable chunks.
The Thousand Demon Ridge put up a valiant resistance, but there was just no way they could hold the line after losing cohesion. Most of the time, they had just unleashed their Spirit Artifact right before they were hit by several attacks. They were dead before they could scream.
The battle onlysted an incense stick before the Thousand Demon Ridges battle line copsedpletely.
It was easy to decide what to do after that. It was decided that the invasion force would be split into two halves. One group would follow Lu Ye and continue to conquer the Outpoststhey numbered only a thousand or so, but their numbers would naturally grow with timeand the rest would chase down the routing enemy. They numbered over two thousand.
The Thousand Demon Ridge lost over a thousand people in this battle, but the Grand Sky Coalition lost only two to three hundred.
The entire world was shocked when the news was spread. The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of both sides warned the Legates at Weishui again and again to stay put unless absolutely necessary.
At least half of the reason the second invasion force was able to score such a massive victory was thanks to Gray. The power and intimidation factor of a Tyrant-level Spirit Beast were just too great.
Without it, the oue of this battle wouldve been far murkier. It wouldve been a pyrrhic victory at best.
A dayter, the split armies met up and swept through all the abandoned Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts around them. Then, they marched on.
On a Spirit Artifact ship, Lu Ye was sitting cross-legged and bare-chested, revealing an innumerable amount of fresh wounds and old scars. Hua Ci was sitting next to him and healing the fresh wounds with her Spiritual Power.
She let out a little sigh on the inside. On the first day they met, the young man was already covered in wounds. Today, his appearance hadnt improved one bit.
Why must you risk your life so? Hua Ci said quietly, At this rate, I might actually have to burn paper offerings for you one day.
She even shot Yi Yi a reproachful nce. Why didnt you rein him in?
Yi Yi stuck out her tongue yfully. Like anyone could stop Lu Ye from charging into the fray and going crazy. The best she could do was to stick to his side and block as many hidden knives for him as she could.
How is the Outpost doing? He asked.
Pretty good. Many of them including Chen Yu wanted toe to the Inner Circle to help you after hearing your exploits. I didnt allow them.
Chen Yus Eighth-Order already, right?
Since two months ago, yes. He hadnt left because there were many things to do at the Outpost.
Are you sure its okay for you toe here? Who is leading and managing the Outpost right now?
I transferred the prolegate position to Gu Yang before I left. Sister Shui Yuan also approved of this.
Gu Yang thats not a bad choice. Hes steadierpared to the others, and I trust in Sister Shui Yuans insight as well.
It was around this time he suddenly felt something from his Battlefield Imprint. It was a message from the sect master.
The pots about to burst. Do you have any personal requests? I could try and get them for you.
It told Lu Ye that the Thousand Demon Ridge was near their breaking point. He thought for a moment before sending a message.
At the same time, on a Spirit Peak at Crouching Dragon Mountain, the tension between the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of both sides was reaching the boiling point.
The Thousand Old Ridge old man said sternly, The fish may die, but not without splitting the. You do not want to go to war with us, do you Pang Zhen? Sure, we Thousand Demon Ridge do not have an effective way of stopping Lu Yi Ye, but if he keeps this up, we will have no choice but tounch an all-out war involving the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.
All Grand Sky Coalition Divine Ocean Realm cultivators turned serious when they heard this.
An all-out war involving the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield would naturally involve every sect in Jiu Zhou. No one here thought that the Thousand Demon Ridgecked the guts and determination to do the unthinkable either. They had already sustained astronomical losses at this point, and they were swiftly approaching their bottom line. If Lu Ye still refused to stop, then they would rather flip the table andunch an all-out war.
[Why should I suffer alone, when I can make everyone else suffer with me?]
That was the sentiment that was slowly but surely growing stronger within the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Literal rivers of blood would be drawn all across the Spirit Creek Battlefield. No sect would be able to live in peace anymore.
Like I told you, we want half a province of
Silence. You know we would rather go to war than ept such a condition. Everything else is negotiable.
By that, he meant that they could demand for more resources or the like.
The old man then looked at the sect master and added, Does your youngling have any terms he would like to offer? It will be given priority.
In the end, Lu Ye was the source of everything. Although Pang Zhen was the official representative of the Grand Sky Coalition they were negotiating with, they must take Lu Yes feelings into consideration as well.
Yi Ye does have a couple of requests to make, the sect master said and drew everyones attention.
The old man bowed his head as if reminiscing a terrible past. Three months ago, Yi Ye was nearly poisoned to death while visiting the Heavenly Derivative Sects Outpost
Is he doing this on purpose? The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge thought furiously when they heard this.
Back then, the members of the Crimson Blood Sect had thrown such a fit that everyone and their mother thought that Lu Ye was dead. They had even celebrated his demise. In reality, the guy wasnt just perfectly fine, he emerged two monthster as an extraordinary ward cultivator and created the first ever invasion force in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Today, at least a hundred Thousand Demon Ridge sects had suffered greatly at his hands.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had been beyond stunned when they heard that Lu Ye had returned to life. In fact, they still had no idea how he had survived to this day. It was because the poison targeted not just the physical body, but also the Divine Soul. It should be impossible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to survive such a poison.
Just when the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators looked like they were about to flip, the sect master abruptly changed his tune, Thankfully, he was ultimately rescued despite teetering on the brink at least several times.
No one on the Thousand Demon Ridges side knew how Lu Yi Ye had survived because only a handful of people knew about the truth. It no longer mattered though.
However, he never forgot his dear poisoner for even a second.
If Shui Yuan hadnt arrived in time, if Lu Ye didnt happen to have the priceless treasure that was the Soul Cleansing Water, he would have lived, but Ju Jia and Zhao Li would have died for sure.
Every injustice has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. Lu Ye was still too low on thedder to have the means to find out the truth himself, but he was certain that the Thousand Demon Ridge could give him an answer.
The old man thought for a second before revealing a name.
Swear a Heavenly Oath to prove that youre telling the truth!
The old man frowned. Brother Tang, we have known each other for years
The sect master interrupted him rudely. It is precisely because I have known you for years that I know just how sly you are. You could be telling me the truth, or you could be throwing out a random Tier-six sects name. In any case, we can confirm this if you swear a Heavenly Oath, no?
For a moment, the old man said nothing at all.
Oh ho! You just lost another Outpost, the sect master suddenly announced with obvious schadenfreude.
It was the Tower of Morning. The old man gave a different name. As far as I know, it was the Tower of Morning who perpetrated it.
The sect master immediatelyunched into a tirade. I knew it! I fucking knew it was those underhanded dogs! I shouldve annihted them way back then!
He did not ask the old man to swear a Heavenly Oath this time because he could feel that the old man was telling him the truth.
He immediately messaged Lu Ye about it.
Lu Ye was standing in the middle of a rubble when he received the sect masters message. He grew thoughtful when he saw its contents.
It was a name he had heard before. Back at the Goldentip, Shui Yuans alter ego, Sister Wei Yang had mentioned the name of three sects. The first was the Cult ckfyre, the second was the Tower of Morning, and the third was the Vale of Venom.
Before the Battle of Goldentip, all three sects were either Tier-one or Tier-two sects. Later, the Crimson Blood Sect paid them back by destroying their headquarters and massacring all of their Divine Ocean Realm cultivators. To this day, they still hadnt recovered from their loss. Now, they were only Tier-four or Tier-five at best.
Lu Ye was very familiar with the Cult ckfyre. Hisst opponent in the Battle of Goldentip was a Sacred Child who willingly destroyed her Spiritual Points just to fight him. In the end, she still died at his hands.
Lu Ye had already upied the Outpost of the Cult ckfyre. To say that the crazy spell cultivators had left a deep impression on him would be an understatement, which was why he had steered his first invasion force in their direction. It wasnt exactly intentional, but it was looking like they were going that way anyway, so why not?
Lu Ye had never made contact with the Vale of Venom. The 10-point map revealed them to be a long, long distance away from his current position as well.
On the other hand, the Tower of Morning wasnt that far away. Considering their normal pace, the invasion force should be able to make it there in less than three days.
He immediately tapped on the Battlefield Imprint at the back of his hand.
Chapter 337: The Tower of Morning
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 337: The Tower of Morning
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
On a Spirit Peak at the Crouching Dragon Mountain, the sect master once again thumped his chest and raged, This boy is gonna be the end of me, I swear!
Pang Zhen hurriedly asked, Calm down, Elder Tang. What happened?
The sect master replied, The boy demanded me to give him three days to conquer the Tower of Mornings Outpost, or he would not be able to let this go. What kind of nonsense is that? He has no respect for his seniors at all! Sigh, its all my fault. The Crimson Blood Sect hasnt epted a disciple for so long that Id forgotten how to teach, much less discipline them.
The old man looked aggrieved and regretful, but there wasnt a soul here who didnt know what he was implying.
Pang Zhen couldnt follow through with the act either. He was the deputy coalition leader of the Grand Sky Coalition. Who would take his word seriously if he acted that way?
The old man from the Thousand Demon Ridge looked stormy to say the least. A long, long timeter, he finally uttered through gritted teeth, He may upy the Tower of Morning, but absolutely nothing else. If he so much as touches one of the Outposts on his way there, then we will go to war with the Grand Sky Coalition! I swear this with the Heavens as my witness!
Pang Zhen turned serious, and the sect master nodded. I will exin the situation to him and tell him to look at the bigger picture.
Lu Ye received another message from his sect master. As he thought, his time was finally up.
Since he emerged from the Heavenly Derivative Sect, he had created two Grand Sky Coalition armies and conquered over a hundred Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts in over a month. His allies had benefited massively from the conquest, while his enemies had suffered astronomical losses.
Both sides Divine Ocean Realm cultivators were in the middle of peace talks right now, and it was clear that they had arrived at some sort of agreement at least. If he ignored the warnings and persisted in his ways, then the situation would truly spiral out of control.
It was true that he could simply teleport to another location and restart his conquest again and again. In fact, he could theoretically do this until the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was conquered. However, it would also force the Thousand Demon Ridge to go to war against the Grand Sky Coalition.
Therefore, it wasnt necessarily a bad thing to stop here. They could even demand a little morepensation from the Thousand Demon Ridge for the ceasefire.
Having made up his mind, Lu Ye asked Luo Fu to summon the Legates for a meeting. It was clear that the Legates had already received the instructions of their elders though. They understood what was going to happen and why they were stopping without needing much exnation from Lu Ye.
It was a shame, but it was inevitable. This was how the battles between the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge usually ended. This wasnt the first time one faction had gained a massive advantage over the other, but they rarely pushed the other side so far that they couldnt see any hope whatsoever because they knew that an opponent with nothing to lose was the scariest opponent of them all.
This was especially true considering the great war over thirty years ago. Feng Wujiang had tried to wipe out the Thousand Demon Ridge once and for all, but he ultimately wasnt able to achieve impossible. The Crimson Blood Sect fell from grace after that, and the Grand Sky Coalition itself had sustained huge losses.
After the meeting, the group scattered and rallied their cultivators. They were mobilizing to head back to their sects. The invasion force began retracing their steps and went home. When all was said and done, Lu Ye, Hua Ci, Ju Jia and Yi Yi were the only ones left at the ruins of the Outpost.
Brother Li.
Lu Ye suddenly looked in a certain direction and called out.
Hua Ci and the others were surprised by his action. They were even more surprised when someone actually stepped out a few secondster. He had a handsome face, straight pupils and enchanting eyes. He was wearing a set of white robes that was patterned with red clouds, and it matched his glistening white hair perfectly. A cbash gourd was hanging off his waist. He was none other than Li Baxian.
How did you know I was here?
Li Baxian looked surprised. He thought he had hidden himself pretty well, but Lu Ye still saw through him somehow.
You joined the invasion force as an independent cultivator about half a month ago. Then, you flew all the way from Weishui to join me. I would be remiss to miss you after all the pains youve gone through to protect me, Brother Li.
As Lu Ye said, Li Baxian had secretly joined him when he was still leading the first invasion force. He just hadnt revealed himself.
To be specific, he had shown off after the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order ghost cultivators assassination attempt. Clearly, he had shown up because he was worried for Lu Yes safety.
As for why he hadnt revealed himself to Lu Ye, it was because he thought it would be easier for him to act that way. It wasnt that he didnt want to meet his junior brother.
After Lu Ye had teleported to the Silverlight Ind using the Divine Opportunity Column, Li Baxian had rushed over on his flying Spirit Artifact. He had even assassinated a not insignificant number of Core Circle cultivators on the way.
Im very d, junior brother!
Li Baxian was of course delighted to learn that Lu Yes perception was as sharp as it was. He finally understood why Lu Ye had dared to send the invasion force away as well. The young man knew he was watching nearby from the start.
Li Baxian was the second runner-up on the Scroll of Supremacy. There should be no one who could harm their group unless the enemy drastically outnumbered them, not to mention that the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted Lu Ye to stop as soon as possible. Right now, thest thing they wanted to do was to send assassins, fail, and give him the excuse to continue his conquest.
So, to the Tower of Morning? Li Baxian asked.
He had obviously received the intel as well. Lu Ye nodded.
All right then. Lets go. Li Baxian raised a hand and summoned a huge Sword Spirit Artifact. After he jumped onto it, the sword grew a lot bigger in just a couple of seconds.
It shot to the sky after everyone had gotten on the Spirit Artifact sword.
If Beaky was still here, then of course they would have ridden it to the Tower of Mornings Outpost instead. However, Beaky had never forgotten the order Feng Wujiang had given it back then. It did not mind carrying the disciples of the Crimson Blood Sect here and there, but it would not linger in the wilderness for even a second longer. That was why Beaky had flown back to the Outpost immediately after the battle was over.
Lu Ye sighed in admiration as his surroundings flew backward at high speed. He had known that sword cultivators were famed for their speed, but it was only now that he was able to experience it firsthand.
Of course, there was the fact that Li Baxian himself was an extremely powerful cultivator.
Li Baxian sipped on liquor and hummed to himself as they traveled. He seemed to be in an extremely good mood.
He might not be a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect anymore, but it was his roots. Of course he was pleased and honored that his sect had produced a monster like Lu Ye.
Sometimes they would pass by another flier or two, but they all avoided Li Baxian like the gue. One look at the aura he left behind was all they needed to know that he was not one they wanted to trifle with.
The trip to the Tower of Mornings Outpost should have taken three days, but thanks to Li Baxian, they arrived in less than a day.
At the Outpost, several hundred grim-faced Tower of Morning cultivators were assembled at the public square. The grand ward was active as well.
Their elders had informed them of the Thousand Demon Ridges strategic decision. They wanted them to abandon their Outpost to appease Lu Yi Ye.
It was a decision they couldnt ept as a matter of course.
Every object in the Outpost was the culmination of their Spirit Creek Realm cultivators blood, sweat and tears. It represented generations upon generations of hard work.
That was why they didnt evacuate immediately even though their elders hadmanded them to do so repeatedly.
However, Lu Yi Ye had surprised them all by showing up in less than a day instead of the expected three days.
The news shocked and angered the Tower of Morning cultivators. It wasnt long before they reached the edge of the grand ward and exchanged res with Lu Yi Ye.
The invasion force was nowhere to be seen. It looked like Lu Yi Ye had only brought a couple of people with them. The Tower of Morning cultivators felt great temptation when they realized this. Was this their chance to kill Lu Yi Ye and be the heroes of the Thousand Demon Ridge?
That temptation subsided considerably when they recognized the white-haired young man standing beside Lu Ye.
Was there anyone who did not know the second runner-up of the Scroll of Supremacy, Li Baxian? His iconic white hair and the cbash gourd were all they needed to see to identify him.
Outside the ward, Lu Ye slowly swept his gaze across the crowd before locking eyes with a man in ck clothing.
Are you going to open the ward yourself, or are you going to make me breach it?
The man in ck clothing was undoubtedly the Legate or the prolegate of the Tower of Morning. How could he tell? It was because the Control Gem was hanging off his waist.
The guy did not give a response. He simply stared expressionlessly at Lu Ye.
So, Lu Ye brought out his ward gs andunched them at various nodes. He then channeled his Spiritual Power into them. In just a dozen or so breaths, a small gap had appeared in the grand ward.
This was how he had breached the grand ward of Sunlit Mountain, though at the time he had a bunch of ward cultivators to support him. With his current attainment, tearing a small gap like this was almost as easy as breathing.
Lu Yes group then stepped through the hole under the stunned gazes of the Tower of Morning cultivators.
The tension grew razor sharp in an instant. The sound of Spirit Artifacts being unsheathed came from nearly every direction as the Tower of Morning cultivators channeled their Spiritual Power in silence, ready to act at first notice.
Li Baxian grabbed his cbash gourd and took a deep gulp. He beamed at the people around him after letting out a satisfied burp.
His gaze was as sharp as a de. Every time his gaze swept across a vital spot, the affected cultivator looked like they had fallen into an ice pit. Death sat on their shoulders and licked at their Divine Souls like an invisible, ravenous beast. It chilled them to their core to put it mildly.
The invisible pressure was akin to torture. It built up more and more until the weak-willed cultivators started turning red in the face and shaking like a leaf. It was clear that they were on the verge of exploding.
The man in ck clothing said suddenly, Li Baxian, the Tower of Morning will hunt you to the ends of the world!
He had just said this when a translucent sword only one-third of a meter long suddenly touched his forehead. No one had even seen how Li Baxian moved. One second there was nothing, and the next Li Baxian was pressing a translucent sword against the Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivators forehead just deep enough to draw blood.
Crimson blood trickled down his forehead before splitting at the bridge of his nose. It was like an ugly, bloody make-up.
Did you just threaten me? Li Baxian tilted his head curiously. I dare you to say another word.
The man in ck clothing looked furious, but he kept silent. Everyone knew that sword cultivators were notoriously poor at taking threats. Li Baxian would kill him if he said another word.
He wasnt afraid to die, but his death would definitely lead to physical conflict, and only the Heavens knew how many cultivators they would lose if that happened. A top-tier sword cultivator was no one to be trifled with.
Chapter 338: No Regrets
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 338: No Regrets
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
One could even say that Li Baxian was purposely goading them into attacking. If they lost their cool, then it would cause no end of trouble.
It was one thing if they knew they could kill Lu Ye for sure. In that case, they would be the heroes of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
However, they were unlikely to seed while Li Baxian was around. The man in ck clothing wasnt feeling confident in the least. That was why he didnt dare to make a move. At the same time, he regretted his earlier decision. If he knew that things would turn out like this, he wouldve evacuated back to Jiu Zhou with his cultivators already.
The short sword rang lightly before shing downward. The Control Gem hanging off the guys waist shattered into pieces.
The grand ward stopped functioning. The barrier of energy was still there, but it had lost all of its power and function.
Open the way, Ju Jia! Lu Ye instructed.
Ju Jia immediately walked forward. Some Tower of Morning cultivators tried to block his way, but he just pushed right through them. It resulted in the asional grunts of pain and even the snapping of bones.
Ju Jias physique was so that there were only a handful of body tempering cultivators in the Core Circle who might be able to give him a run for his money. In the Inner Circle? Such a person simply did not exist.
Naturally, the Tower of Morning cultivators were only torturing themselves by standing in his way.
Lu Ye stuck close to Ju Jia as they made their way toward the Sanctum of Providence. He kept a hand on his saber the entire time.
The hundreds of Tower of Morning cultivators gritted their teeth in humiliation and fury, but no one dared to act without their Legates order.
Everyone here knew what the consequences of attacking Lu Ye now were.
Their Divine Ocean Realm cultivators had arrived at a consensus, and the Tower of Morning was Lu Yesst stop. Therefore, their first priority should be seeing off this walking pestilence as soon as possible. It was humiliating, but their dignity could be regained, and their lost Blessings would bepensated by the Thousand Demon Ridge.
This was also why Li Baxian had not gone on a killing spree already. Anyone who attacked first would be, in essence, damaging the peace talks between the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators. No Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could possibly endure the avnche of consequences that stemmed from it.
Ju Jia continued his unstoppable, bone-breaking march until they reached the Sanctum of Providence.
Lu Ye then put his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column and robbed all of its Blessings in his capacity as the Legate of the Crimson Blood Sect.
On the public square, every Tower of Morning cultivator was closing their eyes in pain. It sounded like their spine was being snapped vertebra by vertebra as they listened to the creaking noisesing from the Sanctum of Providence.
The World Spiritual Qi in the Outpost began thinning at a ridiculous pace after the Blessings were removed from the Divine Opportunity Column. The Outposts area of influence rapidly shrank, and even the grand ward that was barely functioning abruptly shattered into pieces.
A short whileter, Lu Ye emerged from the sanctum and gave Li Baxian a nod. The sword cultivator had been standing guard at the entrance.
Li Baxian then summoned his massive flying sword once more.
After everyone had jumped on board, Li Baxian let out a guffaw and shot into the sky. From the Tower of Morning cultivators point of view, they looked like a shooting star that was shooting upward instead of down.
The sword cultivator had never felt this good in his life. With his abilities, there was practically no one except those on the top rung of the Scroll of Supremacy he couldnt kill. However, it was apletely different experience to waltz into an enemy Outpost as a small group and plunder everyst Contribution Point right before the enemys eyes. To say that he enjoyed the frustration and helplessness present on each and every face would be an understatement.
At almost the same time, the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators on the Spirit Peak at Crouching Dragon Mountain were receiving thetest updates from their contacts. Their hearts had leaped to their throats when they received the most horrifying news about fifteen minutes ago. Instead of the expected three days, the Vanquisher of Sects had appeared at the Tower of Mornings Outpost in under a day. The problem was that the cultivators of Tower of Morning hadnt evacuated, so it was like a spark meeting powder keg that was already primed to explode!
To say it was the scariest fifteen minutes of their long, long life would be an exaggeration, but it certainly was among the top ten. No one could say for certain what might happen next.
Thankfully, the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators of the Tower of Morning ultimately did not allow their emotions to get to their head. They would definitely have topensate them properly for their loss and discretion, though that was for the Thousand Demon Ridge to think about.
The Thousand Demon Ridge old man looked at the sect master and said, With this, I believe that the matter is satisfactorily resolved for all parties? Good. This must not happen again though.
The sect master nodded in agreement. Ill ground that brat the second I reach home!
The Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge merely shot him a cold look. The sect master called it grounding, but he was really sheltering the young man. To say that this matter had grown way out of control would be an understatement. The matters of the Spirit Creek Battlefield rarely affected Jiu Zhou because Spirit Creek Realm was the lowest cultivation level. This time though, the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators themselves had toe out and negotiate a solution.
A case like this was literally unprecedented.
In fact the Vanquisher of Sects had done a surprising amount of things that should be impossible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator until this point. It would not even be an exaggeration to say that he had single-handedly turned the Spirit Creek Battlefield upside down.
If he continued to show his face in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he would definitely be attacked in every way possible.
The old man then looked at Pang Zhen and said, Thepensation will be prepared in a months time.
Pang Zhen nodded. The old man hadnt sworn a Heavenly Oath, but he wasnt worried that the Thousand Demon Ridge would renege on the promise. There were only downsides if they did.
A momentter, the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge finally left the scene.
Pang Zhen exhaled deeply as the tension that had been building in his heart all this time finally subsided. They had been forced to negotiate with their enemies on this mountain and pay attention to all the events in the Spirit Creek Battlefield for days. They had experienced not one, but numerous emotional roller coasters in the past week. It was a rare experience to say the least.
Lets go. Pang Zhen beckoned as everyone took to the sky and split up a few secondster. They all came from different provinces after all. Naturally, their path home was not the same.
On the way, Pang Zhen said, Elder Tang, your boy is going to go to the Core Circle after he switches his cultivation technique to a Heaven-Grade one, right?
Yeah? What are you trying to say?
If he wants to, the Righteous Sect wees him to cultivate at our Outpost.
The sect master nodded. I will let him know. Whether he will actually visit is up to him.
It sounded like Pang Zhen was trying to improve his disciples prestige or befriend the Crimson Blood Sect, but the sect master knew he wasnt. He was protecting Lu Ye.
Lu Ye had basically started a mini war in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. There was no Thousand Demon Ridge sect in the world who didnt want to eat his flesh and drink his blood. As a Ninth-Order cultivator, the young man was among the best of the best in the Inner Circle. However, that would change once he entered the Core Circle.
The cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge were sure to shower him with all kinds of attention. It would be a manhunt the likes of which the Spirit Creek Battlefield had never seen.
Moreover, the Core Circle was a differentndscapepared to the Inner Circle. Champions were a dime a dozen in that ce, and they responded faster to threats. Even with Lu Yes ward breaching skills, it was doubtful he would be able to act as he pleased in the Core Circle.
The Righteous Sect was a Tier-one sect. He would be safer there than most ces. In any case, Pang Zhen thought it natural to lend a fellow Bing Zhou-er a hand.
The sect master did not make the decision on behalf of Lu Ye though. He just said that he would tell Lu Ye about it.
About seven or eight dayster, a sword light descended in the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost from above.
They shouldve arrived sooner, but even Li Baxian was hard pressed to carry so many people on his flying Spirit Artifact for so long. In fact, they had taken turns to fly the group so that no one person would bepletely exhausted. Naturally, the trip home took a couple days longer.
At least they werent attacked by anyone along the way. Heck, they hadnt even seen a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator in the past couple days. The Thousand Demon Ridge was just that defeated. They had lost over a hundred Outposts, and their greatest protector, the grand ward, waspletely useless to the Vanquisher of Sects.
Even now, the Thousand Demon Ridge was still being ruled by the shadow of Lu Ye. Although it was confirmed that the Vanquisher of Sects had ceased his conquest, no one dared to let up their guard for even a moment. Every man and woman was staying in their Outpost in case of an emergency.
The Outpost had been informed of their arrival a while ago, so they saw at least a couple hundred cultivators waiting for them when they arrived at the public square. With Chen Yu at the helm, the disciples saluted the group and greeted, Wee home, Brother Lu!
As Hua Ci had mentioned earlier, the cultivators of the Crimson Blood Sect had desperately wanted to support Lu Ye when the young man was dominating the Inner Circle. They only didnt because Weishui was too far away, and their cultivation level was stillcking.
When they learned that Lu Ye had created a second invasion force, they immediately sent their representative, Hua Ci to assist him.
Lu Ye hade home in triumph, so of course it was their duty to give him a warm wee. What disciple wouldnt be proud of their Legates numerous and practically miraculous exploits?
Different standings created different perspectives. To the Thousand Demon Ridge, the Vanquisher of Sects was a walking cmity that deserved a million deaths and more, but to the Grand Sky Coalition and the Crimson Blood Sect, he was their lucky star and their hero.
Besides that, the Crimson Blood Sect cultivators were quite curious about Lu Yes brawnypanion, Ju Jia. They had heard for the longest time that Lu Ye was apanied by an extremely powerful body-tempering cultivator, but as the saying went, seeing was believing. It wasnt until they saw him with their own eyes that they realized just how vigorous he really was.
Even He Xiyin, a fellow body tempering cultivator could not help but give Ju Jias stone-like chest a one-two punch to confirm that he wasnt an illusion. Ju Jia felt nothing at all, but she felt like she had just punched the ground. It wasnt just a gap in cultivation, but also a gap in physique.
From the sidelines, Li Baxian watched it all with a ddened expression. He felt younger just being next to his junior brothers and sisters.
Once upon a time, he had dreamed of seeing exactly this scene; an Outpost that was filled with people and energy. Instead, the Crimson Blood Sect itself had nearly been removed as a sect.
Today, his dream had finallye true.
A long timeter, after the crowd had finally dispersed, Li Baxian said suddenly, Im leaving, junior brother.
Once, he was frustrated with the fact that he had to devote most of his time and energy in the Devoted Ones despite being a former Crimson Blood Sect disciple. That was not the case anymore. For as long as Lu Ye remained in the Crimson Blood Sect, it would never decline. In fact, he could see the opposite happening under his junior brothers leadership.
Lu Ye had aplished what he had tried and failed to do. He no longer had any regrets.
Chapter 339: Rewards
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 339: Rewards
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If youre not in a hurry, can I ask you a couple of things before you leave? Its not every day you visit the sect.
Li Baxian smiled and tapped a finger on his Battlefield Imprint. You can just message me, no?
Sister Shui has cooked a feast.
Its been a long time since Ist saw the old man. I should pay him a visit at the very least.
He then started walking toward the Sanctum of Providence.
Lu Ye shot Hua Ci a meaningful look. The girl immediately followed behind Li Baxian with Yi Yi and Ju Jia.
A whileter, they had all teleported back to the headquarters using the Divine Opportunity Column.
Lu Ye did not follow them. Instead, he pressed a hand on the Divine Opportunity Column.
For the past month or two, he was either fighting or plundering the Blessings of the Outposts of the Thousand Demon Ridge. It was finally time to reap the rewards.
Plundered Blessings could be converted into an equal amount of Sect Contribution Points through his sects Divine Opportunity Column only. He had already done this once after returning from the Chess Sea, so the routine was not unfamiliar to him.
First, he used his privilege as the Legate to check the current bnce of Sect Contribution Points in the Divine Opportunity Column. There were only two thousand plus Contribution Points.
As of now, their Divine Opportunity Column only had one type of Blessing, and it was the type that increased the concentration of the Outposts World Spiritual Qi. There were neen such Blessings in total, and each Blessing improved the Outposts World Spirit Qi by ten percent. The Divine Opportunity Column itself already improved the World Spiritual Qi by ten percent, so in total the Outposts World Spiritual Qi was two hundred percent richer than the wilderness.
If the Spiritual Qi concentration of the wilderness was valued at one, then the Crimson Blood Sect Outposts was two.
He used to think that their Outposts World Spiritual Qi was pretty rich, but he changed his opinion after visiting various major sects Outposts.
With a thought, the plundered Blessings in his Battlefield Imprint shattered into tiny motes of light and sank into the Divine Opportunity Column. For a moment, it looked like the column was surrounded by a sea of fireflies. They looked extremely pretty.
The number indicating the amount of Sect Contribution Point in the Divine Opportunity Column started climbing at a ridiculous rate.
Fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, one million, two million, three million
Lu Ye did not know if there existed another Divine Opportunity Column with such a ridiculous amount of Sect Contribution Points in the Spirit Creek Battlefieldperhaps in the Core Circlebut he was certain that theirs was the only one in the Outer or Inner Circles.
How much was three million Contribution Points? One ordinary Ninth-Order Realm cultivator was worth nine points at his current cultivation level, so he would have to kill thirty three thousand, three hundred and thirty three people to reach that number
To say it was a ridiculous number would be the understatement of the century. Lu Ye had stacked up quite the body count at this point, but he was still many zeroes away from reaching that number.
Of course, ying enemy cultivators was hardly the only way to rue Contribution Points. Handling insectoid attacks, selling stuff in the Vault of Providence and more were ways to earn Contribution Points as well. It was just that ying enemy cultivators was the mostmon way to the masses.
When the number finally came to a stop, it showed three million and one hundred thousand plus Sect Contribution Points.
It seemed like an impossible number, but Lu Ye and the first invasion force had conquered at least a hundred Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts before they were stopped at Weishui. He did not touch the first three sects because of favors due to the Heavenly Derivative Sect, but the rest were fair game.
He was the one who created the invasion force, so his share was much bigger than everyone elses. At best, he got ten percent of the Contribution Points. At worst, he still got five percent.
The sects in the Inner Circle had been developing their Outposts for many years. Even five percent of the Blessings in the Divine Opportunity Columns was a lot.
The second invasion forces sess wasparatively smaller, but they had still conquered twenty to thirty Outposts in total.
This was especially true for thest Outpost he conquered, the Tower of Morning. In this case, he was able to monopolize every Blessing in the Divine Opportunity Column.
As the saying went, many little drops make an ocean.
The reason he toiled so hard and so longgoing so far as to teleport to another location to restart his conquest after learning that the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators had begun their negotiationwas for this moment.
It was enough for what he had in mind. In fact, there would be plenty of Contribution Points left for himself.
Lu Ye did not rush to increase his sects world Spiritual Qi. First things first, he paid himself a sry.
In the past, he thought that a sry was fixed at ten percent of the total Sect Contribution Points. Later, he learned that personal contribution was factored into the equation as well. Assuming that his contribution to the sect wascking, he would not be able to pay himself anything substantial even if he was the Legate.
That was why he was able to pay himself and Hua Ci their sry without a hitch after returning from the Chess Sea. They had earned every point with their blood, sweat and tears.
The Divine Opportunity Column currently had over three million and one hundred thousand Contribution Points, so the most he could pay himself was thirty one thousand Contribution Points. A thoughtter, the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand immediately burned like someone had stuck a red hot branding iron to it. Thankfully, the feeling went away as quickly as it came.
After confirming that the bnce was transferred sessfully, he finally began improving the Outposts World Spiritual Qi.
The purchase price of the Blessing was incremental. To be specific, each Blessing cost five hundred Contribution Points more than thest. At the beginning, one Blessing only cost five hundred Contribution Points, but now thetest price was ten thousand.
Every new Blessing increased the concentration of World Spiritual Qi in the Outpost by ten percent and ten percent only. It was why it cost a ridiculous amount of Contribution Points to improve it during thetter half of the Outposts development. One could even say that the development of the Outpost itself was a maw that could consume it all no matter how many points you sank into it.
Lu Ye paid the new price no heed, however. As he made the purchases, the remaining two million, seven hundred and ny thousand Sect Contribution Points started decreasing at a visible rate. The Divine Opportunity Column itself kept twisting and changing and making all sorts of clicking noises.
At the Outpost, the Crimson Blood Sect disciples were celebrating Lu Yes triumphant return when suddenly, the world changed. The World Spiritual Qi in the Outpost had suddenly be extremely abnormal, and before the cultivators could investigate the anomaly,rge patches of dark clouds started forming above the Outpost.
The clouds were so thick that even the sun had beenpletely blotted. It was like a massive, end-of-the-world creature that was bearing down on them.
It was impossible not to panic at this. What scared the Crimson Blood Sect disciples even more was the fact that the already dense clouds were still growing thicker by the second.
The prolegate, Gu Yang hurried out of his residence and looked up. Seeing that things were not looking good, he hurriedly messaged Lu Ye and removed the grand ward using the Control Gem at the same time.
No matter what these dark clouds were, he did not want the grand ward to be up when it bore down on them. It would probably shatter upon contact.
A momentter, he rushed into the Sanctum of Providence and said in a hurry, Its bad, Brother Lu. You need toe out and check this out as soon as possible!
Lu Ye was losing his patience because the Blessings could not be purchased in one go. He turned around and asked, What?
Theres something strange going on in the sky right now.
Lu Ye frowned and dashed out of the Sanctum of Providence. After observing the sky for a moment, he waved his hand and said, Its nothing.
He then went back into the Sanctum of Providence and resumed the tedious process of purchasing the remaining Blessings.
Right now, Gu Yang was feeling rather dumbfounded by how careless his fifth senior brother was acting. It looked like the end of the world up there, so how could it possibly be nothing?
[Still, if Brother Lu said its nothing, then its probably nothing right?]
After consoling the nearest disciples and walking back into the Sanctum of Providence, he immediately heard a rapid series of clicking noisesing from the Divine Opportunity Column.
He slowly walked up to Lu Ye while voicing his doubts, What are you doing, Brother Lu?
He used to be an independent cultivator, and he had only reced Hua Ci as the prolegate a while ago. Naturally, he had never learned to purchase a Blessing.
Now that I think about it, you havent done this before, have you? Thats perfect. Take my ce and familiarize yourself with the process, Lu Ye said while beckoning Lu Ye to his position.
Gu Yang did as Lu Ye had instructed him to. His eyeballs nearly fell out of his eye sockets when he saw the number indicating the Sect Contribution Points. Unable to believe his eyes, he rubbed his eyes but could not see any change in the number. Finally, he looked at Lu Ye as if to confirm that it was real.
Buy it!
Right, right. Gu Yang hurriedly went to work.
ck click ck
The Divine Opportunity Column began making clicking noises once more.
While this was going on, Lu Ye pressed his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column again and connected to the Vault of Providence with a thought. He quickly found what he was looking for.
It was an item that could only be purchased in the Vault of Providence, and it was so rare that even the Divine Trade Association was out of stock. Its price was a ludicrous one hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points!
The item was a Spirit Pill of sorts. When he first saw it at the Vault of Providence, he had been absolutely bbergasted by its ludicrous price. He had thought it would take him a very long time to rue the Contribution Points necessary to purchase it, but as it turned out, he managed to do it before he even entered the Core Circle.
My heartfelt thanks to all the Thousand Demon Ridge sects who so kindly donated their Contribution Points to the Grand Sky Coalition!
There were only eight of these Spirit Pills in the Vault of Providence. Back when his second senior sister was still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there were still over thirty of the Spirit Pills. However, it decreased to just eight over time.
No one knew where the Spirit Pills came from. There was no one in the entire Jiu Zhou who was capable of refining them.
There existed a good number of rare items that could not be obtained or refined with current knowledge in the Vault of Providence. Some people deduced that it was the remnants of the previous Cultivation World, which was why the number of these items never increased with time, only the opposite.
Just one of these Spirit Pills cost a hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points, but Lu Ye purchased two without so much as batting an eyelid.
As a result, he went from being wealthy enough to rival a country to broke. Still, he? had over ten thousand leftover Contribution Points.
He withdrew his mind and looked down at his hands. He was now holding two ancient-looking wooden boxes. After inspecting their contents and confirming that the Spirit Pills werent damaged in any way, he finally put them safely inside his Storage Bag.
I cant buy any more, Brother Lu, Gu Yangs voice came from the side.
Lu Ye pressed his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column once more. What was two million, seven hundred and ny thousand Contribution Points at the beginning had dwindled to just four hundred thousand.
There were also ny-nine Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column now!
Lu Ye tried to purchase more, but as Gu Yang had told him just now, he couldnt.
So, ny-nine Blessings really is the limit, Lu Ye said, raising his eyebrows. He had heard from Li Baxian that a Divine Opportunity Column in the Outer Circle could not carry more than ny-nine Blessings, but for obvious reasons, no Outer Circle sects had ever been able to purchase this many Blessings. That was why no one knew if it was the truth or just hearsay until now.
Chapter 340: Ten Times The Increase
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 340: Ten Times The Increase
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Opportunity Column continued to click and ck non-stop. By now, the dark clouds in the sky had be so thick that it almost felt like nighttime.
Everyone was looking up into the sky. Although they were still worried, Gu Yang had told some of them that the phenomenon was nothing, and the word had spread. That was why no one was particrly panicked.
The moment the clicking noises from the Divine Opportunity Column stopped, the dark clouds abruptly descended toward the ground. From a distance, it looked like a massive piece of cotton was falling toward the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
The wind blew. It was so powerful that the disciples had to squint.
The dark clouds abruptly disappeared, and light returned to the Outpost once more. That wasnt the only thing that had changed though. The surrounding World Spiritual Qi had also undergone an impossible change.
Cultivators were naturally sensitive toward changes like this. Exmations of shock immediately broke out from every corner of the Outpost. No one could quite believe what they were sensing.
The surrounding Spiritual Qi had be much richer. Now that the Divine Opportunity Column was imbued with ny-nine Blessings instead of neen, the concentration of the Outposts World Spiritual Qi was ten times richer than the wilderness.
It was almost like the air had suddenly turned liquid.
The disciples began cheering. In the past, they were independent cultivators that belonged to nowhere. They had had to attach themselves to the bazaar located outside the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost until Lu Ye recruited them and afforded them the treatment and benefits a proper cultivator enjoyed.
Not long ago, the quality of the Outposts World Spiritual Qi had increased, and the disciples were overjoyed as it directly improved their cultivation efficiency.
However, todays improvement was even greater than that. The concentration of the World Spiritual Qi went from two times greater than the wilderness to ten times.
Everyone knew that the good times had arrived.
Their talent might be below average, but with such an environment, their cultivation speed would be as good as most of the sects in the Outer Circle or even the Inner Circle, if not better.
While the disciples at the Outpost were celebrating uproariously, Lu Ye had teleported back to the headquarters.
The headquarters was almost destepared to the Outpost because they didnt have many true acolytes yet. Besides Hua Cis group, they had only Gu Yang, He Xiyin and a handful of people in their ranks. Moreover, they spent most of their time cultivating in the Outpost and returned to the headquarters only once in a while.
First, Lu Ye paid his respects to the sect master and listened to his teachings.
Themotion you caused in the Inner Circle this time is no joke. It was agreed during the peace talks that the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge will pay us a heftypensation to make you stop. You should lie low until then.
Yes, Sect Master, Lu Ye responded before asking, Does this mean I cant breach another Outposts grand ward without good reason from now on, Sect Master?
Of course you can. Whatever made you think that?
But the peace talks
We agreed that you will stop this time, but we never agreed that you will stop once and for all. That said, you should wait until weve received thepensation, and know that the Thousand Demon Ridge would rather fight us to the death than let this happen a second time. That is how hard youve hurt them.
In the future, try not to go overboard with your schemes. Its one thing to test ones bottom line, and another topletely cross the line so to speak. The Grand Sky Coalition will suffer if the Thousand Demon Ridge resolves themselves to take us down with them.
.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before nodding, I understand.
The sect masters meaning was clear. He was saying that Lu Ye was free to attack any Outpost, but it was best if he avoided creating an army of thousands or tens of thousands. It was arguable that Lu Ye was simply acting in his capacity as a cultivator in the first case, but not the second. The Thousand Demon Ridge was also far more inclined to resort to drastic action in the second case.
This disciple shall be taking his leave.
Yi Ye.
Lu Ye turned around.
The sect master beamed at him. It is the Crimson Blood Sect and my fortune to have met you in the Evil Moon Valley.
Lu Ye bowed deeply, And I you, Sect Master.
Go well.
Now that he thought about it, there were two main reasons he was able to join the Crimson Blood Sect. One of them was luck, and another was Pang Dahai. Without Pang Dahais careful exnation and hints, he might not have made the decision to join the Crimson Blood Sect that day.
Back then, he had wondered why Pang Dahai hadnt just told it to him straight, and that he was making things unnecessarilyplicated with his obtuse hints or even just making fun of him. Now though, he realized it was an act of kindness. He was a disciple of the Righteous Sect and the nephew of the vice coalition leader of the Grand Sky Coalition, Pang Zhen. He clearly did not want the Crimson Blood Sect to be removed. That was why he had secretly manipted him into joining the Crimson Blood Sect. It was to ensure its continued existence.
Hed like to thank the man if he got the chance.
Every time Lu Ye came home, Shui Yuan would prepare a feast for him. Today was no exception.
There was barely any talking at the dining table because everyone was busy gorging themselves on her food, and this was doubly true for Ju Jia. The body tempering cultivator had never eaten such a delicious medicinal feast in his life, and he hadnt stopped chowing down since he had taken his first bite. He ate until he felt like his own tongue had vanished into his stomach.
He was a quiet, wooden man. Despite having followed Lu Ye for some time, he had remained aloof and uncaring of other peoples opinion. Not Shui Yuan though. His respect toward Shui Yuan was almost palpable.
Lu Ye and Li Baxian were trying to get each other drunk. His fourth senior brother was looking at Shui Yuan nervously at the beginning, but he let go after realizing that his second senior sister wasnt about to whoop his ass.
It was a feast with good liquor, a lot of drink, and mild drunkenness.
Some timeter, Lu Ye and Li Baxian went fishing at the center of the Lunarmere. They each held a fishing rod and chatted about everything while Yi Yi cooked tea next to them. The fragrant scent blended well with the evening air.
Lu Ye was no good at fishing. He generally dove into theke to catch them. His fourth senior brother was a master at the art though, not to mention that he loved the feeling of fishing. That was why he never failed to fish some Blood Sturgeons every time he came home.
The Blood Sturgeon is technically a cultivation resource or sorts, you know. Have I ever told you that this type of Spirit Fish is used to temper a disciples body?
Yes, you did.
For obvious reasons, we disciples werent allowed to fish beyond a certain number of Blood Sturgeons to avoid depleting them, but I didnt know that when I was younger. Every time I felt like eating a Blood Sturgeon, your first senior brother or second senior sister would bring me here to catch a fish. Sometimes, we were sessful, and no one knew what we did. Sometimes, we were caught by the old man and received a beating for our efforts. It was why I hated the old man to death back then.
Now that I think about it though, the old man is a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. There is nothing in the headquarters that could hide from his perception. It wasnt that the old man didnt notice my doing, he just couldnt be bothered to discipline me most of the time. Plus, Brother Feng and Sister Shui always protected me during those beatings.
Brother Feng What kind of person was he?
Li Baxian fell silent for a moment before answering, He was a man of peerless talent like you, but unlike you, he was a nobody until he reached thete stage of Cloud River Realm. From then on, he shot through thedders of Real Lake Realm and the Divine Ocean Realm like they were nothing and pushed the Crimson Blood Sect to the top in no time.
Unfortunately, we were both raised up and cast down by your first senior brother. It is why your cultivation journey is much more precariouspared to ours. The number of difficulties and dangers you will face will only increase. Remember this well, junior brother. Do not make the same mistakes Brother Feng did.
Lu Ye nodded solemnly. I will not.
Yi Yi chose this moment to serve them both a new cup of tea. She then sat beside them and watched them fish in silence.
Did you notice something different about your second senior sister? Li Baxian asked suddenly.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before answering, You mean, she didnt stop you from drinking?
Li Baxian burst outughing. Well, she is in a good mood. Everyones less strict when theyre in a good mood. He looked left and right before adding in a subdued voice, Shes ascended to Divine Ocean Realm.
Lu Ye perked up immediately.
Before his arrival, the sect consisted only of his sect master and his second senior sister. One of them was a Divine Ocean Realm Master, and the other a Real Lake Realm Master. If the Crimson Blood Sect wasnt a top-tier sect back then, it wouldve been removed from the list of sects many, many years ago.
Now that his second senior sister had ascended, it meant that the Crimson Blood Sect had two Divine Ocean Realm cultivators. He had a feeling that it was thanks to the Soul Cleansing Water he had given her a while ago.
This was good news, but the sect still had a long way to go. Right now, they had two Divine Ocean Realm cultivators, no Real Lake Realm cultivators and no Cloud River Realm cultivators. If he wasnt destined to make it to the Divine Ocean Realm, one might even say that they were facing a crisis of session.
She hasnt released the news yet, so were the only ones who know about it right now.
Suddenly, Li Baxian raised his fishing pole and pulled a colorful Blood Sturgeon right out of the water. Yi Yi immediately pped and cheered like she was the one who had gotten the fish. Even her face was red with excitement.
Lu Ye instinctively raised his fishing pole as well, but unfortunately he got nothing but air.
Li Baxian chuckled. Fishing looks like a simple task, but in reality it tests a persons patience and their ability to seize an opportunity before it slips through their grasp. Some things cannot be rushed, junior brother. Just let nature take its course, and the future you seek wille to you eventually.
It was clear his senior brother noticed something. Li Baxian added in a meaningful tone, A sects development isnt a one-man task, and it never will. Your first senior brother is the real life example of that. This is why I told you not to make the same mistakes he did.
I understand.
By the way, you didnt ask me to stay behind just for dinner, did you? Would you like to talk about it now?
Indeed, I would like to ask you to teach me the Way of Telekinesis. I heard that you can control over a hundred swords telekically. Is it true?
What do you think? Li Baxian returned the question back to Lu Ye.
I thought it was exaggerated, Lu Ye answered honestly. He had the right to say this because his Divine Soul was far, far stronger than his peers. In fact, he was certain that it was greater than Li Baxians as well. However, he could not control ten Spirit Artifacts satisfactorily even if he pushed himself to his limit, much less a hundred.
Ho, to think that my own junior brother underestimates me. Li Baxian let out a chuckle before pping his cbash gourd hanging off his waist.
The cork popped open, and metallic ringing filled the ears. The next moment, countless Spiritual Lights danced around them. The afterglow of sunset gave them a rainbow-colored appearance that was beyond gorgeous.
Lu Ye stared at his surroundings with a stunned expression. The rumors were real! Li Baxian really could control a hundred flying swords at Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order!
How on earth do you do it? Lu Ye asked in puzzlement.
Ill teach you.
A whileter, the duo stood about a hundred and thirty meters away from each other at the shore and fought using their flying weapons only. As the mock battle continued, Li Baxian would advise Lu Ye from time to time.
Yi Yi and the boat were still at the center of theke. From time to time, she would lift one of the fishing rods to see if they had caught anything, but she did not seed once. She eventually grew so frustrated that her cheeks were puffed up.
After looking left and right and confirming that no one was paying attention to her, she jumped off the boat and slipped soundlessly into the water.
Metallic ngs were still resounding from the shore of the Lunarmere. It was easier to notice ones ws when training via mockbat, especially when the opponent was a champion who could telekically control a hundred swords at once.
Chapter 341: Gift
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 341: Gift
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The following day, Li Baxian left.
Lu Ye learned a lot about telekinesis after a full night of tutoring. He also understood why his fourth senior brother was able to control a hundred flying weapons at Heaven
-Grade Eighth-Order.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye also discovered that Li Baxians methods werent fullypatible with him. They required a certain degree of natural talent that hecked.
That said, just because Li Baxians methods werentpatible with him didnt mean that he couldnt make use of any of them. One night of tutoring was enough to improve his Way of Telekinesis to a whole new level.
A sword light was currently flying over countless peaks. Li Baxian was flying in the direction of the sun with a Storage Bag in his hand.
It wasnt his own Storage Bag. It was something Lu Ye had gifted to him prior to his departure.
Seeing no reason to reject his junior brothers gift, he had epted it without hesitation.
There was no Restriction Lock on the Storage Bag, so Li Baxin was able to open it like he was opening a mortal bag. He soon produced a bottle from it.
The bottle was tightly sealed and pped with abel. Li Baxiansposure faltered a little when he saw the three words on thebel.
It was the Soul Cleansing Water.
Li Baxins pupils narrowed in shock. He was no newbie in cultivation, so of course he knew what the Soul Cleansing Water was. He even knew that it was the reason his second senior sister, Shui Yuan was able to ascend to Divine Ocean Realm.
He never thought he would receive a gift like this, however.
Just how much Soul Cleaning Water did his junior brother receive from the Lost City of Xianyuan?
Li Baxian uncorked the bottle and gave it a sniff. The bottle was half-full, and it gave off a unique scent that immediately refreshed Li Baxias mind. Even his perception felt a tad sharper.
If he were to trante it into drops, half a bottle of Soul Cleansing Water was worth a dozen or so droplets at least. It was a highly sought after treasure even by Divine Ocean Realm cultivators.
It was honestly a bit too much.
Lu Ye had exited the Lost City of Xianyuan with almost three and a half bottles of Soul Cleansing Water. The first bottle was missing a few drops because he had used them to save Ju Jia and Zhao Lis life. He then gave the bottle to Shui Yuan.
For the second bottle, he had gifted half to Bai Qian and used up the rest in the Hundred Wards Tower.
The third bottlethe one with only half in itwas given to Yi Yi. Yi Yi was an apparition, so the Soul Cleansing Water was one of the best cultivation resources she could hope to get. It would allow her to increase the strength of her Divine Soul in tandem with her cultivation level.
Thest bottle had been split into two halves. He gave half to Li Baxian and he kept the other half to himself in case he needed it for something.
With this, all the Soul Cleansing Water he had brought out of the Lost City of Xianyuan had been distributed ordingly.
Li Baxian shook his head, smiling. His junior brother had purposely kept the bottle in a Storage Bag because he was afraid that he would turn down the gift.
He put away the Soul Cleansing Water carefully before inspecting the Storage Bag again. To his surprise, it wasnt the only gift his junior brother had in store for him.
He took itno, themout. His expression turnedpletely serious when he saw what they were.
It was a pair of ancient-looking wooden boxes. He knew them so well he could probably craft the boxes by hand if he knew woodwork.
It was because he checked its remaining stock nearly every time he entered the Vault of Providence. It was one thing if the stock count remained the same, but each time someone bought it, he could only stew in helplessness and frustration. Today, there were only eight of them left.
Or were there?
There werent many things that could throw Li Baxian off, and this was one of them. His hands started trembling slightly.
If this really was the treasure he had been eyeing this whole time, then he would not know how to even begin to repay his junior brother. The half a bottle of Soul Cleansing Water was precious, but they were iparable to the two boxes he was holding. They were what he needed to cure the wound that had gued him for over a decade.
He sucked in a deep breath and opened one of the boxes. He immediately saw the perfectly sealed Spirit Pill within the wooden box. He checked the other box and found the same thing.
The sword light stopped in its tracks. Right now, Li Baxians heart felt as full as his hands.
It was real. He really was holding the treasure of his dreamsthe Point Restoration Pill.
As the name suggested, the Spirit Pill was used to repair broken Spiritual Points.
A broken Spiritual Point wasnt an irreparable wound, but it might as well be considering the price one must pay to buy it. How many cultivators in the world could earn a hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points?
That was why Dong Shuye had fallen into despair after losing Spiritual Points. It was because he knew he would never be able to repair them anymore.
Simrly, Li Baxian was stuck at the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade after losing his Spiritual Point.
Was he incapable of ascending to the Cloud River Realm?
Of course not. Any cultivator could ascend to Cloud River Realm once they had converted into a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique and met the lowest requirement of two hundred and forty Spiritual Points.
However, ascending to the Cloud River Realm like this would greatly impact ones future. They would essentially be crippling their own strength and potential.
That was why old school Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were quitemon in the Inner Circle, but almost non-existent in the Core Circle. Practically everyone who operated within the Core Circle had converted to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique, and those who had reached a certain age and the basic requirement at least would choose to ascend to the Cloud River Realm.
The Cultivation Jiu Zhou had done a worldwide survey before. It was concluded that a cultivator who ascended to the Cloud River Realm with less than three hundred Spiritual Points would only have a thirty percent chance to ascend to the True Lake Realm. Moreover, their chances of ascending to the Divine Ocean Realm was a big fat zero.
On the other hand, those who ascended to the Cloud River Realm with three hundred or more Spiritual Points would have a seventy percent chance to ascend to the True Lake Realm. Their chances to ascend to the Divine Ocean Realm were pretty good as well.
As for those who managed to ascend to the Cloud River Realm with a maximum of three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points, their chances of bing a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator was as high as eighty percent if they didnt perish midway!
Li Baxian had only lost a single Spiritual Point. He had unlocked the remaining three hundred and fifty nine Spiritual Points a long time ago. If he wanted to, he would be a Cloud River Realm cultivator already.
However, he remained as he was because he could not ept ascending to the next level as anything but his best.
Back in the day, he was heralded as one of Jiu Zhous best cultivators. He was a Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator who could control a hundred flying weapons and the second runner-up on the Scroll of Supremacy. Therefore, how could he ept ascending to the Cloud River Realm in his cripplied state and lowering his own potential?
He would rather stay at the Spirit Creek Realm and slowly umte the necessary amount of Contribution Points to purchase the Point Restoration Pill, and he did for over a decade. In fact, he wasnt far away from a hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points.
If there was one thing that he was worried about, it would be the Point Restoration Pills going out of stock before he could umte enough Contribution Points.
Today, the worry that had gued him for years was gone like the wind. He didnt have just one Point Restoration Pill. He had two!
This was a gift worth three hundred thousand Contribution Points. It was an astronomical number to say the least. With these two Point Restoration Pills, he had a one hundred percent chance of restoring his broken Spiritual Point and ascend to the Cloud River Realm in his best form. Even a decade of wasted time was but a trifle considering his extraordinary talent and cultivation speed.
It took a while for Li Baxian to regain his calm. Lu Yes gift was priceless beyond even his wildest imagination.
Be it the Soul Cleansing Water and the Point Restoration Pill, they were priceless treasures that a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator should never be able to obtain. And yet, Lu Ye did it.
After a thought, he tapped on his Battlefield Imprint and messaged, Thank you, junior brother!
Back at the headquarters, Lu Ye was in the middle of discussing the next step to develop the sect when he received the message from Li Baxian. He smiled but did not respond to it. Thanks were unnecessary between family members.
Suddenly, Shui Yuan asked, I noticed that there were only six Pill Restoration Pills left in the Vault of Providence a while ago. Was it you?
Yeah. You mentioned that Brother Lis Spiritual Point had been damaged for too long, and just one Point Restoration Pill might not be enough to repair it fully, right? That was why I bought two.
Lu Ye had found it strange when he heard that Li Baxian would stay at the Spirit Creek Battlefield as a Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order cultivator for over a decade. He only learned about his fourth senior brothers predicament after asking discreetly about it.
It wasnt a secret anyway. Anyone couldve told him what happened.
Later on, he brought this up to Shui Yuan during a casual conversation and was told that there existed a Spirit Pill in the Vault of Providence that could repair it. However, it was too expensive for any one cultivator to pay. If Li Baxian was still with the Crimson Blood Sect, then of course the sect would do everything in its power to help him. However, he was with the Devoted Ones right now, so the situation wasplicated to say the least. Not only could he not receive any external help, his means of earning Contribution Points were extremely limited. As a result, Li Baxian was unable to umte the Contribution Points necessary to purchase a Point Restoration Pill even over a decadeter.
Since then, Lu Ye had plotted to help his fourth senior brother.
During the Battle of Goldentip, it was Wei Yuan and Shui Yuan who bore the Judgment of the Heavens and saved his life. And it was Li Baxian who came all the way from the Core Circle to protect him.
As a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, killing a cultivator much lower than your cultivation level would result in a loss of Contribution Points. However, Li Baxian hadnt held back against his enemies in the slightest. Lu Ye even remembered his first senior sister, Wei Yuan warning Li Baxian to cool his horses and not deduct all of his Contribution Points by ident.
Lu Ye hadnt known Shui Yuan or Li Baxian until then, but they still protected him at great cost to themselves just because he was a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect.
That was the moment Lu Ye learned that he wasnt alone, that someone would always have his back, and that he had a home in this big, wide Cultivation World.
One Point Restoration Pill might not be enough to heal Li Baxianpletely because his Spiritual Point had been broken for too long. In that case, he purchased two!
So what if he spent three hundred Contribution Points to get them? It was nothingpared to his senior brothers wellbeing.
This was why Lu Ye had been umting Contribution Points like a madman all this time. It was because the amount he needed to achieve his goal was enormous.
At first, his n was to slowly take revenge on the sects who had wronged him one by one and slowly umte the amount he needed. However, his breakthrough in the Way of Wards and ward breaching provided him with a swift way to umte Contribution Points.
In a sense, he got very lucky.
Thank you for your hard work, Shui Yuan said while hiding her expression.
Just like Li Baxian, she often checked the remaining stock of Point Restoration Pills left in the Vault of Providence. She would not have noticed it so quickly otherwise.
We are family. Lu Ye shook his head before changing the subject. So, what do you think about my ns, senior sister? There is no way we can rely on our current members if we wish to develop our sect further. Most of our disciples were independent cultivators, and none of their talents are particrly impressive. Their loyalty is unequaled, but the heart can only go so far. Not only do we need a constant influx of new blood, we need exceptional ones so that the sect does notck Cloud River Realm and True Lake Realm cultivators in the future.
You are correct. Shui Yuan nodded. Just leave this to me. I will hold a recruitment ceremony in the near future. Its been decades since we did one, so all nearby talents have been going to our neighbors. I suppose its time to change that.
I look forward to it, senior sister.
While saying this, Lu Ye pulled out a couple of Storage Bags and handed them to Shui Yuan. This is the loot I had obtained during my conquests. Please deal with it as you see fit. Im sure youll be able to use it both for our sects development and our disciples cultivation.
Chapter 342: Outpost Development
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 342: Outpost Development
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
During thetter half of his conquest, the only loot the Grand Sky Coalition invasion force could obtain from their enemys Outposts was the Blessings on their Divine Opportunity Column. No Thousand Demon Ridge sect was bold enough to put up a resistance knowing how futile it was. That was why they took everything they could back to the headquarters and destroyed those they couldnt.
That said, there were quite a lot of battles during the first half of the conquest. Battles resulted in dead people, and dead people left their possessions behind. There were also some resources in the Outposts.
Lu Ye did not im too many of these resources. Therge majority of them were used topensate the sects who lost cultivators in the battle.
Despite this, he was able to umte a sizable amount of resources over time.
Of this loot, the most valuable was probably the grand wards. He had a couple ofplete sets, too. They cost at least ten thousand Contribution Points to purchase from the Vault of Providence, so naturally they could be resold for many things.
The sect had to grow, and the disciples had to cultivate. Naturally, they would need Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills.
Right now, the Outposts production was barely enough to meet the most basic cultivation requirement. If they could procure more Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills, then their cultivation speed would surely improve.
This was especially true after the quality of the Outposts World Spiritual Qi was drastically improved. Thepounding factor would elerate their cultivators growth even more.
Unfortunately, the Crimson Blood Sect did not have enough useful manpower at the moment. They even had to rely on Shui Yuan to manage and distribute the resources to the disciples.
After dumping the responsibility of recruitment to Shui Yuan, Lu Ye teleported back to the Outpost using the Divine Opportunity Column.
There were two disciples guarding the Sanctum of Providence right now. They were in the middle of meditating when Lu Yes arrival jolted them back to reality. When they opened their eyes and saw their Legate, they hurriedly saluted him and said, Brother Lu.
Lu Ye nodded slightly and walked out of the Sanctum of Providence. However, he could not see anyone for some reason.
Curious, he sent a message via his Battlefield Imprint and waited. At the same time, he grabbed a few Blood Sturgeons from his Storage Bag, ced his fingers between his lips and whistled.
A massive shadow descended from above. It was Beaky flying over from a nearby Spirit Peak. Lu Ye fed it the Blood Sturgeons as a treat.
Brother Lu, Gu Yangs voice came from behind him. The prolegate had probably rushed over immediately after he received Lu Yes message.
Where is everyone? Lu Ye asked.
Theyre all cultivating, Gu Yang exined.
It was only now Lu Ye understood why the Outpost looked like a ghost town. The drastic improvement in the surrounding World Spiritual Qi had pushed all disciples to lock themselves in their residences or training chambers to cultivate.
At this level of concentration, the Circles of Boon he had built in the training chambers were almost useless. The same went for his Gathering Spirits.
Gathering Spirits was most useful when the ambient World Spiritual Qi was neither too rich nor too diluted. That was not the case for the Outpost anymore.
In other words, the training chambers had be obsolete. For as long as a cultivator was cultivating in the Outpost, their cultivation efficiency was the same no matter where they were.
I heard from Hua Ci that you guys did a good bit of Outpost development while I was gone, Lu Ye said whilebing Beakys feathers.
It was Sister Hua who brought it up after consulting Sister Shuis opinion. All we did was y second fiddle or perform hardbor.
Show me. Lu Ye gave Beaky a pat and sent it back to its Spirit Peak. He then summoned his own Spirit Boat and flew himself and Gu Yang into the sky.
This was obviously Gu Yangs first time flying on a Spirit Boat because he could not stop admiring the experience. However, he quickly regained control of himself as he was a man of steady character. Hua Ci would not have made him the prolegate otherwise. Gu Yang began pointing at a building below them and started, This building is the Council Hall. We used to discuss important matters in the Sanctum of Providence, but Sister Hua thought were misusing the ce and suggested that we build a Council Hall.
That building over there is the Guest Hall. It is where we receive and entertain our guests.
This area filled with Spirit nts is the ntation Zone. You notice how big it is? Its because Sister Hua said that the sect had been in decline for too long, and its reserves were too spent. Our very first sry hade out of Sister Shuis pockets, and the next few hade from your loot. That is why she wanted us to create a ntation zone to farm some medicinal herbs, Spirit Flowers, unusual nts and so on to alleviate some of the strain on the sects finances. If our disciples are interested, they can even apply for an area and nt their own nts. Of course, when harvest timees, a portion of their earnings will have to be turned into the sect.
.
This here is the residential area. Sister Hua said that our residential area need not be too fancy, which is why I selected this area to be our Residential Zone. Anyone who is an acolyte is free to build their own residence here. The initiates and associates residential area is over there.
Those detached buildings over there are the guest amodations. The environment is better for obvious reasons, and we built ten right from the get go because Sister Hua expects a lot of people to visit in the Crimson Blood Sect in the future. In the same vein, weve left enough space for future expansions.
That area over there is where the disciples spar
Gu Yang continued to exin as the Spirit Boat flew here and there. Slowly but surely, Lu Ye got aprehensive picture of the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
He had to admit that the Outpost had changed drastically while he was gone. The whole ce exuded a sense of order, growth and prosperity thanks to a systematic nning and development.
A whileter, the Spirit Boatnded in front of the Council Hall. The first thing Lu Ye saw after going in was a ridiculouslyrge seat of honor. It was nked by two rows of smaller chairs. Enough space had been left at the center to amodate at least a hundred people.
Lu Ye sat down at the seat of honor but felt like he was sitting on a stool because he could not reach the armrests or the back. It honestly functioned better as a bed because it had more than enough space to sleep on.
After Gu Yang stood in front of him, he said, Gu Yang.
Im here.
Are you aware what your biggest w is?
Gu Yang mulled over the question for a while before shaking his head honestly. I do not know.
When you were acting as my tour guide earlier, I realized that you could not stop mentioning your sixth senior sister. This isnt necessarily a bad thing, by the way. She was the one who helmed the development of the Outpost, so I understand why you find it necessary to tell me that the ideas were hers. However, excessive steadfastness is not a good thing. Hua Ci is no longer the prolegate, you are. For that matter, you dont even have a sessor in mind, do you?
Im a Ninth-Order cultivator now. When I ascend to Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order, I would be forced to enter the Core Circle. It is only a matter of time before your sixth senior sister leaves as well. When the two of us are gone, you will be the lord and master of this Outpost. That is why you need to develop a sense of independence and judgment as soon as possible.
Our positions may sound enviable, but the responsibilities are honestly more trouble than theyre worth. Im sure youve already realized that. Time is the most valuable resource during the early stage of anyones cultivation, but the Legate and the prolegate must spend at least some of that precious time on the development of the sect. Of course, we are lucky in the sense that our sect is starting from the bottom, so there are only so many things we need to worry about. Even so, it is inevitable that our responsibilities will eat into our cultivation time. Whatever you do, you must never neglect your own cultivation, understand?
Gu Yang replied seriously, Do not worry, Brother Lu. I will do my best.
One more thing. You are already a Seventh-Order cultivator, and you will leave for the Inner Circle when you reach the Eighth-Order. It is imperative that you select a sessor as soon as possible.
I understand.
By the way, do you have the disciple register with you?
In fact, I do.
Show me.
Gu Yang hurriedly handed him the book. Lu Ye began flipping through them page by page.
There were currently over seven hundred people in the Outpost, but their actual acolytes numbered less than twenty people. They had around two hundred initiates and over four hundred associates.
Lu Ye remembered some of the names on the disciple register, but most of them werepletely unfamiliar to him. While returning the disciple register to Gu Yang, he said, You have two days to select a hundred worthy candidates to be true acolytes. You may recruit the independent cultivators who are performing well as initiates as well.
Gu Yang nodded seriously as he epted the book. Ill finish it in just half a day.
You may take your leave now.
Gu Yang turned around and started toward the exit.
Suddenly, Lu Ye recalled someone and asked, Oh right, do you know where Feng Yue is? You know, the one from n Feng?
Gu Yang stopped in his tracks and reported, Shes usually tending to the Spirit nts at the ntation Zone, so I would expect her to be there right now. Before you ask, no one ordered her to tend to the nts, it was something she decided to take on herself. Also, Sister Hua often gave her some Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones because she thought she looked pitiful. When the disciples got hurt in a spar, they would seek her out for treatment as well. Finally, many disciples who wish to walk the path of a medicine cultivator are receiving free lessons from her.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. Oho. Now you grow a spine?
Gu Yang blushed instantly.
Tell her that I require her presence at the Council Hall.
Right away, Gu Yang responded before taking his leave.
A momentter, a cowering figure stepped through the entrance of the Council Hall. She looked like an aggrieved housewife as she stopped about ten meters away from Lu Ye. Her lips were pressed tightly, her eyes were staring at her own feet, and even her breathing was suppressed like she was attempting to hide from an apex predator.
If there was one person who was decidedly not happy with Lu Yes triumphant return, it was be Feng Yue for sure.
During the time Lu Ye was gone, Feng Yue had managed to integrate herself into the Crimson Blood Sect. Although she had absolutely nothing to her name, she was able to convince most Crimson Blood Sect disciples to ept her with her identity and skill as a medicine cultivator.
Strictly speaking, she was treated as a supernumerary of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Lu Ye was the only person in the sect she couldnt interact with without turning as taut as a string. Without exaggeration, she did not even dare to breathe too loudly in his presence.
She had hidden herself the second she heard that Lu Ye had returned to the sect. Otherwise, Lu Ye and Gu Yang would have seen her when they were patrolling the ntation Zone. As Gu Yang had mentioned earlier, she was normally tending to the Spirit nts at this time.
When Gu Yang had messaged her saying that Lu Ye required her presence in the Council Hall, her soul had nearly departed her body. Unfortunately, short of actually dying on the spot, there was no chance she could avoid this meeting. She could only obey and wait for the walking cmity to decide her fate.
So, youre in the Eight-Order now, huh? Lu Yes voice reverbrated in the empty hall.
Feng Yue trembled and turned as the blood drained away from her face. She instinctively tried to make herself even smaller than she already was while answering, Yes.
Get over here!
If Feng Yues face wasnt as white as a sheet before, she was now. She wanted to say no, but she seriously did not have the guts to do so. It had been months since the day she was nearly beheaded, and yet the image of Lu Yes saber still haunted her dreams to this day. Without exaggeration, the grass growing on her grave would have be ten meters by now if she hadnt knelt fast enough that day.
Chapter 343: Weapon Holder
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 343: Weapon Holder
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Feng Yue tried dragging the moment for as long as possible. When she finally came within an arms reach, Lu Ye immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.
Feng Yue panicked as a shudder coursed through her body. She closed her eyes, gathered her courage and uttered through gritted teeth, You may own me, but youll never own my heart
Hah Lu Ye made a strange noise that caused Feng Yue to open her eyes and see just what was going on. It was then she realized that the strange noise Lu Ye made was him blowing away the dust on an engraved block before bringing it down on the back of her hand.
The second the stamp made contact with her skin, Feng Yue felt as if her fate had been rewritten. She could clearly feel an invisible connection between herself and the Crimson Blood Sects Divine Opportunity Column.
Her eyes widened like saucers after that.
What did you say? Lu Ye shot her a strange look after putting away the engraved block used to mark a Battlefield Imprint.
N nothing. To say she wasnt expecting this boon at all would be an understatement. When she recalled her earlier misunderstanding, she blushed so hard that even the roots of her ears were red.
She had been a Legate herself before she surrendered to Lu Ye. Naturally, she understood better than most what Lu Ye had done.
From now on, she wasnt a rootless cultivator anymore. The fear that she might be kicked out of the Outpost one day was gone as well. She was now a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect.
She felt like she had seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
Am I an initiate, or? Feng Yue asked carefully.
No. Youre a true acolyte.
Lightheadedness struck her immediately.
She thought she would be lucky if Lu Ye took her in as an initiate, but the oue was even better than her expectations.
You should understand why I dare to take you in as a true acolyte.
Feng Yue nodded like a chick pecking at the ground. I do!
Then go.
Feng Yue gave Lu Ye a respectful salute before turning around and heading toward the exit. When she stepped into the sunlight, she felt as if a huge burden was lifted from her shoulders. The shadows in her heart were gone before she realized it, and she felt so free it was almost as if she had been reborn.
She had been in a bad state since Lu Ye had brought her to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost. Forget that n Feng wasnt willing to pay a heavy sum to ransom her, she wouldnt have dared to return even if they were. Although her opponent was the Vanquisher of Sects himself, it did not change the fact that the Outpost n Feng had developed for decades had been lost while she was in charge. If she dared to return to n Feng, only two oues awaited her. One, she would be made an example of so that future disciples would not repeat her mistake; it was entirely possible that that punishment would entail execution. Two, she would be turned into a bargaining chip of political marriages.
Neither oue was eptable to her.
Unfortunately, her chances of escaping from the Crimson Blood Sect and joining another Thousand Demon Ridge sect was even more unlikely, so she had no choice but to remain in the Outpost.
It might look like she had integrated into the Crimson Blood Sect recently, and it was a fact that the cultivators of the Outpost treated her very well, the grim reality was that she had no future so long as she could not attach herself to the sect. Forget the million other things she couldnt do as an independent cultivator, her inability to earn Contribution Points alone was basically a death sentence to her cultivation journey. After all, she was a medicine cultivator. How was a healer like her supposed to kill enough enemy cultivators to sustain her cultivation needs and have a future?
Not only that, all Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts close to the Crimson Blood Sects had been oppressed to the death a long time ago. Even the disciples could not find an enemy cultivator to kill, much less her.
If she could not earn Contribution Points, she would not be able to purchase a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. And if she could not purchase a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique, then her cultivation would be stuck at one hundred and eighty Spiritual Points forever.
However, Feng Yue did not think that the Crimson Blood Sect would ept her, not without considerable effort and luck on her part at least. Not only was she a former n Feng, she was also a medicine cultivator.
It was an unwritten rule in the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou that enemy medicine cultivators could be ransomed at a reasonable price. It was one thing if she only stayed at the Crimson Blood Sect as an independent cultivatorif the Thousand Demon Ridge tried to use them of breaking the rules, they could simply argue that the Crimson Blood Sect and n Feng were still in the middle of negotiating the ransom moneybut if they actually epted her as a disciple, then the unwritten rule would truly be broken.
As with all things, once there was a precedent, another would surely follow. If that were to happen, turmoil would surely embroil Jiu Zhou for a while, at least.
The unwritten rule had remained unbroken for countless years. That was why Feng Yue had thought that she would live and die as a Ninth-Order cultivator. Then, Lu Ye did the unthinkable.
The young man hadnt bothered exining his reason for epting her as a true acolyte properly, but she was smart enough to figure it out herself. Not long ago, Lu Ye had turned the entire Inner Circle upside down and nearly triggered an all-out war that would have entangled the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.
What was recruiting an enemy medicine cultivator as a true acolytepared to that? Who would even dare to use him of rule-breaking? Those stupid enough to do so would likely lose their Outpost the very next day.
Plus, the Thousand Demon Ridge had broken the unwritten rules again and again to eliminate Lu Ye. They did not even have the moral high ground.
Now that she thought about it, Lu Ye might be the only one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who had the right, power and even the moral high ground to break an unwritten rule or two without repercussions.
He hadnt just taken her in as an associate or an initiate either. A true acolyte! It was the highest rank one could achieve as a disciple, and the benefits reflected that. Not only could she receive a monthly sry from the headquarters, she was also eligible to receive Contribution Points when the sect issued them in the future.
Right now though, what Feng Yue desired the most wasnt to earn Contribution Points, but to build a house of her own at the acolytes residential area.
Despite her former status, Feng Yue was fairly well connected. After she sent a few messages through her Battlefield Imprint, eight disciples soon showed up to help her build her new house. They all congratted her after learning that their fifth senior brother had epted her as a true acolyte.
Gu Yang was a highly efficient worker. Not even half a day had passed before he had finalized the list of names Lu Ye had asked for and passed it to him. After reviewing the list with Hua Ci and confirming that it was good, he asked Gu Yang to summon everyone to the Council Hall to officialize the promotion.
The next few hours were a joyous one. These disciples happily stepped into the Council Hall one by one as Gu Yang promoted them in his capacity as the prolegate and updated their position in the disciple register. When tomorrow came, the Crimson Blood Sect would wee a hundred true acolytes and two hundred initiates.
While they were working, Shui Yuan was paying the sect master a visit at the headquarters. She then repeated Lu Yes ideas to him.
The sect master nodded in agreement. Yi Ye is right. It is time we recruit more people. If we continue to pick our disciples only from the independent cultivators, we will definitely suffer from an absence of Cloud River Realm and Real Lake Realm cultivators in the future. That would be detrimental to the sects development.
Should we hold a recruitment ceremony then?
No, theres no need. You and I are the only ones who are rtively free in the sect right now, and I dont think either of us fancy the idea of preparing such a big event by ourselves. The recruitment ceremony can wait until after Yi Ye and his friends have ascended.
But how can we find our talent if we do not hold the ceremony?
Just leave it to me.
After Shui Yuan had taken her leave, the sect master searched around his room for a bit until he found a sealed letter. It was an invitation from a tier-Two sect in Bing Zhou called the Three Sages School.
Bing Zhou was a tumultuous, war-torn province because it was neighbors with a hostile province. As a result, the sects in both provinces were generally quite powerful. For example, both provinces had five Tier-one Sects each.
The Three Sages School might only be a Tier-two sect, but its power and wealth were not to be underestimated. They also had a lot of Divine Ocean Realm cultivators.
A sect this powerful generally held a recruitment ceremony every two or three years. They weed talented individuals from all across Jiu Zhou to grow their strength and ensure the continued existence of their sect.
That said, most of their talents generally came from the same regionthat was to say, the sects area of influence. There would always be individuals who would rather travel further to join the sect of their dreams than the one closer to them, but most of the time, the sects were able to nab the best talents within their own territory.
There was no such thing as a major sect who liked to look bad in front of others, which was why they sent an invitation letter to some of the most respectable seniors of their cultivation faction every time they held a big ceremony like this. It was both to generate some publicity for themselves and to strengthen rtionships with other sects.
The gesture was mostly symbolicfor example, the sect master himself had not attended any ceremony even once throughout the yearsbut if the seniors did choose to attend, then they would benefit from their presence, wouldnt they?
Not this time though. This time, he was going to attend the Three Sages Schools recruitment ceremony!
The sect master was a shrewd man. Why would he hold a recruitment ceremony himself when he could just attend one? In fact, the Crimson Blood Sect had lost a lot of talented individuals during the years they hadnguished, and the Three Sages School wasnt so far away that they could im that they didnt benefit from their loss.
A momentter, the sect master departed from the Summit of Fortitude. He was gone in the blink of an eye.
As it turned out, the Three Sages Schools recruitment ceremony was soon to begin. Time truly waited for no one!
At the Outpost, Lu Ye was looking through the Vault of Providence in the Sanctum of Providence once more. He soon found a palm-sized box with nine holes in it. It looked like a bee hive at first nce.
The item didnt look impressive, but in reality it was a Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact with eighteen enhancements on it.
A Low-Grade Spirit Artifact was a Spirit Artifact with zero to nine enhancements, a Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact was a Spirit Artifact with ten to eighteen enhancements, a High-Grade Spirit Artifact was a Spirit Artifact with neen to twenty seven enhancements, and a Top-Grade Spirit Artifact was a Spirit Artifact with twenty eight to thirty six enhancements.
Thirty six was not the maximum amount of enhancements a Spirit Artifact could carry, but at that point it was known as a Spell Artifact.
Spirit Treasure was the grade above Spell Artifacts, and the Nine Realms Scroll was one such example. Suffice to say, it was valuable enough to be considered priceless.
For Spirit Creek Realm cultivators, Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts were generally enough tost them until their ascension. Moreover, the more enhancements there were in a Spirit Artifact, the more Spiritual Power they consumed to function.
Of course, those who were wealthy and/or confident in their supply of Spiritual Power reserves could purchase a Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact. As usual, it depended on the person.
Lu Ye currently had exactly one Spell Artifact. It was the sword he had obtained from the Real Lake Realm cultivator he had killed. He hadnt sold it yet because he thought it might be useful in the future.
The beehive-like box he was called a Weapon Holder. It was a Spiritual Artifact that was specifically made toplement flying weapons.
When Lu Ye had returned from the Lost City of Xianyuan, he could already control four flying weapons at once. Today, he could control six or even seven without any pressure whatsoever.
.
He wasnt just manipting them telekically either. Each and every weapon was empowered with a Glyph, so the drain on his mental energy was even greater. Otherwise, Lu Ye was pretty sure he could control up to twenty flying weapons at the same time.
His capabilities were already far beyond that of his peers, but it was still nothingpared to his fourth senior brothers.
That was why he was buying a Weapon Holder. Li Baxian had highly rmended it after listening to his problems.
Killing enemies using flying weapons was convenient, but it wasnt without its ws. For Lu Ye, it was the fact that he had to waste a bit of time producing them from his Storage Bag.
In battle, even the slightest dy could affect the oue of a battle or even ones life. That was why Lu Ye had never stored the Invible in his Storage Bag. If he kept the Invible on his person, then he could grab it the instant he engaged inbat. But if he put it in his Storage Bag, he couldnt get to it at first notice. It was a pain and a serious risk considering certain scenarios.
Finally, a flying weapon could only hold so much Spiritual Power. If they ran out of juice, he would have to retrieve and recharge them to full.
These two ws alone made flying weapons so much less threatening than they could be.
These ws werent unfixable, however. The solution was called a Weapon Holder.
Chapter 344: When Forbearance Only Makes You Angrier
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 344: When Forbearance Only Makes You Angrier
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Strictly speaking, Li Baxians liquor gourd was a type of Weapon Holder as well. It was just weird-looking and stronger. Li Baxian stored all of his Spiritual Artifacts in it.
The Weapon Holder Lu Ye had purchased was undoubtedly inferior to Li Baxians liquor gourd, but it did not matter as long as it was usable.
The Weapon Holder could be tied to ones waist without affecting movement. It could also nurture his Spirit Artifacts until it was time to use them.
This was way better than manually producing them from a Storage Bag especially since he was nning to increase the number of flying weapons he controlled.
The beehive-like Weapon Holder had nine holes in total. Each hole could be used to store a single Spirit Artifact.
He had already acquired the additional Spiritual Artifacts. He only needed to refine them to use them.
After purchasing the Weapon Holder from the Vault of Providence, he proceeded to purchase a total of fifty me of Earthen Spirits.
Although he had not encountered another situation where the Tree of Glyphs ran so dry that it couldnt even burn away the Pill Poison anymore, Lu Ye had a vague feeling that its reserves were running low.
It was only natural. As his cultivation level increased so did his consumption of Spirit Pills. This was especially true now that he was a Ninth-Order cultivator. If he were to cultivate using Spirit Pills only, a single Spiritual Point would cost him forty Spirit Restoring Pills to unlock.
The increased consumption also increased the amount of toxin in his body. Naturally, the Tree of Glyphs had to burn more fuel to purge them.
That was without mentioning the time he was poisoned at the Heavenly Derivative Sect. That one poisoning incident had used up much of the Tree of Glyphs fuel.
He hadnt replenished the Tree of Glyphs fuel for a long time, nor had he obtained any new Glyphs from it.
He had been focused on umting the Contribution Points needed to purchase a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique and the Point Restoration Pill for his fourth senior brother.
The reason the Point Restoration Pill was so expensive was because it was nearly extinct. Every time someone bought it and used it, there would be one less Point Restoration Pill in the entire world. It wouldnt be nearly as expensive if someone was able to recreate the pill and restock the dwindling supplies in the Vault of Providence. Unfortunately, no one had been able to aplish such a feat so far.
Today, he had purchased his Heaven-Grade cultivation technique, Li Baxians Point Restoration Pills, and his Weapon Holder. He did not need anything else until he ascended and became a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Naturally, he saw no reason not to spend the rest of his Contribution Points on the me of Earthen Spirits.
The Middle-Grade Weapon Holder cost over nine hundred Contribution Points; a fairly affordable price tag from Lu Yes point of view. However, it was a different story for your generic Ninth-Order cultivator.
The lousiest Heaven-Grade cultivation technique cost a little over a thousand Contribution Points. This meant that the Weapon Holder was almost as expensive as the lousiest Heaven-Grade cultivation technique.
Not all Middle-Grade Spirit Artifacts were this expensive, of course. On average, the Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts in the Vault of Providence were priced between thirty to a hundred and fifty Contribution Points, Middle-
Grade between two to five hundred Contribution Points, and High-Grade almost a thousand Contribution Points.
A Weapon Holder was a unique type of Spirit Artifact. That was why it was priced higher than normal.
The prices in the Vault of Providence were extremely fair because they were decided by the Heavens themselves. It was basically impossible to cheat the Heavens or purchase something that was even slightly underpriced.
Fifty mes of Earthen Spirits cost ten thousand Contribution Points. This meant he only had two thousand Contribution Points left.
To think that he once had three hundred and ten thousand Contribution Points
Truly, one could never have enough Contribution Points.
He checked his own Spiritual Points. He had unlocked two hundred and twenty five Spiritual Points in total, and was only fifteen away from being able to cultivate a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique.
When he exited the Hundred Wards Tower, he had already unlocked two hundred and eighteen Spiritual Points. The reason he had only unlocked seven Spiritual Points despite the fact that it had been over one and a half months was simple. He just didnt have much time to cultivate while leading the invasion force and conquering Outposts left and right.
Even so, his unlock speed was still on par or better than an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator.
Gluttonous Feast was almost useless to most people, but to Lu Ye, it was a godlike auxiliary cultivation technique thanks to the Tree of Glyphs ability to burn the Pill Poison.
Lu Ye started toward his residence after putting away the Weapon Holder and mes of Earthen Spirits safely.
Yi Yi and Ju Jia were nowhere to be seen. Not even Amber was waiting for him like he thought it would. The World Spiritual Qi in the Outpost was so rich that no one was willing to waste their free time doing nothing.
Lu Yes earliest home had been built by Chen Yu and the others. Hua Cis home was right next to his. Together, they owned what was probably the most scenic location in the entire Outpost.
Strictly speaking, Hua Ci and Chen Yu should have moved out of the Outer Circle by now. After all, they were both Eighth Order cultivators already.
However, the unrest in the Inner Circle hadnt fully subsided and, after the upgrade, the quality of the World Spiritual Qi of their allied sects might not necessarily be better than their Outposts.
Therefore, it was fine to dy their journey a little longer.
The first thing Lu Ye did after returning to his residence was to refine all the Spirit Artifacts he had bought. Then, he put all nine of them into his Weapon Holder.
After he had strapped the Weapon Holder to his waist, he rose to his feet, tested his movements for a bit, then readjusted the position of the Weapon Holder. He did not stop until he was sure it wouldnt affect his movements.
While requesting guidance from Li Baxian regarding the Way of Telekinesis, he eventually figured out how his fourth senior brother was able to control a hundred flying weapons at the same time.
Talent was definitely a major part of it. The same went for mental strength. There was nothing Lu Ye could do about the first, but thetter was directly tied to the strength of his Divine Soul.
Lu Yes powerful Divine Soul was a massive boost to his mastery for sure. The reason he was able to continuously add more telekic weapons to his arsenal was because his Divine Soul kept growing stronger.
It was true that Li Baxian was able to control a hundred flying weapons at once because he had a strong Divine Soul. However, the biggest reason was because he could split his focus into many, many threads and multitask. This was an ability that most people could practice hard for many years and still never reach. He seeded not only because he was naturally talented, but also because he worked just as hard as everyone else to refine it to perfection.
Lu Ye did not need to control a hundred flying weapons though. He would not have chosen a nine-holed Weapon Holder otherwise. He only needed to practice with nine until he could use them even in his sleep. It was definitely something he could achieve with his current abilities.
As for how he was going to get there there was no better practice than realbat.
Lu Ye took out the Mystic Fruit he hadnt used in a very long time and poured his energy into it.
He hadnt entered the Rift of Illusions even once after he entered the Ninth-Order. Now, he was going to temper his Way of Telekinesis with it.
The scenery before him changed, and he entered the small, familiar space.
Something was different, however. He was surprised to find a fog-covered shadow just a short distance away from him.
This had never happened before. This small, strange space was the hub prior to entering the Rift of Illusions, and Lu Ye had never lingered in it for long. It generally took him a few seconds to pay fifty Contribution Points, open the door and enter the Rift of Illusions. He had definitely never encountered another person until now.
[Are they a creature of the rift? Or another Mystic Fruit user like me?]
It was clear that the other person also noticed him. They were just as surprised as he was.
One more thing Lu Ye noticed was that his body was covered in ayer of fog as well. He could not see through the other person, but they couldnt see through him either.
While Lu Ye was examining the mysterious person warily, they suddenly raised their hand and revealed a faint red light.
[Hes from Thousand Demon Ridge!]
Without further ado, Lu Ye unsheathed all of his flying weapons with a single thought before sending them spinning toward his enemy from multiple angles.
Spirit Creek Realm! A voice that was made genderless spoke. Then, Lu Ye saw the fog-covered person thrusting their palm at him, causing his flying weapons to shoot back the way they came. Not only that, the palm strikended squarely on his chest almost before he realized what was going on.
The next moment, Lu Ye found himself back in his residence. He was stunned and displeased to say the least.
[Did I just die?]
He already knew that he was no match for his opponent the second theyunched their palm strike. The Spiritual Power they exuded absolutely did not belong to that of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. They had to be a top-tier Cloud River Realm cultivator or even a Real Lake Realm cultivator, at the very least.
Still, Lu Ye was frustrated that he was killed in such a fashion. He didnt even get the chance to strike that motherfucker once! Who on earth were they?
Both their appearances had been concealed in that strange room. All he knew about his killer was that he was a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator, and that they had a Mystic Fruit just like him. Besides that, their cultivation level and even their gender werepletely unknown to him.
It wasnt strange that there was another person carrying a Mystic Fruit like him. The Chess Sea had appeared more than once as the stage of the Battle Royale of the Legates. While the Mystic Fruit Tree didnt appear every time, enough years had passed that someone had to have obtained a Mystic Fruit that was simr to his.
The reason Lu Ye had never encountered one of these people was because they had entered at different times. Plus, almost no one would stay at the hub for more than a few seconds. This whole encounter was one mighty coincidence so to speak.
Sometimes, forbearance only made one angrier. Sometimes,promise only resulted in more losses. Without further ado, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and entered the small space once more.
He was just in time. The other party had just pressed a hand against the door, and they hadnt gone through it yet.
Lu Ye immediately unsheathed the Invible and attacked the mysterious person.
The world abruptly spun and spun. The next thing he knew, he had returned to the real world once more.
The third time he entered the small space, the other party was waiting for him. The second he showed up, a beam of Spiritual Light hit him and and that was it.
This hopeless loop continued until the seventh death. It was only then Lu Ye finally calmed down enough to realize how stupid he was acting.
He was no match for the enemy. Plus, his head was starting to hurt after dying so many times in a row.
The fact that his headache was so mild proved that his Divine Soul was much more tenacious than before. In the past, Lu Ye would feel like his head was close to bursting after dying and exiting the rift. Now, he only had a mild headache after dying seven times in a row.
If there was one thing Lu Ye was furious about, it was that there was no way to identify the fucker who killed him. He could never take revenge.
In that small space, the fog-covered person waited for a long, long time until they were certain that Lu Ye wasnt going to appear anymore. Only then did they open the door and enter the Rift of Illusions. In their opinion, that Spirit Creek Realm cultivator must be the stupidest person alive in the Grand Sky Coalition. If their first death could be reasoned as ignorance, then the next six could only be described as futile and stupid. Their mind must be goo at this point. All they had earned was their own suffering.
Meanwhile, the Three Sages School, a Tier-two sect of Bing Zhou, was weing an honored guest
Chapter 345: That Old Bastard Has Gone Too Far
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 345: That Old Bastard Has Gone Too Far
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Three Sages Schools recruitment ceremony basically happened once every two years. Frequency wise, it was below average because some sects in Jiu Zhou took in a batch of disciples every year.
It was because the casualty rate of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators was extremely high. Even if they managed to survive the Spirit Creek Realm, their safety still wasnt guaranteed after they reached the Cloud River Realm, Real Lake Realm or Divine Ocean Realm.
Unless there came a day where the Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge stopped fightingpletely, Jiu Zhou would always be embroiled in conflict, and lives would be lost.
Therefore, the only way to ensure that the sect could endure was to absorb new blood again and again.
Generally speaking, the recruitment ceremony of Tier-One, Two and Three sects involved not just themselves, but also the lower tier sects around them.
Tier-One, Two and Three sects had very stringent entry requirements, and they only epted a limited number of disciples at a time. The number of registrants always outnumbered the quota by a significant amount. Therefore, those who failed to make it werent necessarily unworthy of investment. In fact, many excellent talents had been unearthed this way.
That was why the middle to low tier sects loved to attend the recruitment ceremony. It was to tter the other party and to pick up those hidden gems the hosting sects might have missed for one reason to another.
Generally speaking, everyone had a chance to join a major or minor sect so long as they properly disyed their talent and skills in the recruitment ceremony.
This was very different from the one Lu Ye had experienced in the Evil Moon Valley. Back then, almost no one in his group had unlocked even a single Spiritual Point. That was why the recruiters only checked their cultivation talent and nothing else.
In this recruitment ceremony, the candidates already possessed a cultivation foundation of some sort. This made it easier to glean their future and potential.
The Three Sages School thought that this years recruitment ceremony was going to be a bountiful one because they had already spotted a ton of excellent seeds during the registration phase. The organizers were most happy to see this.
The Three Sages School weed each and every guest warmly. This was especially true after they learned that Tang Yifeng, the sect master of the Crimson Blood Sect himself would be showing up in person.
The Crimson Blood Sect might be a shadow of its former self, but there was no changing the fact that they were a pir of the Grand Sky Coalition over thirty years ago, not to mention that the sect was showing signs of revival thanks to the meteoric rise of theirtest disciple, Lu Yi Ye.
The sect master of the Three Sages School, Yu Ganju had personally made an appearance to receive Tang Yifeng. They were long-time acquaintances at this point, so they did not bother exchanging too many pleasantries.
Why have youe, Brother Tang? Yu Ganju asked in puzzlement.
What? Am I not weed? Tang Yifeng joked smilingly.
We wouldnt dare. It is our honor to receive your presence. You understand why Im asking though, right? It has been decades since you attended any such event at all.
Tang Yifeng sighed. Because Ive changed my mind. Back then, I didnt care if the Crimson Blood Sect would be disbanded. Shui Yuan and I were the only ones left anyway, so it was like we had already disbanded, not to mention that Im old enough to enjoy retirement. But now, I have younglings to look after, and the days where the Crimson Blood Sect was in danger of being disbanded are behind us. In that case, I might as well put my heart and soul into it, right?
Yi Ye suggested that I recruit more disciples to ensure that the sect has a future, but as youre aware, it has been over thirty years since we recruited anyone, not to mention that Ive never handled a recruitment ceremony once in my life. I know next to nothing about the process or the customs that should be observed. Since you sent me the invitation not long ago, I thought I would use this opportunity to brush up on my knowledge.
I see! Yu Ganju eximed in realization. He finally understood why Tang Yifeng was attending the recruitment ceremony.
Anyway, Im sure you have duties you need to attend to, so feel free to leave me and observe your ceremony at your leisure, Tang Yifeng shooed kindly. The sect master was right, but he was still a sect master and a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator, meaning that he was expected to receive a modicum of respect at the very least. That was why Yu Ganju immediately ordered a Real Lake Realm attendant to apany Tang Yifeng for the entire length of the recruitment ceremony.
A recruitment ceremony was not a major event to the Three Sages School, so Divine Ocean Realm cultivators generally did not get involved in it. In fact, only four or five Real Lake Realm cultivators were assigned to receive important visitors and ensure that everything was proceeding in order. Everything else was left to the Cloud River Realm and Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to handle as a matter of course.
While Tang Yifeng was enjoying his time at the Three Sages School, Lu Ye was fighting for his life at the Rift of Illusions.
After dying to the motherfucker from the Thousand Demon Ridge seven times in a row, Lu Ye finally became wise and waited for an entire hour before going back in. As expected, the bastard was already gone. He then paid fifty Contribution Points to enter the Rift of Illusions and began honing his telekic abilities. Over time, he felt much better as one fog-covered cultivator fell after another.
Four hourster, Lu Ye emerged from the rift lookingpletely refreshed.
The training through realbat had improved his Way of Telekinesis measurably. Most importantly, the experience allowed him to figure out his limit.
After recovering his strength and grooming himself a little, he went to the Lunarmere and caught a couple of Blood Sturgeons. Then, he brought out his Spirit Boat and flew straight to the Summit of rity.
When he arrived at the peak, jumped off his flying Spirit Artifact, and walked toward Lady Yuns residence, the mute female attendant he saw before emerged from the entrance and shot him a smile. She then gestured for him to go in.
A trace of surprise shed behind Lu Yes pupils.
In the past, he already thought that the mute woman was a little strange, but he couldnt tell exactly what about her had tickled his senses. Today, he finally noticed a thing or two thanks to his stronger Divine Soul.
For starters, he finally realized why the attendant hadnt said a word. It wasnt just because she was mute.
He gave her the fish he caught before following her into a corridor. They soon arrived at the study Lady Yun where usually taught him. The woman herself was reading a book inside the study.
Long time no see, Lady Yun, Lu Ye greeted her with a respectful salute.
Lady Yun examined him for a moment before shooting him a warm smile. Im happy to see that youve returned without losing a limb or two.
It may not have been possible without the two treasures you gave me.
You can own the most powerful treasure in the world, and it will still be useless if the user is inept. I have heard of your deeds, and I am pleasantly surprised to learn how talented you are in the Way of Wards. Without exaggeration, you have dealt an unprecedented blow to the Thousand Demon Ridge. Are you nning to make the Way of Wards your main focus?
It depends. I honestly didnt expect to have such growth. Its all thanks to the Hundred Wards Tower.
The Hundred Wards Tower is a wonderful ce, yes. I have challenged it once in my lifetime, but I was too young to understand its secrets and intricacies back then. As a result, I wasnt able to gain too much from it. Anyway, it sounds like you still wish to focus on the Way of Glyphs.
Lu Ye responded affirmatively, Yes. The Way of Glyphs is a way that epasses many fields, and my inheritance is that of a Glyphweaver. That is why I do not want to neglect it.
You are correct. Mastering the Way of Glyphs would facilitate your learning in many other fields, and your current attainment in the Way of Wards is the proof of that. Let us begin our studies then. First, show me your current attainment in the Way of Glyphs.
Lady Yun then passed a jade tablet to Lu Ye.
This wasnt the first time she had tested his skill like this, so Lu Ye knew what to do without having to be told. He immediately channeled his Spiritual Power and constructed a Glyph to the best of his ability.
Of course, he chose a Glyph he had learned from the books. There was no point constructing one from the Tree of Glyphs.
A momentter, Lady Yun looked at the tightly woven Yin and Yang elements on the tablet and nodded approvingly. You have improved a lot.
Lu Ye thought the same thing himself. He might have invested most of his energy in the Way of Wards as ofte, but the improvement in his cultivation level, his Divine Soul and even his Spiritual Power Control had all? indirectly contributed to his attainment in the Way of Glyphs.
Now that Lady Yun had a measure of Lu Yes current attainment, she took a moment to prepare before starting the lesson. Lu Ye yed the role of a model student and listened attentively to every word. From time to time, he would ask a question or answer a problem Lady Yun had posed to him.
It almost felt like he had traveled back to the time where he studied under Lady Yun during the day and read her books during the night.
Speaking of books, he had already finished reading the books he had taken from Lady Yuns study before, so this was the perfect opportunity for him to rece them.
The days passed bit by bit, and the recruitment ceremony happening at the Three Sages School was nearing its end. It wasnt a big event, so the results were ready to be published after a couple of days. The Real Lake Realm cultivator responsible for organizing the event had ranked all the registrants ordingly.
The top fifty candidates would go to the Three Sages School as a matter of course. The rest might or might not be recruited by the sect representatives who were attending the ceremony.
Generally speaking, those among the top five hundred could always find a sect they were suited for unless they were too proud, or had set their sights on greater heights.
Innread].
Nighttime arrived, and the younglings participating in the recruitment ceremony were visibly nervous and excited. It was because the results would be published the next day.
The next day, everyone was waiting eagerly for the announcement, but to their surprise, there was none. Rather, something had happened to dy the announcement because they saw many Real Lake Realm cultivators flying back and forth between the headquarters and the outer courtyard.
Even the honored guests attending the ceremony were confused by this turn of events and tried to find out as much as they could. It wasnt until two hourster that the news was leaked: the top fifty participants of the recruitment ceremony had vanished into thin air!
Not only was it a shocking development, it was unprecedented. Something like this had literally never happened in the history of Jiu Zhou. Many people guessed that this was a new ploy by the Thousand Demon Ridge, but on second thought it couldnt be them. For starters, only a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator was capable of kidnapping fifty people in a night while remaining undetected, and it made no sense that a Divine Ocean Realm Master from the Thousand Demon Ridge woulde all the way to the Three Sages School to do such a thing.
At the same time, Yu Ganju was receiving the reports of his subordinates with growing anger. Tang Yifeng! That old bastard has gone too far!
The outsiders did not know what had happened to the fifty younglings, and neither did the Three Sages School at the beginning. That said, they were a Tier-two sect. It wasnt long before they found out the truth.
The fifty younglings had been kidnapped, and the kidnapper was none other than the Crimson Blood Sect Sect Master, Tang Yifeng.
Yu Ganju recalled his conversation with Tang Yifeng. He realized toote exactly why the sect masterno, the old bastard hade to observe their recruitment ceremony.
[Observe my ass, the sonuvabitch hade to steal OUR recruits! Not only that, he stole the top fifty candidates we were going to ept into our sect, no more and no less! Hells, he didnt even wait for the fucking INK on the paper to dry before stealing them!]
Tang Yifeng was without a doubt the most shameless Divine Ocean Realm cultivator he had ever known!
Chapter 346: The Weight Of The Vanquisher Of Sects
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 346: The Weight Of The Vanquisher Of Sects
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
At the Crimson Blood Sect Outpost of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Ye was standing in front of the Sanctum of Providence and observing the group of boys and girls gathered at the public square. He was surprised by how fast his sect master had acted.
It had only been a few days since he spoke with his second senior sister and told her that they needed to recruit some talented disciples to secure the growth of their sect, and today a whopping fifty of them had been delivered to his doorsteps.
On average, these children were all between thirteen to fifteen years old. The youngest of them looked just a little over ten, and the oldest not more than fifteen.
However, at least eighty percent of these children had unlocked their Spiritual Points, and the remaining twenty were brimming with spiritual potential.
Lu Ye knew little about the art of discerning talent, but even he could see that these children were exceptionally talented.
A few questions were swirling in his mind though. For starters, where on earth had his sect master and his second senior sister procured these children?
Then, why were they all wearing varying degrees of worry on their faces? Some of the girls were even sniffling in silence. It was almost as if they were bullied or something.
It was at this moment he felt a message entering his Battle Imprint. A quick check revealed that the sender was his second senior sister, Shui Yuan.
Lu Yes left eye started twitching involuntarily when he reached the end of the message.
No wonder the children in front of him were so talented. The top fifty candidates of the Three Sages Schools recruitment ceremony were all here. How could they not be among the best of the best?
Unless he was sorely mistaken, these children were supposed to join the Three Sages School until they were suddenly kidnapped. And here he thought that his sect master and second senior sister had scoured the world for them.
He didnt know that his sect master was capable of such a thing. It was so unexpected that it overturned some of his existing preconceptions regarding the old man.
Lu Ye wasnt sure what to do, to be honest. If they were normal recruits, then all was well. But kidnapped recruits? How on earth was he going to deal with this?
One thing was certain though, he could not return them to the Three Sages School no matter what. The sect master had literally wrecked his own reputation and dignity to pull off this stunt. It would be all for nothing if he returned them.
Also, his second senior sister had asked him in her message to help the kids settle down. Obviously, they were going to feel resentful and resistant for the moment, but they woulde to ept the sect eventually.
We want to return to the Three Sages School!
It was in the middle of such thoughts when a boy suddenly cried out in protest. He clearly looked afraid, but the fact that he dared to protest at all showed that he wasntcking in courage.
Send us back to the Three Sages School! We dont want to be here!
The youngster called out again, and this time he was supported by a chorus of simr cries. Startled, the timid, sobbing girls immediately broke into louder cries.
For a time, it was absolute pandemonium in front of the Sanctum of Providence.
They had no idea who had kidnapped them or where they were right now. They only knew they were moments from being epted into the Three Sages School until they were kidnapped all of a sudden. Regardless, the kidnappers sect could not possibly be better than the Three Sages Schools. The Three Sages School was a Tier-Two sect after all. Sure, there was a non-zero chance that this sect was a Tier-One sect in Bing Zhou, but seriously, why would any Tier-One sect resort to kidnapping the recruits of a Tier-Two sect?
Lu Ye did not take action immediately. He allowed the children to vent their hearts out until there wasnt a single boy or girl who wasnt crying on top of their lungs. It was such a loudmotion that even the disciples had stopped their cultivation temporarily to check what the hell was going on. They were all surprised and curious when they saw that a group of kids was screaming in front of the Sanctum of Providence.
The leader of the group, the boy continued to cry out while staring Lu Ye directly in the eye. He seemed to be trying to apply pressure on Lu Ye with his gaze and expression and make it clear that heand everyone elsewere determined to return to the Three Sages School.
Silence!
Lu Ye finally spoke up. His volume wasnt loud, but it easily overcame the childrens cries after he empowered his voice with Spiritual Power.
The cries came to an abrupt, terrified stop when fifty pairs of eyes stared at Lu Ye in fear and trepidation. They were kids who had never had any real life experiences after all. Naturally, they were easily cowed by Lu Yes unfriendly expression.
From the moment you entered my Outpost, you were already a member of the Crimson Blood Sect. I understand that you were nning to join the Three Sages School, but I would advise you to just forget about it. If someone must leave our Outpost
The Crimson Blood Sect? The boy who started the protest suddenly interrupted Lu Ye. Is Is this the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost?
Lu Ye nced at him and said, That is correct.
The boy then looked Lu Ye up and down before growing increasingly fearful. Then you are
I am the Legate-in-charge of the Crimson Blood Sects Spirit Creek Battlefield Outpost, Lu Ye!
The Vanquisher of Sects? The boy eximed in horror as he flinched back visibly. Whatever courage he forced himself to muster a while ago instantly vanished like it never existed in the first ce.
Lu Ye remained expressionless. First Lu Yi Ye, now the Vanquisher of Sects. This wasnt the first time his scandalous rep had preceded him, and it wouldnt be thest. That said, he was surprised that histest infamous title was known even to children.
There wasnt a single person on the Spirit Creek Battlefield who hadnt heard of Lu Yes exploits in the Inner Circle. Not only that, he was a household name in Jiu Zhou as well. Since children often clung to their elders like glue and paid attention to everything they did and said, it was only natural that they had heard of Lu Ye.
p??wread].
Not only that, Lu Ye was the first ever Vanquisher of Sects in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. As the side that vastly benefited from his exploits, the Grand Sky Coalition naturally spared no expense in spreading his name.
The public square fell silent for a couple of seconds. Then, the kids began gossiping quietly among themselves. It was said that the Vanquisher of Sects was most proficient at vanquishing sects, and that he had butchered at least ten thousand cultivators in his life. It was said that he was short-tempered and petty, and that none of his enemies had ever escaped his wrath. It was said that
From time to time, the kids would sneak a nce at Lu Ye. They immediately looked away and feigned ignorance when he turned in their direction.
Are you guys done? Lu Ye said with growing impatience.
Now that he thought about it, he had never encountered a child since he began his cultivation journey. Even those who were younger than him werent so young that he would call them children.
That was why he was finding it difficult to interact with them.
The children immediately turned as silent as death, going so far as to suppress their breathing. Even the weeping girls had ceased their sobbing entirely.
As for the boy who started the protest in the first ce, his face was as white as a sheet, and his heart was beating like he was having a heart attack. In his head, he wondered if his family would live to see tomorrows sun.
The Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt the only one who feared the Vanquisher of Sects. Even the children of the Grand Sky Coalition could understand the sheer weight and bloodiness behind the infamous title.
Continuing from where I left off. If you must leave the Crimson Blood Sect, then I shall give you the chance to do so. I will personally test your cultivation a year from now. The top ten performers will be granted the choice to leave the Crimson Blood Sect.
Re Really? Someone blurted instinctively.
Lu Ye looked at him, and the boy immediately looked down on his feet. Ne Never mind.
Are there any more questions?
After waiting for a while and receiving no questions, Lu Ye nodded in satisfaction and dered, Very well. Gu Yang!
Brother Lu.
Take them away and settle them down. You may begin their education after they have familiarized themselves with the Outpost.
Yes, Brother Lu.
Gu Yang gestured for the children to follow him. Come.
Like death row prisoners who had been granted a surprise pardon, the children trailed behind Gu Yang like chicks running after the mother hen. Loud sighs of relief could be heard for a time.
Hua Ci chose this moment to walk up to him and stared at the departing kids for a moment. She then mocked him lightly, Looks like infamy is not without its uses.
To that, Lu Ye had no response to give. Feeling more tired than he should be, he said, Im going to the headquarters.
He stepped into the Sanctum of Providence and teleported back using the Divine Opportunity Column. However, his head just appeared at the headquarters Sanctum of Providence when he heard and felt the effects of a great battle.
Lu Ye immediately dashed outside. Shui Yuan was standing right in front of the sanctum and looking at the sky.
When Lu Ye stopped beside her and looked up, he saw two figures shing against one another with great speed and power. One of them was casting a sky of spells at his opponent, and the other was shooting Sword Light after Sword Light like his strength was inexhaustible. It was such an intense battle that the shockwaves could be felt all the way from here.
Sister Shui, what is
The sect master of the Three Sages School decided to pay us a visit.
Lu Ye facepalmed. It hadnt even been an hour since his sect master kidnapped the fifty children and delivered them to the Outpost, and the sect master was already paying them a visit. Clearly, the jig was up!
Then again, the Three Sages School was a Tier-Two sect, not to mention that the kidnapping had happened in the middle of their recruitment ceremony AND their territory. There was zero chance the Three Sages School wouldnt find out about this.
Itll be fine, right? Lu Ye asked worriedly.
Oh, you have nothing to worry about. There arent many people who can hurt the old man, and clearly the Three Sages Schools sect master is weaker than him.
Lu Ye could see, or rather, hear that. The Three Sages Schools sect master hadnt stopped running his mouth since he teleported into the headquarters because he knew he was no match for the old man. As for the sect master, he neither said anything in retaliation or put on a particrly good defense because he knew he was in the wrong here.
Dont worry, Ive already contacted Uncle Pang about this. He will be showing up in a moment, Shui Yuan reassured him before asking, Have you settled the kids down?
Yeah. There are no problems.
Thats good to hear.
Sister Shui, Im just saying, but dont you think weve gone a little too far this time?
Shui Yuan smiled. I know it looks that way, but its really not. The Crimson Blood Sect hasnt recruited anyone in thirty years, meaning that all the talented individuals that appeared in our territory during that time went to someone else. The Three Sages School is one of the sects who greatly benefited from this, and their sect master is well aware. That is why he came alone. If he really wanted to take back his recruits, he wouldnt havee alone. From the moment Sect Master left them at our Outpost, it was already toote. He only came to demand an exnation from the Sect Master, so dont worry about it.
It was at this moment a beam of light appeared from the horizon and instantly cut between the twobatants and separated them.
The neer was none other than Pang Zhen of the Righteous Sect.
Perfect timing, Brother Pang. Tell me, do you think its reasonable that this old bastard kidnapped fifty of my disciples on the pretext of attending our recruitment ceremony? Do you?
Come on, there are hundreds of candidates who took part in your recruitment ceremony. Fiftys not that big of a number.
You took away the fifty best performers! The cream of the crop! The entire point of a recruitment ceremony is to find the diamonds in the rough and filter out the rest, so why the hell would I take the dredges into the sect?
Tang Yifengs protest only pissed Yu Ganju off even more. If Tang Yifeng must steal his candidates, fine, he was okay with giving up twenty or even thirty of them. But the sonuvabitch didnt even leave a single top fifty candidate to him! Not one! That was going too far, dammit!
Chapter 347: The Three Sages School’s Terms
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 347: The Three Sages Schools Terms
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If Tang Yifeng hadnt gone too far, Yu Ganju would not havee to the Crimson Blood Sect headquarters in person.
Right now, Pang Zhen was feeling a massive headacheing on.
Forget Bing Zhou, there had never been a case where fifty recruits had been stolen from another sects recruitment ceremony in the history of Jiu Zhou.
That the victim was a Tier-Two sect was just the icing on the cake.
He had already anticipated the worst when he received Shui Yuans message and rushed here, but to his relief the situation was lessplicated than he thought.
The sect master of the Three Sages School, Yu Ganju was the only one who hade to the Crimson Blood Sects headquarters. This alone was representative of the sects decision.
Therefore, it should not be difficult to solve this problem. It all hinged on the Three Sages Schools terms.
It took Pang Zhen a long time before he finally managed to persuade the sect master and Yu Ganju to return to the ground. After they had entered the guest hall, Shui Yuan and Lu Ye served the two sect masters a cup of tea. They were just about to take their leave when suddenly, Yu Ganju asked, Are you Lu Ye Yi?
Lu Ye shot a nce at Tang Yifeng. He only sped his fist and saluted the sect master after he received permission to do so. Well met, Sect Master Yu.
Yu Ganju hadnt held back one bit when he fought against Tang Yifeng just now, but now he was smiling warmly at Lu Ye. While stroking his beard, he said, Good.
That was it. He literally did not say anything else.
Confused, Lu Ye waited a moment longer before taking his leave. He then told Shui Yuan that he was heading to the Summit of rity and took off on his Spirit Boat.
Two hourster, Pang Zhen and Yu Ganju got ready to take their leave. Before they left, Yu Ganju looked at Tang Yifeng and emphasized, Its a deal then, Brother Tang.
The Sect Master replied affirmatively, A promise is a promise.
Goodbye.
After the two men were gone, Shui Yuan walked up to him and asked with a frown, Old man, Sect Master Yu looked rather taken with Lu Ye just now. Might he be a part of your deal?
Lu Ye only had a vague sense that the sect master was interested in him, but Shui Yuan clearly knew better.
It was true that the Vanquisher of Sects was a household name right now, but Lu Ye was ultimately just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. On the other hand, Yu Ganju was both a sect master and a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. He should not be this interested in a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
The Three Sages School are facing considerable pressure in the Spirit Creek Battlefield as ofte. They are hoping that your junior brother will visit their Outpost and assist them in getting through these hard times.
Shui Yuan only looked more confused, however. But Lu Yes infamy is at its height right now, and the Thousand Demon Ridge is surely going to attack him from multiple angles the second he enters the Core Circle. Arent they worried that it would only make their situation worse?
The sect master chuckled. This is where Yu Ganju shows his wisdom. Obviously, your junior brother alone isnt enough to draw his attention. However, what do you think his fourth senior brother would do if your junior brother runs into danger in the Core Circle? And do you think Yuechan can stay put if Baxian decides to help Yi Ye?
I see. By inviting Lu Ye to their Outpost, they are indirectly recruiting the aid of the champion and the second runner-up of the Scroll of Supremacy. They didnt even have to pay a Spirit Stone for it. It truly is a devious ploy. Shui Yuan sounded a little frustrated. But why did you agree to it? You should know Baxians circumstances in the Devoted Ones as well as I do.
The Sect Master said casually, Didnt you say that Yi Ye bought two Point Restoration Pills for Baxian?
Shui Yuan red at the Sect Master after realization struck her. You old people are all like this. This time though, I believe that youve made a mistake. If Baxian wanted to ascend to the Cloud River Realm, he wouldve done so already. Why do you think we havent heard anything from him yet?
Huh. Youre right. Now that I think about it, Baxian should have ascended already. Why dont you message him and ask him whats going on?
Theres no need. I already know the answer. Shui Yuan sighed. The short answer is, Baxian may not choose to ascend at this time.
Tang Yifeng frowned and thought to himself for a moment. He was a smart man, so he quickly realized the mistake he made. Assuming Shui Yuans prediction was spot on, he definitely shouldnt have agreed to Yu Ganjus terms as easily as he had.
Meanwhile, the Outpost was a lot livelier than usual. Naturally, it was because the Crimson Blood Sect had weed fifty children into their ranks.
The children were given the best care under Gu Yangs arrangements. A good number of cultivators were chosen to be their cultivation teachers as well.
At first, the kids werent able to ept or adapt to their circumstances. However, they gradually realized that the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost was a great ce.
For starters, its World Spiritual Qi was easily the best in the entire Outer Circle. There were very few Outposts in the Inner Circle that could match its quality as well. One could say that its World Spiritual Qi rivaled that of a Core Circle Outposts.
It should be obvious why this was an attractive point for these cultivation greenhorns. They were already naturally gifted in the first ce, and the Crimson Blood Sect Outposts cultivation environment was excellent. Thebination would allow them to improve their cultivation at a rapid pace.
Besides that, their meals were fulfilling, their amodations were satisfactory, and their tutors were either calm, handsome senior brothers or gentle, attractive senior sisters. They answered every question thrown at them and afforded them all the cultivation resources they needed.
No one could doubt that the cultivators of the Crimson Blood Sect treated them like their own children.
That said, their tests were as hard as their cultivation condition was excellent. Gu Yang had taken it upon himself to create a monthly test for the kids. Generally speaking, they were rated by the progress they had madepared to the previous month. Those who met expectations would be allowed to stay, but those who failed would be sent back to their homes.
They were the top fifty performers of the Three Sages Schools recruitment ceremony. It was bad enough that they were kidnapped by the Crimson Blood Sect, to be returned like they were spoiled merchandise because they werent good enough? Who in the world could swallow such humiliation?
That was why all fifty children focused on their cultivation after oveing a short adaptation period.
There were even a handful of people who were pushing themselves to be their best so they could be the top ten best cultivators of their bunch when a year had passed. When it was time for the Vanquisher of Sects to test them, they would surpass his expectations, withdraw from the Crimson Blood Sect, and rejoin the Three Sages School right before his eyes!
Barring the exceptionally unfortunate, cultivators at this age generally hadnt witnessed the worst humanity had to offer. Their minds were fairly simple, and they definitely hadnt been involved in no-holds-barred battles where thebatants would use every trick in the book to kill the enemy. That was why one could say this period of their lives was also the most idealistic.
Lu Yes life was quite peaceful these days. Just like thest time he was at the Outpost, he studied the Way of Glyphs under Lady Yun during the day, and read his books while cultivating during the night.
Twenty days after he returned to the Outpost, the Thousand Demon Ridgespensation had finally arrived.
Nearly every sect who fought alongside Lu Ye had received a substantial amount of rewards. The entire Grand Sky Coalition was celebrating their windfall for a time.
Of course, the Crimson Blood Sect was no exception. As the sect to which the cultivator who had turned the entire Inner Circle upside down belonged, their portion of the rewards was much greater than the other sects.
The Low-Grade Spirit Stones they received alone numbered five hundred thousand. They had also received a lot of Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, High-Grade Spirit Stones, and all kinds of Spirit Pills that were beneficial to ones cultivation.
At the headquarters, Lu Ye was having trouble digesting the list of resources he just received. The sheer amount of items on the list was boggling to say the least.
He knew that the Crimson Blood Sect would receive a handsome reward, but this? This was practically kingly.
Youre the reason we got these resources. Therefore, you should be the one to spend them, Shui Yuan said beside him.
Lu Ye returned the list of resources back to Shui Yuan and said, Are you kidding me? I dont think I could use them all even if there are ten of me. Just leave it in the treasury. Our disciples are only going to grow more numerous in the future, and so will our expenses. These resources might look a lot right now, but I wouldnt be surprised if we ran out sooner than we think.
In that case, I shall keep them for you. Shui Yuan nodded before asking casually, Have you messaged your fourth senior brother as ofte?
No, not recently. Did something happen to him or something?
No, no, Im just asking. What would you like to eat tonight?
Im fine with anything, senior sister. Everything you make is delicious.
Lu Ye returned to the Outpost after enjoying a delicious meal at Shui Yuans ce.
Brother Lu, someone called out to him almost immediately after he finished his teleportation. Lu Ye turned around and saw that it was Chen Yu.
Is something up?
Chen Yu had clearly been waiting for him for a while.
You can say that.
Let us talk as we walk then.
The two of them exited the Sanctum of Providence together, soft moonlight basking their bodies in a gentle glow. The sky looked quite beautiful tonight.
A whileter, Chen Yu said, Brother Lu, I would like to apply to enter the Inner Circle.
Chen Yu should have entered the Inner Circle a long time ago. It was the same for Hua Ci. Lu Ye was part of the reason they had dyed their departure until now.
After the shitstorm Lu Ye had caused in the Inner Circle, there wasnt a single Thousand Demon Ridge sect out there who didnt dream of eating his flesh and drinking his blood so to speak. That was why Chen Yu didnt dare to take his leave. It wasnt because he was worried for his safety. He stayed because he was wary that the Thousand Demon Ridge might try to attack the Outpost. He was notparable to Lu Ye, but he was still an Eighth-Order cultivator. The Outpost could definitely use him if the unthinkable were to happen.
However, it had been almost a month since the incident, and the waves Lu Ye caused had finally subsided somewhat. That was why Chen Yu judged that it was time to go.
You sure you can bear to give up such an excellent cultivation environment? The Inner Circle sects might not necessarily have better conditions than our Outpost.
Chen Yu let out a bitter chuckle. Of course I loathe to leave the Outpost, Brother Lu. However, it really is time I head out and earn the Contribution Points I need. When I hit the Ninth-Order, Im going to need to purchase a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique to ascend to the next minor realm. If I have not earned enough Contribution Points by then, then I would be severing my own future, would I not? No, it would be a mistake to greed over the present. That is not what I desire.
Every sect cultivator has to take this step anyway. To be honest, I never imagined that I would havee this far. If I was still an independent cultivator, then I wouldve been satisfied with just reaching the Ninth-Order and leading a stable life. But now, I want more!
It is a good thing to strive for more. Have you considered which sect you wish to visit?
No, I dont know the Inner Circle too well. I was just about to consult you about this.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before asking, Do you want to be safe, or do you want to be aggressive?
What do you mean?
If you want to be safe, then you can head to the Silverlight Ind Outpost. Their cultivators sometimese to train at our Outpost, do they not? If you head there, they will definitely take good care of you. Plus, all Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts close to their location had already been defeated. The risks you face will be lesser if you head there.
Sounds good, but less risks also mean less rewards, no?
If by rewards, youre referring to Contribution Points, then yes.
In that case, I would like to go somewhere else.
Ill arrange it. Lu Ye nodded. Ill ask Beaky to fly you over.
No thank you, Brother Lu. Ive been hanging around the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost since I began my cultivation journey, and I have never gone too far. Now that Im an Eighth-Order cultivator, Im capable of flying via telekinesis. I would like to explore the world and see it with my own eyes.
Its your life. Its your choice. Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and patted Chen Yu on the shoulder. You are the second person to leave the Crimson Blood Sect Outpost after me. Be careful, and try not to reveal your origin if at all possible. Im sorry for putting all of you in danger.
Chapter 348: Give Me Back My Unsullied Sister Hua
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 348: Give Me Back My Unsullied Sister Hua
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
If the Thousand Demon Ridge found out that Chen Yu was a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect, they would surely attack him from multiple angles.
What are you saying, Brother Lu? Your achievements only honor us. People have been jealous of people who are better than them since time immemorial. Does that mean we should never be better? Of course not. Dont worry, I promise I wont bring shame upon the sect.
The next day, Chen Yu left before the sun even rose. He received some Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills from Shui Yuan before taking his leave.
Lu Ye and Hua Ci were the only two people who came to see him off not because Chen Yu was disliked within the secton the contrary, he was extremely close with most of them because he used to manage the neighboring bazaarbut because they did not want the start of his journey to be marred by sorrow.
After all, there was no telling what would happen in the future. Either he would return in triumph and glory, or he would die.
The disciples of top-tier sects were noble, were they not? And yet they too must leave their nest and pit themselves against the world to grow stronger.
All cultivators were unpolished gems at the beginning. Only through polishing could they have a wonderful life. A dream was just the desire to have wings. Only through hard work could ones wings truly grow the strength to fly.
Chen Yu was the second Crimson Blood Sect disciple to step out of the Outpost after Lu Ye. In the future, there would be more spreading to every corner of the battlefield like seeds.
Im nning to pay Mount Ying a visit.
Hua Ci spoke up suddenly as they walked together in the breeze of dawn.
Huh? What for?
To pick something up.
Ille with you.
Hua Ci shook her head. You wont be able to follow me there.
Lu Ye turned to examine her profile for a moment. The wind had blown a few strands of hair out of ce, but it only gave her aid-back kind of beauty.
Remember the time you asked me where I learned to nt my mushrooms?
Lu Ye had, in fact, asked this question before. In the past, he didnt think too deeply into it because his cultivation was weak, and his understanding of the Cultivation World was eptable at best. However, he was now knowledgeable enough to im that Hua Cis technique was unusual despite her argument that medicine cultivators were perfectly capable of killing as well.
A medicine cultivators main focus was to help the sick and save lives. While some medicine cultivators werebat capable because they had cultivated another Way, clearly that wasnt the case for Hua Ci. Not only that, he had never seen or heard anyone who used a technique that was even remotely simr to hers.
That she had started as an independent cultivator only deepened the mystery.
I once received the inheritance of a medicine cultivator. Long story short, those techniques are all part of the inheritance.
And that inheritance is at Mount Ying?
Its nearby.
Lu Ye nodded. That exined everything.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it wasnt unusual for someone to receive the inheritance of ate cultivator. In fact, the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was rife with such opportunities. While most people might never encounter such boons even if they searched for a lifetime, for some, it was almost as if the inheritance had been waiting for them.
Generally speaking, those who received an inheritance all had a bright future.
Lu Ye was once mistaken to have received a Glyphweavers inheritance from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. While it was true that the inheritance belonged to a Glyphweaver, he had not received it at the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Is it dangerous?
A little.
Then theres no hurry. Ill be entering the Core Circle in a bit. Ill contact a Core Circle sect and send both you and Feng Yue there. Both of you arebat-averse medicine cultivators, so you might as well skip the Inner Circle and enter the Core Circle directly. You can head there after your cultivation is stronger.
Medicine cultivators earned their Contribution Points by healing others, not killing enemies. As a result, most of them were incapable of ying enemies in battle.
For example, if someone in the Crimson Blood Sect was hurt, and a medicine cultivator treated them, the Legate or the prolegate could reward them with a certain amount of Contribution Points.
Besides that, they could also earn Contribution Points bypleting special missions that were issued by the sect.
Hua Ci tilted her head at him. Are you worried that I will die out there, hmm?
Of course! Lu Ye looked right back at her.
Hua Ci wasnt expecting such a frank and serious answer. Flustered, she hurriedly withdrew her gaze.
Lu Ye wasnt done though. He abruptly walked up to her and grabbed her hands.
Hua Cis eyes widened like saucers as she looked at Lu Ye in shock. She tried to pull them out to no avail.
Youre not allowed to put yourself in danger.
Let go!
Promise me you wont put yourself in danger, and I will.
Im going to scream.
Sure, go for it. Lets see how loud you can really scream.
I really am going to scream! Hua Ci sucked in a deep breath and acted like she was going to scream. In the end though, Lu Yes nonchnt gaze convinced her that it would be a futile effort.
Fine. If you like my hands so much, then you can hold them for as long as you want. It would be a good opportunity to show your junior brothers and sisters their fifth senior brothers true face anyway.
Hua Ci started staring into Lu Yes eyes with an impish smile on her face. Lu Ye stared right back while maintaining their current posture. For a while, the duo kept looking into each others eyes within an arms reach, waiting for the other person to break first
The glimmers of dawn grew more and more powerful as the sun peeked out of the mountains. It wouldnt be long before the slumbering Outpost regained its vitality.
You do not understand the ways of a medicine cultivator. I could be a Cloud River Realm cultivator, and that ce will still be as dangerous.
Then dont go.
I cannot agree to that.
It looks like I wont be able to change your mind.
Well, I can lie to your face and sneak outter. At least youll have the illusion that I agreed with you, right?
And what would be the point of that?
He let out a sigh and finally let go of Hua Cis hand. The young woman immediately took two steps away from him and shook her hands a little. They were a little numb after being held for so long.
She then summoned her flying Spirit Artifact, jumped onto it and said, Im going now. Dont worry, Ill give birth to our child and take good care of her. You just focus on taking care of Ling Yu and Kong Niu!
Lu Ye felt the corner of his eyes twitching uncontrobly as he watched her flying to a nearby Spirit Peak. A momentter, Beaky soared toward the horizon and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, he heard a strange noise that sounded like teeth grinding together. He turned around and saw a red-eyed He Xiyin doing exactly that and ring at him like he had done something unforgivable to her.
What? Lu Ye asked in a disgruntled voice.
You bullied Sister Hua! He Xiyin abruptly burst into tears before lowering her stance and charging him like a bull. Im going to kill you!
Lu Ye just grabbed her head and held her in ce. Dont tell me you actually believe your sixth senior sisters bullshit?
Uwuuuuu I dont care! Give me back my unsullied Sister Hua! He Xiyin swung her arms like a pair of pinwheels in an attempt to smack Lu Ye in the head, but her arms just werent long enough to reach him. It was an infuriating and embarrassing experience for her, to say the least.
A momentter, He Xiyin sat on the ground, and cried like a babe while holding a bump on her head with her hands. Lu Ye had left a long time ago as a matter of course. What on earth was wrong with these people? Why couldnt they be more normal and less worrying?
On Beakys back, Hua Ci stifled a smile as she recalled Lu Yes final expression.
As a medicine cultivator, she was well aware that Lu Yes suggestion was the best arrangement for her at the moment. As he said, she and Feng Yue could just skip the Inner Circle and enter the Core Circle with him. No one would turn down a medicine cultivator, and their cultivation level did not matter too much since fighting wasnt required of them.
Lu Ye told her not to rush, and yet the biggest reason she was rushing was because he was progressing too fast.
Her cultivation level had been higher when they first met each other. But now, Lu Ye was close to bing a Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivator, while she was still at the Eighth-Order.
She now understood Yi Yis pressure and sense of urgency. At least Yi Yi was barely keeping up with Lu Ye in terms of cultivation speed, but if she were to continue at her current pace, she would be nothing more but a sojourner in his life.
It had nothing to do with their feelings for each other. She just didnt want this situation to continue.
She hadnt cared much when she first came to the Outpost, but now that she was slowly integrating into themunity that was the Crimson Blood Sect, she didnt want to be left behind ever again.
The news of Chen Yu and Hua Cis departure eventually spread within the Outpost. Although everyone knew that this day woulde eventually, the disciples were still affected to an extent when it actually happened.
When Feng Yue learned of this news, she sought out Lu Ye of her own ord and said that she would like to enter the Inner Circle to train as well. She would also like to apply for a bunch of cultivation resources before taking her leave.
She had never considered this before Lu Ye had recruited her into the Crimson Blood Sect. After all, not even her future was in her own hands back then. So what if she managed to reach the Ninth-Order? She would be stuck there forever because she couldnt earn the Contribution Points necessary to ascend higher.
This all changed after Lu Ye took her in as a true acolyte. Now, she could earn Contribution Points and make ns for the future. Her life was filled with hope once more!
Her optimismsted until Lu Ye refused her.
Doom and gloom hung above Feng Yues head like clouds as she slunk away. She shouldve known that she was still disliked by Lu Ye even after she had be a true acolyte.
That Lu Yi Ye must be the vilest, most ruthless man in the entire world!
After that, she joined a swollen-eyed He Xiyin for another crying session.
Inside his residence, Lu Ye was staring at a newly ignited leaf after feeding the Tree of Glyphs thest me of Earthen Spirits in his Storage Bag. It was yet another one of those Connection-type Glyphs; a technique that was used to link two Glyphs together.
In the past, Lu Ye didnt think that the techniques were all that useful. Now, his recent studies with Lady Yun had enlightened him on the benefits they provided.
Different Glyphs required different techniques to be linked together. The more techniques he mastered, the better he would be able to link different Glyphs perfectly. Besides that, mastering these techniques also deepened his understanding of the profound Way of Glyphs.
He had fed all fifty me of the Earthen Spirits he bought to the Tree of Glyphs and obtained six new independent Glyphs in total. However, they werent very useful in his opinion.
They were Glyph: Record Sound, Glyph: Record Image, Glyph: Spirit Storage, Glyph: Explosion, Glyph: Aquatic Lungs, and Glyph: Conceal.
Record Sound and Record Image were generally used together for obvious reasons. A Spirit Creek Realm cultivator did not really need these Glyphs, but they would be moremonce at higher cultivation levels.
Spirit Storage was self-exnatory. Every Spirit Artifact that could be telekically controlled was imbued with an enhancement that contained the Glyph: Spirit Bank. Spirit Storage was a slightly superior version of it.
Aquatic Lungs was a Glyph that allowed underwater breathing. It felt ufortable when Lu Ye gave it a try, but he could definitely see its uses.
Conceal was definitely less useful to him because he already had the Concealment Bracelet, but he supposed he could use it in wards and create some Concealment Wards.
All in all, there was no such thing as a useless Glyph, only one that required the right time and ce to disy the maximum effect.
Assuming that the requirements were met, even the most situational Glyph could be incredibly powerful.
By now, Lu Ye realized that the Glyphs he unlocked from the Tree of Glyphs could be anything and everything. It was impossible to predict what Glyph he might unlock next. This was fine though. So long as he continued to umte Glyphs, his bag of tricks would grow as well.
Chapter 349: Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 349: Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Spiritual Power surged around Lu Ye as he attacked the barrier surrounding his Spiritual Point.
There was a soft crack, and the barrier crumbled into nothing. Streams of Spiritual Power started flowing into the newly unlocked Spiritual Point.
Today was the thirtieth day since Lu Ye returned from the Inner Circle. He had finally unlocked two hundred and forty Spiritual Points.
He was finally ready to change his cultivation technique.
With a thought, he began calming the circting Microcosmic Orbits within his body. Even the flow of his Spiritual Power had begun to slow down.
Every time a Microcosmic Orbit came to a halt, his cultivation level would drop by one.
From the Ninth-Order, he fell to the Eighth-Order, the Seventh-Order, the Sixth-Order and so on. He did not stop until not a single Spiritual Point in his body was circting anymore.
A cultivator was at their weakest when they were switching their cultivation technique, and Lu Ye was no exception. Although he had still unlocked two hundred and forty Spiritual Points, the points werepletely disconnected from one another. In this state, Lu Ye could only unleash a very small portion of his true strength. He would most likely die if an assassin were to ambush him right now.
This was why most cultivators would choose a safe, secure ce to change their cultivation technique unless they had no other choice.
After checking the training course of the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique onest time, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and began his work from the Source Spiritual Point. He wove it through eighteen Spiritual Points along a set path to create a single Microcosmic Orbit.
His cultivation level immediately returned to the First-Order.
He channeled his Spiritual Power again and began weaving another Microcosmic Orbit starting from the neenth Spiritual Point. This time, he did not stop until he reached the forty-fifth Spiritual Point.
With that done, his cultivation level jumped to the Second-Order.
He connected the forty-sixth Spiritual Point to the seventh-second Spiritual Point for the Third-Order, the seventy-third Spiritual Point to the one hundred and eighth Spiritual Point for the Fourth-Order, the one hundred and ninth Spiritual Point to the one hundred and forty-fourth Spiritual Point for the Fifth-Order, the one hundred and forty-fifth Spiritual Point to the one hundred and eightieth Spiritual Point for the Sixth-Order, and finally the one hundred and eighty-first Spiritual Point to the two hundred and fortieth Spiritual Point for the Seventh-Order!
A cultivators cultivation level was directly connected to the amount of Microcosmic Orbits within their bodies. Lu Ye currently had seven Microcosmic Orbits in his body, so he was technically a Seventh-Order cultivator.
In order to separate cultivators who had switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique from ordinary Seventh-Order cultivators, the cultivators of Jiu Zhou usually addressed them as Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order cultivators or Heaven Seven cultivators for short. It was followed by Heaven Eight and Heaven Nine.
An ordinary Seventh-Order cultivator had unlocked one hundred and eight Spiritual Points in total, but a Heaven Seven cultivator had unlocked a whopping two hundred and forty Spiritual Points, which was more than double the amount. Naturally, it was the same for the gap between their strength.
It might look like Lu Yes cultivation level was lower, but in reality he was much stronger than he was before he changed his cultivation technique.
Now, Lu Ye had met the most basic requirements necessary to ascend to the Cloud River Realm. Of course, if he actually did that, he would be joining the ranks of the most inferior batch of Cloud River Realm cultivators. He would be lucky to make it to Real Lake Realm.
A cultivator should strive to unlock as many Spiritual Points as possible because it directly impacted their future strength and potential as a Cloud River Realm cultivator. That was why Lu Ye would not be ascending until he had unlocked all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points.
He was confident that a perfect ascension was well within his capabilities.
Lu Ye took a moment to spot the differences before and after he had changed his cultivation technique, and they were more obvious than he thought.
Although there were two less Microcosmic Orbits in his body, the new Microcosmic Orbits circted almost two times faster than the old. What was a stream now felt like a rapid river.
Not only that, each Microcosmic Orbit epassed a lot more Spiritual Points. Combined with the faster cirction rate of Spiritual Power, his explosive strength was stronger and more focused than before.
This was why switching to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique was considered a qualitative leap in power. Practically anyone who did this was at least twenty to thirty percent stronger than they were before. In some cases, the improvement could be as great as forty to fifty percent.
Heaven-Grade cultivation techniques were just that powerful.
In Lu Yes case, he had purchased not just the most expensive Heaven-Grade cultivation technique, but also the one that suited him the most from the Vault of Providence. The Great Sun Veluriyam Technique cost over five thousand Contribution Points, and right now there were only a handful of cultivators in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who could afford such a price.
Not only did the Heaven-Grade cultivation technique massively increase his strength, the Spiritual Power circting through his Spiritual Points even had a minor body tempering effect.? This meant that Lu Ye could eat, y and sleep all day and night, and his physique would naturally grow stronger as long as he did not turn off his cultivation technique and kept circting his Spiritual Power.
The Great Sun Veluriyam Technique was expensive for a reason.
Lu Ye consumed a Spirit Restoring Pill but did not activate Gluttonous Feast. The medicine was quickly digested and absorbed into his body.
It was clear that his pill digestion speed had increased after switching to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. This meant an increase in the efficiency of Lu Yes cultivation.
He continued to swallow a few more Spirit Pills and observed the changes in his Spiritual Power. In the end, he concluded that he would need to consume at least forty five pills to unlock a single Spiritual Point if he cultivated via Spirit Pills only. Obviously, the amount of Spiritual Power necessary to unlock one Spiritual Point had climbed higher, but it wasnt a big problem considering that his cultivation efficiency had increased as well.
This was an advantage Lu Ye possessed since the day he started cultivating. All other cultivators grew slower the higher they climbed the cultivation levels because each threshold demanded more power than thest. Lu Ye was the opposite. Forget slowing down, he was actually speeding up over time.
If he were to invest his whole day into cultivating right now, he would have no pressure unlocking a Spiritual Point in a single day. If he tried harder, he could even unlock three Spiritual Points in two days.
He was only one hundred and twenty Spiritual Points away from hitting the maximum amount of Spiritual Points he could unlock. That day wasnt far away at all.
Satisfied, Lu Ye took out the Mystic Fruit once more and channeled his Spiritual Power into it.
The second his mind entered the small hub, he immediately looked left and right with his hand on his de. He was happy to note that the Thousand Demon Ridge motherfucker who killed him before was nowhere to be seen.
He did not dare to linger for long though. He hurried to the door, paid fifty Contribution Points and entered the Rift of Illusions immediately.
His firstbat experience after ascending to Heaven Seven was an absolute massacre. There wasnt a single enemy in the rift that was a match for him.
Of course, the Rift of Illusions knew how to deal with cultivators like him. If one person wasnt enough, then it would send two. If two wasnt enough, then it would send three. Eventually, Lu Ye would be killed and sent back to the real world.
About forty minutester, Lu Ye opened his eyes. The battle had definitely opened his eyes to the various benefits of a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. He wasnt just stronger in many ways, his Spiritual Power control had grown by leaps and bounds as well.
This was a wonderful thing for a Glyphweaver because it meant he would have an easier time constructing Glyphs.
Now, he was ready to set out once more.
].
It had been a full month since he returned to the Outpost. He hadid low long enough for the heat to subside somewhat, and they had already received the Thousand Demon Ridgespensation. Plus, he was Heaven Seven now. He couldnt hole up in the Outpost forever.
As for how the Thousand Demon Ridge would react when they learned of his return Who cares?
He took a moment to pack his stuff before returning to the headquarters. When he returned from Lady Yuns residence, his Storage Bag was carrying a new stack of books regarding the Way of Glyphs.
Next, he visited his second senior sister. Shui Yuan did not have much to say regarding his decision to set off to the Core Circle. She simply told him to speak with the sect master.
A momentter, Lu Ye stood in front of the sect master and informed him of his decision.
Heaven Seven already? The sect master looked both surprised and proud. He thought back to the day he first encountered Lu Ye at the Evil Moon Valley. At the time, the young man had just unlocked a couple Spiritual Points. Later, they were ambushed on the road to Mount Ao, and he had no choice but to send the young man to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The events felt as clear as yesterday, and yet his disciple was already a Heaven Seven cultivator. And that was without mentioning his legendary feats in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Yes, Sect Master. This disciple believes that it is time I enter the Core Circle.
Do you have a particr n in mind?
Not really. Im just going to explore the world and do as I see fit.
Lu Ye had not attached himself to an allied sect since he entered the Inner Circle. He wasnt nning on changing his policy after he entered the Core Circle either.
Some of the Legates and prolegates he befriended in the Chess Sea had invited him to their Outpost, but he had turned them all down gently.
Thanks to his exploits in the Inner Circle, his adventure in the Core Circle was destined to be a tumultuous one. The Thousand Demon Ridge would surely keep an eye on him andunch all kinds of attacks against him.
He wasnt afraid, of course.
The sect master let out a small cough before saying, Its like this, Yi Ye. Remember the fifty junior brothers and sisters I brought back to the Outpost? Im sure youre aware where they came from.
Ive heard.
His sect master had kidnapped the Three Sages Schools top fifty recruits while attending their recruitment ceremony. As a result, Yu Ganju, the Three Sages Schools sect master, hade all the way to Mount Ao and fought him. Lu Ye had seen this with his own eyes.
The Three Sages School put in a request in exchange for not pursuing this matter further, and this old man had no choice but to agree to it.
Im guessing that it has something to do with me?
The Three Sages School would like you to join their sect temporarily after you enter the Core Circle. Their Spirit Creek Realm cultivators are currently in decline, and they are in a tight spot right now. That is why theyd like you to lend them a hand.
Lu Ye couldnt quite understand the Three Sages Schools reasoning. They must be quite the gutsy sect.
They knew that they were in a bad spot, and they still wanted him to attach himself to their sect? No matter how Lu Ye looked at it, it was no different frommitting suicide.
Right now, he was so infamous that he was prepared to be targeted the minute he set foot in the Core Circle. Therefore, any sect he attached himself to was almost guaranteed to be attacked in tandem.
It was one of the reasons he didnt want to attach himself to any allied sect.
What on earth was the Three Sages School thinking? Did they think that their Outpost wasnt facing enough pressure and wanted to spice things up so to speak?
Of course, the decision is yours. If you are unwilling, then do not hesitate to say no. I can handle the Three Sages School.
Its fine. If they truly want me to pay them a visit, then why not?
By the time Lu Ye stepped out of the sect masters room, he still couldnt figure out what the Three Sages School was nning. He gave up the line of thought a momentter. The Three Sages School was the one who put forth the request, and the sect master had already agreed to it. It would make things awkward if he were to reject it.
Plus, it was an irond fact that his sect master had kidnapped their fifty best recruits from their recruitment ceremony.
Amber and Yi Yi wereing with him as a matter of course. Ju Jia was a must-have as well. Finally, Feng Yue would be joining him on this journey.
Originally, Lu Ye was going to bring both Hua Ci and Feng Yue to a Core Circle Outpost. However, Hua Ci had her own ns, so he could only bring Feng Yue with him. Feng Yue could not stay at the Outer Circle forever because it afforded her much less opportunities to earn Contribution Points.
He messaged them all and told them to get ready.
Finally, Lu Ye messaged his fourth senior brother to check if he had repaired his Spiritual Point. He rxed only after hearing that he had made a full recovery.
Baxian also praised Lu Ye for being wise enough to buy two Point Restoration Pills in one go. As it turned out, just one wasnt enough to repair the damage because his Spiritual Point had been damaged for too long. The first pill had not had much of an effect.
Chapter 350: Crimson Blood, Devoted Ones
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 350: Crimson Blood, Devoted Ones
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Lu Ye asked his fourth senior brother when he would be ascending to Cloud River Realm, he said that he still needed time to adapt to his newly repaired Spiritual Point, and that he wasnt going anywhere for the moment.
Lu Ye looked thoughtful after themunication ended.
The sky was growing brighter. Lu Ye exited his residence and saw Ju Jia, Yi Yi, Feng Yue and Gu Yang waiting for him outside.
For the past month, the number of times he met Ju Jia could be counted on one hand. He had spent almost every day cultivating during the day and breathing the essence of the moon with Amber during the night.
Ju Jia had hit Heaven Seven during this time.
Lu Ye wasnt surprised by this. Ju Jia had been qualified for a breakthrough a long time ago, he had just been keeping himself suppressed. In fact, Lu Ye suspected that Ju Jia could unlock all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points and ascend to Cloud River Realm in one go if he truly let himself loose.
Yi Yi hadnt shown her face much either. While Lu Ye was studying the Way of Glyphs under Lady Yun, she was studying spells at the Sect Masters ce. Besides that, they both had their own cultivation studies to attend to during the night.
Today, her aura was much stronger than what he remembered a month ago.
Brother Lu! Feng Yue greeted him quietly with grateful eyes.
A while ago, she had sought out Lu Ye and requested to enter the Inner Circle. However, Lu Ye had turned her down harshly. Sad and helpless, she had turned to her fellow victim, He Xiyin and criticized the heck out of him behind his back.
Then, Lu Ye messaged her telling her to obtain some resources from Shui Yuan at the headquarters and prepare to enter the Core Circle today.
It was only then she realized that she had misunderstood Lu Ye. The reason Lu Ye had rejected her earlier wasnt because he was discriminating against her, but because he already had ns for her.
I heard that you have a lot to say about me?
That is not true! Feng Yue hurriedly defended herself. This junior sister is most grateful that you were willing to forget my past and take me into the sect. I would not dare to criticize you in any way!
On the inside, she wondered how on earth Lu Ye had found out about it.
You can speak honestly. Im not an intolerant person.
Feng Yue shook her head like a fan. No, no. Like I said, I have nothing to share, Brother Lu.
Lu Ye stared at her a bit longer before finally turning to Gu Yang. I shall leave the Outpost in your hands.
Gu Yang nodded. He hade to see him off. Do not worry, Brother Lu. I promise to take good care of the Outpost.
Well be going then.
As Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat, Yi Yi slipped into Ambers body, and Amber jumped onto Ju Jias head. The group then climbed onto the Spirit Boat one by one.
There was a surge of Spiritual Power, and the Spirit Boat shot toward into the distance in a beam of light. Gu Yang had already brought down the grand ward beforehand, so there was no risk of a collision. He watched them until they werepletely gone.
Originally, Lu Ye was nning to surrender his post as a Legate to a worthy candidate. The Crimson Blood Sect Outpost was located in the Outer Circle, and his cultivation level had exceeded the expected standard a while ago. In fact, he shouldve surrendered it when he had reached the Ninth-Order.
The reason he changed his mindter wasnt because he didnt trust in his fellow cultivators abilitiesin fact, managing an Outpost wasnt a difficult task, it was just a tad time and energy-consumingbut because he thought that he could use this opportunity to form an alliance pact with a few Core Circle sects. Besides that, if he were to upy a Core Circle Outpost, he needed the authority to plunder the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column.
That was why he decided to keep his post a little longer.
Both his and Ju Jias flight speed had increased tremendously after they had ascended to Heaven Seven. It would only take them a number of days to reach the Core Circle.
On the Spirit Boat, Lu Ye had taken out his 10-point map to n their route forward. Right now, he was sitting at the forefront of the Spirit Boat, followed by Feng Yue and Ju Jia. Ju Jia was currently sitting cross legged in a meditative position cultivating. This was one of the body tempering cultivators greatest strengths. If he had time to sit around and do nothing, he would always spend it on cultivating.
Feng Yue was a disappointment in this regard. She was busy sightseeing and eximing her wonder at everything.
She was an Eighth-Order cultivator, so of course this wasnt her first time flying. Moreover, thest thing a Crimson Blood Sect disciplecked was flying Spirit Artifacts because Lu Ye always brought back all kinds of Spirit Artifacts when he returned to the Outpost. Those who had reached the required cultivation level would be able to apply for them from the sect.
However, an Eighth-Order cultivator could only fly so fast and so high on their flying Spirit Artifact. Naturally, the view and experience were nowhere as great.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia took turns flying the flying Spirit Artifact and took almost no breaks.
The good news was that they hadnt encountered any opposition even after they had entered the Inner Circle. Although it had been a month since the absolute madness Lu Ye had created in the Inner Circle, the Thousand Demon Ridge sects were still a little jittery about it. Most of them were keeping their grand wards up almost twenty-four seven and avoiding going outdoors as much as possible. Everyone was afraid of catching the Vanquisher of Sects attention and bringing about their own downfall.
On the tenth day, Lu Yes group finally passed through the entire Inner Circle and entered the Core Circle.
Lu Ye had always known that the Spirit Creek Battlefield was huge, but even with a 10-point map in his possession he hadnt truly realized just how big it was first hand. Now? Now he did. Despite their new flight speed, it had still taken them ten whole days to travel from the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost to the Core Circle. It showed just how wide the Spirit Creek Battlefield really was.
Traffic had increased visibly after they entered the Core Circle. These cultivators usually traveled at high altitudes, and they all looked to be in a hurry for some reason. Moreover, they generally stayed away from other flyers as much as possible. It was because no one knew if the other cultivator was a friend or foe and, if they were an enemy, whether they were within their ability to beat.
That was why their journey remained rtively peaceful despite the increase in traffic.
Another day passed, and a territory with exquisite scenery entered their view. They saw a few Spirit Peaks surrounding a massive valley, and inside the valley was a grand ward.
It was the grand ward of an Outpost and Lu Yes first objective of this trip.
The trio walked up to the grand ward afternding on the ground. A ward watcher watched them warily as they called out, Who are you people?
Lu Ye stepped forward and sped his fist respectfully. Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect greets a fellow cultivator. Can you please inform my fourth senior brother that I havee to meet him?
He could have messaged Li Baxian directly, and he had. However, his message had failed to go out. It meant that his fourth senior brother had returned to the headquarters at Jiu Zhouthe Devoted Ones headquarters to be exact.
You are Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect? The ward watcher eximed in surprise before looking him up and down.
It is I.
The cultivator thought for a second before replying, Give me a moment.
He then hopped onto his flying Spiritual Artifact and took off.
Beside him, Feng Yue examined the Outpost curiously before realizing a little toote where she was. Is this the Devoted Ones Outpost, Brother Lu? Is this the sect were going to attach ourselves to?
It wasnt a bad choice. Not only was the Devoted Ones a Tier-Two sect, their fourth senior brother, Li Baxian was the prolegate. She was sure they would be treated well.
Do battles happen frequently in the Core Circle, brother Lu? Will there be sufficient patients for me to treat? I might not be able to earn many Contribution Points otherwise.
Feng Yue grew even more worried. Im only an Eighth-Order cultivator, and I doubt the Devoted Ones would be wanting for medicine cultivators. Worse, their cultivation should all be greater than mine. Even if someone was hurt, the chances that I would get to treat them would be low
Her voice grew smaller and smaller as she spoke because both Lu Ye and Ju Jia were starring her expressionlessly. In the end, she even hugged herself and kept her mouth tightly zipped.
[I knew it! Im still the most unlikeable disciple in the Crimson Blood Sect]
It was at this moment that two people flew out from the center from the Outpost. One of them was the ward watcher from earlier, and the other was a young man in aquamarine clothes. They looked to be in their twenties.
The young man swept his gaze across the group before focusing on Lu Ye. You are Lu Yi Ye?
Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect greets you, senior brother.
].
The young mans aura looked incredibly thick, so he was probably a Heaven Nine cultivator. He hadnt ascended yet most likely because he wished to hone his skills a little longer.
To his surprise, the young man replied rudely, I am not your senior brother, and I do not appreciate your casual social climbing.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. A long time ago, his second senior sister had told him that the disciples of the Devoted Ones were not very fond of the Crimson Blood Sect. He could see now that it was true. It was due to a historical problem.
A long time ago, the Crimson Blood Sect and the Devoted Ones were the two most famous sects in Bing Zhou. Theirbined might was feared throughout the Jiu Zhou.
Back then, both the Crimson Blood Sect and the Devoted Ones were Tier-One sects. They were also close enough to be one big family. This was especially true after the pir of the Crimson Blood Sect, Feng Wujiang and the beloved princess of the Devoted Ones fell in love and got married to one another. Their love story was told throughout the world like a real life fairy tale.
Thanks to their precedent, many cultivators from the Crimson Blood Sect and the Devoted Ones also became lovers.
Unfortunately, that happiness did notst. Feng Wujiangs final battle against the Thousand Demon Ridge was a terrible one that severely damaged countless Grand Sky Coalition sects. Of course, the two sects that suffered the worst damage were the Crimson Blood Sect and the Devoted Ones. The Crimson Blood Sect was almostpletely destroyed, and the Devoted Ones lost so many champions that their very roots were shaken.
Not only that, the survivors of the Crimson Blood Sect were targeted across all battlefields and killed one after another. Having grownpletely disheartened with the state of things, the Sect Master chose to cast out Li Baxian and the remaining disciples out of the Crimson Blood Sect to protect them.
Since then, the Crimson Blood Sect had not epted another disciple. They slowly declined from Tier-One all the way to the Tier-Nine, and they wouldve been eliminated as a sect if Lu Ye had not joined them at thest moment.
The Devoted Ones too had dropped from Tier-One to Tier-Three. It took them two decades to finally climb back to Tier-Two.
That war had happened over thirty years ago, and Lu Ye only knew of the broad strokes of the incident. All he knew was that his extraordinarily talented first senior brother wasrgely med for the massive damage the Grand Sky Coalition had suffered. He also perished in that battle, and it was said that his body was never found.
Since then, the Crimson Blood Sect slowly drifted apart from many sects they used to be close with. This was doubly true for the Devoted Ones. As the new blood reced the old, they even became hostile toward the Crimson Blood Sect.
The twin sects of Bing Zhou were no more after that.
When Li Baxian was sent to the Devoted Ones, the fallout between the two sects wasnt yet too severe. Moreover, it was Feng Wujiangs wife, Qiu Min who had personally requested Li Baxian to be taken under her wing. It was because Li Baxian was almost the same age as Feng Wujiangs daughter at the time, which made him the perfect ymate for her.
However, as the rtionship between the two sects grew increasingly strained, so did Li Baxians position in the Devoted Ones. If Qiu Min hadnt shielded him from most of the attacks, he would never have achieved what he had today.
That was why Li Baxian treated Qiu Min like his own aunt or mother.
The daughter of Feng Wujiang and Qiu Min was none other than the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy, Feng Wuchan. She was one hundred percent her fathers daughter.
Chapter 351: Showdown
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 351: Showdown
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
His second senior sister was the one who told him all this. It was why he had always known that his fourth senior brother wasnt doing too well in the Devoted Ones.
Obviously, the top tier sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge had manipted events behind the scenes in the fateful battle that led to the damaging of Li Baxians Spiritual Point. However, had the Devoted Ones really tried their best to protect him? That was up for debate to this day.
Li Baxian had been targeted by the Thousand Demon Ridge since he was young. They didnt relent even after he was sent to the Devoted Ones. The Devoted Ones had suffered much coteral damage as a result. It wasnt until his Spiritual Point was damaged that the attacks finally subsided.
It was all because he was a member of the Crimson Blood Sect. That was all.
No one knew if the Devoted Ones had yed a role in that fateful battle. By now, the trail was too cold for any investigation to bear fruit either. Shui Yuan thought they might have allowed Li Baxian to get hurt, but even she admitted that she had no proof to support her theory, and that he should not take it as the truth.
One thing was certain though, and that was that Li Baxian wasnt doing well in the Devoted Ones.
Nominally speaking, he was the prolegate of the Devoted Ones. In reality, they had used him like a guard dog. He was strong enough that not even the Tier-One sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge dared to challenge them without cause.
He rarely got permission to leave the Outpost. It was one the main reasons he wasnt able to umte the Contribution Points he needed to heal himself. Otherwise, ten years was more than enough time for him to umte the Contribution Points necessary to buy a Point Restoration Pill.
During the Battle of the Goldentip, Li Baxian had left his post to save his junior brother without permission. Naturally, he was grounded and punished the moment he returned to the Devoted Ones.
Even if the bad history between the two sects hadnt existed, Li Baxian himself was an irritant in the eyes of the Devoted Ones. Feng Yuechan had suppressed her own cultivation for over a decade because Li Baxian was unable to ascend. Naturally, many members of the Devoted Ones were displeased with this.
The elders were displeased with Li Baxian because they thought that he was holding back their younger generation. They all thought that he had dragged Feng Yuechan down.
Outside the grand ward, Lu Ye stared at the unfriendly young man in blue clothes and said, I am here to meet my fourth senior brother. Please inform him that we are waiting for him. We will take our leave as soon as we exchange a few words.
Of course he hadnte to the Devoted Ones to attach himself to their sect. Why would he do that when he knew that the Devoted Ones were hostile toward the Crimson Blood Sect? He just wanted to speak with his fourth senior brother.
What makes you think that someone from your sect would be in ours? The Devoted Ones do not have your fourth senior brother!
Li Baxian
Li Baxian is a disciple of the Devoted Ones, not your fourth senior brother! You will not mention this again!
Lu Ye stared expressionlessly at the young man for a moment. The other party red right back without fear.
Without exaggeration, Lu Ye had never encountered such an unfriendly fellow Grand Sky Coalition cultivator in his life. In the past, the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators he met would treat him with politeness and respect even if they had never met him before.
Of course, Sima Yang did not count.
Lu Ye tapped his Battlefield Imprint and searched for Feng Yuechans imprint. He had her imprint because he had exchanged imprints with her in the Chess Sea before. One of them had to be in the Outpost, and if he could contact Feng Yuechan, then of course he could contact Li Baxian.
However, the young man did not wait for him to finish before yelling again, The Devoted Ones do not wee outsiders in our territory. Leave now, or we will be forced to take drastic action!
Lu Ye paused for a second and nced at the guy. Instead of Feng Yuechans imprint, he selected Shui Yuans imprint and messaged, Sister Shui.
Although Shui Yuan was at the headquarters, she was the Keeper of Seal of the Crimson Blood Sect. That was why Lu Ye could contact her even though she was a world away.
Im here.
Can you please contact Brother Li Baxian and tell him that I am outside his Outpost right now?
Sure.
He had just finished messaging his second senior sister when the young man yelled again, Get lost, now!
Instead ofplying, Lu Ye activated Insight and observed the Grand Ward in front of him. He quickly found the appropriate nodes and stepped in front of one. Then, he produced his ward gs.
The young man in blue clothes and the ward watcher from before were bbergasted to say the least. They both thought to themselves, [What what on earth is this Lu Yi Ye doing!?]
Lu Yeunched the ward gs into position and began channeling his Spiritual Power.
The young man in blue clothes finally realized that the Vanquisher of Sects was actually going to breach their grand ward. He exploded in anger, You dare!
As he said this, he stepped out of the grand ward and channeled his Spiritual Power. Now, Lu Ye was sure that he was a Heaven Nine. His Spiritual Power quickly gathered into a spell in front of him.
Before he could fire it though, cold metal covered in fiery red Spiritual Power shed before his eyes and annihted the spell right before it could take form. Not only that, he felt a burst of pain from his chest as well. He instinctively dashed backward and behind the grand ward once more.
A grand ward could stop all foreign cultivators from entering its area. However, those belonging to the sect that had a Battlefield Imprint could go in and out of the grand ward without problems (T/N: but not flying Spirit Artifacts, probably. Or it makes no sense Gu Yang lowered the grand ward earlier).
When the Heaven Nine cultivator looked down on his shirt, he was shocked to see that he had suffered a sh wound to his chest. Blood quickly seeped out of the wound and dirtied his shirt.
He hurriedly inspected his wound in panic. He rxed only after he confirmed that it was just skin deep.
Brother Wu A cultivator beside him called out.
The young man in blue clothes looked up, saw what was going on and yelled, What impudence!
Why was he so angry? It was because Lu Ye had opened a hole in his grand ward after driving him back, of course. Like he was crawling into a tent, he lifted one corner of the grand ward and walked in like it was his own house.
With this, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect became the first person ever to breach a fellow Grand Sky Coalition sects grand ward and enter their Outpost without permission as well.
The Devoted Ones thought they could provoke him without repercussions? Well, the game was on. Lu Ye tilted his head at Ju Jia to motion for him toe in. Ju Jia did as he was told.
Meanwhile, Feng Yue looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here. The almostical turn of events hadpletely shaken her awake from her delusions. Her fifth senior brother hadnt brought her here to get attached to the Devoted Ones! No, he was here to have a showdown! A showdown in a Tier-Two sect no less!
Just how brazen could he be?
Suddenly, a pair of heads turned toward her. They belonged to Lu Ye and Ju Jia of course.
Feng Yue shuddered like a leaf. I I Ill wait for you guys outside!
Like she would willingly step into a death trap! She could have ten lives, and she was still going to die all the same!
Her rights did not exist before Lu Ye though. Ju Jia simply stepped out of the grand ward, grabbed her neck with his massive hand, and carried her into the Outpost like a cat.
The body tempering cultivator had juste to a standstill when he felt a powerful disturbance of Spiritual Power to his side. A voice of suppressed anger erupted, How dare you ambush me!
The young man in blue clothesBrother Wuwas clearly ashamed and embarrassed. He was going to stop Lu Ye from attacking the grand ward, but the other party had forced him back in a single strike. That he was two minor realms above Lu Ye only made the shame worse, though to be fair, it was a surprise attack.
This time though, Brother Wu was fully prepared. As he cursed at Lu Ye, heunched a rain of spells that would envelop all three Crimson Blood Sect cultivators. Feng Yues heart immediately hit rock bottom. As a medicine cultivator, there was no chance she could dodge or block the attack. All she could do was to close her eyes and wait for death to im her.
She was just going to do that when a tall, broad back stepped in front of her and channeled its vitality and Spiritual Power. The spells struck, but they merely shook the towering figure slightly. It was Ju Jia of course. He was as steady as a shield that would never break.
In that moment, Feng Yue could only stare at the powerful back while feeling an unprecedented sense of security.
As a Heaven Nine cultivator, Brother Wu was extremely experienced inbat. Having learned from his experience, he chose not to cast his powerful but slow spells. There wasnt enough distance between himself and Lu Ye anyway, and the best way to deal with abat cultivator like Lu Ye was to overwhelm him with small, speedy spells.
It was then he experienced something he would never forget in his life. Going from zero to a blur in just an instant, Lu Ye had dodged his rain of spells and narrowed their distance from thirty meters to just ten meters in an instant, his me-covered saber drew a lethal arc across the air.
Brother Wu felt death calling out to him. Without hesitation, he channeled his Spiritual Power and attempted to push Lu Ye away with a shockwave. Lu Ye was prepared for this though. The shockwave spell was very simr to a spell cultivators Spiritual Power Shield. The closer the attacker was to the spell cultivator, the greater the repulsive force they had to endure. That said, the spell was useless if the attacker could stay within that sweet spot where they werent too far away from the spell cultivator, and the repulsive force wasnt strong enough to push them away.
Lu Ye halted his charge for an instant. Once Brother Wus spell was spent, he immediately charged toward the man once more.
Brother Wu screamed inside his head, [Just how many spell cultivators has he fought to react perfectly to my st!?] The next moment, he saw Lu Yes saber swinging toward his head.
Brother Wu hurriedly lowered his headhe would literally lose his head if he didntbut the second he did so, he saw a knee flying straight toward his nose. From a third persons perspective, it almost looked like he was intentionally taking Lu Yes knee strike with his face.
Bang
There was a loud bang as Brother Wu sailed across the air while spinning like a top. It took a few seconds before he crashed heavily against the ground.
Stars were flying around his head, and his forehead hurt so bad he suspected that the strike had actually fractured his skull. He was just about to climb to his feet when he felt a ming de pressed up against forehead.
He looked up. Lu Yi Ye was looking down on him with a calm expression on his face.
Brother Wus eyelid twitched once. To be honest, he still didnt know how he had lost the battle because their exchange was that brief. It was so brief that he had a de on his head before he could even unleash his true power.
He was going to teach the enemy a lesson, but he was the one who got his ass handed to him.
Brother Wu! A Heaven Seven cultivator cried out.
Chapter 352: I’m A Stray He Picked Up On The Road
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 352: Im A Stray He Picked Up On The Road
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Kill me if you dare! Brother Wu uttered through gritted teeth while ring at Lu Ye. Fearlessness was the one thing every Jiu Zhou cultivator seemed to possess, not to mention that he, a Heaven Nine cultivator, had lost to a Heaven Seven cultivator who was way younger than him. What else was there to say?
Lu Ye withdrew his saber and spun on one leg. Before Brother Wu could react, Lu Yended a powerful kick on his left temple that tore his hastily built Spiritual Power Shield apart and sent him flying across the air once more. This time, he wasnt able to climb back to his feet. The kick had knocked him outpletely.
The fight was brief, but the eruptions of Spiritual Power still drew the attention of many Devoted Ones cultivators. It wasnt long before several figures rushed over to the scene. They immediately saw their Brother Wu lying on the ground, possibly dead, and three strangers that definitely should not be standing within their Outpost. One of them was even carrying a saber in one hand and gushing with Spiritual Power.
Enemy attack! Someone shouted.
The entire Outpost came to life at that cry. Countless cultivators began rushing over from multiple directions. At the same time, the people who had already arrived mercilessly ganged up on Lu Ye. Sure, they didnt know who the neers were, but it did not change the fact that they had somehow barged into their Outpost and possibly even killed Brother Wu. The only way to respond to such violence was with violence.
The flying weapons were the first to arrive. For a time, the Outpost was filled with the sounds of flying weapons whistling through the air.
The Invible moving so fast that it was almost a blur, Lu Ye urately sent every Spirit Artifact that flew his way into the air. He himself traveled back and forth the battlefield like lightning because he had imbued himself with Windwalk beforehand.
Zzzt zzzt zzzt! Muffled groans of pain erupted, and blood sttered against the ground.
There werent many Heaven Nine cultivators even in the Core Circle because everyone except those who were consolidating their power or climbing the Scroll of Supremacy had chosen to ascend to the Cloud River Realm. The Brother Wu Lu Ye just knocked out was one of those who were in the middle of consolidating his power. This period could be as short as ten days, or as long as three months. It was all up to the cultivators choice.
Even then, those aiming to climb the Scroll of Supremacy still wouldnt stay at the Spirit Creek Realm for too long.
As a result, the Scroll of Supremacy was updated more frequently than most rankings, and the list was filled with new names practically every few months.
Of course, the top three were exceptions to the rule
The first few attackers were all Heaven Seven or Heaven Eight, and at Lu Yes current skill level, he did not need much effort to take them all down. His only problem was how to take them down fast enough so that he wouldnt be overwhelmed by the reinforcements.
The first few waves of attackers were easily defeated and repelled by Lu Ye. As time passed, their faces grew more and more serious. Why? Because they had never seen such a powerful Heaven Seven cultivator, of course.
It wasnt long before more Devoted Ones disciples joined the attack, and this time Amber revealed his true self and let out a mighty roar. He was an entire size bigger than he was earlier, and the light gold Spirit Beast energy surrounding his body looked thick enough to be solid. The roar immediately caused a wave of dizziness among the charging cultivators.
Yi Yi also appeared and fired spells in every direction. Her casting speed and amount were positively terrifying.
Ju Jia soundlessly moved behind Lu Ye and gathered arge ball of Spiritual Power in his hand. After it had transformed into a barrier that looked like a turtles shell, he held it up and blocked all the attacks directly at Lu Yes back.
More and more Devoted Ones cultivators were starting to surround them, and the attacks grew dense enough that Lu Ye could no longer take the fight to the enemy without risking massive injuries. His flying weapons flew out of his Weapon Holder one after another and created a storm of des around him. His skill with them was positively breathtaking.
From a birds eye view, one could see that countless Devoted Ones cultivators had surrounded the three cultivators and one tiger at the center, spells and flying weapons shing in mid-air non-stop.
The Devoted Ones attack hit Lu Yes group again and again like waves, but they always managed to stop them without fail.
Suddenly, an angry roar cut through the chaos, Cease your struggle and allow yourself to be captured, or I will kill her right now.
.
Lu Yes group looked back and saw that a Devoted Ones disciple had captured Feng Yue before they knew it. Not only was he pressing a de against her milky white neck, it had cut into her skin and caused her to bleed out a little. Feng Yue looked like she might faint on her feet.
There was a short silence before Lu Yes group withdrew their gaze. Then, they continued blocking the iing attacksing their way andunching a counter attack from time to time.
That was not the reaction the guy was expecting at all. He looked confused as Feng Yue moaned in despair, Do I look like Im a part of their group? Im just a stray they picked up on the road, dude. Uuuuuuuuuu!
At the same time, she raged internally at her past self for following Lu Ye to the Core Circle when she shouldve entered the Inner Circle instead considering her cultivation level. It wasnt like the decision itself was bad, but what in the world made her fifth senior brother think that kicking down the Devoted Ones front door and having a showdown was a good idea? Was he dropped as a child or something?
Now, they were probably all going to die.
The battle was in full swing when suddenly, a handsome man appeared in the Sanctum of Providence. It was none other than Li Baxian teleporting to the Outpost after hearing about his junior brothers arrival from Shui Yuan.
He was very happy that his junior brother hade to visit him as a matter of course. He was just wondering how he should wee his junior brother when suddenly, he sensed that all was not right in the Outpost. He could feel chaotic waves of Spiritual Powering from a certain direction and what definitely sounded like an incredibly intense battle.
Li Baxian nched. He immediately dashed toward the exit.
Senior brother, Feng Yuechan called out to him. She had been waiting for him outside the sanctum.
Li Baxian was so bothered by the bad premonition growing in his heart that he didnt even bother correcting her before asking, Is someone attacking our Outpost?
It had been years since they encountered such a thing. Ever since he and Feng Yuechan had reached the top of the Scroll of Supremacy, the Outpost had be as solid as a rock. Even the Tier-One sects didnt dare to provoke them without good reason.
No, thats not it. Feng Yuechan grabbed his hand, summoned her flying Spirit Artifact, and flew them both into the sky.
Li Baxian focused his eyes on the battle happening in the distance. He immediately eximed in horror, Junior brother!
As it turned out, it wasnt the Thousand Demon Ridge attacking the Outpost. It was his junior brother being attacked by his own disciples, and it looked like he was in great danger.
Li Baxian was going to rush to his junior brothers rescue when Feng Yuechan stopped him.
What?
Have you wondered why Junior Brother Lu came to the Outpost and caused such a scene, senior brother? He is a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. He should know better than to do something like this.
Li Baxian replied in an urgent tone, Can we talk after we save him?
He was puzzled by his junior brothers odd behavior as well, but this was not the time to be figuring the ins and outs of the incident. The truth could reveal itself after the conflict was stopped.
Junior Brother Lu and hispanions arent in danger. Cant you see that our disciples arent aiming to kill?
Now that she mentioned it, Li Baxian realized that she was right. He hadnt noticed because he was gripped by panic, but if the Devoted Ones disciples truly wanted Lu Yes group dead, they wouldve died a long time ago considering the sheer amount of people that were attacking them.
The assault was undeniably fierce, but they were fighting with the goal of capturing them. That was why they were able to hold out for this long.
Youre the one who gave the order? Li Baxian realized in hindsight.
Feng Yuechan nodded.
What on earth are you guys doing? Li Baxian was growing more and more confused.
Feng Yuechan replied, Youre a smart man, senior brother. Do you still not understand why Junior Brother Lu is doing all this? He had probablye here to speak with you, and our disciples tried to make trouble for him. The rest is history.
Li Baxians eyes glittered when he heard this. What did you tell him?
Just so you know, I did not speak to Junior Brother Lu before. But Im not the only one who knows, am I? Feng Yuechan gave his hand a squeeze before adding, Do not worry, senior brother. I will handle this right now.
Although she had ordered her disciples not to fight to kill, one could not be too careful. The only reason she hadnt stopped it earlier was because she wanted Li Baxian to witness this with his own eyes.
Right after she said this, she appeared on the battlefield in the blink of an eye. While floating in the air, she ordered lightly, Stop!
As the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy, Feng Yuechan was clearly well-respected despite her origin. The second she gave the order, everyone who was attacking Lu Yes group immediately stopped what they were doing and withdrew. Many of them were covered in wounds, and some looked like they had been punched in the face. And they were. They were closebat cultivators who had tried to fight Lu Ye and Ju Jia at close range only toe up very, very short.
Of course, it wasnt like Lu Yes group was doing too good themselves. Lu Ye was covered in enough wounds that his entire shirt was drenched in blood. Thankfully, it only looked terrible. None of his injuries were severe.
Ju Jia was even more ridiculous. There wasnt even a scratch on the guys skin.
You outnumbered your enemy almost a hundred to one, and yet this is the oue, huh? Impressive. All of you are truly living up to the teachings of our sect.
Her sarcasticment caused everyone who had fought in the battle to turn as red as a tomato.
Sure, part of the reason they werent able to take down Lu Yes group yet was because she had ordered them not to kill, but they had still outnumbered the enemy almost a hundred to one. Not only that, no one in Lu Yes group was higher than Heaven Seven. Considering the odds, anything less than an immediate and crushing victory was a stain on their honor, much less this.
The Outpost really has been peaceful for too long. It was great living under my and Senior Brother Lis wings, wasnt it? So great that most of you seem to have forgotten how to fight. What will happen if the two of us are gone, and you have to defend yourselves one day? Are you guys just going to let the enemies roll over you?
The group looked ashamed enough to bury themselves in the ground. No one dared to say a word against her.
Many people believe that our Outpost is as solid as a rock with me and Senior Brother Li around, but thats only because they havent noticed the rot beneath the surface. You all think that you can ck off in your training because someone up top will support the weight of the Heavens for you, but do you really think we can protect you forever? At this rate, you can unlock all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points and ascend to the Cloud River Realm, and our enemies are still going to ughter you like chicks!
She then red at the cultivator still holding Feng Yue hostage and rebuked him harshly, And you! Is this what youve learned after all the years weve spent raising you? Bullying the weak and taking hostages to win a battle? Sure, the gloves are off if the enemy is the Thousand Demon Ridge, but who are these people? They are Grand Sky Coalition cultivators just like us! What were you thinking?
The cultivator visibly flinched. Senior sister, thats not what I
Do not find an excuse for your actions! That is the way of a weakling! If you were strong, you would be fighting instead of taking a frail woman hostage, not to mention that shes a medicine cultivator! Seriously, what kind of man would hold a medicine cultivator hostage?
That was going a bit too far, but no one was stupid enough to tell Feng Yuechan off. The cultivator turned beet red as he let go of Feng Yue.
Feng Yue hurriedly put a few steps between herself and the Devoted Ones cultivator before shooting Feng Yuechan a grateful look. [Oh man, the Core Circle is too dangerous. I want to go home.]
Chapter 353: A body-tempering Cultivator’s Pride
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 353: A body-tempering Cultivators Pride
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
I would like to challenge him, senior sister!
The cultivator who was scolded by Feng Yuechan for taking Feng Yue hostage suddenly pointed at Lu Ye. The guy was currently stuffing his cheeks with Spirit Pills.
Do you think you can defeat him?
I wont know until Ive fought him! The cultivator remained firm in his resolve.
The corners of Feng Yuechans lips turned up. What about you? Do you ept his challenge? She said while turning toward Lu Ye.
Their eyes met, and Lu Ye raised his eyebrows inquiringly. Feng Yuechan responded with an imperceptible nod.
Their soundlessmunication ended there. It was then Lu Ye realized that Senior Sister Feng was deserving of her reputation. She had clearly figured out the true reason he had allowed things to devolve to this extent.
I ept! Lu Ye nodded.
Feng Yuechan then looked at a female cultivator standing not far away from Lu Ye and ordered, Treat him.
The woman in question was probably a medicine cultivator and a Heaven Eight cultivator to boot.
Its fine! Lu Ye interrupted before ripping off his tattered shirt, wiping away the blood on his torso as best he could and tossing it on the ground. He then pointed the Invible at his challenger and dered, Come at me!
The cultivator let out a battle cry as Spiritual Power surged around his body. He shot a flying weapon straight at Lu Ye while following closely behind the Spirit Artifact. He reached Lu Ye in just two or three steps before thrusting his spear forward.
As someone who had witnessed all the techniques Lu Ye had put on disy, he knew that he was no match for the young man. That was why he went all out from the get go.
Three flowers bloomed in Lu Yes vision as the spearmanunched his ultimate attack. Not only that, he had to watch out for the flying weapon as well.
Cling! ng! Two ngs of metal resounded throughout the air, and the flying weapon, the spear and the cultivator himself were thrown back where he came.
Technically speaking, they were both Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order. However, the spearman was unable to withstand even one of Lu Yes attacks. Not only did he lose his grip on his weapon, Lu Yes attack had split his purlicue and caused it to bleed profusely.
The spearman stared at Lu Ye inplete disbelief as a fellow disciple caught him. His arms were shaking like a leaf.
He knew he was no match for Lu Ye, but he wasnt expecting the gap to be so huge. He knew that Lu Ye couldve taken his life if he wanted to.
Next! Lu Ye dered while performing a de flourish. His word of challenge immediately riled up the cultivators of the Devoted Ones as a matter of course.
The way Lu Ye had said it, he was clearly nning to challenge them one by one until no one was left standing! Just how arrogant could he be? If anything, his disy of arrogance was even less tolerable than their failure to capture his group.
Ill fight you!
A cultivator leaped out before Feng Yuechan could even say a word. However, he had just stood still when Lu Yes face appeared just tens of centimeters away from his in a blur.
Startled, the challenger tried to dodge backward only to receive a powerful kick to his abdomen. It was as if he had been struck by lightning. He was literallyunched back where he came like a cannonball.
An expressionless Lu Ye slowly withdrew his leg and stood his ground once more. He looked down on the angry Devoted Ones cultivator and waited patiently for the next challenger to appear.
How many more losses do we need to see until you realize that Heaven Seven and Heaven Eight cultivators are no match for him, people? Heaven Nine, go! Feng Yuechan ordered.
A burly body-tempering cultivator pushed his way through the crowd and entered the battlefield. Stopping not far away from Lu Ye, he solemnly produced a Shield Spirit Artifact from his Storage Bag and channeled his Spiritual Power into it. The shield abruptly expanded into a barrier that protected his whole body. Then, he lowered his center of gravity slightly and pushed off the ground with both legs, charging toward Lu Ye like a loose arrow.
Lu Ye inhaled slightly. Right before the enemy was about toe close, the Invible abruptly burst into mes and struck the Shield Spirit Artifact three times in a row.
Each time the dended against the barrier, the Invible would give off a sh. Three hitster, the aura surrounding the shield had dimmed considerably, and cracks were spreading across the shield itself.
Boom! That was all Lu Ye managed to do before the body-tempering cultivator mmed into him. He was pushed back uncontrobly while his feet dug deep into the ground. However, the body-tempering cultivator was unable to follow up on the attack because he felt as if he had mmed into a thick wall. Not only that, he realized in shock that Lu Yes physique was on par with his own!
[You call this abat cultivator?]
He didnt even manage to finish the thought before Lu Ye rushed him once more. This time, the young manunched a thrust at the Shield Spirit Artifact.
The body-tempering cultivator would have preferred to dodge the attack entirely, but unfortunately he was nowhere fast enough to perform the maneuver. He could only channel all of his Spiritual Power into the Shield Spirit Artifact and attempt to block the attack.
Shatter!
Stunned expressions spread throughout the spectators like a gue as the shield shattered into a million pieces. Not only that, the Invible prated three inches into his chest exactly where the heart resided.
The smell of burned flesh wafted across many a nose as a dull muffled groan escaped the body-tempering cultivators throat. He looked down on the burning Invible with trembling pupils.
Lu Ye withdrew his saber, causing the body-tempering cultivator to stagger back and a small shower of blood to burst out of the wound. A medicine cultivator hurriedly caught him and attempted to treat him, but the body-tempering cultivator shook his head to indicate he was fine. If Lu Yes saber had sunk an extra inch deeper and pierced his heart, then he would definitely not be standing right now. As it was, he would recover in just a short time.
No one could say a word for a time. They already knew that Lu Ye was incredibly strong when they were attacking him earlier, but this? This was beyond their expectations to say the least.
Generally speaking, the best way for abat cultivator to fight against a body-tempering cultivator was to fight them at range. Specifically, they were expected to wear down the body-tempering cultivator bit by bit with their flying weapons. The reason for this was because abat cultivators physique was inferior to a body-tempering cultivators. To fight a body-tempering cultivator at melee was to y to their strength.
That was not what had happened in this battle, however. Lu Ye, abat cultivator, had destroyed a body-tempering cultivators defensive Spirit Artifact via brute force!
What was a defensive Spirit Artifact to a body-tempering cultivator? It was their dignity! Their pride and honor! And Lu Ye had just hacked it to pieces and mopped the floor with it!
The visual impact of this fight was even greater than the earlier battle.
A short silenceter, another Heaven Nine cultivator stepped into the open. His head was slightly dipped, and he was holding a sword. Looking at his attire, he was probably abat cultivator. Not all sword wielders were sword cultivators after all.
The man didnt say a word, but his speed kept growing and growing. Just a few stepster, he was zipping around the battlefield like a lightning bolt.
Light surrounded the swordsman as he became one with the sword. Then, a Sword Beam flew straight toward Lu Ye.
The attack did not look very fanciful, but it was one hundred percent an all-out attack. The swordsmans killing intentso thick that it might as well be solidcaused every hair on Lu Yes body to stand on its end.
This man was definitely a sword cultivator!
The Sword Light arrived in the blink of an eye. Insight appeared in Lu Yes pupils as Protection appeared in the Sword Lights path.
Tink!
There was a soft tink as the sword made contact with his Glyph. Then, it was followed by a seemingly unending cacophony of metallic nks. Heavens only know how many times the sword cultivator had thrust his sword in an instant.
The Glyph was quickly covered in cracks despite Lu Ye channeling as much Spiritual Power into it as he could. Eventually, Protection shattered into a million pieces, and the Sword Light shed past Lu Ye at the same time Lu Ye brought down his saber.
For a moment, the duo simply stood with their backs to each other, unmoving. Everyones heart leaped to their throats as they waited for the result.
Pssh! A shower of blood erupted from Lu Yes neck, but he remained standing. Behind him, the sword cultivator wobbled for a moment before copsing on the ground.
A medicine cultivator from the Devoted Ones hurried to his side to treat him, but she discovered that he had just fainted from exhaustion. He was injured, but his life was in no danger. It was only then she let out a sigh of relief.
The cultivators gazes grewplicated. If before they were only angry and annoyed at Lu Ye, now they had grown a hint of respect for him.
It was true that the Crimson Blood Sect and the Devoted Ones shared a sour rtionship with each other, and it was true that Lu Ye was a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. Even so, it was impossible not to respect a Heaven Seven cultivator who could duel two Heaven Nine cultivators in a row ande out victorious, especially since they were the strongest Spirit Creek Realm cultivators they possessed outside of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
That this was after he fought a battle was just the icing on the cake. They would not have believed it if they hadnt witnessed it with their own eyes.
As they watched the blood-drenched youngster with growing respect, they felt as if they were witnessing the rise of a new star.
Another Heaven Nine cultivator soundlessly stepped into the open.
They respected Lu Ye, and they were well aware that this battle was anything but fair. However, their sects dignity was on the line here. That was why they werent going to stop until they had defeated Lu Ye.
Enough! It was at this moment Feng Yuechan spoke up. Have we not embarrassed ourselves enough already? Must we add another stain to our honor?
The Heaven Nine cultivator stopped in his tracks for a moment and withdrew back into the crowd.
Now get back to whatever it was you were doing and reflect on todays incident. The sect has spared no effort in raising you all. You may let it down once, but do not let it down again.
The Devoted Ones cultivators gave Feng Yuechan a silent bow before dispersing with heavy hearts.
Before this, they had prided themselves as cultivators of the Devoted Ones. It was because they were strong enough to even balk at Tier-One Thousand Demon Ridge sects despite only being a Tier-Two sect.
This was something no other Tier-Two sect could do.
Then, Lu Ye showed up and gave them the hardest wake-up call of their lives. It was bad enough that a Heaven Seven cultivator had almost trounced two of their strongest Heaven Nine cultivators, but the Crimson Blood Sect was just a Tier-Nine sect
This was a shame they must never forget. And the only way to wash away this shame was to grow stronger and pay back what Lu Ye had done to them.
After the Devoted Ones cultivators were gone, Feng Yuechan finallynded on the ground to greet Lu Ye.
Senior Sister Feng, Lu Ye sheathed his saber and saluted her respectfully.
Treat your wounds and change into a new set of clothes. I will take you to your fourth senior brother when you are ready.
Yeah. He definitely did not want to meet his senior brother like this, not to mention that it only looked like he had handled the sword cultivators all-out assault with ease. In reality, he had one foot in the grave earlier.
The sword cultivator had concentrated all of his energy in that attack. That was why he had copsed from sheer exhaustion. Not only that, it was clear that it was some sort of secret art, and only a dead man would think that such an attack would be easy to handle.
Even now, Lu Yes vitality was churning inside his chest, and his Spiritual Power was surging like a whirlpool. It was going to take a while for him to calm down.
He wouldve lost for sure if he had fought another Heaven Nine cultivator.
That was probably why Feng Yuechan had stopped the third Heaven Nine cultivator from challenging him. Her n was to use Lu Ye to give her cultivators a wake-up call, and allowing Lu Ye to be defeated would have greatly diminished the effect.
Feng Yuechan led them to her residence and arranged a bath for him. After Feng Yue treated his injuries and healed the wound on his neck, he finally switched into a clean set of clothes and visited his fourth senior brother at a ce at the back of the Outpost known as the Eagle Beak Cliff.
The ce was as secluded as it was serene. Li Baxians residence was a simple log house. It was a private paradise that was located far, far away from the liveliness of the Outpost.
When Lu Yes group entered the house, they were surprised to smell the fragrant scent of food. They were even more surprised when Li Baxian stepped out of the kitchen with an apron tied around his waist.
You can cook, Brother Li?
Li Baxian chuckled. Keep this a secret from your second senior sister, okay? Otherwise, she wont cook for me the next time I return to the headquarters. He then waved at everyone and said, Take a seat. The food will be ready very soon.
Chapter 354: A Chat Between Brothers
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 354: A Chat Between Brothers
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
A momentter, the group sat down around a massive wooden stump. The top of the wooden stump was perfectly t and smooth, which made it suitable as a dining table.
A wide range of dishes wereid out on the table. Every taste, scent and color a person might desire from their food was ounted for.
Ju Jia had never acted courteous around food, and he never would. He buried his face in food the second he took a seat.
Lu Ye sampled some of the dishes before raising his eyebrows in surprise. Holy shit. Your cooking skill is on par with Sister Shuis.
Li Baxian chuckled. Its all I study whenever Im bored and free.
Feng Yuechan snorted. Are you aware that your senior brother is really a veryzy man, Junior Brother Lu? For starters, he wouldnt have cooked today if you hadnt shown up. In fact, it usually takes a lot of prodding and threatening to get him to do anything.
Come now. You can embarrass me when my junior brother isnt around, cant you? pleaded Li Baxian while putting her favorite food on her te.
Thank you, senior brother! Feng Yuechan beamed at him.
Li Baxian sighed. Unable to muster the energy to correct the way she addressed her for the umpteenth time, he looked at Lu Ye and asked, How are your injuries?
Im fine. I believe I have Senior Sister Feng to thank for this, but no one went overboard during the battle.
Im happy to hear that. Lets drink a bit, shall we? Li Baxian produced a few jars of fine liquor from his Storage Bag as he said this.
There wasnt much conversation flowing at the dining table. It was mostly Li Baxian and Lu Ye talking about everything and nothing.
When dinner was over, Ju Jia nked out on his seat while rubbing his full tummy, and Feng Yuechan took Yi Yi and Feng Yue away to clean the dishes. As for Lu Ye and Li Baxian, they were sitting on a protrusion at the edge of Eagle Beak Cliff enjoying a jar of liquor each. One of them was standing, and the other sitting. Both were basking in the dying rays of the sun.
Now that you have entered the Core Circle, what are your ns for the future, junior brother?
Ill be going to the Three Sages Schools Outpost.
The Three Sages School?
The Sect Master kidnapped their top fifty recruits when he was visiting their recruitment ceremony. Three Sages Schools sect master was so angry that he chased after the Sect Master all the way to the headquarters and even fought him Lu Ye gave him a brief summary of the story.
Li Baxians eyes twitched when he heard this. Heavens, the old man really went all out this time. It will be decades before he recovers his reputation, if ever. He really is determined to develop the Crimson Blood Sect properly this time.
Thepensation from the Thousand Demon Ridge arrived a while ago, so the disciples do not need to worry about cultivation expenses for a while. With enough talent, the sect should only grow more and more prosperous. Say, have you ever thought about returning to the Crimson Blood Sect, senior brother?
Li Baxian smiled. What had you heard?
Enough to know that you do not deserve such treatment.
Li Baxian patted Lu Ye on the shoulder before sitting beside him. Fairness isnt amon thing in this world, junior brother. Plus, you have only heard your second senior sisters side of the story. She is looking at the situation from my perspective, so of course she can only see the injustices the others have done unto me.
He gulped down a mouthful of liquor before continuing, Back then, the Devoted Ones took me in even though the entire world wanted the Crimson Blood Sect dead. That alone forbids me from abandoning the Devoted Ones and dishonoring their name, you understand? Of course, Im aware that the Devoted Ones are no longer who they were before, but so what? They may disappoint me, but I must not disappoint myself.
I dont mean to bring up bad memories but the battle that cost your Spiritual Point did the Devoted Ones have something to do with it?
Ive investigated it before, and as far as Im aware there is no direct link. Ultimately, it was my own hubris that led to my downfall. I was so young and prideful back then. Not only did I think myself better than all of them, I wanted to charge my audience every time I made an appearance. After all, I am so brilliant that the mere sight of me should enlighten them, no?
It was such an unexpected statement that Lu Ye nearly spat out his liquor inughter.
I do hope that you will remember my mistake and not repeat it, junior brother.
Lu Ye turned serious and nodded. I wont.
There is always a taller mountain, and the Cultivation World in particr is overflowing with talent. Never think that you are invincible. Your first senior brother was one of, if not the most talented cultivator of his time, and yet his story still ended in death and disgrace. Poor Sister-In-Law and Yuechan
Speaking of her
Sister-In-Law is a wonderful woman. You will get the chance to meet her someday.
Its not that. Does she know that you and Senior Sister Feng are you know Lu Ye made googly eyes and hand gestures at Li Baxian to make his meaning impossibly clear.
My debt to Sister-In-Law is as heavy as a mountain, not to mention that she is like a mother to me.
I know, I know. Shes why Senior Sister Feng and you became childhood friends, am I right? Lu Yes grin widened.
Li Baxian rolled his eyes before he suddenly pped his thigh in realization. Oh, Ive figured it out!
Figured out, what?
I figured out why the Three Sages School wants you to go to their Outpost.
Really? Tell me. Lu Ye still hadnt figured out why. In his opinion, if the Three Sages School wasnt doing well, then inviting him to fix the situation was like pouring fuel on the fire. It would only worsen their situation.
Li Baxian chuckled. Youll know when you reach the Three Sages School. I wonder if they will change their mind then?
Lu Ye was even more confused, but Li Baxian refused to borate any further.
Nighttime arrived, and Feng Yuechan brought many fresh Spirit Fruits to the table with Yi Yi. They had all been grown in the Devoted Ones own ntation zone.
The two brothers continued to chat about everything as they savored the Spirit Fruits and their delicious liquor.
The next morning, when the sun gradually rose from the horizon, Li Baxian dropped his empty jar on the ground, turned to Lu Ye and dered in high spirits, Ill be waiting for you in the Cloud River Battlefield, junior brother!
Lu Ye let out a long sigh of relief. This was the reason he hade all the way to meet his fourth senior brother.
He rose to his feet and said cheekily, You better run faster, senior brother. Itll be embarrassing if I caught up to you too soon.
Dont worry. Ill be sure to give you a run for your money!
The duo exchanged a final smile with one another.
A short whileter, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan personally escorted Lu Yes group out of the Devoted Ones Outpost. After that, Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat and flew Ju Jia and Feng Yue into the sky.
Li Baxian did not stop watching them until they hadpletely vanished from view.
Im heading out, Yuechan.
Where are you going, senior brother?
The Raving desmen!
It was time to settle some grudges once and for all.
A beam of light punched into the sky before speeding down a different direction.
Suddenly, Lu Ye received a message from Feng Yuechan. It said, Thank you, Junior Brother Lu.
Lu Ye smiled. He did not respond to the message.
Lu Ye. Yi Yi appeared out of Ambers body andnded in front of him. She asked curiously, Why did wee to the Devoted Ones Outpost?
To visit our fourth senior brother, of course.
That cant be right. Yi Yi shook her head. Brother Li had just returned to the sect a month ago, and if you really just came to visit him, you wouldnt have fought against the Devoted Ones cultivators and strained your rtionship with them on purpose. Im sure you had something in mind.
Behind Lu Ye, Feng Yues ears had straightened up in attention as well. She too believed that Lu Ye hade with an anterior motive, though she couldnt possibly figure out what that might be.
What do you think is my reason foring here then? Lu Ye threw the question back to her.
Yi Yi tilted her head. If I knew, I wouldnt be asking you, would I?
Lu Ye considered his answer for a moment before replying, Brother Lis Spiritual Point was repaired a while ago, but he hasnt ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Didnt you tell me that he needed some time to adapt to his repaired Spiritual Point?
Since when do you need time to adapt to a single Spiritual Point, even if it was one that has been damaged for a long time? Plus, Brother Li has been stuck on the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade. Hes long since reached the peak a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could attain. The reason he hasnt ascended yet was because he was worried for my safety.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was the number one enemy of countless Thousand Demon Ridge sects right now. At his current strength, he was untouchable in the Inner Circle and Outer Circle, but he had to enter the Core Circle eventually. Here in the Core Circle, there were countless cultivators who had switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. Once the news of his arrival had spread, he would face an endless wave of attacks for sure.
The reason Li Baxian hadnt ascended to the Cloud River Realm was simple. He was worried that Lu Ye might not be able to handle the pressure with just him and his group, which was why he chose to stay and act as his strongest shield.
Lu Ye had figured this out when he had messaged his fourth senior brother and asked him when he was ascending to the Cloud River Realm. That was why he had visited the Devoted Ones Outpost. He wanted to persuade his fourth senior brother to change his mind face to face.
He just didnt expect that the Devoted Ones cultivators wouldnt even carry a message to his fourth senior brother, much less allow him into their Outpost.
An action was worth more than a thousand words. So, he used the Devoted Ones malice towards him to his advantage and fought them. He wanted to show his senior brother that he was capable of defending himself.
Later, Feng Yuechan manipted her Heaven Nine cultivators into challenging Lu Ye into a duel, proving that the young man was capable of defeating multiple Heaven Nine cultivators even after he had been worn down by the previous battle. Both of them were sure that his fourth senior brother would be convinced of his ability to protect himself after witnessing this.
Yi Yi eximed in realization after listening to Lu Yes exnation, I see! But I didnt hear either of you bring this matter up at all.
Some things need not be said to be understood.
Lu Ye knew Li Baxian had made up his mind when he dered, Ill be waiting for you in the Cloud River Battlefield!
I dont want to interrupt, but er Feng Yue suddenly interrupted from behind, I noticed a few auras following us for a while now. I think I think the enemy has found us.
Lu Ye nced in a certain direction coldly. As she said, a few auras had been trailing him from afar. He immediately turned the Spirit Boat around and flew toward them.
Normally, fliers strove to avoid one another for many reasons. However, these people continued to fly toward them until finally, one of them eximed in excitement, It really is the Vanquisher of Sects!
The atmosphere in the Thousand Demon Ridge had been grim and bloodthirsty ever since they suffered that unprecedented humiliation in the Inner Circle. They were all waiting for Lu Ye to enter the Core Circle so they could teach him a lesson he would never forget.
That day hade sooner than expected.
Lu Yes life was worth a lot of money right now because many top-tier sects had put up a bounty for his head. Suffice to say, his killer would get to enjoy more than a lifetimes worth of wealth and fame.
It was why these Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were so excited after confirming that the person they were trailing was indeed the infamous Lu Ye Yi.
However, the man had just finished his sentence when he abruptly discovered that several flying weapons were flying straight toward him. Despite his best attempts to dodge the surprise attack, he was struck in his vitals and killed without any resistance whatsoever. Blood burst out of his wounds as he fell head first toward the ground.
Yi Yi flew out and swiped the Storage Bag on his waist. She then took his flying Spirit Artifact as well.
When she looked up, it was like the sky was raining blood. Lu Ye had killed all of their pursuers. Thest Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator to fall in particr had died with his eyes wide open. He never figured out how the Vanquisher of Sects had killed him, a Heaven Eight cultivator, with just his flying weapons before his consciousness disappearedpletely.
Chapter 355: The Three Tumors Gone In One Day
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 355: The Three Tumors Gone In One Day
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The fact that Lu Ye possessed incredible strength was actually not that well known in the Thousand Demon Ridge. When people thought of his recent actions in the Inner Circle, they had imagined him as a leader leading a massive, unstoppable army to conquer Outposts left and right. They didnt think of him as an extraordinarily powerful cultivator capable of oveing multiple minor realms with ease not because he was actually weak, but because it was impossible for any single individual to stand out in a battle of this scale.
As a result, there were countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators out there who grossly underestimated Lu Yes true strength. It was why the Heaven Seven and Heaven Eight cultivators he just killed had dared to chase him down like moths to mes.
The next day, the news that the Vanquisher of Sects had entered the Core Circle had spread like wildfire. The Thousand Demon Ridge was both shocked and furious to hear this.
They were shocked because his cultivation speed had surpassed their expectations. He had to have switched to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique and reached the Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order Realm to dare to show his face in the Circle.
They were angry because it had only been a little over a month since the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators had negotiated apromise. Hells, it hadnt even been half a month since they delivered thepensation to the Grand Sky Coalitions doorstep before the Vanquisher of Sects showed his face once more, making it clear that the bastard cared little about their agreement.
When Lu Yi Ye was still in the Outer Circle, he had already triggered the Battle of the Goldentip and drawn the attention of the entire world. It was also said that the two Thousand Demon Ridge sects bordering the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost were so ruined that they still werent able rebuild their Outpost to this day.
As if he was trying to surpass his previous achievement, the bastard immediately kicked things up a notch after he entered the Inner Circle. As many as two hundred Outposts had been breached by Lu Ye directly or indirectly. In the end, the Thousand Demon Ridge had to pay an astronomical amount ofpensation and dere that they would go to war against the Grand Sky Coalition if Lu Ye persisted in his ways to finally put an end to his conquest. The losses they suffered were literally unprecedented in history.
Even now, the turmoil in the Inner Circle wasntpletely over. Every Grand Sky Coalition sect that was fortunate enough to be visited by the invasion force that day had been oppressing the shit out of their Thousand Demon Ridge neighbors. They had to fight every inch to rebuild their Outposts.
And now, the walking cmity had entered the Core Circle. Heavens only know what he was plotting this time.
At least they didnt need to worry that the Vanquisher of Sects would repeat what he did in the Inner Circle and create another invasion force. He literally couldnt. The Core Circle was quite different from the Inner Circle. Not only were the Outposts extremely far away from each other, the strength of their cultivators differed drastically as well.
There were of course skillful and bold ordinary Ninth-Order cultivators in the Core Circle, but therge majority of them had switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. As a result, they were much more mobile and stronger than the cultivators of the Inner Circle, which made it easier to reinforce an allied sect.
If the Vanquisher of Sects really was plotting to recreate the feat, then he would most likely be disappointed.
Moreover, the cultivator count of the Outposts in the Core Circle was generally lower than the Inner or Outer Circle. The bigger ones had two to three hundred cultivators, and the smaller ones only one to two hundred. As if that wasnt bad enough, unusual sects such as the Northern Profound Sword na sect that was made up of sword cultivators onlynumbered only dozens. Long story short, they did not have the numbers to spare the strength necessary to recreate Lu Yes army.
That said, just because it was unlikely Lu Ye might repeat what he did in the Inner Circle it didnt mean they shouldnt prepare for it. The Vanquisher of Sects had done plenty of things people thought were impossible or unprecedented until now, and no one knew if he had more tricks up his sleeves. That was why the Thousand Demon Ridge sects of the Core Circle began to mobilize as soon as they heard that Lu Ye had arrived.
The cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge began leaving their Outposts and rushing to thest spot where Lu Ye was detected. No one was directing the operation, and yet they were all united in an unsaid purpose: to nip the Vanquisher of Sects in the bud before he could be a bigger threat than he already was.
While Lu Ye was making waves in the Core Circle, another shocking news had broken at almost the same time. The second runner-up of the Scroll of Supremacy, Li Baxian had flown to the Raving desmens Outpost and challenged Yan Xing to a duel.
The grudge between the two cultivators hadsted for over a decade. Practically everyone who didnt live under a rock had heard about their story. Normally, it was Yan Xing whoy low near the Devoted Ones Outpost in an attempt to ambush the sword cultivator. Unfortunately, he rarely got to enact his ambush because Li Baxian almost never left the Outpost.
That was why most people found it hard to believe that Li Baxian was the one who issued the challenge.
The oue of the battle was even more unbelievable, however. Long story short, Li Baxian was injured, and Yan Xing was killed!
ording to the Raving desmen disciples who were present to witness the battle that day, their duel had been decided in a single move. It had ended so quickly that most of them did not even realize it was over until Yan Xing had copsed on the ground.
With this act, Li Baxian returned to the top of the Scroll of Supremacy with his honor redeemed.
.
The news shocked both the Spirit Creek Battlefield and Jiu Zhou. Li Baxian was the first ever Heaven Eight cultivator in history to make it to the Scroll of Supremacy, and a top contender no less. Naturally, many people had high expectations for him. If his Spiritual Point hadnt been irreparably damaged, his future wouldve been bright and limitless.
Countless Grand Sky Coalition cultivators found it a pity that a champion like him was forced to dilly-dally at the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade.
But today, the march that was halted for over a decade had finally begun once more. Not only had Li Baxian fully recovered from his injuries, he had even in the nemesis that had gued him for just as long and returned to the top of the Scroll of Supremacy.
It was rumored that the Vanquisher of Sects had visited the Devoted Ones right before Li Baxian had challenged Yan Xing to a duel. Considering that the bastard had upied over a hundred Thousand Demon Ridge Sects and plundering countless Blessings
A child couldve figured out that the Vanquisher of Sects was the one who had purchased the Point Restoration Pill Li Baxian needed to restore his Spiritual Point. Who else was wealthy enough to pay the hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points necessary to buy the item?
Also, it wasnt a hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Points anymore because the already limited stock had grown even more limited. It was now priced at a hundred and sixty thousand Contribution Points
The proverb, The rarer something was, the greater its value, had never been more true
That wasnt all. The next day, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans name officially vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy. It was a joyous asion that was celebrated by both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge!
For the longest time, the top three spots of the Scroll of Supremacy had been dominated by Feng Yuechan, Yan Xing and Li Baxian. They were so infamous that they were even nicknamed the Three Tumors of the Scroll of Supremacy!
All three cultivators had lingered at the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade and dominated the top three spots of the Scroll of Supremacy for just as long. Countless rising stars had emerged during this time, but of course they couldnt surpass the trio who possessed both the talent and the time to hone their skills into absolute perfection.
Back when Li Baxian was intentionally hiding his skills, it was still possible to outrank him and be the second runner-up. After the Battle of the Goldentip though, even that had be aplete pipedream.
Now, Yan Xing was killed in a duel, and Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had ascended to the Cloud River Realm. All Three Tumors were gone in a single day.
Countless Grand Sky Coalition sects thanked Lu Ye from the bottom of their heart. They all felt that he had saved the Scroll of Supremacy.
Even the Thousand Demon Ridge agreed that the Vanquisher of Sects had done at least one good deed in his life.
But of course, they felt exactly zero gratitude toward him. And why would they, when they could hardly wait to break his bones, sunder his flesh, and drink his blood?
A beam of light caused by a flying Spirit Artifact was currently cutting a line across the sky like lightning. It was followed by dozens of figures flying Spirit Artifacts of all shapes, colors and sizes. Some of them were even swearing at the beam of light ahead of them non-stop.
It had been two days since Lu Yes cover was blown, and the group had been forced to escape with barely any rest at all. They had no choice.? The Thousand Demon Ridge sects weremunicating with each other anding at him from every direction. No matter where they escaped to, the enemy could always locate them precisely.
They managed to shake off some pursuers and kill even more, but that wasnt nearly enough to deter the Thousand Demon Ridges determination to kill him. Despite their efforts, the number of pursuers only increased over time.
It was like someone had thrown a handful of salt into the pot of boiling oil that was the Core Circle. Wherever Lu Ye went, activities began to bubble in earnest.
Sometimes, enemies would appear from the front to intercept them. Lu Ye generally avoided them as much as he could, but if it was impossible then he just fought his way out.
Suffice to say, whatever misconception the Thousand Demon Ridge had regarding his strength was swiftly corrected after all the casualties they took.
There were two reasons they hadnt been able to kill Lu Ye yet. One, his flight speed was insane. He clearly had a way to massively boost the speed of his flying Spirit Artifact for a short time.
The maximum flight speed of a flying Spirit Artifact was directly connected to the enhancements and quality of the Spirit Artifact, and the cultivation level of the pilot.
Although the Thousand Demon Ridge had dispatched a massive number of cultivators to pursue Lu Ye, few could truly catch up to him. And even those who could were unable to keep up after a while.
How could they hunt him down when they couldnt even catch up to him? This was why Lu Ye was only pursued by dozens of people right now, not hundreds or even thousands. Even now, people in the group were falling behind one after another.
If flight speed was the only problem, then they couldve caught him already. For the past two days, countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had been lying in ambush ahead of Lu Ye. Theoretically speaking, they only needed to hold him up for a moment for the pursuers to catch up to them.
In reality, the interceptors werent able to do much. The second reason they werent able to kill Lu Ye yet was because his skill in the Way of Telekinesis was just too good. The young man was only a Heaven Seven cultivator, and yet somehow he was able to control nine flying weapons at the same time!
Sure, it wasnt even close to Li Baxians ridiculous one hundred flying weapons, but being able to control nine was still an incredible achievement. Even worse, the weapons were ridiculously powerful.
Once, a Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator had attempted to intercept Lu Ye only to find himself with one foot in the grave after the nine flying weapons struck him at once. He only survived because he was a strong cultivator, but even then he was grievously wounded and unable to contribute to the pursuit any longer.
As if this wasnt bad enough, Lu Yes telekic range far exceeded that of a standard Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. Even a Heaven Nine cultivator was no match for him.
The power and range of a flying weapon was directly rted to their mental strength, the purity of their Spiritual Power, and their Spiritual Power control.
That was why the Thousand Demon Ridge could not understand what was going on here. How was Lu Yi Ye, a cultivator who had just ascended to the Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order a few days ago, able to kill someone that was over two hundred and thirty meters away from him with his flying weapons? Just how pure was his Spiritual Power? What level of fine control must he possess to achieve such a feat?
To make aparison, a Heaven Nine cultivators maximum telekic range was only two hundred meters or so. Any further than that, and they would not be able to control their weapon.
The thirty-meter difference meant that the initiative was always in Lu Yes hand. Anyone who wished to face him in battle must be able to endure at least one round of attacks before they could do anything.
In the sky, flying weapons were the main mode of attack. This invisible advantage allowed Lu Ye to perform better than he would have on the ground.
Right now, Lu Ye was infinitely d that he had picked his fourth senior brothers brain regarding the Way of Telekinesis before, and that he heeded the advice to purchase a Weapon Holder from the Vault of Providence. Otherwise, he and hispanions wouldve sumbed to the onught already.
Chapter 356: The Three Sages School
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 356: The Three Sages School
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The Core Circle fell into total chaos after Lu Ye came. It wasnt a peaceful ce to begin with, but Lu Yes arrival had definitely increased the friction between the two cultivation factions. While the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were trying to surround and intercept Lu Ye, the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators focused on assassinating those enemies who were isted or had strayed too far away from the pack. It invariably took some pressure off Lu Yes back.
Meanwhile, proverbial dark clouds were hanging above the Three Sages Schools Outpost. It was because Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was almost at their Outpost. Judging from what they were hearing on the grapevine, Lu Yi Ye should be arriving in two hours tops.
Two days ago, the Three Sages School was still looking forward to Lu Yes arrival. Their situation was bad, and they hadnt produced any noteworthy Spirit Creek Realm elites for the past few years. As a result, their disciples suffered greatly at the hands of the Thousand Demon Ridge. That was why they thought that Lu Yes arrival might improve their situation.
Then, the news that Li Baxian had repaired his Spiritual Point and ascended to the Cloud River Realm broke out. The Three Sages School was bbergasted to say the least. Not only had Li Baxian left the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Feng Yuechan was gone as well. The entire reason they had invited Lu Ye to their Outpost was to indirectly recruit the two champions aid. Now, there was only the disaster.
If their hostile neighbors were the only ones they had to worry about before, now they had to bear the weight of the entire Core Circle.
Have we received any direction from the headquarters yet, senior brother?
Shi Lei, the prolegate of the Three Sages School, asked.
Sitting opposite of him was a young man in tight ck clothes. He replied, Not yet.
He was none other than the Legate, Situ Han.
What should we do then? Shi Lei asked with a frown.
Were the ones who invited him over. Do you really think we can send him away?
Situ Han was well aware that the fact that the sect said nothing at all was a direction in itself.
Shi Lei looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he could only let out a sigh. Their Outpost was doing poorly to begin with, and taking Lu Yi Ye in was only going to make things worse. Worst case scenario, they could even lose their Outpost. However, Situ Han was right. They were the ones who had invited Lu Ye to their Outpost, so how could they reject him at thest moment? They could only lie in the bed they had made.
Neither of them dared to say out loud that their sect master had screwed up big time.
Their sect master had thought that he was getting a three-for-one deal by inviting Lu Yi Ye to the Outpost. Lu Yi Ye alone was an invitation for disaster, but the addition of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan would surely alleviate some of the pressure on their backs. Who couldve predicted that Lu Yi Ye would purchase the near priceless Point Restoration Pill to restore Li Baxians Spiritual Point, which led to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan ascending to the Cloud River Realm and departing the Spirit Creek Battlefield altogether?
Inform all our cultivators to prepare for battle, Situ Han ordered while rising to his feet. At this point, there was only one thing to do. Losing their Outpost and the culmination of several generations of hard work was going to be painful, but it was still better than losing their reputation. If they actually closed their doors to Lu Yi Ye, then the Three Sages School would never be trusted by the Grand Sky Coalition anymore.
Yes, sir.
Some timeter, every cultivator in the Three Sages School was assembled at the edge of their grand ward. They numbered less than two hundred people, and they only had a handful of Heaven Nine cultivators.
An hour passed, and Shi Lei suddenly yelled, Here hees!
A streak of light had emerged from the horizon and was flying toward them at high speed. If they focused their eyes, they could see even more streaks of light chasing behind it.
The streak of light arrived outside the grand ward just a dozen breathster. They looked up and saw three people standing on top of a flying Spirit Artifact that was shaped like a boat. The young man at the forefront looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, the woman in the middle looked pale with fright, and the massive, towering man standing at the end of the boat had a white cat on his head.
Situ Han took a step forward and asked, Are you Junior Brother Lu, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect?
On the Spirit Boat, Lu Ye responded, I am!
Situ Han immediately gestured at Shi Lei while saying, Come in quickly.
Shi Lei opened a gap in the grand ward using the Control Gem, and Lu Ye immediately flew the Spirit Boat inside. Both him and Ju Jia jumped to the ground after they were in the Outpost, but Feng Yue was still sitting in the Spirit Boat. When Lu Ye looked at her, she forced a smile on her face and said, Give me a second. My knees are still weak
The past two days had been quite memorable to say the least. She was just an ordinary Eighth-Order medicine cultivator, so of course she had never experienced such a passionate pursuit in her life. They must have encountered at least a couple hundred pursuers along the way, and no matter how many groups they managed to kill or shake off, there would always be a recement. She wouldve believed it if someone told her that Lu Ye had murdered all their families. There were quite a number of times she thought that they were dead for sure
It was no wonder that she was weak all over.
Lu Ye shot Ju Jia a look, and the brawny man grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her off the Spirit Boat. It was almost like he was carrying a chick.
Eep Feng Yue let out a strange cry as her pale face swiftly reddened like a tomato.
[Oh my heavens, this is so embarrassing]
After Lu Ye had put away the Spirit Boat, he looked at the two men walking up to him and sped his fist in salute. How should I address you, senior brothers?
He greeted them ordingly after Situ Han and Shi Lei reported their names.
Before he could say anything else, Situ Han made a weing gesture while saying, You have had a long and arduous journey, so just leave the rest to us and catch some sleep. We can speak after youve had a proper nights rest.
It wasnt until yesterday that Lu Ye finally figured out what his fourth senior brother meant when he said, I wonder if they would dare to receive you then? The reason the Three Sages Schools sect master had invited him to their Outpost wasnt because of his strength, but because of his close rtionship with Li Baxian.
If he was in danger, then Li Baxian would not sit by and do nothing. And if Li Baxian must rescue his junior brother, then Feng Yuechan would not stay idle either.
In other words, the Three Sages Schools sect master had negotiated a three-for-one deal with his Sect Master.
However, their sect master had not anticipated that Lu Ye would use his hard-earned Contribution Points to purchase the Point Restoration Pills and heal Li Baxian. Not long after that, both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had departed to the Cloud River Battlefield.
As a result, the condition seemed foolish at best and self-destructive at worst. Not only would Lu Yes presence bring unending cmity to the Outpost, there would be no Li Baxian or Feng Yuechan to help turn the tides. It was no wonder Li Baxian thought that the Three Sages School might decide to change their minds.
The good news was that the Three Sages School wasnt a selfish, irresponsible sect. Despite knowing that they were inviting destruction into their midst, they had still opened their doors to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye nced at a nearby group of Three Sages School cultivators. They looked like they were preparing for war.
Lu Ye waved his hand and said, Your kindness is much appreciated, but were not going to stay at your wonderful Outpost for long. Well be taking our leave as soon as we catch our breaths.
Since the Three Sages School had turned out to be more decent than anticipated, of course he wasnt going to stay behind and bring harm to them. Right now, any Grand Sky Coalition Outpost who took him in would be harassed until they were wiped out from the surface of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Plus, the Three Sages School was just a Tier-Two sect with a small group of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. If he actually chose to stay, they were going to lose their Outpost in two days at best, or one day at worst.
Both Situ Han and Shi Lei looked surprised. They clearly werent expecting Lu Ye to make such a decision.
Situ Han asked, Are you aware of your circumstances, Junior Brother Lu? With your cultivation level, I am afraid you wont be able to survive for long without the protection of an Outpost.
Perhaps, but how long can your Outpostor any Outpost for that matterhold out before they are overwhelmed? Do not worry, senior brother. I may be weak still, but the Thousand Demon Ridge will have to work very hard to kill me. That said, there is one thing that I would like to ask for your help with.
].
Do tell, junior brother.
Lu Ye pointed at Feng Yue, who was still being carried by Ju Jia like a chick. Feng Yue here is a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. Is it okay if she attaches herself to your Outpost? Her cultivation may be weak, but she is a medicine cultivator. You do not need to give her special treatment either. Just treat her like one of yours and throw her a bone from time to time.
Feng Yue was already red in the face to begin with, but her head drooped even lower when she heard Lu Yes remark about her. For some reason, she felt like the child of a poor family being sent away to greener pastures
But of course, Situ Han agreed immediately. Forget that Feng Yue was a medicine cultivator, they wouldve epted her even if she wasnt. They already felt guilty and thankful that Lu Ye would rather risk his life than enjoy at least a day or two of safety, something that he was entirely entitled to.
Also, can I form an alliance pact with you, senior brother? I would like to borrow your Divine Opportunity Column for something.
A whileter, Lu Ye was connecting his mind to the Three Sages Schools Divine Opportunity Column and entering the Vault of Providence.
He only had two thousand plus Contribution Points left when he was at the Crimson Blood Sect. After spending two days escaping from his pursuers though, he had gained some Contribution Points and a good amount of loot.
Besides the cultivation resources, he sold everything to the Vault of Providence for around two thousand Contribution Points. Now, he had four thousand Contribution Points in total.
It didntst long. A few minutester, the four thousand Contribution Points had decreased to just five.
[Its been a while since I was this poor.] Lu Ye thought wistfully to himself. You truly could never have enough Contribution Points.
Situ Han was waiting for him outside when he exited the Sanctum of Providence. Lu Ye asked, Senior Brother Situ, can you prepare some food for us?
Forget eating or sleeping, they barely had the chance to catch their breaths for the past two days. As a result, both him and Ju Jia were quite exhausted. While they hadnt run low on Spiritual Power yetLu Ye could consume Spirit Pills to restore his Spiritual Power non-stop, and Ju Jia had a massive amount of reserves in his Mutant Coretheir stamina was a different story altogether.
No problem. Please give us a moment, Situ Han replied before making the arrangements. A momentter, Lu Ye and Ju Jia were chowing down a tableful of food like hungry ghosts.
Lu Ye checked the 10-point map while gulping down his food. They could not afford to stay in the Three Sages Schools Outpost for long not only because he would be endangering them, but also because he would lose the initiative.
If he took too long, the Thousand Demon Ridge could surround the Outpost until even a fly was hard pressed to escape their encirclement. They were all going to go down if that happened.
The situation hadnt devolved to that point yet, of course. The number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gathering a few kilometers away from the Outpost were still pretty low. However, their numbers would only grow bigger as time passed.
He must take his leave before the enemys size could exceed a certain threshold.
That said, fleeing wasnt a permanent solution either. They had to falter eventually, not to mention that there was no way to fully predict the dangers ahead of them.
No, the best way to deal with his pursuers was tounch a counterattack; to show them the cost of pursuing him.
A n was already forming in Lu Yes mind, but he needed a suitable setting to enact it.
That was why he was inspecting the 10-point map right now. He wanted to find a terrain that suited his needs.
Chapter 357: Misty Mountains
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 357: Misty Mountains
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were many strange locations in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and many of them were filled with unknown dangers. Some were dangerous enough that even cultivators were unwilling to venture into them.
Theirs of powerful Spirit Beasts were one such example. Theke of the Great Serpent was one such example. While theke was technically a danger zone, the Great Serpent wasnt that much of a threat to a cultivator. Unless provoked, it usually did not bother the cultivators that passed by itsir, especially those who offered it food.
Not all Spirit Beasts were as easy-going as the Great Serpent though, not to mention that they were all Tyrant-level existences that no single Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could hope to defeat.
Besides theirs of Tyrant-level Spirit Beasts, there were many other ces that were naturally dangerous for one reason or another. These were not the locations Lu Ye was looking for. Although he was powerful enough to kill an ordinary Heaven Nine cultivator on his own, a Tyrant-level Spirit Beast was a match for many Heaven Nine cultivators. Naturally, he wasnt stupid or audacious enough to seek out such ces.
The terrain in his mind was one that would allow him to maximize his abilities. He wanted an environment that naturally made aerial scouting ineffective or was a naturally good hiding ce.
The good news was that there were plenty of ces like this. He found one that fit his criteria very quickly.
He took a four-hour rest after finishing his meal. It was only then that he got ready to leave.
Several kilometers away from the Three Sages School, over three hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had already gathered in ce. More were stilling over from every direction.
At the edge of the grand ward, Lu Ye bade Situ Han and Shi Lei farewell. The Legate did not pretend that he wanted Lu Ye around. He simply let out a sigh and said, We did you wrong, Junior Brother Lu.
You are exaggerating, Senior Brother Situ. You are already doing me a big favor by epting my fellow disciple in these trying times.
He then shot Feng Yue a nce and said curtly, Do not bring shame to the sect.
Feng Yue maintained an obsequious appearance as she responded, I understand.
Farewell! Lu Ye said onest time to Situ Han and Shi Lei before summoning his Spirit Boat. He and Ju Jia then hopped onto the flying Spirit Artifact.
He did not bother asking Ju Jia to stay, not because he didnt want to, but because he knew that Ju Jia would not agree to it.
The Spirit Boat vibrated once before shooting into the sky.
Feng Yue took a step forward and cried out to the departing Spirit Boat, Take care, Brother Lu!
Her feelings toward Lu Ye were quiteplicated. At the beginning, she hated and begrudged Lu Ye for effectively damning her to a hopeless future. However, most of that hatred faded away after he formally epted her as a true acolyte. The fact that he took her to the Core Circle and left her behind at the Three Sages Schools Outpost proved that he hadnt held her past against her despite the way he acted toward her. At the very least, she would never get to enjoy such treatment if she was still a cultivator of n Feng. It was around this time Feng Yue realized that leaving n Feng and joining the Crimson Blood Sect wasnt so bad after all.
It would be even better if her fifth senior brother was friendlier
The Spirit Boat swiftly turned into a dot in the sky. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators immediately gave chase when they saw this. The sky immediately became filled with what looked like hundreds upon hundreds of reverse shooting stars. A momentter, the grand spectacle ended, and the outskirts of the Three Sages School fell silent once more.
To the Thousand Demon Ridge, hunting Lu Ye was the top priority right now. Not only would they be rewarded handsomely, they would not have to live in fear anymore.
In the past, they only feared Lu Ye for his extraordinary ward breaching skills. Now, they feared his exceptional martial prowess as well. The young man was just a Heaven Seven cultivator, but he was already strong enough to kill an ordinary Heaven Nine cultivator. Was there anyone in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who could defeat him when he reached the Heaven Nine Realm?
The Thousand Demon Ridge had no intentions of reliving the horror of their entire cultivation faction being dominated by a single person.
It was clear that the pursuers wereposed of a mishmash of weak and powerful cultivators. Those with low cultivation level and/or poor flying Spirit Artifacts quicklygged behind the group, and even the Heaven Eight or Heaven Nine cultivators were hard pressed to keep up with Lu Ye.
The good news was that the entire Core Circle had been mobilized to hunt down Lu Ye. They would never lose track of him unless he hid himself.
The bad news was that Lu Ye vanished from their sight just a dayter.
Hisst known location was a massive mountain range that epassed a wide area. ording to the 10-point map, the ce was named Misty Mountains.
One could tell from the name alone that the terrain was generally shrouded in mist. From a birds eye view, the mountain forest was permanently shrouded by a sea of rising mist and churning clouds. The scenery was fantastic to say the least. The mist was so thick and tall that even three hundred meter tall trees werepletely hidden beneath it. Only those old enough to have gigantic canopies could stand out amidst mist.
The ancient mountain forest was their of many a Spirit Beast. However, it was also a treasure trove of natural treasures.
Misty Mountains was quite famous in the Core Circle. A lot of cultivators loved toe here to harvest herbs or capture a Spirit Beast or two.
Of course, the Misty Mountains werent without its dangers. For starters, it contained as many as three Tyrant-level Spirit Beasts!
Luckily, they almost never left their territory. In fact, they were generally not hostile unless their territory was invaded.
It was obvious why Lu Yi Ye had escaped into the Misty Mountains. He was nning to use the terrain to shake off their pursuit.
The Thousand Demon Ridge could not allow him to escape as a matter of course. To deal with this, they called their friends and allies to join in the hunt.
Just a few dayster, Misty Mountains went from a fairly tranquil resource spot to a riotous one. That was how many people had joined in on the hunt.
Since the mountain range was permanently shrouded in mist, it was basically impossible to scout from the air. So, they were forced to search for Lu Ye on the ground.
That said, they werent bumbling around like idiots. For starters, the stealthy ghost cultivators moved into the forest first in search for Lu Yes tracks or better, the man himself. They were to message the main group immediately if they found anything.
Behind the ghost cultivators were squads responsible for exploring and sweeping the area thoroughly. Each squad consisted of ten cultivators or more because any less than that, and they might not be able to defeat Lu Ye even if they found him.
Finally, the squads made sure to stay fairly close to one another. This way, they could reinforce their allies at a moments notice.
It must be said that the Thousand Demon Ridge was well prepared for this hunt. And so the great hunt for Lu Yi Ye in the Misty Mountains began.
Yu Qi was one of the ghost cultivators who was searching for Lu Ye in the Misty Mountains. His cultivation level was so-so in the Core Circle. He was a Heaven Eight cultivator who had unlocked three hundred and ten Spiritual Points in total, or fifty points away from reaching the Heaven Nine Realm.
At the beginning of ones cultivation journey, the first fifty Spiritual Points were very easy to unlock. Anyone with even a smidgen of cultivation talent would be able to achieve this. At Yu Qis level though, he had to give it his all to unlock just a single Spiritual Point.
The more Spiritual Points a cultivator had unlocked, the thicker the barrier surrounding a Spiritual Point became. That was why it grew more and more difficult to unlock a Spiritual Point over time.
Not only that, it wasnt like a cultivator had an infinite amount of tries. The bigger the number of attempts, the easier it was for a locked Spiritual Point to be damaged. If that happened, then the Spiritual Point would basically be useless and could only be restored with a Point Restoration Pill.
Yu Qi knew full well that he was unlikely to unlock all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points unless he stumbled upon a windfall of sorts. However, he was reluctant to just give in to fate and ascend as he was either.
His sentiment was shared by many Heaven Seven and Heaven Eight cultivators. No one hade this far just to resign themselves to mediocrity. They might never make it to the Heaven Nine Realm, but they would be damned if they didnt push as far as humanly possible before ascending to the Cloud River Realm.
The reason was simple, the more Spiritual Points they unlocked, the greater their potential as a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
There was another reason they were able to keep pushing. It was because there existed a Spirit Pill called the Barrier Prating Pill.
Unlike the Point Restoration Pills obscene price tag of one hundred and sixty thousand Contribution Points, the Barrier Prating Pill cost only five hundred Contribution Points. Its price tag had not changed for centuries either.
However, five hundred Contribution Points was a tall order even for Core Circle cultivators, not to mention that someone like Yu Qi would need an incredible amount of Barrier Prating Pills to unlock further Spiritual Points. Right now, he might be able to unlock his next Spiritual Point with a single Barrier Prating Pill. However, the next Spiritual Point would require two or even three Barrier Prating Pills to unlock. Not only did he need an exponential amount of Barrier Prating Pills to unlock the next Spiritual Point, he would eventually reach a point where the Barrier Prating Pill becamepletely ineffective. When that happened, ascending to the Cloud River Realm would be his only option.
To reiterate, Yu Qi was fifty Spiritual Points from reaching Heaven Nine. He did not even want to think how many Barrier Prating Pills it would take him to get that far, assuming the efficacy of the pill wouldst until then. What he did know was that there was no chance under the Heavens that he was going to gather that many Contribution Points without some sort of windfall. That was why he had joined the hunt.
If he managed to kill Lu Yi Ye, he would have the wealth to unlock many Spiritual Points.
As a ghost cultivator whomuned with the Nether all day and night, Yu Qi was extremely confident in his attainment in the Way of Concealment. More urately, there was no such thing as a ghost cultivator who wasnt confident in their ability to conceal themselves.
As it turned out, he was a lucky man as well. Just a few days after he entered the Misty Mountains, he actually managed to find Lu Yi Ye!
Right now, Lu Yi Ye was sitting cross legged on arge rock next to a clear mountain spring. There was a small bonfire where the body-tempering cultivator named Ju Jia was barbecuing a mountain boar. Its sleek, oily surface was giving off a most enticing scent, and the oil would sometimes drip onto the fire and cause some sizzling noises.
There was also a Spirit Beast that was shaped like a snow white cat. It was currently curled up into a ball and chowing down on a bloody chunk of meat.
Yu Qi had nearly lost control of his heartbeat the moment he spotted the group. Seventeen or eighteen year old youngster was like a walking treasure trove to all Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators right now!
Anyone who managed to kill him would basically be unlocking the door to an infinite source of wealth.
Yu Qi nced back and forth between the meditating Lu Yi Ye and the barbecuing Ju Jia before calling them airheads in his head. Just how careless could they be to have the mood to have a barbecue while thousands upon thousands of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were searching for them?
He took a small breath to calm down his excitement. Then, he slowly inched his way toward Lu Ye.
To a ghost cultivator, Lu Yi Ye was even more enticing than that boar that had been roasted to golden perfection. He was certain he could kill Lu Yi Ye if he could get within ten meters of the young man because he was a ghost cultivator; a type of cultivator that was born to assassinate enemies one or more minor realms above them!
His footnded on a carpet of soft leaves, but it did not generate even the slightest noise. Yu Qi was pushing his abilities to the max right now.
Thirty meters, fifteen meters, ten meters!
Suddenly, Yu Qi paused in his tracks and felt a thick sheen of cold sweat breaking out of his forehead. He suddenly discovered that a corpse was lying behind the rock Lu Ye was meditating on. Not only that, their attire clearly marked them as a fellow ghost cultivator.
As if that wasnt bad enough, his mind turnedpletely white when he saw the dead mans face. It was because he recognized the guy. The ghost cultivator was a Heaven Nine cultivator from a Tier-Two sect, and he was much stronger than Yu Qi to put it mildly.
Chapter 358: A Massacre
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 358: A Massacre
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
There were no signs ofbat in the surroundings, and yet a Heaven Nine ghost cultivatory dead next to Lu Ye.
The situation was moreplicated than he initially thought to put it mildly.
He looked up. That was when he saw Lu Ye staring straight into his eyes.
Cold sweat dripped down Yu Qis forehead. He knew he was exposed almost the second their eyes met.
Never mind that he had no idea how he was exposed.
Never mind that Lu Yi Ye, a Heaven Sevenbat cultivator, should never be able to see him.
Ghost cultivators did excel at assassinating enemies above their cultivation realm, but that was assuming that their stealth wasnt broken. Otherwise, they were far less of a threat.
Yu Qi barely hesitated before jumping back. Maybe it was the threat of death so tangible that he could practically smell it, but he was moving faster than he ever had in his life.
He heard something whistling through the air. The next moment, three flying weapons closed in on him from multiple directions.
Yu Qi had long since heard of Lu Yes telekic prowess. He hurriedly summoned his own Spirit Artifact and knocked the three flying weapons away. At the same time, he used the knockback force to put another thirty meters between himself and Lu Yi Ye. However, just as he stopped, another flying weapon flew toward his side soundlessly.
Yu Qi hurriedly dodged to the side, but the attack still managed to brush his shoulder and trigger a burst of intense pain. Blood immediately poured profusely down his shoulder.
As if that wasnt enough, he heard more whistling soundsing from behind. He looked back just in time to see five or six flying weapons approaching him from multiple angles.
In that instant, two words shed across his mind.
[Im dead.]
He was aware that Lu Ye was powerful. He was a Heaven Seven cultivator who could kill Heaven Nine cultivators. However, seeing was believing, and it wasnt until now that he grasped just how powerful the young man really was.
He was a Heaven Eight cultivator who had unlocked three hundred and ten Spiritual Points, and yet he couldnt even retaliate against someone who was one minor realm below him.
Lu Yi Ye had not even moved an inch from his position. Yet, he had driven Yu Qi into a dead end with his flying weapons alone.
His strength had literally surpassed his imagination of what was possible.
An instant before death, he tapped on his Battlefield Imprint and sent out an emergency message. He wasnt scared of dying, but he was scared that he would perish before informing the others about Lu Yi Yes location.
The reason he hadnt done so the second he discovered Lu Ye was because he wanted to im all the rewards for himself, but now, he was way past the point of selfishness.
[Please make it in time!]
Chiang!
He could hear the reverberation of the metals. He could almost feel them pressing against his skin from multiple angles. It was then he realized that he was alive?
He looked around. For whatever reason, the Spirit Artifacts hade to a stop just an inch away from his vital spots. He maintained his awkward posture and did not dare to move a muscle.
Large beads of sweat slid down Yu Qis face as he turned his eyes sideways and nced at Lu Ye.
You done? Lu Ye asked.
What?
Are you done messaging yourrades?
Yeah, Yu Qi replied instinctively.
Good!
The Spirit Artifacts immediately shone with power once more.
Just as he was about to die, Yu Qi uttered through gritted teeth, See you on the way to the Yellow Springs!
That was all Lu Ye allowed him to say before controlling his flying weapons to pierce his protective Spiritual Power like they were paper and destroy his vitals. The ghost cultivator spewed blood like a leaking wine skin before hitting the ground with a heavy thud, and the flying weapons returned to Lu Yes Weapon Holder.
Ju Jia set down the half-cooked boar and walked up to Yu Qi. After taking the ghost cultivators Storage Bag, he dumped the corpse on the small stack of corpses behind therge rock Lu Ye was sitting on.
These dead men were all ghost cultivators who had discovered Lu Yes tracks, but instead of reporting back to the main group like they should have, they all sumbed to greed thinking that they could single handedly y the Vanquisher of Sects and im all the fame, glory and wealth. Instead, all they got was a premature death.
In fact, none of these ghost cultivators managed to send out a message until Yu Qi came by.
After a massive expenditure of Contribution Points and several days of setup, he was finally ready to begin the massacre.
Not long after Yu Qis death, the squads searching through the forest began converging on Lu Yes location. The closest squad took only half an incense stick to arrive at the location and detect Lu Ye from afar. Unlike the ghost cultivators though, they did not attack Lu Ye on their own. Instead, they waited patiently for the other squads to arrive.
An hourter, five squads and over seventy people had arrived at Lu Yes resting spot. More were moving in from multiple directions.
It was only then they began moving in from every direction. They exposed their killing intent once they had gotten close enough.
At this distance, it did not matter if they were concealed or not. Every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator was staring at the figure standing on the rock with greed-filled eyes.
Die, Lu Yi Ye!
Take him down!
For those who have died because of him!
Anger-filled cries broke out from every direction. To someone who knew nothing about the situation, it looked like they were heroes attacking an evil monster who had terrorized their people for too long. Spells and flying weapons shot toward Lu Ye from all over the ce.
But to their surprise, Lu Ye remained exactly where he was. Despite the rain of death flying toward him from every direction, he didnt even try to dodge out of the way.
[What is he doing?] No one could understand what Lu Yi Ye was thinking. Forget a Heaven Seven cultivator, even an ordinary Cloud River Realm cultivator would not dare to block such an attack head on. Unless he was suicidal, of course.
Naturally, Lu Ye wasnt feeling suicidal. Right before the attack could hit him, he abruptly summoned a ward g and gave it a little wave. There was a surge of Spiritual Power, and ayer of light that surrounded both him and Ju Jia manifested into existence. Swimming across the surface of the barrier like fish were multiple Glyph: Protections.
Its a defensive ward! Someone yelled. Now they understood why Lu Ye had acted as if their attack didnt exist. He had clearly set up a defensive ward around his resting spot.
The defensive ward was basically the mini version of a Grand Ward. It looked pretty tough because the amount of space it needed to protect was much, much smaller.
The main reason Lu Ye was feared by the Thousand Demon Ridge was because of his ward breaching skills. If he could breach a grand ward, then it made sense that his ward creation skills could not be far behind as well.
Suddenly, some of the attackers had a bad feeling regarding this whole assault. At the same time, they realized something they had been subconsciously ignoring until now
Ripples appeared all over the barrier of light as the telekic weapons and spellsnded. The barrage was powerful enough that the defensive ward was dimming at a visible rate. It would probably shatter in less than ten breaths.
It was at this moment Lu Ye produced yet another ward g. When he gave it a little wave, a Thousand Demon Ridge squad over a dozen strong suddenly felt an unnatural prickle all over their skin. At the same time, the rm bells in their heads abruptly rang in full force.
The ground beneath their feet started glowing with strange patterns. The next moment, it transformed into a huge ward that epassed over thirty meters of space.
Glyph: Explosion was a Glyph Lu Ye had obtained from the Tree of Glyphs a while ago, and it was one of the best Glyphs to be used in a ward.
Lu Yes attainment in the Way of Wards had increased by an unimaginable degree thanks to the knowledge he absorbed in the Hundred Wards Tower, but to this day he was still growing at a visible rate. It was because he wasnt able to digest the packets of knowledge that had been forcefully shoved into his head immediately. Every time he reviewed those packets of knowledge, his skill would improve a little more.
Lu Ye had created countless wards as per the Hundred Wards Tower demanded in its tests. Naturally, he was no longer the novice he used to be.
For starters, the Explosive Ward the Thousand Demon Ridge squad was sitting in had been created using four ward gs as the frame and Glyph: Explosion as the main Glyph. It was then charged to the brim with a good amount of Spirit Stones. This was the first time he created this type of ward, he dearly wished to know just how powerful it really was.
The Thousand Demon Ridge was wary of his ward breaching skills, but this would be the first time they had a taste of his ward creation skills.
Run! Someone shouted, but it was toote.
The Spiritual Power of the ward went from zero to a hundred in an instant. The second the Glyph took form, the earth shook, and the world was consumed in a ze of fire and stone. Caughtpletely by surprise, the other squads instinctively paused in their tracks and looked in the direction of the explosion. They saw blood, flesh and bone raining from the sky. They saw the affected squad had lost over half of their men, and those who survived had not escaped intact. They were all missing a good chunk of flesh and bone and screaming like it was the end of the world.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was thinking to himself: [Hmm, the Explosive Ward is more powerful than I thought. Its too bad it ruins the ward gs as well.]
Of course, the ward gs used to establish the Explosive Ward were not the ones he had received from the Hundred Wards Tower. He would have to be really desperate, insane or both to waste them like this.
The four ward gs used to establish the Explosive Ward had been purchased from the Vault of Providence. Each one cost between dozens to a hundred Contribution Points, or the equivalent of a good Lower Grade Spirit Artifact.
Earlier at the Three Sages Schools Outpost, Lu Ye had spent nearly all of Contribution Points on ward gs and ward keystones.
While he could have just purchased the raw materials and materialized the items out of thin air using his Fire Attribute Spiritual Power, he wasnt yet at that skill level. He didnt have the time or the tools to create them using the standard method either, so he had no choice but to buy them directly from the Vault of Providence.
That said, he wasnt making a loss wasting his ward gs like this. Forget that he and Ju Jias life were priceless, the kills alone earned him Contribution Points, not to mention the loot could be resold for more Contribution Points or Spirit Stones. If the enemy he sted to the Heavens were rich, then his return would definitely be higher than the cost.
A couple more wards came active while the Explosive Ward was grabbing everyones attention. A second explosive ward caught another squad of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and dealt severe damage to them as well.
The second Explosive Ward was thest of its kind, but that didnt mean the other wards he had set up were useless. They all had their own uses and functions. Lu Ye manipted these wards and gave the remaining Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators a hell of a hard time.
Chapter 359: That Piece Of Shit Sure Is Wealthy
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 359: That Piece Of Shit Sure Is Wealthy
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Over twenty people were dead or seriously injured after the first two Explosive Wards were triggered. The rest were having a hard time withstanding the ongoing effects of the remaining wards as well. From time to time, someone would cry out in pain and die.
The defensive ward surrounding Lu Ye and Ju Jia had shattered a while ago. Although the defensive ward was pretty tough, it could only withstand that much damage. In fact, it had broken down after the first wave of assaults. It was just that no one could spare the effort to attack them right now.
Standing on the rock, Lu Ye kept waving his ward gs here and there to maximize the effects of his wards. The battlefield was chaotic to put it mildly.
Get on your flying Spirit Artifacts and get out of range of his wards! Someone finally noticed they were losing horribly and shouted.
They hade here with the confidence that they would be able to remove Lu Yes head from his shoulders, and yet they had suffered huge casualties before they even managed to get close to him. Naturally, the best n right now was to escape the traps and regroup. Since there was no telling if there were more wards in this ce, their best escape option was to fly into the sky.
No matter how skilled Lu Ye was in ward creation, he could not possibly cover the entire sky.
The words of that cultivator washed over his fellow cultivators like a bucket of ice water. Recognizing the wisdom of the advice, they immediately summoned their flying Spirit Artifacts.
In a forest filled withrge trees, gigantic canopies and Heavens know how many more obstacles in the way, flying via telekinesis honestly wasnt their first option of escape. The branches alone were a hazard that might see them falling right back into the death trap beneath their feet. Right now though, they had no better option.
Countless Spirit Artifacts started rising to the sky. The survivors were just about to escape this death trap when suddenly, a new set of patterns appeared on the ground and joined together to form a new ward.
The second the ward was activated, every cultivator in the air suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing down on their shoulders, and they weighed a thousand pounds in an instant. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to withstand the invisible pressure pushing them back toward the ground.
Aerial Lock? A cultivator cried out in fear and panic.
There were few cultivators in the Cultivation World who hadnt heard of the Aerial Lock Ward, but it should be beyond the ability of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to create. This time, no one was able to keep their cool.
In fact, it wasnt an Aerial Lock Ward. A true Aerial Lock Ward wouldve stripped them of their ability to flypletely. The ward currently affecting the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators was just an ongoing effect ward with Gravity Well as the core. If these cultivators were strong enough to outmuscle the gravitational pull, they could still rise into the air and escape. However, how could a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator possibly escape the effects of an entire ward?
Cries of horror and blood curdling screams resounded throughout the forest as they fell from the sky. Worse still, a powerful and wide-range spell engulfed them in a sea of mes before they could even hit the ground. It was Yi Yiunching what seemed like a gigantic fire lotus. Her arms were pointed at the air as Spiritual Power surged around her.
All Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators caught within her spell were turned into screaming fireballs.
This was just the beginning. Ju Jia ran forward and grabbed the leg of a falling cultivator. He then swung the man at all nearby enemies like he was arge mace.
Lu Ye had also leaped down from the rock with one hand pressed lightly against the hilt of the Invible. The scene around him was something straight out of someones worst nightmares, and yet he looked like he was taking a walk in the park as his nine flying weapons flew out of his Weapon Holder and killed everyone around him. From time to time, he would unsheath the Invible to end an enemys life.
Finally, Amber had manifested its true body next to him and was leaping all over the battlefield with uncanny agility. While light gold mutant energy coiled around its body like smoke, it smashed open the heads of every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator around it like watermelons. If one strike wasnt enough, then two would do it.
It wasnt that the Thousand Demon Ridge group wasnt prepared. Everyone who dared to enter the forest ande after Lu Ye was a cultivator who had switched to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. Even the weakest among them was a Heaven Seven cultivator, not to mention that there were over seventy of them. Their target could be a Cloud River Realm cultivator, and they still would have rushed in without fear.
The problem was that they had walked into Lu Yes trap hook, line and sinker. The Two Explosive Wards alone took out nearly one-third of their numbers, and the many wards that activated afterward were even more overwhelming.
As a result, what was a formidable force powerful enough to give even a Cloud River Realm cultivator a run for their money transformed into a disorderly rabble that could not even leverage their numbers to their advantage. Naturally, only a massacrey at the end of their cultivation journey.
An incense stickter, the battle was over. Mutted corpses were strewn all around therge rock and the battlefield. The pungent smell of burning flesh mixed with a bloody stench was so thick it was almost tangible. Not a single person in the group of seventy had managed to escape alive.
Some of them really had a chance to escapethere were only four of them after allbut by the time they finally came to their senses, the elusive Yi Yi had managed to intercept them and kill them with Ambers aid.
The group swept the battlefield and looted everything they could find. Then, they immediately left the battlefield behind.
It wasnt long before more Thousand Demon Ridge squads converged on this location. Suffice to say, what they found had chilled them to the core.
The five squads who tracked down Lu Ye first had been annihted to thest. Judging from the messages some of theirrades managed to send before they perished and the various signs on the battlefield, the Vanquisher of Sects had obviously done it using his wards.
For a time, a grim mood permeated all the Thousand Demon Ridge squads. Lu Yi Ye was a strong, speedy bastard. They had mobilized the entire Core Circle to hunt him down, and yet he was still able to outrun his pursuers and hide in the Misty Mountains.
Even then, they were optimistic. Now that the bastard had stopped running like a rabbit, they thought they would finally be able to kill him once and for all. Instead, theirrades had been sted to the Heavens by his wards.
Judging from the remnants on the battlefield, the Vanquisher of Sects had set up at least seven wards. They found many broken ward gs and ward keystones in the vicinity as well.
It was then the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators realized something they had subconsciously ignored until now.
Whatever made them think that Lu Yi Yes ward creation skills were shoddy, when the young man had proven that he could breach even a grand ward?
The Misty Mountains was a mountainous forest that was constantly shrouded in mist and clouds, so it was basically impossible to locate the Vanquisher of Sects in the air. But if they were to search him on the ground, who knows if they might identally step into a death trap? The chances they might escape alive were almost nil if that happened.
For a moment, the Thousand Demon Ridge squads felt as if they were suffocating. They felt as if there was nowhere safe in the entire forest.
All of you are overthinking this.
Just when the fear was about to swell into full blown panic, someone suddenly stepped into the open and dered, Lu Yi Ye might be adept at ward creation, but even he cannot possibly do this forever.
As if to increase the persuasive power of his words, the speaker revealed himself to be a Heaven Nine cultivator. Someone addressed him courteously, How should we address you, senior brother?
I am Qin Zheng of the Thousand Feather Sect.
Many people inspected their Battlefield Imprint immediately after they heard his name. Someone eximed in surprise, Youre Senior Brother Qin, the ny-eighth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy?
At a certain cultivation level, a cultivator couldmunicate with the Heavens and dig up certain information that was unavable to them before through their Battlefield Imprint. The Scroll of Supremacy was part of that.
Qin Zhengs name was third from the bottom of the Scroll of Supremacy. Even so, it was a position most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators could never hope to reach.
To be honest, they werent expecting an elite of the Scroll of Supremacy to join in in the pursuit of Lu Yi Ye.? It wasnt because they werent tempted by the bounty on the young mans head, but because most of them would rather not mingle with lower cultivators.
Not only was Qin Zheng an exception to the rule, he normally preferred to keep a low profile. He would not have revealed his sect if the groups morale was higher.
Qin Zheng turned a little red when he heard someone calling out his rank. It was because he had appeared on the list just a few days ago, specifically after the Three Tumors had vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy.
What were you saying, Senior Brother Qin? The guy who asked his name earlier asked.
Qin Zheng replied, To be honest with you all, this one is barely a ward a cultivator. He waved a broken ward g he had picked up from the ground before continuing, So you might say that I know a thing or two about wards. This is a ward g Lu Yi Ye used to set up his wards, and I can tell you right now it was purchased from the Vault of Providence.
How can you tell?
Qin Zheng smiled and summoned a different ward g into his free hand. Because Ive bought them before. At our level, it takes a lot of time and energy to forge a ward g. That is why most people would choose to buy them from the Vault of Providence. Each ward g is almost as expensive as a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact. While I cannot say how many ward gs Lu Yi Ye has bought, Im sure youve all heard of the rumors about him buying a Point Restoration Pill for Li Baxian. Assuming that it is true, theres no way he had enough Contribution Points to buy too many ward gs.
Now they understood what he was trying to say. Youre saying Lu Yi Ye will run out of ward gs eventually?
Yes, unless he purchased more of them. From what I could observe, Lu Yi Ye used up at least ten ward gs to set up his traps. I counted four ward keystones in total as well. These items alone cost at least one thousand Contribution Points, and that is assuming he recycles the ward gs that werent destroyed in the process.
Fuck! That piece of shit sure is wealthy!
One thousand Contribution Points just how many of ourrades did he kill? Dammit!
Dont forget the Point Restoration Pill. That Lu Yi Ye is a leech who sucks out the lifeblood of our Thousand Demon Ridge to strengthen his own.
For a while, the group could not stop criticizing the shit out of Lu Ye.
Noticing that they were going off topic, Qin Zheng raised his voice and dered, Anyway, my point is that we have nothing to fear from Lu Yi Yes wards. If we were to give up now, then ourrades truly wouldve died for nothing. Yes, I cannot deny that some of us may die in the process of pursuing Lu Yi Ye, but it would be worth it if we could protect the future of our Thousand Demon Ridge, would it not? We really cant let him grow any stronger than he already is, or there would truly be no one in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who could defeat him anymore. Im sure that no one here is willing to witness someone like him joining the ranks of the Grand Sky Coalition, right?
You are absolutely right, Senior Brother Qin, someone replied, Technically speaking, we are traveling in a group. In reality, there is no unified chain ofmand here. That is the biggest reason the first group fell to that bastard. Since you are a ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy, why dont you be ourmander, Senior Brother Qin?
A lot of people immediately voiced their support of the suggestion.
Qin Zheng thought for a moment before nodding. We do need a unified chain ofmand to seed. Very well. If you all believe that I am worthy of this position, then I swear to perform to the best of my abilities. Of course, if I turned out to be wanting, and one of you believes that they will be able to do better than me, then please do not hesitate to volunteer yourself. I am not the jealous type.
Chapter 360: Honey
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 360: Honey
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Earlier, no one had stood up to assumemand because they didnt think it was necessary. Considering the sheer amount of people that were chasing after Lu Ye, it was only a matter of time before one of them seeded. Why would they make trouble for themselves when it wasnt necessary?
But after witnessing Lu Yes ward creation abilities, the Thousand Demon Ridge finally realized that they were going to fail unless they all came together as a cohesive group.
A brief discussionter, a group more tightly knit than the one from before was formed. There was only one objective in this group, and that was to y Lu Yi Ye!
In order to increase their morale further, Qin Zheng had even given their group a name. He named them the Yi Ye Elimination Front. Everyone who wished to kill Lu Ye was allowed to join the group unconditionally, and information was freely shared.
Since Lu Yi Ye is adept in creating wards, I am sure that he hasid a good number of traps for us. The only way to minimize our casualties is to identify and avoid or destroy these wards before we trigger them! If there is anyone among you who is a ward cultivator, then please be sure to give them the best protection you can afford. Also, I would like our fellow Beast Tamers and Golem Masters to take the lead and scout the road ahead with their Spirit Beasts and Golems.
As Qin Zheng issued order after order, the Yi Ye Elimination Front began operating in a swift and organized fashion. Soon, the squads scattered once more to dive deeper into the Misty Mountains and search for Lu Ye.
It didnt take long before a massive explosion mixed with traces of chaotic Spiritual Power appeared from within the mountains. By the time the closest Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators rushed over to their allies aid, they only found some broken ward gs, destroyed ward keystones, and a dozen or so dead bodies.
An entire squad was eliminated just like that.
More and more squads triggered the wards Lu Ye had left behind and suffered massive casualties, but the Yi Ye Elimination Fronts efforts definitely werent useless. Thanks to the ward cultivators, Golem Masters and Beast Tamers efforts, some wards were triggered prematurely or avoided entirely thanks to early identification, which allowed them to keep their casualties to a minimum.
Both sides ventured deeper and deeper into the Misty Mountains as time passed. The Yi Ye Elimination Front had lost almost two hundred people at this point, but the casualties only affirmed their determination to eliminate Lu Ye once and for all. It was because the young mans abilities were terrifying enough despite being at the Heaven Seven Realm. If he was allowed to ascend to the Heaven Nine Realm, then there truly was no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who would be able to defeat him.
In fact, he might actually dominate the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield like a god when that happened.
This was something the Thousand Demon Ridge could not ept no matter what, literally. Their seniors and elders had already given the order to eliminate Lu Yi Ye at all costs.
Seven days had passed since the pursuit began. The Yi Ye Elimination Fronts total casualties had exceeded three hundred. It was such a horrific loss that even the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators could not help but wince when they heard the report.
That was three hundred people who had switched to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique; three hundred younglings who could have ascended to the Cloud River Realm at any moment. One could even say that Lu Ye had wiped out three hundred Cloud River Realm cultivators single handedly, not to mention that a good amount of them were Heaven Nine cultivators who had a huge chance of bing a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator in the distant future.
How could they not be hurt by such loss?
The hunt for Lu Yi Ye did not stop, however. In fact, it was growing more and more intense over time. It was because things were developing exactly as Qin Zheng had anticipated earlier. Not only was Lu Yeying less and less wards over time, he ambushed them much more than he waited for them to fall into his traps as ofte.
This could only mean that he was running out of ward gs. Unlike the beginning, he could no longer create as many wards as he liked.
The moment he confirmed this, Qin Zheng immediately ordered the closest two squads to merge together into arger group.
The reason they didnt dare to do so before was because they were afraid of Lu Yes wards. Losing one small squad was better than losing two so to speak.
But now, the risk that they might lose the squads to Lu Yi Yes traps was considerably smaller. Moreover, a bigger squad would stand a bigger chance at killing Lu Ye.
The order was simple, but the effect it had on Lu Yes group was immediate.
Previously, the Thousand Demon Ridge did not dare to form a squad that consisted of more than a dozen people. With Ju Jia as their frontliner and Yi Yi and Ambers support, their chances of routing an entire squad was pretty high.
Now though, each squad consisted of at least twenty Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. The pressure on his group more than doubled, to put it mildly.
He had used up the ward gs and ward keystones he had spent over four thousand Contribution Points to purchasepletely. All he had left was the thirty two ward gs he had received from the Hundred Wards Tower, and he wasnt going to waste them on single-use wards.
It was worth it though. Lu Ye had made a small fortune up to this point. Killing an enemy cultivator already yielded Contribution Points, but he got to collect all kinds of loot as well. It should not need to be said, but Core Circle cultivators were generally wealthier than Inner Circle cultivators. The Spirit Artifacts they used were better as well. Right now, Lu Ye was carrying four Storage Bags around his waist. Besides the one he normally used, the other three were filled to the brim with loot.
Currently, the group was quietly recuperating after an encounter with a Thousand Demon Ridge squad.
The reason Lu Ye had chosen to enter the Misty Mountains at the beginning was because he was unwilling to be hunted like a mouse. Here, he was the one who called the shots instead of reacting passively to his enemys assault.
It was out of this consideration that he bought four thousand Contribution Points worth of ward gs and ward keystones at the Three Sages Schools Outpost.
Now though, he realized that he had underestimated their tenacity. He thought he would have deterred them by now, but in reality the Thousand Demon Ridge was stilling after him. In fact, they were acting like no cost was too great as long as they could kill him.
The current situation was neither too good nor too bad for him right now. The Misty Mountains naturally made it unlikely for him to be surrounded by arge group. As long as he wasnt hopelessly outnumbered and trapped, they should be able to handle anything the enemy threw at them.
For example, he was the attacker in thetest battle. Since the Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt going to stop, he couldnt relent on the pressure either. The enemy had lost over three hundred cultivators already. There had to be a point where the Thousand Demon Ridge would decide enough was enough and call off the hunt.
His injuries werent too severe. Lu Ye was currently waiting for his body to recover after consuming a Healing Pill. Unfortunately, they didnt get to rest for long before Yi Yi reported that a massive group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators was swiftly approaching their location. He had no choice but to climb back to his feet and travel deeper into the Misty Mountains.
Most other cultivators wouldve run out of Spiritual Power a long time ago, and a cultivator without Spiritual Power might as well be a mortal.
However, Lu Ye possessed the Tree of Glyphs and the Gluttonous Feast. Not only could he replenish his Spiritual Power in a short time, he still had a dozen or so Mystic Fruit ciders in his Storage Bag.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge thought that they could squeeze him dry of Spiritual Power by pressuring him relentlessly, he could only say that they had miscalcted.
That said, he was slowly but surely running out of stamina. There just wasnt enough time to rest and recuperate. It had been a week since the hunt began, and Lu Ye could clearly feel fatigue settling into his body. The fatigue was only growing worse and worse over time.
The group marched forward for another six or seven kilometers before taking another small break. Lu Ye shared some jerkies with Amber and Ju Jia before chewing on the meat.
At this point, the hunt had transformed into a battle of patience and mental fortitude. The side who broke first would be the loser. For Lu Ye, giving up was thest possible option. He was going to fight back for as long as the Thousand Demon Ridge came after him.
Suddenly, Lu Ye heard a buzzing noise. He turned his eyes and saw a three-inch long bee circling around Ju Jia.
The body-tempering cultivator grabbed the bee in one quick swipe before spreading his palm. While holding the bee in ce with two fingers, he did something to it that Lu Ye couldnt see.
When Ju Jia released the bee back into the air, Lu Ye saw that a nigh invisible string had been tied to it.
Ju Jia might look like he couldnt walk down a narrow corridor without bumping the walls, but in reality not even Lu Ye could match his finesse in certain departments. For example, his skill in telekinesis was so great that Lu Ye often found himself astounded by a certain move or maneuver he pulled with his Spirit Artifacts.
The string he just tied to the bees body was proof of his talent as well.
The bee pped its wings and flew away. Ju Jia then beckoned Lu Ye to follow the bee.
Lu Ye had a feeling what the body-tempering cultivator was plotting.
For a while, the two men and one tiger trailed behind the bee for several kilometers. Many, many turnster, they finally arrived at a massive tree with a bee nest on a tree branch.
The bee nest was at least three meters in radius. It was bone white in color and oval-shaped.
Countless bees were flying in and out of the nest.
Ju Jia summoned his flying Spirit Artifact and flew up to the nest. He then plucked it right out of the tree with its fan-sized hand.
In an instant, countless bees flew out of the nest and covered nearly every inch of Ju Jias body. However, not even the softest part of the body-tempering cultivators body could be hurt by these little things. As he dropped back down to the ground, he casually beckoned Lu Ye to his side and broke open the nest to reveal a sheen of light golden honey. A sweet scent immediately wafted into his nose.
Ju Jia passed half of the nest to Lu Ye and kept the other half for himself. He sat down by the tree and, like he was holding a giant watermelon, scooped out the honey with his bare hands and ate to his hearts content. Judging from his honey-covered lips and his silly grin, Lu Ye knew that he must have done this many times in the past. His movements had been a little too practiced and unhesitant.
Lu Ye did as Ju Jia demonstrated and consumed a mouthful of honey as well. Sweetness immediately filled his entire mouth.
Lu Ye was immediately surprised by two things. One, the honey was sweet but not nauseating. Two, it contained a small amount of refined Spiritual Power, which meant that it was beneficial to ones recovery.
He realized that the bees must have collected the honey from nearby Spirit Flowers. No wonder it contained a bit of Spiritual Power.
This was an incredibly valuable type of food. A cultivator who just began their cultivation journey would experience tremendous growth if they ate this.
Of course, it was no longer very useful for Lu Ye or Ju Jia.
The two men gobbled down the honey like their lives depended on it. From time to time, Lu Ye would share a piece with Amber as well. As for Yi Yi, she could only watch from the side with deep envy
Oh, the bees were watching from the sidelines as well. Their incessant buzzing almost sounded like loud protests against the honey stealer.
The meal was a fulfilling one. The trio looked satisfied to the brim as theyyfortably on the forest floor.
Suddenly, Lu Ye discovered that his fatigue was vanishing at an astonishing rate. As it turned out, the honey was useful for recovering ones stamina as well. Its value in Lu Yes mind immediately skyrocketed especially considering their current circumstances.
He had never embarked on a journey without stocking up on some food, but unfortunately he, Ju Jia and Amber were all massive gluttons. After seven days of relentless pursuit, his food reserves were almost all gone.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had given them no time to hunt. Even if they managed to catch some prey, there was no time to cook it properly.
Therefore, this bee honey could not havee at a better time. If possible, he would like to collect as much of it as he could.
Chapter 361: The Good Stuff
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 361: The Good Stuff
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Lu Ye realized this, he immediately rose to his feet and beckoned Ju Jia deeper into the forest. Just an incense stickter, Lu Ye was standing beneath arge tree and looking up at another bone white-colored, oval-shaped bee nest. He wasnt expecting to locate a second bee nest so soon.
Ju Jia flew up and plucked it from the tree branch. He then shoved it directly into his Storage Bag.
There were plenty of bees inside the bee nest as a matter of course, but the space inside a Storage Bag wasnt suitable for living. Every bee still inside the bee nest would die eventually.
They kept finding more and more bee nests as they continued forward. Lu Ye had to take out his 10-point map to check if they had identally stumbled into a Tyrant-level Spirit Beasts territory. He rxed when he confirmed that they hadnt.
He was worried because there was an unusual amount of bees in this region, and generally speaking it was quitemon for a species made up of so many individuals to produce a powerhouse or two. If there was a Tyrant-level bee in the area, then well, they were fucked.
Thankfully, he saw no special mention of any sort on the 10-point map. It meant that this area was rtively safe.
Ten bee nestster, Lu Ye discovered that they were running out of space. They had killed a lot of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and obtained just as many Storage Bags, but he always tossed away the Storage Bags after transferring the contents to his Storage Bags. Generally speaking, every Storage Bag at their level contained more or less the same finite amount of space. Every bee nest they had procured so far was at least three meters in radius orrger, so one Storage Bag could only fit three bee nests at most.
It wasnt every day he ran into a valuable natural resource, so Lu Ye wanted to procure as much of it as he could. Forget that the bee honey was exactly what they needed right now, it could elerate the growth of the new disciples at the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost as well.
At least Storage Bags were easy to acquire in thesends. He only needed to take out one of the many, many pursuers on their tail.
His mind made up, Lu Ye created a Concealment Ward with Glyph: Invisibility at the core to hide their bodies and their presence. He then waited patiently for his enemies to arrive.
There was no need to seek out the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators himself because these bastards were like fleas. He only needed to wait a moment for them to show up.
Less than four hourster, he started hearing the sound of rustling grass from afar. A Thousand Demon Ridge squad made up of two dozen people had shown up.
The group of two dozen was marching forward in a semi-loose formation. It was to ensure that they wouldnt all be caught in a ward trap while still being close enough to reinforce one another if necessary.
The group was tense and perfectly silent. No one knew if Lu Yi Ye would suddenly jump out of a bush and kick their butts after all.
Hundreds of people had died in these woods already. They had no intention of emting their example.
This squad was led by a Heaven Nine cultivator. Everyone else was either Heaven Eight or Heaven Seven. Lu Ye could tell that the Heaven Nine cultivator was the core of the group.
Suddenly, a series of whistling noises broke the silence. At the same time, the Heaven Nine cultivator felt an enormous sense of crisis. He turned his head just in time to see a bunch of Spiritual Lights flying straight toward him.
The Heaven Nine cultivatora spell cultivator judging from his attirewas the strongest cultivator in the group. Naturally, Lu Ye was going to take him out first. It so happened that the group was in the perfect range of an ambush as well.
Lu Ye had unleashed all nine of his flying weapons to ensure that the Heaven Nine cultivator would fall to the surprise attack. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had gone all-out from the get go.
The Heaven Nine cultivators reaction was pretty swift. He immediately summoned a thick Spiritual Power Shield around himself while dashing to the side.
ng ng ng! The Sharp Edge-empowered flying weapons struck the Spiritual Power Shield one after another. It took barely a second or two before they shattered the Spiritual Power Shield and skewered the spell cultivator.
Enemy attack! The spell cultivator barely roared out in warning before copsing in a lifeless heap. Blood quickly pooled beneath his body.
Only a Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator might have a shot at surviving an ambush from this distance.
To the groups credit, they immediately retaliated with a rain of flying weapons and spells despite losing their leader at first notice. The good news was that Lu Ye had already dodged out of the way. The bad news was that Ju Jia did not possess Lu Yes speed, so he could only raise an arm, channel his Spiritual Power and vitality, and create a turtle shell-shaped barrier in front of himself.
A rapid series of noises pierced the eardrums as the counterattack pushed Ju Jia uncontrobly to the back. He might be powerful, but even he could not withstand this many Heaven Grade cultivators attacking him at the same time.
Cracks appeared all over the shell-like barrier. His vitality and Spiritual Power were healing it by the second, but it wasnt going to withstand many more attacks.
Lu Yes flying weapons whistled through the air once more. Of course he hadnt been idle while the Thousand Demon Ridge squad was attacking Ju Jia. While the flying weapons were keeping the squad distracted, he himself charged toward the nearest enemy with the Invible.
Kill Lu Yi Ye! Someone shouted. The rest of the squad immediately switched targets and attacked Lu Ye instead.
It was at this moment Yi Yi suddenly appeared not far away from them. As she channeled her Spiritual Power, what looked like a giant golden disc swimming with runes appeared above their heads. The disc spun round and round as it rained a storm of Golden Arcs on the squad.
That wasnt all. On Ju Jias head, Amber faced in the direction with the most people and let out a roar. The shockwave washed over the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and slowed them down visibly. As if they had been struck by a hammer, they were beset by a moment of dizziness that slowed the cirction of their Spiritual Power and the frequency of their attacks.
Even so, Lu Ye was forced back with multiple wounds on his body. If he hadnt constructed a Protection in time, he wouldve been dead or grievously injured already.
Ju Jia rushed forward to protect Lu Ye. The slightly healed barrier onlysted three breaths before shattering into pieces.
Right now, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were perfectly exemplifying the idiom, Even an elephant may fall to enough ants. Lu Ye had sessfully assassinated the enemy Heaven Nine spell cultivator in a single exchange, and yet the battle could still go either way.
Any cultivator who had switched to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique would find themselves a lot stronger than before. If this was the Inner Circle, Lu Ye and Ju Jia alone couldve taken down twenty plus Ninth-Order cultivators without much difficulty. Unfortunately, the same thing could not be said in the Core Circle.
The group of four began mounting an organized retreat. Ju Jia covered Lu Ye with his body as they retreated deeper into the forest. The trees provided them some cover as well. They made sure to attack from time to time so that their pursuers would not be able to attack them with impunity.
Dont let him escape! Someone shouted as the squad gave chase.
Watch out for traps! Another person yelled. No one could dere with absolute certainty that Lu Yi Ye hadnt left behind some presents after all.
Lu Yes group could flee with all their might, but the Thousand Demon Ridge squad could not pursue to their hearts content. Naturally, it was impossible for them to keep up with their targets. It wasnt long before they lost Lu Ye and Ju Jiapletely.
When Lu Ye and Ju Jia werepletely out of their reach, the squad came to a stop and exchanged furious and frustrated looks with one another. The sudden battle had cost them eight lives in total. Their leader, a Heaven Nine spell cultivator, had died especially quickly; almost a second after Lu Yi Ye had kicked off the ambush. Although it looked like they had done some good damage to the bastard, it was impossible to say just how injured he really was.
As if that wasnt bad enough, they discovered that the Storage Bags of their deadrades were missing when they returned to the battlefield. Someone had somehow taken them without them noticing.
Of course, Yi Yi was the one who stole the Storage Bags. She had snuck back to the battlefield while the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were pursuing Lu Ye.
Two hourster, Lu Ye took off his blood-drenched shirt and washed himself at a mountain stream. Yi Yi then bandaged his wounds for him.
The situation was growing troublesome. After being hunted by the Thousand Demon Ridge for seven days straight, he was unwilling to leave things like this, to put it mildly. However, thetest battle proved that even a perfect ambush was only enough to turn what wouldve been a one-sided massacre to a significantly risky fight. If Ju Jia wasnt as tough as he was, they would be dead already.
There were only a handful of Spirit Creek Realm body-tempering cultivators who couldve survived this level of assault, and the body-tempering cultivator was able to block two rounds and shield him as they retreated. Even then, he had sustained a moderate amount of injuries.
At this point, he had to admit that a squad made up of twenty plus Heaven Grade cultivators was a serious headache.
If he had an infinite amount of ward gs and ward keystones, then of course the squad wasnt a problem. The first squad he had wiped out with wards was over seventy cultivators strong. Twenty wouldve been a piece of cake.
However, he had run out of ward gs and ward keystones a while ago. Not even the greatest cook in the world could conjure food out of thin air.
There wasnt much he could do now. All he could do was to sniff out the best opportunities and damage the enemy as much as possible.
After he had gathered himself, he unlocked the Restriction Locks on the Storage Bags and organized the items. He then took a small break before marching into the forest once more.
Yi Yi had brought back a dozen or so Storage Bags as most cultivators would carry more than one Storage Bag.
[This should be enough tost us through this journey.]
No matter how many bee nests there were in this region, there had to be a limit.
Half a day passed. Lu Ye and Ju Jia were currently resting after procuring yet another batch of bee nests. Suddenly, Yi Yi returned and said excitedly, Lu Ye, Lu Ye! I found something awesome!
She grabbed his hand and pulled while saying this.
What is it?
Lu Ye was curious. Yi Yi was no longer the naive girl she was after all the adventures they had gone on together, but whatever it was she found had still excited beyond her imagination. It had to be something amazing. Also, this was the inner depths of the Misty Mountains. Heavens know what kind of natural treasure might be hidden beneath its canopies.
Youll know when you see it.
The group started following Yi Yi down a certain direction.
Even before they had arrived at their destination, Lu Yes expression had morphed into one of surprise and amazement. It was because the air had be filled with the scent of flowers a while ago. Moreover, the scent was so thick that it felt like a mixture of countless breeds of flowers instead of one. There were manyplexyers to it.
A whileter, they arrived at a clearing. This was the first clearing they had ever encountered ever since they entered the Misty Mountains. Yi Yi pulled him to the edge of a small cliff and pointed at the valley below. Look!
Lu Ye looked. It was a sea of flowers that spanned the entire valley. He couldve believed that he had stumbled upon paradise.
Chapter 362: Kicked The Bee’s Nest
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 362: Kicked The Bees Nest
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
As pretty as the sea of flowers was, it wasnt what Yi Yi wanted to show him. She was pointing at the gigantic, bone-white, oval-shaped structure that almost looked like it was forged out of white jade at the center of the sea of flowers.
Lu Ye had mentally prepared himself for anything, but he still couldnt resist gasping when he saw it. At the center of the seemingly endless sea of flowers was the biggest bee nest he had ever seen in his life! It was like someone had built a massive pce at the center of the valley!
Lu Ye didnt even know it was possible for such a huge bee nest to exist. More importantly, he saw many bees about two-thirds of a meter long flying around the sea of flowers. His eyes twitched when he noted its size and colorful patterns.
The bees he encountered until now were only two to three inches long at most and nothing special. But this? These bees were definitelyrge enough to be categorized as Mutants.
What was even more terrifying was its sheer number. There were a lot of them to say the least.
The honey produced by the ordinary bees was already finger-licking delicious. He wondered how amazing the honey these bees could produce would be.
Lu Ye could not help a surge of greed when he thought this.
No wonder people said that deep, ancient forests were some of the best ces to hunt for natural treasures. In fact, a lot of cultivators loved exploring the wilderness after reaching a certain cultivation level. Most of the time, they would encounter something immensely valuable such as the bee nest right before his eyes. Sure, he was going to have to bear some risk to harvest the honey in the nest, but as the saying went, one has to give in order to receive.
He fell into thought for a moment before instructing, Wait for me here. Im going to take a look alone.
Yi Yi said immediately, Ille with you.
No.
To be fair, Yi Yi was more suited for such risky endeavors than him. As an apparition, she could just dive underground if she encountered any sort of danger. It was a unique advantage no cultivator possessed.
However, just because she was usually safe didnt mean she would always be safe. The bee nest before him didnt look normal, and the valley was filled to the brim with giant bees. Without knowing what kind of dangers might lie ahead of them, he just could not convince himself to allow Yi Yi to take the risk.
On the other hand, his cultivation level was higher than hers. He was also fairly equipped to handle most dangers.
An unhappy Yi Yi puffed up her cheeks in protest, but Lu Ye simply ignored her. He jumped over the edge and activated Invisibility before he even hit the ground.
His body seemed to vanish into thin air just like that. Even his presence waspletely concealed.
If Lu Ye hadnt received Invisibility from the Tree of Glyphs earlier, he would not have dared to take the risk. A blind man couldve seen that these meter-long Mutant Bees were no joke. It might be a different story if there were only dozens to over a hundred Mutant Bees in the valley, but there were easily thousands upon thousands of them flying all over the sea of flowers.
From above, the sea of flowers looked likeyers uponyers of interconnected vegetation. It wasnt until hended on the ground that he realized that the nts were much bigger than they looked. Unfortunately, Lu Ye hadnt studied herbology much and so could not tell if these nts were herbs.
After confirming that Invisibility was still active, Lu Ye soundlessly snuck his way toward the bee nest in the middle. From time to time, a Mutant Bee or two would fly past him. His ears were full of buzzing.
A long timeter, he finally arrived at the bee nest. Lu Ye felt incredibly small as he looked up at the massive structure.
There were a lot of holes in the bee nest. Many hard-working Mutant Bees were flying in and out of these entrances.
Lu Ye circled around the nest for a bit until he found arger hole. However, he barely managed to take a couple of steps before he saw a Mutant Bee crawling straight toward him.
He hurriedly pressed himself against the wall. When the Mutant Bee crawled past him, it suddenly paused and looked in his direction as if it noticed something. When it found nothing, it turned away and continued toward the exit. This would happen many more times as he ventured deeper and deeper into the nest.
Invisibility was turning out even better than he had imagined. These unintelligent Mutant Bees could never imagine that a human would be bold enough to infiltrate their nest.
A whileter, Lu Ye exited the passage and entered the interior of the bee nest.
The interior of the bee nest was much bigger than he would have anticipated. It was also filled with the unique scent of bee honey. Lu Ye felt like his mind was clearing up just inhaling the fragrant scent. At the same time, he grew certain that the honey produced in this nest was clearly superior to the ones they had collected earlier.
As it turned out, there were even more bees inside the nest than outside. Lu Ye had to dodge them from time to time while following the scent to its origin. He quickly arrived at the ce where the bees stored their honey. Blocks of golden honey that looked as pure as citrine crystals were stored in clumps within the nest. By now, the scent was so strong that he was unconsciously licking his lips.
The honey was guarded by a dozen or so Mutant Bees, but these ones were almost as long as humans were tall and much, much bigger than the ones outside. They crawled back and forth like they were patrolling the area. It was obvious that they were not to be trifled with.
A recess had also caught his attention. The reason he noticed it was because a couple of the human length Mutant Bees were standing guard beside it. When he crept closer and took a look, his expression widened a little in surprise.
The recess was quite small considering the size of everything inside and outside this nest; only the size of a small bowl. Half of it was filled with what looked like amber-colored liquid.
Lu Ye could not tell what it was at first nce, but he had a feeling that it was the royal jelly.
If it was, then this half a bowl of liquid was worth far more than all the honey around him.
Now he had found the good stuff, it was time for the fun part of this adventure: the heist.
He thought for a second before grabbing a few Spirit Stones from his Storage Bags and flicking them in every direction.
The unusual disturbance immediately rmed the patrolling bees. They crawled toward the sources at high speed.
In the blink of an eye, the only ones left in the area were the Mutant Bees tasked to protect the royal jelly.
These Mutant Bees were much more conscientious than their brethren. They probably wouldnt leave the nest unless they had no other choice.
Left with no other choice, Lu Ye could only channel his Spiritual Power. His Weapon Holder buzzed, and nine flying weapons shot toward the Mutant Bees. They all lost their heads in an instant.
It was impossible to stay hidden after what he just did, but he was beyond caring at this point. He hurriedly scooped up the amber liquid in the recess with his Spiritual Power, threw it into an empty Storage Bag, then ran to the honebs and collected as much honey as he could.
The buzzing in his ears grew louder. The Mutant Bees that were drawn away a moment ago had returned, and they were homing in on Lu Yes location at high speed.
A momentter, a fiery red light shot out of the bee nest and flew into the sky. It was none other than Lu Ye with his Wings.
Lu Ye looked absolutely horrible right now. He was grimacing in abject pain because a dozen or so bee stings were stuck in his body. Each sting was at least a third of a meter long, so it was as if he had a dozen knives in his body.
Not only that, the bee stings were clearly venomous. Lu Ye could clearly feel himself growing uncoordinated both in the body and the mind.
Most cultivators could only wait for death to take them in this situation. The venom alone wasnt something a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could survive, not to mention that an entire swarm of Mutant Bees was chasing behind Lu Ye. In fact, every Mutant Bee in the valley had been alerted to his theft.
On the rock, Ju Jia and Yi Yi could only watch as a massive fog made up of millions or even tens of millions of Mutant Bees chasing after the streak of fiery red aura that was Lu Ye. It was easily one of the most terrifying things they had seen in their life.
Yi Yi panicked and instinctively wanted to chase after Lu Ye. It was at this moment she received a message from Lu Ye that said, Run!
Yi Yi stopped in her tracks and beckoned Ju Jia to follow her. They then ran deeper into the forest.
In the sky, Lu Ye was gradually recovering because the Tree of Glyphs was burning away the toxin coursing inside his body. He never once thought that he would die from the venom, though of course it was inevitable that he would experience some adverse reactions during the first few seconds.
By now, the buzzing noises in his ears were loud enough it was like the Mutant Bees were right next to him. He took a look behind himself and was stunned by what he saw.
Kicking a hosor in this case, a beesnest had never been so literal. A literal cloud of Mutant Bees were chasing after him like they would devour him down to the skeleton for his transgressions.
There wasnt even time to pull out the bee stings inside his body. Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power with all his might, pped his wings, and shot further up toward the sky.
He broke through the Misty Mountains sea of clouds in an instant. Having gotten used to the mountain ranges poor lighting, the harsh sunlight caused him to squint a little.
Suddenly, he heard someone shouting, Lu Yi Ye!
Lu Ye turned toward the source of the shout and saw a dozen or so auras flying straight toward him. More were converging on his location after hearing the shout.
The Yi Ye Elimination Front led by Qin Zheng had been chasing after Lu Ye for the past week. Naturally, they had considered the possibility that Lu Ye might escape through the sky. That was why they had people searching the ground and patrolling the sky at all times.
Vision was so much clearer in the sky than it was on the ground. Lu Ye hadnt even revealed himself for a couple of seconds before he was spotted by a member of the Yi Ye Elimination Front. Like cats who caught the stench of fish, the cultivators immediately began converging on Lu Yi Ye.
Something was puzzling them though. Lu Yi Ye did not look to be in his best condition, and what looked like a dozen or sorge needles were sticking out of his body. They wondered what he had encountered prior to flying into the sky.
What was even more puzzling was the fact that Lu Ye was flying straight toward them instead of running away.
You dare! the leader of the group yelled before shooting flying weapons at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was less skilled than Ju Jia in terms of telekinesis, but he wasnt flying using a flying Spirit Artifact right now. He was using his emergency escape tool, Wings. Naturally, he was faster and nimbler than normal.
Lu Ye easily weaved around the flying weapons attempting to skewer him. At the same time, he got closer and closer to his attackers.
Watch out! The leader yelled again. Lu Yes skill with his flying weapons was quite infamous at this point, so they did not hesitate to spread out after the young man had gotten close to them. They got ready to handle anything Lu Ye might throw at them.
To their surprise, Lu Ye did not try to attack them. He simply blew past them and continued toward the horizon.
Chapter 363: They’ve Gone Crazy
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 363: Theyve Gone Crazy
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The cultivators of the Yi Ye Elimination Front were all confused to see Lu Ye fleeing like his life depended on it. Before they could turn around and give chase, they suddenly heard a buzzing noise from somewhere.
Someone asked in puzzlement, Whats that noise?
He had just finished asking that question when his gaze became filled with horror. It was because he saw something wriggling beneath the mist where Lu Ye had emerged from earlier. Something massive. The next second, they saw a swarm of Mutant Bees bursting out of the mist and flying straight toward them. They were the source of the buzzing noise.
To say that the Yi Ye Elimination Front cultivators felt chilled to the bone would be an understatement. They finally understood why Lu Ye had fled without looking back. For whatever reason, the guy was currently being hunted by a massive swarm of Mutant Bees.
The Mutant Bees had incredible flight speed. One second they were still above the mist, and the next they were almost right in front of them.
The Yi Ye Elimination Front cultivators hastily channeled their Spiritual Power and descended to the ground as quickly as they could, but in the end they just werent fast enough. As the Mutant Bees washed over them, a number of venomous stings destroyed their protective Spiritual Power and pierced their bodies. They screamed in pain as they fell toward the ground.
It took only a couple seconds before the group of over one dozen cultivators was gone just like that.
The other cultivators rushing over to this location were shocked by what they saw. They hastily halted in their tracks and watched as the swarm, no, the cloud of Mutant Bees flew toward a certain direction.
It was only now Lu Ye had the time to pull out the venomous stings stuck in his body. Every pull caused a small burst of blood.
The stings were long and went deep into his flesh. He was lucky he hadnt taken a hit in his vitals.
After he was done, he looked back and found that the bee swarm was still chasing after him. Worse, they were moving faster than he normally flew without imbuing his flying Spirit Artifact with Windwalk.
Thankfully, he was using Wings right now. Given enough time, he should be able to shake them off without fail.
He had just thought this when he suddenly felt something strange on his back. Then, he realized that the Spiritual Power within the tattoo wasnt flowing quite smoothly.
Lu Yes expression darkened. He realized immediately that he was in trouble.
Lady Yun had personally inked the Tattoo-type Glyph into his back before he had participated in the Battle of the Legates. At the time, Lady Yun had told him that the temporary Glyph would onlyst a total of six hours. In other words, the tattoo would lose its function after it had exceeded this time limit.
It had been months since that day, and Lu Ye had been using Wings on and off throughout this period. As a result, the tattoo was finally nearing its limit.
He had been vaguely aware of this, which was why he rarely used it after ascending to the Eighth-Order and gaining the power to control a flying Spirit Artifact. A life-saving tool should be used sparingly after all.
Unfortunately, it was threatening to give up on him at the worst possible moment.
Left with no choice, Lu Ye brought out his Spirit Boat and switched to telekic flight before wingspletely lost its efficacy. Then, he imbued the Spirit Boat with a Windwalk. Only barely retaining his original flight speed.
He wasnt done though. He proceeded to swallow a couple Spirit Pills and gulped down an entire bottle of Mystic Fruit cider, regenerating his Spiritual Power quickly.
Wings cost a lot of Spiritual Power to maintain, and the same went with piloting a flying Spirit Artifact that was boosted by Windwalk. That was why he needed to ensure that he wouldnt run out of Spiritual Power.
The pursuitsted for two whole hours. When Lu Ye finally shook off the bee swarm behind him, he let out a long sigh of relief and descended to the ground. He then sought out a safe ce to catch his breath.
While Lu Ye was resting, many Yi Ye Elimination Front cultivators had caught wind that Lu Ye was being chased by a bee swarm, and that he had already broken through their encirclement.
The news greatly angered them as a matter of course. They had chased the Vanquisher of Sects for over a week and lost hundreds ofrades in the process, but the guy still managed to escape in the end. How could they possibly ept this oue?
Although they didnt know why Lu Yi Ye was being hunted by the Mutant Bees, the guy had proven himself to be as tricky as he was fast. The chances that he would be able to escape to safety were pquite high.
The Yi Ye Elimination Front had lost track of Lu Ye. In other words, the hunt was over.
There were some protests, but in the end they had no choice but to ept that their operation was a failure.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators flew out of the forest and over the mist. They were just about to take their leave when suddenly, someone sent out the message saying that Lu Yi Ye hade back. Not only that, he was still being chased by the bee swarm. As no one was expecting the bastard toe back, some of them dodged toote and were killed by the bee swarm. All in all, they had lost yet another dozen or so people. It was horrible to say the least.
Everyone was a bit dumbfounded by thisical turn of events. What on earth did Lu Yi Ye do to the bee swarm that they would pursue him so relentlessly?
They considered this to be excellent news though. Before this, they were the only ones who were hunting Lu Ye. Now, a swarm of Mutant Bees had joined their ranks, rtively speaking. It delighted them to see that Lu Yes evil karma had finally caught up to him.
Sure, they had lost some of theirrades to these Mutant Bees, but it wasnt like they were doing much better before. The losses were eptable so long as they could kill Lu Ye.
A brief discussionter, the Yi Ye Elimination Front decided to stay behind. They might not be able to kill Lu Yi Ye before the Mutant Bees, but they would at least bear witness to his pitiful end!
Of course, it would be even better if they could coordinate with the creatures somehow.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was beyond speechless at the bee swarm chasing after him. Perhaps he had caught some imperceptible scent when he was fighting his way out of the nest, but these Mutant Bees seemed to have a way to find him. Although he managed to shake them off a while ago, he barely caught a brief rest before they caught up to him once more.
While escaping, Lu Ye had changed his clothes and even bathed himself multiple times. However, he still wasnt able to shake off the bee swarmpletely.
Assuming that he could fly his Windwalk-empowered Spirit Boat indefinitely, then he had a chance at shaking them off permanently. Unfortunately, he was losing more Spiritual Power than he was regenerating even at his current cultivation level. Flying a Windwalk-empowered Spirit Boat cost even more Spiritual Power than Wings, and considering his energy reserves there was no way he could keep this up for long.
Since it was impossible to shake them off via brute force, Lu Ye had no choice but to turn back and use the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to slow them down. While he was always happy to do damage to the Thousand Demon Ridge, he was aware that it would not improve his situation one bit.
Left with no choice, Lu Ye dropped into the forest and began running between the trees. The forest would slow down the bee swarm and keep them from being able to travel at top speed.
While running, he came face to face with a group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Both sides were surprised to see one another, but Lu Ye reacted first by producing something from his Storage Bag and tossing it straight at the group. It was none other than a big bee nest.
Someone thought it was an attack and shattered the bee nest in mid-air. Pieces of the nest immediately rained from above while a sweet scent swiftly spread throughout the area. The group turned white with horror when they realized what they had just done.
By now, everyone knew that Lu Yi Ye was being pursued by a swarm of Mutant Bees. That was why thetest n was to dy Lu Ye as much as possible if they ran into him. Once the Mutant Bees had caught up, the young man would be lucky to escape.
That was the n, until the sonuvabitch tossed a bee nest at them
Just a few secondster, they heard a dreaded buzzing noise behind Lu Ye. They turned around just in time to see what looked like a ck thunder cloud passing through the foliage and overwhelming everything in its path. If only it wasnt actually a cloud
Lu Ye had already dashed away in another direction, leaving the group behind to face the bee swarm head on
RUN! Someone roared before summoning his flying Spirit Artifact and escaping into the sky. Another person attempted to run away from the bee swarm on foot.
For a moment, it was pure chaos. The bee swarm chasing after Lu Ye abruptly split into several groups. While the main group was still chasing after Lu Ye, the smaller groups were going after the escaping Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
It didnt take long before the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were caught up and killed. Even the one who flew away on his flying Spirit Artifact could not escape his fate.
With their strength, they could handle dozens or even a hundred Mutant Bees without a scratch. But millions? Tens of millions? How was anyone supposed to survive that? Even a body tempering cultivator could be killed once their defensive Spirit Artifact and Spiritual Power were destroyed, and the venom was injected into their veins.
Lu Ye was still running when his eyes suddenly lit up with realization. He had been wondering how the Mutant Bees were able to locate him this whole time. He was wearing a new set of clothes, and his body was clean. The only way they could still detect him was if he had caught something that his human nose could not detect, something like the unique scent of bee honey
It was inevitable that he would catch the scent of honey while he was robbing the Mutant Bees blind in their own home. It was also very difficult to remove this type of scent the normal way.
He had tossed the bee nest at the group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators on a whim. He had plenty of ordinary bee nests in his Storage Bags anyway, so it was hardly a big loss even if the experiment had failed.
The oue was pleasantly surprising to say the least.
Suddenly, Lu Ye realized that being hunted by a swarm of killer bees wasnt necessarily a bad thing. The group he ran into just now was over thirty cultivators strong, and alone his only options was to escape like hell or die. However, the bee swarm had taken care of it without any problem whatsoever.
[Hmm. I wonder how many groups there are in the forest?]
While running, Lu Ye found the time to message Ju Jia and Yi Yi and tell them to evacuate from the area. He promised he would meet up with them once he was safe.
The Mutant Bees had gonepletely crazy. Ju Jia and the others would be in grave danger if they were close by.
It didnt take long before Yi Yi replied to the message and told him to be careful.
Lu Ye went all out now that he no longer had to worry about identally putting Yi Yi, Ju Jia and Amber in danger. Running through the forest was a lot slower than telekic flight as, but he was actually doing better than when he was flying thanks to the endless amount of natural obstacles around him. Even still, he didnt dare to slow down for even a second.
The situation in the Misty Mountains grew even more chaotic. While Lu Ye was running all over the ce, he made sure to give every Thousand Demon Ridge group he encountered a bee nest to the face. Naturally, the bee swarm killed all of them. Not counting the casualties they had already incurred, it wasnt long before they lost over a hundred people.
After all the casualties they had incurred throughout the pursuit, the Yi Ye Elimination Front finally admitted that it was a bad idea to remain in the forest. Considering the circumstances, it would only cost them unnecessary lives.
Reluctant and frustrated, the cultivators of the Yi Ye Elimination Front took to the sky and got ready to withdraw from the Misty Mountains. Lu Yi Ye could fight the bees all by himself. Logically speaking, there was no way a Heaven Seven could survive the bee swarm.
Chapter 364: The Burning Lands
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 364: The Burning Lands
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Less than half a dayter, Lu Ye noticed something wrong. He was unable to locate any Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in the region, and it appeared that the Spirit Beasts that called this ce home had also escaped to safer pastures, so to speak.
The bee swarm was as relentless as it was numerous. If Lu Ye wasnt able to replenish his Spiritual Power with the Tree of Glyphs and the Gluttonous Feast, he wouldve faltered a long time ago.
The honey he plundered from the giant bee nest had also done him a great favor. The superior quality honey clearly restored more stamina and Spiritual Power than the ordinary ones.
He was aware that he was basically renewing the scent the bees were using to track him down, but it was the best out of the bad options. He wouldve run out of stamina long ago if he hadnt consumed the honey.
Lu Ye had tried escaping into the air multiple times during this time, but even if he ignored the cost to his Spiritual Power and maintained Windwalk until he had shaken off the bee swarm, his respite was only temporary. At best, he would get a few minutes rest before the unholy buzzing noises drilled into his ears once more.
At this rate, he was going to run out of resources, stamina or both before he could shake the bee swarm.
It was time to consider the risky options.
The 10-point map showed that there was a ce called the Burning Lands deep within Misty Mountains. It was an extremely hostile environment that was several thousand kilometers wide in radius. It was one of the most dangerous ces on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Logically speaking, the Burning Lands was hot enough to kill any and all lifeforms in its area, but in reality that wasnt the case. It certainly was no life-fillednd teeming with greens and wild animals, but it was no barren wastnd either. Specifically, it was rich in Fire Attribute Spirit nts and ores.
Lu Ye had taken notice of the Burning Lands since the day he decided to enter the Misty Mountains. In fact, he had been nning to look into that ce after dealing with his pursuers.
The Tree of Glyphs could consume ownerless items that contained heat energy. There might be something in the Burning Lands that it could consume.
While he was no longer being pursued by the Thousand Demon Ridge, the bee swarm was easily ten times worse. Left with no choice, Lu Ye could only travel to the Burning Lands.
He hoped that the environment would be hostile enough to stop the bee swarm in their tracksassuming that he could survive the environment, of course.
He believed his chances to be pretty good though. He was a Heaven Seven cultivator who was as resilient as a body-tempering cultivator at the same cultivation level. Theoretically speaking, his endurance should be greater than the Mutant Bees.
His mind made up, Lu Ye started moving toward the Burning Lands following the 10-point maps instructions.
On the way, he tried flying telekically to see if he would get lucky. All of his attempts had ended in failure.
Two dayster, the massive trees that blotted out most of the skies were gone. The amount of foliage in the area had visibly decreased as well. The air was hotter than normal.
He had finally arrived at the periphery of the Burning Lands.
He had barely caught any rest for the past two days. He was nearing his limits to put it mildly. Now that he was at the Burning Lands, he could confirm that the environment was almost as hostile as was stated in the 10-point map. For the first time in a while, hope sprung in his heart.
The amount of foliage kept decreasing as he continued forward. Eventually, it reached the point where it was no longer capable of slowing down the bee swarm. Lu Ye had no choice but to take out his flying Spirit Artifact to increase his speed while staying close to the ground.
The further he went, the hotter it became. Eventually, even the ground started to look dry and withered.
The 10-point maps description of the Burning Lands was urate though. Despite the crazy temperature, the region was brimming with a strange sort of vitality. There was no way an ordinary Spirit nt couldve survived otherwise.
It was rumored that there was a priceless treasure at the center of the Burning Lands, and it was the true cause behind its paradoxical environment. Over the years, countless cultivators had ventured to this ce hoping to find the rumored treasure, but they either returned empty-handed or died in the wilderness.
The Burning Lands was ssified as a forbidden area on the 10-point map sold by the Divine Trade Association for a reason. All ces dangerous enough to earn thebel were usually too dangerous for a cultivator to survive.
It wasnt just the environment that was hostile toward cultivators. There were other factors that contributed to the ssification as well.
For example, one of the reasons the Burning Lands was so dangerous was the Spirit Beasts. A lot of Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts lived here due to its unique environment, and most of them were beyond the ability of an ordinary cultivator to defeat.
The Fire Chameleon Lu Ye was fighting was one such example. The creature had been sitting on the ground and waiting for a prey to pass by its hiding spot. It looked identical to its environment, Lu Ye was unable to detect it until a long tongue appeared out of nowhere and caught the bottom of his Spirit Boat. If he hadnt reacted quickly and shed its tongue with his flying weapons, the Fire Chameleon wouldve seeded in pulling him toward the ground. Its concealment ability was as good as some of the best ghost cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm, if not better.
The Fire Chameleons tongue was also flexible enough that even Lu Yes flying weapons werent able to slice itpletely. Not only that, it spat a jet of mes at him after it pulled back its wounded tongue. Lu Ye immediately soared higher and hurried away from the Fire Chameleon.
And not a moment too soon. The bee swarm arrived at his previous location just in time to be caught in the zing mes. Dozens were scorched into a crisp by the searing heat.
The sight was unexpected but most wee. The ball of frustration that had been gnawing his insides for the past couple days had diminished considerably.
Of course, the Mutant Bees werent the type of creature to live and let live. The one hundred Yi Ye Elimination Front cultivators they had stung to death a few days ago were proof of their viciousness. They might becking in terms of intelligence, but their vengefulness was off the charts to put it mildly. Lu Ye had only stolen their royal jelly and some honey, and he had been hunted all the way to the Burning Lands.
Technically, the Fire Chameleon had been aiming at Lu Ye. However, it didnt change the fact that it had ughtered their numbers. Naturally, they werent going to let it live.
The buzzing grew more intense as the Mutant Bees descended on the Fire Chameleon from every direction. At first, the Fire Chameleon was able to burn dozens more Mutant Bees with its mes, but it quickly turned stiff and copsed limply on the ground. From time to time, it would spasm in response to the venom coursing through its veins.
It wasnt the only Fire Chameleon in the area either. At least a dozen Fire Chameleons were dead by the time the bee swarm had finally passed through the area.
That said, the Fire Chameleons were some of the weakest Spirit Beasts in the Burning Lands. In fact, most of the Spirit Beasts that lingered at the periphery of a valuablend were the weaker ones because they were pushed out by more powerful contenders. Generally speaking, the deeper one ventured into the Burning Lands, the more Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts they would encounter. Their threat level was much higher as well.
As with most animals, these Spirit Beasts generally never left their territories unless they were going out on a hunt. No one had thought that death would suddenly descend on them one day until it did.
Perhaps it was because some of their numbers were killed by the Fire Chameleons before, but the bee swarm did not hesitate to kill every Spirit Beast who was unfortunate enough to happen along their path with or without provocation.
As a result, the Spirit Beasts living in the Burning Lands lost many of their numbers that day.
Maybe it was because the heat was getting to them, but the Mutant Bees were acting as if they had lost all senses. They were enacting their vengeance on any and all living beings they could find.
Or maybe they realized even with their small brains that Lu Ye, the thief who had stolen their precious treasure, was about to make his escape.
Half a day passed, and Lu Ye had reached the inner depths of the Burning Lands. At this stage, the environment couldnt just be described as hot anymore. The air waspletely distorted by the rising heat, and the ground itself was an unnatural dark red.
Lu Ye was sweating buckets despite channeling his Spiritual Power to shield his body from the heat. His sweat evaporated immediately after it exited his pores. His clothes felt ufortably dry and stiff against his skin.
He was suffering even though he was a Heaven Seven cultivator who cultivated a Fire Attribute cultivation technique. Almost anyone else wouldve copsed a long time ago.
It was worth it though. The bee swarm had lost much of its numbers because of its senseless violence against all the Spirit Beasts it passed. The survivors seemed to be growing weaker and weaker due to the environment as well. Not only were they moving much slower than before, the weaker ones had fallen so far behind that they were nowhere to be seen. Besides that, some of them were taking damage to their wings because of the burning heat. As a result, they fell to the ground and began burning alive. When they werepletely dead, their bodies would suddenly explode into fireballs.
Relief washed over Lu Ye when he looked back for the umpteenth time. His gamble had paid off. Considering the Mutant Bees persistence and vengefulness, the Burning Lands really was his only shot at shaking them off.
He continued forward a while longer when he realized that the buzzing that followed him was subsiding. He looked back onest time and saw that the few remaining Mutant Bees had stopped in their tracks. For a moment, they simply watched him soundlessly from a distance. Then, they turned around and went back the way they came.
Lu Ye watched them until they hadpletely disappeared into the horizon. For a while, he had thought he would never shake off these bastards. In the end though, he had won, and they had lost.
As the tension left his body, what felt like a crushing wave of exhaustion struck him from every direction. It was so that his Spirit Boat wobbled a little.
He hurriedly took out the superior quality honey and gobbled it down to restore his stamina and Spiritual Power. He also swallowed a couple of Spirit Pills.
After that, Lu Ye did not head back to the forest or proceed deeper into the Burning Lands. Instead, he descended to the ground to get some rest.
It had been a few days since he was hunted by the Mutant Bees, and he hadnt had the time to get a proper rest at all. The environment was hardly suitable for resting, but at least he wasnt being chased by murderous Mutant Bees anymore. Plus, poor rest was still better than no rest at all.
The reason he didnt leave for greener pastures was because he was afraid that the Mutant Bees might wait for him outside. It had taken him literal days to finally shake them off his tail. He never wanted to interact with them again if he could avoid it.
The second reason was because the Tree of Glyphs was reacting oddly.
Since half a day ago, he had felt a strange reaction from the Tree of Glyphs. To be specific, it was acting like when it was consuming the mes of Earthen Spirits.
When he looked within himself, he could even see it stretching out its roots from his Source Spiritual Point as if in search of something to consume. However, it was unable to determine the location of its desire
This affirmed Lu Yes suspicion that there was a Fire Attribute treasure in the Burning Lands. Not only that, it was a treasure that the Tree of Glyphs could consume!
Lu Ye was very tempted to seek out the treasure because the me of Earthen Spirits could only be purchased from the Vault of Providence, and each one cost two hundred Contribution Points.
Two hundred Contribution Points was a sizable sum to any cultivator, and Lu Ye had spent almost twenty thousand Contribution Points on them.
If he could acquire this Fire Attribute treasure, then he would be saving a ton of Contribution Points. Whether or not he would actually seed, he thought it was worth the attempt at least.
Time passed slowly as Lu Ye gradually recovered his strength. The scorching heat around him felt much more manageable as well.
It wasnt because the heat itself had decreased, of course. It was his body slowly adapting to the environment and growing some resistance.
He hadnt felt this until now because he had been flying toward the center of the Burning Lands at top speed. As a result, the environment was worsening faster than his body could adapt to.
Now that he hade to a stop, his body finally had the time to slowly adapt to the environment.
Realizing that this was an opportunity, Lu Ye gave up his original ns to fly into the center. Instead, he walked.
Chapter 365: The Wonderful Use of the Tree of Glyphs
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 365: The Wonderful Use of the Tree of Glyphs
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The midday sun was shining brightly in the sky. Lu Ye was holding the Invible and walking deeper into the Burning Lands, a scorching hell on the Spirit Creek Battlefield that spanned thousands of kilometers in the Misty Mountains.
He wasnt channeling his Spiritual Power to protect himself. He wasnt even wearing a shirt. He was withstanding the fearsome heat with his body alone and sounding out his absolute limit.
Back when he was a mining ve in the Evil Moon Valley, he was quite skinny because thebor was hard, and his masters hadnt deemed it necessary to feed him more than was necessary. Ever since he became a cultivator though, his physique had slowly but surely grown in size and strength. This was especially true after he obtained the dragon scale from the Dragon Spring. His physique had been growing at a visible rate.
Today, his upper body might as well have been chiseled from steel. The innumerable scars on his skin only made him look stronger. After all, they were proof of his many battles and more importantly, his survival.
In fact, his second senior sister had removed all of his scars when he returned from the Inner Circle and stayed at the headquarters for a month. However, a cultivators life was full of blood and strife, so it wasnt long before his unblemished body was covered in scars once more.
Sweat slid down his back and chest before turning into vapor. Even for a Heaven Seven cultivator like Lu Ye, he had to drink constantly from his waterskin to replenish the water he was losing.
He wasnt walking quickly because the environment was constantly tempering his body and making it more resistant against the surrounding heat. His footsteps werent swift, but it never stopped unless he ran into a Spirit Beast.
The Spirit Beasts who lived here were all Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts who were drawn over by its unique environment. Here, they grew much faster than they would have anywhere else.
The deeper he went, the stronger the Spirit Beasts became. Thankfully, he hadnt encountered anything that was beyond his abilities just yet.
He did not just leave the Spirit Beasts he killed to burn on the ground. Instead, he harvested everything he could. Some body parts were known to be excellent forging materials, and the skin could usually be sold for a good price. Even their flesh and blood were usually very nutritious for a cultivator.
Amber in particr loved eating raw meat.
Speaking of hispanions, he hadmunicated with Yi Yi for a bit and learned that they had left the Misty Mountains and concealed themselves at a secluded location. Lu Ye told them to continue doing so, and that he would meet up with them once he was done with his business.
Nighttime soon arrived, and a white, round moon rose to the sky. The temperature of the Burning Lands did not change much though. It remained as hot and unbearable as ever.
Lu Ye was still marching forward without pause.
Early morning, the third day after he had shaken off the bee swarm, Lu Ye had finally reached the deepest parts of the Burning Lands. Looking at the 10-point map, he was less than a hundred kilometers away from the centermost area.
However, he was almost at his limits. A cultivators body was adaptable, but there was only so much it could adapt against such scorching temperature. In fact, Lu Ye had been channeling his Spiritual Power to protect himself sincest night.
And now, he could not go much further even with his Spiritual Power to shield him from the worst.
He could not see a single Spirit Beast everywhere. Even the Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts were unable to withstand the scorching heat of the centermost location.
There was a reason the Burning Lands wasbeled as a forbidden area; a ce no cultivator should enter.
Lu Ye was reluctant to give up, however. If the rumors were true, and the Burning Lands did contain a Fire Attribute treasure, then it had to be at the centermost area. It was one thing if he was still hundreds and hundreds of kilometers away from the center, but less than a hundred?
Plus, the past three days would be a waste if he gave up now.
However, he really was at his limits. To push himself further would only result in pointless suffering or worse, crippling injuries.
He went through everything he had to see if there was anything he could use to ovee this obstacle. In the end, his gazended on the Tree of Glyphs.
The Tree of Glyphs could devour Fire Attribute energy. Theoretically speaking, he should be able to use it to block out the heat.
The problem was how. Not only was the Tree of Glyphs rooted in his Source Spiritual Point, it was neither illusory nor real. It had also never manifested itself outside of his body, so how could he use it to his advantage?
He considered this for a moment when he realized something. The fact that the Burning Lands was so ungodly hot meant that it must be overflowing with Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi. It was just invisible to the naked eye. Since the Tree of Glyphs was capable of devouring Fire Attribute energy, he didnt need to manifest it to protect himself. He only needed to activate it and devour the surrounding energy!
Suddenly, Lu Ye realized that he had misused the Tree of Glyphs this whole time. Assuming his theory was true, he would have an overwhelming advantage over any enemy who cultivated a Fire Attribute cultivation technique.
Lu Ye activated the Tree of Glyphs with a thought. The next instant, it suddenly grew a ton of roots that vanished into somewhere he couldnt perceive. It was almost as if they had entered some sort of unknown space.
When Lu Ye noticed this, he immediately applied Insight to his eyes, Then, he looked down at his own hands. The surrounding scenery surprised him a little.
Insight allowed him to see what was invisible to the naked eye. The flow of Spiritual Qi was one such example.
Usually, the world looked like rainbows when he applied Insight to his eyes. It was the color of different attributes of Spiritual Qi minging with each other.
Here though, he saw red and only red. There was just too much Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi in thesends.
The Spiritual Power flowing through his hands was mixed with a bit of gold. This was because, though his Primary Attribute was Fire, his Supplementary Attribute was Gold.
This time though, his Spiritual Power was covered in countless tendrils. They were swaying back and forth as his energy circted within his body.
The tendrils were obviously the roots of the Tree of Glyphs.
It wasnt just his hands either. There were tendrils all over his body.
At first nce, it was like he was some sort of tentacle monster.
Lu Ye had never inspected himself using Insight while the Tree of Glyphs was consuming the me of Earthen Spirits. It was only now that he realized how the Tree of Glyphs usually devoured them.
It was clearly using his body as the medium and the roots as the bridge.
No wonder he could not feel the heat when the Tree of Glyphs was consuming the me of Earthen Spirits, not even when he was holding one with his bare hands. It was because his entire arm was covered in its roots.
And it was working. He could feel the unbearable heat around him fading at a visible rate. It was such a drastic change that he almost doubted his own senses.
To confirm that he wasnt dreaming, Lu Ye started striding toward the center.
Activating the Tree of Glyphs usually did not use up his Spiritual Power, but it definitely drained away at his mental strength. Already, he was feeling more tired than he was a moment ago. He had better move fast.
After walking for a moment longer and confirming that his n had worked, Lu Ye brought out his Spirit Boat and flew forward.
Obviously, flying was way faster than walking. He breezed through tens of kilometers in just a short time.
Suddenly, Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and looked down. There was a person curled up on the ground. Their voluptuous figure and milky white skin painted a stark contrast against the dark red earth. She was wearing a corset and a short skirt made of animal skin. Not only did she look beautiful, she looked like she was overflowing with strength.
[Theres someone here?] Lu Ye thought in disbelief. It was because he hadnt encountered even a Spirit Beast since he came here. Thest thing he expected to find at this forsaken ce was a fellow human.
She should be alive though. He could sense her vitality.
Whoever the woman was, she was probably here for the Burning Lands so-called treasure just like him. That she coulde this far despite the unbearable environment proved just how powerful she was.
She was clearly at her limit though. Otherwise, she would not have curled up on the ground like this.
Lu Ye was just about to activate Insight and get a good look at her cultivation level when suddenly, the woman rose to her feet and looked straight at him. Inplete contrast to their surroundings, the gaze behind her crimson pupils were ice cold.
Realizing he was in trouble, Lu Ye immediately controlled his Spirit Boat to go up. Not a moment too soon, a blur passed right through where he used to be andnded some distance away from him. It was so fast that it actually destabilized the Spirit Boat a bit and almost knocked him off his feet.
Lu Ye looked. The woman who was curled up on the ground just a moment ago was currently crouching on all fours. Not only that, she was burning with fiery red Spiritual Power and baring her teeth at him like some sort of wild animal. Her fiery red hair was dancing in the air.
The crazy amount of Spiritual Powering off of her body and the brightness of her aura shocked Lu Ye, to say the least. He had never seen such a brilliant aura even from Feng Yuechan or Li Baxian.
[Wait a second thats not Spiritual Power. Thats Mutant Power!]
The woman was a Mutant! A Tyrant-level Mutant no less!
rm bells rang in his head as Lu Yes heart abruptly clenched so tight that his sr plexus hurt. It was his powerful mind informing him where his enemy was targeting.
Instinctively, he constructed a Protection in front of his chest almost the instant he sensed the danger.
There was a blur, and the female Mutant who was on the ground just a moment ago was now in front of him. She then curled her fingers and thrust straight at his sr plexus.
There was a snapping sound as the womans fingers thrust through the Glyph and caused cracks to appear all over its surface. He could even feel her fingernails piercing into his chest and drawing blood.
If he was even a bit slower, he would be missing a heart already.
Metal rang as Lu Ye ejected all nine of his flying weapons from his Weapon Holder and sent them flying toward the female Mutant.
She withdrew her arm and spun in mid-air like a bird. The movement was simple, and yet it allowed her to dodge all of the attacks and whip her leg at him.
Without hesitation, Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible, empowered it with two Sharp Edges, and swung it straight at the iing leg.
He missed though. The enemy had changed her attack from a turning kick to a front kick at thest moment. She was so fast that he was unable to respond in time.
Chapter 366: Tyrant-level Female Primal
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 366: Tyrant-level Female Primal
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye nearly fell off his Spirit Boat when the female mutantnded a kick on his chest.
The chances Lu Ye might survive a Tyrant-level mutant without a flying Spirit Artifact were exactly zero. That was why he had curled his legs around his Spirit Boat immediately after he took the kick. Both him and his Spirit Boat were sent flying to the distance.
After he managed to stabilize himself, Lu Ye hurriedly looked around for the female Mutant. However, she was nowhere to be seen. That was the moment he sensed dangering from above and looked up.
The female Mutant was falling down on him. He tried striking her with his flying weapons, but she easily knocked them all away with her ws. This scene terrified Lu Ye to say the least. For the first time, he realized just how wide the gap between himself and a Tyrant-level Mutant was.
He had witnessed two Tyrant-level Mutants before this woman. The first one was Beaky, and the second was the Great Serpent. However, Lu Ye had never fought either of them directly. This would be the first time he fought a Tyrant-level Mutant in battle.
He had killed many Heaven Nine cultivators as a Heaven Seven cultivator until now, but even a Heaven Nine cultivator was just fodder before a Tyrant-level existence.
Why was a Tyrant called a Tyrant? It was because they alone were enough to rule over the entire battlefield.
To be fair, he was partially responsible for the crisis he was in. The Tyrant had been resting and bothering no one until he got curious and went near her.
Lu Ye felt extremely unlucky as ofte. First the Mutant Wasps, now a Tyrant-level Mutant. Why couldnt he have minded his own business?
There was no dodging the female Mutant falling on him, so he had no choice but to suck in a deep breath and raise the Invible. There was a sh as two Sharp Edges appeared on its surface. Then, he waited until thest possible moment before stabbing at the female Mutants neck with all his might.
Honestly, he thought his chances of wounding and even killing the female Mutant were pretty high. However, the female Mutant easily turned her neck to one side and dodged the brunt of the attack. The de did slice through her skin and draw a bit of blood, but that was it. Before he could turn it into a horizontal sweep, he took yet another kick to the chest.
This time, the kick was powerful enough to numb his whole chest. There was a slight pause before both him and his Spirit Boat flew toward the ground at high speed. In fact, the impact was so great that his flying Spirit Boat actually snapped in half beneath him.
Boom
A small pit appeared on the dark red soil as Lu Ye crashed onto the ground. The female Mutant wasnt done though. Just a secondter, she brought her w straight down on his head. There was a loud bang and a cloud of dust cloud, but Lu Ye just barely managed to dodge out of the way before leaping to the side. He then ran like hell while applying his legs with Windwalk. He was bleeding through his mouth and his nose right now.
This was easily the worst battle of his life. The power gap was so huge that the most he could do was to put a small cut on his opponents neck, a cut that shouldve healedpletely by now.
As if that wasnt bad enough, he had lost his flying spirit Artifact as well. Lu Ye could feel death breathing down his neck like an invisible beast.
However, the presence of death gradually faded over time. When he looked back, he discovered that the female Mutant was just standing there and staring at him quietly. In fact, she even leaped back dozens of meters andnded exactly where Lu Ye had found her at the beginning.
Lu Ye let out a sigh of relief when he confirmed that the female Mutant had given up on him. Then, he realized that it wasnt that she didnt want to kill him, but she couldnt.
The Burning Lands grew hotter the deeper one traveled. If Lu Ye tried to make it to the center with his own power, the furthest he could go was one hundred kilometers before the center.
The female Mutant might be a Tyrant-level existence, but even she had her limits. Her absolute limit was her current location. Any deeper than that, and she risked injuring herself beyond her ability to recover. That was why she had jumped back to her original location.
Lu Ye rxedpletely when he realized this. While standing almost three hundred meters away from the female Mutant, Lu Ye looked down to inspect his chest wound. His sr plexus looked like aplete mess because the female Mutant had plunged her fingers in it. Thankfully, it wasnt deep enough to cause any real damage.
His chest also looked a little dented. When he gave it a tentative push, pain would erupt from his ribs. He wouldnt be surprised if some of his ribs were cracked or even broken. He did take two kicksespecially thest oneto the chest after all.
With that done, he sheathed the Invible and returned his flying weapons back to his Weapon Holder. It was only then he took out several Healing Pills and swallowed them.
He rested for a brief moment. Once he was sure he was safe, he finally grabbed the Invible and walked toward the female Mutant once more.
Compared to before, the female Mutants crimson eyes held less malice and more curiosity. She couldnt understand why the weakling before her could withstand an environment even she wasnt able to endure.
She tilted her head as Lu Ye walked closer and closer to her. Her eyes were filled with scrutiny.
When Lu Ye was two hundred meters away from the female Mutant, he stood still and matched her gaze expressionlessly for a moment. Then, he unleashed all nine of his flying weapons at her with lightning speed.
The female Mutant was powerful, but what did it matter if she couldnt get close to him? He would be a fool to fight her at close range after witnessing her impossible flexibility, but it was a different story to wear her down bit by bit with his flying weapons.
The flying weapons whistled through the air and reached the female Mutant at nearly the same time. He controlled them so that they would hit her from multiple angles.
It was then the female Mutant showed him what it truly meant to move like lightning. Her ws blurred around her at high speed as she sent six of his flying weapons flying. Not only that, she had caught three of them with her ws. They were unable to escape no matter how much they struggled.
It looked like this was the first time the female Mutant saw a Spirit Artifact. It was because she was examining the struggling objects in her grip curiously.
Lu Ye could not stop his eyes from twitching. He could ept the female Mutant dodging or sending off his flying weapons. She was a Tyrant-level existence after all; a creature that represented the absolute pinnacle of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. But to snatch three of his Spiritual Artifacts out of the air like they were nothing? This was embarrassing to say the least.
Worse still, he couldnt even get his Spirit Artifacts back. He had gone for wool and came back shorn.
With a thought, he created an Explosion on all three Spirit Artifacts. Lu Ye had been able to imbue his flying weapons with Glyphs since he came back from the Lost City of Xianyuan, but this would be the first time ever he imbued them with an Explosion. In fact, he had only ever used Explosion on an Explosive Ward.
Unfortunately, the female Mutant proved to be exceptionally perceptive. The second the Glyphs took form, she immediately tossed the flying weapons into the air.
Three loud explosionster, the three flying weapons ttered lifelessly on the ground like mortal weapons. In fact, the explosion had taken out most of their Spiritual Power, and the enhancements imbued within the body werepletely destroyed. It was a miracle that they were still glowing a little. Even if he could retrieve them somehow, they would no longer function as intended.
Lu Ye briefly calcted his loss since he ran into this female Mutant. First, he had lost a Spirit Boat. Second, he was forced to destroy three of his flying weapons. Third, he himself was beaten ck and blue in the battle
It was one of the biggest losses he had suffered since bing a cultivator.
Without hesitation, he turned around and headed to the center. The power gap was just too huge. He had given up on killing the female Mutantpletely.
He med the Divine Trade Association for his losses. The 10-point map clearly stated that there were only three Tyrant-level existences in the Misty Mountains, so why was there a fourth in the Burning Lands. He hadnt made an error in judgment, it was the intel he received that was faulty.
Wait! The female Mutant called out suddenly. Her voice sounded a little raspy, but there was the hint of a charm somewhere.
Lu Ye was surprised yet again. He did not think that this Mutant would be able to speak.
He was sure she wasnt a Mutant cultivator. He had observed her carefully just now and confirmed that she did not possess any Spiritual Artifact or cultivate any cultivation technique. Her fighting style could basically be summed up in a few words: instinct and vast Mutant Power.
A true Mutant cultivator could coexist perfectly with Humans. After they had assumed? a Human form, they would unlock Spiritual Points and cultivate just like any other Human. There were plenty of sects in Jiu Zhou with Mutant disciples, and they looked almost identical to a Human.
So no, this female Mutant was no Mutant cultivator. She was probably a Primal.
Although Primal and Mutant cultivators both shared a human appearance, they werent quite the same as one another. The formers way of life and cultivation style were more primal and closer to a Spirit Beast.
Lu Ye couldnt identify her original form because she looked almost human. Judging from her ridiculous agility though, she probably wasnt very big.
The female Primal hadnt said a word during the fight, and she had obviously never seen a Spirit Artifact before. That was why he thought that she had never encountered a Human until now. It would appear he was wrong.
At the very least, she was capable of speaking the Humannguage.
Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. When their eyes met, the female Primal said, Bring me whats in the center!
And what is in the center?
A me. I can sense that it is a powerful me.
He was right. The female Primal was looking to enter the center of the Burning Lands and seek out the legendary Fire Attribute treasure. Although she wasnt strong enough to get there, she was close enough to sense that it was a fire.
[So, its a treasure that even a Tyrant lusts for. This is good news.]
This reminded Lu Ye of the Great Serpent. Just like the woman, the Great Serpent greatly desired the dragon scale. If he had to guess, the fire probably had the same beneficial effects to the female Primal as the dragon scale to the Great Serpent.
He turned back toward the center and walked forward. He heard the woman calling out to him, Ill be waiting for you here!
Lu Ye simply pretended he hadnt heard her.
Even if they didnt share the same objectivethat was the legendary treasure that resided at the center of the Burning Landsthe female Primal had kicked his ass and cost him a Spirit Boat and three flying weapons. Why in the world would he hand over the treasure to her?
A me, she had said. It was probably the thing that had created the Burning Lands. Lu Ye very much desired to witness the me that could transform several thousand kilometers ofnd into a scorching hell.
Lu Ye rummaged through his Storage Bag as he continued forward. Now that his Spirit boat was destroyed, he had to refine a new flying Spirit Artifact as soon as possible.
The Spirit Boat he was using had belonged to Yuan Guang of the Sky Pir Sect. Since Yuan Guang was just an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator, the quality of the Spirit Boat was so-so at best. Lu Ye had killed and looted plenty of Heaven Grade cultivators as ofte. He was sure that one of them would have a flying Spirit Artifact that fit his needs and wants.
A whileter, he chose a Spirit Artifact that looked almost the same as the Spirit Boat he was using. He then channeled his Spiritual Power to refine enhancements within the flying Spirit Artifact. It wouldnt take too much time or effort to do so considering his current cultivation level and Spiritual Power purity.
An incense stickter, Lu Ye was flying a Spirit Boat-shaped flying Spirit Artifact once more. In fact, it was definitely higher quality than the one he was using before. He blitzed across the sky after empowering it with a Windwalk.
Chapter 367: There’s Something Wrong With Her Head
Humanitys Great Sage: Chapter 367: Theres Something Wrong With Her Head
Trantor: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was about fifty or sixty kilometers away from the center of the Burning Lands right now. It took him less than an incense stick to reach it.
There was a massive pit at the center. The heat rising from it was enough to distort even space itself.
Lu Ye circled around the pit for a bit in an attempt to see what was inside it. He could vaguely see what looked like a ball of mes.
It would seem that the female Primal was right after all. There was a ball of me inside the pit. It was so hot that even the ground had been burned through.
He was the first person ever to discover the truth at the center of the Burning Lands. After all, the cultivators operating in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were only at the Spirit Creek Realm. Not even champions like Feng Wuchan and Li Baxian would be able to reach here safely. Even a Tyrant like that female Primal could not go deeper than fifty or sixty kilometers away from the center.
Lu Ye himself would never have made it here if he didnt have the Tree of Glyphs.
His head felt a little faint right now. It was a sign of mental exhaustion. He had experienced this many times while he was challenging the Hundred Wards Tower.
He took out hisst bottle of Soul Cleansing Water and consumed a single drop. Only then did his mental fatigue fade away swiftly.
He could not dy this any longer. The Spirit Boat beneath his feet was literally creaking from the sheer heat brushing against its surface.
He flew down into the massive pit. It was a couple of kilometers before he finally reached the bottom.
He then put away the Spirit Boat and looked at the ball of me in front of him. He was amazed by what he saw.
The ball of me was only the size of a washbasin. It was orange in color, and it gave off a noble and sacred feeling. Moreover, the me contained both overwhelming destructive power and an indescribable sense of life. It was as paradoxical as it was powerful.
Lu Ye did not know what it was, but that was fine, since his curiosity was cursory at best. He was only here to consume it with the Tree of Glyphs.
The Tree of Glyphs was writhing about like it was alive inside his Source Spiritual Point. He applied Insight to his eyes again and saw the roots covering his whole body twisting and stretching like they desired nothing more than to root itself in the me.
He had never seen the Tree of Glyphs reacting this lively.
Lu Ye slowly extended his hand toward the orange me.This time, not even the Tree of Glyphs could fully inste the heat emanating from the me, but it was still nowhere hot enough to burn him. At the same time, the roots started absorbing its energy to strengthen its main body.
Lu Ye turned his gaze inward. He was curious to know how many leaves would be ignited after the Tree of Glyphs had consumed the ball of me.
Something unexpected happened. Usually, the Tree of Glyphs would ignite the leaves in a sequential manner. This time though, the energy flowed past the unburned leaves and reached the upper part of the tree instead.
An instantter, an entire clump of leaves burst into light. At least one or two hundred leaves had lit up at the same time.
Lu Ye was surprised to say the least. In the past, the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs had ignited one by one. He had never seen two leaves igniting at the same time, much less two hundred.
[Is it because the me is that powerful?]
He quickly realized his assumption was wrong though. The unknown me was powerfulit could not have turned thousands and thousands of kilometers ofnd into a scorching hell otherwisebut these leaves hadnt burst into mes. They were only covered in glowing patterns.
As the Tree of Glyphs continued to consume the me, the patterns on the Glyphs started growing brighter and brighter.
Finally, the leaves burst into mes.
The me of these leaves were different from the usual ones though. They looked as orange as the me The Tree of Glyphs was devouring.
Moreover, Lu Ye felt that the mes had joined together to form a picture. At first nce, it looked like a burning bird was crouching on the crown of the Tree of Glyphs. That the mes were swaying here and there only made the bird more lifelike.
In fact, it looked very much like the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts. It was as beautiful as its tail was long.
Lu Ye couldnt be sure if it was just a coincidence or not.
He did not hurry to investigate the tree leaves. After all, there could be dozens of new Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs right now. He could inspect them one by one at ater date.
By now, the orange me had been fully consumed by the Tree of Glyphs. It was only then Lu Ye rxed both literally and mentally.
He couldnt rx while the Tree of Glyphs was active. That he managed to endure until now was a testament to his mental strength.
He was just about to leave when suddenly, he heard a whistling noise above his head. The next moment, a figurended not far away from him.
She was as slender as she was bountiful at the center. Her crimson eyes shone like a pair of ghastly mes in this poorly lit pit.
Lu Ye immediately tensed up and gripped the Invible once more.
The pit wasnt small, but it wasnt big either. The surrounding rocks had all turned into ss due to constant exposure to extreme heat.
It would be extremely unwise to fight a Tyrant here.
His heart was heavy. He was so focused on consuming the me that he hadpletely forgotten that the me was the one thing that kept the female Primal away. She wasnt able to get within sixty kilometers of the center because the me was too hot for her. Now that it was gone, of course she could no longer be kept away.
She examined their surroundings once before asking, Where is it? She acted as if Lu Ye had promised to bring her the me when he had, in fact, not.
I didnt see it. Lu Ye brushed his fingers along the hilt of his saber while staring at the female Primals smooth, slender neck. He wondered what his chances of sess were if he were to attack her now. In the end, he concluded that it could only end poorly for him.
Impossible. The female Primal shook her head. I sensed it until a while ago.
You can search for it yourself if you want to.
The female Primal did just that. She crouched down and started digging the crystallized earth with her bare hands. It instantly shattered into a million pieces and kicked up a lot of dust.
Ill leave you to your business, Lu Ye said while summoning his Spirit Boat. He kept an eye on the female Primal in case she decided to attack him, but to his surprise, she didnt. Right now, she waspletely consumed by the task of finding her non-existent me.
[This woman Shes strong, but I think shes not quite right in the head. Though to be fair, who wouldve thought it was possible for a Human to consume such a powerful me?]
Lu Ye thought back to his previous encounter with the female Primal and eventually came to the conclusion that the woman wasnt actually hostile toward him. She had attacked him only because that was what her animal instinctmanded her to.
The female Primal paid no attention to Lu ye and continued to dig the ground with all her might. It wasnt until a long, long timeter that she finally realized that something wasnt right.
She tilted her head in thought before growing feathers on her arms all of a sudden. Once they had transformed into wings, she took to the sky and looked around as if she was trying to spot Lu Ye.
Of course, Lu Ye was long gone by then.
Right now, Lu Ye was flying forward with a Windwalk-empowered Spirit Boat.
The female Primal might be stupid, but he would be the stupid one if he thought she was stupid enough not to suspect him about the mes disappearance. That was twice he had run into the Tyrant in a single day, and he had no intentions of meeting her a third time.
It wasnt until over three quarters of the day had passed that he finally came to a stop. He could have pushed further, but he had used up too much Spiritual Power already. He found a resting spot in the forest, brought out his ward gs and set up a couple of wards in the area. Only then did he finally rx somewhat.
Before he became a ward cultivator, he mostly relied on Yi Yi to keep an eye on his surroundings. Now, he was good enough in the Way of Wards to not need to bother her anymore. With the right ward gs, it was all too easy for him to set up wards meant to alert, conceal and protect.
While resting, he briefly recalled his experiences since he came to the Core Cicle. First, he was hunted by the Thousand Demon Ridge. Then, he was pursued by the Mutant Wasps. He thought he was finally safe after he ran to the Burning Lands, but then he encountered a Tyrant of all things
It truly had been a harrowing two weeks.
He ate a couple of Spirit Pills to chase away the traumas. Then, he activated Gluttonous Feast to quicken his digestion. The pills quickly melted and replenished his depleted Spiritual Power.
First things first, Lu Ye contacted Yi Yi. Once he learned that they were safe, he shifted his attention to the Tree of Glyphs.
The Tree of Glyphs had ignited over a hundred leaves this time. It was a massive harvest to say the least. He wondered how many Glyph-bearing leaves there were.
He did not rush to investigate them though. It could wait until he had recovered fully.
Next, Lu Ye shifted his focus to a Storage Bag. It was the one containing the good stuff he had stolen from the massive wasp nest.
The superior quality honey alone weighed over a thousand catties. He could personally attest to its efficacy since he had consumed it multiple times while running away from the Mutant Wasps. While they did not restore Spiritual Power as quickly as a Mystic Fruit Tree, it was still much faster than a Spirit Pill. But of course, it wasnt as convenient to consume as a Spirit Pill.
There might be other effects he hadnt noticed. He should bring it back to his second senior sister for research. It might still have some pleasant surprises in store for him.
The other thing he swiped from the nest besides the superior quality honey was the half a bowl of royal jelly.
Lu Ye did not know what its effects were. He hadnt tasted it yet. However, he did suspect that the biggest reason the wasp swarm had pursued him until they literally couldnt was because of it!
The nest was massive, and the Mutant Wasps were innumerable. And yet, theirbined efforts had culminated in just half a bowl of royal jelly. It was obvious how valuable he was.
If Lu Ye did not have Invisibility, he wouldve failed for sure. Heck, a Heaven Nine ghost cultivator might not necessarily have done better than him.
So, he took out an empty jade bottle and filled it up with the royal jelly. He then consumed the liquid in one gulp. For a while, sweetness permeated his entire mouth
His Spiritual Power and stamina began recovering at an elerated rate. It was more potent than the superior quality honey in this regard, but that was it. He did not feel anything
[Wait.] Lu Ye suddenly noticed something odd going on with his body. An indescribable energy was beginning to circte throughout his veins and bones, causing his flesh and blood to be more tight-knit. His vitality and even his Spiritual Power was starting to flow faster as well.
The royal jelly seemed to improve his cirction by a tremendous degree!
Chapter 368: Inheritance
Chapter 368: Inheritance
Vitality and Spiritual Power were the two main things to cultivate for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. A powerful vitality meant a powerful physique, and no cultivator no matter which cultivator faction they belonged to would argue against having a stronger body. Spiritual Power was even more self-exnatory. It was the foundation of all cultivation andbat.
The flow rate of both energies directly affected the strength of a cultivation. There were several reasons why a cultivator experienced a massive boost in strength after cultivating a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. One, their Spiritual Power control would improve by leaps and bounds. Two, the flow speed of their Spiritual Power would experience a qualitative increase.
Since the royal jelly improved the flow speed of his vitality and his Spiritual Power, Lu Ye was physically and spiritually stronger even though his cultivation level hadnt changed one bit.
The only question now was whether the effect was permanent or temporary. If it was temporary, then it wasnt very valuable. Some Spirit Pills such as the Qi Boosting Pill could temporarily increase a cultivators strength, although the aftereffects were pretty severe. A cultivator who used the pill and pushed themselves too far carried the risk of damaging their Spiritual Point beyond repair.
If the effects were permanent though, then the royal jelly might as well be priceless.
There was no way to tell if the royal jellys effects were actually permanent though. The only way to know was to wait and see if it would wear off over time.
With that done, Lu Ye switched his focus to the Tree of Glyphs. Speaking of which, the more he looked at the orange mes burning on the crown of the Tree of Glyphs, the more it looked like a bird to him. The impression was the same even if he tried looking at it from multiple different angles. It was quite strange to say the least.
As usual, he calmed his mind and randomly selected a leaf to examine. He was going to check out the patterns when suddenly, something unusual happened. In his vision, the bird along the tree suddenly came to life and flew down the tree. It pped its wings, dragged its long tail, and filled his vision with orange mes in an instant. At the same time, a long, melodious cry resounded inside his head.
Lu Ye dropped unconscious just like that.
This was how Lu Ye had reacted when the Tree of Glyphs first came to life, and he had received his first ever Glyph in the mining caves of Evil Moon Valley. However, he hadnt even unlocked a Spiritual Point at the time, so of course he could barely withstand the packet ofplex information that was shoved into his brain.
As he grew in cultivation, something like this had never happened again. This was especially true after he returned from the Lost City of Xianyuan. His Divine Soul had be so strong that the massive amount of information in the leaf only felt like a breeze these days.
That was why he hadnt anticipated that he would be knocked out for an entire day. It had happened so fast that he didnt even have time to react.
In a dim and silent inheritance site, a naked woman suddenly emerged from a bluish pond. Translucent water slid down her smooth, white skin as she sucked in a deep breath. She looked like she had just been reborn.
She suppressed a shiver as she stared at the seemingly innocent pond in front of her. The past few weeks had been pure torture, so much so that she wasnt sure how she had managed to endure until the end.
The pond wasnt translucent at the beginning. In fact, it was an unnatural aquamarine. ording to her inheritance, it was a pool of pure poison. Without the secret art that only she, the inheritor possessed, even a Divine Ocean cultivator would have to make a great sacrifice to survive the poison.
She recalled the day she had made the decision to ept this inheritance and wondered how she was able to muster the courage back then. Assuming she could redo her past, she wasnt sure if she could have made the same choice.
It was precisely because she had lived through the experience that she knew just how painful it was. It was bad enough that it tormented both her body and her mind, but she didnt even have the luxury of falling unconscious. She was aware of every second of it.
Thankfully, that was all in the past.
She slowly stepped out of the Thousand Poison Pond. After evaporating the water droplets on her body with her Spiritual Power, she pulled out a set of clothes from her Storage Bag.
She was a quiet and demure youngdy, which was why therge majority of her wardrobe was made up of white dresses. But for some reason, she didnt feel like wearing white right now. She thought for a moment before recing the dress with a green one. Now she was satisfied.
After she was fully dressed and groomed to perfection, she tapped on her Battlefield Imprint with the intent of sharing her joy with her friends. Then, she recalled that this inheritance site was isted from the outside world because it was a pocket space of its own. She would not be able tomunicate with the others until she went outside.
She then recalled a certain someone and smirked impishly. She was going to teach him a lesson he wouldnt forget the next time he grabbed her hand without permission!
She triggered the Control Gem controlling the ward surrounding this pocket space. The scenery changed, and she found herself standing beneath a bright moon and a starry sky. She opened her arms wide as if to embrace the moonlight while feeling freer and morefortable than ever before.
From now on, she would never have to worry that she might not be able to catch up to him anymore.
Starting today, the scariest medicine cultivator in all of Jiu Zhou had emerged from her closed cultivation!
Lu Yes consciousness was a jumbled mess right now. He didnt know where he was or what he was doing. He felt like he was in a cramped space and instinctively tried to stretch his limbs, but something was keeping him from doing so.
An unknown amount of timeter, he abruptly realized that he had fallen unconscious. But if that was the case, then how was he conscious right now?
It was strange. It was like he was experiencing a lucid dream, but not quite. The reason he said this was because he couldnt wake back to reality no matter what he tried.
His consciousness grew clearer and clearer, but his environment remained the same as before.
An unknown period of timeter, he suddenly heard a small crack. A ray of light abruptly pierced through the darkness. When he looked up, he saw that a crack had appeared in the sky.
The crack grew bigger and bigger. Finally, the world around him shattered into pieces. It was then he saw a tiny, feathery thing surrounded by a floor of egg shells.
It was only now Lu Ye realized that he wasnt living through the experience himself. He was watching a chick being born from a third person perspective.
[On second thought, its probably not a chick.] The reason he thought this was because the creature was way bigger and cockier than your ordinary chick. Moreover, it immediately ate all the egg shells around it until its tummy was as full as it could be, which he was pretty sure wasnt normal chick behavior. Finally, it burped out tiny jets of mes after it was full
After that, time was elerated by a great deal. The scenes before him began speeding up so fast it was like he was outside the passage of time. Long story short was that the chick had grown into a massive bird with rainbow-colored feathers. It was covered in orange mes and carrying a long, long tail behind its back.
It was none other than the Sacred Beast, the Vermillion Bird!
Lu Ye would continue to witness the Vermillion Birds life. He saw it growing day by day and eliminating many powerful enemies. He saw it dominating everything until one day, even the world it was born to could no longer suppress its desire to explore.
So, it took to the sky and entered the world beyond the heavens. It soared through infinite space and stars in search of a wider world.
An unknown amount of time passed, and a ball of orange mes descended from the sky. It burned through the heavens, split the sky in half, and finallynded on the ground.
The me was so hot that it burned through the ground. The entire world was shaking from the aftermath. Everything within tens of thousands of kilometers of the epicenter had turned to dust.
Lu Ye abruptly opened his eyes. At the same time, he was assaulted by a pain beyond the ability of anynguage to describe. He could only say that it had made him curl up like a prawn and shake like a leaf. His face was so white he looked like a ghost.
His Divine Soul wasnt as strong as a Real Lake Realm cultivators yet, but he wasnt that far behind. However, the information he received from the Tree of Glyphs still knocked him out in an instant and left him as miserable as a wretch. Heavens only knew how much information he had received just now!
He took out the Soul Cleansing Water with a shuddering hand. Normally, he would try to ration his usage, but now was not the time to do so. He filled his mouth to the brim and gulped it all down in one go. It was only then the pain afflicting his Divine Soul faded bit by bit. However, he was so exhausted from the ordeal that he dropped back to the ground and fell asleep just like that.
The next day, he woke up with a start and lingering fear. When he shook his head, it felt like his brain was sloshing weakly inside his skull. It had been a very, very long time since he felt something like this. It had topped all of his previous experiences to be the most painful experience of his whole life.
Not only that, Lu Ye highly suspected that he wouldve be a retard if his Divine Soul wasnt as powerful as it was.
After sorting out the jumbled information in his mind, he finally figured out why this had happened.
He thought he was gleaning one leafs worth of information when he was inspecting the new leaf, but that wasnt the case. The power of the orange me was so massive that it took over a hundred leaves to bear it all. In other words, he had identally tried to absorb over one hundred leaves worth of information into his brain. Not even his insanely powerful Divine Soul could consume that much information in one go. That was why he had been knocked out like a light.
The strange scenes he saw while he was unconscious didnt originally belong to the Tree of Glyphs though. It belonged to the ball of me that was consumed by the Tree of Glyphs.
The ball of me hade from the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts. To be specific, it was an iplete ball of True Phoenix me. So much time had passed that the True Phoenix me, which was iplete to begin with, weakened to the point that it only annihted tens of thousands of kilometers ofnd when it impacted Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was also why the scenes he saw in his mind were dibobted and missing some pieces here and there.
Afterall, he did not know what had happened to the Vermillion Bird after it left its own world. He only knew that it got its ass kicked so bad that it was turned into a ball of iplete me and hurtled through space for Heavens know how long. In the end, itnded on the Spirit Creek Battlefield and created the Burning Lands.
It was said that a phoenix could achieve Nirvana ande back to life. While Lu Ye had no idea if that legend was true, he knew that this phoenix at least wasnting back to life. Why? Because its me had been fully devoured by the Tree of Glyphs, of course
He had gotten a single Glyph for his misery. And it was a spell technique.
In fact, Glyphs and spells werent that different from one another. It was just that the former had a wide variety of uses, while thetter was heavily focused onbat.
If one had to make aparison, then a spell technique was a simplified version of a Glyph.
The new Glyph Lu Ye obtained was called Glyph: Fire Phoenix!
Chapter 369: Yi Yi and Ju Jia’s Crisis
Chapter 369: Yi Yi and Ju Jias Crisis
The new Glyph was extremely powerful. In fact, it was far more powerful than anything Lu Ye had mastered until now.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye could not see himself using it unless absolutely necessary. Theplexity of the Glyph alone suggested that it would take a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power to construct. At his current cultivation level, he would probably need to use all of his Spiritual Power to construct the Glyph.
In that sense, it was something like a trump card. It should be used only in a do-or-die situation.
Its name brought up some unpleasant memories though. Back when he was cultivating the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic, the cultivation technique hade with two spell techniques, and one of them was called Fire Phoenix.
To this day, he still did not know why the spell technique had turned into a Fire Quail in his hands. It wasnt until he came back from the Lost City of Xianyuan and possessed a much stronger Divine Soul and Spiritual Power control that the form of the spell improved.
These days, Lu Ye rarely cast spells anymore because every cultivator in Jiu Zhou knew that he was abat cultivator at this point. Plus, he did not need spells when his telekinesis was enough.
The Tree of Glyphs had consumed a weakened and iplete True Phoenix me to give him Glyph: Fire Phoenix. Not only that, he had witnessed the Vermillion Birds life experiences while he was unconscious. As a result, his understanding of the Fire Phoenix Technique had reached an unspeakable level.
In fact, one could say that there was no one in the entire Jiu Zhou who understood the Fire Phoenix better than him.
With a thought, he lifted a finger and cast the Fire Phoenix Technique,unching a fiery red me toward the distance. Not only did it look almost identical to the Vermillion Bird, the patterns and even the feathers on its body were clearly defined.
The spell weaved back and forth like a living creature under his control. He made it circle around his head for a bit beforending on a nearby branch to groom himself. Finally, it exploded in a shower of sparks.
There was no doubt that his Fire Phoenix Technique was many, many times more powerful than what it used to be. It was thanks to his stronger cultivation level and everything he had experienced since entering the Burning Lands.
This was a pleasant surprise. Telekinesis was great, but the weapons themselves were guaranteed to run out of power in a protracted battle. Spells did not have such problems. As long as he still had Spiritual Power, he could cast as many spells as he wanted.
There was one more thing that Lu Ye was really happy to learn, and it was that the royal jellys improvement to ones vitality and Spiritual Power was permanent.
He wasnt sure how long he was unconscious, but he did notice that his vitality and Spiritual Power were actually flowing faster than before.
This could only mean that the royal jellys effects were permanent.
He shouldve known, really. It had taken millions and millions of Mutant Wasps to create just half a bowl of royal jelly. Of course it had to be extraordinary.
Next, he checked the wards he had set up earlier. He discovered that they had, in fact, been triggered by nearby Spirit Beasts. This discovery made Lu Ye really d that he had taken all the necessary precautions first before checking his Glyphs. Otherwise, he might have been dead already.
Suddenly, he felt something from his Battlefield Imprint. Lu Ye looked down and saw that it was a message from Yi Yi.
His expression grew serious. As it turned out, Yi Yi hadnt sent him just one, but multiple messages. He was just unconscious for most of it except thetest one.
Looking at the time of the oldest message, it had been five or six days since he fell unconscious!
The messages were all cries for help. Yi Yi and Ju Jia had been hiding outside Misty Mountains and waiting for Lu Ye to meet up with them, but a group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators happened to pass by the area and discovered them first. They had no choice but to make an escape.
However, Ju Jia was far too recognizable, not to mention that plenty of people had seen him with Lu Ye.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had lost hundreds of people trying to kill Lu Ye. As if that wasnt bad enough, they didnt even seed in their mission. With that in mind, why wouldnt they take it out on Ju Jia?
Luckily for Ju Jia, he was one of the most resilient body-tempering cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was tougher than even an ordinary Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator, so he was ultimately able to escape even though he was cornered for a time.
Originally, Ju Jia was going to take Yi Yi and Amber back to the Misty Mountains. It was because they were sure that he was there. They might not know why he wasnt responding to their messages, but they knew that their chances of evading their pursuers and meeting up Lu Ye would be much higher if they could make it inside.
However, Ju Jia was no Lu Ye. Hecked his seemingly infinite bag of tricks and telekic speed. After failing several times and noting that their enemies were only growing in numbers, they had no choice but to escape in the opposite direction of Misty Mountains.
In this regard, Ju Jia was stronger than Lu Ye. As a body-tempering cultivator, he already possessed a monstrous amount of stamina. However, he also possessed a unique Mutant Core where he kept a massive amount of Spiritual Power in reserve. So long as he didnt run out of stamina or Spiritual Power, he could fly on his Spirit Artifact for as long as he liked. This was something no other Spirit Creek Realm cultivator couldpare.
As time passed, more and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators joined in on the hunt. The Grand Sky Coalition did their best to hold back the enemy, but even they could not stop the hunt altogether.
Right now, Ju Jia, Yi Yi and Amber were hiding in another forbidden area known as the Myriad Poison Forest. They werent doing too well to put it mildly.
For starters, the Myriad Poison Forest was a forbidden area just like the Burning Lands; a location known to be extremely hazardous to any cultivator. The danger of the Burning Lands originated from the broken and iplete True Phoenix me. The closer one was to the center, the hotter the environment would be. Near the end, not even a Tyrant could get within fifty kilometers of the me.
In the Myriad Poison Forests case, it was poison. The forest was permanently shrouded in an endless haze of poison, and the deeper one traveled, the deadlier it became. Not only that, every living creature in that forestsmall or big, ants or giant boaswas poisonous to a certain degree. Even the nts were incredibly deadly as well.
The reason they chose the Myriad Poison Forest was because they literally had no other choice. The number of pursuers had grown to the point where it was either that, or death.
Right now, they were hiding somewhere near the periphery of the Myriad Poison Forest. They couldnt break out because the Thousand Demon Ridge had the entire ce surrounded.
The one silver lining of this situation was that the Thousand Demon Ridge did not dare to go deep into the forest and risk getting poisoned themselves. Their n was to keep Ju Jia pinned and wait for the poison to kill him slowly. Also, they were waiting for Lu Ye to show up. They were certain that Lu Ye would not abandon Ju Jia to his fate. As long as they kept Ju Jia pinned, Lu Ye would appear to them of his own ord.
As time passed, more and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were gathering at Myriad Poison Forest by the hour.
Hang on! Ill be right there! Lu Ye hurriedly messaged before withdrawing his ward gs. Then, he summoned his Spirit Boat and took to the sky.
Yi Yi responded to his message not long after. Were doing okay. The ce were hiding at isnt too toxic, and it turns out that the honey we collected from the Misty Mountains can neutralize the poison to a certain degree. Were not at our limit yet, so dont rush things and be careful.
[The ordinary honey can neutralize poison?] Lu Ye hadnt expected to hear that. On second thought, he shouldve thought of it himself. The Mutant Wasps were venomous creatures. Naturally, the honey they created would have a neutralizing effect. It was the same logic as venomous snakes usually residing in ces where anti-poison herbs could be found.
Thank goodness they had collected all those honey beforehand. Otherwise, neither he nor Ju Jia couldve held out until now.
Looking at the 10-point map, the Myriad Poison Forest was quite far away from the Misty Mountains. This meant that the trio had flown on Ju Jias Spirit Artifact almost non-stop. It was the only exnation as to how they made it that far in just a few days time.
Yi Yi had considered finding shelter in a Grand Sky Coalition Outpost, but doing so would surely endanger their ally. Not only that, an alliance pact was required to use another sects Divine Opportunity Column, and Lu Ye was the only one who had the authority to do so.
Therefore, finding shelter in an allied Outpost would only result in them being trapped with nowhere to escape until the Outpost was conquered. Their allies might be able to escape in time, but they would surely fall to the enemy.
That was why the Myriad Poison Forest was their few remaining options.
One thing Yi Yi did not tell Lu Ye because she didnt want him to put himself at risk was that the Thousand Demon Ridge was no longer satisfied with just trapping them anymore. They were preparing to venture into the Myriad Poison Forest and capture Ju Jia alive.
The reason they hadnt done so yet was because they were still gathering the Antidote Pills necessary to carry out the operation safely. The amount they needed was astronomical considering the amount of people who were participating in the hunt, and how long the operation might take. Still, it was only a matter of time before theyunched the operation.
While flying to Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye checked his Battlefield Imprint yet again. There was a message from Hua Ci he didnt read earlier because of the urgency of the situation.
A few weeks ago, Hua Ci had returned to Mount Ying to im the remaining portion of her inheritance. At the time, Lu Ye already had the feeling it wouldnt be the safest trip. If it was, Hua Ci wouldve imed the entire inheritance from the get go. He had tried to change her mind, but he eventually gave in after noting that she was determined to go no matter what.
He had tried messaging Hua Ci multiple times while he was ying cat and mouse with the Thousand Demon Ridge in the Misty Mountains, but none of his messages had gone through for some reason. He only knew that she was still alive because her imprint was still present.
The fact that Hua Ci had sent him a message meant she must have left the inheritance site already. He wondered if she had seeded.
Hua Cis message stated, Yi Yi and Ju Jia are trapped. Im on the way to rescue them.
Lu Ye hurriedly resplied, Its okay! Im on my way.
Hua Ci responded a few secondster, Oh, youre still alive?
I see youre doing pretty fine too.
Har har.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. Whats that?
Oh, its none of your concern.
Lu Ye wanted to probe her until she spilled, but knowing Hua Ci she could stall him for days while dancing on a knifes edge. So, he messaged again, Just stay where you are for now. The situation isnt looking good.
Got it. Be safe. Your son cant afford to lose his father.
Lu Ye nearly lost his mind at that. [Is it just me, or is she getting more and more impudent these days?]
He was just about to make a retort when suddenly, he sensed a presence swiftly approaching him from a distance. His head began to hurt when he saw who it was.
It was none other than the Tyrant-level female Primal.
He had no idea how she managed to find him. If it was a coincidence, then it was one hell of a coincidence.
Her form was a little different from before. She was still in a humanoid form, but her arms had turned into wings. The feathers on her wings were fiery red.
Now that he thought about it, the Vermillion Bird was a bird as well. He supposed it made sense that this female Primal could sense the True Phoenix me from fifty kilometers away.
Chapter 370: Lu Yi Ye Is Here
Chapter 370: Lu Yi Ye Is Here
Lu Ye even suspected that the reason this female Primal became so powerful was because she had spent many years absorbing the energy leaking out from the True Phoenix me.
If that was true, then it was that no wonder she was fatally attracted to the me.
He immediately imbued his Spirit Boat with Windwalk and kicked up his travel speed by another notch. However, the presence behind him only grew closer at an unbelievable rate.
Just a short timeter, he turned his neck stiffly to one side. The female Primal was now flying right next to him.
She was a bird and a Tyrant. Even at his maximum speed, she had still caught up to him with insulting ease. Perhaps he could give her a run for her money if Wings was still usable, but the Tattoo-type Glyph had reached its limit a long time ago.
There was a silver lining though. The female Primal hadnt attacked him even though she had caught up to him.
The me! The female Primal said suddenly while staring at him with her crimson eyes.
Lu Yes heart skipped a beat as he gripped his Invible. He was going to hit her the second she asked a question he couldnt possibly answer. Yi Yi, Amber and Ju Jia needed him right now, and he was in no mood to y twenty questions with the female Primal. Sure, his chances of defeating her were incredibly slim, but he was going to make her work for it at the very least.
I couldnt find it!
It would be stranger if she could as the Tree of Glyphs had gobbled up the True Phoenix mepletely. He highly suspected that there wouldnt even be a Burning Lands in the future.
I already told you I didnt see it, Lu Ye answered calmly. Perhaps you didnt try hard enough.
Impossible.
Despite the incredibly obvious, the female Primal did not suspect for even a second that Lu Ye was the true reason her me had disappeared. She was much stronger than Lu Ye, but even she was unable to im the me. Naturally, Lu Ye could not be the one who took it.
You cant sense it anymore?
The female Primal shook her head dejectedly.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before starting, Its like this. There are plenty of treasures in this world that naturally be sentient over time. Those destined to obtain a certain treasure might find it falling into theirp one day, but those who werent may never even catch a glimpse of it. You were sure there was a me there, but neither of us were able to see it. Perhaps this means that we werent fated to get that treasure.
Fate?
Yes. Fate.
The female Primal fell into deep thought. She only pped her fiery red wings from time to time, but Lu Ye still wasnt able to shake her off. He could not imagine how fast she could go if she was flying at full force.
A long timeter, she suddenly said, You mean the me is still there. Its just hiding from me, right?
[No, I never said that! Not even close!]
The female Primal abruptly stopped in her tracks and turned back toward the Burning Lands. Somehow, she had interpreted Lu Yes words as the me actively trying to hide from her senses.
Lu Ye sighed as the female Primal vanished into the horizon. The Creator was fair after all. Some people appeared to have an unfair advantage over others, but they surely had a w or two that bnced out that advantage. Take this female Primal for example. If she wasnt as ridiculously powerful as she was, she wouldve died a long, long time ago.
He was d that the interlude turned out to be a false rm. He continued to fly toward the Myriad Poison Forest at top speed.
Looking at the 10-point map, he should arrive at the Myriad Poison Forest in less than two daysbut only if he kept Windwalk active the whole time. Of course, that was impossible. Even if his Spiritual Power could hold out that long, there was no way he could fight anyone.
If he did not use Windwalk, then it would take twice as many days to reach hispanions. However, his energy regeneration would just barely be able to keep up with the consumption. Even if his estimate was off, the Mystic Fruit cider should be enough to make up the difference.
And so he kept shoving Spirit Pills into his mouth and refining them as quickly as possible. From time to time, he would activate Windwalk to give himself a boost.
Meanwhile, the amount of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators surrounding the Myriad Poison Forest had exceeded three thousand. More and more were gathering outside the forbidden area as time passed.
News of the Lu Ye Elimination Fronts failure had spread far and wide a long time ago. Thousands and thousands of people had participated in the hunt, but not only did they fail to achieve their objective, they had even lost hundreds to the Vanquisher of Sects. They could hardly believe it was true.
It wasnt just one sect who lost face because of this. It was all of them. Lu Yi Ye had basically nted his foot on their face and mopped the floor with it.
It was a wake-up call for the entire Thousand Demon Ridge. They realized that this might very well be theirst chance to eliminate Lu Yi Ye.
Previously many Tier-One sect cultivators and champions on the Scroll of Supremacy had refrained from joining in on the pursuit in the Misty Mountains because they considered the work to be beneath their status. It was different now. At least twenty plus Scroll of Supremacy champions had gathered outside the Myriad Poison Forest, and the strongest of them all was ranked in the thirties.
It was even rumored that a top ten champion had hidden themselves in the area. They were just waiting for Lu Yi Ye to show up to deal him a fatal blow.
Besides that, the amount of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gathering outside the Myriad Poison Forest was greater than when they were hunting Lu Yi Ye in the Misty Mountains. As if that wasnt bad enough, both the timing and geographical conditions were in their favor this time.
The Misty Mountains were ridiculously vast and unique in some ways. Even if they managed to find Lu Ye, their manpower was spread thin enough that he was able to deal massive damage to them time and again.
The Myriad Poison Forest was different though. For starters, it was way smaller than the Misty Mountains; small enough that they could surround the entire ce with three thousand cultivators. This ensured that Yi Yi and Ju Jia would be unable to escape.
Second, they werent afraid that Ju Jia and Yi Yi would hole up in the Myriad Poison Forest forever because the area was permanently shrouded in a fog of poison. Even if they could hold out for a while, it was only a matter of time before they ran out of antidotes and died.
This was exactly why the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted to venture into the Myriad Poison Forest and capture Ju Jia. It had taken them considerable effort to finally corner the bastard. If he died in the Myriad Poison Forest, then Lu Yi Ye would not show himself or willingly walk into the death trap they had prepared for him.
Currently, their n was to capture Ju Jia alive and force Lu Yi Ye to show himself!
The Antidote Pills and poison-neutralizing treasures they were waiting for had finally arrived. It was time to enact their operation. As the orders were given, squads of cultivators began entering the Myriad Poison Forest from every direction in search of Ju Jia.
It didnt take long before a squad reported that they had encountered Ju Jia and Lu Yes white tiger. Unfortunately, he was able to escape.
This news invigorated the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and motivated them to push harder. They were going to keep up the pressure until Ju Jia had no choice but to walk into their arms.
Ju Jia had tried to fly to safety several times, but each time he was driven back into the forest.
For a while, it felt like the Myriad Poison Forest would be his graveyard.
It was at this moment the Thousand Demon Ridge received some great news. Lu Yi Ye had finally shown himself, and he was less than half a day away from Myriad Poison Forest!
To say that the Thousand Demon Ridge was excited would be an understatement. Knowing that their plot had seeded, many cultivators immediately backed out of the Myriad Poison Forest. At the same time, they set up countless traps and wards all around the ce. Now, they were just waiting for their prey to step into them.
The impatient ones even took off in the direction Lu Ye was expected to appear in hopes of intercepting and killing him before their peers.
Half a day away from Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye continued to fly toward his destination at high speed. He was also being pursued by a good number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
It was inevitable that he would be found out since he was traveling openly, not that he had nned on hiding his tracks from the start.
He knew exactly what the Thousand Demon Ridge was plotting, though he was far less sure about Yi Yi and Ju Jias situation. Every time he messaged the girl, she would tell him that they were still doing okay. It was obviously a lie.
His appearance should alleviate some of the pressure on them.
He counted at least dozens of pursuers behind him. Just like all the previous chases, every time someone fell behind because he was too fast, two would join the group.
The good news was that Lu Ye had zero intentions of tangling with them. Every ounce of Spiritual Power was precious right now. He could not afford to waste any time or energy on these people.
He was flying over a forest when suddenly, he sensed something and looked beneath his feet. He immediately saw a hail of Sword Lights bursting out of the tree leaves and flying straight toward the pursuers behind him.
At the same time, a dozen or so cultivators in in clothes took to the skies.
Its the Northern Profound Sword n! One of Lu Yes pursuers screamed in panic.
Lu Ye immediately did a one hundred and eighty degree turn and charged toward his attackers. His nine flying weaponshe had reced the three he lost to the female Primal with new onesflew out of his Weapon Holder and reached them even sooner than he.
The reason he didnt want to fight his pursuers wasnt just because he didnt want to waste his Spiritual Power, but also because he was alone. Even if he managed to kill some of them, there was a high chance he would be overwhelmed in the end.
It was a different story if he had help though, especially when these reinforcements were infamous for their bloodlust.
Sword Lights filled the sky, and blood curdling screams rang through the air. Although these Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were numerous, even they were afraid to go up against the sword maniacs of the Northern Profound Sword n. After all, their sword telekinesis was said to be the deadliest telekinesis technique in all of Jiu Zhou.
As if that wasnt bad enough, Lu Ye was part of the beatdown as well. His killing speed was as good or better than the sword cultivators.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators lost many of their numbers after just a brief sh. Only a dozen or so people were able to escape in the end, and none of them were unscathed.
They were ambushed by the infamous sword maniacs after all. It would be stranger if they managed to escape unharmed.
Metal ringing filled the ears as Lu Yes flying weapons returned to his Weapon Holder. After flicking off the blood on the Invible and returning it to his sheath, he turned toward the leader of the sword cultivators. To his surprise, he found himself recognizing the man.
During the Battle of Goldentip, Li Baxian had once instructed the man to keep Lu Ye safe. At the time, his cultivation level wasnt very high yet. Now, he was a Heaven Nine cultivator.
If Lu Ye remembered correctly, his name was Yu Lianzhou.
Hail, Senior Uncle Lu! Yu Lianzhou greeted and saluted Lu Ye seriously. The sword cultivators did the same thing.
Lu Ye hurriedly stopped them. Dont call me that! Im younger than all of you!
The reason Yu Lianzhou addressed Lu Ye as Senior Uncle was because Li Baxian was their elder in terms of seniority, and Lu Ye was Li Baxians junior brother. Therefore, they should address Lu Ye as their Senior Uncle.
In fact, only a handful of individuals across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield had seniorityparable to Lu Ye.
Back then, Yu Xiao, the sect master of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, had addressed Shui Yuan as his senior sister. Cultivators generally led very long lives, so it was quite difficult to ascribe seniority properly. Excluding those who were close enough to use first names, nicknames or other affectionate terms with each other, those within the same age range generally addressed each other as senior/junior brother/sister.
Im aware you are reluctant to address me as a junior brother due to my fourth senior brother, so just call me Fellow Cultivator Lu.
Fellow Cultivator Lu, Yu Lianzhou responded without hesitation.
So, why are you guys here? Lu Ye asked. It was clear that their presence here wasnt a coincidence.
Chapter 371: Spirit Storage
Chapter 371: Spirit Storage
If the Thousand Demon Ridge could recognize the threat Lu Ye posed and do everything in their power to eliminate him, then of course the Grand Sky Coalition could recognize his value as well.
To the Thousand Demon Ridge, the Vanquisher of Sects was a walking cmity and the source of all the chaos that had happened as ofte, but to the Grand Sky Coalition, he was one of their rising stars and a future pir.
Their opinions were different because their standpoints were different. Anyone the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted to kill, the Grand Sky Coalition would do their utmost to protect, and vice versa. It had been like this since the two cultivation factions were born. No one was going to give the other party what they desired without a struggle.
In fact, the Northern Profound Sword n werent the only ones who had shown up. Many Core Circle Grand Sky Coalition sects had taken action as well. They were just scattered all around the Myriad Poison Forest because they didnt know where Lu Ye would appear.
If Lu Ye had flown toward the Myriad Poison Forest from a different direction, he might have encountered the Righteous Sect, the Green Jade Sect, or the Auspicious Cloud Pce.
The Northern Profound Sword n did not recruit their disciples lightly. All hopeful cultivators must meet some of the stringent requirements ever in the history of Jiu Zhou to join the sect. It was why they possessed the fewest sect members of all the Tier-One sects in Jiu Zhou.
Their Outpost in the Core Circle consisted of dozens of cultivators only. However, they still sent over a dozen sword cultivators to aid Lu Ye. While Lu Ye himself was worth the effort, Li Baxian was at least half the reason they were willing to risk this much.
Fellow Cultivator Lu, you must not go to the Myriad Poison Forest. The Thousand Demon Ridge has prepared well for your arrival, and now they are just waiting for you to fall into their death trap.
My fellow disciples are trapped in there.
I have heard. However, I would urge you to wait until our forces are assembled. Right now, it is the Thousand Demon Ridge who holds the initiative. At least thousands of people have gathered outside Myriad Poison Forest already. We wont be able to break through their defense line without sufficient numbers.
Theres no time. Myriad Poison Forest is no ce for a cultivator, and my fellow disciples have already been trapped for days. At this rate, they are going to sumb to the poison before we can reach them. Lu Ye then looked at Yu Lianzhou and asked, What would you do if it was your disciples who were trapped in the forest?
Yu Lianzhou thought for a moment before nodding. I understand. Let us make haste to rescue your fellow disciples then.
Yourpassion and selflessness are much appreciated, fellow cultivators, but you and I are both aware how dangerous this venture will be. You do not need to apany me into the Myriad Poison Forest.
You n to take on the Thousand Demon Ridges defense line alone, Fellow Cultivator Lu? Yu Zhou understood Lu Yes meaning immediately.
I may be able to breach their defense line and enter the Myriad Poison Forest.
May be?
I have never tried this method before, so I am unsure how well it will go. Of course, I would appreciate it if you would escort me to my destination. The Thousand Demon Ridge knows where I am right now, and I am sure they will send many people to intercept me. I need to recover my Spiritual Power to carry out my n.
Even if you have a way to breach their defense line and enter the Myriad Poison Forest, what can you do alone, Fellow Cultivator Lu? The ce is permanently shrouded in poisonous fog, and it only gets worse the deeper you go. If you and yourpanions are unable to break out, it is only a matter of time before you all perish, no?
I understand your concerns, but I have my ways. Please believe in me, Fellow Cultivator Yu.
Yu Lianzhu frowned. He stared at him for a moment as if trying to determine if he was telling the truth.
Lu Ye smiled. I promise that I treasure my life more than you treasure yours.
It was only then Yu Lianzhou nodded. Then we shall do as you say, Fellow Cultivator Lu. However, please do not push yourself if it cannot be done.
I understand.
Then let us depart!
After Lu Ye stepped up onto Yu Lianzhous flying sword, the group of sword cultivators immediately took off toward the Myriad Poison Forest.
Previously, Lu Ye was worried that his Spiritual Power might not be up to the task. With Yu Lianzhou fetching him though, he could focus fully on recovering his strength.
He shoved a good number of Spirit Pills into his mouth and activated the Gluttonous Feast. He started regenerating Spiritual Power at an elerated rate while his stomach rumbled incessantly. At the same time, countless Grand Sky Coalition cultivators received word of Lu Yes whereabouts and immediately rushed to meet up with him.
At first, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators continued to try and intercept Lu Ye. However, they ceased their attempts after losing several groups to the sword cultivators. They didnt even dare to tail them from afar because sword cultivators were notorious for their flight speed. The chances they might escape if the sword maniacs decided to pursue them were incredibly low.
Their group grew bigger and bigger over time. It wasnt long before their numbers exceeded two hundred people. However, the initiative was in the Thousand Demon Ridges hands, so they were still going to be vastly outnumbered by the time they got there.
Yu Lianzhou had hoped to persuade Lu Ye to wait a few more days. Days were all they needed to gather enough people to go to battle with the Thousand Demon Ridge. However, he did not seed.
The problem was that Ju Jia, Yi Yi and Amber did not have days to spare. Even if they did, the best the Grand Sky Coalition could do was to create a stand-off.
Generally speaking, the cultivators of Spirit Creek Battlefield did not engage in battles involving thousands ofbatants unless the circumstances were truly exceptional. It was because the casualties would be unthinkable no matter who emerged victorious in the end. It was why the Thousand Demon Ridge was ultimately able to halt Lu Yes advance in the Inner Circle by amassing an equallyrge force of their own.
In the past, neither Grand Sky Coalition nor Thousand Demon Ridge would carry out an operation at this scale. After all, no one wanted to push the other cultivation faction so far that they would resort to drastic measures. That was until Lu Ye had caused a storm in the Inner Circle. These days, they were almost expectingrge gatherings like this to happen every once in a while.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye had recovered to full strength. He was currently ruminating about the viability of his n and wondering how he could increase its sess rate.
Glyph: Fire Phoenix was such aplex Glyph that it took over a hundred leaves to host it all. Lu Ye wasnt worried he might fail the construction because the Tree of Glyphs never failed to construct a Glyph. No, he was worried that his Spiritual Power wouldntst until the end of the process. He did not want to imagine what would happen if he ran out of Spiritual Power midway.
The Mystic Fruit cider was a solution, but he wasnt sure if he could regenerate Spiritual Power faster than he injected it into the Glyph.
The best way to deal with this was to increase his Spiritual Power reserves, but that wasnt something that could be done in short notice. The obvious way was to unlock more Spiritual Points, but not even he could unlock that many Spiritual Points in such a short time.
It was at this moment the answer hit him like a lightning bolt. Glyph: Storage!
Storage was a Glyph specifically used to store Spiritual Power. In Jiu Zhou, it was called Spirit Bank. Every flying weapon carried an enhancement with Spirit Bank as the core, or it would be impossible to control the second physical contact was broken.
There were two critical requirements that must be met before a cultivator could telekically control their Spirit Artifact. One, the cultivator must reach the Seventh-Order so that they could control the Spiritual Power outside their body. Two, they must charge the Spirit Artifact with their Spiritual Power. This would allow the cultivator to telekically control their Spirit Artifact.
By applying Storage to himself, he would be able to artificially expand his Spiritual Power reserves. And he knew it would work. If he could apply Gathering Spirits and Bloodrage to himself, then why not Storage?
The second he reached a decision, Lu Ye immediately constructed a Storage at the center of his chest. Once it wasplete, he proceeded to charge it with his Spiritual Power.
Of course, Storage itself required some Spiritual Power to maintain, so it was more draining than it seemed. Moreover, the wash of Spiritual Power could easily disrupt the integrity of the Glyph itself. If he did not maintain his focus, it would easily crumble from the injection of Spiritual Power and waste his efforts. It was definitely a challenge that sorely tested his Spiritual Power and mental fortitude.
The good news was that his Divine Soul was powerful enough to handle the task. His control of his Spiritual Power was also perfect.
As time passed, Lu Ye gradually became morefortable with the task. The Glyph showed no signs of crumbling either. After confirming that his n was a go, Lu Ye began consuming Spirit Pills and a bottle of Mystic Fruit cider to replenish his Spiritual Power.
More time passed when suddenly, Yu Lianzhou nced back at Lu Ye. For a while now, he had a feeling that something didnt feel quite right about Lu Ye. He even sensed a hint of danger from the young man. Of course, he didnt mean in the sense that Lu Ye was nning to ambush him. He was referring to the young mans unstable Spiritual Power. It felt like a balloon that might explode any moment.
He wasnt the only one who sensed this. His fellow cultivators were shooting Lu Ye wary nces as well.
The Storage Lu Ye had constructed on his chest had reached its limit. He literally could not pour more Spiritual Power into it even if he tried. A quick calctionter, he concluded that one Storage could store roughly thirty percent of his total Spiritual Power.
He still had plenty of mental energy to spare, so Lu Ye decided to create a second Storage on his back. He had a much easier time since this was his second time doing this.
Every time Lu Ye created a Storage on his person, he was digging a pool where Spiritual Power could be stored. The second pool was connected to his body and the first pool as well. In total, the two pools carried about sixty percent of his total Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye continued creating more Storages until he finally felt that he had enough Spiritual Power to carry out the task ahead of him. In total, he had created five Storages on his body.
In front of the flying sword, Yu Lianzhous eyes were twitching uncontrobly. The sense of danger behind his back had grown to unbelievable proportions in just a short time. If the young man felt like a bursting balloon a while ago, now he felt like a live volcano that was moments away from eruption.
He had no idea what Lu Ye was doing, but he could feel with his own body that it was beyond dangerous!
Please speed up, Fellow Cultivator Yu! Lu Ye suddenly said.
The group wasnt moving quickly because they were waiting for reinforcements to meet up with them. After all, they needed the numbers. Sure, it was nothingpared to the thousands and thousands of enemies already gathered at the edge of Myriad Poison Forest, but every trickle of reinforcement made the odds just a little more even.
In fact, he did not truly believe in Lu Yes im that he could breach the Thousand Demon Ridges defense line and enter the Myriad Poison Forest. There was only so much a single person could do no matter how much of a genius they were, not to mention that quantity was a quality in its own right.
While Lu Ye was busy doing his thing, he was discussing strategies with the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators who had joined their group. So far, the n was to make a charge, do their best to tear a hole in the Thousand Demon Ridges defense line, and rush into the Myriad Poison Forest before it was closed. If it looked like they werent going to seed, then they would withdraw and wait for a better opportunity.
They could understand Lu Yes urgent desire to rescue his fellow disciples. It was why they were willing to risk their own lives to help him. Now though, Yu Lianzhou was actually starting to believe that Lu Yes im wasnt just false bravado.
If this method Lu Ye imed could tear a hole in the Thousand Demon Ridges defense line was already this terrifying during the preparation stage, just how magnificent would it be when it was actually executed?
Chapter 372: Birth of the Mythical Bird
Chapter 372: Birth of the Mythical Bird
Outside the Myriad Poison Forest, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were waiting solemnly for Lu Ye to arrive.
They were receiving messages constantly from their fellow cultivators. They knew exactly where Lu Ye was and what he was doing right now.
Senior Brother Wu, Lu Yi Ye is just fifty kilometers away from our location. Hell be arriving very soon, reported Qin Zheng of the Thousand Feather Sect as he walked up to a man.
The man he called Senior Brother Wu was the thirty-third ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy. He belonged to a Tier-One sect and was much stronger than Qin Zheng.
Qin Zheng had led the hunt for Lu Ye at the Misty Mountains, but it had ended poorly to say the least. He had brought great shame upon himself and the Thousand Feather Sect.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had mobilized many more elites this time, and at least a dozen Scroll of Supremacy elites were present for this mission. Naturally, the days where he was themander of the operation were behind him.
How many people does he have right now? Wu Beihan asked while looking in the direction Lu Ye wasing from. Fifty kilometers was a very short distance for a Core Circle cultivator. He expected Lu Ye to show up in less than an incense stick.
Three to four hundred.
Thats it? Wu Beihan humphed. It is nowhere enough to threaten us.
It was true. The Thousand Demon Ridge had gathered at least three to four thousand cultivators. Although they had to spread out their manpower to surround the entire Myriad Poison Forest, over seven hundred people were standing by in the direction Lu Ye was expected to show up.
If the Grand Sky Coalition thought they could break through when they were outnumbered two to one at the very least, he was more than happy to oblige them.
Qin Zheng was going to warn Wu Beihan about the folly of underestimating Lu Ye, but they did outnumber the enemy two to one. Lu Ye could be the greatest strategist in the world, and he would still be hardpressed to ovee such a massive disadvantage. That was why he ultimately chose to keep his silence.
Moreover, he had been criticized to the face and behind his back by countless people because of his failures at the Misty Mountains. They all med him for the massive loss of life and dignity. If he were to speak up now, they would only call him a coward and distrust him even more.
In reality, Qin Zheng did not deserve his criticism. From the start, the Misty Mountains was a terrible ce to hunt down someone due to its foggy terrain and unknown dangers. Second, he had stepped up not because he wanted to, but because the situation demanded him to. Of course he wasnt able to perform to expectations. In fact, the ward cultivator had been led by the nose almost the entire time.
Thankfully, Wu Beihan was a careful man. Although his side outnumbered the Grand Sky Coalition two to one, and although he imed that the enemy had nowhere near the numbers to threaten them, he still ordered his men to double check their traps and their surroundings.
They had set up a lot of wards in this area. Some of them had even forked out the Contribution Points to purchase a kind of Spirit Artifact that was specifically used for capturing difficult prey.
The Spirit Artifact was a massive that required several people to use properly. It was normally used to capturerge Spirit Beast that was difficult to handle at closer quarters. Despite its expensive price, they had purchased at least a dozen of them. If Lu Ye showed up, then he would be hard pressed to escape even if he grew wings!
Wu Beihan then shot a look at someone behind the defense line. He was a small, unassuming man who was born with a perfectly ordinary appearance. He was the type of person you wouldnt look at twice in a crowd. Even his aura marked him as just a Heaven Eight cultivator.
It was one of the reasons why few people knew that he was the ninth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy, the ghost cultivator known as Gui Yingzi.
It was no longer a secret that Lu Ye could kill a Heaven Nine cultivator as a Heaven Seven cultivator. Against such a formidable foe, a ghost cultivator stood a better chance at dealing a killing blow than anyone else. As Gui Yingzi was the strongest ghost cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, his presence was deeply assuring to Wu Beihan.
Everything was ready. Hundreds of cultivators focused their minds and readied themselves for battle. Now, they were just waiting for the Grand Sky Coalition group to show up.
Time passed bit by bit until finally, someone cried, Here theye!
A massive amount of auras appeared from the horizon. They were none other than the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators escorting Lu Ye. Leading the group were none other than the sword cultivators of the Northern Profound Sword n.
The Thousand Demon Ridge was stunned by this. They werent expecting the enemy to charge them so openly. It was like they didnt think they were worth using any tactics at all! For a time, they felt both slighted and puzzled. What on earth were they thinking? Their fellow Core Circle cultivators could not be this dumb or conceited, could they?
Meanwhile, a stern-faced Yu Lianzhou reported while staring at the Myriad Poison Forest and the army of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators waiting for them, We are ten kilometers away, Fellow Cultivator Lu!
Got it.
Lu Ye slowly rose to his feet before dering, I am most grateful for your aid, my friends. You may leave the rest to me now. If you wish to leave, then please do not hesitate to do so.
A Heaven Nine cultivatorughed loudly. I may not know what technique youre preparing, Brother Yi Ye, but Im pretty sure youll have a hard time challenging several hundred enemies without backup. Since we havee this far, we might as well see you through thest stretch. That said, if it looks like a breakthrough is impossible, then do not hesitate to run for the hills, okay brother? Its never toote so long as you are still alive to make things right!
Oh, Ipletely agree!
Five kilometers! Yu Lianzhou growled. At this range, they were close enough to sense the enemy channeling their Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat and leaped off Yu Lianzhous flying sword. He then zoomed to the forefront while drinking a Mystic Fruit cider he had held in his hand for a while now.
An enormous amount of Spiritual Power flowed, gushed out, and merged together to form what looked like an egg. It covered Lu Yepletely from view.
Shockwaves were spreading in every direction. Complex patterns could be seen evolving rapidly on the surface of the egg.
The Grand Sky Coalition group had known that Lu Ye was preparing some sort of super technique for a while, so of course they, more than anyone else, wanted to know exactly what it was. However, the strange egg Lu Ye manifested had only left them even more puzzled. It was because they had never seen such a technique before.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were equally confused. From their perspective, Lu Yi Ye had suddenly rushed to the open before wrapping himself in what looked like an egg. Was it a defensive skill? Was he nning to weather their attacks and force his way through or something?
If that was true, then it was suicide. Even a Real Lake Realm cultivator might want to avoid a concentrated bombardment by seven hundred Core Circle cultivators.
Lu Yes Spiritual Power continued to fluctuate wildly as the patterns on the egg grew clearer and clearer. At the same time, it started shining brighter and brighter.
The Spiritual Power he stored in the Spirit Storage on his chest had been drained to thest in less than three breaths. It was the same for his second, third, fourth and fifth Spiritual Power reserves as well. Even then, it still wasnt enough. The technique was now draining the Spiritual Power in his Spiritual Points.
Suffice to say, Lu Ye had never used so much Spiritual Power in one go in his life.
From an outside perspective, it looked like the patterns had only appeared on the surface of the egg. In reality, there were even more patterns on the inside. It was a Glyph soplex that it required over a hundred leaves to host after all, and now Lu Yeor rather, the Tree of Glyphswas constructing it all in just a short time.
It drained not just his Spiritual Power, but his mental strength as well.
The Grand Sky Coalition cultivators following closely behind Lu Ye were the first ones to notice that something was wrong. It was because the Spiritual Power emanating from Lu Ye had grown so dangerous they felt like they were being stabbed by a million needles.
Originally, the n was to attack the Thousand Demon Ridges defensive line under Yu Lianzhous leadership and force their way into the Myriad Poison Forest. But now? Everyone had stopped in their tracks at almost the exact same time. Their eyes twitched as they watched the egg still hurtling toward the Thousand Demon Ridge defensive line at high speed.
Every cell in their body was screaming to stay away from Lu Ye. They still didnt know what technique Lu Ye was executing, but it was obvious that it was extremely powerful and dangerous. Friendly fire was a real risk if they got too close to Lu Ye.
The Grand Sky Coalition group recalled Lu Yes words. They finally understood why the young man had said what he said, and why he was fairly confident that he would be able to tear a hole in the Thousand Demon Ridges defensive line.
Speaking of which, the group was now only 1.5 kilometers away from the defensive line, and the distance was still shrinking by the second.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had finally realized that they might be in trouble as well as the surface of the egg was so hot that it looked like it might explode at any moment. Its aura was so powerful that their hearts were shaking even though Lu Ye was still a good distance away.
Wu Beihans gaze waspletely glued to the egg. The rm bells in his head were telling him to get the hell away while he still could, but his pride ultimately kept him rooted to the ground.
Lu Ye was just one man, and they were hundreds. What would people say if they retreated now?
He did not notice that Gui Yingzi had already concealed himself and ran off.
Powerful ghost cultivators like Gui Yingzi were especially sensitive toward danger, and right now he felt like the Heavens themselves were about to smite him with their judgment. Naturally, he dared not stay here for even a second longer!
One kilometer, five hundred meters
Wu Beihan roared, Attack!
The moment he gave the order, countless wards were activated, and hundreds of spells and telekic weapons wereunched at the egg. Not only that, some brave cultivators even flew toward the egg and tossed their Spirit Webs over it.
Creak creak creak
Cracks appeared all over the fiery red egg. The moment it shattered, a clear and melodious cry abruptly resounded throughout the area. Orange mes spread in every direction as a massive, me-shrouded bird abruptly appeared in mid-air. It had a body length of thirty meters and a wingspan of fifty meters. It possessed a long tail and an elegant appearance. It was a technique of some sort, and yet it looked almost lifelike. Even the patterns on its feathers could be clearly seen.
It pped its wings and continued flying toward the Thousand Demon Ridges defensive line. It gave off so much heat that the space behind it was distorting. The spells sank harmlessly into its body. The flying weapons lost their Spiritual Power and all of their enhancements in an instant, half-melted and crashing toward the floor. Even the Spirit Webs just barely slowed its elegant yet deadly advance.
Today was the day a mythical creature manifested and shocked the world!
Cultivators from both cultivation factions could only stare nkly and shakily at the giant bird. This time, they did recognize the creature.
Thats the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts! Yu Lianzhou murmured in a daze. Even for a sword cultivator like him, he wasnt quite able to stay calm and keep his scalp from shivering.
He had read of the Four Sacred Beasts in the scriptures before but never seen one with his own eyes. Today, he did.
At the same time, he was infinitely d that he was wise enough to heed his senses and stop following Lu Ye. Otherwise, they wouldve suffered massive damage during the manifestation of the Vermillion Bird.
It wasnt just him. Every Grand Sky Coalition cultivator in the group was hiding a huge sigh of relief.
They knew that Lu Ye was nning to cast a powerful technique, but he still managed to exceed their expectations.
Just what on earth was this technique? To think that he would manifest the Vermillion Bird itself into existence.
Of course, they were aware that the Vermillion Bird before them was just a facsimile of the real thing. The real Vermillion Bird could probably shatter the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield just by pping its wings once. No, this was something Lu Ye had manifested with his own Spiritual Power.
The real question was, how was it possible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to execute such a powerful technique?
Chapter 373: A Glorious Ascent
Chapter 373: A Glorious Ascent
Over seven hundred Core Circle cultivators were gathered at this side of the Myriad Poison Forest to capture Lu Ye. Both the sky and the earth were sealed with wards and Spirit Artifacts. Even if the Grand Sky Coalition had their numbers, they wouldve had a hard time breaking through such a defensive line.
However, the Vermillion Bird easily tore a hole in it like it was made of paper.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who attempted to catch Lu Ye with the Spirit Webs were the first to die. Their clothes and even the hair on their body started burning before the Vermillion Bird even got close. It was like their protective Spiritual Power did not exist.
By the time they finally realized the danger they were facing and tried to escape, it was already toote.
The Vermillion Bird pped its wings a little as it elegantly glided through the impudent fools who dared to bar its path. Orange mes immediately enveloped their bodies.
Blood curdling screams filled the air as the cultivators fell from the sky like raindrops. They were dead before they even hit the ground.
More Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were caught by the orange mes and killed as it continued forward. Even the strongest Spirit Creek Realm cultivator was but an ant before this technique.
They had maintained a tight formation in order to handle the Grand Sky Coalitions charge better, but it turned out to be their biggest mistake instead.
The Vermillion Bird flew over the spot with the most cultivators, its murderously hot energy killing everyone who wasnt fast enough to get out of the way and scorching the ground into ck ashes. Finally, it entered the Myriad Poison Forest.
That wasnt the end of the technique, however. The Vermillion Bird easily burned a hole in the poisonous fog that permanently shrouded the forest. Wherever it traveled, the poisonous fog vanished like it was never there.
From a birds eye view, one could see that a gap at least fifty meters wide had appeared in the Thousand Demon Ridges defensive line. There wasnt a single person covering that gap unless one counted the charred corpses on the ground. The cultivators on both sides of the gap were staring at the orange figure with abject fear and trepidation.
They had lived not because they were strong, but because they were lucky. They were lucky that the massive figure hadnt chosen to fly over them.
Not a single cultivator who was caught in the Vermillion Birds range had lived. They had all turned into charred corpses.
It had only been a dozen or so breaths since the assault began, and already they had lost over two hundred cultivators! They had even lost a few Scroll of Supremacy cultivators including the thirty-third ranker, Wu Beihan.
On the surface, he was themander and the strongest cultivator of their group. That was why he had ordered his people to attack instead of running or hiding when the Vermillion Bird first appeared.
He had underestimated the Fire Phoenixs power, however. By the time the orange figure was in front of him, there was already no way to run.
At least he had died before feeling much pain.
After entering the Myriad Poison Forest, the Vermillion Bird traveled another kilometer or two before letting out onest cry. Then, it abruptly scattered into sparks of light.
At the same time, a figure fell out of the Vermillion Bird and hit the ground with a thud.
Thats Lu Yi Ye! A Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator let out a shivering cry.
Lu Ye was the one who somehow manifested the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts into existence. Since the mythical creature was now gone, it was only natural that Lu Ye would reappear. However, he didnt look like he was doing too well.
Hes on hisst legs! Someone eximed in pleasant surprise.
Lu Ye had killed over two hundred people with a technique no one had ever seen before. As if to prove this, countless red dots were flying out of the dead bodies and homing in on Lu Yes location.
It was a powerful technique alright, but was it something a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could execute without consequences? Of course not.
At this level, there was no one who didnt know that there was no such thing as a powerful technique without a cost.
They might not know how Lu Yi Ye was even able to execute such a technique, but the important thing was that he looked to be on hisst legs. He might even have crippled himself to cast that technique.
In any case, he was at his absolute weakest right now. Otherwise, he wouldnt have allowed himself to show weakness and wouldve caught his own fall.
The abject terror that paralyzed them a while ago was suddenly reced by equally huge delight. They all recognized this as an opportunity to kill Lu Ye!
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was a walking vault. Anyone who killed him would be rewarded with an endless amount of wealth.
That was why the survivors quickly got ready to give chase.
However, they didnt manage to move a muscle before the air suddenly became filled with the ringing of swords.
Someone shouted, The Grand Sky Coalition is attacking!
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators whose attention had been drawn toward Lu Ye looked back. They saw the sword maniacs of the Northern Profound Sword n forming a sword field and flying toward them like a dragon. Following right behind them were three to four hundred Grand Sky Coalition cultivators.
The Vermillion Birds manifestation was awe-inspiring, but the Grand Sky Coalition group wasnt the one who was being attacked. That was why they had recovered faster than the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Yu Lianzhou and the others had immediately realized that this was a golden opportunity. They had attacked the second the Vermillion Bird crashed into the forest.
Just like that, a major battle had broken out without warning.
Over three thousand Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were gathered around the Myriad Poison Forest, and at least seven hundred people were gathered on this side. Even if they had lost over two hundred to Lu Ye, they still outnumbered the Grand Sky Coalition group.
However, sword cultivators were notorious for their killing prowess, not to mention that the sword maniacs hade together to create a massive sword field consisting of over a thousand swords. Like a meat grinder, the storm of swords crashed into the crowd and sent blood, flesh and bones flying all over the ce. Blood curdling screams filled the air immediately.
Not only that, the three hundred plus Grand Sky Coalition cultivators behind them had immediately followed up with their own attacks. As a result, they immediately fell into a disadvantage.
If the wards and traps they had prepared were still present, then perhaps they still couldve used them to turn this around. However, the Vermillion Bird had destroyed everything when it broke through the defensive line, meaning that superior numbers was the only advantage they had right now.
One advantage wasnt enough to repel the Grand Sky Coalition group, especially since they were battered, shocked, and caught off guard. For a time, it actually looked like they might lose until the nearest groups heard of their plight and rushed to their rescue.
The Grand Sky Coalition group did not hesitate to escape the second the enemy reinforcements showed up. The Thousand Demon Ridge furiously gave chase for a time
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was running deeper into the Myriad Poison Forest with all his might. He was covered in blood and extremely weakened right now.
His consciousness was blurry, and fatigue threatened to overwhelm him at any moment. Not only that, he was nearly out of Spiritual Power. If he hadnt drunk that bottle of Mystic Fruit cider right before casting the Fire Phoenix, he wouldve been a lifeless husk already.
Countless cracks had appeared all across his body. Even his muscles and internal organs were damaged to an extent.
He was really, really d he had saved up five Spirit Storage worth of Spiritual Power beforehand. Otherwise, he would have failed mid-cast.
The Glyph simply required too much Spiritual Power and mental strength to execute. He wasnt supposed to cast it at his level.
Although he ultimately managed to create the Glyph in the end, he was unable to control the Fire Phoenix at all. Otherwise, he wouldve ughtered all seven hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators instead of crashing into the forest.
Also, the Fire Phoenix had dissipated not long after he crashed into the forest. It wasnt because its power was spent, but because he literally could not maintain it any longer. He was sure he would die if he tried.
Lu Ye reckoned he had to reach the Cloud River Realm at least if he wished to construct this Glyph with ease and control it perfectly, and even that was a big if.
The Mystic Fruit cider was still in effect and replenishing his depleted Spiritual Power, but the aftereffects of the Fire Phoenix were quickly showing themselves.
He dared not linger at the same spot because he was sure there were other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in the forest. Countless people had seen him crashing unceremoniously. Someone had to being after him. If he encountered even one of them before he met up with Yi Yi or Ju Jia
He didnt think he would survive. He was nowhere near his peak form right now.
The good news was that he had messaged Yi Yi about his arrival, and the trio were currently making their way toward him right now. Plus, Myriad Poison Forest was permanently shrouded in a poisonous fog and not too dissimr to the Misty Mountains. It would not be easy for them to track him down in this environment. He should be okay as long as he kept his guard up.
He was just thinking this when, he felt a Heavenly power descending on him. The next moment, a half-translucent, gigantic list appeared high above his head.
There were a hundred names on the list. It was none other than the famous Scroll of Supremacy.
Lu Yes movements stiffened for a second. [ Fuck.]
Lu Ye was of course aware of the Scroll of Supremacy. ording to his fourth senior brother, all cultivators who entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield for the first time would sense the Heavens temporarily. If their performance was outstanding, it might even announce it in an innovative way as a form of acknowledgement and praise.
In reality though, only a handful of people had ever received the Heavens acknowledgement and praise. To be specific, only one in ten thousand people would receive this reward, and it happened only once every few years.
Lu Ye was just nning to conceal himself when this gigantic, half-translucent list appeared above his head like the most obnoxious banner in the entire world. Excluding the blind, anyone within fifty kilometers should be able to see it.
[No, it couldnt be]
[Surely not]
[This is just]
Meanwhile, countless people saw five names on the Scroll of Supremacy dimming all of a sudden before vanishing into nothing. This meant that these five people had either ascended to the Cloud River Realm or died.
At the same time, a gold emzoned name appeared on the thirty-third spot.
Lu Yi Ye, Bing Zhou, Crimson Blood Sect, Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order Realm!
Everyone below the thirty-third spot had gone up a cement. Besides that, new names, origin and cultivation level had been added to the bottom of the list.
The Scroll of Supremacy was suspended high up in the sky. As Lu Ye feared, every cultivator within fifty kilometers of him could see the list. More importantly, they were all staring at the new thirty-third cement and especially thest five words at the end of the line.
Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order Realm!
To say the words stabbed their eyeballs would be an understatement.
A long time ago, the Scroll of Supremacy waspletely made up of Heaven Nine cultivators. Then, Li Baxian appeared and upied a top ten spot as a Heaven Eight cultivator. However, Li Baxian was originally a Heaven Nine cultivator, and he had entered the list as one. It was after he lost a Spiritual Point that his cultivation level was refreshed to the Heaven Grade Eighth Order Realm.
Despite this, he remained an incredibly powerful cultivator as he was originally a Heaven Ninth cultivator, not to mention that he was extraordinarily talented and capable of controlling a hundred swords telekically. It was to the point where even the Grand Master of the Northern Profound Sword n had wanted to recruit him as his personal disciple a long time ago.
This was the first time in history that anyone had ascended to the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Seven cultivator!
Chapter 374: Jiuzhou In Disbelief
Chapter 374: Jiuzhou In Disbelief
The Scroll of Supremacy was a rank list generated by the Heavens themselves. Countless cultivators roamed the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but only the top one hundred were disyed on the Scroll of Supremacy. It was a ridiculously high bar to say the least.
While the Heavens did not provide an exnation as to how one could enter the Scroll of Supremacy, enough time had passed that the cultivators of Jiu Zhou had figured out all the rules themselves.
There were two ways to enter the Scroll of Supremacy. The first method was to battle before an audience and disy your strength. If the Heavens decided that you were strong enough to enter the Scroll of Supremacy, you would.
When Lu Ye met Li Baxian for the first time, he was ranked tenth on the Scroll of Supremacy. He had intentionally concealed his strength. The Scroll of Supremacy only updated his cing after the Battle of Goldentip and his first duel against Yan Xing, elevating him from tenth ce to third.
Later, Li Baxian challenged Yan Xing to a second duel and id the man right outside of the Raving demens Outpost. The Scroll of Supremacy then elevated his cing from third to first.
The Heavens determined that his strength had exceeded Feng Yuechans.
The second method was to challenge an existing ranker.
The Heavens had its own set of rules and methods. For starters, if a non-ranker challenged a ranker to battle and seeded in defeating or killing them, then they would rece the ranker in question.
The Heavens offered many benefits to those strong enough to enter the Scroll of Supremacy. It was one of the main reasons why many Heaven Nine cultivators were reluctant to enter the Cloud River Realm even after they had honed their skills to perfection. If they entered the Scroll of Supremacy and obtained the Heavens rewards first, then their potential would be greater when they entered the Cloud River Realm.
The gap between two cultivators was much more noticeable when one had reached the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order. After all, not all cultivators were made equal even if they shared the cultivation level.
Although Lu Ye had killed plenty of Heaven Nine cultivators up until this point, none of them were Scroll of Supremacy cultivators. In fact, his chances of winning against a Scroll of Supremacy cultivator was debatable at best. After all, the impartial judge that was the Heavens would have included him in the ranking list long ago if he was that strong.
That all changed today. Today, Lu Ye had in over two hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators with Glyph: Fire Phoenix. Not only that, five of them were rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy.
The highest ranker of the five was the thirty-third ranker, Wu Beihan, and Lu Ye was given his cement because he was the one who had killed him inbat. It did not matter how he did it. The fact that he seeded was good enough.
Of course, Fire Phoenix was powerful enough that not even the current championor any of the previous championscould have survived it. Going by the first rule, Lu Ye should have ranked first on the Scroll of Supremacy.
However, the Heavens werent a mindless golem that could only execute a given set of instructions rigidly. It possessed a mind of its own. It probably understood that Lu Yes demonstration of power, while most impressive, wasnt a true indicator of his strength. After all, Lu Ye would never have gotten the chance to execute the Glyph in a normal fight, not to mention that he literally did not have enough Spiritual Power to create the Glyph.
In fact, he had only sessfully created the Glyph this time because he had created five Spirit Storage and stored up a hundred and fifty percent worth of Spiritual Power beforehand. Also, his enemies had just stood there and taken the attack because their pride had gotten the better of their survival instinct. In a real battle, his enemy would never give him the time to execute the technique.
That was why the Heavens had granted him Wu Beihans cement, but not made him the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy.
Regardless, it did not change the fact that Lu Ye, a mere Heaven Seven cultivator, had somehow squeezed his way into a ranking list that was supposed to be made up of Heaven Nine cultivators. As if that wasnt crazy enough, he had entered the Scroll of Supremacy as the thirty-third ranker. To say that it blinded everyone who saw it, be it from the Thousand Demon Ridge or the Grand Sky Coalition, would be an understatement!
No one had ever ranked this high the first time they entered the Scroll of Supremacy. Most of them had to crawl from the bottom of the ranking list!
Once again, Lu Ye had made history.
The cultivators began messaging their acquaintances, and the news quickly spread to every corner of the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Jiu Zhou like wildfire. Soon, there was no cultivator in the world who hadnt heard about this.
The world was stunned of course, and not just because Lu Ye had made history by entering the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Seven cultivator and the thirty-third ranker. They were also stunned by the technique he had cast to make it all happen in the first ce. No one knew what technique it was or how he did it. All they knew was that it had manifested the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts itself, and it had annihted over two hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators like nothing.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was feeling like shit in every sense of the word. He had taken off running the second he fell out of the Vermillion Bird and hit the ground. The Myriad Poison Forest was permanently covered in poisonous fog, trees and foliage, so he stood a fairly good chance of shaking off his enemy. This was before mentioning that he had the Concealment Bracelet Lady Yun had given him and Glyph: Invisibility. Unless his luck was absolutely rotten, he should be able to escape and meet up with Yi Yi and the others without being undetected.
Then, the Scroll of Supremacy appeared above his head like a giant banner, showing the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were searching for him exactly where he was. Now, his enemies were all moving toward him at high speed!
To say that Lu Ye was overflowing with bitterness would be an understatement. As if that wasnt bad enough, he noticed that the name on the Scroll of Supremacy wasnt Lu Ye, but Lu Yi Ye.
[Is the Heavens mocking me or something? My name is Lu Ye, dammit! Someone will pay for this!]
Lu Ye continued to go deeper into the Myriad Poison Forest while clinging to his fraying consciousness and dragging his exhausted body. The poisonous fog might pose a problem for most cultivators, but it wasnt a threat to him in the slightest thanks to the Tree of Glyphs. As long as it didnt run out of fuel, it could burn away any and all poison that had entered his body.
Thanks to his powerful perception, Lu Ye usually sensed his enemies before they sensed him even with a Heavens forsaken I am here! banner above his head. Moreover, it was near impossible to see far in a forest filled with colorful, poisonous fog.
He had already put on the Concealment Bracelet. Every time he sensed that there was someone nearby, he would immediately activate its power and conceal himself.
Once again, Lady Yuns gift had proven its usefulness. Although Lu Ye was swiftly regenerating his Spiritual Power, he would rather keep its consumption to a minimum. The amount of Spiritual Power needed to maintain the Concealment Bracelet was far less than Invisibility, and the effect was better as well.
Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators passed through the area in search of him. Lu Ye waited until they were gone before he resumed his escape.
He walked and stopped and walked for a bit until suddenly, rm bells abruptly rang in his head. He hurriedly stopped in his tracks and activated the bracelet once more.
His surroundings were perfectly quiet, and he could not see a soul in the area. A whileter, Lu Ye thought that his paranoia had gotten to him and tried to deactivate the bracelet. That was when his senses screamed in warning again.
Realizing that it wasnt paranoia after all, he held his breath and examined his surroundings carefully.
As with before, his exceedingly powerful senses saved his life once more. He sensed a faint flow of lifeforce a short distance away to Lu Yes side.
[Someones there!]
Considering how powerful his senses were right now, few ghost cultivators could conceal their presence so well that he almost failed to detect them. Whoever the hidden ghost cultivator was, he must be among the best of the best.
He quietly applied Insight to his eyes. As he expected, he saw traces of Spiritual Power flowing in a humanoid form at that location.
The ghost cultivator seemed to have noticed something as well. Still invisible, they wandered back and forth some distance away from Lu Ye until finally, they came to a stop less than ten meters away from him.
For a time, the duo just stared at each other. Then, the ghost cultivators Spiritual Power suddenly sped up. It told Lu Ye that the ghost cultivator was about to attack.
This didnt necessarily mean that the ghost cultivator had seen through Lu Ye. He was probably just checking if his senses were urate.
Metal rang as nine auras burst out of Lu Yes Weapon Holder. Of course he wasnt going to give the ghost cultivator the initiative.
The ghost cultivator was so surprised by the surprise attack that he broke out of his invisibility, revealing a perfectly ordinary face. He was none other than the ninth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy, Gui Yingzi.
Spiritual Power erupted as Gui Yingzi swung his dagger so fast that it looked like a blur. The man was able to parry all nine of Lu Yes flying weapons.
When he looked up, Lu Ye was also flying away from him on his flying Spirit Artifact.
Gui Yingzi was furious. This was the first time in his life that anyone had seen through him. He did not know how Lu Ye had done it, but to a ghost cultivator, being seen through by their prey was like having their underwear exposed. It was humiliating to say the least.
Without hesitation, Gui Yingzi summoned his own flying Spirit Artifact and gave chase. At the same time, countless cries erupted from every direction.
Lu Yi Ye is over here!
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were searching for Lu Ye in the sky had spotted him.
The silent game of cat-and-mouse immediately turned boisterous. Countless pursuersunched their flying weapons and spells even before they got close to Lu Ye, forcing him to weave here and there to avoid their attacks.
Thankfully, not long after he ventured deeper into the Myriad Poison Forest, he suddenly saw an aura flying toward him. The pilot was a brawny man with a white tiger lying on top of his shoulder. He was none other than Ju Jia.
Ju Jias condition looked concerning, however. Both his skin and his Spiritual Power looked incredibly green, a sign that he was afflicted by some sort of dangerous poison.
They had set out of their hiding spot the moment Lu Ye messaged Yi Yi to meet up with him. Since Lu Yes whereabouts were exposed, there was no need for them to conceal their tracks anymore. Speed was of the essence right now.
After the duo met up, Lu Ye immediately leaped onto Ju Jias Flying Spirit Artifact. Ju Jia immediately turned around and fled deeper into the forest.
At first, dozens or even hundreds of auras were chasing after them. As they got closer to the center of the Myriad Poison Forest though, more and more people began to fall off their tail.
Myriad Poison Forest was a deadly ce where the fog grew increasingly poisonous the deeper you went. Although their pursuers had taken Antidote Pills and prepared some anti-poison Spirit Artifacts beforehand, they eventually reached a point where they just could not go deeper without risking their own lives.
If they continued further, Lu Ye might die, but they would join him in the afterlife.
What surprised them was that Ju Jia was still alive. A blind man couldve seen that he was seriously poisoned, but somehow he wasnt dead yet. His endurance was truly supernatural.
A tea timeter, the pursuers had finally given up on chasing thempletely. They had reached the maximum a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could go without dying to the poison. Even with the Antidote Pill, the most they could linger at this point was an incense stick.
Even Ju Jia with his prodigious endurance was wobbling unsteadily and losing control of his flying Spiritual Artifact. In the end, he did lose control and crashed toward the ground.
He and Yi Yi had never gone this deep either.
Chapter 375: Not Long To Live
Chapter 375: Not Long To Live
Lu Ye and Ju Jia broke many tree branches as they crashed toward the forest floor. They just barely avoided a hard fall when Yi Yi hurriedly emerged from Amber and caught them with her Spiritual Power.
Even so, Lu Ye was seeing double, and stars filled his vision. The aftereffects of using Glyph: Fire Phoenix had shown themselves a while ago. Though he was gradually regenerating his Spiritual Power thanks to the Mystic Fruit cider, the damage he did to himself after casting such a powerful Glyph wasnt nearly as easy to remove. As if that wasnt bad enough, he hadnt had a moment of rest until he finally met up with Ju Jia. There wasnt a patch of skin that wasnt cracked, and he was covered from head to toe in blood. He looked horrible to put it mildly.
Are you okay, Lu Ye? Yi Yi asked with an uncontroble sob. Thest time he looked this bad was when she carried him to Hua Ci at Mount Ying. She hadnt seen him in such a terrible condition for a very long time.
Lu Ye waved off her concern and sucked in a deep breath. He then took out the bottle of royal jelly and passed it to Yi Yi, saying, Give this to Ju Jia.
Ju Jia was poisoned quite heavily and required treatment as soon as possible. Since Yi Yi had told him that the ordinary honey they collected from the Misty Mountains possessed some poison neutralizing qualities, he was certain that the royal jelly would only do better.
While Yi Yi was feeding Ju Jia the royal jelly, Lu Ye forced himself to stay awake and began setting up the wards.
They were in the depths of Myriad Poison Forest, and the poisonous fog was deadlier than ever before. Although the Tree of Glyphs could, theoretically speaking, protect him from all poison so long as it did not run out of fuel, Ju Jia and Yi Yi were a different story. Without the wards, they were going to die very soon.
He quickly took out his ward gs and constructed the frame of a simple protection ward. He then instructed Yi Yi to ce a sufficient amount of Spirit Stones in certain locations. Finally, he ced the ward g responsible for controlling the ward at the center of the ward.
The ward came active, and screens of light manifested into existence. A half-globe of energy around thirty meters in radius took form around them.
That wasnt all. Lu Ye proceeded to construct Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points. It wasnt to restore his own Spiritual Power, but to consume the poisonous fog inside the ward. Only then would their environment be harmlessrtively speaking anyway.
At his current cultivation level, it was all too easy for him to construct the Glyphs even in his current state.
The aquamarine fog in the ward began thinning at a visible rate as Lu Ye sucked it into his body. Soon, the air inside the ward had be almostpletely clear.
Lu Ye checked out Ju Jia again. As expected, the royal jelly contained excellent poison neutralizing effects. The unnatural green covering his skin had thinned considerably.
Finally, he passed the Storage Bag containing the royal jelly and the superior quality honey to Yi Yi and said, Feed Amber the remaining royal jelly and use the honey in this Storage Bag as antidotes if necessary. Keep watch over us, okay? Im going to catch some rest now.
Mm. Yi Yi hurriedly nodded as she epted the Storage Bag. When she looked up, Lu Ye had already fallen into a dreamless slumber. He was so tired he didnt even lie on the ground before losing consciousness.
Yi Yi walked forward and carefullyid him on the ground. Her heart ached when she saw the wounds covering his body and his blood-soaked clothes.
Meanwhile, the news that Lu Yi Ye had been driven into the Myriad Poison Forest, and that he would soon perish had spread throughout the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Jiu Zhou almost immediately after the ascension to the thirty-third ce on the Scroll of Supremacy. The entire Thousand Demon Ridge was celebrating his inevitable demise.
The times had undoubtedly been difficult, but the walking cmity was finallyFINALLYgoing to cease existing. The sonuvabitch had been a thorn in their side since the day he was exposed as a Crimson Blood Sect disciple, and since then he just would not stop making waves every few months or so.
The Battle of Goldentip had resulted in some serious consequences, but at the time Lu Yi Ye and the people he fought were all pretty weak. In the eyes of the true elites, the threat he posed at the time was insignificant at best and childs y at worst.
However, the threat Lu Yi Ye posed to the Thousand Demon Ridge grew exponentially every time his cultivation level increased. At the Outer Circle, he had ruined his neighbors so badly that their cultivators did not dare to venture out of their Outpost all year long, and the two Thousand Demon Ridge sects located next to their Outpost hadnt rebuilt their Outposts to this day. As a result, the Crimson Blood Sect practically ruled everything within several hundred kilometers of their Outpost with an iron fist. It was all thanks to Lu Yi Ye.
It was even worse after he entered the Inner Circle. From the start, he had disyed the uncanny ability to breach grand wards, even though the techniques he revealed at the time were still easily countered. Then, he studied under the Heavenly Derivative Sect and actually became proficient at breaching grand wards in just a short time. As if that wasnt bad enough, he decided to capitalize on his skill and created an ever-growing invasion army, conquering at least a hundred Outposts before the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators finally put an end to his conquest. At least millions of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were affected by his activities. It was also the first time the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators had to step up and intervene in the matters of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
So, Lu Yi Ye had mucked up both the Outer Circle and the Inner Circle for the Thousand Demon Ridge. Faces turned green every time they recalled the amount of people and resources they had lost to the one man. Naturally, they all dreamed of the day when Lu Yi Ye finally entered the Core Circle. They were going to teach him a lesson he would never forget and then some!
To be fair, their wish came sooner than expected. The bastard had ascended to the Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order Realm in just a short time. The oue was different from what they had predicted, however. First, they had tried to hunt him down in the Misty Mountains only to lose several hundred people with nothing to show. Then, he had executed a never-before-seen technique that annihted not just two hundred cultivators in one go, but also five Scroll of Supremacy champions. It even included the third-third ranker, Wu Beihan. As a result, Lu Yi Ye made history by ascending to the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Seven cultivator.
At this point, the guy wasnt just a walking cmity anymore. He was practically the bane of the Thousand Demon Ridge! Absolutely nothing the guy was involved in had ever worked out for them!
Thankfully, their misery was finally over. The man had been driven into the inner depths of the Myriad Poison Forest, one of the most infamous forbidden areas in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It did not matter how powerful he was, there was no way he could possibly survive this.
Naturally, the Thousand Demon Ridge was overjoyed by this news. They even forgot the massive casualties they had sustained for the moment. After all, no amount of loss was too much so long as Lu Yi Ye was dead.
The guy was just growing too fast and too powerful in just a short time. It would be disastrous if they did not eliminate him when they still could.
On a rted note, the Scroll of Supremacy hanging in the sky earlier had vanished a long time ago. However, cultivators could still check the rank list through their Battlefield Imprint. This made checking Lu Yi Yes status very simple. All they needed to do was to check the list and see if his name had disappeared.
During Lu Yi Yes time at the Heavenly Derivative Sect, the sonuvabitch had pulled the wool all over them by faking his death. They had believed it and even celebrated for a time. Two monthster, he returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield, created the Grand Sky Coalition invasion force, and wrecked them so hard their own mothers couldnt recognize them.
Well, there was no faking his death this time. Unless he dropped off the Scroll of Supremacy, they could check his status every second of the day if they wanted to.
There were also rumors that many Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were attempting to contact Lu Yi Ye to no avail. This only affirmed their belief that Lu Yi Ye did not have long to live. The fact that he hadnt responded to his allies messages meant that he must have fallen unconscious. It shouldnt take more than a few days before the poison got to him and killed him.
Just in case, they summoned reinforcements and surrounded the entire Myriad Poison Forest so that not even a fly could escape. Both the sky and the ground werepletely secured.
The Grand Sky Coalition was doing their utmost to save Lu Ye, of course. The sects in Bingzhou had taken up leadership of the rescue force and attempted to break through the Thousand Demon Ridge defense line a couple of times. Unfortunately, the disparity between their numbers was just too huge, and they were unable to make much headway. In the end, they had to wait for their numbers to grow some more.
However, they all knew that Lu Ye wouldnt live until then. Myriad Poison Forest became increasingly toxic the deeper one traveled. Lu Ye was already not responding to their messages right now, and who knew how much time he had left before he finally perished. It could be two days. It could be one. It could even be hours. In any case, the moment his name disappeared from the Scroll of Supremacy was the moment he died.
Meanwhile, a woman with a wholesome figure was swiftly approaching the Core Circle from the Inner Circle. It was none other than Hua Ci.
Although she had promised Lu Ye not to go to the Myriad Poison Forest earlier, how could she not when she was fully aware of his plight?
She wouldnt have gone if she hadnt imed the rest of her inheritance as she would only be making things worse for him. But she had reimed her inheritance, and her friends happened to be trapped in the Myriad Poison Forest right now. It was practically the perfect battleground for her.
Right now, her face was covered in worry and urgency. She had been trying to contact Lu Ye non-stop through their Battlefield Imprint for a while now, but the man hadnt responded to any of her messages.
She had heard of the situation in the Myriad Poison Forest. It was why she was traveling at max speed regardless of the drain on her Spiritual Power. It was all just to get to Myriad Poison Forest even a second sooner. However, she was just an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator, not to mention she was a medicine cultivator. She was deeply worried that she wouldnt make it to Lu Ye and the others in time.
It was at this moment a couple of auras appeared in the distance. They did not hesitate to approach her.
Hua Ci stopped in her tracks and watched the strangers warily. She was technically on the border between the Inner Circle and the Core Circle. It was why the cultivators she encountered in the area were all overwhelmingly stronger than her.
As for these strangers, their aura was thick, and their flight speed was incredibly impressive. It was clear they had cultivated a Heaven Grade cultivation technique.
The leader of the group was a Heaven Eight cultivator. He shot her a cold look before showing off the Battlefield Imprint at the back of his hand. It glowed red.
Normally, cultivators would avoid getting close to each other while flying, much less reveal their affiliation right from the get go. This meant that the cultivators before her didnt n on wasting any time on her. If they belonged to the same cultivation faction, then all was well. If not, then they were going to kill her without mercy.
They could see that Hua Ci was just a Ninth-Order cultivator. Half of them wouldve been enough to kill her.
Instead of raising her own hand in response, Hua Ci replied calmly, I am a medicine cultivator!
Medicine cultivators enjoyed special privileges in the Spirit Creek Battlefield due to their rarity and incredibly important power. One such privilege was the right to be taken alive by the enemy. It was the main reason Lu Ye had chosen to capture Feng Yue instead of killing her outright the day he attacked n Fengs Outpost. Otherwise, she could kowtow on the floor until her skull had split open, and she still wouldnt live to see tomorrows sun.
The young man who showed his Battlefield Imprint raised his eyebrows before dering, Words are cheap!
He then shot a flying weapon straight at her.
Hua Ci did not attempt to dodge the attack. Right before it would hit her sr plexus, it abruptly changed directions and left a deep cut on her arm. Blood sttered out of the three-inch long wound, and it was almost deep enough to reveal the bone underneath.
Chapter 376: Ju Jia’s True Power
Chapter 376: Ju Jias True Power
It was very simple to verify if someone was a medicine cultivator or not. They only needed to check their treatment skills. That was why the Heaven Eight cultivator had cut Hua Ci.
Hua Ci flipped her hand over and summoned a warm and gentle aquamarine light on her palm. The light washed over the wound for around three breaths before the bleeding had ceasedpletely. Another dozen or so breathster, Hua Ci deemed the wound sufficiently treated and stopped.
The group of cultivators were all looking at Hua Cis arm with raised eyebrows. It was because the wound was showing signs of recovery already!
When Hua Ci had disyed her Spiritual Power Attribute, they already figured out that she was likely telling the truth. After all, only medicine cultivators possessed such warm and gentle Spiritual Power. Now though, they realized that they had underestimated the woman.
Not all medicine cultivators could heal a wound this quickly. It proved that she wasnt just a medicine cultivator, but an extremely skilled one.
Which sect do youe from? The Heaven Eight cultivator asked.
Im an independent cultivator. Of course Hua Ci wasnt stupid enough to tell them her true affiliation.
The Heaven Eight cultivator made a nomittal grunt.
Independents were made up of all kinds of cultivator factions just like the sects, but they possessed the least amount of medicine cultivators since few of them would choose to remain as independent cultivators. After all, there was no such thing as a sect with too many medicine cultivators. The medicine cultivator could be the lousiest of the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield, and they would still be weed with open arms.
Hua Ci was a Ninth-Order cultivator, an umon breed even if she belonged to a different cultivator faction. A medicine cultivator? They would have to be incredibly stupid to believe her im.That said, they did not force Hua Ci to divulge the truth. Since they had captured her, the only way she might regain her freedom was if the sect she belonged to contacted them and paid the ransom money.
They would figure out her background then.
It was one of the unspoken rules that hadnt changed since the Spirit Creek Battlefield came to be.
Hua Ci did not bother to resist. In fact, she tossed them her Storage Bag of her own ord. It wasnt like she brought any valuables with her anyway. There were only a handful of Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills and Spirit Artifacts in it.
The Thousand Demon Ridge group set off to their destination once more, this time with a prisoner in their midst. Their leader, the Heaven Eight cultivator who cut her just now, thought that her flight speed was too slow, so he fetched her on his flying Spirit Artifact.
No one tried to torture her or even bind her. They did not think a Ninth-Order medicine cultivator could threaten them whatsoever.
Where are you going? Hua Ci asked.
Myriad Poison Forest! The Heaven Eight cultivator fetching her replied carelessly.
Hua Ci nodded and kept quiet after that. The group would never know that the answer had inadvertently saved their lives.
In the inner depths of the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye slowly awakened from his dreamless slumber. He felt weakened and tired despite his sleepit wasnt something he was going to recover from without a few days of rest at least. Someone had taken off his bloody clothes and wrapped his wounds for him though. It was probably Yi Yis handiwork.
He asked, How long was I asleep?
Almost two days, Yi Yi replied while handing him a waterskin.
Lu Ye took a few greedy gulps before he finally checked out his surroundings.
The ward he had set up was still working, so the poisonous fog was unable to enter. However, the surroundings outside the ward were overflowing with aquamarine, poisonous fog.
The energy globe keeping the poisonous fog froming in was sizzling non-stop; a clear sign that the fog was corroding the fog. It was fine though. As long as they had enough Spirit Stones, the fog would not be able to make it through.
Yi Yis skin was looking a little green. Despite being an apparition, the poison was clearly corroding her somewhat.
Ju Jia was doing even worse. Despite the royal jelly, there wasnt an inch of his body that wasnt covered in green, and his eyes looked deeply sunken. He looked like he might pass away at any moment. In fact, he would have died two days ago if he wasnt as strong as he was.
The only one who looked perfectly healthy was Amber. His aura was perfectly clear as well.
My items didnt work? Lu Ye asked with a deep frown on his face.
They did, but Senior Brother Ju Jia had probably umted too much poison in his body. The items could suppress its effects for a time, but not expel itpletely.
Ju Jia had shielded Amber with his Spiritual Power the entire time before Lu Ye showed up. As a result, Amber managed to avoid being poisoned. Yi Yi too was safe until Ju Jia had lost control of his flying Spirit Artifact, and she had to emerge from Ambers body to catch their fall. As it turned out, not even an apparition was immune to the poison.
The bad news was that she couldnt consume the royal jelly because she was an apparition. The good news was that her symptoms were moderate at worst because she wasnt exposed for too long.
While Lu Ye was unconscious, Yi Yi had fed Ju Jia the royal jelly as he instructed. At first, it looked like Ju Jia would be saved after all. However, it wasnt long before the deadly poison in his body returned in full force. Worse still, the royal jelly was growing less and less effective with repeated usage.
Lu Ye looked at Ju Jia and asked, How do you feel?
Ju Jia shot him his usual silly grin. He wouldve looked better if he cried.
Lu Ye knew that Ju Jia was in grave danger, but they had very few options right now. He did not expect the poison in Ju Jia to be so bad that even the royal jelly could not neutralize it. The only way he might be saved was if he returned to the headquarters, and his senior sister treated him in person.
However, they were currently surrounded in the Myriad Poison Forest, and he himself wasnt at his peak form right now. How could he possibly break them out of the encirclement and lead them to safety?He might not know what was going on outside, but he knew that the Thousand Demon Ridge must have them surroundedpletely. No, they would only die if they showed their faces.
[What if I try burning the poison with the Tree of Glyphs? It shielded me from the heat before. Perhaps it can affect another person as well?]
Unfortunately, it didnt work. The Tree of Glyphs was firmly rooted in his Source Spiritual Point, and while he could consume energy by channeling its power and causing its invisible roots to appear from his body, he could not burn the poison in Ju Jias body no matter what he tried.
The only other option was to channel his Fire Attribute Spiritual Power into Ju Jias body and literally burn away the poison. However, not only was it highly inefficient, it would severely damage Ju Jias insides as well.
Cant you think of anything, Lu Ye? Yi Yi asked while watching Ju Jia worriedly. For the past couple days, she could only watch the big man weaken little by little without being able to do anything. She was beyond frustrated and anxious to say the least.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before looking at Ju Jia, Can you ascend to the Cloud River Realm?
On the surface, Ju Jia was just a Heaven Seven cultivator. In reality, Lu Ye knew that this was far from his limit. Ju Jia possessed a unique Mutant core that could store a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power like his Spirit Storage, but way better. The reason the body-tempering cultivator did not unlock more Spiritual Points wasnt because he couldnt, but because he refused to.
Maybe it was because he wanted to ascend to the next cultivation level together with Lu Ye, or maybe it was because he had formed an unbreakable habit while he was traveling with Sima Yang. He loved cultivating, but he would never allow his cultivation level to exceed hispanions cultivation level. This was something Lu Ye had realized a long time ago.
Lu Ye did not know how much Spiritual Power the big man had saved up in his Mutant core, but the crisis would resolve itself if he could ascend to the Cloud River Realm.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was a ce for Spirit Creek Realm cultivators and no one else. If Ju Jia ascended, then he would automatically be kicked out of the Spirit Creek Battlefield and back to their headquarters in Jiu Zhou. His second senior sister would be able to save him then.
Since ancient times, many cultivators had chosen to ascend to the Cloud River Realm in their Outpost because it contained a rich amount of Spiritual Qi, and it was a safe environment. Naturally, everyone knew that a cultivator would be kicked out of the Spirit Creek Battlefield after they had ascended to the Cloud River Realm. Lu Ye had never witnessed it with his own eyes, however.
Im not sure, Ju Jia replied.
Give it a try!
Even if Ju Jia failed in the end, it couldnt hurt to be at a higher cultivation level. It might buy them enough time to think of an alternative solution.
Ju Jia nodded and closed his eyes. The moment the body-tempering cultivator channeled his Spiritual Power, Lu Ye immediately heard a series of strange popping soundsing from his body.
This wasnt the first time he had experienced Ju Jias unlocking speed, but he still couldnt stop his eyes from twitching with incredulity.
Most cultivators took at least some time to break through the barrier around their Spiritual Points, but Ju Jia? Heavens, it was like he was popping bubbles. Wherever his Spiritual Power traveled, the barriers crumbled like they didnt even exist.
Lu Ye reckoned it was because he had more than enough Spiritual Power to make the breakthrough.
A dam could cut off a river, but not a flood.
Sixty pops came and went in an unbelievably short time. After that, Ju Jia took a moment to connect his new Spiritual Points into Microcosmic Orbits and ascend to the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order Realm.
The pops began once more, and this time both Lu Ye and Yi Yi were counting the number in their heads. When it stopped at sixty pops once again, Lu Ye realized that he had underestimated the amount of Spiritual Power in the body-tempering cultivators Mutant Core this whole time.
Ju Jia was qualified to be a Cloud River Realm cultivator ages ago.
In the past, the biggest roadblock in Ju Jias cultivation was hisck of Contribution Points. He was unable to purchase the Heaven-Grade cultivation technique he needed to continue his cultivation. After Lu Ye had got him the Contribution Points though, there was nothing stopping him from ascending all the way to the Cloud River Realm.
Now, Ju Jia had unlocked all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points in his body, although he hadnt connected them to his Cosmic Orbit Cirction yet. As a result, he still appeared to be a Heaven Eight cultivator.
Now that his Spiritual Points had been fully unlocked, he could ascend to the Cloud River Realm at any moment.
Tell Sister Shui and the Sect Master that they do not need to worry about me, Lu Ye instructed while pulling out the loot he had collected for the past few weeks. He then put it all in a Storage Bag and tied it to his waist.
Perhaps it was because his cultivation level had increased, but Ju Jiasplexion looked better than it was before.
Ju Jia watched him for a moment before turning all of a sudden and leaning against a tree trunk. He then crossed his arms and turned his back toward Lu Ye.
[What does he mean by this?] Lu Ye waspletely confused by his bodynguage.
Yi Yi exined, He doesnt want to leave. Hes worried about you.
Lu Ye broke into a smile and walked up to Ju Jia. He then crouched beside him and said patiently, You dont want this ce to be your resting ce, do you? Head back to the headquarters and seek out our second senior sister. Right now, shes the only one who can save you. Im not trying to push you away, but this is literally the only way left to save you. You dont need to worry about me. You might have noticed, but Im immune to poison. This ce might be extremely dangerous to most people, but it is nothing to me.
I can break you out of here! Ju Jia suddenly dered with a fierce expression.
Chapter 377: Ju Jia Ascends
Chapter 377: Ju Jia Ascends
Dont be silly. Lu Ye gave Ju Jia a pat on the shoulder. The Thousand Demon Ridge vastly outnumbers us. They want us to show ourselves so they can eliminate us all. Right now, this is the safest ce in the Core Circle for me.
Ju Jia looked a bit dejected. Despite his protest, he knew that Lu Ye was probably right.
Ascend and return to the headquarters, Ju Jia. And please give the Sect Master and second senior sister my regards.
Ju Jia was still silent, but Lu Ye had already walked away from him and begun perfecting the ward he had set up earlier.
It wasnt that the ward wasnt functional, because it was, but he was dead tired when he had set it up at the beginning and did not make it as good as it could be. After he installed a couple more ward gs into the ward, its stability and range immediately increased visibly.
Ju Jia watched Lu Ye until the young man was finally done. Then, he said, You must live!
Lu Ye looked back with a smile. I will.
Ju Jia finally sat down on the ground and regenerated his Spiritual Power to full. Then, his cultivation level began falling drastically.
It wasnt difficult to ascend from the Spirit Creek Realm to the Cloud River Realm. In fact, it was way harder to unlock the Spiritual Points. As long as the cultivator met the base requirement to ascend to the Cloud River Realm, the ascension process itself was almost risk free.
It took Ju Jia only a while to stop all the Microcosmic Orbits in his body to stop circtingpletely. Then, he started prating his Spiritual Points one after another starting from his Source Spiritual Point.
The more Spiritual Points he prated, the stronger his Spiritual Power became. In fact, they could even hear the energy flowing inside his body.
It wasnt that obvious at the beginning, but like a tiny stream that steadily grew bigger over time, the noise grew louder and louder.
When he finally prated all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points in his body, his Spiritual Power had be as loud as a roaring river. They could practically feel the vibration on their skin.
Then, a radiant Spiritual Light and an invisible shockwave erupted from Ju Jias body.
Just like that, the body-tempering cultivator had be a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
In fact, the name of the cultivation realms directly described the flow of ones Spiritual Power.
A Spirit Creek Realm cultivators Spiritual Power flowed like streams within a Microcosmic Orbit Cirction System, and their cultivation level was determined by the amount of Microcosmic Orbits inside of their body. This was why they didnt name the cultivation level after the Ninth-Order as the Tenth-Order, the Eleventh-Order and so on. There was no tenth or eleventh Microcosmic Orbit.
But of course, they were treated as such when Contribution Points were involved. For example, a Ninth-Order cultivator who killed a Heaven Seven cultivator would be rewarded as if they had killed someone a level above their cultivation level.
Unlike a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, a Cloud River Realm cultivator only had one Cosmic Orbit that epassed every Spiritual Point they had unlocked. For someone who unlocked all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points in their body like Ju Jia, it could be said he had a perfect Cosmic Orbit Cirction System.
Since the cultivators Spiritual Power was now fully connected in one big Cosmic Orbit instead of many Microcosmic Orbits, it was likebining many creeks into one giant river. In this unified system, the cultivators strength and control would undergo a qualitative increase.
This was why most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators chose to unlock as many Spiritual Points as possible before ascending to the Cloud River Realm. It was also why many Heaven Seven and Heaven Eight cultivators would rathernguish for decades than ascend to the Cloud River Realm as they were.
The more Spiritual Points they unlocked, the more Spiritual Power and control they would get when they connected their Spiritual Points into one massive river. Naturally, their future potential would be greater as well.
Every additional Spiritual Point made a cultivator stronger when they were at the Cloud River Realm. In fact, that one extra Spiritual Point might be the difference between ascending to the Realm Lake Realm, or not.
Everyone knew that there was nothing more important in cultivation than a solid foundation, and to a cultivator, that foundation was the Spirit Creek Realm. Every cultivator strove to solidify their foundation to the utmost degree because the amount of Spiritual Points directly affected ones strength when they ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Both a cultivator with two hundred and forty Spiritual Points and another with three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points could ascend to the Cloud River Realm. However, the power gap between the two was almost day and night.
In the Spirit Creek Realm, the ability to ovee the cultivation gap and defeat a stronger foe was generally a right that belonged to geniuses only. But at the Cloud River Realm, it was an all toomon sight.
This was the first time Lu Ye witnessed someone ascending to the Cloud River Realm. Since this was a process he was going to undergo eventually, he kept a close eye on Ju Jia in hopes of gleaning some useful insights. However, there wasnt much to learn. As the people imed, the process of ascending to the Cloud River Realm was almost a risk-free process. Unless the cultivator was trying to ascend with less than the minimum amount of Spiritual Points, the process was practically smooth-sailing the whole way.
Almost the second Ju Jia had ascended to the Cloud River Realm, the space around him suddenly distorted unnaturally.
Ju Jia clearly noticed this anomaly as well and hurriedly opened his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but the distorted space had already returned to normal. The body-tempering cultivator was also gone without a trace.
Lu Ye immediately messaged Shui Yuan. A whileter, she responded saying that Ju Jia had appeared at the Sanctum of Providence, and that she was inspecting his condition right now. She told him not to worry.
Lu Ye was feeling the opposite of worry. Last time, his second senior sister had saved Ju Jia from a much deadlier poison. This should be childs y for her, especially since she was now a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator.
Ju Jia was finally out of danger, but Yi Yi
Worry returned to his face when he looked at Yi Yi. Unlike Ju Jia, the girl was nowhere close to ascending to the Cloud River Realm. She would not be able to exploit the Heavens rules and return to the headquarters. Worse still, an apparition was incapable of eating anything.
Im fine. I just feel a little ufortable is all.
Yi Yi immediately consoled him after sensing his worry.
Has Amber eaten the royal jelly?
Yeah.
Do you feel like youre better after it ate the royal jelly?
He was hoping that Amber eating the antidote might improve Yi Yis condition, but unfortunately the girl shook her head. She then held his arm and ced her head on his shoulder, saying, Stop worrying about me and focus on your recovery first.
If you feel that something is off, you must tell me immediately, understand? Lu Ye instructed seriously.
When the girl did not respond, he flicked her in the forehead hard and asked again, Do. You. Understand?
I get it already! Bully! Yi Yi rubbed her forehead with an aggrieved expression.
Lu Ye checked his Battlefield Imprint. He had been unconscious for two days, and he discovered that he had a ton of unread messages. They were more or less all asking about his condition. Even more people told him to hang on just a bit longer, and that they were going to coordinate with him and save him as soon as they had gathered enough manpower.
Even some of his acquaintances from the Inner Circle were on their way to the Myriad Poison Forest. There was Luo Fu of the Silverlight Ind, Zhou Pei of the Lofty Plume Court, Zhao Li of the Heavenly Derivative Sect and more
They were all worried about him.
Lu Ye replied to each and every message. He assured them that he was safe, and that they didnt need to worry about him.
Roughly fifty kilometers away from the Myriad Poison Forest, over two thousand Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had gathered together in a hidden location. They were led by the cultivators of the major sects of Bing Zhou.
Right now, they were gathering around Yu Lianzhou of the Northern Profound Sword n and waiting for him to finish his conversation with Lu Ye.
An entire incense stickter, Yu Lianzhou finally finished the conversation and looked up at the crowd. A cultivator from the Righteous Sect immediately asked, How is it?
Yu Lianzhou swept his nce across everyone and said, Fellow Cultivator Lu strongly advises us against engaging the Thousand Demon Ridge in arge-scale battle. He does not wish for our blood to be on his hands.
Lu Ye was well aware that arge-scale battle involving thousands of people was going to result in massive casualties no matter who emerged victorious in the end. This was his biggest worry when he learned that the Grand Sky Coalition was organizing a rescue operation for him.
He also said that he is in no danger right now. He is in no danger of dying from poison because he has secured a safe area with his wards. He is wounded, but not so wounded that he requires emergency treatment. He also said that hes probably going to cultivate until he reaches the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order Realm beforeing out of the Myriad Poison Forest
Everyone wore strange expressions after they heard this. They had been terrified and on edge for the past couple of days because Lu Ye hadnt responded to their messages. They all worried that every second they dyed might mean the death of one of the greatest rising stars the Grand Sky Coalition had ever seen in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. But now? Not only was Lu Ye safe, it sounded like he had found the perfect refuge to hide in until he became a Heaven Nine cultivator. Assuming he wasnt just trying to assure them, it would be ill-advised to sh with the Thousand Demon Ridge forces gathered around the Myriad Poison Forest.
Do you think hes telling the truth, Brother Yu? There was a chance Lu Ye was lying to save their lives.
He swore a Heavenly Oath in the message, Yu Lianzhou replied with aplicated expression on his face, So, yes, Im pretty sure hes telling the truth.
So are we still going to continue with the rescue operation?
If Lu Ye really was doing as well as he imed, should they continue with the rescue operation or not?
If they abandoned the operation now well, they had alreadye this far. It would feel weird to go back without having done anything. But if they continued with the operation, it didnt sound like Lu Ye needed saving, not to mention that it might have the opposite effect
Yu Lianzhou said, Fellow Cultivator Lu told us to return to whatever it was we should be doing. While the Thousand Demon Ridge has surrounded the entire Myriad Poison Forest, they dont dare to pursue him deeper. In other words, they are wasting time they could be spending on cultivating their power. Fellow Cultivator Lu said that he is only all too happy to waste the Thousand Demon Ridges time, not to mention that the day he ascends to the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order Realm is the day he breaks free.
It was no empty boast. Lu Ye was already capable of killing Heaven Nine cultivators as a Heaven Seven cultivator, not to mention that he possessed that Fire Phoenix technique that had propelled him to the third-third spot on the Scroll of Supremacy. Once he became a Heaven Nine cultivator, was there anyone in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who was a match for him?
When the day came, the Thousand Demon Ridge could gather everyone and still not prevent him from breaking free.
I guess we are going to leave him to his own devices then.
Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye truly is one of a kind.
Still, we havee all the way here. We cant leave without at least killing some Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, can we? Plus, its not every day we gather this many people in the Core Circle. We gotta do something!
Yeah! The Thousand Demon Ridge went so far just to kill Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye. Even if his safety is assured, we cant not show them were not to be trifled with! Theyre going to think us cowards and weaklings otherwise!
The group started discussing their next course of action. The leaders of the groupall rankers on the Scroll of Supremacyalready knew from the start that there was no chance they were disbanding the group without doing something. Now that rescuing Lu Ye was no longer a pressing matter, they were actually free to act however they liked.
It wasnt long until they came to a decision. Soon, their group of two thousand broke up into countless smaller groups and scattered in every direction.
Lu Ye didnt need rescuing, and they couldnt attack the enemy forces in Myriad Poison Forest. In that case, they were going to intercept the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators looking to join their brethren at the Myriad Poison Forest. It wasnt the grand battle they had envisioned, but it was still better than returning empty-handed. They could always assemble and discuss a new n If the operation turned out to be less fruitful than expected.
Meanwhile, the cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge were all wondering the same thing: Why was Lu Yi Ye not dead yet?
Chapter 378: Wonder Woman Hua Ci
Chapter 378: Wonder Woman Hua Ci
Two days ago, Lu Yi Ye summoned the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts using an unknown technique and annihted over two hundred cultivators in one strike. While the technique was powerful beyond measure, there was no way he had cast it without an unimaginable cost.
Later, he met up with Ju Jia and escaped into the inner depths of the Myriad Poison Forest, going further than any Spirit Creek Realm cultivator had ever gone without dying. They all thought that he would be poisoned to death at any moment.
However, it had been two days since Lu Ye went in, but the bastard was still alive. And how could they tell? His name was still present on the Scroll of Supremacy.
[How is he still alive?]
That was the question every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator was asking themselves right now.
Even if he was a master of wards, and he was able to create a livable environment for himself, he was already poisoned the moment he entered the Myriad Poison Forest. He shouldnt be able to hang on for so long.
[Maybe were overthinking this maybe hes going to die any moment now. Any moment now]
It was that hope that kept them waiting at the edge of the Myriad Poison Forest.
They could not rest until Lu Yi Ye was well and truly dead. They werent going to leave until they saw his name disappearing from the Scroll of Supremacy with their own eyes.
Unfortunately, they received some bad news while waiting for Lu Yi Ye to perish. The Grand Sky Coalition was intercepting all Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were making their way to the Myriad Poison Forest, and already they had lost a lot of good people.
They had predicted this though. They had gone above and beyond to hunt down Lu Yi Ye. Of course the Grand Sky Coalition was going to dish out some payback. However, the Grand Sky Coalition could not attack the defense line because they were outnumbered, so they opted to intercept their reinforcements instead.
So, the Thousand Demon Ridge began warning everyone making their way over to the Myriad Poison Forest to be careful. At the same time, they also dispatched some squads to receive their allies.
About one hundred kilometers away from the Myriad Poison Forest, a battleor rather, a one-sided massacre had just finished a while ago. A couple of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were lying dead on the ground. Beside the bodies was a quiet and demure woman calmly raising her hand to reveal her affiliation. She was Hua Ci of course.
Right now, Hua Ci was feeling quite exasperated with her now dead escorts. She was hoping that they would take her all the way to Myriad Poison Forest so she could find an opportunity to slip through and seek out Lu Ye, but these bastards were unfortunate enough to pass through an area that just happened to be hiding a squad of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators. Naturally, they were ughtered without resistance.
Left with no choice, Hua Ci could only reveal her Battlefield Imprint.
The Grand Sky Coalition squad numbered eight people in total, and their leader was a Heaven Nine cultivator. His sword was three inches away from Hua Ci when he noticed the blue light on her hand and ceased his attack. He eximed in surprise, Junior sister! Why are you with the Thousand Demon Ridge?
Hua Ci exined, Im a medicine cultivator. They took me hostage while I wasing to the Core Circle.
Everyone let out exmations of realization. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it was quitemon for medicine cultivators to be captured by the enemy. Generally speaking, the cultivators would not mistreat their prisoners too much unless they were exceptionally sadistic. Naturally, they had no idea that Hua Ci was one of theirs until she had revealed her Battlefield Imprint.
This ce isnt very safe right now, junior sister. Would you like to travel with us? The swordsman asked.
Although Hua Ci was just an ordinary Ninth-Order cultivator, she was qualified to explore the Core Circle. More importantly, she was a medicine cultivator. Cultivators got hurt all the time, and having a medicine cultivator in their squad would allow them to push themselves further.
When Hua Ci shook her head, the swordsman nodded. You should leave as soon as possible. The Thousand Demon Ridge may visit this location very soon. Safe travels, junior sister.
With that, they got on their flying Spirit Artifact and took off.
After seeing off the group of Grand Sky Coalition cultivators, Hua Ci nced at the lifeless bodies beside her again and felt a wave of scorn toward them. They had acted like they were invincible when they ran into her, but in reality they were so weak that the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators had ughtered them like helpless chicks.
The problem was that she was relying on them to take her into the Myriad Poison Forest, something her Grand Sky Coalitionrades couldnt do no matter how helpful they were.
[One hundred kilometers sigh.] She had no choice but to bring out her own flying Spirit Artifact and continue toward the Myriad Poison Forest.
Her Storage Bag was currently in her rescuers hands. They thought it had belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge group, and she hadnt mentioned it because there was nothing valuable in it anyway. The flying Spirit Artifact beneath her feet was literally her only possession right now.
Thankfully, her luck took a turn for the better after this interlude. She did not encounter any more Grand Sky Coalition or Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators until she reached the edge of the Myriad Poison Forest. It was there she sawrge groups of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators surrounding the forest.
From a birds eye view, it was easy to tell that the Thousand Demon Ridge had the ce surrounded not just on the ground, but in the sky as well. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were patrolling the area just in case Lu Ye decided to escape through the sky.
Unfortunately, they werent able to look into the forest despite their vantage point. Its thick, poisonous fog was obscuring the view.
Hua Ci did not descend to the ground. Instead, she floated in mid-air and stared at the poisonous forest before her for a moment.
Some Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators noticed her presence but paid her no heed. At most, they stared at her a second or two longer because she was beautiful.
After all, no one thought that a Grand Sky Coalition cultivatora medicine cultivator no lesswould be bold or crazy enough to reveal herself before them, much less float in the mid-air as if she was afraid they wouldnt notice her.
Excluding familiar faces, it was impossible to tell if a stranger belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition or the Thousand Demon Ridge unless they revealed it themselves by willing their Battlefield Imprint to glow. However, who would check her affiliation when she had so brazenly showed herself to her supposed enemies?
It was a ssic case of human error.
Is there anyone here whos a medicine cultivator! We need a medicine cultivator! Suddenly, she heard a cry from nearby. Hua Ci turned her head and saw a young man hollering on top of his lungs. She was going to ignore him when his next words changed her mind immediately.
Were looking to enter the forest to search for Lu Yi Ye! Will any medicine cultivator lend us their assistance?
I am a medicine cultivator, She said whilending in front of the young man.
The young man examined her for a moment. While she was certainly easy on the eye, good looks werent what he was looking for right now. Your cultivation level is a little too low
He wanted a medicine cultivator who had switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique because his party would be safer assuming they were nning to venture deeper into the forest.
Hua Ci added, I am well versed in the art of poison removal.
The young man shot her a suspicious look. He then walked up to a man with a thin face and sharp chin and whispered a little something. The man let out a chuckle and took out a pink-colored Spirit Pill from his Storage Bag.
The young man took the Spirit Pill and handed it to Hua Ci. He then asked, Assuming that someone was afflicted with this poison, can you cure it?
Hua Ci grabbed the pill and, without even bothering to check what pill it was, tossed it into her mouth immediately.
Everyone around her was stunned by this. The young man who gave her the pill could barely keep his jaw off the floor!
He was just going to test her im. He did not expect her to eat the Spirit Pill like it was candy!
The owner of the Spirit Pillthe man with a thin face and sharp chincould not help but step closer and look Hua Ci up and down for a reaction. A long timeter, he finally uttered in disbelief, Youre fine?
The Spirit Pill wasnt a deadly poison, but it was something most women greatly abhorred. It was because it was an extremely powerful aphrodisiac that could stoke even the lust of a female cultivator who had switched to a cultivation technique. For obvious reasons, the pill was usually consumed behind closed doors. They had never seen someone bold enough to eat it in public. If the user didnt know what they were doing, there was a one hundred percent chance they were going to engrave themselves into the history of Jiu Zhou in the most embarrassing fashion possible.
Do you have more? Hua Ci actually asked with a wishful expression, causing the pill owners eyes to twitch once. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a strange woman!
Your poison removal skills are truly remarkable, junior sister! The young man beside her let out a heartyugh. Alright then. We will be in your care!
Hua Ci smiled kindly. Do not worry! I will take good care of your lives!
Her response sounded a little strange, but the young man did not think much about it. He made a wave and said, Alright, we have everyone we need. Lets go!
At hismand, over twenty cultivators gathered around the young man before heading into the forest with him.
Although the Thousand Demon Ridge was sure that Lu Ye was going to die very soon, they made sure to venture into the forest from time to time just in case he tried something tricky. If they were lucky, they would find him skulking about the trees. If not, they were putting pressure on the young man at least. They could not allow him to sneak back to the outer edge and potentially recover from whatever poison was afflicting him right now.
The dangers of the Myriad Poison Forest did not consist of the poisonous fog alone. There were countless poisonous creatures living in the area as well. The only reason the Thousand Demon Ridge was fine was because they had more or less cleared out all the poisonous creatures living at the edge of the forest.
The group of twenty did not spread out too far after they entered the Myriad Poison Forest. Lu Yi Ye had taught many of theirrades a fatal lesson at the Misty Mountains, and they werent about to make the same mistake.
Hua Ci was at the center of the group because she was their only medicine cultivator, not to mention that she hadnt switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique yet. It would be horrible to lose her in this deadly poisonous forest.
Why arent you shielding yourself with your Spiritual Power, junior sister? I know youre great at poison removal, but still the leader of the group warned in a hurry when he noticed that Hua Ci wasnt shielding herself at all.
Sure thing, Hua Ci replied carelessly before covering herself in ayer of protective Spiritual Power. It was only then the young man rxed and returned his attention to their surroundings.
They traveled a few kilometers in the forest until the poison in the air became almost unbearable. Despite having consumed a couple of Antidote Pills beforehand, the poison was starting to affect their health.
The leader of the group decided to retreat then. This wasnt their first search attempt, and it wouldnt be theirst. They hadnt found even the shadow of Lu Yi Ye so far, but in this case failure was actually good news. It meant that Lu Ye was still stuck within the inner depths of the Myriad Poison Forest.
The young man was just about to give the order when suddenly, he heard a soft thump. Immediately after that, someone cried, Shit! Junior Brother Wang has copsed!
As if on cue, a couple more thumps happened all around them.
One of them yelled right before he fell unconscious, Run! The poison is too
He fell silent before he could even finish his sentence.
This sudden turn of events scared the rest of the group because they had never experienced this during their previous searches. It wasnt like this was the first time they were at this depth either. They did not understand why it was happening now.
In just the blink of an eye, only a few people were still standing. However, even they were feeling faint and wobbly on their feet.
Chapter 379: Who Says Medicine Cultivators Cannot Kill?
Chapter 379: Who Says Medicine Cultivators Cannot Kill?
The leader of the group immediately realized that they were in big trouble. He did not know what exactly had befallen the group, but they had been poisoned by a deadly and nigh undetectable poison. None of them had noticed it coursing through their veins until it was toote.
It was scary to say the least.
His first reaction was to leave the ce immediately, but the thought had just crossed his mind when he felt his Spiritual Power falling apart against his will. He instinctively grabbed Hua Cis arm and said, Save
His eyes widened in shock. He saw two dozen red dots flying into the back of the medicine cultivators hand. It was a scene he was all too familiar with. The Contribution Points of his dead allies had been absorbed into her Battlefield Imprint, meaning that she was the one who poisoned them!
His eyes were full of disbelief as he blurted, You
He cut himself off and looked down on his arm. He had instinctively grabbed Hua Cis elbow just a moment ago, but now he had lost all feeling in it. At the same time, he recalled what the medicine cultivator had said to him earlier. As it turned out, she had meant what she said literally.
Why are you doing this? The young man asked through gritted teeth. He just could not understand why she would go so far against a group of strangers.
Hua Ci smiled kindly. Did I not introduce myself earlier? I am a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect!
The young mans pupils contracted into needles. He looked like he wasnt sure whether tough or cry at the absurdity of the truth.
A disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect! He had brought a medicine cultivator of the Crimson Blood Sect into the Myriad Poison Forest with them to search for Lu Ye! No wonder she had poisoned them all!
He deeply regretted not checking Hua Cis affiliation before epting her into his party, but then again, how could he possibly anticipate that a Crimson Blood Sect disciple would be bold enough to waltz right up to an entire defense line full of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators?
Ill kill you! As his consciousness blurred, the young man made a desperate final attempt andunched a palm strike. However, Hua Ci easily dodged the attack just by jumping a few steps to the back.
Thump
The young man hit the ground, and thest red dot flew into the back of Hua Cis hand.
Hua Ci felt like she was living a dream as she stared at the bodies around her. She knew that her inheritance was powerful, but this oue was beyond even her greatest expectations.
In the past, she could only use her mushrooms to fight against the enemy. Not only that, it grew increasingly ineffective as her opponents grew stronger, not to mention that she needed to nt the mushrooms on the ground. There was little her mushrooms could do against a flying opponent.
After she imed the remaining portion of her inheritance though, her mushrooms werent her only methods of killing anymore. If she wanted to, she could poison a target anywhere, anytime.
These Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had operated with her for a long time. Naturally, she had all the time in the world to poison them.
She stared at her shivering hands and felt the rapid beating of her heart. It wasnt fear that was gripping her right now.
[Who says medicine cultivators cannot kill?!]
With that done, she dispelled the protective Spiritual Power around her and inhaled the surrounding fog deeply. The poisonous fog was so deadly that even the cultivators of the Core Circle could not withstand it, but to her, it was better than even World Spiritual Qi. She felt like she was inhaling the sweetest air in the world
After she had calmed herself down, she hummed a small tune while picking up the Storage Bags around her.
Finally, she put the swiftly rotting corpses behind her and continued deeper into the forest.
Deep within the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye was receiving Yi Yis care when suddenly, he felt a strange reaction from his Battlefield Imprint. It wasnt quite like what he normally felt when he received a message.
As it turned out, it wasnt. It was a challenge request!
This reminded Lu Ye that it had been three days since he ascended the Scroll of Supremacy. In fact, his second senior sister had mentioned this when he was conversing with her via messaging.
When a cultivator first ascended the Scroll of Supremacy, they were given three days to prepare themselves. When three days had passed, they would gain the right to challenge a higher ranker and be challenged by a lower ranker.
In other words, a cultivator who first ascended the Scroll of Supremacy would not be able to challenge or be challenged during the first three days.
Besides that, he could not challenge or be challenged by those who were more than five ranks above or below him. For example, Lu Ye was ranked thirty-third right now. This meant that the highest ranker he could challenge was the twenty-seventh ranker, and everyone between the thirty-eighth spot to the thirty-fourth spot could challenge him. The thirty-ninth ranker would not be able to challenge him because he was six spots away.
The challenge rules were one of the most interesting things about the Scroll of Supremacy. It was because the Heavens were directly involved in it, and why it had all kinds of unbreakable rules.
The challenge did not need to be issued face-to-face either. While most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were active in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there were some who lingered in Jiu Zhou for one reason or another. If the challenge had to be issued face-to-face, a ranker might choose to hide in their Outpost or their Jiu Zhou headquarters permanently to avoid being challenged.
To issue a challenge, all a ranker needed to do was to use the Battlefield Imprint. It was incredibly convenient since the Heavens did most of the heavy lifting.
Take Lu Yes first challenge for example. The challengers identity was unknown, but Lu Ye was given four hours to prepare for the challenge. It allowed him to adjust himself to the best condition before facing the opponent.
When the time came, the Heavens would teleport Lu Ye and the challenger into an exclusive battlefield. Not only that, the challenged ranker was allowed to choose the battlefield from a vast selection of terrains.
Since Lu Ye was the one being challenged here, he could choose a terrain that best enabled his qualities. The choice would be in the other persons hands if he was the challenger.
Of course, the challenged ranker could choose to reject the challenge. However, rejecting the challenge was the same as losing the challenge, so the challenger would im his rank.
Lu Ye had never experienced this before even though he had heard many things about it. Naturally, he was surprised to receive a challenge.
Now that he thought about it, the Thousand Demon Ridge was probably wondering why he wasnt dead yet and getting impatient. They couldnt check his status in person either since he was hiding in the Myriad Poison Forest. That was probably why they were challenging him through the Scroll of Supremacy. If he was stupid enough to ept the challenge and enter the battlefield, then even better. This way, they could kill him without risking their lives in the Myriad Poison Forest.
He inspected all the information he received through the Battlefield Imprint carefully and found that they were exactly as his second senior sister had told him. Now, he had two choices. He could either ept the challenge or reject it.
Lu Ye thought over the options for a second before epting the challenge. He immediately felt the Heavens invisible power descending on him and granting him even more information.
He now had four hours to prepare for the challenge. He could also decide the terrain he wished to fight his challenger at while preparing.
As Lu Ye browsed through the list, he also received the rough information of the terrains. It showed him pictures, size, unique features and so on.
There were roughly a hundred terrains he could choose from. There were ruins, heaths, deserts, forests and even the sea.
Each terrain differed not just in type, but also in size. Some were a few kilometers wide, and some were only the size of an arena
Since this was the first time he experienced this, Lu Ye wanted to acquire as much information as possible.
He tried checking the challengers information to no avail. For whatever reason, the Heavens decided that the challenger could use some invisible protection.
He checked the Scroll of Supremacy next and eyed the five rankers between the thirty-fourth spot to the thirty-eighth spot.
Three of the five rankers belonged to Thousand Demon Ridge, and they were all Heaven Nine cultivators. His challenger had to be one of the three Thousand Demon Ridge rankers.
Yi Yi had been watching his odd behavior curiously. Are you talking to someone, Lu Ye?
No. Someone on the Scroll of Supremacy issued me a challenge, he replied distractedly.
Really? Yi Yi eximed in surprise, Did you ept it?
I did.
But youre still not recovered yet She said worriedly. Three days had passed, but Lu Ye was still suffering from the side effects of using Fire Phoenix. It would be incredible if he could unleash even half of his normal strength.
Im not actually going to fight them. I just want to check out the ce.
Just because he epted the challenge didnt mean he must meet his challenger in battle. He could simply forfeit the battle once his four-hour preparation time was up. Sure, he would lose his cement as a result, but it was a small price to paypared to his life.
After assuring Yi Yi, Lu Ye moved on to check the top ten rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy. Every single one of them belonged to a Tier-One sect in Jiu Zhou. In fact, the top fifteen rankers all came from a Tier-One sect.
Cultivators from Tier-Two sects only appeared starting from the sixteenth spot, and Tier-Three sects starting from the fifty-first. Not only that, there werent many Tier-Three Sects on the Scroll of Supremacy in general.
Speaking of which, Yu Lianzhou was ranked seventh on the Scroll of Supremacy. It was quite impressive.
The champion of the Scroll of Supremacy was a man named Shi Guang from the Way Profound Sect, Tian Zhou. Lu Ye wondered if he was the former third runner-up of the rank list.
Yan Xing was dead, and Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian had both ascended to the Cloud River Realm. Since the Three Tumors upying the top rung of the Scroll of Supremacy were finally gone, the third runner-up should automatically ascend to the first ce. If that was true, then Shi Guang owed Lu Ye a thanks at the very least. If he hadnt bought Li Baxian two Point Restoration Pills and sent him on his way, he would never have taken the first ce.
After Lu Ye was done figuring out the intricacies of the Scroll of Supremacy, he withdrew his mind and continued recovering. He didnt waste his time doing nothing either. He studied a book he had taken from Lady Yuns study and consumed Spirit Pills to cultivate at the same time.
The existence of the protective ward actually prevented him from constructing a Circle of Boon or Gathering Spirits inside his Spiritual Points. If the World Spiritual Qi in the area flowed too quickly, it would cause the poisonous fog to corrode the ward much faster than normal.
Thankfully, his cultivation speed remained pretty quick even though he was just consuming Spirit Pills. In fact, consuming Spill Pills had always been his main method of cultivation.
Four hours came and went just like that. Lu Ye connected his mind to the Battlefield Imprint and forfeited the battle immediately.
He checked the Scroll of Supremacy once more. He had dropped from the thirty-third spot to the thirty-seventh spot, while the former thirty-seventh Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator had taken over his position.
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly as he memorized the guys name and origin.
Before he could withdraw his mind though, he felt yet another challenge request entering his Battlefield Imprint.
Just like thest time, he epted the request before leaving it to dry.
At the same time, a message was spreading across the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators like wildfire. It was said that Lu Yi Ye was probably in a bad state because he had repeatedly refused the challenge requests of the Scroll of Supremacy!
Chapter 380: Hua Ci Arrives
Chapter 380: Hua Ci Arrives
As Lu Ye had guessed before, the Thousand Demon Ridge was trying to sound out his condition by issuing him challenge requests.
Lu Ye had not died from poison even though it had been three days since he crossed the point of no return, and the Thousand Demon Ridge did not dare to follow him into the death zone. Therefore, this was the only realistic way they had to check his condition.
Lu Yi Ye had epted the challenge but forfeited every time his four-hour preparation time was up. This proved that his condition was poor, or considering his personality he would not have given up without putting up a fight.
Moreover, the battle of the Scroll of Supremacy did not always end in death. If one of thebatants felt like they were in danger of dying, they could just yell, I yield! and the Heavens would automatically take them away from the battlefield.
The fact that Lu Yi Ye did not even dare to show his face could only mean that he was afraid that the Thousand Demon Ridge would find out his real condition.
Their anxiety subsided greatly when they learned this. Now they truly believed that it was only a matter of time before Lu Yi Ye perished!
Another four hours passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Ye slipped from the thirty-seventh spot to the forty-first.
The Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt done with him though. Yet another challenger had issued him a challenge request.
In the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye was growing impatient with the constant interruption. Every time four hours had passed, someone would issue him a challenge and interrupt his recovery, cultivation and study all at the same time. While he could earn himself four hours of peace by epting the challenge and leaving it to dry, it did not change the fact that he was being interrupted.
That was why Lu Ye declined the third challenge request straight up, causing his ranking to decline to the forty-sixth spot!
For the next incense stick, everyone who possessed the right to connect to the Heavens and check the Scroll of Supremacy watched as Lu Ye nosedived all the way from the forty-first spot all the way to the bottom. Finally, he vanishedpletely from the Scroll of Supremacy!
Three days ago, Lu Ye had made history by ascending to the thirty-third spot as a Heaven Seven cultivator. Three dayster, the rising star had dropped out of the rank list almost just as quickly. It was the literal definition of a sh in the pan.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were satisfied that Lu Yi Ye had finally stopped poking their eyes with his existence in the Scroll of Supremacy.
Lu Ye was also satisfied that no one could interrupt him through the Scroll of Supremacy anymore.
He was going to catch a good rest when suddenly, he frowned and called out, Yi Yi!
Yi Yi was in the middle of barbecuing some raw meat. She turned toward him distractedly as she asked, What is it?
It was then she noticed that Lu Yes expression was off. He was staring in a certain direction and slowly rising to his feet. His Spiritual Power suddenly circted at high speed as if he was preparing forbat. In fact, he was.
Yi Yi immediately sank into the underground while Amber leaped onto Lu Yes shoulder. The tiger looked like it was being useless, but in fact it was ready to respond to any danger.
Somehow, someone had made it all the way to their location. This was thest thing Lu Ye was expecting.
The Myriad Poison Forest had been fully surrounded by the Thousand Demon Ridge, so this mysterious stranger could only be their enemy. The fact that they made it this far showed just how strong they were. He wondered what rank they were on the Scroll of Supremacy.
Lu Yi Ye held the Invible with one hand and a ward g with the other. He might not be able to unleash even half of his full power right now, but he had set up a number of wards in the area. No matter how strong the mysterious stranger was, they werent going to kill him this easily.
Creak, creak, creak
By now, the stranger was close enough that he could hear them crushing some tree branches beneath their feet. They were slowly passing through the thick, aquamarine fog and making their way toward the ward.
Despite imbuing his eyes with Insight, he was still unable to see through the poisonous fog and see the neers face. Judging from the vague outline, it was probably a woman.
A short whileter, the stranger finally arrived at the edge of the ward and beamed at Lu Ye. If the strangers arrival had shocked him before, now he waspletely bbergasted.
Sister Hua Ci! Yi Yi eximed in disbelief as she emerged from the underground. Thest person she had expected to see here was Hua Ci.
[No, wait, she must havee all the way to find us!]
Yi Yi was just about to jump into Hua Cisp when Lu Ye abruptly caught her shoulder, causing her to look back in puzzlement.
Lu Ye squinted a little at the Hua Ci outside the ward and said, Im pretty sure our medicine cultivator does not have the ability to pass through the Thousand Demon Ridges encirclement ande all the way here. Who are you?
His words struck Yi Yi like a thunderbolt. She had been so overjoyed that shepletely failed to realize it should be impossible for Hua Ci to make it here alone. Furious at the deception, she stared at Hua Ci and yelled, Who are you? How did you disguise yourself as Sister Hua Ci?
Hua Ci broke into a wry smile before shooting Lu Ye a somewhat aggrieved look. She then let out a sigh, rubbed her tummy and pretended to cry, Oh, you poor, poor child. Your dad doesnt want us anymore. What are we going to do?
YI Yis eyes widened like saucers. What does that mean?
Lu Ye was even more shocked than she was. He felt like he had taken a Lightning Invoking Talisman Paper to the face.
Initially, he was certain that the Hua Ci in front of him was fake. After she said this though, he wasnt quite sure anymore. No one except that woman would be so foul-mouthed in front of him.
He quickly recalled a way to verify this and sent Hua Ci a message through his Battlefield Imprint. The woman immediately responded, Daddy, your child and his mother havee to see you. Arent you happy?
Lu Yes eyes twitched uncontrobly as he waved his g. A gap opened in the ward, and Hua Ci stepped in.
Lu Ye, Yi Yi was unaware of the message and so asked distrustfully, Is she really Sister Hua Ci?
She is.
Sister Hua Ci! Yi Yi immediately hopped, skipped and jumped over to Hua Ci. She was beyond happy to see her here.
Lu Ye had also sat down while looking Hua Ci up and down. He still felt like was dreaming because he did not think that Hua Ci woulde all the way to find him, muchless seed.
Also, her aura marked her as a Ninth-Order cultivator. This clearly did not line up with what he remembered of her cultivation speed.
After Yi Yi had finally calmed herself down, Lu Ye finally asked, How on earth did you get here?
With my own two feet, duh! Hua Ci replied matter-of-factly.
Did the Thousand Demon Ridge evacuate already?
No. I count at least thousands of people covering both the sky and the ground of the Myriad Poison Forest. There are many squads going in and out of the forest in search of you as well. Youre well and truly trapped, dear.
Then how did you walk in, dear?
Im a medicine cultivator. There was a search party who requested a medicine cultivator to join them, so I did.
Lu Ye was going to ask where that search party went when he saw her carrying at least thirty to forty Storage Bags on her waist. That was his answer.
Lu Ye was shocked yet again. What on earth had she received at Mount Ying? She was just a Ninth-Order medicine cultivator, and yet she had wiped out an entire squad of Core Circle cultivators single handedly! Judging from the amount of Storage Bags on her waist, the squad must have numbered at least twenty people.
That wasnt even his biggest question. How on earth was Hua Ci able to resist the poisonous fog? She might be an outstanding medicine cultivator, but there was only so much one could do against the deadly phenomenon. He could resist it because he had the Tree of Glyphs. More urately, the Tree of Glyphs burned away the poison before it could do any real harm to his body.
It had to have something with her inheritance.
Suddenly, Hua Ci spoke up, Yi Yi, the meat is ckening.
Ahhh! Yi Yi hurriedly went back to the bonfire and flipped the meat around.
Hua Ci examined Lu Ye up and down while asking, Youre not poisoned?
The reason she came all the way despite the dangers was because she was afraid that Lu Ye would sumb to the poison. However, the guy looked poison-free despite his weakened condition. If anything, Yi Yi was the one who looked like she could use some poison removal.
Im immune to poison, Lu Ye replied before throwing the question back to her, How are you not poisoned?
What a coincidence! Im immune to poison as well. Hua Ci shot him a benevolent smile before walking up to Lu Ye and crouching beside him. She instructed, Give me your hand!
Lu Ye obeyed, and Hua Ci ced two fingers on his wrist. Although he looked like he was fine on the surface, there were countless poisons that were both deadly and undetectable. She would not be able to rest easily until she had checked his condition herself.
A momentter, she finally confirmed that Lu Ye wasnt poisoned.
Open your mouth.
Ah Lu Ye did as she said.
Stick out your tongue.
Enough! Lu Ye realized she was toying with him and did not obey her this time.
Hehe, that isnt your choice to make, Hua Ci said while grabbing his hand suddenly. It felt soft as silk and warm as sunlight. At the same time, he suddenly felt numb as if he had been stung by a venomous bee, though the feeling faded as quickly as it came. After that, Hua Ci immediately grabbed Lu Yes mouth in an attempt to force out his tongue.
Before she could even begin squeezing though, Lu Ye had responded by grabbing her own face!
[Hmm. I think I can get used to this.]
Hua Cis mouth turned into an O-shape, and not because Lu Ye was squeezing her. She blinked in confusion as they stared into each others eyes.
[This isnt right he shouldve been paralyzed the moment I touched him!]
What are you doing? Lu Ye asked in an unclear voice.
How are you Hua Ci did not know what to say.
Meanwhile, Yi Yi was watching the duo squeezing each others cheeks, puffing up their lips and staring into each others eyes soulfully. When she recalled what Hua Ci had said at the beginning, she stomped her foot and vanished into Ambers body.
[Im not watching this!]
On Lu Yes shoulder, Amber had covered its eyes with its paws as well
Did you just poison me? It was only now Lu Ye realized what Hua Ci had done to him. The Tree of Glyphs residing in his Source Spiritual Point had released arge puff of gray fog; a sign that the poison was being purged from his body.
How are you fine? Hua Ci just could not figure out why.
I told you Im immune to poison.
Impossible! Hua Ci clearly did not believe him. There was no such thing as immunity to all poison.
Can you release me now?
You first.
Okay.
Lu Ye let go of Hua Cis face, and Hua Ci Lu Yes. However, Hua Ci was still holding his hand tightly. At the same time, the gray fog expelling from the Three of Glyphs grew thicker.
Chapter 381: You Toxic Woman
Chapter 381: You Toxic Woman
Lu Ye shot the Tree of Glyphs a nce before looking back at Hua Ci.
Why are you trying to poison me, you toxic woman!
Hua Ci eximed in amazement, Are you really immune to poison?
What, you thought I was joking?
I dont believe you!
Whatever. By the way, its my turn to ask questions. What on earth is this inheritance of yours?
Lu Ye did not think that Hua Ci was actually trying to kill him, of course. However, he was curious to know how she suddenly gained the ability to poison someone without being noticed. After all, she practically looked the same as before; the only difference was her increased cultivation level.
[No, wait, its like her very body is full of poison.]
All she did was grab his hand, and toxins began invading his body. If his assumption was true, then his random jab about her being a toxic woman wasnt just urate, but literally urate.
He grew even more curious about her inheritance at Mount Ying. She had clearly told him that the inheritance was a medicine cultivators inheritance, so why on earth had her abilities grown in the opposite direction?
On second thought, Hua Cis ability to grow horrifying mushrooms hade from that inheritance as well, so he supposed it wasnt that strange.
Plus, there were plenty of medicine cultivators in Jiu Zhou who were experts in poison. Toxicology was a part of pharmacology after all.
Still, he was expecting a medicine cultivators inheritance to be ny percent about saving lives, and ten percent about poisoning others. For it to be the other way around whoever had left behind the inheritance seemed to be pretty suspect.
Are you sure youre fine? You do not need to force yourself.
The duo were holding each others hands and conversing just a few inches away from each others faces. If it wasnt for the fact that there was green light shing around Lu Yes wrist again and again, anyone wouldve thought that they were partners confessing their longing for one another after a long separation.
Oh, Ive never been better, replied Lu Ye smoothly while holding Hua Cis hand with his left hand and enjoying the sensation. Youre the one whos suffered much toe this far.
On the outside, Hua Ci shot him a beatific smile and said, It is my responsibility. On the inside, she swore she was going to show him whos boss if it was thest thing she did!
After obtaining the full inheritance from Mount Ying, Hua Ci had thought that the days where Lu Ye one-upped her were finally over. However, not only did the guy actually look like he was immune to poison, the first thing he did after they met was to take advantage of her!
She was, in a sense, a walking sac of deadly poison. If she wanted to, there was no one in the world who could touch her without being poisoned. However, nothing she did to Lu Ye was working.
Aquamarine light kept shing and vanishing from both of Lu Yes hands. In his Source Spiritual Point, the Tree of Glyphs was giving off an impressive amount of gray smoke.
Finally, Hua Ci could not stand his ministration any longer and uttered, Let go already!
Lu Ye merely shot her a sunny grin. He still did not know what kind of inheritance she had obtained from Mount Ying, but she had clearly been trying to take him down a peg, not realizing that the Tree of Glyphs prevented any and all poison from doing him harm. As a result, not only did she go for wool only toe back shorn, she couldnt even pull away from his grasp.
Yi Yi! Hua Ci looked at Amber and cried, Hes bullying me! I need you to discipline him!
It was only then that Lu Ye finally let go of her and said with mock seriousness, Lets spar again in the future. And youre not allowed to call for help next time.
Hua Ci merely red at him while giving her hand a shake. He had caressed it so much that it was hurting a bit.
With that mini interlude behind them, Hua Ci looked around her before asking, If I knew you guys were mostly fine, I would not have rushed over. Where is Ju Jia, by the way? I thought that the three of you were together.
He ascended to the Cloud River Realm and went back to the headquarters.
Hua Ci wasnt expecting that. Ju Jia ascended to the Cloud River Realm? But how? I thought he was only Heaven Seven!
Lets just say that his talent is extraordinary.
He did not borate because he and Yi Yi were the only two people who knew about Ju Jias Mutant core. He saw no reason to spill his secret even between close friends.
Hua Ci nodded before calling out again, Yi Yi.
The girl appeared with her head drooped and her cheeks red. That was literally the first time she saw two people acting lovey-dovey with each other so to speak. As a result, she wasnt quite able to look at Hua Ci in the face even now.
Hua Ci shot her a kind smile as she grabbed her hand. A quick inspectionter, she said, Its no big problem.
After pulling Yi Yi to one side and sitting on the floor, the greenish color on Yi Yis skin began vanishing at a visible rate. No one knew how Hua Ci had done it, but it made sense that she could cure someone as easily as she could poison them, especially since Yi Yis condition wasnt severe to begin with. It wasnt long before she was fully cured.
Thank you, sister Hua Ci, Yi Yi thanked her with a sweet smile.
Hua Ci gave the cute girl a reassuring pat on the back of her hand before turning back to Lu Ye. The young man was now chowing down on the meat Yi Yi had cooked earlier. What are your immediate ns in the future?
Recover and cultivate.
Im d youre not diving head first into recklessness for once.
The Thousand Demon Ridge was currently in a state of total lockdown, and even with Hua Cis newfound power, the three of them plus Amber still werent enough to break out. Lu Ye could try executing Glyph: Fire Phoenix again, but the side effects were so that he wasnt willing to use it as anything but ast resort.
Their surroundings were hardly friendly, but at least they were in no danger of dying. Now that Hua Ci was here, they had even less to worry about the poisonous fog around them.
Lu Ye had told Yu Lianzhou in his message that he was going to cultivate until Heaven Nine before breaking out, but honestly, he did not think that was going to happen. At his current level, it would take ages to make it to Heaven Nine.
No, he was going to break out when he was Heaven Eight. He thought he would be able to do it at that cultivation level.
Yi Yi was sitting next to Hua Ci while thetter was catching up with Lu Ye. For some reason, the girl kept shooting Hua Cis tummy an odd look from time to time. Finally, she caved to her curiosity and gave Hua Cis tummy a rub
Hua Cis arrival had undoubtedly given Lu Ye and Yi Yi an additionalyer of security.
Inside the ward, Lu Ye was resting and cultivating as usual. Outside the ward, Hua Ci and Yi Yi were running about and busying themselves with something. Just a dayter, the women had constructed a simple, three-floor high wooden building and even a wooden fence outside the building, effectively forming a courtyard.
Finally, Lu Ye established a number of wards surrounding their new residence before moving in. With this, their quality of life had skyrocketed by several leagues.
Lu Ye could not help but think how different his quality of life was with and without a woman.
Yi Yi Yi Yi was just a girl, so she didnt count.
If Lu Yes life in the Myriad Poison Forest was as in as it was boring, then Hua Cis life was the opposite. He didnt know what she was doing in the norm, but she was so busy that he only got to see her a few times a day, if at all. One thing was certain though, her presence had brought the Thousand Demon Ridge much suffering.
How could he tell? It was because she always returned with dozens of Storage Bags around her waist. Sometimes, she only brought back a dozen or so Storage Bags. Sometimes, she brought back as many as thirty Storage Bags. She always handed him the Storage Bags so that he could unlock them all and split the loot.
As a result, Lu Ye grew even more interested in Hua Cis inheritance. Just what did she obtain to allow her, a Ninth-Order medicine cultivator, to ughter the Core Circle cultivators like helpless chicks? In just a few days, the amount of Storage Bags she brought back had exceeded a hundred!
Time passed slowly, and the Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt feeling very good as ofte, to be honest.
For one, the Vanquisher of Sects was still alive. Although he had vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy, there were other ways to check his status. And he was definitely still alive. Somehow, the young man was still breathing even though it had been half a month since he was trapped in the Myriad Poison Forest.
Currently, the Thousand Demon Ridge had arrived at two popr theories. One, the Vanquisher of Sects had a method to resist the deadly poison of the Myriad Poison Forest. This theory was deemed unlikely though. The forest was deemed a forbidden area for a reason. It should not be possible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to resist its poison for so long.
The second theory was that he had found a safe area that was untouched by the poison of the Myriad Poison Forest. That was how he was able to live until now.
If that was true, then that bastard must have used up all of his luck to find it. Such a ce should not exist within the Myriad Poison Forest, but since Lu Yi Ye was still alive, they had to assume that it did exist, and he had somehow stumbled upon it, the lucky bastard!
The Thousand Demon Ridge had never stopped sending people into the Myriad Poison Forest in search for Lu Yi Ye. At first, the exploration proved to be difficult but not particrly dangerous. Their cultivators always managed to exit the forest before they sumbed to the poison.
However, things took a turn for the worse on the third day. First, they had lost an entire squad of over twenty cultivators. By the time someone had found their remains, they had already rotted into skeletons.
The next day, another squad had vanished without a trace. Since then, they kept losing people to the forest no matter what precautions they took. It was as if this forbidden area was a sleeping giant, and their presence had awoken it from its slumber. Now, it was killing them continuously to appease its own rage.
No one knew how their allies had died. Looking at the info they had gathered before things went to shit, the locations they went to should not have resulted in total annihtion even if the cultivators in question wereplete idiots. Moreover, they had never gone deeper than a few kilometers.
In any case, their casualties had hiked to previously unthinkable levels due to Lu Yi Ye. Not only that, they were now faced with a difficult choice.
It had been half a month since they gathered outside the Myriad Poison Forest, and their cultivation progress was suffering because of this. That they were all Core Circle cultivators only made things worse. They were all people who were expected to have a bright future, but it was impossible to make any progress so long as they remained at the Myriad Poison Forest. They were effectively stunting their growth for one Lu Yi Ye.
On the other hand, few people could bear leaving without confirming Lu Yi Yes death. As if that wasnt bad enough, the Grand Sky Coalition had been harassing them this whole time. While the Grand Sky Coalition was unable to amass enough numbers to pose a threat, they kept ambushing therades who wereing over to join them. Despite their best attempts to mitigate this, they were still losing people every day.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators could not understand why this was happening. The situation should have been overwhelmingly in their advantage. It shouldve ended with Lu Yi Ye being lured to the Myriad Poison Forest and killed with little resistance. So how did it turn out like this?
That was when they received even worse news. Ju Jia, the body-tempering cultivator who shouldve been trapped in the Myriad Poison Forest just like Lu Yi Ye, had been sighted in the Cloud River Battlefield!
They felt like they were going insane
Chapter 382: Hua Ci’s Soup
Chapter 382: Hua Cis Soup
In the building, Lu Ye was studying Lady Yuns books as usual.
While carrying a ypot in her hand, Hua Ci walked into the room and knelt beside him. She then grabbed a bowl and filled it with what looked like milky white soup. A fragrant scent immediately permeated the room.
Its time to drink your soup, dear, Hua Ci said gently as she ced the bowl in front of Lu Ye. An outsider mightve thought that she was his lover or his wife.
Lu Ye knew better than that though. He set down his book and stared at what he strongly suspected to be a scorpion tail in his bowl, eyes twitching.
Ever since Hua Ci had shown up at their temporary doorsteps, his health had been recovering steadily. He had to admit that his recovery probably wouldve taken twice as long without her. His injuries were mostly gone a few days ago, and today he was back at peak strength once more.
It was all thanks to the herbal soup Hua Ci cooked for him every day.
The herbal soup was as potent as it was tasty. If the Tree of Glyphs didnt release a massive cloud of smoke every time he finished drinking it, he wouldve believed that it was cooked using some incredibly rare herbs.
In reality, all the ingredients had been procured from the Myriad Poison Forest. If the mostmon thing in the forest was the poisonous fog that shrouded it all year, then the second mostmon thing was its poisonous creatures. Spiders, toads, scorpions, vipers, centipedes he had seen them all in Hua Cis y pot.
While the ingredients were novel to say the least, he could not deny their efficacy.
ording to Hua Ci, she saw no reason not to use her full capabilities to treat him since he was immune to poison.
Lu Ye thought she was just using this opportunity to get some payback and schadenfreude.
Lu Ye epted the bowl and slowly drank the soup. Hua Ci had also poured a bowl for herself.
She suddenly looked at Amber and asked, Would you like a bowl too?
The tiger had been staring at the duo with incredulity. The moment it heard Hua Cis question, it immediately leaped out of the window.
Amber feared nothing and no one, but Hua Ci? She was a different story.
Oh right, this is for you. Lu Ye suddenly recalled something and produced a bracelet from his Storage Bag.
Hua Ci squinted at it and asked, What is this? A token of love?
Oh yes. Its the family heirloom of my Lu Family, and only the first wife has the right to receive it!
Hua Ci epted it and put it around her wrist. After she activated the bracelet and figured out what it was for, she tried to hand it back to Lu Ye while saying, You need it more than me.
The bracelet could conceal a persons presence and turn them invisible. It was none other than the Concealment Bracelet Lady Yun had given Lu Ye before.
Lu Ye activated Invisibility without a word. It was only then she put the Concealment Bracelet back on her wrist.
She had been hunting the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge every day, and her method of killing was to poison her targets without their knowledge. Since the Myriad Poison Forest was overflowing with poison to begin with, practically no one had ever found out that her victims were really killed by a cultivator. The item would ensure that it stayed that way.
As for Lu Yes im that the bracelet was a family heirloom and something to be passed down to the first wife only, it went in one ear and out the other as a matter of course.
It wasnt long before the duo had cleaned out the entire y pot of soup. After Hua Ci had cleaned up the dishes and left the building, she sought out a suitable location nearby and sat down. Then, she started inhaling the surrounding aquamarine fog into her body.
Ever since she fully inherited the inheritance at Mount Ying, her cultivation method had be very different from an ordinary cultivators. For starters, her need for World Spiritual Qi had greatly lessened. Two, poison elerated her growth much faster than World Spiritual Qi. The deadlier the poison, the greater the boost to her cultivation.
The Myriad Poison Forest might be a forbidden area to most cultivators, but to Hua Ci, there was no better cultivation environment in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.
On the third floor, Lu Ye waszily flipping to a new page when suddenly, he sat up straight and turned serious. It was because the page was disying a type of Glyph he had never seen before.
Generally speaking, the Glyphs he knew could be split into two types. The first type was of course the Glyphs he inherited from the Tree of Glyphs. The Glyphs he picked up from the Tree of Glyphs could be constructed any time he wanted and without fear of failure. In fact, he had never failed to construct a Glyph that was borne on the leaves of the Tree of Glyphs. For example, Fire Phoenix was the biggest and mostplex Glyphs he had ever known, and he had still sessfully constructed it on the first try, though the side effects were definitely nothing to scoff at.
The second source was the books he had obtained from Lady Yuns study. Unlike the first type, there was a not insignificant chance he might fail when constructing these Glyphs. The moreplex the Glyph, the greater the chance of failure.
That was why Lu Ye rarely used the Glyphs he had picked up from the books inbat. A single mistake could result in his death.
That said, it wasnt like the second type of Glyphs were useless. On the contrary, they could be applied to wards to great effect.
Different Glyphs had different levels ofplexity. In fact, one could rank a Glyph by the amount of Yin and Yang elements they were constructed from, though no one actually did this because there was no such thing as a useless Glyph as long as they were applied in the right ces.
Lu Ye himself categorized the Glyphs he knew by difficulty. Glyphs that took over one hundred Yin and Yang elements to construct were Tier-One Glyphs, Glyphs that took over two hundred Yin and Yang elements to construct were Tier-Two Glyphs, so on and so on.
The categorization did not apply to Fire Phoenix because Lu Ye reckoned that it was made up of at least a hundred thousand Yin and Yang elements. It was an unimaginable number to say the least.
Every Glyph Lu Ye had mastered so far was only made up of several hundred Yin and Yang elements at most. In fact, a small amount of them only consisted of one to two hundred Yin and Yang elements. None of them even came close to the one thousandth mark, much less the one hundred thousandth mark.
And today, he finally saw his first thousand-element Glyph.
The Glyph before his eyes was made up of nearly three thousand Yin and Yang elements. He had no doubt that it was incredibly difficult to construct. However, the introduction and the description of the Glyphs effects intrigued Lu Ye deeply.
The Glyph was without a doubt a powerful Glyph. Although it wasnt useful inbat, it could be absolutely incredible if used in the right time and ce.
Lu Ye immediately gathered his concentration and began disassembling the Glyph as per Lady Yuns teaching.
Disassembly was an indispensable process in learning any Glyph. To sessfully construct a Glyph, one must first familiarize themselves with its structure. They must know exactly how many Yin and Yang elements it was made up of, and how they connected to one another. If the Glyphweaver made even one mistake, then chances were they were going to fail to construct the Glyph.
This was why Glyphweavers were a rare breed, and why most of them only focused on one particr field of Glyphs. For example, ward cultivators only focused on Glyphs that applied to wards, artificers only focused on Glyphs that applied to artificing, and Glyph Warlocks only focused on Glyphs that applied tobat.
It wasnt that they didnt want to master more Glyphs. They simply did not have the energy or the ability to do so.
Given enough time, these Glyphweavers might be able to expand their breadth of knowledge to another field, but the Way of Glyphs was as deep as it was profound. They could easily spend their whole lives studying the Way of Glyphs and never reach total mastery of even a single field, much less all of them.
Lu Ye was aiming to master them all not because he had an exaggerated belief of his talent, but because he had the Tree of Glyphs, something no one else possessed.
It took Lu Ye a full day before he finally finished disassembling the Glyph and familiarizing himself with its structure. Now, he was ready to construct it. He took out a crystalline wafer and began constructing the Glyph on it.
Constructing a Glyph on a crystalline wafer made it easier to observe the Glyph and summarize ones mistakes. It also made the Glyph more stable, and failure would not damage him anyway. If he had tried to construct it like normal, the resulting explosion could have hurt him greatly. Lady Yun had taught him all about the benefits of using the medium since the beginning.
Time passed. The Myriad Poison Forest was fairly quiet these days. The Thousand Demon Ridge was still surrounding the forest because no one knew if they would get another chance like this if Lu Yi Ye did, as unlikely as it seemed, survive this tribtion. They had no choice but to keep waiting no matter how impatient they were.
In the wooden building, Lu Ye did not forget to cultivate while familiarizing himself with the Glyph. He continued to chug down pills like the glutton he was and unlock his Spiritual Points one after another.
When he first entered the Myriad Poison Forest, he had only unlocked two hundred and forty eight Spiritual Points, or eight additional Spiritual Points since he departed from the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
It had been a month since he entered the Myriad Poison Forest, and he now had two hundred and seventy five Spiritual Points unlocked. This meant that he had almost unlocked a Spiritual Point every day.
His cultivation speed was something no Spirit Creek Realm cultivator in the Jiu Zhou could match. It was because he had a massive stock of Spirit Pills and fuel. Besides the six to eight hours he spent on resting, he spent almost every waking hour cultivating and reading his books.
As he mentioned before, his imprisonment in the Myriad Poison Forest might not necessarily be a bad thing for him.
This was especially true after Hua Ci arrived, and he could afford to set up a Circle of Boon and construct Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points once more. His cultivation efficiency improved tremendously after that.
The reason he didnt do that in the past was because he was worried that the flow of World Spiritual Qi would put too much pressure on the protective ward. If the ward was damaged, then Yi Yi and Amber would be poisoned for sure.
But now that Hua Ci was here, he did not need to worry about that anymore. Even if the ward waspletely wrecked, they had Hua Ci to cure them of their affliction.
This was the Core Circle, so the concentration of World Spiritual Qi of the forest was pretty good even though there were no Divine Opportunity Columns to amplify the effects.
He was now only twenty five Spiritual Points away from Heaven Eight. At first, he was nning to break out of the forest after reaching that cultivation level, but his original idea expanded after he saw the Glyph in the book. Hopefully, its execution would be up to par with his nning.
Speaking of which, Lu Ye had sessfully constructed theplex Glyph already. However, his sess rate wasnt very good yet. He would have to keep practicing. There was no rushing this.
A few dayster, Hua Ci entered Lu Yes room with a y pot in her hands as usual. However, the young man was staring at her in shock. He examined her a few times to confirm that he wasnt seeing things before asking, Youre Heaven Seven already?
Yep. I just ascended today, Hua Ci replied while filling up his bowl.
Lu Ye could hardly believe it.
Chapter 383: Heaven Eight and Glyph: Void
Chapter 383: Heaven Eight and Glyph: Void
From the beginning of his cultivation journey, he had been able to consume Spirit Pills to increase his cultivation without limit thanks to the Tree of Glyphs poison-neutralizing effects and the Gluttonous Feasts support. It was why he was supremely confident in his speed at unlocking Spiritual Points. In fact, he dared to im that no one in the Jiu Zhou was a match for him.
After all, using Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order Realm as the standard, who else but him could unlock a Spiritual Point a day in this less-than-ideal environment?
That was until he saw Hua Ci.
When Hua Ci had left the Outpost for Mount Ying, she was just an Eighth-Order cultivator. Not longter, she entered the Myriad Poison Forest as a Ninth-Order cultivator.
This didnt surprise Lu Ye because she had reimed her inheritance. He assumed that her inheritance had boosted her cultivation level somehow.
However, it had only been a little over a month since she entered the Myriad Poison Forest. How on earth did she ascend from the Ninth-Order Realm to the Heaven-Grade Seventh-Order Realm in such a short time?
After reaching the Ninth-Order, a cultivator must unlock sixty Spiritual Points to enter the next cultivation level. This meant that she had unlocked one or two Spiritual Points per day.
[There is no way I canpete against that right now.]
Lu Ye wasntpletely ignorant in regards to Hua Cis cultivation method. After all, the woman spent therge majority of her time cultivating outside the wooden buildingthere was no poisonous fog inside the building because of the wards.
He just wasnt expecting her unnatural way of cultivating to boost her cultivation speed so much.
Now that they were both Heaven Sevens, it was only a matter of time before her cultivation level surpassed his.
For some reason, the revtion made him feel a surge ofpetitiveness and tension.
Ju Jia had ascended to the Cloud River Realm before him because the body-tempering cultivator had hoarded an ocean of Spiritual Power in his unique Mutant core. In fact, he was qualified for ascension a long time ago.
If Hua Ci entered the Cloud River Realm before him, then
[Actually, thats not a bad thing. After all, it means that her future is bright.]
Just like that, his tension disappeared like it never was.
Another month passed as Lu Ye continued to unlock a Spiritual Point a day. Finally, he shattered the barrier surrounding a Spiritual Point, injected it with his Spiritual Power, and officially unlocked three hundred Spiritual Points!
It had been over two months since he was trapped in the Myriad Poison Forest. Despite this, he still managed to brute-force his way to his three hundredth Spiritual Point.
Now that he had met the requirements, it was time to increase his cultivation level.
He channeled his Spiritual Power and linked the sixty free Spiritual Points together into a new Microcosmic Orbit. When the Spiritual Power in the orbit began circting on its own without needing his intervention, he officially entered the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order Realm.
Lu Ye spent the next day solidifying his foundation and making sure that his Cirction System was wless. Finally, he rose to his feet and left his room.
He went to the courtyard and began nting his ward gs. The frame of a ward slowly took form.
Yi Yi asked while watching him curiously, What are you making, Lu Ye?
A fun ward, Lu Ye answered carelessly. He wasnt trying to hide the truth from Yi Yi on purpose, but this would be the first time he created this ward. It would be embarrassing if it failed after he boasted in front of the girl.
After the framework wasplete, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and began constructing the inner structure of the ward. He left the core forst.
The core was none other than the Glyph he had spent over a month studying and practicing tirelessly; the Glyph that was made up of over three thousand Yin and Yang elements.
He had practiced the Glyph until he could create it with a reasonable sess rate. It wasnt one hundred percentand it never would unless he was constructing a Glyph from the Tree of Glyphsbut the risk was now within eptable limits.
His first attempt went very well. He was able to form the Glyph at first try.
Yi Yi had apanied Lu Ye for a long time, so she wasntpletely ignorant to the Way of Glyphs. Even so, the Glyph at the center of the ward was one of the mostplex Glyphs she had ever seen. She clicked her tongue in amazement while asking, Lu Ye, this Glyph looks reallyplicated. What is it?
Void!
Void?
Thats right. The name of this Glyph is Void!
It was a Glyph that was rted to space, so it could be used for many different things. If it was constructed at the center of a ward though, then most likely the ward had to be the famous Teleportation Ward!
There werent too many Teleportation Wards in Jiu Zhou because the Divine Opportunity Column itself already supported teleportation. Normally, the cultivators simply teleported to their destination or close to their destination using their own or their allies Divine Opportunity Column.
Not only that, it required a significant amount of investment and time to establish a Teleportation Ward, not to mention that it needed constant maintenance. On the other hand, the Divine Opportunity Column was an object granted by the Heavens and nearly indestructible.
The Teleportation Ward Lu Ye hadid down was incredibly rough and simple because its framework was made up entirely of ward gs, and the internal structure and core were built using his Spiritual Power. Not only that, Lu Ye had to tweak the Teleportation Ward to gather World Spiritual Qi on its own so that it wouldnt run out of Spiritual Power and copse.
He was now proficient enough in the Way of Wards to make such a modification.
Ideally, the Teleportation Ward would be established using a ward nexus. In general, a ward that was built using a ward nexus was more stable. On the other hand, a ward that was built using ward gs was more flexible.
Theoretically speaking, Lu Ye could create any ward he had already mastered using the thirty-two basic ward gs in his repertoire. A ward nexus only worked on a single or several types of ward, which was why it was less flexible than ward gs.
The ward was nowplete, but Lu Ye wasnt sure if it would actually work. Still, nothing could be done if one never dared to take the first step.
Now that he was a Heaven Eight cultivator, he was sure he could break out of the Thousand Demon Ridges encirclement if he wanted to. However, what worried Lu Ye was what happened after he broke out. For starters, he would still be hunted all over the Core Circle like a rat. Hiding in an allys Outpost would only be bringing them trouble and destruction as well.
He might even go as far as to say that there was almost no safe ce for him in the Core Circle at all. That was how much the Thousand Demon Ridge feared him.
That was why the Myriad Poison Forest was a great refuge. Since it was a forbidden area, the Thousand Demon Ridge could gather ten times the number and still not be able to lift a finger against him. If they dared to venture into the forest and search for him, Hua Ci would send them to the afterlife long before they could reach him.
That was why he was going to prepare some insurance before breaking out; an escape route that was always avable to him anytime, anywhere. The escape route was the Teleportation Ward he just built, and his refuge the Myriad Poison Forest itself. While the forests World Spiritual Qi was undoubtedly lousier than an Outposts, cultivation wasnt a problem as long as he had enough Spirit Pills. At worst, his cultivation efficiency would suffer a little.
Most cultivators required an excellent environment to cultivate their Spiritual Power, but in his case it was almost unnecessary. Sometimes life was just unfair
After checking the Teleportation Ward again and confirming that everything was in order, he instructed, Keep an eye on the ward, will you?
He then went outside of the protective ward surrounding the wooden building.
As with most things, there were more than one type of Teleportation Ward. First, there was random teleportation. The ward would randomly teleport the person to anywhere within a certain range of the ward.
Second, there was directional teleportation. Depending on the configuration, a directional teleportation ward could be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.
A directional teleportation ward that supported one-to-one teleportation consisted of two connected Teleportation Wards. Usually, the passenger could teleport to and fro both Teleportation Wards.
A directional teleportation ward that supported one-to-many teleportation consisted of one Central Ward and many Sub Wards. The passenger could teleport between the Central Ward and the Sub Wards, but not between the Sub Wards themselves.
Finally, there was many-to-many teleportation. The Teleportation Wards were both Central Wards and Sub Wards.
The arrangement of two Teleportation Wards could differ drastically depending on their intended function.
Lu Ye was currently setting up a one-to-one directional teleportation ward. The Teleportation Ward he had created outside the wooden building was the Central Ward. This meant that he would need to create a Sub Ward toplete the setup.
Nighttime arrived, and Hua Ci returned from her cultivation. When she saw Yi Yi sitting in the courtyard with Amber beside her, she asked curiously, What are you doing?
Lu Ye set up a ward and told me to keep watch, Yi Yi replied honestly.
Where is he?
I dont know.
A whileter, Hua Ci and Yi Yi were both sitting at the courtyard and staring nkly at the Teleportation Ward.
Yi Yi, did he tell you what this teleportation ward is for?
Nope.
Hes as secretive as usual.
Meanwhile, at a clearing about ten kilometers away from the wooden building, Lu Ye stepped on the Sub Ward he just created and inhaled slightly. When he activated the Sub Ward, he immediately felt it resonating with the Central Ward he had created at the wooden building.
[So far so good!]
The fact that the two Teleportation Wards were resonating meant that it was working as intended at the basic level at least. Now, it was time to test if it would actually work.
As soon as he channeled his Spiritual Power into the Sub Ward, the surrounding space began distorting without warning. The next moment, he felt himself being enveloped by an indescribable power before falling. He felt as if he had suddenly been dropped into a bottomless abyss.
The sensation went as quickly as it came. By the time he came to, he was no longer where he had been.
At the same time, Yi Yi and Hua Ci suddenly straightened up a little. It was because they suddenly heard a weird, indescribable noise from nearby.
Whats that? Yi Yi asked curiously.
Perhaps one of the locals is passing through the area? Hua Ci replied while tilting his head. If that was true, its size must be pretty impressive to have caused such a loud noise. She reckoned that it was a venomous python or something. She had encountered plenty of boas in the forest, and most of them had gone into her and Lu Yes stomach as soup.
Look! The ward is broken. What happened? Yi Yi eximed in surprise.
The ward before them had begun acting weirdly the moment they heard the weird noise from before, and now the space within the ward had be so distorted they could barely see through it. Finally, its Spiritual Power fell into disarray, and the ward brokepletely.
Yi Yi, is it just me, or is someone crying for help? Hua Ci suddenly asked while holding a hand to her ear.
Really?
Really. Listen carefully.
Yi Yi did as she was told. A secondter, he expression turned odd, It sounds like Lu Ye.
The two girls exchanged a nce with each other before hurrying toward the source of the voice. A momentter, they spotted a man hanging limply on a tree branch tens of meters away from the wooden building.
Lu Ye!
Yi Yi eximed in shock before flying up to him and carrying him back to the ground. His clothes were torn up like they had been cut by a million des, and some of his wounds were deep enough to see the bones within. He was also drenched from head to toe in blood.
Chapter 384: Teleportation Ward
Chapter 384: Teleportation Ward
Lu Ye looked green as hey on his bed and recalled what happened after he activated the Teleportation Ward.
This wasnt his first experience with teleportation. Every time he traveled from the headquarters to the Outpost or vice versa, he teleported using the Divine Opportunity Column. The trip was always swift and harmless. One second he was here, and the next he was already at his destination.
That was why Lu Ye never thought that teleportation could be a horrific experience until now.
When he activated the Sub Ward, he immediately felt like the ground had vanished from beneath his feet, and that he was falling through an infinite Abyss. The teleportation process was way longer than when he teleported using the Divine Opportunity Column as well. As if that wasnt bad enough, he felt an indescribable energy pulling and pushing him like he was a dough. It did not stop until he was finally back in the real world
He believed himself to be a fairly brave man. At the peak of the Goldentip, he had fought forty-three matches in a row as a Fifth-Order cultivator without fear from the start to finish. He could not help but shiver when he recalled the teleportation though. Throughout the whole process he had felt like a dead leaf that waspletely at the mercy of the howling wind. He wasnt even able to summon his Spiritual Power during the teleportation process. He had felt incredibly insecure to say the least.
Even worse, he was injured during the teleportation process. While he was stuck in the unspeakable abyss, sharp, invisible energy had cut him from every direction and turned him into the bloody, tattered wreck Hua Ci and Yi Yi had seen after he was spat back into reality. The good news was that his physique was tough enough that the wounds were superficial at best. He quickly recovered after Hua Ci treated him. The bad news was that the trauma was going to take some time to remove, especially since he was going to do it all over again.
A dayter, a refreshed Lu Ye returned to the courtyard and a new set of clothes. At the side, both Yi Yi and Hua Ci were watching him with worry.
Are you really going to try it again?
Of course! It didnt go quite as I expected the first time because there were some minor issues. Im sure itll be fine after I make some adjustments, Lu Ye dered confidently before giving himself an encouraging p to the face. [As long as the ward is urate and stable enough, Im sure that horrible experience wont repeat itself! Yeah!]
And so he reced the damaged Teleportation Ward in the courtyard under Yi Yi and Hua Cis worried gazes. He then returned to the ce he hadid down the Sub Ward.
The location he had chosen toy down his Sub Ward was deep enough that the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators couldnt make it this far, and the creatures living in the forest wouldnt be interested in the ward gs. Still, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that the ward gs he left behind were still present.
Two hourster, Yi Yi and Hua Ci suddenly heard a strange noiseing from nearby. The duo exchanged a nce with each other before walking toward the source without a word. A short whileter, they were greeted by the sight of a tattered and bloodied Lu Ye yet again.
Help! the young man exhaled while stretching a hand toward the two girls. He was forcing himself to look up, but his face was white as a sheet, and he was so dizzy he could not even climb to his feet without aid.
Another day passed, and the trio were standing at the courtyard once more. This time, Yi YI and Hua Ci merely stared at Lu Ye with a nk expression.
Lu Ye dered solemnly, Third times the charm. Ive already located the problem, and it can be fixed with just a minor adjustment!
Two hourster, Hua Ci carried a bloodied Lu Ye back into the wooden building
The fourth day, at the same location.
I know youre not going to believe what I say, but thats fine. Seeing is believing!
Amber shot Lu Ye a pitying look from the window sill on the third floor before looking away. It then grabbed a Spirit Stone from the Storage Bag hanging around its neck before tossing it into its mouth.
The fifth day, Lu Ye tried to say something against Yi Yi and Hua Cis inquiring look but could not think of anything. In the end, he left without saying a word.
After Lu Ye was gone, Hua Ci asked Yi Yi with an amused look, Where do you think hell appear this time?
Yi Yi ced a finger on her lip and thought seriously. A whileter, she pointed in a certain direction and said, There!
Hua Ci smiled. I bet hell appear from there.
The girls waited patiently while listening attentively for the familiar noise. Not longter, Hua Ci smiled and said, Its your win.
Yi Yi had managed to guess the exact direction where Lu Ye would appear.
Lets go, Hua Ci added before taking off toward Lu Ye.
It was quite scary the first time, but the two girls quickly adapted to their new lifestyle of Lu Ye turning himself into a bloody wreck, and the two of them carrying him back to the wooden house for treatment. If they didnt know what he was nning, they wouldve thought that he had a hidden masochistic side in him.
This time though, they didnt go far before they saw Lu Ye shambling his way toward them like a drunkard. His face was just as white asst time, but he didnt look injured, and even his clothes looked perfectly unblemished.
Yi Yi hurried over to catch him. He shot her a grin and dered, I did it!
The effects still werent exactly as he had imagined, but he was finally done with the adjustments.
Unfortunately, the Sub Ward still could not teleport him back to the Central Ward precisely. Logically speaking, he should have appeared directly over of the Central Ward, but in reality he had appeared at least thirty meters away from it.
His setup was fine. It was just that the ward wasnt stable enough. That was why there was some slight deviation during the teleportation process. The further apart the two wards, the greater the deviation.
The solution to this problem was actually quite simple. He simply needed to improve his cultivation level or improve the stability of the wards. Unfortunately, neither solution was avable to him right now.
Also, Lu Ye had a feeling that the maximum range of his Teleportation Wards was fifty kilometers. Any further than that, and they literally wouldnt work.
He was just a Heaven Eight cultivator. When he grew stronger, his Teleportation Wards would naturally improve in stability and range.
Lu Ye spent the day meditating and returning to peak condition after finishing the adjustments. He then finally revealed his ns to Yi Yi and Hua Ci.
As expected, both girls wanted toe along with Lu Ye. Hua Ci was a Heaven Seven cultivator now, and her method of killing was practically impossible to defend against. Barring the forbidden areas, there was nowhere in the Core Circle where she couldnt venture alone.
Yi Yi and Amber had been improving by leaps and bounds as well. Despite their cultivation level, Lu Ye was certain that they would not slow him down. That said
Trust me, its better if I go alone. Also, Im one hundred percent sure you do not want to go through what I did, not to mention that my Teleportation Wards carrying capacity is quite limited right now. It can teleport one person without too many issues, but more than that I wouldnt be surprised if it didnt work or worse, failed mid-teleportation.
That mollified the two girls immediately. They werent afraid to get hurt, but they werent as tough as Lu Ye. They didnt want to appear covered in blood and tattered clothes.
You must be careful, Hua Ci warned.
I know. Just stay here and wait for me.
There was nothing to prepare, so Lu Ye took off immediately.
First, he went to his Sub Ward and retrieved the ward gs. Then, he summoned his Spirit Boat and took to the sky.
It had been two whole months since Lu Yi Ye was trapped in the Myriad Poison Forest. At the beginning, the Thousand Demon Ridge thought that it was only a matter of time before they got word of his demise. In reality, the guy was still alive as well to this day.
By now, they were certain that Lu Yi Ye had found a safe zone in the Myriad Poison Forest. There was no way he couldve survived for this long otherwise. They had lost their patience a long time ago, but they were reluctant to call it a day and withdraw either. That was why the entire Myriad Poison Forest was still surrounded to this day. They were even patrolling and searching the skies to prevent Lu Ye from escaping via his flying Spirit Artifact.
Lu Ye flew up in a straight line. It wasnt until he was tens of meters above ground that he finally escaped the poisonous fog.
When he passed through the boundary and emerged into the sunlight, he almost felt as if he had been reborn!
He sucked in a deep breath and basked under the sun for a bit. Then, he slowly turned toward the man regarding him with shock and suspicion about thirty meters away.
The man was obviously one of the cultivators responsible for patrolling the sky and searching for Lu Ye. For two months, his efforts werepletely futile and almost pointless. It was why he failed to react immediately when Lu Ye suddenly appeared before him. It wasnt until he met Lu Yes eyes that he finally eximed in pleasant surprise, Lu Yi Ye!
It wasnt until Lu Ye flew toward him that the patrol recalled his prowess and achievements and turned deathly white. Lu Yes appearance was so unexpected and exciting that he had forgotten about them until now. He also realized that he was absolutely no match for the Vanquisher of Sects despite being at the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order Realm.
Realizing that his life was in grave danger, he immediately shot a flying weapon at Lu Ye and took out a Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag at the same time. Golden light surrounded him the moment he pped it on his person.
Spirit Talisman Papers were moremon among low level cultivators because their repertoire of techniques was quite limited. Spirit Talisman Papers could make up for this weakness and even have a major effect under the right circumstances.
Most of the cultivators Lu Ye encountered while traveling from the Green Cloud Mountain to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost used Spirit Talisman Papers.
However, this did not mean that cultivators forewent Spirit Talisman Paperspletely after they reached a high cultivation level. Yes, they used offensive Spirit Talisman Papers far less frequently after gaining ess to the far more economical option that was flying weapons at the Seventh Order, but defensive or supportive Spirit Talisman Papers remained incredibly useful. Plus, they could afford to purchase higher quality Spirit Talisman Papers.
For example, the Heaven Eight cultivator before Lu Ye had used a Middle-Grade Golden Body Talisman Paper. Not even a Heaven Nine cultivator would be able to break through its protection in short order.
Of course, nothing was absolute in this world. Not only were there Core Circle cultivators who employed offensive Spirit Talisman Papers as part of their repertoire, and they were usually trump cards that could turn the tables or put the final nail in the coffin in an instant. This was why one had to be careful regardless of conventional wisdom.
The Heaven Eight cultivator had activated his Golden Body Talisman Paper at the same time he fired his flying weapon at Lu Ye. While his reaction speed could be better, his chosen countermeasures could only be described as the experience of a true veteran. He knew exactly what to do when going up against an enemy who was stronger than him.
Unfortunately, there were some people in the world who defied experience and logic. There was a sh of light and fiery red energy, and fear filled his heart in an instant. It was because Lu Ye had shattered the Middle Grade Talisman Paper and cut through his neck in one strike!
Chapter 385: Breaking Out
Chapter 385: Breaking Out
As his consciousness blurred, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator finally realized that Lu Ye was Heaven Eight as well.
They were technically at the same cultivation level, and yet he had failed to block even a single attack. Just how sharp and powerful was his saber to shatter even a Middle Grade Golden Body Talisman Paper in one strike? It just didnt make any sense
As the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators head went flying, and his headless corpse fell toward the ground while spewing blood from the neck, a flying weapon shot out of Lu Yes Weapon Holder and sailed across his waist. When it returned, a Storage Bag was hanging off the tip of the de.
Lu Ye had killed the man and robbed his Storage Bag in one fell swoop.
This was just the beginning though. More people starteding toward him from every direction while shouting,
Lu Yi Ye has appeared!
Lu Yi Ye is here!
Lu Ye squinted a little as he kept the Invible pointed toward the ground and stared at the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators closing in on him. Then, he charged toward them with a surge of Spiritual Power.
He was Heaven Seven when he had broken through the defense line and entered the Thousand Demon Ridge. Now, he was Heaven Eight. He wanted to know if he could singlehandedly break out of the encirclement!
The Thousand Demon Ridge had kept him pinned down for over two months. Of course he had to repay the favor.
It didnt matter even if they were too much for him. He could simply drop back into the forest if the danger grew unmanageable. They could be millions, and they still wouldnt be able to do anything against him.
The group he was charging toward were only made up of five cultivators. They immediately fired their flying weapons at him from multiple angles.
Lu Ye nimbly dodged all the attacks he could dodge and blocked those he could with the Invible. The distance between them was being shortened by the second.
The group of five looked increasingly serious as Lu Ye grew closer and closer. They scattered in every direction before they could enter his attack rangeor so they thought. Lu Yes nine flying weapons shot out of the Weapon Holder in unison and flew toward the group of five, their speed and power far exceeding anything they had tried to attack him with.
An instantter, blood spewed from broken bodies, and bloodcurdling screams filled the air. Three of them fell uncontrobly toward the deadly forest beneath their feet, and the remaining two were injured as well.
While this was happening, Lu Ye was already pouncing toward what was probably ajudging from the amount of vitality coursing around his bodybody-tempering cultivator. He tried bringing his Shield Spirit Artifact down on Lu Ye, but a single sh was all it took to widen his eyes like saucers and send him flying uncontrobly through the air.
The body-tempering cultivator could hardly believe what was happening. [How is he abat cultivator? Hes even stronger than I am!]
That was all he managed to think before a fiery red st covered his vision. He saw the beautiful figure of a Fire Phoenix before he was engulfed in mes.
It was Lu Yes Fire Phoenix Technique. He had first obtained the spell technique from the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic. After he had picked up the Glyph: Fire Phoenix, the spell had be much more powerful than before. Not only was the spell shaped exactly like the Fire Phoenix, it looked so detailed that one could see even the contours of its feathers. It looked like a mini version of the all-destroying bird he had conjured that day.
The Fire Phoenix Technique easily burned through his vitality and protective Spiritual Power, causing him to scream in pain. He too fell into the forest like his threepanions.
Lu Ye turned to look at thest Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator of the five, but the man had already escaped far, far away. Lu Ye did not give chase, not just because it would be a waste of energy, but also because there was a massive hole in the mans stomach that was leaking blood and innards by the second. It was unlikely he would survive even if he managed to get to a medicine cultivator in time.
The Spirit Boat took off like a beam of light once more while his nine flying weapons flew back into his Weapon Holder.
Meanwhile, the news that Lu Yi Ye had finally shown himself was spreading in every direction like wildfire. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were leaping onto the flying Spirit Artifacts and making a beeline for his location.
They had waited two Heavens-damned months for the bastard to show himself. Now was the time to throw everything they had against him and wipe him out once and for all!
From a birds eye view, one would see countless auras taking to the sky from all around the Myriad Poison Forest and converging on Lu Yes location.
Above Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye was flying almost without pause while fighting against group after group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Wherever he went, bodies kept falling toward the ground while dragging long trails of blood.
A whileter, a massive number of auras suddenly emerged from the horizon. It had to be the thousand Demon Ridges main force. At a nce, he counted almost a thousand people stretching from the left all the way to the right.
Although Lu Ye was a Heaven Eight cultivator right now, there was no way he could fight this many enemies alone, not unless he used his Fire Phoenix once more. However, he had to assume that his enemies were ready for it after the massive damage he dealt to them the first time.
The distance between the one man and one army of cultivators swiftly shortened. He could hear them yelling at him and calling for his death.
When they were about six hundred meters away from each other, Lu Ye abruptly swooped upward!
At first nce, it looked like he was trying to avoid the main force and kill his way through a weak spot in their defense.
Realizing this, the main force immediately reacted by climbing to a higher altitude as well.
Those on the ground saw countless auras dragging colorful tails of light behind them and climbing higher and higher into the sky until finally, they passed through the clouds and becamepletely invisible.
No one knew how high the sky of Jiu Zhou or the Spirit Creek Battlefield was because no one had ever flown beyond the boundary. Even the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators could not go beyond a certain limit.
It wasnt because they physically could not fly that high, but because the Judgment of the Heavens awaited all who flew past the limit. The higher they flew, the deadlier the lightning would be until finally, even a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator would not be able to survive the punishment.
It was rumored that those who managed to ovee the Judgment of the Heavens would be able to break through the Divine Ocean Realm and achieve the cultivation level beyond. It was why countless Divine Ocean Realm cultivators had done just that after they had reached the absolute pinnacle of their abilities. Unfortunately, as far as they were aware, no one had ever seeded.
Naturally, a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could not fly higher than a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. In fact, the higher Lu Ye went, the more he felt himself slow down as if an invisible pressure was preventing from going further. Finally, he reached a level where he physically could not fly higher even if he pushed with all his might
Moreover, he could sense a hint of danger lurking in the clouds above his head. If he wasnt mistaken, his senses were warning him about the legendary Judgment of the Heavens.
He looked back at the main force and saw dozens of cultivators speeding toward him at high speed. They were moving faster than expected, and he could even hear the singing of swords from their auras. His acute perception made him feel as if someone was poking his skin with multiple swords.
His senses were correct. The group of dozens were all sword cultivators!
In Jiu Zhou, there was no cultivator faction that was superior to these sword maniacs in terms of killing power and telekinesis speed. Both sword cultivators and ghost cultivators that naturally possessed the power to kill opponents above their cultivation level, but the reasons they were sessful werent the same. Ghost cultivators could kill those who were stronger than them because of their concealment and assassination skills. Sword cultivators could ovee the gap because they had poured all their heart and soul into the Way of Killing.
Their single-mindedness was why they were able to carve out a ce in Jiu Zhou.
Unfortunately, it was also why their total number was the lowest of all cultivator factions. They were even rarer than medicine cultivators because the requirements one must meet to be sword cultivator was no joke. Take the Northern Profound Sword n for example. They were a Tier-One sect in Bing Zhou, and yet they did not even have a thousand members. This would be an impossible sight for any other Tier-One sect belonging to a different cultivation faction.
Despite this, the entire Jiu Zhou would quake in their boots if eight hundred sword cultivators were to descend from Heavenstone one day. It was because it meant that the entire sect was mobilizing for whatever reason!
Of course, sword cultivators werent exclusive to the Grand Sky Coalition. The Thousand Demon Ridge owned many sword cultivators as well. The dozens flying toward Lu Ye right now were a culmination of various sects, and one could even say they were the true main force of the main force.
When Lu Ye first entered the Core Circle, his pursuers had been made fully aware of his ridiculous telekinesis speed. Since then, they realized that the only ones who might catch up to the bastard were sword cultivators.
The dozens of sword cultivators did not disappoint either. Not only were they flying way faster than theirrades, even Lu Ye had to admit that he was a tad slower than them.
Although Lu Ye wanted to test their mettle very much, he was neither crazy nor stupid. Sword cultivators were infamous for their devotion to the killing arts, and he knew there was no chance he would be able to defeat dozens of them alone. If they managed to catch up to him, then he was going to suffer some serious injuries at the very least.
That was why he did a sharp turn and nosedived the moment he reached the top. The dozens of sword cultivators were surprised to see him zooming toward the ground even faster than when he ascended.
It was true that Lu Ye was slower than these sword cultivators, but that was without using Windwalk.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators immediately realized they had been hoodwinked when they saw this. In their attempt to pursue Lu Ye, what was a tight mix of cultivators of all strengths and skills had unwittingly separated into several tiers. Generally speaking, the ones at the top were the strongest, the ones at the middle were so-so, and the ones at the bottom were the weakest of them all.
In less than ten breaths, Lu Ye was less than seventy meters away from the poisonous fog. There was a sh, and the Spirit Boat abruptly made another sharp turn and flew parallel to the ground.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators at this location were mostly Heavenly Seven cultivators. There werent even many Heaven Eight cultivators in the mix.
They attacked the moment they saw Lu Ye flying toward them. The entire sky was filled with flying weapons and spells.
Combat in the air and on the ground were two different things entirely. Not only did the act of flying itself take mental energy to maintain, there was far more space to maneuver when fighting in the air. This was why those with great mental strength held far more advantage than those who didnt in the air.
Lu Ye darted swiftly around the iing storm. He got away from the area with the densest amount of projectiles, dodged as many spells and flying weapons as he could, and parried the rest by swinging the Invible repeatedly. Finally, he collided with the enemys formation.
His Weapon Holder buzzed as nine flying weapons scattered in every direction. Together, they weaved a storm of death and destruction.
Chapter 386: Terrible Humiliation
Chapter 386: Terrible Humiliation
A shower of blood erupted in the sky as the flying weapons went to town on the poor Heaven Seven and Heaven Eight cultivators. The screams sounded like they would never end.
Blood, flesh and bones trailed after Lu Ye wherever he went. Dots of red light also chased after him like fireflies. Each dot represented the death of a cultivator, so thirty dots equaled thirty kills in total. Even more were injured by his unstoppable assault. They vanished after they made contact with Lu Yes Battlefield Imprint.
It was literally raining bodies in the Myriad Poison Forest right now. Countless people, dead or alive, were falling into the poisonous, aquamarine-colored fog.
Thirty dead was hardly an insignificant loss, but considering that the Thousand Demon Ridge force he was contending against easily numbered over a thousand people, it wasnt that much.
It was at this moment he heard the ringing of swords. The sword cultivators had finally caught up to him.
Swords wreathed in dazzling Sword Lights sailed toward him at high speed. They were nimbler and deadlier than any other flying weapon he had encountered until now. His hair stood on end before the attacks even got close to him.
It should be obvious, but a sword could travel much faster than a cultivator could fly. They were in front of him almost immediately after the sword cultivators hadunched them.
Without hesitation, Lu Ye plunged into the seemingly borderless fog of poison beneath him and vanished.
The sword cultivators did not let up on their attack, but soon they discovered that their flying swords had be much slower after they entered the poisonous fog. Not only was their connection to their flying weapons deteriorating, the swords Spiritual Power was decreasing rapidly as well.
As it turned out, the fog was as corrosive as it was poisonous. It greatly limited their ability to control their Spirit Artifacts.
The sword cultivators all wore grim expressions on their faces. This was bad. They could be many times stronger and more numerous than they were now, but so long as they continued to fight above the Myriad Poison Forest, the initiative would always be in Lu Yes hands.
Technically speaking, they could chase Lu Yi Ye into the poisonous fog. However, they were well aware that doing so would only fast-forward their demise.
Several hundred meters away, Lu Ye abruptly flew out of the poisonous fog and charged toward an unsuspecting group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. The group wasnt particrly strong, and they were busy trying to locate Lu Ye through the fog.
Although they scattered immediately after Lu Ye showed himself, some of them just werent fast enough to escape the man. A couple more bodies instantly fell toward the fog while screaming the entire way.
The dozens of sword cultivators immediately made the decision to split into two groups. One would hover just above the poisonous fog and prevent Lu Ye from diving back into it, and the other would keep chasing after Lu Ye.
This way, Lu Ye would not be able to escape back into the poisonous fog without engaging them first.
Naturally, Lu Ye wasnt going to sh against the sword cultivators. He picked a random direction and charged full speed ahead.
All around Lu Ye, Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators attempted to intercept him and stop him in his tracks. However, all they managed to do was to repeat the same mistake as before. The stronger ones were at the forefront of the group, and the weaker onesgged further and further behind. Eventually, Lu Ye did a massive U-turn and rushed straight toward the cultivators at the tail end of the group.
The unfortunate cultivators turned green in the face when they realized this. That surprise maneuver from earlier had already cost them dozens of lives. This one was probably going to turn out more or less the same way.
Although the sword cultivators were trying to keep up with Lu Ye as best they could, the unfortunate fact was that they couldnt keep up with Lu Ye with Windwalk active. The best they could hope for was to not bepletely left in the dust.
By now, the main forces formation was inplete disarray. The weak cultivators Lu Ye was targeting werent just going to stay still and let him kill them like helpless chicks, so most of them scattered in every direction, and the rest grouped up and summoned their defensive Spirit Artifacts, hoping that that would be enough to dissuade Lu Ye.
Lu Ye blurred past them in the blink of an eye. Fire Phoenix spells engulfed the group while his nine flying weapons cut through them.
Not a single person in the group was able to withstand his attacks. Not even a body-tempering cultivator with a Shield Spirit Artifact was able to block a strike that was empowered with two Sharp Edges, not to mention the Fire Phoenix spells.
The scene suddenly turnededic. From a third persons perspective, it looked like Lu Ye was leading his pursuers on a wild gooses chase while cutting them bit by bit. Unfortunately, neither his pursuers nor the unfortunate bastards he had designated as prey were able to do anything to stop this. The bodies just wouldnt stop raining.
It wasnt until more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators joined in on the pursuit that they finally put an end to Lu Yes mad maneuvers.
At least several thousand cultivators had surrounded the entire Myriad Poison Forest, and the one Lu Ye was facing was only one thousand or so people strong. The forest was pretty massive. It took them some time to fly all the way to Lu Yes location.
Several thousand cultivators surged toward Lu Ye. Even more Spirit Artifacts and flying weapons filled the sky. It reminded Lu Ye of the Mutant Wasp swarm that had hunted him like a rat two months ago.
Lu Ye had already escaped in the opposite direction, of course. The reason he was able to do what he did was because he was only dealing with a thousand or so pursuers. Now that their number had grown to thousands, of course his tactics wouldnt work anymore.
Plus, he had used up a lot of Spiritual Power even though the fight was short. This was especially true for the Glyph: Windwalk. At least sixty percent of his used Spiritual Power had been fed into the Glyph.
Currently, Lu Ye was dissatisfied with his control over his flying Spirit Artifact. While he wasnt expecting to get to Ju Jias levelthe body-tempering cultivator could probably thread a needle with his flying Spirit Artifacthe at least wanted to get to the point where fighting in the air felt perfectly natural to him. As of now, he still felt like he was limited in some ways.
Then again, perhaps he felt this way because he wasparing himself to Ju Jia. His level of control was already outstandingpared to most cultivators.
He was still being pursued by an ungodly number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. The sword cultivators especially clung to him like the maggot to bones.
Lu Ye had Windwalk, and the sword cultivators had their own secret arts. While they didntst long as a matter of course, at least they didnt need to worry about being left in the dust for now.
This experience was terribly humiliating for the Thousand Demon Ridge to say the least. After waiting for over two months for Lu Yi Ye to show himself, they had been led around like a cat chasing after its toy. Not even the sword cultivators were able to do much to improve their situation.
Lu Yi Ye had sessfully broken out of their encirclement with nary a scratch. But they? This pursuit had cost them over a hundred people already!
For a time, they could not stop cursing Lu Yi Ye for his cowardice and scorning him for picking off their weak and avoiding their strong.
The bigger emotion that dominated their heart was fear, however. It had only been two or so months, and the bastard was Heaven Eight already. How much longer would it take for him to reach Heaven Nine?
At the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order Realm, Lu Yi Ye was undoubtedly far stronger than the man they had hunted at the Misty Mountains. Moreover, most of the casualties he had inflicted were caused by his wards and other indirect methods such as the Mutant Wasps.
However, he wasnt doing any of that right now. He was fighting them directly via his own strength and skill.
Sure, he targeted their weaklings and only their weaklings, but the fact that he was able to stay ahead of the hammer itself was a testament to his strength, was it not?
For the past two months, after the Thousand Demon Ridge had mobilized thousands of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to trap him within the Myriad Poison Forest, there wasnt a single person who didnt wish to know what his ultimate fate would be.
Naturally, countless people were speechless when todays news finally made it to Jiu Zhou.
It was said that Lu Ye had single handedly broken out of the Thousand Demon Ridges encirclement. Although they were still chasing after him right now, the fact that he managed to leave Myriad Poison Forest at all meant that Thousand Demon Ridges two-month long encirclement had ended in failure.
Starting today, the chances that the Thousand Demon Ridge would get another shot like this was incredibly slim. The Heavens themselves would have to conspire against Lu Yi Ye to bring him to heel!
At least the Thousand Demon Ridge was beyond feeling embarrassment already. What was one more when they had already lost their face to Lu Yi Ye repeatedly in the past?
As the saying went, the difference between a hundred ticks and ten ticks was just the numberit was ufortable either way.
The pursuit was still ongoing, but most people could not keep up with Lu Yi Ye anymore. Although a small group of peopleespecially the sword cultivatorswere still giving chase, the bastard was slowly but surely pulling away from them.
Two hourster, even the sword cultivators had lost track of Lu Yepletely.
The defeat was difficult to swallow, but even the sword cultivators had to admit that Lu Ye was faster than them in terms of telekic speed!
The bastard was just too fast! His speed made no sense whatsoever!
Once again, the entire Thousand Demon Ridge was searching for Lu Ye. Although they had lost his trail, the operation to kill him was far from over.
It was the wishes of the higher-ups as well!
The Real Lake Realm and Divine Ocean Realm cultivators recognized the threat that Lu Ye represented even better than the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. Once upon a time, the Crimson Blood Sect had produced Feng Wujiang. They did not wish to see the same thing happening all over again!
At the beginning, Qin Zheng of the Thousand Feather Sect had created the Yi Ye Elimination Front with the explicit goal of killing Lu Yi Ye. However, it was disbanded after the failure at Misty Mountains because it was just a temporary organization that had been haphazardly put together to maintain morale.
Today, the organization had resurfaced as an official organization. In just half a day, the current champion of the Scroll of Supremacy, Shi Guang of the Way Profound Sect, had announced that hundreds of Core Circle sects would be joining the Yi Ye Elimination Front. Almost every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator on the Scroll of Supremacy would be joining as well. Their goal was to eliminate Lu Yi Ye before he ascended to Heaven Nine!
On one hand, the higher-ups had given them the order to eliminate Lu Yi Ye at all costs. On the other, the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators literally did not dare to allow Lu Ye to live even a second longer.
The bastard was already nigh unmanageable as a Heaven Eight cultivator. He would literally be invincible if they allowed him to ascend to Heaven Nine!
The Yi Ye Elimination Front waited patiently while countless people were searching all over the Core Circle for Lu Ye. Even the most cultivation-obsessed cultivator had temporarily paused their cultivation so that they could join in on the hunt at first notice.
Over five hundred kilometers away from the Myriad Poison Forest, at a Divine Trade Bazaar.
While there were plenty of bazaars made up of independent cultivators in the Outer Circle, the same could not be said for the Inner Circle or the Core Circle. It was because most of the bazaars in these Circles were built and managed by the Divine Trade Association.
Chapter 387: I’m Not Here To Hide
Chapter 387: Im Not Here To Hide
Divine Trade Bazaars could be found everywhere in the Inner Circle and the Core Circle. There were even cities named the City of Heavens, which directly referred to the powers above.
Theoretically speaking, any cultivator with a sufficient amount of Contribution Points could enter the Vault of Providence and purchase anything they wanted through the Divine Opportunity Column. In reality, few people would spend their Contribution Points frivolously because it was a rare currency.
The reason the Divine Trade Association was a cultivators first choice of trading and not the Vault of Providence was very simple: the Divine Trade Association traded in Spirit Stones, not Contribution Points. Generally speaking, cultivators only spent their Contribution Points during emergencies or when they were purchasing rare items.
Regardless, the existence of the Divine Trade Bazaar and the City of Heavens made trading extremely convenient for cultivators. They also gave the independent cultivators the freedom they yearned for and the mortals a ce to live.
This Divine Trade Bazaar was pretty huge, though the same could be said for all Divine Trade Bazaars within the Core Circle. It was because most of the cultivators in the Core Circle had already changed to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique and so could afford to spend more, which in turn made the Divine Trade Association quite wealthy.
In the Outer Circle, the attendants were generally weak in terms of cultivation level. But here, everyone was at least a Seventh or Eighth-Order cultivator. More importantly, they were extraordinarily good-looking. Few people could walk into a building and feel unweed.
Today, a female attendant was walking up to a young man and greeting him earnestly when suddenly, her smile froze on her face. That said, she quickly recovered and said with a polite bow, Greetings, senior brother. Are you here to buy or sell?
I am here for both.
I see. This way please.
A momentter, a manager who looked to be in his forties or fifties entered a private room. Although he was only a Ninth-Order cultivator, his Spiritual Power was pure and bright. It was clear that he was an old school Ninth-Order cultivator. Heavens know if he would ever be able to ascend to the Cloud River Realm.
The manager sped his hand respectfully and said, Greetings, Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye.
The young man in the room was none other than Lu Ye. He was sipping a cup of tea before the manager came in.
By now, Lu Ye was used to being recognized at first nce. The Thousand Demon Ridge had spread his image across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield since ages ago. Of course the Divine Trade Association would recognize him as well.
May I know your surname?
I am Zhou.
Fellow Cultivator Zhou.
This Divine Trade Association is most honored by your arrival, and we would be even more honored if you would ept this gift of ours, Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye, Manager Zhou said smilingly while pushing a Storage Bag toward Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was puzzled. This wasnt the first time he had visited the Divine Trade Association, but it was certainly the first time he had received a gift from them.
Manager Zhou exined smilingly, The Divine Trade Association is but a humble business ce, and not a ce of war or an asylum. You may see this as our token of apology.
Now Lu Ye realized what was going on. The manager must have thought that he hade here to shelter from the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Your humility is unbing, Manager Zhou. I am aware how powerful the Divine Trade Association is. Also, the Divine Trade Bazaar and the Cities of Heavens have always been ces of peace and asionally, shelters to people who wish to lie low a little. Why am I an exception to the rule?
Manager Zhou replied, Thats because you and the others are not the same, of course. As you said, we have sheltered plenty of people who seek to hide from their enemies, but none of them have ever singlehandedly triggered the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge to mobilize at such a scale before you came. But of course, if you must hide in our humble abode, then the Divine Trade Association will ept your patronage. We promise that no one will be able toy a finger on you so long as you remain within our premise. The Divine Trade Association promotes peaceful trading, but we are not afraid to use violence to enforce said peace.
His statement was phrased in a way that was neither servile nor domineering. While the Divine Trade Association would rather stay out of trouble, they werent afraid to get their hands dirty if necessary.
Since the beginning, Lu Ye had thought that the Divine Trade Association was no simple organization. You could tell this from their chosen name alone. Divine Trade Association? City of Heavens? There were countless sects and groups in the Jiu Zhou, but no one had ever dared to name themselves by the powers that be except the Divine Trade Association. Not even Grand Sky Coalition or Thousand Demon Ridge had the balls to do so.
Dont worry, I am not here to seek shelter, Lu Ye pushed the Storage Bag back to Manager Zhou.
The middle-aged man eximed in surprise, My apologies for being presumptuous then.
Lu Ye then handed him two Storage Bags and a jade slip before saying, I would like to sell some stuff and to purchase some items.
Manager Zhou epted the items and checked them briefly. Despite hisposure, he was unable to stop his eyes from twitching in shock when he saw the contents of the Storage Bags. Just how many people did Lu Yi Ye kill to amass this much loot? They were quite varied too.
At least the contents of the jade slip were pretty normal. Most of the items listed in the jade slips weremon items such as ward gs. They had more than enough such items to fulfill his demand.
When would you like to collect your items, fellow cultivator?
When would you like me to leave? It might surprise you, but I dont want to be trapped in this premise either. Ive had enough of that for the past two months!
Understood. Please give us a moment, Manager Zhou said before turning to leave.
One more thing. I would like to use your Divine Opportunity Column.
Of course, fellow cultivator. Please, follow me.
Lu Ye followed Manager Zhou out of the private room. A female attendant then escorted him to the Divine Trade Associations Sanctum of Providence.
Just like the other sects, the Divine Trade Association had their own Divine Opportunity Column. Even better, anyone regardless of affiliation could use their Divine Opportunity Column, though Lu Ye did hear that the user must pay a certain amount of Contribution Points to use it. In other words, there was a usage fee.
The Sanctum of Providence waspletely empty. Lu Ye walked up to the Divine Opportunity Column and connected to the Vault of Providence immediately.
As expected, it cost fifty Contribution Points to connect to the Vault of Providence using the Divine Trade Associations Divine Opportunity Column. It might not be a lot of Contribution Points, but it definitely wasnt a small amount either. If he were to calcte it based on cultivator lives, he would have to kill a few Heaven-Grade cultivators to umte that amount.
Speaking of Contribution Points, he currently had nine thousand, eight hundred and forty three Contribution Points. This was after the usage fee was deducted.
He had spent four thousand Contribution Points when he purchased the ward gs at the Three Sages School. In less than three months, he had more than doubled that number.
He did not think there was anyone in the history of the Spirit Creek Battlefield who could match his earning speed.
There were many reasons why he was able to umte this many Contribution Points in the past, but as ofte, it was because he had in a lot of enemies. This was especially true when he was still a Heaven Seven cultivator. While killing a Heaven Seven cultivator only awarded ten Contribution Points, he was awarded twenty two Contribution Points for killing a Heaven Eight cultivator, and thirty six for a Heaven Nine cultivator.
The Heavens had always rewarded cultivators handsomely for killing enemies beyond ones cultivation level.
Lu Ye considered his options for a moment before spending eight thousand Contribution Points to purchase forty me of Earthen Spirits. Now, he only had one thousand, eight hundred and forty three points left.
Right now, the biggest use of Contribution Points to him was buying me of Earthen Spirits to feed the Tree of Glyphs and unlock more Glyphs.
He did not spend everything he had because he had to save some for emergencies. In fact, he almost never spent everything he had unless the circumstances were unusual.
When he walked out of the Sanctum of Providence, he noticed that Manager Zhou was already waiting for him outside. They were definitely working fast in order to send Lu Ye away as soon as possible.
Manager Zhou handed the two Storage Bags back to Lu Ye and said, These are the ward gs you have ordered, fellow cultivator. Please confirm that that is the case.
Lu Ye opened the Storage Bags and probed its contents. A secondter, he nodded in satisfaction.
He did not bother calcting if the ward gs he bought were of equal value to the items he sold. Considering the current circumstances, the Divine Trade Association would be crazy to try and scam him and risk dying his departure even further. They were all hoping he would leave before the Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition decided to turn their premise into a battleground.
Lu Ye put away the Storage Bags and began striding toward the exit. Naturally, he was aware that a few pairs of eyes were glued to his back. They were obviously Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who caught wind of his appearance and decided to check if the information was true.
He only counted five of them in the hall, but then again, it had only been half a tea time since he entered this premise. Hordes of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators must be rushing to this bazaar at full speed right now. He would be surrounded if he did not leave as soon as possible.
The moment Lu Ye walked out of the building, he immediately summoned his Spirit Boat and sted into the sky.
He had just taken off when the five Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators did the same thing and gave chase. At the same time, more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were closing in from outside the bazaar.
For a while, auras of all colors and sizes streaked across the sky. While chasing after Lu Ye, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators did not forget to message their friends and allies.
Suddenly, someone cried out in warning, Watch out! Hesing after us!
A group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators looked up and saw that that was indeed the case. Lu Ye had turned around and charged straight toward them.
They outnumbered Lu Ye at least dozens to one, but they couldnt help but panic anyway. These people had participated in the aerial battle of Myriad Poison Forest and so were aware exactly how powerful the young man was. If even a thousand people were unable to stop Lu Ye from ying them like a fiddle, how could they hope to do anything with just dozens?
Avoidingbat was impossible though. The bastard flew faster than even a sword cultivator. To avoidbat was to be taken down one by one without resistance.
So, the Heaven Nine cultivator leading the group shouted, Prepare for battle!
They immediately spread out into formation and waited nervously for Lu Ye to enter their range.
As usual, the flying weapons and the spells were the first things to fly his way. Lu Ye nimbly weaved through the attacks while blocking those he couldnt with Protection.
Standing at the forefront of the group were several body-tempering cultivators. They were all holding their defensive Spirit Artifacts with grim expressions.
Lu Ye mmed loudly into the body-tempering cultivator with the weakest cultivation level before bringing down his me-wreathed saber, causing the poor guy to fall toward the ground like a meteor.
The worst part was that the collision didnt slow him down in the slightest. Not only that, he passed through the enemy formation like they did not exist and drew a trail of blood with the Invible.
Even more people fell toward the ground after the body-tempering cultivator.
That single exchange had already cost them a few lives. Their expression grew even grimmer.
The Heaven Nine cultivator growled, Do not panic! He cant keep this up forever!
Although they had lost several people, Lu Ye had withstood a good amount of attacks as well. The only reason he was unhurt was because they were blocked by Protection. Not only that, a fight like this cost him a ton of Spiritual Power. No one here was an idiot. They all knew that he could not remain unstoppable forever, not to mention that reinforcements would arrive if they could dy him long enough. It would be worth it if they seeded.
Chapter 388: Where Is He?
Chapter 388: Where Is He?
The second the Heaven Nine cultivator said this, Lu Ye turned around and attacked them once more.
The exact same scene reyed in front of them. Their attacks couldnt do any harm to Lu Ye because most of them were dodged, and the few that hit were blocked by his Protection. As if that wasnt enough, his fiery red saber and flying weapons had imed a couple more lives.
In the sky, Lu Ye paused what he was doing and looked down on his Spirit Boat. One of the attacks had nearly hit his Spirit Boat, and there was a dent on the side of the Spirit Artifact to prove it. Thankfully, it did not affect the Spirit Boats overall function.
Small flying Spirit Artifacts generally had lousy defenses, and the Spirit Boat was no exception. If it took too many hits and broke, he wouldnt die, but he would certainly be trapped with little to no way to escape.
His enemies had clearly noticed this as well, whispering among themselves and plotting to attack his flying Spirit Artifact if he got close again. Lu Yi Yes chances of escape would nosedive if they could destroy his flying Spirit Artifact.
It was at this moment Lu Ye pointed his hand in their direction and fired what looked like a Fire Phoenix. The spell crossed dozens of meters in an instant and threatened to engulf the group.
The group was able to block the spell in time, but a second, third and many more followed in short order. It was as if the barrage of spells would never end!
It was one thing if the spells were weak, but they were big enough to cover a lot of space, and hot enough to distort space itself!
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators nched at the sudden turn of events. For a time, they even wondered if Lu Yi Ye was really a spell cultivator all along. It still wouldnt exin why his spell casting speed was off the charts though. After all, not even a Heaven Nine spell cultivator could fire such a powerful spell so frequently.
As if that wasnt bad enough, Lu Ye wasnt only shooting his Fire Phoenix Technique at them. His flying weapons were using the distraction created by the spell technique to kill them one by one! The second their defense line was blown apart, people immediately started screaming and dropping like flies!
In just a moment, a dozen people were dead just like that. Now, it was no longer even possible for them to defend against Lu Yes attacks. When Lu Ye charged them once more, the Heaven Nine cultivator finally lost hisposure and yelled, Run!
He was the first to take off after saying that.
The rest of the group scattered in every direction as well.
Lu Ye was about to give chase when a massive amount of auras abruptly emerged from the horizon. They were clearly Thousand Demon Ridge reinforcements. He had no choice but to abandon his n and leave.
Meanwhile, the slumbering monster that was the Yi Ye Elimination Front had finally awoken. Countless messages were sent to every corner of the Core Circle. As soon as someone had located Lu Yi Ye, the nearest Yi Ye Elimination Front cultivators would immediately rush over to stop him. They werent going to give him even a moment to breathe.
For the next few days, Lu Ye would fight against the cultivators of the Yi Ye Elimination Front at least dozens of times. On average, he had to fight at least seven or eight battles per day.
If the enemy group was smaller than he expected, then Lu Ye would do his best to kill as many of them as possible. Otherwise, he would fly away without looking back.
The Yi Ye Elimination Front lost a lot of good people because of this. A good amount of them were Heaven Nine cultivators.
In a mountain forest, an army of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were searching the sky and the ground for Lu Ye.
Due to the sheer amount of people who were involved in the pursuit, Lu Ye was unable to stay hidden for long even if he managed to shake off his tail for a time.
Without exaggeration, every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator in the Core Circle had ced killing Lu Yi Ye as their top priority. Everything else could be set aside for the moment.
An hour ago, a group of Yi Ye Elimination Front cultivators encountered Lu Yi Ye in this forest and fought a great battle against him. It had ended with the young man escaping. They didnt know where he disappeared to, but they were certain that he was still in the area.
Frankly, Lu Yi Yes performance for the past few days had stunned them all. For starters, he was strong enough to kill a Heaven Nine cultivator as a Heaven Seven cultivator. After he ascended to Heaven Eight, not even a normal Heaven Nine cultivator could present a challenge to him anymore.
What really confounded them, however, was his endurance!
Lu Yi Ye had only ascended to the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order Realm a while ago, meaning that he had over three hundred Spiritual Points of Spiritual Power. However, they had been hunting him for days and giving him almost no time to recover. Just how was he still able to keep going? Even a Cloud River Realm cultivator shouldve been on theirst legs in his position.
In reality, Lu Ye only looked a little fatigued during thetest battle. His strength appeared to be as dominant as ever.
One thing was certain though. No matter what the young man had done to recover his Spiritual Power, there was no way he could keep this up forever. He had to be nearing his physical limit already.
In other words, today would be the day they kill Lu Yi Ye!
In a hidden cave inside the forest, Lu Ye was setting up a Teleportation Ward.
The Thousand Demon Ridges strategy was correct. Lu Ye had nearly reached his limits. His body felt heavy, and his mind was shrouded by a fog that refused to clear unless he consumed a drop of Soul Cleansing Water, which he wasnt about to do. Despite his ability to consume Spirit Pills and replenish his Spiritual Power without limit, he was still losing more Spiritual Power than he was putting into his body.
Right now, he had less than twenty percent Spiritual Power left. He could still fight, but even the idea of fighting made him feel like throwing up. This was before considering he was moderately injured even with Protection, and his Spirit Boat could break down at any moment. Several days of high-intensity battles with almost no pause in between would do that.
Any other Spirit Creek Realm cultivator in his position would be dead a hundred times over already.
That was why it was time to return to Myriad Poison Forest and rest up.
The cave he had chosen to hide himself in was less than twenty five kilometers away from the edge of Myriad Poison Forest, and less than fifty kilometers away from his Central Ward. Assuming that nothing went wrong, he should be able to teleport back to the wooden building without a hitch.
Of course, Lu Ye could have fought his way back to the Myriad Poison Forest. He had broken out when the Thousand Demon Ridge was at their strongest. Naturally, he could break in since most of them had left the forest. However, the Thousand Demon Ridge would also know that he was hiding there. If they decided to surround the forest once more, he would have to waste his time and energy plowing through them a second time.
That was why he was going to teleport back to the Myriad Poison Forest. Even if they somehow found out about the ward, they still wouldnt know where he had teleported to. It would be perfect.
While he was resting in Myriad Poison Forest, the Thousand Demon Ridge would be searching the entire Core Circle like headless chickens.
It felt good to toy with thousands and thousands of enemies.
As usual, he nted the ward gs first and constructed the Teleportation Wards frame. He then constructed the inner structure with his Spiritual Power. Finally, he created Void at the center of the ward and made the necessary adjustments.
He stood in the middle of the Teleportation Ward and activated it with his Spiritual Power. He immediately sensed the ward resonating with another ward somewhere in the distance.
Everything had gone perfectly. The Sub Ward beneath his feet had linked up with the Central Ward in the Myriad Poison Forest.
He recalled the sensation of teleportation and grimaced a bit. Still, he gritted his teeth and fully activated the ward.
His heart lurched, and the ground abruptly vanished from beneath his feet. As he fell through what felt like an infinite abyss, he felt himself beingpressed by an omnipresent pressure. It was like an invisible hand was pulling and pushing, squeezing and stretching him from every direction. The worst part was that he waspletely helpless to resist it. He could only channel his protective Spiritual Power and hope that it would end soon
He did not think he would ever get used to it.
Almost the second Lu Ye had fully activated the Sub Ward, a squad patrolling in the air had sensed the energy disturbance. It wasnt long before a message was sent, and countless cultivators had converged at this location.
Just a momentter, the cave entrance was blocked, and even the sky was crawling with cultivators. Now, they just needed Lu Yi Ye to show up so they could kill him once and for all!
Are you sure hes here? A Heaven Nine cultivator asked suddenly.
The person who discovered the disturbance first reported, Our men had never explored this cave, and yet we had felt a spike of Spiritual Power from within. Im pretty sure its Lu Yi Ye.
I couldnt sense any life force inside though
I can go in and take a look, A brawny body-tempering cultivator offered.
What if its a trap? The Heaven Nine cultivator shook his head immediately. Lu Yi Ye is an expert in the Way of Wards. I wouldnt be surprised if hes booby-trapped the ce. Is there anyone here whos a Golem Master or a Beast Tamer?
I am a Golem Master, an ordinary-looking cultivator stepped out.
Can you please scope out the cave with your Golems?
The Golem Master nodded and pulled out a Golem that looked like a cat. After the mechanical object was activated, the cat darted lithely into the cave. Just a few secondster
Boom! They all felt a massive spike of Spiritual Power right before jets of me shot out of the cave entrance. The cultivators were both stunned at the strength of the explosion and d that they had decided to send in a Golem instead of a cultivator. Only the toughest of them mightve survived an explosion of this magnitude.
We need a ward cultivator! The Heaven Nine cultivator called out again.
This time, a lot more people stepped into the open.
He randomly picked a couple of people before waving for them to follow him. Were heading inside.
The small group quickly entered the cave. A few minutester, they walked out with nothing to show.
They werent able to find any useful information. The explosion had destroyed everything. All they knew for certain was that Lu Yi Ye had definitely set up an Explosion Ward.
An hour ago, the Thousand Demon Ridge had lost Lu Yi Ye in this area. The Explosion Ward basically proved that he had stayed in the cave before. So, the question was
Where the hell was Lu Yi Ye?
They had the sky and the ground surrounded. Lu Yi Ye should not be able to escape without a trace even if he was twice as powerful as he was. And yet he had.
No one was able toe up with a sure answer. In the end, they could only assume that Lu Yi Ye had somehow eluded their search using some sort of concealment ability.
They sincerely hoped that their theory was wrong. If it was true, how on earth were they going to find him?
Meanwhile, in the inner depths of the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye had suddenly appeared in mid-air. As expected, he had not appeared on top of the Central Ward, though he reckoned that he couldnt be too far away.
The problem was that he had appeared in the sky. He began falling the second he realized he was back in reality.
Thankfully, the ground was only thirty or so meters away from him. It was well within his endurance limit.
Chapter 389: Climbing the Scroll of Supremacy
Chapter 389: Climbing the Scroll of Supremacy
In the air, Lu Ye hurriedly adjusted his posture as the ground rapidly closed in on him. In the end, he was able to hit the ground on one knee.
Oh my! Someone eximed in surprise, Why are you bending the knee to me all of a sudden?
Lu Yes eyes twitched when he heard the voice. He looked up and saw Hua Ci beaming at him.
Cut the jokes and give me a hand already. I cant stand up on my own
A whileter, Hua Ci had deposited Lu Ye on his bed on the third floor. He was sound asleep by the time she began treating his wounds.
He had fought with almost no pause for several days straight. He was beyond tired.
Their wooden building had be a true shelter. Outside, there was nowhere he could go without being hunted down by the Thousand Demon Ridge. This was the only ce he could truly rx and rest.
Lu Ye woke up to the sound of light snoring. He also felt a slight pressure on his chest. When he opened his eyes and looked down, he saw that Amber was curled up on his chest.
Lu Ye pinched the back of its neck and moved it to one side. He then sat up and just nked out for a bit.
He did not return to reality until the fragrant scent wafted in from outside. The stimtion immediately caused his stomach to gurgle.
He changed into a new set of clothes and took a moment to straighten out the wrinkles. Then, he walked down the stairs and exited the building.
A table had been set in the courtyard. It was covered in all kinds of delicious food. There was even a makeshift stove beside the table. Yi Yi and Hua Ci were cooking and enjoying a great conversation with each other when he arrived.
For a time, Lu Ye simply crossed his arms and admired the girls from the door. He watched as Yi Yi crouched on the ground while adding some wood to the fire, and Hua Cia headscarf wrapped around her head and an apron around her waistbusying in front of the stove. He was d to be alive, truly.
Youre finally awake, Lu Ye! Yi Yi called out happily when she saw him.
Hua Ci looked back and met his eyes with a gentle smile. You must be hungry. Sit down and eat.
Lu Ye strode up to the table and grabbed a seat. He then grabbed his chopsticks and hesitated for a not insignificant amount of time. Finally, he decided to start with the te of mushrooms first. It was because he literally did not recognize everything else on the table. All he knew was that the food muste from the Myriad Poison Forest, and most people in the world would never be able to enjoy such delicacies unless they were unique like him or Hua Ci
He raised his eyebrows when he took his first bite of the mushroom. It tasted surprisingly delicious and fresh for, well, mushrooms. And of course, the Tree of Glyphs in his Source Spiritual Point gave off gray smoke immediately after he took his first bite
Now that his appetite waspletely aroused, any trepidation he might have had regarding the ingredients werepletely gone. He started chowing down to his hearts content.
Hua Ci sat opposite him after cing the final dish on the table. She took her time eating and put some food on Lu Yes te from time to time.
Yi Yi couldnt join in because she was an apparition, so she simply stood behind Lu Ye and brushed his messy hair for him.
A fulfilling mealter, Lu Ye leaned back against his chair, crossed his legs and rubbed his stomach in deep satisfaction. He then enjoyed the cup of tea Yi Yi had served him. Her service was excellent as usual.
The fatigue he had umted for days was gone just like that. He had to admit that Hua Cis dishes were incredibly nutritious. Assuming that one had a way to deal with the poison, one could go from deathly tired to perfectly energetic in just a few days. If nutrition was blood, he would be bleeding out of his pores right now.
Lu Ye did not feel like moving after such a fulfilling meal, so he said, Can you please bring me the Storage Bags, Yi Yi?
They had killed a lot of people during theirtest adventure. Naturally, he had acquired aparable amount of loot as well. He didnt have the time to unlock them before, but now was the perfect time to do so.
Kay, she replied before floating up to the third floor. It wasnt long before she returned with a massive pile of Storage Bags.
Yi Yi loved it when Lu Ye unlocked the Storage Bags. The act of uncovering something unknown itself was an exciting experience, not to mention that there were always pleasant surprises.
Every time Lu Ye had unlocked a Storage Bag, Yi Yi would remove its contents and separate them by category. If the Storage Bag contained something good, then she would break out in smiles. If not, then she would mutter, Pauper! under her breath.
It should not need to be said, but no two people were exactly as wealthy as one another. In Lu Yes case, he basically never had to worry about cultivation resources besides his first few months of cultivation. To date, he had never ran out of Spirit Stones or Spirit Pills, and it wasnt looking to happen anytime soon.
For most other cultivators though, their finances were so-so at best. Most of them were simply incapable of amassing Lu Yes level of wealth via ying enemies.
Cultivators consumed cultivation resources since the day they started cultivating. Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills were a staple for any cultivator, and yet some of them were unable to afford it especially when their cultivation level was low. Afterall, they had to spend some of their money on life-saving items such as Spirit Talisman Papers.
As if that wasnt bad enough, their expenses only went up every time they climbed a cultivation level. A Seventh-Order cultivator had to purchase flying weapons to expand their repertoire, and an Eighth-Order cultivator a flying Spirit Artifact for faster travel. And of course, a Ninth-Order cultivator must purchase a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique if they wished to advance further
In fact, the poorestmunity in the Spirit Creek Battlefield wasnt the Outer Circle cultivators, but the Inner Circle cultivators. They had a million things they needed to buy at this stage of their cultivation.
While their financial situation was better after they entered the Core Circle, cultivators naturally consumed more cultivation resources each time they climbed up a cultivation level. As a result, many people remained as poor as a pauper.
This was why most of the Storage Bags Lu Ye unlocked contained only a paltry amount of Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones, and why the cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted to kill Lu Ye so badly. The threat he posed to their entire faction was one half of the reason, and the bounty on his head was the other half.
Even if the bounty would be split between all the participants, it was still enough wealth to make them wealthier than they had ever been their whole lives!
Given enough benefit, anyone could be motivated to do anything.
An hourter, Lu Ye was done unlocking the Storage Bags. While Yi Yi was still sorting out the goods, he went to the Central Ward and began rearranging the whole thing.
Since the Central Ward was created using ward gs, and both Lu Yes cultivation level and his proficiency with creating Teleportation Wards were stillcking, he always had to rearrange it after teleporting back to the Central Ward.
Lu Ye felt the onset of a headache as he stared at the Central Ward. He did not know if it was a problem with his skill or his experience, but he could never teleport back to the exact location of the Central Ward.
When he was still experimenting with the teleportation, he had never teleported too far away from the Central Ward. This time thoughmaybe it was because the distance between the two wards was too greatnot only did he appear nearly a hundred and fifty meters away from the Central Ward, he had appeared in the air instead of the ground!
He could survive a fall from thirty meters above the ground, but what if it was three hundred? Three thousand?
He had learned how to set up a Teleportation Ward as an emergency escape measure. If he had to teleport back to the Central Ward, it could only be because he was cornered and in poor condition. And if he was so weakened that he couldnt even control his flying Spirit Artifact, then the deviation was going to kill him for sure.
Unfortunately, he did not have a good solution to solve this problem. For now, he could only rearrange the Central Ward to the best of his abilities and pray that the deviation wouldnt be as bad the next time he used it.
While Lu Ye was busying himself and generally enjoying a rxing time in the Myriad Poison Forest, the Yi Ye Elimination Front was busy turning the ce he wasst discovered upside down. However, they werent even able to find his hair, much less the man himself.
Somehow, Lu Yi Ye had vanished into thin air!
Back in the third floor of the wooden building, Lu Ye was swallowing Spirit Pills to recover his Spiritual Power and feeding the Tree of Glyphs with the me of Earthen Spirits he had bought from the Vault of Providence.
He had bought forty mes of Earthen Spirits in one go, and he wondered what kind of Glyphs he would obtain this time.
Right now, most of the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs were on fire. Forget the lifelike Vermillion Bird perched on the crown on the tree, Lu Ye had mastered almost twenty ordinary Glyphs in total!
While many of them were unsuited forbat, that didnt mean they were useless by any means. At the very least, it gave him more options when fighting against his enemies.
The reason he could ughter a Heaven Nine cultivator like a chicken wasnt just because his Spiritual Power was sufficiently pure and vast, but also because he could apply his Glyphs any time without being detected. The Glyphs were the real reason he was as tricky as he was strong.
Two dayster, Lu Ye had made a full recovery. He had even unlocked two Spiritual Points. Today, he was only dozens of Spiritual Points away from reaching Heaven Nine. When the day came, there should be no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who could threaten him anymore.
He had good reason to be this confident.
Perhaps the non-stop battles from several days ago had limatized him to a tumultuous pace of life, but he felt almost ufortable with how idle life had been for the past two days. It was at this moment his friends informed him of some unsavory rumors the Thousand Demon Ridge had been spreading in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Because the Thousand Demon Ridge was unable to locate Lu Ye, they grew impatient and started spreading some rather ugly rumors about him. For starters, they called him a coward in hopes that he would be provoked into revealing himself.
Lu Ye had no ns of leaving the Myriad Poison Forest for now, so after he finished speaking with his friends via the Battlefield Imprint, he decided to pause his cultivation and activate his Battlefield Imprint. Then, he connected his mind to the Scroll of Supremacy!
As a ranker, he had the right to increase his ranking on the Scroll of Supremacy!
The reason he hadnt challenged it before was one, he wasnt in the mood to do so, and two, he wanted to obtain the best avable reward!
The Heavens rewarded all those who climbed the Scroll of Supremacy. Specifically, it rewarded those who managed to stay on the rank list for at least a month.
Since only a hundred cultivators were listed on the Scroll of Supremacy, of course it was difficult to stay there for a month. This was especially true for those at the bottom of the rank list. The names there changed at least multiple times every day.
The higher a ranker ced on the Scroll of Supremacy, the better the rewards they would receive. Even if they lost and fell in rank, they could always make another go at it another time.
Right now, Lu Yes n was to climb to the top of the Scroll of Supremacy and stay there for a whole month!
His fourth senior brother once told him that the reward granted by the Heavens was very beneficial to a cultivator. Naturally, the better the cement, the greater the rewards. That was why he advised Lu Ye not to hold back when climbing the Scroll of Supremacy. Ideally, he should aim for the highest spot he could reach in the shortest amount of time possible.
Lu Ye gave it a try and discovered that he could only challenge the bottom three cultivators on the rank list. They were all Heaven Nine cultivators from different sects.
The ny-ninth and ny-eighth cultivators were both from the Thousand Demon Ridge. The one hundredth cultivator was from the Grand Sky Coalition.
Lu Ye wasnt going to challenge his ownrade as a matter of course. Without hesitation, he challenged the guy on the ny-ninth spot.
Chapter 390: I Thought This Was A One-Versus-One!
Chapter 390: I Thought This Was A One-Versus-One!
Unless they had no other choice, cultivators from the same faction generally avoided challenging one another. It was because they would only be giving their enemies the opportunity to take advantage of them.
When Lu Ye tried to challenge the ny-ninth ranker though, he received a surprising response. As it turned out, the guy was currently being challenged
It should not need to be said, but a ranker could not ept two challenges at the same time. Even if Lu Ye must challenge the guy, he must wait until they were finished with theirtest battle.
So, he set his sights on the ny-eighth rankeronly to discover that they were currently being challenged as well.
Now that he thought about it, thest three spots on the Scroll of Supremacy must be in a state of constant turmoil. In fact, those who didnt have the strength to climb up the ranks would probably be removed very quickly even if they somehow got on the rank list by chance.
Lu Ye was about to resign himself to a long wait when the name of the one hundredth ranker suddenly distorted and disappeared. The next moment, a new name appeared on the list.
It meant that the previous one hundredth ranker had been defeated and reced by a new ranker!
Lu Ye hurriedly checked the affiliation of the new ranker and confirmed that they were from the Thousand Demon Ridge. He immediately issued them a challenge request. This time, he didnt receive an automated response saying that the ranker was currently being challenged.
It didnt take long before the challenge request was epted. They had to ept. Lu Ye would rece them if they rejected the challenge request or ignored it for too long.
The battle didnt begin immediately because the ranker had just finished a battle and ascended the Scroll of Supremacy. Of course they were going to take a moment to recover their strength.
While waiting, Lu Ye continued to consume Spirit Pills and feed the Tree of Glyphs the me of Earthen Spirits. At the same time, he spared some concentration to research the Scroll of Supremacy.
Most of his understanding of the Scroll of Supremacy consisted of hearsay. Although he had ascended to the thirty-third spot for a time, the Thousand Demon Ridge hade together to flush him out of the rank list in just three days. He had never even fought a challenge battle before. That was why he couldnt im to know the Scroll of Supremacy very well at all.
Four hours passed in the blink of an eye. The moment he felt a response in his Battlefield Imprint, Lu Ye immediately paused what he was doing and got ready for battle.
He felt the power of the Heavens descending from the sky before enveloping his entire person. The next second, the space around him began to distort, and his vision was filled by a blinding white light.
When the white light faded, he saw a young man in his twenties standing a short distance opposite him. It was most likely the Thousand Demon Ridge ranker he was challenging.
Gao~
Huh?
Lu Ye turned toward the noise and discovered that Amber and Yi Yi were standing right next to him and examining their surroundings curiously. Amber was sleeping, and Yi Yi was cultivating a while ago. Somehow, they had both been dragged into this battlefield.
Where are we, Lu Ye? Yi Yi asked.
Ill tell youter.
Lu Ye turned back to his opponent. Right now, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator was busy picking up his jaw from the floor. This was supposed to be a one-versus-one battle, right? So why was he facing down two cultivators and a Tamed Beast?
He could understand why the tiger was present in the battle. Some of the rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy were Beast Tamers, and they often brought more than one Tamed Beast with them. But what about the girl? This was just ridiculous!
He was just about to ask Lu Ye what the hell was going on when suddenly, he discovered that the man looked highly familiar. Then, he realized that he was none other than the sonuvabitch his entire faction had been searching for to no avail!
Last time, the Yi Ye Elimination Front had lost track of him despite turning the location where he wasst discovered upside down. Who wouldve thought that the bastard would challenge the Scroll of Supremacy just two dayster?
Lu Yi Ye! The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator growled. He wasnt sure whether tough or cry at his luck.
To the Thousand Demon Ridge, Lu Yi Ye represented an opportunity to obtain an unimaginable amount of wealth. If he could kill him here, the bounty would go to him and him alone.
However, Lu Yi Ye was also beyond formidable. He might have been strong enough to barely make it on the Scroll of Supremacy, he wasnt confident that he could defeat the young man at all.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator had just finished crying out Lu Yes name when thebat cultivator rushed toward him. He swore. He had purposely chosen a battle arenaa small area with no obstacles and a radius of only tens of metersduring the battlefield selection phase because he was abat cultivator himself. It would maximize his advantage and, depending on his opponents faction and fighting style, minimize the enemys.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye was abat cultivator just like him. His chosen battlefield benefited both of them.
Since Lu Ye had applied Windwalk to himself, he moved so fast that he almost left a blur behind his trail. The distance between himself and his opponent was rapidly shrinking.
[His speed is crazy!] The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator thought to himself in fear as he summoned his own Spirit Artifact. Although he did not think that he was a match for Lu Yi Ye, he was a cultivator who managed to ascend the Scroll of Supremacy. He could not possibly surrender without a fight.
Whistling sounds pierced the eardrums while Lu Ye was charging. His nine flying weapons were flying toward his opponent in a straight line.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator had heard of Lu Yes prowess with flying weapons ages ago. He immediately pped a Golden Body Talisman Paper on himself and channeled all of his Spiritual Power to protect himself.
Roar!
It was at this moment the tiger let out a mighty roar. Visible shockwaves swept across the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator and made him feel as if someone had smashed his head with a hammer. Not only was he seeing stars and hurting like a bitch, the roar had dispersed his Spiritual Power in an instant.
He was shocked to say the least. He never knew that Lu Yi Yes white tiger possessed such power.
He had just recollected himself when he saw a wide range of spells flying toward him from the nk. It was the girl who had somehow entered the battlefield with Lu Yi Ye. Not only was she casting spells at a prodigious speed, the spells themselves were incredibly varied and numerous.
Despite the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators best efforts, he was unable to dodge all of the spells. The golden light shrouding his body faded at a visible rate.
A sense of impending doom struck thebat cultivator, and he tried to yell, I surren
He never managed to finish thest syble. The flying weapons pierced through his Golden Body Talisman Paper, his protective Spiritual Power, and even his armor like they were paper. The powerful impacts knocked him backward again and again until finally, Lu Ye reached him and unsheathed the Invible. His head flew, and his headless corpse spewed blood like a fountain and dyed the floor red.
Several meters away, Lu Ye shook off the blood on his saber before returning it to his sheath. He then shook his head in disappointment and thought to himself: [Too weak!]
He had killed many Heaven Nine cultivators since he became a Heaven Seven cultivator and entered the Core Circle. However, this was the first time he slew a Scroll of Supremacy ranker in directbat. Unfortunately, it was a most unsatisfactory fight.
Sure, Amber and Yi Yi had interfered with the battle, but the level of skill his opponent had disyed still disappointed him greatly.
Now that he thought about it, he had not fought anyone in singlebat since he came to the Core Circle. The Scroll of Supremacy was giving him the chance to enjoy a form ofbat he sorely missed, and to measure himself against its champions. Of course, he was also going to obey his fourth senior brothers instruction and hit the highest rank he could reach in the shortest amount of time possible!
After Yi Yi had picked up the dead mans Storage Bag and Spirit Artifact, she suddenly eximed in realization, Lu Ye Lu Ye, this is the challenge battle of the Scroll of Supremacy, isnt it?
It took her some time, but she finally realized where they were.
Yeah.
Honestly, Lu Ye didnt think Yi Yi and Amber would be teleported into the battlefield with him. Then again, Amber was his Tamed Beast, and the Heavens epted the participation of Tamed Beasts in the Scroll of Supremacy. As Yi Yi was Ambers Ghost Spirit, she too was dragged into the battlefield.
This gave him a massive advantage over his opponents to say the least.
Time to go home, Lu Ye beckoned.
The Heavens power enveloped him, and the next thing he knew, he was back in their wooden building once more.
After they had returned, Yi Yi floated out of the window and sat down in front of Lu Ye. Amber leaped onto his legs and waited patiently for Lu Ye to make his next move. They both knew that Lu Ye would not be satisfied with just one battle and were ready to give it their all.
And so Lu Ye activated his Battlefield Imprint, connected with the Scroll of Supremacy, and tried to challenge the ny-ninth ranker on the list once more. Unfortunately, the ranker was still in the middle of a challenge. So, he selected the ny-eighth ranker and tried again.
To his surprise, he seeded. Even more surprising was the fact that his opponent hadnt left him to dry for too long. Just an hourter, he felt the Heavens teleporting him to a new battlefield.
His second battlefield looked almost the same as the first. It was also a small area with a radius of only tens of meters.
Generally speaking, only abat cultivator or a body-tempering cultivator would pick a battlefield like this. Ghost cultivators, spell cultivators and everyone else wouldve picked a wider terrain.
When the white light faded, Lu Ye immediately saw a brawny cultivator opposite him. He was most likely a body-tempering cultivator.
The body-tempering cultivator was currently wearing a frown on his face. It was because he thought he saw a white figure entering the ground behind Lu Ye. However, he wasnt sure if it was actually a person, or if he was just seeing things because white light always filled ones vision when the Heavens teleported thebatants into the Scroll of Supremacys exclusive battlefield.
The white figure was Yi Yi of course. She had slipped into the underground and concealed her presence so that the body-tempering cultivator would not realize that this was really a two versus hree if you counted Amberand get unnecessarily nervous.
And of course, she would be able to ambush him better if he didnt know she was there.
The body-tempering cultivator had already channeled his Spiritual Power and vitality. He was carrying arge shield on his left arm and wielding a spiked hammer on his right. The head of the hammer was covered in sharp reverse spikes. Not even Lu Ye would want to get hit by a weapon like this.
The body-tempering cultivator raised the shield in front of himself and hit it once with his hammer. As if the action wasnt provoking enough, he said, Come at me, you little
He suddenly stared at Lu Yes face and eximed in shock, The Vanquisher of Sects?
Lu Ye was already charging toward the body-tempering cultivator. As usual, he had empowered himself with Windwalk and was moving so fast that he was a blur.
The body-tempering cultivator nched as the distance between them shortened. It hadnt been easy defeating his previous opponent and making it on the Scroll of Supremacy. He wasnt expecting to be challenged by the walking cmity at all. It was highly unlikely he was going to be able to preserve his spot.
Chapter 391: Full Speed Ahead
Chapter 391: Full Speed Ahead
As usual, Lu Ye kicked off the battle byunching his flying weapons at his enemy. Nine auras mmed into the body-tempering cultivators Shield Spirit Artifact so hard that his body shook, and the light on the shield weakened with each impact.
The body-tempering cultivator was shocked to say the least. He knew just how powerful his Shield Spirit Artifact was, and yet it had lost a ton of Spiritual Power in a matter of seconds. That was just how powerful Lu Yes attack was.
By the time all nine flying weapons had struck the shield, Lu Ye was already in front of the body-tempering cultivator. He activated Gravity Well as he brought down the Invible like lightning.
An unimaginable pressure pressed down on the body-tempering cultivator. He felt like he was struck by a mountain, not a saber. Although he ultimately managed to withstand the blow, he still nearly dropped to one knee.
The body-tempering cultivator pushed his Spiritual Power so hard that his entire face was red. He let out a mighty roar, pushed back Lu Yes saber, and brought down his spiked hammer all at the same time.
Lu Yes flying weapons appeared from the sides and mmed into the spiked hammer, causing it to miss and strike the floor right next to Lu Ye instead. There was enough force behind the blow to cause some cracks.
Spiritual Power boiled around Lu Ye as he thrust his saber forward. He was a Heaven Eight cultivator, and his saber was empowered by two Sharp Edges. Right now, his offensive power was off the charts.
The Shield Spirit Artifacts aura vanished instantly. In fact, the shield itself shattered into pieces with a loud crack.
The body-tempering cultivators expression turned horrified as Lu Ye brought his me-wreathed saber down. He instinctively tried to call for surrender.
It was at this moment Amberthe white tiger had been crouching on his shoulder this entire timeopened its mouth and let out a mighty roar. A visible shockwave swept across his body and caused his thoughts to go nk for an instant. As a result, he missed the window to say the words he needed to say to survive.
Metal cut through flesh, and blood sttered everywhere!
The body-tempering cultivator took two unsteady steps back before copsing on the ground. His wide open eyes were full of grievance even as they gradually turned ssy.
He knew he was no match for Lu Ye, but he thought he would have the time to surrender at least as a body-tempering cultivator. However, Amber had ruined his one shot at surviving at thest moment.
Yi Yi appeared and asked, Done already?
The girl was extremely unhappy. It was because she didnt even have the chance to participate!
They picked up the loot and requested the Heavens to teleport them away from the battlefield. After they had returned to the wooden building, Lu Ye checked the Scroll of Supremacy and confirmed that he was now in the ny-eighth spot. The challenger could challenge the ranker five ces above their spot at most. In Lu Yes case, that was the ny-third ranker.
He didnt do so though. Instead, he challenged the ny-fifth ranker. The reason he did not challenge the ny-sixth and ny-seventh ranker was because they belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition, of course.
Since he entered the Core Circle, the Thousand Demon Ridge had attacked him like he had massacred their nine generations. If he wasnt as strong as he was, he wouldve died a million times already.
Naturally, he was quite resentful of their actions even though he understood why they had done this. Forget that he was a brash young man, even the Buddha would be provoked into violence if you pushed him too far. It was why he had chosen to break out of the Myriad Poison Forest by force instead of stealth. For one, he needed to umte the Contribution Points necessary to buy his ward gs. Two, he wanted to give his pursuers a taste of their own medicine.
But of course, he couldnt challenge the entire world all the time. The risks alone made it something to be attempted only once in a blue moon.
On the other hand, the challenge battles of the Scroll of Supremacy was apletely different story. Since the battle only featured one-on-ones, he never had to worry about being ganged up by multiple cultivators.
That was why he decided that he was going to kill every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he encountered along the way. It was only right considering all the attacks he had received so far!
The ny-fifth cultivator wasnt as busy as the bottom feeders, so Lu Yes challenge request went through and was epted in just a short time. After the Heavens teleported him into the battlefield, Yi Yi immediately hid herself as she had before. Amber was also crouching on Lu Yes shoulder
Lu Ye examined his environment and discovered that it was a massive desert. The hot sun was hanging in the middle of the sky, and the air felt hot enough to scald a mortals skin. Wherever he looked, there was only yellow sand. Not only that, his opponent was nowhere to be seen
Lu Ye immediately determined that his opponent was probably a spell cultivator who majored in Fire Attribute or Earth Attribute spell techniques. No other cultivator would choose a terrain like this.
Lu Ye could not be bothered to search for his enemy across an entire desert, so he just stayed where he was and waited for the signal. A whileter, Yi Yi messaged him saying that she had found the enemy. As predicted, they were a spell cultivator.
Meanwhile, the Thousand Demon Ridge was in shambles yet again. The Yi Ye Elimination Front were searching for the Vanquisher of Sects all over the Core Circle to no avail. No one knew where he had hidden himself. It was almost as if the young man had vanished into thin air.
It was at this moment Lu Yi Yes name appeared on the Scroll of Supremacy once more. As it turned out, the sonuvabitch was climbing the rank list!
At first, only a handful of people were aware of this. However, all eyes were on the Scroll of Supremacy once the news had spread.
They watched as Lu Yi Ye climbed the Scroll of Supremacy at meteoric speed. When they first noticed him, he was only at the ny-fifth spot. However, it only took him half a day to ascend to the eighty-second spot. Another half a day passed, and he was at the seventy-third spot. When the following day came, he was at the sixty-fifth spot!
The speed at which he was climbing the rank list was ridiculous to say the least. Moreover, it didnt look like he was nning to stop any time soon. He would be climbing even faster if it wasnt for the fact that the rankers he challenged often made use of the four-hour preparation time to the max. The waiting actually cost him far more time than the actual fights.
What angered the Thousand Demon Ridge even more was that Lu Yi Ye was challenging every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator in his way instead of skipping them to save himself some time and energy. As if that wasnt bad enough, none of them had survived the challenges!
As a result, a strange phenomenon was happening on the list. The twenty rankers behind Lu Ye all belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition.
This had never happened before as both the Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition were overflowing with talent. Usually, it was rare enough for a group of four or five rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy to all belong to the same faction, much less twenty of them. Now? Lu Ye had done something unprecedented yet again.
For a time, countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were angry both at Lu Ye and their own rankers. They just could not understand how these so-called future pirs of their faction would be so weak. Even if they were no match for Lu Ye, why didnt they just forfeit the battle and save their own lives? Surely they had enough sense and time to do that, right?
Regardless, it was clear that Lu Yi Ye was targeting them on purpose. He was pping the Thousand Demon Ridges face so to speak.
If the rank list was created by cultivators, then they would have had a million ways to manipte it. At the very least, they couldve removed it and stopped their shame from spreading further. Unfortunately, the Scroll of Supremacy was generated by the Heavens, and it was impossible for mere cultivators to interfere with it in any way. Any Spirit Creek Realm cultivator with sufficient strength could connect to Scroll of Supremacy and check it.
The Thousand Demon Ridge was deeply humiliated by the rank list to say the least. Every time someone took a look at the list, they would feel their faces turning deep red with shame. It was as if someone had pped them multiple times in a row.
While Lu Yes mad actions deeply humiliated the Thousand Demon Ridge, the Grand Sky Coalition was celebrating as a matter of course. Countless Grand Sky Coalition cultivators were spreading the news as far as they could reach. Every time Lu Ye ascended a rank, and the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he was challenging had disappeared from the list, a cheer would break out among the crowd.
By the third day since Lu Ye began climbing the Scroll of Supremacy, he was sitting at the fiftieth spot!
Contrary to his faction or the Thousand Demon Ridges feelings, Lu Ye was feeling rather miffed and disappointed. It was because none of them was strong enough to put up a fight at all.
No matter what cultivator faction they belonged to or the terrain they chose, Lu Ye almost always ended the battle shortly after he or Yi Yi had located them. Even better, Ambers roar prevented them from being able to surrender and live.
In fact, Ambers only role on the battlefield was to sit on Lu Yes shoulder and roar the second it looked like the challenger was about to speak. So far, no one who had been struck by Ambers roar had managed to regain their mind fast enough to survive the battle!
When Lu Ye wasnt fighting the rankers, he was cultivating and feeding the Tree of Glyphs the me of Earthen Spirits. Since he was so busy these days, he had only fed it half of the mes of Earthen Spirits he had bought. Still, he was able to obtain two new Glyphs. They were Glyph: Golden Arc and Glyph: Invoke Lightning
He already suspected it was the case when he saw their names, but upon absorbing their information, he discovered that he could use them as spell techniques after construction.
Intentionally or not, the Tree of Glyphs was bringing him further down the path of a spell cultivator.
That said, he suspected that the spell techniques cast using these two Glyphs would be quite different from the usual spell technique because his Primary Attribute was Fire, and his Supplementary Attribute was Gold. Also, the best way to use these two Glyphs was actually in offensive wards. He was sure they would perform wonderfully with the proper application.
He had already issued a challenge request to the forty-eighth ranker, but the battle had not begun immediately even though his opponent had epted the challenge. It was likely he was going to have to wait another four hours before the battle would ensue. So, he took out another me of Earthen Spirits and fed the Tree of Glyphs. While doing so, he spared some concentration to cultivate as well.
The remaining twenty me of Earthen Spirits were devoured in no time. Once done, Lu Ye looked at the Tree of Glyphs expectantly. He was hoping to see if it had obtained more Glyphs.
His eyes contracted into needles as he saw a clump of leaves glowing red
He had encountered this exactly one time in the past. It was when he was absorbing the True Phoenix me in the Burning Lands. At the time, an entire clump of leaves had reacted more or less the same way. It wasnt until the Tree of Glyphs had devoured the True Phoenix mepletely did they burst into mes. After that, the image of the Vermillion Bird had appeared on the tree crown, and he had obtained Glyph: Fire Phoenix.
Since this was happening again, it meant that he was most likely getting a special Glyph!
Lu Ye examined the leaves closely. Only a dozen or so leaves were glowing red, which was nowhere as impressive as Fire Phoenix. Even so, he still looked forward to the Glyph a lot. In fact, he had been hoping to receive special Glyphs since Fire Phoenix because they were far, far more powerful than the average Glyph.
The arrangement of the glowing leaves on the Tree of Glyphs werent random. If he wasnt mistaken, it was shaped like a pair of wings?
Lu Ye immediately perked up.
[Could it be]
[It could be]
[It better be]
Unfortunately, twenty mes of the Earthen Spirits werent enough to manifest the Glyphpletely. He would need to feed the Tree of Glyphs more mes to confirm his suspicion.
Chapter 392: So Big
Chapter 392: So Big
Frustratingly, Lu Ye had run out of me of Earthen Spirits. If he knew this would happen, he wouldve spent all of his Contribution Points when he was visiting the Divine Trade Association a few days ago.
His annoyancested until he checked his Battlefield Imprint and noted that he had a little over two thousand five hundred Contribution Points left. It was enough to purchase ten mes of Earthen Spirits, but not enough to unlock the special Glyph. He could sell all the loot he had obtained for the past few days, but they werent worth a lot of Contribution Points.
[Where am I going to get the me of Earthen Spirits I need?] He thought to himself with a frown.
At the same time, in the Outpost of a Tier-Two sect, a pair of Thousand Demon Ridge Heaven Nine cultivators were sitting side by side on a giant rock next to a cliff. The man was handsome and dignified, while the woman possessed the face of an angel and the body of a demon. Right now, the woman was currently nestled in the mans arms.
Not only were they the Legate and prolegate of their Outpost, they were also rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy. The woman, Bai Lan, was the forty-eighth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy. She wore a loose robe with wide sleeves that marked her as a spell cultivator. Combat cultivators, body-tempering cultivators and ghost cultivators generally wore tight-fitting clothes so they wouldnt be bogged down when fighting against an enemy.
However, her assets were so that even the generous amount of fabric was unable to conceal thempletely.
Bai Lan said sweetly while holding the mans hand, Do not worry about me, senior brother. I will choose a terrain that best fits my abilities. No matter how powerful that Lu Yi Ye is, he cannot possibly kill me in one strike, can he? If he is stronger than expected, then Ill just surrender the fight.
The woman was unaware of this, but most of the rankers Lu Ye slew had thought the exact same thing when they epted Lu Yes challenge. [Im a Heaven Nine,] they had thought to themselves, [even if I am no match for him, surely he cant kill me before I forfeit the match?]
They were wrong.
Are you sure that its Lu Yi Ye that challenged you? The man asked worriedly.
Bai Lan giggled behind her palm. He has been challenging the Scroll of Supremacy non-stop for the past few days, and he hasnt skipped a single Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator above his spot. Today, he sits at the fiftieth spot, and the forty-ninth ranker is a Grand Sky Coalition. Who else would challenge me if not him?
That ruffian perhaps you should just forfeit the challenge, junior sister
If I forfeit his challenge, it will be the sect who loses face. In the future, how will our junior brothers and junior sisters be able to hold their heads high in the Core Circle?
A Scroll of Supremacy elite who did not even have the courage to ept the enemys challenge would only be known as aughing stock no matter how powerful they were. This was before mentioning that Lu Yes climb was watched by many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators as well. They all thought that this was an opportunity to kill the young man.
While Lu Ye had hidden himself so well that no one could find him on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, this wasnt a problem if someone on the Scroll of Supremacy could kill him during the challenge battles.
The bottom fifty rankers had proven to be incapable of doing the job, but that was fine. They still had the top fifty rankers!
If even the top fifty rankers proved to becking, there were still the top ten rankers to seal the deal!
No matter how strong Lu Yi Ye was, he could not possibly make it to the peak as a Heaven Eight cultivator, could he? Someone had to be capable of killing him!
But
The man wanted to say more, but Bai Lan had already pressed a finger to his lips. Enough. You really dont have to worry about me. A few days ago, my master gave me a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact with excellent defensive capabilities. Although I am not able to unleash its full power at my current cultivation level, I will not be in danger no matter what happens.
The guy looked at the single, tear-shaped earring hanging on her ear. He eximed in realization, So, thats the Spiritual Artifact Second Elder gave you.
Bai Lans lips curled into a teasing smile. Duh? Did you think it was someone elses gift?
The man let out an awkward chuckle, and Bai Lan immediately tickled him. How dare you question my loyalty, senior brother!
The man hurriedly begged for mercy.
Four hours came and went in the blink of an eye. Bai Lan vanished under her lovers worried gaze.
The battlefield was a beautiful garden about eight to ten kilometers in radius. It was filled with vegetation and the fresh scent of flowers.
As usual, Yi Yi dove underground as soon as she was able, and Lu Ye examined his surroundings after his vision had recovered. He did not see anyone.
Judging from the name on the Scroll of Supremacy, his opponent should be a woman. Considering howrge the battlefield was, he could safely assume that she wasnt a body-tempering cultivator or abat cultivator. As for the likelihood that she might be a medicine cultivator that was just impossible.
There were a handful of medicine cultivators among the bottom fifty rankersthey all had cultivated another cultivation factionbut that was not the case in the top fifty.
A cultivators focus was limited after all. Even if they were extraordinarily talented, their secondary Way was usually inferior to their primary.
[So, is it a spell cultivator or a ghost cultivator?]
Lu Ye had fought around twenty to thirty battles for the past couple days, and he had basically fought them all besides medicine cultivators. He even encountered a handful of cultivators that did not conform to the Six Factions.
For mostbat cultivators, body-tempering cultivators were the bane of their existence. However, Lu Ye was no ordinarybat cultivator. Not only was his physique on par or better than most Spirit Creek Realm body-tempering cultivators, he could usually end a fight against his supposed bane in just two or three exchanges.
As for ghost cultivators, whose frailty was a match for spell cultivators lets just say that anyone who dared to get close to Lu Ye had been treated to the most frightening staredown of their lives before they were sent to the afterlife!
Of all the cultivation factions, ghost cultivators were Lu Yes favorite bar none. They would walk right up to him likembs to the ughter because they thought he couldnt see them. Ghost cultivators were easily the easiest prey of all the cultivators he had fought.
His second favorite prey were spell cultivators. As long as their defenses were broken, it took only a single hit to kill them.
As usual, Lu Ye left the matter of searching the enemy to Yi Yi. While waiting, he tossed a couple of Spirit Pills into his mouth and crunched them slowly.
Ever since he started cultivating, he had eaten enough Spirit Pills to shit a mountain of them. He was just as done in regards to their taste. If he ever got the chance to meet a pill maker, he was going to ask, no, beg them to make it apple-vored or orange-vored. Heck, he would even settle for banana-vored Spirit Pills
He ate at least dozens of Spirit Pills every single day to cultivate his Spiritual Power. These days, he found it harder to swallow the damn pills than to fight a life-and-death battle.
Lu Yes mind was wondering when Yi Yi finally informed him that she had found the female cultivator. However, she was constantly changing positions to avoid being ambushed by Lu Ye.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye, shes huge! Yi Yi sent him a weird message.
Excuse me?
Shes even bigger than Sister Hua Ci.
You mean her age?
No! You know what I mean.
Kids should not be thinking such things.
You better not show her mercy.
Meanwhile, Bai Lan was watching her surroundings warily while on the move. She didnt dare to ride on her flying Spirit Artifact because everyone knew that Lu Yes telekinesis skill was unrivaled in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield at this point. The guy was even faster than sword cultivators. She would only bemitting suicide if she, a spell cultivator, dared to challenge him to an aerial battle.
She kept swiveling her head from side to side while dashing from ce to ce. As a spell cultivator, the only chance she might defeat Lu Ye was to stay out of his range. Given enough distance, Lu Yi Ye could be the god ofbat cultivators, and he would still be sted to pieces by her spells.
Suddenly, she came to a stop. It was because she saw a man directly on her path. It was almost as if he had been waiting for her to show up.
Of course, he was Lu Yi Ye.
Bai Lans reaction was immediate and swift. Without hesitation, she cast a spell that caused ripples to appear across the space in front of her before it transformed into a fog. Then three fearsome beastsposed of pure Spiritual Power emerged from within the fog and pounced toward Lu Ye from three different directions.
She raised a finger next and summoned a massive disc made of Spiritual Power above her head. Symbols could be seen spinning within the disc as arrows made of water rained down on Lu Ye.
Lu Ye raised a curious eyebrow. [Now were talking. I shouldve known that the top fifty rankers would be a cut above the bottom fifties. Her spell casting speed and strength are the strongest Ive seen yet.]
Of the five Attributes, Water Attribute spell techniques were generally weaker in terms of power. However, the water spells Bai Lan was casting did not have such a problem. They were just as powerful as an identical spell with a different Attribute.
Lu Yes Weapon Holder shook slightly as nine flying weapons cut across the air. He split them into three groups of three to handle the three beasts. At the same time, he unsheathed the Invible, channeled his Spiritual Power, and parried all the water arrows flying his way with unerring uracy.
Fire and Water Attribute Spiritual Power shed against one another. It wasnt long before the space between them was covered in mist.
Bai Lan was watching Lu Ye like a hawk. Her expression was t, but she was shocked on the inside. She already knew that Lu Yi Yes mind was powerful, but to control nine flying weapons like his own fingers and even parry her water arrows perfectly? That was beyond what she thought was possible at the Spirit Creek Realm level.
Not only did her attacks fail to pressure her opponent, he was saying with his actions that they werent even enough to force him to adopt evasive maneuvers.
At that moment, Bai Lan was jealous of Lu Ye. Every spell cultivator wanted to have a strong mind because it meant that their control would improve, and their spells would grow stronger. They would even undergo special training to strengthen their mind.
Lu Yi Ye was abat cultivator, but for some reason his mind was far, far stronger than a spell cultivators. How could she not be jealous of him?
The round disc above her head slowly vanished, and water arrows stopped flying toward Lu Ye. As he withdrew his saber, he suddenly frowned and summoned all nine of his flying weapons back to his Weapon Holder.
A quick check revealed to him that his connection with his nine flying weapons had diminished considerably. This meant that the three beasts made of Water Attribute Spiritual Power werent just an offensive spell. Tey possessed corrosive qualities as well.
To do this without him realizing it until thest moment it was probably Bai Lans unique ability.
Anyone who tried to attack her with flying weapons would find themselves at a severe disadvantage. Her ability corroded the weapons and weakened their power over time.
Bai Lan was about to cast another spell when suddenly, Lu Ye raised a hand to stop her. Wait.
Bai Lan watched him warily while asking, What?
Lu Ye rarely spoke with his enemies during battle, but for the unignited leaves in Tree of Glyphs, he was willing to break his silence.
I want twenty mes of Earthen Spirits.
Excuse me? Bai Lan waspletely confused. This was the challenge battle of the Scroll of Supremacy; a duel that usually ended with the death or surrender or the loser. So why was Lu Yi Ye asking her to give him, what was it called again, mes of Earthen Spirits?
[Did he hit himself in the head or something?]
Its sold in the Vault of Providence for two hundred Contribution Points a piece. I want twenty!
She instinctively calcted the total cost, Thats four thousand Contribution Points?
Then, she shook her head in frustration. [What am I doing?]
Chapter 393: You Have One Hour
Chapter 393: You Have One Hour
Thats right. Thats four thousand Contribution Points in total. You may not have that many Contribution Points, but Im sure you can gather that amount somehow.
While the mostmon way to obtain Contribution Points was to kill enemies and sell stuff to the Vault of Providence, it was normally quite difficult for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to umte that many Spiritual Points. Of course, a Legate or a prolegate would have the additional method of paying themselves a wage.
Four thousand Contribution Points was a lot for an Outer Circle or Inner Circle cultivator, but for some Core Circle cultivators, it wasnt an unachievable goal.
This was especially true for a strong and beautiful female cultivator like Bai Lan. She would be cared for no matter which sect she went to. Even if she personally could not umte the amount, someone else would do it for her.
Lu Ye hadnt demanded twenty mes of the Earthen Spirits from Bai Lan without thinking. It was the number he had arrived at after careful consideration of her overall capabilities.
And why should I give you twenty mes of the Earthen Spirits? Bai Lan retorted angrily.
This was the first time she encountered something like this in the challenge battle of the Scroll of Supremacy, and it was mind-boggling to say the least. She had heard of the Vanquisher of Sects infamy since a long time ago, but she never knew that he had a screw loose in his head as well. On second thought, that sounded about right. A normal person wouldnt have drawn the ire of the entire Thousand Demon Ridge.
This is a fight, so just fight me and cut the nonsense! Bai Lan dered.
As if on cue, Lu Ye started running toward her so fast that he left behind a series of afterimages.
She cast a series of spells at Lu Ye, but the man actually dodged all of them with unerring uracy. Despite her best efforts, he was shortening the gap between them by the second.
Most spell cultivators in this situation would attempt to move away from Lu Ye and dy the inevitable as much as possible. While backing away, they would continuously harass the enemy until they were dead or forced back.
However, Bai Lan was the forty-eighth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy. Her insight was far above that of most spell cultivators.
From the moment Lu Ye had made his move, she already knew that their speed didnt even belong in the same category. This Lu Yi Ye wasnt just fast in telekinesis, his own speed was just as shocking. Even if she retreated, it would take him at most a moment to catch up.
That was why she made the snap decision to switch out her current spell and made a spell seal. The second she did this, the back of her hand abruptly lit up.
It wasnt the light of the Battlefield Imprint though. It was the light of a Glyph! A Tattoo that had been engraved to the back of her hand by a Glyphweaver!
Master Glyphweavers like Lady Yun existed in both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge. It was just that Tattoos were generally too valuable to be wasted on a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
Forget the materials necessary to tattoo the Glyphs, the service charges of the Glyphweaver themselves were well above the ability of most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to pay.
Take Lu Yes Wings for example. In terms of value, they were as valuable as a spell artifact.
Besides that, Tattoos could be categorized into Visible Tattoos and Hidden Tattoos; Temporary Tattoos or Permanent Tattoos. Each type consumed different resources.
Bai Lans Tattoo was obviously a Hidden Tattoo because it was invisible until she activated it. It afforded the opportunity to surprise her enemies.
Lu Ye wondered if it was temporary or permanent. If it was permanent, then the cost of the Glyph must be humongous.
The Glyph only appeared for an instant before turning invisible once more, but Lu Ye still managed to identify it before it disappeared. It looked very simr to one of the Glyphs he had acquired recently, Invoke Lightning.
He immediately figured out what his opponent was nning. Due to the sh between his Fire and Bai Lans Water Attribute Spiritual Power, the entire area was shrouded in mist right now. He would not be able to get out of the mist in time. Without hesitation, he channeled his Spiritual Power and covered his entire body in ayer of Protection.
Lightning struck where Lu Ye was standing. At that moment, the entire area was crawling with tendrils of lightning.
Lu Ye shuddered as the power of a top fifty ranker literally coursed around him. His Protection was weakening by the second even though he was doing everything he could to keep the Glyph going. It onlysted three breaths before shattering and exposing Lu Ye directly to the lightning. There were only a handful of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators who might survive such power.
That was when Bai Lan saw Lu Ye rushing out of the lightning-covered area with a face that was covered in ck soot. He even spat out a puff of ck smoke as he continued running toward Bai Lan.
Bai Lan was shocked to say the least, but she did not stop casting her spells. A lifelike, snarling water dragon emerged into existence and pounced straight toward Lu Ye. At the same time, the spell cultivator dashed to the back.
She had no choice. Even her greatest trump card had failed to stop Lu Yi Ye in his tracks. If she remained where she was, she might still win, but Lu Yi Ye was fast enough to take her down with him.
The me-wreathed Invible swung down on the water dragon. His momentum stalled temporarily when his de shed against the spell technique, but a single Gravity Well was all it took to resume it and slice through the Water Dragon like it was nothing. After that, he appeared in front of Bai Lan in an instant and brought down his saber mercilessly.
Bai Lans expression turned fearful in an instant. She hurriedly touched the tear-like earring on her earlobe and summoned what looked like a shield.
Killing Bai Lan was never in the ns. After all, he was hoping that she would deliver him the mes of Earthen Spirits he needed. When he saw the shield though, he did not hesitate to empower the Invible with two Sharp Edges.
The one strike sent Bai Lan sailing across the air like a sack of rice.
Her defense didnt break, and she wasnt hurt in any way. The earring was a High-Grade Spirit Artifact after all. Even if she wasnt strong enough to channel its full power, it was enough to keep her from dying.
However, the one strike had diminished much of its aura. Moreover, it couldnt prevent her from being blown away by the impact. Bai Lan was just climbing back to her feet when she felt a tremendous force hitting her again and throwing her to the distance. This time, the shield surrounding her looked almost invisible.
[It wont block the third strike!]
Bai Lan panicked. At first, she thought she couldnt lose with the High-Grade Spirit Artifact to protect her. Now, she realized she had underestimated the ruffian. His offensive power was above what she thought was possible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, let alone a Heaven Eight cultivator. It just didnt make any sense whatsoever!
She thought she was dead, but Lu Ye did not give chase. He simply stood where he was and waited for her to climb back to her feet. She watched him with confusion, fear and trepidation.
You have one hour.
He said this before dering, I surrender!
The man swiftly faded and disappeared into nothing.
Bai Lan was stupefied to say the least. She had been seconds away from calling her surrender, but it was the young man who had surrendered instead.
[What is he]
Bai Lan figured out the truth a secondter. As Lu Ye promised, he was going to challenge her an hourter!
[Damn that ruffian!]
Meanwhile, Bai Lans lover was still waiting anxiously on the rock beside the cliff. Although his junior sister was protected by a High-Grade Spirit Artifact, it was impossible to ignore Lu Yi Yes string of achievements. Looking at the Scroll of Supremacy alone, every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he had challenged until now had perished inbat. His junior sister was the love of his life; how could he not be worried for her safety?
It was at this moment the space in front of him distorted. Then, his junior sister appeared before him once more.
His eyes widened as he looked back and forth between his junior sister and the Scroll of Supremacy. She was still ranked forty-eighth, and Lu Yi Ye fiftieth. It could only mean one thing.
You won? The man eximed in pleasant surprise.
Contrary to her senior brothers delight, Bai Lan was white as a sheet. When she recalled that she had to face down that aggressive ruffian again an hourter, her lips immediately quivered. Senior brother
The man nched and asked nervously, Whats wrong, junior sister? Were you hurt anywhere?
Woooooo Bai Lan pounced into his arms and cried like a baby.
The man grew even more anxious. Where are you hurt? Just tell me already.
Bai Lan just kept crying and shaking her head.
The mans face turned green as he put two and two together. His junior sister wasnt hurt, but she was crying like she had been vited
[Could it be?]
[Lu Yi Ye, you motherfucker! I swear Ill kill you if its thest thing I do!]
A long timeter, when Bai Lan finally calmed down enough to exin what really happened, the man rxed. He was d it wasnt what he thought had happened.
That bastard wants you to give him twenty me of Earthen Spirits?
Mm.
And youre certain hes going to challenge you in an hour?
He definitely will. Hes the one who surrendered the fight of his own ord.
Bai Lan still felt chilled every time she recalled the way her hair stood on end when he rushed her with his saber. She had fought countlessbat cultivators in the past, but no one had ever dealt her such a level of trauma before. Although his me-wreathed saber hadnt hurt a hair on her body, her heart had really been shattered to pieces.
If possible, she never wanted to fight Lu Yi Ye or anyone like him anymore. The sensation that her life wasnt in her hands was horrible to say the least.
One thing was certain, she wouldve died if it wasnt for the High-Grade Spiritual Artifact her master had given her.
Thats simple. All you need to do is to reject the challenge when he issues the challenge request. Its not like you must ept it.
Bai Lan sniffed and thought for a moment. She realized then that her senior brother was right. It wasnt like she must ept the fight. Plus, once she lost her ranking and dropped beneath him, he would not be able to issue another challenge request!
The bastard thought he could swindle her into giving up twenty me of the Earthen Spirits? Fuck him!
You are so smart, senior brother! Bai Lan finally broke into a smile and wiped away her tears. She felt so much better knowing that Lu Yi Ye couldnt threaten her anymore.
Back in Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye was consuming his Spirit Pills and cultivating as usual
or so he would like to say, if not for the fact that Yi Yi and Hua Ci were sitting opposite him and staring at him with emotionless eyes.
If the two of you have something to say, then say it.
Lu Ye was feeling ufortable to say the least.
Hua Ci started in a mocking tone, I never wouldve guessed that the Vanquisher of Sects is a protector of womankind. Dont you agree, Yi Yi?
Yi Yi corrected her, He doesnt protect all women, Sister Hua Ci, only those who are big enough to catch his attention.
Really? How big are we talking about here?
At least bigger than you, Sister Hua Ci.
Hua Ci mulled it over for a moment beforementing, Isnt that tiring?
I wouldnt know. Yi Yi shrugged since she had never experienced that kind of burden. Are you tired of living with them, Hua Ci?
Hua Ci smiled kindly. Im doing okay.
Enough!
Lu Ye grew agitated as the two girls slowly strayed off topic. Am I that type of person in your eyes?
The two girls thought seriously for a moment. Then, they nodded in unison.
Yi Yi said, Since the day we departed Green Cloud Mountain, I already noticed that you love reasoning with female cultivators with big boobs. The bigger the boobs, the bigger your tolerance.
Hua Ci also said, Remember the first time we met? You were wrapped like a zongzi that day, but your eyes were anything but restrained.
I cant believe youve misunderstood me all this time, Lu Yeined in distress.
Chapter 394: Ultimatum
Chapter 394: Ultimatum
Unable to withstand the usations anymore, Lu Ye chased both Yi Yi and Hua Ci out of his room.
After checking the Scroll of Supremacy and pondering for a bit, he submerged his mind into the Battlefield Imprint, sought Yu Lianzhous imprint, and sent him a message. Fellow Cultivator Yu, do you know anyone from the bottom fifty of the Scroll of Supremacy?
Yu Lianzhou quickly responded, I do. In fact, there are only a handful of people who areplete strangers to me. Why are you asking?
If its not too much trouble, I would like to ask you to pass along a message.
Lu Ye exined to Yu Lianzhou what he wanted. Although Yu Lianzhou didnt know why Lu Ye wanted to do this, he still replied without hesitation, Just leave it to me.
He alone wouldnt be enough to coerce Bai Lan into giving him what he wanted. He would need the others cooperation to ensure that it was a sess.
After he ended the messaging with Yu Lianzhou, he immediately connected to the Scroll of Supremacy and challenged Bai Lan once more!
The Scroll of Supremacy didnt have too many rules. For one, it didnt stop Lu Ye from challenging Bai Lan again even though he had just surrendered the match a while ago.
On the rock, Bai Lan was telling her senior brother everything she had learned from her battle against Lu Yi Ye. Not only was he a ranker, he was ced higher than her. It was only a matter of time before he was challenged by Lu Yi Ye, so she didnt hesitate to share everything she knew with him.
Suddenly, Bai Lan felt something from her Battlefield Imprint. When she looked and noticed who it was, she immediately grew unhappy. Lu Yi Ye just challenged me. He said I have an hour, but only a tea time has passed since he challenged me. I knew that bastards an untrustworthy liar!
Just ignore him, The man said with a smile.
Yeah. I just rejected the challenge request.
Bai Lan rxed into her senior brothers embrace. With this, she was now the fiftieth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy, and Lu Yi Ye the forty-eightieth. She would not need to worry about being challenged by him anymore.
She was just thinking this when suddenly, the forty-eighth and fifty-third names suddenly switched ces. This meant that Lu Yi Ye was now the fifty-third ranker, and the fifty-third ranker the forty-eighth ranker!
Bai Lans smile slowly turned stiff. Thiswas not good!
Senior brother! There was a tremor in her voice when she called out his name.
The fact that the switch had happened so quickly meant that the Grand Sky Coalition cultivator on the fifty-third ce had issued Lu Yi Ye a challenge request, and Lu Yi Ye had rejected it.
Since rejection equaled surrender, their cements were switched with one another.
It was true Lu Ye could not challenge her as the forty-eighth ranker, but now that he had fallen to the fifty-third spot, he suddenly had the right to challenge her again.
Her senior brother was obviously watching the Scroll of Supremacy as well. He immediately recognized the severity of the situation. Did he challenge you again?
Yeah Bai Lan really felt like crying now.
At first, she thought that she would be free of Lu Yi Ye as long as she ranked behind him. Who wouldve thought that he would do such a thing?
It was clear what the bastard was thinking now. He would rather lose his cement than let her go without iming the items he demanded.
He was as persistent as a maggot in ones bones.
After Bai Lan rejected the challenge request a second time, she dropped to the fifty-third spot, and Lu Ye ascended to the fiftieth. However, Lu Ye quickly dropped to the fifty-fifth spot after rejecting a challenge by the former fifty-fifth ranker.
The two disciples werent the only ones who were paying attention to the Scroll of Supremacy. Countless people from both the Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge were watching the rank list. The reason for this was Lu Yes meteoric rise, of course.
As a result, everyone saw something that had never happened since the Scroll of Supremacy was created.
For whatever reason, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect and Bai Lan of the Rainmaker Sect kept going up and down the rank list. From time to time, they would switch cements with each other.
That said, both cultivators were sliding down the Grand Sky Coalition due to the involvement of other Grand Sky Coalition cultivators. Although they only dropped two or three spots at a time, it happened so many times that both rankers had fallen below the seventieth spot in less than a tea time.
[What in the Heavens name is going on here!?]
No one had ever done this, not because it was difficult to achieve, but because every rank up in the Scroll of Supremacy was paved with a lot blood, sweat and tears. Who in their right mind would willingly lose months or even years of hard work, no matter the reason? Not to mention that the higher ones rank, the better the reward they would receive from the Heavens?
And yet, there was no denying the reality happening before their eyes. Not only was Lu Yi Ye willingly tanking his rank, he was dragging a poor Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator with him. She literally could not stop him even if she wanted to.
Meanwhile, Bai Lan was staring at the sky with a nk stare at her Outpost
[Why me? Why did I of all people get targeted by the Vanquisher of Sects?]
[If I was sinful, then why did the Heavens send Lu Yi Ye to torment me instead of punishing me themselves?]
[Seriously, there are many other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators on the Scroll of Supremacy. Why the hell is that ruffian pursuing me so doggedly?]
Junior sister! Stay strong, junior sister! Her lover grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake her out of her funk. His heart was bleeding at the sight of her tormented visage.
Senior brother! Bai Lan burst into tears.
ept his challenge! The man said solemnly.
But Im no match for him
Im not asking you to fight him. There is a four-hour preparation time after epting the challenge. This will buy us some time to think of a solution.
In his room, Lu Ye raised his eyebrows when he noticed that Bai Lan had epted his challenge. Did she finally notice that it was better to ept the challenge request than reject it outright?
She was probably trying to buy some time, but it wouldnt change anything. He opened a book, tossed a Spirit Pill into his mouth, and resumed his daily tasks as usual.
Meanwhile, unsavory rumors regarding Lu Ye were starting to spread throughout the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Some said that Lu Yi Ye was a sonuvabitch who enjoyed tormenting womenfolk. Others imed that he was a bully who only targeted the bottom fifty rankers. They challenged him to continue his climb if he was a real man.
The thirty-fourth Thousand Demon Ridge ranker even made a public deration saying that he was waiting for Lu Ye at the thirty-fourth spot!
With his precedent, even more upper fifty Thousand Demon Ridge rankers publicly challenged Lu Yi Ye toe to them and die.
On the other side, the cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition had been having a hell of a great time as ofte. Lu Ye had in between twenty to thirty Thousand Demon Ridge rankers since he began his climb, of course. They were all looking forward to him climbing higher up the rank list and killing even more Thousand Demon Ridge rankers.
Naturally, the Grand Sky Coalition was pissed that the Thousand Demon Ridge started spreading unsavory rumors about their hero, so they shot back with their own insults. Over time, the excitement across the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield reached a fever pitch as cultivators traded not just barbs, but physical blows with one another. The impetuous ones even went so far as to challenge the rankers of the Scroll of Supremacy to battle.
It was the fastest the cements on the Scroll of Supremacy had ever changed
Thanks to the convenient functions of the Battlefield Imprint, it only took a thought to share a juicy rumor with multiple acquaintances. Naturally, the rumors and nders had reached Lu Yes ears as well. He ignored them all though. Forget that words could not hurt him unless he actually took them to heart, which of course he wouldnt, he was already the most infamous Grand Sky Coalition cultivator in the history of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. So what if he grew even more infamous within the Thousand Demon Ridge? It literally didnt matter one way or another.
Since Bai Lan had decided to drag things out, his and Bai Lans cements only switched once every four hours. Each time, Bai Lan would ept the challenge and leave him to dry for four whole hours.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to change this. The rules were the rules.
On a rted note, he had looked into the thirty-fourth rankerthe first ranker to publicly decry him for his actions and challenge him to battlebriefly. As it turned out, he and Bai Lan belonged to the same sect. No wonder the guy was standing up for Bai Lan. He was certain that he was the one who spread the unsavory rumors as well.
Objectively speaking, the Rainmaker Sect was a pretty powerful sect. It was incredibly rare for a Tier-Two sect to have two upper fifty rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy. As far as Lu Ye was aware, the only sect in the Grand Sky Coalition who could boast the same thing was the Devoted Ones. In fact, both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were top twp rankers.
Three dayster, Lu Ye and Bai Lan had hit rock bottom. Lu Ye was currently sitting on the one hundredth spot, and Bai Lan the ny-seventh!
If they were to switch ces again, one of them was dropping out of the Scroll of Supremacy for sure. It should not need to be said who between the two would be falling off the rank list.
At the Rainmaker Sects Outpost, Bai Lans eyes were red and swollen. She was also exhausted like never before. She had barely caught a wink of sleep for the past few days.
Senior brother! Bai Lan bowed her head regretfully.
Her senior brother handed her a Storage Bag and instructed, Heres the twenty mes of Earthen Spirits the bastard wants. When you give it to him, remember to make him swear never to harass you again on the Scroll of Supremacy!
Senior brother, I
Her lover raised a hand to stop her. The Heavens will be giving out its reward in a few days. If you fall out of the rank list now, then all your efforts wouldve been wasted. The items did note from me, but the sect. It is the Sect Master and Second Elder who decided that it is better to appease that bastard than lose your reward. It is humiliating that we had to submit to the bastards demands, but we can always take revenge in the future.
If the rank list was of no consequence, then whatever. However, all cultivators who managed to appear on the Scroll of Supremacy would receive a reward from the Heavens themselves. For a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, it was a reward they could not afford to miss.
Bai Lan was a few days away from receiving her reward. If she fell out of the rank list now, then she would have to start all over again.
Four thousand Contribution Points was a lot, but it was nothingpared to the future of an elite disciple, not to mention that they were a Tier-Two sect. Four thousand Contribution Points was well within their ability to pay.
Its been a while since he challenged you, hasnt it? the guy asked again.
Mm.
Hes probably giving you time to prepare. Its the ultimatum so to speak.
Now that Lu Ye was sitting at the one hundredth spot, he only needed to challenge Bai Lan one more time to kick her down to his spot. Once he made it so that he was unranked, he only needed to challenge her one more time to remove herpletely from the Scroll of Supremacy.
Even if she could ascend the rank list again, all of her previous efforts wouldve been wasted. She would have had to climb the Scroll of Supremacy again and stay there for another month to receive the Heavens reward.
After youre done, do your best to hit the highest possible rank in the shortest amount of time possible and leave the rest to me. I will make sure that Lu Yi Ye pays for what he did!
Bai Lan wanted to tell her senior brother that he might be no match for the ruffian, but in the end she kept silent because she didnt want to wound his pride. Then, she nched and checked her Battlefield Imprint. Hes challenging me!
Go.
Bai Lan nodded and grabbed the Storage Bag containing the twenty mes of Earthen Spirits tighter. After taking a moment to steady herself, she chose the terrain and epted the challenge request.
Chapter 395: Heavens Damned Bully
Chapter 395: Heavens Damned Bully
Space distorted, and vision warped. A momentter, Bai Lan appeared on the same field of flowers where she had fought Lu Ye.
She didnt try to hide this time. She even brought out her flying Spirit Artifact and took to the sky.
It was a beautiful flying Spirit Artifact that looked like feathers. Once she was in the air, she began flying around and searching for Lu Ye.
A battlefield that was eight to ten kilometers in radius was neither too big nor too small. It was big enough that searching for someone on foot would be a hassle, but not the air.
Lu Yi Ye Bai Lan wanted to yell out the ruffians name to prove to him and herself that she wasnt afraid of him, and yet her voice came out far smaller than she thought it would be. It was as if the three words carried an unbelievable amount of trauma.
The second she said this, a ray of aura flew into the sky. Shocked, Bai Lan hurriedly activated her earring and surrounded herself in a powerfulyer of shielding. Only then did she feel just a tiny bit safer.
Lu Ye did not attack Bai Lan. Instead, he floated nearly a hundred meters away from her and watched her calmly. His right hand was gripping the Invible.
From the moment Bai Lan epted his challenge request and entered the battlefield, he knew that his n had probably borne fruit. She would never have done so if she hadnt prepared the twenty mes of Earthen Spirit he demanded. He was happy with how smoothly things had gone.
If Bai Lans spine turned out to be sterner than expected, he was just going to seek out another prey and redo the whole thing. There were plenty of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators on the Scroll of Supremacy. One of them had to cave to his demands eventually. It would waste a lot of time though, and he was d he didnt have to do that.
Stay where you are! Im warning you. If you take even another step closer, then then Im going to yell out those two words!
In the sky, Bai Lan yelled out the most cowardly threat Lu Ye had ever heard in his life. They both knew exactly which two words she was referring to.
On the ground, Yi Yi was preparing to intercept Bai Lan when she heard the womans threat. She could not help but press a hand to her forehead.
Just how much had she suffered in the past few days to say something like that upon meeting Lu Ye?
In the sky, Lu Yes gaze lingered on Bai Lans Storage Bag for a moment. He then stretched out his hand and made a beckoning gesture.
The items you want are in this Storage Bag, and I can give them to you. But! Bai Lan watched Lu Ye like a rabbit eyeing a hungry wolf. You must swear that you will never harass me again on the Scroll of Supremacy for no good reason!
Sure.
Swear it then!
Lu Ye watched her expressionlessly.
What are you waiting for? Just swear the Heavenly Oath already! Bai Lan urged.
Instead ofplying, Lu Ye withdrew his hand and slowly unsheathed the Invible instead. The sound of his saber exiting its sheath might as well be the sound of death drawing breath to Bai Lan.
nching a bit, Bai Lan warily shifted a few meters to the back while asking, What are you doing?
Im not going to swear a Heavenly Oath. Youll just have to believe that Im a man of my word. Of course, you are free to disbelieve me. It doesnt matter to me either way!
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power into the Invible. As fiery light erupted from the de, he adopted an offensive stance, pointed his de at Bai Lan, and charged as soon as he was done speaking.
In that moment, Bai Lan felt like the de was pressed right up against her throat even though he was still a good distance away, and she was protected by a High-Grade Spirit Artifact. The next instant, she threw the Storage Bag in his direction while screaming, Fine! Just take it!
[Ive never met such a heavens damned bully in my life! Wooooooo]
Lu Ye abruptly skidded to a halt and caught the Storage Bag. After opening it and confirming that it indeed contained twenty mes of Earthen Spirits in total, he nodded in satisfaction and looked back at the woman. Do you need me to send you off or what?
He said this because the woman was still lingering for some reason.
Bai Lanined with a sob, Youve gotten what you wanted. Cant you surrender this battle at least?
Bai Lan did not want to drop to the one hundredth spot if at all possible. Although the ny-seventh spot was only three spots away from the one-hundredth, everyone knew that the bottom three spots were the absolute worst spots of the entire Scroll of Supremacy. After all, those were the three spots where the countless unranked powerful enough to challenge the Scroll of Supremacy must start with. Barring the time he killed the thirty-third ranker and took over his position outright, even Lu Ye had to begin from the bottom.
Generally speaking, those who werent strong enough to make it past the bottom three spots would cave under the non-stop challenge requests and be flushed out by thepetition eventually.
On the other hand, the ny-seventh ranker did not have to worry about this.
Lu Yi Ye understood her thoughts at once. As the saying went, the customer is king. Since Bai Lan had given him four thousand Contribution Points worth of mes of Earthen Spirits, he saw no problem with fulfilling this request of hers!
Lu Ye fancied himself as a reasonable personbut only when the other person was also reasonable, of course.
I surrender!
With that, he disappeared from the battlefield and reappeared in his room. Yi Yi and Amber appeared beside him as well.
Without further ado, Lu Ye took out a me of Earthen Spirits and prepared to feed it to the Tree of Glyphs. He wondered if twenty was enough to ignite the remaining leaves and unlock the special Glyph?
Right before he could do this though, he felt something from his Battlefield Imprint. Someone had issued him a challenge request.
Meanwhile, the Yi Ye Elimination Front was sending out messages andmanding all those qualified to challenge Lu Yi Ye to do just that. The n was to stop him from continuing his ascent and hopefully, tire him enough that he was eventually booted outpletely.
The idea had been brought up by none other than the leader of the Yi Ye Elimination Front, Shi Guang, and strongly supported by countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
Lu Yi Ye was just too vile. Previously, he had killed every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator before they could even surrender. As a result, they had next to zero information regarding histest fighting style, quirks, behaviors and so on.
Normally, the loser would have the time to call for surrender and save themselves unless the power gap was so huge that the winner had ended their lives in an instant.
This was one of the reasons Shi Guang had suggested this idea. One, he wanted to keep Lu Ye from climbing the Scroll of Supremacy and, if possible, boot him outpletely. Two, he wanted to find out exactly how the bastard was able to kill hisrades without even giving them the chance to surrender.
Knowing that Lu Ye was strong, and that he did possess the ability to annihte a Heaven Nine cultivator in an instant, Shi Guang made sure to inform all challengers to bring out their strongest defensive measures before they even entered the battlefield. In fact, he had arranged it so that the body-tempering cultivators would head in first. He wasnt stupid enough to think they would win, but he hoped that they would be able to wear him down enough for the other cultivators to defeat him!
In the wooden building, Lu Ye was going to feed the Tree of Glyphs the twenty mes of Earthen Spirits and find out if the special Glyph was what he thought it was when a challenge request interrupted him. Naturally, it put him in quite the bad mood.
After submerging his mind into the Battlefield Imprint and connecting to the Scroll of Supremacy, he epted the challenge request and chose the battlefield he wished to fight in. The Heavens then enveloped him in their indescribable power and teleported him to his chosen battlefield.
The battlefield he chose was only a hundred meters or so in radius. It was an excellent choice for abat cultivator like him.
The moment the white light faded from his vision, Lu Ye immediately saw a body-tempering cultivator wielding arge Shield Spirit Artifact. Not only was he covered in thick armor, he had already covered himself with a barrier of Spiritual Power and vitality.
The bastard had actually employed all of his defensive measures before he had even entered the battlefield.
He did not know which sect the body-tempering cultivator came from, and it didnt matter. While the guy was still observing the battlefield, Lu Ye was already rushing him at incredible speed. Even faster than him were his nine flying weapons!
The body-tempering cultivator did not dare to underestimate Lu Yi Ye, of course. The guy had killed countless Scroll of Supremacy rankers, and he knew he was inferior to most of those people. That was why he did not hesitate to m his shield on the floor, lower his center of gravity, and turn himself as immovable as a mountain.
Unfortunately, he had just finished adopting a defensive stance when the nine flying weapons struck him in rapid session. The body-tempering cultivator felt chilled to the bone when he saw them tearing his Shield Spirit Artifact into pieces. The scent of death filled his nostrils in an instant.
Although he was wearing armor, it was rumored that Lu Yi Ye was an expert in decapitation. His armor protected his body, but not his neck.
I He was just about to surrender when Amber gave him a mind-buzzing roar. His words were forced back down into his throat before he knew it.
[So, this is how!]
[This is how Lu Yi Ye had stopped all those Scroll of Supremacy elites from being able to surrender!]
Unfortunately, he wouldnt get the chance to reveal it to hisrades. His body abruptly lightened, and his vision was spinning round and round for some reason. By the time it finally came to a standstill, he saw Lu Yi Ye standing beside a headless corpse
[The bastard really is an expert at decapitation]
Beside the body-tempering cultivator, Lu Ye shook off the blood on his saber and returned it to his sheath. After packing up the loot, he teleported back to the wooden building. However, he was just about to sit down when suddenly, he felt yet another disturbance from his Battlefield Imprint. A quick checkter, he realized that the Thousand Demon Ridge seemed to be organizing an assault against him through the Scroll of Supremacy! It was the only exnation as to how they managed to catch him right after he finished a battle.
He epted it and chose the same battlefield. Dozens of breathster, Lu Ye reappeared in the wooden building and, yep, he was right. A new challenger had appeared!
Lu Ye gave up all hope on feeding the Tree of Glyphs then. If the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted to y, then he would y with them. It wasnt like he had another choice any way.
Time passed bit by bit. Each battle ended almost as quickly as it began.
Lu Ye had never experienced such a string of swift battles before. His opponent was never the same, but the battles had ended in more or less the same fashion each time. Half a dayter, over twenty body-tempering cultivators had died in Lu Yes hands. That number was still growing as the challenges kepting.
Of course, it wasnt like their efforts were futile. The continuous battle put a great strain on Lu Yes stamina especially since everyone who challenged him so far was a tough body-tempering cultivator. Moreover, Lu Ye had no choice but to break through their defenses first before killing them because they had already activated all of their defensive measures beforehand, and that required a significant amount of power.
It got to the point where even the Invibles de was starting to get chipped here and there. Lu Ye had chosen the Spirit Artifact for its durability and weight, and over half of the enchantments within the de were durability-focused. Despite this, the Invible was slowly but surely caving under the pressure it was put under.
Thankfully, Lu Ye wasnt relying on its sharpness to cut through his enemies. It was usable as long as it didnt shatterpletely.
Chapter 396: Soar
Chapter 396: Soar
Lu Ye was standing on a high ground of the battlefield, holding the Invible with one hand and throwing Spirit Pills into his mouth with the other. He only chewed them a few times before swallowing them all to recover his Spiritual Power. Then, he took out arge chunk of superior quality wasp honey and shoved it down his throat as well. The wasp honey he brought out of the Misty Mountains restored not just his Spiritual Power, but his stamina as well. It was perfect for his current situation.
A fierce battle was happening in the arena beneath him. Thebatants were Yi Yi and Amber versus a Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator.
After half a day of non-stop fighting, Lu Ye finally decided that he needed to catch some rest. That was why he decided to leave Yi Yi and Amber to it.
Yi Yi hadnt participated in the duels until that point. Naturally, she had been itching to have a go.
Yi Yi alone wouldve had a hard time defeating a Heaven Nine cultivator, but it was a different story with Ambers aid. Since Yi Yi was connected to the tiger in both spirit and mind, their rapport and teamwork were more or less perfect. Ambers job was to keep the enemys attention on him, and Yi Yis job was to cast spells and attack the enemy.
Even if they werent able to defeat the enemy immediately, the body-tempering cultivator didnt have the chance to surrender. It was because Amber would roar at him the second he opened his mouth. Ambers roar itself was some sort of natural Divine Power that targeted the mind and the Divine Soul, and he had absorbed a ton of soul mist during their stay at the Lost City of Xuanyuan. As a result, his roar was growing more and more powerful.
So far, they hadnt encountered a single Spirit Creek Realm cultivator who was capable of withstanding its roar.
Meanwhile, the body-tempering cultivator was wishing that he had never joined the Yi Ye Elimination Front. He was unable to defeat his opponent, but he couldnt even surrender either. Lu Yi Ye was watching from the sidelines like a hawk as well. He was pretty sure he was going to die here.
This wasnt fair. The battles of the Scroll of Supremacy had always been a one-versus-one duel, so why was abat cultivator allowed to bring a Tamed Beast with him? Okay, that was an unfair statement. Cultivators brought Tamed Beasts into the battlefield all the time. But what about the female spell cultivator he was fighting? Surely she didnt count as a Tamed Beast, right?
In any case, what shouldve been a one-versus-one battle had turned into a one-versus-three battle. No wonder hisrades were unable to defeat Lu Yi Ye. Thebat cultivator himself was formidable enough, but he also had numbers on his side. They never had a chance.
He was furious, but there was nothing he could do to change his fate. He couldnt even inform hisrades about Lu Yi Yes bullshit. This was a separate space from the Spirit Creek Battlefield and Jiu Zhou after all. He was unable to contact anyone from here.
The battlested an entire hour before the body-tempering cultivator finally copsed on the ground. His entire body was covered in wounds and bruises caused by Yi Yis spells. It was a most pitiful sight.
Yi Yi let out a cheer and picked up the loot. She held out the Storage Bag in front of Lu Ye like she was asking for praise and chirped, I won!
Lu Ye rubbed her head affectionately before epting the Storage Bag. You did well. Would you like to fight the next match?
Yeah! Yi Yi said determinedly.
She rarely had a chance to refine her ownbat skills and techniques because Lu Yes enemies would rather swarm him with massive numbers than attack him one by one. This was the perfect opportunity for her to do just that.
Of course, this was only possible because she was working together with Amber. She wasnt strong enough to defeat the Heaven Nine cultivators by herself.
The next challenge came the second they returned to the wooden building. Lu Ye epted it and waited for an hour for Yi Yi and Amber to recover before reentering the battlefield.
The oddity was immediately caught by the Yi Yi Elimination Front. Since they began challenging Lu Ye, the young man had epted the challenges at first notice and ended most matches in just dozens of breaths. However, the previous battlested an entire hour long, and he waited at least an hour before epting the next challenge request.
What did this mean? It meant that Lu Yi Ye was so spent that he was no longer at peak form. That was why he had taken an hour breakter to recover his strength.
This discovery gave the Yi Ye Elimination Front hope. The end was finally in sight!
Another hour passed, and the battle ended. As if on cue, Lu Ye received another challenge request. This continued for a couple more fights until Yi Yi waspletely exhausted, and even Amber was looking a little shriveled.
Thats it for me, Lu Ye. Its your turn now, said Yi Yi before returning to Ambers body to rest.
In the wooden building, Lu Ye fed Amber some Spirit Pills before epting the challenge request from a cultivator whose name he did not and could not care to learn about. When he entered the battlefield though, he was surprised to find that his challenger this time wasnt a body-tempering cultivator, but abat cultivator!
[Did I kill off so many body-tempering cultivators that they had to send theirbat cultivators or something?]
On the other side, the Thousand Demon Ridgebat cultivator nched when he saw Lu Yi Ye charging at him at high speed. Not only did he look perfectly unharmed, he looked energetic enough to fight them for days. The Yi Ye Elimination Front had sent him in because they thought he was on hisst legs, but they were dead wrong.
A momentter, the cultivators of the Yi Ye Elimination Front werepletely stupefied. Lu Ye had suddenly picked up his pace once more and in every enemy in just dozens of breaths. Since no one had survived the challenge, they didnt even know what the hell was going on inside.
It was like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over the candle me that was their hope.
Over half a dayter, Lu Ye received no more challenge requests after a long wait. The reason was simple. The Thousand Demon Ridge had chickened out. For the past two days, the Yi Ye Elimination Front had lost over a hundred Heaven Nine cultivators to Lu Yi Ye. Not only that, over half of their casualties were body-tempering cultivators.
It should be impossible for any one cultivator to fight over a hundred cultivators in a row and win, and yet Lu Yi Ye had done the impossible. It did not look like they would win even if they sent another one hundred cultivators either. To continue with the operation would just be a waste of good talent and lives.
It was at this moment the Yi Ye Elimination Front finally realized that the operation itself was pretty pointless. Even if they were sessful in kicking Lu Yi Ye out of the Scroll of Supremacy, what did it matter? It wasnt like he was dead. He could just challenge the rank list again another time.
The realization made the one hundred or so lives they had lost to Lu Yi Ye feel even more painful
Lu Ye was currently sitting at the absolute bottom of the Scroll of Supremacy, and yet it felt like he was the real number one of the rank list.
Lu Ye did not rush to climb the Scroll of Supremacy. Instead, he took out his twenty mes of Earthen Spirits.
He had to postpone this for two days because of the Thousand Demon Ridges nonsense. Finally, he had the time to resume his work.
Lu Ye activated the Tree of Glyphs and fed it the mes of Earthen Spirits. He watched nervously as he calcted the number of leaves that were ignited each time he fed the Tree of Glyphs.
Eighteen mes of Earthen Spiritster, the glowing leaves were finally all ignited. The tension immediately left Lu Yes shoulders.
He fed the remaining two mes of Earthen Spirits to the Tree of Glyphs before he finally concentrated on the burning leaves.
Boom
His head shook, and he nearly cked out from the sudden impact. It almost felt like his soul was departing his body. The next moment, a massive,plex packet of information was shoved into his brain with zero regard for his well being. Lu Yes face turned as white as a sheet as the pain hit him.
Unfortunately, he did not pass out this time. Maybe it was because he had experienced far worse when absorbing Fire Phoenix, or maybe it was because his Divine Soul was strong enough to withstand the shock. In any case, the impact wasnt hard enough to knock him out, even though Lu Ye wished it was. He wouldnt have to endure this unbearable pain if it was.
A long, long timeter, he finally recovered enough to shake his head slightly. It felt like his brain had liquefied inside his skull and would leak out of his ears at any moment. If someone were to challenge him right now, then he would be hard pressed to win without Amber and Yi Yis aid.
Of course, that wasnt going to happen. He had killed enough people to scare the Thousand Demon Ridge for the next couple days at least.
Lu Ye closed his eyes as he digested the massive andplex packet of information inside his head. A momentter, his expression gradually morphed into joy.
Having learned from his experience with Fire Phoenix, he had thought that the dozen or so leaves on the Tree of Glyphs looked like a pair of wings. That was why he went so far as to threaten Bai Lan into giving him twenty mes of Earthen Spirits. He wanted to verify his assumption as soon as possible.
In fact, he was right. The new Glyph he obtained, Soar, was a better version of the Wings he once received from Lady Yun!
Prior to the Battle Royal of the Legates, Lady Yun had once tattooed the Glyph Wings into his back. The Tattoo had been proven to be a great boon and a lifesaver in many situations until it finally gave out during his adventure in the Burning Lands.
Lu Ye had been missing it since the day he lost it. The aching was especially deep when he was being hunted by the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
If he had Wings during those times, he couldve been faster and more agile in the air. He would not have felt as sorry as he did during the bad times.
However, a Tattoo consumed a lot of energy and resources even for a master Glyphweaver like Lady Yun. For starters, it required the blood essence of a bird-type Great Spirit Beast, which had been prepared by the Sect Master himself. Before this, Lu Ye was nning to umte more Contribution Points and check if the Vault of Providence had what he needed. If it did, he was going to buy the blood essence and request Lady Yun to tattoo him another Wings.
Now that he had Soar, it was no longer necessary. Since the Glyph came from the Tree of Glyphs, Lu Ye naturally had one hundred percent mastery over it. He could activate it any time as well. It was superior to a Tattoo in every way.
The Spiritual Power cost was something he had to test though.
He dashed out of the wooden building and arrived at a clearing. He then channeled his Spiritual Power and activated the Glyph. In an instant, a pair of fiery red wings with a wingspan of ten meters appeared on his back. A quick checkter, he determined that it was more powerful than Wings because it had been constructed based on his own Spiritual Power.
On the other hand, the cost was greater as well. Lu Ye thought for a second and tried to reduce the amount of Spiritual Power he was pouring into the Glyph. The fiery wings shrank in response to his action.
The next moment, he took off to the sky like a bird.
He did not leave the poisonous fog because he didnt want to risk being seen. Wherever he went, the poisonous fog swirled unnaturally because of the wing ps.
A full tea timeter, he finally descended back at the wooden building and half-knelt on the ground. The wings slowly shrank until it vanishedpletely.
His tests had given him a deeper understanding of the Glyph. The cost was greater than if he empowered his flying Spirit Artifact with Windwalk even after he shrank the wings as best he could. It was just something he had to deal with.
On the other hand, it was definitely faster and more nimble than flying on a flying Spirit Artifact.
If he had Soar when he was breaking out of the Myriad Poison Forest that day, he couldve shaken his pursuers off with far greater ease.
In other words, as long as Lu Ye did not run out of Spiritual Power, he would never have to worry about being hunted anymore.
Svin: Happy New Year!
Chapter 397: It’s All His Fault
Chapter 397: Its All His Fault
At the Spirit Creek Realm level, a cultivator could only fly using a flying Spirit Artifact. It wasnt until they reached the Cloud River Realm could they fly without one.
Flying with or without a flying Spirit Artifact was quite different. The former let the flying Spirit Artifact do most of the heavy lifting, while thetter was flying without any aid.
Lu Ye was technically relying on Soar to fly, so it wasnt true unaided flight. That said, the experience was more or less the same.
Of course, this did not mean that a cultivator no longer had any use for flying Spirit Artifacts after reaching the Cloud River Realm. After all, flying using a flying Spirit Artifact cost less Spiritual Power in general, not to mention that some had recesses where the cultivator could deposit Spirit Stones to power the flying Spirit Artifact.
This was especially true forrge flying Spirit Artifacts. They usually consumed more Spiritual Power than one or even an entire group of cultivators could provide. That was why it was necessary to install wards and Spirit Stones in them.
Lu Yes mood was vastly improved after he obtained Soar. Add to the fact that he had fought countless battles for the past couple days, Lu Ye decided to take the entire day off and just rest.
Lu Yes rest day was a rest day for most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators as well. The Scroll of Supremacy didnt change much, and the Spirit Creek Battlefield itself was unusually peaceful today.
When did one guye to control an entire battlefield? The cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge realized sorrowfully that the Spirit Creek Battlefield was actually quite peaceful when the Vanquisher of Sects wasnt causing trouble.
Too bad for them, the peace would onlyst a single day. The next morning, Lu Ye began climbing the Scroll of Supremacy once more, and this time his ascent was faster than ever before. In fact, he was shooting up the ranks every few breaths or so. This was because every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he had challenged had rejected his challenge request.
It might be shameful, but living in shame was still better than dying. Not counting the ones Lu Ye had killed before yesterdays mission, the bastard had killed at least a hundred Heaven Nine cultivators. The bottom fifty rankers simply werent confident that they could survive a battle against Lu Ye, much less defeat him.
Previously, Lu Ye had targeted only cultivators from the Thousand Demon Ridge. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible since nearly everyone between the fiftieth spot to the eightieth spot belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition as a consequence of his decision. Once he had climbed past the eightieth spot, he had no choice but to challenge some Grand Sky Coalition cultivators.
Thankfully, his allies understood his situation perfectly and did not me him for anything. In just an hour, Lu Ye had returned to the top fifty once more. No one had ever climbed the Scroll of Supremacy this quickly.
Now that he was back, he had plenty of targets to choose from. As with before, he challenged each and every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator above his rank.
Despite Lu Yes astounding achievement, it had to be said that none of the upper fifty rankers had rejected Lu Yes challenge request. They had their pride and the strength to defend it!
There were millions and millions of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield, and these people were able to surpass them all and enter the top fifty. Naturally, they were incredibly powerful.
Lu Ye did not attack these rankers like he had attacked Bai Lan because one, he did not need more mes of Earthen Spirits for now; two, he had umted plenty Contribution Points to buy them himself thanks to the Thousand Demon Ridges insane attack yesterday; and three, it would waste too much time.
It had been ten days since he began challenging the Scroll of Supremacy. He needed to reach his highest rank as soon as possible so that he could obtain the best rewards.
If he tried to repeat what he did to Bai Lan, he was bound to lose more than he gained even if he was sessful. And it wasnt likely to work a second time. With the right maniption, anyone could cost him several days at least.
Right now, his only goal was to climb the Scroll of Supremacy!
Since he was the challenger, the right to choose the terrain went to his opponents. Even so, they were still unable to survive Lu Yi Ye.
After Lu Ye had challenged three upper fifty rankers and killed them all, they finally realized that the young man was even more formidable than they thought.
At first, the upper fifty rankers thought that the reason Lu Ye was able to kill the bottom fifty rankers before they could even cry, I surrender! was because they were too weak. However, that logic could not possibly apply to an upper fifty ranker.
This meant that the reason his opponents hadnt surrendered was not because they didnt want to, but because they couldnt. Lu Yi Ye was probably using some sort of strange method to stop his opponents from being able to surrender.
If surrender was on the table, then the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators did not mind epting Lu Yi Yes challenge. But if death was the only oue of defeat, then they had to seriously think things through before epting it.
Unfortunately, they never found out what this method was even after all the sacrifices they had made. In fact, only one person had ever encountered Lu Yi Ye in the challenge battle and survived, and she was Bai Lan of the Rainmaker Sect.
Naturally, a lot of cultivators had sought out Bai Lan in an attempt to find out exactly what she did to escape Lu Yi Yes wrath, but unfortunately the woman herself could not give an answer. Not only was she overwhelmed by Lu Yi Ye from the start until the end, even her High-Grade Spirit Artifact had proven to be insufficient against his power.
However, her confession regarding the one-sidedness of the battle only convinced her allies that Bai Lan had every opportunity to surrender. But for some reason, Lu Yi Ye had not used the unknown method he had used on every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he had in so far on her. Heck, he had even surrendered the battle of his own ord!
It was such an odd battle that the Thousand Demon Ridge could not help but wonder if Lu Yi Ye was one of those protectors of womenfolk or something. Otherwise, why would he show Bai Lan special treatment?
However, the theory didnt really stand to reason either. There were a good number of beautiful Thousand Demon Ridge female cultivators on the Scroll of Supremacy, and yet Lu Yi Ye had in them all without mercy. So why was Bai Lan able to live?
Now that they thought about it, the one thing Bai Lan had that none of the other female rankers had, was an awe-inspiring bust
At that moment, countless people believed that they figured out the truth
On a rted note, Bai Lan had begun her climb on the same day Lu Yi Ye had begun his climb. However, their speeds were night and day. The young man had ascended to the fiftieth spot without fighting a single battle since everyone he challenged had rejected his challenge request outright. Bai Lan, on the other hand, wasnt nearly as intimidating. Naturally, her speed left much to be desired.
That said, she was the former forty-eighth ranker. If she gave it her all, her final rank should not be too far below her original rank.
In the wooden building, after ying three top fifty rankers in a row, Lu Ye discovered that his next few opponents had unanimously rejected his challenge request yet again. As a result, he shot all the way to the thirty-sixth spot.
His next challenger was the thirty-fourth ranker named Zhuo Jianchen. The name looked familiar for some reason, and he immediately knew why after checking his sect. It was none other than Bai Lans senior brother, the man who dered he would be waiting for his challenge a few days ago.
He issued the challenge request, and as expected, the guy had epted it in almost no time. Lu Ye began waiting patiently for the uing battle.
In the Rainmaker Sects Outpost, Bai Lan stared at a brooding Zhuo Jianchen and asked, Did Lu Yi Ye challenge you, senior brother?
Yes.
Did you
I epted it!
I dont think you should go, senior brother.
Zhuo Jianchen abruptly looked at her. And why shouldnt I? What are you afraid of?
Bai Lan was confused. Excuse me? Her senior brother was acting strange today. Normally, he was the perfect image of a refined and cultivated gentleman. But now, his expression was so dark he almost couldnt recognize his face.
Let me ask you a question, junior sister. Why did Lu Yi Ye let you off? Zhuo Jianchen forced down the displeasure in his heart and asked solemnly.
But he didnt let me off The bastard had ckmailed her into giving him twenty mes of Earthen Spirits, which was worth a whopping four thousand Contribution Points!
Zhuo Jianchen pressed, Every fellow cultivator he has challenged has died except you. Is it really just because of the twenty me of Earthen Spirits?
At this point, even Bai Lan noticed what her senior brother was implying. She asked in astonishment, What are you trying to say, senior brother?
Im not trying to say anything. But I have heard some things.
That would be an understatement. The rumors were literally flying all over the Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition right now. At first, Zhuo Jianchen didnt think much of it either, but the rumors had gradually seeped into his mind and poisoned him with fear and suspicion.
The dark emotions only got worse when he recalled how his junior sister had acted after returning from her fight. She had looked white as a sheet as if she had suffered a terrible humiliation.
As if that wasnt bad enough, it felt like his junior brothers and junior sisters were looking at him in a different light these days. That he hadnt exploded yet was a testament to his fortitude.
Bai Lan turned as pale as death in an instant. She had heard the rumors as well, but how could her senior brother believe them?
You have to believe me, senior
I dont know if I can believe you, is the crux of the problem here! Zhuo Jianchen interrupted her. That is why Im going to question the bastard myself.
You cant go, senior brother! Everyone hes challenged so far was killed! Bai Lan pleaded worriedly. However, the more she acted like this, the worse the thorn in his heart became, and the greater his desire to meet Lu Yi Ye face to face.
This would gue him for life if he did not find out the truth once and for all.
Enough! Im going to prepare for this battle. Leave me, Zhuo Jianchen said before turning his back on Bai Lan. The door shut behind him before the girl could go after him.
For a moment, Bai Lan simply stared at the door with listless eyes. She just could not understand how things had turned out this way.
[Lu Yi Ye its all that guys fault!]
Bai Lan gritted her teeth as she imagined tearing that bastard to pieces in her mind. However, the mere thought of his face caused her to shiver suddenly.
She pped the door again and again while yelling, Please listen to me, senior brother!
He never responded.
The scenery before Zhuo Jianchen began changing after he selected the terrain.
A momentter, Lu Ye and Zhuo Jianchen appeared in a moderate-sized battlefield at the same time. As usual, Yi Yi slipped into the underground to search for the enemy, and Ambery perfectly still on Lu Yes shoulder like he was no more than an ornament.
However, before Lu Ye even had the time to examine his surroundings, he abruptly heard a shout from the distant space in front of him, Show your face, Lu Yi Ye!
He looked forward and saw a man and a sword in the sky. The man was standing on the sword and soaring through the sky at high speed. He was also surrounded by many other swords; most likely his flying weapons. This Zhuo Jianchen was most likely a sword cultivator!
For some reason though, the guy looked like he was full of rage. Lu Ye suspected that it was probably because he ckmailed his junior sister into giving him twenty me of Earthen Spirits.
Many upper fifty rankers had rejected his challenge request because they werent sure they could survive a fight against him, and yet this man had decided to break the convention not just because he was confident in his skill, but probably because he was a stubborn idiot as well.
Lu Ye loved stubborn idiots!
Chapter 398: A Bit Disappointing
Chapter 398: A Bit Disappointing
Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat and rose up to Zhuo Jianchens altitude. They were about a hundred meters away from one another.
Although his climb up the Scroll of Supremacy had been incredibly smooth-sailing, he had never underestimated his opponent, and he wasnt about to start with a sword cultivator. The fact that he was ranked thirty-second meant that he was pretty strong.
The moment their eyes met, Zhuo Jianchen asked furiously, I have a question for you, Lu Yi Ye! Did you do anything untoward against my junior sister?
Lu Ye mulled over the question for a moment. He had hounded the girl from the forty-eighth spot all the way to the ny-seventh spot. In the end, he had even ckmailed her into paying him four thousand Contribution Points worth of mes of Earthen Spirits. He supposed that he had gone a tad overboard, but then again, the woman should be thankful he didnt kill her in the first ce. She wouldve been long dead if he wasnt in a hurry to get some mes of Earthen Spirits. What was some loss of wealth and rankpared to ones life?
In any case, he had bullied the junior sister, so the senior brother decided to take revenge for her. It was understandable.
Zhuo Jianchen could not read Lu Yes mind, so his silence only caused the sword cultivators dark emotions to swell to unimaginable proportions. While turning green in the face, he uttered, You have nothing to say, is it? Very well then! Die!
The seven swords of different length floating next to Zhuo Jianchen immediately sailed toward Lu Ye. They closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
A sword cultivators flying swords were notoriously swift and deadly. It was the main reason they were able to kill those above their cultivation level.
Lu Yes understanding of sword cultivators was actually prettyckingpared to other factions, but he knew Zhuo Jianchen was no small fry from the fact that he couldmand seven flying weapons. His mind must be incredibly powerful, though he was still nowhere close to Yu Lianzhous level.
From what he heard, Yu Lianzhou could control twenty flying weapons at the same time, which was nearly three times more than Zhuo Jianchen. If he were topare him to Li Baxian, then they didnt even belong in the same league. The amount of swords Li Baxian could control at the Spirit Creek Realm was an unbreakable world record not just because he was uniquely talented in this regard, but also because he had lingered at the Spirit Creek Realm for too long.
During the decade he was stuck at the Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order Realm, the only thing he could do besides guarding the Devoted Ones Outpost was to improve his mind. That was why he became capable of controlling a hundred flying weapons, and why his foundation as a Cloud River Realm cultivator far exceeded most other Cloud River Realm cultivators.
Lu Ye wasnt idle when the seven swords flew toward him. His own flying weapons shot forward to meet the enemy weapons inbat. For a time, the duo simply stood where they were while their flying weapons shed against one another and sent sparks flying.
Lu Ye was pretty confident in his telekinesis skills because he had a powerful Divine Soul, which in turn meant that he had a powerful mind. A powerful mind was greatly beneficial to ones control over their Spirit Artifacts and Spiritual Power.
He did not think there was anyone in the Spirit Creek Battlefield whose Divine Soul was stronger than his, and while he dared not im to be the current champion of the Way of Telekinesis, he was certain that Zhuo Jianchen was not it either.
The flying weapons shed again and again in between the two cultivators. It was almost as if the Spirit Artifacts were alive as they attempted to hunt each other down.
Unfortunately for Zhuo Jianchen, it took only a moment for his flying swords to fall into aplete disadvantage. The reason for this was one, Lu Ye had more flying weapons than him, and two, he could imbue them with various Glyphs. It was a unique advantage Zhou Jianchen could not hope to match.
It was clear Zhuo Jianchen realized that he couldnt win via telekinesis either. Once his flying swords were driven back to his side, he abruptly channeled his Spiritual Power and summoned them back to him, to spin around him like a top. Then, heunched them at Lu Yes flying weapons once more.
This time, it was Lu Yes flying weapons that were sent flying. Lu Ye immediately recognized the attack as a sword field. His knowledge of sword cultivators might becking, but that of sword fields wasnt.
Generally speaking, it took three ordinary cultivators, at least, to form any sort of field. However, a powerful sword cultivator could form a sword field single handedly because they could control multiple flying swords at once.
A sword field made of seven swords could not be underestimated. They knocked Lu Yes flying weapons away as forcefully as thunder and reached him in the blink of an eye.
It was toote to bring back his flying weapons, so Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible and swung at the deadly swords in front of him.
Beneath the ground, Yi Yi was watching Lu Ye being pushed back uncontrobly by the sword field. Worse still, Zhuo Jianchen was preparing behind the sword field and bing one with his swords. He charged Lu Ye the moment he was ready!
Yi Yi remained calm, however, and did not try to help Lu Ye.
To Lu Ye, the Scroll of Supremacy was just another method to temper himself. His fourth senior brothers advice to rush to the highest possible rank in the shortest amount possible only fired him up more. After all, there was no faster way to grow ones strength besides fighting all sorts of enemies in a battle to the death.
Unfortunately, every enemy he had encountered so far was so weak he couldnt get anything out of the experience. That was until they encountered this sword cultivator today. Naturally, Yi Yi wasnt going to spoil his fun.
While Lu Ye was holding off the sword field, he manipted his nine flying weapons to attack Zhuo Jianchen. The sword cultivator immediately sensed the killing intents and acted to block the attack with his sword. He was sessful, but he was shocked to discover that his wrist was turning numb from the sessive impacts. How was it possible for abat cultivators telekinesis strength and speed to be so powerful?
The loss of concentration caused a w to appear in the sword field. Lu Ye immediately thrust his saber into the w andunched a jet of Spiritual Power. The attack instantly blew apart the sword field and caused the swords to fall toward the ground like meteors.
Lu Ye took a moment to collect himself. Then, he pounced on Zhuo Jianchen like a tiger.
The saber shed shrilly against the sword before the two men were pushed away from each other. For a time, they simply stared at each other with less than three meters separating them. One of them looked like he would swallow his opponent piece by piece, while the other was as cool as ice.
Im going to kill you! Zhuo Jianchen uttered through gritted teeth.
At first, he was quite worried for his life as everyone who epted Lu Yes challenge had died without even being able to surrender. Now that he had fought the man, he discovered that everyone had overestimated Lu Yi Ye. It was true that he was stronghe couldnt have climbed to this rank and challenged him otherwisebut that was all.
He even thought he could win if he tried a little harder. If he did, he would bring unparalleled honor to both the Thousand Demon Ridge and his sect!
Zhuo Jianchen let out an angry yell and shot blossoms of sword energy at Lu Ye. However, a single sh was all it took to scatter them all.
Zhuo Jianchen felt a sudden chill around his chest area and instinctively floated a few steps away from Lu Yi Ye. He shot the young man an incredulous look before looking down at his chest.
It had to be a hallucination. Somehow, the young man had cut his chest deep enough to unfold the flesh. Even worse, it was so fast that he, a sword cultivator, couldnt react to it.
You Zhuo Jianchen suddenly wondered if he was dreaming. A moment ago, he thought that his opponent was beatable. Now, he was considering a possibility he hadnt until now.
Had Lu Yi Ye been hiding his strength this whole time?
He hadnt considered this sooner because he did not think it was possible for anyone to hide their strength while challenging the Scroll of Supremacy.
He didnt manage to continue his though process because Lu Ye was already right in front of him. He was forced to raise his sword to block a downward swing.
An unimaginable force struck him like the hammer of the Heavens. Both him and his flying Spirit Artifacts instantly shot toward the ground like a meteor.
Boom! Dust flew everywhere as Zhuo Jianchen hit the ground. As he forced himself to stand up, blood bubbled around the edges of his lips, and his bones felt like they could fall apart at any moment. His eyes were full of disbelief, and he couldnt figure out how Lu Yi Ye had managed to crush him so utterly just now. The sudden, explosive force the young man had disyed was nothing like he had ever heard, much less felt.
His flying Spirit Artifact was lying next to his feet, but it was basically broken after that impact. Flying Spirit Artifacts were generally quite fragile.
He staggered a few steps before looking up into the sky. However, Lu Ye was nowhere to be seen. He was just watching his surroundings when suddenly, he heard footstepsing from the side. He turned around and saw Lu Ye walking slowly toward him.
Somehow, he felt even more pressure than ever before, so much so that his breathing was starting to feel constricted.
Zhuo Jianchen pointed his sword at Lu Ye and yelled, Why didnt you go all out from the start!?
He had realized far toote that Lu Yi Ye hadnt brought out his full strength. That was why he thought for a moment it was possible to win.
[What the fuck is this? Its not enough that he humiliated my junior sister, he must humiliate me as well to satisfy his perverted desires?]
Lu Ye was going to ignore Zhuo Jianchens question, but in the end he said, I wanted to check out how strong a ranker between the thirtieth to the fortieth ce is.
After the first three upper fifty rankers he killed, everyone he challenged afterward had rejected his challenge request immediately. As a result, he knew nothing about the strength of the rankers in this range.
Since Zhuo Jianchen was kind enough to ept his challenge, of course he wasnt going to kill him that quickly.
And?
Its a bit disappointing.
Zhuo Jianchens eyes twitched uncontrobly at the careless yet scathingment. He was about to say more when he saw Lu Ye charging toward him again, Spiritual Power rising.
I
Roar!
Zhuo Jianchen only managed to say one word before he felt like his head was struck by a hammer. For an instant, he couldnt tell where he was or what he was doing.
That said, he was a sword cultivator, one who could control seven flying weapons at once no less. At the very least, his mind was tougher than the generic Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
That was why he was able to finish his deration the moment he regained his consciousness, surrender!
Unfortunately, it was toote. Lu Ye was already standing behind him and sheathing his sword.
Zhuo Jianchen exhaled slightly and looked at the clouds above him. He then murmured, So this is how!
This was how Lu Yi Ye had prevented his allies from being able to surrender
He did finish his sentence, but in the end, it was just a little toote.
The thirty-fourth name on the Scroll of Supremacy shuddered a little. Then, it crumbled and was reced by Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Chapter 399: Are You Lu Yi Ye Meh
Chapter 399: Are You Lu Yi Ye Meh
Zhuo Jianchen of the Rainmaker Sect, the thirty-fourth ranker of the Scroll of Supremacy, was in by Lu Yi Ye.
The news swiftly spread to every corner of the Battlefield and even Jiu Zhou like it had wings, stunning the world.
When Lu Yi Ye was still at the bottom half of the Scroll of Supremacy, and every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker he fought had been in without question. It was thought it was because his opponents were so weak that they didnt even have the chance to surrender.
But what about now?
Zhuo Jianchen was the thirty-fourth ranker. He couldnt possibly be so weak that he didnt even have the chance to surrender, could he? Not to mention that he was a sword cultivator.
There was no chance he had chosen to fight Lu Yi Ye to the death either. No one was that stupid.
In any case, countless people were watching Lu Yi Yes progress and wondering where his limitsy. The top twenty? Top ten? Maybe even the champion?
Meanwhile, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators sitting above Lu Ye on the Scroll of Supremacy were feeling more pressured than ever before.
After killing Zhou Jianchen, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect once again shot through the rankings at meteoric speed. In less than half a tea time, he had gone from the thirty-fourth ce to the twentieth ce!
Every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker within this range had rejected Lu Yes challenge request. They did not think they were overwhelmingly stronger than Zhuo Jianchen, and the sword cultivator had still been in without being able to surrender. With so many unknown factors in y, it was only natural that they werent going to risk their lives.
But of course, Lu Yes journey up the Scroll of Supremacy wasnt going to be smooth-sailing the whole way. The size of a rankers confidence was proportional to their rank, and most of them firmly believed that they could do what the others couldnt do.
That was why the seventeenth ranker did not hesitate to ept Lu Yes challenge. In fact, they didnt even keep Lu Ye waiting for long. Ten breaths after Lu Ye sent out the challenge request, bothbatants were teleported to the battlefield.
This proved that the seventeenth ranker had been preparing themselves for this battle for a while. They were just waiting for Lu Ye to challenge them.
The battlefield turned out to be Lu Yes favorite. It was small enough that he did not need to waste time searching for his opponent, and it was pretty suitable for close quartersbat.
Lu Ye looked up and saw a tall, muscr man with bronze-colored skin. His vitality was as powerful as his physique might suggest.
He had no doubt that his opponent was a body-tempering cultivator.
What caught Lu Yes attention was the man had a pair of long, curled horns growing out of the edges of his forehead. Not only that, his upper body was bare, and he had colorful tattoos on his chest, waist and arms.
[Are those visible Tattoos?]
There were millions and millions of cultivators in Jiu Zhou, and everyone possessed their own distinct personality. Some people were shy and reserved, and some were passionate and exuberant. This body-tempering cultivator, for example, was probably a show-off.
The fact that the guy had multiple visible Tattoos on his body alone was proof that he wasnt someone to be messed with. A weaker cultivator wouldve felt massive pressure at the sight of these visible Tattoos alone. After all, it was impossible to tell what amazing powers they might possess until the enemy had revealed them.
Lu Ye looked at the two curled horns on his opponents forehead again. Assuming he wasnt mistaken, his opponent was probably a mutant cultivator!
Most mutant cultivators possessed great vitality and were naturally suited to be body-tempering cultivators. This guy in particr was even wearing a pair of vambraces and spiked gloves. They were clearly high quality Spirit Artifacts as well.
This was the first time Lu Ye encountered a body-tempering cultivator who did not wield a Shield Spirit Artifact. That was how he knew his opponent must be incredibly resilient.
There were multiple types of body-tempering cultivators, and the mutant cultivator in front of him was the aggressive type. Their damage output might not rival that of abat cultivator, but their tough defense more than made up for that weakness.
Are you Lu Yi Ye, meh? The mutant cultivator cried from a distance.
Lu Yes response was to eject his flying weapons and send them flying toward the mutant cultivator. When the first one reached the mutant cultivator, he only needed to swing his hand once to send it flying. However, the second, third, fourth and more were right behind it
Metallic nks resounded in the battlefield as the mutant cultivator repeatedly knocked the flying weapons away with his Vambrace Spirit Artifact. A whileter, he got annoyed and taunted, Come over yourself if you dare!
Lu Ye simply ignored the mutant cultivator and continued harrying the mutant cultivator with his flying weapons. From time to time, he would even imbue them with a Glyph to catch his enemy off guard.
And it did. The mutant cultivator grew visibly angry and attempted to break through the storm of metal. However, Lu Ye was able to drive him back each time.
One thing Lu Ye had to give the mutant cultivator credit for was that he was surprisingly nimble for his size. He hadnt been able to injure him once even though he was attacking with nine flying weapons.
Not only that, Lu Ye realized that the mutant cultivator was only pretending to be angry. He was wearing an expression that suggested that he was out of his mind with anger, but in reality his eyes were calm and steady.
Wayaya! Im so angry, meh! Im gonna kill you!
Some timeter, the mutant cultivator let out an angry roar. Then, the tattoo in front of his chest abruptly shone and summoned what looked like a blood red beast that Lu Ye could not recognize. It let out a mighty roar that shook the eardrums and blew all nine of Lu Yes flying weapons away.
The mutant cultivator immediately used this opportunity to barrel down on Lu Ye like a mountain. He was able to close the gap and bring down his fist.
Lu Ye nimbly leaped into the air to dodge the attack. While he was above the mutant cultivators head, he unsheathed the Invible and shed at the back of his opponents neck.
However, the mutant cultivator once again disyed an uncanny level of agility by turning around faster than Lu Ye thought was possible and punching toward the Invible. At the same time, he aimed his free hand at Lu Ye and conjured what looked like a round disc at the center of his palm. It was a spell!
Who wouldve thought that this brawny, outwardly rash body-tempering cultivator would be a spell cultivator as well? Judging from his casting speed, his talent in spell cultivation was pretty high, too.
A look of triumph shed across the mutant cultivators face. On the surface, he had made a rash attack and exposed his weak spot to his enemy. In reality, he was just baiting Lu Ye into his trap. He had killed many Grand Sky Coalition rankers this way.
Twang! The Invible mmed into the mans metal-d fist. The mutant cultivator immediately tensed because he felt as if he was punching a mountain, not a saber. His knees buckled, and his knees nearly hit the ground.
At the same time, Lu Ye was sailing across the air as well. The punch had been astoundingly powerful.
The mutant cultivator immediately crouched to adjust his center of gravity before firing the spell he had been channeling at Lu Ye, striking him squarely in the chest. It was a spell that contained both Spiritual Power and vitality.
The attack pushed Lu Ye further towards the edge of the battlefield before he finallynded on his feet.
After the unnatural force pressing down on his shoulders had disappeared, the mutant cultivator rose to his feet and looked at Lu Ye. His eyes twitched when he realized that the young man who was just catching himself looked perfectly unharmed.
He had heard for a long time that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect used a defensive Glyph to protect himself from hard hits. Now, he had finally witnessed it with his own eyes.
His spell had definitely struck Lu Ye, but he clearly saw a Glyph barrier appearing out of nowhere and blocking it at thest moment. As a result, all his surprise attack had gotten him was a disheveled appearance.
There was around a hundred meters of distance between the two. The mutant cultivator grinned at Lu Ye before saying, As a body-tempering cultivator, its only right that I know a handful of spells, meh?
Lu Ye nodded silently before dipping his head and walking toward the mutant cultivator. A secondter, he abruptly blurred and left a series of afterimages behind him.
The mutant cultivator nched instantly. At the Spirit Creek Realm level, this was the first time he saw anyone who could move so quickly!
He hurriedly focused his eyes and attempted to identify Lu Yes direction, but thebat cultivator was already swinging his saber at him. He hurriedly raised his arms to block the attack only to realize that he had been tricked. His senses told him that there was a terrific burst of Spiritual Power aimed straight at his back.
He hastily turned around and swung his arm.
Kwang! The Invible mmed against the vambrace caused sparks to fly. Once again, he felt as if a mountain had struck him. The mutant cultivator forced himself to remain steady, but a st of heat struck him before he could catch himselfpletely. He saw what looked like a Fire Phoenix straight out of the myths flying straight toward him. The heat was unbearable even from a distance.
[Oh yeah! Lu Yi Ye is an expert in spell-casting as well!]
Not only that, his casting speed and strength were clearly a cut above his.
The fiery spell enveloped the mutant cultivator. However, a terrific burst of vitality tore the Fire Phoenix to shreds and revealed his muscr body.
Before he could glimpse his surroundings though, Lu Yi Yes saber was flying toward him yet again. He just barely managed to block it before the Fire Phoenix engulfed it once more.
Saber, spell, saber, spell, saber, spell
It was as if it would never end.
From a third persons perspective, the mutant cultivator was going up and down and up and down again like he was doing squat exercises in the middle ofbat. He wanted to escape Lu Yes seemingly endless saber-and-spell attack, but of course thebat cultivator wasnt going to allow him to do so.
The mutant cultivator was obviously frustrated. His body was strong, but there was only so much it could endure against an unreasonable opponent like Lu Yi Ye. At the same time, he chided himself for showing off his spells when he couldve just stuck to more conventional, body-tempering cultivator-like tactics. As a consequence of pissing off thebat cultivator, death was now breathing down his neck!
Suddenly, he heard a shatter that turned his blood into ice. It was his vambraces shattering after receiving Heavens know how many strikes from Lu Yi Ye! He hurriedly activated the Tattoo on his chest and let out a mighty roar that blew away his enemys attacks. He then seized the opportunity to put some distance between himself and Lu Ye while panting heavily.
The duo were now thirty meters apart. There wasnt a single hair to be found on the mutant cultivators skin not because he was hairless to begin with, but because the Fire Phoenixes had burned it all.
Lu Yes gaze darted between the mutant cultivators abdomen and his arms something about the Tattoos didnt feel right
What are you looking at? Yeah, theyre normal tattoos. So what? I like having tattoos, okay? The mutant cultivator erupted in embarrassment and anger.
As it turned out, the only tattoo on the mutant cultivators body that was a Tattoo-type Glyph was the one on his chest. The rest were just normal tattoos. Of course, they looked no different from a visible Tattoo, so revealing them was one way to put pressure on his opponents.
Chapter 400: Gui Yingzi
Chapter 400: Gui Yingzi
The reason Lu Ye hadnt gone all out before was because he was wary of the other tattoos, and because he wanted to know how strong a top twenty ranker was. Now that he knew that the other tattoos were fake and experienced his opponents their strength, there was no need to hold back any longer.
He crouched slightly and kept his saber pointed diagonally toward the ground. Then, he empowered himself with Windwalk and took off like a crack of thunder.
Sensing Lu Yes killing intent, the mutant cultivator hurriedly called out, I
Roar! Amber made its first move ever in this battle, but this time the tigers roar didnt affect the mutant cultivator nearly as much as it should have. He nked out for only an instant before he recovered and finished his call for surrender.
Lu Ye dashed past the mutant cultivator and shed his neck with an Invible that was empowered by two Sharp Edges. However, an invisible energy had already wrapped the mutant cultivator. It prevented the fatal attack from doing even the slightest bit of damage to the mutant cultivator.
It was the protection of the Heavens!
The mutant cultivator rubbed his neck in terror as his figure swiftly turned transparent. Soon, he was out of the battlefield.
He escaped? Yi Yi asked while showing herself.
Lu Ye nodded his head slightly.
In fact, he had already noticed this problem when he fought Zhuo Jianchen before. The stronger the ranker, the more resistant they were against Ambers roar, and the harder they were to kill.
In fact, Zhuo Jianchen had managed to call for surrender at the same time Lu Ye had beheaded him. The sword cultivator could have saved his own life if he was just a little faster.
The mutant cultivator was seventeen ranks above Zhuo Jianchen. Naturally, he was stronger and more resistant toward Ambers roar.
Should I help out during the next battle? Yi Yi asked.
Sure!
After challenging the Scroll of Supremacy for the past few days, Lu Ye now had a clear idea of his exact strength. He should not have too much trouble defeating his opponents, but killing them was probably going to be impossible very soon. That was why he decided to ept Yi Yis offer to help.
After they returned to the wooden building, Lu Ye took a short rest before issuing his next challenge.
At the same time, the Thousand Demon Ridge finally figured out how Lu Yi Ye was able to kill every ranker he had fought. It was because his Tamed Beasts roar could attack the Divine Soul. No wonder the rankers werent able to surrender before they were killed.
It wasnt until the former seventeenth ranker had escaped by the skin of his teeth that they finally gained the intel.
Thanks to the mutant cultivators intel, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who ranked above him were finally able to rx. They were certain they werent inferior to the mutant cultivator. If he could survive Lu Yi Ye, then they could too.
What happened next stunned everyone, however. The sixteenth, fourteenth and eleventh Thousand Demon Ridge rankers had all been killed by Lu Yi Ye.
Practically everyone within this range belonged to a Tier-One sect. They also had an extremely high chance of entering the Divine Ocean Realm in the future. Now, that future had been cut short.
The sect elders of those rankers were all incredibly sad that their disciples were in by Lu Yi Ye. The Thousand Demon Ridges hatred for him deepened even more.
They also did not understand why the seventeenth ranker had survived when the other three above him had died.
To date, no one knew that Yi Yi was teleported into the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield alongside Lu Ye because everyone who saw her had died. With Yi Yi acting as the knife in the back, none of these Thousand Demon Ridge rankers were able to survive the match even if they were strong enough to resist Ambers roar.
Now, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was sitting on the eleventh spot of the Scroll of Supremacy. He only needed to advance one more cement to enter the top ten.
In fact, there were multiple benchmarks in the Scroll of Supremacy. The fiftieth spot was a benchmark, the thirtieth spot was another benchmark, and the tenth spot was the final benchmark. The difference in strength between one cultivator above the benchmark and another who was below was massive.
If Lu Yi Ye really managed to enter the top ten, then it meant he was qualified to enter the strongest echelon of the Spirit Creek Realm.
Thest Heaven Eight cultivator to enter the top ten was Li Baxian, but his situation was special. He was originally a Heaven Nine cultivator until his Spiritual Point was damaged, and his cultivation level dropped. If Lu Yi Ye managed to win his next match, then he would be the first true Heaven Eight cultivator to enter the strongest echelon of the Spirit Creek Realm!
Everyone knew that Lu Ye wasnt going to challenge the tenth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy because they belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition. His next target was the ninth-ced Gui Yingzi!
Everyone was watching with bated breaths. Everyone wanted to know if a top ten ranker would be strong enough to stop Lu Yi Yes advance.
It was at this moment Lu Yi Ye defied everyones expectations by suddenly going AWOL for more than half a day straight. Gui Yingzi reported that he had not received a challenge request either.
While the Thousand Demon Ridge was d to postpone the inevitable, it only gave rise to more worry.
It was clear that the eleventh spot would not be Lu Yi Yes final stop. The only reason he temporarily stopped advancing was because he was resting. He wanted to enter the next battle in the best possible condition.
Their guess was spot on. Lu Ye had barely rested since he restarted his climb, and the top ten rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy were literally the ten best cultivators in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Naturally, he wasnt going to fight them in less-than-optimal condition. A cultivators performance wasnt just determined by their cultivation level, but also their status and their ability to improvise in the middle ofbat.
At the courtyard, Hua Ci had once again cooked a tableful of strange dishes he had never even seen before. Still, Lu Ye did not hesitate to consume them all. Whatever strange nt or creature they were made from, they all tasted fantastic to his taste buds.
Of course, this was only possible because he possessed the Tree of Glyphs. Generally speaking, only someone with incredible detoxification abilities could enjoy Hua Cis food.
Lu Ye was leaning against his chair and letting out a satisfied burp when suddenly, he recalled something and looked at Hua Ci. Arent you going to challenge the Scroll of Supremacy?
He knew little about Hua Cis current strength or even the techniques she used, but she had more than proven her strength by making it all the way to the Myriad Poison Forest alone and killing Heavens know how many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators on the way. Most people didnt even know what killed them before they died. If he had to choose between Hua Ci and the current number one of the Scroll of Supremacy as his final opponent, he would choose the current number one every time.
In other words, Hua Ci was qualified to challenge the Scroll of Supremacy.
Theres no hurry, Hua Ci replied, unconcerned, while putting away the dishes with Yi Yi. My cultivation level is still a littlecking. Ill think about it when Im Heaven Nine.
How many more Spiritual Points do you need? Lu Ye asked.
Twenty to thirty, give or take? Hua Ci shot him a smirk before leaving.
Lu Yes eyes twitched once. By now, he had noticed that Hua Cis cultivation was growing at an unbelievable rate since he came to the Myriad Poison Forest. His cultivation level used to be leagues ahead of hers, but now they were both Heaven Eight cultivators. Even better, she had somehow unlocked more Spiritual Points than him and surpassed him.
Sure, he hadnt spent much time cultivating as ofte due to the Scroll of Supremacy, but objectively speaking, he did not think he could keep up with her even if he had devoted all of his time to cultivating.
[What on earth is her inheritance?]
After resting for a full day and entering peak form, Lu Ye connected his mind to the Scroll of Supremacy and issued the ninth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy a challenge request.
His opponent epted his challenge. A whileter, the Heavens enveloped him, Yi Yi and Amber and teleported them to the battlefield.
The battlefield this time was over five kilometers in radius and filled withrge trees and thick foliage. It was a forest.
This battlefield actually reminded Lu Ye of the Misty Mountains. It was perfect for concealing oneself.
Considering his opponent was named Gui Yingzi (Ghastly Shadow), Lu Ye knew that he was probably a ghost cultivator. That was why he wasnt surprised in the least when he saw the forest around him.
Yi Yi had already left to search for Gui Yingzi. Lu Ye threw a couple Spirit Pills into his mouth and grabbed a book from his Storage Bag after he found a clean ce to sit
Time passed bit by bit. For the first time, Yi Yis efforts had not borne fruit. Despite scouring through the entire battlefield several times with a fine toothb, it was as if Gui Yingzi had vanished from the battlefield.
Lu Ye hadnt been attacked either. He had been cultivating and reading this whole time.
Lu Ye had fought some ghost cultivators in the previous battles, but they never waited too long before skulking to Lu Yes location and attempting to end his life in one strike. Naturally, none of them lived to see another day.
This ghost cultivator, on the other hand, was a little different from what he hade to expect. Not only did he hide himself so well that even Yi Yi couldnt find him, he had not approached Lu Ye recklessly.
Lu Ye was sure the ghost cultivator was observing him from nearby though. His senses were informing him that he was being watched.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to identify the ghost cultivators location.
On a tree over a hundred meters away from Lu Yes location, Gui Yingzi was clinging to a branch and watching Lu Ye silently like a ghost.
This was a battlefield, and yet Lu Yi Ye was reading a book like he was on a camping trip. It was obvious thebat cultivator was trying to bait him to get closer.
As the strongest ghost cultivator not just on the Scroll of Supremacy, but also the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield, Gui Yingzi wasnt so easily fooled.
A ghost cultivator could be many things, but an impatient ghost cultivator could never be an outstanding ghost cultivator. They must be able to wait until the moment the enemy truly revealed a chink in their armor before baring their fangs.
Time passed slowly. Countless cultivators were dying to know the oue of this battle, but Lu Ye was reading a book and cultivating, while Gui Yingzi was waiting patiently for his opening to arrive. Not a single sound could be heard in the entire battlefield.
The sky slowly darkened over time. This discovery surprised Lu Ye.
He had never stayed on the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield for so long. That was why he didnt know that it had a day-night cycle.
This made him wonder if the rumors that the Scroll of Supremacys battlefields were actual ces on Jiu Zhou had some truth to it after all. At the very least, it seemed like the time in this battlefield was identical to that of Jiu Zhou and the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
He rubbed his stomach. He was feeling a little hungry.
So, he put away his book and took out a few chunks of raw meat from his Storage Bag. He threw half of them to Amber and set the rest atop the bonfire.
The meat came from the Misty Mountains. Specifically, it belonged to the Spirit Beasts he killed during his time there.
Chapter 401: The Bastard Did It
Chapter 401: The Bastard Did It
Soon, a fragrant scent began to spread throughout the forest. Melted fat dripped onto the bonfire and caused some sizzling noises.
After dinner was finished, Lu Ye continued to read his books until it was over midnight. He then closed his eyes and napped until dawn broke.
The situation did not change even when it was the second day. This was easily the most boring fight Lu Ye had ever experienced in his life. His opponent hadnt revealed himself yet, and Yi Yi was still unable to find him.
He knew he would win if this situation continued though. He could eat and drink to replenish his stamina any time he wanted, but Gui Yingzi could not because he needed to remain hidden. Any unnecessary movement could potentially expose his location and doom him.
Lu Ye wasnt going to allow this battle to drag out any longer than it already had though. Gui Yingzi could forgo food or drink for days if he wanted to, and he was more than willing to go up against Lu Ye in a battle of patience. The same could not be said for Lu Ye.
So, he shut the book in his hands and rose to his feet. He then grabbed a couple of ward gs from his Storage Bag and began nting in all four directions of his camp. First, he built the basic framework of a ward using the ward gs. Then, hepleted the internal structure with his Spiritual Power. Just a momentter, a ward nearly three hundred meters in diameter was formed.
The ward was just a simple rm Ward, so it took far less time and effort to set up than most wards. One of the greatest benefits of the ward was that it covered a wide range and cost very little Spiritual Power.
There was nothing Lu Ye could do against Gui Yingzi if the man refused to show himself. As long as thebatants did not break the Heavens rules, practically everything and anything was allowed in the challenge battle of the Scroll of Supremacy.
It might look like Gui Yingzis strategy was boring at best and bullshit at worst, but whoever said that a battle of endurance and patience didnt count as a battle?
Lu Ye was going to flip the table on Gui Yingzi though. Since the battlefield was just eight kilometers in radius at maximum, his n was to cover the entire battlefield in rm Wards. Unless Gui Yingzi was an expert in wards and knew how to avoid triggering an rm Ward, it was only a matter of time before Lu Ye drove the bastard out of his hidey-hole.
And so Lu Ye spent the entire second day setting up rm Wards and removing Gui Yingzis breathing space inch by inch. Of course, this tactic wouldve been impossible if he hadnt bought a ridiculous amount of ward gs from the Divine Trade Association earlier.
A full day passed, and over half of the battlefield was covered in rm Wards. To Lu Yes disbelief, the Heavens damned ghost cultivator still hadnt showed himself. Perhaps he was counting on the slim chance that Lu Ye would not have enough ward gs to cover up the entire battlefield. If that was true, then there was still a chance he could remain hidden and wait for his opponent to finally let slip his guard.
Realizing what his opponent might be thinking, Lu Ye abruptly turned his Storage Bag upside down and dropped every ward g it had on the ground.
When Gui Yingzi saw the literal hill of ward gs beside Lu Yi Yes feet, he knew thebat cultivator did, in fact, have enough ward gs to cover the entire battlefield. If he did not make a move before Lu Yi Ye finished his, then he would surely be exposed by tomorrow at thetest.
Gui Yingzi thought for a brief moment before mumbling something under his breath. An instantter, he disappearedpletely from the battlefield.
On the other side, Lu Ye suddenly paused in his tracks. It was because the Heavens informed him that he had won. When he decided to show off how many ward gs he had, he had thought it would simply force Gui Yingzi to attempt an assassination by tonight. He never thought that the ghost cultivator would surrender the battle outright!
Then again, why would the ghost cultivator not surrender? A ghost cultivators advantagey in their ability to approach their target without being detected. While this method was generally effective against most people, Gui Yingzi wasnt confident it would work on Lu Yi Ye at all, not to mention that thebat cultivator might have set up some sort of entrapment ward around his person. In any case, to attempt an assassination under such disadvantageous circumstances was akin tomitting suicide.
Ward cultivators were basically the bane of all ghost cultivators when their cultivation level was low. Of course, that would change when the ghost cultivators cultivation level was higher, and they had studied wards enough to slip through the cracks so to speak.
Although Gui Yingzi was gone, Lu Ye and Yi Yis woes werent over yet. They had to pick up all the ward gs that were scattered throughout the battlefield.
You absolutely need to kill Gui Yingzi if we ever run into him again in the future, Lu Ye! Yi Yiined while packing up the items.
I agree, but before that, Im going to beat him within an inch of his life, pass him off to Hua Ci to heal him back to full health, then beat him within an inch of his life again before I finally Lu Ye ranted just as furiously. Seriously, he would rather be hunted by thousands and thousands of cultivators than wasting two full days and win without even seeing his opponents face! As if that wasnt bad enough, they couldnt even leave immediately because they had to pack up the ward gs! This was beyond vile!
Outside the battlefield, everyone saw Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect recing Gui Yingzi as the ninth ranker. It was a feat that stunned the world as a matter of course.
The bastard had done it! He had entered the top ten of the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Eight cultivator, proving that he was truly among the best of the best at the Spirit Creek Realm level!
As if that wasnt amazing enough, he was just a Heaven Eight cultivator! He could still ascend higher!
That was what truly scared the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Theoretically speaking, Lu Ye only needed to fight one more fight to challenge the champion. However, everyone knew he wasnt going to do that. Thebat cultivator had challenged every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker above his spot since he began his climb, and he wasnt about to change his policy now.
Lu Yes next target was the sixth ranker. Not only had it taken him two whole days to defeat Gui Yingzi, he never got to swing his de even once. To say that he was frustrated and itching for an actual fight would be an understatement. That was why he was nning to vent it all on the sixth ranker.
His challenge request was epted with little dy. Once his opponent had chosen the terrain, the Heavens enveloped him in its power and teleported him to the battlefield.
Although his vision was still blinded by white light, he could hear the sound of waves and smell a salty scent in the air. It immediately reminded him of his days at the Battle Royale of the Legates with Hua Ci. Unless he was gravely mistaken, the battlefield his opponent chose was most likely on the sea.
He was right. Once his vision recovered, he looked around and noted that he was on an ind.
The ind was very small. It was thirty meters or so in radius at best.
There was another small ind about hundreds of meters away across the sea. Judging from the fact that the two inds looked almost identical, they were probably twin inds.
Standing on the opposite ind was a young man in loose robes. He looked to be in his twenties. Although he wasnt particrly handsome, he wore a look of unswerving determination.
Lu Ye reckoned that the man was a spell cultivator. Not only that, he was probably a Water Attribute spell cultivator. That was the only reason he would choose a battlefield like this.
Everyone knew that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was a Fire Type Attributebat cultivator, and this battlefield both countered him andplemented the spell cultivators strength to the fullest.
First things first, Lu Ye had to fly to the other ind to get close to his opponent. While he was in the air, his opponent could attack him one-sidedly without fearing retaliation.
Staying on his ind wasnt an option either. He would still be attacked one-sidedly because his opponent was a spell cultivator.
This was the first time Lu Ye entered a battlefield where the conditions perfectlyplemented the opponents strengths and undermined his. He was actually impressed they managed to find a terrain like this considering that there were hundreds and hundreds of battlefields to choose from.
What surprised Lu Ye even more was the sea itself wasnt peaceful. Even from the ind, he could see all kinds of massive shadows lurking beneath the water surface. The chances he might survive a fall into the waters were slim.
Yi Yi would not be able to get close to the enemy without risking her life either.
Are you Lu Yi Ye? The spell cultivator moved to the edge of his ind and attempted tomunicate with Lu Ye.
The response he got was nine flying weapons rushing straight toward his face. However, the spell cultivator simply stayed where he was and did not move a muscle.
The flying weapons stopped less than ten meters away from the spell cultivator. They shook in ce for a second before being withdrawn by Lu Ye. It wasnt that Lu Ye did not want to attack his enemy, but because that was the maximum range of his telekinesis. If he pushed them further, then he would only be giving his enemy his weapons.
I have long heard that your skill in the Way of Telekinesis is superb, and that your range far surpasses that of your cultivation realm. I can see that your reputation is well deserved! The spell cultivator praised Lu Ye without reservation. However, it is pointless to try and attack me from your ind, fellow cultivator. The distance between our inds is almost three hundred meters. There is no way you can reach me from there.
That was what he said, but he was really shocked on the inside. He had exaggerated Lu Yes telekinesis range in his head as much as possible, but it turned out that he had still underestimated thebat cultivator.
If his telekinesis range was just ten meters longer, then he wouldve been able to hit him from the other ind!
A ball of water abruptly appeared in the spell cultivators palm. With a flick of his wrist, heunched the spell at Lu Ye like an arrow. It exploded into many tiny arrows in mid-air before raining on Lu Ye.
Spells are different. Spells have a much longer range than telekinesis.
It wasmon knowledge that spells had a longer range than telekinesis. That was why most spell cultivators did not refine flying weapons for their own use. Their spells could do anything a flying weapon could do and more.
That was when the spell cultivator saw a Fire Phoenix flying toward him.
The spell cultivator immediately responded. Once again, heunched a ball of water into the air, but this time it took a different form. Sometimes, it transformed into arrows. Sometimes, it transformed into a water dragon. In any case, to guess what the next ball of water would transform into was an exercise in futility.
Lu Ye had to admit that the spell cultivator was the sixth ranker for good reason. Given the right circumstances, he was like a siege tower that could fire all kinds of exquisite spells at high speed.
Lu Ye did not spend much effort on the Way of spell cultivators, but his spell casting speed wasnt slow either. He did witness the birth and demise of a Sacred Beast when receiving Glyph: Fire Phoenix after all.
His understanding of the Fire Phoenix Technique far exceeded a conventional spell cultivators. That was why his Fire Phoenix Technique was at least several times stronger than what they used to be.
Fire Attribute spells were explosive, while Water Attribute spells were maniptive. While the spell cultivators explosive power was inferior to Lu Yes, Lu Yes casting speed and frequency were far inferior to his.
It was the difference between a professional and a casual.
One more thing Lu Ye noticed was that his Fire Phoenix Technique was less effective than usual due to the environment. It was at least thirty percent weaker than it usually was.
Impressive. Truly impressive. The spell cultivator grew more and more excited as he dueled Lu Ye. You are the firstbat cultivator Ive ever seen to hone his spells to this extent! This is meaningless though, fellow cultivator. At this rate, youre going to lose!
Chapter 402: Feeling A Little Tilted
Chapter 402: Feeling A Little Tilted
The reason the spell cultivator was so confident was because Lu Ye had fallen intoplete disadvantage in the spell battle.
Lu Ye was dueling a pro as a casual. It would be stranger if he was winning.
By now, the space between the twobatants waspletely covered in mist due to the sh between fire and water. Not only that, the spell cultivator had hidden many balls of water within the mist. Due to the environment, Lu Yes Fire Phoenix was thirty percent weaker than it should be the second it manifested from his palm. Its power only decreased further as it passed through the thick mist. Finally, it was usually intercepted before it could even cross half the distance to the spell cultivator.
The spell battle was still ongoing, but it was clear that the barrage was pushing closer and closer toward Lu Ye. He was unable to turn the tables even if he went all out.
You do not need to be frustrated, fellow cultivator. The reason Im winning is only because I hold the geographical advantage. Had I encountered you outside, I am sure youd be able to get close to me and defeat me.
Although the spell cultivator was dominant in this battle, his words were surprisingly humble. It even sounded like he was trying tofort Lu Ye.
However, the spell cultivator belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge, and Lu Ye was part of the Grand Sky Coalition. His behavior was anything but normal.
This meant that hisforting words were really deliberate provocation. He made it sound like he would be a helpless chick if Lu Ye could just cross the sea and get to him. It was a bait he didnt even bother to conceal.
Lu Ye had to admit that the spell cultivator had a silver tongue. He knew exactly how to provoke the enemy into anger in just a few short sentences.
There was currently three hundred meters of distance between Lu Ye and the spell cultivator. The only way he could fight the enemy in melee was to fly to him on his flying Spirit Artifact. However, that was a risky maneuver at best against a spell cultivator who was like an intelligent siege tower. A single mistake would mean the end of his life.
However, Lu Ye could not stay where he was either. If he did not fly over, then this battle was as good as lost.
So, Lu Ye brought out his flying Spirit Artifact and leaped onto it. He then plunged head first into the mist at tremendous speed. By now, the mist had be so thick that he was barely visible from his enemys point of view!
However, Lu Yes action only caused the spell cultivator to smirk. His expression suggested that he had gotten Lu Ye exactly where he wanted him to be.
He made a series of gestures with his hands. Whileunching a dozen water balls at Lu Ye, hepleted the spell seal and yelled, Condense!
The thick mist between the duo suddenly turned viscous. Lu Ye immediately felt himself slowing down considerably.
[So, this is what hes nning!] Lu Ye thought in realization.
Bai Lan was a Water Attribute spell cultivator, and her spells had a corrosive effect on ones Spirit Artifact. That was why Lu Ye thought that this spell cultivators trap might be the same. From the spell cultivators perspective, he would be in deep trouble if his flying Spirit Artifact lost most of its Spiritual Power mid-flight.
His guess was wrong, however. It slowed him instead of corroding his flying Spirit Artifact. As a result, he was crawling at a snails pace even though he was pushing his flying Spirit Artifact with all his might. At this pace, he might as well be a stationary target.
The spell cultivator wasnt going to give him time to think a way out of this either. The water balls he had concealed in the mist a while ago abruptly surrounded Lu Ye from every direction. Then, they exploded into spells of all shapes and sizes and transformed the space Lu Ye was at into a death zone.
Surrender or die. What would you choose? The spell cultivator dered proudly while looking at the blurry figure in the mist.
Technically speaking, the spell cultivator wasnt strong enough to upy the sixth spot on the Scroll of Supremacy. For example, Yu Lianzhou of the Northern Profound Sword n would easily defeat him in a straight fight. The reason the sword cultivator still ranked below the spell cultivator was because he had forced him into the exact same situation Lu Ye was facing right now. Yu Lianzhou had no choice but to surrender the right after being caught in the death trap.
One of the main reasons the spell cultivator could upy the sixth spot was because there existed a terrain thatplemented his skills perfectly. The spell he was usingthe Mist Condensation Techniquewas something he cultivated specifically to improve hispatibility with this terrain even more. Its effects were profound against any cultivator who could not attack him without getting close such as body-tempering cultivators,bat cultivators and ghost cultivators.
Lu Ye wasnt going to surrender, of course. A sh of lightning suddenly appeared from the thick mist, and the spell cultivator dropped his smirk immediately. He never heard that Lu Yi Ye cultivated Lightning Attribute spells, so where did ite from?
He was just thinking this when a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck dead center on the mist.
A Lightning Invoking Talisman Paper? The spell cultivator eximed in shock before feeling every hair on his body standing on its end, and a sudden sense of crisis. Without hesitation, he backed all the way to the edge of the ind, dispelled the mist directly in front of him, and summoned his Spiritual Power Shield before he finally felt some security.
The thick mist was basically a lightning amplifier. He would be crazy to get close to it.
The spell cultivator thought Lu Ye had used a Lightning Invoking Talisman Paper, but in reality that wasnt the case. A Spirit Talisman Paper like that cost a hundred Spirit Stones at least. No, he had just the Invoke Lightning he got from the Tree of Glyphs.
He had picked this up from Bai Lan. Earlier, the woman had caught him off guard by casting a lightning spell at the surrounding mist. Although the spell wasnt powerful enough to defeat him, it was one of the dicier matches he had fought while climbing the Scroll of Supremacy.
It looked as if the mist had transformed into a thunder cloud or something. It was as deadly as it was intimidating.
Despite the spell cultivators quick reaction, he couldnt avoid the lightningpletely. As a result, his hair stood on end, and his body shook like a leaf.
It was then he saw Lu Yes figure falling to the sea like a rock. A few secondster, he heard the sound of something heavy sshing into the sea.
The giant monsters beneath the sea immediately turned restless. Not even a secondter, a giant maw abruptly appeared on the seas surface and swallowed the object!
[Is he dead?]
For a few seconds, the spell cultivator could not believe what just happened. [Did Lu Yi Ye really just die to his own Lightning Invoking Talisman Paper? That cant be]
[No! Something definitely isnt right!] Realization hit the spell cultivator like a lightning bolt. If Lu Yi Ye really had perished, then he should have received a notice from the Heavens already. Since he hadnt, it could only mean that Lu Yi Ye was still alive!
He had just finished the thought when he saw a bright me flying just above the sea surface and swiftly approaching him! From his point of view, it looked like a pair of wings!
He wanted to reactivate the Mist Condensation Technique and slow Lu Ye down again, but lightning was still rippling across the mist like crazy. There was no way he could condense anything until the energy had dispersed.
The center of his forehead began to prickle as if someone had pressed a de against his skin. At the same time, his instincts screamed for him to leave before it was toote!
I surrender!
The spell cultivator was no stubborn fool. He did not hesitate to obey his instinct and cry for surrender.
As if on cue, Lu Ye appeared in front of him like a divine agent andnded a deadly sh across his throat. There was so much force behind the attack that he was sent sailing across the air.
Luckily for the spell cultivator, he was perfectly unharmed. He surrendered just in time for the Heavens to wrap him in its protective shell and send him away.
The spell cultivator ced a hand to his heart after he returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Thank goodness he hadnt hesitated, or he would be dead by now!
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was clutching his saber tightly and shaking with anger. This was NOT what he had ordered when he entered this match.
He could forgive Gui Yingzi for wasting two days of his time. The guy was a ghost cultivator, and most ghost cultivators would not make a move unless they were confident of their chances.
But what the hell was that spell cultivator? He could stomach the guy choosing a terrain that maximized his advantage and undermined his opponents. He could stomach the guy taunting him in an attempt to provoke him into recklessness. But after he had ovee all odds and even struck himself with lightning, the bastard had the gall to surrender and deny him his release?
What. The. Fuck!
As if that wasnt bad enough, he had lost his flying Spirit Artifact as well. The object that fell into the water earlier was none other than Spirit Boat he had shattered with his own spell. The reason he allowed it to fall into the water instead of retrieving it was to fool his enemy into dropping his guard. Unfortunately, it did not seed in the end.
Sure, he wasnt wanting for recements, but he hadnte this far by being a wastrel.
Lu Ye was plotting to use this match to unclog the murderous frustration that had been burning inside his heart, but now? It was worse than ever before!
After he was teleported back to the wooden building, Lu Ye looked through his Storage Bags and picked up a suitable flying Spirit Artifact. Then, he began refining it in sullen silence.
Heavens know what kind of weirdo and weird ass terrain he might face in his next match. It would be foolish to challenge his next foe without a flying Spirit Artifact.
Although Soar was an excellent fallback, the reason it was a fallback in the first ce was because it cost far more Spiritual Power than a flying Spirit Artifact. He would rather not use it unless absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile, the Scroll of Supremacy had been updated to disy Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect in sixth ce. The entire Thousand Demon Ridge was silent for a time.
Who wouldve thought that even the top ten rankers of the Scroll of Supremacy werent strong enough to stop Lu Yi Yes climb? As if that wasnt bad enough, he was just a Heaven Eight cultivator. They were ashamed that a Heaven Eight cultivator had upied such a high spot in a rank list that was supposed to be dominated by Heaven Nine cultivators.
On a rted note, Shi Guang of the Way Profound Sect had already returned to his Outpost to prepare himself. He knew that he and Lu Ye would have a match very soon. If even he, thest gatekeeper, was unable to defeat Lu Yi Ye, then the shame would blemish not just him, but the entire Thousand Demon Ridge as well.
Back in the day, not even Li Baxian was able to be the champion as a Heaven Eight cultivator!
How long had it been since Lu Yi Ye began cultivating? Why was he of all people able to do what was unprecedented?
In any case, the Spirit Creek Battlefield was a much quieter ce as ofte. Everyone was paying close attention to the Scroll of Supremacy.
Looking at the rank list, Lu Yi Ye only needed to defeat one more rankerthe second runner-upto challenge Shi Guang.
The second runner-up of the Scroll of Supremacy was a cultivator from a Tier-One sect from Tian Zhou. She was also a woman.
In the wooden building, Lu Ye was responding to his friends messages while refining his flying Spirit Artifact. Knowing that Lu Ye was about to challenge the second runner-up very soon, they did not hesitate to share everything they knew about her.
Lu Ye frowned after going through the information he received. His next opponent was technically abat cultivator, but only in a broad sense. Her faction was so niche in Jiu Zhou that they were even rarer than Golem Masters.
[Heavens, this is going to be another disgusting battle, isnt it?]
Lu Ye was feeling a little tilted to say the least.
As for how strong his next opponent was, he only needed to look at Li Baxian to have an idea. He was the second runner-up until he regained his honor.
But of course, the Three Tumors in general were pretty special. The current Scroll of Supremacy was nowhere aspetitive as the previous one, and this second runner-up could not possiblypare to his fourth senior brother.
Lu Ye wasnt going to underestimate her though, and he definitely wasnt going to show mercy just because she was a woman. He had killed plenty of female cultivators while climbing the Scroll of Supremacy, and Bai Lan was the only one who had survived him for obvious reasons.
Chapter 403: Female Archer Cultivator
Chapter 403: Female Archer Cultivator
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When a Scroll of Supremacy ranker was challenged, they would normally choose a terrain that benefited them.
For example, Lu Ye had chosen a small battlefield with no obstacles because he was abat cultivator whose main strength was fighting people in melee. Naturally, he would not want his enemy to be able to distance themselves from him or hide behind obstacles.
That was why Lu Ye had encountered all kinds of terrains until now.
In the wooden building, Lu Ye connected his mind to the Scroll of Supremacy and issued a challenge request to the female cultivator.
His opponent epted the challenge request, but the battle did not begin immediately. He waited for two whole hours before the Heavens finally enveloped him in their mysterious power and teleported him into the battlefield.
Lu Ye immediately scanned his surroundings as his vision gradually recovered. He discovered that the terrain was exactly what his friends had said it would be.
Therge battlefield was made up of two mountains that were over a thousand meters tall. The mountains werepletely bald and covered in craggy outcrops. The good news was that the slopes werent particrly steep. The bad news was
Lu Ye took out his flying Spirit Artifact and tried to fly. The result was exactly as he had heard: this battlefield was under an Aerial Lock effect!
Lu Ye knew then that his opponent had chosen a terrain that was overwhelmingly in her favor just like the spell cultivator from before.
A battlefield that was under an Aerial Lock effect meant that it was way, way harder to find the enemy. Lu Ye looked at the two mountains to his left and right and wondered which one she would choose as her high ground. He did not want to waste his energy climbing the wrong mountain, so he simply stayed where he was and waited for Yi Yi to search for the enemy.
A whileter, Yi Yi messaged him to inform him of the enemys location. He immediately started running toward the mountain to his right. He moved so fast that he left afterimages in his trail.
However, he hadnt even climbed three hundred meters up the mountain when he heard a whistling noise. As he dodged, he felt a gust of wind brushing past his face and leaving behind a stinging pain.
He looked up. A tall, slender woman with a ponytail was standing at the mountaintop. She wore a tight white dress with purple fringes that outlined her curvaceous body. She was holding a bow and looking down on him without an expression.
His opponent this time was an archer cultivator!
Archer cultivators were an incredibly niche faction, but sometimes their rarity yed to their advantage. This was because most cultivatorscked the knowledge and experience necessary to deal with them.
Not only was flying forbidden in this battlefield, his opponent had imed the high ground before him. This was obviously a terrible start for Lu Ye.
If he wished to defeat his opponent, then he would have to get close enough to attack her with his flying weapons at the very least. However, he would have to weather an endless hail of arrows to get there.
The straight-line distance between Lu Ye and his opponent was about eight hundred meters, which didnt seem like a lot for a cultivator. In reality, Lu Ye had to cover at least 1.6 kilometers of ground to get to the archer cultivator.
The female cultivator surpassed her mortal counterpart not just in terms of strength, but also equipment. For starters, her arrows could be imbued with all kinds of special effects. The female cultivators aim was incredibly good as well. It should be easy for a cultivator to dodge a shoting from at least eight hundred meters away, but it had still nearly hit him. Sure, she had the high ground advantage, but it did not diminish her skill in any way.
As if that wasnt bad enough, he could tell that the shot was just a greeting.
This was very much like his fight against the spell cultivator. The only way to deal with these long-range bastards was to get close enough to attack!
Lu Ye inhaled slightly and exchanged a nce with his opponent. Then, he crouched a little, imbued himself with Windwalk, pushed off hard enough to leave two small dents on the ground, and dashed forward like the wind!
At almost the same time, the female archer shot three arrows that flew toward him from three different angles. Not only did they greatly restrict his avable space, his skin prickled before they even got close. It was clear that the arrows were notmon, andbined with her unusual talent and skill their pration and killing power could only be described as terrifying.
Lu Ye leaped into the air to dodge the three arrows, but a fourth arrow appeared out of nowhere before he couldnd on the ground. He never even saw her shooting the fourth arrow!
At that moment, Lu Ye realized that it was a four-shotbo. The first three arrows were meant to draw the enemys attention and force them to maneuver in a certain way. The fourth shot was the true killing blow!
There was no way he could dodge the shot while in mid-air, so he unsheathed the Invible and shed the arrow.
Boom! There was an explosion of Spiritual Power as Lu Ye was blown back. He had just caught himself when a couple more arrows flew toward him.
The enemys attack was continuous and never-ending. She seemed capable of predicting his next move. Even if he managed to dodge one attack, the next would stop him in his tracks without fail.
On a mountain, a man ran like the wind while a woman fired a ceaseless stream of arrows at him.
Lu Ye had to admit that the female archer was one of the most powerful opponents he had ever seen in his life. The Grand Sky Coalition was lucky thatrge-scale battles did not happen anymore, or this woman could single handedly turn losing battles into stalemates, and stalemates into crushing victories with her archery. Almost no one she targeted in the chaos of the battlefield could live, not to mention that her attack range was even greater than a spell cultivators!
Lu Ye continued to climb up the mountain. Sometimes, he was forced to jump to the back to avoid a killing blow. Sometimes, he had to roll all over the ce like he was a circus animal, dignity be damned.
In reality, he was quickly gaining ground on the female archer. In just half a tea time, the distance between them had been shortened by half.
However, the female archers archery was growing deadlier and deadlier as well. At eight hundred meters away, the shots were fairly easy to deal with, especially with his speed. But the closer he got, the livelier and more unpredictable her archery became. She could even control the trajectory of her arrows to a certain extent.
Yi Yi was still hiding in the dark because Lu Ye was still nowhere close enough to attack the woman. If she attacked now, the likelihood that she would fail was incredibly high.
She would attack only when Lu Ye was close enough to attack the enemy as well. Only then could they guarantee a kill.
The female archers attack abruptly became much more powerful when he got within the four hundred-meter range, which slowed down his progress considerably. The arrows rained from the sky like a meteor shower, and the bow twangs sounded like they would never end. There wasnt any interval between the shots whatsoever.
Lu Ye felt like he was charging an entire encampment on his own. Rocks flew everywhere, and his lungs were filled with dust as he kept dodging or blocking the shots. There wasnt a patch of ground behind his back that wasnt filled withrge pits, and his entire body was covered in soot. Appearance wise, he did not think he had ever looked so terrible in his life.
Suddenly, the ceaseless attacks came to a stop. When Lu Ye looked up in confusion, he saw the female archer watching him with a calm expression. Her bowstring was dripping with blood, and her bow hand had been stripped off so much flesh that it was practically a skeletal hand. Her face was white and covered in sweat as well.
As it turned out, firing so many powerful shots in an incense stick was a little too much even for an archer who dedicated her life to this fighting style. However, Lu Ye did not think that her injuries were enough to make her stop. He suspected that the real reason she stopped attacking him was because she had run out of arrows!
The female archer must have shot at least eight hundred arrows at Lu Ye during this time, if not a thousand. Lu Ye was able to dodge most of it and block the rest with the Invible.
Lu Ye stopped his advance there. He simply watched the female archer in silence.
He felt a disturbance from his Battlefield Imprint. It was probably Yi Yi messaging him and asking if she should attack the female archer now.
Lu Ye slowly shook his head.
Youre strong. Shi Guang is no match for you!
The female archer said this before looking at the sky and announcing, I surrender!
The Heavens enveloped her in their mysterious power and teleported her away from the battlefield.
As Lu Ye had guessed, the female archer had run out of arrows. Although she was incredibly powerful, she was highly reliant on her equipment to unleash her full strength.
Simply put, an archer with no arrows might as well be a sitting duck.
In fact, the reason she had made Lu Ye wait two whole hours before entering the battlefield was to prepare her arrows.
The battle against Lu Ye had cost her an ungodly amount of wealth. Even if her arrows cost only a Contribution Point a piece, that was hundreds of Contribution Points she had thrown away for a lost battle. And they did not cost just a Contribution Point. Each and every arrow had to be forged by an artificer to make them strong enough to withstand her strength and imbue them with special effects.
Lu Ye did not sheathe his saber until the female archer waspletely gone. He was silent for a couple of seconds before he allowed the Heavens to teleport him back to the wooden building.
Oh, the great second runner-up of the Scroll of Supremacy has returned to us! Congrats, congrats.
Hua Cis teasing voice came from the side. The medicine cultivator had just returned from her cultivation.
Lu Ye ignored her and messaged Yu Lianzhou to ask about Shi Guang.
Wow, the silent treatment? Was he bullied during the fight? Hua Ci eximed in surprise.
Yi Yi walked up to the medicine cultivator and whispered into her ears. After she found out what happened, she covered her mouth and giggled. Who cares about the process so long as it ends with your victory?
Lu Ye understood this as well as she did, but really
What the FUCK was wrong with the top ten rankers of the Scroll of Supremacy?
He hadnt had a proper fight since he started challenging them.
Gui Yingzi had wasted two days of his time before surrendering without ever revealing himself.
The spell cultivator had chosen a pair of inds as his terrain and surrendered the second Lu Ye crossed the sea and reached him.
This fight was even worse. It was bad enough the battle was over before he got within three hundred meters of his opponent, he was the defender from the start to the end.
It was true that all the battles had ended with his victory, but he couldnt derive even an ounce of happiness from them at all.
It was at this moment Yu Lianzhou responded, Shi Guang is abat cultivator, and his Spirit Artifact is a spear!
Lu Ye let out a long, long breath. Finally, he could have a proper fight.
Lu Ye immediately issued Shi Guang a challenge request. Although he wasnt at peak form right now, he was frustrated enough to give himself an aneurysm if he dyed the fight any longer. He could not wait to sh against a PROPER opponent and vent it all as soon as possible.
The good news was that Shi Guang did not keep him waiting for long. A tea time after issuing the challenge, the Heavens teleported him to a battlefield about three hundred meters in radius. Both men appeared and saw each other at the same time.
First things first, Lu Ye examined his surroundings. He decided that it was a suitable battleground even though he personally wouldve chosen a smaller battlefield.
Lu Yi Ye! Shi Guang pointed his spear at him and yelled, Come forth and die!
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Chapter 404: Shi Guang
Chapter 404: Shi Guang
Although there was no personal grudge between the two cultivators, Lu Ye was the Grand Sky Coalitions strongest challenger, and Shi Guang the Thousand Demon Ridgesst gatekeeper.
The number one spot of the Scroll of Supremacy was both a symbol and a status. Naturally, neither side was going to give it up easily.
For over a decade, the spot had belonged to Feng Yuechan of the Devoted Ones. It could not be helped though. While her peers had already ascended to the Cloud River Realm or even the Real Lake Realm, she was still honing herself at the Spirit Creek Realm. It was ridiculous to expect any rising star to defeat a veteran with at least a decade of training and experience, not to mention that she was a genius in her own right.
Today, the Three Tumors polluting the Scroll of Supremacy were finally gone, and the Thousand Demon Ridge finally managed to put someone at the top of the Scroll of Supremacy of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Then, Lu Yi Ye showed up.
It had only been two months since Shi Guang rose to the top, and Lu Yi Ye of the Grand Sky Coalition was already threatening his position. It wasnt enough that he had a string of unprecedented achievements under his belt, Lu Yi Ye had risen through the ranks so fast that he was actually qualified to challenge Shi Guang for the number one spot already! And that was after they had done everything they could to bog him down!
Shi Guang couldnt lose. Both his and his factions honor were on the line. If Lu Yi Ye actually managed to be the champion as a Heaven Eight cultivator, then the Thousand Demon Ridge would always be seen as inferior to the Grand Sky Coalition in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
On the battlefield, Lu Ye watched his opponent with a frown because he did not look normal. Shi Guangs Spiritual Power was boiling erratically as if he had consumed something that temporarily boosted his strength!
Spirit Pills that temporarily boosted ones strength of course existed in the Cultivation World. Lu Ye had seen something called the Qi Boosting Pill while looking through the Vault of Providence before. For an incense stick, the pill would boost the flow rate of a cultivators Spiritual Power by thirty to forty percent. Naturally, that made the cultivator so much stronger in that period of time.
However, Spirit Pills that temporarily boosted a cultivators strength generally came with massive side effects. The better the effects, the worse the side effects would be.
It was clear that Shi Guang had consumed a Qi Boosting Pill or something like that prior to entering the battlefield. He would be helpless if he could not defeat Lu Ye within an incense stick.
Dont interfere! Lu Ye whispered suddenly.
He was talking to Yi Yi, of course. The girl had already slipped the underground beforehand and could lend him her assistance at any moment. Logically speaking, he should rely on her so he could take care of his opponent as safely as possible, especially since it looked like he had consumed the Qi Boosting Pill. However, he still did not want Yi Yi to interfere with this battle.
If Shi Guang was boiling with Qi, then he was boiling with frustration. After the pure nonsense he was forced to swallow since he started challenging the top ten rankers, he would be damned if he allowed anyone to interrupt his good time.
Shi Guang did not wait for Lu Ye toe to him despite his deration. While letting out a battle cry, he charged toward Lu Ye like lightning and channeled his Spiritual Power into his spear.
Lu Ye charged toward him as well.
The hundred-meter gap between the twobatants narrowed in the blink of an eye. Then, they shed into one another with a resounding bang.
Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible and swung down on Shi Guang.
Shi Guang thrust his spear forward like a slumbering dragon suddenly poking its head out of itsir.
There was a brief stand-off before the space between the duo exploded. Thepressed Spiritual Powers had turned into a massive explosion that pushed both cultivators away from each other.
Lu Yes weapon hand felt numb as he sailed through the air. He hastily caught himself before grabbing Amber by the nape and tossing it to safety. He just barelynded on his feet and had to backpedal a bit before he finally managed to steady himself.
Whether or not Shi Guang had consumed a Spirit Pill beforehand, there was no denying the fact that Lu Ye felt threatened by him. He tossed Amber away because he would not be able to spare the energy to protect it.
On the other side, Shi Guang alsonded on the ground. His footsteps were steady, but he skidded for almost thirty meters before the momentum finally petered out.
However, a blur appeared in front of him before he could steady his footing. It was Lu Ye pouncing up to him and thrusting his saber toward him.
Most people wouldve opted to dodge such a deadly attack. Shi Guang merely turned his body sideways before retaliating with a spear thrust of his own.
Metal tore through flesh as the duo passed by one another. A deep wound appeared around Lu Yes waist and Shi Guangs chest at nearly the same time.
This battle was destined to be a violent and bloody one. Bothbatants were attacking each other with the intent to kill and no fear. That was why they were already wounded on the second exchange.
That said, Lu Yes injury was slightly less serious than Shi Guangs as he had constructed a Protection right before the spear would impact his body!
Although the Glyph had still shattered under impact, it had turned what shouldve been a major injury into a moderate one.
Shi Guang did not pause for even an instant as he switched his spear to the other hand, spun it a hundred and eighty degrees to the back, and thrust the spearhead straight at Lu Yes head.
Right now, Lu Yes back was still turned against Shi Guang. It was such a swift and decisive move that most people would have died from this move. Yi Yi nearly screamed out in fear, and even Amber was rushing over to save its master.
However, Lu Ye crouched as if he had eyes behind his head. The attack just barely scraped past his scalp.
The reason Lu Ye was able to dodge an attack he could not see was thanks to his powerful perception. A moment before the attack wouldve connected, the back of his head had throbbed as if he had actually been stabbed in the head. His heart had also raced suddenly in warning.
While bending his body like a bow, Lu Ye did not forget to reverse his grip and perform a back sh. The saber cut through Shi Guangs chest at the same time he was smacked t on the ground. Shi Guang had brought his spear down like a whip the second he missed the killing blow.
Shi Guang took a moment to check his chest after Lu Ye had driven him away. The armor he was wearing could protect him from most attacks, but Lu Yes saber had still cut through it like it didnt exist. The two ugly wounds on his chest were spewing blood and drenching his clothes right now.
That said, he wouldve died if it wasnt for his armor.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was hastily climbing back to his feet. His right cheek was throbbing painfully and uncontrobly because that was where Shi Guang had whipped him. To be urate, the wound stretched all the way from his face to his right abdomen
You are incredible! Shi Guang praised loudly and from the bottom of his heart.
Lu Ye remained silent for a second before responding, You too!
Although Lu Ye could not wait to stomp the sonuvabitch to the ground and cut him into a thousand tiny pieces, he had no qualms epting praise from his enemy and feeling good about it. After all, there was no acknowledgement that was more genuine than the oneing from your enemy.
Were not the same. Shi Guang shook his head slowly. It has been months since I became champion, and Ive received the Heavens reward several times before fighting you. Before I entered the battlefield, I even consumed a Qi Boosting Pill to massively increase my strength. You, on the other hand, are fighting me without using any performance-enhancing pills. Not only that, you are one cultivation level below me
The more Shi Guang spoke, the more he started questioning reality itself. [Is this real? Does Lu Yi Ye exist, or is this just a very long dream?]
He was one minor realm above his opponent, he had been empowered by the Heavens reward multiple times, and he had even consumed a Qi Boosting Pill prior to entering the battlefield. Despite this, he had only managed to fight Lu Yi Ye to a draw.
Just how strong would the young man be if he had cultivated for as long as him?
Lu Yi Ye would be the nightmare of the Thousand Demon Ridge if he was allowed to live.
Are you done talking? Lu Ye replied a little impatiently.
Just onest thing. Shi Guang grinned maliciously. Its a little dishonorable, but Im really d I consumed a Qi Boosting Pill beforeing in. Otherwise, I would be no match for you!
The second he finished speaking, both men charged forward and engaged one another in the life-or-death struggle once more. Saber shed, spear overshadowed, and bloodlust drove them all into madness. Spiritual Power was being tossed all across on the battlefield, and sometimes it would be mixed with a shower of blood. At the same time, metallic ngs shook the eardrums again and again.
Usually, a close-range cultivator would kick off a fight with telekinesis unless their enemys attack range was longer than theirs. The reason neither man had done so was because Lu Ye needed to vent his frustration, while Shi Guang knew he was no match for Lu Ye in telekinesis.
As time passed, Lu Ye began growing stronger and stronger. Both his strength and speed were much improvedpared to the beginning.
The Invible drew blood at the same time Shi Guang kicked Lu Ye in the shoulder. Despite Protection, the kick was powerful enough tounch Lu Ye into the air and hit the ground hard. He even rolled across the floor for a bit before he finally managed to climb back to his feet. Blood was dripping from his lips, and his left arm was hanging limply beside his body. The kick had dislocated his shoulder.
So you have consumed a performance-enhancing Spirit Pill as well, Shi Guang said with a cold hmph.
His misunderstanding was understandable. He had felt with his own body Lu Yi Ye growing stronger and stronger as time passed. If it wasnt the fact that the boost was gradual, he wouldve thought that the young man had consumed a Qi Boosting Pill just like him. In his opinion, Lu Yi Ye must have consumed a less vtile version of the Qi Boosting Pill.
Lu Ye could not be bothered to tell Shi Guang the truth. Of course he hadnt consumed a performance-enhancing Spirit Pill. he had just constructed a Bloodrage on his body.
It had been a long time since he obtained this Glyph, but he had never used it except that one time during the Battle of the Legates. Afterall, he rarely met an opponent who was his match or just a tad stronger than him.
The Glyphs main effect was to absorb Lu Yes blood to improve his strength. To put it simply, the worse his injuries, the more effective the Glyph became.
As ofte, most of Lu Yesbat encounters were cat-and-mouse games where thousands and thousands of people tried to chase him down. Naturally, he did not have the chance to use Bloodrage.
This duel against Shi Guang was one of those rare times where it was actually usable.
While gritting the Invible with his teeth, Lu Ye took out a bandage from his Storage Bag and wrapped it randomly around his limp arm to secure it.
Of course Shi Guang wasnt just going to wait for Lu Ye to finish, but the young man was just too fast. By the time he reached him, Lu Ye was already done with the emergency treatment.
When Shi Guang attempted to spear his face, Lu Ye swung his saber and knocked the spear just enough that it skidded past his face. de still pressed against the shaft, he swung the Invible straight at Shi Guang.
Shi Guang nched. He immediately withdrew his spear to block the attack.
There was a loud bang. The next moment, Shi Guang found himself sailing across the air.
Now that he was empowered by Bloodrage, Lu Yes attack speed and strength werepletely different from what they were at the beginning. What shouldve been an evenly-matched battle had be very one-sided.
Lu Ye activated Windwalk and leaped after Shi Guang. He then brought down his saber in one mighty swing.
Although Shi Guang still managed to block the attack, he wasunched toward the ground at high speed.
In the air, Lu Ye spun once before kicking Shi Guang on the side of his head, causing him to trail an arc across the sky before he could even hit the ground. There was enough force behind the blow to make him see stars.
Chapter 405: Champion
Chapter 405: Champion
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Cultivation level aside, Shi Guang was undoubtedly the stronger of the duo during the start of the battle. The biggest reason Lu Ye was able to go even against him was because he could activate all kinds of Glyphs to boost hisbat capabilities. Protection especially had saved his life multiple times in this battle.
However, Bloodrage slowly but surely increased Lu Yes strength and speed over time. Eventually, it reached the point where he definitely surpassed Shi Guang. Since then, the spear cultivator was unable to win even a single sh. Even now, Bloodrage was still increasing Lu Yes strength and speed.
Right now, Shi Guang waspletely blinded by rage. The Qi Boosting Pill could temporarily boost a cultivators strength, but its side effects were just as severe. Two such effects were diminished sanity and increased irritability.
If Shi Guang was his normal self, he shouldve realized that the gap between himself and Lu Yi Ye was only growing over time. However, he was so blinded by rage that he could not think of anything besides killing the opponent in front of him!
After climbing back to his feet and spitting out a spittle of blood, Shi Guang narrowed his swollen eyes at his iing foe. He then raised his spear slightly into a never-before-seen stance.
The next moment, his Spiritual Power poured into his spear like a broken dam.
While running, Lu Ye suddenly felt every hair on his body standing on end. At the same time, the rm bells in his head were ringing in full force. He immediately knew that Shi Guang was probably executing some sort of powerful secret technique!
He considered his options for a moment but decided to push on. He too channeled his Spiritual Power and caused the mes surrounding the saber to burst into an inferno.
Rumble rumble rumble
The discharge of Spiritual Power from bothbatants distorted even the space of the battlefield. Energy vortices of all shapes and sizes were appearing all over the battlefield.
Amber was pushed all the way to the edge of the battlefield. It had to press its entire body against the ground to keep itself from moving further.
The two figures rushed toward each other at high speed.
Shi Guang thrust his spear forward while yelling, mes of War!
The shadow of a spear appeared in Lu Yes vision. Then one became ten, and ten became a hundred. As its name suggested, it spread like the mes of war until all he could see was spears.
He ignored them all and brought down his ming saber with all his might.
The spears abruptly shattered like they were never there. He felt the Invible sinking into flesh, but his own chest was abruptly pierced by a cold, foreign object.
Drip, drip
Considering how noisy the battlefield was a while ago, it was now silent enough that they could hear blood drip.
Two men stared into each others bloodshot eyes before raising their legs at the exact same time.
Bang! Both men staggered away from each other. Blood immediately gushed out of Lu Yes chest and Shi Guangs neck like a pair of fountains.
ng
Lu Ye lost his grip on his saber but was able to remain standing. Shi Guang, however, was finally past his limits. He copsed on the ground at the same time his aura began weakening at a visible rate.
The Qi Boosting Pill had finally run its course, and the side effects were ripping into his body so painfully that his expression lookedpletely distorted. He could not even climb back on his feet, much less fight Lu Ye for even a second longer.
Lu Ye panted heavily as he barely stopped himself from copsing. He then slowly made his way toward Shi Guang.
Shi Guang opened his swollen eyes and stared at the sky thinking Heavens-know-what. It wasnt until he heard Lu Yes footsteps that he finally opened his mouth.
Roar! Amber roared at the perfect time, but it didnt affect Shi Guang. Since the Thousand Demon Ridge had figured out Ambers ability, of course Shi Guang was prepared for it. An invisible barrier abruptly appeared around the spear cultivator and shielded him from the roar.
I surrender! Shi Guang spat out the two words before finally rxing. He looked like an entire mountain had been removed from his shoulders.
The Heavens enveloped him in their mysterious power and teleported him away.
Lu Ye also stopped in his tracks.
Yi Yi appeared and caught him immediately. While keeping him upright, she stared at Lu Yes chest wound with fear and relief. If the spear had struck Lu Ye just a few milimeters to the left, the young man would be dead already.
In fact, Shi Guang was aiming at Lu Yes heart. Thebat cultivator had just dodged it at thest moment.
A whileter, Lu Ye was lying in his bed in the wooden building with Hua Ci tending to him. Refined Wood Attribute Spiritual Power flowed around her hands as she slowly treated his wounds. Of course, Lu Ye had fallen unconscious long before she finished the treatment.
Lu Ye was satisfied. His fight with Shi Guang was easily the most satisfying fight he had ever had since he began climbing the Scroll of Supremacy. Whatever grievances and frustrations he had umted due to assholes like Gui Yingzi and the other top ten rankers were all gone.
Although his opponent had employed what most people would consider a dishonorable tactic, all was fair in love and war, not to mention that they were enemies.
Right now, Lu Ye did not want to think of anything. He just wanted to sleep to his hearts content.
While he was sleeping, the cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge were experiencingpletely different emotions.
Both factions had been watching the Scroll of Supremacy closely for many days now, so they had noticed the switch between the first and third ce immediately. Countless Grand Sky Coalition cultivators erupted in cheers like never before. Lu Yes feat would go down in history as one of, if not the greatest achievements in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and they were all deeply proud of it.
Meanwhile, the Thousand Demon Ridge was as silent as a wake. In the end, their biggest fears hade true. Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had defeated Shi Guang as a Heaven Eight cultivator and became the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy!
This feat broke not just one, but multiple records since the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou came to be.
No Heaven Eight cultivator had ever be the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. Even Li Baxian was only ranked third by the Heavens after he fought against Yan Xing and revealed his true strength, and he had been stuck in the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade.
Although the caliber of this Scroll of Supremacy were nowhere as good as when the Three Tumors were still around, that did not diminish Lu Yes achievement one bit.
Only the top hundred cultivators were disyed in the Scroll of Supremacy, and not only was Lu Ye the only Heaven Eight cultivator in a rank list that waspletely dominated by Heaven Nines, he was the champion!
It was a feat that was destined to go down in the history books.
Speaking of which, Lu Yi Ye was only Heaven Seven when he joined the Scroll of Supremacy as the thirty-third ranker. That too was an unprecedented feat. No one except him had ever entered the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Seven cultivator, much less be ranked among the upper fifty from the get go.
Even if they pretended that he was a Heaven Nine cultivator all along, the speed at which he scaled the ranks was another achievement that could go down in the history books.
It had only been half a month since Lu Yi Ye began climbing the Scroll of Supremacy earnestly. The guy had even wasted five days doing Heavens-know-what with Bai Lan and butting heads with time wasters like Gui Yingzi.
Strictly speaking, he had only spent ten days climbing the Scroll of Supremacy!
It was hard enough to believe that someone could climb all the way to the top without suffering a single loss. To do it in ten days? That was just unthinkable!
Dark clouds hung over every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator. Were they going to be dominated by a single cultivator again?
Although the bastard had given them a simr heart attack back when he was at the Inner Circle, at the time he was relying on his ward breaching skills to create an invasion force.
This time though, he had done it with his own strength! The threat level between this and that werepletely different!
Lu Ye was undoubtedly a far scarier man than he was at the Inner Circle.
Thankfully, there was one silver lining to all this bad news. ording to Shi Guang, Lu Yi Ye had not walked away from his battle unscathed, and it would probably take him days before he fully recovered. For now, the Thousand Demon Ridge did not need to worry that Lu Ye might cause more trouble.
Normally, the Thousand Demon Ridge would seize the opportunity to challenge Lu Ye and drag him down from his throne. However, they only had two rankers in the top six. One of them was Shi Guang, and the other was the female archer.
Shi Guang was heavily injured and suffering from the side effects of the Qi Boosting Pill. It would take him ten days to half a month at least to recover. He would be lucky to keep his current rank, much less challenge Lu Ye.
As for the female archer, she had used up every arrow in her quiver. It would take her days to replenish it, and days was all Lu Ye needed to recover.
The only ones who had the chance to pull Lu Ye down his throne now was a Grand Sky Coalition ranker, but of course no one was stupid or crazy enough to do such a thing.
That said, the top six Grand Sky Coalition rankers had been challenged non-stop since Lu Ye became the champion. It was clear that the Thousand Demon Ridge were plotting to rece these rankers with their own and have them issue Lu Ye a challenge request. If they seeded, there was a high chance Lu Ye would not be able to defeat them in his current state.
In the wooden building, Lu Ye woke up feeling pain from his left arm and chest area. His energy level was incredibly low as well. He slowly sat up and let out a huge yawn.
Yi Yi had been guarding his bed. The moment she heard his movement, she immediately stood up and put a pillow behind Lu Yes back. She then asked in a concerned voice, How do you feel?
Not bad. Lu Ye gave his stomach a rub. Im hungry. Can you get me something to eat?
He could smell the scent of food from outside the window. Hua Ci must be cooking again.
For some reason, many disciples of the Crimson Blood Sect seemed to be excellent cooks. His second senior sister was an outstanding cook, his fourth senior brother was an outstanding cook, and Hua Ci was an outstanding cook as well.
Give me a moment, Yi Yi said before floating out of the window. A whileter, she returned with a bowl of porridge filled with bright and questionable colors
Lu Ye looked through the messages in his Battlefield Imprint while drinking his porridge. He selectively replied to some of them.
Most of the messages were congrattory messages regarding his unprecedented feat. Lu Ye kept his response polite but sinct because frankly, it would take hours if he crafted a serious response to all of them.
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Chapter 406: Flash
Chapter 406: sh
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Some people were also inviting him to their Outpost, though it wasnt because they wanted to make his acquaintance and curry favor with him or something. The Thousand Demon Ridges determination to kill him had only increased after he ascended to the top of the Scroll of Supremacy. Forget benefiting his allies, any Outpost he visited would be ganged up on and destroyed by the Thousand Demon Ridge as quickly as possible.
Naturally, Lu Ye had turned down all such invitations.
He did not need lodgings anyway. His current haunt in the Myriad Poison Forest already met that need perfectly. As long as he did not reveal the fact that he was hiding here himself, the Thousand Demon Ridge would never find him. He, on the other hand, could catch them unawares any time he wanted.
The one w of Myriad Poison Forest was its less-than-ster World Spiritual Qi, but as long as he had Spirit Pills, his cultivation wouldnt fall behind no matter what.
After he finished messaging everyone, he focused on eating the porridge in front of him.
Hua Ci came everyday to treat his wounds. It took him only three days to make a major recovery. He spent most of this time cultivating and reading.
Lu Ye thought he would have a hard time adapting to an idle lifestyle after all months of almost non-stop strife and excitement, but to his surprise, he managed to adapt to it with rtive ease. In fact, he found himself liking it a lot.
It was then Lu Ye realized that he wasnt, fundamentally, a troublemaker. If possible, he wouldve preferred a quieter and more peaceful lifestyle.
It was just that life chooses you sometimes, and the only thing you can do is to ride it out until the end.
In the courtyard, Lu Ye was gripping the Invible and circting his Spiritual Power like crazy. He was pouring it into his saber.
Although he had been unstoppable during his climb, his battle with Shi Guang had made him realize a w in his fighting style. Hecked a technique that could decisively end a fight; a finishing move so to speak.
Fire Phoenix technically counted as one, but he could barely use it at his current strength. In fact, the reason he seeded at all was because he had made a tremendous amount of preparation beforehand, not to mention the side effects that gued him for days even with Hua Ci treating him the whole time.
That was why he needed a finishing move that did not require him to go beyond his limits.
Shi Guangs final attack had given him much inspiration. It also reminded him of his duel against a Heaven Nine sword cultivator of the Devoted Ones. His opponent had executed only a single attack back then, but it was an attack that contained all of his energy and focus. It was different yet wonderfully simr to Shi Guangs final attack in the sense that they both discharged a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power in an instant.
In fact, it wasnt that difficult to execute such a technique. He had grasped the essence of it even before he fought against Shi Guang. Otherwise, he would have died to his mes of War.
Therefore, all he needed to do right now was to familiarize himself with the technique and perfect it. He wanted to reach the level where he could execute it in battle at any time.
By now, the mes surrounding his saber were practically an inferno. When he swung the Invible, the very space in front around him seemed to be severed in half. A crack had appeared on the ground as well.
He hadnt empowered his Saber with Sharp Edges, but the attack was a lot more powerful than his usual attacks.
Lu Ye was frowning in dissatisfaction, however. The attack consumed a tremendous amount of Spirit Power and stamina. Not only that, his right arm actually felt sore after he executed just one attack. Assuming he had to execute the move consecutively inbat, his right arm would be useless in three swings at most.
Against a powerful opponent, if he was unable to end the fight even after making such a risky move, the battle would probably end in his defeat and death.
Although he was dissatisfied, he had just begun to craft his finishing move. There was still plenty of room for improvement.
It was crude, but it was still a skill and a form of de technique.
Since it was a de technique, it should have a proper name.
[What should I name this technique?]
Lu Ye thought for a moment until he recalled the sh of light that appeared and disappeared as he brought down his saber. He made up his mind then.
He would call it sh.
As with most things, the only way to master a de technique was to practice it with perseverance and diligence. There was no such thing as a shortcut.
In the courtyard, Lu Ye would practice until he was low on Spiritual Power. He would then restore his energy with Spirit Pills and wait until the soreness gripping his right arm was gone before resuming his practice.
Although this dyed his cultivation progress, cultivation level had never been Lu Yes greatest focus. The fact that he made it to the top of the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Eight cultivator was a testament to his philosophy. It was worth slowing down a bit if he could master sh to the point where he could execute it any time he wanted to,
Lu Yes mastery of sh grew little by little as the days passed. He was able to make many improvements to the technique, but he was still unable to solve the cost problem. This was bad as it was unlikely that an imperfect de technique could be useful against a strong opponent.
Lu Ye had never thought himself invincible just because he had be the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. Perhaps there was no one in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who could challenge him anymore, but it was only a matter of time before he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. When that happens, it would be like he was starting from the bottom all over again, not to mention that the Cloud River Battlefield was a lot moreplex than the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The Grand Sky Coalition rankers of the top ten ranks of the Scroll of Supremacy were sessful in defending their ranks despite the Thousand Demon Ridges best efforts. Besides Shi Guangs fall to second ce and the female archers fall to fourth ce, everyone elses rank remained more or less the same.
As a result, Lu Ye received no challenge requests during this time. The only ones who could challenge himShi Guang and the female archerknew they were no match for him and did not bother wasting their own time.
Half a monthter, Lu Ye had unlocked a total of three hundred and twenty Spiritual Points. It had been forty days since he ascended to Heaven Eight. Busy climbing the Scroll of Supremacy before and practicing his de technique afterward, his cultivation progress had slowed down considerably. As a result, he had only unlocked twenty additional Spiritual Points.
He was still forty Spiritual Points away from reaching Heaven Nine.
Lu Ye was practicing his de technique in the courtyard as usual when suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and looked up. At the same time, the Heavens mysterious power descended from the sky.
It had been thirty days since he returned to the Scroll of Supremacy. It was finally time to receive the Heavens reward.
The reason he had stayed at the wooden building this whole time was partially because he was waiting for this day. He had asked many people about this process, so he was well aware of what was about to happen.
There was one question they werent able to answer him though: Would Amber and Yi Yi be able to enter the space with him?
He thought they should. Amber was his Tamed Beast, and Yi Yi was its Ghost Spiritthis was something that was acknowledged by the Heavens themselves, or they could not have entered the battlefields of the Scroll of Supremacy. Not only that, they had participated in each and every battle. Therefore, they should not be excluded from the reward.
He was just thinking this when Yi Yi and Amber ran out of the wooden building at the same time.
Lu Ye Lu Ye, I think Amber and I are feeling something, Yi Yi asked worriedly. She was feeling a bit rattled because this was the first time she sensed the Heavens.
Its okay. Just dont resist, Lu Ye instructed.
Hua Ci heard themotion and came out as well. When she met Lu Yes eyes, she realized what was happening and asked for confirmation, Is it time?
Lu Ye nodded. That was all he managed to do before he, Amber and Yi Yi turned transparent and vanished.
Three figures abruptly appeared in a foggy ce. It was the Pool of Heavens, the ce where the rankers of the Scroll of Supremacy received their reward!
The mist in the pool was no World Spiritual Qi, but another form of energy that was incredibly beneficial to a cultivator.
The mist could temper the cultivators physique, strengthen their Divine Soul, and even cleanse their body of Pill Poison, effectively improving the purity of their Spiritual Power. It should not need to be exined why the reward was so coveted.
Any ranker who managed to stay on the Scroll of Supremacy for a month would be pulled into this reward area. They would then receive the reward of the Heavens and grow more powerful.
That was why Shi Guang had mentioned that he had received the Heavens reward several times already. He had been on the Scroll of Supremacy for months.
The amount of time they were allowed to stay in this reward area was directly connected to the rankers standing. The better their rank, the longer they would be able to stay here.
Lu Ye had asked Yu Lianzhou how long he was able to stay in the Pool of Heavens. Despite his rank, he only had about an incense stick before he was sent back.
Since he had never be the champion before, he couldnt tell Lu Ye exactly how much time the champion was allocated.
To unravel this, Lu Ye asked his second senior sister to ask Feng Yuechan about it. ording to the former champion, she had never lingered at the Pool of Heavens for more than an hour.
This was why the elites of the Spirit Creek Battlefield were so fond of the Scroll of Supremacy. Besides the fame and glory that naturally came with being the one hundred strongest rankers in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Heavens would reward them handsomely for their efforts.
The Spirit Mist here could temper ones physique, strengthen the Divine Soul, and improve the purity of their Spiritual Power. It was a reward that directly improved their strength and prospects. Even a few seconds in the Pool of Heavens could visibly strengthen a cultivator.
The rule that stipted that the higher ranker could spend more time in the Pool of Heavens also caused the strong to grow even stronger.
Perhaps this was a form of silent encouragement from the Heavens. They promised that the most outstanding cultivators would receive the greatest rewards.
Why would a Heaven Nine cultivator choose to remain in the Spirit Creek Battlefield after reaching the pinnacle?
In the past, Lu Ye thought that they wanted to spend some time solidifying their foundation before ascending to the Cloud River Realm. While it wasnt an inurate assumption, it wasntprehensive enough.
The real reason was because they all dreamed of entering the Scroll of Supremacy and staying there long enough to receive the Heavens reward. Technically speaking, there were conventional means to strengthen ones physique, improve ones Divine Soul, and purify ones Spiritual Power. However, the Heavens reward could do all that in just a fraction of the time. With that in mind, of course they were in no hurry to ascend to the Cloud River Realm.
But of course, the reward wasnt an infinite power booster. Generally speaking, the third and fourth entrance to the Pool of Heavens was where the effects of the reward would diminish to the point where it was almost unnoticeable. When that happened, the rankers would stop wasting their time and ascend to the Cloud River Realm.
In the past, it was said that the Three TumorsFeng Yuechan, Li Baxian and Yan Xingwere scorned by the Heavens because they upied the Scroll of Supremacy for too long. That was why the Heavens had stopped pulling them into the Pool of Heavens after the first few months.
In fact, The Heavens stopped pulling them into the reward area not because they scorned them, but because the Spirit Mist waspletely useless to them at that point. Naturally, there was no reason to waste the energy and time.
The first thing Lu Ye did after appearing in the Pool of Heavens was to check if Amber and Yi Yi were with him. He rxed when he noticed that they were indeed present.
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Chapter 407: Come On!
Chapter 407: Come On!
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Lu Ye did not need to say anything. Yi Yi immediately adopted a meditative stance and began absorbing the Spirit Mist around her, her body brightening and dimming in intervals.
Amber straight up manifested its true body, opened its bloody jaws, and inhaled the Spirit Mist into its stomach.
They all knew that their time was limited even though this was the first time they were pulled to this ce. ording to Feng Yuechan, even the champion wasnt allowed to stay here for over an hour, not to mention that the opportunity arrived only once a month. Naturally, they could not afford to waste even a second.
As for Lu Ye, he immediately constructed Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points.
This would be the third time he experienced something like this. The first time was when he was tempering his body at the Dragon Spring of One Hundred Peaks, and the second time was when he was improving his Divine Soul at the Pool of Divine Purification of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Suffice to say, his skills were critical in an environment like this.
At Lu Yes current speed and mental strength, it only took him a moment to create three hundred and twenty Gathering Spirit funnels. After that, well, there was no after that. The mini funnels would automatically draw the surrounding mist into his body and convert them into the appropriate gains using his Spiritual Power.
As a warm feeling swam throughout his body, Lu Ye mused that the Spirit Mist was as good as advertised. He could feel his body and soul growing stronger by the minute.
However, he noticed that the Spirit Mist was simultaneously less potent than the blood qi he absorbed from the dragon scale and the soul mist of the Pool of Divine Purification.
Moreover, he could not feel his Spiritual Power growing purer at all. It was probably because it was perfectly pure thanks to the Tree of Glyphs.
Overall, the Spirit Mist of the Pool of Heavens was like the inferior version of the Dragon Spring and the Pool of Divine Purificationbined.
That said, the Spirit Mist was hardly useless to Lu Ye. Quite the contrary, it reminded him of the first time he absorbed the blood qi in the dragon scale. At the beginning, he did not dare to devour the blood qi directly because it would have destroyed his body. Even Amber would die a little every time it inhaled just a wisp of the blood qi
It wasnt until they grew stronger that the process became bearable.
They had used up the blood qi in the dragon scale a long time ago. In the past, Lu Ye thought that the dragon scale contained more blood qi than he could ever use at the Spirit Creek Realm level. In reality, it ran out faster than they expected because he was sharing it with Amber, and then with Ju Jiater on. Today, the dragon scale was nothing more but a pretty decoration and a memento.
The Spirit Mist of the Pool of Divine Purification strengthened both his body and his soul very gently. Not only did he not feel difited in the slightest, he was rxed enough to fall asleep.
After Lu Ye was done constructing Gathering Spirits in his Spiritual Points, he nted ward gs in his surroundings and set up a Gathering Spirits Ward to gather the Spirit Mist even faster.
The effects were as immediate as they were obvious. The mist became so thick that he could barely see hispanions.
He wasnt done though. Having bottled up the Soul Mist of the Pool of Divine Purification once, he wondered if he could do the same to the Spirit Mist around him. It should be possible judging from the concentration of the Spirit Mist.
He immediately channeled his Spiritual Power and constructed a massive Gathering Spirits. He then shaped it into a massive funnel. So far, everything was going smoothly.
The Spirit Mist began gathering within the funnel and clinging to its walls. Soon, they condensed into liquid and began flowing down the funnels neck. Lu Ye immediately took out a jade bottle and held it to the hole.
Right before the condensed liquid would drip into the bottle though, an invisible energy abruptly swept through the funnel and damaged it instantly.
Lu Ye frowned. Unwilling to give up, he tried constructing another funnel only to see it destroyed the second it took form.
Not only that, Lu Yes skin abruptly prickled like he was being watched. His senses were warning him that something bad would happen if he persisted in his ways.
[Am I Am I being watched by the Heavens right now?]
To say Lu Ye was shocked would be an understatement. He had heard the term at least a million times since he embarked on this journey. One might say that a cultivators life was intricately tied to the Heavens. He had always thought that the Heavens were a set of rules orws that governed all living things, but now, he realized that he might be mistaken. This unnatural sensation he was feeling
[Could the Heavens actually be alive?]
His muscles stiffened. The feeling of impending doom felt terrible to put it mildly. Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and tried constructing the funnel a third time, but this time he was assaulted by an inexplicable sense of panic before it could even take form. His heart beat faster and faster until it felt like it might leap out of his throat.
The panic only dissipated after he dispelled his Spiritual Power.
At that moment, Lu Ye knew that the Heavens forbade him from bringing the Spirit Mist out of the Pool of Heavens, and the unnatural sensation that assaulted his body before was their warning!
[Come on!]
Lu Ye was unhappy at first, but on second thought, the Spirit Mist was the Heavens reward to all those who managed to stay on the Scroll of Supremacy for a months time. It wouldnt be a reward anymore if they allowed Lu Ye to bring it out of the Pool of Heavens and distribute it freely among his friends, would it?
It was like attending a buffet. If you could eat your moneys worth, then good for you. However, no business owner would condone takeaways for obvious reasons.
Lu Ye finally abandoned his desire after realizing this. While he was sad that he couldnt collect the Spirit Mist, he wasnt stupid or crazy enough to force things when the Heavens had warned him as explicitly as they could. It would not end well for him if he persisted in his ways.
Still, one question gued Lu Ye: Were the Heavens truly alive and sentient?
Knowing that he wouldnt get an answer any time soon, Lu Ye pushed the question to the back of his mind and sat down at a random spot.
For everyone else, they had to clear their mind of all stray thoughts and focus on inhaling the World Spiritual Qi around them to cultivate their strength. It wouldnt work if they were too distracted.
But Lu Ye? Lu Ye did not need to worry about such things. For as long as the Gathering Spirits remained in his Spiritual Points, he could fall asleep and still cultivate like any other cultivator.
Lu Ye quietly sensed the changes to his body and soul while waiting. They were definitely growing stronger bit by bit.
Time had never felt so short until now. Before he knew it, his vision warped, and he was back at the courtyard. An hour had passed just like that.
He checked his body and soul again. Both aspects were already plenty powerful, but his gains were still obvious after an hour in the Pool of Heavens. He reckoned that both his physique and his mind were at least ten percent stronger than before.
Ten percent might not sound like a lot, but it was. Lu Yes foundation was solid as a rock to begin with, and now that foundation had been strengthened by a further ten percent.
He was confident he could fight Shi Guang again and defeat him without suffering a scratch. That was how much a better foundation improved his overall strength.
Of course, it was also thanks to his unusual cultivation technique. Other cultivators had to concentrate throughout the inhtion to receive the maximum benefits, but Lu Ye could fall asleep and achieve more or less the same result thanks to his Gathering Spirits. Even the most talented cultivator in the world could just barely beat Lu Ye in terms of cultivation efficiency, and that was before mentioning the Gathering Spirits Ward he had set up. Yi Yi and Amber had benefited indirectly from the ward as well.
Suddenly, Yi Yi eximed in surprise while sizing up Lu Ye with great interest, Lu Ye, Lu Ye, I think youre paler than before!
What nonsense are you talking about?
Lu Ye frowned and began squeezing Yi Yis cheeks like dough.
Huh. You feel even more realistic than before.
Lu Ye didnt know when it would happen, but he strongly suspected that Yi Yi might look and feel as real as a normal human being at a high enough cultivation level. In fact, she already looked no different from a normal person even though she was, in essence, an apparition.
Yi Yi tried to escape Lu Yes demonic grip to no avail. So, she cried for help, Sister Hua Ci, save me!
Hua Ci heard the noise and stepped out of the wooden building. She immediately pped Lu Yes hand away and put Yi Yi behind her back like a mother hen. Are you a grown-up or not? Stop bullying the kid already.
Yi Yi poked her head from behind Hua Ci and stuck out her tongue cheekily at Lu Ye. She then told Hua Ci, Sister Hua Ci, I told Lu Ye that he looks paler than before, but he doesnt believe me! Tell him its true!
Hua Ci looked Lu Ye up and down long enough to make him nervous. Finally, she said, Your vitality has certainly grown much stronger than before. I would believe it if you tell me youre pregnant
Before Lu Ye could shoot a retort, she looked at Amber and praised, You look mighty fine too, Amber. It seems that the Heavens reward is even greater than I thought.
Of course it is. Why else would a Heaven Nine cultivator stay at the Spirit Creek Battlefield for weeks or even months? Thats why I told you to challenge the Scroll of Supremacy.
What? You want me to defeat you and im your spot that badly?
Lu Ye eximed in realization, Youre a pretty ambitious woman, arent you? Unfortunately, I dont think youll ever be able to defeat me.
So long as he had the Tree of Glyphs, he waspletely immune to all forms of poison. How could Hua Ci defeat him when her greatest weapon waspletely useless against him?
Now Lu Ye understood why Hua Ci still refused to challenge the Scroll of Supremacy. It wasnt because she couldnt, but because he was upying the champion spot right now. As it turned out, her ambition was just as great as his; they were both aiming for the number one spot.
This meant she would challenge the Scroll of Supremacy only after he had ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
He tried to imagine the future for a bit. He immediately felt great pity for the Thousand Demon Ridge. He had already defeated their champion and imed the top spot of the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Eight cultivator. If Hua Ci, a medicine cultivator, managed to im the number one spot as well, it wasnt just the Thousand Demon Ridge who was going to lose face. The Grand Sky Coalition would be biting their nails as well.
After all, there had never been a medicine cultivator among the top fifty.
However, Lu Ye did not doubt in the slightest that Hua Ci possessed the strength to be the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. Even now, she was already powerful enough to enter the top thirty.
Lu Ye needed to get used to his enhanced physique and mind, so he started practicing sh after Hua Ci and Yi Yi had left.
He immediately noticed something different after making his first swing. Not only was his attack stronger than before, his chest wasnt hurting anymore.
Shi Guang had pierced his chest with a spear. Although he had quickly recovered under Hua Cis care, she was just a Heaven Eight cultivator. Even if she hadnt spared any effort in treating him, it was inevitable that some hidden injuries had remained in his body. For example, his chest always hurt when he was practicing sh.
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Chapter 408: The Purple Cloud Comes From The South
Chapter 408: The Purple Cloud Comes From The South
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Cultivators led a tumultuous, violent life. Even the toughest cultivators could not avoid getting injured. The wound would heal given the proper care and treatment, but the same could not be said for hidden injuries.
Hua Ci was just a Heaven Eight cultivator, so she was unable to remove these types of injuries. Their second senior sister, Shui Yuan was the only one who was good enough to heal all of Lu Yes hidden injuries.
In fact, Shui Yuan would do exactly that for Lu Ye every time he returned to the headquarters.
Now, it would seem that the Spirit Mist of the Pool of Heaven also possessed the power to heal ones hidden injuries. If nothing else, Lu Ye certainly felt much lighter than before. It was as if he had broken free from some sort of invisible weight.
He was still practicing sh when suddenly, he received a message from Yu Lianzhou. It said, Fellow Cultivator Lu, I am ascending to the Cloud River Realm now. Also, Shi Guang has already ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye immediately checked the Scroll of Supremacy and confirmed that that was indeed the case. In fact, many familiar names had vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy. He practically did not recognize the bottom fifty rankers anymore.
The Scroll of Supremacy was updated very frequently. Normally, it took mere months for the entire list to be reced by apletely new batch of cultivators. This was because even the lowest ranker should have absorbed their fill after entering the Pool of Heavens just three or four times. After that, there was no point in lingering in the Spirit Creek Battlefield any longer.
Yu Lianzhou had also mentioned the Yi Ye Elimination Front briefly. Lu Ye knew that it was a temporary organization the Thousand Demon Ridge had set up to eliminate him. In fact, Shi Guang himself was the leader of the group.
The Yi Ye Elimination Front was a loose and temporary organization to begin with, and now their leader was gone. He did not think he had anything to worry about from them anymore.
After conversing with Yu Lianzhou for a bit and bidding him goodbye, the sword cultivators name soon vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy as well.
Lu Ye resumed his de technique training after that. If he was tired, then he would cultivate and study until he regained his strength.
Infinite Ind Outpost, Core Circle.
Infinite Ind was a Tier-One sect with a deep foundation and countless talents. Right now, a young man was standing at a deserted spot and watching an exquisite-looking pavilion from afar.
Lu Ye would have recognized him right away. He was none other than Luo Ji, an old foe of his.
Of course, they were both pretty weak at the time. Lu Ye was on his way to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost when he passed through the Mystic Sect and Nine Star ns territory. For the crime of killing the Young Master of the Nine Star n, he had earned a bounty on his head. Later, the Mystic Sect interfered and fought against the Nine Star n at the Split Sky Gorge.
Luo Ji was training with the Nine Star n at the time. Dong Shu Ye then requested him to kill Lu Ye.
He was the first true spell cultivator Lu Ye had fought. It was him who contributed to Lu Yes loathing of spell cultivators.
Of course, Lu Ye no longer loathed spell cultivators as much as he did in the past because they were fragile.
It had been a year and a half since that day. Luo Ji had also be a Heaven Seven cultivator.
Luo Ji was different from the ordinary cultivator. He had cultivated a Heaven Grade cultivation technique right from the get go. When Lu Ye fought him, he was just a Heaven-Grade Second-Order Realm cultivator with fifty unlocked Spiritual Points.
Lu Ye was Third-Order at the time. He and Luo Ji had had a close match.
Most cultivators avoided cultivating Heaven-Grade cultivation techniques right from the get go because it took more time and effort to unlock Spiritual Points. However, Luo Ji still managed to reach Heaven Seven and unlock just under three hundred Spiritual Points in one and a half years. He was talented, and he came from a good background. In addition, he had done Infinite Ind a great service. That was why he was rewarded handsomely after the Nine Star ns Outpost was breached, and he had returned to the Outpost.
However, Luo Ji wasnt satisfied with his current achievements. It was simple. He was still a nobody in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and the only noteworthy thing about him was his sect. On the other hand, his old rival was famous throughout Jiu Zhou, not to mention that he had be the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Eight cultivator.
Any genius would feel inferior if theypared themselves to Lu Ye.
When Luo Ji had returned to the Infinite Ind, he had sworn that he would defeat the Mountain Tiger and wipe out his past shame with his own hands. However, it was clear that his oath would nevere true.
Today, there was only one person left in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who could defeat Lu Yi Ye, and she was none other than the woman he had brought back from the Nine Star n!
At the time, he had no idea what was so special about the dorky-looking woman. In fact, the only reason he went to the Nine Star ns Outpost to train was to carry out the will of his Elder.
The Elder was an expert in divination, and he had divined that the purple cloudes from the south. That was why many Infinite Ind disciples had been dispatched to the south in search of the prophesied person. In the end, he was luckier than his fellow disciples.
Over time, it was proven that their Elders prophecy was true. The woman had appeared to be socially inept and untalented while she was cultivating under the Nine Star n, but after he took her back to their headquarters, she was immediately acknowledged by the inheritance of the progenitor of their sect. Since then, her cultivation had been improving by leaps and bounds.
Thest time he saw her was a month ago. At the time, she was already a Heaven Eight cultivator. Knowing her cultivation speed, Luo Ji reckoned that she should reach Heaven Nine very soon!
Luo Jis cultivation speed was pretty quick, but it was nothingpared to hers.
Are you waiting for Zi Yi, Junior Brother Luo? A voice suddenly startled him from behind.
Luo Ji turned around and saw that it was his Legate, Senior Brother Kong Bu. He turned a little red as he said, I was just in the area.
Kong Bu chuckled. There is nothing to be ashamed about your love, not to mention that you are the only one in the entire sect who can hold a conversation with her. Seriously, I would be so lucky if she answered any of my questions three out of five times a day.
Luo Ji hurriedly defended Zi Yi, Zi Yi doesnt mean ill. Shes just a little slow.
The entire sect knew that Zi Yi was slow. If they asked her a question, there was a chance she would only realize it the next day before rushing to tell them her answer. Countless senior brothers and sisters had been confused by her strange behavior.
Kong Bu replied good-naturedly, I know. You dont need to be nervous, Junior Brother Luo. You know Im not a narrow-minded person.
The Legate paused for a second before sighing. The purple cloudes from the south, huh? The Elders divination skill ages as well as fine wine.
Yeah. I knew it was her from the moment I heard someone calling her name at the Nine Star ns Outpost.
The great service Luo Ji had done for his sect back then was to bring Lan Zi Yi to them.
Oh right, I have a question, senior brother. Youve mentioned before that youve sparred with Zi Yi. Do you think she could defeat Lu Yi Ye if she ascends to Heaven Nine? Luo Ji asked.
Absolutely! Kong Niu answered without hesitation, Zi Yi was only a Heaven Eight cultivator when we sparred, but I still nearly lost to her back then.
Luo Ji hadnt known the oue of that spar. He smiled widely and said, Im very d to hear that.
Not only was Lu Yi Ye the only Heaven Eight cultivator in a rank list dominated by Heaven Nine cultivators, he was also the champion. How could the Thousand Demon Ridge befortable with this oue?
If Zi Yi emerged from her secluded cultivation as a Heaven Nine cultivator, she would be able to defeat Lu Yi Ye and earn their sect much glory.
Considering her cultivation speed, it should not be long before shees out of secluded cultivation.
I hope so, Luo Ji responded before adding, Before I forget, congrattions for entering the top twenty, senior brother.
Kong Bu shook his head wryly. You know Im not worthy of my current spot.
His cement only went up because those who ranked above him had ascended to the Cloud River Realm recently.
Lu Yes idle lifestylested exactly three days before he received a message from Feng Yue. Fifth senior brother, help! Many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators are surrounding the Three Sages Schools Outpost right now. I think theyre aiming to get you!
Lu Ye did not understand her message. You say theyre aiming to get me, but Im not at the Three Sages School, am I?
Feng Yue replied, Exactly. They couldnt locate you, so theyre going to attack me instead. I dont even know how they found out that Im a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect what should I do, fifth senior brother?
Wait for me! Lu Ye responded before messaging his friends about the situation. He quickly got a number of replies.
As it turned out, the Thousand Demon Ridge had been growing increasingly restless since he became the champion and received the Heavens reward. This was onlypounded by the fact that they had been unable to locate him for months.
Lu Yi Ye was already nigh unkible to begin with. If they allowed him to grow any stronger than he already was, then he would truly be invincible.
That was why the Thousand Demon Ridge was trying to force him to show up by threatening Feng Yue.
The good news was that Feng Yues exposure wasnt the result of espionage activity. When Lu Ye had entered the Core Circle, he had taken Feng Yue to the Three Sages Schools Outpost and left her there. Multiple Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had witnessed this with their own eyes.
It was a bitte, but they had made the connection eventually.
The Three Sages School wasnt the only one who was surrounded. The Devoted Ones had been dragged into the mess as well.
When Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian were still around, no one dared to challenge the Devoted Ones. But now, their invincible protectors were no more.
While it wasmon knowledge that the Devoted Ones loathed the Crimson Blood Sect these days, the Thousand Demon Ridge couldnt care less about their feud. More urately, every Core Circle sect that was even tangentially rted to the Crimson Blood Sect was being attacked.
As a result, the Devoted Ones was in quite the conundrum right now. It wasnt like they could exin things to the Thousand Demon Ridge either. They had no choice but to defend their Outpost as best they could.
Thankfully, the Thousand Demon Ridge was only surrounding the Outposts instead of attacking. It was to pressure Lu Ye into showing himself.
Lu Ye did not really care what might befall the Devoted Ones, but the same could not be said for the Three Sages School.
To say that his sect owed the Three Sages School would be an understatement. First, his Sect Master had stolen fifty of their best disciples. Two, he had brought disaster to their doorsteps and cost them their Outpost even though their Sect Master was the one who requested he visited their Outpost. Also, he had failed to fulfill his promise to cultivate at their Outpost because of his troubles.
Lu Ye was going to cultivate in peace and silence until he reached Heaven Nine, but the Thousand Demon Ridge had no regard for his wishes.
While keeping a tight lid on his anger, Lu Ye messaged Feng Yue and said, Please inform our friends in the Three Sages School to stay calm. If their Outpost is breached before I get there, I swear I willpensate them for their loss one way or another.
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Chapter 409: Who Do You Think I Look Like?
Chapter 409: Who Do You Think I Look Like?
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While Lu Ye was messaging Feng Yue, the Legate of the Three Sages School, Situ Han was standing next to her with an anxious expression. When she was finally done, he immediately asked, What did Fellow Cultivator Lu say, Junior Sister Feng?
Situ Han let out a sigh of relief after Feng Yue told him everything. It was never a good thing to lose ones Outpost, but Lu Yes promise had dispelled his worries. Worst case scenario, they would evacuate to their headquarters and wait for the danger to pass. It wasnt like they could chase them to Jiu Zhou.
Once upon a time, there was an Inner Circle sect called the Heavenly Derivative Sect who lost their Outpost to the Thousand Demon Ridge because of Lu Ye. Later, Lu Ye had destroyed all the Thousand Demon Ridge sects within their vicinity and led them on an unprecedented conquest that allowed them to recoup everything they had lost and some more.
This was why Situ Han did not doubt Lu Yes ability in the slightest.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye bade Hua Ci goodbye in front of the wooden building before bringing out his flying Spirit Artifact and taking to the sky. As usual, Amber was draped across his shoulder.
Last time, he had returned to the Myriad Poison Forest fairly quickly because he just wanted to buy some stuff at the Divine Trade Association. This time though, he was nning to stir some trouble. That was why he decided to bring Amber and Yi Yi with him.
Hua Ci wanted toe with them, but Lu Ye needed someone to watch over the Central Ward at the courtyard, so that was that.
A massive number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were currently surrounding the Three Sages School in an attempt to force him out. Naturally, he wasnt stupid enough to oblige their wishes and walk into their death trap.
Logically speaking, the Thousand Demon Ridge should leave the Three Sages School as soon as he revealed himself. Of course, there was a chance they might decide to upy the Outpost anyway since they were already there. This wasnt something he could change.
In the air, Lu Ye took out his 10-point map and checked his surroundings for a bit. A whileter, he selected the Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost over one hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Myriad Poison Forest as his target.
The Outpost belonged to a Tier-Three Sect called the Meandering Mountain n. He rushed over as soon as he identified the direction.
Both his physique and his mind were stronger after receiving the reward of the Heavens. His telekinesis speed had improved as well.
About forty minutester, Lu Ye arrived at his destination and descended right outside the Outposts Grand Ward. A sentry immediately noticed his presence and greeted Lu Ye cordially, Hail, fellow cultivator. May I know your name?
Normally, only a friend of the sect would show up without prior notice. The sentry would let them in after a quick check.
That was why this cultivator did not suspect that Lu Ye was an enemy. After all, what cultivator would be crazy enough to show up at an enemy sects doorsteps alone?
Lu Ye was inspecting the nodes of the Grand Ward with Insight when he heard the question. He turned toward the cultivator and asked expressionlessly, Who do you think I look like?
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, the cultivator examined Lu Yes face for a second before nching. He then pointed a finger at Lu Ye and stuttered, You youre
He then channeled his Spiritual Power and shouted on top of his lungs, LU YI YE IS HERE!
In that instant, the entire Outpost stirred like a kicked hos nest. Countless auras began flying over even as they wondered if they were hearing things, or if the cultivator who shouted the warning was mistaken.
Lu Yi Ye had gone underground for a while now. For what reason would he suddenlye to their Outpost?
By now, Lu Ye had taken out his ward gs and nted them into the Grand Ward. A bit of finessingter, the Spiritual Power within the marked area came to an abrupt stop. Finally, he opened a corner of the Grand Ward like he was opening a tent p and walked in.
He had used the exact same method against the Devoted Ones when he was visiting their Outpost with Ju Jia and Feng Yue. If even a Tier-Two Sects Grand Ward could not stop Lu Ye, of course the Meandering Mountain n could only do worse.
That said, he wasnt trying to bring down the entire ward or even damage it in any way. Therefore, this tactic could only be used by a single person or a small group of people.
By now, dozens of cultivators were surrounding him, and more wereing from every direction. Lu Ye had just walked into the Outpost when a barrage of attacks flew toward him.
Lu Ye was prepared for this, of course. He immediately activated Protection to shield before dashing to the side with Windwalk.
Despite his preparation, the Glyph shattered almost immediately after he constructed it. This would happen another five times before he finally managed to escape to a corner where the enemy could not quite focus him down.
His Weapon Holder vibrated as nine flying weapons shot into the open. Blood curdling screams immediately broke out all around him.
A Tier-Three Sects Outpost was mostly made up of Heaven Seven and Heaven Eight cultivators. Not only that, their handful of Heaven Nine cultivators werent strong enough to enter the Scroll of Supremacy. Naturally, they were no match for Lu Ye.
That said, the Meandering Mountain n had responded to the threat very quickly. Just ten breathster, every cultivator in the Outpost was on the move.
For a time, the sky was filled with hundreds and hundreds of auras. It was quite the spectacle if nothing else.
Although Lu Ye had entered the Outpost alone, he knew from the start that his chances of upying an Outpost by himself were zero. The reason he did this was to cause a big enoughmotion to draw the Thousand Demon Ridges attention.
More and more Meandering Mountain n cultivators fell to Lu Ye, but thebat cultivator was being worn down at a steady rate himself. What he was doing was impressive, but every second he still breathed was a second he might not have. The smallest mistake could see him dead.
Protection was not a powerful Glyph, but quantity itself was a form of quality. Moreover, Lu Ye didnt get many opportunities to attack the enemy.
As time passed, the Meandering Mountain n gradually calmed down and discovered that the infamous monster wasnt invincible after all.
Alone, none of them was a match for Lu Yi Ye even if they fought to thest man. But together, they might not be able to kill him, but he certainly wasnt going to escape unscathed.
After the Legate and the prolegate of the Meandering Mountain n had collected themselves, their defense suddenly became much more solid. Not only that, they were actively trying to hinder and kill Lu Ye.
As a result, Lu Ye was forced to leave the Outpost less than half a tea timeter.
The battle had ended with the death of twenty to thirty cultivators for the Meandering Mountain n, and a full body of injuries for Lu Ye.
Lu Ye did not leave, however. In fact, he stood right outside of their Grand Ward and stared at them while swallowing his Spirit Pills from time to time.
The Meandering Mountain n did not dare to open their Grand Ward and chase him away. Inside the Outpost, Lu Ye had very little room to maneuver. But outside the Outpost where the sky was the limit, thebat cultivator could go all out against them.
Neither the Legate nor the prolegate were dumb enough to fight Lu Ye in his element.
However, their cultivators were beyond angry and frustrated that a single man could trap them within their Outpost. So, they jabbed fingers and yelled obscenities at him from the other side of the Grand Ward.
Lu Ye did not respond no matter how ugly the curses were.
Only a kid would argue with their mouth.
Meanwhile, the news that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had infiltrated a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost and wreaked havoc swiftly spread throughout the Spirit Creek Battlefield. All nearby Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators began moving to rescue their ally.
Although Shi Guang had ascended to the Cloud River Realm, the Yi Ye Elimination Front was still present. It was precisely because it was a loose organization established purely to kill Lu Yi Ye that Shi Guangs presence, while sorely missed, did not affect the organization too much. For as long as the desire to kill Lu Yi Ye existed, so would the organization.
More and more cultivators were converging upon the Meandering Mountain n. The Spirit Creek Battlefield that was silent for half a month finally became lively once more.
Lu Ye left after standing outside the Outpost for two hours.
Since he had achieved his objective, there was no longer any need to stay.
As he left, it so happened that he ran into a squad of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who wereing to the Meandering Mountain ns rescue. At Lu Yes current strength, any group that was smaller than twenty or even thirty people was no match for him. After all, this was not the challenge battle of the Scroll of Supremacy. There, the challenger must deal with all sorts of limitations and geographical disadvantages. But here in the outdoors, victory was decided by the depth of their foundation and their tricks.
And Lu Ye wasntcking in either department.
Lu Ye charged his enemies without even bothering to maneuver out of harms way. Only a handful of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators managed to cross paths with him and live.
Lu Ye did not have a specific destination in mind. He was simply traveling in a straight line and killing everyone in his way.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted him to show himself so badly, then he would oblige them. He only hoped that they could bear the consequences.
After suffering many losses, many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators decided to retreat. However, even more people were moving in to intercept him as his location was being shared among his pursuers in real time.
Lu Ye was very d that he had brought Yi Yi and Amber with him. Otherwise, he would have no time to rest at all.
He hadnt stopped flying since he left the Meandering Mountain ns Outpost. No matter where he went, Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would swoop in to try to kill him.
It was only thanks to Yi Yi and Amber sharing some of the burden that he was able to hang on.
The Thousand Demon Ridges n was very clear. They were going to slow him down and wear him out with sheer numbers. No matter how strong Lu Yi Ye was, he was still human. Once he was exhausted, he would fall like any other.
It wasnt a smart n, but it was certainly the most effective n against Lu Ye.
Lu Ye almost never ran out of Spiritual Power thanks to the Tree of Glyphs and Gluttonous Feast, but he could not say the same for his mind and stamina. It was only a matter of time before either one of them gave out.
That was why Lu Ye began making his way toward Myriad Poison Forest when he was approaching his limit. Right now in the Core Circle, the Myriad Poison Forest was his one and only refuge. Nowhere else was safe for him.
As long as he could get within fifty kilometers of the Myriad Poison Forest, he would be able to teleport back to the wooden building.
Once he was done recovering, he coulde out and repeat this all over again.
Suddenly, he felt a stirring in his Battlefield Imprint. It was a message from Feng Yue.
Fifth senior brother, the Three Sages Schools Outpost is about to fall. I will be evacuating to Jiu Zhou with Senior Brother Situ and the others. Take care, fifth senior brother!
Lu Ye was silent when he saw the message. In the end, he wasnt able to save the Three Sages Schools Outpost.
It was the expected oue. The Thousand Demon Ridge had gathered enough cultivators to defeat the Three Sages Schools Outpost. Why would they leave empty-handed?
Lu Ye attempted to respond to Feng Yues message, but he quickly discovered that his response could not be sent. Feng Yue had already teleported back to Jiu Zhou.
If the Three Sages School could not save their Outpost, what about the Devoted Ones?
He reckoned that the Devoted Ones would not escape their fate either. In the past, no one dared to challenge them because they had fourth senior brother and Senior Sister Feng to protect them. But now? This generation of Devoted Ones was nothing impressive, so he did not think they would be able to defend their Outpost.
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Chapter 410: The Three Banes of Spirit Creek
Chapter 410: The Three Banes of Spirit Creek
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Lu Ye was still thinking when he received another message. This time, it was from his second senior sister. It stated,
Pay the Blue Emperor Citys Outpost a visit if youre free.
Lu Ye hurriedly responded, Whys that?
Someone would like to meet you.
Lu Ye was a bit confused. If he remembered correctly, the Blue Emperor City was a Tier-Two Sect in Bing Zhou. It was almost as strong as some Tier-One Sects and more or less in the same position as the Devoted Ones right now.
The problem was that Lu Ye had never interacted with a member of the Blue Emperor City before, so he wasnt sure why she was asking him to go to their Outpost.
He didnt try to ask for more information. Shui Yuan wouldve told him everything if she wanted.
Got it.
Lu Ye responded before checking his 10-point map. He discovered that the Blue Emperor Citys Outpost wasnt too far away from his current location. At his current speed, he should reach it in less than half a day.
However he looked back at the auras still hounding him like past memories. The Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt going to give up pursuing him any time soon.
It would be remiss of him to fly to the Blue Emperor City like this.
First things first, he had to find a way to shake off his tail.
There were several ways Lu Ye could do this, but the most obvious answer was Soar. If he activated the Glyph for a prolonged period of time, then not even a sword cultivator could catch up to him.
He was going to do just that when suddenly, Yi Yi let out a cry of surprise from behind him. Before he could react, he felt his Spiritual Power seizing inside his body, and his flying Spirit Artifact ceasing to function. They started falling uncontrobly toward the ground. On his shoulder, Ambers eyes widened as it gripped his shirt firmly to avoid being shaken off by the sudden momentum.
Lu Ye did not panic despite thepletely unexpected situation. He immediately checked his surroundings but did not detect an ambush. In fact, his pursuers were also screaming and falling toward the ground just like him. It would be a very amusing sight if he wasnt in the same situation himself.
[Is it Aerial Lock?]
If there was an Aerial Lock effect in this area, then it would exin why they had suddenly lost control of their flying Spirit Artifacts.
However, his Spiritual Power was restricted as well. Aerial Lock would not be able to do this.
[Is it Spirit Lock then?]
That didnt seem quite right either. It felt like this entire region was under the effect, and he did not know of any ward that could affect such arge area.
It was at this moment he abruptly regained control of his Spiritual Power once more. He hurriedly circted it and flew back into the air.
It was then that Yi Yi cried out, Lu Ye, I think the Yuan Metal Storm is upon us!
Lu Ye instinctively knew that she was right.
Back at the Inner Circle, after he had conquered one to two hundred Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts with the Grand Sky Coalition, he had heard a little about the Three Banes of Spirit Creek.
The Three Banes of Spirit Creek referred to the Judgement of Heavens, the Yuan Metal Storm, and the One Leaf.
The Judgement of Heavens was an obvious one. Thunder rarely echoed in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but when it did, it usually meant that an insectoid attack wasing. It was easily the busiest time of a cultivators life. Every cultivator no matter the sect or faction must focus on dealing with the insectoid attack near their Outpost with all their might.
The Yuan Metal Storm was even more unpredictable than the Judgment of Heavens. Every few years to a decade or so, a natural disaster cultivators named as the Yuan Metal Storm would happen.
Lu Ye wasnt unfamiliar with Yuan Metal forcefields. In fact, it was thanks to it that he was able to y Manager Yang as a mortal and embark on his cultivation journey.
The Yuan Metal force field in the mines wasnt powerful. In fact, it was positively weak since it was generated by a pitiful amount of Yuan Metal. Even so, Manager Yang had been unable to channel even a sliver of Spiritual Power. That was why he had sumbed to Lu Ye in the end.
What would happen if that same force field was thousands or even tens of thousands of times stronger?
And what would happen if it engulfed the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield?
This was why people called it the Yuan Metal Storm. Every time this happened, the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield would be engulfed in an unshakeable force field. Every World Spiritual Qi in the air would be frozen solid, and even the Spiritual Power in a cultivators body would bepletely unusable.
During this period, the only power a cultivator could rely on during this time was their body!
As cultivators strongly relied on Spiritual Power forbat, the natural disaster was undoubtedly the bane of their existencebut only some of them. Body-tempering cultivators loved the Yuan Metal Storm, andbat cultivators fared pretty well during such times as well.
On the other hand, spell cultivators and ghost cultivators could only quake in fear in their Outposts.
The one silver lining regarding the Yuan Metal Storm was that it did not hit the Spirit Creek Battlefield immediately and without warning. At the beginning, it would happen sporadically as if warning the cultivators of its imminent arrival. Shortly after that, it would engulf the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Lu Ye was thankful that the natural disaster wasntpletely without warning. Otherwise, countless cultivators would have fallen to their deaths.
As for the One Leaf, Lu Ye wasnt even going to entertain the thought. It was obvious that the Thousand Demon Ridge was ndering him
When his friends had told him about it, he merely chuckled and pushed it to the back of his mind as soon as he was able.
Apparitions were especially sensitive toward Yuan Metal force fields. That was why Yi Yi had realized the truth sooner than him.
Return to Ambers body now, Lu Ye hurriedly said.
The worst thing the Yuan Metal Storm could do to a cultivator was to shackle their Spiritual Power, but to an apparition like Yi Yi, it might kill her outright if she did not hide in Ambers body.
Yeah! Yi Yi immediately disappeared into Ambers body.
Amber, manifest your true form!
Amber growled in response before leaping down Lu Yes back and upying Yi Yis spot. There was a burst of mutant energy, and it transformed back into a massive tiger once more.
While this was happening, Lu Ye lowered their altitude until they were less than seventeen meters away from the ground. This way, they wouldnt fall to their deaths even if the Yuan Metal Storm were to happen in earnest.
To a cultivator, there was no death more tragic than a fall from great height.
Almost as soon as he was done adjusting his altitude, Lu Ye once again felt an invisible energy shackling the Spiritual Power inside his body. Both him and Amber immediately crashed to the ground.
Right after they climbed back to their feet, the tightness abruptly vanished, and he was able to fly his Spirit Boat once more.
This would happen a couple more times before the Yuan Metal force field finally engulfed the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. At that moment, all cultivators lost control of their Spiritual Power, and even the World Spiritual Qi in the air was frozen solid. Not only that, every Outposts Grand Ward hade undone as well.
Right now, the only thing the cultivators could still use was their Battlefield Imprint. Not even the Yuan Metal Storm could affect an object of the Heavens.
The moment the Yuan Metal Storm had erupted in full force, Lu Ye immediately climbed onto Ambers back and rode it to the distance. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators behind him could only watch as he left them in the dust.
More than ever, Lu Ye wanted to thank his past self for being wise enough to bring Amber with him.
He did not even want to imagine what would happen if he had to outrun his enemies on his own two feet.
Meanwhile, the Thousand Demon Ridge was experiencing an epiphany: now was the time to kill Lu Yi Ye!
Ever since the bastard had be a Heaven Eight cultivator, their ability to suppress him had be weaker than ever before. He had only be stronger after he received the reward of the Scroll of Supremacy.
If they tried to swarm him with numbers, he would just outfly them. If they tried to assassinate him, he would just annihte his assassins. That was why he was able to escape their judgment for so long.
But now, everyones Spiritual Power was shackled, and they could only rely on their bodies to fight. If they could trap Lu Yi Ye in a disadvantageous terrain, then they should be able to overwhelm him with just dozens of bodies!
However, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were quickly met with a new problem: Lu Yi Ye had a mount! A mount that could attack ones Divine Soul with its roar no less!
Mounts were very popr among low level cultivators because they made travel easier and functioned as a capable partner inbat.
However, Tamed Beasts became far lessmon after they reached the Eighth Order. Few Tamed Beasts could travel faster than a cultivator could fly on their flying Spirit Artifacts, and even their fighting strength became wanting after the cultivator had grown to a certain point. Natural selection was taking its course so to speak.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge wished to kill Lu Yi Ye before the Yuan Metal Storm was over, they would need to acquire a lot of mounts. Moreover, the mount must be able to catch up with his white tiger at the very least.
Thankfully, there was such a thing as the Beast Tamer faction. The cultivators of this faction specialized in fighting together with their Tamed Beasts. In fact, their strength was entirely dependent on the strength of their Spirit Beasts.
Once, Lu Ye had fought such a cultivator on the Scroll of Supremacy. The man had brought a whopping four Spirit Beasts onto the battlefield. But of course, Lu Ye had killed them all and even kept the Spirit Beasts bodies as food.
For once, the Beast Tamers became one of the most popr factions in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Even Mutant Cultivator sects had chipped in their flying Spirit Beasts to aid the cause. Their job was to search high and low for Lu Ye at hisst discovered location.
No matter what happened, they had to y Lu Yi Ye before the Yuan Metal Storm passed!
Meanwhile, Lu Ye had finally arrived at the Blue Emperor Citys Outpost.
What shouldve been a three-quarter-day journey had been prolonged to a two-day journey. This was after Amber had be much stronger and faster too. Otherwise, it wouldve taken him four to five days to reach the Outpost.
Both man and mount looked dusted and dirty when they arrived at the Outposts entrance. There was no Grand Ward surrounding the Outpost because of the Yuan Metal Storm, and every cultivator had been summoned back to the Outpost to guard it. After all, no one knew if the enemy would choose to attack them during this time.
Lu Ye was spotted almost immediately by a Blue Emperor City cultivator. It wasnt long before someone met him outside the Outpost and asked cordially, Are you Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect?
I am.
The cultivator immediately made a weing gesture. Pleasee in, Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye!
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Chapter 411: Third Senior Brother’s Insight Into Blade Techniques
Chapter 411: Third Senior Brothers Insight Into de Techniques
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A short whileter, Lu Ye was brought into the Outposts Guest Hall. Soon, a refined young man wearing a robe with long sleeves stepped into the room. Lu Ye was pretty young, but the young man looked even younger than he was. Since everyones Spiritual Power was currently shackled in their bodies, he was unable to determine his cultivation level from his aura. Still, the fact he was in the Core Circle could only mean that he had already switched to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique. He must be Heaven Seven at least.
The young man stepped forward and bowed politely. Xiao Changhe greets his Fifth Senior Uncle!
[Did he just call me and his name]
Are you Xiang Xinghes?
Xiao Changhe smiled gently. That is correct. Xiao Xinghe is my father!
Lu Ye let out an exmation of realization. Before he joined the Crimson Blood Sect, the Sect Master and his second senior sister were the only ones left in the entire sect. The first senior sister he had met at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Mo Yuan did not count because she was really the same person as Shui Yuan. However, their personalities and even their body shapes werepletely different for some reason.
Lu Ye had gradually learned about this after he joined the Crimson Blood Sect.
Lu Ye also had two senior brothers. His fourth senior brother, Li Baxian was one of them. The other person was his third senior brother, Xiao Xinghe.
Although Lu Ye had never met the man in his life, the young man before him had called himself Xiao Changhe and addressed Lu Ye as his fifth senior uncle. Naturally, he had made the connection immediately.
Although they were only one or two years apart, Lu Ye belonged to the same generation as his third senior brother from a sects point of view. It made sense that Xiao Changhe would address him as his fifth senior uncle.
[I see! My third senior brother is with the Blue Emperor City!]
It was only now that Lu Ye had found out about this. He knew that the Sect Master had sent his third senior brother away to keep him safe just like Li Baxian, but he not learned that he joined the Blue Emperor City until now.
He watched Xiao Changhe closely and internally praised his third senior brother for his, ahem, skills. Not only was his son almost the same age as him, he was extraordinarily talented as well.
Third Senior Brother wanted to meet me, didnt he? Lu Ye asked.
Earlier, Shui Yuan had messaged him saying that someone would like to meet him. All things considered, it could only be his third senior brother.
Xiao Changhe nodded. Yes. In fact, my father was going to invite you to the headquarters, but this Yuan Metal Storm had temporarily disabled the Divine Opportunity Columns teleportation ability.
The Divine Opportunity Columns teleportation required Spiritual Qi to function. Since the Spirit Creek Battlefields World Spiritual Qi was temporarily frozen, of course it wouldnt be able to teleport anyone.
After that, Xiao Changhe passed over a booklet and said, When my father sensed that the Yuan Metal Storm was about to befall the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he told me to return to the headquarters and take this booklet. He wanted me to give it to you.
Lu Ye epted it and took a look. The booklet was only the size of a palm and about a dozen or so pages thick. It looked like it had been sewn using animal skin.
He flipped it open and saw that it was filled with tiny words. His eyebrows slowly rose as he went through the columns though.
It was his third senior brothers insight into de techniques!
This reminded him of an old memory. His fourth senior brother was with him the first time he had returned to the headquarters from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. At the time, Li Baxian hadined that Lu Ye had picked up a de like his third senior brother instead of the sword!
To this day, Lu Ye could still recall Li Baxians sad face.
Since ancient times, de wielders had looked down on sword wielders and vice versa. Technically speaking, Li Baxian wouldve cherished Lu Ye all the same no matter which weapon he had chosen, and it was true. That said, Li Baxian would be even fonder of Lu Ye if the young man had picked up the sword.
This booklet contains some of my fathers insights into his personal de techniques in recent years. He hopes that it will be of use to you since he is unable to teach you himself.
It most certainly is. Please thank him on my behalf.
Lu Ye wasnt just ttering Xiao Changhe when he said this. This booklet was practically a treasure to him since he had been hitting a wall when cultivating his de technique for a while. He had many ideas, but not many ways to seed. Even if he did discover a feasible way to seed, he wasnt quite able to find a point of entry so to speak. Worse, he had no one he could consult or study with.
He was like a blind man trying to cross a river. He only had the feedback of his subpar senses to rely on.
That was why his third senior brothers gift was most timely. The difference between having to explore a path entirely on his own and following a guide was like night and day. The destination was the same, but this one booklet would save him so much time and effort.
My father knew you would say this. He said there is no need for thanks between family members, Xiao Changhe replied smilingly before adding, Fifth Senior Uncle, my father has been cultivating in the Cloud River Battlefield for the past three years. He has not been able to return to Jiu Zhou even once until he ascended to the Real Lake Realm a while ago. That is why hes clueless to anything that happens outside of the Cloud River Battlefield.
Lu Ye understood what Xiao Changhe was trying to say and nodded. I understand. Please inform my third senior brother that he has nothing to worry about. In the future, I will pay him a visit. Also, please inform him that I, Lu Ye, am a lucky and tenacious man. The Thousand Demon Ridge cannot kill me no matter what they do!
My father looks forward to meeting you.
Xiao Changhe made an earnest attempt to get Lu Ye to stay at the Outpost, but in the end Lu Ye took his leave after a brief rest.
The Thousand Demon Ridge must be looking for him right now. If his location was leaked, the Blue Emperor Citys Outpost would surely be in danger.
The Yuan Metal Storm stopped not just the Grand Wards from functioning, but also the Divine Opportunity Column from teleporting. Many people would die if the Thousand Demon Ridge invaded the Outpost.
Lu Ye took off in the direction of the Myriad Poison Forest after leaving the Blue Emperor Citys Outpost.
He was missing his wooden home more than ever right now. He could not wait to study the gift his third senior brother had given him.
The first page alone had given him much inspiration and discovery. If he could digest the bookletpletely, Lu Ye was certain that his strength would enter a whole new level.
Meanwhile, a falcon was flying high up in the clouds and looking down at the young man and his tiger. It was no coincidence. At this altitude, Lu Ye would be hardpressed to detect this falcon even if he was searching for it.
This was especially true after the Yuan Metal Storm had descended on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was unable to channel his Spiritual Power into his eyes and focus his eyesight to the maximum range.
In fact, Lu Yes supernatural sense of danger was greatly diminished without his Spiritual Power. As a result, he did not notice that the Thousand Demon Ridge was executing a certain n.
This was possibly the Thousand Demon Ridges final shot at killing Lu Yi Ye. If they failed, they might not get another chance like this. That was why an unbelievable amount of cultivators were mobilizing with the Yi Ye Elimination Front at the helm.
Lu Ye was surprised that he hadnt encountered a single Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator since he left the Blue Emperor Citys Outpost. Amber was fast, but not so fast that it could outrun all of its pursuers.
This revtion both puzzled and worried him. Unless his pursuers had fully withdrawn to their Outpost, he shouldve encountered at least one enemy along the way.
Then again, he was overthinking this. The arrival of the Yuan Metal Storm meant that every Outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was exposed right now. Some cultivators were especially vulnerable in this environment. He supposed that it made sense that they would huddle up in a secure location to protect themselves.
While Lu Yes powerful mind was diminished without his Spiritual Power, that didnt mean his perception waspletely neutralized. If his enemies really were spying on him from nearby, he should be able to detect their gazes.
While Lu Ye was passing through a canyon, he suddenly felt a disturbance from his Battlefield Imprint. When he checked, he realized that someone had just issued him a challenge request!
He quickly connected to the Scroll of Supremacy and checked the five rankers below him. He saw the female archer, Gui Yingzi and finally, a body-tempering cultivator he did not recognize.
Yu Lianzhou and Shi Guang had already ascended to the Cloud River Realm. Naturally, their cement had gone up as well.
He did not think that the female archer and Gui Yingzi would be bold enough to challenge him. They were powerful, but terrain was a huge factor of their strength. Since Lu Ye was the one being challenged right now, it meant that the right to choose the terrain was in his hands. If Lu Ye were to choose a battlefield that was only tens of meters in radiusand why wouldnt he?both the female archer and the ghost cultivator would be lucky to live to see another day.
This meant that his challenger had to be the body-tempering cultivator named Zhu Pang!
[Is it just a coincidence that hes challenging me now, or]
Lu Ye scanned both his surroundings and the sky above his head, frowning. The reason he was suspicious was because the canyon around him was perfect for an ambush. If he epted the challenge request and entered the battlefield now, the Thousand Demon Ridge would have the perfect opportunity to surround him. If they managed to block all the entrances before he returned, then he would be hard pressed to escape even if he grew wings!
Just because he didnt feel someone spying on him, didnt mean that no one was spying on him. It was entirely possible that his spies were spying on him from beyond his eyesight or perception.
Add to that the fact that he hadnt encountered a single enemy since his departure Lu Ye quickly made up his mind.
He epted the challenge request but did not choose the terrain immediately. He could dy this for four hours max before he must enter the battlefield or forfeit by default.
As if noticing Lu Yes intent, Amber kicked it up a notch and moved even faster. It wasnt long before the canyon was behind them.
Meanwhile, a ton of messages were being exchanged from where Lu Ye could not detect.
Lu Yi Ye has epted the challenge request. Tell Brother Zhu Pang to get ready!
Zhu Pang is ready, but the battle hasnt begun yet. Lu Yi Ye must be nning on buying time for himself.
What a shame. He would be dead for sure if we were able to surround him in that location!
Theres no hurry. We still have a chance. As long as Brother Zhu Pang can dy Lu Yi Ye for an incense stick, we will be able to surround him from every direction. When that happens, not even he would be able to escape!
Can someone ask Zhu Pang if its possible for him to dy Lu Yi Ye for an incense stick?
He said hell do his best, but he also urged us to act as quickly as we are able.
His best isnt enough. We need him to be able to survive an incense stick no matter what. Our forces are just too far away from Lu Yi Ye right now. Without enough time, its physically impossible for him to entrap him. Anyway, Zhu Pang is a body-tempering cultivator, isnt he? Is he seriously saying that he cant evenst an incense stick against Lu Yi Ye?
Zhu Pang said, You can stall Lu Yi Ye yourself if you think youre so hot.
Hes the final hope of Thousand Demon Ridge! How can he say something so irresponsible? If I was qualified to challenge Lu Yi Ye, I wouldve done so already!
Cut the nonsense. If you have time to chatter, then you have time to calcte his travel speed and estimate his location. We need to know where hell appear in four hours so we can intercept him there!
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Chapter 412: Armor Golem
Chapter 412: Armor Golem
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ording to the Thousand Demon Ridges calctions, Lu Yi Ye should reach a valley after about four hours.
Although that terrain wasnt nearly as perfect as the canyon from before, it was still a pretty good ce to trap him.
The messages were sent, and the cultivators began converging on that valley. They were just waiting for Lu Ye to enter the valley and ept the challenge request. If Zhu Pang could hold on for an incense stick, then Lu Yi Ye would find himself in an inescapable death trap when he returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He would not be able to break free even if he was twice as powerful than he currently was!
But as the saying went, no n survives first contact with the enemy. Just two hourster, the nners received an unexpected message.
Zhu Pang has entered the battlefield!
What? Lu Yi Ye did not dy for all four hours? Where is he right now?
They were dumbfounded when the scouts reported Lu Yes location back to them. As it turned out, he was at a wide expanse big enough to fit an entire mountain or more!
It should not need to be said, but it was easily one of the worst ces to execute an ambush!
Shit! He must have noticed our n! Inform all forces to move toward Lu Yes location now! Theres no telling how long Zhu Pang canst!
The Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt stupid. Lu Yi Ye had to have figured out their n, or it made no sense that he would choose to enter the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield on a t in.
Right now, their best course of action was to mobilize their men as soon as possible and form an unbreachable encirclement around Lu Yi Yes location before the battle ended. Only then would they be able to y thebat cultivator.
As the Thousand Demon Ridge began to move, deep frustration boiled inside their hearts. Lu Yi Ye was the one being drawn into a trap here, so why did it feel like they were the ones who were being led by the nose?
While the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were rushing to Lu Yes location, the young man and Zhu Pang appeared in a small battlefield tens of meters in radius at the same time.
Logically speaking, Lu Ye should not have epted the challenge request especially since he figured out what the Thousand Demon Ridge was nning. The best way to guarantee his own safety was to reject the challenge request.
There was a problem with this method, however. If he rejected the challenge request, another challenger would challenge him. They would not stop until he was expelled from the Scroll of Supremacy.
This meant that he would have to climb to the top all over again and stay there for at least a month. Only then could he receive the Heavens reward once more. His umted time from before wouldve been wasted, not to mention the time it would take to redo the whole thing.
That was why Lu Ye had chosen to ept the challenge request. If he could defeat Zhu Pang, then no one else from the Thousand Demon Ridge could challenge him. The body-tempering cultivator would be dead or incapable of furtherbat at the end of this battle, and he did not think the female archer or Gui Yingzi would be stupid enough to risk their hides.
That said, if he took too long to defeat Zhu Pang, then the Thousand Demon Ridge would still be able to surround and kill him. That was why he was going to end this battle as soon as possible.
The white light faded, and Lu Ye spotted a brawny figure opposite him immediately.
Although Lu Ye had challenged every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator during his climb up the Scroll of Supremacy, he had never fought this Zhu Pang before. The body-tempering cultivator had rejected his challenge request. At the time, Zhu Pang was just a top forty ranker. He had no idea how the guy managed to climb to the sixth spot in such a short time.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was currently engulfed by the Yuan Metal Storm. The force field shackled everyones Spiritual Power and prevented them from channeling it even a little. However, the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield wasnt affected by it.
Lu Ye did not waste his breath on Zhu Pang. The first thing he did was to put away the booklet he received from his third senior brother safely in his Storage Bag. Then, he empowered his legs with Windwalk and rushed toward Zhu Pang like a blur.
There was a shriek of metals as a strange object wrapped around Zhu Pangs body. It looked like some sort of mechanical construct. There was a giant disc on his back and four mechanical arms on both sides of the disc. Each arm was holding a Spirit Artifact.
The mechanical arms were supposed to hold a different type of Spirit Artifact each to increase the cultivators offensive power, but Zhu Pang had changed them all to shields. Not only that, his own hands were holding a massive shield each, and they were twice as big as the other shields. To make aparison, the body-tempering cultivator was massive, but the shields still nearly covered his entire body.
All in all, the guy was carrying six Shield Spirit Artifacts in total. He was wrapped as tight as a fortress!
This was the first time Lu Ye had encountered such an opponent. It was clear that the bastard was nning to defend until the very end. If he wasnt sure that the Thousand Demon Ridge was trying to dy and entrap him, he was now.
On a rted note, this was also the first time Lu Ye encountered a Golem Master in the Scroll of Supremacys battles.
As it turned out, Zhu Pang was both a body-tempering cultivator and a Golem Master. It allowed him to enhance his defense to insane levels.
Lu Ye had to admit that his interest was piqued when Zhu Pang had summoned the mechanical construct. On the surface, the mechanical arms looked as crude and savage as a spiders limbs. In reality, he knew how much work had to go into the mechanical construct to make it function well enough to be used inbat.
The Golem Masters had a unified name for all mechanical constructs like this. They called it an Armor Golem!
Zhu Pangs Armor Golem only covered half of his body, specifically the upper torso. This wasnt the limit of Jiu Zhous Armor Golem technology, of course. Lu Ye had heard that there were Golem Masters who could build full-body Armor Golems.
Generally speaking, a full-body Armor Golem could be split into two categories: humanoid and zoological. He had picked up this knowledge from Lady Yuns books because the internal structure of an Armor Golem was filled with Glyphs. Before a Golem Master could build an Armor Golem, they had to learn how to use Glyphs.
At the time, Lu Ye was already deeply curious about Armor Golems. That said, he did not spend too much time on it as he understood the folly of biting off more than he could chew.
d in the Armor Golem, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Zhu Pang was the man with the greatest defense on the Scroll of Supremacy right now.
Lu Ye reached Zhu Pang in the blink of an eye before he leaped into the air. He then unsheathed the Invible and brought it down. At the same time, he poured an insane amount of spiritual Power into the me-wreathed saber.
sh!
His de technique was still amateurish, but Lu Ye still did not hesitate to execute it.
Against an opponent who was clearly plotting to hide behind his turtle shell and stall him for as long as possible, the only way he could defeat him in a short time was to use his strongest attack right from the get go!
One of Zhu Pangs mechanical arms immediately raised a shield in front of the body-tempering cultivator. At the same time, he injected as much Spiritual Power into the Shield Spiritual Artifact as he could. It was clear that the bastard was also going all out.
Roar! Amber roared in a timely manner.
In the previous battles, Amber never used its roar unless the enemy was trying to surrender, but this time it understood that time was of the essence. That was why it cooperated with Lu Ye from the start.
The shockwave passed through Zhu Pangs body and caused him to shake a little. The aura on his shield also turned slightly dim.
It was clear that Ambers roar had affected his cirction somewhat.
Bam! The Invible mmed into the hunk of metal and nearly forced Zhu Pang to his knees. Not only that, the Shield Spirit Artifact and even the mechanical arm holding it up had shattered into pieces!
At that moment, Zhu Pang felt like his soul had left his body. The reason he had rejected Lu Yes challenge the first time was because he was still in the middle of constructing his half-body Armor Golem with a senior uncle. Naturally, he wasnt confident he could survive a battle against Lu Ye, not to mention that his rank wasnt particrly high at the time.
After the Armor Golem wasplete, Zhu Pangs strength skyrocketed. That was why he was able to jump from the thirty plus spot all the way to the sixth spot. This was how he gained the right to challenge Lu Ye.
At the beginning, Zhu Pang was fairly confident that he would be able to dy Lu Ye for at least an incense stick. But now? His confidence had been shattered alongside his Shield Spirit Artifact!
Somehow, Lu Yi Ye had crushed his nonuple enhancement Shield Spirit Artifact and the mechanical arm holding it into pieces in one blow. Was it even possible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to unleash such an attack?
Right now, he was beyond d that he hadnt underestimated his opponent and equipped his Armor Golem with offensive Spirit Artifacts instead. Otherwise, he might as well have raised the white g already.
While Zhu Pang was distracted, Lu Ye swung his saber and used sh yet again. The body-tempering cultivator reacted swiftly and raised another shield.
The oue was exactly the same as the first. The second shield and the mechanical arm holding it had shattered into pieces.
Zhu Pang felt like someone was gouging out his heart. More than half of his fighting power came from the Armor Golem. Without exaggeration, losing two mechanical arms was the same as losing twenty percent of his strength. Even if he survived this battle, it would take a tremendous amount of resources to restore it to pristine condition.
Lu Ye wasnt doing so hot himself. His weapon arm was starting to hurt like hell after just two swings.
The problem with the imperfect de technique was that it strained his arm too much. When Lu Ye practiced it, he usually had to wait a long time before he could use it again.
This meant that he could not execute sh a third time. Otherwise, the arm was going to be useless in this battle, and he might even suffer a hidden injury.
That said, his efforts werent futile. Since Zhu Pang had lost two of his shields, what shouldve been an impregnable defense now had multiple ws that he could exploit.
In the air, Lu Ye pointed a finger at Zhu Pang and channeled his Spiritual Power. A fiery red Fire Phoenix swiftly took form and flew straight toward the gap.
Zhu Pang saw what wasing and tried to dodge to the side. He wouldve seeded if Amber hadnt roared again and caused him to stop in his tracks. By the time he tried to move again, the Fire Phoenix was already in front of him.
Left with no choice, Zhu Pang raised his shields and blocked the spell. An inferno shot into the air as the Fire Phoenix engulfed his whole body. The scent of burned flesh permeated in the air as Zhu Pang muffled a groan.
By now, Lu Ye realized that the half-body Armor Golem wasnt as unassable as he initially thought. Although thebined defense of a powerful physique and an Armor Golem was insane, the mechanical construct also slowed down the cultivator considerably. The inability to take evasive maneuvers against abat cultivator like him was its biggest weakness.
He also realized that flying weapons werent his best counter against such a tactic. Spells were. It was because spells possessed greater pration power than flying weapons.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was attempting to nk Zhu Pang. Realizing Lu Yes intention from his heavy footsteps, Zhu Pang tried to spin around and block the attack. However, Amber interrupted his movement once again by smacking a paw against his shield and causing him to stagger on his feet.
Ambers roar had never been its only ability. The tiger itself was a powerful beast whose Gold Attribute marked it as a natural, bloodthirsty predator. The reason it seldom fought in person was because Lu Ye could usually handle all the enemies by himself, and anyone he couldnt handle was of course beyond its ability as well.
This was different though. Lu Ye needed to defeat his opponent in the shortest amount of time possible, but he couldnt do so because his opponent was hiding behind a disgusting amount of protection. For once, Amber needed to unleash its full capabilities.
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Chapter 413: Surround
Chapter 413: Surround
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Zhu Pang had made one crucial error prior to entering this battle, and that was his decision to abandon offense and turtle uppletely.
Had he chosen to fight as normal, he might not have been put in such an awkward position. He thought that focusingpletely on defense would give him the safety he desperately sought, but in reality it barely did anything. He had forgotten that sometimes, the best defense was a good offense.
It couldnt be helped. Lu Ye was so infamous that he wasnt confident he could beat the young man even with an Armor Golem.
While his strategy wasntpletely unsoundhe waspletely protected at the beginninghe lost any chance of retaliation when Lu Ye managed to pry open an unblockable gap in his defense.
While Amber was smacking the body-tempering cultivator left and right with itsrge paws, Lu Ye targeted Zhu Pangs nk with deadly intent. The sharp de made Zhu Pang feel as if he had been dropped into an ice pit.
He focused his attentionpletely on Lu Ye and Amber and channeled all of his Spiritual Power to defend against their attacks. However
Boom!
One second, he felt a violent surge of Spiritual Power from his side. The next, a massive st poured through the gap of his defense and mmed into his body like a mountain. At that moment, Zhu Pang felt as if he was being rent from limb to limb. If his physique wasnt as tough as it was, the st wouldve killed him already.
Even so, the attack had shredded his protection and left a deep hole in his body. One could even see his internal organs if they looked closely!
He turned around to see what had attacked him. His pupils contracted into needles when he saw a girl channeling another powerful spell some distance away from him!
[What the]
[What is going on here?]
Zhu Pang was bbergasted to say the least. The battles of the Scroll of Supremacy had always been a one-on-one duel. He had no qualms with Lu Yi Ye bringing his Tamed Beast into the battle since it was something the Heavens allowed since the Scroll of Supremacy was a thing. After all, Beast Tamers primarily fought using Tamed Beasts. To forbid them from bringing their Tamed Beasts into the fight would be to neuter thempletely.
But who the fuck was this girl?
She couldnt possibly be a Tamed Beast, could she?
He just could not make sense of this no matter how hard he tried.
Zhu Pangs first thought was that Lu Yi Ye had used some sort of unimaginable method to circumvent the Heavens supervision and bring in a spell cultivator to kick his ass. However, he quickly discarded the idea. The Heavens were a higher existence that had been maintainingw and order since the beginning of their Cultivation World. As far as he was aware, there had never been a fairness issue regarding the Scroll of Supremacy. He could not imagine that the Heavens would screw up so badly that they would allow a spell cultivator to enter the battle of the Scroll of Supremacy and screw up the duelpletely.
He didnt get to ponder on this issue for long though. As Yi Yis spells sted him again and again, he started shaking non-stop like a boat attempting to survive a thunderstorm on the sea.
This was before mentioning that Lu Ye and Amber were attacking him non-stop as well.
His senses were screaming for him to run when he lost yet another Shield Spirit Artifact. It felt like death was breathing down his neck.
Zhu Pang wanted to surrender, but Amber would not stop roaring at him. It grew to the point where he was starting to bleed from his nose continuously. A tiny voice urged him to surrender again and again, but he just could not concentrate enough to say the words out loud.
More spells struck his muscr body when finally, a sharp de slipped through his broken defense, pierced through his lower jaw and out of his skull!
The body-tempering cultivators Spiritual Power abruptly ceased. Yi Yi dispelled her spells, and Amber retreated to a corner. That said, Amber was still in a pouncing stance just in case the body-tempering cultivator managed to pull off onest attack before his inevitable death.
Drip
Drip
Red blood dripped off Zhu Pangs chin and sshed wetly against the floor. He stared at the young man who killed him with hate, disbelief, the desire to live and many, many more emotions
Lu Ye withdrew his saber, and the blood poured out of the wound earnestly. The body-tempering cultivator hit the floor with a thud and curled up slowly. It wasnt long before an entire pool of blood appeared beneath the corpse
That was the end of the sixth ranker, Zhu Pang.
Yi Yi stepped forward and took all of Zhu Pangs valuables including the broken Armor Golem he was wearing. She then tossed the Storage Bag into Lu Yes hands before slipping back into Ambers body.
While this was happening, Lu Ye hurriedly took out a stack of bandages and healing medicine from his Storage Bag, put them all inside a normal bag, and tied it to Ambers back.
This was just the beginning. Unless he was sorely mistaken, a harsher battle awaited him when he returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield!
The Yuan Metal Storm froze any and all Spiritual Qi. The effect was so absolute that even Storage Bags were unusable during this time. That was why he had taken out his healing items and put them in a normal bag. Not only that, he also picked out a few sabers that shared almost the same shape as the Invible from his pile of loot to use as spares.
After everything was ready, Lu Ye stuffed a couple of Healing Pills into his mouth and climbed onto Ambers back. Only then did he allow the Heavens to teleport him out of the battlefield.
The first thing he saw upon returning to the Spirit Creek Battlefield was a boundless expanse. However, things were definitely not the same as they were before. His vision had just recovered when a powerful gust of wind struck Ambers body like a hammer. The tiger was huge and strong, but the attack still nearly knocked it over.
The tiger let out an angry roar and swiped in the direction where the attack came from. It was able to tear a chunk of flesh from its assant.
At the same time, Lu Ye felt a powerful attack sailing toward him. He instinctively swung his own de in response. There was a loud sh as the enemys Spirit Artifact was sent flying. He also heard his attacker crying out in surprise.
It was only now that Lu Ye saw who their attacker was. It was a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator riding a Spirit Rhino. The Rhino was the one who rammed into Amber, and the cultivator the one who attacked him.
Unfortunately for his attackers, the surprise attack wasnt enough to make up for therge disparity in strength between them. Not only did the Spirit Rhino take more damage than it dished out, its rider had fallen right off its back.
Lu Ye was about to kill the cultivator when several massive shadows charged toward him from different directions. They were all cultivators riding all sorts of Spirit Beasts.
Although Lu Ye was able to kill Zhu Pang in just a short time, some of his enemies still managed to reach his location before he finished. That was why he was attacked the second he returned to the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The good news was that their numbers were few. Amber had already leaped out of the encirclement of Spirit Beasts without waiting for Lu Ye to give it amand. While they were in the air, Lu Ye bent down and swung his saber at a cultivator who was attempting to pierce Ambers stomach with his spear.
ng! The attack was neutralized without issue, and Ambernded about thirty meters away from the encirclement. It immediately took off into the distance while the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators hurriedly turned around and gave chase.
For a time, a white tiger could be seen running across the ins while being chased by a random assortment of Spirit Beasts. Their riders cried, Lu Yi Ye is here!
Kill Lu Yi Ye!
Do not let him escape!
If someone were to look at the ground from a birds eye view, they would see many more riders converging upon Lu Yes location. There were at least thirty of them.
Lu Ye was d that he managed to kill Zhu Pang as quickly as he did. If he was even a dozen breaths slower, he wouldve had a much harder time breaking out of the Thousand Demon Ridges encirclement.
Suddenly, both Lu Ye and Amber heard a series of whistling noises from the sky. They were being attacked from the air!
The attack had caught both of them off guard. Despite Lu Yes swift reaction, he only managed to parry some of the attacks. The rest struck both him and Amber.
Everyone including Lu Ye himself thought they were fucked, but then something hrious happened. The attacks had practically bounced off both his and Ambers body!
Lu Ye looked up and saw a dozen or so bird-type Spirit Beasts flying in the sky. Their riders were raining arrows at him!
Their tactic was sound, but they hadpletely underestimated Lu Yes physique.
How powerful was an arrow without Spiritual Power, even one that was shot by a cultivator from an incredible height? The best the arrows could do was to scratch Lu Yes skin. As for Amber, the arrow couldnt even pierce its fur.
How is Lu Yi Ye so tough?
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were stunned by how ineffective the arrows were. They had thought that their aerial assault would be more than enough to kill Lu Yi Ye, but in reality that wasnt the case.
To be fair, Lu Ye was way tougher than the averagebat cultivator. His physical change had first begun at the Dragon Spring. The Dragon Spring itself didnt improve his body too much, but the dragon scale he had obtained from it was a different story. The blood qi in the dragon scale could strengthen ones physique, so Lu Ye used it whenever he could. By now, he hadpletely depleted the dragon scale.
Besides that, Shui Yuan prepared a medicinal bath that could strengthen the body every time he returned to the Crimson Blood Sects headquarters. The Blood Sturgeons in the Lunarmere could strengthen the body as well. Technically speaking, an official disciple could only receive one Blood Sturgeon per month, but Lu Ye obviously enjoyed special treatment in this regard.
His appetite was way bigger since he cultivated the Gluttonous Feast, and everything he ate was converted into his vitality. Besides that, he had also received the Heavens reward.
All things considered, it would be stranger if his physique wasnt strong. The only reason he did not look muscr was because he had never cultivated like a body-tempering cultivator.
He might be nowhere close to Ju Jias level, but he was definitely on par or stronger than the ordinary body-tempering cultivator.
Amber was even tougher than he was as it consumed most of the blood qi in the dragon scale. At least fifty percent of its blood qi had gone to the white tiger. Lu Ye came in second with thirty to forty percent, and Ju Jiast with ten to twenty percent.
Besides that, Amber was a Spirit Beast, one who had learned how to inhale and exhale the essence of a celestial body from Ju Jia no less. Physique wise, Amber was at least two or three times stronger than Lu Ye. If it activated its mutant powers, it could be immune to even a cultivators Spirit Artifact.
Now, all those refinements were paying dividends. Most cultivators wouldve taken some injuries after being treated to a rain of arrows. Assuming they took too much damage, then their death was all but certain.
However, Lu Ye and Amber were immune to the arrow shots. At first, Lu Ye still tried to parry the attacks with his saber, but ignored thempletely when he realized that they were about as harmful as a scratch.
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Chapter 414: Breaking Out
Chapter 414: Breaking Out
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The news that Lu Yi Ye had broken out of their encirclement and escaped quickly spread throughout the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Stunned, countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators checked the Scroll of Supremacy only to discover that Zhu Pang, the sixth-ced ranker who was supposed to dy thebat cultivator for an incense stick, had already vanished from the rank list!
Lu Yi Ye had vanished and reappeared at the Spirit Creek Battlefield in less than thirty breaths. This meant that Zhu Pang had been killed in that amount of time!
Just how useless was the body-tempering cultivator that he couldnt survive Lu Yi Ye for more than thirty breaths?
Despite their sessful escape, Lu Ye and Amber kept running into interceptors as they continued moving in the direction of the Myriad Poison Forest. It couldnt be helped. While most Spirit Beasts could not keep up with Amber on foot, the same could not be said for the birds flying above their heads. Since the enemy knew exactly where he was all the time, all they needed to do was to move their people in front of him.
Lu Ye did his best to circumvent these obstacles. If he couldnt, then he would fight his way through.
An hourter, they encountered yet another group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. They numbered only thirty or so people, but it was clear from their calm looks and easy breathing that they had been waiting for him for a while. Not only that, their appearance marked them all as body-tempering cultivators orbat cultivators.-
Master Of The de Chapter 27
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The Yuan Metal Storm had shackled everyones Spiritual Power, so the frail spell cultivators and ghost cultivators did not dare to show their faces at all. It was the same for medicine cultivators as a matter of course.
The group of cultivators immediately spread out into formation when they saw Lu Ye. The body-tempering cultivators took the front while thebat cultivators grabbed their Spirit Artifacts behind them.
Some of them were even shouting, Come here and die, Lu Yi Ye!
Lu Ye did not bother responding to them, of course. Amber automatically swerved to one side in an attempt to avoid the group. While he wasnt afraid of themhe was confident he could make them pay the price of their taunt evenhe was alone, and he would rather not fight unless absolutely necessary. He only had so much stamina and mental energy after all.
However, rm bells suddenly rang in Lu Yes head after Amber had traveled about a hundred meters. At the same time, Amber tripped as a massive pit abruptly appeared beneath them. It was both deep and filled to the brim with sharp weapons.
The pit trap would not have killed either of them, but it certainly wouldve put them in quite the conundrum. If they failed to make it out before the Thousand Demon Ridge group swarmed them, then they would be lucky to make it out of the pit at all.
At that moment, Lu Ye figured out what his enemies were thinking. They had purposely taunted him so he would avoid them. Once he made his decision, it did not matter if he went left or right because both sides were filled with spiked pits like this one.
The good news was that Amber had reacted quickly. It leaped with all its might the second it noticed that the ground beneath it was crumbling.
The bad news was that there were ambushers lying in wait directly ahead of them. Due to the Yuan Metal Storm, Lu Ye never noticed them until they emerged from their hiding spots and brought out a row of spiked fences. It should not need to be said, but the spikes were pointed directly at Amber.
Not only that, another six people emerged from further behind the fence while holding what looked like a massive. They were waiting to throw the web over Amber and Lu Ye.
It was clear that the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in this area were well-prepared for them. Amber was currently in the air and incapable of changing directions at all. If it mmed into the fence spikes, it was going to get hurt at best or skewered at worst no matter how tough it was.
Amber understood the grave danger it was facing and let out a furious roar. However, there was nothing it could do to fix this.
The tiger was sapient and quite familiar with the cunning nature of humanity. However, it was ultimately a Spirit Beast. It could not possibly outwit a human.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators eyes shone with delight when Amber upward momentum died and began falling toward the spikes.
It was at this moment Lu Ye abruptly jumped off Ambers back and grabbed one of itsrge ears. He then forcefully twisted his body to generate momentum before throwing Amber with everything he got.
Lu Ye was able to change Ambers trajectory, but he himself was still sailing straight toward the spiked fence. There was no time to lose. Right before the spikes would drive into his body, he grabbed one of them with his hand and pushed himself over the dangerous obstacle. He skidded about ten meters before he was able to stabilize himself.
Roar! Amber let out an angry roar as it hit the ground with a mighty thud. At the same time, a massive was thrown over his head.
To be honest, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were hoping to catch Lu Ye with the. However, Lu Ye had surprised them with his maneuver, and they werent able to get to hisnding spot immediately. So, theypromised and threw the over Amber instead.
Lu Ye was surrounded practically the second he caught himself. The thirty or so cultivators who taunted him before were racing toward him as well!
Amber roared furiously as it struggled to break free from the with all its might. If the was just an ordinary, then it couldve torn its way out of it from the beginning. However, it was clear that it was a Spirit Artifact of sorts. Although the was unable to unleash its true power because the cultivators could not inject it with Spiritual Power, it was still tough enough to keep Amber pinned!
We need more hands ASAP! This damn tiger can break out at any moment! Someone roared in anger and panic.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had underestimated Ambers strength. Before this, they were certain that six Core Circle body-tempering andbat cultivators would more than enough manpower to keep Amber pinned. In reality, not only was Amber tossing them around like puppets, it nearly managed to get close to one of theters and attack them.
A few people immediately broke away from the group of thirty and rushed to theirrades aid. They immediately grabbed hold of a corner of the Spirit Net and pin down Amber.
Amber was trapped, but Lu Ye was busy fighting his own assants. He was well aware that they were going to die here if he could not break free from his attackers and rescue Amber in time. While the number of enemies they were currently facing was still manageable, countless more were rushing to their location from every direction. The longer they were dyed here, the worse their situation would be.
He unsheathed the Invible and charged toward a body-tempering cultivator like lightning. His opponent was also holding a de-type Spirit Artifact, although his was a cleaver and not a saber. The de of the weapon was simultaneously wider and shorter than Lu Yes.
The body-tempering cultivator decided to sh des with Lu Ye when he swung the Invible at him. It was a foolish decision. His eyes widened when he felt his cleaver being torn right out of his grip!
Without Spiritual Power, the only power a cultivator could rely on was their physique. This body-tempering cultivator was just a Heaven Eight cultivator, and normally he would never dare to fight Lu Ye at close-range. At this point, there wasnt a soul in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who wasnt aware that Lu Yi Ye was capable of mowing down an entire group of Heaven Eight cultivators like ughtering a coop of chickens.
There was no one stronger than a body-tempering cultivator while Yuan Metal Storm was active. That was why he thought that he would be able to dy Lu Yi Ye for at least a little.
The reality was nothing like what he dreamed, however. Not only did Lu Yi Ye turn out to be stronger than him, there was enough force behind the attack that his cleaver had been ripped right out of his grip. His weapon hand was a bloody mess right now.
His hand would quickly be the least of his concerns. Lu Ye shed the body-tempering cultivator throat in one smooth motion before moving onto his next opponent. He never looked back as the body-tempering cultivator clutched his throat, staggered back a few steps, and copsed on the ground.
Although Lu Ye managed to kill a body-tempering cultivator in just two strikes, a few Spirit Artifacts had struck his body as well. Pain blossomed from various ces as he shook a little from the impact.
His body was tough, but not so tough that he could ignore the sharp implements like they didnt exist, not to mention that since his attackers were all cultivators from the Core Circle.
He paid no heed to his injuries though. This time, he turned his saber on a spear-wieldingbat cultivator.
Panic filled thebat cultivators expression as Lu Ye swung his weapon at him. He tried to jump to the back, but he was struck in the chest before he could even convert his thought into action.
As if he had been struck by a mountain, the guy sailed through the air like a flying weapon for at least a couple of seconds before he hit the ground with a mighty thud. His sternum waspletely shattered, and blood poured out of his ripped flesh like a fountain. It was impossible to tell if he was alive or not.
Lu Ye knew that the worst thing he could possibly do when being attacked from multiple directions was to stay in one ce. If the enemy managed to surround him, then they would be able to lead him by the nose as they pleased.
That was why he never stopped attacking and moving in a certain direction. Assuming he could cut down his enemies fast enough, no one would ever be able to attack his back. As for the attacksing from the front and the sides, he could block or ignore them depending on the situation.
In fact, he chose to ignore the attacks whaling down on his body most of the time. His objective was to repel his enemies in the shortest time possible, and the only way to do so was to suffer an injury in exchange for their lives!
It took Lu Ye only two hits to kill a body-tempering cultivator, and abat cultivator one. By the time Lu Ye broke out of the encirclement, he had left behind at least seven bodies on his trail!
And he had done this in less than ten breaths!
The Invible was dripping with blood. Lu Ye himself was marred from head to toe.
Lu Ye wasnt even close to being done though. He turned back toward his enemies, flicked off the blood on his Invible, and charged forward once more.
A powerful physique gave him speed and strength beyond what a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator should possess. The fact that everyones Spiritual Power was currently shackled by the Yuan Metal Storm only enhanced his advantage further!
Although the Thousand Demon Ridge group still outnumbered Lu Ye drastically, they could not help but be chilled by his blood-drenched body, furrowed brow, and ruthless expression!
The man had killed seven of their people in one charge. At this rate, it would take him less than a tea time to kill all of them!
Hang on! Reinforcements will be here very soon! The body-tempering cultivator closest to Lu Ye shouted in encouragement even though he was feeling quite panicked.
Another cultivator immediately echoed in agreement, Thats right! We may never get another chance like this if we do not kill him today, so do not be afraid! All we need to do is to dy him, and victory will be ours!
Lu Ye was already charging when he was speaking.
Kill! The body-tempering cultivator who shouted the encouragement earlier charged fearlessly toward Lu Ye.
Unfortunately, bravery did not trante to martial strength. Lu Ye had beheaded him in one strike.
The second charge ended just as quickly as the first. Lu Ye rued more wounds and blood from both himself and his enemies. Just likest time, he left almost ten bodies in his wake.
This time though, Lu Ye did not stop in his tracks. Instead, he charged straight toward Amber.
While he was certain he could kill every man and woman in the area, it was highly questionable if he would remainbat capable afterward. His injuries might not be serious, but even a paper cut could be fatal if there were a thousand of them, not to mention he took at least several hits for every cultivator he killed.
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Chapter 415: I’m Coming To Get You
Chapter 415: Im Coming To Get You
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The biggest problem, however, was that Amber was in danger right now.
Nearly ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were grabbing hold of the Spirit Net and holding it in ce. Amber could not break free no matter how much it struggled.
There were two bodies on the ground. One of them was obviously dead since his head was shattered, and the other person had a caved chest but was still breathing.
It was obvious that these two cultivators had been struck by Amber during the struggle, the unlucky bastards. No Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could survive a direct hit from its massive paw without Spiritual Power.
If the Spirit Net was not the only problem Amber needed to contend with, then Lu Ye might not havee to its aid so soon. The problem was the flying Spirit Beasts in the air.
At first, the scouts wanted to shoot Lu Ye and Amber to death. After discovering that their arrows did next to no damage, they simply watched Lu Ye and kept their allies updated on the situation.
Lu Ye was absolutely plowing through their allies right now. They didnt dare to harass him for fear of bing his target.-
Earthly Deity Chapter 32
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Amber was a different story though. The white tiger was currently trapped in a Spirit Net, so some of the scouts decided to have their Spirit Beasts grab each corner of the Spirit Net. They were trying to lift it into the air!
It was true that the arrows werent enough to kill Amber, but anyone could fall to their deaths given enough height!
By the time Lu Ye finally reached Amber, the tiger was already hovering at least ten meters above the ground!
Lu Ye leaped into the air with all his might before swinging his saber at one of the Spirit Beasts talons.
The Spirit Beast clearly noticed that he was a threat because it hurriedly let go of the Spirit Net and took off to the sky.
Lu Ye immediately seized the opportunity to climb up the Spirit Net. While staring at another different Spirit Beast, he raced toward it and raised his saber aggressively.
The rider wasnt going to allow Lu Ye to hit him or his Spirit Beast, of course. He immediatelymanded his mount to let go of the Spirit Net and took off to safety.
At the same time, Amber finally broke free from the Spirit Net and fell toward the ground. Lu Ye immediately stopped harassing the riders and leaped after Amber.
On the ground, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had collected themselves and spread out once more. When Amber and Lu Ye descended from above, they immediately thrust their weapons upward.
Amber roared in anger, and Lu Ye stifled a groan. At that moment, both man and tiger took a ton of wounds.
Go! Lu Ye climbed onto Ambers back and uttered through gritted teeth.
Amber immediately locked its gaze in one direction and took off at full speed. Anyone who dared to stand in their way were either sent flying by Amber or cut down by Lu Ye.
It was a short, harrowing and bloody conflict, but in the end, they were able to break out of the encirclement and escape.
The remaining Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators did not give chase. They simply stared at the escaping duo in fear and disbelief!
They had lost nearly half their numbers even though the sh was as brief as it was bloody. Worse still, they still werent able to kill Lu Yi Ye!
The battle showed them just how unreasonably powerful a cultivator could be.
They did not give chase not because they were afraid, but because they didnt have mounts. They would not have been able to catch up to him even if they tried. Also, they had technically aplished their mission. Although their casualties were horrifying, neither Lu Yi Ye nor his mount had escaped unscathed. Now, they could only leave the rest to their fellow cultivators.
While they werent pursuing Lu Yi Ye, the aerial scouts riding their flying Spirit Beasts were. Any Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator within tens of kilometers of the area only needed to look up to know where Lu Yi Ye was.
Lu Ye knew they couldnt continue like this. If he couldnt find a way to shake off the aerial scouts, it was only a matter of time before he ran into another premeditated ambush.
Thankfully, he was quite experienced in this matter. The reason the enemy could track him wherever he went was because they controlled the sky. In that case, he only needed to escape into a forest where the terrain would hide him from view. He would be able to shake off the persistent bastards then.
He couldnt open his Storage Bag and check his 10-point map, so he had to recall it by memory and identify his destination that way. Thankfully, he was able to do just that and steer Amber in the right direction.
An hourter, the man and the tiger finally escaped the seemingly boundless ins and entered a forest.
While this forest wasnt as good a hiding spot as the Misty Mountains, the trees were as tall as the canopies were thick. His enemies would be hardpressed to keep track of him even if they had control of the sky.
Amber did not stop running even after it entered the forest. It wasnt until they traveled deep into the forest that they finally managed to shake off the aerial scouts.
After that, they found a cave and entered. Both man and beast copsed on the floor almost as soon as they were out of view.
It took Lu Ye a long, long time before he was able to muster the energy to climb back to his feet and ripped off his blood-soaked clothes. He then grabbed the bag he had tied to Ambers back.
Luckily, they hadnt lost the bag during the attacks. It contained a lot of bandages, ointments, Healing Pills and various supplies.
First, he fed Amber and himself some Healing Pills. Then, he started applying the ointments to his wounds. It was painful work that caused him to hiss in pain once in a while.
A long timeter, after Lu Ye had bandaged himself like a zongzi, he proceeded to do the same for Amber.
It wasnt a good idea to start a fire for various reasons, so he and Amber could only content themselves with jerkies.
Lu Ye felt better after he appeased his growling stomach somewhat. He then leaned against the wall and shut his eyes to catch some rest. Ambery next to him and was out like a light just like that.
Unfortunately, their rest would be disturbed not even an hourter. Lu Ye opened his eyes when his ears picked up somemotion. Amber was also ncing out of the cave warily.
[Can a man not catch some rest?]
Lu Ye rose to his feet and climbed onto Ambers back. The tiger dashed out of the cave and came face to face with a squad of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
Lu Ye had the element of surprise this time, so the battle was over almost as soon as it began. A swipe here, a sh there, and the entire squad was dead just like that.
Lu Ye picked up the loot as quickly as he could. Then they took off once more, moving deeper into the forest.
The Thousand Demon Ridge knew that this was their best chance to kill Lu Yi Ye. They knew where he was, and the Yuan Metal Storm stopped him from being able to use his Spiritual Power and outfly all of them. If they could surround him, then he was dead for sure.
No one was willing to miss this opportunity. If the Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt going all out before, they were now.
As a result, Lu Ye and Amber were unable to hide in one ce for long even in this ancient forest. No matter where they hid themselves, it only took their enemies an hour at most to find them. This situation would continue for a couple more days.
The continuous battles gave Lu Ye and Amber almost no time to rest. Both man and tiger were weary to say the least.
Thankfully, they had the superior quality honey Lu Ye had stolen from the wasp nest. It was one of the main reasons they were able to hang on until now.
Lu Ye knew this couldnt continue, though. At first, he thought they were safe after they shook off the eyes in the sky. However, he had underestimated his enemys determination to kill him. They werent going to stop until he was dead.
In the end, the Myriad Poison Forest was his only refuge. As long as he could get there, the Thousand Demon Ridge could sacrifice every cultivator they had, and they still wouldnt be able to get their hands on him.
His mind made up, he and Amber caught onest rest before resuming their great escape.
Half a dayter, Amber and Lu Ye burst out of the forest and headed straight toward Myriad Poison Forest!
It didnt take long before the Thousand Demon Ridge discovered Lu Yes whereabouts. An unimaginable amount of cultivators began pouring out of the forest. Those with a mount that could keep up with Amber gave chase immediately, though most of them were unable to participate in the pursuit. Not everyone had a Tamed Beast after all.
It was a grand spectacle if nothing else.
Lu Ye and Amber spent as little time fighting the Thousand Demon Ridge as possible. Right now, there was nothing more important than making it back to the Myriad Poison Forest.
Amber took almost no breaks on the way. Near the end, its entire body even started steaming as if it was overheating.
Three whole dayster, the Myriad Poison Forest was finally within view. Unfortunately, the Thousand Demon Ridge had figured out his destination as well. Although they didnt know how he managed to survive the forbidden zone, it was clear that he was nning to escape into the Myriad Poison Forest once more. If he seeded, then this operation would end in failure yet again.
That was why they couldnt allow Lu Yi Ye to enter the Myriad Poison Forest no matter what!
By using the flying Spirit Beasts as transports, the Thousand Demon Ridge was able to move their manpower to the Myriad Poison Forest in just a short time.
By the time Lu Ye reached the edge of the forest, a defense line made up of almost two hundred cultivators was waiting for him!
Steam continued to rise off Ambers body as it slowed down. It stared at the hordes of enemies in front of them and growled threateningly.
Lu Ye was exhaling behind Ambers back as well.
If the Yuan Metal Storm hadnt happened, he might have been able to break through the defense line. At the very least, he would be able to escape using Windwalk or Soar.
But without his Spiritual Power? There was no chance he could make it even if he was at peak form, and both him and Amber were nearing theirst legs after three days of non-stop escape.
Lu Yi Ye! Someone shouted from the other side. Come and fight us!
It was never honorable to overwhelm an enemy with numbers, then again, Lu Yi Ye must have killed at least a thousand Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators by this point. When it came to thebat cultivator, honor had ceased being a thing a long, long time ago. Any price was eptable as long as they could kill Lu Yi Ye.
After all, they would only lose more allies if he was allowed to live.
While Amber was pacing back and forth across the defense line, Lu Ye tapped his Battlefield Imprint and sent out a message, I dont think well be able to make it through. Ill try to circle around and see if I can break through from a different direction.
That was what he said, but he knew that the n was more than likely to end in failure. If he could circle around, his enemies could as well. For as long as they had eyes on him, the chances he might be able to slip back into the forest was almost zero.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was massive, but there were only two ces he could seek refuge right now. The first ce was the poisonous forest in front of him. The second ce was the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost. There, anyone stupid enough to intrude their territory would have to face Beakys wrath. Not even the Thousand Demon Ridge would challenge a flying Tyrant to kill him.
However, the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost was located in the outermost ring of the Outer Circle. To say that it was far away would be a gross understatement. With Ambers speed, it could run for a month and still not make it to the Outpost.
That was why the Myriad Poison Forest was still his only hope.
[I can only do my best and pray that the Heavens will have mercy on me!]
Lu Ye was just thinking this when he suddenly received a response. Stay there and dont move. Iming to get you!
The reply came from Hua Ci, of course. She had been paying close attention to Lu Yes activity this whole time. She was well aware that he was being hunted.
Lu Ye frowned. It sounded like Hua Ci had a n, and he wondered what it was.
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Chapter 416: History Repeats Itself
Chapter 416: History Repeats Itself
There was no denying that Hua Ci hadpletely broken free of themon sense that usually applied to medicine cultivators after obtaining her inheritance. Not only could she treat the ill and y the wicked, the wicked wouldnt even find out that she was their killer until it was toote.
However, Lu Ye wasnt sure if she could help considering the odds that were pitted against them.
Outside the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye was in a terse stand-off against two hundred plus Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Since Lu Ye wasnt moving, of course the Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt moving either. It wasnt because they didnt want to kill Lu Ye, but because their numbers werecking. If they were to charge him now, he was one hundred percent going to run away again.
Dragging out this stand-off was advantageous for the Thousand Demon Ridge because it meant that theirrades would have more time to assemble.
Of course, they hoped that Lu Ye would attack them. That would save them all the trouble of having to chase and entrap him. There was no way he could defeat the two hundred of them no matter what he tried.
Besides that, there were flying Spirit Beasts circling the sky and constantly transporting more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators over.-
Gordon Ryan''s Journey to Five A...
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Please enable JavaScriptGordon Ryan''s Journey to Five ADCC World Championships!
Someone shouted from the line of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, You cant escape, Lu Yi Ye! Just get over here and ept your death already!
Lu Ye ignored the taunt and continued chewing his Healing Pills.
Suddenly, Lu Ye looked up at his enemies. They were looking a little restless all of a sudden.
Meanwhile, at the Thousand Demon Ridges defense line, a good number of people were holding a hand to their ear with a puzzled expression. It was because they were hearing odd noises from the forest behind them.
Whats that? Someone asked while looking behind them. However, the Myriad Poison Forest was covered in a poisonous fog. It was impossible to see much without going deeper.
More people tried to listen for the strange noise. It wasnt long before they heard what sounded like a series of rustling noises; something like what one might hear when a many-legged insect was crawling across the ground. They could also hear the faint buzzing of wings.
Whoosh
Suddenly, an incredible amount of moths and butterflies rushed out of the poisonous fog. They were headed straight toward the Thousand Demon Ridges defense line.
Everyone in the area nched immediately. The Myriad Poison Forest wasnt just filled with poisonous fog. It was covered in deadly creatures as well.
When Lu Ye was still trapped in the Myriad Poison Forest, a lot of people had ventured into the forest to drag him out of his hidey-hole. However, all they found were a ton of deadly creatures and nts. Some of them had even died as a result of such encounters.
These colorful moths and butterflies were among the most poisonous creatures in the forest. They werent too deadly, but they scattered a kind of dust that would cause even a cultivator to feel itchy all over. It would be an extremely unpleasant experience if nothing else.
That was why the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators panicked and scattered as soon as they saw the moths and butterflies. Some were even hitting them with their Spirit Artifacts.
Dont attack them! Just dodge! Someone yelled in panic.
The insects did not discharge much dust if they werent attacked. But if they were, then the amount would increase considerably.
Without their Spiritual Power to protect them, a cultivator could hardly avoid the tiny, near invisible dust no matter how fast they were. Countless people were inflicted with a terrible itchiness instantly!
While the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were falling into disarray due to the massive amount of moths and butterflies, a cry suddenly broke out, Spiders!
A Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator who was busy scratching his itch yelled, This is the Myriad Poison Forest! Of course there are spiders!
He was going to say more, but then he saw what his fellow cultivator had and abruptly paused in his tracks. Fear slowly crept onto his face.
It was perfectly normal to find a spider or two outside the Myriad Poison Forest. But what if there were hundreds, thousands? And what if they were all headed their way?
That wasnt all. They also saw scorpions, ants, venomous toads, venomous snakes and more creatures that they had never even seen before. It was like the creatures of the Myriad Poison Forest had chosen today of all days to have a group exit!
The grassy ground was crawling with these creatures. It was literally impossible to count them all. There were even forty-meter long giant boas that spat out a kind of green fog in the mix. Any cultivator who inhaled the fog would literally turn green in the face before falling to the ground, unable to move a muscle.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators screamed and ran and screamed as they tried to avoid the stampede of poisonous creatures. Many times, someone would identally step on an insect and was rewarded with a puff of aquamarine smoke to the face. Countless people suffered, and chaos reigned supreme for a time.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was already riding Amber toward a gap in the defense line.
He did not know how Hua Ci had done this, but it was clear that she was the one who caused this stampede. He had no idea she possessed such an ability.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators on the ground were unable to pay attention to Lu Yi Ye. How could they when their very lives were in grave danger?
The aerial scouts were the only ones who noticed the young mans movement, but their numbers were too few to dy Lu Ye for even an instant. They had no choice but to watch Lu Ye getting closer and closer to the Myriad Poison Forest until finally, they lost track of him.
With this, the Thousand Demon Ridges operation to kill Lu Yi Ye had ended in failure once more. He had seeded in escaping into the forestst time, and now it had happened yet. It would seem that history had repeated itself.
Unlike thest time though, it was pure luck that saved his life instead of an unknown skill. For whatever reason, the natives of the Myriad Poison Forest had chosen today of all days to stampede. As a result, the Thousand Demon Ridges formation waspletely annihted.
But was it really luck that saved Lu Yi Ye?
It was impossible not to suspect that thebat cultivator had something to do with the stampede, although they were unable to figure out exactly what he did. Lu Yi Ye was at least a full kilometer away from the Myriad Poison Forest at the time. He literally did nothing besides resting on his tigers back and chewing his pills. Even if he was the culprit behind the stampede, he could not have done it from so far away.
That said, it was too coincidental. Also, they still hadnt figured out how Lu Yi Ye managed to stay in the Myriad Poison Forest for days.
The first time he was trapped in the forest, the Thousand Demon Ridge believed that it was only a matter of time before he died. Now, no one was expecting anything.
Inside the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye and Amber didnt go far before they saw a familiar figure waving at them. It was of course Hua Ci.
After Amber trotted up to the medicine cultivator, and Lu Ye pulled her up its back, she asked seriously, Are you hurt badly?
She was serious because both Lu Ye and Amber looked absolutely horrible. Lu Yes upper torso was covered in wounds, and his pants were dyed red with blood.
Theyre just flesh wounds.
Hua Ci let out a sigh of relief.
An hourter, they finally returned to the wooden building.
Before the Yuan Metal Storm urred, the wooden building was protected by a defensive ward. Nothing could enter it so long as it had Spiritual Power.
Besides that, Lu Ye had left behind a Central Ward as well.
However, the defensive ward had stopped working because the World Spiritual Qi was frozen solid. Naturally, the ce was now as poisonous as everywhere else in the forest.
Lu Ye was immune to poison since he had the Tree of Glyphs. He was safe as long as it had fuel. However, Amber did not have such an ability, and it wasnt like Hua Ci could stay by its side twenty-four seven. Not in its current form anyway.
Amber cant change forms now, can he? Hua Ci asked.
If Amber could assume its cat form, then she would be able to carry it at all times and shield it from the poison.
Give me a moment, Lu Ye said before connecting his mind to the Scroll of Supremacy. He was currently the champion, followed by the female archer he had fought before and a Grand Sky Coalition cultivator from a Tier-One sect in Ding Zhou named Han Tiejun.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye had never crossed paths with this man. It was fine though. He simply needed to find someone who knew him and asked them to carry a message for him.
Amber was unable to switch forms because it required Spiritual Power to perform, and the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was covered in the Yuan Metal Storm right now. However, the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield was different. He had already confirmed that it wasnt affected by the Yuan Metal Storm.
He looked inside his Battlefield Imprint and sent out a dozen or so messages. A whileter, he received a challenge request.
Lu Ye epted the request and chose the terrain. His figure immediately turned transparent.
Lu Ye and a now aquamarine-colored Amber appeared in the battlefield at the same time. Standing on the opposite side was a young man with a sharp aura.
Lu Ye sped his hand in greeting. Are you Fellow Cultivator Han Tiejun?It is I.
Thank you very much for your help, fellow cultivator! Lu Ye said.
The bad thing about being the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy was that there wasnt anyone he could challenge. That was why he had to ask Han Tiejun to challenge him to enter the battlefield.
Youre wee, Fellow Cultivator Yi Ye. I have heard about your situation. How are you doing? Do you need us to assist you?
Its okay. Ive managed to slip back into the Myriad Poison Forest. The Thousand Demon Ridge can harm me no longer.
Han Tiejun looked impressed. You are incredible, fellow cultivator.
While the two men were speaking, Amber shivered once before discharging a good amount of mutant energy. It quickly shrank to the size of a cat before leaping onto Lu Yes shoulder.
Han Tiejun quickly left since he wasnt actually trying to challenge Lu Ye. He was just helping Lu Ye by giving him the opportunity to enter the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield.
Lu Ye exchanged imprints with the man before they parted ways because he had a feeling that they would cross paths again in the future.
After that, Lu Ye exited the battlefield as well.
Hua Ci grabbed Amber and cured it from its poison first. It was only then that she treated Lu Ye. However, there were many methods she couldnt use because she was unable to channel her Spiritual Power.
Thankfully, most of the wounds he received were flesh wounds due to his tough physique. They would recover given enough time.
Themotion outside the forest had subsided as well.
Now that the Three Sages Schools Outpost was breached, the Thousand Demon Ridge no longer had any way to force him to exit the Myriad Poison Forest.
In fact, Lu Ye swore to himself that he wasnt leaving until he had reached Heaven Nine!
He was already the champion at Heaven Eight. If he cultivated to Heaven Nine, then no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield could threaten him anymore.
In the wooden building, Lu Ye recuperated while studying the booklet his third senior brother had entrusted his son to pass to him again and again.
He was able to learn a lot.
Svin: Double release this week to catch up. Sorry about missingst week. Also, Happy Chinese New Year!
Chapter 417: Blade Communion
Chapter 417: de Communion
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Looking at the notes, Lu Ye could tell that his third senior brother, Xiao Xinghe, did not use the same weapon as him. The Invible was a saber, while his third senior brothers weapon was a massive de with a mboyant design. Therefore, many of his insights were not really suitable for Lu Ye.
That said, he found himself resonating with many of Xiao Xinghes more generic insights. Despite the contrasting designs, they both fell under the same fighting style: the de.
In fact, the generic insights were exactly what Lu Ye needed right now. Even the unsuitable ones could be used as reference materials. This was what the ancients meant when they created the saying, A rock is no jade, but it can be used to refine one.
Despite Lu Yes achievements, his cultivation was actuallycking in many ways. It was because he was basically a self-study since the day he unlocked his first Spiritual Point. Neither Shui Yuan, the Sect Master, or Lady Yun were able to help him much especially when it came to de techniques. No one had ever given him a systematic education in the cultivation of des.
Normally, a sect cultivator would be tutored by an experienced instructor. In Lu Yes case, he needed to find an experienced de tutor to teach him.
However, the Crimson Blood Sect did not have such a person. In fact, the sect was only made up of Shui Yuan and the Sect Master before he officially entered the sect. The former was a medicine cultivator, and thetter a spell cultivator. He doubted that they had touched a de their whole lives.-
Master Of The de Chapter 27
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Please enable JavaScriptMaster Of The de Chapter 27
That was why his current attainment in de techniques was purely the result of his blood, sweat and tears. Not only was it an iplete style with no particrly powerful techniques, it was mostly based on convenience. Any way that could kill the enemy faster was an eptable way so to speak.
A style built purely on ending the enemys life in the shortest amount of time possible wasnt bad. In fact, it was incredibly dominant against enemies who were weaker than him. However, battles against powerful foes who were on par or stronger than him were also much longer. Theck of explosive finishing moves was a major reason for this.
Right now, Lu Yes biggest w in terms of de techniques was hisck of finishing moves. He had already realized this after the battle against Shi Guang. That was why he had created sh. Unfortunately, he was unable to perfect the finishing move to this day.
His third senior brothers insights had inspired him greatly. It was exactly what he needed right now.
If the Yuan Metal Storm hadnt appeared out of nowhere, Xiao Xinghe would have requested Lu Ye to visit the Blue Emperor Citys headquarters so he could teach him in person. Since the Yuan Metal Storm had disabled the Divine Opportunity Columns ability to teleport between Jiu Zhou and the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had no choice but to entrust Xiao Changhe to pass his insights to Lu Ye instead.
In the building, Lu Ye was sitting in a meditative position and holding his palms upward. The Invible was lying quietly on his hands.
While inhaling and exhaling deeply, he tried to sense the saber in front of him.
This was a cultivation method. ording to his third senior brothers notes, Spirit Artifacts were more than just weapons, and those that had survived thick and thin with their master and wet their appetite on their enemys blood even more so. At this level, a Spirit Artifact wasnt just a Spirit Artifact anymore. It was a lifelong partner that their master could entrust their life to!
By using this special cultivation method, the de cultivator could forge a profound connection with their weapon and achieve what people called the de Communion!
Or so his third senior brother imed. To be honest, Lu Ye thought that this was just superstition. After all, a Spirit Artifact was just an object. How could it possibly form a spiritual connection with him?
Still, he decided to give it a try. Lu Ye was nning to cultivate for a couple of days straight and see if things would work for him. If it didnt, then he would ask his third senior brother for guidance when he had a chance.
It should be obvious, but the Invible was the Spirit Artifact he had chosen tomune with. Since he embarked on this journey, he had used only three Spirit Artifacts in his life. The first one was Manager Yangs sword, and the second one was a saber he had obtained from his enemies at Green Cloud Mountain. The de shared almost the same shape as the Invible, but unfortunately it was destroyed during the Battle of Goldentip because it was too weak.
After the Battle of Goldentip, Lu Ye had purchased the Invible from the Vault of Providence. He was only a Fifth-Order cultivator back then.
Today, the de had apanied him for over a year, and he literally could not remember how many foes he had in with it.
Lu Ye was extremely pleased with the saber. Even if his cultivation outstripped the de in the future, he was nning to buy a better Spirit Artifact with the exact same shape.
At first, Lu Ye couldnt feel anything special. Then, he felt as if the saber in his hand was actually breathing in tandem with him. The feeling was weak at the beginning, but it gradually grew to the point where it felt like his saber was truly alive!
At some point, something suddenly shed inside the dim room. It was also apanied by the sound of something being unsheathed, jolting Lu Ye out of his trance. When he looked down, he saw that the Invible had been unsheathed partially before he knew it!
Right now, the Invible felt very different from usual. Instead of a tool that was purely used to y his enemies, it actually felt like an extension of his own body!
He unsheathed the saberpletely and gave it a casual wave or two. The movement felt much more smoother and natural like yes, like he was moving his own fingers!
[Is this what they call a de Communion?]
Lu Ye clicked his tongue in amazement. He did not think that this particr section of his third senior brothers notes was true. He was even more surprised that he had seeded so easily even though he didnt really think it would work.
His cultivation level hadnt increased, and his number of Spiritual Points was exactly the same as before. However, Lu Ye knew that he had taken a big step on the Way of des.
[Theres something else]
Lu Ye thought for a moment before sheathing the saber. Then, he closed his eyes and tossed the de and the sheath somewhere. He maintained the special cultivation method while doing so.
Because he had closed his eyes before he threw the Invible, he did not know where he had tossed his saber. However, he could vaguely sense where it was even though his eyes were still closed!
He rose to his feet and slowly took seven steps in a certain direction. Then, he bent down and extended his hand. He was able to grab the Invible in first try!
With this, the first step to cultivate his de technique wasplete!
Lu Ye thought only a short time had passed, but his growling stomach told a different story. When he inquired Hua Ci about it, he was even more surprised to learn that three days had passed since he began his training.
Lu Ye almost thought that the woman was tricking him yet againhe really didnt feel like that much time had passedbut when he messaged an acquaintance, he realized that it really had been three days.
Later, Hua Ci served Lu Ye a table full of nightmarish-looking food because of his distrust. He couldnt even escape because Hua Ci was standing right there and smiling at him. He forced himself to eat them all while Amber watched on with a sympathetic look on his face.
Once his appetite was satisfied, Lu Ye returned to the third floor and sat down once more. He started breathing while holding his saber again.
Just because he had achieved de Communion with the Invible didnt mean that he was done. The method was supposed to be performed continuously so that his connection with his saber would continue to deepen. The greater the connection, the more powerful his attacks would be!
Lu Ye made up his mind to spend two hours cultivating this special cultivation method every day after that. Unlike other cultivators, he did not need to inhale or exhale Spiritual Power when cultivating, so he might as well spend some of that time cultivating his connection with his saber.
Two hourster, he left the wooden building and went to the courtyard. However, Hua Ci was nowhere to be seen. He was sure that that woman was cultivating at her secret spot as usual, and frankly Lu Ye was a little curious about her methods. Ever since she came to the Myriad Poison Forest, her cultivation had been improving by leaps and bounds. He strongly suspected that she was close to achieving Heaven Nine.
At the courtyard, Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible and assumed a pose. Then, he channeled his vitality into his right arm exactly as his third senior brother had mentioned in the booklet and swung the weapon!
Since he couldnt channel his Spiritual Power, the attack wasnt really all that powerful. However, Lu Ye could tell that it was faster and stronger than his normal attacks!
[So this is what Ive been missing all this time!]
Previously, he had been trying to perfect sh to no avail. It was because he kept feeling like he was missing something. He finally realized what it was after going through his third senior brothers insights. The de technique was missing his vitality!
Normally, he executed sh by channeling his Spiritual Power into the Spirit Artifact and swinging the saber via brute strength. The former was instinct, and thetter was a product of a powerful physique.
Most of the time, cultivators fought using Spiritual Power. In that sense, a cultivator without Spiritual Power was like a mortal with a stronger body than normal.
It was only now that Lu Ye realized one of the biggest problems with his fighting style.
He relied too much on his Spiritual Power and too little on his own body.
Before this, his sh was made up of eighty percent Spiritual Power and twenty percent physical strength. It might even be less than that.
sh would be perfect if he could increase the percentage of his physical strength to forty or even fifty percent. His explosive power would skyrocket as well.
So how could a cultivator more effectively channel their physical strength?
By shifting their blood!
Vitality was the source of ones physical strength. Why were body-tempering cultivators physically stronger than all other factions? It was because they possessed a lot of vitality. And why was Lu Ye physically stronger than the average body-tempering cultivators? It was because his vitality was greater than theirs.
However, he had never learned how to use his tremendous vitality properly. It was basically a mountain of treasure that had been left to waste until now.
The Blood Shifting technique was the perfect solution to this problem.
Once again, his third brothers booklet of insights had aided Lu Ye tremendously.
Now was the time to cultivate the Blood Shifting technique because the Yuan Metal Storm not only froze the World Spiritual Qi, but also the Spiritual Power in a cultivators body. Right now, the only power he could rely on was his vitality!
The environment also helped him to perceive the flow of his vitality better.
He concentrated hard to focus his vitality in his weapon arm. In just a moment, the arm had turned red and hotter than normal!
Lu Ye did not stop until he felt like he could push any further. It was only then he swung his saber!
A blood red sh came and went. It wasnt the light of his Spiritual Power, but his vitality.
This attack was at least fifty percent stronger than the one before!
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Chapter 418: Lan Zi Yi
Chapter 418: Lan Zi Yi
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Lu Yes weapon arm turned sore and swollen after executing the finishing move. Not only did his skin turn as red as a boiled lobster, steam was rising out of the pores.
For a time, the arm would not stop shaking. Lu Ye had to clench and unclench his fist repeatedly until it finally began to recover.
He recalled the move and felt like his hard work was finally rewarded.
For the longest time, he had to explore his path of cultivation himself. He never knew what was right and what wasnt. But now, his third senior brothers booklet was like a guiding light that illuminated the path in front of him.
A tea timeter, after Lu Ye felt that his arm hadpletely recovered, he executed sh once more.
After six hours had passed, he switched hands and practiced with his left hand instead. He wouldnt stop until he literally couldnt continue any further.
That night, when Hua Ci returned from her cultivation, she was surprised to find Lu Ye standing at the courtyard and doing seemingly nothing in particr. His arms were hanging casually beside him while the Invible was nted beside his feet.
When their eyes met, Lu Ye immediately cried, Help!-
World of Cultivation Chapter 7
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Please enable JavaScriptWorld of Cultivation Chapter 7
Surprised, Hua Ci blinked and looked at him again. It was then she realized that his arms had be as swollen as his thighs. It was a stunning sight to say the least.
After a quick check, she determined that Lu Yes condition wasnt as serious as it looked. It was just a matter of his vitality bing clogged in his arms. After she calmed down, she asked him what the hell he was doing and learned that it was the result of his de practice. She could barely resist rolling her eyes at him.
The reason he looked like this was because he had umted too much vitality in his arms, and he did not reduce the swelling in time. That was why restoring it wasnt a problem. After a series of ps and massagesto improve the blood circtionand a full nights rest, Lu Yes arms returned to normal.
The same thing happened again the next day. Thankfully, it wasnt as bad since Lu Ye knew what to expect and tried to restrain himself a little.
For the next couple days, Lu Ye practiced his de technique during the day and received Hua Cis treatment at night. As his skill increased, the side effects of the Blood Shifting technique also decreased over time.
One day, Hua Ci was treating Lu Yes arms when she asked suddenly, Did you check the Scroll of Supremacytely?
No. Why?
He used to check the Scroll of Supremacy very frequently, but that stopped after he had be the champion. It was because there were very few people who could threaten him at this stage.
Check it.
Lu Yeplied and connected his mind to the Scroll of Supremacy. Then, he started looking through the list from bottom to top. The rank list had changed a little, and some familiar names were nowhere to be seen. They had probably ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
He noticed something wrong when he reached the seventieth cement. It was because almost everyone between the fortieth and seventieth spot was Thousand Demon Ridge. Only a handful of them belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition!
[Now where have I seen this before?]
The same thing had happened when Lu Ye was challenging the Scroll of Supremacy, and he had done it by challenging and killing every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator above him.
He immediately trained his gaze on the thirty-eighth ranker. It was someone named Lan Zi Yi!
He had never seen this name before, but he was fairly sure that theyshe, if her feminine name was any indicationhad only started climbing the Scroll of Supremacy recently.
You saw it? Hua Ci asked.
When did she start challenging the Scroll of Supremacy?
Yesterday.
Lu Ye was surprised. If what she said was true, then this Lan Zi Yi was climbing the Scroll of Supremacy even faster than he had.
Shes very strong. Im sure shes gunning for you, so watch your back, Hua Ci warned.
Infinite Ind Lu Ye muttered thoughtfully. The memory was old, but he was sure he had crossed paths with someone from this sect before.
If he remembered correctly, the guy named Luo Ji he had encountered at the Split Sky Gorge was a member of the Infinite Ind.
As expected of a Tier-One sect. Luo Ji had cultivated a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique from the get go, and now this Lan Zi Yi was ripping through the Scroll of Supremacy
Hua Ci thought that Lan Zi Yi was targeting him. He was almost certain that she was right.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had made multiple attempts to kill him to no avail. Now that he had made it back to the Myriad Poison Forest, he was well and truly out of their reach. The only way left for them to kill him was to challenge him via the Scroll of Supremacy.
However, he was the champion for a reason. Nearly every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker who fought him had perished by his hands, and not even a former champion like Shi Guang was a match for him.
Out of everyone he knew, the deceased Yan Xing might be the only one left who stood a chance against him.
Now, a new challenger had arrived. Not only was this woman climbing the rank list the same way he did, no one from the Grand Sky Coalition was able to stop her so far. Even worse, she had surpassed his speed and made it to the thirty-eighth rank in just a day
While Lu Ye and Hua Ci were talking, Lan Zi Yis cement abruptly vanished and reappeared on the thirty-sixth spot. At the same time, the former thirty-sixth ranker had vanishedpletely from the Scroll of Supremacy. It was clear that the ranker was dead.
Obviously, there was only one reason Lan Zi Yi would copy Lu Yes method of climbing and choose now to climb the Scroll of Supremacy of all times.
How many more days do you have left before you receive the second reward? Seven? Eight? Hua Ci asked.
Lu Ye calcted in his head before answering, Seven!
It had been twenty three days since hest received the Heavens reward.
Every time he received the Heavens reward, Lu Ye would be visibly stronger than he was before. If Lan Zi Yi really was gunning for him, then she would challenge him before he entered the Pool of Heavens. She would not give him the chance to grow stronger.
At her current speed, she might challenge him as soon as tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Sudden anticipation welled inside Lu Yes heart. Currently, there was no one left in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who could give him a real fight and allow him to verify his skills. Getting into a fight was simplehe only needed to leave the Myriad Poison Forest and expose himself to the world, and the world would swarm him from every direction like bees to honeybut it would be a one-versus-many battle, and the best way to verify ones strength was to pit oneself against a powerful foe.
Considering Lan Zi Yis climbing speed, she could not possibly be a weakling. Although he felt like he had improved a lot as ofte, training was ultimately just training. Just like how a test was the only way to verify the fruit of ones studies, a good fight was the only way to verify thebor of his training. Assuming that this Lan Zi Yi was as strong as she seemed, she would be the perfect whetstone for him.
Meanwhile, Lan Zi Yis abrupt ascension had caught the eyes of countless cultivators from both factions.
Before Lu Ye hade under scrutiny, no one had ever managed to kill more than a dozen or so rankers, much less challenge every one of them. This greatly infuriated the Thousand Demon Ridge as a matter of course.
Even worse was the fact that Lu Yi Ye had done the impossible and be the champion in one fell swoop.
As if that wasnt bad enough, everything the Thousand Demon Ridge had pitted against him had ended in failure so far.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had be a mountain that pressed down on their shoulders all the time. They could barely breathe because of him.
There was a light at the end of the tunnel, however. Finally, their faction had produced a simrly outstanding talent! While she wasnt able to y every ranker in her path, her climbing speed was even better than Lu Yi Yes. Everyone was looking forward to the moment where Lan Zi Yi acquired the right to challenge the champion. When it happened, they would know who was the true king or queen of the Spirit Creek Realm!
In the courtyard, Lu Ye was practicing his de technique as usual when he suddenly received a message from Han Tiejun. It said, Beware of that woman! Shes strong and yful!
He understood Han Tiejuns first sentence, but not the second. He already knew that Lan Zi Yi was strong. Forget that he had never underestimated an opponent, her climbing speed made it pretty clear that she was no one to be trifled with.
What did he mean by yful though?
Also, had Han Tiejun fought against Lan Zi Yi already?
Lu Ye quickly checked the Scroll of Supremacy. As expected, Han Tiejun had dropped from the third ce to the fifth ce.
Are you alright? Lu Ye replied.
Im grievously wounded!
Not bad!
What do you mean, not bad? Im grievously wounded!
Anyway, you really should be careful of her. I do not think shes weaker than you. For starters, I wasnt able to force her into revealing her true strength. Not only that, I felt as if shes just been toying with me the whole fight.
I see. Got it.
After the conversation ended, Lu Ye considered his options before contacting Hua Ci. He also stopped his practicepletely.
Although his arms never swelled like the first day again, the practice still cost a lot of stamina. Not knowing when Lan Zi Yi would challenge him, he needed to ensure that he was in peak form until then.
Hua Ci quickly returned and treated his arms. He then returned to the third floor, adopted a meditative stance and swallowed a few Spirit Pills. Finally, he ced the Invible on his knees and cultivated using the special method.
Since Lan Zi Yi had be the second runner-up, it meant that the anticipated battle was right around the corner. At that moment, countless Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were paying attention to the Scroll of Supremacy and looking forward to finding out who was the stronger between the two.
In fact, the social war had begun even before the battle itself. Right now, the cultivators of both factions were busy ming the hell out of each other. The Thousand Demon Ridge imed that this fight was inherently unfair because Lu Yi Ye had already received the Heavens reward.
The Grand Sky Coalition immediately retorted by saying yes, this fight was unfair because Lu Ye was just a Heaven Eight, and Lan Zi Yi a Heaven Nine
The retort had struck the Thousand Demon Ridge like a hammer and silenced them for a bit. It was because they suddenly realized that the Grand Sky Coalition was right. Lu Yi Ye really was just a Heaven Eight.
Even if Lan Zi Yi emerged victorious, she could not prove that she was the strongest cultivator at the Spirit Creek Realm. When Lu Yi Ye had reached Heaven Nine, he would be able to challenge her a second time for the throne.
On the other hand, there was no second chance for Lan Zi Yi. If she lost here, then all hope was lost.
If she couldnt beat Lu Yi Ye when he was Heaven Eight, then there was no chance she could do it when he was Heaven Nine.
That was why she only had one chance. Lan Zi Yi must be the champion if she wished to defeat Lu Yi Ye for even a moment.
The social war was at its height when Lu Ye abruptly opened his eyes.
He felt a disturbance in his Battlefield Imprint.
Lan Zi Yi had issued him a challenge!
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Chapter 419: What To Do
Chapter 419: What To Do
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Lu Ye epted the request and chose the terrain. Both man and tiger disappeared as the Heavens invisible power descended from the skies.
As usual, his choice of terrain was the arena that was only a hundred meters in radius. He waited for the white light to disappear before looking opposite him.
On the other side of the arena was a woman in purple clothes. She was a tall, slender woman with an angelic face and a devilish figure. She also exuded a kind of elegance and tranquility.
Perhaps it was intentional, but Lan Zi Yi was wearing a purple dress just like her name. It was fitting if nothing else.
Lu Ye focused his gaze and raised his eyebrows imperceptibly. Lan Zi Yi was observing him as well. They were both the strongest cultivators of their respective factions. They were watching one another not because they appreciated the other persons existenceif anything, they would love to see their opponent deadbut because it was just natural to observe your opponent before a big battle.
Lan Zi Yi didnt look like she was carrying a Spirit Artifact. Lu Ye wondered if this meant that she was a spell cultivator.
On the other hand, her outfit did not seem to match that description.-
Descent of the Legendary Archmage C...
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Please enable JavaScriptDescent of the Legendary Archmage Chapter 1
In any case, all he needed to do to find out was to fight her.
There was a buzz as nine flying weapons exited his Weapon Holder like ferocious tigers. They crossed over half the distance in the blink of an eye.
Lan Zi Yi raised her hand and pointed. A stream of refined Spiritual Power joined together to form a thread before shooting toward the flying weapons.
It wasnt a spell. It was just Lan Zi Yis Spiritual Power being manifested outside her body and controlled very precisely. However, it was on par with most spells in terms of power.
What was even more surprising was the fact that it split into nine threads in mid-air. They flew toward the flying weapons and blocked them all.
That wasnt all. More lines of Spiritual Power were shooting out of her hand until they formed what looked like a giant web. It then sailed toward Lu Ye and threatened to catch him.
The web of Spiritual Power was massive. There was no way he could dodge it even with Windwalk.
He unsheathed the Invible and swung at the web. His fiery red Spiritual Power instantly tore a hole in it. At the same time, Lu Yeunched himself toward Lan Zi Yi like an arrow.
It looked like his opponent was a spell cultivator, so the natural course of action here was to fight her at close range. Only then could he maximize his own advantage.
Lu Ye had just taken off when the sound of metal ringing reached his ears. The next moment, he saw a dozen or so auras flying toward him. They were flying swords!
[A spell cultivator that uses swords as their flying weapon? Thats rare.]
Lu Ye remained calm and sent his own flying weapons after the enemys. He never stopped running toward Lan Zi Yi during this time.
Sparks flew everywhere as metal shed against metal. In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye had gotten within forty meters of Lan Zi Yi. mes flickered around the Invibles de as his killing intent exploded.
Finally, Lan Zi Yi decided it was time for action. She made a grabbing motion and pulled out what looked like a massive sword out of thin air. It happened so fast that even Lu Ye had missed the movement.
Lan Zi Yis weapon was a two-handed greatsword. It was obviously bigger, thicker and heavier than the average sword. Suffice to say, it was quite something to see a woman wielding such a weapon.
She grabbed the weapon with both hands before lifting it to meet Lu Yes attack!
BOOM
Shockwaves rippled across the arena as Spiritual Power shed against Spiritual Power. The impact shook Lu Ye shook a bit but that was it. Lan Zi Yi was bending back a little, but she did not take a single step back either.
Lu Ye was honestly surprised. Without exaggeration, there had never been a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator who shed des with him and did not take a step backward. It was a feat that wouldve balked even a Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator, and yet the woman in front of him had done it.
[Theres no way shes a spell cultivator!]
What concerned him even more was the fact that the woman had been wearing a small smile on her face this whole time. It felt like he was being looked down on by a superior.
Han Tiejun was right. She was yful, and she was treating this battle like it was just a game.
There was a brief stalemate as they stood less than three meters away from each other. They stared into each others eyes as red and blue Spiritual Power shed fiercely in the middle.
[This is a good opportunity to use Radiance]
Aura swept across the Invibles de before erupting like a million suns. Suddenly, Lu Ye felt a tremendous force that pushed him ten or so meters away from his opponent.
Lan Zi Yi was also backing away with her eyes closed.
Clink nk, clink nk
Their flying weapons were still shing against one another. They hadnt stopped once since the beginning of the battle.
It took a powerful mind to fight another cultivator both physically and telekically. Lu Ye could handle this because his Divine Soul was baptized by the Pool of Divine Purification, not to mention that he had consumed an enviable amount of Soul Cleansing Waterter on.
However, Lan Zi Yis mind turned out to be just as strong as his. This should not be possible.
As the twobatants backed away from each other, one flying sword sessfully slipped past Lu Yes flying weapons and swung down on him.
Lu Yes feet werent on the ground yet, but he did not need to look to defend himself. He hit the flying sword so hard that its aura dimmed, and it was thrown all the way to the edge of the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the Radiance that had caught even a Real Lake Realm champion off guard hadnt worked this time. Lan Zi Yis reaction was just too fast. She had pushed him away and closed her eyes the instant she noticed something was wrong.
By the time the light had faded, they were dashing toward one another and shing in the middle once more. It was like two mountains mming into one another. Wreathed in auras of contrasting color, the greatsword and the saber shed again and again.
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes a little. He had noticed this when he was pushed away earlier, but the womans strength was ridiculous. Every time they shed des, his weapon arm would shake a little from the impact. His hand was slowly but surely turning numb in his grip.
He could hardly believe what was happening. He was actually losing to a woman in a contest of strength!
No matter how he looked at her, her vitality did not match the level of strength she was disying. It should be impossible for her to have such explosive strength.
It was then a possibility entered Lu Yes mind. He immediately constructed an Insight in his eyes.
His suspicion was spot on. Lan Zi Yis vitality was definitely weaker than his, but she was an expert in the Blood Shifting technique. Every time she swung her great sword, she was able to unleash her maximum strength. That was how she managed to outmuscle him.
Unfortunately, this was one area Lu Ye could not hope to surpass her at the moment. He had just started practicing the Blood Shifting technique a few days ago, while his opponent probably had years of training.
To make aparison, if Lu Yes strength was equal to one hundred points, then Lan Zi Yis was seventy or eighty points at most. However, Lu Ye could only execute half of his true strength without using the Blood Shifting technique, while Lan Zi Yi could output her maximum strength all the time.
He could match her strength if he used the Blood Shifting technique, but it was an unfamiliar technique to him at best. The battle had just begun, and he was nowhere close to figuring out her true strength. It was exceptionally unwise to use his finishing move without figuring out what his enemy was capable of.
A finishing move was called a finishing move for a reason. You were supposed to use it to end a fight, not to go even against an enemy.
Lu Ye might not be able to outmuscle his opponent, but he had a hundred and one Glyphs up his proverbial sleeves. He managed to catch Lan Zi Yi off guard multiple times by using Windwalk, Gravity Well, Sharp Edge and more. For now, neither of them held the upper hand.
Amber was roaming the edges of the battlefield, and Yi Yi was hiding underground. They did not get involved in this battle because they knew how rare it was for Lu Ye to encounter someone who could give him a good fight. They could win if they swarmed Lan Zi Yi together, but it would also make this battle meaningless.
The flying weapons in the air shed less and less until finally, they ceased fighting altogether. Both Lu Ye and Lan Zi Yi had pulled them back upon realizing that their opponent was too powerful to risk splitting their concentration.
There was a fierce sh when Gravity Well forced Lan Zi Yi into an unnatural position and nearly pushed her to her knees. While his opponent was distracted, Lu Ye immediately channeled his vitality to his right arm. At that moment, his right arm grew an entire size, and his skin turned as red as boiled lobster.
Not only that, he imbued the Invible with two Sharp Edges.
sh!
[Its over!]
The de hit Lan Zi Yi squarely in the waist. There was no one at the Spirit Creek Realm level who could possibly withstand the finishing move that was empowered by two Sharp Edges, his Spiritual Power and his vitality. The best case scenario for Lan Zi Yi was the de cutting through her effortlessly and killing her. The worst case scenario would be the attack pulverizing her into a shower of broken flesh, blood and bones.
Neither of Lu Yes predictions came true, however. While the finishing move had definitely struck Lan Zi Yi, he clearly saw a thick barrier surrounding her entire body right before the de would make contact.
The powerful attack sent her flying across the air for a very long time.She even rolled a number of times in the air before she finallynded.
It looked like the exchange waspletely in Lu Yes favor even though he had failed to kill her. In reality, his abdomen was leaking blood from a deep wound. Right before he sent his opponent flying, she had raised his greatsword and stabbed three inches into his stomach. She couldve run him through if he had failed tounch her away!
It should not need to be said how bad the situation would be if she had seeded in skewering him with the greatsword.
Lu Ye staggered a few steps backward as blood poured out of the wound. He hurriedly constructed a Bloodrage on his chest so that the blood wouldnt be wasted.
While taking a moment to catch a breather, Lu Ye stared at Lan Zi Yi with a deep frown.
He did not think there existed a barrier at the Spirit Creek Realm level that could block his sh. That was before mentioning that the finishing move had been empowered by two Sharp Edges and his Blood Shifting technique!
He did not see Lan Zi Yi activating a Spirit Artifact. This meant that the barrier was probably her ability.
[This is bad. How am I going to kill her if I cant even breach her defense?]
On the other side, Lan Zi Yi was half-crouched on the ground. She was supporting herself using the greatsword. Her feet had plowed a pair of deep lines across the arena floor, but she barely avoided copsing on her feet.
While she had avoided being cut in half by Lu Yes finishing move, there was no neutralizing the violent force that was transmitted throughout her body. That was why the inside of her mouth tasted of iron, and blood was dripping out of the corners of her lips.
She slowly straightened herself as she examined Lu Ye curiously. It looked as if she was seeing him in a new light.
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Chapter 420: Spirit Dress
Chapter 420: Spirit Dress
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There was no denying that Lan Zi Yi was incredibly strong. Her strength was identical to Lu Yes in the sense that they had both exceeded the realms they belonged to. At this stage, the Three Tumors were the only ones who could defeat them, and only because they had remained at the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade. Their abnormal strength was a product of time, not circumstances like in the case of Lan Zi Yi or Lu Ye.
Every powerful cultivator had their own secret. Lan Zi Yi of course was no exception.
It was a secret that no one could possibly know too. Although she was only at the Spirit Creek Realm, her horizons, skills and knowledge were far greater than any Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
She lifted a thumb and wiped the corner of her lips. She looked down and confirmed that she was, indeed, bleeding.
She did not think that a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator who could hurt her existed.
The small smile she had been wearing on her face this whole time disappeared. For the first time, she faced Lu Ye with a serious expression.
As she raised her great sword in front of herself, she suddenly gave off the feeling of an impregnable fortress. It was as if no attack could defeat her so long as she remained standing.-
Reincarnation Of The Strongest Spir...
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Please enable JavaScriptReincarnation Of The Strongest Spirit Master: Chapter 2
Lu Ye wasnt going to give her the time to catch her breath, of course. The ground beneath his feet dented as heunched himself forward like a lightning bolt.
Before he could get close to her though, Lan Zi Yi abruptly spread her arms wide. Her greatsword had split into two greatswords!
Who wouldve thought that her greatsword was really two greatswordsbined? She really had been treating this as a game until now. The revtion didnt affect his speed and determination to kill her though.
As the distance between them continued to shorten, Lan Zi Yi abruptly assumed a strange stance. One of her greatswords was pointed toward the sky, and the other the ground. Then, she did a little twirl before swinging at Lu Ye.
Their des shed, and Lu Yes charge was brought to a halt. To his surprise, it was he who won the sh of strength this time. He could tell that the strike was distinctly weaker than before.
Instead of feeling ted, a sudden sense of doom loomed over him. He hurriedly backed away from the woman. However, the moment he took a step, Lan Zi twirled yet again and brought her second greatsword down on him.
ng!
Lu Ye backed another step.
ng! ng! ng!
Every time they shed, Lu Ye was forced back a step. When Lan Zi Yi was wielding just one greatsword, her attacks were slightly clumsy despite their formidable strength. Now her strength had diminished, but her dexterity and speed had shot right off the charts!
Lan Zi Yis fighting style had changedpletely after she started wielding two greatswords. What was shocking was that her grasp of the new fighting style was as masterful as the transition was as smooth!
The woman was tall to begin with, and her greatsword was at least one-sixth of a meter longer than the standard sword. The spinning sword style meant that everything within several meters of her was within her attack range. Every time she swung the weapon, it would whistle through the air faster enough to severe space itself.
Suddenly, the image of Lan Zi Yi executing this sword style against a horde of enemies passed through his mind. She could probably kill every single enemy surrounding her with this technique alone!
It was like he was trying to weather a storm of death. At first, he was still able to block her attack. However, the further he was pushed back, the faster she would spin, and the more frequent her attacks became. He had only backed away a dozen or so steps when he was beginning to fall behind her attack rhythm. For every five attacks, one wouldnd on his body without fail!
Although he was able to use Protection to block it, it did not change the fact that it was a one-sided beating. Another dozen stepster, Lan Zi Yi sped up even more. For a time, the battlefield was filled with the resonant sound of metal shing against metal.
Sometimes, Lan Zi Yis attacks would shatter Protection and draw blood. In just a few breaths, Lu Ye had gained a dozen or so wounds, some deep, some shallow.
He knew he couldnt retreat any longer. The arena was only so big, and if he reached the edge then he would literally have nowhere to run. He had to break out of this situation somehow, or it was only a matter of time before the storm of death sliced him to many tiny pieces.
[Should I use sh? Will it even work? I caught herpletely off guard with a sh that was empowered by two Sharp Edges the first time, but her barrier still blocked it perfectly. Can I really risk this?]
Even now, Lu Ye still hadnt figured out how his enemy had blocked the attack or what the nature of that barrier even was.
It would be a bad idea to use sh again without figuring that out.
His mind made up, he stopped retreating at the same time the Invible abruptly burst with Spiritual Light. Then, he charged toward his enemy instead.
The counter-charge came at a severe cost. Protection shattered practically the moment it was formed, and his body immediately gained a couple more deep wounds.
However, Lu Ye was able tond a hit on Lan Zi Yis body. At the same time, he created Insight in his eyes and watched closely.
Once again, the invisible barrier had appeared out of nowhere to block the attack. It vanished as soon as the attack was over. Unfortunately, Lu Ye still couldnt figure out what the barrier was even with Insight.
The attack sessfully interrupted Lan Zi Yisbo and threw her about thirty meters across the air. Shended lithely on her feet before pointing one sword at Lu Ye and hiding the other behind her back.
So far, Lan Zi Yi was obviously in much better condition than Lu Ye. At the very least, she hadnt been wounded once since the battle began. On the other hand, Lu Ye looked as ragged as a beggar. His entire body was coated in ayer of blood qi as well.
He had never looked this sorry since he began challenging the Scroll of Supremacy. The woman before him was undoubtedly the strongest opponent he had ever faced at the Spirit Creek Realm level.
Meanwhile, Lan Zi Yi finally noticed that Lu Ye wasnt bleeding even though he was covered in wounds. Moreover, the intensity of the fog of blood around his body seemed to be growing in proportion to his wounds.
Lan Zi Yi tilted her head in confusion. It made her look adorable especially because she was a tall, beautiful woman.
From her perspective, Lu Ye was like a wounded animal, one whose inner ferocity had been fully dragged out into the open.
Both cultivators vanished in a blur at the same time. They reappeared in the middle and shed des once more.
Lan Zi Yi let out a cry of surprise. It was because Lu Yes speed and strength were far greater than before!
Bloodrage was finally unleashing its power!
Earlier, Lu Ye had been pushed by Lan Zi Yi so hard that he was starting to wonder if the Glyph was working at all. To be fair, Bloodrages effects were gradual, not immediate.
Now though, Lu Ye had lost so much blood that the fog surrounding him was almost imprable. The more blood he lost, the greater the effects of Bloodrage. Naturally, he was much faster and stronger than he was before.
The Invible weaved through the air so fast it was as if he had four arms. Lan Zi Yis greatswords were moving at an unbelievable speed as well.
Lu Yes strength hadpletely surpassed Lan Zi Yis. Every time they shed, the greatsword would be thrown back.
However, even with the empowerment of Blood Rage, Lu Ye was still behind Lan Zi Yis in terms of speed. She was just that fast. Not only that, she could always hit him from an unthinkable angle that riddled him with more wounds.
It wasnt like he wasnt scoring hits of his own, but Lan Zi Yis barrier had blocked them all.
It looked like the situation was hopeless, but Lu Ye finally figured out something after observing the barrier for a while. He still didnt know how the barrier was formed, but he could tell that the barrier wasnt invincible. It was because the barrier showed signs of weakening every time hended a hit. The reason he wasnt able to pierce it yet was because the damage he dealt hadnt exceeded its threshold.
In other words, Lan Zi was unbeatable so long as he could not destroy this barrier!
As if sensing Lu Yes intentions, Lan Zi Yi suddenly spoke up, This is my Spirit Dress. The Spirit Dress is unbreakable so long as my Spiritual Power hasnt run out. The only way you can beat me is to deplete my Spiritual Power.
Lan Zi Yi was a Heaven Nine cultivator, so of course her reserves were much greater than Lu Yes. Not only that, Lu Ye was going through his reserves way faster than Lan Zi Yi as a matter of course.
In other words, the chance he might win a war of attrition was exactly zero.
Lu Ye did not think that his opponent had told him the truth of her protection out of the kindness of her heart. The only reason someone might reveal their trump card to an enemy in the middle of a life-and-death fight was to attack their psyche.
By telling him that her Spirit Dress would never break so long as her Spiritual Power was unending, she was attacking his confidence and diminishing his fighting spirit. In fact, most cultivators would, consciously or not, begin fighting more passively due to the perceived hopelessness of the situation.
Suffice to say, a cultivator who grew such a mentality in the middle of a fight like this was mere moments away from death.
Lu Ye was sure that Lan Zi Yi was telling the truth. The Spirit Dress imprability was mostly like because of her Spiritual Power.
Suddenly, he recalled his final fight during the Battle of Goldentip.
Hisst opponent was a maiden of Cult ckfyre, and she had constructed a simr defense that was theoretically unbreakable so long as she still had Spiritual Power. However, the oue of that battle proved that there was no such thing as an unbreakable defense!
The only way to prate this type of barrier was to exceed its defense threshold. The question was, did he have a skill that could do this? sh certainly wasnt the answer. He had already tried that with every advantage stacked in his favor to no avail.
[I guess Ill have to use my second de technique then.]
The Blood Shifting technique and de Communion werent the only things he had learned from his third senior brothers insights.
A simple de technique had been jotted in the booklet. He had given it a go and grasped it almost instantly.
Even more amazing was the fact that the de technique could be used in tandem with sh, though he had never tried that in practice. That was why he had no idea if he could execute it in realbat.
It was hisst hope though. If he failed the execution, then he would have to ask Yi Yi and Amber to join the battle.
This was the battle for the top ce of the Scroll of Supremacy after all. The face of their factions was on the line as well. Ultimately, all was fair in war.
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Chapter 421: Combo
Chapter 421: Combo
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If even that de technique wasnt enough to breach her defense, then honestly it didnt matter if Yi Yi and Amber joined him. They wouldnt be able to harm her regardless.
[I cant just give up now!]
There was a small problem though. His enemy was moving too fast for him tond a clean hit. He would have to create an opportunity if he wished tond a hit.
Suddenly, Lu Ye staggered as if his wounds had finally caught up to him.
Lan Zi Yi wasnt one to let go of such an opportunity. She immediately thrust her right sword forward and sessfully struck Lu Yes stomach!
The de passed right through his back, eliciting a muffled groan from Lu Ye. Before he could retaliate, she thrust her left sword toward his neck. If it hit, he would lose all ability to fight even if he survived somehow.
The sharp de grew bigger and bigger in his vision. When it was right in front of him, he abruptly raised his left hand to block the attack.
The tip of the sword easily pierced through his palm because that was what he wanted to happen. He reached out and caught Lan Zi Yis hand with his left hand before she could react.-
Master Of The de Chapter 61
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Please enable JavaScriptMaster Of The de Chapter 61
For a second, the woman couldnt understand what was going on. Then, she saw Lu Yes cold expression and realized she had been tricked.
Lu Yes act of weakness was just a feint; a bait to lure her into recklessness.
Of course, it wasnt without a heavy price. Both his stomach and his left hand were skewered by a greatsword. He was ruthless toward his enemy and even more ruthless toward himself.
rm bells rang in Lan Zi Yis head, and her skin started prickling like they were poked by needles. Her senses were warning her that she might die if she did not take defensive action immediately.
Her aura shed. For the first time, she manifested the Spirit Dress that always appeared right before she was about to get hit of her own ord.
Shred!
The sound of tearing clothes reached her ears, but it wasnt her clothes that were being shredded. Specifically, it was Lu Yes right sleeve. His right arm had abruptly swelled so much that the fabric was torn apart by the strain. It was because he had channeled all of his vitality into his right arm in an instant. It was to the point where his face turned deathly white.
Lu Ye raised his saber and brought it down in one violent motion. At that moment, the Invible was but a blur of movement!
sh!
Combo!
Lu Ye had swung his saber a total of three times, and each attack was a sh empowered by two Sharp Edges.
Combo was essentially a multi-attack technique. It was specifically created to break through tough defenses just like the one right in front of him.
Lu Ye was nning to hit Lan Zi Yi a fourth time, but his right arm had lost all strength and senses after the third strike. It was bad enough that his arm was the size of his thigh, but the skin was cracked, the muscles were snapped, and it waspletely covered in blood. It was a horrifying sight to say the least.
He didnt even notice that the Invible had flown out of his grip untilter.
His gamble had seeded though. Lan Zi Yis Spirit Dress had perfectly blocked the first strike, dimmed considerably during the second, and finally broke under the third. The attack had left a wound that stretched all the way from her right shoulder to the left lower abdomen. The wound went so deep that he could vaguely see her beating heart behind the gnarly wound.
Combo had not only broken Lan Zi Yis Spirit Dress, but also grievously wounded her. She sailed through the air like a sack of meat.
However, the woman managed to whip out her leg right before she was pushed away from Lu Ye. Itnded squarely on his temple like a whip.
The woman had not given up a single opportunity tond a counterattack so far. She was as brutal as a beast!
Lu Ye couldnt have dodged the attack even if he saw iting. He was given no chance to react as he was sent flying.
The greatswords violently ripped out of his stomach and his palm. Blood sprayed all over the ce even as they merged into the blood fog surrounding his body.
When Lu Ye finallynded, stars filled his vision, and he couldnt differentiate right or left, up or down. He tried to climb back to his feet, but he was so dizzy that he copsed to the floor. This would repeat a couple more times before he finally managed a half-kneeling position.
He wasnt faring well, but his opponent was hardly looking healthy either. The attack hadpletely confounded Lan Zi Yi. Before this battle, she did not even think it was possible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to wound her, much less grievously wound her.
As Han Tiejun said, the woman had been treating the challenge of the Scroll of Supremacy as a game this whole time. It wasnt until she encountered Lu Yi Ye that she finally got serious.
She was going all out, but thebat cultivator had still nearly killed her in three strikes.
Yi Yi and Amber made their move the moment Lan Zi Yi was sent flying.
The apparition and tiger had followed Lu Ye for a very long time. Naturally, they knew exactly when to stay hidden and when to join in the battle.
Earlier, they had held back because Lan Zi Yi was protected by her Spirit Dress. There wasnt much they could do to her even if they had joined the battle.
But now, Lan Zi Yis Spirit Dress was broken, and Lu Ye could not even stand on his feet. Naturally, this was their time to shine.
Lan Zi Yi wasnt stupid though. Her wound was severe enough that continuing fighting was at best an unwise option.
If Lu Yi Ye was alone, then she wouldve chosen to stay and fight. Considering his condition, the battle could still go either way.
But Lu Yi Ye wasnt alone. His Tamed Beast was pouncing toward her, and she had no idea where that spell-throwing girl had evene from. A quick thoughtter, she mumbled something under her breath and vanished from the battlefield.
Yi Yis spells sailed harmlessly through the space where Lan Zi Yi was. She looked angry enough to rip someone to pieces.
She rushed back to Lu Yes side to see how he was doing, but he wasnt moving at all. Even his breath seemed to have ceasedpletely. The only sign that he was even still alive was the light in his eyes, and even that had be fainter than ever before
Yi Yi burst into tears immediately. She had never seen Lu Ye looking this terrible since they began adventuring together. Even his state when she had to carry him to Mount Ying and seek Hua Cis help paled inparison to this.
She hurriedlyid Lu Ye on the ground while calling out to Amber, We need to take him to Sister Hua Ci now!
Amber ran off to grab the Invible. After it came back, it bit Lu Yes cor and waited.
Before Yi Yi dove back into Ambers body, she called toward the sky, Send us out!
The Heavens enveloped them in its mysterious power and teleported them away from the arena.
As soon as Amber and Lu Ye reappeared on the third floor, Yi Yis panicked voice immediately rang out from the tigers body, SISTER HUA CI! SISTER HUA CI!
Yi Yi could not show herself while the Yuan Metal Storm was active, but she could stillmunicate from within Amber.
Iming! Hua Ci immediately responded.
Hua Ci had been waiting in the wooden building and preparing everything she might need to treat Lu Ye such as hot water, herbs, bandages and more. It was because she knew that there was no way Lu Ye was getting out of this fight unscathed.
Hua Ci immediately lifted Lu Ye to the bed. She then sat next to him and inspected his wounds.
Her expression grew more and more serious as she nced at Lu Yes face. The light in his eyes was faint, but he looked like he still desired to live to see another day.
Yi Yi asked nervously, How is he, Sister Hua Ci?
For a time, Hua Ci remained perfectly silent. Then, she covered Lu Yes eyes with a hand and swiped down.
Yi Yis heart skipped a beat as a tremor entered her voice, S-Sister Hua Ci?
Yes? Hua Ci responded carelessly. When she noticed that Lu Yes eyes were still open, she attempted to close them yet again.
What are you doing, you toxic woman? Lu Ye blinked while saying in a weak voice, Im not dead yet! Im not moving because Im trying to save my stamina.
I know youre not dead, Hua Ci defended herself, Im just trying to close your eyes so you can catch some rest. Youre the one who keeps opening your eyes and acting like youve died with a vengeance!
Lu Yes liver was literally hurting from the bullshit Hua Ci was treating him. He decided to close his eyes and ignore herpletely.
Yi Yi interrupted angrily, Are you two children? Now is not the time to be joking around!
A whileter, Hua Ci decided that Lu Yes injuries, while definitely serious, were nothing a cultivator should be concerned about as most of them were either flesh wounds or prating injuries. With Lu Yes physique and Hua Cis skill, it would only take him a few days to recover.
In fact, the worst injury Lu Ye suffered wasnt the prating wound in his abdomen, but his swollen right arm. After executing sh three times in a row using Combo, his flesh and blood had literally torn itself apart. Right now, his right arm had swollen to the size of his thigh because the vitality had be clogged inside it, not to mention the other injuries. Not even an outstanding medicine cultivator like Hua Ci could treat him without considerable effort, especially considering that the Yuan Metal Storm sealed off many healing methods.
Almost half a dayter, Lu Ye was baskingfortably in a barrel full of warm, aquamarine-colored liquid. Hua Ci was sitting next to him and massaging his right arm. Steam filled the room as Lu Ye silently recuperated from his injuries.
The greatest battle at the Spirit Creek Realm level; a duel that everyone was looking forward to the result of had finally ended. Naturally, it wasnt long before the oue of the battle spread throughout the world.
Lan Zi Yi of Infinite Ind had emted Lu Yi Yes example and defeated every ranker above her. No one was able to stop her, and she was able to make it all the way to third ce. Unfortunately, she ultimately lost by a hairs breadth during the final battle against Lu Yi Ye!
No one was too surprised by the news. Lu Ye had dominated the Spirit Creek Battlefield for a long time after all. Although the Thousand Demon Ridge was confident that Lan Zi Yi was qualified to give Lu Yi Ye a run for his money, they werent exactly optimistic about her chances either.
They had already lost to Lu Yi Ye too many times to count. What was one more loss?
Meanwhile, the Grand Sky Coalition also let out a huge sigh of relief. As Lu Ye was the one being challenged this time, the stakes were a lot higher. If he won, people would think that it was natural as he was the champion. But if he lost, not only would he lose his position, the Thousand Demon Ridge would not hesitate to kick him while he was down so to speak.
Despite the difference in their reaction, both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge shared amon understanding, and that was that the Spirit Creek Battlefield was entering an unprecedented era. For the first time, a cultivator was about to dominate an entire battlefield single handedly!
This had never happened before. Even the Three Tumors were only strong enough to keep each other in check. Moreover, their strength was purely individual. From a holistic perspective, they were unable to bring their faction too much glory or profit.
Lu Yi Ye was different, however. He was individually strong, but he also did many things that the Three Tumors could never have done.
For example, he had turned the Inner Circle upside down by leading an invasion force and conquering over two hundred enemy Outposts. He was hardly idle during his time in the Core Circle either. One could even say that he was the literal definition of a harbinger as havoc trailed every step of his way.
Sure, he hadnt conquered any Outpost yet, but could anyone im that he wouldnt do such a thing after he ascended to Heaven Nine?
The worst part was that no one in the Thousand Demon Ridge could stop him if he really did such a thing!
For a time, many higher-ups grew white hair despite their cultivation. They needed to find a way to secure the Outposts after Lu Ye was at Heaven Nine as soon as possible.
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Chapter 422: The Last Spiritual Point
Chapter 422: The Last Spiritual Point
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Name: Lu Yi Ye
Identity: Crimson Blood Sect Disciple
Cultivation: Three Hundred and Thirty Five Spiritual Points
Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield
Contribution Points: Nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty Two Points
It had been a long time since Lu Ye checked his own profile through the Battlefield Imprint. He was doing it now because he was seriously injured, and there was nothing to do besides resting, cultivating and reading his books.
Lu Ye frowned deeply when he saw the name listed under his profile. At the same time, a helpless feeling welled inside his heart.
He didnt know when it began, but the Heavens had designated him as Lu Yi Ye a while ago.
At first, it was just the Scroll of Supremacy. Now, even the name in his Battlefield Imprint had been changed to Lu Yi Ye before he knew it, even though his real name was Lu Ye!
-
Earthly Deity Chapter 21
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Please enable JavaScriptEarthly Deity Chapter 21
Anyway, it had been over two months since he ascended to Heaven Eight, but he had only unlocked a total of three hundred and thirty five Spiritual Points. His speed was so-so, especially since the Yuan Metal Storm froze all Spiritual Qi and Spiritual Power and prevented him from even activating Gluttonous Feast. As a result, his cultivation efficiency had decreased considerably.
Still, he was only twenty five Spiritual Points away from reaching the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order Realm. It wouldnt be long before he got there.
His total Contribution Points were not exactly impressive considering his record, but that was because he hadnt sold his loot yet. If he did, the number would multiply a couple times for sure.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was a ce that favored the strong. The weak might find it very difficult to earn Contribution Points, but for someone like Lu Ye, it was only a matter of speed and efficiency.
This was especially true since there wasnt a single person in the entire Thousand Demon Ridge who didnt want to kill him. He could go on a quick shopping trip right now, and hundreds and hundreds of cultivators would rush him from every direction and try to kill him. Of course, it always ended with him massacring them by the dozens, so the Contribution Points rolled in ka-ching ka-ching so to speak
His body was recovering quickly thanks to Hua Cis ministrations, but his right arm was as swollen as ever. It didnt look like it would improve any time soon.
Every time he recalled his battle with Lan Zi Yi, he was iparably d that he had picked up some special techniques from his third senior brothers booklet of insights. Not only did the booklet help him perfect sh, he had learned Combo from it as well. The fight wouldve been nigh unwinnable without them.
Both sh and Combo were de techniques. Individually, they didnt strain his body too much. But used in tandem, well, he was lucky he didnt lose his right arm. It had been seven days since that fateful battle, and his right arm was still recovering at a snails pace. This was after Hua Ci tended to him every day too. Without her treatment, he was almost certain that he was going to lose the arm.
That said, sh plus Combo was an incredibly powerfulbination. Lan Zi Yis Spirit Dress was so powerful that even a full-powered sh couldnt break it. In fact, it took a Combo of three to finally overwhelm its defense.
Of course, the side effects were just as terrible, though the main reason for this was because Lu Ye wasnt tough enough to execute thebination move three times in a row, and because that was the first time he had executed it.
If he had practiced the move a sufficient amount of times before this battle, the side effects would still be great, but not so terrible that his right arm would be useless for days or even weeks.
For the next few days, Lu Ye spent two hours meditating and breathing together with the Invible to improve his de Communion every day. Besides eating Spirit Pills to cultivate, he also read Lady Yuns books or studied his third senior brothers booklet of insights.
Time passed quickly. Lu Ye and Amber were waiting for something, while Hua Ci had run off to Heavens-know-where to cultivate as usual.
While most cultivators cultivation had slowed dramatically after the World Spiritual Qi of the Spirit Creek Battlefield was frozen, Lu Ye and Hua Ci werent affected by this. This was because Lu Ye cultivated by consuming Spirit Pills, and Hua Ci by consuming the poisonous fog of the Myriad Poison Forest.
A month had passed, and it was time to receive the Heavens reward a second time.
After what he experienced the first time, Lu Ye looked forward to it to say the least.
It wasnt long before the Heavens enveloped him and Amber in its mysterious power. By the time he came to, he found himself in the Pool of Heavens surrounded by the Spirit Mist once more.
Their time was limited, so Lu Ye hurriedly constructed a Gathering Spirit Ward in the Pool of Heavens and tiny Gathering Spirits funnels in his own Spiritual Points.
Yi Yi and Amber had also found a suitable corner in the Pool of Heavens before devouring the Spirit Mist around them with all their might. They could clearly feel it changing and improving their body and soul.
This was especially true for Lu Ye because he was still injured.
The first time he had entered the Pool of Heavens, he already noticed that the Spirit Mist could treat hidden injuries. It was even more obvious this time. Every injury that hadnt recovered yet began recovering at an elerated rate, and his swollen right arm started shrinking until it returned to its usual size.
The cool sensation felt pleasant to say the least.
If he had to nitpick something he disliked about the reward, it would be its duration. Even he, the champion, was only allowed to stay at the Pool of Heavens for an hour!
It just wasnt enough time. He might be able to improve himself more if the duration was longer.
Then again, the Spirit Mist did be less and less useful over time. For most cultivators, it stopped working altogether after their third or fourth entry.
He was still Heaven Eight, so he had more chances to enter the Pool of Heavens.
On a rted note, he recalled the time he tried to bring the Spirit Mist out of the Pool of Heavens and seemingly triggered their ire. Since then, he had been wondering if the omnipotent presence was actually sentient.
This concerned Lu Ye greatly. He wanted to confirm this somehow, but couldnt think of a way to do so without offending them.
And why would he want to test the Heavens? It was because he had a feeling that he might be able to figure out the truth of this Cultivation World if they really were sentient existences that he couldmunicate with!
Why was the Cultivation World split into two factions? Why did the Heavens make the rule where killing cultivators from the opposing faction would reward you with Contribution Points? What was the deal with the Vault of Providence, and what was the connection between the Divine Trade Association and the Heavens?
So many questions, so few answers. He had no doubt that his questions were shared by countless other cultivators.
An hour came and went. When the Heavens finally sent Lu Ye back to the wooden building, his injuries were gone, and his right arm hadpletely returned to normal.
Since this was the second time he received the Heavens reward, his vitality and mind were stronger than ever before. In fact, he was sure he could execute sh a fourth time while under the effects of Combo now. The improvement was visible to say the least.
That said, he did not think he would ever execute them again until he reached the Cloud River Realm level. He could be wrong, but he was pretty sure that Lan Zi Yi was the only one who could force him to execute this powerful but severely debilitatingbination move.
The Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou was overflowing with talent, but he could not imagine it producing another monster like Lan Zi Yi.
Two dayster, the Yuan Metal Storm finally faded, and the World Spiritual Qi of the Spirit Creek Battlefield returned to normal.
Lu Ye and countless other cultivators breathed out a deep sigh of relief.
As a cultivator, there were few things worse than being unable to use your Spiritual Power. Nearly every cultivator was gued by the impending sense of danger because their perception was way weaker without Spiritual Power. It was like turning blind and deaf all of a sudden. Death could be heading toward them in a straight line, and they might not detect it until it was toote.
The first thing Lu Ye did after the Yuan Metal Storm had passed was to set up the defensive ward that kept the poisonous fog from entering the wooden building.
Since the Yuan Metal Storm began, he had worried that the Tree of Glyphs might run out of fuel.
It had been a month since he was forced to live without the ward, and his fuel had been depleting for just as long. Amber was forced to stay by Hua Cis side day and night, and even Yi Yi had been trapped inside Ambers body this whole time except the few times they entered the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield.
Thankfully, it was finally over.
Lu Ye did not set up a Teleportation Ward because he had a feeling he wouldnt need it anymore.
Specifically, he wasnt nning to leave the Myriad Poison Forest until he had reached Heaven Nine. The Thousand Demon Ridge could invade the Grand Sky Coalition this instant, and he still wasnt going to budge until he was Heaven Nine!
That would never happen of course, not to mention that the Three Sages Schools Outpost had been conquered for weeks. The Thousand Demon Ridge had no way to force him to appear anymore.
Now that the World Spiritual Qi in the environment and the Spiritual Power in his body were no longer shackled, his cultivation efficiency went up dramatically.
Despite this, he continued to unlock his Spiritual Points at a steady pace because he spent most of his time honing his de techniques.
He had studied his third senior brothers booklet well enough that he could read it backward. All that was left to do was practice and deepen his understanding. This was something that couldnt be rushed.
On another note, many more familiar names on the Scroll of Supremacy had vanished and be reced by total strangers. In a sense, the rank list was the perfect example of the saying, the rear waves of the river flow on those before, meaning that the new reced the old all the time.
Lan Zi Yi was currently in second ce, although she hadnt issued Lu Ye a challenge again.
She was ridiculously strong, and in the past she was definitely qualified to fight for Lu Ye for first ce. However, she lost that qualification the moment Lu Ye showed that he had a way of breaching her Spirit Dress.
For as long as Lu Ye was still in the Scroll of Supremacy, she could never be number one!
Lu Yes life during this time was extremely idyllic. From time to time, he would converse with his second senior sister via messaging. Most of the time, he just did what he normally did when he wasnt busy fighting for his life: cultivating, studying, and training.
Another month passed in the blink of an eye. When Lu Ye, Amber and Yi Yi entered the Pool of Heavens again, they discovered that the Spirit Mists effects on them had diminished considerably.
During his first and second entrance, Lu Ye could feel his vitality and mind growing at least ten percent stronger than before.
This time, his gains werent even half of what he got during the previous times.
He imagined that the next time would only be worse.
It would seem that the rumor that the Heavens reward would lose its efficacy after the third or fourth reward was true.
Lu Ye was brimming with delight when he returned to the wooden building.
He checked his body and confirmed that he had unlocked a total of three hundred and fifty nine Spiritual Points!
This meant that he was one point away from ascending to the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order Realm!
At the very beginning of his cultivation journey, the Sect Master told him that unlocking Spiritual Points was an increasingly difficult process. It was why countless Spirit Creek Realm cultivators never managed to unlock all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points in their body. It all depended on their talent.
That said, one did not need to reach Heaven Nine to be a Cloud River Realm cultivator. They only needed to unlock a total of two hundred and forty Spiritual Points and switch to a Heaven-Grade cultivation technique to do so.
However, Lu Ye had never felt the gradual difficulty his Sect Master had spoken off. He felt that each Spiritual Point was as difficult to unlock as the previous.
The reason he didnt encounter an increasingly steep curve was because his Spiritual Power was pure. For most cultivators, they could not avoid umting pill poison if they consumed even a single Spirit Pill. Moreover, the pill poison would definitely umte faster than it could be cleared out of ones system. Although there were methods to eliminate the pill poison in ones body, pill poison was, in a sense, quite simr to hidden injuries. On the surface, it looked like a cultivator had healed to full health. In reality, there were hidden injuries that could only be cured by time or an exceptionally skilled medicine cultivator.
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Chapter 424: Lu Yi Ye Is Here
Chapter 424: Lu Yi Ye Is Here
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Although it had been a few days since Lu Ye ascended to the Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order Realm, he hadnt publicly disyed his cultivation level yet. That was why he was stillbeled as Heaven Eight on the Scroll of Supremacy.
There was no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield besides Hua Ci, Amber and Yi Yi who knew of his ascension.
The first two times he left the Myriad Poison Forest were like a grand festival. He was swiftly discovered and chased by countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
This time though, things were a lot more peaceful. He didnt find anyone until he had traveled at least a hundred kilometers on his Spirit Boat.
In the Core Circle, most cultivators chose to fly at high altitudes for convenience sake. Generally speaking, there wasnt much danger in doing so. As long as they didntpletely drop their guard, there was always a chance to escape even if they did run into an enemyassuming that the enemy wasnt too fast to shake off, of course.
The moment Lu Ye saw the three auras in the horizon, he immediately changed directions and sped toward them.
The trio had clearly seen Lu Ye as well, as they had paused in their tracks.-
Earthly Deity Chapter 28
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Lu Ye did not know who they were, where they came from, or even what their faction was. Naturally, it was the same for the party of three. The only reason they dared to wait for Lu Ye toe to them was because they outnumbered him three to one.
If Lu Ye was one of their own, then all was well. Even if he wasnt, the numbers advantage was firmly in their grasp.
When the distance between them had shortened to just three hundred meters or so, one of the trio suddenly stared at Lu Yes face like he was trying to drill a hole in it. He then asked a question that caused hispanions hearts to skip a beat in unison, Senior Brother Li. Is it just me, or does that guy look like Lu Yi Ye?
The cultivator named Senior Brother Li immediately countered, Thats not funny, man. Stop scaring me.
Suddenly, he recalled that their current location was too far away from the Myriad Poison Forest. There was a chance the young man headed toward them might actually be that bastard, Lu Yi Ye. He immediately trained his eyes on Lu Ye and saw a familiar face and a snow white Spirit Beast lying on his shoulder. Who else could he be except Lu Yi Ye?
FLY! The cultivator named Li immediately shouted. All three cultivators panicked and attempted to flee to safety.
Unfortunately, they were toote. Lu Ye had already split his nine flying weapons into three groups and sent them after the cultivators.
The trio were a pair of Heaven Eight and one Heaven Seven cultivator. How could they possibly survive Lu Yes telekinesis?
The screamssted only a moment before blood began raining from the sky. By the time Lu Ye had reached the position they were at a moment ago, all three cultivators had already been killed.
Lu Ye had be much stronger after he ascended to Heaven Nine. His ability to kill was looking more and more natural and controlled as well.
Yi Yi shed out of Amber and grabbed the loot like usual. After she was done, Lu Ye resumed his journey once more.
Every time he encountered a cultivator, Lu Ye would fly up to them to confirm their affiliation. As a result, every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator he encountered for the next couple days had been in without fail.
Three dayster, Lu Ye arrived at his destination andnded outside the Grand Ward of a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost. The sect was called Mystic Green Pce.
He then applied Insight to his eyes and began identifying its nodes.
A cultivator wearing a loose robe with long sleeves responded to themotion and questioned Lu Ye from behind the Grand Ward, Who are you?
The second he said this, he realized who he was looking at and blurted in panic, Lu Yi Ye?
The cultivator had turned as white as a sheet. He never thought that the infamous Lu Yi Ye would one day appear outside his doorstep. It was clear that he wasnt here for tea either.
He hurriedly channeled his Spiritual Power and shouted, LU YI YE IS HERE!
As soon as the shout ended, the entire Outpost abruptly bubbled with activity. Countless auras took to the sky and rushed to this side.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye had already nted his ward gs in the grand ward and poured his Spiritual Power into it. Just a few secondster, the Spiritual Power in the area enclosed by the ward gs stopped flowingpletely.
Then, like he was passing through a curtain or a tent p, he lifted a corner of the Grand Ward and stepped inside.
A couple of Mystic Green Pce cultivators arrived at the scene faster than the others. Many more were on their way. Naturally, they werent just going to allow Lu Yi Ye to waltz into their Outpost without resistance. They immediatelyunched their attacks at him.
Lu Ye empowered himself with Windwalk the second he unsheathed the Invible. After dodging all the attacks with uncanny speed and unthinkable precision, he ran up to a cultivator and brought down his saber!
Swish!
Blood sttered against his face, but Lu Ye didnt even bat an eyelid. He simply ran toward his next victim
Five corpsesy on the ground just three breathster. Blood slowly dripped down the Invible.
As more cultivators showed up, one Heaven Nine roared in fury, Lu Yi Ye! You dare!
Was there anyone in the world who could stand a lone enemy barging into their Outpost and ughtering their brethren like cattle? Unlikely. Countless eyes turned bloodshot when they caught sight of their fallen brothers and sisters.
The second the Heaven Nine cultivator finished talking, countless spells and flying weapons rained down on Lu Yes position from above.
There was a whoosh as a pair ofrge wings made of fiery red Spiritual Power appeared behind Lu Yes back. He soared into the sky and dodged the bombardment effortlessly.
He soared over the crowd and trained his gaze on the Heaven Nine cultivator. It only took him two ps to reach the man.
Unimaginable pressure and even greater killing intent extinguished the Heaven Nine cultivators fury like a bucket of ice water. The second he saw Lu Ye charging toward him, he plunged to the ground as quickly as he could.
He might be Heaven Nine, but he wasnt even strong enough to enter the Scroll of Supremacy. Naturally, he felt exactly zero sense of security before the champion. Right now, the only way anyone might kill Lu Ye was to overwhelm him with numbers.
Unfortunately for him, he had just started descending when Lu Ye appeared right in front of him. [How the fuck is the bastard so quick?]
Wings was way faster than a flying Spirit Artifact to begin with, not to mention that Soar was an enhanced version of it.
Windwalk was in y as well. Together, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was literally as swift as lightning.
As the Invible descended on the Heaven Nine cultivator like a guillotine, he tried to raise his Spirit Artifact to parry the attack. However, their weapons had just made contact when an unimaginable amount of force ripped it right out of his hand and numbed his arm. He himself was sent flying toward the ground uncontrobly.
When Lu Ye swung his saber a second time, the Heaven Nine cultivator hurriedly thrust his hand into his Storage Bag and pulled out a Golden Body Talisman Paper. Unfortunately, he did not manage to p the talisman on himself before Lu Ye had separated his head from his torso.
Cries of shock, grief and anger erupted from below as blood rained from the sky. The man Lu Ye just killed was none other than the Legate of the Mystic Green Pce!
The Heaven Nine cultivator wasnt just apetent Legate, he was also someone who watched out for his junior brothers and sisters. At least dozens of people were indebted to him in some way. Naturally, his death was a huge blow to all cultivators of the Mystic Green Pce Outpost.
Lu Ye had no idea that the man he just killed was the Legate, though he had gone after him thinking that that might be the case. After all, Heaven Nine cultivators were fairly umon even among Core Circle Sects. In any case, he had chosen to kill the Heaven Nine cultivator because it would remove a valuable fighting power from the enemy and lessen the pressure on his shoulders.
He was nning to intimidate the enemy with the act as well, although it looked like it had had the opposite effect. Everyone was staring at him with indescribable rage and sorrow.
Lu Ye allowed himself to fall to the ground after killing the Heaven Nine cultivator. The second he reached ground level, he immediately rushed toward the area with the most number of cultivators.
All nine of his flying weapons flew out of his Weapon Holder and spun round and round in front of him like a top. Behind the literal storm of des, Lu Ye was swinging the Invible and reaping lives with nearly every swing.
Blood Curdling screams, shouts of anger, and Ambers roar filled the air. Every time Amber roared, all nearby cultivators would stagger on their feet and give Lu Ye the chance to plow through them like wheats. The charge alone had cost the Mystic Green Pce at least a dozen lives.
Lu Ye was currently bathed from head to toe in blood. Most of it belonged to his enemy, but some was his own. As he was currently fighting against an entire Outpost, there was no chance he couldvee out without a scratch. Thankfully, Protection was a versatile Glyph that he could manifest on his vital spots at any moment.
Lu Ye eventually made it back to the edge of the grand ward. His saber was pointed toward the ground, and his eyes squinted slightly in concentration. On the opposite side, the Mystic Green Pce cultivators anger had been reced by astonishment and disbelief. A heavy silence hung over the Outpost before they knew it.
In the past, if someone had told them that there existed a cultivator who could single handedly invade an Outpost and massacre the cultivators within like cattle, they would not have believed a word of it. Cultivators they might be, but there was only so much a single person could do, and so strong a single cultivator could be.
Not even the Three Tumors couldve done such a thing at their peak. The Grand Ward alone wouldve stopped the invasion before it even began.
But there was no denying the reality in front of them. They were witnessing history being made at the cost of their own lives!
For a time, the Mystic Green Pce cultivators could only stare at Lu Ye with their jaws on the floor. There was a question that they desperately wanted to ask Lu Ye: Are you even human?
Lu Ye did not dilly-dally for too long. When he saw that his enemies werenting to him, he shrugged and rushed them himself.
Having learned from their earlier experience, the Mystic Green Pce cultivators immediately scattered in every direction to avoid getting caught in his storm of flying weapons. However, they werent able to back away faster than Lu Ye could charge. The young man simply picked a random direction and cut down everyone standing in front of him. He left a literal trail of bodies in his wake.
Lu Ye would not stop until he had reached the square in front of the Sanctum of Providence. There, nearly seventy cultivators were waiting for him in a solid formation.
Generally speaking, Core Circle Outposts did not have many cultivators. On average, a Core Circle Outpost only had a hundred or so cultivators. Even those with arger-than-normal cultivator base did not have more than two hundred cultivators.
The Mystic Green Pces Outpost was a standard Core Circle Outpost. It only had a hundred and twenty cultivators or so.
However, Lu Yi Ye had killed nearly one-third of them in less than a tea time!
The survivors were all gathered in front of their Sanctum of Providence. The body-tempering cultivators were lined up at the front, thebat cultivators were right behind them, the spell cultivators were further back, and the ghost cultivators were hiding and waiting for a suitable opportunity to stab Lu Yi Ye in the back.
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Chapter 425: Single Handedly Destroying An Outpost
Chapter 425: Single Handedly Destroying An Outpost
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The Mystic Green Pce cultivators were using a formation that would allow them to go up against a Tyrant-level Spirit Beast.
In other words, they believed that Lu Ye was now a threat on par with those legendary Tyrant-level Spirit Beasts.
There were about sixty six meters of distance between the two sides. The air was charged with tension and killing intent.
Suddenly, Lu Ye spun toward seemingly thin air before swinging out his saber. An invisible ghost cultivator that had skulked up to him and was just about to attack him was immediately split in half.
The ghost cultivators eyes were filled with disbelief. He never found out how Lu Ye had sensed him until he died.
His peers were even less inclined to move. Lu Yi Yes senses were way keener than they expected. It might be nigh impossible to ambush him.
The Mystic Green Pce cultivators seemed to see his attack as a signal, because those in the formation abruptly shouted, Kill! The next moment, a barrage of spells and flying weapons rained down on his location.-
The Untold Story of a Jiu Jitsu Leg...
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Empowered by Windwalk, Lu Ye dashed here and there to avoid the bulk of the barrage. From the Mystic Green Pce cultivators perspective, he was like a fish in water dodging ny percent of their attack and blocking the rest with his Glyph.
It took him only three breaths to cross sixty six meters of distance. The body-tempering cultivator Lu Ye was charging toward ced his Spirit Shield Artifact in front of himself and mustered his vitality and Spiritual Power. He looked as solid as a rock.
However, Lu Yes right arm abruptly grew a size bigger as he channeled an incredible amount of vitality into it. Then, he brought his saber down on the Spirit Shield Artifact like a thunderbolt.
sh!
To everyones shock, the nonuple enhancement shield shattered like it was ss. Not only that, the Invible continued to m the body-tempering cultivator behind the shield to the ground. As a result, a small gap appeared in the tight formation.
Lu Ye slipped through the gap and brought the Invible and his flying weapons to bear. He ughtered them like a tiger might ughter its prey.
He had invaded a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost once when he was Heaven Eight. At the time, he had barely put up a fight before he was chased out like a rat.
But now? Now, he could single handedly destroy an Outpost.
He wouldnt havee here in the first ce if he wasnt sure he could do this.
The best way to deal with a horde of enemies alone was to get into the thick of it. Although he would be surrounded, he would have some measure of control especially since he was abat cultivator. He could also limit the amount of attacks he received as his enemies would be hard pressed to attack him without causing friendly fire.
Had he decided to attack from range, he wouldnt be surrounded as easily, but his enemies would be able to bombard him with flying weapons and spells to their hearts content.
In the enemy formation, only seven or eight people could attack him at a time, and only with close-ranged attacks as flying weapons or spells would most likely result in friendly fire.
Every time Lu Ye killed a cultivator, a couple more wounds would be added to his body. Thankfully, his body was strong enough that the injuries looked severe, but in reality werent. His vitals were protected by Protection at all times.
It wasnt long before the situation quickly devolved into utter chaos, and Lu Ye wasnt the only contributor. Every time Amber roared out, some people were guaranteed to fall to Lu Yes de. Besides that, a petite figure was soundlessly causing havoc behind enemy lines as well.
When Lu Ye had invaded the Outpost and killed the first batch of cultivators, Yi Yi had already slipped out of Ambers body and hid underground. She was sneaky enough that no one noticed her. Now, she reappeared while holding a treasure that looked like a painting. It was of course the Nine Realms Scroll.
She snuck up to a bunch of panicking Mystic Green Pce cultivators without anyone noticing. While Lu Ye was distracting everyone with his mboyant ughter, she threw the Nine Realms Scroll over their heads and vanished them without a trace.
A couple of ink figures immediately appeared in the ward scroll. They were allpletely confused by the sudden change of scenery.
The Nine Realms Scroll was a Spirit Treasure, and Yi Yi had been entrusted with it since nearly the beginning. Unfortunately, forget killing these cultivators herself, she would be hard pressed to trap them for long. She just wasnt strong enough to use the Nine Realms Scroll to its full potential.
If she was strong enough, anyone she trapped within the Nine Realms Scroll could be massacred as she pleased. She could kill them with a single thought, and they wouldnt even know what had happened until their final moments.
Since she could neither kill her enemies or trap them for too long, the only thing she could do was to let them go.
That was why she went about fifty meters into the underground before releasing them directly
It should not need to be said, but the poor cultivators were dead the second they reappeared in reality. At this depth, no Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could possibly survive the crushing pressure around them.
Yi Yi could traverse the underground freely because she was an apparition with no physical body. They werent.
She would continue to do this again, and again, and again.
Meanwhile, the Mystic Green Pce cultivators had gone from righteous fury to cold fear in a matter of minutes.
At the beginning, they were beyond furious that Lu Yi Ye would dare to invade their Outpost alone. They felt scorned and looked down upon.
But now? Now they realized that Lu Ye actually could kill them alone.
It hadnt even been a tea time yet, but over thirty people had died at his hands already. Even the body-tempering cultivators were unable to withstand a single strike from him. The bastard had literally sliced them and their Spirit Shields in half.
What was even more puzzling was the fact that many of their cultivators had suddenly disappeared without warning. Nobody knew where they went, only that they had suddenly vanished into thin air.
It took only a moment for their group of seventy plus to dwindle to less than twenty. The square in front of the Sanctum of Providence was covered in blood, and the corpses were piled into tiny hills of flesh. Today, death was blossoming in full force!
The man who did it all was covered in blood and seemingly insane. It was because he hadnt said a word from the start until now. It looked like all he cared about was killing them to thest person!
The survivors finally lost their nerve. Someone shouted, Retreat! We need to retreat to Jiu Zhou before its toote!
It was a sentiment that was met wholeheartedly by everyone else.
The survivors began mounting an organized retreat to the Sanctum of Providence. Once they reached the Divine Opportunity Column, they teleported away as quickly as they could.
Of course, a couple more people fell to Lu Yes de during this time.
Lu Ye did not stop until thest Mystic Green Pce cultivator finally vanished from sight.
When Yi Yi appeared from the underground again, she looked around and eximed in surprise, Where did they go?
She had missed the moment where the Mystic Green Pce cultivators had teleported back to their headquarters because she was underground just now. By the time she returned, all that was left were the corpses.
They ran.
Lu Ye flicked off the blood on the Invible before returning it to its sheath.
Thats a shame.
She thought they would be able to annihte the Mystic Green Pce to thest person, but some of them managed to escape in the end. The number of survivors shouldnt be many though.
Twenty five kilometers away, a great number of auras were flying toward the Mystic Green Pces Outpost. The leader was none other than Situ Han, the Legate of the Three Sages School. He was followed by the elites of his sect.
The Three Sages School was the Mystic Green Pces neighbor. Since the Spirit Creek Realm talents of this generation werent very impressive, they were often bullied by the Mystic Green Pce and two other Thousand Demon Ridge factions.
It was why their Sect Master had requested Lu Ye to cultivate at their Outpost. He was hoping to buy one Lu Ye and get Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan for free so to speak, but his ns backfired on him because the two cultivators had ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Even Lu Ye was unable to cultivate at their Outpost for obvious reasons.
It should not need to be said, but their neighbors had yed a major role in the upation of their Outpost. The Mystic Green Pce especially was all too happy to kick a dog when it was down. There was more resentment between them than a single book could scribe.
Although the Three Sages School was in the middle of reconstruction right now, theck of Contribution Points meant that the concentration of its World Spiritual Qi and even its radius were far, far lousier than before.
That was why Situ Han had mustered nearly half of his cultivators and made a beeline for the Mystic Green Sects Outpost the second he received Lu Yes message. He was going to work with the young man and take bloody revenge against their tormentors.
The Three Sages School cultivators behind Situ Han were brimming with excitement and killing intent as well.
Junior sister Feng, Situ Han suddenly spoke up.
I am here, Feng Yue hurriedly replied.
Feng Yue was now a Ninth-Order cultivator, and she had gathered enough Contribution Points to purchase the Heaven-Grade cultivation technique she needed thanks to the Three Sages School. It should not take long before she ascended to Heaven Seven.
Where is Brother Yi Ye right now? Situ Han asked.
Give me a second, Feng Yue replied while messaging Lu Ye.
A momentter, she replied with an odd expression, Fifth senior brother said hes inside their Outpost.
Situ Han nched a little when he heard this. Hes attacking them already? I didnt know hes this impatient.
He thought for a moment before letting out a Spiritual Power-empowered shout, Junior brothers and sisters, Brother Yi Ye is already attacking the Mystic Green Pces Outpost, and he may be surrounded right now! Let us rush to his aid as quickly as we can!
Yes sir! The cultivators responded before speeding up.
An incense stickter, they arrived outside the Mystic Green Sects Outpost and found that their Grand Ward had stopped working. Not only that, they saw a massive trail of blood and corpses all the way to the center of the Outpost.
[Is is it over already?] Situ Han couldnt quite process what he was seeing.
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Chapter 426: Jiu Zhou In Shock
Chapter 426: Jiu Zhou In Shock
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Situ Han and his cultivators followed the trail of battle and rushed toward the Sanctum of Providence. Long before they even reached the square, they saw a blood-caked man sitting on the steps leading to the sanctum with his saber hanging carelessly beside his waist. There was also a literal hill of Storage Bags in front of him. There had to be one or two hundred of them at least. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be unlocking the Restraining Locks on the Storage Bags?
The bloody figure was none other than Lu Ye, of course!
Fifth senior brother! Feng Yue cried out while rushing to his side.
Lu Ye turned her way and gave her a nod of acknowledgement. He then looked at Situ Han and said, Youre here.
The Legate was currently wearing aplex expression on his face. When Lu Ye spoke up, he jolted back to reality and saluted the young man. Are wete, Brother Yi Ye?
Oh no, youre just in time. I finished up just a moment ago.
[We AREte, then.]-
Master Of The de Chapter 27
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Please enable JavaScriptMaster Of The de Chapter 27
Situ Han had rushed over intending to assist Lu Ye, but not only was the battle already over, it was clear that it had ended with the Mystic Green Sects horrible defeat. He had counted roughly sixty to seventy bodies on his way. If this didnt count as a horrible defeat, he didnt know what was
Suddenly, he realized that Lu Ye had never intended for them to participate in this battle. That was why he said that they had arrived just in time!
Did did you kill them all alone, Brother Yi Ye?
Of course not.
Situ Han rxed while thinking to himself, [I shouldve known.] If Lu Ye had done all this by himself, well he wouldnt even know what to say. He didnt spot Lu Yes helpers anywhere though. They had probably hidden themselves or left.
Amber was a major help in this battle, Lu Ye added while patting Ambers head affectionately.
[ YOUR TAMED BEAST STILL COUNTS AS YOUR OWN STRENGTH, MAN!]
Situ Han felt like squeezing his own heart until it burst. At the same time, a dizzy spell hit him with the full force of his incredulity.
Behind him, the Three Sages School disciples were gulping as well
Who wouldve thought that one man could cause the massacre around them? The sheer amount of corpses littered in front of the Sanctum of Providence alone wasnt something they could achieve!
They had long heard that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was extraordinarily strong, but it was only now they realized just how strong he was.
Situ Han sucked in a deep breath before replying, Brother Yi Ye, you called us here because
To be honest, he couldnt quite figure out why Lu Ye had called them here. If Lu Ye could conquer an entire Outpost himself, then why did he summon them over through Feng Yue. He had thought that Lu Ye was asking for assistance, but clearly that wasnt the case.
The Three Sages School lost their Outpost because of me, did you not? I also heard that the Mystic Green Pce was a major contributor in that battle. That is why they should be the one to pay the biggest price. An Outpost for an Outpost so to speak. Also, remember the promise my sect made to your Sect Master? I was supposed to cultivate at your Outpost. Unfortunately, I cannot fulfill that promise as I am already Heaven Nine, and I will be leaving the Spirit Creek Battlefield very soon. But before that, it is my responsibility to relieve some pressure for the Three Sages School, no?
Situ Han didnt know what to say. This wasnt just relieving some pressure, this was crushing their enemy so thoroughly that they could never hope to ride on their heads ever again.
By the way, I havent touched a single thing in their Outpost. Please help yourselves to anything you want.
The Three Sages School disciples grew excited. They all understood what he meant by that.
Situ Han looked even more ashamed. How could we? We havent lifted a finger in this battle
Back in the Inner Circle, when the Heavenly Derivative Sect had lost their Outpost because of me, I promised them that I would return what they had lost to them. I see no reason to make an exception for the Three Sages School, so please, do not turn down what is rightfully yours. Plus, my disciples may visit your Outpost in the future. When the timees, I would request that you take good care of them.
Situ Han finally nodded. In that case, I humbly ept your gift. Just send us a message if anyone from the Crimson Blood Sect decides to cultivate at our Outpost. Our doors will forever be open for your disciples!
After that, Situ Han stepped into the Sanctum of Providence and began plundering the Mystic Green Pces Blessings in his capacity as the Legate.
Lu Ye stayed behind to unlock the Storage Bags while Feng Yue treated his wounds.
Lu Ye had to admit that Feng Yues cultivation and medicinal skills had improved tremendously since thest time he saw her. As they chatted, he also learned that the Three Sages School treated her very well even though they wouldve been in their right to discriminate against her because of the incidents.
Then again, she was a medicine cultivator and a sweet woman. Few people would choose to offend a sweet medicine cultivator, not to mention that the Thousand Demon Ridge was truly to me for the upation of their Outpost.
While the Three Sages School was busying themselves, the news that Lu Ye had single handedly destroyed the Mystic Green Pces Outpost had spread like wildfire.
Not everyone from the Mystic Green Pce had perished. Around thirty cultivators had managed to teleport away using the Divine Opportunity Column. Of course, the Mystic Green Pce had still lost over seventy percent of their Core Circle cultivators, and they werent going to recover any time soon.
Everyones first reaction upon hearing the news was, of course, utter denial.
Even if Lu Yi Ye was extraordinarily powerful, and even if he had ascended Heaven Ninehis cultivation level on the Scroll of Supremacy had been updated after the massacrethere was no way he could annihte an Outpost single handedly!
This had never happened in the history of Jiu Zhou. How could Lu Yi Ye do what even Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian couldnt do after honing themselves at the Spirit Creek Realm level for over a decade?
For a time, countless people messaged the Mystic Green Pce to confirm the veracity of the rumor.
In the end, they confirmed that it was definitely real.
Not only had Lu Yi Ye barged into the Outpost alone, it was revealed that he waspletely unstoppable from the Grand Ward all the way to their Sanctum of Providence. The Mystic Green Pce was unable to stop him even after they had fallen into a formation meant to be used against a Heavens damned Tyrant-level Spirit Beast.
It was bad enough that few in the history of their Cultivation World could rival the mans bloodlust and brutality, it was worse that he had the power to carry it out. Core Circle cultivators were as powerless as helpless chicks before the man
The entire Jiu Zhou was shocked yet again.
Every Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost in the Core Circle fell into full-blown panic.
Even the higher-ups could not help but be stunned by the news.
Although they had a feeling that Lu Yi Ye would probably be strong enough to dominate the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield after he ascended to Heaven Nine, somehow it still escaped their imagination that he would do such a thing so soon after his ascension.
Were they really about to enter an unprecedented era where a single man ruled it all?
The Thousand Demon Ridge could not ept this, of course. Was there really no one who could keep that inhuman butcher in check?
Just half a dayter, another stunning news broke out.
The Waning Moon Pavilion, a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost not far away from the Mystic Green Pce had been upied as well!
Once again, Lu Yi Ye had done it all by himself!
The Mystic Green Pce was a Tier-Three Sect with not even a single Scroll of Supremacy ranker in their midst. They only had a handful of Heaven Nine cultivators as well. They could im that the Mystic Green Pce was conquered because they werent strong enough, but the same could never be said for the Waning Moon Pavilion. Why? It was because the Waning Moon Pavilion was a Tier-One sect!
Not only did the Waning Moon Pavilion have far more Heaven Nine cultivators than the Mystic Green Pce, one of them was a Scroll of Supremacy ranker in the fifties. Despite this, they were forced back to Jiu Zhou after suffering huge casualties.
Technically speaking, the Waning Moon Pavilions casualties werent nearly as terrible as the Mystic Green Pces. Having been warned of Lu Yi Yes arrival beforehand, they were prepared for his arrival. They had fought him in formation and retreated in an organized fashion when it became clear that they wouldnt win.
Despite this, they still lost over forty people. That was forty cultivators who would definitely make it to the Cloud River Realm if they hadnt had the misfortune of going up against the butcher known as Lu Yi Ye. The higher-ups of the Waning Moon Pavilion could barely stop themselves from spitting blood.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt too worried when the Mystic Green Pce was upiedmany people told themselves that the reason they were conquered was because they were too weakthey were now. If even a Tier-One sect could not stop the bastard, who else in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was safe from his wrath?
The next day, a third Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost was conquered. It was the one neighboring the Mystic Green Pce and the Waning Moon Pavilion.
The Thousand Demon Ridge was both furious and aghast that history had repeated itself. Back in the Inner Circle, Lu Ye still needed to create an entire invasion force to conquer their Outposts. Now? He didnt even need an army anymore. He was conquering Outposts left and right all by himself.
No wonder people called him the Vanquisher of Sects!
You could get a persons name wrong, but never their earned name.
Back then, the Thousand Demon Ridge had assembled an army of their own to stop Lu Yi Ye and force the Grand Sky Coalitions army into a stand-off. At the same time, their Divine Ocean Realm cultivators negotiated apromise with their Grand Sky Coalition counterparts. It was only after they paid an incredible sum of resources that the matter was finally settled.
They could not do the same here though. Even if they could muster the manpower, literally no one could catch up to Lu Yi Ye now that he was Heaven Nine. And if they couldnt catch up to him, what could their people possibly do against him?
For a time, countless champions found themselves with a massive headache. Eventually, they realized in horror that they literally did not have a single effective means to control Lu Yi Ye. The only way they could think of that might work was to abandon all their Outposts, form a super army, and take out every Grand Sky Coalition Outpost in the Core Circle. That would be the lets all die together scenario.
However, thest resort did not affect Lu Yi Ye one bit. They couldnt even target his Outpost because it was located at the outermost ring of the Outer Circle. The entire Core Circle could turn into a wastnd, and it still wouldnt affect him one bit.
While the Thousand Demon Ridge was discussing strategy, Lu Ye continued to conquer one Core Circle Outpost after the other. Even the Tier-One sects felt as fragile as paper before Lu Yi Ye. At first, there were a number of sects who refused to believe that Lu Yi Ye was as strong as the rumors imed and attempted to stop him with sheer numbers. They retreated only after Lu Ye had given them a bloody wake-up call.
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Chapter 427: Purple Gold Clan
Chapter 427: Purple Gold n
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In just ten days, Lu Ye had conquered over twenty Core Circle Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts. On average, that was two Outposts that fell to him every day.
Some sects ordered a full retreat the moment he showed up so as to avoid unnecessary loss of manpower. They also took everything they could take with them back to the headquarters. However, the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column were irremovable, so that Lu Ye was free to plunder them to his hearts content!
Some sects were less flexible and tried to resist. Eventually though, they came to recognize reality after Lu Ye had ughtered enough people.
Lu Yi Ye truly was unstoppable in the Spirit Creek Battlefield now!
It did not matter if the Outposts belonged to Tier Three, Two or One sects. Lu Yi Ye ravaged them all like naked, defenseless girls.
It was only now the Thousand Demon Ridge realized that a cultivator really could do as they pleased once they had reached a certain power level!
Moreover, Lu Ye wasnt the only one who was on the move. Many Grand Sky Coalition sects were growing restless due to his sesses as well. For a time, it looked like a terrible war could trigger in the Core Circle at any moment.-
Descent of the Legendary Archmage C...
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Please enable JavaScriptDescent of the Legendary Archmage Chapter 1
In the sky, Lu Ye was frowning deeply after speaking with his second senior sister through the Battlefield Imprint. It had been ten days since he started conquering Outposts, and his umted profits were obscene to say the least. Forget that every Outpost he conquered possessed a great amount of Blessings, the Core Circle cultivators he killed alone had yielded what he could only describe as an ocean of loot.
However, he had a feeling that his time was limited. If he continued doing what he was doing, it was highly likely that the Core Circle would fall intoplete chaos. Both sides would suffer if that happened.
That was why he purposely messaged his second senior sister and told her his worries.
To his surprise, Shui Yuan didnt agree with him. She simply told him to do as he pleased and leave no regrets.
He was approaching another Outpost. Looking at the 10-point map, it belonged to a Tier-Two sect called the Purple Gold n.
He changed directions andnded outside the grand ward.
There was an old man with white hair and a healthyplexion standing outside the grand ward. He gave off a warm and friendly appearance.
He smiled at the young man who just descended from the sky and asked, Are you Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect?
Lu Ye stared at him while gripping the Invible.
It was clear that this old man was no Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. He had to be at the Real Lake Realm at least!
Spirit Creek Realm cultivators werent the only ones he had killed in the past ten days. Some sects had mobilized their Cloud River Realm and even Real Lake Realm cultivators to kill him because they knew that there was no chance the younglings could protect their Outpost by themselves.
Of course, their power was suppressed the instant they entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They could only unleash the power of a Heaven Nine cultivator at most.
These Cloud River Realm and Real Lake Realm cultivators were no joke. Three days ago, Lu Ye had been forced to charge in and out of an enemy formation five times before he finally shattered their fighting spirit.
That was why he wasnt surprised to see an old man or woman at a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost anymore.
His gaze darted here and there as he examined the old mans vitals. He wondered how many hits he would need to kill him in a surprise attack.
The old mans face clearly stiffened for a second before he hurriedly said, Calm down, my young friend. I am here today not to fight you, but to negotiate a deal with you.
Lu Ye remained silent for a moment before shifting his gaze to the grand ward behind the old man. At least a hundred people were standing behind the ward, ring at him.
The old manughed. The younglings are just worried for my safety. They will not act unless I give them the order, so I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. Anyway, this is not a good ce to speak. If you trust me, then please follow me.
As the old man took off to the sky, Lu Ye nced back and forth between the old man and the one hundred or so Purple Gold n cultivators behind him. Finally, he rxed his grip slightly and flew after the old man.
A whileter, they reached a mountain about eight or so kilometers away from the Purple Gold ns Outpost. They quicklynded on the peak.
Lu Ye applied Insight to his eyes and checked his surroundings. He did not see any ambushes or wards.
The peak provided a perfect view of the Outpost below. One hand behind his back, the old man admired his Outpost for a bit before suggesting, The scenery here is pretty good, young friend. Would you like to see it?
Lu Ye stepped next to the old manthere was a good distance between them, of courseand followed his gaze.
The Outpost probably looks like hills of Contribution Points and wealth to you, but to me, it is the culmination of tens of generations of hard work and the future of the Purple Gold n, the old man said slowly, But of course, you and I do not belong to the same faction. Different standpoints naturally lead to different perspectives.
Speak frankly! Lu Ye said.
The old man nodded. I can see youre a straightforward man, so Ill jump straight to business. Youve conquered a total of twenty three Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts in thest ten days, and youve killed at least hundreds of people during this time. Of course, with your current strength and wealth, even elders like me may not be able to stop your rampage. If you wish, you can absolutely conquer every Outpost there is in the Core Circle!
That was the reality the Thousand Demon Ridge was facing right now. Lu Ye really could conquer every Outpost in the Core Circle if he wanted to!
Get to the but already, will you?
The old man was a little caught off guard by the interruption, but he said, But, have you ever wondered what would happen if you do that?
The old man did not wait for an answer before continuing, The Core Circle will be flooded with Heaven-grade cultivators that have nothing to lose. Without an Outpost to hold them back, they can band together andunch an organized assault against other Grand Sky Coalition Outposts. If a hundred people arent enough to do the job, then theyll gather two hundred. If two hundred people arent enough to do the job, then theyll gather three hundred. They have to seed eventually, no?
I do not think youre an unscrupulous man. I am sure youve already figured out the worst case scenario. Of course, if you have a way to ughter everyone in an Outpost, then you may forget that I said anything.
Lu Ye was expressionless, but it was exactly what he had been worrying about for the past couple days.
At first, after all the pains the Thousand Demon Ridge had put him through, he had sworn to pay them back ten fold after he ascended to Heaven Nine.
When he actually tried to enact his n, he realized that his thoughts were too shallow.
As the old man said, for every Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost he conquered, the Core Circle would grow just a little more dangerous for the Grand Sky Coalition.
The only way he could mitigate this hidden threat was to kill everyone when he attacked an Outpost, but that was obviously impossible. By now, everyone knew that it would be folly to hold their ground against him. As ofte, his enemies would evacuate as soon as he arrived at their Outpost and preserve their strength.
Every time he took an Outpost, the invisible, livid army with nothing to lose would grow just a little bigger.
If the hidden threat reached a certain threshold, he had no doubt that they would erupt in full force and engulf the entire Core Circle in the mes of war. Every Grand Sky Coalition Outpost in the Core Circle would be in danger then.
That was exactly why he had messaged Shui Yuan to ask for guidance earlier. Unfortunately, she hadnt given him a clear instruction.
If all you want is to satisfy the dark urge in your heart, if you do not care that the Grand Sky Coalition might face a dark fate in the future, then once again, you may pretend that weve never had this conversation. Neither I nor my Purple Gold n can stop you even if we tried. You may even kill me right here and now before you upy my Outpost. As a Real Lake Realm cultivator, Im sure Im worth at least a couple hundred Contribution Points.
Could Lu Ye really do whatever he wanted regardless of the consequences?
Of course not.
Back when his identity was exposed, it was the Grand Sky Coalition who came together to escort him to safety even though they wereplete strangers back then. When he was heading to the Myriad Poison Forest to save Amber, Yi Yi and Ju Jia, it was they who protected him and escorted him there the whole way. Otherwise, he would never have had the time to gather the Spiritual Power necessary to use Fire Phoenix, break through the Thousand Demon Ridges blockade, and enter the Myriad Poison Forest.
As a member of the Grand Sky Coalition, he had to n everything while taking the faction into consideration. There were always exceptions, but if one day the majority of a factions members cared more about their self-interests than the peoples, then the faction probably wasnt far away from self-destruction.
Conquering the Thousand Demon Ridges Outposts would benefit him, but it would put his entire faction in danger. That was why he could never do such a thing. If nothing else, he must protect his fellow Crimson Blood Sect disciples.
His junior brothers and sisters might address him as Fifth Senior Brother in the Crimson Blood Sect, but he was really the first. Naturally, it was the older siblings duty to watch out for the younger ones.
If youre not going to kill me, then Im going to assume that I may resume this conversation, the old man said with hidden relief after observing Lu Yi Yes expression.
He might look calm on the outside, but he was really a mess on the inside. After all, it took great courage to stand next to a man like the Vanquisher of Sects, especially since he was young, powerful and more importantly, easily irritable like all youngsters naturally were. One wrong word, and he might not live to see tomorrows sun.
Thankfully, Lu Yi Ye wasnt an unreasonable person.
Right now, you are the strongest cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Since ancient times, our Cultivation World has always been one of might makes right. You have more than solidified that status by conquering twenty three Outposts in a row, and no onenot even we, the Thousand Demon Ridgewould deny that.
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Chapter 428: Insatiable Greed
Chapter 428: Insatiable Greed
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If this was Jiu Zhou, then the old man would have crushed Lu Ye like an ant.
But this was the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Forget a Real Lake Realm cultivator, even a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator must take Lu Yi Yes reaction into ount before they say anything. It was very tiring.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, you wont find a soul who wont acknowledge that youre practically invincible, but there are things in life that individual strength cannot change
Get to the point! Lu Ye interrupted his incessant bbering.
The old man did not take offense at his rudeness and took a moment to ruminate his words. He then said, The Purple Gold n is willing to pay you handsomely if you agree not to attack our Outpost!
This was the real reason the old man had sought out Lu Ye.
State your offer!
The old man was surprised. He thought he would need to speak a little more to convince Lu Ye into epting his n, but the young man had asked him to give his price immediately.-
DYM Chapter 41-42
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Please enable JavaScriptDYM Chapter 41-42
Fifty thousand Contribution Points worth of goods!
Lu Ye shot the old man an incredulous look. His aura slowly turned dangerous.
The old man felt a chill creeping up his spine as he hurriedly exined, Let me exin, young friend. It is true youll receive more Contribution Points if you conquer our Outpostforget fifty thousand, your profit will easily exceed five hundred thousand Contribution Pointsbut as I had told you earlier, youll also create a bunch of homeless cultivators wholl do everything in their power to take bloody revenge against the Grand Sky Coalition if they do so. They will definitely band together with those who have also lost their Outposts and attack a Grand Sky Coalition Outpost. Im sure you dont wish to see that happen, yes? This is a negotiation. The only way to achieve a win-win scenario is for both sides to make apromise.
If you think that the Purple Gold ns Outpost is only worth fifty thousand Contribution Points, then we can end this conversation here.
The old man chuckled. Of course our Outpost is worth more than fifty thousand Contribution Points. Generations of cultivators have worked on it for years, and the amount of Contribution Points spent on the Outpost could only be described as astronomical.
If youre only targeting my Purple Gold n, then yes, we are more than willing to pay you fifty thousand Contribution Points to buy your mercy. But you should remember that we arent the only Outposts in the Core Circle.
Lu Ye frowned. What do you mean by that?
Im saying that if you set a precedent here, you may be able to convince other Thousand Demon Ridge sects to buy your mercy as well. Lets assume that our offer is the baseline. How many Contribution Points do you think youll get if you visit a hundred Outposts?
Seeing that Lu Ye was silent, the old man continued, Ill do the math for you. There are nine provinces in Jiu Zhou, and each province has ten Tier-One sects, twenty to thirty Tier-Two sects, and forty to fifty Tier-Three sects. At the minimum, that is around eighty to a hundred sects in total. Multiply that by nine, and youll get a total of eight hundred to one thousand sects that are Tier Three or above.
Assuming that the ratio of Grand Sky Coalition and Thousand Demon Ridge sects is half-half, that means that there are four to five hundred sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge. If every sect were to pay you fifty thousand Contribution Points worth of goods, that means youll be earning twenty million Contribution Points at least. Do you think its still insufficient now?
For the first time since the conversation began, Lu Ye waspletely speechless. He hadnt done the math, so he did not realize just how much wealth he would be getting. Going by the old mans calction, he would be earning between twenty to thirty million Contribution Points worth of goods. That was insane to say the least.
Take the Invible for example. It was one of the pricier nonuple-enhancement Spirit Artifacts in the Vault of Providence, and it was only worth a hundred and thirty eight Contribution Points.
Even the astronomically priced Point Restoration Pill was only priced at a hundred and sixty thousand Contribution Points. He could buy hundreds of them with thirty million Contribution Points, though of course there were only a few of them left in the Vault of Providence now.
Thats why you shouldnt think that Im paying you a pittance. Fifty thousand Contribution Points is the number Ive arrived at after much consideration. If you ask for too much, the other sects might think that it would be better to lose their Outposts. No offense, but no one wants to raise a monster who is guaranteed to annihte them in the future. Wed rather die fighting.
Are you sure the other sects would ept this arrangement? Lu Ye asked.
The old man stroked his beard smilingly. Have we not paid you to stop when you were conquering our Outposts in the Inner Circle? What is losing some Contribution Pointspared to losing an entire Outpost? As Ive told you, each Core Circle Outpost is the culmination of generations or even tens of generations of hard work.
Lu Ye epted his exnation with a nod.
Although the old man hadnt said it out loud, Lu Ye had a feeling that the old man wasnt just speaking for his sect, but the entire Thousand Demon Ridge! This must be the optimal solution they had arrived at after discussing what they wanted to do with him, and this old man was their mouthpiece.
[Its not an uneptable arrangement]
Before this, Lu Ye was worried that his wanton conquest was eventually going to lead to a catastrophic situation for everyone. The old mansor rather the Thousand Demon Ridgesn would make him far less profit, but at least it wouldnt result in excessive chaos and destruction.
Also, the Thousand Demon Ridge was going to pay him fifty thousand Contribution Points worth of goods. Right now, every Contribution Point he earned had to be converted into Sect Contribution Points first before he could pay himself just ten percent of the total sum. It could not bepared to goods that could be used for cultivation.
Finally, the Crimson Blood Sect did not urgently need Contribution Points right now. The concentration of their World Spiritual Qi had already been upgraded to the max, and the only other upgrade they could perform was to increase its radius.
On the other hand, the cultivation resources could elerate his disciples growth even further.
It was a great arrangement for him no matter how he looked at it.
Very well. I want a hundred thousand Contribution Points from Tier-Three sects, two hundred thousand Contribution Points from Tier-Two sects, and three hundred thousand Contribution Points from Tier-One sects!
The Thousand Demon Ridge was the one who wished topromise, so of course he was going to squeeze them for all it was worth. The thought of epting the old mans price as it was had never crossed his mind because he was the winner, not them. They were the ones who shouldply with his demand, not the other way around.
Of course, he freely admitted that fifty thousand Contribution Points worth of goods was a lot. He could buy hundreds of Invibles with that kind of wealth.
He was well aware how many Contribution Points the sects usually spent on their Outposts though. Three hundred thousand was but a ssh in the pondpared to that!
Lu Ye was certain that his offer was perfectly fair, and that everyone would happily ept it!
Young friend the old man tried to speak.
Lu Ye was done with the old man, however. He took out his 10-point map and chose a location. Ill be waiting for you at Skysword Peak. You have ten days to prepare. I shouldnt need to tell you this, but any sect who fails to deliver on the promise shall receive a personal visit from me!
With that said, he summoned his Spirit Boat and took to the sky.
Young friend! The old man called after him, but the young man paid him no attention. He could only watch as Lu Yi Ye vanished into the horizon.
Just an incense stickter, every Core Circle sect had heard of Lu Yes terms. Countless people were hopping mad and cursing Lu Yi Ye for his insatiable greed.
If Lu Yi Ye had epted the old mans offer, then the Crimson Blood Sect would be earning between twenty to thirty million Contribution Points worth of goods. That was already a disgusting number to even think about. But if theyplied with Lu Yi Yes demands, then the Crimson Blood Sect would be receiving between fifty to sixty million Contribution Points worth of goods!
Twenty to thirty million Contribution Points were already enough to transform the Crimson Blood Sectpletely. Fifty to sixty million?
They didnt even dare to think about it!
The bad-tempered ones even made an announcement saying that Lu Yi Ye might as well conquer every Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost in the Core Circle. When that happened, they would band together and ensure that no one would be the winner.
Of course, talk was just talk. As the old man of the Purple Gold n had mentioned before, every Core Circle Outpost was the culmination of generations or even tens of generations of hard work. One could not even begin to imagine the amount of Contribution Points they had spent on their Outposts. Compared to that, one, two or even three hundred thousand Contribution Points was nothing at all. It was just that some people could not swallow the indignity.
Meanwhile, the twenty three Outposts who were conquered by Lu Yi Ye were on the verge of tears. How nice would it be if Lu Yi Ye had given his terms before he conquered their Outposts? Heavens know how many years it would take to rebuild it all
No one thought it was possible for a single Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to create this much wealth until he did. If they lumped the resources they had paid to the Grand Sky Coalition a few months ago under Lu Yi Ye as well, then the amount of losses the one man had cost them could only be described as astronomical.
The Skysword Peak was a Spirit Peak located at the centermost area of the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Core Circle. It was given its name because it looked like a massive sword that was nted on the ground. Coincidentally or not, it was overflowing with sharp, craggy rocks as well.
The reason Lu Ye chose the Skysword Peak was because it was located at the center of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Even the farthest Thousand Demon Ridge sect could definitely make it over in ten days, meaning that anyone who did not show up in time must disagree with his demand. Naturally, he was going to conquer those fools when it was time.
It took Lu Ye two days to travel from the Purple Gold n to the Skysword Peak. To his surprise, someone was already there.
They were two women. They seemed to be cultivating by feeling the nature around them.
When Lu Yended, they opened their eyes to see who it was. Then, they realized in horror that he was none other than Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!
The two women shivered in terror. Was today their unluckiest day or something? Just what were the chances they would run into the One Leaf while cultivating in a Heavens forsaken mountain?
The older woman asked her junior sister, This is bad. What do we do?
The younger woman answered feebly, Fight him to the death?
The older woman shook her head. Theres no way we can win. Hes killed hundreds of people in the past ten days alone.
What do we do then? the junior sister sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
What if what if you try to seduce him? Her senior sister suggested.
What? How? He looks like he can swallow me alive! Her junior sister responded in a dumbfounded voice.
With your chest, idiot! I heard that he loves women with big breasts. Have you heard of Bai Lan? You know, the Scroll of Supremacy ranker? She survived where no one else did because she was big enough. Youre pretty big yourself, so Im sure you can do it.
Really? It was clear that this was the first time the junior sister had heard of this. She was just wrestling with disbelief and disgust when suddenly, Lu Yi Ye looked in their direction. Both women turned as pale as death in an instant.
The senior sister hurriedly gave her junior sister a push. Knowing that it was the only way they might survive, the younger woman immediately puffed up her chest and forced a smile on her face. Before she could say anything though, Lu Ye shot her a nce and said, Get lost!
Perhaps it was because he killed way too many people as ofte, but Lu Ye couldnt muster the desire to kill the two women.
At first, they couldnt believe that they would let them off so easily. However, they quickly recovered and brought out their flying Spirit Artifacts. They were gone in the blink of an eye.
A long, long timeter, the junior sister finally patted her chest and exhaled, I thought we were going to die!
Her senior sister said, See? I told you that he has a weakness for big, round melons! That bastard!
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Chapter 429: Battle Between Tyrants
Chapter 429: Battle Between Tyrants
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At Skysword Peak, Lu Ye was sitting crosslegged with the Invible propped atop his knees, and his palms facing upward. Hemuned with his saber as he breathed.
It had been three days since he arrived at the Spirit Peak, or five days since he gave the Thousand Demon Ridge his ultimatum. No one had shown their faces just yet, but Lu Ye could tell that a lot of ghost cultivators were skulking nearby.
At first, Lu Ye thought that the ghost cultivators were here to assassinate him. Now though, he thought differently. If that was the case, they shouldve attacked him a long time ago. They never made a move even though he had exposed himself many times for the past three days.
Did Thousand Demon Ridge not want him dead? Of course they did. No one dared to make a move though. Lu Ye had already given them his terms, and any sect that paid the price would be spared from his wrath. It was one thing if they could kill him, but if they failed then the consequences were unimaginable.
Lu Ye thought he knew why these ghost cultivators were really here. They were here to spy on him, but he suspected that they were also carrying the valuables he demanded. As for why they hadnt paid him yet, it was because there was still time before the deadline.
They were all waiting for the other ghost cultivators to turn in the valuables first. After all, there was absolutely nothing to be proud about this-
Earthly Deity Chapter 45
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Please enable JavaScriptEarthly Deity Chapter 45
In any case, there were still five days until Lu Yes deadline. They could afford to waste this time.
Time continued to pass as more and more ghost cultivators continued to show up and observe Lu Ye from the shadows.
Meanwhile, an interesting news had broken out from the Divine Trade Association. Apparently, a new Tyrant Mutant had appeared in the Core Circle. Not only was she a female Mutant capable of taking on a humanoid form, she did not have a fixed territory. She seemed to be roaming the Core Circle in search of something.
In fact, the Divine Trade Association had noticed her two months ago. It was just that she wasnt worth giving out information for free back then. However, she started garnering more and more attention after she appeared in the Core Circle.
No one knew what she was searching for, only that she wasnt overtly hostile toward cultivators. She always left them alone unless they provoked her.
ording to the elites of the Divine Trade Association, the female Mutant was originally a Fire Attribute Spirit Beast before she transformed into her current form, a Firecube to be exact. She most likely hailed from the Burning Lands because that ce was a forbidden zone and the perfect habitat for Fire Attribute Spirit Beasts. On a rted note, the Burning Lands had begun receding several months ago. No one knew why this was happening.
The Divine Trade Association guessed that the female Mutant originally lived in the Burning Lands until it began receding for an unknown reason. That was why she was roaming the Core Circle. She was probably looking to im a new territory.
Countless sects were tempted when they heard this news. A female Mutant who could assume a human form was a recruitable Mutant. Not only was she a massive fighting power, any Outpost she was guarding would never have to worry about being attacked again.
Take the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost for example. Why was it untouchable even though it had been abandoned for years before Lu Ye showed up? It was because it was protected by the Tyrant, Beaky.
A few sects had already made contact with the female Mutant. Unfortunately, no one had seeded in recruiting her yet.
The female Tyrant happened to be passing through Skysword Peak when suddenly, she dove toward the peak as if she noticed something. Shended right in front of Lu Ye and said in an unclear voice, I found you!
Lu Ye was reading his books when he looked up and saw the uninvited guest. Feeling an immediate headache, he asked, Why are you here?
He honestly did not think he would ever meet her again. Moreover, it sounded like she had been looking for him
The ghost cultivators hiding in the shadows werent expecting this at all. No one knew how Lu Yi Ye had gotten entangled with a Tyrant-level Mutant, not to mention that it looked like they were acquaintances.
I was looking for you! She said.
For what?
I couldnt find the me anywhere.
Its gone then.
Of course she couldnt find it. The True Phoenix me had been devoured by the Tree of Glyphs and transformed into Glyph: Fire Phoenix.
He had to admire her for her persistence though. He did not think she would still be looking for that fire after so long.
The female Primal shook her head. Impossible. Help me. She then made a grab for Lu Ye regardless of his free will.
Lu Ye wasnt willing to go with her, of course. Forget that the True Phoenix me was long gone, he did not feel like acquainting himself with this Tyrant for any longer than was necessary. It was just too dangerous for his personal wellbeing.
So, he dodged the grab and suggested, Why dont you try a little longer?
I couldnt find it. She shook her head stubbornly. Find it for me.
She then made a grab for Lu Ye again.
Lu Ye frowned and unsheathed the Invible. The female Primal withdrew her hand right before the saber would cut her. Her scarlet pupils contracted slightly as her expression turned unfriendly.
Dont get handsy. And listen to people when theyre talking to you, Lu Ye warned while holding the saber in front of himself.
I want that me! The female Primal replied impatiently. At the same time, her nails elongated into sharp ws while fiery red energy began rolling off her body.
Meanwhile, the nearby ghost cultivators were stunned by this oue. They thought that Lu Yi Ye was acquainted with the female Tyrant, and they were right. However, it seemed like this rtionship was a hostile one.
[This is great for us!]
Lu Ye brushed his thumb against the hilt while lowering his gaze. Nobody likes being pestered. If you keep this up, Ill have to request my brothers and sisters to gang up on you. You dont want that, do you?
The female Primal immediately swept her gaze across the areas. The ghost cultivators skulking in the shadows nched like someone had stripped them naked. They knew then that Lu Yi Ye and discovered them a long time ago.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh
The ghost cultivators hurriedly revealed themselves and brought out their flying Spirit Artifacts. They immediately escaped in every direction.
The female Primal turned to look back at Lu Ye, but Lu Ye was already swinging his saber at her.
After interacting with the female Primal twice, Lu Ye knew that she was as formidable as she was dumb as a rock. Once she had locked her mind onto a certain course of action, she wouldnt change her mind for a long time.
She had been searching for him all this time so he could look for the True Phoenix me for her. He didnt expect her to give up now just because he said no. That was why the only way to force her into abandoning this course of action was to fight her.
When Lu Ye first encountered her at the Burning Lands, he was only a Heaven Seven cultivator. At the time, he was weak enough that she had nearly killed him after a brief sh.
He was no longer who he was then, however. Not only was he Heaven Nine, he had been baptized by the Heavens reward three times. With his strength, he had single handedly brought the Thousand Demon Ridge to their knees.
He did not know if he could defeat the female Primal, but he knew that a negotiation was only possible between equals. This was doubly true for Spirit Beasts.
The female Primal dodged his first attack effortlessly like she was weightless. However, he had many, many more to throw at her. He attacked her like a furious storm.
Meanwhile, the news that Lu Yi Ye was fighting against the female Tyrant had spread across the Spirit Creek Battlefield like wildfire. It wasnt long before everyone in Jiu Zhou had heard about it as well.
The higher-ups of the Thousand Demon Ridge were beyond delighted to hear this. Some of them nearly broke out cackling like a viin.
Karma was a bitch, and it looked like she had finally caught up to Lu Yi Ye. Although they didnt know why Lu Yi Ye was fighting that female Tyrant, there was no way he could be a match for her!
The sentiment was shared by every other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator as well. They could not wait to hear the news that he had died horrifically under the female Tyrants ws and celebrate his demise.
The ghost cultivators who were at the scene confirmed that the female Tyrant had been targeting Lu Yi Ye from the start. They knew this because the female Tyrant had said, I found you, when she appeared at Skysword Peak. She also discussed something about a me with him
In any case, the man and the female Tyrant were engaged in a great battle right now. The ghost cultivators watched from afar while updating their people in real time.
Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators prayed that the female Tyrant would unleash her true power and crush Lu Yi Ye like the bastard he was. If he was dead, then the Spirit Creek Battlefield would be freed from his tyranny. Naturally, they would not need to prepare the remunerations either.
However, their hopes and dreams were extinguished as more updates came. As it turned out, Lu Yi Ye was actually powerful enough to fight a Tyrant to a standstill.
Right now, Lu Ye was shing against the winged Tyrant in the sky. Bothbatants were zipping across the sky and turning it bright red with their attacks.
Not only was Lu Ye stronger than the female Primal in terms of physical strength, his speed was a match for hers thanks to Soar. In addition, Lu Ye was a Glyphweaver. His bag of tricks allowed him to gain a slight advantage over the female Primal.
What had been a celebratory atmosphere quickly turned as dead as a wake as they received thetest updates. At the same time, the Thousand Demon Ridge finally realized that Lu Yi Ye was a Tyrant himself. Only a Tyrant could go up against another Tyrant.
This was the first time in history where a cultivator had reached the level of a Tyrant!
The battle would continue from day to night, night to day; from the ground to the sky, then from the sky to the ground
It wasnt until a full day and nightter was it finally over.
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Chapter 430: Did You Just Talk Back To Me?
Chapter 430: Did You Just Talk Back To Me?
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On Skysword Peak, Lu Ye had stripped off his shirt so that Yi Yi could wash his wounds, cover them in ointments and bandage them. He was covered in wounds right now.
The battle against the female Primal was difficult, but it was also one of the most exhrating fights of his life.
Right now, there was no cultivator in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who was a match for him.
Lan Zi Yi could give him a run for his money before he was Heaven Nine, but now, even she was no match for him anymore. The fact that Lan Zi Yi hadnt challenged him in the past two months was the biggest proof of it.
Now, only a Tyrant could give him a real fight.
There was no winner or loser in this battle. One could say that they were both winners or losers. Both him and the female Primal were exhausted and fairly wounded at the end of the battle.
The female Primal might have an underdeveloped brain, but she wasnt so stupid as to have no self-preservation instinct whatsoever. She had escaped to Heavens-know-where to recuperate.-
DYM Chapter 21-22
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Lu Ye didnt leave because he was still waiting for the Thousand Demon Ridge to deliver him his goods.
Night fell. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of breaking leaves.
Amber immediately grew alert. Yi Yi was watching her surroundings carefully as well. Lu Ye remained seated but gripped the Invible in case the enemy decided to attack him.
He was at his weakest right now. Now was the Thousand Demon Ridges best chance to kill him.
A cultivator abruptly stepped out into the open. Their outfit clearly marked them as a ghost cultivator. They stopped about thirty meters away from Lu Ye, sped his hands together in respect, and threw a bulging Storage Bag in Lu Yes direction.
Yi Yi caught it easily. When she looked up, the ghost cultivator was already gone. From the start, they hadnt revealed their origin or even spoken a word.
Yi Yi looked thoughtful as she opened the Storage Bag. She found a jade slip with the name of the ghost cultivators sect on it.
She whispered the name to Lu Ye, and Lu Ye nodded.
More ghost cultivators showed up after the appearance of the first ghost cultivator. Just the same, they all tossed their Storage Bags in Lu Yes direction before leaving.
Being forced to submit to your enemys demand was hardly an honorable thing. That was why the ghost cultivators remained perfectly silent from the start to the finish. Jade slips or other identifiers had been ced in the Storage Bags so there was no chance Lu Ye wouldnt know which sect had paid the price, and which hadnt.
For a time, it felt like Storage Bags were raining from the sky. Even Yi Yi was unable to catch them all immediately.
A good number of ghost cultivators didnt even show their faces. They simply tossed their Storage Bags from afar and left after confirming that Lu Ye had epted them.
There were still three days before Lu Yi Yes ten-day deadline was up, and at first the ghost cultivators were going to wait until thest moment before giving up their Storage Bags. However, they lost even thatst bit of resistance after witnessing the great battle between Lu Yi Ye and the female Tyrant.
Lu Yi Ye was the first ever cultivator to join the rank of tyrants. It was yet another unprecedented achievement. Who in their right mind would dare to risk incurring the young mans wrath after that, not to mention that the fates of the twenty three Outposts were still fresh in their minds?
Originally, there were some sects who were preparing to negotiate with Lu Yi Ye and see if they could reduce the amount a little. After all, even Tier-One sects would be hard pressed to prepare three hundred thousand Contribution Points worth of goods in ten days.
Those thoughts were now the furthest thing from their minds. They would rather pay three hundred thousand Contribution Points worth of goods than risk incurring the wrath of a Tyrant.
The next morning, the amount of Storage Bags piled in front of Lu Ye had exceeded four hundred. Yi Yi looked a little faint as she stared at the Storage Bags and murmured, Were rich, Lu Ye!
Yes, we are! Lu Ye nodded strongly.
He gave her the 10-point map and left the inventory to her. Her job was to check if a sect had submitted the appropriate amount of goods before marking them on the 10-point map. It was the kind of tedious work that was perfect for Yi Yi, not to mention that Lu Ye was still recuperating.
Oh right, leave the Raving desmen Storage Bag for thest, Lu Ye instructed.
Kay.
Three days passed by in the blink of an eye. Lu Ye had almost fully recovered, and Yi Yi was done with the tallying. She had also organized all the goods by category.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to stuff hundreds of Storage Bags into a single Storage Bag. There were just too many items. Despite her best efforts, she was still carrying thirty or so Storage Bags that were filled to the brim. Lu Ye could not help but frown when he saw this. Not only did it look bad, it would definitely affect their ability to fight
There was no other option though. Plus, he would rather have to deal with being too rich than the other way around.
ording to the 10-point map, every Outpost within the Core Circle except the twenty three Lu Ye had conquered had delivered their goods. Not a single sect had decided to tempt fate.
This is the Raving desmens Storage Bag, Yi Yi said while handing a single Storage Bag to Lu Ye. Lu Ye opened it and took a moment to check its contents. He saw Spirit Pills, Spirit Stones, Spirit Artifacts, herbs and more. It would take a while to tally them all and confirm that there were three hundred thousand Contribution Points worth of goods in it. That said, the Raving desmen was a Tier-One sect, and they had chosen to pay him instead of fighting him to the bitter end. Therefore, he was fairly certain they wouldnt try to cheat him.
However
Do you think there are three hundred thousand Contribution Points worth of goods in this Storage Bag? Lu Ye suddenly asked Yi Yi.
I think so? Yi Yi sounded hesitant because she had a feeling that Lu Ye was plotting something.
If you cant be sure, then that could only mean that theyre trying to cheat us! Lu Ye uttered murderously all of a sudden, How dare the Raving desmen do such a thing! They must not want their Outpost.
Yi Yis eyes twitched once. What are you nning? She didnt know why Lu Ye was targeting the Raving desmen.
Lets go to their Outpost! Lu Ye rose to his feet and brought out his flying Spirit Artifact.
Half a dayter, Lu Yended outside the Raving desmens Outpost. A sentry immediately noticed his presence and came forth to investigate. He immediately spotted a young man carrying an insane amount of Storage Bags around his waist.
It was like he was wearing a skirt of Storage Bags. The sentry had never seen anyone carrying this many Storage Bags on their person. He could write the words I am rich on his forehead, and it still wouldnt be as impactful as this.
Then, the sentry saw the young mans face and nched. Lu Yi Ye!
Lu Ye pretended that the sentry did not exist and searched for the grand wards nodes with Insight. Then, he brought out his ward gs and began doing his thing.
What are you doing, Lu Yi Ye? The sentry could not help but yell in anger when he saw this.
It was said that Lu Yi Yes ward breaching skill was one of a kind. He always slipped through the grand ward first before going on a killing spree. Naturally, Lu Yes action scared the sentry greatly.
He had just finished yelling when Lu Ye lifted a corner of the grand ward and walked in. The cultivator immediately backpedaled from the young man and raised his Spirit Artifact defensively. Despite his fear, he shouted, LU YI YE IS HERE!
The entire Outpost bubbled with activity instantly. Many cultivators appeared from various directions beforending tens of meters away from Lu Ye.
As expected of a Tier-One sect, dozens of people had arrived less than ten breaths after the sentry had cried out the warning. Their reaction was incredibly swift.
The cultivators of the Raving desmen had heard of the infamous Lu Yi Ye since forever, but for most of them, this was the first time they saw the man in person. At first nce, he didnt look any different from the average Heaven Nine cultivator. In reality, they knew they were facing down a Tyrant-level existence.
Despite their numbers advantage, it was clear that the Raving desmen were incredibly nervous. It was almostical that Lu Ye, the guy who invaded the Outpost alone, was perfectly calm.
A man with steadfast features stepped out and asked solemnly, Why have you invaded our Outpost, Lu Yi Ye?
The guy had to be the Legate or the prolegate. No one else would dare to speak to him considering the circumstances.
Lu Ye tossed the Storage Bag into the air. The man caught it and gave it a quick check before asking with an ugly expression, What is the meaning of this?
He remembered the Storage Bag and his contents very well. After all, he was the one who had handed it to their ghost cultivator to deliver to Skysword Peak. It was the goods they were supposed to pay Lu Yi Ye to buy his peace.
The fact that Lu Yi Ye had returned it exactly as it was could not be a good thing.
Its not enough!
Are you sure you checked it properly? The guy asked through gritted teeth.
He was one hundred percent sure there were three hundred thousand Contribution Points worth of goods in the Storage Bag. After all, he was the one who prepared them with a Real Lake Realm elder. He knew better than anyone just how much they were worth.
Since they had chosen topromise, of course they werent going to skimp on the payment. It would only bring them trouble.
If you dont believe me, you can sell them to the Vault of Providence now and see if you can get three hundred thousand Contribution Points in return, Lu Ye said expressionlessly.
Lu Ye did not know exactly how much the contents of the Storage Bag were worth, but he knew that there was no way the Raving desmen would get three hundred thousand Contribution Points in return if they actually sold them to the Vault of Providence. There was almost a fifty percent difference between the purchase and sell price of an item.
The Legate turned red in the face. Are you serious right now? Going by Lu Yes calction, they had to pay double the amount to buy his so-called peace!
This was just too much!
Whats the problem?
What was the problem? The problem was that he knew that everyone else was paying Lu Yi Ye based on the purchase price in the Vault of Providence, not the selling price. It was clear that Lu Yi Ye had it out for them for whatever reason!
The man was so angry that he let out an incredulousugh. There is such a thing as too much greed, Lu Yi Ye!
Did you just talk back to me? Lu Ye stared at him.
I didnt
He didnt even get to finish his sentence before he saw Lu Ye turning into a blur and appearing in front of him in the blink of an eye. Noting the deadly sh of red, the man hastily raised his Spirit Artifact to block the attack.
Boom! A tremendous force sent the man flying. Blood was seeping out of his lips when hended at the center of a crowd and climbed back to his feet!
He was stunned. He was ranked twenty or so on the Scroll of Supremacy right now, but he still failed to withstand a normal strike from Lu Yi Ye!
Hand me twenty de technique insights. Otherwise, you can say goodbye to your Outpost, Lu Yes voice reverberated throughout the Outpost.
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Chapter 431: You Are In No Position To Negotiate
Chapter 431: You Are In No Position To Negotiate
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The booklet of insights Lu Ye had received from Xiao Xinghe had helped him tremendously, and his third senior brother was only a Real Lake Realm cultivator.
Since then, Lu Ye had been hoping to obtain more of them.
Unfortunately, there was no Grand Sky Coalition sect that was famous for their de techniques. The Northern Profound Sword n was famous for their sword technique, and sword cultivators loved to pay them a visit and cultivate their attainment in the Way of Swords at their headquarters.
However, Lu Ye was a de cultivator, so the Northern Profound Sword n was the opposite of what he wanted. The Raving desmen was a de-focused sect, but he couldnt pay them a visit for obvious reasons. If he dared to visit their headquarters, forget tomorrows sun, he wouldnt even live to see tonights moon.
While he couldnt visit their headquarters, their Outpost at the Spirit Creek Battlefield was apletely different story. He wasnt asking for their elites to teach them in person either. He just wanted twenty random booklets of insights like what his third senior brother gave him.
This was the real reason he targeted the Raving desmen of all sects.
Now the cultivators of the Raving desmen understood why Lu Ye hade here. His im that the items in the Storage Bag werent worth three hundred thousand Contribution Points was, of course, bullshit. He was really here to get their cultivation insights.-
DYM Chapter 41-42
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Meanwhile, some people lost control and charged Lu Ye after seeing that he had injured their Legate.
In response, Lu Ye lowered his gaze and pointed his saber at the ground. Spiritual Power began rising from his person.
When the Legate saw this, he hurriedly shouted, Stop!
He let out an audible sigh of relief when his cultivatorsplied.
He absolutely could not allow his cultivators to fight Lu Yi Ye. It would only end with the death and destruction of their people. The Mystic Green Pce was the best example of that!
The first sect Lu Yi Ye had conquered in the Core Circle was the Mystic Green Pce, and over seventy percent of their cultivators had been ughtered by him. Heavens only know how long it would take them to recover.
If Lu Yi Ye could kill seventy percent of the Mystic Green Sects cultivators, of course he could do the same to the Raving desmen. Even worse, they would lose their Outpost. That was tens of generations of hard work gone just like that.
After taking a moment to calm his breathing, the man said, Moderation is a virtue, Lu Yi Ye.
If you think you are not qualified to make a decision, I am perfectly fine with you discussing my terms with someone who can. Im a busy man, so you have an hour. If I do not receive a satisfactory response in an hour, then prepare to say goodbye to your Outpost!
The Legate stared at Lu Ye for a long time before he finally said something to the person standing next to him in a low tone. Then, he left in a hurry.
As Lu Ye suspected, the Legate wasnt qualified to make such a decision. This was something he must speak with his elders and superiors to obtain a decision.
Lu Ye returned the Invible to its sheath. After maneuvering the sheath in front of him and cing both hands on the hilt, he closed his eyes and waited for the Raving desmen to give her an answer.
While waiting, the other Raving desmen cultivators red at him hatefully from tens of meters away. No one dared to act recklessly as their Legate had specifically told them to stay put before leaving. So, they vented their anger and frustration through their gazes.
Some people were also watching Lu Ye curiously. He was an infamous figure, but most of them had only seen his picture or heard about him.
Time passed little by little. Suddenly, a fearsome-looking female cultivator stepped out of the crowd and walked up to Lu Ye. She was holding a cup of tea.
You must have traveled a ways toe to our Outpost. Please, have some tea!
Lu Ye opened his eyes and looked down on her.
The female cultivator smiled tauntingly, Or are you too afraid to enjoy our hospitality?
It was true they couldnt defeat Lu Ye, but it was one thing to ept the unchangeable and another to resign oneselfpletely.
Their Legate had warned them not to sh against Lu Ye before leaving. However, they were only serving him tea, not fighting him. This was just basic hospitality, was it not?
If they were Lu Ye, then they would never drink the tea. After all, the tea could be poisoned. Even if it wasnt, who would risk their lives to test something like this?
This was their way of pushing back against Lu Ye and extinguishing his arrogance.
If Lu Ye did not ept the tea, then they were absolutely going to make Lu Yi Ye the Coward his new nickname. The guy had earned plenty of nicknames already. He could definitely handle one more.
The female cultivator was just thinking this when Lu Ye grabbed the tea cup out of her hands and drank it in one gulp.
It could be poisoned, sure, but it could never kill him!
The female cultivators eyes twitched violently. The tea was, in fact, not poisoned, but only because she didnt expect Lu Yi Ye to be bold enough to drink it. She immediately regretted not putting some deadly poison in the tea. If she failed, then whatever. If she seeded, then the entire world would thank her for her contributions. Now, it looked like she really hade to serve him tea
The Raving desmens Legate did not wait an hour to return. When he showed up, Lu Ye interrupted him before he could speak, Just so you know, you are in no position to negotiate. The Raving desmen has existed for many years, and countless champions have been born under your sect. I refuse to believe you cannot hand me twenty de technique insights.
Whatever the Legate wanted to say died in his mouth. His elders had, in fact, instructed him to negotiate with Lu Ye to the best of his abilities. Although they had multiple copies of the insights, to give them to Lu Yi Ye was to assist him in his growth. This waspletely different from the assortment of goods they had given him earlier. Naturally, they wanted to minimize their contribution as much as possible.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye predicted that they would do this. That was why he shut the Legate up before he even got the chance to speak.
The Legate stared at Lu Ye for a moment before throwing a Storage Bag to Lu Ye. Lu Ye caught it and inspected it immediately.
The Storage Bag hadnt been locked with a Restraining Lock, so he grabbed a random book and went through it for a bit. Judging from the fact that the ink wasnt even dry yet, he was certain that it had only been written a while ago.
He checked the contents for a bit and confirmed that the Raving desmen hadnt tried to swindle him. He did the same for the next few books and arrived at more or less the same conclusion.
Finally, Lu Ye put the books back into the Storage Bag and held out his hand to the Legate. You can give it back now!
The Legate asked darkly, What are you talking about?
[Is the bastard seriously still asking for more?]
Lu Ye said matter-of-factly, Im talking about the payment I demanded ten days ago, of course!
The Legate stared at Lu Ye in disbelief. You you already took our insights, and you still want it back?
Are you joking right now? Lu Ye asked expressionlessly, This is this, and that is that. Of course, if you dont mind me destroying your Outpost, then feel free to withhold my payment.
The Legate looked angry enough to burst an organ. He eventually grabbed the Storage Bag and flung it in Lu Yes direction.
After Lu Ye had tied it safely around his waist, he asked, Now, are you going to open your ward, or do I have to do it myself?
Open the ward! The Legate ordered.
It wasnt like they could stop him from leaving even if they refused to open the grand ward. And what would that achieve anyway? A morsel of satisfaction for the destruction of their Outpost? Right now, there was nothing more important than sending this sonuvabitch away as soon as possible!
A gap appeared on the grand ward, and Lu Ye flew right through it. He was gone in the blink of an eye.
Countless Raving desmen cultivators stared at the sky where Lu Ye had disappeared to and clenched their fists. Their humiliation and anger would not subside until a very long timeter.
In the air, Lu Ye checked his 10-point map briefly before steering his flying Spirit Artifact toward the Myriad Poison Forest.
He was almost done with the Core Circle, and every sect had paid the price besides the twenty three he had conquered. If he broke his promise now, then, the Thousand Demon Ridge would have reason to attack hisrades.
It was time to return to the headquarters.
Speaking of which, he was still the Legate of the Crimson Blood Sect. That was why he needed to pass it to someone qualified before he ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
The massive amount of Blessings he plundered after conquering the twenty three Outposts also necessitated his return to the headquarters.
Thirdly, he was literally carrying too many Storage Bags for his own good. That was between fifty to sixty million Contribution Points worth of goods. He wouldnt be able to sleep well until he had safely passed it to Shui Yuans hands.
Finally, there were still ten days before he received the Heavens reward. He wasnt going to miss it, but he fully expected the Spirit Mist to be even less effective than it was before.
He had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Spirit Creek Realm and obtained all the profits he should obtain. Once he had done onest thing, there was no need to stay in the Spirit Creek Battlefield any longer.
The reason he was heading to the Myriad Poison Forest right now was to give Hua Ci some cultivation resources.
On the way, he suddenly received a message from his second senior, Shui Yuan. she said, Make sure you return to the headquarters before you ascend to the Cloud River Realm!
Got it.
Lu Ye didnt know why his second senior sister wanted him to go to the headquarters before ascending, but it didnt matter since he was already nning to do so.
Two dayster, Lu Yended in front of the wooden building. He did not see Hua Ci anywhere, so she was probably cultivating as usual.
Instead of seeking her out, he went to the third floor and slept.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was massive, but there was only one ce in the entire world where he could rx himselfpletely, and that was this wooden building. Not even the Outpost could achieve the same effect.
Unfortunately, he couldnt stay here forever.
He did not know how long he was asleep, but when he woke up to the scent of food and the sound ofughter, the sun was already high up in the sky. He could hear Yi Yi and Hua Ci chatting idly from outside the window.
Lu Ye got up and walked to the window. He looked down and watched the two women busying themselves and having a great time while preparing lunch.
For a time, he simply stayed there and watched them in silence. His heart was filled with warmth.
The warmth wouldst longer if Hua Ci didnt drop the strangest creatures into a y pot to make her soup.
Youre awake, Lu Ye? Yi Yi looked up and greeted him when she saw him.
Yeah, Lu Ye replied carelessly before withdrawing from the window, Call me when lunch is ready.
He returned to his bed and assumed a meditative stance. He then took out one of the books he took from the Raving desmen and began reading.
The Raving desmen was the sect with the highest percentage of de cultivators in the entire Jiu Zhou. They were also a Tier-One sect. The sect had produced countless de wielders since forever, so of course they had left behind an innumerable amount of de technique insights for their disciples.
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Chapter 432: Triumphant Return
Chapter 432: Triumphant Return
Next Chapter (Patreon)>>
It might look like Lu Ye had gouged the Raving desmen when he forced them to give up twenty de technique insights, but he knew full well that that wasnt the case. In fact, he was certain that the Raving desmen would only give him the basic stuff. That was fine though. That was what Lu Ye wanted.
Lu Ye felt inspired as he studied the books. His studysted until Yi Yi came in with a basin of water and wiped his face with a wet towel.
A whileter, Lu Ye sat opposite Hua Ci and chowed down the tableful of food in front of him as usual.
After lunch was over, Lu Ye asked, Im going back to the Outpost. I should be ascending to the Cloud River Realm very soon. What are your ns?
Nothing for now, Hua Ci replied carelessly while putting away the dishes.
Youre not nning to stay here forever, are you? Lu Ye asked in a puzzled voice.
Just focus on your own cultivation and dont worry about me. Who knows, I might still progress faster than you even if I remain in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, replied Hua Ci before winking at him.-
Earthly Deity Chapter 41
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Please enable JavaScriptEarthly Deity Chapter 41
Lu Ye snorted. I shall do my best not to fall behind then.
He rose to his feet and brought out his Spirit Boat. After he leaped onto it, he said, Ive left behind some cultivation resources for you. Ill be waiting for you at the Cloud River Battlefield.
Be seeing you.
Lu Ye nodded and shot into the sky. He was gone just like that.
A smile cracked on Hua Cis face before she continued to clean up the table. It would be a long time before they met again, but she did not feel too bitter about the parting. Temporary partings would only make the reunion sweeter.
When Lu Ye first entered the Core Circle, he had taken turns flying a flying Spirit Artifact with Ju Jia. Despite this, it still took them ten days to make it from the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost to the Devoted Ones Outpost. But now that he was Heaven Nine, both his telekinesis speed and his endurance were far greater than before. He had reached the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost in less than three days.
A Legate could pass through their Outposts Grand Wardpletely undetected and without resistance, but he was spotted by a sentry immediately after he made an entry. They immediately recognized Lu Ye and cried out in pleasant surprise, Fifth senior brother is back!
The news immediately spread like wildfire. Countless people began swarming him from all sides.
Lu Ye swept his gaze across the crowd and noted in astonishment that most of them were unfamiliar faces. In fact, some of them looked to be only twelve to thirteen years old.
Lu Ye guessed that these younglings were probably thetest batch of disciples. The older ones were mostly made up of acolytes and associates.
There were countless sects in the Outer Circle, but no one could top the Crimson Blood Sects World Spiritual Qi because Lu Ye had maxed out the relevant upgrade during hisst return.
Associates would kill to join their Outpost because the concentration of their Outposts World Spiritual Qi was eleven times stronger than the wilderness. This was an advantage no other Outer Circle possessed.
If the Crimson Blood Sect wished to grow further, then they must increase their Tier to Tier Six so that they could move their Outpost to the Inner Circle.
Also, the Crimson Blood Sect was easily the most famous sect in the Spirit Creek Battlefield right now. The Thousand Demon Ridge sects neighboring them only wished they were located somewhere else. This meant that joining the Crimson Blood Sect not only gave them the best cultivation efficiency, but also security. Their allies were perfectly happy to send their weaker disciples over to cultivate im their Outpost as well.
Perhaps the only w of their Outpost was that their means to earn Contribution Points were limited.
In the Outpost, countless people were staring at him with curiosity, admiration, respect, and other emotions.
Lu Ye abruptly discovered that the cultivators he knew were almost all gone. For example, Kong Niu, Ruan Lingyu, He Lingxi, Gu Yang and more had already entered the Inner Circle.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield had always been like this. The new constantly reced the old, and the old constantly chased after new heights. Cultivators were constantly fighting to improve their cultivation and their future. Only those who could survive this endless push could be the ultimate winner.
He didnt even know who the current prolegate was
First things first, Lu Ye entered the Sanctum of Providence and converted all the Blessings he had plundered into Sect Contribution Points. The number began skyrocketing in his vision.
He had conquered twenty three Core Circle Outposts beforeing to an agreement with the Thousand Demon Ridge. Although there was a massive loss during the plundering, the final number was still astronomical.
An incense stickter, the Divine Opportunity Column sat at an astounding thirty million Sect Contribution Points.
Right now, the Crimson Blood Sect might be the only sect in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield with this many Sect Contribution Points.
They could increase their territory by at least ten times its current size with this sum.
Lu Ye wasnt going to perform the upgrade though. When their Tier went upand it was only a matter of timethey would need to spend an exorbitant amount of Sect Contribution Points to move to the Inner Circle. The Outpost didnt really need that extra territory, and they already had everything they needed. In the end, he decided that saving these Sect Contribution Points would be the wiser option and only paid himself a wage. His Contribution Points skyrocketed past the one hundred thousandth mark after that.
Next, Lu Ye teleported back to the headquarters using the Divine Opportunity Column. He saw Shui Yuan immediately after he appeared because she had been informed of his arrival a while ago. The woman cracked a smile when she turned to him and saw the string of Storage Bags tied snugly around his waist.
She had heard that her junior brother had extorted a ton of goods from the remaining Thousand Demon Ridge sects after conquering the initial twenty three, but it was only now she got a concrete idea just how massive his profit was.
Second senior sister, Lu Ye greeted respectfully while walking up to her.
Shui Yuan nodded and examined him for a moment. Youre darker and stronger than before.
What can I do? Thats the life of an adventurer, he snarked before taking off the string of Storage Bags and handing them to Shui Yuan. He immediately felt lighter both physically and mentally.
Oh my! Shui Yuan thought she knew how much Lu Ye had gained from his trip, but she was still surprised when she actually checked the Storage Bags contents. It wasnt like the Thousand Demon Ridge publicly aired their shame after all.
Theyre for the sect. Feel free to do with them as you please, Lu Ye said before adding, Ill go see the Sect Master now.
The old man isnt here today, Shui Yuan replied.
Really? Oh well, I guess Ill visit Lady Yun instead. Every time he returned from outside, he made sure to visit his two seniors. It was basic etiquette.
Wait. Shui Yuan stopped him before pulling out a wooden box from her Storage Bag. Lu Ye epted it and checked its contents. There were two jade bottles inside the box. They both contained what looked like amber-colored Spirit Pills the size of a soybean.
I made it using the honey you asked Ju Jia to bring back. It has beautifying properties, and Im sure Lady Yun will love it.
Most women cared deeply for their appearance, and this was doubly true for women who had reached a certain age. They wanted to hold onto their beauty for as long as possible after all. That was why beauty products were popr even among female cultivators.
Lu Ye eximed in surprise, The honey is also a beauty product?
Lu Ye had no idea. When Ju Jia was forced to ascend to the Cloud River Realm to save himself, Lu Ye had given him a massive amount of honey so that Shui Yuan could study it and hopefully convert it into medicines that could restore ones Spiritual Power. Instead, she had turned it into a beauty product.
It does. Ive tried it myself, Shui Yuan said smilingly. You should vary your gifts once in a while, no?
You are absolutely right, second senior sister. Lu Ye thanked her before giving her all the remaining honey in his stock. Now that he knew that the honey also possessed beautifying properties, he realized it would be a waste to use it like he normally did.
He also gave her the royal jelly since there wasnt much left anyway. He trusted her judgment and did not care what she did with it.
After that, he flew to the Summit of rity and paid Lady Yun his respects. As Shui Yuan had predicted, Lady Yun immediately broke into a wide smile and showered Lu Ye with praise when she saw the gift.
Of course, it wasnt that great a gift that she would allow him skip her tests altogether, but Lu Ye had improved a fair bit in the Way of Glyphs since theyst met. That was why he was able to handle them pretty well. He learned a lot from her instructions as well.
Lu Ye returned the books he had borrowed before and borrowed a new batch of books. He realized then that he had almost gone through half of the books in Lady Yuns librarythose that were rted to the Way of Glyphs at least.
When evening came, and Lu Ye bade Lady Yun goodbye, she said, Come find me after youve ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
I will.
Be seeing you.
As usual, he was escorted out of Lady Yuns residence by the mute attendant. He still didnt know what was wrong with her, but every time he saw her, he had this strange feeling that she wasnt as real as she seemed
When he returned to the Summit of Cauldron, he discovered that his second senior sister had already prepared a tableful of medicinal food. He did not hesitate to chow down immediately.
Oh right, why did you want me to return to the headquarters before I ascend to the Cloud River Realm, Sister Shui? Lu Ye asked while eating.
Its nothing. I just want you to ascend in the Outpost where everyone can see you. ording to the old man, your ascension may be a tad differentpared to others.
Different?
Yes. Im not borating because even the old man isnt sure what will happen. Youll know when you ascend, Shui Yuan replied while putting more food in his bowl.
Lu Ye nodded before saying, Please tell me what you know about the Cloud River Battlefield, Sister Shui.
He would be entering the Cloud River Battlefield after ascending to the Cloud River Realm. Naturally, he would like to learn more about his next destination.
The Cloud River Battlefield Shui Yuan looked wistful as she continued, Itspletely different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield in the sense that it is both far more interesting and dangerous
Shui Yuan had obviously trained herself in the Cloud River Battlefield before. Lu Ye made sure to memorize her experiences and the rules.
When he was done eating, Shui Yuan warned, Remember that the Thousand Demon Ridge isnt necessarily our sworn enemy in the Cloud River Battlefield. Sometimes, cooperation is the only way to achieve your goals.
Understood.
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Chapter 433: The Path We Walked
Chapter 433: The Path We Walked
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The next day, two people entered the meeting hall of the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost and greeted Lu Ye, Fifth senior brother.
Lu Ye set down his tea cup and stared at the two cultivators standing in front of him. Not only was he familiar with them, they were among the first batch of cultivators to join the Crimson Blood Sect. The only reason they were still here was because they were independent cultivators, and their talent was so-so at best. That was why one of them was still at the Sixth-Order Realm, and the other the Seventh-Order Realm.
Despite this, this was a far better oue than the life goal they had set for themselves when they first became cultivators. They were only Third and Fourth-Order Realms when they first joined the Crimson Blood Sect, and they were sure that they would never go higher than the Seventh or Eighth-Order Realm. But now? They thought they could aim a little higher.
The Crimson Blood Sect Outposts cultivation environment was excellent and notcking in cultivation resources. That was why even the independent cultivators from way back then had managed to surpass expectations.
Lu Ye looked at the Seventh-Order cultivator and dered, Duan Yi!
I am here.-
Earthly Deity Chapter 43
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Transfer your authority to Cheng Mu now.
Cheng Mu was the Sixth-Order cultivator.
Yes, sir.
Duan Yi replied respectfully before making a formal request to the Heavens to transfer his prolegate authority and seal to Cheng Mu.
When he was done, Lu Ye then transferred his Legate authority and seal to Duan Yi.
With this, Duan Yi had be the Legate, and Cheng Mu the prolegate of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Lu Ye had not chosen Cheng Mu to be the prolegate. It was his second senior sister who suggested it after he inquired her opinion about it.
Currently, the young blood of the Crimson Blood Sect was still too young to be able to carry the sect on their backs. That was why they had no choice but to choose the next Legate and prolegate from the earliest disciples.
It was true that Duan Yi and Cheng Mu werent very talented, but they were steady andpetent. They were also strong enough to lead the Outpost as the Legate and the prolegate for now.
On a rted note, the reason they didnt choose another Seventh-Order cultivator to be the prolegate was because all cultivators who reached the Eighth-Order Realm were expected to leave the Outpost.
Making a Sixth-Order cultivator the prolegate meant that they wouldnt have to find a sessor too soon, and Cheng Mu should be able to take over as the Legate when it was Duan Yis time to leave.
When Gu Yang was the prolegate, I told him to locate his sessors as soon as possible. That advice applies to the two of you as well. I leave the Outpost to you two.
We will not disappoint the sect or you, fifth senior brother, they said in unison.
Lu Ye nodded. Cultivate hard, and do not be too concerned about your talent. I promise you that your future will not end in the Outer Circle.
After the duo were gone, Lu Ye finally left the meeting hall and took to the sky. When hended on a Spirit Peak, Beaky flew over to receive Lu Yes offering as usual. It swallowed all the Blood Sturgeons Lu Ye had captured in one gulp like it was swallowing worms. It looked pretty happy.
While stroking its feathers, Lu Ye said, When my first senior brother left the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he told you to protect the Outpost. The sect has survived its hardest times, and it will only get better in the future. So you dont need to stay here anymore. If you wish to leave and see the world, then leave. If you dont, well, Im certainly not going toin. One way or another, the sect will always wee you back with open arms.
Beaky was a Tyrant-level Spirit Beast. Of course it could understand Lu Ye.
The Crimson Blood Sect had declined for thirty years, and Beaky had watched over it for just as long. Even when there wasnt a single disciple in the Outpost, it remained faithful to his first senior brothers orders and protected it all day and night. Eventually, it even became a Tyrant.
Beaky was incredibly loyal, but it was still an eagle. An eagle naturally yearned for freedom and the blue sky. In consideration of their current situation and its faithful service, Lu Ye believed it was finally time to give it the freedom to choose its own future. No matter what Beaky chose, he would ept its choice.
A momentter, Lu Ye took to the sky and disappeared.
Not long after, a magnificent eagles cry resounded throughout the Outpost as well. The Crimson Blood Sect disciples looked up and saw Beaky flying further and further into the horizon.
Lu Ye flew toward the east at high speed.
Five dayster, he passed over on a mountain with a t and barren teau.
The mountain was oddly shaped. It looked like an ultimate champion had literally cut off its top with a de or something because it was as t and smooth as a mirror.
There were also some ckened blood stains on the peak; proof that a great battle had once happened here.
It was none other than the Goldentip!
Back then, he had fought forty-three matches in a row and killed countless Sixth-Order cultivators as a Fifth-Order cultivator. In the end, he was able to win a sliver of hope for himself.
It was the ce where Lu Ye had first made his name.
It was the ce where a legend was born.
It had almost been two years since then. Time truly passed quickly.
Not everyone could grow from Fifth-Order to Heaven Nine in just two years. His cultivation speed was only rivaled by the most talented cultivators of the greatest sects.
It was rumored that an opportunity could be found on the Goldentip because its unnatural teau was supposedly created by a de-wielding champion. They imed that the remnants of that champions de technique could be found here, though Lu Ye personally could not sense anything unusual.
Another day passed, and this time he passed through a valley surrounded by a Spirit Peak.
This was the ce where he had shouted, Lu Ye is here! while riding Amber.
That day, Lan Yudie and the cultivators of the Northern Star had intercepted his pursuers for him
He was retreading the path he had walked two years ago.
Two years ago, he was as weak as an ant. He, Yi Yi and Amber had departed from the Green Cloud Mountain and journeyed toward the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost with a 10-point map to guide them. It was one of the most difficult journeys of his life.
Two years had passed since. Today, it only took him a day to retread a path that the old him couldnt have trod on foot in two months.
Today, he had grown strong enough to bebeled a Tyrant.
All kinds of thoughts and feelings passed through his mind.
The skies of the Outer Circle were very peaceful. The chance one might run into another flier was almost non-existentpared to the Core Circle.
The cultivators of the Outer Circle were weak after all. They couldnt even fly on a flying Spirit Artifact yet.
The 10-point map indicated that he was currently at the Green Feather Mountain.
There were also two Thousand Demon Ridge sects nearby, namely the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family.
At the intersection point of the three sects was a mountain range that was literally made up of a hundred mountains called One Hundred Peaks. Two years ago, Lu Ye had killed plenty of Tai Luo n and Qin Family cultivators at that ce.
Hended outside the Green Cloud Mountains Outpost and observed their grand ward for a moment.
The grand ward of an Outer Circle sect was way lousier than a Core Circle sect. Not only that, their sentries were far less perceptive. When Lu Ye attacked a Core Circle Outpost, the sentries would always discover him at first notice and panic.
But here, they never even realized he was there until much, muchter.
Finally, a cultivator who happened to be passing by the area caught sight of Lu Ye and grew alert.
Lu Ye was just about to identify himself when suddenly, he felt the mysterious power of the Heavens enveloping him.
It was time for the Heavens reward yet again.
This would be the fourth time he received the reward after bing champion. Judging from his experience, it probably wouldnt do much for him.
He did not resist. He allowed the Heavens to teleport him to the Pool of Heavens.
It was exactly as Lu Ye had predicted. The Spirit Mist in the Pool of Heavens was as thick as ever, but its effects on his person were minimal at best. It was the same for Yi Yi and Amber. They had gained as much as they possibly could from the Pool of Heavens.
In other words, Lu Ye could stay at the Spirit Creek Realm for another month, and it wouldnt do him any good. He had gained absolutely everything he could in terms of reward, cultivation level, and rewards. It was time to ascend to the Cloud River Realm.
At the same time, the cultivator who caught sight of Lu Ye before he disappeared had summoned some reinforcements to his side. Among them was the Legate himself, Su Zining.
Where is this strange man you speak of? Su Zining looked around but couldnt find anyone.
He was here a moment ago before he suddenly disappeared, The cultivator who saw Lu Ye exined while pointing at the location he was at.
He suddenly disappeared? Su Zining frowned. Could it be a ghost cultivator?
Only ghost cultivators could suddenly vanish into thin air.
Did you see what his cultivation level was? Su Zining asked.
No. He vanished before I could check.
Su Zining turned serious. Tell everyone to stay alert. They are to report to me immediately if they notice anyone or anything that is suspicious.
Until he knew who this mysterious person was and what his intentions were, the only response to such an incident was to prepare for the worst.
The cultivators responded to his order affirmatively. Hundreds of Green Feather Mountain cultivators immediately got ready for battle.
Lu Ye hadnt expected his appearance to rm the Green Feather Mountain so. The timing was just too coincidental. He had just caught the attention of a Green Feather Mountain cultivator when the Heavens whisked him away to the Pool of Heavens.
An hourter, when Lu Ye reappeared outside the Green Feather Mountains Outpost once more, he looked up and saw a couple of cultivators looking at him warily. One of them yelled, Who are you?
Lu Ye reported, I am Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect! I havee to visit the Green Feather Mountain!
The Green Feather Mountain was a Grand Sky Coalition sect. That was why he hadnt entered their Outpost without permission, not to mention that he owed them a favor.
Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect? A cultivator repeated with a frown. He thought that the name sounded very familiar, but he wasnt able to recall it immediately.
It had been over a year since Lu Ye left the Outer Circle. While they were aware of his exploits, they didnt remember him nearly as well as a cultivator from the Inner Circle or the Core Circle. That was why the cultivator wasnt able to recall Lu Ye immediately.
It only took the cultivator a few extra seconds to put two and two together though. He pointed a shaky finger at Lu Ye and stuttered, Y-youre the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy, Lu Yi Ye!
That was another reason he hadnt made the connection immediately. Everyone knew him as Lu Yi Ye, not his real name.
Yeah! It is him!
Excitement immediately gripped the cultivators. Some of them hurried into the Outpost to report Lu Yes arrival.
How often did an Outer Circle cultivator get to meet a champion of the Scroll of Supremacy? The answer was not at all. That was why they were so excited. These days, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was synonymous with invincibility within the Grand Sky Coalition. After all, how many people could earn ludicrous titles like The Vanquisher of Sects or The Three Banes of Spirit Creek?
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Chapter 434: Visiting the Dragon Spring Once More
Chapter 434: Visiting the Dragon Spring Once More
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A whileter, both Lu Ye and Su Zining took a seat in a guest room. Although Su Zining was the host and the Legate of the Green Feather Mountain, it was clear that he was acting more reserved than normal. Naturally, everyone else only fared worse.
The Green Feather Mountain was just a Tier-Eight sect with a Real Lake Realm cultivator as their champion. They did have a couple Spirit Creek Realm cultivators in the Core Circle right now, but they would never make it to Heaven Nine because of their talent. One could even say that they had never had a Heaven Nine cultivator since their sect was founded.
Understandably, having a Scroll of Supremacy champion in his Outpost like Lu Ye put a lot of pressure on Su Zining. He didnt even know why Lu Ye had suddenly decided to pay them a visit.
After an exchange of pleasantries, Lu Ye asked, How is senior brother Tang Wu doing?
Senior brother Tang Wu has ascended to the Cloud River Realm, Su Zining answered.
Lu Ye wasnt surprised. Tang Wu was already a Ninth-Order cultivator two years ago. He should have ascended to the Cloud River Realm some time ago.
Lu Ye was pretty sure he had ascended as a Heaven Seven or Heaven Eight cultivator though.-
DYM Chapter 41-42
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He also asked about Xie Jin, Qiao Qiao Er, Song Xie, Tao Tian Gang, Mu Ling and more. They were all people he had fought alongside with and were indebted to in some ways.
Su Zining answered, Brother Xie, Sister Qiao and Sister Mu have entered the Inner Circle. Unfortunately, Brother Song and Brother Tao have passed away.
Lu Ye was silent for a while. It had only been two years, and some of his acquaintances were already gone forever. Unfortunately, constant danger was the price all cultivators must pay to grow stronger.
Su Zining was beyond curious. If you dont mind me asking, how do you know so many of my senior brothers and sisters, Senior Brother Yi Ye?
Lu Ye smiled. Havent they told you about the battle at the One Hundred Peaks two years ago? Your senior brothers and sisters and I fought side by side back then.
Su Zining eximed in wonderment. He really had no idea about this. No wonder Lu Ye had purposely paid their sect a visit.
He immediately felt much closer to the Scroll of Supremacy champion.
Should I inform my senior brothers and sisters of your arrival and tell them toe back?
Its okay, Lu Ye waved him off immediately, It is a long journey from here to the Inner Circle. I dont want to waste their time when they can be cultivating. I really came today to make a request. Ill take my leave once Im done with my business.
What is it that you need, Brother Yi Ye? We will do our best to fulfill your request.
I very much appreciate that. Lu Ye said slowly, I would like to enter the Dragon Spring!
Su Zining looked puzzled. But Brother Yi Ye, youre already at Heaven Nine. I do not think the Dragon Spring will be able to help you much.
Lu Ye shook his head. I have my reasons.
He then untied a Storage Bag from his waist and pushed it across the table. Im sorry to trouble you, but I would like you to return to your headquarters and speak to your elders about my request. Im aware its not time for the Dragon Spring to open yet, so this is my payment for disrupting your schedule.
Su Zining hurriedly said, This is but a simple matter, Brother Yi Ye. You do not need to pay me anything.
Lu Ye smiled and pped the Storage Bag on his hands. Treat this as my gift to the Green Cloud Mountain then. Leave it to your elders to decide what to do with it.
Su Zining thought for a moment before nodding. Very well, Brother Yi Ye. Please wait a moment while I return to the headquarters!
Thank you again for making time for me.
Lu Ye waited patiently in the guest room while Su Zining left to convey his request. Just an hourter, the Legate returned with an old man.
Lu Ye rose to his feet as Su Zining introduced the old man, Brother Yi Ye, this here is Elder Ye Yang.
Lu Ye saluted him respectfully. Well met, Elder Ye.
Barring exceptions like the Crimson Blood Sect, all Elders must be Real Lake Realm cultivators. The old man looked like he was Heaven Eight only because he was at the Spirit Creek Battlefield right now.
Ye Yang looked Lu Ye up and down once before stroking his beard. Your reputation precedes you, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect. I can see that you more than deserve your reputation.
You praise me too much, Elder Ye. My apologies for making youe all the way here, Lu Ye returned politely.
He was aware that Elder Ye was treating him with the utmost respect because one, he was deserving of that respect, and two, the Storage Bag he gave to Song Zining contained three hundred thousand Contribution Points worth of goods. He had prepared it specifically for this visit.
Why else would an Elder purposelye to the Spirit Creek Battlefield to meet him in person? It wasnt cheap for a Real Lake Realm cultivator to teleport into the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Now youre the one whos being excessive, young friend. In any case, let us sit before we talk about business, shall we? Ye Yang said.
After they had all taken a seat, Ye Yang started, I heard that you wish to enter the Dragon Spring?
Yes. Is that okay?
Ye Yang answered smilingly, If you were someone else, then my answer would be no. But since its you, it is no problem at all.
Oh? Whys that?
Ye Yang replied, To enter the Dragon Spring, one must acquire the permission of my Green Feather Sect, the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family. If any one of us disagrees, then the Dragon Spring cannot be opened. Naturally, most people would be turned away no matter how prestigious they are. You are a different story though. Im sure theyll agree if they know that youre the one who made the request.
The Tai Luo n and the Qin Family would need to have a death wish to say no to the Vanquisher of Sects. While it was tacitly agreed that Outer Circle business should be handled to the Outer Circle, the Thousand Demon Ridge had broken this unspoken rule multiple times in their attempts to kill Lu Ye. As a result, they did not have a leg to stand on even if Lu Ye overtly broke that rule and bent the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family to his will.
I see! Lu Ye nodded. I suppose I will have to visit the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family then!
Thats right. Ye Yang nodded. You already know our answer. All you need to do is to get a yes from them as well.
Ye Yang didnt even ask why Lu Ye wanted to visit the Dragon Spring because of the gift. He was a wise old man. Every cultivator had a secret or two they must keep, and only an idiot would openly ask about it.
Lu Ye immediately rose to his feet and said, I shall see you in a bit then.
Ye Yang grinned. Yes. I shall await the good news at the Dragon Spring Peak.
The Tai Luo n and the Qin Familys Outposts were only ten kilometers or so from the Green Feather Mountain. That was the case for other Outer Circle Outposts as well. Their cultivators cultivation level was low after all. If the Outposts were ced too far apart, then they would sh against one another only once in a blue moon.
In just a tea time, Lu Ye had arrived at the Tai Luo ns Outpost.
Lu Ye did not have a good impression of the Tai Luo n. At the beginning, it was Han Zhe Yue of the Tai Luo n who had pursued him. Not only that, she was the one who exposed his identity at the Goldentip and forced him to battle forty plus Sixth-Order enemies in a row.
When the Grand Ward was in sight, Lu Ye descended from the sky and unsheathed the Invible. It was just a normal swing empowered by two Sharp Edges, but the Grand ward still shattered in one blow!
The Grand Wards in the Outer Circle were generally weaker than those in the Inner Circle and Core Circle not because they were stingy and purchased an inferior product, but because the concentration of the World Spiritual Qi in the Outer Circle was thinner.
The better the World Spiritual Qi, the stronger the Grand Ward. One could say that the concentration of an Outposts World Spiritual Qi directly affected the strength of their Grand Ward.
At Lu Yes current strength, there wasnt a single Outpost in the Outer Circle whose grand ward could withstand a hit from him.
Grand Wards did not break soundlessly. The loud noise immediately attracted the Tai Luo ns attention as cultivators swarmed out of their dwellings like ants. No one knew what was going on until someone saw Lu Ye hovering in the sky on his Spirit Boat. Panic immediately spread throughout their ranks.
A Seventh-Order cultivator stepped out and forced himself to say, Who are you, fellow cultivator? Why have you broken our Grand Ward?
He did not recognize Lu Ye, but he was one hundred percent certain that Lu Ye was a Grand Sky Coalition cultivator. No ally would break their Grand Ward by force. As if that wasnt bad enough, their aura marked them as a Heaven Grade cultivator.
It was also why the Seventh-Order cultivator was confused. What kind of Core Circle cultivator woulde to the Outer Circle and bully an Outer Circle Outpost?
I am Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect! Lu Ye replied in an indifferent tone.
The Green Feather Mountains cultivators failed to remember him immediately after Lu Ye reported his name, but not the Tai Luo n. Without exaggeration, every Tai Luo n cultivator turned as white as a sheet while backing away from Lu Ye like he was a monster.
Tell your elders that I wish to speak with them. I will be waiting for them at the Dragon Spring Peak! Lu Ye said this before flying away.
He was more than capable of killing everyone in the Outpost, but the thought had never crossed his mind. Forget that only a weakling would murder someone weaker than them, he was a Heaven Nine cultivator right now. Heavens know how many Contribution Points he was going to lose if he actually went on a killing spree.
Chaos rippled across the Tai Luo ns Outpost for a moment. When someone brought the news back to the headquarters, panic rippled across the higher-ups as well. No one knew why the Vanquisher of Sects had suddenly visited their Outpost and demanded them to show up at the Dragon Spring Peak.
Lu Ye did the same thing when he arrived at the Qin Familys Outpost. He shattered their grand ward in one strike before giving them the same message.
A whileter, Lu Ye arrived at the Dragon Spring Peak of One Hundred Peaks.
Two years ago, he had entered the Dragon Spring to temper his body. He even obtained a dragon scale from it.
Today, he had returned as a reborn person.
There was a great hall on the peak of Dragon Spring Peak. The Green Feather Mountain and the Tai Luo n had built them together. The passage leading to the Dragon Spring was hidden beneath the great hall.
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Chapter 435: You Should Reconsider
Chapter 435: You Should Reconsider
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When Lu Ye entered the great hall, Ye Yang of the Green Feather Mountain was already waiting for him. The old man greeted him with a chuckle when he saw him, You work fast, young friend.
Im just impatient.
Lu Ye walked to a corner of a great hall. Last he recalled, it was where the entrance to the underground passagey. Right now though, it was like the entrance never existed in the first ce. Clearly, it had been hidden using some sort of enhancement or other methods.
Lu Ye watched for a moment but couldnt find anything. He then applied Insight to his eyes and checked again.
He did not know if the Tai Luo n or the Qin Familys elders would show up. If they decided that it was too risky to appear in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, then he would have to open the Dragon Spring himself.
If there was one thing he was confident at, it would be his skill in breaching wards and enhancements.
Unfortunately, he had overestimated himself this time. Despite his vision being empowered by Insight, he still could barely spot anything that was out of the ordinary, much less breach the enhancement.
Elder Ye, did this enhancement already exist before the sects were founded? Lu Ye asked suddenly.
Ye Yang nodded. That is correct.
How did the Green Feather Mountain and the other two sects learn how to open it then?
Ye Yang chuckled. In fact, we did not know how to unlock it at the beginning. It was all thanks to a Control Jade that our ancestors found at this ce. ording to the records, the Green Feather Mountain and Tai Luo n were initially drawn to this ce by a strange phenomenon. A great battleter, they discovered the Control Jade and gave it a try. That was how they discovered the Dragon Spring.
Since neither sect was strong enough to overpower the other, we ultimately decided to split the Control Jade in two and share the Dragon Spring. When it was time, we brought the split Control Jade together and opened the passage. Later, the Tai Luo n realized they were falling behind our sect and recruited the Qin Familys aid. That was how they were able to maintain the bnce to this day.
In order to recruit the Qin Family, they split the half of the Control Jade in their possession in half and gave one half to the Qin Family. That is why it takes three sects to open the passage today.
I see!
Did you notice anything, young friend? Ye Yang asked. The Green Feather Mountain had researched the Dragon Spring a lot as a matter of course, but they werent able to find out much despite their best efforts.
Lu Ye shook his head. Not really. All I can tell is that whoeverid down this enhancement must be an extraordinary master.
Suddenly, Lu Ye turned toward the exit. Two old men walked into the great hall at the same time. They were most likely the elders of the Tai Luo n and the Qin Family.
Ye Yang raised his eyebrows in surprise before joking, I thought the two of you had died long ago!
The old man to the left replied, How can we die when youre still alive?
They had fought against one another at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. However, after they ascended to the Cloud River Realm, they rarely ran into each other since their headquarters were extremely far apart.
It had been over a century since they were Spirit Creek Realm cultivators roaming the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They had all lost their youth and drive. Although they were enemies, they could not help but think about the old days fondly.
Im assuming that this young friend here is the infamous Lu Yi Ye? The old man to the left asked while staring at Lu Ye.
Ye Yang ignored him. Young friend, this bullshitter here is Zhao Xin of the Tai Luo n, and that mute to the right is Qin Ming of the Qin Family.
Qin Ming harrumphed to indicate that he was no mute.
Zhao Xin continued to stare at Lu Ye. You must believe that youre on top of the world, young friend. Why has the champion of the Scroll of Supremacye to bully Outer Circle sects like us when you should be honing yourself in the Core Circle instead?
Both Zhao Xin and Qin Ming were only Heaven Eight in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but they didnt look afraid of Lu Ye in the slightest. It was because they knew that there was no escaping Lu Ye if he really meant them harm. The young man had literally ughtered his way up to the champion spot after all.
Moreover, Lu Ye was only Heaven Eight when he became the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. Now that he was Heaven Nine, there truly was no one in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who was a match for him anymore.
They might really be Real Lake Realm cultivators, but here in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, they did not think they could even withstand a single attack from Lu Ye.
I want to enter the Dragon Spring!
Zhao Xin nodded. I thought that might be the case.
When Zhao Xin had received his disciples report, he immediately thought that Lu Ye hade for the Dragon Spring. There was no other reason the Heavens damned champion of the Scroll of Supremacy himself would visit their humble cave otherwise.
Qin Ming, the elder who had been silent all this day finally spoke up, May I know why youre entering the Dragon Spring, young friend? At your level, forget tempering your body with the Dragon Spring, Im pretty sure it wouldnt do anything for you at all.
Zhao Xin wanted to know this as well.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before asking a strange question, Once upon a time, there was a mortal who lived to a hundred. Despite his age, he was healthy and of sound mind. Why is that?
Zhao Xin frowned but gave his answer, A mortal who lived to a hundred is almost at the end of their lifespan. The only way they might remain healthy is if they cultivated some sort of wellness technique.
Lu Ye shook his head to indicate that his answer was wrong.
Qin Ming then answered, Then he must have consumed a spirit medicine that could extend his age.
However, Lu Ye shook his head yet again.
What is the answer then?
Its because he never meddled in other peoples business.
It was only now Zhao Xin and Qin Ming realized what Lu Ye was trying to say. Zhao Xin argued, How is it none of our business? The Dragon Spring tempers the body of our disciples. It is a matter that affects not just their future, but our sects as well. If you dont give us a proper exnation, Im afraid we cannotply with your request.
Lu Ye simply brushed his finger across the Invibles hilt and said, If youre so concerned about your disciples future, then you should consider how many futures will be lost if I decide to swing my saber.
Zhao Xin changed his tune instantly. Did I say you cannot go in? If you were anyone else, then the Tai Luo n would not agree to this no matter what. But since its you, you are weed toe and go as you pleased. What do you say, Brother Qin?
Qin Ming nodded. I do not have an opinion.
A smiling Ye Yang took a step forward and asked, Shall we begin?
Sure!
All three men took out their portion of the Control Jade and channeled their Spiritual Power into it. The split halves started shining and attracting one another until they were finally joined as one. It looked like a dragon.
The Control Jade vibrated as if it was resonating with some sort of invisible power before a rumble came from inside the mountain. Then, an entrance leading to the underground appeared on the floor just like that.
After the trio had retaken their portions of the Control Jade, Zhao Xin sped his hand and dered, Thats that then. Goodbye!
He then left the ce immediately.
Lu Ye looked at Ye Yang inquiringly, and Ye Yang exined, Their presence is no longer necessary after the Dragon Spring is opened. The entrance will close on its own in a few days.
Lu Ye nodded.
The second Zhao Xin and Qin Ming had dashed out of the great hall, they immediately brought out their flying Spirit Artifacts and vanished into the sky. They might act calm and confident in front of Lu Ye, but they would be lying if they said they werent nervous. If they werent afraid of triggering the Vanquisher of Sects, they would never make this trip no matter what.
Please enter, young friend. Ill guard the entrance for you.
Sorry for the trouble!
Lu Ye stepped into the entrance and went underground.
Just likest time, below the entrance was a spiral staircase that led deep into the underground. He walked for a long time before he finally reached the bottom and arrived at arge bronze door.
The door was thick, ancient, and heavy. The image of a massive dragon was engraved on its surface. It looked lifelike enough to be real.
The door was already opened. Thin red mist could be seen surging behind the door.
Lu Ye felt a moment of vertigo when he set foot into the chamber. When he came to and looked around, he found himself in a chamber around ten meters in radius.
The chamber was filled with thin red mist. At the center of it was a spring.
Lu Ye tried to absorb the mist into his body, but he discovered that the blood qi contained in the mist was so thin that it was practically useless to a Heaven Nine cultivator.
This was why cultivators that had advanced beyond the Sixth or Seventh-Order rarely frequented the Dragon Spring. It was because the blood qi in the mist was too thin to improve their body.
Yi Yi flew out of Ambers body and examined their surroundings for a bit. She asked, Why are we here, Lu Ye?
To see an old friend, Lu Ye answered carelessly.
An old friend? Yi Yi looked confused.
Amber hadnt apanied him the first time he entered the Dragon Spring. Naturally, Yi Yi hadnt entered the Dragon spring either. That was why she didnt know what he had encountered during his time here.
Lu Ye sat on the floor and recalled what he had experiencedst time. When he was tempering his body, he had felt as if a pair of massive red eyes were watching him. There was a long time where he thought that he was just hallucinating until his cultivation grew stronger, and his understanding of the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou deepened. Now, he realized that it probably wasnt a hallucination.
Even if it was, how could he exin the dragon scale he obtained from the Dragon Spring? He was almost certain that it belonged to a true dragon!
After he obtained the True Phoenix me, Lu Ye had asked his second senior sister about the Four Sacred Beasts.
They were the Azure Dragon, the Vermillion Bird, the White Tiger, and the ck Tortoise!
Their stories were spoken throughout Jiu Zhou as a myth, but Lu Ye knew that the Vermillion Bird was real. The True Phoenix me he obtained was the proof of it.
In fact, his second senior sister spected that Amber was probably a descendant of the White Tiger. It was because there had never been a Tiger Spirit Beast who could transform an apparition into a Ghost Spirit until Amber. The fact that Amber possessed many unique talents that other Tiger Spirit Beasts did not possess supported the theory as well.
Since the Vermillion Bird and White Tiger existed, then the Azure Dragon and the ck Tortoise must exist as well.
Now, Lu Ye was certain that he had obtained a true dragon scale from the Dragon Spring. The reason the blood in the dragon scale had powerful body-tempering effects was because it contained the blood of a true dragon.
The spring before him was the Dragon Spring, and he had obtained the dragon scale from it. That was why he spected that a true dragonid beneath the Dragon Spring.
There was only one reason he came all the way to the One Hundred Peaks, and that was to obtain more dragon scales. The blood qi it contained was incredibly useful for him, Amber and Ju Jia.
The real question was, how should he do this?
Last time, the dragon scale had abruptly appeared in front of him. In other words, it was a gift from the true dragon who was imprisoned at this ce. The blood red pupils he saw were probably its eyes.
People did not usually give you something unless they had something they wanted from you in return. Since the true dragon imprisoned in this ce had given him a dragon scale for no reason whatsoever, Lu Ye was sure that it wanted something from him. That was one angle he could use.
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Chapter 436: The Truth Of The World
Chapter 436: The Truth Of The World
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Shui Yuan knew that Lu Ye had a dragon scale because she had seen him tempering his body with its blood qi before. He did not hide anything when she asked him about its origin. After listening to his story, she deduced that a secret or an opportunityy beneath the Dragon Spring.
Lu Ye had made up his mind to visit the One Hundred Peaks after he reached the pinnacle of Spirit Creek Realm a long time ago. He wanted to obtain more dragon scales.
He was certain that the Green Feather Mountain, Tai Luo n and Qin Family did not know about this despite having owned the Dragon Spring for years. If they did, they would have explored it a long time ago.
In other words, Lu Ye might be the only person ever to obtain a dragon scale from the Dragon Spring.
If his assumption was true, and a true dragon really was imprisoned beneath the Dragon Spring, why would it give him a dragon scale for no reason?
It couldnt be because he was lucky or because the true dragon found him likable. There had to be a deeper reason.
Perhaps he possessed some sort of quality that other cultivators did not possess!-
DYM Chapter 41-42
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Please enable JavaScriptDYM Chapter 41-42
Lu Ye had a vague idea what the answer was as he recalled his experience in the Dragon Spring.
In the chamber, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and began constructing his Glyphs.
Sharp Edge, Protection, Gathering Spirits
Bloodrage, Radiance, Reinforcement, Windwalk, Gravity Well
Burster, Conceal Presence, Insight
Record Sound, Record Image, Spirit Storage, Aquatic Lungs, Explosion, Invisibility
Golden Arc, Invoke Lightning, Soar
Besides Fire Phoenix, he constructed every Glyph he had mastered until now.
He then repeated it all another two times!
The entire process was as smooth as butter. Even a Master Glyphweaver like Lady Yun would have been stunned by his disy.
Even at her level, there was no way she could construct this manyplicated Glyphs in such a short time, much less go from one Glyph to another without making a single mistake.
Thanks to the Tree of Glyphs, it was no problem at all for Lu Ye.
Nothing happened, however. Lu Ye could not help but frown and wonder if he was mistaken after all. If he was, then all this was just a waste of time.
He did not regret the lost time too much though. To be fair, he hade here based on an assumption. His understanding of the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou wasnt so deep that he was arrogant enough to believe he knew everything, so it was inevitable that he would make a mistake once in a while.
He rose to his feet and strode toward the exit. He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at his back and freezing him in ce. His muscles tensed, and his skin pricked like he was being stabbed by a million needles. It was more painful than he expected.
On his shoulder, Amber puffed up its fur like a startled cat and leaped to the ground. It then began growling menacingly.
Lu Ye gripped the Invible asrge beads of sweat poured down his forehead. He slowly turned around like he was wading through mud water before meeting the blood red pupils that had gazed at himst time!
The pupils were filled with indifference and aloofness. He felt as small as an ant before them.
He was right after all. He wasnt hallucinating, and the owner of the pupils could very well be a true dragon.
Right now, a dragons head made purely out of blood qi was suspended above the chamber. It was covered in scales and had a pair of horns on its head. Hair pped beneath its chin even though there was no wind in the chamber. Its pressure was so heavy that Lu Ye was bending a little, and his breathing felt constricted. He felt as if a mountain was sitting on its shoulders, and he could not shake it off even if he pushed with all his might.
Roar!
Amber let out a mighty roar that sent shockwaves rippling across the chamber. At the same time, the Fire Phoenix on the Tree of Glyphs suddenly let out a clear phoenix cry as if it was alive.
Surprise reced the indifference in the dragons eyes. The next moment, Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible, shoved his vitality into his right arm, and swung down on the head.
sh!
The attack couldve killed even a Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator in a single strike, but it did no damage to the dragons head whatsoever. It wasnt a physical presence after all. It was just a manifestation of blood qi.
Despite this, Lu Ye felt like he had severed something. The heavy pressure pressing down on his shoulders abruptly disappeared.
Lu Ye let out a sigh of relief and looked at the dragons head. He asked, Did you choose me because you want me to save you?
If he was only guessing before, now he was certain that that was the case. Lu Ye might not know why the dragon was imprisoned in this ce, but he knew that it wanted to be free if at all possible. Naturally, it would try to find a suitable candidate.
Most of the cultivators who came to the Dragon Spring were not up to the dragons standards. However, Lu Ye was a different story. His talent in the Way of Glyphs was one of a kind.
That was why it had given him a dragon scale when he was at Fifth-Order.
The dragon was quite a bit stronger than he expected though. If it could manifest this much power when it was imprisoned, Heavens only know how strong it really was when it was released.
You are a very smart, young man, the dragon said suddenly.
This is not how you beg someone for help, Lu Ye said with his eyes narrowed. First, the dragon had waited until thest moment to show up. Then, it tried to bring him low and nearly seeded in bringing him to his knees. It was clearly not a good-natured dragon.
You are too weak as you are.
Then give me something that can make me stronger. I wouldnt mind eighty or a hundred dragon scales for starters.
The dragon abruptly burst outughing. It was so loud that the chamber shook a little.
Its head gradually disappeared, and Lu Ye frowned in puzzlement. Before he could voice his doubts, the Dragon Spring suddenly stirred violently. A dragon scale appeared, followed by the second, third and fourth. It didnt stop until it had spat out five dragon scales in total.
Keep cultivating, young man. Come and find me again when youve figured out most of the truths of this world. I look forward to our next meeting! The voice entered his ears, but he could not find the source.
For whatever reason, the dragon seemed certain that Lu Ye was going to seek it out again!
Lu Ye muttered, Stingy, under his breath before he picked up the five dragon scales. They were only the size of a palm just like the first dragon scale he had ever gotten, but Lu Ye could tell that the vitality within these dragon scales was much richer. The difference was practically night and day.
Despite hisment, Lu Ye was more than happy to add the five dragon scales to his Storage Bag. At the same time, he reyed the dragons obviously meaningful words in his head.
[The truths of the world, is it? Im just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator though. Its probably going to take a long time before I discover anything.]
The second he put thest dragon scale into the Storage Bag, he abruptly felt some sort of power pushing him toward the exit. The next thing he knew, he was standing outside the bronze door once more.
As the door slowly closed, Lu Ye examined the picture of the dragon etched on its surface. He discovered that the head of the dragon was almost the same as the one he saw in the chamber.
Who wouldve thought that the Dragon Spring would be imprisoning a true dragon?
When Lu Ye returned to the great hall, he saw that Ye Yang was still waiting for him. The old man looked surprised to see him because he had only been gone for less than half a day. That was way sooner than he had expected.
Are you done with your business, young friend?
Lu Ye nodded and shook his head. Although he had gotten what he wanted, the situation was moreplicated than he had initially expected.
Ye Yang did not ask any more questions because some questions should not be asked, and it was unnecessary.
Thank you for your help. This junior will be taking his leave now.
Ye Yang offered, Im sure your next visit will be a long time away. Would you like to enjoy our hospitality before you leave?
Thank you for the offer, but my second senior sister asked me to return sooner thanter.
Ye Yang nodded. Very well. May your journey be smooth and pleasant, young friend.
Goodbye!
Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat and hopped onto it. He then vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
It had taken him nearly ten days toe to the One Hundred Peaks. It had taken him almost ten days to return to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost as well.
He didnt waste his time though. Lu Ye spent his free time studying the de technique insights he had extorted from the Raving desmen. With Yi Yi by his side, he didnt need to worry about losing his way or straying off the right path.
Ten dayster, when he finally returned to the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Beaky was standing guard at a Spirit Peak.
At the same time, he heard someone saying, Brother Yi Ye is back!
Lu Ye looked. To his surprise, it was the Legate of the Three Sages School, Situ Han. He was apanied by a few Three Sages School disciples.
Brother Situ! Lu Ye greeted him cordially. Fellow cultivators! Youre a long way from home. Did something happen to the Three Sages School?
No, no. Situ Han chuckled good-naturedly. After the damage you wrought to the Mystic Green Pce and the Waning Moon Pavilion, the Three Sages School has never been better. Wevee today to witness your ascension to the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Yeughed. This is too much! Im just ascending to the Cloud River Realm, not the Real Lake Realm!
Situ Hans expression grew puzzled. You dont know?
Excuse me? Lu Ye was confused by his reaction.
Situ Hanughed. You really dont know! Thats fine. Youll figure it out in a moment.
Lu Ye was going to press further when more people came over to greet him. Not only did he recognize them all as the cultivators of the Core Circle, they were all led by their Legate or a prolegate.
Everyone here had heard of Lu Ye to a certain extent. Even the most ignorant of them were aware that he was the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. On the other hand, Lu Ye only recognized a handful of them. They had alle to witness his ascension.
Lu Ye was seriously confused. He was just ascending to the Cloud River Realm, so why was it looking like they hade to attend a grand event? He might be one of a kind, but he did not think that his ascension warranted the presence of the Legates and prolegates of the Core Circle sects. It was to the point where he thought something had happened to his Outpost at the beginning.
Right now, the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost was jam-packed with people. Their disciples might only number a couple hundred, but nearly two thousand people had traveled all the way from the Core Circle to visit them. Duan Yi had no choice but to spend some Contribution Points and erge their territory after asking for permission from his second senior sister.
That wasnt all. He noticed that a tform had been built at the Sanctum of Providence. ording to the people around him, that was where he was expected to break through to the Cloud River Realm!
As the tform was forty meters high, it was guaranteed that everyone would have a clear view of him.
Lu Ye waspletely confused at this point. He had left for only twenty days at most, so why did it feel like he had returned to a different reality?
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Chapter 437: Upgrading Spirit Artifacts
Chapter 437: Upgrading Spirit Artifacts
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The fact that nearly every sect from the Core Circle was visiting was great news for the Crimson Blood Sect. It was because every group was led by a Legate or a prolegate. Duan Yi had already formed an alliance pact with every sect in the past few days.
From now on, any Crimson Blood Sect disciple who ventured to the Core Circle to cultivate would find themselves overwhelmed with choices. They could join almost any sect they liked.
Everyone here was a member of the Grand Sky Coalition and a guest, so of course the Crimson Blood Sect disciples did their best to amodate them. This was the first time in decades their Outpost was this lively.
While the people were mingling with one another, Lu Ye teleported back to the headquarters using the Divine Opportunity Column. As it turned out, the headquarters were bustling with activity as well, although they were all Crimson Blood Sect disciples. They saluted him the moment they saw him.
Shui Yuan was busy when Lu Ye sought her out. He waited until she was finished before he asked, Sister Shui, Im just ascending to the Cloud River Realm. Why is everyone acting like its a grand event or something?
Shui Yuan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before asking, Have you ever heard of the Gift of Providence?-
The Sovereign''s Ascension: Chap...
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Please enable JavaScriptThe Sovereign''s Ascension: Chapter 2
Lu Ye shook his head.
The Gift of Providence is kind of a myth. Thest time it appeared was decades ago. Shui Yuan paused for a good while as if she was reminiscing about the past before continuing, It is incredibly difficult to obtain the Gift of Providence. First, the cultivator must y enemies above his cultivation level repeatedly to garner the Heavens attention. If they rued enough attention, they will be granted the Gift of Providence when they ascend to the next Major Realm.
Its not difficult for some major sect disciples to y enemies above their cultivation levelsghost cultivators specialize in this area after allbut to disy the same level of prowess against any opponent one faces? That is far, far more difficult. Out of everyone in this generation, you are the only one who meets this requirement.
Lu Ye had been battling enemies above his cultivation level since the day he embarked on his cultivation journey.
It might not have been obvious before he was in the Fifth-Order, but that became clear after the Battle of Goldentip.
During the Battle of Goldentip, everyone he fought except his first opponent was a Sixth-Order cultivator.
At the time, Li Baxian and the other Grand Sky Coalition cultivators already noticed that Lu Ye could be a candidate to receive the Gift of Providence. However, it wasnt a sure thing yet. He was still a long way away from the Cloud River Realm after all.
Be it in the Outer Circle, Inner Circle or Core Circle, almost everyone Lu Ye fought since were stronger than him in terms of cultivation level. However, he had defeated them all.
As if that wasnt clear enough, he was the first ever Heaven Eight cultivator to be the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. After he reached Heaven Nine, he was practically invincible in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Only Tyrant-level existences could give him a run for his money.
If he didnt qualify to receive the Gift of Providence, then no one did.
rue enough attention? Lu Ye said out loud. Sister Shui, are you saying that the Heavens
I shouldnt need to tell you this, but the omnipresent Heavens are more profound than you think. You may not feel it right now, but you will when your cultivation level increases.
Lu Ye nodded. Whats so amazing about this Gift of Providence?
To be honest, Im not sure about the details myself. For one, only a handful of people has ever received the Gift of Providence. Two, all information regarding the Gift of Providence was considered top secret and locked behind closed doors. What I can tell you is that thest person to receive the Gift of Providence is our first senior brother, though he obtained it when he was ascending to the Real Lake Realm, not the Cloud River Realm. Since then, his cultivation grew faster than ever before, and he led our sect to our Golden Age. But of course, you already know what happened next. He was the reason we rose to the greatest heights, and the reason we fell from grace as well.
First senior brother Lu Ye murmured. Already, he could not count the times he had heard of the achievements of his first senior brother.
You dont need to think too much. In the end, its up to the Heavens whether you obtain the Gift of Providence or not. Anyway, that is why so many people havee to witness your ascension.
Lu Ye nodded in agreement.
Have you decided when you are going to ascend? Shui Yuan asked.
No, but anytime is fine, honestly.
Then let us set it three dayster.
As you wish, senior sister.
For a time, Shui Yuan watched him with a fond expression not unlike a mother watching her son grow up. She suddenly cracked a smile and said, Time flies, doesnt it? To think youre ready to ascend to the Cloud River Realm already.
She paused for a second before continuing, That said, youre going to have to change your Spirit Artifact.
That is exactly what I wish to speak to you about. Lu Ye was having a headache regarding this problem as well. Right now, everything he owned be it the Invible, the flying weapons in his Weapon Holder or even his flying Spirit Artifact were just nonuple enchantment Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts.
Generally speaking, only Spirit Creek Realm cultivators would use Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts. When a cultivator ascended to the Cloud River Realm, they should consider switching to Middle-Grade Spirit Artifacts right away.
Recing flying weapons and flying Spirit Artifact wasnt a problem. The resources he had extorted from the Thousand Demon Ridge contained a lot of spirit Artifacts, and there were Middle-Grade and even High-Grade Spirit Artifacts among them. He could rece them anytime he wanted to.
The Invible though
The Invible had apanied him for two years. He had achieved de Communion with the saber as well. Even if he found another de that was exactly identical to the Invible but stronger, he couldnt be sure that it would fit him. He would have to restart his de Communion from zero as well. It would not be worth it.
However, the Invible was already falling behind his cultivation level. Two years of near non-stop fighting had damaged it pretty badly as well. It wouldnt be long before it waspletely unusable.
After Lu Ye had told Shui Yuan his worries, she said smilingly, Im aware that your personal Spirit Artifact holds a special ce in your heart just like swords to a sword cultivator like your fourth senior brother. The solution is simple. You simply need to upgrade your weapon.
Upgrade my weapon?
You can pay an artificer to upgrade your saber from Low-Grade to Mid-Grade, though I must warn you that the fee will be more expensive than if you just buy a new saber. It is because the artificer must be a master in the art at least to upgrade a Spirit Artifact. The benefits are worth the price though. For starters, the saber can be tailor-made to fit your needs exactly!
Lu Ye perked up. Really? Thats incredible! Do you know any master artificer, senior sister?I do, but they do not live in Bing Zhou.
Its okay
You dont need to travel all the way to find them though. Just enter the Vault of Providence and post a request to upgrade your Spirit Artifact. Someone will ept it eventually.
The Vault of Providence can do this? Lu Ye was surprised. For the longest time, he thought that the Vault of Providence was just a ce to buy or sell items.
Youll know once you give it a try. But remember, all transactions carried out in the Vault of Providence are paid in Contribution Points.
Got it, Lu Ye replied before hurrying to the Sanctum of Providence. He then connected to the Divine Opportunity Column and entered the Vault of Providence.
As usual, the giant vault was filled to the brim with goods. Lu Ye waspletely overwhelmed the first time he saw it. However, one could filter out the items they didnt need by inputting the right keywords. The more keywords one inputted, the more items would be filtered out of the search until finally, the cultivator found exactly what they were looking for.
Of course, they still needed to pay Contribution Points to purchase the item. Contribution Points were the one and only currency that was epted by the Vault of Providence.
I would like to post a request to upgrade my Spirit Artifact! Lu Ye dered.
The giant vault distorted. A whileter, Lu Ye discovered that he was standing in a small room. There was a table in front of him and nothing else.
Realizing what was asked of him, Lu Ye ced the Invible on the table.
He did not know how long it would take before someone would ept his request, and he wasnt going to waste his time waiting. He was just about to leave when suddenly, the space opposite him distorted, and a blurry figure appeared.
This was the first time he saw another person in the Vault of Providence. He could not help but examine them for a moment, though the Heavens made it so that it was impossible to distinguish even their gender, much less their cultivation level.
The person grabbed the Invible and gave it a look. They then said in a disappointed tone, Just a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact
It was clear that the person did not think that this would be a massively profitable transaction for them.
Do you have any demands?
Despite their disappointment, the person didnt turn around and leave. Requests like this were pretty rare, and some Contribution Points were still better than no Contribution Points at all.
While retaining its shape and length, Id like to increase its number of enhancements to eighteen. I also want it to be as tough as possible and three times heavier than it currently is.
Youre a pretty demanding person, arent you? Whats your offer?
Lu Ye thought for a moment before answering, Eight hundred.
Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts were generally priced between thirty to one hundred and fifty Contribution Points in the Vault of Providence. Middle-Grade Spirit Artifacts were around two to five hundred Contribution Points.
Lu Yes offer was enough to buy the best avable Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact.
Its not enough. It will cost at least six hundred Contribution Points just to purchase the materials necessary to meet your requirements. The person harrumphed. Upgrades are not the same as purchases.
How much do you want then?
I wont ept anything less than two thousand Contribution Points.
Deal!
What was two thousand when Lu Ye had over a hundred thousand Contribution Points right now? If the Invible could be upgraded, he could bear to pay even more than thatwithin reason, of course.
His swift answer surprised the artificer. They wondered if Lu Ye was a disciple of a major sect and regretted not upping the price.
There was no use crying over spilled milk though. The artificer dered, Let us forge the Sacred Pact then.
The Sacred Pact was forged a momentter. It listed the price, Lu Yes requirements, and the time limit. The two cultivators also exchanged imprints with each other.
The time limit was very important because he was temporarily giving up the Invible to the artificer. If no time limit was specified, the artificer could hold on to his weapon forever.
The time limit was set to three days. Lu Ye could not help but think that artificing was a wonderfully profitable business. Using his case as an example, a master artificer could earn two thousand Contribution Points in just three days.
Lu Ye went back to his second senior sister after exiting the Vault of Providence.
Now that the problem regarding the Invible was solved, he only needed to rece his flying weapons and flying Spirit Artifact.
Last time, he had given up all the goods to Shui Yuan. They were stored in the Crimson Blood Sects vault.
He took the key from his second senior sister and went to the vault to make his pick.
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Chapter 438: Ascending to the Cloud River Realm, The Gift of Providence
Chapter 438: Ascending to the Cloud River Realm, The Gift of Providence
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Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Ye was currently sitting crosslegged on a tall tform in front of the Sanctum of Providence.
Tens of meters away from the tform, countless cultivators were standing and watching Lu Ye with an expectant look on their faces. These Spirit Creek Realm cultivators might not know much about the Gift of Providence, but their seniors knew that there was a high chance Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect might qualify for it. It was because most of the enemies he killed were one or more cultivation levels higher than him. That was why they had ordered their Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to gather at the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
No one knew exactly how the Gift of Providence would benefit a cultivator, but they certainly werent going to miss the bestowment.
Even if they were wrong, and the Gift of Providence eluded Lu Ye after all, it wouldnt be a huge loss to the youngsters. At worst, they would lose a few days they couldve spent on cultivating their power.
Right now, the Outpost was perfectly silent even though it was holding thousands and thousands of people. On the tform, Lu Ye could not help but feel a bit of pressure.
This was supposed to be a normal urrence, but thousands of people hade to witness his ascension. He knew he was famous, but he did not realize exactly how influential he was in the Spirit Creek Battlefield until now.-
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He recalled what his second senior sister told him to dispel some of the pressure. She had told him to put the Gift of Providence out of his mind because the decision to obtain it was ultimately not in his hands. If he obtained it, then all was well. If he didnt, it wasnt like it would affect his cultivation or his Way. He would still strive to be the cultivator he wished to be, wouldnt he?
A bit of pressure was alleviated from his mind when he thought this.
The nine Microcosmic Orbits in his body slowed to a halt. His cultivation level began dropping as well. It would continue until his Spiritual Power stopped flowingpletely.
He had witnessed Ju Jias ascension to the Cloud River Realm at the Myriad Poison Forest, so he knew that the process was smooth and easy. As long as he had enough Spiritual Points, all he needed to do was to connect all his Spiritual Points in ordance to his cultivation technique and form a Cosmic Orbit. He would naturally ascend to the Cloud River Realm then.
Lu Ye knew what he needed to do. While recalling the details of the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique, he began channeling his Spiritual Power and connecting his Spiritual Points as per the cultivation technique dictated one by one. His slumbering Spiritual Power began to flow faster and stronger as more and more Spiritual Points became connected.
Finally, when all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points were joined together, the massive stream of Spiritual Power finally poured back into his Source Spiritual Point.
With this, he had officially formed a Cosmic Orbit inside his body.
A buzz came from within Lu Yes body. The flow of Spiritual Power sounded like that of a rampaging river.
An invisible shockwave that spanned the entire Outpost swept out of his body, and just like that, he had ascended to the Cloud River Realm!
When Ju Jia had ascended to the Cloud River Realm, the Heavens had immediately booted him out of the Spirit Creek Battlefield and to headquarters Sanctum of Providence. Lu Ye was feeling the same thing right now. He suddenly felt as if he was shoved into a tiny hole, and the very space around him was trying to eject him from the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Suddenly, a mysterious power descended from the Heavens. The next thing he knew, the rejection was no more.
It really is the Gift of Providence! Someone eximed in shock.
Although their elders had already informed them about the possibility, there was no telling if Lu Ye would actually receive the Gift of Providence until it happened. Now, they knew their elders were right.
A rainbow-colored lotus was descending from the sky. It was not a physical object but more like an illusion, though it was definitelyposed of some sort of energy.
The moment the lotus appeared, a unique fragrance abruptly filled the air. It cleared the mind and made everyone feel lighter.
The rainbow lotus descended right on top of Lu Ye. At first nce, it looked as if Lu Ye was sitting at the center of the lotus. As it spun slowly, Lu Yes surroundings turned flowery and illusory all of a sudden. The way the petals kept appearing and vanishing were beyond fascinating!
A strange energy instantly permeated the entire Outpost.
The smarter ones tried to inhale the strange energy and immediately discovered that it strengthened both their body and their mind. someone immediately cried out, Cultivate! We need to cultivate now!
All cultivators on the ground immediately dropped to their feet and began cultivating. The ones in the air quickly found a ce tond and did the same.
Less than thirty breaths after the rainbow lotus descended, all two to three thousand people in the Outpost had entered a cultivation state.
They could clearly feel the strange energy slowly strengthening their body and mind. They were overjoyed as a matter of course. They knew that they had made the right choice to visit the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
Lu Ye was seated in the middle of the lotus, so he felt the spilling energy even more so than the others. After the rejection force had disappeared, he could clearly sense a warm and gentle energy pouring into him. It was tempering his body and strengthening his divine soul at the same time.
It was simr to when he was absorbing the Spirit Mist in the Pool of Heavens, but the benefits were far greater. To make aparison, he could barely feel the Spirit Mists strengthening effects during his fourth visit. The Gift of Providence though, he could feel it enhancing his body and soul at visible rate.
Time passed bit by bit. The entire Outpost was so silent one could hear a pin drop.
At some point, the cultivators slowly opened their eyes and discovered that the tform was empty, and Lu Ye was nowhere to be seen. They knew then that the young man had ascended to the Cloud River Realm and left.
More and more cultivators were opening their eyes and checking their bodies. It wasnt long before everyone was grinning from ear to ear.
Practically everyone had benefited from the Gift of Providence. Not only were their bodies and minds stronger than before, some of them had even unlocked Spiritual Points that had remained locked for a long time. Even more people discovered that the concentration of Pill Poison in their bodies had decreased, and their Spiritual Power was purer than before.
For a time, they could not help but wonder just how much Lu Ye had benefited from the Gift of Providence as he was its main target. One thing was certain, Lu Ye was stronger than ever before.
The Grand Sky Coalition cultivators werent the only ones who were celebrating Lu Yes ascension. The Thousand Demon Ridge was cheering and dancing like crazy as well.
And why were they in a celebratory mood. It was because the One Leaf of the Three Banes of Spirit Creek had finally left the Spirit Creek Battlefield!
Just now, Lu Yi Yes name had suddenly vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy before being reced by Lan Zi Yi of the Infinite Ind.
There was no chance in hell that Lu Yi Ye had died a sudden death, so the bastard could only have ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators felt like crying when they learned this. Finally, the sonuvabitch was gone from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. No longer did they have to worry about a single cultivator dominating the entire battlefield anymore.
It was like an oppressive mountain had suddenly been lifted off their shoulders. For the longest time, it felt like their spines were broken, and every action they took must factor Lu Yi Ye into the equation. Now? They could finally stand straight and do whatever they wanted!
To put it simply, the responsibility of killing Lu Yi Ye now fell on their Cloud River Realm seniors, not them!
It was a day worth celebrating and memorizing. Countless people suddenly remembered how to smile again, and some people nearly almost cracked out the musical instruments to celebrate his departure.
Unfortunately, their cheer was dampened all too quickly. It wasnt long before they heard that Lu Yi Ye had obtained the Gift of Providence when ascending to the Cloud River Realm!
The Gift of Providence represented the attention and acknowledgement of the Heavens themselves. Since ancient times, only a handful of cultivators had ever obtained the Gift of Providence, and every single one of them was incredibly aplished in their cultivation journey.
In fact, thest cultivator to receive the Gift of Providence hade from the Crimson Blood Sect. The sonuvabitch had even crushed them so badly that their own parents couldnt recognize them. If he hadnt been too straightced and inflexible in the end, they would still be hiding in a corner of the world and jumping at their own shadows.
The news soured the Thousand Demon Ridges good mood immediately. Even at the end, the bastard just could not leave without giving them onest middle finger, could he? Heavens dammit
Lu Ye was back at the headquarters. He was currently sitting in the Sanctum of Providence and checking his body.
After connecting all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points and forming a Cosmic Orbit in his body, his Spiritual Power was flowing like a river. Not only was he far stronger than he was before, the speed at which his Spiritual Power was flowing was way better than it used to be!
Something didnt feel right though. The Gift of Providence had greatly enhanced his body and his mind. To make aparison, it was about equal to the first two trips to the Pool of Heavens. But was this all?
He did not know what his first senior brother had gotten when he had received his Gift of Providence because there wasnt a detailed record of the event. Shui Yuan was also too young to recognize the signs at the time.
One thing was certain, the reward he received did not match the Gift of Providences legendary status.
[Maybe theres a hidden reward that Ill only recognize when I visit the Cloud River Battlefield or something?] Lu Ye consoled himself.
After checking his Comic Orbit again and confirming that everything was running as smooth as butter, he rose to his feet just in time to feel a disturbance from his Battlefield Imprint. He checked it and realized that it was time to meet his artificer.
He hurriedly pressed a hand to the Divine Opportunity Column and connected his mind to the Vault of Providence. He quickly appeared in the small room once more.
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Chapter 439: Special Privilege?
Chapter 439: Special Privilege?
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Someone was already in the small room when he showed up. It was most likely the master artificer he employed to upgrade the Invible before.
Something was different though. Previously, the master artificer waspletely invisible to his senses. But now, he could see her as clear as day!
As it turned out, the master artificer who epted his request was a sexy woman. She looked to be in her thirties and wore a floral-patterned dress that clung tightly to her milky skin. It entuated her curves wonderfully.
At first, Lu Ye did not understand why this was happening. The first time they met, the woman waspletely covered in mist and indistinguishable. He couldnt even tell from her voice if she was a man or a woman. He was pretty sure he appeared that way from the master artificers perspective as well.
The mist was the Heavens way of protecting the cultivators identity. For various reasons, many people did not wish to reveal their true identity when dealing in the Vault of Providence. Therefore, the Heavens bestowed the obfuscation to make it impossible for either party to tell the other persons identity. Clearly, that wasnt the case anymore.
[What is going on here?]-
DYM Chapter 41-42
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The first thing that came to Lu Yes mind was that the master artificer had forgotten to activate her obfuscation or something. However, he immediately discarded the thought because the mist was an automatic protection bestowed by the Heavens, and they, the target of its protection, had no way of influencing it. Whether one liked it or not, they would always appear to be obscured by a thick, imprable mist to the other person.
[Am I the problem?]
He was different from who he was three days ago. First, he had ascended from the Spirit Creek Realm to the Cloud River Realm. However, that could not exin why he could suddenly see through the other persons obfuscation.
[Is it the Gift of Providence?]
Lu Ye was still wondering what was going on when the woman said, Boy, your Spirit Artifact is ready for inspection! before handing over the Invible.
Her voice sounded soft and cutesy. It was definitely nothing like the first time.
Lu Yes hand dipped for a second when the woman handed him the weapon. It was a much heavier weapon than before, but that was fine, because that was exactly what he ordered. The weight was perfect for his current cultivation level.
There was a sh as he unsheathed the Invible. The shape of the weapon hadnt changed, but the de was now pitch ck in color. It was like a camouge that hid its killing intent and body count. The chips and edge damage had been fully repaired as well.
The word Invible was carved into the hilt, but it was not the work of the master artificer. The word had existed since the day he saw it in the Vault of Providence.
What was new was the new image on the other side of the hilt: A feather. This one was definitely the work of the master artificer, though he did not know what it meant.
In any case, he was very satisfied with her handiwork. The saber felt as heavy as it was unbreakable.
After checking the enhancements within the Invible and confirming that there were eighteen of them, he sheathed the saber and nodded. Not bad.
In that case, our transaction isplete, the woman dered before pulling out the Sacred Pact they had signed three days ago. She gave it a little shake, and the pact suddenly ignited on its own. At the same time, Lu Ye felt a stir in his Battlefield Imprint. Two thousand Contribution Points had been deducted from it.
May we meet again! The woman dered before acting to leave the room. At thest second, she added, Do note to me with a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact next time! This old man has better things to do!
If the woman could see Lu Yes expression, she wouldve noticed how weird he looked. It was something to hear a woman in her thirties addressing herself as an old man.
The woman was gone, but Lu Ye did not leave the room immediately. He thought for a moment before dering, I would like to post a request to upgrade my Spirit Artifact!
He then produced a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact from his Storage Bag and waited.
A momentter, an old man entered the small room. Just like the woman, he wasnt obscured by the mist in the slightest. Lu Ye could see every inch of his body as clear as day.
You wish to upgrade your Spirit Artifact? The old man asked in a deep voice.
Lu Ye nodded and handed over the Low-Grade Spirit Artifact.
The old man gave it a quick look beforementing scornfully, A Low-Grade Spirit Artifact? Really?
It was exactly the same tone the woman had used before. It would seem that these master artificers considered it a dishonor to upgrade a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact.
Still, the old man asked, Whats your price?
[Who knows, maybe hes a dumbass with more money than sense?]
One hundred Contribution Points!
The second Lu Ye said this, the old man immediately threw out the Spirit Artifact and vanished into thin air. Before he left, he swore, Crazy bastard!
A whileter, Lu Ye exited the small room with a thoughtful expression.
He now knew that the camouge that was supposed to keep a persons identity a secret in the Vault of Providence did not apply to him anymore. His ascension to the Cloud River Realm obviously had nothing to do with this, so it could only be an effect of the Gift of Providence!
Neither the woman nor the old man had reacted any differently to his appearance, so he could assume that he appeared camouged to them. Their camouge didnt exist to him though.
[Did the Heavens really grant me special privilege? Its not all that useful though. Maybe I could use the knowledge to extort someone, but really? Besides, theyre master artificers. What can I even extort from them?]
After Lu Ye had stepped out of the Sanctum of Providence, he unsheathed the Invible, injected it with Spiritual Power, and gave it a couple of swings.
The saber looked the same as before, but its quality had been increased to Middle-Grade, and Lu Ye himself had ascended to the Cloud River Realm. Naturally, his swings were far more powerful than before.
He was a bit unused to the weight increase, but it was perfect for his current cultivation level. He only needed to reustom himself with it. He returned it to its sheath.
Next, he touched his nine flying weapons with a thought. They all exited his Weapon Holder with a clear ring!
They were not the same flying weapons he used at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He had reced them all with Middle-Grade Spirit Artifacts.
He had tried to use them before he ascended to the Cloud River Realm and found them rather taxing to control. The main problem was that his Spiritual Power couldnt quite keep up with the consumption. Now though, that wasnt an issue.
Regardless, he would have to reacquaint himself with all of his skills and techniques.
A short whileter, Lu Ye sought out Shui Yuan and handed the Invible to her. Second senior sister, can you please check out this brand my artificer has left on the hilt of my saber? Its just a harmless brand, right?
Shui Yuan checked out the feather-like brand for a second before nodding smilingly. Yes, its harmless. Some artificers love to leave a mark on their works. Plus, do not forget that youve signed a Sacred Pact. They would be crazy or suicidal to tamper with your weapon with the Heavens watching their every move.
Speaking of which, I recognize this brand. I believe its Master Yus signature.
Master Yu? Do you know them?
No, Ive only heard of them. Theyre an excellent artificer who only produces high quality Spirit Artifacts. However, no one knows who they were or even what faction they belong to.
Why would they hide themselves like this?
Shui Yuan shrugged. Perhaps they do not wish to be famous? The Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou is a big ce. There are plenty of capable people who prefer to devote themselves to their work without being bothered by the secr world. This is why Master Yu only epts requests that are posted in the Vault of Providence. The Heavens would naturally protect their identity.
That might be true before Lu Ye had received the Gift of Providence, but no more. Of course, he still didnt know who that woman was even though he had seen her true appearance.
After Shui Yuan had returned the Invible to Lu Ye, she asked, How do you feel after ascending to the Cloud River Realm?
Im still not used to my new power.
Its natural. Youve crossed into a Major Realm after all. Take your time. You should return to normal in just a few days.
They chatted idly for a moment longer before Lu Ye said, Im going to visit Lady Yun now. She told me to visit her after I ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Of course.
Lu Ye jumped into the air and flew toward the Summit of rity. This time, he wasnt using his flying Spirit Artifact or Soar.
When a cultivator reached the Cloud River Realm, they became powerful enough to flypletely without aid. However, Lu Ye had just be a Cloud River Realm cultivator, and this was the first time he flew without aid. As a result, he wobbled constantly and couldnt quite steer himself in the right direction. At first, he was still making good progress toward Lady Yuns residence. A momentter, he found himself veering off course.
It cost a lot more Spiritual Power to fly without any aid. That was why Cloud River Realm cultivators still needed flying Spirit Artifacts. Using a flying Spirit Artifact was just faster and less taxing on his reserves.
Of course, that didnt mean he wasnt going to practice flying without aid until he waspletely used to it.
Lu Ye abruptly realized that he still had many things to do even after he had ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
After he finally made it to the Summit of rity, Lu Ye followed the female attendant into the study as usual. He saw that Lady Yun was currently reading a book.
Greetings, Lady Yun, Lu Ye saluted her.
Have you ascended? Lady Yun shot him a nce.
Yes, Lady.
Not bad. She nodded approvingly before setting down her book and rising to her feet. Follow me.
Lady Yun left the study. Lu Ye followed closely behind her.
On the way, Lady Yun said, The Way of Glyphs is a broad and deep subject. Even those who arent Glyph Warlocks use Glyphs to augment their strength. Tattoos are one such example. Im sure youve fought someone like that in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, no?
Lu Ye immediately recalled a Mutant cultivator he had fought in the Scroll of Supremacys battlefield. He had been wary of the guy at first because he was covered in tattoos. Later, he found out that most of them were fake, and only one was a real Tattoo
I have, Lady.
Tattoos can be Visible or Hidden; Temporary or Permanent. Generally speaking, Spirit Creek Realm cultivators can only carry a few Temporary Tattoos at most. However, Cloud River Realm cultivators can carry at least one Permanent Tattoo. In the future, there is a high chance youre going to encounter opponents who arent Glyphweavers, but are capable of unleashing the power of Glyphs. These Tattoos are most likely their trump cards as well. You must be wary of such dangers and never underestimate any opponent you face.
I will remember this.
The reason I told you to visit me after you ascended to the Cloud River Realm is because I would like to give you a Permanent Tattoo. Do you have a preference?
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Chapter 440: A Tattoo of Void
Chapter 440: A Tattoo of Void
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Not every Cloud River Realm cultivator possessed a Tattoo. It was because there were only a handful of Tattoo Artists in the entire Jiu Zhou.
To be a Tattoo Artist, one must be incredibly aplished in the Way of Glyphs and the art of tattooing. Even if a Tattoo Artist was willing to perform the work, the materials needed to ink a Tattoo were so expensive that most people couldnt afford it.
All Tattoos were based on Glyphs. There were offensive Tattoos, defensive Tattoos, supportive Tattoos and more.
Lu Ye did not need offensive or defensive Tattoos because he already had Sharp Edge and Protection. He did not need supportive Tattoos either as he already had many supportive Glyphs.
There was one supportive Glyph that he had been vying for a long time though. That was why he answered Lady Yuns question without hesitation, Void!
He had first read about Void from the books. Since it wasnt something he learned from the Tree of Glyphs, he was unable to conjure it with a single thought. So far, the greatest thing he ever did with Void was to arrange a Teleportation Ward. Unfortunately, the teleportation range left much to be desired, and the experience even more so.-
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Void wasnt just used to set up a Teleportation Ward, however. For example, it could be used to forge special Spirit Artifacts that could be used to store items such as Storage Rings, Storage Bracelets and more.
The mostmon storage item used by a cultivator was a Storage Bag. It was because Storage Bags were sewn from a special Spirit Beast skin that could be bred in captivity. It was also why Storage Bags were incredibly cheap and could be owned even by the poorest cultivators.
However, a Storage Bags storage space was incredibly limited. It was nothingpared to a Storage Ring or a Storage Bracelet!
Of course, their price was iparable to a Storage Bag either. The Sect Master was the only one he saw who owned a Storage Ring. Not even his second senior sister owned one. Though to be fair, she didnt own a Storage Bag either.
Once, Lu Ye indulged in his curiosity and asked his second senior sister how she stored her stuff without a Storage Bag. She had exined that a storage item wasnt the only way to store items.
For example, a Tattoo with Void at the center could be marked on a cultivators body to create a storage space. This way, the cultivator would not need to carry a Storage Bag anymore.
The best thing about this storage method was its speed and convenience. Items in the storage space could be produced immediately with a single thought. On the other hand, items in a Storage Bag had to be extracted by hand.
Besides that, a Tattoos storage space was way bigger than a Storage Bags.
Lu Ye did not want to carry dozens of Storage Bags on his person ever again.
Lady Yun nodded when she heard his answer. You are a Glyphweaver, so Void is a good choice. Very well.
Lady Yun sat down andy out a bunch of needles of all shapes and sizes beside her. She also pulled out a bottle of amber-colored blood that probably belonged to a Spirit Beast.
The Way of Tattoos is an interesting one. If you are interested, I can teach you when you are experienced enough in the Way of Glyphs. With a skill like this, youll never have to worry about cultivation resources anymore. People will pay you almost anything for your services, Lady Yun said while opening the bottle of blood. She then dipped a needle into the blood before pushing it into the back of Lu Yes hand. The pain resembled that of a bee sting.
Every time Lady Yun inserted her needle into his flesh, she would have to dip it in blood. Lu Ye did not know what Spirit Beast it belonged to, but Lady Yun had done the same thing when she was tattooing Wings on his back. This almost certainly meant that Tattoos required special materials to create, and the beast blood used to create a Void Tattoo could not possibly be cheap.
Sometimes, Lady Yuns movement was as slow as a snails. Sometimes, she moved so fast he could barely follow her. They hurt all the same. Lu Ye quietly observed the work as time passed bit by bit.
While Lu Ye was getting a Void Tattoo from Lady Yun, a newmotion had struck the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Less than half a day after Lu Yi Ye, one of the Three Banes of Spirit Creek, was gone, a new Crimson Blood Sect disciple had appeared on the Scroll of Supremacy.
She was Hua Ci, a Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order cultivator.
To a Spirit Creek Battlefield cultivator, the name could only be described as unfamiliar. Only a handful of people had ever heard of her. The reason they were paying attention to her was because she came from the same sect as Lu Yi Ye, of course!
Her association with the One Leaf wasnt the only thing that caught their attention, however. It was also rumored that she was a medicine cultivator.
There were very few medicine cultivators on the Scroll of Supremacy as a matter of course, and none of them were in the top fifty. It was because a medicine cultivators strength was limited even if they dabbled in another cultivation faction.
If that was all, then they wouldve put her out of their mind. The problem was that she was climbing the Scroll of Supremacy exactly like Lu Yi Ye did! She had started from the bottom and challenged every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker above her! More importantly, everyone she challenged had perished!
This infuriated the Thousand Demon Ridge as a matter of course. This was practically a reenactment of the tragedy from four months ago. Four months ago, Lu Yi Ye had ughtered every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker above him and allowed the Grand Sky Coalition to dominate the rank list for a time. Who wouldve thought that the same thing would happen again four monthster, and by the hands of a Crimson Blood Sect disciple no less?
As if that wasnt bad enough, Hua Ci was just a medicine cultivator. Who gave her the gall to do this?
For a time, every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker above her was filled with righteous fury. It was true they couldnt beat that bastard Lu Yi Ye, but there was no way they couldnt defeat a mere medicine cultivator. They were going to do everything in their power to stop Hua Ci, if only to protect whatever remained of their tattered dignity.
It wasnt long before they realized in horror that they couldnt. Not only that, Hua Ci was killing their rankers and rising through the ranks at meteoric speed. Worse still, they could not figure out how she had done it.
Lu Yi Ye had a Tamed Beast whose roar could stun the mind and prevent his opponents from surrendering. But what about Hua Ci? How did she manage to prevent her opponents from surrendering?
Just what was the Crimson Blood Sect anyway? How did they manage to produce so many monsters?
At the Summit of rity, Lady Yun had already left to catch some rest. Even a Glyphweaver like her felt tired after marking a Void Tattoo for Lu Ye.
Void was much moreplicated than most Glyphs. In the end, it had taken the entire bottle of blood to mark the Tattoo.
In the room, Lu Ye was examining the new Tattoo and checking out his new storage space. It was easily twenty times the size of a Storage Bags. Now, he no longer needed to worry about space anymore. He could even put the Invible in it if he wanted to.
He usually carried the Invible on his waist because it was faster than having to retrieve it from a Storage Bag. Not only was it inconvenient, the slight dy might cost him the chance to kill an enemy.
He did not need to worry about this anymore. The storage space was at the back of his hand. He could retrieve anything and everything with a single thought.
Despite this, Lu Ye still chose to carry the Invible like he always did. He had long since be ustomed to its weight and texture. It felt like he was missing something if he did not carry it on his person or his hand.
He followed the female attendant out of the residence after that. He never saw Lady Yun again.
When he was outside, he channeled his Spiritual Power and shot to the sky.
He had just ascended to the Cloud River Realm, and there were countless things he had had to limatize himself with. Flying without any aid was one of the simplest things he could learn.
Most people would need several days to get used to flying without aid, and even then they had to be careful not to lose control and fall from the sky.
Lu Ye had no such problems though. He might not have flown without aid until he ascended to the Cloud River Realm, but he had flown many times using Wings or Soar. One might say that he was fairly experienced in flying.
Two hourster, he could fly without wobbling and straying off course anymore.
Another two hours passed, and he could pull all sorts of moves in mid-air.
He returned to the Summit of Fortitude when it waste evening. After enjoying a delicious dinner at his second senior sisters ce, Shui Yuan said, Junior brother, it is time you choose a Spirit Peak of your own.
Im sorry? Lu Ye tilted his head in confusion.
Shui Yuan exined, There are over a hundred mountains in Mount Ao, and in the past every mountain would be overflowing with disciples. Thirty years of decler, the old man and I are the only ones left who are still guarding the Summit of Fortitude because it is the heart of our sect. Even if we count Lady Yun, that is two out of a hundred peaks that are unused and abandoned. Now that youre at the Cloud River Realm, you have the right to own a Spirit Peak. Our sect is doing better and better, and it is only a matter of time before we get more Cloud River Realm cultivators. They cant all stay at the Summit of Fortitude, can they?
To be clear, Im not chasing you out of the Summit of Fortitude. You might nominally be the Fifth Senior Brother if you consider our history, but youre really the First Senior Brother of this generation. You are also the second disciple in our sect to ascend to the Cloud River Realm besides Ju Jia. It falls on you to set an example for the rest of the disciples.
Lu Ye nodded in agreement. Very well. I will search for a Spirit Peak then.
Shui Yuan smiled and put some food on his te.
After he was done eating, Lu Ye flew out of the house and rose into the sky. He had flown circles around Mount Ao many times while practicing his flight, and he had seen just as many abandoned buildings on the Spirit Peaks. He could almost imagine how glorious his sect looked at its peak.
The Summit of Fortitude and Lady Yuns Summit of rity were obviously out of the question, but he was free to im any other Spirit Peak as his own.
Which one do you like, Yi Yi? Lu Ye asked.
Yi Yi was floating right next to him. She looked around for a bit before pointing, That one!
Okay then. Lu Ye didnt have a particr preference in this regard. Any ce that was hospitable was fine in his book.
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Chapter 441: The Price Went Up
Chapter 441: The Price Went Up
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The Spirit Peak Yi Yi chose had a massive bamboo forest that stretched from the middle section of the mountain all the way to the top, giving it a flowery and willowy appearance. It was incredibly beautiful.
The Spirit Peak was aptly named Summit of Bamboos, but all the buildings were rundown because it had been decades since anyone lived here.
Lu Yended on the summit and walked between the buildings. He could imagine how prosperous his sect had been.
The Spirit Peak was huge, and there were a ton of buildings here and there. For obvious reasons, it wasnt suitable for living at the moment.
Having confirmed his selection, Lu Ye and Yi Yi returned to the Summit of Fortitude and sought out their second senior sister. He then requested her help to dispatch a mission to fix the Summit of Bamboos.
The Crimson Blood Sects Outpost had a couple hundred disciples right now, but they generally had nothing to do besides cultivating. He was sure they would wee the change of pace and the opportunity to earn more Contribution Points.
His second senior sister had no problems with this. Lu Ye was the one who almost single handedly earned all of the Contribution Points they currently possessed. If he wanted to spend some Sect Contribution Points to rebuild a Spirit Peak, how could she possibly say no to that?-
19 Destiny Quotes Page 3
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Oh right, I forgot to tell you about this, but the Spirit Stones and Spirit Restoring Pills you currently have are no longer suitable for you. You should head to the vault and rece them, Shui Yuan said before passing him the key to the vault again.
The so-called key was really a Control Jade that could be used to unlock an enchantment. There were tens of millions of Contribution Points worth of goods in the Crimson Blood Sects vault right now, and his second senior sister had requested Lady Yun herself to set up the enchantment. Anyone who tried to enter the vault without the Control Jade would be lucky to survive.
Lu Ye wouldve asked Shui Yuan about it even if she hadnt brought it up herself. The Spirit Stones Spirit Creek Realm cultivators used were Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and the Spirit Restoring Pills were basic as well. Once a cultivator had reached the Cloud River Realm, they would no longer be beneficial to ones cultivation.
When Lu Ye was Heaven Eight, he already had to eat dozens of Spirit Restoring Pills every day to cultivate. The mere thought of it made him feel like throwing up the contents of his stomach.
There were cultivation-use Spirit Pills that were made for Cloud River Realm cultivators only. He didnt know how they tasted, but at the very least he wouldnt have to eat dozens of Spirit Pills a day anymore.
This wasnt the first time he visited the vault, so his second senior sister did not apany him on his short trip. He arrived at a massive door installed into the wall of a mountain and gave the Control Jade a little shake. Once the door swung open, he stepped inside.
The vault wasnt filled to the brim, but the amount of goods it contained was still very impressive. They had been paid to him by the Thousand Demon Ridge to buy his peace, and they had been ced in different ces by their categories.
Lu Ye first ced his remaining Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills at the right locations. It was only then he picked up a couple thousand Middle-Grade Spirit Stones at the Spirit Stone area. He didnt take too many because he usually procured his cultivation resources by killing his enemies. In fact, he usually earned far more cultivation resources than he spent.
Although he had a Void Tattoo now, he still hung a Storage Bag of food on his waist. The main reason he did this was to hide the fact that he had a Void Tattoo. Cultivators werent idiots after all. Anyone could tell he had a Void Tattoo if he wasnt carrying a Storage Bag.
Amber was also wearing a Storage Bag on its neck, though this one belonged to Yi Yi and Amber. It was because Yi Yi was an apparition and could not carry a physical object as easily and effortlessly as Amber.
He also deposited a couple hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones in that Storage Bag.
With that done, Lu Ye went to the Spirit Pill area.
Spirit Creek Realm cultivators consumed Spirit Restoring Pills to cultivate or restore their Spiritual Power. Cloud River Realm cultivators consumed Vital Spirit Pills to achieve the same effect. Of course, a Vital Spirit Pill was far more potent than a Spirit Restoring Pill. A Spirit Creek Realm cultivator would only hurt themselves trying to eat one.
Lu Ye grabbed a bottle of Vital Spirit Pill and poured out a pill. He then tossed it into his mouth and gave it a tentative chew.
He raised his eyebrows. The pill tasted surprisingly good!
For a time, he was overflowing with emotions. Finally, he did not have to eat a Heavens damned Spirit Restoring Pill anymore. This was easily the most delightful discovery he had made since ascending to the Cloud River Realm.
Speaking of eating, Amber was staring at him with a pleading look on its face. Lu Ye fed it a Vital Spirit Pill and watched it just in case it had any adverse reaction.
There was none. Amber simply stared at Lu Ye again with the same I want more! expression.
He shouldve expected this. Amber was a Spirit Beast who could consume even Spirit Stones. Naturally, a mere Vital Spirit Pill wasnt going to hurt it.
A Vital Spirit Pill was definitely a lot more potent than a Spirit Restoring Pill. The second the pill made it down his throat, he could feel a stream of warm energy spreading inside his stomach and transforming into Spiritual Power. It merged with his river of Spiritual Power and increased its volume.
At a rough estimate, a single Vital Spirit Pill was equal to at least ten Spirit Gathering Pills. Of course, its market price was ten times higher as well.
Lu Ye deposited some Vital Spirit Pills in his Void Tattoo and Ambers Storage Bag before circling the vault once. He left only after he confirmed that there wasnt anything else he needed.
Lu Ye returned the Control Jade to Shui Yuan before going back to his room. Instead of cultivating, he took out his Mystic Fruit.
He had just ascended to the Cloud River Realm. Naturally, the first thing he should do was to limatize himself with his new power. The best way to do so was to enter the Rift of Illusions and fight.
Last time, he had run into a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator and got killed seven times in a row. After that, there was a long period where he did not use the Mystic Fruit.
It wasnt because he was scared of running into the bastard again, of course. He was busy cultivating or fighting the Thousand Demon Ridge during that time. He just didnt have the time for anything else.
Suddenly, he recalled that the Thousand Demon Ridge elite who killed him at the time was shrouded by mist just like the people in the Vault of Providence. At the time, he wasnt able to identify his features at all.
Now that he had the Gift of Providence, the mist would not present a problem to him anymore. If he ran into them again, he was going to memorize their face and pay back the humiliation he had received tenfold.
He was actually looking forward to running into the bastard again. If possible, he would like to figure out their identity in one go to save time.
He channeled his Spiritual Power into the Mystic Fruit and found himself in the small space. There was no one here besides himself.
Once he stepped through the door, he would enter the Rift of Illusions.
Something was different this time. When he put a hand on the door, the line that appeared was not exactly the same as before.
[The price went up?]
When he was a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, he only had to pay fifty Contribution Points to enter the Rift of Illusions. Now, it cost a hundred Contribution Points to do so; double what it cost before!
He wondered if the price would double again when he reached the Real Lake Realm.
That said, he still had ny seven thousand, nine hundred and fifty Contribution Points left. A hundred Contribution Points was nothing at all.
He passed through the door and looked behind him. Just likest time, the door had vanished as if it was never there, and there was nothing to indicate there was a small space behind him a second ago. It was like he had stepped into a different world.
The arena was also different from before. When he was just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, he could only see as far as thirty or so meters. Everything else beyond that was shrouded by an imprable fog. Enemy insectoids or cultivators would burst out of the fog and usually catch him off guard.
Now that he was at the Cloud River Realm, the fog was much further away. Everything within three hundred meters was as clear as day.
He had juste to a standstill when the fog directly in front of him started writhing unnaturally. The next second, a massive insectoid the length of a human burst out of the fog and rushed toward him. The insectoid looked like a praying mantis, but was covered in a thick ck shell. It also wielded a pair of sharp mantis des. The distance between them quickly shortened as Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible and charged the insectoid.
In the Rift of Illusions, the insectoid that appeared initially should match his cultivation level, so the praying mantis was probably on the same level as a First-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. However, Lu Ye could not possiblypare to a normal First-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, not just because he was a man who had reached the end of the Spirit Creek Realm, but also because he was the first ever human to reach the level of a Tyrant.
This was a feat not even Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had achieved. Literally no one was stronger than him at the Spirit Creek Realm level.
Naturally, he was far stronger than the average First-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator as well.
It took Lu Ye only a few breaths to annihte the praying mantis. The increase in power was so drastic that he could hardly believe himself. His attack was also deadlier than ever before, especially after the Invible was upgraded to a Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact.
This time, two praying mantises burst out of the fog. Lu Ye met them halfway and brought down his saber
Nearly one and a half hourster, Lu Ye finally opened his eyes in the real world. His head hurt a bit after being in the Rift of Illusions for so long, but it was gone almost immediately.
His Divine Soul was far stronger than what it used to be. It got to the point where even the side effects of dying in the Rift of Illusions felt almost nothing to him.
After checking his reserves and confirming that he could still fight, he channeled his Spiritual Power into the Mystic Fruit seed and entered the Rift of Illusions once more.
Another one and a half hours had passed, and he opened his eyes looking as white as a sheet. His mind was doing okay, but his Spiritual Power had nearly hit rock bottom.
He chose to stop here and swallowed a Vital Spirit Pill. He then took out a book on de technique insights and began studying it.
Now that he had formed a Cosmic Orbit in his body, he was no longer limited by his cultivation technique anymore. This meant that he could circte any cultivation technique he had learned without disrupting his Cirction System.
In the past, he had had to switch his cultivation technique to the Gluttonous Feast to restore his Spiritual Power. Now, he could just activate it directly to digest the Spirit Pill he consumed and restore his Spiritual Power at an elerated rate.
The days came and went. When his Spiritual Power was full, Lu Ye would enter the Rift of Illusions to limatize himself with his newfound power and hone his skills. When he was resting, he would study the de technique insights and absorb everything that was useful to him. Thanks to thebination of hard work and practice, Lu Yesbat skills and de techniques grew by leaps and bounds.
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Chapter 442: Hua Ci The Poison Doctor
Chapter 442: Hua Ci The Poison Doctor
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While Lu Ye was honing himself in the Rift of Illusions, activity was rising in the Spirit Creek Battlefield once more. Every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator was searching for Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect!
Not only did the Crimson Blood Sect disciple rise to the seventies in just a day, every ranker she challenged had been killed without mercy. This angered the Thousand Demon Ridge as a matter of course.
First, there was Lu Yi Ye. Now, there was Hua Ci. She challenged every opponent in their way and killed them all. Just when was the Crimson Blood Sect going to stop with this nonsense?
Lu Yi Ye was as powerful as he was skilled. Since he ascended to Heaven Nine, he became so strong that they could stop him even if they threw their entire faction at him. He had essentially be invincible in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
When the guy finally ascended to the Cloud River Realm, they thought that the mountain sitting on their backs was finally gone. Then, Hua Ci popped out of nowhere and crushed their hopes and dreams.
As if that wasnt insulting enough, she was just a medicine cultivator! What was she doing in the Scroll of Supremacy anyway? Medicine cultivators should just focus on healing the sick and saving peoples lives instead of participating in a battle for supremacy that was basically the antithesis of being a medicine cultivator!-
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Every bit of resentment they held against Lu Ye was transferred to Hua Ci. By hook or by crook, the Thousand Demon Ridge was going to dig her out of her hidey-hole and end her miserable life!
They had to. These days, the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators could not see the name Crimson Blood Sect and not feel a jolt of fear. They would not allow a Crimson Blood Sect disciple to appear on the Scroll of Supremacy a second time!
However, the Thousand Demon Ridge was unable to find Hua Ci even after mobilizing all their manpower and every contact they had. They couldnt even be certain if she was in the Spirit Creek Battlefield because she hadnt appeared in any Outpost.
The next day, Hua Ci was ranked fifty on the Scroll of Supremacy. While her speed was iparable to Lu Yes, it was the highest rank a medicine cultivator had ever upied in Scroll of Supremacy!
Most people thought that this was as far as she could go, but when the third day came, she continued to vanquish every Thousand Demon Ridge ranker she challenged and rise through the ranks at a steady pace
On the fourth day, Hua Ci officially entered the top ten!
Everyone in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was stunned by this. There had never been a medicine cultivator who ranked in the top fifty, much less the top ten. This meant that Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect had created history with her achievement. For a time, countless medicine cultivators took pride in her achievement and wondered if they could do the same. Perhaps this was the era of the medicine cultivators?
They were deluded, of course. Many medicine cultivators tried to increase their rank only to suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of their enemies
There were exceptions, but the top ten rankers of the Scroll of Supremacy were rarely too far apart from one another in terms of overall fighting strength. Looking at Hua Cis speed, performance and result, she was definitely qualified to challenge the champion for the top spot.
The current champion of the Scroll of Supremacy was Lan Zi Yi, another woman. Naturally, everyone wanted to know who would be the strongest between the two.
Then, something unexpected happened. Lan Zi Yis name suddenly disappeared from the rank list. It wasnt long before it was revealed that the woman had ascended to the Cloud River Realm!
It was a most peculiar timing to choose to ascend. It was almost as if Lan Zi Yi was avoiding a sh against Hua Ci. For a time, countless rumors rose, and the Thousand Demon Ridge felt deeply ashamed by their champions avoidance. The fact that Infinite Ind released no statement to defend themselves only served to affirm their suspicions.
On a rted note, they finally found out how Hua Ci had killed her opponents before they could even surrender. Previously, everyone she fought had either rejected her challenge request or perished in battle. It wasnt until she fought her next battle after entering the top ten that her methods were finally revealed to the world.
ording to the Thousand Demon Ridge ranker who barely lived after the battle, Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect was just a medicine cultivator who used poison. When the battle began, she immediately tossed a shining green pellet at him that exploded and engulfed the entire battlefield in poisonous fog.
The fog was so poisonous that the ranker copsed on the ground before he even made it to Hua Cis side. He wouldve died if he hadnt surrendered in time.
Although he managed to survive the battle, the toxin coursing through his body turned out to be incredibly difficult to purge. It was so bad that he had to be brought back to the headquarters and receive treatment from their medicine cultivators.
Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect was a poison doctor. For a time, the whole world was stunned by this revtion.
There were countless medicine cultivators who were experts in the art of poison, but no one in the history of Jiu Zhou had ever made it to the top ten with this skill, much less defeat a top ten ranker with it.
After that, Hua Cis rank started rising faster than ever before. Everyone she challenged afterward had rejected her challenge request.
They might be top ten rankers, but even they werent confident that they could survive Hua Cis poison intact. Even if they managed to defeat her, they would have to spend a great deal of time recovering from the poison. In that case, they might as well surrender and live to fight another day.
As a result of this, Hua Ci of the Crimson Blood Sect became the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy five days after Lu Ye had ascended to the Cloud River Realm!
She was the first ever medicine cultivator to be the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. The world was stunned by the unprecedented feat.
Previously, the world thought that Lu Yi Ye would be the only monster the Crimson Blood Sect had produced in this generation. Now, Hua Ci had joined him at the top. For a time, the woman was praised and revered by countless medicine cultivators including those from the Thousand Demon Ridge. They might be enemies, but even they had to admit that Hua Cis achievement had brought their cultivation faction much glory.
From the Thousand Demon Ridges perspective, the one silver lining to this disaster was that Hua Ci wasnt a troublemaker like Lu Yi Ye. In fact, they, or even the Grand Sky Coalition, didnt know where she was to this day. It was almost as if the woman had appeared out of nowhere. She could not be spotted in any Core Circle Outpost.
At the Crimson Blood Sects headquarters, Lu Ye was studying his de technique insights and feeding the Tree of Glyphs some mes of Earthen Spirits. He was also consuming Spirit Pills to restore his depleted Spiritual Power.
After honing himself non-stop in the Rift of Illusions for the past few days, Lu Ye hade to master his new powerpletely.
The difference between his Heaven Nine self and now was like night and day. He now understood why people considered entering Major Realms to be a qualitative leap in power.
His cultivation hadnt improved a bit in the past five days because he had been using his power non-stop.
He had spent twenty thousand Contribution Points to purchase a hundred mes of Earthen Spirits from the Vault of Providence. It took a few days, but he was nearing the end of the feeding.
When the Tree of Glyphs had consumed thest me of Earthen Spirits, Lu Ye finally put down his book and checked inside his body.
He frowned when he saw the Tree of Glyphs. Based on his estimate, a hundred mes of Earthen Spirits should ignite fifty to sixty leaves at the very least. In reality, he was way off. The number of ignited leaves was less than half of what he expected.
Lu Ye checked them all and only obtained four Glyphs in total. The rest were techniques and methods that were used during the construction of a Glyph.
While they werent independent Glyphs, they were incredibly important to Lu Ye. The more techniques and methods he obtained, the easier it became to build a Glyph.
Take the Teleportation Ward for example. If he hadnt obtained everything he had obtained from the Tree of Glyphs, he would not have been able to construct Voida Glyph that took over three thousand Yin and Yang elements to buildwith his current attainment, much less set up a Teleportation Ward.
It was thanks to those techniques and methods that he was able to construct Void and make it work in a Teleportation Ward.
The four new Glyphs he had obtained were not very suitable forbat. They were Glyph: Leaf Dance, Glyph: Fire, Glyph: Water Arrow and Glyph: Earth Protrusion.
He could use them as spell techniques if he constructed them individually.
It would seem that he was venturing further and further down the path of a spell cultivator even though he wasnt trying to
Although his one hundred mes of Earthen Spirits had ignited far fewer leaves than he expected, Lu Ye did not think that it was a waste at all considering the Tree of Glyphs itself needed some fuel reserves.
When the Yuan Metal Storm had engulfed the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he was able to survive the poison of the Myriad Poison Forest only because the Tree of Glyphs had consumed a sufficient amount of mes of Earthen Spirits. Otherwise, he wouldve been in the same boat as Amber.
Therefore, the mes of Earthen Spirits wouldnt be wasted even if none of the leaves were ignited.
The Vital Spirit Pill he currently consumed to cultivate was over ten times more potent than a Spirit Restoring Pill. The amount of pill poison it contained was about ten times greater as well. Naturally, he was going to need the extra fuel to burn away the pill poison.
He didnt purchase more mes of Earthen Spirits even though he still had over seventy thousand Contribution Points. It was never a good idea to rush a purchase, and assuming the information he received was urate, he was going to need those Contribution Points in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Five days after ascending to the Cloud River Realm, Lu Ye stepped out of his room and noted that a lot of disciples were walking about in the headquarters. Heter realized that they were disciples who had epted the mission to rebuild the Summit of Bamboos.
They all saluted him respectfully when they saw him.
Lu Ye rose to the air and looked down on the Summit of Bamboos. He saw a great number of disciples removing the decrepit buildings and recing them with brand new structures.
A great pce was also being built at the peak of the summit. It looked pretty huge even from a cultivators perspective.
Work was progressing very quickly because they were all cultivators, not to mention that he counted around a hundred cultivators participating in the work.
At this rate, it should take fifteen days or less for the Summit of Bamboos to be rebuilt.
The bad news was that he would be long gone by the time it was fully rebuilt. The good news was that his departure wasnt forever, and he would witness the new Summit of Bamboos eventually.
Lu Ye returned to the Summit of Fortitude and sought out his second senior sister. She asked as if sensing his intent, Are you going to enter the Cloud River Battlefield?
Yeah. I have mastered my new cultivation. It is time to cultivate for real.
I agree. Shui Yuan nodded. Have you packed enough cultivation resources? You may stock up some more if you think its necessary.
I have enough.
The Cloud River Battlefield is vastly different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. I have told you some things, but there are many more things I cannot tell you without going on a lengthy and tedious exnation. When you enter the Cloud River Battlefield, remember to visit the Divine Trade Association and purchase a basic information package and a 10-point map. They are very important.
I will remember this.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield constantly pits its two factions against one another, and the Cloud River Battlefield is more or less the same. However, the main focus of the Cloud River Battlefield is cultivation resources. Given enough strength, you should be able to cultivate faster than most people. That said, you have just ascended to the Cloud River Realm, so it is better to y it safe. If you run into an enemy you cannot defeat, saving yourself has to be your first priority. Only the living have a future, understand? One more thing. Remember to contact your fourth senior brother when youve entered the Cloud River Battlefield.
I will.
Shui Yuan wasnt done yet. She could not stop giving him advice like a mother advising a son who was leaving for a long trip.
A long timeter, Lu Ye finally bade Shui Yuan goodbye and fetched Amber and Yi Yi. Then, he strode toward the Sanctum of Providence.
[Cloud River Battlefield, here Ie!]
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Chapter 443: Cloud River Battlefield
Chapter 443: Cloud River Battlefield
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In the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye put his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column and connected his mind to it.
When he was a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, the only ce he could enter was the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Now that he was a Cloud River Realm cultivator, a new option had opened up to him.
He could still enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but he would have to pay three thousand Contribution Points to do so. Moreover, his strength would be suppressed to Heaven Nineor more specifically, his peak form before he ascended to the Cloud River Realmuntil he left the ce.
The fee was only worse for Real Lake Realm cultivators or higher. This was the main reason high level cultivators generally avoided entering a battlefield they didnt belong to unless absolutely necessary.
Lu Ye wasnt going to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, of course. He was going to enter the Cloud River Battlefield.
He did not enter the Cloud River Battlefield immediately despite having made his choice. It was because the Cloud River Battlefield was quite different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. For starters, Outposts did not exist in the Cloud River Battlefield. This meant that there were multiple ways one might enter the ce.-
DYM Chapter 15-16
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The first way was to appear at a random location. If the cultivator was lucky, then he would appear in a safe ce. If they werent, then they might appear at a hostile location such as an enemy encampment or the territory of a powerful Spirit Beast. There was a high chance he would get killed if he couldnt defend himself.
The second way was fixed-point teleportation. There were Arcane des in the Cloud River Battlefield that were filled with rich World Spiritual Qi. Even better, most of them contained a Divine Opportunity Column. If a cultivator had left an imprint in the Divine Opportunity Column beforehand, they could teleport directly to the Arcane de.
Unfortunately, this way only applied to those who owned an Arcane de. As Lu Ye had never even entered the Cloud River Battlefield before, he did not have an Arcane de as a matter of course. This meant that he could only rely on the third way.
The third way was also a fixed-point teleportation, though there were many ces he could choose from.
The Cloud River Battlefield did not have Outposts, but it did have a lot of Divine Trade Association hotspots. They were scattered throughout the battlefield and acted as supply bases and rest areas for the cultivators. Moreover, every hotspot had its own Divine Opportunity Column. Any cultivator no matter what faction they belonged to could use them to teleport out of the Cloud River Battlefield.
One could say that these hotspots were the busiest ces in the entire battlefield.
As Lu Ye closed his eyes and made contact with the Divine Opportunity Column, dots of light 1began appearing in his mind. Each dot represented a hot spot belonging to the Divine Trade Association. He could choose any one of these dots and teleport there. The question was, which should he choose?
Shui Yuan had told him to seek out his fourth senior brother, Li Baxian after he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. However, Lu Ye wanted to find Ju Jia first. The big guy was as wooden as he was tough, and it had been months since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. He wanted to know where his friend was and how he was doing. If someone had taken advantage of him, he wanted to know as soon as possible.
He could see over a thousand light dots in his head. It showed just how vast the Cloud River Battlefield was.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield was vast, but the Cloud River Battlefield was several times bigger than it. After all, even the lowliest Cloud River Realm cultivator could fly telekically. If the battlefield was too small, then the cultivators would not be able to unleash their full power.
He pondered his choices for a moment before choosing the location at the center of the Cloud River Battlefield. This way, Ju Jia could be on the other end of the battlefield, and he should still be able to reach him fairly quickly.
Are you ready, Amber? Lu Ye asked quietly.
On his shoulder, the tiger responded with a cute growl.
Lu Ye smiled and thought, Teleport. The next moment, he was struck by a small sense of vertigo.
The feeling went away as quickly as it came. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar hall.
Not far away, an unfamiliar cultivator opened his eyes at the same time as him. It was clear he had teleported over from Jiu Zhou and chosen this location as his destination as well. They did not try tomunicate for obvious reasons.
Lu Ye put his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column again and tried to teleport back to Jiu Zhou. He immediately received a notice that arge sum of Contribution Points would be deducted if he did this. He knew then that the intel he received was correct. All cultivators who entered the Cloud River Battlefield must stay in it for at least a month. Otherwise, they would have to pay a huge sum of Contribution Points.
This might be the first time he entered the Cloud River Battlefield, but he had collected a lot of information through various channels. The only w in the information he collected was that it wasntprehensive enough.
He wasnt sure why such a rule existed. His best guess was that the teleportation wasnt free, and the Heavens had implemented it to prevent cultivators who had way too much free time on their hands from abusing the teleportation.
By the time he came to, the cultivator that appeared at the same time as him had already left the hall. Lu Ye also left after he was done with his experiment.
He was immediately struck by a cacophony of noises. This was the Divine Trade Association. It made sense that countless cultivators would frequent this ce.
Lu Ye tapped a finger on his Battlefield Imprint and attempted to contact his fourth senior brother. He was going to inform him that he had arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield, but to his surprise, the message had failed to transmit sessfully.
His fourth senior brothers imprint still existed, so it wasnt because he was dead. This could only mean that his fourth senior brother was currently in a different world.
The same thing happened when he tried to contact Feng Yuechan.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were inseparable for as long as he knew them. If one of them was unreachable, then the other person was most likely unreachable as well.
He messaged Ju Jia next. This time, the message transmitted smoothly, and Ju Jia responded to it very quickly.
Lu Ye frowned aftermunicating with Ju Jia for a bit. Not only was Ju Jia ignorant of his current location, Lu Ye himself wasnt sure where he was beyond the center dot in the Cloud River Battlefield. He had no choice but to tell Ju Jia to find a Divine Trade Association hotspot and purchase a 10-point map for himself before ending themunication. After that, Lu Ye sought out a manager and purchased a 10-point map and a basic information packet on all things in the Cloud River Battlefield.
What surprised Lu Ye was that the manager was only a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. The Divine Trade Association might be the only organization in Jiu Zhou who was capable of doing this. He already knew this, but Lu Ye still realized all over again that the Divine Trade Association was no ordinary organization.
Lu Ye remained in his private room and checked out his 10-point map to learn about his current location. He then checked the basic information packet he received.
It took two whole hours before Lu Ye finally put down his jade slip. He took his time to digest everything he just learned.
As his second senior sister had told him, the Cloud River Battlefield was a much moreplicated andpetitive ce than the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Here, cultivators did not justpete against enemies from an opposing faction, but also their own. That said, the strong could usually capitalize on this and rise through the cultivation levels very quickly.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, every sect had an Outpost where the concentration of the World Spiritual Qi was much higher than the wilderness. The more Blessings they purchased, the more they could upgrade the World Spiritual Qi of their Outpost and elerate the cultivation of the disciples.
There was no such thing in the Cloud River Battlefield, however. Instead, there were the Arcane des.
An Arcane de was a territory where the World Spiritual Qi was concentrated. In the Cloud River Battlefield, the average concentration of the ambient Spiritual Qi was only equal to the wilderness of the Core Circle in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Suffice to say, this cultivation environment wasnt even good enough for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, much less a Cloud River Realm cultivator. If the cultivator cultivated using the ambient Spiritual Qi around them only, they would find themselves rising through the cultivation levels very, very slowly.
The Arcane de was one of the most popr solutions to that problem. An Arcane de was identical to a Spirit Creek Battlefield Outpost in the sense that its World Spiritual Qi was much richer than normal. That was where the simrities ended, however. An Arcane de wasnt divided based on sects. Anyone could own one, be it a small group of friends consisting of three to five cultivators, or arge group consisting of ten to twenty cultivators. Generally speaking, it was incredibly rare to find an Arcane de amodating more than twenty cultivators because that would reduce the amount of World Spiritual Qi each person got to a pittance.
Arcane des were split into four levels: Primus, Secundus, Tertius and Quartus. Primus was the best, and Quartus the worst. To put it simply, the higher the level, the richer the World Spiritual Qi, and the more efficient a cultivators cultivation became.
There were less Arcane des than there were cultivators, so cultivators often fought each other to im one. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it was incredibly difficult to upy an Outpost. The grand ward alone presented a nigh insurmountable challenge, and there was only so much a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could do. Lu Ye was an exception, not the rule.
At the Cloud River Realm though, that was a different story. The cultivators werent just much more powerful, their bag of tricks wouldve grown exponentially as well. Not even an Arcane de that was protected by a grand ward was safe from its would-be plunderers.
Generally speaking, few people could hold onto a high quality Arcane de for long. It almost always changed hands after a short period.
Besides that, Arcane des did not exist forever. What was a Primus-level Arcane de today could up and vanish like a mirage the next day.
The opposite was the same. A barrennd could suddenly transform into an Arcane de as well.
The Cloud River Battlefield was vast, and its number of Arcane des innumerable. However, there were always cultivators who just werent strong enough to im an Arcane de of their own. How could these people grow stronger then? Spirit Pills alone would not satisfy their needs, not to mention that it would be beyond inefficient.
That was why there was another way to cultivate besides iming an Arcane de, Amulets.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, Amulets could literally fall from the skies at any moment. An Amulets quality could be split into White, Green, Blue, Purple and Gold. White was the lousiest, and Gold the best.
When an Amulet fell from the sky, everyone within fifty kilometers of ground zero was almost guaranteed to see it. Those who managed to im an Amulet only needed to find a safe ce to crush their Amulet. A massive amount of World Spiritual Qi would automatically appear out of nowhere and nourish the cultivator.
No one knew where the Amulets came from. Their best guess was that they were the gifts of the Heavens.
Each day, arge amount of Amulets would appear all over the Cloud River Battlefield. It was something all cultivators needed as there could never be too many resources.
It wasnt easy to im an Amulet, however. It was something every Cloud River Realm cultivator wanted after all. It wasnt just a matter of speed and hand-eye coordination either. Those who werent strong enough to keep the Amulet they imed usually perished to their attackers.
The strong ones would fight for the Gold Amulets, while the weak ones could only aim for the White Amulets.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, there was no such thing as an upper limit when it came to cultivation speed. Given enough strength and luck, a cultivator could ascend to the Real Lake Realm in just one or two years.
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Chapter 444: Tetrachromatic Cloud
Chapter 444: Tetrachromatic Cloud
Ownership of Amulets wasnt fixed, so this gave birth to a special kind of trade known as Amulet auctions. Some cultivators would rather sell the Amulets they owned for Contribution Points, so every once in a while the Divine Trade Association would hold an auction.
Contribution Points were the only epted currency in an auction. Even if a cultivator was so unlucky that they could neither im an Amulet or an Arcane de for themselves, they could still cultivate very quickly assuming they had the Contribution Points necessary to purchase these Amulets.
This part matched what Lu Ye had gathered from his friends and acquaintances. They had told him that Contribution Points were extremely useful in the Cloud River Battlefield, and they were right. Though to be fair, Contribution Points were useful not just in the Cloud River Battlefield, but everywhere else.
This was the first time Lu Ye entered the Cloud River Battlefield, so he didnt consider iming an Arcane de as an option. Most of the Arcane des out there would already have an owner, and he wasnt so hubristic as to believe that he could defeat them as he was.
He might be invincible in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but that status was stripped the moment he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. He could be the strongest First-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator in the entire world, and a veteran could still kick his ass like it was nothing.
He was tempted to buy an Amulet or two and check how good they were. Although he could cultivate on Spirit Pills alone, he would rather cultivate more efficiently than otherwise. Also, he had over seventy thousand Contribution Points in hand right now. That had to be enough to purchase some Amulets, right?-
Earthly Deity Chapter 45
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Unfortunately, he asked a manager about the Amulet auction and learned that thest auction was two days ago, and the next would be almost a month away. He immediately ceased that thought.
After obtaining everything he needed, Lu Ye left the Divine Trade Association.
The sun hung high in the sky, and countless cultivators could be seen entering and leaving the hotspot. At first nce, it seemed that the Cloud River Battlefield was a much livelier ce than the Spirit Creek Battlefield. In reality, it was because this was a Divine Trade Association hotspot. Considering that the Cloud River Battlefield was several times bigger than the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the chances someone might encounter another cultivator in the wilderness were even smaller than they were in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, not to mention that there were far fewer Cloud River Realm cultivators than there were Spirit Creek Realm cultivators.
Once outside the hotspot, Lu Ye checked the 10-point map and messaged Ju Jia his current location.
Ju Jia responded, Aang!
It would be an iprehensible response to most people, but Lu Ye had known Ju Jia long enough to guess that it meant yes. Unfortunately, Ju Jia still didnt have a 10-point map of his own, so he didnt know where he was. It would be difficult for Lu Ye to locate the body-tempering cultivator without even knowing which direction he should travel.
Since he was already here, he might as well take the rough with the smooth. He decided to familiarize himself with the battlefield.
With a thought, Lu Ye soared to the sky, picked a random direction, and flew. ording to the 10-point map, there was a Tertius-level Arcane de about one hundred and fifty kilometers away from his current location. He wanted to know the difference between a Tertius-level Arcane de and the wilderness.
The owners should not attack him if he just observed from a safe distance.
There was a chance the Tertius-level Arcane de might belong to the Thousand Demon Ridge, but the reality was that the owners of an Arcane de often came from both factions. In the Cloud River Battlefield, cultivators rarely exposed their affiliation to one another to avoid conflicts of interest.
This was not possible in the Spirit Creek Battlefield because the cultivators were centered around their sects and Outposts, but in the Cloud River Battlefield, most people either traveled alone or in groups. Even those who chose to travel in groups rarely gathered too many people.
This was to avoid issues if they encountered a new Arcane de. The cultivators who found the Arcane de first would also sign a Sacred Pact and cooperate temporarily with each other.
New environments gave birth to new ways of living.
This was why his second senior sister, Shui Yuan, had told him that their factions werentpletely opposed to one another in the Cloud River Battlefield. In some cases, they might even have to cooperate with each other.
Worst case scenario, the Sacred Pact would keep them from backstabbing each other even if their affiliations were opposed.
Lu Ye didnt fly unassisted for long before he brought out his Spirit Boat. It was going to be a long trip, and flying on a flying Spirit Artifact was just less exhausting.
On a rted note, Lu Ye had switched out his Spirit Boat for a Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact. It was also a Spirit Boat, but it was faster and tougher because it had more defensive enchantments. At the very least, he would not be in danger of crashing after one direct hit or two.
Yi Yi poked her head out after confirming that there was no one around them. She sat down in front of Lu Ye and looked left and right curiously. So, this is the Cloud River Battlefield. It doesnt look too different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield though.
The people are definitely different. From now on, almost everyone we meet will be a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Itll be fine. Amber and I will help you if we get into a fight! Yi Yi dered while swinging her fist.
Amber also let out a growl of agreement.
Where are we going? Yi Yi asked.
Were heading toward a Tertius-level Arcane de. I want to check out whats so special about it.
I see. Yi Yi stopped asking questions and enjoyed the sights for a bit.
Suddenly, she pointed a finger and eximed in surprise, Lu Ye Lu Ye, look at that pretty cloud! It has four colors!
Lu Ye looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a tetrachromatic cloud as she said. It was moving quickly toward them.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. It hadnt even been a couple of hours since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield, and trouble had found them already.
ording to the basic information packet he bought from the Divine Trade Association, iridescent clouds would always appear in the sky before they rained Amulets.
The color of the cloud decided the type of Amulets that would be distributed. A dichromatic cloud would produce White and Green Amulets only. A trichromatic Amulet would produce White, Green and Blue Amulets. A tetrachromatic cloud would produce White, Green, Blue and Purple Amulets, and finally, a pentachromatic cloud would produce White, Green, Blue, Purple and Gold Amulets.
There was no such thing as a monochromatic cloud, not one that produced Amulets at least. It was always between a dichromatic cloud and a pentachromatic cloud.
Since the cloud in front of them was tetrachromatic, it meant that it could produce Purple Amulets at best.
Lu Ye immediately stopped in his tracks and stared at the cloud for a bit. He felt a surge of delight when he confirmed that the cloud was heading toward him.
The delight onlysted for a moment though. It was because he saw a vast number of auras trailing beneath the cloud.
The tetrachromatic cloud could be sighted from at least fifty kilometers away. Naturally, all nearby cultivators were going to flock toward it like bees to honey. He could tell that there were many elites within the group.
At the Spirit Creek Realm level, one could determine their cultivation level by their aura because it was proportional to the number of Microcosmic Orbits in their body.
This did not apply to Cloud River Realm cultivators or above, however. All Cloud River Realm cultivators only had one Cosmic Orbit. Therefore, it was difficult to tell how strong they were based on their aura.
Besides that, there was no cultivation realm with a bigger power disparity than the Cloud River Realm. Take a cultivator who had ascended to the Cloud River Realm with two hundred and forty Spiritual Points and another with three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points for example. Technically speaking, their cultivation realm was the same. In reality, thetter was way stronger than the former because they had unlocked far more Spiritual Points.
This was why it was extremely unwise to judge a cultivators strength based on their cultivation level at the Cloud River Realm. It was all toomon for a so-called low level cultivator to kill a high level cultivator.
Here in the Cloud River Battlefield, there were only the weak and the strong. And the only way to tell who was who was to fight them.
This was why Lu Ye dared to roam the Cloud River Battlefield alone.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he was so infamous that he literally could not go a hundred kilometers in one direction without being swarmed by a sea of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. But here, few would even know his name.
A cultivator could remain in the Cloud River Battlefield for years before returning to Jiu Zhou. His third senior brother, Xiao Xinghe, was one such example. The guy had not left the Cloud River Battlefield until he had ascended to the Real Lake Realm.
This was good news for Lu Ye. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he was the infamous Vanquisher of Sects and Bane of Spirit Creek. Literally every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator in the battlefield wanted to kill him even before he was Heaven Nine.
Now that he had a fresh start, he decided that it was time to change his strategy as well. Ideally, he wanted to keep as low a profile as possible. Even if that wasnt possible, he wanted to avoid bing so famous that he couldnt go anywhere without a tail, one that was made up of dozens, hundreds or even thousands of cultivators no less.
Now that he thought about it, he had been hunted since practically the first day he became a cultivator. For once, he would like to lead a steady and rtively peaceful life.
Lu Ye did not grow arrogant just because he became invincible in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was well aware that cultivators who were stronger than him were a dime a dozen in the Cloud River Battlefield.
That was why he hurriedly descended on a small hill the second he saw the massive group of auras trailing behind the cloud.
At least hundreds of cultivators had gathered beneath the tetrachromatic cloud. The group was only growing bigger as time passed.
The cloud was as big as it was colorful. Excluding the blind, everyone within several hundred kilometers of the cloud should notice it.
No one was fighting because it wasnt time yet. No one was revealing their affiliation willy-nilly either. Everyone here was apetitor unless they were a familiar, friendly face they could work with, faction be damned.
The cloud would not stop until it was directly above Lu Yes head. Then, it came to aplete standstill. Lu Ye could not help butment his luck when he saw this.
The tetrachromatic cloud wasnt too high up in the sky; a couple thousand meters above ground at best. Logically speaking, the Cloud River Realm cultivators should fly as close to the cloud as possible so that they could im the Amulets before anyone else.
In fact, people used to do that until too many people were dead, and the grass on their gravestones was at least dozens of meters tall now. The Amulets did NOT fly slowly when they were ejected from the cloud. To put it simply, they moved fast enough to kill any Cloud River Realm cultivator if they were too close.
The Amulets flew slower the further they traveled. That was why the cultivators scattered away from the tetrachromatic cloud instead of closing in. In a sense, luck yed a huge factor in a contest like this. It was impossible to say where an Amulet would appear until it did.
Chapter 445: Claiming Amulets
Chapter 445: iming Amulets
In the wilderness, a tetrachromatic cloud was floating over three thousand meters above the ground. Right beneath it was Lu Ye watching and waiting for something to happen.
Five kilometers away from the cloud, hundreds of cultivators were standing in a circle and getting ready to snatch the Amulets it would soon spew as well.
Some cultivators had eyes for the iridescent cloud only, but some were observing their surroundings in case there was any powerfulpetitor they needed to watch out for. Some had also formed temporary alliances and grouped up in twos or threes.
Suddenly, several balls of light burst out of the cloud at high speed. It looked like there was something hidden within them.
Lu Ye immediately stared at one of the lights and pushed his eyes to the limit, but he was unable to identify what it was.
The streaks of light were so fast that they crossed thousands of meters in almost an instant. Seeing their travel speed, Lu Ye was stunned even though he had already read about this in the information packet. There was definitely a good reason why everyone stayed a good distance away from the iridescent cloud. Considering their speed, they werent just too fast to dodge within a certain distance, they could also punch through their bodies with ease.-
ult: Bible Verses about the u...
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The balls of light suddenly slowed down when they were about three hundred meters above the ground. At the same time, their imprable radiance faded to reveal the objects within. They were hiding what looked like finger-sized objects that were about an inch wide. It was wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. They looked to be carved out of some sort of jade.
They were four White Amulets and one Green Amulet.
The cultivators closest to the Amulets immediately flew toward the Amulets. The iridescent cloud had only spewed five Amulets for the first round, but at least a dozen cultivators were gunning for them. Some were lucky enough to get an Amulet without being contested. The others were fighting to im the remaining Amulets.
This was especially true for the Green Amulet. At least five to six pairs of eyes were watching it, and the fight it caused was easily the fiercest of them all.
Lu Ye did not move from his spot because the Amulets werent close to him. He would not have made it in time even if he had decided to chase after any of them.
It was clear that the cultivators werent going all out though. No one here was revealing their affiliation. Therefore, it was possible that the annoyingpetitor you were battling against could have the same faction as you. Competing against ones ally was inevitable in the Cloud River Battlefield.
For the first time, Lu Ye thought that his fellow cultivators werent too loyal to their factions. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, conflicts between cultivators from the same faction were almost non-existent.
A dozen more Amulets emerged from the iridescent cloud before the cultivators were done fighting. There were clearly more than one Green Amulet as well. More cultivators joined in the contest for the Amulets.
The iridescent cloud would continue to spew more and more batches of Amulets as time passed. It was like someone had poured salt in oil. Fights were happening everywhere within five kilometers of the cloud.
The cultivators kept a close eye on their prize. If any Amulet came to their position, they would immediately try to contest it. Soon, it was like a mini war was happening in this area.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was still standing on the hill with an innocent look on his face. It wasnt that he didnt want to im an Amulet for himself, but it looked like he was pretty unlucky today. Not a single Amulet had fallen anywhere close to him. Even the closest one was at least 1.5 kilometers away from him.
Eventually, Lu Ye figured out that the iridescent cloud probably did not rain Amulets directly underneath it. It was like there was an invisible umbre beneath the cloud, and the Amulets could rain anywhere except the area protected by the umbre.
Lu Ye was just wondering if he should change his spot when another batch of Amulets appeared. At least a hundred Amulets had appeared this time, and one of them was flying straight toward him!
Lu Ye was touched to say the least. After waiting for Heavens know how long, he could finally take part in the contest!
The light crossed thousands of meters of him in an instant before revealing itself. It was a Blue Amulet!
He had seen some Blue Amulets, but their numbers were few. It would seem that the quality of the Amulets was proportional to its rarity. For example, he still hadnt seen a single Purple Amulet until now.
Lu Ye soared into the sky and crossed the distance between himself and the Blue Amulet in an instant. He caught it firmly in his grasp.
At the same time, he felt a powerful gust of wind from his nk. He saw from the corner of his eye a spear thrusting straight toward his ribs.
Lu Ye unsheathed the Invible and shed des with his enemy. A loud ngter, he was sent sailing across the air like a sack. His hand was numb from the impact as well.
This was the first ever Cloud River Realm cultivator Lu Ye had fought against, so he was having a hard time estimating his opponents exact cultivation level. Judging from the oue of the sh though, his opponent was clearly stronger than him. He had to be a Fourth or Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator at least!
[How annoying!]
As if that wasnt bad enough, a few more cultivators were flying his way as well.
A Blue Amulet was very valuable. It was worth the effort to say the least.
Lu Ye took a moment to decide what to do. Then, before hispetitors could truly get close, he tossed the Blue Amulet straight at the spear wielder who attacked him earlier.
The spear wielder caught the Amulet immediately, but he didnt even get to turn the corners of his lips upward before the cultivators gunning for Lu Ye abruptly switched targets. He nched as he brandished his spear and attempted to fight off his attackers.
It took only a moment for the cultivators to beat the spear wielder ck and blue. The man let out a mournful howl as he fell from the sky. In the end, he was forced to throw away the Blue Amulet.
He had to unless he wanted to die.
Generally speaking, cultivators avoided killing each other during a contest like this unless they recognized the other person as a true enemy. After all, most of them were unaware of the other persons identity or affiliation.
Of course, someone was still going to die in this contest. A Cloud River Realm cultivator wasnt that much older or mature than a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, not to mention that cultivators were generally full of energy and drive. Regardless of what they told themselves at the beginning, it was all too easy for them to lose control.
Lu Ye was d he had made the right decision before it was toote. There was a high chance he would end up like the spear wielder if he had tried to escape with the Blue Amulet.
It was a shame that Ju Jia wasnt here. It wouldve been perfect if he was. Ju Jia was one of the most robust body-tempering cultivators he had ever met, and most people couldnt even put a scratch on his body. If he was here, he couldve just tossed the Amulet to him for safekeeping.
The contest for the Amulets wasnt over yet, though the tetrachromatic cloud above him had shrunk greatly.
Lu Ye would make a couple more attempts only to discover that he just wasnt strong enough to im an Amulet and secure it. The strong ones were aiming for the Green and Blue Amulets, so he could not keep them even if he managed to get one. The White Amulets were easier to defend, but there were far, far more people who were contesting for them. So far, someone always managed to intercept them first. It took more luck than strength to obtain a White Amulet.
After returning from yet another failed attempt, Lu Ye looked at the tetrachromatic cloud above him and noted that it had shrunk to thirty percent of its original size now.
It was at this moment the cloud started shaking violently before crumbling altogether. At the same time, hundreds of lights flew out in every direction.
This was thest batch of Amulets. There were a couple of Purple Amulets and nearly twenty Blue Amulets among them!
The cultivators excitement hit a new peak. Those who thought themselves strong and fast enough to get what they wanted and evade their pursuers flew straight toward the Purple and Blue Amulets.
Lu Ye terribly wanted to join in the contest himself, but he forced down the irrational impulse and searched for an Amulet he could realistically obtain.
He was pretty lucky this time. A Green and White Amulet were flying in his direction.
He jumped into the air and soared straight toward the Green Amulet.
When he was just thirty meters away from the Green Amulet, a ribbon suddenly appeared out of nowhere and reached the Amulets before him. Judging from the aura on the ribbon, it was a Spirit Artifact.
Lu Ye was well and truly pissed off. He hadnt gotten a Heavens damned strand of hair since the event began, and this woman thought she could steal what was his from right under his nose? Uneptable!
He swung the Invible at the same time he channeled his vitality into his right arm.
sh!
The saber struck the ribbon with all its might, but it did not split it in half as he thought it would. The ribbon was a Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact, not to mention that its flexibility greatly diminished the sabers cutting force.
That said, the powerful attack still managed to shake the two Amulets out of the ribbons grasp.
Lu Ye immediately caught the Green Amulet in his hand. He was about to grab the White Amulet as well when a dainty hand caught it first and even struck him in the back of his hand.
Lu Ye felt as if he had been bitten by a snake. His hand immediately turned red and painful.
A beautiful woman brushed past him. A fragrant scent tickled his nostrils.
Lu Ye immediately paused in his tracks and looked back. He saw a sexy woman standing not far away from him with a ribbon wrapped around her arms. It was the Spirit Artifact that had snatched his Amulets earlier.
The ribbon was very long. It was wrapped twice around one arm, stretched across her slender waist, and wrapped around her other arm.
Her shirt did not cover her arms. They almost shone under the sunlight.
Right now, the woman was staring at Lu Yes Green Amulet with an innocent expression. She gave her White Amulet a small shake before begging in a sweet voice, Do you want to switch, handsome?
Lu Ye hurriedly threw the Green Amulet into his Storage Bag.
Stingy! The woman pouted. However, she quickly turned serious and assumed a battle stance beside Lu Ye. She then put on a brave front and said to Lu Ye, Lets cooperate!
Why did she suddenly change her stance? It was because a group of cultivators were closing in on them, of course.
Lu Ye nodded wordlessly and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the unknown woman. mes surrounded the Invibles de.
The cultivators rushing toward them frowned as they had seen the Amulets Lu Ye and the woman had got a hold of. If the duo had a Blue Amulet or better, a Purple Amulet, then they would be attacking them already. After all, they did outnumber the duo. But a Green and White Amulet? The risk wasnt quite worth the reward.
Chapter 446: Purple Amulet
Chapter 446: Purple Amulet
Since the tetrachromatic cloud in the sky was gone, the contest for the Amulets was also approaching the end. The cultivators who managed to get a Purple Amulet had escaped a long time ago, though whether they could keep their Amulet remained to be seen. It all depended on their speed and strength.
If theycked either one of these qualities, then all their efforts would still amount to nothing.
People were already bashing each others brains in order to obtain a Purple Amulet. If there was a Gold Amulet, a lot more people wouldve died today.
The cultivators who got an Amulet departed the scene happily, and those who didnt left with their heads hanging low.
Hey handsome The sexy woman asked suddenly.
Lu Ye ignored her and turned around to leave.
What a miser! The female cultivator harrumphed with a disgruntled expression. Still, she was lucky all things considered. At least she had gotten a White Amulet.
Lu Ye zipped across the wilderness at high speed. More than ever, he thought that the Cloud River Battlefield really was a different ce from the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Just now, every cultivator had fought to obtain an Amulet or two without revealing their affiliation. Someone who was an enemy a second ago could be your ally in the next second. It all hinged on the word profit.
This would never happen in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Cultivators between opposing factions would never cooperate with one another because their cultivation was weak, and their area of activity was limited. It usually took little effort to identify a strangers affiliation.
In the Cloud River Battlefield though, most cultivators chose to explore the world as they pleased. If they ran into a stranger, they might consider cooperating with them if the conditions were suitable.
He had just flown a kilometer or two when, suddenly, he saw a cultivator flying in his direction. Behind him were a couple of cultivators. From the looks of it, the cultivator at the front was being chased.
Lu Ye changed directions and attempted to stay out of their way. When they got close though, he abruptly discovered that the guy being chased was none other than the spear wielder who attacked him a while ago. The guys face was covered in blue and ck bruises, and he looked like he had taken a couple more hits since thest time Lu Ye saw him. It was quite amusing.
The tetrachromatic cloud had disappeared a short while ago, but the guy was still being chased. [Could it be]
He was just thinking this when the spear wielder abruptly threw something straight at Lu Ye. It was none other than a Purple Amulet.
Lu Ye could not help but marvel at the guys luck. The tetrachromatic cloud had discharged only a handful of Purple Amulets, and hundreds of cultivators had beaten the crap out of one another to obtain them. But somehow, the spear wielder had managed to snag one for himself.
It was clear he wasnt strong enough to keep the Purple Amulet though. That was why he ultimately chose to throw the Purple Amulet to Lu Ye.
As for whether he was plotting to make trouble for Lu Ye due to their earlier interaction, that was something only the spear wielder could answer. Even if he was, it would be righteous payback considering what Lu Ye had done to him earlier.
The second the Amulet was thrown, the cultivators immediately abandoned the spear wielder and changed directions just in time to see Lu Ye catching the Amulet.
Someone yelled, Throw it here, boy!
Another person cried, Thats not something a youngd like you can keep, boy! Give it to me!
And of course, there was the angry roar. Surrender the Purple Amulet or die!
As the cultivators approached, a pair of fiery wings abruptly Lu Ye appeared on Lu Yes back. With a p, he shot toward the opposite direction at high speed.
He hadnt used Soar before because it was pointless. With hundreds of cultivators scattered all over the ce, there was almost no chance he could get to an Amulet before someone who was already waiting in the right direction.
This situation was different though. There were only a couple of pursuers, and he was holding a Purple Amulet, a cultivation resource that was inferior only to a Gold Amulet. The reward was worth the risk.
If nothing else, it would make up for the half a day he wasted just to obtain a measly Green Amulet.
Lu Ye was as fast as lightning when Soar was activated. The spear wielder who tossed the Purple Amulet to Lu Ye was stunned by this as well. Clearly, he wasnt expecting Lu Ye to possess an ability like this. It took only a moment for the young man to vanish from view.
In the sky, Lu Ye kept pping his energy wings while expending Spiritual Power like a dam. Currently, he had three methods of flying: flying using a flying Spirit Artifact, flying unassisted, and flying using Glyph: Soar.
Each method depleted more Spiritual Power and stamina than thest. Soar in particr used far more Spiritual Power than any other method, although it was also the fastest and nimblest flight method he possessed.
Despite this, he discovered that he was unable to shake off his pursuers. It was clear that they were at least several Orders stronger than him and not someone a newbie in the Cloud River Realm like him could shake off. Generally speaking, the greater ones cultivation level and skill, the faster they could fly.
The only good news was that he hadnt encountered any other cultivators along the way. Otherwise, this wouldve ended poorly for him.
An incense stickter, he was still only one kilometer ahead of his enemy. This distance might as well not exist to a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Left with no choice, Lu Ye gritted his teeth and activated Windwalk.
He had neverbined Windwalk and Soar until now because Soar alone drained away at his Spiritual Power like a vortex. Even at the Cloud River Realm, there was no way he could sustain thebination of Glyphs for long.
Now was not the time to conserve his strength, however. If even Windwalk plus Soar could not shake off the enemies, then he could only give up his Purple Amulet.
Nothing was more important than ones life.
Lu Yes speed skyrocketed after he conjured Windwalk. Everyone chasing him nched when they saw this. They already had to push themselves to their limits just to keep up with Lu Ye, and judging from his Spiritual Power he had clearly just ascended to the Cloud River Realm a short time ago. At best, the young man was a Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, and everyone here was at least three to four minor realms above him. Despite this, they were still unable to catch up to Lu Ye. It was so unbelievable that they wouldnt believe themselves if they hadnt seen it with their own eyes.
As if that wasnt enough, this still wasnt Lu Yes maximum speed. After he constructed Windwalk, he began pulling away from his pursuers at a visible rate. Just an incense stickter, they could only see a dot in the horizon. It wouldnt be long before Lu Ye vanishedpletely from view.
The pursuers didnt give up though. They might not know what Lu Ye used to increase his flight speed to insane levels, but it couldnt possibly be without a cost. Considering that Lu Ye was only a First or Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, he should run out of Spiritual Power in a short time.
As long as they didnt lose Lu Yepletely, they could just wait until he had exhausted himself before snatching the Purple Amulet from him.
Suddenly, Lu Yes altitude declined sharply. The next second, he vanished seemingly into thin air.
After the group arrived and looked down, they saw a forest where Lu Ye had disappeared to. The young man was nowhere to be seen.
The cultivators hesitated for a few seconds. Then, they scattered and entered the forest to search for Lu Ye.
These people were not friends. They werepetitors whose interests happened to be aligned for now.
In the forest, Lu Ye was hiding himself using Glyph: Concealment. He wasntpletely out of Spiritual Power yet, but he was nearing the end of his reserves. That was why he had no choice but to hide inside this forest.
Glyph: Concealment wasnt perfect, but it should keep him hidden until his pursuers had abandoned the pursuit. If his bad luck reared its head and exposed him, he would consider his options then.
Once in a while, a cultivator would swoop close to the ground in search for Lu Ye. Clearly, they werent going to give up without giving their all.
Lu Ye simply stayed where he was and did not move a muscle.
A quarter of a dayter, when he could hear no more noises from his surroundings, Lu Ye finally began moving in a certain direction. He did not disable Concealment just in case someone was hiding nearby and waiting for him to reveal himself.
It wasnt long before Lu Ye found a dry cave. Once he was inside, he immediately took out his ward gs and set up a couple of simple wards at the entrance. Only then did he return to the cave and meditate.
He had used up too much Spiritual Power, so he threw a couple of Vital Spirit Pills into his mouth and activated Gluttonous Feast. The pills were quickly converted into Spiritual Power and injected into his Cirction System.
Finally, he took out the two Amulets and inspected them.
He had obtained one Green Amulet and one Purple Amulet from the contest. The Green Amulet was something he had obtained via his own strength, and the Purple Amulet was given to him by the spear wielder.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, the ambient Spiritual Qi of the wilderness was almost the same as the ambient Spiritual Qi in Core Circle. While it wasnt impossible to cultivate in such an environment, it was extremely inefficient.
The best way to improve ones cultivation was to upy an Arcane de or get Amulets. Thetter especially was the fastest way for a Cloud River Realm cultivator to climb through the ranks.
Most cultivators treated Spirit Pills as a supplementary method of cultivation, not the main. Few people possessed the ability to purge Pill Poison from their bodies like Lu Ye after all.
Of course, they could also cultivate via absorbing the Spiritual Power of a Spirit Stone. It was much faster than inhaling the World Spiritual Qi in the surrounding, but slower than consuming Spirit Pills.
In addition, there were numerous Hidden Realms in the Cloud River Battlefield. Some of them opened at fixed times, so the cultivators knew when to enter. Some did not follow a pattern at all and could appear anywhere, anytime.
Most of these Hidden Realms contained Amulets as well. Those lucky enough to enter a Hidden Realm would be able to im the Amulets and the Hidden Realms unique products for themselves. It was a massive opportunity to say the least.
Inparison, the opportunities in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were mostly made up of inheritances. For example, Hua Ci had obtained the inheritance of a poison doctor. The world also thought that Lu ye had obtained the inheritance of a Glyphweaver in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The opportunities that could be found in the Cloud River Battlefield were vastly different. They were mostly things that could improve a cultivators cultivation.
This intel was all recorded in the jade slip he had purchased from the Divine Trade Association.
Lu Ye had had a strange feeling when he saw this information. It felt as if someone had purposely made the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield the way they were.
Spirit Creek Realm cultivators were weak and new to cultivation. Therefore, they needed inheritances far more than they needed items that could boost their cultivation level. That was why most of the inheritances were found at the Outer Circle and the Inner Circle. Few were located in the Inner Circle.
When a cultivator had reached the Cloud River Realm, they were considered to have carved out their path in the eternal journey of cultivation. Now, all they needed to do was to increase their power and cultivation level as fast as possible. That was why items that could boost their power and cultivation level became much more important than inheritances.
Most of the opportunities in the Cloud River Battlefield such as the Arcane des, Amulets and Hidden Realms were all aimed at increasing a Cloud River Realm cultivators power.
The theme was so obvious that even the biggest skeptic could not im that it was mere happenstance.
Chapter 447: Champion-class Spirit Beast
Chapter 447: Champion-ss Spirit Beast
Lu Ye quickly regenerated his depleted Spiritual Power as the Spirit Pills melted in his stomach.
He did not use an Amulet because it was a cultivation item, not a healing item. He should use it only when he was at maximum Spiritual Power.
Besides consuming more Vital Spirit Pills, Lu Ye also constructed Gathering Spirit funnels across his body to boost his recovery speed even further.
Although Lu Ye was now a First-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, that didnt mean that his Spiritual Points no longer existed. That said, there would be a time where the border between his Spiritual Points and his body blurred into nothing.
It took him a quarter of a day to finally recover his strength.
Lu Ye was just about to give the Green Amulet a go and see how much it would increase his power when, suddenly, he heard a faint noise from outside. It was immediately followed by an explosion.
Someone or something had triggered his rm Ward. His Explosion Ward had triggered as well!
He hurriedly put away the two Amulets before rushing toward outside
A tall, imposing figure was blocking the entrance. It was a ck bear who stood as tall as a tower on two feet. It was currently roaring in anger because its fur was singed, and blood could be seen seeping out of its wounds. It had clearly been injured by the Explosion Ward.
Riled into a flying rage because of the pain, it struck the walls of the entrance with its meaty paws while thick energy rolled off its body. Lu Ye only needed one nce to tell that it was a Champion-ss Spirit Beast!
A cultivators strength could be divided by cultivation realms. The same applied to Spirit Beasts.
The counterpart of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator was a Spirit Beast. Even a Tyrant like Beaky was still categorized as a Spirit Beast because it had reached the absolute ceiling of its current level, but not surpassed it.
The counterpart of a Cloud River Realm cultivator was called a Champion-ss Spirit Beast. The ck bear in front of Lu Ye was one such example.
There were plenty of brutal and powerful Champion-ss Spirit Beast in the Cloud River Battlefield. Countless cultivators died to these deadly creatures every year.
The counterpart of a Real Lake Realm cultivator was a Master-ss Spirit Beast, and a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator a Warlord-ss Spirit Beast.
This cave was probably the ck bearsir. Lu Ye had noticed some ck fur on the ground when he came in, but he had ignored it because he needed to hide and recover his strength.
He did not think that the owner of their would choose now of all times to return. Worse, it was hurt by the ward he had set up earlier.
He did not want to go up against a Champion-ss Spirit Beast in a cave. His speed and agility were non-existent in a cramped space like this. That was why the first thing he did after seeing it was yelling, Yi Yi!
Yi Yi immediately flew out of Amber and poked her hand into the Storage Bag hanging beneath Ambers neck. She then unfurled the Nine Realms Scroll in one smooth motion and threw it over the ck bears head.
The ck bear vanished into thin air just like that. After Yi Yi gave Lu Ye and Amber a nod, the duo rushed into the Nine Realms Scroll as well.
Lu Ye and Amber appeared in a stone forest just in time to hear another furious roar. The next thing they knew, the ck bear was charging toward them like a small mountain.
Amber roared back while jumping off Lu Yes shoulder. Once on the ground, it transformed into its true form and met the ck bear head on.
Cultivation wise, the ck bear was stronger than Amber because Amber wasnt t a Champion-ss Spirit Beast yet. In fact, the only reason it could enter the Cloud River Battlefield was because it was Lu Yes Tamed Beast. Anywhere Lu Ye had ess to, Amber had ess as well.
Looking at their size, it looked like Amber was only slightly behind the ck bear. In reality, they were leagues apart from one another.
But what Ambercked in strength, it made up for in agility. Right before the two Spirit Beasts were about to m into one another, Amber leaped into the air and dodged the ck bears charge. At the same time, it swiped viciously at the ck bears back.
The swipe was vicious enough to gouge a hole in an ordinary Spirit Beasts back, but the ck bear was a Champion-ss Spirit Beast. Its energy coated its skin and stopped Ambers attack from doing much damage at all.
Not only that, the ck bear rose to its feet, spun around faster than expected, and retaliated with a swipe of its own. If the hit connected, it was going to leave Amber seriously injured at best or incapacitated at worst.
It was at this moment the ck bears movements froze as if some sort of invisible energy was holding it in ce. Itsted only an instant, but it was enough for Amber to dodge out of the way.
It was Yi Yi using the power of the Nine Realms Scroll to slow down the ck bear.
Yi Yi did not have full control of the Nine Realms Scroll yet, but she was now powerful enough to channel a sliver of its power. The owner of the Nine Realm Scroll possessed the power to interfere with anything within the ward scroll. This alone ensured that Lu Ye would always have the advantage when battling against a foe in the Nine Realms Scroll. The only way an enemy could neutralize this disadvantage was to break out of the ward scroll.
Lu Ye wasnt idle when Amber was distracting the ck bear. His me-wreathed, Sharp Edge-empowered saber struck the Spirit Beast in the waist and cut right through its thick energy, leaving a deep wound behind.
Hurt, the ck bear let out another angry roar and turned around to attack Lu Ye. However, Lu Ye was already backing away and holding the Invible protectively in front of him. The attack sent him skidding thirty meters or so across the floor!
Lu Ye had to swallow his surprise when he saw the oue of his attack. The wound looked severe, but it was nowhere close to the bone deep wound he had imagined. The Champion-ss Spirit Beast was even hardier than he expected.
Amber pounced toward the ck bear a second time while Lu Ye was distracting it. This time, it chose to employ a hit-and-run tactic by mming into the ck bears back and knocking it off bnce before biting off a chunk of flesh from its body. It then leaped away before the ck bear could retaliate.
The ck bear was powerful, but it was facing Amber and Lu Ye. As if that wasnt bad enough, Yi Yi kept tripping it up using the Nine Realms Scrolls power from time to time. The oue of the battle was sealed from the moment it was whisked into the ward scroll.
An incense stickter, the ck bear copsed after taking one final hit from Lu Ye. There wasnt a single part of its body that wasnt covered in blood and gore.
Lu Ye let out a slow exhale as he stared at the ck bears body.
If he were to judge the ck bears strength by its cultivation level alone, then it was almost as strong as a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Of course, that did not mean that the three of thembined could take out a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
For starters, Yi Yi would have a much harder time catching a cultivator off guard and trapping them in the Nine Realms Scroll. On the off chance she seeded, it still wouldve been a difficult fight as cultivators generally had way more tricks up their sleeves than this ck bear.
Besides that, this ck bear was obviously all brawn and no brain. Most of their tricks worked only because the ck bear was too stupid to recognise them for what they were.
Anyway, the flesh and blood of a Champion-ss Spirit Beast was extremely attractive to Amber. Lu Ye personally preferred a Spirit Beasts meat over an ordinary animals as well. It was because a Spirit Beasts meat was more nutritious to a cultivator. Long-term consumption could even strengthen the cultivators body.
Almost as soon as the battle was over, Amber was already on top of the ck bear and tearing off a chunk of delicious flesh. Lu Ye also walked up to the ck bear and pressed a hand to its stomach. After probing around with his Spiritual Power and locating what he was looking for, he stabbed the Invible into its abdomen and dug out what looked like a blood red orb.
The orb was about as big as a longan. It looked a little like a flesh orb after Lu Ye had washed the blood away.
The orb was the Mutant Core. An ordinary Spirit Beast did not have a Mutant Core. Only those who had ascended to the level of a Champion-ss Spirit Beast would grow a Mutant Core in their body. It was the source and crystallization of the Spirit Beasts strength.
Lu Ye probed the Mutant Core with his senses. He could definitely feel a rich amount of energy concentrated within the core.
Amber ambled over with a blood-soaked jaw and bumped its head against Lu Yes hand. It could not hide the desire in its eyes even if it wanted to.
Lu Ye smiled and tossed the Mutant Core into Ambers mouth. The white tiger swallowed it in one gulp and let out a burp of satisfaction.
Yi Yi! Lu Ye called. The next second, Lu Ye, Amber and the dead bear appeared in the open space outside the cave.
Lu Ye stored the ck bears body in his storage space to use as food in the future. He then picked up the ward gs scattered across the cave entrance before leaving.
He was going to try out the Amulets, but it was too risky to stay after the earlier explosion. They would have to find a new ce to rest.
One hourter, Lu Ye arrived at a small hill. He sat down after finding a suitable spot.
Yi Yi was kneeling next to him and watching him eagerly. Ambers eyes were filled with curiosity as well.
This would be the first time they used an Amulet. Everyone wanted to know just how effective it was at their level.
First, Lu Ye took out the Green Amulet. He had inspected it when they were at the cave. It was jade-like, warm, and shaped exactly the same as the Purple Amulet. The only thing that differentiated the two was the color.
Lu Ye did not know what was so special about the Amulet. How could it help a cultivator cultivate?
[Ill know once I give it a try.]
The Green Amulet disintegrated when he crushed it between his fingers, but the powder did not dissipate with the wind. Instead, it flew in front of Lu Ye and formed a green hole.
The hole was only the size of a fist, but the moment it was formed, mist so thick that he could see with his naked eye began pouring out of it.
The mist poured out of the hole like it was endless. Their new hiding spot was overflowing with it in just the blink of an eye. When Lu Ye probed it with his senses, he was surprised to note that it was Spirit Mist!
Spirit Mist was rare because it took a massive amount of World Spiritual Qi to form. This one in particr felt incredibly pure.
Lu Ye was just breathing normally, and the Spirit Mist was automatically absorbed into his body and converted into Spiritual Power. The efficiency would only skyrocket when he cultivated for real.
Moreover, the Spirit Mist wasnt affected by the elements in the slightest. The wind on the hill was pretty strong, but the Spirit Mist continued to circle around Lu Ye like it did not exist.
Yi Yi hurriedly entered a cultivation state when she saw this. Amber also opened its mouth and inhaled the Spirit Mist into itself.
As for Lu Ye, he was already building many Gathering Spirits funnels in his Spiritual Points.
Just an hourter, the Spirit Mist enveloping them vanished as if it was never there. Lu Ye checked the river of Spiritual Power running inside his body and noted that it hadnt changed much.
At the Spirit Creek Realm level, a cultivator grew stronger by unlocking Spiritual Points and forming Microcosmic Orbits with them. Every time they added a Microcosmic Orbit, their cultivation level would jump an Order higher.
At the Cloud River Realm level, their goal became growing the size and volume of their river of Spiritual Power. Every time they reached a certain threshold, their cultivation would increase a level.
Chapter 448: Good Luck
Chapter 448: Good Luck
A single Green Amulet obviously wasnt enough to improve Lu Yes cultivation drastically, though he could definitely tell that his river was bigger than before.
This time, he took out the Purple Amulet and snapped it as well.
The exact same thing happened again. The Purple Amulet disintegrated into dust and formed a purple hole in front of him. Arge amount of pure Spirit Mist poured out of the hole.
Even the concentration of the Spirit Mist was the exact same as before. This meant that the difference between a Green Amulet and a Purple Amulet was probably the quantity of Spirit Mist they produced. He would have to wait and see if that was the case though.
Previously, the Spirit Mist generated by a Green Amulet hadsted an hour. He wondered how long the Spirit Mist generated by a Purple Amulet wouldst before vanishing.
Spirit Mist kept pouring in from the purple hole until it had reached a certain scale. New Spirit Mist appeared from the purple only after Lu Ye, Yi Yi and Amber had consumed the existing Spirit Mist.
Lu Ye was starting to figure out how the Amulets functioned. The Amulets themselves could not create Spirit Mist out of nothing, or rather, the Amulets themselves did not contain Spirit Mist. An Amulet was just a medium to create a hole to an unknown space and obtain the Spirit Mist within.
Moreover, the Heavens had made it so that the Spirit Mist would not be wasted no matter what. The Spirit Mist surrounding the cultivator would never exceed a certain volume, and new Spirit Mist would not appear until the existing Spirit Mist had been consumed.
An hour passed, and the purple hole was still pouring out Spirit Mist.
Two hours passed, and the phenomenon did not change one bit.
Nine to ten hourster, the purple hole finally vanished into nothing.
The experience matched some of intel engraved in the basic information packet he had bought from the Divine Trade Association.
The Cloud River Battlefield had existed for years, and the cultivators had gathered enough data to conclude that the ratio between Amulets of different colors was roughly 1:3.
To put it simply, one Gold Amulet was equal to three Purple Amulets, nine Blue Amulets, twenty seven Green Amulets, or eighty one White Amulets.
In Lu Yes case, a Purple Amulet provided nine times more Spirit Mist than a Green Amulet. This was evident from the fact that the Green Amulet had onlysted an hour or so, but the Purple Amulet hadsted between nine to ten hours.
When Lu Ye checked his river of Spiritual Power, he noted that it was bigger and faster than before. Unfortunately, he still hadnt reached the point where he could enter the next minor realm.
That said, Lu Ye was certain that he could ascend to the Second Order if he used another two or three Purple Amulets!
Naturally, this cultivation method was much faster than just consuming Spirit Pills.
Before this experience, consuming Spirit Pills was Lu Yes main cultivation method. He even thought that Amulets were a good but unnecessary option for him.
Now, he realized that he could not miss any Amulet contest he might run into in the future.
Amulets were extremely useful no matter the cultivator. It was to the point where Amulets were considered a more valuable currency than even Contribution Points in the Cloud River Battlefield. Given enough Amulets, there was theoretically nothing you couldnt make happen.
Finally, Amber and him could consume Spirit Pills to cultivate, but not Yi Yi. With the Amulets, Yi Yi could grow her strength swiftly as well.
They had just arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield, and already they had made a huge score. Lu Ye was pretty happy with this.
While tossing a Vital Spirit Pill into his mouth, Lu Ye checked his 10-point map.
Originally, he was nning to check out the Tertius-level Arcane de close to the Divine Trade Association hotspot he had appeared. Unfortunately, one thing after another, and now he was anything but close to the Arcane de.
He didnt have a better goal in mind though. Left with no choice, he brought out his Spirit Boat and took off toward the Tertius-level Arcane de once more.
Two hourster, when night finally fell upon the Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Yended on top of a hill.
It was never a good idea to travel at night especially because he was no longer the invincible One Leaf. At best, he was an exceptionally powerful First-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. That was why Lu Ye decided to spend the night on the hill.
The reason he chose here was because he spotted a couple of decrepit buildings on the peak while passing over the area. It was clear that someone used to live here until circumstances had driven them away.
While checking his surroundings to confirm its safety, he discovered what looked like a dry spring.
He immediately realized that this ce used to be an Arcane de. The dry spring was proof of it.
Every Arcane de had a Spirit Spout that spat out enough World Spiritual Qi to form an Arcane de.
The Spiritual Qi of an Arcane de wasnt permanent, however. There would be a time where it ran out of Spiritual Qi and ceased being an Arcane depletely.
Judging from the number and size of the abandoned buildings around him, this Arcane de was probably a small one; just big enough to amodate three to five people. It was impossible to say the level of this former Arcane de though.
The size of an Arcane de had nothing to do with its quality. It was decided by the size of the Spirit Spout. The bigger a Spirit Spout, the bigger the Arcane de would be.
An Arcane de could epass an entire hill, but only be at Quartus-level. Just the same, a tiny Arcane de could be Primus-level.
Lu Ye randomly picked a building that looked rtively intact and walked in. It was too much to even call the decor simplistic. There was only a table, a bed, a chair and a praying mat in the room. The cultivator who used to live here clearly did not care about eptable living conditions.
In fact, most cultivators were like this. They mostly cared about increasing their cultivation level and strength. Little else mattered to them.
Lu Ye himself was one such person. That was why the non-existent decor suited him just fine.
He set up a couple of simple wards outside the building before going inside. He then sat down on the floor and took out a dragon scale from his storage space. He inhaled the blood qi in the dragon scale, cultivated via consuming Spirit Pills, and read his books all at the same time.
He had borrowed many books from Lady Yuns study as usual. He hadntpletely digested the twenty de technique insights he extorted from the Raving desmen either.
As for the dragon scales, he gave one to Amber and kept the other four for himself. Amber loved it.
After some time, Lu Ye suddenly straightened up and looked outside. He heard something, but it wasnt the sound of people. It sounded like water?
There was no stream or river anywhere on this hill though. How could he possibly be hearing what he was hearing?
Suddenly, Lu Ye recalled something and hurried out of the building. He ran toward the source of the noise and quickly found himself standing in front of the dry spring from before.
It wasnt dry anymore. Water and incredibly rich World Spiritual Qi was pouring out of the Spirit Sprout. Already, the concentration of World Spiritual Qi around the Spirit Spout had risen dramatically.
Lu Ye was speechless. While it wasnt impossible for a dry Spirit Spout toe back to life so to speak, it happened so rarely that it was considered a once-in-a-century urrence.
This Arcane de had been dead for some time, but now its Spirit Spout hade back to life. It wouldnt be long before the Arcane de was revived as well.
Originally, he was nning to check out a known Tertius-level Arcane de and collect information on Arcane des in general such as the richness of its World Spiritual Qi. It would seem that there was no need to do that anymore. He could just collect all the information he needed from the Arcane de right in front of him.
The Arcane de was still in the middle of reviving, so he couldnt tell what its level was. He could only decide after the Arcane de had stabilized.
Also Lu Ye had no idea about what constituted a Primus-level Arcane de, Secundus-level Arcane de and so on. Frankly, he wouldnt be able to tell even after it had stabilized.
Lu Ye Lu Ye, do you think thered be a treasure underneath this spring? Yi Yi asked while staring at the Spirit Spout excitedly.
That was a good question. Do you wanna go down and take a look?
Sure! Yi Yi said before diving into the underground.
Tens of breathster, Yi Yi returned to the surface with an unhappy look on her face. It was clear that she hadnt found anything.
She was also muttering under her breath, things like, Impossible!, and, How does this make sense?.
After she had calmed down enough to give Lu Ye an exnation, he learned that there was nothing underneath the Spirit Spout at all. In her opinion, a miraculous treasure must have produced the Spirit Spout they were seeing. In reality, there was nothing in the underground at all. It was as if the World Spiritual Qi had appeared out of nowhere.
This morning, someone had tossed a Purple Amulet right into his hands. Now, he had identally stumbled onto a revived Arcane de. Lu Ye suddenly realized that his luck was pretty good today.
For now, the Arcane de was his to use. That could change very quickly in the future though.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, it was perfectlymon for cultivators to fight over an Arcane de. The higher the quality, the more attention it drew.
If Lu Ye could not defend the Arcane de, then his discovery would only benefit someone else.
There was no way he could defend this alone, not even if he factored Yi Yi and Amber into the equation. He would need more helpers.
He did have someone he could summon right now. The problem was that he didnt know where he was right now.
He tapped a finger on his Battlefield Imprint and sent a message to Ju Jia. He informed the body-tempering cultivator his current location and urged him toe over as soon as possible.
Ju Jia responded, Aang!
He tried contacting his fourth senior brother and Feng Yuechan next. Unfortunately, they were still unavable.
With that done, Lu Ye asked Yi Yi to guard the Spirit Spout while he took out sixteen ward keystones from his storage space.
Lu Ye had several sets of ward keystones. In fact, he had dug hundreds from his enemys Outposts back at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, though most of them had been given to Shui Yuan.
He had kept several sets for himself just in case he needed them in the future. That day hade sooner than expected.
Chapter 449: Please Take Me In
Chapter 449: Please Take Me In
While recalling the arrangement of a certain ward, Lu Ye set down the sixteen ward keystones around the buildings and the Spirit Spouts. Then, he activated them.
A defensive ward was at its weakest when it first took form. It was because its defensibility scaled in proportion to the amount of Spiritual Power it absorbed. The richer the ambient Spiritual Qi, the stronger its defense would be.
In addition, the defensive ward kept the World Spiritual Qi emanating from the Arcane de from leaking beyond its boundaries.
The sky gradually brightened, and a considerable amount of Spiritual Qi had been generated in the Arcane de. It was nowhere close to reaching its limit though. Usually, it took several days for the Arcane de to stabilize enough to gauge its level.
While this was going on, Lu Ye continued to install more wards in the Arcane de.
Looking at Lu Yes cultivation level alone, it would not be inurate to call him a bottom feeder. However, his strength could never be defined by his cultivation level, not to mention that he was fairly proficient in the Way of Wards. Given enough preparation, he could deal with ordinary Fourth or Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators.
If the Arcane de hadnt revived, then he couldve stayed under the radar. Now that it had, it wouldnt be long before he, the current owner of the Arcane de, attracted all sorts of attention. He was sure that trouble was on the horizon, so he needed to prepare as much as possible before the inevitable happened.
He was still working when he sensed something and looked up. An alluring woman was looking down at him with a curious and amazed expression on her face. She had clearly noticed the unusual activity beneath her.
When their eyes met, the woman eximed in surprise, Its you?
Lu Ye was plenty surprised himself. The woman was none other than the one who had tried to rob him of his Amulets before circumstances forced them to work together. He did not think he would run into her again.
The Cloud River Battlefield was massive, but already they had run into each other twice in two days. No wonder people said that coincidences could happen even in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
The female cultivator looked back and forth between her 10-point map and Lu Ye. When she confirmed that the Arcane de beneath her definitely wasnt marked on the 10-point map, she asked, Is this a newborn Arcane de?
She was mistaken, but Lu Ye wasnt going to exin things to her. He simply watched her in silence.
The female cultivator slowly descended until she was outside the grand ward. She brushed her hand against the screen of light before asking, Are you a ward cultivator, handsome?
Ward cultivators were easily the most popr faction in the Cloud River Battlefield. It was because they could set up wards that made an Arcane de so much more defensible.
In fact, nearly every Arcane de in the Cloud River Battlefield was guarded by a ward cultivator. It was because it was impossible to protect an Arcane de for a prolonged period of time without one.
This was an Arcane de, and Lu Ye looked like a ward cultivator. Naturally, the woman could not help but be excited about this. Not even Lu Yes cold indifference could extinguish her passion.
Are you alone, handsome? I can help you if you want! I know I dont look like a strong fighter, but I assure you that judging this book by its cover will be a mistake! The female cultivator tried really hard to promote herself. Consciously or not, she even puffed up her huge breasts to further appeal to Lu Ye. In Ambers body, Yi Yi clicked her tongue loudly when she saw this.
If you really are alone, you should understand that you cannot defend this ce by yourself even if you are a ward cultivator. Please take me in, handsome. I can help you!
She was practically making puppy eyes at him at the end of her sentence.
Despite his outward indifference, Lu Ye agreed with her. He had never plotted to im this Arcane de all to himself because he knew that it was unrealistic.
ording to the rules of the Cloud River Battlefield, the discoverers of a small Arcane de could form a temporary alliance with each other. They would share the Arcane de and defend it from outside threats.
Of course, rules were made to be broken. Assuming Lu Ye had enough manpower, he wouldve rejected the woman already.
However, Ju Jia was nowhere to be seen, and his fourth senior brother and Feng Yuechan could not be contacted for whatever reason. This meant that he could not turn her down even if he wanted to. If she spread word of the existence of this Arcane de, his would-bepetitors would show up sooner than expected and attempt to drive him out of the Arcane de. He had no doubt that they would seed.
This was why the first few cultivators who discovered a virgin Arcane de always banded together.
Whats your cultivation? Lu Ye asked.
The female cultivator puffed up her chest and dered proudly, Im a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator! Not only that, I was a Heaven-Nine cultivator and the forty-sixth ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy! May the Heavens smite me if anything I said is a lie!
Lu Ye had to admit that her aplishments were pretty impressive, though of course it was nothingpared to his. She muste from a powerful Tier-Three sect at minimum if she could enter the Scroll of Supremacy. As for her faction that wasnt important in the Cloud River Battlefield.
If you take me in, I promise to cooperate with you and protect this Arcane de to the best of my abilities. Anyone who dares to challenge our ownership will face my wrath.
Come in, Lu Ye finally said while waving his Control Jade. A gap immediately appeared on the defensive ward.
The female cultivator stepped in while cheering in delight. Hell yeah!
Of course she was happy. She had been wandering aimlessly until she stumbled upon this virgin Arcane de that hadnt even stabilized yet. Even better, the first discoverercked the manpower to secure it. If this wasnt good luck, then she didnt know what was.
Lu Ye took a moment to examine his newpanion. He had to admit that she was both beautiful and sexy. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and her soft, white skin kept catching his attention like a ma.
The female cultivator examined her surroundings curiously before realizing toote. Wait, this isnt a newborn Arcane de. Did did the Spirit Spout revive?
If this was a newborn Arcane de, there wouldnt be so many abandoned buildings in the area. The fact that there were buildings meant that someone used to live here, and seeing as this hill was located in the middle of nowhere, an Arcane de was the only reason anyone might choose to live here.
Yeah.
You must be insanely lucky then. Arcane de revivals happen so rarely that some people even thought theyre myths! Of course, Im pretty lucky myself, hehe. Oh right, where are my manners? What is your name, handsome?
The female cultivator possessed a carefree personality, but she also had a distinctly feminine charm.
Lu Ye dered, My name is Ye Six!
It took leaving the Spirit Creek Battlefield altogether to obtain a new beginning. He wasnt going to waste it by spilling his own name, especially since Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was infamous throughout the Spirit Creek Battlefield and Jiu Zhou. Even the reclusive in the Cloud River Battlefield must have heard of his name. That was why Lu Ye had decided to change his name before he even entered the Cloud River Battlefield.
I see Well, my name is Kitty Shen! Nice to meet you, Fellow Cultivator Ye!
An awkward silence hung between them after the introduction. It was because Ye Six was obviously a fake name, and Kitty Shen was no better.
Then again, it was prettymon for cultivators to use fake names in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Let us make a Sacred Pact then. I leave the terms to you, Lu Ye broke the silence. He knew that it wasmon practice to make a Sacred Pact when forming a temporary alliance and sharing an Arcane de with a stranger. It was the only way to guarantee full cooperation and ensure that there would be no betrayal down the line.
However, Lu Ye had never done this before, so he wasnt sure what kind of terms he should outline in the Sacred Pact. That was why he left it to Kitty Shen. It would be a good learning opportunity.
Okay! Kitty Shen agreed without hesitation before muttering something under her breath. A few secondster, a beam of golden light descended from the sky, and Kitty Shen grabbed a Sacred Pact from it.
Lu Ye had seen his fourth senior brother doing the same thing during the Battle of Goldentip, so he wasnt surprised by it.
Please take a look, Fellow Cultivator Ye. If you think its okay, then we can sign it right away, Kitty Shen passed the Sacred Pact to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye read it carefully and discovered that the terms and conditions were quiteprehensive. It clearly stated the obligations and responsibilities both of them were expected to fulfill. It did not allow them to harm each other or reveal the existence of this Arcane de without the other persons permission. This was mainly to prevent one cultivator from summoning friendlies and kick out an existing owner. For example, Kitty Shen would be in a disadvantageous position if Lu Ye were to summon his fourth senior brother and Feng Yuechan to this Arcane de. She would have to worry constantly if Lu Ye and his friends would attempt to drive her out or harm her in some way.
It was due to these considerations that temporary alliances were a thing in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Kitty Shen even mentioned future allies in the terms and conditions. A small Arcane de like this was normally upied by three to five cultivators only, and there were only two of them right now. Their defense would hold up better if they could recruit more allies.
Theres something I need to tell you before I sign this pact, Lu Ye looked up from the Sacred Pact and said.
Sure. Go ahead, Kitty Shen replied candidly.
Ive already told a fellow disciple about this Arcane de. However, Im not sure when hell show up.
Youve only told one person about the Arcane de?
Just one.
Then its okay. Just make sure you discuss it with me if you n to reveal it to more people in the future.
If there are no more problems, then lets get this over with.
Lu Ye bit his finger and pressed a bloody thumbprint on the Sacred Pact. Kitty She did the same. The Heavens mysterious power enveloped them both, and a Sacred Pact was formed just like that.
Lu Ye put away the Sacred Pact. Kitty Shen visibly rxed when all was said and done. She might look like a careless person, but she had been on her guard until the Sacred Pact was signed.
Kitty Shen looked around for a bit before asking, Where do you live?
After Lu Ye pointed out his building, Kitty Shen pointed at the opposite building and said, Ill be staying here then!
She held up the hems of her skirt and hopped into her chosen building. It wasnt long before he heard the sounds of cleaning. Lu Ye returned to his wards as well.
It wasnt until evening did Kitty Shen finally finish tidying her room. She was covered in dust when she was done. She said to Lu Ye, Im going to take a bath.
After Lu Ye had opened the defensive ward, she flew into the sky and vanished in the blink of an eye. It was impossible to say where she had gone.
It was nighttime when Kitty Shen finally returned. Lu Ye was already resting inside his building.
After a full day and night of umtion, the World Spiritual Qi in the Arcane de had be very rich.
When Lu Ye was at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had visited many Core Circle Outposts. Their World Spiritual Qi was rich enough for Core Circle cultivators to cultivate.
Using that as a reference, the World Spiritual Qi in the Arcane de was three times thicker than any Core Circle Outposts. Naturally, the environment was good enough for a Cloud River Realm cultivator to cultivate.
Even better, the Arcane de hadnt stabilized yet. It was going to be even better when it had fully stabilized.
Technically speaking, it was still way faster to cultivate using an Amulet. However, an Arcane de was a stable and longsting cultivation resource, while it was questionable if one could even obtain an Amulet, much less a good one.
Chapter 450: A Client’s Waiting For You
Chapter 450: A Clients Waiting For You
In the Arcane de, Lu Ye was sitting casually on a rock with the Invible by his side, a book in his hand, and a Spirit Pill in the process of getting crushed between his teeth.
The Spiritual Qi in the Arcane de hadpletely stabilized. ording to Kitty Shen, it was just an above average Tertius-level Arcane de. This stunned Lu Ye because its Spiritual Qi was between three to four times better than a Core Circle Outposts. How good would a Secundus-level Arcane de be? A Primus one?
It was no wonder Cloud River Realm cultivators coveted Arcane des as much as they did. As most cultivated via breathing Spiritual Qi, an excellent cultivation environment was critical to their growth.
Kitty Shen was much more experienced and knowledgeable than Lu Ye in terms of surviving in the Cloud River Battlefield. He was able to pick up much general knowledge from her including the way to determine an Arcane des level.
ording to her, the Spiritual Qi of Quartius-level Arcane de was about two times richer than a Core Circle Outposts, three times for a Tertius-level Arcane de, four times for a Secundus-level Arcane de, and five times for a Primus-level Arcane de.
Going by this standard, Kitty Shen was correct to call this Arcane de an above average Tertius-level Arcane de.
On a rted note, the reason he was cultivating outside his amodation instead of inside was because he was hoping to encounter a lucky fellow cultivator or two!
Lu Ye and Kitty Shen were the only two cultivators upying the Arcane de right now. Lu Ye was at the First-Order Cloud River Realm, and Kitty Shen at the Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm. Although Lu Ye hadid down a massive number of wards around the Arcane de, their defense was still rtively weak, all things considered. They would need more manpower if they wished to truly secure this location.
In this regard, both Lu Ye and Kitty Shen were in full agreement.
Generally speaking, a small Arcane de like this could amodate between three to five people. Lu Ye had already invited Ju Jia, but they could use another one or two cultivators.
Due to the Sacred Pact they had signed, neither of them could privately invite a friend to join them. Therefore, they could only wait and hope that a suitable candidate or two would stumble upon their location.
ording to Kitty Shen, the quality of their Arcane de was neither too good nor too bad, so they shouldnt need to worry about being attacked by powerful Cloud River Realm cultivators. The truly strong ones would rather target a Secundus or Primus-level Arcane de, and an above average Tertius-level Arcane de was perfect for Fourth to Fifth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators.
It was a good thing that the quality of their Arcane de was so-so. If it was a Primus-level Arcane de, then it would most likely draw the attention of an Eighth or Ninth-Order elite. They were almost certainly going to lose their Arcane de if that happened.
Lu Ye did not know there were so many things one should consider when upying an Arcane de until Kitty Shen had kindly enlightened him.
Unfortunately, their location was fairly remote. Despite waiting outside for a full twenty four hours, not a soul had passed through their area. The next day, it was Kitty Shens turn to wait outside.
Lu Ye had just entered the Cloud River Battlefield, so growing his cultivation was, of course, among his highest priorities. Skill without strength was weak, and he would like to be able to protect himself as soon as possible.
That was why he spent the past few days cultivating non-stop. His Spiritual Power grew at a visible rate thanks to the massive amount of Vital Spirit Pills he ate and the rich Spiritual Qi of the Arcane de.
A Cloud River Realm cultivators cultivation goal was to grow their river of Spiritual Power. Every time it reached a certain threshold, his cultivation level would increase by one minor realm. This would continue until the river had filled up his entire body and transformed into ake. When that happened, he would have reached the Real Lake Realm.
He was in the middle of cultivating when he suddenly heard Kitty Shen conversing with an unfamiliar voice outside. He immediately set down his book and listened in silence.
A momentter, Kitty Shen called out to him, Come out, Fellow Cultivator Ye! A clients waiting for you!
Lu Ye grimaced at the terrible jokeit was a line that wasmonly heard in a brothelbut rose to his feet. When he stepped outside, he saw Kitty Shen waiting for him and another woman standing outside the ward.
The woman had a tear mole and a fragile, sympathetic appearance. Kitty Shen introduced her warmly, Our long wait has finally borne fruit, Fellow Cultivator Ye! Her name is
Ruan Qingzhu, said the unfamiliar woman while giving him an elegant bow. Even her voice was sweet and gentle. Her personality and behavior were theplete opposite of Kitty Shens.
Thats right, Kitty Shen said with a nod. Ive asked Ruan all the necessary questions, Fellow Cultivator Ye. She is willing to join us, and she is a Fourth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. She is exactly who we need.
Ruan Qingzhu held her hands in front of her chest and bowed again. If you are willing to ept me, this one swears to cooperate with you to the best of my abilities.
Lu Ye examined her for a moment before nodding. He then opened a gap in the defensive ward with the Control Jade. Finally, he handed her the Sacred Pact he and Kitty Shen had signed and said, Take a look. If it looks alright with you, then please sign it right away.
Ruan Qingzhu epted the pact and read it carefully. A whileter, she replied smilingly, It is eptable.
She then bit her finger and pressed her fingerprint on the Sacred Pact.
After Lu Ye had put away the Sacred Pact, Kitty Shen dered while rubbing her palms, And now there are three. A friend of Fellow Cultivator Ye will be joining us soon, so we can only ept one more person into our little group. Personally, I think we can loosen our requirements a little for thisst person, if only to make our lives a little easier. What do you both think?
Sure. Lu Ye did not have an opinion regarding this.
Ruan Qingzhu was a neer. In this case, the only position she was allowed to take was a yes mans, so she replied smilingly, Whatever you say, sis.
Kitty Shen beamed. Its decided then. The Cloud River Battlefield is vast, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that fate has brought us together. I hope our time together will be a harmonious one, and I shall be depending on you two in theing days.
Ruan Qingzhu replied with a soft giggle. Im the one who should say that, sis.
Lu Ye did not say anything. In fact, he was already walking back to his house.
Kitty Shen said to Ruan Qingzhu, Fellow Cultivator Yes a bit reserved, but hes not a bad person. Youll find out eventually.
Of course.
Since youve just arrived, allow me to help you in tidying your new house. Where would you like to stay? This ones my house, by the way.
Id like to be your neighbor then, sis.
Im very happy to hear that!
In the building, Lu Ye frowned deeply while listening to their conversation. As he thought, women are strange creatures. He just couldnt fathom how they could behave like fast friends when it had only been a couple of minutes since they met one another.
And so Ruan Qingzhu joined their little group. A Fourth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator was a good addition to their Arcane de. With the three of them and Lu Yes wards, it would take a massive group or a handful of powerful cultivators to drive them out. An ordinary group of five would not be able to threaten them in the slightest.
The days passed slowly. Lu Ye was so engrossed with cultivation that he went through his stock of Vital Spirit Pills at a tremendous rate.
At some point, he realized that he hadnt brought enough Vital Spirit Pills with him. It was because the Cloud River Battlefield was a vastly different ce from what he had imagined. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, prey would automatically flock to him and supply him with their cultivation resources. Here though, he hadnt even killed a single person. It was why he didnt have quite enough Vital Spirit Pills.
He cultivated mainly by consuming Spirit Pills. Without them, his progress would slow tremendously.
He took out his 10-point map and checked his location for a bit. There was a Divine Trade Association hotspot about four hundred kilometers away from their Arcane de, which wasnt too far considering his current speed. It should take him only a quarter of a day to make a round trip.
The next day, he stepped outside and stood in front of Kitty Shens house. He then knocked on the door once.
Kitty Shen opened the door and asked him curiously, Whats the matter, Fellow Cultivator Ye?
Id like to head out for a bit.
Sure! Kitty Shen nodded. Come back soon.
Lu Ye passed her the Control Jade and said, Be careful.
Dont worry! Well keep the Arcane de safe while youre gone! Kitty Shen dered with a p to the chest. Her breasts shook so wonderfully that Lu Ye identally nced at them a second longer.
All good things must end, however. He summoned his Spirit Boat and took to the sky.
Next door, Ruan Qingzhu poked her head out of her door and asked curiously, Where is Fellow Cultivator Ye going?
Kitty Shen shook her head. He said hes heading out for a bit. I didnt ask why. Hes an adult. Hes old enough to take care of himself, dontcha agree?
Ruan Qingzhu giggled softly in response.
Lu Ye flew toward the Divine Trade Association hotspot in a straight line. He hadnt made a breakthrough yet, but he was close. He could feel his river reaching some sort of threshold. It just needed one final push.
Of course, it was just a breakthrough to the Second-Order. His cultivation level would still be among the lowest in the entire Cloud River Battlefield.
That said, all great things have small beginnings. He just needed to scale the peaks one step at a time.
Lu Ye stepped into a building after arriving at his destination. He sought out a manager and spent arge amount of Spirit Stones to purchase Vital Spirit Pills. He saved some of them in case he needed them for other things in the future.
He hadnt brought too many Spirit Stones from his headquarters either. He would have to find a way to gather more cultivation resources once he used up this batch of Spirit Pills as well.
He was just about to leave when the manager said, There will be an Amulet auction tonight, and one of the Amulets being auctioned is a Purple Amulet. Do stay behind if youre interested, dear customer.
Lu Ye was interested, of course. Amulets were ridiculously good at boosting ones cultivation. He had been hoping to re-live the sensation ever since he had used the Green and Purple Amulets.
Unfortunately, Amulets did not rain from the Heavens all the time. He not encountered such an event yet.
The currency used to bid for the Amulets was Contribution Points. He had over seventy thousand Contribution Points right now, and he was fairly sure that only a handful of people in the entire Cloud River Battlefield had more Contribution Points than him, if at all. That was why he wasnt afraid to go into this auction at all.
He had wanted to experience an Amulet auction since the day he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. Unfortunately, he had missed the previous auction by two days.
Now that he was given the chance to catch up with lost opportunities, he did not hesitate to seize it with both hands.
He messaged Kitty Shen and told her that he would be heading backter than expected. Kitty Shen acknowledged the message before advising him to take care of himself, dont trust strangers easily, and so on. It made him feel a bit of warmth in this unfamiliar world.
Chapter 451: Amulet Auction
Chapter 451: Amulet Auction
Lu Ye had exchanged imprints with Kitty Shen and Ruan Qingzhu because they had signed a Sacred Pact together. They werepanions he could trust.
He stayed at the hotspot until it was nighttime. Then, he attended the amulet auction.
Unlike the usual auctions Lu Ye had attended, the Divine Trade Auction gave every participant a small object. He didnt know what it was made of, only that it looked like a jade finger.
After a manager of the Divine Trade Association had instructed him on how to use the jade finger, he sat in his private room, held it in his grasp, and poured his mind into it.
The scenery before his eyes changed immediately. The experience was simr to when he entered the Vault of Providence. His mind had appeared in a small, confined space in an instant.
There was nothing in the room besides a ton of floating Amulets. He counted a hundred White Amulets, a dozen or so Green Amulets, a few Blue Amulets and a single Purple Amulet.
He wondered who was the lucky cultivator who managed to nab a Purple Amulet for themselves. He also wondered why they chose to auction it instead of using it themselves.
The answer came to him as soon as the question passed through his mind. Cultivating cost a lot of resources, meaning that there were always more poor cultivators than otherwise. Their financial situation wouldnt improve just because their cultivation level had increased.
Every Amulet wasbeled with a number. Lu Ye also noticed that these numbers were rising continuously. He immediately knew that they represented the bid price of the Amulets.
Countless cultivators must be immersed in this small space and taking part in this auction just like him. It was an unusual way to carry out an auction because the participants anonymity was preserved. This way, the participants would not need to worry about being identified and ganged up on afterward.
Lu Ye had a feeling that the auction was held this way because the currency involved was Contribution Points. To cultivators, the only safe ce to trade in Contribution Points was the Vault of Providence.
In fact, he reckoned that the Heavens were involved in the auctions in some capacity. That was generally the case when Contribution Points were involved.
Lu Ye had a small problem. He wasnt sure what was considered a fair price for each type of Amulet. So, he messaged Kitty Shen about it.
Youre at the Divine Trade Association? Kitty Shen replied, White Amulets are worth around two hundred Contribution Points. If the price goes over two hundred and twenty, just forget it and move on. As for the other Amulets, just do the math based on the conversion rate I told you before.
Lu Ye thanked her for her swift and candid response.
If White Amulets were worth around two hundred Contribution Points, then Green Amulets must be worth around six hundred Contribution Points, Blue Amulets around one thousand and eight hundred Contribution Points, Purple Amulets around five thousand and four hundred Contribution Points, and Gold Amulets around sixteen thousand and two hundred Contribution Points.
Also, anything that went over ten percent of its estimated price wasnt worth getting.
Lu Ye checked the Amulets again now that he had a base of reference. It was as Kitty Shen said. The White Amulets were generally sold at two hundred, Green Amulets at six hundred, and Blue Amulets at one thousand and eight hundred. The one and only Purple Amulet was currently sitting at five thousand and five hundred Contribution Points.
Lu Ye was gunning for the Purple Amulet, of course. He tapped the Purple Amulet once and saw the bid price changing to five thousand, five hundred and fifty Contribution Points. It was also shining slightlypared to before.
Seeing this, Lu Ye tapped a White Amulet next and saw its price changing. The White Amulet started shining a little as well.
So, Amulets he bid for would shine, and only if he was the leading bidder. Otherwise, they would turn dim or remain lightless.
Lu Ye started bidding for real after he had figured things out. It wasnt long before a massive amount of Amulets were lit. However, they quickly turned dim when someone surpassed his bid.
Lu Ye had over seventy thousand Contribution Points though. Knowing that it was highly unlikely that there existed anyone who could stop him from getting what he wanted, he bid away without fear or worry.
Time passed bit by bit. From time to time, an Amulet would vanish into thin air and enter the possession of the highest bidder.
So far, Lu Ye had won a dozen or so White Amulets. They were all priced below two hundred and twenty Contribution Points.
More time passed, and he managed to get his hands on a handful of Green Amulets and two Blue Amulets.
The Amulets would continue to disappear until finally, the Purple Amulet was the only one that was left.
ording to Kitty Shen, it wasnt worth bidding for the Purple Amulet if its price exceeded six thousand Contribution Points. However, Lu Yes current priority was to increase his cultivation level as soon as possible. He did not mind paying more to obtain the Purple Amulet.
The shining Amulet turned dim not long after he entered his bid, and the price changed to five thousand, nine hundred and fifty Contribution Points. Clearly, someone had outbid Lu Ye for the moment. The young man did not hesitate to respond to the challenge.
The contest would continue for a while longer until finally, the price stopped at six thousand and two hundred Contribution Points. His unknownpetitor had finally given up either because they deemed it too expensive to continue, or because they physically did not have the Contribution Points to challenge Lu Ye further.
A whileter, when the Purple Amulet had shed three times in session, it abruptly shone like a mini sun.
All the Amulets he had won the bid on had reacted like this at the end of the bid. Lu Ye knew then that the Purple Amulet was his. He immediately grabbed the Purple Amulet and stored it in his Storage Bag.
Lu Ye withdrew from the small space after the auction was over. He tallied his gains and confirmed that he had obtained fifteen White Amulets, six Green Amulets, two Blue Amulets and one Purple Amulet at the total cost of sixteen thousand and eight hundred Contribution Points. This meant that he only had a little over fifty seven thousand Contribution Points now.
Lu Ye was very satisfied with this harvest. With this many Amulets, he should have no problems hitting the Second-Order in a matter of days, though he wouldnt use them until he had returned to the Arcane de. While it was unlikely he would reach the Third-Order before he used up his haul, he had still saved himself a considerable amount of time.
The moon hung high in the sky when he exited the hotspot, though there werent many stars.
It was unsafe for a low level cultivator like Lu Ye to travel at night. Logically speaking, he should spend a night at the Divine Trade Association and leave in the morning. Despite this, he still set out because the Arcane de was much more vulnerable without him.
Moonlight cast down a silvery sheen across thend as Lu Ye flew on his Spirit Boat. On his shoulder, Amber looked even more energetic than it was during the day.
Ever since Amber learned how to cultivate using the essence of the moon from Ju Jia, clear, moonlit nights like this had be its favorite weather. It was visibly inhaling the essence of the moon into its stomach.
They were making good progress when suddenly, Lu Ye saw a streak of light heading straight toward him. It was too fast for him to escape as well.
Lu Yes face darkened as hemented his luck. He did not know what the neer was plotting, but he was certain that it couldnt be good. As if that wasnt bad enough, the cultivator was at the Seventh or Eighth-Order Realm at least.
By now, Lu Ye had encountered enough Cloud River Realm cultivators to form a subjective base of reference. He wasnt arrogant enough to think that it was perfectly urate, but it definitely wasnt far off the mark either. The point was that he was certain that the cultivator was beyond his ability to defeat.
Lu Ye immediately turned around and buffed himself with Windwalk. But despite pushing his Spirit Boat to the max, the distance between them was shortening slowly due to the massive discrepancy between their cultivation levels. He was just wondering if he should use Soar when suddenly, Yi Yi said, Lu Ye, something isnt right with that guy. Look, hes falling to the ground.
Lu Ye turned around and saw that she was right. Not only had their pursuers aura dimmed to almost lightless, he was also falling toward the ground. He was unable to control himself despite his best efforts.
[He looks injured?]
Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and watched as the man fell. The man managed to catch himself right before he would hit the ground and turn into a stter of gore and blood.
If the guy was perfectly unharmed, then Lu Ye was going to escape as far as possible. But if he was grievously injured, then he supposed that there was little risk in interacting with him.
Now that he thought about it, the guy had chased him probably not because he wanted to hurt him, but because he wanted Lu Ye to save him or something.
A moment of hesitationter, Lu Ye flew toward the fallen man. When hended on the ground and looked up, he saw a bloodied man leaning against arge tree and barely keeping himself up. There was a fist-sized hole at the center of his chest deep enough to reveal wriggling organs. He was also covered in wounds from head to toe. It was clear that he had fought a great battle, and it was just as clear that he wasnt going to survive his injuries. Lu Ye could tell because he had taken more wounds than he had eaten rice his whole life.
The man was breathing shallowly when he sensed Lu Ye and met his eyes. While gripping his blood-drenched sword, he shot Lu Ye a weak smile andmented, Your flight speed is impressive, fellow cultivator!
Why were you chasing me? Lu Ye asked. The guy looked like he could die at any moment, so he did not understand why he would choose to chase a random stranger at night. Otherwise, Lu Ye would not have thought that he held malicious intentions and escaped with his tail between his legs.
The guy said, Im dying. Youre the only cultivator I found in miles. I would like to ask you to carry out myst wish.
What is it?
Can you please return this sword to the Divine Freedom Sect for me? The man asked while raising the blood-drenched sword.
The Divine Freedom Sect thats a Thousand Demon Ridge sect, isnt it? Lu Ye replied. If he remembered correctly, the sect had paid him the mercy fee when he was at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. This meant that the Divine Freedom Sect was a Core Circle sect that was Tier-Three or higher.
Do you hail from the Grand Sky Coalition, fellow cultivator? The dying man caught Lu Yes meaning immediately. When the young man remained silent, he said, Thats fine. You do not need to bring the sword to my sect yourself. You can simply entrust it to the Divine Trade Association. If you agree, you may have all the wealth I carry on my person. Ill have you know that Im pretty wealthy.
I can do that. Lu Ye nodded.
All the man asked was that he bring the sword to the Divine Trade Association to return it to his sect. It was but a simple matter.
Thank you. The man rxed before letting out a bitter chuckle. It was a long and hard journey. In the end, it amounted to nothing at all.
Lu Ye did not say anything. He wasnt moments away from death, so he could not possibly empathize with the man. This was how the Cultivation World had always been though. Death was the constantpanion of all cultivators.
Chapter 452: Luck
Chapter 452: Luck
Pull your saber.
Underneath the tree, the man said while staring at Lu Ye with a carefree expression.
Lu Ye stared at him in silent inquiry until he added, Im a Seventh-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, and you dont look like youre very high level. If you kill me, youll get at least several hundred Contribution Points. Just think of it as my parting gift to a fellow cultivator.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, killing stronger enemies rewarded exponentially more Contribution Points. The rule wasnt just usable in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but also the Cloud River Battlefield and Jiu Zhou.
Not only that, the base reward was way better after one had entered the Cloud River Realm. At the Spirit Creek Realm level, the base reward for killing a Fifth-Order cultivator was just a measly five Contribution Points. It was nine for the Ninth-Order, ten for Heaven Seven, and twelve for Heaven Nine.
At the Cloud River Realm level, the base reward for killing a First-Order cultivator was a whopping twenty Contribution Points. Not only that, the number went up by five for each jump in the minor realm.
Take the dying man before Lu Ye for example. He was a Seventh-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, so the base reward for killing him was fifty Contribution Points. If Lu Ye killed him, he would be killing an opponent who was six minor realms above him and earning three hundred and fifty Contribution Points, which was seven times greater than the base reward. That was great value even to a wealthy cultivator like Lu Ye.
While killing enemies above ones cultivation level would greater rewards, unlike the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was no punishment for killing cultivators below ones cultivation level.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, bullying the weak would result in deduction in ones Contribution Points. It was the Heavens way of protecting the low level cultivators and why the Spirit Creek Battlefield was separated into multiple Circles.
At the Cloud River Realm though, the cultivators had ovee the first stretch of their cultivation journey. They shouldve learned to differentiate between enemies they could and couldnt make at the very least. If they were too stupid to make the distinction, then their inevitable deaths were no ones fault but their own.
The Heavens would only protect those who were just beginning their cultivation journey. That protection was non-existent after they reached the Cloud River Realm.
Its fine. The payment you promised is sufficient. I promise to bring your sword to the Divine Trade Association and have it delivered to the Divine Freedom Sect.
Lu Ye had killed countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators since he began his cultivation journey. He had no qualms adding one more to the tally. However, killing a defenseless man who was but moments away from death was apletely different story.
The man let out a bitter chuckle. Thats not it. I simply dont want to suffer any longer than is necessary.
Lu Ye was silent for a time. Finally, he unsheathed the Invible.
The man let go of his sword and closed his eyes.
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power, crossed thirty meters in an instant, and stabbed them in the sr plexus.
Perhaps it was because of the sudden pain, but the man abruptly opened his eyes and grabbed Lu Yes arm. Despite being on the verge of death, there was enough strength behind the grip to hurt Lu Ye a little.
Of course, the strength didntst. Just a second or twoter, the mans hand fell limply by his side. The light in his eyes swiftly faded into nothing as well.
A shower of blood spurted out of the mans chest when Lu Ye pulled out his saber. Seeing as his eyes were still wide open, Lu Ye wiped them close with his hand.
The man was aplete stranger to Lu Ye. Therefore, Lu Ye didnt feel too bad despite killing him this way. What did affect him was the fact that even a Seventh-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator wasnt strong enough to keep death at bay. Growing increasingly aware of the cruelty of the Cultivation World, he swore to be twice as careful during his time in the Cloud River Realm.
He was no longer no longer the untouchable king of the Cloud River Battlefield. Here, the amount of cultivators who could kill him with ease could only be described as innumerable.
Yi Yi appeared out of Amber and stood next to Lu Ye. She looked down because of what had happened.
Lu Ye stepped forward and untied the mans Storage Bag from his waist. He then picked up the blood-drenched sword before wiping the blood clean with a towel.
He did not know what the sword meant to the cultivator, but it was important enough that he would entrusted a stranger, no, an enemy to return it to his sect during hisst moments. He inspected the sword for a bit and found two words engraved above the hilt of the sword, Qing Yun.
It could be the name of the sword or a person. The one person who might answer his question was already dead.
It was probably thetter though. The sword could be a token of love between him and his partner. That would exin why he wanted it returned so badly.
Can I bury him, Lu Ye? Yi Yi broke the silence suddenly.
Yi Yi had killed plenty of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators herself, but this was the first time ever she wanted to give one of them a proper burial.
Of course. It is only right.
Moral quandaries aside, He had epted the mans payment. Giving him a proper burial was the least they could do for him.
Lu Ye did not bury him where he was, however. He hadnt forgotten how they had stumbled upon one another. It was very possible that the person or group who had dealt this man a fatal wound would show up very soon. That was why he carried the body and flew for a long time until they reached a beautiful location. Then, he and Yi Yi dug a big hole in the ground and buried him properly. She even bowed to the grave a couple of times before finally returning to Ambers body.
Originally, the n was to return to the Arcane de as soon as possible. Now though, they needed to make a trip to the Divine Trade Association first. On the way, Lu Ye studied the sword for a bit and found nothing special about it. It was just a Middle Grade Spirit Artifact with eighteen enchantments in it. At best, it was worth several hundred Contribution Points.
Next, Lu Ye took out the guys Storage Bag and began dismantling its Restraining Lock.
On a rted note, Lu Ye discovered that his luck had been great since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. First, he had encountered the iridescent cloud and participated in a Token of Providence event not long after he entered the battlefield. The cloud had stopped directly above his head as well. Although he only managed to nab a Green Amulet with his own strength, the ending did not go the way he expected it to go at all. Not only did someone throw a Purple Amulet into his hands, he had gotten away with it.
Later, he was looking for a ce to rest when he stumbled upon a once-in-a-century Arcane de revival eventpletely by ident. He had basically gotten an Arcane de for free. That wasnt the end of his good luck, however. Originally, he was nning to spend the night in the Divine Trade Association. He was just so worried about the Arcane de that he decided to risk traveling during the night. On the way, he was wondering how he could solve the issue of his cultivation resources running low when a dying man came up to them and surrendered everything he had to him. Suffice to say, this would never have happened if he had chosen to stay the night at the Divine Trade Association.
Lu Yes luck had never been this good, not to mention that it hadnt even been ten days since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. That was why he suspected that divine intervention was involved in the string of good luck he had had recently. To be specific, he suspected that it was one of the effects of the Gift of Providence.
The Gift of Providence was a highly praised blessing, but so far the tangible benefits had not met his expectations. However, it was apletely different story if it improved his luck.
Luck was an ephemeral, strange thing. An exceptionally lucky man could rise to the top with little to no effort, while an exceptionally unlucky man could choke on water if they werent careful. Personally, Lu Ye thought that his luck was just average. It made no sense to him that his luck would improve so drastically after he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. Therefore, the Gift of Providence was the only answer.
Of course, this was just a theory. He would need to find a way to verify it in the future.
Considering Lu Yes current attainment in the Way of Glyphs, the task of opening a Restraining Lock was almost as easy as breathing air. It took him only a moment to unlock the Storage Bag. When he looked inside, he found that the man had not lied to him. He was fairly wealthypared to the average Cloud River Realm cultivator.
For starters, he saw a bunch of rare ores and strange nts that he couldnt name in the Storage Bag. He reckoned that it was the loot the man had collected during his journey. The reason he thought this was because he counted at least a dozen Middle Grade Spirit Artifacts in the Storage Bag. There were a handful of flying Spirit Artifacts as well.
There wasnt a single cultivator in the world who needed this many Spirit Artifacts. That was why it had to be the loot he had lifted off his enemies corpses.
Most of the loot didnt mean much to Lu Ye. He supposed he could sell them for Contribution Points at the Divine Trade Association, but that was it.
The rest of the stuff was very useful though. As it turned out, the man had several bottles of Healing Pills and over twenty bottles of Vital Spirit Pills. Not only that, he had a ton of Spirit Stones. He saw Low Grade Spirit Stones, Middle Grade Spirit Stones, and even High Grade Spirit Stones, though he wasnt one hundred percent sure because he had never seen a High Grade Spirit Stone before.
In total, the man had over ten thousand Spirit Stones.
Lu Ye considered himself a fairly worldly man at this point, but the deceased man was easily one of the wealthiest cultivators he had ever encountered. To make aparison, Lu Ye himself did not have ten thousand Spirit Stones on his person.
In any case, the man had unwittingly solved Lu Yes resource scarcity problem. Although he had purchased arge amount of Vital Spirit Pills at the Divine Trade Association, he fully expected to run out in a matter of weeks. That was why he was thinking about ways to obtain more cultivation resources until he stumbled upon the man. Now though, that wasnt necessary anymore. At the very least, he wouldnt have to worry about this for the near future.
He transferred everything that was useful to him into the storage space at the back of his hand. Then, he took out what looked like a copper te from the Storage Bag.
The copper te was palm-sized and, at first nce, lookedpletely ordinary. Lu Ye was unable to figure out what it was used for despite inspecting it for a long time. It wasnt until he channeled his Spiritual Power into it that a beam of light suddenly shone from it. Then, he felt something pulling at him from inside the copper te. It felt like it was pointing him in a certain direction. This basically confirmed that the copper te contained some sort of secret.
Lu Ye didnt know where the copper te was pointing him to, but he was fairly sure that he would find something if he followed its instructions.
For a while, Lu Ye simply held the copper te and weighed his options. In the end, he decided to store it in his storage space and put it temporarily out of his mind. Right now, his first priority was still increasing his cultivation to an eptable level. Only then could he protect himself from the dangers that might be associated with the copper te and the Cloud River Battlefield itself.
After arriving at the Divine Trade Association, Lu Ye descended in front of a building and walked inside. He then sought out a manager and inquired about the procedure to deliver a sword. After learning the ins and outs of the situation, the manager offered Lu Ye a solution. He told him that the Divine Trade Association could safekeep the sword while sending a message to the Divine Freedom Sect. When a cultivator of the Divine Freedom Sect showed up, they would then pass the sword to them.
Lu Ye saw no problems with the solution. His only request was that his information be kept a secret.
Chapter 453: Second Order Cloud River Realm
Chapter 453: Second Order Cloud River Realm
By the time Lu Ye was finally finished with the tasks at hand, it was well past midnight already. He was just wondering if he should stay the night at the Divine Trade Association after all when he suddenly felt something from his Battlefield Imprint. It was a message from Kitty Shen, and her tone was incredibly urgent. The Arcane de is in danger! Come back quick!
Lu Ye hurriedly sent a reply but received no response from Kitty Shen. Realizing that the situation was bad, he hurriedly exited the hotspot and took to the sky on his Spirit Boat.
An incense stickter, Lu Ye finally received a reply from Kitty Shen. He was stunned after briefly conversing with her and figuring out roughly what had happened at the Arcane de. He had imagined countless scenarios in his head, but reality still found a way to surpass his expectations.
Lu Ye did not stop flying until dawn broke, and he arrived at the location where he and Kitty Shen had agreed to meet up with each other. However, the woman was nowhere to be seen. She did not respond when he tried to message her either.
He searched around for a bit and saw a few drops of blood on a tree leaf. He knew then that Kitty Shen was probably in a bad spot.
Lu Ye was scrounging for a way to locate Kitty Shen when Amber abruptly jumped down his shoulder. It then started walking down a certain direction with soundless footsteps. Lu Ye hurriedly followed behind the white tiger.
A whileter, Amber stopped in front of a small, pitch ck cave and let out a cute growl. Lu Ye had to bend down and walk all the way to the end of the cave. As the thick stench of blood wafted against his nostrils, he saw a voluptuous figure lying on the cave floor and a pool of blood. Her face was deathly pale, and her breathing was shallow.
The woman was Kitty Shen, of course. No wonder she hadnt responded to his message earlier. She was hurt so badly that she had fallen unconscious.
Although she was unconscious, Kitty Shen still sensed his approach and woke up immediately, or at least she tried to. Her eyebrows wrinkled as if she was trying to open her eyes, but she was ultimately unable to wake even her own consciousness. Her features were scrunched up in deep pain.
Lu Ye frowned deeply as he briefly inspected her injuries. She definitely wasnt faking it. At this rate, the likelihood she would sumb to her injuries was pretty high.
He immediately produced some healing items from his storage space while saying, Treat her please, Yi Yi.
Okay. Yi Yi appeared from Ambers body and began working immediately.
While Yi Yi was working, Lu Ye exited the cave and began setting up some wards. Suffice to say,st nights events had gone almost entirely different from his expectations. It was supposed to be a quick and uneventful trip, but not only had they lost their Arcane de, Kitty Shen was injured so severely that she couldve been dead. She would be if she wasnt as alert as she was.
Lu Ye had learned the outline of what had happened during his brief interaction with Kitty Shen, but not the details. From the looks of it, he would have to wait until she was awake before he could ask her about it.
Right now, one question upied the forefront of his mind: how on earth had that person gone around the Sacred Pact? Were the terms and conditions not as airtight as they thought it was?
After setting up a simple rm and concealment ward, Lu Ye sat at the cave entrance and took out the Sacred Pact. He then went through each and every line as carefully as he could. He was unable to find a single w in the pact, however. It had been prepared by Kitty Shen, and it showed that she was a meticulous woman. The terms and conditions were well-woven, well-organized, and extremely logical. He just could not find that loophole that his enemy had apparently exploited.
It was an eye-opening experience. When he was at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, most matters could be resolved with martial might alone. He rarely had to contend with schemes and intrigue. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case.
After Yi Yi appeared from the cave, Lu Ye put away the Sacred Pact and asked, Will she live?
I think so. Itll take her at least ten days to return to full health though, if not half a month.
Thats not a problem, responded Lu Ye with a nod.
By now, the sky waspletely bright. Lu Ye ate some food before pulling out a White Amulet and crushing it between his fingers. If there wasnt the urgency to increase his cultivation level before, there was now.
After Lu Ye used up all of the White Amulets and a Green Amulet, he felt his river of Spiritual Power shaking a little as if it had broken through some sort of limit. Not only did it grow a size bigger, it also flowed faster than before. For a moment, Lu Ye basked in an indescribable sense offort and release.
Frankly, cultivation at the Cloud River Realm wasnt easy at all. At this level, a cultivators goal was to increase the volume of Spiritual Power within ones body. When the river had reached a certain limit, the cultivator would feel like their Spiritual Power was threatening to burst out of their body until they surpassed their limit and entered the next minor realm. Only then would the tension vanish like it was never there.
This relieving state wasnt going tost, however. After all, this was hardly the end of Lu Yes cultivation journey. This state of affairs would continue until he had entered the Real Lake Realm.
With this, Lu Ye had officially entered the Second Order of the Cloud River Realm. This was easily the fastest he had broken through to the next minor realm.
Back when he was still a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, it usually took him two to three months to enter the next minor realm. In fact, it took him over three months most of the time. On the other hand, it had only been half a month since he ascended to the Cloud River Realm, and he was already at the Second Order! Assuming he could ascend the rest of the levels at the same pace, he could reach the Ninth Order in less than half a year!
Of course, the assumption was both unrealistic and dangerous. The main reason he was able to reach the Second Order so quickly was thanks to the Amulets. Not only did they drastically shorten his cultivation period, Lu Yes main method of cultivation was his pills, not World Spiritual Qi. That was why he was able to aplish the miracle that was entering the next minor realm in half a months time.
Currently, he still had one Purple Amulet, two Blue Amulets and five Green Amulets. He did not think they would be enough to push him all the way to the Third Order, however. Yet, he was still excited from his ascension, and there was nothing to do while waiting for Kitty Shen to recover. He decided to continue his cultivation.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Kitty Shen had barely recovered from her ordeal. Although her injuries werent healed yet, she was no longer in danger of dying. She was also capable of speech now.
Lu Ye had used up all of his Amulets as a matter of course. As expected, his Spiritual Power hadnt grown enough to enter the next minor realm, but he had made great strides in the Second Order and saved himself a lot of time.
In the cave, Lu Ye was sitting crosslegged in front of Kitty Shen. He did not notice that her face was red because the cave was dark, and her head was lowered.
Why was Kitty shen blushing? It was because her clothes were changed, and her body was carefully balmed and bandaged including her private parts. She thought that Lu Ye was the only person here, so naturally she thought that he had seen everything
She could not bring herself to criticize him or even think badly of his actions, however. After all, he had done it to save her life. That said, she could not stop herself from thinking about it no matter how many times she told herself that cultivators were above such trivial matters.
Lu Ye carefully fed Kitty Shen a few mouthfuls of water. Then, he passed her a piece of jerky. Kitty Shen took her time to eat her food.
A long timeter, Lu Ye finally asked, Can you tell me what happened?
Kitty Shen recalled the nights events and uttered through gritted teeth, Ruan Qingzhu had nned this from the beginning!
That night, when Lu Ye was participating in the Amulet auction, he had messaged Kitty Shen and checked if everything was alright at the Arcane de. At the time, everything was still as fine as rain. It wasnt until past midnight when Kitty Shen suddenly sensed a disturbance and exited her cultivation state. Before she could even exit her house and check what was going on, two strangers abruptly rushed in and engaged her inbat.
None of her enemies were small fries, and she was fighting one against two. She eventually suffered serious injuries and was forced to flee. Worried for Ruan Qingzhu, she had called out to herpanion the second she escaped into the open only to find her watching her quietly from her doorsteps. There was a third stranger standing next to Ruan Qingzhu as well. He joined the fight as soon as she saw her. She wouldve died if she didnt have a life-saving trump card that she had saved for crises like this.
After that, Kitty Shen escaped all the way to this cave and hid her tracks as well as she could. She fainted almost as soon as she had messaged Lu Ye using the Battlefield Imprint. The next time she woke up, her wounds were already treated, and Lu Ye was right beside her.
Kitty Shen was certain that Ruan Qingzhu and the three strangers were in cahoots. The woman hadnt attacked her because of the Sacred Pact, but she was definitely the one who let the strangers in since she was the one holding the Control Gem and keeping watch after midnight. Otherwise, there was no way the trio couldve made it all the way to her house without rming her.
The only thing I still dont understand is how Ruan Qingzhu managed to circumvent the Sacred Pact and contacted her allies.
It was clearly stated in the Sacred Pact that none of them was allowed to leak the existence or location of the Arcane de, and yet somehow Ruan Qingzhu had done the seemingly impossible.
Lu Ye had been thinking about this for the past few days. In the end, he was able to arrive at one and only one possibility.
You said she had nned this from the beginning, and you were right, he started. It is true that she was unable to leak the Arcane des location after signing the Sacred Pact, but what if she had leaked it before she signed it?
Kitty Shens mouth fell open. Are you saying
Remember the first time we met her? She was sping her hands in front of her, and they were hidden within her sleeves. I bet she was already contacting her allies using her Battlefield Imprint then. The reason she waited so long to act was because she was waiting for a suitable opportunity, and my absence was exactly that.
Lu Ye had set up many wards around the Arcane de, so Ruan Qingzhu knew him as an expert ward cultivator. With him gone, the wards he left behind werent nearly as threatening as they could be, meaning that the only threat they needed to deal with was Kitty Shen.
The n was honestly perfect. The only mistake they made was underestimating Kitty Shen. If they hadnt, the poor girl would have died three days ago.
That cunning bitch! Kitty Shen swore even as a wave of lingering fear washed over her. She recalled every interaction she had had with Ruan Qingzhu for the past couple days and could not find a single w in the womans acting at all. It honestly frightened her how the woman could call her Sis and smile to her face while plotting her death the whole time. Forget Lu Ye, even she, a veteran of the Cloud River Battlefield, had never encountered such deviousness until now.
Ruan Qingzhu had taught them both a lesson in regards to the ugly side of humanity.
Chapter 454: Infiltration
Chapter 454: Infiltration
Sorry, Ye Six, Kitty Shen said suddenly.
Excuse me?
We lost the Arcane de because I wasnt careful enough. We wouldnt be here if I couldve seen through her sooner.
An Arcane de was one of the most sought after resources in the Cloud River Battlefield due to how beneficial it was to ones cultivation. It was why Kitty Shen was so happy when she ran into Lu Ye by ident and sessfully convinced him to ept her. She had been dreaming about her wonderful future when Ruan Qingzhu had given a harsh reality check and nearly killed her. Naturally, she was overflowing with regret and self-me right now.
Its only natural that a kitty is no match for a fox, so dont beat yourself over it. Losing an Arcane de is still better than losing your life, no?
So, what now? Are we just going to give up? Kitty Shen was clearly reluctant to let things slide.
Just focus on recuperating for now, Lu Ye shot her a nce.
Okay.
An above average Tertius-level Arcane de honestly did not matter too much to Lu Ye. In fact, Arcane des in general were good to have, but not critical to him because of his abnormal cultivation methods.
If Ruan Qingzhu and her gang had defeated him and Kitty Shen and taken the Arcane de fair and square, then he wouldnt be worked up about it. After all, the strong usually came out on top in a contest for treasures and opportunities. If his enemies proved to be his betters, then so be it. As long as he was alive, he could always grow stronger and pay back his enemies in the future.
To betray his trust, wound hispanion, and steal his possession while he was gone, though? That was a different story. It was written in stone that he was going to make Ruan Qingzhu regret her decision from the moment he learned of her betrayal. Even if that wasnt the case, Lu Ye was the first person to discover the Arcane de. The wards he had set up, the ward gs and the ward keystones were all there as well. The grand ward alone cost over ten to twenty thousand Contribution Points. Of course he wasnt going to give it all up to his robbers.
It was night and Kitty Shen was recuperating in the cave when Lu Ye stepped out into the open and took to the sky on his Spirit Boat.
Kitty Shen was a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Despite being seriously injured in a one versus-two fight and being ganged up on by a third enemyter, she still managed to escape in the end. This meant that their enemies werent too powerful. He suspected that they were Fourth or Fifth Order at most. Ruan Qingzhu, for example, was only a Fourth Order cultivator.
Lu Ye was only in the Second Order right now, but most of the enemies he fought were, in terms of cultivation, stronger than him since he embarked on this journey. Rarely anyone at the same cultivation level as him was a match for him. That was why he wasnt afraid to fight multiple Fourth to Fifth Order cultivators alone.
Plus, he hadnt fought a true battle since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. He really wanted to know how he measured up to his so-called seniors.
An hour and a halfter, Lu Ye arrived near the periphery of the Arcane de and looked. At first nce, the area lookedpletely empty and lifeless. Most people could pass through the area and never notice that there was an Arcane de not far away from them.
This was because Lu Ye had set up not just a grand defensive ward made up of sixteen ward keystones in total, but also a concealment ward with Glyph: Invisibility as the core.
The Arcane de was pretty small, and he was perfectly capable of setting up a concealment ward that could conceal it all. Weak presence was a valuable trait when one was trying to conceal their valuables. The fact was that they would still be in possession of the Arcane de if they hadnt been betrayed by one of their own.
Lu Ye observed the area for a bit before descending about 1.5 kilometers away from the Arcane de. Then, he concealed himself using Invisibility and slowly made his way over.
An incense stickter, Lu Ye was right outside the Arcane de. The ce was pretty quiet since it was already nighttime. The only sounds that entered the ear were the chirps of insects and the asional frog croaks.
Lu Ye applied Insight to his eyes before looking at the seemingly empty space in front of him. The hidden Arcane de and the grand defensive ward surrounding it immediately appeared into view.
It didnt look like the ward was altered in any way. It was impossible to say if one of Ruan Qingzhuspanions was a ward cultivator, but even if they were, he did not think that their ward creation skill was better than his. If it were, they wouldve made some changes to the ward to improve its security.
Lu Ye was the creator of this defensive ward. Naturally, he knew exactly where the nodes were and how it functioned.
Lu Ye tossed out a couple of ward gs and channeled his Spiritual Power into them. Then, he opened a corner of the grand ward like he was opening a tent p and walked inside.
As he withdrew the ward gs and concealed himself once more, a figure suddenly dashed out of one of the houses and nced left and right warily. He was holding the Control Gem. Clearly, he was the watchman for the night. Lu Ye had caused almost no disturbances when he slipped through the ward, but the watchman still noticed it and responded immediately.
His unusual activity rmed the others and caused them to step out of their houses as well. Among them was Ruan Qingzhu.
Whats going on, Junior Brother Sun? A big, burly man asked the cultivator holding the Control Gem.
The guy was still looking left and right when he answered with a frown, I felt something weird from the defensive ward just now.
Can you borate? the burly man asked again as his face turned serious.
Junior Brother Sun shook his head. Im not sure, but the ward definitely fluctuated just now. He turned toward anky cultivator and asked, Can you please check the ward, Junior Brother Cheng?
Hispanion responded, Of course!
Junior Brother Cheng epted the Control Gem from Junior Brother Sun and poured his Spiritual Power into it. He then began inspecting the ward closely while adjusting its power with the Control Gem. Judging from his actions, he was most likely a ward cultivator.
While Junior Brother Cheng was inspecting the ward, Junior Brother Sun asked, Do you think it might be that Kitty Shen?
The burly guy answered, I dont think so. She was hurt enough to be dead. Even if she managed to survive the ordeal, there is no chance she had recovered enough toe back for revenge. Im more worried about the ward cultivator, to be honest. Junior Brother Cheng mentioned that his ward skills are quite impressive, did he not?
Junior Brother Sunughed. Sure, but Junior Sister Ruan also said that he is just a First Order Cloud River Realm cultivator; a newbie to the Cloud River Battlefield. I dont think we need to worry about him.
After signing the Sacred Pact, Lu Ye had revealed his cultivation level to both Ruan Qingzhu and Kitty Shen. Both women were visibly astonished when they learned that Lu Ye was just a First Order cultivator, though now he realized that Ruan Qingzhus astonishment was less pure.
Kitty Shen was astonished because she had fought him briefly during the Amulet contest. His performance was so that she would not have believed him if not for the fact that they had signed a Sacred Pact.
A whileter, Junior Brother Cheng ended his inspection and returned the Control Gem to Junior Brother Sun. The ward is fine, mostly. Perhaps the creator made a mistake during the setup, but I sensed that the Spiritual Power in some areas is not flowing as smoothly as it should. Ill give it a thorough inspection tomorrow.
Junior Brother Sun rxed after hearing this. They all returned to their houses after that.
Junior Brother Sun was sitting crosslegged in his house and cultivating in silence. He was also holding the Control Gem tightly in his hand. This way, he would be able to sense any abnormality within the grand ward. It was his duty as the night watch to notice such things.
Time passed slowly when suddenly, he felt as if someone had dunked his whole body into a pool of ice. rm bells were ringing inside his head as well.
His reaction was swift all things considered. He had immediately opened his eyes to see what was going on. Unfortunately for him, a mysterious power was already enveloping him and temporarily throwing him into disarray. By the time he caught himself, he found himself standing in the middle of a stone forest.
As he looked left and right in rm, he saw a young man standing about three hundred meters away from him. He looked to be seventeen or eighteen at most. His head was bowed slightly, and his right hand was holding a saber.
Junior Brother Sun immediately yelled, Who are you!
That was what he said, but the question he actually wanted to ask was, Where the hell am I? A moment ago, he was still in his amodation. The next, he found himself standing in a stone forest. It just didnt make sense to him.
The Stone Forest was a terrain in the Nine Realms Scroll, of course. Lu Ye had snuck into Junior Brother Suns house while the four cultivators had exited their dwelling to check on the grand ward. The reason he chose him was because he was the holder of the Control Gem.
Lu Ye needed to get his hands on the Control Gem because it was the only way he might secure his escape. Even if he was the creator of the grand ward, he could not pass through it without spending some time on it.
As for the reason he didnt just kill this Junior Brother Sun after he returned to his dwelling and resumed his cultivation, it was because he couldnt be sure he could kill the guy in one blow. Even if he seeded, there was no guarantee he could stop Junior Brother Sun from screaming or causing some sort of disturbance that would alert hispanions. He would be at a disadvantage if his three remainingpanions tried to gang up on him. They were all stronger than him in terms of cultivation after all.
That was why he decided to use the Nine Realms Scroll instead. As expected, Junior Brother Sun failed to respond to it until it was toote. He doubted the guy even knew that a ward scroll had trapped him in its terrain.
In Junior Brother Suns room, Yi Yi was keeping the Nine Realms Scroll active and suppressing the fluctuations of Spiritual Power as much as possible. The entire reason they were using the ward scroll was to ambush an enemy without being noticed after all. Unfortunately, this meant that she could barely keep the Nine Realms Scroll going, much less activate its power to aid Lu Ye.
Lu Ye would have to defeat Junior Brother Sun entirely by himself.
In the Nine Realms Scroll, Junior Brother Sun was beginning to feel an onset of panic when he received no response from Lu Ye. At the same time, he realized that a treasure that could teleport a person instantaneously must be incredibly powerful. It had to be a Spirit Treasure like a ward scroll at least.
He grew certain that he was trapped in a ward scroll the second the term passed through his head. At the same time, he could barely believe that it was true. Most Cloud River Realm cultivators could only afford Middle Grade Spirit Artifacts. The mysterious young man before him must possess an unimaginable background to own a Spirit Treasure at his level.
Lu Ye wasnt going to give Junior Brother Sun time to recover from his shock. He was already running toward the guy and channeling his Spiritual Power. This exposed his cultivation level and riled Junior Brother Sun into an disbelieving, angry outburst. Second Order!?
[Is he stupid or crazy? How dare a Second Order Cloud River Realm cultivator challenge me! I may be an average cultivator, but Im still two minor realms above you, bastard!]
Anger recing his panic immediately, Junior Brother Sununched a few flying weapons at Lu Ye. As it turned out, he was abat cultivator as well.
The anger vanished practically the next second, however. It was because the young man abruptly unleashed nine flying weapons at once and sent them toward him at insane speeds. Just a few exchangester, Junior Brother Sun discovered in horror that he was no match for the young man, be it in terms of the quantity or the power of his weapons.
The telekic sh turnedpletely one-sided in no time at all. The spinning des broke through his own and flew toward him like a deadly storm.
Chapter 455: Ambush
Chapter 455: Ambush
In the Nine Realms Scroll, Junior Brother Sun brought out his Spirit Artifact in a flurry when he saw Lu Yes nine flying weapons toward him. It was a long stick. While he was able to send all nine weapons flying via a series of flicks and swipes, his weapon could not stop vibrating, and his hands were shaking a little from the impacts. His expression changed from anger to shock. He knew then that Lu Ye was no ordinary opponent!
At first, he thought that Lu Ye would be easy to defeat seeing as he was only a Second Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Now, he realized that the young man was far stronger than his cultivation level suggested.
The Cloud River Realm was the cultivation realm that showcased thergest strength disparity between cultivators because of the difference in foundation. The minimum requirement to ascend to the Cloud River Realm was two hundred and forty Spiritual Points, but the maximum a cultivator could attain before ascending was three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points. Both cultivators could be in the same minor realm, but the power gap between them was like night and day.
Junior Brother Sun and his allies were all disciples of Tier-Five sects. Naturally, not a single one of them had ascended to the Cloud River Realm with three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points. The burly man was the best among five as he had ascended to the Cloud River Realm with three hundred and twelve Spiritual Points. On the other hand, Junior Brother Sun had ascended with a measly two hundred and ny Spiritual Points.
There were countless Junior Brother Suns on the Cloud River Battlefield. In fact, cultivators who had unlocked all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points before ascending like Lu Ye were few and far between, not to mention that Lu Ye had bathed in the Pool of Divine Purification four times, and received the Gift of Providence.
[Im no match for him!]
The thought had shed across Junior Brother Suns mind as soon as they shed.
The flying weapons were so powerful that Junior Brother Sun was pushed back repeatedly. He hadnt even caught himself when Lu Ye reached him and brought down his me-wreathed saber in one mighty swing. Junior Brother Sun was able to block the attack, but there was so much force behind the swing that he was almost driven to his knees, and his Spiritual Artifact threatened to break free from his grip.
Lu Ye gave him no time to breathe. He attacked again and again like a relentless storm. The Invible was even morefortable to use after it had be a Middle Grade Spirit Artifact.
Junior Brother Sun clenched his teeth and defended against the assault as best he could. Sparks flew everywhere, and metallic ngs resounded throughout the stone forest as he was driven lower and lower.
Suddenly, Lu Ye changed his attack from a swing to a thrust. Junior Brother Sun saw the switch but was unable to respond to it. His arms had turnedpletely numb after all the punishment they had endured.
The saber pierced in and out of Junior Brother Suns shoulder de. A painful scream immediately escaped his lips.
Lu Ye pulled out his saber andunched a mighty kick into Junior Brother Suns stomach. The man was sent flying like a rag doll before he crashed heavily on the floor.
This would be a great opportunity to end the mans life, but Lu Ye did no such thing. Instead, he simply stayed where he was and frowned.
[Is it just me, or is the guy kinda weak?]
He had entered this battle thinking that it would be a hard fight in favor of his opponent. At best, he thought that they would be evenly matched. In reality, this Junior Brother Sun was far inferior to him be it in terms of strength or reaction speed.
He knew then that his opponent must have unlocked less than three hundred Spiritual Points when ascending to the Cloud River Realm. It was the only exnation why he was weak despite being two minor realms above him.
Wait! Junior Brother Sun cried out in fear and panic as he climbed back to his feet. He put some distance between himself and Lu Ye before asking, Are you Kitty Shens helper or something? If you are, please let me live! My allies and I can leave right away, and we promise we wont evere back! We can even swear a Sacred Pact if you dont trust our words!
Instead of answering, Lu Ye raised his hand and disyed his Battlefield Imprint.
Junior Brother Sun turned deathly pale. Lu Ye knew that he was a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator.
Lu Ye would have hesitated if Junior Brother Sun had turned out to be a Grand Sky Coalition cultivator. After all, he had received a lot of help and kindness from his fellow coalition members during his time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was d he didnt have to make that choice.
Lu Ye empowered himself with Windwalk before dashing toward Junior Brother Sun, moving so fast that he literally left a trail of afterimages behind him. He reached thebat cultivator in an instant and sent him flying again in a single strike. Junior Brother Sun screamed as blood sprayed out of his wound.
This time, Lu Ye did not wait for him tond. He caught up to thebat cultivator, brought down his saber, and ended his screams once and for all.
Two soft thuds entered Lu Yes ears. One of them came from Junior Brother Suns head, and the other his headless corpse. His bright red blood stained the ground red like dye.
Yi Yi! Lu Ye called out while sheathing his saber. The next moment, he felt himself pushed out of the pocket space and returned to Junior Brother Suns room. The guys head and corpse had appeared on the floor as well.
Lu Ye bent down and picked up the Control Gem and the Storage Bag. With this, the only enemies left were the burly man, the ward cultivator called Junior Brother Cheng, and Ruan Qingzhu.
The question was, how should he assassinate them? It wasnt like he could slip into their dwellings. In fact, it worked the first time only because Junior Brother Sun wasnt in his room when he slipped in. He could try to lure one of them out and kill them as quickly as possible, but he would still have to deal with a one-versus-two battle immediately after. If he failed, then it would be a one-versus-three.
Junior Brother Cheng was probably the easiest to kill of the three. Most ward cultivators spent the majority of their time on studying wards and not enough on theirbat skills. On the other hand, the one who would give him the most difficulty was probably the burly man. It was obvious from his rich vitality that he was a body-tempering cultivator.
Yi Yi and Amber could probably keep one of them busy for a time. He only needed to kill the other two in the shortest time possible!
This would be easier if the protection wards within the Arcane de were still functional, but s, it would seem that Junior Brother Cheng had removed some of them. Otherwise, he couldve taken all of them alone.
The n was rough, but it was better than nothing. Lu Ye quietly snuck out of Junior Brother Suns dwelling and activated Invisibility. He left Amber in the room just in case.
So far, everything was going smoothly. No one even realized that Junior Brother Sun was dead. Like a ghost, he soundlessly crept his way to the burly mans house.
The burly man was the most difficult opponent of the remaining three, so it made sense to take him out first. Should he seed, he should easily wipe the floor with the rest. Otherwise, it would be a much harder fight than it should be.
Lu Ye was just about to use the Control Gem to cause a stir and draw out the enemy when the top of the grand ward shook unnaturally. When he looked up, he was surprised to see none other than Kitty Shen herself floating outside the ward.
[What is she doing here? She should be resting right now! She looks a bit worried for some reason.]
Kitty Shen was the one who attacked the grand ward just now. Sensing an opportunity, Lu Ye immediately turned off the grand ward using the Control Gem.
Outside the ward, Kitty Shen watched as the grand ward surrounding the entire Arcane de suddenly dissipated after her one attack. The concealment effect had been turned off as well.
She was resting in the cave when she woke up and found that Ye Six was nowhere to be seen. Her first thought was that the young man had abandoned her. However, that made no sense as Ye Six had not only saved her life, but also guarded her for three whole days until she awoke.
When she recalled her conversation with Ye Six earlier, she had a bad feeling and hurriedly exited the cave. She then flew all the way to the Arcane de despite her injuries.
She did not know if her prediction was true, but if it was, then Ye Six would need her help. He was stronger than expected, but he was also just a First Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Whatever he was nning, there was a good chance he might fail and be captured by the enemy instead.
That was why she had attacked the grand ward. She wanted to check if Ye Six was here. Even ignoring the fact that he had saved her life, they were allies who signed a Sacred Pact.
What happened next caught herpletely off guard, however. She did not expect the grand ward to disappear in one attack at all.
She scanned around quickly. She did not see any signs of battle or Ye Six. She knew then she had screwed up and tried to leave immediately.
Unfortunately, the unusual activity had rmed the three remaining cultivators in the Arcane de. They immediately burst out of their doors. The next moment, the burly man detonated his vitality and punched out.
There was a sh of light as an arm flew into the air. Blood gushed out of the wound immediately.
Lu Ye exited his invisibility and stared at the burly man with his eyes lowered, and his saber pointed toward the ground. Clutching his stump, the burly man staggered a few steps away from Lu Ye in shock and disbelief.
He wasnt expecting an ambush at his doorstep at all. If his perception wasnt as strong as it was, the blow wouldve taken his head instead of his arm.
Ye Six!
Both Kitty Shen and Ruan Qingzhu eximed in unison when they saw Lu Ye.
Junior Brother Cheng was caught off guard when he heard the exmation. However, he recovered quickly and acted to pounce Lu Ye. Unfortunately for him, Kitty Shen reacted first and blocked his path.
Assuming that Kitty Shen hadnt lied to him about her strength, she shouldve been stronger than Junior Brother Cheng. Anyone who managed to enter the Scroll of Supremacy was a force to be reckoned with. However, it had only been days since she nearly died from her injuries, and it showed. Despite her best efforts, she was actually being pushed back by Junior Brother Cheng, a ward cultivator.
While Kitty Shen was buying time for Lu Ye, thebat cultivator was attacking the burly man relentlessly. His aim was to kill the guy as soon as possible.
Had the burly man been perfectly unharmed, this wouldve been a much harder fight. Not only was the burly man a Fifth Order cultivator, he was way stronger than Junior Brother Sun.
He had lost an arm to Lu Yes ambush, however, and he could barely keep his Cirction System going, much less handle the unending storm that was Lu Ye. The only thing he could do was to dodge his attacks.
On the other side, Amber had rushed out of Junior Brother Suns room and manifested its true body. It pounced toward Ruan Qingzhu and attacked her ferociously. Yi Yi hadnt shown herself yet because she was waiting for a good opportunity to deal her a fatal blow.
Just a momentter, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air, followed by a great shower of blood. Despite the burly mans greatest efforts, he was unable to withstand Lu Yes relentless attacks. Lu Ye had cut right through his Spiritual Power and vitality andnded at least a dozen shes across his body.
Both Junior Brother Cheng and Ruan Qingzhu were stunned. In fact, Ruan Qingzhu was so distracted that she was unable to break free from Ambers harassment despite the power disparity.
How was it possible for a mere ward cultivatora First Order cultivator no lessto be so powerful? And where was Junior Brother Sun? Why hadnt he shown up to help them?
Shock and doubt churned within Ruan Qingzhu until she felt like throwing up. She felt like she had one foot in the grave, and there was nothing she could do to stop her downward momentum.
Chapter 456: Special Treatment
Chapter 456: Special Treatment
Six figures were duking it out in the Arcane de right now. The fiercest fight of them all was easily the one between Lu Ye and the burly man.
The burly man was a body-tempering cultivator and a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. He also ascended with over three hundred Spiritual Points, meaning that he was way stronger than thebat cultivator Lu Ye had assassinated, Junior Brother Sun. This was evident from the fact that he still lived despite having lost an arm to Lu Yes ambush and took a dozen injuries all over his body. Not only that, he was still capable of putting up a fight.
He chose to take an injury so that he could bring out a Shield Spirit Artifact that he held with his remaining arm. It allowed him to block Lu Yes attacks andunch a counterattack or two from time to time. An explosive amount of Spiritual Power and vitality were discharged to the surroundings every time the saber shed against the shield.
It was never a good idea to drag out a fight unless that was the n. Seeing as his normal strikes werent good enough to settle things, Lu Ye decided to reveal one of his trump cards. After separating them both with a powerful strike, Lu Ye took two steps to the back, raised his saber in front of him, and assumed a stance. At the same time, vitality began flowing into his right arm.
rm bells rang in the burly mans head when he saw this. He hurriedly rushed forward and attempted to run Lu Ye over with his shield.
Lu Ye leaped into the air as his arm abruptly swelled like a balloon. Then, he brought his saber down like a swooping eagle.
sh!
A mist of blood red energy steamed out of the pores of his right arm.
Combo!
When the first attack came, the burly mans eyes had immediately widened into saucers. He felt an unimaginable amount of force impacting his Shield Spirit Artifact and shaking his whole body like a gong. Despite being a body-tempering cultivator, the attack still brought him closer to the ground.
Before he could correct his posture, Combo struck him with even greater force. This time, he dropped to his knees, and his Shield Spirit Artifact hit the ground so hard that a literal crack had appeared on its surface.
Lu Ye wasnt done though. A third attack came, and the Shield Spirit Artifact emitted an explosive sh. He swung for the fourth time, and its light was much dimmer than before. The fifth attack finally did the trick and shattered the octodecuple enhancement Middle Grade Spirit Artifact. Not only that, the attack also cut into the burly mans left shoulder and out of his right waist as easily as tofu.
The burly mans vitality and protective Spiritual Power were powerful, but they just werent tough enough to withstand the explosive attack. Lu Ye had shattered his Spirit Artifact and cut him in half in one strike.
For a moment, the burly man could only stare at Lu Ye with shocked, disbelieving eyes. He moved his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end no words came out of his lips.
Lu Ye maintained his stance as his right arm shook violently, and tearing pain assaulted his senses. When he was at the Spirit Creek Realm, he could only use sh three times while Combo was active. Today, he could execute sh five times in a row.
In fact, this wasnt his absolute limit. He could execute a sixth sh before his right arm became unusable.
But of course, the aftereffects of thebination move were incredibly severe. There was no need to push himself that far unless absolutely necessary.
Three breathster, Lu Ye straightened his back and nced at the other two battlefields. What he saw surprised him tremendously. Amber was currently fighting against Ruan Qingzhu. The strange thing was that the woman was bleeding from all her orifices and looking deathly pale. It looked like she had suffered some serious injuries as well.
[Did Yi Yi seed in ambushing her? I havent sensed any spell activity though, not to mention that shes nowhere to be seen. But in that case, how did Amber manage to push a Fourth Order cultivator this far by itself?]
He did not have the time to puzzle out the answer. Amber might be doing okay, but Kitty Shen was having a difficult time holding Junior Brother Cheng back. The growing bloodstains on her clothes made it clear that some of her wounds had reopened during the fight.
The fight was going in Junior Brother Chengs favor, but the burly mans horrific death and Ruan Qingzhus surprising inability to handle the tiger had thrown his mind into disarray. When he sensed that Lu Ye was looking in his direction, he immediately forced Kitty Shen back with a feint and tried to leap into the air.
Unfortunately, he was toote. Lu Yes flying weapons surrounded him before he could make a run for it, and Lu Ye himself was charging him like the wind.
As Lu Ye had predicted earlier, Junior Brother Cheng was not a good fighter. He was at best on the same level as thebat cultivator Lu Ye had assassinated, Junior Brother Sun. He might be able to gain the upper hand against a heavily injured Kitty Shen, but Lu Ye? He did not stand a chance to escape, much less defeat the young man.
A momentter, a bloodied Junior Brother Cheng hit the ground with a hoarse scream. His screams eventually petered out when all life had departed his body.
With that done, Lu Ye turned around and walked toward Ruan Qingzhu. The woman was currently leaning against the wall and looking quite afraid. She instinctively tried to run when she saw Lu Ye heading toward her, but her injuries were severe enough that she couldnt even rise to her feet.
Kitty Shen also walked up to Ruan Qingzhu despite the fact that blood was still pouring freely out of her wounds. She and Lu Ye stood side by side as they looked down on their former ally.
Ruan Qingzhu stared at Kitty Shen tearfully as she said in a pitiful tone, Sis
Dont call me that. You dont deserve it, Kitty Shen said with eyes as cold as ice. If she wasnt as capable as she was, she wouldve died to Ruan Qingzhus scheme three days ago. She felt not a sliver of sympathy for the traitor in front of her.
Ruan Qingzhu dropped her act and smiled. Fine, I wont call you that. I admit that I have made a grave mistake, but so what? You havent forgotten that weve signed a Sacred Pact, have you? You can neither hurt me nor kill me. This means that releasing me is your only option.
Kitty Shen clenched her teeth in frustration. Lu Ye was inspecting his Battlefield Imprint because Yi Yi had sent him a message. He finally realized what had happened when he read it until the end.
As it turned out, the reason Ruan Qingzhu looked like this was because of the Sacred Pact. One of the terms clearly stated that they werent allowed to injure one another. Since Amber was Lu Yes Tamed Beast, it was included in the effects of the Sacred Pact as well.
When Amber appeared to block Ruan Qingzhu, and she attempted to send it flying, she immediately suffered a severe bacsh from the Sacred Pact. In fact, it was so bad that she, a Fourth Order cultivator, didnt even have the strength to escape.
This made sense. It was the bacsh for breaking a term in the Sacred Pact that severely injured Ruan Qingzhu, not Amber. It would seem that his decision to send Amber after Ruan Qingzhu was wiser than he thought.
This created a new question, however. Why hadnt Amber suffered a bacsh from attacking Ruan Qingzhu?
If Ruan Qingzhu could not attack Amber without suffering a bacsh, then the opposite should be the same. However, it was clear that the white tiger was as fine as rain.
He asked Yi Yi about it. The response he received caused his eyebrows to rise up.
If there is nothing else, then Id be taking my leave, Ruan Qingzhu dered almost arrogantly before rising to her feet. The bacsh was bad, but she had recovered enough to move again.
That was when Lu Ye surprised them all by stepping forward and shing at Ruan Qingzhu.
STOP! Kitty Shen screamed.
She had fought on the Cloud River Battlefield for way longer than Lu Ye. That was why she knew full well just how terrible the bacsh was. One could go as far as to say that it was impossible for them to hurt each other from the second they signed the Sacred Pact.
It was toote. By the time she had finished screaming the word, Lu Ye was already flicking away the blood on his de and returning his saber to his sheath.
Before him, Ruan Qingzhu stiffened as her eyes turned horrified. She clutched her neck with both hands, but blood still seeped out of the fatal wound uncontrobly.
She stared at Lu Ye in disbelief. She just could not believe that Ye Six would dare to kill her while still under the effects of the Sacred Pact!
She wasnt going to survive this, but the price was Ye Sixs own life!
See you on the way to the Yellow Spring! Ruan Qingzhu forced out her final words before copsing on the ground, her head rolled away from her now neckless corpse.
Kitty Shen stared at Lu Ye in horror as she waited for the inevitable. However, a few seconds passed, and it did not look like Lu Ye was injured at all.
Stunned and confused, she asked, Are are you okay?
This day just kept getting stranger and stranger. She was the one who had prepared the terms and conditions of the Sacred Pact, so she knew its contents like the back of her hand. Logically speaking, Ye Six should one hundred percent be dead for breaking the non-aggression term in the Sacred Pact and killing Ruan Qingzhu, but for whatever reason, he wasnt affected at all.
If Lu Ye hadnt spoken with Yi Yi via the Battlefield Imprint earlier, he wouldnt have dared to gamble his life either. The girl had been watching the fight from the shadows, so she knew that for whatever reason, Amber did not suffer a bacsh while it was fighting against Ruan Qingzhu.
Armed with this confirmation, Lu Ye reasoned that if Amber, his Tamed Beast did not suffer a bacsh for fighting and wounding Ruan Qingzhu, then he should not suffer a bacsh either. In the end, he was proven right.
As for why they hadnt suffered a bacsh, Lu Ye could not say. He had a feeling that it had something to do with the Gift of Providence, but he had no way to prove it.
Regardless, he was never going to let Ruan Qingzhu walk away without repercussions. Although she hadntid a finger on them from the start until the end of this business, it didnt change the fact that she harbored malicious intentions from the moment sheid her eyes on this Arcane de and acted against theirmon interests. That she had brought three fellow disciples to their Arcane de was just the icing on the cake. She only had herself to me for the consequences of her actions.
To be fair, Ruan Qingzhu wouldve survived if Lu Ye was anyone else. He was the man who received the Gift of Providence though. It would seem that one of the benefits of the gift was special treatment from the Heavens themselves.
Are you really okay, Ye Six? Kitty Shen asked. She was still checking Lu Ye to see if he was truly okay.
No. Im tired, Lu Ye replied before sitting down on a nearby rock and setting down the Invible.
Although the battle wasnt long, he had used sh five times while under the effects of Combo. Judging from how swollen his right arm was, it would take him at least two to three days to recover.
This was Lu Yes first true battle since entering the Cloud River Battlefield. As he reyed the battle in his mind, he realized that he was probably strong enough to kill any average cultivator below the Fifth Order. Anyone who underestimated him because of his cultivation level would definitely pay the price.
He was aware of the strength disparity between Cloud River Realm cultivators. He could now confirm that the rumor was true.
In fact, he couldve killed the burly man without using his trump card. He just didnt want to drag out the fight unnecessarily and risk an unexpected ident.
You must tell me if you feel ufortable at all, okay Ye Six? This is no joking matter, Kitty Shen added worriedly even though Lu Ye was obviously fine.
Lu Ye shot her a nce and said, You should take care of yourself first.
Chapter 457: This Is My Sister
Chapter 457: This Is My Sister
After retaking the Arcane de, Lu Ye and Kitty Shen spent the next period of time resting. Kitty Shen especially needed the rest because the great battle had worsened her already serious injuries. Inparison, Lu Ye was only suffering from the aftereffects of using sh five times in a row. He recovered after just two days of rest.
Lu Ye reinstalled the wards as soon as he was ready. After the bad experience with Ruan Qingzhu, neither Kitty Shen nor him were keen on expanding their current roster despite the disadvantages they brought.
While Kitty Shen recuperated, Lu Ye focused on cultivating his power. He just couldnt shake the feeling that he was progressing slower than usual. It was because his experience with the Amulets had spoiled him. There was a poem that went something like this: Had I not seen the Sun / I could have borne the shade / But Light a newer Wilderness / My Wilderness has made. It was a perfect description of his current feelings.
He was well aware that impatience was the bane of cultivation, but he still couldnt stop himself from recalling the rush and exhration he felt when using the Amulets from time to time.
Kitty Shens condition improved over time. Recently, she had healed enough to walk outside.
Kitty Shens impression of Ye Six had drastically improved after the incident. At first, she thought that the young man was just a newbie First Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. However, not only had he ascended to the Second Order without her realizing, he had disyed the impressive ability to y enemies far above his cultivation level.
It was true that his opponents had ascended with less-than-perfect Spiritual Points, but it was no easy feat to defeat multiple foes who were two to three minor realms above ones cultivation level almost single handedly. This realization made her certain that he was pretty famous when he was still a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
What puzzled her was the fact that Ye Six had received no bacsh despite breaching the Sacred Pact by killing Ruan Qingzhu. It was all she could think about while being holed up in her dwelling for the past few days. No matter how hard she thought, she just could not find a loophole in her listed terms.
[Does he have some sort of special art that allowed him to hide from the Heavens scrutiny?]
While this meant that Ye Six could harm her one-sidedly if he wanted to, she wasnt too worried for her safety. If Ye Six wanted her dead, he couldve just left her to die back then. She hadnt known him for long, but she was fairly certain that he was a trustworthy man.
Five dayster, Kitty Shen personally cooked a meal for Lu Ye. It was both to celebrate their sess in retaking the Arcane de and to thank Lu Ye for getting revenge for her.
At the table, Kitty Shen could not stop drinking until she waspletely red-faced. For whatever reason, she looked incredibly happy today. Lu Ye did not have a problem with her being happy, but he did have a problem with her toasting him every time she downed a ss. Eventually, he chose to ignore her altogether and focus on the food in front of him.
Can I ask you something, Ye Six? Kitty Shen asked him drunkenly.
Sure.
Why didnt you tell me about your ns before attacking the Arcane de? Were you worried that I would be in danger?
Lu Ye shot her an incredulous look. He wanted to tell her, Are you serious? Considering your condition, you wouldve far more of a liability than an asset!
Before he could say anything though, the young womans head hit the table with a loud thud. He did not think it was possible for a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator to drink herself under the table, but here he was.
A whileter, after Lu Ye had fully satiated himself, he rose to his feet and pushed Kitty Shen lightly on the shoulder. The woman wavednguidly at him and muttered something he couldnt hear before falling silent once more.
Frowning, Lu Ye grabbed her by the waist before throwing her across his shoulder. Then, he carried her back into her dwelling like he was carrying a sack of potatoes. After tossing her onto her bed, he backed out of the room and locked all the doors behind him.
In the room, Kitty Shen abruptly opened her eyes. They looked bleary, but not so bleary that she couldnt have walked herself back to her bed. She smirked a little before muttering to herself, I hadnt misjudged him after all.
After she woke up at the cave, she found that her whole body including her private parts had been treated and bandaged meticulously. This bothered her greatly even though she told herself repeatedly that Ye Six had only done it to save her life. She was a woman after all. How could she not be bothered by her nude form being seen by a stranger, not to mention that she was at her most vulnerable at the time? He couldve vited her, and she wouldnt know because she waspletely unconscious at the time.
That was why she had drunk herself under the table on purpose. It was a little underhanded, but she wanted to test if Ye Six was the man he appeared to be.
It would seem that her worries were unfounded though. While Ye Six could stand to be more articte, he was overall a reliable man. She was now certain that he hadnt done anything untoward when he was treating her. Her smile grew wider.
In Lu Yes room, Yi Yi suddenly appeared out of Ambers body with an angry expression. She then sat in front of thebat cultivator and red at him fiercely.
Lu Ye asked in puzzlement, Whats wrong?
She did it on purpose! She erupted while puffing up her cheeks.
Youre going to have to borate on that.
She got drunk on purpose! She wasntpletely drunk either!
Surprise bloomed across Lu Yes features. How could you tell?
I just know, okay? Sheshe!
A red-faced Yi Yi clenched her tiny fists tightly like she wanted to punch something. It wasnt until a long time before she finally managed to say, She was trying to seduce you!
Really?
Yeah! Yi Yi nodded like a chick. You mustnt drink with another woman alone, okay Lu Ye? There are a lot of bad women out there! You need to protect yourself!
She added through gritted teeth after warning thebat cultivator. Dammit! I wouldve left her to die if I knew this would happen!
[Stupid, stupid me!]
Understood. I will watch myself in the future, Lu Ye said with a straight face. In his mind though, he thought sadly, [Dammit! I wouldve gone along with it if I knew that Kitty Shen was trying to seduce me! She is very busty!]
The next day, Lu Ye was cultivating and reading a book when suddenly, he heard an exmation of surprise from outside, Who are you!
The sounds of fighting immediately broke out after that.
Lu Ye rushed out of the door just in time to see Kitty Shen and Yi Yi standing a far distance away from each other. They were both wearing wary looks on their faces.
Lu Ye was surprised. Yi Yi usually kept herself hidden from strangers because she fancied herself as one of his trump cards, and trump cards should not reveal themselves willy-nilly. Most people did not even know that she existed besides their mutual acquaintances and close friends.
This was probably the first time she willingly revealed herself to another person. It was as ifst nights incident had lit a me in her.
Shes a spell cultivator, Ye Six! Kitty Shen yelled in warning, but she didnt look too worried. It was because she could tell from the brief exchange that Yi Yi was no match for her, much less Ye Six.
She couldnt figure out how the young girl had infiltrated the Arcane de though. Ye Six had been holding the Control Gem and keeping watch for the past few days since she was still injured. Moreover, he was the one who had set up all the wards. She could not believe that someone could slip through the ward without being detected by Ye Six.
Shes my sister, Ye Yi Yi, Lu Ye introduced while standing at the entrance. He changed her surname to fit with his own fake name.
At first, Kitty Shen thought he was joking. When she looked back and forth between the two and confirmed that he wasnt, she finally withdrew her hostility and chuckled awkwardly. Shes your sister? Sorry. I thought someone had infiltrated our Arcane de.
She then looked at Yi Yi and apologized, Sister Yi Yi, is it? Sorry for attacking you.
Humph!
To her surprise, Yi Yi let out an arrogant hmph before turning her back on her. She then walked straight into Lu Yes dwelling.
?
It would seem that Ye Yi Yi wasnt a very friendly girl, but Kitty Shen did not understand why she was acting so hostile. What confused even more was her presence in this Arcane de.
ording to the Sacred Pact, neither of them were allowed to reveal the Arcane des existence in private. Therefore, this girl should not be able to enter the Arcane de without triggering a bacsh. That obviously wasnt the case, however.
[How did he do it? Did Ye Six really have a way to avoid the Heavens scrutiny?]
During the next few days, Kitty Shen woulde to realize that she hadnt misjudged Ye Yi Yi in the slightest. Not only was she difficult to interact with, she could clearly sense a great amount of hostility from her. Sometimes they inevitably crossed each others path, and she would try to get acquainted with the young girl. Sometimes she would answer flippantly, and sometimes not at all.
There was a clue though. Ye Yi Yi was living under the same roof as Ye Six. When she discovered this, she realized that Ye Yi Yi probably wasnt Ye Sixs real sister. [No wonder she dislikes me so much.]
She made sure to avoid causing any more misunderstandings after that.
In the room, Lu Ye was advising Yi Yi seriously, I know you dont like her, Yi Yi, but you dont need to be so obvious about it. Were going to be living together for the foreseeable future, and youre practically treating her like shes the dirt beneath your feet.
So? Its my responsibility to keep you straight while Sister Hua Ci isnt around! Yi Yi argued unrepentantly.
What does this have to do with Hua Ci? Lu Ye rolled his eyes.
How could it not have EVERYTHING to do with Sister Hua Ci? Shes carrying your baby!
Lu Ye eximed in rm, What are you talking about? There is nothing between Hua Ci and I!
Bullshit! I heard the two of you as clear as day! Sister Hua Ci called you her childs dad, and you yed along with it! Yi Yi dered loudly while looking very pleased with herself.
Lu Ye let out a sorrowful sigh before looking out of the window. What the heck is keeping Ju Jia?
He had messaged Ju Jia since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield, and it had been almost twenty days since. However, the body-tempering cultivator was still nowhere to be seen. If he knew that Ju Jia was going to take so long, he wouldve just summoned a Divine Opportunity Column and had him teleport over from Jiu Zhou.
When a cultivator had imed ownership of an Arcane de, they were granted the right to summon a Divine Opportunity Column. However, it cost a lot of Contribution Points to do sotwenty thousand Contribution Points to be exactand it couldnt be taken away at ater date.
If the Arcane de was conquered,, then he would practically be giving away twenty thousand Contribution Points for free.
While the benefits were worth the costfor starters, they could use it to purchase items from the Vault of Providence or teleport back and forth from Jiu Zhouit was generally inadvisable to summon a Divine Opportunity Column in a small-sized Arcane de.
Generally speaking, only middle or big-sized Arcane des that could amodate dozens of cultivators or more had Divine Opportunity Columns not just because of the benefits, but also because the cost would be split among dozens of people. It would be much more affordable.
In Lu Ye and Kitty Shens case, it was aplete waste of Contribution Points to summon a Divine Opportunity Column no matter how you cut it.
There was no way to tell when the Arcane de would run out of Spiritual Power either. It couldst forever, or it could run out tomorrow. If that happens, then their investment would be totally wasted.
Since Yi Yi had revealed herself, Kitty Shen rarely left her house anymore. Sometimes, Lu Ye wouldnt see her for several days straight.
One day, the ground suddenly shook like there was an earthquake. It felt like thunder was rumbling beneath the earth or something.
Lu Ye thought that someone was attacking the Arcane de and rushed out of his house. However, he couldnt see anyone outside the ward.
The door beside him opened to reveal a voluptuous figure. Kitty Shen asked seriously, Whats happening?
Lu Ye shook his head to indicate that he didnt know either.
The abnormalitysted for a long time before it finally subsided. Then, Kitty Shen flew into the air and looked left and right as if she sensed something. A whileter, her excitement bloomed across her face as she cried, A fortuitous opportunity hasnded in ourps, Ye Six!
Chapter 458: The Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect
Chapter 458: The Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect
The Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Cloud River Battlefield and even Jiu Zhou were full of opportunities. It was up to the cultivator to stumble upon them.
The Spirit Creek Battlefield offered mostly inheritances, while the Cloud River Battlefield offered boons or artifacts that boosted ones power.
The Token of Providence event was one such opportunity. Iridescent clouds would rain Amulets at various corners of the Cloud River Battlefield almost everyday, and it was easily the most popr type of opportunity of them all. It was because the opportunity provided a solid reward while carrying a moderate amount of risk at worst.
Of course, the Token of Providence event wasnt the only form of opportunity that was avable in the Cloud River Battlefield. There were all kinds of Hidden Realms as well.
Lu Ye had visited a Hidden Realm once at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Lost City of Xianyuan. He had walked away with a massive amount of Soul Cleansing Water back then.
The Cloud River Battlefield offered far more Hidden Realms, however. For starters, some Hidden Realms always appeared at fixed times and at fixed locations. One could always find massive clumps of cultivators at these locations.
There were also Hidden Realms that could only be opened by fulfilling certain requirements, and Hidden Realms that appeared randomly at various corners of the Cloud River Battlefield. Those who happened to be at the right ce at the right time would be able to enter these Hidden Realms.
Right now, Lu Ye and Kitty Shen were standing side by side in the sky and looking at the horizon. Specifically, they were looking at a pir of light that stretched from the ground all the way to the clouds. It was so massive that they could clearly see even from several hundred kilometers away. They knew that the unusual tremors they felt earlier were probably caused by the pir of light.
What is that thing?
Although Lu Ye had purchased a basic information packet from the Divine Trade Association, it had only been less than twenty days since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. Naturally, he wasnt nearly as knowledgeable and experienced as Kitty Shen.
Im pretty sure its a Hidden Realm, though its impossible to say what it is until we get closer. Its always a treasure trove of opportunities and rewards though.
Lets go then.
But the Arcane de
We can afford to leave it behind. The concealment ward will hide it from most prying eyes, and on the off chance we were unlucky, we can just take it back from our enemies.
Lu Ye looked down and beckoned Yi Yi and Amber to follow him. After they were ready, he summoned his Spirit Boat and flew straight toward the pir of light.
Seeing as Ye Six had made up his mind, Kitty Shen had no choice but to follow him. It wasnt a difficult choice to make anyway. She herself was highly interested in the pir of light. The reason she even hesitated was because she was reluctant to give up the Arcane de. As most cultivators cultivated by inhaling World Spiritual Qi, a stable Arcane de was considered more valuable than even a stack of Amulets. Even if the Arcane de was only an above average Tertius-level Arcane de, it did not change the fact that it was a major time-saver.
On the other hand, Lu Ye did not really care for Arcane des. They were great but not essential to him as inhaling World Spiritual Qi was not his main cultivation method. In fact, he mightve abandoned it altogether if Ruan Qingzhu hadnt robbed him via deception and betrayal.
They already knew that the pir of light was pretty far from their location when they saw it for the first time, but it was at least one to two hundred kilometers away. By the time they arrived, the pir of light had already transformed into a screen of light that was only thirty or so meters tall.
The screen of light was as colorful as it was unstable. One could even catch glimpses of scenery if they looked closely. There were treacherous mountain ranges, unknown cultivators, and all kinds of birds and animals.
Lu Ye and Kitty Shen were not the first cultivators to arrive at the scene. A big group of cultivators was already standing around the screen of light and examining the scenes intently.
Lu Ye checked out his surroundings for a bit. Roughly two to three hundred cultivators were already present at the scene, and more were flooding in from every direction as time passed. Their power level was also wildly different. There were newbie First or Second Order cultivators just like him, and there were veteran Eighth to Ninth Order cultivators.
Suddenly, Lu Yes gaze became affixed to a certain person. She was an indifferent woman wearing a purple dress.
As if sensing his gaze, the woman turned around and met his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before she gave him a nod and looked away. Lu Ye also looked away as if nothing was amiss.
He hadnt expected to meet her again so soon, but such was life.
Be on guard, Ye Six. This is arge-sized Hidden Realm! Kitty Shen said suddenly while Lu Ye was still checking his surroundings. Her scent smelled like flowers as she moved closer.
How can you tell?
This is not the first time Ive entered this type of Hidden Realm. I can tell you right now that the world is almostplex enough to be real. Moreover, each and every one of us will be granted an identity when were inside.
An identity? By who?
The Heavens, of course!
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. Anything that the Heavens had a hand in had never been simple, and this revtion spurred his curiosity even more than it already was. Assuming he wasnt mistaken, he, someone who had been chosen to receive the Gift of Providence, would enjoy some special treatment when he entered this Hidden Realm.
What should we do after were inside?
Something that fits our identity most likely. Thest time I entered a Hidden Realm, I was a spy tasked to infiltrate an enemy sect. My objective was to steal their greatest relic.
That must be an exciting adventure.
Dont remind me. I was this close from dying in the Hidden Realm. I seeded in the end though! She dered proudly.
What did you get for seeding?
Well, the sect rewarded me with a lot of cultivation resources including a handful of Amulets.
Lu Yes motivation immediately skyrocketed. Right now, there was nothing more desirable to him than the Amulets.
By the way, Im not sure if well remain together after we go inside, and youre only a Second Order cultivator right now. No matter what identity youre granted after we head inside, you must n and act with caution, alright? Also,munication through the Battlefield Imprint is still possible in the Hidden Realm, so just message me if we were separated, and you need to ask me about anything.
Gotcha.
Time continued to pass as more and more cultivators converged on this location. Less than half a dayter, the number of cultivators standing within five kilometers of the Hidden Realm had exceeded six hundred.
At first nce, it did not look like a particrlyrge group. However, this was the Cloud River Battlefield, not the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Not only was the battlefield multiple timesrger than the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the cultivators were more scattered as well. That over six hundred cultivators had gathered around the Hidden Realm in such a short time showed just how attractive it was.
There was no fighting even though some of them had to be enemies. They were here for the Hidden Realm, and it made no sense to cause trouble before they even went inside.
It was at this moment the screen of light abruptly transformed into an oval-shaped door of light. The disturbances gradually subsided into nothing as well. On the other side of the doory a beautiful scenery. It was almost as if they were peeking into another world.
We can go in now! Someone yelled suddenly. The next moment, countless cultivators began rushing through the door in groups or two or three. The number of cultivators waiting outside the door steadily decreased as time passed.
Lu Ye, Yi Yi and Kitty Shen waited patiently for their turn. When it was time, they went through the door of light together.
A wave of dizziness assaulted Lu Yes mind the second he passed through the door. At the same time, an enormous amount of information began flooding into his mind. It felt very simr to when he was receiving a Glyph from the Tree of Glyphs.
His mind became muddled instantly. He had to fight to keep himself conscious as he sorted out the information that was pumped into his brain.
The Myriad Beast Domain was a world where cultivators and Spirit Beasts lived together in harmony. As the number of Spirit Beasts residing in this world far exceeded that of Jiu Zhous, there were far more Beast Tamers as well. Therge majority of cultivators were well-versed in the Way of Beast Taming. They were often raised together with a Spirit Beast so that thetter would be their Chosen Beast when they were older.
Due to the limitations of the world itself, the highest cultivation level one could reach in the Myriad Beast Domain was the Cloud River Realm. No one had ever broken through the limits and reached the Real Lake Realm.
The Myriad Beast Domain was a peaceful and harmonious world. Although there were asional conflicts, they were never severe enough to affect the stability of the world itself.
Things began to change a year ago, however. An inexplicable rabies had started to spread in the Myriad Beast Domain like crazy. Although the rabies only affected cultivators, any Spirit Beast that were infected by it would be extremely bloodthirsty and uncontroble.
The disease was a world-ending threat for the Myriad Beast Domain as Beast Taming was their most popr cultivation faction. Not only did it massively weaken the Beast Tamers, some Spirit Beasts were so far gone that they attacked and killed the master they had grown up with.
It didnt take long for things to fall into chaos. In just a year, the Myriad Beast Domain was turned upside down, and nearly all Beast Tamer sects had been destroyed by the disease. What was once a peaceful and harmonious world fell intoplete disarray, and the remaining Beast Taming sectsless than two dozen of them were left at this point of timeformed an alliance to fight against the endless horde of infected Spirit Beasts.
If even they were unable to hold back the maddened Spirit Beasts, then it was only a matter of time before the Cultivation World itself was destroyed. When that happened, the Myriad Beasts Domain would truly be a world of Spirit Beasts only. The Humans would not have a ce in this world any longer.
Currently, the cultivators of these sects were concentrated in the city known as Bndia. Plenty of mortals were living in the city as well. They represented the remaining Humans in all of Myriad Beasts Domain.
Naturally, the crazed Spirit Beasts had set their eyes on this final bastion of humanity.
Lu Ye opened his eyes when he finally sorted out all of the information inside his brain. When he heard the sound of passing air and saw the scenery around him moving past him at high speed, he realized he was sitting on a Middle Grade flying Spirit Artifact that could fit between three to five people.
Multiple fragrant scents entered his nose. He could tell that they belonged to multiple women.
Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him, Ye Six!
He turned his head. Kitty Shens beautiful face entered his view. It would seem that she hadnt been separated from him.
There were two other women on the flying Spirit Artifact. One of them was a stranger, and the other was none other than the woman in purple dress he spotted earlier, Lan Ziyi.
Lu Ye rubbed his temple as three pairs of eyes looked down on him. He was starting to feel a headache already.
This was the first time he entered a Hidden Realm like this, and it would seem that Kitty Shen was right. ording to the information that was pumped into his brain, he was the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect in this world!
The Heavens really did give him special treatment. He highly doubted that such a useful identity would be handed out willy-nilly to a Second Order cultivator like him if he hadnt received the Gift of Providence. Kitty Shen, Lan Ziyi and the stranger were all his attendants in this Hidden Realm.
Chapter 459: I’m Just Lucky
Chapter 459: Im Just Lucky
A sense of unrealism grew inside his mind as Lu Ye stared at the three women in front of him.
He was fully aware that he was Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, but he was equally aware that he was the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect in this world!
The Myriad Beasts Sect was the strongest sect in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain. Before the Spirit Beasts had gone mad from the disease, the Myriad Beasts Sect was without question the ruling sect of the entire Cultivation World. All factions in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain must answer to them.
Unfortunately, all Beast Taming sects suffered greatly after the disease spread, and the Myriad Beasts Sect was no exception. They managed tost longer than most thanks to their deep and all-epassing roots, but in the end, even they werent able to prevent their sect from being destroyed.
Three days ago, countless Spirit Beasts had attacked their headquarters and overwhelmed them. At least seventy percent of their people including the sect master himself had perished in battle.
The survivors were scattered, but they had already made ns to seek refuge at Bndia should the unthinkable happen. Lu Yes group of four was one of them. Currently, they were still over half a day away from the city.
Lu Ye was feeling a bit miffed. While there was no denying the value of his identityhe was the Young Master of a sect that once ruled the world after allhis sect had been destroyed three days ago. In other words, his value had greatly diminished.
The sour taste in his mouth lessened when he looked at Lan Ziyi and the others, however. At least he wasnt forced to serve another person.
Yi Yi and Amber were nowhere to be seen, so he immediately sent Yi Yi a message and asked her how they were doing. A whileter, the girl replied saying that Amber was currently in a city right now, and that they were in a prison. There were countless other Spirit Beasts in the prison as well.
Yi Yi wasnt sure about their exact circumstances, but she didnt dare to act rashly because the prison trapping them was extremely resilient. Amber was unable to break free on its own.
[A city, she said]
Bndia was the only safe city left in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain. Therefore, Yi Yi and Amber were most likely in Bndia.
Lu Ye told Yi Yi to continue lying low and wait for him. The girl had no qualms with the n of course.
Watch out! A cry suddenly shook him out of his reverie. It came from the unfamiliar woman. Not a second too soon, he felt a terrific impact from the nk of the flying Spirit Artifact.
Lu Ye hurriedly looked around. A dozen or so massive creatures had surrounded them before he knew it. They were Spirit Beasts of all shapes and sizes. Their sickly red eyes marked them as infected, and they were attacking the Middle Grade flying Spirit Artifact they were sitting on like crazy. In the blink of an eye, their transport was shattered to pieces.
All four cultivators hurriedly brought out their own flying Spirit Artifacts and flew away. As if on cue, the flying Spirit Artifact exploded into a million pieces.
On his Spirit Boat, Lu Ye unleashed his nine flying weapons and attacked the Spirit Beast closest to him. His attendants were sting away with their spells and flying weapons as well.
The Spirit Beasts werent weak, but they werent so strong that Lu Yes group werepletely helpless either. One by one, the Spirit Beasts were in until none were left.
Of the four of them, the unfamiliar woman was the one who contributed the most to the battle. It was because her cultivation level was the highest of all of them. Assuming he wasnt mistaken, she was at least an Eighth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, if not higher!
What really concerned Lu Ye though, was the fact that Lan Ziyi was a Second Order Cloud River Realm cultivator already. The only reason he was able to ascend to the Second Order so quickly was because he had obtained a lot of Amulets as ofte. It must have been the case for Lan Ziyi as well.
Infinite Ind certainly wasnt sparing any effort to cultivate Lan Ziyi. There was no way she could match his cultivation speed otherwise.
He was still thinking when the unfamiliar woman spoke up, Lets introduce ourselves. It looks like were going to have to travel together for the foreseeable future.
The Heavens had clearly intended for them to act together as a group. Otherwise, she wouldve left from the get go. From her perspective, Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi were way too weak to be of any help, and even Kitty Shen just barely met her expectations as a Fifth Order cultivator. Even so, it made no sense that the Heavens would lump them together unless they had a specific purpose in mind.
Im Ye Six, Lu Ye reported his nickname. He did not provide anything else.
Kitty Shen.
Lan Zi Yi.
The Ninth Order cultivator nodded and said, Xia Qianqian!
That was that. From the start, Lu Ye had pretended as if he did not recognize Kitty Shen or Lan Ziyi. It was the same for Kitty Shen. As far as Xia Qianqian was aware, they were four strangers who had never met each other until now.
Now that were introduced, please tell me your objectives next. The identities we are granted usuallye with certain objectives that we are expected to fulfill, Xia Qianqian exined before looking at Lu Ye. Lets start with you. What is your objective?
Lu Ye took a moment to think before looking at his right hand. On his thumb was a jade ring that he was one hundred percent sure did not exist until he entered the Hidden Realm. Realizing what his objective was, he gave the thumb ring a wave before answering, My objective is to seek out the ruler of Bndia and buy the survivors of the Myriad Beasts Sect a ce in the city with our remaining wealth.
That was his mission as the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect.
The jade thumb ring was both a valuable storage item and the proof of Lu Yes identity.
What about you three? Lu Ye threw the question back to the girls.
My objective is to protect you, Kitty Shen was the first to answer.
Same, Lan Ziyi said next in an indifferent tone.
Xia Qianqian didnt even bother to answer him, but Lu Ye could see from her faint smile that her objective was probably the same as the rest of the girls.
It would seem that his group was made up of the former first runner-up of the Scroll of Supremacy, the ally he had signed a Sacred Pact with, and a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. It wasnt a particrly powerful group, but it certainly wasnt the weakest either. In fact, Lu Ye was fairly certain that they were strong enough to handle most of the problems they might face in this Hidden Realm.
He was beginning to feel the Heavens favor more and more.
I wonder what you did to be favored so obviously by the Heavens, young cultivator, Xia Qianqian started with a meaningful look, Ive entered this type of Hidden Realms many times already, but this is the first time I encountered a fellow cultivator who was granted such an important identity from the get go, not to mention you get to enjoy being protected by three gorgeous attendants.
I dont know. Maybe Im just lucky? Lu Ye replied with a raised eyebrow.
Xia Qianqian let out a deadpan chuckle but did not push further on the subject. Shen then looked at Lu Yes thumb ring with sudden interest and asked, Can you open the ring and show us its contents? I want to see what kind of good stuff it has.
I dont think I should do that should I? Lu Ye hesitated. After all, his objective was to offer the goods in this ring to the ruler of Bndia and buy the Myriad Beasts Sect a ce to stay. Naturally, there must be a lot of valuables in the ring.
Im not asking you to give us the stuff. I just want to take a look at it! Xia Qianqian urged.
Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi were looking at him expectantly as well.
A few secondster, Lu Ye gave in to his own temptation and nodded. Fine. Just a look, nothing more
He tried channeling his Spiritual Power into the ring but could not elicit a response from it. He said, It has a Restraining Lock. Let me see if I can unlock it before inspecting the locks structure.
Lu Ye was quite confident in his ability to lockpick most Restraining Locks, but the oue of his inspection surprised him. The Restraining Lock was far moreplex than he had initially imagined.
A whileter, he shook his head and said, Its too tough. I cant open it.
He could force it open, but it would almost certainly result in the destruction of its contents. All three women withdrew their gazes in disappointment.
Xia Qianqian said dejectedly, Forget it. It is an item from the Heavens. I shouldve known it wouldnt be so easy to unlock.
Kitty Shen spoke up, Sister Xia, youre the strongest of all of us, and you said it yourself that youve visited this type of Hidden Realms many times. Is there anything you can teach us? Im sure it would save us some trouble down the line.
She was saying this for Lu Ye and Lan Ziyis sake. It was obvious that Lu Ye and Lan Ziyitwo Second Order cultivatorshad next to no experience with Hidden Realms.
Xia Qianqian replied, I dont really have anything to say. No Hidden Realm is exactly the same as the other. Therefore, something that applies to one Hidden Realm might not apply to another Hidden Realm. That said, there is something you should all remember: everything in this Hidden Realm is real, and every event youre about to experience has happened in the past.
Lu Ye frowned. What do you mean by that?
Xia Qianqian smiled. I mean exactly what I said.
Lu Ye turned thoughtful. Let me get this straight. Youre saying that everything were about to experienceare experiencing right nowhas happened before, Fellow Cultivator Xia?
Exactly!
But how could you tell?
I cant prove it, mind you, but it is what it is. Back in the day I was just as skeptical as you, but over time I came to realize the truth. Youll understand once youve experienced enough Hidden Realms like myself. Once upon a time, there was probably a Myriad Beasts Domain that was destroyed by a great cmity. Somehow, the Heavens were able to transform that dead world into a Hidden Realm and made it appear in the Cloud River Battlefield from time to time for us. Anyway, youll learn that there are Hidden Realms of all kinds in the Cloud River Battlefield.
If what you say is true, and the Myriad Beasts Domain was destroyed a long time ago, then how do you exin the remains of the Spirit Beasts we just killed? They sure look real to me
You say that, but you dont actually know if they are Spirit Beasts, do you? It could be a construct or an illusion the Heavens have created to fool us, and were just not strong enough to see through it.
Xia Qianqians answer only confused Lu Ye more. He was going to ask another question when she cut him off, Enough. I didnt bring this up to have an hour-long discussion with you. I just want to tell you that the Heavens are unfathomable, and that dying here is the same as dying a true death! Perhaps we might figure out the truth of the world when weve reached the Divine Ocean Realm, but for now we just do as the Heavens say, understand? You know the saying. Obey the Heavens, and good things are sure to follow.
Unbeknownst to Xia Qianqian, her words had struck a chord in Lu Yes mind.
[The truth of the world.]
He had heard this term once. The true dragon that was suppressed beneath the Dragon Spring had said it to him. It had told him to seek him out after finding out the truth of the world.
If what he was seeing right now wasnt the truth of the world, then what was?
Chapter 460: Bilandia
Chapter 460: Bndia
The group encountered a couple more waves of Spirit Beasts on their way to Bndia, but they were able to defeat them all easily. Lu Ye and Lan Ziyis performance in particr were exceptional considering their cultivation level, so much so that even Xia Qianqian was a bit surprised. After all, there werent many Second Order cultivators who could fight as well as them at all. She herself was a much lousier cultivator when she was at their level.
She knew then that they must have been quite famous when they were at the Spirit Creek Realm. She strongly suspected that they were among the top twenty or even the top ten rankers on the Scroll of Supremacy.
Over half a day of travelter, Bndia finally emerged from the horizon. It was a gigantic city that nearly stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. Not only were the walls over seventy meters tall, they were thick and glimmering a little. It was obvious they had been empowered with spells that made them tougher and more resistant to impact.
Bndia was thergest and final bastion of the Human race of the Myriad Beasts Domain. Without exaggeration, over half of the remaining Humans in the entire Cultivation World resided in this city. Those who werent were making their way toward Bndia as well.
If the city was destroyed, then there would be no ce left for humanity in the Myriad Beast Domain. Annihtion and even extinction would be their final fate.
When the group of four arrived, a man immediately rose from the walls and called out to them, Who are you?
The man wore a set of shiny armor and wielded a long de. His expression was stern, and there were bloodstains on the armor despite its shiny appearance. Judging from the fact that he was bubbling with killing intent, it was clear that he had just fought a battle.
Looking at the ground beneath the walls, they saw a lot of cultivators casting spells to burn away small heaps of Spirit Beast carcasses. The acrid stench could be smelled from kilometers away.
Lu Ye responded loudly, It is I, Ye Six of the Myriad Beasts!
The Myriad Beasts Sect! The man straightened his expression as he looked Lu Ye up and down. Who is Ye Wushuang to you?
[Ye Wushuang thats the sect master of the Myriad Beasts Sect!]
The information shed across Lu Yes mind as he forced himself to answer, He is my father!
So youre the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect! The man sped his hand and gave him a respectful bow.
The Myriad Beasts Sect was the strongest sect in the world. It might be gone, but its influence hadnt fully dissipated.
If you dont mind me asking, how is your sect faring? The man asked again.
Lu Ye faked a sorrowful expression and shook his head. He did not say anything because there was no need.
You have my deepest condolences, Young Master Ye! The man let out a sigh before beckoning him to follow. Please follow me into the city!
Thank you!
Lu Ye and the others followed the man into the city. The airspace of Bndia was rife with cultivators, and the ground even more so. Practically every crook and cranny of the city was filled with people. Even the streets were filled with mortals who managed to escape to the city, but had no ce to stay. Barely anyone was wearing a smile on their faces, and why would they? They had lost their homes after all.
Cultivators at least possessed the ability to fight back against the cmity besetting them, but the mortals neither their fate nor their life was in their hands.
Still, these mortals were the lucky ones. After all, they ultimately managed to escape to the city and survive. There were countless others who did not make it, and the blood they bled was enough to create an entire sea.
Despite knowing that this was a Hidden Realm, the group could not help but feel sorry for these people. There was simply nothing these people could do when the world itself was sliding toward the end.
What do we do now? Kitty Shen asked.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before replying, Lets exchange Battlefield Imprints before splitting up. Fellow Cultivator Xia, please apany me to the rulers residence. Fellow Cultivator Shen and Fellow Cultivator Lan, I would ask you to look around and gather information while were gone.
Since everyone was okay with the n, they quickly exchanged Battlefield Imprints and split up.
While Lu Ye was leading Xia Qianqian toward the rulers residence, the woman spoke up, It looks like youve noticed it.
What are you referring to exactly, Fellow Cultivator Xia?
Im referring to the fact that these people arent giving you the treatment or respect you deserve considering your status. You wouldnt have asked me to apany you otherwise.
So, youve noticed it as well?
If these people truly respected you, Bndia shouldve arranged someone to escort you to their rulers residence. You were the Young Master of the strongest sect in the world after all. Instead, the guy who brought us in left us to our devices as soon as he brought us in. Its pretty clear what Bndia thinks of you, no?
Thats normal. No matter what the Myriad Beasts Sect used to be in the past, it is gone now. Why would anyone give a damn about the young master of a destroyed sect? Not only that, I can tell you that Bndia and the Myriad Beasts Sect werent very close to begin with.
Do exin.
If the Myriad Beasts Sect and Bndia were close, the Myriad Beasts Sect wouldve sent methat is, their Young Masterto Bndia a long time ago. They wouldnt have waited until the Spirit Beasts had destroyed their headquarters. Beast Tamers might be the biggest cultivation faction in this world, but that doesnt mean that the other factions are useless. If the Myriad Beasts Sect is the greatest representative of the Beast Taming faction, then Bndia is probably the greatest representative of the other factions. That is why Bndia ultimately became their final refuge after the Spirit Beasts had gone mad.
Xia Qianqian nodded thoughtfully. That makes sense. To be honest with you, I hadnt thought that far. It looks like good luck isnt the only thing you have, you have a good head on your shoulders as well. I can see now why the Heavens have bestowed you your identity.
Lu Ye wanted to tell her no, it really was just because he was lucky. His luck had improved tremendously since he received the Gift of Providence. He held back though.
That is why you should be ready for anythingter, Senior Sister Xia. We arent just here to seek refuge. Were also here to do our part to ensure the continuation of the Human race.
Xia Qianqian smiled. Now my shoulders feel heavy.
While they were conversing, they had reached the edge of the pce at the center of the massive city. Before they could do anything else, someone shouted, Get down! No one is allowed to fly above the lords residence!
Flying wasnt forbidden in Bndia, but the airspace above the rulers residence was considered a forbidden zone. It was considered disrespectful not just to the ruler, but also Bndia itself.
Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian obeyed themand andnded in front of the entrance. They saw a lot of panicked-looking cultivators waiting for their turn to speak with the ruler.
What is your purpose for visiting the lord? The cultivator who yelled for them tond earlier asked impatiently while striding toward them.
Lu Ye sped his hand and said, I am Ye Six of the Myriad Beasts Sect. I havee to speak with your ruler.
That so? The guy replied indifferently, You can fall in line with the rest then. Everyone here is here to meet with the lord as well.
It was as if he hadnt heard the word Myriad Beasts Sect.
The man was about to leave when Xia Qianqian abruptly released her Spiritual Power. He immediately stopped in his tracks and turned toward her with an incredulous look on his face. He asked uncertainly, Are you at the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm?
The Myriad Beasts Domain was fairly smallpared to Jiu Zhou. In fact, it was only as big as the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Limited by the size of the world, the highest power they could reach was the Ninth Order of the Cloud River Realm.
The ruler of Bndia and the sect master of the Myriad Beasts Sect were at the Ninth Order as well.
In Jiu Zhou, it wasnt difficult to reach the Ninth Order of the Cloud River Realm. They simply needed a sufficient amount of cultivation resources.
That was not the case for the cultivators of the Myriad Beast Domain. As soon as they reached the Cloud River Realm, ascending the minor realms became as difficult as scaling the highest peaks as a mortal. That was why there werent many Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators in this world, and each one was regarded as the greatest champion of humanity.
Naturally, Xia Qianqians disy of power immediately drew the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
Xia Qianqian asked indifferently, Can you please tell the ruler that the Young Master of Myriad Beasts Domain hase to see him?
It was only then the man nodded. Please give me a moment!
He then ran into the pce.
He could ignore Lu Ye because The Myriad Beasts Domain was already destroyed, but the same could not be said for a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Lu Ye gave Xia Qianqian a thumbs-up. At the same time, he was beginning to understand why the Heavens had arranged a Ninth Order cultivator to be his attendant.
Xia Qianqian was one of the strongest cultivators in this Cultivation World. Her mere presence could grease the wheels so to speak.
A whileter, the man returned while looking much more respectful than before. He sped his fist at Lu Ye and said, Young Master Ye. This way please.
He nodded and led Xia Qianqian into the pce. A short whileter, they entered a side building and saw the lord of Bndia.
The lord of Bndia was an incredibly old man whose hair had turnedpletely white. Even his presence smelled faintly of rot. He was sitting on a chair and watching Lu Ye indifferently with a cup of tea in his hand.
Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian stopped in front of the ruler before Lu Ye greeted, Good day, sir.
The old man nodded before shooting Xia Qianqianshe was currently standing a step behind Lu Yea seemingly innocuous nce. While stroking his beard, he said, Time flies. You were just a kid thest time I saw you. To think you would be a young man already. I have heard of the Myriad Beast Sects unfortunate downfall, and you have my deepest condolences.
Considering my long-time rtionship with your father, I am d that you would choose to join me. My city is your home, and you are free to stay for as long as you like. That said, you may have noticed that Bndia is overcrowded right now. I am sorry, but I will not be able to offer you and your people better living conditions so to speak. You will have to bear with it for the moment.
I am fine with this arrangement, sir, Lu Ye said before removing his jade thumb ring. He set it down on the table beside the old man and said, This is the gift my father had prepared for you before he saw me off!
The old man epted the ring and, for the first time since they entered the room, looked visibly more spirited than before. He nodded. You have my thanks.
He waved a hand and called out, Ah Si!
Milord, a thin, bizarre-looking man answered while stepping out from the shadows. He was covered in colorful, bizarre-looking tattoos.
Take them to their amodations, will you?
As youmand, the man said before beckoning Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian to follow. Please, follow me.
The man named Ah Si led them out of the pce before rising into the air. He brought them all the way to the outer edge of Bndia before he finallynded.
A whileter, they arrived at a detached house. Ah Si pointed at the door and said, This is where youll be staying for the time being.
Thank you for your trouble.
Ah Si quickly left them after that.
Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian exchanged nces with each other before pushing the door open.
Chapter 461: Intel
Chapter 461: Intel
The house was pretty small, and it didnt have many rooms either. It was big enough to amodate four people though.
Bndia was absolutely jam-packed with people right now, but the ruler had still given them a detached house. It was because of Lu Yes gift, of course. Without the thumb ring, there was no way the lord would have offered them an eptable amodation.
While Xia Qianqian was inspecting the rooms, Lu Ye took the opportunity to inform Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi of their current location. He also messaged Yi Yi and asked her if she was still doing okay.
Nothing much had happened on Yi Yi and Ambers side. The poor Spirit Beast was still trapped in its cage and yearning for release though.
Less than an incense stickter, Kitty Shen and Lan Zi Yi arrived one after another. In a room, they sat in a circle and began swapping intel with one another.
Lu Ye said, Now that weve settled down properly in Bndia, does anyone have any idea what we should do next? One thing is for certain, were going to have to fight against the maddened Spirit Beasts eventually.
Xia Qianqian nodded in agreement. You are right, but there is more. Generally speaking, a Hidden Realm like this expects us to solve the crisis at hand. That is why fighting the Spirit Beasts isnt the only thing well be doing. Were also expected to find out the true reason the Spirit Beasts became sick and solve the root of the problem. Only then can we save the world.
Save the world? Kitty Shen eximed in disbelief, Thats a little much, dont you think?
As I have said earlier, everything were experiencing has already happened in the past. The real Myriad Beast Domain shouldve been destroyed a long time ago. It is just that the Heavens are somehow making us relive its past and even enabling us to change the course of history per se. Of course, the Myriad Beasts Domain isnt going toe back to life even if we did manage to save the world, but we will be rewarded handsomely for our efforts. Ill grant you that this trial isnt easy, but dont forget that there are others who have entered the Hidden Realm. Were not expected to change the fate of the world single handedly.
Lu Ye nodded. Lets swap intel. What did you find, Fellow Cultivator Shen?
Kitty Shen replied, Not much. I only found out that a lot of Jiu Zhou cultivators have entered Bndia, and just like us they are all here to seek refuge. Some of them were also granted special identities and are currently employed in various positions throughout the city. On the subject of Spirit Beasts, the reason Bndia became the final bastion of humanity is because most of their cultivators do not practice beast taming, but of course there are still some Spirit Beasts in the city. They are just held in captivity right now. Currently, Bndia is still undecided if they should preserve the Spirit Beasts or kill them all.
Where are they being held? Lu Ye asked hurriedly.
Unless he was gravely mistaken, Amber must be imprisoned in the same location. Preferably, he would like to rescue Amber before Bndia had arrived at a decision.
Theyre currently being held in a beast prison to the east of the city. It used to be a marketce where Spirit Beasts were traded until the disease spread.
Xia Qianqian frowned deeply. The entire reason the Myriad Beasts Domain is facing annihtion is because of the rabies, right? What possible reason is there to keep these Spirit Beasts alive?
Its because Beast Taming is the main cultivation faction of this Cultivation World. Most of the refugees are Beast Tamers, and a good number of them have either lost their Chosen Beasts in battle or to the rabies. Without their Spirit Beasts, they are much weaker than your average cultivator. That is why they havent killed these Spirit Beasts. At the very least, itll restore the Beast Tamers strength.
That doesnt change my question. Arent they afraid that these Spirit Beasts will catch the rabies and destroy them from the inside out?
There are very clear symptoms when a Spirit Beast catches the disease.
Xia Qianqian eximed in realization, I see. Gotcha.
What about you, Fellow Cultivator Lan? Lu Ye turned to Lan Ziyi next.
Lan Ziyi wordlessly dropped a pitch ck identity pass on the table. She then said, I went to look for the citys recruitment department and quartermaster department. I was able to obtain this identity pass from the recruitment department. Since were taking refuge in Bndia, were expected to take orders from the city.
What do we get for our services? Kitty Shen asked curiously.
The pass can be used to send messages and record battle points. Battle points can be used to exchange for all sorts of cultivation resources, Lan Ziyi paused for a second before continuing, This includes Amulets of all qualities as well!
Everyone perked up when they heard this. The trials in a Hidden Realm offered not just training opportunities, but also incredible rewards. In the Cloud River Battlefield, most of the rewards were cultivation resources. Before this, Lu Ye was puzzled because he was treated to the full scale of the risks one might encounter in the Myriad Beasts Domain, but not the rewards. If he didnt know better, he wouldve thought that hiding in a safe ce and waiting out the Hidden Realm to be a reasonable option, much less everyone else.
Now he knew that the Heavens had, in fact, arranged it all.
A whileter, Lu Ye, Xia Qianqian and Kitty Shen left the house and flew toward Bndia recruitment department following Lan Ziyis instructions. Lan Ziyi stayed behind in case someone decided to take over their home while they were gone.
There was a long queue outside the recruitment department when they arrived. They were cultivators who hade from every corner of the Myriad Beast Domain to join Bndia. Some of them were true natives of the world, but some were obviously Jiu Zhou cultivators.
The good news was that they didnt need to wait long for their turn. They were just registering their identities to receive an identity pass after all. It was neither a time-consuming nor aplicated process.
Lu Ye gave the name Ye Six when it was finally his turn. He received an identity pass after the cultivator at the counter was done registering his name. It looked just the same as Lan Ziyis identity pass.
Lu Ye took a moment to connect his mind to the pass. It contained his name, his background and his battle point.
To his surprise, his battle points were over thirty instead of zero. After hemunicated with Kitty Shen and Xia Qianqian, he discovered that their battle points werent zero either. Xia Qianqian in particr had over seventy battle points.
I think its because we killed those Spirit Beasts on our way here, Xia Qianqian guessed.
That had to be it. The Heavens were the ones recording the points, so there was no chance this could be a mistake. Xia Qianqians battle points were the highest since she had killed the most amount of Spirit Beasts on their way here.
Lets visit the quartermaster department next, Lu Ye suggested.
The quartermaster department was just next door, and there were a lot of cultivators here as well. Most of them were made up of Jiu Zhou cultivators though. Judging from the grins on their faces, it was clear that there was a lot of good stuff.
A short whileter, the trio received a jade slip from an attendant. It recorded all the cultivation resources one could exchange from the department and their price.
A thorough checkter, Lu Ye discovered that the quartermaster department offered not just a wide variety of cultivation resources, but a massive stock as well. Almost everything that a Cloud River Realm cultivator could use could be found here. He could not help but be impressed by how wealthy the Myriad Beasts Domain was.
Then again, the Heavens were masterminding things behind the scenes. Theoretically, they could create as many cultivation resources as they wanted.
Lu Ye had good reason to believe that these items came from the Vault of Providence though. After all, the Vault of Providence was famous for having anything and everything a cultivator might want. It would make sense that the items in this quartermaster department really came from the Vault of Providence.
What really caught Lu Yes attention were the Amulets. As far as he could tell, the prices were very fair. White Amulets cost two hundred a piece, Green Amulets cost six hundred a piece, Blue Amulets cost one thousand and eight hundred, Purple Amulets cost five thousand and four hundred, and Gold Amulets cost sixteen thousand and two hundred.
It was almost the same price as the Amulets would have been in Contribution Points. To make aparison, Lu Ye had spent a little over two hundred Contribution Points to purchase the White Amulets.
This was an opportunity for all the cultivators who entered this Hidden Realm. In the real world, they could not have purchased as many Amulets as they wanted even if they could afford the Contribution Point cost. It took some luck to get the Amulets you wanted in Amulet auctions as well.
But here in the Myriad Beast Domain, they could exchange as many Amulets as they wanted as long as they had the battle points, and battle points could be rued as simply as killing the maddened Spirit Beasts. That was the one thing the Hidden Realm did notck right now!
It would seem that the rumors were right. The Hidden Realms really were golden opportunities for Cloud River Realm cultivators. They would not have obtained such a good deal on the Cloud River Battlefield.
Lu Yes observation was shared by many other cultivators. Already, some cultivators were forming teams and getting ready to hunt down some Spirit Beasts.
There were a lot of maddened Spirit Beasts in the outskirts of Bndia. Lu Ye had seen some of their corpses at the foot of the wall when they first arrived.
What do you say, Fellow Cultivator Ye? Xia Qianqian asked Lu Ye with an expectant look on her face.
Technically, she could dump Lu Ye and hunt down the Spirit Beasts on her own. However, the Heavens had specifically tasked her to protect Lu Ye. Therefore, the decision to head out was ultimately in Lu Yes hands. If he agreed, then all was well. If he refused, then she would have to hold back no matter how much she loathed the decision. Thest thing she wanted to happen was the Heavens punishing her for abandoning her responsibility.
Instead of giving her an answer straight away, Lu Ye said, Why dont you girls head back first? I have a private matter I need to settle.
After he bade them goodbye, he flew to the eastern section of the city.
He had to ask a couple of passersby for directions on the way, but he was ultimately able to find the ce where the Spirit Beasts were imprisoned.
The beast prison was an incredibly massive structure. Lu Ye could hear roarsing from inside from time to time.
There were two cultivators standing guard outside the prison. They immediately grew alert when Lu Ye descended in front of them.
Lu Ye shot both men a look before saluting the one to the left, saying, Greetings, Fellow Cultivator.
The guard raised an eyebrow before lowering his voice, Youre from Jiu Zhou?
Lu Ye nodded wordlessly.
The guards expression immediately grew much friendlier. Obviously, he was a Jiu Zhou cultivator as well, though he must be an unlucky one to be given such an undesirable post. He asked, What is your business here, fellow cultivator?
In this particr Hidden Realm, all cultivators from Jiu Zhou were on the same side no matter which faction they hailed from. Also, they were the allies of the natives and the enemies of the maddened Spirit Beasts.
My Tamed Beast was separated from me when we came in, and I learned that it is currently in this prison. I would like to retrieve it, Lu Ye answered honestly.
The guard frowned a little. That wont be easy, my friend. Youre aware of the situation, no? There is no way the natives would allow you to retrieve your Spirit Beast willy-nilly. If the circumstances were different, then I could even get you ten Spirit Beasts, let alone one. But now? Its just not doable.
Please enlighten me on a solution, fellow cultivator, Lu Ye said while passing a bottle of Vital Spirit Pills into the guards hand.
Chapter 462: I Know A Little About Wards
Chapter 462: I Know A Little About Wards
Outside the beast prison, the guard epted Lu Yes bribe and winked. Give me a moment.
He then went over to the other guard and whispered a little something Lu Ye couldnt hear.
A whileter, he returned and pulled Lu Ye aside. He then said, ording to my buddy over there, the only way to retrieve a Spirit Beast from the prison is to obtain a verbal or handwritten order from the lord of the city himself.
Understanding bloomed across Lu Yes features. Understood. Ill find a way.
If Lu Ye hadnt been bestowed a special identity, he wouldve had a hard time trying to organize a meeting with the ruler, much less obtain a handwritten order from him. But since he had already met with the ruler and even given him a great gift, it should not be too much trouble. Just in case though, he returned to his detached house and brought Xia Qianqian with him.
The same guy was keeping the order when they arrived at the lords residence once more. His attitude was a lot more respectful than before though. He saluted Lu Ye first before asking politely, What else do you need, Young Master Ye?
Sorry for the trouble, but can you please inform the lord that I have something else Id like to speak with him about?
Please give me a moment, the guy replied before leaving to carry Lu Yes message.
A whileter, the guy returned with the cultivator they had met before, Ah Si. At that moment, Lu Ye knew that it was unlikely he would be able to meet the ruler again. It would seem that his earlier predictions were urate after all. The Myriad Beasts Sect and Bndia really didnt share a good rtionship with each other. It made no sense that the city lord would not afford him a second meeting otherwise, especially considering that he had given him a great gift.
Ah Si walked up to them and asked, What is your business, Young Master Ye?
Lu Ye replied immediately, I would like to enter the beast prison and retrieve a Spirit Beast!
Excuse me? Ah Si frowned before shaking his head. My apologies, but I cannot do that. Im sure I dont need to tell you how dangerous and sensitive your request is. We havent even decided what to do with the Spirit Beasts in the city yet.
I only need one.
Its not a matter of quantity, its Suddenly, Ah Si paused and tilted his head. It almost looked like he was listening to an invisible person. A whileter, he continued, Young Master Ye, I am aware that Beast Tamers are much weaker without their Spirit Beasts. I understand your urgency to recover your strength as well. However, youre aware of the saying, when in foreignnds, act like a foreigner, right?
What do you need me to do? Lu Ye cut straight to the point. He was pretty sure that Ah Si had received an order just now. It might evene directly from the city lord himself.
I see you are a straightforward man, Young Master Ye. Very well. Our scouts have discovered many diseased Spirit Beasts approaching the city, and this is especially true for the valley about fifty kilometers east from here. If you will agree to take them out
Deal!
Lu Ye did not wait for Ah Si to finish. Even if Bndia hadnt requested him to fight the Spirit Beasts, he was going to head out with Xia Qianqian and the others anyway. Heck, the fast ones had already left the city. Regardless of whether they could save the world, they were truly here for one and one thing only: profit.
Ah Si beckoned them to follow. Follow me.
It wasnt long before they returned to the beast prison once more. This time, Lu Ye was allowed to go inside thanks to Ah Sis presence.
The beast prison was split into six floors in total. The Spirit Beasts were divided based on their strength. The ones at the lowest floor were the strongest, and vice versa.
Amber was held at the B1 floor. It took Lu Ye a long time before he finally spotted the white tiger amidst the sea of Spirit Beasts.
The second the enchantments were deactivated, Amber immediately leaped onto Lu Yes shoulder and growled in dissatisfaction. It was understandable. It had been imprisoned practically the second it entered the Hidden Realm.
Ah Si was still waiting for him when he exited the beast prison. When he saw how obedient Amber was, he couldnt help but praise, As expected of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Your Beast Taming skills are truly impressive, Young Master Ye.
From his perspective, Lu Ye had subdued and tamed a wild Spirit Beasta powerful one too, judging from its appearancein just a short time. Of course it was due to his excellent Beast Taming skills.
Remember our promise, Young Master Ye.
I know. I will depart as soon as I finish my preparations.
With that, Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian returned to their detached house with Amber in tow. Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi were resting when they arrived. They emerged immediately after Xia Qianqian yelled, We got a job, girls!
Everyone was in agreement when Lu Ye told them about their mission to clear out the Spirit Beasts in the valley. It was decided that they would depart immediately.
A whileter, the group of four rose to the sky and flew toward the east.
Right now, countless Jiu Zhou cultivators were leaving the city in groups and exterminating all nearby Spirit Beasts. Therefore, Lu Yes group didnt draw any attention at all.
As they continued forward, they would sometimes encounter cultivators who were escaping to Bndia and small groups of crazed Spirit Beasts from time to time.
They were fifty kilometers away from the city when they finally arrived at their destination. Hiding behind a cloud, the group floated about several hundred meters above ground and stared at the valley beneath them.
The valley was incredibly huge, but it was still jam-packed with Spirit Beasts. Lu Ye could not even begin to imagine how many Spirit Beasts there were. What was even more surprising was the fact that these Spirit Beasts were perfectly silent. It was as if they were a well-trained army that were waiting patiently for the time to shine.
Are you sure that this is the valley Bndia asked us to clear out, Ye Six? If it is, it sure looks like they sent us on a Heavens damned suicide mission, Kitty Shenmented worriedly as she stared at the sea of Spirit Beasts beneath them. There was no way in hell the four of them could clear out this entire valley by themselves.
Lu Ye was expressionless. The only thing that betrayed his true emotions was the thumb brushing repeatedly against his saber. He wondered if Bndia intel was outdated, or if Kitty Shen was right about the bastards sending them on a suicide mission.
That said, they had already epted the mission, and it wasnt like this was all bad news. Plenty of Spirit Beasts equaled plenty of battle points. Worst case scenario, they could just run and live to fight another day.
I can set up a ward at that location! Lu Ye pointed at the t terrain directly opposite of the valley entrance.
Youre a ward cultivator too? Xia Qianqian shot Lu Ye a surprised look. I thought you were abat cultivator?
I know a little about wards.
Lan Ziyis eyes twitched once when she heard this. Of the three of them, she was the only one who knew exactly who Lu Ye was. Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was the first cultivator ever to breach a grand ward at the Spirit Creek Realm single handedly. He was also the man who had earned titles like The Vanquisher of Sects and the Three Banes of Spirit Creek. To hear him say that he only knew a little about wards was she wouldve punched him if she could.
Okay. You go set up the wards, and well lure the Spirit Beasts to that location. The goal is to kill as many Spirit Beasts as we can, Xia Qianqian said.
Lu Ye nodded and descended on the location he mentioned. The girls followed him and acted as his guards while he did his work.
It wasnt long before the ambush site was filled with wards. They were all the same type of wards though: Explosive Wards!
Their goal was just to kill the crazed Spirit Beasts after all. They didnt need a fancy Illusion Ward that yed with their enemies senses or something. All they needed to do was a ton of damage.
Not all of the Explosive Wards shared the same size, but they were all interconnected to one another in some ways.
A good number of them were trigger traps as well. They would activate as soon as a Spirit Beast had entered the ward.
Some of the Explosive Wards could only be triggered via manual control. Lu Ye had specifically asked the girls to memorize their locations just in case.
Lu Ye had plenty of ward gs, but since he was aiming to obtain as many battle points from this battle as possible, he did not save even a single one of them. But of course, he did not use the ward gs he received from the Hundred Wards Tower.
When everything was ready, three pairs of eyes turned to look at Xia Qianqian. She understood their meaning immediately. Right. Im the strongest cultivator here, so I should be the one to lure the beasts over. Get ready then.
They nodded their heads, and Xia Qianqian flew straight toward the valley.
A whileter, the trio sensed a massive disturbance of Spiritual Power from the valley. They also saw the shes of spell techniques. It was of course Xia Qianqians handiwork.
Xia Qianqian was a spell cultivator and a medicine cultivator. Her spells were great, but her medical skills were barely passable.
In fact, there were a lot of cultivators in Jiu Zhou who cultivated the medical arts, just like how most medicine cultivators would cultivate other cultivation arts. Generally speaking, their secondary cultivation was always poorer than their primary one.
The ground shook like an earthquake as a beam of light flew toward them. Right behind her was what looked like an endless horde of Spirit Beasts.
The good news was that therge majority of the Spirit Beasts were incapable of flight. All cultivators could fly without aid after reaching the Cloud River Realm, but the same could not be said for Spirit Beasts. Some Spirit Beasts could fly after they became a Champion-ss Spirit Beast, but the rest were still stuck on the ground.
Of course, avian Spirit Beasts could fly no matter what their power level was.
Xia Qianqian cast one spell after another as she escaped her pursuers, unwittingly showing off the true power of a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Every time sheunched a spell, multiple avian Spirit Beasts would fall from the sky and be crushed underfoot by the Spirit Beasts.
Despite their preparation, Lu Yes group could not help but feel a tingling in their spine as they watched the horde of Spirit Beasts charging straight at them.
Lu Ye was the first to attack when the Spirit Beasts were about three hundred meters away from them. His fiery red Spiritual Power joined together to form a beautiful Fire Phoenix before flying straight toward the horde. It was so lifelike that even the details of the feathers were clearly discernible.
Since Lu Ye had reached the Second-Order, his Fire Phoenix Spell was a lot stronger than before. He did not dare to use Glyph: Fire Phoenix though. It just required too much Spiritual Power. Even at his current level, it would strain him too much to cast it.
You know spells too? Kitty Shen blurted out in astonishment. She felt like she was recognizing the young man for the first time because he had not disyed any spell-casting ability until now. As if that wasnt enough, his spell casting speed and the power of his spells were on par with that of a true spell cultivator.
From her perspective, Ye Six was abat cultivator who knew wards, spells and even had a Tamed Beast. Not only was he a dabbler in at least four types of cultivation, it looked like he was damn good in all of them. Kitty Shen really wanted to know if there was anything that the young man wasnt good at.
The Fire Phoenix dove into a group of Spirit Beasts before transforming into a massive inferno. The terrific heat instantly killed or injured most of them.
It wasnt until Lu Ye hadunched his third Fire Phoenix that Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi finally had the opportunity to act. Kitty Shen threw the ribbon wrapped around her arm at a Spirit Beast, and the Spirit Artifact wrapped around her target like it had a life of its own. The next instant, the Spirit Beast exploded in a shower of blood and gore.
Chapter 463: Run
Chapter 463: Run
Lan Ziyis range option was a single flying weapona shortsword about one-third of a meter long to be exactbut it was incredibly swift and powerful. It pierced through the Spirit Beasts foreheads like a hot knife through butter and killed them instantly.
Right now, everyone was targeting the avian Spirit Beasts because they were the only creatures who could pose a real threat against them. They could afford to ignore thend-bound Spirit Beasts for now.
Three hundred meters were but the blink of an eye for cultivators. When Xia Qianqian rushed past the group, they also turned around and scattered in every direction. Each person was pursued by a massive group of Spirit Beasts, and every Spirit Beasts eyes looked unnaturally crimson.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom and a rumble. The Spirit Beasts had finally triggered one of Lu Yes Explosive Wards. A massive fireball injured or killed every Spirit Beast within its vicinity.
It wasnt just one explosion either. The Explosive Wards kept being triggered one after another as the Spirit Beasts trampled over them, not to mention that Lu Ye was waving a ward g and triggering the remote-controlled Explosive Wards as well. At the same time, nine flying weapons ughtered every flying Spirit Beast chasing after him.
The Spirit Beasts were numerous, but their power level was a mixed bag at best. In fact, only a small number of them were Champion-level Spirit Beasts, while the rest were normal Spirit Beaststhe Spirit Beast equivalent of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
Not only that, a normal Champion-ss Spirit Beast would find itself hardpressed to handle anyone in their group. Only the truly strong ones could pose a certain level of threat against them.
Unfortunately, it wasnt long before the sounds of explosions faded into nothing. Despite the incredible amount of Explosive Wards Lu Ye hadid down beforehand, they had still run out in less than an incense stick.
Not only that, the horde before their eyes still looked positively unmanageable.
By now, the group had bepletely separated from one another. Kitty Shen and Xia Qianqian were nowhere to be seen. Lan Ziyi was being surrounded and attacked by a bunch of avian Spirit Beasts, though judging from her swift movements and asional sword shes she was in no danger of dying just yet.
Lu Ye himself wasnt doing too well. Among the massive group of Spirit Beasts were two incredibly powerful Champion-ss Spirit Beasts that were on par with a Fifth or Sixth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Their pincer attack wasnt easy to handle to say the least.
The one silverlining in their situation was that the maddened Spirit Beasts were a lot stupider than they shouldve been. They were also extremely bloodthirsty and impulsive. Whatever power they gained was offset by the decline in intelligence. Otherwise, he mightve decided to make a run for it already.
Lu Ye tried a couple of times to eliminate one of the two Champion-ss Spirit Beasts that were keeping him on his toes, but unfortunately he did not seed. He could only fly circles around his pursuers while cutting down the weaker Spirit Beasts.
Suddenly, a burst of light caught his attention. He saw the Spirit Beasts surrounding Lan Ziyi abruptly exploding into a shower of blood and gore and falling to the ground. The tall, slender woman was twirling on her toes and ughtering everything with her two longswords. At that moment, she looked as brilliant as a blood flower.
Lu Ye had fought Lan Ziyi once to defend his spot in the Scroll of Supremacy, and at the time he already thought that her fighting style was incredibly suited for one-versus-many battles. That assumption was finally proven today.
Lan Ziyis breathing was visibly heavier after executing the technique though. It was clear it wasnt something that she could repeat endlessly.
After that, she charged toward Lu Ye not to ambush him, but to fight alongside him. Lu Ye immediately felt a load being lifted off his shoulders when her longswords annihted most of the Spirit Beasts harassing him.
Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi were the type of cultivators you only ever wanted as allies, not enemies. In this case, both of them were d to have someone they could fully entrust their backs tortively speaking, of course.
The duo flew past one another again and again. Although this was the first time they fought alongside one another, their cooperation was practically wless. Even better, they moved as if they could guess each others thoughts and next moves despite not having exchanged a single word.
The storm of saber and swords mowed down the Spirit Beasts in unstoppable fashion. Even the two Champion-ss Spirit Beasts that gave Lu Ye trouble earlier were no match for them. Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi had already in one of them, and it was only a matter of time before the other one was dead as well.
Suddenly, they felt a burst of Spiritual Power from their nks. When Lu Ye looked back, he saw Kitty Shen flying toward them with a dozen or so Spirit Beasts on her tail. She yelled as soon as she got close to them, Ye Six, we got reinforcements!
Just now, she was attacked and hounded by so many Spirit Beasts that she had no choice but to escape in the direction of Bndia. About halfway there, she suddenly saw a massive group of cultivators rushing toward her and killing all the Spirit Beasts chasing her. It was only then she turned around and flew back to the valley.
Her rescuers were obviously cultivators from Jiu Zhou. They were all busy collecting battle points when Kitty Shen had flown up to them with a horde of Spirit Beasts. Sensing an opportunity, they followed her back to the valley and were overjoyed to see that their intuition was right. They immediately spread out and started mowing down the Spirit Beasts.
Just like Lu Yes group had done earlier, they prioritized killing the avian Spirit Beasts. Once the enemys aerial units were all dead, it was only a matter of time before they cleaned up the rest. Worst case scenario, they could withdraw and live to fight another day.
Spells and Spirit Artifacts erupted across the sky like fireworks and killed down dozens of avian Spirit Beasts per second. Now that they were joined by a dozen or so cultivators, the speed at which they were mowing down the horde had increased drastically.
A whileter, Lu Ye, Lan Ziyi and Kitty Shennded on the ground and formed a triangr formation. Although they were attacked from all sides, the Spirit Beasts usually died before they could even get close to the trio.
Amber had also jumped off Lu Yes shoulder and manifested its true self. From time to time, it would roar to stun the enemies and bite a wounded Spirit Beast to death.
The white tiger was really happy that they were finally fighting on the ground. Just now, the most he could do was to let out a roar or two to stun the enemies.
Eventually, the entire mountain range was covered in the corpses of Spirit Beasts. So much blood was shed that the entire battlefield reeked of it.
It looked like it was only a matter of time before the Spirit Beasts were all killed, but the maddened creatures continued to attack them with the same ferocity and madness as before. They were as immune to fear as they were to pain.
Time passed as the howls of the Spirit Beasts lessened. Lu Yes saber arm was numb, and even Lan Ziyi and Kitty Shen were looking pale.
Eventually, the only ones left standing on the battlefield were blood-soaked cultivators. The chaotic battle had finallye to an end.
Xia Qianqian appeared out of nowhere and shot the group a nce. Is anyone hurt?
She looked as dirty and tired as they were. She wouldve joined up with Lu Ye and the others sooner, but she wasnt able to extricate herself from several powerful Champion-ss Spirit Beasts until the battle was almost over.
Lu Ye slowly shook his head as he flicked off the blood on the Invible and returned it to its sheath. He then tossed two Vital Spirit Pills into his mouth and chewed slowly.
Lan Ziyi and Kitty Shen hurriedly ate their pills to recover as well.
Without exaggeration, this was one of the hardest battles Lu Ye and the other cultivators had ever fought. There were just too many Spirit Beasts. Even Lu Yes group had underestimated just how many Spirit Beasts there were in the valley despite having seen it all from the sky earlier. If they had known this, they would never have agreed to Ah Sis request.
It all turned out well in the end though. The dozen or so Jiu Zhou cultivators could not have arrived at a better time.
The battle was hard, but the rewards were well worth it. There wasnt a single person who wasnt smiling after calcting their battle points.
Lu Ye checked his own identity pass and noted that he now had over three thousand battle points!
One Blue Amulet cost only one thousand and eight hundred battle points, and he had almost earned enough battle points to buy two of them.
The main reason he was able to umte this many battle points was thanks to the Explosive Wards he hadid down earlier. They had taken out a considerable amount of Spirit Beasts before the battle was engaged. Fighting alongside Lan Ziyi and Kitty Shen also meant that he could focus far more on killing the enemies and less on defending himself.
He was sure he had earned more battle points than Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi. Not even Xia Qianqian, a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator could have earned more battle points than him.
Suddenly, Lu Ye realized that ward cultivators held a massive advantage in this type of battles. If he had known this would happen and prepared more ward gs beforehand, he could have earned even more battle points.
Battle points werent the only reward they got from the battle. The Champion-ss Spirit Beasts had Mutant Cores in their bodies. Already, the others were scouring the battlefield for them. Naturally, Lu Ye was doing the same with Amber.
Unfortunately, Champion-ss Spirit Beasts did not really look that different from normal Spirit Beasts. In extreme cases, one could spend half a day searching a battlefield of caracasses and still not locate a single Champion-ss Spirit Beast.
Amber loved eating Mutant Cores, but Lu Ye forbade it from eating them because these Spirit Beasts had gone insane from some unknown disease. Until they had found out the real reason they went insane, Lu Ye wasnt going to risk Amber going insane as well.
Two hourster, they were finally done scouring the battlefield for loot. Every cultivator had found some Mutant Cores, and Lu Ye himself had collected over a dozen of them. He stored them all in his storage space. None of the Mutant Cores shared exactly the same size and color, but they all contained a tremendous amount of energy.
A Mutant Core had many uses. A pill cultivator could refine a Mutant Core into pills, a ward cultivator could use it to create wards, and an artificer could use it to refine an artifact. In any case, it was very valuable.
Everyone was beaming and chatting happily with each other. They were just discussing if they should join hands and kill more Spirit Beasts when suddenly, the ground started rumbling unnaturally. Everyones expression changed as they spun around to face the source of themotion. It wasnt long before they saw a swathe of ck clouds flying in their direction. They were all avian Spirit Beasts.
Lu Ye and a couple more cultivators immediately rose to the sky and looked again. Their expressions slowly turned grim as they observed the iing tide.
The biggest horde of Spirit Beasts they had ever seen was moving toward them. They literally stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. It was impossible to calcte how many there were!
There was no way their little group could handle this many Spirit Beasts. In fact, everyone realized what they were seeing at the same time. The Spirit Beasts hade to conquer the final bastion of humanity, Bndia!
Fly! A cultivator yelled before taking off in the direction of Bndia. The others followed him without question. The city might be the only ce left in the entire world that could give them some sense of security, but chewing inside their hearts was the ominous feeling that even Bndia might not be able to hold back such arge army.
Chapter 464: Not Fair, Heavens! Not Fair!
Chapter 464: Not Fair, Heavens! Not Fair!
When Lu Yes group had finally returned to Bndia, the entire city had entered a battle ready state. Each section of the wall was guarded by countless cultivators, and ward cultivators were setting up all sorts of wards outside the city as well.
Bndia was the Human Races final bastion in the Myriad Beasts Domain. If it fell, then no one was safe, and the world would fall under the control of the crazed Spirit Beastspletely.
All the survivors had already reached Bndia, and those who did not make it were most likely lost to the Spirit Beasts already.
Lu Ye and hispanions had just fought a great battle. Naturally, they were going to catch some rest. If they participated in the battle in their depleted state, there was a high chance they would not be able tost the whole fight.
There was a surprise waiting for them, however. When they arrived at their amodation, they discovered that a dozen or so strangers had moved into their house!
Xia Qianqian and the girls immediately turned wary. Bndia was so overcrowded that countless cultivators and mortals had to sleep on the streets. It would be terrible if someone had robbed them of their homes while they were out, especially considering the massive gift they had paid to the city lord to make it happen.
Lu Ye thought differently though. A moment of hesitationter, he openly approached the unfamiliar group.
[If Im not mistaken, they should be]
As Lu Ye predicted, one of the cultivators in the groupan old manbroke into tears when he saw him. He immediately ran up to him, grabbed his shoulders and cried out, Are you okay, Young Master?
[What?]
Xia Qianqian and the rest of the girls immediately figured out who these people were after catching his outburst.
There was only one type of people who would address Lu Ye as Young Master, and they were the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Sect. The girls were surprised because they didnt think that some of the natives would be their natural allies, but Lu Ye did because of his identity. He would not have approached them if he hadnt realized this.
When he first entered the Hidden Realm, the objective he received was to escape to Bndia with the thumb ring and buy the survivors of the Myriad Beasts Sect a ce in the city.
In fact, Lu Ye knew that the survivors of the Myriad Beasts Sect had spread out after their headquarters was destroyed. His group could not be the only one who had escaped the disaster.
Since these people were waiting for him at his detached house, they could only be the survivors of the Myriad Beasts Sect.
The group numbered a dozen or so people, and they were all Cloud River Realm cultivators. Considering the average power level of the Myriad Beast Domain, they were without a doubt a force to be reckoned with. This was especially true for the old man holding Lu Ye and the old woman standing at the back of the group. If he wasnt mistaken, they were both Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators.
Im fine! Lu Ye assured while nodding his head.
The old man looked Lu Ye up and down until he was sure that Lu Ye was unhurt. However, his relieved expression quickly morphed into anger as he yelled, Damn that Liu Wuzhai! Our sect had just been destroyed, and that old bastard already sent you out to face against the Spirit Beasts? He mustve been hoping that you would die out there! I cannot imagine how the bastard ever became the lord of Bndia considering how shortsighted he is!
Liu Wuzhai was the name of the city lord of Bndia. Clearly, the old man had many things to say about the city lords decision to send Lu Ye out to danger. In fact, he immediately turned on the girls next and yelled, Are you girls stupid or what? Whatever possessed you to think that putting the Young Master at risk is a good idea?
The girls were incredibly miffed, of course. If not for the fact that the natives had no idea they were really Jiu Zhou cultivators, they wouldve taken offense and argued back already.
What? Why are you looking at me like that? How dare you! If it wasnt for the Myriad Beasts Sect, you wouldve died on some forgotten streets a long time ago! The old man could not help but explode again when he saw their expressions.
Enough, Great Elder, the old woman that concerned Lu Ye chose this moment to speak up, its not like the girls wanted to risk the Young Masters life. Were not at the Myriad Beasts Sect anymore, remember? If anyone is at fault here, it is us for taking too long toe to Bndia. The old woman then looked at the girls and ordered, You three, apologize to the Great Elder now.
Instead of apologizing, the girls merely stared at Lu Yes back. Feeling as if someone was burning a hole in his back, Lu Ye immediately straightened up and said, Its okay, Great Elder. Im the one who made the decision to go on the mission. Its not their fault.
The Great Elder let out a long sigh. Young Master, I know you love the girls, but you cant pamper them too much. Otherwise forget it. We are all that is left of the sect now, and I do not wish to make the atmosphere any more unpleasant than it already is. Just remember to keep the Young Master out of danger next time.
Finally, the girls let out a disgruntled mm.
Suddenly, the Great Elder looked at Amber. The white tiger was currently draped over Lu Yes shoulder. The longer he stared, the brighter his eyes shone. Where did you find this little fe, Young Master? Is it okay if I take a look at it?
Lu Ye tilted his head at Amber, and the white tiger immediately leaped over to the Great Elder. The old mans eyes brightened even more when he caught Amber. Oh, what an intelligent fe you are!
After inspecting Amber thoroughly, the Great Elder finally returned the white tiger to Lu Ye with a wide smile on his face. Congrattions, Young Master! You are incredibly lucky to have recruited this incredible beast not long after you lost your Chosen Beast. If Im not mistaken, this beast is a descendant of the Four Sacred Beasts. It might not be very powerful right now, but it possesses incredible potential. If raised properly, its future is guaranteed to be brighter than most.
Lu Ye was surprised. He did not think that the old man would be able to identify Ambers bloodline, but then again, what was he expecting? He was the Great Elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect, the greatest Beast Taming sect of this Cultivation World before it was destroyed. Even Lu Ye himself wasnt sure that Amber was a descendant of the Four Sacred Beasts until now.
As for the Chosen Beast the Great Elder spoke of Lu Ye knew nothing about the poor animal, of course. He wasnt actually the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect, he was just assuming his identity.
ording to Xia Qianqian, there used to be a Myriad Beasts Domain in the past. Everything they were experiencing right now was something that had already happened in the distant past. They were reliving that experience now only because the Heavens had somehow recreated it through some means he was nowhere powerful enough to even imagine.
Both the Myriad Beasts Sect and the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect were real, but Lu Ye had no idea what the Young Masters Chosen Beast was because the Heavens hadnt given him that information. Heck, he didnt even know that the old man before him was the Great Elder until the old woman had spoken up.
Lu Ye was an inquisitive man, so he asked, How can I make it my Chosen Beast, Great Elder?
The Great Elder shot him a confused look. Im sorry? The art of converting a Spirit Beast into a Chosen Beast was the beating heart of Beast Taming itself. How could Lu Ye possibly not know about it?
Lu Ye immediately feigned a sorrowful expression. Im sorry. Ive been feeling pretty addled since the Myriad Beasts Sect was destroyed. Its gotten to the point where Ive forgotten many things that I should never forget.
Xia Qianqian and the others rolled their eyes repeatedly when they heard this
However, the Great Elder epted the shoddy excuse and sighed. I see. Im sorry you had such a hard time, Young Master. He then shoved his hand into his Storage Bag and searched around for a bit before passing Lu Ye a jade slip. This contains the most important technique of our sect, the Beast Pact Art. Keep it safe!
Lu Ye epted it respectfully and nodded. Do not worry, Great Elder.
Behind him, the girls felt their eyes widening like saucers. Who wouldve thought that asking was all Lu Ye needed to do to obtain the Myriad Beast Sects most important technique? They might not know what the Beast Pact Art was, but it didnt take a genius to know that it must have something to do with Beast Taming.
In Jiu Zhou, Beast Taming was a minor cultivation faction at best, but here in the Myriad Beasts Domain it was theplete opposite. They had no doubt that the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain were far better at the Way of Beast Taming than the cultivators of Jiu Zhou, not to mention that the Beast Pact Art Lu Ye just received came from their strongest Beast Taming sect.
The Beast Tamers of Jiu Zhou would kill to obtain the Beast Pact Art. It was extremely valuable to say the least!
[This old man isnt a nuisance! Hes an opportunity!]
Xia Qianqian was a woman of action. She immediately asked, Great Elder, weve run out of cultivation resources. Can we
The Great Elder immediately lost his pleasant expression and red at her, Did the Sect Master not give you a bag of Spirit Stones right before you left? Dont tell me youve used them all already!
Xia Qianqian groaned on the inside. [Of course not! I havent even met your Heavens damned Sect Master, much less received anything from him!]
The Great Elder turned back to Lu Ye with a pleasant expression. The guy must be a master of faces. Where is your Spirit Beast Bag, Young Master?
Im sorry?
The Great Elder let out another sorrowful sigh. Oh, Young Master. Its not easy to make Spirit Beast Bags, you know. Our sect only has a dozen of them, and they were all passed down by our ancestors. You cant just lose it like this.
He then removed a bag from his waist and handed it to Lu Ye. Here. This is yours now.
To say Lu Ye was bbergasted would be an understatement, but his shock was not even close to the girls. They were so jealous they could strangle the lucky sonuvabitch. Forget Kitty Shen, even a veteran like Xia Qianqian had never seen anyone receiving such preferential treatment from a Hidden Realm native before.
Xia Qianqian had thought that Lu Yes identity was a superficial status at first, but clearly she was mistaken. The guy could abandon them all and go into hiding right now, and she wouldnt even be able to fault him for it!
[Its not fair!]
[Why is a Second-Order cultivator getting so much profit for free, while I, a Ninth-Order cultivator, get nothing at all?]
[Is it because hes a male?]
[Not fair, Heavens! Not fair!]
Xia Qianqian wanted to cry.
It was at this moment the old woman spoke up, The young master has just returned from battle. Why dont we postpone this conversation to ater date?
The Great Elder nodded. Youre right. Please take your rest, Young Master. We will speak again after youve recovered.
I shall be taking my rest then, Lu Ye replied. He was going to walk into the house when suddenly, he felt a few pairs of red hot gazes piercing his back. He hurriedly waved at the girls and added, You girls, follow me.
Yes sir! The girls hurriedly responded.
As he was walking toward his room, he thought he heard the sound of grinding teeth behind his back. He wondered if it was his imagination
Lu Ye went into his room and closed the door. He had just sat down on the floor when the world suddenly grew a little dim. He looked up and saw the three women ring down on him with thick, unbridled disdain
I cant help it! The Heavens are the ones who arranged all this! Lu Ye tried to defend himself, Plus, I brought you all here to catch some rest, didnt I?
Were splitting the loot! Xia Qianqian uttered through gritted teeth. She was going to explode if Lu Ye said no.
Sure. How do you want to split it?
You can have whatevers inside the Spirit Beast Bag, but I want a copy of that Beast Pact Art. Dont worry, Im not going to sell it. I have a senior brother whos a Beast Tamer, and the art might be useful to him!
Me too! Kitty Shen raised her hand immediately.
Lan Ziyi was silent, but it was obvious she wanted a copy as well.
Chapter 465: Beast Pact Art
Chapter 465: Beast Pact Art
Verbal promises meant nothing, so everyone swore a Heavenly Oath to prove that they would definitely not sell the Beast Pact Art. They would only share it with their close ones or keep it for research. Seeing no problems with the oath, Lu Ye gave them the slip so they might copy it in their own time. He then picked up the Spirit Beast Bag and examined it closely.
Not only did the bag look like a conventional Storage Bag, it was sewn from a Spirit Beasts skin as well. However, its aged appearance made it clear that it was something that had been passed down for many generations.
The Great Elder had imed that there were only a dozen or so Spirit Beast Bags in the entire sect, and that they were inherited from their ancestors. Obviously, it was as rare as it was valuable.
The Great Elder had removed the Restriction Lock on the bag before giving it to Lu Ye, so it took him little effort to refine it and make it his own. When he inspected it, he was surprised by what he found.
The storage space of the Spirit Beast Bag wasnt very big, and at first nce it looked like it was no different from a Storage Bag. Something about the storage space felt different from a Storage Bags though.
Lu Ye had an inkling what it was used for. Its very name was telling.
Amber was currently napping beside Lu Ye. When it sensed Lu Yes gaze, it looked up and tilted its head cutely.
Lu Ye gestured at Amber with the Spirit Beast Bag, so Amber rose to its feet and waited. It was only then that Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and threw the Spirit Beast Bag over the white tiger.
As expected, Amber immediately vanished from view. When he checked, he found that the Tamed Beast had been stored inside the Spirit Beast Bag. However, Amber was twisting and turning non-stop as if it wasnt used to the environment. To be fair, the storage space itself looked incredibly cramped now that it was inside. The bag itself wriggled as Amber struggled.
[I was right. The Spirit Beast Bag really can be used to hold a living creature!]
A Storage Bag did not have such a function. In fact, none of the Storage Bags Lu Ye knew could be used to store a living creature. To do so would result in the eventual demise of said creature.
Technically speaking, Lu Ye possessed an item that could be used to store not just one, but multiple living creatures. It was of course the Nine Realms Scroll.
The Spirit Treasure could even be used to store multiple people, let alone other things. However, it wasnt just abat item, but one that was shaped like a painting. It would be incredibly inconvenient to carry it on his person, not to mention that it cost a continuous stream of Spiritual Power to keep it activated.
Convenience wise, this Spirit Beast Bag was a million times better than the ward scroll. He could just hang it on his waist or carry it beneath his shirt.
This way, Amber would not need to lie on its shoulder all the time.
It wasnt that he had a problem with keeping Amber in the open. In fact, having Amber on his shoulder was usually a boost to hisbat abilities unless he faced someone he needed to go all out against.
The problem was that Amber was a very recognizable Spirit Beast. His enemies only needed to take one look at the white tiger to know that he was Lu Yi Ye.
Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was practically no Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator who didnt know that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect owned a white tiger. Even those who never met him could easily recognize him through Amber. As a result, Lu Ye was unable to conceal his identity most of the time.
The Spirit Beast Bag was a solution to this problem. In the future, he simply needed to store Amber in the Spirit Beast Bag and put on a Spirit Artifact that could change his appearance to hide himself. He didnt have such an item yet, but he could just buy one from the Vault of Providence. No one would know who he was!
Maybe it was because he was excited, but he didnt release Amber until some timeter. Because of this, the white tiger immediately tried to take a bite out of the Spirit Beast Bag when it was finally loose. Lu Ye hurriedly put a hand on its forehead to stop him. His ns would go up in mes if the Spirit Beast Bag was damaged.
It was at this moment Lu Ye received a message. He checked his Battlefield Imprint and discovered that it came from Yi Yi.
Yi Yi chose this method ofmunication because she didnt want to reveal herself. A trump card should remain hidden until the right time after all. ording to the girl, Amber didnt feelfortable inside the Spirit Beast Bag. Not only was it pitch ck inside the bag, it was cramped to the point of being ustrophobic.
That said, the storage space of the Spirit Beast Bag wasnt fixed. Amber could fit inside even if it returned to its true form.
Amber glowered as Lu Ye shoved the Spirit Beast Bag under his shirt. He also promised Amber he would never put it in the bag unless absolutely necessary. It was only then it finally withdrew its gaze and calmed down.
The three women had already finished copying the contents of the jade slip. They were currently meditating and recuperating their strength.
Lu Ye tossed a couple of Vital Spirit Pills into his mouth while checking the Beast Pact Art. At first, he didnt care too much for it. He wasnt a Beast Tamer after all. However, his expression grew increasingly serious over time.
The Beast Pact Art had never existed in Jiu Zhou. If the technique could be spread, it would improve the power of its Beast Tamers tremendously!
The Beast Tamers were a minor cultivation faction in the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou, butpared to other factions, there were a lot more Beast Tamers than, say, Golem Masters. Even Lu Ye technically counted as a Beast Tamer since Amber was his Tamed Beast.
Intelligent and tameable Spirit Beasts were extremely useful especially during the early stages of ones cultivation. They could fight alongside their tamers and be used as mounts. Plenty of cultivators carried at least one Tamed Beast with them when they were weak.
Unfortunately, just like all other minor cultivation factions, Beast Tamers were considered a minor cultivation faction because they rarely produced champions. Beast Tamers relied on their Spirit Beasts to be strong, and there were few things they loved more than raising powerful Spirit Beasts andmanding them in battle. As a result, most of their cultivation resources were spent on their Spirit Beasts rather than themselves. This meant that they were neglecting their own growth for their Spirit Beasts. Generally speaking, the Beast Tamers of Jiu Zhoumanded between ten to thirty Spirit Beasts.
Lu Ye once fought a Beast Tamer in the Scroll of Supremacy battles. The Beast Tamer himself was a joke, but the five Spirit Beasts hemanded were quite powerful. Still, they werent enough to stop Lu Ye, so he died as soon as Lu Ye broke through the defense line and reached him.
In Lu Yes opinion, cultivators should always focus on cultivating themselves. Spirit Beasts were powerful supports at best!
Before he read the Beast Pact Art, Lu Ye thought that the Beast Tamers of the Myriad Beast Domain were more or less the same as their Jiu Zhou counterparts. It wasnt until he studied the technique that he realized that he was wrong.
As it turned out, there was a reason Beast Taming became the primary cultivation faction in the Myriad Beasts Domain. In fact, every cultivation faction theoretically had a ce in the world given the right circumstances. While the Beast Tamers of the Myriad Beasts Domain also tamed, raised and fought alongside their Spirit Beasts, their focus was on the cultivator, not the Spirit Beasts!
There wasnt a single Beast Tamer in the Myriad Beast Domain thatmanded over a dozen Spirit Beasts. In fact, most of them owned only one Spirit Beast, a.k.a their Chosen Beast!
Even the handful who owned more than one Spirit Beast would not keep more than three Spirit Beasts at a time. It was because they did not have the resources or the energy to raise that many Spirit Beasts.
A Chosen Beast was a Spirit Beast whose life and energy were literally connected to the cultivator using a secret technique. They shared both honor and disgrace. If the cultivator lived, then the Chosen Beast lived. If the cultivator died, then the Chosen Beast died as well!
The opposite wasnt true, however. The cultivator would suffer some bacsh if they lost their Chosen Beast, but that was it.
It was a secret technique that was created by cultivators after all. Of course it was more advantageous toward the cultivator.
A Spirit Beast that had just been born was usually chosen to be the Chosen Beast. It was because it was easier to mold its nature at a young age and forge a rtionship with them. Only when the cultivator and the Spirit Beast were willing to give up their lives for one another would their life and energy be interconnected. After that, the Spirit Beast would be the cultivators Chosen Beast, and a Beast Pact would be formed between them!
After the Beast Pact was created, the cultivator could borrow their Chosen Beasts strength to strengthen themselves to a certain degree. If they had sufficient trust in one another, they could even subsume the Chosen Beast into the Beast Pact temporarily to drastically increase their strength!
Be it the connection of life and energy or the formation of the Beast Pact, both of them proved that the Way of Beast Taming in the Myriad Beasts Domain focused on the growth of the cultivator, not the Spirit Beast. It waspletely different from the Beast Tamers in Jiu Zhou.
If this secret technique could be carried to Jiu Zhou, Lu Ye had good reason to believe that it would revolutionize the whole Way of Beast Taming. No Beast Tamer in their right mind would reject this secret technique as it was powerful enough to push them into the big leagues. Never again would they be called a minor cultivation faction.
Lu Ye was still studying the secret technique when suddenly, a floral scent brushed against his nostrils. He looked up and saw Xia Qianqian standing next to him and bumping him with an elbow, Hey man, can we renegotiate the terms of our Heavenly Oath? If you dont mind, I would like to sell this secret technique to the Vault of Providence.
It was clear she had noticed the importance of the secret technique as well. Without exaggeration, the Beast Pact Art was a technique that could revolutionize and poprize the Way of Beast Taming once and for all. She was sure they would be rewarded handsomely if they sold it to the Vault of Providence, but that wasnt the main objective. By giving up a secret technique that could revolutionize an entire Way for altruistic purposes, they would earn the Heavens favor and attention. She could only imagine how much smoother her cultivation journey would be if the Heavens themselves favored her.
The girls had never encountered such a valuable opportunity until now. Since it was Lu Ye who brought them this opportunity, of course they had to speak to him about it, not to mention that they had just sworn a Heavenly Oath. Selling it now would be breaking the oath and earning the Heavens punishment. Also, they would not dare to sell it to the Vault of Providence if Lu Ye rejected the idea.
How many Contribution Points is it worth? Lu Ye asked.
Xia Qianqian chuckled. Dont be shallow. This is no longer just a matter of Contribution Points. If we sell the Beast Pact Art to the Vault of Providence, we will earn the favor of the Heavens for sure. Do you know what that means? At the very least, your luck will be better than before.
Now Lu Ye was tempted. As ofte, his luck was extraordinary probably because he had obtained the Gift of Providence. If what Xia Qianqian said was true, then selling the secret technique to the Vault of Providence would increase ones luck.
He wondered which one had a greater effect; the Gift of Providence or the sale of the Beast Pact Art. The answer was probably the Gift of Providence. It was a boon none had received for decades after all.
Are you sure about this? Lu Ye asked with a raised eyebrow. His luck was already extraordinary, sure, but who in their right mind would begrudge more luck?
Do you know how the minor factions in Jiu Zhou came to be? Xia Qianqian asked before answering her own question, They all came from Hidden Realms such as the Myriad Beasts Domain. Our minor factions are all major factions in those Cultivation Worlds. The reason our cultivators came to learn them is precisely because someone shared their secret techniques with the world. Our existing Beast Taming faction is no exception. A long time ago, our ancestors shared what they learned from a Hidden Realm with Jiu Zhou and poprized them into all kinds of minor factions.
Chapter 466: Life Energy Art
Chapter 466: Life Energy Art
There are many secret techniques, cultivation techniques and more that were also spread to Jiu Zhou this way. The reason the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou is overflowing with all kinds of schools of cultivation is because we have subsumed the essences of countless dead worlds and transformed them into what they are today.
As a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, Xia Qianqian was more knowledgeable and experienced than Lu Ye in terms of the matter of Jiu Zhou. Lu Ye could not help but pay close attention to her words.
You should already know this, but an item that could revolutionize an entire faction like this Beast Pact Art is supremely important to our Cultivation World. If we sell it to the Vault of Providence, we will earn the Heavens favor and improve our luck. This has been done many times in the past already.
Once, there was a cultivator who carried a cultivation technique out of a Hidden Realm and sold it to the Vault of Providence. It eventually resulted in the creation of a whole new cultivation faction. Since then, the cultivator became incredibly lucky. Obviously, he wasnt so lucky that the world became his oyster so to speak, but everything he set his mind to do had ended in sess.
In conclusion, lets sell the secret technique, Ye Six! You can have seventy percent of the Contribution Points. The rest of us will be content with just ten percent each!
As she said, the Contribution Points were secondary. The intangible benefit they would gain from the sale was the true profit of this sale. Still, they had only obtained this opportunity thanks to Lu Ye, so they had no qualms giving up seventy percent of the proceedings to him.
By now, Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi had stopped cultivating and were staring at him expectantly as well. There were countless cultivators who never earned the Heavens favor their whole lives, and now that opportunity was right in front of them. Of course they werent willing to give it up unless absolutely necessary.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before nodding. Okay. But can we do that after we get out of this Hidden Realm?
Xia Qianqian burst into a grin and pped a hand on Lu Yes shoulder. Thanks, buddy! From now on, youre one of my close friends. If you ever run into a crisis on the Cloud River Battlefield, just send me a message, and Ill do everything in my power to help you!
Clearly, the womans friendship didnte cheap
After that, the three women continued to recuperate while Lu Ye studied the secret technique that would connect his life and energy to Ambers. As the secret technique was the prerequisite to the Beast Pact Art, it was recorded in the jade slip as well. The technique itself wasnt too difficult to execute, but its requirement was a different story. Not only di the cultivator and the Tamed Beast have to trust each other unconditionally, they also had to be willing to give up their life for each other!
Was Amber willing to give up its life for Lu Ye? The answer was yes, of course. They had journeyed side by side since both of them were just the dirt on the road, and they had braved many dangerous situations together. They had be an inseparable part of each others life since a long time ago, not to mention that there was Yi Yi as well. She was a precious family member to both of them.
For other Spirit Beast and Beast Tamers, the trust requirement was something that would take a long time to nurture. However, Lu Ye and Amber had already met it a long time ago.
The secret technique to connect their life and energy together wasntplicated. In fact, Lu Ye saw it as a unique Glyph he had never seen before.
There existed countless Glyphs in the world. Although Lu Ye had obtained many Glyphs from the Tree of Glyphs and read even more from the books, he obviously hadnt seen all of them.
From Lu Yes perspective, the Glyph was neitherplex nor difficult to construct. But unlike a conventional Glyph, it could only be constructed using the cultivator and the Tamed Beasts blood.
Even before the Myriad Beasts Sect was destroyed, there werent many people in the sect who could execute this secret technique. It was because Glyphweavers were a rare breed in the Myriad Beasts Domain as well. Usually, they had to depend on the Elders to execute the secret technique.
Of course, this did not apply to Lu Ye. As a Glyphweaver, he could execute the technique himself.
First, Lu Ye ced a container on the floor. Then, he sharpened the Invible with Sharp Edge before cutting open his palm, allowing the blood to drip inside the container.
The smell of blood immediately spread throughout the room. The three women shot him a look but ignored him soon after.
After filling up around half of the container, Lu Ye pointed his saber at Amber and motioned for it toe closer. However, the white tiger actually backed away from him and shook his head like a fan.
Amber looked mighty impressive when it unleashed its true self, and in battle it looked like nothing could faze it. In reality, it was terrified of pain
It was a weakness only Lu Ye and Yi Yi were aware of.
Lu Ye didnt care for Ambers rejection, of course. He caught the white tigers paw and cut a thin line on its forelimb before it could struggle free. The poor beast immediately let out a pitiful whine as its pupils contracted into pin needles.
Blood dripped profusely from the wound and into the container. Lu Ye let go only when the container was almost full.
Amber immediately withdrew its paw and licked its wound aggressively. From time to time, it would shot Lu Ye an annoyed look.
Lu Ye picked up the container and gave it a little shake so that their blood would mingle as one. Then, he left the room and asked the Great Elder for herbs. The old man was currently resting in the courtyard as well.
The Great Elder figured out what Lu Ye was nning immediately. Are you nning to execute the Life Energy Art, Young Master?
The items Lu Ye was asking werent especially precious in the Myriad Beasts Domain because they didnt have many uses. They could only be used to refine Spirit Pills or execute the Life Energy Art.
Lu Ye nodded, and the Great Elder offered, Do you need my assistance?
Its okay. I can do it myself.
The Great Elder advised, Im aware you wish to regain your strength as soon as possible. Im also aware that your little fe is smarter than most Spirit Beasts. However, the technique will not seed unless the two of you trust each other unconditionally. If you do not seed, please do not take it to heart.
In his opinion, Lu Yes Chosen Beast had just perished not long ago. Although he managed to tame an intelligent Spirit Beast, it was extremely unlikely he would seed in executing the Life Energy Art. How long had it been since his Young Master procured the Spirit Beast? A few days? Hours, even? There was no way their rtionship had grown to the point where they were willing to sacrifice their lives for each other, not to mention that he didnt know that his Young Master knew the Life Energy Art.
However, he was just a servant, and Lu Ye the Young Master and final hope of the Myriad Beasts Sect. The most he could do was to advise against this course of action in a roundabout manner.
Dont worry. I know what Im doing, Lu Ye assured before walking back to the house.
Lu Ye dropped the herbs he obtained from the Great Elder into the container and began blending them manually. The bright red blood looked even redder than before.
When everything was ready, Lu Ye finally channeled his Spiritual Power into the blended blood, and began constructing Glyph: Life Energy in the air.
The Glyph was made up of several hundred Yin and Yang elements, but Lu Ye did not find it difficult to construct at all. After all, he was good enough to construct even Glyph: Void, a Glyph that was made up of over three thousand Yin and Yang elements. This was why he had seeded at the first try.
All the ingredients in the container were used up when the Glyph was fully constructed. At first nce, the Glyph resembled a taichi diagram in the sense that it was also a circle that was made up of two matching counterparts.
Lu Ye nced at Amber, and the white tiger immediately moved closer to the Glyph. Lu Ye sat down on the opposite side before activating the Glyph.
Red light immediately washed over the room. It was such an impressive sight that the three women opened their eyes to watch as well.
Themotion even rmed the Great Elder and the other Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators outside the house. They stared worriedly in Lu Yes direction, but they could not see through walls and check how the young man was doing, nor was it a good time to enter his room and check on him. Worst case scenario, they might interrupt the process and cause a bacsh. They could only wait impatiently for the process to finish.
When the Glyph was activated, strands of red light immediately wrapped around Lu Ye and Amber like living ropes. Lu Ye groaned, and Amber growled at the same time because their blood had grown boiling hot all of a sudden. Right after that, red mist exited their pores and hung around their bodies. It was their vitality.
Amber was in its cat form, but the Life Energy Art forced it to manifest its true self. Luckily, Lu Ye had anticipated this and cleared up some space beforehand. It wouldve been quite the conundrum otherwise.
As more and more vitality poured out of their bodies, everyone felt as if they were choking on blood. Thankfully, this phenomenon onlysted for a couple of seconds before the red mist converged at the space between Lu Ye and Amber.
The ropes of red light wrapped around Lu Ye and Amber began spinning rapidly. Lu Ye felt as if he was losing and gaining vitality rapidly both at the same time. It was as if an indescribable power was drawing out his blood from one end of his body and injecting it into the other. It was a strange sensation to say the least.
As time passed, Lu Ye felt a gradual change transforming his vitality. Not only was it stronger and richer, he felt as if some sort of beastial instinct was mixed in it.
It came from none other than Amber.
The dazzling scene would continue for another dozens of breaths before it finally subsided. As the red light faded, the Glyph: Life Energy also turned blurry and unclear. When it vanishedpletely, the blood stench that permeated the room also dissipated like never existed.
For a time, Lu Ye and Amber simply stared into each others eyes. It was because both man and tiger felt as if their lives had been joined together. They also felt closer than ever before!
Even before the Life Energy Art, Lu Ye could already guess what Amber was thinking thanks to the Bonding Pact. Of course, it was nothingpared to Yi Yis bond with Amber. The Ghost Spirit literally knew what the white tiger was thinking at all times.
After the Life Energy Art, Lu Ye still could not hear Ambers thoughts and interact with it like Yi Yi. However, he felt as if he understood the white tiger much better than before. Their bond had crossed the line of guessing and into actualprehension.
Amber clearly felt the same thing. It walked up to Lu Ye and rubbed its head against Lu Yes face affectionately.
That wasnt the end of their transformation. Lu Ye abruptly sensed something and pulled open his shirt. When he looked down, he saw the lifelike image of a tigers head on his chest. It was as if someone had tattooed a Glyph onto his chest using fresh blood. It looked mighty impressive.
Lu Ye immediately recognized it as the Beast Pact. The Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art were separate techniques, and logically speaking the Beast Pact Art could only be cast after the Life Energy Art was executed sessfully. But somehow, he hadpleted both the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art at the same time.
He wasnt going to look a gift horse in the mouth though.
It was at this moment the Great Elder called out from outside, Are you okay, Young Master?
It was clear that the old man had reached the end of his patience. He desperately wanted to know if Lu Ye was doing okay.
Chapter 467: The Spirit Beasts Attacks
Chapter 467: The Spirit Beasts Attacks
Im fine, Lu Ye replied before returning his focus back to his transformation.
Lu Ye did not feel particrly changed despite having formed the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art with Amber. He could understand Amber better, and their lives were now as one, but that was it.
That said, Lu Ye had a feeling that he could borrow Ambers strength in battle if he wanted to. This ability alone was worth the trip to this Hidden Realm.
A whileter, Lu Ye exited the house and saw the Great Elder and the old woman waiting for him outside the door.
The Great Elders eyes immediately lit up when he saw Lu Ye and Amber. He asked, Did you do it, Young Master?
It was clear that he had noticed something. While asking the question, the Great Elder wondered when his Young Master had picked up the Life Energy Art.
Yeah, Lu Ye responded before pulling up his shirt. I have a question, Great Elder. I was only casting the Life Energy Art, so why did the Beast Pact take form as well?
Amazement bloomed across the Great Elders face. You
The old womans eyes had widened in shock as well.
This is not a problem, right? Although Lu Ye didnt feel anything wrong with the Beast Pact, he would rather be safe than sorry.
The Heavens havent abandoned the Myriad Beasts Sect after all! The Great Elder abruptly bellowed as tears streamed down his cheeks. It was such a surprising and unexpected reaction that Lu Ye was paralyzed with uncertainty for a time. Even the old woman was saying, The Sect Master wouldve been so d if he could have seen this
It wasnt until they calmed down that Lu Ye finally learned why they had such an outburst.
As it turned out, the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art were really two parts of a whole. It was just that the Myriad Beasts Sect had decided to separate the two secret techniques generations after it was created because it was easier to execute, less susceptible to potentially deadly errors, and allowed for more systematic progress.
However, that didnt mean the effects of the revised secret technique were better than the original.
The fact that Lu Ye had sessfully formed the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art with Amber at the same time meant that they were connected at a level that most Beast Tamers and their Spirit Beasts could notpare to.
At this level, the Tamed Beast wasnt just a Chosen Beast anymore. It was a Fated Beast.
The Myriad Beasts Sect had a long history, but only a handful of disciples had ever owned a Fated Beast. Not only that, they were one of, if not the strongest champions of their era. It was thanks to their contribution that the Myriad Beasts Sect ultimately became the greatest sect in the Myriad Beasts Domain.
The Myriad Beasts Sect was destroyed, and Lu Yes original Chosen Beast had perished in battle. This was without a doubt the darkest times of their sect. There was light at the end of the tunnel, however. Their Young Master had reced his Chosen Beast with a Fated Beast. In the two seniors opinion, this was the sign that not all hope was lost for the Myriad Beasts Sect, and they might even rise to the top once more once they had survived this crisis. It was no wonder they were as excited as they were.
Lu Ye did not really share their sentiment because he wasnt a true Beast Tamer. Amber was Amber. All he wanted to know was that the Beast Pact Art would not bring harm to him or Amber. The white tiger could be a normal Spirit Beast, and he would still treat it like family.
Besides, he wasnt the true Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect. He was just a passerby. If Xia Qianqian was right about this world, the true Myriad Beasts Domain and Myriad Beasts Sect were annihted a long, long time ago. Everything he was experiencing right now was just something the Heavens had recreated to put their cultivators to the test and hone them into greater cultivators.
Suddenly, the ground shook unnaturally. Immediately after that, distorted waves of Spiritual Power washed over their bodies, and screams of battle broke out from every direction.
The Great Elder immediately nched. He looked like he couldntprehend what was going on. That was not the case for Lu Ye. He knew that the army of Spirit Beasts his group encountered a while ago had finally begun their assault.
The army was the reason they escaped back to Bndia in the first ce. Now that he thought about it, it was about time they made contact with the city.
Cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Sect, answer me! A powerful voice abruptly resounded from the sky. A cultivator wearing bright armor and dressed as a general was addressing them from above.
The generals arrogance immediately angered the Great Elder. The old man was just about to give him a piece of his mind when Lu Ye interjected, I am the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect. What business do you have, general?
The general tossed a jade slip into Lu Yes hands and answered in a hurried tone, The Spirit Beasts are attacking the city. Milordmands you to assist the Inferno Battalion in defending the Primus-third wall immediately!
What insolence! The Great Elder could not stop himself from yelling, Tell Liu Wuzhai toe out and speak with me this instant!
The general shot the Great Elder a cold look before replying, Mylord also said that defending the walls is the responsibility of all cultivators residing within Bndia. Anyone who refuses the responsibility will be executed without mercy.
The Great Elder was going to say more when Lu Ye raised his hand and stopped him. He looked back at the general and said, Please do not wait on our behalf, general. We shall take our leave immediately!
The cultivator nodded slightly before flying away probably to deliver the same order to the other cultivators.
The Great Elder remained livid even after the general was gone. He cursed Liu Wuzhai for going too far. Lu Ye was far too precious to risk on the frontlines.
However, Lu Ye said, Now is not the time to worry about my safety, Great Elder. Bndia is the final bastion of humanity. If it falls, then the Myriad Beasts Domain falls as well. We are the ones who came to this city to seek refuge. Now that the city is at stake, it is only right that we repay the favor and defend it, dont you agree?
The Great Elder looked at Lu Ye as if he had grown two heads. It was because the Young Master he remembered was a pampered, unreasonable child. In fact, he was the perfect example of a hedonistic son who had far too much power and wealth for his own good. He usually spent day and night fooling around and not cultivating.
The Great Elders eyes reddened as he grabbed Lu Yes hand and patted it repeatedly. Youve grown up, Young Master!
The Great Elder thought to himself that hardships truly was the medicine that transformed a boy into a man. The rest of the Cloud River Realm cultivators were wearing ddened expressions as well.
Lu Ye could only smile wryly at their reactions.
The door opened, and the girls came out to join them. They nodded when their eyes met with Lu Yes.
Lu Ye immersed his mind into the jade slip to find out where the Primus-third wall was. As it turned out, it was closer than he thought. Liu Wuzhai had probably nned for them to guard this wall from the moment he assigned them to this house.
The group followed behind Lu Ye as they flew toward the Primus-third wall. Wherever they looked, the sky was filled with avian Spirit Beasts. There were so many that they almost blotted out the sun itself.
Countless colorful lights were already exploding all over the ce and turning the avian Spirit Beasts into showers of blood and gore. While Bndia possessed a Grand Ward as a matter of course, it was only activated partially because a full activation would prevent the defenders behind the Grand Ward from attacking the Spirit Beasts as well. Considering that the enemy vastly outnumbered them, it was only a matter of time before the Grand Ward was destroyed.
The only way they might survive this crisis was to kill as many Spirit Beasts as possible while defending. That was why numerous gaps had been opened at strategic locations throughout the grand ward. By funneling the Spirit Beasts into this gap, they could lessen the burden on the Grand Ward and improve their kill efficiency drastically. The cultivators of Bndia werent so dumb that they didnt understand basic strategy.
The Primus-third wall Lu Yes group was assigned to was one of the ces where a gap was opened. Right now, countless avian Spirit Beasts were flooding through the gap and attacking every human in sight. The powerless mortals could only hide in the buildings and pray that the cultivators could stop the assault.
Inside the city, many cultivators could be seen flying here and there and hunting down the Spirit Beasts that managed to break through the defense line. Blood rained all over the city like a downpour.
On the walls, the defenders were doing everything in their power to kill the Spirit Beasts that were climbing up the walls. They beat back the tide of flesh and madness again and again. It was utter chaos everywhere.
When Lu Ye and his group arrived at the Primus-third wall, they discovered that the section was already in danger of falling. Many Spirit Beasts had already climbed up to the walls and were tearing into the cultivators with wild abandon. Some people were hurt, some were dead, and some were roaring and fighting with all their might just to stay alive.
Without reinforcements, this wall wouldve been ovee in just a matter of minutes. The defense line would be breached, and the endless horde would quickly overtake the entire city.
The only way to stop this was to close the gap, but that also meant that the grand ward would withstand greater pressure.
One could say that Lu Yes group had arrived at the perfect time.
Everyone in the group was a Cloud River Realm cultivator. Their numbers were few, but three of them were Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators. They were as powerful as they were indispensable in this battle.
As usual, the cultivators kicked off their counterattack with spells and flying weapons first. The flying weapons made a tut-tut noise every time they pierced through a Spirit Beasts flesh.
Lu Ye had fought many great battles on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but they were almost childs ypared to this battle.
This was a battle with the fate of the entire world at stake. Humanity was already at theirst legs, and their enemy, the Spirit Beasts only needed to wipe out Bndia to achieve total victory. If the cultivators lost this battle, they and everyone else behind them would be killed.
Lu Ye was a cultivator from Jiu Zhou. Personally, he did not think he would truly be able to empathize with the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain even if he was an active participant in it. However, he quickly discovered he was wrong. Not long after he set foot in this battle, he found himself fighting with everything he got. At that moment, it was as if he had truly be the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect, and that he was leading the remnants of his sect against the endless tide in hopes of postponing their extinction even a second longer.
As Lu Ye was the leader of the group, he was supported by Xia Qianqian and the Great Elder. Wherever they went, even Champion-ss Spirit Beasts fell to their des with insulting ease.
Thanks to their efforts, every Spirit Beast that managed to climb onto the walls were in in short order, and this section of the defense line was no longer in danger of copsing.
Vitality rolled off Lu Yes body like clouds as blood dripped from the Invible. Amber was overflowing with vitality as well.
When he formed a Beast Pact with Amber at the beginning, Lu Ye thought that he didnt feel too different from before. Now that he was fighting though, he could clearly feel the additional energy coursing through his veins.
After their vitality became linked, every attack Lu Ye executed was imbued with a bit of Ambers strength. Thanks to this, his attacks were stronger and swifter than before!
Chapter 468: Holding On
Chapter 468: Holding On
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Right after the Beast Pact was formed, Lu Ye already had the feeling that he could borrow strength from Amber. It just wasnt obvious at the time because they were resting.
Now, it was clear that it wasnt just a feeling. He really could empower himself through the Beast Pact.
He wasnt the only one who was doing this. The Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators were borrowing strength from their Chosen Beasts. It was obvious from the way their vitality mingled together as one.
This was the true power of a Beast Tamer!
To Lu Ye, this benefit was more than weed. In the past, Amber rarely had the opportunity to intervene in his battles despite riding on top of his shoulder. It was because he was a lot more powerful than the white tiger. The most Amber could do was to stun his enemies with its roar.
It was different now. Amber could do nothing throughout the whole fight, and it would still be of help to Lu Ye by lending its strength.
Not only that, this was just the beginning of the strength borrowing. When their vitality had mingled to a certain extent, Amber could even temporarily merge with Lu Ye to be a singr, more powerful entity.
He did not expect that to happen anytime soon, of course. He had formed a Beast Pact with Amber less than an hour ago. He was nowhere close to figuring out how to merge with his Chosenno, Fated Beast.
Lu Ye swung the me-wreathed Invible through a Spirit Beasts neck and killed it instantly. A blood-drenched cultivator crawled out from beneath the dead creature, straightened his helmet, and gave Lu Ye a nod. Thank you for the save, fellow cultivator. Who are you people?
The cultivator Lu Ye saved was obviously a native. He wouldve died if Lu Ye hadnt acted fast enough.
We are the Myriad Beasts Sect!
His eyes lit up when he heard this. The Myriad Beasts Sect! No wonder you managed to plug the leak so easily! He then raised his arm and shouted, Brothers and sisters, our friends from the Myriad Beasts Sect havee to join us! Have courage and keep fighting the enemy! These beasts must not be allowed to break through our defense line!
RAAH! Countless cultivators responded just as loudly.
The man wiped away the blood on his face before asking, This section of the wall is guarded by my Inferno Battalion, and I am the battalionmander, Fang Zhun. What is your name, fellow cultivator?
Ye Six.
Well met, Brother Ye Six. Now, we are kinda in a tight spot here, so I shant waste anymore time exchanging pleasantries with you. Since you are here, I assume that youve received the mobilization order from our lord. I need you and your men to go to that location Fang Zhun pointed, and protect Howling Thunder and my brothers and sisters. Can you do that?
Lu Ye looked at the direction he was pointing. He saw a big ward and something that looked like the skull of a Spirit Beast at the center of the ward. He could tell it wasnt a real skull because it gave off a metallic glint. Whatever the skull was made of, it was probably the Howling Thunder Fang Zhun was referring to.
Right now, seven or eight Inferno Battalion cultivators surrounded the Howling Thunder and were channeling their Spiritual Power into the ward. Judging from their auras, there were both Cloud River Realm cultivators and Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. The ward grew increasingly threatening to his senses as more and more Spiritual Power was injected into it.
As it turned out, Howling Thunder was an offensive ward with a Spirit Artifact as the core. Lu Ye also figured out why it was called Howling Thunder at first nce. He was a ward cultivator. It would be embarrassing if he couldnt figure out something so obvious.
Howling Thunder was most likely a top grade Spell Artifact or even a Spirit Treasure. Naturally, it would be difficult for any cultivator to activate it alone, especially since the strongest cultivator in the Myriad Beasts Domain was just a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Unfortunately, it was also unrealistic to expect multiple cultivators to wield the weapon. It was like having multiple people wielding a single sword. Forget how awkward that would be, the distribution of Spiritual Power alone would be a difficult problem to solve.
It was a different story if they used wards though. By setting up a ward around Howling Thunder, they could ensure proper power distribution and wield it properly.
Howling Thunder was really a siege weapon, and most cultivators never saw it outside ofrge-scale battles. The good news was that it functioned as an excellent anti-siege weapon as well.
As Lu Ye watched, a ball of light began forming in front of the weapon. As more and more Spiritual Power was poured into the ward, even a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator like Xia Qianqian felt her skin pricking with instinctual fear, and her hair standing on end.
What this meant was that Howling Thunder was powerful enough to threaten even a champion like Xia Qianqian!
It should not need to be said that Lu Ye felt deeply threatened as well. If the weapon was aimed in his direction, he would be flying away with Soar and Windwalk functioning at max capacity already.
There was a sudden boom that sounded like the howl of thunder. The entire wall shook, and the ball of light gathering in front of Howling Thunder transformed into a beam of light that stabbed over a kilometer deep into the throng of Spirit Beasts like the sword of the Heavens themselves, lightning crackling the whole time.
It did not matter if the Spirit Beast was Champion-level or not. The beam of light turned them into ashes all the same.
Ten whole breathster, the beam of light finally faded into nothing. It wasnt until muchter that the Spirit Beasts filled up the massive hole it left behind.
For a time, Lu Ye waspletely speechless. This was the first time hed seen the weapon in action, but he could already tell that it wasnt something any Cloud River Realm cultivator could endure. The one strike had taken out hundreds of Spirit Beasts, and it only took seven or eight cultivators to perform the feat.
The Howling Thunder he was seeing wasnt unique in the sense that simrly powerful anti-siege weapons had been installed in every section of the wall. Of course, their firepower varied greatly as well. Regardless, they were all powerful weapons capable of dishing out an insane amount of damage.
After Howling Thunder had fired its payload, its cultivators immediately sat on the floor and focused on recovering their strength as much as possible. The attack was powerful, but it also took a lot of energy out of them.
That was why Fang Zhun had requested Lu Ye and the Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators to protect them. Both the weapon and the cultivators needed to be protected at all times.
I got it. We promise that we will keep them safe! Lu Ye replied with a nod.
I trust you! Fang Zhun saluted Lu Ye respectfully before raising his Spirit Artifact and throwing himself back into battle.
The Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators were already fighting alongside the Inferno Battalion cultivators and assisting in the defense effort. As for Lu Ye, he summoned the three women to his side before leaving to protect the Howling Thunder and its cultivators.
Lu Ye was going all out. All nine of his flying weapons were up and killing while he ran all over the ce to cut down any Spirit Beast who dared to climb onto the walls. From time to time, he would unleash a Fire Phoenix Technique and st the avian Spirit Beasts to kingdome as well.
Of the four of them, Xia Qianqian was the one who killed the most Spirit Beasts not just because her cultivation level was the highest, but also because she was a spell cultivator. Every time she cast a powerful spell, an entire swathe of Spirit Beasts would be turned into ashes. She even had the time to produce her identity pass and check how many battle points she had earned. One look at the grin on her face was all Lu Ye needed to see to know that the answer was a lot.
For the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain, this was the battle that determined whether they could continue existing in this Cultivation World. But for the cultivators of Jiu Zhou, this was just a golden opportunity to earn as many battle points as possible. After all, the more battle points they gained, the more Amulets they could exchange for at the quartermaster department. Lu Ye himself could attest to how addicting it felt to boost his cultivation level using an Amulet.
Lu Yes killing efficiency and speed were much slower than Xia Qianqians, but that was only natural considering that their cultivation level was seven minor realms apart. But what Lu Yecked in power, he made up for with a vast set of skills. He could kill enemies remotely with his flying weapons, cast powerful spells that destroyedrge groups of enemies, and even fight powerful Spirit Beasts at close range all at the same time.
Lan Ziyi wasnt doing poorly either. She only had one flying weapon, but it was insanely powerful. Combined with her longswords and her fighting style, she was killing multiple Spirit Beasts almost every second or so.
Kitty Shen was currently doubting her whole life right now. She was already desensitized to Lu Yes abnormal strength as he was the man who dared to invade an Arcane de alone and practically dominate multiple cultivators who were several minor realms above his level. It was impossible to judge him by normal standards. She had no doubt that he was an extremely aplished ranker on the Scroll of Supremacy before he entered the Cloud River Battlefield as he was on par with the average Fourth or Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator despite just being a Second-Order.
But what about Lan Ziyi? How was she, a Second-Order cultivator, performing as well as she, a Fifth-Order cultivator? She wasnt THAT weak, was she?
Kitty Shen could not help but feel a bit depressed. She was a top fifty Spirit Creek Realm ranker as well, but she could not even hold a candle to these two
And so the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Sect and Inferno Battalion worked together to defend the entire section of the wall. It wasnt long before everyone was positively soaked in blood.
The carcasses beneath the walls had piled up as high as hills by this point. It felt like they were breathing blood, not air.
Despite the one-sided massacre, the Spirit Beasts kepting as if they didnt know death. They continued to climb up the walls or fly over it.
These crazed Spirit Beasts only had one goal, and that was to kill every Human in the entire world.
This was a Cultivation World where Beast Tamers were its strongest cultivators. Naturally, the Spirit Beasts vastly outnumbered the Humans even before the sickness had spread. That was why the crazed Spirit Beasts not only seeded in defeating the Humans, but also conquering most of thends until Bndia was their only remaining bastion.
The Section Jia-Three wall wasnt doing so hot. It was the same for the other walls.
That said, Bndia was the city where the remaining Humans of the entire Cultivation World were gathered. Faced with the threat of extinction, even the most uncooperative sects were able to set down their differences and work together to fight against the Spirit Beasts. Therefore, Bndia wasnt going to fall in the short term no matter what.
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Chapter 469: Cruel War
Chapter 469: Cruel War
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The Myriad Beasts Domain was a dead world that the Heavens had refined into a Hidden Realm for the purpose of honing the cultivators of Jiu Zhou via inexplicable means. This meant Bndia had fallen to the Spirit Beasts in the original history.
In this reenactment though, things were slightly different thanks to the participation of the cultivators of Jiu Zhou. At least hundreds of Cloud River Realm cultivators had entered this Hidden Realm after all. Not all of them were high level cultivators, but they were still a powerful force that could not be underestimated.
Right now, the cultivators of Jiu Zhou were guarding the walls and working together with the natives to resist the Spirit Beasts.
On the Section Jia-Three wall, a thunderous boom rocked the world once more. A dazzling beam of light plowed into the area with the greatest number of Spirit Beasts and evaporated everything within its path. When it faded, it left behind a smoking trail that was a kilometer long at least. It was Howling Thunder making short work of the Spirit Beasts of course.
The Myriad Beasts Sect and Inferno Battalion cultivators were doing their best to thin the horde as well. Flying weapons and spells dropped countless Spirit Beasts before they could get close enough to attack.
By now, the carcasses beneath the walls had grown tall enough for most Spirit Beasts to use them to climb up to the walls. They kepting no matter how many of them were killed.
Lu Ye had swung his saber so many times that his weapon arm had turnedpletely numb. Lan Ziyi and Kitty Shen were pale-faced panting heavily.
The battle was so intense that even Cloud River Realm cultivators could not hold out for long. Worse, the Spirit Beasts were invading just as fiercely as before when even a Ninth-Order cultivator like Xia Qianqian was slowly but surely slowing down. It was as if their numbers would never end.
The defenders were almost at their limit already. If nothing changed, then this section of the defense line was going to copse in less than an hour.
Thankfully, Bndia had already prepared for this scenario.
Some time passed, and the defenders suddenly heard a rumble from inside the city. Then, Fang Zhuns voice reached everyone. Hang on, everyone! The ward cultivators are closing the gaps on the wards now!
Lu Ye shot a nce at the gap in front of the Section Jia-Three wall. It was slowly but surely growing narrower and narrower. Someone was clearly controlling the grand ward.
As the gap shrank, the area the cultivators needed to defend grew smaller as well. It made it so much easier to defend against the enemies.
In the end, the gaps werepletely shut, and the Spirit Beasts were fully blocked out by the grand ward. It was just a temporary reprieve, but for now, the battle was finally over.
The defenders on the Section Jia-Three wall rxed and copsed to their feet in relief. There was no time to rest, however. They hurriedly shoved a handful of Spirit Pills into their mouths and focused on recovering their strength.
At the same time, a new gap opened in front of the walls right next to the Section Jia-Three wall. The fresh defenders of that wall fought against a new tide of Spirit Beasts!
Against such numbers, Bndia was well aware that it was better to lead the enemy down nned killnes than to block them outpletely. They could activate the grand ward in full, but such folly would only shorten its lifespan and hasten Bndias demise drastically.
This was the solution they hade up with to handle the endless tide. By opening gaps on the walls periodically and systematically, they ensured that their defense would be more effective.
For example, the defenders next to the Section Jia-Three wall were resting while they were battling against the horde. Now, it was their turn to fight while the defenders of the Section Jia-Three wall rested.
Alternating defenses this way not only allowed for greater margins of error, but also ensured that the cultivators wouldst as long as possible both physically and mentally. Whoever came up with this arrangement clearly had a knack for seeing the bigger picture.
Right now, nearly everyone on the Section Jia-Three wall was meditating and recovering their strength. Lu Ye was the only one who was sitting in front of Howling Thunder and examining the wards around it curiously.
It was clear that whoever created the wards surrounding Howling Thunder was a much better ward cultivator than him. Although he was capable of setting up the same wards, the finer details in certain areas wouldve been much rougher.
Besides that, he was extremely interested in the offensive ward. He had never seen one that used a Spirit Treasure as the core, and Howling Thunder had more than proven its worth during the battle. The weapon was easily one of the main reasons the Section Jia-Three wall was able to hold out until their shift was over.
He was still studying the ward when Xia Qianqian sat down beside him. What are you doing? You should focus on recovering your strength.
Im just indulging in a bit of curiosity.
What he didnt say was that he didnt need to focus to recover his strength. He could be sleeping right now, and his body would still automatically digest the Spirit Pills he consumed and pull in the surrounding World Spiritual Qi.
Conserve your strength. You will need itter, Xia Qianqian advised.
What do you mean?
I dont know if youve noticed, but this city was doomed from the start. Its only a matter before its overwhelmed. Have you thought about what to do after the city is breached?
What do you advise, Fellow Cultivator Xia?
Xia Qianqian shook her head. Do I look like an intellectual to you? Im just telling you to prepare for the inevitable escape after the city is breached.
Lu Ye frowned. But this entire Cultivation World is already dominated by the Spirit Beasts. Where can we go even if we make a run for it?
That is why we need to escape before the city is breached! Xia Qianqian sighed. Ive experienced plenty of Hidden Realms in the past, but I gotta say that this one feels especially impossible.
And it was. Humanity itself was at the brink of extinction. There was only so much an individual could do considering the circumstances.
What are the other Hidden Realms like? Lu Ye asked curiously. Unlike Xia Qianqian, he was just a Second-Order. It would be a long time before he graduated from the Cloud River Battlefield. Any advice he could pry from Xia Qianqian would surely aid him in his survival.
No two Hidden Realms are the exact same. For example, none of the Hidden Realms Ive experienced so far has pitted me against a Heavens damned extinction-level threat until now.
You mentioned that the objective of a Hidden Realm like this is to train the cultivators to solve the root of the problem, resolve the crisis its facing and save the world, didnt you?
Sure, but we dont even know what made the Spirit Beasts go insane in the first ce. And trust me, Ive already tried to investigate this. How can we solve the problem if we dont even know what it is?
It was a good point. Why had the Spirit Beasts gone insane? The disease had spread like wildfire too. In just a year, countless Spirit Beasts across the entire Cultivation World abruptly went insane and began attacking the Humans.
Logically speaking, the disease that drove most Spirit Beasts insane had toe from somewhere. The only way to stop this was to find the source and destroy it.
But where was the source? What was the source, for that matter?
The cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain never found out the truth before they were wiped out. They were eventually subsumed by the Heavens and transformed into a Hidden Realm.
It wasnt like they werepletely clueless, of course. For one, they knew that the disease was incredibly infectious, but strangely it didnt look like the disease was spread via contact. He knew this because the Myriad Beasts Sects cultivators had been fighting alongside their Spirit Beasts and none of them showed any signs of derangement so far.
Amber was perfectly fine as well.
Theres no point in thinking too deeply into it. Considering the circumstances, the best we can do is to see what happens and improvise on the fly. Anyway, we really should stop talking and focus on recovering our strength, Xia Qianqian replied before taking her own advice.
Lu Ye tossed two Vital Spirit Pills into his mouth and chewed slowly.
Over two hourster, Fang Zhun let out a hoarse yell, Its time, people! Get ready for battle!
The Inferno Battalion and Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators hadnt fully recovered yet, but they immediately got to their feet and rushed into position. The cultivators responsible for charging the Howling Thunder also assumed their positions and channeled their Spiritual Power into the ward immediately. It hummed in response to the energy.
The gap in front of the neighboring wall began to close slowly at the same time that one was opened right in front of the Section Jia-Three wall. A swarm of Spirit Beasts immediately rushed through the gap, and the battle was engaged once more!
The alternating defense gave the defenders the opportunity to catch their breaths every two to four hours or so, but their stamina and Spiritual Power still declined over time. Two to four hours wasnt enough time for the cultivators to recover back to full strength.
Worse, the flood of Spirit Beasts truly seemed to be unending. They had begun besieging the city since noon, and they did not stop even when the next dawn came
The Section Jia-Three wall defenders and their neighbor had alternated shifts at least six times throughout the period. However, the intensity of the siege did not lessen in the slightest.
The battlested so long that even the ward supporting Howling Thunder had worn out enough to suffer a temporary breakdown, forcing Lu Ye to perform some emergency repairs to get it running again. Thank goodness he had observed the ward beforehand, or he wouldnt even know how to begin to repair it.
It took an entire hour before he finally repaired the ward and enabled the weapon to let out its thunderous roar once more.
The gap in the grand ward closed a momentter. It was finally their neighbors turn to hold back the tide.
Lu Ye copsed to the ground immediately after the burden was lifted off his shoulders. It had been too close. During the hour he was repairing the offensive ward, the Spirit Beasts had nearly broken through their defense line multiple times. It was only thanks to the defenders selfless sacrifice that they were able to hold out until the end.
Suddenly, Lu Ye realized that he hadnt heard anything from Fang Zhun. Every time it was their turn to rest, the battalionmander had never failed to bark out themand until now.
Lu Ye looked left and right until his gaze fixed on a Spirit Beasts carcass about thirty meters away from him,ying on a cultivator. It looked like it had crushed the top of his head between its jaws before someone had managed to kill it. The unfortunate man was none other than Fang Zhun!
The Inferno Battalion battalionmander wasnt the only one who had died during the defense. The Inferno Battalion had lost over half of its numbers since the battle began. The Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators had been reduced to just six as well.
No one in Lu Yes group of four had died, but they were all injured to a certain extent. Kitty Shen especially was lying on the ground and staring at the sky nkly. Her face was deathly pale, and her shirt around the abdomen area was drenched in fresh blood.
The woman had encountered plenty of dangers throughout her journeyshe was a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator after allbut this was easily the worst battle of her life.
This defensive war far surpassed any crisis she had ever encountered.
Suddenly, Amber started twisting its body restlessly and letting out a strange growl. Lu Ye was just about to ask what was wrong when a hint of red shed through its pupils, and it hurriedly jumped off Lu Yes shoulder.
Mutant energy rolled off its body as it manifested its true self. When it looked up, Lu Ye saw that its eyes had turned scarlet.
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Chapter 470: The Truth of the “Rabies”
Chapter 470: The Truth of the Rabies
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Young Master, watch out!
The Great Elder was resting nearby when Amber began to act strangely. He immediately leaped to his feet and attempted to attack Amber.
From his perspective, Lu Yes Fated Beast had caught the rabies. The only way to deal with this situation was to kill the Spirit Beast before it harmed its master and everyone else around it.
However, a sh of fiery red stopped the Great Elder in his tracks. He nced at Lu Ye in astonishment while blurting, Young Master?
Just give me a moment! Lu Ye ordered with a grim expression.
Amber was thest Spirit Beast he expected to catch the rabies. The white tiger had been fighting by his side this whole time, and he was certain that it wasnt injured once throughout the battle. With that in mind, how on earth did he catch the rabies?
There was one thing that was markedly different between Amber and other maddened Spirit Beasts, however. Although the white tiger was staring at him with scarlet eyes and growling uncontrobly, it was equally clear that it was doing its best to maintain its sanity. Otherwise, it would have attacked him and everyone else around it already.
Amber was Lu Yes Tamed Beast for more than two years, and it was restricted by the Bonding Pact bestowed by the Heavens themselves. Despite having caught the rabies, it didnt lose its mindpletely like the others.
It was at this moment Lu Ye received a message via his Battlefield Imprint. As expected, it came from Yi Yi.
Lu Ye looked up at Amber immediately after he finished reading the message. At the same time, Amber bowed its head before Lu Ye.
There was a metallic glint, and before everyone knew it Lu Ye had stabbed his saber three inches into the back of Ambers neck. The attack was so sudden that no one was able to react in time. Xia Qianqian and the girls were all staring at him in astonishment. Just a moment ago, the young man had stopped the Great Elder from killing Amber. Was it because he didnt want Amber to die in a strangers hands, or
They realized they were wrong the second the thought crossed their minds. If Lu Ye truly wanted to kill his Tamed Beast, there were a number of vital spots he could have chosen that would make the death as painless as possible.
Suddenly, everyone heard a strange cry from Amber. It almost sounded like a cicadas cry. However, the battlefield was noisy enough that they werent sure if they had actually heard right.
It was at this moment that Lu Ye pulled his saber out of Ambers neck. Everyones gaze suddenly became affixed to the tip of the de.
There was what looked like a tiny cicada at the end of the saber. It was struggling and writhing furiously. Before they could see it clearly though, it suddenly exploded into a pool of ck liquid!
Lu Ye hurriedly enveloped the ck liquid with his Spiritual Power before it could hit anyone. Then, he kept it afloat as everyone stared at the ck liquid with varying expressions on their faces.
At the same time, Amber rxed the second the strange cicada was removed from the back of its neck. It shook its head once and looked up. The unnatural scarlet coloring its eyes earlier was no longer present.
The back of its neck was still leaking blood, but this level of injury was at worst superficial to a powerful Spirit Beast like Amber. While staring warily at the ck liquid being trapped within Lu Yes energy globe, it walked behind Lu Ye and stayed there.
Lu Ye turned around and met Xia Qianqians eyes for a moment. Then, he said, I found the reason the Spirit Beast went insane!
What?
Xia Qianqian did not react immediately because she was still stunned by everything she had seen until now. Then, realization hit her like a hammer. You mean, that thing you just removed earlier is
Its not rabies or even a disease. Its a parasite! A parasite is controlling all the Spirit Beasts!
Xia Qianqians eyes widened in shock. Are you sure?
One hundred percent!
If he was alone, he would not have been able to discover the truth so quickly. It was because the parasite that had buried itself into Ambers neck had blended it perfectly with Ambers aura. The camouge was so perfect that he couldve searched every inch of Ambers body with his Spiritual Power and still not discover the insect in the end.
In fact, this was precisely why the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain never discovered the truth behind the Spirit Beasts madness. The parasite was so well hidden they couldnt find it even after capturing some crazed Spirit Beasts and investigating their bodies thoroughly.
Amber had Yi Yi to look after it, however. The girl had not shown herself ever since she entered this Hidden Realm. At the beginning, she didnt notice anything wrong with Ambers body either. Then it started acting strangely, and she hurriedly investigated its body for signs of abnormality. She immediately found the strange parasite and messaged Lu Ye about it.
The parasite was so undetectable that Lu Ye still did not know when exactly Amber had caught the parasite. However, he was certain the parasite must be incredibly tiny when it infected Amber at the beginning; so tiny that it could elude even a cultivators senses. It swiftly grew in size once it had burrowed itselfpletely into Ambers body.
It was impossible to guess what its maximum size was, but it was the size of a cicada when Lu Ye had extracted it from Ambers neck.
Unfortunately, the parasite had exploded almost as soon as it was brought to light. Perhaps it was designed that way to avoid being discovered by the cultivators.
Everyone around Lu Ye stared at the ck liquid trapped inside Lu Yes energy globe closely. To their shock, it was swimming with many miniscule insects just as Lu Ye had theorized. No wonder it was able to remain hidden until now.
After the others were done studying the ck liquid, Lu Ye channeled his Fire Attribute Spiritual Power and burned everyst drop of it.
Growl!
Amber transformed into its cat form and returned to Lu Yes shoulder. Then, it started growling as if it was making conversation with Lu Ye.
It wasnt. To be specific, Yi Yi was tranting everything Amber was saying and conveying it to Lu Ye via the Battlefield Imprint. The girl was Ambers Ghost Spirit, so she understood its thoughts perfectly. This was one area even Lu Ye, the white tigers owner, could not hope to do better even with the Bonding Pact of the Heavens, the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art tying them closer than ever before. At best, Lu Ye could make some simple conversation with Amber. He could not discern its exact thoughts like Yi Yi could.
Lu Ye pretended to nod his head to Ambers growls as he read Yi Yis messages. Xia Qianqian asked curiously, What is it saying? She had never seen such an intelligent Spirit Beast until now.
Unfortunately, Yi Yi wasnt done conveying Ambers message yet, so he just pretended he hadnt heard her and kept nodding his head
A whileter, he finally said while pointing, It said it felt something from that direction when it was being controlled by the parasite!
Okay. What does that mean, exactly?
Its not sure, but it could feel an invisible connection between the parasite and whatevers in that direction!
Is it the source of the madness!? Xia Qianqians eyes lit up immediately.
The reason the Spirit Beasts went insane wasnt because there was something wrong with them, but because their body had been taken control by parasites. Now, Amber was saying that it felt an invisible connection between the parasite and something thaty somewhere down that direction. It was impossible not to think that this something might just be the root of all evil. Assuming they were right, then the path ahead of them was finally clear. All they needed to do was to head there and eliminate the root of all evil.
Great Elder! Do you know what the Spirit Beast might be referring to? Xia Qianqian spun toward the old man.
Let me think Down that direction is The Great Elder muttered thoughtfully before his eyes suddenly lit up with realization.
Lu Ye noticed the reaction and asked, Tell me, Great Elder.
Its where the ck Tortoise Sect used to reside, and A frown overcame the Great Elders features. It is also where the madness first appeared before sweeping across the entire Myriad Beasts Domain.
His answer was the final nail in the coffin. Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian had no doubt that whatever Amber had sensed most likely resided in the ck Tortoise Sect.
But the ck Tortoise Sect was wiped out a long time ago, and we never found anything when we went to investigate it.
You investigated the crazed Spirit Beasts and never found the parasite either. Is it that surprising that you mightve missed something during your search? Xia Qianqian retorted and earned a shameful look from the Great Elder.
In his opinion, they would not have discovered the existence of the parasites if his Young Master wasnt close enough with his Fated Beast that he could understand its words.
Technically speaking, they couldnt be sure that the ck Tortoise Sect was the root of all evil. However, it was the best answer they coulde up with with the information they currently had. Lu Ye and Xia Qianqian exchanged a knowing look with each other.
There was no saving Bndia if they chose to remain where they were. At this rate, the city could give it their two hundred percent, and they would still be overwhelmed in the matter of days. The fall of the city would mean that the Myriad Beasts Domain had failed to deviate from its current path of extinction. Horrible, horrible things were going to befall the natives and even the cultivators Jiu Zhou if they allowed that to happen.
In fact, now that he thought about it, traveling to the source of the problem and solving it once and for all was the only path to survival. It would be extremely dangerous, but it was the only chance they might survive this.
Were going to have to gather a team, Lu Ye said solemnly.
Ill contact them right away, Xia Qianqian replied before she began messaging her acquaintances.
Xia Qianqian was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, so her social contacts were way bigger than Lu Yes as a matter of course. There had to be someone in this Hidden Realm that was on her list of contacts.
Young Master, are you nning to The Great Elder began.
Lu Ye thought for a second before telling the truth, Great Elder, were going to the ck Tortoise Sect! It might hold the answer to all our problems.
You want to head there now? The Great Elder nched immediately. The Spirit Beasts were currently sieging the city. To leave now was to push against the endless tide. It was dangerous to say the least.
It will be toote if we dont leave as soon as possible. Death is the only thing that awaits us if we stay here!
The Great Elder instinctively wanted to advise against such a dangerous course of action, but when he really thought about it, he realized that Lu Ye was speaking the truth. So, he nodded and dered, Youre right, Young Master. To stay here is to die a slow and painful death! In that case, I will speak with Liu Wuzhai and see if he can spare some men to aid us on our quest!
Lu Ye nodded approvingly. Thats a good idea!
Obviously, the bigger the team, the higher their chances of sess would be.
Please give me a moment, Young Master! The Great Elder said before flying straight toward the lords residence.
A whileter, a cultivator flew over from a distance andnded in front of them. He said in azy voice, Are you aware youre going to lose battle points if you leave your post at a critical time like this, Xia Qianqian?
Lu Ye was caught off guard by the voice. [Why does he sound so familiar?]
He turned toward the source of the noise and saw a round, fat man. His face was full of fat, and his eyes were narrowed into slits. He wore a beaming smile and carried a round belly in front of him.
Lu Ye was well and truly surprised. He never expected to encounter the man here. In fact, he never even saw him before they entered the Hidden Realm.
As if noticing Lu Yes gaze, the fat man looked over and met Lu Yes gaze. His eyes glinted, and his smile grew even wider than before.
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Chapter 471: My Name Is Pang Dahai
Chapter 471: My Name Is Pang Dahai
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Whats the matter, Xia Qianqian? The fat man asked while withdrawing his gaze. His acting was so good that no one realized he recognized Lu Ye except Lu Ye himself.
Ill tell you about it when everyones here.
The fat man frowned but did not push the matter further. While waiting, he checked his identity pass before grimacing visibly, They deducted five hundred battle points from my score!
As he said, leaving ones post at a critical time like this cost battle points, and five hundred battle points was not a small number. It was enough to purchase two White Amulets.
Another cultivator flew over to the group before withdrawing their sword aura. He was a tall man and a sword cultivator.
The fat man greeted him warmly, Brother Zhou Hai!
Zhou Hai nodded in acknowledgement and descended on the wall. Then, he tossed a Spirit Pill into his mouth and meditated in silence.
More and more people joined them as time passed. It wasnt long before a couple more cultivators joined their group. Obviously, they had all been called to this location by Xia Qianqian. What was concerning was that the fat man seemed to be familiar with all of them. He could always address the neers by their name and make small conversation with them.
Xia Qianqian had messaged more people than this, but no one else joined them after that. The fat man said, Well, it looks like everyone who could attend our little meeting has already arrived. Lets jump straight into business, shall we?
The group turned to look at Xia Qianqian, and the Ninth-Order cultivator said calmly, We found the reason the Spirit Beasts went insane!
Her words immediately caused everyone to perk up.
Since they entered the Hidden Realm and figured out what was guing the Myriad Beasts Domain, they had made multiple attempts to find out the cause of the madness. Unfortunately, their efforts had ended in total failure. Just like the natives, they were unable to find anything wrong with the crazed Spirit Beasts even after capturing them and investigating them from head to toe. Naturally, they were extremely interested to hear what Xia Qianqian had to say.
The cultivators of Jiu Zhou were aware that the only way they might survive this Hidden Realm was to solve the root of the problem. And to solve the root of the problem, they must first figure out what it was.
If a greenhorn like Lu Ye could see that there was no way they could defend Bndia until the end, then the others had to have realized their predicament as well. It was suicide to defend doggedly city without considering other avenues of action.
They were all Cloud River Realm cultivators. No one wanted to die here when they had a bright future ahead of them.
Tell us, Xia Qianqian!
Its a parasite. A kind of Insectoid to be exact! Xia Qianqian replied before rying everything they had discovered earlier.
The sword cultivator named Zhou Hai listened quietly to the end before flying away on his sword. A whileter, he returned with a struggling Spirit Beast with gorgeous, fiery red fur. It was probably a Blood Fox.
Three inches behind the neck, right? Zhou Hai asked Xia Qianqian for confirmation.
She nodded affirmatively. That was where we found our parasite, yes.
There was a sh of metal and a mournful cry from the Blood Fox Zhou Hai was holding. Everyone gazed at his sword and found what looked like a struggling cicada at the tip.
The parasite exploded into ck liquid just a secondter, but since Zhou Hai was forewarned about its ability, he was able to move fast enough to annihte every drop before it could get anywhere.
There really is a parasite!
Now they knew for certain that what Xia Qianqian said was true.
Someone asked, Unbelievable. If these Spirit Beasts were all controlled by a parasite, then why didnt we find anything when we were studying their carcasses?
They mustve exploded the moment the Spirit Beast was killed. That is why we didnt find anything! The fat man added with a grimace, Insectoids. Why is it always Insectoids?
It was clear from everyones expressions that they shared his sentiment.
Ive never encountered an Insectoid that burrowed into a Spirit Beast and took control of their body, however. Does that mean theres an insectoid nest somewhere in this world?
Most likely. But where could it be? The situation wont change if we do not know where it is.
Since Fellow Cultivator Xia summoned all of us over, I bet she already has a clue where its located. Am I right, Fellow Cultivator Xia?
When the group looked at Xia Qianqian, she answered, Youre right, but I must rify that Im not the one who discovered the clue. It is my friend, Fellow Cultivator Ye Six who found it. He has an extremely intelligent Tamed Beast that was nearly taken over by a parasite, but was able to hold it off long enough to convey its location and allow Ye Six to remove it. That is why the credit goes wholly to them.
Also, when the Tamed Beast was controlled by the parasite, it felt a strange connection from over there. Everyone followed her finger when she pointed. Assuming that were not mistaken, it should be where the insectoid nest is located!
The fat man gazed at Lu Ye with interest, Your name is Ye Six, is it? What a coincidence. I have a friend whos called that name as well. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pang Dahai.
Fellow Cultivator Pang!
What else can you tell us about the insectoid nest?
I dont know much about the insectoid nest or if there is even an insectoid nest in that location, but I can tell you that my Tamed Beast definitely sensed something in that direction. Moreover, we got rification that that is where the headquarters of the ck Tortoise Sect used tobe; the very ce where the first outbreak urred before spreading throughout the whole Cultivation World!
Everyones eyes brightened when they heard this. Zhou Hai dered, That has to be it. The insectoid nest must be located at the ck Tortoise Sect!
Theres no time to waste. Let us depart right away. The sooner we take out the insectoid nest, the sooner we can end this crisis!
Not yet. Were still waiting for someone, Xia Qianqian hurriedly stopped them.
It was at this moment a cultivator descended in front of them. It was none other than the Great Elder who offered to speak with the city lord. His ugly expression told Lu Ye that he hadnt brought good news, however.
As expected, the Great Elder swore loudly, That muddle headed-idiot who calls himself a city lord! I cannot believe he would do this when were literally days away from total annihtion! Just how foolish can he be?
He saluted Lu Ye apologetically after the rest, My apologies for failing you, Young Master!
What did the city lod say, Great Elder?
The old man answered in a furious tone, Not only did that old dog ignore my advice, he forbade us from leaving Bndia. He dered that well be branded as deserters and never be allowed to set foot in Bndia again if we dare to leave!
The surviving members of the Myriad Beasts Sect were filled with disdain and righteous anger when they heard this.
Lu Ye consoled them by saying, Its okay. We already have enough people to carry out the mission!
It was only now that the Great Elder realized that their group had been joined by eight neers. He asked, Who are these people, Young Master?
Lu Ye kept his answer brief. They are fellow cultivators who have decided to join us on our mission after hearing the truth, Great Elder.
Pleasant surprise bloomed across the old mans features. Wonderful! Most wonderful! At the same time, he thought to himself once more that his Young Master had truly grown up, and that he was no longer the hedonistic son who knew nothing about lifes suffering anymore.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, Pang Dahai and the other Jiu Zhou cultivators were staring at him with shocked expressions. Pang Dahai moved closer to Xia Qianqian and asked in a low tone, Hey, this old mans a native, right? Why is he addressing Ye Six as Young Master? Who is Ye Six in this world?
Hes the Young Master of the Myriad Beasts Sect.
The Myriad Beasts Sect? Pang Dahai nked out for a second before blurting in astonishment, That is some insane luck. Ive entered this type of Hidden Realm many times in the past, but I never heard of anyone who was given such a prestigious identity!
Xia Qianqian replied in a jealous voice, I know,
right? I never encountered someone like him either.
His fate must be through the roof if the Heavens would value him so. Now that I think about it, hes the one who discovered the Insectoids in the first ce, isnt he? Damn. By the way, what is your identity?
Thats none of your business! Xia Qianqian retorted. She was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. There was no way she could ever admit that she was Lu Yes attendant.
Pang Dahai chuckled. Xia Qianqian mightve refrained from answering, but that didnt stop him from figuring out the truth anyway. The young woman realized this and kicked him hard in the stomach. It was only then she said, Since were all here, lets move.
No one had anything to say against that.
The gap in front of the Section Jia-Three Wall was still closed, so they could only leave through the gap in front of their neighbors wall. They immediately summoned their flying Spirit Artifact and flew off in the blink of an eye.
For a time, the surviving members of the Inferno Battalion could only stare at their backs in shock. Then, they reported the desertion to the city lords residence.
Although only eight people had answered Xia Qianqians summons, they were quite powerful in their own right. Pang Dahai and Zhou Hai were both Ninth-Order cultivators, which meant that their group had five Ninth-Order cultivators in total. Everyone else was Fifth-Order or higher as well.
Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi were the only two Second-Order cultivators in the group, but they were far stronger than the average Second-Order cultivator because they were the former champion and first-runner up of the Scroll of Supremacy, respectively. They would not be holding the groups back.
Their small group began fighting their way out of Bndia. Two body-tempering cultivators opened the way while everyone else sted at the Spirit Beasts with their flying weapons or spells. Wherever they went, powerful attacks swept the Spirit Beasts like thunder, and colorful lights exploded across the sky like fireworks.
Lu Ye did not face too much pressure because he was positioned at the center of the group, and he was nked by the Great Elder and the surviving members of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Even so, the endless tide of Spirit Beasts slowly, but surely, wore him down. There were just too many of them. He could believe it if someone told him that every Spirit Beast in the entire Myriad Beasts Domain hade to Bndia. There were enough avian Spirit Beasts in the sky to blot out the sun, not to mention the sea of spirit Beasts on the ground.
Their group was powerful enough to handle most threats, but it still took them an entire hour to finally break through the encirclement. They had inevitably lost some members in the process as well. Two of them were Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators, and one a Jiu Zhou cultivator. Lu Ye remembered that the Jiu Zhou cultivator was a short ghost cultivator.
No one knew if they were still alive. They had been separated on the way out. Even after they had broken through the encirclement, they were still being pursued by a massive number of Spirit Beasts. Unfortunately, where the avian Spirit Beastscked in everything else, they made up in speed. Shaking them off wasnt going to be easy.
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Chapter 472: The Black Tortoise Sect
Chapter 472: The ck Tortoise Sect
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The group thinned the horde of avian Spirit Beasts chasing after them as they escaped. It wasnt until a quarter of a dayter that they finally eliminated all of their pursuers.
For a time, they simply floated in the air and watched their surroundings for more hostiles. The Myriad Beasts Domain was vast, but there wasnt a corner of the world that hadnt been ravaged by the Spirit Beasts. The entire world reeked of death and carnage.
At the front, Xia Qianqian, Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai engaged each other in a quick discussion before Xia Qianqian ordered, Lets rest for an hour!
The group descended on the mountain range right underneath them and quickly found a resting ce.
Lu Ye tossed two Spirit Pills into his mouth before holding a Middle Grade Spirit Stone in each hand. He didnt need to absorb the Spiritual Power in the Spirit Stones to recover his strength, but the pretense was necessary to keep the others from recognizing his abnormality.
It was at this moment a fat man sat beside him. It was none other than Pang Dahai.
It had been over two years since he met the man at Evil Moon Valley, but he was even fatter than he remembered. Lu Ye did not understand how it was possible for a Cloud River Realm cultivator to fail to control his body shape.
Lu Ye could not help but recall Le Shan when he saw Pang Dahai. He was the one who spread his nickname Lu Yi Ye.
Your Tamed Beast is quite handsome, Fellow Cultivator Ye? Pang Dahai said smilingly.
You can tame one yourself after were done here, Fellow Cultivator Pang. The one thing the Myriad Beasts Domain doesntck is Spirit Beasts.
I have tried raising Tamed Beasts in the past, but for some reason, they always end up in my stomach, the man said the scariest thing in a nonchnt tone while rubbing his belly. He then lowered his voice and added, I noticed that the Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators are uniquely skilled in the Way of Beast Taming. They seem to be capable of merging their vitality with their Spirit Beasts to improve their ownbat prowess. You should ask them about it if youre interested in the technique. They probably wont reject you considering your identity.
The man had clearly seen some things during the earlier battle; things that shed with what he knew about Beast Tamers. At the very least, he was sure that no Beast Tamer in Jiu Zhou could have performed some of the feats the Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators had disyed.
Ive already obtained them, Lu Ye replied in a low tone as well.
Pang Dahai raised an eyebrow before giving him a thumbs-up.
Lu Ye wasnt content to end the conversation here, however. He asked, By the way, there is something I want to ask you about, Fellow Cultivator Pang.
Speak.
I noticed that you brought up the insectoid nest the moment we told you about the parasites. Why is that?
He didnt understand why everyone else seemed certain that there was an insectoid nest somewhere in the Myriad Beasts Domain. He wouldve asked it sooner, but the timing wasnt right until now.
Did you experience an insectoid attack during your time at the Spirit Creek Battlefield? Pang Dahai asked.
Lu Ye nodded in acknowledgement.
Good. Thatll save me some breath. Since youve experienced an insectoid attack, you should know that the Insectoids do not grow out of thin air. They are all born from an insectoid nest. Going by that logic, the parasites that control the Spirit Beasts must be born from an insectoid nest as well. Pang Dahai exined patiently, Youre still new to the Cloud River Battlefield, but youlle to understand that the Insectoids are usually the big bad behind many Hidden Realms. Generally speaking, the best way to deal with insectoids is to take out their nest. Otherwise, you can kill a billion insectoids, and youll still be nowhere close to eliminating them. Also, Insectoids exist not just in the Hidden Realms of the Cloud River Battlefield, but also Jiu Zhou itself.
By now, Pang Dahai had Lu Yes full attention.
The reason none of us thought that the big bad behind this Hidden Realm before Xia Qianqian told us is because weve never encountered this type of insectoid before. Or perhaps we have encountered them in the past, but theyre so well hidden that we never knew they existed until now. Were really d you discovered the truth, you know that? If not for you, wed still be stuck defending against an impossible tide of Spirit Beasts.
They wouldve died if that was the case.
Pang Dahai put a hand on Lu Yes shoulder and said seriously, If you run into a simr situation in the future, always remember to take the insectoids into consideration. And if you do find an insectoid, remember that locating the insectoid nest is the key to solving the root of the problem once and for all.
Lu Ye nodded in acknowledgement.
How far are we from the ck Tortoise Sect, Great Elder? Lu Ye turned to the Great Elder and asked.
The old man answered, Looking at our current pace, I reckon it will take another four to six hours to get there.
All things considered, thats close enough.
Lu Ye silentlypared the directions he got from Amber earlier to their current destination. It was a good match. He was growing more and more certain that the ck Tortoise Sect was the right destination.
The group resumed their journey after an hour had passed. Everyone looked much better after catching an hours rest.
They did not encounter any resistance or even a single Spirit Beast on their way to the ck Tortoise Sect. It was as if every Spirit Beast in the Myriad Beasts Domain was concentrated at Bndia.
Over four hourster, after they flew over a meandering mountain range and several Spirit Peaks, the Great Elder finally pointed his finger and dered, Thats where the ck Tortoise Sect is!
They followed his finger and saw what looked like a massive ck tortoise sitting on top of thendscape and looking down on them from above. There were many rundown buildings on the back of the tortoise.
It was clear that the ck Tortoise Sect used to be a powerful sect. Unfortunately, the Insectoids hadpletely destroyed them.
The ck Tortoise Sects headquarters wasntpletely devoid of life as they expected, however. To everyones surprise, they saw a massive amount of Spirit Beasts concentrated within the ruined sect!
It was a weing sight because it meant that their guess was most likely correct.
Right now, practically every Spirit Beast in the Myriad Beasts Domain was besieging Bndia right now. It was why they hadnt encountered even the shadow of a Spirit Beast on the way.
With that in mind, it made no sense that an army of Spirit Beasts would be gathered at the ck Tortoise Sect, a ce that was destroyed at least a year ago. This meant that the insectoid nest was most likely here, and these Spirit Beasts were stationed here to guard it.
Theres a lot of them, Pang Dahai said solemnly while looking left and right.
Although this army of Spirit Beasts was nowhere as big as the one besieging Bndia right now, it still wasnt something their group of slightly over a dozen could handle. Therefore, the question became: how could they locate the insectoid nest without rming these Spirit Beasts?
Insectoid nests were usually located underground. It made conventional search methods practically useless.
The good news was that every insectoid nest had at least one entrance leading to the surface. All they needed to do was locate one of these entrances. Still, there was a massive plot ofnd they had to cover. It was going to take a while to say the least.
How many ghost cultivators do we have? Pang Dahai turned back to the group and asked.
Xia Qianqian looked around with an awkward expression, We had two, but
One of the ghost cultivators got separated from the group while they were breaking out of the encirclement. The Myriad Beasts Sect obviously did not have a ghost cultivator or even stealth capabilities since they were all Beast Tamers. Xia Qianqian and Pang Dahai were spell cultivators, and everyone else besides the two body-tempering cultivators in their group werebat cultivators
Everyone looked at their one ghost cultivator. She was a petite woman with strange patterns etched on her neck. She knew they were asking too much from her, but she still forced herself to say, Ill give it a try.
She descended on the ground and vanished soon after.
It was at this moment Lu Ye offered, Ill look around too.
Xia Qianqian spun on him in surprise, Youre a ghost cultivator too? Just who are you?
At first nce, it looked like Lu Ye was a Beast Tamer since he was carrying a Tamed Beast. However, his fighting style was that of abat cultivator, and he also knew how to cast some spells at the level of a true spell cultivator. Now, he was implying he could scout like a ghost cultivator as well. It was insane to say the least.
No, no. I have some Concealment Talisman Paper with me, Lu Ye lied.
The concealment effect of a Concealment Talisman Paper was nowhere near as good as a ghost cultivators concealment skill, but that was fine, because he wasnt nning on using one anyway. He was going to use Glyph: Invisibility to hide himself. Its effects still couldntpare to a ghost cultivators skill, but it wasnt far behind.
Alright. Be careful, Pang Dahai advised.
Lu Ye nodded andnded in the opposite direction of the female ghost cultivator.
A whileter, Lu Yended in the middle of a forest and looked up. He was unable to see Pang Dahai and the others because they were hovering real high in the sky to avoid being detected by the Spirit Beasts. He then turned himself invisible using Glyph: Invisibility before whispering, Yi Yi.
Yi Yi emerged from Ambers body and said, Leave it to me. She then dashed straight into the underground.
The ck Tortoise Sects territory was huge. Without sufficient manpower, they could spend an entire month here and still not locate the entrance. That was why Lu Ye had not expected their singr ghost cultivator to find the entrance in time.
Yi Yi was a different story. As an apparition, she possessed the special ability to pass through solid objects like they did not exist, and she should not encounter any difficulties as long as she didnt stray too far away from Amber. This was a characteristic not even the greatest ghost cultivator in the world possessed. With her help, they should be able to locate the underground insectoid nest within a reasonable timeframe.
As for Lu Ye, he wasnt, actually, going to do anything. He just had to wait patiently for Yi Yi to give him the signal.
In the best case scenario, Yi Yi could even destroy the insectoid nest herself and resolve the crisis once and for all. She was strong enough to do that now.
Time passed bit by bit. An hourter, Lu Ye finally received a message from Yi Yi saying that she had found the insectoid nest. As it turned out, it was located three hundred meters beneath the ground. No wonder the Myriad Beasts Domain cultivators had failed to find anything when they searched this ce. It was far beyond the range of a Cloud River Realm cultivators perception.
Yi Yi was currently checking if she could destroy the insectoid nest by herself. Unfortunately, she quickly sent another message saying that there were too many Spirit Beasts guarding the insectoid nest. She alone would not be able to destroy the entire nest in an instant.
Lu Ye had ventured into an insectoid nest once during his time at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Therefore, he was fairly familiar with its internal structure. He immediately told her to stay her hand and just focus on finding a tunnel that would lead to a surface entrance. This was way faster than trying to locate an entrance on the surface.
Another hour passed, and Yi Yi messaged saying that she had found an entrance. It was located in a mountain well behind the ck Tortoise Sect.
He waited until Yi Yi had returned to him before meeting up with Xia Qianqian and the others.
Everyone turned around to face him with expectant expressions. When he nodded said, I found it! They all let out an audible sigh of relief!
After he told them where the insectoid nest was located, Xia Qianqian frowned deeply. How are we going to deal with the army of Spirit Beasts blocking the way? Itll take too long to thin them little by little, but if we dont theyre definitely going to catch us in a pincer attack.
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Chapter 473: Something’s Not Right
Chapter 473: Somethings Not Right
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The entrance is a well, right? We can copse the entrance after weve gone inside, Someone suggested.
Thats too dangerous. Worst case scenario, we would be burying ourselves, Another cultivator disagreed.
Should we try luring the Spirit Beasts away?
That could work, but I doubt itll be easy since the reason theyre here is to guard the insectoid nest. At best, we can only lure away some of them.
Its better than nothing.
Who will do it?
For a time, no one said a thing. It wasnt that the task was dangerousthe Spirit Beasts were numerous, but not even the millions and millions besieging Bndia were able to stop them from breaking outbut those responsible for luring the Spirit Beasts away would not be participating in the operation to destroy the insectoid nest.
To the Jiu Zhou cultivators, this was a golden opportunity to earn a ton of battle points. If they seeded in destroying the insectoid nest and consequently saving the Myriad Beasts Domain, they would surely be rewarded handsomely.
A whileter, every Jiu Zhou cultivator in the group turned to look at Lu Ye. Their meaning was as in as day. Without waiting for someone to speak up, Lu Ye looked at the Great Elder and said, Great Elder, I leave it to you and our people to lure away the Spirit Beasts!
He agreed. Sure. Ill be apanying you though, Young Master.
The Myriad Beasts Sect only had six people left, and losing the Great Elder would reduce that number to five. While a task like this could benefit from having greater numbers, losing one person didnt matter too much in the grand scheme of things.
Moreover, the Great Elder was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. At the very least, he could protect Lu Ye to a certain extent.
Lu Ye agreed immediately. No problem.
The old woman said, Take care, Young Master, before descending toward the ground. It wasnt long before they started sting away at the Spirit Beasts and doing their best to lure the Spirit Beasts to them.
As expected, the group of five was quickly chased by a horde of Spirit Beasts. For maximum effect, they circled around the headquarters a few times before finally making their escape.
The number of Spirit Beasts guarding the ck Tortoise Sect was immediately reduced by half.
This wasnt ideal or even a good oue per se, but it was the oue they had expected. Theoretically, they could dispatch a couple more people to lure away the Spirit Beasts, but that would be folly because there were plenty of Spirit Beasts in the insectoid nest as well. If they did that, there was a high chance the remaining group would not be strong enough to destroy the insectoid nest.
Please lead the way, Fellow Cultivator Ye! Zhou Hai said.
Without a word, Lu Ye descended and flew straight toward the well.
Their auras quickly caught the attention of the remaining Spirit Beasts. Large groups of avian Spirit Beasts began swarming them from all sides. Behind Lu Ye, the Great Elder and the Jiu Zhou cultivatorsunched their spells and flying weapons in response. They were able to st a hole through the horde and make it all the way to the well.
Lu Ye was the first to enter the well, followed by the Great Elder, Kitty Shen, Lan Ziyi, Xia Qianqian, and finally everyone else. The body-tempering cultivators were thest to enter.
After everyone was inside the wall, the two body-tempering cultivators covering their rear immediately attacked the steening around them. It wasnt long before rocks began falling from above.
The well was less than thirty meters deep. The second Lu Yended on the floor, Amber immediately jumped off his shoulder and ran into a hidden passage. Lu Ye hurriedly followed behind it.
Yi Yi had scouted the underground passage beforehand. With her guidance, there was no chance that Amber would get lost.
Meanwhile, the body-tempering cultivators had finally copsed the steening and sealed off the entrance. For now, they would not need to worry about pursuers.
Themotion had alerted the Spirit Beasts lurking in the underground, however. They could hear their roars mingling with those who were stuck on the surface for now.
The winding passage they were using was not the only passage in the underground as a matter of course. There seemed to be an infinite amount of forks as well. Without Yi Yis guidance, it wouldve taken them hours, if not days to make it to the insectoid nest. By then, it would already be toote.
From time to time, Spirit Beasts would emerge from a side passage and attempt to kill them all. Their scarlet eyes were especially conspicuous in the darkness.
Although Lu Ye was leading the way, he wasnt worried for his safety because the Great Elder was protecting him. With his cultivation level, no one could get within ten meters of Lu Ye without being annihted in one punch.
He could not deny it felt great to be protected by a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator who was absolutely loyal to him.
The group did not encounter any difficulties along the way because the Great Elder wasnt the only Ninth-Order cultivator in the group. Xia Qianqian, Pang Dahai and Zhou Hai were all Ninth-Order cultivators, and Zhou Hai in particr was a sword cultivator. Not only could he y most Spirit Beasts in one strike, he was so fast that even Lu Ye could not see his movements.
The gap between their cultivation levels was just toorge, not to mention that sword cultivators were famed for their killing power.
When they were over three hundred meters below the surface, the path in front of them suddenly widened into a massive chamber. They had finally arrived at the insectoid nest.
The insectoid nest looked identical to the one Lu Ye had seen at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It looked like they were inside a karst cave, though the interior waspletely covered by ayer of flesh. Not only were the walls covered in bulging flesh sacs, these wriggled from time to time as if there was something inside them. They would not be surprised if something actually burst out of the sacs and attacked them.
It felt disgusting to walk on the flesh. The air was filled with an acrid stench that reminded them of a living stomach.
It was at this moment countless pairs of scarlet pupils appeared from behind the darkness. There were so many of them that one could mistake them for a cavern of fireflies.
It should not need to be said, but the insectoid nest was guarded by a massive number of Spirit Beasts.
There was a brief standoff before one Spirit Beast let out a mighty roar. Then, every Spirit Beast in the area charged at Lu Yes group.
Spells and flying weapons illuminated the cave. Zhou Hais swords were especially bright.
Although this was the first time they fought alongside one another, their teamwork still far exceeded that of a group of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. The two body-tempering cultivators immediately upied the frontlines and summoned their Shield Spirit Artifacts. While cycling their vitality and Spiritual Power, they did everything in their power to hold back the tide of Spirit Beasts.
Thebat cultivators positioned themselves at the center of the formation, and the spell cultivators went at the rear.
The start of the battle was the hardest to endure. The Spirit Beasts were still at their full strength as they battered the two body-tempering cultivators from multiple directions, causing their shields to sh wildly.
Over time, the cave became filled with blood stench, and the horde grew smaller and smaller. Eventually, they reached a point where the Spirit Beasts could no longer threaten their formation in the slightest.
Some members of the group were injured during the battle, but no one was ever in danger of dying.
The end was so close they could almost taste it. They worked even harder to kill the Spirit Beasts.
An hourter, they finally took out every Spirit Beast in the insectoid nest. Carcasses piled like little hills all over the ce.
Suddenly, Xia Qianqian said, Something isnt right about this!
I agree! Pang Dahai panted while tossing a Vital Spirit Pill into his mouth.
Zhou Hai was silent, but the fact that his aura remained strong proved that he was on full alert.
Even the Great Elder was sticking to Lu Yes side with a tight expression on his face.
All the Ninth-Order cultivators sensed that something was amiss. This was supposed to be the battle that decided it all, but they had barely encountered any difficulties at all. Sure, there were some harrowing moments here and there, but it was still nothingpared to their breakout from Bndia. Something fishy was going on here.
It was at this moment Lu Ye dered, Our exit is blocked!
The group hurriedly turned around and found exactly that. The all-pervading flesh wall had blocked the exitpletely before they knew it.
No one knew when it happened. After all, they were all busy killing the enemies in front of them. This meant that the insectoid nest waspletely sealed.
Zhou Hai tried attacking the flesh wall with his sword, but he only managed to cut through the surfaceyer. When the light faded, they saw the wall of flesh wriggling and restoring itself to pristine condition in the blink of an eye.
Everyones faces were severe and grim-looking. At this point, it was clear that this insectoid nest wasnt quite the same as the one they were familiar with.
Forget the Myriad Beasts Domain, even they had never encountered this type of insectoid nest before.
The flesh wall wasnt just tough enough to block a Ninth-Order sword cultivators sh, it recovered so fast that any attempt to destroy it would just be a waste of time. What should they do?
I have another question, Pang Dahai walked up to a flesh sac and stepped on it. The insectoids in this world are shaped like tiny cicadas, right? If thats true, then what the hell are inside these flesh sacs?
Usually, this type of flesh sac was used to breedrge insectoids. However, the insectoids of this world obviously didnt need them.
Moreover, these flesh sacs had been wriggling from the moment theyid eyes on them. It looked like whatever was inside the flesh sacs could burst out at any moment.
Zhou Hai gripped his sword and walked toward the center of the nest. It doesnt matter what they are. The problem will be solved once we destroy the core of the nest!
Every insectoid nest had a core called the Nucleus of Life. It was a massive flesh sac where all of the nests energy was gathered. If the Nucleus of Life was destroyed, then the nest would lose the ability to breed more insectoids.
This insectoid nest obviously had a Nucleus of Life as well. They just couldnt get close until now because of the Spirit Beasts.
Zhou Hai walked up to the massive flesh sac at the center of the nest. His sword shone like the sun when he wiped a pair of fingers across the de. He then channeled all of his Spiritual Power and swung his sword straight down on the core.
He didnt manage to cut the core in half, not because it was too resilient, but because a w abruptly burst out of the flesh sac and caught his de in mid-swing. The fact that the w had managed to stop his full-powered sh proved just how tough it was.
Zhou Hais pupils contracted into needles. The rest of the group were stunned by this turn of events as well. No one thought that the Nucleus of Life would be hiding a living being.
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Chapter 474: Niu Meng
Chapter 474: Niu Meng
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A pair of scarlet beams erupted from within the flesh sac. It took them a second to realize that they were a pair of human eyes. Just like the crazed Spirit Beasts, they were unnaturally bright, crimson, and utterly devoid of emotions. Only madness and violence dwelled in those pupils.
Every hair on Zhou Hais body was standing on end, and it wasnt just because of the rm bells ring in full force inside his head. He immediately withdrew his sword and leaped away from the strange human without a second thought.
Unfortunately, he was just a little toote. What looked like a hoof abruptly burst out of the flesh sac and struck Zhou Hai dead center in the abdomen. The kick was so swift and powerful that it shattered his protective aura in an instant and sent him flying across the air. He crashed hard in the middle of the group and rolled a few times before his momentum was finally spent.
Everyone was stunned by this turn of events to say the least.
There was a loud shredding noise as the flesh sac was ripped apart. The strange human inside it then grabbed the broken flesh walls withrge, talon-like hands and pulled himself upright. His entire body was covered in some sort of sticky liquid.
It was clear he was no ordinary human being. Not only was he unnaturally tall and muscr, he had a pair of bull horns on his head, talon-like hands, hoof-like feet, and even a small tail attached to his back.
At first nce, the strange man looked like a mutant cultivator. However, the group quickly amended their impression when they observed him a little longer.
It was at this moment the Great Elder suddenly blurted, Niu Meng?
Niu who? Lu Ye asked with a frown.
He is Niu Meng, the sect master of the ck Tortoise Sect! The Great Elder exined.
The situation immediately took a turn for the eerie. The group hade to destroy the insectoid nest, and one might say that they were halfway to sess by reaching the nest itself. What happened after that was nothing like what they expected, however. For starters, no one knew why the sect master of the ck Tortoise Sect would emerge from an insectoid nests Nucleus of Life. Second, they did not understand why he looked like a mutant cultivator. Third, the insectoid nest should be shriveling rapidly since its Nucleus of Life was destroyed, but in reality it did not look like it was affected in the slightest.
Finally, Niu Meng was overflowing with vitality. He already looked like a formidable enemy in the first ce, but his vitality was something no Cloud River Realm cultivator should possess.
Careful. Hes very powerful, Zhou Hai warned while clutching his stomach and spitting out a mouthful of blood. The surprise attack had been way too close fromfort. It couldve killed him outright if he hadnt sensed iting beforehand.
Hes being controlled by a parasite! Xia Qianqian said solemnly.
Of all the unnatural things that had urred since they entered the insectoid nest, this was the one that scared them the most. When a Spirit Beast caught the rabies, their eyes would turn scarlet red moments before they turned violent and insane. Later, they found out that it was really the parasites that were manipting the Spirit Beasts into madness.
However, there had never been a case where a cultivator had sumbed to the madness. It was why everyone thought that the parasites could only infect Spirit Beasts until now.
Niu Meng was obviously being controlled by the parasites. Naturally, they could not help but wonder if someone in their group was being controlled as well.
It was impossible to know if someone was being controlled until the parasites hadpletely taken over their body. The Spirit Beasts were the prime example of that. The parasite inside their body was capable of mimicking their hosts aura so well that no one even realized that this was really an insectoid invasion until Lu Ye identally discovered the truth. With that in mind, who could say that they werent infected already? While everyone looked fine for the time being, it could be because the parasites hadnt yet grown strong enough to take over them.
It was at this moment Lu Ye dered loudly, Calm down, people. I promise you we arent infected by parasites!
The reason he was so confident was because he had the Tree of Glyphs. The miraculous entity could burn even the Pill Poison in ones body. If a parasite had tried to take over his body, the Tree of Glyphs wouldve caught it and burned it to a crisp already. However, he never sensed something like this since he entered the Myriad Beasts Domain.
How do you know? Someone asked, but Lu Ye did not give them an answer. The truth wasnt something he could tell anyone.
The group was still whispering among themselves when suddenly, they heard shredding noises from all around them. What they saw next chilled them to the core. Every flesh sac in the insectoid nest had decided to pop open at the same time, revealing a scarlet-eyed, liquid-covered cultivator inside. Some of them looked like mutant cultivators just like Niu Meng, and some lookedpletely human.
Suddenly, the group found themselves outnumbered almost four to one. It was a horrifying realization to say the least.
Before this, they thought that getting to the insectoid nest would be the most difficult part of this mission. It was only now that they realized that the greatest threat was waiting for them inside the insectoid nest.
Theyre all ck Tortoise Sect cultivators, the Great Elder said solemnly. He was the only native in the group and the Great Elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Naturally, he was quite familiar with the disciples of the ck Tortoise Sect.
The situation was dire, but it wasnt without a silver lining. While the insectoids had proven capable of infecting and controlling a cultivator, everything they saw up till this point proved that it wasnt something they could do willy-nilly like the Spirit Beasts. Otherwise, the Myriad Beasts Domain wouldve fallen way sooner.
Just like the crazed Spirit Beasts, the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators were overflowing with violence and madness as well.
Escape wasnt an option as the insectoid nest waspletely sealed right now. The only way they might live was to y every infected cultivator in the chamber.
The group would dearly like to hold a discussion before engaging the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators in battle, but of course the enemy wasnt going to give them the time to do so. The battle kicked off almost as soon as the cultivators had burst out of the flesh sacs.
Vitality and Spiritual Power surged as the Jiu Zhou cultivators and one Myriad Beasts Sect cultivator tightened their formation. They pressed their backs against a flesh wall and braced themselves against the iing assault.
As usual, the body-tempering cultivators stood at the forefront and blocked as many attacks as possible. Their Shield Spirit Artifacts shed violently as flesh, metal and spells rained down from every direction.
To the groups astonishment and relief, the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators fought like mindless beasts despite drastically outnumbering them. They were controlled by the parasites, but the trade-off was their intelligence and rationality. They knew how to channel Spiritual Power into their limbs to strengthen their attacks, but that was it. They even bit at them like animals.
The Jiu Zhou cultivators calmed down a little. The ck Tortoise Sect cultivators didnt just outnumber them, their average cultivation level was higher as well. If these people could fight at their full strength, then this wouldve been an absolute massacre.
Violent impacts and colorful explosions reverberated throughout the insectoid nest as both sides fought. Although the Jiu Zhou cultivators were at aplete disadvantage in terms of quantity and quality, they were able to hold out thanks to a tight formation and a flexible set of skills.
On the other hand, the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators were immune to fear and pain just like the Spirit Beasts. They continued to attack like wild beasts even though their blood was spilled, and they took fatal wounds all over their bodies. It didnt matter though. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they killed them all.
What really concerned the group wasnt the overwhelming number of cultivators attacking their formation, but Niu Meng. The sect master hadnt attacked them like the rest of the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators. Since sending Zhou Hai flying with an explosive kick, the man had simply stood where he was and watched them in silence.
The mans vitality was as ring as a lighthouse in the dead of the night. It was impossible to ignore him even if they tried.
Zhou Hai unleashed a sh that sent a ck Tortoise Sect cultivators head flying across the air. The cultivator had not stopped attacking even after they had sted away his limbs, but the decapitation caused him to stop moving entirely.
The only way to kill them is to cut off their heads! He immediately yelled.
The ck Tortoise Sect cultivators were all controlled by a parasite. It was impossible to say if the cultivators were alive or dead, but the point was that they were immune to pain, and no amount of injury seemed good enough to stop them. The only way to end them once and for all was to cut off their heads.
The group immediately redirected their attacks. Just a momentter, another ck Tortoise Sect cultivator lost his head and copsed lifelessly on the ground.
It was at this moment Niu Meng finally made his move. The sect master charged forward with a speed that did not match his monstrously huge body at all, bowling over an unfortunate ck Tortoise Sect cultivator who happened to be in his way in the process. Despite the interruption, he easily kicked one of the two body-tempering cultivators blocking in front of the group over his head, causing him to turn white as a sheet and spitting out a shower of blood. Even his Shield Spirit Artifact turned dim and became covered in cracks.
Having smashed open a gap in their defense line via brute force, Niu Meng proceeded to bend his leg back andunched a mighty kick at the Sixth-Orderbat cultivator directly in front of him. Considering that the same kick hadunched a body-tempering cultivator into the air a second ago, there was no way the man would survive if itnded.
Thebat cultivator wanted to dodge out of the way, but he just wasnt fast enough. Zhou Hai tried to interrupt the attack bynding a vertical sh right on top of the hoof, but the de struck bone and let out what could only be described as a metallic ng. Right after that
BANG!
A shower of blood and gore struck everyone standing next to thebat cultivator. The man himself was nowhere to be seen. Niu Meng had literally exploded him with a single kick!
Everyones scalp tingled at the horrifying sight. That was about the most direct impression of the kick they could get without experiencing it with their own body.
That was just the beginning of Niu Mengs assault, however. While ignoring the holes Zhou Hai was putting all over his body, the sect master reached out and grabbed anotherbat cultivators head with a giant hand. Then, he squeezed and popped the poor bastards head like a watermelon!
That was two people gone just like that. It was only then Niu Meng threw a swipe at Zhou Hai and knocked him away.
One man had single handedly destroyed their tight formation.
Kitty Shens eyes widened, and her blood turned ice cold. Niu Mengs eyes were locked on hers as heunched a kick at her. The young woman was only a Fifth-Order cultivator. There was no world she might survive if the kick so much as brushed against her skin.
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Chapter 475: Desperate Measures
Chapter 475: Desperate Measures
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Her life shing before her eyes, Kitty Shen did everything in her power to save herself. She pulled her ribbon into a multiyered barrier in front of her and channeled all of her Spiritual Power into it.
Unfortunately, the gap between her cultivation level and Niu Mengs was just too wide. Not only did the Spirit Artifact lose its power instantly, Niu Mengs hoof continued to travel toward her as if her protective aura didnt exist. Her mind was on overdrive, but there was nothing she could do except watch death slowly approaching her.
It was at this moment a fat man rammed her out of the way. He was none other than Pang Dahai.
The despair in Kitty Shens eyes morphed into shock as she sailed across the air. Thest person she expected to save herif at allwas a spell cultivator, even though Pang Dahai and the other spell cultivator were the only ones close enough to save her. It was because spell cultivators were notoriously fragile. He might be a Ninth-Order cultivator, but it was still incredibly unlikely that he would be able to survive Niu Mengs kick.
There was a loud bang as the hoof smashed against Spiritual Power. All the fat on his body began rippling violently as his face flushed bright red in an instant.
It was then something unexpected happened. Everyone was expecting the worst, but not only did the spell cultivator not explode into a shower of gore, he did not move an inch from his spot. Instead, the force of Niu Mengs kick was converted into a shockwave that knocked over everyone behind him.
For a second, Niu Mengs hoof was trapped inside Pang Dahais massive belly as if he had stepped into a swamp. Then, Pang Dahai let out a mighty roar, puffed up his belly, and actually sent the sect master flying across the air.
As it turned out, Pang Dahai wasnt just a spell cultivator. An unimaginable amount of blood red vitality churned out of his body and surrounded him in ayer of protective energy. It was such a jarring transformation they could almost believe that he was a different person altogether.Take out the other cultivators while I keep him busy! Pang Dahai said quickly beforeunching himself into the air with both feet and ramming into Niu Meng. The man had never felt more awe-inspiring until now.
Unfortunately, Niu Meng wasnt at a level where Pang Dahai could keep him busy all by himself. Despite his best efforts, the fat man was knocked back to the floor after just a series of exchanges. While climbing back to his feet and hissing in pain, he shouted, Actually, please help me, Brother Zhou Hai! This bastard is too strong for me to handle alone!
He then rushed Niu Meng again before the sect master could attack anyone else.
Zhou Hai knew that Pang Dahai would never cry for help if it was even remotely possible for him to handle Niu Meng by himself. Not daring to waste even a second, he immediately broke out of the enemys encirclement and shed at Niu Meng. It was only then that they just barely managed to keep the sect master pinned.
Although the enemys strongest was kept busy for the moment, it took two of their strongest to do so. Not only that, two of theirbat cultivators were dead, and their formation was in disarray. To say that their situation was bad would be an understatement. Nearly everyone was fighting multiple cultivators on their own.
Lu Ye was currently fighting against three ck Tortoise Sect cultivators, and if they were on the same cultivation level as him he wouldve annihted them in the blink of an eye. However, two of them were Fifth-Order cultivators, and the third was a Seventh-Order cultivator. If these cultivators were in full possession of their faculties, Lu Ye would be long dead already.
Even so, Lu Ye had to spend most of his time running away from his attackers. The trade-off for losing their intelligence and the ability to execute even the simplest of skills was explosive power and speed. Like all the crazed Spirit Beasts they had fought until now, the cultivators only goal was to tear all enemies into itsy-bitsy pieces.
Lu Ye dodged an attack andnded a massive blow on his opponents neck. However, it wasnt powerful enough to behead him outright. The price of that failure was his opponent catching his shoulder in a vice-like grip and digging into his flesh with his talons. Lu Ye managed to pull free, but not without losing his sleeves and a good chunk of the flesh on his shoulders. Blood immediately poured profusely out of his wounds.
That wasnt all. The other two enemies leaped into the air and descended on his position like a pair of bloodthirsty hawks.
Lu Ye hurriedly rolled on the floor and just barely dodged the assault. He was just climbing to his feet when he felt another blow flying toward his face. He hurriedly spun around, channeled a massive amount of vitality into his right arm, and shed at the enemy.
sh!
The skill didnt just kill his opponent, it cut him in half and syed their blood and organs all across the floor. Unfortunately, he didnt have time to catch a breather. The other two ck Tortoise Sect cultivators were already nking him from both sides.
On Lu Yes shoulder, Amber growled menacingly as its vitality intermingled with Lu Yes. Thanks to the Beast Imprint, the white tigers vitality was empowering Lu Yes every move. Without the increased endurance and power, he mightve sumbed to his opponents already.
Lu Ye reversed his grip on the Invible and swung it into a blur. His saber shed and thrust from multiple angles so quickly that it was unthinkable that it was the action of a mere Second-Order cultivator.
If there was one silver lining about the situation, it was that the desperation of the battle spurred his and Ambers Vitality to merge faster than ever before.
Lu Ye wasnt the only one who was pressed. Lan Ziyi was running and taking potshots at the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators chasing after her. Kitty Shen was injured in the first ce, and now her shirt was entirely drenched in blood. One of the body-tempering cultivators was lying motionless on the ground and probably dead, while the other was holding back four ck Tortoise Sect cultivators as they tore chunks of flesh from his body with every swipe.
Even Xia Qianqian and the Great Elder, two of the strongest cultivators in their group, werent doing much better. They might be Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators, but so were their opponents. They were both fighting off a group of Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators each.
As for Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai, one only needed to hear Pang Dahais high-pitched screams to know that they were faring poorly. They might be able to pin down Niu Meng for the moment, but there was no chance they would be able to y the bastard.
This was literally the worst case scenario. If nothing changed, then it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed one after another.
Lu Ye was still desperately trying to escape his pursuers despite his earlier sess. Considering his strength, skill and foundation, he should have no problems handling two opponents at the same time. With proper nning and execution, he could even turn the tables and y them both. The problem was that two more ck Tortoise Sect cultivators had appeared out of nowhere and joined in the hunt. Now that he thought about it, they were probably the opponents of the body-tempering cultivator on the ground.
He was just a Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. How could he possibly fight four opponents at once when they were all multiple minor realms stronger than him? He did not hesitate to empower himself with Windwalk and run circles around the periphery of the insectoid nest.
He was just dying the inevitable, however. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he and everyone else was overwhelmed. Realizing that the situation could not get any worse than it already was, Lu Ye finally decided that it was time to use thest resort.
He pulled out an aquamarine orb from his Storage Bag. The orb was only the size of a longan, but it burned his skin the second he held it in his hand. Not only that, the Tree of Glyphs responded immediately by releasing a massive amount of gray smoke. This only happened when a deadly poison had invaded Lu Yes body.
The orb was none other than the Omnipoison Pill Hua Ci had gifted him, of course.
Hua Ci had told him how to use it when she gave him the orb. All he needed to do was to inject it with Spiritual Power and tossed it on the ground.
The orb was useless to him on the Spirit Creek Battlefield because he was the apex predator of apex predators of that battlefield. But now, it was finally time to use it.
Honestly, he did not know how effective it would be. After all, his opponents were all Cloud River Realm cultivators. He didnt think it would bepletely useless, but there was a chance the effect would be mild enough that it wouldnt impact his enemysbat capabilities.
He did not have a choice though. It was that or dying and bing into the puppet of the insectoids.
He was well aware that his allies would be affected by the poison as well, but the situation couldnt get any worse than it already was. Plus, most cultivators carried some antidotes on their person at all times. Ideally, they could simply swallow a handful of antidotes and cure themselves.
On the other hand, the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators were just mindless beasts. There was no way they would know how to use an antidote, not to mention that they werent carrying anything on their person.
All in all, the Omnipoison Pill should benefit his side more than the enemys.
His mind made up, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power into the orb. There was a soft pop before an unimaginable amount of poison gas flooded the entire chamber in an instant!
The mist was so thick that it was almost solid. He could hold his fingers in front of his eyes and still not see a thing.
It was even thicker than the mist that permeated the Myriad Poison Forest.
The Omnipoison Pill was the culmination of Hua Cis own cultivation level. Naturally, it was several times more toxic than even the deadliest poison at the center of Myriad Poison Forest. It was even more effective than normal since the insectoid nest waspletely sealed.
His allies were caughtpletely off guard by this turn of events. One second there was nothing, and the next their vision waspletely blocked by the poisonous mist.
Xia Qianqian sensed the changes within her body and cried out in rm, Watch out! Poison!
She then held her breath and channeled her Spiritual Power to keep out the poison.
To everyones shock, the poisonous mist that seemed to be everywhere was capable of corroding their protective aura. It easily entered their bodies and worsened their condition. It wasnt long before they started feeling light-headed.
Everyone except Lu Ye thought they were goners. They were already facing the worst case scenario, but now they were poisoned as well. They were sure that they were going to die here.
However, the group quickly discovered that they werent the only ones who were poisoned. The ck Tortoise Sect cultivators were facing the same problem. Their movements suddenly slowed dramatically, and their strength wasnt nearly as explosive as it was before.
There was no time to waste. They hurriedly swallowed their antidotes and hastened its digestion with their Spiritual Power. It was only then that their symptoms lessened a little.
They were Cloud River Realm cultivators. It was incredible that Hua Cis Omnipoison Pill, something she had created as a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, was effective even on their strongest, but the symptoms definitely werent unmanageable.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye discovered that the four ck Tortoise Sect cultivators chasing after him suddenly slowed down drastically. Their auras had turnedpletely green as well.
When he looked within himself, he discovered that the Tree of Glyphs was working overtime and consuming its fuel non-stop to purge the poison.
[I think I underestimated Hua Cis Omnipoison Pill!]
He wondered if Hua Ci had more. Considering how potent the orb was, he would love to get his hands on more Omnipoison Pills.
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Chapter 476: The True Nucleus of Life
Chapter 476: The True Nucleus of Life
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In the Myriad Poison Forest, a bored Hua Ci was counting the Omnipoison Pills she had created in her room, Eight, nine, ten
Hua Cis cultivation method was different from everyone elses. Ever since she epted the inheritance in full, she grew her strength by consuming and refining poison. That was why she stayed at the Myriad Poison Forest. The poisonous fog here was basically an all-you-can-eat buffet, not to mention the countless poisonous flora and fauna that lived in thesends.
However, her cultivation couldnt go higher after reaching Heaven Nine, and ascending to the Cloud River Realm now meant she would miss out on the Myriad Poison Forest permanently unless she was willing to pay the Contribution Points to re-enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. That was why she had no choice but to reduce her cultivation level by creating Omnipoison Pills.
Lu Ye thought that the Omnipoison Pill was just a trump card Hua Ci created to attack her enemies, but in reality it was the culmination of her cultivation. When she was done with the Myriad Poison Forest, and she was ready to ascend to the Cloud River Realm, she could simply reabsorb the Omnipoison Pills and convert them back into her cultivation.
Every time Hua Ci finished creating an Omnipoison Pill, her cultivation level would drop to Heaven Eight. This was why the orb was so potent as to affect even a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
The good news was that they were all Cloud River Realm cultivators. If they were at the Spirit Creek Realm, then they would probably perish within seconds after being enveloped by the fog.
Of all the cultivators present, Lu Ye was the only one who waspletely immune to the poison. When he realized that the footsteps behind him had grown heavy and dibobted, he abruptly spun around and charged toward the noise.
The four ck Tortoise Sect cultivators had pushed him so hard that all he could do was run. Now, it was finally time to fight back.He only ran a couple of steps when a pair of scarlet lights abruptly emerged from the fog. Without hesitation, Lu Ye wreathed his saber in mes and swung it where he thought the enemys neck was.
The attack was empowered by two Sharp Edges, and his vitality was joined with Ambers. As a result, the attack was even faster and stronger than normal. There was a dull thud and a sshing sound when the attack connected. The scarlet light residing in the cultivators pupils fadedpletely before it even hit the ground.
As it turned out, the poison was incredibly effective against the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators. They were mindless creatures who could only act ording to their instinct in the first ce, and the poison had slowed their reaction speed to a crawl. As a result, the cultivator Lu Ye had just killed was unable to respond to the attack in time.
Not one to give up his momentum after seizing it, Lu Ye ran right into the middle of the enemy group, dodged all of their attacks, and beheaded yet another powerful foe. The headless corpse instantly lost all of its energy and copsed limply on the floor.
Lu Ye was about to extend his kill streak by one more when a heavy object collided into his side and pushed him at least thirty meters away from his original position.
Kitty Shens battlefield was right next to Lu Yes, and she was currently wrapping her enemies with her ribbon and tossing them left and right. That was what had collided into Lu Ye earlier; an enemy cultivator she had tossed away with her ribbon.
Kitty Shens problem was that she was so affected by the poison that she was incapable of unleashing even half of her normal strength. Moreover, her Spirit Artifact was more suited for binding an enemy than killing them. As a result, she was unable to kill her attackers even though the poison affected them more than it affected her.
It was at this moment she saw that she had identally hit Lu Ye with her attack. This gave her an idea, however. She flicked her wrist and caught an enemy cultivator with her ribbon instantly. Then, she tossed him in Lu Yes direction.
Lu Ye had just caught himself when he saw yet another body flying toward him. Realizing Kitty Shens n, he immediately brought down his saber and sessfully decapitated the enemy.
Lets do this! Lu Ye yelled while breaking into a run.
Although they hadnt verballymunicated their n, they knew exactly what the other person was thinking almost as if their minds were connected. Kitty Shen tossed her ribbon at an enemy cultivator in Lu Yes path and immobilized himpletely, allowing thebat cultivator to decapitate with insulting ease. Without pause, he dashed past Kitty Shen and blocked an iing attack that was directed at her head.
The two cultivators passed each other again and again as they worked together to annihte the attackers around them. From time to time, Kitty Shen would deliver a bound attacker right in front of Lu Ye like a gift.
A momentter, Lu Ye stopped beside Kitty Shen and panted a little. The womansplexion was unnaturally green, but her eyes were filled with deep relief as well. Just a moment ago, it looked like they would be overwhelmed by their attackers. Now, all their enemies were dead. There was no time to rest though. Together, they rushed toward the next closest battlefield.
The next battlefield belonged to their surviving body-tempering cultivator. Thest time Lu Ye saw him, he was fending off four cultivators by himself. The only reason he was still alive was because he was a powerful Seventh-Order cultivator. Right now, he was doing his best to block the enemys frenzied assault with his Shield Spirit Artifact.
His skin and his aura were eerily green just like Kitty Shen, but unlike her he was a durable body-tempering cultivator with a massive reservoir of vitality in his body. That was why his symptoms were a lot milder. Not only that, the headless body lying beside his feet suggested that he had taken out one of the attackers on his own. Even if Lu Ye and Kitty Shen hadnte to his aid, he probably couldve held out long enough to kill them all.
Ribbon and saber danced through the air as Lu Ye and Kitty Shen hit the attackers from behind. The body-tempering cultivator did not hesitate tounch his counter attack as well.
A momentter, the ck Tortoise Sect cultivatorsy dead at their feet. Without pause, the trio moved to the next battlefield
Like a snowball that grew bigger and bigger as it rolled down a snowy hill, the group kept growing in size, and their enemies kept falling like flies. Finally, the scattered group was joined once more.
Everyone looked like shit, and not just because the poison turned their auras and their skin as green as a nt. Not even the strongest among them, the Great Elder and Xia Qianqian, were able to avoid taking some injuries.
Not only that, their symptoms were slowly but surely worsening over time. Although they had consumed an antidote, the poisonous mist was thinning at an excruciatingly slow rate because the insectoid nest was sealed. This meant that the poisonous mist had nowhere to go except into their bodies. This was why everyoneeven their Ninth-Order cultivatorswere having trouble resisting the poison.
That said, the poisonous mist had cleared up enough that Xia Qianqian noticed something unusual. Everyones aura and skin was as green as a nt because of the poison, but not Lu Ye. Not only did the young man look perfectly fine, even Amber was untouched by the poison, though that was because Lu Ye had protected it with his Spiritual Power this whole time.
Xia Qianqian had been wondering who was the culprit behind the poisonous mist since it was conjured. At the beginning, she thought that it was caused by the ck Tortoise Sect cultivators or the insectoids. It wasnt until she noticed that the poisonous mist was affecting her attackers as well that she realized she was mistaken.
Now that she saw that Lu Ye waspletely untouched by the poison, she had a feeling she knew exactly who the culprit was. It made sense that the one person who wasnt affected by the poison would be the poisoner himself, no?
Technically speaking, Xia Qianqian should berate Lu Ye for his decision because it was a monstrous trump card that affected everyone except the poisoner himself. However, she could not deny that it was the right choice. Considering the earlier situation, they wouldve died one by one if nothing had changed. Sure, they werent in the best condition right now, but they werent going to drop dead in the short term either. Assuming that they survived this crisis, they would eventually recover from this ordeal.
Meanwhile, Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai were still fighting against Niu Meng, the sect master of the ck Tortoise Sect. The situation didnt look good though. One of Pang Dahais arms was broken, and one of Zhou Hais legs was bent in an unnatural manner. Even worse, Niu Meng looked as fresh as ever even though he was taking multiple hits by the second.
The sect master was expressionless, but his violent, cruel eyes told a different story. His attacks were simple and practically monotonous, but there was so much force behind them that Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai felt like death was breathing down their necks the whole time.
Technically speaking, they should be overwhelming Niu Meng because their cultivation levels were equal, and they outnumbered the sect master two-to-one. He was also fighting mindlessly because he was being controlled by a parasite. In reality, the duo was just barely keeping Niu Meng at bay. Something clearly wasnt right about this.
What concerned Lu Ye even more was the fact that Niu Meng lookedpletely unharmed. He was sure Niu Meng had taken a wound from Zhou Hai when he made his first move, so why?
Lu Ye quickly figured out the answer. Zhou Hai was aiming at Niu Mengs arm and sessfully scored a hit that prated all the way to the bone, but the wound had wriggled and healed in just a matter of seconds!
It was such a stunning sight that no one could say a thing for a couple of seconds. It should not be possible for anyone at the Cloud River Realm level to recover so quickly, and yet there was no denying the reality that happened right before their eyes.
His life energy Xia Qianqian suddenly blurted out in realization, Hes the core of this nest! The true Nucleus of Life!
Every insectoid nest contained a core. The easiest way to destroy a nest was to destroy the core not just because it was where most of the nests life energy was concentrated, but also because it held the Nucleus of Life. So long as the core remained, the nest could theoretically produce an infinite amount of insectoids. Only by destroying the core could they wither the nest and destroy its ability to produce insectoids.
Usually, the centermost flesh sac in the nest was the core. Since the nest hadnt withered even though Niu Meng had ripped open the flesh sac and stepped into the open, not to mention that he was overflowing with an impossible amount of life energy, it could only mean that he was the true core of the nest.
Xia Qianqians outburst hit everyone like a thunderbolt. The reason Niu Meng was overflowing with life energy was because he was the true core of the nest. No wonder the sect master had regenerated from his wounds instantly.
The revtion wasnt something to be happy about, however. It meant that the only way to destroy the insectoid nest was to kill Niu Meng. They couldnt even escape because the nest waspletely sealed. However, how could they kill an enemy that could regenerate from his wounds instantly? Besides decapitating the sect master, the only other way they could defeat him was to grind down his life energy bit by bit.
There was a silver lining though. Niu Meng was just as green as the rest of them, meaning that he was poisoned as well. The fact that he felt a lot weaker than he was at the beginning of the fight was proof of that.
They were all affected by the poison, but it looked like Niu Meng was affected harder than most.
Im going in! The Seventh Order body-tempering cultivator dered before joining Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai.
The Great Elder was right behind him.
No one else stepped forward because they werent body-tempering cultivators. Judging from the explosive power Niu Meng had disyed earlier, he could probably annihte anyone who wasnt a body-tempering cultivator in one hit. Not even a Ninth-Order cultivator was safe from him. For example, someone like Xia Qianqian might die in one hit because she was a frail spell cultivator.
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Chapter 477: You Should’ve Said It Sooner
Chapter 477: You Shouldve Said It Sooner
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The battle continued. Zhou Hai, Pang Dahai, the Great Elder and the Seventh-Order body-tempering cultivator were just barely fighting Niu Meng to a standstill. The rest of them had spread out so they could attack Niu Meng with their spells and flying weapons from multiple directions as well.
However, Niu Meng just had too much life energy. No matter how many wounds they left on his body, no matter how many times they staggered him, he would recover in the blink of an eye.
If fast recovery was Niu Mengs only advantage, then they could have devised a way to deal with it a while ago. The problem was that Niu Meng was extraordinarily tough as well, not to mention that they were severely weakened due to the poison. As a result, they only managed to leave superficial wounds on his body most of the time. Not even Lu Ye, the only one who waspletely unaffected by the poison, was able to cut deeper than three inches despite having empowered his flying weapons with two Sharp Edges. Out of all of them, Zhou Hai was the only one with enough strength to cut deep enough to expose the bones.
It was useless though. Zhou Hai had tried multiple times to behead Niu Meng to no avail. While Niu Meng wasnt able to dodge his lightning fast shes, Zhou Hai was unable to cut off his head either. It was like a mortal attempting to cut not one, but multiple thick steel bars in one strike. It just wasnt possible.
Their despair grew until it was almost palpable. They could not have anticipated that the final enemy would be so unreasonably powerful. Skill could ovee strength, but only if the gap wasnt too wide.
Dragging out this fight wasnt an option either. Niu Meng would oust them in every scenario because he had more life energy and toughness than all of them.
There were multiple Tyrants on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They were existences that were absolutely stronger than any single Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. If Niu Meng was on the Cloud River Battlefield, then he would qualify as a Tyrant as well.
And thereiny the problem. Niu Meng was a Cloud River Realm Tyrant. Normally, it would have taken at least a team of dozens to defeat him. As if that wasnt bad enough, he wasnt a normal Tyrant either. He was also empowered by the life energy of an insectoid nest.Right now, everyone was feeling bitter and regretful. They would never havee here with such a small team if they knew that their final opponent would be a Cloud River Realm Tyrant. They would have gathered dozens, if not hundreds of fellow cultivators first.
There was a loud bang and an outburst of Spiritual Power. It was the Seventh-Order body-tempering cultivators Shield Spirit Artifact shattering into pieces after taking a hit from Niu Meng.
Out of all the people attacking Niu Meng at melee range, the body-tempering cultivator was easily the weakest. Niu Meng might be nothing more than a mindless beast right now, but even in this state he knew to tackle the weakest link first.
The Seventh-Order body-tempering cultivator was sent flying like a rag doll. His entire body looked as red as a boiled prawn, and he sprayed out a mouthful of blood before crashing hard against the floor. He did not move after that. It was impossible to say if he was dead or just unconscious.
The next person to be sent flying was Pang Dahai. The guy screamed the entire way he was sent flying to the nearest flesh wall as if he was being subjected to the cruelest torture or something. He hit the wall so hard that he sank slightly into the flesh before slowly sliding toward the floor.
The defense line that had been keeping Niu Meng at bay was broken. As the monstrously huge sect master sped into a blur, many yells erupted from multiple directions, WATCH OUT!
Zhou Hai gritted his teeth and attempted to interrupt the sect masters charge with a powerful sh, but it didnt work. The next moment, Niu Meng appeared beside Xia Qianqian and cast a dark shadow over the spell cultivator. He did not react even though his back was being bombarded by all kinds of attacks.
Xia Qianqian conjured a barrier with her Spiritual Power as quickly as she could. At the same time, she leaped away from Niu Meng.
The sect masterunched a mighty kick that shattered that barrier as easily as a person might pop a bubble. Xia Qianqian was sent spinning across the air like a top before she crashed heavily against the ground.
Not done yet, he stretched out his hand as if he was reaching for something before suddenly appearing right next to Lu Ye. As it turned out, he was aiming to grab Lu Yes head.
Every hair on Lu Yes body stood on end at that moment. Death wasnt breathing down his neck at this point, it was crushing him from all sides and squeezing his heart so hard it might pop at any moment.
Instinctively, Lu Ye swung his saber at the approaching hand. All it did was cause a shower of sparks as metal shed against metal-like talons.
Niu Meng tightened his grip around the Invibles de and pulled. At the same time, he threw a punch at Lu Yes abdomen. The faint vibration Lu Ye felt on his skin long before the punch even reached him was all he needed to feel to know that he would die if itnded.
He conjured Protection immediately. Lu Ye had no idea if it would be enough to stop the attack, but it was the best defensive measure he coulde up with.
It was at this moment that a cultivator dashed in front of Lu Ye. He detonated his Spiritual Power at the same time he crossed his arms defensively.
There was a loud bang before the figure mmed into Lu Ye. The duo rolled across the floor like tumbleweeds.
It wasnt until Lu Ye had scrambled to his feet that he realized that the person who saved his life was the Great Elder.
The Great Elder also climbed back to his feet, but he spat out a mouthful of blood as soon as his back straightened. His arms were shaking uncontrobly as well. Clearly, that wasnt an attack he would like to receive a second time.
We need to think of a way to damage his Beast Imprint, Young Master! Niu Meng is in his Beast Form right now! Only by damaging his Beast Imprint can we cancel his Beast Form and stand a chance at victory! The Great Elder said hurriedly.
His advice hit them all like a lightning bolt. From the beginning, Lu Ye had been trying to figure out why Niu Meng was so powerful. Sure, he was the sect master of the ck Tortoise Sect, but it didnt quite exin his physical strength and toughness especially considering that he was being controlled by the parasite.
At first, Lu Ye thought it was because he was empowered by the life energy of an entire insectoid nest. Now, he realized that it was only one of the reasons. It was also because Niu Meng was currently in his Beast Form.
They shouldve realized it sooner. Niu Meng might look like a mutant cultivator, but he was a human through and through. The reason he didnt look like one was because he had merged with his Chosen Beast.
Beast Form was the greatest technique of a Beast Tamer of the Myriad Beasts Domain. Lu Ye had learned of it while studying the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art. The reason he hadnt used it was because neither he nor Amber had reached the necessary level yet. Not only did it take time to execute the technique, it could not be maintained for long because it drained a massive amount of energy and stamina from both the cultivator and the Spirit Beast.
Lu Ye did not know why Niu Meng could maintain the technique indefinitely, but he did know that the technique could be canceled. All they needed to do was to damage his Beast Imprint.
Lu Ye looked up. Niu Meng had not been idle while he and the Great Elder were upied. Kitty Shen was lying in a pool of her own blood. Lan Ziyi was leaning against the wall with her greatswords lying limply by her side. Her aura was in shambles as well.
Everyone in the chamber was injured to a certain degree except Niu Meng. He looked like a god as he stood there without so much as a scratch on his body.
Why didnt you A weak voice overflowing with annoyance and frustration came from the darkness, say this sooner?
Pang Dahai slowly stepped out of the darkness while panting like a dog and wiping away the fresh blood dripping from his lips. The fat man did not look good, right now. His hair was aplete mess, and there were bloodstains all over his body. If it wasnt for his eyes, they mightve thought that he was out of the fight already.
Pang Dahai knew that it wasnt really the Great Elders fault. From the old mans perspective, they were all cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain. Since this was a world dominated by Beast Tamers, they should be well aware of the Beast Imprint and its functions.
However, they were Jiu Zhou cultivators. Forget that Beast Imprints literally did not exist in Jiu Zhou, the Beast Taming faction wasnt even a major cultivation faction. In fact, the Beast Taming faction was generally looked down upon because it was believed to be the home for unambitious failures and weaklings who would rather rely on their Spirit Beasts to grow stronger than work on their own bodies. It wasnt until today that they realized that a Beast Tamer could be this powerful.
Pang Dahais appearance immediately drew Niu Mengs attention. The monstrously huge man revealed a rare glimmer of humanity as he tilted his head, seemingly perplexed as to how the fat man was still able to stand after all the beating he had dished out.
In response, Pang Dahai spat on the ground before grinning maliciously at Niu Meng. The fuck youre looking at? Come hit me!
Niu Meng obliged. A blurter, he appeared in front of Pang Dahai and kicked once more. Pang Dahai roared as his vitality and Spiritual Power merged together to form a dazzling aura. Not only that, he abruptly grew a few inches taller and broader as well.
Bang
There was a dull thud as Pang Dahai shook like a leaf. The fabric behind his back exploded into pieces as a violent shockwave exited his back and mmed into the flesh wall behind him hard. At the same time, his massive belly trapped Niu Mengs feet firmly just like before.
Is thatPwack! Pang Dahai attempted to taunt Niu Meng, but could not finish before a jet of blood spilled through his lips.
After attempting to withdraw his leg several times to no avail, Niu Meng abruptly threw a punch at Pang Dahais face.
Pang Dahai immediately raised his hand and caught Niu Mengs fist. At the same time, he pulled out a strange Spirit Artifact Lu Ye could not identify before transforming it into a rope and binding their hands together.
Pang Dahai tried to repeat the trick when Niu Meng proceeded to punch with his left hand, but this time the sect master moved too fast for him to catch it. The punchnded squarely on his chest and elicited a strange yelp from him. As Niu Mengnded one sessful punch after another, Pang Dahai screeched on top of his lungs, Are you fucking dead or something, Zhou Hai? Im going to die if you dont act soon, you bastard!
Suddenly, a piercing light emerged from the darkness and stabbed into Niu Mengs back like a bolt of lightning. It was Zhou Hai finallyunching his surprise attack. However, no matter how much Spiritual Power he injected into his sword, the de just refused to go deeper after prating about half of its length.
Meanwhile, Niu Meng was already responding to the threat by tightening his flesh and causing the affected area to be a lot denser than before. There was a brief stand-off until Zhou Hais sword exploded with light and prated another two inches, but that was all. His Spirit Artifact dimmed like a dying candle after that.
How useless can you be? Pang Dahai roared in frustration, I cant believe Im actually going to die because of you!
Suddenly, a man ran up to Zhou Hai. It was none other than Lu Ye. The despairing Pang Dahai was so surprised by his appearance that he temporarily forgot his rant.
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Chapter 478: We’re Not Meant For Each Other
Chapter 478: Were Not Meant For Each Other
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Lu Ye was just a Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. It was unlikely he would be able to contribute anything to the situation.
Lu Ye came to a stop right behind Zhou Hai before crouching slightly. As he sucked in a small breath, his Spiritual Power churned, and his vitality merged even deeper with Ambers. The Invible shed as he held it in front of himself. At the same time, his right arm abruptly swelled like a balloon as vitality poured into it.
At that moment, Zhou Hai felt like someone was pressing a de against his back. His senses were screaming for him to get out of the way.
Pull your sword! Lu Ye yelled.
Without hesitation, Zhou Hai did as he was told, crouched, and jumped to the side.
The second Zhou Hai withdrew his sword, the surrounding flesh immediately started wriggling unnaturally. If Lu Ye waited even a second longer, the wound might just heal up before he could do anything.
He did not wait. His arm blurred as he stabbed into the wound five times in a row!
Combo was a de technique to Lu Ye. If he could use Combo with sh, then of course he could use it with other techniques as well. It was just a matter of application.
Every time the Invible plunged into Niu Mengs flesh, its de would emit a brilliant light. It was because he had empowered the Invible with two Sharp Edges. They granted the saber incredible sharpness and allowed Lu Ye to prate just a bit deeper with each sessive stab.
Four stabs came and went in the blink of an eye. On the fifth stab, the saber finally pierced three inches out of Niu Mengs chest!
Both Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai perked up when they saw this. Neither man had anticipated that Lu Ye, a mere Second-Order cultivator, was capable of executing such a powerful move.
Unfortunately, they needed Lu Ye to do more. Niu Meng was still struggling, so it was clear that the stab wound still wasnt enough to disrupt the integrity of the Beast Imprint on the sect masters chest. It wasnt like they hadnt left some injuries on his chest earlier, but they had all healed in a matter of seconds. If Lu Ye withdrew his saber now, then all their efforts would be for naught.
Lu Ye was aware of this. That was why he applied Burster to the Invible the instant it pierced through Niu Mengs chest.
There was an outburst of Spiritual Power as countless skewers made of invisible energy exploded into existence. If his target was anyone else, the attack wouldve been enough to kill them ten times over. However, Niu Meng only shuddered in ce. He just had that much life energy and tenacity.
Thankfully, Lu Ye had one more trick up his sleeves. He constructed an Explosion next and sessfully sted a hole through Niu Mengs chest.
There was no denying that the sect master of the ck Tortoise Sect was ridiculously tough. Most ordinary attacks could only burn some skin off his flesh. However, Lu Ye had constructed the destructive Glyphs inside his body. No matter how tough the sect master was, his internal organs could not possibly be as tough as his flesh and bone.
Moo!
Niu Meng had not said a word since he emerged from the flesh sac. This was the first time the mindless man who only knew how to kill his foes made a sound at all. Even as his viscera sttered messily across Pang Dahais chest, everyone could sense his tremendous vitality suddenly falling into disarray. Following that disarray were clear signs of separation.
That was all Lu Ye got to see before Niu Meng abruptly turned around and threw a punch at him.
He immediately constructed Protection, but the Glyph shattered the instant it made contact with the fist. It felt like he had been punched by a mountain. The next thing Lu Ye knew, he was flying uncontrobly across the air before mming back first into the flesh wall. He hung there for a good few seconds before slowly sliding to the ground.
His head spun, and his insides churned like a tsunami. For a time, he couldnt even draw breath until the pain abated a little..
By the time he recovered enough to realize that it probably wasnt a good idea to lie prone on the ground, at least a dozen breaths had passed since he took the hit. There were dark tendrils encroaching on his vision and threatening to ovee his consciousnesspletely, but there were just enough res of Spiritual Power for him to see how the battle was going.
The Great Elder and Pang Dahai were currently working together to pin down Niu Meng. Lu Yes saber was still stuck inside the sect masters chest.
On the other side, Zhou Hai was chasing after a Spirit Beast that looked like a Kui Niu. It was mooing non-stop while desperately trying to dodge Zhou Hais attacks.
[It worked!] Lu Ye thought to himself and nearly cked out again when relief washed over him. He had no doubt that the Kui Niu was Niu Mengs Chosen Beast, meaning that Zhou Hai and his all-out attack ultimately seeded in breaking Niu Mengs Beast Imprint after all. Without the Beast Imprint, it was impossible for Niu Meng to maintain his Beast Form. Of course, they could not rejoin either.
Niu Meng was far, far more manageable now that he had lost his Beast Form. Although he was still overflowing with life energy, he wasnt that much stronger than a conventional Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. In fact, he was far weaker than before because the poison was finally taking effect properly.
Not far away, a woman shakily crawled to her feet and channeled a spell. She was none other than Xia Qianqian.
She wasnt the only one who survived the onught. Kitty Shen, Lan Ziyi, and even the Seventh-Order body-tempering cultivator were still alive. They were all forcing themselves to stand despite their condition because they knew that victory was right within their grasp. It was time to give it their all.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye wouldnt be able to participate in this final showdown in person. Although he had managed to construct Protection in time, Niu Mengs final punch before he was separated from his Chosen Beast still hurt him badly. Every time he tried to move, his abdomen would hurt like someone was stabbing his insides. He was pretty sure it was because some bone fragments had gotten inside his internal organs.
That didnt mean he waspletely helpless, however. His Weapon Holder buzzed as nine flying weapons whooshed into the air and attacked the Kui Niu from multiple angles.
The Kui Nius fate was sealed from the moment it became separated from Niu Meng. Even though it was as strong as a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, there was no way it could evade or withstand theirbined attacks. Not even half an incense stickter, the Spirit Beasty dead on the floor while a pool of blood slowly grew beneath it.
Niu Meng was still struggling not because he was particrly strong, but because neither Pang Dahai nor the Great Eldercked the ability to end him in one strike. No matter how many wounds they left on Niu Meng, the sect master was always able to recover thanks to his exuberant life energy.
This stalemate continued until Zhou Hai finally reached them andunched a thunderous strike, causing Niu Meng to skid to a sudden stop. The next moment, his head flew into the air, and his headless corpse hit the floor with a resounding thud.
The battlefield suddenly grew much quieter after that. For a time, the only noise that resounded in the insectoid nest was everyones panting.
Pang Dahai let out a string of curses before copsing on his butt. This was easily the hardest and most exhausting fight he had ever fought since bing a cultivator. If possible, he never wanted to experience another fight like this, especially if it required him to be a body-tempering cultivator again.
The reason Pang Dahai mostly fought at the backlines even though he was also a body-tempering cultivator was because he was terribly afraid of pain. If the situation wasnt as desperate as it was, he would never have revealed his hidden abilities.
Suddenly, a sh of light caught everyones attention. It came from Niu Mengs headless corpse.
Zhou Hai screamed, Watch out! and attempted to cut the golden light in half. However, the golden light managed to evade the attack before zipping toward the farthest edge of the battlefield; toward Lu Ye!
Lu Ye had been focusing on his recuperation since Niu Meng was dead, and even if he hadnt, he couldnt possibly have anticipated that the battle wasnt over yet. He attempted to intercept the golden light with his nine flying weapons, but it easily dodged them all before zooming out of view. The next thing he knew, he felt a pinprick of pain behind his neck.
Lu Ye instinctively tried to p it like a mosquito, but all he felt was a massive bump that definitely wasnt there a moment ago. At the same time, he felt something burrowing into his body and grabbing hold of his cervical spine.
It was the parasite; the one that had been controlling Niu Meng all this time!
From what they learned, the parasite that controlled the Spirit Beast or the cultivator would self-destruct if its host was killed. It was why the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Domain never found the true reason the Spirit Beasts went insane.
In fact, the insectoids were so elusive that even the cultivators of Jiu Zhou were unable to detect it until one of the parasites tried to take over Amber.
Niu Meng was obviously controlled by a parasite as well, but it would seem that this particr parasite had unusual abilities. Not only was it gold in color, it was actually smart enough to leave its dead host and infect another!
They had all rxed their guards after the grueling battle. No one realized that the parasite controlling Niu Meng wasnt dead yet until it was toote.
For a moment, Lu Ye tensed up as if he had been struck by a lightning bolt. At the same time, he felt a ridiculous amount of auras above their heads and millions more in a particr direction. It was where Bndia was at!
More information had poured into his head, but he wasnt able to make sense of it before his neck hurt, and the parasite in his neck let out a strange chirp. The next thing he knew, the parasite had burrowed out of his body!
Golden light touched the edges of his vision once more, but this time it wasnt able to take flight before Lu Ye caught it in one smooth motion. He was wondering what he should do when shadows suddenly cast over his person. When he looked up and saw that everyone was looming over him with severe expressions, he hurriedly said, Calm down! Im fine! while showing off the parasite in his grip.
Pang Dahai was the first to recover from his surprise and ask, Why did it leave your body?
The rest of the group were puzzled as well. They had rushed over after seeing the parasite flying to Lu Ye and infecting him. They had thought that they might be forced to perform the detestable. No one expected the parasite to burrow out of Lu Yes body, however. It made no sense considering its behavior until now.
Right now, the parasite was struggling furiously to break out of Lu Yes grip, but it seemed powerless without a host body to control. Lu Ye was pretty sure that even a low level Spirit Creek Realm cultivator would be strong enough to hold it in ce.
I dont know. Maybe were not meant for each other? Lu Ye gave an outrageous excuse.
He knew exactly why the parasite had left his body, of course. The Tree of Glyphs hade alive the second it burrowed into his body and tried to control him. The Tree of Glyphs could purge even the pill poison in ones body, so why wouldnt it work on a body-controlling parasite? If the parasite was slower, it wouldve been burned to a crisp already.
It must be said that the parasite was incredibly unlucky. It couldve chosen to infect anyone else in the chamber, not to mention that Lu Ye was lying at the farthest corner of the chamber too. However, it still chose Lu Ye as its target for some reasonnot that it couldve averted its fate even if it had chosen anyone else.
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Chapter 479: Thirty Thousand Battle Points
Chapter 479: Thirty Thousand Battle Points
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In a sense, this strange insectoid waspletely harmless to cultivators without the ability to infect and control its host.
Lu Ye looked down and examined the insectoid he had captured closely. He discovered that it looked almost the same as the cicada-like parasite he had extracted from Amber before. The only difference was that it was gold in color as if it was forged from actual gold.
Insectoid King! He muttered to himself.
Excuse me? Zhou Hai asked with a frown.
This is the Insectoid King!
No one seemed to get what he was talking about, the Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators even less so. They had never encountered an Insectoid King despite having experienced many Hidden Realms and fought even more insectoids in the Cloud River Battlefield. They knew that the insectoids were monsters that only knew ughter and destruction, but they didnt know there was such a thing as an Insectoid King until now.
How did you know that? Xia Qianqian voiced her puzzlement.
I felt something during the short period it tried to control me Lu Ye tried very hard to recall the memory before saying slowly, You know, I believe Myriad Beasts Domain would be saved if we killed it!That caught everyones attention immediately. Zhou Hai asked, What do you mean?
Lu Ye took a moment to process the information he received from the golden parasite before exining, None of the insectoids in the Myriad Beasts Domain, except the Insectoid King, have a mind of their own. They are all being controlled by the Insectoid King. If it dies, then the rest of the insectoids will die with it. Their empty shells might still live inside the Spirit Beasts bodies, but wouldnt affect their minds anymore
When the Insectoid King was inside his body, he had sensed a plethora of auras on the surface. They obviously belonged to the insectoids hiding inside the Spirit Beasts bodies. He had also sensed millions and millions of life energies in the direction of Bndia.
The connection worked both ways. Lu Ye was pretty sure that Amber had sensed the Insectoid King back when an insectoid had tried to seize control of its body.
Are you absolutely sure that killing the Insectoid King would cause all other insectoids to cease functioning? Kitty Shen asked uncertainly.
She had been wondering how their diminished group was going to escape from the army of Spirit Beasts waiting for them outside, not to mention the ocean of Spirit Beasts assaulting Bndia. Considering their condition, it seemed extremely unlikely that they would be able to make it out alive, much less save Bndia and consequently the world.
If what Lu Ye said was true though, then killing the Insectoid King would solve all of their problems.
Lets find out, shall we? Lu Ye said before tightening his grip. The Insectoid King let out one final screech before popping like a balloon and spilling golden liquid all over the ce. Lu Ye burned it all with his Fire Attribute Spiritual Power.
As if on cue, the crazed Spirit Beasts on the surface suddenly stopped pawing at the earth and calmed down. The scarlet, crazed gleam in their eyes swiftly faded as well.
The Spirit Beasts at the ck Tortoise Sect werent the only ones that had calmed down. At Bndia, the despairing cultivators were moments away from making theirst stand when the Spirit Beasts that were attacking them from every direction retreated like tidewater. The survivors slowly gathered together on the broken walls as they watched the retreating horde while basking in unadulterated relief and joy.
No one knew why the Spirit Beasts had retreated suddenly. The Jiu Zhou cultivators were the only ones who figured out that someone had probably solved the root of the problem.
Back at the ck Tortoise Sect, the group were currently trekking through the tunnels and making their way back to the surface. The insectoid nest had started withering as soon as Niu Meng was dead, and the flesh wall that sealed the exit earlier was no exception.
The group was desperate to leave the insectoid nest, not just because it was the source of many a trauma, but also because it was still covered in poisonous mist. No one was willing to linger in that Heavens-forsaken ce for even a second longer.
They didnt dare to head back to the surface immediately though. Despite all the antidotes they had consumed, the poison was still eating away at their bodies. Their bodies were sore, their limbs felt weak, and their Spiritual Power was stuttering like there was rust inside their veins.
At this rate, they would have to return to the Cloud River Battlefield and find a medicine cultivator to cleanse all the toxins in their bodies properly. Otherwise, it was unlikely that they would recover quickly.
In the darkened tunnels, Lu Ye was recuperating after consuming a Healing Pill. He had sent Yi Yi away to scout the surface. Unlike the cultivators in Bndia, they still did not know if Lu Yes assumption was true. If he was wrong, then they were going to have to fight their way out.
No one wanted to fight the Spirit Beasts if at all possible. Not only were they seriously hurt, they were unable to unleash even half of their strength due to the poison.
Suddenly, Pang Dahai broke the silence with a low chuckle. Hey guys. This is just a suggestion, but you should take a look at your identity passes!
Judging from the delight in his voice, it must be good news. Everyone did as he said immediately.
When Lu Ye checked his identity pass, he was shocked to find that his Battle Points had skyrocketed to almost thirty thousand!
Since the Heavens were the ones tallying the Battle Points, he could trust that he wasnt seeing things. At the beginning, Lu Ye had killed many Spirit Beasts with his wards at the valley. However, that battle had only earned him a little over three thousand Battle Points. During the defense of Bndia, his tally blew past the five thousandth mark, not just because he had killed a lot of Spirit Beasts, but also because he earned a sizable sum for repairing Howling Thunder.
The trip to the ck Tortoise Sect was worth five times that amount or almost twenty five thousand Battle Points! His contribution in Niu Mengs death clearly made up the bulk of the reward. His killing of the Insectoid King must have given him a lot of Battle Points as well, not to mention the discovery of the hidden ability of this breed of Insectoids
In any case, thirty thousand Battle Points represented a massive amount of wealth to a Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator like Lu Ye. If he remembered correctly, Bndias quartermaster department offered a Gold Amulet at the cheap, cheap price of sixteen thousand and two hundred Battle Points. This meant that he almost had enough Battle Points to purchase two Gold Amulets in one go!
He did not know how many Battle Points the others earned, but he could not imagine them earning less than him. The Ninth-Order cultivators had been crucial in the ying of Niu Meng, and Zhou Hai and Pang Dahai even more so. Without Zhou Hai, they might not have had the strength to y Niu Meng even after he was separated from his Chosen Beast. As for Pang Dahai, he was the one who held Niu Meng at bay and kept their casualties to a minimum.
Now that he thought about it, Niu Meng was worth almost one or even two hundred Battle Points in total. The Battle Points were then split among the group based on their contribution.
All the desperation and bitterness they had suffered while fighting against Niu Meng transformed into pure joy in that moment. Not even the darkness could conceal the wide grins on everyones faces.
Unfortunately, only eight of them had survived the trip. The battle against Niu Meng was so dangerous that they lost half of theirbat cultivators and one body-tempering cultivator. Not even the female ghost cultivator had lived until the end.
Risk and reward were two sides of the same coin, and it was inevitable that a cultivator would encounter a life-threatening crisis once in a while.
Suddenly, Pang Dahai eximed in surprise, Is it just me, or are we missing a head?
Lu Ye looked around and discovered that he was right. He quickly realized that the missing person was none other than Lan Ziyi.
The discovery surprised him a little. He thought he had hidden his intentions pretty well, but it would seem that the woman was smarter than he gave her credit for. She had left the group and hid herself long before he noticed her absence.
In this Cultivation World, Lu Ye had no problems ying the role the Heavens had bestowed upon him and cooperating with Lan Ziyinot that his intention mattered where the Heavens were involved. Plus, the Heavens had made her his attendant. The arrangement was more beneficial to him than it was to her no matter how he looked at it.
However, Lu Ye had not forgotten for even a second that they were enemies. Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had fought her to defend his title as the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy and just barely defeated her. Having experienced her strength and potential first hand, he had no doubt she would grow to be a great threat to the Grand Sky Coalition in the future. That was why he had been waiting for a suitable opportunity to kill her this whole time. He was sure that Lan Ziyi had been thinking the same thing.
The reason he hadnt acted on his thoughts wasnt just because that opportunity hadnt arrived, but also because he did not know everyones affiliation besides Pang Dahai. If he tried to kill Lan Ziyi in front of the group, there was a high chance the attempt would end in failure.
It was a different story now. Lan Ziyi was poisoned and much weaker than normal. Lu Ye was seriously injured, but he could unleash most of his strength because he wasnt poisoned.
If he could find the right opening, he was fairly certain he would be able to kill Lan Ziyi in one strike. The others would try to interfere and save her, but Pang Dahai should be able to hold them off until the deed was done.
He didnt think that Lan Ziyi would nip his n in the bud.
It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do about it. At the same time, he was impressed with the womans decisiveness. She was clearly aware that she shouldnt get anywhere close to Lu Ye in her current condition.
Lan Ziyis disappearance didnt cause too many ripples. Even Pang Dahai, the guy who mentioned her disappearance in the first ce, simply left the matter at that.
Most of them were veterans who had survived in the Cloud River Battlefield for a very, very long time. It was obvious to them that Lan Ziyi was hiding because she was wary of someone in the group. There was no need to say it out loud and sour the mood, not to mention that they werent out of the woods yet.
It was at this moment Lu Ye received a message from Yi Yi. As he predicted, the Spirit Beasts above the ck Tortoise Sect had left the area. She even observed a lone Spirit Beast for a moment and confirmed that it had indeed returned to normal.
Lu Ye asked, How do you leave a Hidden Realm like this?
Pang Dahai answered, Normally, a Divine Opportunity Column appears at a specific location if the crisis was resolved in this case, I think the Divine Opportunity Column will appear in Bndia, though youll have to search around a little to find it. Bndia is a massive city after all.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. We didnt obtain the city lords permission before leaving Bndia. If what the Great Elder said is true, then weve probably been branded as traitors of humanity and barred from Bndia forever.
Pang Dahai chuckled. That is why its going to be slightly troublesome to return to Bndia.
The fat man didnt look panicked in the slightest though. He had probably experienced something simr in the past.
We cant not go back though. The quartermaster department is in Bndia Lu Ye groaned while rubbing his forehead.
It doesnt matter. If you want to exchange your Battle Points at the quartermaster department, thats okay. If you want to perform the transaction after returning to the Cloud River Battlefield, that is fine as well.
Huh? Please exin.
Let me put it this way. Battle Points are a currency that you can only earn from some Hidden Realms, and in a sense are even more valuable than Contribution Points. All you need to do is to ess a Divine Opportunity Column, connect to the Vault of Providence, and spend your Battle Points there.
By the way, you should know that Battle Points can be exchanged for anything Contribution Points can, but not vice versa. The Amulets are one such example. Its because everything you exchanged reallyes from the Vault of Providence; from the Heavens themselves!
Lu Ye tipped his head gratefully at Pang Dahai. He could appreciate the convenience of the setup if nothing else. It also made him realize how incredible the Heavens were all over again.
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Chapter 480: Returning to Bilandia
Chapter 480: Returning to Bndia
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Everyone focused on healing their injuries after that short talk. Xia Qianqian was a second-rate medicine cultivator, so they flocked to her like chicks to a mother hen as a matter of course. Considering their health condition and less-than-ster environment, she could be the worst medicine cultivator in the world, and they still would have cherished her like gold.
Three dayster, the group finally recovered enough to return to the surface. It was time.
Lu Ye led the way just likest time. They were able to make it all the way to the copsed well without any problem. It took a while to move the rocks out of the way, but they cleared a path eventually.
A momentter, Lu Ye flew out of the well and squinted at the ring sunlight for a bit. After living in darkness for so long, he almost felt like he was reborn. The others wore happy expressions as well.
The group wasnt too wary because they had already asked their acquaintances about the situation on the surface a few days ago. They knew that the Spirit Beasts showed no signs of devolving back into insanity, and that the crisis guing the Myriad Beasts Domain was truly resolved. Naturally, there wasnt much to be wary about.
Young Master! Great Elder! A familiar voice entered his ears. Lu Ye turned around and saw the cultivators of the Myriad Beasts Sect.
Three days ago, the group had split up into two teams in order to handle the situation. Lu Yes group was responsible for ending the threat, while the old womans group was responsible for leading some of the Spirit Beasts away.
He had not heard from them for the past three days. It would seem that they had been waiting for them to resurface all this time.
Ironically, Lu Ye still had no idea who the old woman was in the Myriad Beasts Sect. She had to be someone important though. She was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator after all.
After exchanging pleasantries for a bit, the Great Elder said, Now that the crisis is resolved, it is time to go home, Young Master. Let us rebuild the Myriad Beasts Sect to what it was before!
The old woman and the rest of the Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators urged as well, Pleasee back with us to restore the Myriad Beasts Sect, Young Master!
Honestly, Lu Ye had almost forgotten about his identity in this world. But of course, he couldnt possiblyply with their request. Forget that this Cultivation World probably wasnt real, he was ultimately a Jiu Zhou cultivator.
He turned to Pang Dahai for help, but the fat man immediately looked away and pretended to admire the scenery. It wasnt because he didnt want to help Lu Ye, but because he did not have any useful experience to share. He had never received such an important identity from the Heavens when entering a Hidden Realm like this, much less been pleaded by a native to stay and restore their sect. How would that even work?
In the end, Lu Ye had no choice but to say, Please return to the sect first, everyone. I promise I wille home as soon as my friends and I are done with our business.
The Great Elder immediately offered, Ille with you.
But Lu Ye hurriedly waved him off, Its fine, Great Elder. Please head back with the others.
The Great Elder wanted to argue, but he changed his mind after the old woman shot him a look. Very well. Do be careful, Young Master.
He then looked at Xia Qianqian and Kitty Shen and ordered coldly, You two best keep the Young Master safe. You will answer to me if even a hair on his person is harmed, understand?
The two women reluctantly responded, Yes, Great Elder!
The Great Elder fussed over Lu Ye a while longer before he finally joined the Myriad Beasts Sect group and left. It wasnt long before they disappeared into the horizon.
Lu Ye looked troubled as he asked, Will they wait for me forever if I do not return to the Myriad Beasts Sect?
Pang Dahai chuckled. Dont worry. The Heavens will know what to do!
Suddenly, Lu Ye felt a sudden pain behind his head. He turned around and saw Xia Qianqian holding a hair between her fingers. She had obviously plucked it from his head earlier.
What the heck are you doing?
Xia Qianqian harrumphed. Oh my Heavens, you lost a hair, Young Master! Grow it back now, or the Great Elder will surely put us through the mill!
The Great Elders rebuke had annoyed her. That was why she had purposely plucked a hair from Lu Yes head.
Lu Ye could not even be bothered to respond to her childish action.
Lets go, Zhou Hai beckoned before bringing out his flying sword. He then leaped on the sword and flew in the direction of Bndia at high speed.
Everyone else followed closely behind him.
They didnt encounter any trouble on the way just like when they first came to the ck Tortoise Sect. Unfortunately, the same could be said for the damage that had already been done to the world. Still, this was not the end, but a new beginning.
Lu Ye did not know if this Cultivation World had already been destroyed in the past. He did not know if Xia Qianqian was right about their experience in this Hidden Realm being an extremely realistic reenactment of the past either.
He could only say that it felt real to him.
The Spirit Beasts had withdrawn and returned to normal. Bndia had been saved from destruction. The humanity of the Myriad Beasts Domain had survived, and there were even people waiting for him to e home and restore their sect to their former glory.
They were about midway to Bndia when Lu Ye asked suddenly, Theoretically speaking, it should be possible to stay here forever, right?
Theoretically? Sure. Have you ever seen anyone choosing to stay permanently in the Spirit Creek Battlefield though? Xia Qianqian countered next to him.
To cultivate was to go forward constantly; to climb ever higher to reach that elusive peak. While it was inevitable that they would go through experiences they would remember for a lifetimesome cultivators might even choose to retire because of those experienceswhat kind of cultivator would choose to linger in a Hidden Realm for a lifetime?
Take Lu Ye for example. At first nce, it seemed like joining the Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators and rebuilding the sect was a good choice. If nothing else, he was guaranteed a life offort, fame and glory or was he?
The Myriad Beasts Domain used to be dominated by Beast Tamers until the insectoids came and destroyed most of them. In fact, the entire Cultivation World except Bndia was practically destroyed.
Now that the crisis was resolved, Bndia had transformed from the final bastion of humanity to the only pir left in the Myriad Beasts Domain. Naturally, they werent going to allow the Beast Tamers to return to power, if only to prevent history from repeating himself.
Even if that wasnt the case, Lu Ye had a feeling that the ruler of Bndia, Liu Wuzhai, wasnt going to let things go. He had only met the man once, but he could already tell that he was a power-hungry, bigoted bastard. Not only that, he was easily the biggest winner of this insectoid attack, and he didnt even need to lift a finger to reap the rewards. Right now, he was indubitably the new ruler of this Cultivation World.
If he really chose to stay in the Myriad Beasts Domain, chances were he and the Myriad Beasts Sect would be hunted like rats throughout the world. At the very least, the Myriad Beasts Sect was facing an uphill battle.
The group descended on a plot ofnd five kilometers away from Bndia. They did not go further because they werent sure what Bndia thought of them at the moment.
They might have saved the world, but they had also abandoned their posts at a critical moment. From Bndias perspective, they would be in the right to call them deserters.
Plus, who would believe that they were the ones who solved the root of the problem and saved the world, not to mention that the only person in Bndia who knew about their n was the city lord himself, Liu Wuzhai?
If they went in without thinking, there was a high chance they would be attacked on sight. That could only end poorly for them.
Everyone in the group silently stared at Lu Ye. It was clear they wanted him to infiltrate the city. Their group had two ghost cultivators at the beginning, but one had be separated from them while they were escaping Bndia, and another had died in the insectoid nest.
Since Lu Ye was the only one left who could emte a ghost cultivators abilities, of course it was up to him to infiltrate the city.
Not one to shrink from his responsibilities, Lu Ye said easily, Give me a moment.
A whileter, Lu Ye stopped in front of the city gate. No one stopped him because he was invisible right now. While staring at the dozen of familiar faces on the notice board, he thought calmly to himself, [I knew it. Bndia really put a bounty on our heads.]
In fact, the portraits of every Myriad Beast Sect cultivator including himself was hung at the most conspicuous spot. He could be wrong, but he had a feeling that Bndia might not have put a bounty on their heads if the Myriad Beasts Sect wasnt part of the desertion. The situation was pretty desperate. But since they were, of course Liu Wuzhai wasnt going to let the opportunity pass. The old bastard wanted them as far away from his city as possible. He would be even happier if they were all dead.
Unfortunately, this meant that flying into the city wasnt an option. Bndias cultivators were sure to attack them if they tried. They would have to walk through the city gates.
[Hopefully, the others carried some Concealment Talisman Papers with them.]
Many parts of the city were damaged or ruined, and it had only been three days since the assault had ended. It was unlikely that Bndias cultivators had already reestablished their protective wards, so slipping into the city using Concealment Talisman Papers now was still an option. It wouldnt be when Bndia had restored all of its wards.
Lu Ye messaged Xia Qianqian and told her about the situation. The spell cultivator quickly replied asking him to find the Divine Opportunity Column first.
Lu Ye was going to do so even if she hadnt said so. The Divine Opportunity Column was their ticket back to the Cloud River Battlefield after all. However, Xia Qianqian did not ask him to procure some Concealment Talisman Papers for the group, probably because they already had them or something simr. Practically every cultivator would prepare a number of useful talismans no matter what cultivation level they were at. It was better to be safe than sorry after all.
Lu Ye carefully made his way across the city after slipping through the entrance. Since he was invisible, he had to dodge an iing pedestrian from time to time.
[I wonder where the Divine Opportunity Column is? I hope I dont have to explore the whole city to find it]
He was still thinking when he heard a pedestrian saying, Are you heading back, Fellow Cultivator Sun?
Another person answered, Yeah. I mean, I survived this Hidden Realm and even earned some Battle Points at the end of it. Im going to exchange them for some Amulets and hopefully improve my cultivation to the next minor realm.
You have my congrattions.
What about you, Fellow Cultivator Yu?
The cultivator named Yu said, Im going to stay just a little longer.
The cultivator named Sun asked in puzzlement, The crisis is resolved, and killing the Spirit Beasts doesnt yield Battle Points anymore. What could possibly entice you to remain in this Hidden Realm?
The cultivator named Yun chuckled. To tell you the truth, Im also a Beast Tamer.
The cultivator named Sun let out an ah of realization. I see! Youre hoping to acquire their secret art.
It wont be easy though. Most of the Beast Taming sects in Myriad Beasts Domain are destroyed. It will not be easy to find them.
Where theres a will, theres a way. I wish you the best, fellow cultivator.
The two of them conversed a little while longer before finally parting ways.
Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and thought for a few seconds. When the cultivator named Yu passed by his location, he said, You may find what you need if you travel to the headquarters of the Myriad Beasts Sect, fellow cultivator.
Who is it? The cultivator named Yun turned toward the source of the voice in surprise, but of course he saw no one at all.
After advising Fellow Cultivator Yun, Lu Ye immediately raced after Fellow Cultivator Sun until he caught up with him. It was because Fellow Cultivator Sun was heading back to the Cloud River Battlefield, meaning that he must know where the Divine Opportunity Column was.
Unfortunately for the Great Elder and the other Myriad Beasts Sect cultivators, they were probably never going to see him again. Still, the Way of Beast Taming of this world should not decline into obscurity or even extinction just because of one crisis. As long as the Myriad Beasts Sect and the remnants of the Beast Taming sects were still alive, they should be able to keep the Way of Beast Taming alive. If nothing else, the cultivators of Jiu Zhou will be able to visit this Hidden Realm to study the essence of Beast Taming and bring it back to Jiu Zhou.
He spent the next period of time following Fellow Cultivator Sun all the way to the quartermaster department. He immediately saw the Divine Opportunity Column when he entered the main hall.
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Chapter 481: Your Destiny Is Off The Charts, Fellow Cultivator
Chapter 481: Your Destiny Is Off The Charts, Fellow Cultivator
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Lu Ye was certain he hadnt seen the Divine Opportunity Column when he visited the quartermaster department earlier. That was how he knew that Pang Dahai was telling the truth. The Divine Opportunity Column had appeared after they solved the crisis guing the Myriad Beasts Domain.
From time to time, a Jiu Zhou cultivator would touch the Divine Opportunity Column and teleport away from the Hidden Realm. To most Jiu Zhou cultivators, there was no point lingering in a Hidden Realm after most of the rewards had been divvied. Rather than wasting their time here, they would rather test their luck back at the Cloud River Battlefield.
The Cloud River Realm was the cultivation realm where the cultivators of Jiu Zhou swiftly increased their cultivation level. Barring exceptional opportunities like this Hidden Realm, indulging in any distractions would only serve to dy their growth.
Of course, there were exceptions such as Fellow Cultivator Yu. Since he dabbled in the Way of Beast Taming, he had good reason to believe that staying in this Hidden Realm even after the crisis was over would be beneficial to his cultivation.
Lu Ye messaged Xia Qianqian and informed her the location of the Divine Opportunity Column. She quickly responded saying that they were on the way. While waiting, Lu Ye hid in a secluded corner so as to avoid the traffic.
Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes settling on his back and turned. It was then he saw an old man with a goatee smiling at him from behind a table. When their eyes met, the old man gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
Lu Ye frowned immediately. [How did he see me?]
While his concealment technique looked simr to that of a ghost cultivators, it wasnt actually the same thing. The reason he could turn invisible was because of Glyph: Invisibility. On the other hand, ghost cultivators could turn invisible because of their exclusive techniques.
Strictly speaking, his concealment technique was actually inferior to the ghost cultivators, albeit only slightly. He was just a dabbler in this Way after all.
Even so, the old man should not have been able to see through his disguise so easily.
Feel free to cancel your concealment technique, Fellow Cultivator Ye. This ce is now watched by the Heavens, and only Jiu Zhou cultivators cane in. The cultivators of Myriad Beasts Domain would never be able to discover this ce, much lesse in, The old man said suddenly.
This was the first time Lu Ye heard about such a thing. What surprised him even more was the fact that the old man came from Jiu Zhou.
He had met the old man the first time he came to the quartermaster department with the three women. At the time, he thought that he was a Myriad Beasts Domain cultivator. Clearly, he was mistaken.
There was one more thing that concerned him, and that was the fact the old man had addressed him by his surname. Lu Ye did not know him, but he clearly knew Lu Ye.
He considered his options for a bit before removing Invisibility. While keeping a hand on his saber, he sauntered up to the old man and asked, You know who I am?
The old man stroked his beard smilingly. It would be hard not to when even the alley walls are covered in your portrait, Fellow Cultivator Ye!
How did you see through my concealment?
Out of all the surprises the old man had dished out, this was the one that concerned Lu Ye the most. He had always thought that his concealment technique was pretty good, but if it was just a delusion of his, then he would have to reconsider his measures in this area altogether.
The old man said enigmatically, Thats not all I can see, Fellow Cultivator Ye. I can see something else as well.
What do you mean?
The old man looked up as if there was something above Lu Yes head before saying seriously, I have met countless people in my life, Fellow Cultivator Ye, and I can tell you with certainty that I have only met one man whose destiny matches yours!
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly. Youre versed in Destiny Glimpse, sir?
Destiny Glimpse was a rare secret technique in Jiu Zhou. In fact, it was so rare that most people thought that it only existed in legends. For obvious reasons, Lu Ye never thought that he would encounter someone with the legendary technique in this Hidden Realm.
He did not think that the old man was lying to him either. It was a fact that his luck had been incredible since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. Even if he assumed that the old man wasnt telling the whole truth, it was clear that he could see something.
Oh yes. On that note, I have a warning to impart. Your luck is exceptional, but I also see a purple energy mixed within it. I would urge you to be careful. Also, you have been too lucky as ofte. Be warned that you may encounter some troubles and lose something in the near future.
And what am I going to lose, exactly?
That depends on what you have, fellow cultivator.
Lu Ye stared at the old man for a moment. He was sure he would be more convinced if the old man would just drop his ambiguous way of speaking and almost pretentious demeanor.
You said you saw a man whose destiny matches mine. Can you tell me who he is?
The old mans expression turned meaningful. His surname is Feng, and he hails from the Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou. Do you know him, fellow cultivator?
At this point, Lu Ye strongly suspected that the old man knew exactly who he was. There was no way he would bring up his first senior brother otherwise. That said, Lu Ye was more concerned with the fact that the old man had met his first senior brother before.
Loosen your shoulders, Fellow Cultivator Ye. Im just making small talk with you. The old man stroked his beard again. My post requires me to stay here for an extended period of time, you see. This is one of the few ways I have to stave off boredom. And dont worry. I am a neutral party.
The obvious dawned upon him. Youre a member of the Divine Trade Association?
Exactly!
He had been wondering why a Jiu Zhou cultivator would be allowed to guard the quartermaster department. Now it all made sense. The Divine Trade Association was a very special organization that shared a business rtionship with both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge. It was also a perfectly neutral party, which was why its members were allowed to supervise the quartermaster department. It would be unfair to either faction otherwise.
Lu Yes hostility diminished slightly after learning that the old man was a member of the Divine Trade Association. He took a moment to organize his thoughts before asking, You said that the Heavens are watching over this ce. What do you mean by that, exactly?
The old man exined patiently, There are many Hidden Realms with a quartermaster department like this one. It is a ce where Jiu Zhou cultivators can exchange their Battle Points for resources. For obvious reasons, it would not be a good idea for the natives to discover this anomaly, so a kind of sensory barrier is enacted around it. A native will never notice the quartermaster department even though its right in front of them. Its as if this ce doesnt exist at all.
On a rted note, the reason I can see through your disguise isnt because Im particrly exceptional in this type of art, but because the Heavens have bestowed upon me a special authority so to speak. It is so that I can perform my guard duties properly.
Does that include your Destiny Glimpse?
Oh no. That one is all me.
Lu Ye nodded in acknowledgement and fell silent again. A few secondster, he said, Someone told me that everything weve experienced in this world is something that has happened in the past. Is it true?
What if it is? What if it isnt?
I just want to know the truth. To satisfy my curiosity so to speak.
The old man looked out of the hall for a long time before answering, Do you know how many times this Hidden Realm has appeared in the Cloud River Battlefield, fellow cultivator?
What do you mean?
The Myriad Beasts Domain has opened seven times to the cultivators of the Cloud River Battlefield before this, but no one has ever seeded in solving the root of the problem until now. I can tell you now that all seven instances have ended with the destruction of Bndia and the extinction of humanity! That is why I offer you and yourpanions my thanks, Fellow Cultivator Ye. You have saved me from having to witness hell in this Cultivation World an eighth time.
The old man smiled when he noticed Lu Yes stunned look. It is exactly what you think, fellow cultivator. The Myriad Beasts Domain is reset every time it is destroyed, and it is opened on the Cloud River Battlefield once more.
Is it the doing of the Heavens?
The Heavens are omnipotent!
But take the Spirit Beasts we killed and the Mutant Cores we extracted from their bodies for example. How do you exin them if it is all fake?
The Mutant Cores he extracted were still lying in his storage space. No matter how powerful the Heavens were, they couldnt possibly revive the dead, could they?
What you see is not necessarily real. But of course, what you get is definitely real.
Why would the Heavens do this? Is it really just to hone the cultivators of Jiu Zhou?
Who could say? I would not dare to fathom the Heavens will.
There was nothing Lu Ye could say to that.
Since weve eliminated the root of the problem, will this Hidden Realm reset and appear at the Cloud River Battlefield as if nothing had changed?
That is unlikely. In my opinion, the Myriad Beasts Domain will continue along this timeline forevermore. It will be an attraction to countless Beast Tamers as well.
The Myriad Beasts Domain had reached heights Jiu Zhou had not seen in the Way of Beast Taming. Once the word was spread, it was only natural that Beast Tamers like Fellow Cultivator Yu would seek out the Hidden Realm in hopes of refining their Way of Beast Taming.
Of course, it is equally possible that this Hidden Realm will disappear forever, the old man added.
Suddenly, he looked out of the hall and said, Your friends have arrived, fellow cultivator.
Lu Ye followed his gaze and saw nothing at first. However, it wasnt long before hispanions appeared out of thin air. It would seem that everyone except Lu Ye knew that it was safe to reveal themselves in this safe zone.
Zhou Hai walked up to the old man and tossed his identity pass on the table. I would like to exchange all my Battle Points for Amulets, thank you.
The old man nodded smilingly before doing as he said. It wasnt long before everyone did the same thing.
Lu Ye also exchanged his Battle Points for Amulets even though Pang Dahai had told him that Battle Points could be saved for future use. Right now, his first priority was improving his cultivation. Everything else was secondary until he was strong enough to consider them.
As exceptional as he was, he was a bottom feeder for as long as he remained in the Second-Order.
He currently had almost thirty thousand Battle Points. He decided to exchange them all for one Gold Amulet, two Purple Amulets, one Blue Amulet, one Green Amulet, and two White Amulets.
He was left with only fifty-six Battle Points when the transaction wasplete.
He couldve exchanged the remaining Battle Points for some Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones, but of course he refrained from doing so.
It wasnt easy to earn Battle Points. As far as he knew, they could only be earned in some Hidden Realms. With that in mind, how could he possibly waste them on Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones?
To Cloud River Realm cultivators, Battle Points should always be spent on Amulets.
Usually, the only way to get an Amulet was to win them in auctions or happen upon them by ident. Both things required a tremendous amount of luck. On the other hand, they could purchase Amulets anytime and anywhere as long as they had enough Battle Points.
It was clear from the looks on everyones faces that this was a rewarding journey. Now, it was truly time to leave this Hidden Realm.
Zhou Hai was the first to walk up to the Divine Opportunity Column and press his hand on the pir. A secondter, he was gone just like that. Pang Dahai and Xia Qianqian were right behind him.
The Seventh-Order body-tempering cultivator was the fourth to leave, while Kitty Shen and Lu Yest. It wasnt because they were acting modest, but because they would randomly appear within fifty kilometers from the entrance to the Hidden Realm. Naturally, it was wiser to allow their strongerpanions to leave first.
When he was ready, Lu Ye walked up to the Divine Opportunity Column and willed himself to exit the Hidden Realm. The next moment, he found himself standing in the middle of the wilderness.
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Chapter 482: Wisp of Sanctification
Chapter 482: Wisp of Sanctification
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Lu Ye immediately checked his surroundings. He rxed when he confirmed that there was no danger.
His Battlefield Imprint notified him of a new message. When he checked it, he realized that it was Xia Qianqian reminding him to meet up with her at the nearest Divine Trade Association.
Earlier, Lu Ye and the three women had agreed to sell the Beast Pact Art to the Vault of Providence after exiting the Hidden Realm. As the secret technique was something that could uplift a faction to a whole new level, they were expecting the Heavens to reward them handsomely for it. Specifically, they were hoping to garner the Heavens attention. The Contribution Points they would get for selling the secret technique was secondary at best.
Lu Ye took out his 10-point map and inspected it for a moment. Once he had identified his position, he brought out his flying Spirit Artifact and soared into the sky.
Two hourster, Lu Yended in front of a Divine Trade Association hotspot. Three people were already waiting for him. They were Kitty Shen, Xia Qianqian, and to his surprise, Lan Ziyi.
Lu Ye had no idea how the woman made it out of the insectoid nest or infiltrated Bndia, but the fact she was here meant she must have left the Myriad Beasts Domain earlier than the rest of them.
Kitty Shen gave him a wave, and Xia Qianqian greeted him cordially. Lan Ziyis expression revealed nothing as he met her eyes for a second.
I thought you werent going to show up for a second there! Xia Qianqian joked before patting him on the shoulder and pretending to his senior, Youre not a bad person, boy! If you ever need help on the Cloud River Battlefield, do not hesitate to call upon my aid!
Lu Ye rolled his eyes at her. Youre about to ascend to the Real Lake Realm, arent you?
Xia Qianqians offer sounded generous, but it only applied while she was still in the Cloud River Battlefield. Considering what they had gotten from the Hidden Realm, he did not doubt that she could ascend to the Real Lake Realm very soon. In other words, her offer was time-limited at best or not applicable at worst.
Naw, Im not leaving the Cloud River Battlefield that quickly. Anyway Xia Qianqian chuckled before changing the subject. Since everyone is present, it is time to sell the secret technique to the Vault of Providence as per our promise. Before that though, we should make a Sacred Pact to prove that the four of us are the first sellers of the secret technique. Ye Six, youre the reason we got this secret technique in the first ce, so you can have seventy percent of the Contribution Points. The rest of us will take ten percent each. Are we in agreement?
Kitty Shen and Lan Ziyi were perfectly fine with the arrangement. Lu Ye nodded in acknowledgement as well.
He wasnt a promise breaker, and they had shared a pleasant cooperative rtionship in the Hidden Realm. The least he could do after they served him as his attendants was to repay the favor.
Ill summon the Sacred Pact then, Xia Qianqian offered before straightening her expression and mumbling under her breath. Very soon, a beam of golden light descended from the sky, and she fished out a Sacred Pact from within. She then passed it to the others so that they might inspect it.
Everyone nted their handprint on the Sacred Pact after confirming its contents. When all was said and done, Lu Ye said, Alright. Im going to sell the secret technique now.
He then walked into the Divine Trade Association and stopped in front of the Divine Opportunity Column.
Every Divine Trade Association hotspot possessed a Divine Opportunity Column of their own. Cultivators did not need to pay any additional fee to use it. However, this also meant that the sanctum was constantly packed with people. Lu Ye had to wait for a bit before it was finally his turn to use the Divine Opportunity Column.
Lu Ye put his hand on the pir and connected his mind with the Vault of Providence. An instantter, he found himself standing in the Vault of Providence. As usual, the ce was cluttered with all kinds of goods. He proceeded to bring out the jade slip the Great Elder had given him and attempted to sell it.
As expected, the Vault of Providence offered him a whopping fifty thousand Contribution Points if he chose to sell it directly to the Vault of Providence. Since it was agreed that he would receive seventy percent of the profit, that was thirty five thousand Contribution Points.
He knew why he was offered such a huge sum for the secret technique. The Beast Taming faction would never be the same again once the technique was poprized.
Without hesitation, he epted the transaction and felt the jade slip disappearing from his hand. At the same time, his Battlefield Imprint suddenly heated up a little. He took a moment to inspect it.
Name: Lu Yi Ye
Identity: Disciple of Crimson Blood Sect
Cultivation: Second Order Cloud River Realm
Location: Cloud River Battlefield
Contribution Points: Ny Two Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty
Battle Points: Fifty Six
He had a little over fifty-seven thousand Contribution Points before this. The numbers matched.
He also noticed that a new row, Battle Points, had been added beneath Contribution Points. It showed exactly how many Battle Points he had left after exchanging them for Amulets.
Ny two thousand Contribution Points was a huge sum. He doubted that there were many Cloud River Realm cultivators out there who could match his wealth. After all, few people would hoard Contribution Points unless they were aiming to buy something expensive. Generally speaking, it was better to spend them on things that could grow ones strength as quickly as possible.
Now that the secret technique was properly registered in the Vault of Providence, anyone could buy it by paying a certain amount Contribution Points.
Lu Ye was curious to know how much the Beast Pact Art would be sold for in the store. When he checked, he saw that its price tag was over eight thousand Contribution Points. That was more expensive than even the best Heaven Grade cultivation technique out there.
At first nce, it would seem like the secret technique was sold at a lower value than it was worth. Lu Ye and the girls were paid a whopping fifty thousand Contribution Points for it after all. However, the copy in the Vault of Providence could be sold repeatedly, and there were a lot of Beast Tamers in Jiu Zhou.
Beast Taming might be a small factionpared to the Six Factions, but it was a big factionpared to other minor factions. Therefore, the amount of people who would be interested in the secret technique could only be innumerable. The Vault of Providence only needed to sell seven copies to recoup what it had paid to Lu Ye.
When it came to doing business, the Vault of Providence possessed a unique advantage that no one could match. For example, Lu Ye would never consider selling the secret technique to another cultivator because he wouldnt receive Contribution Points for it. Moreover, the sale would not earn him the attention of the Heavens. No matter how he looked at it, selling the secret technique to the Vault of Providence was the best choice.
It was true that Lu Ye was very lucky already, but who would begrudge their luck bing even better?
After that, Lu Ye left the Vault of Providence and returned to the entrance. Xia Qianqian and Kitty Shen were still waiting for him, but Lan Ziyi was nowhere to be seen.
The woman had already escaped, of course. The only reason she came here was to receive the Heavens boon and the Contribution Points. Since she had received both, why would she stay and give Lu Ye the chance to kill her, especially since she most likely wasnt a match for him?
Xia Qianqian said, Alright then. Its really time for me to take my leave. Send me a message if you need me for anything.
She bade them goodbye and vanished into the horizon.
After Xia Qianqian was gone, Kitty Shen asked, Are you ready to head back to the Arcane de, Ye Six?
Not yet. I need to buy some things. You can go back first if you want.
Its okay. I can wait. Its not like a couple hours dy is going to make a difference.
Lu Ye nodded and went back into the Divine Trade Association.
He was nning to buy some raw materials to forge his ward gs. In the Hidden Realm, he had used up everything he had except the ward g set he had received from the Hundred Wards Tower. His abilities as a ward cultivator would be affected if he did not have a sufficient amount of ward gs and ward keystones.
When he was still a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, Lu Ye was forced to purchase his ward gs directly from the Vault of Providence because he was too weak to forge them via telekinesis. Plus, he never really had the time or ce to forge his ward gs since he was constantly being hunted by the Thousand Demon Ridge.
It was a different story now that he was a Cloud River Realm cultivator. At the Second-Order, he was almost strong enough to forge ward gs via telekinesis without using any tools. Naturally, he wasnt going to waste his Contribution Points on pre-made ward gs any longer.
Lu Ye exited the Divine Trade Association a second time a little over half an hourter. He had spent almost all of his Spirit Stones on raw materials.
Kitty Shen was still waiting for him outside.
Lets go, Lu Ye beckoned before flying into the sky. Kitty Shen followed closely behind him.
On the way back to their Arcane de, Kitty Shen suddenly recalled something and asked, I totally forgot, where is Sister Yi Yi?
She had not seen Yi Yi since they entered the Hidden Realm. She hadnt thought much about it at the time, but it didnt make sense for the young girl to still be missing after they exited the Hidden Realm.
Oh, she didnt follow us into the Hidden Realm. I asked her to watch over the Arcane de for us, Lu Ye lied.
I see, Kitty Shen replied without suspecting anything.
A little over half a dayter, Lu Ye and Kitty Shen arrived at their Arcane de once more. However, they were greeted by a shocking sight. The Arcane de was in full view from the sky.
Lu Ye had established a Concealment Ward before they left the Arcane de. Generally speaking, no one should be able to spot Arcane de unless they were looking closely. However, the Arcane de waspletely exposed right now. It could only mean that someone had destroyed his wards.
The duo hurriedly descended on the ground. A whileter, Lu Ye stood in front of a dry Spirit Sprout with a deep frown on his face.
Kitty Shen walked up to him and said worriedly, I cant find Sister Yi Yi anywhere, Ye Six!
Lu Ye had told her that Yi Yi was watching the Arcane de, but not only was she nowhere to be seen, the Arcane de was in tatters as well. Clearly, something bad must have happened to Yi Yi. It was only natural she was worried for her.
Although Yi Yi did not like her, she wasnt so petty-minded that she would be delighted by her suffering. She was Lu Yes younger sister, which meant she was apanion she had to look out for. It was as simple as that.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was still staring at the dry spring with a puzzled expression on his face. The Spirit Sprout had been dry when he decided to take refuge on this hill. Although there were some rundown buildings around it, it was clear that it was an abandoned Arcane de. The reason he decided to stay in the end was because the Spirit Sprout had chosen the same night toe back to life.
However, the Spirit Spout had dried up a second time after they returned from the Myriad Beasts Domain. If it had dried up naturally, then he had nothing to say. But it was clear from the surrounding traces that this was not a natural urrence.
I didnt know that Spirit Sprouts could be destroyed, Lu Ye said while turning to Kitty Shen. From his perspective, some bastard had destroyed both his wards and his Spirit Sprout, effectively guaranteeing a lose-lose scenario for everyone.
However, Kitty Shen denied his statement, No, thats not it. Someone has stolen the Wisp of Sanctification.
What is a Wisp of Sanctification?
Every Arcane de has a Spirit Sprout, and every Spirit Sprout has a Wisp of Sanctification. It is the source of a Spirit Sprout, and without it a Spirit Sprout is nothing more but a dead spring. In that sense, the Wisp of Sanctification is the true heart of an Arcane de, Kitty Shen exined patiently.
It was quite simple to ferry a Wisp of Sanctification. The cultivator simply needed to offer the Heavens a certain amount of Contribution Points to manifest the Spirit Sprout. They could then store it in a special container and take it away.
Lu Ye was surprised to hear this. He had bought quite a lot of intel from the Divine Trade Association, but none of it had mentioned the wisp of Sanctification at all. It would seem that there were still many things about the Cloud River Battlefield that he didnt know about.
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Chapter 483: When Joy Comes In Threes
Chapter 483: When Joy Comes In Threes
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Previously, Lu Ye thought that the worst that could happen while they were gone was a different group moving in and taking over the Arcane de. In that case, they would have to fight the invaders and find a way to reim it.
The Arcane de was just a Tertius-level Arcane de, so it shouldnt be coveted by high level cultivators who were far beyond their ability to fight against right now. Together with Kitty Shen, he was pretty sure they stood a good chance at reiming the Arcane de.
Unfortunately, no n survives first contact with the enemy. The invaders hadnt upied the Arcane de, but they stole the very source that turned it into one in the first ce. This was a worse oue than even the worst case scenario he had envisioned!
Why would they take the Wisp of Sanctification?
To sell it or use it for themselves, of course! Kitty Shen replied. Suppose we stole someone elses Wisp of Sanctification and installed it in this spring. The Spirit Sprout woulde back to life. If it was merged with an existing Wisp of Sanctification, then the quality of the Arcane de would go up by a certain degree. In fact, most Primus-level Arcane des are created that way. There are actually very few natural-born Primus-level Arcane des in the Cloud River Battlefield.
You can do that?
Sure you can. There are a lot of Arcane de owners who do this.
Its not necessarily a good thing to own an Arcane de then. Without sufficient cultivation and numbers, its basically a giant cake everyone wants a piece of.
That is correct. Thats why itsmon practice to gather a group as soon as possible when an ownerless Spirit Sprout is discovered. Otherwise, its unlikely one could hold onto it for long.
Kitty Shen hesitated for a second before adding, Sister Yi Yi is missing.
Lu Ye assured her, Yi Yi is fine. She messaged me a while ago.
Lu Ye turned back toward the dried spring with a grimace. Who wouldve thought that he would lose his Arcane de like this? Not only that, most of the ward gs and the ward keystones of the grand defensive ward he left behind had been destroyed.
Sure, he had a couple spares in his storage space, but each set was worth over ten thousand Contribution Points. Not even he could take such a loss without batting an eye.
Now that he thought about it, the reason his Arcane de was discovered was probably due to its proximity to the entrance to the Hidden Realm. The number of cultivators in the area must have increased dramatically when news of the Hidden Realms appearance spread. It wasnt like everyone managed to enter the Myriad Beasts Domain either. In any case, one of these people must have noticed the Arcane de and decided to take it into their own hands, literally.
There was no need to search for the culprits either. Even if, against all odds, they managed to find the needle in the haystack, they might not be strong enough to take revenge. The opening of the Hidden Realm had attracted plenty of Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators, and Lu Ye had a hunch that the thief or thieves who stole their Arcane de belonged in that group.
The reason he thought this was because his wards had been breached by force. If the thieves had a ward cultivator with them, they wouldve dismantled his wards the proper way so as not to waste the ward gs and ward keystones. This meant that the thievescked the insight or skill of a ward cultivator, but were able to see through his Concealment Ward and brute-force their way through his grand defensive ward anyway. The only ones who fit the profile were high-level cultivators.
This incident also reminded Lu Ye of the old man watching over the quartermaster department of the Myriad Beasts Domain. He had said that he was too lucky as ofte, and that he might encounter some troubles or lose some possessions because of it
He did not expect that prediction toe true so soon.
He hadnt really believed the old man because of his ambiguous manner of speaking. It would seem that he had underestimated him.
The old man also warned him to be careful of the purple energy mixed within his destiny, though he couldnt even begin to fathom what the purple energy might represent.
In any case, there was no point dwelling on the subject. Lu Ye walked into his house after setting up some simple rm wards and protective wards. As usual, most of his problems could be solved simply by increasing his cultivation.
He currently had one Gold Amulet, Two Purple Amulets, one Blue Amulet, one Green Amulet, and two White Amulets.
It should be enough to boost him all the way to the Third-Order.
First, he constructed one massive Gathering Spirits. Then, he constructed many tiny ones all around his body. Amber was already sitting beside him and watching him with bright eyes. Yi Yi was also sitting cross legged on the floor and waiting for Lu Ye to begin.
Once everything was ready, Lu Ye took out the Gold Amulet and crushed it.
Just like before, the crushed powder of the Amulet slowly transformed into a vortex, though in this case it was gold-colored because the Amulet was gold. At the same time, a massive stream of pure Spirit Mist poured out of the vortex and cycled around Lu Ye. The Spirit Mist did not spread further once it grew to a certain level.
Every time Lu Ye breathed, the Spirit Mist would be converted into Spiritual Power. The tiny funnels in his Spiritual Points were greedily devouring the Spirit Mist as well. The Spirit Mist was so pure that it was transformed into his Spiritual Power instantly. No refinement was necessary whatsoever.
This was the reason Amulets were so effective at increasing a cultivators cultivation level. It was many, many times more efficient than inhaling World Spiritual Qi.
Amber and Yi Yi were sitting on Lu Yes left and right side. They too were enjoying growing stronger at an elerated rate.
Amber and Yi Yi were inhaling the Spirit Mist seriously, but Lu Ye did not need to do such a thing to consume the Spirit Mist around him. At some point, he grew so bored that he decided to study his de technique insights.
After ascending to the Second-Order and fighting many deadly battles in the Myriad Beasts Domain, his understanding of his personal de skills had deepened considerably. This was especially true after battling against the sect master of the ck Tortoise Sect, Niu Meng. The harrowing experience had enlightened him on many things, and he had high expectations that he might achieve a breakthrough in the near future.
Time passed bit by bit. It wasnt until a full day and night had passed that the golden vortex finally vanishedpletely. They still had many Amulets to go through, however. Without pause, Lu Ye immediately pulled out the Purple Amulet and crushed it. Very soon, a purple vortex appeared where the golden vortex was a while ago, and Spirit Mist began pouring out of it once more.
Lu Ye had briefly experimented with the Amulets, and he could confirm that the quality of the Spirit Mist was the same no matter what type of Amulet you used. The only difference was the duration.
In terms of value, a Gold Amulet was the best, and a White Amulet was the worst as a matter of course. After all, one Gold Amulet was equal to eighty-one White Amulets.
Four hourster, the Purple Amulet had yet to run out, but Lu Ye sensed something that made him put down his book and look into his own body.
His river of Spiritual Power was flowing violently, a sign that it had reached a bottleneck. However, refined Spiritual Power was still pouring into his body at an incredible rate, causing him to feel bloated. The feeling continued to worsen until suddenly, the river churned and grew an entire size. The bloated feeling disappeared, and his river of Spiritual Power returned to calm once more.
Just like that, he was a Third-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator!
Lu Ye nked out a little. He had had a feeling that he would reach the Third-Order very soon, but he still couldnt help but feel happy about it.
The Cloud River Realm truly was a miraculous realm. He had ascended to the Second-Order in just half a month. Today, he ascended to the Third-Order just twenty or so dayster.
He had never cultivated this quickly back when he was at the Spirit Creek Realm. Each climb to the next minor realm took months of hard work, and each Spiritual Point could only be unlocked one by one.
Of course, the reason he was able to ascend this quickly was because he had used a lot of Amulets. When he was still in the First-Order, he had spent a massive amount of Contribution Points bidding for Amulets in an Amulet auction. Even before that, he had already used up a Green Amulet and a Purple Amulet.
This time, he had earned nearly thirty thousand Battle Points from the Myriad Beasts Domain. He spent them all on Amulets.
Most Cloud River Realm cultivators werent nearly as wealthy or lucky as Lu Ye. Take the cultivators who entered the Myriad Beasts Domain for example. Barring those who participated in the crucial operation in the ck Tortoise Sect, even those who survived until the end of the siege had earned a couple thousand Battle Points at most. That was only enough to purchase one Purple Amulet, which wasnt much for anyone above the Fifth-Order.
In fact, Lu Ye could see that it took far more Spirit Mist to grow from the Second-Order to the Third-Order than it was from the First-Order to the Second-Order. The amount of resources he needed to consume would only increase over time.
Lu Ye still had Amulets, so he didnt stop cultivating. He wasnt going to make it to the Fourth-Order of course, but it would still cut down the amount of time he spent on the Third-Order considerably.
Suddenly, Amber broke him out of his reverie by letting out a roar and shining like a golden sun. Not only that, it had uncontrobly manifested its true body. Lu Ye watched it carefully. He could sense Ambers energy gathering at a certain point in its body.
Thanks to the Bonding Pact, the Life Energy Art and the Beast Imprint Art, Lu Ye figured out the issue immediately. It was the opposite of bad news. The white tiger was about to undergo an ascension!
Yi Yi hurriedly exined, Lu Ye, Amber is about to create its own Mutant Core!
For the longest time, Amber had been stuck on the level of a normal Spirit Beast. The only reason it could even enter the Cloud River Battlefield was because it shared a Bonding Pact with Lu Ye. Wherever Lu Ye could go, Amber could follow.
Amber had not been cking off. Every day, it consumed a massive amount of Spirit Pills and the asional Mutant Cores to grow its strength. Just now, it had been inhaling the Spirit Mist to the best of his abilities as well. Finally, it was time for it to be a Champion-ss Spirit Beast.
Whats wrong with you? Lu Ye suddenly asked in rm. It was because Yi Yi was flickering erratically. He had only seen this happening when she was grievously hurt. Not only that, she was drooping as if she was having a hard time trying to stay awake.
Yi Yi forced herself to stay awake as she exined, I am Ambers Ghost Spirit. Its ascension affects me as well, meaning that Im probably going to ascend with it. Lu Ye, I I cant stay awake any longer. Please take care of yourself while were
She suddenly flew into Ambers body.
The white tiger itself hit the floor with a loud thud.
Lu Ye rushed over immediately to check if they were okay. To his relief, the tiger was just asleep.
He did not know that Ambers ascension could only bepleted when it was asleep. The white tiger was one of a kind, so he did not know if this phenomenon was normal or not. The one thing he could be certain of was that Ambers energy was still concentrating at a certain point in its body.
When a Spirit Beast ascended to a Champion-ss Spirit Beast, it would create a Mutant Core in its own body. Clearly, that was what was happening right now.
Curiously, the Spirit Mist was still pouring into Ambers body when it was asleep. In fact, it was moving faster than before probably because it was creating its Mutant Core.
This was undoubtedly good news, of course. It would seem that today was the day joy came in threes.
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Chapter 484: Snowfall
Chapter 484: Snowfall
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If Lu Ye were to be perfectly honest, Amber wasnt very helpful despite its best efforts and intentions. It was a different story if it became a Champion-ss Spirit Beast, however. At the very least, it would be able to stand on its own feet in the Cloud River Battlefield, not to mention that they had formed the Life Energy Art and Beast Pact Art as well. The stronger Amber was, the greater the benefits Lu Ye could reap from his Tamed Beast.
As for Yi Yi, she was Ambers Ghost Spirit. Their lives were literally tied to one another. If Amber became a Champion-ss Spirit Beast, she should naturally reach the level of a Cloud River Realm cultivator as well.
Everyones growth had skyrocketed after their adventure in the Myriad Beasts Domain.
Four hourster, after the first Purple Amulet had run its course, he took out his second Purple Amulet and crushed it.
Time passed peacefully amidst dull, dull cultivation.
On the third day, Lu Ye heard a series of knocks on his door and set down his book. He opened the door and came face to face with Kitty Shen.
What is it?
Kitty Shen looked over his shoulder and noticed the slumbering Amber. However, she didnt think too much about it and said, The Wisp of Sanctification was stolen, and our Arcane de was destroyed. What are your future ns?Lu Ye shook his head to indicate he hadnt thought that far away. If this was the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he mightve considered returning to his Outpost and lending them his aid. Cultivating there would be slow, but it was better than nothing.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, a cultivator without an Arcane de was no different from a homeless person. They could only roam the world and seek out opportunities to the best of their abilities.
In that case, would you like toe with me? Kitty Shen asked expectantly.
Where are you going?
A friend of mine just messaged me saying that she had stumbled upon a newly born Arcane de. She needs to gather a group of trustworthypanions as soon as possible. Im going to meet up with her, and youre more than wee to join me. Youre a ward cultivator, Im sure she wont turn you away.
Ward cultivators were easily the most popr breed of cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield because their skills were critical in improving the defense of an Arcane de. Lu Yes cultivation level might be a bit weak, but he was skilled enough in the Way of Wards that any group with an Arcane de that was Tertius-level or below should ept him.
Kitty Shen had thought of Lu Ye immediately after she received that message. She had also asked her friend about this and obtained their permission. That was why she hade to offer him an invitation.
However, Lu Ye shook his head after thinking for a moment. Thank you, but I dont think Ill be joining you. I need to find that sect mate of mine.
He didnt know what the hell was going on with Ju Jia, but the body-tempering cultivator still hadnt shown up at the Arcane de even though it had been almost two months since he messaged him about it.
Yesterday, when Lu Ye was checking in with Ju Jia, he discovered in horror that the body-tempering cultivator was still half a month away from the Arcane de, and that was assuming he was traveling at the normal pace of a Cloud River Realm cultivator too. At Ju Jias pace, it might be months, maybe half a year before he finally showed up.
Moreover, Amber was in the middle of ascending right now. He could neither leave it behind nor take it with him. He could use the Spirit Beast Bag, but there was a chance it might disrupt its ascension. It just wasnt worth the risk.
Is that so Kitty Shens eyes turned disappointed. Are you sure?
Lu Ye shook his head firmly.
The young woman broke into a wry smile and said, I guess this is goodbye then. I hope we will still be friends when we meet again in the future.
Even now, they still didnt know the other persons name or faction. This rarely happened in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but was an all toomon sight in the Cloud River Battlefield. In fact,panions who seemed as close as siblings could turn on each other in the blink of an eye. Take Lan Ziyi and him for example. They had afforded each other their full cooperation during their adventure in the Myriad Beasts Domain, but he did not doubt for a second that she would kill him if given the opportunity. It was the same for him.
Take care!
You too. Kitty Shen gave Lu Ye onest sunny smile before walking away and leaping into the air. It wasnt long before she vanished into the horizon.
They were strangers who had run into each other by chance and hung out with each other out of conveniences sake. Naturally, they werent going to stay with each other until the end. It had always been a matter of time before they separated once the thing that tied them together was gone.
Neither person felt too sad about the parting since not enough time had passed for their rtionship to deepen into something meaningful. Kitty Shen had left with no regrets, and Lu Ye didnt feel sorry about her departure.
This would not be the first or thest parting he experienced in his cultivation journey.
Suddenly, Lu Ye looked up into the sky and raised his hand. Something small, white and coldnded on his palm before melting into cool water.
It was snowing.
Maybe it was because he was a Third-Order cultivator now, but it was only now that he noticed the drop in temperature. He could not help but recall his time as a mining ve in the Evil Moon Valley. At the time, winter was easily his most feared season bar none. Countless mining ves had died from the cold because they were neither fed enough food nor given enough clothes to keep warm. He himself had barely stayed alive by stealing the clothes of the frozen corpses around him.
Today, he no longer suffered from the weather as he had before. It was one of the benefits of being at a higher cultivation.
He walked back into his room and resumed his reading. He had already used up all of his Amulets, so the only way to continue his cultivation was to consume Spirit Pills. In this regard, Lu Ye was far more advantaged than any other cultivator. For as long as the Tree of Glyphs were fueled, he could consume a gazillion Spirit Pills and never suffer the sequeassuming he could refine them in time, of course.
This was the true reason he didnt really need an Arcane de.
The snow was pretty heavy. After he got bored with reading and cultivating, he left the house and began honing his de technique. His moves hadnt changed, but somehow it felt different to perform the dance under the heavy snow.
As ofte, Lu Ye had a feeling that his de skills had reached a bottleneck. He was close to making a breakthrough, but unlike his cultivation, he couldnt just pour Spiritual Power into his body until it automatically entered the next level. Moreover, he could feel each cultivation breakthrough clearly. During the Spirit Creek Realm, it was unlocking the next Spiritual Point. During the Cloud River Realm, it was the sudden expansion of his river of Spiritual Power. It was impossible not to notice when he entered the next minor realm.
Making a breakthrough in his de skills was different, however. There were no clear milestones that informed him how close he was to the next level. Consuming Spirit Pills or inhaling World Spiritual Qi wouldnt help him either.
He had considered using the Mystic Fruit to hasten his progress, but Amber was still asleep right now. Right now, it would be folly to enter the Rift of Illusions at best. Both him and Amber would bepletely defenseless if an enemy chose that exact moment to attack them.
This hill was pretty secluded, but everyone in the Cloud River Battlefield could fly. Theoretically, there was no ce in this world that a Cloud River Realm cultivator could not reach. In fact, many cultivators had passed through the hill during this time, even though none of them noticed his presence because of the Concealment Ward he set up. As long as he didnt cause waves on purpose, and as long as the other cultivators werent looking too closely, it was unlikely that he would be discovered.
Amber remained asleep for seven days straight, and the snow had continued for just as long. The snow outside his wards was at least a meter deep.
Lu Ye was practicing his de technique when suddenly, he heard a strange noiseing from inside his house. He immediately looked over just in time to see Yi Yi flying out into the open.
Lu Yes eyes lit up as he put away his saber and walked up to her. The young girl mmed into his chest so hard that he was knocked to the ground.
Yi Yi clutched his waist with a death grip, burying her face into his chest like she was trying to sink into him. Her fragrant hair tickled his nose because of the aggressive action.
Lu Ye rubbed Yi Yis head gently while voicing his puzzlement, Whats wrong?
They had met each other when they were both weaklings. Together they had gone through thick and thin for three years. She viewed him as her family, and he her, but this was the first time he saw her reacting this violently. Even now, he could feel her petite figure trembling slightly with fear and shock.
Lu Ye, I dreamed for a very, very long time. It was such a long, deep dream that I I thought I would never awaken from it, She said with a sob.
Amber had fallen asleep while undergoing its ascension, and Yi Yi, its Ghost Spirit, was affected as well. Only seven days had passed from Lu Yes perspective, but from Yi Yis, it might as well be seven years.
Moreover, the feeling had reminded her about her past. At the beginning, she felt like she was stuck in this ck, unwakeable dream until one day, she abruptly awakened to reality. Since then, she became Ambers Ghost Spirit.
That was why there was nothing she feared more than being stuck in an unwakeable dream.
Uuuu Im scared! Yi Yi started crying loudly.
Lu Ye continued to caress her head gently and tried to console her, The dream is over. Theres no need to be afraid any longer.
Uuuuuu! Unfortunately, it only made her sobs louder.
It was at this moment that a tigers head entered the corner of his eyes. It was Amber exiting the house. Judging from its energetic appearance, it was clear that it hadpleted its ascension. That was why it had awakened at the same time as Yi Yi.
Lu Ye shot Amber a look, but Amber immediately turned away in refusal. He could almost hear it saying, Dont look at me! I know nothing about consoling girls!
Lu Yes gaze immediately sharpened into disdain. Amber countered with an innocent expression.
Knowing that he couldnt rely on the white tigers help, he had no choice but to try another method. He started stroking her back gently while humming a happy rhyme. He hoped that it would be enough to chase away the sorrow in her heart.
It actually worked. Amber immediately straightened itsrge ears in concentration. Yi Yis sobs gradually softened over time until it waspletely gone. Still leaning against his chest, she looked up at Lu Ye and stared at him with reddened, astonished eyes.
She was astonished because she never knew that Lu Ye could sing. Moreover, the tune was unlike anything she had ever heard.
When Lu Ye reached the end of his tune, Yi Yi sniffed once before asking, What song is that?
Dont Be Afraid.
Really? Thats a weird way to name a song, Yi Yi stared at him doubtfully while wondering if he was lying to her. She then added, Sing it again, but with lyrics this time.
Er, I only know how to hum the tune
I dont care! I want to hear it! Yi Yi demanded while pursing her lips like she was about to cry again.
Fine, fine.
And so, Lu Ye cleared his throat and began singing the song, the lyrics of which he had almost forgotten. As expected, he could not stop going off-key because he hadnt sung in a very, very long time
Amber covered its face after listening to his song for just a moment. Yi Yi was barely holding back herughter as well.
At first, Lu Ye was too embarrassed to give it his all. Eventually though, his volume grew louder and louder until he was practically singing on top of his lungs. Yi Yi and Amber were his only audiences anyway. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
When he was done, he sneakily dropped a snowball into Yi Yis back and let out an evil cackle, This is your punishment forughing at me!
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Chapter 485: Copper Plate
Chapter 485: Copper te
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Snowballs flew everywhere as a cacophony of surprised yelps, tiger roars, and yful cries resounded across the hill. The situation had immediately spiraled out of control after Lu Ye had dropped a snowball into Yi Yis back.
Lu Ye had forgotten most things from his previous life, but thankfully, his snowball fighting skill wasnt one of them. This was especially true since he was a Cloud River Realm cultivator. A bit of Spiritual Power was all he needed to create a massive snowball.
The snowballs flew across the air so frequently that it was like a scene straight out of a battlefield. Of course, this battlefield was far more harmless.
As Amber and Yi Yi were literally connected in mind and soul, their teamwork was literally wless. Amber was responsible for blocking Lu Yes attack, and Yi Yi was responsible for retaliating. For a time, it seemed like the snow fight would end with a stalemate when Amber found an opportunity to pounce on top of Lu Ye and pinned him to the ground. The next second, a snowball the size of a bathtub struck both man and tiger from above and buried thempletely.
Yi Yi leaped into the air while cheering, I won! I won!
The heap of snow trembled unnaturally for a second before Ambers magnificent head popped into view. It then climbed out into the open and shook off the snow clinging to its body.
Lu Ye was lying on his back when Yi Yi walked up to him and grinned at him from above, This is my win!
However, Lu Ye did not respond to her. His entire body except his face was buried in snow. For some reason, he was staring at the falling snow with a thoughtful look on his face.Suddenly, he leaped onto his feet and dropped into a half-crouch. Then, he gripped the Invible with his right hand and slowly let out a mouthful of hot air. All around him, the falling snow melted before it even made contact with his body. At the same time, his aura sharpened until he felt more like a saber than a man.
Both Yi Yi and Amber immediately leaped away from Lu Ye before watching him closely.
For a long time, Lu Ye did not do anything at all. He simply closed his eyes and maintained his posture. Then, he abruptly unsheathed his saber and swung at the air in front of him. A crescent-like energy immediately flew out of his decutting through space itselfand sank deep into the wall at least thirty meters away from his position.
It was only after he unleashed the technique that Lu Ye sucked in a deep breath and slowly returned his saber to his sheath. All the de insights he had memorized began taking on new meanings in his mind. He had achieved his breakthrough.
Who said that hard work and seclusion were the only ways to make a breakthrough? As it turned out, a snow fight could do the same thing.
Of course, he could not have achieved a breakthrough if he hadnt already reached his limits or met the necessary requirements so to speak. All he needed after that was a eureka moment, one that had unfortunately eluded him despite his continuous efforts. That was until he threw himselfpletely into the snow fight, and suddenly, the eureka moment appeared to him on its own.
This was why people said that it was important to switch off once in a while even in cultivation.
Lu Ye, we dont have a house anymore, Yi Yi suddenly said in a sad voice.
Lu Ye turned and saw both his and Kitty Shens house were in ruins. It was because of the snowball fight, of course. In fact, all the houses in the area had been destroyed to a certain extent, causing the hill to look even more decrepit than it was before.
Where will we stay now?
Nowhere. Were going to find Ju Jia!
The Wisp of Sanctification of their Arcane de was stolen. Even Kitty Shen had left for greener pastures. There was simply no reason to stay here any longer. It had always been Lu Yes n to leave after Amber hadpleted its ascension.
Amber immediately perked up when it heard this. The two were practically inseparable when they were still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Unfortunately, Amber had not seen the body-tempering cultivator again after he ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Mutant energy rolled off Amber as it shrank into the size of a cat before leaping onto Lu Yes shoulder. After Lu Ye brought out his Spirit Boat and waited for Yi Yi to sit down in front of him, they took off into the snow filled sky.
The Spirit Boat they were currently riding was a Middle Grade Spirit Artifact, and it was much morefortable than their previous Spirit Boat. Moreover, it was protected by a Spiritual Power Shield, so even the bad weather could not affect them in the slightest.
While blitzing down a certain direction, Yi Yi sang in a cheerful voice the song Lu Ye had sung for her before.
On the way, Lu Ye removed Amber from his shoulder and checked its body for changes. There were many.
For starters, Ambers fur was softer, smoother and brighter than before. Its aura was also stronger as a Champion-ss Spirit Beast.
A Spirit Beasts ascension to Champion-ss was like a Spirit Creek Realm cultivators ascension to the Cloud River Realm. Their strength would undergo a qualitative leap.
Of course, Lu Ye would not know exactly how strong Amber had be until it fought a battle.
Growl! Amber let out a low growl that Lu Ye understood instantly. He produced a Mutant Core from his storage space and fed it to the hungry tiger. Crunching noises entered one ear and exited the other as it chewed.
Amber possessed a great appetite in the sense that it could eat Spirit Pills and even Spirit Stones. However, there was nothing it liked more than a Spirit Beasts Mutant Core. It had be its favorite food since entering the Cloud River Battlefield and tasting its first Mutant Core.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye did not have that many Mutant Core to feed Amber. He had only obtained a dozen or so Mutant Cores from the Myriad Beasts Domain.
Sunlight began shining down from above. The thick clouds in the sky eventually thinned into nothing.
The snow had stopped.
Yi Yi, take control, Lu Ye said while pointing out where they were headed. After that, he took out the raw materials he had purchased from the Divine Trade Association and began forging his ward gs.
He had picked up ward g forging a long time ago, but he wasnt strong enough to forge itpletely via his own power until recently. In fact, he had spent some of his time forging ward gs while Amber was asleep.
A ward cultivator like him could never have enough ward gs, especially since there were many cases where he had to use them like consumables.
When night came, Yi Yinded the Spirit Boat on a suitable location so they might catch some rest.
While sitting next to a crackling bonfire, Lu Ye produced a palm-sized copper te from his storage space and inspected it with his Spiritual Power.
Is it that te you got from the guy from the Divine Freedom Sect? Yi Yi asked curiously while moving closer.
Mm.
A few months ago, on his way back to the Arcane de, he had encountered a grievously wounded Divine Freedom Sect cultivator who requested him to return his sword to the sect. Aspensation, he gave up everything he had to Lu Ye including this copper te.
Lu Ye had tried injecting his Spiritual Power into the copper te once. He had sensed a certain connection from it. He felt like he might find something if he followed the connection.
At the time, Lu Ye hadnt followed the connection because he was upied with something else. The reason he was checking it now was because he realized that the direction he was heading happened to coincide with wherever this copper te was leading him to.
What is this thing?Im not sure.
He wouldnt mind indulging in his curiosity if he ran into wherever this copper te was leading him to before he met up with Ju Jia. Otherwise, Ju Jia was still the higher priority.
After that, Lu Ye put away the copper te and continued forging his ward gs. It wasnt untilte midnight that he finally caught some rest.
For the next few days, they would resume their journey during the day and rest during the night. Thankfully, they did not encounter any troubles along the way.
Three dayster, Lu Ye flew circles around a certain mountain range while holding the copper te in hand. Unless he was gravely mistaken, the thing or location the copper te was leading him to was somewhere in this mountain range. He just needed to find it.
Unfortunately, his 10-point map did not mention anything special about this mountain range. It was probably because there were countless mountain ranges in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Lu Ye himself did not notice anything special about this ce, though he was sure it was hiding something because the copper te was reacting to it.
An entire hourter, Lu Ye finally confirmed the exact direction the copper te was pointing him to andnded in front of a stone wall. As if on cue, the copper te abruptly shone and grew hotter in his hand.
Lu Ye! Over here! Yi Yi called out while waving at him. It was clear that she had noticed something.
Lu Ye walked over to her and saw a recess on the wall. The shape of the recess matched the copper te in his hand perfectly.
Lu Ye inserted the copper te into the recess while keeping a hand on his saber. He had no idea what he might find in this ce after all. It could be treasure, or it could be a horde of bloodthirsty Spirit Beasts. In any case, there was no harm in being careful.
Thankfully, the insertion of the copper te did not trigger anything dangerous. The solid wall in front of them simply shed once before transforming into a screen of light.
Lu Ye hesitated for a second before instructing Yi Yi to return to Ambers body. Only then did he walk toward the light screen.
He felt nothing as he passed through the light screen. At the same time, the copper te shed golden before enveloping him in a beam of golden light.
Behind him, the light screen had transformed back into a solid wall. Even the copper te Lu Ye had inserted in the wall earlier had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
The space behind the wall was pitch ck, so Lu Ye raised the Invible and constructed Radiance. The small but blinding sun immediately illuminated everything around him.
He saw and felt no one, but his surroundings looked extremely familiar to him. Once upon a time, he had lived in a ce like this. It was a mining tunnel. The walls glittered like stars as the light of Radiance reflected off the surface.
Lu Ye stepped closer to inspect the walls. He raised a surprised eyebrow when he realized what it was. Yi Yi had also appeared from Ambers body to cry out, Oh my Heavens! Theyre all Spirit Stones! Were rich, Lu Ye!
The shiny objects embedded in the walls were none other than Spirit Stones. This was an ore vein!
A Spirit Stone was an indispensable resource to all cultivators. Consuming Spirit Pills would leave behind Pill Poison in ones body and affect their ability to inhale World Spiritual Qi. It was why cultivators usually recovered their Spiritual Power by holding Spirit Stones in their hands and absorbing the Spiritual Power within. Spirit Creek Realm cultivators generally used Low Grade Spirit Stones, and Cloud River Realm cultivators generally used Middle Grade Spirit Stones. The reason Cloud River Realm cultivators did not use Low Grade Spirit Stones was because it wasnt quite enough to sustain their recovery or cultivation anymore.
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Chapter 486: Spirit Stone Ore Vein
Chapter 486: Spirit Stone Ore Vein
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A Spirit Stone was an indispensable type of cultivation resource. Besides the obvious fact that it could be used for cultivation, it functioned as an excellent currency as well. Given enough Spirit Stones, there was almost nothing a cultivator could not buy.
Of course, Spirit Stones could not be used in the Vault of Providence. Any transaction conducted in that space had to be done with Contribution Points.
Lu Ye had not expected to find a Spirit Stone ore vein when he followed the copper tes guidance. Suddenly, he remembered finding nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones of varying quality when searching the Divine Freedom Sect cultivators body. He even mused how wealthy the dead man was at the time. With this new revtion, he strongly suspected that his Spirit Stones hade from this ore vein.
Ten thousand Spirit Stones was a significant amount of wealth to any Cloud River Realm cultivator, not to mention that he had other valuables in his Storage Bag.
Lu Ye was currently enveloped in a sheen of golden light, but it wasnt the color of his Spiritual Power. The copper te had shone a beam on him after he entered the hidden space, and since then he had been shining like a golden buddha. Lu Ye had probed it with his senses but could not find what it was used for. It didnt possess any defensive qualities, but it wasnt disruptive either. It just existed for some reason.
Lu Ye scanned the Spirit Stones exposed on the walls. He didnt even need to probe them with his Spiritual Power to know that they were all Middle Grade Spirit Stones. There were at least hundreds of Spirit Stones in the wall.
He was still admiring the view when suddenly, Amber leaped off his shoulder and manifested its true self. It then growled menacingly at the imprable darkness ahead of them.
Lu Ye grabbed his saber and gazed into the darkness as well. He couldnt see the threat yet, but he could hear what sounded like rustling noises approaching them at high speed.Yi Yi was already waiting in position underground.
The noise grew closer and closer until suddenly, a creature the size of a calf abruptly leaped out of the darkness and attempted to gore him with its singr horn. It had the horn of a deer but the body shape of a rhino. Its body was also covered in thick shells.
Amber rushed in between Lu Ye and the strange creature. At first nce, it looked like the white tiger was nning to take the enemy head on. At thest possible moment, it dodged out of the way beforending a swipe on its nk. Unfortunately, it was like trying to attack a hunk of refined steel. Although the attack was strong enough to knock the creature off bnce, it did not look like it took any damage at all.
Amber seized the opening to bite down on what it perceived as the creatures weak spot, but once again, the shell greatly hindered its efforts. Despite repeated biting, it was flung into the air before it could get through the shell.
Lu Ye wasnt idle while Amber was keeping the creature busy, of course. By the time Amber was sent flying, Lu Ye had already unsheathed his saber and wreathed it in fiery Spiritual Power. An inch of pure energy peeked out the de before cutting through the creatures head as easy as pie. There was a death cry before the creature hit the ground with a loud thud and spilled aquamarine liquid everywhere.
Lu Ye immediately recognized the creature for what it was. [An insectoid! Is there anywhere in this world where this species doesnt exist?]
He had encountered insectoids in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Cloud River Battlefield, and even the Rift of Illusions. He didnt think he would run into them again during a random treasure hunt, and so soon after the previous encounter too.
At first, Lu Ye thought that the creature was some sort of Spirit Beast. It wasnt until he killed it that he confirmed that it was really an insectoid; a Cloud River Realm insectoid too. To be specific, it was probably as strong as a First or Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, so it was never a problem for Lu Ye. Even Amber couldve taken it out all by itself given enough time.
However, individual strength had never been the species forte. It was its ridiculous numbers and reproductive potential.
Lu Ye flicked off the blood on his saber before returning it to its sheath. He and Amber then stood in ce for a bit.
Yi Yi emerged from the walls and said in a low tone, The tunnels here are extremelyplex and full of Spirit Stones, but generally speaking, the deeper we go, the Spirit Stones increase in quantity and quality. However, every tunnel is guarded by a single insectoid, and their strength seems to increase in proportion to the depth of the tunnels.
I see. We must take out the insectoids first before we can mine the Spirit Stones, Lu Ye nodded in understanding.
This was really starting to look like a treasure hunt or a trial with a huge bounty of Spirit Stones as the reward. As for how it was possible for an unnatural ore vein like this to exist, it was because it wasnt natural, of course. The Heavens must be behind it all.
Lu Ye had just spent most of his Spirit Stones a while ago. This was the perfect opportunity to replenish his stock.
Without further ado, he and Yi Yi began mining the Spirit Stones in the tunnel.
The Spirit Stones werent difficult to mine because they were exposed. It took them just an hour or so to mine everything that could be mined. As he had estimated earlier, the tunnel contained between six to seven hundred Spirit Stones in total.
They moved on. They arrived at another tunnel after rounding a corner. This time, Lu Ye illuminated the room by lighting a torch instead of Radiance.
Lu Ye had a massive stock of torches in his storage space. Barring those with supernatural night vision, practically every cultivator would carry a cache of torches with them. Although cultivators could see in the dark, their night vision was hardly perfect. A torch could alleviate that weakness tremendously.
Just like when he entered the first tunnel, a ton of Spirit Stones reflected the light of the torch and filled the tunnel with light. But unlike the first tunnel, he had just stopped in his tracks when he heard a series of rustling noises once more. Clearly, the insectoid guarding this ce had awoken to the light and was making haste to kill the invader.
Lu Ye did not meet the insectoid immediately. Instead, he looked sideways and stared at Amber on his shoulder.
Since the beginning, Amber had rarely taken part in Lu Yes battles. Most of the time, it simplyy on Lu Yes shoulder and spectated the battle from the best seat. If the time was right, it would roar out and stun his enemies.
The reason they had an arrangement like this was because most of Lu Yes battles were beyond Ambers ability to interfere. Over time, the white tiger learned to stay out of Lu Yes way unless the situation called for its involvement.
Of course, it could also just be azy bum.
Earlier, Amber had broken character and attacked the insectoid of its own ord. It was probably because it wanted to test its newfound strength after ascending to Champion-ss. Unfortunately, the insectoid turned out to be harder than it thought both figuratively and literally. It had nearly broken its teeth against its shell.
Amberpletely lost interest after that. Despite Lu Yes look, it continued to lie quietly on his shoulder while flicking its tail left and right. Lu Ye could almost hear it saying, [Why are you looking at me?]
Knowing that he could not depend on Ambernot that he expected Amber to contribute anything knowing its personalityhe faced the end of the tunnel once more and waited.
Thankfully, not everyone in his group was a bum. A massive fireball abruptly appeared out of seemingly nowhere and hit the insectoid squarely in the nk, knocking it over. It was so hot that the insectoid looked distorted from where he was. It was certainly screeching like the fireball was literally warping its shell.
Yi Yi wasnt done though. Crescent-shaped wind des appeared right behind the fireball and mmed against its shell. The resulting impact sounded like a woodpecker pecking away at a tree trunk and caused the insectoid to screech even louder.
Lu Ye did not need to lift a finger. Yi Yi would continue to bombard the poor insectoid with all kinds of spells until it waspletely dead. By the time she was done with it, he couldnt even recognize what type of insectoid it was anymore.
As expected, Yi Yi had be much stronger after Ambers ascension. Her spells were way more powerfulpared to before. She had always been an exceptional spell cultivator, but now she definitely qualified as a Cloud River Realm spell cultivator. Not only that, she was capable of unleashing spells of any Attribute because she was an apparition, meaning that she was not restricted to a physical bodys natural affinity.
After the insectoid was dead, Lu Ye and Yi Yi proceeded to mine the Spirit Stones in the tunnel as before. They were still Middle Grade Spirit Stones, but their quantity had increased a little. In total, they had mined over eight hundred Spirit Stones.
They moved on.
Suddenly, Lu Ye noticed something concerning. The golden light enveloping his body was slowly but surely fading over time. They had only conquered two tunnels, but the golden light was already visibly diminished. At this rate, it would disappear in a couple of hours at most.
He wasnt sure if this was a good or bad thing. Even now, he still had no idea what the golden light was for because as far as he could tell, it neither empowered nor hindered him in any way. He would probably have to wait until it waspletely gone to finally figure out its function.
The third tunnel was the exact same as the second tunnel in the sense that it was filled with Spirit Stones and guarded by exactly one insectoid. It was looking more and more that the mine was designed this way by the Heavens, and any cultivator who wished to mine the Spirit Stones would have to ovee the trial by defeating the insectoids first.
The insectoid Lu Ye killed wasparable to a First or Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. The one Yi Yi had killed was a little stronger. The insectoids strength would continue to increase with each sessive kill.
Six hourster, Lu Ye entered the eighth tunnel. By now, he had collected nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones.
This time, the insectoid that charged him was a praying mantis. It was almost as strong as a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
The insectoid proved to be a difficult opponent as its twin des were as swift as lightning. Lu Ye felt as if he was fighting against a true demaster. Alone, he wouldve had a harder-than-usual time to defeat it especially because its shell was incredibly tough.
Thankfully, he wasnt fighting alone. Yi Yi forced the insectoid to split its concentration by sting it with spells again and again. Amber didnt join the battle, but the Life Energy Art and Beast Pact Art allowed it to strengthen Lu Ye without even lifting a w.
An ice spell hit the insectoid and coated its surface in ice, slowing its speed and reaction for an instant. Lu Ye immediately seized the opportunity to fire a few crescent-shaped energy des into its neck and forced it to bend backward, exposing its soft belly. Without hesitation, heunched himself forward with both feet and stabbed the Inviblepletely into its stomach. One Explosionter, the praying mantis internal organs were turned into mush, and it copsed on the ground with a death screech.
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Chapter 487: Like Hammer You Are
Chapter 487: Like Hammer You Are
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Starting from the eighth tunnel, a small percentage of the Spirit Stones Lu Ye excavated were High Grade Spirit Stones, less than ten percent to be exact. However, one High Grade Spirit Stone was worth ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones in the market, so it was very valuable even in small numbers.
They entered a new tunnel. Two hourster, Lu Ye swallowed a Healing Pill and pulled out a clean bandage from his storage space. He then wrapped it around a bone-deep wound on his arm.
It had taken him two whole hours to win this battle. His vitality hadnt even fully subsided yet. Lying dead not far away from him was the corpse of a fat insectoid.
Strength wise, the insectoid was almost at the level of a Seventh-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Despite Yi Yis help, Lu Ye still had to give it his all to finally y the enemy. He was unable to avoid taking some injuries either.
Lu Ye wouldve lost no matter what, had he been facing a true Seventh-Order cultivator. Lu Ye was powerful enough to y enemies who were two or three minor realms above him, true, but he was hardly omnipotent. There was only so much he could do to bridge the chasm that was sheer power.
Luckily, most insectoids only had one or two ways to kill the enemy.
He took a short rest before he started mining the Spirit Stones in the tunnel with Yi Yi. They were still in the middle of mining when suddenly, the golden light enveloping his body extinguished entirely.
Lu Ye immediately stopped what he was doing and expanded his perception. He had been curious about the golden light since the beginning, but he had not been able to find out its function. [Something should happen now that it is gone, right?]He was just thinking this when he felt a wave of invisible energy pushing at him from all sides. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of a wall once morethe cave entrance.
Lu Ye was speechless for a moment. Yi Yi looked bbergasted as well. She was trying to pry a High Grade Spirit Stone loose when she suddenly found herself standing in the open once more.
I see! Lu Ye eximed in realization. The golden light was some sort of temporary identity pass that allowed him to stay within the tunnels. No wonder it faded over time. Once his time was up, he would automatically be returned to the outside world.
[Dammit, we werent done mining the Spirit Stones]
Yi Yi clearly thought the same thing as him because she abruptly dove head first into the wall. While waiting, Lu Ye checked out the recess on the wall. The copper te that was supposed to reside in it was gone.
He did not think it would be possible to reenter the ore vein without the copper te.
As expected, Yi Yi returned a whileter and shook her head. Theres nothing behind the wall. Nothing at all.
At first, she thought that the ore vein was just behind the wall. Since she was an apparition, she could just pass through the walls and return to the tunnels. She did not need the copper te at all.
She quickly discovered she was wrong, however. The only thing she found behind the wall was solid rock and earth. It was as if the ore vein never existed in the first ce.
Lu Ye exined, The copper te we used to open the entrance probably has some sort of teleportation effect. The tunnels we entered and the ore vein itself are elsewhere.
It was a shame they didnt manage to collect all the Spirit Stones before they were expelled, but they still obtained over ten thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones and a couple hundred High Grade Spirit Stones. He should not run out of Spirit Stones for the foreseeable future.
A quick restter, the group resumed their journey once more.
On the way, Lu Ye activated his Battlefield Imprint and asked Ju Jia his current location. The body-tempering cultivator quickly responded, but his answer caused Lu Ye to furrow his eyebrows. It was because he noticed that Ju Jia was, for whatever reason, moving further and further away from him
This made no sense before he had specifically told Ju Jia beforehand to buy a 10-point map and use it as a reference. If Ju Jia really was traveling in his direction, it was impossible for them to stray further and further away from each other.
He thought for a moment before asking, Are you traveling ording to the annotations on the 10-point map?
Ju Jia replied, Yes!
[Like a hammer you are!]
At this point, Lu Ye was one hundred percent certain that Ju Jia was misreading the 10-point map. Ju Jia wasnt stupid, but he was a little simple. It was possible that he wasnt able to understand the 10-point map. Not only that, Lu Ye had a strong suspicion that Ju Jia was a little road blind. There was no way he would still be on the road otherwise.
Just stay where you are. Ille to you!
At this rate, they were never going to meet up with each other. He might as well tell Ju Jia to stay put and wait for him.
Aang!
On a certain Spirit Peak of the Cloud River Battlefield, a brawny man was holding up a 10-point map and looking it over. A whileter, he scratched his head with a look of utter iprehension on his face
After wrapping up his exchange with Ju Jia, Lu Ye tried messaging his fourth senior brother, Li Baxian next. Previously, he had not been able to contact him probably because he wasnt in the Cloud River Battlefield. He couldve been exploring a Hidden Realm at the time.
His message went out sessfully this time. It wasnt long before he received a response from his fourth senior brother.
Youre in the Cloud River Battlefield, junior brother? His fourth senior brother asked in a pleasantly surprised tone. He clearly wasnt expecting Lu Ye to ascend to the Cloud River Realm so quickly.
Yeah. Ive been here for a while, Lu Ye replied.
Good, good! Li Baxian praised him. Im a little busy at the moment, so please focus on your own adventure for the moment. Ille to you when Im finished with my business.
Do you need my help? Lu Ye offered.
Its fine. I can handle this myself!
Very well. Take care, senior brother.
Li Baxian had carefully omitted all the details from his response, but Lu Ye still noticed that his fourth senior brother was probably in some sort of difficult predicament. Otherwise, he wouldve sought him out no matter what.
At a hidden location in the Cloud River Battlefield, Li Baxian ended the message while grinning from ear to ear. They grow up so fast these days.
You look happy. What is it? A gentle voice rang beside him. It was none other than hispanion, Feng Yuechan.
Li Baxian dered in a proud voice, My junior brother hase to the Cloud River Battlefield.
Feng Yuechan looked surprised. Already?
She didnt bother asking who. There was only one person in the entire Jiu Zhou whom Li Baxian addressed as junior brother, and that was Lu Ye.
His cultivation speed is impressive.
But of course! Hes my junior brother!
You didnt ask him to join us, did you? Were not exactly in the best of situations right now.
Of course not. I told him well go look for him once were done with our business.
I see.
Suddenly, a grimace crossed Li Baxians expression before he grabbed Feng Yuechans shoulder. Theyre here. Lets go!
They immediately leaped on their swords and shot into the sky.
Not a moment too soon, a dozen cultivators appeared from the horizon and gave chase. The leader of the group shouted angrily, Surrender it now, Li Baxian!
The sword cultivator merelyughed loudly. You want it? Come take it!
Earlier, while Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian were exploring a Hidden Realm, they had stolen its biggest reward from right under a bunch of Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators noses. Since then, the group had been hunting them down like bloodhounds.
Lu Yes prediction was spot on. If Li Baxian wasnt in a tight spot, he wouldve met up with Lu Ye as soon as possible.
After wrapping up his exchange with Li Baxian, Lu Ye continued to travel toward Ju Jias location.
Suddenly, he sensed something and looked behind him. He immediately saw a cultivator heading toward him at high speed. Judging from their speed and aura, they had to be a Seventh-Order cultivator or higher.
Lu Ye immediately concentrated on the person until he had a clear view of their appearance. The iing cultivator was a young man in his twenties. His hands were folded behind his back, and he wore a small but confident smile on his face. His attire marked him as abat cultivator, but Lu Ye did not dare trust in his assumption until he saw something concrete. After all, most cultivators would make an attempt to disguise their true cultivation faction. Generally speaking, it was difficult to determine ones cultivation faction based on their appearance alone.
Pang Dahai was the best example of that. Lu Ye had always believed that the fat man was a spell cultivator, and he was. However, he was also a superbly durable body-tempering cultivator! Anyone who thought they could defeat him just because they had tactics that were specifically meant to counter a spell cultivator were going to have a bad time. Anyone who underestimated a cultivators cunning was going to have a bad time in general.
In Lu Yes case, it didnt matter what the mysterious mans cultivation faction was. At his current strength, there was simply no way he could go up against a Seventh or even Eight-Order cultivator.
That was why he empowered his Spirit Boat with Windwalk and sped off after observing the cultivator for a bit. At the same time, he abruptly steered his Spirit Boat in a different direction.
Unfortunately, the young man behind him changed directions as well.
Hes chasing us, Lu Ye! At this point, even Yi Yi noticed that something was wrong.
I know, Lu Ye replied grimly. Under any other circumstances, there was no way the young man would pursue them so doggedly.
He was certain that he didnt know the young man, and the young man didnt know him. If the guy was just hoping to ask for directions or something, he wouldve gotten the hint and stopped chasing them by now. Unfortunately, he hadnt. It could only mean that the young man bore him ill will.
It was quitemon for a low level cultivator to be robbed on the Cloud River Battlefield. It was why most of them avoided flying carelessly in the open or found safety in numbers. Otherwise, it was almost always going to end badly for the weaker cultivator. If they belonged to the same faction, then the robber might still let them go. But if they were enemies, then the weaker cultivator was going to lose not just their possessions, but also their lives.
Wait, fellow cultivator! The young man chasing after them shouted, You misunderstand my intentions! I mean no harm!
Lu Ye did not bother to answer. The young man had homed in on them like an eagle chasing after a rat. Only aplete idiot would believe that he meant well.
Im going to get angry if you keep this up, fellow cultivator! The young man hollered again.
Lu Ye ignored him again. Unfortunately, he was unable to shake off the young man despite having empowered his Spirit Boat with Windwalk. Not only that, the distance between them was shortening bit by bit.
They were four, maybe even five minor realms apart. Naturally, the difference between their flight speed was night and day as well. If Lu Ye didnt have Windwalk, he wouldve been caught a long time ago.
Meanwhile, the young man was incredibly surprised that Lu Ye managed to elude his grasp for so long. From his perspective, Lu Ye was just a Third-Order cultivator, while he was a Seventh-Order cultivator. Normally, it should be impossible for Lu Ye to escape him for this long.
Greed shed across the young mans eyes. From his perspective, the only way Lu Ye was able to stay ahead of him was the Spirit Boat. It had to be an exceptional flying Spirit Artifact!
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Chapter 488: City of Heavens W16
Chapter 488: City of Heavens W16
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The moment he made the connection, the young man flew even faster while yelling, You will leave behind your goods if youre smart, boy! Its the only way youre going to survive this!
Lu Ye had clearly figured out his intentions. In that case, there was no need to keep up pretenses any longer.
It was at that moment something unexpected happened. Lu Ye actually tossed a Storage Bag over his shoulders without looking back. It was such an unexpected oue that the young man actually nked out for a second.
He had robbed plenty of fellow cultivators in the past, but he had never encountered one who actually sumbed to his demands no matter how he threatened them. Most of them would rather die than give an inch, and the fact was that most of them were killed unless it was revealed that they belonged to the same faction. Even then, he would force them to cough up a healthy amount of goods before he would let them go. It was extremely unlikely his victims would find out about his identity and background, so they couldnt get revenge even if they wanted to.
In any case, Lu Ye was the first cooperative victim he had ever encountered. It was no wonder he was caught off guard.
That said, he was a responsive person. Without hesitation, he flew toward the Storage Bag, caught it, then chased after Lu Ye once more. He did not know what was inside the Storage Bagit was sealed by a Restraining Lock, and it wasnt like he could unlock it right nowbut he knew better than to let a cowardly, cooperative victim escape his grasp. Also, he still wanted Lu Yes Spirit Boat.
Hesing back, Lu Ye, Yi Yi reported while looking behind them and reporting their pursuers location periodically.
Hide.Yi Yi immediately entered Ambers body after hearing this.
Lu Ye did not mind losing one Storage Bag as all of his items were stored in the storage space. In fact, the entire reason he wore a couple of Storage Bags on the outside was to hide the fact that he had a Void Tattoo. He did use one of them to store some food and water, but that was it.
Lu Ye had been hoping that their pursuer would be satisfied with the Storage Bag, but the young man proved to be greedier than expected. He would not stop until he robbed Lu Ye blind.
Realizing the severity of their situation, he immediately checked his 10-point map.
Meanwhile, the young man was yelling again, Give me your Spirit Boat, and I promise I wont pursue you any longer! A few secondster, he added as if realizing how nonsensical his demand sounded. I swear on the Heavens!
[Did he seriously just swear on the Heavens? A robber?] Lu Ye just barely stopped himself fromughing at the irony.
He put away his 10-point map and channeled his Spiritual Power. There was a soft whoosh as a pair of fiery red wings expanded behind his back. It looked absolutely gorgeous under the sunlight. Then, he put away his Spirit Boat, empowered himself with Windwalk, and soared faster than ever before
The young man was stunned yet again as Lu Ye swiftly pulled away from him. He never expected a mere Third-Order cultivator to surprise him again and again with his prowess. The revtion only fanned his mes of greed higher though. Generally speaking, extraordinary cultivators like Lu Ye were also incredibly wealthy. Robbing him would be like robbing seven or eight ordinary cultivators at once!
The young man tried his best to catch up to Lu Ye, but Soar empowered by Windwalk was too much even for him. He could barely make sure that Lu Ye could not pull away from him.
That was enough though. The young man did not know what ability Lu Ye was using to fly as fast as a Seventh-Order cultivator, but it had to cost him a lot of Spiritual Power. There was no way a low level cultivator could keep this up for long.
He was right. The reason Lu Ye rarely used Soar was precisely because it used far more Spiritual Power than a flying Spirit Artifact, not to mention that he had buffed himself with Windwalk. At this rate, he was going to run out of energy in just a couple of hours.
A couple of hours was enough though.
Four hourster, the young man realized his error. It was one that filled him with incredulity, anger and regret. It was because a city had appeared from the horizon, and it wasnt long before Lu Ye entered the city and vanished from view.
There were many cities in the Cloud River Battlefield, but unlike the Spirit Creek Battlefield no mortals lived in these cities. In fact, there were next to no mortals in the entire Cloud River Battlefield. Generally speaking, the only ones who frequented the Cloud River Battlefield were, of course, Jiu Zhou Cloud River Realm cultivators.
Most of the cities in the Cloud River Battlefield were founded by the Divine Trade Association, so they did not have a unique name of their own. Instead, they were addressed as City of Heaven XXX.
For example, the City of Heavens Lu Ye just entered was designated as City of Heavens W16; the W in W16 meaning West.
The city was built huge as it was meant to serve Cloud River Realm cultivators. Otherwise, the coteral damage alone would have driven the Divine Trade Association into insanity. Each and every building was at least tens or even hundreds of meters away from each other. From the sky, they looked like Go stones on a board. At the center of the city was a massive building owned by the Divine Trade Association.
There were two types of cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield. The first type were those who owned an Arcane de. These cultivators rarely left the confines of their Arcane de unless absolutely necessary. They would schedule their departure ahead of time, n shifts if one or more members had to leave within the same timeframe, and generally ensure that the Arcane de was properly protected all the time.
Those who failed to practice proper security measures would most likely lose their Arcane de like Lu Ye and Kitty Shen had.
The second type of cultivators were those with no Arcane des. As these cultivators did not have a home they could return to per se, they usually roamed the Cloud River Battlefield alone or in small groups in search of opportunities.
It might seem like a poor decision to roam the Cloud River Battlefield aimlessly, but in fact the world was rife with opportunities. Unless they were exceptionally unlucky, they could always run into Token of Providence events, Hidden Realms and more.
Going by this logic, there should not be cities in the Cloud River Battlefield at all. After all, most of its cultivators were drifters who constantly roamed from ce to ce.
There were many types of Hidden Realms in the Cloud River Battlefield. Every day, at least one Hidden Realm would appear somewhere in the world.
There were two types of Hidden Realm that spurred the creation of cities. The first one was a Hidden Realm that opened at a fixed time. The second type was a Hidden Realm that remained open permanently, or at least long enough for a city to take form.
Take the Myriad Beasts Domain for example. If the old man who spoke to Lu Ye was correct, the Myriad Beasts Domain should transform into a permanently open Hidden Realm that cultivators could enter after paying a certain price.
For obvious reasons, the Myriad Beasts Domain was only going to attract Beast Tamers. Even so, it was inevitable that a city would eventually be formed around the entrance to the Hidden Realm.
City of Heavens W16 was one such city. There was a nearby Hidden Realm that would open for five days every month. It was a maze-like Hidden Realm filled with all sorts of traps and opportunities. If a cultivator was lucky enough, they could even obtain Amulets of all colors.
Hidden Realms like these were adored by cultivators as a matter of course. Countless cultivators would gather in the city days before the Hidden Realm was opened. There were even people who chose to settle in the city permanently so they could explore the Hidden Realm every month.
Lu Ye did not actually know that City of Heavens W16 was situated next to a Hidden Realm. He was just looking for the closest avable refuge when he was checking his 10-point map.
The city didnt have too many rules because it took power to enforce them. In-city flight was also allowed because almost everyone was a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Cultivators could be seen flying up and down the city all the time. It was bustling and lively in a way that was unique to cultivators.
The citys poption was fairly low as a matter of course, but there were at least a thousand cultivators at all times.
There was no such thing as a street as the buildings were set quite far apart from each other. Their architectural stylesrgely differed as well. There were houses, stores, public structures and more.
Despite the traffic, conflicts rarely broke out inside the city. After all, it was entirely possible for a small scuffle to escte into arge-scale conflict depending on the situation. Also, they werent kids anymore. No one would do something that might anger the public without good reason.
Lu Ye had visited a City of Heaven when he was at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but the vibe of this city waspletely different from what he remembered.
For a while, he simply walked around the city and enjoyed the sights until he found a Spirit Fruit store. He could tell from its traffic alone that it was a popr store. When he stepped inside, he discovered that the Spirit Fruits were as varied as they were fragrant. He wondered if they had any special effects.
When he called over a shop assistant and asked him about it, he learned that the Spirit Fruits were sourced from all over Jiu Zhou. Specifically, they were brought over by the cultivators of the owners sect. Some Spirit Fruits were more special than the other, but they all restored Spiritual Power to a certain degree.
One thing was certain, these Spirit Fruits werent too valuable. They would not be ced out in the open and sold in bulk otherwise.
Lu Ye inquired about the price before paying one hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones to purchase four to five hundred Spirit Fruits of all kinds. He stored them all in his storage space.
After he left the store, he grabbed two fruits out of his storage space, fed one to Amber, and took a bite from the other. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the flesh tasted juicy, crispy and sweet.
A whileter, Lu Ye dropped the core on the floor and looked up at his destination. It was the central building of the Divine Trade Association!
He had frequented the Divine Trade Association many times in the past, but he had never seen a building asrge as the one before his eyes. The stairs leading to the entrance alone numbered thirty to forty steps, and the building itself looked like it was forged from literal gold. It was as if they were afraid their customers would miss the fact that they were filthy rich.
He slowly walked up the steps when an aura caught his attention. He turned just in time to see a man in blue clothes looking at him as well. Lu Ye raised his eyebrows in surprise. The guy was none other than Zhou Hai, the sword cultivator he cooperated with a while ago.
He gave Zhou Hai a nod, and the sword cultivator nodded back in return. That was the end of their interaction.
They might have fought side by side in the Myriad Beasts Domain, but outside of it, they might as well have been strangers. It was why the thought of asking Zhou Hais help to take out the robber who was probably still prowling outside the city and waiting for Lu Ye to show himself had never crossed his mind. Why would Zhou Hai help him, someone he had no rtions with outside of that one temporary alliance?
Lu Ye stepped inside the building. He was immediately greeted by a female attendant.
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Chapter 489: Face Mask
Chapter 489: Face Mask
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A short whileter, a trade manager walked into the private room Lu Ye was seated in and saluted him respectfully. He said, What would you like to buy, honored customer?
Lu Ye replied, I would like to buy a Spirit Artifact that can disguise my appearance.
In fact, he had been thinking about making such a purchase since he was a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, everyone in the Thousand Demon Ridge had a picture of his face. As a result, there was literally nowhere he could go where he wouldnt be recognized and attacked.
The reason he hadnt bought such a Spirit Artifact back then was because of Amber. There was practically no one in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who didnt know that the Vanquisher of Sects owned a white tiger. Why buy the Spirit Artifact when one look at Amber was all his enemies needed to identify him?
That was no longer the case since he obtained a Spirit Beast Bag from the Myriad Beasts Domain. Now that he had the option to hide Amber in the Spirit Beast Bag, he could actually disguise himself with a Spirit Artifact and stay anonymous. No one would ever realize he was Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect unless he revealed himself.
Moreover, no one except Lan Ziyi had recognized him yet because the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield were twopletely different worlds. The champion of the Spirit Creek Battlefield might not necessarily be able to reign supreme after ascending to the Cloud River Battlefield.
This was a battlefield full of geniuses and elites. No one would purposely hunt down a newly ascended Cloud River Realm cultivator when there were better prey out there.
That said, Lu Ye had a feeling that the Thousand Demon Ridge hadnt forgotten about him. As he grew stronger, he would catch significantly more attention as well. It was better to prepare now than to regret hisck of preparationter.A Spirit Artifact that can disguise your appearance? The manager looked troubled. That is not an easy request to fulfill, honored customer.
Are you out of stock or something?
Thats not it. Generally speaking, a Spirit Artifact that can disguise ones appearance or even their aura isnt sold in the Divine Trade Association. In fact, Spirit Artifacts with unique properties are usually purchasable in the Vault of Providence only. Yes, that means you can only buy it using Contribution Points. In your case, a lot of Contribution Points.
Lu Ye wasnt aware of this. He asked, How expensive are we talking here?
Ten thousand Contribution Points at the minimum.
That was seriously expensive. It wasnt like Lu Ye did not have the Contribution Points to spare, but ten thousand was an investment even he had to consider seriously, not to mention that he was just preparing for the future. It wasnt like he needed it right here and now.
Besides that, I must warn you that Spirit Artifacts like these are generally quite fragile. It is entirely possible for them to be damaged in battle. The manager paused for a moment to observe Lu Ye before continuing, On the other hand, if youre only looking to disguise your face, might I suggest buying a set of face masks? Not only do we have face masks of all shapes and sizes, theyre sold at a fairly cheap price. Your Storage Bag wont hurt even if you lose all of them.
Face masks, you say?
Would you like me to bring them to you, honored customer?
Please!
Very well. Please give me a moment, The manager said before leaving to procure the items. A whileter, he returned with what looked like a cosmetic box and pressed down on two side buttons. A clickter, the box opened to reveal a bright mirror at the upperpartment, and a thick stack of exquisitely crafted face masks at the lowerpartment.
Lu Ye counted eight face masks in the cosmetic box in total. The topmost mask featured the snarling, fang-bared face of a green ghost. The second mask featured a white fox with a pointed mouth and nted eyes. The rest of the face masks were different not just in appearance, but in art style as well.
You may try them out if you want, honored customer. The masks only need a tiny amount of Spiritual Power to maintain, and are as light as a feather. Unlike a Spirit Artifact that actually disguises your whole appearance, you probably wouldnt even notice the drain unless you wear it for an extended amount of time, the manager rmended enthusiastically.
Lu Ye inspected the goods for a bit before picking up the white fox face mask. He then carefully put it on his face. At first, he thought he would need to adjust the face mask, but it automatically clung to his skin upon contact. There was a cool sensation until it disappeared a few secondster. If not for the fact that the face mask had to be maintained with a trickle of Spiritual Power, he wouldnt even notice that he was wearing it. His eyesight waspletely unobstructed, and when he looked down at the mirror at the upperpartment, he saw a white fox with a pointed mouth and nted eyes looking back at himself. The thick purple eye shadows beneath hisor rather, the face maskseyes gave him a ghastly appearance.
Lu Ye found the item quite interesting. It didnt take a genius to see that the crafter was extremely attentive. Each pattern and line had been crafted with the utmost care.
More importantly, the face masks came in a set of eight. He could switch them if one of them had worn out its wee per se.
Lu Ye removed the white fox face mask before putting on a different mask. This time, the mirror reflected a sultry womans face with unblemished skin and soft, red lips.
Beside him, He could hear Yi Yi barely suppressedughter leaking out of Ambers body.
Lu Ye expressionlessly returned the face mask into the cosmetic box before giving it a light p. How much does it cost?
The manager immediately perked up. Its only three hundred and twenty Middle Grade Spirit Stones. A bargain, in my opinion.
It was. If he divided the price by eight, it meant that each mask cost only forty Middle Grade Spirit Stones.
He could not help but recall the first few times he entered the Divine Trade Association. At the time, he had haggled with the manager like a housewife in the market. Today, his days of poverty were long behind him. It was why he did not hesitate to pay the manager on the spot.
After he stored the cosmetic box safely in his storage space, Lu Ye added, I would like a room, please.
He did not know if the young man who tried to rob him earlier was still around. He might even be spying on him right now. That was why he decided to stay the night in the Divine Trade Association.
He did not think that the young man would risk it though. Lu Ye knew he didnt have many friends he could count on in the Cloud River Battlefield, but the young man didnt know that. For all he knew, Lu Ye could message his friends and get them to kick his ass to kingdome. The reward just wasnt worth the risk.
Soon, Lu Ye found himself resting inside a guest room on the third floor. It should not need to be said, but the living conditions of the guest room were far morefortable than the wilderness or an Arcane de. He resumed his cultivation only after he had ordered a tableful of food and enjoyed a satisfying meal with Amber.
He set up the Circle of Boon and ced a couple of High Grade Spirit Stones at key locations of the ward. This would increase the rooms concentration of World Spiritual Qi drastically. He also ced a dragon scale in the middle of the Circle of Boon so that he and Amber could absorb its blood qi.
Lu Ye had obtained a total of five dragon scales during his visit to the Dragon Spring. There was far more blood qi in the dragon scales as well.
Lu Ye had given Amber one dragon scale so it could consume its blood qi at its own time. He kept one for Ju Jia as well. The body-tempering cultivator was, well, a body-tempering cultivator, so the blood qi in the dragon scale would be greatly beneficial to him.
Lu Ye was reading when suddenly, a message entered his Battlefield Imprint. He wondered who it was when he saw that it was Xia Qianqian.
To say he was surprised would be an understatement. Why would a Ninth-Order cultivator like her seek out a Third-Order cultivator like him?
Yes?
Are you at City of Heavens W16 right now? Xia Qianqian asked directly.
Lu Ye almost blurted, How did you know? before he controlled himself. He hadnt seen her since they left the Myriad Beasts Domain and parted ways, and this was the first time they contacted each other. It should be impossible for her to find out his whereabouts.
He even suspected that she had nted some sort of tracking art on him.
Thankfully, he figured out the answer on his own. Did Zhou Hai tell you where I was?
He had encountered Zhou Hai by ident when he was entering the Divine Trade Association. The sword cultivator was the only one who knew his whereabouts, meaning that Xia Qianqian had contacted Zhou Hai earlier.
Thats right. Are you still there?
Yeah?
Wait for me. Iming to see you right now!
That was the end of the conversation.
Lu Ye frowned as he tried to think why Xia Qianqian might need him. He never came up with an answer. Just two hourster, Lu Ye received another message from her. A quick exchangeter, he told her his room number and heard her knocking on his door a few minutester. He opened the door and, nope, it wasnt a prank. It really was Xia Qianqian standing in front of his room.
Brash as usual, the woman weed herself into the room before he could even say anything. She looked around, took a deep breath, and shot him a meaningful look. I didnt disturb you, did I?
What?
Lu Ye did not understand what she was implying at all.
Its nothing, Xia Qianqian replied sweetly. She had heard that the Divine Trade Association offered certain services that were quite popr among male cultivators.
Anyway, why are you here?
The woman turned serious and said, Im here to request your assistance.
Her answer only confused Lu Ye even more. Im just a Third-Order cultivator. How could I possibly help you?
It is precisely youre just a Third-Order cultivator that youre a perfect fit for the job. I wouldnt be asking for your help if you were higher than Fifth-Order.
Well, tell me.
A whileter, Lu Ye finally understood why Xia Qianqian had sought him out. To put it simply, she wanted his help to kick some ass!
Some time ago, her sect mates had stumbled upon a newborn Arcane de. Unfortunately, a different group had discovered the Arcane de at the same time. The Arcane de was just a small and low quality Arcane de that could fit five people at most, so sharing was out of the question from the get go. Not only that, it so happened that their sects were hostile toward each other, so they did not hesitate to beat the crap out of each other.
The problem was that they were evenly-matched. They were unable to decide a victor even until the end of the battle, whichplicated things considerably. A long negotiationter, it was agreed that each group would invite five helpers each and have them fight another battle. It would be the battle that would truly decide the ownership of the Arcane de. However, both groups were fairly weak in terms of cultivation, so it was agreed that the helpers they recruited must not exceed Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm.
Xia Qianqians sect mates had messaged her and asked for her help. If she had enough time, she might not have sought out Lu Ye. Unfortunately, there was a time limit.
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Chapter 490: Amulet Casket
Chapter 490: Amulet Casket
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Despite Xia Qianqians best efforts, she only managed to recruit one helper before Lu Ye. The group wascking one more.
She had tried messaging Kitty Shen about this but learned that she wasnt anywhere close to the Arcane de. Moreover, she did not qualify for the battle as she had already ascended to the Sixth-Order.
Desperate, she messaged Zhou Hai and asked him if he knew anyone who might be able to help her. Of course he didnt. He was a sword cultivator who roamed the Cloud River Battlefield alone. Forgetpanions, he rarely contacted his own sect members.
It was at this moment he recalled Lu Ye and told Xia Qianqian about the encounter.The rest was history.
You sure think highly of my abilities. Im certain your enemies would only be recruiting Fifth-Order cultivators for the battle. What could I, a mere Third-Order cultivator, possibly do against such foes?
Lu Yes first instinct was to stay out of trouble because he still needed to locate Ju Jia. The road- blind body-tempering cultivator was probably sleeping in the ass end of nowhere right now. He was worried for his well being like a mother hen over its chick
Seriously? Weve literally fought side by side, bud. You might be able to fool someone else, but not me.
Xia Qianqian had been with Lu Ye every step of the way during their adventure in the Myriad Beasts Domain. From the start until the end, Lu Ye had performed extraordinarily not just inbat, but in other areas as well. She would even go so far as to say that she had never met a greater Second-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator than Lu Ye. If she was at the same cultivation level as him, he could probably kill her in three hits at most.Now that she thought about it, Lan Ziyi was quite extraordinary as well. However, even she was a tad weaker than Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was still a Second-Order cultivator when they were adventuring in the Myriad Beasts Domain. Now that he was in the Third-Order, she had no doubt he could handle most Fifth-Order cultivators without issues.
She would even say that the Arcane de was as good as her sect mates as long as she could rope Lu Ye into the matter.
You misunderstand my strength.
I dont think so, oh mighty Vanquisher of Sects and Bane of Spirit Creek.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, but he wasnt surprised that she found out his real identity. The woman was fairly close with Pang Dahai. She had probably found out the truth from him.
I dont know what youre talking about.
Regardless, there was no way Lu Ye would admit that he was who she imed he was. He had purchased the masks precisely because he didnt want to be recognized. He was just starting to enjoy his anonymity, and he had no intention of returning to the days where he was hunted like a rat anytime soon.
I can owe you a favor.
You already owe me a favor, remember?
The decision to sell the Beast Pact Art to the Vault of Providence had benefited hispanions far more than it benefited him. Knowing this, Xia Qianqian dered that Lu Ye was now a close friend of hers, and that he could seek her out if he needed her for anything.
Instead, she was the one who sought him out for another favor just days after they parted ways.
I canpensate you for your trouble!
Im notcking in cultivation resources.
Xia Qianqian wordlessly pulled out a wooden box from her Storage Bag. The object was palm-sized and glowed like a rainbow. She tossed it up and down while asking, Do you know what this is?
Lu Ye had no idea. He was about to tell Xia Qianqian that when she revealed the answer on her own, This is an Amulet Casket; a lucky draw for Amulets! The person who draws it will obtain exactly one Amulet. Depending on your luck, it could be a shitty White Amulet, or a valuable Gold Amulet!
For the first time, Lu Yes interest was well and truly piqued. He also realized that the woman hade prepared.
Lu Ye was wealthy enough that he couldnt be tempted by most treasures, and he wasnt someone who sumbed easily to social pressure, not to mention that this favor might draw some unwanted heat to him. Unfortunately, it would seem that Xia Qianqian knew exactly what he desired.
I think this item suits you perfectly. What do you think? Xia Qianqian grinned ear to ear when she noticed Lu Yes expression.
You are sure this is a lucky draw?
Xia Qianqian nodded. No one knows what is inside the box until they open it.
Where did you get this?
Theres a Hidden Realm that opens once a month nearby. I got this a couple days ago.
Lu Ye nodded and took the Amulet Casket from Xia Qianqian. It so happened that he was quite confident in his luck these days.
Does this mean we agree then?
If this Amulet Casket gives me a Blue Amulet or better, then yes!
A Blue Amulet was worth over one thousand and eight hundred Contribution Points. Not only that, Amulets in general werent purchasable via Contribution Points. If he could get a Blue Amulet or better, then this detour would be worth it.
How do I use this? Lu Ye asked.
After listening to Xia Qianqians instructions, Lu Ye tapped a spot on the Amulet Casket. The box began opening outward like a blooming flower at the same time its rainbow glow began spinning and flowing into the box.
When the box was fully opened, a purple light shone from the depths of the box. It was none other than a Purple Amulet.
Xia Qianqians eyes immediately widened like saucers. She already knew that Lu Ye was ridiculously lucky, but she still hadnt expected him to open a Purple Amulet from the Amulet Casket.
She had opened at least eighty Amulet Caskets since entering the Cloud River Battlefield, if not a hundred. To date, she had only opened two Purple Amulets from them. Most of them were white, some of them were green, and only a handful of them were Blue.
This was the first time Lu Ye opened an Amulet Casket, but he had obtained a Purple Amulet from it. To call him lucky would be an understatement!
Xia Qianqian immediately pped another Amulet Casket on his hand. Open this for me!
She would be crazy not to borrow his luck. Although her luck had visibly improved since selling the Beast Pact Art, it was nothingpared to Lu Yes.
She only had two Amulet Caskets in total. This was herst Amulet Casket since she had given the other one to Lu Ye.
Just like before, Lu Ye tapped a spot on the Amulet Casket and waited for the Amulet Casket to open on its own. When the rainbow glow had fully converged within the box, it revealed
A White Amulet!
Xia Qianqian was speechless for a second. Then, she wailed, NOT FAIR!
Lu Yes first attempt had yielded a Purple Amulet, so how was it possible for the second to be a White Amulet? She couldve epted this oue if it was at least a Green Amulet, but white? The disparity was almost too much to bear!
If she knew this would happen, she wouldve opened the Amulet Casket herself. With her current luck, the chances she might draw a White Amulet was very low. It would be a Green Amulet at the very least.
Do you have more? Lu Ye asked a little wistfully. The anticipation before the inevitable reveal was quite addictive to say the least.
I do not! Xia Qianqian huffed while snatching the White Amulet from his hand. She then stared at Lu Yes Purple Amulet like a kicked puppy.
Lu Ye stored the Purple Amulet safely. At the same time, he swore to obtain more Amulet Caskets should the opportunity present itself in the future.
Lets go, Lu Ye urged.
He had received his payment, so it was time to perform the service he was requested to perform. As for Ju Jia, well, the body-tempering cultivator had already waited for their reunion for months. He was sure he could afford to wait a day or two more.
A short whileter, Xia Qianqian and Lu Ye leaped into the air and flew away from the Divine Trade Association.
Xia Qianqian was still looking incredibly upset. There were few things more hurtful thanparison, and the fact that she got a White Amulet while Lu Ye got a Purple Amulet hurt her so bad she almost couldnt breathe.
Say, Ye Six, I have an offer to The Ninth-Order cultivator said suddenly.
No deal!
I havent even said anything yet!
No deal! There was no way in hell he was going to surrender the Purple Amulet no matter what.
Sigh.
Once again, Xia Qianqian felt like strangling her past self. She shouldve believed in herself, dammit!
On the way, Lu Ye suddenly pulled out a mask from his storage space and put it on. He also put away the Invible.
When Xia Qianqian turned to see what he was doing, she was greeted by the face of a white fox with pointed lips, nted eyes and thick eye shadows. She could not help but roll her eyes at Lu Ye. When she recalled everything she heard about thebat cultivator from Pang Dahai though, she realized that his precaution was more than necessary.
Generally speaking, most Spirit Creek Realm cultivators and even the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy themselves would return to anonymity after ascending to the Cloud River Battlefield. After all, a Scroll of Supremacy champion would ascend to the Cloud River Realm every few months or so. It would be an exaggeration to say that the Cloud River Battlefield was crawling with champions, but that was still a lot of people over the years.
However, not all champions of the Scroll of Supremacy were made equal, and Lu Ye was exceptional even among the best of the best. He would not have earned the nickname The Vanquisher of Sects and the Bane of Spirit Creek otherwise. There was no way the Thousand Demon Ridge wasnt keeping an eye out for him. If his identity was exposed, his predicament in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was probably going to repeat itself.
As for Lu Ye hiding his main weapon, Xia Qianqian knew exactly what the man was plotting. She had no qualms with it though. His deception would only improve her sect mates chances.
Suddenly, a cultivator flew up to them from below. Xia Qianqian assuaged Lu Ye before he could react, Hes one of us.
The cultivator met up with them soon enough. Judging from his tall stature and muscr body, he was clearly a body-tempering cultivator, a Fifth-Order body-tempering cultivator to be exact. Lu Ye reckoned that he was the other helper Xia Qianqian had recruited before him.
The body-tempering cultivator saluted Xia Qianqian respectfully. Senior Sister Xia, and the woman returned the gesture with a slight nod.
The body-tempering cultivator nced at Lu Ye next but didnt salute him or even offer him a greeting. It was because he was wearing a fox mask in broad daylight like a criminal who had something to hide. Moreover, his aura revealed him to be a Third-Order cultivator. Naturally, he wasnt deserving of his attention.
As the trio resumed their journey, Xia Qianqian sent a message to her sect mates. Four hourster, the trionded on a Spirit Peak and was weed by three cultivators.
They were two men and a woman. They had to be the sect mates Xia Qianqian had mentioned. Judging from their aura and attire, they were abat cultivator, a ghost cultivator, and a spell cultivator.
Senior sister! The trio saluted.
It was clear from their disheveled appearance and various injuries that they had experienced a battle some time ago. However, they were also cultivators. As long as their injuries werent too severe, they should be able to fight at almost max capacity.
Lu Ye was unable to identify their cultivation level, but they could not be stronger than the Fifth-Order.
Not including Xia Qianqian, they were exactly a group of five.
Once again, they went on their merry way. An hourter, theynded in a valley where six people were waiting for them.
The leader of the opposing group was a young man with a dignified appearance. Heined immediately after seeing Xia Qianqian, Youre a littlete, Fellow Cultivator Xia.
Like hell I am. Theres still some time before the deadline! Xia Qianqian retorted immediately. Judging from the terse air between them, they werent just acquaintances who were standing up for their group. They were enemies as well.
After checking her surroundings and confirming that the opposing group hadnt prepared an ambush or trap for them, she asked, So? Whats the format? Is it going to best-man-standing or battle royale?
The ghost of a smirk tugged at the young mans lips. You seem very confident, Fellow Cultivator Xia.
Well know after the battle is over. Now cut the bullcrap and give us the details already.
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Chapter 491: Last-Man-Standing
Chapter 491: Last-Man-Standing
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The young man nodded. Since you seem to be in a hurry, I shant waste our time any longer. Lets have both ast-man-standing and a battle royale. If we still cant decide a victor that way, then you and I will fight one final battle. To put it simply, it will be a best-of-three to decide who gets the Arcane de. What do you think?
Xia Qianqian harrumphed loudly while ring at the young man. I think youre itching to get your ass kicked.
The young man simply smiled and continued, Shall we start the battle immediately then? With this valley as the battlefield?
eptable!
This valley was neither too big nor too small. It was perfect for Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators to duke it out with each other as no one could gain too much of a terrain advantage over the other person.
After the negotiation was over, both the young man and Xia Qianqian led their respective group to a Spirit Peak on opposite sides of the valley. Lu Yes group consisted of a body-tempering cultivator, one ghost cultivator, twobat cultivators and one spell cultivator. At first nce, their group was incredibly suited for the battle royale. Unfortunately, their opponents group was equallyprehensive. They also had body-tempering,bat and spell cultivators. There might be a ghost cultivator among them, but it was impossible to say until he actually saw them in action.
Besides the body-tempering cultivator and Lu Ye, everyone else in the group belonged to the same sect. They hadnt spoken with each other on the way because they were in a hurry, but now that they had a bit of time, they did not hesitate to get familiar with one another.
Xia Qianqians sect mates took turns to report their names and cultivation level. As expected, they were all Fourth and Fifth-Order cultivators. Lu Ye reckoned they had entered the Cloud River Battlefield at more or less the same time because their cultivation level was extremely close. The body-tempering cultivator did the same after them, and Lu Yest.Lu Ye gave them his fake name, Ye Six, Third-Order.
They already knew that his cultivation level was low judging from the aura he exuded when they were traveling together, but everyone except Xia Qianqian were still surprised to hear that he was just a Third-Order cultivator. Her sect mates even looked at her with clear doubt in their eyes.
Xia Qianqian chided them, Do not think Ye Six is weak just because his cultivation level is low. I dare say that none of you are a match for him in a one-versus-one fight.
Everyone believed her as there was no reason for Xia Qianqian to lie about such a thing. The group nced at Lu Ye to get a better look at him, but unfortunately his fox mask hid his face. They didnt know what he looked like or what kind of expression he was even wearing right now.
The otherbat cultivator suggested, Is it okay if we ask you to be ourst man, Fellow Cultivator Ye?
Lu Ye nodded as the arrangement would only benefit him. Assuming his temporary allies were strong enough, he wouldnt even need to lift a finger in thisst-man-standing.
Thebat cultivator continued, As for me, I would like to fight the first battle. The rest will depend on how the situation goes. What do you think, senior sister?
Xia Qianqian nodded in approval. We shall do as you say.
Although she and the young man had answered their juniors call for help, they were Ninth-Order cultivators who could ascend to the Real Lake Realm at any moment. They would rather not interfere with their juniors businesses as much as possible.
They might be able to protect them now, but they couldnt be their guardians forever.
After obtaining Xia Qianqians approval, thebat cultivator leaped out andnded at the center of the valley. The opposing groups firstbatant did the same thing.
Without further ado, the duo shed against each other.
A battle between Cloud River Realm cultivators was far moreplicated than one between Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. At the very least, you rarely saw a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator suddenly flying into the sky in mid-action. They literally couldnt. Only Cloud River Realm cultivators could fly without aid.
Thebat cultivators opponent was obviously a Fifth-Order cultivator. In fact, they were evenly matched. The duo kept dashing across the valley and shing into each other again and again. Wherever they went, giant trees fell, and even grass was uprooted like there was a hurricane.
A full incense stickter, thebat cultivator finally spotted an opening andunched his opponent into the air. His opponent could be seen spitting out a shower of blood in mid-air.
Thebat cultivator did not hesitate to press his advantage. The battle quickly grew more and more one-sided after that.
Because the duo were evenly matched, one blunder was all it took for the battle to nt heavily in ones favor. It was why there was the saying, One misstep is likely to cause all following steps to be missteps as well. They were all veterans. There was no way thebat cultivator was going to give his opponent the opportunity to make aeback after iming the advantage.
A short timeter, a frustrated and angry roar resounded throughout the valley, I surrender!
It was his opponent giving up the fight. He had to. It was that or die to thebat cultivator.
Xia Qianqians junior brother and sister immediately broke into cheers. Even Xia Qianqian was smiling thinking that her junior brother had done well for his fight.
Meanwhile, thebat cultivator immediately stopped chasing after his opponent once he surrendered. He swallowed a Spirit Pill as quickly as he could, but his opponent wasnt going to give him time to recover. The secondbatant immediately rushed down the opposite hill to meet him.
The fight might have ended fairly quickly, but thebat cultivator had still used up a ton of energy, so much so that his initial n was to weaken his enemy as much as possible before surrendering the fight.
However, he was pleasantly surprised to find out that his opponent was just a Fourth-Order cultivator. Not only that, it was the Fourth-Order spell cultivator he had fought when they discovered the Arcane de at the beginning. Realizing he had a shot of defeating two opponents in a row, he perked up and ran toward the spell cultivator.
The Fourth-Order spell cultivator wasnt fully prepared when he stepped out into the open. When he saw that thebat cultivator was charging toward him at high speed, he hurriedly retreated while casting his spells.
Compared to the first fight, the second fight was way louder and more impactful because of the spells. Thebat cultivator did his best to close the distance while dodging the spells directed his way and blocking those he could not.
When the distance between them had shortened to just three hundred meters, three flying weapons abruptly shed into existence and homed in on the spell cultivator from three different directions. At the same time, thebat cultivator abruptly sped up and closed the distance between them even faster.
Faced with such an unfavorable situation, the spell cultivator had no choice but to conjure a Spiritual Power Shield around himself and gather his Spiritual Power. As he raised his hands, a spell unlike anything he had cast before took form in an instant and flew straight toward thebat cultivator.
Thebat cultivator wasnt expecting his opponent to possess such a trump card. The spell struck him squarely in the chest and knocked him back almost as quickly as he was charging. It was such a terrible blow that the two cultivators standing next to Lu Ye cried out in rm.
However, thebat cultivator ultimately seeded in his objective. His flying weapons pierced through the spell cultivator with ease and incapacitated him as well. The second battle had ended in a draw.
Two figures immediately flew down the Spirit Peaks. They were Xia Qianqian and the young man. After inspecting their juniors condition and confirming that they were unable to continue the battle any further, they carried them back to the Spirit Peaks.
So far, Xia Qianqians side had managed to defeat two opponents at the cost of one. At first nce it looked like they held the upper hand, but thebat cultivator waspletely incapacitated. There was no way he would be able to participate in the battle royale. Depending on who the enemy group sent next, they could easily overturn this advantage.
On the opposing Spirit Peak, the young man was wearing a dark expression on his face. He was clearly displeased with his juniors performance. The first fight could have gone either way, but the second fight shouldve gone in the spell cultivators favor even if he was one minor realm weaker. His opponent was greatly weakened from the previous fight after all. Instead, thebat cultivator had managed to eke out a draw.
The young man thought for a moment before saying, Jiang Liuzi, you go!
He wasnt going to send his helpers into battle so soon. He had no doubt they would crush Xia Qianqians group if they did. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible.
Jiang Liuzi and Jiang Chengzi were a pair of brothers. Not only were they incredibly powerful, they had been strong enough to be the champions of the Scroll of Supremacy. The only reason they hadnt was because the top spot had been upied by an absolute monster for over a decade. Even the second spot had been upied by Yang Xing of the Raving desmen for almost as long.
As a result, they could only go as far as the third and fourth spot.
They were hardly the only ones who had suffered in the hands of the Two Tumorsandter, Threeof the Scroll of Supremacy. Despite being qualified to be the champion, they just werent lucky enough to be born before or after they were gone.
It was all Li Baxians fault. If it wasnt for him, both Feng Yuechan and Yan Xing wouldve left the Spirit Creek Battlefield a long time ago.
They did hear that Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had finally ascended to the Cloud River Realm half a year ago. Many Thousand Demon Ridge Cloud River Realm cultivators had been searching for them to repay the favor.
In fact, there was practically no one in the current Cloud River Battlefield who hadnt heard of the duo. After all, most of them had grown up looking up at them in despair.
That said, this was the Cloud River Battlefield. They might be invincible in the past, but now their cultivation level was even lower than theirs. There was no way these Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were going to give up such an excellent opportunity to get revenge.
To put it simply, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were facing exactly the same situation as Lu Ye before he ascended to Heaven Nine and dominated all opposition. Wherever they went, chaos was sure to follow.
It was pure luck that the young man managed to recruit the Jiang brothers to help him. It was why he was absolutely confident that they would win the Arcane de. The battle was already won, his enemies just didnt know it yet.
As soon as he said this, a young man who looked to be eighteen at best replied dully, Sure!
He jumped over a cliff and slowly floated into the valley.
Meanwhile, the ghost cultivator and the spell cultivator on Xia Qianqians side let out a sigh of relief after inspecting their fellow sect mates injuries and confirming that it wasnt life-threatening.
When they saw Jiang Liuzi entering the valley, the ghost cultivator said with a frown, Theyre sending their helper already? Ill go test his mettle.
Careful! Xia Qianqian warned sternly.
Their opponent had lost two matches in a row, and they were sending in one of their helpers already. Clearly, they were aiming to secure the third match. With that in mind, she could not imagine that the third opponent would be weak.
Ghost cultivators possessed a unique advantage over strong opponents, however. It did not matter what cultivation level their enemy was. Given the right opportunity, they ate cultivators who were one or even multiple minor realms above them for breakfast.
The ghost cultivator quickly concealed himself and vanished to Heavens-know-where.
In the valley, Jiang Liuzi simply stood where he was as still as a statue. The mountain wind reeked faintly of killing intent.
Suddenly, the silence was disturbed by a sh of sword, a dull groan and cry of shock. Then, the ghost cultivator appeared out of nowhere with a bone deep wound in his chest.
His shock was palpable even from the Spirit Peak.
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Chapter 492: I’ll Go
Chapter 492: Ill Go
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There were many types of cultivators in Jiu Zhou, but the worst match-up for a ghost cultivator was without a doubt a ward cultivator.
It was because a ward cultivator could set up wards that would hinder a ghost cultivator in all sorts of ways. The powerful ones could even create wards with a single thought. There was just no way for a ghost cultivator to get close to one and assassinate them.
Other types of cultivators did not get such luxury. Generally speaking, their best counter against a ghost cultivator was to stay put.
It wasnt an easy tactic to pull off though. For starters, it required a tremendous amount of courage and self-confidence to pull off. It was because the moment a ghost cultivator revealed themselves was also the moment they executed their killing move. If they could not counter the attack, then they would just die.
This was how Jiang Liuzi had defeated his opponent. He had not managed to detect the ghost cultivator until he unleashed his attack, but he was also aware that a ghost cultivator must get close to him before executing their killing move. That was his opening tounch his counter attack.
His sword was unbelievably swift. He had blocked the ghost cultivators killing move and wounded him at the same time.
The exchange had barelysted an instant, but the ghost cultivator was seriously injured already. If his instinct hadnt urged him to take a step backward, he wouldve died from the attack already.
That was just how deadly sword cultivators were.His opponent wasnt done, however. As the ghost cultivator backed away, he caught a glimpse of a sky full of swords speeding toward him. Feeling as cold as an iceberg, he immediately pped a Golden Body Talisman Paper on his body and cried out, I surrender!
There was a series of tutting sounds before the golden light protecting the ghost cultivator shattered. One of the swords pierced through his right chest and triggered a shower of blood.
Having just barely survived the enemys exchange, the ghost cultivator immediately jumped into the air and escaped back to the Spirit Peak. He rxed only when he was caught by Xia Qianqian.
He would be dead if he hadnt used the Middle Grade Golden Body Talisman Paper in time. Even so, he was injured so badly that it was unlikely he would be able to participate in the battle royale.
Sword cultivators were infamous for their killing arts for a reason.
In the valley, Jiang Liuzi remained rooted where he was as if he had beaten the ghost cultivator without moving a muscle. A couple of swords were floating around him, and he was holding a sword with his right hand and folding his left arm behind his back. He looked very impressive right now.
Cheers immediately broke out from the opposite Spirit Peak. There was no doubt that Jiang Liuzis easy and instantaneous victory had uplifted their morale tremendously.
On the other hand, everyone in Xia Qianqians group was wearing grim looks on their faces. The female spell cultivator in particr looked as pale as a sheet. The mere idea of going up against the sword cultivator was enough to make her quake in her boots.
During the early stages of a cultivators life, spell cultivators were easily the bane of allbat cultivators. It was because the spell cultivator held an overwhelming range advantage over thebat cultivator. Theoretically speaking, thebat cultivator was nothing more than target practice to a spell cultivator as long as they could be kept at bay.
This advantage gradually disappeared as everyone grew stronger, however. At the Cloud River Realm level, there was no one a spell cultivator feared more than a sword cultivator. It was because their speed was among the highest, of course. It was practically impossible for a spell cultivator to keep a sword cultivator at bay with their spells, and once the sword cultivator got close enough to attack them, their fragile body meant that there was almost no chance they might survive an attack.
This was doubly true for the female spell cultivator because she was only at the Fourth-Order. It would be a miracle if she managed to put even a scratch on Jiang Liuzis body.
Ill do it, The body-tempering cultivator cracked his neck before striding toward the battlefield, causing the female spell cultivator to let out a clear sigh of relief.
After the body-tempering cultivatornded on the valley, he raised a Shield Spirit Artifact and lowered his stance slightly. Despite hisrge stature, the shield was big enough to cover his frontpletely. Earthen yellow Spiritual Power and blood red vitality mingled together into an orange aura that protected him from all sides. Finally, he assumed a defensive stance.
For a body-tempering cultivator, all-out defense was their only viable tactic against a true sword cultivator. There was no way he could outspeed Jiang Liuzi, so charging him would just be a waste of time. He would only be humiliating himself if he tried.
All-out defense would allow him to exhaust his enemys power and give him the opportunity tond a counter attack. In fact, it was his only method of winning against any opponent who was faster than him.
Sadly, assuming that both sides shared the same cultivation level, the body-tempering cultivator was almost always slower than their opponent. This meant that they almost never got to seize the initiative of a battle.
Jiang Liuzi didnt do anything. Not yet. He simply waited for the body-tempering cultivator to finish his preparations. He waspletely looking down on his opponent, and to be fair, he possessed the right to be arrogant.
Sword cultivators were notorious for their deadliness. The body-tempering cultivator could literally transform into a tortoise and hide in his shell, and the sword cultivator might yet cut him in half.
The second the body-tempering cultivator was ready, the swords floating around Jiang Liuzi abruptly shot toward him. Giant metallic sparks flew everywhere as they mmed into the Shield Spirit Artifact and shook the body-tempering cultivator repeatedly.
The one-sided offense continued for about three breaths before the number of lights flying about the body-tempering cultivator abruptly increased. It was Jiang Liuzi bringing out more swords to attack the poor guy from multiple angles. While the body-tempering cultivator was able to block most of the swords with his Shield Spirit Artifact, a small number of them were able to slip through the gaps and pierced through his protective aura.
The body-tempering cultivator was definitely sturdy though. The protective aura made of Spiritual Power and vitality was so dense that even Jiang Liuzis swords could only leave some insignificant wounds on his body.
It wasnt long before the body-tempering cultivator suffered cuts across his whole body. However, the man hadnt made a sound throughout the fight, almost as if he wasnt the one who was being attacked.
The body-tempering cultivator hadnt been idle during the one-sided attack. He was observing his opponent for openings and preparing tounch a counterattack as well.
If a sword cultivator was the bane of all spell cultivators at the Cloud River Realm level, then the bane of all sword cultivators would be a sturdy body-tempering cultivator.
While sword cultivators possessed some of the strongest offensive power of all types of cultivators, their greatest strength was also their greatest weakness. It was because they sacrificed endurance in favor of higher damage output. Given enough time, they almost always ran out of stamina and Spiritual Power before other cultivators.
That was why a sturdy body-tempering cultivator was the best counter to a sword cultivator. It was also why the body-tempering cultivator had offered to challenge Jiang Liuzi.
The female spell cultivator might be terrified of a sword cultivatorand for good reasonhe wasnt. As long as he could oust his enemys greatest assault, he would be able to turn the tables on them.
Jiang Liuzis assaultsted an entire cup of teas time. It was to the point where even the body-tempering cultivators Shield Spirit Artifact had dimmed considerably. As for the body-tempering cultivator himself, his back looked like it was stitched together by cuts, not skin.
It was at this moment the body-tempering cultivator suddenly noticed that his opponents attacks had be weak. Even the duration between each attack had be noticeably longer.
A steely glint entered his eyes. He knew that the time tounch his counterattack had arrived.
He bent down a little beforeunching himself forward with both legs. Still holding his Shield Spirit Artifact in front of him, he swiftly shortened the distance between himself and Jiang Liuzi like an arrow.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Each step he took shook the earth like an earthquake.
Jiang Liuzis expression did not change despite the iing threat. At the same time, the sky of swords abruptly converged in front of him to form a gigantic sword.
The sword was exactly ten meters long. It emanated a terrifying amount of Spiritual Power.
The body-tempering cultivators pupils constricted when he realized the danger. He immediately came to a stop and raised his Shield Spirit Artifact above his head. Crouching a little and sinking his feet into the ground, he cycled his vitality and Spiritual Power to the max and caused his orange aura to shine like the sun.
Jiang Liuzi gestured at the body-tempering cultivator before whispering, Cut!
The gigantic sword immediately dropped down on the body-tempering cultivators head.
There was a massive explosion as light filled the valley. For a time, the spectators could not even see what was going on on the battlefield, much less perceive the state of the twobatants.
When the light finally faded, Xia Qianqian was standing on the battlefield and blocking at least a dozen swords with a thick Spiritual Power Shield. Lying on the ground behind her was the bloodied body-tempering cultivator. It was impossible to say if he was still alive.
If Xia Qianqian hadnt rescued the body-tempering in time, Jiang Liuzi wouldve killed him, one hundred percent.
Jiang Liuzi raised his eyebrows. He was obviously displeased with the interruption.
Xia Qianqian said expressionlessly, He surrenders!
Jiang Liuzi stubbornly held Xia Qianqians gaze, however. The spell cultivator narrowed her eyes dangerously as she added, Are you trying to provoke me? Are you sure?
On the opposite Spirit Peak, the young man called out, Since Fellow Cultivator Xia has called for surrender on behalf of the body-tempering cultivator, let him go, Jiang Liuzi!
He did not want to escte this into an all-out, no holds barred battle, if he did, there was no way Jiang Liuzi was a match for Xia Qianqian. Their cultivation level was just too far apart.
It was only then the sword cultivator finally withdrew his sword.
Xia Qianqian stared at him for a while longer before wrapping the unconscious body-tempering cultivator with her Spiritual Power and carrying him back to the Spirit Peak.
The sword cultivator remained unmoved. He resembled an invincible war god.
On the Spirit Peak, the Fourth-Order spell cultivator looked like she could cry at any moment. Senior sister, theres no way I can fight that guy.
Jiang Liuzi was able to crush even a Fifth-Order body-tempering cultivator. What could she, a Fourth-Order spell cultivator, possibly do against him? Try to act cute and get him to lower his guard? Judging from his no-nonsense appearance, it would probably end in failure anyway!
Meanwhile, Xia Qianqian was scrunching her pretty eyebrows while checking the body-tempering cultivators injuries. So far, every single one of their cultivators had been seriously injured. Although they were not in danger of dying, it was impossible to expect them to participate in the battle royale.
On the other hand, the enemy group had only lost their spell cultivator. Their firstbatant, abat cultivator, was still battle ready.
Her fears hade true. The situation was extremely disadvantageous toward them right now.
She looked at Lu Ye.
The n was for him to gost, but it would seem that that was no longer possible.
Ill go.
Lu Ye got the message and stepped forward.
He didnt care when his turn was. He had been paid to participate in this battle, and so he would.
The sword cultivator named Jiang Liuzi was definitely exceptional. Lu Ye reckoned that he was at least a top ten ranker back on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
But so what? During the few months he dominated the Scroll of Supremacy, Lan Ziyi was the only one who earned his respect. Everyone else was trashpared to her.
He was a little disadvantaged, sure. He was two minor realms lower than his enemy.
But again, so what? Since he became a cultivator, he had always fought enemies who were technically stronger than him and came out ahead.
He slowly descended to the valley and stopped about a hundred and sixty meters away from Jiang Liuzi.
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Chapter 493: Something Smells Fishy
Chapter 493: Something Smells Fishy
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In terms of age, Lu Ye and Jiang Liuzi were practically peers. They were both geniuses to be able to enter the Cloud River Battlefield as young as they were.
However, Lu Ye was currently covering his face with a fox mask. Jiang Liuzi could tell from his appearance that he was a man, but that was it.
This greatly displeased Jiang Liuzi. Generally speaking, a person who needed to hide their face in day-to-day dealings was bad news.
That wasnt the only thing that frustrated the sword cultivator. He was unable to tell what type of cultivator Lu Ye was.
At first nce, Lu Ye looked like abat cultivator. Only abat cultivator would choose to wear tight-fitting clothes that did not restrict their movement. On the opposite spectrum, only spell cultivators would choose to wear baggy clothes with massive sleeves.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was also carrying a small, white-colored Spirit Beast on his shoulder, so perhaps he was a Beast Tamer. He could not say for certain though. There were many cultivators who took a Spirit Beast with them on their journey, but not all of them were Beast Tamers.
So, he was facing off against someone who might or might not be abat cultivator and/or a Beast Tamer. The thought alone made him, a sword cultivator who dedicated his life solely to the sword, feel like puking. The guy in front of him had to be a treacherous bastard who used deception and underhanded methods to win his battles, or he would not need these disguises. Speaking of disguises, the face mask he chose to cover his face was absolutely loathsome. It was clearly another way to keep him on his toes.
Jiang Liuzi immediatelyunched a flying sword at Lu Ye after that.Most sword cultivators had a one track mind. In Jiang Liuzis case, there was no one he loathed more than crafty little shits who swindled their way to victory. It did not matter what type of cultivator Lu Ye was. He would know once he forced him to act!
The flying sword moved so fast that it crossed over a hundred meters of distance in nearly an instant. Jiang Liuzi expected Lu Ye to dodge out of the way, but to his surprise, Lu Ye responded by unleashing a flying weapon of his own. Sparks erupted from the point of impact as sword shed against sword.
[Hes fast!]
For the first time, a sliver of eagerness entered Jiang Liuzis expression. Although the exchange was brief, it was enough for him to glimpse a lot of things. For starters, he could tell that his opponent possessed incredible reaction speed. Second, he was tremendously confident in his own abilities. He would not have been able to remain calm and react perfectly to a sword cultivators sword otherwise.
This was exactly the type of opponent a sword cultivator needed to face to hone themselves! He wouldnt say that his previous opponents were weak, but they were unable to draw out his interest at all because theycked certain qualities.
His first sword was blocked, but that was hardly the only flying weapon Jiang Liuzi possessed. Another three flew toward Lu Ye from different angles.
Lu Ye met the attack head on with another three flying weapons of his own.
ng ng ng!
Metallic ngs resounded throughout the valley as the six swords shed in the space between the two cultivators. It sounded like a mini war was going on even though neither man moved a muscle.
A short whileter, Jiang Liuzis expression morphed into surprise. It was because he realized that he was losing the flying weapon duel!
They were both controlling four flying weapons, but his opponents telekinesis skills were clearly superior to his. Not only was Lu Ye controlling his swords like his own finger, he noticed that the weapons would sh from time to time. Every time they did, their speed and power would increase drastically.
[Bastard just how strong is his mind to ovee me in a flying weapon duel?]
What shocked Jiang Liuzi even more was Lu Yes Spiritual Power. He could sense that he was just a Third-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator!
Jiang Liuzi was usually the one challenging opponents whose cultivation level was higher than his. He had never been on the receiving end and losing until now, not to mention that Lu Ye was two minor realms below him! It was so absurd that, for a second, he actually wondered if he was hallucinating.
Realizing that his enemy was going to push back against him if he did not do something soon, Jiang Liuzi gritted his teeth and unleashed another nine swords.
If his skill wasnt on par with his enemys, then he wouldpensate for that weakness with quantity!
The battle immediately climbed to a new level of intensity as a dozen swords chased after each other in the air. While keeping his enemies flying weapons busy, Jiang Liuzi sent the rest after Lu Ye himself.
Lu Ye still had swords to spare, however. His final three flying swords exited his Weapon Holder with a whoosh.
The sh continued, and Jiang Liuzi felt even more frustrated than before. Despite having deployed at least a dozen flying swords, he was only able to fight Lu Ye to a standstill. In fact, he strongly suspected that Lu Ye could control more than nine flying weapons. He could not possibly disy the level of fine control he was disying otherwise.
He was right. Lu Ye could control more than nine flying weapons. In fact, he could control more since he was just a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. The reason he didnt refine more flying weapons was out of consideration of their offensive power and their upkeep when deployed.
Lu Ye was abat cultivator. He excelled in many areas thanks to the Tree of Glyphs, but his main fighting style was ultimately close-quarterbat. From his perspective, the Way of Telekinesis was just one way to deal with enemies beyond his normal range. He saw no need to push it to its absolute limits, not to mention that the Weapon Holder could only nurture a maximum of nine flying weapons.
Killing intent shed across Jiang Liuzis expression as he unleashed another ten flying swords!
[Lets see how you deal with this!] He thought grimly to himself.
It wasnt a bad tactic. Lu Ye literally did not have any more flying weapons to spare, and the ten flying swords wereing at him from multiple directions. Left with no choice, thebat cultivator channeled his Fire Attribute Spiritual Power into one hand and fired a Fire Phoenix at the iing swords. The Fire Phoenix looked so lifelike that even the feathers were clearly visible.
At the same time, he fired a Fire Dragon technique with the other hand.
On the Spirit Peak, the Fourth-Order spell cultivator cried out in surprise after seeing this, What incredible cast speed! Is he a spell cultivator, senior sister?
Just like Jiang Liuzi, the female spell cultivator still hadnt figured out what type of cultivator Lu Ye was even now. It wasnt like she could ask him about it. It was only now that she had a good reference point to venture a guess.
Instead of answering, Xia Qianqian recalled her experiences in the Myriad Beasts Domain. Once upon a time, she naively thought that Lu Ye was a purebat cultivator as well. However, she gradually learned how wrong she was when Lu Ye disyed his attainment in Beast Taming, wards, spells and more
Sometimes, Xia Qianqian literally wondered if Lu Ye was a monster d in human skin. Was it truly possible for anyone to be this talented? There were countless wannabes who tried to dabble in multiple Ways especially during the start of their cultivation journey. Most of them failed miserably, and the few who seeded never truly excelled in their secondary cultivations. Lu Ye was the only one she ever knew who dabbled in multiple Ways and, against all odds, excelled in all of them.
Just look at the spells he was casting right now. Anyone wouldve believed that he was a true spell cultivator judging from their power and cast speed. There was no way he could cast as quickly as he did if he hadnt invested an enormous amount of time into studying and practicing his spells.
However, as someone who had fought side by side with Lu Ye, Xia Qianqian knew that that would be a huge mistake.
In the valley, the battle had risen to a new crescendo after the probing stage was over. Swords and spells flew all over the battlefield.
Lu Ye had picked up the Fire Phoenix technique and Fire Dragon technique way back when he cultivated the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic. Naturally, he wouldnt forget these spell techniques. This was especially true for the Fire Phoenix Technique. Ever since he obtained the Glyph: Fire Phoenix, he had been getting better and better at casting the spell. It was also a lot more powerful than before.
However, the Fire Dragon technique and Fire Phoenix technique werent the only spell techniques he could cast. He had unlocked many spell-type Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs including Golden Arc, Lightning Invoking, Leaf Dance, Fire, Water Arrow and Earth Protrusion. If he constructed the Glyphs individually, he could totally use them to st his enemies into smithereens. Of course, he could also use them to set up offensive wards and so on. It all depended on where and how he applied the Glyphs.
He had never intended to be a spell cultivator, but there was no denying that he was going further and further down the Way due to the Tree of Glyphs unlocking these Glyphs. If he wanted to pretend to be a spell cultivator, literally no one could see through his disguise.
Unfortunately, he could never fool anyone on the Spirit Creek Battlefield because everyone knew Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was a saber-usingbat cultivator. They might be wowed by his spell proficiency, but they would never mistake him for an actual spell cultivator.
It was different in the Cloud River Battlefield though. Even before he acquired the face masks, no one had recognized him as Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Meanwhile, Jiang Liuzi thought he discovered the truth when he saw Lu Ye casting the multiple spells to block his flying swords. [Hes a spell cultivator!]
Rage immediately followed the realization. As a sword cultivator, thest cultivator he was afraid of was a spell cultivator. It was because he was their natural counter.
However, not only was said spell cultivator blocking all of his flying swords right now, the sonuvabitch was two minor realms below him!
How could he possibly endure this humiliation?
An ordinary cultivator wouldve found the shame unbearable, let alone someone as prideful as Jiang Liuzi.
Previously, he only used his flying swords because he thought his telekinesis was enough to defeat or y Lu Ye. It was also amon probing technique.
Unfortunately, reality proved to be a harsh mistress. Who would have thought that he, a top ten ranker of the Scroll of Supremacy and a powerful sword cultivator, would be outdone by a spell cultivator who was two minor realms below him? Then again, he shouldve known that the world was a vast ce.
[If telekinesis isnt enough to defeat him, then]
Jiang Liuzi abruptly withdrew all of his flying swords. At the same time, a sword appeared in his hand seemingly out of nowhere. When he wiped his fingers across the de, and his Spiritual Power surged, the flying swords started spinning around him like a hurricane. While hidden behind a storm of flying swords, Jiang Liuziunched himself forward and charged toward Lu Ye at high speed.
All the spells and flying weapons Lu Ye fired at him were blocked by the de hurricane. Not only that, the sword cultivator reached Lu Yes nk in the blink of an eye.
No one truly saw how Jiang Liuzi got there. Sword cultivators were just that fast.
Without pause, Jiang Liuzi thrust his sword toward Lu Yes neck.
[Die!]
On the Spirit Peak, the female spell cultivator let out a cry of surprise and fear. Xia Qianqians heartbeat had quickened as well.
Although she knew Lu Ye was strong enough to defeat opponents above his cultivation level, it was clear that Jiang Liuzi was no ordinary Fifth-Order sword cultivator. It was a coin toss whether Lu Ye could actually defeat his opponent.
Jiang Liuzi was sure he could kill Lu Ye with the strike, but his expression morphed into shock all of a sudden. It was because he noticed a saber appearing in Lu Yes hand at the same time he thrust his sword forward!
[Something smells fishy about this!]
Lu Yes raging Spiritual Power was abruptly withdrawn into his body. At the same time, he ced one hand on the Invible and another on the sheath. His vitality began churning and mingling with Ambers.
His right arm swelled a little, and there was a brief lull that was not unlike the calm before the storm. Then, violent energy poured out of Lu Ye like a volcanic eruption.
sh!
The saber left its sheath, spilling blood and sending Jiang Liuzi flying even faster than he was charging earlier. His eyes widened in disbelief even as he did his best to catch himself.
The saber shed again, and a crescent-shaped energy flew straight toward him.
Boom
That wasnt all. Lu Ye kicked off the ground hard enough to crack it and followed behind his own energy attack like a shadow. At the same time, he controlled all nine of his flying weapons to attack Jiang Liuzi from all sides.
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Chapter 494: How Is He So Lucky
Chapter 494: How Is He So Lucky
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Jiang Liuzi felt his blood turning into ice. He felt as if he had identally disturbed an ancient beasts slumber, and the angry creature was now attacking him with all its power. He could barely breathe from the sheer amount of pressure pressing down on him from all sides.
[This bastard hes abat cultivator!]
It was only now that Jiang Liuzi finally realized Lu Yes true Faction. The foxy bastard was really abat cultivator. Everything he had shown off until now was a ruse meant to mislead him!
[How deceitful!]
There was no time to be distracted, however. Jiang Liuzi quickly cleared his mind and conjured multiple energy blooms with his sword. However, Lu Ye easily cut them all with his me-wreathed, Sharp Edge-empowered saber. It wasnt long before metal shed against metal, and Jiang Liuzi was flung uncontrobly into the air once more. A massive, bone-deep wound had appeared on his chest as well. The wound was inflicted when Lu Ye was surprised earlier.
Jiang Liuzi had defeated two opponents beforehand, and the fight against the body-tempering cultivator especially had used up much of his reserves. Now that he was seriously injured as well, his cool was lost as a matter of course. Even his aura was starting to grow a little disjointed.
Every strike Lu Ye dished out felt almost impossible to block. His violent strength and impossible speed wasnt something a Third-Order cultivator should possess at all. Looking at his explosive power alone, Jiang Liuzi could almost believe that Lu Ye was a body-tempering cultivator who honed his body. After all, brute strength was a body-tempering cultivators greatest strength and privilege.
His speed though, that was something even he, a Fifth-Order sword cultivator, could not hope to match.As if that wasnt bad enough, something was extremely off about his saber. Sometimes, a blow would feel as light as a feather. Sometimes, he felt as if he was trying to block a literal mountain. The only warning he got was the intermittent shes. It was impossible to guard against it effectively.
No matter how much he backed away, he was unable to weaken his opponents storm-like assault by even a little. In less than ten breaths, he had suffered a couple more wounds that exposed his bones. The worst of them all was a prating wound. Normally, a prating wound wasnt a big problem as long as it didnt hit a vital spot, but Jiang Liuzi clearly felt something erupting inside his body right as the saber pierced through his flesh. It was many tiny spikes skewering his internal organs!
His energy was swiftly leaving his body. He was literally seeing double due to how much blood he had lost. Despite this, he refused to surrender the battle.
He was a sword cultivator, and a sword cultivator would rather break than bend to another! He would rather die than surrender to his enemy!
If he had one regret, it would be falling for Lu Yes ruse just because his spells looked as impressive as a spell cultivators. If he wasnt so certain in his judgment, he might have been able to avoid taking that decisive blow and put on a better fight.
The sword cultivator had encountered plenty of deceitful people in his life, but he had never encountered one as cunning as Lu Ye. His earlier performance was just too convincing. Since when was abat cultivator capable of casting arge variety of spells at high speed? The spells were pretty powerful as well. Anyone wouldve thought that he was a spell cultivator.
When Jiang Liuzi nced at Lu Ye once more, he felt as if thebat cultivator was silently mocking him from behind his mask. He immediately lost control of hisposure and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Jiang Liuzi gritted his teeth and began pouring all of his Spiritual Power into his sword. The Spiritual Artifact began shining like a mini sun.
Jiang Liuzis intention was obvious to Lu Ye, but he saw no reason to be afraid whatsoever. He was dominating the sword cultivator in every manner possible. He was confident he could block Jiang Liuzis trump card no matter what it was.
His vitality surged and mingled even closer with Ambers. Theirbined vitality began flowing into his right arm.
Before Lu Yes could execute his de technique and end Jiang Liuzis life though, he suddenly frowned and leaped at least thirty meters back.
Meanwhile, Jiang Liuzi had finished channeling his final move and fired a shockingly powerful sword beam at Lu Ye. However, a figure descended from above and blocked the attack with his hand. He was none other than the young man leading the opposing group.
The young man was in the Ninth-Order, but Jiang Liuzis final move still managed to drive him back a few steps and disturb his aura a little. After he caught his footing, he faced toward Lu Ye and dered with a frown, I surrender on behalf of mypanion!
He could do this because Xia Qianqian had set a precedent earlier. He also knew Jiang Liuzi was probably going to die here if he refused to step out.
The problem with sword cultivators was that they were as bad-tempered as they were one-track-minded. If Lu Yes cultivation level was identical or higher than Jiang Liuzis, then the sword cultivator couldve swallowed this defeat. However, Lu Ye was two minor realms below him. How could he possibly endure such humiliation?
It would damage or even destroy his sword heart to surrender to a theoretically weaker foe.
As soon as the young man finished his deration, he heard something hitting the ground with a dull thud. He turned around and saw that it was a bloodied Jiang Liuzi dropping to his knees. That final move had clearly depleted all of his strength.
The young man then turned back toward Lu Ye and said, Youre incredible!
What else could he say? The mysterious young man had literally defeated Jiang Liuzi, a powerful sword cultivator who was two minor realms above him. Sure, there was a bit of deception involved, but that didnt mean he was weak by any means. If anything, it proved the opposite.
[Just who is this guy?]
The young man was sure that Lu Ye was pretty famous in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Judging from his cultivation level, he could not have entered the Cloud River Battlefield more than half a year ago.
In any case, it shouldnt be difficult to discern his identity despite the face mask. All he had to do was ask around to see if there was anyone in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who distinguished themselves in the past half a year or so.
The young man carried the unconscious Jiang Liuzi in his arms and flew away. Lu Ye stayed where he was and waited for his next opponent to step up.
To be fair, his fight against Jiang Liuzi wasntpletely fair. For starters, the sword cultivator had used up some of his strength during the earlier fights. Two, his deception and subsequent surprise attack was literally perfect. No onenot even hecouldve figured out his true fighting style and reacted ordingly. A surprise attack that powerful could only be blocked with sufficient preparation and defense, and sword cultivators were hardly famous for their defense.
Of course, Lu Ye was confident he couldve beaten Jiang Liuzi in a perfectly fair fight. His opponent wasnt weak, but hisposure could definitely use some work. It would just take a bit of work, was all.
On the Spirit Peak, the Fourth-Order spell cultivators mouth had turned into an O-shape. It would remain that way for a very, very long time.
When she thought that Lu Ye was a spell cultivator, she was still worried for his safety despite his exceptional performance. That was because a sword cultivator just possessed too much of an advantage over a spell cultivator. The fight would be over as soon as the sword cultivator got close enough to attack them.
When Jiang Liuzi appeared next to Lu Ye almost like magic and attempted to stab him, she thought for sure that was the end of the battle and Lu Yes life. Then, the young man had pulled out a saber out of seemingly nowhere and proceeded to whoop Jiang Liuzis ass so hard even his mother wouldnt be able to recognize him. It was such a drastic turn of events that the woman was unable to regain herposure even now.
Is is he abat cultivator, senior sister? the spell cultivator asked a little toote.
I guess, Xia Qianqian replied vaguely. No onebel truly fit Lu Ye.
Hes incredible! The spell cultivator dered ecstatically and admiringly. She had no idea where her senior sister found him, but he was beyond incredible to put it mildly.
Jiang Liuzi had already wowed her to no end, but Lu Ye had made him look like a small fry. The world truly was a vast ce. Lu Yes genius made an ordinary cultivator like her feel as small as an ant.
On the opposite Spirit Peak, after the young man finished inspecting Jiang Liuzis injuries with another cultivator, he warned, Be careful. Somethings fishy about that guy!
No one could have anticipated this oue. It was so unbelievable that the Ninth-Order young man even wondered if Lu Ye was wearing a Spirit Artifact that concealed his true cultivation level. After all, how was it possible for a Third-Order cultivator to be this powerful?
The youngster he was speaking to shared simr features with Jiang Liuzi. He just looked a little shadier than the sword cultivator. He nodded and dered, That bastard wont live to see another day!
The youngsters name was Jiang Chengzi, and Lu Ye had just destroyed his blood-rted brother. Of course the youngster was beyond livid. On the inside, he swore to engrave the word terror into Lu Yes heart before killing him.
In a fair fight, Jiang Liuzi would beat him ten out of ten times. But when it came to killing, not even three Jiang Liuzis were a match for him. It was because he was a ghost cultivator!
Jiang Chengzi leaped over the cliff andnded in the valley. He then ran straight toward Lu Ye.
Lu Ye watched as the ghost cultivator turned invisible after taking just a few steps. Jiang Chengzi couldnt see his expression, but he was just barely suppressing the urge to chuckle.
[A ghost cultivator, huh.]
Of all the known cultivation factions, there was no one Lu Ye loved to face more than a ghost cultivator. It was because they loved nothing more than to exploit their connection to the Nether, skulk over to their target, and attack them from behind.
Heres the problem: Ever since Lu Ye left the Lost City of Xianyuan, he had encountered exactly one ghost cultivator who managed to remain concealed from his senses, and that was only because the ghost cultivator never entered his range until the end. As for the others, it was as if they werent evenmuning with the Nether!
Imagine that you were a ghost cultivator, and you were sneaking up to your target while your concealment skill was running at full capacity. You had no reason to believe that your target was able to sense you at all. Then, right as you were about to assassinate them, they turned around and put a saber right through your heart!
Just how scary was that?
In any case, a ghost cultivator who could not conceal themselves was just a poor mansbat cultivator. In fact, they were far inferior to theirbative counterparts in terms ofbat abilities!
The second Lu Ye saw his opponent turning invisible, he immediately applied Insight to his eyes and rushed forward. His view changed drastically, and all kinds of invisible colors suddenly entered his view.
Lu Ye had a hard time adapting to Insight the first time he constructed the Glyph. Now, he had long since adapted to the strange view.
On the other hand, Jiang Chengzi was both surprised and impressed that Lu Ye would dare to rush him, a ghost cultivator. Generally speaking, the best way to deal with a ghost cultivator was to stay where you were. It was how Jiang Liuzi had defeated his ghost cultivator earlier.
Most of the time, a cultivator who charged a ghost cultivator who just turned invisible was hoping to score a lucky hit. Theoretically speaking, they could knock the ghost cultivator out of their invisibility right from the get go if they were lucky enough to attack the right location, and if their attack covered a wide enough space.
Unfortunately, the tactic rarely worked in practice. In Jiang Chengzis case, every single opponent who had tried this tactic against him had had their asses handed to them. From his perspective, he was sure that Lu Ye was attempting the same tactic.
He quickly discovered that he was wrong, however. Although Lu Ye was charging toward him, he wasnt attacking at all. To be specific, he was expecting Lu Ye to cast a massive spell or execute a wide-reaching de technique or something. Instead, he merelyunched his nine flying weapons toward his exact location!
Jiang Chengzi frowned and swerved out of the way. However, the flying weapons abruptly scattered in every direction and knocked Jiang Chengzi out of his invisibility.
While holding a dagger in front of his faceit was how he had parried the sudden attackJiang Chengzi screamed inside his heart, [How is the sonuvabitch so lucky!?]
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Chapter 495: And The Winner Is…
Chapter 495: And The Winner Is
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Jiang Chengzi lookedpletely astonished as he reappeared into view. He never imagined that Lu Ye would be able to break his invisibility in just a matter of seconds.
He did not think it was because Lu Ye was capable of sensing him, however. He attributed the sess to pure, unadulterated luck. After all, how many people had done what Lu Ye did and actually seeded in forcing a ghost cultivator to reveal themselves right from the get go? There was a reason staying still was considered the superior tactic in dealing with a ghost cultivator, not the opposite.
He had just sent the flying weapon flying when his vision abruptly darkened without warning. He looked up just in time to see a fox mask with nted eyes and pointed lips looming over him like a tombstone.
Jiang Chengzis astonishment was interrupted by a sh of metal and rm bells ringing loudly in his head. He hurriedly raised his dagger to parry the second attack, but
Kuang!
He was sessful, but he was immediately ovee by the same shock his brother had felt when he was being pushed back by Lu Ye. [What the hell is this strength!?]
Jiang Chengzi kept falling as Lu Ye continued the assault like a storm. Just five breathster, he hit the ground hard enough to leave a small pit. The ghost cultivator bared his teeth and hissed in pain as hey motionlessly in the pit. He felt as if his elbow was broken, and there wasnt a part of his body that didnt hurt like a bitch.
It was true that he was a ghost cultivator. It was also true that he couldnt perform nearly as well as abat cultivator in a straight fight. However, he was a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm ghost cultivator, and his opponent a mere Third-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator! Just how was it possible for Lu Ye to suppress him so easily?Suddenly, he felt death falling toward him from above. He hurriedly cried out, I surrender!
The saber that wouldve taken his life stopped just short of his forehead. In fact, the tip of the de exuded just enough Spiritual Power to pierce his skin and bleed him. Despite himself, Jiang Chengzi still broke out in cold sweat. If he had been a millisecond slower, he would be on his way to the Underworld already.
His brother might be a sword cultivator who would rather die than surrender to someone who was technically his inferior, he didnt share the sentiment. He was a ghost cultivator. Sure, it was humiliating to lose to an opponent who was two minor realms below his cultivation level, but being humiliated was still better than being dead. Plus, this was a job, not a feud. There was no need to risk his neck for a job.
Lu Ye withdrew his saber, and Jiang Chengzi hurriedly climbed to his feet and flew away from him.
On the Spirit Peak, the Fourth-Order female spell cultivator blurted unconsciously, Unthinkable
She knew that Lu Ye was strong, but she never expected him to take out the enemy ghost cultivator so quickly. Individual strength did not matter too much when going up against a ghost cultivator because they specialized in killing cultivators who were one or even multiple minor realms above their level. There were countless aplished cultivators who ultimately sumbed to ghost cultivators despite their legend and aplishments because their abilities were practically cheating given the right circumstances.
The spell cultivator had been worried for Lu Yes safety when Jiang Chengzi had concealed himself. Then, thebat cultivator ended the fight so quickly it was like the ghost cultivator had never turned invisible.
She and her sect mates were practically trashpared to him!
On the opposite Spirit Peak, the Ninth-Order young man was watching Lu Ye with a frown. His side still had one Fifth-Order body-tempering cultivator, but he knew there was no chance he would be able to win after watching Lu Yes performance. So, he looked toward the opposite Spirit Peak and dered, Thisst-man-standing is yours.
What was the point of continuing this bout when the winner had already been decided? When he recruited the Jiang brothers at the beginning, he thought for sure that victory was perfectly within his grasp. However, Xia Qianqian had managed to surprise him.
[Just who is that bastard?]
The young man was brimming with curiosity right now.
Shall we move on with the battle royale then? Xia Qianqian asked.
The young man looked hesitant. I dont know. Over half ourbatants are incapacitated, arent they?
At first, they were hoping to have ast-man-standing, a battle royale, and a final duel between their two Ninth-Order cultivators if the first two bouts werent enough to decide the victor. However, the very firstst-man-standing had left over half of theirbatants incapacitated.
It wasnt like they couldnt proceed with the battle royale with their current numbers, but the young man was pretty sure that his side would lose if they did. It was because their strongest cultivator, Jiang Liuzi, was still unconscious, while the enemys strongest, Lu Ye, looked perfectly fresh. Jiang Chengzi was battle ready, but he had lost his fighting spirit after having his ass handed to him by Lu Ye. He highly doubted he would be able to perform anywhere close to his normal standards even if he was still willing to participate.
What do you want to do then?
Lets skip the battle royale for now and duel each other first, The young man said indifferently.
You really ARE itching to get your ass kicked! Xia Qianqian was already standing in the valley when she said this. Well done, Ye Six. Just leave the rest to me!
Lu Ye nodded and took off into the air. It would seem that neitherbatants were patient people because they were fighting before he had even returned to the Spirit Peak. What surprised him was that the Ninth-Order young man was also a spell cultivator. In that sense, Xia Qianqian was fighting against a peer. The two flew all over the valley while throwing massive spells at each other. It wasnt long before the entire valley was reduced to ruins.
Lu Ye spectated the battle in silence. In fact, he enjoyed watching other people fight because he could always pick up some tricks here and there. For example, Xia Qianqian was unknowingly teaching him how to neutralize a threat, and the young man how to find an opening in a spell cultivators defense.
Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes burning a hole in his face. He turned and came face to face with a pair of beautiful eyes.
Yes?
The female spell cultivator hurriedly shook her head. Its nothing. Im just youre incredible, you know that?
Lu Ye nodded. Im well aware.
The female spell cultivator: ?
The battle between the two Ninth-Order spell cultivators was as intense as it was entertaining, but Lu Ye was unable to discern who was the stronger one between the duo even after some time had passed. This probably meant that the duel was going to end in a draw, and that they were going to proceed with the battle royale after all.
The female spell cultivator clearly noticed the same thing because she moved closer to Lu Ye and whispered, Junior brother, please keep me safe when the battle royale begins.
Behind the fox mask, Lu Yes gaze shifted downward for an instant before he replied, Sure!
Youre such a good person, junior brother, The female spell cultivator broke into a wide smile.
For some reason, Amber suddenly started growling at her from atop Lu Yes shoulder. She wanted to give it a pat, but the white tiger surprised her by biting her all of a sudden. It didnt break her skin, but it still hurt her enough to let out a cry of pain. She looked both hurt and confused by Ambers aggression.
Suddenly, the two Ninth-Order spell cultivators stopped fighting and stood a good distance away from each other. A whileter, the young man said, The Arcane de is yours.
He hadnt lost the fight, but he couldnt defeat Xia Qianqian without going all out either. This meant that his side had almost no chance to win the battle royale. In that case, he might as well concede the fight now.
Guess youre not stupid after all! Xia Qianqian replied with a harrumph.
The young man looked over Xia Qianqians shoulder to stare at Lu Ye for a second. Then, he turned away and flew off into the horizon on his Spirit Boat.
When Xia Qianqian returned to the Spirit Peak, the female spell cultivator weed her with great cheer, Youre amazing, senior sister!
However, Xia Qianqian shook her head and said, I didnt win.
The duel had ended with a draw at best.
I guess my role here is done, Fellow Cultivator Xia. If there is nothing else, then I shall be taking my leave, Lu Ye said while taking a step forward.
Wait. Why dont we check out the Arcane de first? Xia Qianqian said before bringing out her flying Spirit Artifact and piling the wounded on top of it. She then waved for Lu Ye to follow. Come.
Lu Ye saw no reason to disagree.
As expected, the Arcane de was just a short distance away from the valley. It was located atop a Spirit Peak.
After everyone hadnded in the Arcane de, Lu Ye looked around and spotted the Spirit Sprout almost immediately. The Spirit Sprout was currently spouting World Spiritual Qi into the surroundings. It was also nearly identical to his first Arcane de in the sense that it was also a small, Tertius-grade Arcane de.
Youre more than wee to stay if you want to. Youll be joining as the fifth and final member of this Arcane de, so thats just perfect. Its only a Tertius-level Arcane de, sure, but it should still fulfill your cultivation needs, Xia Qianqian exined.
A small Arcane de like this was best guarded by a five-man group. They could add more members to improve its security, but there wouldnt be enough World Spiritual Qi for everyone.
Moreover, a five-man group was strong enough to defend the Arcane de against most threats.
Finally, Lu Ye had proven himself to be an exceptional cultivator who could defeat powerful Fifth-Order cultivators with little trouble. Of course Xia Qianqian wanted him to stay and protect her sect mates.
She wasnt going to force him if he was unwilling though. Another Third-Order cultivator wouldve agreed to the offer so fast their head might fall off, but Lu Ye was no ordinary Third-Order cultivator. His skill with wards alone guaranteed him a position in practically any Arcane de that was Tertius-level or below.
Thank you, but I need to search for my junior brother, Lu Ye turned her down gently.
Xia Qianqian nodded. Very well. Before you leave, can you set up some protective wards for us?
Lu Ye rolled his eyes at her. [I was wondering why she invited me to the Arcane de even though our business is over. I shouldve known that she wouldnt let me go until she had squeezed every ounce of value from me.]
I can do that, but youll have to provide me with the ward gs and ward keystones!
Lu Ye did not mind setting up some protective wards for Xia Qianqians sect matesit was a fairly easy job for a ward cultivator like himbut he wasnt going to offer his own materials as a matter of course. The keystones of a grand defensive ward alone cost a lot of Contribution Points, not to mention that the grand defensive ward wasnt the only thing he would be establishing. The ward gs were hardly cheap either.
I already bought everything, Xia Qianqian said before tossing a Storage Bag into his hands.
She had anticipated this and purchased a full set of grand defensive ward and ton of ward gs when she visited Lu Ye at the Divine Trade Association earlier.
Lu Ye was a bit disgruntled, but he could hardlyin when the woman had anticipated and prepared everything.
After opening the Storage Bag and checking out its contents, he discovered that Xia Qianqian had not purchased the best grand defensive ward there was. For starters, he counted only eight ward keystones.
On second thought, this was just a small Arcane de. There was no need to purchase the best avable grand ward when a normal one would suffice. Take the grand defensive ward Lu Ye had set up at his own Arcane de earlier. That one had been made of sixteen ward keystones, but an enemy still managed to breach it by force and destroyed all of the ward keystones. His total loss amounted to over ten thousand Contribution Points.
And so Lu Ye went to work. In the meantime, the wounded treated their own injuries, and Xia Qianqian cultivated in silence. The female spell cultivator was the only one sticking to Lu Yes side and praising him to the high heavens every once in a while. It was clear she was hoping that Lu Ye would change his mind and stay with them. His presence would be a great assurance to them all.
It grew to the point where Amber manifested its true self and pushed her to the ground when she wasnt looking. It then opened its bloody maw and let out a mighty roar. Having received the threat loud and clear, the female spell cultivator finally kept her distance from Lu Ye.
Lu Ye spent the whole day setting up a grand defensive ward, a grand concealment ward, an rm ward and a couple of offensive wards throughout the Arcane de. Then, he sought out Xia Qianqian and handed her the Control Gem. Finally, he told her about the location of the wards and demonstrated how each and every one of them should be used. It was only then that he wrapped up his business and got ready to leave.
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Chapter 496: A Big Fish
Chapter 496: A Big Fish
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Xia Qianqian and the female spell cultivator saw Lu Ye off as he flew away. The female spell cultivator kept waving her hand with a yearning look on her face.
Xia Qianqian shot her a look and said, Hes already gone, you little wench. You can stop waving your hand now.
The female spell cultivator immediately deted. How can you say that? It was your idea!
Yes, and you failed. So useless, Xia Qianqian criticized in a disappointed tone.
Its not my fault! Hes just too resistant to feminine charm The female spell cultivatorined in an aggrieved tone. She had already tried her best to win Lu Ye over to her side, but he still chose to leave in the end.
Whatever. Take good care of them, okay? Ill send a ward cultivator your way when I find one, Xia Qianqian instructed before passing the Control Gem to the female spell cultivator and rising into the sky.
Bye, senior sister! The female spell cultivator said and waved her hand again.
Lu Ye was still wearing his fox mask as he cut a straight line across the sky. Right now, he felt like there was nowhere he couldnt go.Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was practically nowhere he could go without being recognized and pursued like a rat. It felt wonderful not having to look behind his back every step of the way.
When nighttime came, hended in a random cave in the wilderness to catch some rest. It wasnt long before he started a fire inside the cave and began barbequing arge chunk of meat on top of it. A fragrant scent began spreading throughout the cave.
Lu Ye was busy setting up some wards deep within the cave when suddenly, Yi Yi appeared from the ground and reported in a soft voice, I couldnt locate the observer.
Lu Ye nodded. Thats to be expected. Its probably that ghost cultivator.
He was referring to the ghost cultivator he had trounced yesterday, Jiang Chengzi!
Not long after he bade Xia Qianqian goodbye and left the Arcane de, Lu Ye suddenly felt as if he was being watched from somewhere. It was a feeling he was very familiar with when he was at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It wasnt long before he became certain that it wasnt his paranoia talking. Someone really was following him in secret.
Yi Yi had left the cave earlier in hopes of tracking the person following Lu Ye in secret to no avail. Assuming that their tail was the Fifth-Order ghost cultivator Lu Ye had defeated earlier, then it was no wonder she couldnt find anything. Even Lu Ye could only spot him if he had activated Insight, and the ghost cultivator happened to be close by.
He shouldve known that Xia Qianqians reward wasnt so easily received. At the very least, it looked like he had caught the attention of her enemies.
Then again, he had defeated two Fifth-Order cultivators as a Third-Order cultivator, not to mention that the Jiang brothers were no ordinary Fifth-Order cultivators. They were both capable of defeating enemies higher than their cultivation level in their own right. Of course he had drawn their attention.
Unfortunately, there was no way Lu Ye could have hidden his strength. His cultivation level was two minor realms below his opponents, but Jiang Liuzi was a sword cultivator as well. It would be suicidal to hide his strength against an opponent that powerful. Rather than risking his life, he would rather end the fight as soon as possible. At least this way he wouldnt be showing off too many of his cards.
Lu Ye couldve sped up and shaken off his tail upon noticing him, but that would make it crystal clear that he knew he was being followed. There were better ways to achieve the same oue. For starters, he could turn around and give the ghost cultivator the scare of his lifebut that would be a bad idea at the moment because he was sure that the ghost cultivator wasnt operating alone. That Ninth-Order young man had seemed extremely interested in him, and he wouldnt be surprised if it turned out that he was the one who set the ghost cultivator on him. Obviously, Lu Ye was no match for him.
A whileter, Lu Ye left the cave and took to the skies once more. In the darkness, Jiang Chengzi watched Lu Yes departing figure with a puzzled expression.
As Lu Ye had theorized, the person following him was none other than the ghost cultivator, Jiang Chengzi. Not only that, he was right in guessing that the Ninth-Order young man was the one who instigated Jiang Chengzi to follow him in secret.
Jiang Chengzi couldnt figure out why Lu Ye had suddenly decided to take off when it was the perfect time to catch some rest. Regardless, he hurriedly sent hispanions a message before chasing after Lu Ye once more.
An hourter, Lu Yended about fifty kilometers away from his previous location and walked into another cave. In the darkness, Jiang Chengzi also descended on the ground before sending another message.
Tens of kilometers away, the Ninth-Order young man and Jiang Liuzi could be seen flying toward Lu Yestest location. They hadnt dared to get too close because they didnt want to warn Lu Ye of their suspicious activities. If Lu Ye found out that they were tracking him, he would surely summon Xia Qianqian to his aid. The situation would beplicated if that happened.
Jiang Liuzi looked much better after a full days rest. While following behind the young man, he voiced his puzzlement, Senior Brother Wei, who is that Foxface? Why do you care so much about him?
Foxface was unimaginably powerful, and Jiang Liuzi was sure that he was a famous cultivator. However, that didnt exin Wei Ques obsession with the man.
Wei Que was soon to ascend to the Real Lake Realm after all. There shouldnt be many things left in the Cloud River Battlefield that could catch his attention.
Wei Que asked, Have you heard of the Crimson Blood Sect?
Of course I have.
Who hadnt heard of the Crimson Blood Sect of Bingzhou? Thirty years ago, they were the strongest sect of the Grand Sky Coalition.
Have you heard of Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect then?
Jiang Liuzi eximed in surprise, Youre saying that Foxface is that man?
So, you have heard of him, Wei Quemented with an approving smile.
It wasnt difficult to find out Lu Yes identity. All he needed to do was to find who stood out in the Spirit Creek Battlefield in thest half a year or so, and who among them was a saber-wieldingbat cultivator.
Wei Que had sent the message immediately after he left with his people. At first, he didnt suspect anything. He was just curious about Lu Ye and wanted to know the mysterious young man better. Suffice to say, his mind was blown when he found out his true identity.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was the most wanted man by the Thousand Demon Ridge bar none in the past half a year or so. Thebined bounty on his head was enough to make even a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator like him turn green with greed. To give an example, he would never have to worry about cultivation resources for the rest of his life if he could kill Lu Yi Ye.
As a member of the Thousand Demon Ridge, there was no way Wei Que could say no to the temptation. That was why he immediately ordered Jiang Chengzi to keep an eye on the Arcane de. Once Lu Ye left the Arcane de, Jiang Chengzi immediately chased after the young man from afar.
Wei Que wasnt surprised that Jiang Liuzi had heard of Lu Ye. It was because the sword cultivator was still at the Spirit Creek Battlefield when the legendary Battle of Goldentip broke out. However, the Jiang brothers were Heaven-Grade Ninth-Order cultivators, and Lu Ye was just a Fifth-Order cultivator at the time. Astounded as they were at the news, they did not think much of Lu Ye at all. At the time, Lu Ye still wasnt strong enough to pose a threat against the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Two months after the Battle of Goldentip, the Jiang brothers ascended to the Cloud River Realm. They had not left the Cloud River Battlefield since. Naturally, they had almost no idea about the waves Lu Ye had caused not just in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but in Jiu Zhou as well.
That said, Jiang Liuzi was aware that the sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge hade together to put an unbelievable bounty on Lu Yes head. It was because of that bounty that thousands of cultivators had gathered at the Goldentip and became Lu Yes first stepping stone to legendary status.
Are you sure its him? Just how fast does he cultivate? Jiang Liuzi was stunned because it had only been a year or two since the Battle of Goldentip. This meant that Lu Ye had be a Cloud River Realm cultivator in that short amount of time!
Not only that, the young man was a Third-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator already. He and his brother had entered the Cloud River Battlefield at least a year earlier than Lu Ye, but the young man had almost caught up to their cultivation level already!
If only his cultivation speed is his only merit. I bet you and your brother have no idea what he did on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, have you? Wei Que shook his head.
To be honest, he himself was shocked when he received the detailed information on Lu Ye.
The two years Lu Ye spent on the Spirit Creek Battlefield were easily some of the worst years the Thousand Demon Ridge had suffered since the day of their founding. This was especially true during the second year where Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect came to rule over the Spirit Creek Battlefield as its one and only overlord. Wherever he went, the sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge quaked in their boots. Even Tier-One sects were unable to stop him in his tracks. In the end, the Thousand Demon Ridge had no choice but to pay him a hefty ransom to buy their safety.
It was even said that the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators cheered like it was New Year when the monster finally ascended to the Cloud River Realm.
Suffice to say, no cultivator had ever managed to trigger such a reaction from an entire faction until Lu Yi Ye. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, his legend would probably be remembered for at least the next one or two decades toe.
Jiang Liuzi could not help his curiosity. What on earth did Lu Yi Ye do in the Spirit Creek Battlefield?
For a moment, Wei Que did not say anything. A whileter, he finally let out a sigh and gave Jiang Liuzi a summary.
The summary was brief, but the sword cultivators face still burned with shame when he heard it. If he could travel back in time and warn his past self to refrain from asking about the details, he would. To say that Lu Yi Ye had wiped the floor with his faction in the Spirit Creek Battlefield would be an understatement. The second hand embarrassment alone was almost enough to make him consider defecting to the Grand Sky Coalition.
That is why every top-tier sect had increased the bounty on his head after he ascended to the Cloud River Realm. They were hoping that we could locate the bastard and eliminate him before he became too strong to handle. Unfortunately, you know how the Cloud River Battlefield is, not to mention that it has only been a while since Lu Yi Ye got here. No one has managed to locate him until now.
Lu Ye had already disyed a monstrous amount of talent when he was still a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, and he would only be even more monstrous as time passed. Naturally, the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted him gone as soon as possible.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was literally no one who was a match for him. That was no longer the case. Here in the Cloud River Battlefield, the Thousand Demon Ridge had a real chance at ending him once and for all.
However,munication between Jiu Zhou and the Cloud River Battlefield was much more inconvenient than the Spirit Creek Battlefield. In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Legate could justmunicate with their Keeper of Seal through the Battlefield Imprint. This convenience was not avable in the Cloud River Battlefield. Not only did someone have to physically enter the Cloud River Battlefield to pass on the message, they had to stay there for an entire month before they were allowed to leave. It was the rule the Heavens had set, and no one could circumvent it. As a result, Cloud River Realm cultivators did not have a convenient way of trading information in and out of the Cloud River Battlefield.
Take Wei Que for example. If Lu Ye hadnt disyed an unbelievable amount of talent during the fight, he would not have made the inquiry. He would never hear of the young man until he ascended to the Real Lake Realm and returned to Jiu Zhou.
Lu Ye would be shedding tears of fury if he knew about this. Before he wore his disguise, he had been able to strut about without being recognized by any Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator. But after he put on the fox mask, his enemy had dug out practically everything there was to know about him except the color of his underwear. How ironic was that?
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Chapter 497: He’s Gone
Chapter 497: Hes Gone
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Jiang Liuzi asked with a frown, When did he enter the Cloud River Battlefield?
Im not sure about the exact date, but ording to the intel I received, it hasnt even been two months since he ascended to the Cloud River Realm!
Jiang Liuzi gasped audibly when he heard this.
The time one ascended to the Cloud River Realm was usually the time they entered the Cloud River Battlefield as well. At most, they would take a short break before departing for the Cloud River Battlefield. However, Lu Yi Ye was already a Third-Order cultivator!
Was it even possible to cultivate that fast?
While it was true that a cultivator was expected to shoot through the cultivation levels at the Cloud River Realm thanks to the miraculous cultivation resources that were Amulets, it wasnt actually easy to acquire them. Even if someone was lucky enough to stumble upon a Token of Providence event, they would have topete against hundreds, if not thousands of people to obtain maybe one or two Amulets.
It was also practically impossible to obtain an Amulet that was above ones station so to speak. For example, Purple and Gold Amulets were generally obtained by Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators. If Jiang Liuzi, a mere Fifth-Order cultivator, tried toy his hands on something that valuable, his betters would not hesitate to teach him some humility.
With that in mind, just how many Amulets did Lu Yi Ye obtain to make it to the Third-Order already? He could scarcely imagine.There were few things more hurtful thanparison. For the longest time, Jiang Liuzi believed his cultivation speed was better than most, and he still did. However, he was practically trashpared to Lu Yi Ye.
Suddenly, Wei Que said, Were here.
When they descended to the ground, Jiang Chengzi emerged from the darkness and weed them.
Is he still there? Wei Que asked.
Yes. Hes been hiding inside that cave this whole time, Jiang Chengzi reported while pointing at the cave Lu Ye had entered earlier.
Wonderful! Wei Ques smile widened as he instructed, Jiang Chengzi, head inside and ambush Lu Yi Ye. If you seed, then all is well. If you fail, then Jiang Liuzi and I will kill him. When it is over, sixty percent of the bounty will go to me, and forty percent to you both!
Wei Que was asking a lot here, but he was a Ninth-Order cultivator. He had the right and power to make such a demand, so Jiang Liuzi simply epted the arrangement.
Jiang Chengzi still didnt know who Lu Yi Ye was, so he didnt really understand what Wei Que was saying. [Did that bastard have a bounty on his head?] In any case, if his brother had nothing to say about the arrangement, then he was okay with it as well.
Im going in, Jiang Chengzi said before grabbing a pitch ck dagger with his right hand and turning invisible. He then slowly made his way toward the cave.
During the earlier battle, Lu Ye had knocked him out of concealment almost immediately and beaten the crap out of him. Naturally, Jiang Chengzi was displeased with the oue. Even now, he still thought that Lu Ye had just gotten lucky. Of course he, a ghost cultivator, was going to lose against abat cultivator in closebat.
In his mind, he swore to undo the damage that had been done to his pride. This time, he would teach Foxface the true terror of a ghost cultivator!
Wei Que and Jiang Liuzi got into position after Wei Chengzi vanished. They were ready to assist the ghost cultivator in case anything happened.
For a while, nothing happened at all. Then, a massive explosion erupted from the cave, and a giant tongue of me shot out of the cave entrance!
This sudden turn of events caught both Wei Que and Jiang Liuzi by surprise. A ghost cultivators assassination was supposed to be silent, right? So what was with this explosion?
[Wait, thats not right. This is]
No!
Jiang Liuzi let out a cry of rm before flying straight toward the cave. Wei Que also followed behind him with a frown.
A whileter, Jiang Liuzi dugout Jiang Chengzi from under a pile of rubble. The ghost cultivator was covered in blood, soot and ash, and every strand of his hair was standing on end. He looked absolutely terrible to say the least. The only silver lining was that he wasnt dead.
What the hell happened? Where is Lu Yi Ye? Wei Que asked.
The cave had copsed, but Wei Que could tell with his senses that Lu Yi Ye was nowhere to be seen.
Jiang Chengzi panted heavily with a frightened expression, I didnt see him when I went inside. What I can tell you was that I was nearly killed by a Heavens-damned Explosive Ward!
He thought this was the moment he would redeem himself, but he had barely set foot in the cave when the Explosive Ward triggered and nearly killed him!
While most ghost cultivators possessed excellent speed, the cave was exceptionally small and narrow. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to escape the cave in time before the Explosive Ward triggered and buried him beneath a pile of rubble.
As for the Heavens-damned Foxface who was surely behind the ward he hadnt seen the man at all.
I thought you said he was inside? Wei Que asked with an ugly expression.
He was! He just vanished somehow! Jiang Chengzi defended himself. He had seen Foxface entering the cave with his own eyes, and he never saw him leaving through the entrance. There was no denying the fact that the bastard had vanished like a ghost though.
Looking at all the evidence, Lu Yi Ye must have noticed that someone was following him in secret. That was why he had set up an ambush in the cave before sneaking away using a Concealment Talisman Paper or something.
Wei Ques expression was grim to say the least. He thought this would be easy, but not only had they fallen for their preys trickery, they didnt even know where he was right now!
The Cloud River Battlefield was a massive ce. If Lu Yi Ye truly set his mind to hide, who could possibly dig him out of his hidey-hole?
If he could spread the message that Lu Yi Ye was here and mobilize every Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator to action, then sure, the young man would be cornered eventually. However, the Cloud River Battlefield was a much moreplicated ce than the Spirit Creek Battlefield, not to mention that he wasnt willing to share the bounty with too many people. He was a Ninth-Order cultivator. If he could locate Lu Yi Ye, he had a one hundred percent chance of killing the young man no matter how exceptional he was.
The only reason he even brought the Jiang brothers with him was because of Jiang Chengzi. He didnt have a realistic way to follow Lu Yi Ye without being detected, so he needed the ghost cultivator to do the tracking.
Unfortunately, Lu Yi Ye still managed to detect Jiang Chengzi. He even set up a trap for the poor bastard and nearly killed him.
[It wasnt a fluke after all just how strong is his perception to detect a Fifth-Order ghost cultivator who was two minor realms above him?]
Lets split up. There is no way he couldve gone far! Wei Que ordered before leaping into the air, leaving behind the two dumbfounded Jiang brothers.
He wasnt worried that the Jiang brothers would hide Lu Yi Yes location from him if they located him first. They should know from the earlier battle that Lu Yi Ye was not someone they could kill in short order, and that he was the only one in their group who could realistically kill thebat cultivator.
On the other hand, he could im the full share of the bounty if he located Lu Ye first!
The only thing that worried him was the Jiang brothers notifying their sects about Lu Yi Yes appearance. Since their sects were Tier-Two sects, it was inevitable that some Cloud River Realm experts would be mobilized to join in the search.
There was nothing he could do to stop this though, so he didnt even bother to try.
Who on earth is Foxface anyway? Why does Senior Brother Wei care about him so much? Jiang Chengzi asked after Wei Ques departure.
He is Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
I feel like Ive heard that name from somewhere
Hes the guy who fought in the Battle of Goldentip, Jiang Liuzi reminded his brother.
Oh. Oh I still remember the insane bounty on that guys head to this day
Now you get why Wei Que cares so much about him.
Jiang Chengzis wounds suddenly didnt feel that painful anymore. What are we waiting for then? Lets search for that bastard already!
After we message Senior Brother Lu Shu and the others. Wei Que wants to im all the bounty for himself. We should give him a run for his money, dont you agree?
Although they all belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge, and they definitely stood united when the greater good was on the line, it was inevitable that they would sumb to their baser nature in all other matters.
That was just how humanity was.
It wasnt long before more people learned that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had been spotted in the Cloud River Battlefield. Most Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators had never heard of Lu Yi Ye because they rarely left the Cloud River Battlefield, but after Jiang Liuzi shared with them everything he knew about thebat cultivator, they were tempted by the ludicrous bounty on his head if nothing else. It was literally the opportunity of a lifetime. They rushed toward Lu Yesst known location immediately for fear that someone else would kill the young man before them.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye was sitting inside a cave and enjoying his barbecued meat. It was none other than the first cave he entered after leaving the Arcane de. So, how did he cross over from the second cave without being detected or caught by the enemy? By using a Teleportation Ward, of course.
Earlier, he had set up a master Ward in the first cave before flying to the second cave. After flying fifty kilometers to the second cave, he set up a sub Ward and an Explosive Ward before teleporting back to the first cave.
He hadnt seen Jiang Chengzi entering the second cave and triggering the Explosive Ward, but he was sure that his enemies would attempt to infiltrate it eventually. When that happened, the Explosive Ward would trigger and destroy everything within. The ghost cultivator might survive, but his sub Ward definitely would not. They would never know that he had teleported back to the first cave using a Teleportation Ward.
Coincidentally, he had returned just in time to avoid overcooking his meat. He had been enjoying his dinner since.
It had been a long time since Lu Ye used a Teleportation Ward. To his surprise, the experience did not feel nearly as bad as his initial experiments; the connection between the master Ward and the sub Ward were much stronger.
Obviously, it was because his cultivation level was much higher than before. When he first set up the Teleportation Wards, he was only a Heaven Seven cultivator.
At his current level, he should be able to create Teleportation Wards with a longer teleportation range. This was great news of course. The farther a Teleportation Ward could teleport something or someone, the better it was.
Lu Ye did not stay in the cave for long. He left as soon as he collected his ward gs. He was still holding his barbecued meat when he took to the sky.
Lu Ye wanted to be as far away from the cave as possible because a fifty kilometer distance was nothing to a Cloud River Realm cultivator. His trackers might have a lot of ground to cover, but given enough time and numbers, it was only a matter of time before they made it back to the first cave. They would discover if he took too long.
The night was pitch ck tonight. Even with his superior vision, he was unable to spot even a single star in the sky.
Lu Ye did not stop flying in the opposite direction of the second cave until dawn broke, crossing at least a thousand kilometers before descending on a random riverside in the wilderness. Both him and Amber were dusty from the journey, so they took a bath before finding a secluded spot to hide. He then set up a couple of wards before taking a moment to tidy his stuff.
After he recovered his mental strength and Spiritual Power, Lu Ye finally took out a Purple Amulet and crushed it between his fingers. It was the one he had drawn using the Amulet Casket Xia Qianqian gave him.
There was nothing a Cloud River Realm cultivator loved more than an Amulet. He saw no reason to dy using it especially in light of recent events.
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Chapter 498: Carnage Colosseum
Chapter 498: Carnage Colosseum
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Several hourster, when the purple vortex pouring out the Spirit Mist had disappeared, Lu Ye checked his river of Spiritual Power and noted that it was bigger than before. However, he was nowhere close to ascending to the Fourth-Order.
When he left the Myriad Beasts Domain, he had spent nearly thirty thousand Battle Points to buy enough Amulets to boost him all the way to the Third-Order. Not only that, he was well on his way to the Fourth-Order.
Unfortunately, the greater ones cultivation was, the more cultivation resources they had to consume to get to the next level. Assuming his rough calctions were correct, he probably needed only one Gold Amulet to ascend from the First to the Second-Order, two Gold Amulets to ascend from the Second-Order to the Third-Order, and threeno, four Gold Amulets to ascend from the Third-Order to the Fourth-Order. Naturally, his need would only increase over time
This was why a single Purple Amulet was nowhere near enough to boost him into the Fourth-Order despite his good progress.
Lu Ye was okay with this though. It hadnt even been two months since entered the Cloud River Battlefield, and he was already a Third-Order cultivator. He dared not say that his cultivation speed was unprecedented, nor would he im that no one would ever surpass him in the future. However, he had to be one of the fastest growing Cloud River Realm cultivators in the history of Jiu Zhou. Knowing that, it would be in hubris to expect more from himself.
Lu Ye was just about to take his leave when suddenly, he felt a strange buzz from all around him. At the same time, the world itself seemed to darken unnaturally.
Lu Ye immediately grabbed the Invible while observing his surroundings carefully. Before he could identify what was happening though, he saw a bright light rising into the sky like a new star from far, far away.
This alone would be cause for rm, but the fact that the light was blood red in color worried Lu Ye even more.The red light would continue to brighten in intensity as it climbed higher into the sky. Right now, anyone within a few hundred thousand kilometers of the light could probably see it.
Lu Ye frowned at the ominous-looking red light while going through all the intel he had bought from the Divine Trade Association since arriving at the Cloud River Battlefield.
He did not know what the red light was, but it could only be an act of the Heavens. Cloud River Realm cultivators did not have the ability to cause such a huge scene.
A few secondster, he recalled something and suddenly turned as white as a sheet. Without hesitation, he constructed Soar and shot into the sky like a shooting star. Not only that, he even boosted his speed further with Windwalk, going from zero to two hundred in an instant.
Lu Ye generally avoided using Soar with Windwalk because the two Glyphs cost an ungodly amount of Spiritual Power to maintain, but this time he didnt try to conserve his energy at all. He escaped like an ancient beast of legend was mere seconds away from devouring him whole.
Whats wrong, Lu Ye? Yi Yi voiced her concerns from inside Amber. She did not understand why Lu Ye was acting like he was being chased by the enemy. She tried spreading out her senses but could not sense anyone close to them.
Ill exin to youter! Lu Ye replied in a hurry. There was no time to even exin things to Yi Yi.
If the red light really was what he thought it was, then there was no time to waste. To the strong, the red light represented great opportunities and rewards. But to a puny Third-Order cultivator like him, it was more like the grim reaper himself. He had to get out of range before it was toote!
Lu Ye would continue to fly like he was being hunted while the bright red star hung in the sky for an incense stick or so. Then, it suddenly exploded into a smattering of light beams!
From a distance, the scattering light beams looked like a ridiculously huge meteor shower. Each beam was ridiculously huge as well.
Lu Ye managed to cover between one hundred to one hundred and fifty kilometers of distance during the short period where the red star was idle, but
Yi Yi suddenly cried out in rm, Watch out!
His pupils constricted when one of the light beams suddenly cut through his vision andnded right in front of him. The next moment, it transformed into a massive screen of light.
Lu Ye knew this was going to be bad, but there was no time to slow down. He just barely managed to cross his arms in front of him and turned on his side before he mmed hip first into the light screen.
There was a loud bang as Lu Ye crashed full force into the light screen. The light screen did not budge in the slightest, but thebat cultivator was bounced away like a ball. He hit the ground so hard that he was dizzy and incapacitated for a few seconds. There wasnt a part of his body that didnt hurt like hell.
After he managed to climb back to his feet, Lu Ye red at the red screen in front of him with aplicated expression on his face.
In the end, he didnt manage to escape. It definitely wasnt due to ack of trying though. The light beam hadnded in front of him and blocked his path right as he was about to make his escape. He could not believe that it was just a coincidence.
A birds eye view of this region would reveal that the red screen resembled an upside-down bowl that contained everything within hundreds of thousands of kilometers, and as Lu Ye had just proven with his own body, no one was allowed to leave its boundaries until the event taking ce inside the red screen was over.
[Well, shit. I guess our ns to find Ju Jia will have to be postponed to ater date.]
Yi Yi emerged from Ambers body and stared at the massive light screen in front of her with a stunned expression. She could see countless thin light strands circting within the light screen like blood. Its very existence seemed to scream murder and carnage.
What on earth is going on, Lu Ye?
The Carnage Colosseum. Were trapped inside the Carnage Colosseum right now.
Lu Ye shared the intel he had purchased from the Divine Trade Association with Yi Yi after answering her question because the event was a little tooplicated to exin verbally. While the young girl was checking the contents of the jade slip, Lu Ye observed his surroundings and confirmed once again that they were definitely trapped within the Carnage Colosseum.
Frankly, this was one of thest events he expected to encounter in the Cloud River Battlefield, or at least not as a Third-Order cultivator. The Carnage Colosseum was a random event that could only be encountered in the Cloud River Battlefield. Every time it appeared, an area ofnd would be enveloped in a screen of red light.
The size of the affected region wasnt always the same, and it was very difficult to predict when it would happen. Sometimes it only urred once every year or two. Sometimes, it urred multiple times in a single year. The location of the Carnage Colosseum was alsopletely random.
The one constant of this event was the blood red screen. Anyone could pass through the red screen and enter the region after it appeared, but they wouldnt be able to leave until the event was over.
Judging from the size of the red screen, this was definitely arge-scale event. Hundreds of thousands of kilometers ofnd was huge even for a Cloud River Realm cultivator, of course, it was nothingpared to the entire Cloud River Battlefield.
Obviously, the Carnage Colosseum was given its name because it involved a lot of violence and carnage.
Usually, unfamiliar Cloud River Realm cultivators rarely got into conflict with one another. It was because they didnt know the other persons affiliation. It was a different story in the Carnage Colosseum, however. A cultivators affiliation was automatically revealed as soon as they got within a certain range of another cultivator. In this sense, it was a bit simr to how the Battlefield Imprints lit up on their own when a sect fought against another sect.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, a cultivators Battlefield Imprint would automatically light up if a war was dered between two sects, and they were close to a member of the opposing faction. It was so that unfamiliar cultivators wouldnt identally kill their own allies.
So far, Lu Ye had not killed more than a handful of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. It wasnt because his nature had changed, but because he simply did not have the chance to do so. Conflict rarely happened between two unfamiliar cultivators unless they knew for certain that the other person belonged to an opposing faction.
It was different in the Carnage Colosseum, however. If two cultivators were close enough to one another, then their affiliation would automatically be revealed. If they belonged to the same faction, then all was well. If not, then of course they were going to murder the crap out of each other. This was doubly true if one cultivator was drastically stronger than the other.
This was why Lu Ye had tried to escape as soon as he discovered the truth. Even if he was used to oveing enemies who were multiple minor realms above his cultivation level, he was just a Third-Order cultivator. If he ran into an Eighth or Ninth-Order enemy, forget killing them, he might not even be able to escape their wrath.
Simply put, he was still too weak to participate in a dangerous event like the Carnage Colosseum.
Unfortunately, he ultimately did not make it out of the Carnage Colosseum. In fact, he strongly suspected that the Heavens were fucking with him. He was literally a few steps away from freedom when the light screen just happened to block his way.
He had no doubt that the Heavens were behind the Carnage Colosseum. He wouldnt even be surprised if someone told him that the Heavens had specifically created it to test the cultivators of Jiu zhou. At the beginning of his cultivation journey, he had believed that the Heavens were an ephemeral existence that rarely interfered with a cultivators life. However, he came to notice the opposite as his horizons broadened.
The Carnage Colosseum was a bloody and dangerous ce, but the rewards it offered were just as great. For starters, a Token of Providence event almost always urred in the Carnage Colosseum. There was a high chance it would manifest a Gold Amulet as well.
It wasmon knowledge that the Token of Providence event rarely produced Gold Amulets. For example, the iridescent cloud Lu Ye had encountered during his first day in the Cloud River Battlefield was just a tetrachromatic cloud that produced a Purple Amulet at best. A dichromatic cloud would produce a Green Amulet at best, a trichromatic cloud would produce a Blue Amulet at best, and a pentachromatic cloud would produce a Gold Amulet at best.
Not only that, a Roster of the Carnage Colosseum was generated for every instance of the Carnage Colosseum. It was simr to the Scroll of Supremacy in the sense that the top one hundred performers of the event would be listed on the ranking list. Lu Ye would guess that they were rewarded based on how well they ced on the Roster of the Carnage Colosseum as well, but he didnt know for sure because it wasnt mentioned in the intel he bought from the Divine Trade Association.
Not only that, the Heavens would bestow someone in the Carnage Colosseum a Gold Amulet every day. Some people might think that this was a wonderful thing, and it wasbut only if the chosen cultivators cultivation level was high enough. Otherwise, it was just an absolute nightmare.
Usually, an Amulet could be used anytime, anywhere. However, this particr Gold Amulet could not be used or even stored inside a Storage Bag until the chosen cultivator had held it for twenty-four hours. Only then could it be used or stored like a normal Gold Amulet.
To put it simply, the cultivator who was bestowed a Gold Amulet must somehow protect the Amulet for twenty-four hours straight.
Of course, this still wasnt too big of a hurdle to ovee. Theoretically speaking, the holder of the Gold Amulet simply needed to find a good hiding spot and stay there for twenty-four hours straight. If they happened to be a ghost cultivator, then even better.
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Chapter 499: Who On Earth Were These People
Chapter 499: Who On Earth Were These People
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The problem was that the special Gold Amulet would light up like a beacon once every six hours during the twenty four-hour period. It did not matter how well the holder of the Amulet hid. Their location would be revealed immediately!
This type of Amulet was usually hotly contested by countless elites. After all, it waspletely up to luck what kind of Amulet one might obtain from a Token of Providence event, but the special Amulet bestowed upon the receiver was guaranteed to be a Gold Amulet. Assuming that ones cultivation level was high enough, it was perfectly possible to snatch it from the receivers hands and im it as their own.
Lu Ye remained calm as he recalled everything he knew about the Carnage Colosseum.
Since he failed to escape the Carnage Colosseum before it was toote, the next best action was to do everything in his power to ensure his survival.
Arge number of cultivators was guaranteed to arrive at the Carnage Colosseum in the next few days. This was especially true for high level cultivators like Xia Qianqian or Wei Que.
While the Carnage Colosseum was more dangerous than rewarding to Lu Ye, it was the opposite for high level cultivators. There was no way they would allow this opportunity to slip through their grasp.
Lu Ye was okay with getting nothing from this Carnage Colosseum. All he wanted was to survive until the end of the event!
Although his cultivation level was weak, his ability to survive was way stronger than another cultivator at the same cultivation level.For starters, he could conceal himself using Invisibility and Conceal Presence.
Soar and Windwalk guaranteed that he could escape all but the strongest cultivators.
This wasnt enough, however. Lu Ye knew that he would need to make a lot more preparations to be truly secure. A n quickly took form in his mind even as he thanked his past self for having the foresight to create a ton of ward gs in preparation for the future. Otherwise, he would feel so much more insecure right now.
There was a Divine Trade Association hotspot within the Carnage Colosseum. The red screen epassed an entire region of hundreds of thousands of kilometers after all. However, the hotspot would shut down its business and remain closed until the event was over. This meant that he could not enter the hotspot and seek shelter until the event was over, much less trade with them.
It was a rule set by the Heavens themselves.
Lu Ye had prepared a sufficient amount of Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills, ward gs and ward keystones beforehand. As long as he was careful, he should be able to survive until the end of the Carnage Colosseum without any issues.
Generally speaking, the event shouldst a month at most. Looking back, most Carnage Colosseumssted between half a month to a month, though it was impossible to predict how long the event wouldst before it was actually over. Also, the Heavens always gave out a signal right before the event was about to end.
Lu Ye was still thinking when the red screen next to him suddenly distorted unnaturally. The next thing he knew, a man stepped right out of it!
Clearly, the neer was someone who was looking to participate in the Carnage Colosseum. Since the red screen waspletely opaque, the neer did not see Lu Ye until it was toote, and vice versa.
As their eyes met, the Battlefield Imprint on the back of Lu Yes hand abruptly shone blue without warning. At the same time, the Battlefield Imprint on the back of the neers hand shone red.
[Hes a Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator!]
Judging from his size and vitality, he was a body-tempering cultivator too.
Anyone who dared to enter the Carnage Colosseum alone could not be weak, and anyone who was too weak would not dare to enter the Carnage Colosseum without good reason. It would be suicide otherwise.
There was a brief standoff as the body-tempering cultivator nced back and forth between Lu Ye and Yi Yi. He then said solemnly, Im just passing through!
Although Lu Ye belonged to the opposing faction, the body-tempering cultivator figured that it would be folly to engage him without figuring out his cultivation level first, not to mention that he was outnumbered two to one.
The body-tempering cultivator nodded and began stepping away after expressing his intention. Lu Ye simply watched him with a nk expression. Yi Yi remained motionless as well.
The body-tempering cultivator was about fifty meters away when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and asked, You two were trying to leave, werent you?
The second he said this, Lu Ye immediatelyunched himself at the body-tempering cultivator like a cannonball. Yi Yi also fired a Golden Arc straight at the man.
The body-tempering cultivator abruptly spun around and crushed Yi Yis spell with his bare fist. His mouth split into an ugly, malicious grin. I knew it!
The body-tempering cultivator hadnt dared to attack Lu Ye and Yi Yi at the beginning because he didnt know what their cultivation levels were. That was why he imed he was just passing through and pretended to leave. If Lu Ye and Yi Yi were powerful cultivators, then there was no way they would let him go without a fight. On the other hand, they could not be too strong if they simply watched him leave without trying anything.
Moreover, the duo were standing at the edge of the Carnage Colosseum and facing toward the red screen. It was clear that they were hoping to leave the region. If they were powerful cultivators, they would not do this right at the start of the event. Anyone who was Fifth-Order or even Fourth-Order would not make such a choice.
That was why the body-tempering cultivator grew certain that Lu Ye and Yi Yi were newbies. They were at best Third-Order cultivators, and they had to know nothing about the Carnage Colosseum at all. Otherwise, they would know that it was impossible to pass through the red screen. The only way to leave was to wait until the event was over.
He took action as soon as he made up his mind. He grew even more certain in his hypotheses when Yi Yi and Lu Ye red their Spiritual Power, revealing themselves to be a puny First-Order spell cultivator and a Third-Orderbat cultivator. He would be remiss to allow such easy prey to slip through his grasp!
The body-tempering cultivator was so confident in his abilities that he didnt even bring out his Shield Spirit Artifact. The fact was that he had crushed Yi Yis spell in one punch.
Suddenly, the body-tempering cultivators grin froze on his face. Then, he abruptly threw a punch at thebat cultivator and jumped away from him at the same time. Unfortunately, he was a little too slow to dodge the strike that was aimed at his abdomen. When he looked down, he saw that the strike had left a massive gash in his stomach. He could hardly believe his eyes. Did a Third-Orderbat cultivator really just disembowel him?
He was a Fifth-Order body-tempering cultivator. His physique was so strong that even a Fifth-Orderbat cultivator would be hard pressed to leave such a tremendous wound on his body. And yet, the Third-Orderbat cultivator before his eyes hadpletely overturned hismon sense.
The reason he hadnt brought out his Shield Spirit Artifact at the beginning was because he was confident that he would win. Now, that confidence had been stomped into smithereens.
Another spell hit him before he could think of a solution. A First-Order spell cultivator should not be able to cast this quickly!
[These two theyre not ordinary Cloud River Realm cultivators! Thebat cultivator especially must have entered the Scroll of Supremacy before!]
The thought shed across his mind as he hurriedly brought out his Shield Spirit Artifact to block Yi Yis spells. However, he sensed a burst of killing intent from behind him. Thebat cultivator had somehow taken his nk without him noticing!
[Hes ridiculously fast for a Third-Order cultivator!]
The body-tempering cultivator hurriedly spun around and just barely blocked Lu Yes thrust with his Shield Spirit Artifact. His shield arm turned numb from the sheer amount of force that was transmitted through his shield.
[Hes ridiculously strong for a Third-Order cultivator as well!]
The body-tempering cultivator was really starting to regret histest life choice. Just who on earth were these people? They were way stronger than they had any right to be considering their cultivation level!
He pushed Lu Yes saber away with one hand before summoning what looked like a mace to the other hand. Then, he brought it down on Lu Yes head with great force.
The spell cultivator was sting away at his back like a repeating crossbow, but he couldnt afford to pay her any attention right now. He could only channel his Spiritual Power and vitality to block her spells.
Bang bang bang! Although the body-tempering cultivator was extremely durable, it still hurt him to endure a continuous barrage of spells head on. The good news was that he was four minor realms above the spell cultivator. His back might look awful from a bystanders perspective, but the damage was superficial at best especially since he was a body-tempering cultivator.
On the other hand, Lu Ye posed a far greater threat than Yi Yi. As his vitality became mingled with Ambers, he channeled a good amount of it into his right arm before swinging his saber upward. When the blow connected, the body-tempering cultivators eyeballs nearly fell out of his sockets. It was because the blow was so strong that he nearly lost his grip on his Shield Spirit Artifact.
As his shield and his arms were flung over his shoulders, his front waspletely exposed. Lu Ye had already withdrawn his saber and assumed a stabbing stance. Every hair on the body-tempering cultivators body stood on end as he tried to respond to the attack. Unfortunately, he just wasnt fast enough to keep up with thebat cultivator. He had just caught himself when the saber flew toward his abdomen. Goosebumps erupted all across his body as he cycled his Spiritual Power to the limit and attempted to bring his Shield Spirit Artifact in front of the saber. He had already taken enough hits to know just how terrifyingly powerful thebat cultivator wearing a fox mask was. If he failed to block the attack in time, thebat cultivator was going to skewer him like an animal!
It looked like he would make it in time when suddenly, the white Spirit Beast on thebat cultivators shoulder suddenly let out a thunderous roar. Shockwaves visibly washed over his body and made him feel like someone had cracked open his skull and hit his brain with an invisible hammer.
His movement paused for only an instant but that was all it took to seal his fate.
Lu Yes saber brushed against the edge of the body-tempering cultivators Shield Spirit Artifact and pierced right through his stomach. Without pause, he activated Burster and caused a million energy spikes to burst out of the de. A painful howl escaping his lips, the body-tempering cultivator pushed Lu Ye away and brought his mace down on his head. Lu Ye immediately withdrew his saber to defend himself, and the blow sent him skidding at least thirty meters away from the body-tempering cultivator and leaving a pair of trenches on the ground.
Meanwhile, Yi Yi was still sting away at the body-tempering cultivators back with impunity and knocking him off bnce. It would not have been possible if not for the fact that his stomach was bleeding profusely, and his insides hurt so much that his face was distorted.
He could sense that his death was near. It was because thebat cultivators saber had somehow transformed into a deadly cactus inside his body and turned his internal organs into goo just now.
As his life force ebbed away like crazy, he abruptly spun toward Yi Yi and roared, You are dead!
He knew he wasnt going to walk away from this fight alive. However, that didnt mean he couldnt take at least one of his would-be killers down with him.
The Third-Orderbat cultivator was way too agile for him to catch even if he was at full strength. On the other hand, he only needed one hit to turn the First-Order spell cultivator into fleshy mush if he could get close to her.
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Chapter 500: The Roster of Carnage
Chapter 500: The Roster of Carnage
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Yi Yi stood her ground as the burly Body-tempering Cultivator charged headlong in her direction. Refusing to budge, she fired spell after spell. Each one hit her enemys shield eliciting bright, blinding shes; one was matched with a disdainful smirk from the enemy Body-tempering Cultivator whose advance was not at all bogged down by her defiant attacks.
Although that did not prevent the enemy from thinking, [Why the hell is this tiny female Spell Cultivator not running at all?]
Any other opponent weaker in both power and physical endurance would have long turned around to flee! Even if one were to stand and fight, they would at least prepare to duck! [But why is she not doing anything at all?]
But there was no more time to think. The Body-tempering Cultivator was just meters away from Yi Yi. Despair and despondency vanished from his eyes as he perished the thought of killing her. The sapling of hope for survival budded; he could catch her alive and use her to barter for his life!
He thrust his shield forward like a battering ram. At the same time, he was mindful enough to go soft; too much force and he was afraid that he might kill her instead.
But instead, he felt nothing. The moment he expected resistance, there was none. The Body-tempering Cultivators eyes went as wide as saucers with utter disbelief.
Just when he was about to bash his shield into the frail and lithe figure of his opponent, she had sunken right through the ground and discorporated like water seeping into soil!
[What was that?!][What the hell just happened?!]
As his mind misfired with chaos, the Body-tempering Cultivator could barelyprehend what in the world was going on. A living person who was still walking and talking had just vanished into the ground right before him! Yet the ground was still intact! There was no hole, no crater, or even a tunnel!
Was it all just a bad dream or just his own hallucination?
He could not make heads or tails of the female Cultivators disappearance, but he could not dwell on that mystery any longer; something wasing for him from behind and it was closing in fast!
He swiveled around frantically and the first thing that immediately reflected in his eyes was the scarlet luminescence that bristled the saber now falling down on his head. The Body-tempering Cultivator furiously lifted his shield.
A clumsy ng of steel shook the shield violently enough for him to stagger backward. The wounds he incurred had practically halved his physical strength.
But his opponent was already wheeling around for another exchange. The Body-tempering Cultivator mustered what remained of his strength and leaped to his feet. He needed to get out pronto.
Thinking of dragging another enemy down into the grave with him initially, his n was foiled the moment his target had vanished. Therefore, the Body-tempering Cultivator was only bent on escaping. Dying for nothing now was thest thing he had in mind.
Lu Ye stared as his opponent ascended into the air. The wooden weapons case hanging on his waist trembled as nine sparks of light tore out in unison, just as he finished delivering thest of his three sessive lightning-quick strikes.
Three luminous crescents screamed through the air, swarming around the Body-tempering Cultivator like an enveloping maneuver.
Heavy thuds cascaded as the Body-tempering Cultivators lumbering girth recoiled wildly as all nine flying weapons pummeled at him from behind before the three crescent-shaped sts mmed into him. Plummeting from fifty meters high, he crashed into a smoldering heap on the ground amid his agonizing screams.
Dibobted by the fall, he had only just regained his sight after seconds of disorienting sparkles blinding his vision when he saw a sly and triumphant grin staring down at him. Gripping his weapon, Lu Ye unfeelingly and mercilessly sank the steel of his weapon straight through his opponent.
The tip skewered through his chest and came out his back.
The Body-tempering Cultivator spasmed and stiffened. His hand groped for Lu Yes face as if, in his final moments, he wished to at least see who it was who had killed him.
But it was all for nothing.
Lu Ye withdrew his weapon and deep ret ichor bubbled out of the wound. The dying Cultivatorsrge hands drooped lifelessly back down as the final glimmers of life in his eyes gradually ebbed away.
A speck of red glow flew up from the dead body and into Lu Yes hand.
He bent down to collect the dead mans Spirit Artifacts and removed his Storage Bag. After making sure that he did not miss any of the loot, he waved at Yi Yi, Lets go!. They had stayed longer than they had supposed to here.
News of the Carnage Colosseums emergence must have reached the ears of those who were around and anyone entering the Colosseum would surely pass by these areasthe Colosseums outer periphery.
To top it off, those who possessed the confidence and courage to step into the Carnage Colosseum at this moment were those with utmost assurance of their abilities. Meeting such opponents would only spell trouble if not doom.
To say nothing of champions and elites who were already inside the Colosseum in the first ce. They would be rushing to the outer periphery at this time so that they could intercept any Cultivators from opposing factions and eliminate them to ensure an early advantage!
Therefore, for a Cultivator of middling abilities like Lu Ye, he needed to get out of this ce as soon as possible in the early hours of the Carnage Colosseums opening.
By his reckoning, this ce would be the site of a massive bloodbath that he expected tost at least three days.
Yi Yi vanished back into Amber as Lu Ye sped forward with the tiger.
Thetter did not choose to fly. Running on foot might be slower than flying, but the difference in speed was not far off thanks to Glyph: Windwalk.
As they sped ahead, Lu Ye spied something bright streaking across the sky.
He halted. He looked up and saw a pennant unfurling in mid-air, pulsing with a morbid-red sheen that rippled across the banner-like mysterious object like blood.
The size of the pennant was enough for every Cultivator within a radius of tens of thousands of milesthe entirety of the Carnarge Colosseum groundsto see it clearly the moment they looked up.
The blood-red banner snapped in the high winds. Lu Ye was wondering what its purpose was before the enigma was cracked soon enough.
[Thats the Roster of the Carnage Colosseum! The Roster of Carnage!]
A sense of foreboding dread crept into him
He had just killed a Cloud River Realm Fifth-Order That Body-tempering Cultivator that he had just in His rank was higher than that of Lu Yes
The gigantic pennant that was the Roster of Carnage fluttered. Rows of golden inscriptions magically appeared as if an invisible hand was doing the writing. Three columnsNames, Carnage Points, Rewardsrolled down.
The names were all listed ording to rank. The first name at the top of the list would be the name of the leading contestant of this round.
The present ranking list were as follows:
Lu Yi Ye; one hundred and twenty points, a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification and nine Golden Amulets.
Xia Liang; one hundred points; nine Golden Amulets.
Tang Ke; eighty points; seven Golden Amulets.
Yu Fumeng; fifty points; five Golden Amulets.
Tan Sheng; forty-five points; five Golden Amulets.
The corner of Lu Yes eyelids throbbed as he read his own name chased in gold.
Thats his name! In first ce! The most conspicuous spot on the blood list!
He would have been less anxious if he were a strong and formidable Cultivator without equal. His name could be at the first ce of the Roster of Carnage for all he cared and he wouldnt even blink an eye. But right here, right now, the fact remained that he was just a Cloud River Realm Third-Order.
Having his name at the top of the list was no different from forcing him to walk the nk.
Every single Cultivator now inside the Carnage Colosseum would see and remember his name.
If there was any reason for relief, that would be the fact that the Roster did not include the names of the various sects and orders the contestants belonged to besides not mentioning their ranks of cultivation.
One mention of the Crimson Blood Sect and the entire Colosseum would be engulfed by turbulence. The rest of his fellow contestants might be oblivious to his name at the moment, but they would definitely recognise the Crimson Blood Sect.
Moreover, Lu Ye was confident that he only needed toy low and bide his time. It would not be long before someone else had rued more Carnage Points than him and taken his ce at the top of the Roster.
The barely-a-dozen-or-so names on the Roster signified two things: the Carnage Colosseum had just emerged and the real bloodbath had not yet begun. Those whose names were listed on the Roster were the lucky ones who had found their prey and seeded in bagging the kill.
If the Fifth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator had not appeared nearby and foolishly made his hostility known so openly, then Lu Ye and Yi Yi would not have been able to secure one kill so early.
A full Roster of Carnage should have a hundred names. At the moment, the rest of the Roster had yet to be filled up.
The one hundred and twenty Points that showed after Lu Yes name must be the points awarded to him for his kill. A Cloud River Realm Fifth-Order kill was forty points. But Lu Ye, by being a lower-rank, had defeated an enemy of superior rank, hence the bonus had brought the full figure up to a hundred and twenty,
That would mean that everyones points would be publicly disyed on the banner for all to see.
As for the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification and the nine Golden Amulet; those had to be the rewards promised to the top Cultivator, which would only be conferred when the Colosseum closed. Lu Ye did not have the rewards yet.
He would thoughif he managed to secure first ce by the time the Carnage Colosseum ended.
But that was a hope as distant as reaching for the stars above.
Then again, the rewards had always been different every time the Carnage Colosseum opened. A Carnage Colosseum that epassed a wider area would have better prizes. With this being arge-scale Colosseum, the rewards were rich enough.
Nine Golden Amulets would have made it so easy for Lu Ye to rise through five Orders without any difficulty.
In addition, the prize of a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification, too, was enticing enough. A Wisp of that ss could make any spot of ground extraordinarily rich with ambient Spiritual Qi.
A Tertius-level Wisp would have far lesser potency. But if he could get ahold of a Primus-level Wisp, then it would be a great boon to both him and Yi Yi.
Lu Ye looked at the second ce. The rewards were rich enoughjust as well as the first ce, but without the Wisp of Sanctification.
The second runner-up would receive two less Golden Amulets.
Those in the fourth to the sixth ces would win five Golden Amulets apiece, while the rest within the best ten contestants of the list would be awarded three.
Everyone else up until the twentieth ce would still win a Golden Amulet or two.
Contestants after the twentieth ce would be awarded a Purple Amulet or two.
Blue Amulets would be rewarded to those between the fiftieth and the hundredth.
That was it. The end of the Roster of Carnage. Whether those beyond the one-hundredth mark would win any prizes or not, Lu Ye couldnt tell. There could be somethingor maybe nothing.
Nevertheless, it went without saying that the first ten cesmost especially the first threeoffered the best rewards. Just the amount of Golden Amulets could make anyoneLu Ye includedsalivate.
So much so that the Cloud River Realm elites in this bloody tournament would bend over backwards to get as high a cing as possible.
Understandably so, since just one or two Golden Amulets could barely do them any good. Winning as many Golden Amulets as possible was very likely their only chance to further their long-hampered progress.
Across the tens of thousands of miles wide expanse, Cultivators were hurrying this way. Soon enough, the beginning of the huge ughter known as the Carnage Colosseum would be underway. Lu Ye was not expecting himself to achieve any favorable results; what mattered above all else was survival.
He could not get out, hence he had to do whatever necessary to survive! [To survive is to win!]
Right now, he was concerned with his name being at the top of the Roster of Carnage. He could almost feel a target painted on his back and eyes watching him from the shadows. If that were true, then danger wasing and he needed to do something if he didnt want to end up dead.
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Chapter 501: That’s Your Junior, Isn’t It?
Chapter 501: Thats Your Junior, Isnt It?
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Lu Ye wasted no more time gawking at the billowing pennant in mid-air. He needed to get out of the peripheral areas of the Colosseum grounds as soon as possible. But, he did not want to venture too deep into the central areas either, so the buffer zone between them would be his best bet for staying safe. At the same time, somewhere thirty thousand miles away from Lu Yes position, was another contestant of the Carnage Colosseum who was staring at the newly-appeared Roster of Carnage. Wei Que was just miffed at the fact that he could not locate Lu Ye when he saw the first name at the top of the Roster. He burst into a triumphant peal ofughter.
He had beenbing the area for signs of Lu Ye and was disappointed at theck of promising results. In fact, he had been ming himself for losing that onest chance of finding Lu Ye. If Lu Ye intended to stay away from him, then Wei Que might never see him ever again, given the vast size of the Cloud River Battlefield.
Never did he expect that when Fate had just shut the door in his face, it had left a window open for him.
A Cloud River Realm Ninth-Order like him would face no problem operating in the Carnage Colosseum. Few other Cloud River Realm Cultivators could ever dare to defy him and still survive.
He might not be the strongest of all Cloud River Realm Cultivators, but Wei Que was confident that getting within the first ten ces of the Roster of Carnage was a piece of cake. Even with the rtively wider scale of this Carnage Colosseum, he was certain of winning at least three Golden Amulets.
That was why he was pleased to see that his guess was right; getting ced in the first ten positions of the Roster would ensure that he would walk away from this tournament with at least three Golden Amulets. But what left him absolutely overjoyed was seeing Lu Yi Yes name emzoned in gold at the top of the Roster!
[All good thingse to those who wait! My patience is rewarded!]
[What a stroke of Fate that hes here in the Colosseum too!][No one gets out of the Carnage Colosseum before the hour of its disappearance. That means hes trapped in here with me! I can still hunt him down!]
Wei Que immersed himself in the fantasy of winning both the prize of being within the first ten spots of this tournament and the bounty of iming Lu Yi Yes head, musing about the riches and the glory that he would be showered with.
But he was hardly the only one who had set their sights on Lu Yes name. Several thousands of miles away, Jiang Liuzi and his brother were gazing at the Roster of Carnage overhead.
The Carnage Colosseum has only just begun and Lu Yi Ye has already got himself a hundred and twenty Carnage Points. That must be a Fifth-Order that he killed.
Jiang Liuzi only needed to do a quick calction to urately divine what Lu Ye had done.
ying a Fifth-Order was something that he could do too, but Jiang Liuzi could barely confess to being able to replicate such speed.
It had not even been minutes since the start of this Carnage Colosseum.
The notion of how deadly Lu Yi Ye could be invoked an involuntary shudder. But Jiang Liuzi could still remember thest time he went toe-to-toe with Lu Yi Ye; he had lost back then and would have been dead too if not for the intervention of Wei Que.
Hes in the Colosseum! Call Brother Lu Shu and the others! We cannot let Wei Que get to him first!
Jiang Liuzi barked to his brother Jiang Chengzi; thetter nodded vigorously.
The pair of brothers might have an agreement with Wei Que and he was the one who had supplied them with information about Lu Ye, but if Wei Que wished to im the credit for ying the famous Lu Yi Ye himself, then the brothers saw no reason to be coy and pretend that any partnership between them still existed. At any rate, they would rather trust the fellow members of their own order.
In the meantime, the acrid tang of blood pervaded the atmosphere that clung to the terrain of a narrow gorge. The bloody sight of bodies sprawled everywhere indicated the aftermath of a freshly-decided battle.
Xia Liang, d in a set of tight garb for the convenience of his movement, was looking up, observing the Roster of Carnage that had just materialized in the sky overhead seconds ago. When he saw where his name was, he frowned.
[What?! Im only ced second?!]
He had just finished killing a few brazen buffoons who had the self-destructive foolishness to challenge him. He expected to see his name at the top of the Roster after making short work of his challenges.
Xia Liang peered at the names that trailed below his. Most he recognized, even if he had not met some of them before. At the very least, Xia Liang knew from reputation that the lions share of the names on the Roster was made up of Cloud River Realm Eighth- or Ninth-Orders. Some he had even dueled against before since most of them had entered the Cloud River Battlefield at roughly the same time.
Xia Liang gazed at the name above his once more. [Lu Yi Ye]
[Just who the hell is this fellow?]
[If this stranger could score a hundred and twenty Carnage Points so quickly, then why, the zes, have l not heard this name before!]
[No. Wait. Lu Yi Ye. Ive heard that name somewhere.]
Xia Liang paused. Then he knew where. A junior of his who had just ascended to the Cloud River Realm entered the Cloud River Battlefield bearing instructions from their order.
ording to the missive, it mentioned the name of a certain member of the Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Yi Ye, and Xia Liang was given specific orders to eliminate this Lu Yi Ye as reprisal for the humiliation that he had caused to their order.
Back when he was still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Yi Ye had extorted supplies and treasure that were worth three hundred thousand Contribution Points, plus twenty journals of saberbat. Never before had the Raving desmen endured such humiliation!
[Thats the name! Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!]
There might be people who shared the same name, but Lu Yi Ye wasnt a verymon name. Hence Xia Liang was sure that this was the enemy he was instructed to hunt down. Even if he was mistaken, he couldnt care less.
He had no qualms in butchering the one who snatched the first spot from right under his nose.
Especially with the prospect of meeting Li Baxian again. If this really was the real Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, Li Baxian would be sure toe to his junior brothers aid!
That would be very interesting!
Xia Liangs face contorted with icy malice at the notion of Li Baxian.
It was Li Baxian who had in his senior Yan Xing. Since the day he was notified of Yan Xings demise, Xia Liang had vowed that he would not rest until he avenged his senior by killing Li Baxian himself. Yan Xing was the one who had taught him everything he knew. They were not only as inseparable as brothers; they were like father and son. Back in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Xia Liang needed to fear Li Baxian. But here in the Cloud River Battlefield, he had long outstripped Li Baxian. But owing to the size of this dimension, he had not been able to locate thetter.
This would be a chance.
After a few seconds of quick thinking, Xia Liang sent somemunications.
It did not take long for news that Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was caught up inside the Carnage Colosseum to be public knowledge.
Almost an hourter at the banks of Streamview, one of thergest rivers in the Cloud River Battlefield that stretched for tens of thousands of miles.
A stranger stood by the river. Looking up into the sky, he hissed coldly, I know youre hiding somewhere nearby, Li Baxian. What is this? Cowardice? And I thought all Sword Cultivators were reckless fools who would never shy from a fight!
He had been pursuing Li Baxian when thetter suddenly vanished. He was sure that Li Baxian must be somewhere in the river, but exactly where, he did not know.
Even with one more person, Li Baxian was still very much faster than he waswhich was one of the many strengths of Sword Cultivators.
Nevertheless, the stranger did not dare to venture into the river to hunt Li Baxian down. Thetter could be hidden anywhere, waiting to ambush him where the hunted could be the hunter instead
Just when he was at a loss of what to do, the stranger sensed an iing message on his Battlefield Imprint. He read the new missive. Suddenly, he erupted into peals ofughter. Lu Yi Ye! Recognize that name? Thats your junior, isnt it, Li Baxian?!
Deep underwater, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were clinging to each other, gripping firmly to the handle of an umbre-like Spirit Artifact for dear life. Fatigue and stress hazed their gazes. Understandably so, they had been on the run since the first minute they stepped into the Cloud River Battlefield, pursued by enemies and nemeses alike. Fortunately, Feng Yuechan had enough magical instruments to rely on or they would have both been killed a long time ago.
Li Baxians face turned to stone when he heard Lu Yes name. Feng Yuechan seized his arm, gingerly shaking her head at him. She was afraid that he would recklessly charge out into the open and get himself killed.
Even with both their strengths together, the stranger was just too powerful for them. Otherwise, they would not have had to hide here like a couple of mice. Feng Yuechan was not going to let their efforts go for naught.
Hows this, Li Baxian? the strangers voice boomed again, Your junior is now caught in the Carnage Colosseum too! Word has it that many people are now hunting him. So will I. Ill deal with him beforeing back around to look for you!
The stranger took into the air and left.
There was no longer any point in staying. He could do nothing but sit on his own hands if Li Baxian refused to show. Besides, with the emergence of the Carnage Colosseum, this would be a chance for him to win some prizes. With his power, it was a virtual certainty. Beneath the depths of Streamview, Li Baxian was aghast. [Lu Ye! Are you really caught inside Carnage Colosseum?!]
Being an experienced Cultivator who entered the Cloud River Battlefield just a few months before Lu Ye did, Li Baxian knew perfectly what the Colosseum was all about.
A massive battle royale-like meat grinder where there was no exit until the Colosseum ended. To make things worse, every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator inside would now be out for Lu Yes blood.
[Poor thing Hes only been inside the Battlefield for barely two months! For all we know, he might not even be a Second-Order yet! How was he going to survive this!?]
He immediately sent a message to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye responded quickly, confirming that he really was inside the Carnage Colosseum.
Baxian! Feng Yuechan cried softly.
No. I must go! Hes inside there and I cannot leave him there all by himself!
Li Baxian uttered with a renewed conviction.
He would not have cared if he didnt know. But now that the matter has been brought to his attention, Li Baxians conscience could not let his own junior brother face all the dangers alone.
I was only trying to say that Iming with you, said Feng Yuechan.
Li Baxian gazed at her. Long and hard. Knowing fully well that she would not be taking no for an answer, he nodded at once, Very well then.
He would have preferred her to keep herself safe. But he knew herthey grew up together and they knew each other bestif he left her here, she would stille after him into the Colosseum anyway and that would be more dangerous.
Despite her delicate and frail appearance, Li Baxian knew that she was a strong woman.
The Devoted Ones, as a Tier-two sect, has elite members operating in the Cloud River Battlefield, in addition to two Arcane des of their own for the use of their members. Li Baxian had tried urging Feng Yuechan to go to one of the two Arcane des for her own safety. But she got angry instead and Li Baxian had to spend several days coaxing her before she finally forgave him.
In the end, it was by having her with him that he managed to survive up until now.
Which spoke volumes about how Li Baxian was the pariah amongst the Devoted Ones. Having a mother whomands just as much authority within the order as the Deputy Grand Master, in addition to having the respect and adoration of everyone in the order ensured that she was supplied with the prerequisite tools and means to survive in the Battlefielda stark contrast to Li Baxian who entered the Battlefield with barely two coins to rub together.
The umbre-like Spirit Artifact not only had incredible defensive capabilities, but it could also mask the Spiritual Power signatures of those under it, making it a potent instrument of salvation.
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Chapter 502: Is This How Fickle Luck Can Be?!
Chapter 502: Is This How Fickle Luck Can Be?!
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As the scarlet empyrean overhead maintained its persistent vigil over the Carnage Colosseum domain, deep inside a subterranean cavern more than thirty meters below ground level, Lu Ye was busy nting Ward gs everywhere in preparation for casting a magical ward.
He did not know how many Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had seen his name at the top of the Roster of Camage. Needless to say, the number must be too great.
The huge ruckus that he had befallen upon the Thousand Demon Ridge outposts of the central region of the Spirit Creek Battlefield was the cause of this and each and every one of them now wanted to quench their thirst for vengeance with his blood.
Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders might not stand any chance in resisting Lu Ye in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but that would not be the case here in the Cloud River Battlefield. Enemies stronger and deadlier than him were two a penny and none of them ever wanted the chance to bury him for good slip by again.
Therefore, Lu Ye knew that Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield must have been informed of hising by their respective sects and orders the moment he entered this new dimension.
But he could stilly low back then. So long as he maintained a low profile, few people would notice him. But once his identity was discovered, he would be in a perilous predicament.
Like now. And to make things worse, being trapped in the Carnage Colosseum resembled in every way a vole being tossed into a cage full of cats.
Hence, Lu Ye needed to make some insurance.He had a plethora of Glyphs to rely on to keep himself safe, allowing him to hide and even mask his Spiritual Power signature. But idents and unexpected mishaps might appear in his most pressing time of need to trip him; someone might recognize or discover his identity and when that happened, he would need a failsafe to fall back on if he could not secure a victory.
This would be where a Teleportation Ward fit right in.
The Teleportation Wards that he had used before were usually fixed-point Teleportation Wards that would be useful enough for escaping from normal threats. But here in the Carnage Colosseum, Lu Ye needed a safer and more secure way.
Multi-point Teleportation Wards.
Multi-point Teleportation Wards would be where all Teleportation Wards could be used to travel to any other sibling in the system. To that end, he expected that he would need only seven to eight of such Teleportation Wards scattered all around the Colosseum grounds. That would give him the mobility to escape everywhere anytime without fear of being trapped or cornered.
Without the superiority he oncemanded in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Ye knew that he needed to renounce his old penchant for getting into trouble.
Unlike fixed-point Teleportation Wards, this rendition of conveyance wards was understandably moreplex. But fortunately for Lu Ye, the increase in his capabilities had also made the difficulty of conjuring these wards easier.
Lu Yepleted his first multi-point Teleportation Ward in an hour. But that was not all; he constructed more wards around itsome to conceal the Teleportation Wards presence and a few to detonate the ce to prevent anyone from finding out what he had done here.
That was another form of insuranceone to prevent others from discovering his insurance.
Only after making sure that everything was finallyplete, Lu Ye left the ce.
He would need to be on the lookout for another hidden spot like this for his next Teleportation Ward.
Just like before, he sped forward, refusing to fly so as to not attract any unwanted attention. At the same time, he remained vignt, his senses alert for any unusual signs. At the first sign of trouble, he would cast Glyph: Concealment on himself and stay down.
The careful measures seemed to have paid off; all the way, Lu Ye encountered nothing.
Along the way, Lu Ye never stopped picking up signatures of Spiritual Powers shing. That must be ongoing skirmishes happening around him. Every once in a while, a powerful champion would zip by over his head. Only an Eighth- or a Ninth-Order would dare to fly without fear of getting attacked
Naturally, Lu Ye knew better than to reveal himself to them.
He ran for more than a hundred miles before he paused to make sure that he waspletely alone. Next, he conjured a Glyph: Space, using it to sense the link between him and the Teleportation Ward he built earlier.
Without any actual way to find out how far he could stretch the connection, he needed to stop and test to make sure.
He could feel that the link was still very strong; that would mean that he could go further.
Lu Ye pressed on for almost another one hundred miles. That was when he felt the link getting weak; the limit must be nearing.
That allowed him toe to a hypothesis: his present rank of cultivation would allow the link of his Teleportation Wards to stretch as far as two hundred miles. That was a vast improvementpared to before.
Which was a real boon to his n. The farther his Teleportation Wards could be from each other, the safer it would be for him as well.He called Yi Yi and sent her to look for a suitable spot underground while he reconnoitered his surroundings too.
Sure enough, they found another cave. Lu Ye would have preferred a better spot, but this was the next best thing he could find in the vicinity. He could only hope that any Cultivator who passed by would not develop the curiosity to step inside for a look.
Lu Ye went inside and traveled almost fifty meters underground before he went to work while Yi Yi watched the entrance of the cave to make sure that there wasnt anyone else.
If someone were to trap him inside before the Teleportation Ward wasplete, then Lu Ye would be doomed.
Another hour of toiling saw the sessful construction of another Teleportation Ward, along with the other wards for concealment and self-destruction.
He had been careful enough in the position of his wards that any Cultivator who ventured inside might not trigger the explosive wards so long as he or she did not travel too deep inside.
Lu Ye emerged from the cave. He looked up. The Roster of Carnage was still hanging conspicuously in mid-air, its entire length and breadth surging in the winds up above. He scanned the list of names; his name had dropped far out of the fiftieth ce.
Which was within his expectation. More than four hours had passed since the Carnage Colosseum first started and numerous skirmishes had broken out everywhere. That would mean people were killed and that would trante into Carnage Points.
It did not take long for others to rake in more than a hundred Carnage Points and that was how Lu Yes name kept sliding down the Roster.
At this rate, it wont be too long before his name would be fully off the Roster for good.
Lu Ye could not care less about his position on the Roster. He wanted to survive and that was all that mattered.
He continued his journey. All thanks to Glyph: Concealment he could travel on without worrying too much about his safety. Even if he were to stumble into another stranger, he could still easily slip past him as long as they were not in close contact.
In almost half a day, Lu Ye hadpleted up to four Transportational Wards that were linked to each other. Knowing this restored some sense of assurance.
Still, he needed more.
Lu Ye was stealthily speeding ahead when something caught his attention. He looked up and gazed into the distance. In the horizon, a breathtaking disy of color emerged in the form of an iridescent glow at the edge of the skies. Gradually, the luminous hues spread and transformed into a magnificent plume of clouds, painting the sky with ethereal and awe-inspiring beauty.
[Thats the Token of Providence!]
The spectacle known as the Token of Providence was a daily phenomenon that only a scarce handful of Cultivators have ever witnessed, given the sheer length and breadth of the Battlefield. No one could possibly guess when and where the next Token of Providence would take ce.
Lu Ye himself had only seen it once since entering the Battlefield.
But the conditions seemed to vary within the radius of hundreds of thousands of kilometers of the Carnage Colosseum expanse. Every day, the same aerial spectacle of iridescence would appear in different spots around the Colosseum and every pair of eyes in the vicinity would notice it without fail, giving them a two- or three-tenths of a chance to enjoy some of Heavens bestowments.
In addition, almost every Token of Providence spectacle yielded iridescent plumes that would confer one or even several Golden Amulets in one go, making it an attractive phenomenon that all champions and elites in the Colosseum hankered for.
Lu Ye peered at the roiling cluster of kaleidoscopic glimmers rolling towards him, a strange dread creeping over his shoulders. He could still remember thest time he witnessed a Token of Providence incident
[Speak of the Devil and he shall appear, huh?!]
And he was right. The cloud of prismatic sparkles barely formed and it began barreling straight at Lu Ye like a giant cier thundering toward him from above. Despite being still very far away, Lu Ye was certain: it really wasing this way.
There was nothing else to think about. Lu Ye turned around and bolted.
If only he were outside instead of being stuck here inside this Carnage Colosseum; he would have a slight interest to participate in the race for an Amulet or two. He would be more than happy to leave the Blue, Purple, or even Gold ones to other stronger Cultivators and just settle with a White or even a Green one.
s, the fact remained that he was still inside the Carnage Colosseum.
Stuck with his proverbial neck out, every championing his wayespecially those whose Battlefield Imprint glowed redwould immediately see him. No Cloud River Realm Third-Order like him could ever hope to survive such odds.
Even if he had nine lives.
As he sprinted away, Lu Ye stole a nce over his shoulder. That Token of Providence cloud was stilling his way!
A throb pulsed at the corner of his eyes. [Is this how fickle luck can be?! Instead of giving me anything good, its giving me trouble!]
All of a sudden, Lu Ye screeched to a halt and hid. Before him, he could sense a presence approachingone powerful and enormous. It had to be someoneing after the iridescent clouds!
From the Spiritual Power signature, they seemed to be an Eighth-Order and Lu Ye was not surprised. Only a champion of such strength would dare toe with such fanfare.
But the champion stopped. At barely three hundred meters away from Lu Ye, he just stood there, quietly looking at the approaching spectacle.
That left Lu Ye in a difficult quandary. Unable to move, he remained where he was with Glyph: Concealment activated.
The biggest problem was that Lu Ye did not know which faction the neer belonged to. All would have been well if he were a fellow member of the Grand Sky Coalition, but if he were to expose himself to someone from the Thousand Demon Ridge, then he would be dead meat.
The appearance of the Token of Providence event at this inopportune moment had no doubt attracted the eyes of many in the Carnage Colosseumsome were still charging this way and others were intercepting them. All of a sudden, any peace around these parts erupted into pandemonium.
Lu Ye could only pray and hope that the iridescent clouds came no closer to him.
But with every second, the cloud just refused to veer off; it kepting his way, shepherding a mob of Cultivators in its wakesome in the air while the rest traveled on footwhile more fights broke out every now and then.
Out of nowhere, Lu Ye felt his senses tingle. Something alive had just stepped through the edges of his spiritual perception.
Lu Ye quietly activated Glyph: Insight on both his eyes. A blinding deluge of lights surged into his vision as the Glyph powered up.
[There, hidden not far away! A Ghost Cultivator!]
But Lu Ye noted the absence of any sensationing from his Battlefield Imprint! He could be an ally!
Although Lu Ye wasnt sure if Battlefield Imprints would provide any warning if one or both parties were invisible.
Because if Battlefield Imprints could be depended on to react when an invisible enemy was nearby, then Ghost Cultivators would have lost their single-most important advantage.
Ghost Cultivators relied on the elements of stealth and surprise tounch attacks. If Battlefield Imprints could give any warning even when they were hidden from sight, then anyone in the vicinity would know that a Ghost Cultivator had to be on the prowl somewhere nearby.
Yet the unseen Ghost Cultivator seemed to have realized that he or she was being watched, swiveling around to look in Lu Yes direction.
Unlike Lu Ye, the Ghost Cultivator did not have Glyph: Insight, and hence he or she could see nothing at all.
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Chapter 503: The Unlucky Bloke
Chapter 503: The Unlucky Bloke
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That the unknown Ghost Cultivator could sense Lu Ye looking at them was sign enough that they were at leastpetent. But without any means to ascertain where Lu Ye really was, they did not want to risk revealing themselves further.
Momentster, the Ghost Cultivator was gone. Whether because of feeling insecure at being watched or something else, they had surreptitiously left the hiding spot.
Meanwhile, the iridescent cloud had stopped its advance at more than a dozen miles away from Lu Yes position.
He cast a gaze in the direction of the bright glimmering plumes, feeling a shiver creeping down his spine. That was where he was when the sighting of the Token of Providence event first started. If he had foolishly chosen to stay, then he would be just under the iridescent cloud now.
Whatever the matter was, he was d that he had made the right choice or he would be in real danger.
[No, wait!]
Lu Ye remembered thest Token of Providence incident he witnessed. The iridescent cloud had released spates of Amulets in all directions away from it! No one would be at the bottom of the cloud because nothing would fall directly beneath the cloud!
[That means Im at the worst spot possible][A dozen or so miles away from the iridescent clouds Thats where the Amulets would fall]
[Oh Heavens]
Lu Ye was at a total loss for words at his own stupidity.
But it was toote for remedies. He could not afford to move an inch or he would expose himself. Everywhere around him, he could feel the presence of several Spiritual Power signatures, each carefully and deliberately distanced. Lu Ye did not even have to guess who they were: Cultivators who came for the Amulets.
The nearest one was perched atop a tree almost sixty meters away, looking up into the sky.
The only solution Lu Ye coulde up with was to stay put. Only when the iridescent cloud started to disperse Amulets could he make use of the chaos to mount an escape.
He waited there, immobile and silent.
So did the others around himthe horde of Cloud River Realm Eighth- or Ninth-Orders nearby. There was no bickering or banter; everyone was poised to pounce.
Minutes passed in silence until Lu Ye heard a rustling susurrationing from the direction of the many-hued plume. It roiled and churned. What followed next was exactly what everybody here was waiting to see: ribbons of colorful lights shot out of the cloud like a mesmerizing disy of a fountain of light as Amulets were spewed in different directions.
Whether Amulets were Gold, Purple, Blue, Green, or even White, no one knew which was which. The Amulets were not shining with their own respective colors when they first appeared. Only after flying for several miles would the Amulets finally emit the glow of their own colors.
Naturally, the strong would aim for higher-ss Amulets while the weak could only stick to trying their luck with anything else easier and nearer.
But this particr Token of Providence event seemed to have attracted a huge following of Cultivators. The contest for the Amulets would most likely be a rampageous bem.
The Cultivators all watched with anticipation the many streamers of brilliant radiance zipping over their heads, each of them gradually fading to reveal the respective Amulets true nature. Requiring no further impetus, the multitude of Cultivators all rose as one, soaring into the skies to reach for the Amulets they were eyeing.
Some went up alone, others formed groups. It really was a veritable carnival, given how messy and dibobted the humongous crowd in the sky was. Even so, more than half of the Amulets here had already been settled in the first few seconds before the free-for-all for the rest even began.
That was the cue Lu Ye needed. As everyone sprang into action, so did he.
Maintaining Glyph: Concealment needed slow movement equal to that of an ordinary persons walking pace. He could not risk breaking his cover, therefore this was the fastest he could manage.
Lu Ye could sense the tumultuous undtions of Spiritual Power around him amidst a backdrop of frenzied skirmishes, where the amalgamation of snarls, grunts, and asional wails of anguish resounded.
He did not need to turn around at all. Needless to say, the ongoing carnival of carnage around him was expectedly and understandably brutal and gritting.
If this were outside in the usual Cloud River Battlefield dimension, no one would have wanted to put their lives on the line just for a couple of Amulets. But here in the Carnage Colosseum, as soon as one realized that a fellowpetitor of an Amulet was from an opposing faction, it would be a no-holds-barred deathmatch.
Lu Yes stealthy escape was steadily inching towardspletion when a sudden blood curdling cry reverberated in the distance, rapidly drawing nearer and nearer until it swiftly shattered the otherwise growing silence, boring swiftly into his ears.
He jerked around just in time to see a blood-drenched Cultivator falling from the sky; clearly one of the defeated in the contest for Amulets. Someone must have struck him down and the amount of blood he had lost showed that he was heavily wounded. Especially since he was falling down from the sky without being able to regain any shred of bnce at all.
There was one problem; he was falling straight into Lu Ye.
The precipitous fall made Lu Ye wonder if he could take the hit from that iing human projectile.
Without any hesitation, he sidestepped immediately.
The swift movement caused Glyph: Concealment to fail and Lu Ye was exposed.
With a deafening bang, the man smashed into the ground, kicking up a dust storm of soot and smoke while he rolled again and again before finally stopping. Twice he tried to get up but to no avail. He was just too weak. He puked blood and scrambled to his knees, gasping for breath and his face as pallid as chalk.
Then his misty vision caught sight of a glow. The glow of a Battlefield Imprint on the back of another Cultivators hand!
[Someones nearby!] He realized. Then he noticed it. [A Grand Sky Coalition Cultivator!]
He looked up at once, his eyes meeting those of a bewildered and exasperated Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was just trying to get out of this mess only to get hurtled right back into trouble again.
The soft pale blue glow on the back of his hand was entuated by the smog-filled ambiance like a beacon in a fog.
But there was no time for regret. Lu Ye swiftly recollected and propelled himself forward with the explosiveness of a predator lunging at prey, drawing Invible as he charged.
He did not know how powerful his foe still was; there was no time to think. But he looked badly injured, and since he was the only one to realize Lu Yes presence, Lu Ye could not risk letting him stay alive.
The stranger tried to mber to his feet as he saw Lu Ye charge. But he was hurt during his skirmishes earlier and the fall had made the injuries worse. He could barely summon and focus his Spiritual Power and he could barely count the number of bone fractures all over him, making it almost impossible to get up.
But Lu Ye wasnt going to wait until he got up and prepared to defend himself. He shot past the incapacitated man, his de tracing a straight fiery arc across his throat.
With a petrifying shiver, the man stiffened, his lips quivering as if to speak although not a syble came out.
A tiny red glow flew over andnded on the back of Lu Yes hand.
But he was quickly joined by another figure whonded abruptly beside him, the powerful signature of his Spiritual Power indicating that he was a Cloud River Realm Ninth-Order!
Shock and panic gripped Lu Ye as he forcefully swiveled himself to look at the back of the neers hand. That was when he finally calmed down.
Neither of their Battlefield Imprints lit up; they were both Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators.
The man peered at the dead body on the ground before he returned a re at Lu Ye. Exasperated, he snorted, Bloody thanks for stealing my kill, kid.
That would mean that he was the one who had struck down the poor stranger and he hade down to finish off his opponent for good. But the killplus the Carnage Pointshad fallen right into Lu Yesp and he got to it first.
Lu Ye returned a nk look at him. He did not ask for it; it was the poor unlucky bloke who fell right in front of him and Lu Ye had no other choice but toplete the deed before he started to alert the whole Colosseum about his presence.
Nevertheless, the allied champion did not choose to begrudge Lu Ye any further. He quickly noticed that Lu Ye was just a Third-Order and frowned, Get out of this ce now before you get yourself killed!
Lu Ye politely sped his fist in formal greeting and turned around. He hurried away as quickly as he could this time, not even activating Glyph: Concealment.
The champion waited until Lu Ye was gone before he bent down and collected the dead mans Storage Bag. Next, he pried open the mans fingers and from inside retrieved a Blue Amulet.
He did not bully Lu Ye out of his just desserts; it was rightfully his all along.
The champion turned around. The pentachromatic iridescent cloud was churning once more. More beams of light sprayed everywhere from it, eliciting another round of Amulets whizzing in all directions. The champion took to the sky and rejoined the contest.
Lu Ye sped for almost a hundred miles without stopping. When he finally did, he looked back and saw the many-hued iridescent cloud now almost half of the girth of when he first saw it. The Token of Providence event had to be ending soon and the Golden Amulets would be appearing any moment now. To stay in the thick of the area now would be to get stuck between a two-sided royal rumble that would surely incur huge losses.
If only his cultivation rank was higher, then he would be able to join in the event too. He wouldnt have to hanker for Purple or Gold Amulets; just the Blue or even Green ones would do.
But as a Third-Order, he would not be able to survive such a brutal pandemonium, especially by himself.
Lu Ye was about to turn around and leave when his gaze transfixed upon the Roster of Carnage.
The rankings on the Roster were changing with blinding speed. Several names vanished, giving way to others, indicating that these Cultivators have been in or their names would not have gone missing for no reason.
Some would rise, signifying a triumph; while others fell several rungs as more piled higher to overtake them.
Then he saw a name at the fifteenth ce on the Roster. A name that made the corners of his eyes throbbed uncontrobly.
[Lu Yi Ye, Three hundred and seventy Carnage Points, one Golden Amulet]
Thest time he checked, his name was in the fifties of the Roster and as time passed further without him adding more kills to his belt, he was expecting his name to fall out of the Roster by another half-days time.
Yet here was his name, in the fifteenth ce on the Roster, and his Carnage Points had now risen to as much as a whopping two hundred and fifty pointspared to his former tally of a hundred and twenty!
[Thats impossible!]
Since the Carnage Colosseum began, Lu Ye had killed two enemies, and still, instead of falling out of the Roster of Carnage, he remained in the fifteenth ce. At any rate, this was not an indication that the rest of the other contestants of the Colosseum were weak; most of the Rosters were Cultivators beyond the Seventh OrderEighth- or Ninth-Orders at least.
That could only mean that the award of Carnage Points for killing a Cultivator far beyond ones rank of cultivation must be very, very substantial indeed.
His first kill was a Fifth-Order; an enemy two ranks beyond his and that earned him a hundred and twenty Carnage Points.
The kill just now was a whopping two hundred and fifty points.
Lu Ye quickly made some calctions. That yielded the conclusion:
The unlucky bloke he slew just now was a Seventh-Order
Cloud River Realm Seventh-Orders were worth fifty Carnage Points each. With the difference of four ranks between Lu Ye and the stranger he killed, that would multiply the amount by five times, making it two hundred and fifty Carnage Points in total.
[A Seventh-Order, eh?]
[Wow] Lu Ye did not know what to say.
Just when he thought that his name would be dropping out of the Roster, it got propelled into prominence once more. There was no telling how long it would take this time for his name to plunge down again.
At the very least, Lu Ye was consoled by the fact that the Roster of Carnage did not reveal ones rank of cultivation, or everyone in the Colosseum would see how a Third-Orders name was smacked right in the middle of a bunch of Eighth- and Ninth-Orders. His name would stand out right from the first nce.
This reminded him of how he had got his name listed in the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy at the rank of Heaven Seven, taking the entire Battlefield back then by storm.
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Chapter 504: Heaven’s Feud With Me
Chapter 504: Heavens Feud With Me
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Lu Ye withdrew his gaze and continued on his way.
An hourter, he found another cave which he slipped inside of and worked on conjuring more wards.
The Token of Providence event had ended and the pentachromatic iridescent clouds were gone, but that did not mean the end of the impromptu battle royale. If Eighth- and Ninth-Order Cultivators were usually reluctant to fight, the distribution of Amulets by the event was certainly an impetus that lighted a spark to the tinderbox, making this a savage brawl where all scruples were either temporarily deferred or downright forgotten.
The names on the Roster of Carnage never stopped shifting up and down with every triumph and defeat as the gritting ughter continued, reminiscent of the rapid frenzy of a split-p disy.
Such was the Carnage Colosseuman environment of untold perils for weaker and younger Cultivators, but a cornucopia of opportunities for those whose thirst for more action or rewards remained unsatiated. To that end, even as time passed, the number of Cultivators in the Colosseum did not reduce. Instead, more Cultivators were swarming into the Colosseum.
They did note to get their names on the Roster of Carnage. With numerous Cultivators faster and deadlier than them, there really was no chance of climbing the Roster of Carnage. Even if they did, the cements would not be high enough to guarantee any rich rewards. The true value of being ranked on the Roster of Carnage was getting into one of the first twenty spots where winners would be awarded Gold Amulets.
Their target was also not the Token of Providence events which would eventually culminate into nothing more than just brutal free-for-alls where low-tier Cultivators would count themselves lucky to survive, let alone expect to win any Amulets.
For what then? What could impel these Cultivators into entering the Colosseum willingly at the risk of their own safety and life? It was the countless opportunities that abound the entire Colosseum.Lu Ye had finished histest multi-point Teleportation Ward after testing its link to the rest of the wards scattered everywhere else and was leaving the cave when he saw a twinkle of light winking at him.
He could have sworn that the speck of light was not there when he first came, meaning that it only appeared recently. Which Lu Ye was quite certain was the case or he would have not missed something so obvious the moment he arrived.
The twinkling speck of light must have appeared only after he went inside the cave to construct the wards.
Lu Ye recognized what the twinkling light was. He had read about them before from the Divine Trade Association materials.
Without any hesitation, he strode to the light and groped at it.
The light vanished immediately the moment he closed his fist around something solid, revealing it as an Amulet of the lowest ss: a White one.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye knew better than to look at a gift horse in the mouth. He got the Amulet for nothing after all.
Not wanting to loiter, he left quickly.
Specks of light heralding surprises could be amon urrence in the Colosseum. As to what surprises these glow orbs held, no one could tell for sure.
It could be Spirit Stones, Pills, or even Spirit Artifacts and Amuletsanything that could be a boon, big or small, to all Cultivators. They could appear any moment, any time, anywhere. Such were the fortuitous opportunities that teemed the treacherous Carnage Colosseum.
There was no doubt that the appearances of these encounters were the handiwork and borate contrivances of the invisible hand that steered all that urs in the Battlefieldthe mysterious entity known as the Heavens who shared the same cold-hearted indifference of a man toying with an ant nest by luring more Cultivators into the Battlefield using various sorts of valuable supplies they were so dependent on.
Thus every time the Carnage Colosseum opened, it marked theunch of another festivalone of brutal ughter and untold opportunities.
Nevertheless, it was these pervasively widespread opportunities that were the motivations that had lured so many Cultivatorsstrong, mediocre, and weak alikeinto the Colosseum. The very element that worked like a charm. Most of them were not here for the Roster of Carnage and even fewer would ever hope to benefit from any Token of Providence events, hence they did all they could to stay alive. So long as they drew breath, they could encounter more prizes anywhere around the Colosseum.
Lu Ye might have picked up a pathetic White Amulet, but on another day, he might be lucky enough to stumble upon a Gold Amulet or even a Wisp of Sanctification. There were rumors of a Cultivator who had once struck gold by finding a Spirit Artifact so rare that it was worth a queens ransom.
In the meantime, Lu Ye went on searching for more locations to stash his Teleportation Wards, which were simple and straightforward enough for him all thanks to Glyph: Concealment and his incredible spiritual senses.
Time breezed by swiftly.
A day had passed, and Lu Ye was sitting in a subterranean cavern, right at the center of the newest Teleportation Ward he had constructed.
He hadpleted twelve multi-link Teleportation Wards and each of them could at least send him to two other wards elsewhere. This was the safety that he would rely on if and when his identity was exposed. He could choose to stand and fight, but in the event of overwhelming odds, Lu Ye could always fall back to any one of the Teleportation Wards and escape elsewhere.
But right now, he remained there,pletely immobile.
The Carnage Colosseum might be a veritable treasure trove filled to the gunnels with prizes and chances, but so were its perils. More so, since virtually every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator would have been informed of his presence in the Colosseum by now. For all he knew, there could be parties actively scouring every inch of the Colosseum with a fine toothb for him. To that end, he thought it wise to just sit tight for the moment.
Being down underground, Lu Ye could not see the Roster of Carnage. Thest time he saw it, his name had been pushed out of the fiftieth spot again. With enough time, his name would be off the Roster of Carnage.
Every two hours, Lu Ye would activate his Teleportation Ward to reassess its link with the rest, examining to see if any one of the wards in the wholework had failed.
He had taken special care to choose only spots covert and concealed, but one could never be too careful. One could not discount the possibility of a curious Cultivator venturing inside for a look, especially the one he came from earlier. With the Heavens sprinkling goodies everywhere in the vicinity, somebody might be inquisitive enough for a spelunking trip inside the cave, hoping to find some hidden treasure.
Fortunately, there were his self-destructive wards for this contingency. Once triggered, the wards would detonate and destroy every trace of him ever being there before. No one would discover what he had done there.
Not far away, he could sense signatures of Spiritual Power erupting. A fight had to be going on nearby and from the strength of the signatures, thebatants had to be at least Seventh-Orders.
Which hardly surprised Lu Ye since fights like these happened everywhere in the Colosseum.
He would just have to stay down here. If anyone were to discover him hiding here, he would just immediately teleport elsewhere.
[Safe. Im safe.] A satisfied Lu Ye mused, feeling somewhat secure. All he had to do was wait until the Colosseums conclusion so that he could get out of this ursed death trap.
He swallowed another Spirit Pill and took out another manuscript to read. Lu Ye had finished reading everything Lady Yun gave him, but he recently learned that re-reading them would yield fresh discoveriesdetails that he had missed out before during his first read, making the activity the best way to kill time.
Lu Ye was reading when an anomaly in the space before him tore his attention away. Right in front of him, hanging in mid-air, was a tiny ck dot that had appeared out of nowhere. Lu Ye observed it intently. The ck dot gradually grew in size before it began spinning in spirals. Next, a speck of gold bloomed like a blinding flower.
As the golden speck of light turned brighter and bigger, Lu Ye saw what it was: a Gold Amulet. Suspended almost a meter above ground as if by an invisible force, it swayedzily to the motion of an unseen undtion in the air.
The Gold Amulet looked no different from the Gold Amulets he had seen before, save for a strange pale-emerald glow enveloping it.
Lu Ye squinted his eyes as a foreboding dread coiled its ws around him.
[Oh no!]
Lu Ye knew exactly what it was. That a Gold Amulet would appear before him out of the blue could never be a random coincidence!
The entity known as the Heavens selected a Cultivator every day and bestowed upon the chosen a Gold Amulet. But unlike all other Gold Amulets that could be stowed away, kept, or even used immediately, this particr Gold Amulet could never be touched until after twenty-four hours.
But that was hardly the entirety of the caveat. Gold Amulets bestowed in this manner would emit a pulsing st of Spiritual Power every six hours, thus exposing its bearers position no matter where he or she could be hiding. Any other Cultivator nearby would instantly be alerted.
Lu Ye stared at the saffron-gold luminescence bobbing cidly several inches from him with a conflicted grimace.
He could barely articte how he felt right now. [Is this good luck or is this the worst one possible?]
Out of the hundreds and thousands of Cultivators scattered across the vast Colosseum expanse, he was chosen to be awardedor cursedwith the Gold Amulet. Lu Ye had made up his mind to ride out the Carnage Colosseum until its end and for that to happen, he expected to stay hidden the whole time. Now this. How was he going to stay hidden with something that would broadcast his position every six hours attached to his hip? If this proverbial thorn was going to stay figuratively embedded in him, that would mean that he would be exposed to dangers at least three to four times for the next twenty-four hours.
[Just what the hell is going on?]
[Do the Heavens have a feud with me?] Lu Ye was picking up a pattern here. The many-hued iridescent cloud during the Token of Providence event before was clearly intended for him even when he was painstakingly trying to keep a low profile. Yet here the Heavens had just dropped a bombshell right into hisp once again.
[So much for having good luck,] he mused sardonically.
Lu Ye watched the Gold Amulet basking in its aureate me-like glow. Then an idea came to him. But he needed to test it out and to do that would incur a certain amount of risk. Deciding to grind and bear the consequences anyhow, he activated the Teleportation Ward he was sitting inside of. Next second, he began to feel the strange sensation native to the use of Teleportation Ward: a powerful pull as if the ground beneath him had vanished into a bottomless abyss and he was being drawn into it. A split-secondter, Lu Ye was gone as if the ground had swallowed him whole.
If only he could avoid using the Teleportation Ward. Using the wardthis one and the one that he wished to be conveyed toproduced Spiritual Power emanationssignatures that everyone else nearby could detect and this was detrimental to his ns.
But there was little time to worry about that now.
By the time the strange tugging feeling was gone, he found himself sitting at the center of another one of his Teleportation Wards more than two hundred miles away, nauseous and dibobted by the ordeal.
But there was no rest for the wicked; the first thing he did was to project his senses and make sure that he was alone. Only when he was satisfied that the coast was clear did he finally breathe his first sigh of relief in what had been several minutes of gripping anxiety.
He looked up and saw something that immediately weighed on his shoulder like a hill.
Even after two hundred miles away, the Gold Amulet remained attached to him like a monkey on ones back.
As much as he anticipated this, seeing with his own eyes what he dreaded transpiring came like a sledgehammer blow.
But he was not surprised. Knowing full well that this was another one of the Heavens ironic contrivances, he never expected to be let off the hook easily.
And since he couldnt change a thing, then he would have to meet this difficulty as best as he could.
He reached for the Gold Amulet and clutched it in his fist. It was hard. The pale-chartreuse phosphorescence looked fragile like a marshmallow at first nce, but it was as unexpectedly hard as a diamond.
He tested trying to stow the Amulet away, but to no avail too.
It was true then. This Gold Amulet would remain stuck on him for twenty-four hours.
It couldnt be put away nor used.
As much as this predicament had almost sent him into a panicking frenzy, perhaps it wasnt that bad anyway.
Any other Cloud River Realm Third-Order would have to start ruing their imminent doom if they were beset by such a fate unless they were lucky enough totch themselves to a champion powerful enough to protect them, otherwise, good luck trying to stay alive with their position getting broadcasted every six hours.
But Lu Ye had a real chance of staying alive.
For what it was worth, he was grateful that he had not been idle. The entire days worth of work in constructing all twelve Teleportation Wards had paid off.
So even if his position was broadcasted, Lu Ye could easily teleport himself to the next ward. That could mean losing one ward whenever his position was being exposedthree to four Teleportation Wardsbut it was a price he was willing to pay if it ended with him winning a Gold Amulet.
An Amulet of this quality would no doubt be a boon to his progress.
Reflecting on the forting fruits of hisbor at least restored some sense of confidence in him.
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Chapter 505: The Ill-fated Encounter
Chapter 505: The Ill-fated Encounter
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On that note, Lu Ye felt more at ease knowing that he still had a very good chance at staying alive despite whatever odds the Heavens were stacking against him. He took the Gold Amulet and slipped it into his pocket and went back to reading.
That made the time pass by rtively quickly. With the first sixth-hour mark nearing, Lu Ye tucked away his book and extracted the Gold Amulet. Next, he waited and observed, staying at the center of his Teleportation Ward.
The information he had indicated that the Gold Amulet would erupt once every six hours, broadcasting its position. But as to how, Lu Ye wasnt informed at all and this was the first time he encountered something like this.
Seconds ticked like an eternity. All of a sudden, the already-shiny glow of the Gold Amulet zed with a stronger and brighter radiance that mimicked a star; a radiance that could permeate through everythinganythingsting out of the cave in a column of light that reached straight for the clouds overhead.
That was not all; with the column of light, erupted a huge pulse of Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye had been anticipating something like this, but seeing it up close was nevertheless awesome enough that he needed to squint his eyes at the blinding light. Beyond any doubt, every single Cultivator within a hundred miles of this ce would see this spectacle.
The humongous beam of lightsted for ten seconds before it finally ebbed away like extinguishing embers and the Gold Amulet resumed its usual lethargic green glow as if the phenomenon seconds ago did not happen at all and everything was just a dream.
But reality would prove otherwise; Lu Ye was already hearing cascades of footfalls approaching, followed closely by chatter. Here, theres a cave!
Fool! Hiding in a cave and getting himself trapped inside! This must be an amateur who knows nothing about the Colosseum.
Careful! Lets ascertain his affiliation first!
Lu Ye could hear different voices in conversation; at least three to four people. They must be a group. Parties like this weremonly made up of lower-tier Cultivators here in the Colosseum; Cultivators powerful enough to hold their own oftentimes traveled alone. While most champions preferred being alone out of temperament, some were just unwilling to share whatever bounty they discovered individually.
Hey there inside! Were Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators! If youre an ally, please show yourself! cried a voice from outside.
But Lu Ye wasnt born yesterday and he was not going to believe that. No matter who the strangers outside were, he was ready to leave at first notice.
That does it; lets get inside and just be done with it! said another voice. They must have been nearby since they were the first to arrive. But one thing was certain, everyone within a hundred miles from here had seen the beam of light. If he dyed too long, this ce would be swarming with enemiesorpetitors to the prize.
The partys collective strength might be good, but not good enough to deal with true champions.
The one who suggested rushing inside had barely finished speaking when everyone detected the signature of Spiritual Powering from inside.
They shared nervous and oblivious nces before the leader of the party led the rest inside with their Spiritual Powers channeled and ready. Carefully they made their way inside, anticipating resistance.
Three secondster, a huge rumble came roaring out from the yawning mouth of the cave, apanied by violent spates of mes spitting out of it and the men came hurrying out, looking utterly beaten and disheveled as they muttered words of curses under their breaths.
None of them knew that booby traps were waiting for them inside. While all of them managed to escape unscathed, the ordeal was enough to reduce them to nothing more than a bunch of ashen-faced beggars with scorches and bruises all over them, plus the chaotic state of their internal energies that had severely weakened them.
[Gods be damned, thats a Ward Cultivator inside!]
A shadow loomed over them for one transitory beat as a figurended before them, their Battlefield Imprints glowed immediately.
The neera powerful Eighth-Orderstudied their bedraggled appearances and muttered curtly, Where is it?
The party regarded the threatening presence of the neer apprehensively. One of them barked warily, Dont know. Theres no one inside!
The neer could barely believe that. He was positive that he felt traces of Spiritual Powering from inside the cave just now. How could there be no one after these men had gone in?
But as far as his suspicions went, little did he realize that the men werent lying at all.
Coldly, he hissed, Surrender what you found and Ill leave you be. Otherwise, every one of you will not be walking away from here alive!
There really was no one inside, the one who spoke earlier exined testily, We came here first, but what we found inside were booby traps. Nothing and no one else! This I swear in the name of the Heavens.
The Eighth-Order frowned. If these men were willing to swear to the Heavens that they found nothing inside, then that could only be the truth. He paused several seconds to think. Then, without warning, his hand shot up and he fired a st.
If the Gold Amulet were lost, then he would at least profit by killing and looting these men.
And a furious sh ensued.
It would not be long for more Cultivators to congregate here at the caved-in underground cavity and the brawl would crescendo into another full-scale battle where Cultivators from both sides would band up and hurl whatever they could at the enemies with reckless abandon.
In the meantime, Lu Ye was very, very far awaymore than two hundred miles out, inside another cave, utterly oblivious as to the powder keg that he had unwittingly set off.
Not that it was his business anyway.
But now that he had witnessed first-hand the spectacr extravaganza the Gold Amulet could cause, it was clear to him that trying to use a magical ward to contain its eruption would just be futile.
That was the original n he concocted prior to the Gold Amulets eruption. But after assessing its sheer magnitude, Lu Ye began to realize that as another one of the Heavens contrivances, no human could possibly contain it. Being several meters underground inside a cave too had failed to contain the st of light tunneling up into the clouds.
That would leave sacrificing more Teleportation Wards as the only viable way of surviving this tribtion. He would need to quickly move to another position as soon as the eruption of light and Spiritual Power by the Gold Amulet had ended. Fortunately, he had constructed enough Teleportation Wards for this contingency.
Lu Ye sat there and waited for minutes to make sure that he really was alone. Satisfied atst that nothing was around, he put away the Gold Amulet and went back to reading.
Six hours flitted by swiftly.
Just like before, the Gold Amulets eruption of the beam of light came right on time, followed closely by the terrible wave of Spiritual Power.
This time, Lu Ye did not wait to observe or listen; he immediately activated his Teleportation Ward and moved to the next spot.
Cultivators would arrive at his previous position only to trigger the explosive wards and they would leave the ce empty-handed, with litanies of curses and expletives being repeated incessantly.
Like what happened six hours before, Cultivatorster converged on this ce and another furious battle was sparked.
Meanwhile, more than tens of thousands of miles away from the Carnage Colosseum, a ray of light was streaking across the sky like aet. It was a sword and riding upon it were Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, both of whom were racing as speedily as the sword allowed towards the opening into the Carnage Colosseum.
As soon as he heard about Lu Ye being trapped inside the Colosseum, Li Baxian rushed to find out about its whereabouts. Too far and he might not get inside in time. But hearing that it was just a two-day journey from his present location, he knew he just might be able to make it.
He did not tell Lu Ye about his intention toe to find him. He knew that Lu Ye would decline the offer if he were aware of this. Just as he was worried about Lu Ye, Lu Ye would feel the same way about his well being too and he wouldnt want to see Li Baxian getting himself into danger on his ount.
Knowing this, Li Baxian decided to just enter the Colosseum and rendezvous with Lu Ye before making ns for their next course of action.
[Poor Lu Ye! He might not even be at the Second-Order yet! Why must such a cruel test beid upon him!? How is he now, I wonder?]
Every quarter of an hour, he would check his Battlefield Imprint to make sure Lu Ye was still safe and sound.
[Wait, Lu Ye! Hold on! Wait for us! Wereing!]
Somewhere inside the Colosseum, Lu Ye was sitting at the center of his Teleportation Ward, counting down the time.
More than eighteen hours had passed since the Gold Amulet showed itself to him. In less than a dozen minutes, the Amulet would erupt for the third time. All he needed to do was to wait this out one more time and he would be essentially safe after that.
By his reckoning, the twenty-four hours duration would have been used up and the Gold Amulet should be his to use freely and there would not be a fourth eruption if his interpretation of the Heavens rules were right.
Nevertheless, he waspletely prepared to believe that he could be wrong. But at the very least, Lu Ye was ready to see a third Teleportation Ward sacrificed for the sake of his ultimate safety.
He sat there quietly to bide his time.
His calctions were correct. Momentster, the same eruption from the Gold Amulet burst out once more. First the gigantic column of light, then the huge wave of Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye waited until themotion was over before he once again activated the Teleportation Ward and he discorporated.
Another two hundred miles away, Lu Ye was just appearing when he realized that something was terribly amiss. He looked around and there was someone else fifty meters away, staring at him with disbelief upon his face.
Evidently, the stranger was bbergasted to see someone appearing out of thin air!
Conveyance through magical means had always been a bread-and-butter part of life as a Cultivator. Entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield all required magical conveyance using the Divine Opportunity Column.
But that was a magical conveyance using the power of the Divine Opportunity Column. The power of the Heavens themselves.
Few, if any Cloud River Realm Cultivator was capable of ward magic and that Lu Ye appeared right out of nowhere greatly shocked the stranger.
His very presence here was just like what Lu Ye was concerned about earlier.
With prizes lurking anywhere in the Carnage Colosseum, Cultivators might be curious enough to explore caves and crevices hoping to find any freebies that the Heavens might have kept in store for them. Therefore, when this stranger came by this cave, he stepped inside, hoping to find something most others missed.
The booby traps Lu Ye set in ce were in the deepest-most parts of the cave and if no intruders ventured far enough, they would not trigger the wards.
Therefore, this stranger had onlye inside for a look. Finding nothing, he was just about to leave the cave when Lu Yes figure appeared right before his eyeswhat an ill-fated coincidence this was!
His gaze darted down and he found a pale-sapphire glowing from the back of Lu Yes hand.
Lu Ye too saw the fiery-red luminescence on the strangers hand.
Without any warning, the strangers hand shot up and he fired a spell. The rocky terrain in the cave was exactly what he would like; it was good for Spell Cultivator to maintain as much distance as possible from their enemies. He could just focus on delivering as much damage as possible and he would be just okay.
No, wait!
Lu Ye cried, but it was toote.
The spell missed and whizzed past him. The force of the Spiritual Powers caused the booby traps to activate and a terrible detonation took ce with the stranger Spell Cultivator not knowing what was going on. A frenzy of Spiritual Power swept through like a tempestuous storm, destroying the Teleportation Ward set up by Lu Ye in an instant. The powerful impact tossed him up before mming him heavily against the rock face, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling and rain down in a deluge, threatening to bury Lu Ye underneath a mound of debris.
The enemy Cultivator fared no better. The self-destruction ward had triggered too suddenly, catching them both off-guard with no time to prepare. In a moment of realization, they hastily activated their defensive auras to shield themselves from the st, but that did not prevent them from being covered in dust and dirt.
The dust finally settled after a few moments.
Luckily for them both, the cave was sturdy enough to withstand the st of the self-detonating ward.
As the smog was gradually fading, the practitioner waved his hand, clearing his throat a few times. He lifted his gaze and that was when his attention was immediately drawn to a glimmer of aureate sparkle.
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Chapter 506: Who Dares Win
Chapter 506: Who Dares Win
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Amidst the disarray of the mountainous cavern, the Spell Cultivators gaze fell upon his adversary who had abruptly materialized out of nowhere earlier, now buried under a mountain of rocks, and clearly unconscious. Beneath the tattered face mask was aely and youthful countenance, but that was not what the enemy Spell Cultivator was looking at. It was a shimmering glint that had caught his attention.
He looked closely and when he realized what it was, his heart almost skipped a beat: a Gold Amulet!
Overwhelmed with delight, the Spell Cultivator couldnt help but feel that the Gold Amulet falling into hisp must be some sort of well-deserved providence. As much as he was puzzled by the sudden appearance of this mysterious Grand Sky Coalition Cultivator and the presence of an explosive ward, all of his focus and mind was centered upon the irresistible Gold Amulet gleaming proudly before him.
He strode forward instinctively, driven more by greed and joy before rationale took hold and made him stop.
Although the explosion of the explosive ward earlier showed formidable power, it would still take more than that to fully kill a Cloud River Realm Cultivator. Therefore, he should still be alive!
And his garb strongly suggested that he was a Combat Cultivator!
[This fellow must be ying dead to get me closer!]
The Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator might not be a genius, but he wasnt foolish enough to not see thating. If a Combat Cultivator could get close to him, especially under such narrow and cramped conditions in the cave, then he could expect nothing but an impending and inescapable woe.Knowing full well that he ought to be cautious, he channeled his Spiritual Power, his hands performing several hand seals.
Whether the enemy was dead or not, the Spell Cultivator needed to fire a st or two at him, just to make sure. If the enemy had indeed fainted, then this would send him to meet his maker for good. But if he was really trying to feign being knocked out cold, this attack would make that a reality. No matter what the oue was, he was determined to get his hands on the Amulet and kill the enemy.
As he prepared to strike, he sensed another signature of Spiritual Powering from behind him. Before he could wheel around, he could hear something screaming through the air!
The Spell Cultivator swiveled around at once. While the entirety of his vision focused on seeing several aureate scythes arcing straight at him, his peripheral vision caught sight of a figure small and lithe of girth.
The Spiritual Power signature wasing from her and the golden scythe-like projectiles were hardly the only things in store: there was even a huge fireball that she was preparing to hurl at him!
[When did she get here?!]
The Spell Cultivators face fell. As a Cloud River Realm Sixth-Order, he took pride in his spiritual senses and awareness. Unless it were a Ghost Cultivator with equal power or beyond, he should have detected someone trying to creep up on him unaware.
But he did fail to detect the other strangers presence. If she had not beenunching attacks, he would have not even realized that he was not alone in the first ce.
That was Yi Yi. She had appeared the moment the explosive ward exploded, using the mor and disarray caused by the tumbling rocks to make her way to the back of the Spell Cultivator.
The essence of the maneuver was speed. She needed to be ready as soon as possible and fire as many spells as she could to overwhelm the enemy.
There was no way for the Spell Cultivator to evade; the fallen debris had practically kept him pinned in a narrow and cramped space and the only thing he could think of was to quickly erect a luminescent shield of magic that he relied on with every ounce of his Spiritual Power to protect himself from Yi Yis onught.
Heavy thuds hammered incessantly on the shield of light, jolting the Spell Cultivators frame like the cascading barrage of strokes from a hammer as he was knocked backward foot by foot in piecemeal steps. He felt humiliatedabasedthat he was forced into such a helpless corner all because of the terrain.
[A First-Order!]
[How dare she! Ill have her hide for such impudence!]
The Spell Cultivator was about tounch his counterattack when the spilling sound of rocks and stones rolling to the ground alerted him to something else.
[Oh, no!]
The Spell Cultivator felt the surface of his scalp going numb. The sudden appearance of another enemy had made him forget about that Combat Cultivator behind him!
The sharp, impending threat of death made the Spell Cultivator unleash his Spiritual Power almost reflexively, releasing a tremendous pulse of force that sted in all directions away from him.
A thin trail of blood trickled down the exposed side of Lu Yes face, barely obscured by the tattered mask now pping in the air. It was one of the pieces of debris that had hit him in the head and caused that wound. But the morbid-red stream lent a hint of callousness to his otherwise steely-calm countenance.
Lu Ye drove Invible straight at the wave of force pummeling him and nearly fell.
He quickly recovered and switched to bringing his weapon up for a downward hack.
The furious blow from behind could have cloven the Spell Cultivator into a pair of bloody halves, but his defensive shield thwarted the attempt. Despite having not even a graze, the Spell Cultivator staggered forward, nearly tumbling forward as he grimaced bitterly at the pain.
A Third-Order! he grunted with venom, urately guessing Lu Yes rank.
The Spell Cultivator was expecting the worst. For a Spell Cultivator to be trapped in such perilous terrain, he was definitely not optimistic enough to think he would survive this ill-fated excursion into this cave.
But now that he realized that his opponents were a First-Order Spell Cultivator and a Third-Order Combat Cultivator, what dread of death in him vanished, reced by apoplectic rage.
YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, DONT YOU!? the Spell Cultivator snarled. He flung a hand at Lu Ye and the image of a giant hand appeared and wed at Lu Ye.
He could easily deal with a First-Orderter; right now, he needed to defeat the stronger Third-Order enemy first. Especially since he was also a Combat Cultivator who had a geographical advantage in this terrain.
Once Lu Ye had been dealt with, he could easily crush a First-Order Spell Cultivator in due time.
In the meantime, Yi Yi had not stopped her ongoing barrage of spells pelting at the Spell Cultivators shield, its every hit eliciting tiny bursts of sparkles falling to the ground like cinders.
As the giant hand groped for Lu Ye, he responded by firing a Fire Phoenix spell at it. The ming projectile reminiscent of a bird mmed into the hand and the collision set forth a wave of Spiritual Power.
That gave Lu Ye the chance to bolt forward.
With a frigid and menacing re, the Spell Cultivator locked his gaze on Lu Ye. As soon as thetter reached within a certain range, he deftly repeated his earlier tactic, unleashing a raging torrent of Spiritual Poweran awesome repulsive force that ravaged everything in its path. So formidable was this force that even Yi Yis spells were dispelled before they got any closer to hitting the luminescent shield.
Lu Ye seemed entirely unfazed as if the tremendous impact of the repulsive force was as gentle as a midnight breeze. He momentarily paused as the force came crashing towards him, but then quickly resumed his charge towards his target, undeterred.
Lu Yes extensive experience in eliminating Spell Cultivators had made him well-versed in their methods. The ability to repel enemies in close proximity was amonly employed survival technique among Spell Cultivators, but it posed no challenge for Lu Ye. He knew that the key to neutralizing such a move was to maintain a safe distance from his opponent.
Lu Ye swiftly closed in on his opponent and, in one fluid movement, swung his weapon upwards.
Next, he brought it down with every ounce of might and speed he could muster.
His ultimate move: sh!
That initially surprised the Spell Cultivator. But he remained calm. Having been wounded by Lu Ye before, he knew that a strike from a Cultivator at Lu Yes level was not enough to kill him; his magical shield had prevented any pration, but the sheer physical force behind it, despite causing him some difort, was still not enough to threaten his life.
To no surprise, the blow came down and the luminescent shield was holding. Its sheen had weakened somewhat, but it had not failed entirely. All he needed to do was to reinject a fresh spurt of Spiritual Power and the shield would be restored.
The excruciating pain of the massive impact contorted his face, causing him to careen uncontrobly backward. Despite his attempt to activate his Spiritual Power to repair his weakened spiritual barrier, Lu Ye relentlessly pursued him like a bloodhound on a scent, catching up to him and delivering yet another devastating blow.
The magical shield grew increasingly fragile Then came a third blow.
A bone-splitting din screamed out, twisting the Spell Cultivators expression into one of terror. Frantically, he attempted to replenish the integrity of his magical shield with his Spiritual Power, but even with his swift efforts, it nevertheless required time.
Time that Lu Ye wasnt going to give him. The already dim spiritual barrier had only just begun to regain its strength and shine brighter when Lu Yes fourth blow arrived.
It was all abination of strokes!
With a loud crack, the shield shattered, leaving the Spell Cultivator defenseless as the st threw him backward with a trail of blood spraying into the air. Along with the shield, the fourth blow sliced off the Spell Cultivators right arm cleanly.
The Spell Cultivator reeled off amid a deafening scream of agony from him.
Lu Yended on the ground, gasping for breath. Despite his progress, usingbination techniques with sh active resulted in a tremendous strain on his body as each strike required him to exert himself to the fullest. The flesh and blood on his arm throbbed and pulsed from the strain and the angry-red soreness gathering through the entire length of his armnow feverish scarletrefused to scatter. But it mattered little at the moment.
In the meantime, Yi Yi did not stop hurling spell after spell at the Spell Cultivator who had to duck and evadeeven in the most undignified manneras he squealed like a hog.
With his right arm severed and the cycle of his Macrocosmic Orbit interrupted, the Spell Cultivators strength was greatly diminished. He clutched his wound, failing to staunch the flow of blood still gushing out the morbid stub, as panic began to fill his gaze. It was hard for the Spell Cultivator to imagine suffering such a huge loss against anyone weaker than him, a Third-Order Combat Cultivator and a First-Order Spell Cultivator no less! The relentless style of fighting was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Reacting quickly, the Spell Cultivator wheeled around and raced for Yi Yi, firing a spell at her as he drew nearer. Yi Yi quickly dodged it and discorporated as if she had melted into the ground.
That stunt confused the Spell Cultivator, and it provided an opening, leaving him vulnerable to a heavy blow to his back, sending him crashing to the ground with excruciating pain.The Spell Cultivator had broken the single-most important rule: to not expose his back to the enemy. The Sixth-Order Spell Cultivator had lost all sense of judgment because of the pain from his wounds. But few could ever remain calm, especially at the sight of impending death. More often than not, their errors caused by the disoriented judgment often have the better of them. The enemyy in agony with a gaping wound in his back that almost exposed his insides.
With his quarry incapacitated on the ground, Lu Ye caught up and stepped on his back. Next, he held his weapon in a backhand grip and drove the weapon through his fallen enemys heart, the weapons de bristling with Spiritual Power and double Sharp Edges activated.
It plunged through him and poked out the front, impaling his heart in the process.
The Spell Cultivator recoiled with unimaginable pain, the residual Spiritual Power inside him detonating like a dynamite with waves of Spiritual Power pulsing before everything went back to silence. That knocked Lu Ye off his feet, mming him into a nearby rock face with blood bursting out as his saber was dislodged from the body.
When Lu Ye finally got back to his feet, there was the Spell Cultivator, now dead with a pool of red underneath him. Yi Yi quickly scrambled to collect all his belongings and the dead enemys Storage Bag that she tossed to Lu Ye before she vanished back into Amber.
Lu Ye raced out of the cave and sped away as quickly as he could, disappearing into the night. By the time more Cultivators arrived because of themotion the fight had caused, all they found was a disfigured dead body. The wounds on the body showed how furious the fight was and the winner appeared to be a Combat Cultivator armed with a saber. That was all that they could determine considering theck of evidence.
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Chapter 507: Number One
Chapter 507: Number One
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After another two days of ughter and butcherywhich was just two normal days by the Carnage Colosseum reckoningLu Yes name on the Carnage Roster had plunged beyond the eightieth mark. One could almost say that it was just a matter of time before his name fell further and out of the list entirely. But killing the Spell Cultivator had seen his name regain a sudden spurt of life, propelling up to somewhere in the fifties. That was an unbelievable increment of a hundred and eighty Canage Points!
Many had noticed the new development on the Carnage Roster, including Wei Que. He had beenbing the Colosseum for prizes while hunting for any signs of Lu Ye. While his search had yielded a trove of treasures enough to make him happy, he was not amused at theck of information on Lu Ye. Without any hints at all, there was little he could do in a vast space more than tens of thousands of miles in length and breadth.
Knowing that Lu Ye was just a Cloud River Realm Third-Order, it wasnt hard for him to do the math to make out that Lu Ye must have just in a Sixth-Order to gain that many Carnage Points.
For a Cloud River Realm Third-Order to kill a Sixth-Order Just thinking about it could make him shiver.
That would exin why every sect and order in the Thousand Demon Ridge alliance had been so fearful of this person. Let him grow and one day he might really be a figure that would forever torment the whole alliance atrge. If today he could kill an enemy three ranks beyond his, he might one day be able to kill a Real Lake Realm or even Divine Ocean Realm Cultivators!
Meanwhile, Jiang Liuzi and his brother too have noticed Lu Yes name once again making headway on the Carnage Roster. Deep inside, they were thankful Lu Shu had summoned them, drawing them away from their hunt on Lu Ye, or else, there was no telling if cornered, Lu Ye might be the one who turned the tables on them instead, and the hunters might be the hunted.
At the same time, aside from fear and apprehension, the brothers had admiration and awe towards how Lu Ye had fared in this Colosseum. A Cloud River Realm Third-Order who was barely hiding and instead of keeping a low profile, he had been roaming around freely, swashbuckling withplete impunity for a position on the Carnage Roster? [Is he really not afraid of any reprisal from the Thousand Demon Ridge?!]
If only Lu Ye knew what they were thinking about; he would be in such an uproarious protest. What others didnt know was the time and trouble that he had gone through to build all twelve Teleportation Wards. What the others did not know was that he had been strenuously trying to keep his head low and just wanted to stay alive. What ruckus he had caused was not of his own volition. It was trouble that never stopped darkening his doorway.
And for that, he really was feeling exasperated.
At the moment, Lu Ye did not have the time or fancy to look at the Carnage Roster. He hurried away from the cave and found another quiet spot where he immediately got to work constructing a new Teleportation Ward.
That took a full hour before Lu Ye could finally breathe easier.
He stuffed a Spirit Pill into his mouth and felt the sensation of his Spiritual Power replenishing.
He had lost three out of the twelve Teleportation Wards he had prepared and had to make a new one, bringing the total up to ten Wards still remaining.
He reflected on thatst duel. It was dangerous, but he had managed to win because the enemy had been careless.
Yi Yis attack from behind had distracted him enough for him to close distance, plus the terrain itself had given him an advantage.
The cramped space had made it easy for Lu Ye and Yi Yi to pin down that opponent andunch their attacks from both fronts. She provided much of the diversion while he went for the kill. That was how they ended the fight quickly. It would not have been so easy if it were outside in the open.
He could kill Fifth-Orders with rtive ease and killing Sixth-Orders would be immensely tricky. But if Lu Ye were to encounter any Seventh-Orders, then the only thing to do would be to runflee as quickly and as far as possible.
The first order of business remained the same as before: to get stronger as quickly as possible before he walked right into another enemy far too strong for him to handle despite how wide plethoras of tricks he might have hidden up his sleeve.
His fox-motif face mask had been shattered, which was expected, knowing how the masks were just ordinary face masks. It was damaged when arge rock hit Lu Ye in the face during the fight in the cave, causing him several cuts.
Lu Ye removed the damaged mask and sat down quietly.
The twenty-four-hour limit of the Gold Amulet would be up at any time. Lu Ye did not know if there would be a fourth eruption, but if there was, then this new Teleportation Ward would have to be forfeited as well.
Time passed by quickly.
Lu Ye was cradling the Gold Amulet in his arms when a sudden emanation of light burst from it. He dismally watched it with a sense of resignation.
The Gold Amulet surged, firing a powerful beam of light that soared straight into the heavens overhead while emitting waves of Spiritual Power that every Cultivator within a hundred miles would sense.
Swiftly, Lu Ye activated his Teleportation Ward, intending to shift himself to a different location. However, he was met with abrupt dismay upon discovering that the next Teleportation Ward he had selected was no longer essible.
The magical link was no more. That would mean that the Teleportation Ward had vanished, possibly due to an unwee intruder who had set off an explosion thatid waste to everything he had prepared.
Despite his best efforts to conceal the Ward in a remote and concealed locale, other Cultivators must have been searching the ce for hidden prizes until they came across the cave and decided to look inside.
Fortunately, Lu Ye knew this would happen and he had prepared for this possibility. To that end, he had ensured that every Teleportation Ward could connect to at least two other Wards nearby. In this case, he still has one more option to pick.
With his new destination selected, Lu Ye reactivated the Teleportation Ward and he vanished, fading into the ether.
Lu Ye immediately surveyed his surroundings the moment he appeared, ensuring that he was alone and no one was looking. Satisfied atst, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
He extracted the Gold Amulet from his pocket. The long twenty-four-hour duration had finally passed and the pale-emerald glow that wrapped around the Amulet was gone. Atst, he could put the Amulet away into his Storage Bag without any hindrance.
[A Gold Amulet!] Lu Ye mused with a certain degree of disbelief and amazement.
Losing a few Teleportation Wards in exchange for one Gold Amulet seemed like a fair bargain. But Lu Ye wasnt thrilled enough to want to experience this again. He would rather that the Heavens select someone else to inflict its divine machinations on instead of him.
His initial impression was that twelve Teleportation Wards would be sufficient for his use, but it seemed that he had underestimated the perils and challenges that abound in the Colosseum. On paper, he still had eight Teleportation Wards remaining, but he could not be sure if every one of them was functioning as intended or how many of them had ceased to exist. He wouldnt know unless he were to examine all of them one by one.
Nevertheless, activating Teleportation Wards emitted Spiritual Power signatures that others could detect. This was reason enough to discourage him from activating any one of them unless necessary.
He could set up more Wards, but to do that, he would need to produce more Ward gs. He had already used up his supply with thest Teleportation Ward he had constructed. As much as he still had enough materials to make new ones, the process itself would also emit Spiritual Power signatures, which would risk exposing him, which could expose his hiding location.
The opening duration of the Carnage Colosseum was usually unpredictable,sting as long as a half month or even a full one. But in just two days, almost one-third of his Wards were gone. He would need to think of something if he wanted to maintain them until the end of the Colosseum.
Lu Ye meditated and trained in the vastness of the cave with Yi Yi handling security for him. With rm Wards set up as well, he was not at all worried about being ambushed.
Unbeknownst to him, the entire Colosseum was thrown into havoc the moment he shoved the Gold Amulet into his Storage Bag. As a result of that action, his position on the Carnage Roster soared from the fiftieth ce to the first!
His Carnage Points, from five hundred and fifty Points, had risen as much as a thousand, making the total sum a thousand five-hundred-and-fifty!
The mere notion of a thousand Carnage Points itself was a terrifying, much less ludicrously unbelievable one! The kill of a Cloud River Realm Fifth-Order was valued at a mere forty Carnage Points. That would mean one had to kill twenty-five Fifth-Order to get that many points!
While Cloud River Realm Eighth- and Ninth-Orders all around the Colosseum had been busy killing and maiming to no end, none of them hade close to reaching that many Carnage Points yet.
Even second-ced Xia Liangs score was a far cry away from Lu Yes. Most if not all of the rest of the names on the Carnage Roster had only three to five hundred Points and the disparity further highlighted how incredible Lu Yes one thousand five hundred and fifty Carnage Points were.
There was not one Cultivator in the Colosseum who was not shocked by this, notwithstanding those who already had their fingers on Lu Yes name. This time, virtually everyone was looking at the Carnage Roster, focusing on his name with incredulity.
The Colosseum was abuzz with discussion.
[Who is this person? I have never heard of him before,] many wondered. That a Cultivator could be at the forefront of so many experienced Cloud River Realm Cultivators on the Carnage Roster must mean this person must be a powerful and strong warrior. But few had heard of the name Lu Yi Ye, especially those who had spent so much time in the Cloud River Battlefield that they had little to no recent knowledge about the Spirit Creek Battlefield or even anything from the real world of Jiu Zhou.
[But how could anyone increase his Carnage Points by a thousand in just one go?! Have the Heavens made a mistake?!]
A Cloud-River First-Order who killed a Ninth-Order would still not receive so many Carnage Points. But there was little reason to doubt the Heavens; the mysterious entity had a reputation for being fair and brutal at the same time. A mistake like this was never likely.
Gain in Carnage Points doesnt only ur from killing, but also from possessing that special Gold Amulet. The Cultivator who was holding the Gold Amulet yesterday was awarded three hundred Carnage Points, someone pointed out.
Why is it a thousand today, then? asked another, perplexed.
It depends on the persons cultivation rank and how long they had been in possession of the Amulet within the twenty-four-hour period. The lower the persons cultivation rank and the longer they hold onto it, the more Carnage Points they will receive. Its the Heavens who determine how much they will be awarded exactly. In this case, its likely that this person has held the Gold Amulet for the whole duration of the twenty-four-hour limit and I dare say that their cultivation rank is no higher than the Fifth-Order, if not lower.
Wow, I have never heard of such a thing before. Thank you for enlightening us.
To have such a low cultivation rank and yet manage to hold on to the Amulet the whole time; this person must be incredibly powerful, eximed a third someone in awe.
Maybe he or shes a Ghost Cultivator? Only Ghost Cultivators who excel in stealth have such an advantage, spected another.
Nay, I think I know who he is. Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou province. Back then in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he caused enough upheavals to rile up everyone. And as far as I know, he is not a Ghost Cultivator but a Combat Cultivator, and his rank is definitely no more than the Fifth-Ordera First-Order, most probably. Hes been in the Cloud River Battlefield for barely two months.
WHAT?! A First-Order?! gasped one of them in shock.
Any other First-Order would have found it an impossible task to survive in the Carnage Colosseum, let alone hold on to the Gold Amulet for twenty-four hours. Even for higher-ranked Cultivators, the feat itself seemed unimaginable enough to aplish.
That was how many, who at first did not know how Lu Yi Ye could earn so many Carnage Points in one go, came to understand how this was just a reward from the Heavens for a job well done.
A job that not even they Seventh- or Eighth-Orderscould boast ofpleting.
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Chapter 508: An Incredible Figure
Chapter 508: An Incredible Figure
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A ray of lightnded just outside the Carnage Colosseum. It was Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
They had rushed all the way here nonstop for two days.
Despite the need for haste, they did not recklessly rush inside. They might not have participated in the Carnage Colosseum, but they had heard enough about the event to know that Cultivators would be hiding in ambush around the entrance, waiting to way any unsuspecting fresh entrants to earn Carnage Points.
They looked for a secluded spot and sat down to meditate and recuperate.
Almost six hourster, they got up. They looked at each othera tacit sign that both of them were ready.
Rays of light sparkled around themmore than fifty of themand circled around them, each of them the conjuration of Li Baxian that resembled a swarming horde of flying swords.
Ready?
Li Baxian asked.Feng Yuechan nodded.
Lets go then.
The multitudinous shafts of light coalesced as one, joining together to form the likeness of a dragon that coiled around Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, whisking them up into the air before mming into the scarlet-red wall of light that was the entrance into the Colosseum.
The air reverberated with the steely hum of the sword dragon that took into the air in its ferocious splendor.
On the other side of the deep-red sheet of light, scores of Cultivators were waiting for their new prey when a sword dragon of white came sting through the entrance of the Colosseum. The mere white-hot luminescence of the many sword-shaped shafts looked menacing enough to make any prowling enemy Cultivator think twice about attacking.
The dragon flew past the unseen gauntlets of Cultivators that remained hidden and slithered through the air furiously, speeding away until it was out of sight.
No one attacked it. Of the many Cultivators that had been camping at the peripherals of the Colosseums entrance, no one had done anything at all.
No one could doubt that that must be a Sword Cultivator making his entrance into the Carnage Colosseum. The sheer amount of shafts of light prolifically fused into the semnce of a raging dragon was enough to dissuade any would-be assants from doing anything stupid. What if it was someone incredible? The sword dragon itself was clearly a testament to the neers might and prowess. Then attacking the neer would be nothing but a hasty and foolhardy mistake.
A few champions quickly noticed that their caution was excessive. But by the time they realized that the Sword Cultivator that came in wasnt anyone overtly powerful, it was toote. The sword dragon had long streaked beyond their ability to catch up.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan maintained their altitude for moments longer before they finallynded somewhere in the wilderness. Li Baxian dispelled the army of swarming lights and they dropped to the ground one after another.
They made sure that they were alone before they finally breathed easily.
I wonder how Lu Ye is now, muttered a visibly distressed Li Baxian. He tapped his Battlefield Imprint to try reaching Lu Ye. He had not contacted Lu Ye since hisstmunication to prevent him from being worried about them. Now that they hade in, it was time to find out where he was.
He knew that both of them might not amount to much, but he was sure that if he could join up with Lu Ye, they could at least make sure that he would be safe.
Feng Yuechan was taking the time to look around them when Li Baxian was busy trying to raise Lu Ye when she looked up. This was her first time entering the Colosseum and she was still curious about everything inside. She had heard so much about how there were prizes abound on every corner of the Colosseum and perhaps this could be a chance for her to see the ce for herself.
It did not take long for her to notice the giant blood-red pennant magically hanging in mid-air and once she saw the names, she realized that she was looking at the Carnage Roster.
Her gaze went up and down every column of names. When she reached the top of the list, those big beautiful eyes of hers went as wide as eggs. For one moment, she thought that her eyes were deceiving her. But once she looked again, she was right.
Right at the topmost, were the words that said Lu Yi Ye, and after the name, it said that he had a thousand five hundred and fifty Carnage Points.
The second-ced Xia Liang only had a little more than a thousand Points!
Um, Baxian Feng Yuechan tugged at Li Baxians shirt.
Hmm? Li Baxian was still trying to reach Lu Ye to ask him about his location. He turned around and looked at Feng Yuechan.
Look, Feng Yuechan pointed a finger at the sky.
He looked up and saw the humongous pennant. Secondster, his pupils contracted with disbelief, What!? Number one?!
The first word that crossed his mind was Impossible. With so many champions congregating here, there was no way Lu Ye could have such might and power to be ranked not only first, but so ahead of the next runner-up with a several-hundred-Carnage-Points lead.
[More than one thousand five hundred Carnage Points?! How many has he killed already]
[Is that really him or just a guy who shares the same name?!]
But Lu Yi Ye did not seem like amon name. At least notmon for such coincidences where two people sharing the same name could be inside the Carnage Colosseum at the same time.
[Could it really be him?]
Li Baxian did not know what to think. He hade expecting to find Lu Ye trapped in one corner, fending for his life with perils skulking about, waiting for the best chance to strike. Yet if that really was Lu Ye at the top of the Carnage Roster, then the worry and distress that had propelled him toe all the way here might have been for nothing.
[If that really is Lu Ye at the top of the Roster, that would mean that he must be in hardly any danger at all! Hes having fun!]
Nevertheless, he could not tell if that really was Lu Ye yet, not until he asked Lu Ye himself.
Lu Ye, that Lu Yi Ye guy at the first ce of the Carnage Roster, is that you?
Lu Ye was sitting right at the center of another one of his many Teleportation Wards when he received word from his senior brother. He tly denied, No, thats not even possible.
His highest was somewhere between the tenth and the twentieth spots. There might have been changes after he had killed that Sixth-Order. By now, he expected that his name must have long dropped out of the Roster again.
To top it off, Lu Ye had only three kills under his belt, amounting to almost five hundred and fifty Carnage Points, which would bring him no closer to the top spot of the Carnage Roster.
Then it must just be a coincidence. Theres a guy here with the same name as you and hes upying the first ce of the Roster with a thousand five hundred and fifty Carnage Points, said Li Baxian while he thought, [This fellow must be a Ninth-Order. With this many Carnage Points, theres no way hes a low-tier Cultivator!]
Li Baxian knew exactly who the second-ced Xia Liang was. Formerly one of the best Cultivators of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the Raving desman had once fought against Li Baxian before and thetter knew for a fact that Xia Liang was a powerful figure who was now beyond any doubt a Ninth-Order. But this mysterious figure who shared the same name as Lu Ye was now the leading participant in the Carnage Colosseum and that would mean he must be stronger and more dangerous than Xia Liang!
What an incredible figure!
Far away, deep inside his cave, Lu Ye began to feel something had gone amiss. But he did not dwell too much into it. As far as he was concerned, he has only five hundred and fifty Carnage Pointsnot the amount that could possibly put him in the first ce.
What perturbed him more was the fact that Li Baxian had endangered himself by entering the Colosseum for his sake. It was a move that Lu Ye felt conflicted about; he was touched and worried at the same time.
To say nothing of the other fact, that was how Li Baxian had deliberately kept this a secret from him. Only aftering in, did he finally reveal that he hade all the way here just to look for Lu Ye.
Lu Ye extracted his ten-point map and ascertained his position, which he informed Li Baxian about.
Wereing for you, brother. Wait for us.
After sending hisst message, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan set off for Lu Yes position. It wasnt too far and flying using Telekinesis should have just taken two or four hours. But they could not risk being seen, therefore, they had to keep to the ground and to slower speeds.
Quickly, they pressed on.
In the meantime, Lu Ye waited inside the cave quietly.
All in all, Li Baxianing to join him was nevertheless good news to him. Fighting with him around would mean higher survivability. At any rate, there were still the Teleportation Wards to rely on in the case of encountering any superior enemies.
He did not neglect to notice that Li Baxian said we. That meant he had to be with someone else, which was most probably Feng Yuechan.
How powerful they were right now, Lu Ye did not know. By his reckoning, they had entered the Cloud River Battlefield a few months before he did, so they should be almost at the same level. Moreover, they had spent more than a decade in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. The amount of experience and mastery of the skills they had amassed through so many years have made it easy for them to y even Cultivators beyond their current ranks.
Especially since no one with just as much talent and gifts as them had stayed so long in the Spirit Creek Realm.
Yet all the time spent honing their experience and skills barely did any justice to the extraordinary natural gifts they had. Even those of average aptitude would find it unprofitable to linger in the Spirit Creek Realm for more than a decade. In fact, such a prolonged stay could have been better spent advancing straight through the Cloud River Realm and into the orders of the True Lake Realm.
Having pondered this, Lu Ye opted not to remain in the cave any longer. Instead he found refuge somewhere else and activated Glyph: Concealment to shroud himself from sight.
Li Baxian was already on his way here and it would be a massive quandary if he were to get himself trapped inside the cave when someone else were to arrive first.
He could use his Teleportation Ward to escape but that would mean he and Li Baxian would be separated. He could choose to stay and fight, but that would mean a certain amount of risk. Hence, he decided to just wait outside for better tactical mobility and flexibility.
He had just settled infortably in his hiding spot when he remembered what Li Baxian was asking him about earlier. That made him look up at the Carnage Roster hanging overhead.
Li Baxian was right. There really was a Lu Yi Ye in the lead!
[So there really is someone with the same name as mine, eh? Thats amusing.]
His gaze began to travel downward.
But the longer he looked, the more the sense of dread and disquiet intensified.
Then he reached the bottom of the Carnage Roster, where thest name had five hundred and thirty Carnage Points.
By his calction, he expected to have five hundred and fifty Carnage Points at least. That should ce him somewhere in the nieth-odd.
Yet he could check for another hundred times and still, his name was nowhere else in sight other than at the top.
There was only one Lu Yi Ye in the Carnage Roster and it was at the top!
[Wait. Does that mean that Ive been calcting it wrong?! My Carnage Points are not five hundred and fifty?]
[Thats impossible. Im a Third-Order, but Ive killed a Fifth-Order, then a Seventh followed by a Sixth. That would mean that Ive been awarded a hundred and twenty, two hundred and fifty, and a hundred and eighty Carnage Points respectively. That would be five hundred and fifty! Theres no mistaking it! My rewards are directly tied to how much difference between my enemies ranks and mine! The figure should be correct!]
He looked at the name at the top and saw the amount of Carnage Points: a thousand five hundred and fifty
[Wait, the numbers strange! Thats exactly a thousand points more than what I calcted!]
[Could that really be me?!]
[But where did that one thousand pointse from?!]
Just when he was still struggling with what to make of the situation, waves of Spiritual Power signature from not far away diverted his attention back to reality. He listened, registering the archetypal ring of steel that could onlye from swords. Next, he looked up. Faraway in the corners of the horizon, he could see pulsing waves of light. Someone must be there fighting and unleashing a gamut of spells.
He delivered an urgent message to Li Baxian to enquire about his condition. No reply came.
Yi Yi! Lu Ye grunted. Yi Yi knew what he wanted even before he said it. She dove right out of Amber and discorporated, vanishing into the ground and speeding towards the direction of the battle.
Lu Ye sprinted as fast as he could as well.
Li Baxian did not reply. That could only mean one thing: he must be upied by something. Plus, he should be arriving any minute now. That would mean that he and Feng Yuechan must have been intercepted by someone and they were fighting, which was confirmed by the ngor of steel and the intermittent bursts of Spiritual Power waves.
Upon arriving at the scene, Lu Ye cast his gaze upward and was met with the stunning sight of deadly rays of light darting through the air in great numbers. Within a confined space, figures were skillfully maneuvering and crossing paths in the skies like shadowy phantoms, locked in a fierce battle.
Lu Ye immediately recognized two of them: Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
The former was fighting at his fullest with more than a hundred shafts of light answering his every beck and call, a true disy of how deadly Sword Cultivators could be.
<
>
Chapter 509: Rendezvous
Chapter 509: Rendezvous
<
Lu Ye was right. Li Baxian came with Feng Yuechan and they were fighting side-by-side with each otherhe with his Telekinesis and she with her Spiritual Power pulsing in huge undtions as she fired one spell after another at their assants.
But there were not three, not four, but five assants in all.
Had been, more like. One of them was sprawled on the ground with a spreading pool of red beneath him. There was no telling if he was already dead, but he was clearly put to the ground by Li Baxian, no less.
Another one was some distance away. His entire person radiated rich Spiritual Energy as he waved a ga ward gback and forth again and again.
Without any doubt he had to be a Ward Cultivator and the signature of his Spiritual Energy indicated that he was a Fifth-Order.
So were the rest of the remaining three assants still engaging Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan; they were also Fourth-and Fifth-Orders.
Yet despite their superior advantage in numbers, none of them looked like they were enjoying this one bit. If anything, their eyes were fraught with shock and trepidation for Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan must be far more powerful than they expected.
It was an ambush that should have worked with the elements of superior numbers and surprise. Yet they were not able to capitalize on their advantage and defeat this duo, instead one of them was killed. Fortunately for them, the Ward Cultivator had managed to activate the ward that he had cast beforehand in time, and that somehow evened the odds considerably.Nevertheless, that did not make the fight any easier. The deadly shafts of light with speeds, intensity, and power that could snuff out their lives if they were not careful, plus the powerful spells that never stopped screaming at them were all enough to make this easily one of the hardest skirmishes they had ever fought in.
[Where the hell did these two monstrosities pop out from?!]
Instead of waying what they anticipated as easy targets, these enemy Cultivators knew very well that they had just poked the hos nest.
But it did not take long for the enemy Fifth-Orders to realize that prolonging this fight was not going to end in their favor. Even if they could still hold their ground, themotion of the fight could attract unwanted attention. All would still be well if allied Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators were toe this way; any form of help would be sorely weed. But if it was someone from the Grand Sky Coalition, then these marauders would have to rue their poor luck.
It was a fifty-fifty wager that none of them were willing to risk.
Hold up! one of them cried atst. This is just a misunderstanding! Now, everybody stop and take one step back before we do anything else we might regret!
As much as they wished to withdraw, this could only be done if both parties had arrived at an understanding with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan ceasing and desisting just like them.
There was little pity for the one who was killed. As an outsider who was only roped in to make up the numbers, the others were more than willing to chalk his demise up to bad luck than to further endanger themselves.
The cry did its job; Li Baxian quietly furrowed his brow and dialed back his power.
Being trapped in the magical ward might have limited both his and Feng Yuechans power to eight-tenths of their usual level, but the presence of a Ward Cultivator in the midst of the enemy did not mean that hecked both the confidence and ability to y all these enemies.
In fact, the odds of sess were even higher with Feng Yuechans help.
The magical ward wasnt anything too powerful orplex for them to ovee.
For more than ten years he and Feng Yuechan had stayed in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They might have squandered precious time, but the time had also allowed them to develop valuable experience, skill, and maturity.
The enemies were just a ragtag crew of a few mediocre Fourth-and Fifth-Orders that never stood any chance in the first ce.
Then again, Li Baxian was hardly a fool who failed to recognize the risks of waging openbat in broad daylight within Colosseum grounds where untold perils awaited everywhere and anytime. His primary objective remained to regroup with Lu Ye.
Relieved at the chance for a pay, Li Baxian grunted his agreement, Very well!
Li Baxian toned down his attacks further.
The enemy Fifth-Order who sued for peace was about to heave a long breath of relief when a shrill cry of pain shed across the newly-minted truce. His face fell with dismay; that cry was the voice of the Ward Cultivator!
His peripheral vision caught sight of a figure he had not seen before. Creeping up on the Ward Cultivator from behind, the stranger had impaled his saber through the chest of the Ward Cultivator, the cool glint of the weapon only veiled by the macabre sheen of blood on its surface.
[sted!]
When Lu Ye first got here, he immediately saw how Li Baxian and Feng Yuchan were pinned down. With his Glyph: Insight he quickly discovered that they were trapped in a magical ward that was being maintained by an enemy Cultivator. That was what prompted him to stealthily sneak close and deliver his one-hit kill.
His poor quarry had had his hands full in dealing with both Li BaXian and Feng Yuechan. Their deadliness and prowess had kept him so tense, anxious, and awed that he did not even see Lu Ye creeping closer. By the time he noticed Lu Ye lunging, it was already toote.
Invible stabbed through his ribs, eliciting a huge fountain of blood out of the gash at his front when Lu Ye yanked it free before it came back in an arc that lopped off the head like a cook chopping off the greens on top of a carrot.
At the same time, the swarming shafts of light that had been diminishing and their movements ckened suddenly red up as if they were given a new lease of life. As Lu Ye decapitated his quarry, the shafts of light all dove at the Fifth-Order who called for a truce just now, raining a furious onught upon him that he could barely hold his ground as he stumbled backward due to the sheer strength of every shaft that attacked him. But just when he thought he had managed to regain a steady foothold, death came from behind.
It was Lu Ye stepping within the bounds of the magical ward, charging straight at them.
Invible swung in a deadly curve even before he got near. A scythe of glowing luminescence roared through the air and smashed through the enemy Fifth-Orders protective aura and sted a gaping hole on his back that never stopped bleeding in profuse spates.
All he managed to do was let loose one agonizing shriek thatsted not one second at all before he went dead silent.
Lu Ye did not stop. He bolted past the dying enemy still wobbling and churning out blood, to race for his next target, his saber now dripping a slick trail of crimson as he moved.
Only after he was far away did the Fifth-Order drop dead to the ground.
But Lu Ye wasnt anywhere near his next target when thetter was hit by a lightning-elemental spell. Serpentine tendrils of electricity snaked all over him, paralyzing him like a giant web of lightning as he slowly cooked to death before a second spell sted a hole straight through his chest, killing him instantly.
On the other hand, Li Baxian swiftly made short work of thest Fourth-Order enemy with his flying sword-shaped shafts of light.
In barely ten seconds, the battle was overall thanks to Lu Ye.
In the wake of that action-packed ten seconds, Li Baxian and his junior brother shared a quick look at each other, the formers gaze filled with surprise and marvel. Lu Ye gave a wave and yelped, Come on! This way!
He wheeled around and scampered off with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan peeling closely behind.
Yi Yi quickly swooped up what loot she could collect before she went back underground and followed after them.
As he ran, Lu Ye took the chance to look up into the sky. His vision homed in on the first name on the Carnage Roster and the dread and apprehension that followed made the corners of his eyes throbboth involuntarily and uncontrobly.
Once they got inside the cave, Lu Ye instructed Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan on how to avoid triggering the explosive wards before they finally reached the vastness and safety of the rock chambers deeper inside.
They sat down and Li Baxian looked around. His face went alight with amazement, What is this?! A magical ward?!
He could tell that a magical ward had been constructed here, although hisck of knowledge in the arcane mastery of ward-building prevented him from identifying it.
But Lu Ye had brought them here. That would mean that this magical ward must mean something.
A Teleportation Ward.
What?! A Teleportation Ward?!
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan could not believe it. They had heard about how talented Lu Ye was in the mastery of ward-casting, but neither of them knew that he was skilled enough to construct a Teleportation Ward!
Neither of them had imagined this was possible!
Especially since Lu Ye was only just a Cloud River Realm Cultivator.
How far can you go with this?
Li Baxian had to ask. The further the Ward could reach, the greater its value would be. Teleportation Wards that could go only as far as a dozen miles were useless, to say the least. Any other Cloud River Realm enemies worth their salt could easily close that amount of distance in no time.
About two hundred miles.
Huh
Li Baxian inhaled a long, deep breath.
Even Feng Yuechan looked utterly bewildered.
They might be of simr ranks of Cultivation, but they were nevertheless more experienced and seasoned than Lu Ye, and that was why they understood the significance behind Lu Yes ability to construct a Teleportation Ward that could scale distances as far as two hundred miles.
For what it was worth, Lu Yes skill and gifts in ward-casting was far greater than they expected.
And beyond any doubt, he had to have constructed several such Wards or he would not have chosen to hide inside this cave.
With these Wards, Lu Ye would be able to maintain his safety even though he was weaker than most of the contestants of this Carnage Colosseumassuming he hadnt been everywhere causing a ruckus and inviting unwanted attention.
Still, Li Baxian could barely prevent shedding beads of anxious perspiration down the side of his face. He had been so worried about Lu Yes safety, thinking that his young junior brother was trapped somewhere, besieged by mortal threats. It was this belief that had driven them both to rush here at once. Of all the difficulties they anticipated Lu Ye to be in, this scenario was definitely not what they envisioned.
But this was, unequivocally, good news. Lu Ye was safe and with these Teleportation Wards, he could easily escape if he encountered an enemy that was too powerful to handle.
That reminded Li Baxian of something else: their rank of cultivation. Wait a second, youre a Third-Order now, Lu Ye!
It had not been two months yet since Lu Ye had made his ascension into the Cloud River Realm. That was why Li Baxian had been under the impression that Lu Ye was not in the Second-Order yet until he noticed otherwise.
I was lucky. I found a pocket dimension not long ago and that allowed me to earn enough to exchange for several Amulets.
Yi Yi finally arrived as they were talking. She demurely bowed to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, My respects to you, Brother Baxian and Sister Yuechan.
Youve grown prettier since Ist saw you, sister, Li Baxian nodded approvingly.
Which was true. Since Yi Yi and Ambers ascension into the Cloud River Realm, the former had begun to grow more beautiful as a woman.
The praise made Yi Yi so happy that her eyes turned into crescents.
Feng Yuechan took her aside to talk but not before Yi Yi handed the loot she fetched from the scene of the battle earlier to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye took the loot from her andid it down. Then he began undoing the magical seals of every Storage Bag while he and Li Baxian continued their chat.
Lu Ye had taken note of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans cultivation rank during the earlier fight. Both of them were one rank higher than he wasFourth-Orders.
They had been here in the Cloud River Battlefield longer than he was; his fortune had been good and so had theirs. To that end, everyone had managed to progress quickly enough.
The conversation took a turn and Li Baxian began asking about the recent events in the Crimson Blood Sect.
Li Baxian sighed when he finally heard that the Sect was improving and its future was bright and promising, This is where I say Im sorry, brother.
The Sects present prosperity was Lu Yes singlehanded hard work and toil. Back when he first arrived, there was no one else but him and Shui Yuan aside from their mentor Tang Yifeng.
But today, the Crimson Blood Sect could boast a membership of seven to eight hundred-man strong, if not a thousand, stationed at its outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. No other sect or order could possibly im to wield simr strength and influence, especially in the outer ring regions of the Battlefield.
To say nothing of the Blessings on the outposts Divine Opportunity Column that had ensured a level of Spiritual Qi ambiance that few other outposts could emte. Even the Contribution Points owned by the outpost were enough to purchase more Blessings.
Furthermore, the riches that the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders had surrendered as tributes were enough for the outpost to go on operating for at least another couple or more decades.
Such were the contributions that Lu Ye alone had made to the Sect.
<
Chapter 510: Blessed With Luck
Chapter 510: Blessed With Luck
<
Lu Ye finished unlocking the magical seals of the Storage Bags while they chatted.
The number of enemies was only five, but the amount of Storage Bags that Yi Yi had recovered was a good twenty-odd of them.
The five did not need so many Storage Bags. Most Cultivators had no more than three Storage Bags for convenience and ssification of their items and equipment.
Yet they had more than twenty Bags in all, and Lu Ye could only think of one reason: these must be the Bags they had looted off other poor victims they had waid and they had now be Lu Yes prize.
Lu Ye picked out ten of the Storage Bags and slid the rest to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
Which Li Baxian did not decline. As brothers-in-arms, there was no need to be coy. He took the Storage Bags and emptied them all.
Lu Ye did the same.
There wasnt anything remarkably precious to be expected; just some usual supplies that could be useful. There were items such as Spirit Artifacts and supplies that he could sell off for Contribution Points, but some he might take back to the main stronghold of his sect.Most Cloud River Realm Cultivators used Middle-grade Spirit Artifacts and hence they could fetch very good prices.
He went on searching through the pile of loot until he found a tiny little box glowing with an iridescent luminescence. He recognized what it was: a box containing an Amulet.
Without thinking further, Lu Ye flipped the lid open and a bluish glow came pouring out.
God, you really have great luck, brother, Li Baxian moaned with amazement.
Both he and Feng Yuechan had their own share of good luck since entering the Cloud River Battlefield. In fact, he still had three boxes containing Amulets himselfalthough he had never once gotten anything beyond a Green Amulet thus far.
He had spoken to others at length about the unpredictability of such boxes which were moremonly known as Amulet Chests. The chest was enchanted by the powers of the Heavensthe de facto entity shrouded with an enigma that governed all thingsto grant its opener an Amulet of varying quality, depending on their luck. It could be a Gold although the possibility would be absurdly slim. Even a Purple Amulet would be rare enough. Most Cultivators expected to get a White or a Green. Some with better luck might see a Blue. That was why Li Baxian had decided to gather as many Amulet Caskets as possible and open them all together. Maybe that way, he could obtain a good Amulet.
If he could not rely on his luck to provide him with a good Amulet, then perhaps a bigger number of tries could tip the scales.
But right here, right now, Lu Ye had stumbled on a Blue Amulet right off the bat.
I think my luck has been good since receiving the Gift of Providence when I was making my ascension to the Cloud River Realm. Thatst time when I discovered that pocket dimension I told you about? I found a magic that could manipte the traits of a Spirit Beast. A stranger told me that selling it to the Vault of Providence would earn me the Heavens blessings, meaning that my luck would increase, and that was what I did.
Wait, you got the Gift of Providence?! Li Baxian yelped. That was the first time he heard about this. With him and Feng Yuechan already inside the Cloud River Battlefield, Li Baxian was deprived of any fresh news from the real world of Jiu Zhou and everywhere else outside the Battlefield.
Yeah.
That exins it. Teacher had told me a long time ago that Senior Brother Feng, who was thest person to receive the Gift of Providence, had enjoyed a tremendous run of good luck after that. Anything he did, as if he had the help of the Heavens themselves, would just work. That was how he became so feared and respected that at one point he wielded as much power and authority as the chief of the Grand Sky Coalition. So it was not just some fairytale then
Then, he had an idea. He extracted all three Amulet Caskets from inside his Storage Bag and handed them to Lu Ye. Try opening these for me, Lu Ye.
Knowing that Lu Ye has been blessed with tremendous luck, letting him open the Amulet Caskets might be a good idea. There was a possibility of getting a Gold Amulet.
That reminded Lu Ye about Xia Qianqian. She too had asked him to open her Amulet Casket just a few days ago. Instead of being able to make use of his good fortune, all she got was just a White Amulet
Three pairs of eyes stared intently.
Lu Ye ced a hand on the first Casket and flipped open the lid. A wash of white-hot phosphorescent came gushing out.
Lu Yes brow cocked with interest. Peculiar.
Up until today, he had opened a total of four Amulet Caskets. The first one was his and it yielded a Purple Amulet. The next one was Xia Qianqians which spouted a White one. The third one, which was the one just now, gave him a Blue Amulet. Now this, another White.
If the first times a coincidence, what about this time?
Its fine. Fortune can turn on a dime, brother. Lets try the next one, said Li Baxian.
Lu Ye hesitated. Can you give these two Caskets to me, brother? he asked gingerly.
No problem. Theyre yours. If I had known about this, I would have tried to save more Amulet Caskets for you.
Lu Ye did not wait; he was already opening the lid of the next Casket. An emerald-green glow came pouring out.
A Green Amulet. Mediocre but still eptable.
Then thest Casket.
A breathtakingly rich violet incandescence zed from within as soon as the lid cracked open, casting a purplish sheen on everyones amazed countenance.
Incredible! eximed Li Baxian in disbelief.
Even Feng Yuechans eyes were the size of eggs. No one had expected that he would get a Purple Amulettwenty-seven times more valuable than a Whiteon his third try.
Seeing really is believing, and witnessing Lu Yes extraordinarily remarkable fortune up close and in the flesh, one could wellprehend what an incredible boon the Gift of Providence was.
Barely a month ago, Li Baxian was just telling Feng Yuechan how it could be easier to find a four-leaf clover than expect Amulet Caskets to yield any Amulets Purple or beyond. A blue moones around about as often as such an improbable urrence.
Yet here, after almost thirty days, Fate had elected to prove him wrong.
Lu Ye slid the Caskets containing both the Green Amulet and Purple Amulet back to Li Baxian.
Thetter peered at him incredulously.
I think it only works when Im opening my own Amulet Caskets. If Im opening it on behalf of someone else, my good luck wouldnt work.
That was why he asked Li Baxian to give him both the Amulet Caskets in the first ce, he exined further. It was only to verify his guess.
It could not be just mere coincidence when every single Casket that he opened for others only yielded White Amulets while those that belonged to him provided better rewards.
But this proved his hypothesis. Whatever good luck the Heavens had bestowed him with, it would only work for his benefit and his alone. Anyone thinking of exploiting this extraordinary providence through him would be sorely disappointed.
Li Baxian peered at the Amulet Caskets and shook his head. No, brother. I cannot take them.
Lu Ye was about to protest, but Li Baxian stopped him. Smiling, he said, I understand, brother. But luck is something intangible that you cant see or feel. If your current string of good luck is really a result of you receiving the Gift of Providence, then you should be even more careful. The reach of the entity we know as the Heavens is far and boundless. Any form of perfidious maniption or deceitful trickery in the use of this extraordinary luck you now embody might be seen as a slight towards this omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient being. That could affect the favor you now have with the Heavens, or worse, see you ruined.
What? Is that true?! Lu Ye yelped with trepidation.
Its prudent to practice caution, said Li Baxian pensively. When it came to the Heavens, he would rather tread carefully than make flippant and sloppy mistakes. Not even the slightest one.
Li Baxian would have readily pounced on the offer of a Purple Amulet if it were anyone else. The Amulet would have ensured a huge increase in his power. But this was Lu Ye, his own brother-in-arms that he owed his loyalty to. He could not just sit and watch himmit what could be a disastrous mistake.
Hes right, Lu Ye, added Feng Yuechan. We cant be too careful with issues of such gravity. In the future, be wary of anyone wanting to make use of your extraordinary fortune for their own gain. You could put yourself at great risk.
Lu Ye nodded.
Very well. Ill keep the Amulets. But youll keep the rest of the loot.
He pushed the pile of Storage Bags which was his portion of the bounty towards them.
This time Li Baxian proffered no objection. Satisfied, he picked up the pouches piecemeal and upended each of them to empty their contents.
Lu Ye examined the insides of his own Storage Bag. He had several Amulets in totalone Gold, one Purple, one Blue, one Green, and a couple of Whitesall of which should be enough for him to make it to the Fourth-Order.
He had progressed enough and it wouldnt be too long before he reached the next Order.
Which would have to wait until the Carnage Colosseum ended. To consume Amulets required time, amodity that could be viewed as a luxury in the Colosseum. A White Amulet needed barely a quarter of an hour but a Gold Amulet would take at least a day and night to fully assimte and the process could not be interrupted. Any disturbance could cause terrible losses.
Therefore the best solution would be to wait until the Colosseum had ended, then Lu Yu could start searching for a hidden and secure location.
In that case, brother, you could just purchase any number of Amulet Caskets. Try to get as many as possible in the price range of Green Amulets. With your luck, you might have quite a haul waiting to drop on yourp, Li Baxian suggested suddenly.
Green Amulet? That would just be around six to seven hundred Contribution Points, in that case, quipped Feng Yuechan, chuckling, Thats not a number of Points that Cloud River Realm Cultivators would hanker after. Therefore, no. Amulet Caskets gotta be higher than that. Remember, every single Casket represents a Cultivators chance, however small it might be, to procure a Gold Amulet. If anyones gonna sell Caskets away for six to seven hundred Contribution Points, then they might as well just open the Caskets themselves. Who knows? The Heavens might somehow take a liking to them and drop them a Gold one.
Li Baxian thought about what she said and felt she had a point. Youre right.
That was true. Even he himself, now that he thought of it, would be reluctant to part with an Amulet Casket for a measly six to seven hundred Contribution Points. Like Feng Yuechan said, every Casket represented hope. An Amulet Casket might reveal a Gold Amulet and if this did really happen right after he had sold his Casket to someone else, he would suffer a stroke.
To say nothing of the fact that Amulets remained an important if not one of the few ways Cultivators relied upon to progress. Most people immediately opened their Caskets as soon as they found one, which would make Amulet Caskets a raremodity to be offered up for sale.
Hence, the idea of purchasing more Amulet Caskets was a dead end.
While some Cultivators could be tempted to part with their Amulet Caskets at the offer of a price that equaled Blue Amulets, there was no absolute certainty in whether transactions like this would be profitable or not. Nevertheless, that anyone would sell off their Caskets in the first ce remained a very, very big if.
With the distribution of the lootthe Amulet Caskets were all opened, the looted Storage Bags emptied and their contents tucked awaypleted, Li Baxian singled out one of the Storage Bags, filled with more Spirit Pills and Stones before tossing it to Lu Ye.
Without waiting for a reply, Li Baxian pointed out, Its filled with ward gs.
Lu Ye disavowed any thought of protesting. He peered inside. There really were several dozens of ward gs inside, making this the Storage Bag that once belonged to the Ward Cultivator he slew. Lu Ye had a good many ward gs before but recent use had pretty much exhausted his supply and this could not havee at a better time. He did not decline the offer and put away the Storage Bag.
So, what are your ns after this, brother?
Li Baxian asked.
Well, at first, I was thinking ofying low here until the Colosseum ended. If anything happened, Id just escape using these Teleportation Wards.
And now?
Li Baxians brow cocked. He could hear that Lu Ye had something else in mind.
Lu Ye sighed. Quietly, he admitted, Well, about that. There is something else that Ive not yet told you about. I think the name now at the number-one spot of the Carnage Roster is mine.
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Chapter 511: I’m Number One
Chapter 511: Im Number One
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Inside the vastness of the underground cavern, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were staring nkly at Lu Ye.
Seconds ticked by in silence before the stillness broke with Li Baxian uttering his question, Wait. I thought you said that it was someone else.
That was what I thought at first. By my calctions before, I did not have that many Carnage Points. The name in the first ce has a thousand points more than what I estimated I should have. It was after I killed those two Fifth-Orders, I noticed that the Carnage Points for the name in the first ce rose by two hundred and forty
They harked back at the fight just now. Five assants had waid Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan when they wereing here. One of them had already been killed by Li Baxian when Lu Ye arrived at the scene
Lu Ye first ambushed the Fifth-Order Ward Cultivator before he took down another Fifth-Order. That added two notches to his belt.
As a Third-Order, killing a pair of Fifth-Orders who were beyond his rank would earn him a hundred and twenty Carnage Points apiece. The name in the first ce of the Carnage Roster had a thousand five hundred and fifty Points when Lu Yest checked. But after he had in the Fifth-Orders, the tally had risen two hundred and forty Points, making the total a thousand seven hundred and ny Points.
With how he could no longer find his name amongst the ny-somethings, Lu Ye could only conclude that he really was number one on the Carnage Roster.
The amount of Carnage Points rising definitely wasnt a coincidence.But you said that the amount is a thousand more than what youve calcted? How? pointed out Li Baxian.
Well, I can only think of one reason.
Lu Ye extracted the Gold Amulet he stored inside his Storage Sphere. It should be because of this, he said, referring to the Amulet. The Heavens pick someone everyday for this. Within the first twenty-four hours, this Amulet cant be used, it cant be kept inside another dimension, and only after the twenty-four hours duration, will the Amulet be truly yours. I was picked once.
Li Baxian pondered on other possible origins of the one thousand Carnage Points. Lu Ye was simrly incredulous himself but he was convinced that his theory was right.
It was a pity that the trove of information that he purchased from the Divine Trade Association did not include anything like this, or he would have been able to make sure. A one-thousand Carnage Points difference. The amount itself was toorge for a mistake.
Let me ask around, Feng Yuechan added suddenly and she beganmunicating with other people. Li Baxian wasnt a very popr figure within the membership of the Devoted Ones, but Feng Yuechan was an altogether different case. Her pedigree, beautiful looks and grace, as well as her talents had made her a favorite to everyone in the order. For more than a decade she had watched scores of Devoted Ones leaving the Spirit Creek Battlefield while she stayed back. By now, there were many who had reached Eighth- and Ninth-Order and they had to know enough about the Carnage Colosseum.
She got an answer quickly enough. Gold Amulets bestowed by the Heavens do indeede with Carnage Point rewards and the Points awardedmensurate with ones rank of cultivation and the duration of ones possession of the Amulet. The lower your rank is and the longer the duration of your possession, the more Carnage Points youll get!
A Third-Order who had held on to the Gold Amulet for twenty-four hours. No one else across the real world of Jiu Zhou save Lu Ye could have aplished such a deed.
No other Third-Order could have survived the four instances of onught that happened after each time the Amulets eruption of Spiritual Power broadcasted his position. No Third-Order could have fended off the attacks by so many enemy Cultivators and still live to see the next morning.
Yet Lu Ye managed to survive and it was the sess of such an impossible mission that had seen him being awarded one thousand Carnage Points. That propelled him to the top of the Carnage Roster while leaving the first runner-up and the former leader of the Roster miles behind.
With this being the second day of the Carnage Colosseum, there was one more Gold Amulet that was bestowed to an unknown Cultivator. The Gold Amulet changed hands several times in the twenty-four-hour duration until it fell into the hands of an Eighth-Order who managed to hold on to it for thest four hours, winning both the Amulet and three hundred Carnage Points.
Naturally, Lu Ye knew nothing about this. He had been busy skittering across the length and breadth of the terrain, searching for ces to nt his boobytraps and Teleportation Wards.
That was marvelous, Li Baxian rubbed his palms expectantly.
For most Third-Orders, being bestowed a Gold Amulet by the Heavens in the Carnage Colosseum was synonymous with being given a death sentence. But to Lu Ye, it posed no more danger than a walk through a minefield, but with all the astute preparations Lu Ye had donethe Teleportation Wards and the many explosive wards to protect themthe risk had been reduced to nil.
That made this one-thousand Carnage Points practically a free gift from the Heavens.
Li Baxian began toprehend the extent of Lu Yes good fortune.
Well, my initial n was to hide here for the sake of my safety. I thought that I might onlye out after the Colosseum was over. But now, Im beginning to think if winning the Colosseum might be a realistic prospect
The number one spot on the Carnage Roster. The reward would be a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification and nine Gold Amuletsprizes that anyone would dly die for.
Which was one of the best kinds of rewards that Lu Ye could ever dream of. He could still remember the experience of losing that Tertius-level Arcane de. But he did not feel sorry at all. If anything, a Tertius-level Arcane de that had limited growth potential was more of a burden than a boon to him.
But a Primus-level Arcane de would be different. Immensely different. While having one might not be urgent to him, it would definitely be a great help to Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and also Ju Jia. Having an Arcane de in this ss would make it easier for them. They would no longer have to roam around looking for rewards and prizes while endangering themselves. Though this would still be slower than using Amulets, it would be safer and steadier.
However, what mattered the most to Lu Ye were the nine Gold Amulets. At present, Lu Ye had enough Amulets to reach the Fourth-Order. But he was still in dire need of more to get stronger. Needless to say, it was Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans presence that had given him both the courage and confidence to conceive the inspiration of winning the Carnage Colosseum. They were hardly the average garden-variety Cloud River Realm Cultivators and even though they were just Fourth-Orders, they could easily give opponents two ranks beyond a run for their money.
If he could work with them and win the first prize, he could divide the prize evenly with them. That would mean three Gold Amulets apiecea prize that would make him progress even faster through the Fourth-Order and save him a lot of time and trouble.
In the meantime, he had to admit that he might very well be one of the weakest Cultivators now in the Carnage Colosseum in terms of his cultivation rank.
Nevertheless, to him, this could also be a form of advantage. An advantage in the form of gaining extra Carnage Points whenever he yed an enemy.
Like Contribution Points, more Carnage Points would be awarded if he were to kill an enemy ifpared to Li Baxian killing one.
In other words, with most of the enemies in the Colosseum being Eighth- and Ninth-Orders, Lu Ye could y an enemy Fifth-Order and he would receive three times what most people earned when they also yed a Fifth-Order. If he yed a Sixth-Order, others would have to y four to catch up.
Hence, while it was easy for Eighth- and Ninth-Orders to kill enemies weaker than them, the gain in Carnage Points for Lu Ye would increase tomensurate with the difference between his cultivation rank and his opponents.
That would make this an advantage to Lu Ye inparison since he possessed the power to defeat opponents of ranks higher than his. With his prowess, he could easily have any ordinary Fifth-Orders for breakfast and the addition of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan now made even defeating Sixth-Orders a virtual certainty.
As for enemies of the Seventh-Order and beyond Lu Ye decided that they should avoid crossing paths with any if able.
That would leave Eighth- and Ninth-Orders untouchable. All three of them would never be able to defeat oneeven on their best days. The difference was just too great but so long as ample arrangements had been set in ce, Lu Ye was at least sure that they would be able to escape unscathed. It was the moment when he realized that he was number one on the Carnage Roster, plus the rendezvous with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, that the embers of his ambition were lit.
Even so, Lu Ye understood fully how risky and dangerous this derring-do was going to be and how they needed to be extremely careful moving forward.
So, youre thinking of going for the top spot, eh, brother?
Li Baxians brows piqued with apparent exhration. It would have been a fools errand if the situation were otherwise, but with him now already in first ce with such a huge lead, it seemed realistic. All they had to do was defend and maintain their lead until the end of the Colosseum. So be it then, brother. If winning this Colosseum is what you wish, said Li Baxian with enthusiasm, Then both Yuechan and I will give you all the help you need!
Well, for starters, Id need your help watching the ce while I fashion more ward gs.
He might have just obtained a fresh supply of ward gs from the belongings of the poor Ward Cultivator he had in, but it wouldnt be enough. With full anticipation of pandemonium, especially since all three of them were weaker inparison to other contestants of the Colosseum, he would need even more ward gs to create some insurance.
Only with enough ward gs could he construct more magical wards which would be critical for his n to work and to ensure everyones safety.
Which was the paramount concern of all, since champions and elites of the Eighth and Ninth-Order teemed the vast length and width of the Colosseum. The materials that he had bought from the Divine Trade Association were still plenty; he could still forge several hundred ward gs with them. But the process would involve the emission of Spiritual Power and that might invite unwanted attention.
To that end, Lu Ye had to construct another magical wardone with the express purpose of masking any Spiritual Power signature. So long as he could keep the emissions to a minimum, they would be able to stay undetected.
Time passed slowly as Lu Ye went to work with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan resting and recuperating while they stood vigil.
The materials depleted quickly enough and the ward gs grew from stacks into heaps and into mounds.
In the meantime, the carnage outside never stopped. Champions and elites waged war on each other, doing their best to improve their ranks on the Carnage Roster. That included Xia Liang, currently the Rosters number two and a champion of the Raving desmen who had ascended into the Cloud River Realm with three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points unlocked. He was unequivocally and undeniably the most dangerous Cultivator in the Colosseum.
He was outscored by Lu Ye when the Carnage Roster first appeared, although he quickly caught up and locked the first ce up by killing and maiming nonstop until Lu Ye overtook him againthis time by a mile because of the one-thousand Carnage Points incrementand left him in the second ce for good.
Xia Liang had never felt so humiliated and exasperated before.
If he had been suspecting that the Lu Yi Ye in the first ce could be the rumored Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, he was definitely sure of it now.
The one-thousand Carnage Point increment was all the proof Xia Liang needed to be sure that Lu Ye wasnt a high-tier Cloud River Realm Cultivator. This matched all the information he had received about the young Crimson Blood Sect acolyte, although he could not yet exin how Lu Ye had seeded in holding onto the special Gold Amulet for the whole twenty-four hours.
He had been actively scouring the Colosseum for signs of Lu Ye, but his search had yet to turn up anything useful. The vastness of the Colosseums area was not as big as he feared, however, it was still wide enough for anyone to hide unless he had the means to pinpoint his quarry. At any rate, Xia Liang was certain that Lu Ye was weaker than him. The skulking weakling must be cowering somewhere, hiding like a rodent in itsir.
Which was true. For one day and night, Lu Yes Carnage Points remained unchanged at one thousand seven hundred and ny, while his had risen up to a thousand and six hundred. Just a few more kills and he would catch up and regain the top spot.
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Chapter 512: The Hunt
Chapter 512: The Hunt
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Lu Ye was finally ready. So were Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. With tonnes worth of ward gs sitting in mountains inside the subterranean cavern, they were ready to rumble.
They stood up together. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both extracted something together and pped it on their faces.
Lu Ye looked. Face masks. Li Baxians was a rosy-lipped and ivory-teethed mask of a boy grinning whilst Feng Yuechans was one depicting a tearful girl with a mourning and baleful expression.
Li Baxian extracted and offered one more to Lu Ye, Here, take this one. Makes it easier for us to operate.
Without a word, Lu Ye retrieved from inside his Storage Sphere a face mask with the visage of a hideous and fanged demon and put it on.
Li Baxian was surprised, but he quickly burst into a giggle, I see. Youvee prepared.
All three of them were being targeted by Cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge. It was only natural and expected that all three of them would share the same idea of preparing enough face masks for their own use.
They got out of the cave and kept their Spiritual Power signatures low, then they chose a bearing and headed that way.Their motive might be to secure Lu Yes lead on the first ce of the Carnage Roster, but safety remained their first and foremost concern, meaning that they would be operating within range of this cave. If anything were to happen, this cave would be the point where they would retreat. Too far and they might not be able to make it back here safely.
That way, they could fall back to the cave if they encountered enemies beyond their ability to defeat and use the Teleportation Wards to escape.
Hence, the ideal range would be ten to a dozen miles.
But that would greatly limit the scope of their operations. They could only wait for potential targets to pass by instead ofunching attacks on others freely.
Lu Ye had shared his ideas of sticking within range of the cave with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan prior to setting off and they agreed to the idea. While they could plead guilty to feeling enticed by the prizes of winning first ce, they acknowledged the soundness of his idea that safety would remain their paramount concern. Launching attacks might provide a lot of initiative, but it could also be risky all the same.
But now that they had formted a n, all they needed to do was stick to it.
They stopped a quarter of an hourter, hardly twenty miles away from the cave. Lu Ye studied the surroundings and gave a couple of curt nods to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
There was no need for furthermunication. Thetter two sped away in different directions where they would maintain a perimeter. At the same time, Yi Yi materialized and headed in a third direction, doing the same.
Alone, Lu Ye extracted his ward gs one after another and began constructing a magical ward.
He was going to build wards not for killing, but for restraining enemies. That could buy them some time while they escaped if they were to encounter anyone too powerful or dangerous.
The ward would be manually activated, not automatically triggered. That would ensure that it could be used to its greatest effect at the right moment.
Every now and then, elite Cultivators might zip by overhead. But thanks to the perimeter maintained by the others, the early warning they provided allowed Lu Ye to keep himself invisible to prevent detection.
Constructing the magical wards took two hours.
With the preparations nowpleted, everyone waited in hiding.
It had been three days since the Carnage Colosseum first opened and many Cultivators had chosen to band up and move around in groups. Despite receiving fewer rewards individually, this could at least provide greater protection.
Those who still roamed around alone were at least Seventh-Orders. Confident enough about themselves, only they could move around alone without fear of being in danger.
Silence pervaded the forest where they remained patiently in waiting.
High up in the sky, changes never stopped urring to the blood-red pennant that was the Carnage Roster with Xia Liang swiftly and steadily raking in spades after spades of Carnage Points in his race to the top. At his current pace, it would not be long before he caught up with Lu Ye and overtook him.
Two hours turned into four
The idle vigil remained a fruitless, if futile wait.
They sat on pins and needles as the waiting game became a frustrating and seemingly endless ordeal. There were still a huge number of Cultivators around but the vastness of the Colosseum made everyone scatter, especially with the need to maintain caution, hardly anyone was eager to reveal themselves. More so, Ghost Cultivators who flit from hither to thither unseen and unnoticed.
All of a sudden, a flicker of light crept into his sight. Lu Ye panned his gaze that way and there it was, a tiny speck of white light bobbingzily just under a tree not far away from his position.
He was sure that it was not there moments ago. It had just appeared. Just like that.
And he knew what it was. That had to be another one of those prizes that the Heavens scatter all around the Colosseum every now and thenan Endowment. He had encountered one before which gave him a White Amulet. [So this is how Endowments appear] Lu Ye realized, gaining a deeper understanding of how cruel and callous the enigmatic entity, the Heavens, could be.
Every day, the Heavens would select a person and bestow them a Golden Amulet. Every day, the Token of Providence spectacleanother contrivance of the Heavenswould take ce to distribute Amulets to anyone nearby. Aside from all those events were also random Endowments like this, to say nothing of the Carnage Roster that hung high up in the sky for everyone to see
All these events existed only for one reasonto incite skirmishes and conflicts amongst all Cultivators in the vicinity. The Heavens were like an invisible hand, prodding the Cultivators so that more blood could be spilled everywhere in the Colosseum.
Brother
Li Baxians message came suddenly.
Yeah, I saw it, Lu Ye responded.
What was initially a futile wait had just changed into a real hunt, despite his earlier concern that this was going to be a fruitless wild goose chase.
And true enough, merely a few minutester, Lu Ye spied four figures appearing in the distance.
Carefully and meticulously, the four had separated into groups of two that approached from two different directions. But without the abilities unique only to Ghost Cultivators, they could not fully mask their tracks. Keeping their Spiritual Power signatures as low as possible was pretty much everything they could do.
Patiently, these strangers did not make a beeline straight for the white speck of light. Instead, they moved inward very slowly as if they were scanning for boobytraps.
The strangers would have discovered Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan with such cautious methods, but fortunately, Lu Ye had earlier constructed magical wards that could mask their Spiritual Power signatures to a great extent that so long as the enemies did not have extraordinarily acute spiritual senses, they would not be detected.
With Glyph: Concealment, Lu Ye himself was as undetectable as a Ghost Cultivator.
Two of them passed just ten meters away from Lu Yes position without noticing anything while the remaining two were heading straight towards Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans position.
Im gonna make the first strike, brother, Li Baxianmunicated again.
Lu Ye did not respond.
He was not at all perturbed by the number of enemies. That these enemies operated in a group indicated a certain possibility that they might not be high-tier Cultivators. If anything, Lu Ye would be more worried if it were just a lone Cultivator who came.
A sh of light shed through the gloomy dimness of the jungle, followed closely by a piercing ring of steel as Li Baxian broke cover. More than a dozen shafts of light hovered in the air like a bunch of swarming wasps and, as one, they barreled straight after one of the strangers.
The sudden attack caught all four strangers unaware, the ones heading towards Li Baxian most of all. Their faces fell with shock and awe that gripped them. Right in that second, their hair stood on end as they felt danger. True and overwhelming danger. One of them cried, Ambush!
Every one of them produced their weapons and brandished them at the massing shafts of light streaking towards them.
There was no telling to which faction the four strangers belong. But Li Baxianafter his long years of experience as a Sword Cultivatorcould freely control his many shafts of light as if they were the very digits on his hand and he could stop them beforemitting any mistakes the moment he realized who they were.
Which happened fast enough; the moment the skirmish broke out, he saw who they were.
If they were Grand Sky Coalition allies, Li Baxian would immediately stand down. But if they were Thousand Demon Ridge enemies, then the initiative could ensure that he could at least cut down one opponent in the first exchange itself.
The moment the word Ambush left the strangers lips, the truth was revealed, both red and blue zed brightly in the gloominess of the jungle.
Launching the attack was hardly the only thing Li Baxian was doing. Looking and observing, he was trying to make out the ranks of the four strangers. The sudden ambush would have easily rattled them enough to disy their power fully.
And he was right, there was nothing for him to be afraid of. The two strangersone a Fifth-Order and the other a Fourth-Orderwere minor threats to him.
The pair near Lu Yes position sprang into action. One of them, a burly and tall mountain of a man whose girth suggested that he could be a Body-tempering Cultivator, began to race to the aid of hisrades. The other onepresumably a Spell Cultivatorbegan channeling his Spiritual Power.
The Body-tempering Cultivator had barely reached far enough when he was greeted by an astonishing sight.
A barrage of more than a dozen sword-like shafts of searing-white incandescence had rained down on hisrades and had failed to kill them, but more were homing in on them.
Li Baxian had gone easy on the first exchange; after all, he needed to ascertain if the four strangers could be Grand Sky Coalition allies. But once he made sure, he unleashed more and he was still far from reaching his limit.
Li Baxian could already conjure and control up to a hundred shafts of light back when he was still in the Spirit Creek Realm. Reaching the Fourth-Order of the Cloud River Realm meant that his bar had risen.
Sword Cultivators have always been known for their aptitude in killing and unless his opponents were at least two ranks beyond his, few could possibly withstand Li Baxians wrath.
The radiance of the multitudinous bolts of light illuminated the dimness of the jungle as they ripped through the two enemy Cultivators protective aura, perforating them like a sieve with blood streaming out of every wound they rendered.
The gaps between ranks within the Cloud River Realm were as huge as a canyon. Both enemy Cultivators were at least fully fledged Fourth- and Fifth-Orders, but all that meant nothing in the face of Li Baxians skill and experience.
In just one exchange, one Fourth-Order and one Fifth-Order were nearly dead. In fact, Li Baxian would have been able to y them all outright if not for the fact that he was intentionally keeping them aliveor half-deadfor Lu Ye.
The Body-tempering Cultivator who was on his way towards hisrades could feel his blood curdling the moment the sight of them crashing to the ground and the grinning boy mask panning towards him hit him. Deep down inside, he grappled with panic at facing off against such a formidable opponent.
His legs stopped moving, not realizing that he had just involuntarily be a sitting duck. A thunderbolt came out of nowhere, whipping him and nearly knocking him to the ground.
He jerked his head sideways and there was a female to his nk not far away, wearing the mask of a tearful girlobviously the pair of the man in the grinning boy mask just now! [Theres more than one ambush here!] he realized.
The Body-tempering Cultivator was panicking.
Behind him, his Spell Cultivator colleague howled, RUN!
The Spell Cultivator had only just finished channeling his power and was ready to charge when he saw first his two colleagues being cut down like a tornado tearing through a town before seeing the Body-tempering Cultivator being pummeled by another spell. That was enough reason for him to turn tail and flee. Hurling his spell straight at Feng Yuechan, he channeled another surge of Spiritual Power and took into the air to escape.
But he did not manage to fly high enough; his feet were barely one foot over the ground when a massive force crashed into him from above before he felt the bite of steel gnawing through his flesh and bone.
The fiery-red glimmer of the steel sted apart the protective aura that bristled the surface of the Spell Cultivators skin, slicing through his sinews and crunching through his bones down the length of his back. He crashed to the ground a lifeless cadaver.
He did not notice that there was someone waiting to strike from behind.
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Chapter 513: Having A Go At Me
Chapter 513: Having A Go At Me
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>
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans ambush had taken up all of the enemy Cultivators attention and the enemy Spell Cultivator did not notice another opponent behind him. By the time Lu Ye had delivered his blow, it was toote.
He instantly crashed to the ground after barely taking flight. The impact left him breathless and dizzy for a second before he saw the glint of steel descending down on him.
Frantically, the Spell Cultivator channeled his Spiritual Power and summoned his protective aura only to watch it shatter three seconds after it materialized by the blow falling on his head.
The air was rent with the sound of steel as the Spell Cultivator bore the brunt of the blows falling in interweaving flurries. The loud impacts echoed as the Spell Cultivators entire form trembled and convulsed under the weight of the onught. The protective auras integrity ultimately crumbled under the relentless assault, leaving him exposed and open to the next barrage of steel that easily ripped him apart, body and soul.
With his vision and life slowly ebbing away, the Spell Cultivator copsed.
Lu Ye raced to rejoin the others. Feng Yuechan had not stopped firing spell after spell at the Body-tempering Cultivator to keep him busy while Li Baxians profuse shafts of light soared around like a tempest, preventing the incapacitated enemy Cultivators from being rescued.
With a wave of his hand, the shafts of light withdrew the moment he saw Lu Ye speedily approaching, and he directed them at the enemy Body-tempering Cultivator.
The pair of heavily-wounded Cultivators had not even exhaled with relief when Lu Ye was already upon them. All it took was a couple of swishes and the two men crumpled to the floor, as dead as a pair of doornails.Lu Ye would not have been able to dispatch them both with such ease if it were under normal circumstances; both a Fourth- and Fifth-Order could easily give him a hard time. It was Li Baxians sessful ambush that had incapacitated them badly enough for anyone or even an ordinary Third-Order to deliver the final coup de grace.
With the two finally dealt with, Lu Ye rejoined the others in dealing with the final enemy remaining: the Body-tempering Cultivator.
Mere seconds had passed since Feng Yuechan engaged the Body-tempering Cultivator and the addition of Li Baxian into the fray had left the enemy Cultivator littered with wounds all over him. The burly enemy failed to keep up with the intensity and speed of the swarming shafts of light and Feng Yuechans spells were not making things easier. One after another, the spells hammered into him like a battering ram that the shield Spirit Artifact that he was using had long been knocked out of his grasp.
But with Lu Ye joining in, his fate was as sealed as a fully-nailed coffin.
Secondster, the giant Body-tempering Cultivator of a man crashed to the ground. Lu Ye bolted after the speck of white light still bobbing in mid-air and thrust his hand into it. He felt his fingers closing in on something solid and seized it, then he raced around to collect the ward gs that he had ced around the site of the battle without even a look at what he had retrieved from the white light of the Endowment.
In the meantime, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan cleared up the dead bodies and stripped them of anything useful.
Lets go! Lu Ye called everyone.
All three of them hurried back to the cave.
To remain safe would mean that they should not dawdle at the site of the battle. The skirmish might have been a short one, but themotion it caused could have attracted the attention of anyoneor any enemiesnearby.
Fighting and moving like that might be a big hassle, but it was the safer way.
A quarter of an hourter, everyone was back inside the cave, seated on the ground.
Ive taken a look at the Carnage Roster, brother. The increase of Carnage Points on the first name is the same as what you should be getting after those kills. I guess that means that it really is you, said Li Baxian.
That was true; Lu Ye had taken a quick peek at the Carnage Roster himself on the way back here.
The four enemies that he had inthree Fifth-Orders and one Fourth-Ordershould garner him four hundred and thirty Carnage Points.
Since the number tallied with the gain of Carnage Points on the leading Lu Yi Ye name at the first ce of the Roster, that would mean that it really was him.
That was a very rewarding attempt. Most high-tier Cultivatorsincluding the second-ced Xia Liangcould only rake in five hundred Carnage Points on average every day. Yet in one skirmish alone, Lu Ye had gotten more than four hundred Points.
An amount that almost caught up to what Xia Liang could earn in one day.
Xia Liangs Carnage Points total was so close to catching up with Lu Ye at first. One could almost guess how Xia Liang would react when he saw himself being further down in the list again.
Never before in the history of the Carnage Colosseum since its inception where a Third-Ordernot even anyone below the Seventh-Ordermanaged to stay sofortably at the first ce of the Carnage Roster.
The usual contenders that led at the first three spots of the Carnage Rosters were usually Eighth- if not Ninth-Orders. In fact, most of the time the top three spots were usually upied by Ninth-Orders. While there have been champions who had tried using the handicap to have a low-tier Cultivator rake in as many kills as possible to win more points, to really pull off such a trick was easier said than done.
To capitalize on the advantage offered by the handicap, certain conditions had to be met, the foremost being that the Cultivator concerned must not exceed the Fifth-Order, as the increments gained beyond this point would be too low to warrant any significant benefit.
To say nothing of the unexpected incidents that could be potentially disastrous, even with a Fifth-Order piggybacking a Ninth-Order.
Most Ninth-Orders got into fights involving at least one or more Ninth-Orders from the opposing faction. That would mean that the Ninth-Order would not be able to properly provide enough protection for his or her weaker partner, especially during a very fierce battle. If anything were to happen to the weaker partner, the Carnage Points that had been umted would be lost, making the whole endeavor a fools errand. If not for Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans arrival, plus that unique Gold Amulet event the reward of which had propelled him to the top of the Carnage Roster and provided him with a sound basis for this adventurous undertaking, Lu Ye would not have conceived the idea of wanting to contest for the first prize. He would rather hide somewhere safe and wait until the Colosseum ended.
Everyoneid the booty they had collected on the ground before Lu Ye so that he could undo the magical seal of the Storage Bags.
Undoing the seals had now be as easy as drawing Invible from its sheath.
It took just a few moments for him to finish opening all of the Storage Bags which he divided into three portions. Two of these portions he handed to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
Next, he emptied the Bags of their contents; this time, there wasnt anything valuable.
It was time he had a look at whatever it was he got from the Endowment speck of light. He had grabbed it and stuffed it into his Storage Sphere in his haste to vacate the site of the battle earlier. But when he took it out, to his surprise, it was a flower. A magical flower.
Thest time he got something from an Endowment like this, it yielded a White Amulet
But his guess was spot-on. The Endowments that scattered all over the Colosseum really dide in various types, shapes, and sizes.
Lu Ye knew little about medicine and herbs, hence he could not tell what kind of magical flower it was or what its properties and medicinal functions were. Right now, he could only surmise that it wasnt anything rare or precious.
But whatever it was, it could wait until he had the chance to meet Shui Yuan and hand it to her.
It was to Lu Yes favor that the wait wasnt too long and the battle ended quickly. Lu Ye and hispanions were not yet spent, but they decided to wait out inside the cave for another couple of hours to make sure that the earlier battle had not attracted the focus of anyone dangerous. When the wait was finally up, they stepped out of the cave.
They headed for more than a dozen miles in another direction until they found a spot where Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan split off again like thest time to allow Lu Ye to begin setting up his magical ward.
Once the trap was ready, they waited to spring their trap.
Last time, sess only came because of the sudden appearance of that Endowment. It attracted a bunch of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators that ultimately became their prey. But this time, they waited for more than a day and a night. Many Cultivators had passed by their hiding spot, but every one of them was at least Seventh-Orders and above which Lu Ye and hispanions would rather give a wide berth.
It was almost evening when they finally saw a group of three passing by.
Li Baxian revealed himself first to draw their attention. But when he attacked, he realized that his Battlefield Imprint did not have any reaction at all.
He immediately withdrew his attack, much to the panic and surprise of all three strangers, although they quickly realized that this was just a big misunderstanding.
They were allied Cultivators from Grand Sky Coalition.
Now that their affiliations have been made clear, there was no reason to involve any hostilities. Li Baxian had a quick talk with them to exin everything and the three scurried away at once.
Hence the wait went on. There was no telling if any more prey would wander this way and if there were, they could be members of the Grand Sky Coalitionwhich was a question where the answer would be revealed only during an attack on the prey.
Nevertheless, both Li Baxian and Lu Ye did not grow weary or restless at all.
They understood very well that right now, here in therge expanse of the Colosseum, their cultivation remained their single-most ring weakness. Third- and Fourth-Orders were the flesh that the strong feasted on. Hence, to make sure that their safety was ensured, patience and fortitude were crucial elements to their n.
Hours passed before another group of three passed by. Li Baxian spearheaded the ambush again and this time, his Battlefield Imprint throbbed. It glowed bright and blue whilst the Imprints of the three zed with a fiery-red luminescence.
The marauders reaped sess. Li Baxian badly injured one while wounding the remaining two in the first contact and by the time Feng Yuechan joined in the fight, the victory was sealed.
This also proved Lu Yes earlier hypothesis that most low-tier Cultivators traveled in groups; those of the Seventh-Order and beyond usually operated alone.
The three Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators were all Fifth-Orders and thebined element of surprise by both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan easily trampled whatever defense they attempted in their moment of desperation.
All Lu Ye had to do during the gritting battle was maintain his cover and stealthily join in.
At the end of the battle, all that was left were three dead bodies reeking of blood and sess, which had tranted to a three-hundred-and-sixty Carnage Points increment.
Somewhere far away, Xia Liang lifted his head to look at the Carnage Roster, and what he saw struck such disbelief into him that the corners of his eyes throbbed.
[Is that Lu Yi Ye having a go at me?!]
He had been feeling that way since Lu Yi Ye had raked in one thousand Carnage Points and dethroned him from the first spot.
He had been roaming far and widetely, looking for any Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators he could sink his de into to garner more Carnage Points. Every day, he had been rushing to catch up to Lu Ye, but just when he thought he was going to overtake Lu Ye, thetter would suddenly gain several hundred Carnage Points, casting him further behind once again.
Just when the gap between their Carnage Points was only a hundred or so, it turned into four hundred plus again!
[Damn you!] Xia Liang cursed quietly.
But that was not all. As if he was not annoyed and frustrated enough, there was one more problem on his te, a Grand Sky Coalition Ninth-Order had been hunting and harassing him.
The unknown Ninth-Order wasnt high up on the Carnage Roster; he was somewhere in the teens. Lacking enough luck, his chance of getting within the top three ces was steadily slipping out of sight.
Therefore, this unknown Ninth-Order had abandoned his earlier vocation and had somehow devoted himself to harassing and sabotaging Xia Liang, all the while keeping himself unseen as he kept closely behind the Raving desmen champion.
Xia Liang would have easily defeated the Ninth-Order if it were openbat. But this mysterious Ninth-Order was smart enough to employ guerri tactics that even he could barely find a way around, and that annoyed himimmensely.
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Chapter 514: Trap Ward
Chapter 514: Trap Ward
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Days went by with the trio of Lu Ye, Li Baxian, and Feng Yuechanplying strictly with the tactic of shifting to another location after a sessful bushwhacking, reaping rewards almost every day from at least three to five hundred Carnage Points each time. The umtion of Points this way showed how well the n was working.
There werent many changes to the rankings on the Carnage Roster but once-second-ced Xia Liang seemed to be beleaguered by some manner of difficulty that his gain in Carnage Points had slowed to the point where he was almost out of the top ten names on the Roster. At the moment, the new imant to the second ce on the Roster was someone known as Tan Sheng.
Lu Ye recognized the name. He could recall seeing this name back when the Carnage Roster first appeared, easily making him a possible Ninth-Order too.
As far as he could remember, Tan Sheng hailed from a Tier-Two Thousand Demon Ridge order. As a Cultivator wielding considerable strength and influence, he was a former top ten on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy.
Most of the champions now lording over the Cloud River Battlefield were once elites of the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy at one point. In his many years of being in the Spirit Creek Realm, Li Baxian had watched with his own eyes generations of Cultivatorsing and going. Many he knew and some he had even fought against before.
Even amongst the current crop of Cloud River Realm elites, there were few who had not had the chance to meet him beforestanding either side-by-side or against him in battle some time ago. This has be some form of advantage for Li Baxian who could still be retaining vast connections everywhere.
The raids on any unsuspecting Cultivators unlucky enough to have stepped into their trap have been effortlesstely with Li Baxians prowess and deadliness which usually resolved the oue in the first exchange of blows alone. Added with Feng Yuechan, the battle would usually have been decided by the time Lu Ye sprung out to mop up the rest of the resistance.
But there was one notable skirmish that had been rather difficult. A Sixth-Order was embedded as part of the group they waid and it took a concerted effort from all three of them to finally put him down after Lu Ye was done with the rest of the Sixth-Orders squad.All three of themLi Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and Lu Yewere once former number-ones of the Roll of Supremacy when they were still in the Spirit Creek Realm. Each of them wielded the ability to defeat opponents beyond their ranks and so long as their opponent did not boast of any remarkable talents, experience, or even skill, there were few targets that theirbined strength could not conquer.
Another sessful raid had just ended when Lu Ye looked up. The Carnage Points tally following his name registered three thousand seven hundred and forty. That was a thousand Carnage Points ahead of second-ced Tan Sheng, who was still eating the dust of Lu Yes unstoppable lead.
Tan Shengs chances of catching up were feeling more like a mirage in the desert by the minute.
Next second, he caught sight of a bolt of light streaking this way. In the blink of an eye, it reached their position and the light made a sharp swerve andnded right in front of them.
Lu Yes eyes contracted with shock.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan tensed up warily, expecting the worst.
The Battlefield Imprints on their hands flickered with a bright-blue illumination. On the strangers hand, they spied the scarlet-red glow zing conspicuously.
The huge pressure of facing off against a formidable enemy petrified them all as if they had been hit by an electric jolt.
For Lu Ye recognized who it was.
It was the same enemy he saw Xia Qianqian fighting back then. He did not know his name then and he still didnt know his name now. But he did know that this enemy was a Ninth-Order.
Far too many times they had tempted Fate and finally, woe had descended upon themboth suddenly and jarringly.
Clearly, themotion from thest fight had drawn him here.
Standing side-by-side, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan quietly channeled their power in preparation to strike. A simrly grim-faced Lu Ye, too, barely moved an inch. None of them would dare to break the stillness so long as Wei Que remained motionless.
Wei Que panned his gaze around. He surveyed Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, then he returned his gaze to Lu Ye. All he saw were three different masks staring back at him. But Amber perched on Lu Yes shoulder was all the proof he needed. Cracking a grin, he eximed, Aha! Found you atst!
He was absolutely ted. For days he had been hunting for Lu Ye to no avail and Fate had finally decided to reward his determination and resolve by putting Lu Yi Ye right before him. Imagine ranging acrossnds hundreds of thousands of miles in length andbing through so many Cultivators, all for one particr individual.
From the Carnage Roster, he had deduced that Lu Ye had not been idle at all. The daily gain of several hundred Carnage Points had been proof enough.
In the meantime, he too had been busy. As a Ninth-Order who preferred operating alone like the rest of his ilk, he had roamed everywhere, found his fair share of Endowment rewards, and participated in several Token of Providence eventsall of which have been tremendously fruitful even though he had not devoted himself to earning Carnage Points. His name was somewhere in thete teens at present.
One might as well argue that Wei Que had little ambition inpeting for a good ce on the Carnage Roster. Hunting down Lu Ye and ying him had been his prime purpose.
Though the rewards of winning the top spot on the Carnage Roster were undeniably enticing, they barely came close to beating thebined bounty offered by all Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders for Lu Yes head. The amount of supplies that he would receive for Lu Yes head was just too goodso good that he wondered that it might even oust his entire lifetime.
Hence, since the beginning, his target had always been Lu Ye.
He was just passing by in the vicinity when the violent emission of Spiritual Power signatures from the battle caught his attention. Little did he expect that his curious move ofing over to have a look would result in him stumbling upon the very person he had beenbing the Colosseum for.
The face mask was different, but Amber, plus Invible now still in Lu Yes grasp, were all the signs Wei Que needed to confirm Lu Yes identity.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Que immediately fired a spell.
It was a spell fired casually by the Thousand Demon Ridge Ninth-Order. But even an arbitrary attack like that was deadly enough for Lu Ye. Before it even took form, it screamed through the air, and by the time it materialized as a full-fledged projectile of Spiritual Power, it was mere feet away from Lu Ye.
Thetter frantically mustered his power and the luminescent shield of Glyph: Protection came into shape before him.
The air wailed. Several shafts of light mmed in rapid session into the spells projectile, trying to whittle down its force.
Li Baxian had realized that the attack was not one that Lu Ye would be able to take, hence he chose to protect Lu Ye instead of attacking Wei Que.
But he was not the only one; even Feng Yuechan helped as well.
Nevertheless, theirbined efforts had not been able to fully defeat the spell in its entirety.
With a bang, the eruption of force when the bolt hit and shattered the Glyph: Protection shield, knocking Lu Ye into the air and he crashed to the ground.
Wei Que snorted coldly as he waved his hand at the directions of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. Luminescent lines appeared in mid-air, joining and intersecting quickly to form a huge round disc pulsing with rich Spiritual Power. The disc released invisible des of wind howling through the air and shed straight at Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
He had intentionally dialed down the strength of his attack on Lu Ye. Thest thing he needed was a fully unrecognizable corpse. Lu Yes head needed to be intact for him to im his bounty.
As for Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, there was no need to hold back at all.
The many shafts of light surged in torrents back to Li Baxian, forming a wide wall of swords in front of him, while Feng Yuechan worked her magic and mists rose, coagting into a gigantic golem towering ten meters over her.
But the wind des easily sted through the cloud giant and it burst into a shapeless mass of dissipating mists while Li Baxians wall of swords shattered into splinters after just a split-second of resistance.
Right before they were in any danger, Feng Yuechan conjured her umbre-shaped Spirit Artifact. The object radiated a burst of Spiritual Power the moment it opened, forming an energy shield that managed to withstand the deadly onught that mmed in sessive barrages on the shield.
A Spell Artifact?! Wei Que gasped, recognizing the magical umbre for what it was. At the same time, he started to wonder about Feng Yuechans identity. A Cloud River Realm Cultivator armed with a Spell Artifact must make her a very special individual.
Deep inside, he was doubled over with glee. He could thank the stars for not only finding Lu Yi Ye but also two prey who would ensure a future of plenty and abundance.
[First and foremost, Lu Yi Ye!]
Ignoring Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, Wei Que lunged forward, homing in on his main prize Lu Ye. As a Spell Cultivator, he should be maintaining his distance from his opponents. Yet he was confidentbeing six ranks above Lu Ye, and he wanted to prevent causing too much damage and blowing Lu Ye to pieces.
Hence, he decided to stay close and do whatever he could to incapacitate Lu Ye.
Yet his advance did not even reach fifty meters when Lu Ye leaped into the air. Wei Que spied the ward g in his graspsomething Lu Ye was not holding earlierand Lu Ye began waving it furiously.
A deafening hum rang like a bells toll and sheets of light rose up instantaneously around him forming a dome more than dozens of meters wide.
Wei Que did not see thising at all and there he was, trapped inside the dome of light.
A magical ward!
Wei Que muttered a curse under his breath. He did not expect a magical ward, least of all a trap ward!
[No! I cannot let Lu Yi Ye escape!]
His hand shot up and he fired an aureate bolt of light straight at where Lu Ye.
Only, Lu Ye was long gone. He had escaped from the wards area the moment he activated it, exiting unimpeded with his ward g while the golden energy bolt smacked harmlessly into the wall of light that came up just in time and leaving an inconsequential ripple sweeping across its surface.
This trap ward looked very simr to a defensive ward, although they were essentially different.
Cultivators inside a defensive ward were safe from attacks from the outside.
But unlike defensive words, trap wards prevented damage from the inside reaching the outside, effectively keeping any Cultivators caught inside fully confined so long as the ward still existed.
All in all, defensive wards were to prevent external attacks while trap wards were to prevent attacks from within.
Few would have been able to tell the difference at first nce despite their stark contrast.
To escape a trap ward, one had to destroy the ward.
And as the caster of the ward, Lu Ye, with the ward g with him, could move in and out of the ward freely.
This was the root of the confidence thatpelled him topete for the first spot on the Carnage Roster despite being a Third-Order.
With the assistance of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, Lu Ye had nothing to be afraid of when dealing with other Cloud River Realm Cultivators of mediocre strength and power. Even when they were faced with enemies too dangerous and formidable, they could rely on trap wards to buy them enough time to escape.
Time which would ensure a safe flight away from the scene of battle.
By the time the trap ward was revealed, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had already taken to the sky and sped away as fast as they could.
Lu Ye might have had ater start, but with Glyphs: Wings and Windwalk both activated, he demonstrated speed that outstripped even Li Baxian and caught up to them soon enough.
Inside the trap ward, Wei Que could only watch Lu Ye fleeing with frustration and resentment.
He was so close! So close to killing Lu Ye and achieving a life of wealth and prosperity!
With his Spiritual Power mustered, he fired spell after spell at the glowing walls of light around him, eliciting an endless symphony of ripples that spread across the trap wards dome-like shield as its brightness gradually waned.
But the thunderous emission of Spiritual Power from the relentless slew of spells only served to remind Lu Ye and hispanions to hasten.
The trap ward might have worked nicely, but they were well aware that it would only hold for a short period of time. The exact duration would depend on what Wei Que could do to defeat the ward and free himself.
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Chapter 515: A String of Unfortunate Events
Chapter 515: A String of Unfortunate Events
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Huge energy sts never stopped hammering at the luminescent walls of the trap ward. Waves and waves of Spiritual Power emission surged from inside and the brightness of the walls was growing dimmer at speeds that the naked eye could see.
Lu Ye had employed eight ward keystones and several more gs for this trap ward, but it was just a hastily-constructed magical ward that was subsistent on Spirit Stones, making it mediocre at best.
The strength of a magical ward had everything to do with both the amounts of Spiritual Power stored in the ward and the richness of ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere. The more Spiritual Power was used in the ward and the richer the ambient Spiritual Qi in the air around it was, the stronger and more potent the magical ward would be.
That would make newly-constructed wards weakest because they had not yet been able to draw enough Spiritual Qi from the atmospherewith or without the addition of Spirit Stones.
With time, a magical ward would store enough Spiritual Power to allow its potency to grow to its peak.
The biggest advantage of this particr trap ward that Lu Ye had constructed was its smaller range of barely 60 meters. That had helped to enhance its strength.
Nevertheless, it would take more than that to fully thwart a Cloud River Realm Ninth-Order like Wei Que.
In less than twenty seconds, the glow of the dome of the trap ward turned fully dark before it finally shattered.Liberated from his temporary confinement, Wei Que took to the sky and began streaking towards where Lu Ye and the others had vanished.
He could not allow this chance to slip past his fingers. It was only luck that he had managed to stumble into Lu Ye and this chance could nevere by again.
But as far as Wei Que was concerned, he was confident. The bunch of Third- and Fourth-Orders might have fled but even a twenty-second headstart wouldnt prevent him from catching up.
He gazed into the distance and spied a few sparkles of light in the distance, recognizing his fleeing quarry. Channeling his power, Wei Que turned into a streaking shooting star himself to give chase.
At the same time, Lu Ye jerked his head around. He had felt a dangerous presence iing and seeing a speck of light in the distanceing their way, he knew that Wei Que had managed to free himself from the trap ward.
But it was as he had expected; the trap ward that he had constructed could only dy a Ninth-Order for twenty seconds at most.
Nevertheless, that was all the time he needed.
All three of them ignored the imminent threat and focused on gaining as much speed as possible, flying quickly and covering more than a dozen miles before they finally arrived at their destination.
Theynded just outside the cave and dashed inside, making for its innermost caverns where they stood together in the Teleportation Ward and activated it.
The lines of the magical ward shone with a sudden radiance; a magical glow that traced every single line of the ward while illuminating the rock chamber. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan could only watch with awe and surprise. They had used the Divine Opportunity Column to travel, but never anything like this, hence the fresh and new experience.
The well-seasoned Amber lifted both its paws and wrapped them around Lu Yes neck, its citrine eyes palpitating with anticipation.
As the Teleportation Ward began operating, Lu Ye ripped Invible out of its sheath, sending a glowing scythe that darted towards the spot where the explosive wards were.
A deafening bang rocked the entire cave amid an eruption of searing mes and blinding brilliance that caused rocks and debris to crash down from the ceiling. By the time the tumult died down, the ce had turned into utter chaos.
Wei Que arrived ten secondster, rushing into the cave hurriedly. But Lu Ye and the others were long gone. All he could find were broken rocks strewn everywhere.
[Where the hell are they?!]
Wei Que gasped to himself, his face fraught with consternation.
He was positively certain that Lu Ye and hispanions hadnded here just now. He had seen them entering this cave when he was still in the air before a thunderous explosion ensued. Yet when he came in here, all of them had vanished!
Finding that unbelievable, he searched the ce, going even to the deepest-most recesses of the cave system and ultimately finding a dead end. Still, he could not find the slightest hints of his quarrys whereabouts.
One minute ago, they were all here, and yet they were all gone!
Wei Que hastily left the cave. He peered around for a few seconds before he determined a bearing and soared into the air in that direction, still unable toe to terms with Lu Ye and hispanions disappearing act!
[They must be somewhere nearby!] he thought, [And I must find them!]
Meanwhile, inside another subterranean cavern more than a hundred meters underground two hundred miles away, the unseen lines of the Teleportation Ward traced on the ground came alive with a sudden dazzling and intense incandescence. The air around the Ward warped and three figures materialized almost miraculously.
The moment their feet hit solid ground, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan staggered so unsteadily that they nearly fell, their faces sickly pale and aghast.
None of them were hurt during the encounter with Wei Que. But it was the terrifying sensation of having nothing under their feet during the magical conveyance here that had them both feeling as if they had been thrust down a bottomless abyss. It felt so real and vivid.
But more importantly, neither of them knew if they should be channeling their Spiritual Power with fear that it might disrupt the conveyance process, despite how being unready greatly unsettled them. Especially when what seemed like a split-second process felt more like an eternal and precipitous descent into a bottomless pit to them.
Now they understood why Amber clutched onto Lu Ye as soon as the conveyance process began. It must have learned from the many times it traveled all around the Colosseum with Lu Ye.
But before they could fully recover from the ordeal of the process, the bluish glow from the back of their hands illuminated the jagged and rough surface of the cave floor.
Still within the circle of the Teleportation Ward, all three of them tensed warily.
That their Battlefield Imprints were reacting in unison would mean that they were not alone and whoever was nearby, he or she must be a Cultivator of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
With their innate and remarkable senses they noticed there really was someone nearby.
Just a little more than fifty meters away, He Bing was sitting alone on the ground, recuperating quietly.
He came to this cave just four hours ago and after making sure that this ce was empty, he had decided to stop and rest there.
He had nopanion, and as with all other Seventh-Orders, he was at an impasse. Being alone basically precluded him from being able topete for a good position on the Carnage Roster. Getting on the Roster was doable, but he didnt expect that he would be high enough to win anything worth the trouble.
Therefore, he chose to focus his efforts on the Token of Providence events as well as all other Endowments that appeared all over the Colosseum. At times, he would be lucky enough to stumble upon weaker Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators whom he could kill and get a good haul from the loot.
At times, when Fate wished to test him, he would be faced with opponents he could barely defeat. Nevertheless, as Seventh-Orders, escaping unscathed from enemy Eighth- and Ninth-Orders remained possible. He Bing would not have chosen to operate alone if he was not confident enough in his abilities and strength.
He was just having a moment of solitude in the peacefulness of the cave when the darkness within was broken. It was a magical ward and before he couldprehend what was going on, three figures appeared within it.
He Bings eyes went wide. [What the hell?! How did these three people juste out of nowhere like that?!]
But he quickly collected himself and his brow cocked with interest. He had understood something.
[These three people must have used some sort of Teleportation Ward! That must be what the glowing lines that appeared were!]
[But a Cloud River Realm Cultivator skilled enough to construct something asplex as a Teleportation Ward?! Interesting!] He Bing gradually rose to his feet.
It was Lu Ye who saw He Bing first and he cursed quietly to himself. The enemy was alone and the timing could not have been any worse for them to encounter a lone wolf right here and now. There was no telling what rank the stranger was, but he must be at least a Seventh-Order.
He could still remember thest time he was surprised by the presence of a Thousand Demon Ridge enemy during his escape using a Teleportation Ward and he certainly did not expect it to happen again so soon.
But as much as he was surprised, it wasnt iprehensible. If he had found this cave, then anyone could find it too. From his initial posture, the stranger looked like he was just here for a rest, although there was no telling how long he had been here.
Lu Ye was luckyst time that his opponent wasnt too powerful and with Yi Yis help, he had defeated him and survived. But whether or not he would repeat that feat again today remained to be seen.
He could only hope that the enemy was not an Eighth- or even a Ninth-Order or they would be dead meat.
Hence, the same moment He Bing rose to his feet, Lu Ye wildly willed his Teleportation Ward to activate once more to send them elsewhere.
Each and every Teleportation Ward that he had constructed was linked to at least two other Wards. The one that they had used toe here was obviously destroyed to prevent Wei Que from divining their whereabouts, but there should at least be one more that he could use to escape to.
But the next second, he felt his heart skip a beat.
He could not pick up any signs of another Teleportation Ward connected to this one!
What a string of unfortunate events!
Not only had they stumbled into an enemy that was likely a Seventh-Order, at least, but the Teleportation Ward could no longer be used! That he could not sense its link to the rest of its counterparts could only mean that the others had been destroyed.
There was no way out.
His luck had been so good. But all of a sudden, it had taken a plunge.
For starters, it was unpredictable what would happen if they were to fight here. Engaging in a battle could result in the entire rock chamber caving in and copsing on them, regardless of the oue. All four of them could be buried alive here.
Lu Ye lifted a hand to stroke Amber.
Li Baxian stood in front of Lu Ye, shielding him. This ce doesnt seem suitable for a fight, my friend. Its cramped and its in danger of crashing down. What do you think? he called.
Behind his mask, Li Baxian was grimacing grimly at their fate. They had just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. He did not know what went wrong with the Teleportation Ward, but he was right: this really wasnt the ideal ce to start a fight.
Furthermore, he had the same suspicion as Lu Ye. If the enemy was alone, that would mean that he must be a formidable opponent with might that not even the collective strength of all three of them might prevail against.
If they could pacify and calm the enemy down, they might be able to walk away from this unscathed.
He Bing seized his spear and thrust it down on the ground to intimidate everyone, exuding an aura of power and force. Do you think you mice are a threat to me? he grinned.
His Spiritual Power churned. He Bing really was a Seventh-Order.
Lu Ye and hispanions exhaled with relief.
They were eased by the notion that the enemy was a Seventh-Order. At the very least, the situation wasnt as dismal as they dreaded. If He Bing was an Eighth- or even a Ninth-Order, then a victory might only be possible at the cost of their own lives.
Nevertheless, that did not make this an easy battle at all. Lu Ye and his group had jointly defeated a Sixth-Order before, but fighting a Seventh-Order was different. None of them had any confidence at all. More importantly, Wei Que must still be hunting for them. A Ninth-Order could easily cover the distance of two hundred miles. So if a fight were to break out now, themotion could easily attract Wei Ques, or anyone elses, attention if they were nearby, assuming the cave managed to withstand the abuse of a fight here.
Impudence!
Lu Ye and hispanions maintained their silence, but this only served to embolden He Bing. Sneaky scoundrels, he snorted, Show yourselves! Remove those masks this instant!
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Chapter 516: A Sense of Exhilaration
Chapter 516: A Sense of Exhration
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Many within the Cloud River Battlefield chose to keep their faces masked to hide their identities. As ubiquitous as they were practical, masks, in all the varying designs and cost, were helpful in concealing identities, allowing many, especially in circumstances where transparency was unwise, to transform into faceless silhouettes that blended and vanished amongst the crowd to preserve their anonymity.
Strangely, He Bing held a unique disdain and disgust for such trappings, and with the power he wielded, he was trying to impose his will on Lu Ye and the others.
Ill count to three, hemanded, his tone ice-cold, Remove your masks.
He would have charged forward without a word if not for the geographical disadvantage the moment he realized that the neers were enemies. That the neers had arrived in a group was all he needed to know that they must be weaker than he was. He had defeated many such enemies before despite the numerical disadvantage and few had managed to put up what could be worthy of a fair battle.
One!
Two!
Li Baxian reached to remove his mask, resignation etched on his concealed face as he sighed helplessly.
He was such an indomitable presence in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and there was hardly anyone who did not fear the name Li Baxian of the Devoted Ones. Still, here he was, as weak as any novice could be in this new world.Like lightning shing across a calm sky, Lu Ye burst forward from behind Li Baxian, his gleaming de sending an arc of light hurtling toward He Bing.
IMPUDENCE!
He Bing boomed, indignant at their defiance. He lifted his spear to retaliate, the weapon effortlessly shattering the incandescent scythe of light.
Rage came in waves. Even despite the odds, these puny voles dared to attack him first when he had not?!
His cold eyes took in the audacious challengera mere Third-Order, judging by the glow emanating from himwho was already sprinting at him and he cracked into a wicked grin.
[A Third-Order, eh? Is this fool wishing for his own death?!] he mused. He could easily st the challenger to death with just one blow.
But a flutter of Spiritual Power from behind caused him to pause.
Someone was behind him!
His focus had been centered on Lu Ye the whole time and it was toote. Something dark shrouded him and by the time he regained his senses, he found himself lost in apletely different environmentensnared in an unfamiliar rocky terrain.
He Bings visage twisted with confusion. He did not know what just happened and what had caused the cave to vanish, reced by the eerie forest that now surrounded him.
Back in the cave, Yi Yi materialized, holding aloft the mystical Nine Realm Scroll with the drawings of a rocky sprawl etched upon its surface. Right in the center of the sprawl was the image of a solitary figure, unmistakably He Bing, still spinning around,pletely confused.
Being stuck here because of the failure of escaping using the Teleportation Ward in such a dangerous predicament with a formidable Seventh-Order to contend with was not Lu Yes nor hispanions idea of fun. Lu Ye knew fully well how dire and desperate the situation was, and so did the others.
They understood that He Bings dy in initiatingbat was due to his inability to gauge their cultivation ranks at first. Had he perceived their rtive weakness, he would have struck without a second thought.
Thus, they nned their course of action.
When Li Baxian stepped forward to shield Lu Ye, thetter made a subtle gesture by tapping on the miniaturized Ambers heada silent messagemunicated through years of shared trials and understanding with Yi Yi.
That was when Yi Yi slipped away, reappearing behind He Bing like a wisp of smoke.
With Lu Ye keeping He Bing distracted, Yi Yi sprung her trap, unfurling the Nine Realms Scroll.
A Spirit Treasure more potent than any Spirit Artifact weapon, its might increased as Yi Yis cultivation grew. That, plus the element of surprise, was what helped to ensnare the mighty He Bing within it.
In spite of everything, this was an oue they would have preferred. Fighting in the cavern risked catastrophic copse or even attracting the attention of other formidable entities like Wei Que of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
The Nine Realms Scroll could contain whatever damage sustained inside, limiting the risks as long as Yi Yi could endure it.
As soon as He Bing was ensnared, Lu Ye bolted forward towards Yi Yi, followed closely by Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. They did not know what just happened, but their confused expressions soon morphed into determination as they decided to follow Lu Ye.
Yi Yi pped the Scroll and all three of them vanished, their forms now joining He Bing within the image of the rocky sprawl, appearing on the parchments surface.
Deep in the spread of rocky terrain inside the Nine Realms Scroll pocket dimension, He Bing watched as his opponents appeared one after another. He finally grasped his predicament, realizing where he was atstthe pocket dimension of a Ward Scroll.
He had lived long enoughamassing sufficient skills, awareness, and experiencesto learn about that from the sudden changes in the surroundings and how his opponents had reappeared.
His eyes narrowed, acknowledging the fact that he faced not three, but four adversaries. The fourth had been hiding in the shadows and was most likely the one wielding the Ward Scroll now.
While fear gripped his heart, a thrill of anticipation also coursed through him.
A Ward Scroll was a priceless artifact. In spite of their low rank in cultivation, He Bing was surprised that his opponents were in possession of such an extraordinary item. If he could defeat them, the Ward Scroll could be his.
No longer hesitating, He Bing made his move, charging toward Lu Ye first and foremost.
The decision was an easy one. Lu Ye had already exposed himself as a Third-Order, four ranks well below He Bing. Brimming with confidence, He Bing believed that he could eliminate Lu Ye with a single strike.
With great speed, he covered more than ten meters in just two strides, reaching Lu Ye in the blink of an eye as he thrust his spear forward.
Such a straightforward attack but it gave Lu Ye an immense and panicky sense of crisis. His entire self tensed as Invible screamed out of its sheath with a ringing cry. Spiritual Power surged down the length of its de as Lu Ye shed the weapon in an upward sh to meet the iing speartip.
Lu Yes eyes constricted the moment steel shed. The blow came heavy and forceful and for a split-second, Lu Ye felt like his weapon had hit a solid rock boulder instead.
The speartip was barely deflected at all from its lethal trajectory.
A precipice of life-or-death in one solitary exchangesuch was the force of an attack delivered by a Seventh-Order and it was clear that He Bing had yet to unleash his full might.
The Fourth and the Seventh-Orders each represented two critical thresholds in the Spirit Creek Realm. Cultivators who made it past these two Orders would find themselves experiencing a significant esction of ones strength and the same principle applied within the Cloud River Realm as well.
Therefore, only Cultivators beyond the Seventh-Order Realm possessed both the ability and audacity to venture into the Colosseum alone. Nevertheless, there were exceptions to this rule; there were also Sixth-Orders who fancied their chances solo, such as the one Lu Ye and Yi Yi had defeated together earlier
The luminescent shield of runes of Glyph: Protection materialized in front of Lu Ye as he contorted himself backward as much as possible.
The spear grazed past him, annihting the glowing shield in its wake, while leaving a searing trail of pain across Lu Yes neck as he nearly tumbled from the blow.
And before Lu Ye could regain his footing, He Bings spear, having failed to find its initial mark, descended like a crushing rod about to bash his skull.
With a resounding thud, Lu Ye found himself mmed onto the ground with numbing waves of pain spreading from his shoulder de down to his lower abdomen.
A flicker of surprise sparked in He Bings eyes. Evidently, he was not expecting a Third-Order to survive that blow. Yet, that was the extent of his surprise. With Lu Ye smashed into the ground, his Spiritual Power inplete disarray, and his movements momentarily paralyzed, he was a sitting duck.
He Bings spear was wheeling back for another powerful thrust that would have skewered Lu Ye like a boar when a sonorous whistle filled the air. Several menacing waves of deathced with murderous choler and aggression bore down upon him from behind.
Sword Cultivator! He Bing swiftly discerned the nature of the assant bearing down on him, acknowledging that while his three opponents were not on par with him in terms of cultivation, he knew better than to discount the deadliness that Sword Cultivators were so famous for.
In a hurried response, He Bing whirled around to face his attackers, his gaze meeting a sky filled with luminescent flying shafts. He immediately rattled his long spear, setting off a symphony of blooming silhouettes shaped like the tip of his spear.
The resounding ngor of metal on metal echoed through the surroundings as sparks erupted and danced. Every iing shaft was deftly deflected, their onught momentarily held at bay.
Amid the hail of radiantly glowing shafts, streaking spells spiraled around seamlessly, integrating with the flying bolts of light in a relentless and ceaseless assault, an unending tempest of deadly artistry.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had spent their formative years together, their bond forged from shared experiences of growth and cultivation. For the sake of Li Baxian, who had be her childhood sweetheart, Feng Yuechan was willing to linger in the Spirit Creek Realm for over a decade, suffering a stagnation in her progress when she could have achieved more.
This shared history manifested in a formidable partnership, wless and impably coordinated.
The gravity of the situation was not lost on He Bing as he noticed an unsettling detail.
The Sword and the Spell Cultivators were both a step above the Combat Cultivator in terms of rank, each evidently Fourth-Orders. Yet, the depth of their mastery and skill seemed to exceed He Bings own level.
All three of them must be acolytes of renowned sects or orders and their prowess clearly a hallmark of their status as elites.
Strangely, this revtion, while daunting, stirred a sense of exhration within He Bing.
His rootsy in a modest Tier-Four sect. Even though he had advanced into the Cloud River Realm with all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points unlocked, He Bing was aware of his inferior standing inparison to the true prodigiesthose whose name had once been on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy while his own name had been notably absent.
Yet right here, right now, he found himself securely in possession of the initiative in this fight against three formidable adversaries. If this were a fight where all of them were equals in cultivation ranks, he would not have stood a chance at all. Not even in singlebat against any of these adversaries.
So what if they came from prestigious backgrounds? So what if they possessed superior talents? Nothing could trump the sheer difference in their cultivation rank!
Nevertheless, he could not shake off an uncanny familiarity that never stopped nagging at him. Some time before, or somewhere unknown, he felt as if he had seen the Sword Cultivator and the Spell Cultivator
While Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan held He Bing in a tight deadlock, Lu Ye quickly scrambled to his feet and extricated himself from the immediate vicinity. Wiping a hand across his scarlet-drenched neck, he felt the slickness and heat of his own blood on his hand.
He recognized the close shave he had just had; the dangerous proximity of He Bings lethal spear and the monumental risk of facing a Seventh-Order all by himself as a Third-Order. He would have been killed if he were any slower.
Go!
He Bing unleashed a guttural bark. Several streaks of lightthe telltale glow that flying weapons emittedburst to life abruptly. They sliced through the chaotic whirlwind of flying swords and spells and hurtled toward Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
Neither Li Baxian nor Feng Yuechan had the audacity to stand in direct opposition to such an onught.
Feng Yuechan produced her umbre-like Spell Artifact. Unfurling its protective expanse before them, they braced themselves for the iing cascading impact.
When the flying weapons hit, each of their powerful strikes against the luminescent shield of the umbre-like Spell Artifact pummeled Feng Yuechan with one piecemeal step, eliciting protesting res of brilliance from the umbre.
Surviving the barrage, they looked up to find He Bing sessfully prating beyond the shafts of light, charging headlong into them.
Li Baxian brandished his sword. The weapon trembled in his grip as if recalling the legion of glowing shafts that instantly regrouped around him, coalescing into a dragon-like monstrosity to counter He Bing.
Both figures threw themselves into each other but as soon as they met, the dragon burst into countless sparkling white cinders while Li Baxian careened away, crashing to the ground like a ragdoll.
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Chapter 517: And Who Might You Be?
Chapter 517: And Who Might You Be?
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He Bing persisted unwaveringly in the pursuit of his quarry with the doggedness of a shark on the scent of blood, his spear thrusting towards the descending figure of Li Baxian with the ferocity and deadliness of a pit viper, poised to kill and maim.
Feng Yuechans being brimmed with surging Spiritual Power. A dense mist manifested around her instantly, its appearance precipitously plummeting the ambient temperature. Unaware of the impending danger, He Bing recklessly charged headlong into the frigid atmosphere. The cold air congealed into ice, its crystalline tendrils spreading outward with the intent to encase He Bing in an icy prison.
Had they been of equal cultivation levels, breaking free from this spell would have proven nigh impossible. Yet, He Bings cultivation outstripped Feng Yuechan by at least three ranks. Sensing the looming threat, he shook his body, and with waves of surging Spiritual Power from him, the encasing ice crystals shattered into fragments.
His gaze panned to the disheveled Feng Yuechan not far away. At his mental direction, his flying weapons screamed straight for her like a flock of vultures and swooped down with the force of a battering ram, mming furiously into her umbre-like Spell Artifact.
The impact sent Feng Yuechan hurtling backward before crashing to the ground ignominiously.
Enjoy ying the savior huh?! He Bing snarled, grinding his teeth as he darted forth, homing in on Feng Yuechan with a murderous choler.
Enveloped in the dazzling illumination of his glowing shafts, Li Baxian bolted forward to intercept. Simultaneously, Lu Ye wasunching an assault of his own on He Bing from behind with Invible zing crimson-red along the length of its steel in what was a concerted pincer attack on the enemy.
However, despite their seamless coordination, the colossal disparity between their cultivation ranks and He Bings remained insurmountable. In no more than three exchanges of blows, both Lu Ye and Li Baxian were sent hurtling through the air with blood spurting forth from their wounds.Feng Yuechans spell once again surged forth, preventing He Bing from delivering more damage to them.
Back inside the underground cavern, Yi Yi clutched the Nine Realm Scroll in her hands firmly, channeling her Spiritual Power into it with unwavering desperation, her anxious gaze fixated upon the dynamic intery of the figures incessantly weaving back and forth amid the furious sh within the confines of the Scrolls pocket dimension. Anxiety mounting to the point of panic, she could only sit on her own hands as she witnessed the intensity of the battle unfolding before her.
Her current cultivation rank in the Cloud River Realm was the highest she had ever aplished. In theory, by being in control of the Nine Realm Scroll, she should have been able to provide some form of assistance to Lu Ye and the others.
Nevertheless, the ferocity of the ongoing battle now being waged in the Scrolls pocket dimension left her feeling powerless. The sheer force of the sh between four Cloud River Realm Cultivators set the Scroll into violent tremors,pelling her to exert every ounce of her strength to maintain its operation. Any faltering in the supply of her Spiritual Power to keep the Nine Realm Scroll operating and He Bing would escape.
To that end, she did not dare to act rashly and that left her only with the option of maintaining her control of the Nine Realm Scroll while praying that herpanions would triumph.
Back inside the messy sprawl of rock columns and debris that was the Scrolls pocket dimension, Lu Ye and Li Baxian were blitzing at He Bing again and again. Yet each time they were met with such formidable resistance from the Seventh-Order enemy that they were collecting more wounds than doling out them.
Feng Yuechan was faring somewhat better, although she was not going easy just yet. Unleashing spells with hardly any signs of respite, she was fully aware that any sign of a letdown would spell the demise of Lu Ye and Li Baxian.
Whether Lu Ye, Li Baxian, or even Feng Yuechan, none of them had ever experienced perils as deadly as this. Teetering on the edge of a precipice of death, all three of them were aware that one little mistake could lead to irreversible disaster.
In the meantime, He Bings earlier contemptuous expression slowly receded from his face. Whatever superiority he still wielded, the battle was hardly going the way he expected.
What he initially anticipated as a one-sided ughter since he ascertained the cultivation ranks of his adversaries had turned out to be a surprising performance of impable resistance.
Looking at the overall situation, even if these three teamed up, they were no match for him. Although he was alone, he still had the upper hand due to his strong cultivation. However, in reality, he had difficulty killing any of these three.
Whenever he thought that he was about to put down one of them for good, the other two would dive in with reckless abandon to thwart him.
This was especially true of the Sword Cultivator, whose flying shafts of light had been a constant nuisance if not a threat to him.
Several times he had toyed with the notion of going the extra mile of killing the Sword Cultivator and risking being heavily injured. But his reservations got the better of him and he could only go on allowing this debacle to go on. After all, being injured in the Colosseum would mean that he would have to sit out the rest of the duration to recuperate and heal.
At any rate, the situation was increasingly favorable for him; both the Sword and the Combat Cultivators were getting weaker and slower from their worsening injuries. It would not be long before one of them crumbled to the ground for good and he would have no trouble dealing with the remaining two.
If someone had told him before today that a few Third- and Fourth-Orders would put up such a good fight against him, he would have casually dismissed the notion with nothing but a disdainful scoff. Yet, right here, right now, the truth was right before his very eyes, proving him wrong.
Unbelievable!
All three adversaries must be of notable repute, particrly the Sword and Spell Cultivator. The more he shed with them, the more an uncanny sense of familiarity washed over him.
Another intense exchange of blows saw Li Baxian and Lu Ye sessively repulsed one after another. Even before hended, the mask of a boys face that Li Baxian wore cracked and shattered, revealing a gash on his forehead where blood began dribbling out.
Had he not swiftly retreated, the injury would have been more than just a mere cut above his brows; his very skull might have been impaled by the tip of He Bings spear.
Plus, Lu Yes saber had arced around just in time to parry the blow, and that allowed the opening for Li Baxian to evade.
The pieces of the broken mask fell to the ground, exposing Li Baxians stony countenance. He could see no glimmer of victory in sight, given the circumstances, but that did not mean that he was going to give up just yet!
With a sideswipe of his spear that sted aside another one of Feng Yuechans death bolts, He Bing cast his gaze upon Li Baxians face. He was startled for one second before he eximed, visibly shocked and surprised, You are Li Baxian!
That was when he realized that the sense of familiarity that has been bugging him was not misced. [Li Baxian, of all people!] As a former Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator who once roamed the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was no way he wouldnt know the renown of Li Baxian, the Heaven-Eight monstrosity who once dominated the upper echelons of the Battlefields Roll of Supremacy that even those whose names were on the Roll regarded him with terror. Even He Bing himself once watched Li Baxian from afar with admiration and envy.
He was no stranger to the rumors about how Li Baxians damage to his Spiritual Points was what prevented his ascension to bing a Heaven-Nine Cultivator, but he did not know that Li Baxian had finally stepped into the Cloud River Battlefield.
That would exin why he had been fighting against an adversary of such profound skill and fundamentals! It was Li Baxian!
That must mean that youre Feng Yuechan? He Bing turned his gaze to the side.
Deducing the identity of Feng Yuechan, having confirmed Li Baxians profile, posed no difficulty. Their inseparability was well-known to all, along with the fact that she was a Spell Cultivator.
He Bing directed his attention to Lu Ye atst. And who might you be? he asked.
The pieces were beginning to fit into ce. The renowned Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, who after more than a decade of remaining in the Spirit Creek Realm, would possess such impable skill and proficiency disyed in the skirmish earlier. But what about this stranger in the mask of a long-fanged demon? Despite being one rank lower than Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan in cultivation, his strength and skill were on par with theirs.
But Lu Ye had hardly the inclination to respond to the question. Seizing the moment, he used the moment to gather his strength.
He was drenched with blood from head to toe. While the wounds that scattered all over him were nowhere near grave yet, the sheer number of the wounds was enough to have crippled anyone else. Even the back of his hand that now gripped the hilt of his weapon was torn with fresh blood flowing down his hand and onto the steel of his saber.
No matter, an unperturbed He Bing responded when he received no answer. Who would have thought that the renowned Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan would meet their demise at my hands? he grinned broadly. How ironic is Fate!
Certain of his victory, He Bing advanced. He vanished in one second only to reappear just in front of Li Baxian in the next. Exuding an air of certainty regarding their defeat, he advanced and in an instant materialized before Li Baxian. His spear shot up with the speed and intensity of ashing serpent, aiming straight for Li Baxians head. The Sword Cultivator posed the greatest threat to him and thus had to be eliminated first.
At the same time, Lu Ye and Feng Yuechan reacted swiftly. The former pounced upon him from behind, while thetter fired another spell.
The legion of flying shafts surged after He Bing in a terrible deluge, yet even with their sheer number and might, He Bings spear prevailed. With each swing of the long polearm, he swept aside the currents of flying shafts pouring at him before driving it up into Li Baxians face.
Li Baxian had not even the slightest intention to flinch. He held his sword straight, its tip aimed at his foe. Next, he vanished, swallowed by a sudden burst of radiance that turned into a shaft of light of its own that shot forward to charge at the enemy.
The atmosphere instantly turned palpably thick with the radiation from both their blowsLi Baxians fearless charge and He Bings formidable thrustas both figures brushed past each other in a split-second exchange of attacks.
Li Baxian screeched to a halt more than a dozen meters away. He crumbled to one knee, his hand clutching his abdomen. Crimson blood oozed through his fingers.
On the other hand, He Bings cheek was a grotesque mess of mushy flesh and blood.
The pain ignited furious anger within him. How could this have happened?! A mere Fourth-Order who could hurt him?!
He Bing dismissed Feng Yuechans iing death bolt with a smack of his spear, shattering it into oblivion. Next, he pivoted around and bolted after Li Baxian, his icy resolve to kill now set in stone.
But one stride was all he managed before Lu Ye appeared from his nk with Invible bearing down on him, its sharp edge glinting dangerously.
Get out of my sight! He Bing snarled angrily, his spear rising to swat Lu Ye aside. Their steels shed and it was then He Bing realized that something had changed. The Third-Order stranger had grown swifter and stronger all of a sudden.
Several resounding shes ensued and Lu Ye was finally flung backward. Hended beside Li Baxian, his right arm throbbing incessantly despite Invible still in his grip.
But He Bing appeared perplexed
He was sure that a single strike would suffice to repel Lu Ye. At least that was the case before. Yet, just now, Lu Ye had managed to parry several thrusts of his spear. His strength seemed to have undergone a tremendous, inexplicable, and even undeniably abnormal surge.
He nced at Lu Ye, beholding a strange sight: there was Lu Ye, swathed in a crimsonyer of Spiritual Power roiling with blood-made energy. The energies churned like rolling mes. Amber, who had been perched on his shoulder all along, was supplying more blood-made energy to Lu Ye, shrouding him in a dusky-red luminescence.
[What on earth is that?! Some unknown technique?!]
What He Bing failed to see, without the help of any spiritual vision-based abilities, was a blood-red Glyph hovering right over Lu Yes chest, working its magic.
Lu Ye seldom used Glyph: Bloodrage. It had been a while since he had encountered any enemies who had given him cause for such a bitter struggle. Most, if not all of them, were either so feeble that they barely withstood more than one attack from him, or it was he who was defeated that way.
Bloodrage required time to gradually build up its effect for any results to show and that made it difficult and inconvenient to harness.
But this battle had been a unique experience for him. A battle against such a powerful enemy would have been decided in a second if it were singlebat. Yet, with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan present to fight alongside him, this had turned into a chance for Bloodrage to prove its worth.
Right when the battle first began, Lu Ye had constructed the Glyph over his own chest.
The wounds that he collected and the blood that he had lostall of them had helped Bloodrage to channel to its fullest and that had engendered a profound transformation in his strength and power.
He might still be a Third-Order but the power he now unleashed could match what Fourth-Orders could. Given enough time, Bloodrage could give him an augmentation in his power that could equal Fifth-Orders or even higher. Once he could go toe-to-toe against He Bing, he could change the oue rather than being just a desperate attempt to survive.
Whatever reservations He Bing harbored, he dismissed them all. He hade too far to allow any second thoughts toe in the way of winning this battle. No one would falter at this juncture. It was either to win or to die.
Li Baxian rose to his feet, getting up beside Lu Ye. With his Spiritual Power, he staunched the wounds that beset him. His wounds pulsated with morbid vigor, writhing and convulsing as if in protest to the healing while his sinews slithered to repair themselves. The airborne shafts now scattered everywhere swiftly converge under hismand. Pointing his longsword at the enemy with steely resolve, he croaked hoarsely, Advance.
In unison, the two figures darted valiantly forward, attacking He Bing from both nks. Feng Yu Chan began letting loose one flurry of spells after another, not seeking to kill or to maim, but to disperse the focus of the enemy and relieve as much strain from Li Baxian and Lu Ye as possible.
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Chapter 518: The Secret Technique of the Myriad Beast Domain
Chapter 518: The Secret Technique of the Myriad Beast Domain
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The embers of battle rekindled once again. Only this time, He Bing was no longer as confident and calm as he was before, for he was now certain of Lu Yes growth in his prowess.
It was as Lu Ye expected. The earlier onset of the battle was a struggle for their survival. But now, they possessed the means to turn the tables, even if the means were short-lived
The elevation in Lu Yes power did note without its cost. It was fueled by his own vitality that Bloodrage tapped into.
Wielding the strength and power of a Fourth-Order, Lu Ye could deliver strokes faster and stronger than before. All of that would naturally inflict a certain degree of strain on his body.
In this state, he could only keep on fighting for less than half his normal duration. Once the time limit expired, he would be depleted.
But if theycked the means to put up an equal fight, then all other considerations would be futile.
The heightened strength and speed Lu Ye was showing did not go unnoticed by He Bing; Li Baxian was equally aware of it. He did not know what had Lu Ye done, but it undeniably helped to tilt the scales in their favor and that called for an immediate alteration in their previous strategy.
The battle against He Bing started with Lu Ye in a supporting role. But now, Lu Ye would be leading the attack with Li Baxian rotating into the supporting role to rectify any gaps in their defense. Additionally, with Feng Yuechan to help divert He Bings attention, the battle has effectively transformed into anyones game.This time, they would no longer be easily repelled by He Bing like before. With Lu Ye at the forefront, they now had the capability to exchange blows with the Seventh-Order on almost equal grounds.
Especially, since the scales were tipping more in their favor with each passing second.
In the meantime, He Bing was growing increasingly despondent. His enemies possessed cultivation ranks far lower than his own. He had every confidence of winning them all in singlebatit would take only ten seconds. In fact, he would have done that if it were just two enemies. But there were three. The two would ceaselessly rain hails of attacks on him in close range while the third would pepper him relentlessly with spells while maintaining her distance. All that was putting him in quite a fix.
What should have been a one-sided beatdown presided by him was thwarted by their seamless coboration. Instead of killing at least one of them, they were now slowly gaining up on him.
Especially the Third-Order Combat Cultivator. He Bing did not know what really happened, but somehow, the Third-Order was getting stronger the longer the fight went on.
At present, they possessed the capability to threaten him. Before too long, they might even be able to truly defeat him!
He Bing seethed with frustration. Had he known about this, he would have rather risked severe injury just so that he could kill or incapacitate one of the three at least. That would have spared him the fate of being ensnared in this stalemate that could very well end up in his defeat.
But the opportunity no longer presented itself. The gambit of risking injury just to kill one of them would never work now. Doing so would be tantamount to suicide at this juncture, He Bing believed.
Hence, it was one option that he would never undertake.
Whatever the Combat Cultivator had done to generate such a surge in his power had toe with a price. Therefore, He Bing was confident that all he needed to do was waitwait for the moment when the Combat Cultivator could no longer endure the price that sustained the enhancement in his power. That would mark the moment of his final victory.
With that in mind, He Bing brandished his spear, forsaking offense for defense. The fact that he, a formidable Seventh-Order, waspelled to make such a choice proved an immense humiliation. Nevertheless, a beggar could not be a chooser; so long as he emerged victorious, how he clinched that victory would hold little significance. At any rate, he was fighting against the two of the most famous Cultivators ever to walk the Spirit Creek Battlefield: the renowned Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
By He Bing only defending and not attacking, Lu Ye and Li Baxian would find their attacks useless. Neither of them would be able to prate his defenses, let alone deal any significant damage.
The streaking radiance of spells being fired flickered incessantly in the dimly-lit rocky sprawl, plus the asional scythe-like energy projectiles and glowing shafts that crisscrossed the area. He Bing steadfastly stood his ground, swinging his polearm to parry and deflect whatever attacks that came his way, his presence looming like an eternal and indomitable iceberg that was impervious to any external threats.
With Glyph: Bloodrage continually operating, Lu Yes power was nearing the levels of the Fifth-Order.
He had been observing He Bings countenance. The Seventh-Order was not looking flustered at all when the fight began. But now, He Bing was sporting a visibly more serious expressionhe was investing his full power into defending every blow they were dishing his way.
He could now more-or-less pose a credible threat to He Bing. In fact, if Lu Ye were a real Fifth-Order, he might have been able to go toe-to-toe against He Bing and perhaps even win.
But what he possessed right now was just the artificial power of the Fifth-Order, which was inferior ifpared to the might of a real Fifth-Order.
In fact, Lu Ye could feel that he had reached the limits of what enhancements Bloodrage could afford him.
Which was understandably reasonable; there was no way the Glyph had no limitation, especially after it had elevated his power by two ranks. That alone discounted any doubt as to Glyph: Bloodrages potency, despite its weakness that it needed time to channel before its enhancement could be significant enough to make any difference.
More than fifteen minutes had psed since they entered the pocket dimension of the Nine Realm Scroll and that was what helped Bloodrage to reach its full potential.
The collective might of all three of them could now resist He Bing. But they would still need more than that
He Bing was grateful for his own patience. Rather than sumbing to his panic, his decision to focus on defense had paid off and he still had a lot of strength left.
He was not surprised that Lu Ye had methods that could enhance his power. But what amazed him was the extent of growth in his power because of this unknown method.
Yet, He Bing knew very well that the enhancement would not be without its cost. The higher the growth, the greater the cost must be. In fact, he could see that the enhancement had reached its limit. Lu Ye appeared to be at his peak at the moment and all he had to do was just hold on.
The ngor of steel reverberated through the air as Lu Ye and Li Baxians figures intertwined like a pair of wraiths yet nothing they did could prate He Bings defenses.
A sense of unease crept over Li Baxian. The current status quo might appear favorable, but he knew that perils still lurked unseen.
More than seven-tenths of the offense was now being shouldered by Lu Ye. Once Glyph: Bloodrage had reached its time limit, their defeat would be inevitable.
If only they could conclude this battle quickly. But with He Bing now choosing to defend rather than attack, he clearly intended to prolong the fight.
But if they failed to end this battle before Lu Yes power plummeted, then this would be their final resting ce.
Li Baxian still had one little trick hidden up his sleeve, but the final ace could only be used if he was absolutely sure that employing it would seal their victory, or else, using it would only cause more harm than good.
Amidst the ferociousbat, Li Baxian cast a nce toward Lu Ye and found himself taken aback.
Lu Ye lookedpletely unfazed, his countenance utterly devoid of any hint of impatience or panic. Every strike he made emanated focused effort, and Li Baxian felt inspired with the same calmness andposure.
Indeed. If his junior brother could keep his cool despite the dire situation, why should he panic? As a more experienced Cultivator than Lu Ye, he should be stronger than his junior. So what if they were to die here? Such was the life of being a Cultivator.
The revtion helped to restore a sense of peace and rity in Li Baxian.
At the same time, Li Baxian wondered if his senses were deceiving him. He was picking up a tinge of bestial power mingling within Lu Yes aura. Even his movements betrayed a never-before-seen qualityparable to an untamed ferocious beast.
Meanwhile, Lu Yes mind was beginning to experience a change.
Whatever sensation he felt, it defied description. Never had he experienced this surrealistic feeling before. The protracted duration of this battle and the passage of time had deepened his blood energy link with Amber, intertwining and resonating inexplicably.
This resonance exceeded the mere amalgamation of their blood energy; it entailed the fusion of his own Spiritual Power with Ambers mutant powers as a Spirit Beast.
Gradually, this resonance left a vague and peculiar impression that Amber was a part of him and this impression grew increasingly tangible
That was when he realized what was going on
He had never anticipated a breakthrough at this juncture. But the battle had dragged on for an extended duration, allowing him to umte ample confidence and experience and reach a point where he could unleash his true potential. The opponent he encountered in the Myriad Beast Domain was very, very powerful, but the battle did notst long enough for Lu Ye to reach his full potential.
A gleam of hope for victory glimmered in Lu Yes eyes.
And his attacks grew more ferocious.
Undeniably, it was the Beast Pact Art that he acquired from the Myriad Beast Domain that proved instrumental in this struggle. Since forming a bond with Amber through the Life Energy Art, the tigers mere presence alone could grant him tremendous assistance.
Lu Ye would have long sumbed to exhaustion if it had not been for Amber. The power he drew from Amber allowed him to swing his weapon without worrying about any strain and exertion.
As the battle continued, the mingling of their blood energy and Spiritual Power propelled the Beast Pact Art toward breakthrough and evolution.
That came with the realization that Glyph: Bloodrage and the Beast Pact Art could work in synergy.
The resonance with Amber grew stronger and deeper until a particr point when Lu Ye distinctly felt it: an unbreakable connection between him and Amber; Amber was now an integral part of his very corporeal existence. Both man and tiger have be one.
Beneath the folds of his tunic, the tiger head mark on his chest burst with a sudden radiant brilliance, followed by a beckoning, mysterious force.
That was when Amber pounced off Lu Yes shoulder and transformed into a stream of light that surged down his chest and into the mark.
Waves of energy pulsed from the mark, its power coursing through every fiber of Lu Yes being and revitalizing what strength he had spent, plus the soreness and pain that came with using Glyph: Bloodrage. Like an invigorating shower of magic, the waves of energy eradicated all fatigue from him, restoring him with renewed vitality.
Every gash and bruise was gone. Even his throbbing right arm had ceased its trembling. The macabre-red glow that engulfed him was reced by a resplendent orange radiance.
Orange. The fusion of redLu Yes blood energy and his Spiritual Powerand goldAmbers mutant energy.
This newfound source of power manifested as a pair of ethereal tiger ears on his head and a tigers tail at his back. The new appendage swayed gently, lifelike.
The mightiest secret technique of the Myriad Beast DomainBeast Form!
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Chapter 519: He Bing Must Die
Chapter 519: He Bing Must Die
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Beastmasters were a crop of enigmatic and yet interesting Cultivators. Jiu Zhous very own breed of Beastmasters had strayed from the true essence of Beast Mastery by fixating on the acquisition and the taming and nurturing of Spirit Beasts to be used for battle while neglecting the cultivation of their own strength.
As a result, the Beastmasters of Jiu Zhoucked personal prowess. In their pursuit of numbers, many of them came to possess multiple Spirit Beasts with some even boasting dozens or twenty of such creatures in theirmand.
In the early stages of their cultivation, the Beastmasters had seeded in overpowering their opponents through sheer numerical advantage. This led them astray, gradually deviating from the right path. They became so engrossed in nurturing and controlling their Spirit Beasts that they neglected their own personal development.
To that end, the Beastmasters of Jiu Zhou were not renowned for their superiority. In fact, they paled inparison even to Golem Masters, who, despite their obsession with external elements, had not strayed from the purpose of enhancing their own abilities.
Contrarily, the Beastmasters of the Myriad Beast Domain took an entirely different approach.
They controlled only one Spirit Beastone that was life bound to them through magical seals known as Beast Pacts.
If the methods of the Beastmasters of Jiu Zhou focused on the beasts, then the ones of the Myriad Beast Domain prioritized their own cultivation, which should have been the actual and proper path for all Beastmasters.
And the pinnacle of Beast Masteryy in the technique known as Beast Form.Back when Lu Ye was still in the Myriad Beast Domain, deep within the underground insectoid nest of the ck Tortoise Sect territory, he encountered a BeastFormed Niu Meng who presented himself with the appearance of a formidable beast. That, plus the insectoid nucleus allowed Niu Meng to embody an abundance of vitality. Single-handedly, he nearly annihted an entire squad of Cultivators consisting of Lu Ye and others. It was only with the instruction of the Grand Elder to break Niu Mengs Beast Pact to release him from his Beast Form that they stood a chance of defeating him.
At the Ninth-Order just like Niu Meng, Zhou Hai, Pang Dahai, and Xia Qianqian each possessed considerable strength in their own right. Especially Zhou Hai in, who was known for his prowess with the sword. Yet their collective might, eclipsed by the might of Niu Mengs brute strength, did not prevent Zhou Hai from suffering massive abuse by Niu Menga testament to the tremendous power bestowed by the Beast Form technique.
During their time in the secret realm of the Myriad Beast Domain, Lu Ye had created a Beast Pact with Amber and had learned the secrets of Beast Form, although he had not yet found the opportunity to reach the state until today.
Beast Form was not something that could be triggered at will; rather, it required extensive umtion.
However, this battle with He Bing provided the opportunity he had been waiting for. His survival instincts, the resolve to defeat He Bing, and his bond and unity with Amberthe fusion of their blood aura, Spiritual Power, and Ambers innate Mutant auraall fulfilled Lu Yes prerequisite conditions to enter Beast Form state.
But Lu Yes current transformation fell short of reaching Niu Mengs level. Unlike Niu Mengs change that saw him almost transfigured with real Spirit Beast features, Lu Yes body was enveloped in an orange glow, with amber luminescent tiger ears and tail appearing as distinct features.
This change left not only He Bing astounded, but also dumbfounded Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. It had only been twenty days since Lu Ye had sold the Beast Pact technique to the Divine Trade Association and up until now, no Beastmaster in Jiu Zhou had ever achieved Beast Form yet. That was why He Bing, Li Baxian, and Feng Yuechan had never witnessed such a phenomenon before and no one knew what was happening.
But He Bing understood that the situation was spiraling out of his control. Whatever change was happening to Lu Ye, his already formidable aura was scaling up to unprecedented heights. In fact, he exuded an unbridled ferocity, his blood surging through every vein and artery with speed and intensity, and his Spiritual Power emanated like a zing furnacereminiscent of an ancient beast of boundless savageness broken free from its confines.
Back in the cave, Yi Yi was clutching the Nine Realm Scroll firmly in her fingers, diligently maintaining its operation, when Lu Ye entered Beast Form. Ripples swept across the surface of the Scroll like an earthquake, indicating an excessive strain within the spatial confines of the Scrolls pocket dimension.
It was not the Scroll failing; but rather, Yi Yi wasnt supplying enough Spiritual Power to allow the Scroll to operate at a capacity where it could sustain the sudden surge in power.
Yi Yi hastened to bolster the amount of Spiritual Power she was injecting into the Scroll and that finally stopped the trembling.
In the meantime, feeling the unnatural winds billowing in the midst of the rock column sprawl in resonance with his burgeoning Spiritual Power, Lu Ye could feel a surrealistic sensation.
Aplete change in his perception of the world around him.
Everything seemed to have slowed down around himso much so that it afforded him a clear view of everything the look of surprise and panic now flickering in He Bings stare, the beads of blood trickling from Li Baxians forehead, and the gradual formation of Feng Yuechans sorcery
There wasnt any change in their speeds; it wasnt their movements that had slowed. But it was his movements that had elerated, causing that unreal sensation.
Without warning, He Bing lunged forward, his spear thrusting straight for Lu Ye with the intensity of a serpent while sting Li Baxian aside before thetter could do anything.
Even so, He Bings instincts tingled wildly, warning him about some unknown, imminent danger.
Lu Yes growth in this battle had far outstripped hisprehension. What he initially thought was a secure victory since he had been ying safe had not turned out the way he expected. Instead of bing weaker, Lu Ye had turned stronger. That prompted him to abandon his initial n to defend and attack instead, only this time, it was Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan that daunted him not one bit at all; the difference in their power and his was apparent enough. Rather, it was Lu Ye, who started out as the weakestbatant in this skirmish that has now be the actual threat to him.
Come on,e on! Hack him, hack him!
A voice resounded within the depths of Lu Yes heart all of a suddenone reminiscent of a babyish, fierce toddler crying out at him as He Bings speartip drew near.
Invible was halfway through deflecting away the iing blow when Lu Ye heard the disembodied voice. Startled by the sudden sound, what strength he gathered wavered momentarily, diminishing its potency by a fraction.
With a resounding ng, sparks flew and mes sshed in all directions as Lu Yes figure hurtled backward.
He Bing, fueled by his newfound momentum, unleashed a vicious flurry of blows, enveloping Lu Ye within its whirlwind, while at the same time, he was secretly relieved to find that Lu Yes sudden spurt of power did not exceed his anticipation.
He had overestimated Lu Yeor so he believed.
Strike after strike, Lu Ye retreated steadily. Invible was now an instrument of defense rather than of offense, parrying and sideswiping away desperately every attack He Bing was throwing at him.
And with every stroke, the same disembodied, childlike voice squealed deep within his mind, ceaselessly chattering with a fierce and spirited tone like an incessantly annoyingmentary.
Left, left!
Herees the right side! Oh, Heavens, that was sloppy!
Strike at him, not his spear! Whats the point of hitting his weapon anyway?! Thats pathetic!
Stab him, stab him in the stomach! In his chest! Gods, do you even know how to fight?!
Good chance, bite him! Bite him in the neck! Go! Go! Go!
Every time Lu Ye wanted to do anything, the voice would appear. If anything, it was more bothersome than helpful. Lu Ye was still baffled as to the origin of the voice, up until he heard it urging him to bite He Bing in the neck. That was when Lu Ye realized the source.
Amber?!
What?! [So it really is you!] Lu Ye mused deep inside.
Astonished, Lu Ye marveled at the fact that he could clearly hear Ambers voice even in his Beast Form state. It wasnt Amber speaking directly, but a manifestation of their deep spiritual connection.
Amber was able to transform into a cat at will, but it could not quite yet transfigure itself into humanoid form. It could notmunicate in the human tongue but it has all along been able to forge spiritual connections and entering Beast Form had created a link between it and Lu Ye, allowing them both tomunicate directly.
For one moment, Lu Ye did not know how to react. After knowing the tiger for so long, he knew nothing about the tigers behavior.
Be quiet! he scowled at the tiger.
Ah, all right, all right!
Amber yelped a reply and stayed silent after that, allowing Lu Ye to stay focused.
Meanwhile, He Bing was wearing a smug grin. Still under the mistaken impression that Lu Ye must have relied on some incredible technique, he was thinking that whatever transformation Lu Ye might have undergone, it did not trante into the superiority He Bing feared and anticipated.
The Combat Cultivator clearly was forced to remain on the defensive against his relentless onught.
Ten blows. That was the limit of how long the young Combat Cultivator wouldst, he surmised, if the Sword Cultivator and the Spell Cultivator had not been constant nuisances.
At least that was what he believed back then until a sudden upstroke of the Combat Cultivators saber carried such an indescribably ferocious burst of Spiritual Power that it bashed his spear off course.
The strength of his opponents blow shocked him.
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Ye pressed forward, not giving his foe any time to react at all. But thetter was stunned; he did not see a human lunging at him with reckless abandon. All he saw was a ferocious predator swooping down on him like a tiger out for blood.
Again and again, Lu Ye hurled endless blows at his foe, the ferocity of the assault so overwhelming that He Bing turned from surprised to terrified. The Combat Cultivator that he had regarded with indifference if not contempt had transformed into an entirely different person, exuding even greater strength than before.
Sword and saber gnashed against spear while blood trickled and stteredsome from Lu Ye plus some from He Bing.
Up until now, He Bing had received nothing more than just the scar that Li Baxian had left long ago when the fight was in its initial stage. Aside from that, He Bing had otherwise remained unscathed.
But Lu Yes present strength and power equaled that of a Fifth-Order because of Glyph: Bloodragemaking him quite close to He Bings level of prowess.
That, plus Beast Form gave Lu Ye what he needed to surpass He Bing.
What Lu Ye received from Beast Form was more than just an increase in strength, speed, and power; the influence of Ambers animalistic nature rubbed off most prominently, leading him to be unprecedentedly wild and violent. His assaults became attacks driven by an insatiable bloodlust that he became immune to any fear or sense of self-preservation. He Bing was finding himself overwhelmed by Lu Yes relentless onught.
Feng Yuechan and Li Baxians eyes lit up at the astonishing shift in the battle. They quickly threw in what they couldspells, attacks, flying shaftsanything that they could put into y to support Lu Yes advance.
He Bings situation grew increasingly dire.
Realizing how the tables had been turned against him, He Bing frantically proposed a truce.
Shall we call it a draw? Theres no need to fight to the death!
Never did He Bing expect, since the onset of this battle, that he would be the one proposing peace. What should have been easy pickings turned into him sailing perilously close to the winds.
At this critical juncture, he could no longer underestimate Lu Ye and hispanions.
Lu Ye, however, remained silent. He could see no room for any negotiationnot after all the fighting until now. This gauntlet could only be solved with the death of either side and He Bing still had the advantageas soon as Beast Form and Glyph: Bloodrage ran out, Lu Yes strength and power would be back to the levels of the Third-Order. If He Bing was still around, they would be left vulnerable.
Furthermore, Lu Ye had no intention of revealing the secret of his Teleportation Ward. With Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both identified, sparing him would only pose unnecessary risks.
At any rate, He Bings fate was sealed. He had to die.
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Chapter 520: Slaying He Bing
Chapter 520: ying He Bing
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The dance of des continued unabated within the clutter of the stone column sprawl. Lu Ye, in his Beast Form state, unleashed each sh with unprecedented speed and power.
He Bing valiantly defended himself with his long spear, but the back of his hand was beginning to split open from the force of Lu Yes relentless assault. His Spiritual Power surged tempestuously, yet his situation was growing increasingly precarious.
Amidst the chaos, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan provided steadfast support from the sidelines, skillfully distracting He Bings attention and creating openings for Lu Ye. It was in one such moment that Lu Yes long saber homed in at He Bings chest with the intensity of a serpent lunging at its prey.
Fear and panic flickered in He Bings eyes as he desperately leaned back, leaving himself perilously exposed. As much as he wished to deflect the imminent blow, there was no way his movements could make it in time.
Lu Yes current strength had soared to unprecedented heights, rendering He Bings protective aura too weak to keep him safe against this attack.
If struck, it would surely result in a fatal wound that could even mean his death.
But just as death seemed inevitable, He Bing defiantly mustered an unexpected surge of spiritual power.
A luminous triangr-shaped energy barrier materialized out of thin air, interposing itself before him and thwarting Invibles lethal advance.But the fear of death was real. He Bing was genuinely terrified; anyone who saw his face could read that clearly.
Surprise and curiosity etched across Lu Yes countenance as he observed the intricate patterns adorning the impromptu defensive shield. He swiftly recognized what it was: Glyph: Protection!
Was He Bing a Glyph Warlock too?
No.
If He Bing really was a Glyph-caster, then he should have used Glyphs during the battle. But he didnt and that only meant one thingHe Bing did not know Glyph-casting, but he must have Glyphs tattooed on his body.
Even for Cultivators, tattooed Glyphs remained a true rarity. Few possessed the knowledge and skills, plus the resources needed to cast tattooed Glyphs. In fact, the physical constitution of most Cultivators in the Cloud River Realm could only allow them to carry only a single tattooed Glyph, as any more would prove unbearable.
He Bings tattooed Glyph must be on his chest and the burst of Spiritual Power he just released must be what activated it. That was what saved his life just now.
Therefore, Lu Ye was sure that being He Bings hidden ace, the Glyph must be something he would only use only in the most desperate moment.
But it was a very surrealistic sensation. Until now, Lu Ye had always been the one using Glyph: Protection, not the other way around. To see firsthand how his attacka fatal blow that would have ended this skirmishwas thwarted by the same Glyph was something new.
Undeterred, Lu Ye prepared to press on and attack once more. Yet, even before he could act, Li Baxian, who had been providing auxiliary support, sprang into action. The scattered shafts of light that had been circling around him converged and melded into a single, formidable de Li Baxian held aloft, his countenance solemn and his aura a steely-cold presence.
A frigid miasma of impending death swept across the site of the battle and Li Baxian vanished, assuming the form of a gigantic sword of light himself, unsheathed and poised for ughter.
Ever since Lu Yes Beast Form transformation, Li Baxian had relegated himself to a supporting role, never aiming to harm or kill the adversary. Instead, he sought only to distract and divert his attention. But now that He Bing had activated his final ace, Li Baxian evidently thought it was finally time for him to unleash his full might.
The radiance of the sword shining with a resplendent illumination upon all reached even the eaves of the cavern as the sword of light struck at the luminescent shield like a thunderbolt in full wrath. The blinding-light-engulfed Li Baxian reappeared before He Bing the moment the gigantic sword of light made contact with He Bings Glyph: Protection, its tip hovering unyieldingly at just a mere hairs breadth from the Glyph.
The cascading din of metal twisting followed before an eruption of power ensued.
A thunderous boom reverberated through the air as the invincible Glyph: Protection burst into pieces of energy dregs like fragile ss.
Such was the terrible strength of Sword Cultivators. Despite being three tiers lower than He Bing in cultivation level, Li Baxian had managed to destroy the final bulwark that he relied upon for dear life.
But that sapped Li Baxian of the entirety of his strength, leaving him open for He Bing to retaliate with a belligerent swing of his spear, viciouslyshing aside the pallid, drained Sword Cultivator like a ragdoll.
Lu Ye sprang into action. Seizing this opportune moment that Li Baxian had created by putting his own life on the line, Lu Ye descended upon his adversary with Invible ready for the kill.
His special move: sh!
Terror surged in He Bings eyes as he desperately sought to reactivate his Glyph: Protection using his Spiritual Power, but he was too slow, toote.
The saber swept down in a deadly arc and all He Bing saw was the phantom of a tiger materializing behind Lu Ye with a roar that echoed across the entire length and breadth of the cave.
The fric chaos abruptly sumbed to stillness.
Lu Ye maintained his frozen pose with his de held before him as if Time stood still in stasis, although blood dribbled down the sharp edges of Invible in a steady stream.
Drip
A faint sound shattered the newfound tranquility.
Feng Yuechan pursed her ruby lips together, her gaze fixed upon He Bing and her spell warily poised for release.
Three yards away from Lu Ye, He Bing stood there, petrified with his spear still thrust forward. The Glyph: Protection he activated quietly dissipated away, vanishing into the air like dust.
His eyes twitched as he nced at the figure who had just attacked him, his visage contorted with disbelief and unwillingness.
Next second, He Bing fell backward,nding t on his back as the impact separated his severed head and his torso, his gaze wide-eyed and unblinking with lingering unwillingness and disbelief.
Whew
It was only at that moment that Feng Yuechan finally exhaled, retracting her spiritual power. Hastily, she rushed towards Li Baxian with distress and concern etched upon her features as she assessed his condition.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye sank to the ground, limbs sprawled haphazardly, his gaze fixated upon the expanse above shifting magically.
His vision blurred momentarily, and he found himself once again within the confines of the underground cavern. The battle had concluded and they had triumphed.
Lu Ye, are you all right?
Yi Yi cautiously approached, her gaze filled with trepidation as she observed Lu Ye, who looked like he had just been dunked face-first into a vat of blood. Her voice trembled, tinged with the threat of tears.
Im all right. What about Brother Baxian?
Li Baxian weakly croaked in response, Right here. Im fine!
Li Baxian, though in better condition, still showed signs of exhaustion after unleashing his secret sword technique. The final blow had drained him entirely.
Lu Ye was relieved to hear that everyone had survived.
Just as the tension eased, a sudden eruption of crimson stained the air, revealing the figure of Amber. Yet, the creature appeared disheveled, indicating the toll that Beast Form had taken on it.
In that fleeting moment of vulnerability, an overwhelming surge of fatigue and exhaustion overtook Lu Ye, his every ounce of energy and spirit utterly spent. This weariness wasnt solely the consequence of Beast Form but also the drawback of Glyph: Bloodrage plus the injuries He Bing had left on himall of which proved to be an unbearable burden.
Struggling to speak, Lu Ye managed only a single sentence, I need rest.
And with that, his consciousness sumbed to darkness.
Startled, Yi Yi hurriedly checked Lu Yes condition, relieved to find him stable. Li Baxian, too, descended into a deep slumber, while Amber curled protectively by Lu Yes side. The job of making sure that the men could rest in peace now fell on Feng Yuechan and Yi Yis shoulders.
Yi Yi carefully tended to Lu Yes wounds and administered healing pills before she spoke, Senior Sister Feng, Ill leave them to you. I will be outside, keeping watch for anything.
Feng Yuechan nodded her agreement. With Lu Ye and Li Baxian now unconscious after the vicious and gritting fight, they would all be dead meat if anyone were to intrude into this cave and keep them all pinned inside.
Yi Yis ability to move freely underground made her the perfect candidate to stand guard outside and monitor for any unwanted visitors. After all, Lu Ye had always relied on her to scout around and reconnoiter unknown areas for enemies.
Meanwhile, the sudden surge in Carnage Points behind Lu Yes name had sparked intrigue among many who had been keeping tabs on the developments on the Carnage Roster. His increments had always been in the hundredstelyespecially for the huge increase when he slew the enemy Sixth-Orderand that had piqued the attention of certain quarters who had begun observing him.
It did not take long for others to conclude that he must be a low-tiered Cloud River Realm Cultivator; there were only so many reasons behind his frequentlyrge increments and the mostmonly known way was ying enemies beyond ones cultivation rank.
With a two-hundred-and-fifty-point surge, more people stopped to wonder who was unlucky enough to be his prey. It was worth noting that killing a Ninth-Order would only result in a sixty-point reward and yet Lu Yes reward was more than four times that amount.
Five hundred miles away was a disgruntled Wei Que who was scowling at the Carnage Roster with palpable frustration. He was aware that Lu Yes cultivation level stood nowhere higher than the Third-Order. A two-hundred-and-fifty-point esction undoubtedly signified that Lu Ye had in an enemy Seventh-Order.
The notion of a Third-Order sessfully ying a Seventh-Order bordered on the unimaginable. Even with the assistance of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, it strained credulity. And yet, the evidencey ringly before Wei Ques eyes.
But what irritated him wasnt Lu Yes gain of Carnage Points. He could care less about Lu Yes performance in this Carnage Colosseum, especially since he did not have any intention of climbing the rankings at all.
His objective had been Lu Ye all along.
And because of that, he was certain that he was heading the wrong way.
A battle with an enemy Seventh-Order as their adversary would have caused quite amotion. Yet he had traveled so far and found no signs of them.
Where were they?
How did they manage to evade his detection?
Wei Que found himself utterly confused.
As time slipped away, the rankings on the Carnage Roster experienced more change with the gaps between the second and tenth positions bing smaller and smaller to the extent that a single battle could propel ones position upward by several ces.
But what intrigued and ddened those trying to climb the Carnage Roster was how Lu Yes Carnage Points had gone stagnant.
Lu Yes points had remained static for extended periods before, but they had typically increased by several hundred points almost daily afterward. Yet now, Lu Yes tally had teaued at three-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ny and had remained there for quite some time without any increments.
His former lead of more than a thousand points had been somanding that many had felt catching up to him was more impossible than daunting. But his present inactivity ignited renewed determination among the rest of the Carnage Colosseum contestants,pelling them to intensify their hunt for enemies to rake in more Carnage Points.
Three more days passed by and the second-ranked Tan Sheng finally seeded in usurping Lu Yes spot at the top of the Carnage Roster.
Ecstatic at his achievement, Tan Sheng couldnt help but wonder if Lu Ye had already met his demise. Yet, the persistent presence of Lu Yes name on the board indicated otherwise. That would mean that Lu Ye must be hurt or recovering from a fierce battle.
His guess was right.
Lu Ye was indeed busy recuperating. While his injuries werent overly severe, his body needed respite. A day or two of rest would typically be enough for him to recover from the strains of the gritting battle against He Bing, but thepounded drawbacks of using Beast Form and Glyph: Bloodrage was what enveloped him in a perpetual state of weakness.
Recalling a simr weakness he experienced when he once used Glyph: Fire Phoenix back when he was still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Yemented how Hua Ci was present then. Her tender care had facilitated swift recovery on that asion.
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Chapter 521: The Golden Body Token
Chapter 521: The Golden Body Token
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After three days of much-needed rest, Lu Yes strength was replenished and Li Ba Xian regained his vigor.
With almost ten days psing, there was no telling when this times Carnage Colosseum would end.
In general, Carnage Colosseums typically remained open for a period of two to four weeks. However, there had been no record of any precise pattern of how long this enclosed dimension stayed open. No one knew exactly how long Carnage Colosseumssted, and at the conclusion of each Carnage Colosseum, the enigmatic entity known as the Heavens would begin the distribution of spoils based on ones position on the Carnage Roster.
Once enjoying an impressive lead in the Carnage Roster rankings, Lu Yes position had now slipped to fourth ce. It was not entirely unexpected; the rest of the elites that dominated the Roster had been relentlessly killing and maiming just so that they could overtake him during his recuperation period.
But Lu Ye was not one to ept defeat easily. If it were before he joined up with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, he would have cared less about his cing on the Roster. But after all the hard work to im the first spot, he was not willing to throw in the towel and watch all that effort go to waste.
With his health restored, a fierce determination brewed to reim the coveted first ce within him. Yet, before he could try mbering his way back to the first spot, he had to attend to some preparations, foremost among them setting up the crucial Teleportation Wards.
The Teleportation Ward at the cave where they were taking refuge failed to link him to any other Wards. If an enemy were to step into this cave, Lu Ye and hispanions would be trapped inside.
In spite of all that, Lu Ye felt nothing but a mix of exasperation and frustration. He had taken extra care to construct his Teleportation Wards in obscure corners of the Colosseum groundseither in the deep recesses of some underground burrows or the depths of subterranean caves. Yet, he was acutely aware that if he, with all his resourcefulness, could discover these hidden spots, there was a chance, however slim, that others might stumble upon them as well. Any other Cultivator might venture into one of these many caves or burrows and trigger the explosive wards, obliterating everything he had so meticulously crafted.Therefore, the more Teleportation Wards he could construct the better, so that he would still have others to rely on as insurance.
Lu Ye got ready before he slipped out of the cave alone.
What should have been a clear blue sky outside was a morbid red sheen blotting out the sunlight. The forcefield of the Carnage Colosseum phenomena had effectively cast across the entire length and breadth of its grounds a macabre feel of hopelessness.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan did note with him. They were still in the cave.
The perilous task of constructing the Wards demanded extreme caution and stealth, making it a mission Lu Ye best undertook alone. More so, since Lu Ye had the means to render himself invisible even if he were to encounter any Eighth- or Ninth-Orders while Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan could barely boast of any technique of the kind.
Lu Ye traveled for almost two hundred miles. His memory led him to a cave he once found before.
This was the same spot where he had constructed one of his Teleportation Wards before. But the inside of the cave was filled with debris and the ce bore the hallmarks of a huge explosion resulting from a surge of Spiritual Power before.
Someone must have been hurt when the explosive ward went off, meaning that the one who had triggered the ward had to be a low-tiered Cloud River Realm Cultivator. Most Eighth- or Ninth-Orders would have been able to walk away from such an explosion unscathed.
Lu Ye examined the structural integrity of the cave, concluding finally that it was still strong enough before he cleared the ce of all the debris and began reconstructing the wards.
Someone might havee here before, but Lu Ye was confident that whoever it was, he or she had found nothing except for a huge explosion that must have been an awfully terrible surprise. To that end, he was sure that the intruder would note back here.
The work took a little more than an hour, then Lu Ye tried testing the Teleportation Ward. It worked finelinking not only to the one in the cave Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, but to another Ward that was apparently still functioning as well.
Back when he first constructed his first set of Teleportation Wards, there were twelve. But after everything that had happened, he did not know how many of the Wards were still working.
That was because the Wards were linked to one another like a chain instead of a widely-connectedwork. That allowed him to only sense the existence of other Teleportation Wards through immediate pairings and not others.
With his work done here, Lu Ye got out of the cave and rendered himself invisible again before he traveled for another two hundred miles.
With Yi Yis help, he found another suitable spot where he constructed another Teleportation Ward. This time, this Ward was created so that it could link to the one he had just built and the one that was in the cave where Li Baxian was still at.
This would allow him to have two options to choose in the event of a quick retreat. Even if one of them were destroyed, he would still have one more to rely on.
After He Bing, Lu Ye knew better than to be careless again. Thest thing he wanted was another fight with an opponent as powerful as a Seventh-Order.
They might have triumphed against He Bing in the end, but not without a huge risk and cost. They had nearly lost their own lives during the course of defeating He Bing and the toll of the battle had taken them three days to recover, which was devastating enough for all the work that they had put in to maintain Lu Yes first position on the Carnage Roster.
Defeating enemies of the Fourth or Fifth-Order was more efficient, way less risky, and definitely more rewarding.
Lu Ye constructed two more Teleportation Wards before he finally contacted Li Baxian to make sure that he was still safe.
He stood on his freshly-built Ward and vanished.
Reappearing back at the cave where Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were still sheltered, he regrouped with them and together, they slipped out of the cave.
Under the ominous ret sky hanging overhead, Lu Ye and hispanions continued their cautious journey for more than ten miles before Lu Ye stopped to construct some wards to mask hispanions Spiritual Power signatures. Next, he selected another suitable spot and built a trap ward there as a precautionary measure in case of meeting powerful enemies.
When that was done, Lu Ye hid himself and waited for any unsuspecting prey.
As time passed with the painstaking pace of a cier, Lu Ye decided on a brief moment of respite by ncing up at the Carnage Roster to check his ce.
There he saw his position slipping to seventh ce, which would only award him three Gold Amuletsa far cry from the rewards of the first prize.
In the meantime, enthroned upon the highly-coveted first ce was Tan Sheng, who, by some unknown luck, had built an impressive lead of three hundred points, leaving others struggling to catch up.
It was Lu Yes three-day dormancy that had given the runners-up any semnce of hope to keep catching up in spite of his initial lead of more than a thousand points.
Six hours breezed by uneventfully until a group of Cultivators soared nearby, their cautious demeanor indicating their rtively modest cultivation levels. That they were maintaining a low altitudebarely thirty meters above ground leveldespite using magical conveyance that would have allowed them to fly higher and faster confirmed as much.
Clearly, they wanted to be able to hit the ground fast so that they could hide themselves immediately in the event of encountering strong adversaries.
Li Baxian seized the initiative, first to ascertain their allegiances and gauge their power before Feng Yuechanunched any of her potent magical attacks. Lu Ye would be biding his time just like before, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
The group turned out to be enemy Cultivators and the concerted efforts of Lu Ye and hispanions took no longer than thirty seconds to make short work of them.
The trio efficiently cleaned up the site of the battle, leaving no trace of their presence before retreating with their hard-earned spoils and Lu Ye with his ward gs and keystones, ready for another ambush.
Despite the seamless progression of their battles, maintaining unwavering vignce remained imperative. One could never predict when trouble mighte visiting in the Carnage Colosseuman enemy Eighth- or Ninth-Order for instance. To that end, the trio staunchly adhered to their steadfast principle of notying ambushes in the same location twice.
Upon their return to the subterranean cavern, Lu Ye began undoing the magical seals of the looted Storage Bags. They divided the spoils amongst themselves before they traveled to another spot using Lu Yes Teleportation Ward.
After a brief interlude for recuperation, they made ready to resume raiding.
True to form, each passing day saw Lu Ye amassing hundreds of Carnage Points, steadily umting until the thirteenth day of the Colosseum when his total tally reached an impressive five thousand four hundred and forty points.
His ranking ascended, settling himfortably in the sixth position.
Yet, despite thismendable pace, it became apparent that regaining the top spot of the Carnage Roster had be an unattainable aspiration. The gap that separated him from the current frontrunner Tan Sheng was now a chasm too vast for him to traverse. As an elite Ninth-Order, Tan Sheng could venture everywhere freely without having to worry that he might be attacked; no one in their right mind would do such a thing. So long as he avoided encounters with any elite Grand Sky Coalition Ninth-Orders, Tan Sheng had nothing to fear. In stark contrast, Lu Ye and hisrades had to navigate their every move with the utmost caution, wary of leaving even the faintest trace that might attract the attention of any fearsome enemies.
Yet, such predicaments were unavoidable, for their own cultivation levels were justundeniably and dishearteninglytoo low. A profound weakness that had gued them relentlessly since the moment they stepped into the Cloud River Battlefield.
Nevertheless, the rewards for securing the sixth position on the Carnage Roster were far from modest. Despite being just one step above the seventh ce, the winner of the sixth position would be awarded a bountiful sum of five Gold Amulets.
Within the sanctuary of their concealed mountain cave, Lu Ye was sitting right on top of his Teleportation Ward. He had finished undoing the magical seals on the Storage Bags and divided them into three equal portions. Everyone took their own share.
Such a methodical allocation of spoils had be customary for Cultivators, making the contents of each individuals Storage Bags contingent upon the capricious whims of fortune.
Regrettably, the majority of findings proved unremarkablea motley collection of inconspicuous trinkets. Some of the Bags contained Amulets, but their qualities were hardly anything worth celebrating.
These Amulets were undoubtedly loot foraged from Endowment events that urred all around the Colosseum grounds. What a pity that these Amulets were gathered only to fall into the hands of Lu Ye and hispanions, inadvertently saving them a huge hassle.
One after another, the trio emptied the Storage Bags of their contents before they sorted the loot and ssified everything.
From hisst Storage Bag, Lu Ye fished out something odd-lookingan authority token the size of his palm.
Engraved upon its surface was an intricate emblem reminiscent of a bell, its depiction entuated by a few subtle strokes suggestive of luminous emanations at the nkits appearance, oddly whimsical, almost inducing a smile from anyone who gazed upon it.
Lu Ye had never seen something like that before and thought that it was just a token bearing an insignia belonging to a sect or an order the in Cultivators belonged to. Nonchntly poised to cast it aside, his hand froze mid-air when Li Baxian unexpectedly interjected.
Hold it, brother. Let me have a look at that, Li Ba Xian requested, his eyes trained upon Lu Ye.
Curiosity piqued, Lu Yeplied, handing the token to Li Baxian.
Taking hold of it, Li Baxian examined the object from every angle, even going so far as to give it a gentle squeeze before passing it, still with an air of uncertainty, to Feng Yuechan. Take a look at this, he urged her.
Feng Yue Chan studied the object intently, a flicker of recognition igniting her countenance as she muttered, her expression a mix of astonishment and skepticism, Could it be?
What do you think? Li Ba Xian inquired.
It certainly seems so. I recalling across simr markings and dimensions in an ancient tome.
What a surprise that this too manifested within the Carnage Colosseum. Someone was lucky enough to have stumbled upon it.
Indeed.
I wonder who was lucky to have found this.
Not lucky enough, Id say. Whoever owned this, he or she is dead now.
The exchange between the two unexpectedly roused Lu Yes inquisitiveness.
Once their conversation had concluded, Lu Ye finally interjected, What is this token for, Brother Baxian?
Based on Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans intonation, it clearly seemed that the object held significance far beyond that of a mere identification tokensomething so enigmatic that he did not know what it could do at all.
Why, this is a treasure indeed, Li Baxian dered, returning the token to Lu Ye. This, brother, is none other than the infamous Golden Body Token.
Golden Body Token?
Yes, brother. You are familiar with Golden Body Talismans, I gather? The Golden Body Token shares simrities with those talismans in that both provideprehensive protection. However, while the efficacy of a Golden Body Talisman depends on the quality of the magical talisman itself, this Golden Body Token is a celestial bestowment by the Heavens themselves. In other words, once activated, it possesses an unbreakable aura bestowed by the Heavens, rendering anyone cloaked by this aura indestructible and unkible. Furthermore, its duration of effect far exceeds that of a Golden Body Talisman. It can persist for several hours, at the very least.
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Chapter 522: Yet Another Gold Amulet, The Special One
Chapter 522: Yet Another Gold Amulet, The Special One
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An aura of protection bestowed by the Heavens thatsts for hours?
Lu Ye could barelyprehend the words he uttered with shock.
Thats the gist of it. As for how long the aurasts, Im not sure myself. Ive only heard of the Tokenthis is the first time Im seeing it up close.
Its something thats gifted by the Heavens and that makes it extremely rare, added Feng Yuechan. Ive heard of people finding Golden Body Tokens during their forays into other mystic realms and dimensions, but Ive never heard of it being seen in the Carnage Colosseum before. But it should be expected; Endowment events are after all instances where Heaven sprinkles gifts and trinkets around. To think that the Cultivators we slew were lucky enough to have stumbled on this Tokenjust not lucky enough to survive long enough to even use it.
That reminded Lu Ye about one particr detail he had overlooked.
During the ambush earlier, one of the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had been rummaging through his Storage Bag frantically as if he was looking for something. But before he found whatever it was he was finding, he was already cut down by Lu Ye who had appeared out of nowhere.
The poor fellow must have been digging so desperately for his Golden Body Token, Lu Ye realized. What else could he be searching for if not for something that would deliver him from harm during that perilous moment?
This is a very rare and useful item, brother. Keep it well; this could save you when all else fails, urged Li Baxian.As a once-in-lifetime gift from Heaven, this Golden Body Token represented one of the best protection one could ever enjoy. There were few methods that could defeat a divine bulwark as potent as this.
The past few days of grueling and life-threatening tribtionsa close shave with an enemy Ninth-Order and that vicious battle against He Binghad Li Baxian wondering if Luck had finally stopped favoring Lu Ye. But now, he knew that his doubts were misced; Lucky was still very much Lu Yes middle name and gaining possession of this Golden Body Token was proof of that.
Um, so how do I use this thing? asked Lu Ye.
Just inject your Spiritual Power into it, exined Li Baxian.
Thats simple enough, a bemused Lu Ye thought as he tucked the Token into safekeeping.
He could never have enough instruments like this Token that could ensure his survival. Instruments whose purposes were more useful and more crucial to him than any weapons or other magical apparatuses, for all humans only live once.
Lu Ye and hispanions put aside the rest of their loot. It was time for their next ambush.
Two dayster, Lu Ye was invisible as he waited patiently for his next targets to appear.
His luck had begun to look up markedly since finding the Golden Body Token. For the past two days, the raids he and hispanions had conducted saw his Carnage Points tally skyrocketing so rapidly. So much so that Lu Ye had reached third cejust a mere five hundred points behind the first-ced Tan Sheng. It would take just another few more days for him to overtake Tan Sheng and regain his lead.
But the optimistic thought was conceived on the premise that Lu Ye still had time. Almost a fortnight had passed since this Carnage Colosseum began and no one knew for sure if it would end before Lu Ye could knock Tan Sheng off his perch.
More than six hours hade and gone. A coterie of Cultivators had passed by just now but the ambush had to be called off prematurely when Li Baxian realized that they were Grand Sky Coalition allies when he sprung his trap.
Just when they were grappling with boredom and restlessness, a powerful surge of Spiritual Power came sweeping at their positions. Lu Ye looked in the direction from whence it came. There, several miles away, he could see a bright radiant column of light reaching straight up into the skies,ncing through the clouds overhead.
[Thats the] Lu Ye mused with a mix of recognition and amazement.
[Thats the eruption of Spiritual Power of that special Gold Amulet!]
After witnessing the same eruption four times thest time he was chosen to be the unlucky bearer of the unique Gold Amulet, Lu Ye immediately recognised the phenomena for what it was.
But this was his first time seeing it from a distance and the spectacle really was impressive, if not conspicuous enough.
Everyday, a Cultivator within the Carnage Colosseum was selected to be the bearer of the unique once-a-day Gold Amulet. But given the sheer expanse of the Colosseums area, plus the fact that Lu Ye and hispanions kept their activities to a tiny range for the sake of security, it was normal to think that Lu Ye had never witnessed the spectacle before until today.
Lu Ye was stirred by the notion of the rewards of being in possession of that unique Gold Amulet, before he dismissed any ambitions of it. It would be foolhardy to head for the Gold Amulet. The eruption of Spiritual Power and the ensuing column of light speared right up into the clouds was a gigantic beacon beckoning literally every Cultivatorboth strong and weaktoe this way, making the notion of going near it nothing but a surefire attempt at suicide. If a Seventh-Order like He Bing could nearly annihte them all, then an enemy beyond that level would be more difficult if not impossible to defeat.
The Golden Body Token could only keep one individual safe, not two or three.
In fact, anticipating chaos and carnage, Lu Ye would rather leave this ce as quickly as his legs could carry him.
By his reckoning, the point where the white spear of light was jutting skyward was but a mere handful of miles away from his position. Any Cloud River Realm Cultivator could scale that distance in a matter of seconds. Hence the safer course of action was to walk away instead of running headlong into certain peril.
But the thought of fleeing had merely struck him when the silhouette of a lone stranger flitted into view. Looking anxious and distressed, the stranger never stopped looking back as if he was fleeing from pursuers. Gliding at almost twenty-odd meters and hugging the treeline, Lu Ye surmised that he must be a Sixth-Order.
Cursing and muttering something iprehensible under his breath, the stranger appeared visibly tense and agitated.
An idea urred to Lu Ye, yet Li Baxian broke cover before he could convey to him what he had in mind, brandishing a flying shaft of light as he lunged at the Sixth-Order with astonishing speed.
Already on tenterhooks at first, being ambushed all of a sudden nearly sent the stranger into fits of panic as he frantically summoned whatever faculties he had at his disposal to put up as good a defense as he could.
As they shed, the backs of their hands emitted luminous glows of two different colors.
The stranger immediately guessed Li Baxians cultivation rank and glowered, How dare you! A lowly Fourth-Order like you?!
He thrust a finger at Li Baxian and several projectiles flying weaponsrose into the air and swarmed after thetter, who immediately summoned his own shafts of light to intercept, eliciting a cacophonous mor of cascading metallic ngs.
Then Feng Yuechan came out of hiding to fire a spell from his nk, catching the lone Sixth-Order by surprise that he needed to defend himself in a pathetic and ignoble state of desperation.
The Sixth and Seventh-Order of the Cloud River Realm might have sounded close, but the gap in strength was by no means small. At any rate, the lone Sixth-Order could barelye close to boasting the same degree of talents and fundamentals as He Bing, who had, unlike this stranger, had ascended into the Cloud River Realm with all three-hundred-and-sixty Spiritual Points unlocked. All this stranger managed at the time was two hundred and ny-eight.
That made him a very weak Sixth-Order. So weak that Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan alone were enough to give him a hard time.
In fact, even Li Baxian alone could have defeated him.
It did not take long for the enemy Sixth-Order to realize that he was not dueling a pair of Fourth-Orders of mediocre strength. His face squirmed from the growing fear and trepidation as he bemoaned his poor luck. He was trying to put as much distance between him and the site of the huge Spiritual Power eruption when he walked right into this ambush that had clearly been here for a long time!
Clearly not one set specifically for him, he realized that it was he who stepped into the trap like a hare getting caught in a hunters snare.
But he would have dly given away the item that the Heavens had just bestowed upon him to bargain for his precious lifeif only he could. He had tried tossing it away, but it stayed on him like a tumor. One that brought both despair and destion in equal measures.
He had tried looking for help too. He had been reaching out to some of the Thousand Demon Ridge elites but none of them were willing to help. With the conclusion of the Colosseum now in the offing, the elites were all busy raking in as many Carnage Points as possible, all so that they could secure a better position on the Carnage Roster. No one heeded his call for aid.
He med Luck for visiting this fate upon him, of all people.
What was already a dire situation for the lone Sixth-Order took a turn for the worse as if in response to his dismal and cynical outlook.
His tingling senses warned him of dangering from his back. But it was toote. A stab of pain coursed through every limb and he hurtled forward, crashing to the ground like a beaten dog.
Lu Ye appeared at where the Sixth-Order was standing with Invible bristling with a fiery light.
Drawing first blood enlivened Lu Ye enough to charge without fear. He lunged at his target with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan holding up the rear with their flying shafts and spells poised to outnk the enemy.
The lone Sixth-Order scrambled to his feet, using his weapon to parry whatever bolts of light that pelted incessantly at him but he missed one spell that hit him, sting him off his feet.
That gave Lu Ye the opening he needed. He dove forward and Invible sank its edge through the defenseless man.
Blood spattered before the body even hit the ground.
[Thats strange], Lu Ye mused. [A Sixth-Order thats surprisingly weak.]
The trio had collected plenty of experience in dealing with Sixth-Orders in their many raids and ambushes on unsuspecting parties of enemy Cultivators, yet they had never seen a Sixth-Order as weak as this one.
This strangers fundamentals must be very limited and his attempts at unlocking his Spiritual Points before his ascension into this realm must have beenckluster at best.
Lu Ye and hisrades hurriedly set about gathering the spoils, swiftly stowing away the strangers belongings and items. In a daring move, Lu Ye extended his hand into the dead mans robes, and as anticipated, he discovered a glistening Gold Amulet enveloped in a subtle cerulean glow
Lets go! barked Lu Ye, his voice resonating with urgency. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan hurriedly followed suit, leaving behind the strewn ward gs and gstones without a moments hesitation.
They had scarcely traveled a hundred yards when a streak of light darted straight for them, materializing into a figure right before their eyes. Evidently, it was another Cultivator, one that had detected the tumultuous sh and had decided toe this way to investigate.
Lu Ye and hispanions tensed, their bodies braced for an imminent confrontation with an unknown adversary.
Thankfully, the Battlefield Imprints on the back of their hands remained dormant. The new stranger was an ally of the Grand Sky Coalition.
He sensed the cultivation ranks of Lu Ye and his party, and snorted, signaling them to leave this ce with haste.
With a respectful bow, Lu Ye and hisrades swiftly retreated.
Momentster, the echoes of a fierce skirmish reverberated from behind them. It seemed the formidable ally Cultivator had crossed paths with Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators. The upheaval created by such a sh would undoubtedly capture the attention of more Cultivators, drawing more dangers away from Lu Yes position.
Lu Ye and hispanions darted into the shelter of a mountain cave. He activated a magical ward to conceal the signatures of their Spiritual Power and waited. At the first sign of trouble, he would activate the Teleportation Ward to shift them to another Ward.
Fortune seemed to favor them this time. Aside from the Grand Sky Coalition ally earlier, they encountered no one else. They were safe and no one had discovered them for now.
With no one finding this cave, there was no need for them to teleport away just yet.
But the din of battle never stopped resounding in the distance. Cultivators from both factions must have converged upon the location of the Spiritual Power surge just now and that must have culminated into a huge battle.
No one knew whose hands the unique Gold Amulet fell into. With its whereabouts now a temporary mystery, Lu Ye and hispanions were safe. It was their luck when it was the bearer of the Gold Amulet himself who had walked right into their carefullyid ambush.
And with him now dead, the Gold Amulet was lost.
The first two hours passed, then another two hours
The tumult outside was gradually subsiding and Lu Ye and his party finally breathed more easily.
In their respite, the trio turned their minds towards the spoils of their raid.
Several Storage Bagsy before them, each yielding a disappointingly meager loot. However, one item shone above allthe Heavens-sent Gold Amulet that was shining radiantly, its gentle azure luminescence an unmistakable emblem of its extraordinary nature.
Lu Ye couldnt have fathomed that luck would once again grant him the opportunity to possess a Gold Amuletthe special and impossibly dangerous one. But given his past experiences, he now had more confidence in safeguarding this invaluable token. With a measure of good fortune on his side, he would seed in holding on to it while staying alive.
To most other Cultivators, this unique Gold Amulet was more of a curse than a boon. It could not be used until the designated time period had psed, nor could it be stored away or even discardeda ticking time bomb that could never be removed.
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Chapter 523: Salvation of the Jiang Brothers
Chapter 523: Salvation of the Jiang Brothers
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Back when Lu Ye was chosen to be the bearer of his first unique Gold Amulet, he had tried almost everythinglike throwing it away and using his Teleportation Ward to travel as far as possible from itnothing worked. The unique Gold Amulet remained physically inseparable like a tumor that obstinately refused to break away.
It was more of a curse than a boon. Unless its bearer was killed, the Gold Amulet would forever follow him or her literally everywhere.
Hence, being chosen to be the bearer of unique Gold Amulets was tantamount to being given a death sentence, especially for low-tier Cultivators.
Lu Ye had no intention of getting himselftched to another unique Gold Amulet and enduring its torments for another time. But by some ironic stroke of Luck this particr Amulet had just dropped on hisp and there was nothing else he could do save to make the most of it.
But not all was doom and gloom. If Lu Ye could repeat his earlier feat, then this encore could not only earn him an extra Gold Amulet but also enough Carnage Points tounch him back to the top spot on the Roster.
And that could be achieved with the help of his Teleportation Wardsso long as he had enough of them.
There was only one ring issue; Lu Ye had witnessed one Spiritual Power eruption from the Amulet but he did not know how many Spiritual Power eruptions he would still have to go through. There was no way of telling how many eruptions had urred before.
Six hours breezed by swiftly.The Gold Amulet now cradled in Lu Yes arms emitted the next pulse of Spiritual Power surge. The tremendous wave of energy swept across the terrain as a column of light tunneled up into the clouds overhead. There it was. Time to go.
Without any hesitation, he activated the Teleportation Ward.
But before they vanished from the cave, Lu Ye did not neglect to fire a Spiritual Power st at the explosive ward not far away.
mes filled the entire length and breadth of the cave while a deafening thunderp reverberated through the cavern. Lu Ye and hispanions were gone, along with any traces of them being there before.
Before too long, the ce was swarming with Cultivators investigating the energy pulse. But the mess and debris were all they could find.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye and the others were just reappearing in the Teleportation Ward more than two hundred miles away. The first thing Yi Yi did was reconnoiter the area for any enemies.
A message came from her soon enough. The coast was clear. They were safe.
The trio waited there patiently.
Another six hours psed. It was time for the next signal by the unique Gold Amuletthe next eruption of Spiritual Power and the column of light.
Just like before, they triggered the explosive wards before using the Teleportation Ward, setting off another huge explosion.
Lu Ye and hispanions arrived at their destination and the first thing Yi Yi did was to scout around the area for any potential threats. In the meantime, Lu Ye tested his Teleportation Ward and made sure that it could still link with other nearby Wards.
To his dismay, there was only one still working.
The unique Gold Amulet had already triggered twice. Plus the time when it was still in the possession of its former bearer, that would mean that the Amulet had released its eruption thrice. Yet the soft emerald-like luminescence remained as radiant as ever, indicating that its duration had not yet ended.
There would be another st of light and Spiritual Power. Thest one.
The situation was by no meansforting. Without more than one option of exfiltration meant insecurity and greater risk. Anything could happen; thest functioning Transportation Ward might be discovered by someone else, triggering the explosive wards that would destroy it.
If that were to really happen, then Lu Ye and hispanions would be trapped.
Realizing their fix, Lu Ye knew that he needed to venture out to construct more Transportation Wards.
He spoke to Li Baxian about his n, then he made himself invisible and slipped out of the cavern. He randomly chose a bearing and headed that way.
There was little Li Baxian and the others could do to help. They could not render themselves invisible so it would be best for him to go out alone while the others waited for him.
Two hundred miles was not too far for Lu Ye to cover alone, but to remain undetected he would have to be extremely cautious and that slowed him down a lot. That, plus searching for a suitable spot to build his new Transportation Ward took him more than two hours before he could begin the actual work of constructing the Ward.
There was no time for another, so he turned around and headed back. He needed to regroup with the others.
Back at the cave, Lu Ye waited patiently as the time finally camethest eruption of that unique Gold Amulet.
The pir of light rose up in the blink of an eye, followed swiftly by a rolling tsunami of Spiritual Power while Lu Ye and hispanions made their swift exit, vanishing from the Transportation Ward.
A split-secondter, they reappeared at the new Transportation Ward Lu Ye constructed not long ago.
After ensuring that all was safe around them, Lu Ye quickly extracted the unique Gold Amulet. The faint azure glow was gone. He finally breathed a sigh of relief before stowing it away in his Storage Sphere.
At the same time, Lu Yes name on the Carnage Roster soared up two positions, reiming his spot at the top of the list.
His tally of Carnage Points had skyrocketed by an astonishing seven hundred and fifty points, surpassing the seven-thousandth mark with a two-hundred-point lead over second-ranking Tan Sheng.
Somewhere else, Tan Sheng, dressed in a flowing green robe, lifted his head to observe the changes on the Carnage Roster, his brows furrowing in consternation.
He couldnt help but marvel at Lu Yes incredible luck. Such a significant increase in bounty points must have been due to the possession of that unique Gold Amulet. And this wasnt the first time either; thest time Lu Ye had gained such a substantial spurt of Carnage Points in one go, it catapulted him to the top of the Carnage Roster too.
In just a half-month, Lu Ye had acquired two unique Gold Amulets, disying an extraordinary fortune that anyone would salivate with extreme jealousy.
Tan Sheng had heard the stories about Lu Yeabout how he was a member of the Crimson Blood Sect of Bingzhou Province and how he carried a huge price on his head from the numerous bounties offered by various sects and orders of the Thousand Demon Ridge coalition. Many had been scouring the Carnage Colosseum grounds for himtely but to no avail; he had managed to avoid detection the whole time.
The two-hundred-Carnage Point difference wasnt an impossible task for Tan Sheng, but he knew that catching up to Lu Ye wouldnt be easy. Lu Yes cultivation rank might be low, yet it had contributed to his remarkable efficiency in gathering Carnage Points that far outstripped Tan Shengs to the extent of perplexity.
Having been overtaken, Tan Sheng knew that he had to find other ways of amassing more Carnage Points. The rewards for bing the champion of the Carnage Roster and those of the first runner-up differed significantlythe difference being a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification. On the cusp of achieving the True Lake Realm, Ninth-Order Tan Sheng might have little need for the Wisp of Sanctification at the onset of his imminent departure from the Cloud River Battlefield. But he wanted it nhelessfor the good of the juniors in his order if not for his own sake.
As Tan Sheng contemted his ns, he received a message. He checked his Battlefield Imprint. It was sent to him by one of the juniors in his order.
The message was brief. Someone had gone to great lengths to contact him through his juniors. All they wanted was to meet him somewhere in the Colosseum.
But Tan Sheng was more inclined to go on gathering as many Carnage Points as possible to overtake Lu Ye. Time was of the essence and he wasnt interested in spending any of his valuable minutes meeting some strangersespecially strangers who were clearly weaklings since they had to go throughyers of channels just to reach him.
He was about to tly refuse the request to meet when the next missive he received made his eyes twinkle with intrigue.
He replied swiftly, [Are you sure about this? Thats what they said?]
His juniors response came soon enough, [Yes, thats what they said, but we dont know whether its true or not.]
[If they truly possess that item, then what they say could very well be possible. Get me their location!]
An approximate location of the strangers came soon enough. Tan Sheng referred to his map. The meeting spot was quite a distance away from his current position. Even with his level of cultivation, it would take considerable effort and time to reach it. Nheless, there was no hesitation from him, [Tell them to wait there; Im on my way.]
Concluding themunication, Tan Sheng took to the sky, turning into a streak of light that zoomed in the direction of the agreed meeting point.
In the meantime, perched atop the summit of a mountain were a pair of well-hidden figures. If Lu Ye were here, he would recognize the brothers Jiang Liuzi and Jiang Chengzi.
Yet both of them presently appeared disheveled and battered, sporting injuries from their recent battles.
Both proficient Fifth-Orders in their own right, the brothers, like Lu Ye, were capable of defeating opponents beyond their ranks.
For some time now, they had been led by an allied Cultivator named Lu Shu, diligently searching the Colosseum for various opportunities and Endowments as they sought to track down Lu Ye.
Luck favored them at first, granting them ample chances and gifts. They hunted down Cultivators from the Grand Sky Coalition, earning themselves a handsome amount of spoils in the process. Still, Lu Yes whereabouts remained elusive, casting their quest for his head further into despair.
If only those were the only difficulties they faced. But bad thingse in threes. Just a day before, they came face-to-face with a powerful Grand Sky Coalition Cultivator, and, if the fact that his powers far surpassed them was not bad enough, the adversary even held a deep grudge against their sect.
Needless to say, a fierce battle ensued.
Their leader, Eighth-Order Lu Shu possessed considerable strength, but he was still no match for the adversary, who was a Ninth-Order.
Lu Shu should have been able to hold his ground under most circumstances; in fact, he could have escaped safely himself, if he really wanted to.
But with the blood feud between the adversarys sect and their order, the enemy Cultivator was determined to spill blood. That plus Lu Shus resolve to keep the brothers safe forced him to stay and hold the enemy back while the brothers fled.
By the time the brothers had reached a safe distance, it was toote. Lu Shus Battlefield Imprint was gone. He was killed inbat.
This left on the shoulders of the brothers the weight of guilt for causing the loss of their senior brother.
Revenge was out of the question. The enemy Ninth-Orders strength made it impossible for them to avenge Lu Shu and all they could do was remain in hiding until the Colosseum reached its conclusion.
Unfortunately for them, the enemy Ninth-Order was not willing to stop there. He hunted around for their trail, tracking their movements and leaving the brothers in constant fear.
With no other choices, they had to seek others for help. But anyone with enough power to resist the enemy Ninth-Order was busy vying for the top spots on the Carnage Roster. None of them were in a generous mood for charity let alone altruistic enough to help keep the brothers safe.
That prompted Jiang Liuzi to do everything he could to reach out to Tan Sheng. He was confident that thetter was strong enough to ensure their survival, plus, they knew how to make him say yes.
Which was another stroke of Luck. Not more than a day before, a white speck of light illuminated the spot where the Jiang brothers were hiding. It was an Endowment event that had suddenly appeared right in front of them. It was from this pearly-white speck of light that they stumbled upon a very extraordinary artifact.
With this artifact in their possession, they were certain that Tan Sheng would undoubtedly agree to their request.
The Jiang brothers expended every favor and dime just so that they could get into contact with Tan Sheng and were waiting for his response.
Their hard work paid off; a message arrived soon enough. Jiang Liuzi quickly read the message.
His brother Jiang Chengzi asked, Whats the news?
Jiang Liuzi nodded with solemnity, Its a yes. But Tan Sheng is far away. The journey will take a half-day by my reckoning.
Thats good news, I guess. There is still hope for us.
Few could fathom the joy and relief the brothers felt when they discovered what Luck had just dropped on theirp in their hour of dire need. The very object of their salvation.
Whether it was the rewards of winning the Carnage Roster or the bounty on Lu Yes headthe choice was easy enough for any Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator.
Anyone would choose thetter without a moments thought.
For Tan Sheng, hunting down Lu Ye presented a two-fold benefit: he could not only secure the top spot on the Carnage Roster, but also the rich rewards for killing the famous Lu Yi Ye. To that end, the brothers knew that there was little reason for him to decline toe.
Tracking down Lu Yi Ye had been the single-most difficult challenge for all Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who had entered the Colosseum with the express purpose of hunting him down. How could they even think of killing him when they could not even locate him?
Yet, this quandary could be solved by the mysterious artifact that the Heavens had just bestowed on the Jiang brothers. The uncanny ability to urately pinpoint Lu Yes current whereabouts was what impelled Tan Sheng to rush this way at once.
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Chapter 524: Exposed
Chapter 524: Exposed
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A green-robed Tan Sheng arrived at his destination after his half-day-long journey. He had been full steam ahead all his way here, afraid that he might be toote.
The Carnage Colosseum had been on for almost a half month; that would mean that its end coulde any time. If that were to happen, there would no longer be any point in trying to capture Lu Ye.
The results of the Carnage Roster would be determined by then, followed by the Heavens distribution of rewards.
Tan Sheng extracted his map and ascertained his location. He was right. This was the ce. He sent a message.
It did not take long for a reply. He read it, murmuring its contents, Where sun and moon do gently glide; Twin rivers, hand in hand, abide.
Deep inside, he scowled at the code with scorn, [Some lousy code]
But as soon as he was finished, two figures stepped out of their hiding spots and came into view.
His figure vanished with the winds, darting towards them and reappearing right before the two men in an instant.Jiang Liuzi stepped forward, his fists sped in salute as he spoke, Brother Tan Sheng, I presume? The brothers had not met Tan Sheng before hence they did not know what he looked like, but the secret code match and the Spiritual Power signature he emanated corresponded with what they knew about him. There was little chance for error.
You presume correctly, Tan Sheng nodded. Where is it?
Jiang Liuzi took out an ancient-lookingpass-like object from his Storage Bag. Exuding a timeless aura, the item looked just like any other ordinary object that most would rather just ignore without so much as a second nce.
Yet this seemingly-mundanepass held the key to urately track Lu Yes whereabouts, a significant opportunity that Jiang Liuzi and his brother had chanced upon.
Hand it over, Tan Sheng extended a hand. Though the item matched the descriptions of what he knew about it, he needed to verify it himself.
We do not have a high cultivation rank, Brother Tan Sheng, said Jiang Liuzi. And we have a formidable enemy Cultivator still trying to hunt us down. It is for this reason that we need your help to keep us safe, sir.
They couldnt surrender thepass to Tan Sheng. Not without risking him giving them the slip as soon as he got ahold of it and leaving them to fend for themselves.
There was no need to ask for Tan Shengs help to seek revenge for Lu Shu. Jiang Liuzi knew well the realm of impossibility that proposition inhabited. Tan Sheng might be a powerful Ninth-Order but so was the enemy Cultivator who slew Lu Shu. Even if Tan Sheng were to agree to help, it would still be a very difficult undertaking for him to defeat someone of the same rank. Knowing that, Jiang Liuzi deftly refrained from mentioning this matter.
They would take revenge by themselves one day. Both of them possessed exceptional talents and the day where they would finally surpass the enemy in power and strength would surelye and they would make him paydearly. Lu Shus death would be avenged then
In addition to our request for your protection, added Jiang Liuzi, We would like a four-tenths of the bounty on Lu Yi Yes head if this turns out to be a sess.
A cold glint shed in Tan Shengs eyes, Your appetite is quite voracious, my friend. Are you sure of making such a demand?
You know as well as I do the number of bounties offered by all the sects and orders in our coalition, Jiang Liuzi spoke with confidence, Such a vast sum of rewards. Even if you were to give us four-tenths of the share, it would still be enough tost you a lifetime.
Almost every Thousand Demon Ridge sect and orderespecially those of Tiers One, Two, and Threehad pledged enough rewards to make the total bounty unimaginably humongous.
Tan Sheng stared at the brothers pensively for several moments before he finally replied, Surrender the item and youll have my word.
Jiang Liuzi shook his head, I think its best if we hold on to thepass ourselves. They needed Tan Sheng to be around. Only that would dissuade the enemy Cultivator from attacking them. If they gave Tan Sheng thepass, he could zoom off without them, leaving them to be helpless sheep ready to be ughtered.
That would mean the end of everything they had worked so much for.
To that end, Jiang Liuzi needed to be firmeven if it meant aggravating Tan Sheng. At the very least, being fellow members of the Thousand Demon Ridge would prevent Tan Sheng from just killing them both and running off with thepass. But Jiang Liuzi was nevertheless prepared for such an eventuality. If Tan Sheng were to have malicious intentions, then Jiang Liuzi would not hesitate to destroy thepass.
Seeing Tan Sheng in doubt, Jiang Liuzi spoke again, The Colosseum has been open for almost a half-month now, Brother Tan Sheng. Lose any more time and we might not be able to track down Lu Yi Ye in time for you to regain your spot at the top of the Carnage Roster. Especially since the conclusion of the Colosseum would mean that Lu Yi Ye would be free to escape. Even with the tracking ability of thispass, he could be anywhere and well still not find him by then.
Lu Yi Ye could just as easily slip inside one of the many Divine Trade Association branches to evade capture, or he could just return to the real world of Jiu Zhou.
Finally, Tan Sheng relented, Two-tenths, nothing more! You can have that ruddypass to yourselves but Ill stay with you both until the end!
Jiang Liuzi did not like it at all, but he knew better than to argue. Two-tenths of the whole bounty was nevertheless handsome enough for him and his brother. Very well then, he agreed.
Lets begin, pressed Tan Sheng anxiously.
Jiang Liuzi lifted a hand and bit the tip of his finger. With the blood that oozed out, he wrote threerge characters Lu Yi Ye on the surface of the ancient and rusticpass.
The arterial red trails on the surface of thepass vanished as if the object itself had consumed the blood and it immediately emitted a faint glow. The pointer in the center of thepass began to spin wildly on its spindle until it finally halted, pointing in a certain direction. At the same time, a macabre speck of light, as morbid as ret, shot out of thepass and into the sky, streaking towards where it was pointing like a minget.
[Thepass the real deal,] Tan Sheng mused quietly, his eyes alight with anticipation. With the help of this magical instrument, Lu Yi Ye would have nowhere to run!
Lets go!
Tan Sheng beckoned and soared into the air with the Jiang brothers peeling just behind.
Somewhere on the ground, a lone figure was watching everything in silence. It was the Grand Sky Coalition Ninth-Order who had killed Lu Shu. He had been hunting for the Jiang brothers but they had hidden themselves so well that he could not find them.
By the time he saw them, it was toote. They were joined by a Ninth-Order elite and that forced him to disabuse any idea of attacking. A Ninth-Order elite whose face he knew well and it was frustrating.
[Tan Sheng,] he hissed quietly under his breath. [Since when have the members of the New Moon Sect and the Sect of Celestial Dominion grown so close?]
Tan Sheng was a member of the former while the Jiang brothers were members of thetter. Both sectsmanded tremendous power and influence within the Thousand Demon Ridge coalition.
The Grand Sky Coalition Ninth-Order failed to understand what instigated the sudden rtions between the two Thousand Demon Ridge sects. But he wasnt interested to spend further valuable time trying to kill a pair of Fifth-Orders, so he decided to
leave.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Colosseum, a concealed Lu Ye frowned suddenly. For one fleeting moment, he trembled from an inexplicable sensation that swept through him as if he was being watched.
A sensation that sent a chill down his spine.
He relied on Glyph: Concealment to hide his presence, a way not dissimr to how Ghost Cultivators disguise themselves. For all its ws, it would take at least a Seventh-Order to be near enough to notice him.
Could someone be near? Someone near enough to have sensed his presence?
He focused his spiritual sensesusing Glyph: Insight on both his eyesagain and confirmed that nothing unusual was around.
But there was nothing. Not even the slightest trace of anyone being nearby at all.
He paused to think, then he whispered Yi Yis name. She phantasmagorically came into view and at his behest, she sank underground and began reconnoitering the vicinity.
She came back almost a quarter of an hourter, shaking her head to Lu Ye. Yi Yi had searched the whole ce with a fine-toothb only to yield nothing.
But that was not all. Even the strange sensation from before was gone as if it had never existed.
Lu Ye was both shocked and apprehensive. Was that all just a figment of his imagination?
He sat there quietly once more, regaining hisposure before he projected his spiritual senses once more. There really were no signs of anything amiss.
He had to admit that since getting the unique Gold Amulet, his luck had taken a dive. After almost a day, no one had passed by at all.
Lu Ye looked up into the sky. He peered at the morbid red banner hanging high up in the ether. Tan Shengs Carnage Points tally had not been changing at all for almost the entire day, giving enough chance for the second-runner-up to catch up. At the moment, all that was needed was a mere hundred Carnage Points to unseat Tan Sheng from the second cing of the Carnage Roster.
Minutes turned into hours and after two, the same feeling came back. Lu Ye could feel that someone was watching him and the foreboding dread was palpably stronger than before!
His expression tensed with solemness.
[Something is definitely wrong.]
If it was just once, he could have brushed it off as a mere sense of illusion. But for it to happen again was something altogether different.
He probed his surroundings with Glyph: Insight once more. Still, he found nothing. But awash with the growing sense of foreboding, he felt exposed. If anything, it felt like a warning, urging him to leave before danger arrives.
Lu Ye immediately sent a message to Li Baxian, urging him to prepare for a retreat.
Even if it was just him being oversensitive, it was better to be cautious and not leave things to chance.
Just as he wasmunicating with Li Baxian, three figures were rapidly approaching his location from several miles away, referring to the guidance of apass that emitted a glow that was slowly turning into a deep crimson as they were closing in on their target.
Hes close! Jiang Liuzi eximed, his eyes glinting with delight. Even with thepass, he had anticipated that the hunt across the vast terrain of the Colosseum would take quite some time. But to his amazement, they had managed to reach Lu Yi Ye in just over an hour.
What a fortuitous surprise.
Lu Ye was just finishing his message to Li Baxian and was about to pack up his ward gs to leave when he noticed three streaks of light hurtling toward him.
The leader exuded an incredibly powerful Spiritual Power effusionunmistakably a Ninth-Order.
[Since when do Ninth-Orders operate in teams?!] Lu Ye gasped with consternation. Then he realized from the Spiritual Power discharge of the two other Cultivators with the Ninth-Order that they were just a pair of Fifth-Orders.
[So they might be members of the same sect. Why else would a Ninth-Order be apanying two lowly Fifth-Orders?]
Lu Ye was half-expecting them to just fly over his head. But before he could exhale with relief, all three men stopped overhead.
Hovering in the sky above, Jiang Liuzi held out thepass, his gaze fixed on the trembling pointer jerking around. He growled, Hes just below!
Tan Shengs eyes lit up, and he swiftly descended towards the ground, followed closely by the Jiang brothers behind him.
They barely hit the ground when Jiang Chengzi vanished. As a Ghost Cultivator, it was imperative that he remained concealed for tactical advantage.
Lu Ye was staring at Jiang Chengzi.
He had met Wei Que earlier, but he did not expect the Jiang brothers to be here as well. What a circus this had be!
But what scared and perturbed Lu Ye the most was thepass Jiang Liuzi was holding on to. The same sense of foreboding from earlier seemed like a form of etheric connection between thatpass and him!
For reasons still unknown, Lu Ye couldnt shake off the feeling that they were here to find him. Why else would they have nearly flown past him only to stop overhead just now? Why of all ces had they chosen tond here? The fact that Jiang Liuzi was referring to hispass as if he was looking for somethingor someonespecific lent further credence to this theory.
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Chapter 525: The Tracking Disc
Chapter 525: The Tracking Disc
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Jiang Liuzi stood ten meters away from Lu Yes position with hispass cradled in his hand. It was now shining a deep crimson, its needle firmly fixed at Lu Ye. The former looked up abruptly, eximing, Hes right ahead!
His voice barely fell when Lu Ye exposed himself, dashing forward with Glyph: Windwalk activated and Invible hacking down on Jiang Liuzi in a deadly arc.
He had no idea what thatpass was for, but one thing was certainhe was exposed and it was all because of it.
The Jiang brothers must have been using it to track him down.
That would mean he needed to seize thatpass!
Seeing the steel gleaming at just a mere hairs breadth from him frightened Jiang Liuzi. The memory of hisst defeat in Lu Yes hands remained vivid and fresh in his mind and because of that, he knew all too well the strength of Lu Ye. Instinctively he staggered backward to evade the blow.
Tan Sheng beside him sprang into action, unleashing a huge burst of Spiritual Power barreling straight at Lu Ye.
Such was the formidable strength of a Ninth-Order. The st caught Lu Ye squarely, sending his figure hurtling away like a ragdoll. But Lu Ye was not defeated just yet; even as his internal energies churned violently deep inside, he groped as he was still in mid-air, conjuring a ward g he had kept hidden and swung it vigorously.Eight beams of light shot up from the ground and into the sky, interconnecting and resonating with each other as they formed a dome-like energy field that covered an area in excess of a hundred meters wide.
Lu Ye effortlessly phased through the wall of light as he stumbled out, leaving Tan Sheng, who had bolted forward in pursuit, trapped inside.
A trap ward! Tan Sheng gasped, astonished. He hadnt expected that someone had set up a trap ward here in advance and for that, he was now confined inside.
[Swish, swish] A pair of whistles sliced through the air. It was Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan breaking cover and soaring into the air.
Seeing Lu Ye using his trap ward was sign enough that they were up against someone more powerful than them. Immediately, they sped after Lu Ye, joining him in their flight away.
Tan Shengs eyes shed with a shade of regret as the trio bolted away in streaks of light and disappeared in the distance. He had almost managed to kill that all-elusive Lu Yi Ye, but s, here he was, thwarted by a trap and there was little he could do.
He hurled spell after spell at the ward, pounding the wall of light so rapidly that ripples spread and intertwined with one another as the radiance of the wall of light began to dim at a noticeable pace.
Jiang Liuzi helped to bring down the ward too. Having thepass might allow them to track down Lu Ye, but thest thing he wanted was to dy it in case more variables came into y. Especially if Lu Ye were to get himself caught and killed by another Thousand Demon Ridge elite who happened to be passing by. Then everything they had done would have been for naught.
But the strength of Lu Yes trap wards could barely keep Wei Que inside for long, let alone an invincible Ninth-Order like Tan Sheng.
Barely twenty seconds psed and the dome of light diminished like twilight. As soon as the ward crumbled, Tan Sheng and Jiang Liuzi took off into the sky in hot pursuit. It did not take long for them to be joined by a third figure, the Ghost Cultivator Jiang Chengzi.
Lucky enough to not have been caught inside the trap ward when it was activated gave him the chance to surreptitiously shadow Lu Ye and hispanions when they were making their escape. But he did not dare to stay close; if he were discovered, he would have been outnumbered three to one.
There! I saw themnding somewhere around that spot! Jiang Chengzi eximed, his finger pointing in the direction their quarry had vanished.
Before he even finished, all three of them felt the earth and the trees beneath them shaking, followed swiftly by the st of an explosion.
Jiang Chengzi was stunned as a sense of deja vu gripped him. He could have sworn that he had seen something like this before. But where he could not quite remember.
But Tan Sheng did not spare a moments dy. He dove forward with the Jiang brother closely behind.
They barely made more than a hundred meters when Jiang Liuzi yelped with disbelief, yanking himself back to an abrupt halt as he cried, Wait, Brother Tan!
Tan Sheng stopped at once. What is it? he asked irately.
The Discs pointer Its indicating that Lu Yi Yes in that direction, said Jiang Liuzi, his hand pointing somewhere else as he could hardly pry his stare away from thepass in his hand.
Somewhere elsea direction that was nowhere near where the ming detonation happened.
Didnt you say you saw themnding there? Tan Sheng glowered at Jiang Chengzi.
I did, Jiang Chengzi replied, Saw it with my own eyes.
Unless somethings wrong with the Disc? he added, even though he has full confidence in his brothers control of the magicalpass. Yet bafflingly enough, the Discs pointer was aimed in another direction as if in pure sardonic mockery.
Well go and have a look, Tan Sheng made his call decisively, choosing to ignore thepass first. After all, the source of the detonation was not more than just a few miles away. Checking it first wont take too long.
The Jiang brothers naturally had no objections. The trio quickly made their way together and found a cave still filled with dancing swirls of dust and disarrayed clutter of debris fresh after an explosion.
Jiang Chengzi studied the environs inside the cave. Something about it felt awfully familiar to him
In the meantime, a newly-appearing Lu Ye who had just escaped here using his Teleportation Ward wasnt amused or pleased. He was being followedby a Ninth-Order, no less!
What thatpass was that Jiang Liuzi held in his grasp, he did not know. But he was even more bothered by how he could feel some inexplicable and yet peculiar sort of mental connection between him and that mysteriouspass. Sensing the confusion now boggling Lu Ye, Li Baxian broke his silence, Thats a Tracking Disc, brother!
A Tracking Disc? A baffled Lu Ye frowned. Hearing the name of thepass was enough for him to know what its function was.
A magical item that can be used to track down individuals. Extremely rare, it works by using a drop of bloodthe usersto write down the targets name on it. The Discs pointer points in the direction of the individuals location. Ive only heard about it; this is the first time seeing one up close.
Extremely rare, eh? And theyre willing to use it on me Thats great.
And it was held by Jiang Liuzi, indicating that he was the owner of the Disc. Regret now gnawed at his heart, reflecting on his earlier failure to wrest the Tracking Disc from Jiang Liuzis grasp. How he wished he could have seized it and rid himself of this crisis!
Does that mean that they will be able to locate me wherever I go, as long as they have the Tracking Disc in their possession?
Yes, Li Baxian answered solemnly.
What the heck is this Since when do we even have such a vendetta! Lu Ye grumbled in frustration.
Lu Ye and the Jiang brothers shared no significant personal enmity; their prior shes merely sprung from disputes over territorial ims of Arcane des. Yet, inexplicably, the Jiangs seemed to have clung on to a tenacious obsessionto the extent of enlisting the aid of a Ninth-Order in their bid for vengeancea clear deration of their resolute wish for his head.
From their point of view, the handsome bounty on Lu Yes head was reason enough for them to want to kill himan immense reward that had burdened him since his humble days when he was still a Cultivator of the Fifth-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm.
Be that as it might, that did not prevent Lu Ye from having a pang of resentment simmering like a hidden ember beneath the surface of his contemtive heart.
And that Ninth-Order just now, thats Tan Sheng, a gifted Cultivator of the revered New Moon Secthes good, Li Baxian allowed with measured gravity.
Huh?! T-Thats Tan Sheng? Lu Ye stammered in astonishment.
Despite now upying the first and second positions of the Carnage Roster, Lu Ye had never seen Tan Sheng before and he did not know what he looked like. What a twist of fate it was that the very person Jiang Liuzi had enlisted for help would turn out to be none other than Tan Sheng himself.
With the revtion now unraveled, Tan Sheng was obviously not driven solely by the allure of the bounty but also by an insatiable ambition to im the top spot of the Carnage Roster. Seed in vanquishing Lu Ye and all glory and riches would be his.
The endless cycle of seeing Cultivators leaving the Spirit Creek Realm during Li Baxians time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had etched their visages like indelible marks upon the annals of his memory. That was how he recognized Tan Sheng.
And since Li Baxian described him as good and gifted, then he must be a Cultivator who had once had his name celebrated upon the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy.
We must not linger in this ce, brother. With the Tracking Disc, it will be a matter of time before theye to find us. We need to leave this ce quickly, Li Baxian warned, his words resounding like an urgent rion call in the face of impending danger.
Any Ninth-Order could easily range a two-hundred-mile distance in a short time, especially with the impetus now driving Tan Sheng.
With a nod of determination, Lu Ye softly called out, addressing hisrades, Brother Baxian, Sister Yuechan.
They turned their attentive gazes toward him, their expressions mirroring their curiosity.
Amidst the tension, an earth-shattering eruption ensued. A brilliant disy of power and prowess as Invible slid out of its sheath, releasing a resplendent crimson crescent of light slicing through the aira lethal arc of morbid elegance screaming towards them.
In a reflexive surge of survival instinct, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan deftly evaded the deadly trajectory. Li Baxians features contorted with concern as he realized that they were already outside the magical circle of the Teleportation Ward. He called out to Lu Ye, both fervently and urgently, Lu Ye!
The Teleportation Ward, a mechanism of both wonder and magic, bathed in radiant luminescence, whisking away Lu Yes figure as if he was swallowed by a vortex of light.
Li Baxian rushed to the Teleportation Ward and tried to channel his Spiritual Power into it.
But it was no use; the Teleportation Ward refused to respond.
When Lu Ye constructed the magical ward, he included a few additions so that the wards could not be misused, meaning, the Teleportation Wards only responded to his Spiritual Power and no one elses.
Under the solemn guise of the mask of a boy, Li Baxian wore a pensive look.
Feng Yuechan too discerned Lu Yes intentions, her voiceden with understanding, He doesnt want to endanger us, does he?
With the Tracking Disc now detecting his every movement, Lu Yes position would no longer be safeeven with the Teleportation Wards. The odds were stacked against him with little chance of Luck smiling upon himunless he possessed an extensivework of Wards that would allow him to outmaneuver his pursuers.
However, should Tan Sheng catch up to him, the vast disparity in their cultivation ranks would render him as helpless as amb ready for ughterwhether Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were with him or not.
That was why he chose to force Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan out of the Teleportation Ward so that he could slip away alone. That imminent perils waiting for him in the forting was evident and he did not want to drag them into his grave with him.
And if he could choose, he would have left even Amber with them too.
Yet, since he had forged the bond of Life Energy Art with Amber, their life and death had be inseparably linked. Should he perish, Amber would also meet its doom, and Yi Yi would too share the same fate.
Therefore, there was no reason to not bring Amber with him, especially since Beast Mode mighte in handy, to say nothing of the fact that Yi Yi had proven herself vignt and reliable in her ability to scope out nearby environs.
Dammit! An exasperated Li Baxianmented, feeling the weight wrenching at his heart. As a senior brother, he could not bear seeing Lu Ye confronting such perils alone. Yet, Lu Yes decisive action had left them no time for contemtion.
Li Baxian could only marvel at his juniors resolute nature; even in the face of dire adversity, Lu Ye was able to make swift and firm decisions, acting with crity as soon as heprehended the gravity of his predicament.
An alert from his Battlefield Imprint prompted Li Baxian to examine it at once. It really was, as he expected, a message from Lu Ye.
What did he say? asked Feng Yuechan.
That were too slow; wed just be dragging him down! a vexed Li Baxian yelped with frustration.
Feng Yuechan fell silent, well aware that this was not truly Lu Yes sentiment; it was just his ploy to alleviate the burden of guilt in their minds.
But Lu Ye has a set of ns, it seems Li Baxian murmured as he read the rest of the messages contents. He proceeded to share the details with Feng Yuechan.
Feng Yuechan nodded pensively, So, it appears that Lu Yes actions werent just reckless impulses after all; they were the result of careful deliberation. If everything goes as he nned, he might just seed in surviving this relentless pursuit.
And for that to happen, the n hinged on the timing of the Colosseums ending.
But who could possibly predict when the Carnage Colosseum would close?
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Chapter 526: Tan Sheng’s Choice
Chapter 526: Tan Shengs Choice
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As Feng Yuechan had surmised, Lu Yes decision was not a mere act of fleeting courage; he embarked alone on the path of escape already with a well-thought-out n in mind. And his primary concern, of course, was to spare hispanions from further danger.
Confronting a formidable Ninth-Order elite like Tan Sheng was well beyond what theirbined strength was capable of.
To find his glimmer of hope for survival, Lu Ye knew that he could do nothing but endure the relentless pursuit for as long as possible. The keyy in the imminent closure of the Carnage Colosseum. If he could stay alive until the Colosseum ended, he could make his way to the nearest Divine Trade Association where he would find safety and refuge.
Aware of the ever-looming possibility of the Carnage Colosseums closure, Lu Yes immediate objective was to stall for as long as he could.
Aftermunicating with Li Baxian, Lu Ye swiftly used his Teleportation Wards to travel as far as he could, doing his best to widen the distance between himself and Tan Sheng.
After four sessive teleportations, he had put at least several hundred miles between him and his pursuers.
Standing in thest Teleportation Wards circle, Lu Ye could no longer detect any additional Wards ahead.
Over the course of these events, many of the Wards he had set up must have suffered damage, and consequently, only a few remained functional.Without hesitation, he stepped out of the cave housing the final Teleportation Ward and took to the skies at once, flying in the opposite direction from where he came.
He dared not fly too high nor make too much noise, especially since the enemies that abounded the Colosseum extended beyond Tan Sheng; every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator in the Colosseum was thirsty for his blood now.
Lu Ye remained vignt at all times, in all directions; his sensesboth physical and spiritualwere heightened to the utmost so that he could hide at the first notice of disturbance.
After more than two hours, Lu Ye finally came to a halt and began setting up new Teleportation Wards.
The more Wards he has, the more assurance he would have to contend with Tan Sheng and othersa form of insurance to ensure his survival.
While he was engrossed in setting up the Teleportation Wards, hundreds of miles away, Tan Sheng and the Jiang brothers were rapidly closing the distance all thanks to the guidance of the Tracking Disc.
Being a powerful Ninth-Order, Tan Sheng had nothing to fear and there was no need for him to be discreet, unlike Lu Ye, and that allowed him to travel much faster.
By the time Lu Ye was done with a Teleportation Ward, Tan Sheng was no more than four hundred miles away from his position.
However, Tan Shengs expression was not anywhere near pleased nor amused. Despite having the Tracking Disc at his disposal, he had not spied any signs of Lu Yi Ye ever since he was caught inside that ursed trap ward.
It made no sense at all; a Third-Order Cultivator should not have the speed to outrun him, no matter how swift Lu Yi Ye could be. He was inside the trap ward for no more than twenty seconds hence he could not see how Lu Ye had managed to give him the slip so easily. If it werent for the Tracking Discs consistent pointing in this particr direction, Tan Sheng would have begun to wonder if the magical device was malfunctioning.
This was further helped by the fact that the glow emitted by the Tracking Disc was growing increasingly redan indication that they were nearing their quarry.
Before too long, Jiang Liuzi, who had been attentively observing the Tracking Disc, called out loudly all of a sudden, Hes within ten miles!
At the same time, Lu Ye, who had been sitting in the circle of his Teleportation Ward and meditating peacefully, suddenly opened his eyes.
That intensely ominous sensation of being watched swelled again.
His pursuers must be close!
[They areing! Thats fast!] he thought anxiously.
Lu Ye immediately acted without hesitation. He activated the Teleportation Ward, vanishing from sight. This time, he teleported himself in rapid session, returning to the original spot.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were nowhere to be seenwhich was understandable. Staying here was pointless with Lu Ye gone since they couldnt activate the Teleportation Ward themselves. In fact, they would find themselves trapped if they were to be cornered by powerful foes here. That exined their eventual departure not long after Lu Ye left.
At the moment, they were both quietly lying in hiding somewhere secluded, patiently awaiting the closure of the Colosseum. Like Lu Ye, they were no strangers to being hunted. Their experiences of fleeing from enemies in the Cloud River Battlefield had made them adept in the art of concealment. More so, with Feng Yuechans umbre Spirit Artifact to make their safety rtively assuredunless they were beset by exceptional bad luck that would expose their whereabouts.
Jiang Liuzi, who was still flying in the air, was fixated upon the Tracking Disc when he came to a sudden halt. With a puzzled expression, he stared at thepass in his hand.
The Tracking Disc had lost its formerly radiant crimson glow and its once-forward-pointed needle was now aimed in the opposite direction!
What on earth just happened? Jiang Liuzi could barely fathom what was going on.
How is this possible? he gasped, filled with bewilderment.
Whats going on?
Tan Sheng, who was in front, immediately stopped as he recognized something amiss.
The Discs needle just changed, Brother Tan Sheng, Jiang Liuzi croaked with difficulty.
Again? Tan Shengs face darkened as he uttered those words. He hurriedly approached to examine the Tracking Disc. Indeed, the needle had changed, now pointing back in the direction they hade from.
Furrowing his brow and pondering for a moment, he turned to Jiang Liuzi and asked, Has the Tracking Disc been damaged in any way?
The Tracking Disc might be a valuable magical instrument, but it wasnt exactly sturdy enough to withstand impacts and collisions. Any knocks or bumps could have a high chance of rendering it faulty.
Plus, Tan Shengs question made Jiang Liuzi aware that he was not the only one to suspect that the Tracking Disc might be broken; even Tan Sheng was wondering about that possibility too.
No. It hasnt been bumped or knocked on anywhere before, Jiang Liuzi shook his head.
Brother Tan Sheng, Jiang Chengzi interjected, The Tracking Disc should still be functioning properly. If theres anything worth suspecting, Id say its that Lu Yi Ye.
Tan Sheng pondered that statement for a moment and realized the possibility of truth in Jiang Chengzis ims. The Tracking Disc had worked in leading them to Lu Yi Ye in the first time. But it was due to the trap ward that they lost their chance to seize him. Therefore, it was logical to believe that the problem did not likely stem from the Tracking Disc.
What do you mean? Tan Sheng inquired.
Im not entirely sure, but I wonder if he has the means to instantaneously shift himself through distances as far as several hundred miles, Jiang Chengzi suggested.
Thats ridiculous! No Cloud River Realm Cultivator could do that! Tan Sheng scoffed.
With the help of some magical artifact perhaps? Jiang Chengzi proposed.
They could think of no other way to exin the peculiar ability of Lu Ye to traverse vast distances in just the blink of an eye. The Tracking Disc was clearly indicating their imminent arrival, but before they could catch up to him, he suddenly shifted to the opposite direction.
Tan Sheng furrowed his brow in contemtion. As much as he did not want to admit it, he could barely deny that while Jiang Chengzis spection seemed unrealistic, it definitely sounded like the most usible exnation for now.
Lu Yi Ye hailed from the infamous Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou province, the very same martial order that was once a name that invoked great fear and respect across all of Jiu Zhou, the realm of the nine provinces. Its strength might have declined since then but who knew what hidden heritage they still possessed? It wasnt entirely impossible that the sect could have kept some unknown artifact capable of instantaneous conveyance across over several hundred miles.
But Tan Sheng had never heard of such an artifact before, making it difficult for him to confirm that exnation.
If hes really relying on some magical artifact, then Im sure, as a drawback of such a potent artifact, it must have the weakness of being unable to be utilized frequently. To that end, Brother Tan Sheng, I believe that we just need to keep pressuring him. Sooner orter, there wille a moment when we will corner him like a cat catching a vole, Jiang Chengzi suggested.
Continue the pursuit! Tan Sheng growled, feeling a surge of annoyance as he immediately wheeled around and headed back to where they came from.
His rank on the Carnage Roster had plunged down to third ce, much to his frustration. What should have been an easy hunt for Lu Yi Ye with the Tracking Discwhich should have secured him the top spot on the Roster and untold riches and prestigehad just turned into a wild goose chase.
To say nothing of slipping down the rung on the Roster after all the time and effort.
With the situation as it was, it had be nearly impossible for him to amass enough Carnage Points to contend for the top spot on the Roster. But ifpared to the rewards of being the winner of the Carnage Roster, the bounty and fame for being the one to y Lu Ye were undoubtedly more tempting.
In the heart of a remote valley almost a dayter, three weary figures sat in a meditative stance, shrouded in an atmosphere of tension and exhaustion.
Jiang Liu Zi and his brothers faces betrayed their apprehension, but it was Tan Shengs frustration and irritation that matched the ominous clouds that gathered above them.
The past twenty-four hour pursuit had been a grueling marathon, as they doggedly followed the elusive trail of the slippery Lu Yi Ye. Despite their best efforts of traveling back and forth, retracing their steps repeatedly, and yeting up empty-handed, all three of them came no closer toying eyes on Lu Yi Ye.
Every time they thought they were gaining closer to Lu Yi Ye, thepasss needle would abruptly and mercilessly alter its course, and they were left with no choice but to recalibrate their trajectory to continue the snipe hunt.
Even the formidable Tan Sheng, a seasoned Ninth-Order Cultivator at the pinnacle of the Cloud River Realm, felt the strain of this fruitless and yet relentless pursuit. In the meantime, the Jiang brothers were utterly spent, their once-vibrant countenances now a pallid reflection of their former selves.
They would not even have a whit of Spiritual Power left enough to use Telekinesis if they did not stop to rest.
Desperation and bewilderment gued their restless meditation as they pondered the enigma of Lu Yi Yes seemingly impossible elusiveness.
Could Lu Yi Ye indeed possess such a convenient artifact? One that was really capable of instantaneous teleportation over vast distances? If such a magical treasure existed, then their quest for his head would be nothing but a mere pipe dream.
With such a potent talisman in his possession, Lu Yi Ye could easily evade capture so long as he wasnt being fully encircled by foes.
An awkward silence lingered over the three as they mulled over this daunting possibility.
Jiang Liuzi and his brother traded furtive and sour nces. Tan Sheng was here by their invitation upon the promise of sess. Yet they found themselves empty-handed, and to their dismay, the threepanions felt like mere pawns in a grand game, toyed around with like monkeys.
Before too long, Tan Shengs ranking had plummeted further down to the fourth ce on the Carnage Roster while Lu Yi Yes name was now in the second. From the looks of things, their names would continue sliding in an unstoppable descent.
The situation was far from ideal for both of them; one was on the hunt and the other in desperate flight, leaving no room nor time for them to stop and gather more Carnage Points.
Seated not far away from the brothers, Tan Sheng raised his hand and ced a finger upon his Battlefield Imprint, seemingly engaged in urgentmunication with someone unknown.
After a brief moment, he turned his gaze to Jiang Liuzi and barked, extending a demanding hand, The Tracker Disc! Now!
Jiang Liuzi guessed his intent immediately, his brow furrowing with concern, Wait, are you thinking of using its other function, Brother Tan Sheng?
Tan Sheng nodded solemnly, retorting quietly, Unless you have other ways of tracking down Lu Yi Ye?
But that would mean its open season on Lu Yi Ye! Were not going to be the only ones pursuing Lu Yi Ye, Brother Tan, Jiang Liuzi voiced his concern, a sudden realization washing over him. You were in contact with other elites in the Colosseum, werent you, Brother Tan?
Again, Tan Sheng acknowledged this, confirming, Indeed, I have disseminated the message and struck agreements with the others. Whoever manages to capture and y Lu Yi Ye shall yield two-tenths of the whole bounty to me. Your shares will be derived from my cut.
Their initial arrangement entitled Jiang Liuzi and his brother a direct two-tenths of the full bounty. But with this new arrangement, their share had been forcibly shrunken down to the paltry two-tenths of Tan Shengs two-tenths, which was a drastic abatement of what they were originally promised.
Jiang Liuzis heart swelled with reluctance. Surely there are better approaches to this situation, Brother Ta he feebly attempted to voice his disagreement.
We are running out of time! snapped Tan Sheng stubbornly, The Colosseum has been open for seventeen days. We dont know when it will close. It could be any time! If that happens and were still nowhere near to catching Lu Yi Ye, then all we sacrificed will have been for nothing! Besides, its toote to say no now; I have already spread the message, and there are people who are eager for sess. If and when we catch him, youll have your cut of the reward. It should be handsome enough and let us not sumb to greed!
Tan Sheng had made a daring gamble. With his ranking on the Carnage Roster plummeting and the prizes now nothing more than dissipating vapor, Tan Shengs only way of recovering was through hunting down and ying Lu Yi Y that the costs would be covered. .
Jiang Liuzi heaved a sigh, recognizing that the Ninth-Order would brook no objection to the new n, rendering further persuasion futile. Resentment churned within him, but he had no choice but to surrender the Tracking Disc.
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Chapter 527: The Tracking Disc’s Hidden Feature
Chapter 527: The Tracking Discs Hidden Feature
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In Tan Shengs hands rested the enigmatic Tracking Disc, his chilly gaze upon thepasss trembling needle like ice.
He would not have deigned to share any of his spoils with others if he had the choice. But the current circumstances allowed him no free room to choose as he liked. With their numbers confined to a mere trio, cornering the elusive Lu Yi Ye was as hard as catching a mirage with bare hands. The day had seen them tirelessly tread the same path, to and fro, a dozen times over, yet with no signs of Lu Yi Ye in sight. If this were to go on and the Colosseum closed, Lu Yi Ye would surely be able to fade away and escape.
[Half is better than nothing], he sighed with tremendous regret, deciding, atst, to just embrace the bitter constion of what little gain remained.
The resolve crystallized within him, unwavering and definitive.
He raised his hand and bit down upon his fingertip. In elegant strokes, he inscribed the name Lu Yi Ye upon its surface, not once, but twice, as if invoking some arcane ritual of old.
The scarlet fluid seeped into the heart of the disc, its presence ephemeral as it vanished without a trace. And then, as if struck by some unseen force, the Tracking Disc splintered into a myriad of iridescent shards, bursting forth in a glorious crescendo of rainbow hues, soaring into the heavens and fading from sight in the blink of an eye.
Tracking Discs possessed two divergent faculties. One was the urate tracking of ones location through thepasss needle as was used by Jiang Liuzi earlier, so long as both existed within the same ne of existence.
The otheror more hiddenfeature of the Tracking Disc, which Tan Sheng now wielded, was what caused the Disc to shatter and would therefore render it useless in the future. Yet this ability wouldpletely divulge Lu Yes position with no way at all to hide himself.The first ability required only the quarrys name to be written in blood. But the second method demanded three repetitions of the name, prompting Tan Sheng to write Lu Yi Yes name twice more.
Meanwhile, seated calmly within the circle of his Teleportation Ward more than eight hundred miles away from Tan Sheng and hispanions, Lu Ye felt an inexplicable shiver running down his spine. Before he could fathom what just happened, a streak of blood-red light descended from the heavens, enveloping him in its macabre glow.
In an instant, the crimson radiance soared towards the sky, manifesting as a pir of eerie arterial red.
This bore a striking resemnce to the majestic eruption of light by the unique types of Gold Amulet. But the unique Gold Amulet emitted a golden column of light, while what he was engulfed in was a red streak of lightncing up into the sky, plus a rtively smaller burst of Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye did not know what on earth just happened.
But he knew this, a disturbance of such a grand scale would undoubtedly draw the attention of all nearby Cultivators. Not wanting to be discovered, he immediately activated his Teleportation Ward and vanished from the spot.
His caution was not misced. Moments after his departure, a group of Cultivators arrived and entered the cavern. Yet, before they could investigate anything, one of them inadvertently triggered the explosive wards that Lu Ye had left behind. The entire cave groaned and trembled before being swallowed in a ze of mes. The Cultivatorster emerged from the cave, their faces smudged with soot and dirt.
More Cultivators converged upon the scene, with one individual towering menacingly above the rest in mid-air, exuding the formidable aura of an elite Ninth-Order.
He silently surveyed the situation below before transmitting a message.
The information swiftly reached Tan Sheng, eight hundred miles away, prompting him to take flight immediately. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a stream of light and vanished from view.
Leaving behind Jiang Liuzi and his brother, their expressions filled with resignation.
Jiang Liuzi had been reluctant to relinquish his control of the Tracking Disc, insisting on using it himself, precisely to prevent such a predicament. s, in the end, his deepest concern had materialized nevertheless.
With the Tracking Disc no longer in their possession, Tan Sheng could naturally care less about the fates of the Jiang brothers. A Ninth-Order like him could travel much faster and with greater mobility and convenience without two Fifth-Orders slowing him down. While Tan Sheng appeared to be unlikely to renege on the deal to give them two-tenths of his share of the rewards, that could only be fulfilled if the two brothers remained alive by the time the dust settled.
Thankfully, a considerable amount of time had psed since then, and the Ninth-Order enemythe Grand Sky Coalition elite who had in Lu Shuprobably wouldnt trouble them anymore. The notion of this provided them with a modicum of security.
At another Teleportation Ward, Lu Ye calmed himself. He examined himself and still, he found no abnormalities.
But what was the blood-red light that had shrouded him just now?
The powerful burst of energy had exposed his location in the most unequivocal manner. He could conceal himself using every faculty and every method known to him, and still, any nearby Cultivator would detect his whereabouts ande to investigate.
Lu Ye lifted a hand and tapped on his Battlefield Imprint. Hemunicated with Li Baxian, recounting what had just transpired.
Thetter swiftly replied, Thats the hidden feature of the Tracking Disc, brother.
Only through Li Baxians exnation did Lu Yee to understand what had befallen him.
It seemed that after a whole day and night of chasing the mere mirage of him, Lu Yes pursuers had grown impatient. Left with no choice, they activated the second function of the Tracking Disc. As a result, they couldnt trace his movements through the Tracking Disc anymore, but he too could no longer remain hidden.
ording to Li Baxians exnation, the same blood-red pir of light would ur every two hours to broadcast his location.
The information left Lu Yes heart sinking to the depths of despair.
He had been able to sense the enemy approaching each time prior to this, enabling him to escape in advance. The intangible connection between him and the Tracking Disc was what allowed him to perceive their proximity to some extent.
That was what led Tan Sheng and hispanions into several rounds of back-and-forth pursuits to no avail.
Lu Ye had believed that so long as his Teleportation Wards were not destroyed, he would be able to stay alive and Tan Sheng would never catch up to him. He had clearly misjudged the situation.
Being unable to catch up to him was what drove Tan Sheng to make use of the Tracking Discs hidden feature.
By truly depriving him of any chance to remain hidden.
The Spiritual Power eruption of the unique Gold Amulets urred every six hours, which was already too high a frequency for hisfort. Yet this blood-red column of radiance would broadcast his position every two hours
This was tantamount to a death sentence.
Im calling for help, Lu Ye. Hold on! You must stay alive until the Colosseum closes!
I understand.
After ending themunication, Lu Ye immediately left his hiding ce and moved outside.
With his position exposed every two hours, there was no point to continue staying in the cave. He did not have many Teleportation Wards left and each vertical light disy would inevitably lead to the destruction of one of them. To ensure his survival, he needed more Teleportation Wards and to preserve as many of them as possible.
Lu Ye didnt doubt Li Baxian would reach out for help. They have had numerous contacts and their circles of friends were wider beyond hisprehension. With many powerful Cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition here inside the Colosseum, there was no reason to believe that Li Baxians call for aid would go unanswered.
However, he knew that he couldnt count on help to arrive. He needed to prepare for the worst and respond as proactively as possible.
Just as Lu Ye was preparing for what was his biggest escape for dear life up until now, news about him spread rapidly within the Thousand Demon Ridge circles within the Colosseum. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators flocked in the direction of Lu Yesst known location, especially those with moderate cultivation ranks.
Cultivators of this sort roamed the Carnage Colosseum for Endowment events. The Carnage Roster was just beyond their reach due to their inadequate power and strength.
But all of them were attracted by the rumors about Lu Yes whereabouts flying about everywhere. The promise of huge rewards for Lu Yes head was more than anything winning the Carnage Roster could offer.
More so, since the rumors further circted that Lu Ye was merely a Cultivator at the Third-Order of the Cloud River Realm now being marked with the curse of a Tracking Disc that would reveal his position every two hours. Anyone who stumbled upon him could have a real chance at ying him.
That made many Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators hurry this way the moment they got wind of the rumors.
Amidst the turmoil, a number of unfortunate Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators found themselves beset by troubles. The spread of Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators should have been even at first, but when a significant number of them who were members of the Thousand Demon Ridge began to converge in a single direction, opposing Cultivators would find themselves being outnumbered all of a sudden.
That caused many Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators, especially those who were unaware of recent developments, to withdraw from the area.
Two hours passed, then four, and six
A lot of information about Lu Yi Ye spread far and wide every couple of hours. Every time a blood-red pir of light speared up into the clouds, his position would be exposed, and that immediately attracted hordes of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators eager enough to try their luck.
Yet, no one had truly managed to find him. Leveraging what remained of his inventory of Teleportation Wards. Each time his position was broadcasted, he would swiftly relocate two hundred miles away.
Several months had passed since Lu Yest faced such a massive manhunt in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Only this time, the perils that beset him far surpassed anything he had experienced before.
Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield could barelypare with the Cloud River Realm Cultivators here. By the time Lu Ye reached Heaven-Eight back when he was still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there were few dangers that could threaten his safety. He was even a scourge that all of the Thousand Demon Ridge coalition feared when he rose into Heaven-Nine.
But this time, there really was a real risk of dying. Most primarily because of the restriction of the Colosseum that no Cultivator inside could leave the Colosseum before its closure.
Or he would have sped to the nearest Divine Trade Association and sought refuge and protection there.
As time passed, Lu Yes number of Teleportation Wards dwindled.
Only two remained. Had it not been for his diligent efforts to reconstruct more Wards whenever he could after each escape, he would have long run out of Wards.
At the same time, he could feel the presence of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators in the area growing rapidly.
He could stay in this ursed ce no longer. Even with two Teleportation Wards still working, to linger in this ce would be courting death.
If anything were to happen to the Wards, he would be dead the moment his position was revealed again.
Lu Ye did not know whether he should stay or leave. But he quickly came to a decision: he needed to leavefast!
Only by leaving this area could he find a glimmer of hope. Stay any longer and Death woulde for him.
Lu Ye gazed up at the crimson sky overhead, feeling the crushing weight of helplessness. It had been almost twenty days since the start of the Carnage Colosseum. When would it finally close?
Once again, his body was enveloped in that blood-red radiance before the glow burst into a ret-red pir of light that shot up into the high heavens.
Another eruption.
Lu Ye activated his Teleportation Ward and transported himself instantly nearly two hundred miles away.
Next, he exited the cave and took off, gliding at a steady pace at no more than thirty meters above ground so as not to attract any unwanted attention.
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Chapter 528: Lu Ye’s Flight Again
Chapter 528: Lu Yes Flight Again
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The rising number of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had prevented Lu Ye from being faster. At the slightest sign of disturbance, he had to halt his movements and rely on Glyph: Concealment to maintain his cover.
He quietly made some calctions.
By his reckoning, he needed to get out of this area and travel as far as he could, and only by doing so within two hours could he secure a better chance of survival.
The two-hour duration passed quickly.
Once again, the same blood-red glow swelled over the surface of his skin before it erupted into a bright pir of crimson shooting up into the sky. No Cultivator nearbyunless they were blindwould miss such a conspicuous spectacle.
Lu Ye swiftly consumed several Spirit Pills and wingsconjured by Spiritual Powerignited like mes on his back. Activating Glyph: Wings, he pped his magically-formed pinions and sped into the distance in a streak of light.
With his position now exposed and no Teleportation Wards to rely on anymore, his own speed was pretty much all he could depend on.
Lu Ye might be just a Third-Order, but with Glyph: Wings, his speed could match that of Sixth- or Seventh-Orders. But with the addition of Glyph: Windwalk, his speed would be even faster.Dots of light shed up aheadstreaking jets of light that must be Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who were nearby and wereing to investigate the crimson column of light earlier. The neers caught sight of a ball of red hurtling towards them at an incredible speed and they froze in surprise,ing to a halt.
The speed of a Cultivators flying speed was oftentimes seen as a demonstration of ones cultivation rank. The faster a Cultivator could fly, the stronger and more powerful he must beflying using some magical ability or Telekinesis alike. For this reason, weaker Cultivators would find it challenging to escape from stronger opponents, as fleeing was often futile.
When they first saw the red glowing ball of lighting that was Lu Ye approaching them, the coterie of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators initially assumed that it was one of theirs, a Thousand Demon Ridge elite.
It wasnt until Lu Ye flew past them that the Battlefield Imprints on the back of their hands shed with a ga-red luminescence and they finally realized what was happening.
It was not a friendly Cultivator from their own faction, but an enemy from the Grand Sky Coalition.
And the effusion of Spiritual Power from the stranger was not as powerful as they had expected. He was just a Third- or Fourth-Order
[A Third- or Fourth-Order of the Grand Sky Coalition?!]
One of them snapped back to his senses fast enough to exim, Thats Lu Yi Ye!
He was the first to circle around to give chase immediately. Being a Fifth-Order, he had nothing to fear about a Third-Order.
So did the rest of hispanions, who immediately halted in their tracks and sped after him.
But all it took was a quarter of an hour for Lu Ye to throw them all off his trail. Dejected, theymented mournfully at how they had let such a tremendous opportunity slip through their fingers.
Lu Ye no longer bothered to conceal himself. With Glyph: Wings in full swing, he darted through the skies, zing past numerous Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators along the way. Clearly, no one had anticipated such temerity from him. Just like the first group he encountered before, no one was able to react in time to stop him at all.
News zed across all corners of the Colosseum grounds, reporting the current whereabouts of Lu Yi Ye, while massive waves of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators swarmed after him like bees hunting for honey, keen to not lose his trail.
Lu Ye never stopped shoving Spirit Pills into his mouth to keep his Spiritual Power replenished.
The continued use of Glyph: Wings was enough to exhaust his Spiritual Power quickly; which he would not have enough tost for the entireor even a halfday since he was just a Third-Order.
But even with the pills, it was still barely enough to keep up with the consumption.
And this was without even activating Glyph: Windwalk; if he were to do so, the drain would be even more extreme.
But time wasnt waiting. The next two hours came by and the deep-scarlet column of light sted into the sky once more.
Aet of light shot by him. Someone must have seen the spectacle and rushed over. That was fast, Lu Yes mind went before he could even move a finger and he knew at first nce that even with Glyph: Wing, his fleetness was nothing before such insurmountable speed.
He did not need to be told that it was an Eighth- or a Ninth-Order. The reality of helplessnessthe crushing weight of resignationset in. Was this his moment of reckoning?
With Glyphs: Wings and Windwalk, he had no need to fear anyone below the Seventh Order. Even Seventh-Orders. But Eighth- and Ninth-Orders were apletely different reality.
But he knew he needed to try. A resolute determination ignited within him, and he activated Glyph: Windwalk, increasing his speed further. However, this sudden burst of speed also broke the dam in him, causing his Spiritual Power to gush like a hole.
The Thousand Demon Ridge elite was visibly astounded by this sudden increase in speed. Angrily, he shouted, Theres no escape for you, Lu Yi Ye! Surrender now and I might grant you a swift death!
The voice sounded familiar, and Lu Ye immediately recalled who it was: Wei Que!
[What rotten luck! Why am I seeing this scoundrel everywhere I go!?] he mused with bursting annoyance and frustration.
In the midst of his rapid flight for survival, another sh of light shot up from below with the crescendoing rise of a meteor.
Lu Yes face turned pale as he tightly gripped his Golden Body Token in panic. He secretly mustered his Spiritual Power, ready to use thisst life-saving trump card.
The huge discement of Spiritual Energy from the new stranger was also a Ninth-Order.
Caught between the anvil and the hammer, he could see no way out of this predicament.
Lu Ye had chosen to walk away from Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan because there was only just one Golden Body Token, and in desperate situations, he could rely on it to save himselfor at least buy him a few more hours. But if Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan also ended up with him, they would only be faced with inescapable doom.
As the neer drew nearer, Lu Ye was so close to triggering the Golden Body Token when his voice echoed in Lu Yes ear, Run!
The shimmering presence of the neer brushed past him in the blink of an eye, intercepting Wei Que and stopping his pursuit.
Bursts of Spiritual Power effusion rippled as the two elite Cultivators engaged each other in a fierce battle.
Thank you, Senior Brother! Lu Ye managed to call out before darting away like a lightning bolt into the distance.
He didnt know who it was. But whoever the person was, he had appeared at the most opportune moment possible by intercepting Wei Que and he was an ally from the Grand Sky Coalition.
Maybe he was one of those Li Baxian had called in a favor for help, or maybe he just happened to be passing by. Regardless, it was because of him that Lu Ye had narrowly escaped cmity.
Feeling grateful, Lu Ye sped away expeditiously.
He found a secluded spot not long after that where hended. He needed to recover. The constant fleeing had been taxing and he couldnt afford to miss any opportunity to replenish himself.
Barely minutester, he heard a cascade of deafening booms, thunderous explosions in the air of somethingor someonebreaking through the air barrier. It must be the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators catching up.
There was no way for him to remainpletely hidden at all, not without his position being exposed every two hours. He might be safefor now, for he knew that it would not be long before he needed to be on the run again. He had to move quickly and avoid staying in one ce for too long to prevent being surrounded by a horde of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators.
He had a quick bite and swallowed a few more Spiritual Pills before he resumed his escape. There was no need to activate Glyph: Wings yet. Without being exposed yet, there was no need to be overly hasty.
More than an hour had psed and the sanguinary-colored beam of light tunneling up into the sky would be erupting soon. By that time, Lu Ye would need to use Glyph: Wings once more and speed like the wind.
Escaping alive seemed more and more arduous by the minute and the Tracking Discs curse made it impossible for him to elude his pursuers. Every time his position was broadcasted, a huge stampede of angry and bloodthirsty Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators would be hot on his heels. Without any means to hide himselfpletely and remain undetected, there was very little a Third-Order like him could do.
Fleeing with all his might. That was pretty much all he could do. That would buy him as much time as possible, plus praying for the Colosseums closure toe quickly.
Luck did not seem to be favoring Lu Ye at the moment, as evidenced by the arterial-red dome-like forcefield of the Carnage Colosseum that refused to fade. In the meantime, Lu Ye did not fail to notice how his name had plunged down the rungs of the Carnage Roster,nding in the seventh position.
He wouldter encounter several more overpowering Eighth- and Ninth-Orders. He would struggle to get away from them, he was at least lucky enough to have help arrive on time to cut them off and stop them from tailing Lu Ye.
If help in the form of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators who arrived just in time to save him could be chalked up to coincidence at first, Lu Ye did not need to be a genius to know that the repeated instances of timely interventions by allies here to save his life hinted just how great Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans influence was.
By now, all Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators within the Colosseum would have noticed the massive host of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators thronging. If anyone were still oblivious about what was going on, then Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans rallying of their allies would have made sure of that.
Fierce shes erupted in many areas as a result between the Cultivators of the two major factions, leading to a bloody all-out battle royale raging through the whole Colosseum.
Usually, most Cultivators, except for a handful of elites who were on theirst-minute hunting spree for more Carnage Points, would choose to lie low when the Carnage Colosseum neared its conclusion. Satisfied with the rewards and opportunities they had garnered up until that point, their primary goal would mostly be focused on self-preservation.
Yet this time, instead of curtailing violence and conflicts, the confrontation between both factions had just intensified several times over.
High up in the skies, Lu Ye was flying at the highest speed he could muster with Glyphs: Wings and Windwalk activated.
But despite his breakneck pace, a Cultivator, engulfed in aets fleeting ze, had been chasing him relentlessly for miles, and another stream of light was rapidly closing in from a dozen miles behind.
The one closer to him was an Eighth-Order while the other was a Ninth-Order.
Which were precisely the only ones who were able to catch up to him: Eighth- and Ninth-Orders.
There were three enemies at first. But one was thwarted by a Grand Sky Coalition ally who had appeared out of nowhere, leaving only two still hot on his tail.
That did not make the situation any better at all. The Eighth- and Ninth-Orders were rapidly and steadily narrowing the gap. The speed of the two more-superior Cultivators clearly outstripped his, especially the Ninth-Order, whose approach was visibly more elerated. It had been over a day since his frantic escape began. No one would have believed that a Third-Order would survive such a massive and long manhunt. Much credit was due to the assistance of several Grand Sky Coalition elites, but above all, it was Lu Yes remarkable speed that had kept him going.
But he was at his limits. His Spiritual Power was all but almost fully spent despite his continuous intake of Spiritual Pills and the mental stress of being constantly hunted, plus the pressure of facing imminent life-and-death situations was overwhelming him.
Yet, even in such dire circumstances, Lu Ye had never thought of giving up.
During one of his brief moments of rest when he passed by here before, he had constructed a Teleportation Ward somewhere around this vicinity. The Ward might have not been properly hidden and hecked time back then to set up other magic wards to guard it, but if he could only find enough time to create a makeshift Teleportation Ward, he could immediately teleport himself there and shake off these two pursuers.
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Chapter 529: Limits
Chapter 529: Limits
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Despite having an escape n thought out, Lu Ye could still not shake off his pursuers. There was just no chance for him to construct another Teleportation Ward.
He attempted to construct Glyph: Void in mid-air, hoping to establish a magical connection with a distant Transportation Ward. If sessful, this would instantly warp him out of his current location and transport him directly to the faraway Teleportation Ward through eldritch means.
But that was easier said than done; constructing Glyph: Void indeed was a formidable challenge for Lu Ye. Unlike the Glyphs he could easily obtain from his Tree of Glyphs, mastering Glyph: Void required starting from scratch and rigorous practice. As he hadnt fully grasped its conjuration yet, he couldnt wield it as effortlessly as his other Glyphs.
The Glyph was incrediblyplex, consisting of over three thousand Yin-Yang pairs. Even if Lu Ye was given a chance to construct it, the attempt would still take quite some time, on top of the prevalent risk of failure.
At his current condition of fleeing for his life and his Spiritual Power wavering violently like a ship in a storm, there literally was no opening avable for such a perplexing task.
After several attempts, he reluctantly gave up.
All of a sudden, he sensed a powerful surge of Spiritual Powering from below him. A colossal energy st shot skyward from below him, trying to swallow him whole.
Lu Yes skin went as taut as a bowstring as a dreadful chill snaked down his spine.He instinctively twisted himself at an angle that even he would have thought impossible, narrowly the magical attack.
But the enemy clearly wasnt going to let him regain hisposure. More spells screamed at him. Lu Ye looked closely. It was a Ninth-Order Spell Cultivator who had been lying in ambush below him, waiting for the opportune moment to strike when he passed from above.
He had to have been in contact with at least one of the two pursuers, or else, such a well-coordinated ambush should have been impossible!
As the numerous magical spells flooded his sight, as he felt the sheer destruction about to befall him, Lu Ye could only manage a helpless and despondent sigh.
[This is it Ive reached my limit!]
The hail of spells bore down on Lu Ye, drowning him in sts fury.
The Spell Cultivator and the pair of pursuers could barely contain their excitement at the sight of sess.
Especially the two pursuers, who had experienced firsthand the sheer speed and prowess of their quarry. If it werent for the ambushid ahead, they might still be struggling to catch up to Lu Ye.
Now, with Lu Ye overwhelmed by the onught of spells, they were confident that no Third-Order could survive such an excess of destruction. He could very well be dead.
This somehow worried them, for if Lu Ye were reduced to dust and bones, they would have no evidence for them to im their prize.
Just as a myriad of doubts raced through their minds, at the heart of the still-raging aftermath of the magical onught, a dazzling golden light burst forth revealing a still-living Lu Ye.
Thats impossible! cried the Spell Cultivator who initiated the attack from below in shock. He could think of no way a Third-Order could survive such a fierce and inordinate assault by a Ninth-Order. Lu Ye should have been gravely injured, if not in outright! Yet, to their disbelief, Lu Ye, amidst that golden radiance now covering every inch of his skin, emerged unscathed.
[What on earth is that golden light?! A Golden Body Talisman Paper?!]
But even a Golden Body Talisman Paper did not have such potency to fully negate such a substantial amount of damage. Thispletely defied all his understanding.
Seeing Lu Ye still charging forward like a destrier bolting across a in, the Spell Cultivator took off to join the chase. Regardless of what that golden light was, he couldnt let Lu Ye escape.
The pursuit intensified. As soon as their distances closed, the Spell Cultivator unleashed his spells once more.
Lu Ye did his best to evade the hails of attacks raining down on him. But he just couldnt escape the devastating precision of the spells that struck him and he tumbled through the air uncontrobly like a rocking barrel.
It was all the Ninth-Order Spell Cultivator could do while his eyelids twitched involuntarily with disbelief. Despite being battered again and again and his body tossing about listlessly in the air, Lu Ye remained enveloped in that shimmering golden light, not showing the slightest trace of injury.
[This is no ordinary Golden Body Talisman!] the Spell Cultivator mused.
[Its protection is far too formidable for a mere Talisman!]
Bring him down, dont let him escape again! a voice echoed from behind. It was the other Ninth-Order eliteone of the pair of pursuers from earlierwho was catching up. The Spell Cultivator nodded, immediately joining up with the neer, exerting even relentless pressure on Lu Ye.
Wrapped in golden light, Lu Ye tumbled and shook about wildly like a die in a cup. Despite his desperate efforts he struggled to avoid their onught. The spells hammered on him, eliciting ripples spreading across and intermeshing upon the surface of the aureate aura that shielded him, all without inflicting the slightest harm, yet leaving him careening through the air uncontrobly.
That spoke volumes as to the overwhelmingly potent protection granted by the Golden Body Talisman that each attack, despite being deadly and precise, had failed to do anything more than just alter his trajectory.
Get down!
Lu Yes mind was still swimming through the midst of dizziness when a furious shout rang out from above. A sh of light swept by, a Spiritual Power bolt that pounded at him, causing him to jerk involuntarily before he plummeted like a meteor from the heavens.
Lu Ye mmed heavily into the ground with a resounding crash. The impact split open the earth, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
Lu Ye hastily scrambled to his feet, only to find three figures hovering in mid-air over him, circling him menacingly. The first was the Spell Cultivator who had tried to ambush him earlier and the other two were the Thousand Demon Ridge elites who had been pursuing him all the way here, both Combat Cultivators. One of them wielded a long-ded saber that emanated a sharp and fierce aura.
The one who had knocked him out of the sky was most likely the one with the saber.
As he rose to his feet, the trio rmenced their assaultbarrages of spells, etheric energy bolts fired from weapons, and the shimmering sparkles of flying weapons came crashing down on him.
The innumerable series of impacts smashed unforgivingly into Lu Yes figure, tossing him up into the air with his limbs flung into a chaotic ballet of anguish and disarray.
Like a puppet severed from its strings, he danced an unwilling performance as he soared through the air, disoriented and unable to regain control.
By the time the attacks had found their mark and what residual dregs of Spiritual Power around settled, he once again fell to the ground.
Thats the Golden Body Token! eximed the Combat Cultivator wielding a de, his eyes twitching involuntarily with apparent surprise.
Even with thebined onught of three elite Cultivatorstwo Ninth-Orders and one Eighth-Order, nothing had managed to prate the golden auras protection, let alone inflict any harm upon Lu Ye. That this had to be the protection orded by the extremely rare and absurdly potent Golden Body Token was unmistakable.
Nothing else was capable of offering such inexplicably unyielding and sturdy defense. As a divine protection that even Divine Ocean Realm Cultivators could barely defeat unless its allotted time was up, the three Cloud River Realm elites could practically do nothing but stare helplessly.
Thats the Golden Body Token? the Spell Cultivator gasped with disbelief, his heart wrenching at the sight of the aureate luminescence.
Indeed, the Golden Body Token was such an immensely precious item that many would deem it synonymous with an extra lease of life. For such an invaluable item to have fallen into thep of a mere Third-Order and he had even used it!
Had they known Lu Ye possessed such a valuable treasure, they would have chosen a more discreet and lethal method of attack, ensuring a swift and fatal strike. But the die had been cast and all regrets were toote.
[Where did this fellow get the Golden Body Token?!]
[How could his luck be so outrageously good!?]
As the two discussed furtively, Lu Ye rose to his feet once again, ncing around with a bitter taste in his mouth. He might have survived, but he still couldnt escape.
Dont even think of running. Youre not getting out of this, warned the Spell Cultivator. They might not be able to harm Lu Ye, not with the Golden Body Token protecting Lu Ye, but they could still restrict his movements.
The protection of the Golden Body Token was not without its limits; once its time was up, Lu Ye would be dead.
As far as the trio was concerned, Lu Yi Ye was nothing more than a sheep ready for the ughterescaping was impossible. The only question was when. When would they be able to put him to the sword?
You know what? I wont, Lu Ye dered. He sat cross-legged on the ground and extracted some Spirit Pills. The long and arduous escape had greatly depleted much of his Spiritual Power. Before he could do anything else, replenishing his power was the first and foremost thing to do.
The Thousand Demon Ridge trio did not even try to stop him. After all, there really was nothing they could do.
Seconds ticked by as minutes turned into hours. The trio barely took their eyes off him at all, afraid that he might be up to something. But there Lu Ye sat, moving not an inch while he never stopped stuffing Spirit Pills into his mouth.
Within moments, Lu Ye had consumed nearly ten Spirit Pills, much to the astonishment of the three enemies.
While many Cultivators used Spirit Pills to replenish themselves, more often than not, most relied on Spirit Stones instead. Swallowing too many pills within a short span of time could lead to a heightened risk of toxicity from the pills umting in their bodies, thereby affecting their own cultivation progress. The buildup of toxic residues would require a long period of healing and recuperation.
However, considering that Lu Ye could meet his end at any moment, it was understandable that he had little regard for anything else.
Suddenly, Lu Ye opened his eyes. He nced at the three enemy elites and spoke, The rewards offered by the various sects and orders of the Thousand Demon Ridge for my head should be substantial enough for all of you tost a lifetime. Congrattions.
The enemy Cultivators showed no intent to respond to that cryptic message. But the saber-toting Combat Cultivator shot a re at Lu Ye, his stare alert and wary.
What a pity though, an undeterred Lu Ye continued, Your n to divide the reward equally among yourselves will be dashed. In just a short while, another burst of light will erupt from me and reveal my position to everyone nearby. Im sure manywhich Im sure will number in the hundreds or even thousandswill flock here quickly. So, heres the big question: who will be the one who cast the fatal blow on me? How will the spoils be divided then? With so many people, even if the rewards are rich and huge enough, once its split among everyone, there wont be much left for each individual.
The trio furrowed their brows as they listened to Lu Yes words.
It was true. Despite their silence, the three enemy Cultivators had beenmunicating with each other secretly about this exact matter.
They were aware of the fact that unless the effectiveness of the Golden Body Token wore off prematurely, Lu Yes location would inevitably be exposed to everyone else.
But they knew that the eldritch protection of the Golden Body Token could remain operating for a very, very long duration.
And what Lu Ye had just said was the worst possible scenario that was very likely to ur.
What are you saying? asked the Spell Cultivator deeply.
You three have defeated me, I have noints about that. If I were to die by you three, so be it. Thats what you deserve for your skills. However, I would feel somewhat resentful if not insulted if I were to die at the hands of a lesser Cultivator. Therefore, I dont wish for too many people toe here, Lu Ye exined calmly. Then, his tone shifted, As it happens, I am quite well-versed in ward casting. So if youre inclined, I might be able to construct a concealing ward that might be able to mask themotion that will happenter. Maybe this will help to prevent others from discovering me.
The Eighth-Order showed a hint of interest, And you expect us to believe that youre as helpful as that?
Lu Ye responded indifferently, I might not be a Cloud River Realm elite, but Im still a figure of certain renown myself. If I must die, then Id rather not have too many people witness my death. Of course, whether you believe it or not is up to you. Whether I set up the ward or not is also your decision.
The Combat Cultivator with a saber turned to nce at the Spell Cultivator, I seem to remember that youve practiced ward-casting before, Liu. Is it possible to build a concealing ward as he said?
Lu Yes eyes twitched when he heard that. The Spell Cultivator named Liu responded calmly, Yes, its possible.
Lu Ye was left speechless; his n had been foiled.
He had hoped that if the three of them agreed to his proposition it would allow him to build a Teleportation Ward right under their noses. Then, before they even realized what was going on, he could escape in the blink of an eye.
Yet of all things, the Spell Cultivator was also trained in ward-casting!
What terrible luck!
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Chapter 530: So Close
Chapter 530: So Close
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I shall build the ward; you both can watch the perimeter, said Liu, the Thousand Demon Ridge Spell Cultivator.
Hispanions nodded. Each of them took up positions to the left and right of Lu Ye, their unwavering gazes remained fixed on Lu Ye.
Liu brandished several ward gs, casting them into the air where they magically nted themselves into the ground, indicating the four cardinal directions. The finesse and skill with which he handled the gs was a testament to his considerable proficiency in the art of ward-casting. However, even among Cultivators in the Cloud River Realm, Ward Cultivators could barely boast of any extraordinary feats yet at this point, let alone a Spell Cultivator who had also studied ward-casting on the side.
With the ward gs deployed, Liu began his work.
Lu Ye sat there and watched him indifferently.
Momentster, he suddenly burst intoughter, Time is running short, Liu.
Silence! Liu glowered, his face flushed with anger. Building a ward was no easy work; it was a feat that demanded a considerable amount of time and skill. Given enough time, Liu could indeed construct a proper concealing ward, but what hecked in skill could hardly keep up with the scarcity of timewhich was a luxury they did not have.
No one knew when the next eruption would ur; yet, when it happened, their location would undoubtedly be exposed.Already tense, Lu Yes taunting words from Lu Ye stacked even more stress on Liu. In a moment of carelessness, he felt a tremor in one of the ward gs he had been coordinating.
He sensed imminent failure; if he could not stabilize his ward gs in time, all his efforts would go to waste, and it might be toote to recover.
But as a Spell Cultivator who only dabbled with a bit of ward-casting, there was little he could do to remedy the situation, even if he wanted to.
As he continued his attempts, his ward gs trembled even more, growing increasingly pronounced like trees shaking in a storm.
Hispanions furrowed their brows, looking unamused. They might not be well-versed in ward-casting, but even they discerned that something was amiss.
Just as Liu was in a panicking frenzy, a ward g flew out of nowhere and embedded itself within the wards arrangement, instantly stabilizing the trembling gs.
Your ward-casting is pathetic, Lu Ye remarked casually.
Another ward g flew out with a wave of his hand, seamlessly integrating into the incipient ward.
Liu, at a loss for words, could barely react. He didnt know whether to stop Lu Ye or not, although he ultimately refrained from intervening. One ward g after another flew out, and before he knew it, the embryonic form of arge-scale magical ward had taken shape.
The speed and dexterity of Lu Yes finesse left Liu in awe, thetter realizing that Lu Ye was miles ahead of him in the mastery of ward-casting.
Small wonder Lu Yi Ye managed to stir up such a storm during his time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Rumors had it that he possessed the ability to defeat the defensive wards that guarded the strongholds of all the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders there, but Liu had initially thought it was nothing but an exaggeration. Clearly, there was more to Lu Yi Ye than met the eye.
That was such a level of proficiency in ward-casting that even True Lake Realm Ward Cultivators might find it hard to keep up with.
Beyond any doubt, Liu realized, Lu Yi Ye must have visited the Heavenly Derivative Sects Hundred Wards Tower. He must have benefited a lot from his visit there; there was no way he could possess such a profound understanding of ward-casting otherwise.
He was correct on all ounts; while it was one thing for Lu Yes exceptional talents in ward-casting to have yed a significant role in how good he was, the most crucial reason for his remarkable proficiency in ward-casting was the immense benefits he obtained from the Hundred Wards Tower.
That single journey through the Tower had brought about a transformational improvement in his understanding of magical wards, leaving asting resonance that persisted until this very day.
It would not be a stretch to call the Hundred Wards Tower of the Heavenly Derivative Sect the anathema of all Thousand Demon Ridge Ward Cultivators for only Cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition could enter the Tower. At the same time, those from Thousand Demon Ridge could never set foot inside throughout their entire lives.
While Liu was still immersed in his contemtions, Lu Ye was already done constructing the Glyph prerequisite for the core of the concealing ward. Luminescent lines stretched and zigzagged, extending to cover an area of more than three hundred meters.
Lius eyelids twitched with awe and astonishment. Even as an enemy, he couldnt help but admire Lu Yes ir. The mere act of constructing Glyphs out of thin air was a luxury he could never dream of achieving.
The ward wasplete. The saber-toting Combat Cultivator spoke up atst, Is that really a concealing ward?
Liu grumbled a sour Yes in response before turning his gaze toward Lu Ye, But dont you even think that you can escape death just because of this!
Lu Ye responded pensively, As I said, I simply prefer my death to be private. Now that the concealing ward is in ce, let me set up an aura suppression ward. Themotion during the eruption will be incredibly intense, and a mere concealing ward might not be able to block it all.
Unfazed by any reluctance or objections, Lu Ye continued constructing his next ward. Ward gs soared into the air, swarming in all directions as they arranged into the outline of a ward.
He stood within the circle of the wards outline, ensuring not a single w was visible as he channeled his Spiritual Power to construct the elements needed for Glyph: Void.
The atmosphere grew thick with the Spiritual Power aura permeating the environs as each Yin-Yang element after another rapidly formed and spread out.
But Lu Ye knew how Glyph: Void was the mostplex Glyph he had encountered to datethree times more intricate than Glyph: Fire Phoenix, in fact, and that demonstrated just how daunting this endeavor was.
Even though he had attempted to construct Void Spirit Patterns numerous times before, the risk of failure remained.
He surreptitiously hoped for sess while focusing his mind to the utmost.
Luck was on his side this time. The process went wlessly; Glyph: Void was almost done. All he needed was another twenty seconds to finish the remaining three-tenths of the Glyph and he would be able to magically convey himself to safety.
All that was left was for Liu, the enemy Spell Cultivator, to not notice what he was actually doing. Given his knowledge of ward-casting, there was the risk that he could see through what Lu Ye was up to, and what Lu Ye was building was hardly an aura suppression ward at all.
Lu Ye discreetly stole a nce at Liu and detected the look of astonishment in his eyeshe waspletely entranced by how Lu Ye was performing his marvels as if he had fallen into a dream.
For someone who practiced both the spell and ward cultivation, witnessing someone as skilled as Lu Ye constructing such aplex Glyph was an undoubtedly rare and profound experience. It held the promise of bestowing upon him some profound inspiration, potentially elevating his own abilities to new heights.
Its done! Atst!
Lu Yes heart settled as he finally finished.
And that was before, the shrill scream of a Spiritual Power st came tearing through the air as the attackfired using a sabermmed into the almost-formed Glyph: Void.
With a deafening roar, the Spiritual Power disturbance in the atmosphere left by the attack caused the Glyph to disintegrate into nothingness.
Lu Ye scowled darkly as he raised his gaze towards the saber-toting Combat Cultivator who had intervened, a burning desire to rush forward and kill him with his bare hands.
[I was so close!] Lu Ye mused sourly.
What was that for, Xia? The Spell Cultivator called Liu snapped out of his immersive stupor, looking at Xia Liang with confusion.
Was that an aura suppression ward that he was building? Xia Liang inquired.
No, Liu shook his head.
He could certainly recognize an aura suppression ward, but even though he knew about that right from the start, he did nothing to stop Lu Ye. He could see no way that Lu Ye would be surviving beyond today hence he chose to not intervene. But what was more, was how quaint and peculiar Lu Yes method of constructing Glyphs was, that Liu wished for more time so that he could observe Lu Yes work more closely.
I knew it, Xia Liang coldly gazed at Lu Ye, If its true that you dont want people looking at how you die, then you could have slit your own throat right now. Why bother with these futile attempts?
The other two quickly grasped that realization. Lu Ye had helped them to set up a concealing ward just so he could disguise his attempt of building a ward that would be to his advantage! Whatever trick it was he was trying to pull off, it was evident enough that he harbored ulterior motives. A behavior that contradicted his earlier ims entirely.
If this really was going to be an inevitable death for him, then there was no reason for him to be trying to hatch some furtive plot. Therefore, this had to be some measure of defiant resistance; a sign that he was unwilling to give in without a fight.
The three enemy Cultivators regarded Lu Ye with an unfriendly stare.
Lu Ye remained seated in silence, his eyes cast down, offering no defense.
At that moment, it camethe eruption of a blood-red column of light that burst forth from inside him. The glow that shrouded him transformed into a towering pir that soared into the sky.
The expressions of the three Thousand Demon Ridge elites darkened grimly.
The concealment ward had failed to contain such an extraordinary phenomenon! Their half-hearted expectations after waiting here for so long were in vain.
With Lu Yes position now exposed, it was only a matter of time before the entire horde of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators converged here. All three of them might be powerful and influential enough in their own right, but there was no way for them to drive and keep everyone away while they hoarded the chance to kill Lu Yi Ye to themselvesnot without incurring the wrath of the many.
As expected, just momentster, a group of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators arrived at the scene. The group of four had a Sixth-Order as the strongest member in their number and a Fourth-Order as their weakest member. Judging by the simr attire they were d in, they seemed to be members of the same sect.
What was just intended to be a casual investigation turned out to be a surprise for them when they found a trio of ally elites clustering around a figure donning the mask of a fiendish demon while emanating a dazzling golden aura.
That is The leading Sixth-Order of the group was taken aback at first although he quickly grasped the situation. That was none other than Lu Yi Ye!
However, what puzzled the neers was why were these ally elites merely surrounding Lu Yi Ye instead of eliminating him. Surely everyone in the Colosseum knew by now the substantial bounty that Lu Yi Yes head would fetch.
The squad of four maintained a safe distance several dozens of yards away, cautiously observing while not wanting to invoke any misunderstanding and aggression from their own friendly elites.
But as time passed, more and more Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators arrived at the scene and most of them were left perplexed and bewildered like the first group, failing toprehend what was going on.
Until a few powerful elites arrived. They strode straight up to Lu Yi Ye and exchanged words directly with Xia Liang and hispanions. Some even tried attacking Lu Yi Ye, but regardless of their might, their attacks could only send him tumbling around without inflicting even the slightest harm.
Soon the truth began to spread around.
Lu Yi Ye had somehow obtained a Golden Body Token and he had cast its divine protection upon himself. Now protected by its invincible shield, he was impervious to any attacks unless the Tokens effects waned. It was simply impossible to kill him at the moment.
Some of the Cultivators knew about the boon of the Golden Body Token, but most did not. It took some time for everyone to finally understand its significance and when they finally did, they couldnt help but marvel at the divine protection bestowed upon him. Until the Tokens power diminished, nothing could breach its defense.
Even a Divine Sea Realm Cultivator would salivate at the prospect of possessing a Golden Body Token; who would have thought that a mere Cloud River Realm Third-Order would somehow find one and be able to use it.
What amentable waste!
After all, Lu Yi Yes fate was sealed. The Tokens protection would eventually vanish and he would die. What a pity to squander such a rare and invaluable asset.
Atst, everyone eventually learned the reason why those Eighth- and Ninth-Order elites were merely encircling Lu Yi Ye instead of attacking him.
This situation ignited the notion of chance and ambition in the hearts of many, especially the weaker and low-tier Cultivators. With their rtively low cultivation rank, it was challenging for them to be able to have any chance of killing Lu Yi Ye.
But, what if, in the very instant the Tokens effects dissipated, they were lucky enough to deal the killing blow themselves?
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Chapter 531: Into The Grave With Him
Chapter 531: Into The Grave With Him
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Every time the spectacle of the sanguine-red column of light repeated, the Thousand Demon Ridge horde that congregated around Lu Ye swelled as more Cultivators arrived.
Barely six hours had psed, but the Thousand Demon Ridge Ninth-Orders alone had numbered more than a dozen while those of lesser ranks that made up the bulk of the entire horde, had grown to several hundred men strong.
The Ninth-Order elites circled around Lu Ye, surrounding him in a ring of steel as they openly discussed ways to deal with hima deplorable act of tant audacity.
Some did not like how the situation was developing at all, Xia Liang and his twopanionsthey were the first to have cornered Lu Ye herein particr. The rewards which should have been theirs and theirs alone had just be an early Christmas for everyone here.
In the brief deliberation, an understanding between all parties was swiftly achieved.
Of the rich bounty for Lu Yi Yes head, two-tenths of the full share would go to Tan Sheng for his dissemination of the information about Lu Ye. Such was the pact he had made with all Thousand Demon Ridge elites in the Colosseum and it could not be altered.
The next two-tenth share would go to Xia Liang and his other twopanions.
They were the ones who had managed to pin Lu Yi Ye down here. Without their help, this would still be another endless chase. No one could nor would dispute that im was well-deserved for their pivotal contributions.The rest of the share would be divided into two halves. The first half would be equally shared by all Ninth-Orders while the other half would be distributed evenly to all the lesser Cultivators present.
It was a n that woulde no nearer to please everyone, but it was the best one the elites coulde up with for now.
Even before hisst breath, the enemieslike a pack of hungry wolveswere waiting to im their share of his death as if it had be a virtual certainty.
With the discussion dulypleted, all that remained was to endure the interlude of waiting.
The wait for the expiration of the Golden Body Tokens protection that would signal their triumph
Seated amidst the gargantuan mass of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, an unfazed Lu Ye was calmly consuming more Spirit Pills to replenish himself. He could care less about any ogling onlookers, and they did not do anything to stop him either.
After all, with the effects of the Golden Body Token still protecting Lu Ye, any attempts to hinder him would only prove futile.
In mere hours, Lu Yes Spiritual Power had been fully restored. Nonchntly, he even retrieved a piece of jerky from his Storage Sphere and consumed it with gusto.
As he chewed at his food, he peered around and beheld a few familiar faces.
There was Tan Sheng, who had arrived more than two hours ago and was glowering at him from a distance, positively sour at how things had turned out.
If only he had managed to vanquish Lu Ye swiftly enough to seize the coveted top spot on the Carnage Roster. But now, not only had his rank on the Roster slid down into oblivion, even his share from the bounty had been diminished to a mere fraction. To say that his losses were undeniably severe was an understatement.
Not far away from Tan Sheng, Lu Ye spied Wei Que engaged in jovial conversation with familiar acquaintances.
Amidst the disarrayed crowd, Lu Ye also spotted the Jiang brothers.
The back of every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators hand glowed with a crimson luminescence. Lu Yes emitted a distinct blue radiance, a singr light amid the myriad hues of red.
Sensing Lu Yes gaze, Jiang Liuzi and his brother looked up, and a slight nod from Lu Ye met their eyes.
Hisposure took Jiang Liuzi and his brother by surprise. Whether Lu Ye was just feigning bravado or was genuinely fearless despite the impossible odds, they did not know.
That a Third-Order who depended solely on the duration of a Golden Body Tokens eldritch protection to stay alive while being surrounded by a host of enemy Cultivators of greater number and power than him could maintain such unwaveringposure was somethingpletely unimaginable to Jiang Liuzi, much less replicate the feat himself.
Lu Ye was surveying the crowd around him when his Battlefield Imprint registered the arrival of a new message. He looked down and saw it was Li Baxian.
Hold on, Lu Ye! Im getting help!
News of Lu Ye being held up here by hundreds and even thousands of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had prompted more to join the massing throng. So much so that even Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators soon realized what was going on.
That sent Li Baxianwho was hiding somewhere twenty miles away with Feng Yuechaninto a state of panic.
But there was little he could do. Being just Fourth-Order Cultivators, they did not have the means to save Lu Ye from such indomitable peril. However, given the current situation, their anxiety was futile. Both of them possessed only Fourth-Order cultivation, making it impossible for them to rescue Lu Ye amidst the encirclement of numerous powerful foes. Hence, they could ill afford any rash actions.
Their only recourse now was to enlist help from as many Grand Sky Coalition elites as possible. But to even prate such a huge encirclement of powerful foes would require a force of at least two dozen or more Ninth-Orders, making this a nigh impossible feat. Tounch a rescue without enough strength would only spell defeat if not suicide and the animosity between the Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition would ensure that.
Roping in enough men would have been doable had they had enough time. But Lu Yes divine protection could be wearing off any minute, and mustering enough men who were scattered around the Colosseum grounds would take a long time.
Regret gnawed at Li Baxians heart as hemented himself for failing to ascend into the Cloud River Realm sooner. If only he had reached the Ninth-Order too, then he would not have to be so helpless while his junior faced imminent doom.
But even if he had ascended earlier, he might have already advanced to the True Lake Realm by now. At any rate, there was no version of this where he would be in ce to deliver Lu Ye from death.
As far as Li Baxian was concerned, it was ultimately his own inadequacyhis own weakness that he could not rescue Lu Ye.
Very well, Lu Ye replied simply.
He scanned his surroundings and inhaled gently. His preparations were nearlyplete and it was time to initiate his n.
His only lifeline right now in this quandary was the impregnable protection of the Golden Body Token.
However, he was acutely aware that the Tokens effects had a limited duration, and once that time psed, his fate would be sealed, whether he liked it or not.
Unless he could set up a Teleportation Ward here and magic himself more than two hundred miles away, there really was not much hope of survival.
Waiting for death was out of the question for Lu Ye. He might not be seeing any chance of escaping, but he sure could see how he might drag a few souls down to the grave with him.
Especially that Tan Sheng fellow who had started all this. If he had not activated the Tracking Discs secret function, then he would not be in this predicament at all!
A fierce surge of Spiritual Power flowed within him and the circle of a Glyph swiftly came into form before his chest.
The huge burst of Spiritual Power swelling inside him surged into the Glyph like a torrent.
This did not escape the notice of the Ninth-Orders huddled around Lu Ye. Eyes homed in on Lu Ye, the expressions of the Ninth-Orders filled with astonishment and uncertainty, unsure what Lu Ye was attempting to pull off.
Dont even think that whatever trick youre trying will save you, brat. Theres no escaping for you, warned Wei Que.
Lu Ye raised his head, his expression deadly calm, and said, Nope, Im not thinking of running away. Dont worry.
Lu Ye stuffed his mouth with another handful of Spirit Pills as he spoke. This bold act of devouring Spirit Pills in suchrge quantities had left many onlookers dumbfounded. It was unheard of but the enemy Cultivators around him were willing to give him a pass, given Lu Yes current predicament.
What are you doing? a frowning Wei Que demanded.
What do you think I can do? Lu Ye retorted.
The response left Wei Que momentarily stumped. He was right; given Lu Yes current circumstances, what could he possibly do? He might try to resist, but what could he do as a Third-Order against so many enemy Ninth-Orders?
As it turned out, he was not the only one with that idea.
The rest of the Ninth-Orders might have seen what Lu Ye was doing, but they paid little heed to his subtle movements.
Seconds ticked by. The more Spirit Pills Lu Ye consumed, the more Spiritual Power was seeping into the Glyph now hovering just over his chest. His store of Spiritual Power diminished, but his aura was gradually growing stronger, steadily surpassing the level expected of a Third-Order.
A measure of the auric discement of his Spiritual Power would yield that he had reached the levels of a Fourth- or Fifth-Order.
It was a peculiar situation that began to arouse widespread wariness among the crowd.
Cease whatever it is youre doing, Lu Yi Ye, or Ione of the enemy Cultivators sternly warned.
Or what? Lu Ye snapped at the speaker, who fell silent.
Indeed, what else could they threaten him with?
Beating him up? With the effects of the Golden Body Token still working, who could possibly harm Lu Ye? Threats could do little to him and even if they were to act, it would just be a waste of time and effort.
The enemy Cultivator waited for seconds before speaking again, Cooperate obediently, and perhaps youll get a quick and clean death. Try anything stupid and I guarantee you that death wont be the worst thing youll be getting!
Lu Ye couldnt be bothered to pay attention to him; he ignored the jibe and stuffed another handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth.
He had finished all of Sisters Shuiyuans Mystic Fruit cider or he could have restored his Spiritual Power more speedily. The effects of Spirit Pills could barelypare to Mystic Fruit cider.
In the meantime, the Spiritual Power stored within the Glyph on his chest had reached its limit.
But it wasnt enough.
Lu Ye could still remember vividly thest time he used this Glyph. That gave him the idea of giving a grand surprise to the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators here.
His Spiritual Power churned once again, and another Glyph simr to the one on his front now appeared on his back. He channeled his power and infused the pattern with his eldritch energy
Lu Yes expression grew somber as his aura burgeoned.
Maintaining the two Glyphs required an enormous amount of mental focus, especially since he needed to be supplying a huge amount of Spiritual Power to both of them. Failure to maintain concentration could see the Glyphs crumbling, causing all the infused Spiritual Power to erupt instantly. Even the Golden Body Token might not be able to fully protect him from such a devastating implosion.
The Golden Body Tokens effect could fend off threats from without, but it might not be as effective against threats from within.
Fortunately for Lu Ye, his mental strength far outstripped most other Cultivators of the same rank. So long as he could remain focused, there was little chance of any problem unless he faced significant disruptions.
Somethings not right! Xia Liang yelped all of a sudden.
The auric discement of Lu Yes Spiritual Power far exceeded that of a Third-Orderthe Fifth or Sixth Order, in factand it was still growing with every ticking second.
Even a fool could see that something was amiss.
Angry choruses mored from all around Lu Ye. Stop ying tricks, Lu Yi Ye! a voice cried.
Anyone who didnt know better would have thought that it was Lu Ye who was trying tomit some evil and heinous acts, even though it was Lu Ye who was cornered, surrounded, and trapped here by these sanctimonious scoundrels.
More voices piped in, flinging threatening and abusivenguage.
Lu Ye paid no attention to their words. He ignored them and continued channeling more Spiritual Power into the Glyphs.
The Thousand Demon Ridge elites could find no recourse to thwart Lu Ye. Frustrated and helpless, they could only sit on their ownps while Lu Ye continued his work in the peace provided by the Golden Body Tokens magical effect. All around him, indignant and seething enemy Cultivators could only grumble, why was the Tokens protective magic still holding after so many hours? Why hadnt it disappeared yet?
Would that it had, then any one of the many Ninth-Order elites would pounce at the chance to y the famous Lu Yi Ye.
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Chapter 532: Suicidal Attack
Chapter 532: Suicidal Attack
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The continuous ingestion of Spirit Pills generated more Spiritual Power for him, allowing him to infuse the eldritch energy into the Glyph hanging on his back as his auric discement gradually turned as ferocious as a storm.
So much so that even the Ninth-Orders around him were beginning to feel their senses tingling wildly, warning them of palpable danger.
At that very moment, Lu Ye no longer felt like a human to themhe appeared like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Is he trying to kill himself!? a voice cried. Not even a Ninth-Order, let alone a Third-Order, would survive being besieged by so many enemy Cultivators. If death would be his fate anyhow, it was not a stretch to imagine that Lu Ye might try tomit suicide.
Generally, Cultivators were never trained to have the means to self-destruct. But as a Glyphweaver, who could tell what other quaint and peculiar marvels Lu Yi Ye was able to perform?
Many amongst the Thousand Demon Ridge horde harbored such suspicions, more so because of the abnormal and bizarre state Lu Ye was in.
But he could have blown himself up much earlier if he truly wanted to self-destruct, why now?
Hes umting Spiritual Power! someone eximed, He wants to take others down with him!Like a deafening and staggering wake-up call, the words rang as sonorously as a tolling bell. The faces of the Ninth-Orders around Lu Ye hardened with trepidation and fear as they immediately retreated in unison.
The greater Lu Yes aura became, the more terrible the detonation would be when it happened. He had been umting all that Spiritual Power all along, deliberately dying his detonation, just so that he could push the destructive force the explosion would yield to its limit, all to ensure that he could bring as many Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators to the grave with him as possible.
Foolish wish!
Wei Que was barely finished when he strode forward, covering the distance to Lu Ye in just a few strides using his powers. Heunched a swift kick, sending Lu Ye hurtling through the air. With amanding shout, he barked at the rest of his allies, Send him airborne!
A spark of realization shed across the eyes of the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who saw the merit in the suggestion.
If Lu Yi Ye was seeking to pull as many men as he could down with him, then rendering him airborne could make his self-detonation useless. He could blow himself up and the threat posed to others would be significantly diminished.
Another Cultivator promptly delivered a second powerful kick, propelling Lu Yes figure skyward. In swift session, streams of flying weapons converged, relentlessly barraging Lu Yes form to keep him in the air.
The aureate-glow-bathed Lu Ye turned into a turbulent whirl of gold midair, rising higher with each tumultuous wave until he hovered dozens of yards above the ground.
Every time he was about to descend, precise strikes from flying weapons would thwart his fall, sending him soaring once more.
Anyone viewing from afar would see Lu Yes figure suspended midair, rolling like a leaf caught in a wildly unpredictable breeze.
Once again disoriented, Lu Ye felt like a die in a cup with only the Golden Body Tokens effect to ensure his safety. He maintained his focus and continued gorging on Spirit Pills to replenish his waning Spiritual Power.
Twenty miles away, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan wereying low with their senses attuned to themotion that reached their ears. The former looked into the distance. Seeing how pitiful Lu Ye was being toyed with like a vole in the hands of enemy Cultivators made Li Baxian clench his fist and gritted his teeth with such grief and rage that his irises tinged crimson.
He watched his junior undergo such humiliation, his heart brimming with a profound sense of powerlessness and sorrow.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had managed to muster some allies to help and everyone was positioned nearby and lying low. But their rtively low numbers prevented a high chance of sess. A rash move at this critical juncture would only endanger them. To that end, before the rescuers had amassed sufficient strength, caution held them back. Despite whatever anger and frustration now boiling inside them, they could only endure while persisting in their efforts to rally more support.
Something drifted past them. Something as shadowy as a wraith. But the unmistakable effusion of Spiritual Power indicated that it was a Cultivator, a Cloud River Realm Second-Order.
Few Second-Orders could roam the Colosseum and yet survive up until now. Most low-tier Cultivators, except for those who enjoyed the protection of high-tier Cultivators, had been wiped out in the first few days of the Colosseums beginning.
And for those who had managed to stay alive up until today, there was only one possibility: they were Ghost Cultivators.
Only Ghost Cultivators possessed the skills to extend their survivability.
The ghostly figure brushed past Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan before vanishingpletely. He trekked for more than ten miles and looked up just in time to see the figure rolling and tumbling helplessly in the air, bobbing up and down incessantly.
The Ghost Cultivator stood there and stared. That must be Lu Yi Ye. In spite of the mask that obscured his features, his frame and physique were unmistakable, matching the memory etched in his mind.
With such a massive congregation of powerful and elite Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, there was no mistaking it: that really must be Lu Yi Ye.
What a pity, he thought. That a powerful figure who once wielded respect and fear of the whole Spirit Creek Battlefieldallies revered and admired him while enemies quaked with panic at the mere mention of his namewas now suffering such a wretched treatment. Even as an enemy, the Ghost Cultivator couldnt help but feel a pang of sympathy.
This could be the price of staying in the limelight for far too long, he mused pensively.
This was precisely why he had chosen the path of bing a Ghost Cultivator, whose forte was concealment and assassinationskill sets that would enable him the chance to preserve his existence in the face of any perilous circumstance.
[Is what would be of he who was once the most-feared figure in the Spirit Creek Battlefield? The one who once sat on the throne of the Roll of Supremacy? What is the point of all that when hes still going to be dead the next second?]
As the Ghost Cultivator beheld the spectacle before him, he felt emotions simmering in him.
Hardly one with a penchant for being nosy, the Ghost Cultivator wasnt one who derived excitement by being improperly curious. But this was about the famous Lu Yi Ye. The same Lu Yi Ye, who, out of every other name that adorned the Roll of Supremacy when the Ghost Cultivator was still a Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator, earned his respect.
But that respect wasnt for nothing. It stemmed from the fact that he had crossed swords with Lu Ye before. Aside from that one bout of attrition that they had once shared together at one point when Lu Ye was busy climbing the ranks of the Roll of Supremacy, he was also dangerously close to meeting his death at Lu Yes hands during thetters visit into the Myriad Poison Forest.
To say nothing of the fact that he had ascended earlier than Lu Yi Ye, entering the Cloud River Battlefield long before thetter did. Yet here he was just a Second-Order of the Cloud River Realm when Lu Yi Ye had already reached the Third-Order.
[How is this even possible?!] he almost yelled aloud with indignation.
As a Second-Order Ghost Cultivator trapped in this Carnage Colosseum without any connections or allies to rely on, he had spent all the time primarily in seclusion, avoiding danger, and he was fortunate to have survived until now.
And now, being able to bear witness to the downfall of such a young hero might have made being trapped in the Colosseum worth it after all.
Because, after today, Lu Yi Ye would no longer exist in this world.
On a side note, he began to realize what a potent item the Golden Body Token must be. Despite the endless attacks by so many Thousand Demon Ridge elites pummeling Lu Yi Ye, keeping him suspended in the air was pretty much all they could do.
Lost in his train of thought, he slowly ambled forward as if in a trance
The shadowy figure of the Ghost Cultivator came to an abrupt halt. For reasons unknown, an unsettling foreboding welled up in the depths of his soula surging dread that warned him of an immense danger ahead, urging him to stop.
It was one of his innate gifts, an extraordinarily acute intuition fortent threats. Not part of his cultivation rank nor mental or spiritual strength, it was just part of his instincts.
And up until today, this sixth sense of his had saved him from numerous life-threatening perils
Nevertheless, Ghost Cultivator couldnt believe it. He failed to fathom how a ce swarming with so many Thousand Demon Ridge eliteshis allieswould be dangerous to him.
He stood there, rooted to the very spot where his footfalls halted with tiny beads of sweat forming on his forehead. After what seemed like a very long moment, he lifted his foot and hazarded a hesitant step forward.
Yet, that single step caused his pupils to suddenly contract, and an unprecedented sense of foreboding gripped his heart.
Never before had he experienced such a visceral and vivid premonition of peril, he could almost hear the throes of a death rattle in his ears, warning that if he were to venture nearer, then death woulde, inevitably.
The fine beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his cheeks converged intorger droplets and trailed further down.
The Ghost Cultivator wheeled around at once. He needed to get away and for that, he abandoned the notion of concealing his presence, bolting with all the haste and urgency his legs could muster into the distance.
The still-hidden Li Baxian and Feng Yuexian spied the enemy Ghost Cultivator who had passed by earlier now retreating hurriedly.
That left them both puzzled, failing toprehend why the enemy Ghost Cultivator would suddenly look so hapless and panicked.
Just then, a powerful surge of Spiritual Power emanated without a warning from afar.
Li Baxian jerked his head back around and looked up. There was Lu Ye who had been bobbing up and down in midair, his entire form now suddenly engulfed in a radiant inferno by a brilliant ze that came out of nowhere! The fiery brilliance was so intense that it even eclipsed the golden radiance of the Golden Body Token, that Lu Ye looked as if he was being devoured by tongues of mes.
As the tendrils of mespped at the airgorging hungrily for sustenanceintricate andplex Glyph-like patterns converged and flowed around Lu Yes body, expanding in all directions.
Thats Feng Yuechans eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at this scene,pletely baffled by Lu Yes actions.
The Thousand Demon Ridge elites immediately sensed imminent danger. The violent effusion of Spiritual Power emanating from Lu Ye indicated an impending detonation, making everyone believe that Lu Ye was on the brink of self-destruction.
And judging by the fanfare, the ensuing power would undoubtedly be immense.
In response, their attacks grew even more ferocious. Lu Ye, who had originally been a few dozen yards above the ground, ascended even higher.
That would go on until he was hovering nearly two hundred yards above ground level. That was the limit of the Ninth-Orders Telekinesis range. Any further and they would struggle to maintain control over their artifacts.
If Lu Ye were to self-detonate at this distance, those below would be well out of the range of the st.
Unbeknownst to everybody, Lu Ye had no intention of self-destructing.
His goal was to unleash his ultimate ace.
The brilliance that had once illuminated the prairies of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, was now set to be reborn upon the Cloud River Battlefield.
His Spiritual Power tossed and floundered like a storm but that did not stop him from constructing more Yin and Yang elements, melding them and spreading them in all directions to eventually enshroud himself, the aureate aura of the Golden Body Token still effective. Despite the relentless attacks from the Thousand Demon Ridge elites below, all they could do was prevent him from falling back to the ground.
All that Spiritual Power he had stored up in Glyph: Gathering Spirits that he conjured on his back was sapped dry in the blink of an eye, followed swiftly by the first Gathering Spirits Glyph he built on his chest. Like a broken dam, Lu Ye could feel his powers drawn out of him with the speed and intensity of a surging rapid, while the intricate Glyph-like marks around him grew denser and thicker.
At the same time, he discovered that he had been mistaken. When he first tried using this ultimate technique, Lu Ye had built two Glyph: Gathering Spirit circles to gather enough Spiritual Power. At the time, he thought that he might not need such preparation if and when he reached the Cloud River Realm. He thought that once he reached the Fifth- and Sixth-Order, he would be able to dole out this ultimate move arbitrarily without suffering any repercussions.
He really was wrong; the present situation proved otherwise.
He still needed to build two Glyph: Gathering Spirit for this technique even though he was now a Third-Order of the Cloud River Realm. That led to the assumption that using this ultimate technique would demand even more Spiritual Power as one ascended up higher ranks of cultivation, but in turn, the resultant st would also be significantly amplified!
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Chapter 533: Renascence of the Fire Phoenix
Chapter 533: Renascence of the Fire Phoenix
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Two hundred yards above ground, Lu Ye was enshrouded in swirling mes, the golden radiance of the Golden Body Tokens effect obscured beneath the zes brilliance.
Apanying the surge of these mes, the intricate dance of Yin and Yang elements rapidly unfolded, intricately intertwining like a mesmerizing symphony.
As every ounce of Spiritual Power stored within the two Gathering Spirits Glyphs was depleted and everything inside him rapidly dwindled, at longst, thebyrinthine patterns of thest Glyph he was trying to construct fully took shape.
Numerous eyesall of them belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivatorspanned up in awestruck silence, their gazes riveted to the spectacle unfolding in the sky.
What met their eyes was the sight of an oval-shaped object resembling some kind of beasts egg. Its surface was crusted with intricate patterns that shimmered and glowed, all with Lu Ye cocooned inside its enamel-like embrace.
The pulsating radiance resembled an otherworldly form of respiration by an extraterrestrial beast.
But the Ninth-Order elites never stopped their incessant salvos of attacks at Lu Ye, their unceasing efforts rendering the egg-like object floating and bobbing in the air.
[What the hell is that?!] That was the same line that shed through the minds of everyone below.Everyone below, everyone whose minds were riddled with perplexity and curiosity, felt the same the unshakable and palpable sensation of raging perils radiated from the egg-like object.
The sense of foreboding dread gnawed at some, prompting them to turn around and flee. Even the Ninth-Order elites, once unshakably confident, now felt the stirrings of unease, their skin prickling as if stung by needles.
At the same time, still inside the egg, Lu Ye was still channeling his Spiritual Power, directing what remains of his eldritch energy into the now fully-formed Glyph that he became utterly spent.
The radiance of the spiritual egg intensified, its crimson hue resembling a resplendent sun hanging in the ether.
Somethings wrong! We need to go! Now!
A Ninth-Order cried, his voice echoing his urgency and anxiety that demonstrated his need to leave at once.
The rest of the elites did not need to be told. Next second, all of them vanished, scattered in all directions.
Whatever it was Lu Yi Ye was trying to do, it had clearly exceeded their imaginations. Escaping this scene of turmoil had just be their utmost priority.
With no more attacks to sustain its altitude, the egg, which had been suspended two hundred yards overhead, swiftly plummeted towards the ground below.
In its descent to the ground, the surface of the egg suddenly popped with webs of densely interwoven cracks: something inside was poised to break free.
A spine-chilling aura diffused from the shattering egg, an effusion so thick that its discement distorted the very fabric of the surrounding space.
[Crack!]
Crackling sounds cascaded, continuing until
Screech!
The clear and melodious cry of an avian reverberated through the skies. Apanying the shrill cry was the crackling din of the egg bursting asunder.
mes surged and billowed, and from within those mes emerged two colossal wings, followed by a resplendent and graceful figure.
The Second-Order Ghost Cultivator whose flight from the scene had brought him dozens of miles away, heard the hauntingly familiar ornithic song. He couldnt help but tremble as his feet turned to lead in his state of panic. He turned around to look, only to be confronted by a scene that sent shivers down his spine.
It was a majestic creature with pinions surpassing a hundred yards in span and girth two hundred yards deep, its exquisite form festooned with elegantly trailing tail feathers enshrouded in zing mesa paradoxical and yet gorgeous embodiment of death.
Glyph: Fire Phoenixreborn!
The Ghost Cultivator felt deja vu sweeping through him; he had witnessed the terrible paragon of destruction in all its fiery splendor before, back at the Spirit Creek Battlefield where the same spectacle was also conjured by Lu Yi Ye. Thetter was trying to trample down the defenses of the Myriad Poison Forest back then, and with this very move, he decimated nearly two hundred of the Forests acolytes.
The Ghost Cultivator had narrowly escaped the cmity only because he had fled in advance.
Since that day, the graceful form haunted his sleep for a considerable span of time before he finally found peace.
And yet, right here, right now, the same scene had once again been visited upon him.
But the reappearance of Lu Yi Yes phoenix was not without its distinction; the phoenix this time appeared to berger than before, its appearance more vivid and lifelike. Even the individual feathers on the phoenixs form looked more distinct and discernible.
Beyond any doubt, the change to the phoenixs appearance must have everything to do with Lu Yi Yes ascension into the Cloud River Realm. Thest time Lu Yi Ye conjured the fiery avian, he was still at Heaven Seven, which was significantly a long way from the Cloud River Realm Third-Order he had achieved now.
In the meantime, the Ghost Cultivator was ovee with a profound sense of relief, grateful for having made a hasty escape before it was toote. Had he lingered, he would have inevitably been ensnared in this zing crisis.
The colossal, ming silhouette of the phoenix descended from the skies, its intensity and ferocity akin to a mountain crushing down on the horde of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators. The scorching waves of heat brought not only death and destruction, but also a sense of despair as if, as with all life and things, all hope was being devoured by the inferno.
In just the blink of an eye, the gigantic bird of fire covered more than two hundred yards, a predator swooping down on prey.
The ebullient form was on the cusp of colliding with the ground when it abruptly veered off its original trajectory, gliding at a mere dozen yards above the earths surface.
Its immense wings pped gently, its incandescence distorting space and setting anything its feathers brushed ame that even the earth was reduced to silica.
Agonizing wails of pain and anguish pierced the air, only to be abruptly silenced.
Scores of Thousand Demon Ridge acolytes had already begun escaping even before any of them got a proper nce at the phoenix. But it was already toote. Wherever the colossal form passed, men and women were incinerated, the blossoms of their life withering in a mere fiery sh.
Such was Fire Phoenixs might that only Ninth-Orders stood what semnce of a chance to withstand its terror, even if it was just mere endurance.
Everything happened so fast. In what felt like both an instant and an eternity, the uncontroble trajectory of the me Phoenix saw the mythical avian crashing into a hill not far away, in its wake a long and wide trail of scorched earth and charred, lifeless bodies.
The chaos gradually subsided. The fleeing Thousand Demon Ridge acolytes, their hearts still pounding with fear, came to a hesitant halt. Those who hadnt fallen in the path of the fiery phoenix secretly breathed a sigh of relief, having narrowly escaped death. However, for those unfortunate souls in its wake, luck was but merely a fleeting notion.
Amidst the still-smoldering terrain, one figure stood tall as if in defiance to the phoenixs invincible might: a Ninth-Order. Petrified to the very spot where he was standing when he resisted the phoenixs searing incineration, hewith his hair and clothes all fully reduced by the fire into ashes and crisp, and every inch of his skin now charred-ck as sootlooked like a dead tree still standing after an inferno, even though life still pulsed within him. Needless to say, the grievous wounds he suffered necessitated immediate medical attention from a healing practitioner, lest what remained of his life ebbed away.
What misfortune that he was caught in the path of the phoenixs flight.
Streaks of light shot into the sky, the rest of the surviving Ninth-Orders rushing toward where the phoenix made its descent. When they arrived in just seconds, there was Lu Ye lying amidst the ckened, smoking earth, his face pallid white and his vacant eyes staring up at the sky utterly devoid of the strength to move even his fingers.
Even so, after what just happened, no one dared to approach Lu Ye too closely. Who could predict what other aces he could still be hiding up his sleeves?
Some gritted their teeth in tensed frustration, their hearts filled with unease.
Just when everyone expected Lu Ye to just self-destruct, he had unleashed ast-ditch attempt that had unexpectedly seeded in iming the lives of countless Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators instead.
Even when they finally realized what he was up to earlier, they were powerless to stop him. No one could; not with the Golden Body Tokens magic still operating.
Unless they fled before Lu Ye could do anything. But that would have presented Lu Ye the chance to escape too.
Lu Ye remained unfazed by the litany of curses directed his way, feeling instead troubled by the deluge of dizziness assailing his head. Golden stars danced before his eyes, and he felt feeble and powerless,pletely bereft of vitality.
Even the surface of his skin was splitting open, leaving his entire body drenched in blood-red web-like trails.
It was exactly the same as thest time he had used Glyph: Fire Phoenix
He did not need to be a genius to know why: he stillcked sufficient strength to properly use Glyph: Fire Phoenix, and as an aftermath, the drawbacks of unleashing the Glyph overwhelmed him physically. While he could still use the Glyph so long as he had enough time and Spiritual Power, he could still not quite fully master and control the technique. Otherwise, he wouldnt have crashed here; he would have steered the phoenix to chase down every Ninth-Order he could find.
Streaks of flying embers resembling fireflies floated towards him from a particr direction, embedding themselves into the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand.
These were the Contribution Points of the fallen Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who were killed.
Meanwhile, high above the celestial expanse, upon the Carnage Roster, the name Lu Yi Ye that had been teetering on the brink of slipping beyond tenth ce emitted a faint glimmer before it soared to reim the top spot.
His Carnage Points tally of seven thousand one hundred and ten instantly doubled, skyrocketing to fifteen thousand six hundred and twenty.
The significant increase in Carnage Points showed that in just one fell swoop by using Glyph: Fire Phoenix, Lu Yi Ye had just in at least forty to fifty Thousand Demon Ridge acolytes.
Which was just a small number rtive to the full number of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who were rallying here earliernot even a tenth of the entire horde. The early realization had given them ample time to react and disperse, allowing the phoenix to eliminate enemies within just one designated bearing.
[Crack!]
The faint, crisp chime of broken ss resonated in the depths of everyones hearts right at that moment. Followed swiftly by the fragmentation of the morbid ret-red canopy above them that marked the Carnage Colosseums entire length and breadth, shattering like a smashed mirror. Lu Yes eyes squinted reflexively as the first shaft of light reached him as the brilliant luminescence of the sun came down to once again bathe the world in a golden embrace.
[The Carnage Colosseum has concluded! It has finally ended!]
Coincidentallyor notit closed just after Lu Ye had reimed the top spot on the Carnage Roster.
As for whether this was purely coincidental or a twist of fate, Lu Ye knew very well which it was. Whatever had befallen him, everything was just too conveniently aligned, so much so that he could only attribute it to Heavens touch of preordained design at y.
However, the closure of the Carnage Colosseum seemed to hold little significance given his current predicament. Multiple enemy Ninth-Orders were encircling him, and with his Spiritual Power all but fully spent, there was no hope for escape.
The conclusion of the Carnage Colosseum stirred amotionor displeasure, especially in the case of the Ninth-Order who was holding the top position up until Lu Ye knocked him off the throne. Frustration and indignation boiled in him at the inopportune loss.
Had the Colosseum ended just ten seconds earlierbefore Lu Yes final act of defiancethen he would have clinched the top spot, and the reward of the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification, along with nine Gold Amulets, would have been his. Yet, this mere ten-second difference had cost him the one thing he coveted the mostthe Wisp of Sanctification, and a Primus-level one to boot.
How could he not feel enraged? He couldnt help but wonder if the Heavens were making a fool out of him by allowing a man condemned to death to im the first ce on the Carnage Rosterhe failed to see any sense in that.
Countless beams of golden light descended from the skies, a shower of gold with each aureate droplet streaking with shimmering streamers towards the Ninth-Orders present. Being in the midst of the multitude of enemies, Lu Ye received a tiny golden speck of light falling down on the back of his hand, forming another mark separated from the Battlefield Imprint.
This must be the Heavens distributing the rewards at the end of the Colosseum.
That was when it dawned upon Lu Ye. The gold mark would allow him to im his rewards within the Vault of Providence dimension.
[So this is how the Heavens grant the victors rewards,] Lu Ye mused. He had initially thought that whatever rewards would be directly bestowed upon the winners.
But now, it appeared that he would need to make a trip to the Vault of Providence himself, which rather made sense since some might not be conveniently ready or able to receive their rewards yet. With this arrangement, anyone could retrieve their rewards from the Vault whenever they saw fit.
Which became the source of exasperation for many of the Thousand Demon Ridge elites now clustering around Lu Ye. To most if not all of them, his fate was sealed. Once the effects of the Golden Body Token diminished, he would die, and along with him, the prize of winning the Carnage Roster. What a waste.
Temporarily sparing his life so that he could first retrieve his rewards wasnt something that they would like to bet on anymore, especially after the chaotic and lethal turmoil he had just stirred. No one would dare to let him draw another breath of fresh air ever again. If anything, they were all just waiting for the divine protection to fade before striking.
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Chapter 534: In Heavens’ Name
Chapter 534: In Heavens Name
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Like a dying fishs mouth agape for breath, desperately seeking the elusive embrace of air, Lu Yes shallow,bored breaths were asionally punctuated by fits of coughing.
After a brief eternity, he managed to muster a fragment of his strength.
His vision spun, and all around him were the furious yet wary visages of the enemy Ninth-Orders like a flock of vultures circling him.
What a wretched soul you are, Lu Yi Ye!
Wei Ques voice reverberated, dripping with venom.
Turning his gaze toward the sound, Lu Ye beheld a ratherical sight: a bedraggled Wei Que whose hair looked like mes singed it.
He hadnt exactly fared well, even though he had survived Lu Yesst attack, having been visibly frightened by his phoenix too. While he hadnt sustained physical injuries, the sheer terror had left its mark. Deep inside, he was thanking the stars that he was not caught in the path of the phoenix fire or he would have been severely wounded, if not dead.
Lu Yes coughing intensified, each bout threatening to wrack his body apart. Despite the agony, he forced himself into a seated position, his blood mixing with the earth beneath him, painting a grim tableau of crimson.Gazing pensively at Wei Que, Lu Ye spoke impassively, You cant wait to end my life, no?
Wei Que retorted icily, You still think theres any chance of you walking away from this alive?
Lu Ye remained silent.
Wei Que continued, his toneced with derision, Did you think we wouldnt notice powerful Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators lurking nearby, waiting to rescue you? But given the current circumstances, do you think they would dare to intervene? Your fate is sealed; its time to let go of any lingering delusions.
Is that so?
Lu Ye allowed his head to droop, his long hair forming a shadowy veil over his eyes, shielding his countenance from the harsh sunlight.
He surreptitiously tapped a finger on his Battlefield Imprint and ryed a message, You dont have toe to rescue me, Brother Baxian. Ill be taking my leave; so well meet again in one month.
Twenty miles away, Li Baxian, who had been closely monitoring the situation, received this message. Once reading the message, his expression shifted to a mixture of astonishment and suspicion.
At first nce, it seemed as though Lu Ye had resigned himself to a certain death, but when coupled with thest sentence, the context changed entirely.
Lu Ye specifically mentioned in one month. The only thing that brought to mind was the one-month restriction period that followed any Cultivators exit from the Cloud River Battlefield. During this period, Cultivators were prohibited from reentering the Battlefield.
Such was the rule set by the Heavens that no one could alter.
Hence, the implications in Land Yeles words could not have been any more crystal clearhe intended to depart from the Cloud River Battlefield.
Wait, Lu Ye. What are you thinking of doing?! Li Baxian hurriedly inquired.
Lu Yes response came through expeditiously, Right from the start, brother, the only thing stopping me from leaving was the Carnage Colosseum. But now, its no more!
Li Baxian blinked in surprise, and then a realization dawned upon him. He had been so deeply concerned about Lu Yes safety, rushing around to rally for help while attempting to devise a n to rescue him that in the process, he had lost sight of the most important point.
Indeed, all along, it was the Carnage Colosseums eldritch restrictions that had been preventing Lu Ye from escaping. Now that it had ended, there was no longer anything to confine him.
The Thousand Demon Ridge enemies assumed that Lu Ye would be theirs to ughter once the effect of the Golden Body Token faded. Little did they know that the diminished restriction of the Carnage Colosseum now meant that Lu Ye could leave whenever he wanted to.
Although doing just that would incur a very, very steep price, to say nothing of the fact that this particr method that Lu Ye hade up with was something that few could emte.
When weighed against the preservation of ones own life, no expense would appear too exorbitant.
As for Lu Ye, Li Baxian never doubted whether Lu Ye had the wherewithal to make such a maneuver. After all, Lu Ye had amassed such wealth that few in the Cloud River Battlefield could match.
Li Baxian could still not quite forget how Lu Ye had once purchased two Point Restoration Pillseach worth one hundred and fifty thousand Contribution Pointsin a single transaction for him.
He could count on one hand the number of Cultivators of simr rank who could possibly match Lu Yes opulence. Especially since he had just amassed an impressive increment of almost ten thousand Contribution Points after decimating so many enemy Cultivators.
Lets go! Were leaving!
Li Baxian called out to Feng Yuechan.
An incredulous Feng Yuechan waspletely bewildered, What about Lu Ye, Baxian?
Lu Ye has his own way of escape; our job here is done, Li Baxian answered cheerfully, his former tension and worry evaporated, reced by an inexplicable sense of tranquility and relief.
Feng Yuechan looked puzzled, but it did not take long for something to click in her mind, Lu Ye is nning to use that method to leave the Cloud River Battlefield, isnt he?
Li Baxian nodded, Precisely!
Feng Yuechan sighed softly, Wow, Lu Ye really is rich. No wonder his progress has been so rapid.
They swiftly sped away as they talked, at the same time rying word to the rest of the Ninth-Order allies whom he had rallied for help to inform them that Lu Ye would be fine and it was time to go.
More than twenty miles away on the ckened-scorched in, Lu Ye immediately contacted Xia Qianqian right after he was done with Li Baxian. Up until now, he recognized Wei Que by face, but he had always been unaware of thetters name and the sect he belonged to. Since Xia Qianqian was always well-informed about such matters, Lu Ye decided to ask her.
A response from Xia Qianqian came momentster.
[Wei Que of the Clouded Sun n!]
Lu Ye raised his gaze and cast a deep, unfriendly, and yet meaningful look at Wei Que. Their eyes locked, and thetter furrowed his brow, sensing a palpable measure of hostility. Still, the situation dictated that there were few reasons for him to be afraid of Lu Ye. Lu Ye appeared unlikely to be able to even stand unassisted, let alone pull off any other tricks anywhere nearly as destructive as the one he had just disyed earlier.
Every one of you here wants to be the one to kill me, eh? Lu Ye surveyed his surroundings.
Someone growled in a low tone, What a pointless question. When the Tokens effect runs out, thats when your clock ends. Id be hoping for the effect tost as long as possible if I were you, just for a little extra time.
Lu Ye exhaled heavily, Maybe.
Supporting himself on his knees, he slowly rose up. He faltered, wobbling unsteadily as he straightened up, But I guess Im sorry. Youre all gonna be disappointed.
Quit ying games, Lu Yi Ye, one of the Thousand Demon Ridge elites sneered, You would have been dead hundreds of times over if not for the Golden Body Token. Dispense with all that grandiloquence. If I were you, Id be digging a grave right now; unless youre hoping for scavengers to deal with whats left of you.
True enough, Lu Ye conceded, nodding, Without the Golden Body Token, I would have long been killed already. But what can you say? I did really have the Golden Body Token to keep me safe.
His voice crescendoed increasingly loud and resolute, I shall remember this day, gentlementhe hospitality and generosity you have showered upon me today, and if the opportunity arises, I shall surely repay it in kind!
Such audacity set off a wave of anger sweeping through the remaining horde of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators. Was Lu Yi Ye out of his mind, some wondered. Did he not grasp the circumstances he now faced, others thought. Why was he talking about retribution when he could very well be dead anytime now?
As doubts swirled within the host of enemy Cultivators, they witnessed with their own eyes as Lu Ye suddenly flung his head backward, gazing skyward with his arms outstretched arm as he let loose a resounding cry, In the name of the Heavens on high, I, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect, hereby call upon a Divine Opportunity Column!
The words only just left his lips when a dazzling blue glow zed at the back of his hand followed by a sapphire beam of light that shot up into the sky.
Simultaneously, the countenances of the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators surrounding Lu Ye twisted in shock, few amongst them with even dawning amazement.
Since the outset, a vague sense of something amiss had taken root in their minds, although the feeling of suspicion was initially subdued by the awe and terror of the phoenix earlier, followed by Lu Yes hefty collection of bounty from those who perished because of it. There was hardly any time for deep contemtion.
Now, however, the very reason for the foreboding finally manifested.
Everyone had overlooked the fact that Lu Ye could invoke upon the name of the Heavens a Divine Opportunity Column.
His sole chance to escape from this dire predicament!
Divine Opportunity Columns were sacred objects created by the Heavens and they could typically be found at every Divine Trade Association branch, the strongholds of various militant sects and orders, plus their outpost in dimensions such as the Spirit Creek Battlefields.
These were Divine Opportunity Columns one could ess without charge.
However, there were certain instances where getting ess to a Divine Opportunity Column demanded a price.
For example, within certain sacred sites scattered across the Cloud River Battlefield, the Pirs of Celestial Mechanism were not intrinsic to thend itself. Instead, cultivators would petition for their presence.
There were also Arcane des scattered across the Cloud River Battlefield, for instance, that were equipped with their own Divine Opportunity Columns. These des did not appear with their Divine Opportunity Columns; it was the Cultivators who summoned these des that needed to petition to the Heavens and pay the heavy price for them.
Divine Opportunity Columns stood as conduits bridging the ethereal expanse between the Cloud River Battlefield and their strongholds in the real world of Jiu Zhou. For conveniences sake, these mystical obelisks facilitated ess into the Vault of Providence, in addition to enabling seamless transitions between the Battlefields dimension and the real world in the event of an invasion on the Arcane de.
But only a scarce number of Arcane des across the vast expanse of the Cloud River Battlefield could afford to have Divine Opportunity Columns. To have a Column in a de demanded an exorbitant price: a staggering tithe of a hundred thousand Contribution Points.
Few Cultivatorsespecially Cloud River Cultivators, who were usually bogged down by their meager reserves of Contribution Pointscould ever afford such a price. Most Cultivators would rather direct their Contribution Points towards augmenting their personal cultivation with little remaining to be spared. Therefore most Cultivators scarcely dared to dream of having Divine Opportunity Columns of their own.
Therefore, it was only the bigger Arcane des with arger capacity to house more Cultivators that have their own Divine Opportunity Columns, where the cost of purchasing the mystical obelisk from the Heavens could be shared amongst the members of bigger Arcane des. The mitigated cost would make the substantial cost a manageable feat.
That was also the reason behind Feng Yuechans amazement about Lu Yes wealth upon learning of his bold n. The sheer wealth thettermanded was nothing short of astonishing.
To wield a hundred thousand Contribution Points was a rarity within the Cloud River Battlefield, a feat beyond the reach of mere handfuls and Lu Ye happened to be one of them.
Before being trapped inside the Carnage Colosseum, Lu Ye had umted a substantial ny-two thousand two hundred fifty Contribution Points. Yet, today, his tally had soared to an impressive hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred.
That was thirty thousand more than what he owned when he first entered the Cloud River Battlefield.
That was all thanks to Glyph: Fire Phoenix, which was the one thing instrumental to this resounding achievement or he would still be short of Contribution Points to reach one hundred thousand.
Now that Lu Ye finally had enough Contribution Points, he could summon a Divine Opportunity Column for his use.
As he told Li Ba Xian, it was only the Carnage Colosseum that had denied him escape. With the arterial-red dome-like shield of the Colosseum preventing his exit, he could still call upon the Heavens for a Divine Column Opportunity, but it would still do him no good.
But now, with the Carnage Colosseum concluded and its crimson veil lifted, Lu Ye was now free. Nothing and no one could hinder his passage anymore.
Meanwhile, the surrounding Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators finally grasped what Lu Ye was trying to do.
Xia Liangs voice thundered in anger, STOP HIM! STOP HIM NOW!
A sweeping scythe of light hurtled towards Lu Ye. Xia Liangs attack, a resplendent cascade of gleaming arcs aimed at Lu Ye rent the sky. Such a formidable disy of might and choler by the Ninth-Order.
Too much had been given up to corner Lu Ye here. Victory was just within reach; all that remained was for the effect of the Golden Body Token to end and Lu Yes life would be theirs.
Yet, Lu Yi Ye was going to summon a Divine Opportunity Column on the brink of their triumph. Would they allow him? No. Never.
If they were to let him slip out of their fingers again, then all the painstaking efforts up until this point would be meaningless. All the sacrifices that they had made, all the lives lost on his ounteverything would be in vain.
And once news of this got out, the Cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition would never stop tormenting any Thousand Demon Ridge members they met with ridicule and scorn.
[Just how incredibly rich is this brat?! One hundred thousand Contribution Points?!] Xia Liang mused. For all his life, he had nevere near to having that amount of Points before.
A barrage of attacks converged from all directions, bearing down on Lu Ye.
Simultaneously, a beam of light descended just in time from the skies above, enshrouding Lu Ye within its luminous embrace. The onught of assaults crashed against the cylindrical barrier of light, each strike swallowed by its sheer brilliance. On the other side, within the confines of this protective column of light, Lu Yes cold and unyielding gaze panned from one face to another, etching the countenances of these Ninth-Order elites deep in his memory.
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Chapter 535: Escape
Chapter 535: Escape
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Enveloped within the column of light that tunneled straight up into the skies, the mighty currents of air surged around Lu Ye, the folds of his robes and the locks of his hair floundering in violent fits in the tumultuous winds.
Salvos of flying steel and streaking lights came swooping down on Lu Ye, only to be thwarted by the resplendent pir of light.
[Rumble!]
Something ponderous andrge plummeted from the heavens,nding squarely before Lu Ye.
As soon as the object mmed into the ground, a tempestuous shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping outwards in all directions and throwing all Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators around into disarray as all of them tumbled like leaves in the wind.
By the time any of them had just regained their footing, their gazes panned up just in time to see Lu Yes outstretched hand ced on the stone of the Divine Opportunity Column before him.
Until we meet again!
Lu Yes voice echoed, his figure swiftly fading into ethereal wisps before vanishing altogether.The Thousand Demon Ridge elites all gazed with awe and silence, their hearts seething with frustration.
Lu Yi Ye was gone.
More than eight hundred, if not a thousand, Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had joined in this hunt. From this number alone, there were over twenty Ninth-Orders, making this a host of sufficient strength to give even a True Lake Realm Cultivator a run for his money, never mind a mere Third-Order.
Still, despite the odds, they had failed. He had once again eluded their grasp and triumphed.
The rarely-seen and hugely-coveted Golden Body Token, the invoking of a phoenixeven if it was just a mere image of the mystical Vermilion Phoenixcapable of rending the heavens and sundering the earth, plus the summoning of the enigmatic Divine Opportunity Columnall of these marvels had manifested within one singr being and just one alone: Lu Yi Ye.
It was precisely due to these inexplicable and yet fortuitous circumstances that a Third-Order like Lu Ye managed to slip through their grasp in the end.
The expressions of the enemy Ninth-Orders contorted with dismay as they gazed at the Divine Opportunity Column that had been the instrument of Lu Yi Yes escape.
There was no longer any point in ming either Luck or themselves. The Carnage Colosseum had ended and Lu Yi Ye was gone. That was all that mattered.
One after another, the Thousand Demon Ridge elites left. All that was left in their wake was the solitary Divine Opportunity Column. The lonesome obelisk of divine magic that was the testament and relic to Lu Yi Yes unbelievable struggles today.
No other Third-Other could have lived through such tribtions and boast of the feats that Lu Yi Ye had aplishedfacing down nearly a thousand enemy Cultivators where most of them were elites who were way beyond his league and yet escaped from them. Hardly anyone would doubt that Lu Yi Yes name would spread far and wide after this today.
In the future, should he return to the Cloud River Battlefield, he would undoubtedly attract the attention of many ambitious individuals.
Needless to say, eyes would be trained on him the next time he stepped into the Cloud River Battlefield.
Lu Yes blood-drench figure materialized in the Sanctum of Providence at the top of the Summit of Fortitude of the Crimson Blood Sect main stronghold sitting atop the lofty Mount Ao hignds of Bing Zhou Province. With wobbling footsteps, he quickly reached out a hand to steady himself against the Divine Opportunity Column beside him to prevent himself from copsing.
Cultivators entering the Cloud River Battlefield from the stronghold of their sects or orders could choose to appear anywhere in the Cloud River Battlefield, as long as that location had a Divine Opportunity Column.
But due to the information inscribed within the Battlefield Imprint, Cultivators would be sent back to the Sanctum of Providence of their main stronghold if and when they were to leave the Battlefield.
Get Sister Shui Yuan, Yi Yi. Quick! Lu Ye croaked weakly.
Yi Yi emerged from inside Amber and darted outside.
She came back secondster with Shui Yuan beside her. Thetter frowned when she saw Lu Yes pathetic appearance, What on earth happened?
Its a long story, sister Lu Ye managed a weak smile at her, struggling to maintain his rity. Help!
With that, he went limp and copsed to the ground.
Even at the Third-Order of the Cloud River Realm, using Glyph: Fire Phoenix still inflicted a crippling drawback on him whenever he used it. But he could not afford to lose consciousness before he was away from the dangers in the Cloud River Battlefield;ing back to the main stronghold of the Crimson Blood Sect had assured him that he was finally safe and that caused him to faint atst.
Fortunately for him, Shui Yuan was quick enough to catch him before he crumbled to the ground.
His awareness drifted in and out of consciousness like a piece of flotsam in the swirling currents as an overwhelming weariness incessantly stung at every fiber of his being. Many times, in that semi-conscious state, Lu Ye thought he had heard the gentle voice of his mentor Tang Yifeng
His sense of time blurred for a long, long timeuntil he suddenly jolted awake.
The gentle sound of waterpping against something solid reached his ears. Lu Ye blinked his eyes open, momentarily disoriented before gradually regaining his senses.
He found himself sitting inside a giant tub filled with a soothing emerald-green broth. Amber was waddling about inside with a contented expression on its face.
Sensing Lu Yes gaze, Amber looked up and purred cheerfully at him.
Yi Yi noticed and hurried in. Lighting up with surprise, she eximed, Youre awake, Lu Ye?
Lu Ye acknowledged with a wordless grunt and assessed himself.
He was doing quite well. His injuries hadpletely healed; even those underlying issues that he had been umting from his previous other battles were no more. His body still felt weak and his Spiritual Power was still depleted, but evidently, Shui Yuan had worked her magic on him.
A day or two of rest and recovery should see him back into full health.
How long have I been asleep? he asked.
Two days, Yi Yi replied.
Lu Ye nodded. Sister Shui Yuan had certainly delivered her proverbial goods once again with her healing skills that far surpassed that of Hua Ci. He recalled the first time he unleashed Glyph: Fire Phoenix on his foes; Hua Ci had taken several days to nurse him back to health.
Shui Yuan only took two days.
He lowered his head to inspect his Battlefield Imprint.
Name: Lu Yi Ye
Affiliation: Acolyte of the Crimson Blood Sect
Cultivation: Third-Order of the Cloud River Realm.
Location: Mount Ao Range of Bing Zhou Province.
Contribution Points: Six thousand one hundred and twenty
Achievements: Fifty-six
His tally of over a hundred thousand Contribution Points had dwindled down to a mere fraction, a consequence of the immense cost of calling upon the Divine Opportunity Column. Since thest time he had bought the two Point Restoration Pills for Li Baxian, this was his first time spending such a vast amount of Points.
The Point Restoration Pills at least had the practical use of repairing Li Baxians Spiritual Points, but the Divine Opportunity Column that he had summoned had no further utility beyond enabling his return to the real world of Jiu Zhou a few days ago.
And it would be there indefinitely. There was no way to move it elsewhere at all.
If only he was not forced into using so many Contribution Points just to gain ess to one Divine Opportunity Column. The sheer amount would have been enough for him to go on a spending spree in the Vault of Providence.
While he was reflecting upon his losses, Shui Yuan walked in. She casually inquired, How are you feeling now?
Im feeling better now, he replied.
Good. Now that youre back here, stay indoors for now and focus on your recuperation. Dont get into trouble.
Yes.
After hearing of Lu Yes exploits in the Cloud River Battlefield from Yi Yi, Shui Yuan was indignant at the arrogance of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators while feeling distressed about her junior brothers plight.
Being at the Divine Sea Realm, there was only just so much she could do for Lu Ye. Back then in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, she could forcefully intervene on his behalf, but there was no way she could enter the Cloud River Battlefield.
She came over and examined him, ensuring that he truly was improving before she finally rxed.
Um, Sister Shui Yuan?
Yes?
I need to get dressed.
I was the one who stripped you! Theres nothing in that tub that will surprise me! Shui Yuan scowled, rolling her eyes at him before she turned to walk out of the room.
Lu Ye did not even know how to respond to that.
Lu Ye emerged from his chambers after he was finished dressing. The ring sunlight blinded him for one fleeting moment as soon as he stepped out of the threshold as the gentle melodies of birdsong and insect chirping filled his ears. Lu Ye stretchedzily as he took in the sweet scent of flowers lingering in the air, appreciating the tranquility of the peace after the chaos a few days before.
He called for Yi Yi, but instead, he went and found his mentor Tang Yifeng. He paid his respects and sat for a lecture.
After leaving his mentors presence, he was immediately greeted by an irresistible aroma of food wafting through the air. Following his nose, he arrived at the dining hall, where, as expected, Shui Yuan had prepared a table full of delectable dishes.
The appearance of food Shui Yuan prepared looked so much more delicious and remarkably awesome than Hua Cis, even though the food cooked by Hua Ci was just as nourishing. So long as one could ignore how hideous and unappetizing her cooking was, one could still find her food enjoyable all the same.
After indulging in a hearty meal and exchanging a few words with Shui Yuan, he headed straight for the Summit of Bamboo.
Shui Yuan had assigned the Summit to Lu Ye some time ago, making him the master of the Summit of Bamboo.
That was in conjunction with his ascension into the Cloud River Realm. She had allowed him to choose one of the few foothills within the Crimson Blood Sect domain and Yi Yi suggested the Summit of Bamboo.
It was quite close to the Summit of Fortitude, and many of his juniors had assisted in the construction of its amenities back then.
However, not long after entering the Cloud River Realm, Lu Ye entered the Cloud River Battlefield, which left him with little time to spend at the Summit of Bamboo.
Now, as he arrived, he could see pavilions and spires standing out amidst the sea of clouds rolling around them, an almost celestial ambiance as if he had stepped into paradise.
He entered one of the buildings and casually picked a room, settling down for some time of meditation and cultivation.
The main stronghold of the Crimson Blood Sect was just a quiet and empty ce devoid of much human activity. With most of the Sects membership being low-tier Cultivators aside from Lu Ye and Ju Jia, everyone else was still inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield to focus on their training and seldom returned to the main stronghold.
But once the rest of the Sects acolytes progressed further, the stronghold would be livelier once again.
Hua Ci should also be on the cusp of reaching the Cloud River Realm by now, realized Lu Ye.
He stuffed another Spirit Pill into his mouth as he continued his meditation and practice, restoring his Spiritual Power.
The next day, Lu Ye left the Summit of Bamboo in a hurry. He first went to Lunarmere to catch some fish before heading back to the Summit of Fortitude.
He looked for Shui Yuan and told her, I wish to reenter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Sister Shui Yuan.
Shui Yuan looked puzzled. What for?
For Cloud River Realm Cultivators like Lu Ye, reentering the Spirit Creek Battlefield required paying a certain amount of Contribution Points. The higher ones cultivation rank, the more Contribution Points were needed. Shui Yuan, for example, would need to pay several thousands of Contribution Points each time she reentered the Battlefield.
Payback, Lu Ye replied curtly.
He had made a promise to the Thousand Demon Ridge elites before he was transported away from the Cloud River Battlefield. He had vowed to repay them for their actions a hundredfold in the future.
To the Thousand Demon Ridge elites, those words might be dismissed as mere bravado. But for someone who had just endured such an ordeal and narrowly escaped death, there was no way Lu Ye would let the offense he had taken slide. If anything, he was determined to follow through on his words and cause havoc in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
If he couldnt defeat those enemy Eighth- and Ninth-Orders from the Cloud River Realm, then he might as well inflict his wrath on their juniorsthose who were still in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
If others could take advantage of their strength to bully him, why cant he turn the tables on them and y the same game with the same rules too in the Spirit Creek Battlefield? As once the most-feared person in the Battlefield, no one there could possibly be his match.
After all, he needed to reim what he had lostone hundred thousand Contribution Points and that Golden Body Token which he was forced to usefrom the Spirit Creek Battlefield, no matter what it took.
Shui Yuan immediately grasped Lu Yes intentions. Her eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to dissuade him. Forcibly reentering the Spirit Creek Battlefield doesnt grant you free rein, Lu Ye. For a Cloud River Realm Cultivator like you, its quite the opposite. Even if youre more powerful, the Heavens will penalize you for any lives you take. Its a form of protection that the Heavens provides for lower-level Cultivators.
I know. Thats why I want to ask your help on how you managed to withstand the Judgment of the Heavens.
The first time he met Shui Yuan was still vividly embedded in his mind. She was wielding an absurdly wicked-looking battle scythe back then, striking down any adversaries that attempted toe near him. Even as the terrifying Judgment of the Heavens never stopped tormenting her, she remained unfazed.
A warm fuzzy feeling welled up within his heart whenever he recalled that fleeting smile, no matter how much time had passed.
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Chapter 536: Resurface
Chapter 536: Resurface
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The Judgment of Heavens was a divine mechanism ordained as an inescapable retribution. Thus, Lu Ye needed to unravel the mystery of how Sister Shui Yuan could resist its devastating power. Once he resolved this enigma, he could then roam the Spirit Creek Battlefield and do as he liked.
Shui Yuans head swayed sideways wistfully, No. I could do nothing; I was only enduring the pain.
Pausing, she continued, her gaze distant, My circumstances are unique, as you might have already realized. Raising a trembling hand to her chest, she continued, Since my very birth, I have had another persona dwelling within methat is Mo Yuan whom you met back then. Most of the time, you wont be seeing her. She rarely surfaces, for she appears only when Im not myself, or I am unconscious.
Lu Ye nodded in understanding.
Lu Ye was oblivious to this when he first arrived at the Crimson Blood Sect stronghold. He had not thought much about why Shui Yuan and Mo Yuan would look so starkly alike. If he were topare them both, he would only think Shui Yuan as a reduced facsimile of the other.
Back then, he had mistaken them both as sisters.
But over these years, he had been gradually piecing together bits and pieces until he had a better picture.
Therefore, hearing Shui Yuan telling him the truth did little to surprise him.She possesses an extraordinary constitution that grants her a very high endurance. That is why though the Judgment of the Heavens is inflicted upon her after killing a few enemies, it scarcely bothered her. Still, her endurance is not without its limits; theres a threshold that even she cannot cross lest she endangers herself, said Shui Yuan before her narrative flowed on, Twice she came back from the Spirit Creek Battlefield with the Judgment of the Heavens coiling around her, and each time, she would retreat into a deep slumber to wait out the Judgment until it fades. And since the Judgment affects only her, it has no effect on me.
There were two instances where Wei Yang killed enemy Spirit Creek Realm Cultivatorsonce during the Battle of Goldentip and the second time when Lu Ye was poisoned by the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
The more enemies one kills in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the more powerful the Judgment of the Heavens will be. Correspondingly, its duration will also extend. So if you are certain of reentering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Ye, be careful not to kill too many enemies. While Ive yet to sample the horrors of the awe-inspiring Judgment of the Heavens, I assure you, its not a force to be recklessly courted. A single misstep might well cost you the essence of your soul. And if so, woe betide you, brother. So beware.
But surely there are ways to counter the Judgment? countered Lu Ye, still not willing to give up.
Such is the retribution of the Heavens, brother, Shui Yuan responded with finality.
I see, Lu Ye acknowledged.
Shui Yuan observed the shadows that flickered within his gaze. She could detect the reluctance and defiance still lingering about Lu Ye. It was clear that he would still reenter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Judgment of the Heavens or not. Before he left, she cautioned, Whatever you do, Lu Ye, practice caution above all else. Do not court unnecessary risk.
Lu Ye took his leave with frustration budding in his mind.
If he was going to be constrainedbeing unable to kill enough enemies in the Spirit Creek Battlefield to invoke enough fearthen perhaps he should take Beaky with him?
He could undo the defensive wards of enemy outposts and leave the killing to Beaky. But for that to happen, Beaky would need to be at the Crimson Blood Sect outposts in the Battlefield.
Back when he was about to ascend into the Cloud River Realm and leave the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had set Beaky free from his years of service in keeping the Crimson Blood Sect outpost safe from invasion. The gigantic eagle had devoted itself to that charge solely out of its loyalty to thete Feng Wujiang, Tang Yifengs first student and Lu Yes senior, who was also Beakys former master.
Irrespective of whatever it was Lu Ye was about to do, he would first need to get into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. If no other solution had presented itself by the time he had reached there, he would just have to limit his number of kills.
Lu Ye stepped into the Sanctum of Providence and ced his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column tomingle his mind to it.
A revtion unfolded; he could not reenter the Cloud River Battlefield anymoreat least not for another month.
But the entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield was still open to him, although the response he received from the Divine Opportunity Column demanded a solemn tollthe offering of five hundred Contribution Points for his current rank of cultivation.
A nominal tribute, one might say, akin to a coin dropped into a fathomless well.
At the cusp of his mental wish, Lu Yes corporeal form vanished and he reappeared momentster, now within the Crimson Blood Sect outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Yet, a tempest of unseen forces came crashing down on him, an arcane current that imposed its dominion upon the very essence of his being. Lu Ye immediately felt his Spiritual Power being suppressed, the riverine flow of his Cloud River Realm Third-Order eldritch essence now truncated to a mere trickle.
He knew what it wasthe Heavens restriction at y. His etheric strength waspletely gone with a portion of his Spiritual Points sealed.
For any Cultivator beyond the Spirit Creek Realm to reenter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, their cultivation rank would be subjugated back to their zenith when they werest a member of this Battlefield.
Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Powers more and more in gradual paces, using the Great Sun Veluriyam Technique to funnel the flow of his eldritch essence into his Spiritual Points.
With his Spiritual Power surging more smoothly now, his rank of cultivation slowly rose back up.
He could feel it [The First-Order of the Spirit Creek Realm]
[The Second-Order]
[Then the Third-Order]
All the way until he was restored back to Heaven Nine.
It did not take long for the acolytes at the outpost to realize that there was someone in the Sanctum of Providence. Hold up, is that Brother Lu Ye? one of them cried.
Some of them could barely believe their eyes and ears. As far as most of the newer acolytes were concerned, Lu Ye had made the rise into the Cloud River Realm quite some time ago. But what was he doing here when he should be in the Cloud River Battlefield by now?
They rubbed their eyes to make sure that they were not mistaken. Sure enough, that really was their senior brother Lu Ye.
But themotion had attracted the notice of everyone else in the outpost, causing them to overrun Lu Ye with choruses of endless cheers and warm greetings.
News of his arrival swept across the outpost like a bushfire raging through a field in a dry season.
Lu Ye left the outpost after that and scaled a nearby foothill where Beaky made its home. But the nest was empty and the gigantic eagle was nowhere to be found, cutting short his initial n of letting Beaky do the killing for him.
A stranger approached, riding atop his flying conveyance thatnded with the grace of a falling leaf beside Lu Ye. The person made the sign of a salute, saying, Greetings, Brother Lu Ye.
Lu Ye turned his gaze, recognizing who it wasone of the first cohorts of independent Cultivators admitted as acolytes of the Crimson Blood Sect, although Lu Ye could not quite remember his name.
Youre
Tao Zhengyu, sir. Im the present legate of this outpost.
Over time, the Crimson Blood Sect outpost hadid witness to several rotations of both its legates and prolegates. Thanks to the abundance of supplies and consumables needed for the cultivation of their power and the luxuriant ambient Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere surrounding the outpost, the acolytes have all been advancing swiftly. Most of the time, acolytes, upon reaching the Eighth-Order, would begin roaming the inner ring areas of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. As a consequence, the tenure of the legates and prolegates would often be brief since they became Eighth-Orders in no time.
Even shorter, in fact, whenpared to the tenure of legateship and prolegateship at outposts situated within the inner ring and central areas of the Battlefield.
Lu Ye bobbed his head in acknowledgment and asked, Do you know where Beaky is?
Unknown, Im afraid. It frequents the vicinity of the outpost less often nowadays. It woulde back once in a while, but only to depart before too long.
Even as Tao Zhengyu ryed this information, he could not help observing Lu Ye as astutely as he could. Why had Lu Yee here suddenly? Tao Zhengyu reflected on the events that had transpired since assuming the role of Legate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, but he could recall no ring errors on his part at all. With cautious delicacy, he broached the subject, Um, Brother Lu Ye, is there a purpose to your visit today?
Yes. I have something to take care of, Lu Ye responded casually, his mind drifting into contemtion.
With Beakys whereabouts enshrouded in mystery, seeking it out at this juncture seemed unfeasible. But without the giant eagle to apany him, his ability to kill enemies would suffer and so would his potential to instill dread within the many sects and orders of the Thousand Demons Ridge coalition.
In the midst of his thoughts, Lu Ye pondered over his dilemma: how would he reim the ten thousand Contribution Points and the Golden Body Token that he had lost on ount of the pursuit that had so nearly killed him? Or should he just take this as merely a quest for payback and vent his frustration?
With his current proficiency in ward-casting, no Thousand Demon Ridge outposts were safe from him. But merely conquering enemy outposts, unless coupled with substantial benefits, seemed tock meaningful purpose. This left Lu Ye ensnared in a quandary.
Truly, reality, often fraught with numerous twists and turns, rarely unfolds as anticipated.
In the meantime, Lu Yes silent reticence was weighing Tao Zhengyu down with unspoken pressure.
After a pause that felt like an eternity, Lu Ye finally broke his silence, So be it then. Come, well see what we can do.
However, there was little doubt that whatever he did, it would immediately send every Thousand Demon Ridge sect or order into distress. Word of the Annihtor of Sects return would surely stir apprehension in the hearts of all who beheld it.
Given the constraints on the number of lives he could take, Lu Ye calcted that he could only target one or two enemy sects at most. But that was why he brought along Tao Zhengyu: so that thetter could seize the Blessings from the enemy Divine Opportunity Columns of the sects and orders he conquered. It wouldnt do to leave any advantage untapped.
Lu Ye conjured his flying conveyance and with Tao Zhengyu, they ascended into the skies.
Tao Zhengyu remained baffled. Up until now, he was still oblivious to Lu Yes intentions. But he chose not to pry, opting to just follow in silence.
The journey was tranquil, a serene voyage.
Traveling from the outermost rim of the Spirit Creek Battlefield to the core circle demanded a considerable trek, and if Lu Ye still wielded his Cloud River Realm Third-Order power, the duration would have been reduced to a mere two or three days. But now that his current capabilities were restricted to just Heaven Nine of the Spirit Creek Realm, the time would naturally be doubled.
Thankfully, his current flying conveyance was of a middle-grade, granting him greater speedspared to the lower-tier counterparts, although its singr drawbacky in its heightened consumption of his Spiritual Power.
The infrequent stops along the way to rest allowed Tao Zhengyu to gain a profound appreciation for the formidable depths of Lu Yes power. Prolonged flights using magical conveyances generally strained a Cultivators reserve of Spiritual Power and replenishment on the go remained a challenge. Yet, Lu Ye proved himself an extraordinary exception by how he could tirelessly maintain his journey without anything more than a half-hours rest each day.
In a mere four days, the duo arrived at the heart of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Lu Ye extracted his map, scrutinizing it closely as he pondered about attacking either the New Moon Sect or the Clouded Sun Sect.
Tan Sheng was a member of the New Moon Secta fact Lu Ye had confirmed during a casual conversation with Li Baxianwhile the Clouded Sun Sect was where Wei Que hailed from.
Both the sects outposts were situated within the core circle of the Battlefield and Lu Ye knew about them. Back when he was still here, the legates of the two outposts hade offering their tributes as a gesture of peace before. Lu Ye might have not personally dealt with them closely before, but he knew them enough.
Given the constraint of limiting his kills, he needed to make a careful choice.
Ultimately, Lu Ye decided to just attack the New Moon Sect!
All the troubles and perils that hadpelled Lu Ye to make use of his Golden Body Token to prevent him from dying and more than a hundred thousand Contribution Points to summon the Divine Opportunity Column to escape to freedomeverything began from Tan Shengs utilization of the Tracking Disc.
In essence, it was Tan Shengs fault that everything started.
This was a score that Lu Ye wanted to settle and hence, he would reim the losses he had suffered from the New Moon Sect.
After another half-day of travel, they finally arrived ten leagues outside the New Moon Sects outpost.
Lu Yended his flying conveyance. He took Amber and handed it to Tao Zhengyu, instructing, Wait here.
Tao Zhengyu took Amber in his hands, acknowledging him with a nod, and obediently stood in ce.
Lu Ye dashed straight for the New Moon Sect outpost. He knew that this headlong charge at the enemy outpost was bound to involve confrontation with the enemy Cultivators. Having Tao Zhengyuwho was only just a Seventh-Orderaround in such a skirmish, would pose certain inconveniences. That was why he chose to just leave him away from the fighting with Amber and Yi Yi to keep him safe was a more prudent decision.
In just the blink of an eye, Lu Ye covered ten leagues, arriving at the front gates of the outpost.
The golden dome of the New Moon Sect outposts defensive ward looked like a gigantic bowl of shimmering radiance.
The luminescent barrier did not look particrly corporeal, suggesting that the defensive ward wasnt operating at its fullest capacitywhich was understandable since no one would actively seek to invade another sects outpost.
No one except a certain individual called Lu Yi Ye.
Back when it was known that his newfound ability allowed him to undo the magic of defensive wards, the entire Battlefield turned into a chaotic mess. It was only after his ascension into the Cloud River Realm did the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders here rejoiced at theing of a more tranquil period.
However, no one could have foreseen that the harbinger of turmoil would resurface once more after a barely three-month hiatus, here to again wreak havoc upon the Battlefield!
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Chapter 537: How Dare You?!
Chapter 537: How Dare You?!
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Lu Ye was just outside the New Moon Sect outpost when he lowered himself to a crouch to better observe the luminescent shield of the defensive ward with his Glyph: Insight-augmented sight.
This did not go unnoticed by one of the sentries keeping watch. He hurried here at once and growled from the other side of the wall of light, Who goes there?!
There was little reason for his tone to be friendlynot when a suspicious stranger was skulking about outside.
Lu Ye pensively shot him indifferently, Who do you think I am?
The odd question startled the enemy Cultivator. He looked at Lu Ye more closely. This time, he could almost swear that he must have seen the face somewhere before.
Somehow, he was confident that he had never personally met this stranger before, despite the palpable feeling of familiarity.
But before he could demand a name, the stranger was already gone. Lu Ye had wandered off to look for weaknesses in the shield to exploit, which he found as he began casting his ward gs.
If Lu Ye still wielded the rank of a Cloud River Realm Third-Order, he could have easily ripped open the magical shield through brute force alone due to the defensive ward not working at full capacity yetat a bare subsistence level. But now that he was limited to just the Heaven Nine rank of the Spirit Creek Realm, he could only rely on his fundamentals in ward-casting.Hey! What are you doing?! the enemy Cultivator barked again, dubious about what Lu Ye was doing.
Lu Ye ignored him and continued his work.
The enemy Cultivator shifted in a swift change of countenance, his gaze falling upon Lu Ye once more. Finally, he realized the reason behind the nagging familiarity of the stranger before him.
Indeed, he had not personally encountered Lu Ye before, but he had seen the face before in a sketch!
However, it had been nearly three months since Lu Yi Ye was believed to have departed the Spirit Creek Battlefield for good. It had never crossed his mind that the figure before him was the same Lu Yi Ye who had reappeared once more and right outside the entrance of his orders outpost to boot!
You are that Annihtor of Sects! eximed the figure, stumbling backward as though Lu Ye were some ferocious monster, an insurmountable terror.
Without hesitation, he spun on his heels and cast into the air a flying conveyance that he hopped on at once, soaring up into the sky, towards the inner cloisters of the outpost with urgent haste as he squawked with the voice of a tolling bell, The Annihtor of Sects! The Annihtor of Sects has arrived!
Catastrophe had fallen on their heads with the unannounced advent of the much-feared Annihtor of Sects Lu Yi Ye. All who heard the cries sank into deep doubt about the outposts defenses.
Multitudes of New Moon Sect acolytes stirred with trepidation and uncertain rm.
A thunderousmand rang out, Who dares utter such nonsense!?
As the voice resonated with the force of a thunderp, a robust figure, riding atop his flying conveyance, emerged from the edifice of the outpost.
Brother Tan Li! Its Lu Yi Ye! Its the Annihtor of Sects! reported the sentry who had just left Lu Ye to deliver the ill tidings to none other than the legate of the New Moon Sect outpost Tan Li. Currently ranked fifty-eighth upon the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy, Tan Li was arguably the most formidable Cultivator stationed here.
Say again?! Who!? Tan Lis brow furrowed with skepticism tingling his thoughts as he wondered if his hearing was failing him.
The Annihtor of Sects! Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect!
Thats impossible! bellowed Tan Li, That fellows a Cloud River Realm Cultivator three months ago. He should be in the Cloud River Battlefield by now! How could he possibly be here?
But Im sure of this, Brother Tan Li. This is not a mistake; that really is the Annihtor of Sects outside there! I have seen his likeness before in a sketch!
Tan Lis brows knitted together, Maybe hes just someone who looks like Lu Yi Ye?
Not that resemnces were hardly umon urrences, but most of all, Tan Li was unwilling to believe that the Annihtor of Sects would be herejust outside this very outpost at this very moment!
Hes trying to bring down the defensive ward as we speak, sir!
What? Tan Li gasped with unbridled astonishment. As if to prove the sentrys point, the Control Gem that allowed him the full helm of the defensive wards operation was trembling. Before he could even extract the Control Gem from inside his clothing to have a proper look at it, a streak of light jetted across the distant horizon, arriving in the blink of an eye.
It really was the Annihtor of Sects Lu Yi Ye!
He had encountered Lu Ye before; Tan Li was the one leading the New Moon Sect contingent of Cultivators in the Thousand Demon Ridge entrapment of Lu Yi Ye on the outskirts of the Myriad Poison Forest.
That was why he knew Lu Ye. But Lu Ye hardly remembered him; given how many enemy Cultivators he was facing at the time, it was only just understandable.
What mattered to Tan Li was why did Lu Yi Yee back? What was his reason foring back to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and why, of all ces, here?
A colossal blend of incredulity and apprehension loomed in Tan Lis mind. While his expression remained solemn, his countenance betrayed not a trace of agitation.
If it were the Lu Yi Ye of oldthe same Lu Yi Ye who was just a Heaven Nine Cultivatorthen he would be truly afraid. But knowing that Lu Yi Ye could only be here by forcefully entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield as a Cloud River Realm Cultivator, there was little need for undue concern.
To expect that he would triumph against Lu Yi Ye in an all-out skirmish would be futile. There was no discounting the various feats thetter had aplished back when he still reigned over the entire Battlefield with terror. At least Tan Li was certain that he would never best Lu Yi Ye in a fight.
Still, not that it mattered anywaynot now.
Would Lu Yi Ye dare to kill anyone with the same savageness as he once did?
The Judgment of Heavens was no trifling matter; if more elite Cultivators were allowed to casually kill and raze to their hearts content, then all outpoststhose belonging to all big and small sects and orders alikewould have long beenid to waste by now.
[But why is Lu Yi Ye here?] Tan Li wondered with dread. [Is he not afraid of the Judgment of the Heavens?]
At any rate, he was sure that Lu Yi Ye did note as a friend. After all, he was a member of the Grand Sky Coalition and the members of the Thousand Demon Ridge. If anything, all major sects and orders in the Ridge wanted the head of Lu Yi Ye on a silver tter more than anything. Who could tell how much Thousand Demon Ridge blood had been spilled because of him? How many friends and allies of theirs had he in? To describe him as a veritable harbinger of death would not be an overstatement.
With this notion at the forefront of his thoughts, Tan Li advanced a few paces, his countenance grave as he regarded Lu Ye. You should be at the Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Yi Ye. What brings you here to our outpost? What do you want with us?
You know Tan Sheng? Is he a fellow member of the New Moon Sect? Lu Ye asked, his hand subtly finding the hilt of his de, his voice a steely whisper.
Tan Lis brows furrowed warily upon those words, a contemtive air enveloping him. Indeed, he is my blood sibling. What do you want with him?
Oh? So youre Tan Shengs real younger brother? Lu Yes brows piqued with a flicker of surprise dancing in his eyes. What an unexpected revtion.
I am.
Most intriguing! Lu Ye inclined his head. Tan Sheng extended me his care and hospitality when we met each other in the Cloud River Battlefield. I came today to return the favor.
Before the final syble was even out of his lips, Lu Yes figure blurred into a phantom-like silhouette surging forward like a tempest unleashed, aimed with unfaltering determination toward Tan Li.
Tan Li had been harboring a semnce of caution, but he was ill-prepared for the suddenness of Lu Yes attack. This was quite at odds with his expectations; he had surmised that Lu Yebeing a Cloud River Realm Cultivator here in the Spirit Creek Battlefieldwould refrain from living up to the full extent of his reputation by indulging in reckless violence. The taste of having the Judgment of Heavens tormenting ones body and soul was not one easily endured.
Lu Ye tranting his threat into a real attack really was not what he expected.
In the face of such an impending crisis, Tan Li quickly conjured his weapon: a giant shield that drew upon his inner reservoir of Spiritual Power, interposing it before him.
A colossal boom resounded through the air as the impact struck, threatening to drive Tan Li into the ground. His eyes widened as a cocktail of astonishment and trepidation flooded his senses. What proved even more unsettling was the realization that the Spiritual Power glow that enveloped his shield had dimmed just after sustaining one blow, its essence chipping away.
Tan Li could not quite believe it. As a Heaven Nine Cultivator and numbered among the fiftieth of the Spirit Creek Battlefields finest upon the Roll of Supremacy, there were few who would doubt his strength and prowess.
Coming in here as a Cloud River Realm Cultivator, Lu Yi Yes power had been dialed down to Heaven Nine. Still, his attack was one that had nearly sundered his defenses.
Never before had Tan Li truly fought against Lu Ye before. Though cognizant of Lu Yi Yes prowess, he understood little about thetters deadliness in battleuntil this very instant.
Brother Tan!
Surrounding acolytes of the New Moon Sect bore witness as Tan Li was cast down by the tempestuous strike, their collective astonishment echoing in the air like a chorus of startled birds.
Simultaneously, within the heart of the maelstrom of blurriness and danger, Tan Li felt the resounding impact of another assault upon his once stalwart shield.
A sonorous crash heralded the shattering of the protective relic, a formerly-formidable defensive weapon bonded with nonuple enchantments. Tan Lis visage contorted with a mixture of disbelief and panic.
Swift as a coursing wind, Lu Ye caught up closely behind with Invible arcing in a horizontal sweep.
Stripped of his shield and dispossessed of the sanctuary it provided, Tan Lis only recourse was to marshal the depths of his Spiritual Power and vital essence, conjuring a protective aura bristling over the surface of his flesh.
Invibles stroke drew blood. Tan Li plummeted heavily to the earth, the echo of impact mingling with his anguished cry. A gaping wound cleaved his abdomen, so deep that it almost unveiled the morbid dibobtion of his entrails, an unsightly tableau of vulnerability.
A shiver coursed down his spine. For once in his life, the specter of Death loomed so near at his threshold.
Were it not for his stalwart physical constitution as a Body-tempering Cultivator whose bodily defenses were fortified by unyielding tenacity, the rending strike would have cloven him into two bloody halves.
In the meantime, Lu Ye found himself mildly astonished with a quiet exhtion of wonder escaping his lips. The resilience of a Body-tempering Cultivator really was starkly in contrast to the usual lot of Cultivators adopting other disciplines..
Lu Ye advanced upon his prey, poised to deliver a final blow before he was disrupted by the cacophonous symphony of howling air and whistling winds.
Seeing their legate fall, the rest of the New Moon Sect had decided to spring into action, unable to contain their tumultuous fervor. What fear they had for Lu Yi Ye dissolved into irrelevance; what mattered was saving their leader, whatever the cost.
For they were many, and fear for just a lone adversary seemed an awful absurdity.
Colorful ribbons of arcane incantations screaming through the air intertwined with the radiant dance of flying weapons, converging from all directions on Lu Ye with unrelenting intent.
Urged by the throes of necessity, Lu Ye found himselfpelled to suppress the burgeoning urge for bloodshed. He gracefully maneuvered his form, evading the onught of attacks directed his way. In this tempestuous moment, a symphony of metallic resonance erupted from the scabbard at his waist, and with an almost ethereal flourish, nine resplendent flying weapons took flight.
The scene unfolded into a disarray of chaos, as even more New Moon Sect acolytes were roused into hastening towards the epicenter of turmoil from all other corners of the outpost.
A Medical Cultivator hastened to Tan Lis side to inspect the extent of his injuries, tending to him with practiced hands. The legate of the New Moon Sect outpost himself bellowed with a thunderous promation, How dare you, Lu Yi Ye! Youre a Cloud River Realm Cultivator! How dare youe in here and impose your martial superiority on us! Do you truly believe that we of the New Moon Sect are afraid of you?! I know! You must have suffered being attacked by my brother, thats why youre here! Do you expect to find grandeur from subduing lessers like us?! How shameless you are?!
Tan Li had expected as much when Lu Ye mentioned his elder brother earlier. The inquiry had stirred enough shadow of spection for Tan Li to guess most if not all of the truth urately. Otherwise, why would the Annihtor of Sectse all the way here, of all ces, to the New Moon Sects outpost?
Apanying the timbre of his wrathful retort, an anguished cry unexpectedly pierced the tumultuous air.
Diverse in their ranks of cultivation, the New Moon Sect defenders were a ragtag and variegated ensemble of ineptckeys when Lu Ye had enough experience of dealing with enemies that well outnumbered him. He had traversed enough perils on his journey that the crucible of such adversity no longer felt unfamiliar to him.
Serpentine in his movement, Lu Ye relied on Glyph: Protection while he maintained his own onught until a momentarypse caught one of the New Moon Sect acolytes off-guard. With a vicious stroke of precision, Lu Yes flying weapons descended upon him like a hawk finding prey, cutting him down with a macabre-red downpour in its wake.
His fury unbridled, an enraged Tan Li screamed, You dare spill blood here?!
Never in his wildest dreams could Tan Li have fathomed that Lu Y Ye would dare incur the wrath of Heavens retribution by spilling blood here in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
True enough, with a single life now extinguished on his ount, a pulsating violet luminescence suffused Lu Yi Yes countenance. More than that, it actually was an assembly of amorphous violet arcs coursing through him.
The corners of Lu Yes twitched at the recognition of what it was: the Judgment of the Heavens.
Painful. Very painful.
He could recount an anthology of injuriesminor and grievous alike with a few besetting him to the precipice of unconsciousness. However, never before had he tolerated any agony of this caliber.
The Judgment of the Heavens wrought anguish not solely upon his physical body, but also on his very essence too. It was as if a legion of ants were gnawing ravenously upon his body and spirit, a feast that subjected him to a maelstrom of torment indescribable.
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Chapter 538: Not Much Longer
Chapter 538: Not Much Longer
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A Cloud River Cultivator going back to the Spirit Creek Battlefield to pick on his lessers was hardly Lu Yes idea of something honorable.
But if Tan Sheng had triumphed over Lu Ye solely due to his own power and ability, Lu Ye could hardly fault him for that. Thetter would have med himself and instead just focused on his own progress and development, to pave his way for future retribution.
But Tan Shengs cunning use of the Tracking Disks second function had rendered Lu Yepletely exposed whichter culminated in how he was cornered and surrounded by virtually every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator in the Carnage Colosseum. If that did not happen, then he would not have used up the immensely-valuable Golden Body Token and his painstakingly-gathered one hundred thousand Contribution Points.
For this he med Tan Shengfully and the tangled path of payback was what led Lu Ye to the doorstep of the New Moon Sect.
At the same time, it was also meant as a derationan unspoken challenge that since they failed to kill him, then the storm of his reprisal would be a tempest to reckon with.
An aura of amethyst lightning enfolded Lu Ye at his first kill. Heavens retribution had spared no time at all to punish him for that transgression and the pain was a harrowing ordeal, an agony unparalleled.
He had been anticipating how painful it would be prior toing here. But clearly, he had underestimated the torment.
If the taking of a single life could be this painful, then what about killing tens or even hundreds of them?By Lu Yes own reckoning, five or six livesthat must be his limit. Any more beyond that would kill him, or at least he would be paralyzed due to the intense agony.
The New Moon Sect outpost here might not have been garrisoned by toorge a force, but Lu Ye estimated at least one or two hundred men strong. But confronting such odds if he could only kill just five or six of them, made his mission nigh impossible.
A sudden anomaly rippled forth from inside his spiritual self and interrupted his thoughts. That was when the anguish that once gripped both his flesh and psyche dulled as if eased by an otherworldly touch.
Lu Yes heart quivered as he maintained his evasion, weaving around amidst the barrage of attacks raining on him while part of him ventured into his spiritual self to investigate the source of this intriguing disturbance.
With his inner sight, he beheld his Tree of Glyphs, now awash in a cascade of transcendental mes. The very tree seemed to have burst into an inferno, mes ascending in serpentine fervor, incinerating the oppressive shroud of ominous, ashen mist that was engulfing his essence.
The amethyst lightning that coiled around his arms and limbs dissipated before his eyes
The Tree of Glyphs possessed the power to incinerate the Judgment of the Heavens!
The unexpected revtion elicited a chorus of astonishment from Lu Ye. Upon introspection, however, the pieces fit. Everything made sense.
The Tree of Glyphs had been proven adept at purifying any intruding elements detrimental to its hostthe toxins from the ingestion of Spirit Pills, for example. It stood to reason then that given the requisite fuel, the Trees ethereal mes could render Lu Ye impervious to many forms of harm. The Judgment of the Heavens, although retribution ordained by a divine force beyond evasion, shared a simr nature with toxinsan element invasive to his being, harmful in nature.
Thus, the Tree of Glyphs could incinerate the Judgment of the Heavens as well.
However, the magnitude of incinerating the Judgment of the Heavens clearly eclipsed that of ordinary toxins, which would incur a greater cost in terms of spiritual fuel.
In mere moments, a refreshing change swept over Lu Yes form, a sensation akin to weightlessness pervading his being. The iridescent shroud of amethyst lightning bolts that once enveloped him now danced away, vanishing like mist.
He had reservations initially about excessive bloodshed because of the Judgment of the Heavens. Therefore, his original intention had been to eliminate only a select few to intimidate the rest of the New Moon Sect into submission.
But now that he discovered that the Tree of Glyphs could vanquish even the Judgment of the Heavens, such apprehensions had now dissolved into nothingness.
All nine flying weapons flowed and interwove with renewed deadliness augmented by Glyphs, eclipsing the performance witnessed mere moments before.
Another chorus of anguished cries pierced the air with more in enemies spilling blood as they plummeted from the air.
The fading amethyst lightning once again enshrouded Lu Ye, its luminescent presence snaking all around him.
A still-heavily injured Tan Li was screaming at the top of his voice, Do you have a death wish, Lu Yi Ye, how dare you!?
Seeing his men being cut down right before his very eyes was a painful loss, but if Lu Yi Ye were to go on killing like this, thetter would just be digging his own grave.
The deaths of the defenders would have been worth it if Lu Yi Ye were to dieassuming he did not escape.
With that in mind, Tan Li roared to his men, Dont let him escape! The Judgment is killing him!
The New Moon Sect Cultivators were panicking and balking at Lu Ye being able to so easily y them despite the superiority of numbers. None of them would dare to gamble away their own life especially seeing how brutal and savage Lu Ye was. But witnessing the burgeoning intensity of the amethyst lightning enveloping Lu Ye and hearing the rousingmand of their legate Tan Li reignited their valor.
With the radiant dance of his flying weapons and the cascading glimmers of Invible slicing at every enemy around him, Lu Ye weaved through the adversarial throng with the grace of a butterfly. Wherever his presence touched, torrents of violence erupted, painting the surroundings with an unsettling hue of carnage and turmoil.
The silhouettes of in New Moon Sect acolytes tumbled to the ground like autumn leaves, their final descent a poignant dance of surrender to Death.
Even Lu Ye found it arduous to repel every enemy attack as a lone invader contending against an entire sect. Fortunately, there was Glyph: Protection to shield his vulnerabilities, causing any blows that struck him to at most inflict superficial wounds. More so, with his remarkable physique that rivaled even the stoutest Body-tempering Cultivators of the same cultivation rank.
But at the same time, for anyone who took a blow from Lu Ye, it wouldnt be a matter of mere injuryit would be a question of life or death.
Acolyte after acolyte fell in battle, and Lu Ye was a violet bolt of lightning of death, zigzagging through the expanse with piles of dead in his wake.
Finally, one of them finally broke under the mounting strain and cried out, Brother Tan! Theres no way well defeat him!
The entire outpost would have scoffed with disbelief at the notion of a single individual being able to face off against the fullplement of an outposts defenses alone. Yet, at this very moment, this inexplicable phenomenon was taking ce right before their very eyes.
And to think that the individual in question would be none other than the Annihtor of Sects Lu Yi Ye himself, now wreaking havoc and carnage despite being afflicted by the Judgment of the Heavens.
Tan Lis gaze reddened with bloodshot intensity as he witnessed his fellow acolytes falling one after another, the heartache within him growing unbearably suffocating. But they hade this far; to recall his men and concede their losses would be nothing but condemning all the deaths and sacrifices into vain and needless futility.
The violet lightning enveloping Lu Yi Yes form had grown so concentrated it became an indissoluble maelstrom. Surely the Annihtor of Sects himself must be enduring unimaginable torment and anguish himself?
He cannot withstand the Judgment much longer! We must hold on! roared Tan Li.
Lu Yi Yes resilience had all but surpassed his expectations. Tan Li had initially assumed that Lu Yi Ye could at most im a few lives, yet, up until now, the toll exacted by the savage craft and hands of the Annihtor of Sects had surged to nearly thirty.
In one fell swoop, more than two tenths of the outposts less than two hundred man strong force were killedsuch a grievous toll. Tan Li dreaded how he would exin the losses to the leadership of the Sect if he failed to apprehend Lu Yi Ye here.
In the meantime, the rest of the outposts defenders gritted their teeth with resolve at themand of their legate, maintaining their assault on Lu Yi Ye head-on despite the trepidation weighing on them.
Nevertheless, Lu Yi Ye looked hardly encumbered by the pain of the Judgment of the Heavens. On the contrary, he grew bolder with each enemy he slew. At every swing of his weapon, men would drop dead on the ground.
The Medical Cultivator tending to Tan Lis wound broke his silence all of a sudden, Ive heard about the Battle of Goldentip, Brother Tan Li. There was this True Lake Realm Cultivator of the Crimson Blood Sect who entered this Battlefield back then and in that battle, she alone killed many dozens of our people.
Tan Li swiftly turned his head, his pupils suffused with crimson intensity, What are you trying to say?
The Medical Cultivator continued, I am not sure of the effects of the Judgment of the Heavens, but it is said that not even a Divine Ocean Realm Cultivator could withstand its punitive torment. By all rights, Lu Yi Ye should have long been incapacitated by now. Yet even with the Judgment gnawing on him, he doesnt seem to be affected much. Does that suggest that the Crimson Blood Sect have some unknown methods that allow them to evade the effects of the Judgment?
Impossible! Tan Li dismissed tly, This is the punishment inflicted by the Heavens! Its impervious to any mortal maniption.
But what if there really is some way to do just that?
Tan Lis expression drifted into a momentary trance. [Indeed, what if there really is some sort of trick for that?]
So many had died and so long had psed, yet Lu Yi Ye looked fine. If he really was being subjected to the agony of the Judgment of the Heavens, then the pain should have been enough to reduce him to full paralysis because of the pain, if not outright death.
There was Lu Yi Ye, the paragon of death and destruction now, defying the ravages of the Judgment with an eerie calmness that betrayed no hint of pain or distress.
Could it be true that the Crimson Blood Sect does indeed possess some arcane methods to elude the retribution of the Heavens themselves? If that were true, then that would indeed be a perplexing enigma of the highest order.
The Heavens have always been an arbiter of impartiality. Yet why would it seem to favor the Crimson Blood Sect so much?
Sir, implored the Medical Cultivator, his words flowing with concern, It might be imprudent to wager the lives of our men just to ascertain this enigma
Tan Li jerked himself back into focus. His menhisrades and his fellow acolyteswere all charging at Lu Yi Ye, not because they believed they could defeat thetter, but rather, in the belief of his assertion that Lu Yi Ye would eventually crumble under the strain of the Judgment of the Heavens.
But if Lu Yi Ye could indeed emerge from the torment of the Judgment of the Heavens unscathed, then all the deaths of his men would be for nothing.
Conviction crystallized within Tan Lis mind. He leaped to his feet, roaring with unshakable determination, Sound the retreat! Back to Jiuzhou!
His decree thundered, impelling the defenders to back off Lu Ye and began filing straight for the outposts Sanctum of Providence; even they had begun to notice that Lu Yi Ye wasnt affected by the Judgment of Heavens. Lu Ye was about to chase after them, but Tan Lis towering form materialized in a collision course with him, screaming, Your opponent is me, Lu Yi Ye! Let them be!
A maelstrom of Spiritual Power and vital essence surged within Tan Lis being, infusing his very form with an unnatural hue of crimson, emanating a primal and bestial aura resembling that of a rampaging beast, an untamable force of nature both formidable and insolent.
Lu Ye remained steadfast, his stance resolute as he lifted Invible, its gleaming edge cleaving through the air in a sequence of three lightning-quick strokes.
Three crescent-like arcs of ethereal radiance bore down upon Tan Li, who met the onught with arms outstretched in staunch resistance. The resonant echoes of impact reverberated, and grievous wounds so terrible that one could almost see the white of his bones peeking out of the grotesque flesh marred his forearms. His impetuous charge was halted in its tracks.
Before he even came to his senses, a shadow shrouded in violet blotted his sight of everything else. A blinding dance of gleaming steel ensued, and Tan Li froze as if suspended in time.
Lu Ye deftly swept past the petrified form of Tan Li, in hot pursuit of the rest of the New Moon Sect, cutting down anyone within his line of sight and leaving a trail of blood and dead bodies leading to the outposts Sanctum of Providence. Behind him, stultified despair enshrouded Tang Lis gaze as life ebbed from him. His once formidable form crashed to the ground with his head rolling off his shoulder even before he hit the earth.
Despite being equal in rank with Lu Ye, he could not even withstand one round of attacks from thetter.
With the dust of battle now finally settling, Lu Ye stood alone in the Sanctum of Providence. He flicked the bloodstains from Invible before returning it to its scabbard.
Most of the New Moon Sect outpost had been evacuated. Lu Ye came alone and there was only so much he could do.
But given the circumstances, the oue had turned out to be eptable.
Lu Yi stepped out of the Sanctum of Providence and approached the headless corpse of Tan Li. His hand rummaged around, fumbling for a brief moment before extracting the Control Gem of the defensive ward. He destroyed it and with it, the defensive ward that guarded the outpost faded.
Only then did he convey a message to Yi Yi to bring forth Tao Zhengyu.
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Chapter 539: All That For Nothing
Chapter 539: All That For Nothing
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When Tao Zhengyu and Yi Yi rendezvoused with Lu Ye at the New Moon Sect outpost, little did they realize that they would be beholding a scene that would be etched into the fabric of his memory for the rest of his lifetime.
Corpse after gruesome corpsey scattered upon the blood-spattered gstones on the floor, their positions twisted and chaotic. The blood stains on the ground painted a macabre canvas that depicted how savage was the earlier skirmish, a morbid trail of red and dismembered limbs that led straight to the forecourt of the New Moon Sects Sanctum of Providence.
Upon the steps of the Sanctum of Providence was a solitary figure sitting there, leaning in a casual recline with an air of nonchnce and a saber lying beside him. A serpent of violet lightning was slithering all over him, crackling in its serpentine dance.
Watching how the amethyst lightning was gnawing at the physique of the person gave Tao Zhengyu a disconcerting difort. It was nigh impossible to fathom the torment one would endure within the embrace of such a thunderous hue.
Beyond the shadow of the Sanctums edifice, deep inside its recesses, a miasma of crimson malevolence hung heavy, where no less than a score of lifeless corpsesy amassed.
The New Moon Sect outpost sat right inside the core regions of the Battlefield, a ce where every Cultivator was at least a Ninth-Order if not higher.
Yet, these practitioners who once held dominion over heights, in Tao Zhengyus eyes, nowy dead within the pool of their own blood, their warmth steadily fading.
Tao Zhengyu could have sworn that he counted at least fifty dead bodies.When his eyes set upon the person seated upon the steps, Tao Zhengyu was ovee by such a crippling sensation as if he was gazing upon a towering mountain summit that stretched beyond the clouds overheada height that he would never, ever, be able to scale.
This was Lu Yi Ye, the fifth acolyte of the Crimson Blood Secthis senior brother.
Months ago, he had made history when he single-handedly tamed every Thousand Demon Ridge sect and order through his savage might. It wasnt until he ascended into the Cloud River Realm that they rejoiced and celebrated with unbridled tion.
But who would have guessed that the most feared Annihtor of Sects would revisit the Spirit Creek Battlefield after just a three-month absence, only toy waste to the outpost of a major Thousand Demon Ridge sect?
Tao Zhengyu climbed the steps and greeted, Brother Lu Yi Ye.
Go, motioned Lu Ye, Go inside and do your thing.
Yes, sir, answered Tao Zhengyu, knowing full well why he was brought here. He stepped inside the Sanctum of Providence and with his credentials as legate of the Crimson Blood Sect outpost, he stripped the Divine Opportunity Column of the New Moon Sect outpost of all its Blessings.
This was his first time, but it wasnt hard. All it took were a couple of tries and Tao Zhengyu easily got the hang of it.
Yi Yi ced before Lu Ye the Storage Bags she had gathered from the dead bodies she had ransacked. With a worrisome tone, she asked, Are you all right, Lu Ye?
The Judgment of the Heavens was anathema to the human soul and spiritual entities like Yi Yi would find themselves affected greatly just by being near it. Even a nce was enough to induce a sense of vertigo in her.
I am fine.
Lu Ye responded casually. With the Tree of Glyphs consuming the invasive Judgment of the Heavens, he felt rather well. Even the pain felt rtively tolerable.
If anything, he was more bothered by the loss of his Contribution Points, which was a two-thousand-point deficit.
The Heavens rewarding of Contribution Points clearly took him for a Cloud River Realm Third-Order, even though his rank would remain at the Heaven Nine stage for as long as he stayed here in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
And as a Cloud River Realm Cultivator, every kill would not win him points, but rather, a deduction of his Contribution Points.
What a huge loss it had been.
He hade here seeking remediations for the losses he had sustained but instead of gaining points, he was losing more points.
But he had collected enough loot and Storage Bags from the enemies he had in to make up for the deficit. Lu Ye stuffed a few Spirit Pills into his mouth to recuperate while he took the time to undo the magical seals that held the Storage Bags.
Nevertheless, there was little to be expected of the loot he had collected from Cultivators who were still of the Spirit Creek Realm. Even Tan Lis, a Heaven Nine Cultivator, hardly fared better.
Lu Ye finally finished undoing the magical seals of his booty.
That took approximately half an hour, revealing nothing that might have dazzled him nor stirred his heart.
Tao Zhengyu, having deftly purloined every Blessing he could get his hands on from the New Moon Sects Divine Opportunity Column, emerged from the Sanctum of Providence with an air of invigoration. He strode towards Lu Ye and asked, Where to after this, Brother Lu?
Lu Ye carefully stowed away his plunder, not forgetting to stuff a few Spirit Pills and Stones into a separate Storage Bag which he tossed to Tao Zhengyu, saying, Gimme a minute.
He spun on his heels and headed into the Sanctum of Providence whereupon he reached the foot of the Divine Opportunity Column. He extended a hand, and touched the divine obelisk, and entered the Vault of Providence, selling his loot there in exchange for Contribution Points.
That brought his Contribution Points tally up to seven thousand. Without the faintest hint of hesitation, he proceeded to convert all rued Points into buying mes of Earthen Spirits. The reason was simple enough: the Tree of Glyph appeared to have been fully drained of its fuel and swift replenishment was imperative. Or else, the Judgment of the Heavens would go on inflicting its damage on him, which could encumber his ns.
The consumption of the Tree of Glyphs fuel in eradicating the effects of the Judgment of the Heavens far exceeded that of venomous toxins. Whether there was still enough fuel for the Tree or not, Lu Ye did not know. But what he did know was that a small portion of the sustenance for the Tree was always stockpiled as reserve whenever the Tree was to unlock new Glyphs.
The only time when the Tree of Glyph had fully run out of sustenance was during the Battle of Goldentip.
He was still a very lowly Spirit Creek Realm Cultivator at the time and he did not have enough Contribution Pointswhich was how the Trees sustenance became fully expended at the time.
But since he began acquiring mes of Earthen Spirits from the Vault of Providence, his Tree of Glyphs was never short of sustenance.
Until now, which was the second time this happened.
The Tree of Glyphs devoured one me of Earthen Spirits after another like a starving wolf as the vast expanses of smoky ash ignited billowed. Still, the violet thunderbolts crackling all over him showed no sign of diminishing.
Over fifty lives had been taken by him and in the aftermath, the growing effect of the Judgment of the Heavens because of their deaths was poised to take a lot of mes of Earthen Spirits to fully eradicate.
But what astonished Lu Ye the most was how the Tree of Glyphs refused to exhibit any reaction no matter how many mes of Earthen Spirits he had consumed. He could only surmise that the Tree must have perceived his precarious circumstance and was focusing on removing the Judgments effects above all else.
With himself now beleaguered by the Judgments effects, the mes were clearly being used by the Tree as fuel tobat the Judgments effects, not to unlock any more new Glyphs.
In mere moments, the mes he exchanged from the Vault of Providence for over seven thousand Contribution Points were fully consumed, the boughs of the Tree of Glyphs now shrouded by an unceasingly thick smog that refused to dissipate.
A brief half-hourter, the Tree of Glyphsy dormant, its leaves unmoving, and its reservoir of fuel once morepletely depleted.
Still, the arcing electricity of the Judgment of Heavens persisted in its vibrant shade of purple upon Lu Ye, its vigor undiminished.
[All that for nothing?! What a loss!]
A flicker danced at the corner of Lu Yes eye, a telltale sign of his inner turmoil. His initial n to seek restitution from the New Moon Sect for the losses he had sustained at first had ended up with even more Contribution Points bleeding away instead with every kill he took and trying to eradicate the Judgment of the Heavens had cost him a huge load of Points too. Instead of regaining Points, the hole was only just getting bigger and bigger, much to his dismay.
But if he were to take into ount the Blessing Tao Zhengyu reaped from the enemy outpost, the bnce undoubtedly swayed in favor of profit.
Nevertheless, being a Cloud River Realm Cultivator, any good for the outpost here was no longer relevant to him. The Blessings Tao Zhengyu plundered would be good for the rest of the outpost and not himnot even a modicum of benefit at all for him.
Lu Ye delved into the confines of his Storage Sphere once more. He had amassed a considerable trove of spoils since he entered the Cloud River Battlefield and he had not been able to find time to sort everything out.
His original intention had been to go through the massive heaps of booty the next time he visited a Divine Trade Association branch. But no time for that now.
He was in dire need of Contribution Points.
Once again, he re-entered the Vault of Providence where he sifted through every item and sold everything that was useless, keeping only some Spirit Pills and Stones that could be useful in the future.
That at least brought in a haul of over ten thousand Contribution Points, enough for him to purchase more mes of Earthen Spirits to be used as fuel for the Tree of Glyphs.
Amidst his preupations in his work, a solitary piece of news took flight within the real world of Jiu Zhou spreading with crity as it reached every major order and sect within the Thousand Demon Ridge coalition.
After just three months, the Annihtor of Sects Lu Yi Ye had resurfaced in the Spirit Creek Battlefield once more. As if his reemergence was not bad enough, the harbinger of terror for all Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators here had made a beeline for the outpost of the New Moon Sect, which he conquered single-handedly. In the aftermath, the outpost wasid to waste with more than fifty dead or maimed, including the legate Tan Li, who was foundter with his head unceremoniously lopped off.
The news took the entire Thousand Demon Ridge coalition by storm.
Many, especially those of the New Moon Sect, uttered the name Lu Yi Ye with disgust and rage, believing that Lu Ye did not belong here in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, much less oppressing Cultivators lesser than him. If only they could enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield and challenge Lu Yi Ye themselves, thought the True Lake and Divine Ocean Realm elites of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
But yowling expletives and curses was pretty much all they could do. None of them truly had the courage to take on Lu Yes in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
All it would take was one single loss against Lu Yi Ye and they would be the subject of mockery throughout the entire Battlefield.
At any rate, the enormous losses suffered by the New Moon Sectthe deaths of its younger crop of Cultivators, the sacking of its outpost, and also the plunder of its Blessingswould not be redressed by just rebuilding the outpost alone.
Back when Lu Yi Ye had demanded all Thousand Demon Ridge outposts for payment in return for not attacking them, the New Moon Sect outpost had offered up their riches as well in its bid to sue for peace.
Yet why did Lu Yi Yee back here wreaking havoc after receiving payment?!
The high echelons of the Crescent Moon Sect assembled all surviving members of the outpost at once, seeking to unravel the motive of Lu Yi Yes sudden invasion.
Soon, a vital thread emerged: the mention of Tan Sheng by Lu Yi Ye during the invasion earlier. Thetter had been iming how he wanted to repay Tan Shengs kindness to him during their encounter at the Cloud River Battlefield.
Yet, beneath this veneerid irony.
One could barely expect any kindness between Tan Sheng and Lu Yi Ye, if they were to encounter each other, since they both belonged to two opposing factions.
But that was enough for the leadership of the New Moon Sect to guess that the clue of Lu Yi Yes sudden hostility must lie with Tan Sheng. To that end, they immediately ordered men to enter the Cloud River Battlefield to reach out for more information.
News poured in swiftly enough. Apparently, during thest urrence of the Carnage Colosseum phenomenon in the Cloud River Battlefield, both Tan Sheng and Lu Yi Ye were caught inside it, and in his bid to win the first ce in the Carnage Roster, Tan Sheng had employed the use of a Tracking Disc. That culminated in an all-out manhunt by almost every Thousand Demon Ridge elite in the Carnage Colosseum that nearly sealed Lu Yi Yes demise.
That forced Lu Yi Ye into using a precious Gold Body Token and the costly summoning of a Divine Opportunity Column right after the Colosseum ended to narrowly elude his doom.
A Gold Body Tokena magical item of immense and incredible rarityand a Divine Opportunity Column that would take a hundred thousand Contribution Points to summon
That finally impressed upon the New Moon Sect about Lu Yi Yes motivea clear act of retribution.
If anything, the Sect only had Tan Shengs failure to decisively put Lu Yi Ye to death once and for all to me. A mistake that clearly had sowed the seeds of peril back then.
It did not take long for the rest of the Thousand Demon Ridge to realize what just happened and why. Word of what took ce inside the Carnage Colosseum spread swiftly.
All of the Thousand Demon Ridge could only marvel in awe at Lu Yi Yes stupendous fortune for finding such a coveted treasure in the Gold Body Token. Without it, there was no way that Lu Yi Ye could have survived such impossible odds back then.
Judging from the timing, Lu Yi Ye appeared to have reentered the Spirit Creek Battlefield right after leaving the Cloud River Battlefieldan unequivocal embodiment of unrelenting vendetta, taken to the extreme.
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Chapter 540: Next
Chapter 540: Next
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But the rest of the Thousand Demon Ridge couldnt care less about the aftermath of the attack and the New Moon Sects indignation; if anything, they were more concerned about Lu Yi Yes present condition.
His return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and subsequent conquering of an enemy outpost might sound like the sort of derring-do that could someday be written into some glorious paean, but Lu Yi Ye was a Cloud River Realm Cultivator nheless and the Heavens retribution had and always been merciless and unyielding.
And in the midst of this turmoil, Lu Yi Ye had imed over fifty lives, although it was rumored that once the relentless ughter ended, the purple lightning coiling around him seemed to have materialized enough that it looked very real. It was so real that it looked incredibly dangerous and ominous
But if the destructive force of the Judgment of the Heavens was truly so fearsome, surely that would mean the demise of Lu Yi Ye?
If such were the case, the New Moon Sect could at least bask in the glory of their aplishment, in spite of the magnitude of their losses.
The unrest Lu Yi Ye had sown caused enough unrest in the Spirit Creek Battlefield for every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator to feel panic and terrified at the mere mention of his name. Yet even when he had gone into the Cloud River Battlefield, he miraculously eluded the grasp of enemies far more powerful and deadlier than him, despite his rtively low cultivation rank there..
That illustrated one truth: if such talent were to be allowed to mature, then Lu Yi Ye would undoubtedly spell disaster for all of the Thousand Demon Ridge in the future.
But if the Judgment of the Heavens could kill him, then this would be a cause for celebration for them all.Multitudes of messages were dispatched to the New Moon Sect, beseeching them to send some men into the Spirit Creek Battlefield to ascertain Lu Yi Yes fate. Everyone needed to know whether he lived or perished.
But the New Moon Sect responded with a firm refusal, finding the messages nothing but unfounded requests.
Sending anyone back to the New Moon Sect outpost, where Lu Yi Ye might still be present, would be extremely dangerous. The sect couldnt afford to risk more lives just to amodate the requests of bystanders who had nothing to lose.
During the Carnage Colosseum, Tan Sheng was not the only enemy Cultivator who had given Lu Yi Ye enough hell to want payback. However the origins of the conflict undeniably traced back to him. Now that their outpost had been overrun and the acolytes there in, the New Moon Sect could do nothing else but acknowledge their involvement in the offense.
Yet, given Lu Yi Yes unstoppable and enraged rampage, his thirst for vengeance surely extended beyond the New Moon Sect. Each and every Thousand Demon Ridge sect and order that stood behind the elite Cultivators who were part in Lu Yi Yes torment during the Carnage Colosseum had to answer for their involvement. None would escape this reckoning.
This revtion sent tremors through the hearts of many Thousand Demon Ridge sects. They hastily dispatched acolytes into the Cloud River Battlefield to gather intelligence, wanting to find out who was amongst those who had participated in the attack on Lu Yi Ye, and whether the throng included any of their own.
However,munication between the Cloud River Battlefield and the real world of Jiu Zhou was not as convenient as that of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, rendering much of the information elusive. The duration of the wait for confirmed news remained uncertain.
Furthermore, Lu Yi Ye was undoubtedly in trouble due to the Judgment of the Heavens. Even if he survived, he would likelyck the strength tounch any more attacks.
To that end, the leadership of the other Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders believed that the situation may not be as dire as the New Moon Sects reports suggested.
Nevertheless, it was imperative to ascertain Lu Yi Yes status; such matters could not be taken lightly. Hence, some of the Thousand Demon Ridge outposts near the New Moon Sect promptly dispatched men to investigate the situation.
In the meantime, somewhere within the Cloud River Battlefield, Tan Sheng, d in azure robes was grieving with tears from eyes scarlet from his rage rolling down his cheeks. He had just received word from his orders stronghold in Jiu Zhou, informing him of the events in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Tan Sheng sped his fists tightly, silently vowing to himself that he would not rest until he had confronted Lu Yi Yea solemn pledge he intended to fulfill in this lifetime.
From his perspective, targeting Lu Yi Ye during the Carnage Colosseum was not a misjudgment. His mistakey in failing to exterminate Lu Yi Ye once and for all, allowing him to slip through his fingers.
Whats even more unfathomable was that Lu Yi Ye would brazenly slip back inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield to exact revenge, leading to the tragic deaths of his own junior acolytes, including his blood sibling at the hands of Lu Yi Ye.
If their prior interactions had merely been a sh of factions, this has now intensified into a real vendetta. A blood feud that demanded retribution.
At the Ninth-Order of the Cloud River Realm and after gaining considerable advantages from his adventures in the Carnage Colosseum, Tan Shengs initial n was to advance into the True Lake Realm within a month. However, given the current circumstances, his ascension would be meaningless without avenging his fellow acolytes of the New Moon Sect. In the face of this deep-seated bitterness and rancor, he pledged to exhaust every resource in his quest to y Lu Yi Ye first.
Back inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Yi Ye was lounging casually on the steps leading into the New Moon Sect outposts Sanctum of Providence. The purple lightning bolts that once snaked all around him had mostly dissipated.
Right now, he was responding to messages sent to him by several close allies.
Word about his return had somehow spread, and many within the Spirit Creek Battlefield were now aware of his presence here and his sessful invasion of the New Moon Sect outpost. Filled with a sudden spurt of zeal and enthusiasm, the legates and prolegates of various allied sects and orders were reaching out to him, inquiring if he needed assistance.
Lu Ye harked back to the time when he was leading a crusade of Grand Sky Coalition allies that not onlyid waste to a number of enemy outposts but also brought those who were part of the crusade substantial gains. Such conveniences were no more since many of his allies had entered the inner circle areas of the Spirit Creek Battlefield themselves during his ascension into the Cloud River Realm.
Now, with his return, many were bing restless, yearning for an encore.
Some were concerned about his well-being, given his significant body count and the damage caused by the Judgment of the Heavens.
Lu Ye responded to each message one by one.
Which took quite some time to address them all.
But to Lu Ye, if members of the Grand Sky Coalition were concerned about his condition, it was likely that the Thousand Demon Ridge would be even more interested to know how he was at the moment, although there was no way to predict how they would react once they confirmed that he was still all and well.
From a personal perspective, the assault on the New Moon Sects outpost had been costly, with nearly twenty thousand Contribution Points invested in the endeavor.
But the Crimson Blood Sect had undoubtedly profited from the sessful invasion. Just the Blessings that Tao Zhengyu had stripped from the enemy outpost already worth more than two thousand Contribution Points.
Nevertheless, leaving aside the merits reaped from their spoils, the primary satisfaction came from venting pent-up frustration.
Lifting up his weapon, Lu Ye beckoned at Tao Zhengyu, who had been waiting with the patience and obedienceparable to that of a butler, Lets go. On to the next one!
Back then, he was besieged by so many enemy Cultivators that it was impossible for him to possibly know which Thousand Demon Ridge sect or order were all of his assants from. All he could remember were the New Moon Sect and the Clouded Sun n, where Tan Sheng and Wei Que were from respectively.
Tan Sheng was the source of the whole debacle, which is why Lu Ye chose to attack the New Moon Sect first.
Meanwhile, Wei Que was the biggest instigator and the fiercest nemesis on his tail all the time. So he was ced second. But Lu Ye couldnt kill as many people as he did at the New Moon Sect outpost anymore. He had already sold off all his spoils of war, and still, his reserves of fuel for the Tree of Glyph were running low.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye believed that there was a good chance that the Clouded Sun n would make a wise decision to not step into the same shoes as the New Moon Sect.
As for the others
It didnt matter which sect or order they came from. Of all the Thousand Demon Ridge sects and orders with outposts in the central regions of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Ye would just treat them the same.
With the precedentst time, Lu Ye had a good feeling that they would know what to do to prevent his wrath.
Anyone who refused to submit to his demands for protection money, Lu Ye would be more than happy to make examples out of them, just like the New Moon Sect.
As for the notion of conquering every single Thousand Demon Ridge outpost in the Battlefield, Lu Ye would not go that far yet. He did not try something as drastic as that back when he was still the most powerful Cultivator here at the Heaven Nine stage, hence there was no reason to do it now.
With their outposts razed to the ground, the surviving enemy Cultivators would find themselves without shelter. The gravity of the situation would have been less dire if this affected only a couple of Thousand Demon Ridge factions. However, if all the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators in the central regions of the Battlefield were to simultaneously lose their outposts, the situation would spiral out of control.
With nothing to lose, the surviving enemy Cultivators could band as one and form a force potent enough to go on a rampage of their own, systematically assaulting every Grand Sky Coalition outpost they encounter, one by one.
Therefore, while Lu Ye undoubtedly possessed the means to rid the Battlefield of any Thousand Demon Ridge outpost, he absolutely must refrain from doing just that; for doing so would only bring boundless cmity to the rest of the Grand Sky Coalition members within the Battlefield.
There had been an order that had endured in the Spirit Creek Battlefield for so long, a bnce that if broken or disrupted, would only bring more harm than good.
In contrast to notions that would only grant fleeting gratification, Lu Ye was more inclined to secure tangible gains by treading with careful deliberation.
He consulted his map and discovered that the Clouded Sun n outpost was unexpectedly nearer to the New Moon Sect than he expected. With his speed, he could reach it in less than half a day.
Lu Ye rode on his magical conveyance. He took into the air, just in time to see ribbons of streaking shes appearing on the horizon. That must be Cultivators approaching, although he could not yet tell if they were friend or foe.
And from the looks of things, they appeared to have spotted him. Yet they continued their approach, their greater seemingly washing away any wariness or apprehension towards his presence.
At a distance of over ten miles away, the group continued to fly, exchanging words as they traveled across the air.
Surely thats not Lu Yi Ye, Brother Miao? That fellow seems to being from the direction of the New Moon Sects outpost, said one of them.
Dont overthink it, responded the one the approaching Cultivators referred to as Brother Miao, Lu Yi Ye is here inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield as a Cloud River Realm Cultivator. After killing so many, he must be afflicted by the Judgment of Heavens by now. That stranger bears not a trace of any purplish lightning. I dont think thats Lu Yo Ye; he must be just a passerby.
True, the other nodded in agreement.
Were approaching the New Moon Sects outpost. Stay vignt, everyone! cautioned Brother Miao, issuing a solemnmand. Lu Yi Ye is a ruthless killer and a formidable adversary of all Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators. Our mission is solely to gather intelligence, not engage him inbat. If anything happens, withdraw at once. This is not a time to worry about face!
Yes, sir! they all replied in unison.
They were under orders from the leadership of their sect toe to the New Moon Sects outpost to investigate Lu Yes situation and none of them were expecting to meet face-to-face with the very quarry they had been charged to surveil. With the substantial distance still between them, there was no way they could recognize him either.
It wasnt until they were less than three miles apart that Miao furrowed his brow as he scrutinized the iing stranger.
With them moving as a group, they saw no need to veer away. Yet despite being outnumbered, the stranger did not choose to alter his course as well, much to Miaos surprise.
It wasmon for the side with weaker strength or lesser number to avoid potential confrontation whenever Cultivators encountered each other in the wilderness without prior knowledge of each others allegiances
That was why Miao was incredulous as to the strangers boldness.
He lifted his gaze and carefully observed. That was when his figure turned petrified as if suspended in mid-air. For one second, Miao nearly thought that his senses were deceiving him. But it was true. He looked again and there it was, their intended target for this reconnaissance missionLu Yi Ye himself! Shocked, he cried, Impossible!
As he had said earlier, Lu Yi Ye had killed so many people that even if he survived, he would undoubtedly be afflicted by the Judgment of Heavens. He could barely fathom the possibility that the stranger approaching them could be Lu Yi Ye himself.
And there was no sign of any purplish electric bolts enveloping his body. It was as if the killings that he hadmitted here in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had gone unpunished.
That would havepelled Miao into thinking that he must be mistaken. This must be just someone else whose appearance resembled Lu Yi Ye. Yet what about the presence of that small, snow-white feline perching on his shoulder? Who else could it be if not Lu Yi Ye?
Plus, he clearly wasing from the direction of the New Moon Sect outpost
The distance between them had now fallen to just two miles!
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Chapter 541: Old Rules
Chapter 541: Old Rules
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Run! Senior Brother Miao shouted as his thoughts raced.
His few junior brothers and sisters looked puzzled. The person who had just spoken prior asked tentatively, Senior Brother Miao?
Thats Yi Ye. Run! Senior Brother Miao summoned his Spirit Artifact as he spoke, assuming a defensive posture. It was clear that he intended to stay behind and buy time for his junior brothers and sisters so they could escape.
One had to admit that as a senior brother, he was truly quite responsible.
Their faces turned pale at the mention of that name, and for a while, they were at a loss for what to do.
It was just a mans name, yet its shadow was as tall as that of a tree.
Lu Ye was rtively unknown in the Cloud River Battlefield, but in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone knew him.
Especially after the astonishing feat he aplished at the New Moon Sects Outpost, where he single-handedly broke through the defenses of a Core Circle sects Outpost and slew over fifty people. Such remarkable achievements would leave a great impact on anyone.Who would have thought that they would encounter this gue when they came to the New Moon Sects Outpost to gather information?
In their brief hesitation, it was already toote to escape.
Yi Yes figure was already less than a thousand meters away.
Watch for my eye signals! Senior Brother Miao shouted while circting his Spiritual Power.
The others also felt a sense of imminent danger and hurriedly brought out their Spirit Artifacts, standing behind Senior Brother Miao as if to back him up.
A short whileter, Lu Ye flew past them at a distance of less than three hundred meters, heading straight ahead.
Senior Brother Miao and the others stiffened in midair, their expressions tense as sweat rolled down their foreheads.
It wasnt until Lu Ye went far away that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
They thought that they were doomed just now, but unexpectedly, Yi Ye left just like that. [Did he not see them?]
Of course, that was impossible. They were less than three hundred meters away, and Yi Ye wasnt blind, so how could he not have seen them?
In that case, he mustve simply chosen to ignore them.
The rest were fine, relieved at having escaped from death, each celebrating their good fortune. Only Senior Brother Miao felt ashamed on top of that relief. He was d that Yi Ye didnt attack them or they would all have died, but he also felt ashamed for even feeling relieved at that
Yi Ye was now in Heaven Nine, just like him. Though he had the courage to fight Yi Ye in the same realm, he didnt have the confidence to win against him. To think that he also ranked in the top fifty on the Roll of Supremacy
Senior Brother Miao one of his junior sisters called out in a trembling voice, Hesing back!
Senior Brother Miao turned quickly and there Lu Ye was indeed. He who should have been flying away was now turning back. [So was he still going to attack them?]
Senior Brother Miao made up his mind. Even if he had to die in battle today, he had to let this Annihtor of Sects know that cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were not to be trifled with!
The flying Spirit Artifacts stopped at a distance of less than a third of a kilometer from them, which was the limit that a Heaven Nine cultivator could attack.
Are you from Thousand Demon Ridge?
Lu Ye asked.
Panicking, Senior Brother Miao almost released his weapon in response, but aftering to his senses, he nodded solemnly. The man standing in front of him didnt feel like someone on the same level as him but rather a Powerful Real Lake or Divine Ocean Realm cultivator.
His shame intensified. Facing Yi Ye, he found that he didnt have the determination he had imagined. He didnt even have the courage to refuse to answer.
Since you seem to know who I am, I wont waste any time. Dont be nervous, Im not feeling the urge to kill today, so I wont do anything to you.
Mainly, killing would be too wasteful. Previously, killing enemies in the Spirit Creek Battlefield earned him Contributions, but now, not only would he lose Contributions for killing, he would even have to spend Contributions to buy some mes of Earthen Spirits to burn the Judgement of the Heavens.
This statement left the eyes of the group twitching.
He had just destroyed the New Moon Sects Outpost and killed over fifty people. He called that not having the urge to kill?
What do you want? Senior Brother Miao steeled himself and asked.
Go back and pass on a message to the major sects of Thousand Demon Ridge. Old rules. Skysword Peak in ten days! If I dont get what I want within ten days, Ill knock on each door one by one to pay you all a visit.
With that, Lu Ye turned and left, leaving Senior Brother Miao and the others behind with uncertain expressions.
It wasnt until Lu Yes figure disappeared that someone asked, Senior Brother Miao, what does he mean?
Senior Brother Miao did not answer. Naturally, he knew what Yi Ye meant. After all, the same thing happened only a few months ago. At that time, the major Core Circle sects of Thousand Demon Ridge were unwilling to cooperate. After all, who would be willing to give away so many resources for no reason, and to ones enemies at that?
But following Yi Yes battle against an elite-level Spirit Beast, achieving the status of an elite-level existence as a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, the sects that were unwilling to cooperate had no choice but toply
When ones fist was smaller than anothers, and with many previous examplesid out before oneself, what else could one do but cooperate? Compared to the resources they had to give out, the losses they would incur by having their Outposts destroyed were unimaginable.
Lets go! Senior Brother Miao called out and quickly led the group towards their own Outpost. He had to pass on the news quickly. As for the rest, it was not something he, a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, could consider. The experts of the sect would handle it.
In less than two hours, Lu Yes request was brought forward by Senior Brother Miao and quickly transmitted to the major sects of Thousand Demon Ridge.
Upon hearing the news, it was not Lu Yes rude request that the major sects were more concerned about, but his current condition.
Based on the observations of Senior Brother Miao and his group, there was not a trace of purple lightning coiling around Yi Yes body. He was quite clearly in a normal state.
This puzzled the countless experts of Thousand Demon Ridge.
More than fifty New Moon Sect disciples died by Yi Yes hands and the cultivators that escaped from the Outpost personally saw Yi Ye being surrounded by purple lightning, but how long had it been? How could the Judgement of the Heavens that struck fear even into the hearts of Divine Ocean Realm cultivators have vanished out of nowhere?
Only after Senior Brother Miao and the rest made the Heavenly Oath was this news seen as confirmed.
The Thousand Demon Ridge couldnt help but be bewildered.
They had hoped that Yi Ye would not be able to endure the soul-destroying torment and even if he didnt die, he would find it difficult toe out and stir up trouble. However, it seemed now that he had suppressed or even eliminated the Judgement of the Heavens entwining his body by some unknown means.
Thousand Demon Ridge was more inclined to believe the former possibility. After all, the existence of an ability that could eliminate the punishment of the Heavens seemed hard to believe.
They remembered that woman from the Crimson Blood Sect, called Mo Yuan. She had forcibly entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield twice, killing a good number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, and came out unscathed even after facing Heavens punishment.
Did the Crimson Blood Sect truly possess some special and incredible means that could suppress Heavens punishment?
If that were the case, things would be troublesome.
Facing the Annihtor of Sects, they could neither fight him nor defend against him. Other than obediently cooperating with him and appeasing his anger, it seemed there were no other options.
Most of the sects of Thousand Demon Ridge were discontented because the cultivators who had given Yi Ye trouble in the Carnage Colosseum were not their own, yet they had to suffer such undeserved cmity.
Yi Ye clearly had no idea who had bothered him in the Carnage Colosseum either, so he simply decided to deal with all of them in one fell swoop.
How could they be content with this?
A few months ago, they had already sent some peace money to Lu Ye, which was a sense of shame that Thousand Demon Ridge couldnt wash away. Now, a few monthster, were they going to experience this humiliation again? What was the difference between that and rubbing salt into their wounds?
Most importantly, Yi Ye was from the Crimson Blood Sect, and the Crimson Blood Sect was under the Grand Sky Coalition.
The peace offering sent by so many First, Second, and Third-Tier sects, whenbined, constituted a huge amount of resources, perfectly feeding their enemy. Such arge bounty would allow the Crimson Blood Sect no need to worry about its acolytes cultivation expenses for decades. It was said that the monthly sry of the Crimson Blood Sect acolytes wasparable to that of the top First-Tier sect in Jiu Zhou. Even the treatment of some initiates was better than that of many major sects.
A Ninth-Tier Sect like them could only afford such generous treatment for its disciples by bleeding resources from the major Sects of Thousand Demon Ridge.
If it were to happen again, Heavens knows how the Crimson Blood Sect would develop in the future.
Fortunately, Yi Ye gave them ten days to prepare, just likest time. So, there was still room for negotiation on Thousand Demon Ridges side.
Whether topromise or not was a big question.
Many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators from different sects gathered together in order to discuss this matter.
Soon, someone raised a crucial question.
Why didnt Yi Ye kill Senior Brother Miao and his group?
If his intention was just to deliver a message, leaving one person alive would be enough. What was more, he could even have personally delivered the message to any one of Thousand Demon Ridges Outposts.
Senior Brother Miao and the others were all unharmed, and Yi Ye had never shown any intention to attack them from beginning to end, a thought-provoking result.
Given the strength he showed at the New Moon Sects Outpost, Senior Brother Miao and his group should have had no reason to escape unscathed. Despite the fact that Lu Ye let them go iming that he wasnt feeling the urge to kill them, his decision seemed to be full of contradictions upon further contemtion.
Yi Ye must have had some concerns that kept him from acting against Senior Brother Miao and his group.
This discovery enlightened many of the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators.
Someone slowly spoke up, Currently, we are specting that the Crimson Blood Sect might have some special means that can allow them to suppress the Judgment of the Heavens, but what if this method alsoes with some drawbacks?
What do you mean, Elder Chen? someone asked.
Elder Chen stroked his beard. This old man has lived for so many years, yet I have never heard of anyone being able to resist Heavens punishment. While the idea of suppressing the Heavens punishment sounds ridiculous, the fact is before us, and Im willing to believe it for now. However, Heaven-defying methods muste with a great price. Its highly likely that Yi Ye was not unwilling to kill, but unable to do so!
As soon as these words were spoken, many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators felt enlightened.
Someone nodded. There is sense to Elder Chens words. Perhaps if Yi Ye were to kill again, the Judgement of the Heavens that is suppressed might erupt even more fiercely.
If thats the case, does it mean he was just bluffing?
Do you all remember when he broke through the defenses of nearly thirty Sects in the Core Circle at Heaven Nine? That was how he forced us to make concessions, but now? Half a day has passed, and if he still had the ability to break through the defenses of a second Outpost, why would he not try and exert pressure on us?
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Chapter 542: This Thing can be Overdrafted?
Chapter 542: This Thing can be Overdrafted?
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Inside the hall, as one Divine Ocean Realm expert after another gave their opinion, the situation seemed to be clearer.
Regardless of what method Yi Ye used to suppress Heavens punishment, it had toe at a great cost, and at this moment, he probably couldnt kill again.
If that was the case, what should the Thousand Demon Ridge have to fear him?
He might have the ability to infiltrate others Outposts, but on the premise that he was restricted from killing, his threat to Thousand Demon Ridge was almost negligible.
Of course, this was just a spection, and they couldnt be sure until they had firm evidence in their hands.
Its easy to verify it, someone spoke up, First, we find out Yi Yes location, then we send a group of Heaven Nine cultivators to probe him together to see whether or not he can still kill.
That sounds reasonable, lets proceed like that. Does anyone have any opinions?
I agree.No objections!
I have a suggestion. Lets try to find Heaven Nine cultivators in the Roll of Supremacy. If theyre too weak, they wont be able to verify anything. Furthermore, if possible, we may be able to seize the opportunity to eliminate him.
Very well, lets settle it at that. My Hundred Pass Sect can send one person.
The Seacliff Pavilion will send one person!
My Flying Thunder Cult will send one person.
With the contributions of each Divine Ocean Realm cultivator, they quickly formed a team of about twenty to thirty people, all of whom were from the Roll of Supremacy, with no shortage of those who ranked in the top twenty.
Then please send word to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and have them make their move as soon as possible, said an elderly Divine Ocean Realm cultivator who had been silent in the chief seat this whole while.
After receiving their orders, they immediately began to spread the message.
However, it was at that moment that some news seemed toe from the outside. Many Divine Ocean Realm Masters checked the messages one after another.
After a short while, everyones expressions became serious.
Even the Divine Ocean Realm elder who had spoken earlier furrowed his brow and raised his hand to say, Lets put what we were discussing on hold for now. He looked around with his seemingly cloudy eyes and slowly spoke, Weve received information that just a quarter of an incense stick of time ago, the Outpost of the Clouded Sun n was breached by Yi Ye, and more than ten people were killed!
As soon as he spoke, the entire hall fell silent.
They were just discussing how they were going to verify their previous spection, but now it seemed there was no need to verify anything. Yi Ye had already attacked the Clouded Sun ns Outpost, invalidating their previous conjecture.
Where the gazes of many converged, a Divine Ocean Realm expert, whose eyes seemed to be spewing fire, gritted his teeth and cursed, That little bastard!
This man was a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator from the Clouded Sun Sect, and coincidentally, he also happened to receive the information from his n about what had happened in the Spirit Creek Battlefield while he was here.
Though inparison, the casualties sustained by their acolytes were much lowerpared to the New Moon Sect, it was mainly because they had learned from the New Moon Sects experience and quickly evacuated their men. Otherwise, with Yi Yes proclivities, there would likely have been rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.
Who has a 10-point map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield? the elder presiding over the discussion asked.
Never did he expect that a Divine Ocean Realm expert like himself would still have to personally inquire about the matters in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but the Spirit Creek Realm was the foundation of every sect, and this matter had reached a point where he needed to make personal inquiries.
I have one. At the emergence of that sentence, a 10-point map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield was taken out, and the Divine Ocean Realm expert poured his Spiritual Power into it while someone else raised their hand to construct a peculiar Glyph.
The Glyph and the detailed map were connected, and in the next moment, arge image appeared before everyones eyes.
The image projected was that of the 10-point map of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The New Moon Sects Outpost is not that close to the Clouded Sun ns Outpost, but its not far either. The presiding elder looked at the map and continued, With Yi Yes strength, he should be able to reach there in less than half a day, so the timing matches up. However, several other Outposts of other sects between the two of them. Why did Yi Ye leave those Outposts alone and specifically attack the Clouded Sun ns Outpost?
From Yi Yes route of action, he seemed to be targeting the Clouded Sun ns Outpost specifically.
Brother Fu, is there any reason behind this?
The Divine Ocean Realm expert from the Clouded Sun n, the one surnamed Fu, had an unsightly expression on his face. We received news earlier that an acolyte named Wei Que from our n participated in the siege against Yi Ye in the Carnage Colosseum. Thats most likely the reason why Yi Ye came to our doorstep.
At his words, the faces of many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators also became unsightly.
First, there was Tan Sheng from the New Moon Sect, and now Wei Que from the Clouded Sun n. Yi Ye was acting with specific targets in mind.
However, they werent the only ones who participated in the siege against Yi Ye. Many of them had acolytes under their wings that were involved as well. Did this mean that Yi Ye would alsoe to their Outposts? Some werent able to determine this as they didnt know whether the acolytes of their sects were involved in what happened in the Carnage Colosseum or not.
This was a risky situation!
They quickly sent messages out, warning the acolytes in the Spirit Creek Battlefield to be on alert, and to immediately retreat to Jiu Zhou as soon as they discovered Yi Yes tracks. If the Outpost was breached, there was no way the Blessings of the Divine Opportunity Column could be maintained, but the most important thing now was to ensure the safety of their own acolytes.
Brother Fu, did the Heavens enact punishment on Yi Ye after he killed those men?
The cultivator surnamed Fu responded, Ill inquire about it.
He sent a message back to his n to ask about the situation, and it wasnt long before a response came back. Yes, purple lightning was coiling around his body as soon as he made a move against the first person.
The nearly a hundred Divine Ocean Realm experts in the hall fell silent.
They couldnt figure out what the situation was with Yi Ye. They had initially spected that he had a special method to suppress Heavens punishment, but the information they now received didnt seem to make sense.
If he had the means of Suppressing the punishment, then the purple lightning shouldnt have appeared around him, but if he didnt suppress it, how could Yi Ye remain unscathed?
After a while, the presiding elder spoke, A few months ago, our Thousand Demon Ridge, gave in to his demands. In just a few months, Yi Ye has once again made such impertinent demands. We shouldnt encourage this kind of deviant behavior. Otherwise, he mighte every few months, then should we be expected topromise every single time?
Everyone fell silent.
On careful thought, even though Yi Ye was despicable in some ways, he could still be considered a reasonable person.
He stopped troubling the sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge after receiving the peace offering from themst time, and it wasnt long before he advanced into the Cloud River Realm and left the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
It wasnt that he acted without reason this time either. If it wasnt for the targeted attack he suffered in the Carnage Colosseum, he probably wouldnt havee to the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Of course, even if they thought that way, they wouldnt say it out loud.
What do you think, Elder Chen? someone asked.
Lets send some people into the Spirit Creek Battlefield and negotiate with him. His actions seem to indicate that hes not just a reckless person. He should also be aware of the consequences if he acts too recklessly.
After Elder Chenid out his n, the other Divine Ocean Realm experts nodded in agreement.
Since Yi Ye had given them a ten-day deadline likest time, it would be better to talk to him first regardless of the oue.
It didnt seem like an optimistic move, but what if negotiations came out sessful?
Even if they couldnt reach an agreement, they still had ten days to prepare.
They couldnt just give him whatever he wanted, otherwise, what would happen to the pride of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators when they went out in the future? Were they shameless?
While the Divine Ocean Realm experts were talking, in the Clouded Sun ns Outpost, Lu Ye had immersed his mind into his consciousness and was examining the Tree of Glyphs.
Arge cloud of gray smoke rose from the tree, indicating that its fuel was still abundant.
Mainly, it was because he hadnt killed too many people this time.
It wasnt that he didnt want to, he just didnt get to.
As soon as the cultivators of the Clouded Sun n realized that Lu Ye had entered their Outpost, they quickly began evacuating and all left in just a short period of time.
This also made things easier for Lu Ye.
The only thing that made him feel helpless were his Contribution Points
He had already spent all his Contribution Points earlier on mes of Earthen Spirits to fuel the Tree of Glyphs.
As a result, the Contribution Points section on his battlefield imprint showed that he owed a total of 435 Contribution Points.
It was a first for Lu Ye to find out that Contribution Points could actually be owed!
It was eye-opening.
It seems the Heavens would never make a losing deal, Lu Ye could only sigh.
Fortunately, he still gained some spoils of war. After sorting through them, he tossed them all into the Vault of Providence, only then did he pay off all the Contribution Points owed and even earn a little bit extra outside of that.
Lu Ye didnt know what kind of consequences one might face for owing Contribution Points to the Heavens as no one had tried such a thing before. After all, who would owe Contribution Points in the first ce?
However, he had been gued with a feeling of unease from the moment he began owing those Contribution Points, as if something bad might happen to him at any moment.
Owing Contribution Points seemed like it could potentially affect his own luck and make things go awry.
Even someone with such remarkable luck as he felt that way upon owing Contribution Points. So it was not difficult to imagine that consequences would befall an ordinary person if they faced the same situation. They might stumble while walking and even choke while drinking water.
As the Tree of Glyphs continued to burn, the purple thunder lingering around Lu Yes body gradually dissipated.
Tao Zhengyu emerged from the Sanctum of Providence with an excited expression. Fifth Senior Brother, where are we going next?
Following his Fifth Senior Brother around had given him a taste of greatness, and there werent any risks to it at all. They could even plunder the Blessings of others Outposts, including the Outposts of Core Circle sects. After plundering two of them, he had reaped abundant gains. Though the plundered Blessings had to be converted into Contribution Points at their own Outpost, as the current Legate-In-Charge of the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost, he could even do himself a little favor and distribute a monthly sry to himself.
Without even mentioning anything else, there was no longer any need for him to worry about not having enough Contribution Points to buy Heaven Grade cultivation disciplines in the future.
This could also be considered his business trip expenses for following his Fifth Senior Brother. He believed his Second Senior Sister should allow it.
Looking back, none of the previous Legates of the Crimson Blood Sect had ever had the opportunity to plunder Blessings from multiple enemy Outposts like him and his Fifth Senior Brother.
He was extremely proud to be initiated into the Crimson Blood Sect. In the past, he was just an independent cultivator, living a lonely and destitute life, unable to secure enough resources for his cultivation. However, after joining the Crimson Blood Sect, life became better day by day. Now, the monthly sry he received from the sect wasparable to the treatment of disciples from the First-Tier Sects. For this reason alone, he was the envy of ny percent of the Spirit Creek Realm cultivators in Jiu Zhou.
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Chapter 543: The Annihilator of Sects’ Hobby
Chapter 543: The Annihtor of Sects Hobby
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The Crimson Blood Sect had formed alliances with numerous Inner Circle and Core Circle sects. Once their disciples reached a certain level of cultivation, they were free to choose where they wished to train. Recently, many of the Crimson Blood Sects disciples had left the Outpost and entered the Inner Circle. Some chose to take shelter with other sects Outposts, while others, like the forerunner Chen Yu, chose to venture into the Inner Circle alone.
The choice was entirely up to the individual. No one was forced into anything.
Disciples from their allied sects were also sent to the Crimson Blood Sect to cultivate, further strengthening the sects power. A few days ago, there was an insectoid attack, but instead of worrying, the Crimson Blood Sect simply saw them as a great source of Contribution Points, not stopping until theydpletely exhausted the energy of the Nucleus of Life in their nest.
In the battlefield of the Outer Circle, the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost undoubtedly stood as a mighty force. In a radius of a thousand kilometers from the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost, no Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators dared to tread recklessly.
It was said that several nearby Thousand Demon Ridge forces were even nning to relocate their Outposts.
They had no choice. Life had be too difficult, and what else could they do but move?
There arent any targets left.
Lu Ye stood up upon hearing Tao Zhengyus inquiry and stretched his back.He also wanted to move on to the next target, but it was best not to go overboard sometimes.
No matter how one looked at it, he was bullying the weak this time, which was a little different from back when he was in Heaven Nine.
Of course, the main point was that he didnt know the origins of the Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm cultivators who had attacked him in Carnage Colosseum. Otherwise, he could just openly go after them.
He only knew Tan Sheng and Wei Ques origins because of Li Baxian and Xia Qianqian.
There was also a de wielder that others referred to as Xia Liang. He seemed toe from the Raving desmen. The de technique insights that he needed seem to have shown themselves.
Oh, Tao Zhengyu hummed a response without protest. Though somewhat disappointed, he didnt push the matter.
The gains from this trip were already abundant.
Yi Yi, take Junior Brother Tao back to the Outpost, and be careful on the way.
Lu Ye instructed.
Understood. You take care too, Yi Yi responded as she summoned her Flight-Type Artifact.
She had her own Flight-Type Artifact, but following Lu Ye all the time, she never had the opportunity to use it.
After a while, Yi Yi rose to the skies with Tao Zhengyu and flew in the direction of the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost.
She and Amber could both exert strength at the level of Heaven Nine, so they hardly encountered any danger in this Spirit Creek Battlefield, especially now that all the major Thousand Demon Ridge sects were on high alert, wary of Lu Yes arrival. None of the powerful cultivators would be wandering around.
But with their strength, even if they bumped into a couple of Heaven Nine cultivators, they would still be able to handle them.
That was why Lu Ye wasnt concerned about Yi Ye and Ambers safety at all.
After checking his 10-point map, Lu Ye also quickly summoned his own Flight-Type Artifact and stepped onto it, flying leisurely in one direction.
He was heading to Skysword Peak to wait for the offerings sent over by Thousand Demon Ridge.
After all that busy work, it was time to reap the rewards.
The agreed-upon time was ten days, so there was no need to hurry. He wandered around leisurely, feeling quite carefree.
While he was enjoying himself, many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were in the midst of suffering.
Almost every one of Thousand Demon Ridges Outposts had received warnings from their sect to stay on guard against Yi Ye. If they were to find his tracks, they were to immediately withdraw back to Jiu Zhou.
This caused almost all the cultivators in the Thousand Demon Ridges Core Circle Outposts to be on high alert, for fear that The Annihtor of Sects would suddenly attack.
And, there was no need to mention just how on edge the sects that were close to the Clouded Sun ns Outpost were.
But despite waiting and waiting, no one saw any sign of The Annihtor of Sects. After destroying the Outpost of the Clouded Sun n, he disappeared without a trace.
Two dayster, Lu Ye arrived at Skysword Peak.
He had been here once several months ago to wait for the Thousand Demon Ridges peace offering, and he thought he would nevere here again after leaving the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but he didnt expect toe back again and do the same thing as he did several months ago.
Life truly was unpredictable.
Afternding on the Spirit Peak, Lu Ye found a t rock and sat cross-legged on it, his Invible Saber right beside him.
Looking at the sea of clouds rolling in front of him, Lu Ye suddenly regretted giving such a long deadline to the Thousand Demon Ridge.
It was impossible for him to cultivate in the Spirit Creek Battlefield since his cultivation had already exceeded the level of the Spirit Creek Realm. So, even if he took in the Spiritual Energy from this Heaven and Earth or consumed Spirit Pills, neither had any effect.
But there was nothing he could do about that. He could only take out the books he had gotten from Lady Yun and study them.
He had already gone through these books more than once, but each time he reviewed them, he would gain something new. He also learned some interesting Glyphs from the books, but as they were not on the Tree of Glyphs, constructing them would require extensive practise all the while carrying a risk of failure.
Up till now, the most useful Glyph he had learned from these books was Glyph: Void.
Without Glyph: Void, he wouldnt have been able to survive multiple near-death experiences in the Carnage Colosseum, nor could he have persisted for so long under the pursuit of so many powerful cultivators.
This was a very promising Glyph, and Lu Ye had always thought that there must be a simr Glyph on the Tree of Glyphs. However, he had not been able to unlock it and didnt know which leaf it was on.
If he could unlock that Glyph on the Tree of Glyphs, it would make setting up Teleportation Wards much easier in the future. With one fixed-point Teleportation Ward, he could return to it at any time through the use of Glyph: Void as long as he was within range of it, and he wouldnt have to worry about setting up multiple Wards.
The Glyph itself had the effect of teleportation and the purpose of using it as the core of the Ward was to make the Glyph more robust and stable.
Without the framework of a Ward and no one to maintain it, Glyphs were easily destroyed.
He could even construct the Glyph on his own Spirit Artifact to develop new means of killing enemies.
Of course, these were all just ideas that he pondered during his leisure time. To aplish such a thing, he would need to get the right leaf burning on the Tree of Glyphs.
While he was studying on Skysword Peak, two figures flew out on their Flight-Type Artifacts from the Outpost of a Core Circle sect. They were one man and one woman. The man appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with a majestic appearance and a tall and imposing figure, clearly someone in a high position.
The woman had a beautiful appearance, and it was simply impossible to tell her exact age from looks alone. She could be 16 to 17, or 24 to 25. She had a tall figure, but what was rare was her supple figure.
Both of them were experts in the Ninth Order Real Lake Realm.
Never in their lives had they imagined that they would still have the opportunity to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, let alone with the mission of negotiating with a brat on the Cloud River Realm.
The matter had been discussed by the Divine Ocean Realm experts, and in the end, the two of them were chosen toe.
The main reason was because this matter was neither big nor small, so it was not appropriate for the Divine Ocean Realm experts toe in person. If the negotiations failed and the situation became awkward, then it would be difficult to wrap up the situation once a fight broke out.
Of course, the most important reason was Lu Yes domineering strength. These Divine Ocean Realm experts really did not have the confidence to defeat him.
It would be fine if they won the fight, but what if they lost? They were all Divine Ocean Realm cultivators, so how could they exin it to the world when they were pressed on the ground by a kid who was barely 18 and taught a lesson by him?
So, after much discussion, they decided that it was more appropriate for a cultivator in the Real Lake Realm to handle the negotiations. Firstly, it showed their sincerity, and the Real Lake Realm cultivators were also confident in being able to keep the negotiation under control.
Originally, two male candidates were chosen, but just as they were concluding the matter, one Divine Ocean Realm expert spoke up and reced one of them with the woman instead.
The flower-basket-like Flight-Type Artifact flying in the sky looked beautiful,plementing the womans stunning beauty and curvaceous figure, enough to attract the gaze of almost all the men in the world.
Yun Qingyue stood on the flower-basket, looking up at the rolling clouds in the sky, feeling a little annoyed inside.
It wasnt just because of the asional nces she felt from behind, but also the instructions given by that Divine Ocean Realm senior before their departure.
She didnt know where that Divine Ocean Realm senior had obtained the information, but it was said that The Annihtor of Sects had no preferences other than women who were big and round, and that was why she was chosen to rece the original negotiation candidate, all in hopes that she could perform well.
On one hand, her figure suited The Annihtor of Sects taste, and on the other hand, her appearance made it difficult to gauge her age, making it easy for people to mistake her for a young girl in her teens, which could lower Yi Yes guard.
It was not abnormal for a hot-blooded young man, only 17 or 18, to have a fondness for beautiful women. With so many female cultivators in Thousand Demon Ridge, why did they choose her specifically?!
But the Divine Ocean Realm expert had spoken, and she had no room to refuse. She had no other choice but to grit her teeth and go, only hoping she would not suffer too much humiliation.
The strength of a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator at the elite-level was not something she could contend with.
As for the rumor that The Annihtor of Sects liked women who were big and round, she heard that it had supposedly been verified.
When he challenged the Roll of Supremacy, he had killed practically all the opponents he faced, regardless of gender, save for a single woman called Bai Lan, who was big and round
Even female cultivators were killed, showing that Yi Ye was not soft-hearted towards the fairer sex, but inexplicably, he spared Bai Lan, which naturally made people ponder.
Junior Sister Yun, theres no need to be so anxious. That brat gave a ten-day deadline and its only been two days. With our speed, well be able to reach Skysword Peak in a day, said Wu Jun, who followed behind Yun Qingyue.
They werent of the same sect, but they had interacted during their youth.
Speaking of which, he had once been infatuated with this Junior Sister Yun. After all, Yun Qingyue was a heavenly beauty that drove all the young people in all of the Thousand Demon Ridge crazy during their generation. It was rare for someone to see her appearance and not be moved.
Unfortunately, he was a nobody then and only had the qualification to admire her from afar.
Now, he was also a cultivator in the Ninth-Order Real Lake Realm with a chance of breaking through into the Divine Ocean Realm in the future. He was no longer the young and humble youth of the past and had gained someposure. Though he still found this heavenly beauty pleasing to the eye, he wouldnt have other thoughts about her.
Still, it was rare to be able to go on a mission with the dream goddess of his youth, and he did find it enjoyable to some extent, so he wasnt in a hurry to rush over. In fact, he even hoped to take the journey slow.
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Chapter 544: Does That Prove It?
Chapter 544: Does That Prove It?
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Yun Qingyue said, We still have time before the deadline, but the negotiation has not concluded yet. We need to leave time for each sect to prepare so we have to be quick about it.
Saying so, not only did she not slow down, she even elerated a little. Seeing this, Wu Jun had no choice but to follow suit.
After speeding all the way, Skysword Peak began to peek out in the distance.
Suddenly, Wu Jun spoke, Actually, we can try to send a Ghost Cultivator to assassinate him. If we can kill him, all our troubles will be solved.
But what if it fails?
If they failed, it would only enrage Yi Ye further, and the consequences would be unpredictable.
In fact, the Divine Ocean Realm experts did consider dispatching highly skilled Ghost Cultivators, but the risk was too great. Without even mentioning anything else, Yi Ye was proficient in the Way of Wards and even if he was only making a temporary stop at Skysword Peak, he must have set up rm Wards in his vicinity, so the Ghost Cultivators may not be able to sneak up to him without being caught.
Once they were discovered, then with Yi Yes domineering strength, things definitely wouldnt end well for the Ghost Cultivators.It was for these concerns that the Thousand Demon Ridge didnt dare to act rashly and instead sent Wu Jun and Yun Qingyue to negotiate with him.
Arriving above Skysword Peak, the two swept their eyes around the area and found a figure sitting at the top of the Spirit Peak.
Over there, Yun Qingyue said, then descended her Flight-Type Artifact towards the ground while Wu Jun followed closely behind.
In a moment, the twonded about a few dozen meters away from Lu Ye.
When they saw him, they were both inwardly surprised as they saw no traces of purple lightning lingering around Lu Yes body.
Based on the information they had received before, the purple lightning coiling around Lu Yes body should have be almost palpable in appearance after breaking into the New Moon Sects Outpost and killing over 50 cultivators, but when he appeared in the Clouded Sun ns Outpost less than half a dayter, that lightning had already disappeared without a trace, only reappearing again once he took another life.
But now, it was gone again
This undoubtedly indicated that Yi Ye indeed possessed the means to suppress the Judgment of the Heavens, but could such a miraculous method truly exist in this world?
While they were observing Lu Ye, thetter, who was immersed in his book, also looked up at them, and he was instantly attracted by Yun Qingyues appearance.
To have been known as a heavenly beauty to the men of her generation, she was naturally a great beauty, and beautiful things could always lift a persons mood.
When his gaze shifted downwards, his eyes lit up even more.
This slight movement naturally did not escape Yun Qingyues sharp eyes, but she was helpless. This brat was indeed as the rumors suggested
Fortunately, he looked at her without any lecherous intentions in his gaze, and he quickly averted his eyes.
Lu Ye nced at Wu Jun as well, but he didnt pay much attention to him.
What he could ascertain was the fact that neither were in the Spirit Creek Realm, nor the Cloud River Realm. At the very least, they would be Real Lake Realm cultivators, but it was highly unlikely for them to be in the Divine Ocean Realm.
What did puzzle Lu Ye slightly however, was the womans age. From her appearance alone, she didnt seem older than himself. But for someone with cultivation in at least the Real Lake Realm, how could she be so young? For her to have such an ambiguous appearance, one could only say that the woman preserved her beauty well.
Are you Cultivator Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect? Yun Qingyue was the first to speak.
This young man before them was the only person in history to have caused such turmoil in the Spirit Creek Battlefield with his own strength and left the Thousand Demon Ridgepletely helpless. Despite her cultivation level surpassing Lu Ye by far, Yun Qingyue had no intention of underestimating him.
Besides, she had a gentle character to begin with.
They had seen Lu Yes portrait beforeing here, which matched the person before them, but she still needed to confirm it.
Not only did she have an enchanting appearance, even her voice was soft and pleasant as a passing spring breeze.
To address Lu Ye as a fellow cultivator as a Real Lake Realm cultivator was enough to show her full sincerity. Given her cultivation level and status, she could easily address Lu Ye as little friend or simply by name.
One and the same.
Lu Ye put away the book in his hand.
In his mind, he was specting the Thousand Demon Ridges intentions in sending this woman here.
He quickly concluded that these two had note to deliver the peace offerings.
What evidence do you have to prove that youre Yi Ye? Wu Jun suddenly spoke.
Beforeing here, he had discussed with Yun Qingyue that one of them would y the viin and the other the reasonable negotiator, which wasmon during negotiations. That was also the reason why the Thousand Demon Ridge sent two people. If both were easy to talk to, then what was the point of negotiating? That was why someone had to be there to y the tough character so as to highlight the sincerity of the other person, which would make it easier to bargain during negotiations.
Wu Jun had no personal malice towards Lu Ye, and the difference in their cultivation levels was evident, but as a cultivator from the Thousand Demon Ridge faction, Lu Yes actions naturally made him somewhat resentful for his allies, and so he would naturally not be courteous with him.
What proof do you want? Lu Ye didnt believe that these two hadnt seen his portrait beforeing here.
Wu Jun said, I heard that Yi Ye has a little white beast by his side thats always with him, but I dont seem to be seeing it around.
Its not here.
Yi Yi had to send Tao Zhengyu back to the outpost, so Amber had to apany them. Both Spirit and Mutant were a linked pair and couldnt stray too far from each other.
A Cloud River Realm cultivator should be subject to the Judgement of the Heavens after invading the Spirit Creek Battlefield and killing others, but I dont see any traces of it on you. How can you prove that youre Yi Ye? Wu Jun was adamant. No matter what, he had to assert his authority and let Yi Ye know that the Thousand Demon Ridge was no easy target.
Most importantly, Wu Jun wanted to know how Lu Ye managed to suppress the Judgement of the Heavens. It would be worth any price to find that information out.
*Ceng* The Invible Saber was unsheathed, then bright glints emerged before three crescent-shaped Saber Lights were swept in Wu Juns direction.
Wu Jun never expected that Lu Ye would actually attack him. When he saw the three Saber Lightsing at him, his expression changed, and he immediately circted his Spiritual Power and vitality to protect himself.
He was a Body-tempering Cultivator, and a Real Lake Realm Body-tempering Cultivator at that, who was past the stage of relying on Spirit Artifacts for defense. His own physical body was the strongest protection he could have.
*Du du du* Following three muffled sounds, the aura around Wu Juns body flickered, and he was forced back several steps before stabilizing himself.
His face immediately turned serious.
Even Yun Qingyue, who was watching from the side, revealed a look of surprise.
It was then that she realized that the rumors were indeed true, and Yi Yes strength was as domineering as was said to be.
The three Saber Lights she saw had exceeded her understanding of what a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator was capable of.
Now, is that enough evidence?
Lu Ye silently put away his de.
Wu Jun was silent, his heart filled with shock. Even though it was just three Saber Lights, it allowed him to glimpse the extent of his strength. If they were to fight to the death here, then based on his current strength, he wouldntst more than three moves against Yi Ye.
The young were truly a force to be reckoned with!
Please rest your anger, Cultivator Lu. Senior Brother Wu and I truly havent met you before. We came here today for an important matter, and Senior Brother Wu is just being cautious. There is no ill will behind it. She bowed gracefully to Lu Ye. Yun Qingyue from Snow Feather n greets Cultivator Lu.
Wu Jun reluctantly cupped his fist and grumbled, Wind Cloud Mansion, Wu Jun.
Lu Ye had seen both the Snow Feather n and Wind Cloud Mansion on the 10-point map before, and both were First-Tier Sects. One was from Lei Zhou, while the other was from You Zhou, all information that wasbeled on the map.
Lu Ye nodded slightly and returned the greeting. Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye.
Despite being from different factions, they were still experts in the Real Lake Realm or above, so It was only appropriate to show respect.
What have the two of youe for? It doesnt seem like you are here to deliver something, Lu Ye asked, cutting straight to the point.
Yun Qingyue exined, To be frank, the Divine Ocean Realm Masters are still discussing whether or not they should agree to your demands. After all, such a thing has happened once before, and our Thousand Demon Ridge was agreed topromise then in hopes that you would not return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield after you left. Unexpectedly, after just a few months, the same situation has repeated itself, so the Divine Ocean Realm Masters are finding this situation difficult to ept.
Mainly, they didnt expect Lu Ye to continue killing recklessly in the Spirit Creek Battlefield even after advancing into the Cloud River Realm. Normally, higher-level cultivators would be constrained when invading the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but Lu Ye seemed to act without any fear.
Senior Brother Wu and I were entrusted by the many Divine Ocean Realm Masters toe here and discuss a mutually eptable solution with you.
Lu Ye kept his gaze fixed on Yun Qingyue, who faced him with an amiable smile.
How do you propose we discuss this?
Yun Qingyue answered, Regardless of what happened, Cultivator Lu can be considered to have bullied the weak in your actions this time. There are rules on the battlefield, and forcibly invading into the Spirit Creek Battlefield with your Cloud River Realm level of cultivation and destroying the Thousand Demon Ridges Outposts is indeed inappropriate. If all the cultivators from the major factions were to act like this, would the Spirit Creek Battlefield not then descend into chaos? What do you think?
Who else under the Heavens has the ability to do what I did?
Yun Qingyue instantly fell silent. That was exactly the question that stumped the Thousand Demon Ridge. Without an answer to this question, they would never be qualified to negotiate with Lu Ye on equal terms.
If anyone from Thousand Demon Ridge wants to emte me, they are wee to do so without any reservations. I have the ability, so I set the rules. Those without the ability should obediently follow. As for bullying the weak in terms of age, most of the Core Circle cultivators are older than me. In terms of cultivation level, the Heavens have suppressed my cultivation level at Heaven Nine, which means that is all the power I can exert. So, where does this bullying of the weake from?
Yun Qingyue felt helpless at his questioning. What you say is true, but your demands are indeed too harsh. Your demands bled out the various sects in the Thousand Demon Ridgest time, and they will not agree to such a thing again. The Divine Ocean Realm Masters have already reached a consensus on this matter. I know you suffered greatly in the Carnage Colosseum and incurred huge losses, so its understandable that you expect suchpensation. However, you have already destroyed two Outposts and killed many people. Is that not enough to ease your anger?
Lu Ye gazed indifferently at her star-like eyes. If Cultivator Yun is here to talk nonsense, theres no need to say more. I will only be waiting here until the end of the ten day deadline.
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Chapter 545: Choice of the Masters
Chapter 545: Choice of the Masters
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On Skysword Peak, Yun Qingyue wanted to try and persuade Lu Ye further, but he raised his hand to stop her. Ive stated my conditions, whether you agree or not is your business. Theres no need to discuss anything with me.
Wu Jun stepped forward and said sternly, If we dont agree, what then? Do you really have the guts to destroy all of the Thousand Demon Ridges Outposts?
You think I dont? Lu Ye turned his gaze to Wu Jun.
I believe that Cultivator Lu does have the capability! Wu Jun stared back at him, unflinching.
Considering what happened a few months ago, with so many of the Thousand Demon Ridges Core Circle Outposts being destroyed and so many cultivators being killed, Lu Ye did indeed have the ability. However, having the ability didnt necessarily mean he would do it. If he really did, it wouldnt bode well for the Grand Sky Coalition either, and when that happened, the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield would descend into chaos. If Yi Ye was at all rational, he wouldnt make such a reckless move.
Youre right. It is indeed impractical to destroy all the Outposts. Lu Yes tone changed, and he spoke with a thoughtful expression. But among so many Core Circle Outposts, picking out three, five, or even ten sects shouldnt affect much. Lets start with the Snow Feather n and the Wind Cloud Mansion. What do you both think? [Did we challenge you?]
Both Yun Qingyue and Wu Juns expressions changed. If Lu Ye really acted as he said, the Thousand Demon Ridge really wouldnt have a good way to deal with it. Compared to the number of Core Circle Sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge, three or even ten werent many. As Lu Ye said, even if they were upied, it wouldnt affect the overall situation.
He had already done something simr just a few months ago where he captured nearly thirty Outposts.If he were to attack again, who knew which Outpost he would capture? Until this matter was resolved, every sect in the Core Circle would be living anxious lives as if a de was hanging over their necks. Nobody could ensure that their Outposts would remain safe from Yi Yes tyranny.
If it so happened that Yi Ye paid them a visit, one would undoubtedly be willing to pay a price in exchange for the safety of their Outpost.
As for Lu Yes statement about starting with the Snow Feather n and the Wind Cloud Mansion, it was a clear threat. Yun Qingyue and Wu Jun couldnt be unaware of it.
Yun Qingyue felt helpless. It seemed that her intervention did not bring about any special effect in the slightest. Though this young man had taken an extra nce at her when they first met, it didnt earn her any special treatment.
How could someone so young be so difficult to deal with?
She quickly spoke again, Please rest your anger, Cultivator Lu. Senior Brother Wu and I came here in order to discuss and find a solution that can satisfy everyone. How about this? The Thousand Demon Ridge is willing to provide resources worth 3 million Contribution Points. If you agree, I can have someone deliver it at once.
Three million Contribution Points worth of resources, even when calcted based on the purchase price of goods from the Vault of Providence, was still a sizable amount.
It was enough to sustain any cultivator for a lifetime.
Though Cloud River Realm cultivators could umte more Contribution Points than Spirit Creek Realm cultivators, most of them would have only a few thousand to tens of thousands of Contribution Points, so the terrifying number of three million Contribution Points would undoubtedly make any Cloud River Realm cultivator so excited that they could hardly breathe.
Lu Ye, however, remained calm.
He had received resources worth twenty to thirty million Contribution Points from the Thousand Demon Ridgest time, so what was a mere three million? It was almost a tenfold difference. The Thousand Demon Ridges offer today was like throwing scraps to a beggar.
Though his demands seemed unjust, it had always been amon tactic for two major factions to weaken the enemys resources while strengthening their own, something which anyone would be happy to see.
Furthermore, there were reasons to justify his demands.
Lu Ye didnt speak, and Yun Qingyue didnt either. They both waited silently.
Instead, Wu Jun continued to y his role and said sternly, Cultivator Lu, offering resources worth three million Contribution Points is already the greatest sincerity that the Thousand Demon Ridge can show. One should not be too greedy.
Cultivator Yun.
Lu Ye ignored Wu Jun and called out to Yun Qingyue softly.
Yun Qingyue immediately showed an attentive attitude. Please speak, Cultivator Lu.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge is troubled by my demands, we can invalidate my previous proposal. Resources are convenient, so just give me something worth three hundred thousand Contribution Points.
Rather than show a happy expression, Yun Qingyues expression became much more serious. Does Cultivator Lu still have any other conditions?
The sudden change in Lu Yes stance indicated that something was waiting for her.
Give me another Golden Body Token, and well consider the matter settled!
Certainly it was true that more than one Golden Body Token existed in the world. Lu Ye obtained one in the Carnage Colosseum, so Thousand Demon Ridge probably had reserves, too, though not inrge numbers.
This was a life-saving trump card for any cultivator. After experiencing its power, Lu Ye had been unable to forget it.
Compared to the loss of a Golden Body Token, the one hundred thousand Contribution Points he spent on the Divine Opportunity Column in the Carnage Colosseum was negligible.
Contribution Points could be umted slowly, but Golden Body Tokens were not easily obtainable.
You jest, Cultivator Lu. I have never even seen a Golden Body Token in my life, so where would I find one for you? Wu Juns face darkened.
And even if they did have one, the Thousand Demon Ridge wouldnt possibly give it to Lu Ye. The Golden Body Token was valuable even for Divine Ocean Realm cultivators since it was a divine protection bestowed by the Heavens. Before its time limit, no one could break through its defense.
In that case, theres no need to say more. The two options are before you, so just choose for yourselves!
Wu Jun shouted, Yi Ye, we came here to discuss with you in good faith. Dont try to take advantage of us!
Lu Yes fingers touched the Invible Saber, and his eyes were slightly downcast. Do you think the Thousand Demon Ridge will seek revenge for you if I kill the two of you here? Unless, are you curious to know whether I can actually kill you or not?!
Wu Jun and Yun Qingyues expressions changed, both of them bing alert.
Fortunately, Lu Ye showed no signs of attacking them. However, it was evident that he was getting impatient, and if they lingered here, this young man might actually make his move.
If they really died here, the trip would have been pointless. Yi Yes hands were already stained with the blood of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, and two more casualties wouldnt matter.
At this thought, Yun Qingyue spoke, We will report our discussion with Cultivator Lu back as soon as possible, and we wille again to inform you of any results.
Saying so, she signaled to Wu Jun with her eyes, then they both flew away from Skysword Peak together.
After flying a dozen kilometers away, Yun Qingyue took in a long breath, her chest rising high before falling again. In that moment, she truly felt that she had had a brush with death.
She never imagined that as a Real Lake Realm cultivator, she would be so powerless in front of a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Not far away from her, Wu Juns expression seemed normal, but there was also a trace of fear in his eyes.
Send a message back and see what the Divine Ocean Realm Masters decide, Yun Qingyue said.
Wu Jun nodded in silence.
Without dy, they ryed the result of their negotiation to the cultivators back at their own Outposts, who would then pass it back to Jiu Zhou.
However, both of them knew that the Thousand Demon Ridge was likely to suffer heavy losses again this time, unless they dared to ignore Yi Yes threat.
But would anyone dare to ignore him?
As he said, he wouldnt attack all the Outposts, just select a few of them. Who would dare to bet that their Outpost wouldnt be one of the unlucky ones?
That was not something they could gamble on!
The most pressing matter was, if Yi Ye went directly to one of the Thousand Demon Ridges Outposts and asked for a peace offering, then threatened to attack their Outpost if they didnt pay up, what would one do in such a situation?
Give in to his demands, of course! Compared to the amount they had spent on their own Outpost, what was a few hundred thousand Contributions worth of resources worth?
As such, Lu Ye only needed to spend some time to visit each Outpost one by one and he could still achieve his goal withoutpletely disrupting the bnce of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
They didnt have to wait long, and in less than half a day, they got a response.
Sure enough, the Divine Ocean Realm Masterspromised. They had no choice, and even though it was shameful, they had no capital to refuse.
In response, however, the Thousand Demon Ridge also had their own demands. The message clearly stated that if Yi Ye couldnt ept these demands, then the Thousand Demon Ridge was prepared for a mutually destructive ending. At that time, they would abandon all their Outposts and gather the forces in the Core Circle to destroy all the Grand Sky Coalitions Outposts as well.
To let both jade and stone burn together inplete destruction could also be seen as thest resort of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
After reading the message, Yun Qingyue sighed. She didnt know whether Yi Ye would ept these demands either. Strictly speaking, the Thousand Demon Ridge was the disadvantaged party, and if Yi Ye refused, nobody could do anything to him about it.
After a moment of contemtion, Yun Qingyue said, Senior Brother Wu, Ill go by myself this time, you wait here.
With the negotiationing to a close, there was no need for the tough guy to appear anymore in case it stiffened the atmosphereter.
How could I just stay behind? What if Yi Ye tries to harm you? How would you defend yourself then? Wu Jun shook his head immediately.
Yun Qingyue said, With his strength, even if you and I join forces, we would still be no match for him if he decides to attack.
What she said left a bitter taste in Wu Juns mouth, yet he could not refute her
Senior Brother Wu, just wait for me here. Ill be back soon. That Yi Ye doesnt seem like someone who cant be reasoned with.
In that case, be careful, Junior Sister. Keep in touch with me at all times. Wu Jun nodded.
Yun Qingyue took out her flower basket Spirit Artifact and flew away.
In a short while, she arrived at Skysword Peak again, and the young man was still sitting in the same ce, holding a roll of paper which he studied attentively.
The sunlight broke through the sea of clouds and shone on the young mans profile, giving him a somewhat schrly air.
However, this was the man who was giving the entirety of the great Thousand Demon Ridge faction an extreme headache. Moreover, he was currently holding a butchers de over their heads, preparing to take a slice out of the Thousand Demon Ridge.
When his de came down, none of the Core Circle Sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge could escape.
Cultivator Lu, Yun Qingyue called out in a soft voice before tucking her hair behind her ear, and her already impable appearance seemed to gain another hint of charm.
Have theye to a decision? Lu Ye didnt even lift his head and continued poring through the contents of his slips, which made Yun Qingyue feel as if she hadunched her fist only for it tond on cotton.
The Divine Ocean Realm Masters have discussed the conditions, and they can agree to Cultivator Lus demands. However, they also have one request. If Cultivator Lu can agree to that request, then we will send everything you asked for within two days.
Speak!
The Thousand Demon Ridge hopes that Cultivator Lu will never return to Spirit Creek Battlefield in the future!
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Chapter 546: Pettiness
Chapter 546: Pettiness
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On Skysword Peak, Lu Ye wrapped up the slips in his hand and looked up at Yun Qingyue. His gaze was calm, but his words were decisive. Go. I wont kill you. And also, pass on this message to your superiors. As long as this Lu is alive, I wille to the Spirit Creek Battlefield every six months and pick out thirty Core Circle Sects to raze their Outposts.
Saying so, he stood up slowly and brought out his Flight-Type Artifact as if he was going to leave at once.
rmed, Yun Qingyue quickly called out, Please wait, Cultivator Lu.
What else do you want? Lu Ye cocked his head to the side while looking at her.
The Thousand Demon Ridge wanted him to refrain from setting foot on the Spirit Creek Battlefield in the future, but he would never ept such a condition. He had no need to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield anymore after advancing into the Cloud River Realm, nor would he threaten the Thousand Demon Ridge with either the cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield or the matters concerning it as one may do the same thing once or twice, but never thrice. Including this time, he had extorted the Thousand Demon Ridge twice, and if he were to do it again, they would definitely tolerate his threats and would most likely fight to the death with him.
However, it should be up to his own wishes whether or not he chooses to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was not up to the Thousand Demon Ridge to force him to stay out of it.
If they insisted on maintaining that stance, then there was no longer any need for them to speak further.
Facing Lu Ye, Yun Qingyue felt powerless and could only sigh. Cultivator Lu, the matter is still negotiableShe knew that as they had reached this point of the negotiation, then she must never show any signs of weakness on her end. However, it was no longer possible. Lu Ye was taking his leave, and if she did not show weakness now, then the thirty sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge faction may end up having to suffer.
And he even said that he woulde once every half a year. How could anyone withstand that?
If that truly were to happen, then there will be no Spirit Creek Realm cultivator in any Core Circle Sect that will have a peaceful space to cultivate in in the future. The Spirit Creek Realm was the foundation for all sects, and if that foundation was to be broken, then it would shake the future development of the entire sect.
Standing on the Spirit Boat, Lu Ye looked at Yun Qingyue in silence.
Yun Qingyue pursed her red lips and finally broke the silence after a long while. Unless a situation like what you experienced in the Carnage Colosseum happens again, then Cultivator Lu must not attack the Outposts in the Spirit Creek Battlefield for no reason!
Compared to the previous condition, this had much more leeway. It did not restrict Lu Yes entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield and instead restricted his actions against the Thousand Demon Ridges sects and ns, but that was only if the incident in the Carnage Colosseum did not happen again.
Though they were simple words, Lu Ye did manage to glean some information about the Thousand Demon Ridges stance.
Clearly, they still had not given up on killing him.
Inside the Carnage Colosseum, so many of the Thousand Demon Ridges experts who had cultivation levels that far surpassed Lu Ye pursued after him jointly, and they even employed the secret techniques of the Tracking Disc to make it so he had nowhere to run or hide. In the end, Lu Ye found himself encircled by hundreds, even thousands of people. Setting aside the longstanding grudges and disputes between the two major factions, the Thousand Demon Ridge had indeed gone overboard in that event. He was fortunate to have survived the attack, but not without paying a tremendous price. So, when he came to the Spirit Creek Battlefield seeking revenge, no one could me him for doing so.
However, if in the future, the Thousand Demon Ridge were to target Lu Ye again, they would undoubtedly exercise more caution and would never give him the chance to retaliate again.
This is the bottom line of the Divine Ocean Realm Masterspromise. If Cultivator Lu cannot agree, then please feel free to do as you please.
After saying her piece, she stared at Lu Ye anxiously, unsure of whether he would ept.
Lu Ye calmly nodded. Sure. Anything else?
While he was aware that the Thousand Demon Ridge had not given up on killing him, honestly, the path of cultivation would be dull without such trials. Ever since he stepped onto the path of cultivation, Lu Ye had been facing opponents stronger than himself, especially after his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect was exposed. He had faced various forms of suppression and opposition without cessation.
It was precisely through these trials that he advanced so triumphantly and dominated the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The Thousand Demon Ridge also wouldnt fear targeting him again just because of this incident, and he had no grounds to demand that the Thousand Demon Ridge cease targeting him in the future either.
These matters were mutually understood, and there was no need for explicit rification.
Seeing that Lu Ye had agreed, Yun Qingyue let out a long sigh of relief, and her expression eased considerably. She had always been kind in nature and was truly unwilling to witness excessive bloodshed.
Furthermore, every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. If Cultivator Lu wishes to seek reprisal in the future, please direct your efforts towards those truly responsible and do not involve innocent parties.
The cultivators who troubled Lu Ye in the Carnage Colosseum were all from different backgrounds, but it was certain that not all of the Core Circle Sects disciples were involved.
However, Lu Yes conditions epassed all the Core Circle Sects, inadvertently subjecting many to undue harm, yet they could not exin themselves out of the situation. They couldnt just ask Lu Ye to raise his hand high in mercy because their own disciples were not part of the Carnage Colosseum incident, right? That would make them aughingstock.
Of course.
Lu Ye nodded. Anything else?
Yun Qingyue shook her head. No.
For a moment, she felt taken aback. Was everything settled so easily? She had thought that Yi Ye wouldnt agree so readily and had even prepared numerous arguments to persuade him only to find that none were necessary.
Youre done, but I have two more conditions.
Yun Qingyues expression stiffened, and she urged him nervously, Please speak, Cultivator Lu.
Inside the Carnage Colosseum, there was an individual named Xia Liang who wielded the de. If Im not mistaken, he should be from the Raving desmen. I wont be visiting the Raving desmens Outpost, but please ry this for me. Besides thirty thousand Contribution Points worth of resources, they must also provide twenty sets of de technique insights. Otherwise, I wouldnt mind paying them a visit.
Yun Qingyue took careful note of it. Very well.
As long as they were not unique copies, de technique insights were not highly valuable. Even then, extra copies could be made. The Raving desmen likely had an abundance of such insights, so twenty shouldnt be difficult for them to take out.
Additionally, the Wind Cloud Mansions share should be increased by a hundred thousand Contribution Points.
The Wind Cloud Mansion Yun Qingyue was speechless. Wasnt the Wind Cloud Mansion Senior Brother Wus Sect? Yi Ye asking the Wind Cloud Mansion to increase their offering by a hundred thousand was undoubtedly a response to Wu Juns poor attitude during the previous negotiations.
This young brat appeared reasonable on the surface but was actually quite petty.
Putting up a show to manipte me shoulde with consequences, dont you think so, Cultivator Yun?
Lu Ye shot a nce at Yun Qingyue.
Yun Qingyue forced a smile. It seems Cultivator Lu saw through our act from the start. It wasnt a particrly sophisticated tactic to begin with, so it was to be expected that they would be caught.
With a sigh, Yun Qingyue continued, I will ry your conditions back to my faction, but before we conclude this, I must ask Cultivator Lu to sign the Sacred Pact.
Very well!
Verbal promises were not as binding as a Sacred Pact.
Yun Qingyue promptly produced the Sacred Pact, listing a series of terms before handing it to Lu Ye to review. Lu Ye carefully inspected it, making sure there were no hidden loopholes before stamping his own handprint on it.
Yun Qingyue, representing the Thousand Demon Ridge, also imprinted her handprint, then the Sacred Pact radiated with a brilliant light that signified that the contract was formed.
After putting away the Sacred Pact, Yun Qingyue felt much more relieved. Honestly, despite facing only a Cloud River Realm cultivator, the burden on her heart had been unprecedentedly heavy. Now that things had been settled, her mission was finally over.
Well, Cultivator Lu, until we meet again. Yun Qingyue bowed gracefully to Lu Ye and summoned her flower basket Spirit Artifact, flying away.
Lu Ye watched her leave and contemted for a moment. Instead of continuing to read, he went to the side, retrieved his saber and cut down arge tree in a neat stroke before chopping it into several sections, busying himself in this manner.
Time passed.
Three dayster, Lu Ye, who sat on a stone reading, suddenly spoke up. Leave the items here. Take the corresponding wooden que for each sects offering. You can take it as a return gift from this Lu. Once the ten-day deadline is up, the wooden ques of the sects remaining here will be the sects I visit.
Though there was no one in front of him, Lu Ye had perceived the presence of some unfamiliar auras around him.
These people were naturally here to deliver the offerings, yet they hesitated to reveal themselves due to his imposing reputation.
Hearing Lu Yes words, they turned to look towards the area several meters away from him. Therey hundreds of wooden ques, each carved with the name of a sect, corresponding to each sect in the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Lu Ye had meticulously carved these wooden ques based on the markings on the 10-point map, so he couldnt possibly miss any sect. Rather than a means to keep count, however, he was using this method to strengthen his memory. There were so many sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge. Through this, Lu Ye was able to more or less recognise the sects in the Core Circle, so if he bumped into any of the Thousand Demon Ridges cultivators in the future, if he tried to ask for their sect names, this knowledge should help him match their background to what they imed.
Only now did theyprehend Lu Yes intentions.
It wasnt until a whileter that people began showing themselves. They walked up to Lu Ye, ced down a Storage Bag before him, then took a wooden que with them before quickly departing.
With someone to start things off, more people soon emerged, cing down their Storage Bags without a word and taking away their own sects wooden ques.
Time passed, and as the pile of Storage Bags before Lu Ye grew, the number of wooden ques shrank.
Every cultivator who came to deliver the offerings could see the impressive stack of Storage Bags, and they knew that they contained valuable items worth millions of Contribution Points, but no one dared to be greedy. It took a lot to finally settle things with Yi Ye, and if anything unexpected were to happen at this point, not only would Yi Ye not spare them, the sects behind them would also draw the ire of the Thousand Demon Ridge faction.
At a certain moment, Lu Ye could sense that the wooden que of the Raving desmen had been taken. With a raise of his hand, he retrieved the Storage Bag that had just been left behind. Upon opening it, he found not only various treasures but also twenty sets of de technique insights.
Sure enough, that Xia Liang was indeed from the Raving desmen!
Otherwise, the Raving desmen wouldnt have given in so obediently. When Lu Ye personally visited them before, he had only gotten ten sets of de technique insights out of them.
Eagerly, Lu Ye began perusing one of the copies.
Inwardly, he could only sigh since there were no sects within the Grand Sky Coalition that specialized in de techniques. Otherwise, he could have furthered his training without needing to ask for de technique insights from someone else.
Moreover, the insights they provided were unlikely to be the best. Given Lu Yes current strength and mastery of de techniques, these insights could only offer minor improvements and wouldnt lead to any breakthroughs.
If only the Grand Sky Coalition could conquer the Raving desmen someday.
Of course, that was naught but a wishful thought. The Raving desmen was a First-Tier Sect with a profound foundation. Conquering them was easier said than done.
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Chapter 547: Turns Out it’s a Beast
Chapter 547: Turns Out its a Beast
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Seven days after Lu Ye had spoken with Yun Qingyue, only two wooden ques were left in front of him.
This meant that out of all of the Core Circle Sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge, only two did note forward.
And, the words carved into the two wooden ques were New Moon Sect and Clouded Sun n respectively.
It was impossible for them toe
Their Outposts have already been razed and some of their disciples were either injured or dead, so why would they still run over to send offerings to Lu Ye?
Lu Ye had expected this, so he didnt care.
He got up to stretch, feeling extremely spirited after meditating for this period of time. His work in the Spirit Creek Battlefield was done and there was no longer any need for him to stay here.
However, he could go and visit Hua Ci before he left. He wondered how she was doing, and based on the time that had passed since theyst met, he reckoned that she had already advanced into the Cloud River Realm.Summoning his Spirit Boat, he took to the skies and flew in the Myriad Poison Forests direction.
The wind whistled through Skysword Peak. Only two wooden ques with different names carved onto them were left behind.
Twice Lu Ye had raked inrge amounts of resources from the Thousand Demon Ridge here, leaving the Skysword Peak to be a pain in the hearts of the many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Even many years in the future, the cultivators of that faction would rather go around Skysword Peak than to ever step foot near it.
The Myriad Poison Forest was located within the Core Circle and was not too far from Skysword Peak. In one day, Lu Ye leisurely arrived at the space above the forest, a look of surprise emerging on his face.
The Myriad Poison Forest was different from how he remembered it.
The most obvious change was the fact that the Myriad Poison Forest seemed to have shrunken greatly in size, and the area that used to be enveloped in a fog of poison had now be safe to traverse.
Overall, it seemed to have shrunken at least thirty to forty percent in size.
This ce was a forbidden area of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and also a ce that the cultivators would not choose to step into without good reason. Not only was the ce still filled with an invisible fog of deadly poison, there were also many venomous insects living inside.
Even a Heaven Nine cultivator would not be able to reach too deep into the forest. [Could the shrinkage of the Myriad Poison Forest domain have something to do with Hua Ci?]
Lu Ye was aware that Hua Ci needed to refine the poison fog for her cultivation, but how many months had gone by and the Myriad Poison Forest looked like this already? If she were given more time, then wouldnt this forbidden area disappearpletely?
This woman was truly terrifying!
He went straight inside the forest and made his way to its depths.
He made his way to the wooden hut from before only to see a tall fence erected with the door to the hut tightly shut.
Lu Ye went forward and knocked on the door. Anyone home?
No response.
He tried to sense inside, but there were no signs of vitality inside the wooden hut.
Hua Ci wasnt here?
Lu Ye was surprised. He thought that Hua Ci would keep on cultivating here, but he didnt expect to miss herpletely, and he had no idea where she could have gone.
He opened the door and went inside before studying the surroundings. There was not a single trace of dust in the hut, which undoubtedly meant that Hua Ci still lived here. He just had no idea what she had gone off to do.
Leaving the house, Lu Ye contemted for a moment before heading to where Hua Ci used to cultivate.
Even when he used to live here, Hua Ci did not cultivate in the hut, and that was because of the Ward that Lu Ye had set up in the area. As long as the Ward was up, it could keep the poison fog from encroaching, which made it difficult for her to cultivate.
After walking a short distance, Lu Ye heard a gentle singing voice, as well as the sound of sshing water.
This woman seemed to be in a good mood, but he wasnt sure what she was up to.
He withdrew his aura and hid himself to try and give her a scare.
She had been living alone here for several months without any contact with the outside world. She did not send him any messages either, so clearly she had no idea that he had arrived in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
He was sure that she would definitely be surprised if he suddenly showed up out of the blue before her.
Following the source of that song, he made his way through a short forest, and when he looked up, Lu Yes expression turned stiff.
A pool had appeared there at some point in time, but it was not veryrge, only around a dozen meters wide, and water in an abnormal shade of emerald rippled in the pool.
Just looking at the water was enough to fill one with unease, so it was not hard to imagine just how toxic the water in the pool could be.
Lu Ye had no idea how Hua Ci had created this pool of poison, but it didnt exist when he and Yi Ye used to stay here. Clearly, Hua Ci must have created itter.
Most importantly, Hua Ci actually turned out to be bathing at this moment.
She was practically fully immersed in the pool with only her head peeking above the surface. Two arms as delicate and fair as tender leeks lightly swung about on the waters surface, with several dainty toesing out mischievously above the surface from time to time as she hummed a song he had never heard of.
Just from what he could see alone, Lu Ye could guess the state that she was in right now!
This If he were to be found out, then surely he would be beaten up like some scoundrel, right?
He never thought he woulde here to see this either.
Just as he was about to silently withdraw, the humming suddenly stopped. Then, Lu Ye felt a sharp gaze staring right at where he was hiding.
He had a bad feeling about this!
A ssh sounded as Hua Ci lifted a jade hand, and an emerald water arrow shot out from the pool, aimed urately at Lu Yes position. [Should I hide or not?]
Lu Ye was caught in a dilemma. If he hid, it would make him seem guilty, but if not, he would definitely be exposed.
Before he coulde to a decision, the water arrow hit him right in the chest. It didnt hurt him, but the arrow transformed into an emerald mist that enveloped Lu Yes body, blowing his cover.
Then, Lu Ye felt arge billow of smoke rising from the Tree of Glyphs
My In the water, Hua Ci, who only had her head showing above the water, eximed with a smirk. I thought it was a little creature, but it turned out to be a beast!
With feigned shock on her face, she spoke words that were even more poisonous than the water in the pool.
Dont you start! Lu Ye grumbled. Who but me coulde to a damned ce like this? You knew it was me, so no need to put up an act.
He could tell from how mild the arrow had been alone. Hua Ci knew that Lu Ye was immune to many poisons, so the focus on the arrow was on toxicity rather than lethality.
Of course, if it wasnt Lu Ye who came, nothing more than death would await whoever it was that came here.
The poison in the water was several times more toxicpared to what Lu Ye had experienced here in the Myriad Poison Forest.
Hm? How am I supposed to know?
Hua Ci giggled and sshed on the water. But what brought you here? Was the Cloud River Battlefield not fun for you?
No, its great fun. Since he had already been exposed, Lu Ye simply went forward to the pool and crouched down, reaching out to scoop up some of the water with his hand.
Even more smoke appeared above the Tree of Glyphs.
Considering he might not have arge stock of fuel left, Lu Ye did not dare to mess around any more. Otherwise, it would give Hua Ci a chance to mess with him.
Something happened, so I came back. I figured I coulde and visit while Im here.
So, Im just an afterthought Hua Cis expression turned gloomy at once. If anyone who didnt know the situation saw this, they would think that Lu Ye had yed her before abandoning her.
Even while saying so, the movement of her hands did not stop. Her slender neck, fair skin, and even the fantastical part in the front could be faintly seen. Combined with her wet hair and sad expression, Lu Ye felt his heart strings being tugged at.
Lu Ye wouldnt believe that she didnt do it on purpose even if he were beaten to death.
Enjoying the view? Hua Ci blushed, speaking shyly as she kept her head down amidst Lu Yes gaze.
En.
Want to see more?
Lu Ye sprang up at that. Can I?
Hua Ci kept her head lowered and muttered in a voice as quiet as a mosquito. I wouldnt do this for anyone else, of course. But its fine if its you.
Saying so, she pressed her eyes shut and her longshes trembled nervously. Then, she slowly stood up, allowing the emerald water to flow down her smooth neck, revealing a heavenly image.
Lu Yes eyes widened like brass bells.
Hahahaha, youre a big idiot!
Standing in the water, Hua Ci, who was wearing a dress,ughed so wantonly that her body arched back, taunting him.
Lu Ye shut his eyes in pain. It was absolutely shameful of him to have had any expectations of this woman!
But who could have guessed that a woman soaking in a pool would turn out to bepletely dressed?!
Lu Ye stood up and made to leave.
Hua Ci shouted at him from behind. Hey! Where are you going?
None of your business!
She got his hopes up about getting a view of divine beauty, only to then smash those hopes to the ground. He still had his dignity to upkeep.
After a while, a groomed Hua Ci appeared in the wooden hut. There, she saw Lu Ye lying on a hammock in the courtyard with his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky, bored.
Hua Ci walked up to Lu Ye, her body wrapped in fragrance, and she leaned down to look at him. Are you upset?
Whats there to be upset about? Lu Ye rolled his eyes. Im hungry. Go make some food.
Even though Hua Cis food looked bad on the surface, the taste and effects were quite good. They were all very nutritious dishes.
Very well! Saying so, Hua Ci leaned down even further.
Before Lu Ye could react, a light pecknded on his forehead.
Before she could pull back, Lu Ye grabbed her arms.
Hua Ci was confused. What are you doing?
What are you doing?
Arent you angry? Im trying to make it up to you. She looked as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with what she just did.
Am I a kid? Do I need you to kiss me on the forehead? Lu Ye was displeased. That was clearly a tactic used to coax young children.
What do you want, then?
Lu Yes gaze went down, starting at her plump red lips.
A look of panic emerged in Hua Cis eyes and her breathing hitched for a moment. Soon, however, she put on an uncaring expression and met Lu Yes gaze with a smile, her beautiful eyes as dazzling as the stars in the sky.
Time passed bit by bit, and the two remained in this position without moving.
It was only after a while that Lu Ye let go of her.
Hua Ci leapt back and taunted out of habit, Scaredy-cat!
Get over here! Lu Ye bellowed.
In your dreams! Hua Ci giggled and ran even further away.
The soft singing voice emerged again. Hua Ci was clearly in a better mood than before, and it wasnt long before the courtyard was filled with the smell of food.
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Chapter 548: Good Times Have Come
Chapter 548: Good Times Have Come
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Soon, Lu Ye was scarfing down food in the courtyard while the smokeing out of the Tree of Glyphs grew even stronger. It seemed like he would have to replenish the fuel again once he was back.
Hua Ci sat right across from him, sending food to his bowl from time to time while saying, Its easy to be blinded by theplexities of the world. You should eat more to nurture yourself.
Lu Ye pretended not to have heard her.
Wheres Yi Yi and Amber? I dont see them around.
Theyve returned to the Outpost. Lu Ye took down two Storage Bags from his belt as he spoke, casually tossing them to the table.
Hua Ci picked them up and when she saw the contents inside, she was surprised. Theres so much in here. Which sect did you rob this time?
Each Storage Bag was filled with the resources sent over by First-Tier Sects, and the two Storage Bags were worth a whopping 600,000 Contribution Points in goods. Of course, if these things were to be sold to the Vault of Providence, the value would be cut down slightly.
Lu Ye drew a circle in the air. All of the Core Circle Sects. Not one of them escaped me this time.Hua Ci Didnt know whether tough or cry. What did they do to you?
Its a long story; lets not talk about that.
Naturally, there was no need to tell Hua Ci about how he was chased in the Carnage Colosseum and was forced to use the Golden Body Token in the end, then having to summon a Divine Opportunity Column before he could escape sessfully. It would just make her worry for nothing.
I cant use these for my cultivation
If you cant use it, just sell it and get some Contribution Points out of it. Contribution Points will be useful once you reach the Cloud River Battlefield.
Hua Ci thought about it and nodded. Very well. Ill ept it.
Whats with that pool of poison? Lu Ye casually asked.
Its the Poison Spring of the Myriad Poison Forest. I found it by chance and drew it over there. That way, cultivating will be much more effective than just refining the fog.
It was exactly her ability to refine the energy in the pool that caused the Myriad Poison Forest to shrink in such a short amount of time. The changes happening in the forest had already attracted the attention of many. Only, nobody could figure out what was going on. After all, in the Spirit Creek Realm, the only person who could enter and leave the forests depths unharmed was Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was curious. Youve already reached Heaven Nine, so how are you going to keep cultivating?
Heaven Nine was the peak of the Spirit Creek Realm. Once one reached this level, then there was no way to keep on cultivating unless one advanced into the Cloud River Realm.
I have my ways. Hua Ci smiled.
Are you nning to refine the entire Poison Spring before moving on to the Cloud River Realm?
Of course. Its rare to have such a cultivation environment, so of course Im going to make good use of it. Is there a simr ce as this in the Cloud River Battlefield?
I havent found one, but Ill take note of it for you once I return.
Mutant Cores of Spirit Beasts will also work. Some of their cores are highly toxic.
The Vault of Providence should have something like that. Once you advance into the Cloud River Realm, you can go and buy some yourself. Ill also keep an eye out for you. Then, he suddenly thought of something. Have you reached the Roll of Supremacy yet?
Hua Ci then shot him a yful wink. Ive upied the top of the Roll of Supremacy for a few months now. Didnt you know?
Lu Ye was stunned. The top of the Roll of Supremacy? You?
Dont you look down on me! Hua Ci wagged her fingers at him.
Hua Ci had the strength to make an impact on the Roll of Supremacy, that Lu Ye was sure of. Back then, she had killed many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in the Myriad Poison Forest, but to say that she could upy the top spot for months in a row was still more or less a surprise to him.
But naturally, Hua Ci wouldnt joke about such a thing to him.
First, there was the Crimson Blood Sects Yi Ye who ruled the Roll of Supremacy for several months, and now there was the Crimson Blood Sects Hua Ci taking the top spot. And, from how things were going, it seemed she would continue to dominate the rankings for a long time toe.
Especially since Hua Ci was still publicly known as a Medical Cultivator
Lu Ye was curious to know what the mood of those Heaven Nine cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy was like nowadays.
Since ancient times, Medical Cultivators were rarely able to make it within the top 50 of the Roll of Supremacy, but then there was Hua Ci, who upied the topmost position.
On second thought, however, Hua Ci may be a Medical Cultivator, but after gaining herplete inheritance, she was no longer the same as the other regr Medical Cultivators.
Most such cultivators would also cultivate the Way of Spells or some other school for the sake of self-preservation, but Hua Ci did not adopt any of them. Strictly speaking, she was now a Poisoneer.
Medicine and poison have always been of one category, and as a Poisoneer, Hua Ci was different from the general Poisoneer. If she willed it, then she could even emit poison from her breath, not to mention transmitting venom through touch.
With this sort of heritage, upying the top spot of the Roll of Supremacy should naturally be no issue for her. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who challenged her would often not be able to see her before their minds were stirred up by her poison and forced to admit defeat or flee. After that happened a few times, nobody dared to challenge Hua Ci for her position anymore.
What the Thousand Demon Ridge wanted to know was where this Crimson Blood Sects Medical Cultivator was hiding since no one had seen her in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. She never even appeared in the Outposts of any sect before.
To the Thousand Demon Ridge, Lu Ye was a nightmare, but at the very least, he would show himself outside and stir up some wind and rain. However, Hua Ci was like a riddle without an answer.
In the entirety of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, in the recent year or so, Bing Zhous Crimson Blood Sect was simply like a mountain weighing down on the heads of the Thousand Demon Ridges cultivators, so heavy that it made it hard for them to breathe.
After having his fill of food and drink, Lu Ye stretched his back with afy look on his face.
While cleaning up the dishes, Hua Ci asked, Are you leaving now?
En. You shoulde to the Cloud River Battlefield soon, too. Ill be waiting for you there.
I will.
By the way, do you have more of the Omnipoison Pill you gave mest time?
Those pills could y a very strong role in specific environments. For example, in the Myriad Beast Domain. If Lu Ye hadnt sacrificed the Omnipoison Pill then, he wouldnt have been able to deal with that Niu Meng. Even though that pill was a double-edged sword, if used well, it can also y a role in turning the tides in a desperate situation.
I do. While saying so, Hua Ci reached into her dress and pulled out a handful of green Omnipoison Pills that were still warm with her body heat.
Lu Yes eyes twitched at that. Looking at the dozen of Omnipoison Pills, he didnt stand on ceremony and took three from the pile, storing them inside his Storage Sphere.
Take more. I can always make more, Hua Ci insisted.
No need. These are enough for self-defense.
He didnt know what it cost Hua Ci to make these Omnipoison Pills, but he was sure that they didnte easy, so he naturally couldnt squander it.
Im going now. Lu Ye turned around and waved to her before bringing out his Spirit Boat. Upon stepping on it and pouring his Spiritual Power into it, it took to the skies.
Hua Ci stood in ce, watching him go, raising her hands around her mouth and shouting, Be careful out there, my childs father!
Lu Ye stumbled and almost fell off his Spirit Boat. He looked down and red at Hua Ci, only to see her giggling sweetly like blossoming flowers.
After watching Lu Yes figure disappear into the distance, Hua Ci also stretched her back, entuating her beautiful and graceful figure. She was going to be alone again, but in these recent months, she had gotten used to such a life, so she didnt feel that lonely.
Still she had to work hard on cultivating and strive to refine the Poison Spring entirely so that she could join him on the Cloud River Battlefield soon.
She was still a Medical Cultivator at the very least and could help him heal his injuries as she followed him around.
Through the clear blue sky and picturesque scenery, Lu Ye hurried on his way.
The calm journey led him out of the Core Circle, into the Inner Circle, then to the Outer Circle before he finally made it to his Outpost.
In fact, he could have used the Divine Opportunity Column of the Divine Trade Association nearby to teleport straight back to the Outpost after leaving the Myriad Poison Forest, but that would also cost a good amount of Contribution Points.
It wasnt that he had anything to do recently anyway, and he couldnt enter the Cloud River Battlefield either, so there was no need to waste money.
In three days, Lu Ye arrived at the Crimson Blood Sects Outpost, and as soon as he entered the Grand Defensive Ward, he heard the clear voice of an eagle ring out.
Raising his head to look at the Spirit Peak nearby, he saw a familiar figure standing there, staring at him.
Beaky had returned.
Lu Ye got on his Spirit Artifact and flew towards the Spirit Peak and arrived at the eagles nest, feeding the fish that he had caught from Lunarmere to Beaky before ying with it for a while.
Then, he entered the Sanctum of Providence.
An endless stream of disciples saluted him on the way. There were those from the Crimson Blood Sect itself, as well as those from outside sects who hade to train. There were even female cultivators with hot personalities that would take the initiative toe up and make small talk with him, looks of reverence clear in their eyes.
After dismissing those cultivators, Lu Ye stood in front of the Divine Opportunity Column and pressed his hand on it, then he connected his consciousness to the Vault of Providence.
He had to sell some things to the Vault of Providence; only then could he ensure that he would have enough Contribution Points for his use.
This time, he had received a total of twenty to thirty million worth of resources, so even if he sold them all to the Vault of Providence and took the sale loss, he would still be able to pocket more than ten thousand million Contribution Points.
Naturally, however, Lu Ye wouldnt sell everything.
As long as he had enough Contribution Points for his own temporary use, then that was enough. The rest would be better off handed over to his Second Senior Sister to ensure the smooth development and operation of the sect.
Especially as his Second Senior Sister was now in the Divine Ocean Realm, her cultivation needs were quite hefty.
Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm could cultivate in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but as they reached the Cloud River Realm and arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield, there was no specific battlefield to head to after advancing into the Real Lake Realm.
Lu Ye wasnt particrly sure how the Real Lake Realm and Divine Ocean Realm Masters were supposed to cultivate, but it was said to be rted to a ns heritage. The stronger the ns heritage, the faster the Real Lake Realm and Divine Ocean Realm Masters could advance.
So, in the entirety of Jiu Zhou, the powerful sects kept on pumping out strong experts, whereas the weaker sects could only slowly umte strength and develop, just waiting for the day that they could leap over the dragons gate.
With Shui Yuans talent, she had, in fact, long been qualified to advance to the Divine Sea Realm, but until half a year ago, she was still in the Ninth Order Real Lake Realm.
It wasnt that she wasnt qualified to advance, but it was due to the Crimson Blood Sects pitiful condition that they did not have enough resources to support her in her cultivation.
However, with the rise of Lu Ye, the good days had finallye for the Crimson Blood Sect.
When Lu Ye put together a Grand Sky Coalition army in the Inner Circle and conquered all the four corners of the realm, he forced the Thousand Demon Ridge to bend to his will and sent out a great offering of resources in order to calm the situation down.
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Chapter 549: Spirit Storage Ring
Chapter 549: Spirit Storage Ring
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That batch of resources was split between the Grand Sky Coalitions many sects, but as Lu Ye was the one to be credited for this effort, the Crimson Blood Sect upied most of it.
And it was thanks to that batch of resources that Shui Yuan could fully step into the Divine Ocean Realm.
They were focused on developing the sect at the time, so Shui Yuan didnt dare to use up too much of the resources.
However, as Lu Ye spread across the Core Circle, extorting all the Thousand Demon Ridges Core Circle Sects for resources worth twenty to thirty millions of Contribution Points worth of resources, Shui Yuan wasnt as restricted in the resources that she could take.
It was foreseeable that with another batch of resources entering their storage, Shui Yuans cultivation would only increase in the future.
After all, in the whole of the Crimson Blood Sect, she and the Sect Master were the only two Divine Ocean Realm Masters, and the Sect Master no longer needed to cultivate. If Shui Yuan were willing, she could pour the resources of her entire sect onto herself, an advantage that no Divine Ocean Realm Master could ever hope to match.
Lu Ye was only in the Cloud River Realm at this time so he didnt have to worry too much about future matters. After all, it wouldnt be toote to wait until he advanced into the Real Lake Realm before dealing with it.
Inside the Vault of Providence, Lu Ye dug through his Storage Sphere and sold some resources that he and his sect werent in need of fire now, and he saw his Contribution Points being raised at a visibly fast rate.It wasnt until he was close to the 300,000 Contribution Points mark that he finally stopped.
This much was more than enough for his own use. Even if he encountered some overwhelming danger in the future, he could summon a Divine Opportunity Column to escape.
Still, it wasnt a guarantee to be able to escape just because he could summon a Divine Opportunity Column.
He had the protection of the Golden Body Token when he was in the Carnage Colosseum, and that was the reason why all those Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators failed to do anything to him. Without it, even if he did manage to summon a Divine Opportunity Column, he might not have been able to reach it.
So, that method could only be used when he could ensure that he had enough time and space to pull it off.
Then, Lu Ye bought some mes of Earthen Spirits and swallowed them up piece by piece.
He had to hurry and replenish the Tree of Glyphs fuel stock. He had only known previously that the Tree of Glyphs could burn toxins, but it was only now that he realized that the Tree of Glyphs could even burn the Judgement of the Heavens inside of him, so there was no saying what else it could burn in the future, and thus it was only natural that he should put more care into refueling it.
Time passed, and one by one, the mes of Earthen Spirits were consumed.
To Lu Yes surprise, the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs didnt react at all.
It wasnt until he swallowed nearly two hundred mes of Earthen Spirits that one of the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs showed any signs that it was beginning to burn.
Lu Ye guessed that his encounter this time had caused a crisis in the Tree of Glyphs, and so the mes of Earthen Spirits he had consumed before had all been turned into fuel. It was only when he felt that his reserves were almost full that he began to see changes in the leaves.
It had been a long time since he had gotten any new Glyphs from the tree, so Lu Ye was naturally curious about what sort of Glyphs he would get next. So, he continued buying mes of Earthen Spirits and devoured all of them.
After buying almost a hundred more pieces, Lu Ye was surprised to find that there were no more for him to buy!
This surprised him as it turned out that the stock of mes of Earthen Spirits in the Vault of Providence actually had a limit.
He always thought that the goods in the Vault of Providence never ran out.
Bute to think of it, he had simply taken it for granted. The things in the Vault of Providence did note out of thin air. All of the treasures sold inside had to havee from somewhere.
The most widely rumored theory was that the contents in the Vault of Providence were rted to the Divine Trade Association.
That was because someone had once sold something to the Divine Trade Association, only to find traces of it appearing in the Vault of Providence.
In that case, the mes of Earthen Spirits should also have been collected by cultivators from somewhere before being sold to the Vault of Providence. Lu Ye wasnt sure where these mes could be collected. The ones who used them either refined pills or Spirit Artifacts, so the purchase amount would not be toorge, thus there was always arge stock avable.
But when it came to him, he would buy several dozen to hundreds of these mes at a time. Even more outrageously, he had bought a few hundred this time andpletely dried up the stock in the vault.
If mes of Earthen Spirits were out, there should still be other mes.
Lu Ye searched the Vault of Providence for more of what he needed.
A few momentster, many things rted to mes appeared in his field of vision.
However, each item was different, and most of the ones that appeared were Core mes.
Core mes were not used for refining pills. Instead, they were the Mutant Cores of fire attribute Spirit Beasts, and each core was just like a ball of mes.
The prices were also different for each one. The cheapest one started at five to six hundred, but there were also those that cost up to tens of thousands.
Among them, Lu Ye also noticed one that was called Paramount cial me, which should be a type of Mystic me. Just looking at it gave one a chilling feeling, and the me even had a ghostly blue color.
This thing was also ridiculously expensive at 180,000 Contribution Points!
He couldnt help but think of the True Phoenix me he had gotten in the Burning Lands.
If this thing was put into the Vault of Providence, then it would surely fetch a hefty price as well. Perhaps, its price may even be higher than this Paramount cial me. Since it was Lu Ye who got his hands on it, he would only use it for the consumption of the Tree of Glyphs, but others could use these mes to cultivate some special Secret Arts, and thus the value was naturally not the same as the rest.
Devouring the True Phoenix me added Glyph: Fire Phoenix to the Tree of Glyphs, so Lu Ye was curious to know what sort of changes the Tree of Glyphs would show if he were to devour the Paramount cial me.
However, the price of 180,000 Contribution Points was enough to dissuade him from that thought.
Even if he had the capital to afford it, he still decided to give up on it after some thought.
He couldnt expect to get some sort of cial Glyph by consuming this Paramount cial me. After all, such a Glyph didnt exist in the world, and if he didnt get a corresponding Glyph from it and simply used it as fuel, it would not be cost-effective.
Lu Ye didnt stop until he bought up all of the mes that cost less than 1,000 Contribution Points.
The total damage racked up to nearly 300,000 Contribution Points. To have spent so much at once, money truly did go as quickly as it came.
And this was only the Cloud River Realm. Once he arrived at the Real Lake Realm or the Divine Ocean Realm, he would really need to spend a lot of Contribution Points. Talent and qualifications were certainly important in the path of cultivation, but without sufficient financial support, it would still be difficult for one to raise their cultivation level quickly.
The Tree of Glyphs was still devouring the mes, but Lu Ye was prepared to save some as spares in case he encountered a situation where the Tree of Glyphs ran out of fuel again.
Immersing his mind, he saw the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs burning up one by one as the mes were consumed.
Lu Ye couldnt help but be excited about what he would get.
Compared to the Glyphs that he learned from books, he could use the ones from the Tree of Glyphs at will, which often came with the possibility of increasing his strength in some way.
He continued searching through the Vault of Providence.
Next, he had to find Spirit Artifacts that could store Spiritual Power.
He had used Glyph: Fire Phoenix twice, and he remembered both experiences vividly in his mind.
He had to say that though this Glyph could set the tune with one beat of the gong at times, the price he had to pay in order to use this Glyph was also great.
The after-effects he could recuperate from as long as he had a safe ce to rest afterwards.
However, the Spiritual Power that was needed to support this Glyph was terrifying, and that was a problem that had to be dealt with.
Hed used Glyph: Spirit Storage toplete the construction of this Glyph, but if he had a Spirit Artifact that could do the job, then it wouldnt have to be as troublesome.
He could simply store Spiritual Power into the Spirit Artifact beforehand, then use it when he needed it.
All varieties of treasures could be found in the Vault of Providence, so there should be no shortage of the Spirit Artifact he needed.
Sure enough, hundreds of Spirit Artifacts appeared in Lu Yes vision after a moment. Even though they were all of different quality, the price differed as well. They were even in different shapes and sizes.
After browsing through them, Lu Ye finally settled on a ring.
A ring was easy to wear and not easy to lose. Moreover, it was of good quality equivalent to a Top Grade Spirit Artifact.
Within the realm of Spirit Artifacts, the quality of a Spirit Artifact was determined by how many Restraining Locks were built into it.
Below 9 Restraining Locks meant it was a Low Grade Spirit Artifact.
9 to 18 signified Middle Grade.
18 to 27 were High Grade.
And 27 to 36 were Top Grade.As the quality differed, the price naturally changed as well. Generally, Top Grade Spirit Artifacts cost between 1,500 and 2,000 Contribution Points in the Vault of Providence, but the difference was not too great.
From Lu Yes perspective, a mere thousand to two thousand Contribution Points were naturally nothing. He could simply spend it without worry.
However, for most Cloud River Realm cultivators, even a few thousand was a lot, especially since each cultivator needed more than one Spirit Artifact.
Spirit Artifacts had to be constantly reced as their level of cultivation increased. So, cultivators tended to spend a lot of Contribution Points on their Spirit Artifacts.
Of course, it was possible to purchase them using Spirit Stones from the Divine Trade Association, but one had to first have enough of them in order to make the purchase. When it really came down to it, however, purchasing goods using Spirit Stones would actually be more expensive than spending Contribution Points.
The Spirit Storage Ring that Lu Ye chose was slightly ridiculous, costing a whopping 4,000 Contribution Points.
For one, Spirit Bank artifacts were special and not weapons for cultivators to fight with. Such Spirit Artifacts generally cost more than the usual Spirit Artifact since their numbers were limited.
Secondly, this was the smallest of the Spirit Bank Spirit Artifacts, and also the most portable, so it was naturally more expensive.
With the Spirit Storage Ring now in his possession, Lu Ye put it on his finger and found it to be very suitable. It didnt affect his de swings either, and it had the ability of absorbing and storing the Spiritual Power that usually drifted out from the surface of a cultivators body. So, even if Lu Ye didnt actively pour Spiritual Power into it, as long as he wore it for a long enough period of time, it would be able to store a sufficient amount.
When Lu Ye needed it, it was much more efficient for him to extract Spiritual Power straight from the ring rather than using Spirit Pills to recover his power.
He had bought all that he needed to buy and sold all that needed to be sold.
Then, Lu Ye checked his Battlefield Imprint.
The Contribution column read: 193,643 Contribution Points.
Now, it was time for the main event.
The reward from the Carnage Colosseums Roster of Carnage.
Since returning from the Carnage Colosseum, Lu Ye hadnt bothered to deal with the reward. Instead, he headed straight into the Spirit Creek Battlefield as soon as he recovered.
Now, he finally had the time to check it.
When the Carnage Colosseum closed back then, the Heavens engraved a golden mark on the back of his hand. Through that mark, Lu Ye could link with the Vault of Providence from any Divine Opportunity Column and retrieve his reward there.
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Chapter 550: New Glyphs
Chapter 550: New Glyphs
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The first ce reward of the Roster of Carnage was what Lu Ye had been looking forward to the most. After all, it was a reward that could directly aid him in cultivation. For the current him, nothing was more important than that.
Inside the Vault of Providence, Lu Ye immersed his consciousness and connected it with the golden mark on the back of his hand. Then, his vision blurred, and he appeared inside of a secret room. The room wasnt veryrge, and there was a table at the very center of it. There were only two chests ced on the table, one big and one small, looking extremely simple.
On each chest was a golden mark, which was the same mark that the Heavens left on the back of Lu Yes hand. The mark just looked like a golden octagonal disc with nothing special about it.
Walking forward, he opened up therger chest, and all of a sudden, the room was filled with a dazzling, golden light.
Lu Ye waited for the light to subside before looking into the chest. There, several Golden Amulets entered his vision.
He took them out one by one, and there were exactly nine of them in total.
Counting the two Golden Amulets that he had, now, he had a total of 11 of them with this addition.
He still had Amulets of other qualities as wellFor a Third Order Cloud River Realm cultivator to have so many Amulets was simply unheard of. Since ancient times, no single cultivator from Jiu Zhou had ever been in possession of so many Amulets at once and at such a low cultivation level.
If it wasnt for the rewards from the Roster of Carnage, Lu Ye wouldnt have been able to achieve such a feat either. Mainly, it was the Glyph: Fire Phoenix he used at the end that killed arge number of the Thousand Demon Ridges cultivators, allowing him to ascend into the top position of the Roster of Carnage.
With so many Amulets in hand, Lu Ye estimated that if he were to use all of them, it wouldnt be too hard for him to reach the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm.
Of course, not all of these nine Golden Amulets belonged to him. He still had to split them with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechanter, so he could only have three of them.
After putting the Amulets away, Lu Ye looked to the smaller chest.
Therge chest contained the Golden Amulets, so the small chest should contain the legendary Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification.
Even though Lu Ye had a Tertius-level Arcane de at some point, he had never seen what the Wisp of Sanctification actually looked like.
He raised his hand to open the small chest, but nothing unusual happened. When he looked down, however, a frown formed on his brow.
There in the chesty a white and chubby thing like a chrysalis. It was the length of a palm and seemed to be alive, and that was because Lu Ye could sense that it was breathing, and following its breaths, its body appeared solid at times, and illusory at others. [So this is a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification?]
It was not what he expected
But since it was a gift from the Heavens, it had to be real.
It was said that if one possessed this thing, then no matter where one was in the Cloud River Battlefield, one could use it to create a Primus-level Spirit Spout, which in turn gave birth to a Primus-level Arcane de.
However, it was only limited to the Cloud River Battlefield. For a Spirit Spout to give rise to an Arcane de was something unique to the Cloud River Battlefield, and such a thing did not exist anywhere else. So, the Wisp of Sanctification could only work in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Lu Ye grabbed the fat white Wisp of Sanctification, which felt unexpectedly nice in his hand.
But how should he store this thing? It seemed to be a living thing, so he wondered whether anything would go wrong if he were to just keep it in his Storage Bag.
After some thought, Lu Ye looked at the small chest in front of him and put the Wisp of Sanctification back before picking up the chest.
This chest was also a gift from the Heavens. Though he had no idea what material was used to make it, it had to be good stuff, so he brought it along with him. Maybe he could use it to store something else in the future.
To his surprise, no matter how much strength he used, he couldnt get the chest to budge. When he tried to move therger chest next to it, it was the same.
The chest couldnt be taken away! Wasnt this too stingy of the Heavens?
Left with no other choice, Lu Ye took out a Spirit Beast Bag and put the Wisp of Sanctification into it.
Storage Bags couldnt contain living things, but it was no problem for the Spirit Beast Bag.
After collecting the wards from the Roster of Carnage, Lu Ye moved his mind and left the Vault of Providence.
When he came back to his senses, he stood before the Divine Opportunity Column with disciples surrounding him, all of them bowing when they saw him open his eyes.
Lu Ye responded to their greetings and gave them a few words of encouragement before returning back to the Crimson Blood Sect through the Divine Opportunity Column.
Upon sensing Lu Yes return, Amber scurried in from the outside and nudged him with itsrge head.
Wheres Yi Yi? Lu Ye asked.
Amber raised its head and gestured in a direction, which told Lu Ye that Yi Yi was cultivating with the Sect Master.
Yi Yi was a Spell Cultivator, and so was the Sect Master, so it naturally made it easy for her to receive guidance from him. Compared to Lu Ye, Yi Yi was more like the Sect Masters final disciple.
Rather than disturb them, Lu Ye went straight towards Shui Yuans residence.
When he found Shui Yuan, he took out all the materials he brought from outside, which Shui Yuan was so shocked to see that she could hardly speak. Again? So many?
The scene in front of her seemed familiar. Just a few months ago, Lu Ye had brought in such a huge amount of supplies, but she didnt think that he would bring another batch back in just a short few months.
When Lu Ye entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he said that he was going to get revenge. But now, rather than revenge, it seemed more like he was going to stock up on resources.
She wondered just how the Thousand Demon Ridge was feeling after being extorted by the same guy twice.
Senior Sister, things will get better and better for us in the future, so no need to be stingy with your cultivation needs. You and Sect Master are the only two Divine Ocean Realm Masters in the sect, and the Sect Master is growing old so there are things that he can no longer keep up with. In the future, youll have to watch after the sect more.
Shui Yuan nodded. I understand. Instead of me, youve worked hard out there.
Even though she had no idea what Lu Ye had done to make the Thousand Demon Ridgepromise, if she didnt guess wrong, then some fights and killings had to be involved. Otherwise, unless such arge faction was forced to a point of desperation, how could they possibly be willing topromise?
Take your time organizing the resources, Senior Sister. Ill be taking my leave.
Saying so, Lu Ye took out his Spirit Artifact and took to the skies, flying towards the Summit of Bamboos.
Looking at the mountain of resources in front of her, Shui Yuanughed and shook her head. It was going to be another busy but fulfilling day, and the sects storage was going to be filled to the point of overflowing.
In the sleeping chambers of the Summit of Bamboos, Lu Ye divided the Amulets in his hands into two sets. One set with six Golden Amulets was for Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
There was another set of five Golden Amulets, one purple one, a blue one, two green ones, as well as four white ones. Other than the Golden Amulets, most of these came to him as spoils of war from when he ughtered his enemies in the Carnage Colosseum, but there were also those he got from opening Amulet Caskets.
He didnt rush to use these Amulets, however, since Yi Ye was not around.
Once Yi Ye was free, they could cultivate together to increase their strength.
He continued taking out various mes for the Tree of Glyphs consumption, and as time passed, the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs burned one by one.
Lu Ye didnt stop until only thirty mes of Earthen Spirits were left in his possession.
He had to keep some behind for unexpected situations, just in case the Tree of Glyphs ever ran out of fuel again.
Then, he began checking the Glyphs on the leaves.
As before, most of the leaves did not carryplete Glyphs, but rather special connection techniques that were very useful to Lu Ye. They could be considered the basis and foundation for his advancement in the Way of Glyphs. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to master the construction of Glyphs without knowing how to connect them.
Glyphs could be used alone or with the help of Wards. If a Glyph were activated through a ward, then these connection techniques will have to be used. Strictly speaking, Glyphs and Wards wereplementary to each other.
It took Lu Ye almost three hours to finish inspecting all the burning leaves.
There were four new Glyphs in total.
Moreover, each Glyph was moreplex than the previous ones as they were carried on not just a single leaf.
For example, Lu Yes first Glyphs, Protection and Sharp Edge, were both basic Glyphs that were notplicated to construct. A single leaf was enough to carry all their information.
However, there were someplicated Glyphs that couldnt be contained in just one leaf. For example, Glyph: Space was carried by several dozen leaves, and Glyph: Fire Phoenix was even more ridiculous. The outline of the leaves that carried it looked just like a Fire Phoenix crouching on the Tree of Glyphs when linked together.
The more difficult the Glyphs, the more leaves it had to be carried on.
This time, he had received three types of Glyphs, split into leaves as few as three or four to as many as seven to eight.
This meant that these were much more difficult to construct than basic Glyphs like Protection and Sharp Edge.
Trapped Beast.
Mist Shroud.
Mirage.
Aerial Lock.
These were the four new Glyphs he obtained.
Lu Ye had seen every type of these Glyphs in books before. Of them, he had used Glyph: Trapped Beast in the Carnage Colosseum before. Other than Glyph: Void, this was another practical Glyph that he learnt from a book that was used during fights.
The Trap Ward he set up before was based with Glyph: Trapped Beast at its core. In the Carnage Colosseum, he was able to escape the pursuit twice from Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Experts, so the role that this Glyph yed was self-evident.
However, that was something that he learned from a book. Compared to that which was inspired by the Tree of Glyphs, it was different for Lu Ye.
The Glyphs he taught himself carried a risk of failure and were not very efficient, but the Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs could be activated at will, and setting up a Trap Ward with such a Glyph would also be more efficient.
Glyph: Mist Shroud was as its name suggested. It could create a shroud of mist and the more energy that was poured into it, the denser the mist.
This Glyph was used specifically for Wards. A confusion Ward was set up finely enough and supplemented by other techniques, then it could be used to effectively confuse an enemy.
Glyph: Mirage was simr to Glyph: Mist Shroud, but rather than create mist, it created an illusion to confuse reality and falsehood. Simrly, this Glyph can also be used as the core of a Ward to set up a Mirage Ward.
If Mist Shroud and Mirage were to bebined, then it would truly be a proper Illusion Ward.
As for Aerial Lock, it was also as its name suggested. It had the ability to prohibit flight in the air, and if used as the core of a Ward, it would be an Aerial Lock ward.
These four Glyphs didnt improve Lu Yes own strength much, but it offered him more choices in the Way of Wards.
Lu Ye couldnt help but get a strange feeling rising up in him. He had gained four Glyphs from the Tree of Glyphsst time, but he ended up going farther and farther down the path of a Spell Cultivator.
This time, with the four new Glyphs he received, he was going farther and farther down the path of a Ward Cultivator.
He wondered what else he would get next time.
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Chapter 551: Way of Tattoos
Chapter 551: Way of Tattoos
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After leaving the Summit of Bamboos, he headed straight for the Summit of rity.
He hadnt visited Lady Yun during this trip back to the sect, and it was also time for him to swap the old books for new ones. He had looked through the books he got from her plenty of times and knew each one like the back of his hand.
The Summit of rity was as peaceful as always. Even though there were also some disciples in the Crimson Blood Sect who could choose to freely enter and leave the sect and its Outpost, no one dared tread on the Summit of rity lightly, and Lu Ye was the only one who coulde at will without prior notice.
When he reached the Summit of rity, he was brought before Lady Yun by her mute maid.
Lu Ye bowed respectfully in greeting.
He was very reverent of Lady Yun, and though his entry into the Way of Wards could be said to be due to his possession of the Tree of Glyphs, strictly speaking, Lady Yun was truly the one who led the way forward for him in this path. Though the two were not master and disciple by name, that rtionship was their truth.
Lady Yun was undoubtedly very pleased with Lu Yes sense and talent as well, and she even had the idea to take Lu Ye in as her disciple in the past, but that never came to be for various reasons.
Even so, Lady Yun never held anything back when it came to teaching Lu Ye, showing no reservation as a true master would to their disciple.Inside the hall, Lady Yun tested Lu Yes recent progress in the Way of Glyphs as usual while Lu Ye answered each of her questions and demonstrated his proficiency.
Despite receiving no praise from Lady Yun, Lu Ye could tell just from the look in her eyes that she was very satisfied with his growth in the Way of Wards.
Then, Lady Yun constructed aplex Glyph so that he may try to dispel it, which Lu Yepleted without a hitch.
This game where Lu Ye destroyed the Glyphs that Lady Yun constructed was a fast way for Glyphweavers to learn the structure of certain Glyphs. In Lady Yuns words, Glyphweavers who could construct Glyphs were only drawing a scoop ording to the gourd. Only by understanding how to quickly break a particr Glyph could one truly attain mastery over that Glyph.
After the test was over, Lady Yun smiled. You are now qualified to be considered a true Glyphweaver. However, humility gains and fullness loses. Remember not to becent.
Yes, Lu Ye answered respectfully. After some thought, he added, This disciple wishes to learn the Way of Tattoos from the Lady.
Oh? Lady Yun was surprised at that. What suddenly spurred you to want to learn Tattooing? You have some proficiency in the Way of Wards, so why not further your attainments in that path instead?
Lu Ye answered, Naturally, this disciple has no intention of abandoning the Way of Wards, but besides that, this disciple also wishes to delve into the Way of Tattoos. Right now, the sect is developing, but it is still young and the disciples are weak. In the future, when they venture out of the Spirit Creek Battlefield and into the Cloud River Battlefield, they will eventually bump shoulders with others and get into fights. If this disciple can learn the Way of Tattoos, I can also help tattoo them with Glyphs that would provide some help to them.
Lady Yun couldnt help butugh at that. These should be matters that that Old Fart should be mulling over. You need only focus on your own cultivation.
Naturally, the Old Fart was referring to the Sect Master.
Lu Ye insisted, This disciple also wishes to help. Moreover, it doesnt hurt to learn more skills, and even if understanding more things doesnt necessarily bring about any benefits, it couldnt be a bad thing to know more.
Lady Yun nodded with a smile. Since you have the heart to learn, then learn you shall. Tattoo Artistry is a branch from the art of Glyph Weaving. Since you have Tattoos yourself, you should know what they are.
Lu Ye nodded.
However, having the ability to construct a Glyph doesnt give you the ability to Tattoo that Glyph on a persons body. It requires fine techniques and control over ones Spiritual Power. Furthermore, youll need the help of special materials that are not limited to the blood of various beasts, herbs, and so on. Oftentimes, the materials required for each type of Tattoo were also different.
Since she agreed to guide Lu Ye in the Way of Tattoos, Lady Yun began imparting all kinds of knowledge regarding Tattoos to Lu Ye. Even if he already knew all this information, Lu Ye still listened seriously.
To receive guidance from a top Glyphweaver like Lady Yun was a rare and precious opportunity for anyone.
And, through Lady Yuns teachings, Lu Ye gradually gained a systematic understanding of the Way of Tattoos.
Only then did he realize that the Way of Tattoos was not as straightforward as he had expected. However, Lu Ye had a unique advantage when it came to his wish of cultivating the Way of Tattoos.
That came in the form of Spiritual Power control and a powerful mind. No other cultivator at his level should be able to surpass him in these areas.
Time gradually went by, and Lady Yuns earnest lecturested several hours beforeing to an end, where she called out to Lu Ye. Come with me.
Lu Ye got up and followed.
Soon, the two of them arrived at a book storage room.
Lady Yun swept her gaze around the room and with a casual gesture, books of varying thicknesses flew off the shelves. There were about a dozen or so books in total, which she ced in front of Lu Ye.
These are the works of different Tattoo Artists, each offering their fundamental insights into the Way of Tattoos. Take your time to look through them, and I will teach you more tomorrow.
Yes.
For Lu Ye, reading was not a chore. Ever since he began practicing the Way of Glyphs with Lady Yun, he had perused at least hundreds of books on the subject.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield, as long as he had some free time, he enjoyed studying, and it had be something of a habit for him.
Opening one of the books, Lu Ye earnestly read through its contents.
Lady Yun had already left.
After one whole night, Lu Ye managed to finish the dozen or so books. These works were not exceedingly profound, so they were ready to read, and he also gained valuable insights from them.
The next day, Lady Yun went straight to the book storage and continued instructing Lu Ye more on the Way of Tattoos.
The same pattern repeated itself. In the morning, Lady Yun provided Lu Ye with lessons. At night, Lu Ye would immerse himself in reading within the room, days passing by uneventfully.
Ten dayster, after assessing Lu Yes theoretical knowledge of the Way of Tattoos, Lady Yun nodded with satisfaction. Youve grasped the fundamentals of the Way of Tattoos quite well. Now, whats left is the practical application. The Way of Tattoos is all about practice, and it also carries significant risks. This aspect sets it apart from other branches of Glyph mastery.
Nevertheless, Tattooing required leaving a mark on a living being to be effective. If a Tattoo Artists technique was not proficient enough, or their skillcked precision, then a failed tattoo could be a minor concern or even cause irreversible harm to the recipient.
If that were the case, then it would be troublesome.
Before you begin your practicals, you need your own set of tools. Saying so, Lady Yun extended her hand, and a jade box appeared in her palm, which she pushed in front of Lu Ye. This is a set of needles I used in my earlier years. Its been idle for many years, so Im giving it to you today.
Lu Ye respectfully epted it. Thank you, Madam.
This gift was of great help to him. Without Lady Yuns gift, he would have had to find a set of needles himself. Perhaps the Vault of Providence might have some for sale, but it would likely cost a significant amount of Contributions, and the quality wouldntpare to the set that Lady Yun had given him.
Upon opening the jade box, Lu Ye found it neatly arranged with 49 needles of varying lengths. He picked up one and noticed it was hollow, designed for injecting materials like a concoction of beast blood and herbs
Furthermore, these needles varied not only in length but also in hardness. Some were incredibly rigid, while others were extremely flexible.
Each needle had its purpose. When Tattoo Artists engraved a Glyph, multiple needles with different properties were often needed toplete the process.
Initially, while practicing Tattoos, you should choose simpler Glyphs. Through continuous practice, you will be familiar with the techniques, and once your skills are refined, you can move on to moreplex Tattoos.
Understood, Lu Ye responded, but he was curious. But, Madam, what should I use to practice?
Lady Yun gave him a knowing smile. There is only one initial practice subject for a Tattoo Artist, and that is yourself, of course!
Lu Yes eyelid twitched slightly. He had thought of using some wild beasts or Spirit Beasts for practice.
Its only through working on your own body that you can urately grasp the essence of Tattoos and be better acquainted with the force behind the needles. After all, your bodys feedback is the most authentic and clear. At the outset of your practise, dont aim to achieve greatness immediately and try to Tattoo a full Glyph directly. Instead, start from the basic elements of Yin and Yang, treating it as if youre learning the Way of Glyphs again from the beginning.
Disciple understands.
Smiling, Lady Yun raised her hand, and a jade bottle appeared before Lu Ye.
This bottle contains a type of medicinal concoction that you can use for practice. Even if you fail, it wont harm you.
After a short while, Lady Yun left. Lu Ye stared at the needles and the bottle before him and pondered for a moment. Then, he rolled up his right sleeve to reveal his arm while picking up a needle with his left hand, dipping it into the medicinal concoction, and quickly and decisively pricked his right arm.
The technique of needle insertion was already deeply ingrained in him. The process required speed, precision, and stability. At the moment of insertion, he had to inject the material contained in the needle into his body in order to form a primary element. Each needle could only form a single element, meaning the more intricate a Glyph was, the more jabs were required.
To control ones mental focus and Spiritual Power was undoubtedly a significant challenge.
On the first needle prick, he failed, unsurprisingly.
Activating Spiritual Power to construct Yin and Yang was rtively easy for Lu Ye, but constructing Yin and Yang with a needle was an entirely different level of difficulty.
Lady Yuns suggestion to treat it as a new beginning in cultivating the Way of Glyph was not without merit.
Lu Ye felt like a novice exploring Glyphs for the first time, and he had to start from scratch in every aspect.
The first time was a failure, the second time was a failure, then a third, a fourth
Little fine needle holes were constantly appearing on Lu Yes right arm. Through the holes, a faint purple color could be seen, which was the color of the medicinal concoction.
Two hourster, as Lu Ye pricked the needle into his body, aplete primary element was finally constructed.
He raised an eyebrow and immediately dipped the needle again to continue the next attempt.
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Chapter 552: Fourth Order Cloud River Realm
Chapter 552: Fourth Order Cloud River Realm
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With constant practice, there was no longer skin on his right arm that had not been pricked by a needle, so Lu Ye moved to his thigh. Once those were also covered in holes, he moved to his abdomen.
He had a strong body, so petty injuries like this would not affect him much. After just one night of rest, he could continue his practice again.
Due to the purple concoction, however, his body was covered in a purple color.
His skill grew little by little at a visible rate, allowing Lu Ye to Tattoo more and more primary elements.
In two days, he was able to Tattoo Glyph: Nine.
This type of numbered glyph was the most simple type of Glyph constructed with only nine primary elements, but even though it was a Glyph, it didnt serve any special function and was used by new Glyphweavers to practice.
Lu Ye had practiced these before, but this time, he was practicing them again in the form of Tattoos, so the difficulty was undoubtedly much greater than before.
After a first sessful experience, Lu Ye had undoubtedly gained a deeper understanding of the Way of Tattoos.As time passed, the Glyphs that Lu Ye could Tattoo became more and moreplex, and he had to say that Tattoos truly did drain the mind a great deal.
Right now, the Glyphs that he could Tattoo were only the most basic ones. Glyphs such as Void consisted of as many as 3,000 primary elements, which would equate to 3,000 jabs in total, during which he couldnt make any mistakes or pause in any way. He had toplete all 3,000 at one go, which would be difficult for one to hold on if their Mental Power wascking.
In the blink of an eye, inside the study several dayster, following thest prick on his skin, a Tattoo formed on Lu Yes right arm.
This Tattoo was not a numerical Glyph, but Glyph: Sharp Edge, which he obtained from the Tree of Glyphs at the very beginning.
The shape of the Glyph was just like an arrow.
Being able to Tattoo a practical Glyph such as this one was undoubtable proof that Lu Ye had made it past the threshold in the Way of Tattoos. Now, the only thing left to do was keep on practicing to umte experience.
However, since the Tattoo was made entirely out of a medicinal concoction, it was not powerful enough to exert strength.
If a suitable mixture of animal blood and herbal juices were used, then it would truly be a real tattoo, and if Spiritual Power were poured into it, the Glyph would be able to bring about a sharpening power.
He breathed a long sigh of relief. It wasnt until this moment that Lu Ye finally felt a trace of fatigue.
It had been more than half a month since he entered the Summit of rity, and he hadnt rested at all during this time. Even if he had a strong body, it was not strange for him to not be able to hold up any longer.
It was time for him to bid farewell to Lady Yun.
To a cultivator, enhancing ones cultivation realm was the most important thing for them. The Way of Glyphs was just an embellishment in the path of bing stronger. Lu Ye had the talent and foundation, but he would not concentrate on the trifles and neglect the essentials simply because of this.
He took out the books he had finished reading from his Storage Sphere and ced them back on the bookshelf, then he looked for some books he hadnt read before and stored them away.
Most of the books he chose this time were rted to the Way of Tattoos. Since he had learnt the Way of Tattoos from Lady Yun, he would naturally make more effort on it in his spare time in the future.
He walked out of the book room and left to see Lady Yun.
Knowing the purpose of his visit, Lady Yun did not make him stay and only taught him a little more on the Way of Tattoos before letting him go.
Lu Ye bowed and thanked her.
After not seeing the sun for more than half a month, Lu Ye couldnt help but squint as the sunlight washed over him.
Returning to the Summit of Bamboos, he took a bath before changing into a clean set of clothes. Then, Lu Ye fell into a deep sleep.
After cultivating to the Cloud River Realm, his need for sleep had be very low. When cultivators meditated, they were, in fact, in a state of semi-rest, and as long as the efficiency of their cultivation was high enough, they woulde out of the session full of energy.
However, it was human nature to eat and sleep, this was a truth that even the most advanced of cultivators could not erase.
Lu Ye was eventually woken up by a wet tongue.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Ambers head right in front of his face, itsrge tonguepping happily at his face.
After pushing it away, Lu Ye sat up.
He had no idea how long he slept for, but the exhaustion had been cleared from his body, restoring him to a refreshed mood.
Fragrance of freshly prepared food wafted in from the outside, and when Lu Ye walked out out of curiosity, he found the table covered in rice and dishes that were still fresh and steaming.
The door had been opened, and Yi Yi walked in with another dish in hand. Upon seeing Lu Ye, she eximed in surprise, Finally awake?
Lu Ye answered with a hum before sitting down at the table, grabbing a pair of chopsticks, and digging in.
He was surprised. Did you make this?
Yi Yi giggled. It was Second Senior Sister who made it, I just delivered them.
He was wondering why the taste waspletely the same as Second Senior Sisters cooking. On second thought, Yi Yi didnt even have this skill set to begin with.
While eating, he chatted idly with Yi Yi, and it didnt take long for Lu Ye to scarf down the table full of food.
After eating his fill, he left Yi Yi to clean up the table while he went out to exercise his body.
After an hour, back in the hall, Lu Ye and Yi Yi sat opposite each other while Amber sat between the two of them.
Im starting now, Lu Ye said to her.
Yi Yi responded in excitement, Im ready.
Lu Yeughed and brought out his share of the Amulets, then casually crushed one of the white ones.
A white spiral emerged, from which pure Spiritual Power poured out in a dense, unscattered form, lingering around the two cultivators and the tiger. Just by breathing, they could take that energy into their bodies and use it to strengthen themselves.
White Amulets did not hold up for long, and it disappearedpletely in less than an incense stick of time, then Lu Ye picked up another.
Once the White Amulets were exhausted, he started on the green ones, and once those were done, he went into the blues, then the purples, before finally moving onto the five Golden Amulets.
As the effects of the second Golden Amulet were about to deplete, Lu Ye distinctly felt the river of his Spiritual Power reaching a limit inside him, giving rise to that familiar sensation of fullness once again.
This was the sign of a breakthrough.
Previously, when he returned from the Myriad Beast Domain, he had broken through into the Third Order and even moved slightly further beyond that. Later, he also obtained a purple Amulet from Xia Qianqian. Coupled with days of consuming Spirit Pills, he was now not far from reaching the Fourth Order.
Now, breaking through was just a natural progression.
More power was being consumed and refined as it wed into his body, enhancing the volume of his River of Spiritual Power.
Until a certain moment, Lu Ye felt a surge in his River of Spiritual Power. Right after, that sense of fullness suddenly disappeared as if something had been shattered, reced by an indescribable sense of contentment.
A wave of energy surged in all directions. He had advanced into the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm!
Inparison to his previous advancement, going from the Third Order to the Fourth Order undoubtedly took longer, primarily due to the recent distractions. Otherwise, it wouldnt have been dyed this much.
If he had possessed cultivation at the level of the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm during his time at the Carnage Colosseum, then ying the Seventh Order He Bing would not have been so troublesome. However, Lu Ye was reluctant to use his Amulets to enhance his strength in the Carnage Colosseum as a single golden Amulet couldst for a full day and night. It would be a waste if he encountered enemies during that process.
Almost simultaneous with his advancement into the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm, Yi Yi and Amber also experienced changes.
A sudden sh of light emerged on the surface of Yi Yis body, and Ambers vitality surged for an instant.
Clearly, they had also made a breakthrough!
However, Yi Yi was an apparition and Amber was a Spirit Beast, which made it difficult to define their progress by cultivation realms. Still, judging by the fluctuations in their Spiritual Power, they had undoubtedly entered the Second Order of the Cloud River Realm.
There were still three golden Amulets remaining, so they continued cultivating.
Three dayster, all the Amulets had been consumed.
None of them experienced another breakthrough during that period. Lu Ye was still in the Fourth Order, but after consuming three Golden Amulets, he had umted considerable progress within his new minor realm.
As for Amber and Yi Yi, they were on the brink of teaching the Third Order. With a bit more dedicated cultivation, they should be able to make a breakthrough.
As his cultivation advanced, resource consumption grew. Naturally, the more Amulets he could get, the better.
The Amulets that Lu Ye acquired had to be shared with both Yi Yi and Amber. Fortunately, he wasnt very demanding when it came to his cultivation environment. While a favorable environment was beneficial, it wasnt essential. He just had to consume Spirit Pills. This advantage was something most cultivators couldnt hope to gain.
Several days had passed since his agreed-upon one-month deadline with Li Baxian, so it was time to return to the Cloud River Battlefield to meet with him. Even though he had six golden Amulets left, he had to hand them over to his Fourth Senior Brother and Feng Yuechan. After all, those were their possessions.
There was still that Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification that he had to ce in a suitable location in the Cloud River Battlefield. While Lu Ye wasnt so needy with his conditions, the same couldnt be said for Yi Yi, not to mention his Fourth Senior Brother and Feng Yueshan, as well as Ju Jia
Thinking of Ju Jia, Lu Yes eyes couldnt help but twitch.
Thest time he had been in contact with Ju Jia was nearly two months ago. At that time, Ju Jia had gotten lost in the Cloud River Battlefield, so Lu Ye instructed him to wait in a certain location. After so much time had passed, he had no idea how Ju Jia was faring.
Speaking of which, he had been in the Carnage Colosseum for almost twenty days, and Ju Jia hadnt reached out to him
After tidying up a bit, Lu Ye left the Summit of Bamboos with Amber and Yi Yi, quickly arriving at the Summit of Fortitude.
He met with Shui Yuan and informed her of his intention to enter the Cloud River Battlefield, which Shui Yuan did not oppose, only cautioning him to be careful. After all, for cultivators in the Cloud River Realm, training in the Cloud River Battlefield was the fastest way to advance as it was the only ce to obtain Amulets.
After bidding farewell to Shui Yuan, Lu Ye headed straight to the Sanctum of Providence. He pressed his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column, then connected his consciousness to the Cloud River Battlefield.
In the next instant, a vast array of lights appeared in his consciousness. Each light represented a Divine Opportunity Column. Lu Ye could freely choose a light to enter the location of the respective Divine Opportunity Column.
Last time, it was through this method that he arrived directly in a Divine Trade Association.
However, amid the myriad of lights, one light was particrly distinct. While the others were white, this light was uniquely blue.
After a brief thought, Lu Ye realized that the blue light represented the Divine Opportunity Column he had called forth at the Carnage Colosseum!
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Chapter 553: Reentering the Cloud River Battlefield
Chapter 553: Reentering the Cloud River Battlefield
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The Divine Opportunity Columns summoned with the use of a cultivators Contribution Points could only be used by the ones who summoned them and anyone with their permission. Other people were unable to use that particr column.
So, even though the Divine Opportunity Column in the Carnage Colosseum was worth a hundred thousand Contributions, it was nothing more than abandoned waste in the end.
He hadnt agreed with Li Baxian on a meeting ce, but Lu Ye had a feeling that he would be waiting near the Carnage Colosseum. So, after just a moment of thought, Lu Ye picked the blue light dot.
As his vision distorted, his body grew light.
In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared from the Sanctum of Providence.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, where the Carnage Colosseum one was, Lu Ye appeared before the Divine Opportunity Column and immediately began looking around his surroundings.
Nothing seemed out of ce here. This ce was bustling more than a month ago, but as the Carnage Colosseum had been closed for such a long amount of time, there were naturally no more cultivators hanging about this area.
However, Lu Ye could still spot traces of arge battle in his surroundings, especially where Lu Ye used Glyph: Fire Phoenix. The ground there was scorched, showing the intensity of the battle that went on that day.Lu Ye pressed on his Battlefield Imprint and sent out a message. Fourth Senior Brother, Ive returned!
It wasnt long before he received Li Baxians reply. Just as Lu Ye guessed, Li Baxian and Feng Yueshan did not head far. Since they did not agree on a meeting ce beforehand, the two of them had been training within a radius of around 500 kilometers from here while they waited for Lu Yes return.
They conversed briefly and chose to meet up at the nearby Divine Trade Association. Then, Lu Ye messaged Ju Jia.
It was a brief message stating, Location!
Atop a certain Spirit Peak, arge figure resembling arge statue sat on the ground, traces of dust and frost over its body. The area where it sat was practically covered in fallen leaves.
Therge figure did not breathe, and its aura was extremely dim. There also seemed to be hardly any vitality flowing out of it.
Even if someone did walk by it, they would only assume that it was a dead man.
After sitting here for more than two months, Ju Jia had entered a state of stillness.
After receiving Lu Yes message to wait there, he had obediently kept still until now.
He did not even feel the time passing by.
It wasnt until he felt a reaction from his Battlefield Imprint that Ju Jia slowly opened his eyes to check on it. Leaves trickled down as he moved, and two birds that were nesting on his head pped their wings and flew away.
Ju Jia scratched his head and caught a birds nest from the top of it. Seemingly finding it a shame to destroy it, he put it back on his head after some thought.
Ju Jia was confused when Lu Ye asked him for his location, but he gave him his current position anyway.
On the other end, when Lu Ye saw Ju Jias response, he was stunned, the reason being that the location he was in was exactly the same as the one he gave him nearly two months ago.
You never moved?
Nope!
Wait there for me.
Okay.
It wasnt until Ju Jia ended the conversation with Lu Ye that he noticed the changes in his environment. Looking around, he saw giant wolves the size of calves either squatting or standing in all directions, their beast eyes staring intently at him.
Their numbers were quiterge, and there seemed to be at least hundreds of them.
Any other cultivator would be shocked to encounter such a thing, but Ju Jia only froze for a moment since he didnt see any malice in the eyes of those wolves, but a more human sense of surprise and curiosity. These giant wolves seemed to be surprised that Ju Jia was alive!
After all, Ju Jia had not moved for nearly two months, nor did he show any clear signs of vitality. None of the wolves expected him to be a living thing.
After watching them for a moment, Ju Jia shut his eyes again and soon entered the same bizarrely still state.
He didnt feel any sense of crisis being surrounded by such arge pack of wolves. In his mind, if the other party didnt harbor any malicious intent towards him, then it didnt matter.
What was more, even if the wolves were going to gang up on him, he wasnt without the power to defend himself.
Seeing that Ju Jia had fallen silent again, the wolves that were in a bit ofmotion calmed down as well, and a whileter, one of them went up to Ju Jia and sniffed him carefully as if to ascertain whether this guy in front of him was actually alive or dead.
Eventually, it walked away in confusion.
As night fell, the bright moon and sparse stars appeared in the sky.
As he was enveloped by the moonlight, a milky glow suddenly appeared on Ju Jias body. That light seemed to have a strange resonance with the moon in the sky, drawing the moon into pouring down its essence.
As far as the eye could see, moon essence surged incessantly on therge Spirit Peak, bathing it in that milky white glow, giving the Spirit Peak an extremely sacred appearance.
Ju Jia could cultivate through breathing moon essence in and out, something which Lu Ye had long known. Amber had also followed along with Ju Jia to cultivate in the same way, and ording to Yi Yis observation, Amber gained a lot out of it. It was just a pity that they never saw each other again since leaving the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
This pack of wolves were drawn to the Spirit Peak due to the strange urrences that happened every night. If Amber could benefit from cultivating with Ju Jia, then so could these wolves.
The wolves had been aware of Ju Jias presence five days since he ended up here, but Spirit Beasts were simple-minded. Whether Ju Jia was dead or alive, it was an existence that could bring about great benefit to them, so even when Ju Jia woke up, the wolves did not show him the slightest hint of malice.
In their minds, Ju jia was equivalent to a divine relic to their pack, something that could make them grow stronger at a rapid rate, and that was why they stayed here the whole time.
As the essence of the moon poured down, each wolf instinctively raised and breathed the essence in.
As the moon rose into the sky, the anomaly on the Spirit Peak became even clearer.
But the wolves werent the only ones attracted by the scene. Other Spirit Beasts were present, too.
Spirit Beasts were strongly territorial, so such a relic that could enhance the strength of ones tribe had long been regarded by the wolf pack as their forbidden possession that other Spirit Beasts were not toy their hands on.
So, on almost every moonlit night, the wolves fought with the other Spirit Beasts that were attracted to the area, and it was through these fights that the wolves established their monopoly over this territory.
Ju Jia waspletely unaware of these goings-on.
He always thought that he was just taking a short break.
At the Divine Trade Association, in a guest room, Lu Ye was cultivating while reading. When a knock came at the door, Yi Yi got up to open it.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, who wore masks of a boy and a girl, arrived together.
Lu Ye got up to greet them.
Taking off his mask, Li Baxian had a look of shame on his face. Little Junior Brother, you have truly suffered in the Carnage Colosseum, and as your Senior Brother, I wasnt able to do anything to help. For that, Im ashamed!
During this period of time, every time he recalled what happened in the Carnage Colosseum, Li Baxian would feel himself racked with guilt. Fortunately, however, Lu Ye had a strong heritage and the favor of the Heavens, so he was still able to escape from that desperate situation at the very end.
Lu Ye reassured him. Dont beat yourself up over it, Senior Brother. When I was being hunted down, Id received aid from many of the Grand Sky Coalitions experts. If it werent for Senior Brothers connections, then I wouldnt have been able to hold out until the end.
Li Baxian sighed. In the end, its most important for one to be strong themselves.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he and Feng Yuechan dominated for many years, but upon arriving at the Cloud River Battlefield, the fame of their past did not bring them any conveniences, but instead brought them danger, something which he couldnt help but sigh at.
And how could it be any different for Lu Ye?
Before the Carnage Colosseum, he didnt have too many worries walking about in the Cloud River Battlefield, but after the incident, he was sure that the Thousand Demon Ridge would spare no effort in finding out where he was and to hunt him down again.
In the future, his situation in the Cloud River Battlefield may not be as peaceful as before.
Next to them, Feng Yuechan advised, Strength will grow bit by bit so theres no need to rush. Compared to others, our cultivation levels have already been rising quickly.
Senior Sister Feng is right.
Lu Ye invited the two to sit down whilst Yi Yi poured them cups of tea. Only then did he bring out the six Golden Amulets and pushed it to the two of them. These are for Senior Brother and Senior Sister Feng. Ive already used my share.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan did not refuse the Amulets and stored them away.
With these Golden Amulets, they would be able to make a breakthrough into the Fifth Order in a short amount of time. Such a speed in cultivation could not be described as slow by any means, and with both of them in the Fifth Order, even if they were to bump into a Seventh Order cultivator in the future, they may not be any match for them.
Lu Ye also took out his Spirit Beast Bag and took out the fat white Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification from it.
So this is the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification? Other than Lu Ye, everyone present couldnt help but look at the object in curiosity as it was their first time seeing it.
Yi Yi went forward and gave it a poke, causing the Wisp of Sanctification to curl up in response.
Its still alive? Feng Yuechan was astonished.
What do you think, Senior Brother? Should we use this Wisp of Sanctification ourselves or should we sell it? Lu Ye asked.
Li Baxian pondered for a while before responding, If we sell it, then we certainly wouldnt have to worry about finding a buyer. However, we dont really have much of a need for idle resources. If we were to trade it for Amulets, then we arent sure how much a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification is worth either. Moreover, other people may not be able to gather enough Amulets for it within a short amount of time. Right now, all of us are in the Fourth Order, so well be here in the Cloud River Battlefield for a long time. If we can have our own Arcane de, then our cultivation would be more efficient.
Lu Ye nodded. I think so too.
Instead of selling the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification for some Amulets, it would be better to use it themselves.
Furthermore, even if they were to ascend into the Real Lake Realm in the future and left the Cloud River Battlefield, the Primus-level Arcane de that was left behind could be passed on to the other disciples of their sect.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, there were many such Arcane des that had been passed down for generations, all of which were the exclusive domains of each sect.
But if we really want to use it for ourselves, then there are some issues that have to be resolved, thergest one being the location of the Arcane de, Li Baxian slowly spoke up.
With a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification then as long as one was in the Cloud River Battlefield, one could create a Primus-level Arcane de anywhere, but if one did not choose the location well, then they would surely meet with a lot of trouble in the future.
Firstly, they had to make sure that it was well hidden.
However, for high-flying Cloud River Realm cultivators, where could one find a hidden ce to begin with? Unless it was some forbidden area that some cultivators dared not tread into, like the Myriad Poison Forest or the Burning Lands of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Even Lu Yes Wards could not guarantee much. Back then, they had a Tertiary-level Arcane de, and Lu Ye had also left Wards behind when he left. In the end, it had still been breached, and his Wisp of Sanctification had been plundered.
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Chapter 554: Grand Wilds Peak
Chapter 554: Grand Wilds Peak
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So, for them, if they were going to use this Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification, the first issue that had to be resolved was where the Arcane de was going to be located.
After all, their cultivation levels could not be said to be high, and with this level of strength, it wouldnt matter if they were simply upying a Tertiary-level Arcane de as it wouldnt attract too many covetous eyes, but things were very different when it came to upying a Primus-level Arcane de.
Once it was found out by an outsider, trouble would surely be stirred.
Moreover, all three of them had prickly identities, characters that the Thousand Demon Ridge faction wanted to eliminate. Once the matter of the three of them owning an Arcane de was revealed, it would inevitably attract arge number of cultivators from that faction to attack them. Not to mention saving the Arcane de, they couldnt even guarantee their own safety then.
Ille up with an idea for the location. Li Baxian said. He had been in the Cloud River Battlefield longer than Lu Ye, and his connections were also much vaster whenpared to Lu Yes, so he was the best person to leave this matter to.
In that case, Ill be troubling you on that, Senior Brother.
Feng Yuechan suggested, This Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification should create a small Arcane de, but even so, its still an Arcane de that can amodate five people. Currently, we have four people. If Junior Brother Lu has any candidates for a fifth person, then bring them over. Otherwise, that empty spot would go to waste.
As for candidates, I have another person on my side. He turned towards Li Baxian. Senior Brother, do you still remember Ju Jia?Feng Yuechan had never seen him before, but Li Baxian had, but they hadnt had too many chances to get to know each other. After some contemtion, he remembered who he was. That Body-tempering Cultivator?
Him exactly. He came to the Cloud River Battlefield a few months earlier than me and I was going to look for him before heading into the Carnage Colosseum, but I was held up by what happened there and didnt get the chance to meet up with him even until today.
Li Baxian nodded. His physique seems a little unusual. Little Junior Brother has good eyes. In that case, tell him toe join us, then well have exactly five people.
And, among the five of them, they had one Body-tempering Cultivator, one Combat Cultivator, one Sword Cultivator, and two Spell Cultivators, which was a very sensible party. If they encountered any trouble in the future, they should be able to deal with it with theirbined strength.
Lu Ye sighed. Ju Jia seems to be bad with directions. Previously, when I asked him to join me, he got lost in a deep forest, so I asked him to wait there for me, so I need to go find him.
Li Baxian was dumbfounded. To think such a thing could happen
It was hard to imagine how arge guy like Ju Jia could get lost in the Cloud River Battlefield, but it was inevitable for some special people to exist in this world who could not be judged bymon sense.
Then, while Junior Brother Lu is looking for Junior Brother Ju Jia, Senior Brother and I can cultivate here with the Amulets, and we can go and look for a ce for the Wisp of Sanctificationter. Well contact each other again once we have any ideas.
That sounds good. Lu Ye nodded in agreement.
After their discussion, Lu Ye didnt stick around since Ju Jia had been waiting for him for nearly two months. He wasnt sure whether he was getting impatient or not.
A few momentster, in front of the Divine Trade Association, Lu Ye stepped out and summoned his Flight-Type Artifact to take him into the air, then he followed the directions that Ju Jia had given him previously.
Checking the 10-point map, Ju Jias current location seemed to be in the middle of a mountain range called the Grand Wilds Peak, and from the map, this Grand Wilds Peak seemed to upy an extremelyrge area. Moreover, the core area was marked with one very eye-catching word, Elite.
This meant that an elite-level Spirit Beast was living in the depths of this Grand Wilds Peak.
Elite was not a realm, but rather a title of extreme strength.
The elite-level Spirit Beasts of the Spirit Creek Battlefield have reached the limits of what the Spirit Creek Battlefield could hold.
The same was true of the Cloud River Battlefield. Elite-level Spirit Beasts had reached the maximum of what the Cloud River Battlefield could hold.
But the two were vastly different in strength, naturally so as they were in different realms.
Generally speaking, any ce where an elite-level Spirit Beast took residence in was basically a forbidden area for cultivators. No cultivator was willing to trespass on the territory of an elite-level Spirit Beast unless they were sick of living.
This was also the reason why Lu Ye was able to establish his dominance as a cultivator, leaving a huge impact on the hearts of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
No other cultivator had ever achieved such a feat in the Spirit Creek Battlefield since the beginning of time, not even Feng Yuechan, who dominated the Roll of Supremacy for over a decade.
The fact that an elite-level Spirit Beasty at the very core of Grand Wilds Peak meant undoubtedly that this was not a good ce. Many Spirit Beasts were sure to be living in a deep forest such as this, and the deeper one trod into the mountainous wildernesses, the more dangers there would be.
The Grand Wilds Peak was not very close, so even with Lu Yes current speed, it would still take him ten days to arrive.
Luckily, the journey wasnt too boring with Yi Yi and Amber to apany him, and he could take turns controlling the Flight-type Artifact with Yi Yi in day-night shifts. That way, they could shorten the journey by almost half.
The journey was uneventful as they flew along, enjoying the unique scenery provided by the Cloud River Battlefield.
asionally, they would encounter some cultivators, but most of them wouldnt disturb them. For the few that were eager to cause trouble due to their high cultivation level or those with arge group, Lu Ye avoided them in advance or used Glyph: Soar to escape.
With his current Fourth Order cultivation, as long as he didnt catch the attention of experts at the Eighth or Ninth Order that wouldnt stop chasing after him, then there wouldnt be any danger.
There were a considerable number of Eighth and Ninth Order experts in the Cloud River Battlefield, but no one would chase after a cultivator that they didnt know the faction of for no reason.
While rushing on his way, Lu Ye didnt forget to swallow some pills and cultivate.
Six days passed by in a sh in that manner, and a travel-worn Lu Ye entered the Grand Wilds Peak, where he got into contact with Ju Jia once more to confirm his exact location.
When he matched it to the 10-point map, Lu Yes brows were raised.
Ju Jia was quite the courageous sort, for he was not in the outer periphery of the Grand Wilds Peaks radius, but deeper inside. He wondered whether he had encountered any dangers after being there for so long.
However, with that guys special physique and thick skin, he had self-preservation capabilities that Lu Ye couldnt hope to match, so there was no need for him to worry about his safety.
A considerable number of cultivators seemed toe in and out of the Grand Wilds Peak, generally in groups, but there were the asional few loners.
This ce was a paradise for Spirit Beasts. There were about seven or eight such ces scattered in the Cloud River Battlefield, ces where Spirit Beasts gathered inrge numbers, and these ces were naturally a hotspot for cultivators.
Cultivators could hunt Spirit Beasts and gather some treasure so they can be exchanged for cultivation resources. Even though cultivators of major sects received a sry each month, it was not enough to support ones cultivation.
The reason for that was not because the sects were stingy. Instead, there was a reason for doing so.
If that monthly sry that the sects paid out were enough to satisfy the needs of each cultivator, then there would be no need for them to gain experience or adventure, which would be detrimental to ones growth.
So, no matter how prosperous a sect was, they would never grant their disciples a sry that met all their cultivation needs, and the more powerful the sect, the more stringent they were. That way, they could promote independent habits in their disciples.
Lu Ye did have sufficient cultivation resources. Even without entering the Cloud River Battlefield, he could still raise the level of his cultivation through consuming Spirit Pills and consuming at the main sect.
However, there wasnt much of a point in growing this way. Only by going through constant trials and tribtions could a cultivator have strength matching their realms. Simply growing ones cultivation level would only lead to superficial growth.
It hadnt been more than half a day that Lu Ye entered the Grand Wilds Peak and he could already feel the aftershocks from several battles around him. Clearly, they were from the battles of cultivators who were hunting the Spirit Beasts.
He watched the battles from afar and found that the cultivators worked together well. They had members keeping a lookout on their surroundings, a vanguard, and a nk. With this division ofbor, as long as they chose the right opponents, it wouldnt take long for them to finish the battle and gain some loot.
He also came across several scattered Spirit Beasts on the way. They werent that strong, so with Yi Yi and Ambers help, they were able to kill them easily.
He collected the beast blood, mutant cores, and some other useful items from the Spirit Beasts just in case.
During his time in the Spirit Creek Realm, Lu Ye had also hunted some Spirit Beasts, but the loot from those Spirit Beasts werent worth much, so he didnt even waste the energy collecting them.
However, things were different now that he was in the Cloud River Realm. Without even mentioning the rest, the Mutant Cores found in the bodies of Cloud River Realm Spirit Beasts alone were a favorite of Ambers
When he left the Divine Trade Association, he had even spent some Contribution Points on Mutant Cores and left them in Ambers Storage Bag for it to snack on.
Moreover, the blood of the Spirit Beasts could be useful in the Way of Tattoos.
As for the rest of the materials, some of them could be used for pill refining, others could be used for artificing, and so on. The role that these materials could y would depend on whose hands they fell into.
The deeper they went into the mountain range, the stronger the Spirit Beasts they encountered. On the contrary, the number of cultivators appeared to be fewer and fewer.
If the outermost region of the Grand Wilds Peak could be said to be a training ground suitable for any Cloud River Realm cultivator, then where Lu Ye was currently at was a dangerous ce where one could not ascertain their safety unless they were in the Fifth Order at the very least.
After reaching this ce, Lu Ye didnt dare to fly recklessly in the sky either since there were plenty of flying Spirit Beasts in this damned ce. If he bumped into some of them in the air, then it would end in a difficult situation for him.
He really couldnt understand why Ju Jia hade to such a deep ce in this mountain range when he had merely gotten lost. Once he found him, he would have to give him a good talking to to stop him from simply stepping into dangerous ces like these in the future.
As night fell, Lu Ye was about to look for a hidden ce to recover his energy when he suddenly felt something in his heart that caused him to turn his head in a certain direction.
There seemed to be some noiseing from that direction. It was the sound of people talking, and there seemed to be a lot of them.
After pondering for a moment, he put Amber into his Spirit Beast Bag while he hid himself with Glyph: Concealment, then he slowly crept in that direction.
Within a few moments, a clearing appeared before his eyes where at least thirty to forty cultivators were gathered. Some were alone while others were in groups of three or five, but he had no idea what they were here for.
However, as many of them sat cross-legged and cultivating to recover their strength, it seemed like they were getting ready for some sort of operation.
There were so many people gathered here that it was clear they were not of the same n. Some were not even from the same faction, and there were also those that were injured.
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Chapter 555: Birth of an Exotic Treasure?
Chapter 555: Birth of an Exotic Treasure?
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On the outskirts of the clearing, Lu Ye was lurking in hiding, silently observing them.
He still had no idea what these people were gathered here for, and since he didnt know where they came from, he couldnt simply reveal himself.
However, one after another, more cultivators came in from all directions, entering the clearing.
Seeing this, Lu Ye thought for a moment before lifting the Concealment Glyph and walking forward.
Several eyes swept to him, but they soon looked away.
Lu Ye wore a mask that concealed his appearance, and he had put Amber into the Spirit Beast Bag ahead of time. So, even if some of them felt that he was hiding his face but showing his tail, they wouldnt think much of it.
Not every cultivator chose to act like this, but there were plenty of people who wore masks on the battlefield.
He casually found a corner to sit down on, seemingly emting what they were doing while silently paying attention to the movements around him.Soon enough, he managed to glean some information from the cultivators conversations, but they spoke too vaguely, so he could only deduce that some sort of Exotic Treasure existed in the vicinity. Every night, a strange anomaly would appear, and these people were gathered here because they wanted to seize the treasure.
Unfortunately, the ce where the Exotic Treasure was located was extremely dangerous. Many powerful Spirit Beasts convened in that area, so even if these cultivators had been working hard for many days, none had been able to find out just what that Exotic Treasure was.
Lu Ye had heard stories about Exotic Treasuresing into being before, and it could be considered a chance encounter, but Exotic Treasure that could give rise to visions were rare. Under normal circumstances, they had to be extremely precious objects, so it was no wonder so many cultivators had been attracted to this ce.
This was only what Lu Ye could see. There could be even more cultivators gathered around the area.
After finding out the purpose of the people gathered here, Lu Ye lost interest.
He hade to look for Ju Jia after all. Even though Exotic Treasures were good things, for so many cultivators to have failed to get their hands on it after so many days, even Lu Ye did not believe that he would have much hope of obtaining it.
With such thoughts, Lu Ye moved to leave.
However, at that moment, a shout arose. Its starting!
As soon as he said that, the cultivators here got up and swept into the air, all of them looking in a certain direction.
Lu Ye also turned to look in the direction they were focused on, where he saw moon essence pouring down from the sky like a pir atop a Spirit Peak that was barely visible from his field of view. The entire Spirit Peak was covered in a majestic and hazy moonlight that made it give off a divine aura.
Its a vision of the Heavens. Sure enough, an Exotic Treasure must have appeared! Someone eximed, a look of anticipation and joy in his eyes.
Exotic Treasures that could give rise to visible phenomena were no trivial things. If any Cloud River Realm cultivator could get their hands on them, then even if they didnt choose to use it themselves, they could trade them for arge amount of resources with other cultivators.
The Exotic Treasure must have some sort of powerful attraction for the Spirit Beasts. Arge number of them gather in that direction every night where the moonlight can be seen, where they ughter each other, and it seems like its the same tonight.
Its a pity that no one has been able to see just what that Exotic Treasure is so far. On the contrary, a lot of people have lost their lives over there. When we do decide to actter, well have to work together. At the very least, we should find out just what sort of Exotic Treasure it is.
What this fellow cultivator said is very true.
Sentence by sentence, their intentions entered Lu Yes ears. Staring fixedly in the direction of that phenomenon, Lu Ye frowned.
This scene Why did it seem so familiar to him?
He couldnt help but recall the time when Amber cultivated under the moon with Ju Jia during their time in the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Comparatively speaking, what he was seeing now was slightly more magnificent than what he saw that day.
Suddenly, Lu Ye had a bad feeling in his heart
With that thought, he quickly sent a message to Ju Jia.
It wasnt long before he received a response, and after some thought, Lu Ye gave him some instructions.
In the next moment, the moon essence poured down onto the peak and the various phenomenons disappeared without a trace.
Lu Yes eyelid twitched. He understood at once that it was just as he suspected. It wasnt the sign of some Exotic Treasure being born in the world, it was just Ju Jia cultivating!
For a Cloud River Realm cultivator to have created such a fuss during cultivation, and even attracting so many cultivators to investigate, there was truly nobody who could achieve this but him.
Just as Lu Ye was being sardonic, the disappearance of the phenomenon caused the faces of many cultivators to change.
Did someone get their hands on it?
If it wasnt so, then there was no way that the vision could have disappeared for no reason.
At those words, many cultivators became anxious and all rushed towards the Spirit Peak at once.
At the same time, growls could be hearding from the direction of the Spirit Peak, apanied by turbulent Spiritual Power fluctuations. Under the moonlight, many flying Spirit Beasts danced in the air while colorful lights bloomed.
Before the cultivators could even get close, the Spirit Beasts over there had already begun fighting due to the disappearance of the phenomenon.
For many cultivators, such a scene was not surprising, for the Spirit Beasts over there would fight chaotically on every moonlit night. Many powerful Spirit Beasts had already died near the Spirit Peak.
Then, wolf howls could be heard, gradually drowning out the noise of the other beasts.
Lu Ye hovered in mid-air, staring fixedly in the direction of the Spirit Peak. There were no longer any cultivators that could be seen around him, which was quite a headache.
The phenomenon hade about from Ju Jias cultivation, and not only did it attract the attention of many cultivators, it also caused the many Spirit Beasts gathered there to fight incessantly. It wasnt hard to imagine just how chaotic it was over there.
Naturally, Ju Jia wasnt in a good situation.
After pondering for a while, Lu Ye quickly flew off into that direction.
Before he could get close, however, a huge shadow descended from the sky, along with it, a thunderbolt resembling a swimming dragon struck down.
It was a Storming Thunderhawk that attacked him, and judging by the power of its attack, it was a Spirit Beast equivalent to the Eighth Order Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye would not dare to take on such a ferocious blow and immediately lowered his Spirit Boat while swerving side by side.
However, the thunder chased after him as if it were a living creature.
Once he reached the ground, he unsheathed his Invible Saber and shed at the iing thunder.
The impact of that sh caused Lu Ye to fly backwards as the power of the thunder traveled through his body, causing him to feel numb for a while.
After barely stabilizing his feet, the Thunderhawk struck again. Lu Ye raised his hand andunched out several de lights to interrupt the Thunderhawk while jumping in the other direction.
A fishy stench lingered around his nose, and at the same time, arge cloud of smoke rose from the Tree of Glyphs.
A strong gust of wind struck from behind. Lu Ye quickly turned to his side to avoid it, where a long but robust figure entered his vision and dashed past him.
It was a Venomous Python that had been lying in ambush.
Its intention was tounch a sneak attack on Lu Ye, but he managed to evade it. So, seizing the opportunity, itunched itself towards the Thunderhawk instead.
In an instant, two massive Spirit Beasts were engaged inbat. The hawks cries and the pythons hisses filled the air. After a moment, the Thunderhawk soared high into the sky, its sharp ws piercing the flesh of the Venomous Python while the snake coiled around its body
Lu Ye was leftying there, watching the scene with cold sweat running down his back.
The scene was incredibly messy. Spirit Beasts of various species shed in frenzied battles, joined by other cultivators as well. Everything within a radius of five hundred kilometers was overrun by chaos.
After walking just five kilometers, Lu Ye had already encountered several life-threatening situations. He even witnessed a cultivator whom he suspected to be in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm being brutally crushed by the palm of a Spirit Beast that resembled an upright bear.
The scene was gruesome!
He couldnt venture any deeper as this ce was too perilous. Even Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators may not have been able to guarantee their safety here.
It was no wonder why those cultivators mentioned that it had been many days since the appearance of the Exotic Treasure, and no one had been able to figure out what it was.
If the situation was this brutal when he was still so far from the Spirit Peak that Ju Jia cultivated on, one could only imagine what it would be like closer to the peak.
Trying to ascertain the nature of the emerging Exotic Treasure amidst this chaos was simply as difficult as reaching the Heavens.
Moreover, the cultivators ns were destined to fail as there was no actual Exotic Treasure. There was only Ju Jia!
Lu Ye was curious about how Ju Jia could have survived in this chaotic scene. Didnt the Spirit Beasts attack him?
Even if he had entered the Cloud River Battlefield a few months before Lu Ye, and even if he had some surplus strength left in his Mutant Core, Ju Jias cultivation shouldnt be too high.
Upon further reflection, the Spirit Beasts might not actually attack Ju Jia. His cultivation brought about phenomena that benefitted the Spirit Beasts, which exined why so many were gathered here.
Pressing his hand on his Battlefield Imprint, Lu Ye sent a message to Ju Jia before quietly retreating towards the periphery.
If Ju Jia had managed to stay safe for nearly two months, he would undoubtedly remain unharmed tonight as well. After dawn, Lu Ye could just ask him toe and meet with him instead.
He was just nearby, so Ju Jia shouldnt get lost again.
Time passed, and the battle of the Spirit Beasts continued. Most of the cultivators had withdrawn since the vision had ceased. This likely indicated that someone had seized the unknown treasure. In that case, there was no longer a reason for them to take any risks.
However, there were still bold cultivators with exceptional courage who sought opportunities amidst the chaos.
Normally, it was not easy to kill high-level Spirit Beasts, but in this situation, there were chances to make some gains without much effort.
For example, Lu Ye was staring ahead at this moment, witnessing the wonders of fate.
Just a short distance in front of him, a massive figure struggled desperately. It was none other than the Storming Thunderhawk that had attacked him before.
The Thunderhawk was clearly in bad shape. Due to the Venomous Python coiling around it, the ground was sttered with beast blood, but the python had gone silent, most likely dead. However, the Storming Thunderhawk was not faring much better. Lu Ye could sense its life force rapidly fading, and a faint green aura had enveloped its body.
This was clearly a sign of toxicity.
Lu Ye never expected that retreating from this direction would lead him to encounter these two Spirit Beasts again.
After observing for a moment to confirm that the Storming Thunderhawk was truly on itsst legs, Lu Ye drew his saber and stepped forward.
His killing intent alerted the struggling eagle. Despite facing imminent death, its sharp gaze exuded a regal aura.
Drawing the Invible from its sheath, Lu Ye advanced with de in hand, easily dodging the few thunder attacks the size of chopsticks that wereunched by the Thunderhawk. Leaping high into the air, he swung his saber downwards.
A piercing cry of agony rang out, and the sharp de cleaved through the eagles neck, causing a fountain of fresh blood to spew into the sky.
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Chapter 556: Lu Ye is Looking for Me
Chapter 556: Lu Ye is Looking for Me
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Two Spirit Beasts in the peak of the Cloud River Realm. Lu Ye shouldnt be a match for any of them, but after a gruesome fight, one of them was dead and the other was heavily injured. Lu Ye couldnt help but feel in awe at receiving the Heavens favor.
He took out an empty water skin to keep the beast blood in, then quickly extracted the Mutant Cores of the two Spirit Beasts.
Both Mutant Cores wererge in size. The Thunderhawks mutant core was covered in threads of thunder energy whilst the Venomous Pythons Mutant Core presented in an emerald sheen. One could tell at a nce that its toxicity was not low.
After all, this was where the essence of these Spirit Beasts cultivation was located, and they matched perfectly with their own attributes.
He could feed the Thunderhawks Mutant Core to Amber, whereas the Venomous Pythons Mutant Core could be kept away for Hua Ci, which she was sure to like.
Then, Lu Ye retrieved some other materials that he felt would be worth something, such as the Thunderhawks ws, beak, and wings. Then, he skinned the Venomous Python and put everything into his Storage Sphere before leaving in satisfaction.
The flesh of Spirit Beasts was very nutritious, and Body-tempering Cultivator would ingestrge amounts of it practically every day. That was because that was the only way that they could strengthen their own vitality. So, no matter what, there was no shortage of demand for Spirit Beast meat.
What was more, snake meat was a favorite treat for both Lu Ye and Amber. Ever since trying it for the first time, he had been hooked on the vor. Now that such a rare opportunity hade about, Lu Ye naturally wouldnt miss it.As he moved away, the noise gradually disappeared behind him. Lu Ye found a secluded ce and set up a Ward before waiting in rest.
Time passed, and the figures of cultivators and Spirit Beasts would pass him by overhead from time to time, and it wasnt until dawn that the chaospletely subsided.
Lu Ye sent out a message to Ju Jia, telling him toe and join up with him.
On top of the Spirit Peak, Ju Jias tall figure stood up.
Many giant wolves gathered around him in all directions, many of which were staring at him, especially the leader, whose fur was snow white all around its body and appeared stronger than the rest of its race. It was standing just ten meters away from Ju Jia, looking down at him with its head slightly lowered, its wolf eyes filled with puzzlement.
Many of the giant wolves had gotten injured during the bloody battle that went on through the night, and they were now silently licking their own wounds while some of the others dragged the corpses of other Spirit Beasts over to feast on with theirpanions, covering their maws with blood as they devoured the meat.
The wolf pack was very close-knit. No matter how many other Spirit Beasts arrived, they would all work together to repel them, and that was the main reason why they were able to dominate this Spirit Peak in these recent days.
At this moment, however, the person they regarded as a sacred figure not only came to life, but it seemed like he was going to leave. How could the wolves ept that?
They had been here for less than two months and had personally experienced the benefits that this sacred figure had brought to their pack.
As a mountain breeze blew past, Ju Jia had a helpless expression as he faced the wolves.
He had not realized how much excitement was going on around him all this while. After he was jolted by Lu Yes messagest night, the chaos around him left him bewildered. Fortunately, however, he knew then that things were not good, so he didnt dare to move recklessly either and just waited in ce. With the protection of the wolf pack, none of the other Spirit Beasts or the other cultivators could even hope to get close to this Spirit Peak.
Now that he had received Lu Yes message, who was nearby, it was time to meet up with him.
However, the pack leader seemed unwilling to let him go. Even without directmunication, Ju Jia could sense what it was thinking.
They looked at each other for a long time before Ju Jia squeezed out in a sullen voice, Lu Ye is looking for me!
The pack leader cocked its head to the side, looking as if it did not understand him.
Even if its abilities were equivalent to the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, and even if it gained some semnce of human intelligence, these Spirit Beasts resided deep inside the mountain forests, so how could they understand thenguage of humans?
Thus began Ju Jias mission. He walked forward and pushed the pack leader with his hands. Dont block the way.
With a casual shove, he pushed the pack leader, which was evenrger than him, a few steps back. Passing by the pack leader, Ju Jia walked straight ahead.
The giant wolves around, whether they were recuperating or feasting on meat, all rose to their feet, feeling at a loss as they watched the tall figure departing. The sacred figure of their pack was going to leave? How could this happen?
A wolf howl rang out, and the pack leader stepped forward to catch up with Ju Jia. It lowered its head and gently nudged his back, lifting him up. Ju Jia soared into the air, and as he descended, hended on the pack leaders back, all steady and secure.
Stopping the sacred figure from leaving seemed unfeasible. In that case, they would just follow him!
Understanding the pack leaders intentions, Ju Jia didnt refuse but pointed in a direction instead. That way.
The pack leader picked up its pace, maneuvering nimbly through the mountain forest.
Behind it, arge group of giant wolves followed in an impressive formation, causing the earth to shake as they passed.
Less than a dozen kilometers away, where Lu Ye was hiding. He had released Amber from the Spirit Beast Bag while Yi Yi was lurking nearby, vignt.
After an incense stick of time, Lu Ye suddenly sensed something unusual. He quickly pressed his hand onto the ground, then his brows furrowed.
He could sense movement in the ground as if many Spirit Beasts were galloping about, and the magnitude of the sensations indicated that there were a great number of them.
Moreover, judging by the vibrations, they appeared to be getting closer. This was a dangerous ce, and staying any longer wouldnt be wise.
Right at that moment, a message came to his Battlefield Imprint. When Lu Ye checked it, he found it to be a transmission from Yi Yi.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye! Ju Jia brought a lot of giant wolves with him!
For a moment, Lu Ye could not process what was being said in the message. [What does she mean, Ju Jia brought a lot of giant wolves with him?]
As he was going to ask for an exnation, the sight of a snow white figure dashing over entered his field of vision. And, on the back of that figure was a secondrge figure.
Lu Ye was slightly dazed as he watched the tall figure. Amber, who was perched on his shoulder, widened its eyes and stared at the scene in astonishment.
After a while, the snow-white figure stopped about thirty meters away from Lu Ye, staring calmly at him with its wolf eyes as its soft fur swayed in the wind.
Behind the figure were more than a hundred giant wolves that were following it closely.
Lu Ye finally understood what Yi Yis message meant. Ju Jia really did bring many giant wolves with him!
What was going on here? Lu Ye was caught off guard for a moment. Ju Jia was only a Body-tempering Cultivator and he had never heard that he possessed beast-taming abilities, so how could he associate with so many giant wolves?
Moreover, from what he was seeing, it seemed like this entire pack of wolves was under hismand. He couldnt help but recall the eventsst night, and he did hear the sessive wolf howls. Now that he thought about it, the howls must havee from this wolf pack. However, it was the strength of this wolf pack that surprised him even more.
The one that he suspected to be the leader, the one that Ju Jia rode, was undoubtedlyparable in strength to a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. The rest of the wolves were also emitting a ferocious aura. A minority of them were lower than the Fourth or Fifth order, while many were in the Eighth or the Ninth Order.
It was simply hard to imagine just how powerful such a pack of wolves could be in battle.
After more than half a year of not seeing each other, Ju Jia seemed visibly delighted to be reunited with him again. Even his usually stiff face showed a hint of a smile. He leapt down from the back of the wolf and went over to Lu Ye in arge stride.
As he drew closer, his shadow cast over Lu Ye.
Lu Ye looked up at the tall figure and was surprised to find that Ju Jia had grown even taller again. His in clothing could not hide his physique, and his exposed skin had a bronze-like luster as if it were forged from refined iron.
Ju Jia lifted hisrge hand and patted Lu Ye on the shoulder, squeezing him down a bit.
Lu Ye grinned, not saying a word, just expressing joy towards their long-awaited reunion.
Amber leapt from Lu Yes shoulder andnded on Ju Jias head, settling down on it with practiced ease.
In the midst of the wilderness, two figures stood facing each other, one tall and one short. Behind the towering figure stood more than a hundred giant snow-white wolves that were waiting silently, creating an inexplicably strange scene.
Lu Ye tilted his body to look past Ju Jia at the wolves, then he lowered his voice and asked, Whats going on?
For now, the wolves seemed to have been brought here by Ju Jia, and they had not shown any malice to neither him nor Ju Jia thus far. However, Lu Ye was still cautious. He had only been parted with him for half a year, so how had Ju Jia managed to subdue such a wolf pack?
They followed me, Ju Jia answered with a helpless expression.
Why?
Ju Jia shook his head, indicating that he did not know the answer.
He was simply waiting for Lu Ye on the Spirit Peak, then in the blink of an eye, he woke up to find himself surrounded by arge pack of wolves just a few days ago. Now that he wanted to leave, the wolf pack ended up following him. Even he himself could not figure out why the wolves were insistent on following him.
Seeing that he wasnt going to get an answer out of him, Lu Ye gave up. Then,e with me. Ive already made arrangements with Fourth Senior Brother and Senior Sister Feng. Lets go meet them now.
En, Ju Jia agreed without objection.
Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat with a raised of his hand and called out to Yi Yi, who was lurking nearby, and she immediately revealed herself. After exchanging greetings with Ju Jia, Yi Yi leapt onto the Spirit Boat.
Ju Jia also stepped onto the Spirit Boat. However, just as they were about to leave, the snow-white figure charged forward like a gust of wind and rammed against the Spirit Boat, sending it tumbling in the air while Lu Ye and the others were forced tond in a pitiful fall.
Drawing his saber, Lu Ye watched the pack leader cautiously as it stood just a short distance away. Soon, however, he sheathed his de. Though the pack leader had knocked over his Spirit Boat, it didnt exhibit any strong hostility towards them. It seemed that it simply wanted to prevent them from leaving.
He wasnt the target of its obstruction however, Ju Jia was! The pack leader seemed reluctant to see Ju Jia leave.
Based onst nights events and the situation they were in now, Lu Ye formed a conjecture in his mind.
The anomaly brought about by Ju Jias cultivation attracted many Spirit Beasts to gather around him, indicating that the anomaly was of great benefit to them. If the wolf pack wanted Ju Jia to stay due to this, then everything would make sense.
After a brief contemtion, Lu Ye said, Yi Yi, try tomunicate with them and ask them what they want.
Yi Yi nodded. Yes.
Yi Yi herself didnt have the ability tomunicate directly with the beasts, but it was possible with Ambers assistance.
Amber jumped down from Ju Jias head and with a shake of its body, its Spirit Energy churned, and it transformed into its true form. With an imposing presence, it approached the pack leader.
What happened next was a sight that Lu Ye found hard toprehend. Amber and the pack leader exchanged roars and howls,municating almost for as long as it took for an incense stick to burn. Only then did Amber turn around and walk back to them.
Standing by Lu Yes side, Yi Yi sensed Ambers thoughts and understood. They dont want Ju Jia to leave. They want him to stay, and the pack leader even said that Ju Jia was their sacred figure.
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Chapter 557: Ameliorate Valley
Chapter 557: Ameliorate Valley
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Their Sacred Figure? Lu Ye frowned.
Thats what it means, but it can also be understood as a totem. Yi Yi continued to exin, They have been by Ju Jias side for a long time, and Ju Jia can help their pack increase their strength, so they will not let Ju Jia leave. The pack leader even said that we can go, and they wont stop us from doing so.
Lu Ye came here to take Ju Jia with him to join up with Fourth Senior Brother and Feng Yeuchan. If he didnt take Ju Jia with him, then what was the point of himing here?
Naturally, they could leave by force. With his and Ju Jias current level of cultivation, even without Flight-Type Artifacts, they could still fly. It didnt seem like these Mutant Wolves had any flight abilities, so they wouldnt be able to catch up with them.
However, the Spirit Beasts strength had reached such a level that even if they didnt have the means to fly, they would still be able to attack any enemies in the air. If they did anything rash and provoked them here, then they may not be able to get out of it unscathed.
This was a difficult situation.
Seemingly sensing Lu Yes thoughts, the pack leader suddenly let out a howl, to which Amber roared back in response lest it be seen as weak. In the next instant, the Spirit Essence on the bodies of the hundreds of giant wolves began to churn, and a chilling killing intent spread out in all directions.
Lu Ye immediately felt his skin tingling, and he raised his hand to his des hilt.During this moment of tension, Ju Jia suddenly raised his fan-like palm and pped the head of the pack leader, causing it to stumble.
Stand down!
The pack leader shook its head, and the fierceness in its eyes quickly dissipated. The hundreds of ferocious wolves also quickly went dormant, bing harmless.
Lu Ye clicked his tongue in wonder at the sight.
Just from the current situation before him, he could tell that Ju Jia held an unrivaled position in the hearts of these wolves. Even the leader did not show any fuss when it was beaten on the head, which was not how a Spirit Beast was supposed to react.
It was true that Ju Jiacked the ability to tame beasts, nor had he controlled these Mutant Wolves before, but the benefits he had brought to the wolves during this period of time had given him the qualifications to control the entire pack.
The pack leader nced at Ju Jia, then at Lu Ye before letting out a few soft yips.
Yi Yi immediately tranted, It says we can leave, but we have to bring them since they want to follow Ju Jia. Wherever Ju Jia goes is wherever they will go.
Lu Ye didnt know whether tough or cry at that. How did they end up bargaining with these wolves?
He never thought that such a big person like Ju Jia would have a pack of Spirit Beasts clinging to him. This kind of thing was most likely unheard of in the Cloud River Battlefield, not even in the ancient times.
If the Beastmasters were to see what was happening here, then they would definitely see Ju Jia as some sort of deity.
However, it was obviously unrealistic to bring along such arge pack of Mutant Wolves with them. Spirit Beasts were of great value to cultivators, and bringing them away from here would only lead to a lot of trouble.
If they didnt bring the wolves with them, however, then they wouldnt let Ju Jia leave. Following Ju Jia was their greatest concession.
If they were forced to leave, then the wolves wouldnt attack Ju Jia, only him. Even though the pack leader looked like a docile and gentle creature in front of Ju Jia, it was only to him alone.
Lu Ye frowned. This really was a difficult situation.
Should they leave Ju Jia behind? With such a strong pack of wolves protecting him, then Ju Jia shouldnt be met with any great dangers. He could even live like a fish in water inside the Grand Wilds Peak.
However, the anomaly generated by Ju Jias cultivation was a problem. It had already attracted so many cultivators toe and investigatest time, and even arge number of Spirit Beasts have gathered around. Even if he had survived without issue for so many days, there was no guarantee that he wouldnt encounter any idents at any time.
In the midst of these thoughts, Lu Ye suddenly thought of a solution.
The reason why he wanted to take Ju Jia with him was so that he could bring him along to meet up with Fourth Senior Brother and Feng Yuechan, then they were going to look for a suitable area to set up a Primus-level Arcane de. They were the ones in charge of finding a spot for the Arcane de, but they never sent any news back after so many days had passed, so it was clear that they were still in search of a suitable location.
It wasnt easy to find a suitable ce for an Arcane de. First of all, it had to have some degree of seclusion, and secondly, there had to be a sufficient geographical advantage.
Doesnt the Grand Wilds Peak seem like a good choice?
This was a dangerous ce with a high concentration of powerful Spirit Beasts. Even though many cultivators came here to hunt these beasts, they never ventured too deeply into it. So, as long as the location was deep enough, they could reduce the risk of being discovered by other cultivators.
And, this wolf pack following Ju Jia around were like the natural protectors of the Arcane de. With such a huge force, even if they went deeper into the Grand Wilds Peak, they would still have sufficient power to deal with most crises.
So, they might not need to take Ju Jia away from here. Situating the Arcane de deep inside the Grand Wilds Peak seemed to be a good choice!
At that thought, Lu Yes mind suddenly opened up as if he saw the light at the end of a tunnel.
Looking up now, therge wolves the size of calves became much more pleasant to look at, too.
Of course, this was only if the wolves were loyal to Ju Jia! If there wasnt enough loyalty in ce, then no one would feel safe around such a powerful pack.
However, judging from the current situation, loyalty didnt seem to be a problem. After all, they had to improve the strength of the pack through Ju Jias cultivation.
Amber, tell it to lead us to a safe and quiet ce.
Amber then growled at the wolf pack, who responded from time to time. Then, it looked up at Lu Ye with a human look in its wolf eyes.
A short whileter, the pack leader turned around, lowered its head, and nudged Ju Jia onto its back before taking off, heading deep inside the woods at a brisk pace.
Hundreds of giant wolves followed.
Lu Ye also got on the tigers back, and with a few quick steps, Amber caught up with the pack leader and ran alongside it.
As they moved deeper and deeper into the Grand Wilds Peak, Lu Ye took out his 10-point map to check their whereabouts.
Currently, they were already in a considerably deep part of the Grand Wilds Peak, and the Spirit Beasts that would generally appear here wouldnt be too weak. Usually, if a cultivator passed through here, it would definitely be unsafe for them as there may be hidden Spirit Beastsing out to attack them at any time.
However, no Spirit Beasts dared to challenge the wolf pack.
Lu Ye even saw a Spirit Beast with a strong aura avoiding the trajectory of the wolves. It was only after the pack left that the Spirit Beast let out a few roars as if to vent its frustration at the wolves intrusion into its territory.
Half a dayter, the wolf pack stopped at a valley. It was a picturesque mountain valley where colorful flowers grew and birdsong yed in their surroundings.
The valley wasrge and was surrounded by mountains on three sides. On one side was a cliff with a sweeping waterfall running down from it, the rumbling of the crashing water incessant. Looking up at it, the sunlight refracted into a colorful haze as it illuminated the sshing water.
Under the waterfall was a river, besides which many wild beasts drank.
Its beautiful! Yi Yi gazed at the waterfall and the rainbow from atop Ambers head.
Few people knew that such a paradise existed amidst the dangers of the Grand Wilds Peak. Upon checking the 10-point map, Lu Ye found that their location wasbeled as Ameliorate Valley.
He flew around the valley with his Flight-Type Artifact, but he didnt see any traces of Spirit Beasts about.
This was a good location. Not only was the scenery beautiful and the environment pleasant, there were still natural barriers in ce. So, if Ju Jia were to cultivate again in the future, then even if the phenomena were to reappear, it could easily be covered by the mountains around the valley, and it wouldnt draw such a spectacle as before.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye! Yi Yi called out to him. Lets set up the Arcane de here, shall we?
Clearly, she also had the same idea.
Lu Ye nodded. Ill contact Fourth Senior Brother.
Tapping his hand on his battlefield Imprint, he sent out a message. Fourth Senior Brother, any ideas on the Arcane des location yet?
Li Baxian soon responded saying, Dont worry, Little Junior Brother. Were still looking.
I have a suitable ce here.
Oh? Little Junior Brother found one? Where is it located?
Grand Wilds Peak, Ameliorate Valley.
He waited a while but there was no response from Li Baxian, though he figured that he was probably checking his 10-point map for Ameliorate Valleys exact location.
It wasnt until a whileter that Li Baxian responded. Little Junior Brother, this location is too deep inside Grand Wilds Peak. Its not safe there. If we ce our Arcane de there, it will reduce our chance of being exposed to cultivators, but the Spirit Beasts there are not to be messed with.
The situation is a bitplicated. Senior Brother and Senior Sister Feng shoulde and convene with me first. Youll understand then.
Very well. Li Baxian didnt ask too many questions about it. Since Lu Ye asked them to convene with him, he immediately set off with Feng Yuechan in their direction.
After ending the transmission, Yi Yi asked, What did Fourth Senior Brother say?
Theyre on the way, but itll take a few days. We can take this time to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings and explore to see whether or not this is a suitable location for the Arcane de.
En.
With a decision made, Lu Ye immediately took action. Even though he had circled around the valley earlier and didnt find anything special, it was still best to err on the side of caution. After all, Spirit Beasts were naturally good at hiding, and this kind of innate ability was even more powerful than the hiding abilities of any Ghost Cultivator.
Ju Jia was also looking around alongside him.
It was worth mentioning that the wolves were still following him wherever he went, especially the pack leader, whose eyes never left Ju Jias side, as if afraid that he would run away.
Almost half a dayter, Lu Ye had already checked the area within 50 kilometers of the valley and confirmed that there was no danger here save for a few wild beasts, and there were no signs of other powerful Spirit Beasts either.
As night fell, a round moon hung in the sky. The wolves gathered around Ju Jia, watching him intently, clearly waiting to cultivate with him.
However, Ju Jia had no mind to cultivate and was sitting around a campfire with Lu Ye, gulping as he watched the snake meat roasting over the fire.
He had been living a hard life out in the wilderness by himself since parting ways with Lu Ye, especially in thest two months which he spent in a state of stillness. It had been a long time since hed had a full stomach.
Amber was next to them, chewing on meat inrge bites. It wasnt long until therge cut of snake meat entered its belly, but it was still not enough to satisfy it. it ran over to Lu Ye and nudged him with itsrge head, prompting Lu Ye to bring out another cut of snake meat.
Soon, the snake meat was done cooking. Lu Ye and Ju Jia shared the food together, and despite the great difference in their body size, they werent much different when it came to consuming food. They had even crunched the bones and gulped them all down into their stomachs.
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Chapter 558: Reliability
Chapter 558: Reliability
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After they ate their fill, Lu Ye took out some materials from his Storage Sphere and circted his Spiritual Power, refining them into Ward gs.
Since the Carnage Colosseum, he had few Ward gs left that he could use, and if he were going to be setting up Wards in the Arcane de, then he would definitely need arge number of these gs, so he refined some first just in case.
Ju Jia was just sitting quietly at first, savoring the delicious roasted snake meat, but as time passed, he gradually closed his eyes and entered into that same state of stillness again. His breath grew almost still, and even his vitality and his aura were reduced to an extreme state as if he were a dead man.
A milky-white light formed around his burly figure that induced the moons essence to pour down, and all of a sudden, half of the valley was bathed in the hazy and majestic moon essence.
The wolves gathered around Ju Jia and tilted their heads up, greedily devouring the moon essence that descended from the sky. Even Amber, who was perched on Ju Jias head, took on the same posture as the wolves.
Lu Ye stopped what he was doing and just watched the scene silently.
He wasnt sure why such a phenomenon was triggered whenever Ju Jia cultivated, but for one, he believed that the phenomenon brought great benefits to the Spirit Beasts. Otherwise, the wolves wouldnt keep on clinging to Ju Jia.
Amber had cultivated with Ju Jia before, and it did benefit it as well.Rumor had it that Spirit Beasts had the ability to swallow the essence of both the sun and the moon to cultivate themselves, but Spirit Beasts wouldnt generally cause such amotion when they cultivated. Ju Jia was the only one that had this peculiarity.
After some thought, Lu Ye decided to collect his mind and tried to cultivate as well.
But soon, he gave up on the idea as it didnt seem to have any special effect on him. The moon essence that he bathed in certainly warmed him up, but it didnt have any effect on his strength.
The situation was the same for Yi Yi. So, he concluded that this kind of cultivation was only suited for Spirit Beasts! Ju Jia was undoubtedly an outlier, in this case.
Calling Yi Yi, Lu Ye stood up and summoned his Spirit Boat, heading up into the sky.
He wanted to see how visible the phenomenon formed by Ju Jias cultivation truly was. Even though the valley was surrounded by mountains on all sides, which could cover the visibility of the anomaly to a great extent, there was still a risk of exposure if the scope was too great. If that were the case, then the Spirit Beasts inside of the Grand Wilds Peak would surely gather, adding a lot of trouble to their tes. And if the cultivators were also lured over here, then this ce would not be suitable for the Arcane de.
A quick inspection revealed that the situation was not that bad.
The phenomenon was mostly concealed by the valley, so unless one was close enough, it wouldnt be easily detected.
Once he returned, he could set up a special Concealment Ward for Ju Jia, then there shouldnt be too much of a problem left.
After returning to his spot, Lu Ye continued refining more Ward gs.
When the sun came up, he, Ju Jia, and Yi Yi worked together to build ces for them to live.
Since they decided to set up the Arcane de here, then they naturally couldnt go without homes to live in. Even if cultivators did not have high requirements for their ce of residence, it was still necessary to have a ce where they could be protected from the wind and rain.
It didnt take much to build a few wooden huts.
As the days passed, a few huts were erected in the picturesque mountain valley. In terms of Wards, Lu Ye had only set up a Concealment Ward to cover the phenomenon that arose from Ju Jia nightly cultivation, but he had not set anything up beyond that.
Everything would have to wait until Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan arrived and confirmed that the Arcane de would be created here.
On this day, Lu Ye was refining Ward gs when he suddenly had a feeling in his heart, and he looked up in a direction. There, two streams of light entered his vision, quickly making their way over.
Once he focused his vision and confirmed who the two streams of light were, Lu Ye rose up to greet them.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had arrived!
Upon seeing Lu Ye, the two of them immediately flew over to him, and soon, they were face-to-face. Lu Ye saluted, Fourth Senior Brother, Senior Sister Feng!
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both looked travel-worn, and in a bit of a messy state. Even though both of them were already in the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, they still encountered some difficulties along the way. There were far too many Spirit Beasts lurking around in the Grand Wilds Peak. So, no matter which direction they came from, they would inevitably meet with some trouble.
If it werent for the many treasures that Feng Yuechan carried, then it wouldve been impossible for them to havee this deep into the mountain range with just their level of cultivation.
Even so, the two of them were targeted by a powerful Spirit Beast, and it took a lot of effort for them to get out of that situation.
Now that he saw Lu Ye, Li Baxian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Little Junior Brother, this ce really wasnt easy to get to.
However, it was exactly for that reason that this ce was well-hidden.
Feng Yuechan had already been captivated by the picturesque scenery and was looking around. Upon seeing the many huge Wolf Mutants scattered around the valley, she couldnt help but wince and tugged on Li Baxians sleeve, pointing to the front. Senior Brother, look!
When Li Baxian looked up, even his expression changed slightly, and he looked at Lu Ye with uncertainty. Whats going on here?
So many Wolf Mutants were gathered here that it was clear they were a pack. However, what he couldnt understand was why his Little Junior Brother seemed to be living in peace with this pack of Wolf Mutants?
Its a long story. Lu Ye called over Ju Jia, who was hanging around the side, and introduced them.
Ju Jia gave a silent bow as his greeting to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
Feng Yuechan had to crane her head up to look at Ju Jia, who was at least two to three heads taller than her. Even though she had seen manyrge Body-tempering Cultivators before, she couldnt help but think of two words upon seeing this man. Naturally gifted!
Ju Jias size alone gave off an oppressive aura, and it was hard to imagine just what kind of terrifying strength was hidden in such a tower-like figure.
Li Baxian had seen Ju Jia from a distance before, but had never met him face to face. Moreover, Ju Jias cultivation level was much lower than his then. Now that he got the chance to meet him again, he gave off a very different feeling to him. Even without fighting him, Li Baxian could judge at a nce that this Junior Brother Ju Jia was not an easy one to deal with.
The wolf pack was brought here by Ju Jia. He creates an anomaly when he cultivates, and it benefits the wolves, so they began regarding Ju Jia as a sacred figure of theirs, and you can say they have a dependent rtionship with Ju Jia, Lu Ye gave them a brief exnation.
Dependent? Li Baxian clicked his tongue in wonder at what he heard, then he snapped to his senses. Is this theplicated situation that you mentioned earlier?
Lu Ye nodded.
Li Baxian didnt know what to say. Not only was this aplicated situation, it was simply unheard of. It was unimaginable that a pack of Mutant Wolves like these would choose to be dependent on a cultivator.
Do you think its safe? Li Baxian asked.
For now, it seems so. The wolves havent expressed any sort of hostility towards me in the past few days. They just want to cultivate with Ju Jia.
So, whats that anomaly you were talking about? And why would it make the wolves follow Junior Brother Ju Jia?
Um, youll find out by nightfall. Its a type of anomaly that has a strong attraction to Spirit Beasts. Many cultivators saw it before and thought that an Exotic Treasure had been born, which caused quite amotion.
Li Baxian pressed down the doubts in his heart and nodded. Then, he looked around at his surroundings beforementing, This ce is deep within the Grand Wilds Peak so its an excellent location, and the scenery is great. With a natural barrier, too If this wolf pack can be relied upon, then this is indeed a suitable location for an Arcane de. Little Junior Brother has good eyes.
Lu Ye shook his head. It was the wolves who brought me here. He raised his hand and pointed at thergest Wolf Mutant. Thats the pack leader. Generally, its the one we talk to when we have any issues.
Oh? Li Baxian looked in the direction that Lu Ye was pointing to and saw the wolf looking their way. It had a curious look in its eyes, as if it couldnt understand why two more Humans hade.
However, in the wolfs mind, as long as their packs sacred figure didnt go away, then it didnt matter if more humans came. So, the wolf only looked at them for a moment before resting on the ground, no longer paying attention to their side.
Do you think this is a suitable ce for the Arcane de, Senior Brother? Lu Ye asked.
If we can trust the wolves, then its suitable, Li Baxian answered. The only problem they may have to face by cing their Arcane de here was whether Spirit Beasts woulde to disturb them. Moreover, any Spirit Beast that appeared in such a ce would certainly not be too weak.
If the wolves could be relied upon, then they would serve as a natural deterrent, so not many Spirit Beasts would dare toe lest they bring misfortune upon themselves.
Im curious to know just how strong that pack leader is, and also, what is the general strength of the pack? Li Baxian asked cautiously.
Ive been observing them for the past few days and the pack leader has strength equivalent to the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, but the strength of the pack is mixed. There are those in the Eighth or Ninth order, but also those in the First or Second Order. Most of them are above the Fifth Order, whereas those below that only take up thirty percent of the pack. Lu Ye went on, I know what Senior Brother is worried about, and I was considering the same question myself. However, based on my observations through the past few days, the wolves have shown no intentions other than a strong reliance on following Ju Jia to cultivate.
What about Junior Brother Ju Jia? Li Baxian then asked.
Ju Jia is in the Fourth Order.
His cultivation level was the same as Lu Yes current level.
He entered the Cloud River Battlefield several months before Lu Ye, but there was still energy left in the Mutant Core in Ju Jias body when he broke through into the Cloud River Realm, so he had some foundation in his cultivation upon his advancement.
The reason Lu Ye could advance so quickly in his cultivation was thanks to the number of Amulets he had amassed, but Ju Jia was different. His gains in his cultivation came through bitter cultivation that he obtained while in that state of dormancy.
Lu Ye had known as early as in the Spirit Creek Battlefield that Ju Jia was very tolerant of loneliness. Apart from cultivating, his greatest pleasure in life was generally to eat with Lu Ye. Other than that, there was nothing else that could arouse his interest.
Lu Ye had met so many people, and there was none that lived a life as pure as Ju Jia. And, it was precisely because of that purity that even through grueling cultivation, he could advance so quickly.
Not to mention, Ju Jias method of cultivation was more special than anyone else.
Senior Brother, are you thinking that Ju Jia isnt strong enough to suppress the wolves? Lu Ye could see the concern that Li Baxian was having.
Li Baxian nodded. Spirit Beasts are simply Spirit Beasts, after all. Theyre wild and undomesticated, so its difficult to subdue them without sufficient strength.
It was only natural for him to be worried. If one day, the wolves suddenly erupted and attacked them, then none of them would get away unscathed.
However, there was no guarantee that that would happen.
While the two of them were talking here, Ju Jia, who stood idly by the side, suddenly raised his head and made a strange sound towards the location of the wolves. it sounded deep like the howl of a wolf, but not exactly.
The pack leader that was lying at that side immediately got up and ran over to Ju Jias side, then looked up at him with enquiring eyes.
Peng peng Ju Jia raised his hand and pped it on the head several times.
Both Lu Ye and Li Baxians eyes twitched at that.
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Chapter 559: Primus-level Arcane Glade
Chapter 559: Primus-level Arcane de
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The pack leader was a third taller than Ju Jia, and even if it didnt show any ferocity, just its presence with its cultivation level equivalent to the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm was enough to make any cultivators heart palpitate with anxiety.
However, such a powerful and imposing Spirit Beast had just been pped by Ju Jia loud enough to create audible noise.
Just from the sound alone, one could tell that his p could not have been light. After that, Ju Jia waved his hand.
The pack leader shook its head and silently plodded back to its original spot, thenid back down again as if nothing happened.
The corner of Li Baxians eye twitched. Little Junior Brother, I have no more questions. Lets ce the Arcane de here.
Lu Ye nodded. I agree!
All their worries were solved. Despite Ju Jia treating the pack leader in such a way, it still did not reveal any of its beastly nature, which obviously meant that it really meant no harm to them.
So, the cement of the Arcane de was decided upon.Several huts had already been built, and the Wisp of Sanctification naturally had to be ced at the center of these huts so that all of them could share rain and dew evenly.
Lu Ye led Li Baxian and the others to a suitable location before bringing out his Spirit Beast Bag and taking the fat, white Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification out of it.
Senior Brother, how do we do it? Lu Ye looked at Li Baxian.
He knew only that a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification could be used to create a Primus-level Arcane de, but Lu Ye wasnt sure just how exactly it was done.
Just put it down, Li Baxian exined.
So, Lu Ye put the Wisp of Sanctification down on the ground in front of him.
All eyes were on the fat and white Wisp of Sanctification, watching as it curled up its body then stretched open again before rolling into the ground, which looked ratherical.
Seemingly curious as to why Ju Jia was so absorbed in watching the wisp, several wolves also stuck their heads over to watch, all of which were pped away by Ju Jia with a palm each.
The Wisp of Sanctifications movements might have seemed clumsy, but it was in fact highly efficient. In just a few moments, a hole had been dug out of the ground that led deep underground.
Everyone waited in silence.
It wasnt until about an hourter that cloudy spring water suddenly emerged from the ground, rising several meters into the sky, which shocked Amber, who was in the middle of investigating the hole.
The spring water soon ran clear and gurgled out, gradually forming a small stream on the ground, and its emergence was followed by extremely rich and pure World Spiritual Qi.
Just from a quick sampling of it, Lu Ye could tell that it was worthy of its name as a Primus-level Spirit Spout. As the water came out of the ground, the World Spirit Qi that filled the air was even denser than that which emerged in a Tertiary-level Arcane de.
Moreover, this was just the beginning. Once the Arcane de stabilizedpletely, the World Spiritual Qi would only be richer.
Senior Brother, theres something that I cant understand, Lu Ye suddenly said.
What is it?
They say that as long as one possesses a Wisp of Sanctification, then one can create an Arcane de of the equivalent level, but World Spiritual Qi cannote from nowhere. Where does the Spiritual Qi that is pouring out of the ground alongside the Spirit Spoute from? It cant havee from the Wisp of Sanctification.
Li Baxian exined, Ive thought about this question myself, and Ive also asked some people. In short, there are two known theories. One is that an enormous amount of rich World Spiritual Qi exists deep underneath the Cloud River Battlefield, and the Wisp of Sanctification has opened up a Spirit Spout, which spring water gushes out of, thus leading up the World Spiritual Qi that had been hidden deep underneath the ground.
Lu Ye pondered for a while and shook his head. This doesnt sound right.
Why do you say that?
You see, Senior Brother, if that truly were the case, then the World Spiritual Qi that exists under the ground should be of a fixed quality. However, if we use a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification here, then what we get would be a Primus-level Arcane de. And, if we were to use a Tertiary-level Wisp of Sanctification here, then it would be a Tertiary-level Arcane de instead, and theres no way to exin that phenomenon.
Li Baxian nodded. Indeed. If the World Spiritual Qi underneath the ground is fixed, then it shouldnt matter what quality of Wisp of Sanctification is used. The resulting Arcane de should be the same.
What is the second theory?
That the Wisp of Sanctification is only a catalyst, and the Spirit Spout is only the external manifestation. Theres no World Spiritual Qi hidden in the ground either, just a gift bestowed by the Heavens. In other words, as we make use of the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification, it is like opening a channel with the Heavens, a channel that can transfer over the corresponding grade of World Spiritual Qi ording to the level of the Arcane de. So, as long as there exists a Wisp of Sanctification, it doesnt matter where its ced and an Arcane de of equivalent level can be created.
Thats quite a novel theory.
However, it does exin a lot of the questions.
Pondering for a moment, that does seem to be the case indeed. If it was based on this theory, then all the doubts he had in his heart could be exined.
The Spirit Spout had already been born, and the umtion of World Spiritual Qi in the Arcane de still required a few days before it could stabilize, which was a good time for Lu Ye to set up the Wards. He refined arge number of Ward gs a few days ago, and now they can finally be put to use.
Yi Yi and Feng Yuechan on the other hand, were in charge of furnishing the wooden huts. For a long time toe, they were going to be living here, and having a morefortable living environment would naturally bring up ones mood. Li Baxian and Ju Jia tried to help, but very soon, the two of them were sted out of the huts.
Looking at each other, Li Baxian could only go and look for Lu Ye instead and help him. As for Ju Jia, he just sat down next to the Spirit Spout and cultivated in peace.
As night fell, the fire was rekindled. The moon hung high in the sky, and the picturesque valley was filled with joyousughter and the aroma of delicious wine and meat.
In the second half of the night, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan finally saw the anomaly resulting from Ju jias cultivation, and they were both astonished.
Especially when the entire wolf pack would resonate with him as he cultivated, swallowing the moons essence. The scene was spectacr.
Fortunately, Lu Ye had set up a Concealment Ward beforehand, so even though a magnificent phenomenon was produced, as long as one wasnt too close, then one shouldnt be able to detect it, whether they be man or Spirit Beast.
A few dayster, Lu Ye had set uprge numbers of Wards around the entire Arcane de, and the World Spiritual Qi inside of it also stabilizedpletely.
Compared to the Tertiary-level Arcane de that he and Kitty Shen upied before, the cultivation environment in the Primus-level Arcane de was ten times more favorable than that. The pure World Spiritual Qi had almost turned into a mist that enveloped the entirety of the Arcane de. So, even without actively cultivating, one needed only to live in this ce and their cultivation level would rise continuously.
All of them deeply felt just how much a Primus-level Arcane de could provide to a cultivator, and it was no wonder why the cultivators of the Cloud River Realm were so eager to upy such a ce.
With an Arcane de like this, the growth of a cultivator in the Cloud River Realm could be shortened by at least half.
Through the past few days, Yi Yi and Amber had both broken through, reaching the Third Order Cloud River Realm. They were just short of it before, and now with the umtion of their cultivation through the past few days, they naturally gained enough to allow them to make a breakthrough.
After the first few days of excitement and novelty were over, their days gradually returned to normal.
That was how a cultivators life was like, always focusing on the pursuit of realm enhancement. Amongst the few, the one who cultivated the hardest was undoubtedly Ju Jia.
During the day, he cultivated in his hut by breathing in the World Spiritual Qi, but as a moonlit night fell, he would leave his abode and cultivate outside. If there was no moonlight for a few days, then he could stay inside his hut for many days at a time.
Lu Ye had also given him a piece of dragon scale. The vitality contained within a dragons scale was extremely useful for a Body-tempering Cultivator like Ju Jia.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan also cherished their new cultivation environment very much, and all of them were working hard to improve their strength.
In contrast to them, Lu Ye was the one who had the most time on his hands.
He never needed to put too much effort in cultivating. With hundreds of Spirit Gathering Funnels all over his body, he needed only to be inside of the Arcane de and World Spiritual Qi would seep into his body incessantly. Then, by consuming some Spirit Pills every so often, the volume of the River of Spiritual Power within his body would grow day by day.
While cultivating, he would always spend that time reading books.
The books he brought from Lady Yun and the de technique insights that he got from the Raving desmen were his chosen reading materials that he used to pass the time.
Perhaps due to how he was the most idle one, Lu Ye had been getting along quite well with the wolf pack during this period of time. A few of them had even be quite familiar with him and would asionally squeeze their heads over to join him whenever Lu Ye was reading a book.
A batch of Wolf Mutants would leave every few days to hunt due to a Spirit Beasts instinct to survive.
After getting to know the Wolf Mutants, Lu Ye also gained some Spirit Beast meat from them whenever they came back from their hunt.
Other than reading books and practicing his de techniques daily, Lu Ye spent most of his time practicing Tattoos on himself.
These days, his mastery in the Way of Tattoos had increased again, but so far, he had only been able to practice on himself as there were no suitable subjects for him to work on.
One day, as he was practicing on his own body, arge head suddenly pushed its way over and looked on in curiosity.
Lu Ye raised his head to meet the gaze of the pair of wolf eyes.
This was one of the Wolf Mutants that he had grown closer to recently, and there was a patch of blue fur on its forehead that looked like a blooming blue flower.
Four eyes met, but Lu Ye ignored it and continued focusing on practicing his Tattooing.
But soon, his hand stopped, and he looked up again at the Wolf Mutant before him A thought passed through his mind. [This seems like a good target to practice the Way of Tattoos on?]
He hadnt thought about it before, mainly because in order to create a Tattoo on a Spirit Beasts body, it was inevitable to have enough trust with one beforehand. Otherwise, Lu Ye could very well be attacked by the Spirit Beast while pricking them with a needle, and the loss would outweigh the gains then.
However, now that they were acquainted with each other, maybe he could give it a try?
With that thought in mind, Lu Ye quickly called out to someone. Amber!
Amber, who was loungingzily in the sun not far away, quickly got up and came over, leaping onto Lu Yes shoulder.
Lu Ye raised his hand and constructed Glyph: Sharp Edge on his palm. In a sh, a light bloomed over his entire palm.
The Wolf Mutant took a step back, clearly sensing the sharpness of the aura.
Ask it, does it wish to possess such an ability?
Amber immediately understood Lu Yes intentions and began conversing with the Wolf Mutant before it.
The Wolf Mutant nced over at Lu Yes palm from time to time with a clear look of temptation in its wolf eyes.
Tell it that I just need to prick its skin a few times with a needle, and it would gain that ability. It can make its ws even sharper! Lu Ye struck while the iron was hot.
Amber continued rying Lu Yes words.
As expected, the Wolf Mutant was tempted by the offer. It stepped forward and lowered its head, showing submission to Lu Ye to do whatever he wanted.
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Chapter 560: Tattoo
Chapter 560: Tattoo
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Practicing on the Wolf Mutant was also simply a whim from Lu Ye. He thought it would take some persuading, but he never expected it to be so cooperative with him.
However, creating a Tattoo required specific materials, and different Tattoos required different materials which must all be meticulously chosen.
The materials generally consisted of a mixture of beast blood and medicinal fluids, and each Tattoo Artist prepared their own blend of the mixture in different proportions, their own exclusive form.
Lu Ye had ess to various Tattoo forms, naturally from Lady Yun, and they were all of excellent quality.
However, the Storm Shade and Venomous Python blood he collected previously were not suitable for tattooing Sharp Edge, and it would be impractical to go out and buy or collect more at this time.
After some thought, Lu Ye came up with an idea.
Since it wasnt feasible to go out and buy or collect the materials, he decided to summon a Divine Opportunity Column directly and use it to purchase some from the Vault of Providence.
He had already nned to summon a Divine Opportunity Column before, but time had been so short that he hadnt had the opportunity to act on it yet.While summoning a Divine Opportunity Column was costly, having one around was a lifesaver in case of an unavoidable crisis. The cultivators of the Arcane de could use it to escape back to Jiu Zhou, so it was worth the high cost.
In addition, the Arcane de was located deep within the Grand Wilds Peak, making it an inconvenience to interact with the outside world, like if there was a need to buy something such as in this case, Lu Ye could connect directly to the Vault of Providence without leaving the area to find the Divine Trade Association.
Mostrge Primus-level Arcane des have their own Divine Opportunity Columns for the convenience of the cultivators needs.
Smaller Arcane des rarely possessed the means to summon a Divine Opportunity Column, but an exception was probably going to appear today.
Once he made up his mind, Lu Ye respectfully requested for a Divine Opportunity Column.
Having already summoned a Divine Opportunity Column once in the Carnage Colosseum, the second time naturally went much smoother for Lu Ye.
As Lu Ye spoke, a blue light shot up into the air from the back of his hand, followed by the descent of a majestic object from the sky, creating a powerful aura that swept through the surroundings.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, who were both cultivating in their respective rooms, were startled by themotion and quickly came out to investigate.
Upon seeing the appearance of a new Divine Opportunity Column in front of Lu Ye, Li Baxians eyes twitched. Little Junior Brother, did you summon another Divine Opportunity Column?
For a single cultivator in the Cloud River Realm to summon two Divine Opportunity Columns, and with only a little over a month between each summoning, was probably unprecedented.
One Divine Opportunity Column was worth 100,000 Contribution Points, so two columns equaled 200,000 Contribution Points.
Which Cloud River Realm cultivator was so wealthy?
Li Baxian couldnt help but sigh in amazement at how wealthy his Little Junior Brother was. He really couldnt bepared. Then, when he thought about the two Point Restoration Pills Lu Ye bought him that cost 300,000 Contribution Points each he realized that he was miserably poor as the Senior Brother inparison to him.
En. Theres something I want to buy, Lu Ye casually exined. He ced his hand on the Divine Opportunity Column and connected his consciousness to the Vault of Providence.
Feng Yuechan sighed, Truly, with wealthes freedom to do anything one pleases.
To summon a Divine Opportunity Column just so he could buy something from the Vault of Providence, this level of extravagance was unsurpassed.
However, they couldntpare with him on such matters. Even though they were disciples of the Second Tier Sect, the Devoted Ones, with arge family came many mouths to feed, and even for a pampered disciple like Feng Yuechan, the resources allocated to her were still limited. Often, they had to find ways to acquire cultivation resources themselves.
But Lu Ye was different. He practically built up the entire Crimson Blood Sect on his own, and with his position and strength as the overlord of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he received plenty of benefits there.
The Crimson Blood Sect was wealthy because of him, so nobody restricted him whenever he used some of the resources.
Once they confirmed there was no external threat, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan returned to their rooms to continue cultivating.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye stayed in the Vault of Providence for a while and quickly acquired the various materials he needed.
Summoning a Divine Opportunity Column cost 100,000 Contribution Points, but purchasing the materials only cost him less than 1,000 Contribution Points
Checking his battlefield information, the Contribution Points section disyed the number: 83,520.
Through selling various resources in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Lu Ye had umted around 300,000 Contribution Points. However, he quickly spent arge portion of that buying mes of Earthen Spirits and various other mes. He also bought a Spirit Storage Ring. After entering the Cloud River Battlefield, he also bought many Mutant Cores for Amber to eat as snacks, so he was left with just over 180,000 Contribution Points.
Now, he had once again spent more than 100,000 Contribution Points.
All his spending was still worth it in the end. With a Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de, they could enter anytime from the outside world, and they would be sent directly into the Arcane de itself.
With the various materials now in his possession, Lu Ye followed Lady Yuns form and processed them. It was his first time doing this, so it was inevitable that he would be slightly clumsy. Fortunately, it wasnt tooplicated. In an incense stick of time, three bottles of differently-coloured Tattoo materials appeared before him.
One was golden, one was ochre, and one was cyan.
The Wolf Mutant with the blue flower on its head was still squatting next to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye raised his hand and pointed to the golden bottle, saying, This one is this type! As he spoke, Glyph: Sharp Edge was formed in his hand, emitting a faint brilliance and exuding a sharp aura.
Then, he pointed to the ochre bottle and said, This one is this type!
The Glyph transformed into Glyph: Protection, emanating a sturdy protective force.
Finally, he pointed to the cyan bottle and said, And thest one is this type.
The Glyph transformed into Glyph: Windwalk, and a sense of agility and lightness appeared throughout his entire palm.
So, little one, which one do you want?
Whether it was Sharp Edge, Protection, or Windwalk, they were among the simple and practical Glyphs that Lu Ye initially obtained, and he had practiced them many times on himself. While he couldnt guarantee a perfect sess rate, eighty to ny percent was still doable since these three Glyphs were notplicated.
Originally, Lu Ye just wanted to try Glyph: Sharp Edge on the Wolf Mutant, but now that he had enough materials, he could provide it with more choices.
Even though the Wolf Mutant couldnt understand human speech, it possessed sentience and could naturally understand Lu Yes simple gestures.
After Lu Ye finished speaking, it raised its paw and tapped the golden bottle.
Lu Ye nodded. With its fierce and aggressive nature, it was natural for the Wolf Mutant to pursue the ultimate attack.
Since it made a choice, Lu Ye naturally had to fulfill its request. After all, it was his first client even if it were a Mutant Beast that couldnt speak.
Lu Ye made up his mind to give it a good experience.
The question was where to make the Tattoo.
Glyph: Sharp Edge was an offensive Glyph, so there were only two suitable locations, and those were the ws and the mouth.
Over the past few days, Lu Ye had witnessed the y fights among the Wolf Mutants. Their sharp ws and teeth were their natural weapons. Judging by themotion they created, anyone would think they were fighting to the death, but based on Lu Yes observations, they were in fact merely honing their skills through this method.
Looking at the Wolf Mutant in front of him with the blue flower on its head, its strength was undoubtedly rtively lowpared to the rest of the pack. Its Spiritual Essence was not particrly rich, probably only at the level of the Fourth or Fifth Order Cloud River Realm. It often suffered disadvantages in battles with other races.
After carefully observing the Wolf Mutant in front of him, Lu Ye made up his mind.
He chose to Tattoo its mouth as the Wolf Mutant relied more on its teeth than its ws.
Raising his hand, Lu Ye squeezed its wolf mouth shut and turned to Amber. Tell it that it might feel a bit of pain and to keep still.
Amber immediately let out a growl.
Disdain shed in the Wolf Mutants eyes, clearly not taking Ambers warning to heart.
Once everything was prepared, Lu Yes expression turned serious.
Despite having tried it on his own body with many sessful attempts, it was still just practice.
Strictly speaking, this was his first real Tattoo, so he definitely couldnt allow it to fail.
The needle was ced right by his side. Lu Ye held the wolfs mouth firmly with one hand and swiftly took out a needle, dipped it in the material from the bottle, and quickly pricked into its skin at lightning speed.
His concentration reached its peak at this moment. When the needle came down, his Spiritual Power surged slightly, and the first primary element was formed.
Removing the needle, recing it, dipping it in the material again, and then piercing again. At the moment the second primary element formed, it perfectly merged with the first one.
Lu Yes movements were extremely fast but orderly. With the fall of each needle, a small, arrowhead-shaped golden mark slowly took shape on the wolfs mouth.
Theposition of Glyph: Sharp Edge didnt involve arge number of Yin-Yang elements, only a few dozen.
So, Lu Ye was able to finish his work in less than a short thirty breaths. When the final needle came down and the final primary element was formed, the golden mark that hade into form emitted a faint light.
The Wolf Mutant hadnt moved at all throughout the process. There wasnt even a flicker in its eyes. Obviously, the pain during the Tattooing process meant nothing to it.
Lu Ye let out a breath and released its maw.
Carefully looking at it, it seemed that a golden tattoo had appeared on the Wolf Mutants mouth, giving it a standout look.
This was a Visible Tattoo, and it was not permanent. It was of the same type as the Glyph: Wings Tattoo that Lu Ye had initially obtained.
Lu Yes proficiency in the Way of Tattoos was not particrly high. Being able to achieve this level was already his limit. In the future, when his skills improved, he would be able to create Hidden or Permanent Tattoos, but of course, those would require different materials.
The Wolf Mutant eyed Lu Ye with suspicion since it didnt feel any particr change in itself.
Activate your Mutant powers and give it a try, Lu Ye said.
The Wolf Mutant understood and immediately activated its Spirit Essence. In the next moment, the golden mark on its mouth shimmered, causing its sharp teeth to emit a faint glow, adding a sense of sharpness. It bared its teeth at Lu Ye, appearing quite imposing.
Lu Ye pped it aside and said, Go y by yourself.
Having be familiar with each other, there was no need for him to be courteous with it.
With his first Tattoo a perfect sess, Lu Ye was in a good mood.
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Chapter 561: Coincidence
Chapter 561: Coincidence
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Inside the Arcane de, Lu Ye got up and once again approached the Divine Opportunity Column. He connected his consciousness with the Vault of Providence, but this time he wasnt there to buy anything.
Instead, he wanted to upgrade his Invible Saber.
The Invible Saber was currently a Middle Grade Spirit Artifact with eighteen enchantments. It had been upgraded once a few months ago from Low Grade to Middle Grade.
However, Lu Ye made rapid advancements recently in his cultivation. In less than five months since entering the Cloud River Battlefield, he had reached the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm.
Now, he had enough qualifications to wield a higher grade Spirit Artifact.
Normally, cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm used Low Grade Spirit Artifacts, which could be upgraded to Middle Grade upon arriving in the Cloud River Realm. Around the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, they could switch to High Grade Spirit Artifacts. As for the Top Grade Spirit Artifacts, those were typically used by Real Lake Realm cultivators, and beyond that were Spell Artifacts.
Although Lu Yes cultivation was one order below the Fifth Order, it wouldnt pose much of a problem.
Since he had nothing else to do recently and didnt need to engage in any fights, he decided to take advantage of his free time to upgrade his Invible Saber so he wouldnt have to bother with itter.Inside the Vault of Providence, Lu Ye muttered softly under his breath, Request, upgrade Spirit Artifact!
He had done this in the past, so he was familiar with the process.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his vision warped, and he appeared in a small and empty room with only a counter inside.
So, Lu Ye began his wait there.
Even if he wanted to put in a request to have his Spirit Artifact upgraded, there also had to be a free artificer to take his request. Then, the two of them could negotiate the price, set the specifications and time frame, and if no artificers epted his request then, he would just continue to wait.
For a cultivator from Jiu Zhou, this was undoubtedly a convenient process. There was no need to spend any effort in hunting down an artificer himself. He could just do it through the Vault of Providence.
And, it was not limited to just upgrading Spirit Artifacts. He couldmission a new one, or even ask to have Spirit Pills and such refined.
So, as long as one had skills in a specialized profession, earning Contribution Points wasnt actually that difficult. Cultivators specialized in refining and alchemy didnt even need to engage in battles, they could simply ept variousmissions in the Vault of Providence and earn enough Contribution Points to meet their own cultivation needs.
There were quite a few artificers taking on suchmissions in the Vault of Providence. Lu Ye only had to wait a moment before the space in front of him distorted, and a figure appeared.
When he looked up, Lu Ye saw a young woman who appeared to be in her thirties. Her skin was fair, and she had a beautiful face. She was dressed in a fitted floral dress that entuated her graceful curves.
Lu Ye was surprised.
During these types of transactions within the Vault of Providence, a natural disguise and protection mechanism was provided by the Heavens that shrouded the identities and appearances of both parties. Each side was enveloped in a mist that made it impossible for both trading parties to discern each others identities and even their genders.
After all, the two parties involved in such transactions maye from different factions, so disguising their identities and appearances could reduce many unnecessary troubles.
However, since Lu Ye received the Gift of Providence, this disguise had lost its effect on him. He seemed to possess some useless privileges as he could see the artificer he was trading with clearly without any mist enveloping them.
Lu Yes surprise was at the fact that the artificer who came this time was the same woman asst time!
This seemed far too coincidental.
His Invible Saber had been upgraded from Low Grade to Middle Grade by herst time, and Lu Ye was quite satisfied with the result. Since it was her again this time, there shouldnt be any issues.
Remaining calm, Lu Ye ced his Invible Saber on the counter in front of him.
When the woman picked it up, she furrowed her brows. In a somewhat old voice, she expressed her dissatisfaction, Just a mere Middle Grade Spirit Artifact
Last time, it was, Just a mere Low Grade
Apparently, the grade of the Spirit Artifact was too low to offer her much of a profit.
However, unlikest time, the woman didnt finish her sentence. Instead, she seemed to have discovered something as she turned the Invible Saber around and nced at it, her expression slightly changing.
The handle of the Invible Saber used to be inscribed with only one word, Invible, but since thest upgrade by this woman, a feather symbol had been added.
It didnt affect the functionality, and Lu Ye knew that some artificers liked to leave special marks on their works to prove that it was theirs. The feather symbol was undoubtedly the special mark left by this woman.
Now, she saw her own mark.
Surprised, she looked up and nced at Lu Ye, seemingly not expecting such a coincidence. The Spirit Artifact that she had once upgraded had appeared before her again.
Thinking back, she recalled the event from a few months ago.
After all, not many people were willing to pay a hefty price to upgrade a Low Grade Spirit Artifact. Most cultivators would simply exchange them, which wouldnt cost that many Contributions anyway. [Its only been a few months, yet he needs another upgrade already? How is this guy cultivating so fast?] The woman couldnt help but wonder to herself.
Even though she couldnt see Lu Yes face clearly, she had already inferred a few things from the Invible in her hand.
Upgraded to High Grade? the woman asked in that aged voice. If one were to judge solely based on her voice, they would think she was an elderly person. In reality, however, she was a charming woman in her prime.
Yes.
What are your requirements?
The shape and length remains the same, 27 enchantments, make sure its sturdy enough and double the weight.
All right. Name your price.
Lu Ye pondered for a moment. Thest time, it cost him 2,000 Contribution Points to upgrade the Invible Saber from Low Grade to Middle Grade. Now that he was upgrading from Middle Grade to High Grade, it would surely cost more than before.
After some consideration, he made his offer, 5,000 Contribution Points.
The woman raised an eyebrow and a smile appeared on her lips. Clearly, she was satisfied with the price, but mainly, she did not expect that a young cultivator from the Cloud River Realm like Lu Ye would be so generous.
But rather than ept the offer, she said, Itll be 8,000 Contribution Points at the very least. Upgrading from Middle Grade to High Grade requires a significant amount of materials, all of which Ill have to purchase myself.
Lu Ye watched her. If he didnt have the privilege bestowed upon him by the Heavens that allowed him to see her expression, he would have thought she made a reasonable argument. However, now that he had seen the change in her emotions, it was not hard for Lu Ye to realize that he had offered too much at 5,000 Contribution Points.
This woman seemed to be taking him for a fool.
Upon careful consideration, Lu Ye understood that while he earned Contribution Points easily, any other cultivator from the Cloud River Realm would have to think twice before spending thousands of Contribution Points.
Forget it, then. I dont have that many Contribution Points.
While saying so, Lu Ye made to take back the Invible.
Its not like its non-negotiable, the woman interrupted him in a hurry.
4,000 Contribution Points?
What? The womans brow twitched.
Im afraid I just realized 4,000 are all the Contribution Points I have left.
You little brat, are you messing with me? Her expression sank. Final offer, 5,000 Contribution Points, you can retrieve your de in 3 days. If you agree, then sign the Sacred Pact!
Hm Fine! Lu Ye answered with some reluctance.
He made a mental note to himself that he would let others name their price the next time he decided to upgrade the Invible, then he could gradually negotiate for a good price based on their reactions.
The woman promptly brought out the Sacred Pact, listed down the terms, and after Lu Ye checked and confirmed them, both parties signed it.
Three days! the woman said before swiftly disappearing.
Lu Ye lingered in the Vault of Providence for a while longer and chanced upon a few mes of Earthen Spirits out of stock previously and immediately purchased them with Contribution Points.
It seemed that his earlier spection was correct. The items in the Vault of Providence had a source. He had already bought all the mes of Earthen Spirits before, but a few more had appeared today. There was no doubt that someone was collecting them from somewhere and selling them to the Vault of Providence.
It seemed that he would have to visit the vault from time to time in the future. Who knows, he might find something valuable.
Now that there was a Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de, it wouldnt take much effort to do so.
After his consciousness left the Vault of Providence, Lu Ye turned around and his eyebrow was raised.
Arge group of Wolf Mutants were standing quietly behind him, their wolf eyes focused on him, with the tallest wolf, the pack leader, standing ten meters in front of him.
Though Lu Ye had be acquainted with some of the Wolf Mutants during this period, most of them ignored him, but that wasnt limited to just him. The Wolf Mutants never showed any signs of affection towards anyone other than Ju Jia.
Especially the pack leader, who was the most prideful of them. Usually, it wouldnt even spare a nce to Lu Ye and the others.
However, it was waiting here today, and it even brought the entire pack with it.
Next to the pack leader was the Wolf Mutant that received the Sharp Edge Tattoo. It was undoubtedly an honor for it to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the pack leader, something which it didnt have the privilege of doing before.
And, it seemed to appear somewhat smug with traces of fresh blood still remaining at the corner of its mouth.
It was clear that it had won a fight against itspanions!
Lu Ye immediately understood what was happening.
You also want to have that special ability?
The pack leader slightly lowered its head, and it was clear what it was trying to express.
With just a simple Sharp Edge Glyph, a Wolf Mutants bite could be enhanced by at least thirty to forty percent. This improvement was naturally tempting to all the other Wolf Mutants.
That was also the reason why the leader had brought the pack here to wait for Lu Ye.
Lu Ye found this situation unexpected. He had originally nned to find a few other Wolf Mutants he was familiar with and continue practicing with them.
Now, he had saved himself a lot of trouble. They hade to him themselves, and the effect would naturally be different than if he had approached them himself.
There were over a hundred members in the wolf pack, and if Lu Ye could Tattoo each Wolf Mutant, he could umte even more experience and insights, which he would be happy to have.
After pondering for a moment, he took out the Mutant Core of a Spirit Beast from his Storage Sphere and presented it to the pack alpha. Trade for it with this!
The wolf pack would go out hunting every few days, bringing back fresh meat and asionally some Mutant Cores. However, the pack would consume the Mutant Cores themselves.
Amber wasnt the only one who loved Mutant Cores. All Spirit Beasts enjoyed devouring the Mutant Cores of other Spirit Beasts as it elerated their growth, especially when the Mutant Cores matched their own elemental affinity. The benefits they could gain were significant.
While Lu Ye could provide the Wolf Mutants with Tattoos for free, it would be even better if he could benefit from this opportunity. After all, he had spent Contribution Points to acquire the materials from the Vault of Providence, and it also took time and effort to Tattoo the Glyphs.
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Chapter 562: Tracked
Chapter 562: Tracked
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The pack leader nced at the Mutant Core in Lu Yes hand, a hint of human-like expression flickering in its eyes. Then, it slightly lowered its head as if agreeing.
Lu Ye felt amazed that he had actually made a deal with a group of Mutant Beasts. Even though the details of the transaction and the specific price was vague and unclear, the fact that the pack leader agreed meant he could now collect some Mutant Cores in return from them.
It also saved him the trouble of finding targets to practice on, so it was a good thing.
He immediately sat cross-legged on the steps of his wooden cabin and took out the materials he had bought from the Vault of Providence, arranging them in a row in front of himself.
Just as he had done before, he disyed the different effects of the three Glyphs in front of the pack leader.
Remember, if theres a Glyph you need, just choose it and I will Tattoo the Glyph for you, Lu Ye instructed the Wolf Mutant.
The pack leader turned around, tilting its head.
Among the wolf pack, a giant wolf immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Lu Ye.The pack leader raised its paw and tapped on the golden bottle symbolizing Glyph: Sharp Edge.
Understood!
Lu Ye reached out and grabbed the maw of the Wolf Mutant in front of him, then took out a needle and began the process.
In just a short while, a Sharp Edge Tattoo took shape, leaving a golden arrowhead mark on the mouth of the Wolf Mutant.
The Wolf Mutant activated its Spirit Essence and bared its fangs. The sharp fangs were immediately covered in a faint glow, turning even sharper.
Though Lu Ye had already witnessed Sharp Edges power as disyed by hispanions in previous fights, seeing how this power was born first hand feltpletely different.
Lu Ye clearly saw a hint of surprise in the eyes of the pack leader. Even the quiet wolf pack became restless, their gazes toward Lu Ye bing heated.
This had never happened before. There were over a hundred Wolf Mutants in this wolf pack, and they usually paid little attention to anyone that was not Ju Jia. They basically acted as if they didnt exist in the Arcane de. But now, upon realizing that Lu Ye possessed the power to make them stronger, their perception of him undoubtedly underwent some subtle changes.
Moreover, this increase in strength came effortlessly without any cost.
This made the wolf pack value Lu Ye even more.
Another Wolf Mutant approached under the pack leaders signal, who once again tapped the golden bottle symbolizing Glyph: Sharp Edge.
After a short rest, Lu Ye began the next Tattoo.
The actual time he spent on Tattooing was not long, a few dozen breaths at most, but the mental drain he sustained during that short time was immense.
With each Tattoo made, Lu Yes technique also became more proficient.
While he was busy, outside the Grand Wilds Peak, three streams of light traveled together, moving swiftly through the air.
From the fluctuations of their Spiritual Power alone, it was clear that the three of them were in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm.
And, all three of them were Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators whom Lu Ye had handled before.
The ck-d figure in the middle was Tan Sheng of the New Moon Sect. On his left was Wei Que from the Clouded Sun n, and on his right was Xia Liang of the Raving desmen.
Compared to his previous state in the Carnage Colosseum, Tan Shengs aura at the moment was undoubtedly somewhat violent. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had be thinner all around.
The New Moon Sects Outpost in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had been conquered and over fifty of their disciples were either killed or injured. The losses were devastating. When Tan Sheng received this news in the Cloud River Battlefield, he almost fainted out of anger. It was also at that time that he made a vow to himself to kill Yi Ye and avenge his fallen junior disciples.
He was on the verge of advancing into the Real Lake Realm, and he had also gained some benefits in the Carnage Colosseum that could allow him to advance and leave the Cloud River Battlefield at any time if he wanted to.
But in order to kill Lu Ye, he forcibly dyed his advancement.
What qualifications did he have to advance into the Real Lake Realm if he hadnt even settled this deep hatred and enmity?
He admitted that he was the one who orchestrated what happened in the Carnage Colosseum, but it was no reason for Yi Ye to target the Sect behind him. A matter in the Cloud River Realm was brought to the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and after suffering such substantial losses, the New Moon Sect was powerless to counterattack. Yi Ye was nothing short of a beast!
So no matter what, he had to kill Yi Ye on the Cloud River Battlefield. Only then could he ascend into the Real Lake Realm with peace of mind.
Wei Que had the same reasons as Tan Sheng, butpared to the New Moon Sect, his Clouded Sun n suffered fewer casualties. Only their Outpost was broken into and they suffered a significant loss of Contribution Points.
Wei Que didnt have the same intense hatred that Tan Sheng had. He was more concerned about the substantial reward he would receive for killing Lu Ye.
After Lu Yes second robbery of the Thousand Demon Ridges major Sects and ns in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, his bounty had increased significantly.
As for Xia Liang
He did note for Lu Ye, but to find Li Baxian instead!
For Xia Liang, Yan Xing was like both a brother and a father figure to him, and such a person was killed by Li Baxian.
Since learning that Li Baxian had entered the Cloud River Battlefield, he had been searching for his whereabouts. Unfortunately, the Cloud River Battlefield was too vast, and finding one person in such a ce was like finding a needle in a haystack.
However, Lu Ye and Li Baxian had a close rtionship. If they could capture Lu Ye, Li Baxian would definitely not stand idly by.
This was part of the reason why he attacked Lu Ye in the Carnage Colosseum back then.
The convergence of these three individuals in such a vast battlefield was naturally no coincidence but a hunt on Lu Ye led by Tan Sheng. Wei Que and Xia Liang were both invited here by him.
They didnt invite more people since the three of them, who were in the Ninth Order, was more than enough to deal with Yi Ye. So what if they got more people likest time? He still managed to escape from them.
Moreover, the main reason he was able to escapest time was thanks to the Golden Body Token. With that thing protecting him, no one could break through his defenses, but there was no way that Yi Ye could possess another one of them. So, as long as they could find his whereabouts, they could definitely kill him!
During their flight, Wei Que said, Brother Tan, can we be sure that Yi Ye entered the Grand Wilds Peak?
Tan Sheng remained silent and took out apass-like object from his clothes. He lowered his head to examine it and said, Im sure.
Thepass looked simr to a Tracking Disc, but its actual effectiveness was far inferior. A Tracking Disc could clearly indicate the location of the target and provide a very specific direction. The closer the distance, the stronger the response on the Tracking Disc. However, thepass Spirit Artifact in Tan Shengs hand couldnt do that.
It could only point one in a general direction.
Strictly speaking, this thing was like a severely limited version of a Tracking Disc.
Even so, this object was extremely valuable and was hard to find throughout the entirety of Jiu Zhou.
It was acquired at a great cost by the New Moon Sect, who purchased it from the Divine Trade Association before having it delivered to Tan Sheng in the Cloud River Battlefield by one of the disciples.
It was obtained solely for the purpose of tracking Lu Yes whereabouts so that they could get revenge for the destruction of their Sects Outpost as well as the killing of their disciples.
So, even though it was a severely limited version of a Tracking Disc, it was no problem for it to point out a general direction for them. Following the guidance of thispass, the three of them hurried towards the Grand Wilds Peak.
If Yi Ye is only in the Third Order, then even if he received the reward from the Roster of Carnage, and even if he has reached the Fourth Order now it wouldnt be wise for him to enter the Grand Wilds Peak. Why would he go there?
Experience, cultivation There has to be reasons, Tan Sheng casually replied. And dont forget, the reward for ranking first on the Roster of Carnage includes a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification!
Wei Ques eyes lit up at that. Brother Tan means
Tan Sheng scoffed. The value of a Primus-level Arcane de is extraordinary. Even if Yi Ye obtains a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification, he wouldnt dare to settle down arbitrarily. He has to find an inconspicuous area to settle the Wisp of sanctification, and Grand Wilds Peak is undoubtedly a good choice. Although it is very dangerous there, as long as he is lucky, he may find a suitable ce to reduce the risk of the Arcane de being discovered by others.
Wei Ques eyes brightened. Thats a good point.
If Yi Yes goal in entering the Grand Wilds Peak was to settle a Wisp of Sanctification, then it made sense. In that case, if they seeded this time, not only could they obtain arge bounty but also a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification.
However,pared to the reward they would get from Thousand Demon Ridge, the temptation of a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification seemed pale inparison. Nevertheless, it would still be an extra gain.
Also, Brother Xia. If things are as I suspect, then Li Baxian might be with Lu Ye, Tan Sheng made another astonishing statement.
Xia Liangs eyes, who had been silent all this while, suddenly turned sharper. How so?
Currently, the Crimson Blood Sect only has a few cultivators in the Cloud River Realm, so its impossible for Yi Ye to monopolize a Primus-level Arcane de by himself. You should also be aware of Li Baxians situation within the Devoted ones. They have their own Arcane de, but it is unlikely that Li Baxian would get the opportunity to enter and cultivate there. If Yi Ye has a Primus-level Arcane de, do you think he wouldnt invite Li Baxian to settle there with him?
Xia Liangs eyes became even brighter. If thats truly the case, this will be interesting!
The sound of a de suddenly rang out, and as the bright Saber Light shed by, Xia Liang had already rushed forward like an arrow released from a bow. A huge flying beast approached from the front, and when the two figures passed by each other, a rain of blood filled the sky.
Xia Liang had effortlessly cut down a powerful flying beast equivalent to the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm with a single sh.
Wei Que looked at him with envy.
Even if they were both Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators, Wei Que couldntpare to Xia Liang at all. Even Tan Sheng surpassed him. The reason behind this was that Wei Ques foundation in the Spirit Creek Realm wasnt solid enough. Though all three of them had advanced into the Cloud River Realm with 360 Spirit Points, only Tan Sheng and Xia Liang had their names on the Roll of Supremacy while Wei Que had never left his mark on it.
Xia Liang was filled with fighting spirit, Tan Sheng sought revenge, and Wei Que had his eyes on the bounty. On this day, the three Ninth Order cultivators followed the trail and ventured deep into the Grand Wilds Peak.
Inside the Arcane de, Lu Ye had Tattooed nearly thirty Wolf Mutants before waving his hand at the pack leader in front of him. Come back tomorrow.
He had depleted his mental energy and would need some rest in order to recover.
Not all the Tattoos he did were Glyph: Sharp Edge. Some of them were Glyph: Protection and Glyph: Windwalk.
The choice of the Glyphs was up to the pack leader. Lu Ye had summarized a rule that those above the Fifth Order, not including those in the Fifth Order itself, would receive Glyph: Sharp Edge. Below that, they either got Glyph: Protection or Glyph: Windwalk.
Glyph: Protection was Tattooed on their abdomen, while Glyph: Windwalk was on their legs.
The pack leader undoubtedly made these choices for the weaker members of the pack so that they could gain enough of a self-defense capability.
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Chapter 563: Master Yu
Chapter 563: Master Yu
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Every day, besides Tattooing various Glyphs for the Wolf Mutants, Lu Ye spent his time cultivating and reading books. Now that the Spiritual Qi in Arcane de hadpletely stabilized, the cultivation environment was excellent. Combined with the consumption of Vital Spirit Pills, Lu Yes cultivation efficiency reached an all-time high.
Of course, even so, it couldntpare with the speed of cultivating with an Amulet.
For cultivators cultivating with Amulets would always be the fastest way to improve ones cultivation.
After three days, all the Wolf Mutants received different Tattoos.
During these three days, Lu Ye also obtained more than a dozen Mutant Cores from the Wolf Mutants. They were all brought back from their hunting trips, and the quality of the Mutant Cores varied, but overall, they were pretty good.
After thest Wolf Mutant had its Tattoo done, the entire wolf pack suddenly gathered together. The tall figure of the pack leader stood out among the pack. As it howled to the sky, the wolf pack echoed along.
Then, the pack leader turned around and while leading its pack, charged out of Ameliorate Valley with great momentum.
Lu Ye was curious and wondered where the wolf pack was going.Recently, though the wolf pack did go out to hunt, they had never all left before. At most, a group of Wolf Mutants was sent out while the majority stayed in the valley.
This was the first time they had all left like this.
Moreover, from the momentum of their departure, it felt like they were arge army setting out on an expedition. [Could they be going to seek revenge from some Spirit Beast?] Lu Ye wondered to himself.
The overall strength of the wolf pack was indeed powerful, but that didnt mean they were uncontested in the Grand Wilds Peak. They might have suffered losses under some enemies in the past, which is why they relied on Ju Jias cultivation to enhance the strength of their pack. Now, with Lu Yes Tattoos, their overall strength could not have increased too much, but twenty to thirty percent was still possible, giving them the confidence to seek revenge.
Of course, Lu Ye couldnt be sure if that truly were the case.
By nightfall, the wolf pack still hadnt returned.
Lu Ye roasted some snake meat and had a simple meal, then he got up and went to the Divine Opportunity Column, pressing his hand on it and connecting to the Vault of Providence.
Soon, he appeared in the small room dedicated to themissioning of Spirit Artifact upgrades.
The agreed-upon time with the woman had arrived.
To his puzzlement, however, there were no signs of the woman even after he waited for more than two hours.
Lu Ye wasnt worried that she would keep his Invible out of greed. They had already signed the Sacred Pact, and if she failed to deliver the Invible on time, she would undoubtedly suffer the punishment of the Heavens. Even if she was a Real Lake or even Divine Ocean Realm cultivator, she wouldnt be able to withstand it.
So as long as she was alive, she would definitely deliver the Invible.
However, things would be troublesome if the opposite were true. The Invible had been with Lu Ye for several years and he had formed a bond with it. Even if he were to rece it with an identical saber, it would undoubtedly affect the output of his power. [It cant be that coincidental. Did she really die?]
Time passed little by little, and as the deadline approached, the space in front of Lu Ye suddenly distorted, and the womans figure appeared.
Lu Ye looked up and saw that her face was somewhat pale. There were even faint traces of dried blood at the corners of her mouth. It was clear that she had just fought with someone and was injured.
When she saw Lu Ye waiting here, the woman let out a long sigh of relief. She ced the Invible on the counter in front of her and continued using her old voice to deceive Lu Ye. I have aplished your request. Please take a look.
Lu Ye picked up the Invible and casually weighed it in his hands. Indeed, it was twice as heavy as before, and it felt just right in his hand.
Upon drawing the saber, he found that the already dark de appeared even deeper in color, but within the darkness was a sense of sharpness. His mind stirred as he examined the various enchantments on the de.
There were indeed twenty-seven enchantments.
All the requirements were met. As for how much the Invible had increased in power, that would have to be tested in actualbat.
However, since the Invible was also upgraded from Low Grade to Middle Grade by the same person, there shouldnt be any problems with this upgrade. Thanks to their previous cooperation, Lu Ye had some confidence in the womans craftsmanship.
No problem. Lu Ye nodded affirmatively. As soon as he finished speaking, the Sacred Pact took effect, and with a slight warmth on the back of his hand, the agreed-upon amount of Contribution Points were deducted.
The transaction wasplete, and there was no need to linger any longer. Lu Ye wasnt interested in knowing how she had been injured, nor did he need to inquire about it in order to avoid exposing some of his own secrets.
Just as he was about to leave, the woman suddenly called out to him. Wait, young friend.
Lu Ye looked up at her.
Youre in the Cloud River Realm, arent you?
I am. With the grade of the Invible evident, it was only natural that the other party would be able to guess such a thing so easily.
Young friend should still be nning to upgrade this de to Top Grade in the future, right?
Possibly.
In that case, why not take my imprint? If you have any needs in the future, you can contact me directly without having to go through any trouble.
This proposal was somewhat unexpected to Lu Ye, but judging by her expression, it seemed that she still wanted to profit from him.
It was understandable. Anyway, he would still need toe here tomission someone if he wanted to further upgrade the saber in the future, and if he could entrust it to an acquaintance, it would save him some trouble.
Sure.
The woman then raised her hand and brushed it against her Battlefield Imprint. A glimmer of light drifted towards Lu Ye, who raised his hand, and the lightnded on his own Battlefield Imprint located on the back of his hand.
What should I call you? Lu Ye asked.
Just call me Master Yu, the woman replied. But if you want to find this old woman, youll have to leave the Cloud River Battlefield first. You wont be able to contact me while youre inside.
The womans cultivation level was undoubtedly above the Cloud River Realm, and her true body should be somewhere in Jiu Zhou.
Understood. Lu Ye nodded slightly. With a thought, his figure disappeared and he left the space.
The woman was left frowning. He didnt even tell me his name. What an impolite youngster.
After muttering to herself, she quickly left as well. She was injured and needed to heal as soon as possible.
Inside the wooden cabin in the Arcane de, Lu Ye inspected the Invible. He infused his Spiritual Power into it, andpared to before, it seemed to flow more smoothly. Over the course of this long period, small traces were left on the de as Lu Ye fought with the saber. No matter how sturdy the Invible Saber was, it was inevitable that it would show some signs of wear and tear.
However, after the upgrade, all these tiny marks had disappeared, and the entire saber seemed to have been reborn.
Setting aside the womans pretentious personality, her craftsmanship in the art of Spirit Artifact refinement was indeed impressive.
In fact, if Lu Ye wanted to, he could also cultivate the Way of Artification. With his foundation as a Glyphweaver, he should be able to progress twice as fast in that discipline.
However, there was only so much a single person could do. In addition to being a Glyphweaver, which was his main focus on cultivation, he also cultivated the Way of Wards and Way of Tattoos, so he had no more energy to spare.
He took out a seed of the Mystic Fruit from his Storage Sphere in preparation to enter the Rift of Illusions to test out his saber in actualbat.
As he immersed his mind into it, he quickly appeared in that unique small space, the surroundings of which he surveyed vigntly at once.
Since the incident when he was shed by an unknown person in this ce, Lu Ye had always been cautious whenever he used the seed of the Mystic Fruit to enter the Rift of Illusions.
However, so much time had passed and he had not encountered that person again.
Firstly, neither of them entered the Rift of Illusions for training that frequently. After all, each entry into the Rift of Illusions consumed a certain amount of Contribution Points.
Secondly, this small space was only a transit point, and as long as they didnt enter simultaneously, they wouldnt meet each other.
It was just a great coincidence that he had encountered another person here that time.
After spending a hundred Contribution Points, Lu Ye pushed open therge door and stepped into the Rift of Illusions before standing there with de in hand.
Mist rolled around him. Soon, a figure charged out from behind the curtain of mist. Before the other person arrived before him, telekic techniques had already been sent out in Lu Yes direction.
This time, the opponent he encountered in the Rift of Illusions was a cultivator, and judging from the momentum of their attack, they were also in the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm, just like Lu Ye.
The strength of the opponents in the Rift of Illusions was always linked to Lu Yes own strength. If he entered with a cultivation in the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm, then the opponents strength would also be in the Fourth Order. The difficulty would gradually increase until he could no longer resist them and was eventually expelled.
However, facing opponents at the same level was already amon urrence for Lu Ye. He confronted the numerous beams of light that came at him, and the Invible ignited with mes, blocking all of the iing attacks before charging directly at the enemy. As the de shed past, and the enemys figure disintegrated.
The mist surged, and this time, two figures charged out
Brandishing his saber, a de light cut through the air. Lu Yes figure moved agilely within the Rift of Illusions, the Invible burning with a dazzling me as one enemy fell after another.
After being upgraded to High Grade, the Invible undoubtedly had much greater destructive power, but correspondingly, the consumption of Spiritual Power became more intense on him.
This was unavoidable.
This was also the reason why cultivators of different realms could use different grades of Spirit Artifacts.
If a cultivator in the Spirit Creek Realm were given a High Grade Spirit Artifact, even if they could activate it, they wouldnt be able to sustain it for long before their Spiritual Power waspletely drained.
With Lu Yes current cultivation, which was in the Fourth Order, he could barely handle the power drain of a High Grade Spirit Artifact. If he could raise his cultivation to the Fifth Order, it would be much easier to handle.
He had been considering whether to rece the flying weapons in his weapon holder with High Grade Spirit Artifacts, but after this test, he decided against it.
It was not that he couldnt afford it, it just felt unnecessary.
The primary method of killing for a Combat Cultivator was close-quartersbat, whereas the Way of Telekinesis was just an embellishment, providing a means of long-rangebat to avoid the awkward situation of being attacked from afar without being able to fight back.
However,pared to the telekic techniques of other Combat Cultivators, Lu Yes telekic techniques were undoubtedly more lethal since he could enhance them with Glyphs. Glyph: Windwalk made his telekic techniques faster, and Glyph: Sharp Edge made them more powerful, and this was something that most cultivators would struggle topare with.
After an hour, Lu Ye was expelled from the Rift of Illusions. He felt a slight tingling sensation in his mind, which quickly disappeared. This was undoubtedly a benefit of having a powerful Divine Soul.
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Chapter 564: Come Out and Die
Chapter 564: Come Out and Die
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Each day was spent reading or cultivating, then some time would asionally be taken out in order to enter the Rift of Illusions to hone himself, familiarizing himself with the might of the Invible after its upgrade. Life was peaceful.
Such a life was highly coveted by many cultivators in the Cloud River Realm. Having a stable cultivation environment meant not needing to travel around and face too many dangers, allowing for a smooth advancement in cultivation.
Lu Ye was also content with such a life.
Although he had been on the go since he started cultivating, he wouldnt refuse such a peaceful life if it werent for his unavoidable circumstances.
While cultivating in Arcane de couldntpare to obtaining Amulets, it had the advantage of stability. In terms of overall efficiency, it might even be faster than going around everywhere in search of Amulets, especially since they werent exactly things that one woulde upon just because they set their minds on searching for it. It also depended on luck.
On the third evening since the wolf pack disappeared, the sun had just set when Lu Ye, who was reading and cultivating, suddenly looked up and saw a dense group of figures outside the Grand Ward of the Arcane de.
The wolf pack had returned.
The imposing pack leader was covered in blood, and the other Wolf Mutants also had signs of injury, indicating that they had just experienced a great battle.However, what surprised Lu Ye was that the wolf pack had grown in size.
Originally, this wolf pack consisted of just over a hundred Wolf Mutants, but now, they had returned with more than two hundred, including some young wolf cubs that obviously werent fully grown.
Under the leadership of the pack leader, the wolf pack stopped outside the Grand Ward and waited quietly.
Lu Ye waved the Ward g and opened a gap in the Ward. Only then did the wolf pack pour into the Arcane de and look for suitable ces to rest while the injured Wolf Mutants silently licked their wounds.
The pack leader led some Wolf Mutants straight to Lu Ye. Under its guidance, the Wolf Mutants approached and spat out Mutant Cores they kept in their mouths.
Lu Ye had already obtained more than a dozen Mutant Cores from the wolf pack previously, and he had no idea what the wolf pack had gone out to do. Not only did the pack increase in size, they also brought back nearly 50 Mutant Cores.
This was clearly the wolf packs show of gratitude and also the reward for Lu Yes Tattoos.
It was a great deal!
The materials Lu Ye bought from the Vault of Providence cost only a little over a thousand Contribution Points, but the value of these Mutant Cores was worth more than that. He could even get as much as ten thousand if he were to sell them off to the Vault of Providence.
Since the wolf pack knew to show gratitude, Lu Ye naturally wouldnt be stingy either. He immediately spent some Contribution Points to buy some Healing Pills from the Vault of Providence and distributed them to the injured Wolf Mutants together with Yi Yi.
After all, the future safety of the Arcane de would depend on this wolf pack. The reason Lu Ye chose to establish the Arcane de in Ameliorate Valley was so that he could leverage the strength of the wolf pack for protection.
If it werent for this wolf pack, he would never have set the Arcane de here. Although this ce was hidden, it was also quite risky. If a powerful Spirit Beast attacked, he and Li Baxian alone might not be able to withstand it.
Many of the new Wolf Mutants were somewhat resistant to being approached by Lu Ye, but under the intimidation of the pack leader, they could only obediently take the Healing Pills.
Spirit Beasts were very tenacious. As long as their injuries werent too severe and they werent instantly killed, there was generally no harm to their lives.
After two or three days, the wolf pack had mostly recovered.
The pack leader led its newly arrived members to see Lu Ye and to enlist his help in Tattooing Glyphs for them. Lu Ye naturally wouldnt refuse as improving the strength of the wolf pack also meant increasing the Arcane des defenses.
Meanwhile, 15 kilometers away from Ameliorate Valley, Tan Sheng and his twopanions were seated cross-legged in a cave, recuperating.
Even if all three of them were in the Ninth Order, they appeared somewhat disheveled at the moment. They had been searching for Lu Yes whereabouts in the vicinity for days, but unfortunately, thepass they had was far less effective than a Tracking Disc. They could only roughly determine Lu Yes location but were unable to pinpoint it urately.
During their search, they asionally encountered powerful Spirit Beasts, which led them into fierce battles.
Just two hours ago, the three of them had joined forces to kill a Spirit Beast that was on par with a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Though it wasnt without some gains, their main goal was still Lu Ye. No matter how many Spirit Beasts they killed, none of it meant anything if they couldnt find Lu Ye.
Yi Ye should be nearby. Lets rest for tonight and continue searching in the southeastern direction tomorrow, Tan Sheng suggested.
Neither Wei Que nor Xia Liang had any objections. Even though they hadnt found any trace of Lu Ye yet, they could surmise that Lu Ye hadnt left this area based on the clues they found. So, as long as they continued searching, they would eventually find him.
We have already thoroughly searched within this 50-kilometer radius several times, but we still havent found anything. Yi Ye is proficient in Wards, so if he really did set up his Arcane de here, he would have set up many Grand Wards as well. During tomorrows search, we mustnt overlook anything remotely suspicious, Wei Que added.
Naturally it should be so, Tan Sheng nodded. However, his Teleportation Ward is going to be troublesome for us. Even if we did find him, we might not be able to kill him if he has set up the Ward in advance.
Inside the Carnage Colosseum, Tan Sheng had been pursuing Lu Yes trail with the Tracking Disc, but his movements were unpredictable, sometimes appearing in front, sometimes behind, teleporting one to two hundred kilometers in an instant.
At that time, Tan Sheng didnt know what was happening and even suspected that there was something wrong with the Tracking Disc.
Until the Carnage Colosseum closed, he racked his mind and asked around for information. Finally, he arrived at the conjecture that Yi Ye might be able to set up Teleportation Wards! That was why he could instantly teleport one to two hundred kilometers at a time, making it impossible to chase him down.
When he reached this conclusion, he was genuinely surprised as Teleportation Wards were not something that ordinary Wardmages could set up. Even a Real Lake Realm Ward cultivator would find it challenging to set up Teleportation Wards, let alone Lu Ye, who was only in the Cloud River Realm.
However, apart from Teleportation Wards, there was no other way to exin the strange situations he encountered.
After putting his heart together with Wei Que and Xia Liang and discussing this matter, he became even more certain about that conjecture.
Because Wei Que had also pursued Lu Ye before, and even though Lu Ye clearly entered a cave, he seemed to disappear without a trace when he went in to search. There were only remnants of a shattered Ward on the ground as if something had been destroyed.
Later, the three of them carefully investigated the ces where Lu Ye had appeared in the Carnage Colosseum and eventually found a Teleportation Ward that Lu Ye left behind, confirming their conjecture about his use of them.
Xia Liang said, I asked some of the elders in the Sect about Teleportation Wards. Theres no need to worry too much. Even if Yi Ye can set them up, the coverage range of the Teleportation Wards he can create with his cultivation level wont be toorge, and they have to be able to echo with each other in order to work. With Spirit Beasts rampant in the Grand Wilds Peak, he definitely wouldnt dare to randomly set up the Wards outside lest they be destroyed by passing Spirit Beasts. Instead of worrying about the Teleportation Wards, Im more concerned about whether he has summoned the Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de.
As soon as that possibility was aired out, Tan Sheng and Wei Que fell silent.
If it were anyone else, summoning the Divine Opportunity Column might be unlikely as it was a costly endeavor, but for Yi Ye, it was entirely possible.
That guy was rich! He had recently obtained tens of millions of Contribution Points worth of resources from Thousand Demon Ridge, so definitely had a lot of Contribution Points at his disposal and could summon a Divine Opportunity Column at any time.
It was this exact method that he used to escape in the Carnage Colosseum before.
Last time, he had the Golden Body Token protecting him so no one could stop him. If not for that, he wouldnt have been able to escape then. So, it shouldnt be a big problem, Tan Sheng said, perhaps trying to reassure himself. After a pause, he continued, Even if he has already summoned a Divine Opportunity Column and escaped realizing that the situation is unfavorable for him, at the very least, we can seize his Arcane de, and it wouldnt be aplete loss. In any case, lets first find his whereabouts! Even if he has summoned a Divine Opportunity Column, and we cant kill him this time, there will always be next time!
Their conversation came to an end and they quietly recovered their strength.
At dawn the next day, they set off again and continued their search in the southeastern direction.
Momentster, in the sky above Ameliorate Valley, three streaks of light passed by, Tan Sheng and hispanions respectively. They scanned their surroundings, but due to the Concealment Wards effects, all they saw was a beautifully scenic valley without anything particrly noteworthy.
Of course, the main reason was that none of the three of them were proficient in the Way of Wards. Otherwise, they may have been able to discern some clues.
Just as they were about to pass by, Xia Liang suddenly halted and focused his gaze downwards.
In the previously empty valley below, a wolf-like Spirit Beast had appeared at some point in time. Judging from its appearance, it was a young wolf cub that had yet to fully grow up.
Sensing Xia Liangs unusual behavior, Tan Sheng and Wei Que also quickly stopped their movements.
Xia Liang? Tan Sheng looked over in confusion.
Xia Liang remained silent, concentrating his vision as he continued to observe.
At that moment, a distortion urred in the empty space not far from the young wolf cub, causing a visible ripple. Following that, an imposing Wolf Mutant materialized out of thin air, walked up to the wolf cub, and grabbed it by its neck. Then, ignoring the cubs struggles, it carried the cub away.
Another ripple appeared, and the Wolf Mutant vanished again.
A Concealment Ward! Tan Sheng eximed, a hint of excitement appearing in his eyes.
Both Xia Liang and Wei Que grew excited as well.
Wei Que said, This Concealment Ward has to be Yi Yes doing, no doubt about it. This is where hes set up his Arcane de!
This truly was like wearing down iron shoes to find nothing, only to then chance upon it effortlessly.
They had been searching for Lu Yes whereabouts in the vicinity, but they had never been able to find him, yet they never expected that a fortuitous coincidence would allow them to discover the traces of a Grand Ward.
Lu Ye himself had no idea that his Ward had been exposed because of a yful young wolf cub. Mainly, he had no knowledge that Tan Sheng and hispanions had still been searching for his trail to begin with.
Previously, when he was being tracked with the Tracking Disc, he could sense their presence to some extent when they got close, but this time, he waspletely oblivious to their presence.
The severely limited version of the Tracking Disc was far inferior to the genuine one, but that also meant that Lu Ye couldnt sense it, so it had its pros and cons.
After confirming the possibility that this was where Lu Ye was hiding, the three of them no longer hesitated. Xia Liang drew his saber, Wei Ques Spell Techniques surged, and Tan Sheng also brought out his own Spirit Artifact.
The three Ninth Order Cloud River Realm experts simultaneouslyunched their attacks towards the valley below.
Violent Spell Techniques surged, and massive de lights swept through the area.
Tan Shengs angry roar echoed through the sky, Yi Ye,e out and meet your death!
With his roar, a deafening boom resounded. At the outskirts of the Arcane de, a solid barrier suddenly materialized, ripples spreading across its surface as it blocked the iing attack.
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Chapter 565: Time For You to Die
Chapter 565: Time For You to Die
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There wasnt much they could see before triggering the Grand Defensive Ward, but now that the three of them made a move, some of the situation in the valley below was exposed.
A massive Grand Defensive Ward, enveloped half the valley like an inverted bowl. The flowing Spiritual Power on the barrier was dense and unwavering, showcasing the abundant Spiritual Qi of this ce.
If before, Tan Sheng and the others only suspected that this might be Lu Yes hiding ce, then after seeing this Grand Defensive Ward, their certainty increased by at least seventy to eighty percent!
The strength of the Grand Defensive Ward was directly rted to the density of World Spiritual Qi. The denser the Spiritual Qi, the stronger the Grand Defensive Wards power.
Considering the vast range and astonishing strength of this Ward, it indicated that the Spiritual Qi here was undoubtedly equivalent to that of a Primus-level Arcane de.
The first ce reward of the Roster of Carnage was none other than a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification!
However, due to the presence of Wards, the three of them could only see the barrier of the Grand Defensive Ward and not the situation inside.
If they could see through it, then they definitely wouldnt have attacked with such momentum.Because within the Arcane de at this moment were more than two hundred Wolf Mutants who all raised their heads to look at the three figures in the sky upon their disturbance. Some of them had even slightly lowered their bodies and were emitting threatening growls.
However, it wasnt only the wolf pack that themotion disturbed.
Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and Ju Jia all emerged from their cabins and looked up.
When their gazes swept over the three figures in the sky, Li Baxian was slightly astonished. How did they find their way here?
Li Baxian was naturally familiar with these three individuals. Tan Sheng and Xia Liang didnt need to be mentioned. They had both climbed the Roll of Supremacy and had some interactions with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.
They had fought Wei Quest time in the Carnage Colosseum before, and it was with the Trap Ward that Lu Yeid that they escaped from him in the end.
These three people appearing together in the sky above the Arcane de and attacking the Grand Ward clearly indicated their hostility. Moreover, from what they were shouting earlier, it seemed like they were specifically looking for their Little Junior Brother.
Wheres Little Junior Brother? Li Baxian didnt see Lu Ye around, but Yi Yi had instead rushed out.
Yi Yi told him, Lu Ye is honing his de techniques in the Rift of Illusions.
At this time Li Baxian felt somewhat helpless. He knew that Lu Ye could enter the Rift of Illusions to cultivate using the seed of the Mystic Fruit since in recent days, he and Feng Yuechan would also asionally use the seed to hone theirbat skills against enemies in the rift.
So, he knew that if Lu Ye was in the Rift of Illusions, he wouldnt be able to perceive the situation in the outside world, and there was nothing they could do but wait for him toe out on his own.
But if they continued waiting like this, the Grand Defensive Ward definitely wouldnt hold up. The power that an uncontrolled Grand Ward could exert was limited, and the three Ninth Order Cloud River Realm experts were formidable in strength. It wouldnt take long for them to forcibly break through the Grand Ward.
Where is the Control Gem for the Grand Ward? Li Baxian then asked.
Ill look for it. While saying so, Yi Ye left in a sh.
She quickly returned with a Control Gem in hand. Here it is. She hastily handed it to Li Baxian.
Li Baxian epted it and infused his Spiritual Power into it. After familiarizing himself with it, he began manipting the World Spiritual Qi to control the Grand Ward.
In the current situation, Li Baxian wasnt worried about Tan Sheng and the others entering the Arcane de. While they certainly werent a match for Tan Sheng and the others, they werent the only ones around. They also had a defense force of two to three hundred Wolf Mutants. If Tan Sheng and his group did break in, they would definitely suffer.
However, he couldnt let them enter the Arcane de before Lu Ye emerged from the Rift of Illusions. Otherwise, if a chaotic battle broke out and Lu Ye was identally injured, that would be troublesome.
So, the best course of action now was to buy time until Lu Ye came out of the Rift of Illusions.
As he manipted the Grand Ward, Tan Sheng and the others immediately sensed the movements.
As a result, their attacks grew even more ferocious. Tan Sheng even shouted repeatedly, Give up, Yi Ye! Unless you can summon the Divine Opportunity Column again, this ce will be your burial ground today!
While speaking, heunched a relentless assault that caused ripples to spread continuously across the Grand Wards barrier.
There was no response from within the Grand Ward, but the more so that it was, the more Tan Sheng and the others became convinced that Lu Ye was inside. If it were someone else, they would have simplye out and exined the situation. It was precisely because it was Yi Ye inside the Grand Ward that he didnt dare to show himself easily.
Moreover, they had been tracking Lu Yes whereabouts all the way here, and now they coincidentally encountered a Primus-level Arcane de with a Grand Ward of this level. There was no way such a coincidence could exist in this world.
Spiritual Power surged and the brilliance of the barrier flickered incessantly. Tan Sheng and his group were surprised at just how powerful this Grand Defensive Ward was. Despite attacking jointly, they still couldnt break it.
However, even if they didnt break through the Grand Ward, their attacks still had some effect since the light barrier of the Grand Defensive Ward was clearly dimmerpared to before.
If this continued, they would eventually break through the Grand Ward and would be able tounch a direct assault.
Attack together! Xia Liang shouted fiercely as he swung his de.
The night was long, and who knew if Yi Ye would summon the Divine Opportunity Column? So, the sooner they broke through the Grand Ward, the better.
After Xia Liangs de came down, Wei Ques spells quickly followed, and Tan Sheng joined in as well. Their relentless attacksnded on the same spot of the Grand Ward. Their precise coordination caused the targeted area on the barrier to flicker constantly.
Inside the Arcane de, the worry on Li Baxians face was growing deeper by the minute. Though he tried his best to maintain the Grand Wards function, he was not a Ward cultivator, and the Ward was not his creation either. His capabilities were limited, and at best, he could mobilize more power to sustain the area targeted by their attacks.
As his thoughts raced, he realized that he had no choice but to let these three reckless bastards in, then theyll have the Wolf Mutants to deal with them.
Just as he was thinking this, Lu Yes voice suddenly sounded by his ear, Whats going on?
When Li Baxian turned around, he saw Lu Ye standing beside him, looking up at the sky. He eximed with joy, Little Junior Brother, youre finally awake.
Lu Ye also noticed the fierce appearance of Tan Sheng and his group and couldnt help but feel strange about it. How did these three guys find their way here?
And for all three to havee together!
His first thought was whether the Tracking Disc was still in effect, but upon careful consideration, it didnt make sense since the Tracking Discs Secret Technique had already disappeared from him since the day he left the Carnage Colosseum and returned to Jiu Zhou. It didnt make sense for it to still work after so long.
However, the three of them couldnt have found their way here for no reason. Even though he had no idea how they had done it, they had obviously used a special Spirit Artifact simr to the Tracking Disc.
Enemies hade knocking on his door and were even attacking the Ward he had set up. Naturally, a battle was inevitable. Lu Ye turned his head and saw the Wolf Mutants looking up in the air, many of them were already baring their teeth in a ferocious show of hostility.
Seemingly sensing Lu Yes gaze, the leader of the pack turned its head to meet his eyes and nodded slightly.
Lu Ye felt relieved. After raising an army for a thousand days, it was finally time to put them to use. It was a wise decision to use the Wolf Mutants as the most sturdy defensive force of the Arcane de. While the Wolf Mutants were initially attracted to this ce because of Ju Jia, over time, Lu Ye had also developed a peaceful rtionship with them. Now that enemies had arrived, the Wolf Mutants would certainly not sit idly by.
Lu Ye received the Control Gem from Li Baxian, infused it with his Spiritual Power, and then began manipting the Grand Ward. Fourth Senior Brother, take Senior Sister Feng and Ju Jia to this location and wait.
Saying so, he tossed out a Ward g, which flew out into the distance.
The Wards he had set up in Arcane de were not only Defensive and Concealment Wards, and the wolf pack definitely werent the Arcane des only measure of defense either.
Even though he could borrow the strength of the wolf pack, he never relied on thempletely.
Li Baxian nodded and immediately led Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia in the direction the g indicated.
In a short while, their figures were hidden following Lu Yes actions.
Yi Yi burrowed into the ground and waited for an opening while Amber leapt onto Lu Yes shoulder, ready for action.
When the Spiritual Power in Lu Yes palm moved, the Grand Ward began to change.
At the same time, a light crack could be heard in the air like a shattering mirror, and a gap was opened on the tight seal of the Grand Defensive Ward.
The three figures rushed in, apanied by Tan Shengs triumphantughter. Yi Ye, your time is up!
But theirughter stopped abruptly as if their throats had been wrung.
The smile froze on Tan Shengs face, and both Wei Que and Xia Liang next to him had expressions of shock. Three pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the over 200 Wolf Mutants watching beneath them, then their expressions turned grim.
Though they did see Spirit Beastsing and going from this ce, and it was precisely because of that that they were able to ascertain that a Ward was covering this ce, the three of them would never have expected so many of them to have gathered in this valley! Judging by their scale, it was undoubtedly a pack of wolves!
The Yi Ye that gued their minds stood just below them, coexisting peacefully with the wolf pack, but the gazes of those Wolf Mutants towards them were filled with ferocity. [Whats going on?!]
Tan Sheng and the others werepletely bewildered by the scene before their eyes. They originally thought that the biggest problem they would face after breaking through the Grand Defensive Ward in this ce was either that Lu Ye would escape using a Teleportation Ward or that he would summon the Divine Opportunity Column to flee. But now, things seemed to have developed in apletely different direction.
Yi Ye showed no signs of wanting to escape. On the contrary, it was the three of them who had inadvertently fallen into a trap. This wasnt an Arcane de at all, it was simply a wolves den.
Yi Ye actually had the ability to tame such a wolf pack?
Retreat quickly! Xia Liang was the first to react, immediately trying to exit through the gap they came in.
However, as Lu Ye waved the Ward g in his hand, the Grand Defensive Ward twisted and transformed in an instant, turning into a massive Trap Ward. The crack in the barrier disappeared without a trace, and Xia Liang was incapable of escaping as he crashed right into the Trap Wards barrier, unless he had the ability to destroy the Trap Ward.
With such a wolf pack guarding him, Yi Ye had no need to fear them. The reason he didnt let them in immediately was so he could lull them into a false sense of security while a trap had been prepared for them all along. Upon realizing this fact, all three of their expressions twisted with bitterness.
Wei Que suddenly shouted, Dont panic! These Wolf Mutants dont seem to have the ability to Fly. As long as we dont fall down, they cant do anything to us!
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Chapter 566: Illusion Ward
Chapter 566: Illusion Ward
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At Wei Ques words, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang calmed down slightly.
They were taken aback by the sudden appearance of so many Wolf Mutants, throwing their minds into chaos, so they werent able to think of this immediately.
Now, it seemed that these Wolf Mutants indeedcked the ability to fly, which naturally reduced the level of threat they posed.
Even if they had some degree of aerial capability, as long as the three of them maintained their flight, there wouldnt be much risk for them. On the contrary, with their agile figures and foundation as Cloud River Realm cultivators, they could gradually chip away at these Wolf Mutants.
Of course, their main target was still Yi Ye. As long as they could kill Yi Ye, they couldpletely disregard the Wolf Mutants.
Just as they were thinking this, Lu Ye suddenly waved the Ward g in his hand and softly uttered words that sent chills down their bodies.
Aerial Lock!
As these words emerged, the Ward covering the Arcane de suddenly changed.More than a month ago, Lu Ye was still unable to set up an Aerial Lock Ward, but he obtained four more Glyphs from the Tree of Glyphs, and all four of them were rted to Wards, including this Aerial Lock Ward.
If the wolfpack were to unleash their full potential, the Aerial Lock Ward was undoubtedly necessary.
As the Ward transformed, Tan Sheng and the group who were floating in the air suddenly felt an invisible mountain pressing down on them. Caught off guard, the three figures tumbled downward, limbs iling pitifully as they fell.
Howls rang out as many Wolf Mutants opened their mouths, spewing out a dense array of faint green wind des that swept towards the three of them.
Indeed, these Wolf Mutantscked the ability to fly, but they possessed a certain degree of aerialbat capabilities in the form of these wind des that they naturally possessed as a kind of innate talent.
It was not only the Wolf Mutants who had this capability, but most other Spirit Beasts. Without it, they wouldnt be able to survive in the perilous Grand Wilds Peak.
Of course,pared to their sharp ws and fangs, these wind de-like attacks were much weaker and less flexible.
But their advantage was in their numbers.
The densely packed wind des swept towards Tan Sheng and his group, causing flickering to appear as theynded on their bodies.
It was only to be expected of these Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators. They could still defend themselves even though they appeared particrly pitiful under the onught of the wind des. Even so, they were still in a precarious situation.
As they continued to fall, the pressure on their bodies rapidly decreased.
That was how the Aerial Lock Ward worked. The higher they flew within the Wards coverage, the greater the pressure they faced. If they were standing on the ground, they wouldnt feel any pressure at all.
They only managed to stabilize their bodies when they reached ten meters above the ground. At this height, the pressure from the Aerial Lock Ward was negligible.
In the end, Lu Yes attainments in the Way of Wards was still not enough. Otherwise, not to mention 10 meters, he would have made it so that they couldnt even fly one meter high.
Even though they were able to avoid the fate of falling down miserably, there was no trace of joy on the faces of Tan Sheng and his group. Instead, their expressions became more solemn because as the Wolf Mutants had them surrounded in all directions.
Following their resounding wolf howls, the Wolf Mutants initiated their attacks. Giant figures leaped agilely towards Tan Shengs group, and watching from a distance, the attacks of the Wolf Mutants were like a wild and unending storm, beating Tan Sheng and the others into a sorry state.
The three of them took on a triangr formation and each wielded their Spirit Artifacts, blocking and repelling the attacking Wolf Mutants. asionally, a Wolf Mutant would be injured, and blood would stter.
Despite how tough the hides of the Wolf Mutants were, the strength of Tan Sheng and his group was evident. If it werent for the advantage in numbers that was overwhelming them, a single Wolf Mutant, or even the pack leader, wouldnt stand a single chance against them.
The methods that cultivators could employ were ultimately much greater than those of the Spirit Beasts.
While they were embroiled in an intense battle, Lu Ye remained calm in the distance, observing them silently. asionally, he would raise his hand and unleash some telekic techniques or spells to divert the attention of Tan Sheng and his group.
They were so frustrated that they almost coughed up blood!
During these past few days when they were venturing deep into the Grand Wilds Peak, they had to endure hardships and camped outside on a rough journey until finally finding Yi Ye with much difficulty, but they never expected to be greeted with such a situation.
The immense wolf packunched a relentless attack on them while their actual target stood by and watched. There was simply no justice in this world!
They couldnt understand how Yi Ye could have such good luck to be able to bring a wolf pack into his subordination.
If it werent for the interference of the wolf pack, any one of the three of them could easily cut him down.
In the midst of the fierce battle, the three of them also sensed that something was amiss.
When some of the Wolf Mutants pounced to bite them, there was a faint but eye-catching glow on their mouths. Moreover, when attacked, defensive Glyphs would suddenly appear on their backs
Upon closer inspection, many of these Wolf Mutants had golden arrow-shaped markings on their mouths!
Yi Ye Tattooed these beasts! Xia Liang eximed.
Tan Sheng and Wei Que were both shocked. While they knew that Lu Ye had considerable attainments in the Way of Wards, they never realized that he had delved so deeply into Tattooing as well.
For him to be able to tattoo Spirit Beasts undoubtedly indicated many things.
This guy was defying the Heavens! How could he be adept at everything?
The battle that dragged on seemed to leave the pack leader seemed somewhat annoyed. From the outside of the battlefield, it let out a howl to the sky, and in the next moment, the onught of the wolf pack became even more intense.
Tan Sheng and the others forced down the bitterness in their mouths. They could tell increasingly that things were not looking good for them, and if they were to let this go on, then dont even mention Lu Ye. Whether or not they could guarantee their safe retreat was still a question.
They couldnt dy this any longer. It was undoubtedly unwise to be engaging in a desperate battle with the wolf pack, especially since their target had only been a single person from beginning to end.
Wei Que, kill Yi Ye! Xia Liang roared as a dazzling light radiated from his de. The Spiritual Power in his entire body began to boil.
Tan Sheng sensed his intention and quickly activated his own power to cooperate with him.
With their raging Spiritual Power, the two of them worked together to tear open a gap in the wolf packs encirclement. From that gap, a de Light wasunched directly in Lu Yes direction like a beam.
The Invible Saber was brought out of its sheath and vitality gathered in Lu Yes right arm. As a brilliant light shed his body was sent flying backwards.
Being in the Fourth Order, he fell a bit short of directly confronting a Ninth Order cultivators de Light. This strike caused the blood in his chest to roll up his throat while his right arm that held the saber felt somewhat numb.
The iing de Light shattered, and following closely behind it was the figure of Wei Que, who charged at Lu Ye with a fierce expression on his face. Spiritual Power surged around him, revealing his killing intent.
Tan Sheng and Xia Liang worked together to create this opening for him. He certainly couldnt let them down!
When he saw Lu Yes figure flying backwards, Wei Que immediatelyunched a Spell Technique towards him. At the same time, he followed closely behind him and opened his hand, and within his palm, Spiritual Power surged with enough momentum as if he wanted topletely eradicate Lu Ye.
Lu Yes Glyph: Protection formed in front of his body just in time, barely blocking the Spell Technique, after which it shattered, and he was sent even further by the impact.
Then, under Wei Ques intense gaze, Lu Yes body seemed to collide with a transparent film. With a ripple, he disappeared mysteriously without a trace. [Another Ward?] Wei Que was taken aback. However, as the howl of a wolf came from behind, he gritted his teeth and quickly chased after him.
Even though he wasnt sure what Ward Lu Ye had set up ahead, it had taken much effort to break free from the wolf pack, and if he couldnt take him down quickly, all their previous efforts would have been in vain. Without Tan Sheng and Xia Liangs support, his situation would be even worse.
So, even though he knew it was not advisable to chase after him, Wei Que had no choice but to push forward with resolution.
His body seemed to break through a barrier, and Wei Que felt himself enveloped by a Ward. Looking around, he couldnt see Lu Yes figure, but instead, a dense fog appeared all around him.
The fog spread at an extremely fast pace. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding area became pitch ck, and to Wei Ques surprise, colorful lights were constantly flickering and moving inside of the fog. With the changing movement of those lights, he asionally caught glimpses of inexplicable figures in his field of vision.
Illusion Ward! Wei Que immediately realized that he had been caught in some sort of Ward, and a chill ran from his head to his feet. This was a bad situation. [What kind of monster was this Yi Ye? Has his proficiency in Wards reached such a level?]
Since they entered Arcane de, they had already experienced the Grand Defensive Ward, Trap Ward, the Aerial Lock Ward, and now, even an Illusion Ward had appeared
And these were just the ones he had seen. There were definitely many more that he hadnt seen yet!
Could a Cloud River Realm cultivator really set up so many advanced Wards?
But on second thought, if that guy could set up Teleportation Wards, what could he not do?
With this thought in mind, Wei Que didnt dare to stay in ce. He immediately began rushing to break free from the enveloping Ward.
This was undoubtedly the most sensible response. The range of the Wards envelopment was ultimately limited. As long as he kept rushing in one direction, he would eventually break free.
The speed of a Ninth Order cultivator was extremely fast, and with Wei Que exerting all his effort, it might not even be an exaggeration to describe him as being as fast as the wind.
However, as time passed, a despairing scene unfolded before him. No matter how fast he ran, no matter how hard he pushed himself, he was still trapped inside the fog, unable to escape from the shroud of the Ward.
In a certain part of the Grand Ward, following Wei Ques movements, Lu Ye was continuously manipting the Ward. This was the first time he had observed someone breaking into the Illusion Ward, so he naturally wanted to summarize the experience and see how effective the Ward was.
For now, the results seemed to be quite good.
Built with the Glyphs Mist Shroud and Mirage as its core, the Illusion Ward seemed to confuse the enemys perception. So, even though Wei Que believed he was fleeing in one direction, in reality, under Lu Yes maniption, he had been running in circles within the Grand Ward without realizing it.
Inside the Grand Ward, Wei Ques forehead was covered in sweat, and his expression was grave.
He had also noticed that something was wrong. ording to reason, everything he saw in such a Ward should be an illusion. What his eyes perceived might not be true, but his perception itself should not be false.
However, it seemed now that his own perception had also gone awry, otherwise, it didnt make sense why he couldnt run out of the Ward.
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Chapter 567: Fish on a Chopping Block
Chapter 567: Fish on a Chopping Block
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Despite his shock at being trapped in an Illusion Ward, Wei Que remained calm. After all, he possessed cultivation in the level of the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm. Lu Ye, a Fourth Order cultivator, could do nothing more than confine him rather than possess any actual ability to kill him.
His only priority now was to escape from this ce as quickly as possible. Although Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were stronger than him, the saying, two fists were no match for four hands, still held true. They were definitely not a match for the wolf pack. It was unrealistic to expect himself to be able to cut down Yi Ye quickly on his own. If he lingered here for too long, regardless of the oue for Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, Wei Que knew he wouldnt have a good end.
But how could he escape from here?
Wei Que felt frustrated. Gritting his teeth, he shouted angrily, Yi Ye, is this all youve got? Come out and fight me if you dare!
Unless he was pushed to the brink, it was embarrassing for a Ninth Order cultivator like him to shout such words at a Fourth Order cultivator unless absolutely necessary. Of course, he only shouted once and didnt expect it to have any effect.
As long as Yi Ye was out of his mind, he wouldnt show himself in front of Wei Que.
However, what surprised Wei Que was that just as his voice sounded, he suddenly sensed the flow of a different aura not far ahead.
That was an aura mixed with Spiritual Power and vitality unique to cultivators!And it was right in front of him!
Wei Que was overjoyed. He raised his hand and sent out a swift and powerful Golden Arc with a forward sh, simultaneously lunging forward to take Lu Ye down.
The Golden Arc rang dully as it hit its target, as if his Spell Technique had struck against some sort of indestructible defense.
Wei Que didnt think much of it and continued moving forward until a tall figure appeared in the mist ahead, and that was when he finally realized that something was wrong. [Yi Ye shouldnt be that burly, right?]
The mist churned, and arge hand like a fan emerged, going straight for Wei Ques neck. The speed of the hand wasnt fast, but it carried an overwhelming aura.
Even as a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, Wei Que couldnt help but get the illusion that it would be difficult for him to escape once he was caught by this hand. [Whats this? An illusion?]
Wei Que was confused for a moment. The Spiritual Power around his body surged, and heunched a golden arrow forward, which shed directly with the iing hand. With a bang, the Spell Technique exploded, momentarily slowing down the hands movement. However, it quicklyunched at him again at an even faster speed.
Wei Que felt a chill run down his spine. While his body froze up, he hastily retreated.
Before he could steady his footing, however, the hum of swords ringing out one after another resounded intensely. At the same time, a stinging sensation spread across his skin.
Flying Swords! Wei Ques expression changed abruptly as he frantically circted his Spiritual Power to protect himself.
In the next instant, flying swords came shing from all directions, causing the Spiritual Light around his body to flicker incessantly, and the Spiritual Power protecting him quickly dimmed.
Another Spell Technique hit him from the side, staggering him.
But it wasnt over yet. Just as Wei Que was confused, another figure dashed past him. A fiery red de Light descended, violently shattering his Spiritual Power shield.
The figure vanished in a sh before Wei Que could counterattack, leaving only a red gash on his body.
Wei Que was shocked, but the burly figure in front of him came pressing down like a mountain, striking out with a punch.
With a loud bang, Wei Ques body was sent flying back and hended in a pitiful state. He quickly got up, still confused as he looked around him. Apart from the rolling mist and the colorful bands of light, there was no sign of anyone.
He was truly dumbfounded!
He had initially thought he only needed to deal with the Fourth Order Yi Ye, but from the sudden turn of events, it seemed there was more than one Yi Ye in this Illusion Ward!
In the short span of time just now, at least four people had attacked him. There were three others besides Yi Ye!
One was a burly Body-tempering Cultivator, another was a Sword Cultivator, and the third was a Spell Cultivator!
Sword Cultivator It had to be Li Baxian!
Wei Que immediately realized that their previous conjecture about Yi Ye inviting Li Baxian to join Arcane de had been correct. However, when they stormed into the Arcane de, they only saw Lu Ye and didnt notice any traces of the others. They didnt think much of it at the time, but now it seemed that Yi Ye wasnt alone in the Arcane de. The others had hidden themselves in advance.
The Sword Cultivator who attacked him was undoubtedly Li Baxian. Even the cultivation level matched.
In that case, the Spell Cultivator should be Feng Yuechan. These two were always inseparable.
As for the Body-tempering Cultivator Wei Que had no clue. It seemed that Yi Ye had found himself another helper from somewhere.
After figuring this out, Wei Ques heart sank.
He didnt feel much sense of danger when he was caught in the Illusion Ward at first. After all, one Yi Ye couldnt do much to him. If his opponent truly wanted to kill him, he waspletely capable of counterattacking at the opportune moment.
But now, he was facing not just one Yi Ye but three others as well. Coupled with the Illusion Ward, Wei Que could already smell the scent of death wafting over him.
*Dong dong dong*
Heavy footsteps approached from the side as if something gigantic was running towards him. When Wei Que turned his head to look, he saw the burly figure revealing itself again, breaking through the mist and charging straight towards him like a thunderbolt.
Wei Que swiftly dodged while casting a Spell Technique towards the attacker.
When his Spell Technique struck his opponent, the burly figure only paused for a moment, showing no signs of injury. Taking advantage of when Wei Ques attention was diverted, the cacophony of swords rang out once again, and immediately after that, Wei Que felt himself being bombarded by a storm of attacks.
In addition to the Flying Swords that were cutting his way, there were also Spell Techniques bombarding him from an unclear sauce, staggering him as the blood in his body tossed.
Another fierce surge of killing intent emerged behind him, and Wei Que quickly turned around, only to be greeted by another fiery red light.
As the de descended, a massive wound appeared on his chest, and blood sttered everywhere alongside an exmation of shock from Wei Que.
The burly figure managed to close in on him and delivered a seemingly clumsy punch, yet it contained terrifying force. Wei Que was sent flying like a raggedy sack, spitting blood in mid-air.
He quicklynded and shouted with a clear look of panic on his face, Brother Xia, Brother Tan, save me!
He never expected that chasing after Yi Ye would lead him into such a dire situation.
The attackers mobbing him werent too powerful, all of them in the Fourth or Fifth Order. Under normal circumstances, Wei Que could easily handle them even if he were alone.
However, being trapped in the Illusion Ward rendered his strength practically useless while his opponents thrived,unching attacks every so often and retreating before he could counterattack.
He was just like fish on a chopping board, being sliced by the enemy from time to time
In these circumstances, if he didnt seek help, the only thing he could do was await death.
A piercing scream echoed within the Arcane de, causing the faces of Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, who were engaged in a fierce battle with the Wolf Mutants, to change.
They were also in an extremely precarious situation at the moment. The number of Wolf Mutants was overwhelming, and if it werent for the profundity of their foundations, an ordinary Ninth Order cultivator would long have failed to hold on since long ago.
Even so, both of them were still struggling to defend themselves against the continuous onught of the Wolf Mutants.
They had initially hoped that Wei Que would quickly seed. As long as they killed Yi Ye and obtained the Control Gem, they could easily get away. Instead, however, what they heard was a plea for help from Wei Que!
There was no way they wouldnt be shocked by that.
When they managed a quick nce towards the source of the sound in the midst of their fight, they saw a shearing mist that shrouded a vast area, concealing the figures of Wei Que and Yi Ye. Only asional shes of light emerged from the mist, apanied by Wei Ques shrieks and cries. [What was going on?]
Both Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were bewildered.
Since invading the Arcane de, everything they encountered had been beyond their imaginations, and it left them at a loss. Though they had no idea what Wei Que was encountering, they could tell from themotion in his direction that he was in danger.
In this current situation, not to mention killing Yi Ye, whether they could escape or not was still uncertain.
They regretted having not brought more reinforcements with them.
They initially thought that with three Ninth Order cultivators working together, Yi Ye shouldnt be able to cause much trouble once they found him, but who could have thought that this was how things would go for them?
In the midst of the intense battle, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang exchanged nces. Even without words, they understood what the other meant to imply.
They couldnt stay here any longer!
Regardless of what Wei Que was going through over there, Yi Ye was definitely involved. If Wei Que died and Yi Ye turned his attention towards them, things naturally wouldnt end well.
Therefore, it was crucial to leave as soon as possible.
However, with Arcane de enveloped by the Trap Ward, they would have to destroy it first to have any chance to leave. As for whether or not they should rescue Wei Que, it was no longer within their consideration. The premise of rescuing someone was being able to protect oneself. If they didnt even have the power to protect themselves, there was no point in thinking about rescuing others.
After making up their minds, both of them cooperated tacitly, shifting the battlefield towards the edge of the Grand Ward.
Given the circumstances, it was unrealistic to expect they could break through the Ward with their own strength. Surrounded by the Wolf Mutants, they could barely maintain their own defense. If they truly wanted to destroy the Ward, they would have to rely on the power of the Wolf Mutants and have them break the Ward with the aftershocks of their attacks.
Though this approach was less efficient, it was better than simply waiting for death in this ce.
In order to destroy the Trap Ward more quickly, both of them exerted all their strength, causing them to sustain even more injuries, which left them in an even sorrier state.
As time passed, Wei Que became disheveled in the Illusion Ward, covered in blood and wounds from head to toe as he circted his Spiritual Power as desperately as he could, unleashing powerful Spell Techniques aimlessly in all directions.
He didnt know where the enemies were hiding, but he knew that as soon as he revealed any openings, he would be met with a torrential storm of attacks. In less than an incense stick of time, he had already umted seven or eight wounds on his body. Among them, the wound in his abdomen was the most severe. A Flying Sword had pierced through him, causing blood to flow incessantly whilst his face contorted in agony.
So, even if he understood that his actions were merely quenching a thirst with poison, he had no choice but to press on. Stopping would only result in a quicker death.
This approach was still quite effective. At the very least, no one came tounch a surprise attack on him in the midst of his unceasing Spell Techniques.
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Chapter 568: Broken Arrow
Chapter 568: Broken Arrow
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Within the Illusion Ward, Wei Que unleashed Spell Techniques in all directions relentlessly for the sake of self-preservation. Even if he was in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, he still couldnt hold on for long.
The Spiritual Power in his body was pouring out like an open floodgate, and each Spell Technique heunched reverberated through the surroundings. Despite his calls for help, Tan Sheng and Xia Liangs rescue never arrived. Wei Que realized that their situation was probably not favorable either. Otherwise, there was no reason for them to ignore him.
The scent of blood lingered in the air, and the pain throughout his body caused him to sweat profusely. He waspletely engulfed by an aura of death.
He never would have imagined that his pursuit of Yi Ye would lead him into this life-threatening situation. If he had known this would be the case earlier, he would never have agreed to apany Tan Sheng here.
However, it was toote for regrets at this point. In this current situation, he couldnt see even a glimmer of hope for escape.
Just as he was thinking so, something changed all of a sudden.
The Ward that surrounded him suddenly shifted, followed by the rapid dispersal of the surrounding mist and colorful illusions.
Wei Que was stunned for a moment, but then he was ovee with joy!He had inadvertently broken through the Illusion Ward! The Heavens had not forsaken him after all.
As the mist dissipated, he saw several figures gathering not far away from him. Among them were indeed Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and also Yi Ye. In addition, there was a burly cultivator dressed in linen. It was a Body-tempering Cultivator withrge bulging muscles.
A clear flicker of surprise shed in Yi Yes eyes.
Clearly, he hadnt expected Wei Que to destroy the Ward either.
Indeed, Lu Ye hadnt expected it.
The Illusion Ward was set up by Lu Ye using Ward gs. Unlike the Grand Defensive Ward and the Trap Ward, it didnt possess much defensive capability. If the Ward gs were destroyed, the Ward wouldnt be able to maintain itself.
Wei Ques reckless attacks coincidentally hit one of the gs, which caused the Illusion Ward to copse by itself.
It could only be said that this guy was incredibly lucky.
After breaking out of the Ward and seeing the true forms of Lu Ye and his party, Wei Que immediately roared, Yi Ye!
He was filled with as much anger as he was fearful before. As a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, he had been virtually defenseless against a few Fourth to Fifth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators to the point of having to seek help from hispanions. That undoubtedly made it difficult for him to lift his head.
As he roared, a fierce Spell Technique sted in Lu Yes direction.
Lu Ye didnt move, but Ju Jia swiftly stepped forward. A burst of Spiritual Light shed before him, blocking the Spell Technique, and the only result was that he was sted back a few steps but remained unscathed.
Wei Ques eyelids twitched as he witnessed this scene, amazed by Ju Jias tough physique. He wasnt able to fully grasp Ju Jias might when he was within the mist earlier, but upon seeing how effortlessly this Fourth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator blocked his Spell Technique, Wei Que was truly shocked.
With five Minor Realms of difference in their cultivation, even if the opponent was a Body-tempering Cultivator, he should not have been able to withstand that attack. Yet in reality, not only could he endure it, it barely even seemed to affect him.
Just as Wei Que was about to attack again, an inexplicable sense of weakness surged in him, causing him to fall back uncontrobly.
He cursed under his breath. He had expended too much energy before, andbined with his numerous injuries, how could he still have any strength left to continue fighting?
A sword cry sounded as Li Baxians body was covered in a flowing light, then an endless barrage of Flying Swords descended upon Wei Que. Feng Yuechan stood beside him, continuously casting exquisite and powerful Spell Techniques, shooting them at Wei Que one after another.
Wei Quesplexion changed, and he hastily circted his dwindling Spiritual Power to defend himself.
*Deng deng deng* Ju Jia ran forward in arge stride, figure rising and falling amidst the glimmers of Flying Swords and Spell Techniques. He rapidly closed the distance between him and Wei Que, carrying an oppressive force akin to a copsing mountain.
When he got close enough, Ju Jia took advantage of when Wei Que was preupied with dealing with the Flying Swords and Spell Technique to throw a kick out.
Feeling the terrifying momentum of this kick, Wei Ques pupils contracted. Given the current circumstances, he would rather be struck by Li Baxians Flying Swords or hit by Feng Yuechans Spell Techniques than risk being kicked by Ju Jia.
If that kicknded, he would likely be reduced to a bloody mist in an instant.
In the face of life or death, his nerves were tensed to the extreme, and he disyed an agility that didnt belong to a Spell Cultivator. While blocking the attacks of the Flying Swords and Spell Techniques, he narrowly avoided Ju Jias kick.
But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, a figure concealed behind Ju Jias stalwart form charged out.
It was none other than Lu Ye.
A fiery red glint shed from his de, illuminating the panic and helplessness on Wei Ques face. Faced with this descending sh, he had no room to dodge.
sh!
The de descended, breaking through Wei Ques protective Spiritual Power and leaving a massive wound from his shoulder to his waist, revealing the wriggling organs beneath his skin.
The powerful impact sent Wei Que flying backwards, blood spraying from his mouth.
Struggling to stabilize himself, Wei Ques vision turned blood-red, and stars danced before his eyes. Even the flow of Spiritual Power within his body became disordered.
Having spent so much energy and sustaining sick heavy injuries, he was like amp that was soon to run out of oil.
Seeing the unrelenting Lu Ye approaching with his fiery saber, determined to exterminate him, Wei Que grew resolute.
Though his foundation was not as strong as Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, he had still reached the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm. Over the years, he had experienced numerous life and death crises, and he was notcking the courage to fight through them.
He realized that his chances of survival were slim and felt regretful for letting himself be blinded by greed, but what use of regret now that things had reached this point?
But even in death, he wouldnt let his enemies off easily!
Reaching into his Storage Bag, he retrieved an item.
It appeared to be an arrow, and a broken one at that. The object looked aged, and it was not known where Wei Que had obtained it from.
However, it definitely held immense value to him for him to bring it out at such a moment. It was his most precious possession and his final trump card.
Biting his tongue, he sprayed blood onto the broken arrow, which instantly caused the old arrow to emanate a brilliant light, apanied by a dangerously ominous aura.
Lu Ye, who was charging towards him with a raised de, immediately halted his movement and decisively drifted backwards. In that moment, a tremendous sense of rm surged within him as he focused his gaze on the Broken Arrow in Wei Ques hand. He knew very well that the threat was emanating from that Broken Arrow!
As Wei Que poured his Spiritual Power madly into the broken arrow, its radiance intensified like a zing sun. With a blood-covered grin, he scoffed. Yi Ye, even if I die, Ill make you apany me to the grave!
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both sensed the gravity of the situation. The Broken Arrow was clearly a treasure surpassing that of a Spirit Artifact or even a Spell Artifact. Even in its damaged state, its power must be immense. If Wei Que was sessful in wielding it, nobody could tell the extent of its devastation.
Both of them exerted all their power so that they could kill Wei Que before he could unleash the artifact. However, despite theirbined efforts, the best they achieved was causing Wei Ques to stagger and blood to spurt from his mouth. Taking his life would be difficult within such a short time frame.
In less than three breaths of time, the Broken Arrow in Wei Ques hand transformed into a streak of light, shooting forward like lightning.
In that instant, Lu Yes body bristled with goosebumps as an unprecedented sense of danger surged within him.
Without hesitation, he took off in one direction to create distance between Wei Que and himself. However, the streak of light was too fast, almost reaching him in the blink of an eye.
Amber, perched on Lu Yes shoulder, had also sensed the danger. Its fur stood on end as it arched its back, letting out a growl as it merged its life force with Lu Yes.
Lu Ye raised his de, and the flesh of his right arm instantly bulged.
sh!
A flurry of shes!
The dense sounds merged into one. To outsiders, it seemed like a single strike, but in reality, Lu Ye had unleashed five strikes within that incredibly short period.
Every strike thatnded caused Wei Ques body to shake as if it were his body that the Invible Saber was cutting into. Blood spewed out of his mouth like a fountain while hisplexion grew visibly pale.
The shes that he poured all his strength into were not without effect. The streak of light in front of him froze for a moment, and Lu Ye seized that opportunity to fall backwards,nding pitifully on the ground.
The streak of light grazed his nose and flew past, stirring up a gust of wind in its wake that stung Lu Yes face.
However, before he could catch his breath, he caught the streak of light changing direction and flying back towards him from the corner of his eye.
Wei Que was clearly controlling the arrow. Disregarding Li Baxian and Feng Yuechans relentless attacks, Wei Que remained fixated on killing Lu Ye, making good on his vow to take Lu Ye down with him even in death.
Lu Ye had no idea what kind of treasure this was, but its destructive power was evident. Despite his best efforts, he could only impede its flight slightly. It seemed that this would not end unless he killed Wei Que.
As it struck again, Lu Ye, who had just risen from the ground, was toote to avoid it.
Just as he prepared to swing his de again, he felt a weight on his shoulder as arge hand grabbed him. In the next moment, Lu Ye found himself being tossed into the air.
While in mid-air, he saw Ju Jias stalwart figure standing right where he was.
A radiant light burst forth, and a protective shield resembling a turtle shell appeared before Ju Jia.
The streak of light collided with it.
*Hong*
After the loud eruption, Ju Jias body shook violently, and dense cracks formed on the seemingly imprable turtle shell before it shattered instantly.
The streak of light pierced through Ju Jias body, bringing forth a burst of blood. A groan escaped Ju Jias lips as he fell to one knee.
Lu Yes gaze turned cold, and the mes on his Invible Saber burned even more intensely.
On the other side, Li Baxian merged with the light from his sword, transforming into a towering Sword Light that struck Wei Que. His sword moved like an agile viper, leaving a trail of bloody wounds on Wei Ques body. He intended to capitalize on the opportunity to cut him down but was pushed away by one of his Spell Techniques.
At this critical moment, Lu Ye descended from the air, the streak of light that injured Ju Jia following closely behind.
Despite feeling the killing intent that was sticking to his back like maggots on rotting bone, Lu Yes gaze remained unwavering. It was clear that Wei Que was on hisst legs. If this strikended, he would undoubtedly die!
Now, it was a race to see who was fasterhis de, or Wei Ques treasure.
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Chapter 569: Hunt
Chapter 569: Hunt
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Wei Que stood unsteadily, his body covered in injuries, lookingpletely miserable.
First, he was attacked by Lu Ye and his allies within the Illusion Ward, and though he managed to break the Ward by chance, he was already at the end of the rope by then. After that, he was surrounded and attacked by everyone, and eventually, he had to resort to using the Broken Arrow regardless of anything. At this moment, he was truly amp that had run out of oil.
His vision blurred, and as he looked up, he could only see Lu Yes figure descending from the sky, but he couldnt make out his expression.
The gleaming de shed past, and the Invible Saber effortlessly broke through Wei Ques weak defense of Spiritual Power, slicing his neck.
When they passed each other, Lu Yes feet skidded across the ground for at least 30 meters before he managed to gradually gain his footing.
That sense of crisis that had beentching onto his back disappeared at the same time as when he made that sh. After all, the Broken Arrow was controlled by Wei Que, and once he died, the treasure lost its power, its radiance faded, and it returned to its original appearance before falling from the air.
Lu Ye let out a long sigh before looking back, only to see Wei Ques headless corpse falling to the ground, blood gushing from his neck.
He and Li Baxian managed to kill a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator together!The Illusion Ward had to be given great credit for this achievement. Under its entrapment, Wei Que was simply unable to resist the joint attack of Lu Ye and the others.
It should be noted that Lu Ye and his group had struggled greatly even against a Seventh Order cultivator like He Bing back in the Carnage Colosseum. In the end, Lu Ye had to go as far as to unleash his Beast Form Secret Technique to kill him.
Even though the difference between the Seventh and Ninth Order were only two Minor Realms, their strengths were worlds apart. Even with Lu Yes advancements in cultivation within the Carnage Colosseum and the addition of Ju Jia, without the Illusion Ward, the four of them wouldnt have been a match for Wei Que. The best they could hope for was to be defeated one by one.
The disappearance of Wei Ques vitality shocked Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, who were still entangled with the wolf pack. Neither of them had expected that Wei Que, a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, would be killed by Yi Ye and his party.
At this moment, both of them were in a pitiful state. They were covered in wounds, and their clothes were stained with blood. Even though they were extremely powerful, they were still overwhelmed by having to deal with an entire pack of Mutant Wolves.
If it were not for the wolf pack acting wary and not daring to press them too much, the two of them would probably have lost their lives long ago. Even so, they were both severely injured and out of breath.
Almost at the very same moment that Wei Que died, Xia Liang suddenly let out a roar, and a stunning de Light bloomed from his saber as he swung it forward with all his might.
With the descent of this strike, the already crumbling Trap Ward finally could hold on no longer and shattered with a bang.
When they saw the difficult situation that Wei Que fell into, both Xia Liang and Tan Sheng knew that it would be difficult for them to kill Yi Ye this time, so they had been trying to find a way to escape. Once one was caught in a Trap Ward, the only way to escape was by destroying the Ward.
Under their attacks, the aftershocks of the battle leeched out into their surroundings time and time again.
After all, no one was maintaining the Ward. Even with its considerable strength, it still wasnt Heaven-defying by any means. Bit by bit, it was worn down until Xia Liang unleashed an Earth-shattering strike that finally destroyed the Trap Ward.
Lets go! Xia Liang shouted and swiftly rushed out while Tan Sheng followed closely behind him. Even though Wei Que had died right before their eyes, neither of them had any intention of seeking revenge for him.
They were only in a cooperative rtionship to begin with. It was Wei Ques own carelessness and stupidity that resulted in him being killed by a few Fourth to Fifth Order Cloud River Realm.
Furthermore, they were in a precarious situation themselves. If they didnt escape, even they would be buried here.
Two figures rushed out in session, apanied by wolf howls. Light blue wind des wereunched towards the two of them, giving Xia Liang and Tan Sheng trouble on both sides, adding onto their injuries.
Unfortunately, the Wolf Mutants couldnt fly, so if the two of them wanted to escape, the Wolf Mutant wouldnt be able to stop them.
Lu Ye had only just calmed down the surging Spiritual Power within himself after cutting down Wei Que and hadnt the time to bother with Tan Sheng and Xia Liang when he saw the two of them destroy the Trap Ward and escape.
He immediately gave chase.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldnt even consider pursuing two Ninth Order cultivators. That would be no different from seeking death.
However, both Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were severely injured right now, which would make it hard for them to exert their full strength. It was a perfect opportunity to finish them off. Otherwise, once they were given the chance to recover, killing them would be as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.
Seeing this, Li Baxian quickly brandished his sword and followed. At the same time, he shouted, Yuechan, stay here and take care of Junior Brother Ju Jia!
When Ju Jia got injured by the Broken Arrow before, though he had thick skin and a strong body, as well as powerful recovery abilities as a Body-tempering Cultivator, the arrow still prated through his body. Moreover, he had been kneeling on the ground ever since, so it was unclear how severe his injuries were.
He and Lu Ye were enough to handle the task of chasing them down. If they could kill them, then the two of them should be able to do it. Otherwise, even having Feng Yuechan with them would not change the situation.
Feng Yuechan paused when she heard that, then she watched as Lu Ye and Li Baxian turned into streaks of light and chased them out of the Arcane de, deep into the Grand Wilds Peak.
Under the pack leaders guidance, the group of Wolf Mutants followed Lu Ye, obviously to back him up, but the Wolf Mutants returned again after an hour.
Their inability to fly was an impediment. Even though they could run through the mountains and fields at great speed, it was still slower than flying with telekic techniques. After chasing for a while, they lost sight of Lu Ye and their targets, so the Wolf Mutants had no choice but to return.
Feng Yuechan had finished bandaging Ju Jias wounds by then. Ju Jias injuries looked terrifying, but they were not anything serious. It would only take a day or two of rest for him to recover.
Feng Yuechan didnt know how Li Baxian and Lu Ye were doing, so she tried to send them a message, but as there was no response, she could only wait silently.
At this moment, Lu Ye and Li Baxian had already been chasing them for hundreds of kilometers, but Tan Sheng and Xia Liang never showed any signs of stopping. They continued fleeing desperately forward as blood constantly dripped from their bodies, which made Lu Ye more certain that the two of them were in a bad state.
Otherwise, there was no reason for two Ninth Order cultivators to appear so battered and exhausted.
Thinking back to the time in the Carnage Colosseum, Lu Ye was chased till he had nowhere to run, but in less than two months, the situation hadpletely reversed. Truly, fortune flows thirty years on the east side of the river and thirty years on the west side of the river in an ever-changing loop.
While fleeing, Tan Sheng roared, Yi Ye, just stop now. There is no good in this for anyone if you continue!
This ce was deep within the Grand Wilds Peak, where many powerful Spirit Beasts lurked. Even on ordinary days, cultivators who entered would do so secretly, not daring to cause too much of amotion for fear of alerting any of them.
Themotion caused by the group during their chase and escape was quite significant. If they truly rmed some powerful Spirit Beasts, it would not only result in a bad oue for Tan Sheng and Xia Liang but also for Lu Ye and Li Baxian.
Therefore, the best approach was for Lu Ye to stop and allow them to escape.
However, Lu Ye was unmoved despite Tan Shengs persuasion.
If they missed this rare opportunity, they would never be able to kill these two in the Cloud River Battlefield again in the future. Both of them were Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators who could ascend to the Real Lake Realm at any time. Once they ascended, they would certainly have to leave the Cloud River Battlefield.
The bitter memories of being chased by them in the Carnage Colosseum was fresh in Lu Yes mind. Moreover, they had found the Arcane de, so if they didnt eradicate thempletely this time, the location of the Arcane de would definitely be exposed, which might bring trouble in the future.
Since Wei Que was already dead, as long as he could kill these two, they could at least stop the existence of the Arcane de from being exposed.
Lu Yes was resolute in his killing intent, so for could he be swayed by a few words?
Moreover, the more Tan Sheng said so, the more it revealed how dire their situation was. Otherwise, they would have simply stopped and fought.
Yi Ye, must you insist on fighting to the death with us? Tan Sheng shouted once again.
Lu Ye remained silent, but Li Baxian snorted instead, If you have the ability,e and fight us. Lets see if its you who dies or if its us martial brothers who perish!
Tan Sheng almost ground his teeth down in bitterness at that. Both he and Xia Liang were Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators. Though they didnt dare im to be invincible in the Cloud River Battlefield, they were still among the top powerhouses at the very least. When had they ever been chased to such a miserable point by two Cloud River Fourth or Fifth Order cultivators before?
There was probably no one who would believe such a thing even if rumors went out about their situation.
However, such a bizarre situation was happening to them right now, so how could they not feel angry and frustrated?
If it werent for their severe injuries, would Yi Ye and Li Baxian dare to act so arrogantly in front of them?
The injuries they sustained from the battle with the wolf pack were too severe, causing both of them to be unable to unleash even thirty percent of their usual strength. Now, they couldnt even shake their enemies off their tails.
Not only that, their situation continued to worsen as time went on, and the speed of their telekic techniques also slowed down.
If this went on, it was only a matter of time before Yi Ye and Li Baxian caught up with them.
Brother Xia! Tan Sheng turned his head to Xia Liang next to him, where he noticed the powerful de Cultivator from the Raving desmen looking pale-faced and his aura in disarray, but his eyes remained as sharp as a de.
During the previous struggle with the wolf pack, Xia Liang had suffered more severe injuries than Tan Sheng since he exerted more strength than he did. As a result, the wolf pack focused more on Xia Liang, which ced most of the pressure on him.
Facing Tan Shengs inquiry, Xia Liang coldly uttered two words, Well fight!
Escaping was no longer an option. If they continued like this, their condition would only worsen, and when they werepletely exhausted, they would likely no longer be in any condition to fight.
While they still had the strength to fight, perhaps there was a chance they could kill those two. After all, they were just Cloud River Fourth or Fifth Order cultivators.
Tan Sheng knew that this wasnt the best strategy, but they had no better option. He nodded slightly. In that case, fight it is!
As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them flew straight down,nding one after another in just a moment.
Given their current condition, it was not suitable for them to engage in aerialbat as it would consume even more energy. Therefore, fighting on the ground was the best choice.
After the twonded, Lu Ye and Li Baxian followed closely, stopping less than a few hundred meters away from them.
Sparks seemed to fly as the gazes of the four collided across the distance, and the atmosphere in the mountains suddenly became filled with solemnity and killing intent.
Li Baxian grabbed the wine gourd at his waist and took a casual sip before asking, Little Junior Brother, which one will you choose?
Lu Yes gaze locked onto Xia Liang, and he slowly stepped forward, walking towards the front.
Li Baxian nodded. Then Ill take the remaining one. As he spoke, he opened his mouth and spat out more than ten Flying Swords that were all aiming straight for Tan Sheng.
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Chapter 570: Unexpected Guests
Chapter 570: Unexpected Guests
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The Flying Swords shuttled through the air, attacking Tan Sheng continuously while Tan Sheng thrust out several blossoming flowers with his spear to block the iing attacks, the nging sounds incessant. He truly was worthy of being a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. Despite the density of Li Baxians onught, his defense was imprable. He even had enough strength to counterattack, pressing towards Li Baxian amidst the numerous Flying Swords in his way.
Li Baxian was a Sword Cultivator, and the purest kind at that. Facing such an enemy, Tan Sheng knew that he must never allow him to create distance between them. Otherwise, with the continuous barrage of Flying Swords, he would never be given any breathing room. Dealing with a Sword Cultivator was simr to dealing with a Spell Cultivator. One had to close the distance and deny the Sword Cultivator any space to use Telekinesis.
However, even while fighting in close quarters, it was more dangerous to face a Sword Cultivator than a Spell Cultivator since the former were also Combat Cultivators to begin with, so fighting in close quarters wasmonce for them.
Li Baxian grabbed his wine gourd and took anotherrge swig. As he belched with satisfaction, sword cries sounded behind him and even more Flying Swords were unleashed, chasing and attacking Tan Sheng urgently and making it difficult for him to make any progress.
While their battle raged on, Lu Ye and Xia Liangs figures dashed forward in unison on the side.
Both of them were de-wielding Combat Cultivators, and one of them was even from the Raving desmen, which was made up of the most traditional of de Cultivators.
Compared to Sword Cultivators, de wielderscked no killing intent and possessed a fierce and relentless aura.
So, even though Xia Liang was heavily injured and pale-faced, he still showed no signs of shrinking back as he faced an opponent with a cultivation level several minor realms lower than his own.Neither of them had the intention to test each other with telekic techniques. The distance of a few hundred meters was quickly closed, and with a thunderous crash, they collided.
A loud bang erupted, and Spiritual Power ran wild. Sabers were crossed, and they exchanged nces in each others faces.
The ground beneath their feet instantly cracked like a spiders web, and a violent aura swept in all directions, causing the surrounding trees to sway.
After being in a stalemate for a brief moment, they both exerted their strength and their sabers passed each other by. Lu Yes saber shed towards Xia Liangs neck, while Xia Liangs saber stabbed towards Lu Yes chest.
Their lives were put on the table in that exchange. This was the collision between de Cultivators. No frills, only ruthlessness.
The Protection Glyph at Lu Yes chest shattered and blood sttered. Meanwhile, a line of red was drawn on Xia Liangs neck, with droplets of blood oozing out. In that instant, both sides edged past the gates of Hell.
Their figures retreated backwards almost simultaneously and once again pressed forward. Both des shed through the air in a sharp arc, and with a loud ng, they once again collided and separated, searching for another opportunity to cut the enemy down.
Their bodies moved, and their sabers shed incessantly, creating a continuous symphony of nging sounds, each sh a fierce collision of Spiritual Power.
Lu Ye had battled countless enemies since he began cultivating, and the enemies who died under his Invible Saber were too numerous to count. Among them, some were weak and could be easily in with a single strike, while others were formidable opponents that he struggled to match. However, in no previous battle had the danger been as great as it was today.
This fight with Xia Liang made him truly realize what it meant to walk on the edge of life and death.
Both of them, regardless of one or the other, swung their sabers with the intent of killing each other while protecting themselves. However, after fighting for just a moment, they realized that it was simply not possible.
If they fought intending to kill the enemy, they would undoubtedly be killed by the other as well, and the most likely result would be mutual destruction.
This was something that neither of them could ept.
The frequency of de shes shortened, and the sounds of their sabers colliding grew more intense. Lu Ye keenly sensed Xia Liangs vitality converging at his right arm, indicating that he was using the Blood Shifting technique.
In terms of cultivation, he was inferior to Xia Liang by a full five minor realms, and this was a gap that couldnt be easily bridged.
The reason he couldpete evenly with Xia Liang at this moment was entirely due to the heavy injuries that prevented him from unleashing his full strength.
This was undoubtedly advantageous for Lu Ye.
As time passed, Xia Liangs condition continued to deteriorate, while he, due to his continuous fusion with Ambers vitality, would unleash greater and greater strength.
If he were to reach the point of triggering the Beast Form transformation, Xia Liang would undoubtedly be doomed.
But that required time and the umtion of momentum. Since obtaining the Beast Form Secret Technique, he had only triggered it once in his battle with He Bing.
Nevertheless, Lu Ye showed no hesitation in his shes.
Xia Liang also knew that prolonging the fight would be detrimental for himself, so he put all his strength into each strike. Even when blood was spilling constantly from his body, the momentum of his attacks only grew stronger with each strike.
During another sh of their weapons, the recoil caused both of their bodies to pause momentarily. However, in that instant, a warning surged in Lu Yes heart.
As he looked up, he saw Xia Liang holding his saber horizontally in front of himself, one hand on the hilt and the other pressed against the de. Violent Spiritual Power suddenly surged as a dazzling de Light shed out.
The speed of this strike left Lu Ye with no time to react, but luckily, he sensed the danger and swiftly retreated.
Even so, his chest throbbed with pain.
He had been hit. He didnt know what kind of technique it was that Xia Liang used, but it had to be some kind of Secret Technique as it was more powerful than all his previous attacks.
In the instant he was struck, Lu Ye advanced instead of backing away, and under Xia Liangs astonished gaze, he swung his saber down.
sh!
Blood sttered in the air.
A follow-up sh!
However, when the saber came down a second time, Xia Liang readily blocked it. The violent force sent him flying while Lu Ye staggered for a moment.
With Glyph: Windwalk applied to his legs, Lu Ye mercilessly pressed on, enveloping Xia Liang with a terrifying sense of oppression. The flurry of shes momentarily overwhelmed Xia Liang, who sustained several more wounds as he struggled to defend himself.
Although his Secret Technique had injured Lu Ye, using it with such serious injuries also ced a considerable burden on himself.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Ye, who was wounded, should have retreated, giving himself a chance to recuperate and prepare for the next wave of attacks.
But what actually happened went beyond his expectations. Instead of retreating after being injured, Lu Ye counterattacked and pressed forward, which threw Xia Liang into an increasingly precarious position.
To his chagrin, his opponent seemed to grow stronger as the battle progressed. They were evenly matched at the initial sh, but at this moment, the speed and power of his opponents strikes were faster and fiercer than before. With the bnce disrupted, Xia Liang could only defend against Lu Yes onught.
Despite being forced back step by step, Xia Liang did not give up his resistance. He seized a moment to look towards the other side of the battlefield, and a chilling sensation washed over him.
That was because Tan Shengs situation was even worse than his own.
After all, his opponent was Li Baxian, a legend of over a decade in the Spirit Creek Realm. Even though he was currently only in the Fifth Order, his true strength far exceeded that.
Tan Shengs injuries were no lighter than his own, but his strength was also inferior. In such a situation, fighting against Li Baxian would not bode well for him.
He couldnt even get close to Li Baxian, and despite exerting all his effort, he could only defend against the onught of the Flying Swords, sustaining new wounds from time to time. [How did things end up like this?]
Three Ninth Order cultivators came to the Grand Wilds Peak with high spirits to seek revenge on Yi Ye, but one died first, and the remaining two were pursued to this point, where their lives were now hanging by a thread.
Before setting off, they had considered countless possibilities, including that Yi Ye could escape through a Teleportation Ward, the Divine Opportunity Column or some other means Yet, they ended up being the ones escaping, and they were caught.
It was the end for them!
Xia Liang knew that he probably wasnt getting out of this situation.
With no will to survive, a resolute expression appeared on his face, and Lu Ye, who was attacking ferociously, immediately sensed his change and left some strength to guard against any unexpected developments.
Sure enough, Xia Liangpletely gave up defense in the next moment. His Spiritual Power surged violently, and he seemed to throw his life on the line as he engaged Lu Ye in a fierce battle, unleashing various exquisite de techniques. For a while, it seemed like he could reverse the decline of his position.
However, at this moment, the integration of Lu Yes and Ambers vitality had reached an extremely deep level. He could borrow Ambers power with every strike, and it wouldnt be long before he even had hopes of triggering the Beast Form Secret Technique. So, no matter what Xia Liang did, he was ultimately just a trapped beast struggling in his cage.
However, at this moment, Lu Ye suddenly sensed some unusual movements that caused his eyebrows to furrow.
In the next moment, the sound of something breaking through the air swiftly came from not far away, followed by streams of light entering their field of vision.
As the streams of light dispersed, numerous figures were revealed, surrounding the battlefield where they were. [How could there be so many people so deep in the Grand Wilds Peak?] Lu Ye wondered.
Most importantly, he couldnt tell the origins of these people.
There were quite a few of them, about a dozen or so, and judging from the fluctuations of their Spiritual Power, several of them were Ninth Order cultivators, while most of the rest were above the Sixth Order.
This unexpected group of guests had formidable levels of cultivation, to say the least.
The intense battle instantly subsided. Not only did Lu Ye and Xia Liang stop fighting, even Li Baxian and Tan Sheng ceased their actions. They each separated and gathered back in pairs, remaining vignt and on guard.
A group of people had suddenly arrived in the midst of their life-or-death battle. Before figuring out the situation, no one dared to act rashly.
Despite their unwillingness to stop, Lu Ye and Li Baxian had no choice but to put on their guards.
On the other hand, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang both breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of which faction these people belonged to, they could temporarily stop worrying about their lives at the very least.
An extra moment alive was a moment cherished What if these people were from Thousand Demon Ridge?
Next to Li Baxian, Lu Ye held the Invible Saber, his Spiritual Power surging and his blood boiling. He turned his head and nced at Li Baxian.
Li Baxian shook his head slowly, indicating that he didnt recognize any of them.
Even though he had a widework of contacts and spent over a decade in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, sending off one group of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators after another, he mostly stayed in the Outpost of the Devoted Ones and rarely went out. Most of the people he interacted with were the experts on the Roll of Supremacy, and he didnt know many who werent on the list. So, though there were quite a few people who arrived, he truly hadnt seen any of them before.
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Chapter 571: We’re All Family
Chapter 571: Were All Family
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Amid the chaotic battlefield, the four of them stopped as the unexpected guests that suddenly appeared surrounded them.
Li Baxian observed the group of people and tried to guess where they were from. Of course, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were doing the same.
They were in a dangerous situation and if things were to go on as expected, they would definitely not be able to live past this day. So, they were happy to see the sudden appearance of these cultivators.
If they were from the Grand Sky Coalition, then naturally the only thing awaiting them would be death.
However, it would be a new lease on life for them if these cultivators came from Thousand Demon Ridge.
While checking them out, Xia Liangs eyes suddenly lit up, and he called out to one of the Ninth Order cultivators. You are Zhou Yuntian of Burning Sky Valley, Brother Zhou?
When those words came out, the expressions of Lu Ye and Li Baxian turned grim.
This spelled trouble!Burning Sky Valley was one of Thousand Demon Ridges forces, and the fact that Xia Liang knew Zhou Yuntian by name meant that they knew each other. In other words, these people were most likely from Thousand Demon Ridge!
Hearing his name being called, Zhou Yuntian nced at Xia Liang with a thoughtful glimmer in his eyes. Fellow cultivator, could you happen to be Xia Liang of the Raving desmen, Brother Xia?
Xia Liang nodded. It is this Xia indeed!
From their conversation, it could be gathered that they knew each other, but not very well. Even so, this was still bad news for Lu Ye and Li Baxian.
The reason they dared chase after two Ninth Order cultivators was undoubtedly because Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were both severely injured, but how could they be a match against so many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge?
Even escaping with his life would be a luxury. The moment this group of people arrived, they had surrounded the cepletely, and with their numbers, the two of them werepletely locked in. Any sudden movements they made would likely result in their counter-attack.
Lu Yes mind raced, trying to think of a way to break free from this situation. However, no matter how hard he thought, this situation was certain death for them.
Meanwhile, Xia Liang and Zhou Yuntian exchanged a few words, and Zhou Yuntian asked, Why has Brother Xia fallen into such a state?
Xia Liang sighed. If a tiger went down to levelnd Its better off not finishing that sentence. Brother Zhou, this Xia has something to request of you!
Zhou Yuntian motioned for him to speak. Pray tell, Brother Xia.
Xia Liang shot an icy nce at Lu Ye and Li Baxian. If Brother Zhou could kill the two of them, this Xia would be ever-grateful. His body was no longer in any condition to continue fighting. With new woundsyered on old, it would be impossible to expect himself to recover his vitality without recuperating for a while. Though he was unwilling to entrust this task to someone else, there was simply no better choice right now.
The main reason he came here was to get revenge for Yan Xing, and Li Baxian had to die for his wish to be fulfilled. As for whether or not Li Baxians blood would spill on his hand or someone elses, he was in no position to decide.
Oh? Zhou Yuntian chuckled and asked curiously, May I know what sort of grudge there is between Brother Xia and these two fellow cultivators that would lead you to fight so mercilessly in such a ce?
This group of cultivators were drawn over here when they sensed themotion nearby. Otherwise, it was impossible for them to coincidentally appear here deep in the vast expanse of the Grand Wilds Peak.
Xia Liang gestured to Li Baxian and coldly snorted. Brother Zhou, please take a closer look at who he is!
Only then did Zhou Yuntian look at Lu Ye and Li Baxian. He didnt seem to show much of a reaction when he nced over Lu Ye, but his expression changed when he saw Li Baxian, and he asked in surprise, You are Li Baxian?
Though Li Baxian didnt recognise him, he knew who Li Baxian was.
He was the legend of the Spirit Creek Battlefield, how could anyone not have heard of him? It could be said that if Li Baxian didnt wear a mask, then if he took a walk around the Cloud River Battlefield, at least five out of ten people would be able to recognise him, and the same could also be said of Feng Yuechan.
So, Zhou Yuntian was very surprised to see him, and the reason was because he never expected to bump into such a legend on the Cloud River Battlefield.
As soon as those words came out, everyone turned their eyes to Li Baxian, and one of them nodded. Sure enough, it really is Li Baxian. Ive seen him once on the Spirit Creek Battlefield from afar and I can confirm that its him.
Havent he and Feng Yuechan been suppressing their cultivation and staying on the Spirit Creek Battlefield all this while, how have theye to the Cloud River Battlefield?
Looking at his cultivation, he is already in the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm. It seems like he has been in the Cloud River Battlefield for some time. Cutting off the outside world for so long, weve missed quite a lot of interesting events.
They didnt bother to hide their conversation from anyone and instead openly chatted in a hushed voice, which left Lu Ye and Li Baxian with strange looks on their faces.
Both of them were prepared for a bloody battle. Admittedly, they were no match for these people, but that didnt mean that they would simply sit and wait for their deaths. Even if they couldnt escape and were to be buried, they should at least take a few of them down with them. The Eight or Ninth Order masters wouldnt be easy to kill, but Tan Sheng and Xia Liang had to die!
But now, it seemed that this group of people didnt have any hostility towards them.
Lu Ye couldnt understand why that was, and Li Baxian was simrly confused. ncing at Zhou Yuntian, he nodded. Thats right. I am Li Baxian. Do you have something to say about me?
A look of fear arose on Zhou Yuntians face as he denied it. Its nothing so serious. I dare notment about Cultivator Li. Back then, when this Zhou was cultivating in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, Cultivator Lis reputation had already spread far and wide. Though my cultivation is higher than Cultivator Lis now, it is only because I left the Cloud River Battlefield earlier. If we were to have entered the Cloud River Battlefield at the same time, then Im sure you would have long ascended to the Real Lake Realm before me. This Zhou is undeserving.
His extreme modesty left Li Baxian feeling awkward, wondering to himself, what was going on? Instead of showing hostility, this cultivator from Thousand Demon Ridge actually humbled himself in front of him When did his reputation grow so distinguished?
He was not the only one confused, however. Both Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were also bbergasted. Xia Liang frowned. Brother Zhou, Li Baxian is from the Devoted Ones!
Zhou Yuntian nodded. Naturally, I am aware. [Youre aware?] [If youre aware, then why dont you hurry and kill him?]
Seeing that Xia Liang was about to say something, Zhou Yuntianughed and raised his hand to interrupt him. I understand how you feel, Brother Xia, but there are no factions here. Since we havee here, then we are all one family. Theres no need for talk of the Grand Sky Coalition or Thousand Demon Ridge. I do not know what enmities there exist between the four of you that would lead to your fight, but I think its fate that weve met today. Thus, I say, lets let bygones be bygones.
All four of them were stunned by his ridiculous words. Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition had been on opposing ends since the very beginning, and the ughter between the cultivators of both factions have never ceased. The amount of blood and hatred umted over the years was something that couldnt be dissolved no matter what. Whether it be in the Spirit Creek Battlefield or the Cloud River Battlefield, whether they knew each other or not, they had a reason to kill as long as their factions differed.
Not to mention that Zhou Yuntian was only a Ninth Order Cloud River cultivator. Even if he were in the peak of the Divine Ocean Realm, that would not give him the qualification to resolve the enmity between the two factions.
What was more, the four of them were not only in opposing factions but also had personal grievances between them. Otherwise, Lu Ye wouldnt have pursued them to this extent, seemingly intending to eradicate thempletely.
However, Zhou Yuntian spoke with such eager sincerity, and none of the cultivators around them seemed to object. Instead, they all nodded and even advised the four of them to prioritize peace. This situation was inexplicably strange.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng stared at Zhou Yuntian as if they were looking at a madman. If it werent for the predicament they were currently in, they might have blown up at him with curses.
Even though Li Baxian thought it was strange, he nodded continuously at his statement. Yes, thats right. We should prioritize peace in all that we do. Engaging in constant fighting and killing is unbing!
While he was annoyed that these uninvited guests had disrupted his and Lu Yes n to rid their enemies, the current situation was still better than being attacked by these people.
When Xia Liang called out Zhou Yuntians name, Li Baxian had almost even prepared hisst words
I expected no less of Cultivator Li to know reason and righteousness! Zhou Yuntian smiled at Li Baxian with an approving look.
Li Baxian smiled in return, maintaining an elegant demeanor.
It was then that another sound rang through the air, apanied by a surge of Spiritual Powering from the depths of the dense forest. Zhou Yuntian raised his head and his expression suddenly became solemn. He eximed, The Venerable has arrived!
With those words, the dozen of cultivators who had arrived earlier all showed serious expressions and bowed slightly, adopting an attitude of respectfully weing the new arrivals.
Their exaggerated reaction,bined with Zhou Yuntians mention of a Venerable, made Lu Ye and Li Baxian also wear solemn expressions. They had a vague feeling that the person Zhou Yuntian referred to as the Venerable had to be someone extraordinary. Otherwise, these Cloud River Realm cultivators wouldnt show such deference.
Looking up in the direction of the sound, be it Lu Ye, Li Baxian, Tan Sheng, or Xia Liang, all of them revealed their astonishment.
Four figures floated over in the air, and from the fluctuations of their Spiritual Power, all four were Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators.
If it were only the four Ninth Order cultivators, it wouldnt have surprised Lu Ye and the others.
However, what surprised them was the demeanor of these four Ninth Order cultivators. They were positioned front, back, left, and right, carrying a daybed as they floated gracefully towards them.
Sheer pink curtains hung from the top of the daybed, through which one could faintly glimpse the figure lyingzily on the daybed, exuding a charm that caused ones heart to race. Even before the person arrived, a captivating fragrance wafted through the air, filling the battlefield saturated with the smell of blood with a beguiling atmosphere.
Lu Ye was perplexed. He couldnt understand who on that daybed could make these four Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators lower their posture like this. In the Cloud River Battlefield, reaching the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm was an aplishment that filled ones heart with pride. Even when facing one stronger than oneself, one would at most address them as senior brother.
From the figure that could be glimpsed through the curtain, it was undoubtedly a woman lying on the daybed!
In an instant, the daybed floated above their heads, and the four Ninth Order cultivators stopped in mid-air with solemn expressions.
A gust of mountain wind brushed against their noses, intensifying the fragrance. It was a scent that Lu Ye had never smelled before, indescribable yet possessing an intoxicating power that made anyone who caught a whiff of it unable to resist wanting more.
All hail the mistress!
Led by Zhou Yuntian, the dozen of cultivators who had arrived earlier greeted in unison, their expressions filled with utmost devotion.
Lu Ye even noticed several people inhaling deeply in discretion as if they wanted to absorb more of that fragrance.
His face couldnt help but grow serious, and he nced at Li Baxian. Seeing the guarded expression on his face, it was evident that his senior brother also sensed something off about the situation.
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Chapter 572: Mysterious Ability
Chapter 572: Mysterious Ability
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Since meeting Zhou Yuntian and his group, a strange feeling had been lingering in the air.
This Zhou Yuntian came from Burning Sky Valley, which was part of the Thousand Demon Ridge faction. In that case, the cultivators with him must all be part of Thousand Demon Ridge as well.
But even when these people recognised Li Baxian, they didnt show any hostility towards him. In fact, when Xia Liang pleaded for their help, they started preaching about there not being the division of factions in this ce, speaking with a grand eagerness to dissolve the enmity between their two sides.
And now, a mysterious Venerable had arrived that Zhou Yuntian and the others showed such reverence to.
Moreover, the ones who were carrying her lounge chair were all Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators!
What kind of divine existence could this Venerable be?
Everything that Lu Ye and Li Baxian saw had undoubtedly left them in disbelief, and the same was true for Xia Liang and Tan Sheng as well.
In the midst of the silence, a voice suddenly sounded, More neers?The voice hade from the daybed, sounding both indolent yet sweet, like a dainty hand strumming the heartstrings of those who listened to it. Following the emergence of that voice, Lu Ye felt his heart jump, then an inexplicable sense of thirst began to form inside of him.
It wasnt only his heart that was racing when he heard the voice, but even his mind rxed. Even though he couldnt see what the woman on the daybed looked like, her voice alone was enough to spread warmth in a person that one couldnt help but want to sink into.
Lu Ye was greatly rmed by this, and even Li Baxian next to him could sense that the situation was awry. His sharp brows were furrowed and his eyes were filled with caution. When he nced at Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, Li Baxians expression turned even more grave.
That was because both of them had listless looks on their faces at this moment as they stared idly at the figure on the daybed, their eyes aze with a fiery light.
Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were both much stronger than Lu Ye and Li Baxian, and they were both from extraordinary backgrounds. It didnt make sense for them to have such unrestrained expressions on their faces, but they were severely injured and exhausted both mentally and in Spiritual Power, thus they were doing much worse than the two of them right now.
Zhou Yuntian gave a respectful response. To answer the mistress, there seems to be some enmity between these four fellow cultivators that led them to fight here, but we have put a stop to it.
En. The indolent voice sounded again from the daybed. These two Ninth Orders are not bad.
Then, Lu Ye felt her gaze locking onto himself through the curtain. But these two are slightlycking.
Zhou Yuntian hurried to exin, For Mistresss information, one of these two cultivators is Li Baxian, a legendary figure in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. His level of cultivation may not be high, but he has limitless potential. If he can ascend into the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm in the future, then he would definitely be able to help Mistress in achieving your long-awaited wish. As for the one next to him This subordinate does not know them, but if he is apanion of Li Baxian, then he must not be mediocre either.
Is that so the Venerable muttered to herself. She seemed to be in thought for a moment before sooning to a decision. In that case, bring them all back.
Yes!
Lu Ye heard every word of the conversation between Zhou Yuntian and the Venerable, which made him worry. Previously, he had only thought that the situation was strange, and many parts of it seemed inexplicable, but things only got more confusing from there.
That was because a Ninth Order cultivator like Zhou Yuntian would actually refer to himself as this subordinate in front of this Venerable!
Who was this Venerable exactly?
From the situation they were experiencing, it wasnt just Zhou Yuntian. All of the cultivators in this ce were the subordinates of that Venerable.
What sort of mysterious abilities did she possess that would allow her tomand so many proud cultivators?
All of a sudden, a pink fog emerged from the direction of the daybed, rolling towards Lu Ye and the others.
Lu Ye gripped the hilt of the Invible Sabe and the Spiritual Power in his body surged. Sword cries also sounded around Li Baxians body, and Flying Swords revolved around him.
However, before they could make any moves, auras from all directions locked onto them, causing them to freeze in ce. Zhou Yuntian tried to reassure them. Cultivator Li, please remain calm. The mistress has no ill intentions towards you all. She simply wishes to invite you to visit as guests.
His words may sound pleasant on the surface, but if Li Baxian and Lu Ye dared to struggle, then they would surely incur their beating and suppression.
How could the two of them be any match for this group in this situation? Even being able to escape would be a great luxury for them.
As they exchanged nces, both could see the helplessness in each others eyes. They have truly be the fish on another persons chopping board now.
The pink mist rolled in, enveloping arge area, and it was filled with the intoxicating fragrance they had smelled before.
Lu Ye immediately sensed an abnormality in his Tree of Glyphs. Upon immersing his consciousness to check, he found that the Tree of Glyphs was burning up a cloud of smoke.
This pink mist was poisonous. Only, its toxicity wasnt that strong, so thats why the Tree of Glyphs reaction wasnt too drastic.
He was just about to circte his Spiritual Power to protect himself when Zhou Yuntians voice sounded again. I kindly ask you not to resist!
The voice had lost its previous gentleness and now contained a hint of coldness. It was clear that if Lu Ye and the others resisted, these people would take action and suppress them.
Lu Ye stood quietly in ce, pondering the purpose of the pink mist. It wasnt highly toxic, and these people clearly had no intention of killing them.
Since they werent going to kill them and instead said they were inviting them as guests, what could be the purpose of this mist
*Pu tong* A soft thud could be heard. When Lu Ye turned to look. He saw that Xia Liang and Tan Sheng had suddenly copsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.
Next to him, Li Baxian also fell to his knees before going limp and falling to the ground.
After him, Lu Ye fell straight to the ground. Even Amber, who was perched on his shoulder, fell unconscious alongside everyone else.
Take them back, the Venerables soft voice sounded again.
Yes! Zhou Yuntian answered.
Then, Lu Ye felt someone grabbing him by the clothes at his waist, lifting him up. When he felt wind brushing against him, he faintly opened his eyes and saw Amber being carried in the other arm of the cultivator who was holding him.
They moved even deeper into the Grand Wilds Peaks depths, and it wasnt until an hourter that they finally began their descent.
Lu Ye pretended to be unconscious, not daring to open his eyes, so he had no idea where they were. However, there were sounds of greetings from all around, as well as the energy fluctuations of many strong presences.
Many cultivators seemed to have gathered in this ce.
The sound of a door being opened could be heard. After a moment, Lu Ye felt himself being brought into a room and ced on a bed. Soon after, he heard Zhou Yuntians voice. Go and rest. I will stay and keep watch.
Someone responded, In that case, I shall trouble you, Brother Zhou.
Its nothing.
One by one, the others left, leaving only Zhou Yuntian behind to guard the ce.
Lu Yey still, calmly sensing his surroundings. He could hear the steady breathing of the unconscious Li Baxian and the others beside him.
After a while, the door was opened again. Zhou Yuntian greeted respectfully, Mistress.
A fragrant breeze wafted in, the same intoxicating aroma that Lu Ye had smelled previously.
Then, Lu Ye felt the presence of the Venerable standing not far away from him. He couldnt see what she was doing, but he distinctly felt a peculiar surge of power emanating from her.
After a moment, there was a soft groan. It seemed toe from Xia Liang.
The Venerable took a step closer, and that peculiar power surged once again. After a while, another muffled groan was heard, this time from Tan Sheng.
They werent being killed since Lu Ye could still detect that Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were both still alive, which made him very curious about what exactly this Venerable was doing to them.
Very soon, it was Li Baxians turn. Just like the two before, he also let out a grunt.
The lingering fragrance became even stronger. Lu Ye could sense that the Venerable had approached him. In the next moment, two soft, warm fingers touched his forehead.
Once again, that peculiar power surged through him. Lu Ye felt a slight impact on his mind, and immediately after that, his mind seemed to be filled with inexplicable things.
Involuntarily, he let out a groan.
The dainty fingers like warm jade moved away, and the Venerables voice, now tinged with a hint of weakness, instructed Zhou Yuntian, Once they wake up, have them clean up before bringing them to me. They stink.
Yes! Zhou Yuntian responded respectfully.
The sound of footsteps quickly faded away, indicating that the Venerable had left.
At that moment, Lu Ye had immersed his consciousness into his mind to check his Talent Tree. He observed as arge cloud of mist engulfed the Talent Tree, but it quickly dissipated, and the Talent Tree returned to normal.
What sort of mysterious technique did the Venerable use on him?
Lu Ye recalled what happened then. When the Venerable unleashed her ability, he felt a great impact on his mind, then something strange and foreign seemed to emerge in it.
It probably wasnt poison, but if it caused the Tree of Glyphs to react, then it had to be something harmful that invaded his body. So, regardless of what it was, the Tree of Glyphs hadpletely burned it away, leaving him unaffected.
He had the Tree of Glyphs to protect him, but his Fourth Senior Brother didnt.
In other words, no matter what sort of technique it was, his Fourth Senior Brother was caught by it!
Not only him, even Tan Sheng and Xia Liang had been affected by it.
Lu Ye had to be careful in the future. If he behaved differently from his Fourth Senior Brother, it could potentially expose a w in him. Just as he was thinking this, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, followed by a voice saying, Brother Zhou, I heard that Li Baxian hase?
Zhou Yuntian, who stayed behind to guard the ce, chuckled in response. Youre all well-informed. We just returned, and youve already heard about it?
That person replied, Brother Zhao told us. Is it true that Li Baxian hase?
Thats him right there!
In the next moment, Lu Ye felt many people gathering around them, and he heard a voice call out.
It really is Li Baxian!
Brother Zhou has truly made a great contribution this time to have recruited such talented individuals for the Mistress. You will surely be granted a handsome reward.
It should be our honor to serve the Mistress. Why should we need any rewards?
Yes, thats true.
But I heard that Li Baxian is only in the Cloud River Fifth Order right now. Isnt his cultivation level a bit low?
It doesnt mean anything for his cultivation level to be low right now. Thats the legendary Li Baxian. Once he grows into the Ninth Order, none of us will be his match then.
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Chapter 573: Divine Soul Secret Technique
Chapter 573: Divine Soul Secret Technique
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Lu Ye had known since before that his Fourth Senior Brother had an illustrious reputation, but now, he was truly experiencing it for himself.
Strictly speaking, they were all prisoners here, but Li Baxian had still drawn the attention of many cultivators who had long admired him and approached to take a closer look.
Inparison, no one asked about Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, whose cultivation levels were higher than Li Baxian.
The chattering went on for a while, Zhou Yuntian said, All right now. The Mistress has already nted the Secret Technique in them, so we are all family from now on, and there will be plenty of opportunities to get to know each other. You can all disperse.
The noisy crowd gradually dispersed, and Zhou Yuntian closed the door, quietly guarding the room. The only sounds remaining were the steady breathing of the unconscious individuals.
Lu Yes mind was filled with various thoughts.
Based on the previous actions of the Venerable and the implications in Zhou Yuntians words, it seemed that the Venerable had indeed imnted some kind of Secret Technique in them.
Lu Ye had a rough understanding of how the Venerable was controlling these cultivators now. It was through this unique Secret Technique that she possessed.Lu Ye felt shocked when he recalled his previous experience. He suspected that the Secret Technique employed by the Venerable might have something to do with the Divine Soul. When the Venerable used the Secret Technique, he felt a slight impact on his own mind, after which some inexplicable thing seemed to appear in it.
However, as the Tree of Glyphs would burn away anything harmful to him, he was unaffected by the Secret Technique. This also made it difficult for him to perceive the specific effects of the Secret Technique.
But Divine Soul Secret Technique
Was such a thing possible?
That should be a technique that only cultivators in the Divine Ocean Realm could employ. Only when one reached the Divine Ocean Realm could one touch upon anything rted to the Divine Soul.
Everyone had a Divine Soul, and as ones cultivation strength grew, ones Divine Soul would also develop. However, before reaching the Divine Ocean Realm, cultivators were unable to actively unleash the power of their Divine Soul, let alone perform a Divine Soul Secret Technique.
Take Lu Ye for example, due to his refinement of many Soul Cleansing Waters, his Divine Soul was much stronger than other cultivators of the same realm. As a result, his mind was also much more stable, and he had a natural advantage in facing situations that impacted his mind or Divine Soul.
For example, when expelled from the Rift of Illusions each time, a typical Cloud River Realm cultivator would have a headache for one or two days, whereas Lu Ye recovered quickly from the ordeal.
That was the benefit of a strong Divine Soul. Even so, he still couldnt actively unleash the power of his Divine Soul.
His cultivation had not reached that level yet.
However, that Venerable was able to use a Divine Soul Secret Technique! It was precisely because of this Divine Soul Secret Technique that she could control the many cultivators under hermand, earning their respect and even worship.
Lu Ye became increasingly curious about the identity of the Venerable.
Could it be that an expert in the Divine Ocean Realm had forcibly entered the Cloud River Battlefield?
But that didnt make sense either. Powerful cultivators could forcibly enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield by using their Contribution Points, but he had never heard of such a thing happening in the Cloud River Battlefield.
The cultivators who could enter and leave the Cloud River Battlefield had always been in the Cloud River Realm.
Furthermore, even if a powerful cultivator in the Divine Ocean Realm entered the Cloud River Battlefield by force, they would be subjected to the bncing and suppression of the Heavens. It would be impossible for them to use a Divine Soul Secret Technique here.
What was more, if some powerful Divine Ocean Realm cultivator had truly entered the Cloud River Battlefield and used their Divine Soul Secret Technique to control a group of Cloud River Realm cultivators, what could it be for? They couldnt simply be thinking of ying house like a child.
With that thought in mind, Lu Ye believed that it was probably unlikely for that Venerable to be a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator.
The more he thought about it, the more questions seemed to pop up. Lu Ye simply decided not to dwell on it any longer.
Right now, they were in an awkward situation. He could neutralize the effects of the Divine Soul Secret Technique through the Tree of Glyphs, but not his Fourth Senior Brother. Trapped in this ce, they were in no immediate danger, but the fact that the Venerable had gathered so many cultivators under her indicated that she had motives to be wary of, so danger may be lurking at any moment.
He made up his mind that he absolutely must not reveal that he had neutralized the effects of the Divine Soul Secret Technique. Otherwise, he would undoubtedly meet his death!
He waited quietly.
After about two hours or so, the people around him gradually woke up and sat up one by one.
Lu Ye also opened his eyes and sat up straight. Just as he was thinking to observe the reactions of his Fourth Senior Brother and then follow his lead, he felt a surge of Spiritual Power. Shortly after, the sound of swords shing rang out, apanied by the shouts of Tan Sheng and Xia Liang. Chaos erupted in an instant.
It was Li Baxian who hadunched an attack without hesitation when he saw Tan Sheng and Xia Liang beside him.
Lu Ye hastily drew his Invible Saber as well. As the Spiritual Power surged in him, mes swirled around the de.
Stop! Zhou Yuntian, who had been guarding the ce, eximed as he quickly rushed over. Under the surging of his Spiritual Power, his powerful cultivation in the Ninth Order was unquestionable, pushing away the four cultivators with their drawn weapons.
Zhou Yuntian had an angry expression on his face as he looked at the four individuals at odds with each other. I dont care about your past grievances or which faction youre from. Since youvee here, youre all family now, so dont bring up any past grudges again.
He had said simr words when he first appeared, but no one took his words to heart at the time. Now, Lu Ye naturally disregarded them, but from their expressions, he noticed that Xia Liang and Tan Sheng across from him both seemed troubled.
Turning to Li Baxian, even he furrowed his brow.
Zhou Yuntian continued coldly, What the Mistress hates most is seeing her own people fight each other. This is the first time, so it can be forgiven since you dont know the rules yet, but if it happens again, there will be no mercy! After a pause, he shouted, This is a rule set by the Mistress, and everyone must abide by it!
With these words, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang both showed fearful expressions and withdrew their auras, bowing their heads slightly. Yes.
Li Baxian also withdrew his Flying Sword and nodded. Understood.
The word Mistress seemed to possess a mysterious power for them at that moment that caused their obedientpliance.
Zhou Yuntians face remained stern. Now that you understand, make peace with each other. I hope you can truly treat each other as brothers from now on
Xia Liang fell silent for a moment and cupped his fists at Lu Ye and Li Baxian. I apologize for my previous offenses. I hope you can forgive me.
Li Baxian responded with courtesy, Brother Xia, youre being too formal. Theres no need to mention the past as we will both be under the Mistress from now on. Instead, I hope Brother Xia and Brother Tan will take care of us in the future.
Yes, of course.
Lu Ye stood aside, observing them with a heavy mood in his heart. It was only now that he realized the terrifying nature of the Divine Soul Secret Technique. Regardless of what the technique actually was, it had the ability to twist a persons character.
Zhou Yuntian smiled in satisfaction and nodded approvingly. Thats the way. Since youvee here, we are all family now. Come with me, the Mistress wants to see you, but before that, you need to clean yourselves up and change your clothes.
Saying so, he turned and left.
Lu Ye and the others hurried to follow.
After walking out of the room, Lu Ye surveyed their surroundings. Their current location should be a valley. It was not as beautiful as Ameliorate Valley, nor was it veryrge, but various buildings could be seen, as well as the hurrying figures of many busy cultivators.
The climate in the valley was pleasant, with many peach trees nted all around. It was currently the season when peach blossoms were in full bloom. Pink flowers opened from their buds, filling the air with their fragrance.
Following Zhou Yuntian, they encountered cultivators every so often in their way. Some of them exchanged greetings with Zhou Yuntian, and some would peek curiously at Lu Ye and the others.
After a while, they arrived at a clear pool of water, its waters clean and transparent.
Under Zhou Yuntians instructions, the four of them undressed and entered the water to cleanse themselves.
Lu Ye never expected that the four of them, who were fighting fiercely just before, would now be peacefully bathing together in one pool. Li Baxian, Tan Sheng, and Xia Liang were even chatting andughing as if their previous conflicts had been mere misunderstandings.
Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were severely injured. After all, they had been surrounded and attacked by a pack of wolves. Their survival was a testament to their strength, and if they hadnt escaped in time, they would have died back in the Arcane de.
After a short while, the four of them finished bathing and put on their clothes again. Lu Ye and Li Baxian looked refreshed, while Xia Liang and Tan Shengs faces remained pale.
The injuries they had suffered previously would need some time and rest in order to recover.
Once everything was ready, Zhou Yuntian led them deeper into the valley.
They kept going until they finally stopped in front of arge pavilion where a woman stood quietly at the entrance. She had a tall figure and a beautiful appearance, with bright eyes that shone like stars.
She scanned Lu Ye and the others with her gaze, but quickly focused on Li Baxian, pursing her lips into a smile. So, hes Li Baxian?
Zhou Yuntian responded cheerfully, Yes, it is him.
The woman looked Li Baxian up and down before nodding slightly. Indeed, hes just as the rumors say, dignified and handsome.
Li Baxian saluted her with a smile. Your words are too kind, fellow cultivator.
The woman covered her mouth and giggled. I thought Li Baxian would be an arrogant and aloof person, but it seems I was wrong. Cultivator Li, I am also a Sword Cultivator. If you have time, I hope to be able to learn from you.
Li Baxian replied, I dare not im to teach. Fellow cultivator, your cultivation surpasses mine. It should be me who learns from you.
Before the woman could say anything else, Zhou Yuntian cleared his throat and interrupted her. Junior Sister Yu, the Mistress is waiting for them.
The womans expression changed at once, and she stepped aside. Take them inside.
Zhou Yuntian nodded slightly and led Lu Ye and the others to the front of the pavilion. He raised his voice and called out, Zhou Yuntian requests an audience with the Mistress. The neers have arrived.
Enter! thezy voice of the Mistress came from inside the hall.
Zhou Yuntian then stepped forward and pushed open the doors, leading Lu Ye and the others into the hall.
Upon entering the hall, they could smell that unique and intoxicating fragrance again. The entire hall was decorated in shades of pink, and there was even a pink aura wafting in the air, giving one a hazy and ambiguous feeling.
Topmost of the hall was a low sofaid horizontally, and on it reclined a graceful figurezily. There were several women either kneeling or standing beside her, some gently fanning her, some massaging her legs and shoulders, and others peeling berries and feeding her.
The figure reclining on the sofa was undoubtedly the Mistress.
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Chapter 574: Mistress
Chapter 574: Mistress
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Inside the hall, Zhou Yuntian led Lu Ye and the other three forward, stopping 15 meters away from the sofa. He bowed his head respectfully and said, Zhou Yuntian pays respects to the Mistress. The neers have been brought in.
As he spoke, he nced sideways and signaled to Lu Ye and the others with his eyes.
Li Baxian and the two quickly bowed and cupped their fists, so Lu Ye also imitated them, and they all said in unison, We pay our respects to the mistress!
Mm, thezy voice sounded again.
Lu Ye secretly raised his eyes to take a peek, and he couldnt help but be stunned by what he saw.
Even though he had met the Mistress before in the mountains, they were separated by a curtain the whole time, so Lu Ye didnt know what she really looked like, only that she was a woman.
Now, without the curtain separating them, he could clearly see her face.
To be honest, Lu Ye had seen many women since he started cultivating, and many of them were exceptionally beautiful Among female cultivators, there were hardly any who were unattractive. Most of them were elegant and at least above average in appearance, with a considerable number of them that were stunningly beautiful.The main reason was that cultivators possessed Spiritual Power, which helped preserve their youthful appearance.
But Lu Ye had never seen a face as exquisitely beautiful as this one. One could hardly find the slightest w on that face, and it was so perfect that it seemed otherworldly.
It wasnt just wlessly beautiful, her face carried an indescribable allure! Especially the tiny mole below the corner of her eye that added a touch of charm.
Such a face undoubtedly had a great visual impact on the men in this world, especiallybined with the light and revealing clothing she wore, exposingrge seconds of snow-white skin. It could be considered provocative, further causing ones veins to swell.
With such looks and figure, she probably had the qualifications to captivate most men even without relying on her mysterious Divine Soul Secret Technique, making them willingly devote themselves to her.
But what intrigued Lu Ye even more was not her appearance but rather the aura emanating from her.
He had sensed it from earlier. There was something strange about the Mistresss aura, and now it felt even clearer.
The power flowing within her was different from regr Spiritual Power It felt more like Mutant Power.
Having spent so much time with Amber, Lu Ye had be quite sensitive to Mutant power.
In that case, did that mean that this Mistress was not human, but a Mutant Beast? Moreover, she was definitely a special kind of Mutant Beast with some extraordinary abilities. Otherwise, it wouldnt make sense for her to be able to perform a Divine Soul Secret Technique that could control cultivators with her Cloud River Realm level of cultivation.
That exined it. Orthodox cultivators didnt have the ability to use Divine Soul Secret Techniques in the Cloud River Realm, but it was different for Mutant Beasts. Some powerful ones naturally possessed abilities that ordinary people couldnt match.
As if sensing Lu Yes gaze, the captivating eyes of the Mistress swept over and met Lu Yes eyes. Her mouth curved slightly, revealing a yful smile.
She had seen such gazes many times before, so she was naturally ustomed to them. However, Lu Yes boldness surprised her a bit. Because of the Divine Soul Secret Technique, most people who saw her for the first time should generally be respectful and fearful of her.
Even someone like Zhou Yuntian, who had been with her for many years, only dared to asionally steal nces at her and never openly stare at her like this.
Lu Ye was the first to meet her with such a direct gaze.
As their eyes met, Lu Yes expression suddenly changed because the Mistresss beautiful eyes gave him the feeling that he was being drawn into an endless abyss, causing his consciousness to sink involuntarily. His mind trembled, and Lu Ye quickly lowered his head.
Oh? The Mistress made a surprised sound. She was taken aback by Lu Ye being able to break free from her gaze. She had originally wanted to teach him a small lesson, but she didnt expect to discover the strength of Lu Yes mind through this.
However, this was a good thing for her. The stronger the cultivation of her subordinates, the more power she could harness. After a deep nce at Lu Ye, she no longer paid it any more attention.
Introduce yourselves, the Mistress ordered in azy voice.
Zhou Yuntian whispered from the side, The Mistress wants to know your strengths. If you have any special abilities, reveal them all. Do not conceal anything. Brother Xia, you can start.
Xia Liang immediately cupped his fist and said in a deep voice, Raving desmens Xia Liang, Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, Combat Cultivator. As for any special abilities, this Xia has always focused on the de and has no other skills.
Zhou Yuntian exined on the side, Mistress, the Raving desmen is a First-Tier Sect. Brother Xia once ranked in the top ten on the Roll of Supremacy. His cultivation cannot bepared to an ordinary Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
Not bad, the Mistress responded lightly.
Zhou Yuntian prompted the next person, Brother Tan!
Tan Sheng quickly said, New Moon Sects Tan Sheng, Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, also a Combat Cultivator.
Zhou Yuntian continued, Brother Tan once ranked on the Roll of Supremacy as well. The New Moon Sect is a Third-Tier Sect, and it is also considered a major Sect in Jiu Zhou.
The Mistress remained silent, clearly showing less interest in Tan Shengpared to Xia Liang.
Next was Li Baxian, who said, The Devoted Ones Li Baxian, Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, a Sword Cultivator.
Zhou Yuntian exined, Li Baxian was a legendary figure when he was in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was the only one to rank in the top ten of the Roll of Supremacy with a Heaven Eight cultivation, even maintaining that position for over ten years. I heard that Brother Lis Spiritual Points were shattered in a battle before, but now that he has advanced to the Cloud River Realm, his Spiritual Points should be repaired, right?
Yes. Thanks to Little Junior Brother spending a huge sum to buy the Point Restoration Pills, my damaged Spiritual Points have been repaired.
Congrattions! Mistress, though Brother Lis current cultivation is not high, in terms of potential, none of us canpare to him. Moreover, hes a Sword Cultivator. If he can grow into the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm in the future, he will undoubtedly be a top-tier expert!
Very good! The Mistresss voice carried a sense of joy. Prepare some cultivation resources for himter and let him cultivate diligently to improve his cultivation.
Zhou Yuntian immediately turned to Li Baxian. What are you waiting for? Quickly thank the Mistress for her reward!
Li Baxian promptly said, Thank you, Mistress.
Zhou Yuntian looked at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye also cupped his fist and said, Crimson Blood Sects Lu Ye, Fourth Order Cloud River Realm, a Combat Cultivator. After a pause, he continued, This subordinate is proficient in the Way of Glyphs, the Way of Wards, and I also have some knowledge in the Way of Tattoos.
Zhou Yuntian had previously said that if they had any special abilities, they should reveal them all without concealing anything.
Even though Lu Ye didnt want to disclose this information, it wasmon knowledge, and Xia Liang and Tan Sheng already knew about it. So, even if he didnt want to, he had to say it to avoid exposing any ws.
Zhou Yuntian was greatly astonished at that. Cultivator Lu is proficient in so many different disciplines?
Just bits and pieces of them, Lu Ye replied modestly.
Very impressive. Zhou Yuntian looked delighted. Mistress, we currentlyck such talents. Especially in the Way of Wards, Brother Xie has beenining about theck of suitable helpers all this while, so I think we can send Cultivator Lu to assist him.
You can make the decision. Theres no need to ask me, the Mistress replied casually.
Yes.
Im tired. All of you, leave me. the Mistress dismissed them with a wave.
Zhou Yuntian immediately said with respect, This subordinate will excuse himself.
Saying this, he shot a nce at Lu Ye and the others, then led them away while maintaining a bow.
After leaving the building, they followed Zhou Yuntian closely and quickly arrived at one side of the valley where many pavilion-like buildings stood, each spaced about a hundred meters apart, totaling about a hundred or so in units.
Zhou Yuntian said, You can feel free to choose your own residences. From now on, you will live in Fox Immortal Valley. We are all family, so there is no need to be overly reserved, but there is one thing you must remember!
Speaking up to this point, his expression became extremely serious, and his voice lowered, Once you enter Fox Immortal Valley, you must sever your connections with the past. From now on, you are all people of Fox Immortal Valley. You must not contact your former Sects or friends, and you must never expose the existence of the valley to anyone outside. If anyone vites this order, they will be killed without mercy!
Yes, Lu Ye and the others nodded to indicate that they understood.
Other than that, Fox Immortal Valley has no rules. Usually, besides going out to recruit talents, there isnt much else to do. You are free to cultivate as you wish. He pointed to the pavilions, saying, If the second-floor doors are closed, someone is living there. If the doors are wide open, it means that its unupied. You can choose any ce you like.
After that, he exchanged Battle Imprints with Lu Ye and the others, informing them that if they had any issues, they could contact him before leaving.
After Zhou Yuntian left, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang went together to find their residences.
Lu Ye and Li Baxian also walked together in one direction.
Along the way, Lu Ye observed Li Baxians expression and found that he appeared calm with no signs of difort.
Lu Ye called out to him tentatively, Fourth Senior Brother.
En?
What should we do about Senior Sister Feng and the rest?
Zhou Yuntian had said that once they entered Fox Immortal Valley, they must sever all contact with the past and not reveal the existence of Fox Immortal Valley to anyone. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had grown up together and had been cultivating together for so many years. Now, suddenly being brought here and having to sever ties with their past, Lu Ye was curious to know how Li Baxian would choose.
Li Baxian sighed. Since the Mistress has already given the order, I can only follow it. Although Yuechan may be sad, she will get over it with time.
A chill ran through Lu Yes heart, but he said, Youre right. He pointed to two pavilions ahead. Senior Brother, lets choose these two. If we live closer to each other, itll make it easier for us to watch out for each other.
Li Baxian nodded in agreement, All right.
Thus, they each selected a pavilion.
Lu Ye chose the one on the right. Upon entering, he noticed signs of past habitation. A few things were left behind, but it seemed that the previous upant hadnt returned in a long time as dust covered everything inside the room.
Lu Ye wasnt sure about the current situation of the previous upant of this pavilion, but from what he saw, they must not have fared well. Otherwise, they wouldnt have been away for so long.
This ce called Fox Immortal Valley seemed peaceful on the surface, and everyone got along harmoniously. Under the Mistresss Divine Soul Secret Technique, everyone was united as one cohesive unit. However, from what he had observed, it might not be as safe here as it appeared.
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Chapter 575: Plan
Chapter 575: n
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Moreover, the name, Fox Immortal Valley, also gave Lu Ye a few thoughts.
He took out the 10-point map and checked his current position, but there was nothing special marked there. In other words, the existence of this valley was not recorded on the 10-point map.
In that case, the name of Fox Immortal Valley was known only to the cultivators here.
He guessed previously that the mistress of this ce was a Mutant Beast, but as for what exact race she was, that was hard to say unless she revealed her true form.
However, the name of Fox Immortal Valley did give him a very good idea.
Was she a Fox Mutant?
That would make sense as it was said that Fox Mutants tended to be handsome men or enchanting women when they took on human forms, which matched her description.
However, the fact that the mistress could use a Divine Soul Secret Technique that could control a person despite only being in the Cloud River Realm was evident that she was no ordinary Fox mutant. There was a high possibility that she possessed a special bloodline.Take Amber for example, there were countless tiger-like Spirit Beasts in this world, but other than Amber, he had never heard of any such Spirit Beast with a Ghost Spirit.
Amber had the bloodline of the Four Sacred Beasts White Tiger, allowing it to possess such an innate ability.
Regardless, that mistress wasnt going to be an easy opponent to deal with. After ending up in Fox Immortal Valley, Lu Ye was not affected by the mistresss Secret Technique since he had the Tree of Glyphs to support him, but Li Baxian had been controlled and gained an undying loyalty towards her, so it was impossible for Lu Ye to bring him out from here.
To be able to decisively let go of Feng Yuechan, whom he had lived with for so many years, it could be seen just how powerful this Divine Soul Secret Technique was. If Lu Ye had forcefully taken Li Baxian away, it would have only exposed the fact that he was not under control, and as a result, the cultivators from the entire Fox Immortal Valley would likely hunt him down.
Powerful cultivators were asmon here as clouds in the sky, with Eighth or Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators abound. It was hard to predict just what would happen if he truly took that step.
He secretly rejoiced that Ju Jia had been injured and Feng Yuechan stayed behind to take care of him. If they hade together, they would have surely been caught.
At least now, Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia were still at Arcane de, which gave Lu Ye a backup n that he could still use so that he wouldnt have to deal with this all on his own.
Fox Immortal Valley was a ce within the Cloud River Battlefield that had never been discovered before. Firstly, it was located deep within Grand Wilds Peak, which was difficult for ordinary cultivators to reach. Secondly, there were the rules of Fox Immortal Valley. Anyone who entered the valley had to sever any ties to their past. Under the influence of the Divine Soul Secret Technique, no one would spread any information about this ce.
As a result, even if a cultivator had gone missing for a long time and couldnt be contacted, their Sects and even their family and friends wouldnt have been able to find them. At most, they could only determine whether they were dead or alive based on the condition of their Battle Imprint.
It was necessary for the Divine Soul Secret Technique to be dispelled if Lu Ye wanted to take Li Baxian away from here. Otherwise, there was no way that Li Baxian would leave obediently. However, the Secret Technique was tied upon ones Divine Soul, and how could Lu Ye hope to deal with it as a mere cultivator in the Cloud River Realm?
Unless the mistress was to undo the Secret Technique herself, this was clearly impossible.
That was unless they killed her!
Between the two, killing her seemed to be the only usible way.
No matter how powerful she was, it was still within the confines of the Cloud River Realm. And, from what he saw of her today, she was not an elite-level existence. In other words, her power was at most equivalent to one at the peak of the Cloud River Realm. So, no matter how hard it would be to kill her, it wouldnt be impossible.
The difficult thing was trying to deal with the cultivators in the valley.
Lu Ye wasnt sure just how many cultivators were gathered here, but since meeting Zhou Yuntian, he had seen over thirty cultivators, and that was only those he had seen. There had to be more that he had yet toe across.
What was the Fox Mutant gathering so many cultivators for?
After thinking for a while, Lu Ye had a vague guess in mind. Regardless, it wouldnt be wrong of him to first figure out the force of Fox Immortal Valley. Only when he figured out everything about this ce could he effectively deal with the situation at hand.
First, he had to contact Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia.
He and Li Baxian had been pursuing Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, and there had been no news from them for such a long time. Feng Yuechan and the others must be getting anxious by now.
Since it was impossible for Li Baxian to send a reply, he would have to contact her himself.
Moreover, when he had feigned unconsciousness earlier, there had already been some messagesing through, but he hadnt been able to check them at the time. If his guesses were right, then the messages shoulde from Feng Yeuchan.
Raising his hand, he tapped on the Battle Imprint and calmly looked through it. As expected, the messages were from Feng Yuechan, and there were quite a few of them, all inquiring about the situation he and Li Baxian were in.
Senior Sister Feng.
There was a response from Feng Yuechan almost as soon as the message was sent out. Clearly, she had been waiting on standby this whole time.
Junior Brother Lu, you finally responded! Whats the situation on your side? Are you hurt? What about my Senior Brother? Why isnt he responding to me?
Feng Yuechan could ascertain that both Lu Ye and Li Baxian were still alive through the Battle Imprints, but she couldnt help but make an unnerving conjecture about their condition when she failed to get a response all this while.
Both Senior Brother and I are safe, so you need not worry. However, weve encountered a bit of a situation and wont be able to return to the Arcane de any time soon.
Where are you? Ille and look for you two.
No, you mustnt! Lu Ye quickly stopped her. Then, he detailed the experiences that he and Li Baxian went through to her, and informed her of the current situation that they were in.
Feng Yuechan was clearly quite shocked to hear the news. You and Senior Brother have been mind-controlled by a Fox Mutant?
Her being a Fox Mutant is just my guess. As for whether thats true or not, I dare not confirm it as Ive never seen her true form before. However, its true that she has the power to manipte the minds of others. Right now, Senior Brother seems no different than usual. The only difference is his obeisance to the Fox Mutant due to the effect of that Divine Soul Secret Technique, so I have no way of forcibly taking him away from here.
Abominable beast! Feng Yuechan cursed. Though she was curious why Lu Ye was unaffected by the Secret Technique, she didnt bring it up with him.
After all, if Lu Ye really was affected, he wouldnt be talking to her about this.
The Fox Mutant has set a rule that once one enters Fox Immortal Valley, they must cut off all contact with the outside. So, Senior Sister Feng, even if you send a message to Senior Brother, he wont answer. However, so that we can keep this under wraps, Ill have to trouble you to act as if you dont know the truth and continue trying to get in contact with him.
I understand, Feng Yuechan responded. Soon after, he received another message that read, Hearing that from you reminds me of something. Several years ago, a Cloud River Realm disciple from the Devoted Ones disappeared in the Grand Wilds Peak. Even though they could confirm that he was alive through his Battle Imprint, nobody could get any response from him no matter who in the Sect tried to contact him. So, they assumed that he must have encountered some sort of ident, and though many men were sent into the Grand Wilds Peak to search for him, they never did get any results in the end. Based on what we know now, it seems that he too, may have ended up in that Fox Immortal Valley.
What is that man called? Lu Ye asked urgently. If that were true, then that person must still be in the valley today.
He has already passed away. His Battle Imprint was gone a year after his disappearance.
A chill went down Lu Yes heart. This further confirmed that Fox Immortal Valley was not a peaceful ce.
Moreover, judging from the situation in the valley, it wasnt only the cultivators from the Devoted Ones that had gone missing. However, as the missing cultivators couldnt be contacted, the situation in Fox Immortal Valley remained unexposed all this while.
Lu Ye didnt know how many cultivators were caught here in Fox Immortal Valley, but the number definitely wouldnt be small.
And, with only a hundred pavilions avable for residence, even if each person resided in each one, it could only amodate a little over a hundred people. Where had all those cultivators gone?
There must be some dangers here that he had yet to discover.
Junior Brother Lu, be extremely careful over there and take care of your senior brother. If anything unusual happens, make sure to contact me.
I understand, so dont worry, Senior Sister Feng. By the way, how is Ju Jia doing?
Junior Brother Ju Jia has a strong physique and his injuries arent severe. It looks scary, but he is out of danger.
Thats good.
After exchanging a few more words with Feng Yuechan, they ended theirmunication.
Sitting on the bed, Lu Yes gaze flickered.
If he was going to kill the Fox Mutant, then his strength alone wouldnt be enough. Perhaps he could have Feng Yuechan contact some reinforcements and have them stationed in the Arcane de?
However, Lu Ye quickly dismissed that idea.
There were a considerable number of cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, and if he were to call for assistance, he didnt know how many he needed before it was enough.
Furthermore, there was still the wolf pack in the Arcane de. Once the opportunity was right, all he needed was for Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia to bring out the Wolf Mutants. There was no need to go through the trouble of finding additional help.
As for himself, all he had to do was to integrate himself into Fox Immortal Valley as much as possible, gather information about the strength of their forces, especially the power of the Fox Mutant. If he wanted to kill her, the least he needed was a clear understanding of her abilities.
After making up his mind, Lu Ye stood up and began tidying his room. There were many remnants left behind by the previous owner, all of which had to be cleaned up.
After quickly tidying everything, Lu Ye walked out of the small building and set up some simple Wards outside. He also went to Li Baxians residence nearby to set up some Wards for him.
The night passed without words, spent peacefully in cultivation.
At dawn the next day, while Lu Ye was in the midst of cultivation, he heard Li Baxian and Zhou Yuntian conversing in the adjacent building.
Zhou Yuntian hade to deliver gifts. When they had met the Fox Mutant yesterday, the Fox Mutant had shown great interest in Li Baxians talent, so she specifically instructed Zhou Yuntian to bestow him with some cultivation resources. Zhou Yuntian naturally did not dare to disobey the Fox Mutantsmand.
Lu Ye didnt know exactly what he had brought, but since they were cultivation resources, it was likely to be either Spirit Stones or Spirit Pills.
A short whileter, Zhou Yuntian walked out from Li Baxians ce and came straight to Lu Yes residence, calling out, Cultivator Lu, are you there?
Lu Ye got up, opened the door, and stepped out before cupping his fists. Cultivator Zhou.
Zhou Yuntian chuckled and asked with concern, How are you doing? Are you adapting well to life here?
Lu Ye replied, Its quiet and secluded, just to my liking.
Thats good. Zhou Yuntian nodded. Without beating around the bush, he said, Yesterday, you mentioned that you had some proficiency in the Way of Wards, correct?
Yes, but what kind of Wards need to be set up?
None, actually. Its just that though there are quite a few cultivators here, only one is a practitioner in the Way of Wards, and that is Cultivator Xie. So, all the Wards in the valley are his responsibility. Since Cultivator Lu has some proficiency in the Way of Wards, the mistress hopes you can assist Cultivator Xie in maintaining the Wards.
Lu Ye naturally wouldnt refuse such a request. It was a perfect opportunity to familiarize himself with the situation in Fox Immortal Valley. He nodded, I can do that.
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Chapter 576: Xie Yunhan
Chapter 576: Xie Yunhan
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The Cultivator Xie that Zhou Yuntian was talking about was a middle-aged man called Xie Yunhan who seemed to be around forty years old. He was not tall with a slim and small stature, and he had a cultivation level in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm.
To have that level of cultivation at that age was undoubtedly a sign of one thing, that Xie Yunhan had mediocre aptitude for cultivation, or one could even say it was very poor.
There was a special existence on the Spirit Creek Battlefield known to all as the veteran Ninth Order. Due to their limited aptitude, it became difficult for them to make further progress in their cultivation once they opened up 180 Spiritual Points. The minimum standard for cultivators to advance into the Cloud River Realm was to open 240 Spiritual Points and cultivate Heavenly-grade techniques. Therefore, these veteran Ninth Orders were unable to break through into the Cloud River Realm and could only reach a standstill in the Ninth Order.
Lu Ye had even encountered some elderly cultivators with white hair who couldnt open more Spiritual Points due to theircking talent.
It was rare to see old cultivators on the Cloud River Battlefield as the cultivators there could make use of things such as Amulets, which could rapidly increase their cultivation level. As long as a cultivators luck wasnt too bad and they werent toozy, their cultivation level would gradually improve.
However, just because they were rare didnt mean they didnt exist. Different individuals had different levels of talents, and their cultivation progress varied.
In general, though it was rare to see cultivators stagnating in the Cloud River Battlefield like the veteran Ninth Orders in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there were still some middle-aged faces, albeit in small numbers.
Xie Yunhan was undoubtedly one of them. Among the entire Fox Immortal Valley, he was the oldest in age but not the highest in cultivation level.Led by Zhou Yuntian, Lu Ye met Xie Yunhan, and they got to know each other. Upon learning that Lu Ye cultivated the Way of Wards and would be assisting him, Xie Yunhan was undoubtedly overjoyed. Despite having so many people in the valley, he was the only one skilled with Wards. He was responsible for setting up and maintaining all of the Wards, which kept him busy each day and drained him mentally. If not for that, his cultivation level would not have remained in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm, which was mainly due to him having little time for cultivation in his daily life.
Ill leave Cultivator Lu in your hands now, Cultivator Xie. He just arrived here and has a lot to learn, so I hope you can guide him, Zhou Yuntian said.
Xie Yunhan agreed, Rest assured, Cultivator Zhou. Ill take care of him.
After Zhou Yuntian left, Xie Yunhan examined Lu Ye from head to toe, his eyes filled with undisguised delight, clearly weing of Lu Yes arrival. Cultivator Lu, I would like to test your proficiency in the Way of Wards. I hope you dont mind.
Lu Ye nodded. Naturally.
Xie Yunhan waved his hand. Follow me. With that, he led the way forward.
After a short while, they arrived at a corner of Fox Immortal Valley. Xie Yunhan pointed ahead and said, Theres a Trap Ward here, but it has been set up for quite some time. I n to move it to a different location. Cultivator Lu, Ill trouble you to dismantle this Ward.
Very well! Lu Ye nodded and stepped forward. With Glyph: Insight enhancing his vision, he looked into the Ward ahead.
He could not be any more familiar with breaking Wards. To him, it was even simpler than setting them up.
After a few moments, he had a n.
The technique used in this Trap Ward was not that fine, and the overall strength of the Ward was not high. Even if he mistakenly got trapped in it, he could easily break free in just a cup of teas time through brute force.
Based on Lu Yes current proficiency in the Way of Wards, it would take no effort at all for him to dismantle this Ward.
He pondered for a moment, considering whether he should reveal his true abilities or conceal them.
If he were to reveal the true extent of his abilities, it might draw Xie Yunhans ire and envy. After all, he was the only Ward Cultivator in the valley before his arrival and was greatly valued by the Fox Mutant. Once he showed a greater level of proficiency to him in the Way of Wards, then it may change the way that Xie Yunhan saw him in the future.
However, by doing so, Lu Ye could seize the opportunity to gain the Fox Mutants favor and be entrusted with important tasks, which should facilitate his future endeavors.
When he met the Fox Mutant yesterday, she showed clear interest in Li Baxian due to his reputation and immense potential, while Xia Liang came second due to his formidable strength.
As a Fourth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, if it werent for his possession of some special abilities, the Fox Mutant may not have even given him a second nce.
In order to y the Fox Mutant, he had to earn her trust and attention first. Compared to that, the possible resentment and envy he may receive from Xie Yunhan wouldnt mean anything.
With his decision made, Lu Ye immediately took action.
In a short twenty breaths, the Trap Ward was perfectly broken, and the Ward gs were retrieved.
Xie Yunhan looked astonished and eximed, Cultivator Lu, your proficiency in the Way of Wards seems to be quite high?
Even though this Ward was set up by him, objectively speaking, even if he were to dismantle it himself, he wouldnt have been able to do it as quickly as Lu Ye did.
From merely a glimpse, Xie Yunhan could get a vague sense that Lu Yes attainment in the Way of Wards was remarkable. However, it was hard to see much from the dismantling of one Ward, so Xie Yunhan led him around the various ces in Fox Immortal Valley to continue his assessment.
Some Wards needed to be removed, some needed reinforcement and maintenance, while some areas needed the cement of new ones.
Under Xie Yunhans instructions, Lu Ye swiftly and meticulouslypleted each task.
The work that was nned to havested the entire day was already finished by noon.
The surprise in Xie Yunhans eyes grew even deeper. Initially, he only thought that his future tasks would be easier now that Lu Ye had been sent to help him, but now, he realized that Lu Ye far surpassed him in the Way of Wards.
Not only was it easier, it was simply like picking up a treasure.
Instead of showing envy or resentment as Lu Ye expected, Xie Yunhan happily pulled Lu Yes arm, saying, Since we managed to gain some leisure time, lets have a drink together, Cultivator Lu.
Naturally, Lu Ye wouldnt refuse. It was also an opportunity to improve his rtionship with Xie Yunhan while learning more about Fox Immortal Valley from him.
As they arrived at Xie Yunhans pavilion, Xie Yunhan personally cooked up some dishes and retrieved a jar of wine that was stashed away in the empty space behind the pavilion.
On the second floor of the pavilion, Xie Yunhan and Lu Ye sat face-to-face, enjoying a conversation over drinks.
Due to his Second Senior Sisters influence, Lu Ye rarely drank. However, at his cultivation level, he wouldnt be affected as long as he didnt drink too much.
He didnt rush to inquire about the situation in Fox Immortal Valley, but made casual conversation with Xie Yunhan instead.
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became more harmonious, and Cultivator Lu from Xie Yunhans mouth turned into Brother Lu. Despite it being their first meeting, Xie Yunhan did not put up a guard against Lu Ye since he had the Secret Technique imnted in him by the Fox Mutant.
Basically, just as Zhou Yuntian said before, once someone entered Fox Immortal Valley, they would be part of the family.
A jar of fine wine was quickly finished, so Xie Yunhan stood up. Wait a moment, Brother Lu. Let me go and fetch another jar.
But Lu Ye quickly stopped him. I have some here, Brother Xie. No need to bother.
Saying that, he took out several jars of different wines from his Storage Sphere.
He wasnt a drinker, but he had killed many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, many of whom were connoisseurs of good wine, so wine from various regions of the continent naturally came to upy his Storage Bag as spoils of war.
Most of it was given to Li Baxian while he kept only a small portion for himself since he had no use for it.
Opening the seal, he poured a bowl for Xie Yunhan and half a bowl for himself.
Xie Yunhan picked it up and gave it a light sniff, then his eyes zed over with intoxication. He threw his head back and drank it all, then closed his eyes and savored it before shaking his head and eximing, Yun Zhous Jade Flower Wine is still as sweet and mellow as I remember it.
If Brother Xie likes it, feel free to have more. Lu Ye topped up his bowl and casually asked, Brother Xie, are you from Yun Zhou?
Thats right, this Xie hails from Yun Zhou. Xie Yunhan reminisced with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, In the past, this Xie loved this Jade Flower Wine the most. Could it be that Brother Lu is also from Yun Zhou?
Im from Bing Zhou, Lu Ye replied.
Xie Yunhanughed. Whether its Bing Zhou or Yun Zhou, were all family once were here.
Yes. I toast to Brother Xie.
They threw back anotherrge bowl of wine.
While pouring the wine, Lu Ye casually said, Brother Xie, Im new here and dont understand many things within the valley. If I make any mistakes in the future, I hope Brother Xie can offer me your guidance.
Xie Yunhan picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks and ate while assuring pridefully, Rest assured, brother! You and I are cultivators of the same kind and our temperaments are alsopatible. This Xie will definitely take care of you. I dare not guarantee the rest, but nobody knows the taboos and customs of Fox Immortal Valley better than I do. After all, this Xie has been here for twelve years. [Twelve years] Lu Yes eyes twitched.
He really wanted to ask what Xie Yunhan had been doing here for twelve years, and why he was only in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm.
As if recalling something, Xie Yunhan couldnt help but sigh. Twelve years have passed and Ive seen peoplee and go within the valley, one generation recing another. Ai!
Is there anyone in the valley who has been here longer than you, Brother Xie? Lu Ye asked.
Xie Yunhan snorted and shook his head. Of course not. At most, it only takes a year or two until He suddenly snapped awake and stopped talking, lowering his voice to whisper, Regardless, you and I are indispensable talents under the mistress as Ward Cultivators, so our safety is guaranteed. Also, Brother Lu, dont progress too quickly in your cultivation. Do keep that in mind!
Why is that? Lu Ye felt as if he had touched upon some secret. From Xie Yunhans words, it seemed that advancing too rapidly in cultivation came with some sort of risk or danger.
However, Xie Yunhan didnt exin any further. He just said, Listen to me. Many geniuses havee to the valley and advanced rapidly in their cultivation, but then what? They all turned into nothing more than mounds on the earth. On the other hand, this Xie is still alive.
Since he put it that way, there was nothing more that Lu Ye could ask either. Lest he arouse suspicion from the others, he immediately raised his bowl. Brother Xie, I toast to you again.
Xie Yunhan responded, No need to stand on ceremony, brother. Lets drink together!
They drank wine from noon until the evening. Lu Ye wasnt able to gather much information from Xie Yunhan, but what he learned confirmed his previous spections. There surely had to be some dangers hidden in the seemingly peaceful and tranquil Fox Immortal Valley, dangers that would cause those with higher cultivation levels to die faster.
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Chapter 577: Picked Up a Treasure
Chapter 577: Picked Up a Treasure
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Lu Ye greatly suspected that Xie Yunhan had intentionally kept his strength in the Seventh Order.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for someone who had been in Fox Immortal Valley for twelve years to have such a low level of cultivation.
Days passed by peacefully in Fox Immortal Valley. Apart from patrolling and maintaining the Wards with Xie Yunhan, Lu Ye had nothing else to do.
After the initial days where there was some work to do, his following time here became incredibly leisurely.
Almost every day, Lu Ye would contact Feng Yuechan to inform her about Li Baxians current situation and reassure her.
During these days, Lu Ye also gathered considerable information from Xie Yunhan.
There was a considerable number of cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley; more than eighty people. Of them, there were fifteen who were in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm.
Such an immense force could rival the number of cultivators in one of therge Primus-level Arcane des. Lu Ye had indirectly asked Xie Yunhan about the Fox Mutants purpose for gathering so many cultivators under her. There was no way that she was simply gathering them for a simple childs game of house.However, Xie Yunhan did not dare to say much when it came to the Fox Mutant, only telling Lu Ye that he woulde to understand everything in a few days.
Every day, a group of cultivators from the valley would go out to recruit new talents. That is to say, they would search for cultivators in all directions and have them charmed under the Fox Mutants influence before bringing them back to have her Divine Soul Secret Technique nted in them, bing her tools.
However, since this ce was located deep within the Grand Wilds Peak, there were rarely signs of cultivators active around the region, and so there had been no new additions to the valley as ofte.
On this day, as Lu Ye returned from drinking with Xie Yunhan, he saw two figures moving and intertwining with each other, their flying swords cutting through the void.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was Li Baxian sparring and exchanging sword techniques with a woman.
The woman was the same woman surnamed Yu who had been guarding the Fox Mutants chambers. Her name seemed to be Yu Daiwei, and she was also a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. On that day, she had mentioned that as they were both Sword Cultivators, she could spar with Lu Baxian when they had the time.
Lu Ye had been hanging around Xie Yunhan these days and had no idea when his Fourth Senior Brother had developed a rtionship with this woman.
A Fifth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator and a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. If they really did fight, Li Baxian would naturally be no match for her. However, the two of them were currently just sparring in sword techniques in a lively exchange that attracted the attention of many passing cultivators who stopped to watch and discuss it with each other.
The atmosphere in Fox Immortal Valley was harmonious, and the cultivators from the two factions in Jiu Zhou were like a big family due to the influence of the Divine Soul Secret Technique, so such technical exchanges were naturally allowed.
Lu Ye also went over to watch for a while, but he didnt know much about sword techniques. Watching them, the only thing he got out of their spar was that their soaring swords were swift and beautiful.
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
Though he cultivated de techniques, no one had been able to guide him in that aspect. There was no one in the Crimson Blood Sect who cultivated de techniques, and though he gained many insights from the Raving desmen, they only imparted on him the basics.
Since Xia Liang came from the Raving desmen, his de techniques undoubtedly contained the essence of the Sect. Lu Ye had felt greatly pressured when he crossed des with him before as Xia Liangs de strikes were extremely tricky, revealing the sharpness of his de even through his heavy injuries.
If he were to ask Xia Liang to spar with him now He shouldnt refuse, right? Perhaps he could even ask him to impart some of his insights about de techniques to him?
Under normal circumstances, this would never have been possible. However, now that he had fallen under the influence of the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique, this might not be out of the question.
With this in mind, Lu Ye immediately headed towards Xia Liangs residence, and it didnt take long for him to arrive at a pavilion. He called out, Cultivator Xia, are you there?
In three breaths of his calling out, the window on the second floor opened, and Xia Liangs face appeared. Four eyes met, and Xia Liang frowned, What do you want?
The only effect of the Divine Soul Secret Technique nted in each person by the Fox Mutant was to instill unwavering loyalty to her without destroying their original natures.
The animosity that existed between them would not change just because they entered Fox Immortal Valley together, nor would it change Xia Liangs opinion of Lu Ye. However, due to the Fox Mutantsmand, Xia Liang would no longer take action against Lu Ye.
Lu Ye cupped his fist. Ivee to seek Cultivator Xias guidance in de techniques!
Xia Liang raised an eyebrow, looking extremely surprised. You want to learn de techniques from me?
Yes, I hope Cultivator Xia can impart your teachings.
Xia Liang stared at him for a while before his furrowed brows rxed, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face. Very well!
Leaping from the pavilion, he flew straight forwards while saying, This ce is not suitable. Follow me.
So Lu Ye followed Xia Liang. From observing his aura, it seemed to him that he had mostly recovered from his previous injuries.
In a short while, they arrived at an open space. Xia Liang turned around to face Lu Ye, raised his de, and exuded a powerful aura. Come, let me see what you can do!
Lu Ye cupped his fist again. Please grant me your guidance!
As he finished speaking, he kicked his feet off the ground. With the enhancement of Glyph: Windwalk, he charged towards Xia Liang like a bolt of lightning. As he rushed in front of him, his Invible Saber was unsheathed, and a fiery red de light came crashing down.
Facing this fierce strike, Xia Liang merely raised his de to meet it.
There was a loud boom, and Lu Ye felt a powerful force sweeping towards him from the front that caused his right hand, which was holding the saber to go numb, and even the web of his thumb tore.
However, Xia Liang stood unwavering and as he swung his de down, Lu Yes figure was sent flying at once.
Their disparity in cultivation was too great, so even if Xia Liang let him make the first move, Lu Ye still suffered a great loss from the exchange.
Fortunately, Xia Liang did not harbor any killing intent towards him. Otherwise, he could easily leave Lu Ye severely injured or even dead just by following up with a few more strikes.
On that day, Lu Ye had pushed Xia Liang to the edge and almost managed to kill him, but that was because Xia Liang had already suffered heavy injuries. As a disciple of the Raving desmen, he was ranked in the top ten of the Spirit Creek Battlefields Role of Supremacy. Xia Liang was exceptionally talented, and as a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, he was beyond Lu Yes current ability to contend with.
Landing on the ground in a sorry state, Lu Yes body staggered back uncontrobly. Once he regained his footing, heunched another attack.
Although his training in the Rift of Illusions could strengthen his ability in killing his enemies, it couldntpare to the benefits of sparring with a traditional de user like Xia Liang.
Each exchange and withdrawal gave Lu Ye new insights. The angles of Xia Liangs strikes, the timing of his strikes, and the activation of Spiritual Power Even though Xia Liang only intended to teach him a lesson, such an exchange was still greatly beneficial to Lu Ye.
Lu Ye became increasingly convinced that seeking guidance from Xia Liang was the right choice.
If he could have Xia Liang give him pointers in the cultivation of de techniques, that would be even better.
However, even though Xia Liang had been affected by the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique and would not kill Lu Ye, the resentment in his heart still remained. It was unrealistic to expect Xia Liang to guide Lu Ye in his cultivation of de techniques. The only reason they were sparring now was because Xia Liang wanted an outlet to vent that resentment.
While they were sparring, Zhou Yuntian appeared at Xie Yunhans residence uninvited.
Xie Yunhan was the oldest member out of the entirety of Fox Immortal Valley, having spent twelve years there. Just as nobody could beat that record, he was also the oldest one here.
However, in terms of being the most valued by the Fox Mutant, Zhou Yuntian was undoubtedly the one. He could be regarded as the grand steward of the entire Fox Immortal Valley, handling both major and minor matters. The Fox Mutant rarely ever showed up, preferring to stay inside her own quarters at all times.
In the room, the two sat facing each other, enjoying their drinks while engaging in conversation.
Zhou Yuntians primary goal this visit to see Xie Yunhan was to inquire about Lu Yes situation. As they were the only two Ward Cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, Zhou Yuntian naturally paid close attention to them.
Brother Xie, how is Cultivator Lus proficiency in the Way of Wards? After a few drinks, Zhou Yuntian stated the purpose of his visit.
Hes a rare genius! Xie Yunhan praised without reservation.
Zhou Yuntian was stunned. The valley had recruited a few Ward Cultivators before, but Xie Yunhan didnt show much regard to any of them. Although Xie Yunhans cultivation level wasnt particrly high, his proficiency in the Way of Wards was not low. Otherwise, he wouldnt have been able to maintain all the Wards in the entirety of Fox Immortal Valley.
So, when he heard such high praise of Lu Ye, Zhou Yuntian was taken aback.
Brother Zhou, Lu Yes proficiency in the Way of Wards far surpasses this Xies. Even though I havent made much progress in cultivation over the years, I have invested a considerable amount of time in the Way of Wards. In the Cloud River Realm, there are few who can surpass me in this area unless theye from a prominent Ward cultivation Sect background, but Lu Yes proficiency in the Way of Wards is truly admirable. Let me put it this way, even if I were given ten more years, I still wouldnt be able to surpass Lu Ye in the Way of Wards.
After getting to know Lu Ye, Xie Yunhan had also sought guidance from him in the Way of Wards, and Lu Ye had not kept anything from him, allowing Xie Yunhan to benefit greatly.
Zhou Yuntians eyes brightened as he listened. He asked cautiously, Brother Xie, thats not just an exaggeration, is it? I know your proficiency in the Way of Wards, but is Cultivator Lu really as amazing as you say?
Xie Yunhan shook his head. Youre not a Ward Cultivator, so you dont understand. However, I can assure you that I am not exaggerating. In fact, I think Lu Ye hasnt fully demonstrated his abilities in this Way yet. He might be afraid of shocking me with his skills.
If thats the case Havent we picked up a real treasure? Zhou Yuntians expression turned excited.
Lu Yes cultivation, which was only in the Fourth Order, was nothing extraordinary in Fox Immortal Valley. However, if his proficiency in the Way of Wards was as amazing as Xie Yunhan imed, then he would be quite the precious find for the valley.
Speaking of which, even if Brother Zhou didnte to see me today, I was nning to visit you.
Is Brother Xie suggesting
The next time we set out, let Lu Ye be in charge of the Wards, and I will act as his assistant. We might finally have a chance of sess then!
I need to report this to the mistress and let her decide. However, if thats the case, then Brother Xie
Xie Yunhan raised his hand. As long as it helps the mistress seed, it doesnt matter who takes the lead and who assists. I have been in Fox Immortal Valley for so many years, how could I not see that?
Of course, of course. Everything is for the mistresss sess in her mission. Saying so, he quickly stood up. This is an important matter, so I will go to see the mistress now and tell her the good news. Im sure the mistress will be delighted.
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Chapter 578: Earnest Guidance
Chapter 578: Earnest Guidance
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After leaving Xie Yunhans ce, Zhou Yuntian hurriedly made his way to give his report about Lu Ye.
However, he hadnt gone far when he sensed the intense sh of a battle. Furrowing his brows, he followed themotion.
It was not umon for cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley to engage in sparring sessions to enhance their skills and foster camaraderie. However, such fierce battles were rare.
As the chief steward of Fox Immortal Valley, there was no way that Zhou Yuntian wouldnt be concerned.
When he approached the scene, he was shocked to see that the two fighting were none other than the neers Lu Ye and Xia Liang. Moreover, both of them were ruthless with their attacks, but the difference in their cultivation levels was evident as Lu Ye appeared quite miserable in the confrontation. What did cause Zhou Yuntians eyelids to twitch, however, was the fact that Lu Ye had acquired some noticeable injuries, and his clothes were stained with blood.
Stop! Stop it at once! Zhou Yuntian quickly approached and reprimanded them.
On the battlefield, Lu Yes blood was boiling as he stood with the Invible Saber in his hands. On the other hand, Xia Liang remained calm andposed.
Upon seeing Zhou Yuntians approach, both Lu Ye and Xia Liang quickly ceased their fight and saluted him. Cultivator Zhou.Zhou Yuntians expression was gloomy. First, he red at Xia Liang with resentment, which left the man in confusion, then he turned his attention to Lu Ye and asked with great concern, Cultivator Lu, how are your injuries? Are they serious?
Zhou Yuntians concern surprised Lu Ye, but considering Zhou Yuntians position as the chief steward of Fox Immortal Valley, he didnt dwell on it and replied, Theyre not serious, just some minor flesh wounds. They will heal with some rest.
Zhou Yuntian let out a long sigh of relief. Good, good. He then turned around to admonish Xia Liang, Cultivator Xia, Cultivator Lus cultivation is far inferior to yours, so how could you use such excessive force on him?!
Xia Liang stammered, Its not like that, Cultivator Zhou. It was Yi Ye who came to me, asking to spar and exchange knowledge in de techniques
If its a spar, then keep it at that. How could you hurt him? Zhou Yuntians face darkened. We in Fox Immortal Valley are united as brothers and sisters. When Cultivator Lu approached you for a sparring session, you should have guided and instructed him, not hurt him!
Xia Liang was tongue tied for a moment.
While it was true that most cultivators could stop their sparring sessions before causing harm, for two Combat Cultivators wielding des, ending there wouldnt be effective practice. They had to go all out and fight with their full force in order to achieve the desired results.
Moreover, Xia Liang had already tried his best to control his strength during his exchange with Lu Ye. Otherwise, the injuries for thetter wouldnt have ended at just mere flesh wounds.
For Zhou Yuntian to reprimand him without considering the circumstances left Xia Liang feeling frustrated, but he couldnt refute him and could only look to Lu Ye for help.
Thus Lu Ye cleared the air. Cultivator Zhou, please calm down. It was indeed my idea to spar, and Cultivator Xia did try to hold back. Its just that my own strength iscking
Setting aside all else, this spar with Xia Liang had been greatly beneficial for Lu Ye, and couldnt afford to lose the opportunity for further sparring due to Zhou Yuntians interference. That would be a tremendous loss.
Since you know your strength iscking, you should be even more careful! Zhou Yuntian rebuked with a stern face.
Lu Ye just couldnt figure out what was going on with Zhou Yuntian. Apart from the short contact they had when he arrived at Fox Immortal Valley, he hadnt seen him in the past few days, but the preferential treatment he was showing now left Lu Ye puzzled.
But how could he have known that Zhou Yuntian had juste after talking with Xie Yunhan, who spoke so highly of Lu Ye? As such, that made Zhou Yuntian realize Lu Yes value in his expertise in the Way of Wards.
Sighing, Xia Liang said, This Xia understands. I wont do it again, so please rest assured, Cultivator Zhou.
Only then did Zhou Yuntians expression ease slightly. He nodded, saying, Remember, everyone in our Fox Immortal Valley are your brothers and sisters. If you had any grudges from the past, then let go of them now! If Cultivator Lu approached you for a sparring session to improve his de technique, you should have just guided and instructed him. If you had to spar, then you must hold back and be sure not to do harm to him again!
Yes, Xia Liang answered.
Let us put an end to this matter here today. I have other matters to attend to so I will excuse myself now, but I dont want to see something like this happening again next time as it will surely displease the mistress, Zhou Yuntian left them with a light warning.
Xia Liangs expression couldnt help but change when he heard him mention the mistress, and he hastily said, Please rest assured, Cultivator Zhou. If Yi Ye wishes to cultivate de techniques, I will earnestly impart my knowledge to him without withholding anything!
Thats good to hear.
Take care, Cultivator Zhou.
Zhou Yuntian nodded slightly then turned to Lu Ye and advised, If anything happens in the future, feel free to contact me at any time.
Lu Ye replied in a daze, Yes.
As he watched Zhou Yuntians figure disappear, Lu Yes expression became strange.
What Zhou Yuntian had said about everyone being brothers and sisters in Fox Immortal Valley and his various acts of favoritism were all things Lu Ye had noticed. But why?
In terms of cultivation, he was the weakest in the entire Fox Immortal Valley. Apart from him was Li Baxian who was in the Fifth Order. Above that, the weakest were the cultivators in the Sixth Realm.
Was it because of his recent performance in the Way of Wards? Judging from the direction Zhou Yuntian hade from earlier, he should havee from Xie Yunhans ce. With that, it seemed that Xie Yunhan must have said something to him that led to this tant bias, even bringing up the name of the mistress to his favor.
Seems like it was the right choice for him to not hide his talent in the Way of Wards.
Yi Ye!
Xia Liangs voice sounded by his ear.
Lu Ye turned around and said, Cultivator Xia, dont worry about what Cultivator Zhou said earlier. Lets continue, and you dont have to hold back either.
Forget it! Xia Liangs expression remained calm, showing no joy or anger. Since Cultivator Zhou has given his warning, let us just leave the idea of sparring at that. However, when ites to de techniques, I will wholeheartedly teach you, so ask me anything you wish to know. Your de technique is fierce and domineering, but I can see that your foundation is weak. Perhaps it is because no one has ever provided you with systematic guidance before. I can understand that the Crimson Blood Sect only had a few people before you, and none of them were de cultivators, so there probably wasnt anyone to teach you.
Lu Yes eyes brightened at that. Can I ask you about anything?
As long as its about de techniques, you can. I wont hold anything back either!
In that case, thank you in advance, Cultivator Xia!
Before entering Fox Immortal Valley, Lu Ye could never have imagined that he would one day have the opportunity to cultivate de techniques under Xia Liangs guidance. This was truly a rare opportunity.
Xia Liang came from the Raving desmen and had exceptional talent. The de techniques he practiced were all the essence umted by the Raving desmen over the years, so being guided and instructed by him would definitely save Lu Ye from many detours.
Thus, under Xia Liangs guidance, Lu Ye began his cultivation from the most basic shes. Although the whole process was tedious, Lu Ye was filled with enthusiasm.
As one gave their earnest instruction and the other their wholehearted attention to learn, Zhou Yuntian had already reported Lu Yes situation to the Fox Mutant in her chamber.
After hearing it, the enchanting Fox Mutant revealed a surprised expression and chuckled softly, So it seems we truly have picked up a treasure? Since Xie Yunhan has said so, there must be some truth to it. In that case, I shall henceforth entrust Lu Ye with the responsibility of caring for the Wards in the valley with Xie Yunhan acting as his assistant.
Her softugh made Zhou Yuntians bones turn soft. Even the women who served the Fox Mutant couldnt help but show intoxicated expressions.
Maintaining hisposure, Zhou Yuntian dared not show any disrespect and said obediently, This subordinate understands, but Mistress, we havent been able to find any new recruits in recent days.
The Fox Mutant did not seem surprised. This ce is deep within Grand Wilds Peak, and cultivators rarelye by here. Its only normal that we cant find any.
Zhou Yuntian tentatively suggested, Should we send out messages to attract some people?
After joining Fox Immortal Valley, they cut off allmunication with the outside world. External cultivators could only determine their life and death through the Battle Imprint but had no way of knowing their current status and location.
However, if they actively sent out messages, it would certainly attract a group of people. Then, with the Fox Mutants abilities, Fox Immortal Valleys power would continue to grow.
No! The Fox Mutant decisively rejected the idea. She slowly sat up from her daybed and spoke with a solemn expression, Remember, once you enter Fox Immortal Valley, you can never send any messages to the outside. Whoever dares to do so shall die!
Zhou Yuntians face paled, and he lowered his head. Yes. This subordinate understands!
Go!
Yes.
Zhou Yuntian withdrew respectfully.
After he left, different emotions flickered in the Fox Mutants beautiful eyes.
Indeed, if they followed Zhou Yuntians method, Fox Immortal Valley would undoubtedly be able to strengthen its power quickly. In a short time, they could gather not just a hundred people, but even two hundred or more.
However Fox Immortal Valley had existed for so many years, and she had enved too many human cultivators in this way that she was already sensing an indescribable feeling of crisis.
Just like a sharp de hanging over her neck, ready to fall at any moment!
When she first felt this crisis, she thought it was an illusion. However, as time went on, this sensation became increasingly clear.
She then understood that it wasnt a misconception but the attention of the Heavens on her.
A power that should never have been there appeared in the Cloud River Battlefield, but it was used to enve the Cloud River Realm cultivators. This undoubtedly angered the Heavens, leading to the development of this tremendous sense of crisis in her.
She knew that one day, the Heavens would punish her for what she had done, but there were still things she had to do before that were to happen that she couldnt aplish with her power alone. She needed to enve more cultivators in order to achieve it.
Ensnaring those that fell into her was already the limit. If she really used that method to lure people in, it would only intensify Heavens attention and the crisis looming over her. It would not be worth the gain.
The sky has grown dark. Let us continue tomorrow. As he said so, Xia Liang retrieved a jade slip from his Storage Bag and handed it to Lu Ye. These are the cultivational insights of de techniquespiled by the seniors of our Sect. You may take a look at it, but make sure not to lose it.
Lu Ye epted the jade slip. Many thanks, Brother Xia.
Fox Immortal Valley truly was a great ce!
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Chapter 579: Restricted Area
Chapter 579: Restricted Area
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After a few days, Lu Ye had figured out the situation here at Fox Immortal Valley, but he still had no clue on how he was going to safely take Li Baxian away.
As long as the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique remained unbroken, there was no way that Li Baxian would leave with him without any fuss, but killing the Fox Mutant was even more of an unrealistic fantasy. In these past few days, other than the one time he saw the Fox Mutant in her chamber, Lu Ye hadnt seen her again. She had remained hidden in her own room, never showing herself.
Even if she did appear, Lu Ye wouldnt be able to kill her with his current strength. There were many cultivators guarding her.
There was, however, a piece of good news that came from Feng Yuechan.
The wolf pack at the Arcane de had grown stronger again. Initially, the pack had only a little over a hundred members, but they were somehow able to gather more of their kind from somewhere else. By the time Tan Sheng and his group infiltrated the Arcane de, the wolf pack had already grown to over two hundred. Just a day ago, the pack brought back another batch of their kind, increasing their numbers to over three hundred.
In Lu Yes n, it was necessary for him to get the assistance of the wolf pack if he were to kill the Fox Mutant, so their growth was a good thing for him.
He just had to wait for the right opportunity.
With therge number of cultivators and the support of the Wards in Fox Immortal Valley, the wolf pack was still no match for them even with over three hundred members. Perhaps if the pack could grow to five hundred strong, they could tryunching a strong attack on Fox Immortal Valley, but three hundred was still too strained.He could only continue waiting for a favorable moment.
On his second day of learning de techniques from Xia Liang, Zhou Yuntian approached Lu Ye and conveyed an order from the Fox Mutant. The Wards in Fox Immortal Valley would mainly be handled by Lu Ye while Xie Yunhan assisted him.
Lu Ye naturally had no reason to refuse as it was the Fox Mutants order, so he epted themand at once. It was finally confirmed that the partiality that Zhou Yuntian had shown him yesterday was because of his performance in the Way of Wards.
Undoubtedly, Xie Yunhan must have said many good things about him.
In reality, there wasnt much difference between the main Wardmage and the assistant. The Wards in Fox Immortal Valley had been maintained for many years, but in the past few days, Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan had been doing maintenance on them and making various adjustments. Now, their daily tasks were minimal. They just had to walk around and inspect the Wards three times a day around the different areas of Fox Immortal Valley.
The change in roles was merely nominal and allowed Lu Ye to receive more attention and a higher position in the valley.
Most of the time, Lu Ye cultivated de techniques with Xia Liang. He had never paid much attention before, but since he started learning from Xia Liang, he realized just how weak his foundation was.
Since embarking on the path of cultivation, practically all that he knew, he figured out on his own, especially when it came to de techniques. He had never learned it systematically andprehensively from anyone before. The only assistance he received was the insights that his Third Senior Brother entrusted his son to pass on to him, which was where he learned the Blood Shifting technique from.
However, that was just a Secret Technique that Combat Cultivators generally needed to cultivate and contributed little to his foundational improvement.
Xia Liangs careful guidance undoubtedlypensated for Lu Yes shorings.
Lu Ye cherished this opportunity.
How to exert force, how to breathe, how to change up his moves There was a lot to consider. Previously, Lu Ye had simply swung his de based on instinct, but now, with Xia Liangs guidance, he felt a sense of enlightenment, and the foundation of his de technique was steadily growing each day.
Xia Liang had praised Lu Yes talent in de techniques on multiple asions, even stating that if he had enlisted into the Raving desmen from the beginning, he would have undoubtedly gained their essence.
Time flew by, and several more days passed.
On this particr morning, Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan were inspecting the various Wards in Fox Immortal Valley as usual. It took them nearly an hour to check all the Wards and ensure their proper operation.
Just as Lu Ye was about to go back to cultivating de techniques with Xia Liang, Xie Yunhan suddenly spoke up, Brother, theres another ce we have to inspect today.
Lu Ye was puzzled. Another ce?
He was alreadypletely familiar with the locations they inspected daily, so he was sure that they hadnt overlooked any areas. Where could this other ce be?
Its the restricted area of Fox Immortal Valley. It only needs to be checked once every half month, and no one is allowed to approach it on regr days, Xie Yunhan exined.
A restricted area? Lu Yes interest was roused. He had no idea that there was another restricted area within Fox Immortal Valley.
But since it was a restricted area, it was natural for him not to know about it as a neer.
Following Xie Yunhan, they walked towards a specific direction until they reached the deepest part of Fox Immortal Valley, where a Grand Ward appeared to be covering something ahead.
This is it. Xie Yunhan pointed to the Grand Ward in front. No one is allowed to approach this ce, but the mistress has ordered me toe and inspect it every half month. From now on, this task will be entrusted to you.
Lu Ye examined the Ward in front of him. On the surface, it was a Concealment Ward, but there should be another Grand Defensive Ward operating inside. However, with the Concealment Ward in ce, it was impossible to see what was inside.
The area covered by the Ward wasnt toorge, only about 50 meters in diameter, forming a dome.
Whats inside? Lu Ye asked.
Xie Yunhan shook his head. Im not sure.
Not sure? Lu Ye was surprised.
This restricted area has existed since I arrived at Fox Immortal Valley. Usually, I onlye to maintain the Ward, so Ive never been inside before Brother, the mistress does not allow anyone to enter the restricted area. In the future, you need onlye every half month to check on its condition.
I understand.
Then, the two of them split up and checked the operation of the Wards, ensuring that they were intact before leaving quickly.
Brother, care for a drink at my ce? Xie Yunhan extended an invitation to him.
Ill bother youter, Brother. I need to go cultivate de techniques with Brother Xia first.
Xie Yunhan chuckled, Ill wait for you, then.
Cultivator Lu!
A voice suddenly came from not far away. Lu Ye turned his head and saw Zhou Yuntian smiling at him. Judging by his appearance, it seemed like he came just to wait for Lu Ye.
Xie Yunhan said, Brother Zhou is looking for you. It must be something important, so you should head to him first.
Lu Ye nodded, parting ways with Xie Yunhan and walking towards Zhou Yuntian.
As he approached him, Lu Ye cupped his fist and greeted, Cultivator Zhou.
Zhou Yuntian ryed with amity, Youve worked hard these past few days. The mistress is very pleased with your performance.
Lu Ye put on a look of joy at once. Serving the mistress is my duty.
En. Zhou Yuntian gave a slight nod. Its right for Cultivator Lu to think that way. Everything we have is bestowed by the mistress, and protecting her is our greatest duty!
A look of pure fanaticism surfaced on his face. It seemed as if he would not frown even if his mistress ordered him to die.
This caused a chill to rise in Lu Yes heart. He changed the topic, Does Cultivator Zhou need me for something?
Oh. Zhou Yuntian snapped out of his daze. During your audience with the mistress, I remember Cultivator Lu mentioned being proficient in the Way of Glyphs, Wards, and Tattoos?
Strictly speaking, I am a Glyphweaver. The Way of Wards and Way of Tattoos are just areas that I have only dabbled in.
Just dabbled? Cultivator Lu has such high attainments in the Way of Wards. What about Tattoos?
Ive only recently started cultivating the Way of Tattoos, so it cant bepared to my knowledge in the Way of Wards.
Are you able to create Tattoos now?
I am, but only three types.
Which three?
The offensive Glyph: Sharp Edge, the defensive Glyph: Protection, as well as the auxiliary Glyph: Windwalk.
Zhou Yuntians eyes lit up at that, and he asked eagerly, What is the sess rate?
Generally speaking, the possibility of failure is very low. Lu Ye had practiced on the wolf pack before, and there were very few failures. Even if there were, it didnt matter either way as the Tattooed area would recover in a few days, and he could Tattoo it again without causing much damage to the recipient.
Thats great! Zhou Yuntian could hardly contain his joy. Can Cultivator Lu give me a demonstration?
Naturally, but who should I Tattoo, may I ask? Lu Ye still had plenty of Tattooing materials left, which was enough for his use.
You can do it on this Zhou.
In that case, please follow me, Cultivator Zhou. After saying that, Lu Ye led the way forward.
They soon arrived at his pavilion, where Lu Ye brought out the necessary materials for Tattooing and gave Zhou Yuntian a brief introduction before asking, Cultivator Zhou, which type of Tattoo would you like?
After pondering for a short while, Zhou Yuntian made his choice. Glyph: Protection.
The Sharp Edge Tattoo was unsuitable to be done on a person, but that was different for the Wolf Mutants. After all, cultivators generally fought using Spirit Artifacts. Nobody would try and scratch their opponents with their hands or bite them with their teeth. Besides Glyph: Protection, the only other suitable Glyph to be tattooed on a cultivator would be Windwalk.
One would provide a cultivator with even stronger defensive capabilities, while the other would allow a cultivator to run faster.
All in all, Glyph: Protection would be the most suitable, so it was not strange for Zhou Yuntian to have made that choice.
Then, where would Cultivator Zhou like for it to be tattooed? Lu Ye then asked.
Zhou Yuntian pulled apart the robes at his chest and pointed where his heart was. Right here!
It was a normal choice. The heart was ones vital spot, and to have the protection of Glyph: Protection there could just save their lives at a critical moment.
Pleasey down, Cultivator Zhou, Lu Ye gestured to the bed.
Zhou Yuntianid down on the bed as instructed and opened up his clothes.
Lu Ye picked up his needle and dipped the tip into the material for the Glyph: Protection Tattoo, then he began working on Zhou Yuntians chest.
When the needle came down, there was some visible anxiety on Zhou Yuntians expression, but that quickly went away.
As needle after needle came down, a triangr mark in ochre gradually appeared on his skin. Complex lines intercrossed with each other, and it gave off an imprable feeling just in its appearance alone.
It was not difficult to make a Glyph: Protection Tattoo for Lu Ye.
It only took about an incense stick of time before Lu Ye finished up and said, Cultivator Zhou, its done.
Zhou Yuntian sat up and looked at the imprint on his chest. As he poured his Spiritual Power into the mark, a triangr barrier immediately emerged from his chest, sticking closely to his chest, and it was clearly countless times sturdier than the protection of just his Spiritual Power alone.
Zhou Yuntian was overjoyed and couldnt help but praise, Cultivator Lu is truly amazing, to be able to draw Tattoos in the Cloud River Realm. This is the first time that this Zhou has seen such ability in his life.
Lu Ye responded humbly, Cultivator Zhou is too kind. Im not that skilled, and this is only a Temporary Tattoo. It can only be used a few times at most, but it is good as long as Cultivator Zhou is satisfied.
Im satisfied, very satisfied. Zhou Yuntian nodded with a smile on his face. The more he looked at Lu Ye, the more he felt that he had truly picked up a treasure.
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Chapter 580: Perks of a Tattoo Artist
Chapter 580: Perks of a Tattoo Artist
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In the Fox Mutants bedroom, Zhou Yuntian approached hurriedly and bowed.
What is it?
The Fox Mutant asked in a soft voice as shey sideways on the cushioned daybed. A female cultivator stood in front of her with a censer in hand, and as the Fox Mutant breathed in the wisps of smoke, her face was dyed red in an intoxicated flush. Even her narrowed eyes were slightly zed over.
Mistress, please excuse this subordinate for his rudeness, but take a look at this, said Zhou Yuntian as he pulled the top of his robe open to expose his chest, circting his Spiritual Power. In the next moment, a Glyph: Protection shield appeared in front of his chest.
Hm? Fox Mutant opened her eyes slightly to look at the Glyph. As she raised a finger, a surge of Mutant power shot out from its tip, sting the Glyph on Zhou Yuntians chest.
The Glyph dimmed, but it did not shatter. Still, Zhou Yuntian staggered back a few steps from the impact.
Is this a Tattoo? The Fox Mutant, who did have some knowledge on such matters, immediately recognized the nature of the Glyph.
Yes, Mistress. It is a Tattoo, and it was drawn by Lu Yes hand.So he has this kind of ability! The Fox Mutant was amazed. Even though Zhou Yuntian had reported to her about Lu Yes dabbling in the art of Tattoos a few days ago, she hadnt paid much attention to it. After all, someone with only a cultivation level in the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm wouldnt have achieved a high level of mastery in Tattoo cultivation even if they dabbled in it.
But now, it seemed that she had underestimated him.
The Fox Mutant immediately realized the value of this Tattoo. Currently, the Fox Immortal Valley was struggling to draw in many new talents. However, with the help of this Tattoo, the overall strength of the Fox Immortal Valley could be increased by at least ten or twenty percent. Compared to recruiting new talents, this kind of improvement was more straightforward and also more convenient.
How long did this Tattoo take him? The Fox Mutant straightened her posture. Even her expression became more serious.
Only an incense stick of time. Moreover, when I was observing his technique, he seemed very experienced with it. Clearly, he is well-versed in this art, Zhou Yuntian reported truthfully.
Only an incense stick of time The Fox Mutant was surprised.
Mistress, perhaps we could have our fellow cultivators in the valley go to him for a Tattoo? It would also help to improve their chances of survival!
The Fox Mutant nodded. Very well. I will leave you in charge of this matter.
Yes, I will not disappoint you, Mistress, Zhou Yuntian responded respectfully.
Lu Ye waspletely immersed in cultivating de techniques under Xia Liangs guidance when all of a sudden, Zhou Yuntian arrived with a group of people, calling out to him from a distance, Cultivator Lu!
Lu Ye stopped his movements and sighed inwardly. It seemed that the inevitable had finallye.
Ever since he bestowed the Glyph: Protection Tattoo upon Zhou Yuntian, he had guessed what would follow next. After all, Tattoos were a convenient external force that one could utilize. Zhou Yuntian had already experienced the benefits of having that Tattoo, so there was no reason for him to ignore it.
Sure enough, once Zhou Yuntian came over, he conveyed the Fox Mutants orders to him, instructing Lu Ye to tattoo all of the cultivators in the valley, a request which Lu Ye naturally had no choice but to agree to.
With the cultivation of his de technique put on hold, Lu Ye prepared all the necessary materials and equipment for the Tattoos in the attic on the second floor. Then, he said to Zhou Yuntian, who stood nearby, Cultivator Zhou, Tattoos require a significant amount of mental focus. At most, I can tattoo ten cultivators per day. Any more would be exhausting.
In reality, he could tattoo many more than that, but doing so would not only upy the time he had to cultivate his de techniques, it would also make his recovery far more troublesome.
Ten people per day would not impose a significant burden on him.
No problem, Cultivator Lu. You can do it however is more convenient for you. Even though the orders have been given directly by the Mistress, she did not specify a time frame.
Moreover, while there were a fair number of cultivators in the Fox Immortal Valley, it wasnt an overwhelminglyrge poption. By doing ten people per day, it would only take less than ten days to finish everything.
In that case, have theme up one by one, Lu Ye replied.
Zhou Yuntian walked up to the window and shouted, Brother Zhao,e up!
Among the waiting cultivators below, a cultivator surnamed Zhao who was called by Zhou Yuntian stepped forward, quickly ascended to the second floor, and greeted Lu Ye courteously.
Lu Ye gave him the choice of getting either Glyph: Windwalk or Glyph: Protection, and as expected, the cultivator surnamed Zhao chose Glyph: Protection, and like Zhou Yuntian, he requested the Tattoo to be ced over his heart.
Following Lu Yes instructions, the cultivator surnamed Zhao unfastened his clothing andy on the bed.
After an incense stick of time, the Tattoo was done, and the cultivator surnamed Zhao tested it to make sure that he could use Glyph: Protection. Delighted, he expressed his gratitude.
Then, the next person came up
After that, the third person in line was a female cultivator.
Standing in front of Lu Ye, she blushed and lowered her head. Junior Brother Lu, if I ask for a Tattoo on my back Would it be possible?
Certainly. Any location is possible. Lu Ye nodded.
In that case the back, please. If it werent for the direct orders from the Mistress, she would never havee to ask Lu Ye for a Tattoo. After all, she was a woman, and it was embarrassing and ufortable to have a man touch her body.
However, Glyph: Protection did provide a certain level of defense, and it was more bearable for Lu Ye to tattoo her back than to poke around her chest.
Lu Ye had not expected to enjoy such perks as a Tattoo Artist
There would probably be plenty more of such situations in the future. He calmed his mind, keeping it as still as an ancient well.
Senior Brother Zhou, you you should leave first! Her face turned crimson as she red at Zhou Yuntian, who was standing by the side.
Oh, right, Ill wait outside, Zhou Yuntian snapped back to his senses and quickly walked out, closing the door behind him as he left.
The female cultivator stood in ce, nervously fidgeting with her clothes while chewing on her lip. Even though it was the Fox Mutant who gave the order, undressing in front of a male stranger still took great courage and determination.
Lu Ye turned around, leaving his back to her while pretending to prepare some herbs on the side. After a moment, he faintly heard a rustling sound from behind.
Then, a trembling voice came, Junior Brother Lu, Im ready.
Lu Ye turned around, and what entered his vision were breathtakingly wless curves.
The woman sat cross-legged on the bed with her back facing him while holding her clothes in her hands, shielding her body with them.
Lu Ye approached without averting his gaze Not that he could see anything to begin with, then he reached out and pricked her skin with a needle.
The womans body suddenly tensed up and she made a brief yelp.
Lu Yes eye twitched. Senior Sister, please refrain from making such peculiar noises. It makes it hard to concentrate Also, rx your body and dont move. Rest assured, I wont touch you.
The female cultivators face instantly turned as red as blooming rhododendrons. Even her fair back and slender neck were tinged red. Lowering her head, she answered in a voice as soft as that of a mosquito, I understand.
With meticulous precision, Lu Ye tattooed her skin prick by prick until the image of Glyph: Protection gradually emerged.
After an incense stick of time, Lu Ye stopped and let out a long sigh. Its done, Senior Sister!
You Turn around, the cultivator said.
Lu Ye followed her request and soon, he heard the sound of her getting dressed.
Thank you, Junior Brother Lu, the female cultivator hurriedly expressed her gratitude before opening the door and leaving hastily as if fleeing.
Zhou Yuntian peeked into the room and nced at Lu Ye, wagging his eyebrow at him as a meaningful smile curved on his face. This Zhou truly admires your skill set, Cultivator Lu.
Next!
One after another, cultivators entered the second floor and left after an incense stick of time.
Male cultivators outnumbered the female cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, with thetter ounting for only around thirty percent. It was also the case for the rest of the Cultivation World in Jiu Zhou. Generally speaking, there were more male cultivators than female cultivators, though the reason for this urrence was unknown.
Male cultivators had no qualms about exposing their chests in front of Lu Ye, but most female cultivators were timid by nature. It was indeed troubling to ask them to reveal the beauty of their bodies to an unfamiliar man.
However, they dared not disobey direct orders from the Fox Mutant.
With the experience of the first female cultivator before them, most of the female cultivators chose to have the Glyph tattooed on their backs. However, it was still a significant test for Lu Ye.
There were also exceptions, like a spicy female cultivator who immediately started undressing upon entering the room, then lying straight on her back and even chose to have the tattoo on her chest, which made Lu Ye gulp as she giggled in amusement like a trembling branch.
If Lu Ye had not been able to keep his focus, then the Tattoo would probably have failed.
After tattooing ten people on the first day, Lu Ye imed that he had depleted too much of his mental energy and thanked his guests before closing the door. Then, he made an agreement with Zhou Yuntian for him to bring another ten people the next day.
Zhou Yuntian had no objections.
After a short rest, Lu Ye sought out Xia Liang again for his guidance in de techniques.
At night, he first visited Li Baxian and had a conversation with his senior brother. Then, he went leisurely to Xie Yunhans residence, fulfilling the appointment they arranged during the day to chat over drinks.
In the middle of the night, Lu Ye stumbled out drunkenly from Xie Yunhans ce and returned to his own room to cultivate.
Half an hourter, in the darkness, Lu Ye opened his eyes and called out in a soft voice, Yi Yi.
Yi Yi immediately appeared from within the Amber and swiftly descended below, quickly disappearing from sight.
Lu Ye had also constructed Glyph: Invisibility and Glyph: Conceal Presence on himself one after another before leaping out from the second floor in a sh.
The bright moon hung high in the silent night sky.
Lu Ye quietly made his way in a certain direction with Yi Yi scouting ahead. Moreover, with both Glyph: Invisibility and Glyph: Conceal Presence, he had no fear of being discovered.
Furthermore, he knew the position of every Ward in Fox Immortal Valley, so there was no risk of triggering any of them.
Soon, Lu Ye arrived at the restricted area located at the very depths of the Fox Immortal Valley.
He had been curious about this restricted area sinceing here with Xie Yunhan during the day, and even Xie Yunhan, an old man who had lived in the Fox Immortal Valley for twelve years, had no idea whaty within it. Clearly, there had to be hidden secrets here.
Lu Ye had made up his mind during the day that he had to explore this ce. Whatever secrets were hidden here, it had to be rted to that Fox Mutant. Perhaps he could even find some unexpected gains here.
Although this ce was shrouded by Wards, infiltrating them was what Lu Ye did best.
Before reaching the Grand Ward, Lu Ye surveyed his surroundings to ensure that no one was nearby before constructing Glyph: Insight in his eyes to study the weak point in the Grand Ward and look for its nodes.
It did not take long for him to make progress. He moved to the Wards node and as he raised his hand, several Ward gs shot out, nting themselves nearby.
Following another series of actions, the flow of Spiritual Power at the node gradually slowed down until it came to aplete stop.
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Chapter 581: Fox Mutant’s Secret
Chapter 581: Fox Mutants Secret
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The Grand Wards here had two purposes. One was to conceal, and the other was to protect. Both of these Grand Wards had beenbined perfectly. From that, it could be seen that the person who set up these Wards had considerable proficiency in the art, surpassing Xie Yunhan but still falling slightly shortpared to him.
That was why infiltrating Wards like these was no difficult task for Lu Ye.
The Spiritual Power in the ces where Ward gs were nted hadpletely stopped flowing. Lu Ye raised his hand and retrieved the Ward gs, then swiftly entered into the Grand Ward.
Once he left, and with the interference of the Ward gs gone, the Spiritual Power on the bright surface of the Grand Ward resumed its gentle flow.
Upon entering the Grand Ward, Lu Ye immediately concealed his figure and cautiously surveyed his surroundings.
There was no danger here. Everything in the restricted area could be seen at a nce
That was because it wasnt a particrlyrge space.
Within an area of about sixty meters in diameter stood a solitary grave with a stone tablet in front of it. Furthermore, not far from the mound was an ancient structure only around a dozen meters tall, and it seemed to be an altar of sorts. [This is the restricted area?] Lu Ye frowned. Even with the enhancement of Glyph: Insight, he couldnt see anything particrly worthy of his attention.
He walked up to the stone tablet in front of the burial mound. Under the moonlight, the inscription on the stone tablet entered his eyes.
Grave of Master Lei Zhengyin.
These were the only words inscribed on the tablet. Lei Zhengyin should be the name of the person buried in this mound. The word Master, on the other hand, inevitably evoked some assumptions.
From what Xie Yunhan had previously mentioned, it could be inferred that this restricted area had existed for at least a dozen years, and the person in the grave must have been dead for an equally long time.
However, the gravestone looked very clean without a speck of dust on its surface. There wasnt even a single weed on the mound. It seemed that someone came regrly to mourn and clean.
In the entire Fox Immortal Valley, the Fox Mutant was the only one who had ess to this ce.
Lu Yes gaze flickered for a moment, but he stopped looking at the grave, instead looking up at the altar.
This altar had clearly seen some years. It was extremely ancient-looking. Lu Ye stepped onto the altar and looked around it. Intricate patterns covered its surface, as if it were enveloped by aplex Grand Ward. Lu Ye carefully observed it for a while, but he couldnt make out the true nature of this Grand Ward.
He more or less had some mastery in the Way of Wards, and even if he hadnt encountered such aplex Ward before, he should still be able to make out a few things.
However, he couldnt discern anything here. Either the intricate patterns were not part of a Ward at all, or the level of its profundity far exceeded hisprehension.
After scrutinizing it for a while, Lu Ye suddenly noticed four recesses at each corner of the altar.
Now this was something he was no stranger to.
Generally speaking, recesses like these would require the cement of Spirit Stones, just like many Circles of Boon found in various sects.
So, if he wanted to figure out what this altar was for, he just had to ce Spirit Stones in the recesses.
However, Lu Ye naturally wouldnt act recklessly. If he did so, he would most likely rm the cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley and end up getting caught red-handed.
He couldnt help but feel a little disappointed.
He had thought that the Fox Mutant must be hiding some incredible secret to have designated this ce as a restricted area, but instead, there was only a solitary grave and an ancient altar, one that he couldnt even determine the purpose of.
What a waste of a trip!
Just as he was about to leave, a strange sound suddenly reached his ears. Lu Yes expression changed, and he immediately used Glyph: Invisibility and Glyph: Conceal Presence on himself. Standing on the altar, he didnt dare to move even a muscle.
A seductive figure suddenly appeared before him. It was the Fox Mutant.
Lu Ye cursed his luck inwardly. He had noticed earlier that there was not a speck of dust on the gravestone or a single weed on the mound, which suggested that someone came here often to mourn. Who would have thought that he would encounter them now in the dead of night?
Now, he was stuck in ce and if it werent for the Blessing of his Glyphs, he would definitely have been exposed.
Under the moonlight, the Fox Mutant walked silently to the gravestone and lowered her head, sorrow gradually enveloping her features.
A momentter, a gentle sobbing sound could be heard. Tears flowed down, leaving deep marks on her face as the Fox Mutant threw herself on the grave, pouring out her grief and saying something that was too incoherent to understand.
Lu Ye only caught a few words like master, Xianer, and Im so tired. As for the rest, he couldnt quite make them out.
He couldnt help but feel d. The Fox Mutant was currently immersed in her sorrow, and he reckoned that she hadnt expected someone to defy her orders within Fox Immortal Valley ande here in the middle of the night either. Even with Lu Ye blessing himself with Glyph: Invisibility and Glyph: Conceal Presence, there was still a possibility of being detected at such a close distance.
After crying for a long while, the Fox Mutant wiped the corners of her eyes and carefully cleaned the pristine gravestone. She took a deep breath, causing her plump chest to rise up high.
The sorrow on her face disappeared, reced by endless resentment and hatred. Even her originally charming tone turned extremely sinister. It wont be much longer, Master. Ill be able to avenge you in another month. I definitely wont fail this time!
Seemingly due to the overly intense emotions welling up inside of her, Spirit Essence surged throughout her body as she said these words. Under the moonlight, several fluffy tails made of condensed Spirit Essence suddenly appeared behind her seductive body, swaying gracefully. From Lu Yes perspective, this scene carried a chilling beauty.
She gazed deeply at the gravestone for a while until her emotions settled and her Spirit Essence subsided, then she turned around and left, disappearing through the Ward that enveloped the area.
Lu Ye stood silently on the altar without moving.
It wasnt until an hour passed that he softly called out, Yi Yi!
Yi Yis figure revealed itself. Its safe outside.
Lu Ye nodded and immediately headed out.
When he came in from the outside, he had to use some tricks to sneak in, but the Ward did not restrict him from leaving this ce.
In just a short while, he had quietly made it back to his pavilion.
Reflecting on what he had just witnessed, Lu Ye frowned. Based on the name of Fox Immortal Valley, he spected that the mistresss true form was a Fox Mutant, and from the abnormal phenomenon that urred when she lost control of her Spirit Essence, he became increasingly convinced of his previous conjecture.
That was indeed a Fox Mutant, but not an ordinary one. That was because instead of having just one tail, she had a total of six!
The Divine Fox Race? And she was a six-tailed Divine Fox!
No wonder she had the uncanny ability to manipte peoples minds. If she belonged to the Divine Fox n, that would exin everything.
Even though Divine Foxes could notpare to the Four Sacred Beasts, they were still an extraordinary beast with great Talent and Divine Power. As far as Lu Ye knew, Divine Foxes at the Cloud River Realm typically had only two or three tails. So, even if they possessed special Divine Power, they couldnt manipte peoples minds to the extent ofplete control. At best, they could slightly confuse a person, which could be easily ovee with strong enough willpower.
Having six tails made the Fox Mutant an anomaly even among the Divine Fox Race. Under normal circumstances, the strength of a Six-Tailed Divine Fox would rival that of a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator!
Even though this trip to the restricted area did not yield him any substantial gains, he did coincidentally get a look at the Fox Mutants true form, so it wasnt entirely fruitless.
But such a discovery didnt provide significant help to him in the current situation.
Lu Ye, Yi Yis voice suddenly came from the darkness, that Fox Mutant looks very pitiful.
Which part of her is pitiful? Lu Ye retorted. Whats truly pitiful are the cultivators trapped here, being so devoted to her while shes controlling their minds.
But her master died. Yi Yis eyes reddened. She wants to avenge her master.
Lu Ye turned to look at her and couldnt help but feel that this little girl was a bit too sensitive. The Fox Mutants master had been dead for at least a decade, so why was she of all people crying about it?
Yi Yi wrinkled her nose. If you were to die one day, Amber and I would definitely do anything we can to avenge you!
Lu Ye could not resist the urge tough. Amber and I have established a bond through the Life Energy Art. If I die, Amber will be done for, and so will you. What revenge would you take then? Well all go to Yellow Springs together, and it wont be a lonely journey.
Yi Yi pouted. Whatever the case, the Fox Mutant is still very pitiful.
After saying that, she stomped her foot and dove into Ambers body, no longer paying Lu Ye any mind.
Lu Ye was speechless. In the darkness, his gaze gradually dimmed.
The Fox Mutant previously imed that she would avenge her deceased master within a month. Now, the question was who was the enemy?
Lu Ye was originally unsure what the Fox Mutants intentions were by gathering so many cultivators, but now, the situation was bing clear.
She had been finding ways to avenge her master all this while, but she could not achieve that by solely relying on her own power, and that was why she would need to gather the cultivators who delved deep into Grand Wilds Peak
Moreover, after all these years, the Fox Mutant must have taken action multiple times before, but unfortunately, all of her attempts had failed. The cultivators who ended up dead under hermand undoubtedly lost their lives to these endeavors.
Currently, there were over eighty cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, with at least fifteen of them in the Ninth Order. Besides Lu Ye and Li Baxian, the rest were all in the Sixth Order and above.
With such a force, they could not only sweep through the Cloud River Battlefield but also establish dominance and rule over a territory without a problem.
However, Fox Mutant hesitated to take action. Either shecked confidence or she was waiting for the right moment.
Regardless of the reason, her enemy must be no pushover. Looking at the entire Cloud River Battlefield, there was only one possibility for an enemy that could make her so cautious!
Lu Ye quickly took out his 10-point map and examined the markings on it. After a moment, his gaze was fixed on one particrbel.
Elite-level Spirit Beast, Berserk Giant Ape!
Lu Yes eyelid twitched.
If things were really as he suspected, then it would be troublesome.
He wasnt sure just how strong an elite-level Spirit Beast in the Cloud River Realm was.
However, he had personally experienced the power of an elite-level Spirit Beast in the Spirit Creek Realm. It was a strength that surpassed the scope of the Spirit Creek Realm entirely.
He himself had once ascended to the same level as an elite-level Spirit Beast as a cultivator, and it could be said that he was unrivaled among all others in the same realm.
Fox Immortal Valleys strength was indeed impressive, but facing off against an elite-level Spirit Beast would be a different story. It was hard to say who would have thestugh in such a fight.
In one month Lu Ye suddenly felt a headache.
Should he try knocking Li Baxian unconscious and just take him away? But without considering whether he would even seed, if he made a mistake, it would undoubtedly expose some of his secrets, and then it might be impossible for them to escape.
Even after knocking Li Baxian unconscious, the Divine Soul Secret Technique would always be a hidden danger if it were not dispelled.
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Chapter 582: Mind’s Eye
Chapter 582: Minds Eye
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Each day passed uneventfully. Lu Ye patrolled the valley with Xie Yunhan, tattooed Glyphs for ten cultivators, then cultivated de techniques with Xia Liang.
And the cycle repeated.
If it werent for the revenge that the Fox Mutant nned stuck in his mind, this life would have been quite pleasant.
Nine days flew by, and all the cultivators in the valley received their Tattoos, all of them Glyph: Protection Tattoos. During this time, Lu Ye also enjoyed quite a feast for his eyes
After finishing up his work, Lu Ye went to see Xia Liang so that he could cultivate his de technique with him.
However, Xia Liang spoke up, Ive taught you all the basics, and theres not much more I can teach you. As for the rest, youll gradually be enlightened to it by going through life and death battles. Instruction alone will no longer be much help.
After all, there was only so much to the foundations of de techniques, and Xia Liang had already imparted his knowledge to him quite generously over the past two weeks. There was truly nothing more he could teach Lu Ye.
What was more, the improvement of ones de techniques were not reliant on instructions. The most important thing was to umte experience through real battles. The de techniques that each person wielded had to be honed slowly through bloodshed.After the two weeks or so, Lu Ye could also feel his de techniques improving significantly. Compared to the past, his foundation was more solid, and his understanding of it had reached a higher level.
Based on this alone, it could be said that his strength had increased by at least ten percent, which was undoubtedly a tremendous gain.
So, even though there had been numerous grievances between him and Xia Liang in the past, Lu Ye still solemnly bowed to him for his guidance over this period. Many thanks, Cultivator Xia!
Still, he wondered how Xia Liang would react if he had a chance to break free from the Fox Mutants control.
Originally, he was supposed to kill Lu Ye, but due to a twist of fate, he ended up teaching Lu Ye a lot about de techniques instead.
Theres nothing that I can teach you on the basics. Instead, I will teach you something else today. As he said so, Xia Liang took out his own saber from his Storage Bag, got into position, and closed his eyes before saying, Attack me!
It seemed like there was something he wanted to show him, so Lu Ye did not hesitate. He ced his hand on the hilt of his saber, and swiftly advanced towards Xia Liang. Saber unleashed, he shed down with his de while closely observing Xia Liangs movements.
When the Invible Saber was less than a third of a meter away from Xia Liang, he suddenly moved, lifting his saber. Despite movingst, he managed to block the Invible Saber that struck at him first.
Lu Ye couldnt help but raise his brows.
Xia Liang was in the Ninth Order of the Cloud River Realm, while Lu Ye was only in the Fourth Order. The difference in their cultivation levels was enormous, so Lu Ye wasnt surprised that he could block his attack.
What surprised him, however, was that Xia Liang seemed to be able to see his attacks despite his eyes being closed.
Using the force of his counter, Lu Ye backed away with light feet.
Again! Xia Liang called out.
Lu Ye rushed forward again, but this time, instead of using a shing attack, he made a forward stab, which wasparably more covert than the momentous sh.
The fact that this guy can block his sh with his eyes closed could be exined by saying that he determined the direction of the attack through sound, but how was he going to block the covert thrust?
To Lu Yes astonishment, Xia Liangs saber suddenly moved, again at a third of a meter away, and easily deflected the Invible Saber. At the same time, he tilted his head, allowing the de to pierce the empty space near his neck.
Lu Ye was greatly surprised.
Again!
Lu Ye attacked for the third time
Without exception, every time he attacked, Xia Liang would block it when the attack was within a third of a meter away from him.
While Lu Ye hadnt used his full strength, Xia Liangs ability to block his attacks to this extent with his eyes closed was still unbelievable to him.
After a dozen attacks, Lu Ye still couldnt touch the corner of Xia Liangs clothes.
Only then did Xia Liang open his eyes and look at Lu Ye, saying, Have you figured it out?
Perception?
Minds Eye!
Minds Eye?
What you see with your eyes may not necessarily be true, but what you see with your Minds Eye will never be false, Xia Liang exined earnestly, This is not a de technique, but an auxiliary Secret Technique that is useful for all cultivators. You mentioned perception, which is not entirely wrong. Most cultivators have their own perception of danger duringbat, but the Minds Eye goes beyond perception. It is a Secret Technique that transcends perception.
After a short pause, he continued, Right now, the cultivators wee into contact with are all in the Cloud River Realm. The speed of their sword may not be too fast, still visible to the naked eye, but as their cultivation improves, there wille a day when many powerful experts will move with such speed that the naked eye cannot perceive it. How will you deal with it then? Relying solely on your perception may not give you enough time to react. However, if you can cultivate the Mind Eye Technique, it will be different. Even if your eyes cannot see, if you have your saber in your hands, then your enemies shouldnt even dream of approaching you. The Minds Eye Technique is a unique Secret Technique of my sect, the Raving desmen, and its simr in concept to the sword heart of the Northern Profound Sword n. My proficiency in this technique is only at the beginner level, so I can only defend against attacks within a third of a meter away.
Lu Ye realized now why Xia Liang had only reacted when his attack was about a third of a meter away each time, and it turned out that it was because the Secret Technique had a limited range.
With great interest, he asked, How do I cultivate it?
This was an exclusive Secret Technique of the Raving desmen, and only their elite acolytes were allowed to cultivate it. If Lu Ye hadnt ended up in Fox Immortal Valley, he would never have had the chance toe into contact with it.
Suddenly, he remembered when he was chasing and fighting with Xia Liang before. Xia Liangs defense did indeed give him a sense of invulnerability, and if Xia Liang hadnt been severely injured at the time, Lu Ye would never have been able to do anything to him just through this Minds Eye Technique alone.
Xia Liang had a reminiscent expression on his face. When I cultivated this technique, I fought against various numbers of Spirit Beasts while my elders watched over me, and with my eyes blindfolded at that. So, if you truly want to cultivate this technique, you have to personally experience it and remember the feeling of impending danger with your own body. With time and repetition, you will naturally seed. We dont have the right conditions here, but if you have the opportunity in the future, you can go and cultivate it then.
Lu Ye nodded slightly.
With Zhou Yuntians previous instructions, Xia Liang would never attack Lu Ye. So, even if Lu Ye wanted to cultivate this technique, Xia Liang wouldnt spar with him.
Remember, the Minds Eye Technique is built upon the foundation of your own perception. The stronger ones perception, the easier it is to cultivate the technique sessfully.
Understood.
The strength of ones perception was dependent on ones Mental Power, and the strength of that was closely rted to ones Divine Soul.
In short, the stronger a cultivators Divine Soul, the easier it was to cultivate this technique, and the Divine Soul happened to be Lu Yes strong point.
After bidding Xia Liang farewell, Lu Ye returned to his room, activated the Ward, and had Yi Yi stand guard nearby. He then took out the seed of the Mystic Fruit from his Storage Sphere.
Indeed, the conditions in Fox Immortal Valley were not suitable for cultivating the Minds Eye Technique because there were no suitable sparring partners. However, the seed of the Mystic Fruit in Lu Yes hand could provide him with the best cultivation environment.
In the past, when he entered the Rift of Illusions, he would desperately y the monsters inside to hone his de technique. However, as his cultivation gradually improved, his entry into the Rift of Illusions also became less frequent.
Firstly, each entry into the Rift of Illusions consumed Contribution Points, and secondly, he didnt need to train much in the rift as he didntck the experience of fighting others in life or death situations to begin with, so there wasnt a strong need for him to enter the Rift of Illusions for training.
But now, if he wanted to cultivate the Minds Eye Technique, the Rift of Illusions was undoubtedly the best choice.
Spending a hundred Contribution Points, he pushed open the door and entered the Rift of Illusions, where he stood still and closed his eyes.
Just as he was ready, the surrounding mist suddenly stirred and a figure rushed out, charging at him.
The strength of this figures attack was only at the level of a Fourth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator, on par with Lu Yes own cultivation. Wrapped in the mist, the figures appearance and gender were indistinguishable.
Normally, Lu Ye could easily defeat such an opponent with a single sh.
However, with his eyes tightly shut, Lu Ye could only rely on his perception and some sounds to judge his opponents movements, which was undoubtedly a great challenge for him.
A gust of wind suddenly brushed his face, and following his instinct, Lu Ye unsheathed his saber and tossed out a sh.
However, the sh hit nothing, and instead, he felt a pain in his abdomen from being struck by the opponent.
Another gust of wind came, and Lu Ye turned around, sweeping his Invible Saber to the side, yet he still failed tond a sessful strike and another gush of pain ran through his body.
After a moment, on the second floor, Lu Ye opened his eyes, feeling a piercing pain in his head, causing his eyelids to twitch.
An opponent of the same cultivation level as himself, someone he could easily defeat with a single sh under normal circumstances, had managed to kill him in the Rift of Illusions in less than a cup of teas time!
How could Lu Ye endure this?
Again!
After another cup of teas time, Lu Ye opened his eyes once more.
Again!
This continued more than ten times, and Lu Yesplexion had grown pale.
Even though his Divine Soul was powerful, meaning that dying a few times in the Rift of Illusions didnt leave much impact on him, to die so many times in a short period of time was still difficult for even him to handle.
At this moment, his head was throbbing in pain as if it were about to explode. He had only experienced this feeling a few times when he first obtained the seed of the Mystic Fruit. After his Divine Soul became powerful, he hadnt experienced it again.
But dying more than ten times did not leave him without any gains. With his eyes shut, he could now endure for a longer time against his enemys attacks, and he even urately blocked the enemys strikes several times.
Xia Liang said that cultivating the Minds Eye Technique required personal experience, using ones body to remember the various feelings emerging in the face of imminent danger. So, every time the enemy attacked him in the Rift of Illusions, Lu Ye used his perception to feel and judge the enemys attack trajectory, and sense the crisis arising within his body.
When Xia Liang cultivated this technique, he fought against different numbers of Spirit Beasts under the watch of his elders, gradually seeding in cultivating the Secret Technique.
Compared to his cultivation method, Lu Ye undoubtedly had more advantages because he was in the Rift of Illusions. Even if he was killed, there wouldnt be much loss. This way, the experiences recorded in his body would be even more indelible.
Moreover, Lu Yes Mental Power was much stronger than cultivators of the same level, which was also an advantage for him.
He had no idea how long it took Xia Liang to cultivate this Secret Technique, but one thing was certain Lu Ye would definitely cultivate it much faster than he did.
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Chapter 583: Confirmed Speculations
Chapter 583: Confirmed Spections
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Inside the Rift of Illusions, Lu Ye kept his eyes tightly closed as the mist-enveloped enemy whose face was indiscernible moved around him. However, regardless of how the enemy attacked, Lu Ye could urately block their strikes with his saber.
And this kind of battle had been going on for a full incense stick worth of time.
If Lu Ye wished, and as long as his Spiritual Power was not drained, he could continue on like this indefinitely.
Having cultivated in the Rift of Illusions for a whole half month, his Minds Eye Technique had finally achieved some sess.
Entering the Rift of Illusions to cultivate for a dozen times a day cost him around one to two thousand Contribution Points. Over the course of this half month, he had spent more than twenty thousand Contribution Points in the Rift of Illusions.
The price paid was not small, but the gains were great, too. If Xia Liang knew that Lu Ye had achieved this level in just half a month, his jaw would probably drop in astonishment.
It had taken him a whole six months to barely reach the threshold back then.
And now, Lu Ye not only had a rudimentary understanding of the Minds Eye Technique, but the range of his defense was also twice asrge as Xia Liangs, extending up to two thirds of a meter.Within this range, he could clearly sense any imminent danger and make a counterattack ordingly.
For him to have achieved such results, the unforgettable memories branded into him by going through death after death were one aspect, and the other was undoubtedly attributed to how powerful Lu Yes Divine Soul was.
Engaged in a fierce battle, Lu Ye, who stood still without moving a muscle, suddenly stepped forward and swung his saber.
This sh erupted with immense power and cleaved the mist-shrouded enemy right into two!
A single enemy was no longer a threat to Lu Ye, so it was time to increase the difficulty of his cultivation.
After waiting quietly for a moment, the mist churned around him, and two figures emerged, one from the left and one from the right.
Even though the number of enemies only increased by one, the difficulty more than doubled.
A short whileter, Lu Ye was killed and ejected from the Rift of Illusions.
A slight twinge of pain passed through his mind and quickly disappeared without a trace.
He was about to enter the Rift of Illusions again to cultivate when Yi Yi, who was standing guard nearby, spoke up, Lu Ye, there are people waiting for you outside.
Frowning, Lu Ye walked to the window and looked down, only to see Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan.
While he was cultivating in the Rift of Illusions, he always left the Ward of the pavilion activated, so Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan just waited below without disturbing him rashly.
He had no idea what the two of them wanted to havee together.
Noticing Lu Yes gaze, Zhou Yuntian looked up and greeted him cheerfully, Cultivator Lu!
Lu Ye responded, Sorry for keeping you both waiting, I was in the middle of cultivating. Pleasee in.
With that, he deactivated the Ward.
After a short while, Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan entered side by side, and both host and guests took their seats. Lu Ye served them tea before asking, What brings you both here?
Zhou Yuntian remained silent, but he took out a Storage Bag and pushed it towards Lu Ye.
Suspiciously, Lu Ye picked up the Storage Bag and examined its contents, only to find many materials inside that were all used for refining Ward gs.
His heart sank. He had a bad feeling about the situation.
Sure enough, Zhou Yuntian said, The mistress has given the order for both of you to refine more Ward gs to prepare in case of necessity.
The need for more Ward gs was clearly to set up new Wards, and with therge number of materials in the Storage Bag, they could potentially create hundreds of the gs, which meant that a considerable number of Wards were surely going to be deployed in time.
Combining this with the information he had previously gathered, Lu Ye knew that the Fox Mutant was likely going to make a move soon.
Though he had his spections, Lu Ye still asked, Cultivator Zhou, why does the mistress suddenly want to refine so many Ward gs?
Zhou Yuntian hesitated for a moment before sighing. Let Cultivator Xie exin it to you. I have other matters to attend to. I will leave it to the two of you. Make sure that the preparations are done within ten days!
Whether he truly had other matters to attend to or simply felt uneasy about disclosing these details to Lu Ye was unclear.
After Zhou Yuntian left, Lu Ye turned to Xie Yunhan.
Thetter let out a bitterugh and said, Brother, even though you havent been in Fox Immortal Valley for long, have you ever wondered why the mistress has been gathering so many people here?
Lu Ye nodded. Naturally, the thought has crossed my mind, but surely the mistress has her reasons for her actions.
Xie Yunhan sighed. To tell you the truth, the main reason why the mistress has taken in so many people is for the sake of revenge!
Revenge?
Thats right. Xie Yunhan nodded. Even though I dont know the exact grudge between the mistress and her target, it most certainly is deeply ingrained and irreconcble. Moreover, this isnt the first time our Fox Immortal Valley has taken action in revenge.
Lu Ye looked surprised. With the talents in the valley, what kind of enemy are they facing that they still havent killed them?
A reminiscing look shed in Xie Yunhans eyes, and his body trembled slightly. He looked into Lu Yes eyes and spoke one word at a time, An elite-level Spirit Beast!
Lu Ye looked in shock, and he eximed, An elite-level Spirit Beast? Could it be the Berserk Giant Ape?
Even though Lu Ye had long guessed it, spection was still just spection, and Xie Yunhans words undoubtedly confirmed his conjecture.
Indeed, the target of the Fox Mutants revenge was the Berserk Giant Ape.
Xie Yunhan wasnt surprised that Lu Ye knew about the Berserk Giant Ape. After all, it was marked on the 10-point map. He nodded gravely. It is precisely that beast!
To seek revenge against an elite-level Spirit Beast, the mistress has
The mistress has her reasons for doing this, and our duty as subordinates is to follow her orders. But dont worry, Cultivator Lu. As Ward Cultivators, we wont have to confront the Berserk Giant Ape directly. We need only assist the others with our Wards, so there is some assurance of safety in that regard.
Lu Ye understood now how Xie Yunhan had survived for twelve years in Fox Immortal Valley.
Even though Fox Immortal Valley could gather many cultivators, the number of Ward Cultivators was always scarce. Every time theyunched an attack against the Berserk Giant Ape, Xie Yunhan only had to activate the pre-set Wards to assist them with the formations without engaging the Berserk Giant Ape directly. Even if the attack failed, Xie Yunhan could still survive.
As for the others they were not so fortunate. Each attempt resulted in the deaths of many cultivators.
Is it very dangerous? Lu Ye asked with a serious tone.
Xie Yunhanughed bitterly. Ive been in Fox Immortal Valley for twelve years, and Ive participated in these missions six times Almost every time, we suffered a loss of over eighty percent of our manpower. Apart from me, Cultivator Zhou has survived the longest, and he arrived six years ago. You havent seen the power of the Berserk Giant Ape, so you dont know how formidable an elite-level Spirit Beast is. Once you meet one, youll understand just how dangerous it is. Our lives are truly worthless in the face of it.
Lu Ye furrowed his brow. If that beast is so powerful, why doesnt the mistress umte enough strength at once before seeking revenge? Instead, she chooses to repeatedly deplete the manpower of the valley!
Naturally, the mistress has also considered that, but this ce is deep within Great Wilds Peak which rarely sees visits by cultivators. Gathering manpower is not as easy as you might think. After Cultivator Zhou brought you and the others here, no new recruits arrived during this period. So, its not that easy to umte enough strength.
In that case Does Brother Xie think that theres a chance of sess this time?
Xie Yunhan replied, This time, the number and strength of the cultivators in the valley are greater than before. Moreover, with Cultivator Lu as an extra Ward Cultivator, I believe there is a great chance of sess. However, we must not be careless. Right now, what we need to do is to refine as many Ward gs as possible, and deploy more Wards in order to weaken the beasts power. Only then will the mistress have a chance at exacting revenge.
It seems like we have a lot of responsibility weighing on us and a long way to go, Lu Ye remarked.
Xie Yunhanughed and said, In that case, Brother should understand why the mistress values you so much, right? To be honest, when dealing with such enemies, the power that Ward Cultivators can exert is what the mistress relies on the most.
I understand. Lu Ye nodded and said firmly, I will not fail the mistresss trust.
Then, lets get to refining the Ward gs.
As they were about to begin their mission, the atmosphere in Fox Immortal Valley became tense. Many cultivators were unaware of the specific details. They just knew that a fierce battle awaited them in a few days. Under the orders of the Fox Mutant, arge amount of cultivation resources were distributed, and everyone cultivated diligently to improve their strength.
Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan spent their days either recovering their Spiritual Power or refining Ward gs.
As therge amount of resources were used up, and as the Ward gs came fresh out of the furnace one by one, all of the materials were exhausted on the sixth day, and they had produced more than five hundred Ward gs.
These many Ward gs were enough to set up over a hundred Wards. If they still couldnt do anything to the Berserk Giant Ape even with the support of so many Wards, then the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley could do nothing but put their heads up on the chopping block, and it was unknown just how many lives would be lost in that event.
While Fox Immortal Valley was busily preparing for revenge, Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia, having received Lu Yes message, departed from the Arcane de with the wolf pack and headed towards Fox Immortal Valley.
Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia alone might not have the ability to prate deep into the Grand Wilds Peak, but it was different with a pack of wolves with them. Even if they encountered powerful Spirit Beasts, the wolf pack could handle them.
The size of the wolf pack had now grown to over three hundred members. Besides the few dozens of young wolf cubs that had not yet matured, the rest were all Wolf Mutants with strengthparable to the Cloud River Realm.
Regardless of whether the Fox Mutants attack against the Berserk Giant Ape seeded or not, the power of Fox Immortal Valley would undoubtedly be greatly diminished after this battle. This was the opportunity that Lu Ye had been waiting for.
If the Fox Mutant died in the battle against the Berserk Giant Ape, then that would be the best case scenario. Everyones Divine Soul Secret Techniques would be lifted.
If she didnt die, then he would have the wolf pack attack Fox Immortal Valley and surround the Fox Mutant!
The n was nothing overlyplicated, but oftentimes, it happened that the simpler the n, the higher the chances of sess.
Now, the only problem that Lu Ye had to consider was Li Baxians safety.
Among them, he and Li Baxian had the lowest cultivation levels in Fox Immortal Valley, but as a Ward Cultivator, he didnt have to fight the Berserk Giant Ape directly. However, Li Baxian was different. No matter how profound the foundation he had umted in the Spirit Creek Realm, the role he could y against a Cloud River Realm overlord would still be extremely limited.
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Chapter 584: Preparation
Chapter 584: Preparation
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At Li Baxians residence, Lu Ye and Li Baxian were drinking by the candlelight. As Lu Ye exined everything to him, Li Baxian gradually understood the various ns for the uing events in Fox Immortal Valley.
So theyre nning to ambush that elite-level Spirit Beast, Li Baxian eximed in realization. No wonder Ive been feeling a strange atmosphere in the valleytely. Even Cultivator Yu seemed troubled.
The Cultivator Yu that he mentioned was Yu Daiwei, who had been frequently visiting him to spar in swordsmanship.
It was evident that Yu Daiwei had developed some feelings for Li Baxian, but his Fourth Senior Brother seemed oblivious and treated her merely as a like-minded cultivationpanion.
Little Junior Brother, remember not to discuss such confidential matters with others until the mistress announces it officially, Li Baxian reminded Lu Ye.
I understand. I will only mention it to you, Senior Brother. When the actual mission begins, please be careful, Lu Ye assured him.
Li Baxian nodded. I will take care By the way, does Junior Brother know when the mission will begin?
It should be in the next few days, Lu Ye said solemnly, I have received word that we will head out to set up the Wards tomorrow. When the Wards are ready may be when the mission maymence.In that case, Junior Brother must also be careful. An elite-level Spirit Beast monster Well, I never thought the day woulde where I might fight one. Li Baxian seemed untroubled. Instead, he even seemed to be looking forward to it.
The next morning, Lu Ye walked out of his residence and headed straight for the entrance of Fox Immortal Valley.
In the distance, he saw a group of more than ten figures waiting, with Zhou Yuntian leading at the forefront.
Lu Ye approached them and greeted everyone. Zhou Yuntian nodded in response. Lets depart.
With that, Zhou Yuntian took the lead, and the others followed closely behind.
Apart from Zhou Yuntian, Xie Yunhan was also among the group of over a dozen cultivators. The remaining individuals were all formidable, each one in the Seventh Order, and their main responsibility was to protect both Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan.
After all, just based on their cultivation levels alone, Lu Ye in the Fourth Order and Xie Yunhan in the Seventh Order were not particrly strong. If they were to encounter a powerful Spirit Beast on the way, they might not be able to fight back. Whether they could set up powerful enough Wards was crucial for this operation. While they set up the wards, Zhou Yuntian and the others had to stay nearby.
As they walked on, they encountered the asional Spirit Beast along the way. No matter how careful they were, it was inevitable that they would get into a few fights.
However, with more than ten people, several of whom were above the Ninth Order, their journey was a rtively safe one despite the eventfulness.
After traveling for a day, Zhou Yuntian finally stopped and took out a 10-point map to confirm their location. This is it. Cultivator Lu, Cultivator Xie, please quickly set up various Grand Wards centered here as soon as possible. As for the specific arrangements and types of Wards, you can discuss it among yourselves. The rest of you will split into pairs and spread out to keep watch in all directions. If we find anything unusual, we must inform each other in a timely manner!
Yes! The group acknowledged the order, and dispersed.
Only Lu Ye, Xie Yunhan, and Zhou Yuntian remained in this ce.
Xie Yunhan looked at Lu Ye.
In terms of proficiency in the Way of Wards, he was inferior to Lu Ye, so Lu Ye took the lead in the setup while he assisted.
Lu Ye did not immediately start working on the Wards but instead turned to Zhou Yuntian. Cultivator Zhou, I have a question.
What is it?
Lu Ye asked, How far is the Berserk Giant Ape from here?
Its location is not fixed, but generally, it only moves within its territory, which is about 25 kilometers away from here.
In other words, the mistress intends to lure the Berserk Giant Ape out of its territory and ambush it here?
Thats right.
The Berserk Giant Ape is an elite-level Spirit Beast, so its Spiritual Intelligence should not be too low. How can we ensure that it will be lured here? The cultivators in the valley have already fought it more than once. Wouldnt it realize whats happening?
If Cultivator Lu is worried about that, then please rest assured. Indeed, that beast has high Spiritual Intelligence and understands the nature of Humans, but it is still an elite-level Spirit Beast. It reigns supreme in the Cloud River Battlefield, so even if it senses something, it wouldnt pay it too much attention. We have done it the same way in the previous two attempts, and though we met with some difficulties along the way, we were able to lure it into the designated area each time.
Lu Ye nodded, Then theres no problem.
He spected that if that was the case, the intelligence of the Berserk Giant Ape really may not be that high.
He suddenly remembered the elite-level Spirit Beast he encountered on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Even though it had already taken on a Human form, it was still easily deceived, which seemed to be an inevitable w of the Spirit Beasts.
After having his doubts cleared, Lu Ye rose into the air and surveyed the terrain below. After a while, he had a specific n formed in his mind.
Among the many Glyphs he had mastery in, many were suitable forying as Wards.
However, for use against an elite-level Spirit Beast, some of the auxiliary Wards with little effect could be skipped.
In order to sessfully kill their opponent, they should still focus on the Killing Wards.
The most powerful Ward he couldy at the moment was the Explosive Ward. A single Explosive Ward may not pose much threat to an elite-level Spirit Beast, but if a sufficient number of them wereid, they could still be quite significant.
There were also Glyphs like Invoke Lightning, Fire, and Earth Protrusion. They could be used individually as spells, but if used as the core of a Ward, they would form a Lightning Invocation Ward, Fire Ward, and Earth Protrusion Ward, which could be quite effective whenbined with Explosive Wards.
At once, Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan began setting up the Wards together.
One by one, the Ward gs were consumed and Wards were formed. In order to raise their power, Lu Ye ced Spirit Stones in many of the Wards, allowing them to run in advance and umte energy.
Considering that the cultivators in the valley had to fight the Berserk Giant Ape, most of the Wards set up this time required manual control. There were only a few trigger-type Wards.
For three days, Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan hardly rested as they set up over a hundred Wards within a radius of five kilometers, filling the area with hidden traps.
While setting up these Wards, Lu Ye poured all his knowledge into it without any reservation.
Although it would be beneficial for him if Fox Immortal Valleys strength were to be weakened, and he had even nned to have the wolf pack attack the Fox Mutant after this battle, the premise was that they first had to win the battle against the Berserk Giant Ape.
If they lost this battle, his and Li Baxians safety would not be guaranteed either, so regardless, Lu Ye didnt dare to mess with the Wards while setting them up.
He had no idea how strong a Cloud River Realm elite-level Spirit Beast was, but judging from the current situation in Fox Immortal Valley, the power of the Berserk Giant Ape would undoubtedly exceed his expectations.
On the second day, after all the Wards were properly set up, the Fox Mutant led the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley here.
All the cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley were mobilized without a single person left behind, which meant that over eighty cultivators were gathered together. Zhou Yuntian stepped forward to report the situation on this side.
After hearing the report, the Fox Mutant looked approvingly at Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan. You two have worked hard. If we seed this time, you shall be the main contributors!
Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan both looked delighted and excited, expressing that it was only their duty to serve their mistress as her subordinates. Their humble demeanor undoubtedly pleased the Fox Mutant very much.
Mistress, Lu Ye spoke again, Before we begin, I would like to familiarize everyone with the Wards in the area. This way, everyone will know where to seek refuge and block the enemy during the battle, which may reduce some casualties.
The Fox Mutant nodded. That is very thoughtful of you. In that case, lets proceed as you suggested!
Yes. Please follow me, fellow cultivators. While saying so, Lu Ye took off into the air, therge group of cultivators following behind him.
ced here is a trapping Ward. If any of you are having trouble shaking off the enemy, you cane here for help. Lu Ye pointed to a certain spot below, which everyone silently took note of.
This entire area is filled with Explosive Wards, controlled by Xie Yunhan and myself. Do not linger here while passing through, especially if you are being pursued by the enemy. Xie Yunhan and I will activate the Wards at the right time to help you kill the enemy.
This is a Lightning Invocation Ward
Over here is an Illusion Ward
As Lu Ye continued his exnations, the arrangement of the Wards in the entire area could be envisioned in the minds of the cultivators. Their memories were powerful, andbined with what they saw before them, they quickly formed a mental map of the Wardyout.
Zhou Yuntians eyes lit up as he listened on the side. He had participated in two previous attacks against the Berserk Giant Ape, but the Wards set up by Xie Yunhan were not as intricate, and the support it provided to Fox Immortal Valley was not that significant either.
But though he dared not call Lu Yes Wards the most profound, their intricacies undoubtedly increased his confidence in this mission.
Moreover, that Lu Ye tried to familiarize them with the Ward arrangements before the mission showed that he was concerned for their safety. It was possible that their lives would really depend on it when the time came.
After two hours, everyone returned. Zhou Yuntian stepped forward and cupped his fist. Mistress, we are ready.
A chilling killing intent shed in the Fox Mutants enchanting eyes. Let us begin. This time, no matter the cost, we must kill it!
We will not disappoint you, Mistress! The cultivators answered, their fighting spirit rising.
Lu Ye sighed inwardly. Regardless of whether they seeded or not, these cultivators would surely suffer heavy casualties. As their minds were manipted by the Fox Mutant, hermands were their unquestionable mission. Even if she ordered them to die at this moment, they would not frown.
Over a dozen figures emerged from the crowd led by Zhou Yuntian, and they took off into the air, heading straight towards a particr direction. It was evident that they were going to lure the beast out of itsir.
This area was the outskirts of an elite-level Spirit Beasts territory, so there were no traces of other Spirit Beasts being active here, and so there was no worry about being attacked by them as they flew through this area.
Time kept on passing by.
Until a certain moment, when Yu Daiwei, who had been standing by the Fox Mutants side, ryed the information she obtained from checking the marks on the battlefield. She said, Mistress, Cultivator Zhou and the others have lured it out!
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Chapter 585: Berserk Giant Ape
Chapter 585: Berserk Giant Ape
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Very good! the Fox Mutants expression changed and she eximed, Prepare to attack!
At hermand, the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley immediately circted their Spiritual Power and waited in a strict formation.
*Hou!* A furious roar suddenly broke out from deep within the mountains, startling countless birds into flight. The roar originated from at least ten to fifteen kilometers away, yet it still exerted an immense sense of oppression on everyone as it reached them.
This was the might of an elite-level Spirit Beast!
After another while, several figures appeared before their eyes. It was Zhou Yuntian and the others who had left earlier.
Even though there were more than ten of them when they left, only seven of them returned. The rest of the group had vanished, but it was easy to guess their fates.
A tall figure rose and fell behind them, chasing them closely like maggots on bones. The figure couldnt fly and only leapt continuously across the ground, but its speed surpassed even that of Zhou Yuntian and the groups telekic flight, causing tremors with eachnding.
The group who were being chased had panic-stricken expressions on their faces. Each of them had exerted all their strength, pushing their speed to the limit, but they still couldnt shake off their pursuer.Lu Ye focused his gaze over and discovered that the ck figure was a giant ape covered in red fur. It was the elite-level Spirit Beast that was marked on the 10-point map, the Berserk Giant Ape!
Whatever Zhou Yuntian and the others did to it, the Berserk Giant Apes eyes were filled with ferocity and the killing intent that emanated from it was palpably chilling, freezing the hearts of the escaping cultivators as if they had fallen into a cavern of eternal ice.
The Berserk Giant Ape leapt high into the air again, and arge hand suddenly reached out, grabbing one of the cultivators at the back of the group.
Though Lu Ye wasnt familiar with this particr cultivator, he had seen him a few times among the people of Fox Immortal Valley and knew that his cultivation realm was in the Eighth Order.
However, at this moment, this cultivator in the Eighth Order Cloud River Realm, who could be considered a strong presence in the entire Cloud River Battlefield, was just like a little chick in the hands of the Berserk Giant Ape.
Help! The cultivator looked panicked as he waved his arms, calling for help.
Those words had barely left his mouth when the Berserk Giant Ape tightened its grip, and with a squish, he exploded into a rain of blood, with no trace of his remains left behind.
This scene shocked the onlooking cultivators, causing their eyelids to twitch nervously and filling their hearts with horror.
Before todays mission, the Fox Mutant had already informed them of their task and target. Even though they were mentally prepared to sacrifice their lives for the Fox Mutant, witnessing this scene still sent chills down their spines and an uncontroble fear permeated their bodies.
Many cultivators instinctively backed away as doubts grew in their hearts.
Was this terrifying existence really something they could kill?
A cultivator at the Cloud a River Realm was instantly crushed by a single hand. This visual impact caused their previous ambitions to melt away like snowkes under the scorching sun.
Facing such a formidable opponent, no one cultivator felt safe!
What are you afraid of? Today, either it dies or you all perish! No one is allowed to retreat! bone-chilling words were uttered from the red lips of the Fox Mutant.
As soon as she spoke, the cultivators no longer backed away, and the looks of fear on their faces gradually disappeared, reced by resolute expressions.
The Divine Soul Secret Technique nted by the Fox Mutant had taken effect. For the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley, the Fox Mutants words weremands that they could not resist.
Someone roared, For the mistress, we must y this beast today!
The warriors were invigorated, y the beast!
In an instant, their fighting spirit soared.
Moving 10 kilometers in the blink of an eye, Zhou Yuntian and the others managed to escape in a sorry state, but they managed to stay alive. Behind them was the Berserk Giant Ape that was chasing after them.
Attack! With the Fox Mutantsmand, the scattered cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley attacked at once. For a while, there was a chaotic mess of Spiritual Power. A torrent of telekic techniques and spell techniques surged towards the Berserk Giant Ape, turning the area around it into a deadly vortex.
As the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley attacked, the Berserk Giant Ape leapt into the air. However, the eruption of telekic techniques and spell techniques caused the massive beast to fall straight down and crash heavily to the ground.
The earth cracked and dust filled the air.
*Hou!* The Berserk Giant Ape struggled to its feet and let out a furious roar, causing shockwaves that were visible to the naked eye to sweep forward, uprooting nearby trees like a tornado.
Yet it was met with even more telekic techniques and spell techniques that blossomed into colorful lights, lighting up the area.
*Du du du* The attacks sounded as they sted against the Berserk Giant Apes body. The gigantic figure that stood over ten meters tall staggered backward under the relentless assault, swaying unsteadily.
Despite some casualties, there were still about eighty cultivators from Fox Immortal Valley, so the convergence of such force was terrifying.
For a moment, the might of the Berserk Giant Ape was suppressed.
Seeing this scene, the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley rejoiced as many of them realized that this elite-level Spirit Beast wasnt as formidable as they had imagined, so their attacks grew fiercer.
Among all the cultivators, only Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan did not participate in the siege against the Berserk Giant Ape.
The two were responsible for overseeing the Wards in the area and were flying in mid-air with their Spirit Artifacts.
Watching the massive figure stagger under the barrage of telekic techniques and spell techniques, Lu Ye nced at the Fox Mutant who stood in the midst of the crowd.
The Fox Mutants face showed no signs of joy. Instead, she had a grave expression.
This caused Lu Yes heart to sink.
The situation wasnt as optimistic as he had thought. Among all of Fox Immortal Valley, no one knew the strength of the Berserk Giant Ape better than the Fox Mutant. Her expression undoubtedly conveyed some hints.
However, in such a situation, Lu Ye simply couldnt think of any means by which the Berserk Giant Ape could turn the tables. Over eighty cultivators were focusing their attacks on it, so even an elite-level Spirit Beast should struggle to make aeback.
Just as he was thinking so, another thunderous roar erupted from the Berserk Giant Ape. It seemed that the attacks had enraged the elite-level Spirit Beast, and this roar was even more powerful than the one before. Even Lu Yes figure swayed in the air from its sweeping shockwave.
As he looked, Lu Yes eyes twitched.
He saw that within the center of the chaotic area where the colorful lights and mess of Spiritual Power were, a dazzling red radiance suddenly expanded like a bursting sun. Terrifying Spirit Essence engulfed the surroundings, and cries of astonishment rang out among the cultivators as their connections with their telekic techniques were severed in that instant.
*Ding ding dang dang* A series of sounds resounded as various telekic techniques fell around the Berserk Giant Ape, their radiance clearly indicating that they had lost their spirituality.
This was due to the impact of the elite-level Spirit Beasts Spirit Essence.
In the next moment, the previously suppressed Berserk Giant Ape suddenly leapt high, breaking through the encirclement, and itsrge figure that emanated an indescribable sense of oppression descended upon the most densely packed area of people.
In that instant, Lu Yes pupils contracted in shock.
Without the interference of the telekic techniques and spell techniques, Lu Ye could finally see the current state of the Berserk Giant Ape, and was astonished to find that despite enduring the relentless bombardment from the cultivators for more than a dozen breaths, the Berserk Giant Ape had not suffered any injuries. Even its red fur remained undamaged, wrapped in a dense and solidyer of Spirit Essence that formed an imprable defense!
Lu Ye finally understood why the Fox Mutants expression had be grave.
The strength of this elite-level Spirit Beast had actually exceeded his expectations.
During the previous situation, even a cultivator who had just advanced into the Real Lake Realm would not have been able to emerge unscathed, yet the Berserk Giant Ape showed no signs of injury.
Lu Ye did not know the exact extent of its power, but its defensive capabilities were undoubtedly much more formidable than those of some low order Real Lake Realm cultivators.
It was impossible to harm it without breaking through its barrier of Spirit Essence.
If they couldnt even damage it, how could they hope to kill it?
Lu Ye inwardly rejoiced that he hadnt tampered with the Wards but instead exerted all his efforts on them, showcasing everything he had learned. Otherwise, things would truly have been dangerous.
Amidst cries of rm, the Berserk Giant Ape crashed down.
The earth trembled, and cracks spread out like a spiders web with itsnding point as the center.
Some quick-witted cultivators had already fled, but a few were caught off guard and only realized that they had to escape when the Berserk Giant Apended in front of them.
However, it was toote!
With a swipe of its hand, the Berserk Giant Ape grabbed the nearest cultivator, smashing them mercilessly into the ground amidst their terrified and desperate screams.
The despairing cries ceased abruptly, and a bloody mess was left on the ground.
The Berserk Giant Ape took a few steps forward, catching up to another cultivator. Its massive hand covered the sky as it mmed down, reducing the cultivator to a pulp before they could even make a sound.
It then turned around, emitting short growling sounds from its mouth. With an agility that no one couldprehend, it swiftly grabbed a third cultivator and opened its gaping red maw, biting down on them.
Blood spattered as the cultivators upper body disappeared in an instant!
The giant ape did not pursue the fleeing cultivators but instead spat out the half of the corpse it held in its mouth that was now covered in blood. It stood tall with its head held high, raising its hands to beat its chest.
*Peng peng peng* A dull thumping sounded like a war hammer striking a battle drum, shaking the eardrums of those around.
Apanying the beating, it let out a furious roar, showcasing the might of this elite-level Spirit Beast.
In the air, the Ward g in Lu Yes hand flickered.
The Berserk Giant Ape had vaguely sensed something, but before it could react, violent Spiritual Power surged around it, followed by a dazzling ze that soared into the sky, turning a vast area into a hellscape.
A thunderous noise echoed, spreading in all directions as the ze enveloped the form of the Berserk Giant Ape.
Explosive Ward!
However, in the next moment, the stalwart figure of the Berserk Giant Ape charged out from within the ze, its entire body engulfed in swirling Spirit Essence, still without a scratch.
This was an Explosive Ward that Lu Ye had set up and activated in advance using a Spirit Stone to start umting energy. Its power was at least one and a half times as strong as a normal Explosive Ward, yet it still couldnt shake the protective Spirit Essence of an elite-level Spirit Beast.
Kill it! the Fox Mutant roared.
The panicked cultivators snapped out of their daze and attacked the Berserk Giant Ape once again.
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Chapter 586: Encirclement
Chapter 586: Encirclement
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*Hong hong hong*
The deafening explosions continued, apanied by a rampage of Spiritual Power. Ward after Ward exploded, disorienting the Berserk Giant Ape.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the cultivatorsunched another assault, attacking the giant ape from all directions with various telekic techniques and spell techniques.
In the air, Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan waved their Ward gs every so often, unleashing the power of the Wards. However, there was no trace of joy on their faces.
That was because until this moment, the protective Spirit Essence of the Berserk Giant Ape showed no signs of being shaken. Without breaking that barrier, there was no hope of them harming it in the slightest.
*Kacha* A thunderous sound echoed as a lightning bolt struck directly on the Berserk Giant Apes skull. Lu Ye had activated a Lightning Invocation Array he had set up earlier.
The lightning serpent wriggled on the surface of the giant apes body before dissipating, not affecting it in the slightest.
The cultivators attacks and the eruption of the Wards undoubtedly enraged the giant ape even further. It roared in anger, rampaging within arge area, leaving a trail of carnage and destruction in its wake.Screams of agony resounded as more than ten people fell victim to the giant ape within only a cup of teas time since the battle began. None of the cultivators targeted by the Berserk Giant Ape survived, all meeting gruesome ends without a full corpse.
The smell of blood filled the air with traces of flesh and blood staining the ground.
Under normal circumstances, the most sensible response for the cultivators would undoubtedly be to scatter and flee as far as possible.
However, the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley were all under the influence of the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique, so even in the face of such enormous losses, not a single person fled under hermand. Everyone desperately circted their Spiritual Power and sted attacks on the Berserk Giant Ape.
This was a battle where there was no room for retreat, a battle that required risking everything to survive.
The Berserk Giant Apes figure rose and fell continuously in the battlefield. Its attacks were incredibly simple yet brutal, consisting of nothing more than wing, pping, and squeezing. Yet, these seemingly crude attacks were still too much for the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley to handle.
The Trap Wards and Illusion Wards that Lu Ye set down had yed a significant role. Some of the cultivators who were being targeted by the giant ape remembered his instructions and quickly rushed toward the location of the Wards, and as they activated, the Berserk Giant Ape was trapped in them, allowing the cultivators to barely escape unharmed.
But even with Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan overseeing the Wards, they could only trap the Berserk Giant Ape for a few breaths of time at most. This elite-level Spirit Beast truly made Lu Ye understand what it meant that one sufficiently strong could take on ten skilled practitioners.
Whether it be the Trap Wards or the Illusion Wards, they were easily broken before it.
As time passed, the casualties continued to stack up.
The Fox Mutant, who was observing the situation from the edge of the battlefield, had an icy expression on her face. She didnt care about the deaths of the cultivators. The reflection in her deep, abyss-like eyes was the burly figure of the Berserk Giant Ape, while deep within her eyesy profound resentment and hatred.
Back then, she was just an ordinary Fox Mutant who followed her master into the Great Wilds Peak for training. However, she mistakenly entered the territory of the Berserk Giant Ape and helplessly watched as her master was crushed into a pulp by that towering figure.
Since that day, only hatred remained in her heart.
Whether it be Heavens favor or due to the seeds of hatred sprouting in her heart, she suddenly awakened her bloodline, granting her abilities beyond what those in the Cloud River Realm should possess, which gave her a slight chance of sess in her revenge.
Over the years, she had been gathering cultivators who ventured deep into the Grand Wilds Peak through the use of her special ability, strengthening her forces and seeking revenge against the Berserk Giant Ape, but time and time again, she returned disappointed.
This time, she had gathered her strongest force yet, and she also had the assistance of a masterful Ward Cultivator, so this was also her most hopeful attempt.
If she failed this opportunity, there would likely be no second chance.
Xie Yunhan told Lu Ye that the Fox Mutant wished to gather enough power to seek revenge against the Berserk Giant Ape again. However, it was not easy to recruit new members, so the strength of Fox Immortal Valley had not been able to grow.
But that wasnt entirely the case.
Though the Fox Mutant had the ability to control peoples minds, it had its limits. With over eighty cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, she had reached her limit and could not enve more cultivators.
So it wasnt that she didnt want to gather more power, she just couldnt.
Furthermore, for every cultivator she enved, an invisible sense of crisis increased in her heart. Over the years, that sense of crisis had be almost tangible.
She knew it was the attention of the Heavens because she possessed power that shouldnt belong in the Cloud River Realm and used it to enve Human cultivators.
To the usually fair and just Heavens, this was uneptable.
Once that sense of crisis umted to a certain degree, she would undoubtedly face punishment from the Heavens.
This was herst chance. If she failed this time, she would have no more opportunities.
So failure was not an option!
It did give her some piece of mind that the newly arrived Ward Cultivator was indeed proficient in Wards. The Wards he activated continuously weakened the Berserk Giant Apes power, and many cultivators in the valley were also saved by the Wards he set up. Without Lu Yes Wards, Fox Immortal Valley would have already been defeated.
*Hong hong hong*
Explosions continued to sound, and Lu Yes expression grew solemn.
He and Xie Yunhan had spent three days setting up hundreds of Wards in this area, but the battle had onlysted for a short time yet half of the Wards had already been consumed. The Berserk Giant Ape seemed to remain unharmed still, protected by its solid barrier of Spirit Essence. On the other hand, Fox Immortal Valley had lost more than twenty fighters, and those who remained continued to attack but with little effect.
This battle Could they really win it?
Lu Ye couldnt help but have some doubts in his mind. At the very least, he hadnt seen a glimmer of hope for victory yet.
He took a brief nce at the Fox Mutant.
There was only one person beside the Fox Mutant, and it was Li Baxian!
Lu Ye didnt understand why Fox Mutant would keep Li Baxian by her side. Perhaps it was because Zhou Yuntian had highly praised Li Baxian when introducing him, causing the Fox Mutant to value him more.
If this mission failed, Li Baxian would undoubtedly be the most promising pawn under the Fox Mutant, and it was probably for this reason that the Fox Mutant allowed Li Baxian to stay by her side without needing to participate in the battle.
But this was something that Lu Ye was happy to see.
His Fourth Senior Brother was only in the Fifth Order, and though his foundation was strong, his strength was notparable to a cultivator in the Seventh Order. Let alone that, even a cultivator in the Eighth Order could easily lose their lives at any moment in this battlefield.
Among the fifteen cultivators in the Ninth Order in the valley, three had already died, including a Body-Tempering Cultivator who was known for his powerful physique!
Lu Ye personally witnessed that cultivator pop like a bubble under the Berserk Giant Apes palm.
In the face of absolute strength disparity, there was no difference between Body-Tempering Cultivators and Combat Cultivators. They were all done im with a single palm strike.
The number of Wards continued to decrease, and casualties among cultivators from the valley continued to rise, but under the Fox Mutantsmand, none of them slowed down their assault on the Berserk Giant Ape. The continuous attacks had not stopped since the battle began, constantly sting against the giant apes body.
Another cultivator screamed in agony as they were crushed by the giant ape, while not one of those who remained alive were not in a disheveled state. An hour had passed since the start of the battle, and out of more than eighty people, only fifty were left. Less than ten of Lu Yes Wards remained.
Just as Lu Ye was feeling heavy-hearted, the Berserk Giant Ape suddenly roared and leapt high into the air, pouncing toward the edges of the battlefield.
This sight caused Lu Yes eyes to brighten!
Previously in the battle, the Berserk Giant Ape had also been jumping around, but it alwaysnded in the most densely popted areas. However, this time was different. From the looks of it it seemed to be trying to leave the battlefield?
It was at the height of its power, yet it was exhibiting such strange behavior. Lu Ye couldnt help but make some associations in this situation.
This guy was also nearing its limit!
Without mentioning the rest, at least eighty percent of the almost a hundred Wards in the field were Killing Wards. One or two Wards posed no significant threat to it, but over time, even if it hadnt been injured, it would undoubtedly suffer as its strength was being depleted.
Not to mention that the cultivators in the valley had been continuously bombarding it with attacks from the beginning until now.
So, even though this elite-level Spirit Beast still appeared imposing, it was likely reaching the end of its strength.
If Lu Ye could guess this, there was no reason why the Fox Mutant, who had been constantly paying attention to it, shouldnt. Seeing that the giant ape was trying to leave the battlefield, she immediately shouted, Stop it! Dont let it escape!
Over the years, every time they fought the giant ape, they were defeated and left in a sorry state. There had never been a situation where the giant ape actively tried to leave the battlefield.
This was the first time!
And it was the closest they hade to sess!
So no matter what, they couldnt let it escape or all their previous efforts would have been in vain.
Under the Fox Mutantsmand, several cultivators fearlessly flew up into the air, attacking the giant ape, each using their own attacks to try and bring it down.
However, with a wave of its hand, the nearest cultivator exploded into a mist of blood, and the attacks from the others thatnded on the giant ape were just like ants trying to shake a tree,pletely ineffective.
The Fox Mutant watched with bated breath.
Just then, as the giant ape reached its highest point, Lu Ye suddenly waved his Ward g.
On the ground, intricate patterns lit up with a dazzling light, and immediately after that, an invisible pressure descended from the sky.
The cultivators who were flying in the air in preparation to intercept the giant ape suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing down on their heads, and they all screamed as they fell from the sky.
The giant ape was the same, and its descent was even faster than the cultivators. As it fell, a hint of confusion appeared on its face, showing that it had no idea what was happening.
Aerial Lock!
Back in the Arcane de, Lu Ye had used an Aerial Lock Ward, which Xia Liang and the others suffered a loss from. Now, it was only natural that he would not leave it out when dealing with an elite-level Spirit Beast.
He wasnt sure if this elite-level Spirit Beast could fly previously, so he had set up this Ward just in case, but he didnt expect it toe into y at this moment.
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Chapter 587: Impasse
Chapter 587: Impasse
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*Hong* The giant apended in a pitiful manner, its massive body stirring up the dust around it.
A surprising sight emerged. As itnded, an intense tremor ran through the solid Spirit Essence that enveloped its body!
Before this moment, neither Wards nor the attacks from the cultivators could shake its protective barrier in the slightest. However, with just a simple fall from the air now, that such a strong tremor would appear was clearly abnormal.
It was reaching its limit!
This thought popped into the minds of all the cultivators who witnessed this scene.
Kill it! a furious roar sounded, and even more intense and concentrated attacks covered the area where the giant apended.
The already turbulent Spirit Essence shook even more violently.
The giant ape struggled to climb up and roared in a frenzy. Sound waves spread out, causing severe pain and bleeding to the ears of nearby cultivators. But they didnt retreat, instead circting their own Spiritual Power madly and attacking the giant ape.The giant ape leapt from the ground once again, but under the envelopment of the Aerial Lock Ward, the higher it went, the greater the pressure it had to endure. For an elite-level Spirit Beast like itself, jumping a hundred meters at a time should usually be an effortless ordeal. However, this time, it barely managed to jump less than three meters before quickly descending under the pressure of the Aerial Lock Ward.
It clearly sensed that something was wrong and no longer wasted its efforts. Instead, it charged fiercely in a particr direction, clearly intending to force its way out of their encirclement.
Dont let it escape! the Fox Mutant shouted.
At once, more than ten cultivators rushed out to block the giant apes path of escape. The forefront of the group consisted of several stalwart Body-Tempering Cultivators wielding Spirit Artifacts andrge shields.
Spells and telekic techniques bombarded the area, but they still couldnt stop the giant ape from trying to break through. When it came close, the body cultivators roared, raising their shields in front of them, and their blood surged as they forcefully resisted its charge.
With a sweep of its hand, the giant ape struck the cultivator at the very front, causing them to groan as they were swept into the air, constantly spitting out blood as he turned in the air. By the time hended, he had already fallen unconscious.
Following that was a second Body-Tempering Cultivator, then a third
The giant ape was like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, and no cultivator could resist it.
Just as the giant ape was about to break free, a violent burst of fire erupted, apanied by deafening explosions. mes surged, enveloping the beast.
The remaining few Explosive Wards emitted their final brilliant shine of light.
In the next moment, the towering figure of the giant ape tore through the mes and charged out. However, before it could move more than a few steps, another Grand Ward was activated, and a dome of light enveloped it in an instant. The giant ape rammed into the dome, causing ripples to spread on its surface, but it did not break through. Instead, it was pushed back a few steps by the impact of the Grand Ward.
Trap Ward!
This was originally intended to help the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley flee, but it unexpectedly yed an unforeseen role at this moment.
Roaring in anger, the giant ape clenched its enormous palm into a fist and pounded at the Trap Wards barrier. With just a few simple punches, the barrier shattered with a loud crash.
However, during this dy of a few breaths, the surviving cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley had finished surrounding it.
As the barrier shattered, attacks from all directions engulfed the giant ape, submerging it in colorful rays of light.
Painful roars resounded from the center of the chaotic Spiritual Power, apanied by the faint sound of something shattering.
After a full five breaths of time, the giant ape finally broke free from the onught.
But its current appearance shocked all the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley.
The once invincible solid protective Spirit Essence that enveloped it hadpletely vanished, and its red fur was heavily damaged. Not only that, it had numerous wounds all over its body that were dripping with fresh blood!
Good! The Fox Mutant, who had been observing the scene, showed a delighted expression. [Master, do you see this? After so many years of waiting and perseverance, the day when Xianer can avenge you has finallye.]
After the Spirit Essence protecting the giant ape was shattered, the elite-level Spirit Beast that used to be so arrogant was now in a pitiable state. Seeing that victory was within reach, the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley unleashed even fiercer attacks.
The giant ape roared furiously, raising its arm to block its front, but it couldnt withstand the onught of spells and telekic techniques, and its injuries only increased.
If it were an ordinary Spirit Beast, then it would have long been reduced to dust under such an intense assault without the protection of its Spirit Essence. However, an elite-level Spirit Beast was truly astonishing in terms of its physique. Despite its numerous injuries, they were barely breaking through its skin.
It had lost its former imposing demeanor, and it could sense the precarious situation it was in. The once invincible beast on the Cloud River Battlefield had now smelled the scent of death.
This made it panic.
Instinctively, it attempted to break through in one direction, but every time it tried, it was forcefully driven back by the cultivators relentless attacks. No matter which direction it chose, the oue was the same.
Though the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley had suffered heavy casualties, there were still around fifty cultivators remaining. Facing an elite-level Spirit Beast whose Mutant powers were depleted, they naturally had the upper hand!
If nothing unexpected happened, it wouldnt take long before the Berserk Giant Ape would be in by the cultivators!
Killing an elite-level Spirit Beast was something unimaginable before, but at this moment, victory was within their grasp. In this situation, even without the Fox Mutantsmand, the cultivators in the valley spared no effort to attack it.
However, at this moment, the Berserk Giant Ape suddenly let out a furious roar. When it opened its mouth, a brilliant earth-coloured light burst forth.
The light transformed into a straight line, shooting forward and obliterating all the spell techniques and telekic techniques in its path, crumbling everything it touched.
The first cultivator in its path froze in ce, only looking down in realization at his chest after the earth-coloured light disappeared from his sight.
What he saw caused his pupils to contract.
A fist-sized hole had been pierced through his chest. His vision blurred, then he copsed to the ground.
As if triggering a chain reaction, after the first cultivator fell, seven or eight cultivators behind him who were all standing in the same direction, fell to the ground as well. Each of them had a fist-sized hole in their bodies, their vitality fading away.
Most people had no idea what had just happened.
Lu Ye, who closely monitored the battlefield from the air, saw it clearly. The earth-coloured light was unmistakably the color of its Mutant Core. The raging giant ape had directly sacrificed its Mutant Core to attack.
He had heard of Spirit Beasts attacking with their Mutant Cores as ast resort in dire situations, but not every one of them possessed such an ability. After all, the Mutant Core was the crystallization of a Spirit Beasts strength, and once separated from the body, it would cause severe damage to their vitality and even lead to immediate death. So, even if some Spirit Beasts had this ability, they wouldnt dare to use it unless it was absolutely necessary.
For the Berserk Giant Ape to unleash its Mutant Core at this moment indicated that it had been pushed to its limit, resorting to making desperate moves.
The result was the demise of the seven or eight cultivators in the direction of its Mutant Core attack!
This scene sent shivers down his spine.
Fighting against an elite-level Spirit Beast was absolutely unforgiving. Although it was already on itsst legs, it could still retaliate with such terrifying means.
He was grateful that his position in Fox Immortal Valley was that of a Ward Cultivator and that his participation in this deadly battle was not required. Otherwise, he could very well have been among the deceased cultivators.
This was not something that could be avoided just by being cautious. The cultivators who managed to survive were not necessarily stronger, but rather luckier.
Originally, the encirclement was airtight, and no matter which direction the Berserk Giant Ape tried to break free, it would be driven back by the cultivators. However, with the Mutant Core attack, a gap had appeared in the encirclement.
Almost in the moment when the earth-coloured light vanished, the Berserk Giant Ape charged through the front and halfway through, retracted its Mutant Core and fled into the distance.
The surviving cultivators were obviously shocked by the previous attack and were unable to react for a moment.
What are you standing there for? the Fox Mutant yelled, her once beautiful face now twisted and hideous, and venomous words spewed forth from her mouth. If it escapes today, all of you will die here!
As soon as she spoke, the faces of the cultivators changed drastically.
Zhou Yuntian, who was covered in blood, raised his arm and shouted, Chase after it!
Immediately, he soared into the air and rushed towards the direction where the giant ape was fleeing, followed closely by the surviving cultivators.
The giant ape had already depleted its Mutant power after being attacked, and it was forced to use its Mutant Core once again. At this moment, it could be said that it was severely injured, so even though it escaped the range of the Aerial Lock Grand Ward, its speed was not fast. In just a moment, the cultivators caught up to the giant ape.
A new battle erupted, but this time, the cultivators had the absolute upper hand.
The Fox Mutant also joined the chase. Seeking revenge and settling grievances naturally required her personal involvement in order to be meaningful.
Xie Yunhan called out to Lu Ye and flew over there as well.
Lu Yegged behind, taking advantage of everyonesck of attention to raise his hand and tap the Battlefield Imprint, sending out a message.
By the time Lu Ye arrived at the battlefield, the situation had be clear.
The Berserk Giant Ape, though struggling desperately, had exhausted its Spirit Essence. The devastating strike of its Mutant Core had further depleted its vitality, leaving it covered in wounds. Its strength now was not even half of what it was at its peak.
Even though the number of cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley had been reduced by more than half, there were still nearly forty people left. With the giant ape unable to fly, how could it be a match for them?
As time passed, the giant apes momentum weakened, and its wounds multiplied. The blood flowing from its body dyed the ground beneath it red.
Until a certain moment, it could no longer hold on and itsrge body fell to the ground with a loud crash.
It wasnt dead, but it had lost the ability to fight.
The surviving cultivators surrounded it in a tight formation, but there was no cheering nor excitement, only a profound sense of awe. The losses in this battle were truly devastating.
The Fox Mutant parted the crowd and walked forward with a seductive stride, her eyes filled with palpable hatred.
Be careful, Mistress! Zhou Yuntian called out to her as he and several other cultivators followed the Fox Mutant closely.
The Fox Mutant took to the air and stood ten meters above the giant ape, overlooking the scene below with a cold expression. Though her eyes were icy, there was a sense of satisfaction in them. Even you will one day fall!
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Chapter 588: Backstabbed
Chapter 588: Backstabbed
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The giant apey silently on the ground, gasping for breath as the light dimmed in its eyes.
Restrict its limbs! The Fox Mutant shouted out an order.
At once, many cultivators rushed out with Spiritual Artifacts in hand, fiercely stabbing them into the limbs of the giant ape, pinning it firmly to the ground.
Blood sttered, and a pained expression appeared on the face of the giant ape. It struggled instinctively, but to no avail.
It hadpletely exhausted its strength.
The Fox Mutant reached out and grabbed a sword from a cultivators hand before making a gracefulnding on the chest of the giant ape. As she leaned forward, a wonderful spring view was revealed at her chest, but no cultivator had the courage to appreciate this rare beauty during this moment.
You still recognize me, dont you? The Fox Mutants eyes were filled with satisfaction, and her words were icy, I said that you will one day die by my hands, and Ive been waiting for this day for eighteen years! Eighteen years!
A mixed expression of either mirth or sadness appeared on her face.Eighteen years of waiting with numerous failures in between. The hatred that filled her heart finally found release at this moment.
She held the hilt of the sword with both hands and aimed at the chest of the giant ape before raising it high. She gritted her teeth. Die!
The sword ruthlessly came down, and as it pierced flesh, blood sttered in the air, and the sword went straight through to the hilt.
After suffering this heavy blow, a trace of rity shed in the dull eyes of the giant ape. It let out a furious roar and suddenly raised an arm that should have been pinned to the ground, causing frightened gasps among the cultivators as it swept its hand towards the Fox Mutant.
The Fox Mutants expression changed. She never expected that her enemy would still have the strength to counterattack in such a state, let alone have the strength to break free from its restraints.
She reacted quickly and almost instantly retreated as the giant ape raised its hand. However, she was still caught by the shockwaves of the apes attack.
Her tall and graceful body fluttered like a falling leaf.
Mistress! The cultivators shouted in rm.
The Fox Mutantnded pitifully and a mist of blood spewed out from her mouth. Her face had also turned pale, and her aura was in turmoil.
Just being grazed by the apes attack had caused such severe injuries. If she hadnt reacted quickly, she might have already died.
Kill it! the Fox Mutant howled in anger.
The cultivators obeyed themand,unching numerous attacks on the giant ape, but it showed no reaction.
The palm that struck Fox Mutant was its final dying struggle.
The wounded Zhou Yuntian rushed to the Fox Mutants side and asked anxiously, Mistress, how are your injuries?
The Fox Mutant shook her head slowly, and Zhou Yuntian quickly took out Healing Pills from his storage pouch and presented them to the Fox Mutant. Without any hesitation, Fox Mutant took them and swallowed them.
After a while, a pale-faced Yu Daiwei approached with an earth-coloured Mutant Core in her hands, reporting, Mistress, the giant ape is dead!
The Fox Mutant opened her eyes and looked at the Mutant Core in front of her, nodding slightly, her expression calm but with a slight hint of confusion.
For eighteen years, she had spent every day wallowing in hatred. Suddenly, now that she had obtained vengeance, along with the satisfaction in her heart was an inexplicable emptiness, as if her life had lost its purpose in an instant.
She looked up at the many cultivators under hermand and almost everyone was injured, all looking disheveled.
She raised her hand and picked up the elite-level Spirit Beast Mutant Core, saying, Your performance wasmendable in todays battle, especially Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan. You two shall be credited with the ying of this beast. When we return to the valley, I will reward you ordingly.
Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan quickly bowed and expressed their gratitude.
Stay and rest for six hours, then return to the valley!
Yes! the cultivators answered.
After the great battle, everyone could finally rx, and they each found a ce to rest and recover. As for a patrol, that was unnecessary as this area was considered the territory of the elite-level Spirit Beast, and no other Spirit Beast would usually dare to provoke it.
However, there were over eighty people when they arrived, and now only less than half of them were still alive. Even among this half, many were severely injured.
It should be noted that this was with the help of over a hundred Wards set up in advance by Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan, along with the cultivators fighting to the death under the Fox Mutants control. Moreover, the cultivation levels of the cultivators from Fox Immortal Valley were also on the higher side in general.
If the cultivators had truly gathered together to y the Berserk Giant Ape without help, it would have been impossible to seed without at least two or three hundred people.
The horror of an elite-level Spirit Beast was evident.
Among all the cultivators, only three remained uninjured. Li Baxian, who had been by Fox Mutants side, as well as Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan, who oversaw the Wards.
While the cultivators were meditating and recovering, the Fox Mutant was also healing her injuries.
Lu Ye said, Thank you, buddy. You should also rest. I will go and set up some rm Wards.
Xie Yunhan nodded, Then Ill leave it to you, Brother Lu.
Lu Ye walked to a nearby location and while setting a Wards, he ced his hand on the Battlefield Imprint to send out a message. It didnt take long before he received a response, and as he checked it, a light glinted in his eyes.
He quickly returned and sat down not far from the Fox Mutant, stuffed a few Spirit Pills into his mouth, and silently refined them.
Time passed.
At a certain moment, rustling sounds suddenly came from the quiet thicket. The cultivators had excellent hearing, so when they heard the noise while they were recovering, they all opened their eyes. However, before they could figure out what was happening, giant wolves with silvery-white fur suddenly entered their sights.
The giant wolves surrounded them from all directions, leaving no gaps.
In the next moment, as if it had been nned between the Wolf Mutants, an average of six or seven giant wolves targeted each cultivator andunched their attacks on them directly.
Enemy attack! An rmed and angry shout broke the silence, and the cultivators quickly stood up, instantly engaging in battle with the attacking Wolf Mutants.
Zhou Yuntian shouted, Protect the Mistress!
He ran towards the Fox Mutant as he shouted, but he was barely able to get far before he was entangled by several wolves that came at him.
In a certain spot among the crowd, Li Baxian looked astonished at the scene. Watching the familiar wolves moving around in the battlefield, a sense of unease suddenly arose within him, but before he could fully grasp what was happening, a figure descended from the sky andnded in front of him.
Li Baxians expression changed. Yuechan?
He never would have expected that Feng Yuechan would appear in front of him like this.
Senior Brother! Feng Yuechan stared intently into Li Baxians eyes, but she was unable to discern anything unusual from his expression. However, from the messages she saw from Lu Ye earlier, there was no way she didnt know that her Senior Brother had already fallen under the control of Fox Mutant even if there were no visible abnormalities.
Howe? Li Baxians words were cut off as he suddenly came to his senses and swiftly turned his head to look where the Fox Mutant was.
What he saw caused his soul to shudder.
Lu Ye had approached the Fox Mutant at some point, appearing to be protecting her loyally. However, as everyones attention was drawn to the sudden appearance of the wolf pack, mes suddenly ignited on the de in his hand. Before it was aimed at Fox Mutants back. Then, with lightning speed, he stabbed the saber into her.
*Pu chi* The Invible Saber pierced through the Fox Mutants back and came out through the front of her chest.
The Fox Mutants eyes widened in an instant, and the other cultivators who were protecting her by her side, felt chills run down their spines.
No one could have expected that Lu Ye would suddenlyy a lethal strike on the Fox Mutant!
A faint gleam of light shed on the Invible Sabers de, empowered by Glyph: Burster.
Undeniably, the Fox Mutant herself was very powerful. Judging from the killing blow shended on the giant ape, her strength wasparable to that of a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator. In a direct confrontation, Lu Ye wouldnt stand a chance against her.
But she had been injured by the giant ape earlier, and she was now distracted by the sudden appearance of the wolf pack. Moreover, she would never expect that her own subordinate would turn against her and make an attempt on her life, so she was caughtpletely unprepared.
The Fox Mutants body was pierced through with a single stab. Her already pained expression twisted even further, and the sudden eruption of Glyph: Burster made her scream in agony, while a mist of blood sprayed from her mouth with bits of her organs vaguely visible in the mess.
Lu Ye! an angry roar echoed out as the cultivators standing beside the Fox Mutant finally reacted and attacked Lu Ye one after another.
However, Lu Ye had anticipated this situation when he made his move. After a sessful strike, he withdrew his de and brought out a ssh of hot blood from within the Fox Mutants body. In front of him,yer uponyer of Protection Glyphs appeared.
*Hong hong hong*
The powerful impact sent Lu Ye flying, and as hended, he saw the few cultivators emanating with boundless killing intent rushing towards him.
Just moments ago, he was hailed as a hero, praised by the Fox Mutant, and envied by all the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley. But now, he had be an enemy that they had to kill.
For the cultivators in the valley, the Fox Mutant was their Heaven, and Lu Yes sudden betrayal was not something that they could tolerate.
Staying still in his position, Lu Ye watched as the cultivators wanted to rush at him, but at that moment, the sound of wolf howls came from behind them. Wolf Mutants the size of calves rushed out and engaged the approaching cultivators, instantly transforming the scene into a chaotic battlefield.
With a distance of over thirty meters between them, the Fox Mutants gaze collided with Lu Yes. Her beautiful eyes trembled, filled with an expression of disbelief. How How could you?
Even at this moment, she couldnt ept that her own subordinates had suddenly stabbed her.
On the other side, Li Baxian tried toe forward to protect the Fox Mutant when he saw her get hurt, but Feng Yuechan activated her Spiritual Power to summon a humongous Cloud Giant tens of meters tall in front of him to block him.
She was filled with bitterness, but she didnt try to persuade Li Baxian. She knew that the only way to break the Divine Soul Secret Technique was for Lu Ye to kill the Fox Mutant. Her sole task now was to keep Li Baxian upied and prevent him from getting close to Lu Ye.
*Dong dong dong*
As if the sound of war hammers pounding, the ground trembled as a burly figure swiftly approached the Fox Mutant from one direction. When he drew near, he threw a punch that cracked in the air, disying its terrifying might.
It was an attack from Ju Jia!
Given the Fox Mutants current condition, being struck by this punch would undoubtedly result in certain death even if her strength wasparable to that of a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
While retreating with light steps, her eyes emitted a strange and radiant glow, Ju Jias mighty figure reflected in them.
There was a peculiar surge of energy fluctuations.
When he felt this strange power, Lu Ye, who was rushing toward Fox Mutant, suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of difort as if a seed of anxiety was taking root in his heart.
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Chapter 589: Fighting Ju Jia
Chapter 589: Fighting Ju Jia
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Looking up, Lu Ye saw Ju Jia holding its punching stance with an expression of intense struggle on his face. In just an instant, he positioned himself in front of the Fox Mutant, and threw a punch at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye leapt away, narrowly avoiding the attack while his shock escted!
In just a brief moment, Ju Jia had actually fallen under the Fox Mutants control!
What kind of heaven-defying technique was this?
Lu Ye didnt understand how the Fox Mutant controlled someones mind. He could only specte that it was her innate talent, but ording to the information he possessed, the Fox Mutant had to have direct contact with someone in order to achieve this.
When he feigned unconsciousness and was brought back to Fox Immortal Valley, the Fox Mutant had touched his forehead and with her hand, then used the Secret Technique.
Never did he imagine that the Fox Mutant could use this Secret Technique even without direct contact.
Moreover, Ju Jia had apanied him deep into the Pool of Divine Purification and underwent the tempering of their Divine Souls there. Even though the benefits he received were not as great as his own, his Divine Soul was still much tougher than other cultivators of the same level. Even so, he was still enved with a single nce from the Fox Mutant. Her ability had far surpassed Lu Yes imagination.His trusted ally suddenly stood against him, leaving Lu Ye at a loss.
But what puzzled Lu Ye even more was how the Fox Mutant could still survive after taking such a stab from him.
He had stabbed her directly through the heart, and at the same time, his de was enhanced by Glyph: Burster, so there was no reason for the Fox Mutant to survive.
However, despite how weak her aura had be, like a me in the wind, she was still alive!
After driving Lu Ye back with a punch, Ju Jia swiftly turned around, grabbed the Fox Mutant who was still coughing up blood from her mouth, and jumped up into the sky, heading towards the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak. [Not good!]
If he allowed Ju Jia to take the Fox Mutant away, all the ns and preparations he made for today would be in vain.
Lu Ye had waited in Fox Immortal Valley for so long before he could finally seize this opportunity. If he missed it, there would be no other chance.
Furthermore, he had already been exposed today. If Ju Jia took the Fox Mutant away, he might never be able to find them again!
Just as Lu Ye was thinking this, a delicate figure suddenly appeared in front of Ju Jia. It was Yi Yi, who had been hiding nearby.
At this moment, Yi Yi rushed towards Ju Jia and sted out several spell techniques from her hand. Ju Jia didnt dodge or evade them, but forcibly took on the spells with his body, causing sparks to scatter in the air. With one arm holding the heavily wounded Fox Mutant and the other clenched into a fist, heunched a merciless punch at Yi Yi.
Lu Yes heart tightened as he watched.
But at that moment, the Nine Wards Scroll appeared in Yi Yis hand, swelling in the wind and transforming into a towering curtain that covered the sky, enveloping Ju Jia.
Caught off guard, Ju Jias first struck into the Ward Scroll, and as if he were hitting an invisible space, his entire arm was swallowed up into it.
Ju Jia tried to retreat, but Lu Ye had rushed over and delivered a powerful kick to his back, which made a dull sound as if he had kicked a piece of metal, but the force sent him straight into the Nine Wards Scroll.
In the picture, amidst the scene of a chaotic stone forest, two more figures suddenly appeared.
Well done! Lu Ye praised. Following closely behind Ju Jia, he dived into the Nine Wards Scroll.
Inside the Nine Wards Scroll, the gloomy sky resembled thick cotton that was pressing down on ones chest, making it hard to breathe. Strange whirlpools slowly turned in the sky, and the entire world seemed to fill one with a sense of dread.
This was not a real world to begin with, just a space within the Nine Wards Scroll.
Ju Jia was still holding the Fox Mutant as he stood silently under a stone pir, ring fiercely at Lu Ye, who hade to pursue them. The expression on Ju Jias face felt distant to Lu Ye.
Fox Mutant continued to bleed with an unprecedented look of panic on her face. Compared to her own miserable situation, what shocked her the most was Lu Yes sudden betrayal.
She never imagined that one of her enved cultivators woulde to betray her one day, and to cause her such immense pain.
They stood several tens of meters apart, with neither Ju Jia nor Lu Ye making a move.
Although Ju Jias cultivation level was on par with his, nobody could be more clear than Lu Ye just how strong and sturdy Ju Jias physique was.
If they were to fight it out in a life or death battle here, he could indeed defeat Ju Jia, but he would note out of it in a good shape.
However, with Ju Jia currently under influence, unless he dealt with him, Lu Ye would not be able to harm the Fox Mutant in any way, which was truly a headache-inducing situation.
Who are you really?! Fox Mutant shouted through gritted teeth.
Lu Ye nced at her calmly, his eyes still as if he were looking at a dead person.
After entering the Nine Wards Scroll, the Fox Mutants fate was sealed. What he needed to consider now was how to bypass Ju Jia and kill her.
You were never affected by my Secret Technique, were you? the Fox Mutant asked, finally understanding some of what happened at this moment.
Todays encounter was definitely not a coincidence but a carefully nned scheme by Lu Ye. Taking advantage of the distraction after the battle with the Berserk Giant Ape in Fox Immortal Valley, Lu Ye struck without warning, catching her off guard.
Just then, Yi Yis voice was suddenly transmitted into Lu Yes ears. Lu Ye, do you want me to send some Wolf Mutants in to support you?
No! Lu Ye quickly refused.
If he didnt know that the Fox Mutant had the ability to control the minds of others from a distance, then it would be fine, but now that he knew, he absolutely could not let anyone or any Spirit Beast enter the Nine Wards Scroll. Otherwise, they would not only be of no help but would also make the situation worse.
Even Ju Jia could not resist the Secret Technique, so much less the Wolf Mutants. If they were sent in, they would only be the Fox Mutants helpers.
So in this battle today, there was only him!
Other than Yi Yi, he couldnt rely on any external forces.
Ill just have to y it by ear! Lu Ye muttered under his breath and slightly arched his body with the Invible Saber held upright in front of him. He stared intently at Ju Jia, then assumed an attacking stance.
In the next instant, the dust stirred under his feet. With a boost from Glyph: Windwalk, his figure dashed forward like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he reached Ju Jia, and his ming saber cleaved down fiercely at the Fox Mutant in Ju Jias arms.
Ju Jia raised his right arm, and a brilliant light emerged on it, forming a protective barrier.
The saber cut down on it, emitting a ng. The force of the impact threw Lu Ye back slightly, but there was only a slight ripple on the protective barrier on Ju Jias arm.
Then, the Invible Saber fell once again, merciless as ever as it aimed at the Fox Mutant.
The Fox Mutants pupils contracted. During Lu Yes time in Fox Immortal Valley, his role was always that of a Ward Cultivator. The Fox Mutants understanding of him was limited to his remarkable attainments in the Way of a Wards. This time, Lu Yes arrangement of the various Wards yed a significant role in their sessful ying of the Berserk Giant Ape in Fox Immortal Valley.
But the Fox Mutant never could have expected that this Ward Cultivator that she relied on could actually unleash such power!
Lu Ye was only in the Fourth Order, yet his strength far surpassed those in the Sixth or Seventh Orders in the valley.
What surprised her even more was Ju Jias performance.
Enving Ju Jia was only a desperate move, but she never imagined that this burly man with the same cultivation level as Lu Ye that she had only seen for the first time would also disy such outstanding abilities.
These two Where did these monsterse from?
Had she unknowingly enved an extraordinary person?
Just as the Fox Mutants mind wavered, Lu Ye and Ju Jia had already shed more than ten times. Each time, Lu Ye swung his saber with his unrestrained full strength, but every single strike waspletely blocked by Ju Jia.
Despite knowing early on that Ju Jia had a powerful physique and formidable defense, it was only when he truly fought him that he could truly experience the terrifying strength of that defense.
Though Ju Jia remained uninjured, he was still left looking miserable under Lu Yes relentless onught. Firstly, he was defending passively, and secondly, he had to reserve some of his strength to protect the Fox Mutant in his arms.
Even if he were unhindered and could fight Lu Ye with all his might, he might not necessarily be a match for him, let alone in this current situation.
Under the relentless barrage, Ju Jias figure kept backing up, while Lu Ye was moving closer with each strike, the pressure emanating from him growing ever stronger.
The Fox Mutant could tell that the situation wasnt optimistic and suddenly looked at Lu Ye, her beautiful eyes immediately turning into an abyss and the bizarre fluctuations of her power surging once again.
Even though she guessed that Lu Ye was unlikely to be affected by her Secret Technique, the Fox Mutant still couldnt resist the urge to test it.
The strange power invaded Lu Yes mind, and a faint haze immediately rose over his talents.
The brilliance in the Fox Mutants eyes dimmed slightly. Sure enough This guy indeed had absolute resistance against her Secret Technique, but she couldnt understand how someone in the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm could resist it.
No matter how strong his mind was, there was no reason for him not to be affected by her Secret Technique.
Another strike descended, and as the saber fell, a sh of brilliance shed through the Invible Saber. Glyph: Gravity Well was activated!
Ju Jia raised his arm to block the strike, and in an instant, his body stooped, feeling an immense force pressing down on him. He let out a furious roar as a surge of violent power erupted from his body, trying to resist the oppressive force.
However, in the next moment, Glyph: Gravity Well suddenly vanished without a trace.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, Ju Jia could not react in time, and a gap had appeared in the previously impregnable defense. Even his figure stumbled.
Lu Ye retracted his de and stabbed it directly towards the Fox Mutants head.
Fear appeared on the Fox Mutants pale face, and her beautiful eyes reflected the fiery gleam of the de that was rapidly erging in her field of vision.
However, this strike ultimately failed to take her life. At a critical moment, Ju Jia grabbed the Invible Saber, allowing the sharp de to cut into his hand. Bleeding out, he still gritted his teeth and refused to let go.
Lu Yes eye twitched, and he leapt up, kicking out to create distance from Ju Jia with the rebounding force.
*Pu* The Fox Mutant coughed up blood, her pale face losing all color.
Even though she had been protected by Ju Jia and not directly harmed by Lu Ye, the fierce shes between Lu Ye and Ju Jia had been incredibly violent. Even with Ju Jias best efforts to protect her, she still received a considerable shock.
Under normal circumstances, such shocks would not have affected her much. However, she had already been injured by the Berserk Giant Ape before she was then ambushed by Lu Ye, and now in her heavily wounded state, the repeated impacts from their shes made her extremely ufortable.
Ju Jia clearly noticed this as well and looked down at the Fox Mutant in his arms, his eyes filled with worry.
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Chapter 590: Six-Tailed Divine Fox
Chapter 590: Six-Tailed Divine Fox
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Before drawing up these ns, Lu Ye had never expected that Ju Jia would be the one to disrupt them before he couldplete what he had to do.
It was truly a great irony.
At this point, he would have to first kill Ju Jia if he ever wanted to get to the Fox Mutant who was under his protection, but this was a result that Lu Ye could never ept.
Despite how merciless and violent his previous attacks were, he knew that Ju Jia could withstand them, and thats why he didnt hold back.
When he saw the Fox Mutant spitting blood at this moment, Lu Yes eyes lit up. He suddenly realized that killing Fox Mutant didnt necessarily require killing Ju Jia. He only needed to maintain his previous attacks. While Ju Jia could withstand them, the heavily injured Fox Mutant wouldnt be able to withstand the aftermath of their shes even with Ju Jias protection.
With that thought, Lu Ye once again charged towards Ju Jia, his blood and Spiritual Power surging as he ruthlessly swung his sword.
Each brutal strike was blocked, and every sh caused Ju Jias figure to shake, which affected the Fox Mutant in his arms as well.
As time passed, the shield of Spiritual Power on Ju Jias body was continuously shattering and reforming. Lu Ye was now gasping for breath.Against cultivators of the same level, he could basically deal with them with a single sh with his current strength, but facing Ju Jia, Lu Ye deeply felt powerless. The strength of this guys protection was simply unreasonable.
But the effect was still very significant. Though Ju Jia was not injured, the Fox Mutant in his arms was bleeding constantly, her breath growing weaker and weaker.
Then, at a certain moment, as Lu Ye struck with his sword, Ju Jia countered with a punch that hit the Invible Saber directly.
The Spiritual Power on Ju Jias fist shattered, leaving a mark on his fist while Lu Ye was sent flying by the impact.
It was at that moment that the Fox Mutant, who had been in Ju Jias protecting arms this whole time, suddenly leapt into the air and pounced on Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was startled.
Since being sealed in the Nine Wards Scroll, the Fox Mutant had appeared fragile and on the verge of death at any moment. As Lu Ye fought Ju Jia, her condition deteriorated further, leading him to believe that she was almost dead.
But looking at her stance now, he realized that everything before was just a disguise, all meant for this moment of counterattack.
This took Lu Yepletely by surprise. In the midst of his body being thrown into the air, he saw the ferocious determination on the Fox Mutants pale face. Five sharp ws suddenly sprouted on her jade hands, aiming directly for Lu Yes head.
Lu Ye quickly stabilized his body and swung his saber, directly cutting the figure of the Fox Mutant in half.
There was no scream, no blood flowing, and even when the de passed through, there was no sensation of hitting anything solid
A great crisis came from behind, apanied by Yi Yis shout.
The cut figure of the Fox Mutant dispersed, revealing that it was only an afterimage!
At the same time, Lu Ye keenly sensed a deadly aura approaching within a third of a meter behind him.
During the time he spent learning from Xia Liang, cultivating the Minds Eye Technique, and honing his skills in the Rift of Illusions, Lu Ye had made some progress. He could clearly perceive any attack within a third of a meter of him now.
His body reacted faster than his thoughts, and as Glyph: Protection emerged behind his head, Lu Ye thrust his saber backwards at the same time.
With a crack, the just-formed Glyph: Protection shattered, and Lu Ye felt a cold, piercing pain on the top of his head. A sharp aura had cut into his skin and was pressing against his skull.
An unprecedented crisis enveloped his body and mind. Lu Ye knew that if his opponent didnt stop, he would be killed in the next moment.
Fortunately, while activating Glyph: Protection, he also thrust behind himself with his saber, and it was exactly that stab that saved him from being killed.
The Fox Mutant decisively stopped her attack and vaulted back. If she hadnt stopped there, both she and Lu Ye would have perished together.
That was something she could never ept.
In front of him, Ju Jia, who had been pushed back, stabilized himself and immediately rushed towards Lu Ye.
Lu Ye roared, Yi Yi!
As soon as her name was called, an invisible force emerged out of thin air, causing the space around Ju Jia to distort. Then, he disappearedpletely!
He had been forcibly sent out of the Nine Wards Scroll by Yi Yi.
The Nine Wards Scroll was a treasure of the Spirit Treasure grade, and its power increased as Yi Yis cultivation improved. With her current strength, which wasparable to the Third Order Cloud River Realm, she could control the Nine Wards Scroll to a point where she could not only trap enemies into it, but also interfere with them to some extent.
Ju Jia had been protecting the Fox Mutant in his arms all along, and Lu Ye had been considering how to separate them. Once they were separated, Yi Yi could use the power of the Nine Wards Scroll to send Ju Jia away, allowing him to freely attack the Fox Mutant.
Ju Jia never gave him that opportunity. However, he never expected that the Fox Mutant herself would create such a perfect opportunity for him to kill her.
How could Yi Yi miss such an opportunity? Even without Lu Yesmand, she would have sent Ju Jia away as soon as possible.
With Ju Jia gone all of a sudden, a look of panic shed across the Fox Mutants pale face. She realized that she had made an extremely foolish decision.
In an instant, her gut churned with regret.
She had intended to kill Lu Ye. In fact, if she hadnt hesitated earlier, Lu Ye would undoubtedly be dead, but how could she be willing to die together with him?
Now that Ju Jia had been sent out of the Nine Wards Scroll, the Fox Mutant was left to fend for herself against Lu Ye, the odds only bing worse for her.
A bitter smile appeared on the Fox Mutants face. Just when she had finally gotten vengeance for her Master, she never thought she would find herself in such a predicament on the next turn. Sure enough, this must be the price she had to pay for all the evil deeds she had done over the years.
Lu Ye turned around, and there were five finger prints on his head with blood running down his face, adding a ferocious touch to his calm expression.
Its just you and me now! he said calmly as the mes on the Invible Saber reignited.
A resolute expression appeared on the Fox Mutants weak and haggard face. Despite knowing that the odds were against her this time, she refused to just sit and wait for death to take her! She hadnt returned to her Master to tell him that she had avenged him yet, so she could not die here no matter what.
He had no idea where the power came from, but the Fox Mutant who was supposed to be on herst legs was suddenly enveloped by a surge of Spirit Essence. With a noise, she suddenly revealed her true form.
It was a majestic Divine Fox of indescribable beauty standing over three meters tall with snow-white fur covering her whole body, a sharp muzzle and jade-coloured eyes. Behind her were six fluffy tails, swaying side by side.
Despite being in her true form as a Spirit Beast, the Fox Mutant still exuded an irresistible charm at this moment that was likely to captivate anyone who saw her.
Even Lu Ye, who had resolved himself to kill her, felt a slight disturbance in his mind upon seeing Fox Mutants true form, but quickly, his eyes regained their rity.
Fox Mutant let out a low growl from her throat, her jade-colored eyes reflecting Lu Yes figure, filled with bitterness and anger.
Before Lu Ye couldunch an attack, she suddenly flicked her fluffy fox tails, and several pink Foxfires were shot at Lu Ye at an astonishing speed.
At the same time, she dashed forward, pouncing directly at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye swung his saber continuously, shattering several balls of Foxfire. However, the shattered Foxfires didnt disappear but transformed into smaller mes.
Lu Ye didnt pay attention, and a few sparks of Foxfire touched his body. In an instant, several mes tore into his clothes and he felt a slight stinging sensation on his skin. However, Lu Yes mind began to shake violently.
The feeling was like an invisible impact that shook his mind violently, causing him to see stars and illusions. Colors of blue, violet, white, and gold filled his vision, obscuring everything else.
These Foxfires They didnt have much killing power, but they could disturb ones mind!
Though he realized it instantly, it was already toote. The Fox Mutant pounced on him, her sharp ws striking fiercely. The clothes in front of Lu Yes chest were ripped through, revealing deep wounds that went as deep as the bone, leaving it in a mixed mess of blood and gore.
Throughout the battle with the Berserk Giant Ape, the Fox Mutant hadnt made a move until the giant ape was about to die, where she stabbed it with a sword. So, Lu Yes perception of her was only as a Spirit Beastparable to a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator.
He never expected that her Foxfire would actually possess such strange abilities.
However, the Fox Mutant had an innate ability to manipte the minds of others, so while the Foxfire itself didnt have much killing power, it could shake ones mind. That much was understandable.
But this kind of strange ability was undefeatable at the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye was injured on their very first exchange of blows, and he used the momentum of her attack to back away while swinging his saber out, but the Fox Mutants movements were incredibly fast, swiftly dodging his de.
Just as he regained his stance and calmed his shaken mind, the Fox Mutant flicked her fluffy tails, and several more balls of Foxfire came at him.
Having learned from his previous mistake, Lu Ye immediately dodged, but the Foxfire clung to him like maggots on a corpse.
When they reached close, they exploded and scattered sparks into the air. Even though Lu Ye activated Glyph: Protection in time, he couldnt avoid thempletely.
A few sparksnded on him, and once again, Lu Yes vision was filled with illusions, and he couldnt see anything.
At that moment, his Minds Eye Technique came into use.
He was caught off guard earlier, which shook his mind, and that was why he failed to defend against the Fox Mutants attack. This time, however, he was prepared and could immediately sense an attacking from his left within a third of a meter from him.
The Invible Saber swung out, and the flesh on his right arm swelled slightly.
A faint cry resembling a babys wail could be heard. When Lu Ye regained his senses, the Fox Mutant had already stopped at a distance of thirty meters from him. Her snow-white fur was stained with crimson blood, indicating that she had been injured. Her emerald eyes were filled with shock and doubt, clearly not expecting that Lu Ye could counterattack urately in such a situation.
Yi Yi! Lu Ye called out softly, hoping to get her help.
I cant, Lu Ye. Ju Jia is chasing after me! Yi Yis voice was transmitted into his ears.
If there was no disturbance, Yi Yi could use the power of the Nine Wards Scroll to help him, but after forcibly sending Ju Jia out, he had been chasing after her relentlessly. Yi Yi was also helpless in this situation, and she could only maintain the operation of the Nine Wards Scroll and provide Lu Ye with a space to kill Fox Mutant.
Fortunately, Ju Jia may have a strong body, but his greatest weakness was his speed, orck thereof. So, for a while, there were no issues on Yi Yis side.
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Chapter 591: Killing the Fox Mutant
Chapter 591: Killing the Fox Mutant
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Lu Ye took a quick breath and looked towards the Fox Mutant. Since he couldnt rely on Yi Yi, he had to rely on himself.
He secretly rejoiced in having learned the Minds Eye Technique from Xia Liang and having the perfect training ground in the Rift of Illusions. This allowed him to make some progress within a short period of time. Otherwise, this fight would have been tricky.
However, he still couldnt underestimate the threat of that Foxfire.
His Divine Soul was powerful, so his Mental Power was very resilient. Even so, taking a bit from the Foxfire still shook his mind even for a while. If it were any ordinary Cloud River Realm cultivator, they could probably only stretch their necks out and wait to be ughtered.
The Fox Mutant had been running amok in Fox Immortal Valley for nearly twenty years, not only relying on her mysterious Divine Soul Secret Technique but also her Foxfire, which she likely hadnt revealed to anyone else before.
While looking at the wary Fox Mutant in front of him, Lu Ye slowly closed his eyes.
! The pupils of the Fox Mutants jade-coloured eyes contracted slightly.
Cloud River Realm cultivators more or less had their own perception, but since it had not yet reached the Divine Soul level of cultivation, such perception was extremely weak, usually barely able to perceive a few things. During a true life and death struggle, ones perception in the Cloud River Realm simply could not be relied on, but this enemy in front of her actually closed his eyes.For a moment, the Fox Mutant was left confused about Lu Yes intentions.
However, she didnt spend too much time dwelling on it. She was well aware of her severe injuries and her limited remaining strength, so she had to kill the traitor in front of her in the shortest time possible if she hoped to have any chance of survival.
Without hesitation, she sent another few clusters of Foxfire towards Lu Ye, followed immediately by her fierce killing intent.
As the Foxfire approached Lu Ye, it exploded, scattering sparks onto his body. His brow furrowed as he felt the peculiar impact once again that caused his mind to shake.
It was barely a moment, but the Fox Mutant who had pounced to attack revealed her sharp ws.
His saber was raised and stabbed out at an incredible angle, causing the Fox Mutants pupils to shrink as she hurriedly retreated.
She stared at Lu Ye, whose eyes were still shut, with a mix of doubt and surprise.
She quicklyunched another attack, still using Foxfire as a distraction while her actual body followed closely behind.
But the same scenario repeated itself.
The Fox Mutant evaded the counterattack, bing increasingly shocked. If it happened once, it could be considered a coincidence, but not when theres a second time.
This guy How could he block her attacks with his eyes closed?
Why?
She had finally avenged her Master after so much effort and her only wish now was to return to Fox Immortal Valley and pay respects at her Masters grave, but thatst wish seemed to be slipping further and further away from her!
Why? Why were the Heavens so unfair?!
A mournful howl echoed, carrying a mind-shaking force that caused Lu Yes brow to furrow.
Apanied by the howl, vast clusters of Foxfire descended increasingly with the Fox Mutants body concealed within it,unching a frenzied assault on Lu Ye.
Lu Ye stood his ground, guarding himself tightly against the attacks. The damage inflicted by the Foxfire was negligible, but its impact on his mind couldnt be avoided. Moreover, he couldnt underestimate the furious attacks of the Fox Mutant. Even though she was heavily injured and couldnt unleash her full strength. She was a Spirit Beastparable to a Cloud River Realm cultivator. No one would be able to withstand her furious and resolute attacks if they were unlike Lu Ye, who possessed strength that surpasses that of his peers in the same realm.
Bloody wounds were constantly showing up on his body.
Though the Minds Eye Technique could certainly allow him to react urately to imminent danger within a third of a meter of himself, he couldnt avoid the psychological impact caused by the Foxfire. Many times, he found that he couldnt react in time.
He couldnt let this go on!
Even though Lu Ye knew that the Fox Mutant was nearing her limit and couldnt maintain this level of attack for long, continuing like this meant that it was uncertain who would die first.
He needed to find a way to neutralize the Foxfires effects on himself!
But what could he do to dispel this strange Foxfire?
Then, Lu Ye suddenly thought of something.
Regardless of why the Foxfire could shake ones minds, outwardly, it was ultimately a ball of fire.
If it was fire, then there was no reason for him to fear it.
He recalled the scene from when he ventured deep into the Burning Lands in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Both the Burning Lands and the Myriad Poison Forest were restricted areas of the Spirit Creek Battlefield that were difficult for cultivators to venture into. Some powerful Cloud River Realm cultivators might be able to approach the outskirts of these areas, but no one had ever been able to enter their depths.
Especially the Burning Lands. Even the elite-level female Mutant would find it difficult to approach, and it should be noted that she was a Spirit Beast of the fire attribute.
But Lu Ye had gone in, and not only that, he had entered when he was only a Heaven Seven cultivator. Moreover, he obtained the True Phoenix me from within and activated Glyph: Fire Phoenix on the Tree of Glyphs.
He was able to delve into the core of the Burning Lands not by relying on his cultivation level, but on the Tree of Glyphs. At the time, during a desperate situation, he had a sudden idea and activated the power of the Tree of Glyphs, allowing its invisible roots to spread throughout his body, isting the effects of the harsh environment of the Burning Lands on him.
If the Tree of Glyphss power could iste an environment like the Burning Lands, could it also iste the effects of Foxfire?
If it could, then he wouldnt be affected by Foxfire anymore, and he could unleash his full power to kill the Fox Mutant.
With these thoughts in mind, Lu Ye immediately activated the Tree of Glyphs. Immersing his mind, he saw the Tree of Glyphs in his Source Spiritual Point suddenly sprout roots that spread out as if exploring an unknown space, disappearing from view.
If Lu Ye were to activate Glyph: Insight at this moment to explore his own body, he would see numerous root-like structures spread all over him, gently swaying as his Spiritual Power flowed.
His mind felt as if it were being weighed down by a heavy load, and his Mental Power rapidly depleted.
Activating the Tree of Glyphs didnt consume his Spiritual Power, it consumed his Mental Power!
On regr asions, when Lu Ye fed the me of Earthen Spirits to the Tree of Glyphs, the consumption was minimal. Compared to that, however, the consumption now increased by more than a hundredfold. After all, his entire body was enveloped by the Tree of Glyphss roots, whereas when it was devouring the me of Earthen Spirits, only a few roots extended from his body.
He suddenly opened his eyes and saw the crazed and determined blue-green eyes of the Fox Mutant, moving around not far in front of him, disturbing his judgment.
With the enhancement of Glyph: Windwalk, he darted forward, directly taking on the iing Foxfire.
Swiftly and decisively!
Unaware of the changes that happened on Lu Yes body, Fox Mutant was shocked and furious to see Lu Ye willingly charging into her Foxfire. Her agile and beautiful figure leaped towards Lu Ye.
However, in the next moment, the Fox Mutant was enveloped by a chill.
That was because Lu Yes figure rushed out past the Foxfire, allowing the Foxfire to explode upon him while his resolute gaze remained unwavering.
Impossible! Startled, the Fox Mutant even spoke in humannguage.
However, for a Spirit Beast like her with the ability to shapeshift, even in her true form, speaking the Humannguage was not difficult.
She knew the power of her Foxfire very well. If an ordinary Cloud River Realm cultivator were caught by even a little bit of it, they would immediately be trapped in an illusion that they couldnt break free from, whichsted anywhere from a few breaths to a dozen breaths of time.
But this traitor who betrayed not only her, but the entirety of Fox Immortal Valley, had previously shown great resistance to Foxfire. Her Foxfire could only stall him for barely a moment!
That could be exined by his amazing Mental Power, but how could he bepletely unaffected now? Could his Mental Power possibly beparable to that of the Divine Ocean Realm?
From the calmness in the opponents eyes, it was evident that he had indeed not been affected in the slightest.
In the midst of her shock, the distance between the two had already reached a minimum point. A bright sh of a de flickered in the Fox Mutants vision. She only felt a sharp pain in front of her as a tremendous impact sent her flying, blood sttering in the air, and shended in a pitiful state.
*Hong*
In the blink of an eye, a figurended in front of her with a chilling aura. A storm-like flurry of de strikes enveloped her, every single one a deadly blow.
She used her Foxfire again, but this time, it didnt disturb Lu Ye in the slightest. Without her Foxfire to rely upon, and facing such an onught in her weakened state, the Fox Mutant was powerless to resist.
Blood sprayed and the sound of des carving through flesh echoed in the air. The once snow-white fur was stained crimson with blood, creating a disturbingly vivid and deste scene.
As Lu Ye swung his saber one more time, the Fox Mutant fell heavily to the ground, but this time, she couldnt get back up. Shey there, gasping for breath as the light in her eyes grew dim.
Lu Ye lifted the Invible Saber and stepped forward, leaning over the fallen Fox Mutant.
The Fox Mutants eyes moved, but her vision was blurred. She could no longer see Lu Yes face clearly, only vaguely discerning a blurry outline.
So the Heavens have already enacted their punishment!
At her final moments, she seemed to understand something and uttered those words.
Over the years, she had continuously enved cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield with her Divine Soul Secret Technique. Those who dared to venture deep into Great Wilds Peak to train were all outstanding cultivators in the Cloud River Realm. In the past eighteen years, hundreds if not thousands of cultivators had died because of her. As the number of enved cultivators increased, she felt a sense of impending crisis that grew more intense as she progressed.
She knew that one day, the Heavens would punish her for her actions.
She had thought that it would be a punishment simr to the Spirit Creek Battlefields Judgement of the Heavens.
But she never imagined that the punishment woulde in this way, and that it woulde without her even realizing it.
It was only in the final moments of her life that she finally saw the truth.
Standing before the Fox Mutant, Lu Ye could sense her current state, but the words that came out of her mouth puzzled him greatly.
However, he didnt delve deeper into it. He just assumed that it was just the dying ramblings of the Fox Mutant and raised the Invible Saber high.
Well, this is fine, too The glint of a de entered her vision, but the Fox Mutant felt relief in her heart. No matter what, she had finally avenged her master. Perhaps this could be considered the final grace bestowed upon her by the Heavens. [Master, Xianer ising to apany you.]
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Chapter 592: Core Flame
Chapter 592: Core me
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Inside the Nine Wards Scroll, as Lu Yes saber fell, the Fox Mutants corpse was split apart,pletely shattering her vitality.
He let out a long sigh before flicking the blood off the Invible Saber. Now that he could finally rx, he stumbled slightly.
The battle with the Fox Mutant had not been too perilous. Mainly, it exhausted too much of his Mental Power in a short period, which left him feeling a bit tired.
His body was covered in wounds, but none of them were severe. With his physique, recovering wouldnt be difficult.
Yi Yi, whats the situation outside? Lu Ye asked.
Logically speaking, with the Fox Mutants death, her Divine Soul Secret Technique should have dispelled automatically. However, he couldnt be certain if that was the case.
Yi Yis voice quickly reached his ears, Everyone has returned to normal, but a few cultivators from the Thousand Demon Ridge escaped first, including Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
Those bastards are quick! Lu Ye clenched his teeth.Originally, after killing the Fox Mutant, he nned to deal with Tan Sheng and Xia Liang as well. Even though he had been cultivating with Xia Liang during this time, he hadnt forgotten the enmity between them.
If he hadnt been sealed within the Nine Wards Scroll, he could have immediately intervened in the battlefield after killing the Fox Mutant, but as he was inside the Nine Wards Scroll, he couldnt influence the situation outside.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng knew the wolf pack as they had suffered a great loss from them previously in the Arcane de. So, after breaking free from Fox Mutants control, their first priority was to flee far away.
With the two of them being in the Ninth Order and fully focused on escaping, there was really nothing the wolf pack could do to deal with them.
Though he felt it a bit regretful, he had no choice but to ept it.
Lu Ye took a few steps forward and approached the Fox Mutants corpse. After searching for a while, he found a Storage Bag.
This was the Fox Mutants Storage Bag, which she always carried with her. Now that she was dead, it naturally became Lu Yes spoils of war.
He wasnt sure how many valuable things she had, but the one thing he knew was that there was an elite-level Spirit Beasts Mutant Core inside, the same Mutant Core that was obtained from killing the Berserk Giant Ape, which she had stored in the pouch.
This was an extremely rare treasure.
Throughout history, there were very few records of elite-level Spirit Beasts being killed on the Cloud River Battlefield. Just from the past missions of Fox Immortal Valley, it was evident that without a group of two to three hundred cultivators, it would be impossible to seed in confronting them. Moreover, there would be significant losses, making it a futile endeavor.
So, cultivators on the Cloud River Battlefield wouldnt generally make active attempts to provoke, let alone kill, elite-level Spirit Beasts.
This time, they were able to kill the Berserk Giant Ape driven by the Fox Mutants hatred, with the cultivators fearless sacrifices under the influence of her Divine Soul Secret Technique, and the assistance of the many Wardsid by Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan.
Just by holding the Mutant Core of an elite-level Spirit Beast in his hand, Lu Ye could feel its vigorous power. If he handed it over to Amber to be devoured and refined, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit.
Of course, the spoils didnt just end there.
Lu Ye once again ced his hand on the Fox Mutants corpse, rummaging silently for a moment. He then lifted the Invible Saber and cut down. After a while, another Mutant Core was extracted.
This was the Fox Mutants Mutant Core. Even though it couldntpare to the Mutant Core of an elite-level Spirit Beast, it was still of considerable value.
Lu Ye wiped away the bloodstains on the Mutant Core and looked at it in his hand, feeling slightly astonished.
The Mutant Core was only the size of a babys fist and was a strange pink color. It emitted a faint glow as if mes were burning on it. [This is a Core me?]
Core mes were not the kind of mes used for alchemy but rather the inner core of a Spirit Beast of the fire attribute. Lu Ye had bought quite a few of them from the Vault of Providence before and had the Tree of Glyphs devour them.
Upon careful thought, the Fox Mutant did indeed possess the characteristics of a fire attribute Spirit Beast as she used that Foxfire that could stir ones mind during their battle.
In the Vault of Providence, Core mes had varying prices, ranging from several hundred to several thousand or even tens of thousands of Contribution Points. There was even a Mystic me called the Paramount cial me, worth as many as 180,000 Contribution Points.
Lu Ye wasnt sure how much this Mutant Core from the Fox Mutant was worth, but it shouldnt be too valuable.
Since it was a Core me, it could naturally be devoured.
With a thought, roots emerged from Lu Yes Tree of Glyphs and prated into an invisible space. In the next moment, the luster of the Core me in his hand quickly dimmed as its energy was devoured by the Tree of Glyphs.
Immersing his mind to investigate the changes in the Tree of Glyphs, Lu Ye didnt expect a single Mutant Core to cause such a significant transformation. However, he was astonished to see that as the energy of the Mutant Core was devoured, a leaf on the upper part of the Tree of Glyphs suddenly reacted and visibly ignited at a rapid speed.
Unlike the zing mes that the other leaves ignited, this particr leaf burned with the same pink color as the Fox Mutants Mutant Core.
It was the first time Lu Ye had encountered such a situation, and he was stunned for a moment.
After a while, the energy of the Mutant Core in his hand was exhausted, turning into dust and scattering away. The Tree of Glyphs now had a unique leaf that burned with a pink me, making it stand out from the rest.
Lu Ye had a vague feeling that he might have underestimated the value of the Fox Mutants Mutant Core.
After all, it was the Mutant Core of a Six-Tailed Divine Fox and shouldnt be regarded lightly. Just from the transformation it caused in the Tree of Glyphs, he could tell that its value was immense.
Suppressing his curiosity, Lu Ye didnt immediately check the information contained within the burning leaf.
He was currently injured and his Mental Power was severely depleted. Moreover, there were many matters waiting for him to handle outside, so he couldnt afford to dy.
Yi Yi! Lu Ye called out softly.
Yi Yi understood and activated the power of the Nine Wards Scroll. In the next moment, Lu Yes figure was expelled from the scroll.
Just as he steadied himself, Amber darted over and perched on his shoulder.
Amber was quite clever. When the Fox Mutant subjugated Ju Jia with a single nce, it had jumped off Lu Ye, keeping a safe distance. It was afraid of being enved by the Fox Mutant as well.
There were no longer sounds of fighting around them, and the numerous Wolf Mutants stood quietly by the side while the remaining cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley gathered together, their faces filled with sorrow.
When they were under the control of the Fox Mutant, they didnt feel that their actions were wrong, but the moment she died and the Divine Soul Secret Technique was broken, all that they had endured over the years surged into their hearts at once. All of them asked themselves in self-reflection, [What have I been doing?]
Especially Xie Yunhan, who had stayed in Fox Immortal Valley for a full twelve years,pletely cutting off contact with his sect and rtives. His cultivation had not improved much during that time, and he was simply wasting away his precious time.
Though the others hadnt been in Fox Immortal Valley as long as Xie Yunhan, they had spent at least one or two years there. Reflecting on their days in Fox Immortal Valley, they all felt ashamed and uneasy.
Seeing Lu Ye appear, everyone gathered around him.
Cultivator Lu, Zhou Yuntian, covered in blood, bowed to Lu Ye and asked with some apprehension, Is that Fox Mutant dead?
Despite the fact that they knew for sure that Fox Mutant had died the moment the Divine Soul Secret Technique was broken, they didnt dare to be certain until they received certain confirmation.
The psychological shadow cast in their hearts by the Fox Mutant was too great.
I have in the Fox Mutant, so fellow cultivators need not worry, Lu Ye replied. Not only was she killed, her Mutant Core was also devoured by the Tree of Glyphs. He just wondered whether he would gain any new Glyphs from it.
Upon hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief, looking much more rxedpared to before. Zhou Yuntian bowed again. We were imprisoned and deceived by the Fox Mutant without realizing it. Thank you for rescuing us, Lu Ye. This kindness you have shown is akin to granting us life anew. If you have any orders in the future, we will not dare to refuse them.
Others also solemnly bowed and expressed their gratitude.
Lu Ye returned the gesture. Fellow cultivators, theres no need to be so formal. I was merely trying to save myself. Unfortunately, we still lost the lives of manypanions.
Xie Yunhan sighed. Thats just fate. Its already remarkable enough that Brother Lu could save us.
Even though none of them knew how Lu Ye had the ability tomand such a wolf pack to assist in the battle, even if the wolf pack was powerful and numerous, they wouldnt necessarily be effective against the peak strength of Fox Immortal Valley.
Lu Ye chose to confront the Berserk Giant Ape in Fox Immortal Valley before taking action, which was undoubtedly the smartest choice. When the Wolf Mutants surrounded them earlier, it was evident that they had received orders to simply surround rather than kill them. Otherwise, there would likely be very few survivors.
No matter what, we have finally been freed from the Fox Mutants control. This is a fortunate event. You dont have to wear such gloomy expressions anymore. Think about your sects, think about your brothers and sisters. We no longer have to be lowly ves, Zhou Yuntian said.
Someone muttered, After hearing what Cultivator Zhou said I miss home.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent, their eyes filled with longing gazes. In Fox Immortal Valley, under Fox Mutantsmand, no one dared tomunicate with the outside world. In the past years, their friends and rtives had been searching for them, trying to contact them Previously, while under Fox Mutants control, they didnt think much of it. But now, as soon as they were freed, a tidal wave of longing overwhelmed them.
Then Lets go home? someone murmured softly.
Zhou Yuntian raised his arm and called out, If not now, then when will you go?
Once the longing surged forth uncontrobly, everyone was eager to return to their sects and hometowns to share the sorrow of their long separation with their families.
Lets go home! someone responded.
Emotions ran high for a while.
Zhou Yuntian turned to Lu Ye. Cultivator Lu, what are your ns?
After a brief thought, Lu Ye replied, My Senior Brother and I have just entered the Cloud River Battlefield not long ago, so we wont be returning for now. Besides, Im still injured and need some time to recuperate. You all can go ahead.
Zhou Yuntian initially wanted to persuade Lu Ye to leave with them since this ce was deep within Grand Wilds Peak with many powerful Spirit Beasts about. However, he suddenly remembered that Lu Ye had a wolf pack guarding him, making it unlikely that he would face any danger. So, he didnt say anything more and nodded. In that case, take care, Cultivator Lu. If you need any help in the future, just let us know.
Everyone bid farewell to Lu Ye and exchanged Battlefield Imprints with him.
After a while, the cultivators rose into the air with their telekic techniques and quickly departed as Lu Ye, Li Baxian, and the others saw them off. They were all of considerable cultivation and traveling in a group, so they would generally not encounter any danger as long as they didnt encounter elite-level Spirit Beast monsters.
Almost simultaneously as Zhou Yuntian and the others left, Lu Ye suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart. As if something was descending upon him from the sky, apanied by a slight feeling of warmth on the back of his hands.
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Chapter 593: Glyph: Charm
Chapter 593: Glyph: Charm
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That sudden familiar feeling that descended from the sky seemed to be something he had encountered before from somewhere.
Lu Ye thought about it carefully and quickly remembered what this familiar sensation was.
It was a favor from the Heavens!
Back in the Myriad Beast Domains Hidden Realms, he obtained the Beast Pact Art and Glyph: Life Energy from the Chief Elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Xia Qianqian had told him that if he sold something that could revolutionize an entire faction to the Vault of Providence, he would receive the favor of the Heavens and enhance his own luck.
And indeed, it proved to be true. After leaving the Myriad Beast Domains Hidden Realms and selling the jade slips engraved with the Beast Pact Art and Glyph: Life Energy to the Vault of Providence, he not only received numerous Contribution Points but also felt the favor of the Heavensing upon him in the dark.
It felt exactly the same as what he felt just now.
In the Carnage Colosseum, he was able to turn his bad luck into good luck mainly because of the Golden Body Token he obtained. The Golden Body Token was an extremely precious object that even Divine Ocean Realm cultivators coveted, yet he, a Cloud River Realm cultivator, obtained it as a spoil of war. Not only did he turn the tides in his favor, he also obtained first ce in the Roster of Carnage in the Carnage Colosseum and received a reward from the Heavens.
Were these instances not manifestations of his own luck?Luck, although invisible and intangible, constantly influenced him.
Last time, it was because he brought out something that could revolutionize an entire faction from the Myriad Beast Domains Hidden Realms that earned him the favor of the Heavens.
What about this time?
So he also got one for killing the Fox Mutant and saving those cultivators?
He suddenly recalled the inexplicablest words of the Fox Mutant. [So, the Heavens have already enacted their punishment.]
At first, Lu Ye didnt understand the meaning of her words, but now,bined with his own experiences, he had a vague realization.
For twenty years, the Fox Mutant had been tyrannizing Fox Immortal Valley, enving many cultivators with the help of the Divine Soul Secret Technique that shouldnt have appeared on the Cloud River Battlefield. Countless cultivators had died because of her, and even though he killed her solely for self-defense and to save Li Baxian, it could be a considered beneficial act
If he hadnt killed the Fox Mutant now, there might be even more unfortunate cultivators in the future.
And the reason he entered Fox Immortal Valley was because he followed Li Baxian in pursuit of Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, thus encountering Zhou Yuntian and his group along the way.
Now, looking back, when Tan Sheng and Xia Liang fled from the Arcane de, they should have escaped to the outskirts of Grand Wilds Peak. But for some reason, they ended up fleeing deep into its depths instead
This clearly didnt match their situation at the time, and two cultivators in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm should not have made such a confused choice.
He chased after them with Li Baxian, and as a result, they encountered Zhou Yuntian and the others and were led into Fox Immortal Valley. Coincidentally, he possessed the Tree of Glyphs and was unaffected by the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique, and even more coincidentally, he had a wolf pack under hismand!
Even the battle against the Berserk Giant Ape in Fox Immortal Valley went surprisingly well.
The Fox Mutants twenty-year-long revenge n failed, but shortly after Lu Ye arrived in Fox Immortal Valley, he assisted her inpleting it
Everything seemed reasonable, but upon deeper contemtion, many inexplicable coincidences could be found.
It seemed as if there were invisible hands manipting everything behind the scenes.
What exactly was the Heavens?
Was he its punishment for the Fox Mutant?
He killed the Fox Mutant, resolving the disaster in this region, so the Heavens was bestowing favor upon him once again?
Thoughts tumbled in Lu Yes mind, and he suddenly felt a chill down his back.
He looked down at the back of his hand. Just now, when the Heavens bestowed its favor upon him, his hand also felt slightly warm. Looking at it now, Lu Ye was astonished
That was because a golden mark had appeared on his hand, exactly the same as the one he received from the Heavens when he obtained first ce in the Roster of Carnage!
Not only did he receive favor, but he also received a reward?
However, Lu Ye didnt know what exactly this reward was at the moment. The reward for ranking first in the Roster of Carnage was clear, but he would have to return to the Arcane de and consult the Divine Opportunity Column to learn more about this reward.
Collecting his thoughts, Lu Ye looked to the side and saw Ju Jia standing head bowed with a dejected expression.
It was evident that he was still troubled over attacking Lu Ye and chasing after Yi Yi.
Dispelling his distractions, Lu Ye approached Ju Jia and patted his arm,forting him. Dont mind it. Even Fourth Senior Brother couldnt withstand the Fox Mutants Secret Technique, let alone you.
Ju Jia nced up at him. Even though he remained silent as before, his expression seemed to have loosened up slightly.
Lu Ye then turned to look at Li Baxian, only to see Feng Yuechan giggling. Senior Brother, whats the situation with that Cultivator Yu? It seems like you have a close rtionship with her?
Before the group of cultivators left Fox Immortal Valley, Yu Daiwei specifically bid farewell to Li Baxian, and her peculiar mannerisms made her extremely pissed off.
Li Baxian maintained aposed demeanor. She is also a Sword Cultivator. When we were in Fox Immortal Valley, she often came to me to spar, but Im not really that close with her Tsk, why am I even telling you all this? Also, Im your Senior Uncle! Dont just blindly call me anything! He raised his hand and lightly tapped Feng Yuechan on the head.
Feng Yuechans cheeks puffed up slightly, looking upset.
Li Baxian walked over to Lu Ye and asked with concern, Little Junior Brother, how are your injuries?
Theyre just minor flesh wounds, nothing serious.
Li Baxian sighed, I didnt expect such a dangerous Spirit Beast to exist in the Cloud River Battlefield. When she enved us with her Divine Soul Secret Technique, I didnt even realize that anything was wrong, but now that I think about it It truly was horrifying. By the way, how did you manage to break free from her Secret Technique?
This was the part that puzzled him the most. On that day when he and Lu Ye were brought back together, they should have all been affected by the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique, but Lu Ye had not shown any ws either in all of those days. It wasnt until today that he learned that his Little Junior Brother had been nning in secret to kill the Fox Mutant all along.
Before Lu Ye could answer, Feng Yuechan spoke up first. Silly Senior Brother, have you forgotten how powerful Junior Brother Lus Divine Soul is? No matter what, the Fox Mutants level is no way past a Champion-ss Spirit Beast. Even if she did use her Divine Soul Secret Technique on Junior Brother Lu, what effect could it have on him?
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were both aware that Lu Ye had obtained a lot of Soul Cleansing Water, which was a divine item that enhanced a cultivators Divine Soul, and Li Baxian had also received some from Lu Ye as well. The fact that Lu Ye could give them away to someone else indicated that he had used a considerable amount himself.
Feng Yuechan assumed that Lu Yes ability to break free from the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique was definitely rted to the strength of his Divine Soul.
This was something that Lu Ye was d to see. It was difficult for him to exin too much about the Tree of Glyphs, so he went with Feng Yuechans flow and agreed. Senior Sister Feng is right.
We do have to thank Little Junior Brothers actions this time. Otherwise, the oue could have turned out far worse than today.
Feng Yuechan continued, Little Junior Brother is still injured, so let him focus on healing first. Senior Brother, I have something to ask you. Come with me.
Li Baxian immediately wore a troubled expression, but before he could say anything, Feng Yuechan pulled him aside.
Lu Ye shook his head and chuckled, but he did need some time to rest and recover.
With the wolf pack guarding the surroundings, there was no need to worry about any danger.
After finding a spot, he sat cross-legged and tossed some Spirit Pills and a Healing Pill into his mouth before silently refining them.
In less than half a day, his depleted Spiritual Power had mostly recovered.
Lu Ye immersed his mind and explored the pink leaf on the Tree of Glyphs. Gathering his consciousness, arge amount of information flooded into his mind suddenly, which shook him slightly.
When he took a closer look at the information, Lu Yes expression became peculiar.
This time, he was lucky and obtained a Glyph directly.
But this Glyph was different from all the previous ones he had obtained.
It wasnt that it was incrediblyplex. The mostplex Glyph he currently knew was undoubtedly Glyph: Fire Phoenix, followed by Glyph: Void. However, Glyph: Void was something he learned from a book and couldnt be freely constructed like the Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs.
Moreover, it was just information from a single leaf. No matter howplex it was, it couldnt be too bad.
The reason it was considered special was that, based on the information, activating this Glyph consumed not Spiritual Power but Soul Power instead.
In other words, it relied on the power of the Divine Soul.
Lu Ye was surprised. This turned out to be a Divine Soul Glyph, also known as a Divine Glyph!
The Way of Glyphs was vast and profound. The ones Lu Ye had learned and mastered so far could be constructed using Spiritual Power. However, if Lu Yes cultivation reached the Divine Ocean Realm and he possessed his own Soul Power, many Glyphs could be constructed using Soul Power, allowing him to unleash even more abilities.
For example, Glyph: Sharp Edge. Constructing it solely as a Glyph could enhance the lethality of Spirit Artifacts, but if constructed with Soul Power, it could be turned into a Divine Soul attack.
It worked with Glyph: Protection, too. Constructed with Soul Power, it could turn into a Divine Soul barrier.
But there were some special Glyphs that could only be constructed using Soul Power, and such Glyphs were known as Divine Glyphs.
What he obtained this time was exactly one of them.
Divine Glyph: Charm!
Based on the multitude of information carried by the leaf, Divine Glyph: Charm had the effect of enchanting the mind, simr to the Divine Soul Secret Technique used by Fox Mutant.
The Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique was Heaven-defying, but that was her innate ability as a Six-Tailed Divine Fox. Ordinary cultivators or Spirit Beasts couldnt possibly master it. If Divine Glyph: Charm could unleash even a fraction of the power of the Fox Mutants Secret Technique, that would already be remarkable in itself.
Unfortunately, this was a Divine Glyph that required Soul Power to activate. As Lu Yes current cultivation level was in the Cloud River Realm, he couldnt utilize it at all. He could construct it using Spiritual Power, but nothing would happen even if he did so.
However, there woulde a day when his cultivation would reach the Divine Ocean Realm, and naturally, he would be able to use the Divine Glyph then.
Just this one Divine Glyph had brought him tremendous gains, not to mention the favor bestowed upon him by the Heavens. His own luck and fortune would probably be even more prosperous in the future.
As for the reward bestowed by the Heavens, he didnt know what it was
Slowly opening his eyes, he stood up.
When Li Baxian, who stood nearby, saw Lu Ye getting up, he asked, Little Junior Brother, are we returning to the Arcane de?
Since the Fox Mutant was dead, and the cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley had dispersed, there was no need to return there.
Yes. Lu Ye nodded and suddenly remembered something, Lets make a trip to Fox Immortal Valley first. Theres something there that caught my interest.
Li Baxian didnt inquire about the details and simply nodded. Very well.
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Chapter 594: Reward of the Heavens
Chapter 594: Reward of the Heavens
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During this trip back to Fox Immortal Valley, they were in apletely different state of mind.
So this is Fox Immortal Valley. Its quite pretty. Feng Yuechan stood in the air, overlooking the area below.
In terms of scenery, Fox Immortal Valley was indeed good. After all, it was the long-time residence of the Fox Mutant so how could it be bad? However, it still couldntpare to the beauty of the Arcane de.
Having been ustomed to the beautiful scenery of the Arcane de, Feng Yuechans evaluation of Fox Immortal Valley was simply that it was quite pretty.
Little Junior Brother, why did youe back here? Li Baxian asked.
Theres a ce here that caught my interest, Lu Ye replied as he led the way ahead.
After a moment, they arrived at a location that was enveloped by a Grand Ward.
Li Baxian was thoughtful. This is the restricted area?Though he had only spent a little over a month in Fox Immortal Valley with Lu Ye, he had heard of the restricted area. More than one cultivator had mentioned to him that anywhere in Fox Immortal Valley was essible except for two ces.
First was the Fox Mutants sleeping quarters, where trespassing was strictly forbidden unless summoned.
The other was the restricted area located deep within Fox Immortal Valley.
There was at least a chance of entering the Fox Mutants sleeping quarters, but no one knew what exactly was in the restricted area. Even Xie Yunhan, who was in charge of the Wards all over Fox Immortal Valley, had no knowledge of it because it was explicitly prohibited by Fox Mutant for anyone to set foot there, not even within a hundred meters of it.
Li Baxian understood now why Lu Ye hade back.
To be honest, he was also somewhat interested in this restricted area. The unknown had a way of sparking ones curiosity.
Lu Ye stood in front of the Grand Ward, then with eyes empowered by Glyph: Insight, he observed the nodes of the Grand Ward and then raised his hand, sending out several Ward gs.
Last time he came here, he had infiltrated the Grand Ward using his proficiency in the Way of Wards so that he didnt damage the Ward, but this time, there was no need for such caution.
Strictly speaking, the strength of the Ward here wasnt high, and for him, disassembling it wasnt that difficult.
He sent out one Ward g after another, embedding them into the nodes. Lu Ye then ced his hand on the Grand Ward and activated it with his Spiritual Power. The flow of Spiritual Power on the Grand Wards barrier gradually slowed down until it came to aplete halt.
The weapon holder at his waist hummed, and nine streams of flowing light shot out in session, sting directly towards a certain spot on the Grand Ward.
Apanied by some cracking sounds like that of a cracking mirror, the Grand Ward immediately fragmented into spiderweb-like fissures. After three breaths of time, it waspletely shattered.
The area covered by the Grand Ward was now revealed to the group.
In it was a solitary grave and an ancient altar.
Why is there a grave here? Feng Yuechan approached it curiously. She saw a gravestone erected in front of a mound with a line ofrge characters engraved on it.
Grave of Master Lei Zhengyin? Feng Yuechan mumbled under her breath.
This Lei Zhengyin should be the Fox Mutant original Master, but I dont know why he was killed by that Berserk Giant Ape. For twenty years the Fox Mutant had been nning revenge and has been gathering cultivators until today, Lu Ye exined casually.
Li Baxian pondered, Little Junior Brother, have you been here before?
Lu Ye replied, Out of curiosity, I sneaked in once and happened to encounter the Fox Mutant mourning here, and I overheard a few things.
I see. Li Baxian nodded.
This grave was made by the Fox Mutant. Theres nothing special about it. What Im interested in is this altar, Lu Ye said as he stepped forward and walked to the altar. Senior Brother, Senior Sister Feng, can you tell what this altar is for?
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan approached together and carefully observed it for a while. Finally, Li Baxian shook his head and said, I cant tell, but it has four recesses, probably for cing Spirit Stones in. Maybe if enough spirit stones are ced, something can be activated.
Activate what?
A Hidden Realm? Feng Yuechan ventured a bold guess.
At that, both Lu Ye and Li Baxian became intrigued. If this altar could truly open some Hidden Realm, then they couldnt afford to miss it.
Moreover, the Cloud River Battlefield had many Hidden Realms, so Feng Yuechans spection had a high chance of being true.
Lets try and see! Lu Ye was excited.
Immediately, the four of them took their positions, taking out Spirit Stones from their Storage Bags and cing them into the recesses.
A shocking scene unfolded. Each Middle Grade Spirit Stone ced in the recesses was drained of its Spiritual Power in a very short time, turning into rubble.
After absorbing the Spiritual Power from the Spirit Stones, theplex patterns on the surface of the altar glowed slightly, illuminating a small area that only upied only a tiny portion of the entire altar, but caused the eyes of Lu Ye and the others to light up nheless.
Exchanging nces, they took out more Spirit Stones to ce in the recesses.
Stone after stone turned into waste, their Spiritual Power sucked dry by the altar as the illuminated area on the altars surface grewrger andrger.
Until a certain point, when the four of them had exhausted over a thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones, the surface of the altar radiated a brilliant light. All of the patterns werepletely illuminated.
At the same time, Lu Ye felt a slight warmth on the back of his hand. He quickly lowered his head to look and saw the golden mark on the back of his hand suddenly fly out, turning into a golden radiance and falling into the altar.
In an instant, only dazzling golden light remained in their vision, blinding their sight.
After several moments, when Lu Ye and the others visions returned, a golden oval-shaped barrier appeared in front of them.
Little Junior Brother, what was that just now? Li Baxian asked, voice filled with uncertainty.
Lu Ye had clearly seen the golden mark on the back of his hand falling into the altar, but he didnt know what that mark was or why it wouldnd on the altar.
Lu Ye finally realized.
It was the reward bestowed by the Heavens!
He had seen the same golden markst time in the Carnage Colosseum. He thought he would have to find a Divine Opportunity Column to learn more about the reward, but he didnt expect that the golden mark was actually used to activate this altar.
In that case, even if the people from Fox Immortal Valley returned here, found the altar, and ced enough Spirit Stones into it, they wouldnt be able to activate it without that imprint.
Its a reward from the Heavens. It was bestowed upon me after I killed the Fox Mutant, Lu Ye exined briefly.
Li Baxian was extremely astonished. A reward from the Heavens for killing the Fox Mutant?
Such a thing was unheard of.
Lu Ye recounted his previous spections, as well as the words the Fox Mutant said before her death. Li Baxian nodded after listening. In that case, by killing the Fox Mutant, Junior Brother did eliminate a great cmity in the Cloud River Battlefield, which can be seen as beneficial to the region, so its understandable that you received a reward from the Heavens.
Feng Yuechans expression changed slightly. Since its a reward from the Heavens, it must be beneficial. Junior Brother Lu, good people do receive good rewards as expected.
Lu Ye chuckled. His main purpose in killing the Fox Mutant was to save Li Baxian. If Li Baxian hadnt been enved by the Fox Mutant, he would have secretly escaped by himself long ago. Now, with all these encounters, it could be considered a twist of fate.
Feng Yuechan gazed eagerly at the golden barrier. I wonder whats behind it.
Li Baxian said, You said its beneficial, so it shouldnt be anything bad. Little Junior Brother, shall we go inside and explore?
Lu Ye nodded. Then, he remembered something. Ju Jia, have the wolf pack guard the surroundings.
Ju Jia nodded, put his fingers to his mouth, and whistled loudly. In an instant, arge group of Wolf Mutants led by the alpha rushed over, creating a formidable presence.
Ju Jia casually drew a circle with his hand and said sinctly, Keep watch.
The wolf pack immediately split up and surrounded the area.
Lu Ye looked on in awe. Even though he had a good rtionship with the wolf pack before, he couldntmand them as skillfully as Ju Jia could.
Ju Jia, lead the way! Lu Yemanded.
Even though this was a reward from the Heavens and likely not dangerous, it was still better to be cautious.
Among the group, Ju Jia had the strongest physique, so it was naturally better for him to lead the way.
Without a word, Ju Jia walked forward in arge stride towards the golden barrier. In a few steps, he reached the front of the golden barrier and plunged right in without hesitation.
Lu Yes gaze remained fixed. Then, he saw ripples spreading on the golden barrier before Ju Jias figure waspletely engulfed by it.
Lu Ye followed closely behind Ju Jia, followed by Feng Yuechan, and with Li Baxian bringing up the rear.
After stepping into the golden barrier, they instantly entered another realm. However, this realm was shrouded in mist. Ju Jia, who entered first, was not far ahead, but under the hazy mist, Lu Ye couldnt see his figure clearly, only a faint outline.
Lu Ye stood still, astonishment glowing in his eyes.
It was because the surroundings felt incredibly familiar to him.
Soon, Li Baxian eximed softly from behind, Divine Baptism?
Among the four present, besides Ju Jia, who had never reached the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy, the remaining three had all climbed it, and thus the monthly Divine Baptism was naturally familiar to them.
The Divine Baptism granted by the Heavens would lead the cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy to apletely separate and special environment, where their mind and bodies would undergo a certain degree of tempering, thus strengthening them.
It could be said that the future prospects of cultivators who had climbed the Roll of Supremacy were different from those who hadnt.
That Wei Que was in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, as were Tan Sheng and Xia Liang. Moreover, all three of them had advanced into the Cloud River Realm with 360 orifices, but whenpared, Wei Ques strength was still far inferior to Tan Sheng and Xia Liang.
The fundamental reason for that was that Tan Sheng and Xia Liang had climbed the Roll of Supremacy, and their rankings were not low, either.
The Spirit Creek Realm was considered the starting point of ones cultivation andid the foundation for ones entire cultivation journey. The Divine Baptism received from the Heavens in this stage undoubtedly solidified the foundations of the cultivators and made their futures broader. The higher the ranking on the Roll of Supremacy, the greater the benefits gained from the Heavens Divine Baptism.
When Lu Ye was in the Spirit Creek Realm, he only killed cultivators who were a single order above him, but once he reached the Cloud River Realm, killing someone two orders above him was not difficult. This was partly due to the disparity in strength among the Cloud River Realm cultivators, but it also had to do with the benefits he gained from being ranked first on the Roll of Supremacy. It should be noted that the higher the cultivation level, the more difficult it became to kill someone of a higher order because the higher the cultivation level, the greater the power increase with each order of advancement.
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Chapter 595: Killing with a Borrowed Blade
Chapter 595: Killing with a Borrowed de
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The Divine Baptism was only avable to cultivators on the Roll of Supremacy in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but there was no such ranking in the Cloud River Battlefield, and it was unheard of for any Cloud River Realm cultivator to receive the Divine Baptism. Yet, Lu Ye and the others unexpectedly encountered it here.
In that case, it seemed that activating the altar did not lead to a Hidden Realm as Feng Yuechan spected, but simply brought them to a Divine Baptism.
But for Lu Ye and the others, this was the best reward.
After the excitement subsided, Lu Ye suddenly realized a problem.
During his time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had received the Divine Baptism four times, with each subsequent one having diminishing effects. By the fourth time, the effect was almost negligible, which was why he decisively advanced to the Cloud River Realm. If he could still receive good benefits, why would he leave the Spirit Creek Battlefield?
But it was not only him. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were in the same situation. They had upied a spot on the Roll of Supremacy for over ten years, but they heard that the Heavens was no longer guiding them. upying a spot on the Roll of Supremacy was just an empty ranking without any substantial rewards.
Among the four present, including Amber, only Ju Jia had not experienced the Divine Baptism before.
So, even if this was and of baptism, would it really be effective for them?If it was useless, then even if this was and of baptism, they would not gain any benefits.
Li Baxian clearly realized this problem and had been silently refining the surrounding power. After a while, he had an excited look on his face. Its effective!
Lu Ye also tried it and discovered that, just as Li Baxian said, the mist here was different from the Divine Baptism they obtained from the Roll of Supremacy. It was evidently more advanced. The Divine Baptism from the Roll of Supremacy was useless for Lu Ye and the others, but the one here was effective.
Lets spread out, Lu Ye said.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both nodded in agreement.
Ju Jia had already sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to cultivate. With each breath he took, arge amount of dense white mist was drawn into his mouth and flowed into his body.
Lu Ye walked in a certain direction, but after walking only a hundred meters, he was blocked by an invisible barrier.
He raised his hand and probed it, only to find that the barrier was extremely sturdy and couldnt be shaken with his current cultivation level. So, he changed direction and walked to the side.
After walking around a hundred meters, as expected, another invisible barrier appeared ahead.
With that, he gathered that the space here wasntrge, only around a hundred meters in length and width.
Looking back, Lu Ye couldnt see Li Baxian and the others anymore. The dense white mist was blocking his line of sight.
There was no need to continue exploring. Lu Ye sat down in ce and began constructing small Spirit Gathering Funnels in his body.
Yi Yi also emerged from Ambers body and sat down ten meters away to cultivate, while Amber opened its mouth wide and devoured the pervasive mist.
Several small Spirit Gathering Funnels worked together, drawing the surrounding mist into Lu Yes body constantly with an invisible force, but the flow of the mist around him was clearly visible.
His cultivation aptitude was indeed very poor, and he couldnt absorb the World Spiritual Qi normally, not even the Spiritual Power in Spirit Stones.
But with his unique cultivation method and this environment, the benefits he could obtain were unmatched by anyone else.
Thinking back to when he was in the Dragon Spring, the Pool of Divine Purification, he had used such a cultivation method to obtain unimaginable benefits.
From the simple test earlier, he confirmed that the white mist here was of a higher grade than that of the Divine Baptism from the Roll of Supremacy in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. However, it was difficult to determine the exact level of improvement.
Until this moment.
Vague astonishment was revealed on Lu Yes face.
As the invisible force surged into his body, every piece of flesh and blood in his body slowly squirmed. It was a sign that his body was growing stronger, and his mind soared even more so with an ethereal and transcendent feeling. His Mental Power also rapidly strengthened at an impressive speed.
Not only that, but the surging power injected into his body merged with the River of Spiritual Power, increasing its volume while elerating its flow at the same time.
The Divine Baptism here actually had the effect of enhancing ones cultivation!
The Divine Baptism from the Roll of Supremacy didnt have such an effect. Lu Ye had received the baptism of the Heavens four times in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, which strengthened both physique and mind, but none of those times resulted in even the slightest increase in his cultivation.
But here, it was possible!
Upon careful thought, it did seem reasonable.
Generally speaking, cultivators who could ascend to the Roll of Supremacy in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were mostly in Heaven Nine, which was already the limit of the Spirit Creek Realm. Any further advancement would require breaking through into the Cloud River Realm. Therefore, the Divine Baptism in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had no effect on cultivation as it would be useless for the powerhouses who could get on the Roll of Supremacy.
Lu Ye was the first person in history to climb the Roll of Supremacy with a cultivation level of Heaven Seven and upy the top position with a cultivation level of Heaven Eight.
This Divine Baptism, which could enhance his physique, strengthen his mind, and even elevate his cultivation, was much better than the Divine Baptism from the Roll of Supremacy in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
It could be foreseen that after this time, his own strength would be significantly enhanced.
The only unknown was how long he could cultivate here.
Even if this was a reward from the Heavens, it was impossible to cultivate here indefinitely. Realizing this, Lu Ye became even more eager.
While the group was cultivating here, in the Grand Wilds Peak, two figures were rushing away in a sorry state, and they were none other than Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
After Lu Ye killed the Fox Mutant and released the Divine Soul Secret Technique, the two of them realized the danger they were in and fled immediately, flying all the way until they reached this ce.
Brother Xia, lets take a break. Tan Sheng gasped for breath. What they experienced today was just like a dream. They had battled an elite-level Spirit Beast and hadnt even fully recovered yet when a pack of Wolf Mutants attacked.
Their survival was not entirely due to luck.
Most of it was thanks to their own powerful strength. After all, they were Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators with foundations that surpassed ordinary cultivators.
Even so, Tan Sheng was nearing his limits.
Even though Xia Liang still had strength to spare, he also wouldnt be able tost for long. When he saw the sorry state that Tan Sheng was in, he nodded. Let us do that.
The twonded at once and took out Spirit Pills to help them recover.
After a moment, when Tan Sheng recovered slightly, he had a nervous expression on his face as he said, I didnt expect there to be monsters of such a level in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Recalling the past month or so they spent in Fox Immortal Valley, Tan Sheng felt as if he were in a dream. When he was enved by the Divine Soul Secret Technique of the Fox Mutant, he didnt feel anything until the Secret Technique dispelled on its own after the Fox Mutant died, where he finally woke up as if from a dream.
What I cant understand is how Lu Ye managed to break free. Considering everything that happened before, Lu Ye must have never been affected by the Divine Soul Secret Technique. Otherwise he wouldnt have mobilized the wolf pack to encircle them. Todays events were definitely nned by Lu Ye for a long time, or the timing wouldnt have been so coincidental, happening right after the battle with the elite-level Spirit Beast in Fox Immortal Valley when their strength was greatly diminished.
Xia Liang was also pondering this question and voiced his suspicion, The only possibility is that his Divine Soul is powerful enough to resist the Fox Mutants Divine Soul Secret Technique.
Tan Shengs eyes twitched, Hes only in the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm. How strong could his Divine Soul be?
Despite saying that, he also understood that this was the only reasonable exnation. The Fox Mutant probably couldnt imagine that among all the cultivators in Fox Immortal Valley, she would end up dying at the hands of someone with the lowest cultivation level.
This Lu Yi Ye has done many extraordinary things in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. We must not underestimate him. After thest time, Xia Liang had thoroughly investigated Lu Ye, and he was astonished when he saw the reports on him.
Throughout history, no cultivator had caused such a stir in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, let alone repeatedly defeating the sects in the Core Circle with his own strength.
Throughout history, no Heaven Eight cultivator had ever upied the top position in the Roll of Supremacy.
Before this journey, Xia Liang had already warned himself not to underestimate Lu Yi Ye, but now he realized that he had still underestimated him even when he thought he was overestimating him. Three Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators sought revenge together, but Wei Que had died, and they were now fleeing like stray dogs.
Tan Sheng chuckled. Doesnt this mean that we owe him a life-saving favor?
Xia Liang coldly snorted, Tan Sheng, are you implying that we should be grateful to him?
Tan Shengs expression turned cold, How is that possible? He killed an acolyte of my New Moon Sect and destroyed our Outpost. How could I forget that? Its just Seeking revenge against him is as difficult as reaching the Heavens!
So what if they found out where the location of Lu Yes Arcane de was now? The Arcane de was shrouded by Wards and guarded by Wolf Mutants. Even if they found several dozen men to help them, it still wouldnt guarantee sess.
With their connections, they could gather that many helpers, even hundreds.
But even so would they really be able to take down that Arcane de? Could they truly kill Lu Yi Ye? Even if they seeded, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties.
Xia Liang clenched his fists, which cracked with a crisp sound. He couldnt understand what Lu Yi Ye had done to deserve such an ability that allowed him control over a wolf pack!
He also recalled how he had guided Lu Ye daily in the cultivation of his de technique on Fox Immortal Valley and taught him the Minds Eye Technique The frustration in his heart was almost overwhelming.
That bastard wasnt affected by the Divine Soul Secret Technique at all, but he used it as an excuse to seek guidance on his de techniques. He was also incredibly foolish, teaching him whatever he wanted to know!
There are more than just the two of us who want to take his life in Thousand Demon Ridge, Xia Liang said, trying to calm himself.
Brother Xia, are you suggesting that Tan Sheng pondered.
We should secretly spread the location of Lu Yi Yes Arcane de. There will always be someone who will cause him trouble, especially thoserge Arcane des They are constantly plundering Wisps of Sanctification to expand and improve their Arcane des, and the allure of a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification is not small to them, adding on Lu Yi Ye himself Xia Liang paused suddenly. I remember there is an Arcane de nearby that is mainlyposed of Cult ckfyre cultivators. Cult ckfyre hates the Crimson Blood Sect more than anyone else. If that group of lunatics finds out Lu Yi Yes whereabouts, guess what they will do?
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Chapter 596: Fifth Order Cloud River Realm
Chapter 596: Fifth Order Cloud River Realm
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More than thirty years ago, Cult ckfyre was a First Tier sect with a formidable reputation. However, they were only a Fourth Tier sect today. The main reason for that was theplete annihtion of their Divine Ocean Realm disciples, and the culprit behind it all was the Crimson Blood Sect.
Back then, in the major battle between the two factions, three First Tier sects in Thousand Demon Ridge were forcefully knocked down from their high positions. Apart from Cult ckfyre, there were also the Tower of Morning and the Vale of Venom.
In terms of hatred for the Crimson Blood Sect, these three sects were the strongest in that regard. Mo Yuan had mentioned these three sects to Lu Ye when they first met.
Tan Shengs eyes lit up as he listened. pelling the wolves to devour the tigers, reaping the benefits without taking action! Thats a great n, Brother Xia!
With just their strength, they couldnt pose any threat to Lu Ye. It wouldnt be realistic for them to gather helpers for revenge either. If they did so, there would certainly be a lot of casualties. After all, there were many Wolf Mutants at Lu Yes Arcane de.
But if the people from Cult ckfyre knew about the situation there, they would definitely take action. At that time, the two of them could hide in the shadows to wait for an opportunity to strike and even get a share of the benefits.
As for discreetly conveying the information to Cult ckfyre, it naturally wouldnt be a problem for the two of them.
After a short rest, the two of them once again took to the skies with their telekic techniques and flew towards the outskirts of Grand Wilds Peak, transmitting messages out along the way.Time passed by. At thend of baptism, Lu Ye and the others were cultivating separately.
Lu Ye originally thought they wouldnt be able to stay in this ce for too long, but to his surprise, it wasnt until three dayster that a powerful repulsive force came from all directions, and he quickly stood up.
Before Lu Ye could make any further movements, his vision suddenly blurred, and he appeared directly on top of the altar. His body staggered for a moment, but he hurriedly stabilized himself.
Looking up, he saw Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, Ju Jia, Amber, and Yi Yi, all expelled from the altar, the Spiritual Power surging within them.
Judging from the fluctuations of their Spiritual Power, it was evident that their cultivation had improved.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were originally in the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, but they had now reached the Sixth Order in just over a month since theirst breakthrough.
Yi Yi and Ambers auras had also reached a levelparable to the Fourth Order.
Lu Ye and Ju Jia had both reached the Fifth Order!
Lu Ye had broken through just one day ago. The speed of his cultivation in that ce was even higher than the efficiency of using the Golden Amulet. If he had not experienced it for himself, he could hardly believe it was true.
Little Junior Brother, do you feel it? Li Baxian gently clenched his fist, then opened it, and clenched it again, as if experiencing the growth of his own power.
Lu Ye nodded.
During these three days, his experience was the most obvious since he didnt have to focus his mind during cultivation. With the continuous functioning of the small Spirit Gathering Funnels, he could naturally and continuously devour the white mist without doing anything, and even with much higher efficiency than the others.
But It was different for Li Baxian and the others. They had been immersed in their cultivation all along and only now felt the changes within themselves.
This breakthrough not only improved their cultivation, but also strengthened their physique and Mental Power. The speed of the River of Spiritual Powers flow within their bodies had also be faster. Compared to before, the speed had increased by at least thirty percent.
Clearly, these were the benefits brought on by the Divine Baptism.
An advancement in their cultivation meant a strengthening of their power, as well as the enhancement of their physique and Mental Power. The increased speed of the River of Spiritual Powers flow further augmented their power.
It could be said that this cultivation session was not a simple improvement of a small level for everyone.
Compared to three days ago, the change in their power was like night and day.
However, true strength could only be demonstrated through life and death battles. Thus, Lu Ye was unsure what his true level was at currently.
Li Baxian still had an incredulous expression on his face. After a long while, he sighed. As the ancient people once said, when one person achieves greatness, even chickens and dogs can ascend to the Heavens. This time, we owe it to Little Junior Brother for killing the Fox Mutant.
If Lu Ye hadnt killed the Fox Mutant and received the reward of the Heavens, they wouldnt have obtained such opportunities. As for the thousands of Middle Grade Spirit Stones consumed to activate the altar Compared to the benefits gained, it was nothing. Not to mention thousands, even tens of thousands of Spirit Stones couldntpare with what they got.
What do you mean chicken and dogs Im not an animal Feng Yuechan pouted, looking displeased.
Li Baxianughed heartily, It means what it means!
Feng Yuechan smiled and turned to Lu Ye. But we really do have to thank Junior Brother Lu this time. With this opportunity, our future cultivation path will definitely be broader and smoother.
What she said was right. Although the Cloud River Realm was not the foundational realm of cultivation for cultivators, their level in the Cloud River Realm was not that high. The benefits they obtained this time could be said to haveid a more solid foundation for them and would greatly benefit their future growth.
We are a family, so why does Senior Sister speak as if we are from two different families? Lu Ye said with some amusement.
Feng Yuechan clearly misunderstood and nced at Li Baxian, a blush appearing on her face.
The altar Li Baxian turned to look at the altar. He had originally nned to wait until their cultivation stabilized before cultivating again. However, when he nced over, he realized that the altar had already cracked, and the words that reached his mouth were swallowed back down.
Lu Ye also noticed the change in the altar and said thoughtfully, It seems that the reward from the Heavens was a one-time thing.
Though, even if the altar hadnt cracked, they still wouldnt be able to reactivate the altar without the golden mark.
And now, it seemed like the altar located deep in Fox Immortal Valley was a reward that the Heavens had prepared long ago.
Lets return to the Arcane de, Li Baxian said.
With the altar destroyed, there was no need to stay in Fox Immortal Valley any longer.
After a moment, several streams of light shot up into the sky, heading straight towards Arcane the de, followed closely by the vast pack of wolves.
Is there something on your mind, Little Junior Brother? Li Baxian leaned in and asked.
Lu Ye replied, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang are not dead yet, and the location of the Arcane de has been exposed. They will definitelye back.
Li Baxians expression also darkened. It was regrettable that they couldnt kill Xia Liang and Tan Sheng. When Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia led the wolf pack to assist them, they had given the Wolf Mutants the order to surround but not to kill them as they couldnt determine the allegiances of the other people. Actually engaging them in battle would undoubtedly result in significant losses for the wolf pack.
Even though the order had been given, the wolf pack were not cultivators and did not possess considerable Spiritual Intelligence. At that time, Feng Yuechan was trying to restrain Li Baxian, and Ju Jia had been enved by the Fox Mutant with her Divine Soul Secret Technique. In the midst of the chaos, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang managed to escape with their lives.
After all, those two were Ninth Order cultivators and not so easily killed.
They had suffered a great loss thest time because they were caught off guard, unaware of the existence of the wolf pack, resulting in heavy injuries for two while Wei Que was killed outright.
Now, they were well aware of the strength in the Arcane de, so if they were to return, they would surely be fully prepared.
The situation may not be so bad. Li Baxian shook his head.
Why do you say that?
Li Baxian exined, Since they know the strength of the Arcane de, they must also be aware that bringing fewer people would just be futile. But even if they did bring a sufficient number of people, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties in a fight, which they wont be able to ept. In order topletely overwhelm our Arcane de, they would need to bring hundreds of people at the very least.
What if they really brought hundreds of people?
Li Baxians brow furrowed slightly. I dont think itlle to that
Personal grudges alone shouldnt be enough to make them act, but dont forget that I carry a significant bounty on me, Senior Brother. Money has always been a powerful motivator. Even if they simply reveal the location of the Arcane de, we will still face constant troubles in the future.
Is Little Junior Brother suggesting
Lu Ye fell silent. He had thought that selecting the location of their Arcane de to be deep in Grand Wilds Peak, and with the wolf pack to guard them, would ensure their safety, but trouble had already arisen in such a short time.
Recalling the Tertius-level Arcane de they obtainedst time, he also hadnt been able to hold onto it for long. He had only entered the Myriad Beast Domains Hidden Realms when it was stolen by someone else.
He was still someone who had Heavens favor, after all. He had great fortune and auspicious luck, but howe that didnt seem to apply with Arcane des?
There are two options. We either move the Arcane de or secure a retreat route.
Moving the Arcane de Li Baxian shook his head. The Arcane de has the Divine Opportunity Column that you bought, Little Junior Brother. If we move it, we would be wasting 100,000 Contribution Points for nothing. Furthermore, transferring the Arcane de would cause the level of the Wisp of Sanctification to decline
Lu Ye was extremely surprised. Transferring the Arcane de would cause the level of the Wisp of Sanctification to decline? He genuinely had no idea about this.
Li Baxian nodded. Though there is a way to extract the Wisp of Sanctification again, each extraction would lower its level by one.
So to say, if we move the Arcane de, we would only have a Secundus-level Arcane de?
And a Divine Opportunity Column would also be consumed inpensation.
So, in the end, when the Tertius-level Arcane des Wisp of Sanctification was stolen, they would only have obtained a Quartus-level Wisp of Sanctification. What a waste that would be.
Thats right, so unless absolutely necessary, we should avoid moving the Arcane de.
Lu Ye nodded. Then, we should focus on securing retreat routes instead. After we return, I will set up several Teleportation Wards just in case.
With Teleportation Wards in ce, then even if the Arcane de were breached, their safety would be reasonably guaranteed.
In the Carnage Colosseum, when Lu Ye was in the Third Order Cloud River Realm, the Teleportation Wards he set up could cover a range of a hundred kilometers. Now that he was in the Fifth Order and with his increased power, the range he could cover would surely be wider.
Regardless of what Tan Sheng and Xia Liang would do, taking care of their own side first was never a bad idea.
After discussing it with Li Baxian for a while, Lu Yes n became clearer in his mind.
They swiftly flew back and by the time evening approached, they could see Ameliorate Valley in the distance. It had been a few days since they returned and there was no one guarding the Arcane de, but fortunately, the Wards that Lu Ye had set up were still functioning perfectly. From a distance, there were no signs of the Arcane de being attacked.
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Chapter 597: Sacred Universe Arcane Glade
Chapter 597: Sacred Universe Arcane de
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The Arcane de was unharmed. After all, this ce was deep within Grand Wilds Peak, and even if cultivators passed by, they wouldnt necessarily notice anything due to the Wards set up by Lu Ye that shrouded this ce.
After activating the Grand Wards Control Gem, they entered the Arcane de, where they were greeted by a beautiful scenery. On the soft green grass, many wolf cubs were frolicking and ying around. The adult Wolf Mutants who stayed behind to guard the Arcane de werent many, only about a dozen or so. When they sensed themotion and confirmed that it was Lu Ye and the others returning, they paid no further attention to them.
It took another five or six hours before the wolf pack returned in its entirety.
Wolf Mutants couldnt fly, so they were much slower than Lu Ye and the others.
At this moment, Lu Ye stood before the Divine Opportunity Column and connected his consciousness to the Vault of Providence, purchasing arge quantity of materials.
The location of the Arcane de had already been exposed, and Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were unlikely to just give up so easily. It could be foreseen that it wouldnt be long before cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge woulde to attack. Since they had decided to temporarily stay within the Arcane de, it was necessary to set up some Wards, especially Teleportation Wars. Although the Arcane de had the Divine Opportunity Column that Lu Ye brought, allowing them to return to Jiu Zhou at any time, it still wouldnt hurt to set up a few Teleportation Wars.
After acquiring the materials, Lu Ye began refining Ward gs.
He had recently crafted arge number of Ward gs in Fox Immortal Valley, but they had all been consumed, which resulted in his sessful assistance in the Fox Mutants ying of the Berserk Giant Ape.After a few days, he started refining Ward gs again, and the feeling waspletely different. It was easier to refine them now.
This was not only the result of his cultivation level increasing but also his Mental Power bing stronger. With a strong mind, he could control Spiritual Power more intricately.
In the past, it took him several days to refine two Ward gs, but now he could make three, which was a great improvement in efficiency.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were responsible for searching for suitable locations to set up Teleportation Wards in the surroundings. As for Ju Jia, he couldnt help much, so as long as he didnt cause trouble, it was already good enough. Since their return, he had been in cultivation.
While the group was busy here, in another valley less than 1,500 kilometers away from Ameliorate Valley, in a Grand Ward enveloped area, cultivators were frequentlying in and out.
This ce was the Sacred Universe Arcane de, which was also marked on the 10-point map sold by the Divine Trade Association.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de had existed in the Cloud River Battlefield for over twenty years and was considered one of the more famous Arcane des in the vicinity.
Compared to Lu Yes Arcane de, the Sacred Universe Arcane de was undoubtedly arge one. With over twenty years of development, the scale of the Arcane de had continuously expanded. Currently, there were over a hundred cultivators in the entire Arcane de. Looking across the entire Cloud River Battlefield, there werent many ces that wererger in scale than the Sacred Universe Arcane de.
What was particrly rare was that a few years ago, the Sacred Universe Arcane de had been promoted from a Secundus-level Arcane de to a Primus-level Arcane de.
The level of an Arcane de could be upgraded, and the scale could be expanded by integrating more Wisps of Sanctification into it. In the case of Lu Yes Arcane de, it was already a Primus-level Arcane de, the highest level, but if Lu Ye could obtain other qualities of Wisps of Sanctification and ced them in the Spirit Spout, the level of the Arcane de wouldnt be improved, but the scale would expand. The higher the quality of the integrated Wisps of Sanctification, the greater the expansion of the scale, allowing more cultivators to reside in it and cultivate.
In general, the development ofrge-scale Arcane des in the Cloud River Battlefield followed the same step-by-step process.
Many Sects had their exclusive Arcane des that were passed down from generation to generation.
This had significant long-term implications for the development of Sects because once their disciples advanced to the Cloud River Realm, they could enter the Arcane de to cultivate in peace.
However, for many cultivators, cultivating in the Arcane de was not without its drawbacks. It provided stability butcked the strive and the spirit.
So, even for sects with inherited Arcane des, the cultivators wouldnt stay in the Arcane de all the time. They would frequently go out to hone themselves.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de was not the exclusive Arcane de of a single Sect but rather belonged to two.
One was Cult ckfyre, and the other was the Universe Sect.
Both were Sects from Thousand Demon Ridge and happened to be in the same region of You Zhou. They had a good rtionship, so when their acolytes arrived in the Cloud River Battlefield, they naturally helped each other.
Currently, the cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de were led by two Ninth Order Cloud River Realm experts. One was Huo Liaoyuan from Cult ckfyre, and the other was Tu Guanxiong from the Universe n.
Having only two Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators lead over a hundred people in an Arcane de may make it seem small, but it was not to say that they were the only ones in the Ninth Order. Even if Cult ckfyre and the Universe n were not First Tier Sects, they were still Fourth or Fifth Tier Sects. It was not possible for them to have only two Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators.
However, Cloud River Realm cultivators didnt stay in the Cloud River Battlefield all the time. Especially after reaching a high cultivation level, they spent most of their time in Jiu Zhou. Improving their cultivation was secondary. Achieving personal growth through experiences was more important.
Even if they had to stay in the Arcane de to take care of their Junior Brothers and Sisters, they still couldnt possibly stay there all year round.
The ones who stayed still only did so on a rotational basis. They would be reced by other Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators after three months once their time was up.
Inside a secluded room, Huo Liaoyuan was in the midst of cultivation. When he sensed some movement from his Battlefield Imprint, he didnt check on it immediately but remained quietly seated.
After an incense stick of time, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of impure Qi.
He touched the Battlefield Imprint to check, and as soon as he did, his expression changed slightly. This message was sent by one of his Junior Brothers who was traveling around to train in the Cloud River Battlefield, but it was the information in the message that caught his interest.
After thinking for a moment, he sent out a message and hurriedly got up.
Leaving the room, he went straight to another building. Before he could knock on the door, it opened by itself and a figure appeared before him. It was Tu Guanxiong, the other Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator in the Arcane de.
Tu Guanxiong weed Huo Liaoyuan inside and asked, Senior Brother Huo, is the information reliable?
It was a message sent by Nan Cheng from the outside. Whether its urate or not, I cant confirm, Huo Liaoyuan replied.
Tu Guanxiong thought for a moment and recalled who this Nan Cheng was. Both sects had more Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators than just the two of them, and there were also more Cloud River Realm cultivators from both sects than the mere hundred in the Arcane de.
However, the Arcane de could only amodate a hundred cultivators for cultivation. Therefore, more acolytes were scattered throughout the Cloud River Battlefield in search of their own opportunities.
Where did he get the information? Tu Guanxiong asked.
Huo Liaoyuan exined, Someone passed on the message to him, and the person who received the information heard it from somewhere else. The source cannot be determined.
What does Senior Brother Huo think about the credibility of this information?
Until we see it with our own eyes, its hard to believe any piece of information. However, when ites to Lu Ye, its worth investigating. What concerns me is that the information that came seemed too detailed,
The information he received not only included Lu Yes current location but also the various forces within his Arcane de, including the cultivation levels of Li Baxian and others, as well as the rtivelyrge wolf pack.
Is Senior Brother Huo suspecting that Tu Guanxiong was thoughtful.
If Im not mistaken, someone suffered a big loss at Lu Yes hands and had no hope of revenge, so they want to use someone else as a pawn to kill him! Huo Liaoyuan paused. To have nearly three hundred Wolf Mutants Yi Ye is no Beastmaster, so how does he manage to control them?
Even if he were a Beastmaster, it was impossible to control so many Wolf Mutants.
If thats the case, we might not be able to handle it, Tu Guanxiong said worriedly. However, he knew about the grudge between Cult ckfyre and the Crimson Blood Sect, and that Yi Ye carried a huge bounty on his head. If he knew such details, then surely Huo Liaoyuan must be tempted as well. Otherwise, he wouldnt havee to discuss this matter with him.
Not to mention Huo Liaoyuan, even he himself was tempted. After the incident at the Carnage Colosseum, Yi Ye extorted a significant amount of resources from the major Sects in the Spirit Creek Battlefields Thousand Demon Ridge, and the bounty on him from the Thousand Demon Ridge had increased again by a considerable amount.
During these days, countless people in the entire Cloud River Battlefield were searching for Yi Yes whereabouts, but unfortunately, they came up empty. No one knew where he was. Now that they had an exact location, who wouldnt be tempted? If this information were to be spread, it would only take a few days for that ce to be crowded with people.
However, the person who leaked the information chose not to spread it but instead delivered it straight to Cult ckfyre, so it was clear that they werentpletely giving up yet.
They do have a considerable number of Wolf Mutants, but with careful nning, we may still have a chance to get Yi Ye.
Previously, Lu Yes cultivation was only in the Third Order Cloud River Realm. Even if he received the reward from the Roster of Carnage, his cultivation wouldnt have changed much. When dealing with such an enemy, they could strike a fatal blow on him as long as they were given an opportunity, so why even bother getting entangled with the wolf pack?
In any case, have someone go and investigate first. We need to confirm if the information is reliable. As for those who are just nning to sit by and wait for the fish to swim into theirs A cold glint shed in Huo Liaoyuans. Well have to see whether they have the ability to snatch the opportunity or not!
For them to act so covertly indicated that they were acting alone andcked power, but they had the power of an entire Arcane de behind them, so what was there to fear?
I understand, Tu Guanxiong agreed and immediately sent out a message.
When it came to investigating such matters, a Ghost Cultivator was naturally required to take action. However, almost all of the acolytes in Cult ckfyre were Spell Cultivators, and it was impossible to find a single Ghost Cultivator among them. They could only rely on the Universe n to send someone.
In just a moment, a small and lean man stepped in. Senior Brother Tu, Senior Brother Huo.
Tu Guanxiong said, Yan Gui, I want you to go and investigate a ce.
The Ghost Cultivator Yan Gui responded, Please instruct me, Senior Brother.
Go to Ameliorate Valley!
Yan Gui took out a 10-point map, quickly examined it, and located the position of Ameliorate Valley. He raised a brow. This ce is already deep into Grand Wilds Peak. Senior Brothers, what is over there?
Youll know once youre there. Tu Guanxiong didnt explicitly say, fearing it would give their Junior Brother a biased impression. Remember, investigate carefully, be cautious. It might be dangerous there.
Yan Gui didnt mind, Dont worry, Senior Brother. I will be cautious.
Even though his cultivation level was not particrly high, he was still in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm. Moreover, as a Ghost Cultivator, he excelled in the art of sneaking, and gathering intelligence was a simple task for him.
If you discover anything, report back immediately.
Yes! Yan Gui epted the order and left the room. Using his telekic techniques, he soared into the sky.
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Chapter 598: Increased Power
Chapter 598: Increased Power
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Lu Yes cultivation advanced by one order, and he also gained some benefits from the Divine Baptism, which greatly improved his efficiency in refining Ward gs. In just two days, he had nearly 300 Ward gs ready.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan also found several suitable locations for setting up Teleportation Wards.
With the consumption of arge number of Ward gs, one Ward took shape after another, and soon the 300 Ward gs werepletely depleted.
On the fourth day after returning from Fox Immortal Valley, while Lu Ye was refining more Ward gs, he suddenly looked up and nced in a certain direction outside of the Arcane de.
In the next moment, he got up and flew out of the Arcane de. As his figure rushed out of the Grand Defensive Ward, he instantly activated Glyph: Invisibility and Glyph: Conceal Presence, causing his figure to quickly disappear.
Less than half a kilometer from the Arcane de, Yan Gui quietly waited behind arge tree while concealing his figure.
He had rushed all the way here after receiving Tu Guanxiongs order. With his cultivation in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm, it shouldnt have taken him four days to arrive.
However, this ce was deep within Grand Wilds Peak, and there were many dangers along the way. Fortunately, he was a Ghost Cultivator and could avoid many unnecessary battles, but it still caused some dy.He had only just arrived at Ameliorate Valley today, but unexpectedly, it wasnt long before he triggered an rm Ward.
He immediately distanced himself from the location of the rm Ward and silently observed from the shadows.
Tu Guanxiong only instructed him to investigate the situation in Ameliorate Valley without specifically mentioning what was there. However, the fact that both Tu Guanxiong and Huo Liaoyuan attached great importance to it indicated that there were some secrets hidden here in Ameliorate Valley.
Since there was an rm Ward, someone must have set it up.
Who was hiding here?
Now that he had triggered the rm Ward, the person whoid the Ward would surelye to investigate, and then he would be found out. However, what puzzled him was that he had waited for half a day but still hadnt seen a trace of anyone.
Almost a thousand meters away from him, Lu Ye concealed himself and silently observed the situation. There were no signs of wild animals or Spirit Beasts in the vicinity, and he couldnt catch any anomalies around him either
Someone had been here!
Moreover, from the current situation, it was highly likely that it was a Ghost Cultivator!
He rushed out the moment the Ward was triggered, but still failed to catch the other person. It was clear that they had gone into hiding, showing that this Ghost Cultivator was a cautious person. [Was it someone sent by Tan Sheng and Xia Liang?]
It seemed unlikely since the two of them knew the situation in the Arcane de like the back of their hands, so why would they send a Ghost Cultivator here?
Could it be a passerby?
Perhaps Perhaps not
Lu Ye moved slowly with his aurapletely concealed, quietly looking around his surroundings. With his Mental Power enhanced again, he could sense any abnormalities without relying on Glyph: Insight within a range of a hundred meters.
After a cup of teas time, then an incense stick of time
The game in the dark unfolded silently.
It wasnt until nearly an hourter that Lu Ye suddenly turned his head and looked towards the back of arge tree. Something seemed off over there.
With Glyph: Insight empowering his vision, colorful lights began to flow. As expected, behind therge tree, amidst the flowing and intertwining colors, the outline of a slightly short figure was revealed.
He quietly approached.
Yan Gui suddenly felt a sense of unease. Though it was faint, as someone who often ventured into dangerous ces as a Ghost Cultivator, he was always cautious. Otherwise, Tu Guanxiong wouldnt have trusted him toe here alone to investigate the situation.
He immediately held his breath and focused his senses, silently searching for the source of his unease.
It was then that a sudden surge of Spiritual Power fluctuations appeared behind him. Without hesitation, he quickly turned around, the scimitar in his hands glowing with a Spiritual Light as he blocked behind him.
A figure had appeared not far behind him at some point in time, and as the fiery red de descended, Yan Gui felt a tremendous force apanied by the eruption of Spiritual Powering from the front, which sent him flying backwards, and the blood and Qi around his chest felt like it was to tumbling.
His Concealment was broken, and his figure was revealed in the air.
From the air, he recognized the face of the person who had attacked him at a nce. Eyes flickering, he eximed, Yi Ye! [So thats how it is!]
It finally dawned on him why Senior Brother Tu and Senior Brother Huo would ask him toe and investigate the ce, it turned out that this was Yi Yes hiding ce.
He had seen Lu Yes image before. The Sacred Universe Arcane de was led by Cult ckfyre, who shared deep enmity with the Crimson Blood Sect, and Huo Liaoyuan had obtained an Image Stone from somewhere, which Yi Yes image was imprinted into.
Huo Liaoyuans intention was undoubtedly to have all of Cult ckfyre acolytes memorize Yi Yes appearance.
So even though Yan Gui had never seen Lu Ye before, he recognized who he was at a nce.
Excitement and exhration surged in his heart followed by boundless astonishment.
A storm of de strikes enveloped him, with each de emitting a deathly aura. Yan Gui kept retreating, but in a short span of time, his hand had be numb and the web of his thumb was ripped while the Spiritual Power grew tumultuous within his body! [How is this guy so strong?]
Even though Yan Gui was a Ghost Cultivator and not skilled in direct confrontations, he was still in the Seventh Order. The ebb of Yi Yes Spiritual Power was only in the Fifth Order, yet he couldnt resist him at all. Faced with the ferocious and relentless de strikes, he couldnt help but feel overwhelmed. [Im going to die!] The terrifying thought couldnt help but form in his mind. The excitement on Yan Guis face had long vanished, leaving only fear and panic behind.
Lu Ye didnt use his full strength with the first strike because he couldnt determine the identity of the person who came.
However, when Yan Gui shouted out his name, their stance became clear to him.
Since he recognized him, he naturally knew his background. If the other party belonged to the Grand Sky Coalition, they would have revealed their Battle Imprint willingly. Otherwise It meant they were from Thousand Demon Ridge.
So, from the second strike onward, Lu Yi Ye didnt hold back.
*Chi* Yan Gui screamed in agony as the clothes on his chest were torn open, revealing a bloody wound.
Senses dulled by pain, Yan Guis defense became even more chaotic. Lu Yi Ye took advantage of this and struck again with a cut that nearly beheaded Yan Gui, but at thest moment, thetter had raised his own Spirit Artifact to block the would-be fatal strike. Even so, he was sent flying, blood spraying in the air.
Landing miserably on the ground, Yan Gui didnt immediately escape. Instead, he ced his hand on his Battle Imprint
Yan Gui did not know why Yi Ye was so strong, but he knew that he had been exposed, and that he would surely meet an unfortunate end. Regardless, he had to transmit the information back no matter what. He couldnt just die in vain.
He didnt even consider begging for mercy because he knew that begging would only bring greater humiliation and torment to himself.
However, in the next moment, his heart suddenly contracted violently, and his strength and vitality rapidly dissipated. He looked down and saw a fiery saber piercing through his chest, and the raging Spiritual Power exploded inside him, causing him to stumble and cough up blood.
The brightness in his eyes quickly dimmed as Lu Ye withdrew his sword, and his body fell forward.
Shaking the blood off his Invible Saber, Lu Ye ced it back into its sheath.
A small red light floated out from the body of the Ghost Cultivator in front of him andnded on the back of Lu Yes hand like a firefly.
Frowning at the corpse before him, Lu Ye suddenly realized that he seemed to have underestimated his current strength.
Even though the opponent was a Ghost Cultivator who wasnt skilled in directbat, he was still in the Seventh Order. Yet, in the face of Lu Yes current self, he could barely put up the slightest resistance.
Recalling the Seventh Order Combat Cultivator they had encountered in the Carnage Colosseum, he and Li Baxian had fought with all their might. In the end, if he hadnt sessfully activated the Beast Form Secret Technique, it would have been hard to say who would have emerged victorious.
In just a short two months, a cultivator of the Seventh Order that once pushed him and his two senior brothers to their limits could not evenst for thirty breaths against him now. The growth of his own strength could be described as Earth-shattering
Of course, he was only in the Third Order Cloud River Realm at the Carnage Colosseum, whereas now, in just a little over two months, he had advanced by two Orders and reached the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm.
But it was undeniable that the Divine Baptism he had obtained from the altar at Fox Immortal Valley had greatly enhanced his foundation.
Especially the increased flow rate of Spiritual Power in his body. The faster the Spiritual Power flowed within a cultivators body, the stronger the power that could be instantly erupted from one.
Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan arrived together andnded nearby. Seeing the corpse in front of them, Li Baxian asked, What happened?
Lu Ye replied, Someone came to investigate.
Li Baxian frowned. Was it Xia Liang? Tan Sheng? Then, he changed his mind. No, they are well aware of the situation in the Arcane de. Theres no need for them to send someone to investigate. Could it be a passerby?
Doesnt seem like it. Lu Ye shook his head. If it were just a passerby, it wouldnt make sense for them to have urately located Ameliorate Valley. Moreover, recalling the reaction he had seen when the Ghost Cultivator caught a glimpse of his appearance, it felt more like this cultivator had been sent here unknowingly to gather information.
Raising his hand, Lu Ye used his Spiritual Power to retrieve two Storage Bags from the body.
In just a moment, the Restraining Locks on the Storage Bags were opened, and Lu Ye quickly searched through them. He soon found a jade tablet that resembled an identification badge with a pattern of a pce on the front and arge character engraved in the middle of it. [Huan!]
Looking at the back, it should be the name of the deceased Ghost Cultivator, Yan Gui.
Lu Ye tossed the jade tablet to Li Baxian, who nced at it and pondered, It might be someone from the Universe n.
Universe n
Lu Ye tried to remember and vaguely recalled that it was a Fifth Tier sect. He had seen the marking of their Sect Outpost on the 10-point map during the Inner Circle of the battlefield.
Sacred Universe Arcane de! Li Baxian murmured again.
What?
Li Baxian took out his 10-point map and examined it, then furrowed his brow. If its someone from the Universe n, then they might be from the Sacred Universe Arcane de! The Sacred Universe Arcane de is arge-scale Arcane de jointly owned by the Universe n and another force from Thousand Demon Ridge. Theyre marked on the 10-point map and are only less than two thousand kilometers away from us.
A thousand or so kilometers was undoubtedly a long distance for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.
However, for one in the Cloud River Realm, it wasnt a considerable distance at all. With Lu Yes current speed, even if he only flew with telekinesis and traveled at full speed, it would only take him about a day.
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Chapter 599: Crisis
Chapter 599: Crisis
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The other force in the Thousand Demon Ridge, I believe Little Junior Brother wont be unfamiliar with them.
Who?
Cult ckfyre!
Indeed, Lu Ye was not unfamiliar with this name. The first time he came in contact with them, these people left a deep impression on Lu Ye.
It was at the Spirit Creek Battlefields Goldentip where he had his final battle against a Sacred Child from Cult ckfyre, who had crippled her own Spiritual Points, causing her cultivation to drop from the Seventh Order to the Sixth Order.
The battle was extremely fierce, and both sides fought until they were spent like dried-up oilmps. In the end, he used up thest trace of his Spiritual Power to unleash the Fire Phoenix Technique and finally killed his opponent.
Later, in the inner circle, when they pulled together a coalition force called the Grand Sky Coalition, Lu Ye specifically led the coalition to destroy Cult ckfyres Outpost since his senior sister had mentioned that Cult ckfyre had a deep grudge against the Crimson Blood Sect!
Now, with the sudden appearance of someone that seemed to be a member of the Universe n and the fact that there was a Sacred Universe Arcane de controlled jointly by Cult ckfyre and the Universe n a few thousand kilometers away, it was inevitable that Li Baxian would make various connections.If this person truly hails from the Sacred Universe Arcane de, we might be facing quite the trouble in the near future, Li Baxian said.
Leaving aside everything else, a rtivelyrge First Tier sect had been forcefully knocked down and had only recently recovered to the Fourth Tier. There was nothing that could resolve such a grudge. Once the people from Cult ckfyre learned of Lu Yes current location, they would surely take action.
Lets just wait and see what happens before we do anything. Lu Yes gaze flickered.
He had thought that with a Primus-level Arcane de, he could peacefully cultivate here with Li Baxian and the others. However, contrary to his wishes, it hadnt been long before Xia Liang, Tan Sheng, and othersunched an attack on them, and now they might be targeted by the Sacred Universe Arcane de as well
But Lu Ye was unfettered. Within the Arcane de was the Divine Opportunity Column he had invited, along with numerous Wards and a pack of Mutant Wolves to stand guard. The worst-case scenario would be the Arcane de being breached, and he and Li Baxian would be forced to retreat to Jiu Zhou.
Did he transmit any messages before dying? Li Baxian asked.
Lu Ye nodded. Yes, but Im not sure if it was sessful or not.
When this guy named Yan Gui sensed that something was wrong, he suddenly pressed on his Battlefield Imprint. Even though Lu Ye killed him quickly, he had no idea whether he had managed to transmit the message sessfully or not.
Prepare for the worst and respond appropriately, Li Baxian said, and the three quickly returned to the Arcane de.
Amber was sound asleep, mainly because Lu Ye had fed it the Mutant Core of that elite-level Spirit Beast.
Lu Ye had already opened the Storage Bag he scavenged from the Fox Mutant, and the harvest was quite substantial. There were hundreds of Mutant Cores alone.
It wasnt surprising that she had umted so many of these Mutant Cores considering how the Fox Mutant had been lording over Fox Immortal Valley for twenty years.
Amber had swallowed many Mutant Cores before, but there hadnt been much of a reaction. However, after swallowing the Mutant Core of the Berserk Giant Ape, it soon fell into a deep sleep. Apparently, the power contained within that Mutant Core was too strong, and Amber needed to enter into a deep sleep in order to refine it.
As a result, Yi Yi also entered a silenced state.
However, Lu Ye was quite excited about the abnormal reaction. Once Amber woke up, it would definitely have experienced significant gains, perhaps even achieving a breakthrough.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de.
Tu Guanxiong suddenly felt a response from his Battlefield Imprint and quickly investigated it. He discovered that it was a message sent by Yan Gui, who had left a few days ago. The message was very simple, consisting of just two words.
Yi Ye
It wasnt that Yan Gui didnt want to send a longer message, he just didnt have the time. Being able to transmit these two words was already his limit.
And, just as Tu Guanxiong finished reading the cryptic message, Yan Guis Battlefield Imprint disappearedpletely.
Tu Guanxiongs expression changed.
The disappearance of the Battlefield Imprint was undoubtedly a sign of Yan Guis demise, something he had never expected. After all, Yan Gui was in the Seventh Order and, as a Ghost Cultivator, excelled in concealing his presence. Unless he exposed himself voluntarily, even encountering a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivator wouldnt pose much danger to him.
This was also the reason why he was confident to allow Yan Gui to take action.
He was simply sent to investigate the situation in Ameliorate Valley, so how did he suddenly meet his demise like this?
But the message Yan Gui sent before his death was without a doubt an indication that he had encountered Yi Ye. In other words, the information Huo Liaoyuan had previously obtained was true!
Yi Ye was in Ameliorate Valley!
Damn it! Tu Guanxiong muttered through gritted teeth, feeling extremely heartbroken over the inexplicable death of his Junior Brother.
Suppressing his grief, Tu Guanxiong left the room and found Huo Liaoyuan to inform him of Yan Guis fate.
Huo Liaoyuan was greatly surprised. Yan Gui is dead?
Tu Guanxiong answered in a grim voice, Hes dead.
The disappearance of his Battlefield Imprint was the most definitive proof.
Huo Liaoyuans lips squirmed, but in the end, he could only say, My condolences.
Yan Gui cannot die in vain! Tu Guanxiong spat coldly.
Huo Liaoyuan nodded. Of course, we wont let him die in vain. Since Yi Ye is indeed in Ameliorate Valley, I will round up some men to kill him at once!
If the information about Yi Ye being in Ameliorate Valley is true, then the rest should also be true. Dealing with a few hundred Wolf Mutants wont be easy. Brother Huo, if the numbers arecking, then sess may not necessarily be guaranteed!
Huo Liaoyuan nodded. Rest assured, I will send out a message and have the nearby acolytes of my Cult ckfyre to gather in Ameliorate Valley. In addition, I will also bring half of the men in the Arcane de with me!
Just half the Arcane de cultivators alone would make up fifty people. If the cultivators gathered by Cult ckfyre were included, it would easily form a force of a hundred people. With such a lineup, they did have a chance against Ameliorate Valley Only if the information they possessed was correct.
Take seventy percent! Tu Guanxiong said. If were going to take action, we must crush them with absolute power!
Huo Liaoyuan wanted to say that it might not be necessary, but when he saw the hatred in Tu Guanxiongs eyes, he ended up nodding. I will personally kill Yi Ye and bring back his head.
Tu Guanxiong said, Brother Huo, its best not to be careless. During thest battle in the Carnage Colosseum, Yi Ye used the Divine Opportunity Column to escape to Jiu Zhou. Theres no telling if he has the ability to summon the Divine Opportunity Column again.
I have heard of the incident in the Carnage Colosseum. The main reason he was able to escape was not due to the Divine Opportunity Column, but the protection of the Golden Body Token. No one could break it. This time, however, he doesnt have the Golden Body Token anymore. Even if he summons the Divine Opportunity Column, he may not have a chance to escape back to Jiu Zhou, Huo Liaoyuan said, a cold smile forming on his face. Furthermore, dont forget, Brother Tu, I still have that in my hands. As long as I find an opportunity, his fate is sealed!
Tu Guanxiong was momentarily taken aback, then he seemed to remember something and nodded slightly. Thats true, but it seems a bit wasteful to use that on Yi Ye.
I will assess the situation and act ordingly. Just wait for my good news, Brother Tu.
With a firm resolution in mind, Huo Liaoyuan immediately took action. He gathered all the members of the Arcane de who were not in secluded cultivation and selected seventy percent of them.
Then, Huo Liaoyuan continuously sent out messages to summon the scattered Cult ckfyre acolytes and instructed them to converge on the outskirts of Grand Wilds Peak.
Just an hourter, a huge Spirit Boat soared into the sky and flew towards Grand Wilds Peak.
In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, this kind ofrge Spirit Boat capable of carrying many cultivators was not umon, especially in the inner and core circles. Almost every Sect Outpost had one.
Although the massive Spirit Boat couldnt match the flying speed of smaller Flight-Type Artifacts, it wasnt too slow either. It was an essential tool for any Sects or factions to travel together.
However, in the Cloud River Battlefield, suchrge Flight-Type Artifacts were rarely seen, and that was because there were rarely situations where arge number of Cloud River Realm cultivators gathered together. Only some of therger Arcane des were equipped with such Flight-Type Artifacts in preparation for asional needs.
Tu Guanxiong saw off the Spirit Boat. Even though he wanted to seek revenge personally, someone had to stay behind to defend at the Arcane de. With Huo Liaoyuan having that in his possession, he had to be the one to lead the army.
As the Spirit Boat set off, a couple of eyes silently observed it from dozens of kilometers away.
It was Xia Liang and Tan Sheng. After a few days of rest, both of them had mostly recovered.
Brother Xias intuition is impable. The Sacred Universe Arcane de couldnt resist and made a massive move, and it seems the information hasnt beenpletely leaked.
Xia Liang snorted, When profits are involved, how could they bear to let the information leak? If that were to happen, everyone would want a share of the spoils.
Should we set off, too?
Lets go.
The two of them didnt follow the Sacred Universe Arcane des Spirit Boat. After all, they already knew the location of Ameliorate Valley and could reach there ahead of time to lie in wait.
Within the Arcane de, all was quiet.
Li Baxian and the others were cultivating, Amber was still asleep, and Lu Ye was fiddling with a broken arrow in his hands, examining it repeatedly.
This broken arrow belonged to Wei Que. Back when he was on the verge of death, he sacrificed this arrow, which erupted with tremendous power. Even Ju Jias body couldnt withstand its attack and was pierced through.
Later, Lu Ye and Li Baxian chased the heavily injured Tan Sheng and Xia Liang while Feng Yuechan stayed behind to take care of Ju Jia and kept the broken arrow.
The object seemed to have been around for quite some time, but it was unclear where Wei Que had obtained it.
However, ording to Feng Yuechan, this broken arrow was an Exotic Treasure.
Exotic Treasures were treasures the grades of which were difficult to evaluate based on ordinary standards.
For example, the Golden Body Token that Lu Ye used in Carnage Colosseum, as well as the Tracking Disc Tan Sheng used to trace his location, were both Exotic Treasures.
Jiu Zhou had a considerable number of Exotic Treasures, most of which emerged from the Hidden Realms, while some were bestowed by the Heavens. Anything rted to these treasures couldnt be judged bymon sense and often possessed various strange and unique functions.
Take this broken arrow, for example. ording to Lu Yes examination, it didnt have many restrictions but was equivalent to a Top Grade Spirit Artifact.
However, no Top Grade Spirit Artifact could unleash such lethal power. After all, even Ju Jias defenses couldnt stop it.
And this was just a broken arrow!
It was hard to imagine the power it would possess if it were intact.
A crack had formed on the broken arrow, indicating that it couldnt be used many more times. The reason Feng Yuechan gave it to Lu Ye was because activating this object required an enormous amount of Spiritual Power. Even though she had reached the Sixth Order Cloud River Realm, unleashing the power of this broken arrow would still likely deplete all her Spiritual Power.
That was why it was challenging for her to make effective use of it.
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Chapter 600: Enemy at the Gates
Chapter 600: Enemy at the Gates
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Wei Ques cultivation was in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm. Therefore, the Spiritual Power reserves in his body were much greater than Feng Yuechan. He would never have sacrificed the Broken Arrow unless he had no other choice at the time.
There were two reasons for his reluctance. The first reason was that the Exotic Treasure would be one step closer toplete destruction with every use, so he was generally very reluctant to wield the Exotic Treasure. The second reason was that the energy consumed with each use was simply too high. Once he unleashed the Exotic Treasure, the situation would instantly devolve into one where either his enemy died or he died.
Nevertheless, he never imagined that he would ultimately lose his life even after he was forced to unleash the Exotic Treasure.
Lu Yes cultivation was significantly lower than Feng Yuechans. Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for him to activate the Exotic Treasure. Be that as it may, he was wearing a Spirit Storage Ring on his finger. It was an item that he specially bought for the sake of the Fire Phoenix Glyph.
After having the item for so long, the amount of Spiritual Power stored within the Spirit Storage Ring had reached an impressive limit that allowed him to activate the power of the Broken Arrow once. It was precisely for such a reason that Feng Yuechan gave the Broken Arrow to him.
Refining the Broken Arrow was not difficult. After all, the Broken Arrow was only equivalent to a Top Grade Spirit Artifact in terms of Spirit Artifact Grades. It had only taken Lu Ye less than half a day to refine the Broken Arrowpletely. Strictly speaking, the Broken Arrow wasparable to a telekic technique but with slightly greater power. Seeing as enemies might attack the Arcane de at any time, having an additional trick would only give him more power to fight his enemies.
The days passed peacefully in the blink of an eye. Lu Ye was almost starting to believe that Yan Gui, whom he killed previously, had only been passing through the area by chance. That was until an enormous shadow loomed over the sky outside the Arcane de. It was immediately followed by several sts of experimental attacks that rained down upon the Grand Ward. Layers of ripples suddenly appeared in the empty sky above the empty valley, revealing the location of the Grand Ward.
Lu Ye instantly came out of his house. ncing up into the sky, he saw a huge Spirit Boat floating in the middle of the sky. Several figures were looking down from the Spirit Boat, and the symbol of a zing me hung conspicuously across the front of the Spirit Boat.They came after all!
He heard Li Baxian sighing beside him. Their worst prediction hade true. Staring at the symbol of a zing me, how could he fail to realize that these invaders were from Cult ckfyre? The cultivators of Cult ckfyre had the same marks on their foreheads, which made them very easy to distinguish.
If the four of them were the only ones in the Arcane de, then their only option to escape and return to Jiu Zhou was by borrowing the power of the Divine Opportunity Column. Be that as it may, they might not bepletely powerless against the attack from Cult ckfyre now that they had the support of the wolf pack.
It was only by obtaining the top spot in the Hunting Rankings that Lu Ye managed to receive this Primus-level Arcane de as a reward for his achievements. Although he did not rely on the cultivation environment to improve his strength, the Primus-level Arcane de definitely allowed Li Baxian and the others to cultivate more easily. Besides, there was no saying whether he could obtain another Arcane de in the future. No matter how the situation yed out, he had to try and maintain ownership of the Arcane de.
Senior Brother, there is a Grand Ward covering thend below. Judging by the scale of the Grand Ward, it is most likely an Arcane de. Atop the Spirit Boat, a cultivator approached and reported to Huo Liaoyuan with a slightly excited expression.
Huo Liaoyuan calmly looked down at thend below without speaking.
It had to be said that the Grand Ward covering thend was extremely ingenious. If he had not received urate information beforehand, he might not have noticed this mountain valley even if he passed by in the vicinity. However, the Grand Ward had been revealed after several experimental attacks. The existence of the Grand Ward proved that the information he obtained was urate. Lu Ye was hiding inside this mountain valley.
Huo Liaoyuan stepped out of the Spirit Boat and stood in mid-air. Showing off his might, he slowly dered his intentions. Lu Yi Ye, are you going to show yourself? Or, do I need to capture you myself?
His voice was not very loud, but the volume was enough to spread throughout the Ameliorate Valley with the help of his Spiritual Power.
There was a suddenmotion on the Spirit Boat. [Lu Yi Ye?]
Although the cultivators had followed Huo Liaoyuan here, they did not know the true purpose of their trip. That was because Huo Liaoyuan had not exined the purpose of the trip to any of the cultivators.
When they saw the Grand Ward covering thend, they immediately suspected the existence of an Arcane de. Hence, they mistakenly assumed that Huo Liaoyuan hade here to steal the Wisps of Sanctification. Their assumption was only natural since they had been carrying out simr missions over the years. The Sacred Universe Arcane de could not have expanded to be such an enormous Primus-level Arcane de otherwise.
Nevertheless, they seemed to awaken from their dreams when they heard the name Lu Yi Ye. This mountain valley not only contained a hidden Arcane de, but the famous Lu Yi Ye was also hiding within this Arcane de!
All of a sudden, the cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de became excited. It had to be said that the name Lu Yi Ye was synonymous with unimaginable wealth to the cultivators of the Thousand Demon Ridge. Therefore, the look in their eyes burned with greed and hunger when they turned to look at the Arcane de once more.
That was especially true for the cultivators of Cult ckfyre. Their eyes practically zed with the unquenchable mes of determination. To the members of Cult ckfyre, Lu Ye was not only a bounty target with a massive reward on his head but also the disciple of Crimson Blood Sect who caused the decline of Cult ckfyre. Even without the temptation of the reward, they would have ughtered him mercilessly if they encountered him elsewhere by ident.
Huo Liaoyuans voice echoed throughout the mountain valley, but there was no response. Even the Grand Ward located below showed no visible changes.
Stubborn fool! He sneered coldly. Raising his hand slightly, he gently swung his hand down and calmly ordered, Surround them!
Numerous figures rushed out from the Spirit Boat and surrounded the Arcane de in the blink of an eye.
Inside the Arcane de, Li Baxian gazed up at the figures in the sky. His expression instantly turned solemn at the sight. That was because the number of enemies surrounding the mountain valley had exceeded his expectations! There were as many as one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty people!
The Sacred Universe Arcane de had dispatched seventy men on this mission. In addition, Huo Liaoyuan also sent a message to Cult ckfyre disciples in the vicinity and ordered them to gather outside the Reckless Mountains. That was how they had managed to muster so many people in such a short time. If not for theck of time, more people would have gathered at the specified location.
Such a massive force was beyond the defensive capacity of the current countermeasures established within the Arcane de. Although the wolf pack hadrge numbers, they could not fly. For that reason, they were bound to suffer a significant handicap in a fight against the cultivators.
With the strength of the Arcane de, defending against a hundred or so men was the limit. Defending against one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty people was impossible.
Looking at the current situation, Cult ckfyre seemed to be well aware of the situation inside the Arcane de. Otherwise, they would not have a reason to mobilize so many people. [Xia Liang and Tan Sheng Those two have certainly brought great harm upon us]
Li Baxian was just about to persuade Lu Ye so that thetter would retreat to Jiu Zhou. Contrary to his expectations, he turned around only to see that Lu Yes expression was calm. There was not the slightest hint of worry in Lu Yes countenance.
Swallowing the words on the tip of his tongue, Li Baxian hesitantly questioned Lu Ye. Little Junior Brother, do you have a countermeasure?
Lu Ye shook his head. Im simply adapting and responding to the situation.
Li Baxian pondered for a moment. Dont push yourself too hard. If the situation turns sour, you must escape to Jiu Zhou immediately.
I understand.
At the same time, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were quietly watching from another direction. However, their expressions did not reveal the slightest trace of joy but darkened instead when they watched the Sacred Universe Arcane de form battle formations.
Damn it! Tan Sheng scowled. That useless Huo Liaoyuan! I cant believe he brought so many people with him only to waste time showing off his strength instead of destroying the Grand Ward as soon as possible. Lu Yi Ye has probably escaped by now!
On the other hand, Xia Liang was very puzzled. How did the Sacred Universe Arcane de gather so many people?
The main reason he had chosen to leak the information to the Sacred Universe Arcane de was that he wanted to borrow their strength to deal with Lu Ye. He had assumed that the Sacred Universe Arcane de could only dispatch a measly number of people even after they received news about Lu Ye. In that way, he and Xia Liang could take advantage of the situation while the Sacred Universe Arcane de and Lu Ye were engaged in battle.
Unfortunately, the situation had developed in a different direction. The Sacred Universe Arcane de had mobilized such arge force in such a short period. As long as Lu Ye was neither stupid nor mentally impaired, he would certainly escape to safety at the first sign of danger. Why would he foolishly remain behind and risk death instead?
There was a Divine Opportunity Column inside Lu Yes Arcane de. That was something Xia Liang had noticed when he previously infiltrated the Arcane de with Tan Sheng and Wei Que. A single Divine Opportunity Column was worth one hundred thousand Contributions. Not only had Lu Ye summoned one in the Carnage Colosseum, but he also summoned another one in the Arcane de. His immense wealth was enough to incite envy and hatred in the hearts of others.
In any case, only an evenly-matched battle would give Lu Ye a faint hope of victory and prevent him from escaping via the Divine Opportunity Column as soon as the situation became dangerous. Now that the Sacred Universe Arcane de had revealed such a grand battle formation, Lu Ye would never remain in the Arcane de. The Arcane de was most likely empty by now
Xia Liang secretly regretted his actions. If he had known earlier, he would have included the existence of a Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de among the rest of the information that he leaked to the Sacred Universe Arcane de. Then, the other party would have been more cautious with their movements.
While Xia Liang was secretly grieving over his actions, Huo Liaoyuan raised his hand slightly and swung his hand down slowly. At the same time, a cold-bloodedmand sprung from his lips. Attack!
The lights of countless telekic techniques and Spell Techniques red to life in an instant. Immediately afterwards, a torrent of attacks rained down upon the location of the Grand Ward with unimpeded might. Ripple after ripple spread out across the surface, causing the fully intact light barrier of the Grand Ward to appear in front of the crowd. As a result of the ferocious assault, the Concealment Ward prepared by Lu Ye lost its effects.
The Concealment Ward itself had no defensive or offensive properties. The purpose of this Grand Ward was simply to provide ayer of disguise which would hide the existence of the entire Arcane de so that anybody who passed by in the vicinity would not notice anything unless they were searching carefully.
The initial experimental attacks of the Sacred Universe Arcane de had not been powerful enough to destroy the effects of the Concealment Ward. Unfortunately, the Concealment Ward could not withstand the burden when they began their bombardment in earnest.
When the defensive light barrier covering the entire Arcane de was revealed to the public eye, the overall situation within the Arcane de became visible through the light barrier. The presence of numerous Wolf Mutants immediately caught the attention of the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de.
Many of them were shocked by the sight. They could not understand why so many Wolf Mutants had gathered in the Arcane de. More importantly, they could sense the fluctuations of Mutant powers equivalent to Eighth Order and Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Masters radiating from a small number of Wolf Mutants.
At this moment, the Wolf Mutants were staring up into the sky. Although they were Spirit Beasts, there was not the slightest noise from them. In fact, not even a single wolf howl could be heard. They resembled a trained army, remaining quietly dormant while hiding their ws and fangs.
The rest of the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators might be ignorant of the situation inside the Arcane de, but Huo Liaoyuan had known in advance. Nevertheless, he couldnt help looking slightly surprised when he confirmed the uracy of the information he received. [Can Lu Yi Ye really control so many Spirit Beasts? Ive heard that he always has a white beast by his side. But, its too exaggerated to believe that a Cloud River Realm Master can control so many Spirit Beasts!]
He secretly rejoiced that he did not underestimate his enemy but mustered a force that could crush his enemy instead. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to proceed with his ns.
After experiencing the initial wave of panic, the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de slowly calmed down andposed themselves. The might of their line-up gave them the confidence to repel these Wolf Mutants. Besides, these Wolf Mutants did not seem capable of flight. As long as they were careful enough, the Wolf Mutants would not pose a significant threat to them.
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Chapter 601: An Unacceptable Beginning
Chapter 601: An Uneptable Beginning
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Lu Yi Ye did not escape! From a short distance away, Tan Shengs expression brightened at the realization.
He originally assumed that Lu Ye would immediately escape to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column after the Sacred Universe Arcane de disyed such a crushing line-up. Hence, he was surprised to see that Lu Ye had not escaped.
At this moment, Lu Ye was standing in the Arcane de and looking up into the sky. More importantly, his expression did not reveal the slightest hint of panic or uncertainty. [How strange!]
Nevertheless, it was good news for Tan Sheng. As long as Lu Ye did not escape, then there was a chance he could ughter Lu Ye.
It seems that he is reluctant to abandon the Arcane de unless absolutely necessary, Xia Liang observed lightly.
A Primus-level Arcane de was extremely valuable. Even if it was only a small Arcane de, it was not something ordinary people could obtain. Nobody in their right mind could bring themselves to easily abandon such a precious treasure.
This is going to be fun. Tan Sheng grinned.
He has hidden the Divine Opportunity Column. Xia Liang stared at a certain spot in the Arcane de. Thest time he came to the Arcane de with Tan Sheng, the Divine Opportunity Column had been established in that position. However, the spot where the Divine Opportunity Column should have been located currently stood empty. It was obvious that the Divine Opportunity Column was being concealed by a Ward. [Concealing the Divine Opportunity Column Lu Yi Yes actions clearly indicate that he does not wish to expose the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column. What is he nning?] An idea seemed to ur to him, and his expression changed slightly. If it was as he feared, then Lu Ye was either being very outrageous or very bold.
Standing in mid-air, Huo Liaoyuan immediately caught sight of Lu Yes figure when the Concealment Ward lost effect. Even though it was their first meeting, he could recognise Lu Ye at a nce. He coldly red at the figure below with eyes that resembled zing mes, as though he was looking at a dead man.
*Boom Boom Boom* A series of explosions reverberated throughout the air, apanied by a violent torrent of Spiritual Power. The cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de unleashed their offensive and continuously bombarded the Grand Defensive Ward that covered the Arcane de.
The scene of one hundred and fifty cultivators attacking in unison was extremely impressive. Even if their cultivation levels were different, their attacks illuminated the sky with a multitude of colors. The power behind these attacks was absolutely overwhelming. As a result, the light barrier of the Grand Defensive Ward dimmed at a rate that could be seen with the naked eye. It did not take long before the Grand Defensive Ward was on the verge of copse.
On the other hand, Xia Liang, who had been observing the situation in secret, frowned at the sight. [Something isnt right. The Grand Defensive Ward seems a little too weak.]
Thest time he came here with Tan Sheng and Wei Que, they had attempted to destroy the Grand Defensive Ward. It was just that the strength of the Grand Defensive Ward back then was much stronger than the current Grand Defensive Ward. [Is it because its a newly-erected Grand Defensive Ward?]
Before Xia Liang could understand the situation, the Grand Defensive Ward shattered with a loud explosion. Bits of fluorescent lights scattered throughout the sky and the entire Arcane de waspletely exposed to the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de.
Like cats that had caught the scent of fish, many of the cultivators immediately charged forward and swarmed toward the Arcane de. Numerous auras firmly locked onto Lu Ye and the others from a distance, and murderous intent permeated the air.
It was at this moment that Lu Ye, who had been standing motionless all this while, finally made his move. He took out a Control Gem from his pocket and poured his Spiritual Power into the Control Gem.
In the next moment, a light barrier that was more dazzling than the previous Grand Ward appeared and swiftly covered the entire Arcane de. After the firstyer was formed, it was immediately followed by a secondyer Not to mention the light barrier of the secondyer contained a slight but distinct differencepared to the firstyer.
The abrupt change left the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane depletely flustered. Those who had not yet entered the Arcane de crashed head-first into the light barrier. Meanwhile, the others quickly stopped in their tracks with astonished expressions on their faces.
Generally speaking, only one Grand Defensive Ward would be established at each location. That was because the defensive abilities of the Grand Ward were directly linked to the Spiritual Power umted over time. Even if they prepared a second Grand Defensive Ward, the Grand Ward would not be very useful if they could not umte enough Spiritual Power. On the contrary, it would only cause the overall power to be split among both Grand Wards.
In that case, the invaders would surely have the strength to break through the second Grand Ward if they had the strength to break through the first Grand Ward in the first ce. Rather than spreading out the power and increasing the risks for no reason, it was better to focus their strength in one ce.
However, Lu Yes Arcane de had two Grand Defensive Wards! It could even be said that the power of the second Grand Defensive Ward was considerably stronger than the first Grand Defensive Ward!
Xia Liangs previous spection had turned out to be true. Thus, he couldnt help eximing, This bastard How sly!
Tan Sheng frowned. Brother Xia, have you realized something?
Xia Liang exined, The first Grand Defensive Ward was just a decoy to fool the enemy. In fact, the second Grand Defensive Ward is the real Grand Defensive Ward! [No wonder the Grand Defensive Ward gave off such a weak and fragile feeling earlier. It was all part of Lu Yi Yes n. Im afraid the Sacred Universe Arcane de is about to suffer!]
One hundred and fifty men had been split in half by the Grand Defensive Ward. One half contained around seventy people trapped inside the Grand Ward, and the other half contained less than eighty people barricaded outside the Grand Ward.
The sudden turn of events frightened many of the cultivators, but they quickly regained theirposure. That was because they believed the invading force under Huo Liaoyuansmand was absolute and invincible. In contrast, the enemys actions were nothing more than the futile dying struggles of the damned.
Only Huo Liaoyuan frowned at the sight. There was an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart, as though something ominous was about to ur.
Even without his explicit order, the cultivators outside the Grand Ward began bombarding the Grand Ward once more. They had the strength to destroy the first Grand Defensive Ward, so it was only natural that they also had the strength to destroy the second Grand Defensive Ward. There was no denying that their numbers had been halved, but they simply needed to spend more time to achieve their goal.
Inside the Grand Ward, the seventy or so cultivators ignored the dense numbers of Wolf Mutants below. Instead, they focused their gazes on Lu Ye and the others. Flying forward, they stopped at a suitable distance and summoned their Spiritual Power to attack.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye raised his hand and summoned a Ward g. Looking up at the sky, he gave a light wave of the Ward g.
An Aerial Lock! The entire space within the Arcane de seemed to be distorted for a moment. The cultivators who barged into the Arcane de without invitation immediately revealed expressions of shock and bewilderment. Then, they screamed in terror as they abruptly fell out of the sky. At that moment, they felt as though a whole mountain was pressing down on their bodies. The enormous pressure was so heavy that they could barely breathe.
When the incident urred, Xi Liang and Tan Sheng, who were hiding and watching from the shadows, grimaced slightly at the sight. They had also suffered at the hands of the Aerial Lock Ward previously. Just recalling their experience was enough to bring forth a wave of lingering fear that paralyzed them.
On the other hand, Huo Liaoyuan was dumbfounded and eximed in astonishment, An Aerial Lock!? [The Aerial Lock Ward!? How can it be!? How can there be an Aerial Lock Ward here!?]
Although Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was said to have achieved extremely high attainments in the Way of Wards, he was ultimately a cultivator in the Cloud River Realm. How could he have the strength to prepare the Aerial Lock Ward? It had to be said that suchplex Grand Wards could not be done by most Ward Cultivators in the Real Lake Realm either. [Besides I did not receive any information regarding the Aerial Lock Ward. Did the person who delivered the information deliberately conceal this piece of information from me?]
Countless thoughts raced through Huo Liaoyuans head. Unable to retain his earlierposure, he transformed into a fiery light and rushed forward. At the same time, he yelled at the top of his lungs. Quickly destroy the Grand Ward!
Nearly half of his men were trapped inside the Grand Ward, and they were falling out of the sky due to the effects of the Aerial Lock Ward. The current situation was unprecedentedly terrible. In fact, he never even imagined such an outrageous situation could ur before he brought his men here.
Huo Liaoyuans words were apanied by numerous bone-chilling screams. Dazzling sword lights swept across the Arcane de, followed by the explosions of powerful Spell Techniques. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had both taken action at the same time.
Everywhere the sword lights and the Spell Techniques passed, blood sttered and vitality vanished. Several cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de lost their lives before they even crashed to the ground. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. During that brief moment, as many as five or six men died on the spot.
Ju Jia also charged forward. Leaping several meters above ground, he smashed his fist against the head of a staggering Cult ckfyre cultivator. The Spell Cultivators did not even have the time to make a sound before his head burst open like a watermelon. Passing through the blood mist, Ju Jia was already aiming for his second target. The cultivator in question was instantly filled with pure terror.
The wolf pack that had remained quiet and motionless until now suddenly began moving. Their agile and powerful bodies sprinted forward, their snow-white fur dancing in the wind. Some of the Wolf Mutants also opened their mouths wide and released blue crescent-shaped wind des which shed at their enemies, bringing forth a gush of crimson blood. Unfortunately, the number of Wolf Mutants that could control the wind des was not many. Most of the Wolf Mutants had charged forward without hesitation. Knocking down the staggering cultivators, they ripped at their opponent with their fangs and ws.
The screams became increasingly frequent and despairing over time.
Outside the Grand Ward, the cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de under the leadership of Huo Liaoyuan felt as though they had fallen into an ice cavern. A chill ran down their entire body.
They initially thought that they held an absolute advantage. Contrary to expectations, a battle where they could have crushed their enemy with overwhelming force had turned into such an outrageous and unbearable situation instead. Watching familiar faces after familiar faces getting torn to pieces and dying in front of them, the rage and sorrow in their hearts erupted like the mes of a volcano.
Run! somebody yelled.
The surviving cultivators seemed to return to their senses and swiftly attempted to flee outward. Some of them finally managed to reach the border of the Grand Ward only to discover in a fit of despair that they could not leave the Grand Ward. The thick light barrier in front of them had blocked off their only hope of escape.
There were twoyers to the Grand Ward. The firstyer defended against the outside. It was a Grand Defensive Ward. On the other hand, the secondyer defended against the inside. It was a Trap Ward!
These cultivators were doomed to a tragic fate as soon as they stepped into the Arcane de.
Stay away! One of the cultivators who had reached the borders of the Grand Ward screamed in terror. Unfortunately, he only had time to helplessly il his Spirit Artifact around before he was buried under the bodies of more than ten Wolf Mutants. The sound of sharp teeth ripping his flesh apart filled the air. It was an extremely creepy sound indeed.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng watched in horror, their eyes twitching at the sight before them. It was not just the cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de who did not expect the situation to develop in this direction. Even Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were shocked by the circumstances.
They initially assumed that Lu Ye would escape back to Jiu Zhou as soon as the Sacred Universe Arcane deunched their offensive. In the end, the Sacred Universe Arcane de suffered grievous losses. Meanwhile, from the beginning to the end, Lu Ye had only activated a Control Gem and swung the Ward g in his hand. The role a powerful Ward Cultivator could y under these circumstances was absolutely horrifying.
*Boom Boom Boom* Loud explosions abruptly rang out from various locations in the Arcane de. The fleeing cultivators scattered throughout the Arcane de had identally activated the Explosive Wards that Lu Ye had prepared beforehand.
The mes that burned bright and the Spiritual Power that surged turbulentlypletely drowned out the screams amidst the chaos. In less than ten breaths of time, more than half of the cultivators trapped inside the Arcane de were killed while the rest were shrouded in despair.
Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and Ju Jia charged forward in three separate directions. They were practically invincible in battle, bringing about even greater casualties to the Sacred Universe Arcane de.
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Chapter 602: Heavy Casualties
Chapter 602: Heavy Casualties
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Both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were currently in the Sixth Order Cloud River Realm, but they boasted a deep and profound inheritance. For that reason, the strength they could exert was beyond the level of any ordinary Sixth Order Cloud River Realm Masters.
As for Ju Jia He was practically a monster thanks to his physique which was as tough as hardened steel. While Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had to remain wary of counterattacks as they hunted down their enemies, Ju Jia had no such reservations. He could recklessly charge forward withplete disregard for the enemys attacks bombarding his figure. That was because the attacks that exploded against his body did not affect him in the slightest.
Under normal circumstances, these three would be no match against so many enemies despite their immense strength. However, the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de were currently under the suppression of the Aerial Lock Ward and trapped inside the Grand Ward. They were also being ambushed by numerous Wolf Mutants from all directions. Hence, their panic and the chaotic situation allowed those three to disy their strength to the fullest.
Destroy the Ward! Destroy the Ward!
Huo Liaoyuans furious roar resounded through the sky. His eyes zed with rage. Following his roar, his entire body seemed to burst into mes. The mighty aura of a Ninth Order Master swept out in all directions, and an enormous ball of me that resembled the sun mmed into the Grand Defensive Ward. The impact of the blow caused the light barrier of the Grand Ward to sink downward for a moment. At the same time, the dazzling light dimmed by a slight margin.
Likewise, the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de quickly followed suit and unleashed their power. The scene became very lively for a time.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths among the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators inside the Arcane de had exceeded thirty at this point. More and more cultivators continued to perish with each passing moment.
The figures of Li Baxian and the two others weaved across the battlefield while the wolf pack sprinted around the Arcane de, bringing about the melody of death.The surviving cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane de inside the Arcane de had finally managed to organize a defensive front. At this moment, there were over thirty people standing with their backs against the light barrier of the Trap Ward. The Body-tempering Cultivators among them summoned theirrge shields and stood at the front to form a human shield. Working together, they struggled to repel the aggressive wolf pack with all their might.
Unfortunately, they had no means to escape as long as the Trap Ward stood strong. They barely had enough strength to protect themselves under these circumstances. Where would they find the additional strength to destroy the Grand Ward? Their only hope was for Huo Liaoyuan and the others to destroy the Grand Defensive Ward and rescue them.
*Boom Boom Boom* A series of loud explosions resounded throughout thend, and the light barrier of the Grand Defensive Ward swiftly became dim. Although the strength of the second Grand Ward was much stronger than the first Grand Ward, it was impossible for the Grand Ward to withstand the never-ending barrage of attacks unleashed by so many cultivators. After all, the Grand Defensive Ward was established with Lu Yes strength alone. It was practically a miracle that the Grand Ward held out for so long in the first ce.
Lu Ye remained standing inside the Arcane de and remotely controlled the operation of the Grand Defensive Ward.
A Grand Ward with somebody in control of the operations and a Grand Ward without anybody presiding over the operations were twopletely different situations. Even though he knew that the Grand Ward could notst forever, there was no harm if the Grand Ward couldst for as long as possible.
At this moment, his figure shifted sideways. A short de practically brushed against his neck and stabbed at the empty space. Then, a figure appeared out of nowhere and stood several steps behind him.
The Ghost Cultivator who sneakily attacked Lu Ye from behind seemed surprised that Lu Ye had avoided his highly concealed ambush and was rather dumbfounded by the situation. It had to be said that the Ghost Cultivator was very bold. After all, he even attempted to murder Lu Ye under these circumstances.
The main purpose of their trip was to defeat Lu Ye. As long as they managed to kill Lu Ye, then all the losses they sustained so far would be eptable to a certain extent. It was too bad that the wless assault had not seeded.
Now that his figure had been exposed, the Ghost Cultivator immediately attempted to retreat. However, a fiery-red de light was already shing down on him from the front. A storm of attacks swiftly followed
Xia Liang, who was secretly observing the battle, watched this scene quietly. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly. He couldnt help recalling how he had patiently and carefully taught Lu Ye the de techniques in the Fox Immortal Valley back then. In addition, he also taught Lu Ye everything he knew about the Minds Eye Technique
Although Lu Ye had helped to tattoo a Protection Tattoo on him, the effects of the Tattoo were temporary and would gradually disappear after several uses. Compared to what Lu Ye received in return, what was that Tattoo worth?
What shocked him the most was that Lu Ye had gotten so proficient in the Minds Eye Technique in such a short time. Based on the reaction speed disyed earlier, the range of Lu Yes Minds Eye perception might even berger than his own. [What kind of freak is he? Also has that bastard achieved the Fifty Order Cloud River Realm!?] He honestly could not understand. [Just what kind of panacea did he take for his cultivation to improve so quickly?]
During their first meeting two months ago, Lu Ye had only been in the Third Order Cloud River Realm. At the time, he had fled in a panic when Xia Liang pursued him. Afterwards, he had achieved the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm by the time they encountered each other again in the Fox Immortal Valley. It had only been several days since theyst met, but he seemed to have advanced again and entered the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm during that period.
Bleurgh! The Ghost Cultivator coughed up blood and fell backwards withrge wounds covering his chest and abdomen. Before he evennded on the ground, several Wolf Mutants pounced on him. What followed next was a mixture of bone-chilling screams and the sound of flesh being ripped apart.
The Ghost Cultivator was simr to Yan Gui, whom Lu Ye ughtered previously, in that they were both Seventh Order Cloud River Realm Masters. Lu Ye had needed to exhaust all his skills just to kill Yan Gui at the time, but a Seventh Order Cloud River Realm Master was no longer his opponent now.
*Crack* The sound of something breaking filled the air. Countless cracks appeared on the Grand Defensive Ward, which suddenly seemed on the verge of copse.
The Ghost Cultivators ambush had failed to damage Lu Ye, but he had managed to keep Lu Ye busy for a brief period. By preventing Lu Ye from controlling the Grand Ward, his actions had inadvertently allowed the Sacred Universe Arcane de to destroy the Grand Defensive Ward at a much faster pace.
More intense cracking sounds followed until the entire light barrier shattered to pieces.
Save them! Huo Liaoyuan roared through gritted teeth. Although he wanted to tear Lu Ye to pieces, he did not allow himself to be swallowed by his rage and issued an extremely crucial order instead.
The cultivators swarmed forward and passed through the Trap Ward without the slightest trouble. Joining the rest of the surviving cultivators, they worked together to repel the attacks from Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, Ju Jia, and the wolf pack. At the same time, they also directed their attacks at the light barrier of the Trap Ward behind them.
The durability of the Trap Ward was much lowerpared to the Grand Defensive Ward. If not for the constant assault from the wolf pack, the trapped cultivators would have easily destroyed the Trap Ward a long time ago. Therefore, it only took them thirty seconds topletely shatter the Trap Ward with the support of theirpanions.
Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan stared at each other across a distance of several hundred meters. One party was calm while the other party was absolutely livid.
A few secondster, Huo Liaoyuan suppressed the rage in his heart and snarled through gritted teeth. Retreat!
Following hismand, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators immediately began to retreat from battle. It did not take long before they withdrew from the range of the Arcane de.
The wolf pack did not pursue the cultivators. Thanks to the Aerial Lock Ward in the Arcane de, they couldpete with the cultivators on equal footing. However, the cultivators would be able to fly outside of the Arcane de. The threat that they posed to the cultivators, under those circumstances, would reduce considerably.
The cultivators fled in disgrace. Every one of them was filled with a sense of lingering fear. Some of the female cultivators with weaker mental fortitude even burst into tears. Even though they had experienced various dangers at some point in their cultivation journey, they had never felt so helpless before.
The aura of death resembled an invisible beast licking away at their hearts while they were trapped inside the Arcane de, and the despair had nearly crushed them. Not to mention, innumerablepanions and acquaintances had suffered tragic deaths right before their eyes. After what happened today, this battle was bound to be a nightmare that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Lu Yi Ye, your days are numbered! Huo Liaoyuan roared furiously, blood oozing from how hard he clenched his teeth earlier.
He originally thought that this mission would end with an easy victory, but he ultimately suffered heavy casualties and terrible losses instead. Furthermore, the entire process took less than a cup of teas time from the beginning until the end!
As the decision-maker and leader of this operation, he would surely be held ountable for these losses. He might even be punished by the Sect for his grievous mistake even though the main culprit behind everything was none other than Lu Ye. Consequently, the deep hatred he harbored toward Lu Ye could never be forgotten or forgiven.
There was also the sneaky person who secretly leaked the information to him He previously guessed that the person who secretly gave him the information had suffered a loss at the hands of Lu Ye and wanted to use his strength to exact revenge upon Lu Ye. For that reason, he had estimated Lu Yes strength as highly as possible based on the information he received. He would not have brought so many people otherwise.
Nevertheless, his party suffered a crushing defeat and crippling casualties during their initial conflict. He would never have expected to encounter such setbacks beforeing here, but there was no denying that everything had practically taken ce under his nose. [An Aerial Lock Ward How is it possible for a Cloud River Realm Master to establish an Aerial Lock Ward!?]
Inside the Arcane de, Lu Ye calmly stared at Huo Liaoyuan without speaking. There was no triumph orcency over his victory in his eyes. Then, he swung the Ward g lightly and reactivated the Concealment Ward. The entire Arcane de vanished from sight once more.
Lu Yes nd reaction annoyed Huo Liaoyuan even more. At this point, Huo Liaoyuan was livid enough to explode in mes.
Senior Brother Huo. An Eight Order Combat Cultivator approached Huo Liaoyuan. He was covered in numerous wounds, and his face was stained with blood. It was evident that he had experienced a harsh battle earlier. What do we do now?
Huo Liaoyuan looked around. What entered his vision were the fearful and panicked expressions of his subordinates, as well as the faint joy of survival in their eyes. He had brought more than one hundred and fifty people with him, but less than one hundred remained alive at this moment. In other words, more than sixty people had died in the Arcane de during the short span of time earlier!
Moving his lips soundlessly, he couldnt help feeling very confused and lost for a time!
With their current strength, they might be able to ughter Lu Ye if they reorganized their forces and attacked once more. However, they would inevitably suffer even more casualties. After losing so many people, how could he dare to allow further casualties at this point?
The other party would not counterattack either. They had the support of the Aerial Lock Ward inside the Arcane de, which would greatly reduce the strength of the cultivators. After all, the Wolf Mutants could only participate in battle by relying on the Aerial Lock Ward. On the contrary, they would only be marching to their deaths if theyunched a counterattack.
In other words, it did not matter who took the initiative to attack in this situation. The one to make the first move would inevitably suffer huge losses.
We will set up camp and wait for reinforcements! A long while passed before these words came out of Huo Liaoyuans parched lips. [There are many other cultivators who can be mobilized in Cult ckfyre and the Universe n. All we need is more time for preparations to bepleted. Since we failed to obtain victory with one hundred men, then we simply have to gather two hundred men. If two hundred men are not enough, then we can gather three hundred men. In any case, Lu Ye must die.]
Following Huo Liaoyuansmand, the Eight Order Combat Cultivator visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Huo Liaoyuan might do something stupid in his rage.
The Spirit Boat suspended in mid-air slowlynded on the ground. Then, the miserable and disheveled Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators made camp at the mouth of the Ameliorate Valley and rested their bodies.
On the other hand, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng fell silent in their hiding spots. They had hidden here in hopes of taking advantage during the chaos of the battle. In the end, they witnessed an unimaginable turn of events that left them withplicated emotions instead.
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Chapter 603: Scouting the Situation at Night
Chapter 603: Scouting the Situation at Night
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Less than a cup of teas time after the battle at the Ameliorate Valley, Tu Guanxiong received a message from the Universe n cultivators. He instantly turned pale in shock upon reading the message.
Under Huo Liaoyuans leadership, the cultivators of both Sects failed to conquer Lu Yes Arcane de and defeat the other party. On the contrary, they not only suffered a crushing defeat but also heavy casualties! Sixty-three cultivators had died in battle. Among them, forty-five belonged to Cult ckfyre and eighteen belonged to the Universe n!
The message was short and simple, but the contents brought a suffocating scent of blood.
Tu Guanxiong could barely believe his eyes. Thus, he personally sent a message to Huo Liaoyuan to inquire about the situation. It took a while for him to obtain confirmation, and then he fell into a stunned silence. [How? How is it possible?]
Huo Liaoyuan had brought more than seventy cultivators from Sacred Universe Arcane de with him and summoned a simr number of Cult ckfyre cultivators from the vicinity to form an impressive force of one hundred and fifty people. How did they suffer such heavy casualties when they were only facing Lu Ye? How did it matter that the other party could control an entire pack of Wolf Mutants?
After sending messages to several other Universe n cultivators, Tu Guanxiong finally understood the cause of their heavy losses. The reason turned out to be the existence of an Aerial Lock Ward! [Even the Sacred Universe Arcane de does not have an Aerial Lock Ward. How is it possible for Lu Ye to have one? Just how high are his attainments in the Way of Wards?]
The first Grand Defensive Ward had been a ruse to lower their guard and iste the cultivators who rushed into the Arcane de. As a result, the front and the rear forces were cut off from each other for some time. The unexpected effects of the Aerial Lock Ward had also caught the cultivators trapped inside the Arcane de by surprise. Unable to fly around freely, it was naturally difficult for them to repel the horde of Wolf Mutants.
Upon learning these details, Tu Guanxiong let out a heavy sigh. He was furious over Huo Liaoyuansck of caution, but he could not reprimand Huo Liaoyuan for anything. Regardless of who stood in Huo Liaoyuans position at the time, there was nothing anybody could have done to overturn the situation.After pondering for some time, he sent a message to Huo Liaoyuan saying that he would summon the Universe n disciples scattered in the vicinity to provide reinforcements. He also warned Huo Liaoyuan not to act rashly until he umted enough power.
That was what Huo Liaoyuan originally nned, so he naturally agreed.
A short whileter, cultivators from both Sects who were scattered across the Cloud River Battlefield received a message to gather in the direction of the Reckless Mountains. It was just that these cultivators were located at different distances from the specified meeting spot. The nearest cultivators would require seven or eight days to arrive. On the other hand, the furthest would require ten to twenty days to arrive. It was a pity but they could not be relied upon to arrive in time.
At this moment, the people in the Ameliorate Valley Arcane de were cleaning up the messy battlefield and collecting their spoils of war.
Li Baxian and the others were unscathed. Even the Wolf Mutants only suffered a few casualties in battle. Compared to the results of their battle, the small number of losses was practically negligible.
Nevertheless, Ju Jia seemed mncholy. Although he had initially been annoyed when the wolf pack willingly followed him, he changed his mind after spending some time with them.
The only reason the Arcane de could safely remain in the Ameliorate Valley was the protection and shelter provided by the wolf pack. For the Arcane de, the wolf pack was the strongest shield, not the Grand Defensive Ward established by Lu Ye.
Reality had proven this fact to be true. If not for the support of the wolf pack in their battle today, it would have been useless no matter how many Wards were prepared by Lu Ye in advance. They only had four people in total. How could they possibly fight against enemies who were beyond their current level? How many people would they have in with their strength alone?
Therefore, Ju Jia couldnt help feeling rather depressed even though only a few Wolf Mutants had died.
Little Junior Brother, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators have set up camp at the mouth of the mountain valley. It looks like they are waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Inside the Arcane de, Li Baxian stared in the direction of the mountain valley entrance and slowly reported his observations.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de had suffered huge losses in the battle today. Moreover, they would not take the initiative to attack again now that they knew about the existence of the Aerial Lock Ward. Be that as it may, the other party not only did not retreat despite suffering such huge losses but also seemed to be taking strict precautions to guard the entrance.
Their actions indicated that they were worried Lu Ye and the others might escape. Hence, it was obvious that they were summoning reinforcements to their aid. They would inevitablyunch a fierce offensive on the Arcane de once they gathered enough reinforcements.
Should I call for help? Li Baxian inquired.
Lu Ye shook his head. It is easy to providepensation, but favors are hard to return. We can take care of our own affairs. Theres no need to trouble others with such matters.
With the connections of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, it would not be difficult for them to summon help. Unfortunately, Li Baxian had already requested many favors when Lu Ye was being hunted by the Thousand Demon Ridge in the Carnage Colosseum. These favors were debts that would eventually be borne by Li Baxian. If he called upon more favors now, his debts would only increase.
Upon hearing Lu Yes reply, Li Baxian sighed softly. Youre right.
Lu Ye continued, Before the battle today, it would not have mattered if we had escaped back to Jiu Zhou. However, after the battle today Our losses will not end with just a Divine Opportunity Column and a Wisp of Sanctification if we escape back to Jiu Zhou.
Li Baxian was slightly taken aback by the answer, but he quickly understood what Lu Ye meant.
It would be easy for the four of them to escape to Jiu Zhou and leave these troubles behind, but that was not the case for the wolf pack. Dozens of Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators had lost their lives to the wolf pack in the battle today, so the rage of these Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators would inevitably fall upon the wolf pack if they left the Arcane de now. How many among the wolf pack would survive the massacre? They would probably be driven to extermination in the blink of an eye.
Taking these worries into consideration, Ju Jia might not be willing to abandon the wolf pack and return to Jiu Zhou with the others. How could the others bring themselves to leave if Ju Jia refused to follow them?
Rather than the Sacred Universe Arcane de, Im more concerned about something else. Lu Ye frowned slightly.
What is it?
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng! Lu Ye spat out their names. The Sacred Universe Arcane de found the location of the Arcane de with such uracy and even dispatched so many people. Its clear they have some understanding of the situation in the Arcane de. Xia Liang and Tan Sheng are the only people who could have revealed that information, but I did not see them today More importantly, the Sacred Universe Arcane de waspletely unaware of two things even though they had so much information on us. Firstly, they did not know about the Aerial Lock Ward in the Arcane de or they would not have been so careless. Secondly, they also did not know that we have a Divine Opportunity Column.
If they had known about the Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de, the Sacred Universe Arcane de might not have been willing toe here in the first ce. That was because Lu Ye could return to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column even if they managed to force him into a desperate situation.
That means Xia Liang and Tan Sheng withheld some of the information.
Lu Ye nodded. Im certain they concealed the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column so that they could watch by the sidelines and find an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. As for why they did not reveal the existence of the Aerial Lock Ward, they probably wanted to incite and intensify the hatred of our enemies.
In other words, those two are hiding somewhere nearby!
They truly are insidious! While speaking, Lu Ye got to his feet. Senior Brother, I n to scout out their location. At the very least, we need to force our hidden enemies into the open. We cant allow those two bastards to spy on us in secret!
Li Baxian hurriedly tried to stop Lu Ye. Thats too dangerous.
We will only be sitting ducks if we wait for them to make their move. Dont worry, Senior Brother. I have confidence. I might not be their opponent in a fight, but it will not be easy for them to kill me either.
Ille with you!
Lu Yeughed. Senior Brother, dont you know my abilities best? If youre with me, then I wont be able to use those methods.
Li Baxian was about to speak again when Feng Yuechan, who had been standing silently by the side, suddenly tugged at his clothes and said, Junior Brother Lu is right. We will only be sitting ducks if we wait for them to make their move, so we need to figure out a method to solve this issue. Junior Brother Lu has the abilities of a Ghost Cultivator. Senior Brother, you will only create more trouble for him if you follow along.
Li Baxian scowled but remained silent.
On the other hand, Feng Yuechan took out a small umbre. Junior Brother Lu, if you insist on going alone, then please refine and bring this umbre with you. Otherwise, neither Senior Brother nor I will agree!
Lu Ye nced at the small umbre. Although he did not know what power the small umbre contained, the small umbre most likely contained great defensive abilities since Feng Yuechan brought out the item at this time.
Okay! He did not refuse Feng Yuechans kindness. Taking the small umbre from her, he silently perceived the item. He was surprised to discover that the small umbre was an item equivalent to a Spell Artifact.
Needless to say, a Cloud River Realm cultivator could not bring out the full strength of the Spell Artifact. The situation was simr to how Yi Yi could not fully activate the power of the nine Ward Scrolls. Her strength wascking simply because she had not reached that level.
Forcefully activating this item would probably consume a lot of energy, but he would have an extrayer of protection with this item in his possession. Nevertheless, he would need to refine the item in advance if he wanted to wield the power of the small umbre.
He immediately activated his Spiritual Power to refine the small umbre. With the cooperation of Feng Yuechan, the original owner, it was not a difficult task for him. When he finished refining the small umbre, he learned that the small umbre not only contained powerful defensive abilities but also concealment abilities that could iste his aura. The only downside was that he could not move when he was activating its concealment abilities to iste his aura. In that aspect, it was simr to the Concealment Bracelet that he obtained previously.
These effects were not very useful for him. After all, he could create Glyphs to conceal his figure and his presence in the first ce. His concealment abilities were greater than most Ghost Cultivators with the Blessing of these Glyphs. Hence, he had no need to rely on external objects.
At this moment, the moon was high in the sky and the night was silent. It was the best time to carry out a secret operation. Lu Ye walked over to a corner of his room where a Teleportation Ward had been prepared several days ago.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators had set up camp at the mouth of the mountain valley. Since they were determined to keep a close eye on the situation in the Arcane de, there would surely be people constantly monitoring the movements at the Arcane de. It was just that the Arcane de was covered by the Concealment Ward, so they could not observe the situation inside either.
If Lu Ye had walked out from inside the Arcane de, he would inevitably cause a disturbance to the Grand Ward and reveal some traces of his movements. On the contrary, there was no need to worry about such problems if he was directly teleported to the outside.
Standing on the Teleportation Ward, Lu Ye focused on creating a connection with the other teleportation points.
Li Baxian worriedly said, Little Junior Brother, please be careful.
Lu Ye nodded. The space around his body distorted slightly, and his figure vanished from view.
There was a hidden cave in the mountains located approximately one hundred kilometers away from the Ameliorate Valleys Arcane de. Spiritual Power suddenly fluctuated within the cave, and then his figure emerged once more. He immediately perceived his surroundings. After he confirmed that there were no living beings in the vicinity, he leisurely walked out of the cave. However, he did not summon his Spirit Artifact lest traces of his movement became too obvious. Activating his Spiritual Power, he soared into the sky and traveled in the direction of the Ameliorate Valley.
The wolf pack used to leave on a hunt every once in a while, so very few Spirit Beasts could be found within five kilometers of the Ameliorate Valley. It was thanks to theck of Spirit Beasts that Lu Ye could move around undetected more easily. After all, encountering Spirit Beasts during his journey would only add to his troubles.
Be that as it may, he did not fly high in the sky and simply traveled at a height no more than ten meters from the ground. It was not until he arrived within twenty-five kilometers of the Ameliorate Valley that he finallynded on the ground. Concealing his figure and cing a Blessing on himself, he disappearedpletely.
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Chapter 604: Just Happened to Be Passing By
Chapter 604: Just Happened to Be Passing By
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ording to Lu Yes spection, Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were hiding somewhere near the Ameliorate Valley since they wanted to watch the situation from the shadows. Their location was probably within five to fifteen kilometers of the Ameliorate Valley. Seeing as they also wanted to avoid the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de, their hiding spot would not be located in the direction of the Ameliorate Valleys entrance either.
The Ameliorate Valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides. In particr, the back was a wall of jagged cliffs that towered high into the sky. These cliffs were not suitable for hiding. Therefore, Xia Liang and Tan Shengs only viable options were the two sides of the mountain valley. This situation made Lu Yes search much easier, but he could not move quickly with his presence concealed. Hence, it was no easy task for him to find those two even though he had a vague guess of their whereabouts.
Fortunately, he had always been a lucky man. It only took him less than four hours before he detected the aura of a living creature in the vicinity. This ce was located only seven kilometers away from the Ameliorate Valley, which was within the range he previously estimated.
He silently crept forward. Under the moonlight, he soon discovered two figures sitting cross-legged under a tree. He took a closer look at these figures. Who else could they be but Xia Liang and Tan Sheng? Nevertheless, he did not approach any further. Both of them were in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, and Xia Liangs perception was particrly sharp. He would probably be discovered if he ventured too close to them.
After confirming their whereabouts, Lu Ye left as silently as he came.
Xia Liang, who was meditating at the time, suddenly opened his eyes and looked around. A slight frown creased his forehead. Just a moment ago, he had the strange feeling that somebody was spying on him. It was just that a careful search of his surroundings revealed no sign of others nearby, so he could only assume that he was mistaken and ignored the feeling.
At the mouth of the Ameliorate Valley, a bonfire zed brightly. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators gathered together in small groups, but the atmosphere was very gloomy and depressing. In fact, many of the female cultivators were weeping in secret. The incident that took ce during the day had been a nightmare for all of them.
Under Huo Liaoyuans leadership, they arrived at the Ameliorate Valley with an overwhelming force and an equally aggressive attitude only to lose more than sixty people within a cup of teas time. Even now, the lingering fear from the incident sent chills down their body and left them trembling from the cold. Only the zing bonfire in front of them could give them the slightest hint of warmth.On the other hand, some of them were furious. They clenched their teeth in rage and mored for the death of Lu Ye in order to avenge their fallenpanions.
It was the deepest and darkest time of the night, right before dawn broke out in the morning. All of a sudden, several short screams pierced the night sky and startled everybody awake.
Whats happening!? Huo Liaoyuan came forward in an instant. Looking around, he couldnt help feeling shocked. There were two figures sprawled among the pool of fresh blood on the ground. One of them was alive, but he did not look like he would survive for much longer.
Lu Yi Ye That person clutched at his throat, blood gushing out from the gaps between his fingers. Raising his hand, he reached out toward Huo Liaoyuan with a pleading look in his eyes. Senior Brother Huo, save Ugh
Huo Liaoyuan abruptly raised his head and immediately caught sight of a fiery-red stream of light rapidly fleeing into the distant night sky. The sight of the dwindling stream of light instantly sent him into a fit of rage. Soaring into the sky, he chased after the fiery-red stream of light and quickly closed the distance between them.
An uncontroble rage and murderous intent clouded his mind. That was why he ultimately failed to realize that Lu Ye was heading in a direction that was not the Ameliorate Valley.
Lu Ye had infiltrated the enemy camp andmitted murder. It stood to reason that escaping back to the Ameliorate Valley was the safest option for him. Regardless of their individual strength, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators could not harm him once he entered the Ameliorate Valley. Be that as it may, he did not flee in the direction of the Ameliorate Valley but in another direction instead. That direction was none other than the location where Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were currently hiding.
Sensing movementing from behind him, Lu Ye looked back with a frown. [A Ninth Order Master is certainly deserving of the name. Their travel speed is ridiculously fast!]
His cultivation had improved by two Minor Realms recently. In addition, his flying speed was much faster than when he was in the Carnage Colosseum. There was no denying that he was much faster than the average Fifth Order Master, but his speed was far from the level of a Ninth Order Master. Fortunately, he also had the Windwalk Glyph. The blessing of the Windwalk Glyph allowed the Spiritual Power in the Spiritual Power River of his body to flow more rapidly, resulting in a sharp increase in his speed.
Even so, the distance between them gradually grew closer.
The Windwalk Glyph alone was not enough for him to escape the pursuit of a Ninth Order Master, but the situation would change if hebined the effects of Windwalk with Soar. The additional effects of Soar would boost his speed further, so much so that he might even match Huo Liaoyuan in terms of speed!
Having said that, it was not his intention to escape the pursuit of Huo Liaoyuan. That was why he did not activate Soar to boost his speed.
Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were meditating as usual when the sound of something speeding through the air approached from a distance. Startled, they looked up into the sky at the same time. What entered their vision was two streams of light speeding through the sky in their direction. Moreover, both streams of light resembled burning mes.
Thats Tan Sheng was confused by the situation, but he couldnt shake the vague feeling that the figure heading toward him seemed familiar.
The streams of light approached them in the blink of an eye.
Lu Yi Ye! Xia Liang eximed in astonishment. [Why isnt Lu Yi Ye hiding in the Arcane de? Why did hee here? Not to mention, why does it seem like he is being pursued by somebody?]
Xia Liang instinctively reached out to obstruct Lu Yes movement. At that moment, Lu Ye passed over their heads and cast a Fire Phoenix Technique in their direction without any warning. At the same time, he also shouted, Im counting on you!
After saying that, he quickly passed them without another backward nce!
Neither Xia Liang nor Tan Sheng understood the meaning behind Lu Yes words. Nevertheless, they could not allow such a godsend opportunity to slip through their fingers. They easily defended against the Fire Phoenix Technique and soared into the sky together, but something unexpected urred before they could give chase.
Huo Liaoyuan, who had been pursuing close behind, hastily cast several violent Spell Techniques in their direction. During this time, he had been chasing Lu Ye in a fit of rage. His head was filled only with thoughts of ughtering Lu Ye to vent his hatred. Therefore, the sudden appearance of these two Ninth Order Masters was like a ssh of cold water that abruptly brought him back to his senses. Coupled with Lu Yes previous statement, he felt the rage in his heart dissipating in an instant. The only thing left in his heart was a sense of overwhelming panic.
He secretly eximed, [Shit! Ive probably fallen into Lu Yes trap! That bastard somehow found two powerful helpers to set up an ambush, and then he led me here]
With nobody to help him at the moment, the situation was looking very bad for him. It was thanks to these concerns that he did not dare to hold back his strength and attacked with all his might.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, who were preparing to chase after Lu Ye, were stunned by the sudden attack and instinctively counterattacked in defense. For a time, the three figures fought an intense battle in the sky.
A short whileter, Xia Liang vaguely realized what was happening [The feeling of being spied upon earlier was not a mistake! Lu Ye was here before! Otherwise, he could not have known where Tan Sheng and I were hiding, much less guided Huo Liaoyuan here. Is he trying to use Huo Liaoyuan to kill us? Or, does he simply want to expose that Tan Sheng and I are hidden here? Its most likely thetter option.]
Stop! Xia Liang yelled angrily as he shed out with his de. Then, he withdrew his de and stepped backwards to express his sincerity.
Likewise, Tan Sheng immediately came to Xia Liangs side.
Ten meters away, Huo Liaoyuan was absolutely shocked even though he seemed calm on the surface. That was because the two Ninth Order Masters he was fighting were extremely powerful. Theirbined strength was not something he couldpete against.
In that short confrontation, he was starting to believe that he would not survive the battle. Who could have expected the opponents to withdraw so suddenly? Not to mention, that Combat Cultivator wielding the de
From the Raving desmen? He frantically recalled the Raving desmen cultivators who reached the Ninth Order in this generation. Then, he blurted out a name that came to mind. Are you Xia Liang?
Xia Liang remained silent with a frosty expression. Nobody would be in a good mood after being tricked after all. Whats more, he and Tan Sheng were originally supposed to remain hidden in the shadows. It was all thanks to Lu Yes schemes that their existence had been exposed.
Xia Liangs silence was equivalent to a tacit agreement.
Huo Liaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief. [Thank goodness! Xia Liang is from the Raving desmen, and the Raving desmen belong to the Thousand Demon Ridge. Im d he is not an enemy.]
This person is He nced at Tan Sheng.
Tan Sheng helplessly sped his fist. Tan Sheng of New Moon Sect!
Huo Liaoyuan returned the greeting. Huo Liaoyuan of Cult ckfyre! Then, he probed further. Why are you here?
As soon as the words left his mouth, he abruptly seemed to realize something. His friendly expression changed slightly, and his eyes narrowed.
Why were two Ninth Order Masters hiding here for no apparent reason? Especially when a huge battle took ce nearby today.
In addition, there were rumors iming that these two were the ones who headed the operation against Lu Ye in the Carnage Colosseum. In the end, Lu Ye had entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, destroyed New Moon Sects base, and extorted countless benefits from the Raving desmen.
In other words, these two harbored deep grievances against Lu Ye!
Tan Sheng turned and nced at Xia Liang. To his surprise, the other party responded in a calm manner. We just happened to be passing by. Who were you chasing earlier, Cultivator Huo?
He couldnt help feeling amazed. [I could never speak such a tant lie without the slightest change in expression.]
Just happened to be passing by Huo Liaoyuan clenched his fists tightly. The muscles on his face twitched violently, clearly suppressing the rage in his heart with great effort.
Having vaguely realized the truth, how could he not know why the cultivators under hismand had suffered such grievous casualties? There was no doubt he had underestimated his enemy, but the root cause was that these two had concealed important information from him! If he had known about the Aerial Lock Ward in Lu Yes Arcane de, he would never have allowed those cultivators to rush forward so recklessly!
In any case, he had always been curious about the identity of the person who leaked the information to him. It was not until this moment that he finally understood the entire situation. [They were probably watching in secret when the battle took ce earlier! How dare they feign ignorance now?] He was sorely tempted to throw a fireball in Xia Liangs face just to see how shameless Xia Liang could be. Unfortunately, he could only suppress the anger in his heart.
Being a Fourth Tier Sect, the Cult ckfyre simply could not afford to offend the Raving desmen. Besides, now was not the right time to risk trouble with these two either It was not as if he could win against them in a fight anyway. What was the point of kicking up a fuss?
I was chasing Lu Yi Ye! By the time Huo Liaoyuan finally spat out these words, his expression was calm and collected once more.
Oh? Lu Yi Ye? Xia Liang raised his eyebrows in astonishment, acting as though he was learning this fact for the first time. Lu Yi Ye from the Crimson Blood Sect? [What nonsense are you asking!?] The rage that Huo Liaoyuan suppressed with great difficulty nearly bubbled over once more. Thats right!
What a coincidence! Brother Tan and I are also searching for his whereabouts! I cant believe he was right under our noses! Honestly, I cant believe we searched high and low only to find him by chance!
Hahaha Huo Liaoyuan faked augh.
Tan Sheng joined the conversation. Cultivator Huo, we were tricked by Lu Yi Ye earlier. I cant believe we allowed him to escape unscathed. Please forgive us, Cultivator Huo.
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Chapter 605: Invading Ameliorate Valley by Force
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I wouldnt dare! Huo Liaoyuan practically spat out the words through gritted teeth.
At this moment, fluctuations of Spiritual Power suddenly erupted from the distance. He turned to look in that direction and discovered that the source of themotion wasing from the ce where the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators were currently stationed.
No! He yelled, immediately realizing what had happened. [Lu Ye must have taken advantage of my brief confrontation with Xia Liang and Tan Sheng to circle around and attack the base again!]
There was no time to exin anything to Xia Liang and Tan Sheng. Turning around, he hastily rushed in the direction of Ameliorate Valleys entrance.
Meanwhile, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng exchanged a confused nce with each other. Xia Liang suggested, Lets go and take a look.
Since their existence had been exposed, there was no need to remain hidden any longer.
At the entrance of the Ameliorate Valley, Huo Liaoyuan rushed back only to discover that two other cultivators had been killed. They were sprawled in a pool of their own blood.
Where is he? Huo Liaoyuan questioned.A Cult ckfyre disciple answered. He escaped!
Huo Liaoyuan felt the blood surging in his chest, but there was nowhere for him to vent his rage. At the same time, he was very confused about something. [Lu Ye is a Combat Cultivator. How is he able to wield the skills of a Ghost Cultivator? Even with the help of Spirit Talisman Papers it should not be possible for him to be so elusive.]
Lu Ye had attacked twice and murdered five cultivators. Although these losses could not bepared to what they suffered during the day, the enemy hidden in the dark was the scariest.
Huo Liaoyuan originally nned to block the entrance until he gathered enough people to invade the Arcane de, but the reinforcements needed time to arrive.
Unfortunately, their losses would only increase if he continued waiting for the reinforcements. In fact, the number of people theyd lose might even surpass the number of reinforcements they gained at this rate!
Withdrawing from this ce was certainly a good choice, but where could they retreat to? Furthermore, how would they know whether Lu Ye escaped if they withdrew? On the other hand, they might not have another opportunity to withdraw from battle if they missed this chance.
Perceiving the uneasy atmosphere surrounding him, Huo Liaoyuan knew that he had to finish the battle as soon as possible if he wanted to defeat Lu Ye. He turned to look at Xia Liang and Tan Sheng who followed him here. Then, he asked with a solemn expression, What do you think about working together?
Even though he hated these two very much, he needed their strength in this situation. As Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Masters, the power they wielded was not something that should be underestimated. More importantly, his n would have better chances of sess if he could borrow their strength in battle.
Xia Liang pondered for a while before he responded. Working together is not a problem, but our opponent is hiding inside the Arcane de. What difference does our cooperation make unless you are willing to invade the Arcane de, Cultivator Huo? Unfortunately, I dont think you will voluntarily choose such a drastic option. Isnt that right, Cultivator Huo?
Sacred Universe Arcane de might have suffered great losses, but they were not without the strength to perform an invasion. It was just that an offensive would result in greater casualties even if they managed to defeat Lu Ye in the end.
Xia Liang did not believe that Huo Liaoyuan would be so foolish as to make such risky choices.
Contrary to expectations, Huo Liaoyuan calmly asked, Why are you so certain that I will not invade the Arcane de, Cultivator Xia?
Xia Liangs expression twitched at those words. Despite staring at Huo Liaoyuan in bewilderment, he could not tell what the other party was thinking at the moment.
Huo Liaoyuan nced in the direction of the Arcane de and calmly said, I will invade the Ameliorate Valley at daybreak. For that reason, I would like to borrow your strength. Once we seed in the mission, I will share twenty per cent of the bounty on Lu Yi Yes head with you!
His words surprised Xia Liang, and even Tan Sheng was puzzled too.
Looking at Huo Liaoyuans posture, he seemed very confident that he could defeat Lu Ye. Nevertheless, an invasion would only end with both parties suffering severe casualties. Why was he so willing to take such a risk?
Forty per cent! Xia Liang was confused, but that did not stop him from negotiating a better deal for himself.
Huo Liaoyuan shook his head. You must be joking, Cultivator Xia. Yourbined strength might be impressive, but your additional support is just icing on the cake to me. Even without your help, Lu Yi Ye will die. Im only sharing twenty per cent of the benefits with you to minimize the casualties among the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators as much as possible. If you are not willing to join forces with me, I will not force you.
His confidence that he could defeat Lu Yepletely bewildered Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
After a moment of silence, Xia Liang finally came clean. Cultivator Huo, you might not know this, but there is a Divine Opportunity Column in Lu Yi Yes Arcane de.
He had not disclosed this information previously, and the location of the Divine Opportunity Column had been concealed during the battle today. Hence, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators had not noticed the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column.
Huo Liaoyuan was astonished. Are you certain?
I saw it myself. Xia Liang nodded. Regardless of what your ns are, Cultivator Huo, you will need to seize and upy the Divine Opportunity Column as soon as possible if you want to kill Lu Yi Ye. Lu Yi Ye must not be allowed near the Divine Opportunity Column.
Understood. I will make the necessary arrangementster. Huo Liaoyuan nodded.
Xia Liang gave Huo Liaoyuan a deep look before he said, Its enough if you know about it, Cultivator Huo.
With a few simple sentences, they confirmed their cooperative rtionship.
Afterwards, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng found an isted spot and sat down to meditate.
Huang Liaoyuan also ryed the order to invade the Ameliorate Valley when morning came. The cultivators had yet to recover from the fear of the previous battle, but they started making preparations for the battle tomorrow nevertheless.
At the ce where Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were resting. After trying to hold his tongue for some time, Tan Sheng couldnt help asking in a soft voice, Brother Xia, do you think Huo Liaoyuan will really attack Lu Yi Yes Arcane de?
Since he has already said he will, then its probably true.
Tan Sheng shook his head slightly. Although this is my first contact with Huo Liaoyuan, there is no doubt that he is a cunning man. The Sacred Universe Arcane de has already suffered great losses. If he attacks the Arcane de again The losses are not worth the effort even if he defeats Lu Yi Ye. Why would somebody like him make such a decision? Not to mention, he agreed to share twenty per cent of the profits with us Brother Xia, I think we should be careful. Huo Liaoyuan probably does not harbor goodwill toward us.
Xia Liang nodded. I know. We will just have to act ordingly tomorrow. But, what bothers me most is something else
What is it?
Huo Liaoyuan did not ask me about the location of Lu Yi Yes Divine Opportunity Column. Xia Liang looked puzzled.
He had decided to reveal the information regarding the Divine Opportunity Column to Huo Liaoyuan, but his actions were not motivated by kind intentions. He simply worried that Huo Liaoyuan might persecute Lu Ye too much and drive Lu Ye away. If that were to happen, then all their efforts would have been in vain.
However, Huo Liaoyuan had not shown much interest or asked any questions even though he seemed surprised by the news. That was clearly a strange reaction. It was almost as though the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column would not affect his ns at all, so there was no need to obtain further details regarding the matter.
Tan Sheng reyed the conversation in his head and soon came to the same conclusion. He frowned. What exactly is he trying to do?
It doesnt matter what he is trying to do. We will know when morninges.
Dawn wasing soon.
More than two hourster, the sky began to brighten. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators, who had prepared themselves in advance, began a brazen attack on the Ameliorate Valleys Arcane de under Huo Liaoyuansmand. It only took a moment before the Concealment Ward lost effect and the Arcane de entered their vision. They were not obstructed by the Grand Defensive Ward because Lu Ye had not prepared a Grand Defensive Ward.
Inside the Arcane de, Lu Ye stepped out and frowned at the sight of nearly a hundred cultivators approaching the edges of the Arcane de. [Are they nning to attack by force? No matter how furious Huo Liaoyuan might be, why would he make such a foolish choice? Does he not care whether his subordinates live or die? Or, did his rage overpower his reasoning after the two ambushesst night? But, the orderly formation of the other party seems to indicate otherwise.]
Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia appeared and stood beside Lu Ye.
Little Junior Brother!
The situation is not looking good.
Lu Yes expression was solemn. He had seen Xia Liang and Tan Sheng in the enemy camp. Their presence was within his expectations. They were forced out of hiding because of him, so their next best choice was naturally to join forces with the Sacred Universe Arcane de.
Their presence might seem to have strengthened the enemy forces. However, a poisonous snake hiding in the shadows was the most terrifying. Now that they were forced into the open, the threat they posed had reduced considerably.
Lu Ye turned to look at Ju Jia. If we cant repel them, we must escape to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column. Do you understand?
He was not worried about Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. They would escape if the situation turned bad. Therefore, only Ju Jia worried him.
When several Wolf Mutants died in battle yesterday, Ju Jia had spent the entire day in a depressed mood. He might not be willing to abandon the wolf pack and escape by himself.
Ju Jia nced at the Wolf Mutants nearby and kept silent.
There will be nothing left if you die, but you can avenge them if you survive! Lu Ye earnestly tried to persuade Ju Jia.
Lowering his head, Ju Jia remained silent.
Lu Ye sighed heavily but did not attempt to persuade Ju Jia again.
Attack! Outside the Arcane de, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators uniformly stepped into the range of the Aerial Lock Ward following Hui Liaoyuansmand. After their humiliating defeat yesterday, it was only natural that they abandoned their flight today.
Ameliorate Valleys Arcane de was a small Arcane de that did not upy much space. However, Lu Ye had prepared Grand Wards that covered arge area so that the wolf pack would befortable. Whether it was the Concealment Ward, the Grand Defensive Ward, or the Aerial Lock Ward, they far exceeded the range of the Arcane de and covered a radius of several hundred kilometers.
When the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators stepped through the borders of the Grand Wards, they remained at a distance of several hundred kilometers from Lu Ye and the others. Naturally, this distance was not within their attack range. Hence, they stepped forward in unison and approached the center of the Arcane de together. Every one of them surged with Spiritual Power, ready to attack at any time.
Likewise, the wolf pack began to take action. They snarled and bared their fangs, the Mutant powers surging violently around their bodies.
The battle was about to begin!
It was not until both parties were less than fifty kilometers from each other that the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators released the first assault under Huo Liaoyuansmand. For a time, the lights of various flying weapons and Spell Techniques bloomed and rained down on the wolf pack in an overwhelming manner.
At the same time, the wolf pack counterattacked with numerous wind des. It was just that the number of wind des was significantly inferiorpared to the attacks from the cultivators. There was no helping the difference in numbers. After all, only a few Wolf Mutants could wield the Mutant Spell Techniques.
Long-distance confrontations were undoubtedly disadvantageous for the wolf pack. The leader of the wolf pack was clearly aware of this fact, so it threw its head back and howled.
In the next moment, the wolf pack began moving. Countless wolf howls echoed and resonated with each other as the snow-white figures dashed forward and closed the distance of fifty kilometers.
Some of the Wolf Mutants were struck by Spell Techniques or flying weapons during their charge and stumbled in their tracks. Fortunately, they had tough and sturdy bodies. They were also protected by their Mutant Vitality Shields. As long as their Mutant Vitality Shields were not destroyed, they would not suffer any life-threatening injuries.
Ju Jias burly figure was mixed among the wolf pack, and he charged forward with the Wolf Mutants. Meanwhile, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan followed closely behind the wolf pack. Hundreds of swords flew out, and Spell Techniques hummed loudly in activation. It was an impressive disy of their immense strength.
Only Lu Ye remained standing in ce. He was wielding the nine flying weapons in the weapon holder hanging around his waist to reduce the pressure on the wolf pack.
The battle broke out in earnest, and the scene became lively in an instant.
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Chapter 606: Deathmatch Platform
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Bearing the brunt of countless attacks from various flying weapons and Spell Techniques, the Wolf Mutants charged toward the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators with crimson blood dripping in their wake. They approached the cultivators and leapt into the air, baring their sharp fangs and ws that gleamed with a wicked light.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators were prepared and quickly took countermeasures. The Body-tempering Cultivators and the Combat Cultivators stood at the forefront, defending against the Wolf Mutants charging toward them. Meanwhile, the Spell Cultivators and the Ghost Cultivators took advantage of the situation to counterattack.
The howling of the wolves and the furious roars of the cultivators mingled together in a cacophony.
The number of Wolf Mutants more than doubled the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators, but the methods of attack avable to them were not as varied as the cultivators even though they were Champion-ss Spirit Beasts. Therefore, the situation quickly reached a stalemate. The Wolf Mutants could not break through the defense formed by the cultivators, and the cultivators could not progress toward the Arcane de.
Standing in the Arcane de, Lu Ye activated various flying weapons and simultaneously monitored the situation on the battlefield.
Ju Jia released a furious howl which attracted the attention of many cultivators. Following that, numerous attacksnded on his body with loud explosions. The Spiritual Light enveloping the surface of his body shed wildly in response, and many of the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators eximed in astonishment at the sight. It was probably very startling to see a person with such a tough and sturdy physique.
Mixed among the crowd of Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators were Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, who kept up a steady barrage of attacks. With their strength alone, they ensured that the area around them was invincible and imprable. Nevertheless, it was obvious that they were holding back their strength. If two Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Masters were to fight with their full strength, they would be strong enough to create great trouble for the Wolf Mutants in front of them. Be that as it may, the Wolf Mutants in front of them would quickly rush forward once more even though they were constantly being repelled.
It was understandable. The Sacred Universe Arcane de had dispatched such an impressive force for this mission after all. How could they take advantage of the situation if they did not conserve their strength? Judging from this point of view, the cooperation between them and the Sacred Universe Arcane de was only superficial.Everything seemed normal on the surface, but the truth was that everything was twisted and bizarre under the surface.
The battle had erupted too hastily. If Huo Liaoyuan truly intended to invade the Arcane de by force, then he would have the best opportunity for sess if he took action yesterday instead of waiting until today.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de had lost so many people yesterday. Although the loss of theirpanions would cause great panic and fear among the cultivators, the pain would also arouse their hatred and anger to the greatest extent. Having said that, the Arcane de would have fallen if Huo Liaoyuan had stormed the Arcane de yesterday. After all, a nights rest would not allow the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators to regain much strength. On the contrary, they would only have more time to worry about their gains and losses in the battle. [Why is Huo Liaoyuan attempting to raid the Arcane de now? Is it because of my actionsst night? Or, is it because he received help from Xia Liang and Tan Sheng?] Lu Ye could not figure out the answers to his questions.
The battle was extremely intense, but the casualties were very low. That was true for both the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators and the Wolf Mutants. That was because the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators were implementing a defensive stance even though they had taken the initiative to attack. Hence, it was only natural for their casualties to remain low.
The current situation was clearly the result of the orders that Huo Liaoyuan issued in advance. Just by looking at the current situation, one would think that the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators would obtain victory in battle as long as they could resist the counterattack of the Wolf Mutants! However, that seemedpletely contrary to their purpose of invading the Arcane de in the first ce
If Huo Liaoyuan actually wanted to invade the Arcane de, then he should have charged into the Arcane de without regard for the possible losses. It should have been aplete massacre that ughtered everything within the Arcane de instead of creating such an imprable defense for his own forces.
Besides, Lu Ye could feel a trace of aura that had firmly locked onto him since the very beginning of the battle. It was Huo Liaoyuans aura!
They stared at each other from across the distance. The fury in Huo Liaoyuans eyes seemed to be burning like the zing mes of a fire. He gave an angry roar. Lu Yi Ye,e here and receive your death!
His appearance indicated that his mind waspletely distorted by his hatred.
Lu Ye ignored Huo Liaoyuan. Controlling the nine flying weapons with one hand, he raised his other hand and summoned an item. A Ward g appeared in the palm of his hand. If not for the fact that he needed to control the Wards in the Arcane de, he would have charged forward with his de in hand. Why else would he remain frozen on the spot?
Both the Grand Defensive Ward and the Trap Ward in the Arcane de had been destroyed previously. He had not bothered to recreate these Grand Wards because his efforts would have been meaningless. Nheless, that did not mean there were no other Wards within the Arcane de.
As soon as Huo Liaoyuan noticed the Ward g in Lu Yes hand, his expression immediately changed. He shouted, Be careful!
At the same time, Lu Ye abruptly swung the Ward g. A loud explosion erupted, apanied by towering mes that soared into the sky. The sudden explosion was followed by various screams of agony.
Huo Liaoyuan immediately turned to look in that direction only to see a gap appearing in the defense line formed by his subordinates. The seven or eight cultivators standing in the gap were covered in blood after the explosion earlier. Although they survived the st, their ears were ringing and their vision danced with spots. Not to mention, they were extremely battered by the explosion.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Wolf Mutants upying that position immediately lunged forward and ughtered several people in an instant.
Another explosion rang out in the next moment. The cause was another Ward that had been activated in a different direction. Several people were caught in the range of the st and suffered tragic consequences.
Stop them! Dont let them charge forward!
Junior Brother Yun!
Save me, Senior Brother!
The situation fell into chaos. Two Explosive Wards had been activated without any warning, causing all the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators to tremble in fear. Even though they had known that they would have to pay a price for invading the Arcane de, they could not ept the reality when the consequences appeared in front of them.
Sharp ws pierced through bones, and sharp teeth tore through flesh. As a result, screams of agony rang out unceasingly.
Fortunately, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators had been maintaining a defensive position all this while. That was why the gaps in the front line were quickly filled by the nearby cultivators after a brief moment of panic. The front line quickly became stable once more. Unfortunately, the dead cultivators would never return to life again.
Furthermore, the two explosions caused by the Explosive Wards had left a lingering fear in their hearts. They couldnt help wondering if the next Explosive Ward would erupt around them. What put them at ease slightly was that no other explosions urred.
Lu Ye might have prepared arge number of Wards that could be activated automatically, but they were scattered across the Arcane de. Seeing as there were not many Wards around the area where the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators were located, he decided not to activate all the Wards at once and left a few intact Wards in ce. In this way, he could create greater turmoil when the time was right.
Lu Yi Ye, Im going to kill you! Ahhhhh! Huo Liaoyuan yelled as though he had gone insane.
At the same time, Lu Ye sensed that the aura around his body had gotten much stronger than before.
Brother Xia, something is wrong with Huo Liaoyuan. Tan Sheng murmured softly to Xia Liang while repelling the Wolf Mutants in front of him.
Huo Liaoyuan was not only a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master but also the leader of this entire operation. There was no reason for him to behave in such an unrefined manner
In fact, he should have known thatunching an invasion by force would result in enormous losses. There had indeed been losses among the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators, but their losses were not very significant. Hence, his reaction was obviously a little exaggerated.
I see! Xia Liang abruptly responded without actually answering the question. A look of great realization appeared on his face at the same time.
Tan Sheng was puzzled.
Xia Liang exined in a soft voice, It looks like Ive underestimated Huo Liaoyuan. Lu Yi Ye is doomed to die today. What a pity
He was not upset that Lu Ye was going to die but that he and Tan Sheng would only receive twenty per cent of the bounty after Lu Yes death. [After splitting the reward, we will only receive 10 per cent each
It was no wonder that Huo Liaoyuan imed their support was simply the icing on the cake. If Huo Liaoyuan had that item in his possession, then they were indeed nothing more than icing on the cake.
The reason Huo Liaoyuan had willingly offered them a twenty per cent share of the bounty was not that he needed their help but that he could not afford to offend the Raving desmen. He could not take the entire bounty on Lu Yes head for himself without looking bad, so he had offered them a twenty per cent share as a show of his goodwill.
In this case, it could be said that either the exposure of Xia Liang and Tan Shengs presence had given Huo Liaoyuan a sense of crisis or Lu Yes ambushst night had been the trigger which pushed Huo Liaoyuan to invade the Arcane de today.
Brother Xia, what are you talking about? Tan Sheng was confused. [Why is Lu Yi Ye doomed to die today?]
Just wait and see. Youll understand soon. Xia Liang did not bother to exin too much. It would not take long before the truth was presented to them, so exining would only be a waste of his energy. Nevertheless, he did not forget to warn Tan Sheng. Dont forget to escape in time.
Tan Shengs confusion grew, but he suppressed the doubts in his heart and silently resumed his attacks.
The battle raged on. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators might have lost more than a dozen men to the two Explosive Wards earlier, but the remaining cultivators stood firm and maintained the front line to prevent the wolf pack from breaking through.
Meanwhile, Huo Liaoyuans expression was bing increasingly distorted with rage. His entire body was enveloped in a fierce scarlet light that made him seem as though he was on fire.
An ominous feeling of unease suddenly emerged in Lu Yes heart [The aura that Huo Liaoyuan ced on me is ridiculously strong!]
The trace of aura had locked onto his body from the start of the battle, but he had not paid attention to the aura at the time. After all, Huo Liaoyuan not only suffered a humiliating defeat in Lu Yes hands but also lost many subordinates during the previous battle. It was not strange for him to target Lu Ye during the current battle.
Afterwards, the aura had gradually grown stronger and stronger over time. It was just that Lu Ye had simply assumed that the changes were caused by Huo Liaoyuans rage. But, now How could the aura of a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master be so strong? It felt as though there was an invisible force binding him tightly. Moreover, the feeling was growing more and more distinct with every passing moment.
He nced at Huo Liaoyuan and saw that the other party was staring fixedly at him. When their gazes met, Huo Liaoyuan yelled a threat at the top of his voice. Lu Yi Ye, Im going to kill you!
Despite Huo Liaoyuans seemingly crazy attitude, the look in his eyes was startlingly clear. Not to mention, he was only making empty threats. He showed no intention to approach whatsoever! [Shit!] Lu Yes heart clenched in fear. Although he did not know what Huo Liaoyuan was nning, there was only one thing he knew for certain: He had fallen into a trap of some sort!
Huo Liaoyuan abruptly stopped his continuous yelling at this moment.
At the same time, Lu Ye was horrified to discover that he could no longer move! There was an invisible force restraining him firmly in ce.
Huo Liaoyuan smiled with a triumphant expression that revealed his sessful trickery. Then, he nced over calmly. Lu Yi Ye,e and face your death!
When the words left his mouth, the item in his hand slowly rose into the air and shone with a brilliant light.
Everybody on the battlefield was instantly drawn toward the item. It was a square item about the size of a childs palm. There was arge word engraved on the front: Death! Likewise, there was also arge word engraved on the back: Battle!
As soon as the item appeared, two rays of light shot out from the item. One of the raysnded on Lu Ye, and the other raynded on Huo Liaoyuan. Like two ropes, the two rays of light bound them tightly.
The expression of Li Baxian, who was fighting in the sky at the time, immediately changed drastically. He eximed, A Deathmatch tform!
Then, hundreds of flying swords soared into the sky and shot toward the palm-sized Deathmatch tform.
Feng Yuechans expression also changed drastically, and she quickly reached out to help at the same time.
Nevertheless, neither Li Baxians flying swords nor Feng Yuechans Spell Techniques could cause any damage to the Deathmatch tform. Forget causing damage to the Deathmatch tform, even Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan who were being restrained by the Deathmatch tform were not harmed by the external forces.
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Chapter 607: A Fight to the Death
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A Deathmatch tform! Tan Sheng, who was defending against the attacks of the Wolf Mutants, suddenly gasped. Looking at the square item that was shining brightly, he suddenly realized something. I see! [No wonder Huo Liaoyuan has been behaving so strangely today! It was all to activate this item!]
Everything made sense now. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators had taken the initiative tounch an attack but stubbornly remained on the defense for some reason. On the other hand, Huo Liaoyuan had screamed and yelled like a madman but did not exhibit any other symptoms of insanity even though he looked as though he had gone mad with rage.
Everything up until now was just an illusion to pave the way for this moment!
As I expected Xia Liang quietly murmured to himself. The situation had turned out just as he suspected. Huo Liaoyuan had a Deathmatch tform after all.
There were two reasons that prompted Xia Liang to reach this conclusion. The first reason was that Huo Liaoyuan had been acting strangely. The second reason was that the aura Huo Liaoyuan wrapped around Lu Ye was very abnormal. It turned out that the aura did not belong to Huo Liaoyuan but from within the Deathmatch tform. That would exin how the aura had exceeded Huo Liaoyuans natural limits.
There were many Exotic Treasures in Jiu Zhou, and these Exotic Treasures generally contained various bizarre effects. The Tracking Disc Tan Sheng previously used to track down Lu Yes whereabouts and the Golden Body Token Lu Ye used to protect himself were Exotic Treasures.
Simrly, the Deathmatch tform was also a type of Exotic Treasure. Its sole function was to transport the person who activated the effects of the Deathmatch tform and the targeted enemy into an arena where both parties had to fight each other to the death!
In terms of value, the Deathmatch tform was naturally not as valuable as the Golden Body Token that Lu Ye once used. The Golden Body Token was an item that could provide absolute protection after all. On the other hand, the Deathmatch tform was not meant for protection. It was an item to force ones enemy into a fight to the death, so there were great limitations to the item in terms of functionality. Moreover, the enemy had to be weaker than the person wielding the Deathmatch tform.There were also prerequisites that had to be fulfilled in order to activate the item. For example, the wielder had to ensure that the auraing from the item could lock onto the targeted enemypletely. In other words, Huo Liaoyuan could not be too far away from Lu Ye. In addition, the Deathmatch tform required some time to gain momentum before activation. During this period, the distance between Huo Liaoyuan and Lu Ye could not exceed a certain range. Otherwise, the effects of the Deathmatch tform would not activate.
That was the reason why Huo Liaoyuan had decided tounch an attack on the Arcane de today and why he had not bothered to learn more about the location of the Divine Opportunity Column from Xia Liang. The existence of the Divine Opportunity Column did not matter. As long as he seeded in activating the power of the Deathmatch tform, then Lu Yi Ye was doomed.
Huo Liaoyuans strange behavior earlier had merely been a disguise to make Lu Ye rx his vignce. Looking at the situation now, the n had seeded perfectly. Lu Ye only noticed the crisis at the veryst moment, but it was toote by the time he noticed. The power of the Exotic Treasure had already been fully activated when the two rays of light shot out from the Deathmatch tform and wrapped around the bodies of both Huo Liaoyuan and Lu Ye.
Li Baxians flying swords and Feng Yuechans Spell Techniques sted toward the Deathmatch tform without stopping. Nevertheless, the small Deathmatch tform waspletely unaffected by the storm of attacks.
Following a burst of blinding light, the figures of Lu Ye and Huo Liao Yuan vanished out of sight along with the small Deathmatch tform.
Little Junior Brother! Li Baxian shouted in horror, powerless to stop Lu Ye from being dragged away.
Lets go! Xia Liang shouted, pulling away and hastily withdrawing from battle.
Tan Sheng, who had been warned in advance, quickly followed suit. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators also retreated from battle in a swift but orderly manner.
Although Li Baxian and the two others furiously pursued the cultivators from behind the wolf pack, their efforts produced minimal effect. They could only watch helplessly as the cultivators retreated beyond the range of the Aerial Lock Ward, quickly soared into the sky, and escaped into the distance.
The wolf pack pursued the cultivators to the edge of the Arcane de. Even though their howls resounded throughout the Arcane de, they did not take another step forward. Although they could fight equally against the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators within the range of the Aerial Lock Ward, they would be nothing more than sitting ducks if they left the range of the Aerial Lock Ward.
Li Baxian might be livid and worried, but he retained his rationality. He quickly stopped pursuing his enemies and immediately checked Lu Yes Battlefield Imprint.
At the moment, Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan had been drawn into the space formed by the Deathmatch tform. There was nothing he could do to help Lu Ye, regardless of how skilful or resourceful he was. The only thing he could do was determine whether Lu Ye was dead or alive through the Battlefield Imprint.
Senior Brother Feng Yuechan leaned over and called out softly. Then, she reassured him. He might not be in trouble. Senior Brother, have you forgotten that Junior Brother Lu killed several Seventh Order Masters in the Carnage Colosseum when he was only a Third Order Master? Compared to back then, he is now a Fifth Order Master.
The results of that battle were not solely due to Lu Yes contributions but thebined efforts of three people. Be that as it may, a ray of hope shone in Li Baxians eyes when he heard herforting words.
He nodded repeatedly. Thats right. Little Junior Brother might not be in trouble. As long as he can activate his final trump card His sentence trailed off, and his expression darkened again. Raising his head, he nced at her with eyes that had gone dim with despair. Amber is sleeping!
The activation of Lu Yes final trump card required the cooperation of Amber. However, Amber had been sleeping since the day it consumed the Mutant Core of the elite-level Spirit Beast and remained unconscious even now. Moreover, Amber was not the only one who had fallen asleep. Yi Yi was also in deep slumber.
In other words, the current Lu Ye had no external forces to help him! He was alone in a battle against an opponent who was four Minor Realms stronger than himself
Li Baxian abruptly lost all strength in his body and staggered weakly. At the same time, hisplexion turned very pale.
The space within the Deathmatch tform was about one kilometer wide in length and width. The sky was an empty void, and there were enchantment barriers on all sides.
It was not to say that the space within the Deathmatch tform was only so big. Rather, the size of the space generally changed ording to the wielders cultivation.
As a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master, the current size was the maximum range that Huo Liaoyuan could achieve when he activated the Deathmatch tform. Inparison, the range of the Deathmatch tform might stretch out across a radius of five kilometers or more if a cultivator in the Divine Ocean Realm were to activate the Exotic Treasure instead.
The invisible force wrapped around Lu Ye immediately disappeared without a trace as soon as his figure appeared in this space. He immediately regained his ability to move around freely. Upon observing his surroundings, he instantly caught sight of Huo Liaoyuan standing on the opposite side of the Deathmatch tform.
In any case, the surrounding environment was very familiar to him. He had been to simr ces before, and more than once at that.
During the ranking matches in the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy, some of his opponents had chosen simr terrains. Likewise, he would choose simr terrains whenever other people challenged him. It was just that the range had been smaller to make it easier for the Combat Cultivators to bring out their strengths. Putting it this way, this ce was probably simr to the challenges of the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy. It was just that Huo Liaoyuan had borrowed the strength of an Exotic Treasure to drag them both into this ce.
Lu Ye summoned his Spiritual Power. His Spiritual Power flowed smoothly without the slightest hindrance. Then, he soared into the air and attempted to fly out of the arena. However, his movements were obstructed by the enchantments in the surroundings. He could tell that the strength of the enchantments was not something he could influence or damage in any way.
Trapped in such a small space with a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master as his opponent, he was stuck in an unprecedentedly dangerous situation! Although his strength had increased significantlypared to when he was in the Carnage Colosseum, he would never consider himself a match for a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master. Based on the strength he could exert at the moment, he would stand a fighting chance against an Eight Order Master. Against a Ninth Order Master he would be forced to activate the Beast Form Secret Technique. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to utilize the Beast Form Secret Technique because Amber was sleeping deeply right now.
In that case, the only trump card he could use against his enemy was the Fire Phoenix Glyph. It was just that he needed to umte his strength for a certain amount of time before he could activate the Fire Phoenix Glyph. In this tight space, his enemy would not be stupid enough to let him gather his strength slowly. As soon as he attempted to activate the Fire Phoenix Glyph, he would surely invite a fierce storm of attacks down on himself. [This is going to be troublesome!]
Stop wasting your energy. Observing Lu Yes attempts to escape from this space, Huo Liaoyuans voice sounded leisurely. Inside the Deathmatch tform, its a fight to the death. Only one of us will survive today. The Deathmatch tform will only be released when one party is dead! [The Deathmatch tform?] Lu Ye frowned at those words. [Ive never heard of that before.]
Although he was now a cultivator in the Cloud River Realm who even reached the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, his knowledge and experience were too shallowpared to other cultivators. There was no helping it. It had not been long since he started cultivating after all.
Nevertheless, based on his experience earlier and Huo Liaoyuans previous actions, the Deathmatch tform was probably an Exotic Treasure with a special function.
Why dont you take a guess? Who do you think will die? Huo Liaoyuan ced his hands behind his back and coldly looked down on Lu Ye from where he stood more than ten meters above the ground.
Lu Ye shot a faint look at Huo Liaoyuan and rubbed his thumb along the hilt of the Invible Saber.
Fortunately, there was a small silver lining in the situation. The Ninth Order Master who used the Deathmatch tform on him was from Cult ckfyre! Most of the Cult ckfyre cultivators were Spell Cultivators with the Fire Attribute, and he was least afraid of the Fire Attribute!
If Xia Liang or Tan Sheng had been the ones to activate the Deathmatch tform instead, he would undoubtedly be doomed to death. But, it was just Huo Liaoyuan. The situation was notpletely hopeless.
Lu Yi Ye! Huo Liaoyuan shouted angrily. Lu Yes silence had undoubtedly provoked his rage, and his expression was livid. You had better die obediently. If not, I have many methods to torture you to death!
Inside the Deathmatch tform, outsiders and external forces could not interfere in the battle. His cultivation was four Minor Realms higher than Lu Yes cultivation, so he was certain of his victory. Be that as it may, the prospect of victory was not enough to alleviate the rage burning in his heart.
The losses suffered by the Sacred Universe Arcane de on this mission were too heavy to bear. More than sixty people died in battle on the first day, and another nearly twenty people lost their lives in the invasion today. These casualties were practically half the number of people he originally brought with him. Not to mention, he had been forced to activate a precious Exotic Treasure like the Deathmatch tform.
Even if he managed to defeat Lu Ye today, the Sect would surely hold him responsible for the losses. Therefore, he could only hope to make up for his mistakes by bringing back a victory. Otherwise, his future would be ruined forever.
His victory would probably make up for his mistakes since the bounty on Lu Yes head was ridiculously high. He would not only be regarded as innocent if he ughtered Lu Ye but his actions would also be regarded as a huge contribution to the Sect. After all, which major Sect in the Thousand Demon Ridge did not want Lu Ye dead?
The only response Huo Liaoyuan received was Lu Yes charge. Lu Ye leapt forward like an agile cheetah. Thanks to the Blessing of Windwalk, an afterimage appeared behind him as he swiftly closed the distance of one kilometer.
In a battle against a Spell Cultivator, the first thing a Combat Cultivator should do was close the distance and engage in closebat. Even if he was only in the Fifth Order and Huo Liaoyuan was in the Ninth Order, it would be hard to say who would survive if he managed to close the distance between them. After all, Spell Cultivators generally spend their time cultivating various Spell Techniques. It was only natural that their physique was rtively more fragile.
For that reason, Lu Ye took the initiative to attack even though he would not suffer any negative consequences if the battle dragged out.
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Chapter 608: Fighting a Ninth Order Master
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Very good! Huo Liaoyuan was so furious that he burst intoughter. Lu Yes reaction was within his expectations. If the other party had given up hope, then he would truly have held Lu Ye in great contempt.
After the words left his mouth, he raised his hand and smashed his palm down on the void in front of him. Spiritual Power surged around his body, and a fiery-red Spiritual Power Disc with a radius of several meters swiftly spread out into the surroundings with the center of his palm as the origin. Moreover, there were variousplex patterns in the middle of the Spiritual Power Disc that interconnected with each other and shed with light.
The Spiritual Power Disc seemed to be embedded in his palm. Following the activation of his Spiritual Power, countless fireballs of various sizes emerged from the Spiritual Power Disc and pelted down on Lu Ye like a meteor shower.
As a Spell Cultivator in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, he constantly spent his time researching and studying Spell Techniques. It was only natural for his attainments in the Spell Techniques to be extremely high. Furthermore, the might of the Meteor Shower was extraordinary. Under his control, numerous fireballs burning with a red light transformed into arcs of light that streaked toward Lu Ye at a high speed. Everywhere the fireballs passed, the space became distorted from the heat.
Lu Yes figure began moving, and he evaded the first few fireballs that came speeding toward him. After that, he took every opportunity to swiftly move forward amidst the rain of meteors.
The speed of his movements and his reaction time far exceeded the standards of a Fifth Order Master.
*Boom Boom Boom* Fireball after fireball streaked through the void, exploding against the ground of the Deathmatch tform and mming into the enchantment barriers in the surroundings. Then, they exploded with bursts of dazzling firelight and astounding heat waves.
A look of astonishment soon reced the calm expression on Huo Liaoyuans face.As a Ninth Order Master, he had not bothered to put much effort into his attacks since he was only facing a Fifth Order Master. In his opinion, the gap in their cultivation was sorge that any random Spell Techniques would be fatal to his opponent. Therefore, activating an energy-consuming Spell Technique like the Meteor Shower was considered an extremely safe and reliable tactic. However, Lu Yes performance shocked him. [I cant believe he is moving forward amidst the Meteor Shower Does that reaction speed really belong to a Fifth Order Master!?]
His expression immediately became serious. It was not as though he had never encountered unexpected failures when sess was practically guaranteed. Hence, he once warned himself to act with caution. His Mental Power began to surge violently. As a result, the number of fireballs emerging from the Spiritual Power Disc increased sharply. The trajectory of these fireballs also became increasingly unpredictable.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye slipped through the storm of fireballs and continued to progress forward like a fish swimming against the current. When Huo Liaoyuans mentality changed, he immediately felt pressured by the attacks. His progress forward abruptly slowed by a significant margin.
A Spell Cultivator generally had a certain degree of control over the Spell Techniques they unleashed, and any Spell Cultivators who reached the Seventh Order Realm could manifest this ability.
Take Lu Ye for example. When he first started cultivating the Fire Phoenix Technique, his cultivation had only been in the Third Order Realm at the time. The trajectory of the Spell Techniques was fixed as soon as he activated and released the Spell Techniques. He had no means of control over the trajectory, so his uracy was extremely poor.
In contrast, a cultivator would be able to control the Spiritual Power that left their body once they reached the Seventh Order Realm. That was also the fundamental reason why cultivators could use telekic techniques when their cultivation reached the Seventh Order Realm.
Spell Cultivators who could control the Spiritual Power that they injected into a Spirit Artifact would naturally be able to control their own Spell Techniques. The attainments of Spell Cultivators did not depend solely on how many Spell Techniques they mastered or how powerful the Spell Techniques were but also on how skillfully they could control their Spell Techniques.
Huo Liaoyuan was undoubtedly a qualified Spell Cultivator. Although he could not control every one of the fireballs that came shooting out of the Spiritual Power Disc, he could control some of them. The trajectory of the fireballs that he could control was extremely difficult to predict. For example, some of the fireballs that Lu Ye had avoided would turn around and attack him from behind.
At this moment, the hand that had remained on the hilt of the de for so long finally moved. A fiery-red de light shed, and the Invible Saber slid out of the sheath in a smooth movement. Then, the sharp de light shed downward and sliced through the iing fireballs with resounding sts.
On the other hand, the Spiritual Power Shield lingered around Lu Yes body as a defensive measure. The falling embers scattering around him elerated the consumption of his Spiritual Power.
He did not activate the power of the Tree of Glyphs. That was his trump card in fighting Huo Liaoyuan, so he did not want to expose the existence of the Tree of Glyphs until absolutely necessary.
Besides, he could not defeat a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master by relying on the power of the Tree of Glyphs alone. He needed to make Huo Liaoyuan exhaust as much strength as possible. After all, his only chance at victory was to kill the weakened Huo Liaoyuan in one blow.
In terms of cultivation, there was no denying that Lu Ye was much weaker than Huo Liaoyuan. Be that as it may, Huo Liaoyuan had no other advantages aside from his superior cultivation.
Die! Huo Liaoyuan suddenly released a furious roar that was apanied by a vicious expression.
Lu Ye abruptly froze mid-sh. Looking to the side, he saw an enormous fireball speeding toward him. This fireball was unmistakably different from the others. The Spiritual Power contained within the fireball was extremely violent.
When he noticed the fireball, he also felt the chaotic and savage force within the fireball fluctuating wildly. The fireball suddenly expanded and filled his entire field of vision. What immediately followed was a deafening explosion and a wave of blinding mes.
*Boom* The fireball erupted, and the mes swallowed Lu Yes entire figure. However, Huo Liaoyuan did not stop there. He quickly took the opportunity to further increase his advantage. As more and more fireballs threw themselves into the mes under his delicate control, the aura of death permeated the air.
The mes suddenly surged violently, and then Lu Yes disheveled figure leapt out from the mes. His body was leaning forward slightly with one hand spread out in front of him. There was an enormous Protection Glyph in front of him. It looked like he was holding a shield at first nce. Meanwhile, his other hand was gripping the Invible Saber tightly even though the flesh of his arm had been burned badly by the mes.
His feetnded solidly on the Deathmatch tform. Nevertheless, the impact pushed his figure backwards by nearly one hundred meters before he managed to stabilize himself once more.
*Crack* All of a sudden, the shield of the Protection Glyph in front of him shattered to pieces and revealed his figure. His clothes were tattered, and his body was covered in burn wounds. Even his hair was slightly curly and burnt from the heat.
He had worked so hard earlier. In the end, he finally managed to narrow the distance between him and Huo Liaoyuan by a small margin. Be that as it may, his opponent had easily erased his efforts and returned everything back to the beginning. [I knew it I really hate Spell Cultivators.] Lu Ye turned his head to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, he calmed the tumultuous blood flowing in his chest. [They always act as they please just because they have a long reach. At this rate, everything that Ive learned so far has been rendered useless.]
Oh? Huo Liaoyuan seemed slightly surprised to see that Lu Ye had managed to escape death. Then, his expression abruptly turned excited. Amazing! How amazing!
He looked like he had found something new and interesting. Thus, his eyes shone with excitement and delight. Youre just a Fifth Order Master. I cant believe you managed to defend against my Spell Techniques. Lu Yi Ye, you truly are a monster. No wonder you caused such a huge headache for the major powers of the Thousand Demon Ridge! I was thinking that it would be such a waste if I gave you such an easy death. I even activated an Exotic Treasure like the Deathmatch tform after all! Since youre so amazing His expression abruptly became dark and sinister. The next words that came out of his mouth were as cold as ice, You should struggle as hard as you can. Ive already paid such a huge price, its only right that you show me a good time!
With another sh of Spiritual Light, countless fireballs appeared above the Spiritual Power Disc once more. The fireballs would pause for a moment following their emergence, then shoot toward Lu Ye without mercy.
After his previous experience, how could Lu Ye fail to realize his error? With his current strength, it was wishful thinking to forcefully approach his opponent under these circumstances.
The bodies of Spell Cultivators were generally weak. Hence, they would often suffer a tragic fate if a Combat Cultivator managed to approach them. It was just that they had a long reach, and having such a long-range gave them power. In the face of such an absolute difference in strength, it was impossible for a Combat Cultivator to approach them. [Sure enough, I have to keep chipping away at his strength.]
Such a dense and continuous attack would surely consume great reserves of energy even if Huo Liaoyuan was a Ninth Order Master!
Having made up his mind, Lu Ye immediately sprinted to the side. He was followed closely by several fireballs, which brushed past his body at a dangerously close distance only to crash into the Deathmatch tform and the enchantment barriers with deafening explosions. The eruption of these fireballs released airwaves that swept out violently in all directions, throwing him around like a canoe on the sea that was caught in a turbulent storm of wind and waves.
Huo Liaoyuan was indeed on the verge of insanity, and his expression was distorted with rage. His instability might be caused by the fact that his subordinates had suffered such extreme casualties yesterday. With more than sixty people dying all at once, the burden on his heart had been too much for him to bear. Therefore, he was venting out all his frustrations now that he finally had the chance.
Laughing wildly, he controlled the Spell Technique and unleashed a continuous barrage of attacks at Lu Ye. At the same time, he shouted from time to time. Run! Run! Look at the way youre scurrying around! Youre just like a little mouse! How pathetic you look now! Do you want to kill me? Come if you want to kill me! You will never be able to kill me if the only thing you can do is run!
In the midst of his mockery, he did not forget to throw in some provocations too. It could be seen that he was very meticulous. Even when he hadplete control over the situation, he instinctively used his words to influence Lu Yes emotions.
How could Lu Ye pay Huo Liaoyuan any mind? He had already decided to chip away at the other partys strength. Naturally, he had to buy as much time as possible.
The sound of explosions rang out without stopping. Meanwhile, Lu Ye constantly ran around the Deathmatch tform. Once in a while, he would make a feint as though he was trying to charge forward in order to confuse and mislead Huo Liaoyuan. As he expected, Huo Liaoyuan would increase the intensity of the attacks to stop him whenever he tried to make a move.
The Invible Saber in his hand was nothing more than a decoration at this point. There was no opportunity for him to swing his de. On the other hand, he repeatedly activated the Protection Glyph to block the attacks that he could not avoid.
Not a single fireball caused him any direct injuries, but the impact of the explosions made his body ache and his blood boil. That was also the reason why he had not activated the power of the Tree of Glyphs at the first sign of danger. While he could certainly block off the damage from the fire by activating the Tree of Glyphs, he could not avoid the impact that apanied the explosions.
Moreover, freely activating the Tree of Glyphs in such a manner would consume a lot of Mental Power. Even if his Mental Power surpassed his peers in the same cultivation Realm by arge margin, he could not maintain the Tree of Glyphs for a long time. His trump card had to be hidden until he found the right opportunity. Only then could he maximize the element of surprise and obtain unimaginable effects.
Time flowed First, it was a cup of teas time Then, it was a stick of incenses time
Lu Ye was bing increasingly battered. Likewise, Huo Liaoyuans expression was no longer as rxed as before.
The Meteor Shower was a Spell Technique that consumed copious amounts of energy, and Huo Liaoyuan had never cast the Spell Technique for such a long period before. In just a stick of incenses time, nearly half of his Spiritual Power had been exhausted. What annoyed him the most was that Lu Ye remained alive and kicking in the distance!
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Chapter 609: Prairie Fire Explosion
Chapter 609: Prairie Fire Explosion
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That was the embarrassing disadvantage of a Spell Cultivator. Even if arge gap existed between their cultivation and their opponents cultivation, the advantage was meaningless if their Spell Techniques could notnd on their opponent.
Lu Yes speed and reaction speed gave Huo Liaoyuan the strange illusion that he was not fighting a Fifth Order Realm Combat Cultivator
Cultivators in the Sacred Universe Arcane de would often seek advice from him regarding their cultivation. In particr, there was an Eight Order Realm Combat Cultivator called Ming Zhe who frequently came to him for guidance. Uponparing the strength of Lu Ye and Ming Zhe, he was shocked to discover that Lu Yes performance was better than Ming Zhe. At the very least, Ming Zhe had neversted for so long against him in battle. [What kind of monster is he!? How can he have the strength equivalent to an Eight Order Realm Master when his cultivation is only in the Fifth Order Realm!? More importantly, have I really seen the true extent of his strength!?]
Even if he had never underestimated Lu Yes strength in the first ce, he was shocked by the sudden realization. While he was preupied with his thoughts, the fiery-red Spiritual Power Disc in front of him slowly disappeared from sight.
The attacks of the Meteor Shower were concentrated and vicious. Hence, it was suitable against multiple opponents. The only downside was the heavy consumption of energy. Taking everything into consideration, it was no longer feasible to defeat Lu Ye just by relying on the Meteor Shower. Thus, he had to settle for another method.
At the same time, Lu Ye noticed the abrupt reduction in the intensity of his opponents offensive. He immediately kicked both feet against the ground and turned around to charge toward Huo Liaoyuan.
How delusional! How could Huo Liaoyuan fail to realize Lu Yes intentions? The other party was obviously trying to take advantage of the situation to approach him. Apanied by a furious roar, the Spiritual Power surged violently around his body. The fiery-red Spiritual Power in front of him gathered and squirmed as though something was about to leap out of the fog.
Lu Ye watched the squirming Spiritual Power intently. The weapon holder hanging at his waist hummed loudly, signaling that the nine flying weapons were ready to be unleashed at any time.The distance between them closed rapidly.
Before Lu Ye could activate the power of his flying weapons, a hissing sound came from within the wriggling and squirming Spiritual Power. It was immediately followed by the emergence of a Fire Snake that was over thirty meters in length and fifteen centimeters in diameter. Ignoring the mes that burned around the Fire Snake, it looked no different from an actual giant snake. The curves of its body were smooth, and the scales along its body were dense. Even the eyes and fangs of the Fire Snake seemed very life-like.
The Fire Snake lunged forward with a hiss and arrived before Lu Ye with its mouth wide open in the blink of an eye. Lu Ye swiftly ducked to the side and dodged the attack, then persistently charged toward Huo Liaoyuan once more. Unexpectedly, the Fire Snake suddenly turned around and whipped its me-wrapped tail at his back with great force. The impact caused a strong wind to hit him from behind. Fortunately, he managed to narrowly avoid the blow. Dyed by the attack, he turned around and nced at the Fire Snake from the corner of his eyes. The Fire Snake was tirelessly chasing after him as though it contained sentience.
Another hissing sound rang out, and a second Fire Snake slithered toward him from a distance at an overwhelming speed. There was no time for hesitation. He leapt and flipped over sideways. Nevertheless, the two Fire Snakes came lunging at him again from both sides like living creatures and kept him busy with their attacks.
The Invible Saber swung down, releasing a sharp de light that swept outward. The dended on the body of the Fire Snake with a dull nging sound, almost as though the de had struck steel. The Fire Snakes might have been formed by the condensation of Spiritual Power through a Spell Technique, but they seemed to have been endowed with a mighty physique and vitality.
Lu Ye couldnt help sighing in amazement. These skills were worthy of a professional Spell Cultivator indeed. Although he could perform a simr Fire Dragon Technique, he could only control them to a minimal extent. It was impossible for him to maintain the Spell Technique for as long as Huo Liaoyuan
Activating the two Fire Snakes had undoubtedly consumed quite arge amount of Huo Liaoyuans Spiritual Power. For that reason, he did not activate a third Fire Snake but simply stood motionless in ce. His Mental Power surged, then he controlled the two Fire Snakes to confront Lu Ye.
Arge-scale Spell Technique like the Meteor Shower had not been effective against Lu Ye. In that case, he might as well crush Lu Ye with thetters own area of expertise. After all, the two Fire Snakes could also be considered fighting in closebat with Lu Ye.
The figures of Lu Ye and the two Fire Snakes darted around the arena. For a time, the situation was very dangerous. Sparks would asionally burst out in a shower following the constant shing and swinging of Lu Yes Invible Saber.
On the other hand, Huo Liaoyuans expression was growing increasingly solemn. He had noticed something crucial. Although Lu Ye was having some trouble dealing with the situation, it was impossible to kill him just by relying on the two Fire Snakes. After all, the power that could be disyed by the Fire Snakes would inevitably be weaker and weaker over time even though they could be maintained for some time. [I cant dy any longer!] At this point, Huo Liaoyuan was starting to realize that something was wrong. [I need to take Lu Yi Ye down in one move with my strongest and most vicious ability!]
When he first activated the Deathmatch tform, he never imagined that a Fifth Order Realm Combat Cultivator like Lu Ye could persist for so long under his relentless assault. It no longer mattered how much he hated Lu Ye. Even he had to admit that Lu Ye was a difficult opponent indeed.
When that thought crossed his mind, he abruptly spread his arms wide. His entire body shuddered, then sparks scattered across the sky in the next moment. These sparks resembled fireflies at first nce. Moreover, the weak and insignificant light seemed as though the slightest breeze could extinguish the me.
Be that as it may, Lu Ye instantly felt a sense of crisis blooming in his heart when the sparks came into existence. Having incredible Mental Power would lead to a strong perception. Hence, he could perceive various dangers and opportunities that could not be seen by the naked eye.
He was busy fending off the two Fire Snakes at the time, but he took the time to nce in Huo Liaoyuans direction. What entered his vision was an overwhelming number of fireflies drifting toward him. The drifting motion of the fireflies was not slow either. Moreover, the area covered by the fireflies was extremely vast.
Regardless of the Spell Technique, he had the feeling that the Spell Technique was not something he could withstand at the moment. Countless warning bells started ringing in his heart. rmed by the danger, he immediately tried to charge toward Huo Liaoyuan. Unfortunately, the two Fire Snakes tenaciously blocked his path forward by constantly attacking him from both sides.
It only took an instant for the innumerable fireflies to cover half of the arena. Some of the fireflies evennded on his body, but he did not seem affected by them.
Meanwhile, Huo Liaoyuan slowly raised his hand. The Spiritual Power around him surged violently, and he shouted loudly, Lu Yu Ye, you should be honored to die from this Spell Technique of mine!
The only response he received was Lu Yes vicious counterattack!
Lu Yes frenzied counterattack finally cut down one of the Fire Snakes. Blessing his legs with Windwalk, he prepared to rush forward at full speed only to discover a scorching sensation wrapping around his body. He looked back and saw that the Fire Snake he destroyed had not dissipated despite being sliced into two. On the contrary, the Fire Snake had wrapped itself around his legs like a living creature!
Before he could break free from the Fire Snake tangled around his legs, the other Fire Snake quickly wrapped itself around him too. The two Fire Snakes bound him firmly, one on each side, and dragged him to the ground.
He did not panic. At this point in the battle, the power of the two Fire Snakes had reduced significantlypared to before. He simply summoned the Spiritual Power around his body with all his might and exerted strength into his arms. Then, the Fire Snakes restraining him broke into several pieces from the impact.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye was toote.
Huo Liaoyuan pointed his raised hand at Lu Ye and clenched his fist abruptly, as though crushing an invisible bug in his hands. A cold but deep voice came out of his mouth. Prairie Fire Explosion!
The weak light of a firefly instantly brightened by several thousand times. When the light burst forth, a terrifying fluctuation of Spiritual Power came from deep within the light.
Lu Ye would not have been too worried if the reaction came from only one of those fireflies. However, there was more than just one firefly drifting around him at this moment. There were thousands tens of thousands There were simply too many to count.
Like a prairie fire, the changes quickly spread into the surroundings. All the fireflies erupted one after another, and thousands of little suns seemed to explode at the ce where Lu Ye was standing in the span of a moment.
At this moment, Lu Ye finally broke free from the restraints of the Fire Snakes. Be that as it may, it was impossible for him to escape this area no matter how fast his speed was.
*Boom* A loud explosion apanied the eruption of the fireflies. It was immediately followed by a deafening buzzing sound that filled the air. The scorching mes enveloped half of the arena; the intense heat distorted the space; the soaring rays of light were obstructed by the enchantment barriers; and the waves of air that swept out from the explosion raged across the huge arena.
Huo Liaoyuans clothes pped noisily in the wind. Even though he was the one who performed this Spell Technique, he was momentarily stunned by the magnificent scenery that spread out before him. Then, he threw his head back andughed wildly. [Finally Ive finally killed Lu Yi Ye!]
Forget a Fifth Order Realm Master like Lu Ye, even a Ninth Order Realm Master would not be able to defend against a Spell Technique of this scale. It was one of Huo Liaoyuans trump cards. In terms of power alone, this Spell Technique ranked number one among all the other Spell Techniques that he mastered. The only disadvantages of this Spell Technique were the slow casting time and extensive limitations in terms of coverage. The Spell Technique would only be effective under the premise that the enemy was firmly restrained. Therefore, the small space inside the arena and the Fire Snakes upying Lu Yes attention had given this Spell Technique the excellent opportunity to shine brightly. [Will Lu Yi Yes corpse remain? If his corpse was burned to ashes, then there wont be any evidence to prove his death. Will the major Sects of the Thousand Demon Ridge recognise and reward my achievement? But, even if a corpse remained, it would be burnt beyond recognition Thats right! Xia Liang and Tan Sheng witnessed the scene where I activated the Deathmatch tform. As long as theyre willing to testify for me, Im sure the major Sects will not go back on their word. It doesnt matter. Even if nobody is willing to testify for me, I can make a Heavenly Oath to prove that I killed Lu Yi Ye]
Now that he was rxed, all sorts of thoughts popped up in his mind. Hisplexion went pale, and he slumped to the floor tiredly.
Although the battle had notsted for long, he had exhausted too much of his energy. Just maintaining the Meteor Shower for a stick of incenses time had drained nearly half of his Spiritual Power. The Fire Snake Technique might not have consumed much of his strength, but the Prairie Fire Explosion was another energy-consuming Spell Technique. At this moment, he only had twenty per cent of his usual Spiritual Power left. In addition, the intense consumption of his Mental Power also left him feeling slightly groggy.
Performing a Spell Technique not only caused the exhaustion of his Spiritual Power but also ced a burden on his Mental Power. Furthermore, the burden on his Mental Power increased with the strength of the Spell Technique. That was one of the disadvantages of being a Spell cultivator that could not be avoided.
Nevertheless, Huo Liaoyuans mood improved and brightened once more when he recalled the unimaginablyrge reward he would receive for killing Lu Ye. The smile had just spread across his face when his expression froze again [Something is wrong! The Deathmatch tform has its own rules. Once we enter this ce, both parties will be forced to participate in a fight to the death. Only one person can leave this ce alive. Moreover, the restraints of the Deathmatch tform will instantly be released as soon as one party is dead. That will return me to the same location as before I entered the Deathmatch tform, but why Why am I still inside the Deathmatch tform?]
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Chapter 610: How Did Things End Up Like This
Chapter 610: How Did Things End Up Like This
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As soon as the thought came to mind, a wave of horror washed over Huo Liaoyuan.
The rules of the Deathmatch tform were determined by the Heavens, so there could be no mistakes. He should have been released from this space and returned to his original location as soon as Lu Ye died, but he was still here
He instinctively raised his head and nced forward. The towering mes continued to ze fiercely, but the strength of the mes had been reduced to remnants by now. It would not take more than two or three more seconds before the mes went outpletely.
Then, he saw the truth that left him in utter disbelief! A figure brazenly charged out from the remnants of the mighty Spell Technique that could turn even a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master into a burnt corpse!
How is that possible!? Huo Liaoyuan eximed in shock. [Lu Yi Ye isnt dead! How is he still alive!? That was the Prairie Fire Explosion! Its one of my trump cards! This is a nightmare]
However, what shocked Huo Liaoyuan even more was not the fact that Lu Ye was alive but that Lu Ye was barely injured.
Lu Ye looked miserable. His clothes were in tatters, exposing his skin in many spots. Nevertheless, the exposed flesh showed no signs of being burned by the mes whatsoever! In fact, the wounds on his body were the same wounds he received previously. The Prairie Fire Explosion did not seem to have any effect on him
Needless to say, it was impossible for such a powerful Spell Technique to have no effect on Lu Ye. He might have activated the power of the Tree of Glyphs when he was in danger to iste himself from the damage caused by the mes, but the impact caused by the repeated explosions could not be isted by the power of the Tree of Glyphs. Despite seeming unaffected by the attacks on the outside, the truth was that his internal organs had been disced by the impact. Blood churned at the back of his throat, and he desperately suppressed the feeling. In addition, every single muscle in his body was sore and aching.Rushing out of the mes, he wrapped himself in boundless murderous intent and charged toward Huo Liaoyuan.
After a brief period of horror and shock, Huo Liaoyuan finally returned to his senses and scrambled to his feet. Then, he hastily raised his hand and shot several Spell Techniques at Lu Ye.
By the time Huo Liaoyuan came back to his senses, the distance between them had already been shortened to a mere hundred and fifty meters! This distance was the closest Lu Ye hade to Huo Liaoyuan since entering the Deathmatch tform, and the distance between them continued to shrink.
The weapon holder at Lu Yes waist hummed loudly. Nine rays of light shot out in session, mming into the Spell Techniques that Huo Liaoyuan released at a high speed.
Huo Liaoyuan had not only exhausted himself, but his mind was also fatigued. Hence, the power of the Spell Techniques he hastily released was impressive but far from the strength he disyed at his peak.
Several explosions burst forth. The iing Spell Techniques detonated in unison, scattering sparks throughout the sky.
Ahhhhhh! Huo Liaoyuan did not know whether he was frightened or encouraging himself. Numerous shouts escaped from his mouth, and every shout was followed by the release of a Spell Technique.
At this distance, Lu Ye could control his flying weapons as though they were an extension of his arm. Thanks to his superb control, the Spell Techniques often exploded as soon as they were released. Furthermore, he even had the excess strength to control half of the flying weapons to attack Huo Liaoyuan.
The flying weaponsunched at Huo Liaoyuan only to be blocked by Huo Liaoyuans Spiritual Power Shield They could not harm him in the slightest, but the impact of the explosions had knocked him off bnce.
A hundred meters Seventy meters Thirty meters
Lu Ye leapt upward and cleared the obstacles in front of him with his flying weapons. The Invible Saber in his hand ignited with mes, and his right arm holding the de bulged slightly. At that moment, he resembled a starving wolf pouncing on its prey.
Even though Huo Liaoyuan was the one with higher cultivation, his expression became extremely flustered. He naturally knew the consequences of a Spell Cultivator who was approached at a close distance by a Combat Cultivator, especially if the other party was a Combat Cultivator like Lu Ye. In his opinion, Lu Ye was no inferior to an Eighth Order Realm Master despite only being in the Fifth Order Realm.
The difference between one Minor Realm was not as exaggerated as imagined. He was once approached by his Junior Brother in the Arcane de, Ming Zhe. It had not only taken great effort for him to escape the other partys pursuit at the time, but he had been at the peak of his strength back then
In his panic, he stumbled backwards without forgetting to unleash a Spell Technique at the same time. It had to be said that his attainments in the Spell Techniques were extremely remarkable. Even under these circumstances, casting Spell Techniques had be a natural instinct for him.
Three arrows shot out in a triangr array only to be destroyed by Lu Yes flying weapons. Following that, the de that had been prepared in advance shed downward with great momentum.
*sh!* When the de came shing down, the Spiritual Power Shield around Huo Liaoyuans body erupted with a dazzling light. It was obvious that he had desperately summoned more Spiritual Power to protect himself.
*Boom* Following a loud explosion, a burst of Spiritual Power surged violently. Lu Ye felt his arm going numb. At the same time, Huo Liaoyuan was sent flying backwards. The Spiritual Power Shield around his body did not dissipatepletely. Although Lu Yes blow failed to take his life, the horrifying power contained within the blow struck him in full.
Just like how Lu Yes Tree of Glyphs could not iste all the effects of the explosions, Huo Liaoyuans Spiritual Power Shield could not fully block the impacts either. Be that as it may, Lu Ye clearly felt the other partys Spiritual Power Shield hollowing inward as though stic when his de made contact with the Spiritual Power Shield That feature should dissipate some of the force behind the blow.
Lu Ye had heard that there were two types of Spiritual Power Shields. One was inflexible while the other was flexible. The so-called inflexible Spiritual Power Shield resembled a barrier that would not change shape. As long as the barrier did not break, the cultivator would not be harmed. The same could not be said about the flexible Spiritual Power Shield. This type of Spiritual Power Shield would sag inward when struck by force and reduce some of the impacts.
Both types of Spiritual Power Shields had their respective advantages and disadvantages, depending on the cultivators choice. However, a cultivator had to have strong control over their Spiritual Power in order to make their Spiritual Power Shield be flexible. In addition, they needed great practice to achieve such a feat. It was not something all cultivators could achieve. In fact, less than twenty percent of the cultivators in the Cloud River Realm could master the flexible Spiritual Power Shield.
Lu Ye did not know much about the Spiritual Power Shields. Whenever he needed protection against an enemys attack, he would activate the Protection Glyph. After all, the defensive abilities of the Protection Glyph were significantly stronger than ordinary Spiritual Power Shield.
There was no doubt that Huo Liaoyuans control over his Spiritual Power was amazing, which was why he could wield the flexible Spiritual Power Shield at such a crucial moment. The impact he suffered from that blow would have been at least thirty percent stronger otherwise.
Despite the reduced impact, he coughed up a mouthful of blood mist in mid-air. Even if he was a Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator, he could not change the fact that his body was weak. Naturally, that was only a rtiveparison
After sustaining such an abrupt and violent impact, he felt his bones were about to break. His internal organs churned wildly, and his vision turned blurry.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Ye rushing toward him as relentlessly as his own shadow. Lu Yes de came shing down on him before he evennded on the ground. The attack caused his body to sink downward, crashing to the ground with unbridled force.
Lu Ye kicked out at the same time, causing Huo Liaoyuans body to spin in mid-air. As a result, Huo Liaoyuan flew nearly a hundred meters through the air and crashed directly into the enchantment barrier of the Deathmatch tform.
Huo Liaoyuan fell to the ground in a crumpled heap and howled in pain. His eyes were filled with fear and pain. Before his experience today, he would have scoffed if somebody had told him that he would be beaten by a Fifth Order Realm Combat Cultivator. Yet, he was actually experiencing that very ludicrous phenomenon right now.
Everything had been within his control. He could have killed Lu Ye and washed away the shame of yesterday by making up for his mistakes with a significant contribution. He could have obtained an inexhaustible supply of wealth and riches for his contribution. So, how did things end up like this?
Bleurgh
The sound of somebody throwing up blood came from nearby. Huo Liaoyuan endured the severe paining from every part of his body and climbed to his feet. When his blurry vision came back into focus, he saw Lu Ye half-kneeling on the ground with a de in his hand and a pool of crimson blood in front of him. The sight made his eyes brighten with hope. [He is injured too! He isnt as invulnerable as he looks on the surface!]
From being confident and inplete control of the situation to being concerned over his gains and losses to rejoicing over the fact that his opponent was injured and vomiting blood, Huo Liaoyuan himself failed to realize that his mind had changed drastically during this battle.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was feeling very ufortable. He originally nned to take Huo Liaoyuan down in one fell swoop, but his overly vigorous actions had worsened his internal injuries. Therefore, he was forced to halt his relentless pursuit of Huo Liaoyuan.
After purging the stagnant blood in his body, he finally felt a little better. He looked up and nced in Huo Liaoyuans direction. Likewise, Huo Liaoyuan was looking in Lu Yes direction. The look in his eyes was fierce, and the Spiritual Power around him surged wildly.
There was nomunication between them, but both of them moved at almost the same time. As always, Lu Ye used his flying weapons to clear his path and bravely charged forward. In contrast, Huo Liaoyuan unleashed various different types of Spell Techniques.
It was just that matters regarding ones aura were often very simr. Once weakened, ones aura would remain weakened for some time and would not recover quickly no matter what was done to boost recovery.
Despite a difference of four Minor Realms in their cultivation, Huo Liaoyuans various Spell Techniques were blocked by Lu Yes flying weapons. The distance between them rapidly closed once more.
A trace of panic appeared on the calm expression he forced himself to make. It was not until Lu Ye was within ten meters of him that an overwhelming airwave swept out into the surroundings in the wake of a Spiritual Power explosion.
Lu Ye felt as though a wall had mmed against him, and his body was involuntarily pushed away.
It was a Spell Cultivators final trump card for protection. Lu Ye did not know the name of the Spell Technique, but almost all the Spell Cultivators he encountered in the past had cultivated the same Spell Technique. Once the Spell Technique was cast, they could push everything around them into the distance. Seeing as Spell Cultivators were generally most afraid of being approached by others, the Spell Technique had undoubtedly saved the lives of many Spell Cultivators.
If this were in the wild countryside, Huo Liaoyuan could have used this opportunity to escape. Unfortunately, this was the Deathmatch tform he summoned. The space was only one kilometer wide in length and width. Where could he run? Pushing Lu Ye away was nothing more than his final struggle.
After three short seconds, Lu Ye came close once again. He agilely dodged the attacks of several Spell Techniques and simultaneously shed the Invible Saber down on his opponent. The Invible Saber gleamed with a cold and bright de light.
Like a broken ragdoll, Huo Liaoyuan was sent flying once more from the huge impact. The Spiritual Power Shield wrapped around the surface of his body dimmed considerably. Stuck in mid-air, he clearly felt the aura of death lingering around him. He once experienced a simr feeling when he was in the Spirit Creek Realm. At the time, he was lucky enough to be rescued by a Senior Brother who helped him resolve the crisis. The feeling remained fresh in his memory, but he was now all alone. The Senior Brother who saved him in the past had also passed away many years back
In any case, he knew. The moment Lu Ye broke out of his shackles and rushed toward him, he had lost the battle.
Time seemed to stretch out forever at this moment. Various distracting thoughts swiftly shed through his mind. Suspended in mid-air, he turned to look in the direction where the source of danger was located and saw Lu Ye charging toward him at a high speed. The powerful sense of oppression radiating from Lu Ye left him unable to breathe.
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Chapter 611: Killing a Ninth Order Realm Master
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*p!* He abruptly pped his hands together with his fingers spread wide. A fragment of light suddenly appeared between his palms, then the light rapidly expanded and red brightly. It was immediately followed by the fluctuation of an intense but chaotic Spiritual Power that surged wildly. At a nce, it almost seemed like he was holding a small sun between his hands. The Spiritual Power circting within the small sun was visible to the naked eye.
At this moment, Lu Ye was currently only thirty meters away from Huo Liaoyuan!
Huo Liaoyuans strange movements made Lu Ye wary. Although he did not underestimate his opponent, he did not stop his forward charge either. The distance of thirty meters was something he could cross in a second. It would only take a split second for him to ughter Huo Liaoyuan in a single blow regardless of how powerful the Spell Technique Huo Liaoyuan cast.
On the other hand, the aura around Huo Liaoyuan had gone dim. It was obvious that he had pretty much exhausted his strength at this point. After all, he had poured the entirety of his remaining Spiritual Power into the small sun in front of him.
All of a sudden, he shoved both hands forward. The small sun between his palms shot toward Lu Ye at a high speed, and the Spiritual Power flowing across the surface of the small sun simultaneously began to fluctuate at an increasing speed.
Then,yer afteryer began to peel off from the little sun like a gorgeous flower whose petals were blossoming one by one. A horrifying aura instantly filled the Deathmatch tform as the fiery petals unfolded, and the small sun transformed into an enormous me Lotus in the blink of an eye.
Lu Ye had already dodged to the side by then, but he had not expected such changes to ur. By the time he noticed, he was already enveloped by the me Lotus.
The me Lotus Technique bloomed silently, unlike the explosive manifestation of the Prairie Fire Explosion or the majestic appearance of the Meteor Shower. However, the power unleashed by the Spell Technique was more horrifying than the previous two Spell Techniquesbined. It was a terrifying heat that could melt everything in existence.This particr Spell Technique was another one of Huo Liaoyuans trump cards, but it was a trump card that he had yet to master fully!
Due to a fifty percent chance of failure whenever he cast this Spell Technique, he generally did not dare to utilize the Spell Technique when facing an enemy lest he hurt himself instead of the enemy. He would not have dared to take such a risk if not for the fact that he was backed into a corner with no other choice.
Fortunately, he was blessed with good luck. He managed to cast the Spell Technique despite the fifty percent chance of failure. It might be the result of his extreme focus brought about by the tremendous pressure he faced. Nevertheless, hisplexion had turned as pale as a sheet. Quietly watching the blossoming me Lotus, he finally breathed out in relief at the sight of Lu Ye being engulfed in the mes. [Lu Yi Ye wont be able to survive now right?] Just as the thought appeared in his mind, his pupils contracted in shock and his eyes began to tremble violently.
A figure slowly walked out from the blooming me Lotus ahead with a rxed expression. His movements were leisurely, as though he was not walking through a vortex of death but his own garden. In fact, his expression was so nd that there was no fluctuation at all.
Lu Ye did not know much about the Spell Technique that Huo Liaoyuan cast, but he could guess that the power of the Spell Technique was fearsome indeed from the other partys reaction and the sensations he felt. Be that as it may, he could iste the damage from the mes with the blessing of the Tree of Glyphs. Comparatively, the me Lotus did not cause as much damage to him as the Prairie Fire Explosion earlier. The impact from the Prairie Fire Explosion had at least caused him severe damage. The silently blooming me Lotus could not even burn a single hair on his body.
Hah! Huo Liaoyuan murmured unconsciously and involuntarily took a few steps back. His expression was filled with absolute horror. It was another nightmarish scene! [First, it was the Prairie Fire Explosion. Then, it was the me Lotus Technique. Just what did Lu Yi Ye do!? How is he able to survive two of my trump cards!? Am I dreaming or something!?]
Unfortunately, the weakness and the paining from his body were a constant reminder that he was not dreaming.
Step by step, Lu Ye took his time and walked until he stood ten meters away from Huo Liaoyuan. The enormous me Lotus behind him was gradually dissipating, and the space distorted by the extreme heat returned to normal as though gently relieved by an invisible hand.
When their gazes met, Huo Liaoyuan parted his dry lips as though to speak. In the end, he couldnt bring himself to speak. He simply released a furious roar and boldly charged toward Lu Ye.
Not a single drop of Spiritual Power remained in his body. As a Spell Cultivator, not having any Spiritual Power meant that he did not even have the capital to cast a single Spell Technique. Even so, he neither admitted defeat nor begged for mercy. The Deathmatch tform was a ce where only one person could survive after all.
Without taking a step forward, Lu Ye twisted his wrist. A de light shed through the air. Then, he gently swung the Invible Saber and returned the de to the sheath.
A muffled thump came from behind him. It was followed by crimson blood that gushed out and dyed the ground of the Deathmatch tform bright red.
Inside the Ameliorate Arcane de, the wolf pack and the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators faced each other across a distance of several hundred meters. Although the distance was within the attacking range of the cultivators, they did notunch an attack on the wolf pack.
The reason they confronted the wolf pack was to wait for Huo Liaoyuan.
ording to the rules of the Deathmatch tform, the two parties who entered the Deathmatch tform would be forced into a fight to the death. When one party perished, then the other party would be returned to their original location. ??
Huo Liaoyuan had activated the power of the Deathmatch tform inside the Ameliorate Arcane de and dragged Lu Ye into the Deathmatch tform. Therefore, he would be returned to the Ameliorate Arcane de when he emerged once more. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators naturally had to ensure that they could meet up with him as soon as he appeared.
Since they did not attack, the wolf pack had no reason to pick a fight either.
Meanwhile, Li Baxian stood nearby with a gloomy expression on his face and constantly checked Lu Yes Battlefield Imprint to confirm Lu Yes survival. He had nearly gone insane with worry when Lu Ye was dragged into the Deathmatch tform. It never crossed his mind that Huo Liaoyuan would possess an Exotic Treasure.
Lu Ye was only in the Fifth Order Realm while Huo Liaoyuan was in the Ninth Order Realm. The difference between their cultivation was incrediblyrge. Even if Lu Ye had an impressive heritage and excelled at defeating enemies beyond his current strength, there was a limit to everything.
Li Baxian did not believe that Lu Ye stood a chance against Huo Liaoyuan.
If Lu Ye could activate the Beast Form Secret Technique with Ambers support, then Li Baxian might have had more confidence in Lu Ye. However, Amber remained in a deep slumber even now. It was impossible for Lu Ye to receive help from Amber. Therefore, this battle was extremely dangerous for Lu Ye.
Li Baxian wished he could take Lu Yes ce instead Unfortunately, he himself did not have the confidence to defeat Huo Liaoyuan.
The atmosphere throughout the Ameliorate Arcane de was very depressing.
Time passed slowly. A cup of teas time A stick of incenses time
The expression on Li Baxians face became increasingly strange He originally believed that persevering against Huo Liaoyuan in a one-on-one battle for a hundred seconds would be Lu Yes limit. However, Lu Ye remained safe and sound even though an incense stick of time had passed.
Li Baxian abruptly realized that he might have underestimated Lu Ye. Either that or Amber had suddenly regained consciousness. If that was the case, then it would be hard to determine who would eventually survive the battle once Lu Ye activated the Beast Form Secret Technique.
Time continued to pass. Li Baxian was bing more and more certain that Amber had finally awoken at a critical moment. It might even be Lu Ye who had awoken Amber!
The anxiety and unease that overwhelmed him earlier vanished without a trace. Then, he quietly waited for Lu Yes return. That was because he genuinely believed Lu Ye could defeat Huo Liaoyuan as long as Lu Ye activated the Beast Form Secret Technique!
On the opposite, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators looked very rxed. In their opinion, Huo Liaoyuan surpassed Lu Ye by four Minor Realms in terms of cultivation. How could Huo Liaoyuan lose? If time dragged on slightly, it must be because Huo Liaoyuan was toying with Lu Ye. Lu Ye was probably suffering a fate worse than death at this moment.
What they needed to do was simple: They only needed to rush forward to meet Huo Liaoyuan when he finally returned.
What is Huo Liaoyuan doing? Somewhere in the crowd, Xia Liang muttered softly under his breath.
It was a pity that he could not kill Lu Ye and take revenge with his own hands. Be that as it may, Huo Liaoyuan had promised to share twenty per cent of the bounty on Lu Yes head. He was bound to keep his word, but his efficiency was too low. Even though so much time had passed since he entered the Deathmatch tform, there remained no signs to indicate his return. Did he not know that something unfavorable might happen if a situation dragged out for too long?
Lets wait a little longer. Who knows? He mighte out soon, Tan Sheng persuaded.
Xia Liang nodded slightly. Raising his head, he nced forward and said in a low voice, Brother Tan, I need your help.
Brother Xia, please speak.
Xia Liang dered, I want to kill Li Baxian!
His original purpose was to kill Li Baxian. Yan Xing had died at the hands of Li Baxian, and he had to avenge Yan Xing. His main purpose for targeting Lu Ye in the Carnage Colosseum was to lure Li Baxian out into the open. In the end, he not only identally implicated the Raving desmen but also had to give arge number of resources aspensation. That was also how his enmity with Lu Ye had been triggered.
Although he experienced many twists and turns during the period, he had not forgotten his original intention. Rtively speaking, he wanted to kill Li Baxian more. Now that Lu Ye was destined to die at Huo Liaoyuans hands, there was only one goal left for him.
Tan Sheng naturally knew about Xia Liangs obsession with Li Baxian. Thus, he nodded and agreed I will cooperate with you when the timees, Brother Xia.
Xia Liang expressed his thanks. Thank you very much. If all goes well, just let me know if you ever need my help in the future.
Tan Shengs eyes lit up at those words. He acknowledged that his strength was not inferior to Xia Liang. Nheless, there was a significant gap between their Sects. The Raving desmen was a First Tier Sect. On the other hand, the New Moon Sect was only a Third Tier Sect. It would not harm his future to obtain this promise from Xia Liang. After all, a favor was often very precious in certain situations.
Brother Xia, youre being too polite. I Hesing out! Tan Sheng suddenly eximed.
Everybody noticed the abnormal phenomenon at the same time. That was because a small ray of light had abruptly shed into existence in mid-air. Immediately afterwards, the phantom of the Deathmatch tform appeared in the middle of the light. A white light shot out from the Deathmatch tform andnded on a certain position. The space around that location suddenly became distorted, and a figure emerged out of thin air!
The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators who had been standing at the ready to escort their leader at any time froze in ce as though they had been struck by a Lighting Invoking Talisman Paper. Their eyes trembled in disbelief at the sight.
Among the crowd, Tan Sheng felt his eyelids twitching furiously. Meanwhile, Xia Liang eximed in shock, How is that possible!?
They were reacting as though they had seen something absolutely unbelievable.
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Chapter 612: How Is That Possible?
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The phantom of the Deathmatch tform materialized inside the Ameliorate Arcane de, and a figure appeared before their eyes. However, what shocked and horrified the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators was that the person who returned was not Huo Liaoyuan, whom they had expected, but Lu Ye!
That was not entirely correct. Huo Liaoyuan had returned as well. It was just that he was currently dangling from Lu Yes grasp like the corpse of a dog. Arge gaping hole could clearly be seen on his chest, and fresh blood dripped out of the wound with pattering sounds.
There was no longer any life or vitality in his body. He was just a corpse at this point.
Many of the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators felt their scalps going numb, and a chill washed over their bodies. [Senior Brother Huo was killed? How could Senior Brother Huo, who was a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master, be killed?]
Despite their reluctance to believe the sight before their eyes, the harsh reality was right in front of them. They were forced to ept the truth.
On the other hand, Li Baxian finally breathed a long sigh of relief when Lu Ye appeared. He had the feeling that Lu Ye might not lose, but the feeling was both a desperate hope and prayer. It was not until Lu Ye appeared before him unharmed that he finally rxed.
Nevertheless, he immediately became suspicious again
In his mind, he had assumed that Lu Ye gained the capital to fight Huo Liaoyuan by arousing the sleeping Amber and joining forces with the Spirit Beast. Be that as it may, there was no sign of Amber anywhere. It was evident that the tiger remained deep in slumber inside the Spirit Beast Bag. [Does that mean Little Junior Brother defeated Huo Liaoyuan with his strength alone? Did he really kill an opponent who was four Minor Realms stronger than him?] Even though the truthy before his eyes, he couldnt help feeling shocked. There was no existing record of such a feat throughout history. Generally speaking, most people only managed to defeat an opponent who was one or two Minor Realms stronger than them. It was very rare to ovee the difference of three Minor Realms, much less four Minor Realms.
Just as various thoughts raced through Li Baxians mind, Lu Ye suddenly raised his hand and tossed the corpse in his hand to the ground.
Several Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators hastily caught the corpse
Retreat! A horrified voice rang out from among the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators. Then, they seemed to return to their senses and quickly began to retreat.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were mixed among the crowd. Even after they retreated from the range of the Arcane de, their expressions remained filled with utter disbelief.
Meanwhile, the wolf pack did not give chase because their efforts would have been futile.
When the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators withdrew from the Ameliorate Valley, Lu Ye finally activated the power of the Concealment Ward. A ripple passed overhead as the Concealment Ward covered the entire Arcane de. Then, he involuntarily staggered on his feet. Blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth.
Little Junior Brother! Li Baxian hurried forward to support Lu Ye.
On the other hand, Feng Yuechan hastily brought out some Healing Pills and stuffed them into Lu Yes mouth.
After swallowing the Spirit Pills, Lu Ye waved them away. Im fine, but I need to recuperate for a while. The other party will not dare to act rashly for the time being. As for the Arcane de Senior Brother, Senior Sister Feng please take care of the Arcane de.
Li Baxian nodded. Dont worry, I will inform you at the first sign of trouble.
Afterwards, Lu Ye turned around and entered his little hut. Sitting down cross-legged, he quietly meditated and focused on his recovery. The wounds he received during his battle with Huo Liaoyuan could not be considered serious, but they were not insignificant either. He mainly suffered internal injuries. Fortunately, his physique was strong. It should not be difficult for him to recover.
Watching Lu Ye walking into the building, Li Baxian couldnt help looking rather conflicted for some reason.
Feng Yuechan seemed to notice his emotional state and asked, What are you thinking about, Senior Brother?
He smiled faintly. I was thinking about the first time I met Little Junior Brother
At the time, Lu Ye had been trapped at the top of the Goldentip. Wei Yang was the first to arrive on the scene, followed closely by Li Baxian. The two of them had protected Lu Ye with all their might. Even if they had never met Lu Ye before, they already regarded him as a family member just because he was a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. ?
That battle was the reason Lu Yes name became so famous. The name Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect became extremely well-known after that battle, and he gained an impressive reputation on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Only two or three years had passed since then, but the young disciple who needed the protection of his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had already grown to such an extent.
Li Baxian couldnt help feeling a subtle sense of amazement, as though his own child had grown into an adult.
At the entrance of the Ameliorate Valley, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators looked extremely depressed. The atmosphere around them was gloomy. Even now, they could barely recover from the horror of learning that Huo Liaoyuan was dead.
There were many ups and downs in the journey of a cultivator, so death was verymon. It was not that they had never experienced death before. On the contrary, every one of them had experienced death to a certain degree in the past.
It would not have been strange if Huo Liaoyuan had been killed by another Ninth Order Realm Master. Despite being in the Ninth Order Realm, there were differences in their individual strengths. If he was killed by others, then he could only me himself for being inferior. However, he died at Lu Yes hands!
Even now, they could not understand. How did the powerful Huo Liaoyuan perish in the hands of Lu Ye? Just what happened in the Deathmatch tform? Unfortunately, they no longer had any means to learn the hidden truth. Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan were the only two people in the Deathmatch tform after all. So, the truth of the battle was only known to the two participants.
Huo Liaoyuan was the only Ninth Order Realm Master among the cultivators who came from the Sacred Universe Arcane de, but there were several Eight Order Realm Masters.
One of them was none other than Ming Zhe. Although he came from the Universe n, he would often challenge Huo Liaoyuan to practice matches because of theirpatibility and simr temperaments. Huo Liaoyuan had never rejected the challenges or found fault with him, so they had a good rtionship with each other.
At this moment, Ming Zhe suppressed his grief and examined Huo Liaoyuans corpse. Huo Liaoyuan might be dead, but the wounds on his corpse might provide some clues which could allow Ming Zhe to specte about the circumstances of the battle.
The fatal wound was located in Huo Liaoyuans chest. His heart had been crushed to powder. There were many smaller wounds on his body, but they were not caused by sharp weapons. They seemed more like bruises caused by a brutal impact instead.
After a thorough examination of Huo Liaoyuans corpse, Ming Zhe could not find any useful clues. Huo Liaoyuan seemed to have fought an intense battle with Lu Ye, in which he was eventually defeated by his opponent! But how was that possible? There was a gap of four Minor Realms in their cultivation. What qualifications did Lu Ye have to fight on equal footing with Huo Liaoyuan?
Just as Ming Zhe was puzzling over the situation, he received a signal from his Battlefield Imprint. He quickly checked his Battlefield Imprint. It turned out to be a message from Tu Guanxiong which contained only a short and simple inquiry: What happened?
It was evident that Tu Guanxiong had received news about Huo Liaoyuans death!
Ming Zhe suppressed his grief and reported the situation over the past two days to Tu Guanxiong.
Upon hearing that more than sixty people had been lost in the first battle, Tu Guanxiong was speechless for a long time.
When Huo Liaoyuan came to recruit help from the Sacred Universe Arcane de, Tu Guanxiong had tried his best to gather more people for Huo Liaoyuan. Practically seventy per cent of the manpower in the Arcane de had been mobilized for this mission. In addition to the Cult ckfyre disciples whom Huo Liaoyuan summoned, the line-up consisted of more than one hundred and fifty people in total. Not only was it shocking to lose more than sixty people at once with such an impressive line-up, but it was also simply unbelievable.
Then, Tu Guanxiong learned that Huo Liaoyuan had activated the Deathmatch tform today and dragged Lu Ye into the space within the Deathmatch tform. In the end, Lu Ye was the one to return alive and Huo Liaoyuan was reduced to a corpse instead
Do you know how Brother Huo died?
He was stabbed in the heart. I dont know anything else.
Tu Guanxiong was silent for a moment. Lu Yi Ye must have some sort of powerful Exotic Treasure in his possession!
That was the only possibility to exin how Huo Liaoyuan died so tragically at the hands of Lu Ye. He did not believe that Lu Ye could kill Huo Liaoyuan with his strength alone when there was such arge gap between their cultivation.
What do we do now, Senior Brother Tu? Having lost his leader, Ming Zhe couldnt help feeling lost and confused.
It was unrealistic to attack the Arcane de. The opponent had a wolf pack under theirmand. Anybody who dared to step into the range of the Aerial Lock Ward would not return alive. Be that as it may, they were unwilling to leave just like that. How could they hold their heads high and return to their Arcane de if they did not take revenge for their fallenrades?
Remaining here to wait for reinforcements was also an option. Tu Guanxiong had already summoned more Universe n disciples toe and provide support. It was just that the reinforcements needed time to arrive.
Nevertheless, the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators might not be able to aplish anything even if the reinforcements arrived soon. The casualties they suffered previously were too heavy after all. Nearly half of their troops had died in battle, and the number of cultivators summoned by Tu Guanxiong was limited.
What about Xia Liang of the Raving desmen and Tan Sheng of the New Moon Sect? Tu Guanxiong asked.
When reporting about the incidents over the past two days, Ming Zhe had briefly mentioned the presence of Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
They are still here, Ming Zhe replied. Looks like they are not willing to leave just like this. It might be possible to borrow their strength.
No! Tu Guanxiong immediately vetoed the suggestion. One of them is from a First Tier Sect while the other is from a Third Tier Sect. They are not people we can afford to provoke. If we dare to borrow their power for this mission, then they will definitely turn around and use us instead. They will probably im all the benefits for themselves upon defeating Lu Ye.
Senior Brother, Senior Brother Huo previously mentioned that the information regarding Lu Ye probably came from them.
Are you certain?
Senior Brother Huo seemed quite certain about his spection.
It was as Brother Huo expected after all. They probably suffered extensive losses in the past. Knowing that they are powerless against Lu Ye with their strength alone, they were probably hoping to use us to achieve their goals instead. Damn it I cant believe the Sacred Universe Arcane de suffered such huge losses because they implicated us in their revenge. Tu Guanxiong was furious.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de was originally peaceful and safe until they suddenly received information about Lu Ye. Afterwards, the situation had gone out of control and eventually developed into the current situation.
Senior Brother, what should we do now? Ming Zhe probed further.
Tu Guanxiong was silent for a long time. After an incense sticks worth of time, he finally sent a message. I will spread the news about Lu Yi Ye to the public. Im sure many people will attempt to kill him, so you should act ordingly.
With the Sacred Universe Arcane des Strength alone, it was impossible for them to exact revenge for the deaths of Huo Liaoyuan and their fallenrades. Although Tu Guanxiong was furious over Xia Liang and Tan Shengs conspiracy, he refused to borrow their strength. More importantly, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng might not be able to aplish anything even if Tu Guanxiong decided to borrow their strength. The Ameliorate Arcane de was covered by the Aerial Lock Ward, so the cultivators would have to face the wolf pack as soon as they invaded the Arcane de. Even the two Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Masters could only y a limited role under those circumstances
In that case, they might as well spread the news to the public!
There were many cultivators in the Thousand Demon Ridge who were desperately searching for traces of Lu Yes whereabouts. As soon as the news spreads to the public, countless cultivators would quickly swarm toward the Ameliorate Arcane de. Lu Ye would be doomed when that happened!
Even though the Sacred Universe Arcane de would not be able to monopolize the bounty on Lu Yes head, this was the only method Tu Guanxiong could bring to the table. Regardless of who eventually killed Lu Ye, the oue could at least be considered as revenge for the tragic deaths of Huo Liaoyuan and the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators who died during the previous battle.
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Chapter 613: Leaking the Information to the Public
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Stationed at the entrance of the Ameliorate Valley, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were also discussing the cause of Huo Liaoyuans death. They shared the same opinion as Tu Guanxiong and strongly doubted that Lu Ye had killed Huo Liaoyuan with his strength alone. After all, the gap between Lu Yes cultivation and Huo Liaoyuans cultivation could not be denied. Regardless of Lu Yes impressive heritage, it was impossible for him to achieve something so outrageous.
Besides, they had some understanding of Lu Yes real strength. Even if his cultivation had improved by two Minor Realmspared to when he was in the Carnage Colosseum, he was ultimately just a Fifth Order Realm Master.
Considering Huo Liaoyuan had an Exotic Treasure like the Deathmatch tform, its not far-fetched to believe that Lu Yi Ye possessed some sort of Exotic Treasure too. Huo Liaoyuan certainly suffered an unjust death! Tan Sheng sighed sadly. At the same time, he could not shake off the lingering fear in his heart.
There was no doubt that Tan Sheng was stronger than Huo Liaoyuan, but the difference in strength was marginal. If Lu Ye had the ability to kill Huo Liaoyuan, then he also had the ability to kill Tan Sheng.
However, Exotic Treasures were basically disposable consumables that were extremely difficult to acquire. Since Lu Ye had used his Exotic Treasure on Huo Liaoyuan, it could be said that Huo Liaoyuan had taken the fall in their ce. Otherwise, either Tan Sheng or Xia Liang would have been sacrificed instead. In a way, they had to thank Huo Liaoyuan for his sacrifice.
Huo Liaoyuans death does not deserve pity. But, in this way Xia Liang turned and nced in the direction of the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators.
There seemed to be an invisible cloud of gloom looming over the heads of the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators. Every one of them was in low spirits.
Tan Sheng and Xia Liang originally nned to borrow the strength of the Sacred Universe Arcane de to ovee the various traps and defenses in Lu Yes Arcane de. In the end, things didnt work out as they nned. The Sacred Universe Arcane de had suffered enormous losses. On the other hand, Lu Ye only suffered slight damage to several Wards and lost several Wolf Mutants. The losses he sustained were practically negligible inparison.Xia Liang couldnt help feeling annoyed. [Huo Liaoyuan, this bastard How can he be so useless?]
Are they leaving? Tan Sheng abruptly noticed something unusual. The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators seemed to be preparing to evacuate the ce.
Xia Liang frowned and stepped forward to stop Ming Zhe, then he questioned, Junior Brother, where are you going?
Ming Zhe nced at Xia Liang, his eyes burning with mes of fury. These two were the ones who ultimately caused the deaths of Huo Liaoyuan and so many Juniors! Fortunately, he knew that he could not afford to offend them. Suppressing his rage, he faintly replied, Naturally, we are leaving this ce!
They did not wish to leave, but they might be ambushed again during the night if they remained there. Several of theirpanions diedst night, and that was with Huo Liaoyuans protection. Now that Huo Liaoyuan was gone, how could they dare to remain there?
Ming Zhe was an Eight Order Cloud River Realm Master. Tu Guanxiong had ordered him to act ording to the situation. Needless to say, he had some opinions of his own. He believed that this was a dangerous ce, so they should not remain there for long.
Xia Liang scowled. Are you leaving just like that?
Ming Zhes eyes were bloodshot. He gritted his teeth and snapped, What are you trying to say, Senior Brother Xia?
Xia Liang righteously replied, With such a deep hatred, it is only natural to take revenge. [If the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators leave this ce, then my ns will fall apart!]
Ming Zhe gave Xia Liang a sideways nce, then he nced at Tan Sheng nearby. Senior Brothers, please teach me. How do I take revenge? How do I retaliate against my enemy? Are you willing to lead our defeated troops into battle? If you are willing to lead the way by example, then the Sacred Universe Arcane de will obey your orders!
Xia Liang was speechless for a moment.
Although the number of remaining troops was not small, they did not have enough strength to invade Lu Yes Arcane de unless they could resolve the issue with the wolf pack first. ?
Ming Zhe hated the information they brought to the Sacred Universe Arcane de, but he hated their tant attitude of wanting to take advantage of the Sacred Universe Arcane de even more. Refusing to speak further, he sped his fists together to excuse himself and ushered the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators onto the Spirit Boat.
A short whileter, the Spirit Boat rose into the air and departed.
Two days ago, they had arrived in a mighty procession of over hundred and fifty people. In the span of two days, not only had their leader, Huo Liaoyuan, died in battle but also only half of the hundred and fifty people survived. What happened during the past two days was a nightmare for everybody involved.
They withdrew from the Grand Wilds Peak and stopped at the edges of the Grand Wilds Peak.
Seeing as Tu Guanxiong nned to spread the news of Lu Yes whereabouts to the public, it was foreseeable that the Grand Wilds Peak would soon be very lively. They might not have the strength to exact revenge with their own hands, but they wanted to witness Lu Yes death to relieve some of the hatred in their hearts.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators retreated under Ming Zhes leadership. However, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng did not leave. Standing at the entrance of the Ameliorate Valley, they gazed in the direction of the Arcane de in silence.
A long time passed before Tan Sheng finally asked, Brother Xia, what are your ns now?
Xia Liang exined, Im considering whether topletely expose Lu Yes information to the public.
Tan Sheng said, He has the Divine Opportunity Column. If something goes wrong, he will surely escape to Jiu Zhou. So, we wont be able to harm him even if we expose his whereabouts. We will only make him lose an Arcane de at most.
Of course, I know that. But, we cant let him walk free just because we have no means to harm him. He will have to return to the Cloud River Battlefield for cultivation eventually. If we destroy his Arcane de now, then we will have a chance to kill him next time. If we do nothing, then we will never get a chance to kill him. Besides, Huo Liaoyuan had a Deathmatch tform. Whats to say nobody else will? The possibility of killing him might not necessarily be nil.
Despite knowing that the possibility was very slim, Tan Sheng echoed the sentiment. Thats true.
The reason Xia Liang and Tan Sheng only disclosed Lu Yes information to the Sacred Universe Arcane de was that they were afraid the persecution might be too severe otherwise. If that were to happen and Lu Ye fled back to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column, then their schemes would have been in vain.
On the other hand, Lu Ye would not be pushed to desperation if the Sacred Universe Arcane de were the only ones to attack the Arcane de. They were hoping that their n would give them the opportunity to exploit the situation when both Lu Ye and the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators were injured from fighting each other. In the end, the Sacred Universe Arcane de had proven to be useless. Not only were theypletely defeated in just two days, but the leader of the operation, Huo Liaoyuan, also died in the battle.
In this situation, it was impossible for Xia Liang and Tan Sheng to kill Lu Ye. All they could do now was force Lu Ye to abandon his Arcane de and hope for a better opportunity to kill him in the future.
Having made up his mind, Xia Liang was about to send the message out when Tan Sheng unexpectedly received a message. Tan Sheng finished checking the message andmunicated with the other party for a short while. Then, he eximed in surprise, Brother Xia, somebody has taken action before us!
What? Xia Liang was puzzled.
Somebody has already leaked Lu Yi Yes location to the public.
The information that Tan Sheng received was a message from a Junior in his Sect, telling him about Lu Yes current location. However, it should have been impossible for his Junior to learn about such information out of nowhere. After making some inquiries, he found out that this information was already known to the public.
Its the work of the Sacred Universe Arcane de! Xia Liang immediately realized the truth.
The only people who knew Lu Yes location were Xia Liang, Tan Sheng, and the Sacred Universe Arcane de. Just as they had decided on their course of action, it turned out that somebody else had already taken action before them. There could be no other possible candidate except for the Sacred Universe Arcane de.
Xia Liang did not know who was currently making the decisions for the Sacred Universe Arcane de, but he understood the reasoning behind the other partys decision. In any case, he was saved the trouble of doing the task himself.
Grand Wilds Peak is about to get lively. Xia Liang sighed. Lets go!
Tan Sheng was astonished. Brother Xia, are we leaving?
Xia Liang retorted, Why should we stay here? Do you want to watch Lu Yi Ye escaping back to Jiu Zhou?
Tan Sheng understood after pondering for a moment. Based on the development of the current situation, it would not take long before Lu Ye fell into a desperate situation. He would eventually be forced to escape to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column, leaving all the cultivators who rushed over to attack him.
Therefore, it was meaningless to remain here at this point. What they currently needed to do was wait for Lu Ye to enter the Cloud River Battlefield once more. Then, they could monitor his movements in secret and find an opportunity to kill him!
Inside the Arcane de, Lu Ye quietly recuperated from his wounds. The advantage of having a tough physique was revealed at this moment. Ordinary cultivators would have taken ten to fifteen days to recover from his level of injuries, but it only took him one or two days to recover from most of his injuries.
At the same time, the news that Lu Ye was hiding in the Ameliorate Valley at the Grand Wilds Peak spread like wildfire with the help of Tu Guanxiongs efforts to publicize the matter.
The major Sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge had further increased the bounty on his head After the incident at the Carnage Colosseum, which motivated countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators into taking action.
During this period of time, many people had secretly been paying attention to his whereabouts. However, nobody expected him to not only hide in the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak but also use a Grand Ward to hide his presence. Even the cultivators who asionally passed through the area had failed to notice the presence of the Arcane de.
In Xia Liang and Tan Shengs case, they had only barely managed to discover Lu Yes general location with the help of an Exotic Treasure. Unfortunately, they ended up fleeing in embarrassment after suffering casualties of one dead and two injured.
With the news spreading among the public, the cultivators who had been searching hard for Lu Yes whereabouts immediately reacted like cats drawn to the smell of fish and rushed toward the Grand Wilds Peak from all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the undercurrent in the Cloud River Battlefield was surging with excitement.
Lu Ye fully recovered from his injuries two days after killing Huo Liaoyuan.
At this moment, the four people in the Arcane de sat inside the wooden hut.
Li Baxian reported, The Sacred Universe Arcane de has probably withdrawn from the Arcane de. I have not seen them in the past two days. Junior Brother Ju Jia also ordered the Wolf Mutants to search the surroundings, but they did not encounter anybody either. Even Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were gone.
Thats within my expectations. Lu Ye nodded.
In addition to the heavy losses of the Sacred Universe Arcane de, they also had to guard against Lu Yes secret ambush. Naturally, they would not choose to remain here and wait for their deaths toe. As for Xia Liang and Tan Sheng It was meaningless for them to remain alone in this ce once the Sacred Universe Arcane de departed.
Senior Brother, Im afraid theres a high probability that we will lose possession of the Arcane de.
First, it was Xia Liang and the others joining hands to attack him. Now that the Sacred Universe Arcane de was aware of this ce, the location of the Arcane de waspletely exposed. More and more people were bound to learn about the location of the Arcane de with the passage of time.
Lu Ye discovered that he seemed to have poorpatibility with the Arcane de
When he first entered the Cloud River Battlefield, he had a stroke of luck and obtained a Tertius-level Arcane de. In the end, the Arcane de was invaded and the Wisp of Sanctification was stolen when he entered the Myriad Beast Domains Hidden Realms with Kitty Shen. Heter obtained the top ce in the Carnage Colosseums Roster of Carnage through great effort and received a Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification as a reward. With great deliberation, he ced the Arcane de deep in the Grand Wilds Peak and gathered the wolf pack for protection. He did not expect to encounter such a tragedy so soon.
There were times when he truly wondered whether the so-called Heavens Favour actually existed. If the so-called Heavens Favour actually existed, then why was he so unlucky sometimes?
On the other hand, there were times when he certainly felt as though he was blessed with great luck. Take his encounter at the Fox Immortal Valley for example. The Fox Mutant had been dominating the Fox Immortal Valley for nearly twenty years, but she happened to meet a person like him who could restrain her ability. In the end, he had ughtered the Fox Mutant and rescued many people. He was also rewarded by the Heavens, which greatly boosted his heritage.
Matters involving luck were truly puzzling indeed.
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Chapter 614: Escape
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The fact that they would lose possession of the Arcane de was within Li Baxians expectations.
It was a normal urrence in the Cloud River Battlefield. Many of the Arcane des constantly changed hands, and only therger-scale Arcane de with arger poption could maintain their independent status in the Cloud River Battlefield and be passed down from generation to generation.
Little Junior Brother, what are your ns? Li Baxian asked.
There are two options. Lu Ye raised two fingers. We can retrieve the Wisp of Sanctification and escape back to Jiu Zhou now. After leaving the Cloud River Battlefield and returning to Jiu Zhou, we will need to wait for one month before we can enter the Cloud River Battlefield again. The earlier we leave, the earlier we can return.
Li Baxian burst intoughter. Lu Yes statement sounded as though he was merely leaving the house early so that he coulde home early.
Or, we dont leave Jiu Zhou. We will immediately begin relocating to a more hidden ce. No matter what we choose, we will only have a Secundus-level Arcane de in the end.
Every time the Wisp of Sanctification was retrieved, the Wisp of Sanctification would drop by one whole level. Although there was only one grade difference between the Primus-level and the Secundus-level, the density of the World Spiritual Qi in the Arcane de waspletely different.
What about the second option?Well watch how things unfold! The situation might not be as bad as we think. If the situation really reaches the point where we have to escape to Jiu Zhou, we can rely on the Divine Opportunity Column to retreat at any time.
Li Baxian nodded slightly. It was just as he expected. In this situation, they only had two options to choose from. They could either leave immediately or wait until the situation worsened to a certain degree before leaving. In any case, this particr Arcane de could not be protected.
It was truly a pity. After all, a Primus-level Arcane de was extremely rare. They only managed to cultivate in the Arcane de for a few months, not to mention they also spent more than a month in the Fox Immortal Valley during that period
Lets wait a little longer. It might be as you said, Little Junior Brother. The situation might not be that bad, Li Baxian suggested.
Then, lets wait a little longer.
Thanks to the Divine Opportunity Column, they could leave the Arcane de at any time. Therefore, their safety was guaranteed.
It only took a short discussion for Lu Ye and Li Baxian to decide on the foundation of their n. Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia remained silent during the discussion. Whenever Li Baxian spoke, Feng Yuechan would simply listen quietly. She would never interrupt him. As for Ju Jia He had always been a taciturn man who rarely spoke in the first ce.
But, before that Lu Ye nced at Ju Jia. The wolf pack must leave.
They could escape back to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column, but the wolf pack could not. If the situation worsened to the point where they had to leave, the wolf pack would inevitably be the target for the invaders to vent their frustrations. The wolf pack would definitely suffer a tragic fate if that were to happen.
Although the wolf packs presence would guarantee the safety of the Arcane de, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would definitely strike with overwhelming force if they were serious about taking action. The wolf pack might be able to stop the advance of the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators, but they would not be able to stop the imminent crisis.
Ill leave this matter to you. Instruct the wolf pack to leave the Arcane de within three days.
Ju Jia gloomily agreed. Okay.
After a brief discussion, the four of them finally dispersed and went about their respective businesses.
Lu Ye had no reason to worry about how Ju Jia was going to make the wolf pack leave. The wolf pack only remained in the Arcane de because they were attracted by Ju Jia. Besides, the leader of the wolf pack had extremely high intelligence. After the previous battle, it had not failed to notice some concerning signs. As long as it was not stupid, it would know that leaving in advance was the only method to keep the wolf pack safe.
On the other hand, Lu Ye began to refine arge number of Ward gs. Many of the Wards had been destroyed when the Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators invaded the Arcane de. Naturally, these Wards had to be remade and replenished.
Now that his strength and heritage had improved significantly, his speed of refining Ward gs also increased sharply. He expended arge number of resources and produced many Ward gs in exchange. Then, he remade the damaged Grand Wards and added more Wards throughout the Arcane de.
The wolf pack followed their leader and departed the Arcane de, but they did not go very far. They simply went deeper into the Grand Wilds Peak by two hundred kilometers, evidently prepared to return to the Arcane de at any time.
Time flew by in a blink of an eye. A few dayster, Lu Ye flew above the Arcane de to check on the many Wards he prepared With so many Wards, there should be enough to defend the Arcane de.
Although he previously told Li Baxian that they only had two options, the truth was that they had a third option. It was just that he had no intention to reveal the third option to Li Baxian. He was not trying to keep secrets from Li Baxian. Rather, Li Baxian would never agree with him even if he voiced the third option.
Nheless, it would be possible to defend and protect the Arcane de if they could sessfully implement the third option. Then, Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and Ju Jia would be able to cultivate in the Arcane de with peace of mind.
When all was said and done, he simply thought that it was a pity for a Primus-level Arcane de to be abandoned or downgraded.
Therge number of Wards he prepared was not meant to repel their invaders. If the situation was as bad as he predicted, then it was meaningless no matter how many Wards he prepared in the Arcane de. He was simply preparing these Wards so that the Arcane de had additional capital to protect itself.
A cursory examination revealed numerous Grand Wardsyered on top of each other. They covered the entire Arcane de and provided a solidyer of defense.
He suddenly received a message through the Battlefield Imprint. Lowering his head, he checked the message. The identity of the sender was very unexpected indeed. It was Kitty Shen!
He did not know her real name. The name Kitty Shen sounded fake, just like the name Ye Six.
In any case, they parted ways after they lost the Tertius-level Arcane de. He did not know where she went, and they had not contacted each other recently. Therefore, he was surprised to see a message from her. The contents of the message were also very astonishing.
Hurry up and escape! Very many people are heading in your direction! Very many! Very many!
It was a short and simple message, but she had repeated the words very many thrice. The number must be extremelyrge indeed.
Judging by the contents of the message, the location of the Arcane de had been exposedpletely. Numerous Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were probably rushing here at this very moment. In fact, there might already be some lurking nearby
Nevertheless, the message Kitty Shen sent to him at this juncture contained a lot of hidden information.
First of all, how did she know that many people wereing? The exposure of the Arcane des location would only be circted among the Thousand Demon Ridge. Hence, it was impossible for Grand Sky Coalition cultivators to learn about the information
Even Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had not received any warning. Theirwork of connections was much wider than Lu Yes. If the Grand Sky Coalition cultivators knew about this information, a message would have been sent to warn them in advance. It was just that they had not received any news at the moment.
On the contrary, Kitty Shen was the one who sent a warning to Lu Ye. The fact that she was privy to this information was problematic in itself.
At any rate, she must have known that Ye Six was Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect for a long time now. Lu Yes pictures were spread everywhere in the Thousand Demon Ridge, so it was only natural for many cultivators to be familiar with his pictures.
Lu Ye did not know the reason that motivated Kitty Shen to send him a warning. Nevertheless, he could sense that her actions had stemmed from kind intentions.
It might be that they had cultivated together in the same Arcane de. Or, it was because they experienced various life-and-death situations together in the Myriad Beast Domains Hidden Realms. Or, it was because she once followed him to the Vault of Providence and obtained great benefits from selling items there
In any case, she did not seem to be evil since she willingly sent him a warning at such a critical time.
When Lu Ye first entered the cultivation world, he once believed that all the people in the Thousand Demon Ridge were heinous and evil. He also believed that the Grand Sky Coalition represented righteousness and the Thousand Demon Ridge represented evil. However, as he gradually came to understand the situation in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, he discovered that there was no distinct concept of good and evil in this world. There were only two opposing factions.
He responded with a simple message. Got it. Thanks!
Kitty Shen did not respond. She had sent the message to Lu Ye as soon as she received the news, and that was already pushing the limits of what she could do for him. It would only condemn her conscience if she was asked to reveal further information. After all, the Sect she belonged to was ckmailed by Lu Ye in the past even if he did not know which Sect she came from.
After returning to the wooden hut, Lu Ye fell into deep thought. The situation was ultimately heading in the worst direction, but there was no helping it. As the saying went, Many things in life often fail to work out ording to ones wishes.
A strange feeling suddenly washed over him. He hurriedly opened the Spirit Beast Bag. Then, a snow-white figure immediately leapt out from the Spirit Beast Bag and shook its body vigorously for a moment. It was Amber, who had been slumbering for some time!
Amber had finally woken up!
Lu Ye! Yi Yi gave a cheerful cry and shed out from within Ambers body. Throwing herself into his arms without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. Her ck hair scattered across his body.
His hand which was raised in mid-air froze for a moment.
He had known her for a long time, and they were generally inseparable from each other. Be that as it may, she rarely acted so intimately around him, let alone hugged him so warmly.
Slowly lowering his hand, he gently embraced her petite body and patted her lightly.
The truth was that falling into that state of silence terrified her. Although she had never told him about her fears, he could sense her apprehension toward the situation.
Whenever she fell into that state of silence, she would feel as though her entire being was surrounded by boundless darkness. Even her thoughts became extremely sluggish. Moreover, it was very hard to perceive the passage of time in that environment. The experience had always felt like a never-ending nightmare to her. She was afraid that she would never wake up from the nightmare. Then, she would never see another ray of light or the person she missed ever again.
Its alright now, Lu Yeforted her softly.
After a while, Yi Yi struggled out of his embrace. Her face was flushed bright red. ring at him fiercely, she stomped her feet and yelled, Dont you dareugh at me!
Im not! His expression was serious. Why would Iugh at you?
While saying that, he raised his hand and pinched her cheek. The feeling under his fingers was smooth and delicate. It was a nice feeling.
She took a step backwards to avoid his grasp, her cheeks puffed up in anger.
Has your cultivation improved? he asked.
She pondered for a moment. Im probably on the same level as a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm Master!
The improvement of Yi Yis cultivation was directly linked to Ambers growth. In other words, she was as strong as Amber.
Their cultivation increased significantly during their time in the Fox Immortal Valley, allowing their strength to advance by a whole Minor Realm. And now, the Mutant Core of an elite-level Spirit Beast had allowed them to take another step forward. Their cultivation was now on par with his own!
He examined Ambers condition and discovered that Yi Yis statement was true. The respective strengths of both the Ghost Spirit and the Spirit Beast were now equivalent to Fifth Order Cloud River Realm Masters.
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Chapter 615: A Cacophony of Voices
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Ambers awakeningbined with the improvement of Yi Yi and Ambers strength was undoubtedly the only good news Lu Ye received in the recent period.
Yi Yi was in charge of the Nine Wards Scroll. As she grew stronger, she became increasingly capable of drawing more and more power from the Nine Wards Scroll. Take theirst battle with the Fox Mutant inside the Nine Wards Scroll for example. If Yi Yi could have brought out more of the Nine Wards Scrolls power back then, then Lu Ye might not have needed to fight so desperately.
On the other hand, the Life Energy Art and the Beast Pact Art had been established between Amber and Lu Ye. The pact between them allowed Lu Ye to borrow Ambers strength during a battle. In addition, the limits Lu Ye could achieve when the Beast Form Secret Technique was activated increased in parallel with Ambers strength. It could be said that Ambers strength was tantamount to directly improving Lu Yes strength.
Both Yi Yi and Amber were Lu Yes special support. Moreover, they were unique in the entire cultivation world of Jiu Zhou.
There were obvious traces of cultivators appearing outside the Ameliorate Arcane de recently. They were the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who received the news and rushed here immediately. Not much time had passed since the news was spread, so their numbers remained low for now. Nevertheless, more and more cultivators would gather in the surroundings with the passage of time.
Although these cultivators had obtained the information on Lu Ye, they did not dare to act rashly until they could confirm the authenticity of the information. That was why they simply searched around the Arcane de in secret. Unfortunately, they could not find any clues regardless of how hard they searched because the Arcane de was covered by a Concealment Ward.
A few dayster, one of the cultivators finally lost patience and soared into the sky above the Ameliorate Valley. Then, he raised a hand and cast a Spell Technique toward the ground.
Following the surge of Spiritual Power, the Concealment Ward abruptly faded away. The entire situation in the Arcane de came into view as a result. There were several wooden huts scattered throughout thend and a gurgling Spirit Spout flowing with spring water. A man casually sat on the ground in front of one of the wooden huts with a saber resting on his legs. He was staring up at the figure in the sky with a calm expression.Their gazes met. The Spell Cultivator who attacked earlier studied the man below intently, then his expression became joyous. Lu Yi Ye!
Although he came here based on the information he received, there were no means to confirm whether this ce was Lu Yes hiding spot. The only method was to personally witness Lu Yes whereabouts. Therefore, all the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who were either hiding in the shadows or standing in the open couldnt help bing excited at the sight of Lu Ye when the Concealment Ward vanished to reveal his figure at this moment. [The information is real! Its true that this ce is Lu Yi Yes hiding spot!]
Just as the Spell Cultivator was feeling ecstatic, more than ten figures lurking in the shadows immediately flew over from nearby. It was only natural to make the first move now that they discovered Lu Yes whereabouts! There was only one of him after all. Only the person to kill him could receive the rewards! Be that as it may, not everybody rushed forward at that moment. Most of them chose to stay put and watch how things yed out instead.
Inside the Arcane de, Lu Ye raised his hand with his palm facing the Spell Cultivator suspended in mid-air. The Spell Cultivator was engrossed in his delight of finding Lu Yes whereabouts. Hence, he did not understand the reason for Lu Yes actions when he first noticed Lu Yes movements.
While the Spell Cultivator was puzzling over Lu Yes intentions, Lu Ye suddenly clenched his fists. It looked like he was virtually holding the Spell Cultivator in the palm of his hand. Then, he swung his hand down and coldly ordered, Get down!
As soon as the words came out, the Spell Cultivator suspended in mid-air suddenly felt an enormous pressure bearing down on him. It was as though arge mountain had appeared out of nowhere. In a state of shock, he began to fall out of the sky like a bird with broken wings. The sudden turn of events left him in panic. Screaming in horror, he desperately summoned his Spiritual Power to stabilize himself.
At this moment, the distinct sound of swords filled the air. Numerous flying swords flew out from another one of the wooden huts. Wrapped in the icy-cold aura of death, they sped toward the iling Spell Cultivator with iparable precision.
Dull thudding sounds rang out continuously. The Spell Cultivators Spiritual Power Shield only held out for a moment before the Spiritual Power Shield waspletely destroyed and the flying swords prated his flesh. Crimson blood gushed outward, apanied by the shrill screams that reverberated throughout the Ameliorate Valley.
*Thud* The Spell Cultivator crashed to the ground but did not die immediately. His mouth and nose were covered in blood, and countless bones in his body were broken. Furthermore, his entire body was pierced by more than a dozen flying swords.
Before he realized what was happening, a shadow loomed over him from above. He opened his bleary eyes a crack. Lu Ye, who was originally sitting in front of the wooden hut, had approached him at some point in time and stood looking at him from above.
In a panic, he instinctively tried to summon his Spiritual Power. However, Lu Ye stepped on his chest at that moment. The heavy impact caused him to cough up blood, and the Spiritual Power that he gathered with great difficulty dissipated once more.
Lu Ye raised his de. The de of the pitch-ck Invible Saber gleamed with a sharp light.
Wait the Spell Cultivator shouted.
The words had just left his mouth when Lu Ye stabbed the de into his body. The de prated his chest and came out through his back, killing him on the spot. His body shuddered slightly, then all traces of vitality disappeared.
Afterwards, Lu Ye bent down and retrieved the Spell Cultivators Storage Bag, then he kicked the corpse out of the Arcane de. Shaking the blood of the Invible Saber, he coldly nced up at the dozen or so figures floating in mid-air.
Uponing into contact with Lu Yes gaze, they couldnt help feeling their scalp go numb in fear. Although the Spell Cultivator who attacked earlier had only cast one Spell Technique, the Spiritual Power fluctuation around him indicated that he was a Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator!
The Ninth Order Realm was the limit that could be amodated within the Cloud River Battlefield, so Ninth Order Realm Masters were generally considered the strongest in the Cloud River Battlefield. Be that as it may, one of the strongest people in the Cloud River Battlefield had died in this ce without rhyme or reason!
With the exception of support provided by the person controlling the flying swords, Lu Ye had only attacked once throughout the entire incident! Hence, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators naturally did not believe that the Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator had died at Lu Yes hands. The reason the Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator suffered such a tragic fate was due to hisplete negligence and carelessness.
Thinking back to what happened to the Spell Cultivator, somebody eximed with a frown, The Aerial Lock Ward!
It did not make sense for a Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator to fall out of the sky without warning. Aside from the presence of an Aerial Lock Ward, there could be no other possible exnation.
They had long heard that Lu Ye had extremely high attainments in the Way of Wards, but they did not expect him to be so capable that he could even establish an Aerial Lock Ward. Furthermore, the information they received did not mention the existence of the Aerial Lock Ward. There was no saying whether Tu Guanxiong had intentionally or unintentionally omitted the information when he released the information to the public.
The dozen or so Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who excitedly rushed over earlier couldnt help feeling lucky They were grateful that their speed had not been fast enough. Otherwise, they would have suffered the same fate as the Spell Cultivator if they had entered the range of the Aerial Lock Ward.
As for why Lu Ye did not wait until they barged into the range of the Aerial Lock Ward to activate the power of the Grand Ward, it was perfectly understandable. It was not that he did not want to wait but that he did not dare to wait.
Taking advantage of the opportunity created by the Aerial Lock Ward to kill a Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator was easy. However, that was not the case if more than a dozen people invaded the Arcane de at the same time. Even if he could kill some of them, the rest would be very troublesome. Hence, the current situation was the best response. He could deter the rest just by killing one person. After all, the death of a Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator would make the others more cautious and fearful of being reckless.
Lu Ye shot a cool nce at the dozen or so cultivators, then he waved his hand lightly to reactivate the Concealment Ward. A ripple swept across the sky, and the entire Arcane de vanished from view.
They exchanged nces with each other for a moment and quietly retreated from the Arcane de.
Although a Ninth Order Realm Spell Cultivator had died in an inexplicable manner, they had gotten confirmation regarding the information that Lu Ye was hiding in this ce. In addition, some people also noticed the presence of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. The flying swords that ambushed the Spell Cultivator earlier had been controlled by Li Baxian.
As the news continued to spread throughout thend, the area outside the Ameliorate Valley gradually grew more and more lively. Thend that was generally sparsely popted suddenly became extremely crowded, and cultivators could be seen everywhere.
Some of the cultivators who were acquainted with each other gathered together in small groups to discuss various methods to safely and effectively ughter Lu Ye so that they could obtain the massive bounty. On the other hand, some of the stronger cultivators kept to themselves and watched their surroundings coldly.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de cultivators also returned to the Ameliorate Valley under Ming Zhes leadership, but they did not gather together in one ce. On the contrary, they split into several small groups and scattered in different directions.
Looking at the bustling atmosphere around the entrance to the Ameliorate Valley, Ming Zhe sighed and breathed out softly. The heavy losses that the Sacred Universe Arcane de suffered previously distressed him greatly. Not to mention, Huo Liaoyuan also lost his life at the hands of Lu Ye.
Now that Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators from across thend were traveling in this direction, there were more than three hundred cultivators gathered outside the Ameliorate Valley at this moment. Furthermore, the cultivators who dared to venture deep into thesends were undoubtedly in the Sixth Order Realm and above. With such a force, Lu Ye would be powerless to resist even if all they did was push forward recklessly. [Lu Yi Ye is doomed! In this way, Senior Brother Huo will finally be appeased.]
Staring in the direction of the Ameliorate Valley, a look of triumph and delight shed through Ming Zhes eyes at the thought that his revenge would soone true.
Unfortunately, the situation developed in a different direction than he imagined.
More and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gathered outside the Ameliorate Valley over time. Although many among them were Ninth Order Realm Masters from First Tier and Second Tier Sects, nobody made the first move to invade the Ameliorate Valley. Every one of them simply observed the situation from the side as though they had reached a tacit understanding among themselves
Ming Zhe slowly came to a realization.
The Sacred Universe Arcane de no longer wished to receive the bounty on Lu Yes head. All they wanted was to borrow the strength of others to exact revenge for their fallenpanions. On the other hand, these cultivators who came here for the sake of profit and self-interest were different. Every one of them was eyeing the enormous bounty on Lu Yes head.
Nobody dared to act rashly after learning about the Aerial Lock Ward in the Ameliorate Valley. If Lu Ye could prepare an Aerial Lock Ward, then who could say what other strange and rare Ward were hidden inside the Arcane de? The person who made the first move at this time was bound to suffer great misfortune!
To put it simply, these people were not united in their goals. They were hoping for somebody else to make the first move and test the dangers hidden in the Ameliorate Valley so that they could secretly take advantage of the discoveries!
At first, Ming Zhe was livid. These people clearly had the strength to crush everything before them, but they were scheming and plotting against each other instead. It was truly a disappointing sight.
Upon further thought, he could understand their mentality. He would have the same thoughts if he ced himself in their position. They did not have a grudge against Li Ye after all. Whats more, the bounty on his head was toorge. It was so massive that they could not help being cautious in order to increase the chances of their sess. But, if this situation were to continue Who would kill Lu Ye?
Ming Zhes worries were obviously superfluous. How could others fail to reach the same realization as he had? Just when Ming Zhe was worrying about the situation, a figure suddenly stepped forward from among the crowd and flew into the air. His actions immediately attracted everybodys attention.
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Chapter 616: Song Zhui
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The person who stepped forward was a man who looked like he was in his twenties. However, the Spiritual Power fluctuation around him indicated that he was a Ninth Order Realm Master! To have such advanced cultivation at such a young age undoubtedly meant that both his background and aptitude were extraordinary.
Not only was he very handsome, but he also had a remarkable temperament. Strangely enough, he did not embody the slightest hint of the pride and arrogance that generally came with those born in major Sects. On the contrary, his demeanor made him seem easily approachable and the faint smile on his face was a breath of fresh air.
The man soared into the sky and hovered approximately thirty meters above the ground. When he saw that he had attracted the attention of the cultivators in the vicinity, he finally spoke in a gentle manner. Fellow cultivators who came from all over Jiu Zhou, Song Zhui gives you his greetings.
After saying that, he politely bowed in all directions.
A soft exmation immediately came from somewhere in the crowd. Its Song Zhui of the Rainbow Temple!
In the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, talented individuals were born in every generation and the new generation would eventually rece the previous generation. There were many cultivators among the crowd. Not everybody might know the name Song Zhui, but everybody would be familiar with the name Rainbow Temple. After all, the Rainbow Temple was a First Tier Sect.
When Lu Ye first stepped into the cultivation world, a woman had kindly told him about Bing Zhous Ten Great First Tier Sects. These First Tier Sects could be divided into one Pce, two Temples, three Sects, and four ns. Rainbow Temple was part of the two Temples.
As a Rainbow Temple disciple who was active in the Cloud River Battlefield, Song Zhui was actually quite well known. It was just that not everybody knew about him. Nevertheless, it was not important whether they knew about him or not. He was a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master and a Rainbow Temple disciple. Just these two identities alone were enough tomand respect.Maintaining a warm and friendly smile on his face, Song Zhui continued his speech. Fellow cultivators, I wont go into details about the reason why you traveled from all over the Cloud River Battlefield and gathered in this ce. Im sure you already know the reason. I am standing here today simply because I have a few words to say.
The smile on his face slowly vanished, reced by a stern expression instead. Since time immemorial, the Thousand Demon Ridge and the Grand Sky Coalition have always been at war with each other in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield. In fact, our confrontation even extended to the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou. It is understandable for the cultivators to have their own stances in the war. After all, both sides have rued deep grudges against each other over the years. Both sides have won and lost certain battles, and neither party has been able to overwhelm the other. However, the situation has undergone a subtle change ever since Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect appeared. How many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators have died in the Spirit Creek Battlefield because of him? How many Sects have suffered great losses in the Spirit Creek Battlefield because of him? Especially in the Inner Circle and the Core Circle From what I heard, he destroyed the Outposts of more than a dozen Sects in the Inner Circle. I couldnt believe my ears when I first heard the news, but there is no denying the reality of the situation!
Not to mention what happened in the Core Circle All the Sects stationed in the Core Circle are either in the Third Tier or above. These Sects consist of many talented individuals. In the past, it was rare for any of the Outposts belonging to the Sects in the Third Tier or above to be destroyed. In fact, many years may pass without news of a single incident. However, dozens of Outposts in the Core Circle were destroyed when Lu Yi Ye stepped into the Core Circle! Whats more, there were two incidents where the Sects in the Core Circle had to cough up a fortune just to prevent any disasters from befalling them!
At this point, he expressed a look of grief and indignation on his face. Then, his expression became agitated. To tell you the truth, the Rainbow Temple where Ie from is one of the victims among these casualties. Im sure many others gathered here were also simrly affected. This is my greatest shame! This is the shame of the entire Thousand Demon Ridge!
The major Sects in the Core Circle were ckmailed twice by Lu Ye and forced to offerpensation in exchange for their safety. Although it was not a secret, few Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would dare to mention these incidents in public. After all, they could not afford to be humiliated by that person!
Be that as it may, Song Zhui had boldly mentioned the incident today. The effects of his statement were surprisingly good. The expressions of the people in the crowd turned gloomy upon hearing his words.
Cultivators belonged to their Sects. Simrly, the Sects represented the face of the cultivators. How could the cultivators remain unaffected if their respective Sects were humiliated? It could be said that some of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who came here were targeting the bounty on Lu Yes head, but most of them were driven by hatred instead.
It is only because we received the favor of our respective Sects and the careful guidance of our Seniors that we are who we are today. We werent there when our Juniors were bullied! We werent there when our Sects were humiliated! We werent there either when our Sects begged for their safety! The volume of his voice rose steadily. At this moment, his warm and friendly smile from before had been reced by a righteous fury that resonated with the others. He waved his hands and shouted, We couldnt do anything regarding the matters in the Spirit Creek Battlefield! But, this is the Cloud River Battlefield! And, Lu Yi Ye is here!
He pointed in the direction of the Ameliorate Valley with great vigor. He is right there! He is watching us andughing at us from inside the Arcane de! He is mocking us for plotting and scheming against each other even though we have the advantage in numbers! He is mocking us for being passive and hesitant even though we have the strength to crush everything in our path! He isughing at us for being divided among ourselves!
Amidst the crowd below, Ming Zhes blood boiled at those words. He clenched his fists with great emotion, wishing he could apud loudly! Song Zhuis words perfectly expressed everything in his heart.
He suddenly realized something. It was not that there were no sensible people here. On the contrary, most of them were aware of the situation. It was just that theycked a leader. Now that Song Zhui had stepped forward to be the leader, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators finally stood united. From this moment onward, their joined forces would be the rope of hatred that whipped both the Ameliorate Valley and Lu Ye to pieces in revenge!
Song Zhui exhaled deeply. Lowering the volume of his sonorous voice, he slowly continued, Fellow cultivators, I understand your worries. There is a massive bounty on Lu Yi Yes head. Anybody who received ten per cent or even five per cent of the bounty would be able to live the rest of their lives in luxury. Unfortunately, there are so many of us but only one Lu Yi Ye. As the saying goes, It is not about the scarcity of resources but the evenness of distribution. I understand your worries. But, what Im trying to convey is Are we simply going to keep watching the situation and being wary of each other? Are we simply going to let Lu Yi Ye mock us from inside the Arcane de? If so, will there be a future for the Thousand Demon Ridge?
Somebody immediately said, Senior Brother Song, why dont you takemand of the operation since youve stepped forward? I am willing to obey yourmands. Im sure the others will not refuse either.
Thats right! Thats right! Go ahead and direct us, Senior Brother Song.
We will obey yourmands, Senior Brother Song!
Exmations of agreement rang out from the crowd.
A smile spread across Song Zhuis face once more. Then, he cupped his fists politely. Thank you for your favor. Naturally, I had that intention when I took the initiative to step forward earlier. After all, we cannot afford to continue waiting without taking action. Of course, please feel free to voice your opinion if you have any objections. I am not a small-minded person.
After Song Zhui med the atmosphere to such an extent, the person who dared to stand forward and refute Song Zhui now would only arouse public outrage. Besides, his cultivation was not to be ignored. Even those who were not inferior to him in strength would not dare to challenge him at this juncture.
Song Zhui raised his hand slightly and made a pressing motion to settle the crowd. The cacophony of voices slowly subsided, then he resumed his speech. Lu Yi Ye must die, and the Arcane de must be destroyed. However, I am not acting for the sake of the reward. I am here to resolve a potential catastrophe for the Thousand Demon Ridge. Ive specially investigated Lu Yi Ye in the past. Although his cultivation is low, he has managed to achieve various feats that other people have failed to achieve throughout history. He threw the entire battlefield into disarray during his time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but he has not done anything particrly shocking sinceing to the Cloud River Battlefield. Nevertheless, the incident at the Carnage Colosseum has shown us a glimpse of the future. As long as he lives, he will surely be a huge threat to the Thousand Demon Ridge in the future! Im certain the Elders themselves would like to prevent him from growing and developing his strength further. Otherwise, they would never have issued such arge bounty on his head.
ording to the information I received previously, there are many Wards scattered throughout Lu Yi Yes Arcane de. The most eminent Ward is the Aerial Lock Ward. As you know, one of our fellow cultivators lost his life a few days ago because of the Aerial Lock Ward. Furthermore, there are nearly three hundred Wolf Mutants inside the Arcane de. They should not be underestimated. Naturally, we have such overwhelming numbers that we can easily crush the other partys strength. Nevertheless, I would like to remind you to be careful. The rewards might be great, but you need to be alive to enjoy the reward.
As for the reward that would be given after Lu Yi Yes death I will make preparations in advance so that all who participate in this mission will receive an equal share of Lu Yi Yes bounty! Of course, I will need some help regarding this matter. If there are any capable Junior Sisters willing to help me, please approach meter.
As soon as those words came out, many people were shocked. They never imagined that he would make such a decision. The bounty on Lu Yi Yes head might berge, but each person would not receive much after the bounty was divided among the people here. They would only get a substantial windfall at most, but it was better than nothing.
In any case, Song Zhui was right about one thing. The main reason for ughtering Lu Ye was not the reward but to remove a potential danger toward the Thousand Demon Ridge, so the bounty was not the most important part of the mission. Besides, there was almost no risk or danger when acting together with so many people. The reward was practically a freebie at this point.
The divided Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gathered at the entrance of the Ameliorate Valley finally became united in their goal thanks to Song Zhuis words. Although a portion of them were not particrly happy with the oue, they were powerless to resist the general consensus under these circumstances.
Afterwards, Song Zhui added a few more words to remind the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to prioritize their safety. His statement only served to strengthen the impression that he had a good character.
When Song Zhuinded on the ground once more, several female cultivators took the initiative to approach him and volunteer their help. Acting under his orders, they excitedly began to record the names, backgrounds, and even the factions of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators participating in the invasion of the Ameliorate Valley. Even though there were many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, their efficiency was very high. It took them less than an hour before they returned and presented several jade slips to Song Zhui.
Song Zhui shot a warm smile at the female cultivators. Youve worked hard, Junior Sisters.
The female cultivators responded differently to his advances. Some smiled in response while others fell silent in embarrassment. On the other hand, some even took the initiative to exchange contact information with him through the Battlefield Imprint. He naturally did not refuse them. After dealing with the female cultivators, he finally checked the contents of the jade slips.
A voice suddenly sounded beside him. Doesnt your conscience hurt when you do this?
There was only a voice but no figure in sight. In fact, even the people walking by Song Zhui did not notice anything amiss.
Song Zhui lowered his head and muttered softly, Im sure youre not the only Ghost Cultivator hiding in the shadows. You better prevent anybody else from seeding, Ying Wuji. I only cooperated with you because I trust you. Not to mention, I went to the trouble of instigating these people. You had better not disappoint me.
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Chapter 617: All Who Come Are Guests
Chapter 617: All Who Come Are Guests
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If there was a ranking system that listed the most famous cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Ye would definitely be at the top of the list. His actions in the Spirit Creek Battlefield had attracted the attention of numerous Divine Ocean Realm Masters. In addition, the cultivators in Jiu Zhou came to know his name due to the enormous bounty ced on his head by the major Sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge.
After Lu Ye came people like Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. Their names might not be very well-known in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, but they were extremely famous in the Cloud River Battlefield. After all, every single Cloud River Realm cultivator was bound to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Who in the Spirit Creek Battlefield did not know about these two cancerous tumors on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy?
Further down the rankings were people like Song Zhui who came from prestigious backgrounds and boasted extraordinary cultivation. These people could be considered somewhat famous in the Cloud River Battlefield.
Ying Wuji was part of this group.
Very few people had seen Ying Wujis true appearance, but many had heard of his name before. This was especially true among the cultivators in the Thousand Demon Ridge, particrly among the Ghost Cultivators The main reason for his fame was that he yed a Real Lake Realm Master in the Bing Zhous Chaotic Sky ins two months ago even though he was only in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm at the time!
It was truly an impressive feat for a Cloud River Realm Master to ughter a Real Lake Realm Master. While part of the reason was that the Real Lake Realm Master had been wounded in the first ce, the news was astounding nevertheless. His achievement was no longer as simple as oveing the limitations of several Minor Realms and killing the enemy. On the contrary, he had managed to ughter an enemy by oveing the limitations of a Major Realm.
In the history of Jiu Zhous cultivation world, there were many who could ovee the differences between Minor Realms to kill their enemies. However, there were few who could ovee the differences between Major Realms to kill their enemies.
The main reason Ying Wuji achieved such a spectacr feat was that he was a Ghost Cultivator! More specifically, he was a Ghost Cultivator who came from the Yama Temple.The Bing Zhous Ten Great First Tier Sects consisted of one Pce, two Temples, three Sects, and four ns. Among the two Temples, one was the Rainbow Temple which Song Zhui came from while the other was the Yama Temple which Ying Wuji came from.
The Yama Temple was very special in the sense that nearly seventy to eighty per cent of the cultivators within the Sect were Ghost Cultivators. It was also the most troublesome Sect in the whole of Jiu Zhou.
For example, the Northern Profound Sword n and the Raving desmen had focused on nurturing and improving themselves in one discipline over the generations until they reached the peak of their respective cultivation. While they were considered powerful, their mighty prowess was no secret to the public.
On the other hand, the Yama Temple was different. Nobody knew what kind of heritage the Yama Temple possessed because Ghost Cultivators generally remained hidden in the shadows.
There was a saying in the cultivation world: A cultivator might stand a chance of survival if they offended any of the other First Tier Sects, but they were doomed without a doubt if they were targeted by the Yama Temple.
Song Zhui and Ying Wuji were both cultivators who came from Bing Zhou and belonged to the Thousand Demon Ridge. Furthermore, their ages and their cultivation were simr. It was only natural for them to form a rtionship with each other in private.
Song Zhui had stepped forward and given such a passionate speech to portray the image of a righteous and selfless man on the surface. Unfortunately, his actions were only to inspire and motivate the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who gathered here into action. After all, the information he obtained indicated that the defenses in Lu Yes Arcane de were very strong. The only method to ovee the defenses in Lu Yes Arcane de was by organizing the strength of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
When the time came, he would lead the forward charge of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to draw Lu Yes attention. Meanwhile, Ying Wuji would search for an opportunity to strike from the shadows. They would then share the bounty equally among themselves once Lu Ye was dead. If everything went well, the whole n would be carried out without anybody noticing. It could be said that the predicted sess rate was extremely high.
Theres nothing to worry about when you have me! Ying Wujis voice floated erratically. But, I want sixty per cent of the bounty!
Song Zhui calmly questioned, The reason?
Ill be the one to bear the infamy.
Stealing the thunder from under the noses of so many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators was bound to incite public outrage. Not to mention, there was no keeping such things secret. When the time came to receive the reward from the major Sects, the truth behind who killed Lu Ye would be revealed immediately. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators whose prey was stolen might not dare to openly offend Ying Wuji, but there was nothing to stop them from cursing him in private. It was an inevitable oue.
Youre a Ghost Cultivator who never reveals your face. Why would you be afraid of people scolding you?
Words are hurtful. With so many people cursing me, I will definitely be very hurt by their words. I dont care. I want sixty per cent!
I hope you choke to death on your greed! Song Zhui snapped in annoyance. Fine, whatever. Do as you wish.
Fifty or sixty per cent would not make much of a difference, so he could not be bothered to argue over such trivial matters.
In that case, hurry up and make your move. Im getting impatient! Ying Wuji urged.
A short whileter, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators swiftly and effectively took action under Song Zhuis orders. The hundreds of cultivators were split into different groups for the operation. The Body-tempering Cultivators with tough bodies stood at the forefront, followed by the bloodthirsty Combat Cultivators, then came the Ghost Cultivators and the Spell Cultivators.
Based on Song Zhuis arrangements, the cultivators were split into nine groups in a formation resembling an arrow. Afterwards, they marched toward the Ameliorate Arcane de with a great oppressive spirit.
Inside the Ameliorate Arcane de, Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and Ju Jia quietly stood beside Lu Ye. They were staring in the direction of the Ameliorate Valleys entrance with gloomy expressions.
The Thousand Demon Ridges impressive line-up was not something they could repel with their strength, especially when the wolf pack had already been driven out of the Arcane de. In any case, it would have been impossible for them to defeat their opponent even if the wolf pack had remained behind. [We have to flee back to Jiu Zhou after all!]
What puzzled Li Baxian was that Lu Ye did not seem to show any intention of escaping back to Jiu Zhou immediately. On the contrary, Lu Ye was simply standing there quietly. Li Baxian might not know what Lu Ye was nning, but he knew that Lu Ye was no longer the same person who needed his help and protection when they first met. After several years of growth and development, Lu Ye had grown into an independent individual.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators slowly drew closer to the edges of the Arcane de. Then, Song Zhuis voice resounded in all directions. Everybody, be careful. Dont step into the range of the Arcane de. I repeat, there is an Aerial Lock Ward inside the Arcane de! We will attack at the same time and destroy the Grand Defensive Ward first. Afterwards, please follow my subsequentmands.
Song Zhuis previous efforts had been very effective. Apart from a few Ghost Cultivators hiding in the shadows, the rest of the cultivators were very cooperative on the surface. They would no longer be able to monopolize the bounty even if they ughtered Lu Ye, so there was no reason for them to take unnecessary risks. It was much safer to work together as a group.
Out of the nine groups, Song Zhui personallymanded one of them and took the lead to fly at the front. It was not until they reached a suitable distance that he suddenly stopped and raised his hand. The cultivators behind him quickly came to a uniformed stop. Raising his hand once more, he shot a Telekic Technique toward the front. The light of the Telekic Technique seemed to pass through an invisible barrier.
Ripples spread out across the barrier as the effects of the Concealment Ward were nullified, and the situation inside the Arcane de soon came into view. There were several wooden huts scattered throughout the Arcane de, and the location of the Spirit Spout was very conspicuous.
Meanwhile, four figures stood in front of a wooden hut. Although the figure standing at the back was tall and burly, Song Zhuis attention was immediately drawn toward Lu Ye standing at the front. He frowned slightly at the sight, a look of bewilderment shing across his face. [The situation is a little different from what I imagined.]
At the same time, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators discovered something. The Arcane de in front of them did not have a Grand Defensive Ward To be more urate, the Grand Defensive Ward was not activated! The entire Arcane de appeared before them, seeminglypletely defenseless. Moreover, there was no sign of the rumored Wolf Mutants. [What is going on?]
Song Zhuis gaze swept across the Arcane de. He did not see any traces of the Wolf Mutants, but that did not mean there were no Wolf Mutants hiding in the Arcane de. Lu Ye was capable of concealing the entire Arcane de with a Concealment Ward after all. It should not be a problem for him to hide a few Wolf Mutants.
For that reason, Song Zhui was certain that the hidden Wolf Mutants would ambush them from all directions as soon as he and the others stepped foot into the Arcane de! [I can see through these little tricks at a single nce. Hes making a fool of himself. Fortunately, the unexpected situation actually makes things easier for Ying Wuji to act in secret.]
ording to the original ns Song Zhui made with Ying Wuji, he would lead the others to destroy the Grand Defensive Ward around the Arcane de. Meanwhile, Ying Wuji would take the opportunity to infiltrate the Arcane de and ambush Lu Ye. Since the other party did not even bother to activate the Grand Defensive Ward, then Ying Wujis entry into the Arcane de was practically without any resistance!
Various thoughts shed through Song Zhuis mind, then his signature warm smile appeared on his face. Looking at Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan standing behind Lu Ye, he slowly opened his mouth to speak. Cultivator Li, Cultivator Feng, it has been a while since west met. You are looking as good as ever.
When Song Zhui had been in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had ranked third on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy! That was the highest ranking any cultivator could achieve during the period when the three major cancerous tumors ruled the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy. Meanwhile, Feng Yuechan had ced first while Yan Xing had ced second on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy. Neither one of them was an individual that future cultivators could ever hope to rival.
As the top rankers of the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy, it was only natural for Song Zhui, Li Baxian, and Feng Yuechan to be acquainted with each other.
Li Baxian ignored Song Zhui. Being in different factions, there was no need for him to treat Song Zhui with respect or courtesy. He simply whispered to Lu Ye softly, This man is Song Zhui from the Rainbow Temple. He is very powerful, at least on the same level as Xia Liang. Dont be fooled by his warm and friendly appearance. He is actually very cunning.
Lu Ye nodded slightly. He was quite familiar with Xia Liangs strength. Seeing as this man was on the same level as Xia Liang, he must be amazing indeed. [Rainbow Temple] He abruptly recalled an interesting titbit. [Isnt that a First Tier Sect among the Thousand Demon Ridge in Bing Zhou?]
As for Li Baxians remark regarding Song Zhui There was no doubt that Song Zhui was a two-faced man, but that did not matter. Lu Ye had no need to y any tricks against them. After all, the battle today would be an open conspiracy!
Song Zhui was not offended by the fact that Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had ignored him. Turning toward Lu Ye, he continued speaking. Cultivator Lu of the Crimson Blood Sect, Ive long heard of you. Please ept my greetings!
Then, he bowed to Lu Ye politely.
Lu Ye casually cupped his fist in greeting. Cultivator Song, youve traveled from afar to visit. Why dont youe inside for a chat? If people learn that I left you standing outside to talk, they will think that the cultivators of Crimson Blood Sect do not know how to treat their guests politely!
Song Zhuiughed. You must be joking, Cultivator Lu. Theres no need to try and invite me into the Arcane de. Ive long heard about your high attainments in the Way of Wards, Cultivator Lu. Im afraid I have no intention to fall prey to your Wards.
Despite the smile on his face, he gave a cold snort in his heart. He was bing more and more confident that Lu Ye had hidden various Earth-shattering Grand Wards inside the Arcane de. Moreover, these Grand Wards would definitely be activated as soon as they stepped into the Arcane de. Everything was all a ruse to catch them by surprise.
How is that possible? Lu Yes expression was extremely calm. All whoe are guests. I cant express how excited I am to wee you. Why would I prepare the Four Point Demonic Ward or the Mind-blowing Soaring Feathers or the Sumeru Two-Way Invisible Sword Ward to repel your arrival? [The Four Point Demonic Ward The Mind-blowing Soaring Feathers Ward Sumeru Two-Way Invisible Sword Ward What are those Wards?]
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators felt their eyelids twitching upon hearing those words. Looking at the Arcane de once more, they couldnt shake the feeling that countless dangers and murderous intentions were lurking inside the Arcane de.
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Chapter 618: A Trade
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Song Zhuiughed loudly. Seeing is believing indeed. Cultivator Lu, you really are interesting.
Having been born in the Rainbow Temple, he had read countless books and records. He might not be cultivating the Way of Wards, but he knew the basics of the Way of Wards to a certain degree.
All the names that Lu Ye casually mentioned earlier were Earth-shakingly powerful Grand Wards. They were not Wards that a Cloud River Realm Master could prepare. Therefore, it was impossible for the Arcane de to have such Wards. While it was unknown whether there were any other Wards in the Arcane de, Lu Ye seemedpletely fearless based on his confident posture.
Am I that interesting? Lu Ye lowered his eyes. Then, why dont I show you something even more interesting?
A Ward g suddenly appeared in his hand, and he waved the Ward g lightly. There was a deafening explosion, followed by towering mes that soared into the sky.
Somewhere in the Arcane de, a hidden figure was abruptly revealed. His appearance was apanied by a turbulent surge of Spiritual Power. Moreover, he was enveloped in mes. His shrieks filled the air, and he swiftly retreated from the Arcane de.
This man was evidently a Ghost Cultivator who attempted to sneak into the Arcane de without anybody noticing. He was only in the Sixth Order Realm, so it was a mystery why he had the courage to perform such a risky task in the first ce. At this moment, his entire body was covered in mes after being enveloped by the Explosive Ward. Although he managed to retreat from the range of the Explosive Ward with great difficulty, he copsed to the ground without moving. Judging by his condition, he was most likely on the verge of death.
The unexpected turn of events shocked the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Lowering their heads in unison, they stared at the Ghost Cultivator copsed on the ground. Before they could return to their senses, Lu Ye went on to wave the Ward g in his hand repeatedly.*Boom Boom Boom* Violent explosions continuously erupted at various locations within the Arcane de, and bursts of mes zed brightly. Each explosion was also apanied by a sharp shriek or a shrill scream. More importantly, every Explosive Ward revealed the figure of a Ghost Cultivator.
Within a short span of time, more than ten Explosive Wards were activated to expose more than ten Ghost Cultivators lurking in the shadows. These Ghost Cultivators were either killed or injured by the explosions.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were dumbfounded by the sight. Although they knew that some of the Ghost Cultivators would hide in the shadows and attempt to take action in secret, they did not expect the number to be sorge! Not to mention, these were only the ones who were exposed! What about those who remained hidden at the moment?
These ipetent Ghost Cultivators Not only did they fail, but they most likely made the situation worse!
What horrified the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators even more was the number of Wards that Lu Ye prepared throughout the Arcane de. These Ghost Cultivators were clearly scattered throughout different locations in the Arcane de, but they could not avoid the fate of being injured by the Explosive Wards either. Judging by the situation, it would seem that there were Wards everywhere in the Arcane de.
Standing in mid-air, Song Zhui frowned and studied the Ghost Cultivators whose figures had been exposed. He knew that Ying Wuji was skilful enough not to be exposed so easily, but he couldnt help worrying anyway. Sweeping his gaze across the Arcane de, he was slightly relieved to see that Ying Wuji was not among the Ghost Cultivators.
Ying Wuji was currently lurking somewhere in the Arcane de and gradually making his way toward Lu Ye inplete silence. The exposure of the other Ghost Cultivators did not seem to affect him, and he neither flinched nor retreated in the slightest.
As an excellent Ghost Cultivator, it was only natural for him to dabble in the Way of Wards to a certain extent. That was especially true regarding the Way of Ward Destruction. After all, there were many cases where the Ghost Cultivators would be forced to infiltrate various Wards to approach and kill their target.
There was a saying in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou: A Ghost Cultivator who was ignorant of the Way of Wards was not a qualified Ghost Cultivator!
In the Spirit Creek Realm and the Cloud River Realm, the Ghost Cultivators were not particrly required to be proficient in the Way of Wards. However, a level of proficiency in the Way of Ward Destruction gradually became more and more necessary as their cultivation improved. The situation eventually led to a strange phenomenon in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou. There were some who appeared to be Grandmasters in the Way of Wards on the surface but were actually Ghost Cultivators proficient in the art of concealment and assassination
Ying Wuji might not be as good as Lu Ye in terms of proficiency in the Way of Wards, but he was different from the other foolish Ghost Cultivators. At the very least, he could detect the traces of the Wards which allowed him to avoid activating any of the Wards so far. In fact, he did not even step into the range of the Wards.
How was my performance? Lu Ye lowered the Ward g in his hand.
Song Zhui took a deep breath and eximed, Ive long heard about your extraordinary attainments in the Way of Wards, Cultivator Lu. Now that Ive seen your abilities for myself, I have to agree that you are truly outstanding. I am very impressed!
Lu Ye had easily forced more than ten Ghost Cultivators to reveal themselves. With such a powerful performance acting as a deterrent, the other Ghost Cultivators hiding in the shadows would not dare to act rashly again. Therefore, their sess would depend entirely on Ying Wuji!
The current situation might have exceeded Song Zhuis expectations, but the oue was exactly what he wanted. He did not need to do much. It was enough as long as he distracted Lu Ye and created an opportunity for Ying Wuji to take action. Lu Ye was doomed once Ying Wuji made his move, and the goal of this entire operation would be achieved.
With that thought in mind, Song Zhui slowly shook his head. Forgive me for overstepping my boundaries, Cultivator Lu. However, your actions are meaningless. Hundreds of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators have gathered here today, and Im sure you understand the reason for their arrival. With such arge force behind me, do you think you have any chances of survival?
I guess Im doomed then.
Cultivator Lu, are you still entertaining unrealistic delusions? It is normal to fear death, what more cultivators like ourselves? Your refusal to resign to your fate is understandable, but are you willing to implicate others because of your affairs?
Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly.
Song Zhui continued, It doesnt matter how many Grand Wards you prepared in the Arcane de, Cultivator Lu. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators have gathered here today, and we will not return home empty-handed! Unfortunately, both parties will only suffer grievous casualties if we force our way into the Arcane de. The most likely oue for my side will be a hefty price for our actions, but you and yourpanions will bepletely eliminated! He raised an eyebrow questioningly. Cultivator Lu, why dont we make a deal?
The corners of Lu Yes mouth lifted. For some reason, he suddenly broke into a smile after maintaining an expressionless demeanor for so long. What a coincidence! I would like to propose a trade with you too.
Song Zhui was surprised. Oh? What kind of deal do you want to make, Cultivator Lu? Why dont you tell me?
You may speak first.
Without wasting any time, Song Zhui got straight to the point. As I mentioned earlier, both sides will have to pay a price in the event of a battle. So, why dont you just surrender quietly?
Are you talking in your sleep?
He exined, As long as you willingly surrender quietly, Cultivator Lu, I can call the shots and allow the threepanions behind you to leave this ce safely. If you dont believe me, Cultivator Lu, I can even take the Heavenly Oath!
I see! Lu Ye finally understood Song Zhuis meaning. What a sincere offer.
He was basically being asked to give himself up in exchange for the safety of Li Baxian and others. If he did not have any other options, then this offer would indeed be a proposal worth considering. Needless to say, Li Baxian and others would never agree.
What do you say, Cultivator Lu?
I As soon as Lu Ye opened his mouth, he suddenly turned to the side in rm. He instantly ced a Blessing on his eyes with the Insight Glyph, then he quickly raised the Ward g in his hand and swung the Ward g with great force.
Thest time he acted in this manner, he had exposed more than ten Ghost Cultivators in one go. For him to repeat his actions could only mean that he had discovered the whereabouts of another Ghost Cultivator. It was just that the hidden Ghost Cultivator was only thirty meters from his current location! Such a short distance was extremely dangerous!
The only Ghost Cultivator who coulde this far in secret after the previous deterrence was none other than Ying Wuji!
When Lu Yes gaze swept in his direction, Ying Wuji couldnt help feeling startled. He instinctively knew that he had not done anything to reveal his presence. Nevertheless, Lu Ye was staring directly at his position. There was no doubt that Lu Ye had noticed him. [How is that possible? Even the Real Lake Realm Master failed to notice my approach two months ago. How did Lu Yi Ye notice me? I didnte into contact with any of the Wards. Could it be that Lu Yi Yes Mental Power is stronger than the dead Real Lake Realm Master?]
Both parties stared at each other for a brief moment. Then, Ying Wuji reacted. Turning into a ck shadow, he rushed toward Lu Ye at an extremely fast speed. He had wanted to sneak up to Lu Yes side and kill Lu Ye cleanly with one blow, but his whereabouts had been exposed.
At this point, he could only attack Lu Ye from the front. He was a Ninth Order Realm Master, and there was only a distance of thirty meters between them. It was impossible for Lu Ye to avoid his charge!
Sure enough, Lu Ye did not dodge to the side. He simply waved the Ward g in his hand.
In the next moment, a light barrier covering a radius of several meters appeared out of thin air. The light barrier instantly enveloped Ying Wuji, who was charging toward Lu Ye.
Ying Wujis heart skipped a beat in horror at the sight. An ominous feeling washed over him as soon as he saw the light barrier, and he couldnt shake the feeling that the light barrier was a Trap Ward!
Immediately afterwards, his whole body was wrapped in a fierce aura that pressed him firmly against the light curtain. As he had suspected, the light barrier was indeed a Trap Ward. Moreover, the light barrier did not shatter to pieces despite absorbing the full impact of a blow from a Ninth Order Realm Ghost Cultivator like himself.
Terror flooded his heart. An intense yet chaotic Spiritual Power began to surge inside the Trap Ward. Then, dazzling mes erupted in his vision without warning.
*Boom Boom Boom Boom* The Explosive Ward erupted with unimaginable force. There was more than one Ward inside the Trap Ward. Judging by themotion, there were at least three or four Explosive Wardsyered over each other. The effects of the Trap Ward also served to further fuel and magnify the might of the Explosive Wards.
Outside the Arcane de, the Thousand Demon Ridge watched the scene and felt their eyes twitching in horror. Just looking at the scene was painful enough.
Amidst the zing mes came a muffled groan.
Meanwhile, the light barrier of the Trap Ward onlysted for a moment before shattering It was not that the Trap Ward Lu Ye prepared was fragile. Even the full might of a powerful Ghost Cultivator like Ying Wuji could not destroy the Trap Ward in one blow. Therefore, the Trap Ward could already be ssified as a qualified Ward. On the contrary, the superimposed explosions of several Explosive Wardsyered over each other had simply exceeded the limits of the Trap Ward.
A ck shadow slipped out from the Trap Ward as soon as the light barrier of the Trap Ward shattered to pieces. Instead of charging toward Lu Ye, the ck shadow turned around and sped in the opposite direction. The speed was much faster than before. The ck shadow seemed to be covered in a denseyer of blood light as though he was using some strange Secret Technique.
The ck shadow appeared only for a fleeting moment, then the ck shadow rushed out of the Ameliorate Valley in the blink of an eye and vanished without a trace. From beginning to end, nobody managed to catch a glimpse of his true appearance. Lu Ye was the only person who managed to catch a glimpse of the ck shadow when the other partys figure was exposed for a brief moment. It was just that the other party was wearing a ck cat mask, so Lu Ye could not see his face. Nevertheless, judging by the energy fluctuations radiating from the other party, he was a Ninth Order Realm Ghost Cultivator.
In the sky, Song Zhui watched the scene in speechless silence. Ying Wuji failed! Not only did he fail, but he was also severely wounded! [This must be the biggest joke in the world]
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Chapter 619: Lu Ye’s Plans
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Song Zhui was no stranger to Ying Wujis abilities. After all, Ying Wuji was a Ghost Cultivator capable of oveing the boundaries of a Major Realm and killing a Real Lake Realm Master. It was impossible for such a powerful Ghost Cultivator to make a mistake and fail to subdue a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm Master, but the unexpected turn of events had left him fleeing with severe injuries instead.
As a result, Song Zhuis supposedly fool-proof n ceased to exist in an instant. [How was Ying Wuji discovered?]
Song Zhui honestly could not understand. Nevertheless, it was meaningless to consider such things at this point. Ying Wuji had escaped and could no longer be relied upon. If he wanted to defeat Lu Ye then his only option was to attack by force!
He was actually very reluctant to use this method because he would not gain many benefits by defeating Lu Ye with this method. At the most, he would only be able to increase his reputation and prestige.
In the future, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would always remember that Lu Ye had died in an operation headed by him whenever the topic of Lu Ye was mentioned. Be that as it may, what was the use of fame and prestige to him? Only actual resources would be beneficial to him.
The smile on his face vanished, and his expression became solemn. It was not until this moment that he realized he had greatly underestimated Lu Ye. He breathed out softly before he spoke once more. Regarding my offer earlier You havent given me an answer, Cultivator Lu.
I refuse!
When the decisive answer entered his ears, he nodded slightly. The answer was within his expectations. Lu Ye would have been insane to agree to those conditions. Just as he previously mentioned: It was normal to fear death, what more cultivators like themselves?Well then What was the trade you wanted to propose earlier, Cultivator Lu?
The corners of Lu Yes mouth turned upwards to reveal a smile. It was rare for him to smile at strangers. At the same time, he lightly waved his hand. Ripples spread out across the space in front of him, then an object came into view.
Song Zhuis eyes narrowed at the sight. Simrly, many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were astonished to see the object that suddenly appeared before them. The object was not unfamiliar to them. After all, it was something they often came into contact with.
A soft exmation rang out from the crowd. A Divine Opportunity Column!
It was astonishing to see a Divine Opportunity Column in such a small Arcane de. Not to mention, the Divine Opportunity Column looked like it had been there for a long time. It had simply been concealed by a Ward, so outsiders had failed to notice its existence. It was not until Lu Yes deliberate actions that the Divine Opportunity Column was revealed to the public view. [What a joke!]
The existence of the Divine Opportunity Column meant that Lu Ye and the others could return to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column at any time. Forget a few hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, the situation would remain the same even if a few thousand Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had gathered here. They would be helpless in this situation unless they could stop Lu Ye and the others from touching the Divine Opportunity Column. However, they were currently outside the range of the Arcane des Wards. It was impossible for them to achieve such a feat. In other words, Lu Ye and the others could escape at any time.
Song Zhui finally understood the situation. [No wonder Li Baxian and the others had been standing quietly behind Lu Ye with such calm expressions on their faces. It turned out they had this hidden trump card]
Thinking back to his suggestion and the various statements he made earlier, he couldnt help feeling extremely ridiculous. At the same time, he was furious.
He previously heard rumors that Lu Ye had summoned a Divine Opportunity Column in the Carnage Colosseum and sessfully escaped with his life despite heavy siege thanks to the Divine Opportunity Column. Nevertheless, he could barely believe that Lu Ye had summoned another Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de. Each Divine Opportunity Column was worth a hundred thousand Contribution Points after all.
While the vast majority of cultivators were scrambling to earn several thousand Contribution Points, Lu Ye was capable of summoning the Divine Opportunity Column repeatedly. Therefore, Song Zhui couldnt help feeling the same indignation that Xia Liang and Tan Sheng felt back then. [Just how wealthy is Lu Yi Ye!?] ??
What upset Song Zhui even more was that the person who leaked the information in secret had not mentioned the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column. If he had known that Lu Ye had a Divine Opportunity Column in the Arcane de, he would have acted more cautiously and ensured that he could deal a fatal blow to Lu Ye before he made his move. He would not have brought hundreds of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to the Arcane de in such an oppressive and conspicuous manner.
Unfortunately, this was a misunderstanding on Song Zhuis part. The source of the information regarding Lu Yes hiding spot hade from Tu Guanxiong of the Sacred Universe Arcane de, but Tu Guanxiong himself had not known about the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column either
Xia Liang had once mentioned the matter to Huo Liaoyuan in secret, but Huo Liaoyuan had ignored the issue due to his confidence in the Deathmatch tform. In the end, Huo Liaoyuan died in the Deathmatch tform and the knowledge of the Divine Opportunity Column died with him. Hence, the only people who knew about the Divine Opportunity Column were Xia Liang and Tan Sheng. It was too bad that they decided to borrow the strength of these Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators to force Lu Ye to abandon the Arcane de, so it was only natural they would not publicize the knowledge.
The fighting spirit of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, who originally believed that victory was in their grasp, dropped sharply after they saw the Divine Opportunity Column. The feeling that their trip was boring and in vain washed over them instead. They were too far away to stop Lu Ye and others froming into contact with the Divine Opportunity Column. The Ghost Cultivators hiding in the shadows might have a chance, but they no longer dared to step into the Arcane de without good reason after their experience from before.
After the Divine Opportunity Column appeared, there were several dozen seconds of stunned silence where nobody spoke a word. In the end, Song Zhui broke the silence once more. Does the trade you mentioned earlier rted to this item?
Lu Ye did not provide a direct answer. On the contrary, he simply said, The reason so many people have gathered here is to take my life. Perhaps I can give you an opportunity.
Behind Lu Ye, Li Baxian frowned slightly. He suddenly had a bad feeling about the situation. Feng Yuechan also noticed the strange situation and turned to look at him. Both of them could not shake the feeling that Lu Ye was acting very oddly today, but they kept silent and did not interfere with his actions out of trust. Nevertheless, they did not know what he was nning.
Only Ju Jia remained standing there, as calm as a mountain. He did not seem to care about the situation around him. After all, he was a simple-minded man. If there was a fight, he would take the lead and charge forward. If there was no fight, then he would simply stand guard there.
What do you mean? Song Zhui was puzzled.
Its simple! Lu Ye stared directly at Song Zhui. I will leave this ce, but the Thousand Demon Ridge must not destroy the Arcane de!
Little Junior Brother! Li Baxian immediately shouted in protest. Although he finally understood what Lu Ye was nning, he did not understand Lu Yes choices. Returning to Jiu Zhou was the safest and most reasonable choice. Why would Lu Ye make such a proposal?
Lu Ye stood with his back to Li Baxian and exined softly. Senior Brother, there is no point hiding when Ive been targeted by the Thousand Demon Ridge. The situation will not change unless I stay in Jiu Zhou and never enter the Cloud River Battlefield again. Otherwise, there will always be somebody trying to kill me as soon as I enter the Cloud River Battlefield. Last time, it was Xia Liang and the others who found this ce by some unknown means. But, what about next time? No matter where I try to hide, it is only a matter of time before somebody elsees looking for me.
Rather than hiding somewhere, I might as well wander around the world so that nobody can pinpoint my exact location. As for my safety Dont worry too much, Senior Brother. While there are many in the Cloud River Battlefield who are stronger than me, there are not many who can surpass me in terms of speed. Besides, Im used to being hunted. Most of the people, who attempted toe after me during my time in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, have suffered tragic fates.
Thest few sentences left a bitter taste in Li Baxians mouth Thinking back to the experiences Lu Ye went through on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he could not deny that Lu Ye had always been living a life on the run.
I understand what youre saying, but you cant do that. Little Junior Brother, lets retreat to Jiu Zhou ording to n for the time being. We can talk about the future when the futurees.
Senior Brother, running and hiding will not solve the problem. Only a strong retaliation will nt a seed of fear in their hearts. Since they dared to target me, then I will do my best to kill them in return! If I choose to run now, then there will always be a next time. It will be a never-ending cycle. Im sure you dont wish for me to run and hide either whenever I face any problems in life. Isnt that right, Senior Brother?
In that case, Ille with you!
Lu Ye shook his head gently. Senior Brother, you should stay here and cultivate in peace. Dont forget to help me watch over Ju Jia. With his personality, theres no saying what he could do without a person to restrain him. More importantly, it will be more convenient for me to act alone.
Li Baxian was about to speak again, but Feng Yuechan tugged at his sleeve lightly to stop him. Then, she asked Lu Ye a question. Junior Brother Lu, you will always be in danger if you choose to walk down this path. Do you have the confidence to survive?
With enough effort, anything is possible!
Standing in mid-air, Song Zhui was stunned for quite some time before he finally came back to his senses. He eximed in astonishment, Is that the trade you wanted to propose, Cultivator Lu?
Thats right!
He scowled, not quite understanding what Lu Ye was aiming for.
In this situation, the safest and most appropriate choice would be for Lu Ye to return to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column. Be that as it may, he had proposed such a strange trade which undoubtedly posed a great risk to him. He would be giving the Thousand Demon Ridge an opportunity to kill him in exchange for the protection of a mere Arcane de.
Nevertheless, the Thousand Demon Ridge had no reason to reject his proposal. This oue could even be said to be exactly what they wanted. That was why Song Zhui nodded in agreement after he pondered in silence for a short moment. Sure!
Regardless of what the other party was nning, there was nothing wrong with agreeing to the proposal.
Do you need me to make a Heavenly Oath? Song Zhui questioned. The trade was too much in favor of the Thousand Demon Ridge. In fact, it was so much in their favor that he couldnt help feeling uneasy without the Heavenly Oath.
No need! Lu Ye replied calmly. While speaking, he began walking to the side.
Little Junior Brother! Li Baxian grabbed Lu Yes arm in hopes of stopping Lu Ye from being reckless.
Lu Ye smiled at Li Baxian. Senior Brother, dont worry too much. Theres no harm in umting difficult experiences.
Their gazes met, and Li Baxian could see the resolution in Lu Yes eyes.
How could he not realize that Lu Ye had spoken the truth? Running away once would only lead to more and more incidents in the future. They could not keep running and hiding in this manner, but he couldnt help feeling worried anyway. Even if Lu Ye was now strong enough to be independent, the man standing in front of him was the same Junior Brother who had needed the protection of him and Mo Yuan on the top of the Goldentip.
A long while passed before Li Baxian finally spoke in a gloomy voice. Be careful!
He wanted to go with Lu Ye, but Feng Yuechan would definitely follow him. In that case, Ju Jia would not remain behind either. Four people traveling together would be far less convenient than Lu Ye traveling alone.
I know! Lu Ye responded with a smile.
Li Baxian released Lu Yes arm. Lu Ye walked to the side and stood still. His Spiritual Power circted, and the Grand Ward beneath his feet swiftly began to glow.
Song Zhui and the rest of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators watched in bewilderment and wondered about the Ward that suddenly appeared.
Inside the Ward, Lu Ye looked up at Song Zhui and warned softly, Dont forget the deal I made with you. If anybody dares to destroy my Arcane de, I will return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and destroy the Outposts of the other Sects!
Song Zhui finally understood why Lu Ye had not needed him to swear to make a Heavenly Oath. Although the Heavenly Oath had an absolute restraining effect, Lu Yes threat at this moment was not bad either. With that threat in ce, nobody would dare to target this Arcane de as long as Lu Ye was alive.
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Chapter 620: Inevitable Clash With One’s Enemies
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The patterns of the Grand Ward glowed brighter and brighter. All of a sudden, the space around Lu Ye began to distort. His entire figure vanished out of sight in the next moment.
The bizarre scene shocked everybody, and Song Zhui even took an instinctive step forward. The crowd behind him soon fell into an uproar. It was absolutely shocking for a person to disappear without a trace under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd and in broad daylight! Not to mention, the incident had happened without the help of the Divine Opportunity Column If they had not witnessed the entire incident themselves, they would never have believed the truth.
Its a Teleportation Ward! Thats a Teleportation Ward! A voice among the crowd suddenly sliced through the hubbub.
The voice belonged to a Ward Cultivator who once read about the method to prepare a Teleportation Ward. There was a time when he held great interest in the Teleportation Ward, so he deliberately spent some time thoroughly researching the topic. Unfortunately, he discovered that his mediocre talent in the Way of Wards would never allow him to construct aplex Ward like the Teleportation Ward. The main reason was that the Void Glyphs, which acted as the core of the Teleportation Ward, were too difficult to construct.
Furthermore, the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou was blessed with a gift from the Heavens known as the Divine Opportunity Column. Thanks to the existence of the Divine Opportunity Column, the usage of the Teleportation Ward was very minimal. That was why he had no choice but to give up on his pursuit after researching the topic for some time.
Be that as it may, he could easily recognise the Ward Patterns of the Teleportation Ward. He could barely believe that the Ward he could never hope to construct in his entire life would be constructed by a person in the Cloud River Realm instead. [Lu Yi Yes attainments in the Way of Wards are probably beyond the capacity of imagination!]
As soon as the Ward Cultivators words came out, everybody was taken aback once more. Nevertheless, they finally understood how Lu Ye had vanished into thin air in spite of their astonishment. It was the work of a Teleportation Ward!
If a Divine Ocean Realm Master had been present, he might have been able to detect the direction of Lu Yes teleportation by perceiving the fluctuations in the spatial fluctuations via his Divine Ego. Unfortunately, the Cloud River Realm Masters had no such abilities. It would be impossible for them to track Lu Yes whereabouts as soon as his figure vanished from sight.Song Zhui clenched his fists tightly with a livid expression on his face, feeling as though he had been tricked by Lu Ye!
In the deal that Lu Ye proposed earlier, Lu Ye promised to leave the Arcane de and give the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators an opportunity to hunt him down. In return, the Thousand Demon Ridge could not destroy the Arcane de. Otherwise, he would return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and destroy the Outposts belonging to their respective Sects.
Song Zhui originally assumed that Lu Ye would fly out of the Arcane de. In his mind, he would charge forward andunch his offensive as soon as Lu Ye stepped out of the Arcane de. After all, it was impossible for a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm Master to outrun him. Contrary to his expectations, Lu Ye had departed via teleportation. Who could say where he had been teleported to?
Just as Song Zhui was seething in rage, the Ward Cultivator who spoke earlier opened his mouth once more. Senior Brother Song, Lu Yi Ye shouldnt be too far away. His cultivation is not that high, so the teleportation range of the Teleportation Ward should be limited. He can only travel a distance of one hundred to one hundred and fifty kilometers at most!
Song Zhuis expression brightened at those words. Are you certain?
Im certain! The Ward Cultivator gave a firm confirmation.
Song Zhuis eyes shone with hope again. Then, he immediately issued an order. Spread out and search for Lu Yi Ye! Immediately raise the signal as soon as you find him!
One hundred to one hundred and fifty kilometers was nothing to Cloud River Realm cultivators. Even if they lost his whereabouts for the time being, it would not be difficult for them to find him with so many people scattered in various directions.
Following hismand, the hundreds of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators outside the Arcane de immediately dispersed and disappeared in all directions. The current situation was undoubtedly a godsend opportunity for the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. All the cultivators who flocked here were in the Sixth Order Realm and above, so they were very confident that they could ughter Lu Ye as long as they found him!
Under Song Zhuismand previously, the reward for killing Lu Ye would be shared equally among everybody. It was different now. How could they allow the opportunity to slip through their fingers now that they had the chance to monopolize the reward for themselves? They immediately became extremely excited and motivated, almost as though they had been given a shot of liquid courage.
Inside the Arcane de, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan watched the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators scrambling away without paying any attention to them. The situation left aplicated expression on their faces.
Feng Yuechan suddenly took out the Control Gem that controlled the Grand Wards inside the Arcane de and showed a look of realization. Junior Brother Lu has been nning for this all along.
The Grand Wards within the Arcane de had been constructed by Lu Ye himself, so the Grand Wards Control Gem had always been under his control. However, Lu Ye had visited Feng Yuechan yesterday and handed the Grand Wards Control Gem. He even returned the small umbre Spirit Artifact that he had borrowed from her in the past.
At the time, Feng Yuechan was puzzled over the reason why Lu Ye had given her the Grand Wards Control Gem. Looking back at the situation, she realized that Lu Ye had never intended to escape back to Jiu Zhou in the first ce. It made sense when she considered the situation. Although he had been cultivating peacefully in the Arcane de, he was constantly approached by people who attempted to provoke and persecute him in various ways. Under such circumstances, how could he remain here?
During his time in the Carnage Colosseum, he had been forced to return to Jiu Zhou once. He was clearly reluctant to repeat the same mistakes as before. Therefore, he had chosen to leave the Arcane de and prepared himself for a battle against the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
Senior Brother, Im sure Junior Brother Lu is confident in himself since he chose to take such action. Feng Yuechan turned to look at Li Baxian and attempted tofort him.
Li Baxian sighed. In the end, he was useless. If he had been in the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm, then he could have easily killed all the people who came knocking on their doors. Lu Ye would not have to suffer such grievances either. ?
After musing over his thoughts, Li Baxian turned to look at Ju Jia. He originally assumed that Ju Jia would be uneasy once Lu Ye departed. In the worst case, Ju Jia might even try to follow after Lu Ye. Who could have known that he would simply stand there quietly as though nothing special had happened?
Then, Ju Jia turned around and entered his wooden hut to continue cultivating quietly. Lu Ye had talked to him yesterday and asked him to wait here. It was just like how Lu Ye had asked him to wait in ce back then. In the end, he had waited for two months. Now that Lu Ye had asked him to wait again, then he should simply trust Lu Ye and wait. There was no need to overthink the situation. It was enough as long as he followed Lu Yes instructions.
Lets focus on our cultivation, Li Baxian said.
Lu Ye had taken a huge risk in order to protect the Primus-level Arcane de. Although he was bound to have his own considerations, arge part of his reasoning was most likely so that he could provide a good cultivation environment for them.
Lu Ye was gone, and there was nothing Li Baxian could do to help. The only thing Li Baxian could do in return was cultivate hard and improve his cultivation as soon as possible. If they ever encountered a simr situation in the future, he refused to remain as powerless as he had been today!
Feng Yuechan operated the Grand Wards Control Gem to activate the Grand Defensive Ward and the Concealment Ward in the Arcane de. It did not take long before the huge Arcane de disappeared from view.
Meanwhile, Lu Yes figure abruptly emerged inside a cave that was located over one hundred kilometers away from the Ameliorate Arcane de.
Although he had teleported over one hundred kilometers away from the Ameliorate Arcane de with the help of the Teleportation Ward, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would surely search the surroundings for traces of his whereabouts. In that case, there was only one thing he needed to do right now. He had to stay as far away from the Ameliorate Valley as possible. In fact, the best option would be to leave the Grand Wilds Peak.
This was not a difficult task for him. After all, he had both the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph which gave him the skills of a Ghost Cultivator even though he was a Combat Cultivator. There might be many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators searching the surroundings, but it would not be easy for them to discover his whereabouts.
Walking out of the cave, Lu Ye was about to set off on his journey when he froze in surprise. A man with a weak aura and a paleplexion was standing not far from him. Moreover, the man wearing a ck cats mask was turning to look in his direction at this moment.
Their gazes met.
Lifting his hand, he grabbed the hilt of the with a contemtive expression. [Isnt that the Ghost Cultivator who managed to approach within sixty meters of me? I cant believe he ran here in such a short time, much less bumped into me by ident! What a small world indeed]
In any case, he did not know the name or the origins of the Ghost Cultivator. All he knew was that his opponent was in the Ninth Order Realm.
Beneath the ck cats mask, Ying Wuji showed a surprised expression. He was confused as to why Lu Ye had appeared in front of him. For a moment, he even wondered whether the other party was simply an individual who looked simr to Lu Ye.
Nevertheless, the tiger crouching on Lu Yes shoulder was an eye-catching symbol of identification. It would not make sense for a person who resembled Lu Ye in appearance to also carry an identical Spirit Beast with him. This person was none other than Lu Ye himself!
The reason for Lu Yes sudden appearance did not matter. In Ying Wujis opinion, Lu Ye had practically been served to him on a silver tter!
They only exchanged nces for a brief moment before they both leapt into action at the same time. The two figures whipped up gusts of wind with their rapid movements, and they crashed into each other with great force.
At some point in time, two daggers appeared in Ying Wujis hands. The des were eight centimeters longer than ordinary daggers. Moreover, the entire de was pitch-ck. The appearance of these daggers resembled the Invible Saber in color. Be that as it may, the color of the Invible Saber came from the addition of certain materials by the woman who called herself Master Yu when she was upgrading the Invible Saber. On the other hand, the color of the two daggers was the result of deliberate design.
As a Ghost Cultivator, it was absolutely necessary for Ying Wuji to remainpletely silent during an assassination. The ck des of his daggers would undoubtedly reduce the risk of exposure.
One of his daggers blocked the downward sh of the Invible Saber. At the same time, the other dagger stabbed toward Lu Yes throat.
There was a difference of four Minor Realms between their respective cultivations. He did not understand the reason why Lu Ye had boldly charged forward to attack him, but he could almost foresee the scene where he killed Lu Ye in one blow. If he had known that Huo Liaoyuan had the same thoughts before his death, he would not have been so rxed against Lu Ye.
An overpowering force suddenly struck from ahead. Under the ck cats mask, Ying Wujis expression immediately changed drastically. He abruptly felt as though he was not facing a Fifth Order Realm Master at that moment. On the contrary, he was confronting an enemy who was evenly matched against him!
His figure involuntarily leaned back from the impact, and the dagger stabbing toward Lu Yes throat missed its aim. He hurriedly stabilized his figure, but Lu Yes second strike was already shing down at him.
In a fight between cultivators, especially in closebat fights, a situation would often arise where a careless mistake resulted in utter defeat. At this moment, Ying Wuji was paying the price for his carelessness.
When the second de came shing down on him, the force behind the blow was even heavier than the first strike. His arm that was holding his dagger went numb from the impact, and his body leaned back once more. In fact, he was even forced to take several steps back to stabilize himself. The second sh was immediately followed by the third and the fourth
The sound of metal shing against metal rang out continuously. With every sh of the des, he was forced to take several steps back. Although he originally used only one dagger to parry the attacks, he was now using both daggers to defend himself. Moreover, both his arms had gone numb. At this point, he could barely keep up with the attacks.
His heart sank in despair. If he had been at his peak, he would not have fallen to such a dire state. Unfortunately, he had been wounded by several Explosive Wards when he infiltrated the Arcane de back then. Afterwards, he was forced to activate a Secret Technique to escape the crisis. In his current condition, he was practically at the end of his strength. He could barely even draw out half of his true strength!
Under normal circumstances, half of his strength would have been more than enough to deal with a Fifth Order Realm Master. However Was he really facing the strength that a Fifth Order Realm Master could disy?
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Chapter 621: Revenge Should Be Exacted as Soon as Possible
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After hastily parrying five consecutive blows, Ying Wujis entire body had gone cold with fear. His body involuntarily leaned back from the impact, leaving his chest wide open and defenseless at this moment.
He watched as a long de came stabbing at him. It was impossible to avoid or parry the blow at this point. The injuries he suffered in the Ameliorate Valley and the cost of activating the Secret Technique had caused his reaction speed to be much slower. Therefore, he was powerless to defend himself against the iing attack.
When they first started fighting, he had been shocked by the strength Lu Ye disyed. He could not shake the feeling that he was facing an opponent who was equal to him in terms of strength. However, the evenly-matched battle soon became a one-sided massacre in the short span of two seconds
Frantically summoning the Spiritual Power Shield to protect himself, he watched in horror as the de stabbed into his chest.
All of a sudden, the pitch-ck de erupted with a burst of light. Complex and intricate patterns simultaneously shed across the de. The de had received the Blessing of the Sharp Edge Glyph twice!
Ying Wujis disordered Spiritual Power that was summoned hastily could not provide much protection. When the de reached him, the Spiritual Power Shield immediately shattered upon impact. Then, the Invible Saber stabbed into his chest.
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows in surprise. When his de stabbed into the other partys chest, he clearly felt as though there was something blocking the advance of the de. In addition, the obstruction was apanied by a soft nging sound.
The Ghost Cultivator wearing the ck cats mask seemed to be carrying some sort of treasure that resembled chest armor.Bleurgh Due to the force of impact, Ying Wujis figure was pushed back by a considerable distance. A mouthful of blood involuntarily spewed out of his mouth. His reaction was not because he was wounded during the exchange with Lu Ye earlier but because he was already wounded in the first ce.
Hastily creating a distance of several meters between them, he abandoned the idea of defeating Lu Ye and turned around to rise into the air instead.
Lu Ye immediately gave pursuit. He had only taken one step forward when he saw a mist of blood enveloping Ying Wujis figure that had soared into the sky.
All the blood in Ying Wujis body seemed to be boiling and evaporating away. Then, he transformed into a stream of blood light and vanished into the distance. The speed was so incredible that Lu Ye would not be able to catch up even if he activated both the Wings Glyph and the Soar Glyph together!
It was that Secret Technique again. Back at the Ameliorate Valley, the Ghost Cultivator had previously used the Secret Technique to escape. He unexpectedly used the same Secret Technique again in such a short time.
Regardless of how powerful the Secret Technique was, it could be seen that the Secret Technique was not that simple just by looking at the symptoms during activation. The user would suffer from a huge bacsh just by activating the Secret Technique.
Lu Ye did not bother to give chase even though he was certain he could ughter the other party if he did. After all, he was also being hunted at the moment. It was not long since he teleported out of the Ameliorate Arcane de, so his top priority was to hide as quickly as possible.
At the moment, he only had two choices before him: Venture deeper into the Grand Wilds Peak or leave the Grand Wilds Peak.
This location was considered extremely deep inside the Grand Wilds Peak, but there were generally no living Spirit Beasts roaming around the vicinity of the Arcane de due to the constant hunting of the wolf pack. On the contrary, he would easily encounter various mighty Spirit Beasts if he ventured too deep into the Grand Wilds Peak. Even if there were no elite-level Spirit Beasts like the Berserk Giant Ape, certain powerful flying-type Spirit Beasts were often more dangerous to cultivatorspared to the Berserk Giant Ape.
On the other hand, there was no need to worry about encountering mighty Spirit Beasts if he chose to leave the Grand Wilds Peak. He would simply need to face countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators instead.
Only several hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had besieged the Arcane de, but those numbers were not the true representation of how many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators there were in the Grand Wilds Peak. That was because the weaker cultivators could not travel deep into the Grand Wilds Peak to arrive at the location of the Arcane de.
It was important to note that the cultivators outside the Arcane de were basically in the Sixth Order Realm and above. In contrast, more than several hundred Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had rushed over and gathered around the surroundings of the Grand Wilds Peak after receiving the news regarding Lu Ye. There were at least several thousand of them. Not to mention, their numbers would only increase with time. ?
Although it seemed as though Lu Ye had two choices before him, the truth was that he only had one choice he could make. He had not hesitated to take the risk and leave the Arcane de instead of escaping back to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column. Needless to say, the reason for his actions was not to avoid and flee from the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
Inside the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he had been hunted and pursued by various parties. However, heter dominated the entire battlefield once he reached a certain level of strength. Countless Thousand Demon Ridge Sects had trembled in fear before him as a result.
At the moment, he was far from reaching the strength required to dominate the Cloud River Battlefield. Fortunately, strength was something that gradually umted over a period of time.
Besides, the situation in the Cloud River Battlefield was different from the Spirit Creek Battlefield because there were no Outposts in the Cloud River Battlefield. If somebody provoked him in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he could simply target the Sect in revenge. After all, the cultivator in question would eventually have to return to his Sect.
On the other hand, the situation in the Cloud River Battlefield was different. If somebody provoked him and he was no match for the opponent at the time, he might not be able to find that person again even if he wanted to seek revenge. Therefore, revenge should be done as soon as possible in the Cloud River Battlefield. It was best if these affairs were not left to stew over time.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Ye immediately began traveling in the direction of the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak.
A cup of teas timeter, several streams of light shed across the sky. The person in the lead was none other than Song Zhui of the Rainbow Temple, and the people surrounding him were his Juniors from the same Sect. They had been hidden in the crowd earlier, secretly helping him by expressing their approval and fanning the mes among the crowd.
At present, the n to cooperate with Ying Wuji to assassinate Lu Ye had fallen apart. Lu Ye had escaped the Arcane de with the help of a Teleportation Ward, and hundreds of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were also scattered throughout the Grand Wilds Peak in search of his traces.
Hence, there was no need for them to remain hidden anymore. They decided to join forces instead. Once they found Lu Yes location, defeating him would be as easy as clenching their fists.
At this moment, they were rushing around the vicinity at a low altitude and searching for something at the same time.
Senior Brother, over there! All of a sudden, an Eighth Order Realm Master pointed at a spot below them.
Song Zhui nced in that direction, then quicklynded nearby with the rest of his subordinates.
Not far ahead was a man wearing a ck cats mask. The man was leaning motionlessly against arge boulder with his head drooping downward. The shirt on his body had been dyed crimson with blood, making him look as though he had been soaked in a pool of blood. Strangely enough, there were no obvious wounds on his body.
This person was none other than Ying Wuji, but he seemedpletely different from when he first appeared in front of Lu Ye just now. At this moment, his entire being seemed to have shrunk and grown considerably thinner. This was the price he had to pay for activating the Secret Technique twice in a row within such a short time.
The so-called Secret Technique should not be wielded carelessly If his heritage and strength had not been enough to support the burden, he would have exploded to death by now.
Is he dead? A Seventh Order Realm female cultivator whispered softly. Anybody who suddenly found Ying Wuji in this state would definitely wonder if he was dead.
Ying Wujis drooping head suddenly lifted, and his hands that were lying by the side twitched slightly. He managed to speak with great difficulty. Dont speak nonsense Cough Cough
Between the fits of coughing, blood trickled out from the corners of his mouth.
Song Zhui frowned. How did you end up in this state?
Even if Ying Wuji had been wounded by the Wards prepared by Lu Ye inside the Ameliorate Arcane de; even if he was forced to activate the Secret Technique, there was no reason for him to be so weakened.
Song Zhui finally understood why Ying Wuji had sent him a message and summoned him here without any warning. Without the protection of others, Ying Wuji would be dead if any random Spirit Beast came across him in this state. Ying Wuji had summoned them here to help him.
Lu Yi Ye! Ying Wuji struggled to get the words out.
What!? Song Zhui was taken aback, then he immediately reacted strongly. Did you encounter Lu Yi Ye? Where!?
Ying Wuji raised his hand and pointed in a direction with great effort. Twenty kilometers away
After he finished speaking, his hand fell limply to the side. He waspletely exhausted at this moment. With the extent of his injuries, it would take at least half a month to recover from his wounds.
For a Ghost Cultivator like him, who was strong enough to kill a Real Lake Realm Master, his current condition was extremely pathetic. He couldnt help feeling humiliated to the core.
Song Zhui immediately shot into the air and anxiously nced in the direction that Ying Wuji pointed. At the same time, he shouted, Junior Brother Liu, stay behind and protect him!
Ying Wujis weak voice entered his ears. Dont be careless He is very strong!
He pretended not to hear the warning. [Lu Yi Ye is just a Fifth Order Realm Master. No matter how strong he is, how can he be stronger than me? The most urgent matter right now is to find him!]
Afterwards, Sigh Zhui and the others departed in a hurry. They left behind a man with a full beard, who was none other than Junior Brother Liu.
Ying Wuji was a cultivator from the Yama Temple after all. As Sects from Bing Zhou, both the Yama Temple and the Rainbow Temple had always maintained a close rtionship with each other. Under the premise that they could take care of each other with no issues, there was no reason for Song Zhui to ignore the plight of the other party. Junior Brother Liu was in the Seventh Order Realm, so it should not be a problem for him to protect the injured Ying Wuji.
Song Zhui and his Juniors traveled at full speed, heading in the direction Ying Wuji pointed earlier. It did not take long for them to arrive at the cave where Lu Ye and Ying Wuji had exchanged blows earlier. After a thorough examination, they confirmed that there were traces of a battle in this ce. However, the traces were far and few. It was obvious the duration of the battle had been very short.
Then, they entered the cave and discovered a hidden Ward. Even if they were ignorant about the Way of Wards, they were certain that this was the Teleportation Ward left behind by Lu Ye! It was through this particr Teleportation Ward that he had teleported from the Ameliorate Valley directly to this cave.
Unfortunately, there were not many useful clues. Even if they could confirm that Ying Wuji had encountered Lu Ye here, it was difficult for them to determine Lu Yes current location. Therefore, there was nothing they could do except continue their search.
The hundreds of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had forcibly suppressed Lu Yes Arcane de under the leadership of Song Zhui from the Rainbow Temple. Unfortunately, an astonishing turn of events urred in the battle where victory was certain. It turned out that the Arcane de had a Divine Opportunity Column!
Although Lu Ye could have used the Divine Opportunity Column to safely return to Jiu Zhou, he made a surprising decision instead. He chose to depart the Arcane de through the Teleportation Ward. Moreover, he also threatened to return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and destroy the Outpost belonging to the other partys Sect if they dared to destroy his Arcane de.
Nobody knew why he took such foolish and irrational action, but the situation undoubtedly gave the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators great hope. Lu Ye was currently hiding somewhere in the Grand Wilds Peak, and the person who could find him would have the chance to obtain the enormous bounty on his head.
Thanks to the Battlefield Imprint that every cultivator possessed, the news soon spread across thend like wildfire. There was no saying how many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators received the news in the span of a single day.
In particr, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators lurking around the Grand Wilds Peak but could not make the journey to the Ameliorate Valley. Both their cultivation and their strength were not enough for them to venture deep into the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak. They initially thought that they had made the trip for nothing. Who could have known that the situation would turn around to give them a new ray of hope?
They immediately became full of energy and enthusiastically began searching their surroundings. However, nobody could find any traces of him even though thousands of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators spent the whole day scouring the Grand Wilds Peak. Nobody knew where he was hiding.
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Chapter 622: Time to Hunt
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As night fell, darkness shrouded the sky. A new moon graced the sky, and stars twinkled brightly in the night sky.
Under the night sky, several cultivators were surrounding a Blue-Eyed Porcupine in a mountain field located approximately two hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Ameliorate Valley.
The Grand Wilds Peak was filled with various dangers, but there were also many opportunities lurking in the Grand Wilds Peak at the same time. These opportunities, which included rare Spirit Beasts, rare medicinal herbs, and rare ores that were hard to find elsewhere, were extremely attractive to the cultivators.
Cultivators were generally a greedy bunch constantly hungry for profit. That was because the process of cultivation ultimately consumedrge amounts of cultivation resources. Unfortunately, the monthly stipend provided by their respective Sects was often not enough to satisfy their cultivation needs.
In this aspect, both the major Sects and minor Sects were simr. It was not that the Sects were deliberately being stingy. On the contrary, this method was used to encourage the disciples to earn more cultivation resources through their own means. This method was also a form of training meant to sharpen the skills of the disciples. After all, their cultivation would be nothing more than mere decoration if they only focused on their cultivation level and remained ignorant of battle tactics.
Only Lu Ye was not subjected to any restrictions when obtaining cultivation resources from the Sects treasure vault. The mountain of cultivation resources umted in the Sects treasure vault was stolen from the Thousand Demon Ridge by him, so they belonged to him in the first ce. Although Shui Yuan was nominally in charge of distributing the cultivation resources within the Sect, how could she make things difficult for him in regard to such a trivial matter?
The Crimson Blood Sect could not be said to be impoverished before Lu Yes arrival, but they did not have many cultivation resources to spare either. Theck of cultivation resources had even affected Shui Yuans cultivation. Otherwise, she could have advanced into the Divine Ocean Realm a long time ago with her aptitude. Why else would she dy her progress for so long?
It was all thanks to Lu Yes various actions that the cultivation resources umted inside the Crimson Blood Sects treasure vault were now practically immeasurable.The Blue-Eyed Porcupine was amon Spirit Beast that could be found throughout the Grand Wilds Peak. Despite being amonly found Spirit Beast, the Blue-Eyed Porcupine was extremely valuable. Its flesh was extremely tender. More importantly, the flesh had a certain effect on body tempering as long-term consumption would improve and increase vitality. Not to mention, a Champion-ss Spirit Beast would possess a Mutant Core in their bodies.
The stronger the Blue-Eyed Porcupine, the more valuable the Blue-Eyed Porcupine. Judging by the fluctuations of its Spirit Essence, the Blue-Eyed Porcupine that these cultivators were hunting was a Champion-ss Spirit Beast equivalent to an Eighth Order Cloud River Realm Master in strength.
On the other hand, the cultivators joining forces against the Blue-Eyed Porcupine were mainly in the Sixth Order and the Seventh Order Realm. The tough-bodied Body-tempering Cultivator was in charge of drawing the Blue-Eyed Porcupines attention. Meanwhile, the Combat Cultivator, the Spell Cultivator, and the Ghost Cultivator were in charge of attacking whenever the opportunity arose. The situation waspletely within their control.
The battle had been ongoing for a while. At this moment, the Blue-Eyed Porcupine was covered in wounds. The trickling blood stained its entire body bright red. Although it constantly growled and roared in defiance, nothing could change the fact that its actions were simply the struggles of a cornered beast. Every attempt to break free from the besiegement and escape would result in a violent barrage of attacks that pushed it back once more.
If nothing unexpected urred, it would not take long before these cultivators sessfully defeated this Spirit Beast.
Their search for Lu Ye had turned out to be fruitless, but they encountered a fairly valuable Spirit Beast by chance instead. It was only natural for them to decide to hunt the Spirit Beast since the opportunity had presented itself. Such incidents did not happen only to these Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Simr situations could be found across the Grand Wilds Peak at this moment.
They were focused on dealing with the Spirit Beast in front of them. After all, they did not expect to find a figure secretly approaching them in the darkness. It was not until they heard a strange sound that was apanied by a short but bone-chilling scream that they realized that something was wrong.
Turning to look in that direction, they saw the Combat Cultivator in their group falling to his knees while clutching at his chest. In addition, there was a man who had appeared without their knowledge. He was standing behind the Combat Cultivator and pulling out a long de from his body.
When everybody turned to look in that direction, the man suddenly charged toward the Spell Cultivator nearby with lightning speed.
The Spell Cultivator was casting a Spell Technique at the time. Upon seeing the man rushing toward him, he hurriedly stopped casting the Spell Technique and retreated backwards in his panic while frantically summoning his Spiritual Power to protect himself. The figure appeared before him in the blink of an eye, and the strong sense of oppression that came from the front practically caused him to suffocate. He instinctively summoned his Spiritual Power.
A wave of air erupted around him, creating a mighty repulsive force that swept out in all directions. He was initially surprised that the figure which appeared out of nowhere had vanished out of sight. Then, he caught a glimpse of a flickering Saber Light shing down on him from the corner of his eyes. His Spiritual Power Shieldsted less than two seconds before shattering to pieces. Thest thing he felt was a slight pain spreading across his body, but the pain soon became so clear and intense that he screamed in agony.
A momentter, the dazzling Saber Light shed past and the screams stopped abruptly.
Lu Yi Ye! An exmation rang out.
It was the Ghost Cultivator who cried out. His heart was filled with a mixture of horror and terror. In just the short span of two seconds, their four-man team had been reduced to two. The confusion that filled him practically overpowered the grief in his heart over the loss of hispanions. ?? [Isnt Lu Yi Ye a Combat Cultivator? But, the way he appeared so silently just now was clearly something that only Ghost Cultivators could achieve. Did he also cultivate in the Way of Ghost!? Ive never heard of such a thing]
Despite his astonishment and horror, he instinctively lunged forward at Lu Ye. There was no other reason. He was in the Seventh Order Realm while Lu Ye was only in the Fifth Order Realm. Besides, he believed that the other party only managed to ughter hispanions by relying on a sneak attack which caught them by surprise. Now that Lu Yes presence had been revealed, there was no reason for him to let the opportunity slip through his fingers. After all, he would obtain the bounty on Lu Yes head if he seeded in ying him.
How could the value of a mere Blue-Eyed Porcupine evenpare with the bounty on Lu Yes head? The bounty would be worth countless Blue-Eyed Porcupines! He could almost see a scene of the future where he rose to great prominence thanks to the huge bounty he received. However, the excitement and exhration that filled his heart were reced by a sense of overwhelming trepidation three secondster.
Following the sh of Spirit Artifacts, sparks flew in all directions. The Seventh Order Realm Ghost Cultivator was gradually being pushed back with an expression of pure disbelief on his face. He could barely believe that he was being suppressed by a mere Fifth Order Realm Combat Cultivator in a direct confrontation To be more urate, he was not just being suppressed. He waspletely crushed in a one-sided massacre. The other partys strength, speed, and response rate were far superior to his own.
Five secondster, the arms of the Ghost Cultivator had gone numb from the impact. His Spiritual Power was also dwindling at a rapid pace due to the impacts of their confrontation. Another two seconds passed. A head suddenly flew into the sky and a headless corpse copsed to the ground.
Afterwards, Lu Ye immediately spun around and charged toward the Body-tempering Cultivator.
The eyes of the Body-tempering Cultivator widened at the sight. Even though he was heartbroken over the deaths of hispanions, he was even more horrified by the power that Lu Ye disyed earlier. A Fifth Order Realm Master had managed to kill three of hispanions in such a short time. If he had not witnessed the entire incident with his own eyes, he would never have believed the truth.
He had wanted to provide support as soon as Lu Ye killed the Spell Cultivator earlier, but the wounded Blue-Eyed Porcupine seemed to have gone crazy from the pain and continuously charged at him. As a result, he could not get away from the Blue-Eyed Porcupine to help hispanions.
It had been easy to defeat the Champion-ss Spirit Beast that was equivalent to an Eight Order Cloud River Realm Master with thebined forces of four people, but he could barely hold his own against the Spirit Beast now that he was the only person remaining. He was certain that the fangs of the Blue-Eyed Porcupine would leave several holes in his body if he ignored the attacks of the Spirit Beast.
Therefore, it did not take long for the gravity of the situation to sink into him when he watched the Ghost Cultivator die at the hands of Lu Ye
The death of the Seventh Order Body-tempering Cultivator was decided when Lu Ye joined the battle. Seeming to know that Lu Ye was not an enemy, the Blue-Eyed Porcupine concentrated its full attention on the Body-tempering Cultivator andpletely ignored Lu Ye.
The Body-tempering Cultivators Spiritual Power Shield crumbled. At that moment, he allowed the Blue-Eyed Porcupine to pierce two gaping holes in his abdomen and blocked Lu Yes shing blow with the Shield Spirit Artifact in his hand. Then, he immediately summoned his Spiritual Power and released a shrill whistle!
Song Zhui had mentioned that they should sound an rm to alert the others as soon as they discovered Lu Yes whereabouts. It was not until his life was shing in front of his eyes that he finally recalled those words. Even if he was bound to suffer a tragic death, he refused to allow Lu Ye to escape unscathed.
The whistle stopped abruptly with the downward sh of the Invible Saber.
On the other hand, Lu Ye did not bother to spend any time picking up the spoils of his battle. He simply plunged back into the darkness and disappeared out of sight once more. Likewise, the bloody Blue-Eyed Porcupine turned and fled in another direction.
A short whileter, a group rushed over after hearing the sound of the whistle. The only thing that greeted them was the scene of several corpses strewn across the ground. There were messy traces of battle covering the ground, and the strong smell of blood permeated the air.
At another location, three cultivators were meditating quietly to recuperate from an intense battle earlier in which they hunted a Spirit Beast.
There was a Spell Cultivator who dabbled in the Way of Wards among the three of them. Before they entered the meditative state, he had constructed several simple rm Wards in their surroundings. These rm Wards would warn them if a Spirit Beast approached them. That was why the three of them dared to meditate with peace of mind in such a dangerous ce.
Unfortunately, these simple rm Wards could not carry out their function when Lu Ye infiltrated the area.
Lu Ye was a Ward Cultivator. Hence, his attainments in the Way of Wards were much higher than the Spell Cultivator. Even without activating the Insight Glyph, he could detect the traces of various Wards with his naked eye. The opponents ability to construct Wards was simply unrefined to him.
He approached his targets and assaulted them without warning. The battle started abruptly and ended just as quickly
Ten secondster, Lu Ye collected his spoils of war and left the scene. Only three dead bodies were left lying on the ground in his wake.
An unusual flower fragrance permeated the air. A random cultivator, who found this ce by following the fragrance, immediately noticed purple flowers growing between the gaps of a rock. There were five petals on each flower, and each petal seemed to contain odd patterns. There almost seemed to be open eyes growing on top of the petals at first nce.
The cultivator who was attracted by the fragrance might not know much about medicinal herbs, but he was a qualified cultivator. It was only natural for him to have an eye for various natural treasures. He immediately realized that the purple flower was a rare medicinal herb and informed hispanions.
Excitedly taking out the tools for collecting medicinal herbs, he stepped forward to collect the purple flower. However, a pitch-ck saber suddenly struck him from the side when he reached out his hand. There was no time for him to react, and the de shed from his waist directly to his heart.
The de was pulled out of his chest, causing a stream of blood to gush out violently. Meanwhile, hispanions screamed and instinctivelyunched a counterattack only to be met with a storm of de Lights.
A figure sped across the sky. Judging by the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power, he was an eight Order Realm Cultivator.
Even though night had fallen across thend, he had not given up on his search for Lu Ye. That was because he knew that unexpected things were bound to happen if they kept wasting time. The more time passed, the harder it would be for them to locate Lu Yes whereabouts. At the same time, he also had to be wary of the other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
His strength as an Eight Order Realm Master was the base of his confidence to act alone. Various people had invited him to join their party earlier, but he had rejected all the advances. After all, he would have to share the bounty with others if he joined a group. How could thatpare to monopolizing the bounty for himself?
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Chapter 623: With His Own Ability
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In order to search for Lu Yes whereabouts, the Eighth Order Realm Master hovered in the air at a low altitude. He was positioned approximately one hundred and twenty meters above the ground, which was a smart distance to maintain. Not only could he see the situation on the ground clearly, but he also had enough time to react and dodge to the side if he was ambushed.
Just from this point alone, it could be seen that he was an experienced man indeed.
When he passed by a certain spot, he suddenly noticed a weak Spiritual Power fluctuationing from below. He would probably have missed the abnormality if he had not been concentrating so hard. Hence, he immediately turned to look in that direction and saw a figure hastily darting between the trees like a startled bird. Despite the dim light of the night, the other partys figure was clearly imprinted in his eyes.
Lu Yi Ye! The sight delighted him greatly. He never imagined that he would be able to find Lu Ye, so he was overjoyed to be blessed by such great luck.
Hurriedly chasing after the figure, he arrived in front of Lu Ye in the blink of an eye and descended from the sky. He was still in mid-air when a machete appeared in his hand. Activating his Spiritual Power, he shed down on Lu Ye like an eagle pouncing on its prey.
There was a loud crash.
Lu Ye, who had been running away, staggered from the powerful impact. At the same time, the Spiritual Powers from their respective Spirit Artifacts collided with each other with a powerful shock and subsequently exploded with tremendous force. The violent wave of air that burst out in all directions abruptly separated them from each other.
Lu Yes feet were nted firmly on the ground, but he slid backwards by more than ten meters. Two long and deep skid marks were plowed into the ground before him. On the other hand, the other party spun around andnded lightly on the ground.Even though Lu Ye seemed at a disadvantage from their confrontation, the explosive power he exerted at that moment made the Eighth Order Realm Master frown slightly. The Spiritual Power fluctuationing from Lu Ye was indeed at the level of a Fifth Order Realm Master, but the strength he disyed did not belong to a Fifth Order Realm Master.
In any case, the Eighth Order Realm Master did not care. Lu Ye was famous throughout the world for killing enemies stronger than himself, so his performance was not very surprising. [In the end, he will die by my hands anyway!] Just as the thought crossed his mind, a figure silently emerged from the ground behind him
There were times when Lu Ye had the feeling that Yi Yi had chosen the wrong path in her cultivation. If she had chosen to cultivate the Way of Ghost back then, then she would definitely have the potential to surpass all the other Ghost Cultivators in existence.
Unfortunately, there were only two members in the Crimson Blood Sect when Lu Ye first joined the Crimson Blood Sect. One was Shui Yuan, and the other was the Sect Master.
Yi Yi once studied under Shui Yuan to cultivate the Way of Medicine. In the end, she discovered that she had no talent in that aspect and decided to study under the Sect Master to learn the Way of Spells instead. Contrary to expectations, she disyed extraordinary talent in the Way of Spells. She could quickly master any kind of Spell Technique, regardless of how advanced or difficult they were.
Moreover, she was not restricted by many factors when casting Spell Techniques due to her existence as a Ghost Spirit. She could also perform various types of Spell Techniques except for Lightning-type Spell Techniques It might be because she was a Ghost Spirit, but she was extremely afraid of Lightning-type Spell Techniques for some reason. Naturally, it was impossible for her to cultivate them herself.
In any case, she had embarked on the path of a Spell Cultivator and shown impressive talent in the field. It was no longer easy for her to switch to another path at this point, but she would always have the option to concurrently cultivate the Way of Ghost when she became stronger one day.
Although she had never been exposed to the Way of Ghost, she was born with several inherent advantages that Ghost Cultivators could never hope to match thanks to the fact that she was a Ghost Spirit.
At this moment, the other party remainedpletely oblivious to her presence even when she silently appeared behind the enemy. It was not until the Spiritual Power fluctuation came from behind when Yi Yi summoned the Nine Wards Scroll that the Eighth Order Realm Master jumped in fright. Before he had the time to investigate the danger lurking behind him, his vision suddenly went blurry. Then, his entire figure suddenly appeared inside a rocky jungle.
Find a ce to hide, Lu Ye instructed before he plunged into the Nine Wards Scroll.
Time flowed slowly. After a cup of teas time, Yi Yi gave the Nine Wards Scroll a shake. Lu Yes figure emerged with a few additional wounds on his body. It was fortunate that his injuries were merely minor flesh wounds. ?
Meanwhile, the corpse of the Eighth Order Realm Mastery at Lu Yes feet. The Eighth Order Realm Master had more wounds on his body inparison, and his clothes were dyed bright red with blood. Even though he no longer had any vitality, his eyes remained wide open as though he died without understanding the reason.
There was no denying that the Eighth Order Realm Master had died with great grievances.
Lu Ye and the Eighth Order Realm Master were evenly matched at the beginning, but they were locked inside the space of the Nine Wards Scroll where Yi Yi could interfere to a certain extent. With her secretly helping Lu Ye, how could the Eighth Order Realm Master hope topete on equal terms? He was eventually hacked to death by Lu Ye.
Lets go! Lu Ye called out, then he randomly chose a direction and hurried away.
The sky was brightening. Besides, he was exhausted after hunting the entire night and needed to rest.
An hourter, Lu Ye sat cross-legged inside a Concealment Ward and consumed some Spirit Pills to recover his strength.
He had the feeling that he was strong enough to rival an Eighth Order Realm Master when he returned from the Fox Immortal Valley, but there was no chance to verify his suspicion until he came across the lone Eighth Order Realm Master just now. Their confrontation earlier sessfully verified the conjecture in his heart.
He undoubtedly had the capital to fight evenly against an Eighth Order Realm Master under normal circumstances. Even without Yi Yi helping him in secret, he was confident he could ughter his enemy. In other words, he had the ability to y enemies who surpassed him by three Minor Realms!
In the past, he could only surpass his limits by a maximum of two Minor Realms. The main reason for these changes was the opportunity he received at the Fox Immortal Valley. The baptism of the Heavens that he received as a reward at the time greatly improved not only his heritage but also of Li Baxian and the others.
It should be said that his current abilities were only measured under normal circumstances. If he activated the Beast Form Secret Technique, then his strength would be further boosted by a significant margin. He might even be able topete against a Ninth Order Realm Master in direct confrontation!
Unfortunately, he could not be certain about the extent of his strength. Even if he had single-handedly killed a Ninth Order Realm Master in a one-on-one battle, he had relied upon the Tree of Glyphs ability to iste the effects of the mes during his battle with Huo Liaoyuan. It could be said that he had forcibly drained Huo Liaoyuan to death Therefore, that was a special situation which could not be used as a standard.
The activation of the Beast Form Secret Technique also required a long time, and he only activated the Secret Technique once so far.
In any case, his current strength could already be said to be on par with a Cloud River Realm Master. He was no longer the weakling who was bullied by others when he first entered the Cloud River Battlefield. That was the reason behind his confidence to leave the Arcane de. Anybody who dared to underestimate him because of his cultivation would definitely pay a terrible price.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators never imagined that Lu Yes revenge woulde so quickly. From their viewpoint, he had fled from the Arcane de and hidden himself in the Grand Wilds Peak. He was definitely hiding in fear and panic. Hence, they were determined to keep searching until they discovered his whereabouts and ughtered him.
Contrary to their expectations, four or five teams went missing in just one night.
These Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had formed small groups andbined their forces, which greatly facilitated their efforts to track Lu Ye.
Lu Ye was hunted in a simr fashion on many asions when he was just a Spirit Creek Realm Master. However, he was no longerparable to his past self in the Spirit Creek Realm. He had yet to master the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph when he was being hunted in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, so it had been very difficult for him to hide his whereabouts from theirrge-scale search. At the time, he could only keep running and changing positions to prevent himself from being caught.
Unlike back then, things were different now. Thanks to the Blessing of the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph, he could wield the skills of a Ghost Cultivator despite his cultivation as a Combat Cultivator. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had mistakenly assumed that he was their prey, but the truth was theplete opposite. They were actually his prey.
Although the four or five teams went missing in one night, their absence did not draw much attention. Most Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators generally traveled with their Sect members or close friends and rarelymunicated with others, so not many people noticed their absence even after they had gone missing.
That was the case for the first night, the second night, and the third night In fact, it was not until the third night that the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators realized something was amiss.
Song Zhui was one of those who noticed that something was wrong. Back when he instigated the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators at the entrance of the Ameliorate Valley, many of those cultivators had exchanged contact information with him via the Battlefield Imprint. However, a batch of these cultivators, who exchanged contact information with him, would disappear every night. Their disappearance was clearly not the work of Spirit Beasts but the malicious actions of men.
On that note, there was only one other person in the Grand Wilds Peak aside from therge numbers of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. That person was none other than Lu Ye! [Is he really that strong?] Song Zhui was puzzled. Then, he recalled the words Ying Wuji said to him before they parted ways. Ying Wuji had warned him to be careful of Lu Yi Ye because he was very strong.
At this moment, he realized that he had always been underestimating Lu Ye. It could even be said that he did not know the depth of Lu Yes heritage. If these missing Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were Lu Yes handiwork, then Lu Ye was stronger than he had initially imagined.
What annoyed him even more was that he had been unable to trace Lu Yes whereabouts over the past few days. Lu Ye seemed to have evaporated into mist after he departed the Ameliorate Valley via the Teleportation Ward.
Nevertheless, he was certain Lu Ye remained in the Grand Wilds Peak! If the missing Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were indeed Lu Yes handiwork, then Lu Ye was bound to repeat his actions.
The fourth night came Song Zhui was well-prepared for tonight. He first went out of his way to contact the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators and ask them for their location in advance, then he simply waited quietly.
As soon as the first Battlefield Imprint abruptly vanished from existence, he immediately shot into the sky and sped in a certain direction. The rest of hispanions quickly followed behind him.
Unfortunately, it was toote by the time he arrived on the scene with his Juniors. Several corpses were strewn across the ground, their blood soaking the ground around them.
Song Zhui carefully examined the scene and discovered that the deceased had died from saber wounds. Furthermore, the traces of battle left behind indicated that the fight had been brief. Not only did the team of four consist of cultivators in the Sixth Order Realm and the Seventh Order Realm, but the configuration of their team structure was also pretty good. [Lu Ye is only in the Fifth Order Realm. How did he kill so many people in such a short time? Did he have a helper? But, he left the Ameliorate Valley alone. How did he obtain a helper?]
There were too many questions without answers, and all Song Zhui could confirm was that Lu Yes strength was greater than he had imagined.
Song Zhui was deep in thought when a stream of light passed by overhead. Seeming to notice their presence, the stream of light changed directions andnded nearby to reveal a figure.
The person nodded lightly at Song Zhui. Brother Song!
Brother Zizai.
This person was Ning Zizai. He was a Ninth Order Realm Master who came from a Second Tier Sect in You Zhou. They not only met each other at the Ameliorate Valley but also had dealings with each other in the past. Therefore, they were notplete strangers to each other.
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Chapter 624: Leaving the Grand Wilds Peak
Chapter 624: Leaving the Grand Wilds Peak
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Brother Song, is this Lu Yi Yes handiwork? Ning Zizai stared at the corpses lying on the ground.
Song Zhui replied, I just arrived myself, but it certainly looks like it.
Ning Zizai asked, Do you mind if I take a look?
What was there to mind? It was just some corpses. Hence, Song Zhui readily agreed. Go ahead, Brother Zizai.
Ning Zizai crouched down and carefully examined the scene. He even repeatedly touched and groped the corpses. Meanwhile, Song Zhui and the others stood behind him and frowned at the sight. They couldnt help wondering whether he had some unusual hobbies.
A long time passed before Ning Zizai climbed to his feet with a deep and pensive expression.
Did you discover something, Brother Zizai? Song Zhui inquired.
Ning Zizai replied, I didnt discover anything major. But, the wounds on their body are identical to the others who died over the past few days. I can confirm that these murders were done by the same person.Have you been examining the corpses over the past few days, Brother Zizai?
It wasnt on purpose. I simply happened toe across the corpses, so I took a look at them. He turned to look at Song Zhui. Brother Song, are you sure this is Lu Yi Yes handiwork?
Song Zhui muttered in his heart, [How should I know?]
Unfortunately, he could not say such words in front of his Juniors. He simply said, Lu Yi Ye uses a saber, and these people died from saber wounds. Its probably him.
As I recall, Lu Yi Ye is a Combat Cultivator! Ning Zizai seemed doubtful. But, ording to my observations There is always one out of every batch of the deceased who died from a sneak attack in the back! Its rather simr to the methods of a Ghost Cultivator, so I suspected that Lu Yi Ye might have a helper with him. If not for that it would be impossible for him to have killed so many people with his strength alone!
The helper must be a powerful Ghost Cultivator.
Ning Zizais observation coincided with Song Zhuis previous spections. Hence, they both believed that Lu Ye had help from others. While Lu Ye did have helpers, the truth was different from what they were imagining. After all, his only helpers were Amber and Yi Yi.
Song Zhui and Ning Zizai casually chatted with each other for a bit, then they went their separate ways. They also agreed to exchange information if they happened to discover anything new. As for whether or not they would actually contact each other only they would know.
If Ninth Order Realm Masters like themselves discovered Lu Yes whereabouts, they would definitely take action to ughter Lu Ye immediately. Why would they bother to exchange information with others?
The fifth night came and went. On that night, the Thousand Demon Ridge lost another two teams. At the same time, Lu Ye discovered a problem: The opponents he could target were decreasing rapidly.
He had in a lone Eighth Order Realm Master previously. If he encountered another lone Eighth Order Realm Master, then he would have no trouble defeating his opponent with the help of Yi Yis Nine Wards Scroll and her support from the shadows.
However, he was forced to avoid any Eighth Order Realm Masters withpanions for the time being. Under the premise that he could not guarantee his ability to safely withdraw from battle, he would never act rashly. He would onlyunch a sneak attack if he was confident in his ability to ughter the enemies within his sight.
Many of the groups that were currently scattered throughout the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak had the protection of either an Eighth Order Realm Master or a Ninth Order Realm Master. He naturally refused to attack these groups. Unfortunately, there were fewer and fewer targets he could attack after several consecutive nights of hunting.
As the number of deaths among the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators soared, the surviving Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators became more vignt and clung to each other for safety.
During the first few nights, the groups that Lu Ye encountered did not contain many members. Each group only had two to four members, and groups of five were basically non-existent. Some even dared to act independently. In contrast, many of the groups he encounteredst night were formed by merging two or three groups together. The average size of the group had expanded as a result, ranging from seven to a dozen members in each group.
Even without the protection of an Eighth Order Realm Master or a Ninth Order Realm Master, Lu Ye did not dare to target these groups. At his current level, he could safely target a group with less than five members and without the protection of an Eighth Order Realm Master. Unfortunately, anything beyond these limits was dangerous.
In the end, only two teams of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators died at his hands after he spent the entire night hunting. The total number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators he killed that night was seven. Compared to the number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators he hunted on the first day, the difference was unbelievablyrge.
He had finally managed to vent the frustrations in his heart after several days of massacre. Although he wished topletely eliminate Song Zhui and the others, he knew that his hopes were unrealistic.
It was time to leave the Grand Wilds Peak Now that his cultivation was no longer enough to face his enemies, there was no point in staying here to y hide and seek with the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Cultivation was the foundation of a cultivators life. He had to focus on improving his cultivation.
The location of the Ameliorate Arcane de might have been exposed, but he also left behind the Divine Opportunity Column and various Wards in the Arcane de. Li Baxian and the others could freely escape back to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column if they encountered a danger they could not ovee, so their safety was guaranteed.
Besides, the threat he made right before leaving the Ameliorate Valley would prevent any Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator from invading the Ameliorate Arcane de as long as he was alive. They were afraid that he would return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and destroy the Outpost of their Sect if they forcefully invaded the Ameliorate Arcane de. It was not as if he had never done something simr in the past. Rather, it was precisely because he had done something simr that his threat became such a powerful deterrent.
The sky was slowly getting brighter. Lu Ye raised his hand and tapped on his Battlefield Imprint to send a message to Li Baxian. Senior Brother, Im nning to leave the Grand Wilds Peak.
He hadmunicated with Li Baxian over the past few days, but they did not chat much. It was just a simple exchange to ry his safety to hispanions.
Inside the Ameliorate Arcane de, Li Baxian heaved a sigh of relief when he read Lu Yes message. Lu Ye might not have told him much over the past few days, but he knew that Lu Ye had probably remained in the Grand Wilds Peak to exact revenge upon the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
Therefore, he was relieved to hear that Lu Ye was nning to leave the Grand Wilds Peak. Those words clearly meant that Lu Ye would no longer be contending with the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Leaving the Grand Wilds Peak might not change the fact that Lu Ye was being watched by the Thousand Demon Ridge, but the situation outside was bound to be better than the situation here.
In his opinion, Lu Yes decision to leave the Grand Wilds Peak was a good thing.
Be careful. If you are undecided about something, think about Yi Yi!
Seeing Li Baxians response, Lu Ye burst outughing. Li Baxian was clearly telling him not to be impulsive because Yi Yi would also disappear from existence if he died.
After he endedmunications with Li Baxian, he then sent a message to Ju Jia telling him to concentrate on cultivating in the Arcane de and refrain from running around. He also reminded Ju Jia to speak with Li Baxian or contact him before making any decisions.
Ju Jias response was short and simple, containing only one word. Okay!
The sky had brightenedpletely, but that did not make much of a difference to Lu Ye. Seeing as he could cast a Blessing upon himself with the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph, he would not be easily discovered as long as he was careful enough.
As he embarked on his journey, he couldnt help feeling frustrated. He was going to be alone again
Ever since he started cultivating, he had spent most of his time on his own. There was a short period when he traveled with Ju Jia, but that had notsted for very long.
After obtaining the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification and cing the Wisp of Sanctification in the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak, he was apanied by Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. He originally thought that these peaceful days wouldst until he became a Real Lake Realm Master, but things did not work out the way he wished. In the end, he was embarking on another lonely journey a few monthster.
He wistfully reminisced about the short time he spent in the Arcane de. Although they generally focused on their respective cultivation and rarely interacted with each other, it was a different feeling since there was always somebody around. More importantly, he always had somebody to discuss with and rely upon no matter what difficulties he faced. Not to mention, those were some of the closest people in this world to him.
Luckily, he had never been lonely even though he was always alone. That was because Amber and Yi Yi were always by his side.
To this day, he was extremely grateful for his fateful encounter with Amber and Yi Yi. He was even more grateful for the fact that he had brought them along with him when he left Green Cloud Mountain. Thanks to his decision, he had twopanions who were always by his side to grow and experience various hardships together.
Lu Yes sudden disappearance left Song Zhui and Ning Zizai wondering about the situation. They couldnt help feeling that something was strange.
Just a few days ago, numerous Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would go missing every night. However, there had been no attacks for the past two to three days. These signs clearly indicated that Lu Ye had left the Grand Wilds Peak!
How could the Ninth Order Realm Masters be happy when they had been running around on a wild goose chase during their search for Lu Ye? Nevertheless, what did their feelings matter? They had failed to locate Lu Yes whereabouts from the beginning to the end. In fact, they were powerless in this situation despite having great strength.
At this moment, Lu Ye had arrived at the edges of the Grand Wilds Peak. His journey over the past few days had been rather difficult. The main reason was that the number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators he encountered as he reached the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak increased the further he went.
When the news about Lu Ye and the Ameliorate Valley Arcane de spread to the public, an overwhelming number of cultivators had rushed to the Grand Wilds Peak. It was just that some of these cultivators were too weak to venture deep into the Grand Wilds Peak. These cultivators made up most of the crowd, so the figures of countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators could be seen everywhere outside the Grand Wilds Peak. Not to mention, they were all in the Sixth Order Realm or below.
Lu Ye did not bother to create any unwanted trouble. Since he had made his decision to leave the Grand Wilds Peak, he naturally had no intention to expose his whereabouts. Once he left the Grand Wilds Peak, he would be free to travel in the vast outside world. All he needed to do was wear a mask and hide Amber from sight, then nobody would be able to find him again. [Just wait until Im in the Eighth Order Realm or the Ninth Order Realm! With my heritage, Ill be invincible by then! Lets see who dares to provoke me then! Even if they are no better than shit, Ill make sure to stomp on them!]
While traveling forward, Yi Yi suddenly appeared from nearby.
Their journey had been smooth and safe over the past few days. Part of the reason stemmed from the effects of the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph, but the biggest reason was Yi Yi. She often scouted the way ahead and detected the slightest movement in their surroundings, which allowed them to avoid many unnecessary troubles.
Lu Ye, Lu Ye! Theres a cave in that direction!
Over the past few days, Yi Yi was in charge of scouting the way ahead. At the same time, she was also responsible for finding shelter. Seeing as how she specifically came to tell Lu Ye about the shelter she found, she must have found a suitable resting spot indeed.
Good job, Lu Ye praised. Lets go and have a look.
A smile immediately spread across her face, and she sported a smug expression on her face. Her light body seemed to dance in the air as she led the way ahead.
After walking for several kilometers, they came across a cave. The location was very hidden, and grass as tall as a man grew at the entrance of the cave. It would be difficult to notice the existence of the cave without searching carefully.
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Chapter 625: Lu Ye’s Whereabouts
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Lu Ye gradually noticed something was amiss about the ce when he ventured deeper into the cave. He originally thought that it was just a well-hidden cave that could be used as a shelter, but the cave stretched too deep into the mountain.
Feeling pensive, he walked to the side and examined the features of the cave. The rock walls on both sides of the cave showed signs of being mined in the past. Moreover, these traces indicated that quite some time had passed.
This was not a cave! It was a mine!
In the past, he had served as a mining ve under the Evil Moon Valley and spent many years toiling away in the mining tunnels. Therefore, he could easily determine whether or not this ce was a mine.
It could be that this ce contained valuable ores in the past, and cultivators had figured out a method to mine the ores. As a result, the mining tunnels developed during the mining process had been preserved over the years. There were many simr areas scattered throughout the Cloud River Battlefield and the Spirit Creek Battlefield, so it was not a surprising discovery.
Lu Ye was not particrly interested in the mine. After all, the mine had existed for a long time. Even if there were highly valuable ores in the past, these ores would have been mined clean by now. How could he hope to find anything?
He continued to walk deeper into the mine. After walking for several kilometers, an enormous cavity suddenly appeared in front of him. It was an enormous and spacious area, slightly bigger than the space upied by the Ameliorate Arcane de.
A quick estimation of his position indicated that he should be deep within the belly of the mountain by now. The ores hidden here in the past must have been extremely valuable. Otherwise, the mountain would not have been hollowed out so much.Although the cavity waspletely shrouded in darkness, Lu Yes sight was not affected in the slightest. He studied the hollowed-out cavity, then a vague idea suddenly popped up in his mind. As his thoughts churned excitedly, the idea became clearer and more distinct.
Lu Ye, are we resting here tonight? Yi Yi had already taken a look around the mine and found nothing dangerous. On the contrary, she found some man-made traces left behind in the cavity. It would seem that others had also found this ce as there were traces of people resting here in the past. The entrance of this mine might be hidden, but it was ultimately discoverable.
No! Lu Ye shook his head.
Huh?
Were going to give the Thousand Demon Ridge another present!
Lu Ye originally had no other intentions after hunting for several consecutive nights in the Grand Wilds Peak. Not only did he kill many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, but there was even an Eighth Order Realm Master among his victims. The main reason was that his strength had beencking. There was no point even if he had other intentions. That was why he decided to leave the Grand Wilds Peak.
However, a n involuntarily came to mind when he saw the enormous cavity. If his n seeded, then he could cause a heavy blow to the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who had been searching for him! Especially against Ninth Order Realm Masters like Song Zhui! He might be no match for Song Zhui in a direct confrontation, but he might have the chance to kill Song Zhui if his n seeded!
Just as he had previously surmised: Revenge should be done as quickly as possible in a ce like the Cloud River Battlefield and should not be dyed. Otherwise, there might not be another chance for revenge in the future.
Then, Lu Ye turned around and walked outside with brisk footsteps.
Yi Yi might not know what Lu Ye was nning, but she knew that he was up to no good when she saw the expression on his face. Hence, she did not question him and quickly followed after him.
Lu Yes preparations took a whole day. During this period, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators continued searching for his whereabouts in the Grand Wilds Peak only to find nothing.
Somewhere in the Grand Wilds Peak, Song Zhuispanions rested and recovered their strength. Meanwhile, Song Zhuimunicated with several other cultivators and asked them about the situation on their side. Then, he sighed heavily after a short while.
Three days had passed. During the past three days, the Thousand Demon Ridge had not suffered any further losses aside from several unlucky cultivators who were mauled to death after they encountered powerful Spirit Beasts that they could not defeat. At present, all the signs clearly indicated that Lu Ye had left the Grand Wilds Peak.
Although he was frustrated and unwilling to ept the situation, there was nothing he could do.
Lu Ye had previously taken the initiative to leave the Arcane de and given them the chance to hunt him down. Unfortunately, their efforts proved to be useless! Despite having hundreds of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators searching frantically, they had neither seen hide nor hair of Lu Ye!
Even though Song Zhui was reluctant to admit the fact, he knew that the operation was aplete failure. The enormous reward that was originally at the tip of his fingers had flown away from right under his nose.
Now that Lu Yi Ye had left the Grand Wilds Peak, he was bound to be more cautious in the future. It would not be easy to find him again.
Just as Song Zhui was musing over his thoughts, one of his Junior Brothers nearby suddenly opened his eyes and raised his hand to tap on his Battlefield Imprint. It was evident that he had received a message.
After the Junior Brother checked the message, his expression immediately changed drastically. Senior Brother! We found Lu Yi Yes whereabouts!
Song Zhui had already given up on finding Lu Ye at this point, but he immediately felt as though he could see a ray of hope shining through the darkness when he heard those words. He quickly inquired, Where?
Hes at the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak! Moreover, he seems to be injured! And, his injuries seem to be fairly serious!
The outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak Song Zhui muttered under his breath.
The location made sense. There had been no casualties among the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators over the past three days. Judging by the situation, Lu Ye left the vicinity three days ago and arrived at the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak recently.
Lets talk on the way! Song Zhui ordered. Then, he immediately summoned a flying-type Spirit Artifact and soared into the air.
The situation puzzled him. Over the past few days, many powerful cultivators had diligently searched for traces of Lu Ye only to find nothing. So, how did Lu Yes whereabouts suddenly get exposed at the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak?
Whilst heading toward the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak, Song Zhui inquired about the specific situation. Only then did he learn the truth.
Lu Yes whereabouts were revealed by ident. At the time, he had been hiding inside a well-hidden cave to rest and recover his strength. It just so happened that a team of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had also entered the cave to rest. Consequently, both parties ran into each other inside the cave. When the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators recognised Lu Yes appearance, they were overjoyed and immediately unleashed their full might at Lu Ye. In the end, Lu Ye had fled!
Wait a minute Song Zhui raised a hand to interrupt his Junior Brother with a suspicious expression. Lu Yi Ye escaped? Does that mean the cultivators survive?
Two died, but Lu Yi Ye seemed to be heavily injured and unwilling to fight. It seems he fled from the battle as soon as possible.
Lu Ye was capable of decimating teams consisting of Sixth Order Realm and Seventh Order Realm Masters, but he had failed to eliminate the cultivators along the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak whose cultivation was generally uneven.
Looking at the situation, his injuries must be severe indeed. Moreover, his severe injuries might be the reason that prompted his decision to leave the Grand Wilds Peak. That was why the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had not suffered any casualties over the past three days.
Song Zhui did not think too deeply about the reason for Lu Yes serious injuries. After all, Lu Ye killed so many people recently. It was only natural for him to receive some injuries in return.
There were many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators surrounding the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak. In fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that the numbers were ten times higher than the number of cultivators crawling in the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak. It would not have been a big deal if Lu Ye had remained safely hidden. However, it would not be easy for him to go back into hiding once his whereabouts were exposed.
After encountering the first team of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, he killed two of them and escaped. Heter also encountered several other teams and fought with them, but he eventually vanished.
Vanished? How did he vanish? Song Zhui was astonished.
I dont know. The person who sent me the information did not seem to know much either. However, it can be confirmed that Lu Yi Ye has not left the area. Many people have gathered in that location to search for his whereabouts.
Hurry up! Song Zhui shouted.
They increased their speed significantly and hastily sped toward the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak.
Seeing as they had received the news about Lu Ye, it was only a matter of time before the other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators received the same information. At that time, all the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators searching for Lu Ye in the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak would gather at the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak. If they were too slow to arrive, then they would be toote to participate in the hunt.
It was just as Song Zhui expected. At this moment, countless teams were setting off from the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak and heading toward the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak.
At the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak where Lu Ye recently appeared, there were traces of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators everywhere within a five-kilometer radius. Every one of them was frantically searching for Lu Yes whereabouts.
They originally thought that the hunt for Lu Ye would be unrted to them since their cultivation was too weak to venture deep into the Grand Wilds Peak. Contrary to their expectations, Lu Ye had escaped to the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak and identally revealed his whereabouts during the process.
A golden opportunity hadnded before them. The heavily wounded Lu Ye was currently hiding in an unknown location. In this situation, the person who found him first would be able to rise to riches overnight.
The desire for the huge bounty on Lu Yes head made many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators excited. Hence, they spared no effort in searching for Lu Ye. Be that as it may, they failed to find any traces of his whereabouts. That was until a small team of five appeared!
Gui Yingzi was actually very resistant to the search for Lu Yes whereabouts. It was not that he was unmoved by the enormous reward. He simply had an instinctive feeling that he could not make an enemy of Lu Ye. Otherwise, he would suffer a tragic fate.
Not including their secret confrontation during the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy, he had actually met Lu Ye on two asions. Nevertheless, both encounters left a deep impression on him. Not only did a huge and ming beastone of the Four Sacred Beastsappear at each encounter, but countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators lost their lives each time.
Their first meeting was outside the Spirit Creek Battlefields Myriad Poison Forest, and their second meeting was inside the Cloud River Battlefields Carnage Colosseum.
Gui Yingzi was very talented. As a result, he had been ranked ninth on the Spirit Creek Battlefields Roll of Supremacy back then. Nevertheless, it was not his talent but his intuition that was his greatest trump card. His intuition was unrted to the strength of his Mental Power. On the contrary, his intuition was simr to an inherent skill that gave him a strong sense of premonition whenever he was in danger. It was by relying on his intuition that he managed to avoid various fatal risks throughout his cultivation journey.
Take this asion for example, his heart had been pounding violently during the search for Lu Ye. There was not a moment of rest, as though something very dangerous was about to ur.
Although he did not wish to participate in the search, he could not object to the persuasion of hispanions. There was nothing he could do except join them. Even if they encountered danger, they would be able to avoid some risks with him there At least, that was what he believed.
At this moment, he was a Third Order Cloud River Realm Master. His cultivation speed could not be considered slow, but he was undoubtedly inferior whenpared to Lu Ye.
Senior Brother Qin, why do we keep circling around in this area? One of the female cultivators in the team abruptly asked. This female cultivator was known as Senior Sister Hu. She was not only very pretty, but her figure was also very slim. The rest of herpanions seemed to have some feelings for her. On the other hand, Gui Yingzi was the only exception. [Women will only affect the speed at which I can draw my de! How does wasting energy to court a womanpare to the happiness of working hard on my cultivation!?]
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Chapter 626: The Mine
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Amidst the five-man team, the leader known as Senior Brother Qin answered the question while studying his surroundings carefully. I recall there was an abandoned mine in the area. Strange Why cant I find the entrance?
Senior Sister Hu wondered, Did you remember wrong?
He resolutely refuted her words. Impossible. Senior Brother Xie brought me here once when he still remained on the Cloud River Battlefield, and I remember the trip clearly. Its definitely somewhere nearby.
They all had a vague recollection of Senior Brother Xie. Senior Brother Xie was somebody who had much higher cultivationpared to them. Now that he had advanced into the Real Lake Realm, it was only natural for him to leave the Cloud River Battlefield.
While speaking, Senior Brother Qinnded on the ground with hispanions behind him. He looked around in bewilderment for a moment, then he finally cast his nce in a certain direction. Taking several steps forward, he brushed away the weeds that were as tall as a man and gently pressed his palm against the rock wall before him
A strange scene appeared. The hand he reached forward was clearly pressed against the rock wall in front of him yet seemed to be pressing against empty air at the same time. Moreover, ripples spread out across the rock wall and swallowed more than half of his palm.
I knew it! It was right here after all!
Is that a Concealment Ward?Likewise, Senior Sister Hu noticed the anomaly too. For somebody to prepare a Concealment Ward in such a ce undoubtedly meant that something unusual was taking ce in the area. Not to mention, this area was located in the vicinity of Lu Yesst known location.
An involuntary thought that could not be suppressed appeared in their minds at the same time. They exchanged nces with each other, and their expressions tightened with excitement. [Lu Yi Ye is inside! The Concealment Ward at the cave entrance is probably Lu Yi Yes handiwork!]
A wave of excitement washed over Senior Sister Hu at the thought. She whispered, What do we do, Senior Brother Qin?
Although they had been diligently searching for Lu Yes whereabouts previously, there were many other cultivators who were also scouring the area for Lu Yes whereabouts. For that reason, they never imagined that they could be one step faster than the others. It was just that matters regarding luck could not be predicted, and they turned out to be the first to discover Lu Yes whereabouts.
Even if they had yet to encounter Lu Ye himself, anybody could tell that something was amiss when a Concealment Ward abruptly appeared at the obscure entrance of the mines.
Lu Ye was severely wounded at the moment, so he urgently needed a hidden and secure location to recuperate from his injuries. It would seem that he had somehow managed to find the mine and concealed himself inside. He also ced a Concealment Ward to hide the entrance of the mine from view.
If not for the fact that Senior Brother Qin had been here before and retained a vague impression of the mines location, it would have been impossible for them to find this ce.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Senior Brother Qinposed his emotions and beckoned toward hispanions. Lets go!
While speaking, he took the lead and stepped forward into the rock wall before him. Ripples spread across the wall, and his entire figure vanished from sight. Senior Sister Hu was right on his heels, and the other threepanions in their group hastily followed their lead.
Upon entering the mining tunnel, the light inside immediately became dim. Then, they cautiously moved forward under the leadership of Senior Brother Qin. They had walked no more than a hundred meters when Gui Yingzi, who was trailing at the back of the group, suddenly felt a sense of rm ring in his heart. His heart simultaneously began racing in terror as though there was an immense crisis waiting for them ahead. Thus, he hastily shouted, Senior Brother Qin!
His voice was not loud. Nevertheless, it rang out conspicuously in the quiet environment. Hispanions had been acting carefully in the first ce, barely even daring to breathe too loudly. Hence, they involuntarily jumped in fright at the sound of his warning shout.
Senior Brother Qin was just about to turn around when he abruptly noticed the glimmer of mes out of the corner of his eyes. It was immediately followed by a violent fluctuation of Spiritual Power that came sweeping from the front.
Get back! He yelled urgently, hastily making a retreat at the same time. Even so, he was sent flying backwards by the wave of impact that came surging toward him. The people behind him were also thrown off their feet by the force.
Cough Cough Cough Amidst the settling dust, they slowly climbed to their feet with stars dancing in their vision and a loud humming sound ringing in their ears. It took some time before they finally recovered from the shock.
Senior Brother Qin, are you alright?! Senior Sister Hu asked anxiously.
Cough Cough Im fine. Clutching at his chest with bloodied palms, Senior Brother Qin was secretly d that Gui Yingzi had shouted a warning to him just now. He would be dead by now if not for the warning. After all, it was precisely because of Gui Yingzis warning that he reflexively stopped moving for a moment. His actions had in turn allowed him to avoid the catastrophe. Although he was injured at the moment, his wounds were not considered very severe. ??
Its an Explosive Ward! He immediately made his decision on the spot. We need to leave quickly!
It could now be confirmed that Lu Ye was hiding inside the mine! Whether it was the Concealment Ward at the entrance or the Explosive Ward inside the mining tunnel, these were definitely his handiwork! Unfortunately, there was bound to be a second following a first when it came to Explosive Wards
Senior Brother Qin no longer dared to act recklessly after experiencing the incident just now, so the group hastily withdrew from the mining tunnel in distress. To their surprise, several figuresnded in front of them as soon as they stepped out of the mine. Countless streams of lights also rushed over from various directions in the distance.
The activation of the Explosive Ward earlier had caused a hugemotion, which attracted the attention of many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators searching for Lu Yes whereabouts in the vicinity. Hence, it only took a short time for more than twenty people to gather at the entrance
Senior Brother Qin heaved a heavy sigh of regret. As the first ones to discover Lu Yes whereabouts, they originally had the opportunity to monopolize the situation. However, they were forced to make a retreat because Explosive Wards had been constructed along the narrow mining tunnel. It could be conceived that this information would soon spread to the masses, then more and more cultivators would gradually congregate in the area.
Several people came forward and spoke to Senior Brother Qin to inquire about the situation earlier. Although he was reluctant to reveal the truth, he knew that he could not keep the incident a secret. In the end, he had no choice but to share his spections and the information he obtained up until now.
A short whileter, the news that Lu Ye was hiding within a mining tunnel located on the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak spread to the public like the mes of a wildfire. Then, an innumerable number of cultivators began to converge in the area as a result.
The cultivation of the cultivators who arrived at the beginning was not very high. Most of them were in the Sixth Order Realm and below. Nevertheless, Seventh Order Realm Masters and Eighth Order Realm Masters gradually appeared with the passage of time. The first Ninth Order Realm Master finally appeared in front of the mine approximately half a dayter.
The arrival of Song Zhui and hispanions could not be consideredte. Not only did they rush here as soon as they received the news, but they also traveled without regard for the consumption of their Spiritual Power. Nevertheless, they were greeted by the sight of countless cultivators spread out densely across the surrounding areas when they arrived. At least eight hundred cultivators were gathered here, and their numbers continued to increase with time.
What puzzled Song Zhui was that the cultivators seemed to be waiting around without taking any visible action even though so many of them had gathered in one ce. Moreover, there was a faint smell of blood lingering in the air as though there had been casualties previously. Seeing several familiar faces, he immediately flew toward one of them. Hended in front of that person and sped his fists in greeting. Brother Zizai.
That person was none other than Ning Zizai, who previously bumped into Song Zhui when they were in the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak.
Brother Song, you came too. Ning Zizai returned the greeting.
Whats going on? Song Zhui questioned.
Ning Zizai replied, We have confirmed that Lu Yi Ye is hiding inside, but we currentlyck the means to attack him.
Why? Song Zhui was puzzled. It was confirmed that Lu Ye was hiding inside the mine. With so many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gathered here, Lu Ye was bound to die even if they did nothing more than recklessly charge forward without a n.
There is a winding mining tunnel that stretches out for several kilometers and eventually connects to a hollowed-out cavern. Unfortunately, Lu Yi Ye has cedrge numbers of Explosive Wards along the mining tunnel. Several cultivators have attempted to force their way inside, but they either suffered death or grievous injuries. Even that person over there failed. After saying that, Ning Zizai gestured in a certain direction.
Song Zhui turned to look in that direction only to see a man sitting cross-legged on the ground.
The man had a very tall and strong physique. Even though he was sitting cross-legged on the ground, he was only one head shorterpared to the other cultivators surrounding him. One could only imagine how tall andrge he would be if he were standing. With his physique and constitution, there was no doubt that he was a Body-tempering Cultivator. In fact, it was extremely obvious to see that he was a powerful Body-tempering Cultivator. Be that as it may, he waspletely drenched in blood at this moment. Hisplexion was also very pale. It was apparent to see that he was heavily injured.
Wei Zhong! Song Zhuis eyes narrowed at the sight. Despite being a cultivator from a First Tier Sect like the Rainbow Temple, he did not dare to underestimate the strength of the cultivator known as Wei Zhong. He had a general understanding of the other partys might. It was for that reason he did not have the confidence that he could obtain absolute victory over his opponent in a one-on-one fight.
Furthermore, Wei Zhong was a Body-tempering Cultivator. His physique was unimaginably tough. Despite the toughness of his physique, he was in such a miserable state after forcing his way into the mining tunnel. The others must have suffered worse consequences inparison.
The narrow space inside the mining tunnel undoubtedly increases the power of the Explosive Ward. Otherwise, a Ninth Order Realm Master would not have been wounded so badly.
Many people had attempted to enter the mining tunnel, but every attempt had ended with grievous casualties. It was not until the Body-tempering Cultivator known as Wei Zhong was forced to retreat that nobody dared to make another reckless attempt. That was why all the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were simply waiting around at the moment.
Waiting around like this is not a feasible solution either. Song Zhui scowled deeply. Is there no Golem Master present? The Golem Masters can summon their Golems to explore the path and activate the Wards to clear the obstacles in our way.
Weve tried, but that method is useless. Ning Zizai shook his head. The Wards that Lu Yi Ye prepared are manually controlled and not triggered automatically.
If that were the case, then the Golems summoned by the Golem Masters would not be very useful. There was even a possibility of giving the cultivators the wrong impression instead. For example, the cultivators might mistakenly believe that the path explored by the Golems was safe only for the Explosive Wards to be activated without any warning when they stepped foot into the mining tunnel. In such cases, they were bound to suffer terrible casualties.
At the moment, the situation was at an awkward stalemate. Lu Ye was not only severely wounded, but also cornered inside the mining tunnel by countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Be that as it may, nobody dared to venture deep into the mining tunnel due to the various Wards that he prepared beforehand. As a consequence, both parties were stuck in the current deadlock.
Although there was no need to worry about Lu Ye escaping from this ce, allowing the situation to drag out at length was not a feasible solution. The longer they dyed their attack, the more the other party would recover from his wounds. If they waited until he recovered, then killing him would be an increasingly difficult task.
Seeming to guess Song Zhuis thoughts, Ning Zizai helpfully added, Calm down, Brother Song. Somebody is already on his way here.
Who is it?
Brother Song, have you ever heard of the name Si Nan?
Song Zhui raised his eyebrows at the question. Si Nan of the Cloud Gem n?
Ning Zizai chuckled lightly. Looks like youve heard of him too, Brother Song.
Song Zhui nodded. Ive long heard that the Cloud Gem n produced an extraordinary genius among the current generation, but Ive not had the chance to meet him so far. Im d to hear he is in the vicinity. If hees here, then he might be able topete with Lu Yi Ye in terms of the Way of Wards.
The Cloud Gem n was a Fourth Tier Sect. Although a Fourth Tier Sect was only one Tier away from a Third Tier Sect, there was a world of difference between them. A Third Tier Sect generally had a Divine Ocean Realm Master overseeing the Sect, but a Fourth Tier Sect did not.
The structure of Jiu Zhous cultivation world and the method of recruiting disciples would often result in a unique phenomenon where the strong would only be stronger. The more powerful the Sect, the higher the aptitude of the disciples recruited by them. Therefore, it was not a simple matter for any Sect to ascend in terms of their respective Tiers.
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Chapter 627: What a Crowd
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Such was the way of the world.
Many Fourth Tier Sects often did not have the opportunity to advance into the Third Tier despite working diligently across several tens of generations. Cultivators in the Real Lake Realm and below generally focused on continuously improving their cultivation. After all, it was not difficult for them to enhance their cultivation as long as they had enough aptitude and resources.
Unfortunately, there was a huge threshold to ovee when advancing from the Real Lake Realm to the Divine Ocean Realm. The reason was that the advancement involved the transformation of the Divine Soul. There were indeed many Divine Ocean Realm Masters in Jiu Zhou, but their numbers were umted over the generations. In reality, it was often harder for a Third Tier Sect and below to produce a Divine Ocean Realm Master than to attempt an ascension to the Heavens.
Naturally, there were exceptions to the general rule. There were countless Sects in Jiu Zhou after all. These Sects would undergo an evaluation to determine their respective Tiers every three years. As such, a Fourth Tier Sect would be promoted to be a Third Tier Sect every few decades. These phenomena undoubtedly meant that the Fourth Tier Sect in question had managed to produce a Divine Ocean Realm Master.
The Cloud Gem n had the greatest hope of being promoted to a Third Tier Sect in recent years thanks to the emergence of a genius by the name of Si Nan in the Sect. Si Nan was a Spell Cultivator who also cultivated the Way of Wards. Moreover, he had an extraordinary aptitude in the Way of Wards.
The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators oncepared Si Nan to Lu Ye. In the end, they came to a unanimous consensus wherein they believed that he was the only person in the current generation of cultivators who couldpete against Lu Ye in the Way of Wards. It was only natural for him to hear about their evaluation of his talents, but hepletely dismissed them as nonsense. Their evaluation of his talents had ssified him as the weaker party. However, what he wanted was not topete with Lu Ye on equal terms but to surpass his opponent.
Si Nan was originally not in the vicinity of the area. On the contrary, he had rushed over from a distant location. Although he immediately set off on his journey as soon as the information regarding Lu Yes Arcane de was exposed to the public, his starting point was so far away that he had yet to arrive even now. Fortunately, his timing was just right for the current situation.
Lu Ye was trapped inside the mining tunnel, and a powerful Ward Cultivator was needed to destroy the Wards that Lu Ye prepared beforehand. It could be said that Si Nan was carrying the hope of all the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators on his shoulders at this moment. That was also one of the reasons why so many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were willing to wait around so patientlyAfter hearing that Si Nan was on his way here, Song Zhui rxed slightly and asked another question. Who was the first to discover the situation here?
Ning Zizai raised a hand and pointed in a certain direction. Those people over there But, they dont know much either.
Song Zhui nced in that direction. Sure enough, he saw several cultivators with rtively weak cultivation standing there. The leader among them seemed to be slightly wounded. He immediately nodded and moved toward them in a sh.
Senior Brother Qin couldnt help feeling very frustrated. Ever since more and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators arrived at this ce, people constantly came up to him to question him for various details such as how they discovered the mining tunnel and how they determined that Lu Ye was hiding inside After dealing with one batch of people, another batch woulde. It was a never-ending cycle. Unfortunately, his cultivation was rtively low inparison. He did not dare to offend the others, so he could only suppress his impatience and reveal the information he obtained.
At the same time, somewhere deep inside the mine Lu Ye was refining various Ward gs while vigntly keeping an eye on the movements of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators outside the mine.
The shirt on his back was drenched in blood At a nce, he certainly appeared to be severely wounded. Be that as it may, his appearance was nothing more than an illusion. Appearing to be heavily wounded was just a tactic he employed to mislead the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Although the blood on his shirt belonged to him, the bloodstained shirt was a remnant from his previous battle with Huo Liaoyuan
Up until this moment, his n was proceeding rather smoothly. He was supposedly too heavily wounded to conceal his whereabouts properly, so his whereabouts were inadvertently discovered by a group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. With no other choice, he was forced to hide inside the mine to recuperate from his injuries. Somebodyter discovered traces of the Wards he prepared in the mine by ident and confirmed his current whereabouts. As a consequence, countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators immediately besieged the mine and cornered him inside the mine. With no means of escape, he could only wait for death toe for him
Lu Ye, there are very many people outside. Yi Yi, who returned after secretly checking on the situation outside, reported the situation to Lu Ye. Moreover, their numbers continue to increase over time.
Its a good thing if there are many people, Lu Ye responded casually while refining the Ward gs without stopping. If he wanted to sessfully implement his n, then an adequate number of Ward gs was necessary. He added, How many Ninth Order Realm Masters are there? ?
There are five at the moment. I also saw the guy named Song Zhui.
Thats good. He nodded slightly.
She sat down beside him and questioned him quizzically, Lu Ye, if youre nning to lure them into the mine, then why did you construct so many Wards inside the mining tunnel? Arent you worried about scaring them away instead?
How could I possibly scare them away? Heughed. At this moment, it could be said that he was a pot of honey emitting a mesmerizing scent while the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were a bunch of ants who came here in search of food. No matter how many Wards he prepared inside the mine, they would never be chased away. They would only be desperate to gain entry into the mine.
I honestly believe you should reduce the number of Wards. Look; they dont even dare to enter the mine now.
He replied, The Thousand Demon Ridge might not know exactly how high my attainments in the Way of Wards are, but they have a general evaluation of my abilities. If I seem too weak, then my performance will only arouse their suspicions. On the contrary, the current situation is just right.
He was severely wounded at the moment. Therefore, he was only relying on geographical advantages to put up a strong rebellion against his enemies. That was the perception that he wanted to instill in the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, only then could he dispel the suspicions and doubts of the more intelligent individuals among his pursuers.
Besides, Ive already held back to a certain extent. Who could have known that they would be so useless? he sneered contemptuously.
However, his words were not empty boasting. He had indeed held back some of his strength because he was afraid that the explosive power of the Wards would cause the mining tunnel to copse if the explosions were too great. Although the numerous Explosive Wards that were currently lining the inside of the mining tunnel might explode in a violent manner, the explosive force they exerted was not enough to cause the mining tunnel to copse. Naturally, the surrounding rock walls would gradually be loose from the impact That was also part of his n. After all, the side effect would make things easier for him when he decided to conclude his n.
Im going to continue watching them. Yi Yi headed outside while speaking.
The convenience of having the body of an Apparition was unimaginable. Furthermore, Yi Yi seldom appeared in front of outsiders. The general public was only aware that Lu Ye had a snow-white beast beside him, but very few people knew about Yi Yis existence.
Time passed. Approximately half a dayter, Yi Yi suddenly sent a message iming that an amazing Ward Cultivator seemed to have arrived at the Thousand Demon Ridge camp. Even Song Zhui and the other Ninth Order Realm Masters were very friendly and weing toward the Ward Cultivator.
At this moment, the Ward Cultivator had entered the mining tunnel and began the process of dismantling the Wards Lu Ye previously left behind.
It was not as though no other Ward Cultivators had attempted to remove Lu Yes Wards. It was just that those Ward Cultivators did not have high attainments in the Way of Wards. Not only did they fail to remove the Wards, but they also experienced various casualties during their attempts. Consequently, the rest of the Ward Cultivators did not dare to act rashly again.
Seeing as the Ward Cultivator who just arrived had received such a warm wee from Song Zhui and the others, it was obvious he came from a prominent background. Song Zhui and the others also seemed to have high hopes for him. Sure enough, his aplishments in the Way of Wards turned out to be unparalleledpared to the previous Ward Cultivators. He easily destroyed one of the Explosive Wards with no trouble whatsoever.
Upon receiving the information, Lu Ye couldnt help feeling astonished. Although he had indeed held back his strength, he never imagined that there was a Ward Cultivator in the Cloud River Realm who could destroy his Wards. He initially believed that the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would eventually bepelled to enter the mine by force.
After all, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would only need several Eighth Order Realm Masters and Ninth Order Realm Masters to take charge and lead the way. With enough preparations beforehand, they could slowly make their way forward little by little until they eventually arrived at the mine cavern. The Wards he prepared along the way would also be cleanly destroyed as they progressed into the mining tunnel.
For that reason, the appearance of such a person among the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators came as aplete surprise to him His ns naturally could not keep up with the unexpected changes. Fortunately, the overall effects were minimal.
When the news that Si Nan had dismantled an Explosive Ward in less than ten seconds spread to the public, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators waiting outside the mine expressed various exmations of astonishment and admiration. Likewise, Song Zhui and the other Ninth Order Realm Masters finally stopped feeling so anxious.
Si Nan certainly lived up to his reputation. He might havee from a Fourth Tier Sect, but it was precisely because he came from a Fourth Tier Sect that his reputation on the Cloud River Battlefield was greater than all the other cultivators who came from First Tier Sects and Second Tier Sects. The Ninth Order Realm Masters had originally been worried about whether his attainments in the Way of Wards were enough. Now that he had set a precedent of sess, their worries were immediately relieved.
Based on this speed, it should take less than two days for us to enter the mine. Everyone, what do you think of Brother Si Nans proposal earlier? Song Zhui asked. He was surrounded by several Ninth Order Realm Masters, among which included Ning Zizai and Wei Zhong.
When Si Nan first arrived, he immediately held a short discussion with them. The purpose behind the brief greeting was not just for him to get acquainted with the others but also for him to make a bold proposal. He would take responsibility for dismantling the various Wards. In exchange, he wanted to monopolize forty percent of the bounty for defeating Lu Ye!
He did not force Song Zhui and the others to give him an answer on the spot. It was unrealistic to expect his request to be epted when he had yet to disy his true strength to them. On the other hand, they had no choice but to consider his previous proposal now that his true strength had been revealed.
Ning Zizai said, I dont have any objections. He contributes the most, so he takes thergest share. Thats only fair.
Even without Si Nans presence, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were fully capable of forcing their way into the mine. It was just that they would inevitably suffer terrible casualties in that situation. Not to mention, the arrangement of personnel would also be a huge problem. Who would be ced at the forefront? Even a Ninth Order Realm Body-tempering Cultivator like Wei Zhong would be wounded if he were to lead at the forefront. Besides, the winding mining tunnel stretched out for several kilometers. Who knew how many Explosive Wards Lu Ye had constructed along the path?
What do the others think?
Wei Zhong scowled. Forty percent is a little too much
Somebody else nodded and echoed the sentiment. Forty percent is way too much. Comparatively, twenty percent is an eptable amount.
Song Zhui sighed and replied, You seem to have misunderstood the point It certainly is quite outrageous for Si Nan to take forty percent of the reward, but do you really think it makes a difference to us whether he takes forty percent or twenty per cent of the reward?
What do you mean, Brother Song? Ning Zizai nced toward Song Zhui.
Song Zhui exined, There are nearly two thousand Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators gathered here at this point. Aside from Si Nans share of the reward, how will we split the rest of the reward after killing Lu Yi Ye? Are we going to split the reward equally amongst ourselves? That will definitely incite public outrage. We will definitely have to share the remaining rewards with all the cultivators who participated in this operation. Hence, there wont be much left by the time we receive our share of the reward. In that case, what does it matter if Si Nan wants a forty percent share of the reward? How will it make a difference for us if we gave him a forty percent share of the reward? Its as Ive mentioned before. Compared to the bounty on Lu Yi Yes head, his death is much more important!
Song Zhui once encouraged countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators outside the Ameliorate Valley to share the reward equally among themselves under the guise of eradicating the scourge that was Lu Ye. However, he actually had other ns at the time and instead cooperated with Ying Wuji to defeat Lu Ye together. Now that Ying Wuji was out of the picture, there was no point in trying to monopolize the reward for himself since there was nobody to cooperate with him in the first ce. In that case, he could only take a step back in this situation. Killing Lu Ye was the most urgent task at hand, and everything else was not important.
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Chapter 628: Has He Gotten Desperate?
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After listening to Song Zhuis speech, the other Ninth Order Realm Masters immediately understood his meaning.
Ning Zizai nodded in agreement. Brother Song is right. Too many of our fellow cultivators have gathered here, so it doesnt make much of a difference to us whether Si Nan obtains forty percent or twenty percent of the reward. In that case, we might as well do as he says. What do you think?
The others no longer had any objections at this point. They had failed to consider this factor previously. Now that Song Zhui had pointed out the issue, they suddenly realized that their concerns were meaningless.
Killing Lu Ye was originally a feat that would have brought great fame and benefit. However, it was different in the current situation. Even if they seeded in dealing thest blow to Lu Ye, all the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would remember was Si Nans extraordinary talent in dismantling the Wards whenever they recalled this incident in the future.
All the benefits had been monopolized by Si Nan alone. Hence, the Ninth Order Realm Masters couldnt help cursing in their hearts. [That bastard, Lu Yi Ye He knows he wont be able to survive anyway, so why did he have to construct so many Wards along the mining tunnel!?]
If there are no objections, then I will send a messenger to inform Si Nan about our decision. While speaking, Song Zhui gestured toward a Junior Brother nearby.
The Junior Brother immediately understood Song Zhuis intentions and quickly headed in the direction of the mining tunnel. When he entered the mine, he saw Si Nan waiting quietly without proceeding with the destruction of the Wards. Thus, he hastily informed Si Nan about the decision of the Ninth Order Realm Masters.
Si Nan smiled. Understood. Please inform them that I will finish dismantling the Wards within a day so that Lu Yi Ye will have nowhere to hide.After obtaining the agreement of the Ninth Order Realm Masters, he diligently began to dismantle the Wards with great vigor.
It only took an hour for Si Nan to venture several tens of meters deep into the mining tunnel on his own. He destroyed more than ten Wards within that time. His current position was already deeper than what the other Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had managed to achieve previously.
While Si Nan was continuously dismantling the Wards inside the mining tunnel, countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators watched his progress with great anticipation outside the mine. Some of them, who were more impatient, couldnt help following closely behind Si Nan. Nevertheless, they did not dare to stay too near and simply watched intently from a distance of several tens of meters away.
They might not be able to understand the situation, but they constantly transmitted information on the situation to the outside. Therefore, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators waiting outside were also aware of the dismantling progress. The dismantling speed caused bursts of cheers and exmations of amazement to ring out from time to time.
Song Zhui and the other Ninth Order Realm Masters remained gathered together in one spot. The sporadic cheers and exmations of amazement left a bitter aftertaste in their mouth. Those cheers should have belonged to them, but they were ultimately upstaged by Si Nan instead. That was why their resentment toward Lu Ye grew increasingly intense.
At this speed, he will seed at dismantling all the Wards within a day. Thats impressive indeed. Song Zhui couldnt help sighing in admiration.
The other Ninth Order Realm Masters declined to make anyment on Si Nans achievements.
Song Zhuiughed. Alright, everybody. Its rare for the Thousand Demon Ridge to produce a talent who canpete with Lu Yi Ye on equal terms, so we should be happy. After tomorrow, we will no longer be troubled by Lu Yi Ye. Not only can we advance into the Real Lake Realm with peace of mind, but the Cloud River Battlefield will also return to its original state. The peace will not be thrown into turmoil by a certain individual again.
Ning Zizai chuckled. I can always count on you to be thorough, Brother Song.
Song Zhui replied, There are some things I am powerless to alter, so I can only ept the reality. Isnt that so?
While Si Nan was dismantling the Wards inside the mining tunnel, Lu Ye was constructing more Wards.
Additionally, Lu Ye would asionally check on the messages Yi Yi sent so that he could keep track of the dismantling progress by the Ward Cultivator who arrived without warning. He had to admit that the Ward Cultivator had rtively extraordinary attainments in the Way of Wards. He was almost at his level in terms of attainments in the Way of Wards.
Arge portion of Lu Yes attainments in the Way of Wards came from the blessings of the Hundred Wards Tower. Furthermore, he had a natural advantage in the Way of Wards thanks to the fact that he was a Glyphweaver. On the other hand, the other partys attainments in the Way of Wards came from diligent and painstaking effort. His achievements could not bepared.
Time passed. With the steady removal of the Wards in the mining tunnel, Si Nans gradually moved further and further into the mine. The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators waiting outside the mine also began rolling their sleeves up in preparation for battle.
Nobody had caught a glimpse of Lu Ye so far even though they were able to conclude that he was hiding inside the mine. As for whether or not he was actually inside the mine, they could only confirm the fact after Si Nan dismantled all the Wards in the mine.
All of a sudden, a muffled explosion came from deep within the mine. The violent st was apanied by strong vibrations, causing the expressions of all the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators waiting outside the mine to change drastically.
Whats going on?
Song Zhui and the other Ninth Order Realm Masters instantly turned to look in the direction of the mining tunnel with solemn expressions on their faces. Themotion undoubtedly indicated the activation of an Explosive Ward! [Did Si Nan make a mistake?] The same idea immediately popped into their heads at that moment.
If the Wards had been properly dismantled, then they would not be activated again. Seeing that one of the Wards had activated, then Si Nan must have made a mistake.
There was no need to worry about Si Nan dying from the explosion. He was an Eight Order Realm Master after all. Even if he was just a Spell Cultivator, the st from an Explosive Ward would not be lethal to him. Nevertheless, he would inevitably sustain some injuries which would definitely cause dys to the Ward Destruction progress.
Just as the thought urred to the Ninth Order Realms Masters, they suddenly received news from inside the mining tunnel.
It turned out that Si Nan had not made a mistake. On the contrary, the Explosive Ward had been manually activated. This incident was evidently the handiwork of the person who constructed these Explosive Wards. As for Si Nan, he was fortunately unharmed. That was because the Ward had exploded when he was approaching.
The sudden turn of events left everybody scratching their heads in confusion. They could not understand the situation. Judging by the situation, the person who constructed the Wards seemed to have been targeting Si Nan but failed to grasp the timing urately and activated the Ward too early
*Boom* Another explosion came from within the mining tunnel. [Whats happening again?] The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, who had only just calmed down, couldnt help bing anxious again. The situation had developed to such an extent that nobody wished for any unforeseen circumstances to ur. Therefore, the sudden explosions left them in a state of great anxiety.
*Boom* The third explosion rang out.
*Boom* The fourth explosion reverberated through the air. Then, the fifth explosion rapidly followed In the beginning, there were short intervals between the earlier explosions. However, the subsequent explosions rang out in quick session with no signs of stopping.
Even though the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had just received news that Si Nan was unharmed, they couldnt help feeling anxious again. Themotion was clearly due to the consecutive activation of the Explosive Wards, and the continuous explosions also caused the rock walls outside the mine to shudder with great might.
It did not take long before news came from within the mine. Si Nan remained unscathed, and the Wards had been manually activated by the person who prepared the Wards in the first ce. Moreover, Si Nan was currently striding forward confidently. Meanwhile, the Wards ahead erupted one after another following the onward movement of his figure. That was the source of themotion.
At this moment, Si Nan was strolling leisurely inside the mining tunnel with a disdainful sneer on his face. [I heard the rumors iming that Lu Yi Ye has extraordinarily advanced attainments in the Way of Wards, but that doesnt seem to be the case!]
He had dismantled arge number of Wards along the way. As long as he had enough time, he could have removed all the Wards cleanly.
The other party had evidently realized that fact and decided to activate the remaining Wards in advance. That was the reason behind the current scenario in the mining tunnel where Si Nan strode forward without pause while countless Explosive Wards erupted continuously in front of him. As a result, clusters of mes were produced along the mining tunnel and loose rocks ttered to the ground from the surrounding rock walls.
Has he gotten desperate? Si Nan murmured under his breath. He secretly guessed that the other party was not actually trying to kill him via these actions because the other party knew that such an achievement was not possible. [If he is not trying to kill me, then there was only one other possible reason behind his actions. He wants to blow up the mining tunnel to buy more time.]
Combined with the rumor that Lu Ye was heavily wounded, he became increasingly confident that his hypothesis was correct.
How could he allow Lu Ye to obtain such an opportunity? Song Zhui and the others had promised to give him forty percent of the bounty from ughtering Lu Ye. Even if it was nothing more than a verbal promise by the Ninth Order Realm Masters, nobody had the qualifications to raise any objections against their decision. Besides, such an enormous reward held immense importance for his Sect.
He persistently forged forward. On the other hand, the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who followed behind him to watch the excitement couldnt help feeling a great sense of admiration and respect for him. From their perspective, he seemed to be single-handedly wielding infinite power to crush all the obstacles before him.
The news inside the mining tunnel was ryed to the outside. Song Zhui and the others were taken aback for a moment, then they hastily rushed in the direction of the mining tunnel.
They originally thought that Si Nan would need at least a day to finish dismantling the Ward Destructions. Judging by the current situation, it would not take long before they could match into the mine. Lu Ye was hiding inside the mine. Although nobody was holding high hopes for the bounty on his head, they were craving an end to their mission. After spending so much energy and time pursuing him, it was only natural that nobody was willing to miss out on thest event now that they had finally reached the grand ending.
When the Ninth Order Realm Masters rushed into the mining tunnel with theirpanions in tow, the rest of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators finally came back to their senses and scrambled over themselves to enter the mine. Hence, the mining tunnel instantly became crowded with people.
The mining tunnel was not very wide and could only amodate three to five people walking side by side at most. For that reason, it was inevitable for various disputes and disagreements to break out in such a chaotic situation. The scene quickly became rather lively. In addition, the startled screams of female cultivators could be heard from time to time. Unscrupulous individuals had evidently taken advantage of the chaos to sexually harass these female cultivators.
Outside the mine, Senior Brother Qin, Senior Sister Hu, and theirpanions hurriedly scrambled to their feet. However, Gui Yingzi abruptly reached out his hand and grabbed Senior Brother Qin by the arm before they could take a step forward. He simultaneously clutched at his chest with his other hand, hisplexion swiftly turning extremely pale.
Junior Brother? Senior Brother Qin nced back at Gui Yingzi, wondering why his Junior Brother was acting so strangely all of a sudden.
Gui Yingzi raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was filled with indescribable terror. He looked like he had seen something absolutely horrifying. Gritting his teeth, he forced out the words. Senior Brother, you cant go!
While they were waiting in front of the mine earlier, he had repeatedly tried to persuade them to change their minds. He imed that it was best if they did not participate in the campaign because he had an ominous feeling.
In addition, this campaign was rted to Lu Ye The few encounters he had with Lu Ye could not be considered true interactions, but they had been apanied by great risks nevertheless. Therefore, he was even more certain that something was amiss.
Be that as it may, how could Senior Brother Qin and Senior Sister Hu willingly withdraw from such a grand event? Not to mention, their team was the first to discover Lu Yes whereabouts. It stood to reason that they should receive a share of the reward for killing him. Unfortunately, they would receive nothing if they withdrew at this point. All their efforts until now would be in vain.
For that reason, Senior Brother Qin and the others had not taken the warnings seriously no matter how Gui Yingzi attempted to persuade them otherwise. In their opinion, Lu Ye was doomed since more than two thousand Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had gathered here. They might not contribute much to the campaign, but that did not stop them from participating.
At least, those were their thoughts until this moment!
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Chapter 629: Attack
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Since they were from the same Sect, Senior Brother Qin and the others were aware of Gui Yingzis capabilities. Gui Yingzi, a Ghost Cultivator, was able to detect potential danger that was imperceptible to an average person.
Take what happened when they stepped into the passageway as an example. If not for the fact that Gui Yingzi had sensed some danger and given them a heads-up in time, Senior Brother Qin, who was in front of everyone, would have suffered a more severe injury.
Are you sensing something? Senior Brother Qin asked.
Gui Yingzis eyes became a shade redder as he shook his head. I dont know, but its very dangerous.
Since he started cultivating, his talent had helped him dodge many crises. For example, when he was in the Myriad Poison Forest on the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Carnage Colosseum on the Cloud River Battlefield, he managed to flee in time after detecting danger in advance. It was proven that his vignce had helped him evade countless cmities, which allowed a weak cultivator like him to stay alive. Those who liked to watch a good show and were more powerful than him were all killed.
However, there had never been a time when he felt this rmed.
He had a feeling that if they entered the mine, the crisis they would face would be deadlier than anything they had experienced before.
Both Senior Brother Qin and Senior Sister Hu were hesitant.Gui Yingzi dissuaded them by saying, Senior Brother, too many people have participated in this matter. Even if we seed, we wont get a lot of benefits. Its not worth it to risk our lives for such negligible benefits. Even if Im wrong, well only lose some resources. But what if Im right?
If he was right, they would dodge another crisis.
Senior Brother Qin was undoubtedly swayed. He patted Gui Yingzis hand and nodded. Alright, well be staying outside.
Only then did Gui Yingzi breathe a sigh of relief. Honestly, there was nothing he could do if Senior Brother Qin insisted on entering the mine despite his dissuasion. He could only make sure to steer clear of the matter, but he couldnt force anyone to do the same, even though they were from the same Sect.
Fortunately, Senior Brother Qin wasnt obstinate.
Senior Sister Hu asked, Do we have to give the others a heads-up?
Senior Brother Qin shook his head. No one will believe us.
The cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge gathering in this ce were like cats catching a whiff of fish as they streamed into the passageway. It wouldnt matter that Senior Brother Qin and the others refused to enter. However, if they warned others against doing so, not only would they be mocked, but some people might even suspect they had some ill intentions.
The cultivators slowly entered the mine until only Senior Brother Qin and his fellow Sect members were left outside. The ce was initially boisterous, so it was difficult to get ustomed to the quietness now.
Dull sounds were hearding from the depths of the mine. Song Zhui and the others managed to catch up to Si Nan and saw the incredible sight.
Si Nan continued to move forward as Explosive Wards were activated, causing rocks to roll down the trembling walls.
They came to the same conclusion as Si Nan. The person who had set up the wards must have realized that his wards could no longer stop Si Nan, so he decided to blow up the passageway to buy some time for himself.
Nevertheless, these wards were not powerful enough. As such, even though the passageway was trembling, it was still pretty sturdy. As long as there wasnt any external force, the passageway wasnt at risk of copsing at any moment.
Anyway, it wouldnt matter if a part of the passageway copsed. All of them were Cloud River Realm Masters. So long as they were not buried alive, they wouldnt lose their lives. It would only take them some time and effort to clear the passageway.
Despite being meandering, there was an end to the passageway.
The noiseing from the Explosive Wards stopped. When thest bit of fire went out, an empty mine came into everyones sight.
Si Nan was the first one to step into it, followed by Song Zhui and the others. Then, the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge streamed into the mine as well.
It was dark inside the mine, but Song Zhui and the others still immediately detected a familiar aura as they looked in that direction.
Just then, someone cast a spell. Even though the spell wasnt lethal, it was extremely bright as it rose into the air like a rising Sun, illuminating the entire mine.
It was a big space that was full of rocks. In the deepest part of the mine, a figure d in blood-soaked clothes was seated. The blood had dried up, causing his clothes to harden.
He was only seated there in silence as he looked calmly at these unwee guests.
Lu Yi Ye! someone shouted, and then all of them broke into amotion.
Before this, although the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge had spected that Lu Ye was hiding in the mine, no one had any proof.
It wasnt until this moment that the man, whom they had been hunting down for a long time, finally came into their sight.
The moment the person finished speaking, countless spells and lights from Spirit Artifacts rained on Lu Ye.
Nheless, the distance between them was too far. Even though Lu Ye was within their attack range, their attacks had significantly weakened by the time they reached the man.
A light screen suddenly appeared around Lu Ye. It was apparently a Defensive Ward.
The weakened attacks struck the Defensive Ward and formedyers of ripples, but they couldnt harm the man one bit. Even the ward showed no signs of cracking.
These cultivators were understandably displeased, finally realizing why Lu Ye stayed so far away.
Someone bellowed, Get ready to die, Lu Yi Ye!
Another person growled, Lets see how you can still flee from us!
Given the confined space and the stark difference in power, anyone would assume that Lu Ye stood no chance of fleeing. It was unless he could use the help of the Divine Opportunity Column again and return to Jiu Zhou.
Fortunately, they didnt see any Divine Opportunity Column anywhere near the man.
Yet, these people only had the guts to mor, but they didnt dare to move forward. Since Lu Ye had set up so many wards in the passageway, it was logical to believe that there were some wards in the mine as well.
They were certain that it must be the case, so none of them dared to make a move before the wards were destroyed.
Song Zhui approached Si Nan and whispered, Lu Yi Ye is able to build Teleportation Wards, Brother Si Nan. Can you see such a ward around him?
When they were in the Ameliorate Valley back then, Lu Ye made use of Teleportation Ward to run away.
Although they didnt see anything that looked like a Divine Opportunity Column, Lu Ye could still flee if he had set up a Teleportation Ward.
With that said, the chances were low. As far as Song Zhui was concerned, Lu Ye had identally exposed his whereabouts and hidden in the mine to recuperate. It was impossible that he had set up a Teleportation Ward in advance unless he had foreseen what was to happen and prepared a trump card.
Si Nan looked around seriously for a moment before shaking his head. I dont see any traces of Teleportation Ward, but I cant rule out the possibility that he mightve hidden it somewhere.
Since the distance between them was long, he couldnt see everything clearly.
Song Zhui remarked, Well, hes in danger now. If he had built a Teleportation Ward, he wouldve used it and fled. There isnt a need for him to cover it. Since we dont see such a ward, it surely isnt there.
Lu Ye was doomed in such a despairing situation. Unfortunately, Ying Wuji had failed his mission in the Ameliorate Valley back then. Otherwise, Song Zhui would not have had to worry about not having enough cultivation resources again.
Its not easy to kill him, though. He has built a lot of wards here. Are all of you going to wait for me to break the wards or attack him with brute force? Si Nan asked.
Suddenly, a hint of doubt formed in his heart.
Supposedly, if Lu Ye wanted to fend them off, the entrance to the mine would be the best ce for him to build some wards. In actuality, there were no wards at the entrance at all. It was as if Lu Ye had specifically left a safe space for the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge to take a breather.
At any rate, Si Nan didnt have time to think too deeply about this. He simply assumed that Lu Ye didnt have enough Ward gs.
The man had set up a lot of wards in the passageway and the mine, so he must have consumed an unimaginable number of Ward gs.
Still, even more cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were streaming into the mine. There were a total of roughly 2,000 people, and the passageway was narrow, so it was understandable that it took time for all of them to enter the mine.
Song Zhui said, Although its safer to break the wards first, itll also take a longer time. Lu Yi Ye is cunning, so wed better not waste too much time. Id suggest attacking him with brute force. Everyone, what do you say?
His question was directed at the other Ninth-Order Masters.
Ning Zizai replied, Youll make the call, Brother Song.
Wei Zhong and the other two Ninth-Order Masters were fine with anything.
Only then did Song Zhui dip his head. Well attack him directly, then. Although there might be some casualties in that case, there wouldnt be a problem as long as they were careful enough.
At the thought of this, he raised his arm and shouted, Fellow cultivators, Lu Yi Ye is right before our eyes. If you want to share the reward, follow me to break his wards and end his life!
With that, he took the initiative tounch an attack on an empty space.
He couldnt break the wards like Si Nan, nor could he see where the wards were. However, as long as they were powerful enough, they could eliminate everything, rendering the wards useless.
He certainly couldnt achieve that on his own, but with all the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge joining forces, they could destroy everything regardless of how many wards Lu Ye had built.
These cultivatorsunched their attacks after Song Zhui. At that moment, the Spiritual Powers in the mine were a mess, and the colors of different lights flickered.
The attacks struck the ground over and over again. All the hidden wards were destroyed before they were even triggered.
Some impatient cultivators leapt into the air to attack Lu Ye, but before they could even fly high, they felt immense pressure descending on them, causing them to suffocate.
It was apparent that an Aerial Lock Ward had been set up in the mine.
Sounds of explosions were continuously heard. These cultivators formed into an arc as theyunched their attacks and soldiered on, inching closer to Lu Ye and bringing with them an aura of destruction.
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The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and
continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 630: Which One of Us Will Live
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Lu Ye was seated alone in the deepest part of the mine. Near the entrance, the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge formed into an arc as they continuously made a move and inched forward.
The Spiritual Powers were a mess in the spacious mine.
Song Zhui stopped making a move, for there was no longer such a need, considering the number of people inside the mine.
He had been observing Lu Yes reaction. What puzzled him was that despite being in a desperate situation, Lu Ye remained calm and collected.
His chest tightened when he saw that. [Has Lu Yi Ye already built a Teleportation Ward? Otherwise, why is he soposed? Or, has he given up on resisting, knowing that he cant run away? However, if he had set up a Teleportation Ward, he wouldve fled instead of taking a risk by staying here.]
He estimated the efficiency of these cultivators and reckoned that it would only take them several minutes to move across 150 meters. Given the distance by then, they could destroy Lu Yi byunching some long-distance attacks. Even though he had a Defensive Ward, he couldnt stay safe forever.
As many thoughts ran through Song Zhuis mind, Lu Ye, who had been unmoving the entire time, suddenly rose to his feet and looked at Song Zhui while holding his saber.
As their eyes met, Song Zhui noticed a faint smile on the mans face. Following that, a calm voice was heard saying, Im d many of you are here!Song Zhui frowned and questioned, What trick are you trying to pull again, Lu Yi Ye?
He had been fooled by Lu Ye in the Ameloriate Valley back then, so he had been resentful. As such, he couldnt help but wonder what Lu Ye was up to when the man suddenly said such a thing.
Considering the current situation, there was no way Lu Ye could flee unless he had set up a Teleportation Ward in advance.
Nheless, it didnt look like he was ready to run away.
Well, what trick can I pull when there are so many of you while Im all by myself? Lu Ye replied matter-of-factly.
Someone growled, Lu Yi Ye, if you dont want to suffer, youd better end your own life. Otherwise, when we get to you, it will be difficult for you to seek your end.
Well, who can foresee which one of us will live?
The person guffawed. Do you seriously think you have a chance to flee?
The rest of the cultivatorsughed.
Its none of your concern whether Ill be able to run away. However, Im afraid none of you will live to see the next sunrise.
The cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge jeered at his blind confidence. At that moment, the atmosphere in the mine was rather cheerful.
Someoneughed so hard that he covered his abdomen and pointed at Lu Ye. Im dying. Ive always heard that Lu Yi Ye is an incredible cultivator, but it turns out that hes only good at bluffing.
Youre so impertinent! another person growled. Lets see how youre going to make sure we wont live to see the next sunrise!
As though responding to this person, the violent fluctuations of Spiritual Power were suddenly felting from the passageway behind them, and it was followed by a loud buzz.
The turn of events astounded the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge. When they turned around to look, their expressions changed drastically. For some reason, the passageway had copsed, andrge rocks had fallen and sealed off the entrance.
The fluctuations of Spiritual Power continued. Someone seemed to be making a move in the passageway, and as that happened, more and more parts of the passageway copsed until the noise faded.
Presently, Yi Yi was casting her attacks in the passageway. The powerful spells struck the fragile walls, causing them toe apart as the rocks fell and blocked the passageway.
Given her cultivation, it would have been difficult for her if she wanted to destroy a perfectly fine passageway.
However, the passageway had been damaged by the Explosive Wards Lu Ye had set up, so the walls were already fragile. Some of the parts had even copsed.
Considering the damage that had been done, Yi Yi could easily destroy the entire passageway.
Now, all the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge had entered the mine, so no one was in the passageway. Moreover, their attention was on Lu Ye. As such, no one noticed her presence when she appeared in the passageway earlier on.
It wasnt until she started destroying the passageway that the cultivators were alerted, but it was toote for them to stop her.
The moment the passageway started falling apart, all the cultivators stopped making a move. Ning Zizai approached the entrance and looked into the situation. He could see that the passageway had been tightly sealed off, and the sound of things copsing was so far away that there was probably a distance of around a kilometer.
Given the magnitude of the copse, they couldnt solve the problem in a short time. Despite therge number of cultivators in the mine, it would take them half a day to clear the passageway.
Fortunately, the passageways copse did nothing to affect the inside of the mine. Yet, the tremor had caused many rocks to fall.
Certainly, the people outside could hear the noise as well.
Senior Brother Qin and the others had been waiting outside after epting Gui Yingzis advice. When they noticed the anomaly, they looked up and saw the mountain shaking violently.
Whats going on? Senior Sister Hu asked.
Senior Brother Qin frowned. I suppose theres a copse inside.
Why would that happen out of nowhere? Senior Sister Hu was puzzled.
Perhaps its caused by the repercussions of battle inside. The moment Senior Brother Qin finished speaking, he felt something was off. Lu Ye was on his own while there were around 2,000 cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge. Therefore, the battle couldnt possibly be so intense. The cultivators could supposedly kill Lu Ye in a short time after they found him.
During their conversation, a gale suddenly gushed out of the entrance, bringing motes of dust with it.
The inside has indeed copsed. Senior Sister Hu was terrified. Even Cloud River Realm Masters couldnt ignore such arge-scale copse. Once they were buried alive, there wasnt a chance for them to survive.
She wondered if any of them had been affected.
Is this the danger youve sensed, Junior Brother? Senior Sister Hu turned to look at Gui Yingzi. It had to be said that the Junior Brother was incredible at detecting danger. If he hadnt dissuaded them from entering, they would have experienced the cmity.
Gui Yingzi shook his head with a solemn expression. I dont think its as simple as that.
The copse couldnt possibly make him shrouded in a great sense of danger. Even now, he was still horrified when he recalled the feeling.
Nheless, he couldnt figure out what danger there was inside the cave. At any rate, there was no doubt Lu Ye was doomed.
Inside the mine, as the copse sounded, the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge came to a standstill, but they were still rtively calm.
There wouldnt be a problem as long as the mine didnt copse entirely.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The passageways destruction would only mean that they couldnt leave for the time being. After they killed Lu Ye, they could work together and clear the passageway. As such, they wouldnt be stuck in the mine forever.
I cant believe he has a helper! Song Zhui frowned.
The turn of events was someones doing, not an ident.
Lu Ye had a secret helper who destroyed the passageway after all of them entered the mine.
However, no one had seen what the helper looked like.
The incident itself didnt matter, but the unusual signal Song Zhui derived from it made him feel uneasy.
He recalled walking behind Si Nan earlier as the man marched forward and mercilessly destroyed the Explosive Wards Lu Ye had set up.
At that time, he felt that Lu Ye had decided to trigger the Explosive Wards in advance upon realizing that Si Nan was unstoppable. The man must have intended to destroy the passageway to stall for time.
Now, it seemed that things werent that simple.
The Explosive Wards that had been triggered didnt destroy the passageway. Instead, it weakened the walls around the passageway and made it susceptible to destruction.
Lu Yes secret helper then destroyed the passageway behind their back, ensuring none of them could leave the mine for the time being.
The current situation wasnt a coincidence. Everything was unfolding ording to Lu Yes n. [What is he trying to achieve?] Song Zhui furrowed his brow, unable to figure out Lu Yes motives.
The only possibility he could think of was that Lu Ye had set up a Teleportation Ward and was ready to run away at any moment. In that case, their mission would be pronounced a failure again.
Yet, Lu Ye didnt seem to have the intention of leaving, so there likely wasnt a Teleportation Ward.
He also had a secret helper who made everyone stuck in the mine.
Suddenly, someone was heardughing. Lu Yi Ye, are you trying to destroy this mine and make all of us go to Hell with you? In that case, you must be utterly disappointed. Only the passageway has copsed.
Although the empty mine was slightly affected by the tremor, it was still fine and sturdy.
Thats the funniest joke Ive ever heard. Lu Ye swept a dismissive nce over these cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge. You dont have the right to make me go to Hell with you, and Ive already said that none of you will live to see the next sunrise.
The next moment, Lu Ye raised his arm with an emerald pill between his fingers.
At that instant, the Tree of Glyphs in his Source Spiritual Point was covered in a fog.
Then, Lu Ye infused his Spiritual Power into the pill and cast it at the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge.
Dont let that thinge closer! someone bellowed.
Whatever the thing that Lu Ye had cast at them, anything he did at such a point was suspicious.
After the person finished speaking, countless attacks came at the emerald pill.
The lights of different colors soon swept through the emerald pill like a flood, but the next moment, an emerald light wiped out all other colors and spread across the ce like a green cloud.
The Omnipoison Pill, which would be famous across the entire Jiu Zhou and arouse fear in countless cultivators hearts in the future, showed its might for the very first time.
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Chapter 631: Horrifying Omnipoison Pills
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The emerald cloud exploded and covered arge area in an instant, causing the space to be filled with a poisonous miasma. One couldnt see anything else when shrouded in the miasma. It was an extremely dark color that seemed able to devour all the light.
All of them thought Lu Ye had cast a lethal Spirit Artifact at them, so they were surprised when it turned out to be poisonous smoke.
The unsuspecting cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were instantly covered in the miasma.
The next moment, someone eximed, Its poison!
Hold your breath!
Take some Antidote Pills immediately!
Dang it! Ill tear you into pieces, Lu Yi Ye!
The cultivators who hadnt been affected by the miasma were horrified as they retreated to stay away from the poisonous smoke. Those that had been affected quickly activated their Spiritual Powers to protect themselves and held their breaths at the same time. They also immediately fished out some Antidote Pills from their Storage Bags and consumed them.
In this chaotic situation, another Omnipoison Pill emerged from the miasma and hovered above these cultivators. The pill had exploded before they could stop it.
A dark poisonous cloud expanded and shrouded arge number of cultivators.
Then, in another direction, the third Omnipoison Pill detonated.
When Lu Ye returned to Spirit Creek Battlefield to visit Hua Ci previously, he only took three Omnipoison Pills from her. This time, he had used them up at once, causing all the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge to be covered in the poisonous cloud. As their Spiritual Powers fluctuated, the dark cloud spread across the entire mine.
Soon, people were heard coughing in the thick green fog, followed by shrieks and difficulty in breathing.
These cultivators were horrified to learn that even though they had activated their Spiritual Power Shields, they still couldnt fend off the poisonous fog. Although they had held their breaths, the omnipresent fog seemed able to sneak into their bodies through their pores.
In just ten breaths of time, all of them started reacting differently to the poison.
Some only felt numb while some felt extremely itchy. There were also some people who felt dizzy, causing them to stagger as an unusual tone of green appeared on their faces.
Without exception, all of them felt their Spiritual Powers bing sluggish, and their Rivers of Spiritual Power started flowing more slowly. These symptoms became even more conspicuous as time passed.
Just then, some dull thuds were hearding from different directions. Apparently, some weaker cultivators were unable to hold on any longer as they copsed to the ground.
Those who could still persevere were running around. However, the poisonous fog had covered most of the mine, and even Lu Yes location seemed susceptible to the poison. As such, where were they supposed to go to keep themselves safe?
They couldve fled the mine through the passageway, but it had been destroyed earlier on. As such, this ce had be a sealed space.
Growls and curses sounded. Some people eximed when others stepped on them.
The entire ce had descended into turmoil.
Somewhere in the crowd, Song Zhui could feel himself weakening rapidly as his eyelids twitched.
He was a Ninth-Order Master who came from a Tier-One Sect, but he still couldnt ward off the poisonous fog, let alone the others.
Not long ago, he still held on to the belief that Lu Ye was doomed unless he had set up a Teleportation Ward in advance, but in the blink of an eye, everything went downhill for them.
Lu Ye didnt have the intention of fleeing. He stayed there to lure them into the mine. His intention was to eliminate all 2,000 cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge on his own.
There was no doubt he was recklessly brave.
It was a goal that supposedly couldnt be realized, but as everything unfolded ording to his n, this seemingly impossible task showed some hope of getting achieved.
At this point, it dawned on Song Zhui that it was all Lu Yes n.
His whereabouts were indeed exposed, but it wasnt an ident. He had done so intentionally to lure them to this ce.
His injury must be a form of pretense as well. At the very least, Song Zhui couldnt see any symptoms of Lu Ye being injured as his aura was stable.
He had built many Explosive Wards in the passageway, but his main goal wasnt to stop these cultivators from moving further inside; it was to weaken the walls around the passageway so that he could get it destroyedter.
When all the cultivators entered the mine, his secret helper made a move and caused the passageway to copse, entrapping everyone in the mine.
In such a sealed environment, the effects of the poisonous fog had undoubtedly been maximized.
Song Zhui had some doubts previously. For example, why was Lu Ye injured, and who hurt him?
Why had no one discovered him when he had been hiding in the depths of Grand Wilds Peak for a few days, but his whereabouts were exposed when he was in the periphery?
Even though they had found him, he shouldnt have chosen such a ce to hide where there was only one exit.
Despite all the doubts, he dismissed them with some possibilities he came up with.
Moreover, no one couldve expected a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master to be so bold. When everyone from Thousand Demon Ridge was hunting him down, he had set up a trap instead of trying his best to hide. He even lured so many of them to enter the mine all at once.
Wasnt he worried that he would mess up?
Nheless, it was pointless for Song Zhui to ponder such matters at this moment.
In such a sealed space, the power of the poisonous fog was taking effect. Song Zhui could feel his power declining quickly. Although he had immediately consumed some Antidote Pills, their effects were limited. They had to leave the mine as soon as possible. Otherwise, all 2,000 of them would lose their lives here.
At the thought of the worst possible oue, Song Zhui shuddered.
Around 2,000 people getting eliminated when both parties were in the same Realm was unprecedented in the history of the cultivation world in Jiu Zhou. It was simply not a thing one would expect to happen.
Song Zhui had heard that Lu Ye had directly and indirectly killed several thousand cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. However, he didnt witness it, and the number of casualties meant nothing to him.
Nevertheless, when he witnessed so many lives getting destroyed right before his eyes, he couldnt remain unperturbed even though he had killed many people himself.
He activated his Spiritual Power and bellowed, Stop panicking! To those who are Third Order and below, quickly clean up the passageway now, and to those who are above the Third Order, destroy the wards and kill Lu Yi Ye!
It had to be said that Song Zhui was indeed an experienced man who was able to make some quick arrangements under such a circumstance, and his arrangements were undoubtedly impable.
As long as they could swiftly clean up the passageway, they would have a way out. Regardless of how potent the poison was, there would be a way to dispel it so long as they survived.
While clearing the mess in the passageway, they also had to get to the source of the problem by killing Lu Ye. Even though doing so wouldnt get them any antidote, they could ensure no one could threaten them in such an environment at the very least.
In the sealed space, Lu Ye was their only enemy.
During a tumultuous time like this, it required someone like Song Zhui to take charge of the situation.
Following his order, the flustered cultivators quickly pulled themselves together and started taking action.
Lights of different colors flickered again as the cultivators resumed what they were doing. They pressed on while breaking the wards in front of them.
Cultivators who were Third Order and below turned around and charged toward the passageway, ready to clear up the rocks. However, many of them staggered and copsed to the ground.
They were not dead, but all their energy seemed to have left their bodies. Their Rivers of Spiritual Power almost stopped flowing, so they were unable to activate their powers.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
In that case, they were merely beings who were slightly stronger than themoners.
In the end, only around ten people managed to enter the passageway, but even they were not sure they could hold on for how long.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* Violent sounds were continuously heard, and the fluctuations of Spiritual Powers were a mess.
At this point, the entire mine was filled with poisonous fog. Even Lu Yes location wasnt spared.
He was still standing there with a saber, unperturbed by the cultivators who were marching toward him. Not only was he calm and collected, but he also had time to look into his soul and check on the Tree of Glyphs reaction.
Soon, he discovered that the power of the Omnipoison Pills he had cast this time was greater than that from the previous time. That was because the Tree of Glyphs was reacting even more violently this time, which went to show that the Omnipoison Pills were even more potent.
The discovery surprised him.
Prior to this, he had only used the Omnipoison Pills once in the Myriad Beast Domain to go against the Sect Master of ck Tortoise Sect, Niu Meng, who had transformed into a Beast Form.
At that time, the situation was indeed desperate. Even though there were several Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Masters on their side, they were powerless against Niu Meng, who was in a Beast Form and had even be the core of the insectoid nest.
After taking off his pretense as a Spell Cultivator, Pang Da Hai, who was actually a Body-tempering Cultivator, was almost killed by Niu Meng. Even a Sword Cultivator like Zhou Hai, who was known to be ruthless, failed to cause any serious damage to Niu Meng.
In the end, Lu Ye had no choice but to use the Omnipoison Pills to harm both his friends and foes. Only then did he manage to weaken Niu Meng. Then, he and Zhou Hai found a chance and broke his Beast Form Secret Technique.
At that time, using the Omnipoison Pills was undoubtedly thest resort. After all, even though Lu Ye was immune to poison, the others were not.
It also didnt help that Niu Meng in a Beast Form was formidable. After witnessing Berserk Giant Apes power, Lu Ye felt that Niu Meng in a Beast Form had almost reached the elite level.
Despite that, his power was still weakened by the Omnipoison Pills.
Even an elite-level being was unable to fend off the Omnipoison Pills, let alone these cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge who had barged into the mine.
Furthermore, the Omnipoison Pills he used this time were more potent than the previous ones.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, the Omnipoison Pills were the condensation of Hua Cis power. Not only could they be used against the enemies, but they could also serve as Hua Cis reserve power.
In other words, when she ascended to the Cloud River Realm in the future, she could consume the Omnipoison Pills she had made to strengthen her power.
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Chapter 632: Grim Reaper
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Presently, Hua Cis cultivation had reached the limit on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, so she couldnt increase her power further. That was why she repeatedly lowered her cultivation by producing Omnipoison Pills.
Besides the amount of power that Hua Ci had to consume when making the Omnipoison Pills, their strength also had something to do with the potency of the poison she ingested.
When she gave Lu Ye the Omnipoison Pills for the first time, she still wasnt adept at making the products, so she merely treated it as a practice round. Moreover, to prevent Lu Ye from detecting any anomaly and getting worried, she didnt consume too much of her power.
Her skills improved as she made more and more Omnipoison Pills.
This time, Hua Ci consumed significantly more power to make the pills for Lu Ye than the previous time.
Also, she had found the source of Myriad Poison Forest and even created a Poison Pond in the depths. When Lu Ye visited her previously, she was leisurely bathing in the pond.
That was the manifestation of the Myriad Poison Forests Poison Source, and it was tremendously more potent than the poison fog she had devoured back then.
All of these factors led to one result.The potency of the Omnipoison Pills that Lu Ye had cast this time was more than double that of the previous time.
This came as a surprise to Lu Ye. If he were aware of how potent the pills were, he wouldve kept one pill instead of using them all at once.
Since he had already used them, it was pointless to regret anything.
No one was spared as the entire mine was filled with poisonous fog. At the same time, the gray fog around Lu Yes Tree of Glyphs thickened.
He was immune to poison as he had the Tree of Glyphs protection. As long as there was enough fuel for the tree, he didnt have to worry about the poisons influence. However, the same couldnt be said of the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge. Even though they had Antidote Pills with them, they were unable to ward off the poison.
The weaker cultivators reacted even more violently to the poison.
Initially, only those who were in the Third Order and below copsed to the ground. They were not dead, but their Rivers of Spiritual Power had stopped flowing altogether, making them unable to activate their powers and causing them to be paralyzed. Under such a circumstance, if they couldnt dispel the poison quickly, they would be doomed.
Gradually, even the Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order Masters werent able to hold on any longer. Although the stronger cultivators could persevere, they could feel their powers declining sharply.
A sense of horror and anxiety proliferated. Moreover, in order to destroy the wards before their eyes, the cultivators had been madly activating their powers and using all sorts of moves, which elerated the poisons influence on them.
These cultivators had never expected toe across such a nightmare when they only wanted to besiege and kill Lu Ye.
They had certainlye into contact with poison before. After all, they were Cloud River Realm Masters, so they had experienced all sorts of strange poison. However, it was their first time dealing with such potent and pervasive poison.
Just as all of them panicked, Lu Ye, who had been unmoving the entire time, suddenly fished out a Ward g and waved it.
The next moment, a deafening p of thunder was heard reverberating across the sealed mine.
Following that, a sh of lightning appeared from above and struck the crowd.
Ah! someone eximed as the lightning descended. It was a mystery as to who was unlucky enough to get struck.
The first bolt of lightning seemed to serve as a signal, for the next instant, even more shes of lightning descended from above as they prated the emerald poisonous fog and yed the rhythm of death.
ps of thunder were continuously heard. When they looked up, they would see countless bolts of lighting descending from above. At the top of the mine was a huge, glowing ward withplicated patterns that constantly flickered. As the lightning struck, people would be heard shrieking.
It was the Lightning Invocation Ward!
Lu Ye had built a lot of Explosive Wards, for it was simple to set them up, and they were pretty destructive. Once someone stepped into such a ward, they would be badly injured. ??
However, that didnt mean Lu Ye could only build Explosive Wards.
He had mastered quite a lot of Glyphs, which could be used as the cores in the wards, and that would allow him to build the corresponding wards.
The ward with the Invoke Lightning Glyph as the core was Lightning Invocation Ward. Simrly, it was Golden Arc Ward with the Golden Arc Glyph as the core and Fire Ward with the Fire Glyph as the core.
None of them had expected Lu Ye to have built some wards at the top of the mine in advance. They were fully focused on breaking the wards before their eyes, so it surprised them when danger struck from above.
After Lu Ye activated the wards powers, the ce became even more chaotic in an instant.
The dazzling lightning, Golden Arcs, and zing fire snakes rained down from above as the wards were running.
Actually, these wards were not powerful. Usually, even Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters were able to drive them off. However, at this moment, they were all troubled by the poisonous fog, which had massively weakened their powers. As such, the wards seemed lethal when they struck at this point.
The burnt smell of flesh and a metallic tang permeated the ce. Many people lost their lives in the emerald fog, and there didnt seem to be an end to it.
The thick fog had filled every part of the mine. As such, both Lu Ye and the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge couldnt see each other.
Anyway, that didnt matter to him one bit, for everyone else in the mine was his enemy. As such, he only had to lead the powers of the wards to strike the ces where many people gathered.
Someone finally came to their senses and bellowed, Break the wards above us now!
In an instant, many attacks were seen shooting toward the ceiling, destroying the wards and causing the rocks to fall.
By now, most of the wards Lu Ye had built in the mine had been destroyed. Even though arge number of cultivators were paralyzed, there were the stronger ones who persevered.
However, when the furious cultivators arrived at the spot where Lu Ye was supposedly located, the man was nowhere in sight.
Naturally, he wouldnt just stay there and wait for their arrival.
The chaotic and dark environment gave him enough room for maneuver. Since everyone was his enemy in this ce, he just had to charge around and wield his saber whenever he detected a persons aura. Without fail, a shriek would be heard, and blood would ssh onto the floor.
Amidst the chaos, Song Zhui ordered, Stay close to each other to prevent getting killed and report Lu Yi Yes whereabouts immediately!
However, his voice was soon drowned out by the mor.
Realizing that Lu Ye was wandering around to kill them, these cultivators tensed up in an instant. Whenever someone approached them, they would use their most lethal moves, which resulted in many idental injuries and caused even more conflicts and disturbance.
The entire ce had descended into turmoil.
Song Zhui secretly chastised them for being useless, but he understood that everyone was naturally anxious under such a circumstance. He was shocked to realize that if this dragged on, it wasnt impossible for Lu Ye to kill all 2,000 people on his own.
Presently, cultivators who were in the Fourth Order and below were paralyzed and powerless to counterattack. Song Zhui had asked the cultivators in the Third Order and below to clean up the passageway, but they couldnt hold on for long before copsing to the ground.
The metallic tang in the air thickened, and people never stopped shrieking. More and more souls were lost. In the dark poisonous fog, Lu Ye was like a Grim Reaper. Wherever he went, he would send many people to Hell. These cultivators were powerless to fend him off.
Moreover, as time passed, the poisons influence on these cultivators intensified, which resulted in their powers getting weaker and allowed Lu Ye to end their lives more easily.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
There came a moment when Lu Ye bumped into a difficult opponent.
After the wards at the top of the cave were destroyed, he started moving around to kill his opponents. Regardless of their cultivation, he could kill them with only one move.
Nevertheless, when he shed at this burly Body-tempering Cultivator, the other partys initially weak aura turned formidable all of a sudden. After the Spirit Artifact around his arm fended off Lu Yes attack, he extended his other hand towards his opponent and bellowed, Ive finally found you!
Lu Ye instantly realized that this man had either pretended to be weak or used a Secret Technique that could enhance his power.
The moment the person made a move, he also revealed his Ninth-Order cultivation.
Since there were so many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge here, it was only natural that there were Ninth-Order Masters. Song Zhui was a Ninth-Order Master, and there must be a few more such people.
As such, Lu Ye had never put down his guard even when he was charging around.
He remembered seeing this burly man, who was standing not far away from Song Zhui early.
The person was none other than Wei Zhong, a Ninth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator.
Although he and the other Ninth-Order Masters were shocked by Lu Yes ruthless moves, they were not flustered in such a situation as they came from powerful backgrounds. Instead, they had been secretly waiting for a chance to strike.
Lu Ye attacking Wei Zhong was exactly what thetter wanted. That way, Lu Yes whereabouts would be exposed. Even if he couldnt defeat Lu Ye, he just had to hold him back and wait for Song Zhui and the others toe to their senses. By then, they could join forces and capture Lu Ye even though their powers had been significantly weakened.
As long as Lu Ye was detained, their crisis would be solved, and they only had to clear the passageway to get out of there.
That was the n in his mind, but when he extended his hand toward Lu Ye, he failed to grab anything.
There was no doubt Lu Ye was even more agile than Wei Zhong thought.
The instant Lu Ye sensed danger, he leapt backwards and raised his left hand before casting an Exotic Treasure he had been holding in his hand. The Exotic Treasure turned into a ray of light and charged towards Wei Zhong.
At that moment, Wei Zhong felt cold all over his body. It was a natural reaction when he was faced with danger. However, before he coulde to his senses, the ray of light arrived and easily prated his body, bringing out some blood from the other side.
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Chapter 633: Does He Have Some Helpers?
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Shrouded in the emerald poisonous fog, Wei Zhong looked down at his chest and saw a small wound, but it was a lethal injury.
That was because his heart had been prated.
In thest moments of his life, he felt his broken heart pumping weakly. As all his energy left his body, he fell to the ground with a thud.
He didnt expect Lu Ye to have something that could end his life. Even though his power had been weakened, he was a robust Body-tempering Cultivator. How was it possible that he was so frail?
Unbeknownst to him, the Exotic Treasure that Lu Ye had cast was even able to prate Ju Jias defense in an instant.
The Exotic Treasure was the Broken Arrow, which Wei Zhong had used before!
Although Ju Jia was only a Fifth-Order Master, his physique was just as sturdy as that of Wei Zhong, who was a Ninth-Order Master. Since Broken Arrow could shatter Ju Jias defense, it could do the same to Wei Zhong.
Moreover, Lu Ye had caught him off guard, so the oue wasnt so surprising.However, even though Broken Arrow was powerful, it required a lot of energy to use.
Fortunately, Lu Ye had a Spirit Storage Ring with him. After a long time, the ring was filled with Spiritual Power. Following the use of the Broken Arrow, Lu Ye realized that half of the Spiritual Power in the ring was gone.
In other words, even if he made use of the Spiritual Power in the ring, he could only activate the Broken Arrow once in a short time. If he wanted to use it for the second time, he would consume the rest of the Spiritual Power in the ring and also a bit of his own.
Besides requiring a lot of energy to use, the other problem with Broken Arrow was that there was a limit to how many times he could use it.
Exotic Treasures had all sorts of uses, but without exception, there was a limit to how many times one could use them. Also, most of them could only be used once.
It was the case for Tracking Disc, Golden Body Token, and Deathmatch tform.
Even though Broken Arrow wasnt a single-use consumable, it couldnt be used many times. When Lu Ye acquired it, there was already a crack on the surface. The crack widened after he used it once. If he had the time to take a proper look, he would realize that he could only use the Broken Arrow one more time.
Nevertheless, he didnt have the time to examine the Exotic Treasure. After Broken Arrow killed Wei Zhong, it returned to Lu Ye following hismand.
Although he had gained the upper hand, and many weaker cultivators were powerless to defend themselves, there were still those who were able to counterattack. The fact that he managed to mightily kill a Ninth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator stunned the rest of the powerful cultivators, and it allowed him to make his next move more easily.
Therefore, he wouldnt use Broken Arrow again unless it was necessary to do so.
Truth was, the moment Wei Zhong made a move, Song Zhui, Ning Zizai, and the other Ninth-Order Masters immediately detected it and came over to help, but the next instant, Wei Zhong fell to the ground with no vitality left.
Covered in the poisonous fog, they couldnt see what had happened, but they were undoubtedly bbergasted to realize that Wei Zhong had lost his life.
Their expressions changed drastically as they stopped in their tracks. Song Zhui called out tentatively, Brother Wei?
Naturally, no one responded to him.
Song Zhui gulped with difficulty, realizing that the situation was getting out of hand.
He didnt expect Lu Ye to be able to kill Wei Zhong. Although Wei Zhong couldnt fully activate his power under the poisons influence, he was a staunch Body-tempering Cultivator, after all.
Prior to this, Song Zhui was still calm and collected. Although the situation was terrible, and Lu Ye was wandering around to kill them, they had many cultivators on their side, and there were several Ninth-Order Masters in charge. As such, Song Zhui believed that Lu Ye could never leave this ce alive unless he could kill them all.
Nheless, when Wei Zhong was killed, his confidence faltered.
If even Wei Zhong couldnt fend off Lu Yes attack, could they protect themselves?
Lets go! Song Zhui ordered and led his fellow Sect members to the exit. They couldnt pin their hopes on the weaker cultivators, so they could only clean up the passageway themselves and leave this ce as soon as possible.
Suddenly, someone was heard shrieking behind him. It was supposed to be Junior Brother Yans voice. However, he didnt dare to turn around to look, for he knew he wouldnt see anything even if he did.
When he arrived at the passageway, he realized many people hade up with the same idea. A lot of cultivators were scrambling toe to the passageway and clean up the fallen rocks. Nevertheless, due to therge crowd and the fact that everyone was trying to flee, they were not very organized. Not much of the mess had been cleaned up. Instead, they started attacking each other, hoping to be the first to leave.
In the poisonous fog, Lu Ye was still moving around to kill his opponents.
His blood-soaked clothes had initially dried up, but they were moist and sticky again now.
The cultivators were heard shrieking and wailing from different directions. Many of them were actually killed by theirpanions.
Just then, some cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge arrived at the passageway entrance upon getting wind of the situation. They arrivedte as they had just heard of the news, and there were not many of them.
By the time they arrived, most of the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge had entered the mine, and arge part of the passageway had copsed following Yi Yis actions.
Presently, they were standing outside the entrance and listening to what was going on inside as a myriad of expressions came over them.
Cloud River Realm Masters had incredible hearing abilities. Moreover, even the slightest noise in an environment such as the passageway would be amplified. As such, even though they were several kilometers away from the mine, they could still hear some strange noise.
Why do I hear many people screaming inside? A cultivator suspected that he was mistaken. Do you all hear that?
Since around 2,000 cultivators had streamed into the mine to end Lu Yes life, the battle would supposedly end very soon. However, why were many people heard wailing from inside?
The noise indicated that the battle was pretty intense.
Yes, there are people wailing. Someone nodded to show that he heard the noise as well. Then, he asked doubtfully, Does Lu Yi Ye have some helpers with him?
In that case, the shrieks must being from Lu Ye and his helpers. They were currently besieged by the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge, after all.
Senior Brother Qin and his fellow Sect members, who were near the entrance, were also listening to the noise. They exchanged nces with solemn expressions.
They were not sure if Lu Ye had some helpers, but they knew that things turned out to be different from their expectations. Moreover, following Gui Yingzis warning, all of them felt their hearts growing heavier. They felt that something terrible was happening.
Some unimaginable ideas formed in their minds, but they quickly dismissed them and assumed that such things would never happen.
However, what if the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge inside were indeed in danger?
In that case, Gui Yingzis warning had undoubtedlye true, and they had saved their own lives by not following everyone else into the mine.
Just then, two rays of light wereing over from a distance. Their powerful auras showed that they were Ninth-Order Masters.
Theynded near the entrance, after which two men revealed themselves.
If Lu Ye were here, he wouldve recognised that they were Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
After Huo Liaoyuan was killed in the Sacred Universe Arcane de, the two of them left the Ameliorate Valley. That was because Xia Liang concluded that when Lu Ye and the others faced a crisis they couldnt solve, they would make use of the Divine Opportunity Column to return to Jiu Zhou. As such, the two of them decided not to waste any time by staying there.
They initially intended to go looking for Lu Ye a monthter after thetter entered the Cloud River Battlefield again.
Much to Xia Liangs surprise, things unfolded differently from what he had expected.
Lu Ye didnt return to Jiu Zhou. Instead, he made a deal with the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge who besieged Ameliorate Valley. Then, he hid somewhere and waited for a chance to kill the invaders on Grand Wilds Peak.
Following that, he exposed his whereabouts in this ce and trapped the cultivators inside the mine.
Xia Liang and Tan Sheng had already left this area, but they rushed over to this ce in a hurry upon getting wind of it.
Xia Liang swept a nce over them and asked, Is Lu Yi Ye inside?
A cultivator nodded. Yes, thats what we heard.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Whats going on now?
The cultivator shook his head. Weve just arrived, so we arent sure whats going on.
Does anyone know whats happened? Tan Sheng asked.
After giving it some thought, Senior Brother Qin stepped forward and exined, Half a day ago, around 2,000 cultivators entered the mine following the order of Senior Brother Song Zhui of the Rainbow Temple. For some reason, the passageway copsed all of a sudden, trapping everyone inside. People from the outside cant enter either. Moreover, there seems to be an intense battle in the mine, and many people have lost their lives.
As Senior Brother Qin rted the story to them, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng could also hear the faint shrieksing from the depths of the passageway.
They couldnt help feeling doubtful, and Xia Liang asked with a frown, How many people are with Lu Yi Ye?
Senior Brother Qin replied, I heard that hes on his own, but Im not sure if thats indeed the case.
These people knew little about the situation, so it was impossible to glean any useful information from them. Xia Liang and Tan Sheng exchanged nces before entering the passageway, and the others followed suit in a hurry.
Only Senior Brother Qin and his fellow Sect members stayed outside, not daring to enter.
They didnt follow everyone else into the mine earlier on, and it was toote to do so now. Moreover, following Gui Yingzis warning and the turn of events, they didnt have the guts to step into the passageway.
They only decided to stay there to find out the oue of the incident.
With that said, they believed that regardless of the oue, Lu Ye was undoubtedly doomed. There was no way he could survive under such a circumstance.
Not long after Xia Liang and Tan Sheng entered the passageway, they realized the path ahead had indeed been blocked. Furthermore, they could hear the shrieks more clearly from their location.
At that moment, they realized something was off.
The noiseing from inside suggested that the battle was intense. If Lu Ye were on his own, he couldnt have pulled off such a feat. [Has Lu Yi Ye brought many people with him? Are they fighting the people on our side right now?]
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Chapter 634: The Last Batch
Chapter 634: The Last Batch
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Inside the mine, countless corpses were lying on the ground, which had been dyed red with blood.
In fact, only a small number of cultivators were killed by Lu Ye.
Some were killed by the wards, and some were identally killed by theirpanions. However, most of them were destroyed by the poisonous fog.
The three Omnipoison Pills that Lu Ye had cast were even more potent than he had expected. The weaker cultivators naturally had less resistance against the poison.
Cultivators, especially those in the Fifth Order and below, were powerless against the poison even though they had consumed Antidote Pills.
Also, those in the Fifth Order and below came in thergest number.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Initially, they only felt the flow of their Spiritual Powers bing sluggish. They were listless and light-headed. However, as time passed, their vitality was leaving their bodies rapidly under the poisons influence, and they eventually lost their lives.
Those who were still alive were all above the Fifth Order, but regardless of how powerful they were, they were lethargic.Gradually, the shrieks and wails in the mine became sparse. It wasnt that Lu Ye had stopped attacking; it was just that fewer people were alive now.
The poisonous fog had be thinner as well, which allowed them to see their surroundings more clearly.
Somewhere in the mine, Ming Zhes face was tinged with the color green, and behind him were some cultivators of Sacred Universe Arcane de.
There were 2000 of them initially, but only a few of them were left now. The rest of them were lying on the floor, either killed by other people or the poison.
Those who were still alive appeared horrified, and some of the female cultivators were sobbing in fear.
Ming Zhe had no idea how things came to this, just like he didnt understand how Huo Liaoyuan was killed by Lu Ye. Whenever they dealt with the jinx from Crimson Blood Sect, things no one had expected to happen would take ce eventually.
Tu Guanxiong was the one who exposed the Ameliorate Arcane des location. Many cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge gathered in front of Ameliorate Valley, and Ming Zhe returned with the remaining cultivators of Sacred Universe Arcane de. They initially wanted to witness Lu Yes death, but things went against their wishes.
Lu Ye made use of the Teleportation Ward and left Ameliorate Arcane de before killing his opponents in the depths of Grand Wilds Peak. As such, some of those from the Sacred Universe Arcane de lost their lives as well.
Then, upon getting wind of Lu Yes whereabouts, Ming Zhe rushed over with his people.
They thought they would finally witness Lu Yes demise, but to their chagrin, they turned from predators to prey. There were a lot of people on their side, but most of them ended up losing their lives.
How did that even happen?
Lu Ye was only a Fifth-Order Master, so how did he even pull off such a feat?
The poisonous fog rolled around. Following a yelp, a figure emerged from the fog. Even though Ming Zhe couldnt make out the persons face, he would never forget the familiar figure.
The person was none other than Lu Ye!
Lu Ye had apparently discovered them as well, so he wielded his saber without hesitation.
Ming Zhe growled and stepped forward. As the two figures brushed past each other, blood spurted from Ming Zhes neck before he copsed to the ground. In thest moments of his life, he heard the screams of the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane de who had been hiding behind him.
If he were at the peak of his power, he wouldve been able to fight Lu Ye, considering that he was an Eighth-Order Master. However, the power of Omnipoison Pills had weakened his power by half, so he wasnt even able to take one move from Lu Ye.
By now, the cultivators who had left the Sacred Universe Arcane de were all dead.
Back in the Sacred Universe Arcane de, Tu Guanxiongs face was livid as he felt the Battlefield Imprints disappearing.
Not long ago, Ming Zhe had sent him a message informing him about what was going on. Tu Guanxiong only wanted to avenge Huo Liaoyuans death with the help of others, but he didnt expect that they would suffer even more losses.
Presently, Ning Zizai was hiding behind a boulder and restricting his aura. Although the difort caused by the poison made him want to puke blood, he didnt dare to make any noise.
He wasnt a Ghost Cultivator, so he couldnt conceal himself. Nevertheless, in the mine that had been filled with poisonous fog, he could reduce his risk of getting exposed by doing so.
He even felt that as long as he was careful enough, Lu Ye wouldnt discover him.
Yet, it was all his wishful thinking.
Everyones eyesight had been affected by the fog, so they could only sense their surroundings, and Lu Ye had a very sensitive perception.
Even a Ghost Cultivator like Ying Wuji couldnt easily approach him, let alone those who were not.
When Lu Ye was charging around to kill his opponents, some people thought they were smart enough to fool him by lying on the ground, pretending to be dead.
However, vitality couldnt be concealed, and they were eventually killed.
The sparse shrieks were getting closer to Ning Zizai. Eventually, he saw a figure emerging from the green fog and charging towards him.
At that moment, he knew his whereabouts had been exposed.
Without hesitation and certainly not leaving his life to fate, he summoned his Spirit Artifact and contended with Lu Ye, but barely three breaths of timeter, his vision nted, and thest thing he saw was a headless corpse.
Lu Ye discovered that there were indeed several Ninth-Order Masters among the cultivators who hade to destroy him, and some were still hidden among the crowd.
At least three to four people had concealed their powers, waiting for a chance to strike.
They must havee up with ns, but everything was derailed following the detonation of Omnipoison Pills.
They were unable to locate Lu Ye at the earliest possible opportunity, and as time passed, the poison rendered them weaker, and they were killed by Lu Ye in the end.
Just four hours ago, the mine was still roisterous, but now, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, and only Lu Yes heavy panting was audible.
Even though he had only personally killed some of the cultivators as most of them were destroyed by the poison, he was still exhausted. All the Spiritual Power in the Spirit Storage Ring was gone, and only 30 percent of his own Spiritual Power was left in his body.
It was imaginable that without the ring, Lu Ye wouldnt have been able to destroy them all even if he cast all three Omnipoison Pills.
Compared to the loss of Spiritual Power, he was even more worn out physically. His right arm was numb while holding his saber, and he was swamped with a feeling of indescribable frailty. It was as though he would copse to the ground at any moment.
It wasnt the most difficult battle he had experienced because the opponents he had to deal with were practically powerless to counterattack. The only person that posed a threat to him was the Ninth-Order Body-tempering Cultivator, but he still managed to kill him with Broken Arrow.
Since the mine was filled with poisonous fog, Yi Yi was unable to help in the battle, and Lu Ye had kept Amber in the Spirit Beast Bag in advance. If Amber had been around, the situation wouldve been better as he could borrow some energy from the tiger.
Now, only thest batch of people were left.
With the saber in his hand, he shuffled towards the passageway.
Presently, dozens of people gathered in the passageway as they madly cleaned up the rocks in an attempt to flee. However, the passageway was narrow, only allowing several people to stand together shoulder-to-shoulder. Moreover, the poison they were struck with made them inefficient.
So far, they had only cleaned up 150 meters of the passageway.
When they heard someone sauntering toward them from behind, their expressions changed drastically. They turned around and saw the blood-soaked Lu Ye approaching them, bringing with him cold and merciless murderous intent.
These cultivators were naturally horrified.
Were all the people in the mine dead?
There were around 2,000 people, so how could they be gone for good so soon?
But as they listened intently, they realized there was no more noiseing from the mine.
Lu Ye wasing at them, but there wasnt a way out for them. How were they supposed to fend him off when their powers had been weakened by the poison?
What puzzled them further was why Lu Ye wasnt affected by the poison one bit. One had to know that even the Ninth-Order Masters were not safe from the poison.
At the back of the crowd was a figure who wasnt burly, so it was apparent that he wasnt a Body-tempering Cultivator. He was poisoned as well, so his skin was dyed green. However, as he stood there, he gave off an imposing vibe. Even though he was facing the merciless Lu Ye, he was unafraid, and he even appeared tempted to give it a shot.
Lu Ye certainly noticed the persons anomaly, and he wondered what was wrong with him. Nevertheless, he didnt have time to consider anything else. The remaining cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were right before his eyes. Once he killed them all, his mission would be pronounced a sess.
He believed that following this incident, he would enjoy a long period of uninterrupted peace.
As his power increased in the future, he would be unrivaled on the Cloud River Battlefield, just like how he was on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
He exerted more force on his legs and leapt forward, the fiery red Saber Light shattering the poisonous fog as his Invible Saber reached for the cultivators nearest to him.
A light screen appeared out of nowhere. Lu Yes all-out attack struck the light screen, only causing a dent in it but not breaking it.
It was a Defensive Ward!
Lu Ye stepped backwards and studied the Defensive Ward that protected these cultivators. He recalled Yi Yi saying that there was a skilful Ward Cultivator who managed to break the Explosive Wards in the passageway.
This person was supposed to be the Ward Cultivator.
Well done, Brother Si Nan! Song Zhuis weak cheering was hearding from the depths of the passageway. He didnt expect Si Nan to stay at the back of the crowd and even protect them with a Defensive Ward during a crisis like this. He wasnt even aware of when the ward was built.
The passageway was narrow, so they were well-protected once the Defensive Ward was activated. Unless Lu Ye could break the ward, he could never approach them.
This came as a surprise to them. As long as Si Nan could hold on for long enough, they could clean up the mess with peace of mind and flee.
The prerequisite was that they were not killed by the poison before they achieved their goal.
As such, Song Zhui reminded him by saying, You have to hold on at any cost, Brother Si Nan!
Behind the light screen, frailty was written all over Si Nans face. However, he still appeared confident as he replied calmly, Dont worry. He cant approach us as long as Im still around!
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Chapter 635: Killing 2,000 People on His Own
Chapter 635: Killing 2,000 People on His Own
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Inside the mine, Si Nan stood in front of Yang Kai. The light screen of the Defensive Ward formed an imprable barrier, blocking Lu Yes murderous intent and giving Song Zhui and the others a sense of safety.
Lu Ye merely measured the light screen with a calm expression.
Since the Defensive Ward was built in a hurry, it wasnt robust enough. After all, not much Spiritual Power had been umted. When it came to a Defensive Ward, the longer the time of preparation, the more Spiritual Power would be umted, and the more robust it would be.
Moreover, the Defensive Ward only covered a small area, so it was naturally not very strong.
However, with Si Nan in charge, it wouldnt be easy for Lu Ye to break the ward, and it also wasnt suitable for him to do so, considering his condition.
With that said, he had never relied on brute force to shatter any ward.
A glint shed across his eyes. With the help of Insight, he could see the nodes and the weaknesses of the ward clearly.
A myriad of scenes shifted before his eyes, and the traces of the colorful Spiritual Powers were visible. The seemingly smooth light screen showed some almost imperceptible weaknesses with the help of Insight.It had to be said that Si Nan was truly adept at the Way of Wards. Lu Ye hadnte across any Ward Cultivators who were worth his attention, but Si Nan was the first one to impress him.
Just then, Si Nan said, Ive heard that youre skilful in the Way of Wards, but the wards youve built are not so impressive. Since Ive shattered your wards, can you do the same to mine?
Although he had never directly dealt with Lu Ye before, breaking each others wards could be considered an exchange of moves for the Ward Cultivators.
He had previously settled many of the Explosive Wards in the passageway, and in the end, Lu Ye was forced to activate even more wards in advance. From his perspective, he believed that Lu Ye was inferior to him when it came to the Way of Wards. That was the reason he had the confidence to stay at the back of the crowd to stop the man from advancing further.
He believed that he could fend Lu Ye off with his Defensive Ward.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Ye raised his arm and cast a Ward g, which urately prated a particr spot in the light screen.
Si Nan looked at it in shock, for he could clearly feel that the spot where the Ward g struck was where the Ward Node was located, and that spot was the weakest in the ward. It could be said to be the weak spot of the light screen.
Others were not aware of where the Ward Nodes were, but how could Si Nan be oblivious to them when he was the one who built the ward and was in charge of it?
For a ward with a light screen such as a Defensive Ward or a Trap Ward, the best way to break it was through the Ward Nodes. However, regardless of how adept one was at the Way of Wards, it wasnt easy to find the Ward Nodes. One had toe into direct contact with the light screen and search for the nodes slowly before being able to find them.
However, that was merely a possibility. The Ward Nodes found could be false.
With Si Nan in charge of the ward, he could change the speed of the Spiritual Power flowing around the light screen with a sh of thought, thus covering up the locations of the Ward Nodes.
Could it be a coincidence?
Otherwise, how did Lu Ye strike the Ward Node so urately?
While he was in his thoughts, he instinctively controlled the ward and hastened the speed of Spiritual Power flowing around the light screen in an attempt to move the Ward Nodes around.
Just then, another Ward g appeared and inserted itself into another Ward Node, followed by the third one and the fourth one.
Si Nans eyes widened in disbelief. With a look of horror on his face, he eximed, Thats impossible!
It wasnt until now that he realized all of this wasnt a coincidence. If it were, Lu Ye wouldnt have urately found the rest of the nodes in session.
Was Lu Ye able to locate the Ward Nodes with his bare eyes? However, how did a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master like him pull off such a feat?
The sight before Si Nans eyes was beyond him.
Finally, he realized that he was in hot water. Regardless of whether Lu Ye was indeed inferior to him when it came to building wards, he came to the realization that he was no match for Lu Ye when it came to breaking them.
It wasughable that just several breaths of time ago, he still believed that the Defensive Ward he was in charge of was imprable.
With the four Ward gs embedded in all of the nodes, Lu Ye stepped forward and touched the light screen. As he activated his Spiritual Power, a fiery light flowed out of his palm, and under his precise control, the powers of Yin and Yang spread across the light screen.
Si Nan was bbergasted because, as the powers of Yin and Yang proliferated, the flow of Spiritual Power around the light screen became sluggish. He felt as if an immense force was obstructing his control over the ward.
He gritted his teeth and waved his Ward g. At the same time, he activated his Spiritual Power to control the ward and go against Lu Ye.
Nevertheless, barely five breaths of timeter, the Spiritual Power around the light screen stopped flowing altogether. The halt made the ward look like a pond of dead water, and it was no longer useful.
Lu Ye pressed his hand harder against the light screen.
The next moment, the light screen shattered with a crack. Si Nan was petrified in an instant. It was as though his soul had alsoe apart along with the light screen.
As a Saber Light flickered, Lu Ye brushed past Si Nan and inched closer to the people in the passageway with his blood-covered saber.
Behind him, Si Nan copsed to the ground.
Despite being an Eighth-Order Cultivator, he was a Spell Cultivator. So, he didnt have a sturdy figure, and he was more badly affected by the poison than the cultivators in the same Order. After his ward was rendered useless, only death awaited him when he had to deal with Lu Ye.
As his corpsey on the ground, his eyes were still wide open. It was as though in thest moments of his life, he still couldnt believe that the ward he had set up was so fragile and that Lu Ye could easily destroy it. Before his demise, he doubted his very existence as someone who had spent most of his time studying the Way of Wards.
Anyway, he was overthinking it.
There was no doubt he was more skilful than Lu Ye when it came to his mastery of the Way of Wards. It wouldnt be easy for anyone to break his Defensive Ward using the traditional method.
However, Lu Ye had Insight to help him with breaking wards.
Many Glyphweavers in the world could build Insight, but only Lu Ye had the audacity to bless his eyes with this Glyph.
That was because even the experienced Glyphweavers couldnt guarantee that the Glyphs they built would always turn out to be a sess, and the eyes were the weakest part of a cultivator. Even with Body-tempering Cultivators who were known to have robust physiques, their eyes were still frail.
Blessing the eyes with Insight would be wonderful if one seeded, but if one failed, they would incur some irreversible damage to their eyes.
As such, no Glpyhweavers had the guts to do such a thing.
Lu Ye was bold enough to do that because his Insight came from the Tree of Glyphs, so there wasnt a chance of it failing. The Glyph would form with a thought.
In the depths of the passageway, Song Zhui and the others, who were relieved a moment ago, felt cold all over their bodies.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Just several breaths of time ago, Si Nan challenged Lu Ye to break his Defensive Ward, but it was shattered a momentter, and he also lost his life.
Overwhelmed by a great sense of fear, the remaining cultivators couldnt help having the urge tough at Si Nan for his ipetence.
It was like an ant getting in an elephants way and challenging thetter to kill it, and the elephant stamped on it the next instant.
Lu Yi Ye! Song Zhui growled. Youre indeed a jinx!
Around 2,000 people were killed in four hours, and these few dozen people were the only ones left. Moreover, they only had one opponent, and even Si Nans Defensive Ward couldnt stop him for long.
A person killing 2,000 people on his own was unheard of in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, and no one in his right mind would think it was likely to happen.
However, such a thing happened right before their eyes.
Song Zhui could only me Ying Wuji for being useless.
Back then in Ameliorate Valley, if he had been careful enough not to be discovered, he couldve killed Lu Ye and prevented all of this from happening.
Now, a siege meant to destroy Lu Ye turned out to be a disaster for the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge instead while the man himself was still alive and kicking.
Fellow cultivators! Song Zhui bellowed. We do not have any other choice. If you want to live,e with me and destroy this brat!
He didnt try to boost their morale, for it was meaningless to do so at this point. Things hade to such a point where they had no choice but to fight back as either they or Lu Ye would survive in the end.
Even though they had been weakened by the poison, they had many people on their side. Moreover, the green fog had be thinner, which allowed them to see their surroundings more clearly. As such, they stood a chance of defeating Lu Ye.
As soon as Song Zhui finished speaking, he took the initiative to charge forward. It wasnt that he didnt fear death; it was just that he was the strongest among the cultivators. If he didnt make a move first, things would only get worse.
Only when he dashed forward first would the rest of them have the confidence to go against Lu Ye.
But soon, following a grunt, Song Zhui was sent flying away as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood in midair.
He was bbergasted that he couldnt even take a move from Lu Ye. One had to know that even though he was poisoned, he could still use the power that was equivalent to the Sixth Order. Lu Ye was only a Fifth-Order Master, and he seemed to be on hisst legs. How did he even exhibit such immense power?
The narrow passageway was restrictive for these cultivators as only three to four people could deal with Lu Ye at the same time.
Lu Ye stepped forward and cast fiery Saber Lights at them using his Invible Saber.
Shrieks and wails were continuously heard. Wherever he went, the corpses copsed into a pool of blood.
In just several minutes, only a few cultivators out of the dozens of people were left. They were all injured, looking despondent.
The weapon holder at Lu Yes waist buzzed as nine rays of light shot forward. Following some grunts, the cultivators, who had been struggling earlier, fell to the ground.
Only Song Zhui was left with a bit of vitality, but he was already on hisst legs. He hadunched two rounds of attacks on Lu Ye, but he was sent flying away on both asions. There was a huge cut across his chest, and his heartbeat was clearly audible. Presently, he pressed his back against the wall, appearing to be in despair as he watched Lu Ye approaching him.
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Chapter 636: Like a Living Hell
Chapter 636: Like a Living Hell
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Lu Ye stepped forward and looked condescendingly at Song Zhui, who spat a mouthful of blood and stated, One day, a person stronger than you will kill you. Ill be waiting for you in Hell!
Apart from being scheming and devious, Song Zhui was a brave man. Even when he was faced with the prospect of death, he was unafraid, looking as calm as ever.
Lu Ye pressed the tip of his saber against the mans chest and said unenthusiastically, Dont make it sound like Im an evil person. I only wanted to cultivate in Ameliorate Valley in peace, but all of you tried to kill me. You had iting.
Then, he stooped and whispered beside Song Zhuis ear, After I kill you, Ill return to Jiu Zhou and enter Spirit Creek Battlefield again to destroy the Outpost of Rainbow Temple. In the future, Ill go to the Spirit Creek Battlefield every two months.
Song Zhui was undaunted even when he was on the brink of death, but upon hearing Lu Yes threat, he became agitated at once. Dont you dare!
The next instant, the saber prated his body and destroyed his heart. His eyes widened as he clenched the weapon, letting the de slit across his hands until they were covered in blood.
Lets see if I dare. Lu Ye straightened up and squinted in contempt.
After the saber was retracted, blood spurted from Song Zhuis chest. He copsed to the ground, the light going out of his eyes.Lu Ye shook the Invible Saber to dispel the blood and put it back in its sheath. Following that, he moved along the passageway and entered the mine, where he searched around. Upon making sure that there was no living person, he let out a breath and sat down before lying t on the ground.
He had consumed too much of his Spiritual Power. Although he wasnt on hisst legs yet, he was drained of all energy.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
When he decided to leave Grand Wilds Peak a while back, he didnt expect things to unfold in such a way, but when he identally found this mine, some ns formed in his mind.
Even though the process was full of difficulties, everything was still within his control. Presently, countless corpses of Thousand Demon Ridge were lying in the mine, and around seven to eight of them were Ninth-Order Masters, including someone like Song Zhui, who came from a Tier-One Sect.
It could be said that Thousand Demon Ridge suffered immense losses this time. If word got out, it would send a shock wave across the entire Cloud River Battlefield and even Jiu Zhou.
There was no doubt the Divine Ocean Realm Masters would be aware of Lu Yes existence, and he would be targeted and dealt with.
Anyway, he didnt regret anything. Even without this incident, those of Thousand Demon Ridge would continue to target him. It was just that they had never seeded before. On the other hand, Lu Ye managed to grow rapidly after experiencing rounds of suppression. It could be said that without his opponents trying to eliminate him, his power wouldnt have increased so rapidly.
In a way, he had to thank those of Thousand Demon Ridge for always trying to vanquish him.
Despite being exhausted, he knew he couldnt stay in this ce for long.
The main reason was that the mine was filled with poisonous fog. Even though he was immune to poison, the Tree of Glyphs needed fuel to burn and cleanse the poison entering his body.
Therefore, he would suffer greater losses if he stayed there any longer.
As such, even though he wanted to get proper sleep, he got up after resting for about an hour.
There were many corpses lying on the floor. Every one of them had two to three Storage Bags, and there were also Spirit Artifacts in their hands. That was a considerable wealth.
Lu Ye darted around the pools of blood and corpses, picking up the Storage Bags and Spirit Artifacts.
While he was busy, he suddenly received a message on his Battlefield Imprint. He hurriedly took a look and saw it was Yi Yis message.
Some people were clearing the rocks from the other side of the passageway, and the two people ahead of everyone else were Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
Lu Ye couldnt help feeling that those two guys were relentless and extremely lucky.
If they had barged into the mine along with those 2,000 cultivators, they wouldve lost their lives as well. However, since they arrivedte, they were obstructed by the copsed passageway, which saved their lives.
The cultivators on the other side of the passageway were not affected by the poison, so they were still at the peak of their powers. As such, they were efficient in clearing the passageway. ording to Yi Yi, they would achieve their goal in just an hour.
Since Lu Ye had little time left, he had to hurry up.
It took him less than an hour to collect most of the loot. There had to be things he had neglected, but he didnt have time to search around carefully.
He dashed into the passageway and arrived at the ruins where he heard people talking and clearing the rocks from the other side.
Since he could hear the noise, it showed that the cultivators were already not far away from him.
He quickly released Amber from Spirit Beast Bag. Yi Yi promptly appeared and snuck into the tiger. Then, Lu Ye stuffed the tiger back into the bag before he returned to the mine with a package over his shoulder.
The Aerial Lock Ward had been removed in advance. He leapt into the air andnded in a cave in the depths of the mine.
A momentter, the ward in the cave flickered as the space contorted, after which Lu Ye disappeared.
Song Zhuis spection was right. Lu Ye had indeed built a Teleportation Ward, but it wasnt on the ground. Instead, it was in a cave on the wall.
Although he believed there was a great chance of him killing the cultivators using the poison, he had to get prepared for things possibly going against his wishes. The Teleportation Ward could serve as his way out.
If the Omnipoison Pills didnt achieve the result he had expected, he would immediately leave the ce using the Teleportation Ward.
Much to his surprise, the Omnipoison Pills were more potent than he had expected. It could be said that the death of 2,000 cultivators wasrgely thanks to the three pills, for a lot of weaker cultivators were killed by the poison.
One had to know that the Omnipoison Pills were already potent when Hua Ci was only a Spirit Creek Realm Master. It was hard to imagine how powerful the pills would be when the woman ascended to the Cloud River Realm, not to mention she would go on to reach the Real Lake Realm and the Divine Ocean Realm.
If she managed to be a Divine Ocean Realm Master one day, there was no one in Jiu Zhou she couldnt kill with poison.
Lu Ye already knew that Hua Ci must have acquired an incredible inheritance, but after this incident, he came to realize that the inheritance was more terrifying than he had expected.
Inside the cave, Lu Yes figure disappeared as the Teleportation Ward started taking effect. Three breaths of timeter, the ward he had activated in advance destroyed the Teleportation Ward.
The loud noise and tremor shocked the cultivators on the other side who were cleaning up the mess. Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were both astounded and doubtful.
Around an hour ago, the noiseing from the mine started dying down gradually until no more sounds were heard.
No one knew what was going on in the mine, but Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were overwhelmed with unease.
A long timeter, someone announced joyfully, Weve reached the end of the passageway!
The cultivators started cheering as there was a gap at the end of the passageway, but before they could celebrate, a green fog wafted from the gap.
The cultivators nearest to the gap identally breathed in the fog. They felt dizzy in an instant, and their bodies went weak.
Its poison! someone eximed, after which the cultivators moved backwards.
Go away! Xia Liang ordered and wielded his weapon, the Saber Light destroying thest of the blockage. The rocks came apart, revealing the entrance to the mine. However, even more of the poisonous fog billowed from the mine, forcing the cultivators to keep retreating, and they looked difited.
Ultimately, they had no choice but to activate their Spiritual Powers and push the poisonous fog back into the mine.
Soon, they caught sight of the situation in the depths of the mine.
When they saw what had happened, their expressions changed drastically.
Inside the mine, countless corpsesy on the ground. The blood streaming out of their corpses formed into puddles, and the ground had been dyed red.
When someone caught sight of Song Zhuis corpse leaning against the wall, he said in a trembling voice, T-Thats Senior Brother Song Zhui!
This person had met Song Zhui outside Ameliorate Valley several days ago, so he could recognise him at once.
The Ninth-Order Master was still high-spirited outside Ameliorate Valley back then, but now, his corpse was seated on the floor with his back against the wall, looking like a pile of mud. His eyes were still wide open, as though he was unresigned to the fact that he was killed just like that. A hint of fear and unease remained on his face, which showed that he had heard something unnerving before his death.
Song Zhui was dead, and even more corpsesy around him. The entire mine was in an eerie silence.
They felt cold all over their bodies as an unimaginable idea formed in their minds.
Someone asked anxiously, Is anyone still around?
His voice reverberated across the ce, but no one responded to him.
Some people were heard gulping with difficulty.
Ill go in and have a look, Xia Liang suggested upon realizing that something was off. He heard that around 2,000 people had entered the mine, so it wasnt likely that all of them were dead.
Be careful! Tan Sheng warned.
Xia Liang nodded and activated his Spiritual Power Shield to protect himself. Then, he consumed an Antidote Pill before dashing into the mine.
Over ten breaths of timeter, he returned to the passageway with a solemn expression, and there was a note of greenness on his face.
How is it? Tan Sheng asked.
Xia Liang shook his head. All of them are dead.
Although Tan Sheng already had some spection, he still couldnt believe it upon hearing Xia Liangs words. Theyre all dead?
All 2,000 people were cultivators, notmoners. How were they killed just like that?
Suddenly recalling another matter, he asked, Is Lu Yi Ye dead as well?
I have no idea. Xia Liang shook his head.
Although the poisonous fog in the mine had be thinner, no one could stay inside for a long time. Despite being a Ninth-Order Master, Xia Liang had toe out quickly. He only spent more than ten breaths of time scanning his surroundings, and the situation he saw was like a living hell.
Even though he didnt have time to look carefully, he was certain that all the cultivators who had entered the mine previously were all dead.
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Chapter 637: The Trouble of Having Too Much Loot
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If they hadnt seen it with their eyes, they couldnt have imagined what it would look like when 2,000 people were dead in the mine.
Moreover, they were all Cloud River Realm Masters and some of them were in the Eighth Order and Ninth Order.
A major incident like this hadnt happened on the Cloud River Battlefield in a long time. As such, even though only those of Thousand Demon Ridge were aware of the incident initially, everyone soon got wind of it in just half a day.
The news had sent a shock wave across Cloud River Battlefield and Jiu Zhou.
As time passed, even more details were revealed.
It wasnt a coincidence that 2,000 cultivators gathered together; they were trying to hunt down Lu Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect. Before that, they got wind that Lu Ye was badly injured and that he was hiding in a mine to recuperate. They initially believed they could destroy him easily, but for some reason, all of them ended up losing their lives instead.
Judging from the traces left behind in the mine, most of the cultivators were killed by poison. Even those who were injured had been struck with poison as well.
In other words, Lu Ye had acquired a kind of potent poison from somewhere and used it in that sealed space. Since the passageway had been blocked, the cultivators were unable to flee, and they eventually went to Hell.In fact, the news had already been spread before Xia Liang and Tan Sheng entered the mine to look into the matter.
Cultivators like Ming Zhe of Sacred Universe Arcane de had sent a message to their fellow Sect members to inform them about what was going on in the mine.
Coupled with the information they had extracted from the traces in the mine, everyone could imagine how despondent those 2,000 people were at that time.
As the poison spread, 2,000 people were trapped in the sealed space, slowly losing the strength to resist. The weaker cultivators were killed by the poison while the stronger ones were destroyed by Lu Ye, leading to the living hell they witnessed.
It was Lu Ye again!
When he was still a Spirit Creek Realm Master, he had kicked up a storm on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, which alerted the Divine Ocean Realm Masters. The situation had gotten worse after he ascended to the Ninth Order where he dominated everyone else on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
After he became a Cloud River Realm Master, they could finally enjoy some peaceful time. Only a storm was caused when the Carnage Colosseum opened up previously.
However, that storm was nothingpared to the disaster this time.
It was strange and terrifying that one person could kill all 2,000 cultivators.
Many doubts arose as the news spread.
Where did Lu Ye obtain such potent poison? In fact, there were many sorts of poison in Jiu Zhou that could kill Cloud River Realm Masters, but only some could destroy so many people at once. Moreover, an average Cloud River Realm Master didnt have ess to those things, for they were not sold in the Vault of Providence. That was because such poison could make the bnce tilt, and the Vault of Providence was known for being impartial, which was why they would never sell such poison.
Also, since so many cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge had gone to Hell, was Lu Ye also dead?
Although the weaker cultivators were killed by poison, the stronger cultivators surely had the power to fight. Despite the fact that their powers had been weakened, Lu Ye couldnt possibly deal with so many of them on his own.
Soon, they got their answer.
Lu Yes corpse wasnt found in the mine.
In other words, he must be alive and kicking, but they didnt know where he was.
Considering that he could build a Teleportation Ward, he must have made use of it to leave the mine after killing the cultivators. Furthermore, the Storage Bags of those cultivators were missing as well.
He had crossed the line by killing so many people while still having the time to pick up the loot.
Those of Thousand Demon Ridge were furious, and they started surrounding Grand Wilds Peak in an attempt to find Lu Ye and destroy him so that they could avenge theirpanions deaths.
In the past, even though Lu Ye had repeatedly kicked up a storm and killed many of his opponents, he had never destroyed so many people at once.
It could be said to be the most outrageous incident in the history of Jiu Zhou.
Back then, they targeted Lu Ye because they were from opposing sides, and they were tempted by the huge reward to kill him. Nheless, it was different now. Lu Ye had killed many of their fellow Sect members, friends, and even rtives. Besides being opponents, they also had a blood feud with him now.
It could be said that following the battle in the mine, those of Thousand Demon Ridge had be more eager to destroy Lu Ye, and their resentment toward him had never been more intense.
Certainly, those of the Grand Sky Coalition wouldnt sit back and do nothing as they headed to that area. They were not there to watch a good show. Since many people of Thousand Demon Ridge had gathered together, it was a good chance for some assassination attempts.
A storm was brewing in that area.
In the City of Heavens E56, the ce was boisterous as the cultivators brushed past each other. A group of five people entered the city before heading to the Divine Trade Association.
They were not powerful, ranging between the Third Order and the Fifth Order. A group like this wasmon on the Cloud River Battlefield.
This group was where Gui Yingzi belonged, and Senior Brother Qin was the leader.
Junior Brother, its thanks to you that weve managed to stay alive. Lets go. Ill treat you to a meal. No one shall leave before getting drunk! Senior Brother Qin pped Gui Yingzis shoulder and guffawed.
All of them were still reeling from the shock when they recalled what had happened three days ago.
If not for Gui Yingzis dissuasion, they wouldve entered the mine along with the other cultivators, and they wouldve gone to Hell by now.
None of the 2,000 cultivators were alive, including a Ninth-Order Master like Song Zhui.
As such, Senior Brother Qin and his group would never have survived if they had also barged into the mine, considering how much weaker they were.
When they heard about what had happened in the mine, they felt like their lives had been saved, which made them admire Gui Yingzi for his instincts.
They had left that ce early on. The reason they had even stayed there a while back was to wait for an oue. Now that they had learned of the news that had shocked the entire Jiu Zhou, they no longer had to keep staying there.
As such, they rushed toward this city, ready to get some rest for a few days.
Senior Sister Hu stood beside Gui Yingzi and asked with a smile, Junior Brother, why is your perception of danger so sensitive? Can you teach me something?
Gui Yingzi shook his head and replied, Im not trying to hide anything, but it seems to be an innate instinct that cant be passed on to anyone. However, if all of you trust me, please keep something in mind.
Hearing that, Senior Brother Qin and Senior Sister Hu sported solemn expressions.
Gui Yingzi continued seriously, Anything to do with Lu Yi Ye must be a disaster. So, wherever he appears, regardless of how big the reward is, we must stay as far away from him as possible.
Is he such a jinx? Senior Sister Hu arched her brow.
Gui Yingzi sighed. I was dragged into three incidents that had something to do with him, and every time, many cultivators lost their lives. This time is especially He caught himself and shuddered.
Senior Brother Qin nodded. Ill keep that in mind. Wherever theres Lu Yi Ye, well stay as far away from him as possible. Its simple, isnt it?
They then entered a nearby restaurant while chatting joyfully.
They were always on the go, so they rarely had a chance to pig out on food in such a ce, nor were they willing to spend so much money to do so. Regardless, they had just dodged a disaster, so it would be fine to wind down and enjoy some delicious food.
In the same city, in a particr room on the third floor of Divine Trade Association, Lu Yey t on the floor, looking like he was drained of all energy.
Amber crouched down and took a look at him before extending its paw into the Storage Bag hung over its neck. Then, the tiger took out a Mutant Core and munched on it.
Yi Yi was seated beside the man as she fished out the things from the Storage Bags and sorted them out. When she saw how lethargic Lu Ye looked, she said, Get some rest if youre tired.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Im not tired! Lu Ye leapt to his feet at once.
He had never expected that having too much loot was also a kind of trouble.
He had obtained many Storage Bags in the past, but the loot was especially tremendous this time.
There were a total of 2,000 cultivators, and each of them carried two to three Storage Bags or even more. Even though he hadnt managed to pick up everything, he had brought back around 5,000 Storage Bags.
If these bags belonged to Spirit Creek Realm Masters, he couldve saved himself the trouble by selling them to the Divine Trade Association in a bundle, which would be some considerable ie. Spirit Creek Realm Masters usually didnt have any good stuff with them anyway.
However, the owners of these Storage Bags were Cloud River Realm Masters, so he couldnt just sell them away without taking a proper look, for there might be some treasures inside.
As such, he had no choice but to open them one by one. Even though he was adept at unlocking Restraining Locks, he felt apathetic having to open so many bags.
Three days ago, he left the bloodied mine by making use of his Teleportation Ward. Then, he dragged his tired figure to this City of Heavens without any dy. That was because he knew that he would be in trouble if he didnt act quickly. The cultivators who had lost their lives in the mine were only some of his opponents, so more people must be heading to the mine at that time.
If he didnt flee as fast as he could, he would be besieged again.
If not for the staggering amount of loot, he couldve hidden in the wild by using some Glyphs to conceal his presence. However, with so much loot with him, it wouldnt be realistic to do so. To him, staying in the Divine Trade Association would be the safest option.
He didnte across any enemies while on his way. After entering the ce, he got a room and recuperated.
A dayter, he finally recovered from his lethargy, after which Yi Yi urged him to unlock the Restraining Locks.
Nheless, the amount of Storage Bags was mind-numbing.
Looking at the pile of bags in front of him, Lu Ye felt like he would rather get into a life-and-death fight or a battle of wits with those of Thousand Demon Ridge.
With that said, it was some immense wealth. Regardless of how fidgety he was, he had no choice but to patiently open the Restraining Locks one by one.
On the other hand, Yi Yi was responsible for going through the things in the bags and sorting out any useful items.
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Chapter 638: Outside the Divine Trade Association
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The repercussions of the battle in the mine continued to brew as many cultivators arrived at this area and searched around for Lu Ye.
Although he had destroyed around 2,000 cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge, and some of them were Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Masters, they were mostly killed by the poison, and it had nothing to do with Lu Yes power.
As far as they were concerned, Lu Ye was only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. As such, even though the oue of the battle in the mine was horrifying, their zest and determination to look for Lu Ye never died.
Moreover, they believed that following the battle, even if Lu Ye wasnt dead, there was no way he was fine. Therefore, he supposedly wasnt able to run to a faraway ce; he should be hiding somewhere near the mine.
Certainly, they were wary of the potent poison he had used before, but a poison that could kill 2,000 people must be costly, so he probably no longer had it. Even if he still had the poison, it was fine as long as they refrained from staying in a sealed space like the mine.
It could be said that after the battle in the mine, their hostility against Lu Ye had intensified instead of subsiding.
In a teahouse directly facing the Divine Trade Association in the City of Heavens E56, there was a cultivator patiently waiting on the second floor.
A momentter, two people approached him and sat down across from him.They were a man and a woman, both very good-looking, and it could be said that they seemed like a perfect couple. There was a mark that looked like a burning me on their foreheads.
In the entire Jiu Zhou, only a great force had such a conspicuous mark.
Cult ckfyre!
The cultivator, who had been waiting for them, quickly got up and saluted them. Senior Brother Chu, Senior Sister Zhou.
Chu Yun nodded and shifted his attention to the Divine Trade Association before asking, Are you sure it was Lu Yi Ye?
The cultivator replied, I didnt manage to see his face as he was wearing a ghost-motif face mask, but his figure was identical to Lu Yi Yes, and he had a huge package over his shoulder.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Zhou Pei asked softly, Lu Yi Ye has a white little beast with him. Did you see it?
I didnt see it, no. That was what puzzled the cultivator. Everyone knew that Lu Ye always had a white little beast with him, but the cultivator didnt see such an animal that day, so he wasnt sure if the person was indeed Lu Ye. However, he still spread the news as an act of caution.
Two Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Masters had arrived at the teahouse in response to the news, which went to show that Cult ckfyre prioritized the matter.
After all, Huo Liaoyuan was killed by Lu Ye, and there was an irresolvable blood feud between Cult ckfyre and Crimson Blood Sect in the first ce. There was no doubt that among the Sects in Thousand Demon Ridge, they were the most eager to destroy the Crimson Blood Sect.
The two of them had arrived from the main Sect in Jiu Zhou. Huo Liaoyuan was killed, and many of the Sect members were injured. Certainly, those of Cult ckfyre had to get their revenge. As such, the duo rushed to the teahouse upon getting the news, but they were surprised to hear such an answer.
Chu Yun looked in the Divine Trade Associations direction and tapped on the table before saying slowly, Lu Yi Ye must have been injured when he fled the mine, and he certainly had to find a ce to recuperate. Theres no doubt the Divine Trade Association is a good option.
Zhou Pei asked, Senior Brother, do you think it was Lu Yi Ye?
Yes, I think so.
But Junior Brother didnt see the white little beast.
A while back, a Secret Technique that was a game changer for the Beastmasters appeared in the Vault of Providence, and there was a new thing called Spirit Beast Bag. It seems that they had found the items in a Hidden Realm. A Spirit Beast Bag can be used to keep Spirit Beasts.
It wasnt exactly a secret. In Jiu Zhou now, many Beastmasters could buy the Secret Technique as long as they had enough Contribution, but no one had yet to fully activate the Secret Techniques power.
Upon hearing his exnation, Zhou Pei asked, Do you think he has a Spirit Beast Bag, Senior Brother?
Even though a Spirit Beast Bag is rare and expensive, I believe Lu Yi Ye can afford to buy it. As for the huge package Dont forget about the 2,000 cultivators who lost their lives in the mine. Lu Yi Ye took all the Storage Bags before he left.
So, the package was filled with Storage Bags!
In fact, Lu Ye attracted a lot of attention when he entered the Divine Trade Association that day. After all, cultivators were usually equipped with Storage Bags, so no one would lug a package with them, let alone a huge one.
As such, even though he had only stayed on the first floor of the Divine Trade Association for a short time, he had drawn a lot of attention.
They didnt think too deeply about it at first, but as time passed, some people realized what had happened.
Chu Yun and his fellow Sect members werent the only ones monitoring the Divine Trade Association. On the second floor of this teahouse alone, several eyes were secretly watching the building across from them as well.
Lu Ye had thought about the possibility of him getting exposed because of the huge package, but he had no other choice unless he was willing to give up the loot.
If there were only 100 to 200 bags, he wouldve thrown them away, but he didnt have the heart to do so since there were over several thousand of them.
We can confirm it was Lu Yi Ye, then, Chu Yun remarked.
No conflicts are allowed in the Divine Trade Association, so theres nothing we can do when hes hiding inside.
Its not like he can stay inside forever. As Chu Yun spoke, he looked around and happened to see a familiar face ncing at him. As their eyes met, they nodded in silence, knowing each others intentions for staying in this ce.
Presently, most of the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were searching around for Lu Yes whereabouts, but some had gotten wind of such unconfirmed news and gathered in the City of Heavens E56. They were scattered around, watching the entrance of the Divine Trade Association from different directions.
The cultivators who had been staying in the city for a long time noticed something was off recently as many powerful cultivators had arrived at this ce.
In one of the rooms of the Divine Trade Association, Lu Ye continued to open the Restraining Locks of the Storage Bags while Yi Yi sorted out any useful items.
Regardless of how efficient Lu Ye was in unlocking the bags, it would take him seven to eight days to open all 5,000 Storage Bags.
That left the cultivators waiting outside the Divine Trade Association feeling helpless.
No one was certain if Lu Ye had indeed entered the Divine Trade Association, so it remained to be spection. They had sent some people to look around in the Association, but they couldnt find the man.
As time passed, Lu Ye was still nowhere to be seen, which made some people doubtful.
Was Lu Yi Ye even inside the Divine Trade Association?
If he wasnt, it would be a waste of time for them to keep waiting. Even if he was inside, no one knew when he woulde out.
It was costly to have a room in the Divine Trade Association, but the amodation fees were nothing to someone like Lu Ye, who even had enough money to use the Divine Opportunity Columns twice.
If he decided to stay in the Divine Trade Association for six months to a year, would they still wait for him?
Many people were fidgety at the thought of this, but there was nothing they could do about it.
In the room, Lu Ye was still working hard on opening the Restraining Locks. Fortunately for him, he had dealt with half of the Storage Bags already.
He hadnt found anything special, though. Most of the items in the bags were Spirit Pills, Spirit Stones, Spirit Artifacts, and Spirit Talisman Papers. There were even more misceneous items like ores and herbs.
Despite the myriad of items, they were worth a lot of money.
Lu Ye had very few Spirit Pills left, so his reserve of such items had been replenished.
What was worth mentioning was that he had also collected a lot of Mutant Cores, which could serve as Ambers food. Ever since the tiger had a taste of Mutant Cores, it had never wanted Spirit Pills again. After all, consuming Mutant Cores could help with the growth of its power faster.
To Lu Ye, the only good news was that even though he never stopped opening the Restraining Locks, he could still cultivate at the same time.
Gluttonous Feast was continuously running, so he only had to consume some Spirit Pills from time to time. Although the Spiritual Qi in the room wasnt as thick as that in the Arcane de, it wouldnt affect his cultivation session.
A while back, he contacted Li Baxian and learned that everything was fine in Ameliorate Valley. Ju Jia had found the pack of wolves, and those of Thousand Demon Ridge didnt have the guts to harass them again. As such, they could cultivate their powers with peace of mind.
The good news set Lu Yes mind at ease.
Although he had left behind a threat before leaving Ameliorate Valley, he wasnt entirely sure if it would be useful, especially after the battle in the mine. Some people who were blinded by fury might go to the Arcane de and find fault with them.
Now, it seemed that his threat was intimidating enough, after all. Before his death, no one would have the audacity to attack Ameliorate Arcane de.
As for his threat about going back to the Spirit Creek Battlefield to destroy the Outpost of Rainbow Temple when killing Song Zhui, he didnt really mean it, so he naturally wouldnt do such a thing.
He merely detested how resolute Song Zhui looked at that time. It was those of Thousand Demon Ridge who kept finding fault with him, and he had never taken the initiative to provoke them as he only wanted to cultivate in the Arcane de peacefully. In the end, they made him look like he was an incredibly evil person.
He just wanted to intimidate Song Zhui before his death.
His words proved to be useful, after all. The determined Song Zhui was killed with his heart full of resentment. Lu Ye had sessfully unnerved him before his demise.
Lu Ye! Lu Ye! Yi Yi suddenly shouted, bringing Lu Ye back to reality from his messy thoughts.
He turned his head and saw Yi Yi holding an item as she said in amazement, Look at what it is!
Upon making out what the item was, he fell into a dazed state.
The Storage Bag in his hands suddenly buzzed and detonated, turning into ashes in an instant.
He had carelessly exerted more force on his hands, which triggered the restriction in the Restraining Lock.
After the Storage Bag exploded, the things inside had also been destroyed. Lu Ye didnt mind it as it was only a Storage Bag.
His interest was piqued as he took the thing from Yi Yis hand. Where did you find it?
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Chapter 639: The Second Mystic Fruit Seed
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The thing in Lu Yes hand looked like the seed of a fruit, and he already had one of those.
He then fished out his own seed andpared it to the one he had just acquired. They looked identical, and it could be said that they were made from the same mould.
It was none other than a Mystic Fruit Seed!
The Mystic Fruit Seeds came from Mystic Fruits, which were Spirit Fruits found exclusively in the Chess Sea. The flesh could help a cultivator restore his Spiritual Power quickly, and the seeds had many different uses.
When Lu Ye was a Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master back then, he took Hua Ci to participate in the Battle Royale of the Legates. With their distinct abilities, they led the Legates of the different Sects of the Grand Sky Coalition to turn things around and upy the central area of the Chess Sea, where there was a Mystic Fruit Tree that bore many Mystic Fruits.
Since Lu Ye and Hua Ci yed a key role in the battle royale, one of the Mystic Fruits was given to Lu Ye, and the rest were sold.
He then passed the Mystic Fruit to Shui Yuan, who made some Mystic Fruit cider using the flesh. The cider had been fully consumed.
On the other hand, the Mystic Fruit Seed became Lu Yes key that allowed him to enter the Rift of Illusions, where he could get some training.However, not all Mystic Fruit Seeds could help the cultivators go to the Rift of Illusions. After all, the seeds had distinct uses. Li Baxian once told him that someone from Thousand Demon Ridge had acquired a Mystic Fruit Seed that could significantly enhance the power of any ward. Therefore, on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, there was a particr Outpost of Thousand Demon Ridge that was imprable.
There were also Mystic Fruit Seeds that were basically useless, but they could be sold to the Vault of Providence for at least 100,000 Contribution Points for each seed.
Some seeds could increase the cultivators intelligence and change their aptitudes if they carried the seeds long enough.
There were also some seeds that were connected to the veins of ores that were full of Spirit Stones.
All in all, no one could be certain about the uses of any one Mystic Fruit Seed until they activated it.
When Lu Ye heard about such information in the past, he found Mystic Fruit Seeds amazing, but he didnt think too deeply about them.
As his power increased and his experience enriched, he gradually came to the realization that the myriad of uses found in the Mystic Fruit Seeds was most likely bestowed by the Heavens, not something they were born with.
Take the Mystic Fruit Seed in Lu Yes possession as an example. It was merely a key, and every time Lu Ye activated it, he would enter the Rift of Illusions where he could get some training without worries.
Lu Yes de Technique was improved through his life-and-death battles against the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge, but it was also significantly strengthened through his experience in the Rift of Illusions. Every time, he would end up getting killed, thus remembering the vivid details of the invaluable lessons he had learned through sacrificing his life and body.
This time, it came as a surprise that he found a Mystic Fruit Seed in the loot. He had no idea who the previous owner was, though.
I found the seed in this Storage Bag. Yi Yi showed him the bag in her hand. Lu Ye took a look but didnt find anything special about it.
Most Storage Bags looked simr as there were no new designs. Some female cultivators might embroider some flower prints or other patterns on the bags, though.
Certainly, some male cultivators might also carry such bags, which were given to them by the women who admired them.
There was nothing special about the Storage Bag in Yi Yis hand, so Lu Ye had no idea who the previous owner was.
There wasnt a need to find out about it, though. Lu Ye was more curious about the use of the Mystic Fruit Seed he had inadvertently acquired.
At the thought of this, he lifted the Mystic Fruit Seed and infused his Spiritual Power into it, ready to look into what was inside.
Regardless of the use, the seed certainly wasnt useless since the previous owner had been carrying it.
As his soul sank into the seed, his vision blurred. When he came to his senses, he realized he was in a sealed space with nothing else in sight. There was only a door with some words above it. If you wish to enter the Rift of Illusions, you have to spend 100 Contribution Points.
Lu Ye frowned, thinking that he might have taken the wrong seed, for it was supposed to be the use of his own seed.
He didnt push the door open, for once he did, he couldnte out unless he was killed.
Instead, he opened his eyes and picked up another Mystic Fruit Seed before infusing his Spiritual Power into it.
Just like what had happened earlier, he appeared in a sealed space the next moment with nothing in sight except for a door. The words above it read, If you wish to enter the Rift of Illusions, you have to spend 100 Contribution Points.
Lu Ye looked dazedly at the door before his eyes.
He was now certain that he didnt pick up the wrong seed. Both seeds had the same use, which was to allow him to enter the Rift of Illusions.
At that, he was torn between tears andughter.
He initially thought he had acquired a wonderful item, but it turned out to have the same use as his own seed.
That brought up some unpleasant memories in his mind.
When he was a Spirit Creek Realm Master back then, he once entered the sealed space and came across a cultivator of Thousand Demon Ridge, who was so ruthless as to kill him repeatedly.
Since then, he had been vignt every time he activated the Mystic Fruit Seed, worried that he might bump into the same person.
At that time, he spected that the other party had a Mystic Fruit Seed with the same use. However, he hadnt obtained the Gift of Providence back then, and the person was shrouded in a thick fog, so he couldnt make out his appearance. He was only certain that the person was from Thousand Demon Ridge and that thetter was more powerful than he was.
They came across each other in the sealed space because they activated their respective Mystic Fruit Seeds at the same time. It was a small chance, so Lu Ye had only bumped into that person once.
After getting killed several times, he swore that he would get his revenge one day.
As such, he wondered if the previous owner of the seed was the cultivator he had met by chance in the sealed space in the past.
In that case, it would be a coincidence.
Having said that, Lu Ye wasnt surprised that such a thing happened to him. After all, he had acquired the Gift of Providence, so he was extremely lucky. Although he could be unlucky sometimes, luck was usually on his side.
Unfortunately for him, he had no idea who the previous owner was, so it wasnt exciting even though he had gotten his revenge.
Since the person had a Mystic Fruit Seed, it showed that he was a powerful cultivator who came from a major Sect. Judging from the way he destroyed Lu Ye previously, he was supposed to be a Combat Cultivator.
It seemed that the previous owner of the seed was a formidable Combat Cultivator in the Eighth or Ninth Order.
Lu Ye immediately recalled killing a Ninth-Order Combat Cultivator in the mine. Under normal circumstances, he wouldnt have been a match for him. However, the person was struck with poison, so his power had been significantly weakened. Despite that, it still took Lu Ye ten breaths of time to kill him.
The persons excellentbat skills showed that he had experienced countless battles.
Everything fell into ce at that instant.
The previous owner of the Mystic Fruit Seed must be the Ninth-Order Combat Cultivator who happened to be killed by Lu Ye. The person had frequently gotten some training in the Rift of Illusions, so he appeared more powerful than the other Ninth-Order Masters before his eventual demise. There was no doubt he had incrediblebat skills.
Unfortunately for him, his skills couldnt help him fend off the effects of Omnipoison Pills.
Lu Ye didnt expect the enmity between them, formed in the sealed space, would be settled in such a way.
Since he had two Mystic Fruit Seeds with the same use, he decided to give one to Li Baxian when there was a chance in the future. It was beneficial to get some training in the Rift of Illusions, for one wouldnt have to worry about losing his life inside. He would only experience some pain at the time of death.
Lu Ye then retracted his soul from the space and stuffed both seeds into the Storage Sphere on the back of his hand before continuing to explore the rest of the Storage Bags with Yi Yi.
As time passed, there came a moment when he finally unlocked thest Restraining Lock.
He tossed the Storage Bag at Yi Yi and got to his feet before stretching his back, finally relieved from this strenuous task.
A momentter, Yi Yi pushed a hundred Storage Bags toward Lu Ye, each of them filled with things.
She had divided these bags into three groups. She pointed at a pile of bags and said, These bags contain the Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones that you can use. There are also some Mutant Cores.
Then, she pointed at the pile of bags in the middle. You can bring these back to the Sect. Although some things were not useful to Lu Ye, he could bring them back and pass them to his Junior Brothers and Sisters. Since the items were already sorted out, those from Crimson Blood Sect could ce them in the vault to be used at ater time.
Finally, she pointed at thest pile of bags. These arent very useful, so you can sell them to the Divine Trade Association or the Vault of Providence.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
With a helper like Yi Yi who was adept at nning and sorting out items, Lu Ye didnt have to worry about many things, which saved him a lot of time.
Lu Ye nodded and sat down cross-legged. Then, he poured the items out from the Storage Bags and put them in his Storage Sphere.
His Storage Sphere was formed from the Void Glyph that Lady Yun had carved, so it had arge space. Despite that, after he put all the items inside the sphere, there was little space left.
It had to be said that the amount of loot this time was indeed staggering. It was the total wealth of 2,000 cultivators, after all.
Tell a Manager toe and see me, Lu Ye ordered while looking at the pile of bags on the floor. He couldnt leave the room lest his whereabouts were exposed. As such, Yi Yi doing it for him would be more appropriate.
Yi Yi hummed in response and pushed the door open.
A momentter, she returned with a Manager from the Association.
When the middle-aged Manager saw the pile of Storage Bags in the room, he felt his eyes twitch despite being a seasoned man.
Usually, a cultivator would carry two to three Storage Bags, though some would take four to five bags with them. Any more than that would be the loot from killing others.
Under normal circumstances, only a small number of people would bring dozens of Storage Bags to the Divine Trade Association each year.
However, the number of bags in front of the middle-aged man was shocking. Given his impable eyesight, he soon estimated that there were about 4,000 to 5,000 bags on the floor.
He knew that the pile of bags meant the loss of countless lives.
Initially, he thought it was only a normal transaction, but it turned out to be more astounding than he had expected.
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The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and
continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 641: The Heritage of the Divine Trade Association
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When night descended, Lu Ye put on his ghost-motif face mask and left his room. Then, he arrived at the first floor and headed straight to the Sanctum of Providence where the Divine Opportunity Column was located.
Every Divine Trade Association had their own Divine Opportunity Column, and the biggest use of such a column was its positioning system.
The cultivators could make use of these Divine Opportunity Columns to head to or return from the Cloud River Battlefield. When the cultivators in Jiu Zhou wanted to enter said battlefield, they could choose to use a Divine Opportunity Column to arrive at this Divine Trade Association. On the other hand, the cultivators on this battlefield could use the help of the column to return to Jiu Zhou.
As such, the Divine Trade Association on the Cloud River Battlefield was always full of people and bustling with noise.
The Divine Opportunity Column had four sides, which corresponded to four directions. In a particr direction, the space above contorted from time to time, and that was when the cultivators from different parts of Jiu Zhou appeared out of thin air.
In another direction, there was a queue that couldnt be considered long. These cultivators were ready to leave the Cloud River Battlefield. They just had to stand before the Divine Opportunity Column and press their hands on it, and they would disappear the next moment. The queue was short as the procedure for one to leave the battlefield wasntplicated; it could even be said to be simple. Most of the time, this direction was empty as there wasnt a need to line up.
The other two directions had a lot of people lining up, though. They were there to enter the Vault of Providence through the Divine Opportunity Column.
When Lu Ye arrived, he chose a direction and waited patiently.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//omThere were only over ten people in front of him. Moreover, the cultivators who were there already knew what they wanted to buy or sell, so they were mostly efficient. Rarely any cultivator would take a long time and keep others waiting.
As the cultivators in front of Lu Ye proceeded to leave, he stepped forward.
All of a sudden, a person approached him and stared fixedly at him.
Lu Ye turned his head and saw a young male cultivator, whose gaze was scrutinous as he said slowly, Fellow cultivator, I think you look like someone.
Lu Ye asked huskily, What are you talking about?
Although he had never learned how to alter his voice, he could easily pull such a trick as a Cloud River Realm Master.
Why are you asking the obvious question? The young man shook his head. If you dont mind it
I mind it!
The young man was rendered speechless, and he could only shake his head in the end. You cant keep hiding forever unless you can leave the Cloud River Battlefield.
With that, the young man turned around and left.
Although he felt that this cultivator who was wearing a ghost-motif face mask was Lu Ye, he didnt dare to make a move in the Divine Trade Association. Therefore, he could only probe him in such a way.
After the young man was gone, several cultivators, intentionally or otherwise, walked past him. Lu Ye could feel that they were observing him in secret.
Anyway, he decided to ignore them. He wouldnt leave the Divine Trade Association for the time being, so the fact that those people were waiting for him outside didnt bother him.
When he decided to leave one day, those people might not be able to make him stay.
As the cultivators in front of him left, it was Lu Yes turn soon.
He pressed his hand against the Divine Opportunity Column and closed his eyes, but he didnt immediately sink his soul into it.
Three breaths of timeter, a voice was heard growling, Now!
The next instant, the powerful Spiritual Powers red up as three senses of murderous intent engulfed Lu Ye from three different directions. As cold glints flickered, these figures arrived at a spot that was only 15 meters away from Lu Ye.
The turn of events shocked everyone in the Sanctum of Providence.
Many cultivators had visited the Divine Trade Association countless times, but they had never encountered such an incident before. That was because they believed that the Association was an absolutely safe ce.
Horrifying rumors about getting into fights in the Divine Trade Association had been widely spread throughout Jiu Zhou, but those were rumors, after all. No one knew about the consequences of getting into battles in the Divine Trade Association.
It was said that thest time such an incident happened was over ten years ago.
The passing of time had undoubtedly weakened the Divine Trade Associations authority, and the reward for capturing Lu Ye was immense. As such, some cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge could no longer contain their temptations.
The three people who made a move were Ninth-Order Masters, and it wasnt certain which Sects they were from. Before deciding to attack, they had asked around. Even though there were Ninth-Order Masters in charge of protecting this branch of the Association, they just had to kill Lu Ye quickly and flee. They had the confidence that they wouldnt be detained.
It was a risk worth taking as the reward was tremendous.
As the Spiritual Powers surged, the cultivators in the Sanctum of Providence moved away, and the ce descended into chaos in an instant.
Lu Ye, whose hand was still on the Divine Opportunity Column, felt a great sense of danger sweeping over him. Given his cultivation, it would be difficult for him to deal with a Ninth-Order Master, let alone three.
Fortunately, he was vignt enough not to immediately sink his soul into the Vault of Providence. Otherwise, he couldnt have reacted swiftly to such an assassination attempt.
He hurriedly activated his Spiritual Power and fully covered himself with several Protection Glyphs. At the same time, he charged toward the spot where most people gathered.
He didnt need to exchange moves with those Ninth-Order Masters because he was in the Divine Trade Association. As long as he could stall for time, the powerful cultivators of the Association would make a move.
However, he and the three Ninth-Order Masters had underestimated the responsiveness of the Association.
In fact, the moment Lu Ye left his room and arrived at the first floor, those of the Association started keeping an eye on him.
How dare you! a voice was heard bellowing just then. Somewhere in the crowd, a cultivator emerged, and the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power showed that he was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Master.
Nevertheless, in the blink of an eye, his aura broke through the limit of the Cloud River Realm and reached an inscrutable level.
Real Lake Realm! someone eximed, and even more people were trembling in fear.
So, the rumor was true.
The people of the Divine Trade Association were able to temporarily break through the restraints of the Heavens on the Cloud River Battlefield and reach a height unrivaled by an average cultivator.
Many people had heard of such a rumor, but no one knew if it was true. After all, no one had witnessed it before.
It wasnt until now that they saw it with their eyes.
The Divine Trade Association was a mysterious organization; its very name was a telltale sign.
In the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, anything rted to divinity or the Heavens couldnt be underestimated. Since time immemorial, the cultivators in Jiu Zhou had always suspected that the Divine Trade Association had something to do with the almighty and mysterious Heavens.
That was because most of the time, the goods in the Association were also found in the Vault of Providence.
Somebody once sold a thing to the Association, but he soon found the very same thing in the Vault of Providence.
Moreover, the Association had never been involved in the fight between the two sides. The impression people had of it was that it was a neutral organization purely for the purpose of doing business.
However, no one dared to underestimate the Association, for they had no idea how powerful its heritage was.
The aura of Real Lake Realm continued to rise until it reached its peak. All the cultivators in the Sanctum of Providence were pressured by the horrifying aura. They were unable to straighten up, and they found it hard to breathe.
It was as if someone had bound them to their spots. The three Ninth-Order Masters who had red up, Lu Ye who was running away, and the cultivators in chaos were all rooted to their spots.
Then, blood was heard spurting out as a metallic tang permeated the ce. They could also feel some vitality withering.
It was as if everything had merely been an illusion as the immense pressure disappeared the next second. When the cultivators realized what had happened, they were horrified.
That was because there were three corpses in the Sanctum of Providence now. They were the Ninth-Order Masters who had attacked Lu Ye.
No one knew how they were even killed, but when the cultivators came to their senses, these people already had no vitality left.
A middle-aged cultivator stood silently in front of the three corpses, giving off an authoritative vibe. His aura showed that he was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Master.
Nheless, no one would still believe that he was only in the Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm.
This person was apparently a Real Lake Realm Master, and he wasnt an average one at that; he must be at the peak of the Real Lake Realm.
On the Spirit Creek Battlefield, cultivators above the Spirit Creek Realm could barge into it by spending Contribution points.
However, the same couldnt be applied to the Cloud River Battlefield. Only Cloud River Realm Masters could enter the said battlefield. It was a rule the Heavens had set, and no one could break it.
Now, that didnt seem to be the case.
At the very least, those of the Divine Trade Association could break this rule. They seemed able to temporarily break through the restraints on the Cloud River Battlefield.
What was even more shocking for the cultivators was that three Ninth-Order Masters had been killed like they were ants. None of them could see it clearly when they were destroyed by the person from the Divine Trade Association, which had always been impartial.
In front of everyone, the middle-aged man said slowly, Duan Hua and Xue Feihan of Heartless Pavilion, and Luo Huaian of Sacred Heart Sect. These three people made a move in the Association and broke our rules, which was why I killed them. This should serve as a warning to others. Also, we wont do business with the cultivators of Heartless Pavilion and Sacred Heart Sect for the next three years.
Upon hearing that, the cultivators broke into amotion.
The death of three Ninth-Order Masters didnt matter. After all, cultivators were always at risk of losing their lives. Just a while ago, around 2,000 cultivators were killed in a mine.
What astounded them was that the person of the Divine Trade Association was aware of the Sects these people came from and even their names.
Apart from the fact that they were adept at collecting information, it seemed that they had put up their guard in advance. Perhaps those of the Association had already noticed it when those three people wereing up with a n, and they were ready to strike when those people made a move. Otherwise, this middle-aged cultivator couldnt have reacted so quickly even though he was able to fully activate his power.
This time, those of the Association had made their stance clear, and there was no room for negotiation. They would not do business with the cultivators from the two Sects for the next three years.
Compared to the death of three Ninth-Order Masters, this decision had undoubtedly dealt a heavier blow to the two Sects.
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Chapter 642: The Shortest Auction of Amulets in History
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Inevitably, every cultivator had toe into contact with the Divine Trade Association once they embarked on the journey of cultivation.
Take Lu Ye as an example. Not long after he arrived at the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he started buying and selling things in the Divine Trade Association. Although he could transact with the other cultivators, it wasnt as convenient and secure as doing it in the Association.
Things would be troublesome when one couldnt do business with the Divine Trade Association.
Weaker cultivators relied heavily on the Association. As such, their decision would cause tremendous trouble to the two Sects of Thousand Demon Ridge.
It had been a long time since anyonest caused a scene in the Association. To the cultivators of the current generation, the Association only seemed like a ce where transactions happened. It wasnt until this moment that the cultivators realized, in a way, it was a juggernaut that could rival Grand Sky Coalition or Thousand Demon Ridge.
Under normal circumstances, this juggernaut remained neutral, refraining from interfering in the battle between the two sides. However, if anyone broke the rules in its territory, it wouldnt hesitate to reveal its fangs.
Moreover,pared to Grand Sky Coalition or Thousand Demon Ridge, this juggernaut had its unique advantages.
All sorts of rumors sprang into the cultivators minds, making them realize that those interesting rumors were not only hearsay. Those were things that had happened in the past.Perhaps the incident that had happened this time would end up bing another rumor to the next-generation cultivators in dozens of years time. Only the cultivators who had witnessed the incident knew it wasnt just a rumor.
The resolution and ruthlessness of the Divine Trade Association when dealing with this matter surprised Lu Ye. He initially only intended to stall for time so that the strong cultivators of the Association would appear and save him from trouble.
After giving it some thought, he realized they might have felt it was a good chance to strengthen their authority. In that case, only ruthlessness would yield meaningful results.
Following this incident, no one would dare to make a fuss in the Association for a very long time.
As for getting their revenge, as long as the cultivators of the two Sects were not out of their minds, they wouldnt want to retaliate against the Association.
After the storm was resolved, several servants of the Association came over and lugged the corpses away, then cleaned up the blood stains on the floor. Soon, the Sanctum of Providence became spotless again as if nothing had happened.
Only the metallic tang in the air reminded everyone that it wasnt an illusion.
A momentter, the middle-aged cultivator said, Im sorry for themotion, little friends.
He was a Real Lake Realm Master, so he was definitely older and more powerful than all of them. It was reasonable for him to call these Cloud River Realm Masters little friends.
Then, he turned around and took a brief nce at Lu Ye before making to leave.
Following a moment of silence, the Sanctum was soon bustling with noise again.
Suddenly, Lu Ye recalled being hunted down by Dong Shu Ye on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. At that time, he was significantly weaker than the other party, so he had no choice but to seek refuge in the Divine Trade Association, where an old man from the Association helped him settle the issue.
His fluctuations of Spiritual Power showed that he was in the Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and a Ninth-Order Master was undoubtedly a formidable presence in the periphery of the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
However, as Lu Ye thought about it now, he wondered if the old man was indeed merely a Ninth-Order Master. Perhaps the old man was a Cloud River Realm Master or even a Real Lake Realm Master who disguised himself as a weaker cultivator.
Lu Ye secretly told himself to be more careful when dealing with those of the Association in the future. Those people were blessed by the Heavens, so they might be more powerful than what they appeared in most circumstances.
He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and pressed his hand against the Divine Opportunity Column before connecting himself to the Vault of Providence.
He was lucky this time as there were more than ten mes of Earthen Spirits, which were previously sold out.N?v(el)B\\jnn
A me of Earthen Spirits cost 200 Contribution Points. The item was expensive to Lu Ye in the past. After all, Contribution Points didnte easily. However, he found the price eptable now. If not for the fact that there were no more in stock in the Vault of Providence, he wouldve bought more.
It required a lot of Mystic mes like the mes of Earthen Spirits to activate the Tree of Glyphs. Sometimes, Lu Ye couldnt help but wonder what it would look like if all the leaves of the Tree of Glyphs were set aze.
Nheless, it was a goal that was extremely hard to achieve. Although he had ignited a lot of leaves so far, they ounted for only half of the total.
Having said that, he believed he would make the entire tree burn one day.
After he was done purchasing mes of Earthen Spirits, he went on to buy some things that could be absorbed by the Tree of Glyphs but were not expensive, like Core mes.
In the end, he spent around 10,000 Contribution Points.
The auction of Amulets was about to begin.
Just like the previous time, Lu Ye acquired an item that looked like a piece of jade that would allow him to take part in the auction. Wherever one was in the Divine Trade Association, he could sink his soul into a special space and participate in the auction.
Several minutester, the cultivators, who attended the auction from different parts of the Association, opened their eyes with gloomy expressions.
For most people, it wasnt their first time making bids in an auction. As such, they had a rough evaluation of the prices of the Amulets that came in different colors. An item wouldnt be worth it if it exceeded ten per cent of its estimated price. After all, they didnt get their Contribution Points for free. They had to get into life-and-death battles to get the Contribution Points, so every point was the result of their blood and sweat.
Apart from someone like Lu Ye, who was wealthy enough to squander his Contribution Points like they were worth nothing, the others were careful with their spending.
However, something had seemed off since the beginning of the auction.
An unscrupulous person directly raised the prices to a point where all other participants were unable to make a bid.
As such, this was probably the shortest auction of Amulets in history as it only took several minutes to conclude everything.
Meanwhile, Lu Ye returned the piece of jade to the Association and headed to his room.
Given his wealth now, it wasnt challenging to partake in an auction with a group of Cloud River Realm Masters. He had acquired all the Amulets, from white to purple.
Unfortunately for him, there were not a lot of Amulets on auction this time. Only one Purple Amulet, two Blue Amulets, four Green Amulets, and nine White Amulets.
He thought that it was better than nothing.
Ever since his ascension to the Fifth Order in Fox Immortal Valley, he had been busy battling against those of Thousand Demon Ridge. Although he had never stopped cultivating, there wasnt much progress.
The Amulets he had acquired this time were not enough to help him ascend to the Sixth Order, but they could save him some time.
Not long after he arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield, he came to the realization that the Cloud River Realm was a Realm where the cultivators could increase their powers quickly.
That was indeed the case. As long as a cultivator had enough Amulets, it wouldnt take him a long time to go beyond the Cloud River Realm.
When he was on the Spirit Creek Battlefield back then, it would take him one to three months to move to the next Minor Realm. It was especially slow during the transition from the Eighth Order to the Ninth Order as it had taken him four months. Although he had been held up by many surprising events, his cultivation still wouldnt progress rapidly even without those incidents. After all, he had to open up the Spiritual Points one by one.
On the other hand, even though it had only been six months since he arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield, he had made it to the Fifth Order.
Gui Yingzis cultivation speed could be considered fast, and he had arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield a few months earlier than Lu Ye, but he was only in the Third Order.
Inparison, Lu Yes progress was unimaginably rapid.
Certainly, he had gone through a lot of hardship during this period, so he supposed his hard work had paid off, after all.
Upon returning to his room, he saw Amber sound asleep and Yi Yi cultivating, so he didnt disturb her.
He sat down somewhere and whipped out the mes of Earthen Spirits and Core mes he had just purchased before activating the Tree of Glyphs to devour them. At the same time, he observed the trees reaction closely.
He had been observing the Tree of Glyphs ever since he acquired it, so he had summarized some regr patterns.
During the process of devouring Mystic mes, if there was only a leaf that lit up on the Tree of Glyphs, there probably wouldnt be any surprises. The leaf likely bore the technique of weaving a Glyph. Certainly, there might be exceptions.
For example, a Glyph like Sharp Edge or Protection was borne by a single leaf.
If many leaves lit up at the same time, it would be an incredible Glyph.
Glyphs like Fire Phoenix, Wings, Aerial Lock, and Charm were found on more than one leaf because the process of building such Glyphs wasplicated, so a single leaf couldnt bear suchplexity. As such, more leaves would be needed.
Furthermore, some Glyphs could only be activated after special mes were consumed.
Back then, only after he made the Tree of Glyphs devour True Phoenix me did Fire Phoenix Glyph appear on the tree.
After he killed the Fox Mutant and let the tree consume her Core me, Charm Divine Glyph was activated.
Even though most of the Glyphs borne on the leaves were notplete, the techniques of weaving them were immensely useful to Lu Ye.
It was thanks to the techniques he had found on the Tree of Glyphs that his mastery of the Way of Glyphs surpassed that of the cultivators in the same Realm, and even Lady Yun was willing to give him some guidance.
More importantly, whenever he built a ward, he would need such techniques as well.
The mes of Earthen Spirits and Core mes he had spent 10,000 Contribution Points to purchase were soon fully consumed. Several leaves on the Tree of Glyphs were burning. Lu Ye inspected them and realized there were no new Glyphs.
He wasnt disappointed, though. After all, he had mastered a sufficient amount of Glyphs, which were good enough for him to deal with most situations.
The only thing he could never get over was Void Glyph.
He was certain that there was a Void Glyph on the tree, but he couldnt proactively activate it since he didnt know where it was.
The more he came into contact with Void Glyph, the more he felt it had amazing uses. Unfortunately, it wasnt activated on the Tree of Glyphs, so he was unable to put his ideas into action.
His speed and efficiency in building Void Glyph couldnt help him verify his very creative ideas.
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 643: The Mystic Fruit Seed’s Transformation
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After Lu Ye was done observing the Tree of Glyphs, he roused Yi Yi and whipped out the Amulets he had purchased from the auction. As time passed, the Amulets came apart one by one, diffusing pure Spiritual Qi as the two of them devoured it to cultivate their powers.
A dayter, all the Amulets were fully consumed. Lu Ye examined himself and realized the progress wasnt significant. After all, those Amulets, whenbined, still didntst longer than a single Golden Amulet.
It hade to a point where just one to two Golden Amulets were not enough to help him ascend to the next Minor Realm.
Nheless, cultivation was all about umtion until one turned into a more powerful cultivator.
Since there were no more Amulets left, Lu Ye consumed Spirit Pills to continue cultivating.
He had caused amotion by showing up in the Sanctum of Providence. Although he had been wearing a face mask that concealed his face the entire time, the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge, who were adamant that he was hiding in the Divine Trade Association, could make some judgment through various traces.
Now, there had to be many powerful cultivators waiting for him to show up outside the Association.
Therefore, he had no intention of leaving this ce anytime soon.Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Cultivating for a long time was boring, after all, especially when Lu Yes way of cultivation was different from that of others.
When other cultivators breathed World Spiritual Qi, they had to be fully focused. As such, they could hardly notice the passing of time. Perhaps several days would have passed without them knowing it by the time they were done with their cultivation session.
That was why the stronger cultivators would spend a year or more cultivating in seclusion, for the flow of time meant nothing to them.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was different. He mainly relied on consuming Spirit Pills to cultivate, so it wouldnt hinder him from doing other things. Therefore, he would feel bored when he had nothing else to do for a long time.
In such a situation, he would usually stop cultivating and walk around.
However, he couldnt do that now, for his enemies were waiting for him to show up. After giving it some thought, he decided to enter the Rift of Illusions to practice his de Technique.
There was no doubt improving his de Technique was much harder than increasing his power. The increase in power could be felt, but the same couldnt be said for de Technique. Before breaking through a bottleneck, the advancement of the de Technique felt slow, and there might be little progress even after a long time. Nevertheless, once the bottleneck was broken through, he would reach the next stage.
Lu Ye sank his soul into the Storage Sphere, ready to fish out his Mystic Fruit Seed.
Nevertheless, when the seed appeared on his palm the next instant, he was startled for a moment.
That was because the seed looked slightly different from the past.
Although the Mystic Fruit Seed was the core of a Mystic Fruit, the thing looked just like a sapphire. When Lu Ye came into contact with the seed for the first time, he was curious about why it looked like that. At that time, he only felt that the world was full of wonders.
Gradually, he came to the realization that it wasnt a seed in the strictest sense. This thing was a medium that had been blessed with a special power by the Heavens. It was a key one could use to unlock the door to the Rift of Illusions, so its appearance didnt matter.
However, the Mystic Fruit Seed apparently looked different now.
The surface of the sapphire-like seed was full of intricate and abstruse patterns.
Although Lu Ye was adept at the Way of Glyphs, he still couldnt figure out what the patterns meant. Moreover, as he observed the seed, he had an illusion that his soul had been sucked into it.
Besides the fact that the Mystic Fruit Seed looked different now, he was puzzled as to where his other seed went.
He already owned one seed in the first ce, and he acquired another one from the loot the other day, so he had a total of two seeds that looked identical. He had kept both of them inside the Storage Sphere.
Strangely, he only had one left now.
He ruled out the possibility of oversight as the Storage Sphere on the back of his hand was built using a Void Glyph. Although the space wasrge and there were many things inside, he could easily find anything he wanted by sinking his soul into it.
Now, only one Mystic Fruit Seed was left while the other was missing. Furthermore, the surface of the seed in his hand was now full ofplicated patterns.
That led Lu Ye to specte that Mystic Fruit Seeds could merge with each other.
The two Mystic Fruit Seeds were ced together, and without him realizing it, they had be one. Although it sounded ridiculous, it was the only exnation.
Unwilling to give up, he rummaged through his Storage Sphere again, but the other seed was still nowhere to be found.
It seemed that the two seeds had reallybined into one.
His own Mystic Fruit Seed could lead him to enter the Rift of Illusions to practice de Technique, so he wondered what the new one could do for him.
Regardless, he just had to give it a shot.
He clenched the seed and infused his Spiritual Power into it before letting his soul plunge into it.
His vision blurred for a moment before he appeared in a sealed space, where there was an ancient-looking door in front of him with some words above it. If you wish to enter the Rift of Illusions, you have to spend 100 Contribution Points.
Nothing seemed to have changed as he had seen the same thing in the past.
While he was in his thoughts, he suddenly caught sight of something from the corner of his eye. When he turned to look, he was surprised.
That was because there was another door in that direction, and the words above it read, If you wish to enter the Rift of Illusions, you have to spend 10,000 Contribution Points.
There was a difference of a hundred times between 100 and 10,000!
He was certain that there was only one door in this sealed space in the past, and that he only needed to spend 100 Contribution Points to enter the Rift of Illusions. After pushing the door open, he would enter an environment that was shrouded in fog, where countless cultivators or all sorts of insectoids would appear, which would allow him to practice his de Technique and brush up on skills he could use to kill his enemies.
At that moment, he wondered where the door that required him to spend 10,000 Contribution Points would lead him to.
Why did such a transformation happen when two Mystic Fruit Seeds with the same effect became one?
Lu Ye suddenly felt that the Mystic Fruit Seeds were moreplicated than he thought. The Heavens had blessed the two Mystic Fruit Seeds with an effect that could lead a cultivator to the Rift of Illusions, and when two seeds with the same effect were merged, it had retained the original effect, but there was also a new effect he had nevere into contact with before.
Judging from the number of Contribution Points required, the ce where the second door led must be dangerous.
Certainly, that might not be the case at all. He had to explore it to find out.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Ye wouldnt enter the second door. At the end of the day, he was only a Fifth Order Cloud River Realm Master, so he wouldnt want to barge into a dangerous ce that could kill him.
However, it was the Rift of Illusions. Even if he was killed, he wouldnt really lose his life; he would only suffer some pain.
Other cultivators might not be able to fork out 10,000 Contribution Points, but the amount was nothing to Lu Ye.
Therefore, after staring at the second door for a while, he made up his mind.
He had to enter it. Regardless of where the second door led to or what danger awaited him, he had to explore it and find out.
Even if he failed, he would only lose 10,000 Contribution Points and be forced to leave the Rift of Illusions.
With that in mind, he walked up to the second door and pressed his hand against it.
The back of his hand felt slightly warm as 10,000 Contribution Points were deducted. He stepped into the ce after the heavy door was pushed open.
Right after he passed through the door, he was overwhelmed with a sense of surrealism. It was as if he had suddenly broken free from some restraints and be much stronger.
Nevertheless, he didnt have time to ponder. Every time he arrived at a new environment, he had to immediately conceal his presence and put on his guard, ensuring that no one could ambush him.
Therefore, as he walked past the door, he activated some Glyphs to curb his aura and conceal his presence. At the same time, he clenched the hilt of Invible Saber at his waist, ready to attack anything that came his way.
Meanwhile, the moment Lu Ye moved past the new door and entered the unknown space, Amber and Yi Yi, respectively sleeping and cultivating in the room, noticed the anomaly as they turned to look at Lu Ye.
At that instant, the two of them felt strange. It was as if Lu Ye had disappeared all of a sudden, even though he was right before their eyes.
Yi Yi was gripped by a sense of fear. Despite knowing that she shouldnt disturb the man at this point, she still couldnt help but call out weakly, Lu Ye?
The man didnt respond to her.
She rose to her feet and approached Lu Ye. After observing him for a moment, she tremulously ced her fingers beneath his nose, and she yelled the next moment, Lu Ye!
That was because she realized Lu Ye had suddenly stopped breathing, and she could feel that the man had lost something crucial.
As an apparition, she wasnt powerful; she was only on the same level as Lu Ye. However, her perception of souls was sensitive.
Presently, there was no soul in Lu Yes body. In other words, only his figure was left there, and he wasnt even breathing.
Amber was equally shocked as the tiger ran toward Lu Ye and patted him with its paw.
Lu Ye is dead! Yi Yi fell to her bottom and wailed, drowning in a great sense of grief.
A bbergasted Amber growled at Lu Ye, but the man never responded to it. Why was he dead all of a sudden when he was cultivating moments ago?
After giving it some thought, the tiger realized something was off. If Lu Ye was dead, it would be gone for good as well. As such, it turned its head and growled at Yi Yi.
She could read Ambers mind, so she came to her senses upon the tigers reminder.
There wasnt only a Bonding Pact between Lu Ye and Amber, but they had also activated the Life Energy Art together. Since Amber was his Fated Beast, Lu Ye would suffer some damage if the tiger was dead. However, if Lu Ye passed away, there was no way Amber could live on.
On the other hand, Yi Yi was an apparition that was inseparable from Amber. If the tiger was dead, she would go to Hell as well.
Therefore, Lu Yes life or death would also affect the tiger and the apparition.
Since Amber and Yi Yi were still alive and kicking, it showed that Lu Ye wasnt dead.
Upon that realization, Yi Yi quickly suppressed her sorrow and extended her trembling hand to find out if Lu Ye was still breathing.
Fortunately, she could still feel his breath, though it was very weak.
The emotional swing drained all the energy out of Yi Yi, almost causing her to copse to the floor.
Nheless, she didnt understand what Lu Ye had done that made him fall into such a state. She could sense that the mans body was merely an empty shell, and it was a mystery as to where his soul had gone.
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Chapter 644: His Soul Has Left His Body
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In this unfamiliar environment, Lu Ye was vignt while gripping the hilt of his saber. However, he soon became at ease, for there wasnt any danger around him.
Unlike what he came across when he entered the Rift of Illusions in the past, there was no fog, nor were there any monsters that appeared out of nowhere to attack him. He was now in a house.
The door and window were tightly closed. The house was unadorned with only a table and several chairs.
A teapot and a few tea cups were ced on the table.
Lu Ye stepped forward and examined the table before realizing there was a thickyer of dust on it, which showed the house had been vacant for a long time.
It seemed to be a ce where guests were received as there was a staircase that led to the second floor.
He took a look at the staircase but didnt immediately go up. Instead, he fell into his thoughts.
He wondered where this ce was.When he entered the Rift of Illusions to get some training in the past, the environment was simple. He would arrive at an empty space that was shrouded in fog, and enemies would appear to attack him from time to time.
However, when he visited the Rift of Illusions again after the two Mystic Fruit Seeds became one, he arrived at this strange ce.
What puzzled him even more was his current state.
In fact, he had already detected it the moment he entered the ce. Something strange had happened to him, but he didnt have time to look into it. Now that he was certain he wasnt in danger, he started examining himself.
Following the examination, he arched his brow, for things were moreplicated than he thought.
He came to the realization that his power had increased significantly for some mysterious reason.
He was only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master, but the power within him now far surpassed that. He felt that he was even stronger than the Ninth-Order Masters he had dealt with before.
In other words, his power was most likely equivalent to that of a Real Lake Realm Master.
As for which Order it was, he had no idea. He hadnte into contact with a lot of Real Lake Realm Masters in the first ce, so there wasnt a standard he couldpare himself to. As such, he couldnt determine how powerful he currently was.
When he passed through the door earlier, he suddenly felt that he had transformed into a much stronger cultivator. Now, it seemed that it wasnt an illusion; he had indeed be more powerful.
Nheless, he had no idea why that was. Could this environment increase his power out of nowhere? But that didnt seem reasonable.
He was even more perplexed by the fact that the Spiritual Power wasnt the only power flowing in his body. There was another strange yet familiar power within him. [Is that Soul Power?]
The moment Lu Ye realized the nature of the power, he furrowed his brows. [Whats going on? Im only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. Even if Im a Real Lake Realm Master now, Im not supposed to sense my Soul Power.]
Soul Power was born with every cultivator. As a cultivators power increased, his Soul Power would improve as well. However, before he ascended to the Divine Ocean Realm, he merely owned Soul Power, which would passively help the cultivator fend off attacks on his soul, but he was unable to proactively feel it.
It was like a treasure hidden within a cultivators body. When he wasnt powerful enough, he was unable to open it up.
Only when a cultivator ascended to the Divine Ocean Realm and developed Divine Ego could he sense the presence of his Soul Power and use it.
Take Lu Ye as an example. He was able to sense potential danger in advance due to the strength of his Soul Power, but the perception, strictly speaking, was only a passive power. It wasntparable to Divine Ego, which could be activated.
The fights between Divine Ocean Realm Masters often involved the use of Divine Egos. Although the fights might seem calm on the surface, they were actually perilous.
Now, Lu Ye could clearly feel the flowing of Soul Power within him. It was because of the presence of Soul Power that his power had increased tremendously.
To begin with, his Soul Power had already surpassed that of the cultivators in the same Realm, reaching the level of Real Lake Realm. [Is this the reason for the increase in power?]
Lu Ye slowly came to the realization that he was probably just an apparition now, a being that was just like Yi Yi. [Has my soul left my body or something?]
However, it was different from the experience of a cultivators soul leaving his body. Generally speaking, such a cultivator could only use Soul Power but not his Spiritual Power.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was now in the state of his Spiritual Power and Soul Power co-existing, which was odd.
Suddenly, he recalled experiencing the feeling of breaking free from restraints when he passed through that door.
Now, it seemed that the restraints he had gotten rid of came from his body.
His soul was much stronger than his body, so after his soul left his body, he felt as if he was freed from restraints, which allowed him to be stronger.
This Rift of Illusions was unlike anything he had experienced before.
In the past, the Rift of Illusions was merely a reflection of Lu Yes state in real life, including the things he brought, his Storage Bag, and the things inside the Storage Sphere. They were all urately reflected in the Rift.
Nheless, the Rift of Illusions he was inside now wasnt just a reflection; it had also pulled his soul into this space.
Suddenly, Lu Ye was gripped by a sense of anxiety.
In the Rift of Illusions, his biggest advantage was that he wasnt afraid of death. Even if he was killed, he wouldnt suffer any losses. When his Soul Power was weak in the past, his mind would ache terribly after he was killed. However, ever since he acquired Soul Cleansing Water, which had helped strengthen his soul, he had been unafraid of death in the Rift. It merely felt like a needle pricking his brain, which was tolerable.
Nheless, his soul had left his body now. As such, he had no idea what would happen once he was killed.
Would he go to Hell? Or would his soul be severely damaged?
It seemed that he had to be more careful with his actions and ensure that he wouldnt lose his life here, for he had no idea what the consequences would be.@@novelbin@@
As for how to leave this ce, he hadnt the foggiest idea. Therefore, he could only y it by ear.
He examined himself again. Fortunately for him, his Invible Saber and weapon holder were at his waist, and he could use the Storage Sphere on the back of his hand and his Storage Bag at will.
Just like what he had expected, the Rift he had entered this time was still a reflection of his state. The only difference was that his soul had left his body. As such, he could still use the things he possessed whenever he wanted.
Being in such a state was his only advantage as his power had increased massively.
He wasnt in a hurry to push the door open and leave, for he was clueless about the environment he was in. At the very least, this house was safe.
When he entered the Rift of Illusions back then, he just had to stand there, and countless monsters would emerge from the fog, which allowed him to hone his de Technique andbat skills. Even though it was boring, it was simple and clear.
Nevertheless, the situation this time was moreplicated. Therefore, he had to collect as much information as possible. He had to know where he was and the danger he mighte across.
He walked toward the staircase and stepped on it, causing the wooden structure to creak, which sounded piercing in the silence.
Some doubts formed in his mind at that instant.
Was he even inside the Rift of Illusions? He had always felt that the Rift was nothing more than an illusion and that everything he saw here was fake. As such, he wouldnt suffer any losses even if he lost his life here.
However, everything around him felt so real in the Rift he had entered this time. There wasnt even a hint of fakeness.
Since the staircase wasnt very long, he soon reached the second floor.
He carefully stuck out his head to look, but he was soon rooted to the spot.
That was because he was met with countless grayish-green eyes, which were allpound eyes. Lu Ye could even see the look of shock on his face in the reflection of those eyes.
More than ten insectoids were hiding on the second floor of the house he thought was safe.
Furthermore, they were insectoids that looked like mantises, which he was familiar with.
He had killed countless of these mantises and other forms of insectoids when he entered the Rift of Illusions back then. [Why are there insectoids here as well?]
Before he could ponder, the mantises had fluttered their wings and flew towards him, the one in front already lifting its front legs.
As a de Light flickered, the insectoid was cut in half. Its green blood stained the floor and a pungent smell permeated the ce.
Lu Ye stood in front of the staircase with his Invible Saber already in his hand.
After killing the first insectoid, he became slightly at ease, for these mantises were not so powerful as they were still in the Cloud River Realm. Given his power in the Real Lake Realm, it wasnt hard for him to destroy them.
Moreover, following his past experiences in the Rift of Illusions, he was fully aware of the insectoids weaknesses.
He remained standing in front of the staircase while wielding his saber. All the insectoids that came his way were ughtered, and they were soon eliminated.
Dots of light wafted from the carcasses of these insectoids. Unlike the red dots after cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge were killed, these dots of light were golden.
Lu Ye didnt know that he could get Contribution Points by killing insectoids.
While he was surprised, he was increasingly certain that it wasnt an illusory setting.
That was because he had killed countless insectoids in the Rift of Illusions back then, but he had never obtained Contribution Points before. The fact that he even got those points showed that the insectoids were real.
However, he still didnt understand why he would get Contribution Points by killing insectoids.
Curious about the number of points he had acquired, he tapped on his Battlefield Imprint, where it was shown that he had roughly 140,000 Contribution Points. He didnt record the exact number of his Contribution Points before killing the insectoids, so he had no idea how many points he had obtained.
Just as he was ready to record the current Contribution Points so that he could make aparison at ater time, he noticed a difference that was puzzling to him.
The Battlefield Imprint had all the information about him. Presently, it was shown that he had 576 battle points.
Something was wrong with the number because he remembered that he only had 56 battle points, and there hadnt been an increase in a long time.
After all, since he was only a Cloud River Realm Master, there was rarely any chance for him to acquire battle points. The only time he obtained some battle points was when he was in the Myriad Beast Domain.
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Chapter 645: Insectoids and Battle Points
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In the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, even though Contribution Points and battle points were only shown as numbers on the cultivators Battlefield Imprints, they could be traded for tangible resources.
Both of them were equally important to the cultivators.
Contribution Points could be earned in three ways: killing enemies, selling stuff to the Vault of Providence, and when the Legates of the Outposts distributed the points while they were on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. There were no other ways.
On the other hand, other than killing enemies in some special ces, the sources of battle points were diversified. For example, when Lu Ye was in the Myriad Beast Domain back then, he didnt earn a lot of battle points by killing enemies. However, after he led Pang Da Hai and the others to solve the biggest crisis of the Domain, he obtained arge number of battle points.
Therefore, apart from killing enemies, one could also earn battle points bypleting some specific tasks, and the points earned this way were more than what one would get by destroying enemies.
Inparison, battle points were undoubtedly more important as they could be directly traded for Amulets while Contribution Points couldnt.
One could only trade Contribution Points for Amulets by taking part in auctions.
That was the reason Cloud River Realm Masters loved looking for Hidden Realms on the Cloud River Battlefield and partaking in the tasks.The Spirit Creek Battlefield had a lot of inheritances while the Cloud River Battlefield had many Hidden Realms. The former could help the cultivators build solid foundations while thetter could help the cultivators grow in power rapidly. That way, powerful cultivators would continuously be produced in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou over the generations.
Ever since Lu Ye stepped into the Cloud River Battlefield, he had only ventured into the Myriad Beast Domain before. First of all, it had only been a short time since he arrived at this battlefield. Secondly, he hadnt been to many ces, and some Hidden Realms would only open up during specific times.
Nheless, that didnt mean there were few Hidden Realms on this battlefield.
If one was intent on finding Hidden Realms, every cultivator could experience it once every month. Many of the Hidden Realms had battle points that were to be earned.
That way, the cultivators could acquire battle points in the Hidden Realms bypleting tasks and then trade them for Amulets.
Although it was difficult and dangerous, it was better than waiting for the Heavens to grant them Amulets or cultivating in low-quality Arcane des.
Lu Ye had previously obtained a lot of battle points in the Myriad Beast Domain. After he traded them for Amulets, he only had 56 points left, and there hadnt been an increase since then.
Now, his battle points had increased to 576. In other words, he had earned 520 points.
The amount could be traded for two to three White Amulets.
Lu Ye instantly realized that he had obtained battle points instead of Contribution Points after killing the insectoids.
This came as a surprise to him. Inparison, battle points were undoubtedly more useful, and he wasntcking Contribution Points.
After some calctions, he realized the battle points he had acquired corrted to the power of those insectoids. This was simr to how one earned Contribution Points.
For example, if Lu Ye killed a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master, he would get 40 Contribution Points. Simrly, if he destroyed an insectoid that was equivalent to a Fifth-Order Master, he would acquire 40 battle points.
That was why he had earned 520 battle points by eliminating more than ten insectoids that were equivalent to Cloud River Realm Masters.
While he was exultant, he became even more vignt.
Anything that had something to do with battle points must beplicated.
The cultivators on the Cloud River Battlefield had concluded that the Hidden Realms with battle points were more perilous than those without.
Although Lu Ye had entered the Rift of Illusions this time instead of a Hidden Realm, all the clues showed him that this wasnt a benign ce.@@novelbin@@
Even though he was as powerful as a Real Lake Realm Master now, he might not be able to keep himself safe.
He pushed the thoughts aside and kept his guard up.
The second floor was covered with the insectoids broken carcasses. The floor had been dyed green with their blood, and a pungent smell permeated the air.
Since there was a bed, it was supposed to be a resting ce. However, just like the first floor, there was no one in sight, and the thickness of the dust showed that it had been vacant for a long time.
Although it was only natural toe across insectoids in the Rift of Illusions, Lu Ye still had no idea where he was.
The second floor wasnt spacious, so he could see everything with a nce.
There was a wooden window that was wide open, so the insectoids must have entered the room through the window.
Just as Lu Ye was ready to close the window, a thud was heard all of a sudden, and the room turned dim. There was arge figure at the window as its rectangr head stuck out, and its grayish-greenpound eyes reflected Lu Yes figure.
There came another mantis, and Lu Ye felt that this one was more dangerous than the ones he had just killed.
It could be a coincidence or the battle had attracted this insectoids attention.
The moment the mantis caught sight of Lu Ye, it barged into the room and wielded the des on its front legs, looking like a Combat Cultivator who was adept at using des. A storm of bloodlust swirled up in this cramped room.
Lu Ye lifted his Invible Saber, and as a Saber Light flickered, he got into a fight with this mantis.
The ngs of weapons were continuously heard, and the fluctuations of Spiritual Powers turned the room into a mess.
Having acquired the power of Real Lake Realm all of a sudden, Lu Ye was still unfamiliar with it. After all, he was only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. So, before he could adapt to it, he couldnt fully activate his power.
Just as he had expected, the mantis that came out of nowhere was more powerful than the ones he had just destroyed. At the very least, its des were solid enough to fend off Invible Saber.
Lu Ye came to the realization that this must be a mantis in the Real Lake Realm.
He was curious about how many battle points he would obtain if he managed to kill this insectoid. Would the calctions be based on his current power in the Real Lake Realm or his cultivation as a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master?
If it was thetter, this mantis would bring him immense benefits.
In the calction of Contribution Points, a Real Lake Realm Master would get 100 points as a base, and for every increase in Minor Realm, another 100 points would be added.
In other words, a First-Order Real Lake Realm Master would get 100 points, a Second-Order Master would get 200 points, and it would be 900 points for a Ninth-Order Master.
If a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master killed a First-Order Real Lake Realm Master, there was a difference of five Minor Realms, and he would get six times more than the base, which was 600 points.
It was the same case for battle points.
Six hundred battle points could be traded for a Green Amulet. The calctions were based on the assumption that the insectoid was as powerful as a First-Order Real Lake Realm Master, but the one before Lu Yes eyes was surely more formidable. The mightier the insectoid was, the more benefits he could get after killing it, and the increase was exponential.
These ideas only stayed in Lu Yes mind for a short moment before he cast them away. He moved around agilely in the room and warded off the other partys storm of attacks.
The exchange of moves in this cramped space allowed him to rapidly grasp his current power.
When the mantis lifted its front legs, Lu Ye seized the chance and blessed himself with Windwalk. The next moment, he moved across three meters in the blink of an eye. As a glint radiated from the Invible Saber, some abstruse patterns appeared on the dark de.
The weapon was now blessed with Sharp Edge. T/N: The author changes it to in Chapter 648, so Im sticking to Sharp Edge.
The mantis brought down its de, trying to jab it into Lu Yes back, but it missed its target.
The next moment, the Invible Saber prated the mantis chest with a clunk. As Burster was activated, the insectoid shuddered and hissed.
When Lu Ye saw the mantis trying to attack him with another de, he retracted his Invible Saber, bringing out green and acrid blood as it sshed onto the floor.
The badly injured mantis staggered and instinctively wielded both of its des on the front legs.
With a boom, the walls of the second floor shattered, and the broken pieces of wood fell from the ceiling as dust swirled up.
When the dust eventually settled, the mantis already had no more vitality left. However, Lu Ye wasnt in the mood to find out how many battle points he had gained. Instead, he stared fixedly at the distant sky, which seemed to have split as there was a huge crack.
There seemed to be another world hidden behind the crack. At this moment, a staggering number of insectoids were streaming out from the crack, pouring down onto this world like rain.
The insectoids came in different forms and shapes. Lu Ye had seen many of them in the Rift of Illusions before, but there were also those he had nevere into contact with.
Like cats that caught a whiff of a fishy smell, they left an unknown space and arrived at this ce.
Lu Ye didnt observe them for a long time. He merely took a nce and looked away. As shock and puzzlement riddled his heart, he sported a solemn expression.
He had been staying in the house earlier, so he had no idea what was going on outside.
Nheless, after he fought the mantis in the Real Lake Realm and caused the walls of the second floor to shatter, the situation outside came into his sight.
For as far as he could see, there was a street that was lined with buildings that looked familiar to him. Many houses had copsed, and in the ruins of that street, countless insectoids of different forms were seen squirming and moving around.
The noise over here must have alerted those insectoids as they also looked at Lu Ye the moment he set his eyes on them.
Wings were soon heard fluttering as those insectoids rose into the sky. There were also some insectoids that looked like hounds but were covered in the carapace. They had a long tail behind them, and their teeth were pointed. Presently, they were charging towards Lu Ye at an incredible speed.
At that moment, Lu Ye knew he was in danger.
When he appeared in the house in the beginning, he thought the ce was safe. It wasnt until he reached the second floor that he realized there was danger hidden beneath the safety.
Now, he could finally see the truth.
The safety he had imagined wasnt existent in the first ce.
The house was surrounded by all sorts of insectoids. He didnt notice them at first because those insectoids were quiet. Also, he appeared in this ce as an apparition and also a form of reflection, so his perception hadnt been restored yet. That was why he was oblivious to the insectoids on the second floor and outside the house.
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Chapter 646: A Strange Sense of Familiarity
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Some rustling noise was heard. As far as Lu Ye could see, countless insectoids were charging towards him. It was toote for him to use some Glyphs to curb his breathing and conceal his presence. Therefore, he immediately leapt into the air, ready to flee in a particr direction.
However, he barely rose up for 30 meters before he felt some immense pressure, making sure he couldnt go any higher.
At that moment, he was torn between tears andughter.
In the Ameliorate Arcane de back then, he had repeatedly used the Aerial Lock Ward to deal with the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge, making them suffer setbacks. He didnt expect to be suppressed by the Aerial Lock Ward himself one day.
He supposed what went around, came around.
Although he had no idea where this ce was, there was apparently an Aerial Lock Ward in ce, and he couldnt fly higher than 30 meters.
After he was held up for a while, the insectoids were already closer to him. They kept hissing as their wings were heard fluttering.
Lu Ye leapt away from the second floor and dashed forward in a particr direction.As he looked around, he was overwhelmed with a strange sense of familiarity again.
This ce seemed to be a city. Although he couldnt look into the distance, he could see that the streets were neatly constructed, and those streets were lined with houses, which had been ruined following the insectoids destruction. Having said that, there were still some houses that were intact.
The house he had appeared in was one of those in mint condition. Initially, he thought it was a safe ce, but it turned out to be a different case.
It was as if some salt had been dropped into a pan with boiling oil. The moment Lu Ye showed up, all the insectoids in the area were agitated as they hurriedly surrounded the man. Some of their auras showed that they were powerful beings.
A red glow radiated from the Invible Saber as he fully activated his senses. He tried to evade the powerful beings and break the siege.
His de Lights kept flickering as the insectoids that came his way spurted green blood and lost all their vitality. Wherever he went, a storm of bloodlust swirled up.
While he was running away, he realized something was odd. For example, his senses were more sensitive and powerful than before.
When he scanned his surroundings in the past, he could only sense some vagueness, and it was restricted within a range of 30 meters.
But now, his range of perception had expanded by several times, and it was no longer vague. The information that came to him would be clearly disyed in his mind.
This transformation must have something to do with the fact that his soul had left his body. Back then, he was restricted by his body. Even though his Soul Power was incredible, he wasnt able to fully use his power.
Without the restraint now, he could wholly activate his Soul Power.
The sensitive perception and the outside information that came to his mind were signs of having the ability to use his Divine Ego.
Besides that, the Glyphs he crafted seemed different as well.
Since he was running for his life, he didnt have time to think deeply about all of this. As such, he could only push his doubts aside first.
Arge number of insectoids that came in different forms and powers upied every corner of the city. Lu Ye understood that he could not keep running away forever.
As time passed, he fell into an even more perilous situation. That was because the powerful insectoids he had avoided were now relentlessly running after him, looking determined to destroy him. As such, the further he went, the more insectoids were racing after him.
If he was in the Rift of Illusions in the past, he wouldnt worry too much, for he could stille back again after he was killed.
However, he hadnt the foggiest idea about what was going on in this Rift of Illusions. He didnt know if he would really lose his life if he was killed. Therefore, he didnt dare to take any chances.
While he was running away, a pink, oval insectoid suddenly appeared in the sky in front of him. The insectoid was chubby with four limbs. At first nce, one might mistake it for a bald fatty.
The insectoid didnt have wings, so Lu Ye had no idea how it could fly. Despite its adorable appearance, it gave off a dangerous feeling.
As such, Lu Ye was rmed the moment the insectoid came into his sight.
He wanted to change directions, but it was toote. The insectoid opened its mouth and shot out a crystal-clear thread, which turned into a web in the blink of an eye and covered arge area.
Lu Ye was unable to dodge. As he was surrounded by the web, he uncontrobly crashed into it.
The web that appeared out of nowhere didnt only restrict him. Lu Ye could also feel the Tree of Glyphs within him reacting abnormally.
Nheless, he didnt have time to examine anything. Whenever there was an anomaly with the Tree of Glyphs, it usually meant he was struck with poison.
In other words, the web was venomous.
Any other Real Lake Realm Master wouldve been paralyzed and killed by the poison even if he managed to get rid of the web.
However, the poison didnt have any effects on Lu Ye.
Before he evennded on the ground, he wielded his saber and broke free from the web. The instant he stabilized himself, he was ready to start running again.
Just then, the sky above him turned dim. The relentless insectoids had caught up with him and covered arge area above his head.@@novelbin@@
After he was held up for a moment, he fell into a passive situation as the insectoids encircled him in all directions.
Needless to say, he was unable to run away.
Right after the thought shed through his mind, he charged forward with his saber and got into a fight with the insectoids in that direction.
The short while of running for his life made him realize that nowhere was safe in this strange environment. Regardless of where he went, there would be insectoids trying to kill him.
In order to stay alive, he had no choice but to kill all the insectoids in sight. Only then would he have a chance to take a breather.
There was no doubt it was a difficult feat to pull off.
The insectoids that had surrounded him were all in the Real Lake Realm, and there were dozens of them. Lu Ye felt that the pink, chunky insectoid was the most formidable among them.
Moreover, the battle might even attract more insectoids toe over. Based on his observation, the scenario was likely to happen.
Certainly, Lu Ye wouldnt want to get killed to find out what would happen after his death.
As such, he only had one option left.
In the past, regardless of what danger he fell into, he still had Amber and Yi Yi with him.
But this time, he was on his own. Without Yi Yi and Amber around, he couldnt borrow any external force. Although his power had reached the Real Lake Realm after he got rid of the restraint that was his body, the enemies he came across were also more powerful.
He was worried he might lose his life here.
More and more insectoids were killed during the battle. Lu Ye moved around dexterously while the Saber Lights of Invible Saber crisscrossed the battlefield.
Although Lu Ye was resentful of Xia Liang, he was grateful to him at this moment because the man had taught him Minds Eye Technique back in Fox Immortal Valley.
When he was in a one-on-one fight, the effects of Minds Eye Technique were not so conspicuous. However, when he was surrounded by so many enemies, the Secret Technique proved to be immensely useful.
Most of the time, Lu Ye managed to fend off the lethal attacks by relying on Minds Eye Technique.
Nevertheless, it couldnt help bring him out of danger. Even though Lu Ye managed to kill a lot of insectoids, the rest of them were still fearlesslyunching attacks on him, causing more and more injuries to form on his figure.
Although he didnt bleed, the wounds had affected him in the same way as under normal circumstances. The injuries were painful and elerated his consumption of energy.
As time passed, the battlefield was covered in the broken limbs and carcasses of the insectoids, but Lu Yes attacks had also be weaker.
He was running out of energy.
At that moment, he couldnt help but recall the question that had been bugging him. Would he really lose his life if he was killed here?
If that was a yes, Yi Yi and Amber wouldnt stay alive either. He and Amber had activated the Life Energy Art together, so their fates had been intertwined. On the other hand, Yi Yi was an apparition that was inseparable from Amber. It could be said that the three of them couldnt live without each other.
If he was to lose his life, he would feel terribly sorry for the two of them.
The moment he saw the second door, he knew that the world behind it was dangerous. However, based on past experiences, he firmly believed that he wouldnt really lose his life in the Rift of Illusions. That was why he even pushed the door open and entered it.
Nheless, that was merely his assumption, and he didnt expect to fall into such a state.
A huge impact came right at him all of a sudden. A hound-like insectoid crashed into him and sent him flying away. At that moment, he felt his vision be blurred.
It was at that instant that a red glow shed across his eyes.
The momentary red glow stirred up a sense of familiarity within him again.
At the most critical moment, time seemed to have stopped moving. Many ideas shed across Lu Yes mind, and he soon figured out what was going on with the sense of familiarity.
He had actually seen the red glow before. [No way! How could that be?]
If things were just as he thought, it would be inconceivable.
Either way, he had to go on and verify it. If that was indeed the case, he might stand a chance to survive.
The moment he leapt into the air, the insectoids around him also dashed towards him, but they were met with a fiery attack in a half-moon shape.
The attack was more powerful than anything Lu Ye had cast ever since he started cultivating.
Several insectoids were dismembered in an instant, and even more of them were sent flying away. Lu Yended on the ground and blessed his legs with Windwalk before running after the red glow.
More than ten breathster, Lu Ye broke the siege and dragged his injured figure forward. He looked into the distance and saw a fiery redntern in front of a building.
The red glow came from the cover of thisntern.
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Chapter 647: Arriving at the Lost City of Xianyuan Again
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Ruins were everywhere in the broken city. Many parts of the city were nothing more than debris now. However, in these ruins, one could see the flourishing city it once was.
Not many buildings had rednterns in front of them. Presently, the building before Lu Yes eyes could very well save him.
If it was just as he expected, he might stand a chance to survive.
Nheless, if he was wrong, he would have no choice but to wait for death.
At such a life-and-death moment, Lu Ye had never been more agile as he broke the siege of these insectoids and bolted towards that building.
The insectoids were still running after him, and the chunky one was especially relentless.
Lu Ye moved across dozens of meters in the blink of an eye before he dashed into the building and closed the door.
As soon as he was done with that, he heard the noise of crashesing from outside. The insectoids arrived and madly attacked the buildings. Their violent forces spread and thudded against the wooden structure.Something amazing happened.
Regardless of what these insectoids, which were as powerful as Real Lake Realm Masters, did, and even though the entire building was trembling as the door and wooden bs creaked, they were unable to destroy the building.
It was as if a mysterious force was protecting the building, ensuring that it was safe from destruction.
Lu Ye initially pressed his hands against the door, worried that the insectoids would barge into the ce. Nheless, upon realizing the uniqueness of this building, he retracted his hands and stepped backwards.
Supposedly, without him pressing his hands against the door, the insectoids could easily shatter it ande in.
Truth was, regardless of how violently the door was trembling, it showed no signs of getting opened.
The insectoids continued to hiss furiously. Nearby buildings could be heard copsing, but the one Lu Ye was in remained imprable.
He let out a breath and became slightly at ease, but more doubts formed in his mind.
Things were just as he expected. In other words, he was really in that ce. [But why am I even here?]
Outside the building, the insectoids continued to attack for a while before leaving.
Insectoids were not intelligent creatures. It could even be said that they had little sentience as they only acted instinctively.
When Lu Ye was hiding in this indestructible building, they couldnt see their enemy or detect his aura. As such, they soon forgot about him.
Inside the house, Lu Ye felt those powerful auras moving further away. It wasnt until all of them were gone that he set his mind at ease.
Instantly, a sense of sleepiness swept over him, almost making him fall asleep. His injury was more painful than usual. This was an experience he had never had in the Rift of Illusions back then.
ording to his spection, his soul had left his body on the basis that his current state was a reflection of his original self. He had consumed a lot of energy in the battle earlier, so it was a wonder if he could restore his power by taking Spirit Pills.
Anyway, he just had to give it a try.
He whipped out some Spirit Pills from his Storage Sphere and stuffed them into his mouth before refining them.
What surprised him was that it actually worked. As the medicinal efficacies were refined, his energy was gradually restored.
He quickly sat down cross-legged to recuperate while considering his current situation.
He had some spection while running for his life earlier, and it was eventually proven when he entered this building. Now, he could confirm that this world was a Hidden Realm he had visited before.
It was the Lost City of Xianyuan, which was a Hidden Realm that appeared on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. When he entered the Hidden Realm back then, he was only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. It had been one to two years since then.
Although such a long time had passed, his memories of this ce were still vivid. It was in this ce where he acquired several bottles of Soul Cleansing Water, which helped strengthen his soul. It could even be said that it was thanks to Soul Cleansing Water that he managed to obtain so many benefits in Hundred Wards Tower.
Moreover, he could never forget his experiences in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
When he first arrived at this ce, he was on his own, but it was thanks to Ambers ability to turn apparitions into Ghost Spirits that he soon gained a footing here.
The gambler Liu Sanbao, the weeping Pipa Girl, the schr who loved hearingpliments but was actually talentless, the butcher who always held a knife in his hand, and the blind, muscr fortune teller who imed to be the best in his craft. They were all once Ambers Ghost Spirits. It was thanks to these special Ghost Spirits that Lu Ye was able to change the oue of the battle between the cultivators of the two opposing sides.
Most of the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge who had entered the ce were killed in the end. Only several of them managed to survive.
When Lu Ye first arrived at the Lost City of Xianyuan, he didnt think too deeply about it, treating it as just another Hidden Realm where he could get some training. Moreover, he obtained a lot of benefits in this ce.
Now, it seemed that this ce wasnt just a Hidden Realm. There seemed to be some secrets behind it.
He couldnt help but recall the red-clothed woman on the swing and the City Lord of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
In the past, he only felt that they were beings that Spirit Creek Realm Masters were never a match for. It was a mystery as to why they even existed in such a Hidden Realm. Fortunately, they were not hostile toward the cultivators who wanted to get some training here. Otherwise, none of them could go against the duo.
He also didnt understand why he ended up arriving at the Lost City of Xianyuan after he opened the second door that led to the Rift of Illusions.
There were two reasons why he believed this ce was the Lost City of Xianyuan. First of all, he felt a sense of familiarity while running away from his enemies.@@novelbin@@
After all, he had been to this ce before, so he naturally felt familiar.
The second reason, which was also the main reason, was the building with a redntern in front of it.
When he arrived at the Lost City of Xianyuan for the first time, apart from the cultivators of the opposing side, their biggest opponents were the sentries of Xianyuan City Watch that scattered around the city.
Those sentries were fairly powerful, and the team leaders were especially formidable. To the Lost City of Xianyuan, these cultivators were invaders, after all. Once the sentries caught sight of these cultivators, they would capture them and confine them to the dungeon.
Once that happened, they would usually end up in a horrible state.
Rarely any cultivator could get rid of the sentries.
Having said that, the cultivators could hide inside the buildings with rednterns hung outside the doors. That was because the sentries were unable to enter such buildings.
Lu Ye had done so before. When he was hunted down by the sentries, he eventually barged into such a building to get rid of the enemies. That was where he came across the gambler, Liu Sanbao.
That was also the first Ghost Spirit that Amber had taken on here.
History seemed to be repeating itself.
When Lu Ye came to the Lost City of Xianyuan for the first time, he made use of such a unique building to get rid of the sentries.
Now that it was his second time here, he still managed to keep himself safe from the insectoids with the help of such a building.
These unique buildings seemed to have been blessed with a special protective power, ensuring that they were indestructible. They served as a sanctuary for cultivators in danger.
Certainly, it was presumptuous to say that this was the Lost City of Xianyuan based on these observations, but Lu Ye was confident that his spection was right.
This ce was likely to be the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Now, he didnt have time to ponder why the second door was connected to the Lost City of Xianyuan. It seemed that the city had been upied by insectoids.
After giving it some thought, he realized it wasnt so surprising. Even though the sentries were fairly powerful, they were only in the Spirit Creek Realm, after all.
However, the insectoids Lu Ye hade across this time were mostly in the Cloud River Realm and the Real Lake Realm, though there were those that were in the Spirit Creek Realm.
Fortunately, he didnt bump into insectoids in the Divine Ocean Realm. As he recalled the huge crack in the sky, he believed that insectoids in the Divine Ocean Realm might exist, but he was lucky enough not toe across them yet.
It was only natural that the sentries were unable to fend off insectoids like them. Not even the mysterious red-clothed woman and the City Lord could do that.
In fact, apparitions might lose their lives.
As Lu Ye recalled Liu Sanbao and the other apparitions, he felt crestfallen. Regardless, those people had lent him a hand back then, but they were probably gone for good by now.
Although he was taken to the Lost City of Xianyuan for some unfathomable reason, and he was in a perilous situation, it was also a rare opportunity for him.
That was because there was the Pool of Divine Purification here with Soul Cleansing Water.
It was a treasure that even the Divine Ocean Realm Masters coveted. Apart from a Hidden Realm like the Lost City of Xianyuan, there were no other ways one could acquire such a treasure. It wasnt even avable in the Vault of Providence.
Lu Ye had previously acquired quite a lot of Soul Cleansing Water. He had used a fair amount of it, which allowed his soul to be much stronger than the cultivators in the same Realm, and he had also shared it with some people. Now, he only had half a bottle of it left.
Certainly, no one would have enough of such a treasure.
However, if he wanted to get Soul Cleansing Water, he had to go to the Pool of Divine Purification first. That was where the City Lords Mansion was located as well as the center of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Lu Ye had no idea if he could pull off such a feat. Nheless, since he was already here, he had to give it a shot. If he seeded, he would be filthy rich.
The reason he didnt manage to get even more Soul Cleansing Water back then was that time was running out. The City Lord had only given him so much time.
Now, the City Lord was probably gone for good. As long as he could reach the Pool of Divine Purification, everything was for his taking without any limitations. Perhaps he could even take the entire pool away.
At the thought of this, he became fervent. Although the entire incident was bewildering, it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Many ideas were undted in his mind as he continued to recuperate.
What surprised him was that regardless of how many Spirit Pills he consumed, he could never get rid of the sense of lethargy, and his wounds showed no signs of healing.
After giving it some thought, he figured out everything.
Since his soul had left his body, he was, strictly speaking, an apparition. Although he was able to consume Spirit Pills to restore his Spiritual Power for some reason, the Soul Power he had spent dealing with his enemies couldnt be replenished in a short time, especially when he was badly injured.
He had suffered some injuries in his current form, and it had nothing to do with the strength of his body. Therefore, consuming Spirit Pills did nothing to help heal his wounds or restore his Soul Power.
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Chapter 648: The Amazing Uses of Divine Glyphs
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An apparitions wounds couldnt be healed through usual means, and it would probably take a long time. As for how long that would be, Lu Ye wasnt sure.
Although it was safe to stay in this building, it wasnt like he could stay here for a long time.
After giving it some thought, he whipped out a jade bottle from his Storage Sphere.
The jade bottle contained thest bit of Soul Cleansing Water he had, and there were roughly ten drops of it. He had reserved it for emergencies, but he had no choice but to use it in such a situation.
After opening the lid, he caught a whiff of the Soul Cleansing Waters unique fragrance, which helped energize him in an instant, and the sense of lethargy that had been bugging him subsided significantly.
This made him certain that the Soul Cleansing Water was the best remedy to his current predicament.
He didnt dare to take a lot of it, reckoning that one drop might be sufficient. A sense of gentleness swept over him, and his lethargy dissipated rapidly. Even his wounds healed in no time.
As expected, the Soul Cleansing Water was immensely useful in treating his injuries.He remained seated with peace of mind for the next two hours. It wasnt until he fully recovered that he rose to his feet.
Then, he walked up to the door and looked out through the gap.
The insectoids that had hunted him down were nowhere to be seen. Only several insectoids were roaming around aimlessly, and they posed no threat to him, considering that he had recovered.
Since he had to head to the City Lords Mansion, the most pressing issue for him was to find out his current location.
But before that, there was something he needed to verify.
He already detected an anomaly when fighting the insectoids a while ago, but he didnt have time to verify it, given the fact that he was in danger.
Now, with such a unique building as a shelter, he could be assured that he could alwayse back whenever he came across any danger. Therefore, he wanted to know if the anomaly he had detected was just as he had expected.
If it was a yes, he might be able to use moves that he usually couldnt.
After taking a look at his Battlefield Imprint, he realized that he now had over 3,000 battle points.
The number was neither big nor small. One had to know that he had killed a lot of insectoids, and many of them were in the Real Lake Realm.
Now, it seemed that the calction of battle points was on the basis that he was a Real Lake Realm Master. As such, even though he had killed insectoids in the Real Lake Realm, he wouldnt get a lot of battle points.
This was slightly disappointing. If the calction of battle points was on the basis that he was a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master, the battle points he had acquired from the previous battle wouldve multiplied.
After giving it some thought, he felt that he should be grateful, considering that it came as a surprise that he could get some battle points in this ce.
Although 3,000 battle points were not a lot, they could be traded for two Blue Amulets. Moreover, it was only the beginning. If his n could be executed, he would obtain even more battle points soon. Perhaps after this trip, he would have enough battle points to trade for many Golden Amulets, which would help significantly increase his power.
After opening the door, he immediately activated Glyphs that could curb his aura and conceal his presence.
The slight noise alerted the insectoids, but when they turned around and saw nothing, they soon lost interest and kept roaming around.
Insectoids came in different shapes and forms. Some of them looked just like Spirit Beasts, but they were definitely not Spirit Beasts.
There were also some insectoids that looked unique, and it was against the impression of what people had about what insectoids should look like.
Having said that, all of them had the same characteristic without exception, which was the fact that they were covered in the carapace, and their blood was emerald green.
The stronger the insectoids, the more robust their carapace was. Therefore, killing insectoids required skills as one needed to attack areas where there was no protection, thus causing severe damage to the insectoids.
Lu Ye had repeatedly entered the Rift of Illusions to get some training, so he was fully aware of the weaknesses of different insectoids.
His target this time was an insectoid that looked like a centipede. Its back was covered with pieces of white carapace, looking like a long stretch of white bones. It was crawling forward with over a hundred pairs of legs, making some rustling noise.
The thing that Lu Ye wanted to verify wasntplicated. However, to ensure the uracy of the oue, he didnt immediatelyunch an attack. Instead, he was merely observing it in silence.
A momentter, the centipede stopped in its tracks and twisted its body into a coil in the ruins before it stayed unmoving.
Lu Ye stealthily approached the centipede. It wasnt until he was only nine meters away from the insectoid that he stopped.@@novelbin@@
The serenity was shattered all of a sudden. The moment Lu Yes power fluctuated around him, the centipede realized it was in danger, but before it could react, the space in front of Lu Ye contorted. The next moment, a thing that looked like an arrow shot forward and crashed into the centipedes head before vanishing into thin air.
The centipede was instantly injured, its 30-meter-long figure writhing about as it hissed in pain.
Lu Ye revealed himself and unsheathed his Invible Saber before shing his weapon across the centipede while the insectoid was struggling.
Green blood spurted out as its huge head was sent flying away. An insectoid as powerful as a Real Lake Realm Master was killed just like that.
Lu Ye remained calm and collected, though there was a hint of joy behind his gaze. That was because he realized the thing he had detected was real, not an illusion.
When he was running for his life and contending with the insectoids a while ago, he blessed his Invible Saber with Sharp Edge. At that time, he was troubled by a strange feeling, for Sharp Edge was slightly different from usual.
In the past, he had to bless a Spirit Artifact with Sharp Edge to make it sharper.
Certainly, he could also bless other things with the Glyph, but all in all, it needed a medium to take effect.
Nheless, when he used Sharp Edge in the Lost City of Xianyuan, there didnt seem to be a need for a medium.
At that moment, Lu Ye realized that if a Glyph was constructed using Spiritual Power, it was nothing more than a Glyph. However, apart from Spiritual Power, he could also activate Soul Power now.
Moreover, the Glyphs that were constructed using Soul Power were called Divine Glyphs.
Therefore, Sharp Edge didnt need a medium. That was because a Divine Glyph built with Soul Power was already a form of means that could be used to kill enemies directly.
That was what Lu Ye wanted to verify.
It turned out that his spection was right. In such an environment, the Divine Glyphs he weaved using Soul Power could directly kill his enemies.
The arrow that had appeared momentarily earlier was the manifestation of Sharp Edge Divine Glyph.
Furthermore, unlike using Invible Saber, attacking the insectoids using Divine Glyphs was especially lethal, for they were fundamentally attacks on the soul. The problem with insectoids was that they had low sentience. As such, they were practically defenseless against attacks on the soul.
When the arrow transformed from Sharp Edge prated the centipedes mind, it caused immense damage to its weak sentience. The sudden impact made its mind split apart.
The thick carapace around its figure provided no protection against such an invisible attack.
Under normal circumstances, even if Lu Ye could kill the centipede, it would take him some effort. Nheless, with the help of Sharp Edge, he could do so with only one move.
When his spection was proven to be true, he was ecstatic.
In such an environment, the attacks using Divine Glyphs would yield amazing results. If he had known this earlier, he wouldnt have ended up in a battered state.
Nheless, before getting any confirmation, he would never dare to act recklessly. He was running for his life at that time, so any negligence would cost him his life.
At the end of the day, he was only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. Even though his power was in the Real Lake Realm now, he was still far from having the ability to use Soul Power, which was exclusive to the Divine Ocean Realm Masters.
But in such a unique environment, Lu Ye had grasped the power that only the Divine Ocean Realm Masters could use in advance.
He couldnt help but recall what Lady Yun had said to him before.
There existed Glyph Warlocks in this world. Although it was already difficult to deal with them before they even ascended to the Divine Ocean Realm, their fortey in their myriadbat styles. During a battle, they could activate different types of Glyphs and make their opponents go through the most horrible experiences in the world.
When they ascended to the Divine Ocean Realm, it was more than just difficult to deal with them. Most of the time, their opponents had passed away before they even understood why.
Simply put, a Glyph Warlock in the Divine Ocean Realm could be more powerful and intimidating than an average Divine Ocean Realm Master.
The reason was that Glyph Warlocks in the Divine Ocean Realm were able to use Divine Glyphs to attack the opponents souls.
Although other Divine Ocean Realm Masters could do that as well, they were not as skilful as the Glyph Warlocks.
The Sharp Edge Divine Glyph constructed using Soul Power had caused immense damage. The noise over here had attracted the attention of nearby insectoids as they streamed toward this ce.
With the Invible Saber in his hand, Lu Ye charged toward the insectoid nearest to him. While he was at it, he activated Sharp Edge again, causing the space to contort. An arrow shot forward, and before the insectoid coulde near Lu Ye, it copsed to the ground and hissed in pain.
When Lu Ye arrived, the insectoid was still oblivious to the imminent danger. He lifted his Invible Saber and killed another insectoid just like that.
Not all Glyphs could be activated using Soul Power. One could do that with Sharp Edge and Protection. The former could be used to attack the soul, and thetter could be turned into Soul Power Shield to fend off attacks on his soul.
Nheless, for Glyphs like Radiance, Bloodrage, and Windwalk, there wouldnt be special effects even if they were activated using Soul Power.
On the other hand, Glyphs like Gravity Well, Burster, and Illusion could be turned into Divine Glyphs, and their effects would be different too.
Gravity Well could make insectoids feel immensely pressured. Just like Sharp Edge, Burster could cause tremendous damage to the insectoids souls.
Illusion Divine Glyph wasnt lethal, but it could make the insectoids fall into an illusory realm momentarily.
As Lu Ye walked along the streets, he went on to activate different types of Divine Glyphs to find out their uses. As a result, the insectoids lost their lives one by one.
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Chapter 649: Enslaving an Insectoid
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A momentter, Lu Ye returned to that unique building.
It wasnt that he had killed all the insectoids. Instead, more and more insectoids hade together, which made Lu Ye feel threatened. To avoid getting killed, he had no choice but toe back.
Since his spection had been verified, he was naturally exultant.
But soon, he discovered that things were moreplicated than he thought.
That was because the brief battle earlier had made him frail.
This kind of frailty was unlike the feeling caused by injuries. It was more like a sense of burnout after he exerted himself.
He instantly realized that even though he could use moves that were exclusive to the Divine Ocean Realm Masters in advance due to the environment and his unique state, his soul was still too weak, after all.
Undoubtedly, his soul was stronger than those of the cultivators in the same Realm, but it wasnt powerful enough to allow him to use Divine Glyphs to deal with his enemies for a long time.Given the environment and his current state, if he used up his Spiritual Power, he could replenish it by consuming Spirit Pills. However, if his Soul Power was depleted or even injured, he would have to rely on Soul Cleansing Water, which he had a limited amount of.
He had previously used one drop of it, so he wouldnt want to keep consuming it unless it was necessary to do so.
In that case, he couldnt frequently use Divine Glyphs even though they were effective in destroying the insectoids. Otherwise, once his Soul Cleansing Water ran out, he would be in trouble.
At that moment, he couldnt help but feel disappointed. The brief battle earlier had allowed him to earn another 2,000 battle points. If he could use Divine Glyphs without worries, he would obtain arge number of battle points in a short time.
Insectoids were heard raining attacks on the building from the outside again. Lu Ye was unflustered, for a building like this with a redntern hung outside the door was protected by a mysterious power, ensuring that it was indestructible.
As for where the mysterious power came from, Lu Ye had an answer in his heart.
The noise outside slowly subsided. The insectoids had low sentience, after all. Even though they had seen Lu Ye entering the building, they would forget him when he was nowhere to be seen for a long time. They soon went on doing their own things.
Lu Ye recuperated inside the house until there was no more noise outside. After waiting for a long time, he approached the door and looked out through the gap.
The carcasses of the insectoids had disappeared. Only the green blood on the ground served as a reminder that there had been a battle.
As for where the carcasses went Naturally, they had been eaten by insectoids that were still alive. Insectoids would just eat anything that could provide energy.@@novelbin@@
Lu Ye had experienced an insectoid attack when he was on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Wherever the insectoids went, there wouldnt be any vitality left; not even a strand of grass could stay alive.
Anyway, the fact that there were insectoids showed that an insectoid nest existed. Lu Ye wondered where the nest was in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
He immediately recalled the crack he had seen in the sky where countless insectoids had emerged from.
Was the insectoid nest inside the crack?
Under normal circumstances, to deal with the insectoids, one had to destroy the insectoid nest to solve the problem at its source. However, the problem looming over the Lost City of Xianyuan was apparently beyond Lu Yes ability to solve. Therefore, the moment he realized where the nest was located, he knew he was powerless to do anything about it.
First of all, there was an Aerial Lock Ward in ce, so he couldnt fly higher than 30 meters, whereas the crack in the sky was hundreds of meters above the ground. Regardless of how powerful he was, he simply couldnt reach it.
There were several insectoids roaming around on the street. Lu Ye blessed himself with Glyphs that could curb his aura and conceal his presence before he gently pushed the door open and stepped out.
This time, his goal wasnt to kill any insectoids. Instead, he was looking for a kind of insectoid that met his requirements.
Regardless of the reason he even arrived at the Lost City of Xianyuan, he had to get some benefits out of it.
Soul Cleansing Water and the battle points acquired from killing insectoids were benefits that an average cultivator had no ess to. Despite being in a perilous situation, Lu Ye also stood a chance to gain massive rewards.
He couldnt sustain Divine Glyphs for a long time, for they were highly energy-consuming. Although he could curb his aura and conceal his presence to let him move around stealthily, it was difficult for him to pass the insectoids and arrive at the City Lords Mansion.
Moreover, he couldnt kill the insectoids to earn battle points in such a situation.
To solve these problems, he had to take some risks.
As for whether he would seed, he wasnt sure. Regardless, he had to give it a shot.
With his figure being invisible, he moved along the streets and saw different types of insectoids. Soon, he was certain about his current location.
He was probably on the periphery of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
The city covered arge area. When he came to the city as an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master back then, he couldnt visit all the ces. As such, he had no idea how big it actually was.
Having said that, his current location was supposed to be in the same direction as the crack in the sky.
What was worth mentioning was that rarely any insectoids emerged from the crack again. Perhaps most of the insectoids had left the insectoid nest.
Although the insectoids had low sentience, it was difficult to scrutinize their other abilities. Basically, every type of insectoid had a special forte.
Take the mantises, which Lu Ye was most familiar with, as an example. They had the bestbat skills among the insectoids he had seen before. They acted just like Combat Cultivators when they wielded the des on their front legs.
On the other hand, the insectoids that looked like hounds had sensitive olfactory organs.
Even though Lu Ye had curbed his aura and concealed his presence using Glyphs, he was almost detected by the hound-like insectoids on several asions. As such, he would stay away from those insectoids when he came across them.
There were also insectoids that looked like hedgehogs. They were covered in spines, looking like they had no weaknesses. Faced with such insectoids, Lu Ye felt that he could only use attacks on the soul to defeat them. There were no other ways.
Additionally, the pink, chunky insectoid that looked like a silkworm, which Lu Ye hade across before, was full of poison, and even the threads it spat out were venomous.
Such an insectoid wasnt that much of a threat to Lu Ye. With the Tree of Glyphs in his possession, he was immune to poison. Nevertheless, poison wasnt its only weapon. The threads it spat out could be turned into a huge web to trap its enemies, and it would be hard to get rid of it.
Wherever Lu Ye went, he would memorize the locations of the buildings where there were rednterns outside. They could serve as his shelter when he was in danger.
All in all, such buildings were few and far between. Usually, he would onlye across one after moving along several streets.
It took him four hours to find an insectoid that met his requirements.
He had bumped into some suitable insectoids before, but arge number of them had gathered together, so it was difficult for Lu Ye to use his move.
Finally, he found an insectoid that was on its own.
The insectoid was prettyrge. At first nce, it looked like a spider with the carapace protecting it from the back to the belly. Its hideous teeth were jagged, looking terrifying.
Although Lu Ye hadnt exchanged moves with the insectoid yet, he could tell it was in the Real Lake Realm.
The reason he set his eyes on this insectoid was that it was huge enough with a broad back. That way, he could sit stably on it after concealing his presence.
Certainly, the prerequisite was that he could put his idea into action. If things went against his wishes, he wouldnt be able to use the next move.
Having said that, he didnt think there would be a problem, for the insectoids had low sentience. That move might not be effective on cultivators in the same Realm, but it was powerful against insectoids.
He approached the spider in silence and stopped in his tracks when he was six meters away from it.
The distance was dangerous. Although spiders were not known to have sensitive olfactory organs, the short distance would make the insectoid realize something was off.
Nheless, Lu Ye took the initiative to reveal himself before the insectoid could react.
In an instant, his eyes met with the insectoidspound eyes. At the same time, he grabbed the hilt of Invible Saber and activated his power, ready to kill the other party if something went wrong.
The spider lifted its hairy front legs, which looked hard as they were covered with something that looked like bones. Coupled with the fact that its front legs were sharp enough, such an attack would be equivalent to that cast by a Real Lake Realm Master.
The battle seemed imminent.
However, the spider suddenly froze, no longer able to bring down its front legs. Besides that, its mouth was initially squirming and making noise the moment it caught sight of Lu Ye, but now, it had stopped hissing altogether.
Additionally, its originally livelypound eyes turned dim as if they were covered with ayer of dust.
On the other hand, Lu Yes eyes became brighter than usual. If one looked intently, one could see someplicated patterns behind his eyes. The patterns came together and formed an abstruse picture.
It was Charm Divine Glyph!
It was unlike Sharp Edge and Protection. When they were activated using Spiritual Power, they were Glyphs, but when they were cast using Soul Power, they were Divine Glyphs.
On the other hand, Charm was a Divine Glyph that could only be activated using Soul Power.
Lu Ye acquired this Divine Glyph after he killed the Fox Mutant in Fox Immortal Valley and devoured her Core me.
Initially, Lu Ye thought that before he ascended to the Divine Ocean Realm, he would never be able to use this Divine Glyph. Much to his surprise, he arrived at the Lost City of Xianyuan again in such a unique state, which allowed him to activate his Soul Power.
After verifying the transformation of Sharp Edge, he had the urge to give Charm a try. A n had already formed in his mind with this Divine Glyph as the core.
In Fox Immortal Valley, the Fox Mutant made use of her innate ability to enve around 100 cultivators. Many of them were Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Masters.
The effects of Charm were simr to those of Fox Mutants innate ability. It could be used to control a persons mind, but it wasnt as effective as the one used by the Fox Mutant.
One had to know that when Ju Jia met with the Fox Mutants eyes for the first time, he was immediately subjugated. The move the Fox Mutant used on Ju Jia back then was simr to the one Lu Ye used on the spider now.
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Chapter 650: Insectoid Squad
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With Soul Power as the source, an intricate and abstruse Charm Divine Glyph was manifested in Lu Yes eyes.
As their gazes shed, the Divine Glyph took effect and impacted the insectoid, leaving a Brand in its mind.
The Fox Mutant had an innate ability to enve Ju Jia with only one nce.
Certainly, Lu Ye was still far from being able to achieve that, but following Charms impact, the spider soon lost control of its mind. It appeared frozen to the spot as its front legs hung in the air.
Presently, Lu Ye was overwhelmed with a strange feeling.
Although he had learned a lot about Charm from the information that the Tree of Glyphs carried, it was his first time using this Divine Glyph. He could feel the spider resisting and struggling. It was as if the two of them had plunged into an invisible battlefield as they contended with each other.
In such a state, both of them had weaker control over their bodies.
Lu Ye was secretly d that he had chosen an insectoid on its own. Otherwise, if other insectoids attacked him when he was in such a state, he might not have time to react.This also made him feel wary.
Although a Divine Glyph like Charm was powerful, he had to ensure his safety when activating it. He had to make sure there wouldnt be any external force harassing him, and it would be best if he had some helpers to protect him.
Insectoids typically had low sentience.
If Lu Ye activated Charm to deal with a cultivator in the same Realm, he could only mentally harass the other party, but it was a lethal weapon against insectoids.
The spider only managed to resist and struggle for five breaths of time before its mind was fully controlled. The power of Charm continued to expand, leaving a Brand in its mind.
The sense of lethargy and frailty swept over Lu Ye once again, making his eyelids feel heavy. It required more energy to activate Charm than Sharp Edge.
He panted and looked at the spider before his eyes.
The other party had put down its front legs, showing no hostility against Lu Ye even though he was right in front of it.
On the other hand, Lu Ye could clearly sense the Brand in the insectoids mind. Through the Brand, he could give this insectoid some simple instructions.
As a thought shed through Lu Yes mind, the insectoid started moving under his control.
After giving it a try for a bit, he got the hang of it.
Although he could instruct the spider due to the Brand, and the other party would not resist, it had low sentience, after all. As such, its execution of orders was not urate. For example, it could never stand on one leg even if Lu Ye ordered it to do so.
Nheless, he was already satisfied with the oue. With such an insectoid by his side, he was now safer when moving around.
He leapt onto the spiders back and activated Glyphs to conceal his presence and curb his aura. When his figure became invisible, he drove the spider to crawl forward in a particr direction.
Soon, they arrived at an area where there were more than ten insectoids. Lu Ye observed these insectoids for a bit before driving the spider to approach the strongest one among them.
It was an insectoid that was just asrge as the spider, and its aura suggested that both of them were equally powerful.
The other party wasnt vignt against the spiders approach. As such, it was unsuspecting when the spider red up all of a sudden.
The spidersbat style came as a surprise to Lu Ye. He had only instructed his temporary mount to kill the other party, and the spider had to act impromptu. So, he had no idea how the spider would execute his order.
A spider web was suddenly spat from the spiders mouth and covered the other party tightly. Following that, the spider charged forward and lifted its front legs before repeatedly pricking the other party, leaving holes in its figure. Green blood streamed out of the insectoid as it hissed in pain. Although it wanted to resist, it was unable to do so as it was restricted by the spider web.
It only struggled for a bit before it copsed into a puddle of blood as vitality left its body.
Lu Ye had only been watching the good show the entire time while sitting on the spiders back.
A golden light wafted from the insectoids carcass andnded on the back of Lu Yes hand.
Certainly, he was pleased with that.
There were two reasons why he didnt lend the spider a hand earlier. First of all, there wasnt a need for that. Secondly, he wanted to find out if he could get battle points after the spider killed the insectoid without him making a move.
Fortunately for him, he could still get some battle points even though he had done nothing.
Strictly speaking, Lu Ye was no different from a Beastmaster now, and the spider was the Spirit Beast he controlled.
When Beastmasters drove their Spirit Beasts to kill the enemies, it was a manifestation of their own powers, so it was only natural that they could obtain battle points.
Even though the battle was brief, it had caught the attention of other insectoids. Nheless, they only took a look and did nothing. They were puzzled as to why theirpanions had contended with each other, but they didnt think too deeply about it.
It was not until the spider killed another insectoid that the rest of them realised something was off.
Although their low sentience made sure that they could only act instinctively, they were able to sense danger.
From their perspective, thispanion of theirs must be out of its mind. Although it was a mystery as to why it started attacking itspanions all of a sudden, all of them would be killed if they did not stop it.
Therefore, after the second insectoid was killed, the rest of them surrounded the spider.
When Lu Ye saw that while sitting on the spiders back, he knew he had to do something.
After his temporary mount killed the first insectoid and the rest of them did nothing, Lu Ye initially thought he could just sit back and enjoy the reward by letting the spider kill the rest of the insectoids.
Now, it seemed that it was just his wishful thinking.
He revealed himself and unsheathed his Invible Saber. When he leapt away from the spider, he instructed his mount to kill all of them.
To make sure he wouldnt consume too much Soul Power, he didnt activate Divine Glyphs again this time. Since the strongest insectoid in this area was already dead, the rest of them were only in the Cloud River Realm. Given Lu Yes current power, it wasnt hard for him to destroy them.
It only took him a few moments before the battle ended.
After that, he immediately leapt back onto the spiders back and concealed his presence.
He could hear some rustling noise from a distance. Nearby insectoids had heard the noise and wereing over to look into the matter.
Nevertheless, they could only see many carcasses lying on the ground while a spider stood there on its own.
Considering their low sentience, they were unable to know that the spider had been enved, making it a traitor. Seeing that there was no anomaly, they stopped making noise and gnawed at those carcasses that used to be theirpanions.
Just then, Lu Ye drove the spider to leave this area.
He was not in a hurry to acquire more battle points, for he knew he had to be well-prepared first. Now, he only had one insectoid working for him. If he had more of such insectoids, he would be more efficient in gaining battle points, and he would make fewer mistakes too.
By then, he could move towards the City Lords Mansion while killing the insectoids.
He didnt know how many insectoids he could enve given the strength of his soul, but he could feel there was a limit to it.
That was because after he took control of the spider, he felt a sense of burden in his mind all of a sudden, and the intensity of the burden was directly corrted to the insectoids power.
In other words, the stronger the insectoids, the smaller the number of ves he could get.
This was to be expected. In Fox Immortal Valley back then, the Fox Mutant could only control a limited number of cultivators. Otherwise, she wouldnt go finding fault with the Berserk Giant Ape from time to time.
If she could control an infinite number of ves, she could keep gathering more people together until it hade to a point where the Berserk Giant Ape was no longer able to resist before she got her revenge.
The Fox Mutant had an innate ability to enve around 100 cultivators. Lu Ye reckoned that he could never do that. As for how many ves he could control, he had to give it a try to know.
In the Lost City of Xianyuan, most of the insectoids moved around in groups, so there was rarely any one of them that was on its own. Even if an insectoid was alone, it might not meet Lu Yes requirements.
Moreover, these insectoids mostly stayed in their respective areas. Unless they had to run after the enemies, they wouldnt leave their ces.
There was no doubt the spider Lu Ye had enved was odd as it crawled along the streets on its own.
Fortunately, this solitude didntst for a long time. An hourter, the spider had apanion.
It was an insectoid that looked like a hound with sensitive olfactory organs. Although it was much smaller than the spider, it wasnt any weaker.
Lu Ye had to take some risks when enving the spider, but it was much safer to subdue the hound-like insectoid.
The spider web restricted the insectoid to its spot. Lu Ye only had to meet eyes with it and activate Charm before leaving a Brand in its mind.
As time passed, his squad grew bigger. Half a dayter, the spider eventually had sixpanions. Besides the hound-like insectoid, the rest of them came in different shapes, though they all looked hideous.
He also contended with some insectoids and earned a lot of battle points during the process.
By now, he could feel that having seven ves was his limit. The heavy burden on his mind meant that he couldnt enve even more insectoids. If he forced himself to do that, his soul might suffer some damage.
Activating Charm Divine Glyph required a lot of Soul Power. During the process of enving the insectoids, he consumed two drops of Soul Cleansing Water to replenish his Soul Power.
Although it was painful to have to use Soul Cleansing Water, he knew it was worth it in order to carry out his n. Even if he didnt manage to enter the City Lords Mansion and acquire more Soul Cleansing Water in the end, the battle points obtained from killing the insectoids were more than enough to make up for his losses.@@novelbin@@
Now that his insectoid squad had been established, it was time to make the next move.
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Chapter 651: Sentries of Xianyuan City Watch
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Now, they were on the periphery of the Lost City of Xianyuan. If Lu Ye wished to reach the City Lords Mansion, he had to move across half of the city and arrive at the city centre.
Even though he now had control over seven insectoids, the trip might still not be safe.
So far, the strongest insectoids he hade across were in the Real Lake Realm, but he wasnt sure if there were insectoids in the Divine Ocean Realm.
If there were such insectoids, his concealment might not be useful.
A squad formed by seven insectoids in the Real Lake Realm was undoubtedly powerful. As they moved forward, they killed group after group of insectoids, which allowed Lu Yes battle points to increase rapidly. Now, it was over 20,000 points.
One had to know that it only required 16,200 battle points to trade for a Golden Amulet from the Vault of Providence. With the battle points he had, he could get one Golden Amulet with some spare points left.
In such an environment, coupled with the moves Lu Ye could use now, it was the best ce for him to earn battle points.
Throughout the entire Jiu Zhou, there probably had never been any cultivator who had ess to such convenience. Although Lu Ye had no idea how to leave this ce just yet, he treasured this opportunity.He wouldnt kill all the insectoids he came across, though. When there were too many of them, he wouldnt dare to make such a rash move. He could only make his insectoid squad circle those insectoids. After all, he had concealed his presence and curbed his aura. Since the insectoids didnt detect any anomaly, they wouldnt stop his squad from moving forward.
When they passed a street, Lu Ye suddenly noticed an anomaly.
The ground was covered with the broken limbs of insectoids and their green blood. There were also traces that showed there had been a battle.
Through the traces, he could tell that the battle was intense as there were many carcasses on the ground.
This surprised Lu Ye.
He was sure that he hadnt been to this ce, so he wasnt the one who left behind these traces.
In that case, it must be the sentries of Xianyuan City Watch who did that.
There were sentries and all sorts of apparitions in the Lost City of Xianyuan, but those apparitions were weak. Apart from the City Lord and the mysterious red-clothed woman, the rest of them were only in the Spirit Creek Realm.
In the face of such a cmity, Spirit Creek Realm Masters were powerless to resist.
Therefore, Lu Ye hadnte across any sentries so far. He believed that when such a disaster struck, all the sentries in the city must have been wiped out.
Nevertheless, the traces on the battlefield were somewhat odd.
There were many carcasses of insectoids, many of which were powerful. Therefore, it was a mystery as to how those sentries, who were only in the Spirit Creek Realm, were able to kill those insectoids. [Did the City Lord or the red-clothed woman make a move?] If it was either of them, the massacre of insectoids on this level was possible. However, Lu Ye couldnt detect their auras anywhere.
While sitting on the spiders back, he led his squad to move across the battlefield. Suddenly, he realised that something was off.
Insectoids would gnaw at theirpanions, but these carcasses were still around. Moreover, judging from the blood and their wounds, the battle only took ce not long ago.
In other words, there had been a battle between cultivators of the city and the insectoids in this ce moments ago. [Is someone still alive?]
Lu Ye was astounded. Even though he knew the idea sounded ludicrous, he couldnt rule out this possibility. One had to know that there were some buildings in the city with rednterns hung outside. The powerful insectoids could never destroy those buildings, so those people would be safe by hiding inside.
As such, if there were still survivors in the city, they must be staying in those special buildings.
It was probable that carcasses in this ce hadnt been devoured because the other insectoids nearby had been lured away.
As the pieces fell into ce, Lu Ye led his squad to look around for the survivors.
An hourter, the squad arrived at a street that was full of insectoids. It seemed like something had attracted them to this ce.
A building was especially conspicuous on the street because all other nearby buildings had been destroyed while this particr one was still intact, looking like a boulder amidst the raging storm.
The ruins around the building were full of insectoids.
As expected, there was a redntern hanging outside that building.
Lu Ye looked at the building but wasnt sure if there were people inside. However, considering the situation, there were likely people hiding inside.
The insectoids that had gathered together must be attracted to the people inside the building, just like what had happened to him before.
If there were people inside, they would be in a perilous situation. With so many insectoids around, they wouldnt be able to leave for quite a while.
That said, they only had to wait for a bit longer before the insectoids would leave.
As time passed, the insectoids with low sentience withdrew from the ce. There were still quite many of them that stayed, including powerful insectoids in the Real Lake Realm.
After one to two hours, everything remained calm. Just as Lu Ye thought he was mistaken, the tightly closed door opened all of a sudden before a figure dashed out of the building.
Lu Ye, who had been watching everything, was astounded, for the figure that came out of the building was familiar to him.
Despite his chubby figure, this man was dextrous as he reached an insectoid in a blink and wielded his knife. As a cold glint flickered, the insectoid was cut in half before it even had time to react.
The man passed through the broken carcass and charged towards the next insectoid. Although he didnt exude a powerful aura, he appeared determined to destroy everything in his way. The knife in his hand was razor-sharp as he easily shattered the solid carapace that covered the insectoids. [Why is he so powerful?] Lu Ye was dumbfounded.
As far as he was concerned, this man was only a Heaven Grade Seventh or Eighth Order apparition, but the power he showcased now far exceeded that. It was to the point where Lu Ye was unable to scrutinise his power.
What was even more shocking was that after the chubby man dashed out of the building, another ten more figures emerged.
Although Lu Ye didnt know who they were, he was familiar with the uniform they were wearing.
They were the sentries of Xianyuan City Watch!
More than ten sentries followed the chubby man and made a move at the same time. They soon destroyed the nearby insectoids, whose blood formed into puddles. Many insectoids were alerted as they surrounded those people, besieging them.
Lu Ye was bewildered, for everything he was seeing was different from what he knew about this city.
He was already astonished that the chubby man was able to use a power that far exceeded his expectation. Much to his surprise, it was the same case for the sentries.
When he visited the city in the past, the sentries were only Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Masters. Only the squad leaders were Heaven Seven or Heaven Eight.
Now, it seemed that none of the sentries were weaker than Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Most of them were in the Real Lake Realm with a small number of them in the Cloud River Realm. It was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with.
This made Lu Ye puzzled as he wondered if he was indeed in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Or perhaps the one he had visited previously was a sham.
Despite the doubts in his heart, he still reacted promptly. He instructed his insectoid squad to kill all the enemies. The next moment, the rest of the insectoids pounced on the opponents except for the spider.
He didnt let the spider take part in the battle because the ce was chaotic. If he made the spider charge forward, the repercussions of the battle might expose him, which would make him fall into trouble.
Although the sentries and the chubby man were formidable, Lu Ye could see that all of them were injured.
They must have gone through many simr battles before. Even without Lu Yes help, they would still be able to handle the situation, though they would have to consume more energy, and some of them might be killed.
Nheless, things were different now with Lu Yes help.
Insectoids were not vignt against theirpanions. Presently, their attention was all on the sentries. As such, when six insectoids red up all of a sudden, they easily killed many of the insectoids that used to be theirpanions.
The sentries initially didnt notice the anomaly, but as time passed, someone detected it and eximed, Sir!
A cold glint flickered from the knife in the chubby mans hand as he nodded almost imperceptibly. While killing the enemies, he scanned his surroundings.
A momentter, he set his eyes on the spider that had stayed away from the battlefield. Even though Lu Ye had concealed his presence, he could feel the other party looking straight at him.
As their eyes met, the man nodded at Lu Ye and continued destroying the enemies. [He saw me!]
Lu Ye felt some ripples coursing through his heart.
Considering his unique state, his power was equivalent to that of a Real Lake Realm Master, and he had blessed himself with Glyphs that could curb his aura and conceal his presence. Even cultivators who were slightly more powerful than him should not notice him when he was in such a state.
It was unless the other party was one Major Realm above him.
In other words, the man he thought was only Heaven Seven or Heaven Eight was actually a Divine Ocean Realm Master.
As Lu Ye recalled the experiences when he arrived at the Lost City of Xianyuan for the first time, he was shrouded in a sense of surrealism. At that moment, he didnt seem able to distinguish reality from dream.@@novelbin@@
If the other party was indeed a Divine Ocean Realm Master, it exined why he was so formidable. The insectoids in the Real Lake Realm couldnt even take one move from him.
With Lu Yes squad and the sentries working together, the number of insectoids continued to decrease until there was none left.
The sentries set their minds at ease, and even the man with a knife let out a breath of relief.
Amidst the carcasses, only Lu Yes insectoid squad was left. The sentries looked doubtfully and warily at the insectoids, not understanding what was going on with these insectoids which went against theirpanions earlier.
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Chapter 652: The Butcher
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Lets go in and get some rest, ordered the cultivator with a knife in a dispassionate voice. Although the sentries of Xianyuan City Watch were doubtful, they obeyed his order and returned to the building where they had been hiding.
Soon, the cultivator looked in Lu Yes direction with a scrutinising and doubting gaze.
Although he was aware of someone concealing his presence over there, he had no idea who the person was. Moreover, he hadnt heard of anyone who was able to enve the insectoids in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
Since he was in a battle earlier, he didnt have time to ponder. Now that the fight was over, he naturally had to get to the bottom of it.
Noticing the other partys stare, Lu Ye took the initiative to reveal himself.
Although the cultivator was a sedate man who was unafraid of death, he was still astounded when he saw Lu Ye. Why are you here?
Certainly, he remembered Lu Ye.
Around one to two years ago, when the Lost City of Xianyuan opened up, Lu Ye visited this ce. At that time, the cultivator was turned into a Ghost Spirit by Amber, and he had been following Lu Ye around for quite a while.At that time, Lu Ye was only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, but his aura showed that he was in the Real Lake Realm now. The cultivator felt that the mans increase in power was terrifyingly rapid.
He even felt that he might have remembered something incorrectly.
Upon hearing the cultivators words, Lu Ye was certain that the person before his eyes was the same one he hade across before.
Back then, Amber had turned quite many people into Ghost Spirits, but they were mostly sentries. There were five special Ghost Spirits, though. They were Liu Sanbao, Pipa Girl, the schr, the Butcher, and the blind fortune teller.@@novelbin@@
These five Ghost Spirits respectively had their special skills. Their cultivation and moves were more powerful than those of the sentries.
During the previous trip to the Lost City of Xianyuan, Lu Ye had a high turnover rate of the sentries who followed him, but these five unique Ghost Spirits had been by his side for a long time.
When they eventually came across the City Lord, he cut off the connection between Amber and the Ghost Spirits.
At that time, Lu Ye felt that it was such a shame. Apart from a special environment such as the Lost City of Xianyuan, there was nowhere else where Amber could easily turn others into Ghost Spirits.
After all, Lu Ye had never seen other apparitions before other than Yi Yi in the outside world.
Now, this man, who was thought to be in the Divine Ocean Realm, was one of the five special Ghost Spirits back then, the Butcher!
Its been a long time since west met, Senior. Lu Ye cupped his fists. He had no idea what his name was, but since the man was significantly more powerful, he reckoned he should call him Senior.
Both of them were equally puzzled.
The Butcher had no idea why Lu Ye was even here and could enve the insectoids.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was wondering how a Spirit Creek Realm Master had turned into a Divine Ocean Realm Master so quickly.
Since the street wasnt the best ce to have a conversation, the Butcher beckoned to him. Come on in.
Lu Ye nodded and stepped forward before entering the building with him. He didnt have to worry about his insectoid squad as they would be fine staying outside.
Inside the house, the sentries were adjusting their breathing. They looked weary from the battle earlier, and some of their bodies no longer looked so solid.
It was apparent that they had exerted themselves. Apparitions were not made of flesh, after all. They were somewhere between virtual and real. They would appear thinner if they had spent too much energy, and in the worst-case scenario, they might be invisible and dissipate altogether.
Presently, Lu Ye was also an apparition, but unlike the others, he was able to consume Spirit Pills to replenish his Spiritual Power.
On the other hand, the sentries couldnt do that. Regardless of how long they could rest here, it would be useless if they were unable to restore their Soul Powers. They would only feel less exhausted as time passed.
Who is this, Sir?
When Lu Ye came into the building with the Butcher, these sentries were astonished.
The Lost City of Xianyuan was arge city with a lot of sentries, but having spent so many years together, they were familiar with each other, remembering all the faces. Therefore, it was a surprise that an unfamiliar face appeared all of a sudden.
Instead of exining anything, the Butcher merely ordered, Get some rest, for we have even more battles ahead of us!
Then, he led Lu Ye to the second floor.
When Lu Ye was out of sight, one sentry came to his senses and whispered, I remember him. He was the one who killed me previously. He was talking about thest time Lu Ye came to the Lost City of Xianyuan.
If Lu Ye were there, he wouldve been puzzled. Since this sentry was killed, why was he still alive and kicking now?
Upon hearing that, another sentry asked, Are you saying hes an Outsider?
Has the Hidden Realm opened up? No, I dont think so. There are signs every time the Hidden Realm opens up, and the time hasnte yet. Moreover, during the period when the insectoids attack the city, the Hidden Realm isnt essible to the Outsiders. How did he evene in?
Compared to that, Im more concerned about the anomaly during the battle earlier. Several insectoids were killing theirpanions as if they had been enved. Sir didnt ask us to destroy those insectoids either. It seems like that this guy was the one who controlled the insectoids.
Can anyone do that in the world? Its said that insectoids can never be enved.
Who knows? Perhaps in this age, some people have invented a way to control the insectoids.
The conversation between the sentries was fervent.
This was unlike the impression Lu Ye had of them.
As far as he was concerned, sentries were apparitions with low sentience. Even the squad leaders were inflexible. As such, he was impressed by the Butcher and the others, since apparitions like them behaved just like Humans.
Now, it seemed that besides the fact that the sentries were apparitions, they were no different from Humans.
The entire Lost City of Xianyuan seemed to be shrouded in a thickyer of mystery.
After the Butcher took Lu Ye to the second floor, he told him to have a seat and looked out the window for a while. Then, he turned around and looked at Lu Ye with a frown, asking, Are you dead?
Lu Ye didnt expect to hear that kind of question. Despite his urge to roll his eyes, he shook his head and denied it. No.
How did youe in, then? The Hidden Realm supposedly hasnt opened up yet.
Only when the Hidden Realm opened up would there be a lot of Humans, just like what had happened previously. However, when the Hidden Realm was closed, the Humans would be chased out.
The same thing happened repeatedly over the years. There had never been a time when there were Outsiders while the Hidden Realm was closed.
Lu Ye replied, I came here through the Mystic Fruit Seed.
Whats that? The Butcher frowned. It was apparent that he had never heard of it.
Just as Lu Ye was ready to fish out the Mystic Fruit Seed, he recalled that he was now an apparition in this city. Although he had ess to the things in his Storage Bag and Storage Sphere, he couldnt bring the seed, which was the key to the Rift of Illusions, with him. As such, he described what the seed looked like and exined its amazing uses instead.
The Butcher seemed to understand what Lu Ye was talking about, but he hadnt figured out why that thing could help a Human enter this city as an apparition. After giving it some thought, he formed some spection.
If his spection was right, it was not impossible that Lu Ye could enter the city.
In that case, there must be something special about the man before his eyes as an average person wouldnt receive such treatment.
Whats your name? asked the Butcher.
Im Lu Ye, a disciple from Crimson Blood Sect, Lu Ye replied. Whats your name, Senior?
Havent you been calling me Butcher? Just call me that.
Certainly, Lu Ye remembered calling him Butcher when he was in the city previously, but he was hesitant to call him that again now.
Nheless, it didnt bother the Butcher one bit. Im a Butcher in this city, so youre not wrong to call me that. Suddenly recalling something, he told Lu Ye, But if you see that woman again, dont call her crybaby. Shell be displeased if she hears someone calls her that, and she will teach you a lesson.
Lu Ye was embarrassed upon hearing that.
Crybaby was Pipa Girl. Her sonic attacks were incredible as they could unsettle and enchant the enemies. Of the five special Ghost Spirits, Pipa Girl was the most useful to Lu Ye. Be it the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge or sentries, she could weaken their powers by 30 percent with the sounds of her pipa and her cries.
Her name is Xi Wanying.
Ill keep that in mind. Lu Ye nodded with a solemn expression and told himself in secret that he had to call her Xi Wanying instead of crybaby.
However, it might be toote, for he had called the woman crybaby previously. If she wanted to settle the score with him, she would teach him a lesson when they met again.
An apprehensive Lu Ye asked, Senior, how is Senior Xis cultivationpared to yours?
She is more powerful than me. The Butchers words pulled Lu Ye out of his wishful thinking.
Therefore, he could only pray that he wouldnt bump into that woman again.
Senior, what happened to all of you? Why are you guys so powerful now? Thest time we met, you were only in the Spirit Creek Realm, Lu Ye asked doubtfully. Also, what is it about the Lost City of Xianyuan? Why am I here all of a sudden?
The Butcher exined, What you see might not be real when ites to cultivation. When the Hidden Realm opened up previously, old farts like us decided to y a little game with you guys. The cultivation we showcase depends on how powerful all of you are.
A little game? Lu Ye was perplexed.
Its a bit of fun in the countless years weve been staying here. You can regard this game as something that helps keep our humanity, and you dont need to know the rest.
Lu Ye nodded in puzzlement, but he had a vague understanding of what the Butcher meant. When the Hidden Realm opened up previously, cultivators like them were only in the Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Therefore, the Butcher and the others presented themselves as cultivators in the same league, though they appeared to be slightly more powerful.
As for what the Lost City of Xianyuan is about and why you are here If you have a chance to see the City Lord, ask him about it. He will tell you if he wants to.
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Chapter 653: Unafraid of Death
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The Butcher didnt exin much. Perhaps he didnt know, or perhaps some things were hard to exin.
In that case, Lu Yes n would go down the drain.
He initially thought that following such a cmity, the Lost City of Xianyuan would be conquered, and all the sentries would be wiped out. Even the powerful City Lord and the red-clothed woman must have passed away. With the help of his insectoid squad, he should be able to enter the City Lords Mansion and get as much Soul Cleansing Water as he wanted.
Things turned out to be different from what he had expected.
Many sentries were still moving around in the city, so the City Lord was likely alive and kicking.
In that case, Lu Ye wouldnt be able to obtain Soul Cleansing Water even if he managed to barge into the mansion, which was an annoying thought.
It wasnt that Lu Ye wanted the City Lord to go to Hell; it was just that he couldnt carry on with his n.
When will you go to the City Lords Mansion, Senior? Lu Ye asked.Although the chance was low, he still wanted to give it a shot. His trip to this city was a rare opportunity, after all. Compared to battle points, he had a stronger desire to obtain Soul Cleansing Water, which would be immensely useful in his next n.
Moreover, he also needed to talk to the City Lord and find out how he could leave.
He had entered the Lost City of Xianyuan this time without even knowing the reason, but it wasnt like he could stay here forever. He had to leave in the end, but he had no idea how to do that.
Perhaps the City Lord could give him an answer.
The Butcher nced at him and replied, My task is to destroy all the insectoids from this area to the periphery. I wont go back beforepleting my task.
Understanding his intentions, Lu Ye nodded. Ill help you out, then.
If he couldnt get his hands on Soul Cleansing Water, he had to acquire more battle points at the very least. The Butcher was in the Divine Ocean Realm while the sentries were mostly in the Real Lake Realm. It would be safer for Lu Ye to stay by their side. As long as the Butcher couldplete his task, Lu Ye could follow him back to the City Lords Mansion.
Whatever! The Butcher didnt turn him down. Lu Ye alone might not be of much help, but his insectoid squad might prove to be tremendously useful.
The unintelligent insectoids would never expect to be killed by theirpanions.
By the way, whats going on with the rednterns outside the buildings? I recall that the sentries couldnt enter such buildings thest time I was here.
That was what puzzled Lu Ye. Thest time he was in this city, these special buildings served as the shelter for the foreign cultivators, blocking out the sentries. He initially thought these buildings were like restricted areas for the sentries.
Now, that didnt seem to be the case, for the sentries could enter such buildings.
Just like how the foreign cultivators shielded themselves from the sentries with the help of these buildings previously, the sentries made use of these buildings to hide from the insectoids this time.
I told you its all a game. What you see might not be real. Also, even in the most despairing situation, the Heavens will provide a way out. Do you get it?
Certainly, Lu Ye didnt quite understand what the Butcher meant, but he soon realised something when he recalled the man mentioning the Heavens.
Just as he expected, the Heavens were everywhere.
Be it the opening up of the Hidden Realm previously or the insectoid attack on the city this time, these well-protected buildings served as ces for the cultivators to get some rest and recuperate.
Although the Butcher was a Divine Ocean Realm Master, he wasnt as solemn as the others in the same Realm. Moreover, it seemed that he hadnt talked to a Human for a long time, so he was more than happy to have a long conversation with Lu Ye. He was especially interested in the outside worlds affairs. As such, he listened intently as Lu Ye spoke, and he would ask some questions from time to time, to which Lu Ye answered patiently.@@novelbin@@
He also asked Lu Ye about how to enve the insectoids. Certainly, Lu Ye wouldnt hide anything from him. When the Butcher learned that it was the power of a Divine Glyph, he was amazed.
He initially thought Lu Ye was a Beastmaster, which was why thetter had a way to control the insectoids.
After resting for about two hours, the Butcher led the sentries to set off to their next destination.
They had a task toplete, after all.
There were quite many squads like them in the city, and every squad was responsible for killing the insectoids in a particr area.
Lu Ye didnte across them earlier because he had been lingering on the periphery. Most sentries were in the city centre, which was why Lu Ye didnt bump into them even though he had been moving around for quite a while.
A Divine Ocean Realm Master was leading a squad of seven to eight Real Lake Realm Masters. Undoubtedly, this was a force to be reckoned with. The insectoids they came across were powerless to counterattack. Nheless, there were too many insectoids in the city. Once they got into a prolonged fight, the other insectoids woulde over to help theirpanions upon hearing the noise.
Therefore, even though they were powerful, they didnt dare act recklessly. The Butcher would always find the special building first as a retreat. After killing some insectoids, he would lead the sentries to go in and get some rest. The same thing happened again and again as they moved towards the periphery.
Lu Yes insectoid squad proved to be helpful. Amidst the chaos, the seven insectoids could easily kill the enemies, helping Lu Ye earn a lot of battle points and easing the burden on the sentries.
If the Butcher and the others were normal cultivators, it wouldve been a war without any mystery as to who the winners would be.
Unfortunately, they were all apparitions, so they were unable to replenish the energy they had spent contending with the enemies. They grew weaker as time passed.
The small number of sentries in the Cloud River Realm were translucent now.
Nheless, they seemed unperturbed as if it didnt matter, and they chatted joyfully with Lu Ye during their break.
It was rare that there was a visitor in the city who could talk to them. Therefore, the sentries were hospitable towards Lu Ye as they talked incessantly to him just about anything.
A feisty female sentry even asked questions that were difficult to answer. Lu Ye was bashful while the other sentries giggled.
After another battle ended, the Butcher led the sentries to get some rest.
As usual, even though the sentries were frail and translucent, they didnt seem bothered one bit.
Lu Ye felt that their lives didnt seem important to them, and they werepletely unafraid of death.
This made Lu Ye revere them.
After hesitating for a while, he steeled himself to head to the second floor and look for the Butcher.
Is there anything youd like to talk about? The Butcher looked curiously at him.
Lu Ye replied, Soul Cleansing Water in the Pool of Divine Purification should help all of you restore your energy. Didnt you bring it with you?
He initially thought that the Butcher and the others would carry some Soul Cleansing Water with them to replenish their energy. Now, it seemed that they didnt have Soul Cleansing Water with them, which was why they became weaker as time passed.
It is Soul Mist, not Soul Cleansing Water, in the Pool of Divine Purification. We cant condense it through usual means, so how are we supposed to bring it out? Exined the Butcher.
Lu Ye was shocked, clearly not expecting such an answer. After giving it some thought, he realised that it was indeed Soul Mist in the Pool of Divine Purification. In the past, he had built a huge Spirit Gathering Funnel to turn the mist into water. Other people, even those in the Divine Ocean Realm, might not be able to do that.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, the apparitions in the city had been repeatedly going through the same thing for the past thousands of years. Death was not terrifying to them; it was merely the beginning of the next journey.
On the other hand, the Pool of Divine Purification was crucial. It was the foundation for the Lost City of Xianyuan and the other Rifts of Fortune. As long as the energy in the pool wasnt depleted, the city would never fall. As such, since time immemorial, no one had ever thought about turning the mist into water and bringing it out.
It would be fine if they did that one to two times, but if they repeatedly did it, the pool would be affected negatively.
Therefore, even if the City Lord had a way to turn the mist into water, he wouldnt do that.
You know the Pool of Divine Purification? The Butcher was astounded.
Yes, Ive been there. Lu Ye nodded. Previously, he had a deal with the City Lord, who agreed to let Amber and Ju Jia enter the pool to strengthen their souls. Much to his surprise, Lu Ye took some Soul Cleansing Water out of the pool, which was why he was incensed.
I dont have much of it left, so you guys have to share it equally among yourselves, Lu Ye said and whipped out a jade bottle before passing it to the Butcher.
A doubtful Butcher took the bottle and opened the lid before appearing shocked. Where did you get it from?
As an apparition in the Lost City of Xianyuan, he could immediately recognise what was inside the bottle. Nheless, he had no idea how Lu Ye even acquired it.
What do you think? Lu Ye shot him a nce.
The Butcher soon came to his senses and guffawed. Didnt the City Lord try to kill you?
The fact that Lu Ye was still alive and kicking showed that the City Lord didnt manage to destroy him.
The Butcher finally understood why the City Lord appeared irritable after the Hidden Realm opened up previously, for Lu Ye had taken some Soul Cleansing Water out of the pool.
I wont forget about your favour, brat. The Butcher patted Lu Yes shoulder and drew a drop of water from the bottle before consuming it. Soon, the frailty around him disappeared in a blink.
Then, he went to the first floor and shared the rest of Soul Cleansing Water with the other sentries.
The weak sentries were instantly energised.
Upon learning that it was Lu Ye who gave them the Soul Cleansing Water, they became even more passionate when they were already fond of him.
The feisty female apparition, whose name was Yu Qing, even seemed eager to marry him, making Lu Ye embarrassed while the other sentries looked on gleefully.
They soon set off again. With the Butcher leading the way, they repeatedly destroyed the insectoids on the streets and entered the special buildings to recuperate.
Although their energy had been replenished, the task of wiping out the insectoids remained difficult. After several rounds of battle, they exerted themselves and became frail again.
This time, there wasnt any Soul Cleansing Water for them to restore their energy.
Lu Ye had more than 100,000 battle points now, but he wasnt jovial.
As he looked at these frail sentries who still never stopped smiling, he was bewildered, wondering if they were truly unafraid of death.
Even though they were apparitions, they were not supposed to be so calm and collected in the face of death.
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Chapter 654: Crisis
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Look at how happy they are. An alluring figure came close to Lu Ye as Yu Qings voice sounded. She was frail, and even her body was translucent. However, it couldnt be denied that her frailty had somewhat enhanced her beauty.
Nheless, Lu Ye wouldnt think that she was a fragile woman. Although it had only been a short time since they got to know each other, he had seen how fierce she could be.
Arent you curious why theyre so optimistic? Yu Qing whispered to the man.
Lu Ye nodded and asked the question that had been bugging him. Senior, are all of you really unafraid of death?
Yu Qing rolled her eyes and snapped, Why are you calling me a Senior? Youre making me look old.
A sentry of Xianyuan City Watch, who had been listening in to their conversation, guffawed. Youve been around for thousands of years, so its not wrong for this brat to call you Senior.
Yu Qing bristled at that. Liu Datong! Ill tear your mouth apart if you dare spout nonsense again!
The sentry named Liu Datong was unperturbed as he made a funny face at Lu Ye. Brat, youd better be vignt and not let this old bat fool you. Im telling youBefore he could finish his words, Yu Qing picked up a chair and hurled it at him. Liu Datong warded it off with his hand, and when he looked at how furious the woman was, he flinched and said, Alright, Ill stop speaking
With that, he ran his fingers across his lips as though trying to zip them up.
Yu Qing glowered at him for a moment before turning around with a bashful expression and speaking to Lu Ye in a soft voice. Call me Older Sister!
Lu Ye let out a sigh. Please stop pulling my leg, Senior.
Yu Qing pursed her lips. Youre so dull. Its no wonder youre still alive. Im sure no woman will love you in the outside world.
At that, Lu Ye was rendered speechless.
Yu Qing put on a faint smile. Alright, Ill stop teasing you. Anyway, you dont have to worry too much. Death doesnt matter to people like us. Its not that were unafraid of death; its just that were already used to it. Moreover, sometimes, death is a form of relief.
Lu Ye had no idea what the woman had gone through that made her say such a thing. Apparently, the other sentries shared the same sentiment as all of them were unperturbed even in this situation.
So Yu Qing lifted her hand to ruffle Lu Yes hair, treating him like he was a child. If all of us die before your eyes, you dont have to be too concerned. Youre different from us. Living in the moment is how you show respect to your future.
After a moment of silence, Lu Ye said, Why dont you let Senior Butcher bring all of you back to the City Lords Mansion? The Pool of Divine Purification is over there, and it should help you all restore your energy.
The battlefield over there is even more dangerous! Yu Qing shook her head. The insectoids wee across here arent so powerful. However, the closer it is to the City Lords Mansion, the stronger the insectoids are. Given our current state, itll be hard for us to break through their siege and go back.
Lu Ye asked doubtfully, Is the City Lords Mansion their target?
Yu Qing nodded seriously. The foundation of the Lost City of Xianyuan is over there. If the insectoids manage to upy the City Lords Mansion, the entire city will fall. Suddenly, she smiled and spoke in a lighter tone. Anyway, you dont have to worry. With Sir City Lord and Madam Hong Yue around, the mansion will be fine. The insectoids havent been able to destroy us over the past thousands of years. [Thousands of years] Lu Ye had repeatedly heard the same description from the sentries. He frowned. Has the war been ongoing for thousands of years?
Yes, for as long as I can remember.
Lu Ye felt that something was off. If those of the city had been fending off the insectoids for thousands of years, how did they even hold out? At the very least, where did they get so many sentries to defend the city?
Human lives were lost in any war, and apparitions were no exception.
Even if the insectoids had failed their mission one to two times, it wasnt possible that they hadnt been able to achieve their goal for thousands of years. Not even the City Lord and Hong Yue, as Yu Qing had mentioned, were able to protect the city forever.
Hong Yue was supposed to be the red-clothed woman that Lu Ye hade across previously.
Before he could ask any questions, the Butcher hade downstairs and ordered impassively, Lets go.
In an instant, all the sentries rose to their feet.
Yu Qing patted Lu Yes shoulder. Just fight alongside us like how youve always done it, and you must ensure your safety. Even if were in danger, dont rashly try to save us.
Lu Ye subconsciously dipped his head.@@novelbin@@
After stepping out of their resting ce, the Butcher led all of them to continue destroying the insectoids.
It had been smooth sailing for them. Although the sentries were frail due to their prolonged consumption of energy, the insectoids were generally weaker as they moved towards the periphery.
Just like what Yu Qing had said, the insectoids target was the City Lords Mansion. Therefore, the closer it was to the mansion, the stronger the insectoids were, and the more insectoids there were. The area around the mansion was where the Divine Ocean Realm Masters contended with the enemies.
The insectoids, who were as powerful as Divine Ocean Realm Masters, were most active in that area.
That was the reason Lu Ye hadnte across insectoids in the Divine Ocean Realm. Considering his current power, he would be powerless to counterattack if he bumped into such insectoids. Even the Glyphs that could conceal his presence and curb his aura might not be effective.
As the noise of the battle was heard, more and more insectoids were attracted to this ce. The Butcher and the others were soon besieged.
If they were at the peak of their powers, it wouldnt be hard for them to deal with this situation. However, the Butcher and the other sentries were all exhausted, which was why the battle was rather intense.
Fortunately, they had Lu Ye with them.
He had been staying outside the battlefield, controlling his insectoid squad to kill the enemies amidst the chaos, which helped ease the burden on the sentries.
As long as there was no ident, the sentries would eventually be the winners.
Yet, an ident came without warning.
As a cold glint flickered, two sentries fell apart. Their already dim figures became transparent in an instant. The shock on their faces showed that they hadnt expected the turn of events.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished into thin air.
Beside them, a seemingly injured and ordinary mantis suddenly red up, giving off an intimidating vibe.
It was apparently an insectoid in the Divine Ocean Realm.
Supposedly, such an insectoid shouldnt appear here, and its injury showed that it had gone through an intense battle.
This insectoid must havee all the way from the City Lords Mansion. It was injured in the battle over there, so it had to devour other carcasses to restore its energy. For some reason, it arrived at the periphery and bumped into the sentries led by the Butcher.
No one had paid any attention to the mantis before it made a move, but its all-out attack caused two sentries to lose their lives in an instant.
Then, the mantis shed its de at Yu Qing, who could never fend off such an attack.
Upon seeing that, Lu Ye blessed his legs with Windwalk and dispelled his concealment before charging towards the battlefield without hesitation.
How dare you! Growled the Butcher as he wielded his knife and warded off the lethal attack.
The two of them, both in the Divine Ocean Realm, soon got into a fight. One was badly injured while the other was on hisst legs. They could be considered equally matched, and the repercussions of the battle swept over the other insectoids and killed them.
The sentries reacted swiftly by joining forces to break the siege so that they could avoid the battlefield between the Divine Ocean Realm Masters.
Liu Datong lifted his head and saw Lu Ye charging towards them. He secretly cursed and led the squad to move towards him.
Since Lu Yes insectoid squad was creating chaos, the situation descended into turmoil.
Soon, the sentries reached Lu Ye, but the situation wasnt in their favour.
Initially, with a Divine Ocean Realm Master such as the Butcher around, the sentries could handle the flood of insectoids. However, since the Butcher was tangled up in a fight with the mantis that was in the same Realm, Yu Qing, Liu Datong, and the others had to face immense pressure, considering that they were weaker.
If they were on their own, they wouldnt mind losing their lives in the battle.
Nheless, Lu Ye was with them on the battlefield.
Before they departed, Yu Qing had told Lu Ye to disregard others safety and prioritise his own and not make a rash move to save them.
Lu Ye had certainly kept that in mind, but when he saw the two sentries getting killed, he couldnt bring himself to be so unfeeling. His body had acted before he could even think at that moment.
Break the siege and go back to the base! Yu Qing ordered.
The nearest base was one street away from their current location. Under normal circumstances, such a distance couldnt be considered long, but now, the chance of them breaking the siege of these insectoids was slim.
Nevertheless, they had no other choice. If they kept staying there, all of them would be killed.
None of them had expected an insectoid in the Divine Ocean Realm hiding among the other insectoids, which made them fall into a perilous situation.
Lu Yes insectoid squad proved to be immensely useful. Under his control, they formed a barrier behind these people, warding off the relentless insectoids.
Unfortunately, they were merely stalling for time; they were unable to turn the tide.
As they charged forward, more and more sentries copsed to the ground.
There were initially more than ten sentries, but half of them were gone in just a moment.
Moreover, as they had exerted themselves, the rest of the sentries looked like illusory beings. Even Yu Qing appeared translucent now. However, she and Liu Datong steadfastly stayed by Lu Yes side to ensure his safety.
Behind them, the Butcher and the mantis were in a violent battle. The sentries surrounded Lu Ye as they ran for their lives.
As Lu Ye watched the sentries copse, his grief spread through his heart like ripples.
Send him to safety right now! Liu Datong bellowed and turned around to contend with the insectoids.
When Lu Ye turned his head to look, he saw the man who was always so garrulous getting drowned in the flood of insectoids.
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Chapter 655: Wiped Out
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Although they were only one street away from their base, it became a divider between life and death.
The sentries of Xianyuan City Watch determinedly fended off the insectoids, and they were drowned in the flood of enemies one by one.
The building with a redntern outside the door was right before their eyes. Presently, Yu Qing was the only sentry who was still by Lu Yes side. Her figure was of unusual translucence. It was apparent that she was on the brink ofing apart.
At the most critical moment, she took Lu Yes arm and hurled him away before shouting, Get in right now!
While in midair, Lu Ye wielded his Invible Saber and destroyed two insectoids that looked like locusts.
Hended in front of the building, but when he turned around to look, Yu Qing was already nowhere in sight. Only the insectoids were relentlesslying after him.
He quickly opened the door and dashed into the building before closing the door tightly. Soon, the insectoids were heard attacking the house from outside.
It was a building that had been blessed with a special protective power, after all. Regardless of what the insectoids did, they could not destroy the building.Lu Ye clenched his fists with an extremely gloomy expression. The grief at the bottom of his heart made him feel an indescribable pain.
It had not been a long time since he got to know Yu Qing and the others, so they could only be considered acquaintances, not even friends.
However, those sentries eventually lost their lives to keep him safe. If not for their fierce protection, he would not have made it back to the base.
As he recalled it, he had only given Butcher a bit of Soul Cleansing Water, so he did not deserve to be saved by the sentries, who lost their lives for him.
The attacks from the insectoids remained vehement. Just one street away, an even more intense noise of a battle was heard. It was apparent that Butcher was still in a fierce fight against the insectoid in the Divine Ocean Realm.
There came a moment when the noise stopped suddenly.
Lu Yes chest tightened.
He had no idea about the oue, whether Butcher had won or lost the fight.
While he was in his thoughts, the already boisterous insectoids became even more uproarious as they kept hissing.
Realising something, Lu Ye quickly looked out through the door gap and saw many insectoids gathering in a particr ce on the street. Lights could be seen flickering from that ce as the insectoids were cut into pieces.
Following that, Butchers chubby figure emerged and soon reached the building. Lu Ye hurriedly opened the door and let him in.
He closed the door after that, and the insectoids started attacking the building again.
Butcher looked around and asked suddenly, Are you the only one left?
Lu Ye hung his head low. All the Seniors were killed while sending me back here.
As though seeing through the guilt in his heart, Butcher smiled faintly. Even if they didnt protect you, they still wouldnt live long anyway. It doesnt matter that theyre dead; you dont have to be mournful. They
He caught himself before he finished his words, and with a meaningful expression, he continued, Since youve survived, you must stay safe, and dont disappoint them.
Lu Ye remained silent. His heart had never felt heavier.
Butcher walked up to him and passed him his knife. Im giving it to you, and you must keep it well.
Lu Yes expression changed in astonishment when he saw what the thing was. Senior?
Butcher sat down cross-legged and sighed. Im exhausted, so Im going to get some rest. Just do your own thing.
With that, he closed his eyes, and his translucent figure contorted and dissipated. The knife in his hand fell and nged to the floor.
Although he had won the battle, he had also used up all his energy. He had managed to make it back to this building, but he couldnt hold on any longer.
In silence, Lu Ye looked at the spot where Butcher had disappeared.
He did not know what kind of faith it was that the sentries were holding on to. From his conversations with Yu Qing and the others, he had learned that the war had been ongoing for thousands of years, and as the war dragged on, all of them agreed that death would be a form of relief.
Liu Datong, Yu Qing, and the sentries whose names Lu Ye did not know of were still brave and unwavering in theirst moments of life.
They had never been afraid of death.
A long timeter, Lu Ye stepped forward and made a salutation at the spot where Butcher had disappeared. Then, he picked up the knife and kept it inside his Storage Sphere.
The next moment, he went somewhere else and sat down cross-legged so that he could consume some Spirit Pills to recuperate.
Although Butchers squad had been wiped out, their mission was still unfinished. For the sake of remembering them, and out of reverence, Lu Ye wanted to carry on with the mission of destroying all the insectoids in this area.
He had many wounds on his figure, which were left on him when he tried to break the siege a while ago. It was hard to heal these wounds. He couldve used Soul Cleansing Water, but he had given it all to Butcher and the others.
That said, he still had the energy to fight, and it would be fine as long as he did not use his Soul Power.
He could sense that five of his ves were still alive. Two of them had been killed by other insectoids amidst the chaos.
Since he had five insectoids with him, he should be able to help Butcher and his squadplete their mission as long as he was careful enough. The prerequisite was that he would not encounter insectoids in the Divine Ocean Realm.
He reckoned that it would not be easy toe across such insectoids, and the incident this time was merely a coincidence. Powerful insectoids had mostly gathered around the City Lords Mansion.
The noise outside gradually died down. There was no one to chatter andugh as the entire base was in dead silence.
After resting for about four hours, Lu Ye got up and looked out through the door gap. Only a small number of insectoids roamed around, and five of them were his ves.
As a thought shed across his mind, he instructed his insectoid squad to approach the other insectoids.
The moment he opened the door, all the insectoids were alerted as they instinctively charged towards him.
Bloodlust stirred the next moment. The five ve insectoids red up and destroyed the other insectoids around them.
Lu Ye dashed forward at the speed of lightning and unsheathed his Invible Saber, casting crescent-shaped Saber Lights as the insectoids that wereing at him copsed to the ground.
He didnt try to minimise the noise. Instead, he deliberately caused a scene to attract nearby insectoids.
The base was right beside him. If things went awry, he could immediately dash into the building to ensure his safety.
More and more insectoids were attracted to this ce. The battlefield was covered with broken limbs of the carcasses. Golden lights wafted towards the back of Lu Yes hand from all directions, but he didnt have time to look at the increase in his battle points. The only thought that upied his mind was that he had to kill all the insectoids within his sight.
The battle ended two hourster. Lu Ye dragged his exhausted figure back to the base and recuperated.
Outside the door, the five ve insectoids kept guard for him in silence.
Half a dayter, the door was opened once again, and Lu Ye stepped out. Although he had avoided using Soul Power, the battlefield was full of uncertainties. Most of the time, he did not have a choice.
There was no doubt he had be weaker after the battle, but this kind of frailty only took a toll on his soul, and it would not affect him negatively when he fought.
The next instant, hended on the spiders back and concealed his presence and curbed his aura with Glyphs. Following his order, the five insectoids set off to their next destination.
Lu Ye knew that Butcher and his squad were responsible for eliminating all the insectoids in this area, but he had no idea howrge the area was.
One thing he was certain, though, was that they were moving outwards, so he would not make a mistake by inching closer towards the periphery of the city.
He had arrived at the periphery in the beginning, and he was supposed to make it to the centre, but now, he had to return to where he came from. He couldnt help but think that life was indeed full of uncertainties.
Fortunately, the insectoids were generally weaker as he moved towards the periphery.
Whenever he found a base, he would scan his surroundings to see if there were powerful insectoids. If there were, he would make his insectoid squad kill the enemies. If there were no such insectoids, he would cause a scene in front of the base to attract nearby insectoids toe over.
There was no doubt it was tedious to fight on his own. Previously, he had Butcher and other powerful sentries with him. Wherever they went, the insectoids were powerless to counterattack. But now, Lu Ye only had himself to rely on, and he felt pressured.
Luckily, he could get battle points by killing insectoids.
He went on to recuperate and kill the enemies repeatedly.
The outside of every base would be dyed red as the carcasses piled up like a mountain. Lu Ye had no idea how many insectoids he had killed, but he knew he almost had 200,000 battle points now.
His body was bing weaker. He had a feeling that he might not be able toplete the mission for Butcher and the others, which would be a shame.
There came a moment when he arrived at the outermost area of the city.
As he looked ahead, the fog was rolling around, separating the city from the outside world.
Looking at the fog, he could not help but feel a sense of familiarity surge within him. Whenever he came to the Rift of Illusions back then, the monsters would emerge from a simr fog.@@novelbin@@
Once, he was curious about what was inside the fog, so he tried stepping into it to find out, but before he could go far, he was killed without even knowing why.
He did not expect to see this kind of fog outside the Lost City of Xianyuan as well, and he wondered what would happen if he went in.
Soon, he cast the idea away. Although he had no idea about the consequences if he entered the fog, he was sure that he would end up in a horrible state. As such, hed better just stay in the city.
He changed directions and led the insectoid squad to move along the wall as he continued the mission of eliminating the insectoids.
As they moved along the streets, they destroyed all the insectoids wherever they went.
Lu Ye had be weaker as his figure was now translucent. Although he would get some rest after every battle, the consumption of Soul Power still made him dizzy. For every waking moment, his mind was upied by only one thought. He just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep, ignoring the cmity around him.
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Chapter 656: Return
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The battle in front of the base was intense. Lu Ye could not even stand with stability as he wielded his saber out of reflex.
Although he would get some rest after every battle and consume some Spirit Pills to replenish his Soul Power, it was not easy to restore the Soul Power he had lost, which made his figure look translucent now.
The voice in his mind kept calling for him to close his eyes and rest, but he knew that once he did, he would never wake up again, considering his condition.
His strong will helped him hold out. Although he was like a flickering candlelight amidst the storm, he was determined to shine for thest time in this broken city.
After rounds of battle, he only had three insectoids in his squad now. Just like himself, the three insectoids were badly injured.
It could be said that he hade to a dead end.
He hade across many crises since he started cultivating, and he had solved many of them using his power. However, it was his first time getting pushed over the edge like this.
Suddenly, he felt a thread of connection getting cut off. Since he was muddle-headed, he had no idea where the feeling came from. It was not until a momentter that he realised one of his insectoids had lost its life, and he only had two left now. Sadly, they probably would not live to see the next sunrise.He squeezed hisst bit of energy to wield his Invible Saber and destroyed the insectoids around him.
After Butchers squad was wiped out, Lu Ye only wanted to help themplete their mission. But now, he had no idea what faith it was that helped him persevere.
Perhaps it was because the sentries had risked their lives to send him back to safety, and he eventually survived while they were all killed. For this reason, he could not allow their mission to fail.
Unfortunately, his energy was limited, and he found it to be a shame that after this battle, he might not have the strength to fight again. He would have no choice but to hide in a base and recuperate for a long time, and see if he could ever recover.
Since he was focused on the battle, he was not aware that on the roof of a building that was several dozen metres away, some figures were standing there and looking in his direction.
The dead Butcher, Liu Datong, Yu Qing, and the sentries whose names Lu Ye did not know were all there.
Butchers squad had returned!
Under normal circumstances, Lu Ye wouldve discovered them, especially when they did not conceal their presence.
Nheless, he was already on hisst legs, and his vision was blurred. He could not even clearly see the sight that was several metres away, let alone dozens of metres.
Why is he so determined to achieve our goals even when his life is at risk? Yu Qing was worried when she saw that Lu Ye was risking his life to destroy the insectoids.
You guys have gone too far! Liu Datong sighed. You shouldve told him what was going on. He probably thinks that were all dead.
Sir was thest one to die. He must have deliberately hidden the truth from him. Yu Qing glowered at Butcher.
The man said impassively, Well only find out his true temperament in the moment of life and death. If we had told him earlier, we wouldnt have seen this. Hes an incredible guy.
The sentries knew that Butcher was a stern person, and his remark showed that Lu Ye had gained his approval.
Its no wonder hes the chosen one, Butcher muttered under his breath.
What do you mean? Yu Qing looked at him in puzzlement.
Nothing. Butcher shook his head.
Anyway, save him right now! We wont die if we get killed, but if he dies, we dont know what will happen! Yu Qing demanded.
Butcher shot her a re. Do you even remember Im your higher-up?
Despite what he had said, he dashed towards the battlefield the next moment, followed by the other sentries.
On the battlefield, Lu Ye felt that he was drained of all energy. He did not even have the strength to wield his Invible Saber.
The battle was over. Despite his blurred vision, he could see there was no longer any insectoid. Besides the enemies, even his insectoid squad was all gone. [Its all over] The moment this thought formed in his mind, he became at ease and fell forward.
He did not fall to the ground, though. At the most critical moment, someone draped his arm around Lu Yes shoulders and supported his weight.
Lu Ye weakly lifted his head and saw Butcher. There was a rare smile of approval on his face.
A puzzled Lu Ye had no idea why he saw the supposedly dead Butcher at such a point. Perhaps it was an illusion after he had exerted himself.
Surprisingly, he also saw many figures behind Butcher.
They were the dead Liu Datong, Yu Qing, and the sentries Lu Ye was not so familiar with.
Although it was just an illusion, he could not help but feel guilty. His lips squirmed as he said, Senior, the mission@@novelbin@@
He had notpleted the mission, but he could not hold on any longer. If he fell asleep now, he did not even know if he would wake up again.
Youve done a great job. Butcher patted his shoulder. The mission ispleted.
They had killed all the insectoids in the area they were in charge of when they were on the way here earlier, and the rest of the insectoids in this ce were eliminated by Lu Ye.
Although Lu Ye felt that Butcher was merely cating him, he still forced a weak smile. Thats wonderful
At the same time, some doubt formed in his mind, for the illusion felt real. Before he could ponder, he lost consciousness as his head slumped to the side.
His almost transparent figure contorted at that moment.
Ill send him to the City Lords Mansion. All of you, form into three groups and look around for any insectoids that might still be alive.
Yes.
Liu Datong and the others obeyed his order.
Upon giving his order, Butcher picked up Lu Ye and leapt into the air. When he was 30 metres above the ground, he flew towards the City Lords Mansion and soon disappeared.
In the dark chaos, a light appeared and expanded rapidly. As that happened, Lu Ye slowly regained consciousness.
The mental exhaustion he felt was all gone, and it was reced withfort. His surroundings felt warm. It was as if he had returned to his Mothers womb.
He had no idea where he was. Although he had regained consciousness, he was not fully awake. Presently, he was in a state of half-asleep and half-awake.
His mind was a mess. He only recalled experiencing a lot of tough fights, and some figures shed across his eyes.
Before he could recall more, he fell asleep again.
A long timeter, he awakened once again.
This time, he was fully awake. Following a moment of grogginess, he soon recalled what had happened before he passed out. After Butchers squad was wiped out, he led his insectoid squad to eliminate the insectoids on the periphery to helpplete their mission.
Nheless, he did not manage to achieve his goal in the end.
He thought that it was such a shame. Unfortunately, he was not powerful enough. Due to the special environment, he acquired the power of Real Lake Realm even though he was only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. However, faced with such a situation, there was nothing much he could do on his own.
Also, he wondered where he was. He instinctively felt that his current location was familiar, but he could not tell where it was.
As he examined himself, he was surprised. That was because he discovered that his Soul Power had be even stronger.
His Soul Power was already more powerful than those of the cultivators in the same Realm, so supposedly, it was not easy to make it stronger. Nheless, after he regained consciousness, he discovered that his Soul Power had grown much stronger.
He wondered if he had broken through the limit during the battle that drained him of all energy, but that did not seem like the case.
It was not until this moment that he noticed the anomaly around him. The entire ce was filled with thick mist, which obstructed his vision.
It was no ordinary mist. While shrouded in it, he feltpletely at ease, and he would be more than happy to stay here forever.
A fragment of his memory soon matched the environment he was in.
Soul Mist! He could not help but be surprised, for the mist around him was Soul Mist.
Thest time he visited the Lost City of Xiayuan, he experienced the same environment. At that time, he, Ju Jia, Amber, and Yi Yi had gained a lot of benefits.
Soul Mist was only found in the Pool of Divine Purification. In other words, he was now in that pool.
However, he had cked out somewhere else in the city, so how did he end up awakening in the Pool of Divine Purification?
While he was doubtful, the faces of Butcher, Liu Datong, and Yu Qing shed across his mind.
He recalled seeing the sentries who were supposed to be dead before he passed out.
Nheless, it was merely an illusion. How could dead people like theme back to life?
He reckoned that other sentries must have found him and brought him to the City Lords Mansion before settling him in the Pool of Divine Purification.
Although it did not sound probable, it was the only exnation.
He had heard from Butcher that many sentries were moving around the city, and they were only one of the squads. Every squad was responsible for eliminating the insectoids in their respective area.
Perhaps another squad hadpleted their mission and found him while searching around.
Although he had no idea who brought him to this ce, they had undoubtedly saved him. As such, Lu Ye was grateful to them.
Not only had his Soul Power been fully restored, but it had also be stronger. It could be said that he had never felt better.
It was said that one would seek out lust when he was sated, and Lu Ye was no exception.
Nevertheless, he was not thinking about lust. The thick Soul Mist around him was what he coveted.
Thest time he was here, he filled several bottles with Soul Cleansing Water and left. Although he had no idea who ced him in the Pool of Divine Purification this time, he certainly would not want to miss this chance.
Therefore, upon figuring out his situation, he activated his power without hesitation. His power expanded as Yin and Yang intertwined with one another. In a blink, a huge Spirit Gathering Funnel was formed in the Soul Mist.
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Chapter 657: Is He Stealing Soul Cleansing Water?
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In the City Lords Mansion, the City Lord of the Lost City of Xianyuan looked at the Pool of Divine Purification in silence. His dark gaze seemed able to prate the thick mist and look into the depths of the pool.
Butcher stood just behind him.
After bringing Lu Ye to this ce and settling him inside the pool, he never left again. Although Lu Yes body had not dissipated at the time, Butcher was still worried.
Presently, a sentry was reporting to them on the oues of the battles in various parts of the city.@@novelbin@@
Most of the insectoids that had invaded the city had been wiped out. Once again, those from the city were dered the winners.
It had always been like this for the past thousands of years.
Unbeknownst to Lu Ye, the apparitions in the city were indestructible. They had left behind their Soul Imprints in the Pool of Divine Purification. Therefore, even if they were killed somewhere else, they would be resurrected through the pools power.
That was why Butcher and the others hade back to life.The Pool of Divine Purification was the foundation of the Lost City of Xianyuan.
The only way for the insectoids to upy the city was to brutally eliminate the citys defences, upy the City Lords Mansion, and destroy the pool. Otherwise, regardless of how many insectoids there were or how powerful they were, they could never upy the city. History repeated itself whenever the insectoidsunched an attack on the city.
Initially, those from the city would be at a disadvantage because there were a lot of insectoids, and many of them were formidable. Nheless, while the insectoids would be gone for good if they were killed, the cultivators from the city would always be resurrected in the Pool of Divine Purification, which allowed them to join the war again and again.
As the insectoids lost their advantage, they would gradually be eliminated. As a result, those from the city would eventually win the war.
This time, the war had been ongoing for about half a month. Lu Ye had entered the city at a time when the war was most intense.
Now, the war was about to conclude, and the huge crack in the sky had disappeared without anyone noticing it.
After the sentry was done with the report, he turned around and left.
A bored Butcher asked, Sir, is this brat really the chosen one?
He muttered the same thing to Liu Datong and Yu Qing a while ago, but he had heard it from the City Lord.
While looking at the pool, the City Lord replied, When he came previously, three out of the Four Symbols had gathered. This time, all of them have been assembled. Moreover, he seems to have the inheritance of a powerful Glyphweaver that allows him to use some Glyphs with ease. If he isnt the chosen one, then its hard for me to imagine the strict criteria for such a person. Suddenly, he let Butcher in on another piece of information. However, I believe hes only one of the candidates.
Are there other chosen ones? Butcher frowned.
The City Lord exined, Not all eggs are ced in the same basket, especially for a being like that. There must have been many chosen ones in thest thousands of years. Since weve been living in this city forever, were oblivious to the outside world. Its only natural that we dont know how the chosen ones have ended up. Judging from the current situation, none of the chosen ones have ever seeded.
Butcher nodded in agreement. If anyone had seeded, they would not have been confined to this city; they would have been freed.
There will eventually be an oue, and time is running out. The City Lord sighed.
He had said the same thing thest time he met Lu Ye, but no one had heard him as he was only muttering to himself.
Butcher asked solemnly, How much time do you think is left, Sir?
Who knows? The City Lord shook his head. Im sure all of you can feel that the number of insectoids has increased in recent years. On the other hand, the power of the Pool of Divine Purification has be weaker year by year. Perhaps decadester, the insectoids will be so powerful that we wont be able to fend them off anymore. Or perhaps the pool will dry up eventually, and well quit being imperishable. Either way, the Lost City of Xianyuan will fall, and Jiu Zhou will be destroyed!
Butcher felt his heart growing heavier.
As the cultivators in this city, they had been standing guard here for thousands of years. Divine Ocean Realm Masters like them knew more secrets than their counterparts in Jiu Zhou.
The safety of the Lost City of Xianyuan did not only affect the city itself but also the entire Jiu Zhou.
Perhaps the cultivators in Jiu Zhou had never known that there existed such a ce where the apparitions had been fighting the insectoids for thousands of years to keep Jiu Zhou safe.
Even if someone went to tell them about it, no one would believe such a tale. After all, the story indeed sounded ridiculous.
The City Lord mentioned that the number of insectoids had increased, which meant that the insectoid nest was now able to absorb power from the outside world, which was terrible news. If the connection between the insectoid nest and the outside world became strong enough, the already imperfect defences of the city would crack, and the consequences would be dreadful.
There was also the Pool of Divine Purification.
Although the power in the pool was immense, it had been on the decline as the apparitions of the city were repeatedly resurrected over the past thousands of years. There woulde a day when the power in the pool was used up. When that happened, the apparitions in the city would stop being imperishable.
All the signs showed that time was indeed running out. This world needed someone who could turn things around. However, nobody knew if the chosen ones could pass the final trial.
There hadnt been an oue for the past thousands of years, so they had no hopes of seeing any miracle.
At that moment, Butcher felt crestfallen.
That brat has awakened! the City Lord suddenly said.
Is he alright? Butcher hurriedly asked.
What could go wrong when he has only consumed too much of his Soul Power? As expected, hes doing something terrible again! the City Lord said through clenched teeth.
Butcher immediately realised what was going on. Is he stealing Soul Cleansing Water?
Soul Cleansing Water was only found in the Pool of Divine Purification throughout Jiu Zhou. When Lu Ye previously produced the bottle of Soul Cleansing Water, Butcher instantly knew that he must have stolen it from the pool.
The City Lord snorted and turned to look at Butcher. Lets see what you have to say on this! Hes not from this city, so he supposedly cant enter the Pool of Divine Purification. I had broken the rule once previously to help all of you out of trouble. This time, Ive only allowed him to enter the pool to recuperate because youve let him join your squad. But now, hes doing something so shameless again. Im telling you, Ill definitely kill him!
Butcher smiled meekly. He has indeed helpedplete our mission. Moreover, when our squad was wiped out, he continued to fight until he was on hisst legs. He totally has the right to be the external member of our squad.
When Butcher took Lu Ye back to the mansion, the City Lord was astounded, for he did not expect Lu Ye to enter the city at this point.
Then, he learned from Butcher how Lu Ye came to the city, which was why he believed that the man was the chosen one.
If Lu Ye were not the chosen one, he could not have entered the city using that method, and he even happened to arrive when the insectoids attacked the city.
If he hade to the city at another time, the entire ce would have been in dead silence as all the apparitions were sound asleep in the Pool of Divine Purification, and Lu Ye would not have gotten any benefits at all.
Nheless, due to his timely arrival, he managed to acquire a lot of benefits even though he became on hisst legs from fighting for a long time.
Just like what the City Lord had said, since Lu Ye was not a cultivator from the city, he supposedly could not enter the pool. It was Butcher who decided to let Lu Ye join his squad and be an external member. That was why the City Lord broke the rule and let Lu Ye rest in the pool.
Much to Butchers surprise, Lu Ye immediately tried to steal Soul Cleansing Water upon regaining consciousness, which was why he was embarrassed.
His lips squirmed for a moment before he said, Sir, if youre determined to kill him, just do it!
The City Lord snorted. Do you think I wont kill him?
Butcher put on a fawning smile. Since you believe hes the chosen one, why dont you give him a chance? Perhaps hell make it to the end. That blind man always talks about karma. Perhaps the good deed weve done today will end up bearing a fruitful oue for us.
He was certain that the City Lord would not kill Lu Ye, and even the City Lord himself knew he would not do that. Otherwise, he would have stopped Lu Ye the moment he noticed the theft instead of talking incessantly to Butcher.
Despite being a Butcher in the city before he became an apparition, he was a sensitive person, which was why he could easily see through the City Lords mind.
Moreover, hes only one person. Even if we let him steal some Soul Cleansing Water, the heritage of the pool wont decrease significantly. Im sure it will be fine. The City Lord nced at the pool as his eyelids twitched. If you knew what he was capable of doing, you wouldnt have warned me.
When an ordinary cultivator entered the pool, even if he was able to condense Soul Cleansing Water, he would only get a limited amount of it. On the other hand, Lu Ye had created a huge funnel, which was able to quickly condense Soul Mist into Soul Cleansing Water.
The City Lord could also see that Lu Ye had ced a bota bag beneath the funnel, seemingly determined to fill the entire bag.
There was no doubt his actions were outrageous.
Even though the City Lord was a Divine Ocean Realm Master who had been living for thousands of years, he was flustered upon seeing that.
If this went on, the heritage of the pool would decrease tremendously. The power of the pool was already scarce in the first ce. Once the heritage was reduced, the Soul Mist would disappear altogether soon enough.
After giving it some thought, Butcher said, Anyway, we cant let him get Soul Cleansing Water for free. He must have obtained a lot of battle points from killing the insectoids. Why dont we make him pay for the Soul Cleansing Water with a corresponding amount of battle points?
The City Lord was still in a dilemma as to whether he should stop Lu Ye when he heard what Butcher said. He nodded and replied, Thats a good idea. Then, he asked worriedly, How many battle points has he acquired this time?
I have no idea, but I suppose there should be several tens of thousands of points.
Since Lu Ye had destroyed so many insectoids, he must have obtained tens of thousands of points.
Unbeknownst to Butcher, Lu Ye had acquired more battle points than that. He had over 300,000 battle points now!
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Chapter 658: Trading Battle Points for Soul Cleansing Water
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Throughout the entire Jiu Zhou, even the Divine Ocean Realm Masters would not have over 300,000 battle points. It was not that they were unable to earn so many battle points; it was just that they needed to trade battle points for some cultivation resources, so they would not keep so many points.
Also, 300,000 battle points could be traded for more than 20 Golden Amulets.
Considering that Lu Ye was now a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master, he could easily make it to the Eighth or Ninth Order with that amount of Golden Amulets.
Although the City Lord could see what Lu Ye was doing in the Pool of Divine Purification, he would not know how many battle points thetter had. Upon getting a rough estimate from Butcher, he started analysing the situation.
That said, even though he was the City Lord, he couldnt deduct Lu Yes battle points to let him acquire a corresponding amount of Soul Cleansing Water. He would have to seek out Heavens help.
It so happened that he could take this opportunity to find out if Lu Ye was the chosen one.
If he was, the Heavens would give them an answer; if he wasnt, the Heavens wouldnt respond.
Upon making a decision, the City Lord cupped his fists and chanted something at the Void. I am Ji Yuan of the Lost City of Xianyuan, and I would like to invoke the Heavens. There is an Outsider named Lu Ye who has risked his life to kill the insectoids. Since his apparition is injured, Ive allowed him to recuperate in the Pool of Divine Purification. Unfortunately, when he woke, he started doing something terrible by stealing Soul Cleansing Water, thus undermining the foundation of the city. I shouldve killed him to warn the others. However, I dont have the heart to do so, considering the contributions he has made. I would like to appeal to the Heavens to give him a right to trade his battle point for Soul Cleansing Water!Despite his brief words, his voice was firm and smooth. The next moment, the Heavens seemed to have descended. Ji Yuan arched his brow, and behind him, Butcher sported a meditative expression. It was confirmed that Lu Ye was the chosen one.
The Heavens were everywhere, and any cultivator could invoke the Heavens to be a witness or sign some pacts with them. However, it was rare that a special right was granted to someone alone, especially when this matter had something to do with Soul Cleansing Water, which was the foundation of the Lost City of Xianyuan. Certainly, the almighty Heavens were aware of the Soul Cleansing Waters importance, but they still responded after Ji Yuan finished his words.
Lu Ye must be the chosen one, which was why he received the Heavens special treatment.
Since the Heavens had given Lu Ye the right to trade battle points for Soul Cleansing Water, there was no reason for Ji Yuan to stop him.
He had no idea about the conversion rate, but there wasnt a need for him to worry, for the Heavens would have the judgement. Moreover, Soul Cleansing Water was crucial. If Lu Ye, just like what Butcher had estimated, only had several ten thousand battle points, he would not get a lot of Soul Cleansing Water.
That was what Ji Yuan thought anyway.
Lu Ye would not know what was going on outside the Pool of Divine Purification. Presently, he was focused on condensing Soul Cleansing Water.
Thest time he was here, he was only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. Although he was only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master now, his power was equivalent to that of a Real Lake Realm Master due to some reason.
Therefore, the Spirit Gathering Funnel he had built this time wasrger than the previous time. As such, it created even louder noise.
The huge funnel had powerful suction as it sucked in the Soul Mist and turned it into Soul Cleansing Water.
Initially, Lu Ye was collecting the water with a jade bottle, but it was soon filled as the condensation process was rapid.
As such, he fished out an empty bota bag and ced it under the funnel. As he listened to the water dripping into the bag, he was pleased, feeling that it was the most melodious rhythm in the world. Unbeknownst to him, there was a powerful cultivator outside the pool who looked on in fury.
While collecting Soul Cleansing Water, he was also paying attention to his surroundings.
When he built the Spirit Gathering Funnel here previously, it was shattered from time to time for no reason. That was why he needed to rebuild it frequently.
He had no idea that it was the City Lord who kept destroying his funnel. Otherwise, he couldve taken more Soul Cleansing Water with him previously.
At that time, he only felt that the funnel he had built was not stable enough; he did not think too deeply about it. Now that he was vignt, the funnel never broke again.
Just as he was ecstatically collecting Soul Cleansing Water, he felt some warmth on the back of his hand. This familiar feeling surprised him because it was the reaction when a lot of his Contribution points were deducted.
The same thing happened when he had to pay 10,000 Contribution points to push the door open a while back.
However, he was only collecting Soul Cleansing Water now, so why would his Contribution points be deducted?
In puzzlement, he quickly checked out his Battlefield Imprint and discovered something shocking. His battle points were being deducted, not his Contribution points! ???????B??
He initially had over 300,000 battle points, but around 60,000 points were gone now, and the number was still decreasing. [Whats going on?] He was flustered.
Besides Soul Cleansing Water, his biggest reward during his trip to the Lost City of Xianyuan this time was the battle points. Although he had acquired a lot of battle points, he was almost killed while eliminating the insectoids.
He had nned on entering the Vault of Providence to purchase some Golden Amulets to increase his power upon his return to the Cloud River Battlefield. He didnt need a big increase. Considering his heritage now, as long as he could make it to the Seventh Order, rarely anyone on the Cloud River Battlefield could pose a threat to him again. It would be wonderful if he could ascend to the Eighth Order. By then, he would be unrivalled on the battlefield. Any unscrupulous cultivator of Thousand Demon Ridge who wanted to find fault with him would be doomed.
Nheless, his n was derailed by the turn of events.
He had no idea why his battle points were deducted all of a sudden, and the number decreased sharply as 1,000 points were gone every time it happened. [How could this happen to me?]
Although he had used some help to acquire the battle points, and it was also true that his power now far exceeded his original cultivation, he had risked his life to kill the insectoids. How could his battle points disappear just like this?
Furthermore, he had never heard of any cultivators Contribution points or battle points disappearing in such a strange way.
He could be calm and collected even in the most despairing situation, but he was flustered at this moment. As he looked at the decreasing battle points, he couldnt help but feel heartbroken as if someone was slicing through his flesh.
Around 300,000 battle points were two times more than his Contribution points. Rarely any cultivator in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou would have more battle points than Contribution points.
It had only been a short time since he acquired so many battle points, but they were now leaving him just like this.
He told himself to calm down. First of all, he had to find out why his battle points were disappearing for no reason.
Nevertheless, he did not have any clue. The only thing he was doing was taking Soul Cleansing Water. [Wait a minute!] He suddenly came to his senses and looked intently at the funnel before his eyes.
There was a regr pattern when it came to the decrease in battle points as 1,000 points would be deducted every time.
The Heavens were involved when it came to the calction of consumption for both Contribution and battle points, and it wasmon sense.
Therefore, the Heavens must have something to do with the decrease in his battle points now.
If the Heavens wanted to wipe out his battle points, they could erase the points altogether instead of doing it slowly.
It was also interesting that 1,000 points were deducted every time it happened.
As he sensed the condensation of Soul Cleansing Water, he also paid attention to the changes in his battle points. Soon, he found a regr pattern.
Whenever his bota bag received one drop of Soul Cleansing Water, 1,000 of his battle points would be gone.
To verify his spection, he moved the bota bag away from the funnel.
As expected, his battle points stopped decreasing. Even if there was a new drop of Soul Cleansing Water, his battle points wouldnt be deducted as long as he didnt take it. That was because the new drop of water would soon evaporate and be part of Soul Mist again. [I see!] His battle points were traded for Soul Cleansing Water, and every drop was worth 1,000 points.
Upon that realisation, Lu Ye became at ease in an instant. He had been anxious the entire time since he was basically stealing something, and he was worried that someone would catch him in the act. After all, it wasnt the best idea to get Soul Cleansing Water without permission.
However, since the process would consume his battle points, there was nothing to worry about.
His n of increasing his power had gone down the drain, but inparison, Soul Cleansing Water was undoubtedly more precious.
The treasure could only be found in the Lost City of Xianyuan while cultivation could be enhanced slowly. It was apparent which one was more important.
Furthermore, 1,000 battle points for one drop of Soul Cleansing Water was dirt cheap. It surprised him that Soul Cleansing Water was so affordable.
To a cultivator, 1,000 battle points could only be traded for a Blue Amulet or two White Amulets, which wouldnt give a cultivator a significant boost in power.
On the other hand, any Divine Realm Master would scramble to snatch even a drop of Soul Cleansing Water, for just a drop of it could significantly strengthen their soul.
Also, some Ninth-Order Real Lake Realm Masters had a strong desire for Soul Cleansing Water, for just one drop of it might help them break through their bottleneck and ascend to the Divine Ocean Realm.
Therefore, Amulets were notparable to Soul Cleansing Water at all.
Upon figuring out why his battle points were deducted, Lu Ye set his mind at ease.
Now, he was no longer a thief as arge number of his battle points were traded for Soul Cleansing Water. Even if the City Lord stood before his eyes now, he could straighten up and rebuke with confidence.
Meanwhile, the City Lord, whom Lu Ye was thinking about, stood beside the Pool of Divine Purification with a grim expression because he realised that something was off.
Butcher! Ji Yuan called out. Didnt you say he only has several tens of thousands of battle points?
Butcher hurriedly exined, I dont know how many battle points he has. Its just spection. He soon asked, Whats wrong?@@novelbin@@
Ji Yuan slowly turned around and stared fixedly at Butcher before saying through clenched teeth, He has collected more than 200 drops of Soul Cleansing Water, and hes not stopping anytime soon!
There was no way Lu Ye only had several tens of thousands of battle points. Perhaps the battle points he had acquired far exceeded Butchers estimation.
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Chapter 659: Imperishable
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Butcher was shocked. After giving it some thought, he said, Perhaps the exchange ratio is low?
He would not want to be med for a lot of Soul Cleansing Water getting taken away.
Despite his grim expression, the City Lord fell silent.
He was the one who invoked the Heavens to grant Lu Ye the right to trade battle points for Soul Cleansing Water, so he could not change the oue now. He could only hope that Lu Ye did not have that many battle points, which would limit the amount of Soul Cleansing Water thetter would get. Otherwise, the heritage of the Pool of Divine Purification would be affected.
A momentter, Lu Ye, who was collecting Soul Cleansing Water with tion in the pool, saw that his Spirit Gathering Funnel contorted ande apart.
He instinctively tried to build another one, but after the funnel took shape, it did not work at all as though a mysterious power was messing everything up.
He soon came to his senses and looked at his Battle Imprint for his personal information, after which he discovered that he was only left with 836 battle points.
A drop of Soul Cleansing Water was worth 1,000 battle points, so it was apparent that 836 points could not be traded for one drop of it.Over 300,000 battle points were mostly gone in a short time. He would be lying if he said he was not heartbroken. Those were battle points, not Contribution points, after all. Nheless,pared to what he had acquired, the price was worth paying.
His bota bag was not full yet, but there were more than 300 drops of Soul Cleansing Water. This amount of treasure was enough to allow him and his friends and rtives to significantly strengthen their Souls.
Since he no longer had enough battle points to trade for Soul Cleansing Water, it was time to leave.
After keeping the bota bag, he activated his power to hoist himself up.
He initially thought that he was at the bottom of the pool, but he managed to break through the blockade of Soul Mist in two breaths of time. When the light came into his sight, he squinted.
The next moment, he felt a sharp gaze staring right at him. He turned to look and immediately saw the City Lord, whom he had met previously.
Nheless, the City Lord sported a weird expression. He looked like he was gritting his teeth. It was as if Lu Ye had done something outrageous that caused the City Lord to be furious, and he was ready to beat him up. [Did he notice what I was doing inside the pool?] Lu Ye could not help but be anxious.
After some deliberation, he realised there was not a need for him to be afraid. He had traded his battle points for Soul Cleansing Water, which was a rule permitted by the Heavens. Regardless of how powerful the City Lord was, he had to obey the Heavens.
While Lu Ye was in his thoughts, he suddenly appeared surprised when he caught sight of the chubby figure behind the City Lord.
Senior? He thought he was mistaken. The next moment, hended in front of the chubby figure and examined him, finally confirming that the man was Butcher, who was supposed to be dead. ???Φ??
A puzzled Lu Ye said, Senior, why are you
Butcher chuckled. As long as the Pool of Divine Purification in the city isnt destroyed, apparitions like us will never die. Well only fall asleep for a while.@@novelbin@@
Lu Ye did not know why Butcher hade back to life, but his words suggested that the pool had given apparitions like them some special abilities. It was no wonder that they kept saying the pool was the foundation of the city. In that case, the people he had seen before he cked out were not illusions.
What about Liu Datong, Senior Yu Qing, and the others?
Theyre still alive. Theyre cleaning up the mess outside, so I think theylle back soon.
Lu Ye let out a breath of relief. Thats wonderful.
Butcher patted his shoulder and gave him a look of approval. Youve done a great job, brat! He was talking about Lu Ye carrying on with the task on his own after the entire squad was eliminated. Although he had notpleted the task, he had done his best.
That was the reason Butcher decided to take him to the City Lords Mansion and let him be part of his squad, which granted him a right to recuperate in the Pool of Divine Purification.
Certainly, Lu Ye did not know any of that.
By the way, heres your knife, Senior, Lu Ye said and whipped out Butchers knife from his Storage Sphere before passing it to him.
Butcher took it and put it back in the sheath at his waist. Then, he cupped his fists at the City Lord and said, Ill leave this brat to you, Sir. Ill go back to work now.
The City Lord ordered impatiently, Get lost.
Butcher took Lu Ye somewhere else and whispered, I know you have many doubts, but there are things I cant tell you, and I dont know many secrets to begin with. If you have any questions, you can ask the City Lord. Hell tell you what hes allowed to say. Anyway, youre considered part of the Lost City of Xianyuan now.
Butcher meant it when he said Lu Ye was a member of his squad. He considered Lu Ye part of the Lost City of Xianyuan even though thetter was not born here.
Do you need any help? Lu Ye asked. After he emerged from the Pool of Divine Purification, he felt that he was rejuvenated. Moreover, his Soul Power had be stronger.
Butcher shook his head. I dont need your help now. All the insectoids have been eliminated, and we only need to clean up the mess. You should leave this ce as soon as you can. Youre a Human, after all. If you stay here as an apparition for a long time, itll only do you more harm than good.
Lu Ye nodded. I understand.
Even if Butcher did not say that, Lu Ye could feel that he hade to the city as an apparition, which was a reflection of his true self. A long time of separation between his Soul and his body would leave him with some health concerns.
Butcher patted his shoulder one more time and left.
It was not until Butcher was out of sight that Lu Ye turned around and saluted the person in front of him. Greetings, Sir City Lord!
A snort was heard. Oh, you can see me?
Lu Ye could feel that the City Lord was not pleased.
I was too happy to see that Senior Butcher is still alive. Please forgive me for my rudeness.
Upon hearing his exnation, Ji Yuan sported a milder expression, but his face twitched when he thought of the pool and Soul Cleansing Water. Youve gained quite a massive reward, havent you? [He has acquired more than 300 drops of Soul Cleansing Water!] Since the existence of the Lost City of Xianyuan, they had never lost so many drops of Soul Cleansing Water before.
Although some cultivators were able to take Soul Cleansing Water in the past, they could only get one two two drops. It was Ji Yuan who put it somewhere in the city to let the Outsiders discover it.
Previously, Lu Ye had taken dozens of Soul Cleansing Water with him. All in all, they had suffered huge losses because of him.
Over 300 drops of Soul Cleansing Water were enough to help them with two to three times of war against the insectoids.
Nevertheless, the City Lord was not in any ce to say anything. He was negligent the previous time, not expecting Lu Ye to have such a strange ability. This time, the Heavens were involved. Therefore, even though he was distraught, he could only consider himself unlucky.
Fortunately, even though 300 drops of Soul Cleansing Water were a lot, the foundation of the pool had not been affected. [What does the City Lord mean by that?] Lu Ye looked at him and wondered what the insinuation was in his words. [Has he found out that Ive collected some Soul Cleansing Water?] Considering that Butcher and the others did not bring Soul Cleansing Water with them when they went out to fight, Lu Ye suspected that the City Lord might not be able to condense Soul Cleansing Water.
Subconsciously, he whipped out a jade bottle and passed it to Ji Yuan before saying solemnly, I dont have a lot of it.
Ji Yuan stared nkly at the jade bottle, and when he came to his senses, he was so exasperated that he startedughing. What do you think I am?
The jade bottle was the one Lu Ye had used to collect Soul Cleansing Water. Then, he realised the condensation process was too quick, so he used a bota bag instead.
Lu Ye quickly retracted the jade bottle and let out a breath, feeling d that the City Lord didnt want it. After all, there was quite some Soul Cleansing Water in it. He said, Its just a misunderstanding. I thought
Did you think I wanted to take half of the booty? [No way Id share half of it with you!] After the thought shed across Lu Yes mind, he said seriously, Youre mistaken, Sir City Lord. Its not booty; I traded it with my battle points.
Ji Yuan weakly waved his hand. Whatever. Since youre capable of taking it, its yours now.
Thanks, Sir! Lu Ye became at ease in an instant.
Brat, how many battle points have you acquired this time? Ji Yuan was curious.
Lu Ye gave him a figure.
Upon hearing that, Ji Yuan felt his eyelids twitching. Butcher was full of nonsense when he said that Lu Ye had only acquired several ten thousand battle points. He had over 300,000 points!
Ji Yuan even felt that Butcher had lied to him, which was why thetter ran away so quickly.
That said, it was pointless to harp on this issue, especially when the treasure was already in Lu Yes hands. It was not like he could ask him to return the Soul Cleansing Water. Moreover, Lu Ye had indeed traded his battle points for it.
As the thoughts turned over in Ji Yuans mind, augh escaped him.
Noticing the milder atmosphere, Lu Ye said, Why are you smiling all of a sudden, Sir?
Ji Yuan shook his head. Nothing. Its just that I havent talked to someone like this in a long time. Then, he said meaningfully, Your growth in power is rapid, brat.
Thest time they met, Lu Ye was only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master, but he was now in the Real Lake Realm. The speed of his growth in power was astonishing.
Countless cultivators from Jiu Zhou had visited the Lost City of Xianyuan over the past thousands of years, and many of them were talented. Although Ji Yuan had no idea how quickly those people could grow in power, he reckoned that they were no match for Lu Ye in this regard.
Lu Ye shook his head. Youre mistaken, Sir. My condition is slightly special. Im only a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. Since my Soul is much stronger than my body, Ivee to this city as an apparition in the Real Lake Realm.
Upon hearing his exnation, Ji Yuan said, I see.
It was not surprising, though. Since Lu Ye had arrived at this city as an apparition, the power he showcased was that of his soul.
Having said that, his growth in power was rapid considering that he was now a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master.
Sir, there are some questions Id like to ask. Im wondering if you could enlighten me.
Go ahead. Ill tell you what Im allowed to say.
Whats with the Lost City of Xianyuan? Isnt it supposed to be a Hidden Realm on the Spirit Creek Battlefield? After two Mystic Fruit Seeds merged into one, I was able toe here for some reason.
Hidden Realm Ji Yuan muttered under his breath. Instead of answering his question, he asked, What do you think a Hidden Realm is?
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Chapter 660: The Secret of the Lost City of Xianyuan
Chapter 660: The Secret of the Lost City of Xianyuan
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Lu Ye had never considered what a Hidden Realm truly was.
As far as the cultivators of Jiu Zhou were concerned, a Hidden Realm was a special space independent from Jiu Zhou. It could be a historical site that had been around for a long time or the remains a powerful cultivator had left behind. Moreover, Hidden Realms existed on both Spirit Creek Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield. There were also a lot of Hidden Realms in Jiu Zhou.
Even Spirit Creek Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield were Hidden Realms themselves. Nheless,pared to a Hidden Realm in the traditional sense, the two battlefields were undoubtedly muchrger.
Every Hidden Realm had its rules. Although there was a lot of danger, one mighte across many opportunities as well.
Lu Ye had not been to many Hidden Realms. Strictly speaking, he had only visited two Hidden Realms before. One was the Lost City of Xianyuan, and the other was Myriad Beast Domain.
The Lost City of Xianyuan was shrouded in mystery, so Lu Ye was unable to see through it. As he recalled his experiences in Myriad Beast Domain, he said, Ive been to a Hidden Realm, which is said to be a world destroyed long ago. However, the Heavens have reconstructed it using immense power. Inside the Hidden Realm, everything the cultivators experience is what happened to that world in the past. They either follow the course of history and take part in the major events of that world ore up with ways to alter history. By doing so, they can get some training and obtain benefits granted by the Heavens.
There were many Hidden Realms of this kind on Cloud River Battlefield. Xia Qianqian had told Lu Ye about it when they were in Myriad Beast Domain.
That was the reason different factions flourished in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou. Many smaller factions came from various Hidden Realms.For example, Lu Ye had taken a Secret Technique out of Myriad Beast Domain that was a game changer for the Beastmasters. Perhaps a long time ago, there were no Beastmasters and Golem Masters in Jiu Zhou. Some cultivators had entered the Hidden Realms where the two factions existed, and they went on to spread them across Jiu Zhou.
Ji Yuan asked, What kind of a Hidden Realm do you think the Lost City of Xianyuan is?
After pondering for a moment, Lu Ye replied, The city does not feel like a Hidden Realm of this sort.
It is not. Ji Yuan nodded slightly. The Hidden Realms youre talking about do not belong to Jiu Zhou; theyve been turned into Hidden Realms that cultivators from Jiu Zhou can enter for some reason.
As for what the reason was, Ji Yuan did not say. However, Lu Ye spected that only the mysterious Heavens could pull off such a feat.
The Lost City of Xianyuan used to be a city in Jiu Zhou.
It was a city that used to stand on the pinnacle of Jiu Zhou thousands of years ago. It was even more powerful than the current Tier-One Sects.
How did this city end up like this? There are the insectoids whiche to attack the city from time to time. Senior Butcher told me that the war has been ongoing for thousands of years.
Yes, its been thousands of years! Ji Yuan seemed to be walking down memoryne. Its the choice of the city as well as of all the cultivators living here. Its because of this choice that weve been co-existing with the city for thousands of years. As for how it ended up like this You can regard the city as a wedge to plug the loophole.
Lu Ye did not understand what Ji Yuan was talking about when thetter mentioned a wedge and a loophole. Despite his bewilderment, he had a feeling that the Lost City of Xianyuan was important. If the wedge did not exist, the loophole would appear and cause dreadful consequences.@@novelbin@@
Youre still too weak to see the truth. When you be powerful enough one day, youll see the world in a different light. Theres one thing you have to keep in mind. Jiu Zhou is different from what you think. When youre mighty enough in the future, youll understand what the world truly is. [The truth of the world] Lu Ye recalled hearing something simr before, and he fell into his thoughts.
If Lu Ye were any other Cloud River Realm Master from Jiu Zhou, Ji Yuan would not have told him all of this. Nheless, since it was confirmed that Lu Ye was the chosen one, it was fine to let him in on more information. After all, he would get to know more of these matters in the future, so it was not a bad idea to let him get prepared mentally in advance.
All in all, the Lost City of Xianyuan is important. Therefore, all the cultivators living here chose to discard their bodies and turned themselves into apparitions. We also left behind our Soul Imprints in the Pool of Divine Purification. As long as the pool is still around, even if our apparitions are destroyed, well alwayse back to life.
That was the reason Lu Ye could see Butcher and the others again. He initially thought that the entire squad had been eliminated, but in truth, it did not take long before they climbed out of the pool.
Nheless, the death of the cultivators would inevitably consume the power of the pool. Therefore, after thousands of years, the heritage of the pool had be much weaker. That was why Ji Yuan said time was running out.
With an inscrutable expression, Lu Ye said slowly, It must have been tough for all of you in the past thousands of years.
Ji Yuan looked at him in shock. An average person would have been envious when they learned of the characteristic of the cultivators in this city. Due to the Pool of Divine Purification, the cultivators in this city were imperishable, which was something cultivators of the outside world coveted. Certainly, everybody wanted to live indefinitely, for even the Divine Ocean Realm Masters would die one day.
The cultivators in the Lost City of Xianyuan, irrespective of whether they were in the Divine Ocean Realm or the Cloud River Realm, could live forever. The prerequisite was that the pool did not get destroyed.
Why did you say that? Ji Yuan asked.
All of you have been doing the same thing, taking part in rounds of war against the insectoids for the past thousands of years. Even though youre undying, life must have been dull and frustrating. I wouldnt want to be imperishable in such a way. Id rather lead an interesting life. Only with due respect to death would our lives be meaningful. Dont you agree?
Ji Yuan smiled. Youre only so young, but you already have such an understanding of life and death.
Lu Ye said, Its just what I think. Perhaps when Im faced with a life-and-death situation, Ill choose to be imperishable in such a way.
Ji Yuan nodded. Human nature isplicated, after all. Youre right to say that its frustrating to live like this. Although all of us knew what would happen when we made the decision, only when we experienced it did we realise it was so unbearable. Apparitions like us are imperishable thanks to the Pool of Divine Purification, but were also restricted in many ways. Were inseparable from the Lost City of Xianyuan, so we can never leave this ce forever. Most of the time, were sound asleep in the pool. Only when the insectoids attack the city will we awaken and fend them off. The same thing happens year after year. Its like a cycle that will never break.
Lu Ye looked up at the sky and realised the crack had disappeared without him noticing it. He asked in puzzlement. The insectoid nest is supposed to be behind the crack that used to be there. Have all of you never thought aboutunching an attack to destroy the nest?
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Chapter 663: Hidden Problem
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That was indeed the case. The moment Lu Ye opened the second door and entered the Lost City of Xianyuan, Yi Yi detected an anomaly.
Lu Yes figure almost felt like an empty shell at that time. She initially thought that Lu Ye had passed away, so she bawled her eyes out. However, she soon realised it was not as severe as she had thought.
That was because she and Amber were still alive, which meant that Lu Ye must not be dead.
Nevertheless, she could not be optimistic, for Lu Yes breathing was very weak. It was to the point where it was almost undetectable if she did not pay close attention to it.
In the past few days, she had tried all sorts of ways to wake him up, but her attempts were futile.
It was not until that moment that she realised Lu Ye might have returned.
His weak breathing, which felt like it would stop at any moment, rapidly strengthened, and his soul seemed to have returned to his empty-shell body.
She kept calling out to Lu Ye. Her pleas prated the invisible barrier and reached theke in his heart, formingyers of ripples. As the ripples spread, Lu Ye soon regained consciousness and figured out what was going on.A long timeter, he finally felt that he had regained a bit of control over his body. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw Yi Yi kneeling in front of him. Her gaze was filled with anxiety and worry, and her eyes were bloodshot. If not for the fact that she was an apparition, her face would have been covered in tears.
As their eyes met, Yi Yi eximed in surprise, Lu Ye! How do you feel? What happened?
Lu Ye parted his lips and attempted to speak for a while before he managed to say in a hoarse voice, Dont worry
He initially wanted tofort the woman, but his control over his body was still too weak. As such, he was unable to say more.
Fortunately, they were in the guest room of the Divine Trade Association, so there would not be any danger. If he had fallen into such a state in the wilderness, he would have been killed.
He closed his eyes and continued to recuperate.
As time passed, the ipatibility between his soul and his body gradually eased off. At that moment, he had the illusion of finally regaining control over his body after recovering from a severe illness.
Recalling Ji Yuans words, he quickly fished out the jade bottle filled with Soul Cleansing Water from his Storage Sphere and consumed a drop of it.
He was initially exhausted after his soul returned to his body, but once the Soul Cleansing Water took effect, the exhaustion soon disappeared.
Realising that the most difficult time was over, he let out a breath.
Yi Yi and Amber had been staying by his side as they looked worriedly at him.
Lu Ye stroked Ambers head and said to Yi Yi, Im fine now.
So, what happened? Did you suffer from cultivation dissonance or something? Yi Yi asked him.
Cultivation dissonance would rarely happen to cultivators in Jiu Zhou because their cultivation was a step-by-step process. As long as they refrained from trying out strange cultivation methods, they would not suffer from cultivation dissonance.
Its a long story. Lu Ye sighed. He merely wanted to go to the Rift of Illusions and get some training. As such, he did not expect to end up heading to the Lost City of Xianyuan and joining the battle against the insectoids.
All the same, he did not have to hide anything from Yi Yi.
Therefore, he briefly told the woman what he had experienced. Yi Yi was surprised to learn that he went to the Lost City of Xianyuan again and that the situation was different from the previous time they were there. Furthermore, there seemed to be some secrets behind the city.
Her eyes turned bloodshot when she heard that Liu Datong and Yu Qing willingly got killed so that Lu Ye could safely return to the base.@@novelbin@@
It was not until she found out that the apparitions in the Lost City of Xianyuan were undying and that Butchers team had been resurrected that she smiled again. ???????
Anyway, the City Lord told me that since Im not a Divine Ocean Realm Master yet, ipatibility might ur if my soul is detached from my body for a long time. So, Ive been using Soul Cleansing Water to stabilise my soul. Im fine now.
Yi Yi nodded. You have to get more rest, then.
Alright. Lu Ye dipped his head and stroked his belly. Im hungry.
Hearing that, Yi Yi quickly got to her feet. Ill ask someone to send you food, then.
With that, she turned around and left the room.
The services of the Divine Trade Association were top-notch. The cultivators staying in this ce had ess to all sorts of services.
A momentter, aromatic food was sent to Lu Yes room. There was also fresh Spirit Beasts flesh for Amber too.
The two of them devoured their food.
Lu Ye fished out several jade bottles and filled them with Soul Cleansing Water before passing them to Yi Yi.
Yi Yi was an apparition, who could rely on Amber and grow stronger with it. However, with Soul Cleansing Waters help, her power would continue to increase without having to rely on anyone.
It could be said that the Soul Cleansing Water was more useful to her than to Lu Ye.
One could strengthen their soul using the Soul Cleansing Water and temper their body using the Dragon Scale. The soul and the body were the most important foundation and heritage for every cultivator. Powerful foundation and heritage were what allowed Lu Ye to destroy much stronger enemies. Moreover, as his foundation and heritage strengthened, it would be easier for him to cultivate as well, forming a virtuous cycle.
After filling his stomach, he sat down with his legs crossed and closed his eyes to rest.
He did not cultivate or read a book.
A long timeter, Yi Yis voice sounded all of a sudden. Lu Ye!
A shocked Lu Ye quickly opened his eyes, only to realise that he was looking at things from a weird angle. He seemed to be flying and was several metres above the ground.
Yi Yi looked worriedly at him while Amber darted its gaze around with widened eyes.
Lu Ye followed the tigers gaze and saw a familiar figure.
Upon closer look, he was bbergasted, for the figure was none other than himself! [Whats going on?] While he was puzzled, his vision contorted suddenly. Following that, he felt an irresistible pull as he plunged and entered his body.
When he opened his eyes, he slowly regained his senses.
He reckoned that his soul must have left his body again earlier, and it happened without him noticing it.
Ji Yuan was right to say that since he was not a Divine Ocean Realm Master yet, ipatibility would ur when his soul was detached from his body for a long time.
If Yi Yi had not called out to him, he would not have realised it.
Nevertheless, it was not a big issue.
In the following days, his soul repeatedly left his body without reason. Sometimes, it happened when he was meditating. Sometimes, it took ce when he was walking. He would hear a thud behind him, and when he turned around, he would see that his body had copsed to the ground.
Most of the time, he would lose control over his body all of a sudden, and his movements would be uncoordinated.
His experience for the past few days was strange. Even Real Lake Realm and Divine Ocean Realm Masters would not fall into such a situation, let alone Cloud River Realm Masters.
This kind of problem had a huge impact on any cultivator.
Cultivators would frequently get into fights. If such an incident happened during a battle, the person affected by it would lose his life.
Lu Ye would consume a drop of Soul Cleansing Water every day to stabilise his soul. Several dayster, the frequency of such an urrence lowered until it never happened again.
However, he was still worried, so he stayed in the Divine Trade Association for several days more until he could confirm that his soul would not leave his body again without a warning.
He could feel that his soul and body werepletelypatible and that his soul had be stronger after his experience in the Lost City of Xianyuan.
After all, he had taken a bath in the Pool of Divine Purification once.
To other cultivators, the strengthening of the soul was good news.
Lu Ye was initially ted as well. From the day he started cultivating, he had an edge over the other cultivators because his soul was powerful. For example, when he came across people who wanted to kill him, he could detect danger and react swiftly.
Another example was the Minds Eye Technique that Xia Liang had taught him. If not for the fact that his soul was powerful enough, he could not have grasped it so quickly.
Nheless, he soon realised that something was off.
His soul was too powerful, and it was to the point where it almost exceeded the cultivation realm he was in.
That was not necessarily a good thing.
If a persons body could be regarded as a container, his soul would be the water inside it. The improvement in a cultivators power would mean that the capacity of the container and the water inside increased at the same time. Regardless of how much a cultivators power grew, his body, which served as a container, could always amodate his soul.
However, Lu Yes case was different. The increase of his Soul Power was significantly quicker than his bodys capacity. In other words, the water had exceeded the containers capacity. His body was bearing a pressure that it could not take. In the worst-case scenario, the container would break apart. On the other hand, in the best-case scenario, the water would only spill out of the container.
The reason none of the oues had happened so far was that Lu Ye had a robust body. He had been tempering his body with the help of the vitality in the Dragon Scale, which allowed his body to be as sturdy as the Body Tempering Cultivators in the same Realm.
He would also frequently eat the flesh of Spirit Beasts and make use of Gluttonous Feast to increase his vitality.
In the martial world of Jiu Zhou, Lu Yes condition was unprecedented. Perhaps some peoples souls could be stronger than their bodies, but it would not go so far as to exceed a Major Realm. Therefore, after his soul and body becamepatible again, Lu Ye realised a hidden problem.
With that said, it wasnt hard to solve this problem. He just had to improve his cultivation and increase the containers capacity.
He initially had the chance. Over 300,000 battle points could be traded for more than 20 Golden Amulets, which would allow him to reach the Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm at once.
However, all the battle points obtained in the Lost City of Xianyuan had been traded for Soul Cleansing Water.
From a long-term perspective, the Soul Cleansing Water would be more valuable than Golden Amulets, but it could not solve his immediate problem.
Fortunately, Lu Ye was aware of a ce where he could rapidly increase his cultivation.
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Chapter 664: Well-Prepared
Chapter 664: Well-Prepared
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Lu Ye had wanted to take a look at that ce after he entered the Cloud River Battlefield. However, he was not familiar with the battlefield in the beginning, and he was weak at that time, so he did not take action recklessly.
Certainly, the main reason was that he was not well-prepared, so he was unable to maximise the benefits he would get.
In that ce, Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones were not useful. The only useful things were items that could help restore ones Soul Power.
He initially wanted to be better prepared before going there. Nevertheless, time was running out.
Also, he no longer needed to prepare anything, for he had acquired the most important item.
The Hundred Wards Tower was a sacred ce for Ward Cultivators in Jiu Zhou. It was also where they could improve their skills.
There was a rumour circted in Jiu Zhou that the Hundred Wards Tower was left behind from thest era, and there were a hundred floors in total. Every floor had a different challenge, and it was increasingly harder as one progressed. If one could pass the tests, he would receive the rewards given by the Heavens. All the rewards were rted to the Way of Wards.
That attracted countless cultivators from Jiu Zhou to enter the tower and hone their skills.However, theplete Hundred Wards Tower was long gone. No one knew what had happened to the tower, which had been divided into three parts.
One of them, which was the lowest part, was located in the Heavenly Derivative Sect in Wu Zhou.
Lu Ye had been to Heavenly Derivative Sect once after receiving an invitation from Zhao Li. He stayed in their base for a while before heading to the headquarters. He went on to break through 33 floors sessfully, which sent a shock wave across the entire Sect.
Before entering Hundred Wards Tower, even though Lu Ye was skilful in the Way of Wards, he could not be considered an expert. However, after he came out of the tower, his skills in the Way of Wards improved significantly.
That was the reason he could act recklessly on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. No other Spirit Creek Realm Masters had ever been so adept at the Way of Wards. It was as easy as drinking water for him to sneak into the other partys Grand Defensive Wards. Coupled with his power that transcended the cultivators in the same Realm, his existence was a nightmare one could not wake up from for the different Sects of Thousand Demon Ridge on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Now, those from Thousand Demon Ridge were d that Lu Ye had ascended to the Cloud River Realm and left the Spirit Creek Battlefield. If he had stayed there, he would have continued to be a menace.
One of the reasons Lu Ye had mastered the Way of Wards was that he was a Glyphweaver. Many Glyphs were needed in different wards. As such, being able to construct Glyphs with ease allowed him to have an advantage over the others when it came to building and breaking the wards.
Nevertheless, his mastery of the Way of Wards was mainly thanks to the rewards from Hundred Wards Tower.
He managed to break through 33 floors of the tower in one go. Moreover, he was only an Eighth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master at that time, and it happened after he returned from the Lost City of Xianyuan for the first time. After he obtained the rewards from the tower, his mastery of the Way of Wards far exceeded the Ward Cultivators in the same Realm.
Being a Glyphweaver, he had a natural advantage when it came to building and breaking wards. The rewards from the tower were the main reason his Way of Wards had improved tremendously. Moreover, for a long time that followed, the rewards continued to help him gain new insights into the Way of Wards.@@novelbin@@
Zhao Li from Heavenly Derivative Sect once told Lu Ye that someone who could pass the first ten floors could be considered a novice and a qualified Ward Cultivator. If one could sessfully challenge 20 floors, he would be an expert in the Way Of Wards. If one could break through 33 floors, he could be called a Master.
Although Lu Ye was only a Spirit Creek Realm Master at that time, he could be considered a master in the Way of Wards, which was an incredible honour.
When he was in the mine outside of Grand Wilds Peak back then, a guy named Si Nan tried to stop him with a Grand Defensive Ward. It turned out that the ward he believed to be imprable was fragile in front of Lu Ye.
He had never expected that there would be such a huge difference between them when it came to their mastery of the Way of Wards.
The first part of Hundred Wards Tower was in the Heavenly Derivative Sect in Wu Zhou, and the second part was on the Cloud River Battlefield.
Lu Ye had challenged Hundred Wards Tower before and acquired immense benefits from there. As such, after he ascended to the Cloud River Realm and arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield, he decided to visit the second part of the tower one day.
He was weak and unprepared in the past, so he could not make the trip.
Following his previous experience, he knew that the biggest problem Ward Cultivators faced in the tower was the consumption of Spiritual Power. Back then, he had made use of Soul Cleansing Water to help him get through the challenges, which allowed him to obtain a lot of benefits.
At that time, he did not have a lot of Soul Cleansing Water, so he did not have the nerve to head to the tower. As ofte, every time he entered the Vault of Providence to search for resources, he would look out for treasures or pills that would help him restore his Soul Power.
Nevertheless, he had not found anything so far. After all, treasures or pills that could restore Soul Power were beneficial to Divine Ocean Realm Masters as well. Even if such items asionally appeared in the Vault of Providence, they would be sold out instantly. That was the reason Lu Ye could not find such items.
His idental trip to the Lost City of Xianyuan allowed him to acquire a lot of Soul Cleansing Water, and it was significantly more than the previous time.
That solved his biggest concern.
Since he was well-prepared and eager to improve his cultivation, a trip to the Hundred Wards Tower was inevitable.
For every floor one sessfully broke through, he wouldnt only get a reward that was rted to the Way of Wards. The Spiritual Qi in the tower was also ample and pure. Previously, Lu Ye managed to open up dozens of Spiritual Points in the Heavenly Derivative Sect.
That was only the lowest part of the Hundred Wards Tower. The one on the Cloud River Battlefield would probably give even more benefits.
If no ident happened, he believed his cultivation would increase after a trip to the tower.
He was aware of the towers location, which was far away from the Divine Trade Association. Even if he fully activated his power, it would take him more than ten days to arrive at his destination.
Furthermore, many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were still monitoring him from outside. Once he appeared, they would hunt him down.
He sighed and thought that his peaceful days were about toe to an end. Soon, he would have to start running away from his enemies.
Before that, he would need a lot of Ward gs.
There were two reasons why it was hard to break through Hundred Wards Tower. First of all, it was a huge challenge for ones soul. Every floor would mount immense pressure on a cultivators soul. If his soul was not powerful enough, he could not go up many floors. Secondly, he needed a lot of Ward gs. Be it building or breaking wards, one needed to use Ward gs.
Lu Ye did not choose to make the gs, even though it would be economical to do so. Since he had a lot of Contribution points, he could use some of them.
After leaving his room, he arrived at the Sanctum of Providence and queued up. Then, he connected his soul to the Vault of Providence and purchased a lot of Ward gs.
In a teahouse that was directly facing the entrance of the Divine Trade Association, the boss and the waiters appeared ted.
The teahouses business had always been lukewarm as cultivators were usually in a hurry. Unless they had to talk business or were reunited after a long separation, they would rarely visit a teahouse. Most of the time, they would go to restaurants.
However, the teahouses business was flourishing as ofte.
Every day, some cultivators woulde in and drink tea. They would usually upy a table and stay there for several days.
The teahouse only had two floors, and the entire building was full of customers.
In the beginning, the waiters had no idea what was going on. Nevertheless, as time passed, they gradually got wind of it and realised what these people were doing.
Previously, the news of 2,000 cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge getting poisoned and killed in the mine outside Grand Wilds Peak had caused amotion. The culprit, Lu Yi Ye from Crimson Blood Sect, became a famous figure on the Cloud River Battlefield.
Now, the evil Lu Yi Ye was staying in the Divine Trade Association. The cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge, who had gotten wind of the news through various means, gathered in this ce in an attempt to destroy the man.
Some cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge lost their patience and barged into the Divine Trade Association to assassinate Lu Yi Ye. However, they were directly killed by those from the Divine Trade Association. What was more, the Sects behind them were barred from doing business with the Association for three years.
After the incident, no one had the guts to make a fuss in the Divine Trade Association again. Even if they wanted to find out Lu Yes whereabouts, they only pretended to talk business with the Association.
No one knew if Lu Yi Ye was indeed staying in the Divine Trade Association, after all.
That was because no one had seen him entering the ce. It was merely a rumour.
ording to the rumour, following the incident in the mine, a man with some disguise on his face stepped into the Association with a huge bag. His figure was simr to Lu Ye.
There was no doubt he did not want to show his real face by putting on some disguise, and the bag might contain things that were snatched from those 2,000 people, who were poisoned and killed. Therefore, even though it was only a rumour, many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge believed that Lu Ye was hiding there.
Chu Yun and Zhou Pei, who were from Cult ckfyre, were especially adamant about it.
They were the first ones to arrive at the teahouse. During this period, many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge had run out of patience and left the ce. Only the two of them had been steadfastly waiting there for days.
Somewhere on the second floor, there were two people whom Lu Ye was familiar with.
They were the relentless Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
When a lot of cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge gathered outside Ameliorate Valley back then, they made a wrong guess about Lu Yes moves. Since they believed he would return to Jiu Zhou, they had left earlier.
The oue turned out to be different from what they had expected. When they received the news and rushed towards the mine, what they witnessed was a living hell. Over 2,000 corpses of Thousand Demon Ridges cultivators were lying on the floor, which sent a chill down their spines.
They were terrified and d that they had not returned sooner. Otherwise, they would have been part of the dead.
Apart from these four people, the other cultivators were mostly rted to the people killed by Lu Ye. They were Senior Brothers or Junior Sisters whom these people grew up with. Certainly, they would not let Lu Ye off.
Driven by hatred, they all arrived at the same ce from different directions.
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Chapter 665: Pursuit
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Many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge had gathered in the teahouse, and some of them were powerful. However, they did not have the confidence to kill Lu Ye.
As long as Lu Ye continued to hide in the Divine Trade Association, there was nothing much they could do. Moreover, there was a Divine Opportunity Column in the Association, which meant that he could return to Jiu Zhou at any moment.
It could be said that Lu Ye was currently much safer than when he was in Ameliorate Valley back then.
Most of the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge gathering in this ce were unresigned while some of them were trying their luck. What if Lu Ye came out of the Divine Trade Association all of a sudden? After all, he probably had no idea so many people were keeping an eye on the entrance of the Association.
After waiting for so many days, many people were running out of patience. Nevertheless, they were unwilling to leave just like that, so they decided to wait for several days more and see if there would be a turn of events.
Around 80 per cent of the cultivators would be gone if Lu Ye was still nowhere in sight in half a month. After all, no one was willing to keep waiting forever unless they were certain about the mans whereabouts.
Something happened one afternoon.
Since there were many cultivators in the teahouse, the ce had been morous. Nevertheless, there came a moment when all the noise died down, as though someone had cast a barrier around the ce, making it fall silent all of a sudden.At the tables near the windows, the cultivators looked in the Divine Trade Associations direction in disbelief because a figure had appeared out of nowhere.
The person was wearing a mask, and no one noticed when he appeared at the entrance. It seemed that he had just stepped out of the Divine Trade Association.
In Jiu Zhou, many cultivators loved wearing masks, especially the furtive Ghost Cultivators. Therefore, the mask did not tell them anything about the persons identity.
Although a persons face could be concealed, his figure could not be changed.
The cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were surprised because the persons figure was simr to Lu Ye.
As though noticing their stares, the person, who was at the entrance, looked up at the second floor of the teahouse.
As their eyes met, these cultivators appeared nervous and excited.
They were excited because the person was most likely Lu Yi Ye, which meant that he had been hiding in the Divine Trade Association.
On the other hand, they were nervous because he had noticed what was going on in the teahouse. As such, no one dared to step out of it. If he turned around and entered the Association, there was nothing much they could do about it.
The standoffsted for a moment before the person, who was believed to be Lu Yi Ye, stepped out of the Associationspound while everyone was watching.
The cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge almost broke into a state of ecstasy.
Behind the mask, Lu Ye appeared helpless.
Previously, the manager from Divine Trade Association gave him a heads-up that many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were keeping an eye on him out there. Much to Lu Yes surprise, many people were still waiting for him to show up after so many days. [These guys are pretty patient, huh?]
Certainly, he had a safer way of dealing with this situation, which was to return to the Divine Trade Association and go back to Jiu Zhou. When he came back one monthter, no one would find out where he was hiding. Nevertheless, if he wanted to do that, he wouldve made such a decision back in Ameliorate Valley instead of waiting until now. ???????
Moreover, it would not make a difference even if he came back one monthter, for those from Thousand Demon Ridge were monitoring him. Wherever he was, he would attract trouble as long as he had the guts to show up in front of people, unless he stayed in his Sect in Jiu Zhou forever.
Since it was useless to conceal his face, Lu Ye took off his mask the moment he left the Divine Trade Association.
At that instant, those peoples gazes turned sharp as they stared at him.
It was merely spection a while ago. Now that Lu Ye had no face mask on, they could confirm his identity.
The next moment, Lu Ye dropped a Spirit Boat on the floor and stepped on it while activating his power. Then, the boat shot into the sky and turned into a ray of light before charging forward in a particr direction.
Run after him! someone yelled from the teahouse.
Following that, all of them got to their feet and leapt out of the windows.
Besides the teahouse, a lot of figures appeared all of a sudden from the buildings around the Divine Trade Association as they shot into the sky.
The teahouse, which was originally full of customers, was now empty.
The other cultivators, who had no idea what was going on, were all stunned. They wondered what had just happened.
In the sky, Lu Ye was in front while over 300 rays of colourful lights raced after him. At first nce, one might think that he was leading these cultivators to do something important. In truth, these cultivators were eager to tear him apart.
They initially thought that as long as Lu Ye had the guts to leave the Divine Trade Association, he would be doomed. However, not long after the pursuit started, they realised things were different from what they had imagined.
How is he moving so fast? someone asked doubtfully. He was an Eighth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. Although he was not particrly dexterous, his speed was above average. Supposedly, a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master like Lu Ye could never get rid of him.
In reality, he could not shorten the gap between Lu Ye and him.
In other words, Lu Ye, despite being a Fifth-Order Master, could move as quickly as an Eighth-Order one.
How fast a cultivator could fly depended on his cultivation. Usually, the stronger a cultivator was, the faster he could fly.
As such, weaker cultivators could hardly escape from the stronger ones. Since they were unable to flee or defeat the other party, they were basically doomed.
Certainly, the Flight-Type Artifacts they used made a difference too. Different Flight-Type Artifacts had different seals, which brought different benefits to the cultivators.
Some high-quality Flight-Type Artifacts could help cultivators fly faster, but they were naturally costly.
The Eighth-Order Master soon realised that artifacts that were expensive to other cultivators were nothing in Lu Yes eyes.
That was because this guy had tons of Contribution points. He could even use Divine Opportunity Columns without any worries. Therefore, it was not surprising that he could buy a top-notch Flight-Type Artifact from the Vault of Providence.
As his jealousy burned within him, he was determined to end Lu Yes life.@@novelbin@@
Nevertheless, he came to realise that he would not have the chance to kill Lu Ye because those Ninth-Order Masters were flying faster than he was, and the gap between Lu Ye and them was shortening. Lu Ye would be doomed as soon as he was caught.
He found it to be a shame that he was an Eighth-Order Master instead of a Ninth-Order one.
As time passed, the gap between the more than 300 people from the City of Heavens widened. The weakest cultivatorsgged behind while the stronger ones were in front.
The more than ten people in the front row were all Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Masters. They madly activated their powers to drive their artifacts forward.
At this point, they had to be quicker than the others if they wanted to kill Lu Ye. After all, Lu Ye only had one head. The one who made a move first could potentially end his life.
In front of them, Lu Ye stuffed some Spirit Pills into his mouth and refined them.
Although many cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were running after him, he was not flustered. He was even in the mood to evaluate his heritage.
Certainly, he did not leave the Divine Trade Association openly, in front of so many cultivators, because he was out of his mind. Instead, he had the confidence to solve the crisis.
Obviously, he would not be a match for so many people. He would be bound to go to Hell if he was caught.
Nevertheless, the prerequisite was that they could catch him.
Presently, he had only activated his power to drive the Spirit Boat and blessed the artifact with Windwalk, which allowed him to fly as quickly as an Eighth-Order Master.
With that said, it was not the limit of his speed. After the evaluation, he believed that if he fully activated his power, he could even get rid of those Ninth-Order Masters.
Despite being a Fifth-Order Master, he was able to pull off such a feat thanks to an opportunity he had found in Fox Immortal Valley.
At that time, he got blessings from the Heavens, which allowed his already ample heritage to reach even greater heights and him to ascend to the next Order. Therefore, not only was he able to defeat more powerful cultivators, but he could also fly faster.
Certainly, that did not mean he would absolutely be safe from the Ninth-Order Masters pursuit.
He was no match for those Ninth-Order Masters when it came to his Spiritual Power reserve. Regardless of how ample his heritage was and how solid his foundation was, his Spiritual Power was notparable to them since he was four Orders behind them.
Moreover, he had to consume a lot of energy to sustain Windwalk. Although the pursuit had just started, he was ready to replenish his Spiritual Power at any moment.
The average cultivator did not have such convenience. After all, they could not get the most out of the medicinal efficacies when they refined pills during a pursuit. However, Lu Ye wasn not affected one bit.
In the past, he did not have the chance topete with the Ninth-Order Masters to figure out how fast he could fly. After giving it a try, he was more confident.
Suddenly, he heard someone barking resentfully from behind, You can never run away from us, Lu Yi Ye! Stop right there and get ready to get killed!
Lu Ye simply ignored the person. Honestly, he had heard simr words on many asions, but he was still alive and kicking. On the other hand, those cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge, who tried making things difficult for him, ended up in a horrible state.
Thest person who said such a thing to him was Song Zhui, who was from Rainbow Temple.
As time passed, the gap between the Ninth-Order Masters and Lu Ye was shortening. It was to the point where they were able to make a move.
At the same time, Lu Ye could feel that their ferocious Qi had locked onto him from behind.
Just as those cultivators were ready to make a move, Lu Ye plunged all of a sudden, which astounded all of them.
Displeased, they hurriedly activated their powers and dispersed.
Following that, they looked down and saw Lu Ye turning around and brushing past them. He was far away from them in the blink of an eye as he was returning to where he came from.
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Chapter 666: Running Away
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Initially, the Eighth-Order Cloud River Realm Masters, whogged behind the Ninth-Order ones, were about to give up. If this went on, Lu Yi Ye would eventually be killed by the Ninth-Order Masters. As such, it was pointless for them to keep running after him.
Just then, they saw Lu Ye plummeting and turning around before returning to where he came from.
All of them were ted as they plunged in an attempt to intercept him.
However, before they could make a move, Lu Ye kept his Spirit Boat as a pair of red wings spread from his back. Following that, he turned into a ray of light and brushed past them as they looked down.
The moment the wings appeared, Lu Yes flying speed increased significantly.
All of their expressions changed as they did not expect Lu Ye to have such a trick up his sleeve. Some of them realised something and looked worriedly in the City of Heavens direction. They were awestruck by the mans bravery and recklessness.
The battle in the mine outside Grand Wilds Peak taught Lu Ye a lesson, which was to get revenge as soon as he could. It would be best if he could get it on the same day because once he missed the chance, he might not be able to retaliate against his enemies even if he became stronger in the future. After all, the Cloud River Battlefield was huge, so it was difficult to track down anyone.
Presently, Lu Ye was no match for the Ninth-Order Masters, and it would be hard for him to deal with the Eighth-Order ones as well. With that said, it was like a walk in the part for him to kill those below the Eighth-Order.The powers of these cultivators, who had been running after Lu Ye, varied. After a long time of pursuit, they became a straight line with the weaker ones at the back.
Lu Ye had skirted past the Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Masters, and he was now greeted by those below the Eighth-Order.
Initially, these cultivators were no longer able to see Lu Ye, but as they were driven by hatred and potential benefits, they kept running after him. When they saw a person with a pair of red wings charging towards them, they were startled.
As they looked intently, someone eximed ecstatically, Its Lu Yi Ye!
The next moment, these cultivators fished out their Spirit Artifacts and activated their Spiritual Power. They decided to teach him a lesson as soon as he got closer.
Following that, the ray of red light ferociously crashed into these cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge.
Violent Spiritual Power surged at that instant as booms were continuously heard amidst a series of shrieks.
In the blink of an eye, the red light that Lu Ye had turned into prated their formation like an arrow, leaving behind clouds of blood mists as broken limbs fell down from the sky.
Despite the brief exchange of moves, seven to eight people had lost their lives.
The surviving cultivators were all horrified. None of them had expected that despite being a Fifth-Order Master, Lu Ye had such incredible power.
In the mine outside Grand Wilds Peak, over 2,000 cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were killed by Lu Ye. However, they were poisoned to death, so it was not a reflection of his real power.
No one knew how powerful he truly was.@@novelbin@@
It was not until this moment that they realised they should not underestimate his power as no one was able to stop his attack during the brief moment of contact earlier.
The red light, which had just prated the formation, turned around and killed even more people when they still had note to their senses.
How dare you, Lu Yi Ye! someone growled. Those Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Masters had arrived, and their eyes widened in disbelief.
They did not expect Lu Yi Ye to have the guts toe back and kill more than ten people right in front of them under such a circumstance.
Although the dead were not rted to them in any way, they still felt humiliated.
Lu Yi Yes move was no different from giving them a p in the face.
As these powerful enemies came closer, Lu Ye decided not to stay there any longer. After making a move for the second time, he charged forward in a particr direction. Every time his wings pped, he would move across a long distance. ?????
These Ninth-Order Masters were shocked to realise that with a pair of wings on his back, Lu Ye could fly as quickly as them. It could even be said that he could move slightly faster.
After they left the City of Heavens, Lu Yes flying speed stunned many of them. After all, he was able to fly as fast as Eighth-Order Masters even though he was only a Fifth-Order Master. They all thought it was because he had a high-quality Flight-Type Artifact.
But now, he had kept his artifact, so he was flying by using his own power. Furthermore, he was even quicker than earlier.
That was inconceivable.
It was not until this moment that they realised why Lu Ye had the guts to run away from the City of Heavens, for he had the confidence to get rid of them.
Guys, thats a Wings Tattoo! someone said all of a sudden. Lu Yi Ye must have a skilful Tattoo Artist to help him out!
This person apparently knew a thing or two about Glyphs. Although he knew that Lu Ye was a Glyphweaver, he did not think the man was powerful enough to build a Wings Glyph that could help a cultivator fly stably, which was inconceivable. He could not build a Glyph, ensure its stability, and activate the Glyphs power to fly at the same time. Even Divine Ocean Realm Masters were not able to pull off such a feat.
He might be able to do that for a short time, but mistakes were bound to happen if this dragged on.
Wings Glyph required a cultivator to sustain it for a long time, and it was usually used in the Way of Tattoos.
The person continued, He has to consume a massive amount of energy to activate the Tattoo. Since hes only a Fifth-Order Master, he can only hold on for one hour at most. Therefore, we mustnt give up on racing after him. Hell be doomed one hourter!
Hearing that, the Ninth-Order Masters became energetic in an instant.
Initially, some of them were considering whether they should use Secret Techniques that would help increase their speed. They gave up on that idea upon hearing the persons words. Anyone who wanted to use a Secret Technique would suffer a bacsh. Outside Ameliorate Valley back then, Ying Wuji tried to activate a Secret Technique to flee, and he ended up bing frail.
Therefore, no cultivators wanted to use Secret Techniques unless it was necessary to do so.
It had to be said that this Ninth-Order Master had some knowledge of Glyphs, but he knew nothing about Lu Ye.
Any other Fifth-Order Master could not sustain Wings for a long time. After all, it was not a Glyph that Cloud River Realm Masters could grasp.
However, none of them had expected Lu Ye to possess the Tree of Glyphs. The Wings Glyph was activated through the Tree of Glyphs, so it consumed less energy than when it was activated on its own.
Furthermore, Lu Ye had ample heritage, and he had been consuming pills to restore his power since the beginning. As such, he would not fall into the state as per these cultivators imagination.
As time passed, the gap between them gradually widened. Regardless of how hard these Ninth-Order Masters tried, they were unable to capture Lu Ye. One hourter, they could only see a red dot in the distance.
This kind of distance was uneptable. If the gap widened further, they would lose track of Lu Ye. When that happened, how were they supposed to find him in such an expansive world?
The Ninth-Order Master who had spoken earlier sported a livid expression.
A while ago, he imed that Lu Ye could only hold on for one hour at most. Now that one hour had passed, the man did not seem to be running out of energy. Instead, he was still full of strength.
On the other hand, they were exhausted after activating their powers for a long time. Although they were not on theirst legs, their powers had been affected.
Noticing the stares around him, the Ninth-Order Master clenched his teeth and said, He cant hold on any longer. Guys, victory is right before our eyes, so we mustnt give up. At the very least, we cant let him get rid of us. Otherwise, our effort will go down the drain.
After he finished speaking, the Spiritual Power around him fluctuated strangely. Then, his face reddened in an instant. His already rapid speed increased significantly as he widened his gap with the others.
It seemed that he had activated a Secret Technique that could increase his speed.
Seeing that he was so adamant, the others did the same and activated their Secret Techniques, which they would usually refrain from using.
Given their powers, it was only natural that they would cultivate Secret Techniques that could save their lives or destroy their enemies. These Secret Techniques were either passed down within their Sects or bought from the Vault of Providence.
In fact, Lu Ye had learned Secret Techniques as well. Xia Liang had taught him Minds Eye, which was a Secret Technique from Raving desmen.
The Blood Shifting Technique he had learned from Third Senior Brother was a kind of Secret Technique as well.
However, the Secret Techniques he had learned did not seem to have any bacsh, especially Minds Eye Technique, which could help extend his senses.
Blood Shifting Technique did have some bacsh, though. Nevertheless, as long as he was careful enough, he would not be negatively affected.
On the other hand, the Secret Techniques that these Ninth-Order Masters were using were different. These techniques were supposed to be used when they needed to increase their speed to run away from their enemies at the most critical moment, so the bacsh was obvious. The longer they sustained the techniques, the more severe the bacsh would be.
To make sure they would not lose track of Lu Ye, they ignored everything else. A Sword Cultivator was especially determined. When a sword cry sounded, he charged forward and brushed past everyone else.
The gap between Lu Ye and him was decreasing.
Lu Ye had certainly realised that. However, he had fully activated his power as Windwalk and Wings had been continuously sustained. He no longer had any way to increase his speed.
Furthermore, his Spiritual Power was depleting fast.
Even though he had been consuming pills to restore his power, the depletion of Spiritual Power was unimaginable as he had to sustain two Glyphs at the same time. The energy he got from refining the pills simply wasnt enough.
Fortunately, he had a Spirit Storage Ring.
He would store some Spiritual Power inside the ring from time to time. Additionally, the ring could capture the Spiritual Power exuded from his figure. Therefore, he could ess it at any moment, and there wouldnt be any dys or hidden concerns.
The view around him rapidly moved in reverse as he dashed forward.
He fished out a 10-point map and identified his current location before trying to look for a hiding ce.
He had to be prepared that he might be caught. If he could not get rid of the pursuers behind him, he would have no choice but to make use of the terrain and go into hiding.
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Chapter 667: A Mysterious Woman
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After scanning his surroundings, Lu Ye quickly turned to charge forward in a different direction. The river over there could be useful if he fell into danger.
The gap between them was shortening, and the Spiritual Power in his Spirit Storage Ring was running out. He was in a dire situation.
He could hear the sound of flowing water. The river he had seen on the 10-point map was right before his eyes.
On the map, the river was marked as the River of Exuberance, which stretched over 10,000 kilometres from east to west. The water was turbid, and the currents were violent. Some powerful Spirit Beasts also lived in the river.
Just as Lu Ye was considering whether he should sneak into the river to conceal himself, his enemies slowed down all of a sudden.
After sustaining their Secret Techniques for a long time, these Ninth-Order Masters were running out of energy.
All of them were furious at the fact that Lu Ye was able to run so fast despite being a Fifth-Order Master. Although they had done their best, they still could not capture him.
At this point, they were in a dilemma.Certainly, they were reluctant to give up. Since the pursuit hadsted for such a long time, Lu Yi Ye might be on hisst legs. However, if they continued running after him, they did not have the confidence to catch him.
They turned to look at the Ninth-Order Master, who had imed that Lu Ye would be doomed. At that moment, his face was pale. He was the first to activate his Secret Technique, so he consumed the most energy. Presently, his breathing was weak, and it was apparent that he could not hold on any longer.
However, he still gritted his teeth and said, He must be running out of energy. Dont give up, guys. If we miss this chance, there wont be another one.
These Ninth-Order Masters had no idea what to say.
Nevertheless, their energy was not infinite. All of a sudden, a Ninth-Order Master stopped in his tracks and plummeted.
He could not persevere any longer. If the pursuit continued, he would probably lose his life regardless of whether Lu Ye would be killed. After activating his Secret Technique, he was struck with the bacsh. If he did not recuperate immediately, he might be left with hidden damage.
Although he wanted to kill Lu Ye as well, he chose his future over an uncertain oue.
His action started a chain reaction.
In just an hour, four Ninth-Order Masters had given up on the pursuit.
The remaining ones were still trying to hold on, but it was apparent that they could not do so for long. With that said, they still were not willing to give up. It was not that they had the confidence to capture Lu Ye. It was just that while hunting the man down, they sent messages to theirpanions nearby and told them toe over.
Now, they had to make sure that Lu Ye would not be out of their sight. When theirpanions arrived, Lu Ye would be destroyed.
During the pursuit, they kept informing theirpanions about the mans whereabouts.
Lu Ye had noticed that as well. Although he was worried, it was not like he could stop them from doing so.
An hourter, he looked in a particr direction and saw several rays of light charging towards him at incredible speed.
Judging from their speed, it was obvious that they were all Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Masters.
There was no doubt they were the helpers that the enemies behind him had reached out to.
He quickly moved in a different direction to run away from the new batch of people. However, he soon came across several rays of light again. He could not believe that some people were alsoing at him in that direction. ?????
All the same, it was not surprising. The people running after him were all Ninth-Order Masters, so it was only natural that they had a lot of friends. As they spread the news, those who wanted to kill him woulde over.
Lu Ye could feel that he had fallen into a siege. Regardless of which direction he went, he would be intercepted by those from Thousand Demon Ridge.
He reckoned that he had to make use of the River of Exuberance to survive.
The turbid water and violent currents could conceal his aura and whereabouts. As soon as he plunged into the river, those cultivators would lose track of him.
However, they just had to keep an eye on the area where he sank into the water, which made it impossible for him to show up unless he held his breath and moved across a long distance.
Yi Yis Nine Wards Scroll woulde in handy. If he could no longer hold out in the water, he could enter the scroll and take a breather. He was certain that his enemies would not expect him to have such a treasure.
Therefore, in Lu Yes opinion, even though he was in a perilous situation, he was not powerless to deal with it.
Moreover, he had consumed too much energy, so he could not keep on fleeing. He had to save some energy to make sure he would survive.
Just as he was ready to sink into the River of Exuberance, some Spiritual Power was felt fluctuating violently in a particr direction. Lu Ye hurriedly turned to look at it.
In that direction, a ray of light suddenly shot up from the ground and crashed into the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge before they fell into a fight.
The turn of events astounded everyone. What was even more shocking was that this person was formidable. Her Sword Qi surged as she wielded her sword. She managed to kill several of them in just a short moment.
No one knew who this person was because she was wearing a white mask. As such, they could not see her face. However, judging from her curvy figure, she was apparently a woman. Although her robe was loose, it could not conceal her hourss figure. As her clothes stuck close to her body while she moved around, her figure was perfectly outlined.
These cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were astonished because the woman was more powerful than the average Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. They initially intended to besiege Lu Ye, but the mysterious woman appeared out of nowhere and derailed their n.
Lu Ye had no idea who the woman was either. Since he started cultivating, he had run away from many enemies. He had repeatedly received help from the cultivators of the Grand Sky Coalition, but those incidents mainly happened on the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
Previously, on the hunting ground of Cloud River Battlefield, only Li Baxian had asked some friends to help Lu Ye out.
Therefore, he did not expect anyone would give him a helping hand at such a critical moment.
There was no denying that the woman was powerful.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to sneak into the River of Exuberance. He pped the red wings on his back and charged forward in the womans direction.
He did not join their fight. Instead, he brushed past them and shouted, Lets go!
Regardless of how powerful the woman was, she was on her own, after all. Since she was there to lend him a hand, he could not leave her behind.
The woman understood that she should not be tangled up in a fight with the enemies. When she saw that Lu Ye had broken through the siege, she cast a Sword Light and drove the enemies away before she turned around and followed Lu Ye.
Since she was powerful, she could move swiftly. It only took her several breaths of time to catch up to the man.
Lu Ye was secretly d that none of his enemies was as formidable as the woman. Otherwise, he could not have kept running away for such a long time.
Anyway, the woman was a Sword Cultivator, so she was naturally dexterous and adept at ughter.
Come with me! she said and led the way for him.
Lu Ye followed her while the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge, who had gotten wind of Lu Yes whereabouts, ran after him.
As they dashed forward, Lu Ye and the mysterious woman did not talk at all. He consistently stayed 90 metres away from her.
Although the woman was seemingly there to help him, he would not dare to trust her before finding out her identity. If the woman was from Thousand Demon Ridge and everything had been an act, he would fall into a dangerous situation.
However, that was unlikely to be the case. If the woman wanted to harm him, she could have done so long ago.
Lu Ye was just doubtful about how furtive the woman had been, even though he had been acting the same way too.
Nevertheless, he loved putting on all sorts of masks. On the other hand, the woman was only wearing a simple white mask.
Although the woman noticed his vignce, she did not say anything. She seemed to be a distant and aloof person who didnt like to talk.@@novelbin@@
Soon, they arrived at a rock face that was smooth but ordinary. However, Lu Ye soon realised that something was off about this ce. [Theres a ward here!]
There were traces of a ward being set up in this ce.
Just as Lu Ye was ready to activate Insight to take a look, the woman fished out a Control Gem and infused her power into it before swaying it in front of the rock face. A beam of light shot into the rock face and formed an entrance.
The woman stepped into it, but she soon turned around to look at Lu Ye because he remained unmoving.
Realising his worries, the woman said, If I wanted to kill you, you wouldve lost your life long ago.
Lu Ye did not respond to her.
Theyreing! the woman said as she looked behind Lu Ye. She could see rays of light charging towards them. It would only take those cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge fewer than 20 breaths of time to arrive.
Lu Ye shook his head and replied, Ill never forget about your help today. Farewell!
Even though he reckoned that the woman had no intention of harming him, he was not willing to enter a cave with such a powerful person. That was akin to letting the other party take control of his life.
He did not mind if he would be regarded as ungrateful or obstinate. After all, it was better safe than sorry.
The womans chest heaved. She did not expect Lu Ye to give her such a response. She was evidently furious.
Nevertheless, she did not have time to argue with Lu Ye. Since he was about to leave, she quickly said, Ill take a Heavenly Oath. I have no ill intentions against you!
Lu Ye felt ashamed of himself. The woman was there to save him, but he was distrustful of her. She even took a Heavenly Oath to prove she wasnt ill-intentioned.
Im sorry. Lu Ye bowed his head.
The woman ignored him and turned around to enter the cave. Lu Ye hurriedly followed after her.
With the Heavenly Oath as the assurance, regardless of the womans intentions, it could be confirmed that she had no ill intentions against him. As such, Lu Ye no longer had any worries.
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Chapter 669: Mission Failed
Chapter 669: Mission Failed
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Certainly, the mysterious woman could not careless about Lu Yes feelings. Since he refused to cooperate, she snorted and wielded her sword, which turned into countless Sword Lights as they descended on Lu Ye.
Faced with immense pressure, Lu Ye fully activated Minds Eye Technique as he madly wielded the Invible Saber. The ngs of the weapons reverberated across the ce as they shed with each other.
At that moment, Lu Ye was astonished. This woman was outrageously powerful.
He had killed an Eighth-Order Cloud River Realm Master before, though he had Yi Yis help at that time. All the same, even without Yi Yi, he could pull off the same feat, given his ample heritage. It was just that he would have needed a longer time and more moves.
In other words, he had the power to deal with a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. Even if he was not a match for the other party, he could hold on for a while.
However, when fighting this woman, Lu Ye realised all his attempts were futile. Faced with her storm of attacks, his defence was shattered in just ten breaths.
The woman had not even fully activated her power. She was a Sword Cultivator, so her forte should be shooting out Sword Lights instead of close-quartersbat like this.
All of Lu Yes Saber Lights had been destroyed. He was rooted to the spot as the womans sword pressed against his forehead. He could feel a cold sensation and some sticky liquid streaming down his forehead.Although he could not see her expression since she was wearing a mask, he knew she must be furious.
Go back to Jiu Zhou! she demanded.
Since Lu Ye was no match for the woman, there was nothing much he could do. If the woman had wanted to kill him, he would have lost his life.
If he remained obstinate, he would be knocked out and brought back to Jiu Zhou. As such, he would rather oblige. It was just that his trip to Hundred Wards Tower would be dyed for a month.
Nevertheless, before he could dip his head, the woman suddenly grunted and could not even hold her sword stably. Her aura also became a mess in an instant.
She quickly stepped back to widen the gap between them. It was as though she was worried she would identally hurt him.
What happened to you? Lu Ye asked with a frown.
The woman did not respond to him, and what happened next astounded Lu Ye.
It was as though an invisible seal had been shattered. As the womans aura fluctuated, it kept rising until it broke through the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye found the sight familiar as he recalled what had happened in the Divine Trade Association a while back.
At that time, he was queuing in the Sanctum of Providence when several cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridgeunched a sneak attack on him. All of a sudden, a manager from Divine Trade Association made a move and killed them with ease.
The managers condition was simr to what was happening to this woman.
Although they appeared to be in the Cloud River Realm, they were able to exhibit the power and aura of the Real Lake Realm out of the blue.
The mysterious woman was not in the Cloud River Realm. She was more powerful than that.
Are you from the Divine Trade Association? Lu Ye asked in shock.
As far as he was concerned, only those from the Divine Trade Association could use such a strange skill. They could arrive at the Cloud River Battlefield even though they were more powerful than the Cloud River Realm, and they could activate their true powers in a short time. ????????
Go back to Jiu Zhou! the woman demanded through gritted teeth. She spoke with difficulty, as though she was going against something. After she finished speaking, the space around her contorted, and she disappeared the next moment.
If not for her unique fragrance that still lingered in the air, Lu Ye would have thought that everything had been an illusion. [Whats going on?] He was bewildered.
As he recalled his time with the mysterious woman, everything just seemed odd.
The woman appeared all of a sudden and broke the siege for him so that he could run away. Following that, she took him to a hidden cave where there was a Teleportation Ward, which transported him to the current ce where there was a Divine Opportunity Column.
No ordinary people could possess a Teleportation Ward and a Divine Opportunity Column. The former required one to be an expert in the Way of Wards and thetter needed lots of money to build.
The mysterious woman had been impassive to him. It could even be said that she was impatient most of the time, which went contrary to her actions of saving Lu Yes life. All the same, she had said she was following orders.
As for the person behind the woman, Lu Ye had no idea who it was.
He had a feeling that he hade into contact with something he had never thought about. Theplication of it was beyond his imagination, and it was not something a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master like him was supposed to know.
As he looked in the direction the woman had disappeared, he furrowed his brows.
It was not until this moment that he realised the woman probably was not from the Divine Trade Association, which had never interfered in the conflicts and feuds between the cultivators. Therefore, they were regarded as impartial in Jiu Zhou. Perhaps they had a pact with the Heavens, which allowed them to possess skills that the other cultivators could never master.
For example, even though some of them were above the Cloud River Realm, they were still able to enter the Cloud River Battlefield and activate their true powers in a short time.
If the woman was from the Divine Trade Association, she would not havee over to save him. Otherwise, it would affect the impartiality of the Divine Trade Association, which would result in them getting punished by the Heavens.
In other words, some other people were able to use a simr skill even though they were not from the Divine Trade Association.
Furthermore, from what Lu Ye had observed, the woman must have an organisation behind her.
The Teleportation Ward and the Divine Opportunity Column were left behind by the organisation. Also, only an organisation could possess such a powerful heritage. [What kind of a mysterious organisation is that?]
The woman was wearing a mask to conceal her face. It was apparent that she was worried some people would recognise her. As such, she was supposed to be famous. Once she revealed her face, her identity would be exposed.
Lu Ye had no idea how powerful she truly was, but she was in the Real Lake Realm at the very least.
As for her disappearance at the end, she must have used a special technique to suppress her cultivation so that she could enter the Cloud River Battlefield. However, this kind of technique had a time limit. It was also possible that she could not use a power that exceeded the limit of this ce, or else the technique would lose its effect. Once she used a power that transcended the Cloud River Realm, she would be forcibly expelled from Cloud River Battlefield.
This was different from the Manager in the Divine Trade Association. After showing his power as a Real Lake Realm Master, he could easily suppress his cultivation until it reached the Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm. Nevertheless, the woman could not do the same.
That was the main reason Lu Ye believed she was not from the Divine Trade Association.
In the martial world, there were many things that the weakest cultivators had no ess to. These things were also beyond their imagination.
People always said that only Cloud River Realm Masters were allowed to enter the Cloud River Battlefield.
However, in just half a month, Lu Ye had seen two cultivators who were above the Cloud River Realm.
It was no wonder the woman was outrageously powerful, for she had a heritage that exceeded the Cloud River Realm.
Nevertheless, the woman must have taken a risk to save him. Regardless of how formidable she was, only moves of the Cloud River Realm were allowed on the Cloud River Battlefield. If she was besieged by many people, she would fall into danger.
Furthermore, she had exposed a secret location and the Teleportation Ward. Regardless of what the organisation behind the woman was, they must have suffered some losses this time.
Although Lu Ye didnt want to assume that the other party had some terrible intentions, he had to be cautious since they had been acting furtively.
He didnt know the nature of the organisation behind the woman or what their intentions were. However, since they decided to save him, they were definitely after something.
Perhaps they had their eye on Lu Yes potential.
That was not surprising. There were countless talented cultivators in Jiu Zhou. Nheless, it was rare to find someone like Lu Ye, who had kicked up a storm on both the Spirit Creek Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield.
He had shown his potential, so the organisation must have noticed him. Perhaps they just wanted him to owe them a favour by saving him, so the woman did not reveal anything to him.
Following the analysis, Lu Ye realised that he would certainlye into contact with the organisation again in the future.@@novelbin@@
He decided to push the matter to the back of his mind for now, for everything would be clearer in the future. He was still very weak. Even if he managed to find out who they were, there was nothing much he could do. It would not be toote for him to get to know more about them when he became stronger.
The crisis was over for now. The woman had wanted to make Lu Ye return to Jiu Zhou, but she had failed the mission. She was also chased out of the battlefield while Lu Ye remained in the same ce.
Now, no one was forcing him to go anywhere.
Therefore, his current location was supposedly safe. As he became at ease, a sense of exhaustion swept over him, making him feel an urgent need to rest.
He had used up his Spiritual Power. After all, it was taxing to sustain Wings and Windwalk simultaneously for a long time.
Now, he had to restore his energy. He sat down with his legs crossed and stuffed some pills into his mouth before refining them.
Meanwhile, in the sealed Sanctum of Providence of a particr Sect in Jiu Zhou, an alluring woman appeared out of nowhere.
She was the mysterious woman, and she was still wearing a white mask.
As she recalled what had happened earlier, she furrowed her brows. She tapped her Battlefield Imprint and sent a message. Mission failed. The target didnt return to Jiu Zhou.
Although she had no idea what decision Lu Ye would make after she was gone, she reckoned that he would not obedientlye back to Jiu Zhou, judging from how he had behaved.
Soon, she received a message.
Where is he?
Base No. 35, the woman replied.
A momentter, the other party said, Just let him be. Let fate decide his life or death.
After the conversation ended, the woman stepped out of the ce and took off the white mask, revealing her beautiful face.
As the door opened, the woman left the Sanctum of Providence.
A group of people had been waiting for her. They included cultivators in the Real Lake Realm, Cloud River Realm, and Spirit Creek Realm. They saluted the woman and said, Greetings, Sect Master!
The woman only nodded impassively and shot into the sky. As many young disciples watched her leave, they fell into a dazed state.
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Chapter 671: Hundred Wards Tower
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After a brief conversation, Li Baxian found out about Lu Yes ns.
Since Lu Ye was well-versed in the Way of Wards, it was only natural that he was going to Hundred Wards Tower to get some training. It could be said that in Jiu Zhou, all the Ward Cultivators in the Cloud River Realm would want to head to Hundred Wards Tower, especially those from Thousand Demon Ridge.
The first part of the tower was in the Heavenly Derivative Sect in Wu Zhou, and it was their treasure. Therefore, those from Thousand Demon Ridge were unable to go there. However, the one on the Cloud River Battlefield belonged to no one.
Upon learning about Lu Yes ns, Li Baxian did not say anything else apart from telling him to be cautious.
After the conversation ended, Lu Ye continued his journey.
Half a dayter, Lu Ye received a message on his Battlefield Imprint while flying on his Spirit Boat. He quickly took a look and realised it was from Li Baxian again, which was unusual because the man would not bother him frequently under most circumstances.
Junior Brother, I asked someone to gather some information about Hundred Wards Tower, and the situation over there isplicated. Read on.
Then, Lu Ye received some lengthy messages. As he went through these messages, he felt warm in his heart, for Li Baxian truly cared about him.In fact, he was aware of the information Li Baxian had sent to him. It had been a long time since he arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield. Although he had never been to Hundred Wards Tower, he had been keeping tabs on the information about the ce because he would surely head to the tower one day. As such, he would better be prepared in advance.
Just like what Li Baxian had said, the situation in Hundred Wards Tower wasplicated. If Lu Ye went over there without knowing anything, he would likely suffer a setback.
When he was in the Divine Trade Association a while back, he bought a document containing information about Hundred Wards Tower, which was more detailed than the information Li Baxian had gathered in a hurry. The document even contained the experiences and insights of those Ward Cultivators who had entered the tower before.
Lu Ye had spent a lot of Spirit Stones to purchase the document. Certainly, that did not bother him as he was wealthy. In the first ce, those Spirit Stones were his rewards for defeating his enemies.
He did not tell the other party anything about it. When Li Baxian was done sending him all the information he had gathered, he reminded him by saying, Given your capabilities, youll surely get massive benefits from Hundred Wards Tower. However, you mustnt be too aggressive. Since youre still weak, you might suffer some setbacks inside, but thats okay. You can always explore it again when you be stronger.
I got it. Dont worry about me, Senior Brother, Lu Ye replied.
After their conversation ended, he continued heading to his destination.
While sitting beside Lu Ye in the Spirit Boat, Yi Yi realised something. She turned to look at him with a smile and asked, Was it your Fourth Senior Brother? Although Lu Ye had exchanged Brands with many cultivators, he would rarely talk to anyone for a long time.
Lu Ye nodded. Yes, he had gathered some information about Hundred Wards Tower for me.
Upon hearing that, Yi Yi remarked, He must be worried about you.
Certainly, Lu Ye was aware of that. Back then, when he left Ameliorate Valley on his own to lure away the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge, Li Baxian and the others must have wrongly believed that they had caused Lu Ye to fall into danger.
That was not the truth. Lu Ye had been targeted, so it would be pointless for him to return to Jiu Zhou and stay safe temporarily.
Unless he hid in his Sect in Jiu Zhou and never returned to the Cloud River Battlefield, he would inevitably face his enemies again.
It was also a decision he had made. He could stay in his Sect and cultivate by consuming Spirit Pills. Although his cultivation speed wouldnt be fast, it wouldnt be too slow either. In other words, the speed would be average.
However, he was furious at the fact that those from Thousand Demon Ridge had repeatedly harassed him when he was just cultivating in his Arcane de without offending anyone. Therefore, he had no choice but to counterattack.
By saving the Arcane de, he could let Li Baxian, Ju Jia, and the others have a safe ce to cultivate. This was not the main reason, though. He had intended to keep his Arcane de safe anyway.
The truth was that a horse had to live in the wilderness to grow stronger.
It was because he decided to leave Ameliorate Valley that he went on to poison and kill over 2,000 cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge and acquired so many rewards, which resulted in the transformation of the seed of his Mystic Fruit.
Then, he identally entered the Lost City of Xianyuan and obtained a lot of Soul Cleansing Water, which gave him the confidence to head to Hundred Wards Tower. ??????????
He could have stayed safe in Jiu Zhou, but he would not havee across so many opportunities and acquired so many benefits.
Although it was dangerous and taxing to fight the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge, the benefits he could get were more than enough to make up for it.
So, Lu Ye, you have to be stronger quickly so that the people who care about you will stop worrying.
Lu Ye replied with a smile, Sure.
Now, he was already able to kill an Eighth-Order Master. If his cultivation could increase slightly, he could even destroy a Ninth-Order Master. By then, even though the Cloud River Battlefield was vast, hardly anyone would pose a serious threat to him.@@novelbin@@
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. When a colossal city came into sight, Lu Ye knew he had arrived at his destination.
It was Hundred Wards City. On the Cloud River Battlefield, hardly any city had its own name. Most of the cities were named after the City of Heavens and given serial numbers to distinguish them. There were also some rare cities that had their own names.
Apparently, the name Hundred Wards City came from Hundred Wards Tower. There was only a distance of 30 kilometres between these two ces, which was nothing to Cloud River Realm Masters. Many Ward Cultivators lived in the city all year round and headed to the tower to get some training from time to time.
In the beginning, there was not a city in this ce. However, since the tower was there, many cultivators woulde over and gather in this ce from different parts of the battlefield.
Although the Way of Wards was not arge faction in the martial world, it was stillrger than niche ones like the Way of Beast Taming and the Way of Golems.
Anyway, every Sect had some Ward Cultivators who were responsible for building and maintaining wards.
Many independent cultivators who did not belong to any Sects had also learned the Way of Wards.
As such, there were a lot of Ward Cultivators in Jiu Zhou.
Many Ward Cultivators gathered together near Hundred Wards Tower, which helped this ce gain poprity. Regardless of the ce, as long as there was enough poprity, it would form into something sizable. That was how Hundred Wards City was born.
When this ce became important enough, even the Divine Trade Association decided to set up a subsidiary there.
It could be said that the entire city was built to serve the Ward Cultivators. Around 80 per cent of the things in the city had something to do with the Way of Wards. There was a reason why the city was established 30 kilometres away from the tower rather than within the city.
A lot of Ward Cultivators would stay outside the tower and have friendlypetition with fellow cultivators. Or, when someone tried to pass through the challenges in the tower, they could gain some inspiration and benefits through the buildings resonance.
Therefore, the area around the tower should not be noisy. That was why the city was not built with the tower as the centre. The Ward Cultivators would not agree to such an idea.
Since Lu Yes target was not Hundred Wards City, he did not have to go there. However, if he wanted to head to Hundred Wards Tower, he had to follow some rules.
As for who had set the rules, no one knew the answer because those rules had been passed down through generations. Certainly, if one was powerful enough, he could ignore those rules, but things would be troublesome.
Therefore, the moment Hundred Wards City came into sight, Lu Ye looked past the city and nced at the broken tower that was 30 kilometres away.
He had been to the Heavenly Derivative Sect where he saw the first part of the tower. As he looked at the second part now, he realised it could be perfectly matched with the first part. If anyone could take this broken tower out of the Cloud River Battlefield and ce it in Heavenly Derivative Sect, around 60 to 70 per cent of the towers glory would be restored.
Unfortunately, no one had been able to pull off such a feat since time immemorial.
The second part of the tower was the middle one with no top or bottom, which made it look ridiculous. The building looked ancient and unadorned.
Lu Ye flew across the air in his Spirit Boat andnded on the ground ten kilometres outside the city. Apart from several crooked trees, there was nothing else in sight.
The branches of the trees intertwined with each other and formed an arch. If one stood in front of the arch and looked ahead, he would clearly see Hundred Wards Tower.
The arch formed from the intertwined branches looked like a door to the tower, and it was indeed the case.
If one passed through the arch and walked in a straight line, he could safely arrive at the tower. Nevertheless, if he slightly deviated, he woulde across some trouble.
That was because with the tower as the centre, nowhere was safe within a radius of 30 kilometres.
Cultivators over the generations had left behind wards in many ces. Some unremarkable ces might contain hidden danger.
Since time immemorial, countless Ward Cultivators over the generations had been honing their skills in this ce, and almost everyone had gained some benefits. They would alsopete with fellow Ward Cultivators by building and breaking each others wards. That was how many wards had been left behind.
Some people might also deliberately leave behind wards in certain locations that served as tests for the future Ward Cultivators.
As time passed, innumerable wards had been hidden within a radius of 30 kilometres around the tower. Perhaps one would trigger a ward for every few steps he took.
That was the reason Lu Ye was willing to follow the rules.
Certainly, he could fly towards the tower from any direction, but he could not be sure he would note across any Aerial Lock Ward. Once that happened, he would fall to the ground. If he wanted to move forward, he would have to break the Wards one by one.
Such an incident wasnt unprecedented. Once, there was an arrogant Ward Cultivator who was not willing to take the normal route. He fell into danger outside the tower, and his corpse was nowhere to be found.
Lu Ye considered himself the best Ward Cultivator in the Cloud River Realm. However, he couldnt be conceited just because he was an expert in the Way of Wards.
Some wards had been around for such a long time that they had absorbed a lot of Spiritual Power. Horrifying power might break out from an ordinary ward once it was triggered.
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